A/N: There are tons of magnificent cooks all around the world, able to showcase their dishes in many high-class restaurants, five-star hotels, cooking magazines and television. They live in luxury thanks to cooking often forgetting the reason why they cook... to make people happy while enjoying the dishes they made. Meanwhile, their are a lot of talented cooks all around the world who's cooking skills are not well-known but are content with the smiles of people who are enjoying themselves with the dishes they made. Between luxury and smiles, I would choose the latter.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fic.

-EARTH 228-

Harle Kingdom

The Harle Festival is an event held once every year to celebrate the downfall of Lord Hybrid, the victory of the Harle Empire and the peace between humans and Hybrids.

As everyone including those from AWA and Class 3-A are enjoying themselves at the festivity, we go to the Harle Empire's Castle. In the balcony, we see the King Briz Bareth along with Tsunayoshi Sawada and Hayato Gokudera. Both king and mafia boss are currently sitting on a small round table with tea and snacks while Hayato stood firmly behind the latter.

Briz took a sip of his tea, "I can't thank you and everyone enough for lending a hand for the festival Sawada-san, usually the festival would get delayed for two days, not because of incompetence but the hardship for the people to balance both work and preparation. This year marks the first time, the festival made it on time." he explained.

"I see. We're just happy to help, your majesty. If you want, we could lend you a hand for the next year's Harle Festival or any other events in this Kingdom." Tsunayoshi offered.

Briz nodded, "That'll be a big help." he replied with a smile.

"Sorry for the wait." a gentle voice called.

Approaching them was a young girl, the same age as Briz. She had a long curly with blue highlights in each strands, she had a colorful eyes and fair skin. She wears a pink dress underneath a red blazer jacket, white pantyhose and brown shoes. She had a beret on top of her head. This is Quinna Harle, the current queen of the Harle Kingdom and Briz' wife.

"Quinna! You look good in those clothes." Briz complimented.

Quinna blushed, "Um! Thank you dear." she said as they shared a short kiss, she then turns her attention to Tsunayoshi, "You must be the representative from AWA. It's nice to meet you, I'm Quinna Harle, the current queen of the Harle Kingdom." she introduced herself with a small curtsy.

Tsunayoshi stood up and gently grabs her hand, "The pleasure is all mine, your majesty." he replied while kissing her hand making her giggle.

Quinna then took a seat as Briz spoke, "Now that Quinna is here, I think it's time now to get on with business." he suggested.

Tsunayoshi nodded, "Gokudera." he called.

"Hai!" Hayato replied as he took out an envelope from his suit and handed it to the Mafia Boss.

Tsunayoshi took out the contents of the envelope which are three photos, "Last night, thanks to our reliable informant, we apprehended three suspicious individuals posing as a tourist or a part-time worker." he stated.

"Are these spies from the Apostles group you're talking about?" Quinna asked.

Tsunayoshi nodded, "Yes. They we're tight-lipped at first however when we brought one of Konoha's best interrogators Ibiki Morino, we found out that members of the Apostles are indeed coming to the festival." he explained.

"If that's true, then how much of a threat they pose?" Briz asked.

"According from the information Ibiki gathered from the spies, two members in the Rook ranking are coming to this place, the same rank as Damascus, our informant." Hayato replied.

"Are Rooks that strong?" Quinna asked in worried.

Tsunayoshi nodded, "Damascus is a former member of the Apostles, and according to him despite how low the rook rank is, each member are a lot stronger and dangerous, when the organization first fought him, both Kanonno and Neptune, in her Goddess form, took a while to beat him." he explained.

"And if the Rooks are already that strong, then think about the much higher ranks. The bishops, the knights, the queen and king, Damascus claimed that their strength and power are lot higher than Rooks and pawns, so we'll definitely getting a hard time dealing with them once they appear." Hayato added.

"Thankfully enough, their just sending rooks." Tsunayoshi stated.

Briz sighed, "I guess a fight during the festival is inevitable... I would have prefer for the festival to go smoothly without any hindrance." he said as Quinna touches his hand in comfort.

