lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko
Previously
"Although, I feel like something's missing" Setsuno perked up as she heard Kimiko say that
"You mean with the ingredients" Toriko asked
"I'm not really sure" Kimiko said as she looked at her soup
Setsuno smiled as she looked at the two.
"Kimiko, Toriko, would you like to see the kitchen" she asked
"What?!" Kimiko and Toriko yelled
"The kitchen" Toriko said
" The kitchen is in a different place?" Kimiko asked
"Please follow me" Setsuno said as she started to walk towards a door
"Oh, Granny Setsu" Toriko said, "can I eat the rest of this soup" he drooled
"Toriko-san" Kimiko sighed
"Hurry up!" Setsuno said and then walked over to a latch on the ground and opened it to let them see a staircase going down
The kitchen's downstairs, Kimiko thought as she followed Setsuno with Toriko behind her
"The kitchen up there is used for final touches, I prepare my dishes down here" Setsuno then turned on the light switches letting them see a large space filled with island kitchens with ingredients on them
"This is amazing!" Kimiko exclaimed
"Who would have thought that such a big space would be down here" Toriko said
"This is where you so your preparatory cooking" Kimiko said
"As you know Kimiko, the quality of the cooking mostly depends on the preparation" Setsuno said as she started to walk ahead making Toriko and Kimiko follow
" The kitchen is underground so customers don't see it, but it's the most important place of the restaurant" Setsuno looked at the two, "Normally only staff are allowed"
"Thank you so much Setsuno-san for showing us such a precious" Kimiko was then cut off by a large monkey banging on the glass wall that was right next to her making her scream
"Kyah!" Kimiko yelled as she started to fall back on the railing
"Kimiko!" Toriko yelled in alarm and quickly grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her into his chest
"Thank you, Toriko-san, I was really caught off guard" Kimiko said while slightly dazed and snuggled into his chest making him blush. Toriko looked over to the large monkey that was currently in a steaming tub.
"Spa Monkey, it's soaked in hot water with Yuki and preserved at exactly 42 degrees, creating the ultimate refreshing japanese style soup stock" Toriko said, then a beeping noise was heard. Setsuno looked at the thermometer that was right next to her.
"The heat retaining mechanism isn't working right" she said as she saw that the temperature has dropped 20 degrees, "and that handle's been a little stuck lately" she then looked at Toriko, who then sighed
"Stand back, Kimi" Toriko said making Kimiko took a couple steps back and watched as Toriko jump into the air and delivered a Kugi punch at the handle effectively turning on the hot water soaking the monkey.
"Uh, do you normally adjust that" Kimiko said as she looked at the handle that was near the ceiling, "just who are you, really? Wait, is this for the Century Soup stock, too?"
"Nope" Setsuno said
"Okay, wrong again" Kimiko sighed and then followed Setsuno around the kitchen, "looking closely, these are all incredible ingredients" she then saw some pink potatoes that were soaking in water, "Peach Potato. They say the skin is so slippery that it takes as much time to peel one Peach Potato as it does one taro potato." She then saw a bunch of chopped scallions in a basket, "and that's Gori Scallion! Their cut ends have an adhesive effect, so if you don't cut hundreds of them, they won't come apart." She made a thoughtful face, " I see. The reason Setsuno-san only comes to the restaurant once a month is because preparation takes such a large amount of time."
"That's wrong, Kimiko-chan" Setsuno said appearing right in front of Kimiko startling her, she then grabbed a long rope that was hanging from the ceiling and yelled as she swung herself across the room to the other side which had a balcony, "come over here, hurry!"
"Is there any point to crossing like that"Kimiko sighed as Toriko gave a Tarzan yell as he swung to the other side, she sighed and then grabbed the rope and swung herself across the run while screaming in fear and then sighed in relief as Toriko caught her making her blush in embarassment, "Thanks Toriko-san," She then looked at Setsuno who was currently walking down the stairs,"um, Setsuno-san, why is it you only open the shop once a month, then?"
"I told you, it's the mood. But when I say "mood" I don't mean mine. It's the ingredients' mood" Setsuno said
"The ingredients' mood" Kimiko repeated
"Kimiko-chan, do you cook thinking that the chef chooses the ingredients?" She said surprising Kimiko, "how presumptuous, if you think that, you're still only half a chef. It's the other way around. The ingredients choose the customers and the chef."
