Soma: The Phantom Seat (Abandoned)

Chapter 1 The Phantom Seat

In the normal shopping district, a man is standing in front of a small diner, the man is no other than Nakiri Senzaemon, the world-renowned Food Demon King. And the diner that he is standing in front of is called "Yukihira Diner"

As he enters the store, there are no customers as it is very empty. A woman is cleaning the table until she notices the man coming in. "Headmaster Senzaemon? Is that you?"

The woman is Yukihira Tamako, the owner of the diner, and also an alumnus of Totsuki Culinary School. Senzaemon says, "Hello to you, Tamako. Is your husband at home?"

"Of course." Tamako turns to the kitchen and says, "Joichiro! You have visitors!"

After a while, the said person comes out of the kitchen and he says, "Oh, Senzaemon. Good to see you again."

Senzaemon nods and says, "Never thought I would see the day you two would be together. After all, Joichiro is the Ashura of Totsuki while you are also one of the best, Tamako."

"I know what you mean." Tamako sighs.

"So what happened to the customers?" Senzaemon asks as he looks at the empty seats.

Joichiro says, "They just left, actually."

"Mom? Dad? Do we have more customers?" Just then, a young boy with golden eyes and red hair comes out of the kitchen, and he is only 8 years old. Tamako says, "Oh, Soma, it is a good time that you're here. Let us introduce you to someone."

Joichiro puts his hand on Soma's shoulder and he says, "This is Nakiri Senzaemon, he was our old principal back at Totsuki Culinary School."

Senzaemon looks at the child and says, "So this is the son you were talking about I see...he looks like his mother, strikingly as well."

"Though he has Joichiro's attitude." Tamako sighs, "By the way, you come all the way here from Totsuki, you must be hungry, right? How about we prepare something for you?"

"That will be fine." Senzaemon says, "However, I would like to try out young Soma's cooking."

Soma hears his name and he smiles, "Sure, I'll prepare the food that you want. So what do you want to eat?"

After looking at the menu, he decides to ask Soma to make something special for him. And Soma puts his white headband on as he starts to cook. While he is cooking, Tamako and Joichiro are sitting at the other side of the table as Joichiro asks, "So how is Azami? Is he still giving you trouble?"

"More than ever." Senzaemon sighs, "The way he's treating his own daughter, he's turning into a monster. He's teaching her his way of cooking, how there should be principles in cooking, that freely cooking is disastrous, and how it almost destroyed you."

Tamako frowns a little as she knows what Azami is talking about, and Joichiro just rolls his eyes. "I never thought that Azami would change for the worst..." Tamako sighs. "But then again, he is always this dark, it is no wonder."

"Alright, it is done!" Soma comes out and puts a plate with a seemingly roasted pork on the table. He says, "This is the "Just kidding Roast Pork". This is made from the "Thick slices of bacon and potatoes. The truth is, we used up all the pork, so I have to come with an alternative."

Senzaemon looks at the dish and tastes a bite, he thinks, "With every bite, the juices of bacon and crispy texture...I would have believe that this is just roast pork."

Just then, his clothes burst as he went top naked, which shocks Soma as Tamako quickly covered his eyes. "Headmaster Senzaemon!" She yells at the old man.

"I'm sorry for my sudden outburst, I promised it won't happen again." After Senzaemon gets the clothes back on, he says, "I must say that the fake roast pork is very delicious."