Disclaimer - I don't own Inu and the gang…bugger, you've crushed my only delusions of grandeur…*pouts*

Chapter 9 - Unwanted Thoughts

As it turned out, Katin did not get a chance to talk to her father at supper. In fact, she didn't see him for the next three days. He hadn't returned since he'd left her at the hut four days ago. No one had seen him. The village was tense with worry; news of their vulnerability would spread fast, and though the Shikon Jewel no longer existed the past connection was enough to make them a target. Inuyasha had not left them unprotected this long since the year following Kagome's death.

Katin found she was not worried. In the last few days she had gained a entirely new perspective. Her senses were heightened, her stamina increased, and her spirit settled. She had gained a calm, almost indifferent, attitude towards these new developments. They were part of her, just as her demon blood was, and there was no point of drawing attention to it by overreacting.

She had intended to ask her father to teach her a little about her strength and her heritage. Though calm she was still very curious. Keto was right, she knew nothing. She wanted to change that. But with Inuyasha gone she turned to the only other person she knew with battle training.

"NANI!?" Sango started, turning on her heals to face the girl, "What do you mean, teach you to fight?"

"Just what I asked, Aunt. I would like to learn, would you teach me?"

Unable to hide her shock Sango simply stared for a moment. She had yet been unable to learn what had passed between the two hanyous, but Katin's behavior over the last few days had confirmed her suspicions that it was something very serious. And now this…

"Why exactly?"

Katin wasn't sure she could answer that fully just yet. She sighed, "I put myself in danger the other day, I could have come to real harm. I can't always hope father will be there…I don't want to depend on him," she whispered the last part quietly.

Sango was more than a little taken back. Inuyasha was the entire village's protector, for Katin's entire life that had been his role. She knew for a fact that his role was the only thing that had given him the motivation to continue in the first couple years… that and the young one standing before her. If Inuyasha knew of Katin's reasons it would hurt him deeply…

"Do you not trust him to protect you?"

Surprised, Katin looked up, "Of course I do! But he protects everyone. I am his daughter. I want more from him than protection."

Again, Sango was surprised. For as long as she could remember Katin had accepted Inuyasha's treatment of her with barely a second thought…barely. Sango was well aware of the elder hanyou's indifference hurt the child, but she had never spoken of hurt…anger, yes, but never hurt.

She considered only a moment longer.

"All right, when do you wish to begin?"

"Are you busy now?"

Her sudden childish excitement reminded Sango that the girl was only eleven. It's a little sad, she thought, that someone so young should feel so much sadness…her thoughts turned to Kohaku then. Unwilling to be reminded of the past, she pushed it aside.

"Now is fine," she smiled and placed her hand on the young one's shoulder, "Just let me grab something."

~~~~~~~~~~

Inuyasha returned the following day only to be confronted by two very surprising sights. One was Sango wielding Hiraikotsu. This he had not expected to see again in his lifetime. The day Kohaku was killed she'd sworn never to touch the weapon again. Now she stood in the all too familiar stance of the warrior she had been, facing, and about to attack, the second unexpected surprise.

Katin held her ground, watching, waiting. She sensed, rather than saw, the shift in Sango's demeanor, she knew she was about to attack moments before the woman moved.

"Hiraikotsu!" The warrior's cry shattered the silence that had fallen around them. The Bone weapon slashed towards Katin.

Inuyasha's only thought was that he was going to kill Sango for killing his daughter.

Now!

Katin dashed out of the way in just enough time for the weapon to knick her leg before it wedged itself in the ground. She let out a frustrated growl, indignant at having been harmed and frustrated at herself for moving so slowly, she spun on Sango, her rage building.

Worry had a moment to register in Sango's mind before the little hanyou retaliated.

Lunging, Katin slammed into the older woman, crushing her to the ground beneath her.

Sango cried out in pain and surprise. Katin's claws dug into her arms and her weight had crushed the breath out of her.

"Katin!"

Inuyasha's voice distracted her attention long enough for Sango to shove her aside and roll into a crouching position.

He stormed towards them.

"What the hell are you trying to do!" He reached Sango and helped her to stand. She stood bent over, trying to regain her breath.

Katin's rage was gone as fast as it had come. She blinked in surprise, then the realization of what she had just done hit her.

"Gomen nasai! Please forgive me, Sango, I didn't mean…"

"You'd better be sorry! Since when do you attack family…since when do you even know how to attack?!" Inuyasha's anger was growing just as quickly as his daughter's had.

Sango was, yet again, surprised. She hadn't seen him so expressive in years. He had taken on a sullen intensity that was every bit as effective as the rage he'd had, but not since the first years had she seen him like this.

"Inuyasha, don't," she wheezed, drew a few more breaths then continued, "I was teaching her…it was," breath, "my fault."

"Someone had better tell me what the hell is going on!"

"I-I, ah, I asked…"

Sango noticed the terrified look in the little one's eyes and knew it was not only fear of her father, it was fear of the knowledge of what she had almost done, fear and revulsion.

"She asked me to teach her, and so I am." She had regained her composure by now and walked to Katin's side, placing a hand companionably on the girl's shoulder, "She's done remarkably well for one day of training."

Inuyasha was too stunned to reply.

Sango turned to Katin, "It is an important lesson to learn – know your strengths, and how to control them," she smiled then, "that one is a little more important, especially when you do not intend to kill your 'enemy'."

It was meant as a joke, and on some level Katin knew this, but that didn't stop her from pulling away, and staring up at Sango, horrified and mortified.

"Gomen nasai!" and with that she fled the meadow.

Inuyasha made to follow but Sango stopped him.

"Let her be."

"Don't you try to tell me…!"

"Where have you been?"

The abrupt change threw him a little, and he actually responded.

"Looking for Sesshomaru."

"Nani?!"

"He came here, looking for Katin, I wanted to make sure he was long gone."

"What did he want with her."

"How the hell should I know!"

She considered him for a moment, he was acting as though twelve years hadn't passed.

"Is it his reappearance that's bothering you or something else?"

"What the hell is this? Twenty questions? I don't have to explain myself to you! You or anyone else!" And with that he stormed off in the direction his daughter had taken.

Kami, that hasn't happened in a very long time…

