I had this chapter running about in my mind and so here it is. Very short but very important.
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Kurama tied the red ribbon around the clay pot and finished it in a perfect bow. He stepped back to admire his efforts and nodded with approval. The fuzzy little buds had bloomed that morning, the flowers that emerged were exactly what he was hoping they would be: the centers of each were pure white and it deepened shade by shade into a deep sea foam green as it spread from the center and then the tips were a sudden and vibrant red.
The colors of ice, Yukina's hair and her ever present red hair ties.
Smiling, Kurama picked up the plant and headed out to his car and began his short drive to the next town over to deliver it to his friend.
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Shizuru, Yusuke, Keiko and Botan sat in the Kuwabara house kitchen, discussing the success of the previous night's events. Kurama knocked on the door and was immediately invited into the group's conversation.
"Oh, Kurama, it's perfect!" Botan exclaimed when the red-haired demon set the pot on the counter, "It DOES remind me of Yukina as soon as I see the colors!"
"Thank you, Botan," Kurama replied in his usual gracious manner, he took a seat on one of the barstools next to Yusuke, "I take it last night was a success?"
"Psh, it should have been more of a success than it was," Shizuru replied with a laugh, "I had to go pick up one of my friends and take her back home last night, idiot got so drunk she couldn't even call a cab. I was gone all night."
"So they were here alone?" Yusuke perked up at the potential for good gossip and something to hold over his best friend's head.
"Yeah, and I even left a note telling him he should use it to his advantage," Shizuru affirmed, "But I'm pretty sure nothing happened."
"Of course not, Shizu!" Botan said disapprovingly, "Kuwabara is a perfect gentleman, he'd never take advantage of Yukina!"
"Maybe he's too much of a gentleman for his own good," Keiko commented.
"You all are forgetting something very important," Kurama spoke up, "Yukina is very young by demon standards, barely older than a child and still very ignorant of the human world. She isn't even 100 years old yet, too young for her to have even experienced demon mating."
Everyone was silent, knowing that Kurama's observation was correct.
"She has no clue about human sexuality."
"No wonder this isn't getting anywhere!" Keiko groaned.
"She's in Anatomy class," Yusuke shrugged, "She'll get to that chapter soon enough."
"Oh, right, because that class will clear up any questions and make her totally ok with it," Botan rolled her eyes, "She was confused about what a date even was last night."
"How do YOU know?" Shizuru gazed at the blue haired girl in shock. Botan blushed furiously and immediately began sucking down her tea...everyone waited till she couldn't hide behind her cup anymore.
"Oh, fine, I admit, Koenma and I were watching from his office!" she blurted loudly, "We had a bet going on whether or not they would kiss!"
"Did they?" Keiko asked, suddenly much more interested.
"Please spare me of any graphic details," Shizuru begged.
"Well...he kissed the top of her head," Botan replied simply, "But since Koenma had meant a real kiss, I won the bet. I'm sorry but...I bet against him. I know for a fact that Kuwabara is a perfect gentleman and I was correct in assuming he wouldn't push it."
The front door opened suddenly and the conversation came to a grinding halt, Kuwabara dragged himself inside and threw his book-bag on the table unceremoniously.
"Ugh!" he groaned loudly, "That was a rough day...oh...hey, guys!"
Everyone waved and smiled and Shizuru grabbed the book-bag and flung it into her brother's chest, he grunted painfully and grabbed it before it fell to the ground.
"Take your shit upstairs to you room," she hissed, "I JUST cleaned this house!"
Muttering darkly and making threats under his voice, Kuwabara obeyed and made his way up the stairs to his room. Kurama slid silently off his barstool and picked his potted plant back up, following not far behind.
"Kuwabara, I heard your date went well last night," he said as he entered the room. Kuwabara looked over his shoulder and grinned.
"Yeah, it sure did!" he said happily, "I really think I'm making some progress, Kurama! I mean, she still doesn't understand yet but...I think she's starting to work it out in her mind. She did tell me I'm her favorite human."
