Chapter cover (replace "*dot*" with "."): drive*dot*google*dot*com/file/d/156ZGsni7zId8srZRLf3PbZ7_jhicA7X-/view?usp=sharing

Story cover (better quality): drive*dot*google*dot*com/file/d/1GIWDNZ2dd6vHqrbMqiaQlXOd7qJWWunb/view?usp=sharing

Haru missed the Cat Bureau.

It was over a year since the day she climbed the tower leading to the portal joining the human world to the Cat Kingdom. At that time, she would never have thought of returning, especially with the crazy King still around, but here she is, sitting at a Café, dying for another adventure.

"Why must my life be this mundane?" Haru muttered to herself while she stared at an empty street. She had been visiting the Cat Bureau quite frequently since the day she left the Cat Kingdom, and she was always welcomed with open arms by Baron and served cake and hot tea. However, recently, there was more silence in their conversations than words, with each visit, they bid farewell too early than Haru would like. Until when Haru had to study for her high school exams, she decided to halt her visits to the Cat Bureau for a few weeks to concentrate on her studies, she was supposed to revisit them after the examination.

But she couldn't find a reason to.

She couldn't help but feel that she is wasting their time, especially since she was told by Toto that more people, or rather, cats, has been seeking their help since their appearance in the castle.

Haru's mind wandered aimlessly for a while, occasionally sipping her tea (which has gone cold by now).

'Oh, how I missed Baron's special blend…' she thought to herself.

'Baron's own blend always seems to have a taste distinct from mine, I couldn't for the life of me recreate it…'

Haru smiled to herself as her daydream continues. Her eyes wandering the streets and counted the passing cats. It's a habit she somehow took on after her adventures in the Cat Kingdom. 'I wonder if that is one of the messengers…' Her thoughts drifted alongside the wind as the day lingers on.

'Could that be Natoru…nah, Natoru's tail is a darker shade of brown…' Haru's gaze shifted from cat to cat.

'Perhaps…maybe not…is that…nah…that blue one looks a little familiar…is that…ohh' Of course, who can possibly find another cat like Lune?

"Psst, hey!"

The Russian Blue turned as he noticed Haru's call. His mismatched eyes widened slightly at the sight at his saviour for the first time in over a year. In fact, he almost dropped a piece of paper he was carrying in his mouth.

'Wait, what's he holding?' Lune trotted to Haru, then tugged at her shoelace.

"Do you want me to follow you, Lune?" Lune nodded in response.

"Alright, Lune, hold on." Haru finished the rest of her (cold) tea, then followed Lune as he leads her to an alley.

"Haru! It's been a year hasn't it?" Lune stands up to greet Haru after he made sure no one is nearby to eavesdrop on them, a great beam plastered on his face.

"I think so, Lune. I never expected to see you here! How's it going, Lune? How's Yuki?" Haru responded with a delighted smile of her own, clearly joyed to see her friend.

"Oh, it's splendid Haru, me and Yuki are doing splendidly. We have to make some amendments to mistakes Father made during his reign, but otherwise, we can never be happier."

"I'm so happy for you, Lune!"

"What about you Haru, you've grown into a beautiful lady! Have you been visiting the Bureau?" Haru blushed slightly at Lune's remark

"Oh, I'm flattered, Lune. Life is kind of boring for the time being, but I can manage. I've been visiting the Bureau a few months ago…but…recently I couldn't seem to able to strike up a lasting conversation with Baron anymore…and they've been busy with cases recently, sometimes I can't even see Muta at the crossroads, so I figured I shouldn't be bothering them." Haru's smile faded a little as she told her recent problems to Lune.

"Ah…I see…looks like their visit to the castle made a positive impact on business." Haru gave a small giggle at Lune's attempt to cheer her up.

"Anyways, can you come?"

"Come? To where?"

"Next week's ball, Baron told you, didn't he?"

"Ball? No…I haven't heard from Baron in weeks…"

"Huh…peculiar…I sent an invitation to the Cat Bureau earlier this week and left a note to tell him to pass the word to you…I don't think Baron is one to procrastinate."

"Me neither."

"You said you haven't visited the Cat Bureau in a while right? Here's your chance, Haru. Let's pay them a visit, shall we?"

"Of course!"

Haru is delighted to be able to meet Muta, Toto and especially Baron again. The pair walked together, until their journey stops at the crossroad where Muta usually dozes off.

'Where could he be?'

Haru wondered as she started looking for the large cat, it wasn't long until a giant ball of fur caught her eye, resting on the chair like an oversized cushion. Grinning in content, she walked quickly to the chair Muta is sleeping on, with the royal cat following closely behind.

