Baron was sitting at his desk in his study. The pen in his hand scribbled frantically against a sheet of paper on his desk. He had so much work to do today. The orphanage needed renovations and the shelter needed more employees. More people seemed to be coming in each day. There weren't enough workers to go around and attend to the newcomers.

"I heard you told Haru about the curse" a voice said from the doorway. Baron looked up in surprise. Toto was leaning against the door frame to the study. Strangely enough, Muta was nowhere in sight.

"Indeed" Baron said before focusing his attention back on the paperwork. "You need to sign this." Baron could hear Toto sigh. The next thing Baron knew was that Toto grabbed a pen off of Baron's desk and swiftly put his hand on the paper Baron was writing on. He used his fingers to swivel the paper around so he could read it. After a few short seconds of skimming the words, Toto scribbled his signature down on the document before turning the paper back to Baron.

"Tell me Baron, how did Haru handle the revelation? I can't tell if it was good or bad. If it was bad, you'd be either sulking or drowning yourself in work. If it was good then you'd be happy or acting normal. But I do remember a lot of paperwork yesterday, so it could be coincidence that you're doing work at the moment" Toto said skeptically as he watched Baron pause in his writing.

"I'm doing work because there is work that needs to be done. Besides, do you really need to know what goes on between Haru and me in our personal relationship?" Baron asked as he picked up the paper in his hand and nodded at it in satisfaction. He set the paper on top of a stack to his right. After putting the document in the finished pile, Baron got a paper off of the pile on the left. He quickly read the first few lines before scrawling down his signature and continuing to read.

Toto slowly placed the tip of his fingers on the paper Baron was reading and pulled it away from him. Baron looked up at Toto with a raised eyebrow in question. "It isn't my business but since Haru is like my sister, well, I want to know if-if…" Toto began to say but hesitated.

"If what?"

"…If she hates us and wants to leave or if she's going to stay" Toto finished shakily. Baron smiled at his friend's fear.

"Toto, my friend, I'm afraid we won't be getting rid of Haru anytime soon. She quite enjoys the curse and finds some parts of it…entertaining" Baron said in amusement. Toto looked at Baron with confusion written all over his face.

"Huh?"

"Let's just say that Haru likes it when I turn into a full cat. She doesn't mind me being a half-cat either. She finds that when I purr, it is amusing" Baron said.

"But don't you purr when you're a human too?" Toto asked. Baron smirked. There was a twinkle in his eye.

"I've been suppressing that ability since the day I met her. I'll let her figure that part out on her own." Toto shook his head and smiled.

"I think you have too much fun when it concerns Haru" Toto said as he slid the paper he took from Baron back to the spot it was before. Baron carefully grabbed it and set it in the finished pile.

"I think I'll take a break. I could use a cup of tea" Baron said as he pushed his chair back while he stood up. "Do you know where Haru is at the moment?"

"I believe she is in her bedroom working on a handkerchief for the old woman that lives about three doors down the street" Toto answered.

"Maybe she'll care to join me" Baron said as he put all of his work supplies away and left the room with Toto following behind him. Baron headed towards the hallway that led to Haru's and his room. "By the way, where is Muta?"

"In the kitchen eating angel food cake" Toto said in annoyance. "He already ate the pie the cooks made yesterday. I don't know how he's still living!"

"He's still alive so you won't get lonely" Baron teased. "We all know you two only fight to keep each other in good spirits and that you secretly like fighting. You're friends that don't know how to act normally around each other, so you do the only thing you can do. Fight" Baron said. His voice held a hint of mirth in it. Toto blushed behind Baron and muttered under his breath. He quickly excused himself from Baron's company and headed in the direction of his room.

Baron reached Haru's door and knocked. Baron heard Haru say something urgently under her breath on the other side of the door. It wasn't until a minute later that Haru opened the door. She was holding a cream colored handkerchief to her finger.

"Hello Baron, what did you need?" Haru asked. Baron looked down at Haru's hand before responding.

"Uh…I just wanted to know if you'd join me for tea" Baron said a little distractedly. "Did I scare you? What happened to your finger?"

Haru laughed weakly in embarrassment. "You did sort of frighten me. I sort of jumped when I heard your voice and stabbed myself with a sewing needle. I had to quickly drop the handkerchief I was working on so it didn't get blood on it. It's white so the blood would have stained it" Haru explained. Baron frowned.

