Kurama walked into his new home with a sense of calm. The twenty eight year old was putting the finishing touches in his window display of orchids each so rare that most people would go to botanical gardens to see. His business was doing better than expected and he had opted to expand his expertise into the florist business. It took him months to find the right place for him to settle, he wanted to find a new home that would double as a flower shop so that he could get away from the city. Twenty minutes away from Tokyo was far enough to enjoy suburban life and close enough to be at his landscaping business when he needed to be. His knack for designing the perfect landscape had made him very successful. Successful enough that his parents had been happy he had turned down going into the Hatanaka family business to start his own. The busy yet quaint town he had chosen seem to be bustling with life, he'd enjoy the slower life that it seemed to promote. Most of the shops and businesses on this street where entrepreneurial and friendly, it gave the town a charm that had the cold city lacked. As his family helped him move in the last of his things to the upstairs condo he felt ready to take on this new endeavor.

Little did Kurama know that across the street dark eyes lingered on the activity caused by his moving crew. A small frown tugged at a delicate mouth as she sensed something she hadn't expected once she got a glimpse of her new neighbor. He was a demon. Deciding on how to approach the situation the young woman walked to her pantry and took out the welcome pastries she had baked for the new shop owner in town. Something she was known to do for anyone who moved into the tight knit community she lived in. At first the concept of a florist had thrilled her, she loved flowers the way that their energy welcomed her made her feel one with the earth. Also the foot traffic would increase the demographic that she wanted to expand in her own business: women. The sign was inconspicuous enough, 'Minamino's Flowers,' however once she laid eyes on the owner her blood had frozen with apprehension. This Minamino guy; was a demon, which meant one of two things. He was a peaceful demon; one that was seeking the comfortable life of nigenkai, or he was yet another blood thirsty monster using a flower shop to consume humans. The thought made the beautiful young woman frown. Looking in the mirror she took a deep breath and ran her hands through her long chestnut hair letting the curls cascade behind her. It was now or never time.

Walking out she noticed most of the people helping him move were gone. All those workers seemed to have put together the flower shop faster than she could have imagined. This guy must be loaded to have such a large moving company come in. As she approached she let her senses kick in, the only people left had a car. A small blue Honda. A middle aged woman came out of the store smiling to herself followed by a boy in his early twenties, instantly the young woman could tell this was the mother, her sixth sense wasn't needed for that. Her aura was similar to his, yet she was not a demon…interesting. The young boy had dark hair was far too young to own the shop; she guessed he was a relative but his aura was too different from hers to be her biological son. As she walked up the woman's gaze met her eyes and she immediately brightened. Her aura was friendly and warm like her smile, "oh hello! Are you coming into the store? My son hasn't officially opened yet."

The young woman returned her warm smile and gestured to the package in her hands, "yes but not as a costumer yet. My name is Maika Benibara, I own the martial arts studio across the street. I came to give your son these pastries as a welcome gesture. We are all pretty close in this neighborhood so I wanted to make sure he felt welcomed."

Maika almost giggled at the excitement in the middle-aged woman's eyes, "ah! What a lovely girl you are! My name is Shiori Minamino and this is my son Suichi Hatanaka. My other son Suichi owns this flower shop."

Maika bowed respectfully to her elder, "it's lovely to meet you both."

Suichi looked across the street, "you own a mixed martial arts studio! That's so cool! Who teaches your classes?"

Maika giggled, "well I do of course. I have my black belt in several martial arts."

The young boys chocolate eyes widened before a grin spread across his face, "no way! That's so cool. I've been considering taking something like that to keep fit while I go to college. Freshman fifteen ya know?"

Shiori rolled her eyes at her son making Maika smile. She winked a the young boy making him blush, "well tell you what kid. We usually provide discounts to each other as a courtesy to other local business owners. Come and do my free one month trial and if you like I'll give you a discount."

"Awesome thanks!"

Shiori grinned at her new acquaintance and gestured to the door, "we won't hold you up anymore. Suichi is inside doing some last minute rearranging so why don't you go in. We were on our way home, it was lovely meeting you."

"Likewise," Maika said as she bowed again to Shiori.

She waited for them to head towards their car before proceeding inside. Steeling herself to face the demonic aura quietly reaching her from the building. If she were anyone else this would have gone unnoticed. The demon was very good at hiding his aura. However as was her dreaded curse, she could sense him the moment his car pulled into the street. A bell chimed as she opened the door signaling that someone had entered. She saw a glimpse of red hair behind the counter the owner was putting away things under the register. She could feel his aura from here. He was powerful yet not overpowering. It was green and cool almost soothing yet it held some foreboding that he was capable of a great battle. So far he didn't raise any of her alarms. But she would need to see more of him to read his intent.

