In the later years of the 22nd century, Youkai became the dominant species. Humans quickly became property to their Youkai overlords. To be kept as property, the humans had to learn to speak with care unless they wanted to be parted from their tongues, to watch their body language lest they offend and end up slaughtered or maimed. There were rare occasions where humans, male and female, became mates of the Youkai that owned them, but that had only happened to lower class demons. The higher class always felt it was beneath them to mate a human, but there were still instances of intense love arising between a higher-class Youkai and a human. In those cases, the Youkai would still mate another demon and the human would become a mistress, concubine or whatever use the Youkai required of them.
There were still those that resisted living in the designated cities under the thumb of the Youkai, but they still suffered the consequences of those choices as well. When choosing not to obey the rules of society, one had to be very careful not to be caught. Those of breeding age were taken to the various shelters where they were processed and registered. Here, they waited to be bought so they could serve their new masters. Male humans were sold in separate shelters at lowered prices unless being used as studs to breed more humans. Males usually fetched the highest price being used as concubines to the Youkai. Although they were processed in the same ways as females, they were usually left in the shelters for longer periods and punished more harshly than the fairer sex.
Sunlight filtered in from the slight gaps between the wooden roof of the medium sized cottage that housed at least fifteen females. The scratched wooden floors weren't pretty but at least they didn't get splinters. The dry wall was cracked in places but it wasn't covering everyone in fine dust and white powder. They were all nearly sleeping on top of one another as cots and sleeping bags were strewn over every available surface. The one closest to the walls stirred as the light poured over her face and she grumbled, "Why is it that I'm always in the sun spot?" Of course, no one answered her as she shifted away from the light and forced her body up. Her black hair caught the light and reflected dark blue, almost purple in places.
Stretching her arms above her head, she frowned at being the first to wake. As she got up, she was careful to watch out for the others around her, 'At least I should appreciate being the first one up. Bathroom to myself, wonderful.' She smiled to herself as she folded her bed then slowly moved towards the bathroom, thankful it at least had running water even though it wasn't hot, while thinking of what to make for breakfast that would spread between everyone and that would be portable. Just as she made it to the three slightly broken steps that lead to the second floor, she paused.
The wood of the front porch creaked softly so as to go unnoticed, but in the quiet of the morning it was very loud to her. Kagome listened to the light shuffle of feet as she rushed around the room waking everyone. One girl looked up at her with a protest on her lips, but Kagome covered her mouth and pointed to the door while mouthing, "We have to go. Now!" Sango, a girl Kagome's age but slightly taller than her, wasted no time getting to her feet so that she could pull the others up. Some of the girls scrambled to grab their things, tripping over the small tables they'd found and set up a month ago to have somewhere to eat, while Kagome grabbed another girl, Rin, whom she and Sango were closest with. Just as Kagome pulled Rin along behind her to catch up with Sango on the second floor, the front door exploded.
Burning wood and splinters rained down from the busted front door just as chaos erupted around the room. All over, the girls scattered like roaches while men dressed in long leather trench coats and combat boots rushed in. Sango, Rin and Kagome all rushed up the three stairs, through the back room and out the window. Rin looked back to see some of the girls had run out the house and scattered into the surrounding trees before she was pulled forward to run. Lungs burning and legs screaming for rest didn't stop the girls as they ran as fast and as hard as they could. "Sango, I don't think I can do this much longer," Kagome wheezed as she pushed her body forward. Although Kagome was the only one to complain, they were all feeling the same; unfortunately, stopping was not an option.
The sounds of heavy booted feet could be heard behind them. "We have to keep moving or we'll be caught!" Rin, surprisingly, was ahead of their small group with Kagome bringing up the rear. Sango wondered briefly how the headhunters had taken them by surprise like this while cursing silently, 'Fuck! How the hell did they find us and why the hell didn't we notice sooner?!' She looked back at Kagome, taking notice that she was starting to favor her right leg, 'Not good. With the hunters this close, stopping now spells problems. If we left her, Rin and I could make it but it wouldn't feel right.' Unfortunately, the headhunters were faster and after an hour of running, they were getting closer.
Sango reached back and grabbed Kagome by the wrist, trying to pull her forward as she thought fiercely that she hoped that Kagome's body didn't give out. the sounds of voices barking out orders reached her ears just as feet rushed by her and she heard a squeak followed by a muffled thud. Sango watched as Rin was body checked and thrown to the ground under the force of another body colliding with her own. Behind her, Kagome let out a cry as Sango changed their direction as she apologized for leaving Rin behind. Suddenly, Sango felt a tug then a jerk as Kagome's hand was pulled from her own as she was dragged to the ground by the ankles as one of the hunters had jumped to reach her but had missed. She knew she couldn't lament her friends as she heard the steps closing in on her but it still hurt to know that she was now all alone; although it didn't hurt half as much as when she was tackled from the back with a shoulder right between her shoulder blades.
