Haru's in trouble! She's in a cat shelter without her amulet!

Hiromi finally forced her way through the crowd back to the site where she'd initially been hustled away - the spot where Haru had changed into a cat to help the mother rescue her kittens.

"Where are they?" She demanded from one of the firemen.

"Where are who?"

"The cats! Where are the cats?!"

"Oh! They were taken away," he explained, "just moments ago."

"What?!"

"Yes, and not too soon, either. The two big cats had collapsed, overcome by the smoke from the fire. The JCN was here, and a veterinarian tended to both of them; he gave them oxygen with these little masks over their mouths and checked their heart. Poor things! They could have died! They got picked up and placed in carriers along with the kittens. They'll be well taken care of, miss, don't you worry about that."

"But the brown and white cat belongs to my friend!"

"Well, where is your friend?"

Hiromi thought fast. "She ran home to get her mother."

"Well, tell your friend and her mother they can pick their cat up at the shelter."

"Aki! Aki! Are you here?" Haru called out from inside her cage.

"I'm here, Haru," she answered. Her voice came from down below.

"Where are your kittens?"

"They're with me. Can you get us to the Cat Kingdom?"

"No! They took my amulet away."

"Ha!" Laughed another cat from a different cage, "a Cat Kingdom cat is here? What a riot! So you got caught, your highness? That's rich!" Other cats joined in the jeering. "Good!" Said another, "Hope you're up next to get fixed!"

"One of us! One of us! One of us! One of us!" They began mocking Haru. She buried her head in her paws, trying to drown out the scornful taunting.

The shelter volunteer Mai buzzed herself in to the caged area, pushing a cart. "OK, kitties!" She called out, "I hear you! Sounds like you're all hungry! I've got your food here." She began taking out dishes and passing them through the barred sections. Mai came to Haru's cage and pushed her dish in, but Haru pushed it back. "No thanks, I'm not particularly hungry," she said, looking at the girl. Haru felt like saying it in human, but didn't dare.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" said Mai, looking concerned, "still not feeling well?" Haru looked at her and shook her head no. "Whoops, that was probably not a good idea," Haru thought. "Whoa! Did you just understand me?" Mai replied.

"Oh, man, now what do I do?" Haru just put her head down sadly, resting it on her paws.

"Aah, just my imagination," Mai said, and proceeded to give the other cats their food. The cart empty, she then pushed it back to the door and pushed one of two buttons on the wall. A buzzer sounded and with a "whoosh", it opened out. Haru noticed this. "Two buttons, one says 'Open', the other says 'Close'. That Open button is my way to get out of this room. I could jump up and hit it easily! I bet there's another pair on the other side; once I'm through I can close it to slow them down."

"If I could only open this cage door…" and reaching around with her paw, she tried, but to no avail; it was spring loaded, and too strong. She plopped down and looked around the room. The door to the outside had a large glass window. To the left of the other side of the door was a tall cabinet of some kind. "Wonder how wide it is," she thought. "That door opens out; once I got outside and closed the door, I might have time to tip it over to block the door. Keep them from chasing after me."

Further down was a long hallway. "Hopefully that leads to the outside. Once I get to the street, I can find my way to the crossroads and Muta! But what if this place is a maze?"

"Wait! What's that?" She looked on the wall to the right. It was a fire alarm display, with a schematic of the entire shelter! Little LEDs showed the location of all the sensors. This one however was very high-tech! It even had a motion-detection system with moving indications of people coming and going. "Ah ha! I bet if I keep an eye on this, and follow the dots, I can get an idea of the lay of the land, and which way to go once I leave this room!"

Sure enough, one area of the schematic showed a long hallway. Two dots were coming down to a room. Seconds later, two women appeared at the door, and buzzed themselves in, using a button that was the exact same height as the button inside. "Heh!" Haru chuckled to herself, "I've got this figured out," and started eating her meal.

Mai and another older woman came in. "The brown and white cat? She seemed sad, listless, no appetite,' said Mai.

"Well, she may still be recovering from that store fire," said the vet. They both peered in Haru's cage. The vet looked at Haru, eating the cat food. "She seems OK now."

"You're good to be concerned, Mai," said the vet. "Let's see how she does from this point forward."

"I hope someone comes to claim her."

