The rain beat down on Kuwabara Kazuma, cold and wet, plastering his short orange curls to his scalp and soaking the shoulders of his heavy school uniform. He didn't care. He was angry and miserable. His face was still stinging from his latest confrontation with Urameshi... but nowhere near as badly as his pride. The little bastard had felled him with three blows. Three! It had taken no more than that to defeat the mighty Kuwabara Kazuma!

That sucked.

True, he would just challenge Urameshi again tomorrow. And tomorrow... he clenched a fist... tomorrow he would WIN!!

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow..." he muttered to himself as he trudged along, hands thrust deep in his pockets, broad shoulders hunched.

Urameshi was a constant in his life, something he could count on, almost the same as he could count on his friends. In fact, in a twisted way, Urameshi was almost as much a friend as a rival. Though Kuwabara was sure the little jerk didn't see it that way, and he himself would sooner die than admit it aloud. But it was nice to know Urameshi would always be there, even if it was only so he could beat the crap out of Kuwabara.

Kuwabara scowled, feeling his left eye throb with pain. 'Course, that didn't mean the bastard didn't deserve to be pounded flat....

"Tomorrow," he muttered once more, as if in reassurance. There was a strange shiver of apprehension as he said the word, but it was so light he just shrugged it off. Usually his foresight hit him like a blast of frigid air. This was nothing close. Maybe he was catching a chill from walking in the rain. Best to head home and face the lecture he would no doubt receive for fighting again. Really, you'd think he's parents would be used to it by now!

He finally raised his head and took note of where he was. Saa-ah! How'd he get all the way to the park without noticing?! He snorted, then sneezed. Yes, he definitely needed to get home and get dry.

But for some reason, he found himself striding further into the park, headed toward its seedier side.

He glared horribly at the rain as he walked. He was wet, cold, sore, miserable.... All he wanted to do was get home and get dry. So what the hell was he doing?

He eventually found himself standing above a storm drain that was gushing torrents of dirty water into a canal that had been carved into the dirt, flowing down to the lake. There as a railing, which Kuwabara leaned against. He looked down, wondering just *what* he was doing here. The longer he watched the wild jump and twitch of the water, the more disjointed the world about him became. He blinked then hit himself on the head, trying to shake the vertigo that had claimed his senses briefly. He had to get home!

He was about to turn away, when he thought he heard something. It sounded like a weak little cry, barely discernible above the roar of the water, and the internal noise of the hard drops of rain still pounding against his skull. He frowned, leaning over the railing. It had seemed to him as though the sound had come from....

There it was again! A tiny little mewl of fear or pain, just at the edge of hearing, and definitely coming from somewhere below him. He leaned further, then cursed madly as his foot slipped and he plunged over the edge of the railing.

By some miracle he managed not to crack his head open on the cement edge of the storm drain, and he twisted his body so that he landed face-first on the bank to the side of the torrent pouring forth.

Sitting up and spitting out mud, Kuwabara ran a hand through the tangled bangs falling in his eyes. He was covered in the stuff, and 'Kassan was gonna throw a fit!

Grumbling and groaning, he levered himself to his feet. The tiny call came again, an eerie sort of echo to the sound. Kuwabara wondered for a second if it wasn't a ghost, and he almost decided to flee, but he hadn't "felt" anything....

He sloshed his way to the edge of the storm drain and peered into the darkness within. He couldn't see anything except water and more water, leading backwards into blackness. But there was a fading cry, and he *knew* there was someone... or something... in trouble in there.

Stretching as far as he could, he felt around the inner wall on his side. Nothing but wet cement. But now that he was closer, he could see something. He couldn't tell exactly what, but there was a tiny dark form huddled on a rough outcropping of cement just out of his reach. Another weak cry reached out to his ears, but even fainter than the last had been. Whoever or whatever was in there, they needed help NOW!

