Chapter 14: BB Corn Arc:
A/N: I apologize for the late update. I'm currently finishing up the first year of college. Also, I'll be putting up a poll on my profile for the question I asked about Terry in the last chapter.
The next day, Kimiko quickly got into the habit of waking up early again, so she could go take care of the nursery animals and letting them out into the field along with the other animals. Once the animals were taken care of, she washed up before she went to help her mother with the fruits, while her grandmother started on breakfast for everyone. Hana even made pastries with some of the Thunder fruit for Toriko and the others to take home with them. The elderly woman even made some for Terry and Kiss.
The scent of breakfast spread throughout the house a few minutes later, successfully waking up the rest of the house. The first ones to come down the stairs were Takeo and Toshiro. Toriko, Rin, Coco, and Sani came down the stairs a few minutes later. Despite having just woken up, most of the group seems to be waking up pretty fast. Takeo and Rin seemed like the only ones that looked like they rather be sleeping at the moment. However, once they started eating, they started to wake up a bit and joining in on the conversations.
"Once breakfast is done and the dishes put away, Kimiko can show you all around the village." Hana stated with a smile.
"I can't wait to see what the rest of the village is like. We saw the different areas of the mountain as we were flying over here." Rin stated excitedly, taking a bite of her food.
"I know you're all used to intimidating animals to keep them away, but you don't have to worry about that here. The animals around here are used to human contact, even the wild creatures." Toshiro warned them as he got up to put his dirty dishes into the sink.
"I promise, we won't cause any trouble." Coco stated as he got up to do the same, while the others nodded their heads in agreement, finishing up their breakfast as well.
Once everyone had eaten and the dishes had been done, Kimiko lead Toriko and the others out of the house to start the village tour. Even Kiss and Terry joined them. The young woman figured they could skip the fruit garden since they already seen it, so she began the tour in her backyard with the nursery. From the nursery, Kimiko led her friends towards the village center before she actually lead them into the vegetable garden. Kimiko even showed her friends the flower meadow with all the unique flowers. The last stop on the tour was the giant lake surrounded by the forest, which Terry seemed to enjoy swimming around in. Even Kiss decided to jump into the water, only the shallow parts, though.
The group decided to hang out at the lake for a couple hours before it quickly escalated into a water fight, that Terry started. It was like the domino effect. The young Battle wolf started playing around with Kiss in the shallow water before Toriko was soaked by their roughhousing. Kimiko didn't bother to hide her laughter like the others when the blue-haired man was soaked. Toriko easily soaked Kimiko, successfully ending her laughing fit. However, Rin was also soaked in the process and both woman easily tackled Toriko into the water with the help of Kiss and Terry.
"Now that isn't fair!" Toriko commented with a grin on his face.
"All's fair in a water fight." Kimiko replied with a grin of her own as Rin nodded her head in agreement. Despite not siding with Toriko, the young tamer was having a blast.
"Sani! Coco! Come help me!" The blue-haired Bishokuya called back to them.
"I think I'll sit this one out. I don't feel like getting my hair wet." Sani replied as Coco stood up to join them. At some point in time, Sani did join them. It was about mid-day when they all started to get cold and a bit tired. Eventually, the group trekked back to the house, changing their soaked clothes and warming up a bit before Johannes arrived, ready to take Toriko and the others back home. Once Toriko and the others left, Kimiko and her family left the village as well, heading to the Gourmet city to help Kimiko move into the new house above the restaurant and to help her set up.
About a week later, Kimiko had finally gotten all of her stuff packed and moved to the new house. Since she had no furniture, her mother went ahead and bought her some before they helped her unpack her stuff. All the stuff except for the bedroom, Kimiko would be able to put that away herself. It wasn't long before the young woman was settled into her new home with her cat, Isabella, who seemed to be perfectly content in the new place. Her mother and grandmother offered to help her with opening the restaurant, but Kimiko only smiled and told them that she could do it on her own.
Now, here she was clearing away the dust and fixing everything up with new flooring, wallpaper, and paint. She even added new decorations that she thought would make the customers that would come in it feel more at home. For the most part, Kimiko kept the place the same as her grandmother left it. Kimiko basically made her new restaurant have a traditional look to it with a little modern touch here or there. By the time Kimiko finally finished up with getting everything ready for in the restaurant, three months have already passed.
Meanwhile, Toriko was back home, cutting up some trees so he could build a fire. He had recently caught a Fry-a-Duck and was looking forward to eating it.
