lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko
Previously:
"Toriko-san! Look in front of us! The guard of Ice Hell, the Tundra Dragon, is frozen!" Kimiko exclaimed in fear.
"What!?" Toriko exclaimed and sure enough in front of them was a large dragon that was frozen with it's mouth open as if it was about to roar.
How is this possible, he thought
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""How did the guard end up frozen like that?" Toriko said as the harsh wind blew towards them.
"Toriko-san" Kimiko gestured to figures that were behind the corpses of people in mid walk with their hands trying to shield the wind from their face, "What is this?!"
"They're Bishokuya. These Bishokuya have reached here in the past and all froze to death. Even though this is just the entrance. So this is the netherworld of intense cold, Ice Hell?"
"Did something happen?" Kimiko looked behind them to see Takimaru pulling himself up. "Huh! A Tundra Dragon!"
"Takimaru, get yourself fired up. If you're half-hearted about it, you won't make it in this continent." Toriko said as he looked back at Takimaru.
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Toriko exhaled slowly as his breath quickly froze and was blown away.
This wind, it's unusually strong and seems like it's gonna freeze everything, he thought
"I guess the reason the helicopter couldn't get any closer was because of these typhoon-force winds" Match said.
"We should stay together and move forward as a tightly-knit group, don't you think, Toriko-san?" Takimaru suggested
"Yeah, I'll take the lead" he said and looked to the group behind him, "Everyone follow me."
Kimiko looked at the group and saw that Zongo and his two friends were heading in a different direction and someone else was following them.
"Kimi, come on!" Toriko yelled
"Coming!" she shouted as she started to go with the group.
"They're completely frozen" Takimaru said while they were walking by the frozen corpses.
"I guess it's because they weren't wearing heavy cold-resistant clothing" Kimiko said and saw that one of the frozen bodies was lying on its side as if the person was lazing around, not caring about the freezing temperature.
That one's a bit odd, Kimiko thought and looked at Toriko and saw that he was also looking at it.
"Toriko-san" Kimiko said making him look at her.
"Come on, we gotta keep moving in this weather," he gave her a smile and started to pick up his speed.
I wonder what he was thinking, Kimiko thought as she tried to catch up to Toriko.
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"The strength of the wind has gotten faster. It's at 30 meters per second. With the wind chill it feels like around minus 80 degrees" Toriko muttered and exhaled.
My breath freezes instantly when I exhale, he thought while looking at Kimiko who was shivering from the cold.
"Kimi, are you okay?" he asked making her look at him
"Cold, but then again, so is everyone" Kimiko said with small smile, "Don't worry about me Toriko. I can handle a little cold. Besides, everyone here is trying their best to get through this, I should too," Toriko gave a small smile and patted her head making Kimiko pout again, "Toriko-san"
"Show some guts, Ram." Match said as he saw that Ram was slowing down, "We're not going to die in a place like this." That was when something flew past his fast right towards Ram.
"Huh." Ram managed to say as Toriko caught the flying piece of sharp ice that was right in front of his face, "Is that a sastrugi?"
"Yeah" Toriko said as he looked at the sharp piece of ice in his grasp, "The surface of the snow gets sharpened by the wind and the edges form a pointed shape like this." that was when Toriko hear more sharp sounds cutting through the air, he quickly turned around and faced the group, "Sastrugis are breaking off and coming from upwind! Be careful, there are more coming!"
Bishokuyas screamed in pain as they were struck by the sastrugis, while others quickly ran away. Match and Takimaru were breaking down the ice by breaking them into tiny chunks. Toriko looked over at Kimiko who was trying to dodge the sastrugis and then saw that one of the sastrugis was heading towards her.
"Kimi!" Toriko shouted and grabbed her while also breaking apart the sastrugi that had almost struck her.
"Toriko-san" Kimiko looked at Toriko and smiled, "Thank you"
"Don't mention it" he grinned
"Uh, Toriko-san" Kimiko said
"Yeah"
"You can put me down now" Kimiko said making Toriko blush
"Oh, uh sorry" he said as he set her back down, he coughed and then turned back to the group, "Come on everyone, let's keep moving!"
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The group was now residing in a hole that Toriko had carved so that they could hide from the harsh wind, and were currently setting up camp.
Kimiko was currently trying to keep herself warm by huddling herself into her sleeping bag. She was shivering while also trying to warm her hands by rubbing them together
"Can you drink?" Kimiko looked up to see that Takimaru was pouring some hot milk that was in a saucepan into a cup, "I warmed it up a bit"
"Thank you very much" she said while slowly getting out of her sleeping bag and gingerly taking the cup from Takimaru's hands, she took comfort from the hot beverage that was in her hands and took a drink, "It's delicious!"
