"YOU'RE FIRED!!!" A man's voice echoed through every chamber of the fine establishment that he stood in. A young man stood before him, confused about the events that had just transpired. He clenched his fist in anger, but all he could do was give up. No amount of fighting or arguing would save his job. The young boy, now jobless, limped out of the store.
Though he was broken by his loss of a job, he promised that revenge would come. "I SOLEMNLY SWEAR!! I WILL BECOME THE MOST DESIRED CHEF IN THE WORLD!" A sense of passion had been sparked within him. The passion to cook not only for a job but to cook to improve and refine his skills. In order to become the BEST IN THE WORLD!
Ichiro Yamazaki is a fifteen-year-old boy growing up in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. Cooking has been a central part of his life ever since he was a kid. In his childhood, he was a gluttonous boy, constantly traveling from restaurant to restaurant and tasting all types of foods. Little to his knowledge doing this expanded his palette, setting himself up to be a great chef off of his knowledge alone. By the time he was ten, he was already working in the kitchens of local establishments. It was safe to say that this boy was nothing less than a prodigy in the art of cooking. He understood the elements of each meal. This wasn't because it came to him; it was because he studied each and every meal meticulously. He was a prodigy through hard work alone.
"DAMNIT!!" Now the boy with all the potential in the world sat cursing to himself on a curb. He was left jobless when he was just starting to get into the flow of working with a new business. How was Ichiro going to fulfill his plans of becoming the most desired chef in the world if he couldn't hold a simple job? Car racing passed him, as all the young boy could do was look up at the stars and wonder what to do now. Unexpectedly, his question was answered rather quickly. As a car drove past him, it caused a piece of paper to gently fall upon Ichiro's face.
" AAAAAHHHH!!! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!" Ichiro screamed out, attempting to rip the piece of paper off of his face, but commendably, it wouldn't budge. By the time he finally pulled it off, his face was already swollen and red. Ichiro looked down at the paper; it seemed to have something on it. The words "HIDDEN FLAVOR COMPETITION" are written in a fancy golden bold font. Ichiro was left in awe. Was this his chance? This competition might allow him to achieve his goals. "I've been waiting for something like this, you know."
The rest of the flier read, "Prepare yourselves for an event that only happens once every ten years! The Hidden Flavor is a competition open to all of those under the age of eighteen. We welcome those who seek to become the best of the best. Battle your peers in the culinary world, in the art of flavor. One on one, two on two, or even three on three. You'll need wit, guts, will, and, most importantly, the skill of a chef to survive. The best will win the prize of being the #1 under-eighteen chef in the world. Screenings will be held on July 11th. We will see you there!"
"Become the best of the best, huh?" A smile was etched onto Ichiro's face as it curled into a smirk. "I'll give them the best show that they've ever seen in this competition. I, Ichiro Yamazaki, will be the most desired in the world."
Ichiro stood before a large building that loomed over him. It was at least three stories tall, with thirty rooms within it. "Woah… SO COOL!!" Ichiro began to salivate just thinking about how many amazing chefs were located within this very building; he could learn so many things about their dishes. The opportunity to learn more about cooking never failed to excite Ichiro. But it seemed that the other participants weren't as excited as he was, as they all stared at him as if he were some kind of animal. Ichiro's eyes flicked around him as he wiped the drool off of his mouth in an attempt to regain the look of a normal guy.
Within no time, Ichiro began to get annoyed by people staring at him, so he decided to head in already. As he took some steps toward the building, he collided with a person who was walking beside him. They had bumped his shoulder, causing Ichiro to fall to the ground due to his lack of balance. A young man looked down at him on the ground. The teen wore a fashionable dormeiul suit that was clearly out of Ichiro's price range, with his teal hair slicked back with the assistance of gel. He tapped his exclusive Italian-made dress shoes against the ground, while his pale lavender eyes stared into the soul of Ichiro.
"I advise you to stay out of my way. Peasants like you don't deserve to take part in this. But I assume they'll just allow any type of trash that blows in off of the street to participate." The young man sighed with a hint of annoyance in his exhale. "No need to worry; unworthy chefs like you will just be blown away within the first part of the screening. HA." He ridiculed Ichiro, even going so far as to laugh at how pathetic he looked lying on the ground. Ichiro gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his anger.
Ichiro pulled himself together as he stood back on his own two feet. He slowly raised his hand as he pointed at the rich teen that stood in front of him. "It doesn't matter how much money you have. I'll make sure that you lose to me." Ichiro declared war on the teen; he wasn't going to allow him to insult him any longer. The young man responded angrily as his face turned a light shade of red, with a vein popping out of his skull. "DO YOU REALLY THINK FILTH LIKE YOU CAN BEAT ME??!! SHOTA MOREAU?!! I am the heir to the renowned Moreau family, known worldwide for our prowess in French cuisine." He began to list off the achievements of his family members, though he had no achievements of his own. "Tsk! Why am I wasting my breath on a commoner like you?" Shota seemed to be finished with Ichiro for the time being, walking into the building and leaving Ichiro standing by himself.
"Fucking prick." Ichiro muttered as he walked into the building behind his newly found enemy.
"GATHER TOGETHER, EVERYONE!" A man stood in front of the large crowd of young chefs. Behind him was a long table that hosted three different notable faces. Megumi Nishiyama, Yumi Masuda, and Emiko Ono. There are three famous female food critics who work as managers in an upcoming restaurant in Japan. Many were awed just at their sheer presence and beauty. But their attention quickly snapped back to the man as he spoke. "You all have made it to the screening for the Hidden Flavor Competition. You all will be facing each other in teams of two. Only one team will win, meaning half of you will be eliminated before you can even reach the true Hidden Flavor. If there are no questions, then THE HIDDEN FLAVOR SCREENING STARTS NOW!"