"That looks so good…" Toriko stated, wiping away some drool as he watched the Fry-a-Duck cook over the open fire. Eventually, the blue-haired took the bird off the fire and placing it on the ground in front of him before he folded his hands together.
"Itadakimasu." Toriko mumbled to himself before slicing off a portion of the bird to eat. He savored the flavor of the first bite, enjoying it before he started eating every single bite of the bird. He even gather up the bones and put them into a pot to fry. Once the bones were done, he ate those too.
"That was delicious…" Toriko commented with a smile as he laid back on the ground. "Although, I'm sure Kimiko could have done better. I wonder how the new restaurant is coming along...Either way, after a meal, you want to eat some dessert." The blue-haired man commented once more as he sat up before getting to his feet. Then, he started wandering around until he came to an apple tree, except the apples were white instead of red. Toriko placed his hand on the tree, thinking to himself for a moment before he suddenly punched the tree trunk with a lot of force, causing a whole bunch of apples to fall.
"Oh! So many white apples! Lucky!" Toriko grinned excitedly as he went to pick them up. "What a big catch! I think I'll squeeze half of 'em into juice." Toriko added before Terry approached him with a giant rabbit like creature in her fangs.
"Ooh, Terry! Is that a Cheese Rabbit!? Nice job catching it." Toriko said, praising the young pup as he walked over to her, losing part of his grin. Terry dropped the rabbit at Toriko's feet.
"Are you giving this to me, Terry?" Toriko asked. "You took down this Cheese Rabbit. It's yours, Terry. You eat it. Although it's also for you to live, as the one who opposed its life, you also have a courtesy to show." Toriko explained, a little worried for the young Battle wolf since she hasn't eaten anything for the last three months.
'I wonder if Tomu would know anything yet…' The blue-haired man thought to himself, standing back up with the Cheese Rabbit before heading back to his house with Terry following close behind. Once Toriko got back home, he put the ingredients he had with him inside before grabbing a shirt and a bag, placing some of the white apples inside it. Eventually, Toriko left his house once more before heading into town in the direction of the 'World Kitchen'.
The crowd in the market were surprised to see Toriko walking around as he approached Tomu.
"Yo! Tomu! How's business?" Toriko asked with a grin on his face.
"Oh, Toriko." Tomu greeted, carrying a couple boxes around. "It's been a pain since I haven't been getting any goods from you lately." The other man replied.
"Sorry, as a present, here's a Star Loach and some white apples." Toriko apologized, handing his bag over to the other man. "Anyway, have you found some good ingredients?" The blue-haired asked.
"Talking about that here is kinda…" Tomu started to say. "Let's talk tonight." The other man said with a grin of his own. Later that night, Toriko met up with Tomu again at a bar, the other man ordering a couple drinks and taking a drink himself.
"Sure is good." Tomu commented.
"Did you figure something out, Tomu?" Toriko asked again.
"...Yeah...That Battle wolf you have with appetite loss...It seems Battle wolves originally inhabited the 'Gourmet World', doesn't it? I think it's possible she simply hasn't found any food around here she likes." Tomu answered.
"I see...Of course, Terry is a clone, but It's certainly possible her favorite foods from the ages in the 'Gourmet World' is carved into her DNA. But, something like 'Gourmet World' ingredients, the 'World Kitchen' really gets them, right?" Toriko asked. "In that case, I've got no choice. I'll have to go there personally to the 'Gourmet World'." The blue-haired Bishokuya stated.
"That might not be necessary. I remember a drunkard saying some 'Gourmet World' ingredients actually grow in the human world." Tomu replied.
"A drunkard? Really?" Toriko asked.
"Lots of major wholesale traders bought them so there's no doubt it's true." Tomu answered.
"What kind of ingredients?" Toriko asked curiously.
"Corn." Tomu simply said, which seemed to get Toriko's attention.
"Could it be…?" Toriko asked with a look of shock.
"The popcorn the Gourmet nobles are as mid-day snacks, nicknamed BB Corn." The other man replied.
"Are you serious!? BB Corn!? The favorite corn of even the beasts of the 'Gourmet World'!?" The blue-haired Bishokuya asked as a grin appeared on his face. "Do you know the place, Tomu?" Toriko asked, hopeful.
"Far west. 65,000 kilometers. In the Wu Jungle." Tomu answered. "Also known as the Hell Plant. It's the forest where the eating beast plant lives." The other man said, warning his friend.
