Chapter 2, where Genis encounters a well-known entity in Kitchen Stadium. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Respect the Old, Seek the New

The streets of Meltokio were relatively empty early in the morning. Genis woke up bright and early to stroll, the thought of the upcoming culinary battle looming over his shoulder. Cooking was always something I did for fun, he thought to himself, and I was never judged for originality or presentation…Well, we've done tougher stuff than this before…

He had been all over town when he finally stopped in front of the Coliseum about an hour later; he eyed a poster hanging on the wall. It showed four men in colored chef's costumes, each posing in a unique way—one with his hands at his hips, one holding a pear, one holding a tomato, and another holding a cleaver. Genis read the description with much interest.

RYORI NO TETSU-SHINFONIA

IRON CHEF SYMPHONIA

The hit Japanese cooking contest has arrived in Tethe'alla!

Meltokio Coliseum becomes Kitchen Coliseum as the Iron Chefs await the challenge of the world's very best chefs!

Defeat the Iron Chef, win 100,000 Gald!

These guys must be good…if Regal says they're better than the Wonder Chef… Genis thought to himself. Do I stand a chance?

"You're thinking about entering the competition?" a man's voice rang out behind Genis. The young mage spun around, startled, to see an old man in a blue samue outfit standing right behind him. Genis looked down at the lapel of his robe and noticed an odd insignia on it, which read "IRON CHEF" underneath. The man chuckled at Genis's startled expression.

"You—you're an—"

"Hai," the man replied. "Rokusaburo Michiba, Iron Chef Japanese the First," he said, extending his hand to the young mage.

"Pleased to meet you, Michiba-san. I'm Genis Sage. And yes, I—uh, I was going to enter the competition. My friend Regal brought it up to me, and I thought I'd give it a try."

"Ahaha, Regal-san! Yes, I know him well. What is your cooking style?"

"Uh…well, I—" Genis stammered. Cooking style? I never thought I had much of a style… "I just love to cook for my friends. I don't have much of a style, though I guess you could call it Iselian…"

Michiba frowned. "Iselian, neh? Is that a town in that other world—what's it called again?"

"Oh, Sylvarant! Yeah, it's the village where I grew up. I don't know about much of a style. I just come up with new things just based on what we happen to have."

"Ah, a maverick!" Michiba lit up. "Well, just remember—when you battle one of the Iron Chefs, remember that there are no borders to ingredients. Follow your own intuition, and ask yourself how you can push the theme ingredient's potential to the furthest. Find the essence of the ingredient, and leave no part of it untouched."

Genis looked up at the Iron Chef. Michiba had a twinkle in his eye as he looked at the young mage.

"T-t-t-thank y-y-you, Michiba-san…" Genis was still looking at the old man in shock. "I—I don't think I'll be able to battle you if I—"

"What, battle me?" Michiba chuckled. "Don't worry about it, young man, I've retired from battling a long time ago. They just finished a battle in there and asked me to be a judge, so I'm on my way home. Why don't you go take a look inside? Knowing your surroundings, as I'm sure you know, is half the battle." With that, Michiba gave Genis a pat on the back and walked away, leaving the young mage in front of the poster with a stunned look on his face.

Well…I guess the old man's right…maybe I'll go take a look… he thought as he went inside.

What he found was beyond his wildest imagination. The normal battlefield had been transformed into a massive cooking arena—two world-class kitchens on opposite sides. At the back of the stadium was a staircase leading to a large table, and behind the table on an elevated dais stood four very large, detailed portraits. They were the exact same men Genis saw on the poster outside.

So they're the Iron Chefs…

"Hey, what're you doing? No one is allowed in Kitchen Stadium after battles!"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I was just—"

"Genis? Is that you?"

"…Oh. Haha, Regal, you gave me a scare there…"

"What are you doing here?"

"I just went out for a stroll, and found the poster outside the Coliseum advertising the Iron Chef competition. And you'll never guess who I ran into out there—Iron Chef Michiba!"

"Well, I think I now understand why you're here…" Regal chuckled. "Come, why don't I show you your side of the kitchen?"

Regal showed Genis the layout of the challenger's kitchen—the location of the oven, where each kind of ingredient was kept, where everything was in which cabinet. Genis couldn't help but gawk in awe.

"You'll get a more detailed walkthrough on the day of the battle," Regal told him. "Which reminds me, why don't the eight of us come in and watch tomorrow's battle? You might get some ideas by just watching these guys work."

"I…I'd like that, thanks."

"Ah, welcome back, Duke Bryant, Master Genis," Sebastian bowed as the two came back to Zelos's mansion from Kitchen Stadium.

"Genis!" Colette squealed. "I was so worried—you left so early in the morning and we had no idea where you went—thank goodness Regal found you…"

"Thanks Colette, but we're fine. Regal was just showing me around Kitchen Stadium, so I can get a feel for what I need to do for the battle."

