Lunch for Two (Mina, Zach, Mako, Khalid)

[Aino Minako]

Minako had decided to walk to Makoto's restaurant that day. She spent far too much time riding around in the limo or sitting on an airplane. The exercise would do her good, as well as the fresh air. She had wanted to go alone, bu Sanzo and Ryu had insisted on being with her. In the end, they agreed on following from a very close distance. Minako was satisfied enough that they would stay out of her way.

She pushed open the doors of the restaurant and looked around. The place was fairly busy, which pleased Minako. She wanted Makoto to succeed and enjoy her dreams as well.

The hostess approached her and began to introduce herself when she realized she was speaking to Aino Minako. "Oh my! I'm a huge fan Aino-san! I have all your records and I saw your show and oh my I'm talking to Aino Minako!!!"

Minako smiled, remembering that she had once been no different than the gushing fan-girl in front of her. "I'm looking for Kino Makoto, main chef for the restaurant? Can you find her for me? She's promised me the best seat in the house."

"Oh, yes, of course Aino-san!" The hostess gushed, before tripping over her feet as she backed away. Catching her balance on the hostess stand, she steadied her feet, smiled sheepishly, and hurried away to find Makoto.

"I hope I've arrived before Zach," Minako said softly to herself. She wanted to impress him with their choice table. Tilting her head, she noticed Sanzo and Ryu standing behind her. She rolled her eyes and figured she might as well get them a table close by too.

[Kino Makoto]

"Service please, number twelve is up!" Makoto called out as she spun out the final plate for the order onto the service area. She wiped the sweat on her brow with the towel that hung from the apron around her waist and was about to start on her next order when her hostess on duty came into the kitchen.

"Kino-san, Aino Minako is here. She says you're expecting her? Where would you like me to seat her?"

"We're putting her and her guest at the chef's table, Mika-san. If you'll please set the table, I'll show her in." Makoto turned to her Sous-chef. "Could you take over for now? I've got a special guest I'll be entertaining for lunch." Before he could answer, Mako was out the door.

She made her way to the front of the restaurant where Minako was waiting. "Minako-chan!" she said as she gave her friend a quick hug. "I'm so glad you could make it! I suppose your guest isn't here yet? No worries, we'll get you all set up in the back and I'll have Mika-san show him in when he arrives. Come with me." She turned and lead Minako to the back of the restaurant. Tucked in the corner away from the rest of the tables was a private seating area with an open view of the kitchen. Makoto smiled "Please, have a seat. I've picked out a special menu just for you today. I really hope you'll enjoy it." She looked over to Sanzo and Ryu and smiled to them as well. "Don't worry gentlemen, I have you covered as well. We'll be seating you just there..." and she pointed to a table that had been moved back far enough to have a view of the chef's table along with a view of the whole restaurant before them. This wasn't the first time Mako had entertained a celebrity, after all. "And we'll be serving you the same meal."

She turned back to Minako. "I'm heading back to the kitchen to get started. If there's anything you need at all, please don't hesitate to let us know." She smiled and left to find Mika-san.

[Zacharie Babineaux]

The restaurant looked fairly impressive from the outside, he had to admit. Not that Zacharie had any idea what it was called. He nodded to his driver, a guy that his agent had hired for the week, at least, and headed into the building with his jacket tossed over one shoulder and sunglasses on. It didn't matter that he was relatively unknown as of yet, a few of the ladies who saw him still blushed a little as they passed--such was the power of "American beauty" in this country. Zacharie had to chuckle to himself; in his home country, foreign men often got much the same treatment. At least, after they'd opened their mouths.

He saw her at once, beyond the bubbly seeming hostess, and his grin grew a little wider. They'd met a few years ago, during one of her tours in Europe and again in the States. To the youth who was energetically greeting him in a language he still had to work to tune in, he said, "Okay it is, I am with Minako Aino-san. Where she is I see."

There was a pause as the poor girl probably tried to figure out what the hell he'd just said--Zach knew he wasn't entirely understandable and he didn't quite care. So he brushed past her before she could fathom a response and headed over for the table where Minako sat. Switching to English, the man dropped a kiss upon her cheek as he stated, "You really do light up the room, honeycomb, I think its a few shades brighter in here than it is outside."

Her bodyguards would know him, of course, and the man dropped his jacket over the back of his chair before seating himself.

[Khalid ibn Maleec]

Khalid entered the Lumiere with one of the producers of One More Time, the movie he had decided to invest in. He had made reservations for the best table in the house, having heard that this was one of the best places to eat in Tokyo. For his part, Khalid's intention for the meeting was to establish the level of presence he would be allowed to have on the set. While he was not really interested in controlling the artistry itself, he wanted to be able to be present when he chose to be. He knew that the producer was primarily interested in seeing just how deep the pockets went.

When they reached the maitre'd, Khalid stopped the small talk with the producer long enough to give his name, "Khalid ibn Maleec. We have reservations for the Chef's table. Party of two." He did not give the girl much more thought as he turned back to the man he was with, expecting to be seated immediately.

