Weekend at the Yoshioka house. Hiromi stops by...

Hiromi stopped by Haru's house Saturday morning. "Good morning, Mrs. Yoshioka!" She said, "I assume Haru's left for the Cat Kingdom?"

"No, she's still here. Princess Yuki gave her and Naeku the weekend off, and suggested that Haru spend the time experiencing our world as a cat. She's in the back yard." Hiromi went out back.

"Haru! Where are you?"

"I'm up here," she responded in cat. Hiromi looked up in the Yoshioka's tree. Haru was sitting on a branch. "Hi!" the cat girl called down.

"What are you doing up there?"

"Taking in the sights, the sounds and smells. Mmm! You catching the scent of the fish they just brought in from the truck?"

"Truck? What truck?"

"At the market."

"That's downtown! Half a kilometer away!"

"Heh! Smells like just across the street to me, Hiromi. The fish, the truck fumes, the ice..."

Her friend chuckled. "Guess it's true what they say about a cat's sense of smell, eh? What else you picking up with those feline senses?"

"I knew you were here as soon as you arrived, from your scent."

"My scent?" Hiromi raised an eyebrow.

"You, my mom, every cat, each have different scents. Yours is kinda easy; it's that perfume you wear - it's nice! But it's also a little harder to describe. It's...well..it's your...body, too."

"Excuse me?"

"Please, don't be offended!" Haru climbed down from the tree. "You're my best friend, so I can confide in you. Every human has their own particular body scent. I can detect each one individually. Like our next-door neighbor, Mr. Hayashi. Right now, he's upstairs in his study doing calligraphy. I smell his inks - and his body."

"Eew." Hiromi wrinkled her nose.

Haru laughed! "He's not that bad! Everyone gives off their own personal scent; it's kind of like a signature. My cat senses can discern each one individually."

Don't forget, I smell my mom too, Hiromi. Oh! And Muta" She smiled.

"What about the Baron?"

"Now, he's interesting! Maybe because he's a creation and not a cat."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't smell like a cat."

"Oh? So, what does he smell like?"

Haru scrunched up her cat face and looked off to the side, searching for the right words. "He smells like...a freshly pressed suit...tea leaves...and stone."

"Huh. Weird."

"I'll tell you something else that I'm learning about my cat senses. In the daytime, I don't see as well as when I'm a human."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like, I'm looking at this fallen leaf next to me, and it's kind of fuzzy; I can't focus on it like I know I could with my human eyes."

"You're far sighted?"

"No, distance is fuzzy too! I was up on that branch, and the houses far away were not so sharp to me."

"And colors! That flag on the house next door? I know it's bright red, yellow, orange and brown, but as a cat, those colors all kinda look the same to me."

"A little color blind, too. Interesting. But at night, you can see better, right?"

"You know it! Last night, I was out here sitting on the wall, and all the lights were out. I could see everything! It was cool! I followed a little mouse scampering across the road."

"Did you eat it?" Hiromi smiled.

Haru hesitated. "Well…"

"I knew it!"

"Man, I wanted to chase it down and eat it! Darn these cat instincts! But I held back because my mom and Muta would kill me for leaving the yard."

Hiromi chuckled. "You're doing a good job at keeping your two sides in check, Haru!"

"Thanks! Oh, want to hear something funny? My mom came outside to talk to me and she fumbled for the backyard light," Haru chuckled. "Then, she turned it on, and she saw my eyes glowing in the dark. I startled her!"

"Hey, cats' eyes glowing out of the darkness can be kinda creepy," said Hiromi.

"Oh! One other thing. You're gonna get a kick out of this one," said Haru.

"What's that?"

"I can't taste sweet."

Hiromi did a double-take. "You're kidding!"

"It' true! My mom had made some coffee jelly, which I love, and I was in the kitchen and thought I'd give it a try as a cat. She put it on a plate for me and I had some. Yuck! It tasted awful."

"Coffee jelly's good! What did it taste like?"

"Some gross, slimy stuff. Bleah."

"My mom looked it up online and found out that cats have no taste receptors for sweetness. Bummer."

"So, let me get this straight: mice, yummy; coffee jelly, yucky."

"Pretty much."

"Good thing you've got a leg in both worlds."

"Heh!"

"So, what about your hearing?"

"Much better! It…" Suddenly, a window opened up from the Cat Kingdom! It was from Naeku. "Sorry to bother you, Miss Haru, but we have an emergency."

"Oh no! What is it?"

"It's one of Aki's kittens, Koji. She's missing."

"Koji, No!" said Hiromi.

"The Kingdom's intelligence agents believe she may have jumped into a portal and re-entered the human world. Princess Yuki wants you to come back to the kingdom to help plan a search party."

"Koji's come back here? But why?"

