Yu Yu Hakusho: New Dreams, Old Nightmares

Thanks for sticking along with this wonderful little yarn of mine. I know the last chapter was full of wonderful unexpected fluff, here's a little more.

Disclaimer: Blah blah Yu Yu, blah blah don't own, blah blah blah.

New Dreams, Old Nightmares

Chapter Three: Roses for a Flower

Kurama stuck his head through the door to the back room. "Noriko-san? Are you back here?"

She was sitting at her desk, doing some paperwork and on the phone simultaneously. She looked up and nodded quickly to acknowledge his presence, then went back to the conversation. "Well, it's a big order, we'd need to have some time to gather all the stuff because we don't have it all on hand…"

A little chime sounded from the front of the store, signaling that there was a customer.

He smiled and left the doorframe, walking back towards the counter near the front of the small shop. There was a girl standing there, her back to Kurama as she eyed the beautiful banquets that were arranged near the front of the windows to grab attention.

She was a few inches shorter than Kurama, wearing a traditional green sailor uniform. Her chestnut hair went nearly to her waist, and flowed gently as she angled her head from side to side, getting the best view possible of the various arrangements. He leaned forward on the counter, resting on his elbows. "Can I help you, miss?"

She jumped and turned around towards the one who just spoke. "Umm, yes…" she said. "These arrangements are so beautiful…did you set these up?"

Kurama smiled at her pretty face. Her eyes were green, like his own, and full of wonder at all the flowers around her. "Yes, I did. Horticulture is a hobby of mine," he stated. "Do you like them?"

The girl nodded. "I have to learn how to arrange them like this…"

Kurama laughed inwardly. This wasn't the first time he had been told this, by far. He had held this part time job for a few months, working as a florist in the mall. Since he had started working to make some money, the store had been very successful, tripling its business. Noriko, his boss, was always very impressed by his efforts and knowledge of the subject at hand. While Kurama would never admit it, he cheated and used his yoki on a lot of the plants, making sure they lasted much longer, bloomed much fuller, and were much more beautiful than they would have been normally. Each rose, each carnation, and each lily looked like they had come directly out of a calander photo.

"It's easy, once you get the hang of it. Is there something specific you had in mind, that you were looking for?" he asked, looking at her with his piercing emerald eyes.

"Yes, there is…I was wondering if you had two roses…" she said, turning away slightly from his warm, yet somehow intimidating gaze.

"Certainly," he said. "What color would you like?" He moved behind the counter towards a humidifier case behind it.

"Red is fine…umm, do you have any of the type that haven't bloomed? You know, they have, but, closed?"

"Not a problem," he said. He knelt down out of sight and pulled out two roses in full bloom from a vase resting near the back of the case. The roses glowed slightly as he held them, focusing his yoki, causing them to close up. He smiled and stood up, holding them in his fingers.

"Thank you!" she said, looking at them as he displayed them for her. She reached into her purse. "How much do I owe you?" she asked brightly.

Kurama smiled back at her. "Well, not many people come in asking for a rose in that condition. There are always a few that never seem to bloom fully, it's a shame nobody wants them. You can have them for free," he finished, smiling genuinely at her.

She blushed as she took them, her hand brushing against his. "Really?"

He nodded. "Who are they for?"

She looked down. "I'm visiting my parents tonight, and I haven't seen them in a while…"

Kurama picked up on the sadness in her voice, and spoke quickly to reassure her. "I'm sure they'll love them."

"Well yeah, of course they will, if you were the one who picked them out!" she said again, her eyes practically dancing as she smiled at him.

He laughed in turn. "Well, if you have that much faith in my abilities…"

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate this…" she said. "I feel bad, just taking these for free though…"

"Don't feel that way…it's perfectly alright, I assure you."

"Well, okay…but will you let me make it up to you somehow? Like, I don't know, when's your next break? I'll buy you an ice cream, or a coffee or something like that," she said, with a small pout tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Kurama smiled at her. She was definitely a little different than all the other girls that were vying for his attention…she wasn't blushing, she was making eye contact, and she was being very genuine about repaying the debt. It was...refreshing.

"Unfortunately I already have plans to meet with someone else today," he said. "A good friend of mine has just come home after a long time being away, and we're throwing a party." He looked over his shoulder at the clock on the wall.

"Oh," she said, with not nearly as enthusiasm as before.

"I'll be meeting him in about an hour, when I get off," he said, placing a small amount of emphasis on the him part of his speech to remove doubt in her mind. She looked much nicer with a smile, and that spark in her eyes.

It worked. "Some other time then?" she asked, the fire returning to her features.

"Yes, I would love to," Kurama said. And he genuinely meant it.

