Why Tora Runs
Pita pat! Pita pat! Pita pat! Tap!
"Don't just stand there maggots! Go after it!" A fierce woman's voice ordered sending a shiver down my feline spine. For the first time since I took my first run towards freedom… I felt scared. But how can I be scared? I am Tora, named for the ferocious ancestors of my clan. I do not get scared. I have been chased and captured more times than all of the nine lives of each family member combined, both dead and alive, possess. I have dodged kunai and shuriken thrown by some of those that would eventually become the best in Konoha, out ran and out smarted Ninken, and even found ways to elude the infamous Byakugan… But this is the first time I have ever feared my pursuers. I had no choice but to speed up.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Running is in my blood. My grandfather was the first of our family to dare to make the escape for freedom from that horrid cow's clutches. Even in her youth she was portly and overly affectionate to the point where it was deadly. Shijimi had received my grandfather and grand-aunt when they were but mere kittens as a gift from her future husband. The future queen loved them the moment she laid eyes on them, too much unfortunately. Just old enough to leave their mother, my grandaunt never stood a chance. Despite this my grandfather never ran until he met the Grand Cat.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Fearsome, strong, brave and cunning the Grand Cat is said to be the most powerful cat alive. Kittens are raised on her stories of all she did for the world, only to be sealed away. Humans did not or possibly could not know of her deeds. She kept demons from other worlds at bay through the dreams of man. She would transfigure herself into a beautiful woman and bear the children of men to keep family lines from dying out. The Grand Cat was a feline of amazing compassion and even greater power. She possessed the power to destroy but seldom used it; only to defend did she use her gifts of fire. She once even appeared before an elderly couple in her human form so they could have the daughter they had longed for until their dying days. Oh, the Grand Cat's stories are endless… Though, not all of them sing her praises. Oh, no…
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When man betrayed her and sealed her away she grew angry with humans and often broke free. She raised the dead to take her revenge on the humans that tried to use her Gifts of Fire to annihilate their foes. She grew cruel and spiteful to all of mankind for the acts of few. To be honest I cannot blame her. To be in man's clutches is one of the most horrible things in the world and it is why I hold tight and true to the story my grandfather told me as a tiny kitten. You see he once met the Grand Cat. In person? Yes and no. He met her current jailer and through her mindscape, the Grand Cat.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
It was long ago, just a few short years after my grandaunt's untimely death that he met the Grand Cat and a year before the Third Great Shinobi War broke out. Young and frisky he ventured out into the Village alone, how he had lived the sheltered life on pillows of satin and milk in a porcelain saucer, so unprepared for the shock of the weather. It was just a typical Konohagakure winter, cold and brisk, wet but no snow, the season of the Winter Chunin Exams, when he took his first stray from Lady Shijima. At first the cold frightened him straight back into the lavishing hotel the Daimyo and his new wife were lodging for the final stages of the Exams. At first, he had told me, he was tempted to just go back to the suite and curl up by the fire once more but something beckoned him back out into the elements.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Once more he cocked his head and slipped out an open window and out onto a third story window ledge. From the moment he stepped paw outside for a second time he felt, for the first time since his sister's death, alive. Wind buffeted his fur as he simply stood near the edge just as it does my pelt when I make a daring dash for freedom, chilling and liberating all at the same time. At first he was merely satisfied with just sitting there but that was not too last. He knew not what compelled him to leap from the windowsill down onto the canopy that hung over the hotel's doorframe but he did so none the less. From there he bounced from the awning down to the streets with a yowl of shock and for yet another first he landed on his feet. Never before had he jumped and therefore had never done what came so naturally to felines.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Bewildered he continued his venture at the most leisurely of paces, not that he had much choice in the matter of speed. Lady Shijima in all her lovingness had gifted his with a beautiful and very heavy set of gold gauntlets. As generous a gift they were, he was never able to move at a running pace, always restricted, always cuffed by binding love. When one has this as a norm you tend not to notice nor really care as such he did not. Other than that for the first time in his life he roamed without the crushing care of his mistress. Curious at every little aspect of the streets and markets he took a sniff at anything that caught his eye. Unaware of just who he was shopkeepers shooed him away with brooms and the occasional frying pan. He would hiss at them in aggravation, so used to humans worshipping the ground he walked on in order to gain favor of Lady Shijima and in turn the Daimyo. Of course his high and mighty attitude got him into some trouble…
