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“Are you guys ready to order?” asked the waitress, notepad and pen in hand.
Kaede, Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki had decided to go out to dinner at a restaurant together that night. Sitting in the two booth seats for their table, menus open and drinks already served, the four friends were ready to order their dinners.
Kaede hadn't really needed to keep her menu open. She wasn't the hungriest as she had already eaten dinner at home an hour and a half prior to coming to the restaurant. She agreed to come for the sake of hanging out with her friends, and she figured she'd be okay with ordering something light. Kaito was the one who had suggested this particular restaurant. He'd been here plenty of times before and said it was 'AMAZING' and that they 'have to go tonight because they're doing a special today only where they're serving veal schnitzel, avocado toast, and gator bites!' or something to that effect. Kaede didn't care for those options though. She already made her mind up on what to order the moment she agreed to come to this restaurant.
Kaede wanted Matzo Ball Soup.
“Yeah, I'd like—”
“Oh yeah we're ready to order!” Kaito loudly interrupted from further in the booth while giving a personal-space-bubble-popping thumbs up practically through Kaede's shoulder. His nails were short and far from sharp, yet it felt like a knife riding up and cutting the top of her shoulder. She now understood exactly why Maki didn't want to sit next to him. These booths were rather small, so sitting next to him, a tall and enthusiastic guy, meant you were in the danger zone of his 'enthusiastic arm gesticulation' as Kaede mentally called it (the acronym spells EAG which is one letter away from EAGH which is the precise sound you'll yelp whenever he inadvertently hits you). Speaking of which...
“EAGH!” Kaede yelped, snapping her head towards Kaito and rubbing her now sore shoulder.
“Ah! My bad, Kaede,” Kaito apologized, pulling his arm back, “er, you can do yours first.”
Kaede, still rubbing her shoulder, gave a little nod. She then turned her head back to the waitress who had to witness this stupidity and gave a small smile. She quickly glanced at Shuichi in front of her who had visibly cringed when they made eye contact.
You're sitting next to him next time. She thought before glancing back to the waitress. She was certain from his reaction that he knew exactly what she was thinking when they locked eyes.
But that's all beside the point to Kaede right now.
It's soup time.
Or soup ordering time, rather.
“Ah, what are your soups for today?” Kaede asked. She didn't see any soups on the menu beyond Miso Soup and 'ask your server' so she figured she'd, like the menu says, ask. She finally closed the menu as she did so. Most places have rotating soups of the day anyway, so it made sense to just ask. She hoped and wished with all of her heart that, even if only on this one specific day, that Matzo Ball Soup was available!
“Today we have Miso Soup, Italian Vegetable Bean Soup, Duck Blood Soup, Matzo Ball Soup...”
YES
“...Beef Noodle Soup, and Clear Soup.” The waitress smiled at Kaede after listing all the soups.
Kaede Akamatsu only half listened after hearing the soup she wanted. She wasn't going to be rude and just interrupt though. Kaede paused for a moment, giving herself a measure of rest as if she actually needed to think about which to pick, and then gave her answer.
“I'll have just a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup please!”
“DUDE, YOU LIKE MATZO BALL SOUP TOO?!” Kaito belted. He managed to keep his arms to himself this time, but likely only because he clapped them together in his excitement. He seemed very much aware of how LOUD he was being because he quickly ducked down after yelling and began scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Though that could have been because Maki was glaring daggers at him.
The waitress laughed at the display.
“Is there anything else you want?” She asked through her laughter.
“No thanks, just the soup is fine! Oh and can you bring it out with everybody's meals?”
“Of course.” The waitress scribbled in her notepad then looked over to Kaito.
“I take it you want a Matzo Ball Soup, too?” She laughed.
“Oh you bet! Man, I love Matzo Ball Soup!” Kaito chuckled, “Hey guess we're on the same wavelength again, Kaede!”
Kaede couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. Though she, too was laughing. It's great that somebody else shares my love of Matzo Ball Soup, she thought.
“Would you like that as a bowl, too? Or a cup?” The waitress asked, smiling brightly at Kaito.
“Yeah, a bowl, but I'll order something else too.” Kaito began, “I'll also have the Egg-in-a-Hole and a Filet Mignon. Oh and can I have eggs as my side? For both entrees.”
The waitress slowed down in her writing.
“Just to confirm...” she spoke with uncertainty, “you want... two sides of eggs then? Instead of the regular sides?”
“Yup!”
“So eggs with... okay.” She wrote more on the notepad seeming to struggle with the logic of the order but also not wanting to judge, “And how would you like your eggs cooked?”
“Medium Rare.” Kaito smiled confidently.
“Your eggs?”
“I meant the Filet Mignon. My bad, my bad!” Kaito scratched the back of his head, his elbow having whacked into Kaede's shoulder on the way there causing another “EAGH!” from her.
“Argh!” Kaito quickly apologized before turning his attention back to the waitress, “I'll have one side of poached eggs and one side of scrambled eggs.”
“Right okay, so just to make sure I have this right...” The waitress wrote on her notepad a little more then stopped, “You want a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup, Egg-in-a-Hole with a side of poached eggs, and a medium rare Filet Mignon with a side of scrambled eggs?”
“Yes exactly! You nailed it!” Kaito grinned, giving a big thumbs up that Kaede had to dodge, “Oh but you can bring my soup in first.”
