I remained alone in the giant park of Totsuki. Kaede had disappeared behind that dark wooden door that looked like the entrance to a castle. The silence she left behind was almost unsettling. I began to walk slowly, hearing the sound of my shoes echoing on the white marble.
Everything in there was designed to make you feel small and insignificant. The walls had golden decorations, and there were statues of famous chefs staring at me with stern expressions. It didn't feel like a school, but rather a temple dedicated to a strange cult I didn't yet understand.
I decided to move away from the entrance. I pushed a glass door that led to a side corridor, and the air changed abruptly. The smell of cleanliness and new furniture was gone.
I caught a strong scent, something sweet that tickled my nose. I followed a stone path leading toward some circular buildings.
The windows were incredibly high, and through the fogged glass, I could see shadows moving so fast it made me anxious.
There were teenagers in white uniforms running to enter one of these buildings.
The closer I walked toward the building on the left, the louder the noise became. It was a constant roar, as if hundreds of people were screaming all at once.
Then, suddenly, the smell of seared meat hit me full in the face. It was a heavy, almost metallic aroma. I approached a side entrance of the arena, and the light pouring out was so bright I had to squint.
I saw the stage.
In the center of the park was a kitchen—or rather, a battlefield.
Soma Yukihira was there, in the middle of that enormous arena. He looked small, but his energy filled the entire space. In the anime, the colors were vibrant, almost cheerful, but in person, everything was different. The red of his shirt was dark, looking almost like blood, and the steam rising from the pots created a fog that made him look like a ghost.
Opposite him, Ikumi Mito looked like a warrior. Her tanned skin glowed under the spotlights, and the way she brought the cleaver down on the meat was brutal.
There was nothing delicate about it.
It was violent.
It was precise.
I was so focused on watching Ikumi's blade that I didn't hear the fast footsteps behind me.
A shoulder hit me with unexpected force, sending me crashing against the doorframe. It wasn't a violent collision, but it was sudden enough to make me lose my balance just as I was spellbound by the challenge on stage.
"Sorry! I didn't see you at all, I was glued to the arena!" exclaimed the girl who had bumped into me.
"Yeah, it's okay. Just a bit of a surprise," I replied, trying to straighten myself up. "There are a lot of people here. I guess this challenge is important."
The girl who hit me nodded vigorously. I noticed her bright orange hair tied in two cute pigtails and a round face that radiated contagious energy.
"Important? If Soma loses, he's out. We can't let that happen! To not know about today's Shokugeki, you must not be a Totsuki student, right?"
"Well, you're right," I said sincerely.
"I'm Yuya Kazuki. You can just call me Yuya." As I spoke, my gaze drifted to the girl standing next to her.
I was momentarily stunned; I never expected to see such composed and elegant beauty in person. She had long, deep purple hair that fell perfectly over her shoulders and a posture that conveyed absolute calm, in sharp contrast to her friend's excitement. Seeing them there, just inches away from me, made me realize how different reality was from the anime images; they radiated a presence and charm that made me feel almost embarrassed.
"I am Ryoko Sakaki, and the girl who just bumped into you is..."
"Yuki Yoshino!!" the orange-haired one shouted, interrupting Ryoko. Yuki scanned me for a second, then looked back toward the arena where the crowd was getting louder.
"Hey, Yuya! Are you here all alone? If you have nothing to do, why don't you join us? We're going to cheer for Soma with the others from the dormitory; you can see much better from the front!"
Ryoko smiled gently, adding in her calm voice: "It's true, staying here on the threshold is dangerous; you risk being trampled by anyone arriving late. Would you like to come with us?"
I was momentarily taken aback. I never expected such an invitation, especially in a place that seemed so elitist and cold.
And yet, looking at their smiles and the sincerity in their eyes, I decided to accept. "Alright, I'd love to," I replied, following them as they made their way through the crowd. Following Ryoko and Yuki, three other students appeared before me. A girl with blue hair tied in two small braids gave me a slight bow, appearing almost intimidated by my height. "I... I'm Megumi Tadokoro," she whispered in a tiny voice with a timid smile. "Nice to meet you, Yuya." Immediately after, two boys with a decidedly more turbulent air stepped forward. One had shaved sides and the other a wilder hairstyle. "And we are the kings of ignorant cooking!" the first one exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. "I'm Shoji Sato!" "And I'm Daigo Aoki!" the other added with a complicit grin. A boy with thick glasses and a slightly frazzled look stepped forward, adjusting his frames on his nose. He looked like the type who spends more time in books than outdoors. "I am Zenji Marui," he said in a serious but kind tone. "Sorry if my friends are so loud, but today's Shokugeki has drained our energy. It's a pleasure to meet you, though it's not often we see new faces around here." From the back of the group, a boy shrouded in a mysterious silence nodded his head. He had brown hair that completely covered his eyes, leaving only a hint of a calm smile visible. "He is Shun Ibusaki," Ryoko explained for him, as the boy didn't seem like much of a talker. Shun simply crossed his arms, emanating a faint scent of woodsmoke that followed him like a shadow. "Nice to meet you," he cut short in a low, deep voice. "Nice to meet you guys," I told the group with a sincere smile.
