AICOC

"It is a beautiful day here in Darasu City," An announcer announces as the stadium goes wild. "And I'm here with Michelle Pie to see what's about to happen!"

The other announcer (Michelle) interrupts the previous announcer. "That's right Joe Nuts, Today we're going to see the finale to the Annual International Cook Off Competition! Today's the day where the world's greatest chefs all meet together to show who's country has not only the best chefs, but the best foods!"

"Yes," Joe resumes his commentary. "And it's all down to the last five cooks!"

Five people walk out into the center of the stadium as the crowd screams even louder. As they do, a bunch of cooking appliances come out of the floor.

"First, we have our very own James Burger!" Michelle says as a spotlight highlights one of the chefs. He has blond hair and sunglasses along with the chef uniforms everyone else has. He waves at the bleachers as he approaches the cooking sets. "James hails from Darasu City, Miguchi. Despite only participating in AICOC only three times, he's won every time! Like all of the other chefs, he has inhuman cooking skills!"

"Next, we have the amazing Alma Asados!" Joe timely announces as the spotlight moves to an old woman with a white dress and flip flops. She waves to the crowd as the light hits her. "Coming from La Ciudad, Suraichi, Asados-san is known for her delightful dishes! She's not to be underestimated for her old age, because she is very experienced!"

"Our third contestant, Darsh Kushari!" Michelle exclaims as the spotlight highlights a man who looks annoyed. He is a buff man wearing a turban along with the usual chef uniform. He ignores the crowd and moves towards the cooking equipment. "Darsh is a no-nonsense pro-chef from Ejiputchi! He's known for his calculated cooking, even while under immense stress. I cannot wait to see what he'll do this round!"

"Our fourth cook is the one, the only, Léa Brioche!" Joe shouts as the spotlight focuses on a woman who looks like she's in her 30s wearing a beret. She blows kisses towards the crowd as she approaches the cooking equipment. "Léa is a famous chef known for her mastery of meals from her home country of Furanchi! She's been picking up the pace the last couple AICOCs and who knows if she'll take it home this year!"

"And for our final chef, Kuro-san!" Michelle says, out of breath, as the spotlight pans toward a man who looks unmoved by the spotlight. Kuro isn't wearing anything unique, just the standard cooking equipment. He just bows towards the crowd and moves towards the cooking equipment. "Kuro hasn't participated in the AICOC in five years, but he claims that he's here to take gold for Nihonchi. He has been blasting through the ranks this year and we are all excited to see if he has a truly massive comeback!"

"Now that we've introduced our cooks," Joe wipes his brow. "Let's get to the hosts!"

Meanwhile, in the crowd, a 14 year old kid is freaking out.

"GO KURO!!!" He shouts as his parents give him a look. "THAT'S MY BROTHER!!!!"

"Shefu-kun," His mom says disapprovingly. "I'm struggling to hear what the announcers are saying. It's hard enough that they speak Miguchese."

"Wait," A kid sitting next to Shefu's family stares at him. "That's your brother?"

"Yeah!" Shefu fist pumps. "The food he makes is so tasty!"

"Wow," The kid scratches his head. "Well it's nice to know that. I'm Hank Burger, meet you."

"BURGER!?" Shefu leans in his seat. "DOES THAT MEAN THAT-"

"Shefu-kun," Shefu's dad interrupts him. "They're about to announce the judges. I heard they have a new one."

"Okay..." Shefu looks down.

"CAN WE GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE RETURNING, JUDGE FUDGE!" Joe can be heard shaking his microphone as the spotlight shines onto a middle aged woman wearing farming equipment. She is holding a microphone that looks like a frying pan. "If you don't know Fudge, you're mis-"

"Thanks, hun." Fudge talks into the panphone. "But I'll take it from here... Ahem, As you may know, me and my hubby were tasked with finding a third judge for AICOC. Well everyone, we've found them."

A floor piece next to Fudge rises from the floor to show a middle aged man and a young woman.

"Potato," Fudge looks at the man. "Would you like to introduce our guest?"

"No thanks, Mrs Butter." The woman bows before turning to the crowd and taking out her own microphone. "Um... hello everyone. I'm Ju Orange, but you can just call me Ju. I'm really excited to be-"

"ARE Y'ALL READY FOR THE FINAL COOK OFF OF THIS YEAR'S AICOC!?" Potato snatchs Ju's microphone and riles up the crowd.

