THE RED STRAW HAT PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
'TO BRING YOU BACK,'
BEING THE SECOND PART OF
'THE CAT REQUESTS A FAVOUR,'
WHEREIN SHIZUKU AND HARU'S FATES
ARE RESOLVED

Author's Note: Yes, I'm back, if only to finish what I started. To understand this story you must have read 'The Cat Requests A Favour,' and be familiar with pretty much the entire Ghibli milieu. Perhaps this will be my Christmas story as well, since I don't think I can write one separate from this. There's simply no time left. Hope you enjoy. As always, comments and corrections are welcome.

THE GIFT

"Oof! Hey, Baron, let me have a look!"

"In a moment."

"Tell us what's happening."

"Hey, don't hog the entire branch, fatso."

"There's lots of other branches, Moon."

"Yeah, but this is the only one with a good view of Haru's house."

"Oh, do tell us what's happening, Baron. I'm so worried about her."

"Well, Luna," replied the Cat, adjusting the spyglass he held to his right eye, "they're still fighting. They're still in the middle of the living room. Oh, don't, Haru! Oh, good."

"What happened? Lemme see!" Muta, annoyed, tried to snatch the telescope up, but the Baron kept it out of his reach.

"She was about to slap Machida."

Muta made an irritated sound by blowing through pursed lips. "I feel like I'm watching my favorite sumo wrestler from the furthest row of seats," he groused. "Ouch! Moon, would you mind your claws? You're not that light, you know."

"Sorry," the black cat perched on his back apologized.

The Baron, a set expression on his face, held the telescope out to his side. Muta yanked it from his hand and squinted.

"Aw, it's over!" he exclaimed, after watching for a bit. "Machida's walking out. He just slammed the door." He shifted his view. "Uh-oh."

"Oh-oh, indeed," said the Cat, tugging his gloves so they sat more snugly on his hands. "I think we'd better get over there."

"Why? What happened?" asked Luna, who, being the lightest of them all, was sitting on the end of the cypress branch furthest from the trunk. "I could hardly see anything, we're so far away."

"I'm not sure, but I fear the worst."

"What about her mother?" asked Moon.

"She's gone away, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

The call of a child made them look down. A little girl of about eight was standing under the tree, looking up at them. Baron Humbert von Jikkingen gave her a smile and a wave.

The little girl called for her mommy once more, and a woman in an apron came out from the nearby house's back door and walked to her, wiping her hands on a yellow hand towel as she did so.

"What is it, Mi-chan?"

"Mama, is this tree that neko-jarashi you told me about?"

"Eh? Oh, no, no, no. Neko-jarashi looks like a rice plant." She patted her daughter's head. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause there sure are a lot of cats up in it," Mi-chan answered.

"What?" The woman looked up and squinted. "There's nothing up there."

"Oh?" Mi-chan looked. The branch where the funny Mr. Cat with the clothes was standing talking to his friends was empty. "But there were cats up there, I swear!"

"I'm sure there were, but they're gone now. Maybe your voice scared them away." Mi-chan's mommy gently turned her around. "Come inside, it's time to eat." As she ushered her daughter back into their home she took one last look at the cypress, looming old and large in the night in their small back yard, then closed the door.

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

The Baron tapped a glass pane on the door. Haru looked up from the couch, her face a study in deep thought. Lifting his hat in greeting, the cat nobleman stepped back and waited until she had opened the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Someone might see you!"

"May we come in?" the Cat asked, looking up at her in his usual dignified manner as he removed his gray top hat and tucked it underneath one arm.

"'We'?"

The Baron gave a whistle, and three felines, one large and white with a brown ear and the other two sleek and lithe and black as jet, came running in from behind the fence in front of Haru's house. They all stopped and sat in front of her.

"Haru," asked one in a lisping female voice, "genki?"

Haru sighed and closed her eyes. She turned away. "Come in, come in."

Muta pushed the door shut as the Baron said, "Haru... are you alright?"

