There I go again starting a new story before others are complete. Well, I'll be wrapping up "Midnight Nightmares" and "Timed Worlds" real soon. So enjoy some of the helping of a story that's been simmering in my head for two full years.
Beep...beep...beep...
"The beeping of hospital equipment...what's happening? Am I dead...or just dying?" Those were my first thoughts upon hearing the heart beat monitor.
"Chief!"
"Huh? What's that? Did you just call me hansome?"
"No!"
"What the-? What's she doing in Biotope 1?!"
"We found her in the middle of the Black Carpet surrounded by Rock Drums! They weren't willing to give her up easily!"
"Good gravy she looks awful! What happened to her?"
"This looks bad..."
"It seems that she took quite a fall before the Rock Drums found her and took her to their nest."
"Quick! Get her into the ER! There may be a chance we can still save her."
That's right... I was at home, just about to go for my morning walk to the park when...my vision suddenly went blurry. I thought I was just getting my dizzy spells again but then... I was falling.
"Hang in there young lady we'll bring you back!"
That voice...hey, wait...
I forced my eyes open part way to see a bald, middle aged man with what appeared to be bolts in his head. Beside him...that girl... the one with the scar under her right eye and black hair...
"Rin! Go call Sunny! We may need his help with this one!"
"Yes sir!"
The girl left my side but...she's probably the sanest one here. That's Rin, the Beast Master of the Battle Coliseum from my favorite manga series "Toriko". I didn't really care if I was hallucinating or not but...seeing them was the only thing keeping me alive by remembering all I could about the characters before me.
Rin, the sister of Sunny and owner of the biggest sweet tooth I've ever known. She controls the beasts in the biotope with different fragrances and her unique gauntlets. Then... that guy with her, that was Chief Mansom of IGO industries...basically the government of this country in this world. He's an alcoholic with way too much gusto for the drink. However, he loves all life just as much...and he said to call Sunny, one of the so called Four Heavenly Kings. Sunny, the guy who loves his beauty more than anything, however he does have a kind heart underneath all of that vanity. Still... I doubted he'd willingly want to help someone looking like me.
"R...Rin..." My voice failed me but I managed to croak out her name.
The Beast Master stopped in her tracks and looked back at me just before I lost grip on what consciousness I still had.
When I opened my eyes again, the first thing that hit me is the quiet of the room. It was such a sharp contrast to the loud hustle of everyone moving about and the rhythmic beeping of the medical equipment earlier. The pain in my body hurt less than before now that I think about it, it was just a constant ache rather than a sharp blinding pain. I looked around me with just my eyes, afraid that maybe my neck had been injured in the fall. To my left, Rin was muttering intelligibly in her sleep while hanging halfway off of her chair. On my right, an IV drip was hanging beside me and a blood pack as well that was already half gone. I must've been quite injured for them to need a blood transfusion...but who had my blood type I wondered? Did they call Sunny in time? He could do an operation with his feelers as I recall but... he didn't have the skills to be completely successful all the time.
I groaned as I sat up placing a hand to my bandaged chest and survey the damage to my body. My bandages were mostly around my chest, back, and head. My left arm was also in a sling and when I tried to move it I was greeted by a jolt of pain from my wrist. I must've sprained it for nothing felt too badly broken...except my right leg which was still under the sheets of my bed.
Looking up towards the door I saw my bag, beaten but still intact. My water bottle still in the side holder, that thing held my lunch that I was going to eat at the park. Now...I was pretty hungry for I had no idea how long I had been out for.
"Wait a minute... is the chief or Sunny still here?" I wondered to myself and looked up at the door's window where I saw someone standing in front of it. "Hey, you can come in now. I don't bite you know..."
Thank goodness that manga came in both English and Japanese, I seemed to have landed in the English speaking version of the series.
After a moment of hesitation, the door opened and I blinked in surprise to see the fortune teller Coco enter the room. What was he doing here in Biotope 1? If Rin is here then this had to be after the Regal Mammoth capture quest, shouldn't he be wandering the world training? Oh wait, there are periods of time in between hunts in the series. I didn't know what I was doing in this world to begin with but I could at least know a few things that would allow me to gain the trust of the most powerful protagonists I've ever read about. What? I'm no "Dragon Ball Z" geek much to the rage of many.
"It's good to see you awake," That smile of Coco's could charm less well mannered girls such as myself. "You were lucky. The guards found you thanks to the Mansom's pet Ricky."
He walked over to me and grabbed a nearby chair, taking care to sit a certain distance away. Coco was a poisonous man after all, even though he had his toxin well under control I think he still feared that he might hurt someone.
"My name is Coco, I'm a Gourmet Hunter and I don't know what you were doing in the Garden but I came here before they found you," He explained to me with that gentle, reassuring smile upon his face. "I foretold that a stranger would come here and need some assistance. Turns out I was right. Now, do you want to explain what happened?"