"YEAH!!!!" Shefu leans in his seat. "GO KURO!!! YOU GOT THIS BIG BROTHER!"

Hank looks at Shefu before looking back at the center of the stadium. "COME ON JAMES!" He shouts. "YOU GOT THIS!!"

"Wait..." Shefu turns toward the kid. "Mr Burger is your brother?!"

"Yeah!" Hank quickly nods. "I forgot to introduce myself properly! I'm Hank Burger, I don't live too far away from this stadium and my brother's a world champion when it comes to AICOC."

Shefu takes his time to understand whatever Hank just said. "I didn't know that!" Shefu finally comprehends what Hank said. "I'm Shefu. I'm a 14 year old boy from Tokowo, Nihonchi. I've always wanted to be a master chef when I grow up, but I fear that my older brother might outcompete me. Still, I appreciate his skill and I'll still root for him in the AICOCs he competes in. I still dream of becoming the best chef in the world. Because in my world, cooking is everything. Maybe I might have too big of hopes, but I can dream. I can dream of being the best, making the tastiest food, and having everyone like me. I... I can dream."

"Cool!" Hank appeared to have lost interest when Shefu said the word "Master Chef". "I like food too."

"Yeah," Shefu looks back towards the center of the stadium.

"So simplify, you are going to cook your best dish!" Michelle practically eats the microphone. "NOW LET'S GET TO THE COUNTDOWN!"

As the crowd counts down from ten alongside the announcers and judges, the five cooks quickly set up their cooking stations at an inhuman speed. Kuro looks at the crowd with a worried expression before turning back towards his station.

"Three, two, one," Joe counts with the audience. "LET THE COOK OFF BEGIN!"

Right as Joe hollars this, the chefs swiftly start cooking their best dish. They glide around their cooking station like a professional ice skater, with movements and speed no ordinary human can muster.

As the cooks extravagantly move around their stations, Shefu stares at the chefs in awe. "GO, BROTHER GO!" He shouts.

Hank looks at Shefu for a moment, then looks back at the center of the stadium. "GO JAMES, GO!" Hank joins Shefu in their shouts of encouragement.

As the cooks danced around their cooking stations, James and Kuro started an interesting conversation that the crowd couldn't hear due to the noise of the stadium.

"You've got some mad balls, Kuro-can't." James tossed some lettuce onto a frying pan whilst looking at Kuro. "But I'm afraid you know that stupidity won't save you."

"Udon doesn't have meatballs in it." Kuro thinks out loud. "And that victory is as good as mine!"

"That's what they all say." James chuckles. "Now stop distracting me, you absolute square."

Once the two stop talking, Kuro becomes more focused on his cooking. Way more focused than the other chefs.

The crowd continued to cheer, the chefs continued to cook, and the commentator remained quiet until all the chefs tapped a red button in the middle of their cooking stations. And eventually, they did.

"ALRIGHT!" Michelle seemingly stops holding her breath. "With all our MASTERFUL cooks finished, it's time for the judges to do their thing!"

"That's right!" Joe can be audibly heard spinning in his swivel chair. "Could this be the year someone finally beats Mr Burger's 4 time winning streak? Or will the real attention be drawn towards the second place winner?"

Ju fake coughs into her microphone as a signal to the announcers to shut up. "Thank you, Mr Nuts. We will be trying the food... now."

"Now," Fudge pats a seat to the right of her. "If our first chef can present their food, it'd be much appreciated."

"It would be a pleasure to bring you a little piece of classic Suraichian food." Asados hobbles towards the judges while balancing three bowls on her head.

"Asados-san," Ju gets up to help Asados. "You don't need to bring us your-"

"No, no, no." Asados motions Ju back to the judges' table. "I've got this... muchacha."

While Asados served some empanadas and alfajores to the judges (with a side of churros) Shefu began talking to Hank again.

"Asados-san is very old." Shefu whispered to his new friend. "She must be very wise and have seen lots of stuff."

"I'm surprised she's still alive." Hank responds in a not so quiet voice. "She's soooo old. It's almost like she's some sort of witch!"

