2594/The Right Ingredients

The Right Ingredients
Date of Scene:	06 June 2025
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	Rashmi stops by to see how she can help a slightly frantic Koji with the menu for an impending marriage receptions, and other things...
Cast of Characters:	Koji Silvia, Rashmi Terios

---

Koji Silvia has posed:
Welcome to Spesu Kitchens... a former industrial building in Juuban that was converted from it's old status as ready to be torn down into a chic little place where people like food cart vendors can set up their wares, caterers can cook if they don't have a kitchen, and of course... chefs who want to create menus for restaurant ideas.

But that's not who's here.

Here is Koji Silvia, in a small but industriously laid out kitchen space with all stainless steel tables, easy to clear, and the kinds of things you'd expect to see in the back of a restaurant.

The centerpiece of it for the moment is taped documents on one wall over a chop-prep area. Some old fashioned dishes, new ideas, classic wedding menus from both Japan and the US, and pins with threads going back and forth between some matching sets, things circled and crossed off, and some handwritten concepts as well.

And he's just staring at it like he's not able to see a thing.

    ...Brainlock...

Hanzo is sitting on the table, sedately glimmering and recording everything in case, and as the Device detected another and familiar one in close proximity... a signal was sent with directions on where they were, and what is going on.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It has actually managed to be a less-than-frantic week for a change.

These have been *rare* since their return to Crystal Tokyo, and Rashmi has tried to spend it drinking in a friend's advice; *get rest,* because when things go wrong again you at least want to have been recovering. Burnout is *bad,* folks.

So after school today, Rashmi decided to put off math homework -- again -- in favor of touring around Juuban, looking for eateries she hasn't tried out yet, and so far there were a couple interesting-looking candida--

    << *BONG!* >> << MASTER. DEVICE 'Hanzo' PROXIMATE. LOCATION MARKER RECEIVED, ROUTE PLOTTED. >>

Rashmi blinks in confusion. *Hanzo* sent his location, but Koji didn't message? Hm...

Curiosity alone would be enough to divert her to the rentable-kitchen, but she suspected that Hanzo was acting to his master's *benefit,* just not in *concert* with him.

Finally coming up on the business, she carefully opens the door, leaning in and rapping her knuckles on the doorway. "...Koji-kun? Is everything okay?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
There was supposed to be a card-lock on the front door... but it looks like SOMEONE kept the process a bit more streamlined for the Page Mage than would be normal.

So when the knock comes, it startles the hell out of Koji!

Dressed down to a t-shirt and slacks, shoes, and an apron, his hair done up in a bun and under a barely visible protective net, he turns and looks to see Rashmi behind the glass door to the rather spartan hallway.

     << Greetings, Meister Terios. Nicomachea. >>

A few more blinks to this, and Koji goes to the door, wiping his hands and opening it up, "Hi Rashmi... w-what're you doing here?"

The scent of freshly cooked beef, some vinegary sauces, and some spices waft out of the kitchen... grilled onions... grilling onions that look almost ready to burn!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Apparently Hanzo saw I was nearby and asked for help," Rashmi chuckles, slipping into the kitchen, and shutting the door behind her. "Onions are about to singe, by the way."

    << IT IS A PLEASURE TO SPEAK AGAIN, HANZO >>

"...Good coincidence," Rashmi remarks, sniffing appreciatively at the air as she approaches the counter. "Mamo-kun wanted me to offer you my sword, and I was *just* about to call you. What're you working on?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
As Koji blinks and turns to look at onion he's turned into strings and is a beautiful brown, and nearly worse... he scoots over really quick to the flat-top, and scoops them off quickly to put them to the side, "Wow... I must really be... sorry... this whole thing has be out of sorts. Mamoru wants me to cook for the reception AND be in the wedding party, and I don't know if I can reach Usagi to find out what she wants... and so all I know is no mushrooms, no carrots, and Mamo wants a steak dish... and..."

