Chapter Ten – The Encounter

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

This chapter was a PAIN to get out of my head, but I was thoroughly motivated when I came on to read the reviews.

Thank you, guys!

Enjoy!

ooOoo

The news that Haru brought to them wasn't taken lightly amongst Baron, Muta, Kaoru and Lune. There was a new sense of security about them. As soon as they had entered the palace, Haru had been escorted to the infirmary where she was given a once-over for any injuries. They let out a breath of relief when all that was reported were a few harsh looking bruises and her lack of sleep. She was then taken back to her bedroom by Muta, Baron and Kaoru behind him. When he placed her down into her bed and tucked her in, Haru mumbled Baron's name. Muta frowned, looking a bit offended that she completely ignored what he had just done for her and he stepped back. The door closed behind him as he left the room briskly.

Haru's eyes flickered open just in time to see the large feline's figure leave the room. A bad feeling pooled in her stomach, but she couldn't tell why. Before she could think about it, Baron pressed a gloved hand to her forehead.

"How are you feeling, Miss Haru?" He asked gently, removing his hand from her forehead and smiling at her.

"Better now that I had a nap, but I'm still very tired," she said quietly. She felt cocooned in soft, close safety. It was a nice feeling, and she never wanted to leave. The two male felines left her room once she had closed her eyes again, leaving her to sleep. Stationed outside of her room were two of the Kingdom's finest guards, usually those that accompany the King and his family. Knowing that she was safe and sound for now, Baron sought respite in the library just down the hall. He wouldn't stray far just in case something happened. Kaoru, unsure of what to do, often found himself wandering the halls and pacing outside of her room.

Hours passed and Haru had eventually woken. A few maids went inside to help her change and bring new clothes. She donned a beige t-shirt and a brown, knee-length skirt. Although she was now a cat, she preferred being covered completely. She was only half cat, after all. Some features of her human body remained, her curves being one of them. Smoothing her clothes out, she smiled at the maids as they bowed and left the room, talking excitedly amongst themselves. They had treated her wonderfully and was glad that they enjoyed working at the palace. Lune and Yuki's reign was fair.

Peaking out of her door, she jumped at the sight of the two guards. They both turned, bowed and asked her where she wished to go. Eyeing them questioningly, she asked where everyone was. They guided her down the hall to where the Baron was in the library, with Muta dozing on the sofa. She walked up to Baron, who seemed to be deep in his book, and placed a paw on his arm. He turned his head and took in the sight of her, a smile appearing almost instantly.

"My, Miss Haru, you look wonderful," he said, closing his book and putting it back on the shelf. "How did you sleep?" He offered his arm and she took it as they walked over to the sofa opposite the snoozing cat.

"I slept just fine," she said, grinning as Muta let out an abrupt, loud snore. It was so loud that he ended up startling himself awake. He sat up, fists up like he was about to fight someone, and looked around for the noise. When he realised no one was going to attack him, his gaze landed on Haru and Baron. He let out a huff and turned his face away grumpily when Haru smiled at him.

"Oh," Haru said in disappointment. She turned and whispered to Baron, "Did I do something wrong?"

"I do believe he feels a little unappreciated," Baron replied softly, observing his large friend. "Though he hasn't been himself since you came bursting through the forest."

Haru, having made a bad habit of chewing her lip, chewed at it again. Baron noticed and took her chin in his hand, pulling the lip free from her teeth. "Careful now, Miss Haru. I don't think you are quite accustomed with your teeth yet, they are sharper than your human ones," he smiled, brushing a finger over her bruised lip. Haru stared at him with her mouth open in a small 'o' before she looked away shyly.

"Oh, right… I guess you're right," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound as embarrassed as she felt. Baron's smile only widened.

"Not at all. A fine young woman as yourself can't go around with bruises on her lips, now can she?" He let out a small laugh before letting her chin go. Part of her wished she hadn't, which made her blush even more. Laughing nervously, she stood up and approached Muta, who appeared to be sleeping again.