"The ingredients do?" Kimiko said
"Day to day, I only ask how the ingredients moods are. Whether the shop is open or closed all depends on the ingredients" she said
"Even though, you do so much perfect preparation?" Kimiko asked making Setsuno laugh
"I think you'll understand someday, Kimiko-chan. I'm sure of it. Okay we're here" Setsuno said looking at Toriko and Kimiko. Toriko and Kimiko gasped as they looked at the gigantic pot that was before them that about the size of a large building
"I've never seen such a big pot!" Kimiko marveled and then saw Setsuno jump onto the top of the pot shocking, "Setsuno-san, really, who are you?!"
"Come on, Kimi!" Toriko shouted as he started to climb the ladder
"Wait for me!" Kimiko shouted
"Wow! This is the century soup with the ingredients still in it" Kimiko said as she looked at the large ingredients that were in the pot
"I'm surprised, the stock is still so transparent even before it's strained" Toriko said
"That's because it has the lye boiled out of it co to oust for half a year. But to be honest, the soup is still incomplete" she said and then saw that the two weren't listening to her.
"It does have the ingredients Silk Bird remnants and Mineral Coconuts in it, like we thought" Kimiko exclaimed as she pointed out the ingredients
"There's Motor Onion in here, too. What a lineup. This is awesome, Granny Setsu!"Toriko exclaimed
"It is isn't it. But to be honest, this soup is still incomplete." she repeated
"Toriko-san! Look, there's German Swordfish bones in there too!" Kimiko said. "It's said that the strong smell and harsh taste of it doesn't stop for some months"
"But it has no smell. Awesome, Granny Setsu!" Toriko said, Setsuno then turned to face them.
"Yeah, right, it's really awesome. But the Century Soup is still incomplete!" Setsuno yelled at the two, "You're slow. Notice this stuff earlier."
"What do you mean?" Kimiko asked
"Century Soup is something that originally comes from the natural world." Setsuno said as she stirred the pot
"Really!" Kimiko exclaimed
"That's the first I'm hearing of it" Toriko commented
"A long time ago, Jirou-chan fetched some for me. Just that one mouthful was so delicious I could never forget it. This is the soup I made trying to imitate that" Setsuno explained
"It's pretty delicious, but you're saying it's still incomplete?" Kimiko asked
"It's not in me to reproduce it perfectly" Setsuno said as she continued stirring the stock.
"But it's delicious, right, Toriko-san?" Kimiko asked Toriko and then saw that he was drinking a bowl of soup stock, "where did you get the bowl from?"
"It's delicious," Toriko said while drinking
"You're drinking too much, Toriko" Setsuno scolded
"Do you think that the Century Soup in the natural world is even more delicious than this?" Kimiko asked
"I wonder, it's hard to explain that taste,but Kimiko-chan" Setsuno said getting the girl's attention, "when you tasted this soup, you said it was missing something"
"yeah" Kimiko said
"Right, that's the thing, the real deal needs another something and that taste is something I can't figure out no matter what I do." Setsuno said
"No, I just said that impulsively. I mean, I've never taste the real thing or anything" Kimiko said
"Why do you think I brought you two to this kitchen?" Setsuno said getting the twos attention, "Of any country's presidents, wealthy people and gourmets not one of them has given an opinion on my cooking. I've been charmed by you two's sense of taste and sensitivity. I thought that if it's you two, it might be possible to make this soup complete. I brought you here to show you what the components of the soup stock were in detail"
"But, I...Someone like me can't complete that." Kimiko said making Setsuno gently laugh
"Wouldn't you like to try it? The real Century Soup?" Setsuno said
"I want to try it!" Toriko exclaimed
"Is that right, Toriko?" Setsuno said
"Hey, Kimik? You wanna try the real soup, right?" Toriko said as he looked at her.
Kimiko gave a thoughtful look and then smiled, "Yeah! I would love to"
"The time is right. The Century Soup only appears once every hundred years. That's why it's called Century Soup. Right now there's someone in town who knows about that information in detail, and Bishokuya are gathering from all over the world, wanting to get their hands on the soup," Setsuno explained, "I'm sure you'd get hired in a heartbeat, Toriko. Take Kimiko and go! Taste the real soup, and make a magnificent Century Soup with those hands!"
"Yeah" Kimiko said while smiling with Toriko
"The information we got in town all leads to here." Toriko said as he and Kimiko stood outside of a bar that had a bunch of people surrounding it.