"Great! I'll head there with Terry." Toriko replied with a grin on his face. 'Maybe I'll invite Kimiko with me too.' The blue-haired man thought to himself as he said his goodbyes to the other man and paying for his drinks before he went home to prepare for the trip. He'd have to call Kimiko soon, hoping she hasn't gone to bed just yet.
Meanwhile, Kimiko was currently in her kitchen grabbing some food for Isabella and filling up her water bowl before she started cooking some dinner for herself. It was a long day and she finally managed to get the restaurant ready for the reopening, even if she hadn't set up a date yet. She was just finishing up dinner for herself when her phone started ringing. The young woman quickly turned the stove off before walking into the living room to grab her phone and answering it.
"Hello?" Kimiko answered, walking back into the kitchen.
"Hey, Kimiko!" Toriko said from the other end of the line. "I have a question for you." The blue-haired man said, getting right to the point.
"Alright. Shoot." Kimiko replied.
"How would you like to go on a hunt with Terry and I?" Toriko asked.
"I would love too. What are we hunting this time?" Kimiko asked with a smile on her face.
"We're heading to the Wu Jungle for the BB Corn. Since Terry won't eat anything here, I figured I'd have to get her something from the 'Gourmet World'." Toriko answered.
"Terry won't eat anything? I guess it's natural. She is a Battle wolf after all. They have different diets than us. Either way, we still need to find something for her to eat before she starves." Kimiko stated.
"Yeah. Tomu said that the BB Corn is a 'Gourmet World' ingredient, but some of the seeds of the plant blew into the human world and started growing in the Wu Jungle. We'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll meet you at the docks by the market. That's where the helicopter will be picking us up." Toriko stated.
"Alright then. I'll see you both tomorrow." Kimiko said with a smile as they both hung up the phone. Kimiko looked over at Isabella with a frown.
"What am I going to do with you?" Kimiko asked her cat, who only meowed in response. "I should probably have a plan for you when I'm away on trips with Toriko." The young woman muttered to herself as she sat down at the kitchen table to eat her dinner. After dinner, the young woman washed her dishes and put them away before she walked into her bedroom so she could pack her stuff for tomorrow, Isabella trailing behind her.
The next morning, Kimiko was up early and getting ready to leave. Thankfully, the young woman had an elderly neighbor, who was nice enough to look after her cat every time she went on trips with Toriko.
'Now that I think about it, it's not exactly fair to Isabella if I'm gone almost all the time.' Kimiko thought to herself as she grabbed her stuff by the front door. The young woman locked her door before she went down the stairs into the restaurant and leaving out the restaurant back door. She didn't want to exit the front door since it would have been a hassle opening and closing the shutters out front.
By the time Kimiko got to the port, Toriko was already there beside the helicopter. The young woman easily spotted him and Terry though the crowds at the market.
"Morning, Toriko-san. Terry." Kimiko greeted as she approached the blue-haired man and the young Battle wolf.
"Morning. Ready to go?" Toriko asked as Kimiko nodded in reply before following the other two onto the helicopter. Kimiko climbed into the back with Terry, letting the young pup rest her head on the young woman's lap as Toriko sat in the middle seat behind the pilot.
About three days pass by before the pilot finally announces that they've reached their destination.
"I've spotted it. The Wu continent." The pilot announced.
"We finally made it…" Toriko said with a bored look on his face. "On the way we avoided the giant mystery bird's nest, but we still have to refuel six times. For an M helicopter to take three full days, it sure is far…" The blue-haired man complained.
"Didn't your stomach have to be refueled as well, Toriko-san?" Kimiko joked from the back. "Even if it was faster than fueling the plane." She added softly.
"Shush…" Toriko muttered before turning to back at the young Battle wolf, who looked like she was having a nice dream, her head in Kimiko's lap. "Terry! Hey, we're here." Toriko announced to his partner, who woke up and looked up at him.
"The BB Corn...I wonder what kind of ingredient it is..Hopefully, Terry will like it." Kimiko stated as the plane they were in shifted from jet mode to helicopter mode before it landed a good distance away from the jungle.
"The Wu jungle is about eighty kilometer northwest from here. I cannot get any closer because of the danger. Please understand." The pilot stated as the others started climbing out.
"This is plenty, thanks." Toriko replied.
"Toriko-sama, I wish you food luck." The pilot stated.