"That's a bit rude of you." Shefu remains whispering. "My mom says not to be mean to people, even if they can't see you being mean."

"I think I saw her stare at me?" Hank mimicked Shefu's quieter tone. "I didn't mean to be mean, she just scares me."

"Well Asados-san," Ju slowly pushes away her plate. "Your food is really good. You've made it to the finale for a really good reason. But I can't eat all of it. I need to save some space for the other foods... you know?"

"It does taste purty good." Potato pats his beer belly. "I'll give ya that!"

"Thank you so much, Asados." Fudge gives her plate back to the old woman. "Now, which one of our contestants is going next?"

"You know me, Mrs Fudge." James pushes in his sunglasses pompously. "I go by a 'best for last' lifestyle."

The stadium went silent.

"Um..." Darsh attempts to break the silence while picking up the dishes he made. "I would like you to enjoy some of the food I made... if you will."

"I like Darsh." Hank whispers to Shefu back in the bleachers. "He seems like a nice person. If James wasn't my brother, I think I would cheer for him."

"He looks like he works out." Shefu adds. "But something about him just feels... uncanny."

"What does that mean?" Wank responds.

"I don't know." Shefu shrugs. "But I'm sure he's a nice person. He just looks... off."

"Nous navons de dunivers de temps." Léa seemingly judges the judges in her native language. "Arrivez juste au putain deu pointe."

"I don't speak Furanchese." Fudge taps on her earpiece. "But... our translator Jacques says-"

"Hurry up." Léa says in a more aggravated tone.

"Ya could've said that the first time." Potato sasses back. "As for the food... I feel I should save my opinions for later."

"It tasted amazing!" Ju gives Darsh a thumbs up. "But the score isn't final until we try all of the-"

Léa drops her dish in front of Ju before grabbing the other 2 platters she's prepared. All of the judges shrug before trying out the food the cook has prepared.

"What do you think of Lee-lay-le-lo..." Hank struggles to pronounce the Furanchese chef's name "Miss Brioche?"

"She just seems very..." Shefu looks at his mother before looking back towards Hank. "confrontational." He whispers.

"Yeah," Hank leans back in his seat and yawns. "She seems kinda unnecessarily aggressive sometimes. Maybe it's just the way she speaks and a bunch of mistranslations, because I don't know any Furanchese... or Furanchiese. However you say it."

"Neither do I." Shefu turns his focus back towards the judges.

"It's..." Ju grabs a napkin and taps it against her lips while trying to remain vague and polite with her statement. "... food."

"Yeah," Fudge slides her dish towards the very angry looking Furanchiese chef. "Kuro! We would love to try your dish."

As Léa puts her hands over her face to mimic the look of someone wearing goggles, Kuro tossed three empty plates into the air. After catching all three plates, he revealed that the dish he had made was now on the plates.

James scoffs. "Alright showoff, I would love it if we finished TODAY!"

"That was an impressive trick, Mr Kuro." Potato chuckles. "But how does your food taste?"

"Taste for yourself." Kuro lightly puts each dish in front of each judge before bowing.

"KURO!" Shefu shouts before being smacked upside the head by his dad. "Kurooo..." He whisper shouts before excitingly facing his new friend. "Hank! He's my brother!"

"I know." Hank smiles a bit. "You already told me."

"I personally think he should win." Shefu speaks more passionately about his brother than all the other chefs. "He makes THE BEST sushi ever! And I mean THE best. Enough to make up for the fact that he thinks he's smarter than me just because he's older than me. I know we are both equally smart. In fact, I think I could join AICOC once I... learn how to cook... the stuff I want."

"You're very fun to listen to." Hank rests his face on his elbow. "I also think your brother is cool. He did so many cool tricks in the other rounds."

"YOU-" Shefu realizes he's shouting and lowers his voice. "You watched my brother in the other rounds?"

"I binge watched the other rounds of this year's competition to prepare for today." Hank shrugs. "That's largely how I formed my opinion on all of the chefs."

"Whatever you say." Shefu pretends to understand Hank before looking back into the middle of the stadium.

"The sushi was amaz-" Potato compliments Kuro's food before noticing Fudge staring at him with a judging look. "Uh... the food is to be judged when we eat the last dish. Mr Burger?"

