Chapter Four – The Cat Castle

~This story is going through a revamp. Please check the first chapter for more information~

Hiyah.

Thanks for the reviews – keep 'em up! It's great to hear the feedback.

ooOoo

Haru stood in the middle of the field full of cat tails with Muta, taking in her surroundings with a deep breath of fresh air. She appears to have had the same landing as the last time that she got here, which was no surprise to her. However the reason was entirely different. A thought occurred to her as she suddenly raised her hands and felt around the top of her head, and sure enough she found two soft pointy cat ears.

"Cat ears!" she whispered loudly, lowering her arms to look at her hands – or rather, her paws. Her heart began to race with excitement as she fought back a grin. She was back! Muta smirked down at her as she made her mini discoveries. Haru looked over to him and wrapped her arms around his stomach, much to his surprise. "Oh, Muta, it feels great to be here again."

"That's funny, kid, since the last time we were here you were being forced into marriage with a crazy cat." Muta made a face as he tried to recall any reason as to why she would be happy to be back here.

"Well, Muta my friend, some might call it an adventure," a smooth voice sounded from behind them. Haru detached from Muta and spun around to see Baron standing here, cane and all, looking like he had experienced the softest landing ever. "I see you also have continued your tradition of being sat on. I must say, it was quite amusing to watch from afar." His eyes shifted to Haru, smiling. "Did you have a nice nap?"

Haru blushed, recalling her dream. Muta looked at her with a knowing grin and let out a bellowing laugh. "You bet she did, Baron!" he said.

Baron looked confused, as if there was a joke going on that he was not in on. In an attempt of distracting him from asking about it, Haru jumped in front of him and pointed to her ears.

"Look, Baron! I have ears again. And paws! And fur, and – wait," she twisted her body in an attempt to see if she had her tail. She ended up twirling on the spot until she caught a glimpse of it before continuing her sentence. "And a tail!" she beamed proudly at him. Baron let out a small chuckle and nodded.

"Indeed you do, Miss Haru. They suit you well."

Haru blushed and muttered a small 'thank you'. Baron took a good look at their surroundings. The field seemed to go on for quite a while, but not too far ahead he could see the tips of huts from a near by cat village to the south.

"Looks like we are not that far from the palace after all," he said, pointing in the direction he was looking. "We should make it there before nightfall," he assessed, glancing at the sun's position and then at his pocket watch. Haru smiled widely as she thought of Yuki and Lune – and their kittens!

"Well, let's get going!" Haru said as she started forwards eagerly, momentarily forgetting the reason she was here. Baron chuckled once again and followed after her with Muta in tow.

After a while of travelling…

A tall, majestic palace came into view as the three made their way through the small village filled with huts and chattering cats and kittens. It was simply teeming with activity, from the elderly talking around fires, adults going about daily chores, and kittens running around and playing with balls of yarn and toy mice. It was nice – it was peaceful. However, as they passed through, they got quite a few odd stares from a few cats. Most likely due to the large size of their companion, Muta, who didn't seem to pay much attention of it as he concentrated on not stealing their food.

Just ahead of them a group of young kittens were chasing after a bright yellow butterfly. Two of the kittens tripped and collided with each other, causing each other to land in a heap of hysterical childish laughter. Their laughter was light and contagious as Haru soon found herself laughing along with them.

Bringing their attention to her, the kittens waved at them as they passed with big beaming smiles on their faces.

"Wow, this place is so much happier than the last time I was here," Haru said with a wistful smile as she waved back. Baron nodded and waved as well.

"Yes, since King Lune came into power, everything has been rather tranquil."

A few more minutes of walking passed, and they eventually reached the long path that lead straight to the palace's gates.

"Oh thank goodness, we're nearly there," Haru huffed, though her energy didn't fail her yet. Baron placed a paw on her arm, holding her from going any further.

"Haru, wait. I'm afraid we cannot simply walk up to the gates," he smiled at her.

Haru stumbled to a stop, "Oh. Oh right, sorry. I suppose I don't know how this works."

He laughed and patted her head with his paw, "That's quite alright. We just need to wait here."

Haru laughed a little awkwardly and nodded, stepping back to stand next to Baron. She fidgeted slightly, finding that her human clothes didn't quite fit her cat form as well as she would have liked. Muta slumped down onto the path, not wanting to stand and wait.