"There's a bank transfer being made by Tomu for the travel expenses. I'll be counting on you for the way back." Toriko replied as he climbed out, following Kimiko and Terry onto the field filled with flowers, where Terry was already marking her territory. "Marking your territory already!? There's no need to worry about getting lost. We saw a good view from above." The blue-haired man asked in shock.
"I don't know, Toriko-san. I think she knows what she's doing." Kimiko stated, turning around to look at the blue-haired man, who in turn seemed to be distracted by a flower.
"Oh, a Peaceful Flower! It sure is rare to be growing in a place like this." Toriko commented, kneeling down beside them. A Peaceful Flower helps people when they get close to a creature with a high capture level. The flower loses petals for every creature capture level ten or more if the beast is of a higher level.
'He completely ignored me!' Kimiko thought to herself with a soft huff before she started walking towards the jungle at a slow pace. She didn't want to get separated from Toriko-san after all.
"Hey, Terry! Don't piss on the flowers!" Kimiko heard Toriko yell, making her laugh softly.
"I can't even stay mad at him for more than a minute…" Kimiko whispered to herself as she stopped and turned to look back at the man, who was picking a few flowers to take with him. "I wonder why…" The young woman whispered to herself once more, waiting for Terry and Toriko to catch up before they all continued on. Terry continued to mark her territory as the three of them got farther and farther away from the plane. Toriko took a drink from his water bottle as he shielded his eyes from the sun.
"...Fuu...It's hot...The jungle's a little farther ahead." Toriko stated before he noticed something in the palm trees.
"Toriko-san, aren't those Sakeyashi Fruit?" Kimiko asked as she looked up at the trees as well.
"Yeah, they are. How about we take a break here?" Toriko suggested before looking over at the young battle wolf. "Terry." Toriko simply said before the said pup jumped up to the top of the tree and cutting a couple of the fruits down. The blue-haired man easily caught two of them, using his knife technique to cut off the tops to reveal the sake inside. He handed one of them to Kimiko before he could a drink of his own, spilling some in the process. Kimiko, on the other hand, took sips from her drink, making sure not to spill any of it.
"It's sweet." Kimiko commented with a smile.
"Yeah. The alcohol is at the right level too." Toriko replied as Kimiko knelt down next to Terry, letting her have a taste before Toriko noticed a bean plant out of the corner of his eye. "Hey! That's Edamame! It'll go great with the Sakeyashi." Toriko stated as he picked one of the pods off the plant. The beans inside the pod were like green soybeans, except they looked like eyeballs. Toriko had no problems eating them as he offered some to Kimiko, who reluctantly took them and ate them.
"It's probably the creepiest thing I've eaten, but it has enough salt to make it tasty." Kimiko stated as Toriko tried to offer some to Terry, who only turned away.
"Hahah, does it creep you out, Terry?" Toriko asked with a laugh before he took another drink of the sake. "Looks like we can barely see the Wu jungle from here." Toriko commented.
"Yeah. We've still got a long distance ahead of us." The young woman replied.
"BB Corn...I've never eaten it. I wonder what it tastes like…" Toriko wondered out loud when suddenly, Terry started barking.
"What's wrong, Terry?" Kimiko called out to her as they both looked down to see the young pup in front of a plant with a strawberry on it.
"What is that? A strawberry!? There's strawberries that grow that way?" Toriko asked out loud before he smiled and laughed.
"Do you want to eat it, Terry?" Kimiko asked, getting to her feet before walking down the hill toward the young battle wolf. Toriko watched them for a moment when he suddenly realized that the Peaceful Flower he had lost half a petal.
"Terry! Kimiko! Get away from there!" Toriko suddenly yelled at the two before a giant frog-like creature with teeth popped out of the ground, trying to eat the other two. However, thanks to Terry's quick reflexes, she got herself and Kimiko to safety. "What was that thing? A beast that attracts prey from the scent of strawberries…" The blue-haired man muttered to himself as he studied the creature.
'It's praiseworthy that Terry, who is really wary, to not notice it with its mimicking ability, but seeing how it's also a ambushing type makes it clear how slow the actual body is.' Toriko thought to himself. "Terry! Kimiko! There's no way that guy will be able to follow us! Let's go on ahead!" The blue-haired man called to the two, continuing towards the Wu jungle.
"Come on, Terry. Let's catch up with Toriko-san." Kimiko said to the young wolf as they both hurried to catch up with the man. Once they did, both of them kept looking back at the creature, who didn't seem to be following them like Toriko said. However, what the three of them didn't notice was the plants growing taller by the second.
