CHAPTER THREE: Piece of Heaven
"This sucks!" yelled Maki, throwing a leash on the ground. "How come all the girls go to their flower shop but no cute boys come in here?!"
Leela looked up from her place by the counter, "I guess not everyone needs dog toys. Girls will always find an excuse to need flowers."
"I wish someone would send me flowers!" Maki said, pouting.
"Come on, Maki," said Yuko. "It's not that bad. We get enough business. Just because we're not constantly dealing with a throng of hot male customers doesn't mean.."
Maki cut her off, "Yeah, whatever. It'd just be nice to have a boyfriend sometimes."
Makoto came downstairs, "You know we can't really do that. It's not safe, doing what we're doing now."
Maki sighed, "Yeah, I know. Oh, Mako-chan! Did you find anything?"
"No," Makoto replied. "Nothing that'll help us figure out who they are. I figured I'd just help down here for now."
"Well, now that Mako-chan is here, I know what'll cheer you up, Maki! Want to join the masses over at Koneko no Sumu Ie?" Yuko asked.
Maki's eyes widened excitedly, "You mean, you want to go check out cute guys with me?"
"I know that's what you want to do. That's what you always want to do!" Yuko smiled.
"Do you guys mind if I go with you?" Makoto asked. "You don't mind, do you, Leela?"
Leela looked around the empty store, "I think I can handle it. You guys have fun."
"We'll be back soon! I promise!" Maki cheerfully called as she ran out the door. Yuko and Makoto exchanged a look but waved good-bye to Leela and followed.
Maki, Yuko, and Makoto crossed the street to the flower shop. The sidewalk out front was overrun with squealing teenaged girls, and Yuko visibly twitched.
Without missing a beat, Maki began plowing through the throng of girls. "Excuse me! Pardon me! MOVE!" she bellowed. Yuko and Makoto shrugged and followed behind her. The girls who were pushed out of the way shot angry glares, but parted like the Red Sea, anyway.
Finally, Maki made it up to the front and stopped so suddenly that Yuko ran into her, and Makoto ran into Yuko.
"What is it?" asked Yuko. "What's wrong?"
"They're...they're..." stammered Maki.
"They're WHAT?!" demanded Makoto, already on the alert to an attack.
Maki broke into the biggest smile they had ever seen and exclaimed, "They're GORGEOUS!"
Yuko thwacked her. "Anyway, let's go talk to them," she said. Grabbing Maki's and Makoto's hands, she pushed open the door to the flower shop with her foot and stomped inside.
"GOOD MORNING!" chanted all three girls at once.
Startled, Ken dropped a flowerpot, breaking it on the linoleum floor, promptly getting reamed by the customer who intended to buy it. "Oh! I'm sorry, Ken! I didn't mean to mess you up!" cried Maki, running to his assistance.
Meanwhile, Youji sauntered up to Makoto and Yuko, "Hey, ladies. What kind of flowers are you looking for today?"
"Whoa," said Makoto, noticing the huge bruise on the side of Youji's face. "That's a hell of a shiner you've got there."
"Huh? Shiner?" repeated Youji, touching his face. "Oh, yeah! I, uh, had a little tiff with a particular violent date last night," he said, slowly. "You know how women are sometimes."
"Bitches," Makoto and Yuko said, simultaneously.
"I wouldn't go as far to say that," Youji said. "Emotional, I guess."
Yuko looked at Youji, taking note of the shiner and the tallness. Poking Makoto discreetly, she said, "You guys are super-busy today, huh? Don't you have anyone else to help out?"
"Well, yeah," Youji nodded. "There's Momoe but it's her day off and Aya but he's in the hospital. Omi's upstairs doing some homework."
"Oh, I remember! You mentioned Aya yesterday. How's he doing? And what's wrong with him anyway? I mean, will he be okay?" Makoto had taken note of the significance of Yuko's finger jamming her ribs.
"He's fine. Just grumping around more than usual," Youji answered, oblivious to the Makoto and Yuko's well-disguised suspicion. "He just had a little accident. He should be home tonight."
"That's great! We'll come back over to see you when he gets back!" cried Yuko, over-enthusiastic. "I like blue flowers. I'm going to go look for some!" She ran over to look at the display cases, leaving Makoto to continue talking to Youji.
"So.," Makoto started but was suddenly pushed aside by an under-aged twit with yellow hair and ridiculously loose socks.
"Youji-san," she said sweetly, latching herself onto Youji's left arm. "Do you have any roses in stock? Red ones. I want to give some to someone I love."