As he talks, he takes a medallion cut from a steak and puts it on a baby brioche cut in two, toasted on the inside, and then has the onions, and a little ketchup/mayo sauce with a little kick in it on top. He doesn't stop cooking, he just puts it on a place in the middle of a piece of green leaf and slides it over to you.

But as he's just talking and going on automatic, Hanzo is displaying a code on it's surface as a phone. It's a maintenance code, one requesting parts for updates.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Yeah Usa-chan's gonna be... absent. Until just before the wedding," Rashmi says carefully, brow furrowing. "So... you know about everything *around* the wedding, right?"

Her head tilts to one side as she looks down at Hanzo, raising her eyebrows. "...*Really* good timing, Hanzo... So okay," she says, picking one of the halves up and popping it into her mouth... And everything she was about to say dies on the vine, as she chews. "...Wow," she says, finally. "That's *good.* But um... anyway. You know the wedding *ceremony* isn't gonna happen until after Wicked Lady and New Moon are taken care of, and we've got Usa-chan back?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
"I literally only have only two things that I want to present for tasting and I should have at least nine, but how am I supposed to get someone who's schedule right now will NOT allow her to sit down and give me actual feedback… Like... what if she comes in here, tastes something, hates it... and then just gets THAT LOOK… You know the one, that disappointment so soul-crushing that she may be crying, but you’re the one who’s smashed flat?!"

Yeah, he's somehow listening and not hearing at the same time, as he moves over and takes a salad he made of daikon strings, pickle pink ginger, spring onion, and sweet corn, with some toasted sesame seeds and a sesame-vinegar dressing and puts it into a cup of iceberg lettuce. He pushes this towards you as well...

Hanzo, in the meantime is sending schematics and data over to Nichomachea, showing some increased wear since Crystal Tokyo and not able to repair as well as possible.

"I don't even know what the colors of the theme are, so how am I supposed to make sure nothing clashes? Weddings are serious business, and I don't want Usagi's mom and dad to feel like... this is just being thrown together by a bunch of kids..."

He FINALLY runs out of gas and looks up, "I think I'm panicking a little."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Yeah a little," Rashmi sighs, circling the counter to just wrap Koji up in a hug for a bit. "Start with breathing. Count to twenty-one by threes. Be *here* because while it's impressive that you can plate on autopilot, it's not gonna help you."

With that, she moves back, and samples the salad with another nod of approval. "Papi would probably pay good money to have you in his kitchen if you wanted, y'know."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji is not usually one for hugs, so he’s in mid-motion when it comes, and he almost flails because his brain doesn’t have the mental gearshift to handle going from frantic to fine.

Stopping himself, he closes his eyes and begins to mumble the numbers all the way to 21 and then back down to 3 again. Exhaling, he opens his eyes once more, "Anyways... I... there was a get together of people involved in the meeting, and then Mamoru showed up dressed like ONE OF THEM. And everyone else started talking like they knew something that I didn't. One of the people there is filling in for Usagi on her streams, who I'm teaching to play Call of Duty. And to top it all off? They’re talking about this Wicked Lady and trying to purify her…”

He adds a soft shrug, "But the way they talked about it... well... it's not a fight that Hanzo and I can handle."

Rubbing at the back of his neck, he asks, "How are you? Things aren't going so well for... all the other stuff. Have you been alright?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Not really?" Rashmi admits, lifting a shoulder. "And if you didn’t know… Wicked Lady is Chibiusa-tan. She ran off when the Palace got attacked, and Usa-chan ran after her, and we *believe* that Wicked Lady’s got Usa-chan somewhere safe. From what Mamo-kun said, Wicked Lady’s treating her like a very very favorite toy. So... First thing off the jump; it's not a fight Hanzo and you are *expected* to handle. The plan--"

She trails off, then plucks her charm off its cord, activates Nicomachea, at which point a Barrier forms to snug up against the walls of the kitchen. "--the plan is, gather everyone up, give Wicked Lady a front row seat, lock her down while we purify New Moon, then purify Wicked Lady. There's five whole people whose entire job is coming up with the most idiot-proof plan possible to make that happen, and ninety-percent of the wedding party will be ready to fight."