[Kino Makoto]

Sumari-san had taken over while Mika-san had gone to the kitchen for something. She looked down the reservation list and checked off the name "Maleec". She grabbed two menus, smiled at the two men who were still in conversation and said "Right this way, please".

Within moments they were at the back of the restaurant when Sumari-san stopped abruptly. There were two people already seated at the table she was headed for, one of those two being Aino Minako. She spun on her heel to the men behind her. "Sir, I'm so sorry, I believe there's been some sort of mix-up with your reservation. Someone is already seated at your table. If you'll kindly wait a moment, I will retrieve the manager for you to get this sorted out." She bowed, gave an apologetic smile and quickly made her way to the kitchen door.

[Aino Minako]

Minako greated Makoto with a smile and a hug, then followed her back to the Chef's table. "This restaurant is absolutely beautiful!" she gushed, looking around at the decor as she walked. "You must have spent a lot of time designing this place." When they arrived at the table, Minako took a peek into the kitchen before settling down into her seat. She watched as Makoto seated her bodyguards behind her. Makoto was always so thoughtful. Sanzo and Ryu both settled down into their chairs, their eyes scanning the restaurant looking for suspicious behavior. Minako supposed that was for the best. She tended to give people the benefit of the doubt and without her guards she'd have been in serious trouble a time or two.

Minako waited quietly after Makoto left, watching the kitchen staff go about their business. Shouts mixed with sizzling could be heard from the kitchen, along with the pleasant smells of food cooking on the stovetop and in the oven. She could feel her stomach growling and realized she'd forgotten to eat breakfast.

"Oh!" she startled, as Zach kissed her cheek. She stood to great him, a smile on her face at his complement. She was not fluent in English, but had learned far more of the language during her tours in the United States and Europe than she ever had in school. "I like your complement." Minako said slowly. "Makes me.... turn red on the cheeks." She gave him a quick kiss back and settled back into her seat just as the hostess arrived with two men she did not know who apparently were supposed to be eating at her table.

She turned around to look at them and was struck by the first one. He had long white hair and a serious attitude and she knew she'd never seen him before... but there was something strangely familiar. Perhaps she'd seen him at a concert before? That must have been it. Minako shrugged it off and turned back to Zach. "I guess mix-up with seats," she continued in English pleased about the opportunity to practice.

[Zacharie Babineaux]

"I think you guess correctly," Zacharie replied with a snicker. Not that he cared. He knew Minako liked to practice her English and didn't bother to change to his own, stunted Japanese. Already he was getting quite the work out of those skills and felt a dinner in English wasn't going to hurt any. It was then that he really looked at the men who had nearly been led to their table.

The actor's eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline when he recognized who the men were. "Doth mine eyes decieve me?" He exclaimed, a broad grin stretching across his face, "It seems those which fall upon us are our own dear producer and the great Energy Prince himself!"

Kahlid wasn't a person known to him immediately but he'd seen the man about various circles he'd run in. He was, after all, well known for backing various theatre productions--especially those on the Broadway circuit where Zacharie was rather well known. He then switched to Japanese to bow to the producer, "Morioko-san! Pleasure to see you here it is. Expect you we did not."

[Khalid ibn Maleec]

Khalid was not so uptight that he would normally make a fuss about the problem with seating, so long as they were sat and some kind of minor compensation was made for the inconvenience. However, this time was different since Ms. Aino was there, and apparently, on a date with Mr. Babineaux. Khalid was unfamiliar with the odd sensation he had from seeing this, so he did not know that it was jealousy.

"Ms. Aino, Mr. Babineaux." Khalid bowed slightly to them, though it was entirely directed towards Minako. Having encountered her - and having his psuedonym announced to all present by Zacharie - the "energy prince" was determined that they would be joining the two at the table.

"It seems there has been a mix up with the seating. Perhaps we could join you and solve the problem simply." He's eyes barely strayed from Ms. Aino the whole time, though he did glance to Zacharie momentarily on occasion. Perhaps this lunch would allow Khalid to figure out what it was about the young woman that captivated him so.

[Aino Minako]

Minako glanced at Zacharie briefly then back to the two men. When Zacharie introduced the producer, Minako suddenly recognized him as well. She bowed her head politely to Morioki, and then to Khalid, whom she still did not know. Although she had been looking forward to an easy going private lunch with laughs and jokes and general fun, she could not see how they coul politely refuse to sit with the producer of the movie they were about to film. And while Morioko had not been the one to suggest the addition to their table, he was dining with the person who did.

Minako switched her speech back to Japanese, the language she was far more comfortable with. "We would be honored if you could join us. Morioko-san, good to see you again." Minako turned to Khalid. "I don't believe we've met, although from your own words, you know who I am. May I have the pleasure of your name?"

[Kino Makoto]

Makoto was standing in front of her mis-en-place, gathering what she would need to begin work on the special lunch menu for her two special guests when Sumari-san burst into the kitchen, an extremely frantic look on her face.

