Abnormalities, Chapter Three

"We're going to play the clip again, and this time you'll answer the questions."

Kagome pursed her lips as the screen in front of her flickered back to life, and she was forced to watch Inuyasha once again fight a demon on the stage of her school while her own figure fretted in the background in a frilly pink dress. She cursed whatever student had thought to bring a camera to the performance. She hadn't thought about such a thing at the time. Blasting a hole through the gymnasium roof, the tiny Inuyasha on the screen then scooped her up on his arm and leapt away to freedom, leaving the Kagome watching the scene in a state of envy. What she wouldn't give for Inuyasha to come crashing into the room right then to carry her off to the Feudal Era. How she had taken him for granted….

"Now then: how does the weapon work?"

"Magic" she responded flatly; it was the truth after all.

"Miss Higurashi, we've been through this" the woman in scrubs responded tightly, "if you don't start cooperating, we'll have to perform more examinations, which will inevitably be intrusive. We don't want to resort to more risky operational procedures, but you're leaving us with little choice."

"What other explanation could there be?" Kagome asked suddenly, her tired eyes holding the older woman's, "What do you expect me to say? What other option could there possibly be but magic?"

Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose as if staving off a headache, the nurse responded "Obviously there's substance to the attack. Whatever fabrication it was that ruined the floor of the stage, it was completely obliterated by whatever it was your friend did. Since this occurred several years ago, we were unable to collect samples of any remaining ash, but it is apparent that some form of pyrotechnics were involved." The woman's expression turned stern as she looked back at Kagome and continued "We fear that whatever your friend was using may rely on radioactive or atomic energy, which I needn't tell you is highly dangerous! Understand Miss Higurashi, your friend's actions could have put your entire school… no, your entire city in jeopardy."

"There's nothing 'radioactive' about his sword" Kagome said, her eyes closing for a moment as a heavy breath left her. She was so, so tired. It was as if her body could feel that it had been sleeping for years and was eager to return to its rest. She wondered if Inuyasha had felt anything like that when he'd awakened from the sealing arrow.

"You're still insisting it's just a sword."

"What else could it possibly be?" Her body slumped in the wooden chair, and Kagome felt herself nearing her wits end. She'd tried telling them the truth, but they refused to believe. She was debating feeding them lies just to get them off her back, but she couldn't even begin to think of what would be convincing to these scientists. The entire morning had been spent in this white-lit office, staring at a projection screen as video clip after video clip of her half-demon wandering Tokyo played for her viewing pleasure. She wished she'd known about these earlier… back when they were safe, when she might have actually enjoyed catching Inuyasha's antics on video. They'd never have a world like that again. "Haven't you checked him for radiation levels, if you're so worried about it?"

"We're unable to get a proper reading" the woman responded quickly, almost tensely. "There are too many variables."

"You… don't mean… you're not using radioactive testing on him are you?"

"Our methods for experimentation are none of your concern, Miss Higurashi. Besides, with his body's remarkable healing capabilities, it doesn't affect him for very long."

Kagome could feel her limbs shaking, her fatigue and stress compounding the further breaking of her heart. She could almost feel the last tether on her self-restraint snap. "You… you MONSTERS! How could you do this to him?" She rose suddenly from her chair, bracing her wobbling body on the desk beside her as the nurse watched in growing alarm. She could see pink clouding her vision and knew her spiritual aura was making itself known. "You'd better take me to him NOW, or else!"

Eyes wide as saucers, the nurse pulled a small radio from her belt, frantically speaking into it as she got up from her chair and began backing away. "Subject H is exhibiting abnormal behavior; requesting backup."

She couldn't take it anymore. With a scream of frustration, her powers exploded. Pink light flashed through the room, and everything from the walky-talky in the woman's hand to the computer still stuck on a frame of her red-clad protector sparked with electric charges. The woman screamed and dropped the device, rubbing at her hand where she'd been shocked. Kagome rued the fact that she didn't feel a shred of sympathy. As the wave of power subsided she slumped to her knees, grasping the edge of the table and gasping for breath, and the flurry of white as men in lab coats rushed into the office was the last thing she saw as she once again fell unconscious.

