Disclaimer: Ok, so I've been use to doing Sesshy/Kag fanfic's but I decided to try something new for once, you know? So when I first watched the show, I was like OMG this Baron guy is like so cute and then I started to get a little, no, TOTALLY hooked on the show and then after that, I started to read some of the fanfic's online. Upon reading some, I had an idea, from some reason, of a story to write about The Cat Returns and the merry little couple, I think of as one, Baron and Haru. So I am hoping that this will turn out pretty well…hopefully XD. Anyways, enjoy! HaruXBaron

The Cat Returns 2: Rise of the Black Cat

Chapter 1: Reunions, Gifts, and Troubled

Then…

If you find yourself troubled by something mysterious, or a problem that's hard to solve, there's a place you can go where you always find help…

you just need to look for it…

Now…

There are those in life that simply just give up…but what will that accomplish? Nothing. Nothing will be accomplished if you simply give up in life, but…there is a place you must search for, a place that is far beyond your expectations, a place where help is truly needed, but the most important thing of all…

…it's a place where you can truly believe…

000

'Where…am I?'

Haru looked around, trying to get an idea of her surroundings. The forest was nothing new but what caught her eyes was a castle that was far off into the distance. She gasped.

'Am I…back in the Cat Kingdom? But how?'

Haru slowly started to back up but stopped when her foot reached something that felt like an edge of a cliff. When she turned her head around, her eyes widened and quickly she jumped away from what appeared to be a very deep pit which seemed to stretch from one end of the open field to the other. She sighed with relief.

'That was a close one.'

When Haru turned around to face the other direction of the pit, she screamed. A black cat that looked exactly like Baron's figure stood a foot away from her. In fact, everything about this black cat was…well black. The top hat, cloak, bow tie, pants, vest, shoes, and even his cane were black. Haru could tell this was not Baron playing a prank on her.

"W…who are you?"

The black cat's long ears twitched before he looked at her with his red eyes and smirked at her evilly. He slowly started to advance on her, making Haru back up even more until she was at the edge of the cliff again. She was stuck. Haru stare at the black cat, who stopped at least four inches away from her, with horror.

"Your worse nightmare…"

Suddenly, Haru felt him shove her towards the pit and before she new it, she was falling into the darkness below her.

000

Haru shot up in her bed, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, her eyes widened with fear. Her heart was beating wildly as she slightly trembled. This was the fifth time in a row she has had this dream and every time it starts the same and ends the same and, no less, with the same black cat…

…but what is different is that the black cat in each of her dreams gives her a different answer each time. Haru looked out the window.

'Why…why am I having this sort of thing happening to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?'

Haru shook her head as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears that started to form in her eyes from falling.

'No! I will not cry! I am not weak!'

Still, no matter how hard Haru tried to keep herself from crying, she still lost the battle and had finally let the unshed tears flow down her face.

'Who am I kidding, I'll always be weak no matter what…' She pulled her legs up to her chest and cradled them with her arms before laying her head down on them and cried.

'I wish Baron were here…' Suddenly, Haru remembered something Baron had told her before they departed their own ways.

If you ever need us, you will always know where to find us. And the Bureau's doors will be open to you, be it day or night. Haru's eyes beamed with happiness.

'Of course! Why didn't I think of that earlier?! Baron would probably know who this black cat may be!'

With that thought, well…thought of, she quickly got out of bed and got dressed into a red tank top and white skirt. She went to pick up a plastic bag, but halted. Haru's eyes softened as she stared at the bag filled with gifts for her friends.

'I hope everyone at the Bureau will like what I made for them…'

She sighed before she resumed in picking up the plastic bag. Quietly as possible, she snuck out of her room, down the stairs and towards the front door. She turned the door knob and slowly opened the door. Haru looked around the place one more time before slowly closing the door behind her and disappearing into the night.

000

Baron was sipping a bit of his tea when he heard Toto entering the Bureau through the balcony widows.

"Muta's gone again."

Baron sighed and set his flower decorated tea cup on the table before him.

"The Fatso's been up to something. I just know it." Toto said with a snort.

Baron sighed once again. "Was that really necessary, Toto?"

Toto shrugged. "Yes. He really deserves it after what he has done."

Baron turned to him. "What did he do this time?"

"He basically used my column as a scratching post."

Baron nearly laughed.

"Hey! I warned you not to call me Fatso!" came a gruff voice outside the Bureau.

"That was pure evil of you, Muta! Maybe I shouldn't give you the gift I made for you!" came a feminine voice. The orange tabby's ears perked upwards at the familiar voice before he stood up from his red chair and towards the double doors. Toto snickered.

"It seems that the Fatso has brought Haru with him!"

Muta's left ear twitch as he whipped his head towards Toto.

"I dare ya to come and say that to my face, you overgrown parakeet!!"

The crow jumped down from the railing inside the house to the one outside.

"And what? Have the giant puff ball of doom bad breath blown into my face? Yeah right." Toto said as he swooped down at the white cat.

The brunette next to Muta started laughing out loud. Muta was seething.

"Puff Ball? PUFF BALL?!! I'll show you who's a puff ball after I'm done with you, ya pigeon!!"

"I like to see you try, Piggy Cat!!"

Haru kept on laughing as the two fought against each other. Something's will never change.

"Haru?"

The brunette looked down at Baron, who had somehow walked over to her while she was watching the two fight. She smiled.

"Hello Baron." Haru knelt down beside him and let out a sigh.

"Boy, I'd never thought I would ever get sit down again!" she said as she placed the plastic bag in front of her. Baron eyes the bag.

"What, may I ask, is in there?"

Haru giggled before pulling out a small box and handing it to Baron. He stared at it before looking up at Haru.