"I...I really don't know." I told him, trying my best to keep my voice calm. "One moment I was heading to the park like usual... the next I feel dizzy and then I woke up here. I don't know how."
"Really?" He looked slightly surprised but it faded soon replaced by that calm mask he always wore. "What's your name?"
"..." I hesitated, my old name wouldn't matter here if I couldn't get home so...I gave him my old nickname. "My friends call me, Fawn."
It was just a middle school nickname because I was so shy back then. That and my eyes were too big for my head, them being dark brown helped with that nickname too.
Coco just nodded his acceptance of my current name before looking up at the blood bag beside me. "Hmm? So your injuries were so bad you needed a blood transfusion..."
"I guess so," I looked back at it as well. "I just woke up so you would have to ask the person in charge of the blood transfusion."
"You know..." He turned back to me as he spoke. "You are remarkably relaxed for someone who just woke up in an unfamiliar place with a stranger watching over you and another one coming in to speak to you."
"Coco, with a name like that I assume you are one of the Four Heavenly Kings," I decided to gain his trust by speaking about what I knew so far. "You trained with Toriko, Sunny, and Zebra as children in the Gardens of IGO and other dangerous places to enhance your Gourmet cells. You gained a unique poison, Sunny has his feelers, Toriko has his strength, and Zebra has his skill with his voice. Along with those unique fighting styles you each have boosted a certain sense of yours to help with the way you fight. For you it's your sight, Sunny has touch, Toriko has his scent abilities, and Zebra's hearing is impeccable. If anyone's a stranger here it's me."
He just stared at me, alarmed that I knew so much so I kept going.
"You have antibodies for over 500 different poisons and those you don't have you can make antibodies for yourself," I rolled the kinks out of my neck, hearing the bones crack as I did so. "However, because antibodies are only made from constantly injecting small amounts of poison into your system now you Coco, are a poisonous man. Thus, you shy away from crowds and cameras after scientists chased after you for years because of your poison. So you retired from being a Gourmet Hunter for the life of a fortune teller. However after a successful Puffer whale hunt with a chef named Komatsu you changed your mind and decided to get back in the game. You have an Emperor Crow named Kiss whom is part of your family, and he's still growing. Your Full Course Menu contains ingredients that have a balanced nutritional value and is probably the healthiest menu going to be made by you four. However it is still missing three courses. Drink, Hor d'vore, and... Dessert I believe."
I looked over at Coco as his eyes gazed over me, judging whether to trust me or not. Some of that which I knew were things that only he, Toriko, and Komatsu knew. So, hopefully that was enough to convince him that I was a friend and not a foe.
"...You don't exactly have a normal aura yourself." He told me, keeping his calm poker face on. "It's a bright light like mine or Toriko's, however unlike ours...yours is gentle and emits a halo of safety that even keeps me calm in light of all that you just said. A gentle heart with love to share...Fitting for someone named after the child of one of the gentlest creatures known to the common man."
"Thank you, I guess." I smiled at him, now I could understand what Komatsu meant in the second chapter of the manga when he was on Toriko's back amongst the troop of Troll Kongs. "Anyway, I don't think I have a reason to be afraid of you right now Coco."
"Huh? But..." The big worry wart of the Four Kings was still surprised whenever someone said that they didn't mind being around him.
"You may call yourself a toxic man Coco," I shifted slightly to give him my full attention. "But, I think you have it under control and just don't realize it."
For a moment he looked too stunned to reply then he just gave me, a stranger, a thankful smile. I was pretty sure that I now had his full trust and no doubt he would be keeping an eye on me. The trust of one of the Four Kings of this world, that was probably the best I was gonna get right now. I looked over at Rin, she was still fast asleep and I noticed that the light blue cartage of fragrance on her left wrist was empty.
"Don't tell me..." I was slightly annoyed and also slightly amused by the sight. "She put herself to sleep with the Super Relaxation Fragrance..."
"That's Rin for ya!" A bellyful laugh announced Chief Mansom's entrance into the room, a beer bottle in one hand and the other on his hip. "Always trying to help out with that stuff and gets herself caught up in the process. Get used to it little lady! Cause until we figure out just who you are and where you came from, you are stuck with us here at the Biotope!"
"I figured as much..." I muttered, there was really no surprise there.
"Huh? What? Did you just call me a hunk?" The chief asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"That's not what I said..." I sighed, not snapping at him like the other characters did for it was just his constant joke to himself about his name. "It's just..."
"What's wrong?" Coco instantly noticed my uneasyness.
