Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 2: The Bookstore, A Chance Meeting

The Boy:

Kagome.

The bright-eyed, dark haired girl's name was Kagome. She was beautiful, and when I caught her looking at me when I first sat down with my form, I felt as if there were a connection. Her gaze was unreadable, so I forced myself to take my eyes off of her. I probably looked like a nightmare. I'd been working on a house today, so my hair was pulled back and my work shirt and jeans had dirt all on them. I had on that ugly construction coat I had to wear, so that in itself was pretty off-putting.

The girl looked at me one more time before she went back with the senior class' guidance counselor. Something had changed in her eyes, but there wasn't enough time to even hear her speak.

I leaned back in my chair and frowned to myself. I guess it didn't really matter anyway.

I quickly finished filling out the form and got up to hand it to the receptionist. She got up to get my transcripts, and about five minutes later, they were in my hand and I was thanking the receptionist on my way out the door.

My mind was still on that girl, but I tried to shake her out of my thoughts.

I wouldn't be seeing her—Kagome—again. Just as well. I've got other things to focus on than a pretty girl that I've never met before.

As I began my walk to the local print store to make copies of my transcripts, I flipped through them. Despite having a crappy experience in high school, I'd actually be graduating with a 4.0 GPA. I knew my mom would have been proud of me, and she's the reason why I worked so hard in the first place.

Feeling confident about my college applications, I carefully rolled up the transcripts and put them in my inside coat pocket. It was bitterly cold outside, so I shoved my hands into my pockets and quickly trekked over to the print store.

After I had made four copies of the transcripts, enough for all the schools I was applying to, I headed home.

After a hard work day and a trip to prison-oh, I mean high school-I was exhausted. I finished my college applications when I got home and then fell asleep on the couch.

As hard I tried to push the thoughts out of my head, that Kagome girl was the last thing on my mind when I fell asleep.

The Girl:

My class schedule was completely fixed, but when I left the school, I still felt on edge. Something was off with that boy. I knew, I could feel it, that I had met him before.

What's more important is that I was certain I hadn't just seen him in passing at a store or recognized him from somewhere random.

I knew him.

I tried to push the thought out of my head as I walked away from the school. It's not like I'd be seeing that white-haired boy again anyway. Instead, I focused on my after-school destination.

When my family and I had first toured this town, we'd stopped to look at a little strip of stores near the school. We'd walked past a book store, and luckily I remembered where it was. I needed a break from today, so I thought I'd stop in to look around. I love to read, and I needed something to help me chill out from today.

"Can I help you?" asked an employee. She was pretty in a unique way; I would never be able to pull off the light pink eyeshadow that she was wearing. I smiled and shook my head. "I'm just looking," I replied. "Thanks." The employee smiled back at me.

"Sure thing," she said. "My husband and I own this place, so please let me know if you need anything." I thanked her again and she went off to join her husband. I noticed that he was sporting a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. What was it with guys and ponytails today?

I didn't stay at the bookstore for too long before heading home. I hadn't realized how worn out I was until I walked through the front door of my house an hour later.

Mom called out a hello. "We're having pizza for dinner to celebrate you and Sota's first day," she called from the kitchen. I smiled. "Sounds great," I said back. "Pizza!" I heard my brother shout from the kitchen.

At dinner, I wasn't as talkative as Sota was about the first day. It must have been obvious; Mom put her pizza down and looked at me intently. "Kagome," she said. "Is everything alright?" I looked up from my plate and nodded.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm sorry. I, uh…I had something kind of weird happen today." Mom and Sota looked at me expectantly. "Do you want to tell us about it?" she asked. I hesitated. It's just going to sound stupid.

"I guess so," I replied. "There was a guy at school today, and there's something about him." Mom laughed. "Goodness, Kagome," she said amusingly. "Do you already have a crush?" For some reason, I didn't think it was that funny.

