Kino stood under the tree, looking up at the orange furred cat in the branches above.  It wasn't quite full grown, but it also wasn't quite a kitten either.  Who's cat was it?  Or was it a stray?  Kino never had a pet before, but he wasn't sure just what he would do with one.  Between his training to become the best puppet ninja and his mother's teaching him about various plants and weeds so he could identify helpful and harmful ones, he barely had time to play, let alone take care of one.<br/><br/>The nine-year-old boy's hand rose to his chin in a similar fashion to his father when he was thinking.  There had to be an easy way to get the cat down.  He was sure that simply calling out to it wouldn't work.  Perhaps he should use his training pup....<br/><br/>About that time, something bumped right into Kino!  Whatever it was came from the side and behind, his blind spot due to him looking up and being focused on the little, furry animal in the tree.  Kino was staggered and fell to one knee, his numerous weeks of practice keeping him from sprawling prone on the ground.  Then again, what hit him wasn't very big nor very fast moving, so that attributed a lot to his successful save.<br/><br/><em>“Oh! I’m sorry!”</em><br/><br/>Kino blinked for a moment before he turned to face what ran into him.  That was a girl's voice!  What was a girl doing out here?  He thought that this was too far away from where most of the girls preferred to play.  At least a few streets from the usual places anyway.<br/><br/>The pale-haired boy stood up and looked down at the girl sitting there.  About that moment was when he noticed the small, fuzzy thing she was trying to hold onto.  It was a tan kitten, smaller than the one in the tree.  It appeared to be squirming a lot, trying to climb the girl's shirt.  The girl didn't seem to notice that much and seemed to be focused on the cat in the tree.<br/><br/>She asked if it was his kitten, but Kino shook his head, "Not mine.  Might be someone else's though.  I didn't have a good look at it before you ran into me."  He didn't speak like he was angry, but he did raise a questioning eyebrow like his mother often did.  The girl then asked if the cat was stuck, if they should get it down, and if he needed any help.<br/><br/>Kino tilted his head to the side before reaching his hand down, "It sounds like the cat's stuck.  No idea for how long though.  I was just thinking of ways to try and get it down before you came here.  If you're offering to help, maybe the two of us could do it.  But, don't you think you should get up first?"  He wiggled his offered hand as emphasis on the last part.  If she accepted, he'd help her get onto her feet again.  If not and he saw her getting up on her own, he'd simply shrug and go back to the tree.  In any case, once she was up, he'd ask, "Ever got a cat from a tree before?  It's pretty high up, but at least it's not so high that it would be too dangerous to climb."<br/><br/>He kicked at a small rock, skipping it along the ground, "If only I could walk up the side of a tree like my dad can.  It would be so easy to get it down...."<br/><br/>Kino shook his head and glanced over at her.  The girl was about his height.  He couldn't tell what clan she might be from, but she had pupils, so she wasn't one of the Hyūgas, one of the strongest clans in Konohagakure.  In any case, he then said, "I'm Isako Kino, but you can just call me Kino.  How about you?"  He couldn't just keep calling her 'girl' in his head, so asking her name was the most logical solution.