Chapter Nine: My Eyes

Look into my eyes

And you will see

What you mean to me.

-Bryan Adams, 'Everything I Do, I Do It For You'

ooOoo

As Haru slowly woke up, the first thing she noticed was the wonderful flow of air passing freely to and from her lungs. The second thing was the warm blankets draped around her, and the soft mattress underneath. Her eyes were reluctant to open, but a conclusion was still reached.

'It was all a dream!' She breathed an unsteady laugh as she tried to sit up. "I am never eating Dad's cooking again!" she croaked, her voice sounding as hoarse as her body felt sore. She must have been thrashing about like a madwoman to be in this bad of shape. She could barely even… sit up…

Why couldn't she sit up? Every time she tried, she just fell back against a large pillow that definitely wasn't hers. Come to think of it, the mattress didn't feel like hers, either. What was going on?

'Okay, keep calm. Maybe the ambulance was able to help me, and I'm at a hospital. Except I don't hear any machines, and since when are patients' beds this comfy?'

Changing tactics, she was able to roll onto her side and use her arms to push herself into a seated position. 'Why the freaking heck am I so heavy?' Her limbs were shaking terribly from what was normally an unthinking task, but she was able to sit up and lean over her legs, which did not want to bend closer to her body. She ended up bracing her head against her arms, trying to rub her reluctant eyes into opening. 'I wasn't connected to anything, not even an IV drip.'

A hand came out of nowhere, gently touching her lower back to give support. The unexpected contact made her eyes fly open and to the right to see the one responsible. But no sooner had she seen who it was that she screamed as loud as her lungs would let her.

Why act like that to someone attempting to rearrange the pillows for a sitting position? Here are the reasons Haru's suddenly wide awake mind came up with in less than two seconds.

1. It was a cat she had never seen before

2. That happened to be taller than her

3. And dressed like a (male) human

4. All alone with her

5. In an unfamiliar bedroom.

The ginger cat leaped away from the bed in an impressive backward pounce, his green eyes filling with alarm. He waved his hands frantically while saying something, but the terrified girl couldn't catch a single word of it.

Haru tried desperately to crawl to the far side of the full-sized bed, but her body kept collapsing on her. "Wake up, wake up, wake up right now!" she commanded herself in horror. 'Dad is grounded from cooking ever again!' "Don't come any closer!" she warned the cat as he began stepping sideways to the side of the bed she was trying to escape to.

He spoke desperately, but nothing was getting through as he slowly made his way closer to her. His hands were still up in a soothing gesture, but she had no way of knowing whether or not he genuinely meant no harm.

Haru collapsed in an untidy heap, unable to make her body move any more. Whatever it was the cat wanted, she wouldn't be able to stop him. "No! Just stay away… please, just stay away," she choked out, fighting back tears but losing that battle as well.

The ginger stopped dead a few feet away from her, despite the fact that it was clear that he couldn't understand a word she spoke. Though still alarmed, his expression was changing into something guilty and… was she reading this right?

No, of course not! Why would a cat have a 'whipped puppy' look? They were complete strangers, after all! Wasn't that look at least reserved for someone you'd said hi to before they slap you across the face?

But there was something else in those mint green eyes as he looked at her. She wasn't able to put a name to it, but it was slowly increasing her fear of him. No one had ever looked at her like that before, but she could tell it was not the look of a stranger. Not even Tsuge had ever looked at her like that!

A sharp banging sound made both of them sharply look over at a solid door that was on the other side of the room. More than one voice could be heard as someone tried to open it, and they did not sound happy.

Both she and the cat looked at each other, although she really didn't know whether or not to be grateful for the interruption. It had broken the awkward moment, but what if it made the cat do something rash?

Setting his jaw in a sad, stubborn line, the well-built ginger gave her a strange bow and marched to the door, calling out something she couldn't understand. Within seconds he unlocked the door and slipped through while denying whoever was outside entrance to the room.

'… Okay. I wasn't expecting that.' With one hand pressed against her speeding heart, Haru tried to sit up again, but failed miserably. She could barely even lift her head. "Why am I so weak?" she asked hoarsely, despite the fact that no one was around to answer her. "What the freaking heck is going on? Where am I?"

