AN: All the main characters in this story will fit into the ages between seventeen and twenty-two.

Lost City

Chapter Two

"No."

"But—"

"No," Kagome said, crossing her arms stubbornly.

She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the noise in the dimly lit tavern, filled with happily drunk people. Women in almost too revealing dresses danced as music played and greedy hands tried to grab them, but they knew just how to teasingly avoid them, which only made the men want them more.

Miroku protested against her obvious refusal. "He's strong, built like a brick wall—"

"And too stupid to function, not to mention he looks like he'd murder me in my sleep, then roast me under a nice open flame before he decided to consume me!" Kagome finished for him.

"You have too vivid an imagination," he muttered to himself, then to her, "and you're making this far too difficult."

"I'm sorry if I don't want to hire that," she said, pointing to an ogre-looking man who looked like he was bullying someone, "or that," pointing to another that Miroku had mentioned before, who was currently picking his nose, "or—"

Miroku massaged his aching temples. "I get your point," he interrupted, "but there's a difference between choosy and fussy."

She looked at him, hands on hips. "Oh? And what's that? Aren't those just synonyms of each other?"

"Not where you're concerned." He leaned against the wall near the door. Neither of them had been able to get seats in the crowded tavern. "Look, we met at that nice tavern that most of the richer people like to go to, but this is for everyday people and these men tend to get… rough. But that's what you need, don't you? Tough people who can hold their own while being able to guard you at the same time."

"Which I don't think any people here are capable of. You say you want to get me a good team, but these people aren't it. Not to mention, if we brought up the job to any of the people you have just picked out, they'd either laugh in disbelief, wet their pants, or run away screaming." She headed for the door. "I'm leaving. If these are the kind of people you want to send me out with, I'll find my own team."

He caught her arm before she could leave and was about to say something when his attention was taken away from her and placed somewhere else. Noticing the change in attitude, Kagome turned around and followed his gaze to the center of the tavern. The room had hushed almost completely, aside from a loud, obnoxious youth spitting insults at the ogre-like man he held by his collar.

Kagome ignored most of the conversation between the two with its foul qualities, nothing like the banter she was used to. She had heard the soldiers and guards curse before, but that was nothing compared to that she was hearing just then. Near the end was when she really started to pay attention.

"You think you're so fucking high and mighty," the younger man said, his brown eyes blazing. "Go pick on someone your own size."

"I could, but first I think I'll beat up a punk like you," Ogre replied, roughly taking the man's hands off him. He closed the little distance between them by taking a threatening step forward. The other man did not look impressed.

"You're not worth my time," Punk retorted, putting his hands in his pockets. He began walking away to the disappointment of the crowd since they had wanted to see a fight. They regained hoped, however, after seeing how red Ogre's face had turned after Punk dismissed him.

The punk got only two feet away before the other man swung at him from behind. Kagome almost called out to warn him, caught up in the moment, but did not even have to. It seemed Punk expected this, since he easily dodged and grabbed the meaty arm that went past him. He turned, twisting the arm with him. Ogre cried out in pain.

He punched the bigger man so that he flew backwards and into a table, sending food and alcohol everywhere as he knocked over and broke glasses and plates. The girls nearby squeaked and backed away, giving men nearby an excuse to put their arms around them and "protect" them from danger.

With a few more kicks and punches from Punk, the fight was easily over, without Ogre ever having landed a blow, though not for a lack of trying. His efforts, however, had been in vain and only made him look weaker as the younger of the two avoided each and every one. Kagome was impressed. The bigger man had looked extremely tough, but the second man had taken him down easily, despite the obvious size difference.

"Him," Kagome said without looking at Miroku, keeping her eyes on the punk. "I want him."

Miroku raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

The beaten man had left sullenly while the men of the taverns jabbed at him for his lousy performance. A crowd had formed around the winner of the fight, but after he dismissed them by glaring and then completely ignoring their presence, the crowd dissipated and was gone by the time Kagome began walking toward him with Miroku beside her. Punk had seated himself in a booth and no one dared go near him again—besides them, of course. He was looking down at his drink and did not even glance up when they stopped in front of him.

"I have a proposition for you, Yusuke," Miroku declared before Kagome had a chance to speak. As it was, she looked at him, somewhat startled. He knew him?

