The sun shined through the trees making odd shadows on the ground. It was mesmerizing to the young girl in the café. She pushed her charcoal colored hair over her shoulder and sighed, it was time to get back to work. Turning her attention back to the task at hand, which was listening to her boss as he went through their daily pre-meal ritual of the dos and don'ts of his restaurant, she couldn't help but wish she was outside sitting under the tree that she had been gazing at earlier.

She loved her job, but some days it was just so monotonous. Be inhumanly nice to the customers in hopes of getting a decent tip, bring them their food and drinks, and make small talk before moving on to do the same thing with the next table.

The clanging of the bell distracted her from her thoughts as he first of the customers came through the door chattering noisily about their day. Closing her eyes and saying quick prayer for patience, she made her way over to her first table of the day. It was a group of three girls, all in school uniforms, and they were having an animated discussion which could be heard by anyone that had a desire to hear it.

She was almost to the table when the door clanged again and someone shouted "Kagome!" Startled the girl looked up and saw one of her regulars (and best friend) coming through the door.

"Sango! I'll be with you in just a minute." She finished crossing the room to the table the three girls occupied and took their drink order. She got the drinks quickly and delivered them over to the table in record time. They said they needed a few minutes to order, so she went to the table where her friend sat.

"My name is Kagome, and I will be your server. Would you like something to drink?"

"Kagome, quit being silly. You know what I want." Sango said exasperatedly.

"I know. I just like bothering you about it." She said winking at her. "I'll put the order in. Mocha milkshake and a cheese burger cooked medium well without onion, right?"

"You got it."

Kagome made her way to the computer where she rang in her orders and sent Sango's order to the kitchen, and then she went back over to the table with the 3 young highschoolers to take their order.

"Have you decided what you would like now?" she asked the first girl with the straight black hair.

"I would like the special, and to substitute fries for the rice." Kagome took the other two girls' order, rang it in, and then went to check on Sango's milkshake and burger. The milkshake was ready so she took it out to her, and explained that the burger would be a few more minutes. She knew that Sango knew this, but it was their daily routine.

The day continued on and people came and went. About 15 minutes before closing time the café was empty and everyone was hoping that no one would come in. The kitchen was clean and everything was done, the only thing stopping them from leaving was the 15 minutes left until 11:00.

Kagome stood at the counter talking with another girl who was also a waitress. Kagura had black hair that she wore in a bun, and magenta colored eyes. She claimed it was natural, but Kagome wasn't sure she believed her.

"So what do you plan to do tonight when you get off work Kagome?"

Kagome sighed and glanced at the clock. 10 more minutes . . . "Go home and study for my history exam. Sleep. The usual. You?"

Kagura flashed a wicked grin. "The usual."

"So you're going to a bar, to pretend to be drunk, so that you can have a man think he is taking advantage of someone that's tipsy; while you are in fact, mostly sober, and fully aware of what is taking place?"

"Well when you put it that way, it sounds like I am being conniving."

"So you're not going?"

"No, I'm going; I was just saying you make it sound worse than it is." Kagura eyed Kagome beneath her lashes, "Sure you don't want to come? It would be fun with the two of us."

Kagome glanced at the clock again. 3 more minutes . . . "I'm sure. I have to make an A on this exam."

Kagura snorted. "You always have to make an A, Kagome you need to relax and learn to-" Kagura was cut off by the clanging of the bell and everyone had to stifle a groan. Kagura softly said what everyone was thinking. "Damn."

"You get it." Said Kagura before Kagome could say anything. Kagome sighed and nodded, giving Kagura a 'you owe me' look.

She walked over to the table and introduced herself as Kagome, telling the man that she would be his server, before asking the customer if he would like a drink. The man looked up and Kagome's thought process ground to a halt. He had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

"I'd like a cup of coffee, please." Said the stranger, effectively breaking Kagome from her trance.

"Would you like cream or sugar?"

"Both please."

"Anything else?" He shook his head and Kagome noticed how long his hair was. She scribbled his order down on her pad of paper and went to ring in his order. While there Kagura came over and said "He's cute isn't he? I wish I would meet someone like him at a club. Because then we could-"

"Kagura!" Kagome cut her off. "He's right over there! He might hear you!"

"Calm down Kagme. I won't offend your virgin ears." Kagura said rolling her eyes.

Kagome just gave her an exasperated look before bringing the man his coffee. "Are you sure you wouldn't like anything else?" she questioned.

The man looked irritated for some reason and said "Kagome was it?" At her nod to the affirmative he continued on "Well then Kagome, are you stupid?"

Kagome spluttered in outrage "What did you just say to me?"

The man sighed. "And it seems as though you are deaf as well. I asked if you were stupid. We had previously established that I did not want anything other than my coffee. Must you annoy me with your unnecessary chatter?"

"Well excuse me for wanting to see if you had changed your mind! Are you always this rude to people who are trying to be nice, or am I just the girl who won the prize of your temper today?"

The man ground his teeth together for a minute before saying as calmly as he could "Do you know who I am?"

"No, and I don't care who you are. I refuse to be called stupid for doing my job and if you have a problem with it, you can leave."

The man eyed her for a moment before saying, "Very well. You were doing your job. Please excuse my temper. I just got off work and I have a even longer day ahead of me tomorrow. I should not have taken my frustration out on you."

"Thank you for the apology."

"Hn." Was all he said and Kagome left him to himself. Sesshoumaru eyed the waitress as she walked away. He really hadn't meant to be insulting, but he was tired and she had asked, in his opinion, a stupid question. He didn't deal with stupid people very well. She was cute though, shame he had to upset her. Oh well, women were stupid by birthright and he didn't want to have one hanging around him anyway.

He took a sip of his coffee and pondered a bit more. Once he had drained his cup, he put some money on the table, scribbled something on his check, and left.

Kagome went to collect her tip from the table and clean it off so that they could all go home.

Once everything was locked up, she told everyone good bye, wished Kagura luck, and started walking to her apartment. She shoved her hands into her pockets and found a wadded up piece of paper among her tips.

Pulling it out of her pocket, she straightened it out and was surprised to see that the man that had been so rude had left her a note. All it said was sorry, but it still made her feel better.

As she was getting into bed that night, she decided that if she ever saw him again she would give as good as she got if he was still as rude as before. Before she fell asleep she couldn't help but think that it was a shame. He had that long beautiful hair and those golden eyes . . .