"Finally," James stretches while staring at Kuro. "I hope it was worth it, Churro."

Kuro stares back at James before whispering. "I don't cook churros-"

"Shut up." James quickly responds before giving each of the judges his dish.

"James seems cool." Shefu resumes his conversation with Hank. "He owns his own restaurant thingy!"

"Food chain." Hank corrects Shefu. "And it's a family business."

"Kuro doesn't have a food chain." Shefu crosses his arms. "At least, not yet. If he does, I want to be the king of the food."

"I'm not sure if you know how food chains work, Shefu." Hank stares at him.

"I don't." Shefu says with a smile on his face.

"Of course." Hank sighs.

"James..." Fudge claps her hands together after slowly pushing away her plate. "I... I think we should gather around and finally vote on the winner of the AICOC."

"Agreed." Potato nods.

"I mean," Ju shrugs. "I think you guys are overreacting. His food isn't that bad... or goo-"

"NOW'S THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!" Michelle shouts into her mic as the stadium erupts with excitement. "JOE, GET THE @#$%^ UP! THE RATING'S HAPPENING!"

"The rating?" Joe says with a drowsy voice.

"The RATING!' Michelle repeats.

The stadium starts to chant "RATINGS, RATINGS!" as the judges start to make their assessments.

"Arretons denous faire perdri notri temps!" Léa demands before she starts to file her nails. "Don't you dare translate that, Jacques. It's very annoying and I'm just trying to tell them that they need to drop their act and get this over with!"

Ju pokes her head out from the team huddle the judges have formed. "Our votes can't be rushed, Brioche-san-"

"Mademoiselle," Léa corrects Ju. "It is Mademoiselle."

"Madamose El Brioche-san." Ju corrects herself. "I'm sorry but-"

"We all know you're just going to say 'Attaque Cardiaque' wins." Léa shrugs before putting her nail file away and clapping her hands together. "I have more important things I could be doing right now."

James tilts his head towards Léa.

"Just ignore her." Fudge seemingly says to Ju.

After about a minute of anticipation, Potato gives Ju a golden microphone (which is the traditional microphone used to announce the winner of AICOC) as she walks towards the absolute center of the stadium.

Ju lets out a sign before speaking into the microphone "Ladies and Gentlemen," She announces. "The winner of the Annual International Cook Off Competition... is none other than... JAMES BURGER!"

WIth those two words, the stadium erupts with a mixture of boos and cheers. Ju stiffly handed the microphone to Darsh before sticking both her pointer fingers into her ears and speed walking away from the center of the stadium.

Darsh awkwardly stands with the golden microphone while a camera crew floods the center of the stadium.

"That's number four!" Hank laughs and leans back in his seat. "James is a powerhouse!"

"Hmph," Shefu crosses his arms. "I thought Kuro was the greatest chef in the world. He made it this far! How could he just... lose?"

"James is a pro!" Hank explains. "He started cooking right before I was born! He is the definition of a master chef!"

"I..." Shefu thinks about what his parents told Kuro about being a good sport. "I guess he is."

"Yeah!" Hank nods before staring for a few seconds. "OH! I SHOULD GO MEET UP WITH HIM RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh yeah," Shefu says to himself as Hank gets up and runs off somewhere. "I should meet up with Kuro! Can I, Mother?"

"Sure," His mother responds. "Tell him that we need to get out of the stadium before the news reporters get to him."

"You could've asked me, Shefu-kun." His father sighs.

"But I didn't!" Shefu shouts as he runs towards the stairs that lead to the bottom of the stadium.

Shefu runs down the stairs until he trips on the last step on the last flight of stairs. He brushes himself off and runs past a bunch of rooms with the names of The Chefs on them. He stops when he arrives at a room with "KURO KAKUNI". He would just walk in, but there is a strong looking man blocking the entrance to the room.

"Hello!" Shefu bows. "I-"

"Sorry kid," The man interrupts him. "Kuro isn't taking fan meetings at the moment. Also, are you even allowed to be down here in the first place?"

"BUT KURO IS MY BROTHER!" Shefu complains.

"You really think I think some East Ajiachiese boy is related to Kuro?" The man crosses his arms. "No, I'm not letting you through."