"Great! I'll see you around!" she said, turning around to leave, placing the roses in her purse so the blossoms stuck out. She made it about half way before she stopped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even get your name!"

"Shuuichi. Shuuichi Minamino," he said, with a slight bow. "What's yours?"

"Promise you won't laugh?" she asked.

"Promise."

"Hana Sakamoto," she replied, bowing a little deeper than he did as a sign of respect.

"Certainly an ironic name," he said lightheartedly. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Sakamoto-san."

She laughed. "Please, call me Hana, that makes me feel old! May I call you Shuuichi?"

"I see no harm in that," he said with a smile. This girl had very quickly broken down the formalities between them and Kurama was surprised and amused that banter came so easily to both of them.

"Okay then, Shuuichi, I'll see you around!" Hana waved to him and with a flutter of green skirt and brown hair, she was gone.

Kurama was left standing there, surrounded by the flowers, welcoming the smile that was on his face. A good encounter always left him feeling happy, and it was rare he had them these days, outside of his close circle of friends.

"She was cute," Noriko's voice sounded behind him.

He turned around to see his boss in the hallway, leaning on the doorframe.

"And how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know you want to leave in an hour," she said with a serious expression.

Kurama sweatdropped. "Well, you see, I was going to ask you about that, but you were on the phone…"

She held up her hand, silencing him. "It's okay, I'll be more than happy to let you go. So tell me, how long has it been since you've seen this friend?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye that showed she didn't believe Kurama's friend was male.

"I was being truthful when I said I was meeting a friend, and he hasn't been back here in almost three years," he said, once again emphasizing for clarity.

"Well, forgive me for being wrong. Guess I have to let you out early, don't I?" she chuckled.

"I would be very grateful if you did, Noriko-san."

"Now you're making me feel old," she said in a low voice, but with a smile so Kurama knew she was teasing. "We just had an order come in. Kinpatsu is hosting a wedding this weekend and he basically just bought the entire shop and then some." She pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and a lighter, preparing to take her own break. "He specifically requested that you were the one who handled the arrangements. He said he was so impressed with your work that he would pay extra."

"You know I can't accept that, I'm doing my job and something I have a passion for," Kurama replied.

"I know, but he insisted. This leaves a problem…" she sighed.

"Noriko-san?"

"The wedding is in four days. He needs the flowers delivered that morning. I'm giving you the rest of today and the next two days off, but that only leaves one day to fill out the order – you'd work a full shift that day."

"How big is the order?"

Noriko pulled out a sheet of paper she had scribbled on and handed it to Kurama. He took it from her and studied it for a moment.

Wow, he thought. She wasn't exaggerating when she said he practically bought out the shop.

"You'll also need to work more hours after the wedding, because we'll need to restock the shop and place quite a few orders to our suppliers…"

Kurama raised his head. "Will you let me take care of that? I can make sure we have enough for the wedding, and the shop will be back to normal in no time."

"Oh?" she said. "I suppose so, since I'm giving you a few days off. I should know better than to doubt the great Shuuichi Minamino," she finished with a chuckle.

Kurama flushed.

"Oh, don't think I don't know. You're quite a magnet to the ladies, and you're the top student in your school. You think I don't see you in here? I think half the girls that come in here and buy flowers just do it to gawk at you."

Kurama gave a nervous cough. "I didn't ask for all that attention, you understand…"

"That's true. I don't think I've seen you with a single girl except for Keiko, and usually you still have Kuwabara tagging along with you. Keiko must be the luckiest girl in the world, with two casanovas like you with her."

He threw up his hands in protest and laughed. "I assure you, that isn't the case. She is a good friend of Kuwabara and I. The boy I'm meeting, the one who has been away, is her boyfriend."

"Wow. So she's been carrying a torch for him all these years?"

You have no idea. "Yes, it's most remarkable."

"Kids these days," she responded with a laugh and turned around. "Since I'm letting you out in an hour, I'm going to take my lunch now, if you don't mind. Mind watching the store while I'm gone?"

"Of course not."

"Oh, Shuuichi?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to give out too many free flowers." Noriko said as she went out the back door.

Kurama's nervous gulp was covered by the sound of the door closing.

Short chapter here, it was going to be a lot longer, but this was the only break that would have worked. I'm working on chapter four, and decided to introduce an original character. "Hana" is Japanese for "Flower", by the way.

Thanks for the reviews – unfortunately, I can't see them! I get them to my email but they aren't posting on the site for some reason, same with the story. After 12 hours, Chapter 2 hadn't uploaded, so I deleted the entire story and uploaded it again, and then it finally worked. I have no idea what the problem is but it's not on my end, it's something to do with the server. Is anyone else having this problem?

Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate it!

Kusanagi Mamoru