summary: Komatsu and Toriko's first fight doesn't go quite so well
For some reason, even after hearing about the fight for the title of Demon King, Komatsu hadn't really expected any actual fighting. Maybe it was because he was a peaceful person who'd never been in a fight himself, or maybe it was due to the fact that he was already deep in denial about this whole experience; after all, he'd spent the past week trying to ignore the giant demon who was steadily eating him out of house and home. Either way, he had never really expected to fight.
He didn't want to fight!
Granted, since showing up just a few nights ago, Toriko hadn't really acted like someone in the midst of a dangerous battle. In fact, his casual demeanor seemed much more suited for someone on vacation than a hardened warrior.
However that changed all too quickly.
Komatsu, frustrated at himself for being unable to kick the demon out of his home, had retreated to his room for the night to focus on anything but the demon- in this case he turned to planning the specials for tomorrow's menu- when Toriko barged into his room less than an hour later, without even knocking. Komatsu, of course, jumped half a foot in the air and might have screamed a little as well. Toriko didn't even blink at his over-the-top reaction.
"Get the book and let's go." Was all Toriko said before ducking back down through Komatsu's doorway. Komatsu, still a little stunned, took a few seconds before getting up and following after the demon.
"Toriko-san? Where are you going? What's happening?" he'd shouted, not used to Toriko's sudden energy. Toriko, his fingers flexing and something close to a grin on his face, continued forward.
"I told you- get the book. There's someone here looking to fight. Unless you'd rather fight in your apartment?" Toriko suggested before leaving said apartment. Komatsu gaped at where the demon had been before running to grab his bag and the book. Although his body moved on autopilot, his brain was scrambling to deal with the changing situation. A fight? Now? But it was so late at night and he was in his pajamas! And he didn't even want to fight anyone!
Still he found himself slipping on his shoes and almost tripping in his haste to get out of his apartment. He locked his door and ran down the hall to the stairs. Once he was on the bottom floor he looked around for Toriko behind the building and, for once, was glad for the demon's large and distinct figure. It made it hard to lose sight of him; although Toriko's long gait proved to be another problem, especially since the wooded area behind the apartment wasn't an easy place to get through during the day. By the time that Komatsu caught up to him, he was out of breath and his lungs burned.
Toriko slowed down just long enough to give him a once over before he snorted. "Just running that much has you out of breath already?" he shook his head and Komatsu's face burned at the rude comment. First Toriko had basically dragged him out of his house with no warning and now he was making fun of him too! It seemed like there was no limit to his rudeness. Komatsu was so caught up in his fuming that he didn't realize that Toriko had stopped walking until he walked right into the demon.
Komatsu fell back with a surprised gasp and when he looked up he saw another pair looking at them. Komatsu's eyes widened as he saw them- a man and a woman. They looked completely human? Was one of them really a demon? The pair, meanwhile, looked just as shocked to see them.
"What's going on here Barlo?" a woman who might have been around Komatsu's age, shouted at the demon. She reached into her bag and pulled out an orange book that looked identical to Toriko's blue book.
"How should I know?" the demon, Barlo, shouted back. "Shit! Running into one of the Heavenly Kings right away!"
Heavenly Kings? Komatsu paused at the term- What did that mean? Was that referring to Toriko?
He thought about asking, but, looking up at the man, Komatsu paused at the frown on the demon's face. He looked almost…disappointed?
"Ah man, you guys look even weaker than I had expected. I guess that I shouldn't have expected much from a pair who'd spent the last few hours just creeping around." Toriko sighed before flexing his fingers again. "This won't even be a fun fight." He gave them a smile- if it could even be called that, it had entirely too many teeth. Even if it wasn't been directed towards him, it sent a shiver up Komatsu's spine. It was so… feral and yet, it fit the man.
Meanwhile, Barlo and his partner got into a fighting stance and she snapped open the book, a bright light emanating from it. "Komatsu!" Toriko snapped in turn and Komatsu jumped. "Get the book already! What are you doing?!" He strength of the order left no room for Komatsu to disagree and he hurried to comply. His fingers fumbled at the bag's latch, but he was able to pull the book out of his bag and open it, but when it came time to read the spell, he couldn't bring himself to say the words glowing on the page. He was shaking too badly and his mind was a rush of thoughts and emotions and he had a sudden premonition that he was going to die here. That this ridiculous demon fight that he didn't want to be a part of was going to get him killed. Fear clamped around his throat like a noose and he couldn't force himself to read the spell. He couldn't do it.
