Lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko
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Toriko stood still as he saw the four pronged footprint that was left in the ground.
"Toriko-san!" Toriko looked up to see the chef running towards him, "I found it! I found the Ozone Herb!"
"Really?!" He exclaimed, he decided to put away his thoughts for later as Kimiko gestured for him to follow her.
"Come on, it's over here!" Toriko grinned as he followed after the chef. As he reached the top of the hill, he was greeted with the site of a large plant that reminded him of a cabbage, except its leaves were tightly packed together giving it a shape similar to a seed.
"This is the King of Vegetables! The Ozone Herb!" He exclaimed.
"That's strange, I could have sworn its leaves were open before," Kimiko muttered
"It's a vegetable that's covered in layers of leaves, just light a cabbage or hakusai!" Toriko jumped off the hill and landed directly onto the Ozone Herb taking a large sniff of the plant. Kimiko raised an eyebrow as Toriko hadn't moved for awhile.
Is he stuck? She thought as Toriko remained frozen. She then saw that Toriko was trembling. Is he crying!
"W-What a shock! For a second, I thought I had gotten pesticide inside my nose" Toriko said
"Um, Toriko-san, you okay?"
"Don't worry." Toriko waved at Kimiko, "This fearsome smell, and in such direct sunlight, I bet this thing absorbs all kinds of creatures that can't handle the stimulus. That's how these leaves protect the Ozone Herb that's inside. Okay! Let's peel these leaves to see the vegetable inside!" He said before waving back to Kimiko
"Be careful, Toriko-san!" Kimiko shouted and then frowned as she saw Toriko grab onto the top of one of the leaves.
"These things are hard! Just like the BB Corn." Toriko said as he started to tug onto the leaf.
NO!
Kimiko held her breath as she felt the unsettling sensation. If she were to describe it was the feeling of doing something wrong, like eating a banana covered in mayonnaise, a thing that you should never do.
"I wonder. What's is this, I'm feeling? For a moment, it felt like the ingredient was saying no." She grimaced as the sensation kept on getting stronger as Toriko continued to pull on the leaf. "Wait Toriko-san! Don't pull on the leaf!"
"What?" The leaf that Toriko had just pulled started to release gas making Toriko step back as the plant started to shrink back into a seed. "A seed."
"It's just like before, with the Century Soup. All the different tastes, the combinationations and dishes that just didn't work." She took a couple steps back.
"Toriko-san!" Toriko looked up to see that Kimiko was falling towards hims. "Please catch me!"
"Kimi!" Toriko quickly held his arms out to catch the chef. He took a breath as she safely landed in his arms.
"Thank you." She said as she jumped out and went to look at the seed.
"Since when did you become such a daredevil?"
"It's because I believe in you, Toriko-san. I knew that you were going to catch me." Toriko blushed as he watched her inspect the seed.
"It reverted back to the the seed stage." Kimiko muttered and then she turned back to Toriko, "Toriko-san, I believe the Ozone Herb is a Special Preparation Ingredient."
"What?"
"It's like the Puffer Whale. Delicate ingredients that react cautiously to prospective chefs and guests. When you were pulling on the leaf earlier. I had this feeling like the ingredient was telling me 'no, not that leaf.' Perhaps there's an order in which you have to pull off the leaves. And if you get it wrong, then it looks like it turns back into a seed instantly."
"Kimi, you heard the voice of the ingredients. It's amazing that your skill has already been refined to this level. Is this the experience you gained from completing the Century Soup?" He gave a sigh. "The Ozone Herb. I get it now. It's not going to let us take a bite so easily, is it?
"There has to be more around here. I know we'll be able to eat it. I can tell we can." She said
"You can tell can you? Did the ingredients tell you that, too?" Kimiko blushed as Toriko smiled at her
"I felt it when I ate the vegetables in Vegetable Sky. I felt like the vegetables had chose us." She said as they started to try and find the other Ozone Herbs, "I could sense that the ingredients accepted us. That's why I'm sure that other Ozone Herbs will pop up for us."