Kuwabara cursed and pushed his body forward, bracing his feet as best he could in the wet dirt behind him, and shoving himself part way into the stream of water rushing out of the tunnel. It nearly blasted him back out, and he could almost feel most the mud being sluiced from his uniform, but he held on to the edge of the drain and pushed his body forward with every ounce of strength he had at his command, praying to all the gods there were that his feet wouldn't slip again.

He could now reach the form he had seen. His fingers encountered wet fur over a skinny, shivering body. He carefully worked his hand under the tiny form, then, when he felt he had a firm grip on whatever it was, he let the water push him backwards, so that he fell over on his rump in the mud next to the storm drain.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he examined his find. Exactly *what* had he rescued? It better NOT be a rodent of any kind!

A pair of huge, slit-pupil green eyes gazed up at him. The kitten gave a weak little mew, looking at him miserably, its tiny body shivering uncontrollably. There wasn't much in the world more pitiful looking than a soaked kitten. Kuwabara felt his heart melt.

"Aaw, you poor little thing!" He stroked the kitten's head lightly, and smiled as he could hear a purr rumbling, even over the roar of the water still gushing out a foot or two away from his head. "C'mon, I'll take ya home."

He stood, tucking the kitten into the crook of his arm. His jacket was completely soaked with mud and water, so there was nothing warm he could wrap the kitten in. He'd better get home *quickly*! He clambered up the bank before him as best he could, finally reaching the top and climbing back over the railing.

"Oi, man, you got any change?"

Kuwabara glared at the rough character swaying before him, tensing as he felt another coming to flank him from behind. Only two of them? Hell, he may fall before Urameshi, but he could take two punks easily, even considering his left arm was hampered with the kitten he had rescued!

A few seconds later he strode away, leaving the two would-be muggers groaning in pain on the ground, while the kitten mewed her approval. "Ch'! Idiots!"

Kuwabara made a strange picture, striding down the sidewalks, soaked, splattered with mud, a tiny bundle of fur tucked up against his chest, but he was unaware of this fact. What he *was* aware of, was that he was getting colder, and the kitten was shivering even more strongly than before. The tiny thing would never make it home at this rate!

He glanced around quickly. There was the restaurant owned by Keikko's parents; maybe....

Keikko was indeed working, as he had hoped, stocking the tables. She froze, staring in shock as he walked in the door. "Kuwabara-kun! What--?"

"Keikko-chan, I-- wa-wa-WA-CHOO!"

She handed him one of the napkins she had been carrying. Fortunately the place was empty at the moment, except for she and her father, who was in the kitchen.

Kuwabara wiped his nose on his sleeve, then gingerly wrapped the napkin around the kitten. She mewed softly.

"Oh!" Keikko exclaimed, suddenly noticing the tiny ball of wet fur. She leaned forward to look more closely, then clasped her hands. "How cute!"

"Hai." Kuwabara smiled proudly. "Keikko-chan, can I borrow this napkin to take her home?"

Keikko blinked, taking in his bedraggled appearance. "Um... sure.... You can have it, actually. But I think you'd better go before 'Tousan sees you. Here." She handed him another square of cloth.

Kuwabara wrapped it carefully around the kitten, along with the first one. The tiny feline was purring as she was drying and getting warm, and Kuwabara really hated to take her back out into the rain. "Arigatou, Keikko-chan."

"Is she yours?" Keikko asked, petting the kitten's head softly, with an anxious glance over her shoulder. Kuwabara was a mess, and it wasn't really the best policy to have pets in a restaurant.

"Hai!" Kuwabara said proudly, smiling.

"Ack!" Keikko shoved him out the door as her father emerged from the kitchen. "Gomen ne," she apologized, leaning out into the rain.

"'S okay," Kuwabara shrugged. "I gotta get home anyway, and argue my folks into letting me keep her." He held the kitten close under his chin, trying to shelter her from the rain.

"What's her name?" Keikko asked curiously, cocking her head. Her father called her name from within the restaurant. "Coming!" she yelled over her shoulder, before turning her attention back to Kuwabara.

He grinned widely. "Eikichi!"

Keikko smiled, then fled to finish her task as Kuwabara trudged home through the rain.

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