*Layla*

Alex smiled as he ate the ice cream cake that mommy had made for our big brother Dan.

"Th-thanks again, e-everyone," Dan said, smiling.

"It's nothing," big bro Silas said. He stood up and put his plate into the cart that my parents had brought the cake in.

"Let's go to the to the hot springs now," big bro Hideo said, grinning.

Alex jumped to his feet. "Yeah!" he yelled, raising a fist into the air."

"Wait, Alex. I don't think you should go," Mommy said.

Alex frowned. "Why not?"

Mommy walked over to him. "You're sensitive to the heat. What if you pass out?"

That was true, big brother tended to pass out during summer.

Alex pouted. "I'll be fine!"

"I c-can t-take c-care of him," Dan said, grabbing his hand.

Mommy furrowed her brow at him. "Do you know how to swim, dear?"

Dan's face turned red. "I-I do. H-Hide and Ki ta-taught me."

Mom glanced at Ki and Hide who whistled.

"You two would've been in big trouble if something happened to your little brother," Mommy said.

"Ki w-was a great teacher," Dan said.

Kiara chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment, D!" she said, swinging an arm around Dan's neck.

"What about me?" Hideo asked.

"Y-you helped, b-but Ki did m-most of the teaching."

Hideo lowered his head in disappointment.

Alex chuckled and turned his attention back to Mama. "Can I go to the hot springs with them?" he asked.

Mommy sighed. "Okay. But be sure that your big brothers are around. If they aren't then get out."

He saluted her. "You got it, Mommy!"

Mommy patted his head and laughed. "Did you learn that from your uncle?"

Alex grinned and nodded.

Uncle followed in the footsteps of our grandpa, becoming the admiral of the fleet, the highest position of the navy. Not that there was much for him to defend. Kuroriku's biggest body of water was a series of interconnected lakes. But it was still a big position!

Silas opened the door and walked out of the room.

"Hey, wait!" Hideo yelled, running after him.

Hideo, Kiara, Dan, Sy, Alex, and I walked through an open air hall leading from the main building to the hot springs.

I turned to look outside as saw a red blur rush past. Something was hiding behind the bushes.

"Something moved in the bushes!" I yelled, pointing at the bushes lining the hall.

"Really?" Ki asked. "Alarmed."

"Probably just a cat!" Hide said, scoffing.

"A kitty?" I asked, jumping up and down. I ran toward the bushes and peered into them. "Kitty? Kitty?"

"Hide was just kidding," Ki said, laughing nervously.

I sighed. "I do think that I saw what looked like kitty ears when the bush moved."

Alex suddenly gasped. "Kitty!" Alex yelled pointing toward a tree in the garden.

I jumped as I noticed the mysterious creature rush away. It had what appeared to be cat ears on its head! If it was a kitty, it sure was a fast one.

"Come back, kitty! I want to be friends with you!" I yelled, running after it.

I jumped as the red blur climbed up the tree and jumped into the branch of a neighboring one.

"Woah!" I said. It was amazing! I didn't think that a cat could move like that!

"Please don't run, kitty! I just want to be your friend!"

"Lay," Kiara said, appearing behind me. "Don't run off!"

"Ki, help me catch it with your wind powers!" I said, dashing after it. "I can't let kitty get away!"

Kiara crossed her arms over her chest. "Say, Lay..."

"Yeah?" 

"Don't you think that you might be laying it on a bit to thick? That might be why it's running away."

I frowned as I slowed down. "What do you mean?"

Kiara rubbed the side of her neck and laughed. "I'm not sure how to explain it, but basically, I think you're trying too hard to befriend it. Try to be a bit less aggressive."

I lowered my head. "Am I being overbearing?"

Suddenly, the crimson blur moved toward the hall.

"There it is!" I yelled, running after it.

"Layla!" Hideo yelled, chasing me as soon as I returned to the hall.

I leaped into the air. "Wait, don't chase me, brother! Run after that kitty!"

Hideo stared at the blur and blinked. "That's a boy." He gasped. "Wait, he has cat ears?"

"A cat boy?" I asked as I landed on all fours. "They exist?"

Kiara laughed. "Are we sure it's not someone cosplaying like you do?"

I stood upright. "He was too agile to be a normal boy. His movements were definitely cat-like."

