HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THE CAT RETURNS 2! WUUUHUUUU! *party poppers and balloons*

It's officially been a year since this fic was made :D How amazeballz is that?!

(*cough* lets ignore the slow progress *cough*)

:3 So, along with this fic's birthday, I went skiing for the first time today and let me tell you... I literally was a penguin. I think I spent most my time on my butt and stomach than I did on the actual skis. Oh well, we learn something new every day!

Though I did progress well for the three hours I have and might be able to go on the big slope next time *girlish squeals* OH! And we're now at 102 reviews :D! THANKS! (insert multiple lessthanthrees)

I didn't upload Sunday because I wanted to upload it today to make is special... ;) Sorry for the wait!

Order up! Chapter incoming!

ooOoo

"Hello, Haru," a familiar, soft voice rang out around her. Haru opened her eyes to look for the source of the voice, but she was only met with darkness. She felt a solid structure beneath her- most likely a chair, given the position she was sitting in.

"Kaoru?" she called out tentatively, her arms reaching out in front of her. She felt blind, and couldn't be entirely sure whether she actually was or not. It felt wrong, and it felt unnerving.

A warm paw encased one of her own and a jolt of emotions spread up her arm. She let out a gasp, but did not restrain from the touch. Instead, she leant forwards, seeking out something, something real.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered to whoever seemed to be in front of her. Another paw made its way up her arm until it was cupping her face, but still she could not see a thing.

"In a sense, yes, you are dreaming," the voice came, closer this time. She swore she could feel a warm breath on her whiskers. "I'm in your mind, and so are you. But in a way you've only had a glimpse at."

Haru raised her own paw to cover the one on her face, frowning slightly. A low chuckle was let out from the invisible being in front of her. Glimpse at? Could he be referring to her dreams?

"Yes, that's right," the voice came encouragingly. "The dreams. The mansion. The door..." she could hear the grin in the voice now, and it made her slightly uneasy. He had just read her thoughts- well, if what he was saying was true, they were indeed inside her mind. Of course he could hear her thoughts.

"Kaoru?" she asked again. This time, there was a pause before she got an answer.

"My name is Kaynen," he said slowly, as if treading on thin ice.

"You... you sound so much like my Kaoru," Haru said with a disappointed sigh.

Another chuckle, if not falteringly so.

"I'm sorry that I am not who you expected, but you've got no choice. I'm here to tell you something very important. I need you to listen very carefully," Kaynen said, the stern tone in his voice showing slightly. Haru raised an eyebrow but only nodded.

"In a few minutes, you're going to wake up," he said. "And when you wake up, I want you to get out of your bed and walk outside to the statue you stood at before. Do you remember?"

Haru thought for a moment, going back to the time she stood in front of the statue of the previous Cat Queen. But, when she tried to look further in to that memory, she was met with an unnatural fuzziness that fogged the images. She caught glimpses of a bush every now and again, but it didn't help.

"Yes, you can't remember that, can you?" Kaynen said thoughtfully. "That was before you woke up with that sigil, isn't it..." His paw wandered down from her face to her collar bone, his padded fingers brushing over it. "It's such a shame something like this has marked you. Though I suppose I wouldn't be here without it."

Kaynen let out a tired sigh, his paw returning to her face. She felt him shift before her, and was frustrated by the remaining lack of sight. She felt his breath on her face now, so they must be close. She pondered why he required to be inches away from her face. Perhaps he was blind too?

"You're as curious as ever, Haru," Kaynen said with a smile. "I am not blind, and nor are you. The newness of this bond, or opening between us is new, so it has its ups and downs. But in a few days, it will be as if we were in the same room."

"Are you the Black Cat?" Haru asked suddenly. She'd been keeping this question at the back of her mind so he would be caught off guard by it. His sudden silence and halting of breathing only proved her point. She allowed herself a small smile and tightened her hold on the paw at her face.

"No," he said firmly. "I... I am –not- the Black Cat. I wouldn't be as reckless as I am if I were."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have any reason, other than the fact there is no proof for either side," she felt him shrug, his arms moving with the gesture slightly. "But right now is not the time for questions. Once you reach the statue, I want you to close your eyes tight and place both your arms out to each side, as if you were flying, alright?"

Frowning, Haru nodded. "May I ask why?"

"You'll see."

"W-wait!"

Gasping for air, Haru sat up in bed. She put a hand to her collar bone, which was burning profusely. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead and she gulped, letting out a few panting breaths. "What... what just happened..." she muttered, her other paw on her forehead. She felt slightly dizzy, but recalled what was asked of her. She knew she probably shouldn't go alone, but she didn't know what side this mysterious cat worked for. It was like the time she met Ashitare in the woods; though he was pretty easy to weasel information out of. Must be one of the many flaws she could point out about him. She held in a smirk, shaking her head.

Dragging her legs off the bed, she slowly stood up. Her first step was wobbly, but with her hand on the bed to steady herself, she regained the common sense of the walking technique and managed to make her way over to the door of the room she was all too familiar with. It seemed that most of her time in this world was spent in either tied up or in a medical ward.

Once again dressed in only the medical attire she was kitted up with, she took careful, quiet steps until she reached the main doors to the back garden. She had no idea where she had gone to reach the statue before, so it was pure luck that she managed to see it at the first turn.

She gazed up at the old Cat Queen in awe, never getting over the magnificent aura of it. Her paw reached up to touch it, but she drew it away suddenly. She shouldn't touch what wasn't hers, and she was sure whichever architect made this would not appreciate her soiling it with her paw.

Letting out a sigh, she stepped back a good few metres. She wasn't sure how far or close to it she had to be, so once again she guessed. Haru glanced about her to make sure that no one was watching, and once the coast was clear, she raised her arms up either side of her.