"Hey, Muta." She whispered to Muta's ear.

"Hmm?" Muta woke with a groan, his narrow, grumpy eyes looked at Haru, then at Lune.

"Lead the way for us, will you?" Muta exchanged glances with Haru and Lune as his sleepiness gradually wears off.

"Follow me." He said as he jumped down from his 'bed' and started leading them through the complicated alleys and rooftop system.

It seems that Muta sometimes take different routes to the Bureau, when she tried to go there by herself in the few occasions where she couldn't find Muta, she wandered aimlessly through the network, climbing and walking through familiar landscape only to end up in unchartered territory,

'Perhaps the place is protected by an enchantment of sorts, perhaps one can only reach it by themselves when they really needed help, I got to ask Baron someday.'

After a few minutes of running, climbing and squeezing through tight alleyways and rooftops, she arrived at the familiar arch that marks the entrance of the illustrious world the Cat Bureau is in. Muta started walking on his hind legs as soon as he crosses the arch, like he always does. Haru and Lune followed suit, as she turned her head, Haru is greeted by the sight of the Bureau once more, the memories she had with it, from the time where she sat on Muta by accident, to the moment when Baron jumped off the school rooftop only to be caught by Toto, they flooded back to her as she stared at the small house, a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they got themselves a new mailbox, with a small lock and a slit to put the newspaper or letters in, and Baron is not standing in front of the window like he usually does when free. Muta walked to the Bureau door and rang a bell.

"Oi Baron, chicky is here!"

She can hear the taps of Baron's shoes as he walks towards the door to answer it. The door swung open, revealing the handsome figurine behind it. Baron wasn't wearing his top hat or coat.

Haru can see Baron's eyes widen slightly and his whiskers twitch as he saw his visitors.

"Good afternoon, Haru." He then turned to Lune and bowed.

"Your majesty."

'Hold on, your majesty?'

"Oh Baron, skip the formalities, I'm no majesty in this world, over here I'm no more than an ordinary cat, so we speak to each other like one." Baron straightened himself.

"Sorry, but, are you a king now, Lune?" Haru asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, Haru. The old King decided to give up his throne when you left the kingdom. Lune is now king, Yuki is queen." Baron answered for Lune.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two!"

Haru beamed at the thought of Lune and Yuki being the ruler of the Cat Kingdom, perhaps going back isn't a bad idea after all.

"Baron, is that cake I smell?" Muta called out to Baron as his nose twitched at the smell.

"Yes, Muta, and no, it is not ready yet. You have to wait for it to cool." Baron answered as he held the Bureau's door open.

"Please, come inside," Baron said as he invited the duo inside politely.

"That wouldn't be necessary, Baron. We do not plan to stay for long."

"I insist, King." Lune smiled as he let out a sigh.

"If you insist Baron. Actually, the place does smell like cake, you've convinced me."

Both Lune and Haru entered the Bureau (with Haru squeezing through the small doors).

'Muta is right, the place does smell like freshly baked cake…' Haru thought as she inhales, savouring the sweet smell of Muta's favourite dessert. She noticed a large jar full of chocolate chip cookies are on the table on the middle of the Bureau.

"Argh, I can't stand the smell anymore," Muta said as he sat down on a couch, took the large jar of chocolate chip cookies into his arms and removes the lid to start helping himself.

'Oh, Muta. You haven't changed one bit.' Haru thought as she watched Muta munched on the cookies at an alarming rate.

'If only I live in the Bureau. I could eat anytime I want, Baron somehow kept the shelves full of food even with Muta around.' Before she knew it, the jar full of cookies is almost empty.

"Clink." Her attention was drawn to the table as Baron put 2 teacups on the table, and later, a teapot full of hot tea, with milk, sugar and lemon beside it. It's pretty much a full set, fit for a tea session with the King himself.

"Oh, Baron you don't have to," Lune said as Baron poured tea into both teacups. Baron only smiled.

Their attention is drawn to the sound of another bell.

"I believe the cake is ready," Baron said as he walked towards the back of the Bureau, took out two large plates, then put two Angel Food Cakes on each plate, before dabbing some whipped cream over and around one of them, Baron does all of this as if he has trained all his life for it, before any of them knew, two delicious looking cakes were brought to them, as well as a large bowl of whipped cream, he put one of them on the table, and gave the second cake entirely to Muta, who chuckled gleefully as he accepted the cake, jar of cookies already empty.

