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catsafarithewriter · 9 months

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Day 2: Masquerade

A/N: This is very much in keeping with yesterday's ficlet, except this time it's a variation of Cinderella, centring Haru and Baron, neither of whom are the fairytale's protagonists, but are determined to make the best of it anyway. Enjoy!

When Haru Yoshioka had received the invite to the prince's ball (open to all eligible ladies in the kingdom) she had – if only for a brief moment of indulgence – imagined being swept off her feet by the young royal and into a fairytale romance.

This, of course, hadn't happened.

What had actually taken place was a demure dance with the prince (after waiting an hour in line because – naturally – she wasn't going to attend this ball and not dance with royalty) and then two hours of mingling and dancing with the other attendees.

And the prince had been nice. Polite, in a kind of customer service way. He'd said all the socially-expected comments (how are you finding the ball, how pretty your dress is, what an exquisite mask) and hadn't even winced when Haru had stepped on his foot. It wasn't, she had to admit, the stuff of which fairytales were made.

It was, however, a decent excuse for a good night out and plenty of gawking at the palace's interior. And so she'd browsed through the buffet and chattered with her fellow guests, and was quite content to continue browsing and chattering for a good few hours more, when she spotted him.

It was his stillness which caught her attention first – in a ballroom of swaggering and dancing and general revelry, his quietude was as out of place as a crow among peacocks. And once she had noted him, it became impossible to not, her gaze flickering back to him between dances.

It might have been his stillness which caught her eye, but it was the intricacies of his mask which really cinched it. It was a two-layered creation, with a slim, starlight-blue mask around the eyes, and a larger one fitted about the head to mimic a ginger cat's. It was obviously crafted by some magician, and startlingly lifelike.

It was a mask made to garner attention, and yet its owner favoured the ballroom's edge, shunning the limelight in preference of shadows.

Eventually, Haru took matters – and a buffet plate – into her own hands, and approached.

"You do know you're allowed to eat on duty, right?"

The man started, tearing his attention from the prince and his favoured dance partner. "Pardon?"

Haru raised the plate, piled high with an assortment. "Food," she reiterated. "You haven't moved from this spot for at least the last hour. I don't know what a cat such as yourself might favour," she said with a teasing smile, "so I brought a selection."

The man blinked, and Haru had to stop herself from asking if the mask's eye holes were bespelled too, for even his eyes had an uncanny feline shape to them. "For me?" he asked.

"I figured you might be hungry," Haru replied. From this proximity, she could see that his morning suit was at least a generation out of fashion – his father's, maybe? – albeit carefully cared for, despite the age. It was in stark odds with the obvious money spent on the mask.

She realised her gaze had notably drifted from his, and snapped her eyes up from his suit. "Sorry. The plate was probably presumptious of me, but I didn't want you starving out of some misplaced sense of propriety and – okay – I know some of you here have been hired out to fill up the place. Gotta give the eligible ladies someone to dance with while the prince's dance card is full, and you can't all be nobility."

For a moment, she thought she had accidentally insulted some down-on-his luck earl, but then his evident surprise cleared into curiosity.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, most nobility are either networking" – either with other nobility or the eligible ladies, but Haru didn't add that – "or making a dent of the buffet. Also," she added, and pointed across the room, "I'm fairly certain the local blacksmith doesn't moonlight as a lord. So, fish cracker?"

A ghost of a smile flickered on his feline lips. Uncannily realistic. "Are you offering me one because I'm a cat, or because they genuinely taste good?"

"They're the simplest thing on the buffet and, given the King's penchant for novelty, that makes it one of the safest." Haru rolled a few of the rice buns across the plate. "These seem to be a variety of flavours, so you could try your luck at them instead. The chilli and chocolate one was surprisingly decent."

The man took one of the fish crackers. Haru tried not to stare as she caught a flash of sharp feline teeth, and then again as a fraction of his tension lifted from his shoulders.

She grinned. "See? Food always helps."

The smile she'd seen a shadow of earlier now took a tentative foothold. "You sound like someone else I know."

"Well then, obviously you are surrounded by wise people." Haru felt the sudden urge to tempt that smile out, abruptly aware she hadn't seen a hint of it while she'd watched him from afar. "I understand why you may be keeping to your corner," she added conspiringly. "With a mask as impressive as that, you'd probably be inundated with dance offers."

It was immediately clear it was the wrong thing to say. The blossoming smile froze, the eyes glazing over to hide whatever emotion she'd unknowingly unearthed. "Thank you," he said. "Unfortunately I cannot take credit for my mask. It was... bestowed upon me."

Obviously some history, perhaps even some bad blood, there. Haru's mind skimmed over the possibilities, from patrons to over-ambitious parents, and then decided it wasn't really any of her business. "Even so," she said instead, "you wear it very well."

She tore her gaze from him, not wanting to see the tattered remains of the smile she'd ruined, and instead watched the prince sweep his glamorous partner across the room.

The moment the lady had arrived – late and devastatingly beautiful – the prince had had eyes for no one but her. Who she was was a mystery, for she'd come with no entourage and had entered too late to receive an announcement. The rumours around the ballroom spoke of her carriage being made of pure silver, and the coachman being eerily silent with strange, otherly eyes.

She was the real reason – the nail in the coffin – that Haru had accepted she wasn't going to be having any princely fairytale ending. Haru wasn't even disappointed; at least she was losing out to someone who looked like she'd walked straight out of a storybook.

The cat-masked man must have followed her gaze, and read her face accordingly, for he said, "You don't seem particularly heartbroken by the prince's besottedness."

