Coffee Shop Girl by *A-Kay*

Part One

Author's Note: I was bored. Really really bored and had nothing else better to do... well, I did for example: chores, could have tried writing on other stories, or going to sleep, but no. I didn't wish to do any of those. Chores suck, others stories take real thought, and sleep... well I am kinda sleepy, I just don't feel like it right now. I can sleep my life away tomorrow. Not like this will be a chapter fic....I don't think....

He had seen her before. Several times in fact, for she worked in his favorite coffee shop. Though he managed to ignore the girl before, today seemed to be proving rather difficult. Not because he was attracted to her in any way. She really was not his type she was too timid, nice, and let us not forget accident prone. Still, today was different. He has never seen her like this before. In a heap on the floor covered in three different flavors of coffee and a jelly doughnut smashed against her left pants leg.

As the other guests laughed at her misfortune, he looked down upon her curiously. Wondering how she would recover from this embarrassing scene. He was torn, between actually helping her up or turning back to his laptop, ignoring her as he always did. Choosing the latter he faced the screen and began typing away.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the girl stand up cautiously peeling the doughnut from her leg and throwing it onto the round tray on the floor. He could hear her sigh before mumbling, "That is so coming out of my check."

"Higurashi!" a loud voice called out angrily and the girl cursed. Looking at her out the corner of his eye he saw a fat, balding, old man approach the mocha latte, French vanilla cappuccino, and caramel iced coffee-covered girl.

"Kaito I . . . " she started, but was cut off by the male who was yelling at her furthermore adding onto the girl's embarrassment. "Yes, sir." She answered when the one by the name of Kaito gave her specific instructions on how to clean the mess she made. With whatever dignity she had left she walked toward the back as the manager apologized to the guests and went to remake the order on the floor.

Bringing his concentration back to the laptop in front of him, he closed the file he was currently working on only to open a new one. Sometimes he had to wonder why he even comes to this place. He didn't even like coffee. In fact he despised the ridiculous caffeinated drink that stained one's teeth every time they drink it. He had to admit, secretly and of course only to himself that the aroma was quite pleasing. Other than that, the drink served no purpose for him.

Then he looked out the window. Ah, yes. The scenery is what had him coming back. Through the window next to the table he always occupied was a wonderful view of the ocean. Yes, it was this scenery that kept him coming back to the coffee shop to do what it was he enjoyed doing.

The girl had finally come back, hair pulled into a high ponytail. She no longer wore the tan coffee shop shirt with the shop's logo. Instead she wore a white tank top with the same logo. She made haste with cleaning and to him it seemed that she was a bit distracted. It took her all of twenty minutes to finish. When she did, she stood and looked over at him. He hadn't realized he was watching her until he heard her mumble an apology and going off to the back again.

Silently he closed his laptop, placing it back into the bag before getting up and leaving the shop for the day. Now, he had other things to tend to. Perhaps tomorrow he'll stay until the sun sets.

For the past week she was not the happiest person in the world. She had been having issues with her boyfriend of two almost three years. They had known each other since high school and were even high school sweethearts. When they graduated he and she both decided, she would move in with him because they just knew they were going to be together forever and because Kagome wanted to prove to her mother that she was growing up.

Ever since that Monday in the coffee shop things just seemed to get worse and this rainy Saturday was no exception. She and her boyfriend Houjo were walking down the street. More like he was walking . . . rather fast and she was speed walking to keep up. "Houjo!" she called, but he ignored her. When she finally caught up with him, she grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her. "What is going on?

He looked at her sadly and sighed in frustration, but she continued to hold on to his arm refusing to let go until he answered her. Rolling his eyes at no one in particular, he shrugged out of her grasp. "Kagome, this isn't working."

"What's not working?" She asked clearly confused. She had no idea what he was talking about.

"Us. We're not working. You're going to have to move out. Soon." He snapped and her eyes widened in shock. Mind running a mile a second as she processed his words. She didn't just hear that. Did she?

Shaking her head and blinking she looked at him and laughed as if it was a joke. "You're playing." She said, but noticed quite sadly that he was not laughing with her. "Right?"

"No. You've got to go." He answered.

"Go where!?" she snapped at him.