The door wasn't shut all the way, so she could hear the ginger arguing with whoever it was that had tried to come in. The arguing didn't sound angry, except for one gruff voice. Did that bode ill or well?

Her mind slowly relived what she so desperately wanted to believe had only been a nightmare. Was it even possible? She was…?

Haru was able to look down at the hand over her unsteady heart. It was covered by a long white glove. The slightly tight fabric covering her body was the exact same material… but she could only feel it on her palms and bottoms of her feet.

… Fur? It had to be; she could still feel pressure from the bed and askew blankets, but the actual texture was a complete mystery to her.

"Oh please no," she whispered, suddenly noticing that there was sensation behind her legs, twitching suspiciously like a tail. With the hand that was over her heart, she slowly reached up and felt her face through the glove.

Fur. Whiskers. Muzzle. Teeny, tiny nose.

'… I'm a cat.'

That was the last straw. Hot tears began falling down the unfamiliar face that was now hers, making her bury it against the mattress, since both the pillows and blankets were not close enough. Just what was going on? Was it real? Was she in a coma, or was this the afterlife? Was this Hades? She had done her best to be good… was her taste in music really that big of a deal?

The door swung open again, but she didn't notice. She was too lost in her grief to hear it close, or hear the gentle footsteps as they nervously drew closer and closer. Haru was so busy sobbing, that it took a gentle nudging of her shoulder to notice that she was no longer alone.

'Oh, please not him again!' she wanted to moan, burying her face tighter against the mattress. 'Can't I even cry in private?'

Then a voice was heard from the one nudging her. It was the gruff one that had been outside her door. Although she really didn't want to see who it was, she forced herself to open her eyes and look up.

Her mouth fell open in disbelieving wonder. She blinked once, and then twice to be rid of the tears, but she still couldn't believe what was right in front of her. Who was right in front of her!

"Muta?" she asked hoarsely, though the tinge of hope was still audible.

He was much bigger now, and dressed a lot like the other cat had been, but that didn't change the fact that he was alive! It had to be him, she knew that cream fur with lopsided brown ear anywhere. Those black eyes of his, which had once been buttons, were full of a kindness that she used to only imagine before.

He blinked at the name, but nonetheless gave her a warm smile. He asked something in an affectionate tone before using one large but gentle hand to wipe the tears off her face. Once that was done, he picked her up as easily as she used to pick up him. Shifting her slight figure into one arm as comfortably as a baby, he tugged the thickest blanket clear off the bed and wrapped her in it.

Haru might have fought back, but… she felt so safe in his arms. Like nothing could touch her, as long as she stayed with him. With how tiny she felt against Muta's bulk, it was a lot like when her dad had wrapped her up before the fights got worse.

Once she was bundled up, the huge cat sat down next to the bed and settled her over his lap and against his chest. He gave her another warm grin, and kept speaking in that gruff but gentle voice. He even rubbed her head and gave her an occasional hug as he did his best to make her feel better.

The young girl started crying again, but not from fear. "You're… you're just like I thought you would be, Muta," she wept, clinging to his shirt with the one hand that was poking out of the blanket.

He kissed her twitching ear, and began purring softly. It wasn't the prettiest thing she had ever heard, but she couldn't have asked for a better sound to lull her back to sleep.

It was only then that the door fully closed, and more than one person breathed a sad, relieved sigh.

ooOoo

Haru had a slight headache when she came to again, and her eyes seemed to burn as she blinked several times to make them stay open. Her body still felt sore, but it was less than it had been before. The hand that was holding onto the simple cloth of his shirt released it in order to rub her eyes open.

She was still in the unfamiliar room, wrapped up in Muta's embrace. He was fast asleep as he cradled her protectively, so she took a minute to look around the room. Nearly all the furniture except the bed was covered in long white sheets, although the drapes seemed to be a dark navy color.

The girl blinked in surprise. There was very minimal light coming from the sides of those drapes that hadn't been there before. There had been nothing to provide light when she first woke up in this room, and yet she hadn't had any trouble seeing first the ginger cat then Muta.