Haru snorted. "You say that as if the idea of my attracting his attention was anything less than absurd to begin with." She swayed her skirts, highlighting the simplicity of her dress – lovingly tailored by her mother, but still notably second-hand. "The invite may only have specified eligibility, but I think we all knew that wealth was going to skew the scales in the end." She shrugged. "So I'm here for a good time, not a life-changing one."

The man looked on her with a shadow of that sadness she'd glimpsed before approaching him. "There are some things more valuable than wealth."

"I think if you're the prince," Haru pointed out, "you have enough choice to pick someone with wealth and the rest of it. I mean, look at her." And she gestured to the prince's favoured dance partner, whom he hadn't left since her belated entrance. "She's probably a princess, with that dress and that mask, and those shoes..." Haru had only seen the latter momentarily, but she could have sworn they were made of glass.

"Do you wish you were in her place?" he asked. His voice was gentle. Sad, in a strange sort of way.

"Only if I don't think about it too hard," Haru answered honestly. "I mean, it'd be nice not to have to worry about making ends meet, but running a kingdom? Dealing with politicians? Having to pretend to the king that, yes, I love the taste of chilli and chocolate in my rice cakes?" Her last remark teased the beginnings of a smile from the man. "I think I'll stick to the life of seamstress, thank you very much."

"A very sensible decision."

"I do have them sometimes." Emboldened by that returning smile, Haru set the buffet plate to one side and offered him a hand. "Would asking you to dance be another?"

He hesitated. "I... shouldn't."

"Oh." Haru withdrew her hand, her cheeks heating up. "Probably a wise choice. I think the prince is still limping from the toes I trod on during our dance–"

"I would love to dance with you," he said, and he sounded heartbreakingly sincere in such a way that Haru believed him, "but I can't."

"If this is because you're a terrible dancer, then let me assure you we will be perfectly matched," Haru said. She watched his gaze – those uncanny feline eyes – flicker to the dais, to where the prince danced and the king watched, and she couldn't read the expression there.

"I can't dance with you tonight," he said softly. "By rights, I shouldn't even be here. But... if things were different..."

A clock struck midnight, and the gentle waltz music was upturned by a rumble of scandalised muttering and the tap-tap-tap of glass slippers racing across the ballroom floor. Haru spun in time to see the prince's partner fleeing for the grand doors, her flight set to the chiming of the midnight clock.

Haru looked back to her companion – but the cat-faced man had gone. The only hint that she hadn't imagined him was the swaying curtains, rustling in a breeze that didn't exist.

Now, Haru had done some stupid things in her time (including that time she'd nearly been flattened by a carriage while rescuing a cat) but clambering out of the palace ballroom windows after a mysterious (possibly-not-even-invited) cat-masked stranger on the premise of a half-decent conversation and some shared fish crackers, was possibly taking the cake.

This only occurred to her as her feet landed on the palace lawn. About ten seconds too late.

She saw movement towards the palace gates and – committed to this stupid decision – ran after the shadow. She'd just realised she was chasing after the prince's dance partner instead her previous companion when her right foot landed on something sharp – and breakable.

Something glass.

She raised her foot and – whatever it had been before – saw only shards of glass now. The sole of her right shoe was shredded, and all she could do was kick the shoe off before the glass could embed into it any further.

Behind her, there came a cacophony, and Haru slipped behind some bushes before the guards could spot her. They clattered down from the palace and, upon admitting defeat in pursuing the mystery woman, gathered on the other side of the bush. Haru crouched down as far as she dared without risking ruin to her lovely, second-hand dress. She could hear their muttering, unease trickling through them, which only quietened when another pair of footsteps joined them.

"Your Highness," stuttered a guard. "The lady has vanished into the night – there's been no sign of her carriage or her past the gate – it's like she disappeared into thin air!"

"She's gone?" the prince asked.

"Yes – the only thing she left behind was this slipper."

Haru glanced through the bush to see the guard hold up her shoe, its white outer layer now dirt-flecked from her detour across the lawn.

There was no way this could end well.

#tcr birthday bash 2023 #tcr birthday bash #day 2 masquerade #cat writes #the cat returns #i have. more of this plot figured out than I should for a short one shot #if anyone is curious I had half an idea that baron fills the narrative role of the fairy godmother here #but also has his own curse that possibly the king set on him #hence why he's shying from the limelight

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ro-visiting-the-bureau · 11 months

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TCR Birthday Bash 2023 Prompts!

The votes are in, here is the official TCR Birthday Bash prompt list!

The Cat Returns Birthday Bash will be running from July 16th to July 22nd (7/16-7/22), to celebrate the anniversary of The Cat Returns. The prompts for this year’s bash are:

Sun 16th - Musical/Music

Mon 17th - Masquerade

Tues 18th - Revenge

Wed 19th - Secret Heritage

Thurs 20th - Happy Birthday/Free Day

Fri 21st - Beach Episode

Sat 22nd - Sci-Fi

Thank you to everyone who voted, and I cannot wait to see all of the awesome prompts we have this year!

#tcr birthday bash #tcr birthday bash 2023 #the cat returns #studio ghibli #Baron Humbert von Gikkingen #Haru Yoshioka #Muta #Renaldo Moon #toto #prince lune #yuki #the cat king #natori #natoru

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lin-iva · 9 months

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TCR Birthday Bash 2023 Day 5: Free Day (Coraline AU)

As you all can see, i love coraline. So here's a Buttom Eyes AU.

One day, Haru found a doll at her room that looks just like her. Ever since she found the doll, every night when she dreams she found herself in an odd world where everyone has buttons for eyes.

A few days later the Bureau found that Haru has gone missing. She has told them about her weird dreams post finding the doll unfortunately the Bureau members seems to only brush it off. And now that Haru is gone (and upon searching they've learned the scary truth abouth thrdoll) they must find her quickly before she got trapped in the weird world forever.

