Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to Takahashi-san.
Warnings: Cursing, mention of brothels.
Summary: Prince Inuyasha wasn't expecting to run into a Seer when he snuck out of the castle to get some fresh air, but when he does, he finds his life might take on a rather interesting change.

Chance Meeting
by: Kagome-reincarnation

When he'd decided to take a stroll through the city that surrounded his family's castle, he hadn't been anticipating the fact that he might get caught. Despite the commoner clothing he wore, he'd looked too clean, his friend Miroku informed him, and his strides had been too confident. Despite the fact that he'd gotten the clothing right, they'd been out of place when compared to the commoner filth that so easily contaminated royal blood.

"You really shouldn't be near them," his friend had informed him. "You'll either lose your temper and kill someone we could be taxing or you'll get some odd disease or the other."

Inuyasha had only rolled his eyes at him. "As if you have the right to say anything. Who is it that the so-called commoner filth calls upon when you're drunk off your feet or too tired to leave some brothel or the other?"

Miroku grinned sheepishly at him. "Okay, okay. They're not really all that bad, but your parents would kill me if they knew I was telling you that."

"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed. "Who cares about them?" He paused, glancing at his friend's own clothing, and raised an eyebrow. Miroku was garbed in the cloth of the religious as opposed to the wearing the typical bright colors with the Royal Insignia that showed that he served one of the country's princes.

"Where were you planning on going?" he asked mockingly. "Were you going to commit yourself to the brotherhood?"

Miroku looked appalled at the words, staring at Inuyasha as though he'd gone mad. "To the brotherhood? May the Gods have mercy on my soul." He made the gestures that were designed to sweep evil from one's person. "I'm heading off to the delightful red light district where my beloved Sango awaits me."

At the familiar name, Inuyasha frowned, trying to recall when he'd heard his friend mentioning her. "She's the one that you've been sticking with for the past two weeks, isn't she?"

Miroku nodded seriously. "She's very beautiful, but hasn't been fitting in with the other girls."

The prince nodded. He remembered Miroku had mentioned that the girl was new. "I don't think it's her fault," he said dryly. "You took her under your wing as soon as she was initiated into the world. It's no wonder they're jealous."

His friend nodded, "Yes, I suppose you're right… But I only need another two hundred gold coins before I can rescue her from the brothel."

Surprised, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his companion, but said nothing. Instead, he pulled his friend into one of the many wagons that were heading out of the castle and into the city. The wagon was empty but for himself, his friend, and the driver, whom they both knew. Hachi had been a good friend to them and wouldn't spill any of their secrets. After greeting him, they'd settled into the furthest seats to the back.

"You should be more careful about what you say within the castle," Inuyasha said finally. "The walls have ears."

Miroku winced at his mistake, having been a bit puzzled by his friend's reaction to his words. "Thanks," he grinned at him. "But I can't help myself. Sango's a fresh breathe of air after an eternity locked away. She's a butterfly among spiders and I can't help but want to help her."

"You're going to buy her?" he asked, rolling his eyes at Miroku's sappy words. "I've never seen you like this before."

"I'd never met Sango before," Miroku said to him seriously. "And yes, I am. As soon as I'm able."

A frown came to the prince's face. "What are you going to do? Will they even let you pull something like that?"

Miroku shook his head at him, his expression solemn. "I've managed to get Sango a job with Kaede. No one else needs to know."

Inuyasha stared in shock at his friend's words. Miroku had always obeyed his family's words and wishes on the surface, no matter how his spirit had churned beneath the still waters of his behavior. And now he was risking all of that on a brothel wench he'd only met two weeks ago? And he wasn't even going to keep her after he bought her. Instead he'd braved the fierce scowls of the disapproving head herbalist of the castle to get her one of the most secure jobs within the castle itself.

No one would go against Kaede if only because of her advanced age and her close relationship with his parents.

"You're really fallen for her," Inuyasha said in awe. Then, with a sigh, he finally nodded. "I'd like to meet her sometime if I can."

Miroku smiled at him. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'll be able to buy her tomorrow. Will you come with me to escort her back to the castle?"

Inuyasha quickly went over his schedule in his head before nodding to his longtime friend. "Yeah, I'll come. What time?"

Ten minutes and a rather long discussion on horse races later, they were in the midst of the city. Miroku thanked Hachi as Inuyasha made his way towards the city square, knowing he'd probably run into his friend later on. He'd figured that it was likely the best of places to start his walk, not that it mattered. He knew the city inside and out and wouldn't get lost no matter where he went. Except for maybe the red light district. He'd only been there once or twice accompanying his friend, but he'd never had the need, much less the want, to make use of the many services there.

