Chapter Three- A New Friend

Kagome ducked around a corner and sped off in a different direction. She had just seen Koga, alone, and had a feeling he was looking for her. He'll either want to take me to lunch or the park where he'll try to convince me to be his mate. The guy won't take no f an answer or even an excuse. He doesn't want to wait for the end of high school.

She plunged into the heart of a bustling part of downtown Tokyo, planning to hide in the crowd while seeing if someone caught her interest. She figured that if she befriended a guy, hung out with him, and got to know him, then Koga may back off in his pursuit of her. Either that or he'll kill him. Well, I won't let him. I'm not his mate, no matter what he says.

The smell of humans and nearby wolves flooded her nose as well as the typical smells of a city. Her eyes raked over the boys as she walked. None of them seemed special enough to her and she then thought of her classmates. One of them, Hojo, seemed a nice enough guy, if a little odd. His fascination with his family history and the time period his ancestors lived in would certainly impress Grandpa. Her mom would be impressed with his manners and he certainly wouldn't talk down to Sota. I could ask him out tomorrow. The movies on Saturday. Yeah, that'll…work. Kagome's thoughts trailed off as she saw the most unusual and beautiful boy she had ever seen.

He was dressed like any other boy, but he had long silver hair and amber-gray eyes that were captivating to her. A baseball cap topped his head which made his hair flow down his back. She could tell that his eyes were darting about, apparently looking for someone or something. Those eyes turned in her direction and locked onto her eyes. They stared at each other before the boy began making his way toward her. Whoa, she thought. He's a forward one and I…like it. I like guys who are confident about themselves and know what they want.

Inuyasha looked around at the humans around him, particularly the girls. Most were black-haired and plain of face. In short, they were nothing special. I want someone special. Father said there are different types of girls, but so far they all seem alike. His eyes began to dart about, roving over the boring humans. His eyes moved to his left and they landed on a girl with mid-back length black hair and brown eyes that spoke of strength and confidence despite looking at him with awe.

She's the one, he thought. Time to introduce myself. He began to wind his way to her, pleased that she hadn't moved. "Hi," he said once he was closer. He held out a hand. "I'm Inuyasha."

"Uh, Kagome," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. She then gave a warm smile. "Inuyasha. That's an interesting name."

"Thanks. Could we…go somewhere and talk?"

"Sure. There's a coffee shop just down that way." She pointed to a shop that was just behind him.

"So, Inuyasha," Kagome said several minutes later as she sipped some tea, its scent tickling her nose. "What school do you go to?"

"Uh, my dad taught me."

"Oh, home-schooled. That's cool. What about your mom? Does she teach you too?"

"She died just before I started being schooled." In truth, his mother died a hundred and fifty years ago when a werewolf drove a sharpened cross into her heart, moving so fast that she couldn't mount a counter attack. Tóga got revenge by slashing the wolf's throat open with a silver dagger.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. So, it's just you and your dad?"

"No. I've also got an older brother. What about your family?"

"Oh, it's just my mom, my grandpa, and my little brother. My dad died shortly after my brother was born. Car accident."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Tell me about your school."

"There's not much to say but I am on the volleyball team."

"Really? Is your team good?"

"Oh, yes. We're a few games away from being in a championship game."

"I guess that keeps you busy. I mean, with practice and all."

"Yeah, but I do relax on the weekend with the occasional Saturday game. I had one yesterday and we won."

Inuyasha nodded happily. "That's great. You plan on being a pro?"

"No, but it's a better after school activity than what my grandpa thought."

"Which was…?"

She rolled her eyes. "Train to be a priestess."

"Why would he think that?"

"A couple of reasons. My family has been shrine keepers for generations and grandpa happens to be a priest."

"Interesting." Inuyasha wasn't concerned about this part of Kagome's background. The type of religion that flourished in the past didn't deal with crosses. It was explorers who brought their beliefs to Japan and caused problems for his race who lived among the populace secretly for countless ages. Now they had to be careful about avoiding crosses.

Kagome felt flattered that Inuyasha was asking about her and not talking too much about himself. Most guys tended to control the conversation in order to brag about himself. It was likely they did that in order to impress her, but all it did was turn her off.

"Do you know what you want to do after you finish school?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking of attending college and I might just figure out what I want to be while I'm there."

Inuyasha nodded again. She won't need to go to college if she agrees to be my mate. The two of us will lead the clan and eventually rule all of Tokyo.

"Say, Inuyasha. Would you like to go to the movies Saturday?"

"The movies?" Inuyasha gave a big close-lipped smile. "Sure. What time?"

"How about two p.m.?"

"Two o' clock. It's a date." Inuyasha stood, took her hand, and kissed the back of it before leaving the shop.

Kagome just about swooned from the gesture. It was old-fashioned, yes, but it was sweet as well. I think I found a special guy and I hope to learn more about him as we spend more time together. She left the shop several minutes later, re-living the conversation and eagerly looking forward to next weekend.

"Kagome!" came the voice of Koga and she inwardly moaned before pasting a smile on her face as the werewolf came up beside her.

"Hi, Koga. Are you looking for members again?"

"Yeah," he drawled casually. "But none feel right…except for you."

"Right. Uh, Koga? I've been wondering. What do you have against the Red Fang? Why not just turn them?"

"Can't turn them. The Red Fang is a gang of vampires."

"Oh. Of course. A werewolf can't turn a vampire or vice versa."

"Yup. Of course, we can kill them as long as we don't get killed in the process."

"It's easy to spot one, isn't it? I mean their ears are pointed like ours."

"I wish it was that easy, but they blend in like we do."

"Well, see you later, Koga. I've got some errands to run," Kagome lied before leaving, now knowing that the Red Fang were vampires and why there was such a strong rivalry between them and the White Claw.