Tsunayoshi smirked, "Actually... even if a fight occurs in the festival, we already thought a solution for that." he said.

"What is it?" Quinna asked in curiosity.

Tsunayoshi then began to explain their plans with Hayato adding a few details.

A big smile formed in the face of the king, "That's brilliant! With that, everyone could enjoy the festival without falling into fear." he exclaimed in delight.

Quinna nodded, "It's a bit risky but I believe it will work." she said.

Tsunayoshi smiled, "We're glad you like it." he said.

-BREAK-

Meanwhile, in the town, everyone are enjoying themselves at the one of a kind festivity. People going left to right, visiting stores, participating in booths, watching street performances and parades, anything that you can enjoy in the festival.

"Gray-sama! Let's go to that cafe over there! Juvia heard that Ayumi and the others are working there!" Juvia Lockser claimed as she drags the ice wizard by the arm.

"Let go Juvia! I can walk you know!" Gray Fullbuster shouted in annoyance as they went inside the Delaney's cafe.

Just inches away from the cafe, we see Konata Izumi, Ai Roborovskii, Shino Asada, Wendy Marvel and Charla standing in front of a shooting booth with Shino focusing her shot at a pink teddy bear. She then fired her gun and hits the stuff animal making it fall.

"Woah! Great shot as always Shino!" Konota praised.

Shino shrugged, "Not really." she replied as the owner handed the prize to her, "Thank you." she said before handing the stuffed animal to Wendy, "Here you go." she said.

Wendy gently took the teddy bear, "Thank you Asada-san." she said in delight.

"Well then... since we're done here, what should we do next?" Charla asked with her arms crossed.

"We should go to the cafe Mato and the girls are working, I heard they're serving a good parfait there." Ai suggested.

"That's a good idea, Ai-chan!" Wendy replied.

"Mah. If Wendy is coming then I'll go too." Charles said unfolding her arms.

Shino sighed, "Guess I'll come, I wanted to eat something sweet." she said.

Konata nodded, "Then it's decided! We're going to Sweet Anne's!" she declared.

As Konata's group went to Sweet Anne's, we see Madoka Kugimiya, Shiina Sakurako and Miss Kakizaki wearing the attire they worn back in the amusement park as they approaches some sort of Haunted House.

"What's this?" Misa asked.

"A haunted house!?" Shiina said unsurely.

Madoka then looks at her pamphlet, "That's weird... it's said that Kaito Coffee Shop is around this area." she said in confusion.

"We should asked someone." Misa suggested.

The trio then approaches two guys standing in front of the entrance to the haunted house, those two are Yuusuke Urameshi and Oga Tatsumi with Baby Bel on his shoulder, the latter is wearing some sort of face mask covering the lower part of his face.

"Excuse me." Madoka called getting their attention, "We're just wondering where is the Kaito Coffee Shop, could you tell us where it is?" she asked.

Yuusuke grinned, "You're standing right in front of it." he said jabbing his thumb behind him.

"Eh? But I thought it was a coffee shop! Why is it a haunted house!?" Shiina exclaimed.

Yuusuke chuckled, "You see... the coffee shop decided to hold this gimmick. Anyone, who enters this haunted house, endure every scary details inside and managed to get through to the door leading to the cafe will get a discount and a free mug." he explained.

"I see." Madoka said nervously.

"What about it girls? Should we go in? A discount and a free mug seems nice." Misa suggested.

"Sure! I'm in!" Shiina replied in excitement.

Madoka sighed, "Guess I'll go too." she said.

Yuusuke then opens the door, "Good luck." he said.

"And oh! Things in there are a bit "too" graphical, so try not to loose you're shits in the process." Oga warned.

The girls looks at each before gulping altogether as they proceeded to enter while Yuusuke closed the door.

Oga then brought out a walkie-talkie, "We got customers, so get into position everyone." he remind.

