((A/N: Sorry guys! I'll be writing this one right away!))

They had gotten to the kitchen and Hai-Yo looked around. Eilie and Rina were following him, a little disappointed that they were going to be doing all the cooking with Hai-Yo, but hey…it was better than moving boxes with Viktor.

"Well! It's time to decide on what to cook!" Hai-Yo said cheerfully, bringing some ink and a quill, along with scratch pieces of paper.

"You haven't decided…?" Eilie asked curiously. Rina laughed amused.

"Of course dear sister, didn't you know? Our job isn't just cooking, we have to decide what to cook too."

"Oh shut up," Eilie replied, her mood turned foul again. Hai-Yo looked between the two sisters and sighed.

"Well…what should we have? It's an important banquet, so I think we should stretch our minds to the end of traditional Japanese cuisine!" he said enthusiastically. Rina and Eilie just stared at him like he was crazy.

"I think we should have miso soup," Eilie said.

"No way, that's too plain. You should go with clam soup, with a clear broth," Rina argued.

"That's too fancy! Miso soup is much more traditional!!" Eilie argued back.

"Clam soup with a clear broth!!"

"Miso soup!!"

"Clam soup!!"

"Miso soup!!"

"GIRLS PLEASE!!!" Hai-Yo said, putting his hands up in a plea for them to stop. "Why don't we make both…? The guests can choose which one they would rather have. It's a good way to open up the banquet, with a simple soup." Rina and Eilie looked at each other, before turning their attention back to Hai-Yo.

"Okay so let's decide on the desert next!" Eilie said cheerfully. "I love desert!" Rina stared blankly at her sister, but before they could start another argument, Hai-Yo put his own comment in.

"That's good, let's do that," he said.

"…ICE CREAM!!" Eilie said cheerfully, obviously liking the subject of desert.

"…Strawberries with ice cream, very…romantic…" Rina said, looking a little lost.

"…It doesn't have to be romantic!" Eilie argued.

"Half of the leaders aren't married! Maybe this will help them along a little!"

"…That's not your problem!!" Eilie argued back.

"Well, it might help you along with Lord Riou!! Seeing as you're not making a move and all…"

"That's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!" Eilie shouted back. Hai-Yo held his head in embarrassment as Riou popped his head in.

"…I heard some screaming in here, is everything okay?" he asked, looking between the three, having a skeptical look on his face.

"…Uh…" Eilie started. Hai-Yo nodded.

"Everything is fine! Just a little productive shouting to…uh…strengthen our lungs…for…discussing the menu," Hai-Yo explained, Lord Riou giving him an even weirder stare. "What? Haven't you heard of calisthenics?"

"…Right, I have Hai-Yo…but I don't recall it saying anything about yelling between two other parties…"

"…Well, it's a new method…um…Hai-Yo-bics."

"…Hai-Yo-bics?"

"…Yes, more emphasis on the 'ha', like HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Rina patted the old cook on the shoulder.

"He's…having a bit of an emotional breakdown my lord, please excuse him. Everything is working out quite fine, really," Rina explained. Riou nodded and turned around to walk off.

"Well…I have other things to do, so I hope everything goes well, I'm counting on you three," he said before wandering up. Gosh…I go down there for a quick checkup and I get slapped in the face with unneeded information. I really should make a note not to put the two sisters together again…ever.

"Okay!!" Eilie said cheerfully, watching him walk off. "Did you hear THAT?! He's depending on me!!"

"He said 'us three'," Rina reminded her.

"Well still, I'm sure he meant me!"

"…Right, whatever," Rina replied.

Between the three of them, and much later, after all the arguing and bickering of course, there came up a final menu, posted at the end of the day in the Great Hall.

Appetizers:

Miso soup

Clam soup with clear broth

Lightly toasted bread with butter

Crab cakes (subject to change if Tai-Ho and Yam-Koo can't catch any…)

Main Course: (choice of one, or you may mix to your liking)

Buttered clams in white sauce

Grilled beef with rice or mashed potatoes

Wok fried vegetables for the vegetarian at heart

Wok fried chicken, sautéed vegetables

Pan fried fish, caught by Tai-Ho and Yam-Koo fresh from our docks

Sashimi: an exquisite Japanese example of Yamato Cuisine (assortment depends on daily catch)

Fried Shrimp in a delicate garlic sauce

Pasta noodles with a white clam sauce, or tomato sauce (chicken, mushrooms, and shrimp available upon request)

Dessert:

Ice cream, for flavors ask your server (served with strawberries)

Fruit salad (various fruits, grown right here in the castle)

Shortcake

Three layer chocolate cake

Pudding and strawberries

~Hai-Yo (head chef)

~Rina and Eilie (waitresses and secondary cooks)

When the others gathered at the end of the day to hold their last meeting before heading off to bed, they were astounded to see such a list.

"…What do you think?" Eilie asked. Klaus was busy reading it, Viktor was drooling, and Bolgan was just trying to figure out how to read it.

"…Don't you think…it could have been a little…um, simpler?" Riou asked.

"Simple? You cannot simply my marvelous cuisine! It must be perfect and exquisite for this banquet!!" Hai-Yo immediately flared up with his culinary cuisine speech.

"Right…" Riou replied. I'm sorry I even asked…

"Anyway…I like the desserts!" Yumi said.

"That's good, well…let's close it up for tonight then," Riou suggested. Before I lose my head to this insanity…

"Meeting adjourned," Shu said, and everyone filed out.