Chapter 4- Encounters

Kagome was busting her backside working at the diner full time now that school had ended. She only had 2 more months before she had to move to the United States and get a new job… and get used to an entirely new place- not to mention a new college campus.

It was nearly a month ago that she received another acceptance letter… from John Hopkins University. They did offer her a small scholarship, but the tuition alone was more than double for Baylor. Even though she knew she never would be able to make up the difference for the University, she held out hope that some miracle would happen that would cause all her dreams to come true. It was true that Baylor was a wonderful medical school, but the prestige of John Hopkins University caused a sparkle to come to the girl's eyes.

As she wiped down another table, she could feel the distinct feeling of a pair of eyes boring holes in here back. It wasn't surprising since the lecherous boss had decided to shorten the uniform skirts by another inch. Kagome rolled her eyes as she pulled herself up when the table was clean.

Sure there was probably better, but she needed the money and didn't feel like giving up even a day of work to look for another job. She turned abruptly to see the face of her friend and fellow waitress Yuka. Her eyes were puffy and red as she held a tissue to her nose. She looked absolutely terrible.

"Yuka!" Kagome cried as she brought the back of her hand to the sniffling girl's forehead. "You look terrible… and you're burning up!"

"Sorry, Kagome," she sniffled, "I don't know how I caught a cold in the summer."

Kagome gave a small, understanding smile and answered, "It can happen. People come in here all the time when they're sick, looking for a cup of tea or some soup." She leaned against the table to rest her sore feet as her shift was nearly over. "You should go home and rest," Kagome suggested.

The girl turned and glared daggers at the plump figure behind the bar that was looking longingly at another waitress as she grabbed a tray of food and headed to table 18. "That pig Hoishi will never let me go."

Kagome placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder and proposed an idea, "How about I stay and work your shift so you can go home and sleep?"

"Kagome!" she gasped. "B-but- but… what about your date with Hojo?"

The long haired girl responded with a kind smile and answered, "Hojo? I can see him anytime, but you need to rest. He'll understand."

Yuka looked at her suspiciously, "Kagome, if you keep blowing him off like this, he'll move on. Why do you keep avoiding him anyways?"

The cheerful waitress' smile fell. She had learned a long time ago that sharing certain matters of the heart with her friends only caused trouble. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she responded, "He'll understand- especially when he hears you were sick. I remember all the stuff you guys did for me in middle school so I could pass. You know, I was once sick, too?"

Yuka finally offered a smile and a sweet hug. "You are the best!" she sighed. When she ended her embrace, she looked into her long-time friend's eyes and commented, "I know you really don't love Hojo. Why don't you just let him down easy?"

Trying to hide the surprise in her expression from her friend, she answered, "What are you meaning? I've been with Hojo for four years now."

Her friend answered, "And your heart is somewhere else." She took her reluctant friend aside and quietly informed her, "I can see that far away look you get when Hojo does something romantic for you. You can't trick me with that happy face since it's completely fake, Kagome. You never talk about Hojo unless someone brings him up."

"Yuka," Kagome placed her hands on her friend's shoulders, "go home. Everything will be fine. If you see Hojo, tell him I covered your shift and I'll call him later, okay?"

Her friend nodded, "Okay, Kagome."

Yuka began to make her way out of the restaurant as she remembered the day that Kagome told them that Inuyasha was never coming back. She was crying and seemed to be in such emotional pain, but it was only for the moment. The next day she was smiling and having a wonderful time, but it was a hollow shell. Everyone knew Kagome was still in love with the unusual boyfriend she once had- everyone… except Kagome and Hojo.

Hojo seemed completely oblivious as his eyes danced when in her presence. He brought her all kinds of gifts and did so many romantic things for her, but Kagome seemed to just not notice them.

Her friends often wondered why she didn't go find Inuyasha and tell him that she still had feelings for him, but they were young too and knew how hard it was to completely throw yourself at a guy that left you… and was two-timing you. Come to think of it, she was pretty mean to him.

Yuka shook her head as she made her way down the street the public transit. Maybe Inuyasha had left her for his ex. Kagome didn't talk about her much and Yuka wondered if the woman was really pretty… maybe she was nice too. If so, Inuyashsa probably went back to her. Yuka sighed again as she boarded public transit.

