Author's Note: This story is set three years after the end of the series.

Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form do I own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter One: Kazoku

"Come on Eikichi, the doctor's not gonna' hurt you!"

The cat mewled piteously. Obviously the male never felt the discomfort of a thermometer shoved up his rear. Eikichi struggled to cling to the sides of his plastic carrier to no avail. Her tail wound around her legs. The table was freezing! Her fur bristled when the doctor peeked her head in.

Kuwabara didn't realize he was staring. 'She is way too pretty to be Doctor Hamada. Not to mention a woman.' Her raven hair was pinned into a neat bun, but somehow still retained a sense of wildness that complimented her defiant indigo eyes. She seemed familiar somehow. Not in looks-no one he knew looked anything like her-but…the cat's hissing snapped him out of his daze. "Aw hey be nice!" he urged. "Sorry Doctor…uh" Crap, how could he have forgotten her name already?

"Doctor Hamada," she chimed, "and don't worry about it Kuwabara-san."

"What? But I thought..."

"I see Benjiro never told you he had a wife," she chuckled, "he hasn't been feeling well recently so I've been filling in for him."

"Oh…"

Kuwabara had no idea how the guy managed to score her for a wife. It wasn't that he was ugly, she was just…wow. He reached out to save Doctor Hamada from getting mauled, but her touch seemed to soothe the calico. His eyes widened as the cat purred and rubbed her head against the cotton jacket. "She's never done that before."

The doctor shrugged it off as nothing special. "I've been told that I have a way with animals," she replied, "so just a check-up correct?" Kuwabara nodded. "Alright, you might want to grab some lunch then. I probably won't be done until two."

Kuwabara stared up into the clouds, hands folded behind his head. He could have sworn he met that lady before, like in a dream or something. Or even bumped into each other on the streets. A familiar aura brushed against his senses. 'Hold on, that's it!'

"Hey Urameshi! Wait up!"

"Well look who it is! What's up Kuwabara? Ehh Kuwabara? You alright? Would you quit staring at me and say something! You're freaking me out!"

Kuwabara rubbed his chin, giving the ex-spirit detective a once over. Yusuke promptly socked him.

"You've been hanging around Kurama too much," the boy muttered, rolling his shoulder as if he were going to give Kuwabara another hit.

"Ow hey! Geez Urameshi I was just trying to get a better feel for your aura!"

"My what? Why the hell would you want to do that?"

"Well…"

Yusuke didn't know how Kuwabara convinced him to go to the vet's place with him. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and yawned. The things he did for his friends.

"Didn't she say she'd be done by two? I have to work . That ramen stand isn't going to push itself you know."

"Just a few more minutes Urameshi."

Kuwabara couldn't exactly explain why he was so dead set on trying to figure out the auras, though Eikichi certainly had a part to play in it. Anyone who resembled his Mazoku-blooded friend could be trouble. He didn't want his beloved cat to be caught in the middle.

Doctor Hamada stepped in, carrier and all. She froze, her eyes fixated on Yusuke.

"Yusuke is that you?"