AN: Nope, I have no idea what I'm doing. I am taking some liberties with the anime, though, but it's toward the end, so nothing major will change concerning that bit. This fic is plotless at the moment, but the prologue/beginning won't get out of my mind. I had to get it out before it distracted me from school. Bear with me, I'll think of things to put into this. Enjoy what you can, and be brutal, should you decide to review! -WF


Pure - Prelude


Children grow up believing in the phrase "The more you fight, the more you care." It's used as a teasing device in order to stop siblings from fighting, so appalled that they could possibly "care" for the other one, that it does exactly what it was meant to do. This is applied to many other relationships as well.

And of course the meaning of the phrase is forgotten as people grow older, and discover it's the exact opposite.

...or is it?

There's a shred of truth to the phrase "The more you fight, the more you care." They say that hatred is the purest form of love... and what better example is there of the Cat, and the Rat? The age old rivalry between feline and rodent, with the rodent some how always coming out on top. If cats are supposed to be such smart creatures, then why do they always lose?

It's simply because they care. Probably far too much.

Obviously it's shown in the well-known Cat and Mouse pair of Tom and Jerry. Tom never catches Jerry, and when he does, some sort of guilt comes out, and Jerry is allowed to go free. The entertainment is always there, but so is the pure friendship that is only expressed in the rivalry bred into their blood. Even if they are a cartoon, they exemplify "The more you fight, the more you care."

What would you do, without that rival of yours? What would the Cat do, if he finally defeated his nemesis, the Rat? The Mouse?

Simple. He would lose the very reason he has to live.


Why do we always run?

Such odd tangenting thoughts to be thinking, as amethyst eyes watched the shaking bushes. The hulking figure of the True Cat zipped through that pathway, the rain drowning out the scent, the stench that the form gave off. How long had Yuki stood there in the rain, without the umbrella over him? The umbrella Tohru had dropped, in her haste to chase after the fleeing Kyo, calling for him until her voice grew hoarse. She shouldn't go alone, it was dangerous for her... in a skirt and a short sleeved shirt... her shoes wouldn't be made for running, she'd be snagged in the mud. She'd never catch him.

Not alone.

Yet the Rat was rooted to his spot. Normally the rodent runs from the feline. But one look at Tohru, one look at Yuki, and the screeching, ragged cry of "DON'T LOOK AT ME" before running off, that was all he was left with, beyond the rain, and the issue that he should really get out of it. His asthma could work up in this cold, humid air. It could... it could...

He was aware of someone pulling at his sleeve. Kagura? It sounded like her, looked like her, felt like her. Why wasn't she chasing after Kyo? She claimed to love him so much... it didn't click. Was she scared? Yuki found himself gazing at her with empty eyes, moving from her grip. A disjointed voice broke from cold lips, as he automatically told her to go inside instead.

And then her figure was gone, and Yuki's slim legs were carrying him into the forest. After Tohru who was probably lost and stumbling in the dark now. After Kyo, who was horrified that anyone had seen him in such a state.

What would the Rat do, if he lost the Cat? If he no longer had anyone to keep him on his toes, and went about life as a lazy slacker?

...Yuki wasn't sure, really. But he knew he didn't want to find out.

I'm tired of running away.

Tables had turned. Instead of the Cat chasing the Rat, it was now the Rat chasing the Cat.