Neko the Rat

Neko the Rat is a fictional character in the Titanic: A Lion's Story trilogy. The character was created by CynnWann and is the tritagonist and partial narrator of the first story. He is a sarcastic, neurotic rat who eventually learns to trust Jack Dawson after he saves Rose's life when she is about to die from hypothermia in the Titanic disaster. He is very charismatic, clever and smart.

Early life
Not much is told about Neko's childhood. His mother perished shortly after giving birth to him, and he was raised by his cynical, abusive and agressive father. When Neko was a three month old pup, his father would often starve or hurt him, causing the young rat to run away from home.

At three years and four months old, after his father died, Neko moved on his own to find somewhere else to live, and to get away from his childhood trauma.

Physical Appearance
Neko is a dark grey rat with black tips on his ears (similar to Rose), a long tail, paws and feet.

Unlike the lions and lionesses, he is the only anthropomorphic animal in the stories to not wear any clothing.

Personality
In "Titanic: A Lion's Story," Neko is portrayed as sarcastic, sharp, rude, selfish, arrogant, manipulative, agressive and uncaring. It is clear that he got this attitude from his father. Though, he never acts this way when he is around Rose, he takes an instant disliking to Jack when he first meets him after he finds Rose cuddled to Jack in his arms. Neko's anger and jealousy increases, however, when the lion and lioness fall in love.

Neko is known to be a genuine coward, and has panic attacks when something horrible happens. Although he never fully admits he has it, Neko has a good, compassionate heart and finally shows it after Jack saves Rose's life after the Titanic's sinking.

Titanic: A Lion's Story: War Begins and the Final Chapter
In the sequel to "Titanic: A Lion's Story," "War Begins," Neko's demeanor changes. His behavior transforms from being downright mean and horrid to kind and understanding. He becomes a sidekick and trustworthy friend to Jack, and even teams up with him to go to war in the WWI era in 1914. After Richard Ames, Jack's commanding officer shoots Rose in the arm instead of the young lion, Neko defeats him by smacking him in the face with a large stick, much harder than he intended to and accidentally kills him.

Unfortunately, Neko does not have a really big part in "The Final Chapter." He is only shown six times in the story when Jack catches influenza during the pandemic of 1918. The last time he is seen in the fiction is when he leaves Jack and Rose to start a life of his own.