KANOJO NO ONGAESHI

King Lune shook his head. "By the time my men discovered him he had already lost a lot of blood. And, to our shame, we let the Black Cat escape in the confusion and panic, not to mention the Phaecis Gang who had aided her and staged the fight as a diversion."

"Where were you then, Your Highness?" asked Haru.

"I was in the castle, where Baron insisted I stay. I watched his whole act through a telescope until my view was blocked by the smoke. You know, he would've been a fine actor, if his thoughts had ever strayed the way of the stage."

Baron moved his head. "Are my eyes deceiving me?" he said weakly. "Is this little Shizuku, who visited me in Chikyuuya, and went with me on a long journey?"

"Sir Cat!" said Shizuku. "Yes, it's me. I never dreamed I'd meet you like this..." She picked up his hand and pressed it against her cheek. "Don't go, Sir Cat. If you do you'll make me very unhappy."

"And you'll make me unhappy, Baron!" Haru cried. "What's going to happen to Muta and Toto if you leave them?" She squeezed his hand with her paw.

The Baron blinked. "Haru? I see you're quite the fetching feline now. Don't worry, they can take care of themselves. King Lune?"

"Here, Baron."

"Where is Shoukichi?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but he vanished a couple of hours ago. He left us a note which said he was going to track the Phaecis Gang down."

Baron coughed. "Oh, the fool! He was always letting his heart rule his head. What will I ever tell his wife and children if something happens to him... Shizuku, please don't cry."

"But after the horrible thing the Baroness did to you..." Shizuku put her forehead down on the edge of the bed. Seiji put a hand on her back and stroked it softly.

"You still love her after that?" Haru asked. "You'd better hope I not see her in front of me in a shop full of long pointy things."

Smiling, Baron gave Haru's paw a brief press. "Alas, Haru, I'm not a perfect machine yet, and love is more a complicated affair than you set it out to be. I can be just as guilty as my friend the raccoon dog is, sometimes. I just wish my questions would be answered before I go..."

"You're not going!" Haru insisted, trying her best not to start blubbing as the Baron lapsed into unconsciousness again. "You're not going, Baron! I'll never forgive you if you do!" She turned a pleading look towards King Lune. "Please... is there nothing you can do for him?"

"We're doing all we can," King Lune said, trying to reassure her. "The problem, according to the Royal Physician's Office, is that the Baron is an... anomaly. He's not fully a cat, and yet he doesn't have the complete physiology of a human either. We've tried several medicines on him. Some, like the antibiotics, worked well. Others have had strange effects. We think he's the one who brought you ladies here, for example."

"What? How could that be?"

"Well, one of the antidotes we administered to him seemed to give him magical powers..." Lune told them about how the furniture that used to be in the room Baron was in suddenly began levitating shortly after the dose was given to him, then crashing into the walls, and how the Cat himself rose several feet off the bed, crying out Shizuku's and Haru's names amid crackles and rumbles of sudden thunder.

"Well, that could explain why we suddenly poofed here," said Seiji. He did not voice his puzzlement over the way Shizuku's pneumonia had vanished completely. She was still very weak, though. He was already carrying her on his back by the time a patrol of cat constables encountered them on a road some miles out in the countryside and, seeing that they were humans, brought them to the Cat King's Castle.

"I wonder why he didn't name anyone from the Cat Business Office," Haru said.

"That's why we fear he's dying," piped up Natoru, who had come to stand behind King Lune. When Seiji and Haru cast questioning glances at him, he said, "We think he called you here because he wanted to say goodbye. He told us you were always on his mind."

"No. He's not saying goodbye," came a muffled voice. Everyone looked at everyone else, trying to find out who was speaking. "I won't let him. If I let him die, part of me will go along with him. The time I spent on my journey with him will end up as dust, lost to me forever. I refuse this fate for him."

Shizuku raised her head. The others gasped as they saw the eerie glow in her eyes. The Engel's Zimmer was back in full force again.