In a way they finally got into said world, sadly upon arriving they got trapped in a snowglobe instead and now is up to Haru to find a way to save them.

Enjoy! (Sorry if i type some words wrong)

#coraline au #since coraline pops up to my fyp #why dont i dedicade the free day to coraline au #myart #dani #baron humbert von gikkingen #the cat returns #haru yoshioka #neko no ongaeshi #studio ghibli #tcr birthday bash 2023 #toto #muta #the other bureau members are basically thr same #the obly difference is that the other baron is less dramatic-y #and other toto and other muta doesn't argue much

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cactusnoir · 1 year

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Inspired by everyone who writes The Cat Beauro (Inc. Haru) getting up to hijinks: Thanks for all the fic guys, it never gets old!

#The cat returns #The cat beauro #AMV #Toto needs more screentime!#This was going to be for TCR birthday bash but I overran #a lot #Youtube

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ploffskinpluffskin · 9 months

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i didn't manage Anything for the birthday bash and i'm still sad about it but the one (1) idea i did have sorta fizzled out on me near the beginning of this month orz

but! i thought if nothing else i could offer a small post rambling about it. it was for the 'beach episode' prompt but i was Smudging that prompt just a little in order to encompass a fic about the doomed trip to Nagano i once had natori mention briefly on the ask blog

in his words, exactly, "“...Sire, I distinctly recall that the last time we took the court to Nagano, the prince nearly drowned, four servants disappeared, and you yourself ended the trip six days prematurely by loudly proclaiming that no respectable cat would ever willingly choose to immerse themselves in even the shallowest hot spring available.”

my idea was to write that Adventure but from the POV of baby lune, bc i had leave us your stardust on my mind and it'd been a while since i'd gotten the chance to write about the past cat kingdom before the present day

and here is the Teeny Amount i did manage orz i'll probably keep this on the back burner still bc the idea still amuses me, but for now it's kinda just sitting in limbo

“What does Jigokudani mean, Natori?”

“I believe it translates to ‘Hell’s Valley’, my prince.”

A long pause, long enough to have Natori tearing his gaze away from his ledger and regarding the young prince bounding along beside him with a mute concern.

“...You said the H-word,” Lune eventually explains, timidly staring up at him as if he’d shouted it to the heavens after kicking over a trashbin.

“It’s not a swear in this context, Lune,” Natori starts absently, glancing back to the ledger to make a single mark before his mildly sharp gaze rests once more on his companion. “I must not catch you using context as an excuse in order to utilize filthy language, now. I do hope I mustn’t specify that.”

“Of course not, Natori,” Lune is quick to agree, entwining his paws behind his back and rather conspicuously pointing his little feet inwards to face each other, a gesture Natori is all too familiar with as an attempt to appear even more endearing. “You can trust me.”

Then, seemingly before Natori can no doubt reiterate his point, Lune hurries on, “And there are real snow monkeys there?”

“Yes,” Natori answers after a fleeting pause, seeming to find Lune’s distraction agreeable. It’s the second time the young prince has asked that particular question; no one would ever mistake him for covert. “They are a common sight in and amongst the onsen.”

“And onsen are— um, the baths.”

“Correct.”

“Do you think they’ll mind having to share with all of us?” Now, this question seems more genuine.

Natori opens his mouth, closes it, and then clears his throat, not responding until he has lifted his chin well into the air and closed his eyes. “Don’t concern yourself with that, my prince, there have been arrangements made.”

Then, under his breath, “...I can not imagine they would. They have the run of the place every other day of the year.”

#tcr birthday bash 2023 #no cat worth his salt #yes that is the name i gave it don't mind me ghfhieo

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mashasxart · 2 years

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considering my love of drawing dresses, especially on fluffy characters, it would have been surprising if i didn’t manage at least something for this one so have two different kinds of dresses

i drew natori first but it felt kind of awkward just having one picture of a minor character in a dress so i added haru. hers is based on a picture of a real top i have squirreled away in a wishlist somewhere laughs also apologies but i just could not figure out her other foot hhh

sorry for the Bad Scans, i’m still out a scanner and using a phone app lies down

#the cat returns #tcr birthday bash 2022 #i think that's the tag #i thought about just drawing a bunch of cats in dresses but i think just one is probably silly enough fjjfie

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typewriterghcst · 4 years

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Title: Leave Us Your Stardust Rating: G like all my other fics l m ao Characters: Natoru, babby Lune, Natori. Mentions of other characters. Words: 2730-ish Summary: The World can be quite an intimidating, tough place for a seven-year-old, particularly after the sun goes down for the first time. Written for the 2020 TCR Birthday Bash, in particular the ‘Ghosts’ prompt. Notes: This is chock full of headcanons regarding these three, particularly during Lune’s childhood, so uh. Hopefully someone else finds this interesting or amusing like I do orz I will admit I’m hesitant on Natoru’s portrayal here because I’m not sure how most people interpret her (or him, if you prefer the dub, aha). I haven’t gotten the chance to write her that often on my RP blog, so this kinda feels to me like jumping headfirst into a shallow pool

&&&

Natoru plays a lot of roles. She is at once first-line defense and confidante, exorcist and companion. She weaves wild stories and tall tales while battling and eradicating the monsters that manage to sneak out of their imaginary environments to threaten her little ward’s security. She takes care of spiders and hornets. Checks the closet for less rational pests. Peers under the bed each night to shoo out the monsters, too.

It’s because of this, she thinks to herself later once her wits finally arrive, that she ends up being very gently nudged awake by a visibly shaken charcoal-colored kitten in the middle of the night during an extended visit to a neighboring but distant kingdom (the queen’s original home, in fact, a detail that still brings Natoru no small amount of confusion).

