Caged Freedom

[Rikutsu]

This story is complete. However, I will only post the first chapter for now. If it is wished for me to continue with the next chapter, I will gladly do so ~ Constructive criticism is welcome!

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Chapter One: The Assignment

There is a fine line between "myth" and "reality". Some say that this line should never be crossed. That humans should remain in their world, and other beings in their own. We shouldn't mix. It would only end in chaos and possible war.

I cannot agree with that. You see, my mother was human. A gentle woman with a calm, quiet voice. She never raised a hand to anyone and taught me to be who I am today. And my father? Well, he was a wolf yokai. One of the greatest, actually. A general to the king of the wolves. Both of my parents are long gone now, but I am not alone. I was taken in by Kaine, a pure blood vampire who is a member of the council in my world. The council decides the fates of all under their jurisdiction. At first, I was to be killed for being half-human, but Kaine convinced the council that I would be an asset to their cause for peace with the human realm.

Despite all their proclaimed strength, the vampires still feared a war with the headstrong race who knew no bounds. Humankind had surprised them on more than one occasion. With the councils orders to teach me to obey, Kaine took me to live with him. His task was a little more than difficult to say the least. As I grew older, he found me to be a rebel and a daredevil. I pushed my own limits as a human did, and my adaptability was much greater than any he had come across. I was defiant. To order me to do something was like trying to drag a raging bull backwards by its tail with cement blocks on its feet. And that's an understatement. It became clear that I would never be bound to the council. I would risk having my life taken before becoming their loyal servant. Because of this, Kaine began training me in the art of swordsmanship. If I were to defy the council, I would have to know how to take care of myself.

I learned quickly, my sword of choice the kodachi, used in a pair. He also taught me hand-to-hand combat and I discovered senbon, easily mastering the use of poisons that the small, hollow needles could be filled with. When I was in my teens, my abilities came into being. I was a natural healer. My spiritual energy could be used to accelerate the healing of others, and I could borrow the energy of other living creatures if needed. Though if I took too much from a single being, they could die. All too soon, the time came for the council to come and whisk me away. At least, that was what they planned to do. Larkxus, one of the younger members, was met at the door by a stone-faced Kaine. When I was summoned, the only reply Larkxus received was a senbon to the knee, without poison of course. It wouldn't be in my best interest to kill the man. The council grew enraged that I had so blatantly defied them, and turned their anger at Kaine, who had been charged with the task of teaching me to obey them, and only them. They stormed the household in an attempt to arrest Kaine, and for the first time in my life, I knew the meaning of rage.

It was then that my second ability was discovered.

So desperately did I want to defend the vampire that had had rescued me in childhood that my power to transform awoke. Before the council could lay a hand on Kaine, they were attacked by a very large, very angry wolf with black horns twisting from its coal-black head. A spiked tail swept them through a wall. Apparently, I had more of my fathers blood running through my veins than the council had first suspected. My demon form had appeared. The council fled in order to return with more forces, but by the time they arrived with twenty armed vampires in tow, Kaine had already calmed me down. The council returned to find one of their most loyal members with his arms wrapped around a teenage hanyou. Half wolf yokai, at that. And now with my demon form, I was considered a threat to them. They could not seem to understand. At the time, neither could I. If I was such an enemy, why was Kaine doing so much to protect me?

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From the moment he had come across the young wolf hanyou, Kaine had been attached at the heartstrings. Her name was Rina. As a child, she was the sweetest little thing. She was so much like a human that one could forget she had been sired by one of the mightiest yokai to have ever lived. As she had grown older, that affection for once hanyou child began to change and grow. He didn't know when it began, but before he knew it, that little girl was a young woman in his eyes. And he could tell that there had never really been any possibility she would serve the council. She was too defiant. Too wild. Too free. Her love for freedom was entirely too strong. She would not bow to the whims of the council.

And so he trained her. Taught her the use of the sword and hand-to-hand combat. She learned of senbon on her own, and her mastery of natural poisons impressed him. She learned so quickly.

Just as a human did.