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Eventually he wandered himself into an alley and naturally in the alley were, yes you guessed it, alley cats. They were not too pleased with some random stuck-up and overly prideful tomcat ambling into their midst. My grandfather, never having been in a scrap before, and also being very gentle in nature, was torn to shreds. Waiting for some human to dispose of the bleeding noble cat the alley cats stalked off into the shadows, their eyes aglow with murderous intent. At long last, when he was so close to death, a young girl from a foreign land moved into the alley as if some invisible force commanded her every step. When she stood over his near lifeless body her eyes suddenly became wide with horror at what she saw. She fell to her knees before my grandfather began to weep. With trembling hands she scoped up the young tom and held him close. She whispered and crooned soothing words to him as she tore strips of her clothing to fashion makeshift bandages to halt the bleeding. With crimson stained dressings he was carried away from the filthy alleyway in loving and gentle arms. His dull green eyes met her obsidian for an instant before being swept away by unconsciousness.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
When he awoke he was not laying, not sitting nor standing, but submerged. All around him was water, yet he could breathe and see just as clearly as if it were air. No matter which way he looked, up or down, left or right, forwards or backwards the water never ended, with no surface nor floor. It defied all logic. In incomprehension he turned this way and that, thrashing about in fear when he heard a voice, melodic and calming yet filled with superiority. "Be still young Takashi, descendent of the noble tigers," It spoke with the voice of a not quite maiden but not quite a crone woman. He turned by paddling toward the direction of the voice, shocked and awed by what he saw his jaw dropped. Before him, held in a sphere of air within the sea that never ended in any direction, was the Grand Cat.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
Grandfather described her as an embodiment of sapphire fire in all its beauty, strength and majesty that could humble even the most hubris of man or beast. One eye was greener than his own and the other eye was a yellow more bright and pure than his sister's had been gazed upon him with condescending disapproval. A sad chuckle escaped the Grand Cat before she spoke to him once more. "So this is the heir to the great Streak of the Score… Oh, how the mighty have fallen…" My grandfather was far too insulted and frightened to find a retort to spit back at the Grand Cat, whose pelt almost seemed to meld into the watery background. Though, it was more so that he did not know how to respond than anything. "Your clan was once fierce warriors… Fighting alongside mankind in battle, used for stealth and espionage as well, if memory serves… Now look at you. The sole surviving member of your streak… A pet!"
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
"S-streak of the Score…?" He had stuttered before the Grand Cat. He felt so small in both stature and physical size to this marvelous feline. The hero of every kitten's kithood was before him in a hunter's crouch, as if she would pounce and tear him to shreds. He turned his head to avert his eyes from the Grand Cat, showing that to her he submitted that he did not wish to fight. He knew what the end result would be; if he could not defend himself against a band of worthless alley cats what hope did he have of defeating her?As he attempted to paddle backwards in the water he faltered, his strength was leaving him and the gauntlets were weighing him down.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
"Those gauntlets… Your ancestors of the Streak would have been able to run and shred their foes limb from limb to protect their human partners while wearing gauntlets twice as heavy as those. Also bearing full body armor some carried not only their armor but also a few spar kunai for themselves or their masters. You are a disgrace to the Streak," Every word was growled and filled with malevolence as her teeth bared at the frightened young tom. Eventually she let out something between a sigh and snort. "I suppose it is not your fault. Your forefathers gave up that life to become pets. Those ways were abandoned long before your great-grandparents were even thought of…" At the look of confusion upon my grandfather's striped face she gave yet another cross between a snort and a sigh.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
"The Streak of the Score was the name of your clan…" She said annoyed that he was unaware of this. Then the Grand Cat saw the look of pure stupidity that garnished my grandfather's tan and black striped face. "You don't even know what a streak is do you?" He opened his mouth idiotically but before he could even manage to get a meow out she cut him off with an irritated hiss. "And if you say it is something like a stripe I swear I shall break free of these bonds just so I can skin your pelt!" His mouth snapped shut audibly before the Grand Cat allowed a satisfied purr to escape her before she continued once more. "A streak is the term for a group of tigers. As tigers rarely travel in groups it is rarely used and- Why am I going on? You obviously care not about your ancestry or you would not be content to just lounge around all day, curled up by a fire…!" She trailed off as she seemed to ponder a matter that caused my grandfather to take a small paddle forward out of curiosity.