Dipping down to look into Koji's eyes, she says her next words slowly and clearly. "The *only* job anyone's asking you to do is plan the menu. *My* primary job is *storing* all the food so there aren't any *casualties* when the fight breaks out. And I'm gonna be seconding three other groups, one of which is you. So if you're spinning your wheels, let's brainstorm it out."

Koji Silvia has posed:
    << MASTE-. >>

    "You don't have to say it, Hanzo."

He looks around at the Barrier, and then back, and he just gives a nod, "That... was my idea. Having Devicers store the food, so we can keep it safe and put it out once things are settled. I actually recommended you for it because... you've grown up around food. You'd handle it better than anyone else."

There's a brief smile from him as he adds, "And... I should have asked you for help anyways. Chiyo too, maybe. But you know me..." He sighs, "I'm horrible about asking for help."

So he motions up towards his planning-possibly-murderboard, "So... my plan currently is to keep everything within 2-3 bites, can be picked up by hand, and eaten... stuff that people can just grab and enjoy while they're chatting, dancing, or whatever. So no one has to feel like they're stuck sitting. Three meat dishes, three veggie dishes, and three others... with something that kids would like, since I know a few will be there..."

Leaning back again, "Too much?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It was a *good* idea, because Mamo-kun -- as Tuxedo Mask, so I knew he'd be safe -- made it a priority to ask me about that," Rashmi says with a grin. "And yeah... you're horrible about asking for help, but hey! It's a skill, and you get better at it with practice."

As Koji goes back to his murder-board, Rashmi nods slowly. "I'd actually suggest one-bite stuff, for all the reasons you mentioned. Well... That, and so if Entrapta-chan's there, *she* can just graze the table like everyone else. But that's a good balance, and if you want to take it a step further? One *cute* thing in every category, and give it some pink somewhere. Because the wedding? Is happening on Chibiusa-tan's birthday. So cute and pink food would put her in the middle of the celebration."

Koji Silvia has posed:
With a soft 'huh', Koji adjusts his glasses, and then says, "Oh... that makes something else... that makes sense."

But he stops before he says any more on that topic, and then nods, "No, that all sounds good. So like this mini-sliders I'm making and those cup salads... but maybe just a little smaller than I have now."

He looks back at the list and starts looking it over, "So three cute and pink things... probably sweet too. But again, no carrots for Usagi, and no mushrooms for Mamoru. So that limits some of the tastes we can d-..." He pauses and then asks, "Do you think you could make a Butter chicken sauce pink?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
'Can you make a pink butter chicken sauce?'

The question makes Rashmi blink, tilting her head to one side. "...Maybe...? But there's a Japanese curry sauce that's like *bright* pink, I know they use beets cos Papi reverse-engineered it for my eighth birthday. If it doesn't *have* to be Indian, I could get that recipe and we can do chicken meatballs?"

Sliding into a nearby chair, she considers. "Also onigiri would be dead easy for the 'other' category, get a vegetable stamp and we can give them pickled-ginger flowers... And Koji-kun, Hanzo's been throwing maintenance codes at me, and since I'm gonna be in the shop anyway... What would the two of you *want* to do that you can't right now?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
There's a bigger smile at that, and Koji sits at a chair, after turning off the burners and leaving his samples sitting where they are, "Oh yeah, beetroot powder to color food... I was aware of it, just... not sure HOW to do it. But that sounds like a good idea. Something a little spicy but not too much for kids... a pink meatball would be perfect. But it would need a good decoration to sell it."

