Rose
Thorn #3
Koharu went to check up on the person who had come to her shop injured, bringing some flowers to wish them a speedy recovery. However, when she went to the room where they were being hospitalised, she saw that there was a commotion.
Peering in, a nurse noticed her and asked if she was here to visit the patient, in which she nodded to.
"I'm sorry, but…he's passed away from his injuries last night." The nurse said apologetically, a gloomy look in her dark eyes.
"Ah…" Koharu's lips parted and her eyes widened, feeling a form of sadness settle in when she saw them take out the body, all of it covered in a large blue sheet. As it passed, she put down the small bouquet of daffodils and irises onto the sheet, clasping her hands together as if in a silent prayer.
Rest in peace, mister. Koharu headed off back to her shop, but on the way there, she saw a large poster of the upcoming festival. It immediately brightened her mood, remembering that she'd be going with Shisui.
There'll even be fireworks! She beamed to herself. Her steps became skips as she continued, buying a meat bun on the way for breakfast.
It was still early, so her shop wasn't open. So when she saw someone outside of her shop, she leaned forward to see who it was, curiously letting out an 'ooh?' before heading to them.
"Hello! Are you okay there?" She asked with a bright smile.
It was small boy, no older than 7 or 8, looking into the shop. He had dark hair that was shaped like a duck's butt, and had side bangs that squared his face. He reminded her of someone.
"Ah!" The boy looked to her, surprised. He turned to her, "Are you the owner of this shop?"
Koharu nodded, crouching down to the boy's height. "Yup! The shop's not open yet, though. Did you want to get something? I can open the shop earlier for you." When she looked at the boy close up, she saw an uncanny resemblance to an Uchiha she knew.
He rummaged through his pocket to give something to her, handing her an envelope. "Shisui-san told me to give the owner of the shop this! Koharu-san, right?"
Hearing his name, Koharu nodded, taking the letter. She gently pet the top of his head, "Thank you! Um…Uchiha-kun?"
"It's Sasuke." The boy pushed her hand away from his head, with a small pout, cheeks slightly pink.
Aww…is he a tsundere? Koharu giggled.
"Okay. Thank you Sasuke-kun!"
"Hmph! It was nothing!" And he went off.
The adult stood up and went into her shop, sitting at the counter to take a look at the letter. When she opened it, she could almost smell the roses that Shisui always bought.
Koharu, I'll be on a mission until the day of festival. If it is fine with you, can you deliver two roses to my house each day? Thanks in advance; I've left the payment on the desk in my room.
Also, on the day of the festival, please meet me by the bridge where it's held at 6pm.
I'll be waiting.
The message was short but precise. It made her heart flutter at the last part.
It sounds like a real date, she stared at the letter and then smiled, putting it back into the envelope.
"Hello, I'm Koharu from the flower shop." The female bowed to Shisui's mother, who had opened the door for her when she came to deliver the roses.
"Oh! Hello there." She smiled. "Please, come in!"
Koharu didn't fail to notice the bags under her eyes, ones which were there because of the lack of sleep since she had to care for her husband.
"Thank you." Koharu stepped in after taking off her shoes. The house smelled of roses.
She carried a couple of roses with her, going straight to the table there her gifted vase sat.
She smiled warmly when she saw it, prompting Shisui's mother to speak.
"Shisui said that you made this. Thank you; it looks beautiful." She complimented.
Koharu blushed, shaking her head, "I still have a long way to go…"
"I'll be looking forward to your new creations then." The older woman's eyes wrinkled when she smiled.
"I'll just put there in here, then." Koharu headed to the vase and placed the new flowers in.
"Shisui always brings back roses for his father and me." The mother spoke softly.
Koharu turned to her, waiting for her to continue.
"The roses that he got back were very beautiful; I wondered where he had gotten them. He gets them every day, and puts a new one to replace the old ones around the house. He's gotten so many that the house smells of roses now." The middle aged woman laughed gently, expression softening. She turned to Koharu with a small, but genuine smile.
"Please take care of Shisui."
Koharu stared at her with wide eyes, before they matched her smile, "I will. You don't need to worry."
As the days counted down to the day Koharu and Shisui would meet by the bridge, Koharu couldn't help but feel excited. Finally, when it was the day, she closed up the shop early to prepare.
She was going to wear a yukata because it was a traditional thing to do, and she hadn't worn one in a very long time.
She grinned when she took out her yukata from storage, putting it on while lightly humming a happy tune. When she was done, she headed out, excited to meet Shisui.
When she got there, he was there already. But, he was in a yukata. Koharu's mouth formed an 'o' when she hurried to him, staring at how different it was that he didn't have his usual shinobi wear.
It was refreshing.
When he saw her, he grinned widely.
"Shisui!" She smiled when she saw him, taking in how handsome he was. "I didn't know you were going to wear a yukata!"
