Cat Returns - Unfinished Stories

The Promise of Kindness

Chapter 1 – A Strange Arrangement

The first sign of the fire was the smell of burning wood and fabric. Next came the distant sound of horses panicking and people yelling, and then, finally, the fire was finally in sight. Great rolling pillars of crackling flame had already engulfed the house on every side, save for a small gap around the back of the horses' paddock.

Haru Yoshioka was the first person to see that gap, only moments before she heard the first scream. She recognized the sound immediately, even if it was one she'd never heard before.

"Alex!" she screamed, diving through the gap, to run straight into the burning building.

————————————————

"Humbert, get up, quick!" hollered Harold, jumping onto his younger brother's bed.

Humbert von Gikkingen snapped awake instantly, having always been a light sleeper. The young half-cat sat up and stretched, making his older human brother wrinkle his nose.

"Really, why do you stay a cat when you could be a human?" Harold complained.

Humbert sighed, being used to his older brother acting like his younger one. "This form is actually that of a half-cat, Harold, and it provides me with many advantages that the human body would not usually possess."

Harold made a raspberry at him, and then did a running leaping off the bed to land clumsily on the ground. Humbert, deciding to give in to his more childish urges for a rare moment, stood, and back-flipped neatly off the bed, landing square on his feet.

His mother poked her head around the doorway just as Harold stuck his tongue out at his brother. "Harold, don't do that," she scolded. "We want to make a good impression on our new guest, don't we?"

That caught Humbert's attention rather quickly. "A new guest, Mother?"

His mother smiled at Harold, but Humbert could tell it was strained. "Harold, could you let me speak to your brother alone for a moment, please?"

Harold nodded sulkily and sprinted off down the corridor, presumably to find their father. As soon as the sound of his footfalls had faded, Humbert's mother sighed and knelt next to her youngest son. "Do you remember the Yoshioka family, Humbert?"

Humbert nodded, recalling his mother's stories about her best childhood friend, the Countess Naoko Ogino. Naoko had been born into nobility, but had fallen in love with Hasho Yoshioka, a librarian, and had left her title behind to be with him. Humbert's mother spoke often of her old friend, and visited the Yoshioka family every year without fail, bringing back stories of a perfectly happy family.

Humbert had always drank up those stories, wishing that his family could have been like that. But Humbert and Harold could never really agree on anything, their father was rarely ever home, and their mother could only try so hard to keep the family together before even she gave up.

Humbert was dragged out of his train of thoughts when his mother gave a muffled sob, covering her mouth with one hand. Humbert immediately offered her a handkerchief, worried at his mother's behavior. She never cried.

"It's horrible, Humbert," she whispered while accepting the handkerchief to dry her eyes with. "There was a fire at their home. Naoko and Hasho didn't survive."

Humbert jerked in horror. "I...I am so sorry, Mother. What about the rest of the family? Their daughters?"

His mother gave him a watery smile while setting the handkerchief on the chest of drawers. "Those girls were inseparable. One should expect as much, I suppose, from sisters who grew up in isolation. But only one of the poor girls survived. That dear, poor child...she's downstairs now, Humbert. You see, I made a promise to Naoko to take care of her children if anything was to happen to her or Hasho, and I intend to honour that promise. Their daughter will be staying with us, until she is of age and can make a life of her own."

xxoOoxx

Haru Yoshioka sat on the nice couch in her black mourning dress, staring unseeingly out the window. The young brunette hadn't made a sound since the fire, and she intended to keep it that way. Although she was eternally grateful to the Lady von Gikkingen for taking her in, she had only mouthed her thanks and given very short, very small smiles. Even those had been dripping with sadness.

Haru could clearly picture her family, the day before the fire had happened. Her mother and father had grinned encouragingly at her and wished her luck at her first day at the town school. Her little sister had come bounding down the stairs, her dark, wild hair flopping over her heterochromia blue-and-gold eyes as she jokingly nudged Haru's shoulder and challenged her to a race to town.

A slight sound from the doorway made Haru shake off her melancholy enough to look over. Lady von Gikkingen was standing there, smiling at her, her grey-green eyes sad as she ushered her family into the sitting room to sit on the couch across from Haru.

There was a tall man with neatly trimmed angel-blond hair and hazel eyes wearing a dark suit, and a young boy who looked to be a fair bit older than Haru with the same auburn hair as Lady Gikkingen and the same hazel eyes as the tall man.

But the person that caught Haru's attention and held it was the cat man standing in the doorway.

Well, half cat would have been more accurate, judging by his gloved hands and his height. He didn't seem to be that much older than Haru, with orange-and-cream fur and emerald eyes that were clearer and brighter than his mother's.

He smiled nervously at her attention and bowed to her, holding his grey top hat to his heart. It was only then that Haru dully noted his rather formal light grey suit.

"I can change into a human, if my form makes you uncomfortable," he noted, raising an eyebrow at her as he returned his hat to its perch.

Haru blinked herself out of her surprise, and rapidly shook her head. She didn't quite know why, but for some reason, she felt better about this if she could see a crack in the otherwise perfect façade of this family.

"Boys, this is Haru Yoshioka," Lady von Gikkingen said in that same quiet, sympathetic voice she'd been using the entire time I'd been here. "She lost her parents recently, so please be nice."

Haru felt like screaming, but she kept her emotionless façade, and signed, 'And my little sister.'

Since none of them could read sign language, on a whim she also added, 'My amazing, crazy little sister and her amazing, crazy – plus irritating – best friend.'

"She was your twin?" the cat man asked, cocking his head as his brow furrowed in sympathy...

(Lol of course Baron can read sign language)

A.N. That's all for this one too. This one was supposed to have Haru growing up with Baron and falling in love with him, but Harold loved her too and then there was a bit of a minor sibling war over who gets the girl. Haru ended things by telling them to quit it, and then marries Baron. Haru's twin sister comes back from the dead at some point, with her best friend who also supposedly died in the fire. The twin and the best friend are dating and eventually get married too I suppose. I didn't really plan that far ahead.

If anyone wants to finish this story or any of my others, PM me please to let me know.