Haru suddenly turned right back around, and she had her hands clasped together and a dreamily blissful expression on her face.

"I'm more than alright," she announced. "I'm so happy!"

"Wha—?" The cats looked at each other.

"But I thought–" the Cat said, baffled.

"But Baron said–" Muta wondered at the same time.

Moon pointed with a paw. "You're not angry or sad, Haru?"

"What? No, of course not!" Her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. What's this all about? Less than five minutes after Kei-chan's left, you guys show up. What's going on?"

"We were spying on you from a block away," Muta explained baldly. Luna shoved an elbow into his ribs. "Ow! It's the truth."

"We were walking here when we saw Machida's car pass by and figured he was coming to visit," the Baron said. "We didn't want to disturb you two, so we climbed a tree and watched what we could from there."

"You did what?" spulttered Haru, her voice rising, her cheeks turning the most charming shade of reddish-pink. "Y-you busybodies! So I suppose you saw us... kissing?"

"What?" The Baron's brow-whiskers went up. He looked at his companions for confirmation. "No, we didn't."

"We must've climbed too late to catch the good stuff," Moon commented, making a tsk-tsk sound. "Thanks to a certain one-ton cat who refuses to go on a diet."

Muta scowled and folded his arms. "Oh, sure, blame me again. It's my fault I was born big. If you weren't so weak and scrawny–"

"You mean you weren't fighting with your Kei?" Luna interrupted, hopping onto the living-room couch. Haru sat down beside her.

"No!" She petted the tabby, who snuggled closer to her. Everyone else took it as a signal that they could also sit on the couch, so the three guys also jumped onto it. The Cat, of course, was careful not to let his shoes touch the fabric. He sat on the armrest and let his feet dangle.

"In fact," Haru continued, "we made up. He said he forgave me, but only if I wouldn't do it again."

The Baron shifted uneasily. "Oh. I... we thought you had broken up. I thought you were going to slap him at one point."

"Huh? Oh, no, we were just acting out a play we did in senior high, about a samurai who felt it was his duty to serve his lord, and his wife, who didn't want him to go and get killed. I fell so in love with him at that time, he was so handsome..."

Luna turned and stared at the Cat with her large amber eyes. "Couldn't you read the expressions on their faces? That would've given everything away."

"No, my spyglass isn't that sharp." The Cat looked up at Haru. It was so strange but typical, seeing the young lady who had become his temporary girlfriend looming large on the couch in her blue polo and faded jeans. He could still remember the kisses they gave each other... and Louise's scowling face as she talked to him about it.

"Then how come Machida slammed the front door, Haru?"

"Hmm? Oh, he's always like that when he's in a hurry. He said he had to get back to his parents' factory. He's apprenticing under his father, you know." She ran her hand idly over the back of Muta's neck. "We have so little time for each other nowadays..."

"Speaking of time," Muta said, shivering a little under Haru's touch, "tell her why we came here, Baron."

"Oh? Ah, yes, thanks for reminding me. We'd like you to come to the Cat Business Office with us."

"Now?"

"Well, yes. I figure now would be the perfect time, since you told me last week your mother's going to be away today and tomorrow."

"What for?"

"It's a surprise."

"Really?"

"Yes, the perfect accompaniment to such a joyful occasion," said Moon, placing his front paws on Haru's jeans and beginning to do a claws-in, claws-out tattoo on the delightfully catchy surface. "Please, come with us."

"Well, sure, I'll go. Let me just lock up first, and we can leave." Haru winced and grinned at the same time as Moon's claws stuck into her skin. "Naughty cat, stop that. You're tickling me."

"Oh, really? Gee, that looks like fun." Luna leapt onto the couch's backrest and proceeded to do the same thing to Haru's polo shirt, just below the collar.

"Hey! Stop that!" Haru giggled.

Muta nonchalantly joined in the entertainment, giving the opposite leg of her jeans the same prickly attention. Her giggles turned into outright laughter, and she twitched and squirmed.