'Cats can see in the dark? I didn't know that.' She bit her furry lower lip, trying to make sense of what all this meant. 'Okay, one of three things has happened. One, I'm in a coma and am just dreaming. Two, I'm in the afterlife despite the fact that it isn't a thing like the usual concepts of it. Third… I got reborn into an alien world or alternate dimension.'

All three theories had problems with them. She had the sense of touch, which one didn't seem to have in sleep. Her lungs needed air, and she could cry, so she had a body. The third option seemed most likely, save for the curve ball of Muta.

Seriously! She had no idea where her soul may have landed, but the likely hood of meeting a 'live-action' version of her beloved cat was not in her favor. Besides, if she was reborn, wouldn't it make more sense for her to have been born as a baby, maybe without her memories? Well, back to the afterlife theory, then.

The door opened again, making her stiffen in horror. She and Muta were facing the opposite direction, so she couldn't see who was stepping through and shutting the door behind them. Soft, soft footsteps were heard as they crossed the room and came around the bed.

Haru looked up, guiltily relieved that it wasn't the ginger. Instead, there was a cat woman, dressed as simply as Muta and carrying a tray filled with a strange array of fruit and even a tea set. But she quickly lost interest in the food when her eyes connected with the female.

She was beautiful, even the (previously?) human girl could see that. Her glossy obsidian fur was somewhere between the traditional short and long, and her sapphire eyes were full of love and pride as she stared happily at the bundled-up girl.

Haru couldn't help but feel calm and even a little happy as she looked into those eyes.

The black cat gently set the tray on the edge of the bed, did the same for the large bit of blue fabric that was folded over one arm, and knelt next to her to steal a warm embrace around Muta's ample arms. Her voice was full of suppressed tears and happiness as she whispered lovingly into Haru's ear.

Lovingly? This was the second person to take that tone with her! What the flying heck was going on?

The cat pressed a kiss against Haru's furry cheek, beamed at her again, and then turned her attention to Muta. The love in her eyes didn't diminish as she looked at him, but it definitely took a different tone as she leaned over the girl to catch his lips in a fervent kiss.

Haru blinked in surprise. 'Hold on… is this Muta's wife? Or sweetheart, at least? Shouldn't she be worried about him falling asleep with a complete stranger?'

She got an answer to the first question as Muta began to wake, almost automatically twisting his lips to accommodate the cat woman's as he kissed her back; sweet passion more than clear. His eyes opened, speaking love and so much more as he gazed back at her.

Her tone was teasing as she asked him a question, to which the answer seemed positive. Then both of them looked at her, wearing matching expressions of complete adoration.

"Um… hi?" she asked timidly. Her voice had smoothed out a little, but it was still pretty hoarse.

The woman's smile deepened at the sound of her voice. But then she stood up while saying something to Muta and opening the drapes as wide as they could go. The sky outside was a beautiful pale blue, but Haru couldn't see any other details from this angle.

Once the dark blue cloth was pulled aside, the room almost seemed to take on an ethereal glow. Haru could even see the subtle blue-grey paint on the walls, swirled about as if to imitate the sky or a rolling sea.

Muta nodded at whatever was said, saying something in return as he got to his feet and adjusted the pillows on the bed so that Haru could sit up when he reluctantly set her back on the mattress.

The next words out of the woman's mouth were almost scolding as she loosened the blanket enough for the girl to ease her arms out of the warm cocoon. Now that she had the strength, Haru raised her hands enough to get a good look at them.

It wasn't gloves, after all. She was in a full body suit that covered every inch of her, save for her head. Even her tail felt like it was wrapped in the slightly tight cloth. 'Come to think of it, there was something over my head before someone ripped the mouth off to breathe for me. Oh no… was that the ginger?'

Her skin grew hot with embarrassment under her fur. 'No wonder he gave me the 'whipped puppy' look! He saved my life… I think. Life equivalent?'

The woman selected a strange purple fruit that looked a bit like garlic, except that it was as big as her fist. She broke off one clove and offered it to the girl, a warm encouraging smile on her lips.

