So much love! *faints* Thank you all so much! I cannot express how much your support means to me! I have no words to express how happy it all makes me! Well let's jump right in shall we? We are just at the beginning of the ride and we have a long way to go!

P.S.- I'm sorry this took so long to come out. Please enjoy.

Fawn's POV

Note to self: GET A FLYING BEAST...and a saddle.

There is no feeling in this world that can compare to the pure freedom of flight. The chill of the wind on your face, the patchwork layout of the world passing by below, the sea of thick or towering clouds that make up a whole different world around you in the sky, and above all else...staring gravity in the face and laughing at it. No wonder birds (and dragons) took to the air, it's nice up here...even if the sky is home to its own share of dangers.

"Whoa!" I quickly grabbed hold of a slipping Rex with one arm while the other one was wrapped around Kiss's neck. "Careful there little guy! It's a long way down..."

"Kee!" Came the somewhat frightened agreement from my three armed charge.

With a sigh and a roll of the eyes I pulled the little monkey back up into my arms where I could hold on to him better and vice versa. "Now, don't let your grip weaken again. You nearly gave me a heart attack..."

"Kee kee..." That tone was apologetic so I took that to mean he understood.

"Krawww..." Grumbled Kiss, slightly annoyed by the ape's antics.

"Now Kiss be nice," Coco laughed from behind me, where he could both steer Kiss and make sure I didn't fall myself. "Rex is only a child, he'll learn."

The crow seemed to ignore him as Kiss focused on his flying and I focused on keeping a hold on Rex. In a way, I was grateful that the flight had been so silent for the past few hours. I knew that it had to be longer than it had felt, because we were completely encircled by clouds now and I couldn't see the ground. The sky was clear back over the Biotope when we first left so...it had to have been some time if the weather around us had changed so much.

What can I say? I was enchanted by the cottony white sea below and the feathery grey wisps above us. Planes and their tiny windows don't do the sky justice...I will say that right now. You don't even feel the cold when you're up there, granted I was sandwiched between a giant crow, a large baby ape, and an adult man behind me so I was caught in the middle of a trio's body heat. My point still stands however, flight...is...awesome.

I got the feeling that Coco wanted to say something however he was hesitating. Knowing that fortune teller he didn't say anything because he could sense or...see I guess, my pure joy and calmness during the flight. Figures... he would never say anything to break one's happiness in the moment, always the gentlemen indeed.

"Say it." I told him, although keeping my attention forward as the clouds passed by us...or did we pass them?

"What?" Apparently he wasn't expecting me to notice his uncomfortable silence.

"You've been wanting to say something for a while Coco," My arms shifted slightly so I would have a better grip on Rex while I talked to Coco. "Go ahead and speak, I promise I won't get mad about whatever you say."

"Was it that obvious?" He chuckled, obviously amused that I was able to read him even with my back turned to him. "I was just curious as to why you never even asked where we were going?"

I shrugged but my face was slightly warm from embarrassment, I had been so excited about meeting some more of the cast of the manga that I had forgotten to ask exactly which one it was that we were going to see. Not that it bothered me too much, I could take a guess at it of course.

"Well...I know you don't like crowds too much so..." I tilted my head onto its side as I thought about this. "My guess is somewhere with less people yet... not totally isolated because neither of us know what I'm capable of. Depending on the time of day however that could be anywhere if you get your scheduling right...or in your case fortune telling."

"What does that tell you then?" He sounded both impressed and entertained by my statement.

"It tells me that I have no idea!" I couldn't help but laugh at myself, I had tried and failed to figure out where he was taking me. "Alright...I give up, where are we going Coco?"

I didn't need to turn around to know he was smiling at me, he had called me out on being careless and secretly enjoyed it. Still, I jumped slightly when he placed a hand on my shoulder to get my attention on him. Turning around fully was impossible but I could rotate my upper body and head just enough that one of my eyes could completely focus on Coco.

"You'll be able to see it in a moment," He told me then reached past me to pat Kiss's neck gently. "Kiss, take us down."

I gripped Rex a little tighter as Kiss tilted down into a gentle downwards circle. What a polite bird, not pulling into a dive but taking a slow descent for our comfort. Coco had done an amazing job raising Kiss to also be considerate towards others who weren't used to flying. A regular crow on its own has incredible brain power, enough to solve simple brain puzzles. There's a tale of one crow putting stones in a beaker to get a drink of water from the half empty beaker. By adding more volume to the beaker's contents, the crow raised the water level enough that it could drink. Now Kiss of course must've had at least 20 times that brain power. So his own personality and intelligence were either equal to or surpassing human level.

