Chapter 11: Regal Mammoth Arc: Part 5:
Previously on Toriko:
"Rin-san! Don't-" Kimiko tried to warn her.
"'Fragrance Bazooka!'" Rin called out, firing her weapon, only for the GT Robot to be mere inches from her face. Before Rin knew what was happening, the GT Robot used his hand to stab the young tamer in the stomach. Kimiko could do nothing, but watch in horror as both Toriko and Rin were taken out in less than a minute.
Deep inside Toriko's mind, the blue-haired man saw a red demon eating another person that looked exactly like Toriko in every way possible.
'Who is this guy..? Is that me..!? He's eating me?' Toriko asked himself, not knowing what was happening at that moment.
"The time limit is five minutes." The red demon suddenly said, turning around to look at his host. "Hurry, get something in your mouth. The most delicious thing would be best, if you can. The cells are evolving."
"Rin-san!" Kimiko cried out as the young tamer coughed up blood, collapsing onto the ground just as Toriko regained consciousness before his pain started to fade away thanks to the Endorphin smoke Rin sprayed.
"...Th..This is.." Toriko said, looking over at the wounded tamer.
"To-Toriko...At the very least...I can erase your pain…" Rin stated softly, a too weak to move anymore.
"...Rin...You're more...worried about me than yourself…" Toriko said with a frown as Kimiko tried to run over to the young tamer's side, only for her to come face to face with the GT Robot herself.
"If you're not a hindrance, then you won't die like the other two." Starjun started to say before he noticed the glare he was receiving from the young chef, when all of a sudden he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey...Who're you saying's dead?" Toriko asked with a look of anger, despite the injuries he still had. The GT Robot was actually surprised the blue-haired man wasn't dead from the blow he delivered. It was at that moment when Toriko punched the robot, sending him flying back just like the robot had done a couple minutes before. "Rin…" Toriko said, looking over at the young tamer.
"To..ri…" Rin started to say, but she was too hurt to be able to make clear sentences.
"Don't talk." The blue-haired man told her, kneeling down beside her. Kimiko quickly dropped to her knees on the other side of Rin, placing her bag down beside her. She, unfortunately, didn't have a first aid kit with her, so there was nothing she could do to help.
"Hey...Tori..ko..I have just one wish…" The young tamer practically whispered.
"Okay…" The blue-haired man agreed, knowing exactly what she wanted as the GT Robot got back to his feet. Thanks to Toriko's punch, Starjun's robot had a dent in its metal face.
"Impossible… I'm sure I completely broke his neck, and yet…" Starjun said quietly to himself, looking over at the blue-haired Bishokuya, who was placing Rin gently back on the ground before he suddenly stood up straight, an even scarier look on his face than before.
"GT Robo!" Toriko yelled angrily as he launched himself at the enemy. "Fork!" He called out, stabbing the robot in the face once more, only for the robot to use his hand to stab the Bishokuya in the stomach. Toriko coughed up some blood before he glared at the enemy.
"Knife!" He called out, making another dent in the metal face. "6 Ren...Kugi Punch!" The blue-haired man called out angrily, punching the robot directly in the stomach, sending the enemy flying back once again. "From the beginning, Rin was prepared to die. She always had a wildness around her. For you guys, who are not prepared for death, you don't have any of the wildness! I'll convey to you, who is so far away, the feeling of death…" Toriko stated with a look of hatred as the GT Robot got back to his feet again.
"A coincidence..? Autophagy is activating..Have you been fasting? This is must be a foreboding omen that the Gourmet cells are evolving." Starjun observed. When the body falls into a state of hunger for nutrition, a living thing will disassemble its own cell's proteins into amino acids in order to temporarily gain energy. In one day, Toriko consumes a few hundreds of thousands to a few million kilocalories of energy. Consequently, for Toriko to fast even for a little while, it will cause damage to his life.
"Fork!" Toriko yelled, lunging at the enemy once more, only for the robot to dodge out of the way. "Knife!" The blue-haired man yelled again, attacking the robot's arm.
