Taking Advantage of the Situation

Heading downstairs at the sound of the Old Man's voice, Adam couldn't help but to feel his curiosity peaked at who this old friend of the Old Man's was. Stepping off the last step, Adam began to slightly fidget, his hand still solving the Rubik's Cube in hopes to calm his nerves.

Heading around the corner, Adam's gaze glanced up, scanning the figures before him.

As he looked at these figures, Adam felt his eyes widen slightly at the sight of the man sitting next to the figure he viewed as his grandfather.

Adam figured the man would be similar to the Old Man in both temperament and appearance considering he had called him an old friend, he had expected nothing like the man he was currently looking at.

The only real signs of this new man's age were the slight wrinkles on his appearance as well as his gray hairs, he had long hair that reached the center of his back, was wearing traditional Japanese clothing that couldn't conceal the extremely muscular physique hidden underneath, and was currently boisterously laughing as he talked to the Old Man.

"Oh Ben, it's been far too long since we last had the time to sit down and talk. It brings back some memories from when we first met, do you remember that day?" The man asked, his voice booming as his hand casually slapped at the table before him.

As he heard his words however, Adam watched on as the Old Man's expression changed into one that surprised him.

In all the time he had known him, Adam had known the Old Man to be a very quiet man, someone whose voice rarely went above what would be classified as an inside voice.

So, watching on as the Old Man replied in a rather loud voice of his own, Adam couldn't help but to feel surprised, "Hahaha, how could I forget? Meeting on our first day of school, I still can't get over how much more arrogant you were back then.

Admittedly, I definitely hated you a bit at the time. Being viewed as a genius and coming from a wealthy family, everything about you seemed to discredit all the hard work I put in." The Old Man said, his tone seeming to contain a fond reminiscence.

However, rather than seeming surprised by his admittance, the other man only replied with a smile of his own, "Of course I know, how could I not with the glares you sent me everyday? Then, you even went so far as to challenge me, only to end up losing in the end." After he finished his sentence, the muscular man let out a booming laugh, Adam watching on as a look of embarrassment appeared on the Old Man's face as a slight flush appeared on it.

"Senzaemon! You don't have to bring that up. That was the only time that I ever lost to anyone while we were attending Totsuki." The Old Man replied, seemingly wanting to recover from the embarrassment he had suddenly been subject to.

However, this only seemed to increase the enjoyment the now named Senzaemon got from the situation, his booming laugh continuing to ring out.

Before the situation could devolve into anything more than that, the Old Man finally seemed to notice Adam's presence.

At the sight of him, the Old Man's flushed face returned to normal, a look of pride flashing across his features as he began to speak, "Adam, what are you doing skulking around over there? Come on over here and introduce yourself to this old friend of mine." After saying this, the Old Man's attention shifted, once more returning to his friend as he now addressed him,

"Sen, this is the boy I was telling you about over the phone. I've been watching him cook for the past few years and can say with confidence that he's a natural at it. Why don't you let him attend that Totsuki of yours?"

Listening to his words, Adam's figure that had been moving forward to introduce himself suddenly went stock-still, a look of surprise on his face.

What had caused this reaction in him was rather simple - in his studies of cuisines outside of the U.S., Adam had learned of places considered monumental in the cooking industry, Totsuki being chief among them.

As he looked at the figure before him, Adam's mind suddenly came to a realization, 'He's Senzaemon Nakiri, the current headmaster of Totsuki Academy! Not only is he and his family famous within the cuisine industry, but Senzaemon himself is rather famous, even earning the moniker of 'The Food's Demon King'!'

As his figure came to a stop, Adam couldn't help but to look at the figure sitting next to the Old Man in awe.

However, he was quickly snapped out of this state at the voice of the Old Man, "Adam, why are you still standing there? What, do you not think my friend is deserving of a proper greeting?" At these subsequent questions, Adam's eyes widened in shock, with him quickly shaking his head in response to the Old Man's words.

Feeling a bit flustered at being caught up in the moment, Adam quickly stepped forward, hastily introducing himself to what could only be viewed as one of the figures of legends in the cooking industry. "Hello Mr. Nakiri, I'm Adam Black. I'm a big fan of your work over in Totsuki, managing to bring prestigious names to the school every year since becoming the headmaster.

I even heard you were close to some of the famous Totsuki graduates such as Joichiro Saiba?" As Adam spoke, he could barely keep the celebrity worship out of his tone.

In response to his words, Senzaemon only let out a hearty laugh, stepping forward as his hand came down, giving the young man a clap on the shoulder.

As he felt the impact, Adam couldn't help but to widen his eyes, not expecting the amount of force the older man had been able to release with such an effortless gesture.

