Chapter 28: Sweat and Snooze

"Alright, that's it. You're free to go to the kitchen now or go to sleep. It's your own choice. But make sure to be ready to serve at 6 a.m. tomorrow!"

Dojima walked off the stage after explaining about the next challenge, then headed out of the main hall before making his way to an office for the chefs and staff for Totsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp.

As he walked in, he saw Chef Chappelle sitting on the sofa, holding a report for the students' training camp today.

He nodded at him as their eyes met, "Chappelle-sensei, are you not going to rest?"

"I'll stay around for a bit, what about you?"

Chef Chappelle shook his head while looking at Dojima with his usual stern expression.

"I guess I'm also staying for a bit more," Dojima spoke.

He figured he still had some stuff to do at his desk.

However...

Chef Chappelle suddenly spoke, "I heard you held an unofficial food war. Why don't you tell me a bit more about it?"

"Ah, so you have heard of it, huh?"

Dojima gave a wry smile at Chef Chappelle.

Seeing those sharp eyes directed at him, he knew Chef Chappelle was quite dissatisfied with them for doing that.

"Of course, you almost expelled the brightest talent I've ever seen. How could I not know of that?"

"Well, I can't argue with that. But isn't he still around?"

"Hmm... You're right..."

Chef Chappelle furrowed his eyebrows before nodding.

He then sighed, seemingly concerned about the said student, as he asked, "So how was it? He's not badly beaten, right?"

He was genuinely worried if such a setback would bring down the student's mentality and might affect his growth.

However...

"Huh? Badly beaten? Not at all since technically he's badly beating..."

"...Pardon?"

Dojima couldn't believe he would say this, but it was indeed the case as he explained, "Yeah, it's just as you heard. That student won..."

"He won? Against Shinomiya?"

Chef Chappelle simply couldn't believe his ears.

He then pointed at the sofa in front of him as he spoke, "Come sit down, Dojima. I need to hear more of this..."

"Alright, so this is what happened..."

Dojima then sat down and told Chef Chappelle what had been happening since the beginning.

As he spoke, Chef Chappelle's expression grew more amazed, and he smiled, "As expected of the brightest talent I've ever seen..."

"..."

Dojima looked at the earnest smile that came from Chef Chappelle, a bit surprised, before nodding in understanding.

He himself also understood Chef Chappelle's feelings, so he nodded as well, "Right, seems like our future is quite promising..."

"That's true," Chef Chappelle nodded with a smile.

He couldn't help but feel a bit hopeful about what kind of changes the student would bring to their academy as he muttered, "He's hard-working and has the talent for it. I can't wait to see you sit at the highest and lead the world with your cooking, Tsunayoshi Ito..."

Meanwhile...

"Huh? You're going to sleep already?"

Soma exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at Tsuna perplexedly.

However, Tsuna just yawned as he answered, "I'm tired, I need to go to bed..."

"But we barely checked what's going on in the kitchen, though?"

Soma scratched his head confusedly as he looked around where all the other students were busy looking through some ingredients they might need for tomorrow's assignment.

Some of them were even busy trying out different spices and combinations.

"I can't sleep late at night. To me, sleeping is important..."

Tsuna shrugged his shoulders while glancing at the busy people in the kitchen.

He trained hard and slept hard!

Besides, he had already decided on what to make tomorrow after seeing what they had in the kitchen.

"Hmph! What a lazy bum!"

A loud shout echoed as a blonde guy and a slightly taller yet chubby one approached them.

Soma's eyes lit up in recognition of the new faces as he waved his hand and chuckled, "Oh! The Aldini twins!"

"Nichan, you're shouting too loud..."

Isami whispered while glancing around and noticing that their shouting had attracted some disapproving side-eyes from others nearby.

Takumi also noticed this, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment in his cheeks as he cleared his throat, "Ahem... anyway..."

"Since this assignment is a competitive one," he narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at Tsuna and Soma, declaring, "I will show you both a supreme Italian breakfast egg in Aldini style!"

"You... Tsunayoshi Ito! You talked big during the opening ceremony, so don't you dare go to bed early! You've got to perform tomorrow!"

Takumi continued, while Soma tilted his head and asked, "Oh? Italian breakfast egg? Sounds interesting. I wonder what it looks like..."

"Well, Italian breakfast egg is pretty simple..."

Isami's chubby face brightened as he smiled and explained it to Soma, while Takumi rolled his eyes and quickly covered Isami's mouth, "What the hell, Isami! Don't you dare tell our rival the secret!"

"Hahaha..."

Laughter echoed as they all turned to see Tsuna laughing with a confused expression.

However, Tsuna didn't seem to mind as he kept laughing a bit more before turning to Soma, "Well, Soma, it seems like you have clowns around you. They're quite entertaining..."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"..."

Takumi and even Isami, who was usually quite peaceful by nature, were taken aback. They had their expressions hardened upon being called clowns and stared fiercely at Tsuna.

Tsuna just chuckled at the intense stare, waving goodbye as he spoke, "Alright, rival. I'm looking forward to your performance tomorrow..."

"Wha!?"

"...!"

With that, he made his way out of the kitchen to return to his room for some rest, leaving both Takumi and Isami in shock with their mouths wide open.

"...Nichan, I think he just called you rival?"

"Yeah... I think so too..."

Takumi blinked in disbelief before suddenly smirking, his whole face beaming up as he spoke, "As expected of our rival, Tsuyanoshi Ito! He certainly knows respect..."

He wouldn't admit it, but he felt a sense of happiness when called a rival by Tsuna.

It felt like his hard work in trying to prove them wrong had been fruitful and acknowledged!

"...unlike certain someone," Takumi turned to Soma, who was ignoring them, gritting his teeth.

"Hmph! Whatever, let's go, Isami!"

He scoffed as he left, with Soma continuing to ignore them and go around looking for stuff.

They also needed to figure out what to make for tomorrow's assignment after all.

Seeing others busy on their own, they couldn't help but sigh, knowing it'd be a sleepless night.

The next morning, Tsuna woke up feeling refreshed.

He put on his uniform and headed down to the staff room to make a request before going to the kitchen to gather all the necessary ingredients and equipment for the day's assignment in the main hall.

"Oh, it seems we're neighbors..."

A voice called from behind, and Tsuna turned to see a person with dark skin and long, white hair tied in a ponytail.

"And you are...?"

"Akira Hayama. We're in the same cutting technique class..."

"I see... Just a moment."

Tsuna set down his supplies on the countertop and gestured to some nearby staff members, who began bringing an oddly big equipment over to his stand.

Hayama observed the odd scene with a slightly perplexed expression before asking, "...You asked for a treadmill? For what?"

"Oh, this?"

Tsuna glanced at the treadmill being set up, then turned to Hayama, "I gotta catch my morning run..."

"..."

Hayama regarded Tsuna with an expression akin to one observing a mentally ill person before quietly making his way to his own station, deciding that he would rather not talk with Tsuna.

"...That guy definitely got a screw loose in his head," he muttered while watching Tsuna thank the staff for setting it up, his lips twitching in speechlessness.

---

Sigh finally...

Done with the pitch this morning, it was a success.

We're still eating out for dinner at a restaurant, but it seems like the negotiations went on smoothly.

And finally...

I get to fucking sleep peacefully tonight. 😭

Appreciate you all for the best wishes by the way, thanks to you all I could make it! Let's go!