Youji looked at the blonde scrupulously, "You're not over 18, are you?"
Makoto sighed, "I can see you're busy, Youji," she stated pointedly. "Is it all right if we come visit you later tonight?"
"Makoto.," Youji started.
The pushy teenager interrupted, huffily, "Youji-san! I thought you were helping me!"
Makoto stood a few feet away, eyebrows raised and arms crossed, "Is it all right, Youji?"
"Yes! Please come by!" Youji called while being dragged by the arm by the girl.
Sighing again, Makoto went over to where Maki and Yuko were standing with Ken. Yuko was tugging on Maki's sleeve, repeating, "It's time to go, it's time to go.," over and over again. Maki and Ken were flirting in a most unskilled way.
Makoto poked Maki in the ribs, "Oh, Mako-chan! What's up?" Yuko looked exasperated.
"It's time to go," she said. "We'll come back later tonight. If that's okay with you, Ken."
"Absolutely!" Ken said, cheerfully. "Come over any time! Maki, are you coming, too?"
"Well, of course, Ken," Maki said, smiling. Makoto and Yuko exchanged a worried glance.
"Ken, could you ring me up?" Yuko asked, holding out a blue flower.
"Nah," said Ken. "You go ahead and keep it. It's on the house. Maki, let me get you one, too!" He added. Opening one of the cases, he shuffled around for a minute before handing Maki a yellow rose. She squealed with excitement. "Makoto, would you like one to? Free of charge, of course."
"That's sweet of you, Ken, but no thank you. We really have to get going," Makoto answered.
"Bye, Ken! See you tonight!" called Maki as the trio headed out the door.
Yuko and Makoto entered the Pet Store followed by a very distracted Maki. Yuko shot her a mean look, but she missed it. Yuko didn't like where this was going.
"Emergency meeting!" yelled Makoto, and Leela immediately flipped the sign on the front door to "closed", locked up, and they all headed for the basement.
The four women gathered around the round table in their basement. Makoto flipped a chair around and straddled it. Everyone else gathered around her. Apparently, she had an important announcement.
"I have a suspicion," started Makoto, "that our flower shop boys are more than meets the eye."
"They're Transformers?" joked Maki. Leela told her to shush.
Makoto continued, "Youji has a bruise on his eye that, I kid you not, is shaped almost like a foot! And Yuko remembers kicking someone very tall. Which Youji is. They have an injured comrade in the hospital, but were not forthcoming with exactly why he's there. It just seems too convenient."
Yuko nodded, "I agree. I think we need to find out more about those guys. They pretend to be all normal, but there's just something not right. And the fact that there's four of them, and they're very secretive.I mean, that's pretty much all we know about Weiss! And it also describes our boys perfectly."
Leela also nodded her consent. "OK, you guys could be on to something. I say we bug them. How are we going to get in and take care of that?"
Makoto smiled, "I already invited us over tonight after closing. I'll place a bug then. I'll get started on getting the equipment ready right now."
"Hold the phone!" Maki yelled. The three other girls paused in their planning and stared at her. Maki looked annoyed. "I think this is just a wild goose chase!" she said. "I think bugging those boys would be mean and wrong! I mean, what are the odds that the very people we're looking for would be right across the street? Come ON! It's stupid." She crossed her arms and stared her friends down.
"Maki, it may be possible! It's just a suspicion. We can't afford to be too careful," Yuko cried.
Makoto agreed, "Yuko's right. We have to find Weiss before they find us."
"Think about it," Leela added. "Think about those boys. Even before we spoke with them, we've seen them come in very late at night. Four of them, all living together and working together. It's very unusual. Plus they really do fit the profile."
"Profile, my ass!" screamed Maki. "You're going to have to do better than that!"
"So let us!" yelled Yuko, rolling her eyes. Struggling to contain her annoyance, she continued, "Just let us plant the bug. If nothing goes down in 24 hours that would make us more suspicious, we'll deactivate it and take it home! No biggie." Makoto and Leela nodded their agreement.
"What if it's not them and they find out? What'll they think of us then, huh?" challenged Maki.
"They won't find out, Maki. I promise," said Makoto.
Sighing, Maki relented, "I guess you're right. I don't have a choice, do I? You just better make sure they don't find out! Please?"
"Don't worry. Ken won't think any less of you," Makoto insisted.
"Oh, god, what if your stupid theory is right?" groaned Maki. "Then what?"
Yuko stifled a rude remark while Makoto and Leela just stared at Maki blankly. After a long moment of stifling and staring, Leela finally offered her answer, "I honestly have no idea."