"Stop! Help, Baron!"

"Enough, gents and lady," the Cat ordered. "Come on, it's getting late. Have you eaten?"

"Yes, with Machida. Oh, but where are my manners?" Haru exclaimed as the cats stopped their torture. She smoothed out her abused clothes. "Would you care for tea or something, you guys?"

"No, we've got everything ready at the office," said Luna. "Don't worry about that. Now go and get dressed, there's a good girl."

As Haru skipped up the stairs to her room, Luna turned to the Baron. "Well, well. Misread the situation, oh fearless leader of ours?"

The Baron put his top hat back on. "Yes, you're right. It wouldn't be the first time, would it? I really don't care. I'm just glad she and Machida are getting back together."

"Yeah," Moon chirruped. "It's nice how some guys are so forgiving, isn't it?"

"More like gullible," muttered Muta, leaping off—sliding off like a lump of slow-moving cholesterol was more like it—the couch.

The Baron gave him a sharp look. Muta just raised a brow at him, ambled to the glass-paned doors, and opened them.

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

There was a low, dark-brown, human-sized table set up on a carpet on the flagstones in front of the Cat Business Office. It was getting cool back home, but here the weather was still fine and balmy. The stars were twinkling in the sky; the lights of the plaza and the buildings gave the surroundings a homely and welcoming yellow glow.

Moon told Haru to take a seat, and she knelt down on a pillow.

"Everything okay?" asked the Cat. She nodded. "Good. Come on, Muta. Let's go get the cake. I promise we won't be long." The two left, disappearing round a corner.

Luna emerged from the interior of the Office, balancing a too-large cup and saucer in her arms. "T-t-tea, Haru?" she stuttered, swaying.

Before a disaster involving broken china, scalded skin and punctured egos could occur, Haru snatched the cup and saucer from her. "Yes, please." She took a sniff. "Baron's special blend?"

"Yup," Moon answered as he and Luna began bustling about. Soon six places were set at the table, and six red cushions also awaited their sitters.

Haru watched in amusement as the black cat twins finished their task. "What's the occasion?"

"Secret. All I can tell you is you're the guest of honor for this little get-together of ours."

"Yes, she is indeed," a new voice said from inside the Cat Business Office. A figure in a maroon walking hat with feathery pink flume pinned in the side, a traveling cloak, and a full-skirted, lace-fringed, long-sleeved dress of the same color emerged.

"Baroness!" Despite the small size of Humbert von Jikkingen's fiancée own, something compelled Haru to get to her feet.

"No, no, please," Louise protested, motioning for her to sit back down even as she got up. "I'm pleased to see you again, young lady."

"L-likewise," said Haru.

"Well, since you've taken the trouble of getting to your feet, might I suggest we head over there?" Louise gestured at Toto's empty column in the middle of the square. The crow still hadn't come back from his trip to Europe.

"What for?"

"I want to talk to you."

Inwardly Haru quailed. She remembered the last time they had 'talked.' Louise was still the evil Black Cat, but the Doctor had released her and allowed her control of her body, and she had slapped and shaken and berated Haru so hard she thought her death was surely going to be next. All because she had heard of the human female's relationship with the Cat.

They came to the column, still and gray under the stars. Louise removed her hat and used it to fan and lightly brush the flagstones clean—not that they needed any cleaning, but it never hurt to make sure.

"Come, sit," she said. "I don't want to raise my voice, as I don't want Humbert to hear what I have to say."

Haru sat down and, imitating the Baroness, leaned against the stone.

"There is little time. First of all, I wish to apologize for the way I treated you in Phaecis' lair. I know I have already done so, when we were still in Lune's kingdom," she said, raising a hand to forestall Haru, who was about to speak. "But I feel that I was not clear enough."

"It was clear enough to me," returned Haru. "And you had every right to be angry."

The Baroness smiled sadly at her much larger companion. "I guess I understand things a little better now. He is wonderful, isn't he?"

