Le Restaurant
Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End
Continuing the Author's Note Count, Author's Note Number Eleven, Another Disclaimer, and Reviewer Responses, YAY!
FRF: You probably all hate me right about now. I've had absolutely no time to update lately! You're probably gonna hate me even more after this chappie too, heh, heh, heh.
Nikki: I have a bad feeling about this.
Spirit: Me too. This isn't going to be pretty.
FRF: I feel kinda bad about what I'm gonna do to you guys. And just when you thought the climax was coming too.
Nikki: Does that mean you're abandoning the fic?
Spirit: I don't think she wants people to hate her to an extreme, Nikki.
FRF: I'm not abandoning anything! I was referring to where I've decided to stop this chapter. I think I've been reading too much drama and angst. I haven't been in a funny mood lately. It's hard to think up torture after reading sad and depressing fics. I'm swearing off any drama/angst fics that I haven't started to read yet. They're really bringing down my spirits. One even made me cry.
Nikki: (extremely sarcastically) Ohhhhhhhh, poor FRF.
Spirit: Be nice Nikki. You might end up in a cage.
Nikki: Cage? No! Not the cage! ANYTHING BUT THE CAGE! I'll be good. Promise!
FRF: Ever since I locked her in a very small cage for plotting against me, she's been petrified of them. Ah, the joys of torturing my lackeys.
Spirit: Why couldn't we be muses instead?
FRF: Because you don't give me inspiration.
Nikki: I know exactly how Kagura feels, though I think FRF's even worse than Naraku.
FRF: Why thank you. I think I still have a bit of comedy left in me. That's why I've decided to start a pure comedy fic. Just have to decide which one.
Spirit: Let's do the disclaimer and reviewer responses! We can discuss your drama/angst problem and future fics later. Jeez! Your mood is even bringing me down!
FRF: Okey dokey! If I owned Inuyasha, Shippo would be ruler of the world, every episode would be centered around Sango and Miroku fluff, Naraku would have plans that actually work, Kikyou and Jaken would go through horrible torture each episode, Kouga and Hojo would finally learn that Kagome doesn't like them, Sesshomaru would throw a tea party, and Kaede would have a pet chicken that talks. Is any of that true? NO! And I really like the chicken idea too.
Nikki: That was long.
FRF: You said it.
Spirit: Reviewer response time!
Nikki: Why do you like those so much?
Spirit: Dunno.
Reviewer Responses!
SanMirLover421 – Short and to the point. NICE! Here's the update!
Lady Sango 7 – I'm gonna cover both your reviews in one shot. 1. Evil laughter is fun! You shouldn't kill Koharu; you have to make her suffer A LOT first. Now which plan to use on her? I've got too many to count, most involving ceiling fans, piranhas, and mutant ducks. Don't ask. Anyway, 2. I was aiming for a laugh. I love comedy. If you think soccer is tiring, try cross-country. We have at least one meet almost every week. Plus, we've had to run half our meets in the rain, not to mention freezing weather, and hills are NOT fun. To top it all off, our uniforms are a tank top and shorts so half the time we are freezing! Fox-chan huh? I like the sound of that. Glad you love the fic! Love is such a strong word.
phoebe – Comedy goooooood! Miroku's gonna get worse than a few bumps, though I'm not gonna make Sango pummel him senseless. The only psychopath is me, and maybe some of you reviewers... though I'm not sure. Chaos, such a great word to describe the future of this fic. There's gonna be a lot of that. No storm though. Weather patterns are based on personal experiences. It was very rainy for a while. It's sunny now though, so we should see some good weather for a while.
Nessa03 – Glad you like the fic. To answer your question... NO! If there was, this would be rated R and I would of said so in the summery. I'm too young for that stuff! Heck, I don't even cuss out loud... or in English for that matter. I do not count 'lemons' as comedy. I count them as things I don't like, and my stories are supposed to make people laugh, not satisfy a bunch of perverts. Lemons DEFINATELY won't be in this fic, or anything future for that matter. Sorry if it seems like I'm yelling at you, but that stuff is NOT for me.
xdragon0180 – A parking guy that does the parking is called a valet, but I liked the way you said it. Funny was what I was aiming for. And now for chaos! Spirit's not weird; she's just based off of a weird person. Plus, anyone who knows me personally is weird.
neko-gurl18 – If people liked cliffhangers, I wouldn't want to write them. I love to get on people's nerves! I see it's worked. You'll find out what happens, in due time. Here's the update!
