Wolf's Rain Fan Fiction ❯ Signs Of Paradise ❯ Break In ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any of the characters in the series.

**this is an OC fic, not a self-insert**

ch-san: Hiya everyone! Wow, this is a bit of a change. I usually write fanfics about Rumiko Takahashi's "Inu Yasha". I have a few good fics out there: That's Show Business! and Pill Poppers Anon. They're ok. I'm really into original fics, ya know? The sad thing is, the fic you're about to read is original, but it's a love story cliché. Which sucks. Ya know, insert girl, girl meets boy, etc. But…hahaha…I've said too much. It's a good fic, and I urge you to read it AND REVIEW! It's optional for a reason, but PLEASE PLEASE review! I lurve them. And lurve all of you. Honestly.

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Not a sound permeated the thick silence that fell over the whole land like a foreboding shroud as four dark shadows slipped along the side of a starkly white building. Compared to the old, decrepit buildings around them, the animal testing facility that the four figures were sneaking into stuck out like a sore thumb. Even in the dead of night it was fairly easy for anyone, even the blind, to spot. One of the figures, a tall male, crouched and made a hand motion for the others to follow him forward. They complied, bounding across the springy lawn to another white building. The muffled sound of a woman talking was heard in the coat pocket of the tall man. He yanked an ancient walky-talky phone out of the pocket and covered the earpiece with his hand to block out the noise.

"Sen, I'll call you, remember? Any noise and the guard dogs'll hear us and chase us out!" the man hissed quietly.

"Fine, fine. Sorry." she said quietly. "But as I was saying, why are we using these things? They must be at least two hundred years old!"

"I already told you: Unauthorized electronic equipment can be detected on the grounds here. These babies are so old that the security system just bleeps right over them."

"Right, yeah, well-" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"Listen, we're near the entrance. I'll call if…if I need to," he concluded warily, flicking the phone closed with a finger.

"So what now, Hideki?" one of the shadows asked.

"No names, you fool!" the tall man hissed, stowing his phone.

"Oh yeah," murmured the shadow.

"Right. Now here's the last stage of our plan: you'll pick the lock while we stand guard. Then, when the cameras are down, thanks to you're work," he added, pointing to another inky smudge in the darkness, "we'll slip in and tranquilize the animals. After-" but he never got to finish, because one of the cameras had detected them. It whirred in and out of focus, trying to get a clearer picture of the nighttime invaders. Even though it couldn't quite get a picture as to who it was, the alarm went off all the same. A loud, fog-horn like noise shattered the silent air. All four of the figures winced.

"DAMNIT!" Hideki roared over the noise. "SOMEONE SHOOT IT!" One of them nodded, whipping a rifle out of his trench coat. He aimed and fired, blowing the camera clean off the side of the building and extinguishing the noise.

"Someone will have heard that," one of the four stated. We'd better hurry if we want to save anyone. I estimate that we have about five minutes."

"Okay, okay, forget the tranquilizers, just get in there and get them out!" Hideki encouraged. One of them set to work on the door's lock and within seconds they were inside. The light flicked on as they entered, illuminating an immaculate, white, sterile room. A cacophony of noise erupted from the many steel caged animals. The style of cage was not only unique, but sickeningly inhumane. They were solid metal boxes with only a small slit along the top for air. The creatures had little water, nowhere to go, nowhere to relieve themselves, and were fed intravenously. One of the four, a stocky, solid-looking man, gasped at the cruelty that was set before him. Hideki clapped the man on the shoulder reassuringly, saying, "C'mon men, let's get them out of here."

The four men set to work. They opened cages, smashed lab equipment, and shot almost every computer they could see. Two of the men went around collecting the smaller animals, putting them in more acceptable cages. One of them was busy standing guard and shooting up the electronics. Hideki had about thirty cats, dogs, ferrets, and even a horse on leashes, tugging them towards the door. The man with the rifle stowed the firearm and took most of the animals. All four of them stopped dead when they heard the sound of shouting approaching them steadily.