'I've never seen Toriko this angry…' Kimiko thought to herself as she watched the two of them fight. The black GT Robot tried to fire a beam, but the blue-haired man quickly closed the metal face to prevent that from happening. Then, he proceeded to head butt the robot before throwing him to the other side of the innard passage, which sent a shockwave through the whole passage. "Toriko-san!" Kimiko called out to the man, trying to protect herself and Rin from the shockwave.
"It was something I was worried about...Speed..Power..A GT Robot completely cannot put out my real power…" The GT Robot stated, walking out of the smoke towards the blue-haired man, seemingly unaffected by that last attack. "Bishokuya Toriko... Your power is as charming as I'd expect. This body is now in pieces, but that power is not one you can continue using for so long… Autophagy is only enough to make your body temporarily avoid nutrition hunger. If that state continued, you'll eat away at your own cells. Rather than something like evolving, it's the opposite...Your cells will lead to death. How long is the time limit? Can you beat me before then..?" The GT Robot asked, making the blue-haired Bishokuya think back to the red demon.
'The time limit is five minutes.' Toriko remembered, which distracted him for only a second, but Starjun took that second to turn things against him.
"It's impossible." The GT Robot stated, standing a few inches away from the Bishokuya before he quickly went on the offensive. The enemy used an attack that resembles a peeler shot, cutting Toriko's skin multiple times. Before Starjun could get another attack in, Toriko took the opportunity to throw a punch, which had no effect. "Mixer Punch!" Starjun cried out, punching Toriko in the stomach, his arm moving around like an actual mixer, causing a lot of damage. The blue-haired man coughed up more blood, trying to prepare a kugi punch, but he couldn't seem to focus.
'Dammit. My power is..' Toriko thought to himself, thinking about what the red demon said earlier once more.
"It seems this is as far as you go." The GT Robot observed, preparing to fire a beam without an interruption this time. "Farewell, Bishokuya Toriko!" Starjun said, firing the beam directly at Toriko's chest, sending him flying backwards again. This time, the Bishokuya was sent right through the inner walls of the Mammoth, landing in the area where the jewel meat was located. Toriko laid motionless for a few seconds before he opened his eyes as soon as the scent of meat hit him.
'This radiance, what on Earth...And this scent...its savory. Could it be..?' Toriko thought to himself as he slowly turned his head towards the jewel meat, which seemed to be giving him the energy he needed to get back onto his feet. In that moment in time, the sweat and the blood should have been exhausted from Toriko's body, and yet he was able to drool at the sight of the jewel meat. He was even able to move his body that should have been at near death.
'Amazing...What beautiful meat...It's like a craftsman having revised it many times over, like a work of art. The trickling meat juice is as if it's gold dust! And the smell, it puts high class fragrances to shame. The elegant overflowing mellowness shooting through instinct…A smell of meat with richness in primitiveness!' Toriko thought to himself, looking at the meat with amazement before he put his hands to together. "I give thanks to all the ingredients in this world! Itadakimasu…" The blue-haired man thanked before he reached out to take a piece of the meat.
'Amazing. The scattering meat juice looks like sparklers.' The Bishokuya thought to himself, drooling a bit before shoving the piece of meat he had into his mouth. It was like electricity running through his veins, which slowly started to heal his body as he took his time to chew his food. He was in tears before he even finished his first bite.
"So delicious!" Toriko cried out, taking another bite of the jewel meat. 'The parts from before had a soft tenderness, but here...It's the opposite, it has a wild feeling when it's chewed. It has a gorgeously clear sound like biting into a gizzard! At that same time, lots of good tasting and rich meat juice seeps in. It's irresistible!' Toriko thought to himself happily as his body finally healed itself and his Gourmet cells evolving.
"Toriko-san!" Kimiko yelled, wanting to run after him, but she didn't want to leave Rin alone with the GT Robot, who turned to look at the young woman.
"It seems you were the most sensible one in the group. You didn't even panic when the other two died." Starjun stated as he approached the young woman before he kneeled down beside her backpack she had put aside and started digging through it. Kimiko knew better than to challenge him after witnessing what he could do, but when he grabbed her carving knife, all her common sense flew out the Mammoth. "This carving knife is yours, correct? It's a good carving knife. The way it's been taken care of tells me the level of the chef that uses it." The GT Robot stated before Kimiko immediately took her knife back. The action caught Starjun slightly off guard, he never expected her to make a move against him. He also didn't expect to be thrown off balance either.