He was surprised to see a small crowd of people clustered around the center fountain when the square entered his line of vision. While people were frequently moving about and sometimes listening curiously to the charlatans and other advertisers there, it was rare that such a crowd gathered in such a central location without some sort of event having been planned.

Curious, Inuyasha made his way towards the crowd. He gathered from the murmurings that something had happened – but what?

Frustrated with his lack of information, he tapped a nearby man on the shoulder, knowing full well his disguise would allow him to blend in.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me what's happening here?" he asked without preamble.

The man had only nodded, spitting on the ground. "They've found one o' them stinkin' chil'ren."

Inuyasha was puzzled. "A child was found?"

Understanding that Inuyasha had no idea what he was talking about, the man took pity on him and went on to explain what it was that he was talking about. "Y' know – them people tha' don' see normal. They say they see demons 'n whatnot when there ain' nothin' there."

The prince's blood ran cold. He knew exactly what he was talking about. Those with the Sight were those that could see past the disguises and magic demons and half demons used to conceal themselves. They had once been a danger to the demon race, but now were nothing more than jokes to the citizenry. After all, demons were supposed to be a myth.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a myth. As a half demon himself, Inuyasha was well aware of the hidden society of demons that so easily blended into the human world.

Thanking the man, he carefully made his way to the fore of the crowd, blinking when he saw that the 'child' the man had been referring to was actually a teenage girl. She looked to be around fifteen or sixteen – not much younger than himself. Her wrists were bound before her and her eyes had been bound. She wore a roughly fitted sack that only just reached her thighs. Her black hair had been unevenly shorn, and from what he could see of her dirt-covered arms and legs, she'd obviously been beaten several times. Despite the dustings of dirt, he could see the ugly colorings of bruises and some scabs that were so wide that they had to have hurt.

Glancing at her face, he realized that she was beautiful beneath the bruises. Despite the cut lip and bruised cheek, he could see that she had clear, smooth skin and had no disfiguring marks. The bruises and cuts would fade in time, and, with a healer's help, the scars could be avoided.

Disguised within the wall of spectators, Inuyasha was suddenly enraged. Who had done this? Who had abused the girl before putting her on display so callously? A boy offered the brim of a hat to him – Inuyasha saw that it was filled with coins.

He glared at the boy chillingly before breaking away from the crowd towards the girl.

"You can't, sir!" the boy followed him. "We're not supposed to let anyone near her!"

Inuyasha paused, looking thoughtfully at the boy. "Who's in charge here?"

Quiet now that Inuyasha had stopped moving, the boy pointed towards a nearby man. Inuyasha snarled, recognizing him.

Naraku was one of the country's most wanted criminals. His abuses to those with the Sight and those without it were intolerable. He glared at the man until he was sure the man had noticed him.

As soon as Naraku looked up, Inuyasha bared his fangs at him, daring the man to protest his behavior. The man merely raised his hands in surrender, having recognized one of the king's children among the commoners.

Nodding, Inuyasha spun on his heel, returning to his route towards the girl. Taking hold of her shoulders, he dragged her to her feet. He was even further annoyed to see that she wasn't objecting to his rough treatment of her. He cut the bonds on her wrists with the dagger he kept on his person at all times and grew angrier when he saw how the rope had rubbed her skin raw.

Seething, he grabbed her around the waist and, despite her sudden yelp at the movement, threw her over his shoulder. Without looking back or paying attention to the murmurings of the crowd, he carried her off, not really giving a damn about what the commoners thought.

The girl slung so casually over his shoulder was silent as he took her further and further away from her display case, speaking only when he'd stopped in front of a large building to set her down.

"Where am I…?" she asked him quietly, her voice trembling.

Instead of responding to her, he took one of her hands and led her into the building, holding the door for her. He glared at the receptionist, not because he was angry with her, but because he was beyond pissed for the way the girl had been treated in such a public place. "Where's Miroku?" he growled out.

The woman, hand shaking, pointed towards the stairs. Without another word, Inuyasha turned towards the girl he'd found. "I'm going to pick you up again," he said in warning, before doing so. This time, instead of slinging her over his shoulder, he carried her with an arm beneath her knees and another supporting her back and shoulders.

He moved up the stairs with ease before setting her down again before his friend's door. Without any decorum, he pounded on the door with a single fist. "Miroku!" he called, "Are you decent?"

