chapter fifty-seven: Italian Gourmet

(Y/n) and Iggy waited outside of the high school until Okuyasu and Josuke got out. The little girl and dog already stopped by a pet store and got some food that Iggy wanted to sample. The plum haired girl walked with the dog as the two teenagers talked. She noticed that Okuyasu did not look particularly well. "Hey, Okuyasu. You don't look so good. Your energy does not feel so great either.," the little pillar commented, "What's wrong?"
"I did not get a lot of sleep last night. I was pretty sick.," the teen replied to the little girl as she tossed a treat for Iggy to catch. "Oh really? That sucks.," Josuke said. "I feel a little better now. But I'm pretty hungry.," Okuyasu said. (Y/n) hopped onto her stepbrother's shoulder. "The turn to go home is that way.," the little girl said.

"We're not going directly home today. We're going to visit Keicho's grave with Okuyasu.," Josuke explained to the little girl who was perched on his shoulders. "Oh. To the graveyard then. Perhaps I might see some more ghosts~.," the little pillar girl chimed. The blue-violet eyed teen shuddered, "(y/n), Don't say stuff like that. That's creepy." "Why not? Mommy is a ghost.," the plum haired pillar said as she hugged Josuke's head. Iggy was laughing at Josuke's fear of ghosts. "See? Iggy is not afraid. Mommy helped to save him.," the pillar child said.
"It's still creepy.," Josuke said as he and Okuyasu walked towards the graveyard while Iggy was laughing at them at their feet. Okuyasu yawned and wiped his eyes, "Ah man. I'm hungry, we should stop somewhere after visiting my brother's grave." "I'm not hungry.," the pompador sporting teen replied as his stepsister held onto his head for support. "I'm a little hungry. Know anyone who doesn't need their extra blood?," the child joked. "Stop joking like that.," Josuke scolded.

Okuyasu saw a sign and stopped, spurring the others to stop as well. "Hey, there is a new Italian restaurant here.," the dull witted teen said, "It's just up ahead." "The cemetery is up ahead.," Josuke said, "I don't think anyone would want to eat at a restaurant in a place like that." "I would, let's go!," (y/n) said and lightly kicked her feet, "I haven't had Italian in years." "It has to be really good, right?! The graveyard has to be the draw!," Okuyasu said excitedly to Josuke and (y/n), "The flavor must be wow!"
"Italian is good. Especially if done well.," (y/n) said with a smile and showed her little sharp teeth. "Let's go! Let's go!.," Okuyasu said to Josuke as Iggy wagged at the idea of getting table scraps. (Y/n) jumped on the begging bandwagon, "Let's go, Jojo! Jojo, let's go!" "Fine fine. Just settle down before you tear pull my hair out.," the british-Japanese spoke and walked to the graveyard where they saw a white building with a rusty red roof and shutters. A brick chimney stood strong from the roof.

"This is it? I thought it was an empty building before.," Josuke said as they looked at the building before them. "I think they remodeled it. It looks good.," Okuyasu said and walked up. Josuke and Iggy followed. The blue-violet eyed teen looked to the menu and saw something odd, "Huh? Depends on the customer?" "Maybe it's like that one restaurant I found, the chef can make anything you want, as long as he has the ingredients.," the little girl said happily, "I might have to ask if Iggy could come in, he might want some table scraps."
The Boston terrier barked and wagged, telling her that she was right. The little girl smiled at the dog, "Maybe he might like to make something for you, Iggy." Okuyasu looked into the restaurant before the two teens walked in, the decor was very nice. Almost giving off a feeling of being home and comfortable. It was clean. The tables there were set with clean plates and silverware. "The inside looks nice!," Okuyasu said with a cheery chuckle.

Josuke set the little girl down. (Y/n) took her hood off of her head and she sniffed the air, "One human. Male. 29. He-" "Welcome!," a male voice said and a man walked out from the doorway on the other side of the room. He had a very kind energy about him, his face had a gentle expression. He had short, light brunet hair and kind blue eyes. He had a white chef's outfit on and a red scarf around his neck. His hat reminded the child of Polnareff's hair. The man set down the water pitcher he held down and pulled out the seats of a table, "Table for three? Please have a seat."
The little girl sat on the chair and she could barely see over the table. She pouted and sat on her legs so she could at least see over the table. The chef saw her trouble and got a cushion for her to sit on to boost her height. Okuyasu leaned in, "You're a foreigner, right?" "Si, signore. I am Italian. I am Tonio Trendy, you may call me Tonio.," the man said with a smile. Okuyasu was overjoyed with this news, "Awesome we get to eat authentic Italian food, (y/n)!" (Y/n) grinned, "I get to eat Italian again without traveling to Italy to see Caesar!"