"Kino-san! There's been a horrible mix-up! We have two more guests who had reservations for the Chef's table!"

Mako gave an exasperated sigh and said "I'll take care of it, Sumari-san."

She made her way back over to the dining area where she found two additional guests speaking with those already seated. 'Well that's odd...' she thought to herself. 'Perhaps They know each other. That could work out well...' As she reached the table she heard Minako ask the two gentlemen to join them. 'Oh thank god, because this could have been a lot uglier.'

"Please pardon my interruption." She smiled and bowed to the three unfamiliar faces, one of whom was already seated with Minako. "I'm Kino Makoto, Head Chef. I just wanted to share my deepest apologies for the mix-up with your reservations this afternoon. I'm happy to see you all seem to know each other and that this error can be resolved amicably." She waved her hand towards the table and continued, "Please, have a seat. I already have my sommelier on the way with two bottles of one of our finest wines, completely on the house. Ah, here he is now..." She waited as the sommelier showed the label to the guests at the table. "Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Chateau Fortia, from the Rhone Valley, France, vintage 2000, an excellent year," He said as he opened one of the bottles and poured a bit into a glass for one of the gentlemen at the table to taste. Once the approval was given, he poured a full glass for each of the guests, left the second bottle at the table along with the opener and bowed before departing. "Now that we've got that out of the way, please enjoy. I will be out with your appetizer course momentarily." She smiled and bowed again to her guests, giving Minako a quick wink and departed for the kitchen.

[Zacharie Babineaux]

Zacharie smiled at the new guests. Morioko didn't seem to have much reservation against joining them. He bowed to the two and pulled out a chair, "It is very good to see you both here, together. It certainly will help with the movie that you two are so very... close."

The blond man laughed faintly and turned that grin upon Minako, "Well, Honeycomb here <i>is</i> much enthralling and attractive."

Enter the chef. She was a pretty little thing.. hadn't Makoto said that they were friends? He suddenly couldn't quite remember but smiled and nodded to the woman. She left as suddenly as she'd come, but there was good wine left behind and Zach found that he didn't quite mine. He lifted the glass up, swirling the contents and took a deep breath of its scent before he tasted it. Exquisite. "Morioko-san, shooting start soon yes it does?"

The man winced just a little at Zacharie's butchery of their language but he nodded. "I do hope that you've been memorizing your script, Babineaux-san?"

"Yes, yes. Coming along it is."

[Khalid ibn Maleec]

Before Khalid sat down, he answered Minako's question, taking her hand into his own, "I'm Khalid ibn Maleec." He was a business man doing business in Japan, so while his Japanese might be a bit formal, it was sound. "The pleasure, I assure you, is all mine, Aino-san." He then kissed the back of the young woman's hand before releasing it and taking a seat.

His featured darkened ever so slightly at Zacharie's comment about Minako, and there was the slightest twitch in his jaw.

He had felt a protectiveness for the young man the first time they'd briefly met, and he had been subtly helping his career, nothing that kept him from making it on his own, just serving as a patron, and as far as he knew, the younger man was not aware of this. However, at this moment in time, Khalid was wondering if he should regret that.

"Ah, yes, Khalid is one of the investors in the movie."

Khalid inclined his head slightly, acknowledging what Morioko said. "With such talent, it was an obvious choice for an investment."

[Aino Minako]

Minako felt her cheeks turn a fiery red between Zacharie and Khalid's complements. Usually, she took such words in stride, brushing them off as common. After all, she received hordes of letters and blog comments that contained stronger and less appropriate complements than either of these men had just given them. But there was something different about them both; a connection that Minako could not explain, and the words sent her heart fluttering.

"Zacharie," Minako teased, "You are as attractive as I am. This movie will be a wonderful success." She turned to Khalid and flashed him one her alluring smiles, "I am pleased you think so highly of us Maleec-san. We would not be in the position to make such a wonderful film without your help." Minako found herself staring at him, but she could not figure out why. Certainly, he held an intense attractiveness about him. He was a beautiful man - definitely eye-pleasing. But again, attractive men were nothing new to Aino Minako. There was something else here.

"How about a toast?" she suggested, "To the success of our film?"

[Kino Makoto]

Makoto came back out of the kitchen with a tray of four dishes. She smiled at the group before her as they toasted one another. She set the tray down then one by one placed a dish before each guest.

“This is a Belgian endive and honey-roasted apple salad topped with candied pecans and crumbled blue cheese. Please enjoy.”

She bowed to the guests again, picked up her tray and went back to the kitchen to begin prep on the next course.

[Zacharie Babineaux]

Zacharie raised his glass after Minako suggested the toast. Morioko-san did as well, the middle-aged Japanese man seeming more than a little glad at the way that the afternoon had turned out. For his part, Zacharie bumped his glass against Minako's. "kampai!" He winked and took a good sip of the smooth liquid, definitely liking the chef's choice in alcohol.

"I'm surprised at your backing a movie at all, Kahlid," He said in english to the "prince" in their midst, "you're much more a stage man."