She watched him shrug his shoulders, "I don't know. Anywhere for all I care. If you want, I'll call your mom and tell her you'll be there tonight. Well, I got to go. See you around." He said before walking past her. She was too shocked to do anything. What hurts the most was when she turned around to see Houjo walk up and kiss another girl before entering a restaurant.

The words 'ATTACK' kept flashing in her head, but her mother always taught her not to fight over a man that treats you like crap. The thing is Houjo was never like this. He was always sweet and kind. Then . . . what changed? Was it she? Wiping the tears from her eyes she began to run across the street as the cold rain pounded her numbing her skin and drenching her clothes.

There was a loud horn blowing. She turned to look in the direction of the noise to see a black Mercedes coming to a screeching halt mere inches from her. Realizing just how close that was she passed out in a dirty puddle in the middle of the street. She could hear shouts and all she could think as her eyes closed was this just wasn't her week.

He entered his living room looking at the sniffling girl on his black leather couch dressed in his Tokyo U sweatshirt and a pair of his gym shorts. When she looked up at him he handed her a blanket to keep her warm and she took it with thanks.

He recognized the familiar stranger and wondered what would possess her to run out in front of a car. Was she trying to kill herself or was she really not paying attention? Either way the girl was really accident prone, she could most definitely be hazardous to herself and to others.

"I can't believe he dumped me." He heard her say as she wrapped up tightly in the blanket. So that was it? Human women seemed to all be the same. Dependent on a male and as soon as that male breaks it off the female acts as if her world is over. Pathetic. He went back for maybe the third time in the past fifteen minutes over to the dryer to see how much longer it would be before her clothes dried. Apparently quite some time, considering he just put them in fifteen minutes ago.

Sighing he went to his kitchen and made a cup of tea. When he was done, he handed her a cup receiving yet another thanks before he moved over to his computer desk on the other end of the room. He decided to tune out the soft sniffles from the girl, ignoring the smell of her tears on the air. It was a bit unnerving.

He was trying to get some work done on his laptop, but her emotions were distracting. He found himself just staring at the screen, but then after twenty minutes he was able to type. The room was silent and he had completely forgotten about the girl. That is until the end of cycle signal went off gaining his attention immediately. Looking over at his sofa he noticed the girl sleeping.

Standing up from his computer desk, he moved over to her, "You. Girl. Your clothes are done. Get dress and leave. I have work I must complete."

She opened her eyes and squinted. "I thought it was just a bad dream." She mumbled before stretching and standing up. She folded his blanket back up and reached it to him.

"Leave it. Follow me." He said before walking off. Nodding her head she placed the blanket back on the sofa and followed him over to the washer and dryer set. He opened the door and waited for her to take them out herself. "You know where the bathroom is."

She nodded, "Yes, thanks. For everything." she spoke softly before going into the bathroom to change into her clothes. Once that was done, he handed her, her cell phone and saw her out of the three story building. She thanked him again before he closed the door leaving her to her fate. Going back to his apartment, he got back to work. So much to catch up on.

She had no place to go when she left that apartment other than her mother's and she really didn't want to go there. So she told Houjo to just put her things in storage somewhere. It was the least he could do since he put her out on the spot. Sango had heard from her boyfriend Miroku, who was one of Houjo's best friends about what happened and offered for her friend to stay with her until she found an apartment.

She of course agreed, but hadn't wasted any time in apartment hunting, determined not to depend on anyone else the way she did with Houjo. She was going to either work double shifts at the coffee shop or get another job in order to pay rent and tuition. Her life had just gotten complicated. It was simple when she was living with Houjo because all she really had to worry about was tuition and putting food in the house. Everything else Houjo took care of.

Shaking her head while pep talking herself into forgetting about the jerk. She had made several calls and made many appointments. The first two apartments she saw were crappy hell-holes that just wasn't worth the money. The third and final choice was a familiar building she had seen before. In fact she had been inside of it. She pressed the buzzer for the building manager. "Yes?" a baritone voice asked.

"Um, I'm Higurashi, Kagome. I'm here to see the available apartment." She spoke into the receiver.