Kaine had never known Rina's mother, but from what he saw in the wolf hanyou, he could only imagine how wonderful of a woman her mother must have been. After all, Rykon, the greatest of yokai generals had fallen for the human.

The time came for the council to come for the hanyou, and Kaine could sense that there was going to be a problem from the moment he opened the door. They had sent Larxus. Rina had never liked the young man. Why they had sent him, of all people, he couldn't fathom. As he had always predicted, Rina outright refused to even step near the door when Larxus asked for her. Instead, a senbon impaled itself in his knee, and Larxsus was sent limping back to the other council members. Outraged, they came to arrest Kaine, and it was then that Rina's true power was revealed. She was more like her father than any of them had anticipated. As the council went for reinforcements, Kaine quickly attempted to calm Rina down. If they returned and had to fight the wolf hanyou, they would kill her. The moment his hand touched the top of her muzzle, Rina reverted back to her human form and he gathered her into his arms, relieved that it took only his voice and touch to calm her. He never wanted to have to use force with her.

As the council returned with their soldiers, Kaine didn't move from where he had sat down in the grass, Rina settled on his lap. She had buried her face against his shoulder, clinging to him tightly, for she knew why the council had returned with armed forces. Kaine merely glanced up, his gaze challenging the council members to try and take the girl from him. He would fight to keep her. He would kill to protect her. Until now, he had never realized that she was the most important thing in his life. Even more so than his service to the council.

The vampire had fallen in love with the wolf hanyou.

[Sharon]

I know it's been a little while since you first posted this. I would love to see more chapters! I have never read any stories quite like this. I am also interested in finding out what the title means. "Caged Freedom" that title is intriguing. =)

[Rikutsu]

Chapter Two: The City

There are three things that define a hanyou.

One; they are half human, and so human blood flows through their veins. Two; they are rare. Only two out of ten survive childhood. And three; they are almost always female. Because of this, vampires may find the temptation of hanyou blood quite difficult to resist. The scent of their human blood was just so strong. For all the freedom that Rina had, she still lived a life of restraints. If she went out at night, she had to have an escort - preferably Kaine, but sometimes she would be assigned a vampire who was very skilled at controlling his or her blood lust. That way, she would have protection and less chance of being attacked. This was a bit irritating. Rina wanted to explore the city - both within the city's limits and beyond - on her own, but the Council would not have that. Especially since she was a threat to them. Wolf demons had always been their enemies. So they used her origins as an excuse to keep an eye on her...

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This was hopeless. Frustrating. Ridiculous!

"What do you mean I can't go? If I have an escort, I...!" Rina's words were cut off by the sour-faced vampire named Jen, who sat behind the receptionist's desk in the council hall.

"Escort or not, you cannot leave the city. It is forbidden." the female shuffled a few papers on her desk and turned her nose up at the wolf girl standing in front of her. If it wasn't for the fact that Kaine had been a loyal and powerful subject to the Council for many centuries, they would have done away with the girl a long time ago. Such nonsense for the vampire to protect and care for a demon. And a half demon at that! A wolf! One of their enemies!

Rina scowled. "Why is it forbidden? Everyone else can leave the city when they want to!" she exclaimed, smacking her palms on the top of the desk. This was going nowhere. She wanted to go out and see things. See people and other places! Not be cooped up in this crappy city with boring and stupid people and creatures. Jen met Rina's gaze with a stern look.

"You are not everyone else, little miss. And if you don't want me to contact the council elder, Barukaze, I suggest you remove yourself from the council hall immediately and go straight home."

"Little miss?!" Rina sputtered, outraged. "I'm an adult, damn you!"

The vampire clicked her tongue and shook her head. "My dear, you're barely a cub. Now get on home before I call Kaine." that seemed to do the trick. Rina huffed and turned on her heel, striding out the door angrily. Who did that vampire think she was?! So what if she was young by immortal standards? She was still of age! Growling to herself, Rina walked the busy streets towards home, her hands stuffed into her jeans pockets as she glared at the cement beneath her feet.