At the talk of the onigiri, he actually points to one of his images, "Japanese red rice would be perfect for that, and it's a traditional wedding dish too. I was thinking of some whitefish nicely grilled, flaked up, and mixed with a mayo sauce? Maybe? I'd want you to try it so I can fine-tune it."

Swiping his hand over Hanzo, he starts writing these down on a virtual board, "Oh... Hanzo's been flashing codes since we got back from Crystal Tokyo. All that high tech I think... got to us a little. Anyways... if I could he completely honest, Hanzo needs to stop being a weapon and go back to being just a Device. All the fighting has started to put a strain on his protective shell, and has caused a few issues with internal parts. I had to take out some of the older damaged stuff that had to be left in place, and replace them with blank memory modules."

Tapping Hanzo, the two warped-looking cubes out onto the countertop, "These are the old modules that had his unstable abilities... the remote weapons one has some salvagable stuff I think, but the teleportation system is just warped junk."

Adjusting his glasses once more, he looks at the board, like food will give him ideas, "One of his codes keep referencing something called 'Energy Blade', but he doesn't have a matching spell. Just files."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...I still have some parts left over from the whole Aloisia debacle," Rashmi muses. "And I have Luminous Titan's entire grimoire to sort through, Firefly primarily used him as an energy weapon... between the three of us and Chrono, I would *not* be surprised if we could come up with an energy blade for you. And he'll need reinforcing anyway, constant output can be hard on Devices..."

At this, she looks down at Hanzo, pursing her lips. "Hanzo-kun? Can you project for me your ideal Active Mode?"

With that request put in, she looks up at the board, nodding to herself. "That would be *perfect* for the pickled-ginger rose... and for the meatballs, what if we made the sauce extra-thick, put them on a skewer and dipped the tops in the sauce, so the first question is 'why are there cake pops with the meat?'"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji actually snorts a chuckle at that, and then just shakes his head, "See... I would never have thought of that. I think of food too much as comfort, and not fun... it's why I was having a hard time figuring out what to DO. I mean... you've seen my cooking. I make conbini food." With a shake of his head, he takes down one of the pages on the wall, turns it over, and writes down what you've said, putting it back up in place, "So skewered chicken meatballs in a pink sauce-top... finally, a third dish! And an Onigiri... which is a relief... so that's almost half done."

Hanzo in the meantime actually throws up a simulation!

The picture begins with it's usual Standby Mode, but the phone breaks in half, and becomes a pair of gloves, each of which has a partial Core sitting at the bottom of the palm just over the wrist joint.

    << SIMULATION BASED ON EXTRAPOLATION. MASTER SILVIA'S OPTIMAL FIGHTING STYLE IS NON-STANDARD TO MIDCHILDAN MAGICAL SYSTEM AT PRESENT. >>

Then it shows a wire-frame Koji with those gloves, and a sword appears in that hand, and then vanishes, followed by smaller knife-like blades that are swung and then thrown, and then finally from the cores, threads with arrow-tips are shot out, and they are used to both swing around and to entangle.

As Koji starts to rummage through his ingredients, he pipes in, "The stuff he keeps putting up looks like how I used to fight before he broke the first time... but I thought he'd lost most of his memories..."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Honestly that comes from Mami," Rashmi says with a smile. "Papi thinks like you do, unless he's playing in the kitchen. Mami's the one who really, really likes the kind of pranks that make you feel happy and fun. 'Make of your life a conspiracy of joys,' she likes to say. Which I like, *especially* when it comes to food, cos like... it's an *experience.* You can really pull out all kinds of feelings just with smell and taste. Some good, some bad, but if people have *fun* with a meal? It can be a whole new core memory, y'know?"

