Kukuku! The moment you've all been waiting for!

Revelation! How the hell did Kuwabara meet the senshi?!

Sadly, this is not 'that time', so you'll have to wait a bit longer to see why Makoto & co. trust our favourite reformed delinquent.

Heaven or Hell?

LET'S RAWK!

37th period.

Makoto stirred in her sleep, feeling a distinct chill settle over her and groaning in complaint, snuggling closer to her source of warmth as she tried to get back to sleep.

'Did I leave a window open?' She wondered, exhaling softly as she buried her face into her pillow, wondering when on earth it had gotten so hard 'So warm…' she thought, sighing contentedly as she snuggled closer to the source of the warmth, only for her eyes to widen as it moved beneath her, sitting up straight and gaping at the dozing form of Kuwabara, still bare-chested despite the pajama pants she'd put on him.

'Oh my GOD!' the brunette yelped, back pedaling whilst clapping her hands over her mouth, not trusting herself not to scream as she pressed up against the wall in a panic 'If anyone had seen that-!'

"Five more minutes sis…" Kuwabara grumbled, rolling over onto his left, presenting his back to the red faced woman, who calmed down as she realized she hadn't been noticed, only to blink as she got a good look at said back.

'So broad…' she noted, gazing at the defined muscles beneath his skin in appreciation. Kuwabara may not have been a martial artist, the big lug had admitted back during their university days that he didn't have the dedication for it, but it was clear he was no slouch when it came to fighting, especially if the tiny scars that littered his body were any indication. If Makoto wasn't used to being healed up after a fight she probably would've missed them, as whoever had treated the wounds left virtually no trace. But to someone who was used to magical first aid such as herself, it was easy to make out the almost invisible markings on his frame.

'What on earth have you been doing…Kuwabara?' she wondered, gazing over the collection of small scars that littered her friend's back, a shiver running up her spine as she recalled the one time she'd worried for his health.

Tokyo University Co-ed Dorm, four years ago…

"Yo! Kuwabara!" Makoto called out, dressed in a jumper and slacks as she stood outside her pompadour-sporting neighbor's door, a nervous looking Mizuno Ami at her side, the bluenette's usual blouse, skirt and jacket rustling in the morning breeze "You dead in there?"

"Ohayo…" Kuwabara greeted, the former tantei looking exhausted as he closed his door behind him, dressed in a yellow jacket, cream pants and red T-shirt, his book bag held in one hand as he used the other to lock up.

"Up late studying again huh?" Makoto noted with a wince, recognizing the symptoms from previous experience, before falling into step alongside their neighbor as the three of them made their way towards the campus at a steady pace.

"Big exam tomorrow." Kuwabara admitted with a jaw-cracking yawn, his book bag over one shoulder, free hand tucked into his pocket as he walked along "I'm trailin' a bit in Motivational Studies n'all that, so I figured I should hit the books a little harder a few days ago."

"Would you like to borrow my notes?" Ami asked, looking up at the taller teen nervously. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, after all, Kuwabara had been nothing but a perfect gentleman around her and Makoto, it was just that she couldn't shake the fact he looked, and sounded, like the yakuza thugs that had made travelling to school alone a nightmare until Makoto had shown up in Juban.

"That'd be a big help." Kuwabara agreed with a grateful smile, nodding his thanks at the genius bluenette as they walked along "Thanks fer the offer, Mizuno-san"

Ami blushed at the sincerity of his smile and looked away, stammering a 'not at all' under her breath even as Makoto looked back from waving at a group of classmates.

"So anyways," the tall brunette spoke up, looking up at her even taller neighbor conversationally "A bunch of friends are getting together tonight for a little karaoke," she smirked up at him appealingly "you wanna tag along?"

"Mako-chan…" Ami began, looking over at her roommate with mild-disapproval, though she knew in the long run that she'd just wind up at the bar with them anyways. It always ended up like that no matter HOW hard she put her foot down.

"Sounds like fun." Kuwabara admitted, an intrigued smile on his face as they walked along, as he'd actually missed the karaoke nights with his old gang "Gotta warn ya though," he chuckled, rubbing his neck "I ain't no Kitajima Saburo."

"Can't be much worse than Usagi-chan." Ami commented brightly, only to cover her mouth as she realized what she'd just said, blushing at the look on Makoto's face as the brunette smirked at her "Please don't tell her I said that!"

