MONDAY MORNING

' . . . Nn . . . S-stoppit . . . .'

Rin's eyes flickered open.

The realisation that her own voice had woken her up came after a moment. That, and something wet that was tickling her nose. A pair of large, tawny eyes were gazing down upon her.

She blinked slowly.

' . . . Ohayo.'

Ame mewed in response.

Smiling slightly, Rin rubbed the back of a hand over her eyes and peered over in the gloom to see the illuminated display of her alarm clock. 07:21, it read. She reached one arm over to press the inactivated button down and then grinned sleepily at her pet.

'Still an unbroken record. Thanks, A-chan.'

Ame purred at her in that familiar, contented rumble, like an engine.

Rin ran her fingers through her long, soft fur and picked the black cat up as she swung her legs out from under the covers.

'Better than any alarm clock, ne?' she smiled, setting the feline on the carpet and making her way to the bathroom, grimacing at the feel of chilled tiles beneath her feet. The room had one window, shaded for privacy's sake (perverts with binoculars did exist, after all), so she had to grope for the light switch before she shut the door behind her, lest she trip and break her neck in the dark. Blinking as the light struck her large brown eyes, she glanced at the small young woman with the unruly black hair in the mirror and was grateful to see no trash bags under her eyes, which she had been expecting to see, what with staying up late to watch the storms and then . . . other things . . .

Images only half unbidden began to replay in her mind.

The girl with the long wild hair in the mirror was blushing.

With a start, Rin shook her head furiously to rid her mind of the thoughts, scolding herself inwardly for dwelling on dreams, and turned away to do her morning business and wash up. A cold shower would probably be a good idea too, she thought wryly.

Rin took a look out the window of her top-floor apartment as she deposited her dishes in the sink to soak.

'Whoah . . .'

The sky had gone from early-morning darkness, to solid, charcoal-grey. The trees on the street down below were whipping precariously in what was most definitely a wind as strong as last nights. She had the definite inkling it was going to rain again, and soon. Her face darkened. It wasn't that she didn't like the rain or anything, she actually loved rain – and it had been one rainy day after she had just moved in to her current neighbourhood, when she had come across a certain little sodden black kitten mewing pitifully from the corner of an alleyway – but walking to work in a storm was still not a happy prospect.

Of course she had the option of taking the bus or getting a cab to work, but she'd always preferred to walk. It was only a couple of blocks away. She was, in fact, the closest living to her job out of all her friends at work. Her friend, Taijiya Sango, actually had to get the train some mornings.

BBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZB!

Her nap quite suddenly disturbed, Ame's head appeared, peering down from the top of one of the kitchen cabinets, where she was lounging in her usual spot. Rin looked around to see her phone steadily making its way across the kitchen table. She grabbed for the thing before it vibrated over the edge onto the floor.

On the little outer panel, 1 NEW MSG was displayed, next to a tiny blinking envelope. She flipped the phone open and the screen illuminated, displaying a small image of a girl with flowing jet hair and a playful smile under the text: 1 New MSG From KAGOME-CHAN.

Smiling slightly, Rin sat down on her chair and pushed enter.

'Gomen Chibi-chan! Da powers down out here coz of da storms and Sango-chans ride fell thru so she txtd me 2 ask 4 a ride. We r gona b l8. O well, I gess itz jus gona b u & Sesh 4 a wile. Poor u! Sorry agen! ;-)'

Rin sighed, and pushed reply.

'U 4get Kagura, K-chan.'

'Actually, Chibi-chan, I beleev itz u whos 4gotten 1 Kaze Kanna San. Her BIRTHDAY? Kaguraz stil at her sistrs place – she told me shed txt me wen she gets 2 da airport. & as yet, no txt!'

Rin blinked.

"I'd forgotten about that . . .'

'But shez in England . . .'

'Hai! So evn if she flies out 2day, she wont get bak til 2nite.'

'U kno I cudnt do dat 2 Kagura.'

"I know we're not really close friends or anything, but still . . ."

'Man do I kno. U rilly r 2 loyal 4 ur own gud sumtimes, Chibi-chan. Evn if itz killin u. & don't say itz not coz I kno it is.'

'Aw, K-chan :-( '

'Hey, Ill tell u wot. How bout 2nite, I cum ovr & u can pour ur heart out. & den we can work sum more on ur costume 4 satrday nite. We'll hav u lookin so gud Mr. boss man wil b trippin ovr his own tongue!'

'Kagome-chan!'

'Wot? ;-) It'll hardly b ur fault if he dumps Kagura on da spot wen u sho up lookin so dam gorgeous. But seriously, I woz watchin u guyz talkin on Friday, & I gotta say, u 2 luk pretty dam gud togedr.'

'KAGOME-CHAN! STOP!'

';-D Jus tryin 2 cheer u up, Chibi-chan!'

' U r insane, K-chan.'

';-) Gotta luv me!'

'Ha ha, I kno! ;-) Domo arigato, K-chan.'

'No problemo. I'll c u l8r Chibi-chan. Mwah! xXx'

'Ja xXx'

Rin slipped her phone into her pocket. It was as she grabbed her MP3, after pulling on her warmest coat over her outfit of wide-legged trousers and a short-sleeved, tailored khaki army-style shirt, that she realized she was smiling. Grinning to herself, she placed her headphones over her ears.

"Thanks, Kagome-chan."

She let herself out. She hit play and turned up the volume, using the unlikely but ridiculously catchy collaboration of Linkin Park and Jay-Z to pump her up for another day of acting that she felt nothing more for the man she worked for than a casual fondness.