"Let go of him," she commanded Haru as she stood up. Haru instinctively obeyed, afraid of the stern look on the older woman's face, and her fulgent eyes.

Shizuku reached over to take Baron's far hand in her own. Then, holding both of his hands in hers, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. A faint humming pervaded the room, and everyone held their breath. They knew something out of the ordinary even for the Cat Kingdom was going on.

Shizuku threw her head back and collapsed into Seiji's arms. To everyone's surprise she began to disappear from sight, fading like a cloud stuck over a desert on a windless day.

"Anata!" Her voice was small and frightened, and her eyes—now normal—looked beseechingly at her husband's as she tried to comprehend what was happening to her.

"Shizuku-chan!" Seiji wrapped his arms tighter around her. "What's going on?" he asked the others, who could only remain mute, as they were just as mystified as he was. He saw his arms begin to sink into her incorporeal body and began to panic. "Shizuku-chan!"

Just then the Baron regained consciousness and looked up at Haru.

"Haru," he said in a weak but clear voice. "Grossmächtige Prinzessin, mögst du nicht Schmerz durch meinen Tod gewinnen." Then the yellow orbs closed. A wave of dread washed over Haru's heart as she wondered if this time would be the last.

She quickly motioned for Natoru to translate, which the Secretary did, albeit very unwillingly.

"'Mighty Princess, mayest thou come to no sorrow through my death,'" Natoru intoned as fast as he could, to get it over with.

"Oh, Baron," Haru keened. "No, no, no..." Struck hard with several nasty surprises in a row the past few hours, her mind took the only refuge it could. The last thing her senses registered was Lune shouting for help as her legs folded under her and she fell to the floor in a dead faint.

------oOo------

"You know, I'm starting to like this place. When there isn't any dying or fighting going on it actually looks as pretty as a picture in a postcard."

So said Shizuku Amasawa to her husband a day later, as they stood looking out at the countryside from one of the circular balconies that graced the castle.

"Yeah. I think I'd stay here for a year or so, if I could. At least our time is our own to spend." Seiji cautiously looked around, then put an arm across Shizuku's shoulders. "But that Haru Yoshioka, I wonder if she doesn't need to go back home."

"Ah, she's a grown-up, anata. Let her do what she wants."

Right now the lass they were talking about was in Baron's bedroom, still sitting beside him and quietly talking with him. All it had taken to make things look up again was a bit of patience; after Haru had fainted Shizuku had returned to solidity as inexplicably as she had faded out before. And what Baron had believed to be his final sally was in fact merely the prelude to a long sleep. When Lune's doctors arrived and checked on him, they discovered that the suppurating wound in his side had closed and was well on the way to healing completely, and his vital signs had returned to normal. The only explanation they could think of, fantastic as it sounded, was that Shizuku had somehow cured him of his poisoning. The writer absorbed that fact with a smile, just before she said she was tired and fell asleep, still cradled in Seiji's arms.

Haru had been left on the floor in the meantime, with a pillow under her head to keep her comfortable, while the Cat King's staff effected a quick change and got two other rooms ready. Then she was placed in one, and Shizuku and Seiji taken to another. Both were on the same castle level as Baron's, and the impressed King told them they could stay as long as they wanted, as his guests.

Seiji, after some reservation about whether people back in the real world would be worrying about them, accepted for himself and his wife. The exotic quality of this world's inhabitants, the pastoral surroundings, the sights, smells, and sounds, they all served to awaken the artist in him once again. He wanted to drink in the vistas, the brown fields and waving flowers and blue sky; he wanted to feel the earth under his feet, wanted to see where the roads in this world led to, with his wife by his side. There was no way he was simply going to leave without making this magical country partly his. He knew Shizuku would feel the same. She had that quality about her, of being able to possess things and make them her own, of crafting whole worlds out of the most mundane things, and of creating imaginary places and people and making them seem real to those who read her works. He sometimes saw her, sitting at her table, lost in thought, her eyes staring out the window into the night, and understood that she was not really there; she was traveling, communing in spirit with something only she could conceive and comprehend, a minor god engrossed in the music of the spheres. Whenever he disturbed her while she was like that she would get irritated and snap at him, but he always forgave her, since he behaved in much the same manner while fashioning a violin or painting a picture.

