Whisper of The Cat

Haru's Offer

Seiji worked quietly at his worktable, carefully carving a piece of wood that would one day be a violin. A few feet away sat Shizuku, absorbed in her writing. They were each working very hard, doing what they loved. The fact that they had each other's company made it all the better. Nothing needed to be said, as long as they were together, they were happy. If anyone were to enter the room, they would literally be able to feel the love radiating from the two.

Seiji made a few last scraps on the fine carved wood and blew the peelings off. "There, that's done."

Shizuku looked up from her laptop excitedly. "You finished?" she asked.

Seiji carefully examined his handy work. "Yeah, with this part."

"Ooh, let me see!"

Seiji held out the finished piece of the violin. Shizuku looked at it like she was an archaeologist examining a priceless treasure. "Wow Seiji, this is excellent! You're getting better all the time!"

Seiji smiled gratefully. "It can be better. There's always room for improvement. By the way," he said, suddenly changing the topic, "how's your new story coming?"

He tried peaking at Shizuku's laptop, but she quickly closed it. "No peaking." She said with a smirk. "It's not done yet."

Seiji pouted. "No fair. I show you my work as I progress."

Shizuku gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I know, but I want my story finished before it's read."

"You're mean."

"Just a little. Tell you what, you can read the rough draft when it's done. Ok, love?"

Seiji nodded. "Ok." He picked up the carved piece of wood. "Hmm, this could be better."

Shizuku rolled her eyes. "Seiji, everything can be better no matter what it is. No matter what anyone ever makes or does, it can always be better. Just because something can be better, doesn't make it bad. You are an amazing violinmaker. You're going to be a great success. And even if we were in some parallel universe and you weren't any good, I wouldn't love you any less. It's you I love, not your skills."

Seiji gave her a smile. "Thanks Shizuku. You really have a way with words." He started cleaning up the mess he made while carving. "And I want you to remember that the next time you don't think you're story is good."

Shizuku cut her eyes at him. It was funny; Seiji was an amazing violinmaker who thought he could never be good enough no matter how much Shizuku told him how great he was, and Shizuku was an amazing writer who thought she could never be good enough, no matter how much Seiji told her how good she was. They both understood each other and helped each other out. That was one of the many reasons they were so good together.

A loud knocking caught their attention. Someone was at the door. The shop was closed, again, but that didn't seem to stop whoever was knocking from wanting to get in.

"I'll get it." Said Shizuku.

"No, I'll get it." Said Seiji, beating her to the stairs.

Shizuku snickered at Seiji's childish attempt to 'get there first'. He was so adorable. She opened her laptop and began typing away again. She heard Seiji speaking to someone upstairs, but couldn't tell who the other person was. Whoever they were, Seiji brought them downstairs a few seconds later.

"Hey Shizuku, look who's here." he said.

"Hello again." said Haru cheerfully.

Shizuku smiled at her. "Oh, hi Haru. Glad you came back."

Haru grinned. "Yeah, sorry about running away last time." She lied. "I was late for something and I... oh, are you writing one of your stories?"

"Huh?" Shizuku was taken aback from the sudden change in topic. "Oh, uh, yeah."

"Ooh, can I read some?"

Seiji smiled. "She won't let you read it. She won't even let me read it." Shizuku nodded along with what Seiji was saying.

"Aw." Haru frowned. "Well at least tell me what it's about."

Shizuku thought about it a moment. "Ok, I'll give you that much. A few years ago, I saw this amazing grandfather clock. It had the name 'Porco Rosso' written on its face. So I got the idea to write a story with the main character having that name. It's about a pilot who is under a spell that turned his face turned into a pig."

Haru gave Shizuku a look of disbelief. "You thought of a whole story from just two words you saw written on a clock?"

Shizuku gave a nervous smile as Seiji put his arm around her. "She just has a creative mind. You should see some of the other stuff she wrote."

Shizuku blushed. "We'll you should see some of Seiji's work." She said, trying to take the attention off herself.

Now it was Seiji's turn to turn red. "Oh no, she wouldn't want to-"

"Sure I would!" cried Haru. "I've never seen someone make a violin before. Let me see!"

Seiji sighed. "Ok. It's not done yet, but this is what I have so far."

He showed her the pieces of the violin he had made so far. Haru eyed the pieces in awe. "Wow, that's incredible. You guys are so talented. I wish I could do something like write or make violins."

"Everyone has their own special talents." Said Shizuku. "You just have to find yours."

"Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right. Oh, that reminds me of why I came. I've decided that I want to help you find the Baroness."

The other two were surprised by this. "You do?" Seiji asked.

Haru nodded. "Yup. It's not right for the two of them to be separated. They were made for each other and should never be parted. Poor Baron, he must miss her so much."

She was unaware that Shizuku and Seiji were giving her strange looks. They were wondering why Haru was talking about the statues like they were real, and they were also curious about her sudden interest in reuniting the two.

"Um, Haru, not to burst your bubble or anything, but we've been searching for the Baroness for years." Said Shizuku.

Seiji nodded. "And grandpa's been looking for her a lot longer. It's very likely that we won't ever find her."

Haru smiled smugly. "Well I have special resources. I can be a big help."

"Why so interested?"

Haru thought carefully about her answer before replying. She didn't want to give away that Baron was alive. "I've had... past experience with the Baroness." She lied.

Seiji and Shizuku jumped up. "You have?" they cried.

Haru gulped nervously. Now they were about to ask her questions she couldn't answer. Thinking quickly she said, "Well, not me personally. It was a friend of mine that knew about her." It wasn't exactly a lie since she was referring to Baron. "They saw her and told me about her. But they moved away." That part was a lie, but she needed a cover. "I can still contact them though and find out what they know."

"That would be great." Said Seiji. "Thank you."

"No problem. Anything for Baron." She said, before covering her mouth at the slip.