Author's Note:tadsgirl, saw your note and had to reply. To quote from Harry Secombe in The Fireball of Milton Street, a Goon Show: "Take a hundred lines: 'I will not try to guess the end of Goon Show gags.'" :)

Ellenlome, here's the next chapter. You don't have to wait forever. I'm far ahead of this, actually. Just thought I'd tease you by letting you know :) But since I have no beta, I let each chapter rest in an oven for a few days before taking a look at it again. Then I rewrite on the crispy brown glass of my monitor—a lot.

Alea Ishikawa, did I upset you that much? Sorry. Chapter 11 didn't write itself out the way that I wanted it to. As untrue as it may sound, Haru and Baron were always escaping from me at that time, and heading in that direction you hated. I, too, disagreed with what they were doing, but it was another challenge, and writing them another way seemed phony. Ah, but who am I kidding? I'm sorry I soiled Baron/Haru for you. My only defense is to paraphrase what Porco Rosso's Gina said to Donald Curtis: "Life here is a lot more complicated than in the outside world." Sophistry aside, though, I've got everything planned out. Note that I did not say, "Don't worry."

THE PLAN REVEALED

"A polet for your thoughts, Haru."

"Oh, hi, Baron."

"Did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here a few minutes ago."

The Cat sidled up to the young woman standing at the battlements. "What're you looking at?"

"I'm looking for the edge of the sky."

"What?"

"I said I'm looking for the edge of the sky."

"How come?"

"So I can peer beyond it, and see what's happening to my mom, and my friends, and... Kei-chan."

"I see. Haru, I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but I took some liberties shortly after you arrived here."

The college student tucked her windblown hair behind an ear and looked at her otherworldly paramour. "What sort of liberties?"

"Well, in order to allay whatever fears your mother might have about your safety, I gave some instructions to Moon and Luna. I also did the same for Shizuku and Seiji."

"Explain."

Baron elaborated, and at the end of his very short speech Haru was once again miffed.

"You did that? You forged an email in my name, telling them I was running away to the province? Why didn't you consult me?"

"I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me at the time, and I had no chance to reflect or tell you because we were rather busy at that point, if you remember."

"Oh, Baron. I know you mean well, but I wish you had told me beforehand. I haven't even told you what Machida and I were fighting about. Mom must be so mad at him by now."

"I... apologize, Miss Haru. I don't usually have to seek anyone's approval for the things I do, so I humbly beg your pardon for any distress I may have accidentally caused you..."

Haru took Baron's gloved hand in her own. "Baron, Baron, Baron. Always playing the role of the loner, with only Muta and Toto to help you. I understand. Don't worry, I'll find some way to hash it out when I return. And stop talking like a stuffed shirt."

"Haru, you offend me. I am a stuffed shirt, when I'm a figurine..."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"Well, you're a very attractive stuffed shirt," said Haru. "Speaking of which, I'm sorry I ruined the one I borrowed yesterday."

"That's alright. I shall always treasure those stains, that came from garments which served as raiment for such a lovely example of human pulchritude."

"Kyaa!"

"There's no need to blush, Haru, I'm just speaking the truth."

"Well, thank you, but still, I'm embarrassed." Haru smooth the skirt of her pale-yellow dress.

"Sorry. I meant it as a compliment." He looked out at the early morning sky. "About compliments... thank you for the backward one you gave me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The Cat looked sidelong at her. "Last night Shizuku-chan told me... you wanted a kiss."

"She did?" Haru looked flustered as she sought a way out of her predicament. "Oh, oh, oh... why'd she have to tell you?"

"Do you, Haru? Or am I just pandering to my own ego?"

"No, it's true. Although I wanted to be the one to ask you myself... Kiss me, Baron, if you will."

The Cat gestured with his hands. "Like this? Doesn't my appearance put you off? After all, it's like an ancient Egyptian asking Anubis or Thoth for a smooch."

"I really don't care. Why are you comparing yourself to a god of death?" Haru complained. "Don't you find my looks offputting too?"

"No, of course not."

"Well, then, we're even. What would you like?"