"Very well." There was another buzzing noise before she was able to pull the door open. Walking up the stairs she looked down at the ad and read the apartment number. '2C' meaning it was on the second floor. She turned the corner and instead of going onto the next set of stairs she continued down the hall until she got to the room she was here to see. She knocked on the door. As she waited, she looked around taking in the earthy tone colors on the wall. Looking down she noticed the wooden floor was freshly polished, so far this place was seeming very nice.

The door opened and revealed a familiar face. She stared shocked before looking down at the ad. It said the building was owned by a... "Taisho, Sesshomaru?"

"Higurashi, Kagome." He said before stepping to the side. "Do come in."

She stepped in and stuffed the paper in her purse as he took her on a tour of the apartment. It was a one bedroom, one bath, full kitchen, living area, and a closet most women would kill for. She quickly fell in love with it and just knew she would get it before, "What is your budget Higurashi?"

Her attention snapped in his direction with wide eyes. She laughed nervously, "Budget?"

"How much are you willing to spend?" he asked and she bit her bottom lip in thought.

"Actually . . . " she started to give him a ridiculously low number for an insanely expensive apartment. She tried to read his thoughts by his expression, but it was a lost cause. He turned and walked to the door.

"You will not afford this apartment. I can recommend something in your price range." He said and she watched as he motioned for her to follow him. Feeling dejected she followed him out of the beautiful apartment that seemed like it was made just for her. Apparently not.

He couldn't believe that the coffee shop girl really thought she could afford an apartment in his building. He could see how desperate the girl was so he decided to bring her to another building. One that he was sure she could probably afford. He pulled up in front of a four-story building and got out. She followed his lead and walked up to the doors. Pulling out his keys he unlocked the door before entering.

"... your rent on time or else your ass is on the streets and you'll find yourself doing favors for your next meal! End of the month asshole!" came a loud yell.

"Inuyasha." Said male looked behind him at the two people behind him.

"What the hell ya doing here? Who the hell is she?" the one called Inuyasha asked in a very rude tone.

Sesshomaru frowned, "Higurashi, Kagome this is Taisho, Inuyasha. He owns this building. Inuyasha this is your new Tenant."

"Like hell she is! I don't have no room! Let her move into your building." Inuyasha argued, but Sesshomaru ignored him before moving to enter Inuyasha's apartment. "Get out of there asshole!" he shouted following Sesshomaru, but before he could fully into his apartment he had to back up as his older brother came out dangling a set of keys in front of his face.

"Little brother, you are not a very good liar." Sesshomaru said.

"What the hell does it matter to you?" he asked his brother before switching his glance to Kagome. "You fucking him or something?"

"No!" she shouted, but before she could explain she was just looking for an apartment she watched as Sesshomaru threw Inuyasha into a wall further down the long hallway. He looked back at her, her eyes wide in shock, and instructed her to follow him upstairs.

He unlocked the door to the apartment and handed her the keys. "When he recovers, he will tell you how much his rent is and when it is due." He said then left her to her own confused thoughts, unsure of what just happened.

As he continued down the stairs, he glared at his younger brother before leaving the building.

It's been a month, and Inuyasha wasn't as bad as he seemed that first time they met. In fact he was quite pleasant to be around. He kinda reminded her of an older brother that she didn't have. Yet he was just as annoying at times as her younger brother, if not more. Sometimes they even bicker and some of the neighbors would think they have some sort of relationship going on, but that wasn't the case. She was having a little trouble trusting the male species with her heart again.

Sesshomaru was right. She could afford this apartment. She knew Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were brothers and these buildings were left to them by their father. Neither building was rundown. They both were very well kept despite outside appearances. The inside was amazing. Sesshomaru's building was in a more upper class neighborhood. Though he only had three floors with three rooms on each floor of his building, the rooms were huge and well worth the money that she obviously didn't have. On the other hand Inuyasha's four story building held four rooms on each floor. Only reason his apartments were affordable was because the apartments were small studio apartments, big enough to fit one comfortably. A nice little pad for first timers and college students, she was both.

She stayed in '4A' in Inuyasha's building. She had her things taken out of storage and placed in the apartment. Sango and Miroku had helped out a lot during her time of need and so she treated them both to dinner on her first night in her new apartment. They enjoyed themselves wholeheartedly getting stuffed off her homemade meal.

