A/N: New story, new fandom. I just recently finished this one. It's a bit shorter than others that I've done, but still a good story line. I watched this movie and got obsessed instantly. If I was Haru I think I would definately have more than a crush on our dear Baron. So here is my own continuation to the Cat Returns. Hope you all enjoy! And as always, happy reading.

Soul Searching

Her feet seemed to glide along the floor without friction. The gold slippers on her feet made of silk felt like clouds and her dress made of an even finer yellow material flowed from her waist as she turned. One white gloved hand held on to hers as another fit perfectly along her hip. Her other hand held a gentleman's shoulder covered with a dark material and her eyes locked with his. They were so green and intelligent that she found herself lost in them, as she had found herself every night she dreamed of their dance. The ball room was still as elaborate as she remembered, but there were no cats around them this time. The room echoed of only the soft music from an invisible accordion and the foot falls of her and her hero as they twirled and dipped along the marble floor.

"Haru…" his voice called to her and she smiled at him before the whole picture began to ripple around her.

"Haru!" Hiromi yelled at her best friend as she waved a hand in front of her face, "Are you still with me here?"

"Sorry Hiromi," Haru chuckled and blinked a few times to make the rest of her day dream disappear. She drifted back to reality and ran her hand over the large cat on her lap before scratching by his brown ear to earn a long purr, "Just another one of my escapes."

"You've been doing that more and more lately," Hiromi reminded her and took a sip of the fruit smoothie that she had in her hands. She also looked down at her friend's sketch book which had a figure drawing of a couple on what looked like a dance floor.

"Can't help it," Haru shrugged, "I don't really have anything better to do."

"Oh like, I don't know, going to school with your best friend?" Hiromi pointed at herself, "When are you going to go to college?"

"When I figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life," Haru frowned and patted Muta who yawned up at her. She took a piece of large chicken from her lunch and held it out to Muta who seemed to swallow it whole. She giggled a little, "I'm okay helping my mother with her quilts and my paintings until I figure it out. Besides, I'm only eighteen, I have time."

Hiromi paused for a moment and looked at the fat cat on Haru's lap, "How can you support that cat's weight on your lap?"

Muta shot the other girl a glare and repositioned himself on Haru, almost making himself slip off her lap completely.

"He's not as heavy as he looks," Haru held her hand over the edge of her leg so that Muta didn't fall completely off and scratch her on the way down. He settled again and closed his eyes lazily.

"Whose cat is he anyway?"

"He's his own cat," Haru said happily, "Besides, he's just a big softy."

"Right…" Hiromi rolled her eyes.

"How are you and Tsuge doing?" Haru opted for another path of discussion and change of topic.

"He just seems so busy with his scholarships and all. He doesn't even have all that time for me anymore," Hiromi looked down sadly, "It feels like I'm losing him."

"Don't worry about it," Haru put a hand over her friends, "Just believe in yourself and no matter what you will be ok. If it doesn't work out, it wasn't a fault of yours. Maybe he just isn't the one for you."

"Maybe," Hiromi shrugged, "We have a date tonight. Maybe we can battle out our differences then."

"Sure," Haru nodded with a smile.

Hiromi reached the bottom of her smoothie. She looked at Haru's cup, "Are you going to finish your smoothie?"

"No, I don't really like the flavor," Haru squinted at her cup and pushed it toward Hiromi.

"You got the same that I did, didn't you?" she took a sip and nodded in appreciation, "Yup, mulberry."

"I don't see why you like that so much," Haru stated and heard a loud purr from Muta on her lap. He agreed with her. And he seemed to enjoy the statement the most since that seemed to be Toto's favorite berry as well. Haru looked down at her watch and her eyes bulged a little, "Oh crud, we're late!"

The large cat heard her exclamation and jumped up from her lap before she tossed him off.

"We're late? Who's we?" Hiromi wondered out loud as she saw her friend throw her stuff together, "Now where are you heading in such a hurry? I thought you had nothing better to do."

"I just got to go!" Haru tugged on her jacket over her light blouse and dark blue jeans, and saw Muta begin to walk away out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't going to worry; she knew how to get to the bureau without his help.