"No, wait, it was eyes closed then rise..." she corrected herself, dropping her arms to her sides. She closed her eyes shut this time, and then raised her arms.

Nothing happened.

She stood there for a good few minutes, feeling like a complete and utter fool, just standing there like a bird for no reason. She probably looked like she was attempting yoga or something. Her cheeks red and thoroughly frustrated, she prepared to drop her arms again. But just as she was slackening her muscles, her whole body jolted forwards and towards the statue. Her eyes opened wide, the stone getting closer and closer. The momentum kept her going, and she was sure she was going to faceplant in three... two... one...

ooOoo

"Baron!" A gasping King Lune ran up towards Baron, who had been discussing matters with Ashitare and Akihiko. The three looked towards Lune with quizzical expressions.

"What is it, Lune?" Baron asked, worried by his sudden entrance.

"It's Haru... the sigil..." he panted, leaning down slightly. He raised a scroll in his paw and handed it to Baron. "Just... read it."

"What's it about?" Akihiko frowned as Baron took the scroll and began scanning over it. It took moments before Baron's eyes widened in shock, the colour from his face disappearing.

"Baron? What is it?" Ashitare asked, his paw on his shoulder.

"The... Queen..." Baron muttered, clutching the scroll tighter.

"Now you see," Lune said.

"See what?!" Akihiko asked impatiently.

"The Queen – Lune's mother. She disappeared mysteriously years ago, and so the statue of her was made. She was thought to be insane, but that was only due to her endless rants and delusions about some cloaked stranger coming to her in her sleep." Baron narrated, handing the two the scroll. They both read it eagerly, soon coming to realise what it contained.

"This is... This is her diary?"

"Yes," Lune said, having recovered from his lack of breath. "I never knew of it until a few minutes ago. I've had all my scholars searching the libraries, and the information we needed was in my mother's old room all along."

"I don't understand how this has any reference to Haru," Ashitare said, frowning at the writing. "She isn't the Queen- you would assume that it would be Yuki."

"Ah yes, but what you've failed to notice is the fact that Yuki is a cat." Lune said.

Ashitare and Akihiko raised an eyebrow. "Lune, we're all cats."

"Not all of us." Baron said, wiggling his gloved fingers in front of their faces.

"Well, apart from Baron-"

"And Haru," Lune sighed, rolling his eyes at them. "Haru has human blood. So did my mother. Both Haru and my mother share the same fate and consequence."

"Haru was lead here by an 'accident'..." Baron said, beginning to list out the same occurrences. "So was his mother. Haru had so much going on that she forgot about her time here. In fact, I doubt it crossed any of our minds at the time." He finished his sentence guiltily, raising his shoulders. Lune looked to the ground and sighed again.

"We were so caught up with the Black Cat that we completely neglected the fact that if she did not leave in time, she'd permanently become a cat."

There was silence for a moment, with both Baron and Lune avoiding each other's eyes, and Akihiko and Ashitare looking dumbfounded.

"What's done is done," an old voice broke the silence. They all looked to the door to see Sensei standing there. His expression was grim as he studied the others. "And what's happening requires more attention."

ooOoo

"Welcome back," Kaynen said. Haru could see him now. Haru could see him as clear as day.

But the fact that she could see him was not what shocked her the most. It was who he looked like. The person he looked like so much it pained her, yet relieved her so very much. She stumbled forwards, and he caught her in his strong arms.

"K-kaoru..." she stuttered, staring up at him with wide eyes.

He smiled with his oh so familiar smile, warming her instantly. "I'm sorry for deceiving you. My real name is Kaynen."

"Kaynen..." She said quietly. "I think Kaoru suits you much better."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Kaynen sounds so... tough. You're too sweet to be like that," she said, a smile playing at her lips. But when she remembered where they were, the smile was replaced by a frown. "Kaoru, where are we?"

"Where we were before, except this connection is stronger." He said, helping her stand up, though he kept his arms around her. She didn't seem to mind one bit.

"Why is here stronger than where I was before?" Haru asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Because... We're connected through the previously marked Queen." He looked down at her with a testing smile, searching for her reaction.

ooOoo

"Here, look," Sensei said, tapping a part of the statue with his cane. They were standing in front of the statue of the old Queen, staring at it uncertainly.

"She disappeared inside of it?" Baron asked, glancing at the slightly darker area than the rest of the statue that Sensei was gesturing to. It just didn't seem possible.

"Yes. I could hear her panicking, but I'm afraid I didn't reach her fast enough. I'm sorry." Sensei said, gravely upset by his old age and lack of agility and speed. He wasn't like he used to be.

Hiroki and Takashi came around the corner, followed by a few guards. "Ah! They're here," Lune said, striding over to them. "I want guards set all around the gardens, day and night. Set it so that there are watch swaps every three hours so they can rest, but not a single area is to go unwatched for even a millisecond." Lune turned to look up at the statue, a sober expression on his face. "She might come out, she might not. But we need to wait, and we can't miss a thing."

Baron nodded in agreement and perched himself on the floor beneath the statue, face set with determination. He was going to wait until she came back to him, even if it took hours, days, even weeks.

They were so focused on their orders and troubled thoughts that they failed to notice the faint glowing of the eyes of the statue, and the ever so slightly pulsing of a small, almost invisible sigil on its chest.

ooOoo

Tadaa.

This is getting exciting for me, because this is as far as I properly planned for my story :D FREELOADING IT FROM NOW ON!

Jokes, I'm not that careless. I have an idea of how I'm going to set out the next two, but I'm afraid they're one of the few left!

I hope you liked it, please leave a review once you've read it. I appreciate the comments and support!

Ciaoo!