Yusuke looked up at him with a half-smile. "Hey Miroku," he greeted. "What are you doing here? You're usually out chasing a fine pair of legs about this time." He glanced at Kagome, looking her over in much the same way Miroku had when they first met. Men, Kagome thought. "Or have you already found some?"

Miroku shook his head as he took a seat on one side of Yusuke. Kagome did the same, sitting on the other, only not as close. "No, she's not that kind of girl," Miroku informed him. Then as an after thought, he looked at Kagome, an eyebrow raised. "Or are you?"

She glared at him, which would have been a lot more effective if she wasn't blushing so hard. Both of them laughing at her current state did not help the situation much either.

"So what about this 'proportion'?" Yusuke asked.

"Proposition," Kagome corrected, trying her best not to smile. She had just seen him throw around some guy that had been twice his size; it was obvious he had a short fuse.

"Same difference," he replied with a shrug.

"This girl's name is Kagome," Miroku introduced. "Yusuke, Kagome. Kagome, Yusuke."

Yusuke nodded to her in acknowledgement and she did the same, a little awkwardly. She was not use to such informality during introductions, though it had been her own choice. Miroku had not mentioned her nobility as they had discussed.

Kagome did not want anyone giving her special treatment or any other complications that might arise if they knew who she was. Giving her name, however, was not a problem. No one would know she was Inuyasha's betrothed from her name alone. She had only come to the city a few months ago and everyone outside Inuyasha's home did not know her real name, only her title as Lady of the Higurashi House. Other than that, those that gossiped about her just called her 'his betrothed'.

As for the fact that she was doing all this to cure her friend (who just happened to be the future king), she was keeping to herself. Why she was going, at the moment, wasn't that important. Convincing people to go with her was.

"She," Miroku continued, "wants to go—"

"Needs," she corrected.

He gave her a look. "She needs to go somewhere very dangerous and is in need of people to look after her."

Yusuke laced his fingers together behind his head and leaned back. "And what makes you think I'd want that kinda job? I don't protect people, I normally beat them up. And," he informed them as he took his hands away from his head, revealing a gold bracelet he held in one of them, "I steal from them."

Hey, that was her bracelet.

"Give that back!" she snapped, snatching the bracelet from him and putting it back on. While glaring at him and the smile on his face, she went on, "You didn't strike me as the thief type, what with your loud mouth. Thieves are usually silent and quick."

He shrugged. "The only thieving I do is pick-pocketing or beating up a few guys—if they really piss me off—for their money. None of the big stuff, just what I need to get by."

"Still want him?" Miroku questioned Lady Kagome.

She looked at Yusuke for a few more moments, brown eyes meeting brown, before looking over at Miroku. She had a feeling she might regret this but… "I do."

"Alright then, straight to the point. Kagome here wants to go to the Lost City."

Apparently this was the wrong time for Yusuke to have taken a sip of his drink. His eyes widened at Miroku's words and he spit liquid all over the table. Miroku clapped him on the back with an amused look while Yusuke gasped for breath.

When he could breathe again, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stared at Kagome with a look almost identical to the one Miroku had given her earlier that night. "You're nuts."

"Think of all the things you'll see…" Miroku stated, trying to convince him.

"Think of all the monsters that could eat me," the pickpocket replied dryly.

"All that treasure…"

"The thousand different ways I could die horrible, painful deaths."

"The—" Miroku began and Yusuke looked ready to retort anything he said.

"Alright, this could go on for awhile," Kagome interrupted. "The main thing is, I need to get to this 'Lost City' for my own reasons. You can either come, or not. But it'll be one hell of an adventure with monsters you could beat up and all." When he didn't look convinced, she continued with her last shot. "Tell me, do you ever get bored of everyday life? Same thing day after day, nothing ever changing? Well, this is your chance to change all of that. It won't be easy and I don't know what to expect, but isn't that better then to be stuck in the same routine all your life? Wouldn't it be better to remember that once you did something exciting?"

Kagome had not even realized it, but somewhere along the way of her speech she had stood up and, with her hands on the table, leaned toward him. Her face slightly red when she noticed people looking her way, she sat down again and took a deep breath.