"Yo, Genis, there's a package for you…there wasn't a return address, but here ya go," Lloyd chimed in, handing Genis a mysterious package with an image of two birds holding up an emblem bearing a "K" on a shield. Genis tore it open to discover a hologram projector inside.

"Well…I guess I better see what this is about…" Genis said as he pushed the button on the projector. A life-sized image of a man wearing a rather ornate cape took form and stood before Genis.

"Konichi-wa, Genis Sage. My name is Takeshi Kaga, and I am the Chairman of the Gourmet Academy. I scour the world looking for the world's very best chefs and invite them to compete in Kitchen Stadium against my Iron Chefs."

Genis narrowed his eyes in focus, already knowing what this message was all about. The rest of the group, curious about the mysterious hologram image, quickly gathered around him.

"As you may know, when I moved my Gourmet Academy from Japan to Tethe'alla, the Lezareno Company, headed by your friend Regal Bryant, did not hesitate to sponsor our competitions. Mr. Bryant has told me many good things about your cooking, and I believe you possess the perfect qualities to challenge my Iron Chefs. Allow me to introduce them to you…"

Kaga's image disappeared, replaced by an image of a man in a red French chef's costume.

"Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai. He has the best winning percentage out of all the Iron Chefs."

Genis gulped. Damn…he must be really good… he thought. Sakai's image disappeared and was replaced by an image of a man in a silver sushi chef's outfit.

"Iron Chef Japanese, Masaharu Morimoto. He is not afraid to let his imagination run wild in the kitchen."

"That sounds just like everyone in this group…" Presea softly uttered to Genis.

"Yeah, but some people have greater degrees of success than others…" Zelos sneered, earning him a giant slap from Raine. Morimoto's image disappeared, and was replaced by a man in a yellow Chinese chef's suit.

"Iron Chef Chinese, Chen Kenichi," Kaga continued, "He is the longest-serving of my Iron Chefs."

Chen disappeared and was replaced by a young man dressed in the colors of the Italian flag.

"Finally, the youngest Iron Chef, Masahiko Kobe, Iron Chef Italian."

"He doesn't look much older than me…" said Zelos, his eyes widening as the Chairman's image reappeared.

"I have scheduled you to battle two weeks from today. Please return the enclosed form with the name of the Iron Chef you wish to challenge within the next week. Once I receive your reply, I will provide you with the names of the judges for your battle. I look forward to hearing from you. Ganbatte." The projector clicked off, and the image of Chairman Kaga disappeared.

The whole room was silent. Everyone blinked a couple of times, wondering what exactly they just saw. Everyone, of course, except Genis and Regal, who knew exactly what this meant.

"So who are you going to challenge, Genis?" Lloyd finally asked, breaking the silence.

Genis sighed. "I don't know…"

"Bang a gong, we are on, and the two men make their way to the ingredient stand…" The TV flickered in the middle of the darkness.

Genis sat in the living room back in Zelos's mansion, long after the others had gone to sleep. The thought of attending the battle with his friends the next day made him anxious to battle an Iron Chef for himself, bringing on a wave of Iron Chef obsession. He had managed to borrow some videotapes of the original Japanese program from Regal—namely, some of Iron Chef Michiba's battles—and was watching them intently, taking notes. On the screen he saw Michiba writing his menu, as he almost always did at the top of a battle.

A battle plan…I'll keep that one in mind for the big day, he thought as he scribbled "Remember to write your battle plan" in his notebook.

"G-G-Genis…"

The young mage jumped from his seat, sending his notebook and pen flying near the feet of a certain pink-haired party member.

"…What are you doing up so late? Who is that man wearing the strange blue robe?" the girl asked as she took a seat next to Genis, handing him back his notebook.

"Presea! Ahhhh…" Genis began, blushing (even though it was dark enough that nobody could tell). "I dunno, this whole Iron Chef business Regal brought up really got me motivated to win the competition, so I'm mentally preparing myself as much as I can."

Presea only eyed him even more strangely.

"Oh! And that man in the blue robe—I met him today! Michiba-san is such a great guy. He's got Raine's intelligence, but with cooking. No wonder he's an Iron Chef…"

"I see…" Presea nodded. She turned to look at him.

I can feel the determination in his eyes…

"Oh, that reminds me…" Genis said as he flipped his notebook back open and scribbled the advice Michiba gave him earlier in the day: 'There are no borders to ingredients.'

I wish I could tell him…now would be the perfect time…

The tape had ended, Genis bearing a wide grin on his face upon hearing Chairman Kaga declare Michiba the winner.

"Presea…?"

Is he?!

"Regal invited us to the next battle tomorrow, if you'd like to join me. I'd like to see what I'm getting myself into before I go about it."

"Umm…" Presea looked askance as she turned to go upstairs, "I'd like that very much." So he's not telling me?

Genis beamed at her. "S-s-s-sleep well, OK?"

Presea gave a slight grin and nodded as she turned to head for bed.

Martel, help me, Genis thought, it's going to take more than just Michiba-san's advice to get me through this one…

Stay tuned for Chapter 3...