Abnormalities, an off-canon Inuyasha story

"Scalpel."

White light met her return to consciousness, and it took her a moment to realize that she was awake. W-where was she? Who was she? What had she been –

It was then that searing pain rushed from her chest to her every extremity, and she choked on her breath at the suddenness of the sensation. She tried to cry out, but her voice was hoarse and breaking like sea-waves. Her silence allowed the frantic voices around her to rise over her straining vocal chords.

"She's coming out of it!"

"Anesthesia!"

"She shouldn't be waking up yet."

Kagome didn't even feel the needle enter her arm as the pain engulfed her; and she didn't feel when blackness slipped over her conscious once again.

"What do you think happened? She's never woken up during an operation before."

Kagome's eyes roved under her eyelids, their led-weight offering her sensitive cornea some protection from the intrusive light surrounding her.

"Perhaps we're getting closer to the source of her abilities. We could be on the cusp of a breakthrough."

'Abilities…' she thought absently, grasping for coherent thought as her mind struggled under a heavy fog of long disuse, 'I have abilities… what are they…. What are they? I knew once….'

"What about the other one?"

Other… there were others? Was she in a hospital?

"The lab results were inconclusive – again. I don't understand! His DNA… parts are recognizable, but the rest… it's like we don't even have the means of classifying it! As if it's something new!"

Flat against a lightly cushioned pallet, Kagome listened intently to the conversation. She understood the words, but grasped in vain for their context. She could vaguely remember who she was, where she was supposed to be, and this didn't match up with her memories at all.

"It's been three years, Doctor. With all the money we've spent trying to crack what he is… shouldn't we just abandon the project?"

"We've gone too far to give up now. Just think what we could do if we could harness the power he has… it's incredible! Besides, what's our other option? Euthanize him? That'd be a waste of scientific research."

Who were they talking about… a person? No, it couldn't be – doctors wouldn't be so flippant over a human life.

"… Should we try the girl again? Now that she's come out of her coma… I know she wasn't much help at the beginning, but maybe she'd be more willing to talk now that some time has passed."

"Yes… he's definitely not the same creature she came in with. I wonder if she knew he would change so much. We'll question her once she's gained full awareness. I don't think it would be wise to have them together though. Their abilities are dangerous enough on their own… if they were to somehow combine their powers…."

"I wish you wouldn't use that word, Doctor. They aren't demons or witches or whatever that young girl claimed. There's a logical explanation for all of this, and superstition has no place in our research."

"Of course I know that, but still… you must admit, the condition of the young man is quite… unique, to say the least. You've never seen his monthly transformation."

"Doctor, please: 'transformation?'"

"There's no other word for it! One moment he's a red-eyed, snarling beast, the next an unconscious human. It's the oddest thing! His hair even changes color!"

Whatever scoffing response the assistant had planned was lost in the sound of straining metal as the recovering patient sat up, gurgling painfully as she tried to talk through the dryness of her throat. Horrified expressions watched as the black-haired girl curled over herself on the hospital bed, her chest heaving as she sobbed dryly, her body fighting to produce enough moisture for tears. The tears she did manage were tinted red. With every word they said her heart squeezed convulsively; she knew exactly who they were talking about.

Reaching out, heedless of the IVs tugging from beneath her skin, she gaped soundlessly in an effort to produce words. Sunken eyes glared at the man and woman in long white lab coats who were staring back at her with morbid fascination, making no move to stop her movement. Pink light blurred her vision, and she realized distantly that they must have been scared of her spiritual aura. Kagome wished she had the power to harness it and give them a taste of her anguish. Because now she remembered. She remembered it all.

Swallowing thickly, Kagome tried to steady her gaze on her captors, but the edges were blurring alarmingly. With welling panic she found her mind filled with one word, one name, and her pain and fear and worry forced it out of her in a cracking whisper.

"Inuyasha!"

A faded vision of snow-white and blood-red flashed in her mind as she felt herself falling, instinctively reaching out with the hope of being caught by strong, clawed hands. Instead her head cracked against lightly-padded steel and her world returned to black.

*Author's Note:

This is going to be a multi-chapter fic - this is just the prologue. And it'll be pretty dark and kinda disturbing. It's all because of a dream I had where Inuyasha and Kagome were trapped in a scientific facility, and ever since that dream, I haven't been able to get this story out of my head. It will be shippy, but it will mostly be angst. So... buckle up. :P