"I... yes, he is."

"So much so that I believe I can understand you having feelings for him. But the superman—super cat, in this case—displays some cracks in his façade, doesn't he?" Louise looked up at the night sky.

"I have had a lot of time to think about it," she continued, "about what a lifetime of separation must have done to him, and how lonely he must have been. I find that I am no longer as angry as I was before at you."

"Baroness..."

"Please, just call me Louise. I notice none of you call him Humbert, and that you use his title as though it were his first name. To tell you the truth, I find it amusing. Why is that?"

"I guess we respect him too much to call him by his first name," Haru replied. "I've never done so, except when we were sparring, to rile him." She chuckled. "I was the one who got upset instead, when he refused to get irritated."

"Yes, that sounds like him," agreed Louise, smiling. "Well, Haru Yoshioka, I expect you're itching to get your claws around him again."

"What? Oh, no! We ended our relationship just before we went in to rescue you. And I mean it to stay that way. Besides..."

"Yes?"

"I've got my own problems with my boyfriend. He said that if he ever caught me doing something like that again, we were through."

"Oh, the possessive type, is he?"

"Yes."

"Men." There was a world of meaning in the single word the Baroness enunciated. "Sometimes they forget that we're not their chattels and have to be reminded of the fact. Sometimes with a kind word, sometimes with a wooden club."

"Can't live with them, can't live without them," Haru agreed shyly.

The two giggled, and Louise said, "I asked Humbert to assist you if you needed a hand with such things. I take it things are fine between you and your beau now?"

Haru nodded. "As fine as they can be, I guess."

"That is good. Haru, there's something I want to ask you so much, but I don't know how to word it properly. So—" she looked down at the flagstones "—I will say it out straight. Did you... do you really love him?"

It was Haru's turn to look away. "Yes."

"I... see."

"Louise," Haru said slowly, as if testing the word, "you have nothing to fear from me when it comes to Baron. When I accepted his proposal, I... was lonely and confused and a bit overwhelmed by him. It's become clear to me since then that a) it's you he really loves, and b) I was mixing obligation, gratefulness and friendship all together. I won't deny that I do have feelings for him. Were he to make a play for me like he did before, and you still weren't around and I hadn't mended fences with my boyfriend, I would probably accept. But if he were to do that tonight I'd resist, knowing that you're back in his life. But he'd never do such a thing! He simply loves you too much. The one you call Humbert has his weaknesses," Haru declared, "but when all is said and done he is still a gentleman of integrity."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I've had enough time to see—and test—that."

"In what way?"

"Eh?" Haru's cheeks colored, and she wished the lights around the plaza weren't so bright. "Well, um, we've kissed—and that's all we've done, I swear to you."

Louise hooded her large, light-blue-green eyes. She kept to herself for a moment.

"Anyone listening to us would think we were talking about a precious jewel, not a person."

"But isn't that what we look for?" asked Haru earnestly. "A gem that sparkles only for our eyes, even though we know we can't keep it forever? He's like that, I think. Show him to others, and he turns dull and staid, a stuffed shirt, a relic of another era. A self-sacrificing leader and nothing more."

"One could look at him that way, I guess," noted Louise, chuckling. "That would apply to me also."

"But we both know he isn't, don't we? That's why I can freely give him up, knowing that he'll be with you. I don't really feel I'm losing him, as I only borrowed him from you for a little while..."

Louise suddenly looked up at Haru with mild amusement in her eyes. "And I hope you're not Madame Loisiel, and have given me a replica made of paste because you lost the real necklace you borrowed!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I only hope you don't pay too much of a price for, as you say, giving him up."

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I'll live."

"I wish I had your mental discipline, then," Louise replied. "I cannot turn my heart on and off just like that. Are you sure about what you're saying, Haru?"

"Yes. To make sure of it, I've been keeping away from him and everyone else for the past month, aside from being busy with school."