"I'd like to cater to your wishes first."

"Alright. Close your eyes."

The Cat complied. "And?"

Haru kissed him. She was concerned she wouldn't like the sensation, but her worry turned out to be needless. It wasn't that different from kissing a man. And you faced yellow eyes so big you could drown in them while kissing him. No hairballs either, she chuckled inwardly. Just a gentle thrill in her veins that built up into a crescendo, and a sweetness that lingered after she had stopped touching her lips to his. At long last, she knew what kissing the Cat felt like. The next time Shizuku-sensei asked, she knew what to answer.

She removed her hands from his cheeks, softly stroking his fur as she did so. "Well?" she croaked, her voice unsteady. "D-does that settle your anxiety?"

Baron blinked. "Only if it settles yours as well."

Haru nodded and smiled. "Can we have a take two, dear heart? This time you take the lead."

That Cat was pleased to oblige.

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

"Shizuku," Seiji called softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "come on. You look like you're seeing the end of the world. This isn't like you. It isn't right for you to begrudge the Baron or Haru-chan this little happiness of theirs."

Shizuku lowered her head. She had been watching them from one of the windows of their room. "Isn't it? Seiji, you know both of them have different lovers. I just hope they don't all get hurt because these two felt lonely." She grasped at the windowsill. "What about you, anata? If you're abroad, and you stray into the arms of one of those aggressive, beautiful women, should I forgive you? Will I be able to trust you again with my heart, after you play with it like that?"

"Shizuku..."

"Yes, damn you." The young woman suddenly looked around at her husband, and her eyes were brimming with tears. "I'll forgive you the first time, and the time after that, and still afterwards. Because I'm a silly girl who can't stop loving Seiji Amasawa, even if she tried. Keep that in mind when you're tempted to sample some of those earthly Italian delights you always tease me about."

"But Shizuku, I haven't done anything of the sort!" And so began another argument between poor befuddled man, who had no clue as to why his dearest was so upset in the first place, and aggrieved wife.

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

"Good day to you all," Baron greeted the roomful of seated cats (and one crow and three humans). "I trust that a heavy lunch has not deadened your ability to think." He pointed to the wall behind him, on which was taped a huge hand-drawn map of an island, with various notations and sketches on it. "Gabriel and I will now reveal to you our role in the assault on the Phaecis Gang's hideout."

"It's about time," rumbled Muta from the back. Interestingly enough, he was the one who had turned the chairs on his right sideways, into a sort of nest, so Toto could sit on them. But when Seiji commented on his thoughtfulness, he just brushed it aside with "What are you talking about? I'm just tired of his claws digging into my shoulders, that's all." None of the humans believed him for a moment, and Toto kept his peace.

"The main landing will take place here," said Gabriel, holding his pointer up to the northeast corner of the island. "The King and the ship captains have decided it's too risky to try and thread our way through the rocks and whatnot lying off the pirates' hideout at night, so we're going for an early-morning assault." He paused as a paw was raised. "Yes?"
"Major, why not use birds? We've been friendly with the Bird Kingdom for a long time now."

"The weather's too foggy. Just imagine the chaos over two hundred birds and their passengers would cause, trying to find the right landing place. Besides, the King has ruled this an internal matter and would rather not ask for help."

The cat who had asked the question nodded.

"To continue. Each troopship will disgorge the Fifth through Seventh Fusiliers in three waves of longboats. Joining us will be the monitors Foxfire and Longshallows—"

A collective groan went up from the assembled cats, and Gabriel frowned at them.

"For Heaven's sake, gentlecats, enough with the moaning and groaning. I know the Longshallows' reputation as well as you, but she's got a new crew now, and is newly overhauled."

"She's always being overhauled!" someone shouted. "She's a bloody wet-water ship!"

Gabriel threw a stern glance the dissenter's way. "Look, you guys just shut up for now and let me finish. Anyway, Captain Loriel herself has volunteered to command the Longshallows."