In the full light of day, Rin grumbled to herself as she looked around at the group of females she was now bound to, 'Damn, this is just peachy.' Although she knew what happened next, there was still a level of unknown to the situation, 'We'll become pets but what's the process? Do they just drop us off at someone's house or what?' Rin frowned in as she thought this over and she knew no one could really fill her in because pets never really escaped their masters; besides, even if they did, she didn't know anyone who'd run away. She winced as she shifted her weight slightly and felt the ache from being tackled dance up and down her right side; she knew that would leave a bruise later.
To her right, sat Sango; her long brown hair was tied at the end and her brown eyes looked slightly annoyed, if not outright angry. The clothing she wore had small holes from the run as trees had snagged pieces out of the material. In fact, all their clothing bore similar marks of damage. She noticed the way Sango was sitting and guessed she must have been bowled over as well and guessed all of them would have some form of bruise from this encounter. For the time being, they were being guarded by just two of the six headhunters meaning they were still hunting, although everyone from her group seemed to be present. Rin frowned, just wanting to move forward even though she wanted her freedom more.
When the rest of the hunters returned, they were being trailed by five more females, "We'll bring them back with us," Rin heard one of them say. Two of the girls had their hair shorn into stylish but messy pixie cuts while the other three all looked as if they hadn't cut their hair since birth. Rin felt a shift next to her as Sango leaned into her, "How long do you think they've been missing for?" Rin shrugged and looked back towards the five females as they were joined to the chains that bound the rest. She watched as the girls with the long hair were taken to the front of the line and the short haired girls were left at the back. Rin frowned as she wondered why that was but then as she looked over the group of them, she noticed they were all arranged by the length of their hair. She wondered at the reasoning as they were all lead over to the waiting black vans to be escorted back to the cities.
Rin frowned as they were all squeezed tightly into the second van with two headhunters as the remaining four were seated in the other van and then they were off. She looked around at the other occupants as she couldn't look out the blacked-out windows. She noticed that some of the girls looked fearful and the others looked reserved to whatever fate awaited them at the end of the ride, 'I won't give in like that. No matter what happens, I won't give up,' she thought as she continued to look around. Rin noticed the same fire in Sango's and Kagome's eyes, and she knew they would get through this.
Sango was jolted awake as the vans abruptly stopped and the doors were forced open, "What the hell?" she inquired as she was dragged from her seat. She looked around at the slightly dazed expressions and realized she wasn't the only one suddenly forced awake, 'What is this place?' Sango thought as she glanced around. The building in front of her was squat but longer on the sides. The light grey exterior broken only by the glass double doors made her think of a doctor's office, and it instantly made her tense. The words across the door sent a cold shiver of dread up her spine. They were standing in a small loading dock surrounded on both sides by trees that seemed to stretch over the building like guardians. Sango had no illusions concerning the idea of her being sold once captured but to be brought to a place like this made it seem all the worst.
As they were forced through the glass doors, Sango winced at the drastic change from the now brightly lit sunny day to the dull bluish florescent lights overhead. The receptionist sat in the middle of a narrow hallway and on top of the desk housed a large monitor behind which sat a blonde-haired male that briefly looked up, "How many?" he spoke, his voice a low, rasping whisper. "Twenty," was his answer, spoken from behind and to the left of Sango's head. She didn't turn to see who'd spoken as that wasn't important. She frowned from the clinical white of the outer offices of the grey building when four female nurses seemed to materialize from the white double doors to the right of the front desk. The nurses all had black hair with differing streaks of color, narrow black eyes and light green scrubs. They walked towards the group to inspect the females before them; Sango noticed one of the nurses seemed to have a permanent sneer on her face.
The five females that were added to their group were unchained and taken into the back first, the long-haired girls going through the double doors first. Sango shifted this way and that to see if she could see through the opened door since there was no glass but once it swung closed, she realized how pointless it was since she couldn't see anything anyway.
Not five minutes later, Sango felt more than heard the door the nurses had left through bang open. One of the nurses, a female with midnight black hair with dark blue streaks, stepped up to one of the headhunters with a grimace, "Did you check them at all? Those girls have already been tagged. Unchain the rest and send them back, now," she huffed in a thin, high-pitched voice, "Next time, check them over first before just assuming they have no owners." The headhunters scrambled to obey her order as she waited with her arms crossed and her foot tapping with impatience. Sango watched as she flipped a slip of her hair over her shoulder before turning on her heels to rush through the doors to bark orders at whoever else was back there. Sango rubbed her wrists once the chains were released, glancing to Rin and Kagome before being ushered through the mysterious white double doors.