elmo-doodle: Hello there! Welcome to my first The Cat Returns fanfic! It's unusual that I'm writing an AU fanfic, but I suppose I had to give in sometime. hehe. This fanfic is loosely based around The Phantom of the Opera - don't worry, it's not a The Cat Returns version of the story, but it will have some of the themes creeping up in places. You don't need to have read/seen Phantom to understand this story, since it will be explained within. Well, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and that you stick around to read the rest!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Cat Returns. Kapeesh?

Summery: Haru had always had strange abilities hidded away inside of her. She never thought that she would find someone who was suffering more than she was, let alone bump into them unexpectedly. BaronxHaru.

Chapter One

"Let the Opera begin!"

Haru had been an unusual girl ever since the day she was born.

Her mother, Naoko had first noticed it the day she brought Haru home from the hospital. The loving mother had been cuddling her precious girl in an attempt to help her fall asleep, when suddenly Haru began to produce a strange noise from the back of her throat. Naoko called in Haru's father, Shishi, to see if he could decipher the strange meaning.

Shishi's family possessed many magical talents which he had inherited himself. Although he did not join his family in making charms for the few people who requested it, he was trained in how to use his magical abilities. He was born with the spirit of the Lion inside of him (hence the reason why his father named him 'Shishi', something which he has always rebuked his dad for).

When Shishi entered the room where his wife and daughter were, he listened to what Naoko explained to him. Frowning, he placed his hand over Haru's small forehead. This action seemed to please Haru as she began to make that strange sound again. Shishi closed his eyes and concentrated only on Haru.

When he opened his eyes his expression was one of shock. He turned to his wife and said two simple words.

Two simple words which would change their, and Haru's life.

"She's purring."

Once Shishi had performed a brief spell over Haru, and asked for his family's opinion, they all came to the same conclusion: Haru was born under the spirit of the Cat. Haru only had a very weak magical aura surrounding her, so it was unusual that a spirit had possessed someone with little magic potential. The only reason they could provide for this was that Shishi was also born under a feline spirit, and that must have affected her in some way.

The purring was something completely new. Shishi had never done anything like that in his life, and it left him wondering…

…was Haru born with some other ability? Would it become an important part of her life someday?

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"…and that's all for the day," the sensei concluded, just in time for the last bell to ring.

A seventeen-year-old Yoshioka Haru sighed and stretched her arms. To her right her best friend, Hiromi, copied her actions.

"Finally, it's the summer," Hiromi said, standing up and swinging her schoolbag over her shoulder. "No school for two months!"

"I know," Haru said, also picking up her bag. "I can't wait to see my family again."

"Mou, you're leaving to see your relatives again?" Hiromi pouted, pretending to look put out. "That means seven days of boredom for me!"

Haru giggled and she and Hiromi linked arms and exited the classroom. "Don't worry," Haru said, "you won't even notice I'm gone; you'll be having too much fun with Tsugue."

Hiromi blushed and glared at her friend. "You make it sound like I forget about your existence when I'm with him."

"Hiromi, you probably forget to even breathe when you're with him."

Hiromi looked at her friend in shock while Haru just laughed it off. They continued to walk towards the school gates, eager to be free for the summer.

"Uh-oh," Hiromi suddenly murmured. "Eye-candy at 12 o'clock."

Haru looked up and blushed as she saw Machida approaching them and he stopped right in front of them, halting their movement.

"Hey, Haru," he smiled, making the girl in question blush even harder. "Are you gonna be about during the summer?"

"Uh-um…" Haru stuttered. "Um, I guess so… why?"

Machida grinned. "I was hoping you'd like to meet up sometime…"

"Ah- well…um…" Haru mumbled, her heart beginning to beat erratically in her chest. Oh no…

"Whoa, would you look at the time?!" Hiromi exclaimed, tugging on Haru's arm. "Well, I hate to steal Haru away from you, Machida, but we really must get going before we miss the last bus in to the city. The shops won't stay open forever, you know! It was nice to see you! Have a nice summer! Bye!" Hiromi spoke without breathing once and she dragged Haru out of the school grounds, leaving a bemused Machida still standing inside.

"That was close," Hiromi muttered, pulling Haru into an alley way off the street. "Things could have gone very wrong back there."

"Yeah," Haru said, taking deep breaths in order to get her racing heart under control. "Thanks, Hiromi. That would definitely have gotten ugly if you hadn't been there. I could barely move by myself."

Hiromi waited patiently while Haru got a hold of herself. Ever since she was younger, Haru had had problems with containing any strong emotions like excitement or anger. Whenever she felt one of those emotions that were too much for her, a set of brown cat-ears would appear on her head, along with a brown tail. It had definitely proved a problem, especially when she would be out in public. Luckily, she had managed to control herself, but there were times that she would loose herself. Thankfully that only happened when she was with her family of Hiromi. They were able to help her calm down before things got out of hand.

Hiromi's solution was to pull her away from the trouble before anything could happen.

Haru sighed one last time and straightened up.

"Feeling better?" Hiromi asked.

Haru nodded. "Thanks again," she said, smiling gratefully at her best friend.

Hiromi smiled back at her. "What are friends for?" she asked. She linked her arm through Haru's again and the two of them proceeded to walk home together.

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"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Haru asked as they approached her house. "Okaa-san's making her Angel Foodcake again."

"Hmm, as tempting as that sounds, I really should get home," Hiromi said. "If I get my room cleaned as soon as possible, it means more free time over the next few months."