The groaning was replaced by a surprised silence, into which Muta threw, "Who's this Captain Loriel?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my audience. Captain Loriel is the mistress of this fortress. She's the reason why New Lorum has been left alone by the pirates for a long time now, and why it's so prosperous."

"How'd she do that?" interjected Shizuku.

"She defeated Phaecis himself in single combat during a raid, but instead of arresting him, she let him go, with the promise that he never touch this town again. Rumor has it that he was so captivated by her he kept his word and has never set foot within miles of here since then." Gabriel tapped on the wall again. "Alright, enough with the lessons, history or otherwise. As I was saying, the monitors will join us to cover the landings with their guns, and to keep the pirates off our backs should they decide to disrupt the proceedings with their own craft. Our friend Toto and his mates—" Gabriel gestured towards the crow "—have been trying these past few days to discover where the pirates have secreted their vessels, but to no avail. Just so you know how difficult it is trying to infiltrate the pirates' hideout, we've lost two of their number so far."

The humans caught their collective breath. "Toto..." Haru whispered. "I'm sorry. We didn't–"

"It's okay," the crow answered calmly. "They went down doing what they wanted to anyway." His composure was rock-steady, but looking in the round, dark eyes, one could see the sadness lurking within.

"The assault will proceed here, with its express objective of capturing and destroying the Phaecis Gang once and for all." Gabriel pointed out three blue arrows pushing into the island from the northeast. "Our task is to go in before the main force does and disable everything we can, traps, gun batteries, etcetera. The tanuki who collected this information had compiled everything he could get his hands on." He walked to the right of the map and pulled on a red cord which hung from a roller situated high up on the wall. Down came another map. "This is the pirates' hideout."

The crowd murmured. "It looks like a rat's nest," commented one of the commandos.

"Right. I'll go into team breakdowns, goals, and timing later. While most of you are busy sabotaging or disabling the defenses, I and the Cat Business Office agents and some of you will head this way, into the lair of the Black Cat. Take note, this is the only way in or out of her hiding place. All of us will have to avoid engaging the enemy for as long as we can, if we want to get out with whole skins."

"What's the room that path comes from?"

Gabriel smiled. "That, Renaldo Moon, is Phaecis' main hall, according to Shoukichi the tanuki. It seems the rumors are true, and he always keeps a set table with the finest of food there."

The giant cat stirred. "Really? Hmph, good! At least I won't have to fight hungry."

"Here our goals coincide," Baron piped up. " The reason we're going with you is because the Black Cat is... actually my fiancée. We're going to try and take her alive. If we can't do that, Gabriel and those coming with us have orders to kill her themselves."

Haru gasped. All this talk of battle and killing... maybe Baron was right, that she was in over her head and should stay in the fort, where it was safe. No. She promised him, and he didn't shy from danger when he rescued her, did he? She began to rack her brain for a way to capture Louise without harming her.

Fighting was out of the question. She was still unskilled, and the Black Cat had proven treacherous enough the last time. But a new train of thought intruded itself into Haru's mind. Why should she want Louise saved? With her out of the way, Baron would be free, and what was now a temporary situation would easily turn into a permanent one...

Bakayarou! she chastised herself. How could you even think of such a thing? Do you want Baron so much you're willing to kill his true love to get him? What sort of a person are you, Haru Yoshioka? You were never like this before.

Of course not, another voice, harsher and crueler, replied. And where has that gotten me? I never get what I really want. I wanted Keio or Tōdai, but we never had the money for that and my grades were never good enough. I wanted a brother or sister, but Mom was always too timid to get into another relationship. I've given up so much these past couple of years. This time I want Baron, and if Louise has to die, so–

No, no, no! This is wrong! Whoever you are, get away from me! In her distress, Haru put her hands to the sides of her head and clutched at her hair. Do you honestly think a love tainted like that would ever survive? And I still have Kei-chan.

Who loves your body, but does he love you? The Baron has shown that he cares for you, Haru. Just think, with Louise out of the way... it's sooo easy, the voice said, caressing her mind with a nasty sibilance. A slip here, a mistaken word there... a dagger in the back, like she did to him...

