Toriko
It had been a couple of months since Ichiryu adopted the five children, watching them fight each other for the first few weeks until he forced them to cooperate.
Sometimes, when he is sitting at the head of the table and eating, hearing the laughter, the small arguments, and the sound of a full stomach, he smiles as he remembers a different set of people sitting around him from long ago. Is this how you felt? He wondered, watching his children bicker. Was this how you felt, Acacia? Froese?
It had been a long time since he's eaten with family.
Then a grunt had come in and told him that Jirou was here.
"Jirou?" Ichiryu questioned in surprise. The two barely kept in contact these days since it seemed his brother was thinking of retiring from Gourmet Hunting. "Did he say what he wanted?"
The grunt shook his head, "No. All he said was that it was important, and he needed to talk to you about it."
He hummed, intrigued about what Jirou- of all people- could have wanted to talk about. "All right," He stood up, gaining the children's attention. "I'll be right back. Try not to break the table this time, yeah?" he chuckled, pointedly looking at the two most rambunctious of the five.
He left the room, following the grunt to where Jirou was currently waiting. He opened the door to the outside balcony that overlooked the vast meadow of Biscutflowers.
"Ah, there ya are Ichi-boy."
Ichiryu looked to his left and found his younger brother Jirou sitting on one of the patio chairs, a bottle of high quality sake in hand.
"Still drinking I see." Ichiryu commented wryly, walking over to the other and looking him over. He noted that his brother was in one of his bigger forms, not ridiculously giant, but big enough to be his own height. "So, what brings you all the way here?" he commented as he was about to take a seat next to Jirou, until he noticed something curled up against Jirou's side. It was wrapped up in a blanket and seemed to be breathing. "Hm?"
Jirou took a swig of his sake, "This is what I wanted to talk to ya about." he said before turning to his side, "'Ey, time to get up."
Ichiryu watched as- what was apparently a person- move slightly, before a head of familiar colored dark unruly purple hair popped out and stared at him. The child had golden eye's, pointed ears, small rows of horns for brows, and a scar spiraling from her left temple down across her face and continued to the rest of her body if the scar around her neck was anything to go by. "...Jirou." He prompted, because he knew that nose, those cheekbones, that hair.
Jirou hummed in agreement, knowing what the other was thinking, "I know. It wasn't hard to confirm. It also seems she half Final."
"Hooo?" Ichiryu hummed, "Then how did you get her then?" he questioned since he didn't smell any blood on him. Final's were a race of humanoid creatures that lived on one of The Eight Kings of the Gourmet World, Sky Deer. They were notorious for their strength, stamina, and regenerative ability's. Pure blooded Final's had Dark Crimson hair, Golden eye's, tanned skin, pointed ears, claws, a Red Tail, and Horns. From what he remembered, the tribe was also very protective of their young 'Pups', so he was confused with how Jirou seemed to have taken one of their young without a fight.
Jirou gave him a look, "She's only half."
And that explained a lot. "They abandoned her then." Ichiryu sighed.
"While the tribe may have abandoned her, Sky Deer didn't."
Ichiryu blinked, "Huh?" his only answer was Jirou pointing towards the forest a top of a mountain that was miles away from them. "Hm?"
"Come on Ichi-boy, do you even remember a forest or even a mountain ever being there?" Jirou teased.
The mountain started to move, Ichiryu's eye's widened as the 'mountain' stood up and revealed a smaller Sky Deer looking towards them. "What?" he muttered in wonder, before his attention was taken by the little girl getting up from Jirou's side and running up to the railing. She yelled and got the deers attention, waving her hand for it to come over.
"Seems the king gave one of it's own rare children to her. I think it didn't like the thought of one of it's own being kicked out, so the fawn is- in a sense- an extension of the Sky Deer itself so the child is still protected." Jirou stated fondly, remembering his own 'parent' protecting and nurturing him. "Maybe Sky Deer was influenced by Guinness."