"Us, is it?" Toriko grinned as he followed Kimiko.
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"There it is!" Kimiko pointed to an entire lot filled with Ozone Herbs "With so many Ozone Herbs."
"Yeah, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. We're gonna unwrap the heart of the Ozone Herb, you betcha!" Toriko said
"Yes, let's do it!" Kimiko exclaimed
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Kimiko and Toriko were both clinging onto the Ozone Herb trying to figure out what to do.
"Toriko-san, do you have any ideas?" she asked
"Nope, not a clue!" Toriko said with tears streaming down his eyes.
"Toriko-san you're crying!" Kimiko exclaimed as she took out her handkerchief and started to wipe the tears away.
"This is making me frustrated!" Toriko said, " Kimi, can you try listening to the voice of the ingredient?"
"Okay." Kimiko held her ear close to the leaves and turned back to him, "I'm not hearing anything."
"What? Then what was all that talk before," He whined making Kimiko laugh.
"For now, let's just try unwrapping one leaf." Toriko nodded and then pulled one of the leaves down only for the herb to revert back into a seed.
"This is going to take awhile." Kimiko sighed.
And so began a long test of trial and error.
Pulling the leaves by variance of size: wrong
Pulling the leaves by the number of veins: wrong
Pulling the leaves by the difference of color: wrong
"How are we going to find it, we've tried so many variations," Kimiko said as she hung from one of the leaves of the Ozone Herb while Toriko was holding onto another.
"Don't worry, Kimi. There's still plenty left. We can't turn so many of them into seeds without at least a good reason." Toriko said
"Yeah, you're right." Kimiko perked up as she felt an odd sensation from holding onto her leaf. She looked back at Toriko to see that his hands were still on a leaf.
Yes.
Kimiko perked up as she understood what the feeling meant. The sensation that she felt when she put the right combinations of ingredients together when she made the Century Soup.
"Toriko-san."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Can you try pulling that leaf you've got at the same time as mine?" She asked
"This leaf?" Toriko pointed at the leaf he was holding.
"Yeah. Ready. Set." The two both pulled down on their leaves and perked up at the sight of the plant still being intact as the leaves were being pulled down.
"It didn't turn into a seed!."
"I've figured it out! It's simultaneous!" Kimiko exclaimed, "We have to pull on the leaves at the exact same time."
"The same time, eh."
"I felt it when we were gripping two leaves just now, it was like the Ozone Herb was lowering its guard." She explained
"Amazing, Kimi! You heard the voice of the ingredient. Now that we know it, let's pull off these leaves right away! "
"Yeah!" Kimiko said, "Wait, Toriko-san!" Toriko halted from grabbing onto a leaf. "Not that leaf."
"We can't choose randomly?" Kimiko shook her head no making Toriko sigh. He then sniffed the leaf and started to smell the others.
"This one?" Toriko said as he grabbed another leaf.
"Yes, that leaf is the one!"
"I get it," Toriko grinned, "It's smell. I have pick the one that's the most fragrant
"I see, then I'll leave the smelling to you, Toriko-san."
"Of course. Kimi, pull the leaf right in front of you!" Kimiko did what he said, "Ready, set"
The two pulled only for the plant to deflate, "What?!"
"We have to be in perfect sync." Kimiko sighed
"I guess, I was a bit too eager," Toriko said, "This is gonna take awhile."
"Yep."
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After a grueling multiple tries the two had finally gotten down to the final two leaves of the Ozone Herb.
"Yes, we finally reached the last two leaves." Kimiko breathed a sigh of relief
"All that time it took to differentiate the smell of the leaves of the Ozone Herb. This has to be at least a Capture Level 60" He turned to Kimiko, "Kimi, the words you told me when we were climbing up the vine, really saved me. Thank you." Kimiko blushed as Toriko gave her a small smile, "If we get this Ozone Herb safely, I have a favor to ask you,"
"A favor to ask me?" She repeated, "Why can't you ask me it now?"
"Wait for it. We need to complete the old man's request first." Toriko went to grab a leaf and waited for Kimiko to grab the other.
