This fan fiction is a response to a request made by Rebel of my Destiny to write a story about Lune and Yuki. Sorry that it took a while to get out, and thanks again for the idea.

Chapter One: Humble Beginnings

In a back alley, a small white kitten curled up against her mother to ward off the night's chill. She was the only surviving kitten of the gray cat's litter, and the mother was fiercely protective of her. The old gray cat leaned over and licked her daughter's ears.

"We'd best get up, Yuki. Time to look around for breakfast."

The tiny kitten sat up, stretched, and followed her mother towards a favorite fish restaurant. Although the leftover parts were to die for, the alley cats had to be very careful with their timing, since the restaurant's owner hated cats with a passion.

Yuki's mother, Luki, was once quite a beauty. But a hard life on the streets after her owners abandoned her had eroded her good looks, until all that appeared to the casual observer was a scruffy alley cat. But Yuki knew her mother had beauty beyond compare. The kind of beauty she hoped one day to achieve. Her mother looked back at her and smiled.

"Come along, dear." All of a sudden, her eyes looked beyond her small daughter, and she gasped. Grabbing her girl by the scruff of the neck, she ran down the street as a familiar sound reached her ears.

Not dogs again. How could humans like the terrible beasts? They have no hygiene, they're loud, obnoxious, and have way too much fund torturing her kind. Her mother had to go through three blocks in order to lose them. Her legs were shaking as she finally collapsed, dropping her kitten and panting heavily. Yuki turned around and licked her nose.

"Thank you, Mother. I'll bring you back some fish."

Luki's tired eyes shot open looking past her daughter's shoulder.

"No, Sweetheart. I want you to run as fast as you can. He's here."

Yuki turned once, and froze. Although the man approaching them was called a dog-catcher by humans, he didn't hesitate to pick up cats too. And once the animals disappeared into the back of his car, they were never seen again.

Her mother bit at her tail, getting the kitten to jump and run away as the man reached down and grabbed for her. He said a few bad words, but picked up the dark cat carefully as she thrashed around and hissed at him. And as Yuki disappeared down the street, she realized that she would never see her mother again.

Perhaps it would be kinder, not to describe the horrors the kitten was now forced to face alone. Without her mother's experience to guide her, it was nearly impossible to get food, let alone keep it long enough to eat it herself. Older alley cats had no sympathy for orphan kittens, being shown none when they were kittens themselves.

Yuki was hiding from some dogs behind a trash can, crying her eyes out. It had been over a day since she had been able to find anything to eat, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

Suddenly, her hunger-empowered nose picked up a familiar scent. Fish! She looked around the can, surprised to find a human girl walking down the street by herself, happily eating out of a fairly big yellow box. Oh, it smelled so good…

Despite her better judgment, she started following the girl, praying that a crumb would fall to the ground for her. The girl turned to look at her, curious as to what was following her. Yuki decided it was worth the risk that the girl would kick her or something for bothering her. It's not like it would be the first time she got abused for being near humans. The girl faced her front again, but then turned to her, a sweet smile on her face for the tiny kitten. Her large brown eyes reminded Yuki of her father's. The one memory she had of him.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Yuki looked at her.

"Those crackers smell really good."

"Oh, you're pretty hungry, huh?" She leaned down to the white kitten. "Do you like fish?"

"Yes." At this point she would eat anything.

"They're really good. Here, try some." She pulled a few of the fish-shaped crackers out of the box and placed them on the ground for Yuki, who devoured them. The girl petted her fur gently, a touch the kitten missed sorely. "You're really dirty, kitty. Do you like the fish?"

"Yes, thank you."

"See, I told you." She reached into her box again. "Want some more?"

"Yes, please."

The girl beamed at her and placed the whole box in front of the kitten.

"Okay, you can have them all."

Yuki attacked the box with a vengeance, but remembered her manners. She looked up at the girl, smiling at her. No one had shown her kindness since she was separated from her mother. This girl had truly been an answered prayer.

"Life's been really tough; is there a way I can help you in return?"

The girl laughed.

"Oh no, you don't need to do anything for me."

A woman called out behind the girl.

"Haru!"

The girl's grin brightened further, and she leapt to her feet towards the woman.

"Mommy!"

The kitten kept her head in the box, but could hear the human child, Haru, repeat her words about life being tough. The woman laughed, like it was a joke or something. The white cat only wished that it was a joke.

The crackers gone, Yuki gave herself a good look-over. Come to think of it, she hadn't groomed herself once since the last bath her mother had given her. She had been too busy trying to stay alive to worry about her filthy fur. As she dragged the empty box to the nearest garbage can, her mind gave a huge shudder.

That human girl had understood her perfectly! But, her mother had said that humans couldn't understand their kind, so why did that girl… Why did Haru? Was she a special human or something? The kitten looked down the street the girl had disappeared through.

"One day, Haru. One day, I will find a way to repay you for my life."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Feeling better after the crackers, Yuki was able to walk longer, although she had no idea where to go. Her heart saddened; Haru had seemed quite taken with her. Maybe she would have taken the kitten home, if the mother had called out a little later. But it was silly to worry about such things now.

She had come to a crossroads, deserted now that it was very late. The kitten stretched a little, and made herself comfortable on a white chair. The fish crackers should keep her body working for at least another twenty-four hours. Enough time to think of something…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey, kid! You're in my chair!"

Yuki was broken out of her sweet dream to come face-to-face with a gigantic white cat. Remembering that she was very small, she jumped out of the chair.

"I'm very sorry, sir! I was just tired and-"

The fat cat waved his paw dismissively as he claimed the seat.

"Yeah, yeah. Go find your mommy, Chicky."

Yuki stared at him, and looked down in shame.

"I don't have a mommy anymore. Or a daddy. I'm all alone." He opened one eye to look at her.

"Then why don't you go to the Cat Kingdom? At least you won't starve there."

She looked up at him.

"Cat Kingdom? What's that?"

He sighed tiredly.

"Why don't they tell their kittens anymore? It's a special place cats can go when they don't want to be in the human world anymore. It's a paradise."

The kitten smiled happily. Perfect!

"How do I get there?"

He chuckled grimly.

"It's actually a lot easier now than it used to be. In about ten minutes, a bus will come to that corner over there. Get on it, the conductor doesn't mind cats. When he says Cat's Paw Park, get off and head to the biggest lake. The fish will keep you alive until you can jump into the lake on a full moon night. Remember to do it then, because if you try it any other time, it won't work."

Yuki blinked back tears of happiness as she bowed low before the fat cat.

"Thank you, sir."

He humphed.

"Muta's fine. But you had better get near the stop, because the conductor doesn't like to dilly-dally."