Shefu thinks for a moment before responding to the man. "Watashi wa rikai shote imasuga, soreha shinje itsude wai arimasen." Shefu speaks in his native tongue. "Kare wa watashe no kyodaideari, watashe wakare no kyi dai dakara desu."

"Um..." The Man tilts his head. "I... guess I was wrong...? Just... Just go ahead."

As the man steps away from the door to Kuro's room, Shefu flings the door open and blindly dashes into the room. The man closes the door behind him.

"BROTHER!" Shefu shouts as he charges into the room. "Remember what Mom said about losing. You must always... be... respectful."

Shefu realized that Kuro wasn't alone in his room. There is a tall, pale woman with long white hair wearing longer black robes talking to him.

"Brother?" Shefu scratches his head. "You have a girlfriend?"

Kuro finally notices that his brother is across the room. "SHEFU!" He jumps. "I-Uh... What are you doing here!"

"I wanted to accompany you after your pitiful loss because you said you would 'literally die' if you lost the Cook Off." Shefu says with an innocent grin. "I asked mom if I could and she said yes. Also, YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!?"

Kuro is still confused. "How did you get across The Bouncer-"

"ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OR NOT!?" Shefu pouts. "I've always wanted a sister! Does she know Nihonchiese?"

"Shefu..." Kuro attempts to calm his brother. "This is... my manager."

"You are stalling, Kakuni." The woman says in an authoritative tone. "I am your brother's Spirit Chef. I would go into more detail about it, but we are wasting time I could use to find a new host. So to put it simply, I'm going to-"

"Marry him?" Shefu interrupts the Spirit. "I've always wanted a Spirit sister!"

"No." The Spirit crouches to see Shefu face to face. "You're... brother, he made a deal. I would assist him in winning the Annual International-"

"AICOC?" Kuro stalls a bit more.

"I'm not talking to you, Kakuni." The Spirit calmly shuts Kuro up. "Look, he betted his life over this Cook Off and he lost. I HAVE to take his life, it's the RULES."

"What?" Shefu's smile slowly disappears.

"It's tradition." The Spirit explains. "I have done this plenty of times throughout many centuries. Kakuni made a deal, he knew the risks. None of this is my fault."

"But you can't take his life!" Shefu demands. "He needs it to live!"

"He... made a deal." The Spirit looks away from Shefu. "Don't- You shouldn't- just talk to your brother-"

"She's lying!" Shefu points at The Spirit before running behind his brother. "R-right?"

"No, she isn't." Kuro nods before making a smug face towards The Spirit.

"NO!" The Spirit shouts at Kuro. "You are not going to use your little brother to cheat death- YOU MADE A DEAL and I-I don't... I don't."

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU KILL MY BROTHER!" Shefu cries.

"I'm..." The Spirit covers her face and walks towards a wall. "Just get out of here. This is none of your business."

"Kuro!" Shefu tugs on his brother's shirt. "We can fight here, r-right?"

"No," Kuro crosses his arms while staring at The Spirit with a grin. "I'm afraid she's just gonna have to kill. We will never see each other again."

"NOOOOOO!" Shefu cries. "YOUCANTUDOTHISYUMONSTER!"

"FINE!" The Spirit gives up on trying to resist her morality. "Look, I NEVER do this. This NEVER happens to me, and I plan on it NEVER happening again. But, you'll do anything to save your brother's life, am I right?"

"A-a-anything?" Shefu wipes his face. "Y-yeah. Anything."

"Cool." The Spirit gives him a thumbs up. "Then all you have to do is make the same deal Big Kakuni made."

The Spirit summons a scroll into her hand, it reads:

The Agreement of a Chef and a Spirit, written in (metaphorical) blood. In signing this piece of paper, you:

Will become a host to the Cooking Spirit of DeVos until the end date of the agreement.

DeVos will assist you with every single dish you make unless you request for her to not assist.

You will NOT tell/show the public anything about the Spirit or any other type of spirit

You will win the AICOC next time it happens. If you succeed, I will return your brother to his mortal form. If you do not succeed, you and your brother will both perish.

Signing this agreement, you acknowledge what you are sacrificing in this deal. Sign here ______

"Wow," Shefu squints at the paper with his brother also reading it. "That has a lot of words."