"I don't care who you are, but I hope you burn." Kimiko stated with venom in her voice as she kicked his feet out from under him. Although, that action seemed to hurt her a lot more than him. It was basically like kicking a car with a little less weight instead. In the end, she winced slightly, barely able to put pressure on her foot.
"Become a hindrance to me, and you'll die." Starjun warned her, a little annoyed with the young woman.
"I'd see to it, you'd go long before I ever do! Even I made a resolution when coming here just like everyone else did!" Kimiko yelled at the robot, who got back to his feet when he suddenly released his intimidation, but the young woman didn't even flinch. Her body was trembling, but she never backed down and she was still glaring at the robot. There's was no way she could back down now, not after everything the others have been through.
'Her resolve is the real deal…' Starjun thought to himself. "You're an interesting chef. I believe you'll make an excellent asset to us." The Bishokukai stated, reaching out to grab her. At that point, Kimiko did try to move away from him, but the GT Robot didn't allow her to as he firmly grabbed a hold of her arm.
"I won't let you do that. Especially since you're the only one here with no resolve." Toriko suddenly said, appearing from around the corner. The GT Robot released Kimiko as he quickly turned around in complete shock, wondering how Toriko was still alive until he saw how the man's body was glowing. "Shut off all your limiters. I want you to feel every attack I throw at you!" Toriko stated.
"Toriko-san!" Kimiko called out to him, relieved that he was okay.
'This guy...Could it be..?' Starjun thought to himself.
"It would be nice if you'd come here yourself! Experience the risk of death!" Toriko stated.
'There's no doubt about it. His cells are evolving. Has he eaten the jewel meat!? Interesting…' Starjun observed as the young chef limped back over to Rin's side as quickly as she could, mostly to get out of the way of Starjun's and Toriko's battle.
"Deactivate your excess pressure limiters. Make it so the entre signal of my blows gets transmitted. Got that? That's what I call resolve." Toriko demanded as the two of them faced each other with only a few inches standing between them. "Let me hear your name." The blue-haired man stated.
"My name is Starjun. The excess pressure limiters have been deactivated. Now 100% of all physical attacks will be conveyed to me." The Bishokukai stated.
"That composure is proof that the fighting power of the GT Robot lightly outstrips your own." Toriko commented.
"I don't mind not having the excess pressure limiters. That will allow me to measure your strength in this powered up state more precisely." Starjun stated.
"Is that so? In that case, I'll make sure you don't regret that!" The blue-haired man replied before he boosted his muscles, causing another shockwave that was a bit bigger than the last one. Once again, Kimiko had to protect herself and Rin. "10 Ren…" Toriko began.
"Mixer Punch!" Starjun interrupted, aiming his attack for the stomach again. However this time the mixer punch somehow got entwined in Toriko's tough muscle fibers.
"Knife!" Toriko yelled, grabbing the robot's arm that had gotten stuck as he tried to cut it off, which made a loud noise in the process.
'What an incredible noise!' Kimiko thought to herself as she covered her ear to protect them from the noise that came from Toriko's attack. The attack in question, dented the robot's arm, but never managed to cut the arm off entirely. However, that wouldn't stop the blue-haired Bishokuya.
"Knife! Knife! Knife!" Toriko called out, hacking away at the GT Robot's arm as the said robot grunted in pain with each attack. "Knife!" Toriko said one last time before he finally severed the robot's arm. Starjun was surprised for only a moment before the metal face opened as he prepared to fire a beam, but the blue-haired man wasn't having any of it as he forked the robot in the head. After that, the Bishokuya proceeded to send a barrage of fork attacks at the GT Robot, piercing mostly the chest area. A few stray ones hit the arm and legs.
"Peeler…" Starjun started to say, but was interrupted by the other man when he attacked once more.
"5 Ren! Kugi Punch!" The blue-haired man called out, punching the robot's stomach. Toriko didn't even give the robot a chance to hit the ground before he prepared another punch.