“...Natoru..?” Lune sounds hopeful but timid.

“Ehhh.” It’s vaguely questioning, she rationalizes, if a little muffled. She hasn’t quite found the motivation to lift her face from her sleepy haze just yet.

“Can I… can I sleep in here?”

“Why do y’ wanna sleep in ‘ere..?”

Lune fidgets, plays with the edges of his sleeves. “...be… because there’s a ghost in my room.”

Oh. It takes at least a solid minute for that childish (albeit straightforward, she’ll give him that) reasoning to sink in, but once it does, Natoru realizes she’s not getting off the hook that easily. Finally resigning herself to being awake and active again, she hauls herself up from her face-down, torpid position and searches for Lune in the darkness, rubbing at her eyes sleepily.

“Should I go throw him out?”

It takes Lune some time to answer, and when he does, he stares down at his feet as he speaks. “...N-No. I’d rather just stay in here.”

“Eh? How come?”

“...b-because… um. What if… what if the ghosts here are stronger than the ones at home?”

“There are no ghosts stronger than me,” Natoru brags. What a more sweet-natured, maternal cat might have claimed only in the interest of reassuring Lune, she seems to wholly believe, and not for the first time it becomes obvious just why the kitten has taken such a shine to her.

“Really..? How do you know?”

Natoru doesn’t falter, patting her chest with one paw and planting the other on her hip.

"Because I'm the strongest," she answers matter-of-factly.

Lune, still standing at the edge of the bed she'd chosen (though now noticeably with a straighter posture than before), seems to spend some time thinking that over. Finally, hesitantly, he says, “But this isn’t home. What if the ghosts here are stronger than the ones you know? What if the dark makes them stronger?”

Natoru pauses thoughtfully, but ultimately shakes her head. “Nah. I’ve been all over, Lune. And I was born in the human world-- it gets dark there, too. Still no match for me~” She gives him a sunny smile, patently cute as it always is because of her soft, chubby face, but the undercurrent of chaos can not be denied.

What had been a gradual and noticeable decrease in his fear appears to reach a plateau; Lune is convinced, his tail and ears perking back up.

“I’m so grateful! You’re super cool, Natoru!”

“Yep,” Natoru agrees as she hops off her bed to join him on their trek back to his room.

&&&

Lune begins to trail behind her the closer to his guest room they approach, but she neglects to comment on it. Instead, she tosses the beaded curtain in the doorway aside like a particularly bothersome obstacle, and strolls inside. In stark contrast, Lune tiptoes in behind her, looking furtively from one corner of the room to the next as if he expects to be ambushed. (Well, perhaps he does.)

“Okay, Ghost, you had your fun!” Natoru starts as boldly as she can, paws on her hips. “How’s that one song go? You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here! It’s bedtime for Lune.” Then, a little quieter but just as determined, and in a smug tone that shows she absolutely relishes saying it, “And if you don’t listen, then I’m gonna kick you in the head.”

To Lune, she adds, “That’s another great song. Recommend it.”

“It’s about kicking monsters in the head..?”

“Yeah,” Natoru says with a cheerful, heedless shrug.

The two of them are met with a stifling silence afterwards, as Natoru expected, but still she waits for Lune to give his approval. Creeping out from behind her, he pads softly further into the room, one, two steps at a time, again scrutinizing the corners. In the end, he doesn’t turn directly to face her, most likely mindful of the darkened void beneath the bed behind him, but he does look back to her.

“...will you check the bed and closet too..?”

“Of course.”

&&&

It’s after he’s tucked back into his own bed that Lune asks, “It gets dark in the human world?”

“Every night.”

“How long does a night last?”

Natoru pauses there.

“...I don’t remember.” She does remember it feeling quite long sometimes, though. It doesn’t seem pertinent to tell Lune. “Time feels different in the human world.”

“How so?”

Again, she pauses, this time in thought more so than in uncharacteristic caution.

The truth is, she thinks, maybe it’s not that time feels different in the human world, but simply that she had once been different. A long time ago, before she came to the Cat Kingdom. Those memories are odd— they don’t fit like they should. She thinks sometimes it may be akin to trying to play one of Natori’s beloved records in a CD player.

“It’s different because you can tell time has passed just by looking around at the sky and the ground, but it doesn’t actually feel like time has passed. It’s disorienting.”

“The ground changes, too?”

“Yeah!” She chirps. “Sometimes it snows, or it rains. Then you get mud. That stuff’s tons of fun.”

“I’ve seen pictures of it,” Lune starts thoughtfully. “It looks messy.”

“Mm. Natori would have a fit if you discovered how fun it is, too.”

“Maybe I’ll get to play with it, too, then. Someday.”

“Probably! You’ll have your own adventures in the human world, eventually.”

“I hope so,” Lune starts. “It sounds like such a funny place.”

Whatever Natoru might have planned to say to that, no doubt to agree, to tell him of the other oddities abound in the human world, it’s lost in obscurity, as, of all cats, Natori seems to see fit to enter at that time, peeking in through the beaded doorway with a look of subdued disapproval. In some distant part of her brain, the part that’s always faintly amused at her coworker’s finicky quirks, Natoru briefly entertains the idea that perhaps he’d been supernaturally summoned by the talk of mud.

“What on earth are the two of you doing awake at this hour..?”

Natoru answers easily enough, tone blithe as ever. “Don’t look at me, Lune’s the one who dragged me out of bed ‘cause of a ghost.”