"A pretty face like that shouldn't be wearing such a frown." there came a voice from her left as someone dropped into stride next to her. Rina glanced up, startled, wolf ears flattening back against her ebony hair. "Relax, I'm not going to try anything." the male held up his hands to show that he meant no harm. He was obviously a vampire. His eyes were the color of rubies and he had the trademark pale skin, dark hair and delicate features of a pure blood. What was someone like him doing trying to talk to her?

Raising a brow, Rina asked, "What do you want?"

"Conversation." the vampire shrugged, his gaze turning to focus on the street ahead of them as they walked.

"That's all, is it?" Rina questioned suspiciously. She knew enough vampires to know that just conversation wasn't usually the first thing on their minds when coming into contact with a female hanyou. It was usually their blood that was sought after. The scent alone could drive a rouge vampire mad. Glancing at the female walking beside him, the vampire nodded.

"Yes, that is all. Honestly." he told her. "Finding someone to have a decent conversation with is never easy. When I saw you, I felt drawn - and no, not because of what you are. It's hard to explain." he was telling the truth, Rina concluded. She saw no lies in his crimson gaze. If he were lying, he was damn good at hiding it.

Still...

"Well, get to explaining, buddy. Because I don't know you. So I don't trust you." she placed her hands on her hips as she came to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, golden eyes narrowing. "You're just going to approach a hanyou and say all you want is conversation? Seriously? Give me a break." she watched him cautiously. The reply he gave her was not one that she was expecting.

"You don't trust, easily. That's good." he chuckled, seemingly amused. Rina frowned, looking puzzled. Here she was quite literally being rude to him and he was amused by her? What was with this guy? Any other vampire would have already snapped at her and stormed off.

"You're...good at controlling the temper that comes with being a vampire." she observed.

Again, he nodded. "I am. That's why I can get along with practically anyone." a smirk lifted one corner of his lips. "Have a good day, miss." he bowed slightly, then turned and walked away to cross the busy intersection.

"Hey...wait!" she made to go after him, but she had moved a little to late. Cars zipped by in front of her as the light changed from red to green and she huffed lightly. The vampire was gone within the crowd somewhere on the other side.

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It was almost morning when Rina finally made it home. She had walked for hours and hours, her thoughts on the mysterious vampire that had so suddenly appeared to talk to her...and then just as suddenly, vanished. What had that all been about? Who was he? She hadn't even asked his name. What disturbed her the most was that she had spent so much time thinking about him. She didn't know who he was, so why was she being this way? "Hey, Rin. How was your day?" Kaine was in the living room when she walked in, watching television. She gave him a smile.

"It was good. I had a surprising conversation with a random vampire while walking home." she said as she hung her coat in the front closet and dropped her keys on the coffee table.

Kaine stiffened. "You what?" he asked.

Dropping onto the couch beside him, she rolled her eyes. "It's alright, Kaine. Don't worry. It was just a guy looking for someone to talk to while out and about. We didn't even get each other's names." she reassured him, feeling both put-off and amused that the vampire was so worried about her. He always had been highly protective of her. Just because she was an adult, didn't mean he would stop now. "So how about you? Your day any more interesting than mine was?" she queried, leaning against him as she pulled her legs up under her.

Kaine didn't look convinced, but she had always been good at making him believe her. "It was uneventful, as usual." he replied and slipped an arm around her shoulders, smiling fondly as she settled against him. It was times like this that he almost forgot that she could transform herself into a ferocious, powerful wolf demon who could level a shopping mall with one swing of a giant paw.

"You know, your job is really boring." she said pointedly, looking up at him with a small grin. "You do know that, right?"

He laughed. "I like it that way."

Silence fell between them, and they turned their attention to whatever was playing on the television at the time, content to just be in each other's company. Even after all these years, Kaine had never let on that he loved the wolf girl who was laying against him. He just couldn't. If the council ever discovered his love for the girl, that he loved her as the woman she was and not as a father or brother figure, things would become even worse than they were back then and now. They would try to separate them, or their plan to execute her might be put into action. So Kaine continued to act like the "brother" of Rina. It would keep her safe. And it would keep her with him. She was so close, but yet so very far from his reach.

[altab]

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