Feeling hesitant, she took the food and inspected it with interest. "It kind of feels like an orange wedge." But at the woman's urging, she took a tiny nibble.

The flavor exploded on her tongue, making her eyes widen in surprise. The fruit was definitely citrus, but she couldn't quite think of an equivalent from what she was used to. She ate the rest of the clove with delight.

Muta, who was eating a heart-shaped fruit, offered some of it to her. It almost turned into a game as she tried a little bit of everything that was on the tray. Thankfully the two didn't take offense when they occasionally tried something Haru didn't like. They'd just laugh and joke with each other while offering a bit of what was probably tea to wash the varying tastes out of her mouth. She didn't recognize the type of tea, but it was better than the honey one she made before… whatever had happened.

Once Haru and the cat woman couldn't eat another bite, Muta was more than happy to polish off what remained, although he suspiciously didn't touch the tea. After the food was gone, he stood up to his full height and spoke again to his wife.

Her words had a warm, assuring quality as she handed him the tray and jokingly pushed him towards the door. He nodded, but stole another kiss from his sweetheart and a fond glance at the girl before letting himself out of the room.

Once he was gone, the obsidian cat locked the door and walked back to Haru.

"So… what's going on?" she asked as the woman helped her out of the snug cocoon Muta had put her in. "Can you understand me?"

The answer was warm, loving, but somewhat oblivious.

"I'll take that as a no," Haru sighed as her body was freed.

The cat gave her another loving look, but then began waving one hand over her body.

The body suit, which was almost made like a patchwork of white pieces, literally started coming apart at the seams! Haru gasped and tried to keep them from coming loose.

The threads merely wiggled around her hands, flying up and into the cat's outstretched hand as one continuous strand until she had a small ball of white thread in her hand. Acting like it was nothing special, she place the ball in a pocket of her dress and gathered up the patches of fabric now lying loose over the girl.

Yep. Her body was covered with a light toffee-colored fur, except for her padded hands and feet. She experimentally flexed the fingers of one hand, producing a small but sharp-looking set of white claws.

The cat placed her hand in the girl's, and squeezed comfortingly as she pressed another kiss to the girl's head. More warm words were given as she gently rubbed the girl's fingers. Sighing, Haru relaxed her hand enough to make the claws retreat.

Beaming with encouragement, the woman retrieved the blue fabric from before, and rooted around a chest at the end of the bed. Armed only with the undergarments she found, as well as the blue fabric she had brought in, the woman was able to custom-make a simple but nice looking dress within minutes with the ball of thread from the demolished body suit.

Haru's mouth was agape as both fabric and thread followed the woman's gestures, not unlike when one of Princess Aurora's fairy godmothers was making the court dress with her wand. That is, save for the fact that Haru herself was being used as the dummy to ensure a custom fit.

Of course, part of the fitting required Haru to stand and brace herself against a wall as the woman did the final touches. Her legs and arms shook from the exertion, but she was somehow able to stand long enough for the obsidian to do as she wished. Even better, there were lovely woven rugs between her bare feet and the cold stone floor.

After a while, her companion eased her back onto the bed, and just looked at her. Sapphire eyes were glowing, and even tearful, as she took in the girl's new appearance and combed her clawed fingers through her hair- head fur, that is, to make it lie a little neater. She was unable to stop herself from stealing another warm hug, which only deepened when Haru hesitantly returned it.

As her head was balancing over one of the cat woman's shoulders, she took another look around the room, trying to figure out what was underneath all of the white sheets. Seeing one in particular, she ended the embrace and pointed at one object dead across from the end of the bed. "That looks like a mirror. Will you help me?" 'I know I'm a cat now. I just want to know how bad it is.'

The obsidian one looked at the covered glass, her expression turning a bit uncertain. But she still said something encouraging, and helped Haru to her feet. Making the girl lean heavily on her, they were able to limp close enough to the mirror for Haru to pull off the cloth with her free hand. It fell in a heap at their feet, but Haru was too surprised to notice.