Sango – Hurry? I do enough of that in cross-country. Patience is a virtue. The day I do an extremely fast update is the day all time freezes over and everyone stops ageing. I don't think that's happened yet, cause I'm still growing up, no matter how much I don't want to.
Dark-Demon-Girl – Cool huh? All of your fics involve drama. Maybe someday I'll read them, but don't count on it being any time soon. I'm sick of drama! Heck, half the stuff on this site is drama.
FRF: There you go folks! Now then, here's the summery, restaurant description, and updated bios!
Summery, Restaurant, and Updated Bios!
Miss Sango Natsume is the owner and manager of the most prestigious restaurant in town. A five star rating, great food, affordable prices, and valet parking are just some of the reasons people like it so much, not to mention the friendly and talented personnel. Even the most famous people from all over the world have come for at least one meal. Actors, singers, the President of the United States! You name it, and more likely than not that person has eaten here. The chefs can prepare almost any meal, and as long as you have on a shirt, pants, and shoes, you're welcome to dine. Both demons and humans are welcome. The restaurant is due for a health inspection. What happens when the health inspector just happens to be Miroku?
The restaurant is five stories high. The first floor has the bakery, pick-up, and fast food sections, along with a waiting lobby and an arcade and play-place to keep little kids entertained while waiting for a table. The second story is the family restaurant. The third story is for parties. The fourth story is for the rich. Finally, the fifth story is for celebrities and other famous people. The higher the floor you're on, the more expansive the meals. Thus, just about anybody can eat there and get whatever they want. Valet is upon request only. Each floor has matching décor, and there are several glass elevators leading up to each floor, not to mention three spiral staircases. Sango's office is on the ground floor and has it's own smaller lobby and an outdoor entrance. This allows people interviewing for a job to be distinguished form customers.
Quick bios, then... ON WITH THE STORY!!! I did these like I had the characters interviewed, in case you were curious.
Natsume Sango – Age 24; Human; Owner/manager of Restaurant à Droite; Relationship status: Too angry to even think about dating right now. (My reporters are too scarred to approach her. Hell, so am I. Just wait till she meets Miroku.)
Katsuhiko Miroku – Age 26; Human; Health inspector; Relationship status: Is dying to meet Sango. (He's so close, yet so far away. I hope he doesn't hurt me for what's gonna happen.)
Higurashi Kagome – Age 23; Human; Beauty salon owner and manager; Runs an internet-dating service; Relationship status: Looking. (She's got to calm down Sango before she can flirt though.)
Inada Shippo – Age 18; Kitsune (Fox demon); Valet driver for Restaurant à Droite; Relationship status: Not big on romance. (Is currently looking through Miroku's car for anything interesting. Good thing he can put things back in there exact locations.)
Togawa Inuyasha – Age 25; Dog demon/Human (Hanyou); Sesshomaru's HALF-brother; Action-movie star; Success reasons: He claims it's the ears; Relationship status: Still hung up over a cheating ex. (Three guesses who! I don't know why he ever went out with that bitch in the first place. No new comments.)
Togawa Sesshomaru – Age 28; Dog demon; HALF-brother and agent of Inuyasha; Relationship status: Refuses to date. (I think the big, bad, demon lord is afraid of heartbreak. I don't care how much he says otherwise. No new comments.)
Togawa Rin – Age 17; Human; Sesshomaru's adoptive human daughter and secretary; Relationship status: Sesshomaru won't let her date. (That's why she always attempts to sneak out. No new comments.)
Kitaue Kouga – Age 25; Wolf demon; Head chef at Restaurant à Droite; Relationship status: Infatuated with Kagome. (Obsessed is more like it! Kagome can't set foot in Sango's restaurant without him breathing down her neck and begging for a date. No new comments.)
Kishimoto Naraku – Age 30; Evil hanyou; Sango's business rival; tries to put her out of business; owner of Naraku's; Relationship status: Thinks he's too good for dating. (I think he's just conceited. Just look at the name of his restaurant! No new comments. )
Sanjo Kagura – Age 22; Wind demon; Ace reporter for the Tokyo Times; Relationship status: No comment. (I swear, she is really determined not to tell. We've already lost seven reporters due to the fact that they kinda bugged her one too many times with the question. No new comments.)