She was off from work today she noted as she looked at her calendar. Today would have been her third year anniversary with Houjo. Sighing she remembered she had requested this day off in advance with big plans for this night. All of that could be shot to hell now. Rising from her bed she got dressed grabbed here keys and purse then left the apartment. She needed drinks. Lots and lots of drinks.

When she returned, she saw a very stumped Inuyasha sitting on the stairs with his head in his hands. "What's got you bummed?" she asked.

He looked up at her, "Girlfriend problems. Why are you women so damn complicated?"

"We're complicated? You men are worse than us!" she yelled at him and he narrowed his eyes at her. Huffing she lifted the cases in her hands, "Care for a drink?"

He smiled, "Yeah, why not?" he agreed before taking the cases from her and bringing them upstairs. "Women." He mumbled, but she heard him.

"Men." She said in a bitter tone.

"They suck." They both said at the same time before entering her apartment.

He had come to Inuyasha's building to check up on things as he always did even before the girl moved in a month ago. He knocked on Inuyasha's door, but no answer. One of the tenants, Kagura walked down the stairs. "He's upstairs with that girl." She said before leaving the building. From the way she was dressed it seemed like she was on her way to work.

A bit aggravated now that he has to climb the stairs, he sighed, taking step by step before reaching the fourth floor. He could hear laughter and music coming from Kagome's apartment and he narrowed his eyes at the number on the door before knocking. When the door opened he was greeted by a very drunk Inuyasha. Peeking into the apartment he saw Kagome stretched out on the sofa with her hand clutched around a beer bottle. "It'ssss not wut it looksss like." Inuyasha slurred drunkenly. "We were jussst talkin' n havin' a few drinksss."

"I suggest you go sleep this off before you start collecting tomorrow or else several of your tenants will get over on you." Sesshomaru advised.

"You sssound asss if you cu-care." Inuyasha smirked before wagging his eyebrows. "Wut? You 'fraid that I'll bone 'er before you do?"

Sesshomaru glared at his younger brother, torn between throwing him down the stairs or over the banister. Surely over the banister will land him on the first floor quicker successfully breaking a few bones and limbs, but that would do no good. It's not as if what Inuyasha's drunken mind stated was true anyway. He pulled his sibling from out of the apartment before he himself entered and closed the door. He had been doing well ignoring her, but at this moment he couldn't just bring himself to do so for some reason. She was wasted and judging from the amount of bottles on her side of the table it seemed she drank a lot more than Inuyasha.

Reaching down he tried to pull the bottle from her grasp. "Stop that, get your own." She mumbled sleepily holding onto the bottle tight. He pulled again this time successfully getting it out of her grasp. Taking her arm he pulled her up into a sitting position and she fought to keep her eyes open. Sleep wanted to consume her badly.

"Get up." He ordered and she shook her head telling him to go away. He tried to help her to her feet. Something he never did for anyone and she pushed him away.

"I don't need your help!" she snapped. This attitude came out of nowhere and he was slightly taken aback. Perhaps she finally lost her mind? She sighed, "I don't need your help."

"You are drunk."

"You are a genius." Narrowing his eyes at her, he tried to control his growing temper. She rolled her eyes at him. "Men. Males. You all are the same. You want the girl to always depend on you. To lean on you. To want you. To trust you. So you can stomp on her heart. Well not this time. I won't fall for your charms. Why don't you just go away? I don't need your help. I never asked you for your help. Just go away and leave me alone!"

Yes, she had finally lost her mind. He didn't bother commenting back. She was obviously talking out of her head and placing another's face on his own in the drunken state she was in. He would not waste any more time here. He will leave and go back to ignoring her once again. So he left as she sat on her couch crying.

She felt like shit and she deserved it. Her eyes were slightly puffy her brain felt like Jell-O... she felt like shit. The worst part was she remembered why she felt this way. Wasn't getting drunk suppose to make you forget? She felt even lower than shit when she remembered everything she told Sesshomaru last night. The guy was just trying to help. She sighed as she clocked into work. Sango commented on how she looked like hell, but she ignored her friend and put on her apron readying herself to work. Waiting her section of tables she recognized some regulars and him.

