Any Komatsu fan is going to absolutely hate me for this fic. I hope you like it anyway, and don't forget to review please
Tall buildings, the scent of high quality ingredients, people laughing and sharing before a dining table. A woman with honey golden hair looked through a window from one of the buildings that was the Hotel Gourmet. It was the Five Star restaurant that sat right in the middle of the bustling city. A tall man with a short bob cut sat anxiously next to the standing woman. He tapped his index finger to his lips as he looked to the girl, "Éclair." "Yes sir?"He began to smile evilly, "For the Assembly, we'll need something that represents this place big, something tasty." He paused, and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Sir?" The man stood up, "We need, the Garara Gator." A gasp escaped her lips, "But, that could be extremely dangerous." The man nodded, "I'll need a skilled Bishokuya for the job." Éclair smiled, "Toriko perhaps?"
The golden haired girl found herself wrestling with bushes in her lightly tanned freckled face pouted, "By suggesting Toriko, I didn't mean me personally getting him! It was just a suggestion for someone else! Well, no backing out now I suppose." She tried to keep the branches and leaves out of her hair and off of her clothes. She pulled away one last bush, and before her was a blue haired man sitting on a rock. She watched the man for a moment, and her sapphire eyes looked at the man she'd hoped to recruit. The Bishokuya known as Toriko, was very oblivious to his surroundings as he stuffed his face with lobster, and drank an entire bottle of hard Bourbon in one easy gulp. As she walked forward, he began to smoke a cigar from a cigar tree. She decided this would be the best time than any to approach. She dusted off her black blazer jacket, "Hello Bishokuya. I've come here to ask you for your help with the capturing of the Garara Gator. It is a high paying job, I assure you."
He nodded, "The Garara Gator, what's the occasion? I can't promise to bring it back alive." Her eyes widened, "It's for an assembly, but you're going to do it right? Because if you're not I can always get someone else who's willing you know." It was a psychological bluff she spewed. She didn't want him to turn it down, but she did want to make the value seem higher than what it was. Before answering, the man pulled back on his fishing rod. He was excited as he rose up with his catch. Beads of water flew clear past the girl's eyes. It was so amazing to see these wild ingredients. She gasped, "A Pincer Fish!? It's so beautiful in its natural habitat." She wasn't able to fawn on for too long as a Five Tailed Great Hawk swooped down and caught the Pincer Fish. Toriko sneered, "You bastard!" With the great rod, he smashed both ingredients onto the hard rocky surface. As the wire whipped past the woman, she was both nervous, and intrigued. He looked at the blond girl, "Alright, I'll catch your Garara Gator for you. What's your name kid?" She did a quick curtsy, "Éclair." "Well Éclair, I'll head out tomorrow."
The girl was at the docks bright and early. She was dressed in a blue short sleeved shirt that showed off her midriff, as well as four horizontal blue line tattoo's on her left arm, black pants, and combat boots. She carried two small containers with her as she walked up to Toriko. He looked at her with a shocked face, "Éclair!? Why are you coming?" She shrugged, "Unfortunately it was because the request of my boss. So if I die it'll be on his conscious." She pointed to a boat, "This is us right?" She hopped on without any regard. The captain looked at his friend, "Toriko, this a friend of yours?" He shook his head, "This is Éclair, client." The man stepped onto the boat and it rocked around. Éclair's eyes widened as she swayed from the movement. Tom continued, "You must be fearless to be traveling with this guy, Éclair." She stuck her tongue out playfully, "Nah, it's literally just because my boss made me." She sat back as she enjoyed the sun beaming on her. She peeked up as she watched Toriko take out three champagne bottles and downed them just as easy as the bourbon, "Don't relax too much. You should probably write your will. I won't be held accountable for what happens to you in the Baron Archipelago. She raised her head up further as she looked at him, "A will? Please, I don't have anything to leave~ even if I did, I don't have people to leave it to." It made her a bit sad to mention, but it was the truth.
He took out more food and filled his bottomless stomach."So Éclair, how long have you been a chef?" Her eyes amplified, "How'd you know I'm a chef?" "I can smell the ingredients on your hands." She raised her eyebrows, "Really? You smelled the ingredients? Name something I cooked recently, if you're that good." He sniffed the air, "Tomatizard." "That's just one thing." He raised his finger, "You also cooked with Rawice Eggs and Pudding Trumpet Mushrooms." His mouth began to water as he brought it up, "Pancake Fruit, and succulent Templant that you cooked three days ago." Her face changed as everything he named was exact. "T-Toriko? Get your mouth off of my hand!" She pulled her hand away and waved away the saliva."So what restaurant do you work at?" "The Hotel Gourmet. I'm the head chef, but I don't let it get to me. When I tell people they give me so much praise. But there is so much I have to learn that I really see myself as just average." He gave her a pat on the back, "Five stars, that's you'll have to whip me up a full course sometime." She nodded, "No problem. Well, that is if we don't die in some massive freak accident." He pouted, "Don't be such a downer Éclair.'Sides, your name is too happy to be so pessimistic." She put on a pretentious smile, "Fine then Toriko. You've learned about me. How about you. Tell me, what is your dream in life huh?"