~0~

Papers, files, documents! Taking over his mother's position was a royal pain in the ass! Sesshomaru groaned inwardly as he looked over another document that needed his signature. He was starting to think like Inuyahsa. Turning his gaze to the window, he released a huff as he recalled the wonderful feeling of traveling through Japan and fighting demons along the way.

He had been at this for the past few days. The ceremony had been complete and he was now the Lord on the Western Province among his kind. His mother had been driving him mad about producing an heir to the empire, but Seshhomaru refused to simply take a woman to produce an heir. He wanted to find a demoness that was strong, intelligent, and ready to bear children. Her appearance was of little importance.

Shaking his thoughts away from him, he decided to continue his work for a while longer. He only had a few more documents to go before the stack was complete. No wonder his mother was so stiff and emotionless. Being surrounded by mountains of paperwork day after day can't be good for anyone.

~0~

Inuyasha made his way down the perfectly polished marble hallways with an expression of annoyance. It was so boring here! At first he was completely thrilled to see his father's home as he had never been here, but soon the thrill wore off. There were endless ceremonies and speeches. He had to dress in formal attire almost all the time and he often wondered why he was allowed to take the damn monkey suit off to go to bed and shower. His step-mother insisted that her servants do "something with that ridiculous hair."

He was making faces as he could still hear her annoying voice ringing in his mind like a bell. It was maddening! "No wonder Sesshomaru acts like he has a stick stuck so far up his ass," the hanyou muttered as he casually leaned against the wall. He knew he was standing on the other side of the door to the office where the devil himself was working.

Knowing Sesshomaru would be bothered by his scent in a few moments, Inuyasha stood there with a smirk, allowing a white fang to peek out from under his lips. He just adored tormenting his half-brother… and he was about to drop a real bombshell on him.

The angry lord opened the door to the office with a growl of annoyance. "Move your annoying presence elsewhere, half-breed," he hissed as he glared at the smirking hanyou. "…or would you like me to move it for you?" he added as he flexed his claws, ready to fight.

Inuyasha made no move to start or finish anything as a shrill voice sing-songed, "No fighting in this castle! It was your decision to bring him with you, Sesshomaru."

The demon lord began to feel a headache coming on. Between this paperwork, his mother, and the idiot half-breed, he was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic, even in this huge castle. He turned his amber eyes to his idiot half-brother and asked, "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to go back to New York." He then looked at his older brother and added angrily, "I don't see why I had to come here in the first place since you are the one that has become Lord of the Western lands."

He did not respond, causing the two to be thrown into a staring contest.

Finally, Inuyasha caved with a "Keh, should've known better than to get into a staring contest with a statue."

Ignoring the insult and stupidity, he asked a question, "Is it so uncomfortable for you in Japan?"

Inuyasha glared at his half-brother and responded angrily as he folded his arms over his chest, "No." His golden eyes decided the wall was suddenly very interesting as his dark eyebrows came into an angry look. He'd rather die than admit his weakness to the high and mighty icicle king.

Being here was just painful. As they went through the airport, her face seemed to be everywhere, yet nowhere. His hopes had been raised so many times in the last 500 years and he couldn't handle that shattering in his chest anymore. She was gone, but he couldn't let her go.

As a private investigator, he had the ability to look up people's backgrounds and various bits of information. He had searched for Kagome for years and years. He came up with the shrine, but it didn't look the same and the family was no longer Higurashi. He was too late. She was probably married with a couple of kids by now. He just didn't have the heart to look it up, to see her with another man's last name.

Sesshomaru wasn't as completely unfeeling as his brother thought. He understood that the hanyou was hurting in ways he could only imagine… but preferred not to. The idiot shared the same weakness their father had for human women. What's worse was the fact that he had been betrayed by a miko before and yet here he was, chasing another one and chasing her through half a millennia.

The demon sighed inwardly, keeping his stoic exterior. "Go find the fox and go to Tokyo."

Inuysha raised a brow and allowed a fang to show through his half smirk, "You are telling me to go out for a night on the town?" Rather than stay to argue and make the new lord angry, he decided a night away from the hidden and stiff world of demon royalty would be a wonderful distraction.