"I'm sorry" Baron said as he took Haru's handkerchief away from her finger and lifted the appendage to his lips. Baron softly kissed the tip of Haru's finger then laced his fingers through hers. "Tea?" Haru smiled and nodded. Baron tucked Haru's cream handkerchief in his front suit jacket's pocket. He led Haru to the parlor room and sat her and himself down on the settee. Baron picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea. "Milk or honey today?" Haru put a finger to her chin in thought.

"Milk."

"Wise choice" Baron said with a smile as he poured some milk in both cups. He picked up the saucers and handed Haru's cup and saucer to her. Baron took his own and raised the tea to his lips. After taking a sip of his homemade blend, Baron set the cup down to look at Haru, who was staring blankly at the brown liquid. "Haru, is something wrong?"

"…"

"Haru?" Baron said as he set his cup down. He gently took one of Haru's hands in one of his and used the other one to take the tea from Haru. Haru didn't say anything. Baron scooted closer to the brunette and took her face in his hands. He carefully made Haru look at him. He could see her brown eyes watering. His heart broke. "Oh Haru."

"I-I-I'm sorry. I just couldn't help but think about yesterday."

"Haru, don't think about that. Those people were out of line" Baron said as he pulled Haru closer and cradled her in his arms.

"I'm not thinking about what they said. I just want to go back to see the stalls again. I saw something there I wanted to get but…what will I do if I'm mobbed again?!" Haru said frantically. Baron loosened his hold on the girl in relief. He was glad she wasn't worrying about the crude words those people came up with. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, my dear. We can go back and purchase the item you fancy then come back home as fast as we can. I can even get the other bodyguards to come if you want" Baron said in amusement.

"Other bodyguards?" Haru said. Baron nodded.

"Of course! What if I held a party here in the mansion? I'd need extra security, wouldn't I? My other bodyguards just don't get work often at times. Muta and Toto insist I use them even if they were hired mostly to be my close advisors. Everyone else just gets free time if they don't have work, or they help the other workers. It all works out. They don't mind getting paid to do nothing" Baron said cheerfully.

"I see" Haru said in amazement. She smiled and looked over at Baron. "Can you have the other bodyguards come?" Baron nodded.

"Anything for you" he said sweetly. Haru smiled and leaned closer to Baron. They were so close now that her chest was pressed against his.

"Can you come to the stalls with me…as a cat?"

"A cat? Why not a human?" Baron questioned.

"Because you can scratch anybody without them knowing it's you! As a human, you'll only use words to fight. Scratching is much more fun!" Haru said with sparkling eyes. Her smile could light up the whole room.

"Haru!" Baron said in shock. Haru giggled and playfully hit Baron's chest.

"Awww Baron, I was only joking. I just feel that with you as a cat, it will be more soothing especially if you purr" Haru said as she traced the tip of her nail down Baron's throat. He shivered at the touch. Baron smiled and leaned down so that his lips were centimeters from Haru's. Out of nowhere, a low and deep rumbling came from Baron's throat. Haru gasped, but before she could say anything, Baron kissed her passionately. Haru wrapped her arms around Baron's neck and deepened the kiss. She smiled against his lips and let out a giggle as she felt the vibration of the purr on her lips. After a minute of kissing, Haru gently pushed Baron away from her.

"Why didn't you tell me you could purr as a human?"

"It was more amusing to show you" Baron said as he smirked at her. "Besides, I need to be really happy for it to work."

"I still want you to come with me as a cat" Haru said as she got up off the settee and went to the door. She stopped in the doorway to look back at Baron over her shoulder.

"I'll see you in ten minutes, so you better get moving and gather those bodyguards" Haru said. Slowly her smile turned into a frown. "I'm going to change into something more…fitting for going out. I don't want an incident like last time." With that said, Haru disappeared around the corner. Baron left the tea cups be and rushed out of the room towards the servant's wing of the mansion. He gathered about ten of his bodyguards up then found Toto and Muta and added them to the group. The bodyguards were surprised to get work, but the surprise lessened when Baron explained to them that they would be protecting Haru as she went shopping. Toto and Muta were put on undercover duty. They were to blend in with the crowd and watch everything from a distance.