Inside, the place is literally crawling in darkness, curtains are draped around in every corner with little light for support and many newspapers scattered on the floor. The place was quiet, too quiet, the certain eeriness of the silence completely unnerves the girls.

"O-Okay girls... this is a lot scarier than I thought but there's no backing out." Misa said nervously.

"Y-yeah... besides... I want to have a new mug." Shiina replied as she looks around in fear.

"L-l-l-let's g-get t-t-this o-o-over w-with.'' Madoka said with a shaky voice.

The trio lead by Misa slowly walks towards a curtain, the leader quickly pushed the curtains aside, there they see Rolf wearing his usual attire sitting on chair with his head down, as an orange light illuminates the room.

"Ah welcome... would you please assist Rolf for a moment..." Rolf stated without looking up, "... Rolf seems to drop something scattered around your feet and Rolf politely suggest you to pick it up..." he stated ominously.

"P-pick what?" Shiina asked.

Rolf then slowly looks up, and to the girl's horror, Rolf's eyeballs are missing as bloods flows down his face, "Rolf's eyeballs!" Rolf cried in despair while reaching his hand to them.

"KYAAAAAAAHHHH!" the girl screamed in horror as they ran away from him.

The girls then entered the next room, Misa begrudgingly pushes the curtain aside to see Ben Tennyson standing in front of some sort of table showing only his backside.

Ben turns his head to them, "Oh, welcome! Hey there... sorry about this. I haven't prepared yet." he said sheepishly.

Madoka sighed, "That's good... that guy from the last room scared the living daylights out of me." she said.

Ben then slowly turns around which caused the girl's eye to widen in shock, right in front of them, they saw Ben's lower body open up with his organs exposed and what's more scarier, the organs are still moving, "I suggest you girls should go... things we'll get a lot scarier from now on." he said with a slasher smile.

"KYAAAAAAAHHHH!" the girls screamed in horror as they ran to the next room.

They would encounter different scary attractions such as Juugo Yama dressed up like Slenderman, Rex Salazar holding up his decapitated head with blood dripping from his eyes and Jet Siegel dressed like Jeff the Killer complete with the trademark bloody grin.

The girls would continue run until they reached a far corner only for a person to come out making them screamed in fright which prompted them to run to the opposite direction.

As the girls runs in fright, the person turns out to be Laxus Dreyar whom is wearing a white T-shirt and dark jogging pants.

Laxus blinks in annoyance, "What the hell are those bitches had to be scared about? I'm not even wearing any scary costume yet they got scared and began screaming like they've been through hell." he said.

Zoro, whom is dressed up like Ticci-Toby minus the mask, approaches him, "How can they not be scared, you're wearing a white shirt which almost glows in the dark." he pointed out.

Wakaba Saegusa then ran towards them, "Laxus-san! Zoro-senpai! Yuusuke-san just called that Naruto-san and Hinata-san had entered this place." she announced.

Zoro nodded, "Okay!" he said putting on a mask, "Time to scare the shit of the guy." he said in sadistic excitement.

Laxus chuckled, "He's reactions are worth seeing." he commented.

Back to the girls.

"H-how long do we need to go through hell-hole!?" Madoka cried in panic.

"I hope the next curtain would lead us to do the door of the actual cafe!?" Misa said back as she opens the next curtain.

The girl's eyes widen in shock, their mouths open and their cheeks began to turn red, right in front of them, is Gingka whom only wearing his pink boxers which he pulled down to his thighs exposing his wang.

"KYAAAAAAAHHHH/AAAAAAHH!" the girls and Gingka shouted at the same time.

Gingka then pulls his boxers up, "Hold it there! You got here so fast! You got me first before I could even change." he said with a grin.

And with that, three hands made it's way to his cheeks, "Pervert!" they screamed.

"I'm sorry!" Gingka shouted.

Back at the haunted house's entrance, we see Yuusuke and Oga having a chat with Van Grants when they heard another scream inside belonging to a certain blonde ninja.

"Ah~ Music to my ears." Oga commented.

