InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Scarlet Ties ❯ An Unforeseen Opportunity ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The Scarlet Ties

An Unforeseen Opportunity

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‘What a day!’ Kagome thought tiredly, crossing the Yoshida Central Library off her list of prospective employers. She’d sat through three interviews, filled out more applications than she could count and left resumes at many of the local businesses, grocery stores and restaurants, none of which seemed terribly promising.

It was extremely frustrating! Everyone she spoke with told her the same thing; she needed on the job experience. The miko rolled her eyes, folding the small sheet of paper and tossing it into her purse. ‘How can you ever get any experience if no one will hire you in the first place?!’

Sighing, she sat back and crossed her legs, attempting to enjoy the relative comfort of her window seat on the crowded bus. ‘Maybe,’ she thought, closing her eyes languidly, ‘tomorrow will be better.’

Around her, the light chatter of her fellow passengers began to fade away, as the monotonous sway of the vehicles’ gentle propulsion soothed her tired muscles. Job hunting, she found, was a job within itself and was both mentally and physically exhausting!

The miko had perhaps drifted into a light doze and didn’t notice when the bus slowed to a stop, allowing a new passenger to come aboard.

Sato, Koichi calmly made his way onto the vehicle and paid his fare. Momentarily he paused, tucking his wallet into the rear pocket of his dark trousers before turning to find a seat. His heart actually stuttered in his chest when he saw her…

Even on the crowded bus, his attention was drawn directly to her, the woman seated near the front and to his right. Dressed in a dark grey business suit and black pumps, she had her hair pulled up in a neat bun, though her face was beautifully framed by several stray locks.

She appeared to be sleeping, her head resting against the window, legs crossed, and her hands folded loosely over her purse. She was stunning. It was strange, he noted distantly, that he never recalled feeling this way before. And, as it turned out, the only empty seat on the entire bus, was the one right next to her. So, repressing the unfamiliar sense of apprehension, Koichi stiffened his spine, took a deep breath, and courageously approached.

“Good day.”

Startled, Kagome sprang up in her seat, placing a hand over her racing heart as she quickly took in her surroundings. She soon recalled that she was riding the bus and on her way home after a long and unsuccessful day of job hunting.

“My apologies,” a deep, masculine voice spoke out above her. “It was not my intention to frighten you.”

Slowly she looked to her right and up, following the crease of dark, neatly pressed slacks, to the black belt that encircled his waist, to the white, button down shirt that followed, and finally to an obscenely handsome face. Though his expression was very subtle, he seemed slightly amused, his hazel brown eyes staring down at her.

“Oh,” she sighed breathlessly, her cheeks catching fire as a smoldering blush washed over her. Between her sleep addled mind and the sudden emergence of this unfeasibly attractive man staring down at her, Kagome was off balance and scrambling to catch up to the world around her. Intellectually, she knew that it wasn’t polite to stare, yet she could not take her eyes away from his face.

It occurred to her, rather vaguely, that he was saying something, and at the last minute she realized, that it just might be polite to listen to him instead of staring up at his face like a slack-jawed ninny.

“… been a very long day. I hope you don’t mind if I sit here beside you. It seems to be the last available seat on the bus.”

“Oh!” she said again, this time managing to gather her wits. “Of course!” she moved a little closer to the window, allowing him a bit more room. As he lowered himself to the seat, she noticed his silky, pitch black hair. Parted down the center and slightly uneven in the front, the dark tresses were gathered in a neatly trimmed ponytail at the base of his neck, the remaining strands coming to rest just beyond his shoulders.

Once seated, he turned to look at her, and the miko quickly looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said, still feeling a little flustered. “I’m normally not so impolite. Had I noticed you sooner, I would have offered you the seat right away.” She blushed again, hoping her words didn’t sound too brazen.

“Do not concern yourself,” he remarked evenly, “if there is any blame to be had it is mine. I seem to have startled you. You appeared to be… meditating?”

Kagome nearly choked on an incredulous laugh. “As if!” she said, a little louder than she’d intended. “I guess I just dozed off. It’s been a really long day,” she admitted, stretching her legs beneath the seat in front of her.

“Work,” he nodded perceptively, “that, I can certainly understand. Do you mind if I ask, what is it you do?”

He turned those piercing hazel eyes on her again, and Kagome couldn’t help but to shy away, averting her gaze to the balding head of the man seated in front of her. “Nothing for the moment.” she spoke quietly. “I’m actually looking for a job.”

“Hn,” he murmured, bringing a hand up to thoughtfully stroke his chin. “How interesting.”

She shot a glance at him from the corner of her eyes, attempting and failing to determine whether there was any condescension in his voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she wanted to know, slightly offended but trying not to be rude.

“It just so happens that I know of a museum that is currently in need of a salesclerk.”

“Oh,” the miko perked up, her edginess regressing a little. “Wait, a salesclerk? In a museum? I thought…”

“The gift shop.” he clarified.

“Ah,” she nodded her understanding, “Well that’d be great, but I’ve never done anything like that before. Do you…”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “As I understand it, the manager is offering training to whomever she selects for the position.”

“That’s… that’s great” she said, not quite hiding the excitement in her voice. “Where is it?” she asked, retrieving a pen and piece of paper from her bag. “I hope they haven’t already filled the position, but if nothing else I can at least go and fill out an application.”