He waited – there was no response. "Open the damned door, Miroku, before I start telling all of your embarrassing stor—"

The door swung open, the male behind it glaring at him. "There was no need to shout like that, Inuyasha," his friend informed him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "There damned well was. Looks like I'll be meeting your girlfriend sooner than I thought. Is she in?"

Miroku looked at his friend suspiciously. "What do you want?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything, but simply glanced towards the girl he'd brought, knowing that his friend would follow his gaze. "None of your business," he said aloud. "Is your girlfriend here?"

Knowing not to argue, Miroku sighed. "She's in. Come in," he said, heading for one of the large curtains that were used to separate closets and bathrooms and other small luxuries from bedrooms.

Inuyasha led the girl into the room and took her to the bed, having her sit there. "Sorry, 'Roku," he apologized, calming a bit. "I didn't know what to do with her."

"Don't worry about it!" his friend called back to him. "Give me a second – I've got to— Ouch! Sango, my darling, there was no need to have struck me like that." Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the words. Miroku's wandering hands had gotten him into trouble many a time before now, but it seemed they were quite dedicated to the woman he'd found.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered to himself, annoyed. He was cheered when he saw Miroku returning, leading a woman himself.

"Sango, my dear, this is a friend of mine – his name is Inuyasha." Miroku grinned at Inuyasha's shocked expression. "Isn't she beautiful?"

And it was true. The woman before him was curvaceous – a fact that was only further exposed by the thin and silky clothing she wore. Her face uncertain, she nodded towards him.

"Hi, Sango," Inuyasha offered. "I'd introduce myself, but your boyfriend did it for me."

She smiled, before moving towards the girl he'd brought with him.

"Anyways, Inuyasha, what's the story here?" Miroku asked, his voice more serious. "Who is this?"

"I have no idea," the prince shrugged. "I found her in the square and figured I ought to bring her here to get her cleaned up."

Miroku frowned. "I understand that you wanted to get her cleaned up, but why here of all places?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Because you're here, you fool," he explained.

His friend's frown deepened. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You know how to deal with women."

"I will have you know he knows nothing about women," Sango cut in cordially. "He is a complete and utter idiot."

"Sango, my dear, I must protest!" Miroku said cheerily meeting her annoyed glare.

"How long has she been blindfolded?" the woman asked.

"I don't know," Inuyasha said, motioning towards the girl's hands. "I found her like that. The only thing I did was cut the rope from her wrists."

"Two hours," the girl spoke up, her voice clear. "I've been blindfolded for a little over two hours."

"Oh, well, in that case…" Sango's slender fingers moved to untie the blindfold and reveal the girl's eyes.

Inuyasha was struck by the brilliant blue hue that had been hidden behind the ugly gray rags that had bound her eyes.

She blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the lighting.

"My name is Miroku," his friend said, easily moving forward to introduce himself, "And this here is Sango."

The girl's eyes traveled around the room before finally landing on Inuyasha. He tensed.

"And him? What about him?" she asked, her voice curious.

"That would be Inuyasha," Sango explained, taking on the girl's inquisitive look. "He's the one that brought you here. What about you? What's your name?"

The girl looked surprised to have been asked such a question. "Kagome. My name is Kagome." She said it quietly, as though reminding herself of her name even as she told them what it was.

Miroku exchanged a quick glance with Inuyasha. "Sango, why don't you help her get cleaned up?"

Sango nodded, turning back to the girl. "Would you like to take a bath?"

She nodded. "May I, please?"

Miroku's lady friend smiled at her kindly, drawing her to her feet even as she stood. "Of course. Come with me."

Inuyasha was relieved when she led the girl out of the room. He was… uncomfortable being scrutinized by those vibrant blue eyes.

"Well?" Miroku turned towards him expectantly. "I assume there's a story behind all this."

Inuyasha sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I found her over in the square. She's a Seer, just like you."

"And?" Miroku's own eyes had sharpened, focusing on the prince.

"I thought you'd know what to do." Inuyasha's own eyes were filled with confusion. "I kind of picked her up and brought her over here without talking to her."

Miroku sighed. "When are you going to learn that it's bad to take people without asking permission?"

"When they stop being criminals." Inuyasha said bluntly.

"Criminals?"

"It was Naraku."

"I see. That changes things a bit."

"Doesn't it?" Inuyasha scowled.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that this chance meeting with Lady Kagome wasn't as much of a chance as we might like," Miroku said wisely as he took a seat in one of the couches in the room.

Inuyasha frowned at him. "What are you saying?"

"Oh, nothing," Miroku smiled contentedly. "Just that this meeting might be fate."