Chapter 3: I'm Just a Kid and Life is a Nightmare

As I walked to school, I felt a nauseous weight on my stomach. I hated being the new kid because everyone stared and in Japan, I looked a little different than most kids. I was taller and a bit ganglier than most of the other girls. My eyes didn't resemble theirs either and my skin was more olive-toned than the girls in my school. It also felt weird wearing the uniform because I never had to wear a uniform for school before.

I kept my head down when I walked to my first class but I was relieved that no one was staring at me as I walked into the room. Silently, I sat down in an unoccupied seat and pulled a binder out to write down notes. Suddenly, I noticed that everyone was staring at me, including my teacher, so I looked up and flushed. My teacher decided to embarrass me further by making me stand up and introduce myself. Luckily, I didn't stutter too much and my face didn't turn too red.

When I sat back down, I began thinking about the Baron, wishing he was here. I never liked school because I felt trapped and enclosed like a zoo animal. In my old school, I kind of kept to myself and I didn't have many friends because I was "weird"; what they called weird, I called eccentric. I wished Baron was there because we were both eccentric and similar in good way. As I stared out the window, I mentally counted down the hours until I would get home.

…

As soon as I walked through the door, I was greeted by the scent of…tea? That seemed a bit off center because my mom never made tea unless it was from a coffee maker. I followed the scent and saw, to my surprise, Baron as a human making tea on the stove. I didn't know he could make tea. He had dirty blond hair and green eyes. He looked like he was in his twenties and he was about six feet tall. He still wore his old suit, though, which made him look like he was from the twentieth century.

"Hello, Charisse," he greeted me warmly, smiling at me. "Would you like milk with your tea, or lemon?"

"Um, milk please," I answered, setting my bag down with a huff.

That attracted his attention because he walked away from the stove and sat down next to me. "What's the matter, Charisse?" he asked, placing his hand on my arm.

"I hate school…" I groaned, resting my head back. "I already feel like a freak. Everyone stared at me like I was the new zoo animal and I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb."

Baron placed a hand on my head and drew it close to rest it on his shoulder. "Don't worry, dear," he said gently, pressing his furry lips to my forehead. "It'll get better, I promise."

"Meh, thanks for trying," I mumbled, not feeling any better.

He chuckled, stood, and walked to get the tea in his teapot. After pouring two cups, Baron sat down next to me and handed me a cup. I took a tentative sip and wrinkled my nose a bit at the taste. It tasted a bit bitter and it hit my tongue some. I didn't want to tell Baron that it didn't taste so good but my expression probably said it all.

"Hmm," said Baron, looking at his cup curiously. "I guess none of us are lucky today."

"Yeah," I replied in a strained tone as I put the cup down.

Feeling tired, I bent to rest my head on Baron's chest but I wasn't so sure that he would appreciate that kind of closeness so instead I looked at him for permission. His answer was wrapping an arm around my waist and allowing me to rest my head on his chest. Weariness poked at my eyelids but I fought against them because I didn't want to sleep; I wanted to spend more time with Baron and not have to miss him because I was asleep. It seemed that he sensed my weariness because he started stroking my hair and running his gentle fingertips down the column of my neck. I felt him beginning to apply pressure to the knots in my shoulders, which felt so nice that I couldn't help but sigh in appreciation. He should have been a massage therapist. It felt so nice…

(Third Person POV)

Baron looked down and saw that the girl was sleeping. Smiling slightly, he eased her into his arms and began carrying her up to her bedroom. He felt her slight form in his arms and moved as gently as possible so he wouldn't wake her. As much as he wanted to spend time with her, he wanted her to get her rest too. As soon as he reached her bedroom, he set her down on the bed gently and pulled the covers over her body. He couldn't help himself, and he did something he had never done before, and so he kissed her on the cheek.

He heard her groan lightly as she shifted her body so she was resting on her stomach. Finally, Baron shrank back down to his normal height and sat on her pillow, staring at her gently. He placed a small gloved hand to her cheek and he was happy that he was able to actually see her. He always wanted a friend to be around, even if it was a girl. For an odd reason, Baron actually craved a woman's companionship but that was probably because of Louise. Because she wasn't around, he naturally wanted someone to fill the void in his heart. He wanted Charisse's companionship but he knew not to rush things. Charisse didn't feel the same, and Baron was a gentleman even if it hurt him.

Sadness filled Baron's heart as he stared at Charisse's calm face because it reminded him of Louise's winsome, lovely face. Instead of basking in the pain, Baron stood on Charisse's bedside table and turned back into a statue. Whenever Baron felt emotional distress, he would revert back into his statue form so he wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore. He didn't want to feel sad anymore so he reverted back into his statue form but still as he stood motionless, a single tear ran down his cheek.

…

Charisse awoke to the sound of persistent scratching at her window so she sat up and looked to see a big white cat with beady black eyes and a brown spot on one ear staring at her. Being an animal lover, Charisse immediately got to her feet and opened the window to let the cat in. The big marshmallow of a cat hopped down on the floor and walked out of her room in search for food, most likely. Before Charisse left her room to follow the cat, she noticed that Baron was back in his statue form and that a tear was on his cheek and his expression was sorrowful. With a gentle touch, Charisse wiped the tear from his furry cheek and walked out of her room to follow the fat kitty.

As she expected, the cat was in the kitchen of her house, on top of the counter, and looking for food. Charisse had some cat food but she didn't know if it was enough for the fat cat. She poured the cat food into a small bowl and placed it in front of the white cat. The cat dug in and downed the food faster than lightning strike. It was like he had never eaten a day in his life but that would be contradictory because of his chubbiness. Smiling, Charisse began to pet the cat and he seemed to like it because he began purring.