"You know I find it funny that you aren't going to school, you don't have a job other than what you do with your mom, but you always have appointments to attend to- most of the time when you are out with me at the Crossroads," Hiromi stated as she calmly put her things in her bag and handed Haru a pencil that had rolled to her side of the table as she spun it lightly in a tight circle at her friend, "Any boyfriends that you are keeping a secret from me?"

"Boyfriends," Haru rolled her eyes, put her small back pack over her shoulder and leaned on the table toward Hiromi. She grabbed the pencil and smirked at her friend, "See you later, Hiromi."

Haru ran off in the same direction that Muta had and waved back at her friend.

"Haru!" Hiromi yelled at her friend and frowned before she picked up her stuff and got ready for her date with Tsuge that night. As she began to walk away she turned toward the direction her best friend ran off in and talked to herself, "One year she's been like this. She would have told me if it was a guy by now, right?"

Haru secured the bag on her back and turned down an alleyway and made sure that no one was following her. Muta may not be all that worried about being followed, being a cat, but curiosity is peeked when an eighteen year old girl makes some mysterious turns down alleyways and over low roofs. The last thing she needed was people finding out about the sanctuary and the bureau. Too many inquisitive minds would have Baron and Toto dissected in seconds for them being creations.

Her short hair bobbed behind her and she swiped her messy bangs out of her eyes as she made the first hop up onto a wall and into the urban labyrinth. She's done it hundreds of times in the last year and it has become almost ingrained in her muscle memory. She had started to fill out into a more mature body than what she had almost a year ago. A narrower waist and a little wider at the hips, she was becoming the envy of Hiromi and has caught a few young men's attentions- including that of her old crush Machida- who, like a year ago, just didn't matter anymore.

She had to keep fit and in shape if she was going to keep up in the work she was doing. Not the quilting or painting, of course, but helping the team at the bureau. True she was talented and probably could make a great career in what ever she put her mind to, but she didn't want to really do anything other than to help at the bureau and 'stick her nose in other people's problems' as Muta put it so often.

As she popped her head around the corner that led to the sanctuary, she checked once again for anyone that may have followed her and happily walked to the archway. She felt a small shift in the air around her as she passed through the archway into the sanctuary and had to giggle to herself.

After the first three months of coming and going through the archway, the magic of the sanctuary deemed it fit to have her shrink when she entered under the arch way. Suffice to say it nearly scared her half to death when it seemed that Muta once again was towering over her. For the first few moments she thought she was in the Cat Kingdom again until Baron put a hand on her shoulder and reassured her she was still at the sanctuary. After a good hour long search through books on magic and a walk under the arch way the opposite direction, they found it was reversible and Haru was happy for the surprise. Getting in and out of the bureau doors became much easier.

Haru walked just past Toto's pole in the courtyard and spotted Muta in his chair with a new newspaper over his stomach. She giggled to herself once again and looked over his arm to his side, "Any good news today, Muta?"

"Not anything exciting, no," he sighed and shifted his eyes toward her, "Thanks for the chicken, Chicky. I was starting to feel under rated in the conversation. Your friend needs to learn how to talk to cats."

"When Hiromi opens her mind and learns how to talk with cats will be the same day that pigs fly," Haru stretched her arms over her head and looked back at the bureau doors, "Baron not awake yet?"

"Not that I've seen. He should set a time for our meetings at a time that he is actually awake," Muta grumbled and then looked up from his paper just slightly, "You can check yourself through the window. You don't have to ask me, you know?"

"I find looking through a window kind of invading, don't you?" she asked and saw him raise his eye line in question. She sighed, "I mean, wouldn't you find it kind of weird if someone could look through the window and watch you as you sleep?"

"Although I appreciate your consideration, Haru, if I thought that it would invade my privacy, I wouldn't 'sleep' in a window."

Haru smiled to herself and turned around to find Baron standing in his doorway with cane over one arm and his top hat firmly over his ears.

"Afternoon, Baron," she smiled.

"Good afternoon," he swept his top hat off of his head and bowed deeply to her, always the gentleman- er, gentlecat.

"What no light show this time?" Muta muttered and refolded his paper to another section to read, "You show off."