"I see now...So this is as far as I go...Was the jewel meat delicious?" Starjun asked, accepting his fate. "I wanted to eat it too. Well, whatever. Eventually, I will obtain the jewel meat and that chef over there, so. Let's meet again, Toriko. Next time, in the flesh." Starjun said.
"10 Ren...Kugi Punch!" Was Toriko's only reply as he punched Starjun's robot in the face, causing it to shatter into many small pieces as he rubbed his hands together, creating that metallic sound before he folded his hands. "Thanks for the meal." Toriko said before he collapsed onto his knees, exhausted and his right arm having been overused.
"Toriko-san? It's over, isn't it?" Kimiko asked softly as the said man looked over at her with a smile.
"Yeah. It is." The blue-haired man replied as Kimiko smiled back at him, relieved before turning her attention back to Rin.
"We need to get out of here now and get Rin some medical attention." Kimiko stated. Toriko looked over at her quietly before he suddenly realized Rin didn't have that decaying smell. It was at that moment when a strong wind like before flowed throughout the Mammoth.
"Oh, this Mammoth...What good timing." Toriko said with a smile as he grabbed the jewel meat before making his way over Rin and Kimiko. "Come on, Kimiko. Let's get out of here." The blue-haired man stated as he lifted Rin off the ground, holding onto her and the meat before all three of them were carried by the wind back to the starting point.
Back outside the Mammoth, Sani jumped to his feet when the said creature suddenly roared and reared back on its hind legs.
"Woah, woah!" Sani said, surprised.
"The poison seems to be wearing off." Coco commented.
"What's happening to Toriko and the others!? Miko!? Rin!?" Sani asked, looking over at the poison man, slightly worried.
"Isn't believing beautiful?" Coco replied with a sigh as he smiled back at the other man. "There's no need to worry, everyone will be okay. They're coming out now." Coco stated just as the Mammoth spit them out.
"Sani! We need a cushion!" Toriko yelled down to the said man, who in turn looked up at them with a relieved smile.
"Toriko! Miko! Rin!" The colorful-haired man called back to them.
"And that is the jewel meat!" Coco added with a grin, noticing the glowing meat Toriko had in his hand. You could practically see the hearts in Sani's eyes.
"I'll make the softest landing possible! Hair Net!" Sani stated quickly, making a net to catch them before they hit the ground. The hair net managed to slow Toriko's descent, but he still ended up hitting the ground in the end with Rin.
"What's with you!? Did you seriously only catch the jewel meat!?" Toriko asked angrily, his nose bleeding from the fall.
"Nonsense. I caught Miko too." Sani replied, before he looked up at the jewel meat, clearly memorized by the meat's shine.
"Sani-san! Your sister!" Kimiko said loudly, getting his attention before pointing over at the injured tamer.
"Rin!" Sani said, rushing over to his sister.
"Finally, you notice." Toriko muttered, still a bit angry as Sani used his hair once more.
"Hair Operation." The colorful haired man stated, focusing on helping his sister as best as he could until medical help arrived. Kimiko watched curiously as she tried climbing down from the hair net. However, when she dropped down to the ground, she landed on her injured foot. She winced, collapsing to her knees as Coco walked up to her.
"You alright, Kimiko-chan?" Coco asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine when we get back to the facility." The young woman replied with a small smile before she looked back over at Sani. "What's he doing?"
"He can perform medical operations with his .1 micron touches. Right now, Kiss is going to the research facility for the medical team." Coco explained.
"Until a normal full operation can be done, all I can do is an emergency treatment." Sani stated.
"Don't worry, Rin-chan won't die." Coco told the young woman with a smile. Kimiko only nodded, returning a small smile as the poison man looked down at her. 'I don't see the shadow of death on either Kimiko-chan or Rin-chan. Who was it that had the shadow of death in the beginning? Not only that, but Toriko clearly has stronger electromagnetic waves around him now than he did before. He was only in the Mammoth for a little while, but that electromagnetic waves stopped, which means the shadow of death was on Toriko. It seems he came back from the abyss of death, powered up!' Coco thought to himself as the blue-haired man started looking around for something.