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
"However…" She mumbled with a scarcely satisfied purr. She rose from her hunter's crouch to a relaxed sitting passion on her hind legs, her chest forward with self pride yet it was far from hubris somehow. "When the wind called you… You answered it. Unquestionably not right away but you did. True you did not run with it was it commanded you to but you still came… You, Takashi, are the first of your bloodline in over a century to answer the beckon of your natural instincts rather than simply curl up and be content with being sloth," Her voice was filled with so much venom a rattle snake would hide its fangs in shame but when she spoke again even the most timid of mice would have poked their heads out of their holes to hear what she had to say next. "Perhaps there is a chance… A possibility that you could restore the honor of your streak…"
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
She paused in consideration as she gazed upon the smaller cat with a pelt of primarily tan fur that was so ordinarily neatly groomed. Now his fur was matted with blood and grime, and what was not clotted with such impurities stuck out in all directions. "Yes… I do see the warrior potential in you… Your body is still made for running and fighting despite a century of indolent behavior one would think it would have been somewhat breed out… Maybe… Just maybe… You can redeem yourself and your streak. But the honor of anyone's family can only be truly restored if the said being is willing… Takashi… Are you willing?" According to my grandfather there was almost a pleading and desperate tone to her voice with that final question. Almost…
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
My grandfather's response was not shown with words or a nod or shake of the head. It was revealed through the fire in his eyes that blazed hotter than the Grand Cat's herself. The Grand Cat gave a satisfied purr and an approving nod to him. "Good. Takashi, there is only one thing you can do to re-establish your streaks honor…" She purposely took a momentary pause for dramatic effect and no doubt to have a bit of fun at his expense. "Run. Just run. Run, no matter how many times you are caught and captured and trust back into the arms of that woman. Should you never make your way to redemption, tell the story of your encounter with me to your decedents. Someday… Your streak will rise again to its former glory if you simply… Run…"
Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat! Pita pita pat!
With a wave of her two tails he awoke and I return you back to my current situation. I run from this woman that strikes fear into my heart as much as the Grand Cat did my grandfather. I race away from her three students, a Byakugan wielding Hyuga, a Ninken commanding Inuzuka and a clanless child who seeks to carve a path for himself in life. I know the Shinobi of Konohagakure better than the any other from hours of watching training sessions of the new Genin squads. I am stealthier than a Shinobi of the Hidden Lock Village. I am more unpredictable than the Leaf's Orange Rokudaime Hokage himself. I am swifter than the Leaf's Yellow Flash had been once upon a time. I have grown cleverer than Konoha's Shikamaru Nara, the number one shogi player in the world. I was not born with the skill I possess today. All of my skill comes from years of blunder after blunder, capture after capture, of study and observation, but none of that matters. No matter what I will run. I am Tora, the sole grandchild of Takashi that runs for the glory and honor of the Streak of the Score. For freedom… For honor... For glory... For redemption… This is why I will run until the Streak of the Score is redeemed or I perish. Until one or the other comes I will run.