"You mean your room is messy?" Haru asked with mock horror. "I never would have guessed!"

"Haha," Hiromi said, pushing Haru slightly. She giggled. "Well, I'll be sure to invite you over once my room is void of all the dust."

"Sure," Haru said. She embraced Hiromi as they stopped out of the front of her house. "I'll see you soon," she promised.

"Of course," Hiromi said, squeezing her back. "See ya!"

Haru waved her friend off before turning around and entering her house.

"Okaa-san, I'm home!" she called, taking her shoes off in the porch.

"Welcome home," Naoko said, her head briefly appearing in the kitchen doorway. "How was school?"

"It was fine," Haru said, stepping in to the kitchen where her mum was flitting about the kitchen with various cooking utensils. "Hiromi had to save me from a sticky situation again," she admitted.

"Haru, what happened this time?" Naoko scolded. "I hope you didn't get in to trouble with a teacher."

"No… a boy from my class asked me if I was doing anything this summer…" she said, turning slightly pink.

"Ahh," Naoko said, understanding. "Is this the Machida boy you've been talking about? Haru, you should no better than talking to boys who make you feel all 'hanyaan'."

"He approached me, okaa-san," Haru objected. "Besides, I know not to do anything about it. Until I can properly control my emotions, I'm to remain single." This was almost a motto for Haru – she definitely said it often enough.

"Haru-chan!" called a voice from the kitchen doorway. "You're home!"

Haru grinned and kneeled on the floor so she could hug the owner of the voice. "Keiko!"

A tabby cat ran towards Haru and jumped in to her waiting arms. Haru held the cat close to her.

"Haru, are you finished school for the summer?" Keiko asked, gazing at Haru with bright yellow eyes.

"Yes," Haru said. "So now we can finally begin that search for your admirer!" Keiko blushed beneath her fur.

Naoko watched her daughter interact with her cat, although it was probably more appropriate to call Keiko Haru's friend. It wasn't that surprising when Naoko and Shishi found out that Haru could communicate with cats, since Shishi was able to do it himself. The first time Haru had talked to a cat was when they were walking home from pre-school, Haru trailing behind her parents and carrying a box of fish-crackers. A dirty white kitten was following behind Haru, and Haru turned around, understanding that the kitten was hungry. She fed the little cat some crackers, and ended up leaving the whole box for her. When Haru caught up with her parents again, Haru told them that the cat had told her that 'life was tough when you're living on the streets'.

Keiko entered their life two years ago when Haru brought her home as a kitten, shivering and alone. Haru had nursed her back to health, and by then Naoko had fallen in love with the little bundle of fur as well. It didn't take much to get Shishi to agree to keeping Keiko.

"Keiko-chan, you have an admirer?" Naoko asked her, although Haru had to answer the question.

"Every now and then, a calico cat would leave a gift for Keiko, and now when he appears, he talks to Keiko for a while," Haru explained while stroking Keiko's fur lovingly. "Every time we try to follow him, he just disappears. So, this summer we're going to make sure we find out where he comes from so that we can learn a bit more about his background! I don't want some disrespectful cat courting Keiko."

"Ne, Haru, you're sounding like an over-protective mother," Naoko teased.

Keiko purred in amusement while Haru laughed nervously. "Thanks, okaa-san," she muttered. "Anyway, we can't start tomorrow since I need to go to the library to pick up some books that I need to read for class after the summer break."

"Haru, you'll have plenty of time to read them when school starts up again," Naoko objected, a little shocked that Haru was willing to spend her summer reading school texts.

"It's okay, there are just some novels that I'll need to read, and also a book to help me with the math," she reassured her mother. She gave Naoko a quick peck on the cheek before heading up to her bedroom with Keiko still in her arms.

"You're taking school really seriously this year," Keiko stated as Haru set her on the bed.

"I know," Haru agreed, setting her schoolbag down on the desk. "I want to do my best for graduation, so that'll I'll be ready for university."

"Do you know what you're going to study yet?"

Haru hesitated. "I'm not too sure," she admitted. "I'm torn between studying Literacy or Creative Writing."

"I'm sure you can excel at either," Keiko said, smiling. "You've definitely got the imagination for writing stories."

"And I have the curiosity for studying other texts and their history," Haru sighed and collapsed on to her bed.

Keiko settled herself on Haru's stomach. "Can't you study both of them at the same time?"

Haru shook her head. "I don't want to make it more difficult by putting more pressure on myself." Another sigh. "I've still got some time to think about it."

Keiko nodded and licked Haru's cheek. Haru giggled.

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Haru was lying on her bed in her pyjamas, writing in a notebook while Keiko slept soundly beside her. There was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in," Haru said.

The door opened and Shishi's head appeared in the doorway. "It's getting late, Haru, you should be asleep."

Haru smiled. "Sorry, otou-san," she said. She hurriedly scribbled a few more words in to the notebook and closed it. "I'll get in to bed now."

Shishi smiled and nodded. "I'll be leaving at 8am tomorrow. Do you want me to wake you up before I go?"

"Sure," Haru said. She crawled underneath the bed sheets and gently picked Keiko up and placed her beside her. "Goodnight, otou-san."

" 'Night, Haru."

Haru reached over to turn her bedside light off as Shishi closed the door. Haru yawned and snuggled down in to the blankets. She relaxed and was content enough to start purring gently.


Please review, it makes me smile!