Thus, almost everything had turned out aright after all. Even Haru had had a bit of good luck: when she woke up in her bedroom during the night, a hearty, human-consumable meal awaited her along with a reddish, bitter drink in a carafe, which Natoru told her would turn her back into a human. The process would take a day or two. Haru didn't mind: waiting for 24 or 48 hours was preferable to staying a cat permanently, and she had to drink the vile concoction only once, as its effects would last until she went back to her own world. Haru understood from the Secretary's explanation that King Lune was bestowing a great boon on her, for the potion was very difficult to procure, as it was impossible to make in the Cat Kingdom and had to be imported at great expense from another world.

Baron, too, was fine, except that his struggle with the fever had left him weak. While Shizuku and Seiji were lovey-dovey on the balcony, he was struggling to get off his bed, and Haru was trying to stop him.

"Don't be so hard-headed," she admonished. "Baron, even you need to rest after what you've just undergone." She was acting as his nursemaid now; she even looked the part, being clothed in a peasant-style dress Natoru had found for her in the Castle's ample stock of clothing.

"No... I have to get up," he insisted. "I mustn't let this setback get the better of me. I must look for the Black Cat. I must–"

Haru pushed him back on the bed. "I can't believe you're killing yourself to find a queen who just tried to murder you," she said in disbelief. "You're resting, and that's final. If you fall, I'm not sure I'm strong enough to lift you back onto the bed. Besides," she added, playing her last card, "what if you get a relapse? Are you going to ask Shizuku-sensei to risk her life again for you?"

Baron stopped trying to sit up. He let out a great sigh and relaxed against the pillows.

"Alright, have it your way," he acquiesced, panting a little. "But as soon as I'm strong enough I'm going to the Isles to find her."

Haru took the washcloth on the tray by the bed and began wiping his forehead carefully. "And then what?"

"And then... she and I will have a little talk." Through his eyes Haru could discern the turbulent emotions lurking beneath his composed expression.

"What'll you talk about?"

"Haru, is this interrogation of yours really necessary?" Baron said, perhaps a little more harshly than was intended.

"Sorry. I just can't understand two things: why she should try to kill you after recognizing it was you and not King Lune, and why you still insist on going after her." She moved her attention and the washcloth to his hands.

Baron pushed himself into a more upright position and unfastened the top buttons of his white long-sleeved shirt. He wore that and his pants, while his vest, coat and other accoutrements were stored in a nearby cabinet. "Well, I had it from her that she was bitter because I wasn't able to save her from the Doctor who kidnapped her. And as for the second..." The Cat's voice faded into the silence of the room.

Haru stopped her ministrations. "You still love her, don't you?"

Baron turned his head away from her, turned to look out the windows at the sunny sky and bucolic countryside.

"I guess I understand," she said. "Something similar happened between me and my boyfriend just before I was brought here to the Kingdom. We had a huge fight about... well, we had a huge fight, and even though I hate his guts right now, I still find that I care for him. A stupid thing love is, neh, Baron?"

"Yes, Haru. And being a slave to it is the worst thing I can imagine." Baron's hands clenched. "There are so many things I need to ask her. She's so near now, and yet still too far, like she's always been..."

"Baron? I'd like to ask you a favor."

"What?"

"I want to go with you to the Lonely Isles, if you'll let me. Oh, please let me," she continued just as he was about to speak. "Shizuku-sensei has already helped you by healing you. I still have to return the favor I owe you."

"I'm sorry, Haru, I can't allow it. It's a very dangerous place, and not only because of the pirate gang and the Black Cat."