As he turned to go, he couldn't help but wonder, "Why is it you are suddenly being somewhat nice to me?"

Sesshomaru just glared at the hanyou and responded coldly, "Just go, half-wit."

"Icicle ass," The dog-eared hanyou shot back over his shoulder.

Sesshomaru felt it was above him to get into an insult match with the brat. Besides, it would have upset her. He recalled all the times he came to see Rin and her family. The girl had grown into a very strong and sweet woman. Her children would always speak to him with respect and dignity.

As he finished the last of the papers, he decided to go into town himself. There was a dive of a restaurant that Shippo had the wolf had given as a possible location for the priestess. According to Shippo, she was not working the dinner shift tonight, but he could look at the place and maybe extract some information about the waitress that looked like her and even had the same name.

He stacked the documents neatly and rose to leave the room. As he came to the door he summoned his retainer with his usual voice, "Jaken."

It was only a moment before the green, toad-like creature came to him. "You called, Lord Sessomaru?"

"Please file the documents on my desk and prepare a car for me," he commanded without even looking down. "I will be taking the car tonight- alone."

"But Master Sesshomaru!" Jaken shouted, thinking the taiyoukai should have an escort of some kind.

"Is there a problem, Jaken?" he asked as he threw an icy glare over his shoulder.

Jaken straightened and responded quickly, "No, Lord Sesshomaru, I have said nothing. You are perfectly capable of…" The squeaky voice was getting fainter and fainter as the Lord made his way down the hall to his quarters.

His mind drifted back to the day that he said farewell to his ward. She had lived to an old age. Her hair was now white as snow and much thinner, but the smile on her face was a radiant light that seemed to cut through the sadness. Her life was waning and she requested audience with him.

"Lord Sesshomaru," he aged voice croaked as he made his way to her bedside. His hand gripped Tenseiga as he wished with all his heart he could bring her back this time. But her life had been spared twice and he knew that she would not cheat death forever.

"Rin," he responded as he felt a tug at his cold heart strings. She had always been the one to see through the coldness of his heart. She could change him, when no one else dared to try. More than anyone else, he felt connected to her. Human or demon did not matter, she was his daughter.

"Promise me," she pleaded, "promise me that you will do what you can for Inuyasha. I have lived in the same village near The Bone-Eater's well since Lady Kagome was taken back to her world." Stopping to catch her breath, she smiled knowing he was patiently waiting for her. She continued as she gripped his clawed hand, "He's hurting. And no matter what you think of him, he is your brother. Please, help him find Kagome."

He recalled watching as the fox youkai , the monk, and demon-slayer's offspring were gathered by the bed. Rin's own children gathered by the bed as well- three sons and one daughter, all with cloths in hand and tears being shed. Their father had died a few months prior.

Sesshomaru blinked. What was he supposed to do that could help the idiot half-breed anyway? He was a future lord not some time traveler. As Rin quietly passed away, he could feel her telling him, "Follow Kaori, my daughter, she will lead the way."

~0~

Kagome glanced at her watch and gave a long sigh as she grabbed the tray of food for table five. Putting on her best smile, she placed plates of food in front of the customers. "Even while I was traveling with Inuyasha I wasn't this tired!" she thought as she gathered her energy to keep from collapsing. This wasn't the first time she'd pulled a double shift, but it was the first time she'd done it three days in a row.

As she made it back to the bar, she went behind it and took a seat, about to drop.

"One more hour, Kags," the bartender Akane informed her. She gave a knowing smile as she wiped down a glass. College kids always pushed themselves so hard.

"I'm gonna die," Kagome groaned. "I'm gonna drop dead right here. There won't be anything left but the chalk outline tomorrow."

The maroon haired bartender chuckled at her antics and responded, "I know you're exhausted, but I think the old toad is closing up." She motioned toward the door.

Kagome turned her weary eyes to the door to see Mr. Hoishi close the glass entry doors and pull his key from his pockets. In his haste to close, he dropped the keys and had to bend to pick them up.

Both women at the bar sputtered in laughter as the over sized man bent over to pick up his keys, straining the seams on his overly taxed trousers. A loud sound erupted from the man's backside, causing Kagome to fall off her bar stool holding her sides as she tried to laugh as silently as possible.