Later when night had fallen, the three of them built a campfire for the night after traveling quite a distance towards the jungle. Both Terry and Kimiko were already fast asleep on the ground, but Toriko was awake, eating some meat and watching over the two of them. The blue-haired man glanced over at Terry as he took a drink from a small bottle of wine he brought with him.
'Terrycloth...She's descended from the ancient king, Battle wolf, but Terry has a bit too much of a nice side…" Toriko thought to herself. 'She's probably trying to be nice to me, but...It would be better if she got more wild on her own..' The blue-haired man continued to think to himself before he turned his gaze over to Kimiko, who was using her bag as a pillow. Toriko couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. He understood how Terry could sleep in a dangerous place, but Kimiko was a whole different story. The blue-haired man actually enjoyed her company because she was so different and wasn't afraid to try something new. Yet, she also knew when something was too risky to try.
'I'm glad she wasn't raised in the city. It would be as much fun to go on hunts.' Toriko thought to himself as he laid back on the ground.
Once the sun rose again the next day, the three of them were on their way towards the jungle once more with Terry a little further ahead.
"Kimiko." Toriko suddenly said as he watched Terry.
"Yeah?" The young woman asked.
"This trip is for Terry. We need to let her do things on her own and not focus on us. We need to make sure she knows to look out for herself in there." Toriko explained. Kimiko looked over at Terry, silent for a moment.
"I understand. You want her to fend for herself because of her heritage, right? Right now, she's just too soft-hearted." Kimiko stated as Toriko nodded his head before they all finally arrived at the entrance to the Wu jungle.
"All right, we're finally here." Toriko stated, staring into the jungle through the trees. The trees themselves seem to be covering the whole area to the point no one could see the sky. "Even though it's still morning, it's pretty dim here." The blue-haired man commented.
"It looks so ominous too…" Kimiko added before Toriko turned to look at the young Battle wolf pup.
"Terry, I wanna say one thing before we go in. We've been comrades travelling together so far, but we won't be helping each other. In the wild, you need to think about your own life more than anything. Poorly trying to help each other will cause harm. All of us need to avoid getting exposed to danger. Protect your own life. That's our arrangement, Terry." Toriko stated before he finally smiled at her. "Make sure you don't concern yourself with me or Kimiko. It's fine to move forward on your own will. Understand?" The blue-haired man asked as the young pup looked over at the young woman, who smiled at her.
"Don't worry about me, Terry. I can look after myself." Kimiko reassured the young wolf pup. Once that was all settles, the three of them walked into the jungle. As the three of them walked on, they passed by many plants eating other animals.
"Plant hell...A forest ruled by plants. It sure is something amazing.." Toriko commented as he looked around at the scenery.
"What kind of plants are these? I've never seen anything like them." Kimiko asked, looking around as well.
"They're probably creatures from the 'Gourmet World'. They were probably blown here through seeds and spores on the westerly winds." Toriko replied before something landed on his shoulder. "OWA! That stinks! What is this!? Bird crap!?" Toriko yelled as he looked up to see a whole bunch of flying creatures overhead. All of a sudden, Terry started barking at Toriko.
"What is it, Terry?" The blue-haired man asked.
"Toriko-san! Your shoulder!" Kimiko shouted at him, pointing to a fast growing plant growing on the man's shoulder.
"Waah! A seed was mixed into the bird crap!" Toriko stated. In the real world, there are many cases when a plant grows somewhere it ordinarily does not because droppings from a bird contained a seed from a fruit it had eaten. Toriko watched the small plant on his shoulder grow a head with sharp teeth. "It's sucking the nutrients from my body. There's no helping it! Knife!" Toriko called out as he cut the plant off his shoulder, taking a small part of his shoulder with it.
"Toriko-san! Are you okay?" Kimiko asked, moving away from the birds overhead.
"I'll be okay, but stay where you are." The blue-haired man replied. "Terry, don't get hit by the rain of droppings." Toriko told the young wolf, who was having no problem avoiding it all. Toriko gritted his teeth as he looked down at the Peaceful Flowers, only to see three petals fall off. He never noticed the branches coming after him from behind.
"Toriko-san!" Kimiko yelled as Terry barked before the young wolf tackled the blue-haired man out of the way, only to be caught herself.
"What're you doing!?" Toriko yelled before he noticed the actual creature. "What is that thing…" Toriko asked himself, staring up at a giant plant monster.
2 CHAPTERS. CHAPTERS 55-56.