"My, my, does this smell good!" Lune exclaimed as he cut a piece of the cake for himself, and another for Haru.

"Thank you, Lune." Haru happily accepted the cake, and was Lune right, the cake smelled divine.

"I would hire you for the castle's head chef any day, Baron," Lune said jokingly as he took a big bite at the cake, savouring the sweet taste of the cake.

"With a friend like Muta, sometimes you'll have to go the extra distance to keep him."

Haru did the same, and it was the best she had yet.

'Baron's cake tasted so differently when freshly out of the oven, I could eat this for my entire life without complaint!' Haru thought to herself as she licked her lips.

"At least I know one of the reasons cats like to visit the Bureau now." Lune chuckled as he took another bite, the cake melting in his mouth.

"Baron, dear god, you won't believe how far I have to fly to get these berries, the old tree is cut down! The nearest I found is miles away to the South, I don't think it's as good as…" Toto landed on the balcony, mulberries in his beak, quite out of breath and complaining loudly.

"Oh…"

Toto was silenced at the sight of Haru and Lune as he saw the guests.

"Ah, Haru…and your majesty, I'm sorry for the ruckus earlier, I was quite tired just now and…"

"Shut up, chicken! You've made enough noise already!"

"No one asked you, marshmallow!"

"Enough, you two!"

Baron interrupted in time as Toto is just about to dive on Muta. "Toto, thank you for the berries, now please take a seat," Baron said.

"Fine…" the stone gargoyle flapped down from the balcony, exchanging glares with Muta. Haru giggled at the fighting pair, they never seem to stop fighting, but they still got each other's back when the other needs it, if that isn't true friendship, she doesn't know what is.

"Before we forget, I suppose you came here for a reason, King?" Baron asked as Lune is about to take another bite at his cake.

"Ah, yes, yes. I almost forgot." Lune put down his fork as he remembered his mission.

"Have you received my invitation to the Cat Kingdom next week?"

"Your invitation to the Cat Kingdom?"

"Yes."

Baron stroked his own chin as he thought.

"No…I don't believe I had…Muta? Toto?" Both shook their heads.

"Hmm…are you sure they are delivered?" Baron walked towards his desk as he asks, before disappearing behind it

"I'm certain, Baron. I oversee their task personally."

"I see…" Haru can see that Baron has opened a drawer in his desk and began searching through some papers.

Baron's ginger head popped up from behind his desk as he shut the drawer.

"I've searched through all the letters I received since the past month, I have yet to found one with the Royal coat of arms of the Cat Kingdom. No, I do not have it."

"How strange…but it's okay, I brought an extra letter just in case this situation should arise." Lune stood up and took out the piece of paper he was holding since Haru first saw him, opened it, and read loudly:

"His Majesty, King Lune - that's me, and Her Majesty Queen Yuki, of the Cat Kingdom, request the pleasure of the company of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, at a ball celebrating His Majesty King Lune and Her Majesty Queen Yuki's first wedding anniversary, held in the Royal Court of the Cat Kingdom. On Sunday, the fourteenth of September, at nine o'clock. All guests must dress in Evening Dress - that's White Tie...that's all you have to know."

Lune recited the contents in a comical way, quite like the living candelabra from one of the American animations she saw some time ago.

"That's yours, Baron. I have 3 more for each of you, they are basically all the same, but with your respective names written on each of them." Lune handed the letter to Baron, before taking out 3 more and handed one to Haru, Toto and Muta.

"Thank you, King. So, what do you think, Muta? Toto? Haru?"

"As long as there's dinner, I'm in."

"I'm invited as well? That's great, I'll be there, sure!"

"Uhh..."

All eyes are on Haru as they confirmed their arrival.

"I don't have a ball gown..."

"That will be the least of your worries, Haru. You can come early to the castle, and we'll get a ball gown for you, made by the finest fabric and the most talented tailor of the Cat Kingdom. There are gowns and suits for everyone, seek and you shall find, and we'll give them to you for free."

"Even for me?"

"Yes, Toto, even for you."

A giggle escaped Haru's lips as an image of a sharply dressed Toto asking a feline lady for a dance. Meanwhile, Muta just laughed loudly, clearly had the same thing in mind.

'Well...I suppose being back into the Cat Kingdom won't be too bad...Life is being terribly dull lately, this might be the only chance I'll get in a long time...actually...dancing the evening away with Baron does sound good...wait what was I thinking!?'

"Hmm...yeah. Yes, Lune, I'll be happy to come."