Judging from Lune’s offended expression in return, he’s not at all appreciative of his idol throwing him under the bus. Natori, also, regards her with a disapproving frown, paws settling at his hips. To herself, Natoru thinks his current countenance lines up pretty solidly with that of the quintessential, matronly governess.

“Natoru, don’t go blaming your foible on the child.”

“But he did wake me up because of a ghost,” Natoru protests.

It’s at this exchange that Lune’s indignation seems to fade, so that he appears relatively chastened, shamed. “...I’m sorry, Natori, I did wake her up for that.”

Natori seems to… deflate, almost, padding to Lune’s bedside with a sigh. “It’s nothing that warrants an apology, my prince. You’re in no trouble.” Then, while busily straightening the crocheted blanket atop the comforter, “...another ghost, then..?”

Lune’s embarrassed silence says it all, he supposes. So it appears then that Natori decides to move past it without comment in response. A phase, he tells himself, brought about by recent stressors, and one that will fade as they do.

“Well. It is quite late, and there’s an early morning ahead of us all. We should all be more rested, you know. This isn’t the night for tall tales.”

“Hey, speaking of, how come you’re awake, Natori?” Natoru starts shrewdly.

An inquiry the grey cat was clearly not prepared for, as his first response to it is to open his mouth to voice his answer… only to close it again with a light snap once he realizes either he has no suitable excuse or that that suitable excuse is tremendously weak in theory.

“...It’s not important,” he eventually settles on, formal, demure. Leaving precious little room for followup clarifications, though he must know by now that such a thing will not stop Natoru.

“Natori, have you ever been to the human world?” Lune asks.

“Yes, occasionally,” Natori replies, head canted just slightly in curiosity at where Lune’s evident investigation is going.

“Do you have a favorite thing about it?”

“A favorite thing? Well, let me think…”

After a moment, all too aware of Lune’s expectant gaze on him and doing his best to ignore Natoru’s amused, knowing stare (yes, Natoru, he realizes he’s being massively hypocritical right now), Natori seems to decide on, “I suppose I’d say it’s probably the scenery— er, the variety in it, in particular.”

Lune nods excitedly. “The variety! That intrigues me so much, Natori. I’ve seen the pictures of the forests and mountains and the oceans— they’re all so huge, Natori, aren’t they? I can’t imagine how big the human world must be to have multiple oceans in it..!”

“I do imagine it must be hard for you,” Natori agrees indulgently with a laugh. Then, a touch diffidently, “...having seen but a fraction of it myself, I must admit it’s rather difficult for me, as well, at times.” His attention wanders to Natoru, who is still lounging propped up on her paws on the end of Lune’s bed like a proper house cat. She wears a thoughtful, somewhat faraway expression, and he wonders what it is she’s thinking of. But, unobtrusive and respectful as ever, Natori doesn’t pry. Instead, he asks, “Did you shoo out the ghost, then?”

Natoru snaps out of her apparent reverie, nodding a time or two and waving her paw in disregard. “Oh, yeah, he’s toast.” And to Lune, “I scared him off, didn’t I?”

“Yup! You said you’d kick him in the head if he came back.”

Ah, that earns her another long-suffering look from Natori, though he doesn’t voice his disapproval this time. Natoru just gives him another of her patented sunny smiles.

“...Well,” Natori starts readily. “If that’s the case, I think that’s enough ill-timed chatter to last us the night. Morning will arrive before you know it, and I’ll not oblige any requests to sleep in.” Spoken while gently tugging the comforter up over Lune’s shoulders, now that the crocheted blanket has been righted.

“Can I ask one last question, Natori?”

“Yes,” Natori answers primly, somewhat absently, if his concentration on Lune’s already straightened bedcovers is anything to go by.

“It’s about the human world again.” And there Lune hesitates, at least until Natori gives another acknowledging noise. “I keep reading about... how big the human world is, and you and Natoru say it is, too. And— and all the stuff that’s in it, things you can’t see here. Do you think… I mean, because it’s so… There’s so much in it, so do you think… someone could go there, but eventually run out of things to see?”

His voice has lowered to be so soft his two companions nearly miss his question in its entirety, and it along with his insistence on keeping his gaze glued to some indeterminate spot to his side tells them both this line of questioning is not just a child’s rambling, all-encompassing curiosity. Because of this, it seems the two of them struggle for an answer for some time— one that must be reassuring and optimistic, but also can not conclusively discuss the issue. It hasn’t been named yet; it has yet to be spoken aloud to Lune, and it is not the place of the royal advisor nor their vaguely-defined assistant to do so.

Paws lingering over the plush comforter where he’s folded it over Lune’s shoulders, Natori finally replies, timidly, “...Anything is possible.”

“Sure, there’s a lot to see. But nothing beats good old home,” is Natoru’s helpful addition. “A cat’s bound to get homesick at some point.”

Lune doesn’t respond for a few long minutes, but neither Natori nor Natoru move to prompt or hurry him, even when the silence begins to feel acutely oppressive, and Natoru almost wishes a real ghost would break the tension. Eventually, however, Lune gives a very small sigh, and his attention wanders from his earlier inconsequential spot to Natori’s face. It’s not quite his more usual bright and inquisitive demeanor, but it’s at least a step away from the nervous reserve he’d been exhibiting just moments before.

“...I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Yes. It’s certainly a fascinating place, but it’s no Cat Kingdom. The comforts of familiarity compel all of us to look homeward at least occasionally.”

Lune seems to think that over for a moment, glancing down to the hem of the blanket covering him once (Natoru thinks he must be imagining his own bed back at home, and his colorful bedroom, eternally bathed in sunlight). This time, when he looks to the two of them, it’s with a decidedly more self-assured air.

“Okay! So I’ll stay as familiar as I possibly can!”