'Core' memory brings her regard to Hanzo, and the hologram being displayed. "He might have," she muses. "But they're Intelligent Devices, and even in people memories are linked to the weirdest things. Well... luckily I have half a box of Belkan parts that want for using, but the actual summoning and throwing stuff might be a little beyond me. Alo-chan would know more about that than I do, that's Alchemy. ...I *can* give you a Barret program that'll act like thrown knives?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Putting aside the work of trying to plan, jotting quick notes on the paper he's got on the wall, Koji goes to the fridge and takes out two sweet and milky tea drinks that he brings over, and passes to Rashmi, "I'll get you put on the access list for this kitchen. I've got a two week rental, and Mamoru's card to buy ingredients to experiment with until we have the menu nailed down. I won't be here until after school... I had to actually tell two jobs I won't be available for a month, and they were cool about it, but I think I'm really going to need your help. Thanks."

He then looks at Hanzo, and back, "I think it's more than... just a new Spell. I think he needs some rebuild time. I mean... I can take this time to NOT go out and fight. And you could open him up fully, look inside... see what you can do. Maybe with Aloisia-san's help. I think she understands physical fighting with Devices more than either of us. But because of our Degrade magics, we're not as powerful on front-line spellcasting. It's almost like we need a whole new combat series."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"No that was gonna be the next thing I asked you," Rashmi says, accepting the drink. "Would *you* be okay with ten to fourteen days on the sidelines, while Hanzo was at the spa? Because just rebuilding his self-repair module's a full day's work, and I've done three complete rebuilds already -- technically four -- so I'm confident I can do it no problem. But that'll mean being having to run if something goes wrong before I'm done, and some people... They don't do good with that."

Taking a sip of her tea, Rashmi smiles. "And I meant it when I said 'offer you my sword.' You've got a sous chef as long as you need one, and when we get to producing for the feast I know at least half a dozen people I can dragoon into making stuff. With that many hands, we could probably get the whole feast done in a long day's cooking."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji nods once, then again, and then says, "So I-... we'd need to put together directions and maybe how-to videos for everything... just in case..." He slips his hand into his pocket and takes out another phone that looks like the brother to Hanzo, "I actually spent more time once we got to the Palace in the future just... helping and teaching people, instead of going out and heroing. All that stuff my dad tried to drill into me about camping, my scrap cooking skills, fixing basic electronics... all of it was handier than anything we could do, except occasionally keeping some people entertained with movies and stuff. I think it got me ready for this."

    << MASTER IS PREPARED. THIS TIME IS NOT A GOODBYE. >>

To that, Koji actually looks a little flushed, "Okay, okay, I get it you big softie."

With a shake of his head, he then motions with one hand, "Take him. If nothing else, Nicomachea will have someone to talk to, right? And besides... it lets me focus here. Every time he pings about some abnormal energy increase, I get that urge."

Cracking his drink, he chugs about half of it, then looks at it, looks over at his list, and then murmurs, "Now I'm getting hungry. Gonna miss ramen on demand."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Luckily," Rashmi says, plucking a box of kara-age -- still steaming -- out of Nicomachea and offering it over, "now *you* have an assistant! And don't worry; putting together the instructions will be dead easy once we've got the recipes figured out. We'll just separate people into groups, show them how to make a thing, then move on to the next. *That* was how we did it at the Prom, at least. The hard part's really what we're doing now, but that's why this is a test kitchen."

Carefully picking Hanzo up, she smiles down at the Device. "Don't worry... when I'm done, you'll feel better than ever." With one last look at Koji, to make sure he's really really okay, she draws in a breath. "Hanzo: Power off, authorization -- TSAB-P Meister Zero-Calnarog-Six-Six-Vaizen-Galea-Three-Liberta."

Once the command is accepted and Hanzo goes peacefully dark, Rashmi tucks the Device into Nicomachea. "Nicomachea tells me it's a lot like just going to sleep," she says gently. "And to give you an idea how sure I am it's okay; *he* was the first Device I rebuilt. It was Chrono's last test for me, and it was a *lot* scarier when I only thought I knew what I was doing, y'know?"

Sipping from her drink, she takes out another street-food carton of skewered grilled eel. "So... four down, five to go."