“You're seriously an idiot.” Maki spat.
“Am not!”
“Ah um... I'll have a lobster salad.” Shuichi stammered, interrupting the childish fight Kaito and Maki were about to have. The waitress had already moved on to look at him and it was clear he just really wanted to order his food now and get this over with.
“Okay and anything else?” The waitress asked after writing down his order in her notepad.
“Ah yeah. I'll also have a cup of Miso Soup, please.”
“NOT MATZO BALL SOUP?!” Kaito shouted. He sounded offended. Though she didn't voice it out loud like Kaito did (and, boy, was he LOUD about his offense here), Kaede was also offended at Shuichi's choice in soups. Miso Soup is great and all, Kaede loves it, but come on they have Matzo Ball Soup here! Also Shuichi was ordering salad and a CUP of soup. No wonder he's so scrawny. But, hey, at least there's lobster in his order.
“And for you?” The waitress looked to Maki, ignoring Kaito's outburst. Whether or not she still found humor in taking these four friends' orders is unknown.
“Penne a la Vodka.” Maki answered quickly and confidently.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Alright, your orders will be out in a moment.” The waitress bowed, grabbed the four menus off the table, and took off in the direction of the kitchen.
“Come on, Shuichi! You're really not gonna have anything else?” Kaito asked, concern laced in his voice. Kaede had only ordered a simple bowl of soup, but she did tell them ahead of time that she ate before they got to the restaurant. Shuichi, as far as anyone here was aware, hadn't.
“What? I ordered two things!” Shuichi put up his hands in defense.
“But you didn't order Matzo Ball Soup!” Kaito shouted, slamming his hands on the table. He shook his head and continued speaking, “But also you only ordered a cup of soup! You pretty much only ordered one dingy salad and an extra drink!”
“Their lobster salad is pretty big, Kaito. I'm having as much of a meal as anyone else.” Shuichi gave a light laugh, “It's also expensive enough as is.”
Kaede raised an eyebrow at that. His order wasn't an issue to her or anything, assuming the lobster salad is as big as he claims, but something about what he just said...
“I guess that's true.” Kaito crossed his arms, “I still think you should have ordered Matzo Ball Soup though.”
When Kaito didn't point it out, Kaede decided to.
“Wait, so you've eaten here before, Shuichi?”
“Hm? Oh yeah I've been here once before, actually. It's a pretty nice place with a little bit of everything in terms of food choices.” He laughed a bit and took a sip of his water before speaking again, “I'm not a regular here or anything, though. I just know they have big lobster salad with an actual fair amount of lobster.”
“And it's the best! Right, bro?”
“Uh... well it's the best lobster salad I've ever had at least.”
“And the best restaurant you've ever eaten at!”
“That I can't say...”
“We'll just have to keep coming here until you CAN say then!” Kaito's volume increased in a crescendo as he spoke. He was starting to shout again. Kaede cringed knowing his arms were sure to start flailing again, too.
“Quit being so damn loud, you idiot.” Maki commanded. Kaito's head turned forward to face her. He balled his hands into fists and slammed them down on the table. The table isn't the sturdiest, so it tips a bit as he does so. Kaito didn't seem mad, Kaede noted, but he looked like he was about to start yelling again. She steeled herself.
“BUT THIS PLACE IS THE BEST!” Kaito reeled his arm out to showcase the restaurant they were in, but smacked Kaede's face with it. She had the usual reaction to that (“EAGH!”) but muffled by Kaito's sleeve. Maybe she should have been the one to sit on the inner side of their booth... But Kaito had been the first to sit down, so she didn't have much of a choice once Maki took the inner side of the other booth.
After adjusting his arm so he wasn't smothering Kaede's face with it, Kaito continued his yelling, “JUST LOOK AT ALL THESE COOL DECORATIONS!” he, somehow, got even louder, “IT'S AS COOL AS THE UNIVERSE ITSELF!”
The 'cool decorations' mentioned were just... a bunch of houseplants. The restaurant had a green and purple color scheme to it and every possible place in the restaurant that you can put something on (that wasn't a dining table of course) had a different plant on it sitting in a purple or green pot. With his excitement you'd have thought that this was a space-themed restaurant! It wasn't. At all. This place was houseplant themed. It felt like being in a garden which contrasted to the random food selections they had. The restaurant's aesthetic was Garden, while their menu was Everything But The Kitchen Sink. This restaurant was probably the strangest one Kaede's been to so far. Houseplant theme? Really? Oh, speaking of the houseplant theme, their cups? The ones with the drinks they had ordered? Yeah they were vases.
Kaede was just glad that the floor of the restaurant wasn't straight up soil.
“It's all just plants, Kaito.” Maki said. Kaito opened his mouth to respond, but Maki glared at him with a fierce and deadly aura. Not her usual deadly aura, but an aura that was deadlier. Like it's one thing to kill somebody and it's another thing to kill somebody twice. That kind of aura. It was enough to make Kaede shiver and for Kaito to finally realize that he was yelling way too much. Seriously, he was like a trumpet section in a band just playing at a fortissimo no matter how many p's were written on their part.
The waitress returned to the table holding a cup (a literal cup. Not even their 'cups' (vases), but an actual cup cup) and a bowl.