My analysis of the young Emperor Crow's mind was interrupted when we broke the cloud layer and cruised down over a series of familiar buildings towards the one unmistakable building that I knew all too well.

"Is that...the Hotel Gourmet?" It took me a moment to calm down enough to speak.

Can you blame me for being excited though? Komatsu worked in that restaurant...although I didn't approve of the fact that it was called a "hotel" even though it was just a restaurant as far as I knew. The young chef however was one of the two main characters in the series and I knew he was currently busy working nights to complete the Century Soup. Speaking of that...I think I knew why Coco had brought me here.

Anyway, Coco didn't answer me and he let the sign of the hotel speak for itself. I inwardly grumbled as we landed in front of the building and Coco helped me get off of Kiss without pulling any feathers. Rex still had a firm grip around me as he rode on my back like some kind of furry, breathing back pack. I frowned at the sign...because the main billboard was still in the Japanese text with English just below it. I felt somewhat offended by my main language being diminished to 10 by 10 text, however I just brushed it off since this series was originally Japanese.

"Fawn, the door is over here you know." Coco's voice snapped me back to reality as I heard Kiss take off to circle the area.

"Oh sorry," I smiled at him as I joined him at the entrance to the towering building.

The fortune teller lead the way up the elevator to one of the upper floors where Komatsu worked. This building was built like several restaurants on top of each other, the lowest level being for the common folk and even then it was still quite fancy.

I knew we were at the dining hall where Komatsu worked when I saw the sign that read: The Restaurant is Closed for Today, Please come back Tomorrow. But you know all manga characters and signs...it is an unwritten rule that one must go against them.

Coco and I entered the cleared out dining hall and moved towards the back halls where I could see a light coming from the kitchen as the sounds of someone working with a cutting board resounded through the air. Also, one little pink puffball sat outside of it...waiting ever so loyally.

"Yun..." The baby Wall Penguin sighed, since Komatsu was hard at work right now.

I didn't need to see the requesting look that Coco gave me to know why I was there. I lifted Rex off of my back and placed him down on the floor, telling him to stay put. I closed my eyes to focus as I remembered what the adult wall penguins looked like in the anime. When I was ready I approched little Yun who looked up at me startled.

"Yuuun..." I mimicked the noise of a Wall Penguin to relax the hatchling then...did a little something more for him. "Mother's Embrace."

This time I didn't need to exert as much energy as I had with the Pythons since the penguins lived in Ice Hell and their body heat was hard to sense. All Yun really needed was the sense that another Wall Penguin was with him. I saw the chick's eyes tear up as he felt the familiar feeling of being cared about.

"Y-Yun..." His eyes closed then he ran over to me so he could be held close and comforted, nuzzling his beak into my chest. "YUUUUUNNNN! Yun! YUN!"

I smiled as I held the baby Wall Penguin as he cried in my embrace, still hurt by what had happened in Ice Hell. I kept Mother's Embrace active for as long as he would need it. Thankfully that wasn't very long since Komatsu had heard the little chick's cries and the door to the kitchen opened as the young chef stepped out.

You know...I had always thought that Komatsu was normal sized while everyone else was freakishly tall but as it turns out he IS really short. Like, around the four foot mark while everyone else was 5'5" and up.

"What's going on out here?" He asked as he looked around for the little bird.

I saw him freeze just before he slowly turned and looked back at where Yun and I were. I could see he was slightly nervous probably because for a moment he could see the mother Wall Penguin that I had conjured up. Then he blinked and he relaxed as he noticed what was really going on.

"Komatsu." Coco called out to him, making the young man look past me and the penguin. "Good to see you again."

"Hey Coco," Komatsu beamed at the sight of a good friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought that Fawn here might be able to comfort the little penguin you have here," Coco was probably motioning towards me and the little bird. "She's a Gourmet Tamer, so if anyone could it was her."

"A Gourmet Tamer?" Komatsu blinked before his attention turned to me. "As in...those people who can tame ingredients with little to no effort?"

"Now I wouldn't call me a true Tamer yet," I got to my feet as Yun's tears dried and I could put away Mother's Embrace. "I'm still new at it...but Coco is helping me train by letting me travel around with him."

"That's great Coco!" Komatsu smiled over at the Heavenly King. "It's good to see you're trusting people a little more."

I smiled and walked over to the chef, offering a hand to him. "My name is Fawn, you're Komatsu right? I heard a bit about you back at Biotope 1."

"Really?" I could see him rub the back of his head in embarrassment however he did accept the hand shake. "I'm not really sure if I did anything all that special."