'Terry...Could she have been beaten!?' Toriko asked himself when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. The group turned around at the sound to see the Obsaurus walking over to them with Terry riding on its back. She had a few wounds on her body and blood coated her fur, but overall she seemed to be fine. "Terry! You're all right!" Toriko said happily as the young Battle wolf jumped off the Obsaurus, running over to Toriko just as happy as he was.
"It looks like Terry made the Obsaurus her servant." Kimiko commented with a laugh before the group heard the sound of the medical helicopter, which was being led by Kiss. Following close behind was the child Mammoth as well.
"Looks like Kiss is leading the Mammoth child home." Coco stated as Toriko looked back over at the adult Mammoth.
"You must be glad, parent Mammoth." The blue-haired man said with a smile, which quickly disappeared when the said Mammoth started stomping angrily, causing the group to panic.
"He's mad! This guy's still mad!" Sani yelled, picking up his sister as they all started running away as fast as possible. At this point, Kimiko had to ignore the pain, but it was easy because of the adrenaline rush. Toriko seemed to be quite amused with this situation, seeing how he was grinning.
"Sani, use your fry gaeshi!" Coco yelled.
"For this, we should use poison, Coco!" Sani yelled back. Eventually, the parent Mammoth stopped trying to trample them and went back to the regal plateau with its child while the group got a lift back to the facility in the helicopter. The poor Obsaurus was too big for the helicopter and had to run to the facility, but Terry was still small enough to fit with the rest of the group. Of course Kiss flew back on his own as well.
Once the group got back to the facility, Rin was immediately rushed off to the infirmary while the others were greeted by Chief Mansam as a kitchen staff member took the jewel meat.
"You did a great job getting the jewel meat. We have some guest rooms ready for you guys to get some rest and clean up." The Chief said, the group eagerly accepting the offer.
When Kimiko got to her assigned room, she sighed with exhaustion as she closed her door behind her. She tossed her bag onto the bed before she started digging through it, looking for her spare clothes. At the moment, she desperately needed a shower and maybe a quick nap if she has time to spare. The young woman took her boots off, placing them on the floor by the end of the bed. She looked down at her injured foot. It wasn't swollen, but there was an obvious bruise that would still hurt for a long time. Kimiko figured she probably just twisted her foot and the pain would stop in little while. The young chef grabbed her spare clothes before heading into the bathroom and starting the warm water. While the young woman waited for the water to heat up, she proceeded to grab a towel from the cabinet in the bathroom along with shampoo and conditioner. She quickly undressed, tossing her dirty clothes aside for a moment before climbing into the shower.
Kimiko took only about ten minutes before she climbed back out after turning the water off, wrapping herself in the towel she got out to dry herself off as she thought to herself about the mission.
'I'm glad everyone is okay, but it seems they were doing all the work while I didn't do a thing to help out. I couldn't even help Rin when she was injured…' Kimiko thought to herself. At this rate, Toriko and the others would have to protect her on every hunt they go on. She didn't want that to happen, so she'll have to try her best to keep up with the others. Even Terry could handle herself even though she was born earlier that day. 'Maybe dad can help train me…' The young chef thought to herself, quickly drying off before she changed into her spare clothes, taking her dirty clothes and placing them in her bag. Then, she fell back onto the bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, she started dozing off.
In Toriko's room, the blue-haired man was in his own bathroom washing Terry's fur and cleaning her wounds, which she seems to be enjoying.
"You did a great job today, Terry." Toriko praised the young wolf before his thoughts suddenly went back to what Starjun said before the robot was destroyed.
"I wanted to eat it too. Well, whatever. Eventually, I will obtain the jewel meat and that chef over there, so. Let's meet again, Toriko. Next time, in the flesh." Toriko had no doubt that Starjun meant everything he said. He didn't mind the Bishokukai trying the jewel meat since they already captured it themselves, but he was more worried about Kimiko.
'There's no way I'll let the Bishokukai anywhere near Kimiko…' Toriko thought to himself as he quickly dried Terry's fur.
In Coco's room, the said man had finished with his shower and had changed into different clothes. At the moment, he was picking burnt feathers from Kiss's back and making sure he didn't have any burns where the fire blast had hit him.
'I'm a little curious about what happened in the Mammoth. Especially with Toriko's cells. Did his cells evolve after he ate the jewel meat or did something trigger it beforehand?' Coco asked himself as he finished with Kiss, who seemed a lot happier.