"I'm making a menu." "A menu?" He was serious, but jovial, "A full course menu of my life. Gathering the finest ingredients, and putting onto one great bill of fare." She finally smiled a genuine smile. It was nice to hear him speak of his life goal. It made him seem more down to Earth so to speak. "I already decided on one item on my list." She was surprised to hear his words. What could possibly be on the Bishokuya Toriko's full course menu? "What is it?" "We're here?" Tom interrupted her question, "Hold on tight, this is gonna get bumpy." She looked for just a moment to see the rocky road ahead of them. She held onto the boat rail as she tossed around uncontrollably. She pulled her head over the rail to see a scary looking creature. Instinctively, her hands released the rail and she rolled to the other side of the boat."What the hell is that?" The blue haired man replied, "Friday monkey's don't worry, they aren't going to hurt you. Though it is a bit concerning that they aren't in the forest as they usually are." The choppy waves stopped and the girl stood up. "We're not getting off here are we?" He threw down a raft, "Why, you scared?" She jumped from the boat into the raft, "Of course not. I was only wondering is all." Toriko jumped in after her and grabbed the paddles. She took out a machete and held it close.
She looked in the water and saw Baron Sharks circling the raft."Um, Toriko, about these sharks. They won't attack us right?" He continued to paddle as he smiled, "Why? Are you getting scared?" She shook her head, "No Toriko, I'm not scared!" "Good, because there's no backing out now." He jumped off the raft as they reached land. The bluenette walked ahead without waiting for the girl. She clumsily left the raft as held the machete."Hey, you aren't gonna wait for me? Ugh, chivalry is definitely a dead art." He ignored her complaint and listened to the voice of the jungle."You hear that? There are around 200,000 different species living on these islets the one that outranks them all is the Garara Gator."
She walked cautiously though the forest."These trees are so big. It's pretty amazing when you actually look at them." Just as she began getting comfortable in the jungle, she felt something irritating on her back."Hey Toriko, is there something on my back? It kinda itches." She turned to show the man and he poked at a leech on her back."Yep, you've got a leech on your lower back." He looked even closer, "Is that a heart shaped birthmark?" Her face chanced, it turned completely blue. "What! Forget the birthmark! Get it off of me right now!" She danced around as she tried to free herself from the leech. The man put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from running around. "Stop, and calm down." He took the leaves of the Mangrove trees and squeezed the juice out onto the leech. It detached itself and the woman felt very on edge. She puffed out her words tiredly, "Thanks Toriko. That's a handy trick. But how do I get myself to stop bleeding!" She didn't bring any first aid, so natural herbs would have to do. She grabbed a plant and rubbed it against her back. "I don't want any more tricks! This jungle is killing me, literally!"
Toriko stepped forward and the girl followed. A Baron Tiger ran up to the two and roared aloud roar. It was taller than both 5'4 Éclair, and 7'2 Toriko. She ducked with her hands over her head as the battle cry was more frightening than anything she'd ever heard. "You dare to cross fangs with me, pussycat?" She looked up at Toriko, and a demonic face was that of his own. The large cat took off back into the forest from fear of the man. Toriko looked back down at the frightened girl, "Both the Friday Monkeys, and the Baron Tiger were driven out of their habitat." She stood upright again, "Could it have been the Garara Gator? My boss told me that the older they get, the higher their capture level gets, and the quality of their meat increases too. They usually live for around 150 years, but those that have lived longer are almost twice as delicious." He was even more ambitious about the journey. "I can't wait to eat it!" He stopped and looked back at her."Hey Éclair?" "Yeah?" He took her hand with the machete, "You might want to rethink carrying this thing. It won't kill anything in this jungle. All it will do is slow you down." She didn't rid herself of the knife, but store it away for safe keeping.
