Unbound

-The Next Day-

"Where the hell is she?" Songo silently asked herself, delving deeper into the calamitous mass of computer parts and scattered weapon components. She hated coming here. It was bad enough that Songo inwardly distrusted all demons, but the fact that she had to come to their quarters every time she was looking for Kagome made it even worse. She didn’t know what she disliked more; the fact that the institution allowed demon operatives, or that her best friend was the only human that hung out with them.

"Shippou… You in here?"

The room that she was in seemed so unfamiliar compared to the rest of the base. The Shikon Institute was fitted with a flat gunmetal and scarlet interior that was kept absolutely immaculate, but, as it seemed that this single room was where everyone elected to put their mess, it was decidedly different from the rest of the building.

"Shippou!" Songo called out rounding the corner and tiptoeing over the remains of a half-eaten hot pocket now sprouting green fuzz.

"Aw man… freakin gross!"

Songo looked up from the minefield of filth to the source of the faint blue light gently illuminating the room. A blue computer screen was busily spewing out endless strings of code as the incessant drone of keystrokes could be heard from the other side of a black leather office chair in front of it.

‘On the computer… big surprise.’ Shippou had been the youngest recruit of any of the youkai at the institution. He was still too young for any field work, but he had proven to have an uncanny understanding for computers.

Leaning over the chair, Songo spotted the red-headed kitsune with a pair of headphones over each ear. He was utterly engrossed on the monitor before him as the glazed look on his face had made perfectly apparent.
Pulling one of the ear pieces away, Songo barked over the deceptively loud music.

"Hey Shippou, you seen Kagome?"

The diminutive youth made no other acknowledgment other than an outstretched hand pointing to a note pinned to wall at his right.

-Songo
Meet me in the bio lab. There is something you’ve got to see!

"Why is she down there?"

"Probably checking out the fresh meat." a gruff voice from behind her answered.

"Kouga!" Songo gasped. "Don’t do that you fucking ass!" Songo glared over her shoulder at the young youkai male. He had a mane of long jet-black hair tied back into a pony tail, and a set of piercing blue eyes. His features were remarkably human. In fact, many might have mistaken him as such were it not for his pointed ears and fangs.

Throwing up his clawed hands, Kouga backed away giving the aggressive woman her space.

"Damn, clam down wench. I was just sayin hello."

Letting the headphones snap back onto Shippou’s head, Songo turned to the heavy mechanical door from whence she came.

"Ow!" Shippou yelped. "What was that for?"

But before an answer could be offered, Songo had already exited the demon quarters, and started off down the hall.

"What’s her freakin problem?" Shippou asked, rubbing his ear.

"Hmpf." Kouga snorted. "Forget it, Kid. Some people are just born with a hook up their ass."

-Elsewhere-

-Thump thump…-

‘Am… Am I dead?’

"Come on Mioga." Kagome begged. "Can’t you let me have just one little peak?"

"Kagome, have I not already made it clear that I can’t do that?" The ancient flea youkai answered back. Mioga was an informant that had long ago defected to the institute for protection. Since then he had become a coordinator and research specialist for the youkai division. A task that suited him well.

"Do you have any clue how much trouble you could get me into? Besides, I still have yet to even run my initial tests."

"Do you need help? I could give you a hand getting the skin samples."

"Dear child, you know very well that those samples were collected yesterday when he first came in. That is always the first test I run."

Kagome hung her head in defeat.

"… but I suppose I could let you run a follow up." Mioga mumbled with a sly grin creeping up his cheek.

"Really!" Kagome cried.

"Perhaps, but I simply can’t start until I have a little something eat." But as Mioga was finishing his innuendo, he became suddenly aware that Kagome had already vanished into the laboratory.

"Kagome, wait!"

Rushing through the heavy mechanized steel door , Mioga spotted the young woman standing before the containment cylinder in utter awe. Kagome took a staggering step backward as she beheld the now clean demon behind the thick observing glass. His once matted dirt and covered hair was now a shimmering silver that shone in the light as it floated freely in the blue tinted stasis fluid. His features that had been obscured by the layers of filth could now be made out to be those of a handsome young man that looked no older than 25. The only things that made him seem at all inhuman were the claws on his hands ant the triangular dog ears perched at the top of his head. The young woman was in complete adoration until the disturbing sight of the numerous scars on the beautiful youkai’s body solicited, from her, a an audible gasp. It looked as if the young demon had received hundreds of brutal injuries that had left horrible evidence of what could have only been extended torture. At least nine of the wounds looked would have been easily fatal for a human. Kagome was so gripped by the sight before her it is easy to understand why Mioga thought he was safe to grab a quick bite to eat.