"I'm glad" Takimaru smiled
"Why don't you have some, too, Takimaru-san?" she offered the cup back to him.
"No, I'll be all right, please drink it all" he declined.
"But you haven't eaten anything this whole time. It's not good for your body" she said a little worried, that was when they heard someone chuckle and saw that it was Match.
"That's because Gourmet Knights fast for entire months. He's used to being hungry" Match said with a joking tone. Takimaru smiled and then poured some of the hot milk into another cup and turned towards Match.
"I don't have any for you, old man, but I do have some for your subordinates. Please let them have some," Takimaru said while smiling.
He's angry, Kimiko thought as she looked at Takimaru
"A charitable spirit, huh? You Gourmet Knights are something" Match replied
"No, probably not as much as you, old man." Takimaru said while still smiling.
"Stop saying 'old man' all the time. I'm still in my 20's" Match said
"Old man, you're in your 20's! You're kidding, right?!" Takimaru exclaimed.
Kimiko looked around and saw that Toriko was missing,
"Huh? Where's Toriko-san?" she asked
"He's up above" Takimaru answered
"Huh? Right in the storm!" Kimiko exclaimed
"Toriko's been keeping watch the whole time" Match said
"Keeping watch? You mean in case any wild beasts come?" Kimiko suggested
"That could be it. But he seemed to be on the lookout for something else in particular" Match said.
"It's so cold, and yet there are some really monstrous creatures out there in the blizzard," Kimiko looked at the warm cup of milk that was in her hands,"Takimaru-san"
"Yes" he turned to look at her
"Do you have anymore milk?" she asked
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Is it okay for me to use it," Kimiko asked
"Sure, be my guest," he said and then took out a container filled with milk, "If you don't mind me asking. What are you planning to do with this?"
"It's a surprise" she said while giving a bright smile and taking the container. She walked over to the stove and turned it on while taking out a saucepan.
"What do you think she's going to do?" Ram asked, the others just shrugged not having the faintest clue.
A couple of minutes later a sweet smell started to invade their senses.
"Hey, doesn't that smell familiar" Match asked
"Yeah, it smells like," Ram started to think
"Chocolate!" Everyone said in unison and then looked over at Kimiko who was stirring the large saucepan
"It's done! Anyone want hot chocolate? There's enough for everyone!" She told everyone causing everyone to rush over to her.
"Amazing! I didn't know you even had the ingredients to make hot chocolate" Takimaru said as he looked at the large pot
"It sure was lucky, that I pack cooking ingredients with me" Kimiko said as she served a cup to Ram who thanked her as she started to serve the other Bishokuyas
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Toriko stood on the surface as the frigid air blew towards him, forming ice on his body.
The guard of the ice world. Someone who could actually take that thing's life, is not ordinary, he thought before hearing something move behind him, he looked back and saw that Match had climbed up.
"Let's switch guard duty, Toriko," Match said as he walked towards Toriko
"Huh?"
"As thanks for this afternoon," Toriko recalled the time he stopped the sastrugi from hitting Ram, "You saved my subordinate"
"An expression of gratitude. You sure have integrity for a member of the mafia" Toriko said
"My name is Match" he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you." he held out his hand in greeting
"Toriko. Well, let's try to combine our strengths"Toriko shook his hand
"For now, anyway" Match said as he looked back at the group that was in the dugout camp, "Hey, Toriko" the said man looked at him
"That little chef that is with you, Kimiko, was it?" Match asked
"Yeah," Toriko said warily
"She sure is a sweet person, she made a giant pot of hot cocoa for the Bishokuyas that are with us," he informed Toriko
Toriko smiled, "That sounds like Kimi, she always wants to help others"
Match observed Toriko while he smiled, "Are you sure you and Kimiko aren't dating?" Toriko immediately turned red and looked at Match
"No! How did you get that idea, in the first place" Toriko said with his cheeks slightly red
"Well with how friendly you guys are with each other, not to mention the way you address her, without any honorifics, or just her entire first name." Match stated
"We're just friends" Toriko said looking away from Match
"Right" Match said while sounding unconvinced
"Anyway, why don't you go check on everybody else, I'm staying here" Toriko said
"Are you sure," Match said
"Just go back" Toriko grumbled, making Match sigh and walk back to the group
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"Match-san, there you are" Kimiko said as she saw Match climb down from the surface, "I was wondering where you were"
"I was just talking to Toriko" Match said as he looked at everyone else who were happily drinking their beverage and chatting amongst each other. Match looked over at his subordinates and raised his eyebrow at Takimaru, who was also drinking the hot chocolate.
