Rose

Thorn #2

Koharu tapped the pen against her chin, staring up at the ceiling. She was trying to think of the next batch of flowers she would need to order, and making predictions about what her customers would buy next.

Would Shisui like colours other than red, though? She found her thoughts drifting back to one of her regulars. He's been ordering the same thing for so long; I wonder if he'd like anything else?

She tilted her head slightly to the side, continuing her habit. She decided to just get what she would normally, writing it down to make sure she wouldn't forget. She pinned it onto the board that was behind the counter, marking in red the date that she would meet the supplier.

"Okay, time to open up!"

"Did you get any leads?" Shisui questioned Itachi. He made sure that no one was around to hear them. It was a classified mission.

Itachi paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "The first 4 victims were killed inside their home, so no one bore witness. The most recent ones have been in public places."

Shisui placed a hand on his hip, thinking. "Why would they target in public places? It would be easier for them to get caught." He paused for a second, seeing Itachi's knowing look. "Unless they're purposely doing this."

Itachi glanced towards the direction of the village, then back at Shisui. "Shisui, you should make sure she is alright." He warned.

It was one thing that she was at the flower shop by herself, but it's another if she matched with the operatus modi and was defenceless.

The older Uchiha pressed his lips together only just slightly, but enough to let Itachi know that he was going to do just that. "I'll check up on her later. We have to go on a mission soon, don't we?" It was the same mission, but this time, they'd be expanding their territory and keeping close tabs on certain people that have paid them for their protection (AKA the rich kids).

Itachi didn't say anything in return, only putting on his ANBU mask and making a hand sign, disappearing from sight.

Shisui did the same, pushing the thought of Koharu in danger to the back of his mind.

Once Shisui finished his part of the mission, he changed into something comfortable and headed to the flower shop. Of course, he was going to get the same thing as always, but he also wanted to get something else so that he could gift it to Koharu, and invite her out to the festival that was happening in a few days' time.

He hoped that she was alright—she never really forced herself to stand out, even as the owner of one of the most well-known flower shops in Konoha. But even if she herself didn't stand out due to the cover of the flower shop, those who frequented it or passed by it often knew of the beautiful woman who owned it.

And that's the biggest problem here. Shisui's fingers curled around the coins in his pocket.

Heaving a deep breath in, Shisui opened the door to the flower shop. The bell rung a few times, but the stench of blood hit his nose like Itachi's punch to his face.

His eyes widened as his nostrils flared, obviously not expecting anything like this. He wrinkled his nose, momentarily stunned, before going in and taking a look around, saying Koharu's name a couple of times.

"Koharu?" He called, eyes looking around the shop. It was the late afternoon but the sun had yet to set fully, leaving everything to be basked in orange.

He glanced at the ground, seeing blood smears here and there which seemed to have been recent and not cleaned up. A few flower pots had finger sized blood prints on it, sending nervous chills down Shisui's spine as he thought of what would have happened in the shop.

"Koharu?!" He called again, slight desperation in his voice. He was about to head to the back where Koharu stored things, but the door's bell ringing forced him out of it as he turned to look at who had come in.

"Shisui? Are you okay? I heard you calling my name." Koharu stepped inside the store, holding a few papers. She had a confused expression on her face, but when Shisui saw her, he immediately engulfed her into a strong hug, surprising the female.

"W-wha, what's wrong Shisui?!" She stammered.

He let her go almost abruptly when he realised what he was doing, apologizing to her profusely.

"Eh…it's, it's okay, Shisui." The flower shop owner tried to calm him down, but seeing the relief on his face made her wonder what happened. "Is everything alright?"

The ANBU member didn't know whether to nod or shake his head. On a plus side things seemed to be fine, but what worried him was the blood stains and stench. They weren't there yesterday.

And it's definitely not a cut or anything of the sort. His eyes glazed over her fingers and clothing, seeing that there were no cuts on either.

"Shisui?" Koharu waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his light trance. "Earth to Shisui!"

"Y-yeah?" He was a little taken aback.

"Didn't you see the sign at the front? It said that I would be back in 20." She tapped the glass door. "It's a good thing it's just you, so there won't be any robberies of the sort."

"Speaking of robberies…" Shisui glanced at the blood on the ground and flower pots.

"Ah." Koharu held up the papers that she had with her, "Just before, someone came into the store and was bleeding quite a bit, so I brought him to the hospital. That's why there's quite a bit of blood." She took a glance at the male, seeing the relief settle in and his gaze soften.

"Was he a ninja?" Shisui questioned, astonished that something like that happened. It wasn't every day that an injured person came asking for help.

Koharu thought for a moment, before shrugging lightly, "I'm not exactly sure. He didn't seem to be wearing any ninja clothing."

Could it be…? Shisui questioned. Nah, it can't be. If it was that guy she'd be dead by now.