"The Baroness Louise, you mean."

Baron twisted his head and looked up at Haru. His eyes flashed. "No, I don't consider them to be one and the same. That villain is not the same woman I was made with all those years ago. She's not the one I was supposed to marry."

The vehemence of his speech took Haru aback. "But Baron, she is–"

"No!" The Cat made a short chopping motion with his left hand. "Somewhere deep inside the Black Cat is my Louise, and I'm going to find her and bring her back, like I intended to all these years."

Haru sat frozen in her seat for a second. Then she gently wiped Baron's cheek with the washcloth, set it back on the tray, stood up, and silently padded out of the room.

Fine, she huffed as she shut the door behind her. You want to live in that illusory world of yours, be my guest. I won't be the one to try and open your eyes to the truth. Another part of her mind worried about the hurt the Baron would receive, if he ever learned that he was wrong and it was his Louise who had tried to kill him.

------oOo------

Three days passed, and neither the Amasawas nor Haru showed any inclination to go back home. In the meantime their stay in the castle had been rendered more mirthful by the arrival of Toto and Muta, to whom Baron had sent a message, to join him in the Cat Kingdom.

When Shizuku had first laid eyes on Muta (on the balcony where they frequently spent the mornings and late afternoons), she stared at his considerable bulk in amazement, then hesitantly offered her hand. "Neko-kun! I can't believe it's you! I wish I knew you were really part of this. And... hehe, I didn't really mean what I said to you back then, that you were uncute."

Muta stared down, nonplussed, at the young woman in the white dress. He took her hand and shook it. "Not a problem, Miss Shizuku, I've already forgotten it," he said. "It's nice to meet you again after all this time. Are you happy with Seiji? 'Cause if you aren't, I can beat him up for you. Just say the word."

"Hey!" Seiji barked. "This is what I get after feeding you all these years, even though you were just a visitor in Chikyuuya?"

"Just joking, Master Seiji." Muta did his best approximation of a grin, but at the sight of his wide, sharp-toothed smile, Seiji swallowed and retreated a step or two backwards.

Toto the crow sighed. "Muta, please. The man's right, you know. That's no way for you to show your gratitude. After all, think of all the tons of food it must have taken–" Toto flew off the railing as Muta lunged at him.

Shizuku laughed. "This is so wonderful! I feel as though I'm living in a dream, and I never want to wake from it." She stopped as she saw Muta and Seiji looking at her curiously.

"What? What did I say?"

"Do I look like a dream to you?" said Muta through slitted eyes, pointing to himself with a paw.

"Does this feel like a dream to you?" Seiji asked, pinching her derriere.

Shizuku jumped and colored. "Ow! Pervert! How could you do that to me, in front of these strangers?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say I was a stranger to your love life," Muta said slyly. "I've seen you two doing some pretty risqué stuff in Chikyuuya's back rooms and attic." He turned his back on them and put his arms around himself, running his paws up and down the sides of his body, miming kissing someone. "Mmmh... oh, Seiji..."

Seiji joined his wife in presenting a matched pair of blushing faces to the immensely pleased Muta as he turned around. "Hey!" they chorused.

"Neko-kun!" protested Shizuku, unconsciously drawing closer to her husband and putting her arm around him. "You're awful!"

"I knew I should've kicked you out of the shop when ojii-san wasn't looking!"

"Ah, but you didn't. That should teach you to be more discreet in choosing where to neck."

"As if I knew you could talk and were watching us," said Seiji hotly. "I lived there more than you did, so if I wanted to neck there–" His rant was interrupted by Shizuku's prompt heel on his toes.

"Moon," she said as her husband bounced up and down beside her on one foot, clutching the other in his hands, "please don't tell on us to anyone else."

"Why not? You two are already married, so why be embarrassed about it?"

"Because!" Shizuku shouted, just about ready to die from the mortification. She stamped her foot. "Just because! Oh, I wish we knew some of your secrets too, so we could spread them around and embarrass you."

