Chapter Twenty Three: Curse's End

"So then you high-kick him like this." Haru tilted her upper body to the side as she brought up one leg, the foot folded under, and then sharply thrown out at an imaginary dummy. Then Haru folded her foot underneath and untilted herself while bringing the foot down to the ground of the small enclosure, since his tower room had too many breakable things to teach him how to fight in there.

"That move should be a little easier for you, since you have better balance than I do."

Baron smiled warmly at her, and placed his feet the way Haru had. He tilted his body exactly the way the brunette had, and shot out his foot at the same speed.

"Not bad. Now let's try it at a regular pace." Haru's foot became a blur as her skirt tried to keep up with her leg. Baron copied her, but managed to be a fraction of a second faster. Haru's grin widened at his progress.

"You're doing great, now let's try the other leg-" she sharply jumped away in order to avoid the swinging leg, and grabbed it with her arms so that the orange cat was stuck standing on the other leg. He grinned at her, and then jumped into the air to twist his foot out of her grasp. She grinned, and put up her fists.

Baron took a swing at her, but she stepped out of the way again, and swept her foot underneath him. He jumped into the air again to avoid her leg, and pinned the offending foot between his ankles. The orange and cream cat smiled slyly at the girl again.

"My, how on earth are you going to use your feet now?"

She grinned up at him, since she was now lying on the ground.

"How are you supposed to use yours, if you want to keep me hostage?"

He blinked.

"That's a good point. I suppose I could just grab your leg with my hand, but that would be a little improper."

The brunette laughed at him again, and then used her other foot to crack at one of his ankles. He immediately let go so that she could roll to her feet. But a split second before she had fully gained her balance, the half-cat wrapped the girl in a nearly rib-breaking hug, pinning the girl's arms to his chest. Frowning, she tried stomping on his feet, but the tawny feline kept moving his feet out of the way, taking the girl in his arms along for the ride as they waltzed across the pavilion.

The brunette pouted playfully.

"When did this become a dancing lesson instead of a fighting lesson?"

"Since now, I suppose." He loosened his hold on the girl enough so that she could breathe without trouble, but her arms were still uselessly pinned to his broad chest as he avoided her stomping feet with ease. He started purring deeply, his slanted green eyes alight with mischief.

"Looks like I found a move that can stop you dead in your tracks."

"In a way," Haru corrected, trying to think of a way to break free from his fierce embrace. If a drunkard ever tried to grab her like this, she wanted to be sure that she knew a way out of it.

But… she was enjoying it too much. She struggled to think clearly, but the dominant thought that reigned over the others was telling her to just relax, and let him hold her close.

It was so strange, how Baron could be so strong, and yet gentle with her. Like a tiger holding a butterfly. The longer Baron held her, the more Haru began to wonder why she wanted out of his warm embrace. She just felt so safe in his arms, like the world could come crashing down, and everything would be just fine. As long as she was with him.

He looked at her, his eyes full of tender affection. His purr softened, almost like a lullaby.

"Have you thought of a way out yet?" he asked teasingly. She shook her head at him and smiled warmly, with her heart beating hard against her chest.

"No, but I thought of something better."

He cocked his head at her.

"Oh, and what would that be?"

She took a deep breath, and managed to start dancing on her tiptoes, so that her face could be closer to Baron's.

"This."

Without stopping to think about the little voice that had been holding her back for almost a year, she moved her face closer to Baron's, and covered his furry lips with her own smooth ones.

Baron stopped dead in his tracks, but Haru could never have told, with the way her head was reeling from previously unknown sensations. All that mattered was the slowly forming fact that Baron was starting to kiss her back.

'Out of all the men I've ever known, there is no one I would rather give my first kiss to than you, Baron. I love you.'

In the distance, heading toward the cathedral, Toto was carrying Muta between his paws, much to the fatso's distress.

"Father Hashio, I caught a flying pig!" the crow sang out before seeing the kissing couple in his pavilion.

ooOoo

Naomi kept looking at the small entrance to the family quarters as the sun began to set, wondering why Haru was later than usual. The sun had almost disappeared completely over the horizon, casting the small tents under a shadow of darkness. The dark-haired gypsy shook her head again with worry while Louise pouted.

"Why isn't she here yet?" the golden beauty demanded, rubbing the tiny gold ring on her finger. "I want to tell her that Machida finally proposed!"

"Patience, dear," her mother said softly, wondering what was taking Haru so long. Was she in trouble? Did a drunkard come after her again?

Eventually, the woman heard footsteps approaching their tents. Her heart leapt with relief a split second before realizing that the beat of the footsteps was not her niece's. She looked up at the entrance, more than a little surprised to see Father Hashio there, as well as the obese cat from before at his side, and a large crow perched on the man's shoulder. All three looked scared, so scared.

"Father Hashio? What are you doing here?" Naomi asked, making the elderly priest flinch guiltily.

"I… it's about Haru," the man managed to choke out through his tears. The dark-haired gypsy woman took a step closer, her heart frozen with fear.

"Where is she?! What happened?!" she demanded, resisting the impulse to grab the priest by his soft brown robes. Father Hashio took a few steadying breaths.

"I didn't tell you the entire truth about Baron."

"Baron?! That monster?!" Louise cried out in fear. Her mother shushed her with one hand, her eyes beginning to fill with anger.

"What did you forget to tell me?" the woman hissed. The priest sighed.

"He's the son of a terrible man, one that crossed the Cat King while Baron was still in the womb. His appearance is his father's punishment, but the man tried to kill him, and his wife. About two weeks after the Festival of Fools last year, Haru managed to contact a Cat Prince, who told Baron how to break his spell."

Naomi took another step closer to the old man.

"What was it?" she whispered, making the man gulp uncomfortably.

"A fair maiden had to offer him her first kiss of her own choosing. And Haru did, today."

Louise quickly turned, and started gagging into the fireplace.

"She kissed Baron?!"

The priest nodded, although his eyes were turning dark from the girl's disgust of a man she barely spoke to.

"Yes."

This time, Naomi grabbed two big fistfuls of the man's robes, and started shaking him.

"Where is she now?!"

Father Hashio started crying again.

"I don't know. When Baron started kissing her back, they disappeared in a flash of white light without a trace."