Haru was waiting by the door by the time everyone was assigned a task. Baron, or Humbert to some of the workers since he was in his cat form, was the last to show up as he jumped up into Haru's arms. She smiled at him and began scratching behind his ears. Baron's purr immediately started up again. With everyone ready, Haru opened the door and went outside. There was a bodyguard on her right and left side. Everyone else stayed in the shadows, much to Baron's distress. Haru argued with him before he went to go change into a cat that people would think she's weak and taking advantage of Baron's power. She wanted to at least look semi-casual. Having too many people around her would look suspicious and draw attention.

Upon reaching the street lined with stalls of various merchandise, Haru's body stiffened. Baron could sense Haru's discomfort. He soothingly rubbed his head against Haru's arm in attempt to comfort her. Haru kept staring ahead, but a weak smile graced her features. "Where would you like to go, Miss Haru?" one of the bodyguards next to her asked. Haru's eyes flickered from vendor to vendor. They finally stopped and fixated on a stall at the end of the street.

"That one on the right. It's the second one before the end" Haru said as she adjusted Baron in her arms and pointed in the direction of the stall she was talking about. The bodyguard nodded and began to guide Haru through the crowd of people. Quite a few eyes were on Haru. Some looked at her in disgust, others guilt, and a few looked at her in admiration. Haru made it to the stall without any interruptions. Silently, she scanned the ware and tried to locate what she saw the other day. She picked up the item with care. Haru held it up so it glittered in the sun. It was a small decorative hair comb. The kind that a person puts in their hair to hold it in place or just add accessory to the outfit. The comb was silver except for the gold cat etched into the top. It had two small green eyes that sparkled back at anyone who looked at it.

"Ah, it's the girl who came here yesterday. I see you have a fine eye for ware. Do you find that piece to your liking?" the seller said. Haru smiled.

"It's beautiful. I'll take it" Haru breathed out. The man smiled.

"That will be one hundred dollars. I'm afraid it's so much money because the two eyes on the cat are pure jade. The gold and silver are almost one hundred percent pure mineral also. It just isn't because the maker didn't want the comb to become tarnished after a while."

"Oh, that's fine. Hold on" Haru said to the man as she opened up her clutch. Baron crawled up onto Haru's shoulders and wrapped his body around her neck. She dug around the clutch for a while until she pulled out the right amount of money. She never spent the money Baron gave her as pay, so she had quite a bit saved up. Baron was spoiling her. Maybe she could sneak into his room and sneak the money back without him knowing. All the money in her clutch made her feel uncomfortable. "Here you go, sir." Haru handed the man his money. He smiled and offered to wrap the comb, but Haru politely denied his request.

"Have a good day, miss" the seller said as Haru waved and walked away. She stared at the hair comb happily before fastening the comb snuggly into her hair so it wouldn't fall out. Haru grinned as she walked back down the street towards Baron's mansion.

"It's her!"

"Indeed it is. I can't believe Baron Von Gikkingen hired a whore" a voice hissed from Haru's right. Haru stopped walking and frowned. She lowered her gaze; her hair cast a shadow over her face. Baron stood up from Haru's shoulders and hissed. His back arched in anger. His fur stood up straight.

"Come Miss Haru, let's keep moving" the younger of the two bodyguards said. He gently placed a hand on the small of her back to coax her forward. Haru didn't budge as he pressed his palm against her back. A small crowd once again gathered around the brunette. It wasn't even half as large as the day before, but it was still at least a dozen or more people.

"Mr. Von Gikkingen must have knocked her up. It's the only reason she's probably with him…or him giving her money to take care of the child."

"Most likely. He's too nice of a person to just kick the girl carrying his child out on the street."

"Haru, please" the young bodyguard insisted, dropping the formalities as he tried to get her moving again. Haru held up a hand to stop the bodyguard from speaking. Her head snapped up so she could glare at all the people around them.

"I am no whore!" Haru yelled. Her eyes were watering, but no tears fell from her eyes. Her voice shook with anger. "You people all think so lowly of me for no reason! Well, let me tell you something. I never asked for any of this. I never asked to be courted not by one but two noblemen! I never asked for your opinion of me! I never asked for you to approve of me either! I'm a person too. I have feelings. I had hoped you'd respect that. I can see the example you set for your children. I can only hope my children at least treat yours with some respect in the future. You could learn from it. Good day." As Haru finished speaking, all the ten bodyguards that Baron had come with Haru now surrounded her in a circle. They pushed the people out of the way and led Haru back home.

