Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own The Cat Returns—not now, not ever.
Haru woke with a start. She put her hand over her heart. It was beating rapidly, because it was filled with fear—fear of the dream.
She could still see it so vividly: the cat tail fields red with flames, the terrified cries of many felines, Yuki desperately calling out Haru's name…
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Enough, she told herself. Enough of trying to convince herself that the dream had been nothing more than a subconscious excuse to go see Baron. Enough of trying to ignore it.
Enough.
Quickly slipping into some clothes, Haru crept out of the house quietly, so as not to awaken her mother. She made her way to the Crossroads, and from there, she began the difficult task of retracing the path Muta had taken to reach the Refuge. And difficult it was indeed. Muta's path had been needlessly complex, no doubt to spite Haru for the fatso remarks. But somehow she made it.
She was back in the Refuge, in front of the Cat Bureau.
Just a bit offset from the world that Haru lived in, the Refuge was a place for objects with souls… which raised the interesting question of why Muta seemed to frequent there. In fact, Muta was sitting in front of the Bureau at that very moment, reading the entertainment section of the newspaper, seemingly oblivious to Haru's presence.
"A must see for the whole family," Muta muttered. "What does this guy know? This is the same critic who gave 'Giggly' five stars."
"Uh, I think you mean 'Gigli'," Haru corrected.
"Naw, he hated that flick." It was then that Muta looked up and finally took notice. "Oh, it's you. What're you doin' here?"
Haru smiled. She had missed that grumpy voice so much that she didn't really mind his lack of manners. "I'm looking for Baron," she said.
"Huh, figures. Sorry, yer outta luck; he's not in right now."
"He's not?" Haru was unable to hide the combination of surprise and disappointment in her voice. "Well, where is he?"
"Dunno, don't care. Now if you'll excuse me," Muta resumed reading his paper, "I'm a very busy cat."
Haru frowned. Now his rudeness was bothering her.
"You really are an awful piece of work," said another familiar voice. Looking up at a tall pole in the middle of the Refuge, Haru saw Toto the stone crow coming to life. "In all my one hundred and twenty-odd years of watching over the Earth, I swear I've never encountered a more thoughtless, insensitive idiot than you!"
"Hey, I have plenty of thoughts, bird brain!" Muta threw down his paper. "Like, for one, I'm thinking my pillow could use some stuffing!"
"Nice comeback. I'll bet you stayed up all night working on that one."
"Why you—"
'You guys!" Haru interrupted. "Would someone please tell me where Baron is!"
"You're right, Haru," Toto agreed. "Sorry. Baron just went out for a late night stroll. He's always on the lookout for people who need their problems solved. But he should be back any minute now."
"Indeed. And that minute would be now."
Haru's heart skipped a beat. There it was—the third familiar voice, the one she had been most waiting to hear. They all turned around, and there, standing before them, was Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen.
With his snappy tux and Engel's Zimmer eyes, the Baron was as dapper and mysterious as Haru remembered, if not more so. "Haru," he said, "it's quite a pleasant surprise to see you again. What brings you back here at so late an hour?"
"My reason for being here? Oh yeah, that. Well, I uh, that is, I…" Haru had been so focused on simply getting to this moment—being reunited with Baron—that she had temporarily forgotten what it was that had prompted her to seek out the Baron in the first place, despite the importance. It was an embarrassing situation, to say the least.
"Whatsamatter kid?" Muta asked with a half-knowing smile. "Cat got your tongue?"
Haru flustered at that remark. Baron, by contrast, showed no change in his countenance.
Perhaps he had no reason to.
Or perhaps he was simply better at concealing his expressions. He could be difficult to read at times.
"Whatever it is that brought her here, I'm sure our dear Haru would feel more comfortable discussing it over tea, rather than here outside in the cold," Baron suggested. He looked up at the young brunette. "Shall we go inside then?"
"Oh yes, yes!" Haru said eagerly, recalling how much she enjoyed Baron's tea before. Following Baron, she crawled her way into the Cat Bureau, a diminutive structure, even by Refuge standards.
The inside was of the Bureau was more or less how Haru remembered it. "You still have great taste, Baron," Haru commented, her calmness returning.
"Thank you," Baron said, as he began pulling teacups from the cupboard. "Few people know this, but I actually modeled my home after an antique shop I used to reside in."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. This wonderful old man owned it, but now his violin-making grandson mostly runs it. Last I heard, he was engaged to marry this gifted young author…"
"Wasn't she the one with the John Denver fixation?" Muta said, walking in and plopping his big butt onto the sofa. "I hate country music, almost as much as 'Giggly'."
"It's pronounced 'Gigli'," Baron confirmed.
"Whatever, it was a lousy movie either way."
Hiromi slowly regained consciousness. As her eyes opened, she began to recall the strange events that had just transpired.
Or had they 'just' transpired?
Hiromi felt as if she had been falling for days; she couldn't even be certain it had been hours.
She also became aware of something soft and furry squirming underneath her back. Jumping to her feet, she realised that she had unintentionally landed on top of a tan and brown cat.
"Oh, you poor kitty! I'm so sorry!" But Hiromi's eyes suddenly bulged from her skull when she saw the cat stand up on his hind legs and brush himself off.
"That's alright," he said. "It's entirely my fault. I probably shouldn't have been standing there anyway."
"Y-you, you can t-t-talk!" stuttered Hiromi barely.
"Of course I can talk. All cats can talk here."
"Here?" It was then that Hiromi clued in to the fact that she wasn't in Japan anymore.
She was in a maze.
"W-what? Where am I?"
"Why, you're in the marvelous Kingdom of Cats of course!"
"Kingdom of Cats?"
"Well, part of it at least—and not the best part to be sure. But the rest of it, oh my is it ever wonderful!"
The funny little cat took a good look at Hiromi. "I must say though, we don't get many human visitors here. In fact, I can recall us only ever having one. What is your name by the way, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Oh, I don't mind," Hiromi answered. Still finding all of this incredibly strange, she nonetheless extended her arm for a friendly hand/pawshake. "I'm Hiromi."
"Hiromi? Hiromi… I feel like I should know that name from somewhere, but it's just not ringing any bells. Well anyway," he reciprocated the shake, "it's nice to meet you Miss Hiromi. You may call me Natoru."
To be continuedWell, the plot is starting to thicken, isn't it? Please read and review if you want more! (I'm serious!)