-SLAP-

"Mioga?" Kagome questioned as he fell limply to the floor. "Is he alright? I mean, how long has he been in the rejuvenation tank?"

"Kagome, if I didn’t know any better, I would guess that you have developed an infatuation with a corpse."

-Thump Thump…-

‘No… Not dead. Where?’

Kagome turned around at the insinuation of Mioga’s words. "I am not… he’s?"

"No," Mioga interrupted. "but he isn’t out of danger yet. The next few hours will tell if your friend will ever open his eyes again."

"Kagome!" A familiar voice called out from across the lab. "Are you in here?"

Kagome shook off her entranced stare to address her friend.

"I’m here Songo."

"Why the hell are you down here? I’ve been looking for you for hours."

Kagome rushed to her friend and giddily took her hand. "You have to see something."
The young woman began to tug at the annoyed Songo who was now busily engaged in rolling her eyes.

‘For the love of God. She always gets like this whenever a stupid youkai gets in under a possible recruitment. Why doesn’t she realize how dangerous they are? This one doesn’t even have a restraining collar on yet.’

Songo’s thoughts were halted, however, as she at last beheld the object of her friend’s fascination. She could barely suppress the muted gasp that rose from her lips.

‘He’s…’

"Isn’t he cute?" Kagome interjected. "I just love the ears."

Songo gave no answer as she couldn’t help but continue to devour the young male with her eyes. Careful to look long enough to satisfy her hormones, but not so long as to make her appreciation known to present company.

"This is it?" Songo asked in an unimpressed sort of tone. "Doesn’t look like much. Are you sure this is the one that took out all those spider youkai?"

"Oh come on, Songo." Kagome chided. "He couldn’t be that bad."

‘Especially not when he looks like that.’ A voice in Songo’s mind dryly spoke. ‘Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?’

-Thump, thump… thump, thump-

‘The spiders’ den? No… then where?’

All at once, Songo felt the renewed hatred for the race that had slain her brother not two years ago

"Kagomne, it is a demon, and that makes it all bad." Songo replied with a snap.

Slowly, she stepped forward to the stasis tank focusing all the spite she could summon into her cold accusing stare.

"It might look human," she said venom dripping from her words. "but if you gave it half a chance, it would kill you, and everyone you love."

Songo placed her hand upon the thick glass, examining the fine features of the incapacitated youkai.

‘Bet you used that face to kill more than a few people, didn’t you?’

"Songo!" Kagome called out from behind her. "You shouldn’t be that close. What if he wakes up?"

-Thump, thump…-

‘What is… glass? A container?’

-Thump, thump…Thump, thump…-

‘Still captured? No…again? Not again.’

"Calm down Kagome. Songo said, turning to face her. "Its scars haven’t even regenerated yet. It will be a while before it can even do anything besides soak."

-Thump, thump…-

"Never again"

"What was…" Songo spoke in a startled whisper, and as if on cue there came a calamitous crash from behind that sent her sprawling to the floor.

"What the Hell?!" Songo exclaimed as she swiftly spun around on her ass to see what had happened. Immediately she joined the others as they stared in horror at the sight of the large crack in the middle of the tank formed by the youkai fist pressed into it from the other side. The demon’s eyes were now open, red, and trained like knives on the three onlookers.

"Mioga!" Kagome cried. "Lock it down, quick!"

The tiny bug frantically leapt across the security console to land on the large red button at the center of the panel. Instantly a large steel plate slid down and locked into place around the tank securing the awakened demon moments before he could land a blow that bent the heavy steel where he had struck it.

"Mioga!" Songo screamed. "I thought he hadn’t been regenerated yet."

"H-he shouldn’t have." Mioga said trembling in fear. "He still showed obvious signs of injury. He shouldn’t even be able to move yet. I-I don’t under… what was that?"

The three looked up as the lights within the room began to flicker on and off while the demon continued to pound on the only wall of protection between them and certain death. Another steel bending blow landed on the thick plate at the same time as one of the florescent lights on the ceiling violently burst apart.

"What’s going on?" cried Kagome as the sparks fell from above them.