"School? Ah, do tell me about that sometime. Aside from the little at the university, I never attended such a thing." The Baroness fell silent for a while. "I guess I'm trying to say that I... forgive you, and hope that you would do the same for me."

"Thank you, Louise. That means much to me. As for you, there's nothing for me to forgive, although the people you victimized might think otherwise."

"Too true. I've found that out the hard way, and have taken refuge in my estate as a result. Even a single person's forgiveness is important to me now, Haru. And as a token of my apology, I have something to give you. I think you'll find it rather interesting. But we'll have to do that later, because here comes Humbert now, and he's looking rather straight at us, don't you think?"

Louise stood up and brushed her skirt clean. "Not a word to him about this, okay?"

Haru followed suit. "My lips are sealed."

They arrived at the table the same time Muta and the Baron did. The latter two were pulling along a dolly bearing a luscious Black Forest cake. Haru eyed its gleaming frosting, generous shavings of chocolate, and the liquid shine of the cherries on top of it.

"That looks delicious," she said, suppressing the urge to lick her lips.

"Nothing but the best on this occasion," the Baron declared. He stepped aside so the twins could start slicing and serving.

"And what would that be?" asked Haru. "You've kept me in the dark so far."

"A little more patience, young lady. All will be revealed in due course."

"Yeah," rumbled Muta. "Right now all I want to do is eat."

Eat they did, with the twins sitting beside each other, the Baron beside Louise, and Muta on the end of the table opposite Haru. They exchanged lively chit-chat for an hour or so. Then, when everyone had finished eating (it was Muta who took so long finishing his portions off, as they were, well, suitably proportioned for him), they all went inside the Cat Business Office.

On a wall was a long green curtain with a drawstring beside it. Baron walked up to it.

"Now I shall reveal to you what's so special about today," he said. "I hope you like it." Everyone's eyes were shining with anticipation as he reached up and pulled the cord.

The green curtains parted to reveal a long glass case backed by red velvet. Inside, brass fittings golden in the lamplight supported a sword. Haru's smallsword, in a new scabbard.

"You left this in King Lune's castle," the Cat said. "So I decided to keep it safe, and do this."

Haru's eyes wandered down to the small plaque below the case. It read

吉岡 ハル
名誉会員
猫の事務所

HARU YOSHIOKA
HONORARY MEMBER,
CAT BUSINESS OFFICE

She gasped. "You really mean it, Baron?"

"Of course. I hope you like it."

"We hope you like it," Muta corrected him.

The light was bright in Haru's eyes and her lips quivered as she desperately tried to keep from blubbering.

"I-it's wonderful," she stammered. "I wish Shizuku-sensei could be here to see it..." Haru shut her eyes tight, then gave up trying to conceal her feelings as a single tear escaped down the side of her face.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she suddenly shouted. "I love you all!" Reaching down, she scooped up all the cats and Cats in her arms and bear-hugged them.

There was a quiet chorus of ouches and owws.

"You see," the Baron said, smiling sheepishly at his fiancée, "I told you it was a great idea."

"Yes, yes, I understand, mein Lieber. Haru, dear, let us down, please. I think Luna's turning blue already."

"Sorry," the young lady sniffled as she let them all down gently onto the floor. "I got carried away..."

"And now it's time for my gift," said Louise. She opened one of the cabinets and dragged out a large—for her size, anyway—paper-covered parcel. "Open it."

Haru tore the cover off. "What's this?" she asked, puzzled, holding up a pair of long-sleeved, open-fingered leather gloves, one with some sort of metal insignia at the back of the hand.

"I was impressed with your sword-play, so I decided to give you that," explained the Baroness. "A long time ago I used to use it myself; I don't think I'll need to use it any more, as I have someone who will protect me..." She edged up to the Baron, who linked her arm in his as she smiled at him.

"But it's too big for you," Haru interjected.

"Oh, no, of course I had it changed to fit you. What's important are the rings which go over your ring fingers and the little metal object on the left hand's back. It's a magic shield, Haru. You can command it to expand and protect you, by using nothing but the power of your mind. Try it on, please. I want to see how it looks."