I looked down at my sheets before answering. "Well, my Gourmet ID is nothing special so I doubt you'd be able to find me in your system. My usual breakfast consists of three white chicken eggs and 2% organic dairy farm cow milk. Sometimes if I'm lucky... I'll throw in a banana for added nutrients but I can't normally afford fruit where I live. So usually I just grab some salt with mixed in garlic and thyme. On my way home from work, I grab a cola from a small vending machine and a lemon poppy seed muffin from the corner store. Then finally at dinner, usually it's just bluefin tuna sandwiches or some fried catfish."
I caught their eyes widening slightly at my daily menu. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach, I believed that such a menu was considered too shockingly plain to be of much use.
"Those are all very simple ingredients..." Coco sounded impressed, I didn't know why and I was confused. "Yet, you say you eat all of them normally?"
"No wonder your stomach was so small on the scans," Mansom grinned at me with his giant teeth once he took the bottle away from his mouth. "It's used to small portions and I bet you've got the rapid stop, eat, go metabolism of a Bumblebee humming bird."
"That's right," I nodded my agreement with Mansom. "In high school all my theater friends said that too. I snack throughout the day usually on granola or a Granny Smith Apple when I can. I don't have a very big appetite or stomach however...there is one kind of food that shatters that rule of my body."
"Well, for everyone alive there is that one food that makes your body want more." The fortune teller folded his hands in front of him as he pondered this. "Now that we have your basic menu of life, how about you tell us about what you do? That might help narrow down the search."
"To tell you the truth, I only just got out of college as a veterinarian...mind you mostly just the common cat and dog so nothing like the creatures here." I threw in that last part as some extra assurance that they wouldn't try to take me into the Garden. "Right now I'm an assistant going from kennel to kennel as work keeps drying up for me..."
"What?" Coco sat straight up in alarm.
Even Mansom stopped his bottle from reaching his lips to listen to me with his full attention. "Drying up?"
"Yeah..." This was the truth but I didn't know if it was the same here or not. "All the animals love me but lately people have been slaughtering dogs for their meat instead of keeping them as loving loyal pets. So, kennels shut down from the lack of animals and animal owners."
"Figures...people eat that stuff because they're too poor for anything else and pet robbers slaughter dozens of pets from people's homes to feed their home countries," Coco was trying to stay calm but I could catch the bitter tone in his voice. "Not realizing the emotional, financial, and social damage that they cause to others in turn. It costs a lot of money to properly bury a pet, even more so if you need a headstone rather than a proper burial."
"If this goes on...I'll be out of work before I can be an Animal Therapist like I've always wanted." I accepted Coco's spin on my predicament, seems it was the same here too...just more brutal.
"Whoa! That's a hard skill to find!" Mansom stared at me, impressed with my dream. "Animal Therapists are said to be able to soothe even a large wild tiger's pains or help old horses to walk again."
"That's quite a lofty goal for someone so young," The gentleman of the Four Kings lowered his hands as a genuine smile covered his face. "You sure you're up to it?"
"Please...I'm 21, I'll be fine with some experience." I huffed, remembering that my face often made people mistake my age.
"Wha-but all that acne?!" Mansom seemed more surprised than Coco was.
"Yeah yeah I know..." I bit the side of my cheek in annoyance. "It won't go away... no matter what medication I use on it. It's my curse...and part of the reason I'm glad Sunny isn't here."
"Hmm? You know my big brother?" Rin asked through her yawn as she sat up.
"About time you woke up Rin," I shot her a greeting smile before answering her question. "I woke up when you guys were transporting me to the ER and I overheard you and Mansom talking about calling Sunny just in case. Although..." I made a face of high annoyance and displeasure. "He's late if he is coming at all..."
"Huh?" They all looked at me, puzzled.
"He's always going on and on about making the perfect entrance the moment someone needs him most, isn't he?" I leaned back against the headboard of my bed. "I'm already patched up and awake so he's late... terribly tardy. And as he would say, a truly "icky" situation. Now I doubt he'll show his face..."
Everyone laughed at hearing my words about Sunny and smiles were spread all around. The reason, it was certainly Sunny to a "T" to say something like that. That guy takes vanity to a whole new level, caring more about appearance than taste or manners. After explaining that I knew quite a bit about each heavenly king but not saying just how much I knew, everyone seemed to relax around me...especially after I expressed my unwillingness to meet Zebra.
"I know he can likely hear me even from where he is now," I remarked, admittedly feeling a bit nervous now that that fact was brought to light. "But I just don't think I could last just being in five kilometers of him. My ears are sensitive enough even without Gourmet cells...his voice could burst my eardrums and that would be bad for my talent."
"Right," Rin had now been fully informed about my information. "Your ears are priceless to your work because vets have to listen for signs that something is wrong with their patients since they can't speak for themselves."
"That's right," I nodded, hoping Zebra would understand why I would prefer to keep my distance from him. "Even the slightest change in an animal's breathing pattern can tell you a verity of different ailments. For animal therapists even more so, for we listen to the animal's footsteps, heartbeat, breathing pattern, and lung function."