“Here are your soups.” She said.
“Thank you!” Kaito cheered, his volume brought down to a more manageable level. Like a mezzo forte. Considerable improvement. He pulled his arms back allowing his soup bowl to be placed down in front of him. Kaede couldn't help but gawk at the beauty that was his bowl of Matzo Ball Soup. Or Matzo Balls Soup in this case! Kaito had two HUGE balls!
“Thanks.” Shuichi said once his cup was placed in front of him. It didn't get Kaede's attention like Kaito's Matzo balls did. Shuichi had only ordered Miso Soup, after all.
“Your food will be coming out soon.” The waitress said before turning around and leaving the four to their own devices again.
“Heh, they gave me a bonus ball!” Kaito cheered, looking happily at his soup.
“I can't wait for my Matzo Ball Soup to come in.” Kaede said, excitement riddling her voice. She couldn't help it. This place had the balls! Usually Matzo Ball Soup is just one Matzo Ball in a soup (shocking revelation!), but this place was crazy enough to add in an extra. It was nice to think about. As weird as this restaurant is, they are pretty generous with their food it seems. Kaede was sure to keep tabs on this place in the future. Though, if Kaito's reaction was anything to go by, this wasn't a common occurrence. He had been here many times and it was clear he loved Matzo Ball Soup.
“Do they usually give two Matzo balls?” Kaede voiced her thoughts.
“They don't usually have Matzo Ball Soup in the first place.” Kaito answered, shrugging “I've been here at least once for each day of the week and always ask about their soups. They don't really do daily soups based off the day of the week, they just have completely different soups every day. So I dunno what their 'usual' is for Matzo Ball Soup.”
“Oh I see.” Kaede wasn't as enthusiastic to keep tabs on this place anymore. Though, it's not like Matzo Ball Soup is the only thing in the world that she would ever want to order at a restaurant. Maybe she can just check any time she comes here like Kaito did... this restaurant is, again, pretty generous with their food, so Kaede's sure they'll have other things she likes enough for her to return and certainly enough of it. She decided she will still try to keep tabs on this place after all.
“Hey,” Shuichi began after taking a couple of sips of his soup, “now that you mention it, don't they also do different daily specials? Wasn't that why you wanted us to come here specifically tonight?”
Kaito blanked. He was stunned so hard into silence. If he was a music sheet, he'd be one that just says 'Tacet' on the page.
Oh right, we didn't just come here for Matzo Ball Soup. Kaede realized.
Silence, beyond the occasional sounds of drinking from vases and Shuichi enjoying his soup, lingered at the table. Kaede kept glancing to Kaito's untouched Matzo Ball Soup. Was he really so bothered by this realization that he can't even start eating? Don't waste that delicious soup, Kaito!
“Did you forget?” Maki waved a hand in front of Kaito's face, finally breaking the silence of the table. Kaito, however, still sat there as still and silent as ever. Shuichi, who had just finished his soup and set the empty cup aside, took this as an opportunity to ponder aloud what the 'tonight only' specials even were.
“It was... veal schnitzel, avocado toast, and gator bites today if I remember right,” Shuichi stated, placing his hand to his chin thoughtfully, “I don't think any of us ordered any of them... and knowing how this place is, I'm not sure if we'll ever see those specials again.”
“DAMMIT!” Kaito finally broke free from his silence and slammed his hands down onto the table. The table's slight tip at the slam and the sheer amount of force Kaito put into the action caused his balls (and a fair bit of liquid) to bounce out of the bowl.
Luckily for Kaito, Maki had fast reflexes. The balls, which were soaring out of Kaito's bowl and headed just beyond the edge of the table, found themselves both snugly held by Maki's hand. The downside, however, was that the particular edge of the table that the balls were headed in was where Kaede and Kaito were. This meant that they were further out of reach from Maki than they would have been were they still in the bowl. So, for Maki to catch Kaito's flying Matzo balls, she had to dive over the table. This had the unfortunate effect of knocking over her vase of water and nearly pushing Kaito's bowl of soup off the very side of the table that Maki was grabbing balls from.
“Whoa! SHIT my Matzo balls!” Kaito cried out at the spectacle. It seems he finally snapped completely out of his earlier daze now realizing that he had had Matzo Ball(s) Soup in front of him. He almost let it go to waste! He almost lost the most important part of Matzo Ball Soup which he even had an extra of! But Maki held both of those balls in her hand. They were safe. Her spilled water was all over the table though.
“Ah, we should probably get some napkins.” Shuichi observed.
“Do you want these or not?” Maki said, her patience running thin as she stayed stretched over the table. She was taking extra care not to crush the balls between her fingers. How unexpectedly kind of her!
“Yes of course! Thank you so much for rescuing them, Maki Roll!” Kaito said. Maki dropped the Matzo balls into Kaito's bowl then readjusted herself so that she's actually sitting in her seat again. Her face looked as red as her shirt.
“Well, we better clean up this mess.” Kaede got up and began to walk out of the booth.
“Where are you going?” Shuichi asked, pointing a ways down their aisle behind her “Can't we ask her for napkins?”
Kaede turned to the direction Shuichi was pointing and noticed their waitress who was making her way down the aisle to their table (holding what appeared to be their food!!). Kaede sat back down, her face now joining Maki's shade of red. She hadn't noticed the waitress was already coming. Though, in her defense, she was coming from a direction behind where Kaede was sitting. Akamatsu ain't an owl. She would have had no way to see her coming from behind.
