Drabble word: Final

Komatsu lay there, unable to move while the fight raged around him. The Four Heavenly Kings were trying to get to him, to help him, but their foes were just too much to ignore for even a moment. He tried to stay awake, but fatigue is a powerful force. Every so often, his eyelids drooped before he'd blink himself awake.

Komatsu's mind started to wander: what would have happened if this encounter never happened? The answer was simple, really: the quartet of Kings and their little chef would have gotten the ingredient that they set out to capture in the first place, eaten it on the spot, then went home happy with another successful adventure under their belts.

A sudden silence broke Komatsu from his thoughts. His blurred vision showed the Kings standing over their unconscious enemies, beaten and bloody, but still standing tall and proud as ever. A gust of wind blew over the battlefield, snapping the Kings out of their reveries and sprinting over to the fallen chef.

Their fallen chef.

Their Komatsu.

Sunny and Coco immediately started inspecting him for injuries while Toriko stayed as close as he could without interfering with the impromptu medical examination. Zebra stood watch in case anything attacked them. Someone had to keep their guard up, after all.

For a moment, everything was still.

For a moment, everything was okay.

That is, until it wasn't.

The Kings could feel it. Something wasn't right. Something that they couldn't fix. Tears welled up in Sunny's eyes. Coco's breath hitched. Zebra whirled around, eyes wide in fear. Toriko's heart skipped a beat.

Komatsu wasn't going to make it.

Their chef, no, their best friend and partner, wasn't going to make it.

Komatsu looked up at them with bleary eyes. He met their gazes one at a time, deliberately forcing eye contact from each and every one of his friends.

"Sunny-san, Coco-san, Zebra-san, Toriko-san. Please don't cry… smile, please…"

The Kings tried to. They really tried, but they just couldn't stop the tears that slipped down their cheeks onto the ground below.

"I… I want you to achieve your dreams… for me… You've all made me so, so proud… I'm so happy… that I've met… you all…" Tears spilled down Komatsu's own face as he mustered up a smile. His eyes closed.

Then he was gone.

Stolen right from under the grasp of The Four Heavenly Kings.

His Four Heavenly Kings.

The quartet couldn't move. They couldn't breathe. Komatsu was gone. The reality of the situation hadn't even sunk in yet; they just stood there in shock, sobbing.

Their cries were earth-shattering.

Sunny wove his feelers around the little chef, tasting as much as he could, trying to burn the feeling into his mind so he would never, ever lose it. Komatsu was so beautiful. In an instant, it had vanished.

Coco cried as he ran a hand through Komatsu's hair. The chef was the only one who showed him that it was okay: that it was okay to trust, to interact with others. That it was okay to love.

Zebra turned away. Komatsu was supposed to be his partner, damnit! He was supposed to go on hunts with him, lots and lots of hunts. Komatsu was supposed to be the one to cook is Full Course. Yet Death took him away. Zebra swore that one day, he'd overcome Death, the cocky bastard that took Komatsu away from him.

Toriko wrapped his arms around his partner. He had once told Komatsu that the past didn't matter, that they should only look towards the future. He regretted saying that now. The past did matter. After all, the past is where he still had Komatsu.

Where they all had Komatsu.

~o0o~

Angst galore, everyone. Here's to hoping the next drabble is fluffy and cute.