"In that case...as soon as you're up again," Mansom stood up from the chair he had stolen from Rin and shot me a toothy grin. "I'd like you to take a look at some of our beasts if you don't mind."
"H-Hey now... I'm just an assistant vet, I'm still learning." I admitted to him, wanting to shut down any crazy ideas he had already. "I still have to train my eyes for the moment something's wrong in an animal. Dogs, Cats, and Reptiles are fine but anything else will take some training. Besides..."
I looked down at my wounds worriedly. "These seemed pretty bad when you guys brought me here. You all seemed pretty panicked."
"You took a ten story fall and lived," Mansom was blunt but I could see him surveying the bandages and blood stains to check out the wounds. "That's impressive in itself, but it was thanks to that particular blood transfusion you were saved. You landed on a Purple Nail Spider one of the most toxic creatures in Biotope 1, and without the antibodies in your system we had to give you blood that had them for you to survive both blood loss and poisoning. I gotta say though...I'm surprised at how long you made it even without the antibodies, it seems your natural defenses slowed it down enough for us to get them to you."
"Oh so that's why it's still in," I blinked as I looked up at the bag by my bed side. "Thank you."
"Alright, that's enough talk." Coco stood up and headed for the door. "You should get some more rest before dinner."
"Yeah, sure." I didn't want to admit it to them but Coco was right, I was still pretty tired.
"We'll have our employees track down some simple food for you so your stomach doesn't reject what we give you." The chief told me as he held the door open for Rin and Coco. "Can't give you the normally rich stuff that we usually have with a diet like yours."
"Gee thanks..." I muttered sarcastically but I perked up and looked over at Rin. "Hey Rin, do you think you could...?"
"Huh? OH," It took her a moment but she reloaded. "Sure, have a nice nap. We'll wake you when it's time."
I laid down in my bed again just before the gentle mist of Relaxation Fragrance entered the room. I had my eyes closed but I knew my room was full of blue mist now as the door closed. It didn't really smell like anything, it was more of the calming effect that I felt coming over me like a wave of soft cotton towels freshly warmed by a drying machine. It was the kind of feeling that made you feel safe and sleepy, perfect for a wounded girl like me. It was enough to make me forget the numerous scars on my body, all currently hidden by the outfit I was wearing and all of them...caused by the one insect I DON'T like all that much.
COCO'S POV
"Tiger Mosquito?" I blinked upon hearing Mansom talk about those dangerous bugs. "That's what caused all those scars we saw on her?"
"We had been the ones to bandage her so I had gotten a pretty good look at them all," He continued talking, serious now that we had met the girl we found and got her talking. "They were all the size and similar shape to cigarette burns but the center had an added patch of lighter scar tissue, marking a deeper wound that had once been there.
"Yeah," I remembered seeing them myself from a distance but there were so many it had me concerned for Fawn's mental state. "They had dappled her back, shoulders, and upper arms like a cruel spotted coat from a leopard or cheetah that had instead been imprinted upon her skin. Rin, it was the same on her front too wasn't it?"
"Yeah, on her chest and middle," Rin nodded to confirm my suspicions. "They weren't as concentrated like the ones on her arms and back but they looked deeper and newer too."
"My guess is that poor girl gets hunted every summer by those blood sucking insects," The chief spoke up again, a hint of pity in his waves. "Tiger Mosquitoes aren't kind like their cousins who make no mark when they stick their needle like beaks into an animal's skin and only leave you with an annoying itch. The Tiger Mosquito literally takes a bite out of its target to drink more blood from the wound. Hence leaving deep scars on thin skin layers like Fawn's."
"That girl's naturally pale in skin tone because of those things using her as their preferred prey," I placed a hand on my chin as her seemingly weak appearance now made sense to me. "So I bet she stays inside during the darker hours of the summer months to avoid them. When she does go outside she gets swarmed so she probably wears an insect repellent to keep away most of them."
"However... it seems that the toughest and biggest of the Tiger Mosquitoes are willing to fight the repellent to get at her blood," Rin added in her two cents. "I wonder what it is about her blood that they find so addictive."
"Hmm... we need to find out more about that girl." Mansom had a point, we knew too little about her to do much plus we had forgotten to ask where she was from. "We need Sunny here pronto, and Toriko too as soon as he's done gathering up what Granny Setsu sent him after."
"Aww... I wanted to go with him..." The girl beside me wined and I had to fight hard to ignore the urge to roll my eyes.
"I'll take Kiss and tell him myself," I was at least able to do that much. "After I pick up Granny Setsu I'll head straight for Ice Hell. Think you could send Ricky out for Sunny, Mansom?"
"What's that? Did you just call me handsome?"
