Chapter 18 - Now we hunt-Kouga

Kouga and the ookami, Chiyuki, arrived moments later at the building known as a 'Youths' Center'. It had taken Souta a few minutes to explain the reason for such a place, and a few more moments for Hidenori to recall what might be expected inside.

He knew that there were several rooms, luckily only one floor. One of the rooms was a huge place called a 'gym', where the children and teens were able to participate in a number of sport activities. There was another room that had held tables for playing games of various kinds, two bathrooms, a main office, a nurse's office, broom closet, and a manager's office. They all were rooms that led off the main reception area inside the front entrance. There was one door in the rear of the building that accessed a storeroom. Hidenori was not sure, but believed that there might have been a small basement room, somewhere near the storage room.

Kouga figured that if anyone was in this building, the basement room was probably the most likely place. Thanks to the scraps of bloodied cloth and other clues that Inuyasha had picked up, Kouga and Chiyuki, along with the others had picked up and imprinted the scents of the ones that they were looking for. With that in mind, Kouga and Chiyuki quickly circled the building checking for any signs of it inhabitants.

It happened that it was another heavily overcast night. For the youkai and hanyou this was perfect. They had figured that either the 'Nightwalkers' would be out looking for another victim, in which case they could nail them all at once, or they would be hiding. They figured the latter was the more likely event.

They had caught Kagome the night before, however, their 'entertainment' was thwarted. As a result, they had acted in haste and taken another unfortunate victim. It was more likely that they would hold up for the night, especially as the police were busy searching the area.

The added darkness was more than welcome. Kouga was easily able to move about unseen and unheard. He readily melted into the night, becoming one with the dark, and even with the near white dog tracking with him, anyone looking in his direction would have been hard pressed to see him.

They had reached the rear of the building, when Chiyuki gave a soft whine and raised her nose to the air. Kouga had caught it also, and knew that they prey was at hand. Not being sure of the terrain inside the building, Kouga figured that it would be better to lure his intended prey outside to him, instead of going to his victim.

With that in mind, he sent Chiyuki over to the door and after a few quick commands, the ookami scratched at the door. In the almost silent depths of the night, the scratching was almost like a shout. Their efforts and persistence paid off, when they heard the noise of movements inside.

Getting a quick idea, Kouga removed his headband and let out his pony tail, letting his hair fall about his shoulders in unkempt waves. He deliberately turned his back to the door, and sat down on the edge of the nearby street. He was close enough to give anyone looking the appearance of someone sitting there, someone that might easily be mistaken for an onna, all alone.

Soon the door could be heard creaking open slowly, as it whoever was checking out the scratching at the door was trying to be cautious. The idea of this left Kouga hard pressed not to laugh. If only this ningen knew what awaited him. HEH! HEH! HEH!

Kouga didn't say anything, and the only movement he made was to slump down a little more and sniffle like what he hoped would sound like a female who was in some kind of distress. He must have gotten something right, especially after he let out with a small whimper, to essentially tell Chiyuki to stay back for now. He soon heard the quiet approach of footsteps.

As the scent grew stronger and Kouga was able to get a clear whiff of it, from all the other and varied odors in this primarily ningen world, he was able to confirm that this male was indeed one of those who had attacked Kagome. Kouga didn't make any sudden moves. He didn't want to spook his prey too soon. So he waited until he could hear the male just behind him.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you the dangers of being in the 'Nightwalkers' Graveyard', little girl?" asked the male with calm deliberation.

Kouga smirked, but didn't let it reach his voice, which he kept low and soft, trying to keep the illusion of being a simple, helpless onna for just a bit longer. "I..I...got lost...," he whined. "I...a-am..new around here... Can y-you help me?"

At the sound of what appeared to be a helpless female, the male fell for Kouga's trap. He stepped forward and reached out to grab the 'female' by the shoulder, only to suddenly have a tall, muscular, snarling, ookami youkai holding him by the throat. Fangs gleaming, even in the dark, and eyes glowing with barely restrained rage and an obvious thirst for blood.

