Yeah, next chapter. Nepeta meets Equius. It's not that interesting, but meh. Nepeta's adorable.

By the time they arrived at the gym, Nepeta was riding on Karkat's shoulders. Karkat didn't really mind, it was the stares from other people he minded. But Nepeta was so happy Karkat just ignored all the staring. Nepeta seemed to be quite impressed with the size of the gym. It was very tall, but that was because there was a climbing wall. Equius was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Ah, welcome Karkat." he said. "And this is your friend?" he looked up at Nepeta. Nepeta hid her face in Karkat's hair.

"This is Nepeta. She's now my adopted little sister." Karkat said.

"I see! Congratulations." Equius lightly patted Nepeta on the head. "Are you interested in becoming strong Nepeta?"

"Um, do you need to for school?" Nepeta asked.

"Well, it isn't a requirement. But if you are strong, then you can defend yourself or be able to pick up heavy things. That could be useful in your life." Equius said.

"Okay." Nepeta said.

"You mentioned school, yes?" Equius asked. "Are you going to Alternian Elementary?"

"She will be." Karkat said. "Kanaya's taking her there to fill out paperwork tomorrow."

"I see! My son Horrus goes to that school!" Equius said.

"Really?" Nepeta asked.

"Yes, he is in Kindergarten right now. Perhaps you would be in his class." Equius said. "I would be quite pleased if you two became friends."

"I-I'll talk to him?" Nepeta said.

"It's okay if you don't." Karkat said.

"No, I wanna!" Nepeta said.

"Well, I won't delay you further." Equius said. "Please go increase your strength!"

"Okay." Karkat mumbled. He walked in with Nepeta still on his shoulders. He had no idea what sort of thing she would like to do. He supposed he could just walk past all the rooms until Nepeta saw something she liked.

So they took a tour of the gym. They passed by the weight lifting, the running and acrobatic rooms. Seeing the acrobatic room reminded Karkat he needed to ask Kanaya about that ninja jump she'd done earlier. Nepeta looked at all of the rooms but didn't really seem interested in them. Then they got to the climbing wall.

"I wanna do that!" Nepeta yelled.

"Your arm is still broken." Karkat pointed out.

"But I wanna!" Nepeta whined.

"Another time. What else would you like to do?" Karkat asked.

"I'll watch you." Nepeta said. "You do something and I'll watch."

"Okay." Karkat said. He walked back to the room with treadmills and had Nepeta sit down next to one. He got on and did some jogging. Nepeta watched him the whole time. A boy with shaggy brown hair came up to the treadmill next to Karkat's.

"Hi Karkat." He said. "I'm Jordan. We're in the same science class."

"Oh." Karkat said. He never paid attention to anyone in his classes other than Terezi. And now of course Gamzee.

"Who's that?" Jordan asked, pointing at Nepeta.

"Nepeta." Karkat said.

"Is she your cousin?" Jordan asked.

"No!" Nepeta said. "I'm Car kitty's little sister!" Jordan paused.

"You have a sister?" He asked.

"Adopted!" Karkat said.

"Really?" Jordan asked. "When did you-"

"Car kitty!" Nepeta said, cutting off Jordan. "What will I wear tomorrow?"

"Um, I'm not sure." Karkat admitted. He hadn't thought of that.

"But school!" Nepeta said.

"Oh, you aren't starting school tomorrow." Karkat said. "Kanaya's just taking you there to fill out the entry papers."

"But I wanna start school tomorrow!" Nepeta whined.

"Then we'll have to go sign the papers now." Karkat said.

"Then let's go! Let's go!" Nepeta jumped up and down, yelling.

"Okay, sure." Karkat said, getting off the treadmill.

"Hey, wait! You're leaving?" Jordan asked. "But-"

"Come on Nepeta." Karkat said. He led her away from Jordan, smiling to himself. That worked out great. They passed by Equius on the way out.

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

"Yeah, Nepeta wants to be able to go to school tomorrow, so we should fill out the forms now." Karkat explained.

"I see. I hope you will come back another time then." Equius waved to them as they left. "It was nice to meet you Nepeta!"

"Thank you!" Nepeta said, smiling. Karkat led her out and down the sidewalk. It was just about evening, and the sky was slowly starting to darken. If they were lucky they could still get the forms filled out so Nepeta could go tomorrow. But of course, then she would need clothes. Karkat pulled out his phone, deciding he would text Kanaya.

CG: NEPETA WANTS TO GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. CAN YOU FILL OUT THE FORMS NOW?

GA: I Will Go To The School And See. I Cannot Make Any Promises.

CG: THANKS. I'LL TAKE HER CLOTHES SHOPPING.

GA: Alright.

"Okay, Nepeta." Karkat said. "Kanaya's going to fill out the forms. Let's go get you some clothes." Nepeta squealed happily.

"Okay!" She said. Karkat took her to the secondhand store Used Delights. It had some good stuff, and Karkat didn't want to bother going to the mall, which was farther away. And Nepeta would probably get tired halfway there. The woman behind the counter nodded when they came in, and then did a double take when she saw Karkat. Then she looked at Nepeta in surprise. Karkat led Nepeta into the clothing section before the lady could start asking questions.

"Okay, pick out whatever you want." Karkat said. Nepeta gazed in awe at all the clothes.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, pick out whatever. Then you can go try them on and if they fit I'll buy them." Karkat said. Nepeta grinned and ran to the clothing rack. Karkat watched as she rifled through the clothes, grabbing what she liked. She went to the shirts and pants and even grabbed a blue hat with cat ears and a cat face at the front.

"Car kitty! I want all this!" she said.

"Okay, let's go to the changing rooms." Karkat said. He led her to the back. There was only one changing room, and Karkat went inside with Nepeta because she begged him to. Most of the clothes she picked out fit, including the hat. She had picked out three black shirts, two blue ones and one that was green, two dark pants and two pairs of blue jeans. After that Karkat took her to the shoe section. Nepeta picked out some blue shoes that matched the hat. They fit and Karkat took all the stuff up to the counter. The woman was rather flustered as she did her job. Karkat paid and the woman put all the clothes in a plastic bag. He and Nepeta left the store and headed home.

When they got home Karkat put the new clothes in the washing machine and started it. Nepeta sat down and stared at him. Her stomach growled so Karkat took her to the kitchen and asked Alex to make her something to eat. He left Nepeta in the kitchen and went back to the washing machine. When it was done he put the clothes in the dryer. Nepeta came back from the kitchen with peanut butter on her face. Karkat wiped it off with his hands and Nepeta sat in front of the dryer, watching the clothes spin around.

When the clothes had finished drying, Kanaya came back. Nepeta tackle-hugged her and giggled. "Mama!" she said happily. "I can go to school tomorrow?"

"Yes, you can." Kanaya said. "I will take you. You will be in Mr. Scratch's class. I was shown where the classroom is, so I will take you to it."

"Thank you!" Nepeta cried. Karkat smiled. He could tell Nepeta was excited for tomorrow. Heck, he was too. He hoped she would have a good time.

Even though Equius didn't show it, he totally thought Nepeta looked adorable when he saw her. :3 Hope you liked the chapter.

And yay, Nepeta's going to school! :) Look forward to it!