"No..." I was getting real tired of that joke.
"Anyway, that Fawn..." I stopped and looked back at the door we came from, watching the electromagnetic waves flowing from the young woman inside. "She's something else. Not a single ingredient discovered by the IGO has ever touched her tongue. That's hard to come by these days and that radiating sense of comfort. Hmm..."
"Oh?" Rin noticed me lagging behind. "What is it Coco?"
"That girl...I predict that she'll become an invaluable member of our little group." That I knew for certain and it brought a smile to my face sensing that bright future for her. "That calming aura of her's is very close to that of the Grinning Manatee, which provides us with the Super Relaxation Fragrance. I look forward to see what Terry makes of her...a rising Gourmet Tamer if I ever did see one."
"You think so?" Mansom sounded as thoughtful as he could get while in his constant drunken stupor. "Gourmet Tamers are harder to find than Revivers."
"I'm sure, my fortune telling has never been more clear," I could see that future even then, and what a bright future it was. "Looks like I'll have to ask Setsuno what she thinks when I go see her."
"You best hurry Coco," Mansom urged me as he downed the rest of his bottle of beer from the Barrel Beer Tree. "Those two in Ice Hell need all the help they can get before Gourmet Corp. gets to them."
"I know..." My smile vanished as I remembered my other reason for coming. "I'll bring them back no matter what. I can promise you that, they won't die...yet."
"That Century Soup that Toriko and Komatsu will bring back may be just the thing that Fawn needs," Rin remarked, looking back behind us. "All those nutrients built up since ancient times will surely help her recover faster."
"Now there's no garentee that they'll capture it," Mansom corrected her as he pulled out a bottle of Drunken Boar Brandy. "Even if they make it back from Ice Hell, they'll need some serious recovery time after a fight with Gourmet Corp."
"That's why I'm going straight there after picking up Granny Setsu." I stated my plans for bringing those two idiots home alive. "Then I'm coming back here. I want to see what Fawn is capable of, even if she doesn't know it yet."
"But you only just met her!" Rin complained staight out, honest as usual. "Don't just throw her into some crazy kinda hunting mission!"
"I won't," I promised her that, laughing slightly at her concern. "I just want to see how Kiss takes to her. That should be a good starting point, he's a great judge of character."
Fawn's POV
When I woke up again I winced at the pain in my legs. Not from my injury but rather from my old illness, a bone defect that causes my knee bones to splinter and repair themselves constantly.
"Ugh, not this again." I rubbed my knees with my good hand to try and massage away some of the pain.
"Oh you're up," Rin's voice made me look over at where she was sitting, eating a parfit and reading a magazine. "I was just about to wake you myself. Huh? Is something wrong?"
"Oh it's nothing I'm not used to." I told her, giving her a forced smile. "You see...these injuries from the fall arn't really all that bad anymore. However my old illness is acting up and I can't reach my medicine from here. Hey, can you get the bottle of cola that's in my bag? I'll share it with you."
"Cola?" She blinked but put down her things to retreive the item I asked for. "Oh? You mean this red labeled one?"
"Yeah that's it," I gladly took it from her and cracked the top open, pouring half the contents into a glass that Rin had brought over for me. "Good thing my pack's insulated otherwise it wouldn't be at its best state. Chilled is always going to bring out this cola's flavor."
"I've never seen this brand before," She remarked, looking at the fizzing bubbles as they settled in her cup. "And you say it's your medicine?"
"Yeah, you see the caffeine from the cola has a pain killer effect," I explained to her as I took a sip of the cola, feeling better already."Most medicines are too risky for me to take since my body keeps rejecting them. However this cola's high caffeine content helps to keep the pain away and it tastes great too."
I watched her cautiously take a drink of the fizzing soda then her eyes went wide and she put down her cup as her mind raced.
"Rin? You alright?" I was confused by her reaction, the drink was common place for me.
"This flavor...its so simple and yet so fresh." She sounded amazed as she analyzed the beverage. "The bubbles tingle your tounge so much that even after I've swallowed I still think they're there. It's so refreshing too, like the highest quality mineral water. The caffine perks you up like a dark roast coffee while the sugar provides high energy, no wonder you carry this stuff. What is it?"
"This?" I smiled at how such a common drink to me was such a treat for her. "It's just the common vending machine cola from my home town. I usually drink about one of these per day, two if my pain really starts acting up."
"This is...common Cola?" She was shocked at the thought and stared at her glass. "Strange, I never knew that such cola existed. Let alone that it was so common."
"Everyone in this age gets so obsessed over the new flavors and types of food being discovered that they forget what wonders the humble tastes of home can do." I downed the rest of my drink so that the pain in my bones would leave. "After I'm up on my legs again I'll cook something for you so you all can see what I mean."