"I have traveled the world, studying other cuisines to better the cuisine of my motherland. I then came to Japan to get my chance to share it.," Tonio explained, "Morioh is such a wonderful place. There are plenty of farms to get fresh produce from and the seafood is wonderful as well. I love it here. I will use the ingredients here in Morioh to bring you food that will make you feel your best." "You traveled the world as well? That is great! As great as meeting another Italian!," the little girl chirped. "Oh? Are you Italian as well?," Tonio asked the child. He got a nod, "Si! I was born in Rome." "It will be a pleasure to let a fellow Italian taste the fruits of my labor.," the chef said and placed a hand over his chest.
"Nice! I wonder what we should get. Can we have a menu?," Okuyasu asked. "Menu?," Tonio asked and stopped smiling, "We don't have a menu here." "Is there something special, Tonio?," the little girl asked. Okuyasu got a but angry, "What do you mean you don't have menus here?" "Because what I serve depends on the customer.," the chef was tying to explain to the dense teen. (Y/n) felt a suspicious energy coming from Josuke. He did not seem to trust the chef.

"Show me the menu!," Okuyasu said. Tonio shook his head, "No, no. I mean I will look at customers to determine the dishes they will be served." "What the hell?! You're not going to let the customer eat what they want? Huh?!," Okuyasu said. The chef took a look at the dull witted teen's hand, "You were sick last night. Diarrhea." The Italian man's intuition was right on the mark! This surprised all the children in his restaurant. Tonio took Okuyasu's hand to examine it, "Your intestinal walls are inflamed. You did not sleep well as a result. I would say four hours. No wonder your eyes are puffy." Okuyasu seemed really surprised. Tonio was very close to the tiny pillar's horns. She could sense his heart and breathing to the most minute now.
She could even feel the electrical systems in his body. (Y/n) let her horns feel Tonio out but she relaxed after a bit. Something about Tonio was soothing. She did sense an energy in him. Tonio was still examining Okuyasu. The scarred teen had athlete's foot, two cavities and a stiff shoulder on top of his other conditions. Okuyasu was shocked by his accuracy. The chef explained that he knew all of that just by observing Okuyasu and looking at his hands.

The Italian man got on his knee to look at (y/n)'s hands that she let him look at. He flipped them over to look at both sides before looking at her face and then her horns. Almost puzzled about what he saw. "Many broken bones... Your horns are not set back into place properly and you have not lost all your baby teeth, this is blocking the adult ones. You must be in a lot of pain in your mouth from unerupted teeth." The little girl shrugged, "The way my horns and bones broke hurt more. They don't hurt anymore though."
"But it would be better if they were back to how they were.," Tonio said and got up. The chef poured them some water and turned to Josuke, "Do you want anything?" "I'm not hungry, so just coffee is fine.," the pompador sporting teen replied. "Oh, Tonio. We have a dog outside. I wanted to see if Iggy could have something.," the little girl said. "A dog?," the chef said and let the little girl bring the old pup in. Tonio looked at the dog, "Wow, he is quite up there in age. He has some stomach issues and seems to have an ear itch. I'll gladly make him something." "I'll pay for my meal and Iggy's.," the little girl said, "I have enough saved up."

Tonio smiled and went back into the kitchen. (Y/n) got back on her chair and Iggy laid on the floor beside her for a nap. He did not have as much energy as he used to. Josuke leaned in towards Okuyasu, "Healthy food that focuses too much on being healthy usually doesn't taste good. If it tastes even a bit bad, we'll leave without paying." "Don't act like Jotaro did when he was your age, I expect better from you.," the tiny pillar scolded and sipped some of her water. It tasted good. An energy hummed inside the water.
Okuyasu found the water delicious as well, he was trying to figure out just why it was so damn good. It tasted familiar to (y/n), she had traveled with her father and uncles a lot so she tasted a lot of things. This water tasted like spring water or melt water from a mountain. It had minerals in it. She drank more of it as Okuyasu kept saying how good it was. 'Like water filled with elegance.' Josuke tried it and found That it was indeed delicious water. Josuke wondered about the brand of water it was as Okuyasu finished his glass.