"Splendid, splendid! Since I already know you are all going to be there, a reply letter won't be needed, Baron. Now that's settled...let's not waste food and good tea shall we?"

"You might just be the merriest king I've ever seen, Lune." Haru giggled as she sipped her tea.

'This time it tastes a little bit like mint...'

"Oh, trust me, you'll love the feeling of being a cat again after days of being, 'King-like.', you'd think you can do anything you want. Well, let me tell you it's far from the truth...I can already see why Father lost his mind after years of reign..."

"Must not be easy..."

"Yeah...but lucky for me, I have Yuki by my side. She always put a smile on my face after a long day...no matter what happens." Lune looked outside the window of the Bureau, rays of sunlight painted on his smile. He really loves Yuki. Haru smiled at the new king of the Cat Kingdom, a warm feeling in her chest. 'If only I have a guy that can look at me like that...if only...'

The door of the Bureau swung open as Baron walked inside.

'Strange...I didn't see him go outside.'

He closed the door behind him as he asked. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, absolutely not, Baron."

"Good, I hope the tea hasn't gone bad, King."

"Of course not, it's as delicious as I first tasted it!" Lune laughed as he poured himself another cup.

"I'm happy to hear that..." Baron walked to Lune's side as he bent down.

"I have something I wanted to discuss with you, only," Baron whispered into Lune's ear.

Lune's smile melted.

Lune knew from Baron's tone, he wasn't going to discuss tea parties or Muta's favourite food, he meant something serious. Lune stood up and followed Baron upstairs, but not before turning back and said, with a smile: "I'll be back."

"King...I'll go straight to the point with you," Baron spoke as he shut the door. They are in a bedroom, a queen-sized (cat queen-sized) bed at one side of the room near the door, as well as a dressing table on one side, and a closet on the other, directly in front of them is a window and a desk under it.

"Your messenger did deliver the letter, but it was stolen by someone." Lune's eyes widened.

"Stolen? By whom? Why?"

"I don't know who did it, nor their intentions, but they surely don't want the Bureau back in the kingdom." Baron paced around the room as he spoke.

"You might've noticed I got myself a lock on the mailbox, for security reasons, since not long ago Muta caught someone stealing our newspaper. I got a friend of mine to enchant a magic seal onto the lock, nothing but the key can open it, and only me, Toto and Muta has the key…I smell residues of seal breaker magic in the mailbox, these types don't usually last long, but those in the mailbox lingered for several days, that means whoever did it is no amateur sorcerer or sorceress, they use powerful magic. However, I could not locate the source of the spell, the thief most likely opened a spotless portal right after he got the letter, I can find no trail. If it wasn't for the residue of seal breaker magic, I would never have thought someone stole it." Lune took a deep breath as he processed the information Baron told him.

Why would a sorcerer or sorceress want to steal the letter? Why would they want to prevent the Bureau from returning to the Cat Kingdom? What are they planning?

"Do you have any enemies, King? Someone that particularly dislikes you or Queen Yuki?"

"I…I don't think I'm in the position to say, but…no, I don't think so."

"Have you noticed something different in the castle or the kingdom? Something out of place?"

"Well…I have yet to notice anything different in the castle…but I think this might have something to do with some of the recent cases I've received in the Cat Kingdom."

Baron's ears visibly perked up as he heard the news, the sound of his shoes tapping on the ground stopped. He grabbed a chair in front of the desk and sat down, facing Lune.

"Tell me about it."

"Well, you see, many months ago, there has been a series of robberies happening on the West side of the village, they weren't the average theft or robbery done by one cat in a secluded place, they were planned heists, organised crime, carried out by five cats at once, and left before we can send soldiers to stop them. They have hit banks, jewellery stores and whatnot, they used strong magic to crack enchanted safes and vaults of banks, sometimes even opening portals to escape a sticky situation. They operate without a pattern, sometimes with days, weeks or months in between. Until about three weeks ago, we've successfully captured all the criminals that are involved in the activity, with the help of some magic of our own. All five were locked up. However, reports have shown that despite their extensive use of magic in their heists, they do not have the slightest bit of magic in them. One must at least possess some degree of magical elements in them to cast the simplest of spells. They can't even make feather float, much less crack enchanted vaults and open portals…this led us to believe that one of the prisoners is a decoy, and the sorcerer amongst them escaped. But they claimed otherwise. Since their capture, there have been no similar cases to be received. However, their heists have inspired several others to carry out…less professional robberies of their own, they were easily captured, but they are quite a headache to deal with…" Lune finished his story with a sigh.