"Wait, you can cook?" Rin stared at me curiously.
"Just a few dishes that my mom taught me..." I blushed slightly at my poor cooking skills. "But my friends always say that my macaroni dish is to die for."
"No need for drastic measures," Mansom's voice caught my attention as he entered with a food tray. "The staff managed to track down some simple foods for you. It might still be a bit too rich but it was the best we could do."
"I'll be the judge of that sir," I chuckled lightly as he pulled out the bed table and placed the tray down before me. "But thank you for all of this Mansom."
"What's that? Did you just call me "handsome"?" He repeated his constant joke.
I blinked for a moment then laughed out loud, probably the first to do so in a long time. "Sure, whatever you say."
I removed the top of the platter and Mansom placed it on the counter that ringed both sides of the room. I smiled as my nose's intuition was right, I was greeted by the sight of a fresh pork chop with mashed potatoes that had melted butter covering the white mound. The small bowl beside it held a crisp Caesar salad sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese and garlic croutons. The drink was just some basic ice water but knowing this world I would have to taste it to be sure.
"Come on Rin," Mansom headed out, waving for Rin to follow him. "Let our guest eat in peace, we need to calm the other beasts again anyway."
"Right! Later Fawn!" She waved back at me as she headed out again.
"Bye," I smiled as they left but it quickly vanished. "Guess it's no dream. This is real and I have no clue how I got here."
I wouldn't be getting home easily, not that I really wanted to go back anyway. This was a world that I only read, viewed, and dreamed about through manga and my own mind. A place where currently food was bountiful...however... I remembered the latest issue of the series, the Meteor Spice. A hailstorm from outer space that destroyed the human world's food supply for six full months until Toriko came from the Gourmet World with supplies. Still...that was only about two or three years from now. Looks like I would be doing some work to prevent such a devastating blow to the world's food supply. That had to be the reason why I was brought in here, after all...I found value in simple ingredients while others cast them aside. This was the only flaw I had found in this world, simple ingredients and gentleness were often forgotten and undermined by the strong and overbearing.
"Hmm..." I lifted my fork and took a bite of mashed potatoes. "Yep...too much salt in the butter but it will do. I have to heal first, no sense in starving before that happens. Knowing Mansom he'll be calling in Sunny to see how bad my current health is, then... probably send Toriko and the others out for items that will boost my natural defenses and heal my body naturally. He's taking too personal an interest in me for anything less. Coco...he's behind this, he must've seen something in my future that Mansom wants me to accomplish. That...and this blood they gave me."
I put down my fork to look up at the bag that was still pumping me with extra blood, probably to fight off that toxin that was still in my system. The Purple Nail Spider was a toxic creature in Biotope 1 meaning it's lowest capture level possible was 25, so it's venom had to be equally as potent. Only those with top notch venom resistance would have antibodies against it, thus one of the highest ranked Gourmet Hunters had donated that blood for me. Of course despite how limited the cast of the series was, there were a lot of excellent people who could've had antibodies for it besides the Gourmet Hunters. Knocking Master Jiro or Reviver Tepei for example would've surely had antibodies for that spider. This hospital had probably treated many people in the past so blood of those who had come to Biotope 1 before would probably be on hand just in case of other injuries.
"Any way you twist this situation one thing is for certain," I didn't like the thought of what Mansom did without telling me. "Chances are, the person who donated this blood for me had Gourmet Cells. Which means...Now I have them in my veins too. That's what's helping me fight off the venom and heal rapidly, a fall like that would kill the average person. I think I'll be giving that old guy a talking to after he comes back."
I finished my food and then turned the table so that it wouldn't be in the way. I really wanted my bag...after all, my note pad and pencils were in it...and I was BORED darn it all. Oh well, at least I had that mental hard drive of music in my brain so I could hum while I thought about my current situation.
"Deal with it Zebra," I muttered, knowing that prideful guy could hear me. "I'm bored so I'm going to keep myself busy. If you don't like my singing... listen to someone else."
I watched the empty bottle of cola get thrown across the room and into the wall. I rolled my eyes, always showing off. That was Zebra for you... he says he hates cocky people but he should really practice what he preaches.
I got the feeling that he was annoyed with me but I smirked slightly. "Now now...I'm not saying I'm the best out there. Nor do I try to be...I just want something to do and my bag is all the way over there so I have to find something else that's not gonna lose my interest. You get bored too, all the way over there in Gourmet Prison, waiting to be let out. Otherwise you wouldn't be listening to me...training and storing your power for when you want to break the chains and or kill the beasts tied to them. Heh, don't make that face..."
I could see it now, the mixture of confusion and alarm on the Oni's face.
"Zebra, I look forward to the day when we can meet and I won't be so weak that your first Voice Bazooka blows out my ears." That was a truth that I could honestly say aloud. "You just rest that voice of your's...you'll need it in the near future. I'll train hard too. Since...I get the feeling Mansom isn't going to give me a choice. For now..."