The male turned out to be a piece of cake from there, as he was too scared out of his mind to do more than shiver in fear. Kouga called to Chiyuki, while he knocked his prey cold. For a moment, he left him lying on the pavement near the door of the old building, with the ookami, and went inside to see if there were any others there.

Inside the building looked very much as Hidenori had described it. Many of the things that had once furnished the place well were still there, but in obvious need of repair. Dust and cobwebs hung thick in the air, and Kouga was hard pressed not to sneeze. He did catch the scent of another ningen, and as they had surmised, it came from the small basement area that Hidenori had suspected was there.

When he went down to the small, ill kempt, and ill lit room, the sight was enough to have him not far from where the Youkai Lord had been earlier that evening. In such a rage that he wanted to give in to his own youkai beast. He fought back the bile in his throat and his raging youki, and approached the bound, gagged, and half-dead female that lay in the filthy corner of the room.

The walls down here were damp and mold and mildew were prominent. A small table sat in one corner, with the remnants of a meal laying on it. There was a half broken lamp that served as the only light in the room, and a small box that seemed to have voices coming from it. This confused the Ookami Prince, until he recalled the one that Souta had shown him, and called a radio.

But the true focus of the room, was the filthy excuse for a futon, lying in the opposite corner from the table. If there was a whole blanket on it, the figure lying there would have been lucky. As it was, even the futon itself was not suitable for a rat, let alone anyone else. Her long dark hair was almost the only thing covering her, what was once her clothes being nothing more than dirty rags.

She was unconscious, and for this Kouga gave a prayer to the kami, for he was sure that had the onna been awake, she would have not been able to keep the screams from her lips. It looked like both legs had been brutally broken, her body was covered in random cuts made from the apparent rusty blade of a nearby knife. What was left of her breasts were more bloody pulp than whole, her face cut, eyes swollen shut, and black and blue. The scent in the room confirmed what Kouga had already suspected, she had been repeatedly and almost continuously violated during her captivity, but he knew from the same scent that this was not, luckily the Ayumi onna, whose parents were back at Kagome's home.

What kind of filth were these vermin that they would do such to anyone, let alone a young female. Kouga removed the cruel wires that he found was used to tie the onna. They had cut deeply into her wrists and ankles, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. He carefully turned her over onto her back and did his best to make her at least a bit more comfortable.

As he did, he noticed that even her jaw had been broken in what must have been someone's idea that the onna's face was a punching bag. He didn't know if the girl would live, and he could tell that she needed help. She had obviously been here for several days and it was doubtful that she had been fed or even given water.

He needed to take care of the male first. In her condition, the onna was not going anywhere, so he would take his prey and meet up with the others in the designated clearing and send Miroku and Sango to get the onna once he was there. He did take a moment and grabbed the cup of liquid that was sitting on table and forced a few meager sips through the poor onna lips. Even unconscious she had the instinct and ability to swallow and for that Kouga was grateful. It was all he could do for the moment.

Leaving the door open, he left the building, grabbed his prey and with Chiyuki following him, he headed for the clearing. He fought the urge the entire way, to not rip out the throat of the male he was carrying. Instead, once he got to the meeting place, he settled for binding him with the very wires that had been used on the onna, and took sadistic satisfaction in making them tight enough to cut into the male's skin.

Miroku provided an effective ofuda that would keep their prisoner from moving. He, also, pulled a strip of cloth from a small bag that he had gotten at the shrine, and used it to gag the male.

"Sango-san, there is an onna where I found this thing," said Kouga. "She is in a very bad way. I didn't have time to do much more than try to make her comfortable, if that were possible to even do. She needs help as soon as possible."

"I'm on it, Kouga-sama," she said. She took Kirara, and staying below the rooftops the fire neko mononoke soon took off, following Chiyuki, who Kouga had given instructions to show Sango where to find the building and the onna.

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