Chapter Five: The Unusual Customer

Haru had brought Baron back into the living room on the day of the auction so that he could have a change of scenery while she was at the gala. She had dressed up for the occasion with a dark denim skirt that reached her ankles and a white blouse topped by a denim jacket that matched her skirt. She also took the time to braid her long hair into a single rope and twirled it around her head for a fancy bun. Her footwear was a comfortable pair of beige sandals with straps.

You look fetching. Haru blushed and thanked Baron. She had carefully covered his portrait with a white sheet after taking a snapshot of it for her digital scrapbook.

"Wish me luck, Baron! I'll probably see you sometime around noon. Bye." Then Haru was out the door to the waiting car that her manager had sent, to ensure that the painting would be completely safe. Mr. Amasawa was waiting outside the door for Haru and the driver.

"It's about time you got here, Miss Yoshioka. Well, let's hurry; there are many wealthy people dying to see your latest piece."

"Thank you, Mr. Amasawa." The gala manager had always struck Haru as slightly on the chilly formal side, but she could not deny his skill at organizing galas like this, and he did owe a significant amount the popularity of his galas to her. Mr. Amasawa led her to a room that was reasonably full of people wearing business suits, all of whom turned to look at her expectantly. She could even spot a reporter here and there, with cameras aimed at her and clicking away like madmen.

Haru had always followed the practice of pretending that they don't exist when she's presenting a piece. She also had learned from experience that she was allowed to dress more casually than a suit for her reputation as an artist, for which she was profoundly grateful.

Mr. Amasawa approached the microphone. "Good ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce the arrival of Miss Haru Yoshioka and her latest piece, My Feline Gentlemen." A thunderous amount of applause was given, but the artist was warmed more by the eagerness in their eyes. Mr. Amasawa motioned for her to come forward.

Ignoring the seed of nervousness that always accompanied her during galas; she painted on a polite smile and approached the podium, the covered canvas still in her arms. She placed the linen-covered treasure of the stand next to the podium before addressing the audience.

"I'll try to keep this short, since most of you didn't come hear to hear me talk." A few light-hearted chuckles were scattered around the room. "As most of you are well-aware, I try to make my work say more than 'I exist to cover that bare space in the living room.' It was hard, to find one single idea that would make this painting stand out, since it is based off of a real thing instead of just my imagination. As far as I'm aware, this one isn't even based off of a fairy tale, but it still has become one of my very favorites, and I hope it will be one of yours as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Haru's voice had taken an air of command, and her hand firmly gripped one corner of the linen shroud. A few of the crowd dared to lean in closer, their eyes gleaming. "I give you…My Feline Gentleman." She tugged hard on the linen, dramatically revealing the labor that had consumed her for the past weeks. Haru had closed her eyes as she did this, then cracked one eye open to see how they reacted.

This was barely at all. A few of the stiff-collared men seemed surprised, despite her warning that this one wasn't based off of a fairy tale. Others appeared to appreciate her work, and Haru was able to glean some of their words as the room exploded into a thousand conversations at once.

"How strange..."

"…love the eyes…"

"Wonder who that was based off of."

"Guess she's not a man-hater after all."

"Must be based off of a boy-friend or something."

Haru had reddened at the last comment, but Mr. Amasawa had luckily come up behind her then and motioned that she could sit, which she did gladly. After a few moments of letting the reporters take pictures and letting the conversations go, Mr. Amasawa cleared his throat authoritatively, commanding the silence that soon followed.

"At your pleasure, we will begin the bidding at one million." Haru groaned. She always hated the starting price that Mr. Amasawa picked, but didn't object.

"Ah, yes, we have one million from the gentleman in the blue tie, can I get two million?" A middle aged woman in a blood-red suit nodded her head.

"Two million, do I hear three?" Mr. Amasawa was getting warmed up when a clipped voice in the back interrupted.

"You hear fourteen million." Haru stood up fast in astonishment as a collective gasp was heard from around the room. The crowd parted to reveal an older man. His hair had gone completely white, but he still had a full head of it, and the sharpness in his gaze would cut off any accusation of senility. His eyes had not strayed from the portrait as he unconsciously rubbed the cane at his side.

