Operation Kitten
a Cat Returns fanfiction by Tripleguess
Possible mild spoilers for The Cat Returns
Genre: Humor/Drama
Rated PG
June 30, 2007

"They love you more than other men do, but they need you less." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Chapter One

Hiromi slipped the dress over her head and twirled before the mirror, eyes wide at her own radiance.

"Wow, Haru," she breathed. "It really is gorgeous. Where'd you get the design?"

"Oh -- you could say it was royally inspired." Haru smiled and pulled one sleeve free of the waistband. "You'll turn every head at the school."

"I still can't believe you're not coming!" Hiromi scrutinized her, searching her face for the disappointment she was certain Haru's cheeriness concealed. But her schoolmate's smile never wavered.

"I told you, I'm going to a tea party with some old friends." Haru ran the zipper up, being careful not to pinch any skin, and tied the laces in a neat bow. "And I do mean old."

"How old?"

Haru did some quick mental guesstimating. "At least thirty, I think."

"Ugh." Hiromi's interest evaporated. In her world, people older than twenty-five simply ceased to exist. "Couldn't you just explain that you'd rather go to the dance?"

"No, I want to go to the party." Haru warmed to her subject as she unwound Hiromi's hair from the curlers and fluffed them deftly, wielding the comb with an airy lightness acquired over the past two years. "The old cat tells the silliest stories, and the tea--"

"Oh, for goodness' sake, that's enough." Hiromi shuddered. "There's no way I'd skip a dance to listen to a bunch of old biddies swig tea and gab about the good old days. You're even stranger than you used to be."

Gracious as always. Haru shrugged to herself and played her last card. She sighed dramatically. "I... don't really want to see Machida."

"Aha!" Hiromi pounced on that. "I knew it had something to do with him! 'Want to go,' my eye. You just don't want to see him with his new girlfriend."

Haru suppressed a smile and nudged Hiromi around so she could work on the back of her head. Haru's apparent immunity to Machida and every other boy in existence had been a source of endless vexation to Hiromi. "Something like that."

"I understand," Hiromi commiserated. "I knew you couldn't be totally indifferent, no matter how you were acting."

"Hold your breath." Haru shook an aerosol can vigorously. Hiromi obediently filled her lungs and squeezed her eyes shut while Haru dusted her hair with glitter and hairspray.

Good, she decided, stepping back to admire her handiwork. Not too plain, but not too much either. She fanned at the hairspray fumes with the end of her shirt. "Okay. You can look now."

Hiromi gazed at herself wide-eyed, then twirled before the mirror. Her hair lay in soft curls that sparkled subtly in the light. A double strand of seed pearls glowed against her skin, matching her pearl earrings. Her long sleeves trailed almost to the floor and fluttered enchantingly when she moved.

Hm. So that's what I looked like.

Hiromi blinked, pinched herself, and looked again. "I can't believe that's me. You're getting really good at this wardrobe consultation stuff, Haru."

Haru spread a color fan and peered at Hiromi over it, comparing hues and tints with a look of intense concentration on her face, then nodded in satisfaction. "I knew you were a summer. Tsuge'll love it."

"You think so?" Hiromi flushed with pleasure and indulged in another twirl at the mirror. "It does look nice, doesn't it? Oh -- the time!" She snatched up her cloak, jammed her feet in her shoes, and flew out the door. "I don't want to be late! Bye Haru and thank you so much and I'll tell you all about it and --"

The door banged shut on her words, leaving Haru in silence. She contemplated herself in the mirror; everyday skirt, a slightly nicer top than usual, ponytailed hair. It'd been two years, but she still looked seventeen.

"It's nice to look nice," she observed to no one in particular.