A/N: I do not own InuYasha or any characters, sadly.
After the hot spring incident, Katt walked by Sango, Kagome, and Miroku for the rest of the day, Koga following behind them. She cornered him before they left and agreed not to say anything if Koga kept his mouth shut. Kagome had let her borrow a pair of shorts and a t-shirt until Katt got a chance to get some clothes of her own. The gang was walking through the forest, looking for a place to stop for dinner. The day had been fairly uneventful, not an enemy in sight.
As Koga and InuYasha set up camp, Miroku went to gather firewood with Shippo. Sango and Kagome went to bathe in a nearby hot spring, Katt tagged along, even though she didn't need one. She didn't want to face Koga yet, but almost immediately wished she had stayed behind with the guys.
"Ah, that feels good," said Kagome, getting into the hot spring. "Yeah you said it!" replied Sango and Katt. It had been a long day, even if it was uneventful. "So, Katt, what do you think of the Feudal era so far?" asked Sango. Katt turned to Sango. "It's pretty cool. It would be better if I had some clothes…or an I-pod." Katt said in a kidding tone. "No, really, it's nice here, better than home anyway." Katt said, staring off.
"What's wrong with your home?" Sango asked, concerned. Katt looked at her, trying to decide if she should say anything. "Well, let's just say I had boy trouble." Katt said harsher than she meant to. Sango nodded. "I know what you mean by boy trouble." Katt guessed Sango meant Miroku. Kagome smiled as Katt eyed her suspiciously. "What?" Katt asked slowly. Kagome looked at Katt innocently. "What do you think about the boys here?" Katt turned pink. 'They're talking about Koga. I guess they saw how awkwardly we've been acting,' Katt thought, painfully aware of Kagome and Sango staring at her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Katt said carefully, pushing Koga from her mind. She didn't want the others to find out how she really felt. Sango and Kagome smiled at each other. "Ha, thought so." Sango said. "You thought what Sango?" Katt asked, studying her face. "We knew it! You have a crush on Koga!" Kagome said gleefully. Katt face reddened. "What are you talking about?" she said trying to ignore the fact her face was bright red.
"Don't try to hide it. We can so tell." Sango smirked. "I DO NOT! Shut up!" Katt sputtered. Kagome smiled. "The color of your face contradicts you." Katt glared at her. "I'll kill you!" she said, splashing both of them. After a huge water fight, they all burst out laughing and got ready to head back to camp, Kagome and Sango skipping ahead singing, "Koga and Katt, Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" Katt ran behind them yelling. "I swear I will kill you both if they hear! Kagome! Sango!"
Back at camp everyone settled down for a meal. The camp had been hastily thrown together, since InuYasha and Koga had started fighting over a bag of chips. The girls got back in time to see Koga drop kick InuYasha and scurry up a tree, bag of chips in hand. InuYasha yelled at Kagome for letting the wolf stay and got 'sat' into next week. He spent the rest of the night sulking in a tree at the edge of camp, as far away from Koga as he could get. After eating, the gang settled down around the campfire to tell stories about their adventures.
Katt listened with some envy; she wanted to explore the world like they did, but she still had to get home. 'I wonder what my family's doing without me.' Katt thought of her dad and siblings. Kagome called to her, shaking Katt from her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?" she asked sweetly, throwing a quick glance at Koga that only Katt and Sango caught. Katt sighed. "My family," she said, staring at the fire. "Tell us about your family." Miroku said, sliding closer to Sango. Katt looked around at the others. 'They all seem interested,' she thought.
"Okay, well…I'm the oldest of five. My parents kind of split up, so I have two half sisters; different fathers." Katt paused to if everyone was listening. They all stared intently at her. "Get on with it!" InuYasha yelled from his tree, much to everyone's surprise. Katt smiled and continued. "My oldest sister, Crystal, is twelve, my oldest brother, Mitchell, is eleven, Tony, my youngest brother is eight, my older half sister, Sidney, is about three, and the youngest, also my half sister, Helen, is a year and a half old." Katt finished in one breath. Everyone stared at her in shock.
"You have that many brothers and sisters? Your house must be huge!" Shippo said, gesturing with his hands, his eyes wide in shock and excitement. Katt shook her head. "No, no, I only live with the oldest three, my full blood relations. We live with my dad, and believe me, our house is not huge." Katt said, laughing. Shippo nodded, his face screwed up in thought. "But what about the other two sisters? Where do they live?" Katt smiled at the kit's curiosity. "Sidney lives with her father and Helen lives with my mom in the next town. They aren't that far…well, from my house anyway…" she chuckled weakly, staring at the starry sky.
The others exchanged concerned looks. "Well," Kagome said, sanding up and stretching. "It's getting late, and I'm tired." Kagome turned to the others. "What about you?" she asked, Katt not missing the hidden command in her voice. 'At least she cares…' she thought. Katt stole a glance at Koga, he was watching her out of the corner of his eye, and as soon as he realized she was watching him, he too, stretched and walked swiftly over to the tree he was going to sleep agiest.
Katt smiled to herself. 'And so does he.' Slightly comforted by this fact for some reason, Katt stood and walked to the sleeping bag she and Kagome were sharing and crawled inside. Kagome moved over to give her room, and she was out before her head hit the pillow. Katt slept peacefully, the first dreamless sleep she had in weeks.
A/N: The sooner you rate and review, the faster I'll post up chapters. I need the feedback to better enhance the story and I'm always welcoming any new ideas if you're willing to send them to me!