“Oh do you guys need napkins?” The waitress asked after placing the big plate, which had the four smaller plates with all their food, down on the small foldable table she brought.
“Yeah, heh, sorry about all this.” Kaito answered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
The waitress grabbed a cloth she had clipped on her waist and began cleaning up the water mess with it.
“Nah, you don't have to do that. Come on, it's my fault. I'll clean up my mess.” Kaito proclaimed. Technically it was Maki who caused the water mess on the table, but this is Kaito so he's going to be Kaito about it. He, in his effort to help, was reaching for the cloth, but the waitress already mopped up most of the water.
“It's fine.” The waitress said, clipping the now wet cloth back to her waist. She then fished into a pocket and placed napkins down on the driest part of the table. “And here's the napkins.”
The waitress turned to the big plate and began distributing the food. She placed down Shuichi's lobster salad which really was big like he claimed, Maki's Penne a la Vodka, and Kaito's Egg-in-a-Hole with poached eggs... then also a separate plate with Kaito's Filet Mignon with scrambled eggs. Huh?
That was it. That was all the plates. The waitress already started folding the small foldable table back up. Ah, right. She did have only four plates with her. Not a single bowl among them.
“Hey wait, what about my bowl of Matzo Ball Soup?” Kaede asked.
“Don't worry, I was just about to bring that around.” The waitress replied, grabbing Shuichi's empty Miso Soup cup. Kaede gave a nod back as the waitress then turned, additionally mentioning how she'll bring back a water refill for Maki's now empty vase also, and left.
Phew. Kaede was worried for a bit that the waitress had forgotten about her precious soup. She wondered why the bowl wasn't just brought along with the plates though. The big serving plate had plenty of space for it, after all.
“Man, that was fast! I didn't even get to start on my Matzo Ball Soup yet!” Kaito yelped.
“It's been a while. You were just frozen in shock.” Maki said as she began eating her pasta.
“I was in shock?” Kaito asked.
“Uh... over the specials.....” Shuichi sheepishly added after swallowing a small piece of lobster. He seemed to have internally debated on whether or not he should bring up the specials again given Kaito's original reaction to it.
“Oh right that.” Kaito sighed, “I really wanted the veal schnitzel and gator bites! But then Kaede ordered Matzo Ball Soup and I got so excited because I LOVE Matzo Ball Soup! Man, I got real distracted back there... and now that the food's here, I'd feel bad ordering anything else and not just eating this stuff.”
“You basically just ordered eggs in the first place.” Kaede laughed. Kaito looked ready to defend his apparent love for eggs, but Kaede continued talking before he could say anything, “Besides, you can make other orders at restaurants after the food's arrived you know? It's like ordering dessert.”
“Yeah, but I already have all this food to eat. I don't want to waste any of it! That would be messed up, man.”
“You can always just ask for the specials to-go if you really want to have them. As long as you order today, they'll make the specials, right? You don't need to order it for here. Just take them to go and enjoy them later.”
“But then we have to wait for them to make it.” Maki interjected, “I imagine that's part of the problem since we've already started eating.” She gestured to her plate. “Waiting for entire meals takes much longer than desserts. It's too much of a waste of all our time just for Kaito to get a box of meals he forgot to order in the first place.”
“That's true.” Kaede pondered it for a moment before realization struck. “Oh, but he can order it for delivery! Using one of those food take-out apps. Then we don't have to wait here for the specials to be made and he can enjoy them himself later.”
Kaito snapped his fingers.
“That's it! That's a great idea, Kaede!” He joyfully exclaimed as he grabbed both of Kaede's shoulders. “I forgot about food delivery services!” He practically shook her in his excitement. Kaede was happy he was happy and all, but she would be even happier if she wasn't being shaken like a maraca right now. As she thought that, Kaito removed his hands from her shoulders and spread his arms wide, “Give me a hug!” he beamed.
“Why are you like this?” Maki sighed in annoyance.
“No. All I did was tell you to order food for delivery, Kaito. Relax.” Kaede lightly pushed Kaito and he put his arms back down to the table in response.
“It was a good idea!” Kaito assured her before looking back to his food. More specifically he was looking at his Matzo Ball Soup. He glanced around at Shuichi and Maki who were busy eating their food and looking off somewhere in the distance. He then looked to Kaede.
“Hey, we might want to call the waitress back here.” He said, nodding his head in the direction of his soup, “She still hasn't brought you your soup.”
“Right, she said she was 'just about to bring that around.' earlier.” Shuichi added. His lobster salad was already halfway finished at this point. “It's been awhile. Far too long a wait for something that was apparently already on its way at the time she brought the rest of us our food. I... I don't think your soup is coming, Kaede.”
Kaede shivered at his words. Was her soup really a lie? Why would the waitress lie about the Matzo Ball Soup? Clearly they were serving it at the restaurant today! Kaito was given a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup as proof! Kaede ordered hers first and yet it never came. She regretted asking for it to be brought with the entrees. She did that because it was her meal, so she wanted to eat it while everybody was eating their meals, of course! But clearly that was a mistake, because now she's not eating anything at all while everyone else is halfway done with their food. (Well, everyone except Kaito who hadn't even started eating any of his food yet.)
