Sunday Morning

    Aneko walked to her front door with a big silver cooking pot. She walked through the closed door. “Mom!!” the princess yelled. “I’ve got the pot!!!” “Good, just come in here darling!” Megan called back. Aneko complied. The queen was already in the kitchen. The princess and queen were preparing for a Sunday evening dinner. Aneko was inviting her friends to join them.

    “So what should we have for dinner today?” Megan asked. “I dunno.” Aneko said as she set the pot down on the stove. Then she headed to her mother. Megan pulled out a cookbook from the top shelf in the pantry. She opened it and looked through. Her daughter looked with her.

    “Hey!” Aneko said at last. “Let’s have Italian today.” Megan smiled. “We can do that.” she said. Then they tuned to the Italian cooking section. They looked through briefly. “Let’s have spaghetti.” Aneko said at last. Megan shut the book. “That’s a great idea!” she exclaimed.

Right then, the doorbell rang. The ladies looked up. “I’ll get it.” Aneko said. “All right.” Megan said. Then the princess rushed to the door.

    “Coming!” Aneko called to the door. She opened it wide. Her boyfriend, Takeru, was standing on the other side. The princess was overjoyed. “Teddy!” she yelled. Then Aneko glomped him hard. *Sweat drop on Takeru’s head* “Uh…. hi…. there.” he said. Then Aneko let go of him and pulled the boy inside.

    “So what are we eating?” Takeru asked. “Spaghetti.” Aneko answered. The boy looked confused. “I’ve never had of that before.” he said. His lady’s eyes grew big. “You’re never had spaghetti before?” she asked in shock. Her boyfriend shook his head. Aneko smiled. “Well teddy,” she said. “You’re in for a treat.” Then the princess lightly punched him in the arm. Takeru grinned back.

    “Gracie!” Megan called from the kitchen. “Hai mother.” Aneko replied. “Could you go to the store real quick?” her mom asked.” Sure.” the princess replied. Then she turned to Takeru. “Wanna come with me?” she asked. “Sure.” the boy said. Then Megan rushed to the door with list in hand. “Here’s the list.” she said as she handed it to her daughter. “Be careful.” Aneko nodded. “ I will.” she said. Then she turned to her boyfriend. “Ready to go?” Aneko asked. “Yep.” Takeru answered. Then the couple headed out the door.

    “So what does the list say?” Takeru asked his girlfriend. Aneko read the list. “Let’s see.” she said. “We need dry spaghetti, French bread, garlic, and parmesan cheese.” “I see.” Takeru replied. “One question.” “Sure,” Aneko said. “Nani?” “Where are we going to get all of this stuff?” Takeru asked. “Oh, I know where.” the princess answered with a grin.

    The couple came to Angelo’s food store. Angelo’s was Tokyo’s first Italian food store. Like most outside culture stores, Angelo’s was well-hidden and only people like Aneko knew where to look.

“Never seen this place before.” Takeru said as he looked around. “Oh, it’s been here.” Aneko said. Then she walked to the counter and rung the bell. “Coming!” an old man called. Aneko waited patiently. Takeru looked up. An old man came to the desk. He looked like Santa Claus only slimmer and breadless. The man also had small round black-framed glasses.

“Aneko!” the man exclaimed in joy. “Mikialo!” the princess said back. Then they hugged. Takeru was watching them in a strange way.

    “So what can I get you today?” Mikialo asked at last. “I’ve brought my list.” Aneko said as she headed him the paper. The man took the paper and read it. “No problem, hon.” Mikialo said at last. Then he headed to the back room. Takeru walked up beside her. Aneko tuned to him smiling. “Like it here?” she asked. Takeru nodded. “Hai!” he said. “I do.” Aneko grin deepened.

    A few minutes later, Mikialo came back with the items. He hand them ready in bags. “How much will it be?” Aneko asked. “I’ll put it on your tab.” the storeowner said. “Good deal.” the princess said. Then Mikialo totaled the price in. The couple grabbed the grocery bags. “Graci.” Aneko said. (Noiz Note: “Graci” means “Thank you” in Italian) “Do Itashimashite.” Mikialo replied. Then Takeru and Aneko headed out the door.

    By the time the couple made it home, the crew was already there. Cody was sitting on the bench on the porch. “Hey Cody, when did you get here?” Takeru asked when they approached him. “About ten minutes ago.” the boy answered. “Well, is everyone else here?” Aneko asked. “Hai.” Cody answered. “Oh shit!” Aneko exclaimed. “What time is it?” “One o’clock, why?” Cody replied. “Oh shit!!!” Aneko yelped again. “We have to hurry!” Then the three rushed inside.

    Megan and Aneko plotted this dinner to begin at three o’clock. They had just two hours to get ready. And Takeru and Aneko had just brought the stuff. So you can see why Aneko needed to hurry.

    “So where is everyone?” Aneko asked Cody. “In the dining room.” he answered. “All right,” Aneko said. “You and Takeru carry these bags to the kitchen and I’ll talk to them.” “Got it!” the boys said. “Arigato!” Aneko said. Then she handed Cody the bag. “We won’t fail.” Takeru said. Then he and Cody rushed out to the kitchen. Aneko drew in a deep breath and headed to the dining room.

    Davis, Hikari, Ken, and Yolei sat at the table. They looked up when they heard footsteps. Aneko stood in the doorway. “Hi.” she said. Silence was in the room. “Is dinner ready yet?” Davis asked. “Not really.” the princess said. That was not what Davis wanted to hear. “What the hell do you mean not yet?!?” he yelled. “I’m starving now!!! How much longer?!?” “Soon Davis. Soon.” Aneko answered sharply. “But how soon?!?” the boy whined. Right there, the princess’s patience ran short. She held up her hand. A short kaze blast shot from it and knocked Davis back to his chair with a thud. “I will let you know damnit!” Aneko snapped. Then she headed to the kitchen.

    “We picked the tomatoes for you, Tsukibara-sama.” Cody said. Megan inspected them. She smiled in satisfaction. “Perfect!” the empress said. Aneko walked in. Megan, Cody, and Takeru looked up. She was panting semi-hard. “I told them.” the princess said. “We heard.” Cody replied. “Don’t start.” Aneko said lowly. Silence came into the kitchen. “Well,” Megan said at last. “Let’s get to work.”

    The cooking began. Aneko worked at the cutting board, Takeru dealt with the spaghetti, Cody set up the table outside, and Megan cooked the sauce. Everything was running smooth. Aneko was cutting a tomato too quickly when…. CHOP! The princess had cut her left index finger and didn’t realize it until she looked down. Mica slowly trickled out. “Aw shit!” she murmured. Then she rushed to the sink and rinsed the fluid off. Once the finger was cleaned, Aneko went back to the cutting board.

    Fortunately, dinner was one minute later. But everyone didn’t care. They ate their Italian dinner and had a great time. The group even had a food fight. Yes sir! Davis started it by accident. But they enjoyed the fight to the fullest. But, a new evil was surfacing.

The End