"You very well know that I do that only for first time guests and Haru is more like a member of the bureau," Baron turned his head from Muta and smiled agian at Haru, "Isn't that right?"

"I would hope so," she giggled and shrugged her bag over one shoulder, "I have some more drawings to show you if you have time, Baron. I need some outside opinion on what I should put to canvas next."

"Of course," he bowed his head and held out an arm for her to take. She looked up at the pedestal in the middle of the courtyard and titled her head a little in confusion. She walked by Toto's perch and didn't even take notice that he wasn't there. Toto usually didn't like to take flight in the middle of the day.

"He found that his favorite patch of mulberries is being uprooted in the next couple of days," Baron answered her unasked question about their feathered friend, "He wanted to get as many of the berries as he could to a safe place before it happened. He will be sleeping all night for it, but he deemed it worth it."

"I would think so," Haru nodded and let Baron guide her into the bureau. She saw him turn toward her and gestured for her coat. She turned around and let him take her coat and bag after she pulled her sketch book out from it, "Thank you."

"Take a seat and make yourself at home," he hung up her jacket and then began to take off his own along with his hat. His cane was hung on the lowest rung and he turned toward the cupboard for his tea, "Milk in your tea?"

"Always," she nodded and flipped a few pages until she uncovered a few of her newer ideas. She found a few pages that were reminders of the Cat Kingdom adventure, even though it was a year prior. It helped her discover who she was and she will never forget it, or the cats that helped her there.

Baron handed her a cup and saucer and she smiled at the scent of it, "How is the tea today?"

"I have no idea, it is my first batch of the day," he explained and took a seat in his favorite chair that was closer to the couch that she sat on than it was when she first met him.

She took a hesitant sip and tilted her head to the side as if trying to figure out what the unique taste was. Baron looked at her to wait for her response.

"It's a little on the bitter side this time around, but the milk covers the flavor well," she said with a nod and he took a sip of his own.

He looked down at her book and saw the layout of the sketch she had the book open to, "You captured the scenery perfectly."

"I wouldn't say that," she shook her head, "The towers are a little off."

"Everything is a little off in that kingdom," Muta said as he now looked over her shoulder at the sketch on the table. There was a large sketch of the cat kingdom and the castle on the horizon, the portal to the human world streaming light down on the top of the tall towers. Muta rounded the couch and sat down next to Haru.

Baron took the sketchbook in his hands and began to thumb through the pictures that have been drawn since the last time she was there.

"How is Yuki and Lune?" Haru asked and looked up at Muta first.

"How should I know?" Muta rolled his eyes, "I don't keep up in worlds other than the world I'm in."

"Hm, some help you are," a voice came from over head. Toto had come through the window and looked down at them. Muta wore a frown and was about to shoot back with something to call Toto, but was cut off when the giant crow greeted the visitor, "Hello Haru, how was your time with Hiromi?"

"It was good," she nodded, "How many mulberries were you able to save?"

"Not enough," he sighed sadly and perched himself on the railing.

"Isn't that always the way?" Baron asked with a soft chuckle and turned another page. He found a portrait of the now King Lune and Queen Yuki. They were nice enough to pose for Haru one day on one of their outings to the human world. It was a good eight months ago now.

"That seems so long ago," Haru sighed and looked at the drawing that Baron was looking at. His green eyes scanned her face and then the picture once again.

"From their last message to me, they seemed to be doing well," Baron said and watched Haru smile, "Yuki just delivered their first kitten. A son. There is a new prince in the Cat Kingdom. He has his mother's coat and his father's eyes, if memory serves me correctly."

"He sounds adorable," Haru smiled and looked up to imagine the little fluff ball.

Baron laughed a little and continued, "The Cat King you remember has slipped further into insanity, I'm afraid, but Lune and Natori have kept a close eye on him so he doesn't come looking for you as a bride once again."

"That's a relief," Haru rolled her eyes with a sigh. She paused a moment as her eyebrows furrowed, "But that's too bad about his sanity. I may not like the guy, but no one deserves to go berserk."

Muta could only laugh at the thought of the former ruler's decreasing sanity.