As his laughter died out, Senzaemon finally spoke up, "It's been a while since I've seen one as young as you take interest in the older generation such as myself. It seems old Ben here has been teaching you properly, haha!" At this, Senzaemon's gaze shifted, now looking toward the Old Man with a meaningful expression.

However, in turn, the Old Man only gave a slight shake of the head, "No, I didn't teach him anything of the sort. Ever since I took him in, Adam has shown both a remarkable talent for cooking as well as a willingness to learn.

Once he had gotten American dishes down decently, he began looking into dishes from overseas all on his own. It's not too surprising that he's learned of you considering that." The Old Man said, a look of pride appearing on his face as he turned his gaze to now look over Adam.

Listening to this conversation and the apparent closeness between this legendary figure and the Old Man, Adam couldn't help but to feel as if something was out of place.

After a moment to work up his courage, Adam finally asked the question that had been on his mind since learning of who this 'friend' of the Old Man's was, "H-how exactly do the two of you know each other?" Adam asked, slightly stuttering over the beginning of his sentence as he felt his nerves get the better of him.

Looking at him in surprise, Senzaemon's gaze shifted between the figure of Adam and the Old Man for a while, before finally replying to Adam's question, "It seems you really didn't tell him about me, huh? Well, the way me and Ben here know each other goes way back, back to when we attended Totsuki together." Hearing these words, Adam's gaze shifted from Senzaemon as he listened with rapt attention, to the figure of the Old Man, his eyes widening in surprise.

"How come you never told me you went to Totsuki?" Adam asked the Old Man, curiosity evident in his tone.

The Old Man seemed to give Adam a searching glance, before finally answering his question with a casual shrug of his shoulders, "You never asked," he stated simply, a blank look on his face.

Listening to these words, Adam could feel his expression darkening slightly. However, this quickly dissipated, being replaced by the excitement he now felt, having not one but two Totsuki alumni before him. 'With these two here, I wonder if I could get some answers toward some of the puzzles I haven't managed to work out yet.'

Adam wondered, his mind flashing for a moment as puzzles began to appear in his head, each one incredibly large with thousands of pieces within each, all containing missing pieces ranging from nearly complete puzzles to ones that looked as though they were just started.

These were all, naturally, different dishes he had started to create, only to fall short halfway through. He figured that each dish was possible and some even seemed like they would turn out great; yet, Adam regretfully felt as if he wasn't knowledgeable to complete them.

The only way he could do so, was if Adam were to gain more experience in cooking. With his current method of gaining knowledge, he knew that it would probably take him a long time to complete each dish.

However, if he were to rely on the knowledge of more experienced individuals, asking for their advice on his dish, Adam figured he could complete them much sooner.

However, this was actually more a consequence of Adam having far too high of an expectation on himself. When he thought about it taking him a long time to complete these dishes, it was actually only a couple of weeks for the majority, only the longest one's taking over a month.

This could actually be considered as very fast for someone who had only been cooking for a short three years, where most people would still be learning dishes and expanding their knowledge base, not focusing on making their own dishes.

If one of these chef's were to know Adam's thoughts, they wouldn't have any place to hide their tears.

Yet, it was also due to this high expectation he put on himself that Adam could manage to advance so rapidly, reaching his current level of cooking.

Even so, he couldn't help but to feel he could do better, create better dishes, if he had the help of others to push him even further. Little did he know, the real thing that could push Adam to greater heights - was the challenge of cooks of equal talent!

It was only in a place like that, where Adam would constantly find himself stifled and pushed to his cooking limits, that he could become the best chef!

As such, it was no surprise that Adam currently looked like an excited puppy, staring at the two men before him with so much excitement he was almost vibrating.

Looking at the pair, Adam couldn't contain his excitement, asking, "Old Man, Mr. Nakiri, could I trouble the two of you to give me some advice on my cooking? There's some dishes that I've been trying to create and been stuck on, I'd love it if you could help me to complete some of them!" he exclaimed.

Even with the pride that he had, Adam could still act humbly when in the face of such legendary figures, acting with humility and asking for advice.

As they witnessed this however, the pair of older men stared at the young man before them with looks of bafflement for a moment.

However, this expression soon fell off of Senzaemon's face to be replaced by a loud laughter as he exclaimed, "Hahaha, Ben, it seems you weren't wrong in claiming this young man has a talent for cooking. To ask for advice upon learning just what types of figures we are, this young man's desire for learning seems insatiable." He exclaimed, his booming laughter continuing even after his words had finished.

As he listened to his old friend's words, the Old Man could only slightly shake his head, a look of exasperation flashing across his features. This was because, this was the first time Adam had ever asked for help before.

It seemed that he wanted to solve all his problems himself, and the only reason he asked for help now was because he couldn't not take advantage of the opportunity upon meeting such legendary figures.