'Not only that, but Kimiko was shaking like a leaf when they left the Mammoth's body and it seemed like she was hurt. Could it have been the black GT Robot?' Coco asked himself quietly, throwing out the burnt feathers.
In Sani's room, the colorful-haired man was standing in front of a full length mirror, making sure he looked perfect.
'Those Bishokukai bastards are absolutely disgusting!' Sani thought to himself, thinking back to the dead creatures by the lake as he tried to cover up the wounds on his face as best as he could.
'Well, at least I dealt with one of them. I should have had Kimiko standing nearby to witness the enemy's downfall. It would have made her smile to know I showed him no mercy.' The colorful-haired man thought to himself with a smile of his own.
Later that night before dinner time, the group, who were clean and well rested, went to visit Rin in the infirmary. The doctor said that she was in no danger and would wake up soon. The others decided to wait for her to wake up before they ate. Rin finally opened her eyes after about ten or fifteen minutes of them being in the room.
"Rin-san!" Kimiko said happily with a relieved smile, alerting the others, who also shared the same smile.
"Everyone…" The young tamer said softly, happy to see the others gathered around her when the doctor suddenly spoke up.
"I can't believe it…" The doctor said a little surprised. "For the Gourmet cells to be this actively repeatedly dividing…It's like they're regenerating their structure. It's like what Chief does with sake…Every Gourmet cell has a compatible good taste. There's no doubt you ate an ingredient. What on Earth was the choice food that's suited to Rin-sama…" The doctor said as he rambler on.
"Toriko! I'm seriously super thankful!" Rin suddenly said loudly as she launched herself at the blue-haired man, startling him.
"What the..?" Toriko stated, prying Rin off of him.
"If you weren't there, I would've totally died. It's because Toriko gave me that…" Rin stated.
"Just what is 'that'?" Toriko asked as Kimiko sighed softly in the background.
"Don't play dumb~." Rin said happily.
"I did something?" Toriko asked, while the others looked on with confusion.
'What's going on…?' All three of the asked silently before Sani suddenly spoke up.
"Okay! Now that Rin is better, let's eat the jewel meat!" Sani said as the others agreed, all of them leaving the infirmary and going to the area that was set up for dinner.
Meanwhile, the Chief was in his room with a guest on business.
"Garana Eel pickled in shochu?" The guest asked, looking at a bottle with liquid and Eels inside.
"Yeah. It's been pickled for two full years. The alcohol content is 66%. It's a delicacy." Chief Mansam said, pouring a couple glasses of the alcohol with a grin on his face. The guest, IGO vice president Shigematsu, took a sip from his glass before looking over at Mansam.
"It has a taste like tiger testicles…And it has a bitter taste of medical herbs. All my pores are opening at all at once and my body's warming up. It's exactly like herbal medicine." Shigematsu
"How come you couldn't get permission to release Zebra?" The Chief suddenly asked.
"You can't get that problem child out so easily…The one who decided to arrest him, Director Gras, has to worry about losing face, too…" The vice president replied.
"If that Zebra guy had been here, the protection of the Mammoth would've been easier, though…" Mansam stated.
"Toriko and the others were plenty, weren't they? They got the jewel meat, didn't they? Even though they suffered some bad injuries." Shigematsu stated before the Chief laughed.
"Bahhahha! Around now everyone should be eating the jewel meat. After a meal like that, they should be all better." Mansam stated.
"More than that, there's a problem with the GT Robot that didn't explode. It's very likely the Bishokukai will come and try to recover it." Shigematsu explained.
"Shige-san, is the reason you came here yourself because of that?" Mansam asked with a huge grin. "In any event, it's my job from here."
Kimiko decided to stop by her room to grab some spices from her bag. The others went on ahead to the top floor balcony where dinner will be served. Just as the young woman dug through her bag for the spices, her phone started ringing. Her manager was calling and that's when the young chef realized she forgot to tell him about the hunt for the Regal Mammoth.
'I think I might be in trouble…' Kimiko thought to herself as she answered the phone. "Hello?" Kimiko asked with a polite tone of voice.
