Well, I didn't mean to leave this thing alone for a month but getting back into the swing of things at school was harder than I expected. Either way, I had fun writing this bit, but despite my best intentions to keep this thing at just short drabbles, it's slowly getting a plot. Hopefully, since I've started getting better at time management I can start putting out faster updates as well.

Summary: the next demon/human pair is introduced!

(just a side note about all of these pairs- one of my favorite things about zatch bell is the variety of relationships between demons and humans. For some humans, their demon is like a sibling to them, for others it was a child or grandchild or even something more romantic (and vice versa)- that being said, I'm going for a similar angle so if a pair comes off as strange to you, then hopefully it'll make more sense by the end)

(another side note about the time frame here- honestly I'm trying to give a good impression about how much time is passing but it's pretty much that it's roughly been 3 week to a month since the Demon king fight started, Toriko found Komatsu about 2 weeks after that and stayed with him for about a week, and it's been a week since 'their' first fight)

After a few long days cooped up in his apartment and away from the restaurant, Komatsu was starting to go a bit stir crazy. He was a chef after all, and going more than a few days without standing in the kitchen felt odd to him. While it wasn't that he didn't get days off- he was required to have a certain number of them after all- he just preferred working and being surrounded by his ingredients.

However, after all of the demon related stress of the past week he'd all but forced himself to take a few days off, lest he have a breakdown at work. Granted, the last few days had been spent worrying about whether or not Toriko coming back, and if he'd be attacked by anyone else in the meantime, so he hadn't exactly been resting but they were technically 'days off'.

Because of that, today he was determined to put his worries aside and do something other than sit around and fret. It had been a while since he'd done some shopping so he took a bus downtown to one of the higher end shopping centers. Granted, this wasn't his usual shopping place, since it was pretty pricy, but today he felt a little indulgent. He purchased several things, among them, a new black apron with a small pink penguin on the front, a sharpening set for his knives, and a bottle of nice wine- since Toriko had turned out to be a big fan of alcohol and gone through most of his.

He'd even stopped for a while to stare in awe at the shopping center's collection of Melk kitchen knives. They were insanely beautiful and universally acknowledged as the go-to-knives for many famous chefs- although they were much too expensive for his blood. Still he admired their unusual designs and the shine that ran along their dangerously sharp edges. While a part of him yearned for the day that he might be able to afford such a beauty, another part of him was satisfied with the knives that he already had. They might have been no match for Melk's high quality knives, but he loved them all the same.

Komatsu looked around a little bit longer before finally deciding to head back home. With his personal shopping done, he planned to ride the bus back to his apartment and then call his boss and tell him that he'd be fit to work tomorrow.

What stopped him was the sight of the strange woman walking back and forth outside his apartment complex. Her pink suit, especially, stood out, but her gesturing to herself like she was practicing a conversation didn't help his first impression either. Komatsu jumped a little as she looked towards him- taken aback at being caught staring. She walked over to him and leaned down a little, being taller than him in her red heels, before asking, "Hello- do you live around here?"

Wondering if she was selling something, he replied with a slow, "Yes?"

"Great!" she clapped her hands together with an amount of enthusiasm that seemed a bit strange for the situation. "Do you know a 'Komatsu' then?" she asked, pulling out her phone to read off his name. "I've been looking for him, but I was told that he had the day off. I need to speak with him and it's rather important."

"I'm Komatsu." Komatsu said with just the slightest bit of hesitation. Even if she was some sort of saleswoman, why would she be looking for him especially? Why not sell something online like most other products did? "Is there something I could help you wi- uh!" he shouted, almost dropping his bags when she whipped a camcorder out of her bag and pointed it at him.

"So you're Komatsu-san?" she asked, her smile wide. She practically radiated excitement. "It's good to finally meet you! Granted Coco-san didn't tell me much about you beyond your name and the fact that you were a chef, so I had to do a bit of digging and leg work to put the rest together myself. I know that this is rather sudden but Coco-san believes that we'll be allies in the future so that's why I came to find you- his fortunes have been all correct so far, you see." She spoke so quickly that Komatsu wondered if she wanted a response from him at all.

Trying to sort through what she's said, he focused on the term 'allies'. "What do you mean by allies?" he asked with a frown, resettling his bags in his arms.

That seemed to throw the woman off a little. "What do you mean? Allies in the fight for the Demon King, of course." She finally lowered the camera. "Coco-san said that Toriko-san-"

Immediately Komatsu drew back at the name. No, no he wasn't getting back into this or anything else involving that demon. He couldn't get drawn back in. "Don't say that name!" he snapped. He'd probably feel bad raising his voice at this stranger later, but he didn't right now.