"Wait," Kuro's eyes widened. "You want him to sacrifice his LIFE for this?"

"Uh..." The Spirit rubs the back of her head. "Basically."

"Your name is DeVos?" Shefu points at the paper. "That's a funny name."

DeVos rolls up the paper. "Are you gonna sign the deal or not? I have a life, believe it or not."

"Shefu," Kuro puts his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't sign. Your life is worth more than mine."

"Then WHY are you wasting my time!?" DeVos grips her hair. "It's a yes or no question. Are you gonna sign?"

"YOU WANT TO KILL A CHILD!" Kuro points his open hands at DeVos. "THIS IS NOT A FAIR DEAL!"

"Little Kakuni," DeVos crouches back to Shefu's height. "How old are you?"

"14..." Shefu rocks his arms back and forth. "and some more!"

"I'm sure he'll be 16 when and/or if he fails." DeVos shrugs before standing back up at her full height.

"You're heartless." Kuro points at DeVos.

"Hmm..." DeVos scratches her chin. "How about..." DeVos rolls the paper back out and summons a pen. "Instead of 'you and your brother will both perish', we have 'your brother will perish and you will be 100,000 yen in debt."

"That sounds better." Shefu looks at Kuro. "Is it better, brother?"

"You'll make enough being a MASTER CHEF to pay it off if you fail." DeVos argues. "So, what do you say?"

"Don't do it." Kuro puts his hand on his chest. "I'm willing to stay by my word. You should've never been involved in this. You have your future ahead of you. My fate was sealed a while ago-"

"I already signed it." Shefu announces.

"Brother," Kuro looks down at Shefu. "I love you and all, but you are an absolute moron."

"Aw..." Shefu sagged his arms.

"Also, Kakuni," DeVos looks down at Kuro. "You aren't getting away scot free. I need to make sure you don't book it."

"What are you talking about?" Kuro tilts his head.

"You're gonna be a spirit like me." DeVos explains. "Until your little... sibling succeeds or fails, you're gonna be a spirit more or less like me."

"I'm fine with that." Kuro leans his back against a wall before instantly becoming semi-transparent.

"As for you," DeVos points at Shefu. "We'll have to figure out how to make this not look like you just murdered your brother. Any ideas?"

"I thought YOU were the one who was going to murder my brother." Shefu stares at DeVos. "Why would they-"

"If anyone enters this room," DeVos explains. "They'll see that Big Kakuni is gone and the only other person in this room is you."

"But you are also-" Shefu tries to say something before DeVos cuts him off.

"We don't have time for your stupid takes." She holds her hand towards her forehead. "Let's just... uhhh..."

DeVos taps on her next and shouts in Kuro's voice "BOUNCER!"

The Man protecting the room breaks down the door and stands with a straight back before noticing Kuro's absence.

"YOU!" The Man picks up Shefu by the neckline of his makeshift chef uniform. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO-"

"Yohoo!" DeVos taps The Man on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around and drop Shefu.

"WHO GOES THERE?!" He looks around in fear.

DeVos closes her eyes and the man starts to levitate. "Your name is..." DeVos states as she levitates. "Kuro... Kakuni."

"I am..." The man speaks as if he's been hypnotized. "Daman Reeves."

"No," Devos expresses some frustration. "You are Kuro Kakuni."

"I am Kuro Kakuni." Daman repeats before he slowly shapeshifts into looking like Kuro.

"There," DeVos claps her hands together. "Problem solved, let's get started on your training. And by that, I mean let's get out of here."

"I am Kuro Kakuni." Daman says again.

"I don't think anyone's gonna buy this." The real Kuro walks around Daman-Kuro. "Might as well forfeit the deal."

"You won't believe how stupid people can be." DeVos ominously replies. "Now let's leave."

As Shefu exits the room, he sees Hank and James standing right infront of the door. Both look pretty excited.

"HEY..." Hank looks at the floor and begins to mumble to himself before resuming. "Seafu?"

"Shefu." Shefu corrects Hank. "Hello Hank!"

James forces a cough. "So..." He adjusts his sunglasses. "You're Kuro's kid, I'm assuming."

"I'm his brother!" Shefu smiles. "Aren't you a celebirdy?"