"Hopefully, Mai. She's a beautiful cat; she must belong to someone! I'd hate to have her declared a stray."

"A STRAY?!" Haru stopped eating and jerked her head at the two.

"Look at that!" Said Mai.

"Damn it! I did it again!"

"I saw that. Interesting."

"I swear, that cat understands us." Just before, I asked her a question and she shook her head 'No'. At least, it sure seemed that way."

"And this is the one that 'assisted' the mother cat," said the vet. If no one claims her, I'm thinking she should not be declared a stray, Mai; I may recommend her for study at the University."

"For experimentation?!" Mai was shocked!

"EXPERIMENTATION?!"

"Mai, don't worry! They're completely humane! She'd have a perfectly happy life, being tested for intelligence by university students. She'd get the best of care."

"I've got to get out of here!" And as soon as the two left, Haru studied the fire alarm display very carefully and began trying to come up with a plan.

Hiromi called Naoko on the phone.

"Haru's been WHAT?!"

"She's been taken by the JCN! She's at their shelter! The fireman told me you have to go and get her."

"What was she doing, changing into a cat?!"

"It's a long story. I told her not to do it."

Naoko pinched her nose. "OK. I'm going to the shelter now. You go and try to find Muta. He can lead you to the Baron."

"But, I have no idea where that fat cat is!"

"Haru said he hangs out by the crossroads. Start there." And the two hung up.

"Crossroads...crossroads...OK, where are you, you stupid cat?" Muttered Hiromi to herself, as she walked around the downtown area, looking for Muta. Many minutes later, frustrated, worried and exhausted, she plopped down on an outdoor patio table chair. "This is hopeless! I'm never going to find that dumb cat!"

Tears began to well up. She started crying, "Oh Haru! Why did you do it? I told you not to change into your cat form and rescue those kittens! Now the JCN's got you!"

"The JCN?!" A voice came from under the table. Muta appeared from the chair next to her. "Follow me!" And he ran down the alley, headed toward the Cat Bureau, with Hiromi in tow.

"What the heck's going on?!" He asked her.

"Muta! Oh, Muta! Haru's in terrible trouble!" she cried, "We were at that store fire, and a mother cat was rescuing her kittens, and Haru went to go help her."

"OK, wait until we get to the Baron."

They arrived at the Cat Bureau, and Hiromi explained everything.

Muta sighed. "Stickin' her nose into other's affairs again!"

The Baron put a glove to his chin. "Alright, we have to assume that they've removed her amulet, so she's unable to contact us or even get herself out of there. First order of business is to find Haru immediately."

It was late afternoon, and the staff was relaxing in the front office. Haru had studied the fire alarm display, and from watching the motion-detection system, she was able to map her way out of the building. "Not too complicated, but not a clear shot once I'm in that hallway," she thought. "I wish I could get ahold of someone with my amulet," she sighed. "Where is it? Did they store it here, or did someone steal it? Will I ever get it back? No matter - I've got to get out of here before they ship me off to some university, or worse! At least once I'm out on the street, I can find my way home."

Unfortunately for Haru, she was far from home…

"What do you mean, my cat's not here?"

"I'm awfully sorry, Mrs. Yoshioka, but our shelter is full," said the JCN volunteer. "Our workers cared for your cat, and the mother cat and her kittens, and brought them to our large facility in Tokyo."

"Can you please contact them and tell them I will fetch her?"

"Of course!" And he got on the phone to the Tokyo shelter. Naoko shook her head. "Oh, Haru! Look what you've gotten yourself into!"

The volunteer hung up the phone. "It's all arranged," he told her, "you can go claim your cat and bring her home."

"Oh, wonderful! Thank you so much!"

"Don't forget your cat carrier!" He smiled.

"Oh! Of course, yes."

"While you're here, can I interest you in a name tag for her? It would have enabled us to notify you when we first brought her in."

"We can have it made up for you in a matter of minutes."

"Yes, please." And he handed Naoko a card to fill out.

"Oh!" She said, "And while we're discussing her name tag, she was wearing a collar with a red and gold trinket. I hope it wasn't lost."

"Hmm, let me check my computer. We log everything in here when we bring in a rescue." He clicked some keys for the date and time. "Brown and white cat...brought to Tokyo...yes, they have it there, in storage."