(Y/n) laughed internally at the silly happy faces Okuyasu was making. He looked like he was starting to cry. He was. Tears were flowing down his face. The tears were like a torrent. The tiny red eyes pillar girl had to keep herself from laughing, it reminded her of her Uncle Esidisi's crying. She was going to laugh before she saw the sclera of Okuyasu's eyes shrivel up like a raisin. Josuke was freaking out and Iggy was on edge. The little girl felt something. A stand. There was a stand in this building.
"Momento! Please don't panic!," the voice of Tonio called to the diners. (Y/n) looked back at him carrying some plates. Josuke was enraged at the Italian chef, "Bastard! What did you give us?!" "Please calm down! His eyes will only be shriveled momentarily.," Tonio said, "That water is from the snow on the Kilimanjaro in Africa that melted 50,000 years ago. It is water that flushes out the inside of the eye to remove dirt and relieve insomnia." The plum haired pillar looked at the water she still had in her glass and drank it. It was having no effect on her, so it was a selective effect. Tonio explained that Josuke was not effected because he got enough sleep.

Okuyasu was better quickly. He looked very refreshed. The dark circles under his eyes were gone. "Josuke! I'm not sleepy at all now! I feel like I slept a full ten hours!," the teen said. "I thought humans had to sleep eight hours a night.," the little pillar said and placed her glass down on the table, "Iggy, relax. It is okay." The dog looked up at the little girl before laying down, his blue doggie eyes still looked at Tonio with a small glare. The teenager with the money motif on his uniform was cackling like a madman since he was feeling better. It was ridiculous. The two teenagers sat down after talking a bit.
Tonio carried a large tray that had several dishes on it. "Here is your cappuccino.," the chef spoke and placed a coffee in front of Josuke. The blue-violet eyed teen looked at the coffee. "Now, let's continue with the meal. Shall we?," the Italian asked as his blue eyes showed a smile in them. He placed a salad in front of Okuyasu and the little girl. He set down a bowl of some mixed meat and greens for Iggy.

"Oh, this looks really good.," Okuyasu said with a big grin on his face. The antipasto, the salad in front of them had neatly cut slices of mozzarella cheese and tomato. (Y/n) sniffed the dish and smelled anchovy, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, seaweed, and several other ingredients. "This smells good too.," the child said and picked up one of the lettuce garnishes to nibble on. It tasted sweet, it snapped with a crunch between the child's teeth. The child took her fork and knife to cut a mozzarella cheese slice and a tomato slice. She ran it back and forth in the vinegarette before taking a bite. It was like a pop of sunshine from the tomato, cooled by the smooth flavor of the cheese. A balance like that of the sun and the moon.
(Y/n) happily took a few more bites. She saw Josuke was asking Okuyasu for a taste after he was singing praises about how good the dish was. Okuyasu did not give Josuke a taste of the food. The plum haired girl cut some for her stepbrother and held it out on the fork, "Jojo." Josuke took the morsel off of the fork and ate it, he found it delicious as well. Tonio was watching the happy customers with a cheery smile. The little pillar ate more of her dish.

The effect for Okuyasu kicked in right away. Tonio told him to take his jacket off. The tee did so and scratched at his stiff shoulder. Dead skin and gunky oil stuck to his fingers as he scratched the skin. The little girl felt a burning sensation in her horns and rubbed them. It was unpleasant since her horns were the most sensitive part of her tiny body. The child's claws scratched her horns as she whined in pain, she felt like seeing was about to pass out. Josuke held her upright as all of this was happening to his friend and sister, "Bastard! Her horns are the most sensitive sensory organs of her body!"
Okuyasu's scratching had torn away the epidermis and dermis, showing the muscles underneath. As suddenly as it started, it stopped. Okuyasu was feeling light and limber in his shoulders. Not so well with (y/n) as her horns cracked open and the nerves and blood vessels underneath was exposed, the small nerves and vessels whipped around like angry snakes striking at anything that comes near. The pain did not last very long. The nerves and bones coiled up and were covered by a hard substance, the core, followed by a layer of softer material then the silvery covering. The horns were good as new.