* * *
"This sucks!" yelled Maki, throwing a leash on the ground. "How come all the girls go to their flower shop but no cute boys come in here?!"
Leela looked up from her place by the counter, "I guess not everyone needs dog toys. Girls will always find an excuse to need flowers."
"I wish someone would send me flowers!" Maki said, pouting.
"Come on, Maki," said Yuko. "It's not that bad. We get enough business. Just because we're not constantly dealing with a throng of hot male customers doesn't mean.."
Maki cut her off, "Yeah, whatever. It'd just be nice to have a boyfriend sometimes."
Makoto came downstairs, "You know we can't really do that. It's not safe, doing what we're doing now."
Maki sighed, "Yeah, I know. Oh, Mako-chan! Did you find anything?"
"No," Makoto replied. "Nothing that'll help us figure out who they are. I figured I'd just help down here for now."
"Well, now that Mako-chan is here, I know what'll cheer you up, Maki! Want to join the masses over at Koneko no Sumu Ie?" Yuko asked.
Maki's eyes widened excitedly, "You mean, you want to go check out cute guys with me?"
"I know that's what you want to do. That's what you always want to do!" Yuko smiled.
"Do you guys mind if I go with you?" Makoto asked. "You don't mind, do you, Leela?"
Leela looked around the empty store, "I think I can handle it. You guys have fun."
"We'll be back soon! I promise!" Maki cheerfully called as she ran out the door. Yuko and Makoto exchanged a look but waved good-bye to Leela and followed.
Maki, Yuko, and Makoto crossed the street to the flower shop. The sidewalk out front was overrun with squealing teenaged girls, and Yuko visibly twitched.
Without missing a beat, Maki began plowing through the throng of girls. "Excuse me! Pardon me! MOVE!" she bellowed. Yuko and Makoto shrugged and followed behind her. The girls who were pushed out of the way shot angry glares, but parted like the Red Sea, anyway.
Finally, Maki made it up to the front and stopped so suddenly that Yuko ran into her, and Makoto ran into Yuko.
"What is it?" asked Yuko. "What's wrong?"
"They're...they're..." stammered Maki.
"They're WHAT?!" demanded Makoto, already on the alert to an attack.
Maki broke into the biggest smile they had ever seen and exclaimed, "They're GORGEOUS!"
Yuko thwacked her. "Anyway, let's go talk to them," she said. Grabbing Maki's and Makoto's hands, she pushed open the door to the flower shop with her foot and stomped inside.
"GOOD MORNING!" chanted all three girls at once.
Startled, Ken dropped a flowerpot, breaking it on the linoleum floor, promptly getting reamed by the customer who intended to buy it. "Oh! I'm sorry, Ken! I didn't mean to mess you up!" cried Maki, running to his assistance.
Meanwhile, Youji sauntered up to Makoto and Yuko, "Hey, ladies. What kind of flowers are you looking for today?"
"Whoa," said Makoto, noticing the huge bruise on the side of Youji's face. "That's a hell of a shiner you've got there."
"Huh? Shiner?" repeated Youji, touching his face. "Oh, yeah! I, uh, had a little tiff with a particular violent date last night," he said, slowly. "You know how women are sometimes."
"Bitches," Makoto and Yuko said, simultaneously.
"I wouldn't go as far to say that," Youji said. "Emotional, I guess."
Yuko looked at Youji, taking note of the shiner and the tallness. Poking Makoto discreetly, she said, "You guys are super-busy today, huh? Don't you have anyone else to help out?"
"Well, yeah," Youji nodded. "There's Momoe but it's her day off and Aya but he's in the hospital. Omi's upstairs doing some homework."
"Oh, I remember! You mentioned Aya yesterday. How's he doing? And what's wrong with him anyway? I mean, will he be okay?" Makoto had taken note of the significance of Yuko's finger jamming her ribs.
"He's fine. Just grumping around more than usual," Youji answered, oblivious to the Makoto and Yuko's well-disguised suspicion. "He just had a little accident. He should be home tonight."
"That's great! We'll come back over to see you when he gets back!" cried Yuko, over-enthusiastic. "I like blue flowers. I'm going to go look for some!" She ran over to look at the display cases, leaving Makoto to continue talking to Youji.
"So.," Makoto started but was suddenly pushed aside by an under-aged twit with yellow hair and ridiculously loose socks.
"Youji-san," she said sweetly, latching herself onto Youji's left arm. "Do you have any roses in stock? Red ones. I want to give some to someone I love."
Youji looked at the blonde scrupulously, "You're not over 18, are you?"