"Who do you belong to?" she asked softly as she stroked the long fur of the cat. "Do you have a name, little fella?"

Suddenly, she heard Baron's voice in her head again. "His name is Muta," answered Baron, "and you're not the first person he has mooched off of."

The big cat looked insulted like he heard that response. "Hey," he said in a loud voice that surprised Charisse, "I resent that remark, Baron. Now come out here and say that to my face."

Okay, brain go bye-bye now, thought Charisse as she stared at the talking cat.

"What?" demanded the cat, noticing her shocked look. "Never seen an animal talk before?"

Not trusting her voice, Charisse shook her head slowly and continued staring at him.

"How can you talk?" she managed to whisper.

"The same way everyone can," replied Muta smartly, "from the mouth."

"I'm being serious here," said Charisse irritably. "How do you know Baron?"

Muta gave her a challenging look. "Well how do you know Baron?" he asked her. "I don't recall him meeting you."

"She's my friend, Muta," said Baron as he walked into the kitchen. "Shizuku-chan gave me to her and ever since then we've been inseparable."

"So that explains why you've been ignoring me," said Muta moodily. "You've been busy chatting it up with your new girlfriend."

Baron's eye twitched slightly in irritation and he had to calm himself for a few seconds before replying. "She's not my girlfriend, Muta," he said calmly. "She's just my new friend. If you propose that again, I'll kick you out."

Muta snorted as he leapt on one of Charisse's couches and curled up into a big ball to rest there. "Yeah, whatever," he mumbled irritably. "I don't have time for your petty love issues, Baron. I have a big problem: People aren't feeding me anymore. They must have caught on that I'm just mooching off of them. Now I'll need to find another sucker to take me in and feed me."

"Don't," said a deep voice that belonged to a large raven that flew in. "The diet would do you good." He chuckled at his own joke.

Muta, however, was not amused by that remark. "Hey, shut up, Birdbrain!" he yowled, glaring up at the raven angrily. "At least I don't have a feather-butt like you!"

"At least I don't lick my fur, swallow it, and then spit it back out," retorted the raven irritably, perching himself on Charisse's shoulder like an eagle would.

"At least I don't look like a birdbrain!" shouted Muta, leaping to his feet.

"Well, at least I don't look like a giant marshmallow!" Toto shouted back, wings ruffling irritably.

"Quiet!" shouted Baron, causing the two and the girl to jump in surprise. "If you two start arguing, both of you are out of here!"

"Sorry," both animals muttered under their breaths. They stopped arguing but that didn't stop them from giving the other dirty looks.

"Charisse," said Baron to the girl gently, "that is Toto, the stone statue with a soul. He is a Creation, just like me."

"But he's more irritating," added Muta before falling silent once more.

Baron groaned, placing a hand to his temples. "Was that really necessary, Muta?" he asked wearily, shaking his head at the white cat.

"Absolutely," replied Muta, grinning broadly. "The birdbrain had it coming to him."

Toto's feathers bristled at the comment but backed down at the warning look Baron gave him. The bird nuzzled his head into Charisse's hair and smiled derisively at Muta, who gave him a dirty look. Baron smiled warmly at Charisse and she flushed slightly.

"You smell nice," said Toto kindly to the girl. "You smell like flowers and lavender."

Muta snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh brother, Feather-butt," he remarked, "you act like you've never smelled a woman before."

"Well, it's a nice change to your odor, Fatso," was Toto's reply as he continued nuzzling Charisse's hair. "I see why you like her, Baron. She's smells really nice."

To everyone's surprise, Baron began laughing in an undignified manner. "I don't just like her because of her scent, Toto," he giggled. "I mean, she's smells very sweet and I like that but I also like her attitude as well."

Muta smiled broadly. "So that means," he said, "you like her body as well?"

The smile was wiped clean off of Baron's face at that remark. "Well, I never," he said in an insulted manner. "Muta, there are more to women than just their curves, you know. Of course you wouldn't know that because when you see a female cat during mating season, you go right at them with no restraint."

Toto let out a loud caw of a laugh and Muta scowled in irritation.

"Hey," he replied, "don't blame me, blame God. He was the one who put hormones in us, and people should spay their cats more often or I wouldn't be on them like Donkey Kong."

Charisse gave him a strange look. "Someone should have you neutered, Muta," she said kindly, "if you don't like having to go through mating season."

If Muta was a human, he would have placed a hand on his chest in mock shock. "You can take my food from me," he gasped dramatically, "but not my manhood. God didn't put there to be cut off."

"Yeah, God also didn't design you to be jumping every female you like during mating season," was Charisse's quick, witty remark.

Toto snorted his laughter and Baron had to hide his smirk behind his hand but Muta heard a snort come from the dignified cat.

"Hey, shut up, Baron," mumbled Muta, collapsing in defeat. "It's your irritating girlfriend's fault."

That caused Baron to stiffen like a statue and a frosty look entered his eye that Charisse knew; it meant his guests should beware. "She is NOT my girlfriend, Muta," he objected vehemently. "It's against the laws of nature."

"Yeah sure," snorted Muta, curling up to take a nap. "Wake me when you spot a hunchback." He suddenly went to sleep.

Baron gave him an irritated look. "Sometimes I hate that cat," he said, shaking his head.

Toto and Charisse nodded and voiced their agreement but the girl couldn't help but flush at Muta's comments. Did he really thing she and Baron were dating? That just sounded weird in itself but still it sounded nice to her…and totally illegal, even if Baron was extremely attractive.

A/N: Uh-oh, someone's developing a small crush on Baron! Tee-hee! Now that she has met Muta and Toto, the troubles will begin. I had to pull those two in before starting any problem. Well, happy reading!