Chap.59 Elegant dinner

The doorbell of the house rang at night and Tony went to open the door for Anko. The dishes were freshly made and as everyone took their seats they would be at their perfect temperature.

"Tsunade?" —Tony was expecting someone, but not her!— What are you doing here?

-Hears! Tsunade complained. "Is that the way to treat your little sister's teacher?"

"Shizune, I need clarification." Tony looked at the dark haired woman behind Tsunade, knowing that she will understand the situation sooner if she talks to a rational person.

—Hello Tony-kun —Shizune was a bit embarrassed by the situation— Tsunade-sama heard from Anko that tonight you were going to prepare a new dish, so…

-My fault! —Anko revealed herself behind Shizune and stuck out her tongue mischievously.

"Oh, you're here to scrounge… ahem!" Trying the new dish too," Tony agreed. "Although I would have appreciated a heads up to prepare more dishes," she pointed out.

—Do you really want us to believe that you are not capable of preparing more in the short time it takes us to sit down at the table? Tsunade looked at him with disdain.

Tony was silent, not knowing how to feel at that comment. On one hand he was proud that his abilities actually allowed him to do that, but for some reason he found his explanation very annoying to him. Or maybe it was because of the way he looked at him?

—Go ahead, you know where the table is —Tony kept an expressionless face, he wanted to get past this point of the conversation as quickly as possible— I'll go prepare the additional dishes.

The only point where Tony couldn't complain was that they had come to dinner a little dressed up, surely a dishonest but effective method of being forgiven for their unannounced arrival.

Tsunade wasn't wearing her usual kimono and wore a more traditional sky blue one with star and constellation motifs. Shizune on her side was also wearing a kimono, but hers was snow white with lavender flowers on the sleeves and neckline, giving a subtle touch of color.

And the fact that he didn't have the pig with her added a lot of points.

Anko next to her was dressed in civilian clothes comfortable but appropriate and applied a bit of eyeshadow. She even brought with her a few bottles of drink suitable for everyone.

"Sensei?!" —Karin was surprised by the arrival of her teacher and her eldest.

The girl wore pants as red as her hair and a white shirt with a large cat printed on the chest. She wasn't wearing her lenses, because she was trying to see if she was comfortable with lenses in her eyes. She gave him a different air with greater security.

—Let me guess, you played the little sister card —Anko saw Karin's reaction and knew she was right— Actually you're not bad with that look, it's adorable —she laughed, covering her mouth with one hand— Where's the other redhead ?

"Are you going to make fun of me too?"

—I… —Anko turned to look at Tayuya and froze—Who are you?

…Meanwhile in the kitchen…

"This should be enough," Tony sighed.

He spent the whole week perfecting his plan and his recipe. Thanks to the System's suggestions and repeated testing, the success rate grew by 5.57%, resulting in a new total of 93.05%.

If it didn't work out, he could only lament his bad luck.

She took the empty plates and left the kitchen.

"Are you already seated?" I hope you're hungry, because…

Crash!

The plates slipped from Tony's hands as he was completely shocked to see Tayuya.

She was dressed in a black qipao with silver dragon embroidery, her hair in a large reddish braid that fell down her neck with a pair of small jade green hairpins, and a light makeup on her face that was barely distinguishable, but elegant. The biggest contrast to her was her lips darkened with black lipstick. (Does anyone dare to build the image?)

"You owe me a bottle of soju," he heard Anko whisper to Tsunade.

-Damn!

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune raised her hand to her face.

She told them that they shouldn't bet on Tony's reaction. He was very rude!

Although Tony's reaction was perfectly understandable, it took a moment for everyone present to recognize Tayuya. She was simply too different from the usual gangly of hers.

-Ahem! Karin coughed to get Tony out of her thoughts. "Should I bring the broom to pick up the pieces?"

-Hey? Oh, sure"—even with the reminder, it took Tony a second to react—"I'm…going for more plates.

Tayuya watched calmly as Tony returned to the kitchen, but she was inwardly delighted. She had argued with Karin for a few hours and she had to muster her courage to dare to make such a big change.

She, a trained assassin!

She perhaps she shouldn't underestimate the power of feminine charm as much as she did in the past...

Dinner resumed without further incident, everyone enjoying their food, and only Tayuya noticed Tony giving her a few more discreet glances.

She almost broke a smile.

-The time has come! Tony announced after removing the last plates. "Everyone will get a different recipe and I need an honest opinion." Just one warning, these dishes are a bit special, some surprises can happen, just try to stay calm.

Although that earned a few puzzled looks, they nodded.

Karin: Macedonia breaks limits.

Shizune: Immortal peach pudding.

Tsunade: Dessert of Únimo.

Anko: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Tayuya: Pasta of the desert.

Tony: Cake with jewel jam.

Drink: Lemonade Flavored Sparkling Hero Water (No Side Effects)

"It really is a different recipe for everyone," Shizune commented.

—Not so much, Tayuya and I have some kind of pasta —Anko pointed out— The rest are some kind of sweet.

"Pasta is very versatile," Tony dismissed.

"They look good," Tsunade agreed, "let's get started!"