For a kind anon over on Tumblr, who requested overprotective!Toriko and Coco.
excessive force
It's nerve wracking at first, seeing a gun being pointed at his partner - and they've barely stepped off the train; what an efficient welcoming committee - but Toriko gets excited for all the wrong reasons and wry amusement keeps his nervousness to a minimum. The monsters out in the wild are far more frightening than the monsters in this city, even if they're not as simple to deal with.
When none of them seem particularly bothered by the gun pointed in their direction - Coco more exasperated with Toriko than anything - the scarred man holding it hesitates, a hint of uncertainty passing across his face, maybe deciding choosing someone quite a bit larger than himself isn't the best idea, that a smaller, weaker target might be the better option.
Because he points the gun at Komatsu.
There's an abrupt shift in the air either side of him, white hot rage and icy fury. He breaks out in goosebumps; the punks trying to rob them shrink back, all the cockiness draining from their expressions.
"You-" shouldn't do that, Komatsu tries to say, more in fear of what's about to be done to them than for his own life. But the gun goes off, trigger accidentally squeezed in a spasm of terror and-
When Komatsu peeks over the hands brought instinctively to his face, it's already over. Their would-be thieves are nothing more than a broken pile of sprawled limbs. One has been punched clear across the street, deep impressions in the ground where he bounced before slamming against a far wall.
"Toriko-san," he calls, steady, maybe the only one who is. "Coco-san."
They both react visibly to his voice; Toriko relaxes, the angry lines carved across his face smoothing out until it's just his partner standing there (and not the furious inner demon that Komatsu accepts but still fears deep, deep down, though he knows Toriko will never hurt him), and Coco, fingers dripping with poison, lowers his arm as the red creeping around his eyes retreats.
Toriko comes back to Komatsu, the crushed bullet he'd caught thrown away, rolling to a stop near someone's loose clutched fist. Coco comes only when Komatsu holds out his hand.
"How embarrassing," he says, taking the proffered hand as he tucks stained bandages into his pocket. "Are you hurt, Komatsu-kun?"
Komatsu shakes his head, almost smiling at the impossibility - a group of ordinary men verses two Heavenly Kings, with guns or without…
There's no chance.
They stay close after that, Komatsu's hand cradled safe in Coco's, Toriko's arm draped over his small shoulders - casual to others, but Komatsu can sense the strength ready to push or pull or lift him out of harm's way in less than a moment.
Komatsu almost feels guilty, being so protected when there are ragged children crouched in the shadows.
It's terrible having Livebearer's attention focused on him.
Komatsu isn't sure when, exactly, that greedy interest switched from Toriko to himself, but his companions are hyper aware. Toriko has taken a defensive stance, standing half in front of his chef. Coco's expression hasn't changed at all, but-
Cool, brilliant Coco. Only the slight curve of his mouth suggests he's longing to pump Livebearer full of poison.
Livebearer's face is nothing more than a mask. There's no emotion or thought in his eyes as he stares at them, just a blank, flat blackness; it chills Komatsu to the core, manages to be so much worse than Livebearer contorted into something truly insane.
They've beaten the house despite unreasonable odds - he must remember to tell Coco how incredible he is, how perfect, (Toriko too, of course – they really do make quite the team, and it's more than a little thrilling) after they escape this madman - but it isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.
Livebearer's head inches around until that empty gaze is fixed solely on Komatsu. His mouth falls open, and suddenly he's screaming. "GIVE ME THE BOY!"
The chefs who surrounded them at the start of everything shift, readying for the fight, sharp light glinting on the edges of their unwieldy kitchen knife facsimiles. Somewhere off to the side, Komatsu hears Match draw his sword, swearing under his breath about his damn predictable this was. There's nowhere to run.
"We'll die before you put your hands on Komatsu-kun," Coco says. Like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Toriko and Coco close rank in front of him then, blocking Livebearer from view - forcing Livebearer to look elsewhere, more accurately. All Komatsu can see are their backs, Toriko's bare and broad and strong, Coco's smaller, slender, but no less unyielding for it. And though he's so deathly afraid he's trembling, he still feels safe. Steely determination settles in his heart, and Komatsu takes up his own knife, stepping out from behind Toriko to claim the spot next to him. He'll move when the fight begins - he doesn't think, even for a moment, that he can go against Livebearer - but for now he just wants to stand with his friends.
They'll leave together or not at all.
They won't lose.
A/N - Moral of the story: don't point lethal weapons at Komatsu unless you're ready to die.
Or really, don't mess with Komatsu. Period.