“If you want Matzo Ball Soup so bad, why don't you just eat that idiot's soup? He hasn't touched a thing.” Maki said.
“Hey! I'll eat my food!” Kaito yelled, grabbing a spoon and cutting one of his Matzo balls with it. “Besides, Kaede ordered her soup and the waitress clearly knows she did! She should get it!” He scooped up some liquid alongside the cut piece of Matzo ball and brought it to his mouth.
“Damn it got cold...” Kaito pouted.
“No shit.” Maki shot, “It's been sitting there this entire time.”
Kaito continued to eat his cold soup proof that his love is deep and true. He was even dipping his Egg-in-a-Hole in it and taking a bite of that.
Kaede watched. Her heart ached. She didn't care if it was already cold, she just really wanted to have some Matzo Ball Soup already! She was borderline ready to jump at Maki's suggestion and just have Kaito's soup for herself, but now that he's already eating it and the rest of his food, all she could do was watch. Watch as he eats the delicious soup that she had wanted back before the four ever set foot in this restaurant.
The delicious soup she tragically never got.
“Do you really think the Matzo Ball Soup's not coming, Shuichi?” Kaede gulped. She already knew the answer at this point given that Maki already finished eating her Penne a la Vodka.
Shuichi, mouth full of lobster and lettuce that was partially jutting out of his closed mouth, sadly shook his head.
“Don't worry, Kaede! We'll make sure you get your Matzo Ball Soup!” Kaito threw a fist in the air (which, of course, ended up punching Kaede's shoulder granting yet another “EAGH!”). “A hero doesn't back down when his sidekicks are being wronged!”
“I'm not your sidekick.” Kaede said, though she smiled at his exclamation. She thought about the soup she never got and frowned. It was hard to keep a smile when ALL SHE WANTED WAS SOME MATZO BALL SOUP!!!!!
“Mmm.” Shuichi swallowed, “I've been looking around to see if she'd come by, but I haven't seen her since the food came.”
“Me either. She hasn't even been tending to other tables.” Maki added. It seems both Shuichi and Maki were on lookout. This made Kaede want to smile again. It was clear all her friends cared about this. It was nice to have friends like them, she thought. But a smile never reappeared on Kaede's face, unfortunately, as her mind was still on the lack of Matzo Ball Soup in front of her.
“Well then, we'll ask another server to find her!” Kaito proclaimed, bumping his fists together.
“She should still be in the kitchen,” Shuichi said, “after she dropped off our food, that was where she went. I never saw her come back out.”
“And if there's another door on the other side, she probably hasn't used it,” Maki added, “because nobody is over there and so if she did, she would have had to eventually pass by the front desk... and I never saw her do that.”
Well this was weird. Why did their waitress just... disappear? Without bringing the soup?
Kaede leaned out of the booth and turned her head around to see where the kitchen was. The kitchen door was clear from where they were sitting, and, letting her eyes follow along the wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the restaurant, was the front desk. Beyond the front desk were only the restrooms, so the waitress would have no reason to stay on that side unless she was going there. Since you can see behind the front desk from where Kaede and her friends were sitting, Maki would have been able to see her if she exited from that side to enter a restroom. So, unless the waitress immediately turned around to go back into the kitchen from the hypothetical other door that she would have just exited (which they aren't even sure exists or not), she really would have to pass the front desk to get anywhere else. And, of course, if she exited the kitchen from the door she entered, which is clearly visible, Shuichi would have definitely seen her. There was no way around it if she was exiting the kitchen from any angle. Shuichi and Maki were watching that whole area around the kitchen and front desk. Therefore, since they never saw her leave from any side, the waitress had to still be in the kitchen.
“She has to still be in the kitchen... unless she left the restaurant through the back door.” Shuichi announced.
“Huh?” Kaede gasped. Oh right, kitchens usually have a back door for taking out trash and stuff. Yeah, that would be the only door Shuichi and Maki can't see her exit through. So this missing waitress was either still in the kitchen not bringing out the soup or was loitering outside of the restaurant.
“Yo! Can you come here a sec?” Kaito called out to a passing waiter, waving his arm above Kaede's head and, thankfully, not bonking it.
“What do you need?” The waiter asked as he walked over to their table.
“Our waitress was supposed to bring a bowl of Matzo Ball Soup here. We never got it.” Kaito explained. Kaede was surprised this was what he was going for when he called the waiter over. She assumed he was going to do his earlier stated plan: ask him to find their waitress. But, on second thought, this was much easier. Just get the Matzo Ball Soup. That's what Kaede had been waiting for this whole time, after all.
“I can't bring you your soup, but I can check and see if it'll get to you. I'll be right back.” The waiter said. He then headed off to the kitchen. Shuichi and Maki both looked focus on where he was headed. They seemed suspicious. Shuichi had noticeably stopped eating his lobster salad. Kaede was unsure if this was because of him focusing on watching the kitchen or if it's because he was full. It really was a lot of lobster salad, and he already ate most of it. This meant that the only one still eating food was Kaito. Kaede hoped to get her soup sooner rather than later, or she'd be the one holding everyone back from leaving the restaurant.