"Let me switch over to her mother. She's with me in your office." And Aki got on the portal. "Haru, it's my fault. Koji was asking me about Hiromi, and when she was coming back. I explained to her that she had returned to the human world. She then asked me if she was going to come back to the Cat Kingdom, and I told her that no, Hiromi was staying in the human world. I neglected to explain to Koji that Hiromi was a human girl."

Naeku came back on. "We think Koji is looking for Hiromi, but she doesn't know she's a human; she's looking for her as an orange tabby."

"I'll contact Muta and the Baron," said Haru.

"Princess Yuki suggests you come here first," said Naeku. "They're planning a meeting, since they believe they know which portal Koji had used."

"I want to help," said Hiromi. "Let me look for her."

"I'm afraid Koji will run and hide from you, Hiromi," said Aki. "Of all my kittens, she's the most afraid of humans."

"We'll do our best, Hiromi," said Haru, and got ready to touch her amulet.

Hiromi bit her knuckle and paced in a circle. "Haru," she finally said, "I'm going with you."

"You can't, Hiromi! You remember what Natori said; your transformation would be permanent! There's no guarantee the King would authorize an amulet for you to return to a human."

She put her foot down. "I don't care! I want to help look for Koji!"

"Oh, Hiromi," said Aki, "You don't have to do this."

"I know, but I want to."

"Very well," sighed Haru back in human speech, and said "Portal, Cat Kingdom, my office."

A portal opened up, and Haru and Hiromi stepped through. Instantly, Hiromi transformed into her orange tabby cat form. Aki came up to embrace her. "Thank you, Hiromi."

She hugged her back. "I'm glad to be able to help! Now, let's go and plan our search for Koji." She took off her shoes. "Let me get out of these human clothes." She hesitated for a moment, then said a little somberly, "maybe I won't need them anymore, eh?"

"Hiromi, you let me worry about that," Haru responded, putting a paw on her shoulder.

Princess Yuki, Aki, Haru, Naeku, Hiromi, and the Captain of the Ninja Cats assembled in one of the palace conference rooms.

"There was a portal that had opened to the human world," said the Captain. "The palace chef had requested some fresh fish from the market since our supply had run out, and his assistant got permission to journey to the other domain."

"Unfortunately, he was inexperienced in using the portal, and he left it open a long time. There was a school field trip to the palace kitchen that day, and Koji's teacher reported her missing shortly thereafter. A palace search did not turn her up."

"We have reason to believe she ran through the portal."

"Do you know where he was headed?" said Yuki.

He checked his logs. "Minister Haru's town. The chef's assistant said there was a fish delivery that day."

"That' what I was smelling!" said Haru.

"So Koji may be somewhere in the market district!" said Aki. "It's a bad area! Lots of unsavory cats there." She began to cry.

"Then let's go start looking!" said Hiromi.

"Hold on," said Haru. "I have very little experience getting around in the human world as a cat, and you have none. We need an escort. We've got to meet with the Baron and Muta."

"We will begin our search immediately," said the Captain. "Aki, you come with us. Minister, Miss Hiromi, after you've consulted with the Cat Bureau, let us know, and we can rendezvous."

Koji had stepped out of the portal into the fish market. She followed the assistant chef for a while, then ducked behind a stack of crates. Spying some cats nearby she approached them.

"Excuse me?" She asked one of them.

They laughed at her. "Ho ho! What's a little shrimp doing here?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Hiromi. Have you seen her?"

"Hiromi? Naw! Get outta here!" The strange cat bit her. She ran away, crying. Going into an alley, Koji spied a broken tile on the side of the building. Hoping to hide from the mean cats, she squeezed herself into the tiny space. Cowering in fear, hungry, she mewed quietly, "Mama! Hiromi!"

A portal opened up in the market district, and several Ninja Cats exited. They began a search for the lost kitten. The lead Ninja came up to one of the market cats. "Have you seen an orange tabby kitten?"

"And why should I tell you, kingdom cat?" he sneered.

The Ninja slammed him against the wall. "Talk!"

"No!" he grunted. "No kittens."

He dropped him to the ground. "You'd better be telling the truth!" And the Ninjas left for another part of the market.

Koji meanwhile, peeked out from her hiding place. Not seeing any of those cats, she warily journeyed out. Seeing some human workers, she ran in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, she was getting herself further from where the Ninjas were looking.

"Portal, Cat Bureau," said Haru, and she and Hiromi stepped through. As anticipated, when she came through, Hiromi was still an orange tabby - she didn't transform back into human form. "Hey! At least I can fit in the Baron's office easily now!" She joked.

"Oh, Hiromi," smiled Haru. The Baron, Muta and Toto where there waiting.

"So, ya went and did it," said Muta to Hiromi.

"It was my choice, Muta. Koji came here looking for me as a cat. If I went looking for her as a human she'd run away from me."