"There he is!" Hideo said, pointing at the figure as it continued to run around in zigzags. He had slowed down enough for me to make out a red-haired kid around my age. It seemed to be a boy dressed in a white kimono. On his head were a set of realistic cat ears.

"Kitty!" I yelled, running after it. I opened my arms, ready to pounce on it.

"Stay away!" the boy yelled, creating a barrier of flame. I ran past the flames and hugged him.

"So soft, just like a house cat!" My eyes shifted toward his ears. "Are those real?"  I reached out for his cat ears. He squirmed as I grabbed a hold of one of them. They felt so soft like real fur. No, they were real!

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, no!" the boy cried, trying not to laugh.

I let go of him and giggled. "Are you ticklish?"

"A little," the boy said, blushing. He lowered his ears and glanced at my siblings with fear. "Please don't tell anyone that you saw me. If you do, I might get in trouble."

I blinked. "Why?"

"I can't say. Just, please don't tell anyone. I don't want my daddy and siblings to get hurt either."

I gasped. "Hurt, by who?"

He looked around the hall uneasily as if someone would jump at him all of a sudden. "By those who hate nekomata. Mommy said that not everyone does and that most are actually afraid, but I don't like scaring other people either."

"Is that why you ran away?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You don't have something to cover your ears?"

I touched his wet crimson hair. "I did, but I lost my head towel in the springs."

"Want me to go grab it?"

He snorted. "W-wait! It's in the boys' side! You can't go there!"

"Oh, right. I know, I'll send my big brother to go grab it!"

"No need," a voice called out.

I turned around and saw a boy with golden eyes glaring at me. His brown hair was dripping with water. He pulled out a red towel from inside of his white kimono and draped it over the boy's head.

"Hey, girl. Don't tell anyone what you saw today. Got it?" he said in a cold voice. His eyes were threatening.

I nodded. He didn't have to tell me, I wasn't planning to say a thing to begin with.

"Thanks, Mickey," the boy said, smiling at the older boy.

Mickey put a hand on his hips and sighed. "Heiji, I told you to stick by me. What if the wrong kind of person had ran into you instead of this little girl?"

"Are you his brother?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes. The name is Mikhail Kasai no Ki, and you are?"

Kasai no Ki? Daddy's dad was a Kasai no Ki. Why didn't I get kitty ears like Heiji?

"I'm Layla Makkuroyama!" I said, swinging my hands behind my back.

The two boys gasped. 

"You said Makkuroyama?" Mikhail asked. He stared at the black mountain with a green clover over my heart. It was the sigil of our clan. "I see. So you're the descendant of the last Grand Duchess."

"Grandma Kaze you mean?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't expect you to be a cheerful bunch, considering what happened to-" He bit his lip. "Wait, you probably don't know, do you?"

I smiled. "I know a bit, but it's doesn't really bother me. That doesn't have to do with me."

Mikhail eyes widened. He laughed. "You're pretty mature. How old are you anyway?"

"I'm this much." I raised eight fingers up at him.

"The same age as me," Heiji whispered.

Mikhail smiled at his brother. "Yeah. Maybe you should be friends."

Heiji gave me the same look he had when he was looked around the hallway. "I don't know."

I jumped. "Huh? Why do you say that?"

He turned his head away. "You're kind of scary."

I felt as if I had just been hit by a car. "S-scary?"

Kiara laughed as she walked over to me. "What did I say, Lay? Told you to be less aggressive."

I walked over to her and hugged her. Cat boy didn't like me!

"Lay," Kiara said, taken aback.

"Let's go," I mumbled.

Ki patted my head. "Okay."

"Heiji," I overheard Mikhail snap at his brother.

"What?" Heiji asked, confused.

"You shouldn't be so blunt," his older mumbled.

"Dad said that honesty is the best policy!"

"Yeah, but can't you be a little less harsh? Even I'm not that cold."

"I didn't mean to come off that way."

I glanced back at them and saw Heiji staring at me. He quickly turned away and didn't say another thing.

I smiled as he and his brother walked away. Well, at least he didn't lie. I liked people who were honest. Maybe one day, we could be friends. I sure hope so anyway. I'd always wanted a cat boy as a friend.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this special ^^. Thoughts? Theories?**