"Chef Kimiko! Where have you been!? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! Why haven't you come into work!?" The manager started yelling angrily through the phone.
"I'm sorry, sir. I guess I forgot to tell you about the new hunt with Toriko-san." Kimiko answer. This wasn't the first time she's forgotten to tell her manager where she was going after missing a couple days of work.
"You forgot!? That was the same excuse you've used the last three times!" The manager yelled. "I'm afraid your vacations with Toriko will have to end."
"What!? You agreed I could go with him and work the days I'm not on a hunt." Kimiko protested.
"I know what I agreed to, but you've taken one too many days off. When you come back to the restaurant, you'll be demoted and won't receive any more vacation days." The manager explained.
"What!? That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Kimiko asked, her polite tone of voice turning into a harsh one, which seemed to have an effect on the manager. His voice turning into a nervous one.
"W-we can't have one of our best chef's going on some random adventure whenever she feels like it." The manager stated. "And if you don't like the arrangements, then you can find another job elsewhere." At that, Kimiko started to fume. She knew that she's been away from work for a while, but not long enough to be punished for it. Then again, it wasn't the first time she missed a ton of work.
"Alright then. I quit!" The young woman said before she quickly ended the call. Kimiko fumes for a few minutes before it suddenly dawned on her on what she just did. "Fantastic…I may be a good chef, but I'm an idiot when it comes to keeping my mouth shut." The young chef said softly to herself. Kimiko stayed in her room a couple more minutes before she decided to join the others on the top floor balcony.
Kimiko quickly made her way up to where the others were waiting, the phone call still on her mind. It was her fault that she got into trouble in the first place. The young woman put her thoughts aside for the moment as she walked out onto the balcony. It seems like she got there on time, seeing how the chef's also entered the balcony with a tray, placing it onto the table.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting so long. The jewel meat is served." The chef said before he went back to the kitchen, leaving the group to their own devices. The whole dining area was lit up by the jewel meat.
"It's here!" Toriko stated excitedly with a smile.
"It's lovely." Rin added.
"It's so radiant." Coco commented with a smile of his own.
'Beautiful.' Sani thought to himself, clearly moved to tears as he used his hand to cover his mouth.
"It's like the moon's light has grown dim...It's so bright that it looks like its daytime here." Kimiko commented, momentarily forgetting about her situation. "Of course that should be expected since it did light up the insides of that Mammoth." The young woman added before Sani looked over at Toriko, noticing how his skin was sparkling.
"Toriko! Your skin is sparking so much." The colorful-haired man observed.
"Yeah, I was one step ahead in the Mammoth's body and took care of the jewel meat." The blue-haired man admitted with a huge grin on his face.
"I knew it!" Sani yelled. He wasn't exactly angry, but he was annoyed that Toriko got to taste the meat before him.
"Anyway...Aren't we gonna eat!?" Toriko asked excitedly.
"Itadakimasu!" All five of them said at the same time before they started eating.
"It's so radiant...But, it's a gentle light, like an incandescent lamp." Kimiko admired, cutting into the meat, causing the meat juice to shoot up like fireworks. 'Amazing...Even with this gorgeous appearance, my mouth is filling with the taste of plain meat. Plus, it has a wonderful crunchy consistency.' The young woman thought to herself as she swallowed the first bite. It was at that moment when her body started glowing.
"This is delicious!" Toriko stated. The young chef looked over at the blue-haired man only to see that he was glowing even brighter than she was.
"Toriko-san, you're glowing super brightly." Kimiko commented with a smile, but the said man didn't seem like he was paying any attention as he took another bite of the meat.
"It's the liver! It's got a texture like liver sashimi! But, the smell and fragrance are not like that at all." Toriko commented as Rin took her first bite.
"This texture feels like the piled up meat and fat are coming apart inside my mouth. This is totally the best!" Rin said excitedly.
"The meat almost tastes like sirloin. It melted in my mouth in a moment. There's a lot of grease, but with its smoothness, the feeling of it going down my throat is nice." Coco stated softly with a smile.
"Taste and Texture! It's like a carnival!" Toriko stated with a huge grin before he turned around to look at both Terry and the Obsaurus. "Terry, Obsaurus, come over here and eat some too!" Terry barked happily as she walked over with Obsaurus as Coco turned to kiss.