The two sat and watched as the baby deer and the child interacted, with the young girl petting the others nose and speaking quietly.
"Does he know?" Ichiryu questioned.
"I don't think so." Jirou said, "And while I'd like to think he would take care of her..." he trailed off, with Ichiryu nodding his head solemnly. "Well, anyway, I came to ya because I need someone to take care of her for a while. Secchan asked me to get her a few ingredients from the Gourmet World, and it'll take me a while to gather them all. Secchan also said it was crucial for children her age to socialize with others in her age group, and seein' as to how you got your own brats..." He shrugged.
"Oho, I see where you're going with this. Alright, I'll take care of her until your done." He agreed.
"Make no mistake Ichi-boy, Secchan and I are very much set on officially adopting this girl, so at most she's your 'Niece' that we need you to babysit when we're too busy." Jirou warned playfully. He got a mocking grin as a reply, before Jirou turned towards the child, "Magna!" He called, gesturing for her to come over.
"Magna?" Ichiryu questioned.
"She really liked my Magma Consomme stew." Jirou answered.
While Jirou explained the situation to Magna, Ichiryu only had the one thought as he stared at his youngest brother's daughter. And here I thought the man was asexual. He hummed with a nod of the head, The wonders of the world is vast indeed.
Jirou carried Magna on his shoulder's, the elder deciding to take Magna on his trip to show her how to collect Puffer Whales.
"Neh, papa?" Magna questioned, gaining a hum in response, "Why does the Puffer Whale only appear in the human world once every ten years?"
"Saaaa~ Well~ It's because Cavern Lagoon is the Ideal place for them to mate in the Human world outside of the deep sea. As for why every ten years...?" He said, taking a sip of rum while knocking a few high level creatures with the other. "Hmm...I imagine that's how long it takes for them to mature until they can mate."
She grunted in interest, "Really?"
"Hm, Thats what I think anyway." Jirou answered, looking down a deep hole. "Honestly, I don't think even the IGO knows why it takes ten years, and who knows if anyone ever will." he then jumped down, snagging a few ingredients he knew would go well with the fish on the way, and landing at the bottom.
Magna took the ingredient's gathered and put them away in the carrying case they brought. "Do you think mama can make soup out of them?"
Jirou chuckled, "Soup? Hmmmm, I don't think thats been done before."
Magna frowned, "Is that a no?"
"Bah, I'm sure mama can do it." Jirou waved off. He smiled as they came to their destination, "And look, here we are." he put down their supplies before taking Magna off his shoulder and setting her on the sand floor.
Magna was in awe at what she was seeing, she looked through her backpack and brought out a camera. "I wish Sora could have come with us. I bet he would have loved it." She commented while taking pictures.
Jirou ruffled her hair, "Saa~ It can't be helped, Sora is too big to be able to fit down here." he then started to shed his coat and made his way to the water, "Mah, anyway, let's go Nacchan. Let's get as many as we can, then mama will teach you how to get out the poison sacks." he said before diving in.
"Ah! Wait papa!" She called, hastily putting away her camera and throwing off her own clothes, leaving her in a one piece lilac swimsuit. She then dove in, ignoring the scenery around her as Jirou had promised to stay for a bit so she could play after they got the Puffer fish, and followed her father.
"TEPPEI~!" Magna greeted with a wave to her 'Nephew'.
Teppei greeted her back enthusiastically, leaving his parents side and running over to her in excitement. "MAGNA~!"
The two quickly hugged one another.
"Ready to see some amazing sights?" Jirou questioned, waving goodbye to his son and daughter-in-law, amused at how the two children twirled around.
At the mention of the trip the two nodded excitedly.
"Well then, Nacchan?"
She nodded and turned away from them, taking a deep breath and yelled, "SORA~! CAN YOU GIVE US A LIFT?!"