"Oh," James cracks his knuckles. "Then you already know me."

"Hank told me about you." Shefu looks towards his friend. "He told me that you're the best chef in the world, but I think your victory was lucky. I'd like to think you and my brother are perfect rivals!"

"Shefu," Kuro's right eye starts to twitch. "I think we should get going."

James looks directly at Kuro, then at DeVos. He chuckles to himself. "So Chefu," James pokes Shefu on the nose. "Where's your 'master chef' of a brother?"

"YEAH!" Hank bursts into the conversation. "He seems uber cool! I really really really wanna meet him!"

"Get Daman." DeVos demands.

"He's-" Shefu dashes into Kuro's room and pushes Daman out towards the Burgers. "Right here!"

"I am Kuro Kakuni." Daman says with a confused look on his face.

"AWESOME!" Hank gushes. "You're Kuro!"

"I am Kuro." Daman confirms.

"He's a little bit..." Shefu tries to think up the correct word. "Distraught at his loss. This is his way of coping."

"I see..." James grins. "Well, I hope he recovers from this pitiful loss."

"We should get going." Kuro grits his teeth.

"You should get going." James puts his arm on Shefu's shoulder. "Don't you have a flight to catch? And I'm sure your parents are looking for you."

"WAIT," Hank's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you're leaving!"

"I don't think I'm leaving that soon." Shefu scratches his head. "But I think James is right. I should get going."

"Good luck." James tilts his head at Shefu as he walks back up the stairs from earlier.

As Shefu slowly walks up the stairs, Kuro and DeVos follow behind him. Kuro was about to say something, but he changed his mind before anything could come out his mouth.

After Shefu made it back to his seat, he couldn't find his parents.

"Where are they?" Kuro scratches his ghostly head. "I'll call Mom and ask her where they-"

Kuro checks his pockets to find that he doesn't have his phone... or wallet... or anything in his pockets.

"Moron." DeVos whispers to herself.

"WAIT!" Shefu points at the crowded field. "I THINK I CAN SEE THEM DOWN THERE!"

"Then let's go back down stairs!" DeVos urges Shefu. "We're WASTING time!"

Shefu runs back down stairs right as Daman catches up with him. Daman looks around before he just throws himself down the stairs.

Once Shefu makes it back down the stairs, he stops and starts breathing heavily.

"What are you doing!?" DeVos taps her foot on the hair as Kuro floats behind her. "You're like 10! Don't you have an infinite amount of energy in your body?"

Shefu takes a couple more breaths. "I'm... 14." He corrects DeVos.

"DOESN'T MATTER!" DeVos points towards the hallway in front of them. "LET'S JUST MOVE!"

"The exit is to our left." Kuro corrects DeVos in a monotone voice.

DeVos pauses. "I knew that." She lies. "I was just..."

Shefu slowly walks towards the exit. Once he does, he is met with a large amount of people all across the field. Shefu saw these people earlier, but from this height, he can't find his parents.

"The frost," Shefu looks up at DeVos. "Can you see them?"

"Bold of you to assume I know what your parents look like." DeVos crosses her arms. "But yes, I do know what they look like and I do see them. They are... 20 people ahead of us."

"Straight ahead?" Shefu asks.

"Yes." DeVos answers.

Shefu proceeds to charge in between the multiple clusters of people for about 30 seconds until he finally crashes into someone.

"Ow..." Shefu rubs his head. "Sorry!"

"That's oka-" The victim accepts the apology before looking at Shefu. "Wait... Where the hell are your parents?"

"Uh...." Shefu pretends to scratch his chin. "Aren't you a judge?"

"Yeah," She answers. "Do you... have parents?"

"I think they are right behind you." Shefu tilts his head.

The woman turns around to see Shefu's mom and dad speaking to a news reporter. "Hold on," She turns back towards Shefu. "You're related to Kuro."

"Yes." Shefu says with a smile. "Now let me talk to my parents, please."

"I'm not sure if you can." The woman shakes her head lightly. "They're being interviewed at the moment."

"Interviewed?" Shefu rocks back and forth impatiently. "That is cool, but I need to talk with them right now."

"Uh..." The woman looked around before looking back at Shefu and letting out a sigh. "Can't you just... wait?"