During the challenge, we became friends; they were truly great people, each with a different personality. I enjoyed talking with them; they even gave me some fun cooking tips after I told them I didn't know how to cook and wasn't a Totsuki student—which left them surprised given the strict security to enter the school, but I didn't want to explain the details. Every now and then, they would comment on what their friend Soma was doing. The chatter lasted until...
Soma Yukihira won the challenge with the judges voting unilaterally, 3 to 0.
The final roar of the arena was something indescribable. When Soma was proclaimed the winner and Ikumi Mito fell to her knees, realizing she had lost everything, I felt goosebumps all over my arms. The crowd slowly began to flow out, leaving behind that heavy smell of meat and the echo of screams, but the Polar Star group remained there in the stands to celebrate their friend's victory. As soon as Soma began to put away his tools with his usual calm, the boys from the dorm almost pounced on him, overwhelming him with their enthusiasm. "Soma! You did it! I knew that guy couldn't beat you!" Yuki yelled, jumping for joy and waving her arms so hard she risked hitting someone, her orange pigtails bouncing everywhere. Marui, meanwhile, was cleaning his glasses with hands that were still shaking from the stress accumulated during the challenge, sighing deeply as if a huge weight had just been lifted from his chest: "You took a big risk, Soma. For a moment I feared Mito's meat quality was insuperable, but your dish was incredible... I wish I could have tasted it." Even Ibusaki, usually silent and detached, gave a small smile of approval while the smoke from his smoked meats seemed to vanish for a moment, revealing his eyes. "Tonight, the Polar Star Dormitory will have a reason to celebrate," Ryoko said while congratulating Soma.
Soma came down from the stage, wiping his forehead with his headband. He walked toward us with a lopsided grin but stopped a few steps away, noticing my figure towering over Marui and Ibusaki. "Hey, guys! Who's he?" Soma asked, pointing at me with his thumb without showing the slightest intimidation. "I don't think I saw you during the entrance exam."
"He's Yuya," Yuki replied, still excited about the victory. "We met him at the entrance!"
"Nice to meet you, Soma. Congrats on the win, it was incredible," I said, offering my hand. His grip was firm and calloused—the hand of someone who works hard.
"My pleasure! I'm Soma Yukihira. If you liked the show, you should stop by the dorm; we're celebrating tonight!"
Just then, Zenji Marui, who was finally recovering from the shock, looked at me with an inquisitive air. "But, Yuya... if you aren't a Totsuki student, what are you doing here? This isn't exactly a place where you just come in for a sightseeing tour."
I opened my mouth to answer, but I didn't have time to make a sound.
A familiar, steel-like hand slammed down on my head, grabbing my right earlobe with surgical precision.
"AH! OW! LET GO, LET GO!" I yelled, bending sideways as the pain in my ear increased.
"There you are, you little rascal," growled a cold, authoritative voice behind me.
Kaede was there, her gaze fixed on me with an expression that boded no good.
"I told you to stay in the lobby. I leave you alone for ten minutes and I find you in the middle of an arena cheering with a pack of rowdies?"
"Kaede! I swear I just got lost!" I tried to justify myself, but she tightened her grip even more, almost making my eyes water.
The Polar Star kids stood frozen. Yuki and Marui stepped back, looking at my sister as if a demon had suddenly appeared. They knew that face well; she was the personal assistant to the director, the woman who managed the school's events and who could decide the fate of their school life with a signature.
Soma, on the other hand, looked first at her and then at me, tilting his head to the side with a funny expression. "Hey, wait... you guys look a lot alike."
"Oh come on, Soma, don't you see?" Ryoko intervened, observing closely. "The facial features, the hair color... Yuya, don't tell me she's your sister?"
"Unfortunately, yes," I muttered while Kaede finally let go of my ear, giving me a light shove on the back of my neck. "She's my older sister."
"Sister?!?" Yuki and Marui screamed in unison, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"Wait, wait," Yuki said, pointing a trembling finger at Kaede. "So you're the brother of the 'Iron Lady' of Totsuki? The one who made half of the second-year class cry during the budget review?"
Kaede crossed her arms, shooting Yuki a look that silenced her instantly. "I hope my brother didn't cause you too much trouble. Yuya has a tendency to end up where he shouldn't, just like a stray cat."
"N-no problem at all, Miss!" Marui replied, snapping to attention, almost giving a military salute.
At that moment, a heavy, rhythmic footstep echoed behind us. The remaining crowd immediately parted in a reverent silence.
An imposing figure approached with slow, decisive steps. My eyes widened as I recognized who was in front of me.
The Director of Totsuki Academy, one of the central figures of the entire culinary world.
Senzaemon Nakiri.
"So she wasn't lying," I thought, bewildered by the sudden appearance of the head of the Nakiri family, as I thought back to my sister's words.