Akare was trying her best to keep a straight face as Hoishi turned his red-faced gaze to the bar. The woman finally lost it as a very distinguished man came through the doors to stand before the portly man that was still bent over, picking up his keys. The expression on his face was completely priceless as he raised an elegant eyebrow and glared at Hoishi.

The sputtering bartender missed the conversation between the two as she was now hunched over, laughing like a loon. "What happened?" Kagome hissed.

The bartender waved and whispered, "Never… mind... Tell you… later." She finally gathered her composure- what was left of it anyway and informed Kagome, "You have a customer."

Kagome groaned and made a face as she grabbed her notebook.

"Come on, Kags," she coaxed. "He's all dressed up and that means he's gonna be a good tipper."

Kagome put on her "I'm not tired" smile and took off to the door. She finally saw him. His hair fell down to touch the middle of his back in a midnight shade of black and all pulled into a thick ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing a grey suit that nearly looked silver. His face… she was sure she had seen it before, but something wasn't right. She couldn't place what it was.

His skin was lighter than most, but somehow it suited the man especially with those eyes. They sparkled a golden amber, causing the man to seem exotic, but to Kagome, somehow familiar. She came up to the man, shaking off that voice in the back of her head telling her to run for her life.

He was clearly annoyed with the man. He had a foul smell that reminded Sesshomaru of pigs rolling in their own filth. It took all his resolve to keep from kicking the man square in his over-sized back side as he was bent over. The foul creature grumbled something about being closed, but Sesshomaru was not in the mood to argue with the stinky pig man.

His gaze turned in front of him as a waitress approached. She was slightly taller and her body was more shapely. She was now a woman… a beautiful woman. Her hair was shiny and deep black, falling in waves down to the middle of her back. He noticed how her breath hitched as his eyes met hers and wondered if she recognized him.

"Foolishness," he scolded inwardly. "The disguise is completely undetectable. No miko could see through it then and none will now." His golden-amber eyes moved down to her really long legs and stopped at those shapely hips as he thought, "I see her taste for short skirts has not changed."

She came up to him and gathered her composure. She was leading him to a table and apologizing for her boss. He recognized that voice. It was her. Did she have any idea how long they had been searching for her?!

He was being led to the table and was silently grateful to the miko for rescuing him from the terrible odor coming from the overweight man at the door. Catching a glimpse of her long shapely legs that tapered into lovely, rounded hips under the not so concealing skirt, the demon lord caught his breath. Were her outfits this short when they were chasing Naraku? He didn't recall as he knew that his thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

Besides, he had to mentally scold himself that this was Inuyasha's wench. He was on a mission to find her and bring the half-witted half-breed back together with her. Rin would have wanted him to bring them happiness.

His thoughts were interrupted again as he was seated and she unknowingly crossed her arms under her chest in her exhaustion. It was causing her to squeeze her cleavage together and upward. Inside, he was in a battle with his lesser thoughts. The woman was tempting, but human… and above all, not his.

Now that the tall man was seated, she got a really good look at him. He was so tall and imposing... and those piercing golden amber-eyes were quite disarming. He was one of the most striking men she recalled seeing in this dive. He was clean and polished- even his nails seemed to shine, completely even.

She physically shook her head as Inuyasha's face came to her mind. "Get it together, girl!" she mentally shook herself and screamed inside her head. "This guy is clearly not Inuyasha!" Her mind began to conjure images of his older half-brother, silver hair flying behind his regal self. Now she shook her head and widened her eyes as she thought to herself, "I really need to get some rest if I'm seeing him."

The waitress nearly jumped when her customer spoke loudly, "Did you hear me?"

Her cheeks felt hot as she turned a subtle shade of pink. She grabbed her notebook and placed the pen on the surface of a clean sheet of paper. "I'm so sorry, sir," she placated. "We have several specials today if you would like…"

He waved a hand and responded, "No need. I have dined already and would just like a cup of tea."

"Oh," she responded, She could see it now. She would go back to the bar and order a cup of tea for the customer. If she got any tip for this, it would be a penny."

As she made her way back to the bar, she was stopped dead in her tracks by the customer's deep, melodious voice, "It is nice to meet you, Kagome."