"Don't say that." I bent down slightly so I could look him in the face. "You got Sunny to stop being a selfish jerk for a day and he actually saw some of the beauty in stuff that he normally finds...well, for lack of a better word, icky. Don't sell yourself short Komatsu, you've even faced Ice Hell and now..."

I looked back at the kitchen to make my point clear. "The recreation of the Century Soup is in your hands."

"Don't remind me..." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "It's really hard to get it right..."

Coco smiled and lead Yun away from us so that I could talk with the nervous chef. Man, Komatsu needed a self confidence boost...

"Hmm..." I crossed my arms as I thought for a moment. "Komatsu...do you know why they call it the Century soup?"

"Huh?" He looked up at me, puzzled. "I assumed it was because it had been there for over a century. Is there another meaning for it?"

"It was made from the ingredients from over a century ago," I smiled as I remembered a small hint that would help him along. "I don't know what ingredients in today's age will have inherited the tastes of their ancestors. However I would that a current Century Soup should be made from this century's ingredients. Don't you think?"

I could see the gears turning in his head and the chef instantly perked up as his brain registered exactly what he was to do.

"Fawn that's IT!" He grabbed my hands in thanks as he grinned about this new revelation. "A Century Soup of today! Thank you so much!"

I blushed lightly just before he let go of me and started rambling off about all the different kinds of combinations he would have to try. You have to understand, for someone like me... that kind of motion was flattering. So Komatsu's sweet nature left him oblivious to that kind of thing but I didn't mind. Besides...I looked forward to his encounters with Melk the Second. Yeah, I wasn't going to miss that for the world.

"Kee!" A huge weight ramming my back reminded me that Rex was still there.

"Gah!" I fell over since I hadn't been expecting that.

"AH!" Komatsu recoiled away from the tiny ape. "I-Is that...a T-Troll Kong?"

"Relax Komatsu," I laughed as I sat up to hug Rex. "This is Rex, my little pet baby Troll Kong. Poor little guy lost his whole troop... so he was taken to the Biotope where I found him and tamed him. Don't be afraid he won't hurt you."

"I'll take your word for it," I didn't blame him for keeping his distance after what had happened in Biotope 8. "But thanks for the help Fawn."

"Yun!" A little chirp made us look down at the little Wall Penguin.

"Heh," I smiled at how Yun had wandered back over here. "He's rather attached to you."

Komatsu crouched down to pet Yun's head as he answered me. "Yeah, he came with me back from Ice Hell and it seems he's determined to stay."

"Take good care of him," I smiled at the sight of the two. "You're all the family he has left."

"Like you and Rex." That response surprised me but I nodded in turn. "And I will. I can promise you that."

I smiled at the response and I looked over at Coco who seemed to be waiting for me at the door. He allowed me this time to talk to a normal person for a change it seemed and I was grateful for the change of pace. Things were usually so hectic in this world that there was little time to just sit down and talk. This was a treasure of time for this age...at least there was still peace right now.

"Would you two like something to eat?" Komatsu asked Coco and I, since we had come all this way. "I just made a batch of soup and although it's nowhere close to the Century Soup it's still pretty good."

"Hmm...What do you think Coco?" I looked over at my companion, whom was in charge of scheduling.

"That sounds wonderful Komatsu," Coco looked over at us although he did have to double check something. "But is it alright? For you to be serving us after the restaurant's closed."

"It's fine," Komatsu smiled as he reassured the gentleman. "All the ingredients I bought with my own money so I won't be owing the restaurant anything. Besides, I could use a break from cooking. I'll be right back, so please sit where ever you like."

"Come on Yun," I bent down to look at the little penguin. "You can sit with Rex and I."

"Yun yun!" Chirped the young hatchling as he waddled over to me.

"Hey..." Komatsu blinked in surprise as he looked at me. "How'd you know his name was Yun?"

I froze for a moment, he had caught me in my knowledge of things that I normally wouldn't know. I was glad that Coco had his back to us or I would've been even more panicked than I already was. He would've noticed my nervousness instantly and... well, there was no time to think about the repercussions of that kind of situation.

"No, I said 'yun' because I was mimicking the sound that his kind makes," I quickly came up with a valid explanation for what I had said. "I didn't know that was his name. I just thought he might respond to it better."

"Well, it seems to be quite effective." Komatsu smiled at me, not even second guessing my response. "I'll have to remember that whenever I'm around him."

I let out a huge sigh of relief once the little chef vanished into the kitchen. That was way too close for my taste. I would have to be more careful about the things I said from now on.

"I really hope Coco didn't notice that..." I thought to myself as I walked Yun and Rex over to a table with me, shooting a nervous glance over at the Heavenly King.