"They look very good, Haru," Baron nodded and smiled to himself at the last page that was still in a figure drawing. He recognized the figures as a couple dancing in one another's arms and thought to himself, 'So, she still thinks about that dance, does she?'

"Any that you think are good enough to paint next?"

"I think any of them will become a fine painting," he handed her book back to her, "Especially with your expertise and skill with a paint brush."

"Ah, come on. Now you're just flattering me," she blushed a little and smiled shyly.

"Don't I always?" he smirked and locked eyes with her. The two of them kept looking into one another's gaze as Muta and Toto looked at them and then at one another. They laughed softly to themselves.

"So, what is on the agenda today, Baron?" Muta asked to distract Baron and made Haru blush deeper and cough into her hand to hide it.

"Nothing much," Baron said as if nothing had happened between him and Haru, "The last few assignments pretty much figured themselves out. And no one has come to search for us. At least not lately. Isn't that right?"

"No one's come to me," he shrugged in return.

"That's because you're always stuffing your face with some kind of food and too busy to notice," Toto muttered and began to preen himself on the railing above them.

"Don't you start with me, birdbrain," Muta hissed.

"There you go with the 'birdbrain' again," Toto's feathers bristled and he looked away from Muta, "I guess I shouldn't expect much more originality from you, fish breath."

"Take that back!" Muta stood up and began to yell and shake his fist up at Toto. They eventually moved it outside where Haru and Baron could still hear them both going at it.

Haru smiled at the normal interaction between her two friends and finished the rest of her tea, "It seems as if that will never change."

"It would be a strange thing if it did," Baron agreed.

"Thanks for the tea, Baron," Haru picked up her pack by the coat rack, put her book away and swung on her jacket. She saw him stand up with her when she got off the couch and she smiled at his chivalry, "I think I may need to get home with no case to solve."

"You won't 'hang out', as it were?" he asked with a bit of hope, "Maybe a dance lesson?"

She giggled at his try at slang, "I would love to, but I have some thinking to do."

"Trying to find that perfect muse for your next painting?" he guessed.

"Something like that," she nodded, "Rain check on the dance lessons?"

"I shall leave you to your work, then," he bowed his head a little for her leave, "Have a great night and I hope your inspiration comes swiftly."

"Me too," she paused a little and then quickly hugged him around the neck.

His arms wrapped around her tightly and he buried his nose in her hair. She gives him hugs every once in a while, but is sometimes scared that he will feel or even hear the thundering of her heart. He finds the hugs too rare and too far in between for his liking. Even so, he never finds it surprising that she gives him the hugs. She is a very affectionate girl, and she always spoke from the heart.

"I will see you tomorrow?" she asked as she took a step back, his arms still loosely draped around her small waist.

He nodded with a smile, "I will be here, as always."

"Have a goodnight, Baron," she bowed her head and hugged her bag to her chest instead of putting it back over her shoulder once she stepped out from his arms. She turned quickly after biting her lip and headed out of the bureau and toward her home. She passed by the still arguing Muta and Toto as she passed through the courtyard.

"See you tomorrow, boys!" she waved at them.

"Goodbye, Haru," they said in unison and automatically went back into their fight as if they never paused.

Baron leaned against the doorframe of the bureau with a cup of tea in his hand. He watched Haru leave under the archway and regain her real height which again reminded him that she wasn't an inhabitant of the sanctuary. He sighed and took another sip of his warm tea with a hum. He knew that she still thought about that dance they shared in the Cat Kingdom, the dance lessons and that new sketch only proved that point. He was only a little disappointed in himself that he never lets her know that he thinks about it too. A little more than he probably should with her being an old client.

"Quite confusing, isn't it?" he asked himself, "Who knew what a cat doll could feel?"

He quickly took a look back into the bureau where a portrait of the Baroness still graced his walls. He barely remembered her. If it wasn't for the painting he wouldn't remember what color her fur was. He couldn't even remember her voice… did she even have one?

"You're moving too slow, Fatso!" Toto yelled at Muta and dragged Baron from his thoughts. Baron shook his head and decided that some reading was in order. Toto would be busy with Muta for possibly another hour or so. There would be no early evening flight for him tonight. Such a pity. Those always had a way of clearing his head.