Col Masaru's fried chicken

"And what shall I have the pleasure of making for you?" Benihime asked as she took orders. The customers were a family of six consisting of a father, mother, and 4 girls, three of whom were triplets. Two of the triplets looked at each other and smiled as they turned towards Benihime.

"We want-"

"- a large strudel-"

"___."

"KASUMI!!"

"Cake," the third triplet groaned.

"I'll have the American steak gumbo. It seems all my time in America has caused me to crave American cuisine, even here," the father chuckled.

"A simple egg roll platter," the mother sighed.

"Come on Hitomi, you should be going a bit more splurgy. It's not every day or year that I come back to Japan."

"I know Howard, but I'm not a big eater."

The final child gazed at the menu as she twirled one of her magenta twin tails.

"What kind of fried chicken you got?" she asked.

"Fried chicken?" Benihime asked.

"Yeah, like the stuff they serve in the convenience store."

"Um, well let me just check something real quick," Benihime nervously smiled as she retreated to the kitchen.

                                                                            ...

"Fried chicken? I can do it," Rika said.

"But convenience store chicken? I get that her pallet is not as sophisticated, but all she wants is simple convenience store chicken?" Masaru grumbled.

"Heh, looks like some of your snobbishness got exiled to America. So want me to handle the chicken?"

"No, I wish to tackle this challenge. If Makihara-san can adapt, then I should be able to too."

"Then knock it out of the park. I'll handle the gumbo while Mimi handles the strudel cake."

"Mimi!?"

"Yeah, her Tarte tropézienne was amazing. I think desserts might be her specialty. Relax, Itsuki will keep an eye on her. So yeah, Hime-chan, go tell em the chicken's good then get working on some egg rolls that'll blow that customer's taste buds away."

"Much thanks for your wisdom my female knight," Benihime smiled as she returned to the table.

                                                                           ...

Rika emerged with all the food and set the cart before the table.

"One American steak gumbo for the father," Rika smiled as she placed the gumbo before him.

"Some mouthwatering egg rolls for the mother," Rika smiled as she place the egg rolls before her.

"Some Col Masaru fried chicken for the young lady," Rika grinned as she placed the chicken before the girl with the twin tails.

"And for the young triplets, and anyone else who wants to sneak a piece, a large strudel cake," Rika smiled as she placed the large cake before the triplets.

All three gazed at it in unison. Even Kasumi the gloomy one, though she didn't smile like her sisters did. The three did all end up enjoying the cake.

"It's delicious! It tastes better than the stuff in America," the father stated as he ate his gumbo.

"You work in America?" Rika asked.

"Yep, my father's also American, so I mainly grew up there. I ended up taking my mother's maiden name though since I chose to have Japanese citizenship rather than American. Makes it easier to come back to Japan."

"It's rare for him to be home. He works abroad... like her," the girl with twin tails sighed as she eyed her food.

Her mood improved dramatically as she took a bite. The plate was cleaned in seconds.

"I wanna refill!" the girl proclaimed.

"Yuni, we are eating out-"

"It's fine dear, today's a splurging celebration. It's not often we're all together like this. Besides, the triplets haven't even gotten through half the cake," the father interjected.

The mother sighed and began to eat her egg rolls. To her surprise, she cleaned the plate in seconds.

"Give ME seconds!" she demanded.

"Like mother like daughter," Rika laughed.

"Oh, she's actually my niece, though her mother is my twin sister," the mother clarified.

"But she's practically our 4th daughter. Even though she's only a year older than the triplets, she's a genius. Why she got a top 5 score on the mock exam despite just starting middle school," the father boasted.

Rika smiled and returned to the kitchen.

"Col Masaru's is a big hit. She wants a refill. Refill on the egg rolls too," Rika called out.

"We are NOT calling this item that!" Masaru glared.

"Well too late, I told her that's what it is."

"Then tell her it's wrong."

"Then what is it? Since you created it, you tell her."

                                                                                     ...

Masaru nervously placed the food before Yuni and her aunt.

"So- A- About the- the meal," Masaru stuttered.

"You the chef? You're amazing! I think your Col Masaru's chicken has become my favorite chicken. Guess I'll be coming here after school. Hey can we get a to go bag?" Yuni smiled as she devoured the plate in seconds.

"Take out egg rolls too," the mother growled as she too finished her refill.

"Y- Yes," Masaru stuttered as he returned to the kitchen.

"So, what did ya tell em?" Rika smirked.

"We stick with the name," Masaru growled as his face went red with embarrassment.

"Got it, I'll tell Benihime to get more egg rolls going."

                                                                         ...

The happy family left as Masaru sighed.

"Now I'll have to update the menus again," he groaned.

"Well hold off, cause I wanna add some new items too," Rika grinned.