"I was able to convince him to drink a little, it wasn't much, but it'll be able to warm him up" Kimiko said as she saw where Match was looking, she then presented him with his own cup of hot chocolate, " I saved you a cup"
"Thank you" he said as he gently took the hot beverage into his hands relishing the feeling of something warm in his hands
"We all have the same goal, let's do our best and work together" Kimiko said while smiling making Match smile and he took a drink of the hot chocolate.
No wonder Toriko likes her, Match thought while sipping the cocoa
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The group was currently hiking against the harsh winds as ice was growing on their forms
"Guys, are you holding up okay!?" Toriko asked while carrying Kimiko on his back.
"Yeah." Match said with his arm in front of his face to shield against the harsh wind and debris, "Well, behind us, everyone's retired except for my subordinates!" Match yelled over the weather
"Even the Lighter Suits can't endure any more than this!" Takimaru managed to say, "What is this level of coldness?"
"Even though it's morning, the sun is completely blocked by clouds. The temperature is just going down." Toriko looked back at Kimiko who was breathing slowly and her eyes were closed.
Kimi's in trouble, Toriko thought, she's losing body heat.
"Hey I can see something" Match said
"That's" Takimaru said
The group approached frozen flora which was completely encased in ice.
"Green land?" Takimaru said, "Just being in this blizzard for an instant has made them freeze completely, it seems,"
"We've got to hurry too, or else we'll end up like these plants" Match said
Toriko walked over to a certain fungus that was encased in ice, he brushed off the ice and used the scanner that he bought from the Heavy Lodge, the screen of the scanner lit up displaying the mushroom and it's information.
"Just as I thought, a Hot Mushroom!" Toriko exclaimed and picked the mushroom and set down Kimiko, "Kimi, eat this. It'll warm you up a bit" he held the mushroom towards her mouth letting her take a small bite.
"It's a little spicy. But my body is warming up. I feel a bit relieved," she then looked at Toriko," Ah, you should have some too, Toriko-san"
"Huh?" he replied
"You barely ate anything today. I'll be okay" she said as she tried to push the mushroom towards Toriko
"Kimi, you" Toriko said
"Even in a situation like this, he's worrying about other people more than himself" Takimaru said as they looked over at Kimiko who was shivering
"Kimi, it's okay just knowing that you're fine is enough for me. Come on, eat up!" Toriko said with a big smile making Kimiko eat the rest of the mushroom .
"Thank you, Toriko-san" Kimiko said with tears forming in her eyes
One of the Match's subordinates sniffled and wiped his nose as he saw the tears
"Toriko-san! Making me eat all of it at once, was too spicy! My tongue is burning!" Kimiko screamed while also laughing
"Oh! Sorry!" Toriko said while also laughing
"So they were those kind of tears" the subordinates said
GROWL!
The entire group turned their heads towards the sound and saw an entire herd of large blue bisons.
"Freezer Bison" Match grumbled
"And we're in such a hurry," Takimaru said
"No, this is lucky," Toriko said," I heard that Freezer Bison's meat is delicious. And their pelts can be used as arctic clothing, too, right?"
"I see" Takimaru said
"And moving around will warm our bodies up,right?" Match dropped the bag that he was carrying and grabbed his sword
"Leave this one to me" Takimaru said as he went up to one and punched his fists together and took a deep breath while also moving his arm in a synchronized fashion.
"Those movements Takimaru-san is making" Kimiko said
"That's his pre-shot routine" Toriko said
"Pre-shot routine?"
"Yeah, he does a certain set of actions before he uses his techniques, to boost his power of concentration. By upping his concentration, it fortifies the image of his technique's success in his mind. You know when I use Fork and Knife, I rub my hands together. It's the same as that." Toriko explained
"I get it now" Kimiko said
"Anyone could have a pre-shot routine. The more you increase that quality, the greater performance you can expect out of it"
Kimiko watched as the bison charged at Takimaru who quickly put his hands at the bison's side. She heard a large crack as the bison was flipped out of the way.
"I was able to dislodge the bones" Takimaru gasped while completely exhausted
"That's quite some concentration power. The more you raise the quality of the pre-shot routine, the more you can raise the power of the technique."
STOMP!
Kimiko looked over to her left and saw a Freezer Bison standing in front of Match.
"Here it comes, Match-san's exhaustion" Ram said
"Exhaustion?" Kimiko said and then looked at Match who was preparing to take out his sword.
"Exhaustion. The more strength that escapes his body, the more Match's iai speed and destructive power increases" Ram explained as Kimiko saw the bison charge at Match who calmly stood still as the bison ran right past him and then fell down. She then looked over at Match who was now sheathing his sword.
