-1Chapter 2: Keeping an appointment.
Kagome sighed. She wasn't a fan of the quick lube change station. Most customers complained that the lube change took to long even if she got it out in under 15 minutes. Even when she explained that they do a full vehicle inspection before being worked on, they were still usually ungrateful and left in a huff. But it was nice when a customer was happy and even tipped her.
It was almost two o' clock and she knew her 2:15 appointment would be in soon. She waited at the computer with his appointment screen up. It showed his name, vehicle make and model and vehicle year. That was all the information she needed to know how much oil she'd need and what size filter it would call for.
She glanced back up at the clock and as she read 2:10, the bells on the door jingled announcing the arrival of her 2:15 appointment. Her eyes traced back down to the door and her jaw dropped when she saw it was the handsome young man she had met earlier that morning. She smiled slightly at the familiar face.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were staking me." Kagome said slyly with a smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you got yourself employed here knowing this was where I would get my oil changes from now on. Seeing how I've heard this is the best place in all of Japan to go for car service. So that would mean, you're stalking me." Inuyasha replied with a laugh.
"And if you actually think that, then you think too highly of yourself." Kagome smiled devilishly at the silver haired man.
Inuyasha scrunched his face and laughed. "No, my dodge is over due for an oil change. I happened to mention it to Sango and she referred me to this shop. I'm glad that I've run into you again, must be fate."
"Or Sango's meddling. I should have recognized your voice. Plus the way you talked about American cars. We actually don't see a whole lot of new American imports here. Mostly classics, even then they're hardly driven." Kagome said glancing over his information. "If you wait here, I'll need the keys so I can go get some information and get you on your way." Kagome stated professionally with her hand outstretched for his keys.
Inuyasha fished the keys out of his pocket and dropped them in the palm of her hand. "I'm in no hurry, so take your time." He smile a handsome, cocky smile.
Kagome grabbed a paper floor mat and a rear window tag with a number and a keychain tag with the same number attached to it. Kagome wrote down the truck's vin number and mileage, hung the tag from the rear view mirror and attached the matching key tag to Inuyasha's keys. She pulled the Durango into her bay and returned to the shop's office.
Inuyasha was leaning up against the counter, watching the little TV that was hung in the corner. She couldn't help but notice that he was handsome. Kagome put the inspection sheet on the counter and cleared her throat which got Inuyasha's attention. "If you could sign here please, it states that you are here today for an oil lube change with filter and that will be 19.99. If anything else comes up, I will come to you to get the ok for any other needed repairs."
"Well, I'm liking how professional the place is." Inuyasha said as he signed his name on the inspection sheet and with that Kagome retreated back into the windowed out shop where he could watch her work in her bay on his vehicle.
Kagome started the oil change from the bottom of the vehicle, she then moved to the top and started her inspection from the top. She removed the air filter from the air filter box and gave it a distasteful look. She held it up for Inuyasha to see and sure enough the cotton air filter was black with debris and dirt. She started filling the engine with fresh oil and timed it to the necessary quart amount. She picked up the air filter and waked into the shop with it. "May I suggest a new air filter. This thing is choking your poor truck." She said as she put the dirty cotton filter on the counter.
Inuyasha inspected it and agreed that it was gross. "Yeah, why don't you set me up with a new one. Hey, do you have any of those new air filters that I've heard so much about?" He asked.
Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, they're 49.95. You want me to put it in?" She asked.
"Sure, how much for labor?" Inuyasha asked.
"No labor involved. It's on the house." Kagome said cooly. She knew that the shop didn't charge to replace an air filter, but she still enjoyed making the customer feel 'special'.
"Cool, let's do it. Thank you." Inuyasha said.
Kagome giggled and replied "you're very welcome" and went back to her bay to put in the air filter and finish her full vehicle inspection. The whole process took 15 minutes on the dot. When she was finished, she wrote down the current mileage and the mileage and date he should expect to need another oil change.
Kagome came back in and gave Inuyasha his total. He smiled at her kindly as he took out his wallet and paid. He took an extra twenty out and handed it to Kagome who looked at the bill, confused. "Did you need change?" she asked. He laughed a little and said "no, it's for such polite and fast service. I have to say, Sango was right. This is guaranteed the best place for car service".
Kagome blushed and was so flattered that she though twice about accepting the money. It wasn't until he said "I want you to have it", did she accept it. "Well thank you. You know you didn't have to. Tipping your mechanic isn't customary." Kagome said sweetly.
"You know what else I'm not obligated to do, but want to?" Inuyasha asked smoothly.
"What's that?" Kagome smiled, knowing this old pick up line.
"Ask you out to dinner. What do you say, good ol' fashion Mc Donnalds?" He asked with a big grin on his face.
Kagome laughed, not expecting the restaurant of choice. "Sure, it's a date."
"Well, I've gotten you this far, how about a movie first? There's some good ones out." He smiled a cocky smile.
"Why not. Next thing you'll want to do is go drinking and then in bed with me, right? And then never call again. That's what most guys want." Kagome said teasingly yet bitterly.