Another blow, stronger than the last, shook the room, and blew out another light. The three covered their heads from the falling glass and sparks as they rained down from the broken fixtures. Soon the room was thundering with the sound of the raging demon’s fists while, one by one, the various lights in the room were snuffed out by an unseen and violent force. A small crack in the tank’s armor could be seen forming at it’s center. An eerie red shaft of light poured from it into the gathering dark as the horrible noise continued to rock the room. Another blow, even stronger, destroyed yet another light, and another, and another. It wasn’t long before there was but a single light left, stasis fluid covering the whole of the floor, and the barrier over the tank nearly beaten down.

"Kagome!" Songo cried out from under one of the thick consoles. "Hit the alarm!"

Without hesitation Kagome leapt from behind her cover, and dashed toward the red alarm switch at the side of the entrance. She was not but three steps away when a terrible noise froze her in her tracks. An unearthly howl had risen from behind the battered steel plate just as a massive burst of scarlet energy sent it flying into the wall above her head. Huge sections of the concrete fell about her as the massive steel section was buried into the wall where the last remaining light had just been. Kagome was sent flailing to the floor as a large section of the wall came down on her legs, and pinning her to the ground.

Kagome shrieked as she felt the massive concrete slab bare down upon her.

"Kagome!" Songo called out to her friend. "Hold on, I’ll be right there."

Stumbling over the debris, Songo made her way over to her fallen friend.

"Kagome, are you okay?"

"Yeah’ I think so." Kagome weakly replied. "I don’t think it’s broken. Oh God, Songo…"

Songo looked back to what had put that terrified expression on Kagome’s face only to have a similar look emblazoned onto her own. It was as if in a single moment every ounce of training and mental discipline had been drained from her by the horrible being she beheld. Across the room, still in the tank, stood the demon wreathed in a crimson aura of youkai power. Her eyes scanned him in disbelief as only his silhouette could be made out against his fire-like energy. His hair swam through the air as if he were still suspended in water. And then, his eyes… His red, terrible eyes. Songo and Kagome were frozen in shock as the demon made it’s first slow and deliberate step out of the prison that once held him.

‘Get up.’ Songo’s mind screamed at her. ‘The alarm. Get to the alarm! Get up…GET UP!’

Songo sprang to her feet, and raced toward the alarm.

The demon’s eye twitched at the realization of what the girl was doing.

"Grrr…"

Before Songo could reach the large red button she was struck down by the chair the demon who had with blinding speed hurled at her. It struck and caught up in a tangle about her legs throwing her to the ground. She hit the floor with her shoulder first, then her head soon after. She didn’t have time to tend to the blood sluggishly leaking from her brow however, as she barely escaped the demon’s heel as it came down and shattered the tile where her head had just been. She rolled away and landed in a crouch facing her enemy. The demon, who was now standing less than eight feet from her, flexed his claws to yield a menacing crack. He was toying with her. Forcing her to run from him, but she would not be that weak.

As the demon took it’s first step forward Songo hurled the heavy glass paperweight she had secretly palmed from the desk at her side directly at the approaching youkai. The demon, however, saw her attack, and moved lazily to the side as the hurled object sailed past his head.

"You’re dead…" The demon growled arrogantly as he prepared to pounce. Had he been given a second longer he would have attacked the unarmed female before him, but as the sudden sound of a crash followed by an alarm echoed in his ears, he only growled at the deceptive human.

"Guess that makes two of us." Songo countered as he glared at the flashing red button she had just activated with the paperweight.

‘This is it.’ Songo thought. ‘Now he’ll attack, and I’m not armed. She stared into his blazing red eyes as they breathed a hate of ages past. ‘At least I know he isn’t making it out of here either.’

The demon glared back at her with a viscous intent as it advanced a step uttering a malevolent growl, but at the moment of his attack, the sinister youkai hesitated. In a flash he destroyed the heavy steel door, and vanished from the lab. His speed was incredible, perhaps even comparable to Kouga’s. Songo stood there still frozen in her stance before she let out a dire sigh, and felt her heart begin to beat again.

"What?" Songo whispered to herself.

"Songo!" Kagome cried from amid the fallen rubble. "Come on. Get me out of here!" Songo snapped out of her trance, and rushed over to her comrade’s side even though her mind had never left the demon’s retreat.

‘What the hell just happened? It had had the upper hand, so why didn’t it attack?’