I leaned back against my bed and began to hum a gentle tune of Irish origin, I believe it was called... "San nin la" or something like that. I remembered the words but...I'm pretty sure I mispronounce the Irish verses. When I closed my eyes I could feel the heavy pressence of many people and ingredients that inhabited this world, a place filled with danger. A possible future of my own home world...Earth was completely changed here. However, being an 'ancient human' the Gourmet Cells were close to my own rather than the humans here with unnatural abilities and DNA, now...I would be added to the mix.
"So right about now... Toriko and Komatsu should be in the middle of retrieving the last drop of the original Century Soup," My thoughts continued as I hummed. "That short amount of time should be enough for me to heal, and get back on my feet while adapting to this world. Then Komatsu will be focused on recreating it with help from Yun, his Wall Penguin pal, while Toriko will be in the country of Life healing his arm. As I recall, all that took six months so...I have that long to get ready for whatever this world wants to throw at me."
I couldn't be a Gourmet Hunter...not with the disability in my legs and I wasn't skilled enough to be a chef like Komatsu. A Gourmet Reviver, Knight, or Knocking Master is out of the question since they require the same needs as a Hunter.
"Wait, Melk the Second..." I remembered that adventure in the series, the one normal seeming human who was also an amazing fighter. "Maybe, as an artisan that will be how I can survive here. Like Melk, but... maybe there's something else that wasn't added into the manga. Something crucial that was never mentioned. Could that be what the author has intended for me? A Gourmet job that has yet to be revealed?"
The sharp jolt of pain knocked me back to my waking self and I quickly sat up, my humming stopping mid-note.
"Blast it all.." I grumbled, knowing that my cola wasn't doing enough. "What does it take to heal bone like mine? I'm not some kind of Maple tree...cursed body."
Another pang made me wince and I tried to massage it out but it just seemed to make it worse. I growled lightly as I tried to endure it again, I had to for my whole life and it seemed that medicine that the doctors had given me was making my condition worse.
"That's right...ordinary medicine just makes my body even sicker." I remembered that fact from eariler, that fact...the haunting curse. "I need to get this IV out..."
Gently, I removed the drip needle and only kept in the blood pack which was treating my poisoning. Slowly, finally, the pain in my legs began to fade and I could relax at last.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Rin had come in when I wasn't watching.
"Sorry, but that IV was doing more harm than good." I explained to her with a reassuring smile on my face. "I'll be fine, anyway... you wanna tell me who's blood this is that's flowing into me?"
"Really you should've said something earlier about the IV..." She muttered before Mansom entered the room behind her along with a staff member.
"That blood was donated by one of the Heavenly Kings," Mansom told me as he chugged down a bottle of 60 proof brandy. "I believe...It was either Coco's or Zebra's. Toriko's blood type wasn't a match for you and Sunny didn't have the antibody for the Purple Nail Spider."
"You know that Zebra can hear you right?" I muttered, my shoulders falling slightly as I imagined how annoyed he would be once he knew about this. "He'll be quite upset with you once the sound waves get to him. Anyway...so either the gentleman or the Oni of the Heavenly kings huh? I figured as much."
"Hmm?" Mansom raised an eyebrow as he looked at me.
"The Purple Nail Spider... sounds like it's around a capture level of 30 or higher," I remarked as my memory of how things were classified in this world worked its way through my brain. "No normal human would have antibodies for something like that. Chances were someone with Gourmet Cells was the only kind of being to create them. My best guess...Coco is the one who would have the antibodies for such a rare spider. Meaning...with it came a bunch of other antibodies but since it didn't kill me, I'm assuming that this batch of blood has been stored for years if it is his. If it's Zebra's blood...well, that would explain how I know when he's listening and when he's not."
"Oh...you can tell that even when he hasn't spoken huh?" Mansom sounded impressed with me.
"His range is improving since he was locked in the Honey Prison." I knew that much from reading the books so frequently. "He's had time to do so, and he's saving his voice for when he truly needs it."
"You can already tell that much?!" Rin shouted, quickly getting to her feet.
"Take a look," I glanced over at the bottle that Zebra had tossed across the room. "He mistook me recognizing his listening distance as cockiness so he shot me a warning. However, I just got bored and so I warned him that my musical talent is nowhere near perfection."
"Oh? But I thought it was a nice tune." Rin admitted, calming down now. "I could hear it as I was coming over here."
"I have over 300 different melodies memorized in my mind," I looked up at the ceiling."All because my mother was a famous violinist and she always told me that any soul belonging to any living thing can always be calmed or tamed with the right song. So I have a love of music and its effects on living creatures and plants."