She wanted so badly to go over and apologize, but would he accept it? Would he . . . ? Only one way to find out. After bringing an order to a table she placed their bill next to them before making her way over to his usual spot. She sat across from him and waited for him to look up from his laptop. He didn't. The door to the coffee shop chimed, but she didn't look up to see if the customer was staying or getting something to go. "Sesshomaru I . . . "

"Higurashi!" her boss shouted her name and she sighed. Looking up at him again, she frowned. He still didn't acknowledge her. "Higurashi now!"

"I'm coming." She said as she stood up and made her way to the counter to see what her boss wanted.

"Stop harassing the customers and get to work. Table eight, now." She nodded to Kaito before turning and going to the table he mentioned. Once there she froze. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Oh, hi Kagome. I didn't know you worked here. Nice seeing you again." The guy said with an evil smirk on his face. "Kari, this is my old friend Kagome." He introduced them.

"An old friend?" she asked with a raised brow. Sure he could call it old friends if he wants. If by old friends he meant the girl who was sleeping with him for two years and living with for a year and a half, then so be it. Houjo has just dropped to an all time low. Of course he knew she worked here. He picked her up several times before.

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome." The girl Kari said, smiling at her. "Um, I would like a medium French vanilla cappuccino."

"I'd like a cup of coffee. Two cremes three sugars." He said and she nodded before walking off to get their order.

At the counter she saw Sango glaring at the pair, but she told her friend to ignore them. Sango had a temper and it was no secret she hated Houjo for the way he treated Kagome, but what he was doing now was just wrong. Kagome went back to bring the order and the girl Kari was gone. Probably to use the restroom for a minute.

"So . . . " he started conversationally. "Last night would have been three years. What did you do?"

She looked at him not wanting to share that she got wasted with her landlord and went off on a guy that didn't even deserve her anger. Speaking of him, she looked up and saw that he was still sitting at the table. She really needed to apologize. Just as she was about to walk away Houjo's voice stopped her. "So you did nothing. Sad for you. To celebrate Kari and I had a beautiful candle light dinner on the beach then went home for some very steamy love making. You remember how that goes right?"

She glared at him, but forced a smile. "Yes, I remember. Too bad for you I was just pretending. You're really not all that good." She said angrily before pouring both hot beverages over his head. "See you around my old friend" she said before walking out of the coffee shop ripping her apron from her body and throwing it to the ground.

She hadn't come into work three days straight. He noticed, but didn't bother going check on her. She was not his concern and it was none of his business. He really didn't care. If anything, he was curious. He wondered if she lost her job or not. He was out in a local park getting a nice run in. Yes, he did exercise when the opportunity was given. He had to keep fit some way. As he jogged along the trail, he saw her. She was dressed in baggy blue gym shorts clearly for a male and a white sports bra with white tennis. There was a male standing next to her wearing a pair of navy blue sweat pants and gray muscle shirt.

He could tell by the similar features they held they were related. The two of them were sweaty and he found himself taking in more of her body than he would have liked to. He noticed the ring piercing her navel and how toned her abs were. Something he would have never seen beyond her work uniform. She was pretty fit for someone so clumsy.

He must have been staring and not notice it because once again when he finally realized it she was looking at him. She told the male beside her something before running over to him. "Hello." She smiled. He said nothing. "Look, I've been meaning to apologize to you. For the other night. I was angry at Houjo and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm really sorry, and I really do thank you for your help. I hope you forgive me."

He nodded to her. "I must go. I have an appointment to keep."

"Do you at least forgive me?" she asked and he looked at her.

"Does it matter if I do or not?"

She nodded. "Yes, it does. It's very hard for me to deal with knowing that somewhere out there someone is angry at me for my stupidity and hostility toward them when they didn't even deserve it. It eats away at me. I've called out of work the past three days because I was afraid of facing you after that scene in the coffee shop."

"You were afraid of facing me?" she nodded. He was confused. The girl had fallen in the middle of the shop covered in coffee and jelly doughnut. Then forced to get on hands and knees to clean the mess all the while avoiding broken glass. Still managing to go to work the next day. Yet, just because she poured hot coffee over a man's head, that clearly deserved it she called out. One would think it to be the other way around. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know . . . I just kinda . . . " she trailed off and backed away a little bit afraid of getting too close. "I should let you go. Good day Sesshomaru." He watched as she ran back to the young man before he too turned and walked away. Strange girl.