Teppei blinked in confusion, wondering what she was doing, before his eyes widened as the mountain began to move. "EH." he witnessed as the mountain transformed into a giant seventeen legged deer with a forest on its back. "EH?!"
"Ho Ho Ho~! This is your first time seeing Sora, neh, Teppei?" Jirou questioned as the deer moved towards them.
"W-What is...?" the boy questioned as he watched the deer arrive and bend it's head so it was level to them.
"A Sky Deer." Magna answered with a cheeky grin, "Papa say's there's only one other, and it's in the Gourmet World." She stated while reaching up and petting her companion. "Sora's my partner."
It was on that trip, watching the saddened expression on his grandfathers face and remembering the frown on Magna's, that Teppei resolved to be a Saiseiya and save the ingredient's that brought his grandpa joy. To revive the Sky Deer's so Magna didn't look so sad at how few there were.
"Mama, I'm done! Is this alright?" Magna questioned.
"Hm?" Setsuno hummed, pausing in her stirring and glancing over to Magna's cutting board. The Shy Maiden Tomato she had Magna cutting was a special preparation ingredient, where if you used too much force the it would vanish into thin air. "Oya, oya, let me see." She said and walked over to see how she did. "Oh! You did a fine job, Nana-chan. The only thing is that you cut the slices a bit too big." Setsuno said, picking up one of the slices and observing it.
Magna sighed, "Ah~ is that so?"
Jirou, who was sitting at the counter with a bottle of wine, chuckled as he observed them. "Mah mah, but you've gotten better Nacchan. At least it didn't vanish this time."
"Thats right, you're doing fine dear."
Magna smiled softly, "Really?"
The two nodded at her, making her smile turn to a wide grin, Magna then held up a fist in determination. "OOOOOOH! I'LL GET EVEN BETTER! AND BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER! UNTIL I CAN PASS YOU, MAMA! AND WHEN THAT DAY COMES, THEN I'LL SERVE YOU THE MOST MOUTHWATERING FOOD YOU'VE EVER TASTED!" she declared.
Setsuno grinned, "You think you can surpass me anytime soon, huh?"
Jirou laughed, "I look forward to it!"
"TORIKO~! SANNI~! ZEBRA~! COCO~! RIN~!" Magna called, waving from the ship she took to her uncles home. The five children mentioned could be seen from the docks, four of them waving back at her while the last crossed his arms.
"Excited?" Ichiryu questioned next to her.
"Yeah! What kind of training are we doing this time?" she questioned.
He pap, Jirou, had decided to go to Drunken Frenzy Island for a couple of week's before going into the Gourmet World, as one of the requested items from her mama only appeared at a certain time of the year. And seeing as the island was age restricted, along with an ingredient located in near a King, he couldn't bring Magna with him this time. Setsuno had suggested that Magna spend some time with her cousins, as it had been some time since she had seen them.
So, here she was, with her uncle picking her up and her mama swearing to take care of Sora while she was away.
"It's a surprise~!" Ichiryu teased, laughing at her pouting expression.
It quickly went away once they docked, she ran down the ramp and jumped onto a squeaking Coco.
"COCO~!"
"AGH! M-MAGNA-CHAN!" He yelped, face flushing a deep red.
"MAGNA~!" Rin cried out happily. She pulled the other girl off of Coco and hugged her, "YAY~! ANOTHER GIRL! DO YOU KNOW HOW HORRIBLE IT IS BEING SURROUNDED BY BOY'S?! THEY'RE SO ICKIE!"
"OI!" The aforementioned boys yelled.
"Ano...But...Doesn't Sanni act like a girl?" Magna questioned.
"HEY!" Sanni protested, "'M NOT A GIRL!"
Rin and Magna gave him a look, glanced at one another and giggled.
Toriko and Zebra snorted in agreement.
"Alright, Alright," Ichiryu said. "Rin why don't you take Magna to her room so she can unpack?" he then turned to the boy's, "Boy's help me get her luggage."