Makoto sighed, "I can see you're busy, Youji," she stated pointedly. "Is it all right if we come visit you later tonight?"
"Makoto.," Youji started.
The pushy teenager interrupted, huffily, "Youji-san! I thought you were helping me!"
Makoto stood a few feet away, eyebrows raised and arms crossed, "Is it all right, Youji?"
"Yes! Please come by!" Youji called while being dragged by the arm by the girl.
Sighing again, Makoto went over to where Maki and Yuko were standing with Ken. Yuko was tugging on Maki's sleeve, repeating, "It's time to go, it's time to go.," over and over again. Maki and Ken were flirting in a most unskilled way.
Makoto poked Maki in the ribs, "Oh, Mako-chan! What's up?" Yuko looked exasperated.
"It's time to go," she said. "We'll come back later tonight. If that's okay with you, Ken."
"Absolutely!" Ken said, cheerfully. "Come over any time! Maki, are you coming, too?"
"Well, of course, Ken," Maki said, smiling. Makoto and Yuko exchanged a worried glance.
"Ken, could you ring me up?" Yuko asked, holding out a blue flower.
"Nah," said Ken. "You go ahead and keep it. It's on the house. Maki, let me get you one, too!" He added. Opening one of the cases, he shuffled around for a minute before handing Maki a yellow rose. She squealed with excitement. "Makoto, would you like one to? Free of charge, of course."
"That's sweet of you, Ken, but no thank you. We really have to get going," Makoto answered.
"Bye, Ken! See you tonight!" called Maki as the trio headed out the door.
Yuko and Makoto entered the Pet Store followed by a very distracted Maki. Yuko shot her a mean look, but she missed it. Yuko didn't like where this was going.
"Emergency meeting!" yelled Makoto, and Leela immediately flipped the sign on the front door to "closed", locked up, and they all headed for the basement.
The four women gathered around the round table in their basement. Makoto flipped a chair around and straddled it. Everyone else gathered around her. Apparently, she had an important announcement.
"I have a suspicion," started Makoto, "that our flower shop boys are more than meets the eye."
"They're Transformers?" joked Maki. Leela told her to shush.
Makoto continued, "Youji has a bruise on his eye that, I kid you not, is shaped almost like a foot! And Yuko remembers kicking someone very tall. Which Youji is. They have an injured comrade in the hospital, but were not forthcoming with exactly why he's there. It just seems too convenient."
Yuko nodded, "I agree. I think we need to find out more about those guys. They pretend to be all normal, but there's just something not right. And the fact that there's four of them, and they're very secretive.I mean, that's pretty much all we know about Weiss! And it also describes our boys perfectly."
Leela also nodded her consent. "OK, you guys could be on to something. I say we bug them. How are we going to get in and take care of that?"
Makoto smiled, "I already invited us over tonight after closing. I'll place a bug then. I'll get started on getting the equipment ready right now."
"Hold the phone!" Maki yelled. The three other girls paused in their planning and stared at her. Maki looked annoyed. "I think this is just a wild goose chase!" she said. "I think bugging those boys would be mean and wrong! I mean, what are the odds that the very people we're looking for would be right across the street? Come ON! It's stupid." She crossed her arms and stared her friends down.
"Maki, it may be possible! It's just a suspicion. We can't afford to be too careful," Yuko cried.
Makoto agreed, "Yuko's right. We have to find Weiss before they find us."
"Think about it," Leela added. "Think about those boys. Even before we spoke with them, we've seen them come in very late at night. Four of them, all living together and working together. It's very unusual. Plus they really do fit the profile."
"Profile, my ass!" screamed Maki. "You're going to have to do better than that!"
"So let us!" yelled Yuko, rolling her eyes. Struggling to contain her annoyance, she continued, "Just let us plant the bug. If nothing goes down in 24 hours that would make us more suspicious, we'll deactivate it and take it home! No biggie." Makoto and Leela nodded their agreement.
"What if it's not them and they find out? What'll they think of us then, huh?" challenged Maki.
"They won't find out, Maki. I promise," said Makoto.
Sighing, Maki relented, "I guess you're right. I don't have a choice, do I? You just better make sure they don't find out! Please?"
"Don't worry. Ken won't think any less of you," Makoto insisted.
"Oh, god, what if your stupid theory is right?" groaned Maki. "Then what?"
Yuko stifled a rude remark while Makoto and Leela just stared at Maki blankly. After a long moment of stifling and staring, Leela finally offered her answer, "I honestly have no idea."
* * *