No! I'm a better person than that! I couldn't live with him, knowing each day I murdered someone to get where I was! I'd go crazy. And if he ever found out, I think he'd kill me too!

Don't you worry about it, darling. Leave everything to good old me...

It was too much. Excusing herself, Haru stood up in the middle of Baron's lecturing and walked briskly to the door. Then, when she had closed the solid wood, she covered her mouth with a hand and ran down the corridor. She went back to her room to cry.

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

As she expected, an hour or two later there was an urgent knock on the door.

Haru, she thought.

"Haru!"

Pin-pon. Are you alright?

"Is everything okay? Are you alright?"

Let me in.

"It's me, Haru. Please let me in. We're worried about you."

Huh? We?

Haru rolled off her bed and got up. She didn't care if she looked like a wreck; she just went and opened the door.

"Goodness! You look terrible."

"Thank you, Baron Humbert von Jikkingen. Oh, hi, everyone. Come on in. I'll give Windamary a call and we can all have a big drinking party here."

Baron came in, followed by Muta and the others.

"Oi, Haru," the fat cat said as he squeezed himself through the doorway, "what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"It's not very polite to walk out while someone's talking," Toto said pointedly as he hopped into the room, after also pushing himself through the doorway.

"Yeah, Haru-chan," Seiji chimed in. "Tell us what's got you upset enough to go walking off like that."

Haru shook her head. She felt as if a gang of inquisitors had just set up shop in her sanctuary. "No way. Please, I appreciate your concern, but I need some time by myself."

"Are you sure?" asked Muta.

"Yes."

"Oh, alright." Muta turned his bulk around and exited the room, followed by Toto, Baron, Seiji, and, last of all, Shizuku, who faced her and spoke.

"You've been crying," she observed, marking the rings around Haru's eyes, the dried tracks down her cheeks, and the crumpled bedsheets as well.

"Well, duh. It's rather obvious, don't you think?"

"No need to get snippy. You can always tell me what's troubling you." Shizuku took one more look at her face, then left with the others, closing the door behind her.

"What's wrong is I haven't been drunk in a very long time," Haru said to the room at large. She walked up to the intercom on the wall and pressed the button. Calling for Windamary, she requested that one bottle each of sake and whiskey be brought up to her room for a group celebration. As usual, she would use the King's pass to pay for what she wanted.

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

Downing the hatch on an empty stomach was a bad, bad idea, but she went ahead and did it anyway. She didn't eat much for lunch, having been with Baron at the time, so the alcohol went quickly to work on her. Soon she was throwing her pillows around and calling Windamary again, asking her if she could call up her mom to pick her up from Hiromi's place. Then she switched the intercom off and fell to bawling incoherently on the floor. After some minutes of doing so, there was a knock at her door, but she had locked it, so she paid the summons no mind and just told them to go away. At least she thought she did. Then she decided to help herself to some more whiskey and, eyeing the three large French windows in her room, test her ability to fly. If Shizuku-sensei could do it, why couldn't she?

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

Baron removed his ear from the door and turned to Shizuku. "You were right in telling me to get back here," he said softly. "She's really creating a ruckus in there."

"Why's she so upset, Sir Cat?" Shizuku asked. "You two didn't fight or anything, did you?"

"No. It must be something I said during the briefing." Baron reflected. "Could it be the part where I said Louise was... to be eliminated if we couldn't capture her?"

"Why should that make her crazy? Unless..." Baron watched Shizuku's eyes grow large and her hair bristle outwards as something dawned in her mind.

"Open the door, Baron. I think I know what's bugging her."

"I can't. It's locked," the Cat said, stating the obvious with his usual sang-froid.

Shizuku frowned. "Allow me. Shizuku the Wonder Door-Opener!" There was the creaking snap of metal being bent and broken, and the door swung inward a bit.

Baron nodded his thanks and called, "Haru! Haru-chan! We're coming in!"

They stepped inside to find the room in disorder, and Haru standing in an open window, about to jump out.

"Hi, guys!" she yelled drunkenly, a wild light in her eyes. "Watch me fly!" Then she stepped off into space.