"And I can help you there!" Toto landed on Muta's head, between his ears.

"Hey! Get off me, crow!" Muta swiped at Toto, but the bird deftly avoided his paw with a little jump, causing it to swish by harmlessly beneath him.

"You know, when he was still new to the Bureau," he revealed as he continued to dodge Muta's attempts to get him off his noggin, "Muta actually fell in love with a dog."

"What?" said Seiji in disbelief.

"Yes, she was a cute little thing." Hop. "You should've seen him following her around like a lovesick loon. It's just too bad she broke off–" skip "–their relationship because lard-belly here stood her up on a date–" jump "–to go to a convention displaying new fancy-mice species. Where, naturally, he ate the mice, causing all the breeders to break down and cry."

"Oh, Moon," Shizuku giggled.

"Toto, I'm warning you!" Again Muta batted at the bird, and still his RBI remained .000.

"You think that was bad, wait till you hear about the one concerning the catnip and a packed-to-capacity concert in the Tokyo Dome..."

"Alright! That's it!" Muta stopped swiping at Toto and faced Shizuku and Seiji. "I won't spread rumors about you two, if old stone-brain here will just stop talking about the mistakes an innocent tom made during his younger years."

"Sounds like a fair deal to me," the crow agreed, winking at Shizuku, and the treaty was signed and settled.

"Just between you and me," Seiji whispered to his former-itinerant-pet-turned-giant as Toto and Shizuku were busy talking to each other some minutes later, "what did you see, hmm?"

Muta looked down at him. "Nothing scandalous. I just saw you and Miss Shizuku kissing and hugging, that's all. I was just messing with your mind."

"But then that means... Toto! Let's hear some more of those stories about Moon!"

"Hey, no fair! Remember the agreement!"

------oOo------

About an hour later, as they were joined by a freshly-bathed and fully-human Haru, the group took their lunch on the balcony, at a large table covered by a gigantic umbrella. Cat servants set a smorgasbord on the table, then attended to their every little want. To Muta's credit, he didn't complain about the 'meager' portions that were being served.

"Where's Baron?" Toto asked as he fastened his beak around a boiled fish on his plate.

"He's downstairs, in King Lune's throne room," answered Haru. "He was going to join us, but as we were about to come up here Natoru called him away. It seemed important."

"I wonder what it was about." Toto slid the fish down his gullet.

"It's too bad we didn't arrive in time to see you as a cat, Haru," commented Muta.

"But you did see me as one before, remember?"

"Yeah, but you weren't a complete cat then." Muta let out a wolf whistle. "I bet you must've been a sight to see."

"Muta, that's not polite," Toto scolded his Office colleague.

"Lighten up, crow. I meant it in a good way."

"Whatever."

Haru paused in her eating and looked down the close-fitting, peplumed white blouse and long brown skirt she was wearing. "You know, now that I think of it, I guess I should've asked someone to take a picture of me or something. I guess I was too busy and panicky these past few days to think of it."

"I can't blame you," said Shizuku as she cut into her steak. "I'm still adjusting to all this myself. I thought 'The Story the Baron Told Me' was all my invention, when in fact it was a mix of that and being a chronicle. I still don't know whether to feel crestfallen or proud."

"Proud, of course," said Muta emphatically.

"Agreed," said Toto.

"Proud," stated Seiji.

Haru, her mouth full, just nodded. She swallowed her food and beckoned to a nearby attendant, speaking quietly to him and putting her palms together in entreaty. Whatever they talked about, the servant soon inclined his head and left the scene.

"Thank you, everyone," said Shizuku bashfully. She let go of her fork, and it floated in the air where she had been holding it. "I guess that's not the only I thing I can be proud of, now. Just think, Shizuku Amasawa, the Magical Writer! I Fight for Love and Justice!" Seiji made a show of smacking his forehead with his palm; her lips formed into a grin as she grasped the airborne utensil and returned to eating.