"I see..."Mansom grinned at hearing this new information. "No wonder Coco thinks that you could make a great Gourmet Tamer."
"Gourmet...Tamer?" I had never heard of such a thing but I could take a guess. "You want me to learn how to tame wild ingredients for you?"
"That's right girly," The chief of Biotope 1 pointed directly at my face. "With your natural calming talents I want you to attempt something that is hard for normal humans! However, there are now Gourmet Cells in your body that your DNA accepted without thinking twice. You'll have to work extra hard to catch up to Toriko and the others!"
"Mansom! It's not that simple!" Rin saved me from the explanation. "Her bones can't keep up like that!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" He looked to the girl as she explained my situation for me.
"Zebra...this guy is too cocky even for my taste." I muttered under my breath, feeling like Zebra was probably the only one of the Heavenly Kings that I should put my full trust in right now. "It's...ANNOYING."
That last word I growled out so the arguing match that was going on stopped quickly and they both looked at me as I glared at them both. I was getting tired of the chief's cocky nature, now I understood why it always annoyed Zebra so much.
"Please, give me a chance first before you jump into something like that." I told Mansom firmly, my annoyance showing through."I would like to heal first however so...perhaps some Medicine Bees are in order?"
"Right, without that IV you'll need those pain killers for your condition." Rin understood my problem instantly. "And I'll see if we have any highly caffeinated cola too. It seems to be your preferred drink."
"Yep, I can't help myself." I laughed at how she figured that out already. "Thanks Rin."
"No problem!" She shot me a thumbs up before closing the door.
I sighed in relief once they were gone. One could only handle Mansom's cocky and carefree nature for so long before it began to wane on one's patience. No wonder Zebra hated cocky people so much, although I don't think it warranted death for anyone who was.
"Keee..." The whimper of a curious ape made me look back at the door.
It was a Troll Kong baby, no bigger than a human toddler and much cuter than his adult family. I remembered that the Troll Kong had all been wiped out by Gourmet Coup. just so they could get the Rainbow Fruit from Biotope 8. This little guy had to be the only survivor, I could see that he was missing one of his lower arms as a result of that battle.
"Come here sweetie," I smiled at the child of the King of Gorillas. "I won't harm you."
Slowly, the monkey walked over to my bedside sniffing at the table attachment. Mansom had forgotten to take my plate of food which the only thing left on it was the pork chop which I couldn't cut alone. However, I picked it up with my good hand and lowered it down to the baby Kong who took it gently. He seemed confused and I just motioned with my head for him to go ahead and eat something while I took a drink of water. The little guy cautiously took a bite of the food then chewed it slowly, savoring the flavor.
"Ah!" I gasped lightly when I saw tears of joy collecting in the ape's eyes. "Mansom...what have you been feeding him for even a tiny pork chop to bring out this reaction?"
The small piece of meat was gone in a few bites but the look of pure bliss on the baby gorilla's face was all the payment I needed. I winced lightly and tried to massage my leg again, but three more hands covered my own and I blinked in surprise.
"This...such a gentle touch from a Troll Kong," I looked down at my new visitor as he removed my hands and began to rub out the pain in my knees for me. "Such self control and fine tuned emotional reading along with the ability to feel worry, pain, and concern in others. Gorillas live in groups where only by looking out for each other does everyone survive...for the Troll Kong it must be the same way."
I didn't know when he had climbed up on my bed with me but now that he was up here, he wasn't very heavy like a muscular Troll Kong should be. He was probably only about half of the weight that he should be at, but his fur hid it well. Carefully, gently I picked up the small ape and looked him in his confused eyes.
"You're all alone too huh?" I smiled at the little guy and then held him close. "Me too. Well, you can stay in here if you want. No one should be alone forever, we all need a friend."
I could hear the whimpers from the monkey as his tears flowed back into his eyes and he gripped my shirt tightly, the way he would grip his mother's fur to keep from falling off. I stroked the top of the baby's head to calm him as I felt his tears flow down his face and onto my shirt.
"I think I'll call you... Rex." I told him with a smile covering my face. "Because you are the last of a group of kings."
"Oh?" Mansom's voice made me look up at the doorway. "I came back to get the tray but it seems you've tamed your first beast."
"Mansom!" My voice was sharp so it jolted him to attention. "Just what do you think you were doing to this poor child? Troll Kongs need meat from an early age to build up their famous muscles not just milk for their bones! Bring some Crabpig here right away! And don't ever let me catch you feeding an animal the wrong food again."
"Huh?" He blinked in surprise then laughed heartily from my seriousness. "You got it! And you keep an eye on that little guy! I get the feeling you'll be very close from now on. When he gets big, you'll need his strength to keep yourself safe from dangerous situations."
"Yeah," I grinned at the thought as I held the tiny ape in my arms. "I've got a good feeling about this."