"Dyaabu!" Baby Bel said in agreement.

-BREAK-

Later, we go to Sweet Anne's where we see a lot of people having a good time inside including Konata's group, Kazumi Asakura and Sayo Aisaka. Mato Kuroi, Nepgear and Neptune are dressed up as maids much to the former two's embarrassment and Neptune... doesn't care at all and she's not doing a good job either.

"Aiiyeee!" Neptune shrieked as she fell down, face flat the floor after tripping over nothing.

"Neptune! This is the eighth time of the day that you just tripped over nothing!" a boy chastised. The young man had an orange hair and burgundy colored eyes. He is currently wearing a waiter attire with black apron wrapped around his waist. This is Yuzuru Otonashi.

Neptune looks up to him with a nervous grin, "Teehee... sorry about that Yuyu." she said.

Yuzuru groaned, "Don't call me Yuyu... and get up! We got more work to do." he said.

In one table, we see Mai and Kisame Hoshigaki having a conversation. Mai is currently wearing a black blazer over a yellow sundress, dark pantyhose and brown shoes while Kisame is wearing a gray hoodie jacket over a red shirt, dark pants and black boots with his shades covering his eyes.

"I'm glad you invited me Kisame-kun. Though it's kinda weird for me to get served by maids when I'm a maid myself." Mai commented.

Kisame chuckled, "No pleasure. Besides, you've been working hard in the academy's cafe left and right, I believe you deserve a break once in a while." he said.

Mai smiled, "Thank you Kisame-kun." she replied.

Then Mato arrived with tray in hand, "Here are you're orders." she announced as she began to place two coffees, two plates of omelettes and two glass of ice cream shake down on the table, "Please enjoy." she said with a smile.

"Thank you Mato-chan. And my! You look good in that." Mai complimented referring to Mato's current attire.

Mato rubs the back of her head sheepishly, "Umm... thanks but it's kinda embarrassing if you ask me." she said.

"Should I take a picture of you? I'm sure a certain Revonnahgander would love to see you in that attire." Kisame suggested with a sly grin taking out his tablet.

Mato blushed, "N-no! That won't be necessary!" she replied frantically but Kisame already took a picture.

"Too late... now, all I need to do is to post it in MyBuddies." Kisame said with a teasing grin.

"Dame!" Mato screamed as she jumps over Kisame trying to get the tablet from him, "If Blonko sees this, I won't be able to get married!" she cried in panic as Mai let out a giggle from their antics.

"PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME, NEPGEAR!" a voice screamed.

Everyone turns to one table to see Eddy getting hold back by Melodias, Blinx and Lloyd Irving preventing him from jumping towards Nepgear, the said girl is terrified beyond belief by Eddy's advances.

"Eddy please calm down! You're scaring her!" Yuzuru said in annoyance.

In one table, we see Rin happily taking a bite of a cake while the words 'delicious' written on her drawing pad.

Outside, we see an energetic girl running around the streets being followed by Asuna Yuuki. The girl had a milky white with a hint of purple skin, a long lustrous and gorgeous purple-black hair and red eyes. She wears a pink vest with a hoodie over a dark frilly tube top, pink miniskirt, black thigh-high socks and pink sneakers. This Yuuki Konno.

"Hurry up Asuna! I heard there's a barbeque stand over there! And I want to try one!" Yuuki said excitedly as she ran.

"You're going to eat again? Yuuki! You really should stick with you're diet!" Asuna exclaimed. Asuna is currently wearing her red & black checkered shirt, blue shorts and brown boots.

"Don't worry Asuna! No matter how much I eat, I won't get fat!" Yuuki replied cheerfully.

"Now that's utterly impossible!" Asuna shouted back.

The two girls then passes by Sweet Anne's, at the balcony on the second floor, we see Lester the Unlikely and Levi Ackerman sitting in one table having a drink of coffee.

Lester watches Yuuki and Asuna go with a smile, "Yuuki-chan is as energetic as ever, good thing Asuna-san is keeping up with her." he commented.