"Ah, good! Thank you very much!" "All right, Haru," she thought, "get to Tokyo, get you out of the shelter, get your amulet, and we're home safe and sound!"

"Bad news, Baron," said Toto, "Haru's not in the local shelter. My contacts told me they took her somewhere else."

"Where could they have taken her?" asked Hiromi.

"That one's probably full," said Muta. "Betcha they took her to Tokyo."

"Tokyo?!"

"Yeah, girlie. That's the biggest one around these parts. Lotsa empty cages there."

"So now what do we do?" said Hiromi.

"I think we need to enlist the aid of the Prince and Princess," said the Baron, and opened his cabinet. He took out an amulet of his own. It was not on a chain, but was encased in the same gold casing. His stone was yellow, like Naeku's.

"Hey! Where'd you get that?" asked Muta.

"Natori gave it to me after Haru received hers," he explained. "In case of emergency." He placed a glove on the stone and said "Communication, Prince Lune."

"I've got to do this at my first opportunity," thought Haru, "but I can't just abandon Aki and her kittens!"

"Aki!"

"Yes, Haru?"

"I'm planning an escape, but I will be back for you and the kittens. I wanted to let you know."

"An escape?" Said one of the other cats, "girlie, you ain't gettin' anywhere! What're you gonna do? Break through a window? Scratch and claw your way out? Listen to the high and mighty Cat Kingdom cat! That's a controlled door, genius!" The other cats laughed. Haru ignored them. She kept an eye on the fire alarm panel.

Sure enough, two dots started heading toward their room, and through the window she saw Mai and the veterinarian. They buzzed themselves in. "Let's give that brown and white an exam," said the vet, "let her out of the cage." The door closed itself.

"Here's my chance!"

Mai opened Haru's door, and the cat girl let her pick her up. The volunteer placed Haru on the table in the middle of the room. The examination equipment was opposite the door, so while Mai held Haru, she went to get a stethoscope.

"Now!"

Haru jumped out of Mai's arms and onto the floor.

"Hey!" said Mai.

She then jumped up and smacked the "Open" button, causing the door to open. The second it opened enough for Haru to get through, she ran out, then turned and smacked the "Close" button; the door immediately closed.

"What the…?" yelled the vet.

Haru saw that the tall cabinet was narrow. "Great!" and jumping up and caroming off the wall, she hit the cabinet with both paws, causing it to crash down over the door, jamming it shut. Haru then headed down the hallway. Mai and the vet tried pressing the "Open" button from the inside, but it would open just an inch, hit the cabinet, then shut again. "We're stuck!" yelled Mai.

"OK," said Haru, "now, down here, left, a little, then right, then another right, now I'm at the main entrance. Oh, damn!" The door to the outside was a push door. "I'm stuck!"

A miracle! Just that moment, someone entered the shelter! The door open, Haru saw her chance.

"Hey!" yelled the couple seeing Haru dash between their legs, "do they just let cats have the run of this place?" Confused, they walked in. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone here?" In the distance they heard cries for help.

"I'm out! Now to find my way...what? Where am I?" Haru didn't recognize this place at all! It was a very busy area. She looked at the signs and street markings, trying to get her bearings. She finally saw a restaurant: "Tokyo Tea House".

"Tokyo?! I'm in Tokyo!?"

"Well, hello, kitty! What are you doing here?." Said an old woman to Haru.

"I've got to hide!" Haru thought, and ran down an alleyway.

"Finally" Said Naoko, "the Tokyo cat shelter!" It took her a while to go buy a cat carrier and get a cab for the long trip from her home to the capital. After paying the cab driver, she walked into the shelter. Things were rather chaotic!

"Good afternoon," said Mai, somewhat flustered, "may I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to pick up my cat."

"Your cat?"

"Yes, the brown and white? The shelter in my hometown called. The one that helped rescue the mother cat? It's mine; I'm here to claim her."

"That's YOUR CAT?!"

"Oh, Baron!" Said Yuki, "that's terrible!"

"I will muster the kingdom's intelligence forces at once," said Lune, "we will find and rescue her!"

"Thank you, your Highness," said the Baron. "We believe she's being held in the Tokyo shelter."

A portal opened at the back of the Tokyo shelter, and a dozen Ninja cats stealthily exited. Climbing up to a window, they disabled the shelter's alarm system, opened the window and climbed inside. Two of them found their way to the office and unlocked the door. One pulled the shades down while the other hacked into the shelter computer.