"Only if you come along like a good girl, Ami-chan." Makoto teased, the bluenette bowing her head in defeat while Kuwabara chuckled weakly, honestly pitying the poor girl for getting roped into the fun, only for the group to blink as the academy bell tolled.

"Crap! We're late!" Makoto yelled, the taller girl grabbing Ami's arm and dragging her friend towards the campus at top speed, much to the frantic bluenette's distress "Catch Ya later, Kuwabara!"

"Mako-chan! My class is the other WAYYYYYY-!"

Todai Student quarter; After hours…

"You're late." Rei grumbled, looking over Makoto and Ami as they sidled up to the curb the gang had agreed to meet up at. College had let out for the day, with only a few taking the night courses for the evening, and the fiery tempered law student wanted to get a head start on the festivities.

"Sorry!" Makoto offered, the tall brunette rubbing the back of her head apologetically as she offered her fiery tempered friend a weak smile "I couldn't decide what to wear and Ami-chan wouldn't leave her notes behind."

"Just because I'm going out to have fun doesn't mean I can skip out on studying." Ami replied defensively, matching the look Rei sent her with ne of her own "After all, I have mid-terms coming up soon and-!"

"You really need to lighten up, Ami-chan." Minako chuckled, sweat dropping as she cut the bluenette off mid lecture "I mean when are you going to have the time to cram when you're singing yourself hoarse on stage?"

"Minako-chan…" Ami sighed, looking over at the bubbly blonde with a long-suffering expression. She appreciated her fellow senshi's concern for her well being, after all, she'd had no friends prior to meeting Usagi, but Minako was just so…forward, in her bid to make those around her happy.

"Too bad Odango-Atama isn't here." Rei muttered, unable to believe the words had left her mouth even as she looked over the sheet of paper with a frown "Says here there's 50% off the entrance fee for groups of five or more."

"Not gonna be a problem then!" Makoto chirped, a small smile on her face as shethumbed over her shoulder, winking at the raven haired miko "I asked a friend of ours to tag along, figured the more the merrier."

"Oooooh! What's she like?" Minako asked eagerly, always willing to make a new friend, and honestly wondering what some of Makoto's classmates were like, since all four of them were in different sections of the campus for lessons.

"He actually." Makoto replied, earning a surprised look from Rei and an excitedly eager look from Minako,who could sense scandal a mile away "He's the guy I told you about before, the one living next door to Ami and me at the dorms."

"The guy with the mad street fighting skills?" Minako wondered, pressing her fingers to her lips as she recalled Makoto's description of the guy, envisioning a Ryu-look-alike standing over a pile of battered thugs, a perverse giggle escaping the senshi of love as she imagined just how 'skilled' he was.

"You asked a GUY out on our get together?" Rei grumbled, the fiery priestess crossing her arms across her chest with an annoyed look at the tall senshi of Jupiter, "I mean Minako I would expect, but you?"

"That's harsh Rei-chan…" Minako sniffled, pretending to be hurt by the raven-haired senshi's words "Just because you can't vent your frustrations on Usagi-chan doesn't mean you can pick on me!" she turned to Makoto with a grin as Rei sputtered incomprehensibly "But enough about that! What's this guy like Mako-chan?"

"He's alright…" Makoto admitted, sweat dropping at the look on her friends face,wondering just what she was getting her neighbour into, only to blink as the sound of footsteps drawing nearer caught her attention "Speak of the devil! Kuwabara!"

Minako whirled round, ready to greet Makoto and Ami's neighbor in all his bishounen glory, only to blink as the only person in the street turned out to be a guy she dimly recalled from the campus as one of those 'Avoid at all costs' delinquents, orange pompadour and all.

"Yo," Kuwabara greeted, the tall teen stepping up to the group with a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, shivering slightly at the looks he was receiving from the unfamilliar females standing next to his neighbours "Sorry it took so long, you didn't tell me where we were meeting up."

"My bad." Makoto chuckled, holding up a hand apologetically, before turning to look at her friends, who were gaping at Kuwabara in disbelief "Guys, this is Kuwabara Kazuma, Kuwabara, these are Hino Rei and Aino Minako."

"Nice to meet you." Kuwabara greeted, offering a small, nervous bow that put the girls slightly more at ease. He knew first hand that his mug wasn't exactly poster material…wanted poster maybe, but not the type you'd find on someone's bedroom wall or in a magazine, and so had long since endeavored to come off as unthreatening as possible when making first impressions.