"Ready?"
"Yeah." she responded.
"Synchronize our breathing."
"Ready set" they said in unison as they pulled the leaves. The two grinned as they successfully pulled the leaves back. Kimiko caught sight of the Ozone Herb moving and then both of them were sprayed with water.
"It just moved a little and look at this water spray!" Toriko exclaimed
"It's gushing with vibrancy!" Kimiko looked at the herb to see that it looked like a luminescent leaf that stood straight up.
"What a fleshy leaf, The center is so stuffed, it looks like it could burst at any moment!" Toriko said
"Looking closely, you can see the veins gushing, and I can hear the leaf vibrating. I've never seen a vegetable this full of life!" She gushed, only to laugh as she saw that Toriko was drooling. "Toriko-san! You're drooling!"
"Eh! It smells so fresh and delicious, it's abnormally whetting my appetite." He wiped his face, "No, it's not just my appetite. It's like my entire body is craving it! It's as if." He paused and then looked at Kimiko, "C'mon, Kimi, let's eat it!"
"Huh, but aren't we supposed to take this to the president?"
"It's totally fine, we know how to get it, we can always get the president another one."
"You're completely contradicting yourself, "Kimiko sighed
"We gotta taste it first!"
"Yes." She resigned.
"We were able to capture this because of you, Kimi. You should try it first." he offered
"Ok, but if it weren't for you, I couldn't have made it here above the clouds, so you can have it first."
"Really! Don't mind if I do!" Toriko drooled while looking at the plant.
"He's not holding back one bit" She sighed
"Idtadakimasu!" Toriko said before biting into the Ozone Herb, only for it to release gas.
"What the?"Kimiko looked at the shriveled up Ozone Herb and saw Toriko spit out the bite that he took.
"It's ruined. Sorry, but I couldn't eat it at all!"
"Looks like something went wrong" Kimiko paused and looked up at Toriko "Wait, do you think?"
"We have to bite into it together!" The two said in unison.
"We have to do it again!" Toriko groaned
"Right!" The two went off to peel another Ozone Herb.
"We have to bite it at the same time, just how much does this plant like teamwork," Toriko muttered, "You okay with this Kimi?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" The chef asked
"Y'know eating the from the same ingredient at the same time," Toriko pointed out
"Well we already shared a drink before." Kimiko said, "Remember when you drank my soda back in Gourmet Town." Toriko paused as the memory of him taking the gigantic soda can from Kimiko to finish.
"That is true, but aren't you at least a bit embarrassed?"
"The thought of it is a bit embarrassing," Kimiko sighed, "But, the thought of how delicious the Ozone Herb is. Doesn't that idea make you excited?"
Toriko laughed as he saw Kimiko's excitement and then patted her head, "You ready Kimi?"
"Yup."
"We give thanks for all this world's great bounty. Idtadakimasu!" The two said and then looked at each other, "Ready. Set!" they bit into the Ozone Herb. Pulling back they could see that the Ozone Herb was still intact.
"WE DID IT!" They yelled in triumph.
"We managed to it!" Kimiko jumped into Toriko's arms in happiness as all their hard work paid off. "It tastes delicious too!" Kimiko cried tears of joy as she started to taste the Ozone Herb.
"A soft, but strong texture. A delightful chewiness where if you lightly chew, you teeth just bounce right off. All the sounds carried through the jaw. Just chewing it is fun. Apple, grapefruit, kiwi. The fresh sweetness and tartness of fruits are racing inside my mouth. And chasing behind it, the deep richness of sweet potato and pumpkin! It's far beyond a mere vegetable. Incredibly delicious!" He swallowed, his eyes widened as he felt something happen to him. Quickly he stood up making Kimiko look at him, and in a flash his shirt was torn to shreds as his muscles grew instantaneously.
"What in the!" Kimiko managed to say as she watched Toriko.
"This feeling. There can be no doubt! This ingredient is exactly what my Gourmet Cells wanted. It was an ingredient that raised the level of my Gourmet Cells!"Toriko grinned.
