Chapter Eight: Priest's Interrogation
For several minutes after Haru had walked out of the confession stand, Baron was in a state of shock that, one, a gypsy girl frequented a church, and that two, she came often enough to know that he hadn't been Father Hashio. Baron nervously nibbled his lower lip, wondering what her thoughts had been on his appearance. That she hadn't mentioned his unique appearance was strange, did she know it was him specifically?
His heart pounded in fear, wondering if she would tell anyone, if she knew.
'Get a grip on yourself. The girl has enough problems without worrying about yours. Oh, drat. I never got to talk to her about being a cat speaker.' He suddenly heard the soldiers return, making him as silent as the grave.
"A cat creature, you say?" Father Hashio asked angrily, making the feline youth want to disappear from the face of the earth.
"That's right. He crashed the Festival of Fools, and made fools of the king's men."
"But did he do any damage?"
"No, he was discovered too quickly to do any damage-"
"Then why pursue him? If he had harmed someone or destroyed something, I would understand your desire to find him, but unless he actually commits a crime, I cannot permit an unorthodox search of this church. I'm certain you understand."
"But… Father-"
"That is all, my son."
The man clearly wanted to argue some more, but the half-cat could clearly hear the soldiers leave grudgingly. But the orange feline was still a little afraid of his keeper's wrath, so he waited until after the priest had briskly walked down the hall before slipping into the secret hallways within the walls of the church, having grown up in them.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Baron appeared in his tower room, his keeper was waiting for him, as well as Toto and Muta, who were looking a bit shame-faced. The old priest was actually glaring at the tall cat, and pointed firmly at the chair next to him.
"I believe you have some things to tell me, young man."
Baron nodded solemnly, seating himself in the chair.
"I disobeyed your direct wishes, and went outside. I was found out, and chased through the streets, like you warned me. You were right about how people would react to me. Oh, and Miss Haru Yoshioka says that she'll drop by on Sunday."
The priest had been nodding grimly through the boy's little speech, but jumped at the girl's name.
"You spoke to Haru!? When?!"
Baron nearly jumped out of his seat from the priest's reaction.
"Well, Toto and I got her out of a sticky situation with a drunk immediately after getting out of the church, she showed me around the fair, and then, when I was hiding in the confession box, she came and spoke to me." Baron paused, and then finished his story using the priest's voice. "She confessed to me, but just before leaving, she complimented me on my mimicry and asked for me to tell the real Father Hashio that she'd visit on Sunday."
The priest looked incredulous, but then started laughing.
"That's my girl! As sharp as a whip, she is." He sighed, and stood up. "Well, if you helped her against an undesirable situation, then perhaps there was a reason for you to go outside today. What did she confess to you?"
"That she's jealous of her glamorous cousin, but still loves her. She hates being invisible to everyone, but doesn't know how to fix it."
Father Hashio guffawed.
"Oh my, she must have realized from the start! That's old news to me." He sighed. "Did she know it was you specifically, in the confession stand?"
"I have no idea, sir. Um, if she's a gypsy girl, what was she doing in a church?"
The old man blinked, and smiled sadly.
"That's a bit of a long tale. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Baron nodded firmly; still hearing the poor girl's sobs in her head. The priest sat down in his seat again, and stroked Toto's feathers thoughtfully.
"When my son and his best friend were young men, they fell for the same gypsy girl, Haru's mother Naoko. When the boys realized each other's feelings, they realized the potential trouble this could mean for their friendship, and made a pact. If Naoko chose one of them, then the other would allow the two to live happily."
"And Naoko chose your son?" Baron guessed. The priest shook his head.
"No. She chose his best friend. But my son was good on his word, and was even the best man at the wedding. He never married." The good father sighed from the memories. "Naoko gave up the life of a gypsy to live in town with her husband, and worked with him in his modest tailor's shop. Haru had a happy childhood, and has many fond memories of her 'uncle', who died in a war when she was ten. Then, five years ago, there was a terrible fire at the shop. Haru was the only survivor, but her arms still have scars from the flames."
Baron's jaw dropped.
"After that, her gypsy aunt took her in. But being raised in town, she didn't really belong with the other gypsies, and she had always been looked down on by town folk for carrying the gypsy blood. She's a part of both worlds, but she doesn't feel comfortable in either one." The priest fondly patted the stone wall behind him. "She comes to this church as often as she can, and considers me to be her surrogate grandfather. I love her dearly, and help her where I can." Suddenly the man blinked. "I almost forgot, she inherited her father's ability to speak with cats."
"I knew about that," Baron said softly, although not the part with her father. Muta snickered.
"She asked a bunch of cats to delay the soldiers long enough for you to make a clean getaway, after you jumped off the stage. She's going to be doing a lot of fishing in the near future to make up for that favor."
Baron nodded grimly while Toto stared in astonishment.
"I'm surprised that she was willing to help Baron at all, after the way he treated her at the festival."
The priest's eyes began to flame.
"How did you treat her, Baron?!" he asked gratingly. The orange cat winced, getting the feeling that his punishment would be unpleasant, to say the least.
Suddenly, Baron realized.
He had never seen her face.