"You try some too, Kiss." The poison Bishokuya said with a smile as Kiss approached him with a happy squawk. Once the three of them had a taste of the meat, Toriko took a drink before he sighed happily.
"Well...I've decided…" The blue-haired man stated with a content smile before he was interrupted by Sani, who was glowing even brighter than all of them combined.
"What'd you say, Toriko?" Sani asked with a grin.
"Sani-san, you're glowing really brightly. At this point, you'd probably be considered a mini sun or something…" Kimiko commented with an amused smile as Coco stared over at the glowing man.
'At the same time his body started radiating, the electromagnetic waves Sani is giving out got stronger...Maybe Sani's Gourmet cells are really compatible with the jewel meat.' The black-haired man thought to himself.
"Hey, Toriko." Sani called to the other man as he took another bite. "What were you going to say?" The colorful-haired man asked with a straight face.
"What do you mean?" Toriko asked.
"You said something was decided, didn't you?" Sani replied.
"Yeah. This is the only meat that I thought would fit perfectly." Toriko commented as a grin returned to his face.
"What do you mean by that?" Sani asked once more, knowing full well what the blue-haired man was trying to say.
"I'm going to put the jewel meat as the meat dish in my full course!" Toriko stated, while the others seemed to agree with him. Everyone except Sani of course.
"Wait a sec!" Sani yelled with a frown on his face.
"What're you doing, Sani!?" Toriko yelled back angrily.
"Don't say 'What're you doing'. Don't be so hasty!" Sani yelled back.
'Great, this is becoming a yelling match…' Kimiko thought to herself with a soft sigh. Coco seemed to agree with her as he looked over at her with a sigh of his own.
"I'm not being hasty at all!" The blue-haired man argued back.
"Then, look at my radiance!" Sani replied, pointing to himself as he glowed brightly.
"Yeah. It's awesome. So?" Toriko asked.
"Don't you get it? The jewel meat clearly seems like something I'd choose, doesn't it?" Sani asked with a grin.
"Seems like...What's your point?" The blue-haired man asked, clearly annoyed at this point.
"I mean, I've decided to put the jewel meat in my full course as the main dish!" Sani explained with a grin.
"Hang on!" Toriko yelled angrily. "Why the hell are you making it your main!? I've already decided to make it my meat dish!" The blue-haired man continued to argue.
"Why can't you both share?" Kimiko suddenly asked.
"NO WAY!" Both men yelled angrily as they went back to fighting over the jewel meat. Kimiko could only sigh as she went back to her seat, only to be interrupted by one of the faculty staff.
"Excuse the interruption, Miss Kimiko, but your father is on the phone. He said he tried to reach you on yours, but got no answer." The staff whispered to her.
"Sorry, I left my phone in my room. Tell him I'll call him back on my phone." Kimiko whispered back. The staff member nodded before he walked away. The young woman got back up from her seat as she started to leave the balcony before she was stopped by Coco.
"Is everything alright, Kimiko?" Coco asked, while the other two continued to argue.
"Everything's fine. I just need to take a call." Kimiko replied with a smile before she started walking down the hall towards the elevator.
When the young woman got back to her room, her phone was ringing again. However, when she looked at it, her manager was calling. He had been calling her for the past half hour after she hung up on him. Kimiko sighed as she pressed the ignore button, successfully ending the ringing before she started dialing the number belonging to her father. The phone only rang twice before the said man answered the phone.
"Kimiko?" Toshiro asked, just to be sure it was her on the other end.
"Hey, dad. Did you need something?" Kimiko asked.
"I was going to let you know that you should come home after you're finished with the Mammoth. It seems the Thunder Fruits are finally ripe." Toshiro stated. Kimiko could almost imagine the grin on her father's face as he spoke to her.
"Really!? I'll be home first thing tomorrow!" The young woman replied with a grin of her own as father and daughter hung up their phones. A few minutes passed before the young woman realized something. 'Damn….I forgot to tell dad about my job…' The young woman thought to herself with a sigh.
6 CHAPTER. CHAPTERS 49-54