He sees her on Thursday at the grocery store.

She's busy shopping when she suddenly hears someone call her name. She turns around quickly in surprise. Who could possibly be calling her name? She's even more surprised when she sees Sesshomaru coming toward her.

"Why are you grocery shopping?" He asks. "Shouldn't your parents do that?"

She smiled and shakes her head.

"My mom's in the hospital. And my dad's... out of the picture." She replies. "I have to take care of myself and my little brother for a while."

He's quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"Would you like some help?" He asks.

She shakes her head again.

"No, that's alright." She says. "I think I can handle this."

"Can I at least walk with you, then?"

His question takes her by surprise. She hesitates before shrugging lightly, acting as though the idea of spending time with him didn't make her nervous.

"Sure, if you want to." She says, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "But there's nothing very exciting about me grocery shopping."

There was silence for a moment as they walked. After a few minutes, he spoke again.

"What happened to your mom?" He asks.

"She's ill. Very ill. The doctors think she has cancer." She replies sadly.

"I'm sorry about that." He says truthfully.

"Don't be." She replies. "It's not your fault."

"I'm still sorry."

There's more silence before he speaks again.

"What about your dad?" He asks.

She smiles sadly.

"We were in a bad car crash when I was eight. He was taking me to the store to by me a teddy bear for a late birthday present." She replies. "There was a guy in a big moving truck that was going the opposite way. The driver wasn't paying attention, and he swerved into out lane. He hit us head-on. My dad died instantly. I almost died as well."

He's quiet for a long moment.

"My dad was killed when I was little, too." He says quietly.

"What happened?" She asks.

"He was killed by a robber while I was at school. The guy who broke in shot him before looting the place. He bled to death." He replies, looking down.

"That's awful... I'm so sorry." She says, her eyes filled with sadness for him. "What about your mother?"

He shrugs, frowning a bit.

"She was never in the picture. After she had me, she left me on my father's doorstep and disappeared. Probably a drunk or something, with my luck." He replies with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

She's quiet for a long moment before speaking.

"Do want to come to my house?" She asks.

His gaze snaps up to met hers. He's obviously surprised.

"I mean, Sota's not home at the moment, so we can spend some time together in peace for a while." She says, smiling at him. "And I don't know about you, but I'd love to continue talking with you."

He returns her smile.

"I'd like that."

Still smiling, she leads the way to the check-out, already thinking up ideas on how to make their day as enjoyable as possible.

She snapped to attention when a young woman and her three children came up to the check-out. Sighing inwardly, she began to bag her groceries.

If only her dream were real... Then she wouldn't be stuck doing this boring, tedious job for the rest of the day.

If only...