The woman, to her credit, didn't react with more than a wide eyed look at the outburst- obviously more confused by his words than actions. "Wait, Komatsu-san, but you're a book holder right? I'm talking to the right 'Komatsu', right?" She half pleaded and Komatsu gave a reluctant nod. He was the person that she was looking for, and that was the problem. He didn't want to be a part of this fight, or any fight.

He said as much and the woman gave him a long look before the determined expression slid back onto her face like it'd never left in the first place, "Komatsu-san would you like to go to lunch with me?" She leaned forward and asked in an almost aggressive manner.

Komatsu, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, couldn't answer in time. "I understand now that you're not fond of fighting, so we won't talk about that- just go to lunch with me please?" she said with a fired up look in her eyes that left Komatsu's resolve in pieces. All he could do was let out a sigh.

"Just let me put my stuff inside then."

00000

While Komatsu knew that this wasn't anything more than lunch, he still felt a little nervous. It had been a while since he'd gone and hung out with anyone that he didn't work with. Although the place itself had a very casual atmosphere that helped calm his nerves somewhat. The woman- Tina's- demeanor also helped ease his nerves somewhat since she was good at filling the silence with conversation. The reason as to why seemed obvious when he learned that her actual job was as a news reporter; or well, somewhere between a professional reporter and intern. While she did get paid for her job, she didn't have a lot of job security and it was often a hard fight for newsworthy topics. Usually she was just given the small stories- mostly featuring cooking segments and the newest 'hot' ingredients or recipes. Which she didn't hate- she was quick to tell him- but she just wished for bigger stories. Ones that had a bit more impact.

Komatsu in turn told her about his start as a chef and some of the stresses, and benefits, to the job. Whether it was dealing with younger- or older- chefs with egos bigger than their stations, or other restaurants trying to poach chefs. More times than not, the politics outside of cooking were downright chaotic, but it was a job that he wouldn't give up for anything.

Eventually he found himself relaxing a little more over the course of the meal; discussing with Tina instead the balance of the meal and what tasted best and what could be improved on. And true to her word, Tina didn't bring up the demon fight at all. Instead it was Komatsu who found the desire to talk about it building up.

Finally it just spilled out, "How can you be so calm?" he asked, interrupting Tina's story about the time that she'd been stuck interviewing a fisherman who obviously cut corners when selling his fish- and how she'd almost gotten into an argument with him about it while on air.

Tina paused for a second and gave him a serious look, not unlike the one that she wore on the air. "Ready to talk now Komatsu-san?" She asked, but Komatsu didn't want to just talk. He wanted to rant and rave, and Tina must have seen that because she just encouraged him. So he told her about all of it- his confusion and fear the first time that he saw Toriko, the horror of his first battle, and how hard it had been for him to even interact with Toriko, much less fight with him- and she didn't bat an eye.

Instead she told him, with the sympathy clear in her voice, "That sounds pretty rough Komatsu-san."

And it was like some of the weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Between Toriko's anger and his own fear and worry, he'd pretty much made himself sick just thinking about that night over and over again. Komatsu had begun to feel like he was making too much of a big deal of everything- if humans were meant to fight alongside demons in this battle, did that mean that there was something wrong with him? Hell, that other demon he saw had had a human partner who'd hadn't hesitated at all. Was he really a defective partner? Was his desire to not fight that much of a burden on Toriko?

Just the simple validation from her words did wonders- even if the worries themselves were still there. Komatsu sank down in his seat. "So that's why I can't help you. I couldn't even help Toriko. Plus this whole fight's been nothing but trouble so far, and I honestly don't want to be a part of it anymore. How is it any different for you? If you don't mind me asking." He added the last part in a rush.

Tina, her expression softening a little, told him, "Honestly, before this the worst thing I'd ever done was fighting others for scoops and headlines. I never would have imagined being involved in anything as dangerous as this." She said with a nervous laugh as she recounted her first time meeting her partner. "Although Coco-san has helped me adjust to the quite a bit. He's so calm that it's infectious, even if he can be a bit… distant sometimes." She said with a rueful smile. "After all, at our first meeting he told me about all of my bad points with a straight face." Her tone and voice suddenly changed. "You're overly forward at times and many people find you off putting. While you often try and excel, your efforts more than often just leave you frustrated." She sighed. "Even now I can't say that much had changed."

Komatsu watched her expression with a frown and wondered what kind of person you'd have to be to do something like that. Even if had thought that Tina was strange his first time meeting her, he wouldn't have wanted to say anything like that. And to top it off, this man wanted to team up with Toriko as well. He wondered what type of person this 'Coco' was.

He wasn't sure that he really wanted to know.