Takei Kikyou – Age 24; Human; Singer; Inuyasha's ex; Success reasons: Lip-sinking; Relationship status: Broke up with Inuyasha. (Does anyone want to help me kill her? I thought Nikki was a bitch, but little miss pop princess thinks she can boss ME around! Doesn't she know that the penalty for that is severe torture? And to make matters worse, she can't even sing! No new comments.)
Author's Note Number Twelve
FRF: Yo! Me again! Just a few quick notes!
It's still Saturday.
"ramen" is speech
ramen is thoughts
RAMEN is shouting
'ramen' is word emphasis
the line thingys is scene break
FRF: I think that's all! Enjoy the fic!
Le Restaurant
Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End
As Shippo was driving, he began looking through the car in order to find out what kind of man owned it. So he was a bit nosy, but he had the strange skill of being able to put things back in their exact places, in their exact position, like they had never been moved in the first place.
The car was neatly kept, save for a manila folder on the passenger seat. Shippo parked the car and picked up the folder, opening it curiously. He discovered that it contained all kinds of information on the restaurant. One page had the restaurant's name, the owner's name, the number of employees and each employee's name, and a picture of what the building looked liked. Another contained a detailed description of the restaurant. The third page held which floor the man was to inspect, the time of the inspection, directions on how to reach the restaurant from the north, south, east, and west, the restaurants phone number, and a picture of Sango.
So this guy's a health inspector. Let's see what else he's got. Putting the folder back, Shippo opened the glove box. It had several CD cases and a folded piece of lined paper. Shippo pulled out the paper and unfolded it. On it was written a list of over thirty different pick-up lines. Some had little checkmarks next to them while others had X's. There were also some with nothing next to them. I guess the marks indicate the best and worst ones, heh heh.
Shippo scanned he list, noting a few with checks, and then put it back. He got out of the car and headed for the restaurant entrance to get the next car.
Several people walked through the automatic, fancy, wooden, double doors. Five to be exact. The first three were elderly ladies. They approached the server and requested a table on level four. The server grabbed the appropriate menus and led them to the elevator.
Another server took the place of the first as the other two people walked up. They were a pair of identical twins. They had blond hair and green eyes. The orange ears on top of their heads and their matching orange and black-stripped tails signified that they were tiger demons. The one on the left wore a yellow sundress and a matching yellow sunflower clip in her long blond hair. Her sister had on a baby blue sundress and matching blue iris clip.
The one in blue began to speak. She had a sweet voice and her grammar was very proper. "I am Oshima Nomi, one of the health inspectors. This is my sister, Maya. May I please speak with your manager?"
When Sango heard the words health inspector, she rose from the lobby couch and walked over to the three. Putting on a smile and her best business front, she said, "Hello. I'm Natsume Sango, the owner and manager. Welcome to Restaurant à Droite."
"I am Oshima Nomi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Natsume-sama. You don't mind that I brought my sister, Maya, do you?"
"Of course not. And please use my first name. Here at Restaurant à Droite, we try to establish a friendly basis between customers and employees. Just tell Tsukiyama-chan what floor you will be inspecting and she will get you settled. I'll check up later to see how everything is going. Enjoy you're meal!"
"Thank you very much. Good luck with the other inspections!" Nomi shook hands with Sango. She then turned to her sister and they followed Tsukiyama to same floor as the three elderly ladies, passing the other server on the way.
Sango walked back over to where Kagome was sitting. She resumed her seat next to her best friend and told Kagome all of the information she had just acquired.
"I didn't know one of the Oshima sisters was a health inspector!" Kagome practically shouted.
"Keep it down, will you Kagome-chan," said Sango, slightly agitated by her friend's sudden outburst. Her mood was better than earlier, but she was still slightly on edge.
"Sorry."
"Anyway, you know of the Oshima twins?"
"Of course! Maya Oshima is one of my favorite writers! Her sister does most of the illustrations that appear at the top of each chapter. The books are wonderful. They're so romantic, and they're all set in the Sengoku-jidai period. My favorite is the one about the hanyou, his dead ex-girlfriend, and a schoolgirl from the future. I also like the one about a monk and a demon slayer, and the one about a wolf demon who forgot he had a fiancée and fell in love with the schoolgirl."
"Are you talking about that series that you're always trying to get me to read? The one that caused you to drag me to a book signing that was six towns away?"
"Yep! That's the one. I can't believe that my favorite author is here at 'your' restaurant Sango-chan!"
