SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 25 out, this is Chapter 26 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Pairings: Mainly Tieria/Sasha, Allelujah/Marie, Lockon Jr./Anew, Billy/Sumeragi, Patrick/Kati

Standard BS Disclaimers: I do not own Sailor Moon, Gundam 00 or the pairings. If I did, the other Senshi would be as powerful as Sailor Moon and kicking MOTD ass more often and VEDA would have least an anti-hacker program installed. The only thing I do own is the plot.

Chapter 26: Snacks

During the entire Christmas week, the royal kitchens were bursting with activity as Argyrios coordinated her subordinates in preparing for the pending Christmas feast.

"What is the best way to enjoy karaage?" the lightning Senshi posted a question to her main chefs.

"Of course, it's to eat them right away after they're fried." Mito Jun, Argyrios' meat specialist, replied.

"That's right."Argyrios nodded. "Biting into piping hot karaage, straight out from the fryer; that's how karaage should be eaten."

"I'm feeling it!" Tomita Kurou suddenly shouted.

"Tomita-san is all fired up!" Mayumi Noriko gaped.

Later that afternoon...

"I prepared karaage samples." Argyrios had gathered the Ptolemaios female crew members for a taste test. "One with curry powder and one with powdered cheese that melts."

Mileina picked up the piece of curry powder karaage and took a bite.

"How are they?" Argyrios asked, after Mileina ate the second karaage piece.

"They're delicious." Mileina gushed. "Both the curry and cheese one. But, I'm not sure if this would measure up to Endymion-sama's standards."

"The seasoning is superficial, too." Feldt added. "You have to capitalize on the quality of the ingredients."

"What if we put the pieces on a skewer?" Mileina suggested.

"Karaage skewers are pretty common." Argyrios pointed out. "So, they might not have the needed visual impact. The packaging needs to be unique. The flavor also needs to be improved. Give me a moment."

"Wow, it's even juicer than before." Mileina beamed, taking a bite of Argyrios' second batch.

"Naturally." Argyrios smirked. "If you want a more pronounced flavor right out of the fryer, it has to be thigh meat. Next up is the marinade. We can use soy sauce and chili peppers as the base. How about using corn starch this time? Right, now that the seasoning is done, we just have to decide how to serve it."

"I may have an idea." Feldt voiced.

On Christmas Day, several hours before the dinner feast, the kitchens had rolled out the freshly fried karaage to tie the guests over until dinnertime.

In the kitchen, Kurou was cutting up the chicken thighs into bite-size pieces and ducking them into deep tins of their special marinade before passing the prepared chicken to Noriko to double-fry them in the deep fryer.

Argyrios was left with the final preparations by wrapping the fried karaage in a specially baked flour wrap with herbs and leaf lettuce.

"Looks like Argyrios outdone herself this time." Sasha noted amusedly, seeing the joyous expressions on the guests' faces as they bit into the chicken wrap.

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just love plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.