Natoru laughs— she can’t help it. It’s such an endearingly straightforward conclusion to come to. Natori, however… she notices the way his expression tenses, the conflicted, nervous debate he must be waging on the inside. Lune has taken away the wrong message from all this, and it should be addressed and amended, but... it’s only getting later, and Natori had entered the conversation with a chiding lecture about the late hour. He looks tired, too, Natoru notes to herself, probably a crucial trigger for his indecisiveness.

“You got it, Lune,” she decides to chime in, pushing herself up onto her haunches now. “But I think it’s time to stick a fork in this one, because I’m ready to go back to dreamland.”

Lune’s eyes light up further. “Oh! Maybe I’ll dream of the human world.”

“Maybe!”

Natori seems to just accept this abrupt left turn in the conversation in his usual yielding way, but he does see fit to add, in a soft tone that comes perhaps dangerously close to pleading, “...Lune… it’s all well and good to desire to remain... recognizable, but…”

There he dithers for some time, at a loss for what he wants to say or how to say it, most likely, as he utters numerous false starts before finally appearing to give up. Instead, lips straightening to a thin line, he fixes the kitten with a sort of wistfully helpless smile, and gives a comically uncharacteristic shrug.

“...Well. It’s late, as we’ve all pointed out. Goodnight, my prince. Now that your room has been cleared of its phantoms, please don’t dawdle on your way back to the Land of Nod. The sun will rise before you know it.”

“I won’t, Natori.”

Natori inclines his head once in wordless approval as he turns to leave, gaze also lingering meaningfully on Natoru (one she again only returns a blithe smile to), before he leaves in much the same natural way he’d first arrived. Natoru takes the opportunity to hop off Lune’s bed and dust herself off, though even her own reasoning for doing so escapes her. Lune, meanwhile, appears somewhat thoughtful, if distantly uncertain.

“Is it really so close to morning? I’m sorry for waking you, a-and for keeping you up all this time.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ll let you in on a secret, actually—” Here she glances behind her to confirm that Natori has, indeed, left, before continuing in a hushed but shrewdly amused manner, “I know Natori said he wouldn’t let us sleep in, but just keep in mind that what your dad says goes, and he hasn’t seen a morning in years.”

And so it was that Natoru gained another point from the child prince to set in her ‘cool’ pile.

#the cat returns #tcr birthday bash #i'm like two months too late but g o d i finally finished one #throws confetti #i originally had a much different idea for this fic thinking emoji #it would have been quite a bit longer #and i still like the idea so i may just Give In and write a whole other fic with this same basic premise but with a different ending and #Point #lmao

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sindysugar · 4 years

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Bittersweet Cinnamon - Fanfiction One-Shot

The Cat Returns Birthday Bash - Prompt - This is so late I literally forgot the prompt this was originally for much less which Bash this was for... oh well.

Pairing(s): None

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Horror

Words: 14,202

Rating: T

Summary: Haru didn't know what to expect when she moved into her family's old home by herself. She had hoped for some peace from recent events. The last thing Haru expected was to be revisited by two familiar cats she thought she long forgotten. One-Shot AU

(Link to fanfic)

#The Cat Returns #TCR Birthday Bash #my fanfiction #prompt #i'm so late #lmao #but better late than never?#this was unintentionally uploaded today of all days #this oneshot has actually been rotting in my docs for a while #but I told myself I wouldn't upload it until I updated my crossover which I did recently #and it just so happened it was the month of October so I figured #why not?#and uploaded it today #it fits #xD #Neko No Ongaeshi #Studio Ghibli #AU

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chez-pezeater · 5 years

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TCR Birthday Bash 2019: Day 4- Prank War

Note: All the characters are humans in this one. Poor Baron, he has his revenge. ^_^

- - - - - - - - - -

‘That’s it. That is it! That is the final straw!’ Baron thought to himself as he stormed out of the house to the grocery store. ‘I have had it with their ridiculous antics and this confounded prank war!’

If it wasn’t Muta taking advantage of Toto’s birdlike vision by putting cling wrap across doorways, it was Toto removing most of the centers of Muta’s Oreo's and replacing it with toothpaste.

If Toto wasn’t taping Party Poppers to the inside of the mail box knowing Muta was waiting for something in the mail, it was Muta using duck tape on the bathroom door after making a dinner he knew send Toto running to the loo.

On and on and on for the past two weeks this had been going on. With the pranks escalating and becoming even more obnoxious by the day.

Until it finally happened, Baron getting mixed up in their little spat. And it was over something he could not forgive, he could not forget, and could not- no would not let go.

Someone messed with his tea.

Specifically, someone filled one of his specially crafted tea bags and refilled it with instant gravy.

No one touches his tea.

No. One.

When Toto and Muta returned home, they found a note on the front door.

‘Consider this a warning.

I suggest you call a truce before I have to do much worse.

-B’

They exchanged worried looks before unlocking the door and entering the house. The entire living room was covered in tin foil. Everything! From TV to the couch with each cushion individually wrapped. Every CD, DVD, game case and console was wrapped. It even appeared to spread to the rest of the house, including the bathroom!

Toto and Muta looked at one another and nodded in agreement. They maaaaaay have taken their prank war a liiiitle too far.

#TCR #the cat returns #fanfic #tcr birthday bash #tcr birthday bash 2019 #the cat returns fanfics #chezpez writes

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tcrmommabear · 9 months

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TCR B-Day Bash Day #1: Music

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN, THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOOOWWWNNNN

No I will not speak about why I’ve been gone so long, or why this is the first thing I come back with outside of memes. I hope this prompts a giggle folks, as that was the whole basis I had for writing this as fast as I could.

