Chapter Sixteen: The Solution

Haru poured pitcher after pitcher of water into a large pot, and started heating it up after adding the impressive amount of rice. "How's the tea coming, Hashi?" she asked over her shoulder.

The boy frowned a bit, staring into the pot angrily. "It's still refusing to boil," he muttered mutinously. "Why can't kitchen appliances just work for me the way they do for you?!"

"You just have to be patient, brother dearest," the bespectacled brunette said sweetly before the door threw open behind her. She turned around, more than a little stunned to see Baron stumble into the kitchen, and almost collapse into one of the chairs, looking like he hadn't slept a wink all night. She looked over at the clock, confused that her employer was up so early.

"I'm guessing you couldn't sleep, Baron?"

"You guessed right," he groaned, burying his face into his hands. "I just don't know how I could begin to fix this."

Sensing his inner turmoil, Haru walked away from the rapidly heating pot, and sat across from the feline lord. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" she asked. "Maybe I can help."

He chuckled darkly. "All right. Haru, let's say that you're holding a convicted felon under your roof, one which you happen to know for a fact is completely innocent. Now let's say that you're in a high position, where people of all ranks are all staring at you, just waiting for you to make one false move, and then they find out about the felon. There's no way I can sentence Renaldo and Sasami to go back to that cold outside world, especially with autumn setting in and those kittens to worry about. I don't know how I can help them and not condemn my own family."

Haru blinked twice, although Baron couldn't see it, and smiled gently at the orange and cream cat. "Oh… okay. Let's say that I have an innocent felon under my roof that I want to protect while protecting myself. I would take a good look at that person, and try to notice just what it is that makes that person stand out the most. Then I change it."

Baron stared at her. "I'm not quite sure that I follow you, Haru."

"Take Renaldo, for instance. It would take months, maybe years, to slim him down, and we're not all that certain that it would stick when we were done, right?"

Baron nodded once.

"So, we go for the next best thing. I'd dye his fur to a different shade, probably darker so that it wouldn't show as much, and change his name to 'Muta' or something like that. Also, what talents does he have besides eating?"

"He used to be a bodyguard," Baron said carefully, amazed at the simplicity of her little scheme.

"Perfect. If anyone asks, tell them that he's new muscle that you hired, because you felt compassion for his growing family. You're well-known for your charitable deeds, so no one would even bat an eyelash over his presence here. It wouldn't hurt to dye Sasami's fur either, and maybe change her name to 'Tsunami'. It's similar enough to make her automatically jump when people speak the name around her, and no one knows about the kittens, do they?"

"No," Baron said breathlessly, thinking about the possibilities. "We'd have to dye the kittens a different shade as well, just to be on the safe side."

Sniffing burning rice, Haru jumped out of her seat to rescue breakfast. She stirred quickly, mentally calculating that she had been two seconds too late. Ah well, that was what spices were for. She pushed her glasses back up her nose, so that she could focus on her task better as she looked for the small jars she wanted. "Yeah, it would be a good idea to dye them as well. You would be shocked and amazed at what the simplest changes of appearance can do to conceal one's true identity."

Without warning, a pair of extraordinarily strong arms wrapped around her from behind and squeezed. Haru gasped softly as Baron hugged her warmly, a soft purr echoing into her ear.

"You truly are a treasure, did you know that, Haru?" he whispered softly.

The bespectacled brunette blushed heavily, since she had not been embraced by a male besides her brother since before they had been orphaned. Not to mention the fact that she was almost willing to admit to herself that she was enjoying it.

But, for the five precious seconds that Baron held her, Haru felt something she hadn't felt in the longest time.

She felt completely safe, and secure. Maybe even a little happy.

"Th-thanks, Baron," she stammered, like she was too clumsy to even keep a grip on her own tongue.

The tawny lord gave the human girl one more fond squeeze before leaving the kitchen to find Renaldo and propose her idea to him.

Hashi stared at his big sister, who seemed to be frozen in place. Slowly, she reached up, and touched the part of her arm that had been cupped in Baron's strong, yet surprisingly gentle hand. Her heartbeat seemed to run faster, so much faster than it ever had before, even when she was still-

"Haru?" Her beloved little brother had wrapped his arms around her waist, and he was looking up at her face with concern.

She managed a smile, and gave him a bear hug that left him gasping. "I'm fine, Hashi, but I think that your tea's finally boiling."

The boy gave a courteous glance at the steaming teapot, but then looked at his sister again. "Your whiskers are back," he said pointedly. "So are the ears."

Haru stiffened, and reached up with one hand. Her cat ears felt so strange to her, like pieces of velvet that she could feel with. Her glasses were tilted at an almost dangerous angle, since the parts that wrapped around her ears had traveled up with the cat ears. One of her ears flicked towards the door, recognizing the pitter-patter of tiny von Gikkingen feet as they ran down the stairs for breakfast.

"Thanks, Hashi. I'll take another visit to the Human Side today to fix this."

The tiny boy didn't answer, but his own thoughts were calm, and calculating as he took the tea off the stove. 'Not even her ex-fiancé would hold her like that, when he still claimed to love her.'

ooOoo

Renaldo exchanged looks of astonishment with his wife, as she nursed her children from underneath the thick quilt. "You'd really do that, Baron?" the fat white and brown cat asked wistfully. "You'd give us a home in exchange for my help?"

"Yes," the tawny lord said firmly, gazing at the new mother. "You will need to keep Sasami quiet for a few more days to regain her strength anyway, and where would she be able to do that, better than here?"

With tears of gratitude, Renaldo Moon bowed low before the Baron von Gikkingen. "I will follow you until the end of my days," he choked out over his tears. "A change of names and fur is a small price to pay to provide a good life for my family."

"Don't forget Haru," his wife said pointedly, putting one baby over her shoulder like the nanny had shown her to, in order to burp her child. "It was her idea, after all. I knew I liked that girl!" she exulted as Haruna burped, almost like an agreement.

Baron smiled warmly, making the mental note to start asking advice from Haru more often. Who knew she was this good at being sneaky?