"You think too lowly of Miss Haru and Mr. Von Gikkingen. Mr. Von Gikkingen would never stoop to something so low" one bodyguard said darkly to the crowd. Baron jumped down off Haru' shoulders and ran into the crowd of people.

"B-B-Baron!" Haru called. She turned around to go back and fetch him, but the bodyguards blocked her. "Let me through! I need to get him."

"It's too risky. Mr. Von Gikkingen said to take you back home once you were done shopping. It's just a cat. It'll be fine."

"No! He's not just a cat. That's Baron's cat!" The bodyguards ignored Haru's cries and ushered her forward.

In the crowd of people, Baron was busy scratching at some of the men's ankles, the ones who insulted Haru. He was kicked and yelled at, but he didn't care. Baron didn't hesitate to rip some of the women's dresses up either. Once he felt satisfied, Baron slunk away into a nearby alleyway where he sat. Slowly, his body morphed until Baron was now in his true form of a half-cat. Baron sighed and took off his top hat. He flipped it over to look inside. He spotted the tiny pocket stitched on the inside. He used his finger to gently slide the ring out from it. He slipped the ring onto his finger and felt his body become colder from the air hitting his flesh.

To his left, Toto and Muta slipped out of the shadows silently to stand by his side. "Poor Chicky" Muta said miserably.

"Why are all these people saying horrible things about Haru? It's not like them. Sure, they never were nice to commoners or peasants, but this is getting out of hand. Usually, everyone is very accepting to the lower class if someone of the upper class takes them in. This just isn't normal" Baron said with a frown. "I've noticed that a lot of people feel bad for saying what the said to Haru yesterday. Most of them love Haru! They just seem put off since yesterday. I noticed that the only people who didn't seem to say something ill-natured toward her are the Grants and Beckhams."

"Probably because the Grants adopted a boy from the orphanage when he was young since they couldn't have children. They know what the lower class is like. As for the Beckhams, if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Beckham used to be a poor baker. Mrs. Beckham would go to the bakery every day to see him until he proposed to her. Her mother and father weren't too pleased about her marrying him, but they just adored him after getting to know him. Nobody complained then" Toto said.

"Does anyone hold a grudge against Chicky?"

"I'm not sure. Everyone whoever met her fell for her charm. They all love her. They were really surprised to learn she was a peasant. They all thought she was the perfect lady. She has the best manners and poise. Acting like a proper lady is second nature to her" Baron said. He carefully peeked around the corner to the alleyway. The crowd that surrounded Haru was chatting aimlessly amongst each other. Baron gripped his cane roughly and stepped into the light. He strode over to the crowd. Some of the people facing in his direction spotted him and gasped. They backed up and looked at the ground guiltily. The females curtsied, and the males bowed. Baron was one of three men in the city with a title, so he was obviously in a superior class. The noblemen and women had to show respect in his presence. Baron never liked being praised like a god, but it felt a little nice, at the moment, to have power.

"Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen" a woman said softly. Her voice shook in nervousness.

"Would you mind telling me why people have been insulting the woman I am courting?" Baron said stiffly. Everyone diverted their eyes from Baron. He growled. "I am trying to be civil."

"We heard that the girl you are courting…Miss Haru is her name, right?" a woman began. Baron nodded. "We heard that she is a hired prostitute."

"We also heard that you hired her, and she is pregnant with your child" a man added.

"Where did you hear such an absurd rumor? I would never be anything but a gentleman to her. Besides, it would be improper to perform such an act without being married!"

"Some men do it no matter how scandalous and sinful" a woman huffed.

"That did not answer my question to who told you this lie!" Baron said angrily. Toto and Muta watched on in silence.

"It was Mr. York. The younger one" a man answered.

"Machida?! I'm going to get him. Thank you for your cooperation" Baron said with a tip of his hat. Baron stormed away with Toto and Muta hot on his trail.

"Baron?! What are doing?" Toto said lowly. Baron's eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to see Haru and tell her what I have learned. Then we can both decide what to do with Machida" Baron said with finality. He reached the mansion and slammed the door behind him after Toto and Muta scurried past him. "I never liked him anyway. Who was he to think he could steal Haru away from me?" Toto and Muta said nothing as Baron headed towards Haru's room.

A/N: Da da da! Machida is horrible, but not a total bad guy. Wait until you hear why he did what he did! Please review.