"C'mon! Let's move!" urged one of the men with multiple cages. The three nodded once, shoving their animals out the door as many more that they had set free weaved in and out of their legs. The animals bounded out of the lab and into the warm summer night, free and wild once more. But as the four men started across the lawn, Hideki stopped dead. The three whipped around to face him.

"Hideki! What are you doing? Come on! We have to move!" one of them barked.

"I…I have to go back," Hideki stated, shoving his leashes into the nearest man's, already stuffed, hands.

"No! HIDEKI!" they yelled, but the man just sprinted back to the seemingly empty lab.

"You guys go, I'll catch up!" he hollered over his shoulder. His sneakers squealed as he skidded to a halt on the linoleum floor, eyes scanning the empty cages. Immediately he spotted it. Down one of the many rows of cages, one was still locked and bolted. Hideki pounced on the cage, flinging the steel door open with a bang! There, lying on the hard, cold floor was an immense dog of silvery grandeur. He felt the breath catch in his chest, wondering what breed it was, but he shook his head. He knew he had no time to think. The dog seemed unconscious, so he mustered up all his strength and lifted the weighty canine. Using even more energy, he attempted to sprint out the door, dog in arms. But the weight was too much, slowing him to a lope. He grunted under the weight and nervousness.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed by his ear. Angry yells broke out clear as a bell behind him. His eyes widened with fear as he caught a second wind. In no time he had sprinted to the parking lot where a black van was waiting for him along with two of his teammates.

"C'mon, Hideki! You can make it!" they called enthusiastically. One of the van's windows splintered as a bullet narrowly missed one of the team members. Hideki pushed off the ground and vaulted into the open door of the van, landing with a loud thud and a sickening crunch. As soon as he was in, one of the two waiting men slammed the side door shut while the other punched the accelerator. Within seconds they were gone.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when the lab was finally miles behind them. One of the men was bandaging Hideki's wrist, which he had landed on after jumping into the van and broken. The other just stared at the road, unwilling to stop until they made it to their city. Hideki closed his eyes for a moment, and then began to speak.

"So how many did we save, Tensai?" The man in question finished dressing Hideki's wrist.

"Well, Kosuke had about twenty dogs, twelve cats, eleven ferrets, fifty mice, thirty rats, ten guinea pigs, four real pigs, and a few otter kits in his bus. We have a few cats, one or two dogs, and god knows how many little critters in cages."

"Who took the horse and all of the birds?" Hideki asked.

"Sen came around with a horse trailer, just in case. She left before you got here," Tensai added. Hideki shook his head and smiled.

"That is so like her. Always one step ahead," he muttered.

"Too bad we couldn't save the rest instead of setting them free. I don't know if they'll survive out there after all of the damage those scientists did. You saw those cages, looked over all those lab reports…The poor, poor creatures…" Tensai sighed and hugged the nearest cat which purred and rubbed its head on his chin.

"So what's with the big dog?" the driver asked. "What breed d'you think it is?"

"I'm not even sure it's a dog, Jiro," Hideki responded.

"What, you think it's a mutant ferret? Come on, it has to be a dog!" Jiro scoffed.

"Not necessarily. I think…" he paused and looked the dog over a bit, before saying: "I think it's a wolf." Jiro spun around in his seat, flabbergasted. He suddenly remembered that he was driving and whipped back around. Tensai was still gazing, jaw slack, at Hideki.

"No, no… it can't be…" Jiro mumbled to himself.

"But they've been extinct for over two hundred years, Hideki!" Tensai gasped when he found his voice.

"So has this type of phone, and yet I still have one!" barked Hideki who whipped out his cell phone as proof.

"But Hideki-" Jiro argued.

"No, Jiro. It's a wolf. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Hideki turned away from them to stare out of the empty window. `How can he be so sure…?' Finally, without looking at either of them, he stated:

"I don't know how I know. I just have this feeling, deep in my gut, that this is a genuine wolf. We can run tests on it when we get to the lab, but I know I'm right." The two men looked at him solemnly, discussion obviously over. Tensai's eyes fell onto the enormous ball of silver at his feet. Gradually he let his hand slip onto its head. He patted it gently before returning his hand to his lap. After a minute or two, he spoke.