Little waves of light passed from her hands to fill the dark space in front of her, but it just wasn't enough. Several weeks of peaceful cooperation had allowed Kagome time to learn what she needed to, and now was her oppotunity to act. It was the middle of the night – the scientists had all gone home, and the security guards were few. One good shockwave of energy, like that day in the office, would short circuit the security cameras and undo the electronic door lock. She just couldn't get her powers to perform. Cursing under her breath, Kagome concentrated harder, her heart racing as she felt her spiritual aura prickle at her skin. She tensed, holding onto the feeling, but it wasn't enough. The pink rimming her vision faded to the black of her small room, and she groaned in frustration.

Now was the moment to break out; she couldn't wait any longer. She couldn't sit on her hands doing nothing for another day while Inuyasha suffered. He needed her, and she would be there for him, no matter what. Suddenly she felt a familiar tingling across her skin, and a thought struck her. She brought her hands to her heart, her eyes closing in concentration, and thought of Inuyasha: her need to see him, her desire to save him, and the burning love she still held for him. Pink light flooded her eye lids, and before she knew it, she could hear the camera in the corner of the room sparking, and an abrupt whirring sound told her the lock to the door had deactivated. She didn't waste another second.

Kagome knew that someone would be coming to check her room once they discovered the camera inoperative. She knew she was being quiet, knew she couldn't have been more silent if she tried, but every pat of her bare feet on the tile and every swish of her thin dress against her thighs sounded in her ears like thunder. The hallways were dark, allowing her extra cover as she hurried down now familiar passages. She still didn't know where Inuyasha was being kept – despite all her best efforts, the scientists and nurses had been tight-lipped regarding him – but she had an idea. In a dark corner near the empty operating rooms, Kagome stood still as stone and stretched out her aura as far as it could go, reaching for anything familiar, any spark of magic. She found nothing.

Spirits dampened but not deterred, she continued on in a different direction, stopping every now and then to test her surroundings for a familiar aura. Several times she was forced to backtrack as the oncoming glow of a flashlight threatened to make her presence known to a wandering guard; but there were enough hallways for her to make her escape and too few guards to pose a real threat. When she finally did find Inuyasha, escaping them would be simple.

Coming to a set of heavy exit doors, Kagome reached out yet again, and finally was rewarded with the slightest disturbance. Something was reacting to her powers. The punching click of the door lock as she pushed it open made her wince, and she hoped the security guards were far enough away that the noise would not be traceable. She didn't hold out much hope however, and slipped through quickly, finding a dark staircase suddenly under her feet. Unsure of where in the building she was, Kagome started upwards, but as the faint feel of magic disappeared, she corrected her course and raced down the concrete steps as fast as she could in the blackness. Somewhere a window leaked moonlight over the spiral of steps, just enough to let kagome see each time she passed a doorway. The feeling grew stronger with each door she passed, until finally she reached the bottom step and stumbled onto the even floor.

Breathing heavily, she paused before opening the last door. The aura beyond was strong, but she couldn't be sure it was Inuyasha's; she couldn't remember what he felt like. And now that she was here, if it really were Inuyasha down here… she wasn't sure what state she'd find him in. From what she'd gathered, he'd gone full-demon long ago. There was no telling how he'd react to her. Still… no matter what it took, she'd get him out. They couldn't stay here any longer.

The door was locked; another burst of power made having a key-code unnecessary. She let her powers loose again after stepping into the dark hallway in case any more security cameras were still rolling. The aura in the rooms beyond fluctuated in the waves of spiritual energy.

Kagome crept softly, quietly now down the main hall before her, noticing several passages leading off to the sides. She didn't stop to see whether they were other prisoners or more operating rooms. Following the pull of the aura into one of the side-halls, she noticed fewer doors, indicating larger rooms, and her heart raced; she was likely near her quarry. Suddenly a pulse off to her side caught her attention, and she stopped to see a narrow, unassuming doorway to her right. Hesitantly, her hand reached out to test the handle… it was open. The room beyond was pitch black, but feeling around the wall, she found a small light switch. Shielding her eyes from the sudden onslaught of yellow from an electric lightbulb, Kagome peeked inside to find what was nothing more than a closet, full of shelves and haphazardly placed boxes. She almost shut the door on the messy room, when a pulse resonated with her powers, and she stepped back inside with a shaky breath. That feeling was familiar. Stepping into the low room and closing the door softly behind her, Kagome began her search.