After a moment, Mr. Amasawa found his voice again. "Do I hear fifteen million?" His voice sounded much weaker than before, and no one answered him.

"Going once…twice…and sold! To the gentleman in the back."

Haru could not take her eyes off of the old man. As he was walked forward to claim his prize, she noticed that there was something familiar about this old man, though she was sure that she had not seen him at any of her other unveilings. She gave him a warm smile, knowing that someone besides herself had loved her portraying of Baron. She walked off the platform and circled around to shake the gentleman's hand.

"I'm glad that you like this one. I was a bit worried that no one would."

"You shouldn't have been." The man smiled warmly at her. "It is a fine piece of artwork, and shall definitely be treasured." Haru returned his smile. She couldn't help but notice his British accent, which closely resembled the one that she had been hearing for the past few days.

"However," he added, after a brief pause, "I must ask, Miss Yoshioka; what was the inspiration for the feline gentleman?" She was a bit taken aback that someone actually cared.

"It was a cat figurine I found in an antique shop a few weeks ago. I've become quite attached to him, and it felt right to paint him in a scene like that." The old man laughed.

"Yes, I can definitely see why that felt right." Haru had taken an interest in the shape of the man's eyes underneath the wrinkles, which felt strangely familiar.

"I'm sorry sir; I didn't catch your name?" This caused the man to chuckle again.

"Please pardon my manners; I am the Baron Fredrick von Gikkingen."

Haru's eyes widened, now recognizing the familiarity in the eyes and posture, and a slow gasp escaping from her throat. The elderly man noted her reaction with undisguised interest.

"Perhaps that name has significance to you?"

Baron couldn't quite read the look on Haru's face when she reentered the apartment a scant few hours later. By now, he was used to her staring at him, but this felt different somehow. Haru didn't bother to fix herself a salad for lunch the way she normally did, but had instead slipped him into a medium-sized handbag along with a few necessities.

"I have a new friend that's very anxious to meet you, Baron."

A new friend? Did that mean she found a man, and was going to introduce him? Baron's mind began to boil. He would have become more worried about the possibility of sharing his Haru if she had been her usual talkative self, but she had barely spoken a word beyond the one sentence. And he knew Haru didn't usually carry around a handbag in public. He was trying to figure out if he should say something to her when a familiar voice caught his ear.

"Haru!" She turned, now in the middle of a sidewalk a few blocks away from her house, and Baron could see from the purse opening that the voice belonged to Hiromi, who had been jogging up to them waving a lacrosse stick to grab Haru's attention.

"Hey Hiromi, is something up?"

"No, just off a refreshing game before another gown fitting today. Remember, you do need to be there today, or your dress won't fit right." Hiromi had started waving the lacrosse stick in front of Haru's face to accentuate her point. Haru snatched the stick away.

"If you want me to be there, then I need to get going; I have someone waiting for me."

Hiromi beamed. "Congratulations, Haru! I'd have found one for you, but-"

"No, no, not like that! He's a bit old for me anyway." Haru's face had reddened to a lovely crimson. "The man that bought my latest piece wanted to see the original doll, so I told him I'd meet him at the Moon Cafe in about five minutes, so-"

"That doll, again? Maybe you should start a collection while you're at it."

"No way, this doll's one of a kind."

"You're still not taking him to my wedding."

"Who said I was going to?" The two friends had started to circle each other playfully when a cat marched between them in a manner that caused both girls to stop and look. It wouldn't have been so unusual if the cat hadn't been carrying a small package in its mouth, or for the gold collar without a license. The two women watched as he carefully looked both ways as he prepared to cross the street.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Hiromi asked softly. "Hey cat; I wouldn't do that if I were-"

The cat, having seen the way was safe, began to cross.

"Ah well, it's just a cat." Hiromi started to walk away, but Haru remained in place.

"This doesn't look so good."

"Eh?" Hiromi turned to find that the light had changed, and the cat had lost its hold on the package. This wouldn't have been a problem if a truck wasn't headed straight for the cat.

Without a word, Haru thrust her bag into Hiromi's hands and, with the lacrosse stick held high, she ran straight for the cat. Baron watched the scene with dawning horror.

"HARU, ARE YOU INSANE? STOP!"

I'm with Hiromi on this one, Haru! It's not worth it! Don't...