Finding Haru's record, they made their way back to the group and led them to where her cage was.

Opening the door, they found her cage empty!

"You're too late! She's gone!" Said a cat.

"Where is she?" Demanded the lead Ninja.

"Probably dead!" Laughed the cat.

"No!" Cried Jiro, Aki's kitten. "Haru can't be dead! She rescued me!"

"That cat's lying!" Yelled Aki, "Haru escaped."

"Who are you?" Asked the lead Ninja.

"My name is Aki. Haru helped me rescue my kittens from a fire. She was going to bring me to the Cat Kingdom."

"You ain't goin' anywhere lady!" Yelled the other cat.

"Quiet, you!" Said the lead Ninja. He opened Aki's cage. "Take Aki and her kittens to the kingdom. If Minister Haru approved it, then it's good enough for me," he told one of the Ninjas.

"Yes, sir!" And a portal opened. "Come, bring your kittens, quickly," he told Aki.

"Oh, thank you!" She told the Ninjas.

"Wish us luck in finding Haru," the lead Ninja replied, as Aki and her kittens went through the portal with the one Ninja.

"Sir! Humans approaching!"

"Back outside!" And they opened the window and left, leaving no trace of their presence - other than an empty cage where Aki and her kittens had been.

Naoko, Mai and the vet buzzed into the room. "This is where your cat was," said the vet. "In all my years I have never seen one who could engineer an escape like that!"

"Where did you get her from?"

"Well...I"

"The cat from the fire and her kittens! They're gone!" Yelled Mai, pointing to the open cage door.

"What?!" Said the vet. She looked at the empty cage, holding her head. "What is going on here?!"

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to start looking for my cat, and let you deal with your...situation here," said Naoko. "Thank you for the collar," and left the shelter carrying Haru's amulet.

Out in the street, the Ninjas contacted Lune and Yuki. "Your Highnesses, I'm afraid that Minister Haru has escaped the cat shelter. However, a cat and her kittens, who have been approved by the Minister, have been escorted into the kingdom."

"I'm sure the mother's entry with her kittens is worthy, if Haru approved," said Yuki, "They are welcome in the kingdom."

"Double your search for the Minister," said Lune.

"Yes, your Highness." And they left the shelter.

Haru was trying to find her way around Tokyo. She saw signs for "Shinjuku Central Park". "Maybe I can head that way," she thought, and started walking in that direction.

Entering the park, she saw a sign for "Dog-free range". "Well, where's the 'Cat-free range?!" She was tired, and climbed a tree to rest.

"Go get Naeku!" said the Prince, "she may be able to contact Haru, even though she doesn't have her amulet."

Haru was exhausted, sitting on the tree in Shinjuku Central Park. Suddenly, a window opened in front of her! "Miss Haru!" It was Naeku!

"Naeku!" Haru responded out loud, then, lowering her voice, whispered, "I'm lost."

"We know! We've been looking for you! Do you have any idea of your current location?"

"I'm in Tokyo, in Shinjuku Central Park, there's a place called "Dog-free range". I climbed a tree to stay away from the dogs."

"Good plan. There are Ninja cats on the way. Stay there!" And the window closed. Naeku passed Haru's location on to the Ninjas.

Naoko was walking around the busy Tokyo streets, looking for Haru, when suddenly, the amulet in her hand started vibrating. She held it up, and it flashed in her face!

"What?" She wondered, when a voice came from it. "Mrs. Yoshioka! Sorry about that, but we had to make sure it was you. This is Yuki; we found Haru."

"You did? Oh, thank goodness! Where is she?"

"She said she's in Tokyo, in a park called 'Shinjuku Central Park'."

"I'm right near there! Did she say which part?"

"Someplace called 'Dog-free range'."

"On my way!"

Haru sat on the branch, waiting for the Ninjas to rescue her. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, her ears twitched, picking up a commotion. Opening her eyes, she saw several park workers heading toward her tree. One carried a net, and another a cat carrier!

"There's the stray!" One park worker said, pointing at Haru.

"Oh, no! Not again!" She thought, and climbed up to the highest branch of the tree. "Ninjas, please, hurry!"