"Hey," I sat down in the chair beside him anyway while Yun and Rex climbed into their own seats nearby. "You alright Coco? You've been really quiet since we got here."

"Oh I'm sorry," He looked up from his intense staring contest with the table cloth to smile at me slightly. "...I was just thinking about this next hunt."

I gave him a disbelieving look, because I knew that the hunt was going to turn out just fine. Ichiyruu's request or not, whatever ingredient it was...it would never be too much for my friend to handle. After all, Coco would make it to the Gourmet world within a few years time so what was he really worried about?

It didn't occur to me at that time that even this fortune teller couldn't see that far ahead. Into the realm of things that I already knew of.

Coco's smile slowly faded as he realized that lying to me right now was pointless. "How did you know?"

"You do have one obvious tell that gives you away when you lie Coco," I told him, recalling the second book in the series. "You get very quiet for a moment before you give a false smile and answer."

I saw his head lower slightly as he let out a small sigh of defeat. "Guilty as charged..."

"Now be honest with me Coco," I gave him my most serious look that I could manage. "What's really on your mind?"

He was about to answer me but the door to the kitchen opened and Komatsu came out with a dinner trolley.

"Saved by the chef." I joked to Coco, getting a true smile out of him before I stood to help Komatsu with the silverware.

The young head chef looked startled by my courtesy."You don't have to do that Fawn, I can handle it myself."

"You've been cooking non-stop for at least 24 hours Komatsu," I could see the circles under his eyes beginning to show. "Please, let me set the table. You've done enough."

Finally, the exhaustion showed on his face and Komatsu thanked me as he found his own seat at the table. It was just a small gesture but...I knew he would push himself more and more and he'd forget to take care of himself. Komatsu was just like every main character in this world, hyper focusing was both a strength and a weakness for him. It helped accomplish one's goals faster however it makes that person blind to their own natural needs.

I knew how to set a table properly, the only good thing that came out of being a waitress at various restaurants and diners back home. Plate in the center, bowl of soup on top of the platter, spoon on the right, and napkin on the left. Now this was just a casual setting, if it had been a formal meal I would've had the dishes in different places. I won't bore you anymore with proper table manners, the meal was (by my opinion anyway) a hearty vegetable soup with a few bits of beef thrown in for nutrition.

Komatsu and Coco did most of the talking, the fortune teller determined to find out all he could about the adventures of the little chef. I on the other hand was more focused on teaching Rex proper manners, he still kept to the Troll Kong's selfish "survival of the fittest" ideal which I sought to change. He had tried to steal Yun's share of crackers but one firm look from me and he abandoned that thought.

"Hey, while we're on the topic of hunts," I heard Komatsu pause I knew he was looking at me. "Where are you two headed off to?"

"That's something that I'd like to know as well," My focus shifted to Coco and yes...I was still a little annoyed that he wasn't being fully honest with me. "I never asked..."

Coco never answers questions right away, I've noticed that. He finished his cup of water and took a long deep breath before he answered us.

"I've been tasked to retrieve an ingredient from one of the most deadly places in the human world," He looked at the two of us seriously. "You might know it as Plant Hell, but that's just one region of the forest. We need to reach Plains Hell, for there we will find the rare spice ingredient: Amber Antlers."

"Amber Antlers?" I had never heard of that ingredient before, but it sounded nearly as valuable as the gem in its namesake. "Komatsu, what's Amber Antlers?"

If you need information about an ingredient: ask the chef.

"It's a kind of coating that comes off of the antlers of an extremely rare race of deer that graze in Plains Hell," Komatsu explained to me, for he knew what he was talking about. "The bucks sharpen their antlers on hard stones during the mating season and thus the coating flakes off to make a very valuable spice. I've heard it's both sweet and flavorful at the same time, but no one's gotten a taste of it in decades since the bucks who shed the spice are very violent and territorial."

"Deer huh?" Welp...looks like my nickname decided to become a plot point.

How funny...and I don't mean "ha ha" funny...

"The problem isn't just their temper." Coco added in, his hands folded in front of him calmly. "They are also hard to track since Plant Hell is constantly spreading. Fawn, this is why I needed a tamer's aid. You have the potential to pin point the buck yourself, while I can only guess at a general area for the whole herd."

"Well," I stood up from the table, bowing my thanks to Komatsu's cooking. "Sounds like fun. Let's get moving then before the herd moves even farther away from where we can land."

"Indeed." Coco stood as well, he was ready to leave already. "Now is the perfect time of year yet it is also the most dangerous. We have to be quick and careful..."

"Come on," I shrugged, giving him a confident smile. "We're modern day super heroes, what could happen?"

Famous. Last. Words...