Yusuke stared at her oddly for a minute with a look she couldn't decipher and Kagome dreaded he would still turn her down. But in the end, he nodded and said, "I'll go." His face turned back to its normal arrogance. "Besides, I won't let some 'monster' beat me. I'm not that easily to kill."

Kagome felt like hugging him, she was so happy and relieved he had agreed, but restrained herself. Instead, she smiled happily. "And don't worry, you'll be paid highly for your services." She was doing all this to save the future king. If—when they came back, money would be no object to pay those who assisted her.

She saw Miroku shake his head with a smile, which made her curious. "What is it?" she inquired.

"What do you need me for? Seems to me you'll be able to get a fine team together on your own." He looked around the tavern. "We probably won't find anyone else in here tonight since you disliked everyone I picked out." He rose from his seat, as did Kagome and Yusuke, following his lead.

"Then where are we going now?" Kagome questioned him once they were outside. She sped up a bit so she could walk beside him and Yusuke walked on her other side, hands in his pockets as he glanced at her.

"Wherever the road may take us," Miroku joked.

However, his words were more or less true.

Grunting and yelling drew their attention to a side street after a few minutes of walking. The two men, used to street fights, were about to just walk past, but Kagome went right past them and toward the fight. The two exchanged a look and followed behind her, having no other choice. Already their job to keep her safe was beginning.

"Is she always like this?" Yusuke asked Miroku as they followed. "Help the helpless and all that?"

"How should I know, I only just met her tonight," Miroku replied.

"What!"

In the center of the street, just within the light of a street lamp, stood a woman, surrounded by angry-looking men. The woman looked around Kagome's age, though she seemed taller and stronger than the noble. Her high ponytail kept her hair out of her face, giving them a view of her unwavering determination, not even the slightest bit shaken. There was no escape for the woman since the men had formed a ring around her, but she did not look at all frightened from what they could see of her stance, arms crossed.

"We should help her," Kagome told the men behind her.

While Yusuke looked like he wasn't too keen on the idea, Miroku replied with a grin. "A damsel in need of rescuing, my favorite type of damsel."

The woman said something to one of the men and although they were still too far away to hear, they could tell the man was not pleased by her words. He lunged forward, but she easily moved away, making him fall into his companion behind her. More words escaped her lips and after one man growled something, knives suddenly appeared in their hands.

The group of three hurried closer, while the girl avoided the knives that tried to slice her. Abruptly Yusuke stopped and held out his arm, preventing Miroku and Kagome from going further. Kagome stopped and glared at the first addition to her team. Why was he stopping them? They had to help the girl!

"I don't think she needs any help," Yusuke said with clear amusement in his voice.

Kagome looked back at the woman and was surprised to see two of her attacker already on the ground, knocked out. The woman jumped back when a blade tried to slice her stomach, then grabbed the wrist of the hand that held it. She twisted it, causing the man to drop the knife and she pulled at his arm, swinging him into another attacker.

The fighting woman kicked the dropped weapon away and went on to the last man with a knife. While she was dealing with him, the man she had first angered got up from the ground, seemingly unnoticed by her. She swiftly got rid of the armed man by kicking him in the stomach, causing him to double over. Nearly at the same time, she drew the sword that was concealed at her side and pointed it at the man behind her without even a glance his way. He froze as she turned slowly around, moving the sword so that it was pointed at his neck.

The woman shook her head to move her bangs out of her eyes, giving her a clear view of the last man standing. She lifted the sword and the man cringed, but instead of striking him, she brought the sword down near his side, making the bag that was tied to his waist fall to the ground with a thunk. She sheathed her sword and picked up the fallen bag, not even looking at the man as she did it. In only moments the man had gotten up and ran, seeing as how his friends had already left swiftly without him.

"Weak cowards," they heard her mutter as the last one disappeared.

From behind a shop, a boy around the age of ten came out of hiding, regarding the woman nervously. She wiped the sweat off her brow before holding out the bag to the boy.

"Here." When he was hesitant to take it, she added, "It's yours, right? Then take it."

With a sharp nod, he took the bag and after opening it up, began counting what was inside. Then he put his hand inside, coming back out with a few coins. "Thank you," he said after giving them to her and then quickly scampered off.

The woman watched him go off before counting the money and pocketing it. It was then that she turned around and saw her audience of three. She looked at them, a bit startled, not knowing they had been there.