After a short time, she could see the gates opening and a messenger cat come dashing over to them. He greeted them politely and asked them to follow him at a quick pace, much to Muta's chagrin. They were taken to a small but elaborate room with tall, draping curtains that covered the windows. Within this room they were met with Lune and Yuki. In Yuki's arms were three adorable little kittens: one was white, a spitting image of their mother, and the other two were a light grey. They all had their father's mismatched eyes.

"Baron! Muta – and Haru! My goodness, what a surprise!" Lune exclaimed, opening his arms wide in welcome. Baron stepped forwards and shook paws with Lune, as did Muta and Haru. Baron went on to explain to Lune about their sudden and unplanned arrival as Haru's attention was stolen by the adorable kittens.

"Oh… Yuki… They're so beautiful!" she whispered. Yuki smiled at her.

"Aren't they just? The white one is Kisa, and the greys are twins – Hatashi and Shigure."

"Can… can I hold one?" Haru said, struggling to control herself at the sight of intense cuteness. Yuki offered for her to take Kisa. Haru gingerly held the kitten in her arms, her mouth opened slightly in awe. Kisa looked up at Haru with her mismatched eyes and let out the smallest of mews, instantly melting Haru's heart.

"Yes, you see, this… 'Black Cat' has catnapped a rather close companion to Haru. His name is Kaoru, a tabby cat. Have you hard of him?" Baron asked Lune in the background, immediately catching Haru's attention.

"I'm afraid not," Lune said, his forehead furrowing with thought, "But it is not the first time the Black Cat has struck. Two months ago he attacked a village not far from here. We are still unaware of his reason, though we have people working on it still. He is very elusive."

Haru carefully approached them, cradling Kisa in her arms, "Even if you haven't heard of him, will you please help us find Kaoru?" Her eyes looked pleadingly at Lune.

"Of course, Haru. I will do everything in my power to help yo-"

"Sir!" An armoured cat barged through the door, "Sir, please pardon the intrusion. There is an unknown tabby cat at the gates. We are not sure who he is."

Haru looked at Baron, who knowingly nodded. Haru carefully passed Kisa back to her mother with a gentle smile to them both before following Lune as he hurriedly followed his guard. Three guards were standing around a tall, tabby cat, who was doubled over and trying to catch his breath.

"Kaoru!" Haru gasped, rushing over to her best friend. The guards attempted to hold her back, earning them a few hisses from Haru, but they let her go as soon as Lune shook his head and told them it was okay. She threw herself at Kaoru, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. "Oh Kaoru, you're safe. You're safe," she kept repeating, squeezing him in her arms. Kaoru buried his face into her neck and nodded, mumbling, "I barely managed to escape him…" He frowned suddenly and took her by the shoulders to pull her back so that he could get a good look at her. "My my! You're a cat!" His smile stretched from ear to ear as Haru laughed and nodded. The sensation of being able to hug Kaoru at a normal height send a buzzing feeling through her veins as she drew him into another tight embrace. Kaoru, exhausted from his escape, slowly lowered them both so that they were kneeling and that he could rest as she hugged him. Lune, Baron, Muta and Yuki had made their way over once the coast was clear. Baron raised his eyebrow at their attachment, feeling a twinge of strange emotion course through him. He looked away from Haru and focused on Kaoru.

"Kaoru, how did you escape?" Haru asked, leaning back to look at him. Kaoru told them that he had managed to slip away from the Black Cat not long after he had been dragged through the portal. He had landed in the woods not far off from the field. He had stayed long enough to hear the Black Cat talk to another, unseen cat about his next advance however it was nothing of much detail.

"I came here as soon as I got away, knowing that the best bet to find you all was here. It's not clear what he is planning, but an attack on another village was clear enough. I'm sorry, that is all I can tell you." Kaoru finished. Haru had his paws in hers as he told his tale, and he squeezed them gently.

King Lune went on to ask him a few more questions as Baron could not help but pay attention to Kaoru and Haru being so close again. What does he really mean to her? He found himself wondering. He frowned internally and shook the thought away. Muta looked over to Baron to see what seemed to be an internal battle going on with his facial expression.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stare, Baron?" he said gruffly.

Baron righted himself and looked up at Muta, "It's not rude unless you have evil or somewhat perverted intentions," he concluded.

Muta, having nothing to add to that, simply shrugged. He had a feeling that this was going to get interesting.

ooOoo

Well, there you guys go! I told you I had a lot of time on my hands. Expect a chapter every day until Wednesday – if I don't live up to this then feel free to mentally kick me! But no biting. I don't do biting.

Please review!

Ciao!