@catsafarithewriter when you awaken my love, I hope this meets all your dreams and expectations

***

Someone was playing the piano.

And while beautiful, and normally not a problem, it was three in the morning on a Tuesday night. Still, Haru wasn’t one to judge a person’s coping mechanism, considering she was also awake and frantically baking out some complicated feelings herself. It wasn’t every day that a three year relationship ended.

She’d been hoping by the third batch of cookies, she’d be feeling a little more stable, but that was two more cookie dozens, an apple strudel, and a batch of blueberry muffins ago. She’d at least stopped crying, and Hiromi had stopped messaging at midnight when all Haru sent back was a picture of the messy kitchen and the fourth batch of cookies still being mixed.

She had thought her and Machida were doing better. At least “talk out our feelings before you storm off into the night” better. But apparently better really meant “I recognize we’re both feeling awful in this relationship and I think I need some space” and with that said, Machida disappeared into the night, and wasn’t answering any texts or calls.

The piano was still going, as she nibbled on a muffin on the kitchen floor, doodling mustaches on pictures of Machida. She had recognized brief scraps of songs here and there, but nothing she paid much attention too. She felt a small amount of camaraderie with the late night piano player, both causing trouble for their unfortunate neighbors. Haru at least had some bribes to get out of trouble.

The music lulled for a second, as it always did, before the next song began.

A familiar, soft note played out.

Haru dropped the muffin she was eating, bolting out her front door, down the hall, scrambling up the stairs, and to the apartment above hers.

She didn’t have time to knock, the piano player’s front door flying open as she raced down the hall. She managed to think a brief, “Oh shoot, he’s cute”, before her feet slipped. She rammed into him, both sprawling on the floor of his apartment.

“Are you alright-?!”

“Oh my god, I am so sorry-!”

They both paused in sitting up, tangled together for a moment as their eyes met. Haru recognized him, briefly, having seen him around the building a few times. She’d never been able to get a good look of him up close, but had known in an offhanded way he was polite and attractive. And on the verge of a likely breakup, it was a dangerous thing to fully experience now.

His eyes were very green.

He clears his throat, resting a hand on Haru’s shoulder and meeting her eyes with those very green ones. Her heart flutters, but just barely catches the dishevelled look to him, to the faint tear tracks on his cheeks.

“I’m so deeply sorry, are you alright Miss?” he asked, reaching to check her over.

She releases a shuddering breath, and scoots away from him. She needs air, and space, and maybe not to have a traitorous, broken heart.

“I’m fine! Please, my fault for going high speed,” she chuckles. She pats his shoulder, lingering a moment longer than she should.

He seems to appreciate the gesture, his own hand coming up to cover hers and lighting a fire from her fingers to her heart. She sees the extent of how rough he is, the misbuttoned sleeping shirt, the bloodshot eyes, and the (obvious) lack of sleep.

“Um,” she begins, unable to look away, “why uh… Why “Welcome to the Black Parade” this late at night?”

He snorts, “Is that what upset you?”

“Well, no, I didn’t care, I just recognized the song and know the usual, emo context.”

He snorts again, shaking his head, before releasing her hand. She doesn’t have long to mourn the loss, because he’s standing and offering it to her again, helping her stand. She risks a glance around the apartment, but finds nothing too interesting besides the piano just barely in sight around the corner.

“I suppose I was grappling with some difficult feelings tonight. I just started playing, and it wasn’t until I heard you running that I realized how late it was,” he says. He turns towards her, a sheepish smile in place. She likes his smile, she realizes.

Her heart had done a painful squeeze at the mention of difficult feelings, and she reaches out to touch his hand. It’s forward, and odd of her, but no good decisions were made after a night of breakups and baking. He doesn’t seem to mind, after all, and Haru takes that in stride.

“I know a thing or two about “difficult feelings” myself. Tonights been… Awful, and all I’ve done is cry and bake. Wish I had some piano skills to help with my feelings.”

He smiles again, putting a hand on Haru’s shoulder. She returns his earlier gesture, covering his hand with her own. They smile at each other, camaraderie in late night disappointments.

“My name is Haru, by the way. I live in the unit below you, and I have about 50 cookies I need help with. Would you like to join me?”

Her neighbor gives a big smile, bringing her hand up as he bows towards it.

“My friends call me Baron, as we are sure to be after tonight. As for those cookies, I’d be more than happy to help.”

Haru leads him down the stairs to her own apartment, and the pair sit together on her kitchen floor, munching away. It’s not until they’ve torn through a dozen between them, that Haru finally thinks to ask-

“What were you playing before Black Parade? Who broke your heart that badly?”

“Ah, Broadway. I was playing some songs from Phantom of the Opera,” he says into another cookie.

“It’s not everyday the longest running show ends, and it was enough to move me to tears.”

Haru throws a cookie at him before she can stop herself.

#the cat returns #tcr birthday bash #tcr birthday bash 2023 #tcrmommabearwrites #tcrmommabear #tcrmommabear post #it felt so good to write this and have some little giggles #its definitely obvious im out of practice writing this pair #but i wanted to write before i stopped myself and felt ashamed at the effort #if anyone loves this then youll make me so happy #but im not gonna stall out getting this into the world any longer!!#happy bday tcr i hope i can write more for you!!#no specific au #tcr modern au

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catsafarithewriter · 9 months

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Day 4: Secret Heritage

A/N: Day 4, secret heritage! This is based loosely on the concept of the Princess Diaries, an AU that has somehow never made an appearance (afaik) despite Haru’s VA being the star of the movie.

There should be, Haru felt, a limit on the number of shocks one person should be expected to endure in a day.