"Yes, that's right, dear heart," she ventured. "My own husband, please ridicule me, while the two beside you just smile."

Seiji looked up at Muta and Toto. The two returned his glances with slightly miffed expressions, as if asking him, How can you demean your wife like that?

"S-sorry."

Shizuku laughed. "I was just kidding."

Within the space of an hour Baron joined them. He was back in his natural ginger color. Bare-headed, sporting a white, long-sleeved shirt and tan vest, with the ever-present bow tie around his neck and with black shoes on his feet, the Cat appeared at the door and raised his walking-stick—a different one, with a metal knob on the grasping end and straight instead of being curved—in greeting. His gait was slow and his breathing labored, but he walked under his own steam to a place at the table and sat down.

"What's up?" asked Haru, noting the grim expression on his face.

The Baron helped himself to some of the buffet and poured some red wine in his glass before speaking.

"The King is planning on going to war with the pirates," he reported. "He says the assassination attempt was the last straw. I'm inclined to agree with him, but we lack important information about the gang's hideout. Many lives could be lost. Nevertheless, Lune wishes to proceed against them as soon as possible."

"So you mean the Office has decided to help him?" Toto asked.

"Well, yes. I am now formally stating that the Cat Business Office has been engaged by King Lune of the Cat Kingdom to help deal with the Phaecis Gang. And the Black Cat," he amended briefly.

"Pay, Baron," Muta reminded him. "Did you negotiate a fee? What's with the look, Haru? You didn't think the Office was altruistic all the time, did you?"

"Not yet," answered Baron. "They're too busy arguing downstairs. I'll find a quiet moment to speak to him about it later. Did you lock the Office?"

"No," replied Toto. "The twins are looking after it for now."

Just then Queen Yuki and one of her ladies stepped out onto the painted concrete. They were dressed in the same manner as Haru was, except that they had bouffant skirts and the color of their clothes were jewel-like and bright. Her eyes lit up in delight as she saw them.

"No, please, don't get up," she said as everyone attempted to stand in acknowledgement of her presence.

"Your Majesty," Baron greeted her, taking her paw and kissing the tips of her digits.

"May I join you?" asked Yuki. "It's so boring eating alone, and Lune's been in that conference forever."

"Please, join us," said everyone—even Muta, though he did it grudgingly because the Queen's arrival just meant another competitor in wolfing the food down. Seiji pulled out the only remaining empty seat, the one beside his, and Yuki took off her cape and sat down. Her young lady-in-waiting stood by her seat, attending to her, and when she began to eat everyone else resumed their meal.

"Baron," said Haru, "I was wondering. The last time we were here you told me it was always light in this place. How come there are days and nights now?"

"I think I can answer for him," Queen Yuki interposed. "When Lune's father was still the King, his paranoia made him light up the whole countryside within a hundred miles of here, so his guards could spot any intruders better. Lune abolished the practice, so night and day came back again."

Seiji whistled. "So he had magicians?"

"Some. Lune dismissed most of them when he took the throne, since all those cats really wanted was to be left alone to study their arts. There are a few still working in the castle, though, and some in the provinces." Yuki took in a forkful of tuna, then looked at the Cat. "How are you, Baron?"

"I'm fine, Highness. And I'm getting better every day, thanks to Haru's patient tending." Said girl blushed; Baron chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Yes, Haru, I know you wish you could strangle me for my stubbornness, but I'm really grateful for all your attention."

"That's not it," Haru said, so quietly no one except the Cat heard her. That's not it, Baron. I still don't like the way you're deluding yourself about Louise. Oh, I hope you're not setting yourself up for a fall.

"Haru?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Oh, maybe something. Queen Yuki, is there anyone in the castle who can teach me how to fight with a sword?"

"What?" The white cat's brow-whiskers went up as far as they would go. "Any of the soldiers and guardsmen here can teach you that. But the best choice for such a matter, I think, would be the Swordmaster Gabriel. He used to train Lune's father, and spars with Lune nowadays. He's good at what he does."