Rei, the most spiritually aware of the group, frowned at the big lug as he introduced himself to Minako, who had gotten over her shock and was marveling over how tall he was, actually dragging Makoto over to get a comparison.

'There's something about this guy…' she muttered, her senses tingling at what felt like a suppressed energy emanating from the man, almost like the power her grandfather gave off when he was exorcising spirits at the shrine.

Mischievous pervert aside, Rei's grandfather was no slouch when it came to spiritual power, Rei's own talents in that area paling in comparison to his own. Oh sure her senshi abilities more than made up for her lack of experience, but it didn't change the fact that, despite being an unrepentant pervert, he still trounced her nine times out of ten in their spars, and ten times our of ten in regards to his experience in the priestly arts.

'I'll have to keep an eye on him' the senshi of Mars deduced, falling into step just behind the group as Minako lead the way to the Karaoke bar, dragging a startled Kuwabara after her by the arm 'if he turns out to be an enemy…'

Karaoke parlor…22:00pm

"You're pretty good, Kuwabara-kun!" Minako cheered, the girls offering a polite, if slightly tipsy applause as the big lug finished crooning away on an old love song, scoring a pretty impressive 70 on the rating machine.

"I gotta lot o' practice at this." Kuwabara admitted, recalling Genkai-shihan's training hall, and the spiritually inclined games machines that she used to test her disciples. True he was technically just an acquaintance, as Genkai believed Yusuke was all the apprentices she needed at the moment, but that didn't mean she didn't make a point of keeping the rest of the former Tantei's friends at their peak, and she could always use the spare change they needed to play the games.

"Not bad." Rei allotted, the priestess-cum-law student smirking confidently as she knocked back another pint of the local brew, grabbing the mike as she made her way up to the awaiting Karaoke machine, "But nowhere near good enough!"

"Rei-chan's so fun when she's sloshed." Minako noted with a victorious grin, knowing first hand that the priestess and Usagi had the second lowest alcohol tolerances among the senshi, and it was always amusing to watch the two best friends get tipsy and start falling over one another, especially when they couldn't recall what happened afterwards.

Ami, who had by far the weakest tolerance, was sticking to one pint and was already a little tipsy despite having only consumed a quarter of the contents. The bluenette was cheering her friends on, her inhibitions completely eroded by the, admittedly not very strong, brew she'd been supplied with, her cheers growing decidedly more daring as she made a scene of herself.

"Ami-chan…maybe you've had enough…" Makoto suggested, sweat dropping as the normally reserved bluenette began to wolf-whistle as the waiter as walked past, something she NEVER would have done sober, especially considering their waiter was female.

"Aw lemme have some fun Mako-chan!" the bluenette countered, waving her hand dismissively, hiccupping randomly as she tossed back her drink, which Makoto only now realized was actually Kuwabara's earlier unfinished pint "I never get to have any fun!"

'I just know she's going to kill me for this later…' Makoto sighed, looking up as Rei sat back down next to her, the priestess fuming slightly at only being awarded a 71 rating for her stellar performance.

"Utada Hikaru you ain't." Kuwabara teased, earning a sharp glare from Rei as the rest of the table burst into mocking, but nonetheless friendly sniggers "But then again I ain't much better." he admitted with a chuckle.

"Don't sell yourself short there Kuwa-kun." Minako teased, earning a flush from Makoto's neighbor as she smiled at him across the table, slightly tipsy herself "You've got a good set of lungs on ya there…" a lidded smirk came onto her face as she leaned across the table suggestively "you wouldn't be a screamer by any chance would you?"

"MINAKO-CHAN!" Makoto hissed, shooting her giggling, unrepentant friend a warning look, before smiling apologetically at a flustered looking Kuwabara, her own features covered in a light flush from the blonde's insinuation "Sorry about that."

"No prob." Kuwabara offered, chugging down a mouthful of brew to hide his embarrassment. He wasn't used to pretty girls complementing HIM after all, "By the way, don't ya think we should be headin' out? Mizuno-san looked like she'd had a bit too much."

"Aw a little binging never hurt anyone!" Minako countered with a grin, waving dismissively at the man's concerns, only to blink as the girls realized, as one, that the bluenette in question had disappeared from the table "Ami-chan?"