Josuke was in horror of what he just witnessed from both Okuyasu and his stepsister. He helped the little girl stand back up. Tonio left with the ball of skin to dispose of it. Iggy was whining after he ate all of the food given to him by Tonio. His stomach and ears split open violently before they went back to normal. The dog got up and stretched, Tilting his little head back and forth. Josuke looked scared as hell as the little girl in his arms got over the small stun she was in. The teen held her closer to him as Okuyasu was praising how good of a chef Tonio was. The little girl's red eyes looked up at Josuke's face. He was really tense now.
No doubt he wanted to know exactly what Tonio was doing. The girl felt herself get picked up by the British-Japanese teen. The tiny pillar girl hugged his neck and felt her horns. They felt smoother. She could sense things much clearer. It was incredible! The child felt Josuke hold her a little tighter as Tonio came back with some more plates. "Now, let's continue with the meal.," the Italian said with a wide smile. Josuke sat the little girl next to him rather than at the other side of the table. The teen was glaring at the chef the whole time.

Tonio set pasta dishes in front of both (y/n) and Okuyasu. Okuyasu had a dish that was mostly red colored, the young pillar's was black. Okuyasu's dish was Harlot's spaghetti. A red sauce with garlic and cheese was cooked into the noodles. (Y/n) recognized her dish, "A squid ink risotto?" "So you've had this before?," Tonio asked. The girl nodded, "Yes, around Sixty or so years ago in Rome, I met Caesar that day. But I had Al Nero Di Seppia." "Sixty years?," the chef looked confused before his attention was taken away by Okuyasu. The duller Witted teen was asking if the dish had peppers in it, because he could not eat spicy things. He could not even eat curry unless it was a mild one with apples and Honey.
Okuyasu tasted a little bit and found it was way out of his spice range. The small pillar was poking the squid tentacles that she found in her pasta. Josuke sighed, "If you can't eat spicy food, Okuyasu, then don't eat it." Tonio gave Josuke a hard look, one that Josuke returned as the little girl ate one of the squid tentacles then a bit of the risotto. The black squid ink tasted even better than the one she had before. The flavor of the ink mixed with the squid and risotto to balance it, mellowing out the flavor of the sauce. It was wonderful and easy to eat. The black ink stained her little lips as well.

The chef stopped glaring and gave a friendly smile. "If you can't eat that, don't worry. I'm perfectly fine with not charging you for it. I shall go make the main dish, the secondo piatto.," the Italian man spoke cheerily, "However, My spaghetti is made so that even those who do not like spicy can eat it." Tonio walked back into the kitchen with that. Josuke made (y/n) stop eating her food, "Okuyasu, I think it is fortunate that you can't eat it. Don't you think that the food and water are way too wierd? It's suspicious!"
"Suspicious? Really?," Okuyasu asked and spun the noodles on his fork. He licked the noodles again and gagged. "You scratched off a softball worth of skin from your shoulder and literally cried your eyes out! (Y/n)'s horns split open and I got to see the inside of her skull, Iggy's ears and stomach exploded!," Josuke exclaimed as quietly as he could while his tiny stepsister used her stand's wing to stab a squid tentacle and give it to her. Josuke got even more angry and aggressive as he thought his friends were in danger. "I lost more skin than that when I went to the hot springs. My back felt better afterwards.," the more tanned teen spoke and licked the spaghetti once more.

"Listen, I remember what Hazamada said. Stand users are drawn to each other!," the British-Japanese teen said. Okuyasu seemed to get excited, "Josuke! Are you saying that Tonio is a stand user, too?" "Shh! We don't know yet! That's why I'm saying he's suspicious.," Josuke spoke, "I'm going to have (y/n) look around with her horns." "Suspicious huh?," Okuyasu mused and licked the spaghetti yet again, "AAH! Too hot!" "If it is too hot for you, stop licking it!," the blue-violet eyed teen scolded and sat up. He dropped the plum haired child who started eating the rest of her dish quickly before Josuke could stop her. As soon as she ate the last bit, she felt a pain in her torso.
(Y/n) wrapped her arms around her chest, she felt her bones moving. Her ribs shot out of her skin like Santana's, breaking and mending quickly before retreating back into her small body. Josuke was in horror at what he saw then saw his friend start actually eating the spaghetti even though it was too hot for his tastes, "Okuyasu! Stop eating it!" "I can't! I shouldn't be able to eat something this spicy, but as soon as I started I was sucked in!," the teen replied with his mouth full of noodles and sauce.

