Ugh, rain. Out of anyone in the entire world, I – Kyo Sohma – hate rain the most. As a human is gets into my clothes and shoes, and as a cat it soaks through my fur and to my bones. Either way I end up wet, cold, miserable – a walking puddle.

This was the only thing I could think of on the way to school for the third rainy day in a row. In the middle of shaking out my hair for the millionth time, I almost tripped over what appeared to be a blob of clothing on the side of the road. I crouched down over it, umbrella in the crook of my shoulder, and prodded it cautiously. It shivered and mewled at me, and a tiny white paw darted out and snagged my sleeve.

I should have jumped. Shouted, or shaken the claws away, at least. But somehow that meow had rubbed me the wrong way – if sounded strangely like a plea for help. Tugging the cloth away, the soggy material revealed a young, pure white cat. Well, I thought it was white. The thing was shaking and covered in mud. I scooped it up quickly and made a beeline for the house. Hopefully no one saw me, and the teacher just assumed I was ditching again. I probably didn't have any tests, anyways.

Walking back quickly, I made in to the house in a couple minutes. Not bothering to shake off the rain this time, I kicked off my mud-caked shoes and set the semi-conscious cat in one of Shigure's blankets that he'd left in the hall. He probably wouldn't notice a little dirt. Or a lot. My first thought was to clean the cat off, but just dropping a half-aware cat in the tub might not work out too well.

Filling a basin from the cupboard with hot water at the sink, I went back to the where the cat was twitching it its sleep. Mumbling an awkward apology, I picked her up a set her carefully in the hot water. I had just started scrubbing at the mud when the cat thrashed, a giant cloud of smoke exploding from around it, and I was propelled backwards against the opposite wall.

Blinking and coughing, I rubbed my watering eyes and tried to wave some of the smoke away. As it cleared my jaw dropped and I scrambled backwards into the wall again. In front of me lay what was probably the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. Asleep. And very, very naked.