"Hey, Muta?"

Muta started, looking at her sharply. "Huh?"

"Is everything okay?" She asked, leaning forwards slightly in concern.

Muta scowled and shrugged, closing his eyes again. "Just dandy. In case you missed it, I'm trying to sleep. Bother me later."

Haru, hurt by his words, nodded and quickly sat down again next to Baron. She wasn't sure what she had done, but he obviously was not in the mood for her to press about it. And with the guilt she felt from following the group the other day, she didn't feel she had much room to do so anyway. Baron placed a hand on her back, giving a small rub reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Miss Haru, he just needs to sleep," he tried. Haru gave him a smile and a nod but knew that it probably wasn't the case.

"I think I'm going to go and see if there is anything to eat," she said, standing up once again. "I'm sorry for interrupting your reading, Baron. I'll see you in a bit."

Baron opened his mouth to reply but she hurried off before he could get in a word, the two guards following close behind. He watched her go, wanting to tell her that she had been a welcome interruption, but decided that it was best to leave her.

Haru wandered through the halls at a slow pace, her mind racing with thoughts. It didn't feel quite real, what happened only a day ago. It scared her still to think of what kind of situation she had put herself in by simply being too stubborn. She also found it surprising what she had managed to do, how she escaped Ashitare. I suppose there are things even I don't know I'm capable of, she mused to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she collided with a figure in front of her. They both exclaimed with an "Oh, I'm sorry" in unison before looking up at each other. Kaoru broke into a smile when he saw that it was her.

"Haru, you're awake," he said. Haru threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a tight hug. "Whoa, slow down," he laughed, returning the hug just as passionately.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru," she said quietly, her head resting on his shoulder as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"It's okay," he said. "You're here and you're safe." He pulled back to look at her with a stern and determined expression. "We're going to do all we can to figure this out and get you home safely."

"Kaoru…" Haru hesitated, realising she had not told him yet. "You know that I can't…" she began, but Kaoru raised a paw and pressed it against her mouth.

"You know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking we should go and take a walk in the gardens," he said decisively. "It's a beautiful day and I think some fresh air will do us both good, don't you think?"

"But Kaoru…" Haru said. She liked the idea, but she wanted to finish what she was going to say. Kaoru, however, not realising the importance of it, smiled and twirled her around and guided her towards the garden doors. When he noticed that the guards were following, he turned and smiled at them.

"I will be with Haru, don't worry. Please, stay here," he asked them politely. The guards looked hesitant. They hadn't been told what they could and could not do, and Kaoru had not been on the list of people not to listen to. Instead, they went outside and stationed themselves either side of the garden door. Kaoru shrugged, feeling this was good enough. Then, he thought of something. "Hold on, Haru. I'm going to quickly change and get something for you. I won't be long! Meet me by the pond?" He gave her one quick hug before turning around and running off. Haru, left bewildered by how fast that all happened, only nodded and turned around. She eyed the garden, having not seen it since the last time she was here. At that time, it had been a stone maze with a tall tower in the middle. Now, it had been transformed into a beautiful floral garden with a fountain statue of the former Cat Queen in the middle. Haru stepped outside and strolled down the path. It smelt wonderful, and there were so many vibrant colours. Now this was what she imagined a palace garden would look like.

She smiled to herself at the tranquil feel of the place. She didn't know how long she had been walking for but eventually she reached the fountain. The water glistened in the sun and the statue of the late Cat Queen was quite the sight to behold.

"Wow, she was very beautiful…" Haru said as she stepped closer to have a better look. "Hey, wait a minute…" Haru frowned. There was something off about the statue. She was meant to be looking at a cat, right? She looked down at the plaque. Yep, that says Cat Queen. She looked back up at the statue. Then why did this statue have hands like the Baron? And not paws?