"You can come with me when I go to check up on everyone and I'll introduce you if it will get you to stop talking about the books. Oh, and you have to promise not to go all fan-crazy on me. I 'do' have to make a good impression." Sango sounded slightly exasperated. Kagome's inconsistent babbling was beginning to get very annoying, and she was about ready to do anything to shut her up. She couldn't risk messing up the inspection though. Thus, there was a slight warning note in her voice.
"Really? Thanks Sango-chan! You're the best!"
Sango just rolled her eyes, brushing off the comment. She began mentally counting how many inspectors had arrived. Toyota-sama is at the bar, Broker-sama is on the main level, Suzuki-sama is on level three, Oshima-sama is on level four, and Mitsubishi-sama is on level five. That means that only one more health inspector has to arrive and cover level two.
The doors opened again, startling Sango out of her mental counting. She hoped that this was the last of the inspectors. The sooner this day was over, the better. Sango was never good at hiding her emotions, and a hint of anger, along with exhaustion and annoyance, was evident in her eyes.
A young man walked in. He had on a casual, black suit and his hair was tied back in a ponytail. He strode up to the server and flashed a charming smile.
"Hello miss. I'm Katsuhiko Miroku. I'm supposed to inspect level two."
The server stuttered a bit, getting over the shock of how handsome he was. "One moment Katsuhiko-sama. You have to speak with the manager first. I'll go tell her you've arrived."
"Wait. Can I ask you a question first?"
"Shoot."
"Would you kindly consider bearing my child?"
The server just flipped him off as she left her post and walked over to where Sango and Kagome were chatting. "Natsume-san, the last health inspector has just arrived..." She was about to warn her that he was a perv, but Sango cut her off.
"Thank you Tara-chan," said Sango as she stood up. She walked over to where Miroku was standing, Tara in toe.
"Hi. I'm Natsume Sango. Welcome to Restaurant à Droite."
Helloooooooo beautiful! "Katsuhiko Miroku. Pleasure to meet you," he said, taking her hand in his and lightly brushing his lips against it. She is a lot hotter in person than she is in her picture. Nice chest too.
Sango blushed lightly at his seemingly kind gesture. She wasn't used to such flattery. "Tara-chan will show you to your seat. I'll be around in a while to see how everything is going. Enjoy your meal," she said, attempting to stay calm.
He gave a small 'thank you' and proceeded to follow Tara to the elevators, trying to resist the urge to grab the girl's ass.
Sango walked over to Kagome for the sixth time in thirty minutes. She was going to check up on the other inspectors and had promised to take Kagome with her.
"Let's go," said Sango.
"Go where?" Kagome asked, a little confused. "Don't you have to check on all of the inspectors?"
"That's where we're going. I thought you wanted to meet that author."
"Oh... right. Let's go."
Kagome and Sango met with the inspector on the main level first. Then they headed to the one down in the bar. After that, they rode the elevator up to level five and worked their way down. So far, everything had gone well.
As the elevator stopped on level four, Kagome grew increasingly excited. She was going to meet her favorite author without having to drive through six towns and stand in line for three hours.
"You promised you wouldn't go all fan crazy," Sango commented as she observed her friend's excited behavior. It consisted of Kagome rambling on about the books, nibbling on her nails occasionally, and bouncing around the elevator like a small child with a new toy.
"Sorry. I can't help it. I just can't believe that I'm actually going to meet Maya Oshima."
"You met her at that book signing," Sango said, annoyed.
"No. I stood on line, handed her a book, got it signed, and left without getting so much as a glimpse of her because the line was so long that it need to keep moving," was the exasperated reply, complete with a rolling of the eyes.
"Right," was all Sango said.
The elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached the fourth floor. The doors swooshed open and the two girls stepped out. Sango gave a scan of the room, looking for the table that contained the twins, but it was Kagome who spotted them.
"There they are Sango-chan!" Kagome squealed, pointing to the booth that contained her favorite author.
Sango followed her friend's gaze and, sure enough, there they were. She headed over to the booth, grabbing Kagome by the sleeve and snapping her out of her gaze.
"Hello," Sango greeted as she approached the booth. "Are you enjoying your meal?"
"Everything is wonderful," said Nomi in her proper voice.
"The food here is great! I've never had Veal Parmesan this good before!" piped Maya, who was nowhere near as formal as her sister.
"Maya, that is no way to act in a restaurant. Show some respect to the host," Nomi said sternly, disgusted with her sister's casual behavior.