"Oh? How long are you staying this time?" Toriko questioned her.
Magna shrugged, "Papa is going to be gone for a while, and mama said could stay for as long as papa is gone, or I can come home early if I want."
"Is your dad back in the Gourmet World?" Coco questioned.
Zebra, who was the first to pick up one of her bags, drooled slightly. "Ahhh, all those delicious ingredient's."
Toriko, Coco, and Sanni had also grabbed some bags and started to walk inside when the blue haired boy got an idea. "OH! MAGNA CAN YOU COOK FOR US?!"
"Eeeeeh?" She huffed, her face giving them a disgusted look.
"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT US LIKE THAT?!" They yelled, Coco a lot more quieter and wounded looking then the three other boys.
She sniffed, "If I cook for you, then I probably won't be able to eat anything. You guy's say you'd leave me something to eat, but end up eating my share. Every. Single. Time."
"Snooze you lose." Zebra huffed.
"You ain't getting' anything." She retorted.
"Can you make som'in to help strengthen m' hair?" Sanni questioned. Magna replied that she would think on it, and the children went inside, bickering about Magna cooking.
Ichiryu was just happy to have the family together.
Toriko, Komatsu, Coco, and The Gourmet Mafia followed the casino worker to where the VIP players went. As they walked, Toriko looked over and saw that Coco still seemed to be distracted about something. He had been like this since they came here, and he would have asked, but he was distracted by the Gourmet Coins, and then gambling some more.
"Hm?" He hummed, a faint scent of something in the air. Wondering where he's smelled this before he took another sniff, his eyebrows furrowed at the familiarity of it. "Neh, Coco?"
"Hm?" Coco answered.
"you wouldn't happened to have done a fortune telling about this mission...would you?"
Coco was silent, aware of the eye's one him, before nodding his head. "I did."
"Eh?" Komatsu gasped, "You did? What did you see? Is something bad going to happen?" he worried. He sighed in relief when Coco shook his head no, "Oh, thats good. But then...What did you see?"
Coco smiled slightly, "Apparently there's going to be a surprise in store for us. A happy surprise."
"What do you think it is?" Toriko questioned curiously.
"Do you think It has something to do with the Ingredients?" Match questioned hopefully.
Before Coco could answer, they arrived at the VIP area and was greeted by a man dying from poison. They were lead through, with Komatsu learning that people were also considered ingredients, and witnessed many people with debt to the casino participating in life threatening games. It was as they passed a group betting on who could eat their Duranbeast first, that the two kings heard a familiar voice.
"Toriko? Coco?"
The group stopped and looked towards a tall woman heading their way. The woman had Long dark purple hair tied loosely at her shoulders where it was then parted and braided into three tails, her bangs were braided until it joined where the hair tied off. She had golden eye's that had a slit pupil, pointed ears, light skin, a long winding scar that started at her left temple and continued on under her dress, and two small rows of spikes on her shoulders. She wore a blue-green double slit maxi dress, and golden bracelets, arms bands, anklets, and Labret piercing. A necklace made of purple beads and Fangs of different beasts and blue-green platform shoes completed her look.
"MAGNA!" The two kings greeted in surprise.
"Eh?" Komatsu looked at the newcomer in confusion, "Do you know her Toriko-san?"
Match answered, "Magna, also know as 'The Cook' of the Heavenly Kings."
Komatsu stared, "Eh?" he said, his brain trying to catch up as he stared at the woman. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?!"
Magna looked at him, "Oya? Who's this?" she questioned in amusement at the face the tiny man was making at her.
"Oh, right." Toriko chuckled, "Magna this is Komatsu, my Combo partner and head Chef of Hotel Gourmet. Komatsu this is the Fifth and Final Heavenly King, Magna."
"Hello." She greeted, sticking out her hand.
Komatsu blushed, and shook her hand, "H-Hello." he stuttered. "I-It's nice to meet you Magna-san." he said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Huh...it feels like I heard that name somewhere before."