Most of the boxes were labeled with names she couldn't pronounce – odd medicines and tools that she was happy to remain ignorant of. But some of the boxes had names: family names. Finding a shelf seemingly devoted to these containers, Kagome peered closely at each one, heart thumping painfully in her chest as she feared what she might find.

She whimpered at the sight of "Higurashi Kagome", printed on copy paper and taped flat against one side of a cardboard box. She didn't even want to open it. Fingers reached for it without her approval, her arms sagging under the weight of it as she pulled it from the shelf and onto the floor in front of her. It wasn't a very tall box, nor was it remarkably heavy, but all the same, Kagome struggled to open the lid, not knowing what she'd find and afraid to find out.

Looking inside was like looking into a time capsule. It was a box of memories – precious memories that she hadn't even known existed. Reaching inside, she pulled out the items, one by one, giving each its own sacred moment. There was her scarf, the pink scarf her mother hand knitted for her – it had been a cold spring last time she'd been home. And there was the white knitted sweater to match, the outline of a cat stitched in black over the front. She smiled to see her mother's handiwork and reached back inside the box only to feel more of the knitted material; her smile fell sharply to realize what it was. She'd forgotten this. Slowly she pulled out another sweater, made of bright red yarn, and unfolded it to see the doggy outline done in white. Inuyasha had been wearing this the last day they'd been together. She could remember it now as though she were watching a movie: he'd complained about how stupid he looked even as he pulled the sweater over a white shirt and pulled her by the hand out the front door. It had been her idea to spend the day in the city, and her mother's idea to dress like a couple. Inuyasha knew what they were doing; he knew it was a date. In retrospect, he really hadn't complained all that much. Especially when they were alone. It had been a wonderful day, a memorable day, and she'd kissed his cheek once or twice because he'd just been so sweet. It was hard for him, for them both, being trapped in the modern world, but he'd been doing his best to adjust. He was trying so hard to fit in to her world. Holding the sweater now, thinking how uncomfortable he must have felt in it, she realized how much he'd given up for her. And now… how much had been taken away from him.

Setting the sweater aside and reaching in once more, Kagome's fingers brushed something cold, smooth, and her hand closed around polished beads that clacked together as she drew them out. She couldn't stop the tears anymore. How they'd gotten the necklace off, she wasn't sure. Perhaps it had stopped working when she'd slipped into her coma. The beads of subjugation pulsed to life in her grasp, and she choked back a sob. She wouldn't dream of using them on him anymore, but what they represented… his devotion to her… it hurt to see them cast aside, a reminder of their broken connection. Under the pile of their clothing, she found the cold metal of a thin chain, and she couldn't hold in the sobs as she pulled out the old locket she'd gifted her half-demon, their pictures still inside, forever capturing their fiery personalities. It was like seeing the ghost of a dead loved one; the girl in that photo was never coming back. Necklaces clutched in her hands, Kagome buried her face in Inuyasha's red sweater and let her tears soak the fabric as the reality of what had happened to them finally hit home.

A sudden pulse of energy had her gasping, wrenching her face from the bundled cloth as she looked around frantically. There was nothing in the room with her, but the feeling of something dark, something heavy inking it's way over her aura was unmistakable. There was a demon down her, and it was close by. She quickly packed the box up again, taking the smallest moment to glance inside the locket once more and press a soft kiss to Inuyasha's picture. She turned off the light before opening the door, unsure of what she'd find waiting for her in the dark hallway – but she was alone. Standing still against the closed door, she waited, and then shivered as another pulse of energy washed through her. It was coming from just down the hall.

Turning another corner, a faint glow caught Kagome's eye, and as she neared it, she saw it to be a sliver of light seeping under a closed doorway. The aura was coming from here. Grasping the door handle, the lock nearly exploded under the surge of power she sent through it, and with a grunt she pulled the thick door open, flooding the hallway with white light. It was nearly blinding in intensity, and she had to cover her eyes as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. But she didn't need her eyes to know who else was in the room. It wasn't just the immense demonic aura anymore; the air was filled with a hellish, muffled roaring and the shrill scraping of claws against glass.

*Author's Note:

... yeah, that's the end of the chapter. *shrugs* PS I'm still working on this story :P NO STORY IS FORGOTTEN! Even if it takes me a while to get back to it.

Big thanks to those who have reviewed so far! I know this story is kind of dark and angsty, but there's light at the end of the tunnel! (Even though it's a loooong ways off)