"Jeez. Relax Nomi. Can't I at least enjoy one meal without you telling me how to act? I'm not four. If I do recall, I'm older than you by three and a half minutes, 'and,' 'I'm' the one with the award winning books." For identical twins, these two had two totally different personalities. Sango and Kagome were slightly shocked at how different they were.
Sango glanced at Kagome and whispered something that the two arguing twins couldn't hear. "This is the award-winning author you practically worship?"
Kagome just nodded her head dumbly. She wasn't sure what was more shocking, the fact that her favorite author was sitting right in front of her... or the fact that her favorite author was arguing in the middle of a restaurant.
Irritated, Sango tapped the twins on their shoulders. Kagome too, was growing restless. Their bickering still hadn't stopped yet. You'd be upset too if two identical and well-respected people were arguing like six-year-olds that had to share one chocolate bar.
Maya and Nomi glanced up, one glaring, the other slightly embarrassed. Sango was scowling and Kagome was trying to hold back giggles, to no avail. The four made an interesting centerpiece, seeing as almost everyone on the fourth floor was staring at them. It wasn't every day that a famous author acted like a six year old, the classiest health inspector acted like an everyday person and not a proper lady, a girl doubled over in laughter for what seemed like no apparent reason, at least to the spectators, and the restaurant owner looked like she was going to rip all of her hair out. To add to the oddness, they were all at one table on the classiest floor of the most famous restaurant. Anyone would stare. I know I would.
Kagome regained her cool and decided it'd be best for everyone if she and Sango continued their trip through the restaurant. So... after Sango got the rating thus far and Kagome got an autograph, they headed to the elevators and left the twins in disheveled peace.
Sango was slightly fuming and Kagome was still getting over her giggle fit. As the elevator reached level three, they didn't talk much. After that check-up, they boarded the elevator again and headed to the second floor, and final inspection. Then, they just had to wait for the inspectors to finish up and give their final reviews. Sango didn't know how much more she could handle. Too bad she couldn't see the future.
Author's Note Number Thirteen!
FRF: Took me long enough, right? This chapter took forever to type! It's already past one in the morning. The story itself 'is' 2,142 words long though. A whole seven word pages excluding my idiotic author's notes!
Nikki: More than 2,000 words and you didn't even get to Miroku yet!? You're really dragging this out.
FRF: I decided that it would be better to dedicate a whole chapter to just Miroku. That way this chapter wouldn't get too long. I also had to get Sango back into a rage, so I played around with Kagome's character a bit. I figured she could be annoying enough. All she has to do is talk.
Spirit: What was with those twins? They were odd.
Nikki: You're odd.
FRF: I was just playing around with characterization. Twins seemed like they'd be fun to write. All of the names are Japanese, except for Broker. He's supossed to be an American. All the others I got off of a name site. Three of the health inspectors are named after car companies. I don't think I used the word 'disheveled' properly. Is it possible to have 'disheveled peace'?
Spirit: It sounds neat.
FRF: I just couldn't think of the right adjective, and I think that peace can be messy.
Nikki: Wouldn't fragile be better?
FRF: Maybe, but disheveled sounds better. Why are we talking about this anyway?
Nikki: Because you like to have conversations with imaginary characters?
FRF: At least I'm not just rambling on like I'm talking to myself. If you two were little voices in my head instead of characters, then people would start to think I was crazy.
Spirit: People already think you're crazy.
FRF: True. Anyway, you all probably want to kill me for not updating sooner, dragging this chapter out, and then leaving you at another cliffy. Feel free to start plotting my death, just make it really gory, downright impossible to perform, or extremely creative in an odd sort of way. No guns please. I find them no fun. Use whatever other evil torture devices you want though.
Nikki: Are you aware that you're telling your reviewers how to kill you?
FRF: Yes. If they decide to send me death-threats, I want them to be written out right. Anything to the extreme or really bloody is just fine with me. I don't like guns cause they don't cause enough mess though, ya know?
Spirit: You really 'are' insane!
FRF: No. I just have a strange obsession with torture. Anyway, review! If you don't, you might be the recipient of some evil death-threat. I have my ways. Oh, and if you tell me to write faster in a review, it's not gonna happen. I only type when I have time to. And, telling me to hurry up might make me write even slower, just to piss you guys off. Feel free to type those little words all you want. Just know they won't have any effect at all.
Nikki: Will you wrap up already!?
Spirit: Yeah! This is getting boring.
FRF: All right, all right. Review! And actually tell me something about the story. As much as I like threats, I do like input too. I think that's all! Till chapter five! TTFN, ta, ta, for now!
