About two weeks passed before she saw him again.
Kagome had been out riding her bike with Sota, wearing blue jean shorts, a white T-shirt, grey tennis shoes, and her hair up in a high ponytail.
Sweat was starting to gather on her forehead as they passed countless Surf shops, changing booths, and concession stands along the white sanded beaches, and Sota was beginning to whine about how thirsty he was.
Losing her patience, Kagome decided to stop at one of the concession stands to get her and Sota slurpies. They pulled up to one that looked like a miniature circus tent. It was made of red and white striped fabric, and sold old style pretzels, cardboard quality pizza, nachos with neon orange cheese, and slurpies for a price too high.
A stout man, with a big mustache and squinty eyes, behind the counter demanded the price and held out his pudgy hand greedily, and at first, all Kagome did was stare at him grudgedly. However, she wasn't in the mood to argue. Plus, she was thirsty too.
Once she and Sota got their drinks, hers red and his a faded blue color, they sat down at one of the picnic tables. Kagome took a sip of her syrupy drink and looked down at the old table. There were deeply carved etchings in the faded wood: hearts with couples initials in them, vile words, and random names.
With a bored sigh she rested her head on her hand, drinking slowly and imagining what the people who wrote on this table were like.
Her mind played out different scenarios. She imagined a gangly boy, angry with his mother, grinding hateful words into the wood. She imagined hoards of giggling sixth graders, feeling the thrill of breaking the law, as they vandalized the table with their own names. She leaned foreword slightly on her bench, as she imagined herself and a boy, a silver haired boy with glowing golden eyes and sun kissed skin, at this very picnic table late at night, etching their initials into the weather worn table. A contented sigh escaped her lips.
She slowly looked up from the table at Sota. He was staring at the beach with wonder, smiling like a fool. Then Kagome turned her gaze beyond him looking at the people walking, running, or biking on the sidewalk past the beach. That's when she saw Inuyasha.
He was dressed heavily for the weather, wearing a dark grey sweatshirt, hood up, and tight fitting blue jeans with worn red shoes. He moved quickly, like water: his eyes scanning the many faces he passed by, and his hands deep in the sweatshirts front pocket.
He paused for a moment and turned his head, as if looking to see if someone were following him. Then, he visibly relaxed. He lowered his hood and let out a puff of air. His shoulders slumped lazily and he started walking again, but slower this time.
Kagome was curious about what had just happened, but she pretended not to notice him as he approached the concession stand from the sidewalk. She mentally took note of how his gorgeous gold eyes reflected brilliantly in the afternoon sun, as she watched him from the corner of her eyes. She saw him look at the concession stand, puppy ears perking slightly and nose twitching. He must've been hungry because he stopped and decided to get a pretzel.
Kagome blushed, and wondered if he saw her. She lowered her head bashfully and watched him as he exchanged his money for the pretzel eagerly. Then he turned to look for a place to sit, and their eyes met. Kagome noticed giddily the faint redness growing on his cheeks, but silenced her thoughts by telling herself it was just the heat getting to him.
He awkwardly stopped in his place before giving her a stiff nod. Kagome, on the other hand, took the opportunity to wave him over, excitedly scooting to the far side of her bench to give him room to sit.
Inuyasha looked at the spot she was offering for a moment before looking up at her expectant face. Then, with a sidelong glance and a weak half smile, he reluctantly trudged over through the sand to sit beside her.
Inuyasha held his breath for a moment before exhaling slowly, looking between her and Sota. His lips pursed and his eyes lowered to the pretzel in his hand before he spoke quietly in a neutral tone,
"Hi."
Her eyes lit up and her smile widened.
"hellooo there Inuyasha!", she chirped girlishly, "How're ya doin? Why are you wearing such heavy clothing? It's nearly 80 degrees?"
Inuyasha had a mouthful of pretzel at the moment, so he waited to finish chewing before answering. The entire time Kagome just stared kindly at him with her gentle doe eyes. He suddenly felt very tired.
"I'm fine, just hungry. And I don't know. I just decided I wanted to wear this. No particular reason."
He felt heat rise to his cheeks and his palms became clammy with sweat. His ears twitched and his shoulders slumped. She was still staring.
"Oh. Well, I don't think that was a very good idea."
Inuyasha just ignored her comment, taking another bite of his food. Then he looked back at her with lazy nonchalantness,
"Keh. Well, I don't know, loosely tying your dog to a bench probably wasn't a good idea either, but who am I to judge."
He looked back at his food, picking off a burn piece and throwing it to a seagull nearby. He could feel her scowling at him. He just smirked.
"you got a problem woman?"
He didn't even look up.
"No, but that was low. I never would've intentionally let Mai do that"
She pouted at him and he looked at her with raised eyebrows and a bored gaze.
"No need to be so sensitive. I know you care about the stupid dog. You were hollering like a banshee, all over town, chasing her."
Kagome lowered her head blushing cutely and looking at him through her bangs, "yeah yeah smartass." He gave her a dry laugh and, once again, their eyes met.
Inuyasha felt his throat go dry, his heartbeat picked up, and his cheeks seemed to grow unbearably hot. He squirmed in his seat and looked away, finishing the rest of his food without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Sota watched Inuyasha curiously as he interacted with Kagome. The little boy waited until Inuyasha had the last bite of pretzel in his mouth before leaning in close to his face with suspicious eyes.
"Who are you? And how do you know my sister? We just moved here a few weeks ago!"
Inuyasha swallowed his food, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and stood up, swiping his hands together.
"Why should I tell you, you demanding little punk. Ask your sister."
He nodded his head in Kagomes direction and put his hands in his pockets looking at her blankly.
"Sooo. Nice to see you again, but I gotta go."
She crinkled her eyebrows at him and puffed out her cheeks,
"What, got a hot date?"
To her surprise, his eyes widened considerably. A burning pain surfaced in the amber orbs for a split second, fading quickly into a harsh, guarded glare. He snapped at her through clenched teeth.
"No. I just have to go home."
Kagome was surprised by how harsh his tone became and she realized she must've brought up a touchy subject. She folded her hands and blinked up at him innocently,
"Sorry I asked, If you have to get home then go ahead. I should probably head back home too."
His eyes remained guarded but his stance seemed to ease. He nodded at her and began to turn, heading back to the sidewalk. The sun was setting.
"See ya later Kagome."
She watched his retreating form and responded sweetly,
"Yes, see you later...Inuyasha"
Sota glared at the back of Inuyasha's head, watching until he could no longer see the silver haired hanyou.
"What's that guys problem?"
Kagome looked down at Sota's head and chuckled.
"Not sure."
Sota grumbled and started walking to the bikes. Kagome followed him, deep in thought.
Something wasn't right. She could tell. She just didn't know what. She tried to understand why he was so brisk and hesitant . She wondered why he was really wearing that outfit. She pondered why he was so defensive. She wondered who had been following him and why.
Inuyasha had become something of great interest to her. For some reason, she wanted to know him more then she ever wanted to know anyone else in her life.
And she didn't just want the surface.
She wanted to know all of him.