"That's our Match-san! Amazing!" the subordinates exclaimed
That was when they heard the sound of another bison charging right at them and started to run out of the way.
"3 REN KUGI PUNCH!" Toriko yelled as he delivered a blow to the bison and knocked it back.
"Incredible" one of the subordinates said
Just as I thought, he's not someone I want as an enemy, Match thought and saw that the other bisons were getting ready to charge and prepared to pull out his sword
GRRROOOOWL!
A large red oni demon appeared with a sinister red aura surrounding growled at the bison making them turn and run away.
"Three should be plenty." Match looked over at Toriko who was walking towards him, " There's no point in needlessly taking any more lives"
That was Toriko, Match thought and then remembered what Zebra words were, "Let me wipe them all out, not leaving a single one left" You're one of the Four Heavenly Kings, too, but you're different, Match watched as Kimiko went over to Toriko who patted her head making her pout causing him to laugh
"I'll go get the pelts ready!" he said to the other
He's a guy who's kind towards life, Match thought
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"How's the bison pelt, Kimi?" Toriko said as he watched Kimiko wrap the pelt around herself.
"It's wonderful! Thank you Toriko!" Kimiko said as she snuggled into the pelt
"This should mitigate the cold" Takimaru said as he put on his pelt
"We're saved," said one of the subordinates while daunting their pelts
"I give thanks to all the ingredients in this world. Idtadakimasu!" Toriko said and then dug into the bison meat that he was grilling
"Idtadakimasu" Kimiko said and took a bite of her meat.
"Yum! It's simple with no peculiarities!" Toriko said and then took another bite
"Perhaps if I added some shoyu kind of flavoring, it would taste even better. Although it would taste a lot better in a warmer climate" Kimiko said making Toriko grin
"Even in the middle of this snowstorm, those guys can calmly savor something," Match said before a strong gust caused everyone to shiver.
"Let's get going. If we get inside the ice mountain, this wind should die down."Toriko said as he stood up
"Right!" Takimaru said
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The group panted as they stood at the entrance to the mountain, ice had started forming on their skin and clothes while they stood there.
"We made it" Toriko said, "This is the ice mountain of Ice Hell"
"We did it," Kimiko said and then collapsed
"Kimi!"Toriko exclaimed as he caught her before she hit the ground
"We somehow made it here alive" she said while smiling
"Yeah, good job holding up" Toriko said, "You're very brave"
"I'm glad that I get to be here with you" she gave him smile making Toriko blush for a second before looking the other way
"Toriko-san, shall we take a rest?" Takimaru asked
"No, we've gotta keep moving" Toriko said, "The Century Soup is somewhere in this ice mountain" Kimiko heard his stomach growl, "There's no time like the present! And everytime after that is the wrong time!" Toriko started to march into the mountain, "Hurry up! I wanna eat that soup!"
"Toriko-san, might it be that you're just hungry?" Takimaru said
"That's definitely it" Kimiko giggled
"Come on! Hurry up, you guys!" Toriko looked back at them, Kimiko suppressed a laugh as she saw that the drool that was hanging out of Toriko's mouth was frozen making him look like a walrus.
"Toriko-san! Your drool's turning into icicles!" Kimiko said while smiling
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"Wow! What pretty ice! They sparkle like diamonds," Kimiko said as she touched the ice, "I never thought that there'd be ice this beautiful in Ice Hell!" she marveled as she touched the sparkling ice
"Kimi, you should be all right even without the pelt, now." Toriko said
"The pelt? It's true." she said as she took off the bison pelt, "It's a lot warmer than before"
"Just as I thought, there's no wind here. The heat from the Hell Methane Hydrate that warms only once every hundred years, throws the atmospheric current of this continent into disarray creating a strong wind blowing away from the mountain" he explained
"So we ended up coming to Ice Hell at the most dangerous time?" Kimiko asked as she started to retie her hair into a ponytail
"But if we didn't come now, we wouldn't get the Century Soup, now that it's thawed"
"That's true,but the greenland, and even the guard of this ice world, the Tundra Dragon, were completely frozen.
"I don't think so," Toriko said, "That thing wouldn't have frozen from that level of wind. If it were alive, that is"
"Huh?"
"It froze, after it died" Toriko elaborated
"No way, the Tundra Dragon's Capture Level should be a little over 50" Kimiko said
"Yeah," Toriko said
"Who on earth could do something like that?" Kimiko looked over at Toriko who still had a serious face.
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lunamugetsu:Finally finished! Sorry for the long wait, I'm so happy I was able to get this chapter done. I was so busy with work, summer classes, and homework for my ap classes that I was swamped. At least I was able to finish this! Anyway in the next chapter Yun is going to appear!I can't wait to write about it!
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