Shefu shrugs. "I don't want to wait. I want to tell my parents something very important."

"Well, I'm sorry but-" The woman pauses before looking behind Shefu. "Kuro! Are you finally ready for your interview?"

"I..." Daman takes a moment to think. "... am Kuro Kakuni."

The woman looks at Daman, then Shefu, then back at Daman. "Is he...?" She leans down and whispers to Shefu.

"He's coping." Shefu doesn't care to whisper.

"Okay..." The woman looks around as if she is waiting for someone else to take care of this situation before letting out a sigh. "Alright Kuro, you have a lot of interviews ahead of you. Miguchi Now, Shinobi Nyūsu, Xiǎo Hóng Zhǐ, and a ton of other news teams are looking forward towards your commentary on the match."

"My commentary on the match?" Daman repeats.

"Yes..." The woman walks off with Daman. "Whatever you said."

Shefu pushes his way past a cameraman and a news reporter to talk to his parents. "Hey mom!" Shefu waves his arms in the air. "Are you okay with me going on a journey to become the greatest chef in the world, making friends along the way who teach me the value of being a good person and how to deal with the crookedness of my foes?"

"WHAT!?" His mother shouts before shrugging. "Uh... SURE!"

"Thanks!" Shefu runs off back into the crowd.

"I'm confused." Kuro speaks to his brother as they move far away from the center of the stadium. "What just happened? How long will it take for people to realize that that guy isn't me? Does Ju already know? Why did our mother-"

DeVos interrupts Kuro. "WE. DO NOT. HAVE. THE TIME!"

"We do." Kuro crosses his arms. "If I'm correct, we have 2 to 4 years to train. That's enough time in my opinion."

"Do you have a source?" DeVos raises an eyebrow.

"You told me so 3 years ago." Kuro argues. "'We have a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 4 years to get your training done.' That's what you said."

"Little Kakuni," DeVos ignores Kuro's response. "When are we going to exit this freaking... giant bowl."

Shefu shrugs. "And for the record, my name is Shefu. I don't know why you keep calling me Kakuni."

"You need to submit a 'last name' in order to join AICOC." Kuro explains. "I chose Kakuni as a last name for myself, not you. Although, if you are going to participate in AICOC, we should come up with a last name for-"

"Can I have the same last name as him?" Shefu says to DeVos, pointing at his brother.

"That's usually how it works." DeVos answers.

"Then I want to be Shefu Kakuni!" Shefu proclaims

"Great." Kuro sags his arms. "I see the exit. Let's just leave so we can get started on your training."

"Are you both gonna train me?" Shefu asks as he approaches the exit. "Because while I think Miss DeVos is gonna be a much better instructor, I also think you would be a really cool teacher!"

"First of all, HA!" DeVos points at Kuro and laughs. "YOU HEARD IT FROM AND UNBIASED SOURCE, THE STUDENT IS LESSER THAN THE TEACHER."

"Second of all?" Kuro sighs.

"SECOND OF ALL," DeVos turns towards Shefu. "You don't have to call me 'DeVos', little one. I'd much rather you call me... Jane."

"Jane?" Kuro snickers. "That's not what you told me to call you, Kitsune-san."

"Well Shefu hasn't disappointed me yet." Jane argues, "Also... you made fun of me when I told you that was my name."

"That's because your pronunciation is horrendous." Kuro smiles. "But sure, Jane will do fine."

"Now that you two are done with your..." Shefu takes a moment to think. "Cup-couple-couple-couples-"

"Couples quarrel?" Jane guesses.

"Yeah!" Shefu nods. "That word! Now that you are done with that, can I learn how to cook goodly?"

"Good question." Jane grins. "TO THE NEAREST MOUNTAIN!"

"Can I take a break first?" Shefu looks up at Jane with an exhausted expression.

Jane stares back at the non-adult "We could settle on a hill if you're fine with that."

"Deal." Shefu nods before slouch-walking towards a random direction. "As long... as I get... a drink."

Jane tosses him a bottle of water. He fails to catch it and falls over.

"He'll be fine!" Jane turns towards Kuro. "Buuuutttt if he doesn't make it, you do have a father."

"I hate you." Kuro stares into Jane's eyes.

"Me too, honey." Jane laughs. "Me too."