Toriko sent him an amused look, "Well considering Magna is in the Top 100 Chefs in the world, I would think so."
"...Ha?"
"Thats right, Congratulations on getting eighth place." Coco said.
"EH."
"Thank you Coco." She smiled.
"A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MAGNA! 'HEAVENLY CHEF' MAGNA!" Komatsu screamed in shocked awe. Komatsu didn't seem to be able to form anymore words as his hands flailed and tried to say everything at once.
Magna raised her brows, "Is he ok?"
Toriko waved it off. "It's fine, It's fine. It'll pass in a bit, just gotta wait."
"Huh." she said, then gave a sly grin to Toriko.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I heard that papa had to save your sorry ass from the Entrance of Gourmet World."
"HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!" Toriko questioned in embarrassment, where could she have gotten that information from? She was no where near the area, and Sanni hadn't mentioned running into her.
"Papa told me." She answered, eye's traveling up and down Coco's suit clad form. Oya? Handsome. She mused.
Toriko, who was about to yell again, paused and looked confused. "Your papa told you?" He questioned, "Wait who is...?"
Coco frowned thoughtfully, before snapping his fingers and looking at her in bewilderment. "Knocking master Jirou?"
She nodded.
"Knocking master Jirou is your father?!" Toriko yelled in disbelief.
Magna sent him a look, "Yes. How did you not know about this? Uncle Ichi said I was your cousin." she deadpanned.
"JIROU AND THE OLD MAN ARE RELATED?" The two kings questioned in surprise.
"...really?" She questioned dryly.
Later found the group walking again, with Komatsu asking Magna for an autograph- which she happily gave him. The two Kings informing her about all that she's missed so far, and warning her about the GT robots and Gourmet Corp. Toriko even regaled her of some of his adventures with Komatsu.
"Anyway, what are you doing here Magna?" Coco asked, Match and the other noticing a visible blush one his cheeks with Toriko giving an amused knowing grin.
He's blushing? Komatsu wondered.
"I just came back from Gourmet World, and I was going to go back and get some more ingredients, but mama and papa told me to go and have fun." she shrugged, "So, I though,t why not go and gamble? I've never done it before, and there are some good ingredients to make some high class rum for papa here."
"You actually went to the Gourmet World?" Match asked in awe.
"It's not that surprising." Coco said, "Magan use to go with her father- that is, with Jirou on hunts a lot. And from what I remember Jirou usually got most of his ingredient's from the Gourmet World."
"Oooh!" The group said in surprise.
She scratched her cheek, "It's...not that impressive?" she muttered, before turning her attention to Komatsu, who seemed surprised. "What is impressive is Komatsu here."
"Eh?" he said, pointing to himself.
"Hn. You brought back the Century Soup in under a year, on nothing more then a literal hand full of soup. It took mama twenty years to get to where she was, and even then she never completed it." Magna smiled softly at him, "You not only outdid mama, but you also brought back the soup that made mama and papa smile."
Komatsu blushed at the compliment, a little honored that someone as talented as Magna would find him amazing. "Wait," he muttered as his hand paused, "Mama? It took your mama...? Is your mama-?!"
She nodded, "My mama, Setsuno!"
Komatsu fainted.
Toriko sighed, shaking his head as he picked Komatsu up and threw him over his shoulder. He should have known this would happen.
Coco looked amused, standing fairly close to Magna, as he watched Toriko roll his eyes.
Match just thought about how he met such an influential person himself.
Magna just hoped the little guy was alright.
It had been a month since the Casino fiasco, and Magna had decided to come to Drunken Frenzy Island with her papa for some Daughter-Father bonding time. Her mama was currently busy with training her new apprentice, and after the Madam Fish incident ("RIN WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?", "LIKE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT MAGNA?!"), Magna thought it the perfect time to hang with Jirou.
