Chapter 9: Difference

He pounded the wall, seething with rage and clenching his fists. He growled as the picture of his fellow dragons looking upon him with pity flooded back into his mind. That freak... made him look puny, pathetic... weak...

He threw a pebble at full force, damaging a young, innocent sapling with scars beyond nature's repair. No one makes a fool of Raimundo, not even that stupid goth geek. Even though it was the cat-child that caused him so much embarrassment, it somehow became Jack's fault. There was no way he'd let that happen again. A single red leaf fell from a majestic maple above, landing softly beside his foot. He cursed his opponent's name, crushing the leaf and listening to the crunching sound it uttered.

What did such a beautiful young girl with such extraordinary powers see in that half-witted, self absorbed, low-down, lifeless nerd? Rai was tall, tan, handsome, everything a girl wanted in her dream guy. What made him so much better than a Brazilian boy wonder? The very though of Jack being the ladies' man instead of him was absolutely sickening. The thought of that little punk made him shudder with wavelengths of pure, intentional hatred. He'd kill that kid if Master Fung wasn't such a hippie.

He stopped in his tracks. Who said Master Fung had to know anything about Raimundo's life? Who died and made him the king of the temple. He remembered witnessing the apparition of Grand Master Dashi when Wuya returned to her puzzle box. Dashi was a laid back kind of guy, certainly he didn't take orders from some Buddhist without hair? No. If Dashi had some gothic albino pain in the ass, he'd do something about it, right? That something would be violent, right? That something... would get rid of his enemy forever... dispose of him...

... Kill him...


Mew-Mew stared in awe at the outdoors. With the twilight darkening, the moon was coming out, casting the rays it borrowed from the sun on the grassy lawn of the Spicer estate. She looked at the shadows of the trees and wanted to explore, to see what was beyond that veil of darkness. Slowly, she approached, ready to leap out the window and into the world beyond. Now she prepared to jump, flinging herself into the air.

THUD!

Her nose hit the glass hard, knocking her flat on her back. She laid sprawled out on the floor, dazed. She was a bit tipsy when she got up, balancing herself and shaking the shock away. The kitten placed a hand in front of her, feeling the invisible barrier she had crashed into. She then put a tail against it, rubbing the soft but deadly fur against the clear wall. She then pulled her tails together, uniting them into one.

Jack looked over his shoulder, seeing the girl's tails joining and dropping the dishes he was supposed to be washing when he discovered her intentions. "Mew-Mew, don't do it!" he shouted.

The entire world was his witness when one of Wuya's rock golems ripped the roof off, but he wouldn't have an explanation for a shattered window. Mew-Mew turned around innocently, gazing up at him with her sky blue orbs. "Don't break that window, Mom'll kill me!" he huffed.

That murderous word made her shiver. She could have caused her master's death by this simple mistake! Then it hit her, who would dare bring harm to her master? What mortal would be so foolish as to stand in her way like that? Did they know who they were dealing with? Apparently not. She then gave Jack a look that no human could read. A look that any normal person would think said defiance to them, but Jack read it as defiance to the rest of the world. A look that said, "No matter what you throw at me, I'm not gonna quit."

Jack reached out and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her ears. She looked up at him through her messed up hair, observing the action. Her animal instincts attempted to read the action. Grooming? No, not quite. It appeared to be a simple display of affection. Perhaps this was natural among Jack's species. Mew-Mew knew she was not like Jack or Wuya or the mean people that tried to hurt Jack. They did not share her scent. She was different.

Her instincts kicked in that thought. She was a different species. Jack was not meant to take her in, neither was Wuya. She looked down and pulled away from his gloved palms. He looked surprised when she stared down at the floorboards with a sad look in her eyes. Her ears folded downward, like a puppy on the street would.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"Jack no have tail like Mew-Mew. Mew-Mew have big ears. Mew-Mew not like Jack..." she said sadly.

Jack put his hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to him. "Hey," he said somewhat sternly, "just because you don't look like me doesn't mean I don't like you. I mean, look at me and Wuya over there..." he ushered to the witch, whom scowled at him, "we get along great!"

Mew-Mew gave him a look of observing. Jack accepted her. A memory of sommething like this flooded back. A pact of friendship, an agreement of love... it was so familiar. She had been through this before. Slowly, she embraced him, a warm smile on her face.

"Mew-Mew love Jack..." she whispered.