With a relieved sigh, he fell to a crouching position, hanging his head. He rubbed his neck gently, looking up at her, "I'm glad you're safe."

With a questioning look, Koharu let a warm smile come to her lips as she crouched down with him, "Thank you for worrying about me."

Seeing her up close like this made the male's cheeks dust a baby pink. His ears slowly started to turn red at the distance between them, but it wasn't noticeable in the orange that illuminated everything.

Koharu patted his shoulder and stood up, "So is it the usual today?" She went to the roses.

Shisui made a hum of approval and stood back up, heading over to her. Like always, he watched her cut the roses and remove the thorns, admiring how she did so. She was so gentle with them, just like she was personally.

"You know, Shisui, you watch me every time. Did you want to try cutting them as well?" Koharu turned to him with a small smile. She had finished doing one of them, but the other had yet to be started.

Shisui opened his mouth, about to decline, but then he thought about it, noticing that it was another way to get closer to her.

But that's just an ulterior motive…Shisui thought with an internal sigh. He didn't mind learning how to do stuff like that and it might come in handy in the future, but right now he wasn't so sure.

"Maybe next time." Shisui grinned. Koharu had a hopeful spark in her eyes as she nodded and continued.

The shinobi turned to the blood stains and stared at them for a moment, then headed to the door and opened it, leaving it open so that the stench of blood was replaced with fresh air.

"I'll help you clean the blood stains off." Shisui suggested.

"Ah, you don't have to—"

"It's fine, I'm here anyway, so I might as well help."

"Okay…thank you! The cleaning supplies are at the back, in the left shelf."

With a nod, he headed to the back and grabbed the cleaning supplies, proceeding in helping her out.

When Koharu finished with the flowers, she left them on the counter and helped Shisui until the store was spotless.

"Thanks for the help!" She thanked him yet again, wiping her brow. "It would have taken a long time to clean it if I had left it any longer."

"No problem." Shisui grinned widely, going to wash the towels. When he came back, Koharu was waiting at the counter with two hot cups of tea and a few snacks.

"Good work today!" She smiled, patting the table. "There's a chair for you on the other side. Don't worry about other people coming, I've already closed shop for today."

Shisui wordlessly made his way over and sat down in front of her, holding onto the cup of tea to warm his hand up.

"How are you parents?" Koharu asked, blowing on the tea and taking a light sip.

"Mother is fine, but since she's taking care of father, it's a little hard on her." Shisui scratched his cheek gently. "Father has to take regular check-ups to make sure he's all good."

"Ah! That's right, your father's leg…" Koharu remembered the sad detail about Shisui's current family situation.

Shisui's father lost his leg in the previous Great War, and even caught an illness from that injury that confined him to the bed. He had to have regular check-ups with the doctor that visits their house. Needless to say, Shisui was the breadwinner of the family.

Seeing her silence, Shisui continued, "He's getting remarkably emaciated; he doesn't even recognise me."

Koharu stiffened at the sadness that laced Shisui's voice, wondering what would cheer him up. She pushed a snack towards him. "I'm sure that, even if he doesn't recognise you, he still has you in his heart. Don't doubt a parent's love to their child."

Hearing those words from her was a surprise to him, but it made him smile. "Is that so…" He picked up the snack and started eating, prompting her to eat one too.

"What about you? How are things on your side?" He asked.

"On my side…it's the normal, really. They want me to get married and get a boyfriend and give them grandchildren." Koharu sweat dropped. "But I don't even have one so I can't anyway. Plus, I have to look after this store and that's already enough to fill my time."

Shisui pressed his lips together, but she couldn't see, due to them being behind the tea cup. He was debating whether or not to ask her out now whilst the conversation was still on it, or not. He didn't even have the flower that he planned to give her when he asked her out!

"Koharu, are you free in a few days' time?" The words came out of his mouth before he could even think through. He held in a gasp that threatened to spill, seeing her dumbfounded expression. "Ah, no, um, sorry, I—"

"Yes, I am." She smiled at him.

The ANBU member looked at her with wide eyes. Did she know where this was going and was she trying to encourage him to go on?

With a nervous gulp, Shisui put the cup down, "Let's go to the festival together." There, he said it. It was amazing that it even left his mouth in the first place. This was an area that he had no expertise in.

Koharu's smile widened as she nodded enthusiastically, "I'd love to!"

He was so prepared for rejection that he immediately said, "Sorry! I shouldn't have asked!" right after she agreed. Once he finished his sentence, a silence awaited, before he let out a shocked sound, eyes wide with astonishment that she had agreed.

"Shisui, you're really red right now!" Koharu teased, laughing. "I said that I'd love to go with you!"

Shisui leaned on the counter, covering his reddened face with his arms, happiness doing somersaults within him.

Koharu let out a gentle laugh at his reaction, finding it cute.

"I'll be in your care!"