Kurama laughed good naturedly at how excited his friend looked over a simple comment like that, he set the flower pot on the desk.
"Wow, Kurama, what is that plant?" Kuwabara asked softly, "It...it reminds me of...Yukina! Yeah, it's the color of her hair!"
"Precisely," Kurama was glad he'd caught on so quickly, "I bred this flower specifically for you to give to her. It has no name, it's a totally new species and it requires very little care besides water and sunlight."
Kuwabara stared at his friend for a long time and then he finally cracked a huge grin and gave Kurama a good natured slap on the back.
"Thanks, man," he said as he examined the plant closely, "It's even soft like her. I can't wait to give it to her!"
"No problem," Kurama replied happily, a burst of unified laugher could be heard down in the kitchen and he smiled lightly, knowing that someone had just come up with a new plan, "And good luck."
Kuwabara watched Kurama walk out with a confused look on his face. Good luck with what?
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Yukina eyed the score of her anatomy test with pride, she'd scored in the top of her class second only to a particularly smart human girl with freckles and thick glasses.
"Excellent job, Yukina," the teacher had told her, "Whatever your study method was for this test, continue it, you did much better than your previous test in this class."
Yukina walked into the house and saw everyone sitting in the kitchen, looking highly amused. She greeted them all with a smile.
"How was the test, Yukina?" Shizuru asked immediately, trying to distract Yukina from wondering why everyone was here.
"Excellent!" Yukina replied happily, "I got the second highest score! Thank you so much for your help, Yusuke."
"Not a problem," Yusuke replied with a cheesy grin, "Glad to have helped you out."
"Is Kazuma home already? I want to thank him for helping me study."
Everyone exchanged glances and then nodded, pointing to the stairs. Yukina gave them a funny look before she left the kitchen to go find him.
"I bet she won't thank him the way he'd most like her to," Yusuke muttered, earning a smack to the back of the head by Botan. Yukina wondered what that meant, but chose to ignore it as she made her way upstairs.
"Kazuma?" she hesitated at the open door to his room before entering and found him staring at a plant on his desk, he immediately spun around at the sound of her voice and yelped, side stepping to block the plant from view.
"Yukina! I'm really glad you're home!" his voice sounded oddly high-pitched and Yukina cocked her head at him, waiting for him to continue. "How did your test go? I'm sorry I didn't wait to walk you home from school, I had a really long day and..."
"It's ok, Kazuma," Yukina assured him quickly, "I got the second best score in class on my test. I wanted to thank you for your help with my studying the other day. My teacher says I should always study that way since my grade improved so well."
Kuwabara thought he would like to find that teacher and shake the man's hand...
"What's that plant you have?" Yukina asked, trying to see around him. He kept stepping in front of it and it was frustrating her.
"Um, it...it's actually..." Kuwabara desperately tried to think of a way to keep the plant a secret until later but he knew he was failing badly so he just sighed and picked it up, holding it out to her. "It's for you."
Yukina let out a surprised little gasp and reached out to accept the pot. She looked closely at the flowers and gently touched the fuzzy leaves.
"It's a special plant," Kuwabara explained, "There's no other plant like it. Kurama made it for me, the colors are colors that remind me of you. It's...I want you to have it."
Yukina smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
"This is so sweet of you, Kazuma," she said softly, "I know that humans consider giving beautiful flowers to be an expression of love, I see it in your movies. Is that what this means?"
"Yeah," Kuwabara was delighted that he didn't have to explain the custom, it was progress, "That's exactly what it means."
Yukina held the plant close to her chest and smiled so big that it made her eyes crinkle at the corners.
"Someday I will understand what it means to love like you do, Kazuma," she stated, matter of fact, "And I know that, when I do, I will show you in return."
Kuwabara watched the ice maiden gracefully exit his room, flower pot in hand, and thought he'd never heard anything quite as wonderful as that.
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Simple, short and sweet chapter for you :)