"TAKE IT OFF!" the denizens of the Karaoke bar roared out, the group spinning round as a series of wolf whistles and cat-calls fired off one by one, their eyes widening at the sight of the normally reserved Bluenette, who looked absolutely plastered, doing a drunken striptease on stage, her blouse already on the floor at her feet.

"Ohmigod!!" the girls yelped as one, rising to their feet in shock, Rei fighting to get past a startled Minako, only to blink as Kuwabara beat them to the punch, the big lug racing up to the stage and pulling his jacket over the inebriated young woman to preserve her modesty, before silencing the boo's of displeasure from the crowd by leveling one of his best 'Yakuza-glares', as Makoto dubbed them, at the perverts till they looked away.

"C'mon…" the pompadour sporting teen muttered softly, leading the dazed, mildly complaining bluenette down the steps towards her friends, guiding her with his hands on her shoulders and his gentle voice "Let's get you home."

"Mmkay…" Ami muttered, stumbling along in a daze, the occasional hiccup escaping from her as she griped the man's arm tightly, almost tripping over her own two feet as she stumbled out the door, only to blink as Kuwabara scooped her up in his arms, still wearing his coat "Buh?"

"I don't think she can walk by herself." The pompadour sporting teen muttered, turning to the stunned girls in explanation, not wanting them to get the wrong idea from this "I better take her back home."

"I'll go with you." Makoto insisted, the tall brunette walking up alongside him with an understanding nod, looking over her already dozing friend in guilty concern "We're roommates, and I got the keys anyways."

"We're coming too!" Minako cheered, the bubbly blonde dragging a sputtering Rei out of the club with her, the Law student carrying Ami's pullover and blouse in her other arm, having fought off the wolves that had tried to sneak them away "We can party on at your place!"

'Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to end well?' Makoto and Kuwabara thought to themselves, unaware that their neighbor was having the exact same thought.

Tokyo University Co-Ed dorm, Makoto & Ami's pad…22:30pm

While Makoto and Ami had stopped by Kuwabara's before, mostly for cram sessions or to simply share a meal, Makoto believing whole heartedly that a meal tasted better the more people there were to enjoy it, the former member of team Urameshi had, thus far, not set foot into their dorm room, as neither party had thought that far ahead and he wasn't one to impose, and wouldn't know how to broach the subject anyways.

Makoto had made it public that she'd approved of his own dorm, even if it was smaller (being a one student room), and would often hang around after a meal to watch the late-night comedies with the teen or challenge him to a round of Mario Kart on the ol' Nintendo he'd brought with him from home.

So it was quite an experience for the big lug to walk into the apartment the duo shared, out of the light drizzle that had caught them half way, to find a place that looked NOTHING like he'd expected, as up till that moment the only girl's room he'd seen the inside of had been his sister's.

'Guess the phrase 'To Each His Own' applies to girls too.' He muttered, running his eyes over the small, practical coffee table, the large book-case in the corner, filled with reference books that were categorized alphabetically per subject, the plain, comfortable couch and cushions set around the living area and the neat, walk in kitchen that showed signs of frequent use, a small radio on the counter.

The only times Kuwabara had used his own kitchen thus far had been to boil the kettle for ramen, soup, coffee, or to wash up the dishes and bento boxes he received from Makoto every morning before returning them. He just wasn't the sort that had picked up how to cook anything other than a sandwich till now.

"No TV?" he asked, looking around the neat living area, a little too neat in his opinion, as Shizuru always had a few magazines lying about, while gently setting the slumbering form of Ami down on the large, comfy couch and pulling his jacket over her while Minako ran into the bedroom to grab a blanket.

"Ami-chan says it's too much of a distraction." Makoto offered with a sheepish grin, knowing how she and the others would get too wrapped up in some TV drama to pay attention during cram session back when they were in high school "It took forever for me to convince her to let me get the radio, but I'd have gone nuts from the boredom otherwise."

"Mizuno-san's really dedicated isn't she?" the lanky teen muttered weakly, sweat dropping at the notion of the normally shy bluenette pulling a Keiko, looking down at her as she moaned, breaking out into slight coughs "Uh oh…"

"What is it?" Rei asked, having not taken her eyes of the lanky teen since they left the bar, pushing past him without waiting for a response, kneeling next to her friend out of concern, her palm resting on the bluenette's forehead "…she has a slight fever…and her nose is running."