A shout rang through the air as the woman read a spell and the book's light increased for a few seconds. Toriko swore and grabbed Komatsu by the shirt collar and pulled him out of the way of the attack. Komatsu choked for a few seconds before Toriko let go of his shirt and his butt hit the ground. He looked back over to where they had been standing and saw a four deep gouges carved out of the ground about a foot deep and half a foot wide- an attack that definitely would have killed him had it hit. His shaking worsened and he felt like he might be sick. What was that? What was that? What was that?!
He flinched as he felt another stare aimed at him, and he could barely even look up to see Toriko looking down at him like Komatsu had just done something crazy. "What was that? Why aren't you reading the spells?" Toriko demanded, but Komatsu continued to shake, his mouth opened to say something, but he didn't know what would come out. What was he supposed to say?
Another spell rang out through the air and Toriko grabbed him and dodged again before dropping Komatsu even more roughly than the first time. The book slipped from his numb fingers and landed on the ground next to him. Komatsu didn't reach for it. He didn't look up to see the expression on the demon's face either.
"What are you doing?!" the woman shouted, surprise coloring her tone. "Why aren't you reading any spells? Are you underestimating us?" her book glowed brighter with her outrage but her partner calmed her down.
"Wait just a moment Carla-" the demon held up a hand. "They must have spells but it seems that the human isn't reading them. I haven't even seen a hint of a glow from their book. I wonder..." He cackled, suddenly emboldened. "What is this? Could it be that one of the Heavenly Kings has a defective partner?"
Komatsu flinched at the accusation and tried not to notice Toriko's aura glow even darker. He tried to bring his emotions under control but now he was definitely crying in addition to shaking, but he couldn't help it and couldn't stop. It was too much, everything was too much, and it felt like the world was ending. His lungs burned and Komatsu curled up into a ball and tucked his head between his legs- willing everything to go away if he didn't look at it.
He heard Toriko's muttered curse next to him before the demon declared, "Even so, I don't need any spells to defeat weaklings like you."
The rest of the fight was a blur of sound and vibrations and attacks that seemed to shake the earth and left Komatsu curling up into a even tighter ball. He heard the book holder shout off spell after spell and heard Toriko's shouts of rage- or maybe it was of excitement, he just couldn't tell- and he felt the earth shake and he told himself again and again that none of the attacks were actually coming towards him. That he was safe- totally safe.
He finally heard twin screams, neither of them Toriko's, and everything died down quickly after that. Footsteps came his way, but Komatsu refused to uncurl out of his little ball. Toriko stopped by him for only a few moments before moving on, but Komatsu stayed there long after, trying to calm down and convince himself that everything was over. And it was wasn't it? He had lived hadn't he? And Toriko had proved that he didn't need him. Maybe he didn't need a human at all? That warm thought helped him recover sooner until he could breath without hiccuping or wheezing and until the tears and the shaking stopped.
He didn't know how long he'd spent out there collecting himself, but he knew that he couldn't stay out forever. It was cold and he was only wearing his pajamas after all. Plus he had to go back to his apartment eventually. With a low sigh he uncurled from his ball before looking around at the environment- immediately his nerves were back. It looked like a storm had swept the small area. Several trees were toppled and parts of the ground were totally destroyed. He knew that he would be dreaming of this scene and the destruction for weeks.
He looked around him before standing up. Toriko was long gone but Komatsu felt a little bit of hope at seeing that the blue book was gone as well. Had the demon really left him? Had he been so frustrated at Komatsu's breakdown that he'd just left, taking the book with him? Komatsu hoped so. He really, really did.
He made the slow walk back to his apartment, rubbing his arms to keep warm. He tried to keep himself from getting too hopeful in case he did see Toriko again. However, when he opened the door to his apartment, the demon was nowhere to be seen- and it wasn't like he could hide anywhere. Komatsu, not believing his luck, let out a shaky little laugh that turned just a bit hysteric. Was it really that easy, getting the demon to leave? Just have a panic attack mid fight?
He made his way back to his room and climbed into his bed, too exhausted to even change out of his dirty pajamas. If Toriko was really gone then he wouldn't have to worry about any more fighting. He could go back to his normal life again, right?
He fell asleep to that happy thought.
so I just have to say this, but Komatsu's not going to be into fighting for a while. probably not a long while, and this is mostly because i really want to show the difference between this fic's Komatsu and the Komatsu in the series. like, not in an OOC way, but in the fact that Komatsu, in the series, made the choice to follow after Toriko time and time again. Sure he was terrified of getting eaten/killed, but he was there because he chose to be, whereas in this fic there's not really a choice. So yeah, until he finds a reason to support Toriko, Komatsu'll dragging his feet in this fight.
In other news, i'm still deciding on demon/human partnerships. Granted, I probably won't go past the Kings (plus Rin) and some of the bishokukai, but yeah, I think that I'm going for a few... unusual pairs?