"Heavy Lodge Bar" Kimko read and then entered the bar to see a heavily scarred blonde man wearing a white suit and a young man with chin length black hair that covered his right eye wearing an orange and purple outfit with orange wraps around his head and a crescent moon pendant attached to it, they were both in position to fight each other, then she noticed that everyone in the bar was looking at her.
Was this a bad time to enter, she thought while shaking in fear, that was when Toriko entered the room with a smile
"Sup?!" Toriko yelled behind her.
"Toriko?!"
"The real one!"
"It's Toriko!"
"Toriko's here!" everyone in the bar cheered, making Kimiko giggle
"Looks like the charismatic guy is here" the bartender yelled. Kimiko looked over to him to see that it was a muscular man wearing a brown shirt, who had a receding hairline and was sporting a unibrow and a moustache.
"Sure takes me back. The Heavy Lodge. Busy as always" Toriko said as he walked towards the bar
"That's amazing. Everyone knows you, Toriko-san" Kimiko said while looking around.
"Yeah, I am well-known after all" Toriko said and blushed as he saw Kimiko smile at him.
"Yo, master. I haven't heard from you in awhile" Toriko said as he took a seat at the bar. The man then placed a gigantic glass of beer in front of him
"Drink up Toriko. It's Enamel Beer" he said, "It's been awhile since I last saw you"
"Yeah, I've been getting requests more often, so I haven't had time to drop by" Toriko said and then drank the beer, and then placed it back on the counter, "Another one!"
"You finished it already!" the man exclaimed
"Honestly, Toriko-san always eats and drinks everything in a blink of an eye" Kimiko sighed as she saw Toriko converse with Nonge for a bit
"So how're the recent Bishokuya" Toriko asked as the bartender put down another glass of beer
"They're all lukewarm. I barely see anybody with the qualities that the Four Kings have" he said
"Well it's your judgement, Moriji, it can't be wrong," Toriko said
"'Master'?" Kimiko asked, "Does he work as an intermediary between the Bishokuya and the clients?"
"Yeah" Toriko said, "He's got discerning eyes that can see through to a person's true power and talent, and he refers us Bishokuya"
"Toriko. I can see your level has drastically risen again." Moriji said
"You can tell" Toriko said as he took a sip of beer
"By the way, all the customers today seem to be pretty good. You've got the same goal as them, right?"
"Yeah", I came to take a request, from the guys on the other side of that door" Toriko said
"Huh?" Kimiko said and looked to the door to see a red carpet was rolled out and men in suits were running in and lining up.
"Everyone. Stop your meals! Presenting the chairman of the 'Gourdarake Public Company,' Mr. Colonel Mokkoi" the man yelled
"That's" Kimiko said as she saw the old man walk in
"It's the old man who was buying a fortune at the department store." Toriko said
"What on Earth does he want?" Kimiko mumbled
"I'll give you 10 billion yen. To anyone who fulfills my request." the man said, "Come to the harbor tomorrow. I won't refuse anyone who arrives"
"Are you serious!" a bishokuya said
"Who do you think I am!" the man exclaimed, "The Century Soup! Those that are up for the challenge, come with me" he then turned around and left while talking to his bodyguards that were following him
I wonder what he's saying, Kimiko thought
"You better be careful, Toriko" Moriji said as he cleaned a beer glass
"Um" Kimiko said getting their attention, "Do you think it's okay for me to go with him?"
"Hm?" Moriji then inspected her, "Are you a Bishokuya?"
"Oh, my apologies" Kimiko bowed, "I'm a chef, my name is Kimiko"
"Oh, I see" Moriji said and thought as he looked at the woman who was shyly smiling, "It's weird, all these years, looking at people heading out on journeys, there have been people I wanted to stop no matter what. And then there are people like you, that I want to push forward. Go ahead and go"
Kimiko brightened and gave a bright smile, "Y-Yes sir! I'll do my best!"
Toriko blushed as he looked at Kimiko making Moriji smirk
"So is she your girlfriend, Toriko" Moriji whispered to Toriko, making him jump
"No! It's not like that!" Toriko exclaimed
"Is something wrong" Kimiko asked
"Nothing! It's just" Toriko said, "I bet that you're relieved that you could go"
"Yeah!" Kimiko exclaimed making him smile
lunamugetsu: Hello my fellow readers, sorry it took so long for me to update, but since I have free time right, I was able to post this. So thank you to all of those who were waiting so patiently. Just so you know the next chapter is probably going to be in about a month, since that's when I have free time.
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