~~~~~~~~~

As Inuyasha approached the clearing that Katin's scent had lead him to, he heard a voice of comfort. For a split second he thought it was Sesshomaru and tensed himself for a fight. He was in no mood to put up with that meddling bastard. But as he drew nearer he recognized the voice as Miroku's.

The young hanyou cried onto her Uncle's shoulder, sobs raking her slender body. Miroku patted her back comfortingly, trying to find the right words for the questions he wanted to voice. He had seen nothing of what had happened, but the girl was hardly this upset over nothing.

"Gomen nasai," she sobbed repeatedly.

Miroku had no idea what she felt she had done that she had to be sorry for, but knew now was not the time to ask questions.

"You're forgiven, little one, I promise you that…"

"NO!" she pulled away, frantic. She didn't deserve forgiveness, and he didn't even know. Her actions weren't even the worst of it, for a moment, a very intense, brief moment, she had wanted to kill Sango, really kill her.

"What is it…?"

"I-I hurt her, gomen nasai, oh, gomen nasai!" she buried her face in her hands.

"Come on, what are you…"

"I hurt Sango, I…"

"Sango?!" Suddenly very worried for his loves safety Miroku sat up, ready to move to his wife's side.

Katin let out another heart wrenching wail, then whimpered, "Oh, please, please…"

His job as a comforting Uncle was quickly being replaced by his need to ensure Sango's safety.

"Katin, what did you do?"

"I-I hurt her, she was, I was…"

The girl was too unset to be coherent.

Miroku found his patients wearing thin, and he stood, prepared to leave the sobbing child.

"They were training." Inuyasha stated simply, walking into the clearing, startling them both.

"Inuyasha…?" Miroku was calmed by the knowledge he'd brought but a million new questions popped into his mind.

"She's fine. Leave."

Taken back Miroku stared at him, really curious now.

"What…?"

"LEAVE." The demand wasn't delivered in a particularly loud voice, but everything about it, right down to it's deathly calm, got Miroku's legs moving before the message even sank in.

The two hanyou's stared at each other. Katin's eyes filled with fear and tears. Inuyasha appeared completely emotionless, save for his extreme, and tense calmness, which spoke volumes about his true feelings.

He wasn't entirely sure how to approach this.

She didn't know what he was going to say, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to handle it either way. She felt awful enough as it was.

He honestly couldn't think of the right thing to say, but rather then say nothing he opened his mouth and let out the first thing that came to mind:

"You decided to train."

"H-hai."

He considered this for a moment, he wanted to ask her why but was sure he already knew the answer. Besides, what she needed now was not questions. And for the first time since she was a baby he didn't fight against his fatherly instincts.

He closed the space between them and drew her into his arms.

~@~@~@~@~

Thanks for reading!

I just wanted to add a little explanation. To you reading Inuyasha's been his normal self for the last couple chapters (a big thoughtless jerk), but to the characters involved AND in the context of the story, he's being very OUT of character. Remember, almost 12 years have passed since he became a father, lost Kagome, and became the village protector. Think of it this way: he's been more like Sesshomaru, indifferent and dangerous, but not very expressive or emotional. That's why Katin is so thrown and hurt by his actions, and why Sango keeps being surprised. Anyway, I'm not sure why I felt I should add this since he's going to be pretty much his normal - (big thoughtless jerk) - self from now on… well, maybe he's not so thoughtless…just unexpressive…but, anyway, ah, the characters will continue to grow and change with the plot…hmmm, maybe that was more confusing than explaining…oh well.

jim hawking jr - I thought so - *beams* - thank you, your constant encouragement is very much appreciated!

Kasumii - I think I just might! Thanks for the encouragement!

tsuki miko - If you weren't my sister, and I didn't know that you did that on purpose, I'd swear you were mental! You've really helped me to keep going, especially in the beginning: "You HAVE to finish it!"and then "Are you EVER going to write more?" You've stuck by me in my writing before and have been the 'test reader' more times then I'm sure you'd like to count, so thank you *huggles* (Wahahah, don't you just hate that creepy sweet word?) To those of you who actually bother reading these, she's not a ditzy twit, and her story is good too!

Later Dayz!