Disclaimer: The author does not own the characters and the anime/manga series. The author only has ownership over this written fiction that is not worth a single cent.
"Why do I have to be here?" Asou thought to himself, watching the other guys shouting ridiculously as they hiked through the wood. It was 2-C's annual class trip and this time they had decided in unison (for once) to camp near the hills. Everyone was excited about the expedition, everyone but him anyway.
Initially, he refused to join the trip. He had not been to any of the class trips since day one, why should he start now? Even Suga could not change his mind. Nevertheless, he broke his tradition when a certain female classmate talked him into it.
He searched the crowd for her. It was not that hard to spot his tall classmate. She was after all, the tallest girl in class. There she was, laughing with her inseparable group of friends. Well, she seemed particularly cheerful but then again, she had always kept that smile with her.
Then, Asou overheard an exaggerated huff not too far away. He turned and caught sight of two huge shadows tailing behind the crowd. He peered closely and shapes of Harima and Hanai became clearer. Once again, these two were tricked into carrying the girls' luggage.
He understood their pain but made no display of it. Well, at least he was not treated like them. All he had to carry was the class's food supplies. Looks like everyone would be expecting him to cook.
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The hike was supposed to be short but their guide went missing in mid journey. When they realized they had lost their guide, the entire class went into riot. Asou paid no attention to the commotion as he studied his surroundings.
Quietly, he began unpacking his luggage. Since his classmates were too busy bickering, Asou took the opportunity to begin setting up the tents.
"Asou, what are you doing?" a familiar voice called up to him. Asou noticed the bickering had died down. He sensed the entire class was watching him. Well, might as get the rest to set up their tents too.
He turned to his inquisitor. Souo and the rest of the class were staring at him oddly. He began to explain, "It's getting dark. We should build our tents here and wait till the next day to search for both our guide and the campsite."
"We are already standing on a good spot for a temporary campsite anyway," he slowly added, returning to his work.
Souo squatted next to him as she took the other pegs and hammered them. "You do know of other things beside basketball, huh?" she teased.
"My father used to bring me to camps when I was younger," Asou answered honestly.
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It was not long before all the tents were raised. By then, stomachs were growling. When Asou thought no one wanted to volunteer to cook, a sudden outburst proved him wrong.
It was Harima. With a new surge of energy, Harima loudly proclaimed his cooking skills with over-exaggerated means. Not to be overshadowed by Harima, Hanai predictably shouted his challenge against Harima.
Akira cunningly suggested a cooking competition between them. Imadori happily signed himself up for the battle but Akira reminded him of the competition's rules – mainly, not to use ready-made ingredients. However, Imadori remained positive.
"I have another secret weapon!" he hinted.
Asou was silently pleased at the progress of events. For once, he need not trouble himself to cook for the rest. Again, he was proven wrong.
Before he could disappear into the tent, Tenma was pointing at him. "Asou should join!"
What the hell! Asou was dumbstruck as her suggestions.
"Yeah! He is a professional!" Suga cheered. The serious-looking lad glared at his friend. Shortly after, the entire class cheered him to step into the battlefield.
Reluctantly, the quiet Asou walked towards the "challengers". He took note of Harima's evil glare, specifically channelled at him but it meant nothing.
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While others were busy preparing their speciality meal, Akira took note of Imadori's absence. Suspecting a foul play, Akira bribed Fuyuki with promises of a priceless scene for snapshots if he could track down Imadori.
The photographer immediately hunted for Imadori, driven by thoughts of finally having Akira in his photo collections. It was an easy task for him. As a photographer, he was sensitive to the environment and Imadori did leave a lot of tracks behind.
It was not long before Fuyuki returned with a photo of Imadori's "secret weapon" – Ichijou. Once again, Imadori was disqualified from his second cooking competition.
Fuyuki aggressively demanded for his prize. Without much hesitation, Akira led Fuyuki into the corners. The other male classmates witnessed the entire event with great envy but their jealousy was subsided with laughers when a distraught Fuyuki returned with a photo of Akira in her favourite fish costume.
When the contenders finally completed their special dishes, the entire class was impressed with the "glowing" beauty of each dish. A loud unison growl from the audiences' stomach thundered the wood.
As if in touch with their instinct, the male audiences turned savage as they threw themselves into the glorious food. Harima fiercely guarded his dish from the "predators". With Harima's violent demeanour, no one dared to touch his plate especially after he effortlessly stomped a hungry Yoshidayama. Then, bashfully, Harima tried to offer his meal to the girls, namely Tenma. His efforts were usually foiled without a need of explanation.
The others did not have much luck protecting their cuisines. They could only watch helplessly as their comrades devoured their hard work while the girls started scolding their counterparts for eating their share of meal.
Asou calmly took out another set of dishes, much to the delights of the remaining hungry comrades. In the end, the best cook was undecided since the judge (Akira) did not sample all the food.
When the day came to an end, the energetic spirits of 2-C died down with snores. Even the most adventurous of the boys fell to the ground, a safe sight for all the girls. It was later discovered that the first batch of meal devoured by the boys were spiced with sleeping powder.
An ending or a beginning?
Only time will tell.