00000

A dark haired man- several inches taller than most, and wearing a turban and almost skintight outfit- walked through the city, and drawing stares as he went; following landmarks until he came to the port where dozens of ships of various shapes and sizes were docked. Only one matched his premonition and it was a modest sized boat- just large enough for someone to live in with the name 'Tom' painted along the side of the boat.

Although, Coco thought, it must have been more than a bit cramped with a demon aboard as well. He paused just off of the wooden walkway that led to boat. While he was sure that Toriko knew that he was there already, the fact that the other hadn't come out yet made him a little cautious.

Coco jumped onto the boat and decided to make his presence known in a more obvious way. "Hello?" he called out as he walked around the side of the boat. His brown eyes scanning for any sign of the blue haired demon. "Toriko?" It didn't seem likely that the demon had left already, but there was always the slightest chance that his prediction was wrong- although it was usually never about 2 or 3%.

The demon stopped when he heard someone else on the deck- someone with footsteps that were too light to be Toriko. The man rounded the side of the boat with a more casual attitude than Coco would have expected from someone seeing a stranger on their boat.

"Yo, you're a friend of Toriko's right?" he held out a hand, "I'm Tom."

"My name is Coco." Coco said with his usual smile as he shook Tom's hand, "Is Toriko still on the boat?" he asked and Tom nodded. "Yeah, he's below deck. Just follow me." He said before turning and making his way back below deck.

He wasn't surprised to see that the boat was bigger than it looked- with just enough clutter and trash around to make the place look well lived in. He found Toriko, surprisingly enough, in the kitchen of all places. The demon looked much the same as the last time Coco had seen him. Although he was clearly sulking as he sat on the table.

Toriko looked irritable as Coco approached but Coco maintained his calm expression. "It seems like you're already facing some difficulties in this battle, eh Toriko?"

He remained standing, but Tom grabbed a beer from the fridge and left the room, calling out, "Make sure that you two don't break anything," as he left.

Toriko huffed and looked away. "Shut up, dealing with human is one thing, but getting lectured by other demons is too much." He huffed.

"How strange," Coco noted, with the slightest bit of sarcasm coloring his words. "You're always so charismatic, and now you can't seem to figure out how to deal with humans." Granted, if Coco was being honest, it wasn't surprising that someone as self-sufficient as Toriko might have problems relying on others. While he wasn't as bad as Zebra in the regard, he still wasn't good at it either. Coco looked in the direction that Tom had left as he spoke. "Although there does seem to be one human that you get along with."

Toriko shrugged. "Truth be told I'd rather have Tom as a partner than the one I have." He growled.

"And yet," Coco said calmly. "You know as well as I do that there's nothing that can be done about the partners that the book chooses. Just sitting here sulking does nothing," Coco said with a stern look. "And it's very unlike you."

Toriko responded with another annoyed huff. "So what? Now you're here because you were worried about how I was faring and wanted to check on me and my partner?" Toriko scoffed. "That's hardly something you'd worry about. Just come out and say what you really want Coco."

Coco didn't bother beating around the bush. "Well to be honest, I'd like an alliance. Not working together, per say, but I'd like to consider you an ally in this fight for King."

"Why the hell would you need allies Coco?" Toriko leaned forward, torn between dismissive and curious.

As a response, Coco held up three fingers. "Starjun, Tommyrod, Grinpatch- all three of them are strong demons and from what I've heard, there's been word of them working together." Coco added with a slight smile. "Granted, while they're definitely strong enough that they could get rid of most of the competition on their own, but if they did team up then it would be rather worrying.

"So while it might be a stretch to assume that they're teaming up already, I would still prefer to play it safe and assume that they have been in contact with each other."

Toriko, without changing his expression, asked, "So have you suggested an alliance with anyone else?"

Coco nodded. "When I met him about a week ago, Sani was somewhat rather against the idea, mainly because working together isn't his usual standard of beauty." Coco said, although there was that look in his eye that let Toriko know that he expected Sani to come around soon enough. "Although first to insure that you can even do anything in the future, you have to play nice with Komatsu-kun."

"Wait, who said that I was even planning on joining with you?"

Coco stood up without replying and Toriko shot him a 'what are you doing' look. Coco responded by tapping his finger against his turban. "I had a prediction earlier, you see, that my partner would be facing some danger soon, so it's best if I leave now. Come if you'd like but I recommend that you bring your book."

So yeah, Toriko's still a bit bratty here (but what can I say? Early Toriko was definitely a lone wolf type) but that should start to change soon.

And also Coco/Tina! Believe it or not, I actually have a reason for this (no really) Granted, they might not even be the strangest pair that I have in mind…

Anywho- I'll try and write again soon.