"I see…do you have any idea where or when the mysterious cat will attempt the heist again?"

"I don't know…they operate without a pattern, they are unpredictable. Their heists sometimes span from small jewellery stores to large banks, if we want to set a range…we could've just included every property in the Cat Kingdom."

Lune covered his face with his paws has another sigh escaped his mouth.

Just as he thought, after all his hard work, the crime rates in the Cat Kingdom starts to lower; just as he thought he could've had a breather from all the problem he had with the criminals; just as he thought he could spend more time with Yuki and their kittens…

He had to deal with this.

Lune felt a hand on his back and turn to look at its owner. A pair of emerald green eyes looked back into his mismatched, blue-red ones.

"You're not in this alone, King. We'll help you on this case as much as we could. If the cat behind these criminal activities is still around, that means we must do everything in our power to stop them from doing any more harm. Moreover, I believe Muta would like to have a word with the letter thief." Lune felt a tug on the edge of his lips as he heard Baron offering his help in resolving the issue.

"Baron…you're the best friend anyone can have." Baron smiled back.

"I'm flattered. I would advise you to order your best and most trusted men to search the castle as well as its vicinity thoroughly, and tighten the security not only around the castle, but send men down to the village as patrol, this ought to make them think twice about doing anything stupid during the ball. Furthermore, I think the villagers will be happy to see soldiers actively running around doing work, just make sure they stay friendly to non-criminals." Lune thought about Baron's advice, he has been solving problems by identifying the problem and eliminate it, he could've tried to prevent them from happening in the first place…

"Alright, Baron, I'll put your advice to practice, and act accordingly. Thank you for…everything, Baron. You're the best help anyone can have." Baron replied with another smile.

"That's what the Cat Bureau is for, and we'll keep doing it until the end of our days."

Haru's head turned to the familiar taps of Baron's shoes, he and Lune have returned from their meeting upstairs. "Baron, Lune, everything okay?"

"Yes, Haru, everything is settled. Where's Muta?"

"That fat cat went back lazing around at the crossroads again. Let me tell ya, if you make dinner now, he's going to come rolling back like the giant bowling ball he is." Baron, Haru and Lune all laughed at Toto's remark.

'Muta does look like the type to roll'

"Anyways, please excuse me. I have to go rest a while, being beside the marshmallow take its toll, believe me." Toto hopped onto the balcony before flying back onto his stone pillar, where he materialises back into stone, but not before bidding farewell to Haru.

"See ya at the ball, Haru!"

"See ya!" Haru replied loudly, but Toto already turned into stone.

"Well, I think it's the time I'll have to say goodbye as well, Haru. Duty calls." Lune said to Haru as he prepared some shiny, chalky substance and drew a circle with it outside the Bureau.

"I look forward to the day of your arrival, Haru, and the Cat Bureau as well." Lune smiled as he waved his hand over the circle, the ground inside the circle starts to sink and tear before transforming into a portal, blue energy radiating from the edge of the magic door.

"Me too, Lune. I would really love to be back again." Haru smiled at the king.

"Glad to hear that, Haru. Until then, farewell." Lune hopped into the portal, and it disappeared soon afterwards. Haru stood in front of the Bureau door as she looked at the empty patch of the ground where Lune stood mere moments ago, before looking to her side to see Baron standing near her.

It's just she and Baron now.

"Uhh, Baron?"

"Yes?"

"I, uhh, I'm sorry to be a bother today. I wasn't planning to stay this long, and I pretty much had lunch here."

"It's okay, Haru. I have plenty of cakes and tea left." Baron gave her a reassuring smile, and it put the smallest of blushes on Haru's cheeks. There's just something with how Baron's lips curled up along his cheeks that makes his smiles so charming.

"…Thank you, Baron…I really enjoyed my time here, but I have to go now, I suppose I'll see you in a week then?"

"It's my pleasure, Haru. I look forward to the day you may return. Until then, farewell, Haru."

"Goodbye, Baron."

They waved each other goodbye as Haru disappeared behind the arch connecting the human world to the world where Baron lives in. Baron stood in front of the Bureau door for a while, just staring at where he saw Haru last, before going back into the Bureau. He emerged from the door moments later, with his coat on and top hat balanced between his ears. After locking the door behind him, he took out a small chalk, like what Lune used to open a portal, and drew a circle around his feet. He then put it back into his coat pocket, then held on to his hat.

Tap

A portal opened as Baron tapped the soil with his cane, where Baron fell right through. The blue portal shut moments later, as the last rays of the setting sun hit the Bureau in silence.