"Yummy~!" She sighed, blissfully soaking in Emerald wine with her papa. "That goes down so smoothly." She mumbled.
Jirou hiccuped, "Some fine alcohol, tha's for sure." he agreed.
"It's be even better with a snack." She muttered, leaning over the side of the Emerald Dragon, "Hm?" She hummed as she spotted something. She jerked upwards, "Papa look! A Fondue Pretzel Tree!"
Jirou looked over as well, and was delighted by the find, "Oho! That should do it."
"I'll get it." Magna volunteered, jumping over the side and landing on her feet. She jogged over to the tree and gathered a large amount, stopping and picking up some chips from the Chip Tree, and jumping back up. "Here we go." She mumbled balancing on the rim of the pool.
"You got quite a lot there." Jirou pointed out as he divided the snacks between them.
She slid back in, and gave him a look, "We're going to be here for a while papa. Don't even try and deny it." she said teasingly.
A few day's later found Jirou having to knock the dragon and see what had gotten it's attention.
Turned out Toriko and Komatsu had arrived.
"Make sure you stay covered by the wine, Nacchan." Jirou stated as the hunter and chef made their way up. "Don't wan' these boy's eyein' your body."
She giggled, "Oh papa, always so protective." she said just as the two men came into view while only wearing towels around their waists. She quirked a brow at seeing how developed Toriko's body became, Hmmm I wonder how fit Coco has gotten? She mused.
"AWESOOOOOME! IT'S AN EMERALD-COLORED WINE BATH!" Toriko exclaimed in delight while Komatsu jumped in.
"Hhehehe, if you bottle it, you can get no less than 5 Million a pop for this wine." Jirou informed them.
"You can get even more if you make the bottle from the Emerald Dragons hide." Magna pipped in.
"Wow, thats a lot of money Magna-san-" Komatsu started, only to cut himself off as he looked at her. "...Eh?"
Toriko also seemed to have just noticed her as well, and stared blankly. "...Magna?"
"Yes?" she asked wryly.
"..."
"..."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MAGNA!" The two yelled blushing.
Magna roared with laughter. The two men were acting like girls, flushing a deep red and trying to cover their bodies with their arms while telling her to look away.
After a few more minutes of this, Toriko and Komatsu calmed down and started to enjoy the wine again.
"Jirou-san, do you come to this land island often?" Komatsu questioned.
"Yep." Jirou said, taking another sip from his cup, "A lot of the time I come 8 day's a week."
"MORE THEN EVERY DAY!?" Komatsu shouted in shock, while Magna snorted into her own cup. "A-Ah and you, Magna-san?"
"A couple of times a month." She shrugged, "I love booze like papa, but it's no fun drinking alone."
"Hmm. Looks like somehow or other, you two are growin' pretty well." Jirou commented, gaining Magna's attention. The two looked at the hunter and chef, and were pretty impressed with how far they have grown for such a short time.
They drank some more, casual talk turning to a drinking contest, which just turned into a drinking party that lasted three days.
"Aurgh what the hell?!" Magna exclaimed as she covered her nose. Something foul had just spread across the island.
"?!" Jirou jolted, happy smile turning into a frown at the smell invading his nose. "What in th' world?" He huffed, irritated, head turning towards the west. "This is puttin' me off. Are you alright Nacchan?"
Magna nodded, hand still covering her nose and mouth, while sinking into the wine. "What is that papa?"
"Hmmm, it's been a while, but the there's no mistaking this smell." Jirou said, taking a deep breath as he faced where the smell originated from, and blew. His breath cleared the air of the stink for hundreds of miles around the island. "That was a Dodurian Bomb."
"Dodurian Bomb? I thought those were extinct?!" Magna hissed, taking a deep lungful of fresh air.
"It was, the last was 300 years ago." Jirou confirmed, "Which means some idiot Seisaya pro'bly revived it on accident."
"We should kick their ass for ruining the fun." She growled.
Elsewhere Teppei shuddered.