She sat on a stool at the register waiting for a customer to come in. After 'The Houjo Incident' she was placed on register. It didn't matter to her really. She was just happy that she hadn't lost her job. Today was a slow day so she took the spare time she had to study a few notes for her upcoming exam. The door chimes sounded and she looked up and in he came. She didn't want to seem like she was actually excited about seeing him so she decided to discreetly watch him through her bangs as he made his way to his usual table.

She watched as Sango went over to him to take his order. How much she wished it was herself so she would at least have some reason to talk to him. Then again, when did she get to the point that she wanted to be around him? When did she grow so fascinated with this male that he seemed to warp himself into her mind at any given moment. Seriously, she barely knew the man. On some occasions he even proved to be a jerk, but he seemed to have this strange way of showing kindness without actually letting it be known.

She sighed. He was indeed a mystery. "Why are you staring at him like that?" a voice from behind startled her and she looked up to see her friend.

"Staring? Who me? At whom?" she stumbled, afraid she had been found out as she flipped through a couple of pages in her textbook.

Sango chuckled, "You've been caught, dear friend. I've seen the way you look at him. Seriously, do you even know the guy?"

"Well . . . yeah, kinda-sorta." Kagome answered. "His brother is my landlord." Sango lifted her brow in question. Sure she had met Inuyasha, but she had no idea he had a brother let alone it was he. "It's kind of a long story."

"And you better explain every bit of it missy. I'll be back." She said before making her way back over to the table with his order of a bottled water and blueberry muffin. Kagome looked over at him, he once again had his trusty laptop. She wondered exactly what was it he typed on that thing? "Ok. Spill."

Sighing again in defeat Kagome closed her book and looked to her side and explained everything to Sango since she knew she would most likely not let it die. She told her of how she blindly ran out into the street, almost getting hit by his car and passed out in the middle of the street, him helping her find an apartment, her drunken outburst to him, and finally her apology. It didn't take Sango long to figure it out. Kagome was most likely attracted to this guy.

The door chimes sounded again. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

"Are you kidding? Kaito would have my head. I'm already on strike two. One more and I'm fired." Kagome huffed as she watched the woman dressed in a sleek black pant suit approach his table with a smile and she watched in curiosity. "Besides, he already has company." She added somewhat sadly.

Sango looked at the table and saw the woman and the man of Kagome's current attraction chatting away . . . well mostly she was chatting away he was merely listening and nodding only adding a comment or two every now and then. "Yes, how may I serve you today?" she heard Kagome say finally noticing that more customers had come in.

"I'll talk to you later, Kagome. Let's do lunch." Sango smiled before going around the bar to wait more tables.

Lunch had come and gone and now was time for them to close up shop. Kagome was helping Sango and another waitress wipe down tables when she came to his usual seat. He had left twenty minutes before closing time and she hadn't spoken a word to him. She began wiping the table when she dropped her towel. Reaching down she picked it up and spotted something under the table. She reached for it and brought it closer so she could get a better look. It was a phone. His phone. He must have dropped it. Perhaps she should put it in lost and found, but from what she could see he had already missed fifteen calls. It could be important.

"What's that?" Sango asked as she came up to her.

"He dropped his phone. Should I put it in lost and found?" she asked her best friend.

"No, bring it to him. This could be your opportunity to get to know him." Her friend smiled.

Kagome laughed, "He hardly seem like the conversation type."

"You never know Kagome. You never know." The two of them went to the back to clock out as the other waitress followed behind. They grabbed their things and started for the door. This was a tiring day, and since she still had his phone in her possession perhaps she would bring it to him. He seemed like the business type. After all he did own his own apartment building.

.+.+.+.

A/N: No this is not the end... it was just getting a tad bit too long. So it would be two parts Don't know when that other part will be out because well this is just a short fun fic I started when I had nothing else... well I did have something else to do, but just chose not to. Yes, I'm a lazy bum at times. Haha! I don't even know if I will continue with this. I might take it down. This is one of my "When Boredom Strikes" moments. So uh... yeah, bye bye.