"No," I replied seriously. Mom picked up on my tone and stopped laughing. "Then…what was it about him that made it weird?" she asked. I bit my lip and thought back to the boy.

"I felt like I knew him," I explained. "It was almost as if I've seen him before but not just randomly on the side of the road. It was like I'd known him really well, but I don't know why." Mom looked pensive.

"Are you going to talk to him?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No," I replied. "It would be stupid if I walked up to him and said, 'Hey, I think I know you but I probably don't.' That would be too weird." Mom laughed. "Whatever you feel is right," she said.

"But I did make some new friends today," I said in an attempt to change the subject. Mom clapped her hands together happily. "I'm so glad to hear that," she replied.

Soon enough, we were finished with dinner and I went upstairs to get ready for bed. As I crawled under the covers, I found that I was exhausted. I fell asleep quickly, but I began dreaming almost immediately.

All I could see were golden eyes.

The Boy:

A week after I got my transcripts and saw the girl, I stopped in the bookstore near the high school. I usually came here a couple times a week, so I've gotten to know the owners pretty well.

The chime at the door when I walked in made the wife-owner look up at me. "Hey, Inuyasha!" she called when she saw me. She was chasing around her son, Shippo, in an attempt to get him to sit down instead of running around the store. "Hey, Sango," I replied. "You got any college prep books?" Sango smiled and nodded.

"Aisle seven," she replied. "Miroku said that he wants to help you out with your classes." She rolled her eyes. "He said you should major in Women's Studies and give him copies of all the notes." Her husband was quite the ladies' man before he and Sango got married, but he's since reined it in. Occasionally he has a relapse and makes a stupid joke like that, but Sango and Miroku are one of the happiest couples I've ever met.

I rolled my eyes back at Sango, who had finally caught Shippo, and we laughed. Another chime at the door turned Sango's attention away and I headed over to aisle seven.

A couple of the books looked pretty helpful, so I grabbed them and scanned through the rest of the section to see if there was anything else that looked interesting.

When I turned to go down a different aisle, I bumped into someone and my books and theirs went flying to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," a small voice said. When I looked down to see who was picking up the books, it was the girl. It was Kagome.

"It's okay," I replied as I bent down to help pick them up. Kagome looked up at me when I spoke and froze when our eyes met. She stared at me for a moment and then went to finish picking up the books.

I grabbed my three and she grabbed her two. I caught a glance of her books and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Les Miserables and The Scarlett Letter, huh?" I asked. "Heavy reading right there." Kagome smiled.

"More like guilty pleasures," she replied. "I'm a fan of symbolism." We both picked up our books and stood up. Kagome was looking at me somewhat intently, and I knew the same expression was on my face. Before I knew it, I spoke as if I couldn't control my words.

"This is going to sound weird," I began slowly, "but do we know each other?"

"I saw you at the high school the other day," she replied. "And I thought that you looked really familiar." So she had felt it, too. She bit her lip and hesitated.

"What's your name?" she asked. I admired how blue her eyes were again as I spoke. "Inuyasha," I replied. She looked confused.

"Inu…yasha?" she repeated. I nodded. "It's a family name," I explained. "It's strange." She shook her head. "It's interesting," she commented with a small smile.

"My name is Kagome," she said. I nodded.

"It's nice to meet you," I replied. Kagome looked trouble. "Maybe not," she said. I was confused.

"Then it's not nice to meet you?" I asked. Kagome laughed. The sound was something that could soothe you and give you strength at the same time.

"No," she replied. "I meant that I just feel like we already know each other." I didn't answer her. This couldn't be a coincidence. Kagome looked away from me.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just stupidly going on about that." I smiled.

"No, don't apologize," I replied. "It's not stupid at all. I have the same feeling."

Kagome bit her lip and studied my face. "I don't think I'll be able to remember," she said. I shrugged.

"Me neither," I replied. Kagome looked away from me and adjusted the books in her arms.