"Surprised you, did I?" He chuckled and took a step closer to her, his arm out. He looked away bashfully, "Let's enjoy the festival."
Seeing his hand in front of her, she smiled warmly and took it, walking side by side into the long road of festivities.
Shisui's ears burned a red as he held her hand. He was excited, happy, and most of all nervous. He didn't think too much of love because he was always so busy, so it was almost an unnatural thing that he fell for her.
"Shisui! The shooting game!" Koharu pointed to the stall in which they had a dartboard.
"Do you want to play?" He asked.
"Yes!"
They headed over and paid for a game, with Koharu being the one to shoot. The owner said that if she was a shinobi she'd need to use her feet or else it wouldn't be fair (of course the owner was joking).
"Ah! I got it!" Koharu grinned widely when the dart went straight into the bullseye, surprising everyone including herself. She threw her arms up into the air. "That was a complete fluke!"
The owner stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. "That was a lucky shot!" He then grinned and pointed to the rewards, "Pick whichever one you want!"
Koharu went with a stuffed toy that resembled green peas in a pod. She laughed and hugged it tightly, hooking her arm around Shisui's when she went to continue walking down the road.
Shisui was almost shocked that she had done that; he knew she wasn't a ninja so she had no prior practice to anything like this.
What elevated his shock levels was the contact that made him blush. He wasn't ready for all this, yet he welcomed it. Maybe it was because the fact that he wasn't used to intimacy that it was strange for him, but he was happy that Koharu showed interest. His heart thumped wildly in his chest.
He covered his face with his free hand, trying to calm himself down. When he did, he glanced over to see Koharu staring at him.
"Shisui, you're red again." She teased, poking out her tongue. "It's cute!"
He opened his mouth, but her words affected him more so than they would normally. Maybe it was because they were on a date that he was like this, but it was hard to deal with.
"I'm…nervous." He admitted, pulling her arm closer to him. "But I don't dislike it."
"…Shisui, do you like me that much?" Koharu giggled and hugged onto his arm.
"W-What?!" He flinched when she hugged his arm, but relaxed after a moment. He scratched his cheek gently, averting his gaze. "M-maybe."
"Really?" Koharu giggled, "Well, I really like you, so when you asked me out it made me really happy."
The shinobi didn't have a reply to that. He only covered his face as he became a blushing mess.
He was beyond happy, but he was also worried. He wanted to stick closer by her side, to make sure that she would always be safe. But due to the nature of his job, he couldn't always do that.
Thankfully, Konoha was normally a peaceful place. But with the introduction of that serial killer that targeted beautiful young women topped with his clan's current plans to stage a coup, he was on the edge.
Seeing that he wasn't going to reply, Koharu dragged him to stalls that she was interested in, and they played the games they had there, spending the night in laughter.
So when it was time for them to go home, they smiled at each other, thanking each other for the good time.
"Thank you for tonight, Shisui! I had a lot of fun." She beamed at him.
"That's good." He smiled at her, but then he started to nervously fidget. "Uh…"
Koharu just listened expectantly.
Shisui's face went 1000 shades of red when he pulled out a rose from behind him, putting it in front of him to her. "L-let's do this again sometime."
Koharu's eyes widened and her brows rose in surprise, before her expression softened into a warm, bashful smile.
She shyly took the rose from him, taking a whiff of the fragrance. It was a fresh rose, with the thorns detached, somewhat clumsily.
Did he pick it himself? How sweet, Koharu giggled and nodded, happy that he went to the trouble.
"Let's do this again, Shisui! I'll be looking forward to it."
She went up to him and tiptoed to gently peck him on the cheek, before leaving with a wave.
Shisui waved stiffly, a hand to his cheek. He was feeling pretty embarrassed by now. Though, he had to admit, it was a successful night.
"All done?" Itachi came up from behind, Sasuke trailing behind him. "It looked like a success."
"Itachi? Sasuke? You two went to the festival as well?" Shisui asked, turning around. He laughed lightly when Itachi mentioned his date. "Yeah, it went well."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's red face, "Good for you."
When Koharu reached her home, she quickly placed all her winnings on her bed, sighing out in happiness before she looked through everything she got. She placed the rose that Shisui got her into a clear vase, smiling at the thought of him.
She took the green bean stuffed toy and took the two green peas out, turning them around and opening it with a knife. She pushed her hand in, taking out a tiny scroll that was lodged deep inside.
She opened up the scroll and scanned the contents, the smile never leaving her face. Once she read it, she burned it with a match, making sure to distribute the ashes so that there was no way anybody could find it.
As she mended the pea that she had cut open, she stared at the rose that was in the vase, wondering if Shisui really had meant to give her that.
Love; a romantic gesture that means for the deepest of affections from the giver.
The smile she wore didn't falter.