"Must've been that shower we got caught up in." Kuwabara muttered, the pompadour sporting teen looking down at the bluenette in concern as Makoto walked over with some cocoa, before looking around the apartment with a frown "You got any flu stuff in here?"

"I don't think so…" Makoto replied, looking down at her roommate in concern as Rei stroked the moaning girl's hair "Ami-chan and I've never been really sick before, the most we've got in the cabinet are aspirin and a few bandages."

"Does she have any allergies we should worry about?" Kuwabara asked, nodding resolutely as Makoto shook her head "Right then, looks like I'm doing a supply run." The lanky teen muttered, earning a look of confusion from the girls as he made his way to the door "Keep her warm, I'll be back in a minute."

"Kuwa-!" Makoto called out, reaching after him with a look of concern, as it was still raining outside, but the teen had already rushed out the door, closing it behind him quickly in order to keep the warmth in.

"Well…" Minako opined, the bubbly blonde standing in the doorway with a big, fluffy blanket in her arms and a HIGHLYsuggestive grin on her face as she looked between her friends and the front door "He certainly knows how to take control."

"MINAKO!" Rei hissed, about ready towhip out the ol'flaming ofuda talismans, only to clap a hand over her mouth as Ami moaned, the feverish bluenette sitting up and holding her head between her hands tenderly.

"Oooooh…Never again…" the bluenette groaned weakly, her eyes cracking open, tearing slightly from the pain of her pounding headache "Mako-chan?" she called out, catching sight of her roommate above her "Where are we?"

"Home." Makoto offered, the brunette patting her smaller friend on the shoulder comfortingly, a relieved smile on her face as she helped her get comfortable "we brought you back after you got a little…carried away…"

"Carried…" the bluenette repeated, only to blink, a flush coming to her cheeks as she realized she was covered with someone else's jacket "Who's…jacket is this?" she asked, eyes widening with alarm as she recognized it.

"Kuwabara carried you back after you passed out." Rei assured the girl, the fiery priestess crossing her arms across her chest with a slight huff "Don't worry he didn't try anything…we were with him the whole time."

"Rei-chan, just because you and Yuichiro didn't work out doesn't mean you can take your grief out on Kuwabara-kun." Minako pointed out, grinning cheekily at the raven-haired priestess in response to the latter's glare "Besides, how do you know Ami didn't WANT him to try anything?" she teased.

"Minako-chan!" the bluenette eeped, only to wince and hold her head, shaking it gently to clear the pain from behind her eyeballs "Kuwabara-kun isn't like that…" she insisted after a moment of pained silence "I mean, yes he looks a little…Rough…"

"He looks like a yakuza reject." Rei cut in flatly, huffing at the hurt look the bluenette shot her "What? It's true! I'll admit he's a lot cooler than he looks but it doesn't change the face he looks like the type of guy Makoto used to break her knuckles on back in high school."

"He does kinda look like those guys doesn't he?" Minako noted offhandedly, recalling the times she, Ami and Usagi had been accosted by the local deadbeats, only for Minako to show up and drive them off "Guess that only shows, you can't call a book by it's-!"

She trailed off, the groups eyes widening as a familiar alarm bell sounded off from the bottom of Ami's bag, the bluenette pulling out a small, compact computer that was nonetheless more complicated than anything NASA could produce.

"Youma!" the bluenette reported, her equally blue eyes eyes widening with alarm as she ran her eyes over the screen "It's not far from here!"

Dun-dun-DUN!!!!

Well that was interesting -desu ne? What else can we expect from this trip down memory lane?

Cue the Nadesico music.

Narrator: The valiant Knight goes off in search for the cure to his maiden's sickness!

Kuwabra: Ya got any Cold n' Flu?

Store clerk: No (Blows gum bubble lazily)

Narrator: But what's this? a masked foe intervenes to delay him in his quest?

???: Kukukuku! It's showtime!

Narrator: But fear not Kuwabara! The angels of Love and Justice have come to assist you!

Rei: I don't like where this is going...

Narrator: Strike on Kuwabara! Your angels' love shall shield you!

Ami: E-eh?! We-we're not-!

Next time on Reikai Sensei Kuwabara: Spark! The Perilous Park Pierrot!

Minako:And who knows?You might get some 'service' too!

Rei: MINAKO!

R&R for more flashback goodness.