To her surprise, Koichi took the implements from her hands, sat the paper on his knee, and began recording the information. Eagerly, she tried to look over his shoulder and see what he was writing, but soon realized that she couldn’t do so without leaning over him in an extremely inappropriate manner. Deciding to be patient, she again looked out the window, noting that she was back in her own neighborhood. It would be time to get off the bus pretty soon.

Koichi regained her attention by handing the pen and paper back to her, his neat handwriting standing out in blue ink against the white paper. There was an address and the name of the museum: The Shuiro International History Museum. And, at the bottom of the page there was a name and phone number.

“Koichi Sato,” the miko said quietly, a slight crease marring her brow. She looked back up at him to see that he was now extending his hand. Habit overtook her clouded mine and she extended hers as well. “H-Higurashi,” she said, “I’m Higurashi, Kagome.” she hesitated before adding. “We’re almost at my stop. It… was nice meeting you, Koichi-san, and thank you for the information.”

She tried to retrieve her hand, but Koichi did not immediately let her go. “You are most welcome Kagome-san, and the pleasure was entirely mine.”

Captured in his piercing gaze, Kagome promptly forgot to breathe. There was… something about this man, something she just couldn’t put her finger on. Everything from those piercing eyes, to the voice that could melt an arctic tundra, to the powerful, yet gentle touch of his hands, it called to her, drew her in like a moth to the flames. It was thrilling, yet ever so dangerous all the while. She hardly knew what to make of it, what to make of him.

Gradually, Koichi released her hand as the bus slowed to a halt. “I believe this is your stop, Kagome-san. I am hopeful you will enjoy the rest of your day.”

Blushing again for reasons she dared not question, the miko offered a distracted nod before perilously rising to her feet. “Yes,” she said breathlessly, grabbing onto the handrail for support. “Well, thanks again.”

“Indeed,” he intoned airily, as if he hadn’t all but seduced her with his very presence. “Feel free to call me anytime if you are in need of directions.”

“What?”

“Directions…? To the museum?”

“Oh right!” she said, stepping aside to let another passenger off the bus. “I’ll, umm… I’ll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Koichi-san.” and with that she quickly turned away, making her way toward the exit. And, just as she was passing through the door, she thought she heard him speak to her one last time.

“Until we meet again, Kagome...”

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The late night hours found a troubled Kagome lying awake in her childhood bed. Though her room was quiet and mostly dark, her mind was troubled and racing. No matter what she did, she couldn’t stop thinking about the handsome stranger she’d met earlier in the day.

‘Koichi Sato,’ her mind echoed softly.

She frowned. He was just so… well, honestly she didn’t know how to put words to what he was, but with just a glance, just a few simple words, he was able to draw her in so completely, it was almost frightening. Sure, he was physically attractive and seemingly polite, but it was so much more than that.

He seemed, almost familiar somehow.

It was both slightly comforting, and entirely disconcerting at the same time. What was interesting about the whole thing, was that it wasn’t really his looks that made him seem so familiar, it was something else, something deeper. His entire being spoke to her of… something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Maybe, she pondered doubtfully, she’d met him somewhere before. And had he really been flirting with her? It seemed unlikely that such an attractive man wouldn’t already be taken, but she certainly hadn’t noticed a wedding band on his fin--

Gasping, the miko was suddenly aware of something else she hadn’t noticed.

“The red ties…” she muttered softly, scanning her mind for memories. Oddly, she didn’t remember seeing one on him, and she couldn’t help but to wonder what that meant. Had she simply not been paying attention? That was possible. The threads were something she’d gotten used to seeing everyday and on everyone; even little children and babies.

Since discovering this new ability however, Kagome had found, through experimenting with her powers, that she could mute their appearance to such a degree, that they were sometimes barely visible. After all, it was rather annoying seeing red strands all over the place. But even muted, the threads were never entirely gone. In fact, she couldn’t recall ever having met a person on whom no thread was visible at all! Even people who’s soul mates had passed on still had their ties attached to them. In those cases though, the threads tapered off on the ends and seem to fade away.

Initially she had been extremely confused by this, because she had always been told that the threads could never be broken. But, in observing the ties still connected to her mother and grandpa, she noticed that the threads weren’t really broken, instead they seemed to fade away, trailing beyond this plane of existence, far beyond even what her miko eyes could see.

As for her own thread, she never could see the other end of it. Not that hers tapered off like Mom’s and Grandpa’s did. No, hers seemed to simply be connected to someone who was very far away from her. ‘Hopefully,’ she thought, a frown creasing her brow, ‘he’ll stay there! Wherever he is!’ Whose to say they had to meet in this lifetime anyway? Perhaps in her next life she’d be more up to it, but after everything that had happened, Kagome just wasn’t interested in love, or fate, or even handsome strangers on a bus, no matter how helpful he turned out to be.

Frustrated, the miko sighed and rolled over in her bed, brushing aside her meandering thoughts.

‘He was nice and all,’ she thought, closing her eyes, ‘but I hope I never see him again.’

And, as she finally began to drift off, a whispered utterance skittered across the surface of her jaded mind:

‘Until we meet again, Kagome…’

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