***Author's note: don't own the series or the characters. On with the show.

03:The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)

Fields of flowers. These were in Makoto's dreams every night, and since she started working after school at Shinobu Maehara's floral shop they were before her daily. Her passion.
Now for a delivery, though.
Now what card could Shin-chan write?
Makoto debated whether to open the pink card or not.
"Kino-chan, remember what I said."
"Oh, Maehara-san! I wasn't looking or anything. Just, the card needed straightening."
Shinobu smiled. "Okay. But seriously, that's what the customer writes on the card. Not your or my business."
"Yes, Maehara-san."
Shinobu went back to the counter and Makoto looked at the card. (Three months of Heaven already) Hey, hasn't it been longer than a month? (Shingo to his ) Wait it can't (Sae-tan) and the address she looked at the slip Ami's place. But that means
***
Makoto knocked on the doorpost. The sun was out but a stiff breeze had cropped up, and Makoto shivered. A beautiful fall would leave soon.
"Rei, we need to talk."
"Get off my property, Kino-san."
"Rei, please. You know I –"
"I know nothing of the sort. You knew Tsukino-san was with Mamoru. You could have stopped it."
Makoto looked down. "Rei, why did you leave us? What did we do? It happened, yeah, it's horrible, but you won't see any of us anymore? Even Ami, who had nothing to do with it?"
Rei looked broken. "Come in."
They sat around a table. Rei mulled a bit, tears standing now in her dark eyes. "I loved him. Don't, doesn't anyone understand that?" Rei was now standing up, grasping Makoto's hand. "I loved him! Usagi would never be any good for him. Not just a woman, I'm a lady! The yamato nadeshiko. Strong & beautiful. I even had fangirls now & then. You don't get it. Do you. But that's what he wanted, hang over him a bit and he likes it, why not, oh, why not!" Through sobs.
"Then it was certain. She'd won him. That's why you all think I hate men. I even told myself he wasn't worth it since he could ever love that, that bimbo. But I was lying to myself.
"Then I see Mamoru without that dead weight on his shoulder, and I asked where she was. I tried to be nice. As a lady I must. As a miko I must. As a longsuffering Catholic I must. Three lives, two faiths, two cultures, all of them. Nothing to drag that other woman down.
"He told me how Usagi had taken up with Makoto, how she was seeing her behind his back. And I just felt sick. I avoided you all the next day And the day after that, and now here you are."
"Rei. I – I didn't do anything. I didn't know at the time."
"It's a lie."
"Rei, I was just as sorry as Mamoru about it. Usagi and I get along, and I love her, and it's terrible that she did that to Mamoru. But I didn't break them up."
"But she could do the same thing to you. She has already."
"Yes. Yes she could. It beats hiding all day."
Rei sniffed and stared hard at Makoto. "No. No, you didn't." Rei had been slumped for the last part of the monologue, now she straightened up. "Well, do I have you back as a friend now?"
"You always did. We missed you."
"Well I'm glad you missed me. And Ami and Mina. Now you wanted to talk?"
Makoto looked down at the ground. How to start.
"Well, you know Ami and Shingo."
"Of course."
"Well, Ami and Shingo are going together."
"Okay. I'm not really surprised. And?"
"Well, you know, I work at the flower shop –"
"Maehara-san's?"
"Yes, and she has me take deliveries around on weekends. And, well, I have the bouquet out with the bike. It, um,"
"It what?"
"Well, it's from Shingo to, to"
"To whom, Mako, to whom?"
"Saeko Mizuno. Sae-tan, it says on the card. Ami's address."
Rei was frozen.
"Oh God. Oh God."
Makoto took hold of Rei. "Rei, calm down, I know it's"
"Dammit, is that whole fricking family screwed up! What did they do to Ami-chan, what did the bastards do to that poor girl!"
"Um, well. Ami doesn't know yet."
"What!" Makoto was now pinned to the wall. "Well are you going to tell her! Just let her be a fool! Oh God, oh God oh God." Rei had her hand to her mouth & felt her stomach churning.
"Rei, Rei! Calm, just calm down, breathe easy."
Rei crouched down on the floor, and Makoto leaned down with her.
"I didn't deliver the bouquet yet. I couldn't do anything yet. That's, that's why I need you, Rei. I don't know what to do with this."
"Well, help Ami-chan, of course!"
"I know that, Rei. But how, that's the issue, how. I kind of have to deliver it. I'll probably die of embarrassment if they're both there, but I have to deliver it."
"Yes, that's not the tough part."
"Rei? Is there really anything we can do about this? I mean, I thought, I don't know, the way over, like we had to stop this, like it was some cheesy manga like Love Hina. But,"
"Think of Ami! She loves Shingo and he's cheating on her."
"But Shingo really loves Mrs. Mizuno. So what can we do?"
Rei was silent at this. "No, we can't do anything. But Ami has to find out."
"Definitely."
***

After knocking and waiting for ten minutes, Makoto shook her head. Rei was with her. Saeko was apparently gone.
"It's no use, Mako-chan. She works how many hours a day?"
"Well, we can take it to Shingo, can't we?"
"It's your call, is it against delivery-girl rules or…"
"Mako-chan! Rei-chan! I haven't seen you in ages." Spacily.
"What happened, Ami? You seem happy today," said Makoto, hiding the bouquet behind her back.
"It's our three-month anniversary! Shingo and I have been together for three months. I wonder if he'll celebrate."
Makoto and Rei looked down. Rei's face burned as Makoto offered, "I'm sure it'll be big. You really love him, don't you?"
"Oh, I'd go to the gates of Hell for him. Past them, even."
Rei shot an incredulous glance toward Makoto, who acted in kind, and her mind reeled. This is Ami? I'm gone a few months? The papers say this girl is still top of the nation, but right now she's so – airheaded. High almost. Like. Like USAGI.
Makoto sweatdropped and with her free arm led Rei away, cautiously hiding the bouquet. "Well, I'm sure he will."
Ami frowned. "Aren't, don't you guys want to stay around, maybe study together a bit? I have a new book by Stephen Hawking I could show you."
Same Ami after all, Rei thought, then spoke up, "No, we've gotta get going," and they then darted around the corner & into a waiting elevator.

Numbers ticked by slowly.
"Oh, nice job! You lost your nerve!" said Rei.
"You have a better idea? Just drop the bomb, and really the only proof we have is just one card? They'll laugh in our faces. They're guilty, but they'll laugh." Makoto shot back. "If we're lucky we'll get out without running into Loverboy and Mrs. Robinson."
Rei had to agree with this. "Well, where to now? I don't have any temple work tonight, anything we can do?"
"Well, I have a key to the florist. If he doesn't get the bouquet, and Maehara-san tells customers when the work will be ready and sticks to it like glue, so he'll be expecting it today, he'll call the florist."
"And?"
"You answer it."
"What? Me? He'll know it's me!"
"He placed the order with Maehara-san. And he'll never expect that you're working there. Just pick up and tell him that it's taking longer than expected, and we'll bring it by Sunday afternoon. Maehara is closing this weekend and going away, so she'll never find out."
"That'll work," Rei said. "That'll work. Mako-chan, you're a genius!"