"What is it?" Haru once again giggled.

"It's a gift!"

Baron blinked and stared back down at the box before taking it from her. Muta and Toto had long since stopped their argument with each other and were now staring at the two.

"So? What did you get Baron?" Muta asked, hiding a snicker behind one of his paws. Toto whacked him over the side of the head and the two started their argument once again. Haru rolled here eyes at the two before smiling at Baron.

"Well? Why don't you open it?"

Baron stared at the box for another minute before opening the lid. His eyes widened at the object before him.

"Haru…"

"You said to me once before you needed a new one of these. Sorry if the crafting isn't really well done, but at least it won't bend this time."

As carefully as he could, he pulled out the hand made cane and examined it. It was completely different from his other one. This one seemed to be made out of hard metal while the other one was just plain wood. The color is still the same (must of painted it) but it had the design of a white cat painted on it. He carefully swung it around before placing it back into its case. Satisfied, he looked up at the brunette and smile.

"Thank you Haru."

She smiled at him.

"Hey!! What about us?!" Muta shouted. Haru laughed.

"Oh, why would I forget about you two?" she said, pulling out a whole home made baked pie. Muta was practically drooling.

"Here's your gift Toto. I knew you liked mulberries so I made you a Mulberry Pie."

Toto cawed with happiness as he swooped down next to her.

"You are definitely my favorite person Haru!" he said as he dug into his Mulberry pie. Muta's mouth dropped open.

"No fair! He gets a whole pie!! What do I get?!" Haru giggled before pulling out another whole baked pie.

"Here you go Muta. Strawberry Pie just like you wanted."

Muta started to drool again. "Sweet, sweet aroma!" he said before shoving a paw full into his mouth. Haru laughed.

"Glade you enjoy it!"

Baron gave a soft chuckle. Toto licked as much of the Mulberry Pie from his beak before grinning at the greedy white cat.

"Careful, we don't want you to become even fatter then you are already!" Muta's fur bristled.

"Can it, Birdbrain!!" he growled before continuing to stuff his face. When the two were finally done with their pies, Baron stood from his spot and brushed himself down.

"Well, now that those two are done, shall we head inside?" Baron offered as he looked back up towards Haru.

"Sure, but…how am I going to fit in there? I practically grew the last time I saw you." The cat figuring smiled.

"That's already been solved. Just walk right next to the Bureau and you should shrink to cat size." Smiling back, Haru stood from her spot as well before following Baron towards the Cat Bureau. When she neared the Bureau, she started to shrink just like Baron had said.

'Well, at least this time I am able to just walk in instead of crawling in.'

Opening the door, Baron stepped to the side and allowed Haru to enter first. She giggled.

'Always a gentleman…'

When she walked into the small house, she looked around in awe.

"You still have the greatest taste Baron." she said as she sat down on the red sofa. The orange tabby smiled.

"I'm glad you think so." he stated, walking over to the same red chair and sat back down. Leaning back, he stared at Haru when he spoke up.

"So Haru, why are you here at such a late time?"

Haru nervously started to twiddle her thumbs around, looking everywhere but at Baron.

"Um…hehe…well you see…it's complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Yes."

Baron placed his elbow on the arm of the chair before leaning his head on his hand. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well…um…you see…I hade a…nightmare." Baron's interest was now sparked.

"A nightmare you say?" he said, grabbing his now semi warm tea from the table. He took a sip from it.

"About what?"

"Well…a black cat."

Baron looked back up at her. "What did the cat look like?"

Haru was more than nervous now. She looked down at her hands. "Well…he looked a lot like you, except he wore black."

A loud crashing sound was heard from in front of her. Looking up, her eyes widened in fear at the sight before her.

Baron looked very angry for some reason. His fur bristled as he tightened his grip on the arm of the red chair, his eyes were narrowed and softly but noticeably, he was hissing through clenched teeth. Haru was scared.

"B…Baron?"

Snapping out of his anger, he willed himself to calm down.

"I'm sorry Haru, I didn't mean to scare you." Haru smiled, the fear disappearing into thin air.

"It's ok." Baron breathed in deeply before speaking up once again.

"So…you said that he looked exactly like me?" he asked, picking up the now shattered pieces of the tea cup(gladly, he had finished the tea up before that happened). The brunette nodded.

"Yes, and this was the fifth time I had the same nightmare, but each one he would say something different."

Baron paused, not liking where this was going at. Haru continued.

"Each one of the nightmares I would have always end up back in the Cat Kingdom, in an open field far away from Lune's castle."

The cat figuring's head snapped back up towards her. "This takes place at the Cat Kingdom? In an open field far away far away from Lune's castle?" She nodded.

"Yes, but in the open field was this huge pit that stretched out from one side of the forest to the other. I would be standing right next to it each and every time. Usually I would back up into it, nearly losing my balance and possibly falling into the never ending pit, but when I turn around, he would be there. His red eyes would stare at me, which really creeps me out, and his grin was just shouting 'DANGER'. I asked him who he was, but like I said, he wouldn't give me a name, just something different like 'your worst nightmare' before pushing me into the pit."

Once again Baron's fur bristled, but this time he was ale to keep his anger under control. A yawn caused Baron to snap his attention back to the brunette. Baron forced a smile.

"Tired?"

Haru nodded. "Hmmhm. Do you mind if I stay here for the night?"

"Not at all."

Yawning again, Haru slipped her shoes off of her feet before laying down on the couch. "Thank you…Baron." She said before falling asleep. Noting that she was asleep, he allowed his mind to wander to what she had told him.

'Red eyes, a black cat, black outfit, a creation…it couldn't be him…could it?'

000

Uh oh…it seems that Haru is in for another adventure! R&R to find out what happens next please!!!!!!