"I guess so, kid. Let's hope for your sake your transformation ain't a one-way street."

"There's a lot of cats in the market area," said Haru. "Where can we start?"

"You said that the Ninja cats are already there," said the Baron, "let's rendezvous with them first," and he took out his amulet. "Communication, Ninja leader, market district." A window opened.

"Baron, no luck yet," said the Ninja leader. "We interrogated one cat, but he said he hasn't seen Koji."

"Acknowledged. We're headed that way," the Baron replied, and closed the window. "Haru, Hiromi, you go with Muta. I'll bring the amulet with me and fly with Toto. Keep me informed."

Another portal opened up in the market district. Muta, Haru and Hiromi stepped out.

"OK, you two, stay close by me," said Muta. "Don't go wanderin' off!"

"On all fours, tabby girl," said Muta to Hiromi. She'd forgotten proper cat stance. "Ooops!" And got down.

"You remember Koji's scent?" He asked the two.

"I do," said Haru.

"I think so," said Hiromi.

"That'll be our best way of finding her. Keep your noses clear!"

Turning a corner, the trio came upon some market cats. "Muta!" One said. "What are you doin' here?"

"Checkin' out today's catch; you got a problem?"

"No! No, Muta! No problem at all!"

"Good. Oh, by the way, you happen to see an orange tabby kitten come by here?"

The market cat hesitated.

Muta stared at him. "Well? Did you?"

"Yeah, I did. She was askin' about a cat. Someone named...Hiromi."

"Koji!" yelled Hiromi.

Muta shot a look back at her. "Shut it!" Muta turned back to the cat. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know - honest! I don't know! I...told her to get outta here."

"Damn it!" Said Haru quietly.

The cat looked back at Haru and Hiromi. "Friends of yours?"

"My business," Muta replied, getting up tall. He turned back. "Let's go," he told the cat girls, "she can't have gone far."

Tired and hungry, Koji wandered into one of the fish markets, ducking under the table. She saw a small fish that had fallen on the floor, and started eating it.

"Hey!" Yelled a worker, and snatched Koji up by the scruff of her neck. "How'd this cat get in here?"

"A cat? Get rid of it!" Said the boss.

"Ya want I should snap its neck?" He yelled.

The boss came up and slapped his head. "Idiot! There are customers here!" He whispered to the man, "put it in a burlap sack with a bunch of rocks, tie the bag up and throw it into the river."

His employee winked. "Riight…" and going in to the back of the store, he threw Koji into a bag, then went outside to find some rocks. Terrified, she yelled "Mama, help!"

"Go to the bridge"

"What?" said Muta, "Who said that?"

"Koji is on the bridge, in a sack. Hurry!"

"Wait!" said Hiromi, "did you hear that?"

"Yeah," said Muta, "this way! Follow me!" Haru quickly put a paw to her amulet. "Communication, Baron."

"Yes, Haru, what is it?" he responded.

"We may have located Koji," she said, panting as they ran following Muta. "Block 62, by the bridge!"

"I will alert the Ninja Captain; Toto and I are on our way!" And the portal closed.

Inside the burlap sack, it was all Koji could do to keep from getting hit by the rocks. "That oughta do it!" the worker said, and tied the bag up tightly. He left the fish market and crossed the street to the bridge overlooking the river. Lifting up the sack, he began swinging it around.

"Bye cat!"

Suddenly, he was attacked by an angry orange tabby, which jumped on his head and began furiously scratching his face! "Drop that bag!" She yelled! That same moment, Aki and the Ninja cats arrived.

"Aaaah!" The man yelled, "Get off! Get off!" And stumbling around, let go of the bag, but it was too late! The momentum of his swinging caused the bag to fly over the edge of the bridge into the river below.

"Noo!" yelled Aki, watching the bag splash into the cold water. But that same instant, a black crow flew down from the sky, snatching up the sack before it could sink below the water.

"Ooof! This thing's a little heavy," said Toto.

"Can't be heavier than Muta," remarked the Baron, riding on his back.

"Maybe a little," he huffed.

Hiromi jumped off the worker, who ran screaming back to the market. Toto landed on the bridge, and a Ninja opened the sack. Trembling and wet, Koji crawled out. She blinked her eyes. "Mama!" she yelled, seeing Aki. "Hiromi!" seeing her friend.

"Oh, Koji," said Aki hugging her, "thank goodness you are all right! But you are in big trouble!"

"I'm sorry, Mama," she replied sheepishly, looking down. "I wanted to go see Hiromi."

"Oh, Koji," said Hiromi, "that was a very, very foolish thing you did!" She said sternly, "But I'm glad we found you."

The Ninja Captain touched his amulet to contact the palace. "The kitten has been found, your highness," he told Yuki. "She's been reunited with her mother."

"Well done, Captain," Yuki replied.