Then again, the waitress is the real one that would be holding them back. She's the one that's supposed to bring the bill, after all. The group can't pay for their food until she returns, and she hasn't even been seen this entire time! What is her deal? Why is it so hard for her to just bring over Kaede's bowl of Matzo Ball Soup?
Kaede continued to think about the situation while Kaito chomped away at his Filet Mignon and excessive amounts of eggs. Occasionally Maki and Shuichi would whisper to each other. It usually would be just for a second, but it was interesting to her that whatever they were talking about was apparently something they didn't want to share with her or Kaito.
As time moved on, Kaito was getting closer and closer to finishing his meal. Kaede still didn't have her soup. There was going to be nobody left eating by the time the damned Matzo Ball Soup comes in.
“Shuichi. Can you step out of the booth?” Maki asked, eyes still locked with what Kaede assumed was the area around the front desk.
“You didn't see him come back out either, did you?” Shuichi sighs. Maki didn't respond, and that was all he needed as an answer. He scooted out of the booth and let Maki out. “Be careful.”
“Wait what's goin' on, Maki Roll?” Kaito called out to her as she walked off. She didn't bother with responding to that either. Before Kaito can shout out to her, Shuichi began whisper-shouting.
“Don't worry about it, Kaito!”
“Huh? What are you sayin'?” Kaito blinked at Shuichi in confusion. Kaede didn't have to turn around to know where Maki was headed.
“She's sneaking into the kitchen, isn't she?” Kaede thought out loud. Shuichi nodded.
“WHAT?!” Kaito roared, dialing back on his fortissimo volume only after Kaede and Shuichi shushed him in response. “This is crazy! You guys think something's up in the kitchen?”
“We do.” Shuichi started, “I don't think a waitress and a waiter would just stop doing their jobs after entering the kitchen if there wasn't something more going on back there...”
Kaede was surprised by the theory. Was there really something more to this soup controversy?
“But, these people always go in and out of the kitchen,” Kaede began, “and you guys got your food earlier, so the kitchen has to be fine, right?” Kaede wasn't too sure of herself, but she didn't want to be pessimistic. She felt she had to remain strong here. There was no way something bad was happening in the kitchen all of a sudden was there? The restaurant was functioning perfectly normally right now.
“That's just because things were normal earlier.” Shuichi said, “but, if you look around, you'll notice there's not many people left at the restaurant.”
“Well yeah, they ate their food and left. Normal restaurant stuff!” Kaito shrugged, “I don't see the big deal.”
“That's not what I've been seeing.” Shuichi continued his earlier train of thought, “There's not many people left at the restaurant because they're not getting any service. It's not just lacking in customers right now, it's also lacking in servers. Maki and I have been noticing that whenever somebody goes into that kitchen, they don't come out. It started with our waitress, but after that, we've noticed we don't see anybody exiting from that kitchen door, nor anywhere surrounding that area, at all anymore. Not our waitress, not that waiter, and not anybody else.”
“You're saying people started disappearing after our waitress went to get my Matzo Ball Soup?” Kaede asked.
“That's crazy! They can't just... disappear!” Kaito stammered.
“This restaurant is open 24 hours... but does this place even look like it's open right now?” Shuichi said, gesturing to the empty aisle.
Kaede looked around the restaurant like Shuichi suggested. Just like he said, there's not many people here anymore. Kaede couldn't spot a single server left in the restaurant and the only other people in the restaurant was a small group of people at a table in a neighboring aisle who looked fed up and ready to leave. They had menus. With whatever that's been going on, those poor people never even got their orders taken! Aside from Kaede's group and that small group of strangers, the restaurant was deserted. This did not seem like a place that was open.
“This is freaky.” Kaede shivered. She hoped Maki was alright. She went directly to the kitchen that's apparently been making people disappear!
Kaito ate the last bit of his food then stood up, pushing aside the empty plates as he did so. Though, with Kaede being on the outer part of the booth, he couldn't exactly go anywhere after standing up.
“I'm goin' in!” Kaito announced, curling his fingers on both hands into fists.
“Let Maki handle it.” Shuichi said with a small and empty smile, shaking his head. Though Kaede could see the worry in his eyes. She understood that his theory was that something was going on in that kitchen that prevented people from leaving, but he didn't exactly elaborate on what it is that he thinks is causing it. With how worried he looked, she started to think his theory was that people were dying in that kitchen!
ARGH! Were people seriously going to die at some stupid houseplant-themed restaurant? And just WHY did it have to happen when their waitress promised to bring Kaede her long-awaited Matzo Ball Soup?!
Literally all Kaede wanted today was soup.
Freakin' soup.
Why is this happening?
“We can't just sit here and do nothing while Maki Roll runs off into danger by herself!” Kaito growled, “I'm not gonna let my sidekicks get themselves hurt!”
Shuichi looked off to the kitchen and said, “We just have to wait. It'll do us no good if we all get... well, caught by whatever is in the kitchen.”
Kaede noted the way he spoke. Yeah he totally thinks they're dying back there, doesn't he? Or maybe that's just Kaede's own fears bubbling up to the surface. Who can really tell? She didn't really like to assume the worst of things, but she couldn't fight off this sickening feeling that something that bad was actually happening.
“Don't get me wrong, I trust that Maki Roll can handle things,” Kaito said, sinking back down in the booth to sit again, “but I can tell you guys think something terrible is happening back there. This is the type of stuff that you shouldn't tackle alone.”