Iggy was in the corner, snarling. He could sense something wrong. Okuyasu was almost done with the plate when he stopped eating. A tooth had flown out of his mouth and was embedded in the table. It had a cavity in it, there was another one in his lower jaw. That one also flew out and embedded itself in the ceiling. His teeth grew back in at an incredible rate. (Y/n) was looking up at the ceiling when Josuke called to her, "(y/n)! Tell me, is there a stand here?" The plum haired pillar girl's red eyes stared at him before she nodded, her hand pointed to the plate of spaghetti on the table. Josuke summoned his Crazy Diamond. He used crazy diamond to revert the spaghetti into its original ingredients.
From between the noodles, small stands peered out. All identical. They looked like cherry tomatoes with faces and a zucchini like stalk on their tops. (Y/n) quickly grabbed one as they fled, fled into the kitchen. "What were they?!," Okuyasu shouted. "A stand!," Josuke said, "So Tonio is a stand user after all!" The two teens looked down as the little girl was walking to the back with the stand she caught. She let it go back into the kitchen. Josuke got angry and went into the kitchen to confront Tonio.

(Y/n) helped Okuyasu stand back up, his stomach was giving him trouble. The little girl looked back to Iggy in the corner, "Iggy, are you okay?" The dog had his back hair bristled. He had to sense the stand as well. He could also smell something else that was in the building. Another dog. The little pillar let Okuyasu go, the teen went straight for the kitchen for some reason. She looked at Iggy as the dog's tail started to stick up again, signaling he was ready to fight if needed. The girl gave the dog a nod and went back into the kitchen as Okuyasu was under another dish's effect and Josuke was being yelled at by Tonio. Josuke did not wash his hands before entering the kitchen.
Tonio had finished scolding Josuke when Okuyasu was all better from the effect. Iggy and the little girl were peeking into the kitchen to watch. Tonio was not a bad person. He just wanted to feed them good food that would make them healthy again. Tonio explained that to the two teens, that as a chef, he only wanted to have customers who were satisfied by his cooking. Nothing would make him happier than that. He even had a little dog in the back that he had fed something to to heal it as well.

Josuke finally got to ask Tonio the question that had been bugging him, "Tonio, you're a stand user. Aren't you?" Tonio looked a little puzzled before Josuke and Okuyasu stepped up and let their stands be known, "Because we are too." "I am as well.," (y/n) chimed and let the wings of her stand be shown, "Iggy here has a stand also." The little black and white dog barked. The Italian chef was surprised, his blue eyes widened, "Oh! My goodness! I cannot believe it!" The little stands that the children saw earlier came out of hiding, "When I went around the world looking for what my ideal cooking would be, I realized my powers. This is the first time I met anyone else with similar power."
His face went from gentle back to harsh when he turned to Josuke, his brow furrowed with irritation, "You lack common sense! You touched things without washing your hands, didn't you?!" Josuke was surprised by this sudden change in temper, he was even more surprised when Tonio put him to work cleaning the kitchen. (Y/n) washed her hands to keep him happy before she entered the kitchen. Iggy relaxed when he found that Tonio was not a threat, he went back to the main room to resume his nap.

Tonio eagerly went back to cooking after he put Josuke to work. He seemed to have a new joy after finding out that others with powers existed. The small pillar watched him work from the doorway of the kitchen. He was quite good at his profession. He used his stand to help him. The plum haired pillar helped by bringing the dirty plates back into the kitchen and taking the dessert out to Okuyasu. The child tied her hair up and helped wash dishes. Tonio was continuing to cook and was pleased by the happy exclamations that Okuyasu was making. Josuke was not so happy as he was getting scolded by Tonio still.
'If Caesar came here, I'd have to introduce he and Tonio.,' (y/n) thought to herself, 'but that is crazy. Why would Caesar ever come here?' She finished up with the dishes as Okuyasu finished eating the dessert. Tonio stopped and lowered himself down to talk to her, "How was the food?" "It was delicious! Perhaps even better than the cooking I had in Italy!," the little girl giggled. This made the chef smile. The little girl paid for her meal and Iggy's. Josuke was allowed to leave after he cleaned all the surfaces in the kitchen.

"Please come again. Grazie!," Tonio smiled as the group left.

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