Haru put the pair on. The sleeves were snug and extended halfway past her elbows, and the whole thing was lined in a soft, fine-fleeced grey fur.

"It feels warm and sleek," she reported.

"Oh, gut. I was worried I had made it too large. I had it made from the finest Russian leather. You won't find that in any store, no matter how hard you look."

"Pardon me," said Luna, "but how useful can that be for her? I don't think she'll be fighting anyone on the streets of Tokyo using swords."

"True, but as an honorary member of the Cat Business Office, who knows what the future will bring?"

"You could've made a wristband so it'd be easier to put on and take off," commented Moon.

"I wouldn't dare make anything so gauche," huffed Louise. "Dress gloves they are too, if ever she needs them to be. Go on, Haru. Command them to change color. Just think really hard about it. Visualize them turning–"

The handwear turned first a pale yellow, then a pure, shiny white. Then a pearly gray. Then a dark red.

"Very good! You seem to take to it like a natural. Now think of a small gray shield on your left arm. Tell it to extend."

Haru clenched her fist and concentrated. A metallic disc, a buckler around two feet in diameter, appeared and disappeared.

"Ah, thank Heaven! The dweomer is still in place," exclaimed Louise.

The Cat turned to her. "What?"

"I mean—gruß Gott, being with spellcrafter Allón for two weeks does tend to addle one's brains—the magic field. It still works. I thought I might have ruined it by replanting the metal disc on the gloves."

"This is great! Thanks so much, Baroness! I wish I had this before, when we were in the pirate lair." Haru frowned and lifted up her right forearm, which was full of thin white scratches. "Then maybe I could still wear a bikini the next time I went to the beach!"

"Why can't you?" asked Moon.

"Are you kidding? I'm too scarred as it is. I don't think even Kei-chan would want to see me in a bikini anymore. Heck, any kind of bathing suit," she amended mournfully.

"You look fine to me," Muta contradicted her. "I can hardly see your scars from here."

"Yeah," agreed Moon. "You're just being hypersensitive, Haru."

"And you're being a boor, dear brother of mine," said Luna, cuffing him on the back of the head. "C'mon, help me clean up."

"Well, she could wear a wet suit, if she's that desperate..." they all heard Moon stage-mutter as he followed his sister out the door. Muta took the remaining pastry, placed it on a counter, and pulled the dolly out into the twilight for use in the clean-up.

After Muta had exited Haru arranged herself in the freed-up space, placed her hands on her lap, and bowed to the Baron and Louise.

"Thank you so much for what you've given me. I don't know how I can repay you–"

"By being happy, Haru," said the Cat. "And by attending our wedding."

Haru's eyes lit up and her lips formed a wide grin. "You betcha!"

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

As the happy young woman helped the cats clean up, her thoughts turned more and more to home, and Kei, and Hiromi, and Tsuge, and her mother. All that was missing were Shizuku-sensei and Seiji-sensei to make it all complete. She asked the twins if they had returned to Sakuragaoka and told Shizuku's relatives what had happened.

"No," Luna answered. "We're too sad to do that yet. Baron has, though I don't think he told them everything."

"Ah." As Luna carried the last of the dishes inside the Office, the sitting Haru bent her legs and put her arms round her knees. Looking up, she found the Big Dipper and traced its end to the Pole Star.

She only set the wheels in motion, she remembered Princess Nausicaä telling her that night on the battlements of the Cat King's Castle. Your world now runs under the stars, just as her own does. Your world is as real as hers is, only a vast expanse of time and space and... emotion separates it from your own. She cares for you. Never doubt that.

Haru sighed. Being busy kept Shizuku's memory hidden deep and harmless, but in the quiet spaces of the night, all alone like this... Sensei, I miss you. I'd have stayed by your side, but Howl told me to go home and go on with my life. I wonder what's happening to you now.