Tsuna sighed as Erina continued to rant, with Mimasaka seemingly representing his intrusive thoughts, keeping the banter alive.
The corridor was filled with their loud exchanges.
Thankfully, just as Tsuna was about to intervene, someone interrupted them.
"Yaa seems like everyone's getting along quite well..."
Turning to the speaker, they saw Ishiki approaching.
He walked past them toward a certain office room, opened the door, and continued, "Though, I'm afraid we don't have much time, so please enter Eizan's office..."
"..."
Erina glared daggers at Mimasaka before turning to Tsuna and scoffing. Tsuna ignored her, too bored to respond to her childishness, and followed Ishiki into the office.
Similarly to the corridor with its European theme, the office exuded a similar style.
Tsuna noticed a huge candlelight in the middle, which was a rich people's stuff, along with a classy-looking sofa.
At the end of the room sat a student with long, swept-back, dirty blonde hair typical of a Japanese delinquent.
He was Etsuya Eizan, the Eighth Seat of the Elite Ten Council of Totsuki Academy!
"...You're late."
"Ahaha, my bad, I got lost on the path of life..."
Eizan spoke while shaking his head, as Ishiki just smiled in response, offering an apology that didn't sound apologetic at all.
However, Eizan seemed used to it.
He turned to their guest as Erina huffed before sitting down on the sofa comfortably, crossing her arms and looking annoyed.
"Tsunayoshi Ito, I've long heard of your name. It's nice to finally meet you in person," Eizan's speech was eloquent, contrasting with his appearance.
Tsuna nodded and casually replied, "Likewise. Anyway, let's get this done quickly..."
"...Exactly as I heard," Eizan paused slowly after Tsuna's remark, then chuckled as he leaned back, his gaze shifting to Mimasaka.
Mimasaka was perfectly mimicking Tsuna at the moment, which made Eizan think, "He's doing his thing, huh?"
Mimasaka used to be one of Eizan's underlings, so he was quite familiar with the guy's ability, Perfect Trace!
To use the Perfect Trace style, the user needed extensive knowledge about the chef they were trying to imitate, fully understanding them down to their physical well-being and psychology; the more data they had, the better.
What Mimasaka was doing at the moment was also a way to gather that data.
Eizan nodded, "Alright then, I'll make it brief. First of all, I wanted to confirm something..."
"...I heard you wanted a food war?"
"Yeah, what's the theme?"
Tsuna replied along with Mimasaka, unfazed which made Eizan narrow his eyes at them.
They shrugged their shoulders in the same manner, their casual demeanor indirectly urging him to get straight to the point.
"...?"
Ishiki and Erina raised their eyebrows at this synchronized behavior. Ishiki found it interesting, while Erina found it irritating.
"Alright, alright, then for the quarter-final, it will follow the rules of the food war, so please be prepared. As for the theme..."
Eizan looked at the piece of paper on the desk before turning back to them, "It will be barbecue. You have one day to prepare everything. The food war will be held tomorrow."
"That's it?"
Tsuna frowned, expecting more since he had been summoned in person.
Realizing this was all, he clicked his tongue and shook his head, then started walking out, "What a waste of my time... Anyway, I'll be leaving."
He left along with Mimasaka, who was mirroring Tsuna's every move, leaving the room quiet as they exited.
"Hmph, such arrogance. How annoying..."
Erina frowned, looking at the door they hadn't bothered to close, her annoyance clear.
Eizan watched them go with a calculative gaze, while Ishiki just smiled as usual.
A quiet atmosphere loomed over the office as Eizan, Ishiki, and Erina settled into discussing a few important matters since they were responsible for overseeing this year's election and needed to ensure everything was in order.
Meanwhile, Tsuna headed toward the main hall where the tournament was being held.
Alice and Soma's match was today, and since they were in the same bracket as him, he thought he might as well watch and see who he'd be facing in the next round.
"Alice should have improved. Soma might be good, but he'll have a hard time," he quietly thought as he approached the lively hall.