The trio sat in silence after that. At least until Kaede decided she didn't like that silence.
“We can leave Maki to handle the kitchen for now, but we can still do something to help us get to the bottom of this thing.” Kaede said, “Shuichi, you and I should investigate the rest of the restaurant. And Kaito, you should ask those people if they know what's going on.”
Shuichi kept staring at the kitchen door. Nobody had come out yet.
“Alright then!” Kaito triumphantly shouted, “We'll get to the bottom of this just like you said, Kaede!”
“Mmhmm,” Kaede nodded, turning to Shuichi. “You ready, Shuichi?”
“Right. We should meet back here at our table when we're done. And remember,” Shuichi kept looking between Kaede and Kaito as he spoke, “we're trusting Maki with the kitchen. Nobody else should go in there for now.”
Kaede and Kaito both nodded in agreement. The three exited the booths and went off on their investigations.
After they believed they explored as much non-kitchen as they can, Kaede and Shuichi arrived back to their table. They had found... nothing of note. Everything in the restaurant just seemed normal aside from the missing people. Nothing was really out of place. And now Kaede, Shuichi, and Kaito were the only ones left in the restaurant.
Kaito filled in Kaede and Shuichi on what he learned from that small group of people he had been tasked to speak with.
Which is to say, nothing of note. They knew nothing aside from seething annoyance over being given menus and then never having a server come and take their orders. So, after being questioned by Kaito, they had simply left.
And Maki still wasn't back from the kitchen.
“We learned nothing about what's been going on!” Kaede complained. Caught up in the stress of their situation, Kaede wasn't really thinking about her missing soup anymore. All that was on her mind right now were thoughts about how crazy this situation was! This restaurant was seriously the weirdest. And to think this was 'the BEST' according to Kaito. Psh, tough luck on that one.
Shuichi opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly the kitchen door burst open.
It wasn't Maki.
“W-wha—“ Kaito stammered.
“You!” Shuichi pointed. He was sweating bullets at the sight.
Yeah it wasn't Maki bursting that door open. And, to Kaede's dismay after remembering her LACK OF SOUP, it wasn't their waitress.
You know how the cups in this restaurant are actually just vases? Yeah...
That's not as weird as what was standing at the open kitchen door.
“OH YEAH!” Said the giant freakin' pitcher at the door.
“IS THAT THE KOOL-AID MAN?!” Kaito screamed at fortissississississimo volume.
“Huh?” Kaede blinked. She couldn't believe what she was looking at. What was the Kool-Aid Man doing here? And why was he in the kitchen? How was he coming out of the kitchen?? WHAT THE HELL?
“But...but if y-you're not filled with Kool-Aid...” Shuichi looked about ready to cry, but he continued pointing at the big, talking pitcher.
It was filled with a yellowish liquid.
And had some huge balls.
Not like, testicle balls, but—
“Are those Matzo balls?” Kaede blinked at least 20 times within the last 10 seconds as she struggled to speak out her thoughts. Was this Kool-Aid Man filled with Matzo Ball Soup?????????????
“OH YEAH!” Kaito, not the Kool-Aid Man, shouted, “KAEDE! YOUR MATZO BALL SOUP BOWL! THERE IT IS!”
“What?” Kaede was just confused. What the heck was Kaito rambling on about? This wasn't a bowl. This was a pitcher. A living one at that.
But Kaede was so distracted by the Kool-Aid Man himself (completely understandable) that she didn't notice that, while he held open the kitchen door with one hand, he held something in the other hand.
And, surely enough, the object he was holding was a bowl. A soup bowl. Just like the one Kaito had for his Matzo Ball Soup earlier.
“Kaede!” Shuichi was freaking out. He looked like he was having at least three mental breakdowns at the moment. Was there something between him and the Kool-Aid Man that Kaede didn't know about? Like, it's one thing to be freaked out because what the living Hell is going on here, and it's another thing to be freaked out because you're facing off with one of your greatest fears.
“K-Kaede, look! Look!” Shuichi stuttered out, his whole body shaking like the strings of a grand piano being hammered away with the pressing of each key. He was still pointing at the Kool-Aid Man. Yes, Shuichi, the Kool-Aid Man burst through the kitchen door. We understand. Why are you still pointing at him?
Kaede was confused by this until she carefully followed Shuichi's pointing. She realized he wasn't pointing at the Kool-Aid Man at all. He was pointing just behind him in the kitchen.
There was Maki holding a chainsaw which was stained with unknown red substances.
Please don't be blood please don't be blood.
“Come on, Kaede! Get your soup!” Kaito cheered, blissfully unaware of Maki standing behind the Matzo Ball Soup-filled Kool-Aid man with a suspiciously red-splattered chainsaw clutched in both her hands. “After all this, you deserve it!”
Shuichi looked like he was going to faint. Kaede felt like she was going to faint, too, so she understood why he looked like he was going to faint because she was going to faint over the same thing he wanted to faint over because Maki may or may not have killed people in that kitchen? Oh boy they're gonna faint. Their friend may have just committed a massacre over Matzo Ball Soup! This is faint-worthy.
Before either of them can succumb to the urge to simply pass away (but non-permanently [they want to faint]), Maki stepped out of the kitchen and looked at Kaede.