Inuyasha was taken off guard by that comment. He looked at her slightly bug-eyed. "No, I was kinda hoping that after dinner we could cruise around in one of my classic American muscle cars, seeing how I know you like them so much. I've got a special one I'll pick you up in. And if we have fun we can do it another night, that's what I'd like to do."
"Ok, sounds like fun. What time would you like to pick me up?" Kagome asked.
"What time do you get off work?" Inuyasha asked.
"Four-thirty." Kagome replied.
"Ok, make it five-thirty. We'll make a six o' clock showing. Where should I pick you up?" Inuyasha started writing something down on one of their business cards.
"In front of the shop is fine. My apartment is close by, so it's no walk for me." Kagome said, making it obvious she didn't want Inuyasha knowing exactly where she lived.
"Ok then, see you at five-thirty in front of here. Here, this is my cell number in case you need to call me." Inuyasha handed her the business card and walked away as he waved at her.
Kagome watched him leave and smiled as she inspected the card with his neat hand writing with his name and number written on the back. She sighed in amusement as she reflected on that day's events leading up to that point. It had been years since Kagome went out on a date, and she was convinced she wasn't looking, but she accepted his proposal for a date. At the moment she was feeling like a stupid love struck school girl talking to her first crush. Hell, she even felt like giggling with joy.
"Well he was good lookin'." Miroku's voice made Kagome jump.
"Where you spying?" Kagome accused.
"No, just merely eavesdropping. You think Sango would approve of him?" Miroku asked in a teasing tone.
"Well, she's the one who told him where I worked after I left the bar today. He had introduced himself to us there before when I was talking about the Daytona. Turns out he like American muscle imports." Kagome said smiling. It wasn't every day she ran into someone who had her taste in cars. Kids these days in Tokyo were all about their high performance tuners.
"Well that's cool. What do you think he'll pick you up in?" Miroku questioned.
"He says he has a '70 Plymoth Superbird. Maybe he'll come in that." Kagome thought of how sweet that ride must look. She loved wing cars. She had to explain to Miroku once that the Charger Daytona and the '70 Superbird were considered 'wing cars' because of the massive 32 inch wing that stretched out beyond the hieght of the roof and they stood out because of the 'bumble stripe' that stretched from the front fender of the car and seemed to stretch up right into the wing which was always the same color of that bumble stripe, usually seen in black, red and even white, blue or yellow. Miroku never really took interest, he only listened because he knew how much Kagome loved that money pit Daytona in the back garage.
"Well it's nice that you found someone who'll enjoy yapping about American cars then." Miroku commented. Kagome shot him a dirty look, but laughed because it was true. "Does Naraku know you're going out on a date with a customer?" Miroku asked in all seriousness.
"No, and he wasn't a customer. He was a guy who stalked me and bought business so he could continue to flirt with me otherwise he wouldn't have come here for an oil change. It was obvious that his Durango was just a beater car. You should see the state of his air filter." Kagome corrected. "Besides, it's not like I'm taking off early, just my scheduled time." She finished.
"Sounds like you're going to have fun. Just don't let Naraku catch wind of your having 'fun'. You know he's allergic to the stuff." Miroku teased and they both laughed.
The phone then rang and Kagome answered "Miasma Mechanics. We do the job right. How can I…..Oh…yeah, no, no, I understand, it's ok…Tomorrow then? .. Not a problem, is it ok if I don't stay late then? … Yeah, I'll be off at 4:30. alright well, see ya' tomorrow then. Bye." Kagome let out a relieved sigh.
"Speaking of the devil?" Miroku asked.
"Yup. Naraku wants to bring in the Skyline. He wants me to suit her up for some drag races that start up in a couple of weeks." Kagome said in relief. "But at least I have an excuse to leave at my scheduled time without having to try and make excuses to leave."
"Sweet. It's been a while since I've seen the Nissan. I heard she's got a new pain job." Miroku said.
"Yeah. Pearl white. Miroku, doesn't that make you nervous? Driving a nice car with a fresh, clean paint job? I think that would be good incentive not to screw up, huh?" Kagome asked.
"Well when you put it that way. No pressure, not at all." Miroku laughed as did Kagome.
"Well, let's get these cars out so I can get out of here at 4:30." Kagome stated.
"Yeah wouldn't want you to miss your hot date now." Miroku teased again.
And the day was spent pretty uneventful, oil changes here and there, but otherwise it was a long, boring wait for the end of Kagome's shift so she could leave and get ready for her 'hot date'.
End of Chappy.
(A/N: Ok, I'm going to leave it there because I know some of you aren't car nuts like I am and don't want to read the drabbles I could just put out there about cars. If you like cars like I do, don't worry, there are more to come for you to imagine up and drool over. Lol. And yeah, characters are a bit out of character, but I wanted to make them see a little more 'real world'. Even the most hot headed of people we meet (like Inuyasha from the TV series) start out nice and mellow at first. So as it goes on, you'll get to know the characters a little more and I hope I've brought out the personalities that you and I love from the TV show.)