"Just a minute, I'll be right with you," a cool voice came out from under the counter.

Maika readied herself to face the demon as she spoke, "Ok, sorry to bother you, your mother said it was okay to come in. I'm just here to say hello, I'm your neighbor from across the street."

The redheaded demon rose and all but surprised Maika. He smiled gently at her as emerald eyes met her deep dark brown, "hello, nice to meet you. I'm Suichi Minamino, you own the martial arts studio?"

Maika smiled at the small sound of surprise from his voice. She could see it now as she looked at him, his aura told his story in a way that he couldn't imagine. Flashes of fox spirits, thievery, battles, and friendships flashed in her mind. She tried to control it but it was hard when she met such a powerful being. A secretive smile came to her lips as she tried to look past his history and read his intent. It was after all one of the reasons she was here.

"Yes," she said politely, "Maika Benibara, it's a pleasure to meet you. I made you these pastries as a welcome treat. Its something I do for all new shop owners around here. I'm sure you'll see soon enough how friendly this town is."

As she handed over the parcel in her hand Suichi took it with a smile, she almost sighed in relief to see that he was one of the good ones. His aura held no maleficence at all. There was also something in the way he looked at her that lead her to believe he was reading her spiritual energy with interest. Surely he had to know she knew about what he was.

"Thank you that's very kind," he responded politely, with an analytical look in his green eyes.

Maika smiled, might as well have some fun with it, "your welcome, it's not every day we get demons as neighbors."

He froze, his gaze hardening; immediately that made Maika's skin prickle. She had made him nervous, "demons?"

She turned away from that look and caressed the tulips that were next to her for comfort the flowers happily sending their ki back at her in an embracing way. She could feel him watching her closely, "yes. Don't worry I mean no harm. I was only ensuring that you weren't here to cause a threat to my community. After all we've had our share of passerby's that are only using stores as a front for other things. However I can see from your aura that you mean no harm."

"Is that so?" his velvety voice replied sounded guarded.

She turned at looked at him, pleased to read more curiosity than hostility from him. One of these days she was going to piss of the wrong demon because of her amusement. "Yes, I don't often find the need to lie. I was nervous when I realized you were a demon. But I see you mean no harm, so I also mean no harm to you. However I've never met a person like you before, its like you are a reincarnation in way. Two souls one body, very interesting."

Green eyes widened. She gave another sly smile and shrugged, "sorry to be so blunt."

"How do you know all this?" he said his voice still laced with caution.

Maika sighed as she moved through his flowers admiring their beauty and soaking in their joyous energy, "I just do. It's hard to explain how I can do any of this other than the fact that I am probably cursed with my damned spiritual awareness. It's a bother really."

She turned around and faced him again as she reached the front door, "you have lovely flowers. Like I said, I mean you no harm so long as you mean us no harm. And since I can see that you don't, I look forward to getting to know you. I hope you wont let my boldness color a bad picture of me."

The red head all but gaped at her, something she was used to. She had baffled many before and he wouldn't be the last. She could see it took all his self-control not to loose that expressionless mask. She could see the subtle strain in his eyes and jaw as he sized her up. Composing himself he smiled politely again, "of course not. I'm glad you see I mean no harm. I would have to ask though that you are discreet with your knowledge. I'm not quite sure if you share any of your information with anyone."

Maika would have been nervous about his hidden warning; she was not a fool. He could probably kill her if he wanted to. However she knew he wouldn't if it wasn't incredibly necessary. Spirit world would be crawling over town if she died; she knew they kept tabs on her. She had a feeling he knew so as well. Winking at the handsome devil Maika opened the door and gave him a slightly teasing look, "don't worry Kurama, if I'm good at anything its keeping secrets."

And with that she gracefully exited the flower shop. Leaving its owner to stare at her back as she crossed the street and walked into the brightly lit martial arts studio. It seemed students had begun to arrive and she was greeting them warmly. His plants jubilantly radiated in the afterglow of her aura, it was a most intriguing sensation.

Kurama stood there for a few minutes baffled by the exchange. He hadn't ever been so curious about anything in his life. He had met his share of human psychics, all with unique abilities. Yet here was one that had done something no one had yet. She had read his aura and pulled information from it. She couldn't have read his mind; he would have felt her prodding. She had sensed his energy even though he masked it. He had sensed hers also, it was being suppressed but not contained all together. It was startling really the way the interaction had gone. It had caught him completely off guard. Sighing he decided he would find out more about this mystery neighbor of his. Perhaps life would not be completely uneventful in the suburbs.