"Why would you want to learn how to fight with a sword?" asked Seiji, who along with Shizuku was surprised at Haru's question.

"Oh, nothing much," said Haru, pinching her skirt and mentally bracing herself for the lie that she was about to spew. "I took up fencing, you see, and just wondered if someone could give me more insights into swordplay and teach me a little." She didn't want to add that being stuck in the castle was boring her. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy their company; she just wanted the option available to her, to go out and explore the countryside whenever she wanted, but it had been denied them all by a security-conscious King Lune.

"I'll ask Gabriel about it," Yuki said. "I'm sure he'd be willing to take you under his wing."

"If it's not too much to ask," Baron butted in, "I'd like to see him as well."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because of this," Baron said, gesturing to his side. "I'd like to refresh my knowledge of the art of fighting with a sword. I only get to practice it occasionally, while the Black Cat presumably employs it far more often."

"Baron..." Haru said.

The Cat gave her a sidelong glance but said nothing.

"Then I'll give Gabriel your names," said Yuki. That being said, the party went back to chatting and eating.

------oOo------

Later on, when the meal had finished and everyone had gone to their rooms, Baron spoke to Haru about something that had been bothering him. They were in his bedroom, and were seated in chairs.

"Haru, your asking Yuki about finding someone to teach you swordplay... I know what you're up to. And my answer is still no."

Haru folded her arms in front of her chest. "I no longer care, Baron. If I feel myself capable, I'm going to go with you to the Lonely Isles, whether you like it or not."

"Are you crazy? I'm sorry to have to say this, but you'll just be holding me back."

Haru turned a hurt look on him. "I'm just trying to return a favor. Why can't you be gracious enough and accept it?"

"Because... I don't want to have to be the one who carries your body back to your mother."

"Are you implying that I can't handle it?"

Baron stayed silent.

"Fine! I'll show you, you pompous, overbearing, stuck-up cat! I'll show you who you're really dealing with!" Haru stood up and stormed her way to the doors. "Oh, and you change your dressing today! I'm not going to do it for you!"

As the doors shut, Baron settled back in his seat, placed his elbows on the armrests, and steepled his hands in front of him. Dear Haru, why can't you see I'm just trying to keep you safe?

------oOo------

Gabriel, it turned out, was a fairly old cat, a calico with a graying muzzle and white sock-patterned paws. He introduced himself that evening to Haru and to Baron, and after talking for a while with them, said they could start any time, as long as King Lune didn't need his services. There was a little verbal maneuvering involved, as neither the Cat nor Haru wanted to speak to each other. Finally they settled on Haru having the first session with Gabriel. He was to lend her some equipment, while Baron said he'd stick to his cane-blade.

That evening, while they were sitting together at one table during dinner, Shizuku began asking Haru how she had met the Baron. Since the Cat was sitting at the same table, Haru's narrative was stilted. Baron, however, speedily finished his dinner and excused himself, saying that he had some things to attend to.

Shizuku saw Haru watch Baron make his way to the royal table. She couldn't help noticing the gradual relaxation of the younger woman's set shoulders. "Um, Haru-chan, is there anything bothering you?"

"Eh? Oh, no, no, Shizuku-sensei. Where was I? Oh, yes, when I saw Muta inside the jar of jelly I screamed because I thought he was already dead..."

Baron happened to glance their way as he was speaking to King Lune. Haru quickly turned her attention back to her food, and Shizuku began to ruminate. The two had barely spoken to each other the whole evening, Haru was obviously uptight, and Baron didn't quite have the bon vivant air he usually had around him.

Her train of thought was broken by Seiji quietly asking her if she'd like to take a stroll later in the gardens at the back of the castle. Visions of flowers and lamps under the starlit sky filled her mind, and Shizuku never got back to pondering on Baron and Haru that night.