She felt an arm sneak around her waist, and Haru stood up straight, smiling. "Kaoru? I was wondering when you would…"

The arm around her waist tightened and pulled her straight up against whoever was behind her, just as she tried to turn and see. "Hello," a foreign, deep voice spoke into her ear. Haru felt herself pale as her body tensed up.

"Who are you?" She asked carefully.

The person behind her laughed, sending chills down her spine. "You will know me soon enough, my dear. After your friends accept that you are mine, now." That was all he said as she felt another paw climb up her side and brush along her neck. He pushed her head aside slightly to get a better look at her, and he hummed in approval. "Fur suits you, you know. It really does," he said, smirking as she tried to struggle against him.

He's strong, she thought, panic rising. She didn't recognise the voice, it had a distorted edge to it when he spoke. Black Cat? It's possible… She looked down at the arm around her waist and all she could make out was black fur and black gloves. She knew she wasn't safe and reacting on the first idea that popped into mind, she bent her knee and shot her foot upwards, catching the cat behind her right between the legs. He struggled to contain a yowl as another voice sounded down the path, not far behind them.

"Haru? HARU! Are you there?"

It was Muta. Haru perked up in hope. The cat holding her taught against his body spun around, taking Haru with him. He looked around for a place to hide and instantly leapt for the biggest bush. He clamped his free paw over her mouth to stop her giving away their position once he had concealed them from sight of the large cat approaching the fountain. Haru could see him through the branches.

"Hey… Haru? If you're there then I uhm, I wanted to apologise for my attitude earlier…" Muta continued, speaking loudly as if she was there and just didn't want to see him.

The cat kept his hand clamped tightly over her mouth, pushing her head back against his firm chest. Freeing her waist with one hand in favour of quickly grabbing for something on his belt, he brought the object up before her eyes.

"… I was just in a bad mood, I didn't get any catnip. You know how we get…" Muta continued, oblivious to what was going on a mere few feet from him.

Haru's eyes widened at what the cat was holding, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. It was a long needle filled with a shining blue liquid. She tried to shake her head and resist, her paws clawing at the paw over her mouth, but he held on to her with a lot of strength.

"Calm now, my dear," he whispered into her ear, "I don't want to hurt you…" He tapped the tip of the needle against a branch, some of the liquid dropping out the tip. With the same hand, he pushed down the collar of her t-shirt slightly so that the dip in the middle of her collar bone was visible and accessible. "I loathe how short our meeting is just now, it is a shame that I cannot take you away right now," he whispered again, positioning the needle just above the dip. "But, in the future we will have plenty of time to spend together…" Just as Haru was about to start kicking, he plunged the needle in and released the shining blue liquid.

Haru's body instantly went rigid, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. She stayed like that for a few moments before her body fell limp against the cat. He cradled her in his arms, brushing her hair from her face almost… tenderly. He then slid her body off himself once Muta had turned his back to them, making sure that her legs were partially sticking out of the bush. Wrapping himself up in his black cloak, the cat soon disappeared into the shadows.

"… So, I was hoping that, you know, maybe we could forget what I said and go get some catni- Haru…?" Muta had slowly turned around again and looked down, seeing petite feet sticking out from the bush ahead. At first he thought she was playing a game, but when she didn't move as he called out her name a second time, he hurried over.

A feeling of dread washed over him as he carefully pulled a very limp Haru from the bushes. Her eyes were wide open but not focused, and she made no signs of acknowledging he was there when he took her into his arms.

"Haru?! Haru—GUARDS!" He bellowed, loud enough for the palace and the villages beyond to hear. "GUARDS! FETCH THE BARON! ANYONE!" He continued in earnest, looking around for anyone.

The whole palace was soon alive with panic as guards came running. Muta cradled her head in his palm and he shook his head, forehead furrowed in worry. "Oh, Haru…"

ooOoo

Oooooh :3

I enjoyed this ending.

See you next time!

Ciao!