They'd been walking for so long that it was officially dusk. The girl made sure to keep a small distance between her and Toriko. "So, we aren't gonna stay the night in this forsaken place are we?" He nodded, "Looks that way." She sighed, "Goodbye world." He picked up a tree and threw it down by a lake."We can make camp here." She smiled, "Ooh, I can make a fire." Just as she was going to run to get something to make a fire, she felt an inferno behind her as the man made one as quickly as he brought the tree down. She rolled her eyes and took a seat by the fire. Éclair looked down as she spoke."Hey Toriko, can I tell you something?" "Sure, go ahead." She started to twiddle her thumbs. "I uh, well, you see." She couldn't get out a complete sentence before an enormous Swamp Snake jumped up before them. She pulled out her machete, "Swamp Snake? That's a capture level 5! Oh how I regret not taking my will seriously!"She swung the knife wildly before she noticed the snake wasn't attacking. It fell on its side just feet beside their camp fire. She shuttered, "What the hell is that?" She pointed to a large bite mark in the side of the Swamp Snake. The reality of their survival was lowering second by second. She poked the snake with the tip of her knife. "Eww, it's dead." The Bishokuya noticed something interesting from the fatal bite mark. It was the leeches from before.
Éclair walked closer to its mouth and before she could excavate, the snake was snatched into the water once more. The petite girl was really shaken up now."Um, maybe we should move camp?" A loud battle cry was was even louder than the Baron Tiger. She clenched her knife tightly, "Toriko, please tell me that wasn't~" It was, the king of the Baron Jungle himself. The Garara was much larger than anything she ever cooked, and much more ferocious than things she read in books. Toriko stood his ground with the lizard, and neither one was going to back down. The Gator roared once more and exposed the leeches that made a home in its mouth. Toriko looked back at the girl, "That wound of yours never healed did it? The one from the leech? Your blood loss has made us a tracking target this entire time."
She touched her lower back, and it was still unhealed. A bit of blood stained her fingertips as she rubbed her wound. It was finally on, both the Garara Gator and Toriko made their move. The blond girl wanted no part in that fight, so she ran back behind a tree. She watched as the fight went on. Just because she wasn't a target for the Gator, that didn't mean other predators weren't watching. A low growl filled her ears. Hesitant to look behind her, she did. The girl gulped and prayed for a miracle. She still had her machete, and it was worth a try. She took out the knife and pointed it at the pussycat, "Y-You dare cross fangs with me pussycat!" She stood her ground as she mocked Toriko's words. The Baron Tiger had a look of fright on its face as it backed off. Éclair smirked, "Yeah, and tell your friends! Hmph, and he said this knife wouldn't work." She turned back around and noticed something she'd not seen before. It was a demon like appearance above Toriko. It was made clear that she wasn't what scared off the Baron Tiger, he was. The bluenette stuck his hand into the Gator, "Fork!" Down came his other hand just at the neckline."Knife!" The head of the animal came clean off. It was something out of an old folktale. She'd never seen such a thing before."So this is the Bishokuya they call Toriko, huh?"
The two sat around the fire with pieces of the Garara Gator. Eclair smiled, "This looks amazing. I can't wait to get my hands on this thing." She rubbed her hands together and took a bite of the meat. Her eyes glistened as she looked at Toriko. "Oh this is wonderful. I want more! Ooh, I have an idea!" She grabbed a flat stone and placed a sliver on. She ran to one of the trees and reached for something. "I noticed these Pepper Lighting Bugs." She shook the insect and its body secreted natural crushed pepper. Toriko's mouth began to water, "Yummy." "Wait, I'm not done yet." She ran back to the close jungle bushes and grabbed natural herbs and spices. As she seasoned the meat, she started to softly hum. She flipped the meat and began to outright sing. He was enthralled by her voice. It was so natural and beautiful. He smiled gently, "What is that song?" She blushed as she didn't realize she was singing it out loud."Oh, it's just something I do when I cook. I have a habit of singing. It helps me connect with my ingredients." Her embarrassed eyes looked down as she handed him the meat. "Okay, try it." The man yelled in pure bliss "So good!" She nodded, "Thank you! Now let's eat more!"
She lay back as she was completely stuffed. There was still a lot of meat left, and she couldn't wait to bring it back to her restaurant. Toriko looked at the girl, "So, what was it you were going to say?" "Huh?" "Before the Garara Gator interrupted you." She sat up, "Oh, yeah. About my boss, he didn't actually assign me to go with you. I wanted to see these ingredients in their natural habitat. Seeing the beautiful Pincer Fish made me realize that are so many ingredients in this world, and if I died seeing what I saw today, I'd be happy with just that." She stood up and allowed a pearly white smile to brighten her face." Bishokuya Toriko, should you go on any adventures in the near future, I ask if I could tag, let me see the live ingredients in their innate environment with you." He shrugged, "I really don't care. Put your live on the line if you want to Éclair. I don't understand why a chef of your class wants a death wish so badly anyway." She exhaled, "I don't want a death wish, and I already explained to you." Her speech was cut off as she looked at her surroundings. The bones of the Garara Gator were all around her. "Toriko you idiot! Did you really eat the entire Gator! How? It was here the whole time! When did you do this!? Uhhhhh! I'm totally getting fired!"