"Indeed she is." Levi replied taking a sip of his coffee.

Lester then looks at him with a sly grin, "Hey Levi... have you heard the rumors that Yuuki-chan had a crush on you?" he asked.

Levi glares at him, "Who is the idiot that told that stupid rumor?" he asked back with a threatening voice.

The Hollywood Nerd, unfazed by his glare, only shrugged in response, "It was rumor, so I don't know who started it." he replied, "Anyway, if the rumors are true, would you consider Yuuki-chan a chance?" he asked.

Levi glares at him again, "I think you need to see a physiatrist cause you obviously have problems! First of all, I'm in my thirties and Miss Konno is still 15..." he said.

"... 16. She just turned 16." Lester corrected.

"... whatever! A relationship between the two of us impossible to begin with. And starting a relationship with a person like me is very unlikely." Levi finished.

Lester shrugged, "You got a point, but Levi, you forgot, we're living in a world where everything is possible. If Tohru and Kanonno's relationship worked why can't this one, at least try and consider reciprocating her feelings if ever the rumors were true." he stated taking a sip of his coffee.

Levi scoffed, "I'll think about it." he said.

"So you will consider."

"Shut up, you insect."

-BREAK-

In another part of the town, we see Zazie Rainyday performing in the streets with many spectators watching her in amazement. Zazie is currently wearing a light-purple jester headwear which reached her shoulders, a white skimpy outfit that exposed her entire midriff and her slim figure, gold ringlets around her wrist and ankles, a transparent miniskirt and a purple shoes. She's currently juggling balls with her right hand and on her left hand, she's juggling three pins while balancing herself on top of a purple ball, much to everyone's amazement.

Amongst the spectators are Yuuna Akashi and Misora Kasuga, "Oh! Zazie is really good!" the former complimented.

Misora giggled, "Well... she is after all part of the Juggling Club." she said.

Just in front of them, is the said barbeque stand manned by Mikoto Misaka, Lina Inverse and Natsu Dragneel and amongst their customers is Itachi Uchiha.

"Well look at that! Dinner and a show, you seem to be enjoying your time to the fullest Itachi." Lina said with a smirk.

Itachi took a bite of his barbeque, "Well like Kisame said, you need to take a break once in a while so I decided to take liberty while I'm free right now." he replied.

Lina snickered, "Good point." she said before going back to work.

Just then, Yuuki and Asuna arrived, "Hi Itachi-san!" Yuuki greeted as the Akatsuki member nodded in response, the purple head then turns to Mikoto, "Um! I want three barbeques please, two for me and one for Asuna." she requested.

"Um... I think I'll pass for today Yuuki..." Asuna said nervously.

"Certainly! Natsu three barbeques please!" Mikoto called.

"Oi! Listen to me!" Asuna cried.

"Three barbeques coming right up!" Natsu claimed as he ignites his hands on fire, cooking the meat and other ingredients pierced on a stick, after a minute of cooking, "Here you go!" he said happily, handing the barbeques to Yuuki.

Yuuki gasped in delight, "Thank you very much." she said before handing another barbeque to Asuna, "Here Asuna!" she offered cheerfully.

Asuna reluctantly took the barbeque, "T-thanks..." she replied.

"No pleasure! Nom! Nom!" Yuuki replied as she happily takes a bite of her barbeque.

Asuna sighed, "My diet is in jeopardy." she muttered.

Mikoto overheard her, "Huh... so you're in a diet..." she said as her eyes trails over Asuna's body, she then let out a snicker, "Don't worry... I think you look fine." she said.

"Wait! You just eyed my body don't you!" Asuna said with a glare.

"Who knows." Mikoto replied with a grin.

"Why you!?"

-BREAK-

Later, somewhere in the town, we see Chizuru Tachibana, Kenji Kazama, Negi Springfield and Asuna Kagurazaka with Chamo on the young teacher's shoulder, walking altogether in the streets.

"Ah! The Harle Festival! It's a lot better than I expected!" Chizuru claimed in excitement.