The second he entered, he was met with the roar of the crowd, the excitement palpable as students filled the seats, cheering fervently.
"Hmm?"
However, Tsuna was surprised to see Senzaimon standing on stage with a massive brush in his hand, declaring the winner.
He mumbled to himself, "Soma actually won it?"
Soma's name was clearly written on the similarly massive Japanese calligraphy canvas.
In the middle of the arena, Soma stood proudly after his victory, while Alice seemed visibly quiet as the crowd's applause reverberated across the space.
Tsuna watched the scene quietly, observing Soma with a chuckle, "Plot armor, huh? Let's see if it still works against me..."
He slipped away from the crowd as quickly as he had entered, without anyone noticing his presence.
In the arena, Alice, having tasted Soma's bento—the theme for the round—felt a stiff feeling in her chest.
She slightly clenched her teeth in frustration, "I lost again..."
Alice had vowed never to lose to anyone until she defeated Erina, yet she had failed to uphold that oath once more.
It had been Tsuna back then, and after tasting his dish, she knew deep down that he was truly better than her.
However, upon tasting Soma's creation, she realized she was just an inch away!
The only thing lacking in her dish was just one element, and one element only!
"If I hadn't used the steel plate, I might've won..."
Alice thought, clenching her fist tightly before making her way toward the exit gate.
She knew there were no ifs, but she just couldn't help herself when she was just that close!
Alice tried to forcefully swallow her feelings as she walked through the corridor in silence, with the lingering sense of defeat latching onto her like a parasite.
"Hmm?"
As Alice made her way out, feeling lonely, she noticed someone seemingly waiting for her. She mumbled, "Tsuna?"
"That was close, Alice..."
Tsuna said, despite only knowing the result.
Alice who was unaware of this, clenched her teeth and looked down in frustration.
However...
"...!"
She suddenly felt a hug, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at Tsuna who whispered softly in her ears, "It's fine, I'm sure you'll win it next time..."
Those words surprisingly shook away her lingering feelings of defeat.
She felt reassured as a warmness spread across her heart, tears welling up in her eyes.
Before she realized it, she was crying bitterly.
The corridor was slowly filled with her cries before they quieted down. She wiped her tears and blushed as Tsuna let go of the hug.
Looking away shyly, she heard Tsuna suddenly ask with his usual composed tone, "Anyway, can I ask for a favor?"
"...?"
Alice turned to look at Tsuna's casual expression, the warmness she felt a moment ago cooling down as she rolled her eyes.
"Tsuna, you must be an idiot..."
"No, I'm not..."
Tsuna chuckled, "I'm only interested in your mom..."
"You motherfucker..."
So, this was why this guy had been so unusually kind today? This motherfucker wanted a favor from her!
"That's exactly what I wanna do..."
"..."
Her lips twitched in frustration as she tried her best to stop herself from slapping his handsome face.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What do you want?"
"Do you have a cow?"
"A what?"
"Like I said, a cow. A living one..."
Tsuna shrugged his shoulders.
Alice tilted her head cutely as she asked in confusion, "For what?"
"My theme is barbecue. I'll slaughter my own cow."
"Hmm... I see..."
Alice nodded in understanding but quickly remembered she should be mad at him for playing with her feelings as she immediately huffed while looking away, "My family does have a cow farm, but you'll have to pay for it."
"Sure, I've got someone to pay for it so put it on credit for now, keke..."
Tsuna replied with a cheeky grin, recalling the hefty sum Sakamoto had promised him while patting Alice's head.
"...!"
She felt a pat on her head, which made her annoyance dissipate slightly as her face reddened.
However...
Alice then realized someone else was there, wearing the same clothes as Tsuna, with the same hairstyle and expression.
She pointed at Mimasaka, asking, "Who's this gorilla?"
"...Just ignore him."
Tsuna just realized the guy was still following him as he sighed.
"..."
Alice looked at both of them weirdly before shaking her head and spoke, "Alright..."
With that, Tsuna's meat for tomorrow was secured!
---
Fun fact: The title stands for BarBeCue