"Well," she began, "I guess I should go." I felt a little twinge of disappointment.

"Yeah," I replied. "Me, too." She moved to make her way to the check-out desk and I followed.

Miroku was working the desk and when Kagome and I reached him, he eyed me. I shook my head; I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Heck, I didn't even know this girl.

Kagome finished checking out and turned to me. "It was nice meeting you," she said. "I'll see you around." I smiled. "See ya," I replied.

I watched Kagome smile at me once more before she walked out the door, and then she was gone.

I put the books I was buying on the desk and pulled out my wallet. "Don't even say anything," I said immediately. Miroku stared at me.

"Just take them," he replied. I frowned. "What?" I asked. Miroku pushed the books back toward me.

"Take the books," he said, "and go after that girl." My eyes widened. Miroku had seen right through me. I nodded. "Thanks," I said quickly as I grabbed the books and dashed out the door.

The Girl:

When I walked out of the bookstore, I couldn't help but feel like I'd just walked away from something important.

I was probably about halfway to the school when I heard my name being called. When I turned around, it was Inuyasha.

"Hi again," I said when he reached me. Inuyasha smiled. "You have much longer to walk?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I walked to the bookstore from the high school," I replied. "My car is still in the parking lot." Inuyasha glanced behind me.

"I'll walk you there?" he asked. I nodded and smiled. "If you want," I replied.

Inuyasha and I began walking in a comfortable silence. "Do you live near the school?" I asked. Inuyasha hesitated. "Sort of," he replied. I glanced at him.

"Will it be a long walk for you?" I asked. "I could drive you home if you want." He shook his head.

"I live about ten minutes away from the bookstore," he replied. "And my car is in the shop so I'm used to walking everywhere." I frowned.

"If you say so," I said. "I don't mind." Inuyasha smiled and it was quiet again.

"Are you new at school?" he asked a few moments later. "I don't remember ever seeing you." I nodded. "Yes," I replied. "I just started this semester."

"That's probably why we never saw each other," he said. "I finished my classes in December." I was impressed. It sounded like he had his stuff together.

"Wow," I replied. "That must be nice." Inuyasha shrugged.

"It's alright," he said. "It leaves more time for work." Inuyasha made a face. "Which can be a good and bad thing." I laughed.

"I can't decide if I would rather work or be stuck in a classroom all day," I joked. "They both have their pros and cons." Inuyasha chuckled and shook his head.

"So did you ever have Mr. Naraku?" I asked without thinking. Yuka mentioned him again today, so I figured I'd ask for an outside opinion.

"The science teacher?" Inuyasha asked. He rolled his eyes. "That guy is a tool. No one likes him." Inuyasha looked over at me sympathetically.

"Are you in his class?" he asked. "If so, then Godspeed." I laughed again and shook my head.

"No, but my friend Yuka said that he's the worst," I replied. "I wanted to know if it was true." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"It's true," he confirmed. "Plus he's weird and creepy which makes it worse." I smiled at his dramatic answers.

"Luckily I'll never have to be in his class," I said. "I dodged a bullet there I guess." Inuyasha nodded.

"You dodged the biggest bullet that ever existed," he replied seriously. I couldn't help but laugh again.

The school had come into view and I pulled my keys out of my backpack as we approached my lone car in the parking lot.

"Well, thanks for walking me here," I said. I turned my face up to see those golden eyes. Inuyasha seemed pensive as we just looked at each other.

"Can I see you again?" he asked suddenly. My eyes widened. "Yes," I replied. I surprised myself with that answer. I grabbed a small notebook out of my back pack and wrote down my cell number.

"I'll talk to you soon?" I asked. Inuyasha smiled and tucked the paper in the pocket of his worn jeans.

"Absolutely," he replied. Those eyes engulfed me and with one last smile, he turned away and left.

Whatever this was, whatever connection this boy and I had, I didn't want to pass it up.

To be continued…

Much love. :)