For instance, discovering that one is the heir apparent to a crown would - and should, frankly - be quite enough for one afternoon, but Haru had also been enlightened to the fact that her waiting throne not only oversaw the Cat Kingdom, and also that it demanded marriage to a suitable spouse.

This was why she was hiding in the second-best pantry, squished between a bag of sugar and several boxes of canned tuna.

This kind of nonsense, Haru thought stubbornly, should happen to klutzy schoolgirls and chosen ones, not debt-laden librarians in their mid-twenties.

The pantry door opened and a face appeared. It was, Haru supposed, not a bad face as feline features went, with soft ginger fur and bright green eyes, but she’d seen far too many Cats in the last few hours to be anything but decidedly biased against them. “Excuse me,” the Cat said, in polite but bemused tones, “but you seem to be occupying the space where the tea should be.”

A noise rattled from the kitchen beyond and, spurred on by the thought of her newly-found uncle pushing newly-found potential suitors her way, she grabbed the owner of the face and dragged the rest of him into the pantry. It was only as the door slammed shut behind them, dropping them into squalid darkness, that she realised she’d instinctively clamped a hand over his mouth, and that aforementioned mouth was nearly a foot above hers.

The Cat, in retaliation, merely stood there, making no attempt to escape as feet thundered beyond the door.

When the noise passed, Haru sheepishly lowered her hand.

“Not fond of tea, I take it,” said the Cat, perplexingly cheerfully.

“Sorry,” Haru whispered.

“No, no, it’s my fault. I should have knocked before coming barging in,” he said. “How unforgivably rude of me.”

Haru’s gaze flickered over her accidental captive and, as her eyes adapted, noted - alongside his prim and proper speech - the grey morning suit and top hat marking him as one of the nobility, or at least someone who liked to think themselves as such, and the abrupt contrast it struck with their current surroundings.

“Who are you?”

The Cat swept his top hat off with as much theatrics as the cramped space would allow. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, but my friends call me Baron. And you must be the elusive princess whose absence is causing uproar in the rest of the palace. What is a princess doing in the second-best pantry?”

“What’s a baron doing looking in a second-best pantry?” Haru shot back.

“Trying to make tea. And you?”

“Trying not to get married.”

Baron nodded. “An endeavour I understand all too well. How is it working out for you?”

“Fantastic, until about thirty seconds ago.”

"My apologies.” The Cat cast a curious look over her, polite but questioning. “Is it indeed true what they say?”

“Depends on who’s telling the rumour,” she said miserably. Her sudden appearance into Cat high society had ruffled more than a few feathers, and given rise to no end of catty hearsay.

“That you were raised in the Human Realm with no awareness of your heritage?”

“Oh. Okay, that bit’s true.” She sighed and sat down on the tea boxes. After a moment, Baron took a careful perch on the canned tuna. “So, it turns out my dad wasn’t actually a Human civil servant who died in a car accident when I was a baby, but a Cat prince who renounced his throne so he could marry my mother in Human form who then got hit by a lorry when I was a baby, and that I’m not actually a Human librarian, but a Cat princess who’s been living under a transformation spell all her life who only thinks she’s a Human librarian...” She groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “I have a degree that I indebted myself for, and apparently I didn’t need to.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand the pantry, now.”

“And on top of that,” Haru continued, somehow unable to stem the flow of the tragedy that was her life from this poor, unlucky Cat, “apparently the King’s son - my cousin - has married a commoner, which is against some bogus inheritance law, so they had to drag me out as the next in line, and now they’re expecting me to choose a suitable suitor a day into my new career.”

She snuffled, and she caught on her whiskers as she attempted to swat the frustrated tears away.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but have you possibly tried telling the King that you have no interest in ruling a kingdom?” Baron offered gently.

“I’ve tried. It was a decidedly one-sided conversation.”

The Cat inclined his head. “Listening has never been one of his fortes.”

“Which is why I'm here, trying not to get accidentally hitched.”

“I’m curious; do you have designations beyond the pantry, or was this as far as your plan went?”

“Frankly, I’m amazed I got this far. That little tan cat who never stops smiling and always follows the King around--”

“Ah yes, Natoru.”

“--found me as I was sneaking down. I threw some line about needing to use the bathroom, and it somehow worked, but I don’t think I could make it any further than the kitchen without being spotted again.” Haru sighed once more and, without thinking about it, dropped her head against Baron’s shoulder. “On the plus side, I’ll never have to worry about rent again, but at what cost?”

Gently, cautiously, Baron’s arm curled around her shoulders and then, when he wasn’t shrugged off, settled. “Your Highness--”

“Please call me Haru. I don’t think I can stand any more titles.”

“Miss Haru,” he amended, sneakily still adding in a title of respect, albeit one Haru was much more familiar with, “it’s not a well known fact, but I oversee a small bureau, devoted to helping those in need of assistance. Unless I am grievously mistaking the situation, you would appear to be in need of just such help.”

Haru snorted, and then immediately felt bad for his jacket. “No offence, but what exactly can a baron do up against the intention of his king?”

“We have our methods. But I can promise you, we shall do our utmost best to ensure you are not ushered into any marriage you do not freely choose.”

It was at that moment that the pantry doors swung open and, silhouetted by the bright kitchen light, stood Natoru. Several leashed tracking rabbits crowded around him, noses high and twitching in Haru’s direction.

“Miss Princess. Your Highness!” Natoru cried. “How fortunate we have found you before the royal ball begins!” His eyes flickered over Baron, shoulder still supporting Haru’s head, and arm close about her. “And, oh, this is wonderful! I see you’ve even chosen a suitor!”

#tcr birthday bash 2023 #tcr birthday bash #cat writes #the cat returns #princess diaries au #day 4 secret heritage

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