Negi nodded in agreement, "It is! Just look how everyone is enjoying the festivity, such a marvelous sight!" he said in glee.

"Yeah! After the hard work we did in helping preparing for this day, I say we deserve to enjoy ourselves to the fullest." Asuna claimed stretching her arms up.

Kenji nodded, "I couldn't agree more." he said before turning to Asuna, "By the way, I've been wondering all this time. Are you some sort of mage Asuna?" he asked.

Before the heterochromia girl could speak, Chamo spoke for her instead, "Asuna-jouchan is not a mage but she had this mysterious ability called Magic Cancelling, a natural ability held within her, this ability pretty much cancels out any magic spells cast upon her, preventing her from being affected by magic." he explained.

"Magic Cancelling? Sounds similar to Touma's Imagine Breaker and Mikan Sakura's Nullifying Alice." Chizuru commented.

Asuna rubs the back of her head sheepishly, "It's not actually a big deal." she said bashfully.

"She may not be a mage but she can use magic through the Pactio she formed with Aniki." Chamo revealed.

"Uwa! Don't tell them that!" Asuna yelled with tint of red on her cheeks.

"What's a Pactio?" Kenji asked.

"A Pactio is magical contract used by many mages. Pactio can be created by any magic user, although not all magic users can create a magic circle. The partner with whom the Pactio is formed attains abilities related to their personalities." Negi explained.

"That's interesting but aside from a magic circle, what else do you need to do to form a Pactio?" Chizuru asked.

"Through kissing." Chamo answered only to be grabbed by an angry Asuna.

"I told you not to tell them that!" Asuna growled in anger.

"Aaaahhhh! Animal abuse!" Chamo cried in despair as Asuna squeezed the life out of him.

Both Chizuru and Kenji blinks in response, "Kissing? Seriously?" the latter asked indecorously.

"Wait! Isn't Asuna your partner Sensei? Then that means..." Chizuru stated in shock.

Both Negi and Asuna looks away with heavy blushes on their faces.

"Oh now I see." Chizuru said with a blank look.

"So, not only that Negi kissed you before during the first Kissing Terminator incident but you also kissed him to form a Pactio!?" Kenji pointed out.

"I had no choice! We we're facing Eva that time and we need all the power we need to defeat her!" Asuna reasoned.

"How many did you formed a Pactio by the way?" Kenji asked but was afraid of the answer.

Negi rubs the back of his head, "Uhm... well... it's pretty much everyone... in my class..." he replied nervously.

Chizuru and Kenji stares at Negi like he grown another head, "Wow... for a ten year old going through puberty, you sure work fast." the former commented.

Then Champ climbs on Chizuru's shoulder, "By the way, since you're going to train magic with Evangeline, I believe you had the ability to form a Pactio too." he pointed out.

Chizuru was taken a back by that, "Really? I can! But I don't know... kissing someone just to form some sort magical contract doesn't seem okay to me." he stated.

"If that we're true then used for the right person." Kenji said.

"He's right. You don't to force yourself to create a Pactio with someone." Asuna followed.

"Besides... we all know you're saving your lips for special girl." Kenji added with a grin.

Chizuru blushed before grinning, "Yeah... you're right about that." he replied.

"Just don't be like Negi once you learned how to formed a Pactio." Asuna stated.

"Eeeeh!?" Negi cried in response.

As the four continues to walk around the town, unbeknownst to them, a figure clad in black robes is seen standing on the rooftop eyeing them but mostly like towards Chizuru.

"I finally found you." the figure said licking her lips.

A/N: And that's it for today. Hope you all love the start of the Festival Arc.

This are the characters that debuted in this chapter:

Quinna Harle is an OC by Marcus the Kane

Yuzuru Otonashi from Angel Beats

Yuuki Konno from Sword Art Online

Unfortunately no omake for today. Next chapter, chaos will ensue in the festival but the people seems to enjoy it. Why? Find out soon.

Until then Paalam!