"The thanks belong to Muta, Minister Haru, Miss Hiromi and the Cat Bureau," he replied.

"Please ask them to join us in the palace, so we can properly bestow our appreciation," she replied.

Back at the palace, everyone was assembled before the throne. The Cat King was seated, with Prince Lune to his right and Princess Yuki to his left. Natori gave the introductions.

"Your Majesty, these are the cats - and crow - that conducted the search for the kingdom kitten and rescued her from the clutches of that human," began the High Minister. "Our Ninja cats interrogated cats in the human realm, searching diligently for the missing kitten."

"Were it not for the efforts of Muta, Minister Haru, and Miss Hiromi, little Koji may not have been found in time, and thanks to the Baron and Toto, she was rescued from drowning in the river."

The King nodded. "Mmm hmm. Good job."

Yuki started to get up from her seat, ready to ask the King if he could authorize the manufacture of an amulet for Hiromi, but Natori gave her a quick glance and frown. She sat back down.

"Thank you, your Highness," said Natori, and bowing, all left the throne room.

"Natori, why wouldn't you let Princess Yuki speak?" asked Haru.

"Because it wasn't the right time, and if she had, then most assuredly he would have said no! The question must be posed at the right time. I am sympathetic to your situation, Miss Hiromi," said Natori.

Yuki came up to the group. She was angry at the High Minister. "Natori, I wanted to ask the King to grant you permission to make Hiromi an amulet!"

"I understand, Princess, but had you done so, he most certainly wouldn't have agreed. I must ask you to trust me. I will put the request to him when the time is right."

"Very well. But what is Hiromi to do in the meantime?" She turned to the newest cat girl. "You sacrificed your human side to find one of our kingdom's kittens; what will happen now with your family back home? With your schooling?"

"I...I don't know," Hiromi replied. "I didn't think much about those consequences."

"The right time had better be sooner rather than later, Natori," Yuki told him with a frown.

He sighed. "I will do what I can, Highness." And turned to go up to his office.

"Natori, wait!" Said Haru.

"Yes? What is it, Minister?"

"There's something I need to ask you: back when we were searching for Koji, Muta, Hiromi and I suddenly heard a voice in our heads."

"A voice?"

"It came to all three of us, clear as a bell. It told us exactly where Koji was! It said 'Go to the bridge', and then 'Koji is on the bridge, in a sack'. What do you think that was?"

"Hard to say," he replied.

"Well, whatever it was or wherever it came from, it came at precisely the right moment, because had we arrived any later, Koji would certainly have drowned."

"Perhaps you received assistance from another realm. I have read of similar stories in the past, but those were instances caused by Cat Kingdom cats who had provided assistance to dying humans."

"Oh!" Haru thought. She hadn't mentioned to Natori what she'd done with Mrs. Kaneko. Could that have been her? She decided to bring it up with him at a later time.

Yuki turned to the two cat girls. "You should return to your world, and try to think of a way to communicate to Hiromi's family."

"I think that would be best also," said the Baron. "Why don't we all stop by my office?"

Back at the Cat Bureau, they discussed Hiromi's situation.

"My apartment doesn't allow cats," said Hiromi, "I can't live there like this."

"Hopefully tomorrow Natori will be able to speak to the King about getting you an amulet," said Toto. "You're not due back to school until the day after that."

"But what about today? Where do I stay tonight?"

"You stay with me," said Haru. "We'll go to my house and tell your parents you're spending the night."

"I guess," her friend sighed, then added, "got a cat bed?"

Haru smiled. "Of course! Where do you think I slept last night?"

Muta shook his head. "You two just keep getting yourselves into all kinds of trouble."

A portal opened up in the Yoshioka living room. Naoko was working on a quilt. The two cat girls stepped out.

"Well! It's about time you came back, and...wait! Hiromi? Is that you?"

"It's me, Mrs. Yoshioka," she replied.

"Oh, no, I thought you weren't supposed to return to the Cat Kingdom!"

"I wasn't. I went back to help search for a lost kitten."

"We found the kitten, Mom!" said Haru.

"Well, that's nice, but at what cost? Now what's Hiromi to do? What do we tell her parents?"

"Natori said he's going to ask the King to let Natori make her an amulet," said Haru.

"And if he doesn't agree?"

"Uh…"

Naoko pinched her nose. "Girls…"

"In the meantime...can we call her parents and tell them Hiromi's staying here tonight?"

Haru's mother sighed. "Do we have a choice?"

So hopefully Natori will be able to put the request in such a way to gain permission to make an amulet for Hiromi - before school starts!

Two to thank for this story's ideas: a Guest reviewer for the idea of Koji and Hiromi's decision to rescue her; and my sister for the idea of extra assistance that Muta, Haru and Hiromi received - perhaps from Mrs. Kaneko?

Thanks for reading. Please review.