Seeing Kagome's bright face, Miroku smiled wryly and was about to make an offer to the woman fighter, but the woman spoke first.

"Who are you?"

"So let me get this straight," the woman Sango, fighter-for-hire, began.

The group sat in the small main room of her house, the only other rooms being two equally small bedrooms. However, it did not feel cramped. It felt… cozy. The small fire that gave off warmth only added to the feeling.

She continued. "You," she pointed to Miroku, "are helping her," she nodded her head toward Kagome, "to get people like you," she moved her hand so that she was pointing at Yusuke, "to go with her through the forest and to the Lost City. And you want me to join your little escapade?" She shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "You're all crazy." She looked to Kagome. "Especially you."

"You can't tell me you're not curious," Kagome informed her.

The fighter shook her head. "I never said that, but the old saying 'curiosity killed the cat' suddenly makes more sense to me. I have no wish to die and going into that forest is pure suicide. How do you even know the Lost City exists anyway? What with all the people going into that forest and dying, all we've ever heard is myths about it, no evidence whatsoever."

"The more people we have, the safer we'll be," Miroku responded, ignoring the last of what she said and the way she questioned its existence. They would deal with that if the need arose.

He looked around the small home, not too far from being shambles. "Kagome will pay you for her protection as well. And if we do find it, think of all the treasure in the city's depths. You'd be able to buy yourself a palace."

She was not at all offended by the obvious implication. She already knew her dwelling was not exactly spectacular, but hearing his last sentence, she muttered, "Yeah, that's what he thought." Louder, she said, "I'm not interested in wealth."

"But the Lost City… imagine being able to say you actually saw it, stood in it," he cajoled.

"I don't care about those kinds of things. Not to mention even if I did, no one would believe me," she pointed out.

"So you won't come with us?" Kagome inquired, dejected.

Sango glanced at Kagome and seeing her hopefully, pleading eyes, she shifted in her chair as though she were uncomfortable. "I didn't say that either." She put her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands, letting out an exasperated sigh. "You're asking a lot." She took her hands away so that she could look at them, but when her eyes met Kagome's, they locked. "I need time."

Kagome shook her head. "We leave as soon as possible."

Inuyasha's state was almost to the critical point… who knew how much longer he would last? It was best they left as soon as was plausible so they could cure him before it was too late.

"We do?" Yusuke asked, a bit surprised. He had never been informed when they were leaving, but had assumed he would have at least a little more time.

"If we can get enough people by tomorrow, we'll leave then," Miroku responded, sharing a look with Kagome.

Sango bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. She wanted to go, but at the same time also was not too fond of going out on a wild goose chase. The adventure, however, was appealing to her; disappointed when there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, was not. Still, this was a chance to finally use her fighting skills for something challenging. Maybe…

"I'll go," came a voice from behind.

The men and Kagome turned around while Sango just looked over to her cousin, leaning against the doorway. Her arms crossed, she pushed off the frame and walked further into the room.

"What?" Kagome asked, taken back.

The stranger pushed some hair that had fallen in her face away. "I said, I'll go," she repeated.

"How much did you hear?" Sango inquired.

"Enough to know they're going to the Lost City. I'm coming along." That was it. There was no asking in her voice. She had decided she wanted to come along and they couldn't stop her.

"If you want to go just because of your brother, Shizuru, rethink this, please," Sango told her cousin. However, her words were ignored.

"Can you fight?" Yusuke asked.

Shizuru shifted her gaze from where it had been on Sango to Yusuke. "No, but I'll find a way to be useful."

Miroku and Yusuke looked to Kagome, awaiting her judgment. She waved her hand in an indifferent way. "The more, the merrier."

Sango slumped in her chair as she sighed inwardly, giving in. She might as well have thrown up her hands and said 'I surrender'. "I guess that means I'll be coming too."

Kagome smiled while thinking how this night was turning out to be a good one. Two more recruits, three in all, five counting herself and Miroku. Now the only questions were, how many more people would they need and where would they find them?

Miroku, leaning in closer to Kagome, murmured to her, "Why is it the one person easiest to convince is the one we didn't ask to go?"

Kagome grinned at his comment. "Just lucky, I guess."

Yusuke, overhearing this, only laughed.