"Who's going to bathe all of these things?" The three men laughed heartily at this as they sped down the road towards a glowing city skyline. That was a year ago.

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After the amazing breakout from a company that was illegally experimenting on animals, rights activists Jiro, Tensai, Kosuke, and Hideki laid low for a while at Hideki's veterinary hospital. There they treated the animals for any injuries, assessed the damage that the experiments might have inflicted on them and, for some, found them good homes. Every cat, ferret, guinea pig, mouse, rat, and dog had someplace where it was wanted. Even the horse had a farm to call its home, which is amazing since no one farms anymore. Of course the freedom fighters took a few of the animals in, one of which was the strange dog that, after a few painless DNA tests, turned out to be a wolf. Hideki owned the animal personally, seeing as he was the one who saved it. However, the mystery as to why he went back was unknown to any of them. Either way, Hideki was grateful that he did. The wolf was always at his side, ready to greet new patients or just to stand guard. Of course no one mentioned that the wolf was a wolf, but whenever people asked what breed of dog it was, the four men and woman had a twinkle in their eyes when they answered `A husky'.

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"Puppy! Puppy, where are you?" Hideki called. The owner of a tiny Shiatsu sniffed in an irritated way at the vet.

"Can you please just look at my dog's paw and let me leave?" She drawled.

"Not without Puppy. She's my assistant, you know. PUPPY!" he hollered. Suddenly a gigantic silver dog bounded through the double doors and into Hideki's examination room. The paunchy woman shrieked and snatched up her miniature dog.

"Good gracious!" she exclaimed. "What is that thing?!"

"This is Puppy. She's my pet husky," he added quickly before the woman could notice the oddly large size of the dog. The silvery wonder let her tail wag extra fast when her owner patted her head.

"Well, just keep her away from William," said the woman tentatively as she set down her growling Shiatsu. Puppy cocked her head at the mini puff-ball and raised an eyebrow. Hideki chuckled at the "husky".

"You know, sometimes I'd swear that she's human," he laughed.

"Indeed," snipped the woman through pursed lips. Hideki's laughter died in his throat as he cleared it and bent double, examining the dog. After the examination was over, he led Puppy out into the waiting room. Sen was filing her nails behind the check-in desk. She looked up over the top of her computer at Hideki.

"Taking Puppy for a walk?" she asked. He nodded.

"She hasn't been out in a long while, and I thought I could use some fresh air myself."

"All right. Be back in twenty, would you?"

"Sure," he shrugged as he fastened a leash to Puppy's pearly white collar. The collar stood out against her intense silver fur, but matched the white hair that coated her bottom jaw, chest, and stomach. Puppy pranced up and down the room with excitement, yipping and whining. Hideki chuckled at his dog as he led her outside and into the gentle fog.

They walked for quite a long time. They looped around the empty park, past roads full of backed up cars, schools bustling with children, and everyday citizens out for a stroll. Hideki checked his wristwatch while making a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat.

"We'd better turn back, girl. We've walked for too long. I-Puppy, what is it?" he asked. Puppy had suddenly become ridged, staring fixedly at the thick fog. Hideki tried to focus on what was there, but the miasma was just too dense. He couldn't see a thing past Puppy's snout.

"What is it, girl?" he repeated, unnerved. Puppy eased backwards a bit, growling low. Her brilliant emerald eyes were scanning the mist, unseeing, but not unknowing. `They're there,' she thought, hackles rising. `I can smell them, and I can hear them. There in the fog, I just know it.' But the fog abruptly dissipated, revealing…nothing. Nothing was there. Not a cat, ferret, dog, nor human was anywhere on that empty street. Hideki breathed a sigh of relief, even though Puppy did not. She snorted at the empty alley before turning and leading her master back to the clinic. `I might not have seen them, but I know they're here…I know there are wolves in my city.'

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ch-san: YAY! First chapter done! Thank you very much for reading, and please review! ^_____^