“There, you can have your bowl of Matzo Ball Soup.” Maki said.
“See? Go on, Kaede!” Kaito cheered.
Aaaaand Kaede fainted.
When Kaede came to, she found herself with her friends on a couch in Kaito's living room.
She did end up getting her Matzo Ball Soup in the end. In fact, Kaede Akamatsu was allowed to take home a whole pitcher of it for free (not the Kool-Aid Man himself. A normal, non-sentient pitcher was what was given to her (but the Matzo Ball Soup in question was, in fact, taken from the Kool-Aid Man. Balls and all)).
Shuichi had fainted alongside Kaede back at the restaurant. Both of them had thought the same thing regarding the situation.
“You really thought I'd slaughter a bunch of people in a kitchen just because you didn't get your Matzo Ball Soup?” Maki asked. She seemed disappointed.
“Not exactly,” Kaede sheepishly scratched her chin, “but... you had that chainsaw... and it had those red stains...”
And so Maki went on to explain the entire situation and unravel the mystery behind the kitchen disappearances once and for all.
As it turned out, the reason why people were disappearing in the kitchen was because the Kool-Aid Man had burst into the restaurant (through the back door. Why? We don't know) and tripped, spilling his red Kool-Aid all over the kitchen. Anytime a worker stepped in there, they would end up being roped into cleaning it up. The restaurant couldn't operate with the Kool-Aid that stained every damned thing in the kitchen, tainted and ruined all the food, and made the floor sticky and highly attractive to flies and ants and bringing about mice, rats, and roaches from who-knows-where and raccoons letting themselves in from the back door— it was just a big mess. In short, the scene in that kitchen after the Kool-Aid Man spilled his red Kool-Aid everywhere was at least 30 OSHA violations at once. So, any and all helping hands they can possibly get to fix the kitchen up and get the restaurant functioning again, were necessary. If you walked into that kitchen, congrats! You're on janitor duty now!
This had included Maki. When she entered that kitchen, they immediately recruited her to help clean it. But Maki wasn't an employee there at any point in time, so she ended up making a deal out of it through blackmail. She threatened to report the restaurant for the chaos if they didn't remake their Matzo Ball Soup. They, desperate to not be closed down, agreed. Then, in order to help them make the Matzo Ball Soup faster so Kaede can finally enjoy the soup she was at the restaurant for, Maki not only didn't report the restaurant, but she had stayed back in that kitchen and helped clean like they asked.
But, due to the Kool-Aid spill, not only did the kitchen lose the original Matzo Ball Soup they had, they also didn't have any pots for making more. So they improvised. And the improvisation was actually the Kool-Aid Man's idea, as he had apparently felt really bad for annihilating the kitchen with his juices. So, he cleaned himself up (which was basically just him taking a shower. He was, ironically, the easiest thing to clean Kool-Aid off of) and then the Matzo Ball Soup was made in him.
And that's the whole story.
“So, uh, what was up with the chainsaw?” Shuichi asked. He was a little awkward, but nothing too out of the ordinary. He was much calmer after fainting and clearly felt bad for making any assumptions about Maki holding a red-stained chainsaw.
“For some reason they use a chainsaw to prepare some of their dishes,” Maki shrugged, “I was just cleaning it. But the Kool-Aid Man wanted to give Kaede her soup as soon as it was ready... which just so happened to be while I was cleaning the chainsaw.”
“I see,” Shuichi smiled, “I'm glad nobody was hurt.”
“Of course not! Maki Roll wouldn't do something like that!” Kaito shouted. Shuichi shrunk a bit into the couch.
“That's not really what I meant...” he said, frowning, “people were disappearing before Maki went in there. I didn't think she was the one behind that. I'm just glad there wasn't any danger she had to fight...”
Kaede understood what Shuichi meant because she had made the same assumption. They didn't think Maki was responsible for the disappearances or anything, they just assumed, after seeing the chainsaw scene, that Maki fought her way through whatever was responsible. And that that fight may have gotten harsh. Harsh enough that Maki may have killed a little more than only who was responsible... That kind of thing. If that makes any sense.
“It's fine, Shuichi,” Maki assured him, “nobody got hurt.”
“And we met something better than the Kool-Aid Man!” Kaito chortled, “We met the Matzo Ball Soup Man!”
The four friends laughed at that. Well, Maki didn't really laugh like the other three did, but she did smile and blow a puff of air out of her nostrils. Overall, the four of them were just having fun now. Things really were okay. And all of that nonsense because.........
“Thanks, Maki.” Kaede smiled, looking over at her as she shrugged in response. Because, in the end, that wild scene she witnessed and fainted over happened because her friend wanted to help her out.
Maki with the chainsaw... a Kool-Aid Man filled with Matzo Ball Soup... all of that was done just to finally bring her her long-awaited bowl of Matzo Ball Soup.
Kaede has some great friends, she thought.
But she has now decided not to keep tabs on that restaurant after all. She didn't care how much Kaito loved that place, she was scarred for life.
Wait... Kaede remembered something...
“Oh, Kaito, did you ever order your specials for delivery?”
Kaito blanked. He was stunned so hard into silence. If he was a music sheet, he'd be one that just says 'Tacet' on the—
Yeah, exactly like before. Kaito definitely forgot about the specials again...