The first thing she noticed about herself was that she still had human eyes. The ginger's, the obsidian's, and even Muta's had all been slanted like most cats she knew, but hers were every bit as round as they had been before coming here. The second thing she noticed was that, although most of her body had light toffee-colored fur, she had a patch of darker brown fur that was slightly longer than the rest of it. The patch was even in the same shape and style as the new haircut she had begged Tsuge's mother to do, but it quickly brought attention to the third most noticeable thing.

Her hand came up and touched one of the two white marks in the longer patch of fur. She had one on each side of her head, a streak that started at her triangular ears and went in a downward diagonal to the back of her neck.

"Why does this remind me of the Bride of Frankenstein?" she asked in horror, guessing the answer in a heartbeat. She quickly looked down at her arms and felt her neck with one hand, but there were no other signs of the stereotypical 'creature's body.

The obsidian cat shushed her, and gave another warm embrace to keep her steady. As she did so, Haru's face fell against her shoulder in such a way that she was looking at their reflections again. But now that she was looking at both of them together, she realized something that made her stiffen in horror.

She and the obsidian cat shared an extremely similar body build. Gently forcing the woman away enough to study her, Haru kept switching her attention from the female cat and her own reflection. She had to brace herself by the woman's arms in order to do it, but luckily she was cooperating.

It was subtle, but… now that she was looking closer, the longer patch of fur on her head was a bit like all of the cat's fur. Other than her eyes, they shared a similar facial structure, too.

But she was brown like Muta's left ear…

"You think I'm your daughter!" Haru gasped, holding one hand to her mouth in shock. "That other cat… you lost your daughter… got me… Ma'am, I'm very sorry, but I'm not your daughter," she apologized, holding the woman's head between her hands in an effort to make her understand.

The cat woman's eyes were sad, but firm.

"I'm not a cat, I'm a human. My name is Yoshioka Haru." But she could see that nothing was getting through to the kind woman. Sighing, she balanced herself with one hand by the feline's shoulder, and pointed to herself. "Haru."

"Haru?" the woman asked eagerly.

"Haru. I. Am. Haru."

The obsidian cat beamed happily, but wrapped her in another deep embrace. The words she spoke didn't diminish in love, but now she could catch her name here and there in the deliriously happy speech.

Wondering if her name meant anything in the unfamiliar language, Haru sighed and returned the embrace. "I think you missed the point. But at least I tried."

Her companion gave her one more affectionate squeeze, and pulled away while pointing at herself in a similar manner. "Dona," she stated clearly.

"Dona?" Haru repeated, getting an enthusiastic head gesture for a reply. "That's a nice name, Dona."

She beamed at the girl as if she could understand the compliment, and initiated another hug session just before someone knocked at the door again. Muta's voice was heard loud and clear as he asked something.

Grinning widely, Dona helped Haru to sit on the chest at the foot of the bed before unlocking the door. Her voice was wild and jubilant as she spoke to her husband, but the only part that the girl could understand of it was her own name.

Muta came in, and immediately looked at her. "Haru?"

"Yes, that's me," she replied while nodding, leaning over her poor tired legs.

He beamed happily as he marched forward and claimed a bear hug. His voice was just short of tears as he spoke to her, lingering over her name like it was a rare treat. Dona asked something, but he shook his head while completely picking Haru up in his arms. Whatever it is he said, it had included 'Muta' in it.

Haru flinched guiltily. "Of course Muta isn't your real name. I'm sorry, it's just that you look exactly like a doll I ma-"

He gave her a sharp look that cut her off, despite the fact that he clearly couldn't understand her. Maybe he could tell what she was saying from her tone? "Muta," he stated firmly.

"You're sure?"

"Muta," he repeated stubbornly. Whether or not it was his name, it was clear that he liked it enough to keep it.

Haru smiled happily and wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug, since he was holding her high enough to reach him. "Thank you, Muta. I repeat, you're amazing."

She could feel him press a kiss against one triangular ear before saying something to Dona, who seemed to agree. The obsidian cat walked through the door, leaving it open long enough for Muta to carry Haru through it.

"Where are we going?" she asked a little nervously. Muta's answer was cheerful, making her sigh and rest her head on his shoulder.

"Right. Not much point in asking if no one can understand a thing I say." 'Was it just me, or did one of those words sound like 'baron'?'