Naoko arrived at the park and followed the signs to the Dog-free range. The Ninjas got there at the same time.

"C'mon, kitty," said one of the men, "let's do this the easy way."

"Not on your life, bub!"

"Look," said another, "what ya gotta do is whack it with a pole to knock it off the branch, then when it falls, catch it in the net."

"What?!" Haru thought.

"Yeah, well where you gonna get a pole that long, genius?" Said one.

"Hey! There's a metal one right over there!" He said, pointing to a long metal pole leaning against one of the sheds.

"Metal?!"

"Won't metal hurt it?"

"So what, they got nine lives, right? And we were told to get the dumb cat outta here; boss didn't say we had to get it out alive."

"Hey! You're right! Just whack the thing, we bury it, job done!" And he held the bar with two hands and holding it over his head, prepared to hit Haru!

"Oh, geez!" And before the bar came at her, she jumped to another branch.

"This one's quick! Try again!" And he wound up for another whack, when suddenly he was attacked by eleven Ninja cats! They were all over him like hornets!

"Aaaah!" He screamed! "Get 'em off! Get 'em off!" Two pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles, three others pulled the metal bar out of his hands and threw it far away. The rest, while not scratching him, completely disoriented the man. He staggered away from the tree.

"Ninja cats from hell!" Said the others, and ran away.

The Ninjas jumped off the one man and came up the tree. "Minister Haru! Are you alright?" Asked the lead Ninja.

"Yes, I'm fine!" She responded.

"Haru!" Yelled Naoko, approaching the tree.

"Mom!"

"Who is that?" Asked the lead Ninja.

"It's alright, that's my mother."

"Oh, Haru," she said, leaning against the tree, "You don't know what I've been through!"

Haru climbed down from the top. "And you don't know what I've been through!"

Naoko took out Haru's amulet. "Here," she said, putting it back on her, "can we go home, please?" Naoko looked around at the Ninja cats. "Cat Kingdom?"

The lead Ninja came up to her. "Yes, Mrs. Yoshioka. We were sent here by Prince Lune to rescue Minister Haru."

"They saved me from some stupid park guys just now." Smiled Haru. She turned to the Ninjas. "Thank you!"

"Our pleasure, Minister! Are you going with your mother?"

"Yes. But I can't leave yet! There's a cat with her kittens back at the shelter! I promised I'd rescue them and take them to the Cat Kingdom!"

"Already taken care of, Minister," said the lead Ninja. "They've arrived in the kingdom by now."

"They have? Wonderful! Thank you!"

"My pleasure, Minister Haru!" He bowed.

"Then with our mission accomplished, we shall return to the kingdom." And he touched an amulet on his neck and said "Communication, Prince". A window opened to Prince Lune. "Did you rescue Minister Haru?"

"Yes, your Highness. She is with her mother."

"Well done! See you back at the palace." The window close.

The lead Ninja touched his amulet and said "portal, palace," and a portal opened.

"Farewell, Minister, Mrs. Yoshioka," and the Ninjas left.

Naoko sighed. "Well, Haru, can we go home now?"

Haru chuckled. "Yes, Mom," and she touched her amulet and said, "Portal, home." And the two walked through.

As soon as they were home safe and sound, Haru touched her amulet again, and said "Communication, Baron," and a window opened to the Cat Bureau.

"Haru!" said the Baron, "you are safe, I take it?"

"Yes, Baron," she replied, "please let Hiromi, Muta and Toto know."

"They are here with me in my office," said the Baron.

"Hi, Haru!" said Hiromi, "I'm so glad you're OK!"

"Hey, kid," said Muta, "wish you'd listen to me for a change!"

"Glad you're OK, Haru," said Toto, "I was worried, no matter what Muta says!"

"Hey! I was worried too!" complained Muta.

"Well you didn't show it!" said Toto.

"Did too!" He spat back.

"Nuh uh!" said Hiromi, taking Toto's side. The bickering continued.

"Haru, I'll let you go," chuckled the Baron, glad everything's well." and the window closed.

"Oh, Haru, I'm exhausted," said her mother, "can you change please, and we can have some tea?"

"Sounds good, Mom. Then we can swap stories," and Haru bounded upstairs to change and get dressed.

Well, all's well that ends well! Quite an adventure for the Cat Kingdom Minister!

Thanks for reading. Please review.