Old man, you knew about this didn't you. You know the Ozone Herb would agree with my cells, and that I couldn't capture it or eat it unless I worked as a team, Toriko thought and looked back at Kimiko.
"Hey, Kimiko." Toriko sat down next to her. "Have you… ever thought of forming a combo with me?"
Kimiko's eyes widened as she stayed silent at his question.
"Well, you know.." He blushed, "If you're up for it. Let's form a combo and make the ultimate Full Course, together."
"You and me." Kimiko finally managed to say.
"Yeah. How about it?" Toriko then held his breath as he saw that Kimiko was crying,
"I-I," Kimiko took a deep breath, "Toriko-san, ever since I met you. I always wanted to cook the ingredients that you captured. Eating something is the same as receiving its life. You taught me that Toriko-san. I've always wanted to take the ingredients you showed me and make them even more delicious. Maybe it's presumptuous of me, but looking back, I believed that I always wanted to combo partners with you"
"Really? It never crossed my mind back then." He panicked as he saw that Kimiko gained a depressed aura, "But it's how I feel now. Kimi, you have something that I lack" He patted her head making her look at him, "Your passion to become the best chef, and a gift of being loved by ingredients." He held his hand out to her, "Will you be my partner?"
Kimiko quickly wiped her tears away and grabbed his hand.
"Yes! I hope I can be of service!" She said giving him a big smile. "I never thought I'd be part of a combo, especially with you, Toriko-san. It's like a dream."
Toriko mirrored her smile as he saw that her face lit up whenever she smiled.
"Hey, Toriko-san. From this angle, doesn't the Ozone Herb look like a heart."
"Don't say things like that," Toriko blushed as Kimiko pouted. "Anyway, as delicious as it was, I'm not going to put it in my Full Course."
"Really? Why not? It's the ingredient that marks the formation of our combo, after all" Kimiko reasoned
"While it's true that it made my cells evolve, the ingredient favors you. I noticed it awhile ago. The Ozone Herb came to you." He told her
"That does explain how the Ozone Herb's leaves were open the first time I saw it." Kimiko pondered
"Plus, it'll be difficult to have an ingredient that you have to eat with someone else on a Full Course." Toriko said
"That is true," Kimiko sighed as Toriko patted her head.
"Don't worry, Kimi. If you want to eat this again, we can just come back here, and do it all over again." Toriko laughed as he saw Kimiko's face pale.
"There's no way my heart could handle all of that again," Kimiko sighed
"Don't worry, besides since we're a combo. I'm sure we'll encounter some even better ingredient out there in the world." Toriko grinned as Kimiko perked up at his comment.
"Yeah! I'll cook and make sure that the ingredients you choose will be even more delicious, Toriko-san!" Toriko laughed at the chef's enthusiasm.
"Well put, Kimi!"
SCREECH!
The two turned to the source of the noise and stilled as they saw a bipedal figure with an avian like beak and covered to head to toe in fur.
"GT Robo?" Kimiko said as the figure had the same look as the robots that the Bishokukai usually fought with, but had a tail and red mohawk. Plus, this one was wearing clothes, such as a skirt and a necklace.
"No," Toriko looked at the creature's foot and remembered the footprint that he had seen from earlier, "So that footprint came from you."
"Toriko-san." Kimiko said as the creature started to walk in their direction.
"Don't move Kimi," Toriko kept his eyes on the creature, "Don't make any foolish moves. I don't have any idea what this creature is, but I'm not sensing any hostility. Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll protect you. After all, we're combo partners."
Kimiko nodded as they stood perfectly still as the creature kept on advancing. She held her breath as the creature walked past Toriko and eventually her and sat down in front of the Ozone Herb.
Screech.
Crunch!
The two partners stood in silence as they watched the creature chew for a bit before spitting the contents out of its mouth. It gave a brief squawk before jumping off the leaves, leaving a trail of dust behind it, disappearing from the two's view.
"What just happened?" Kimiko managed to say, "It looked like a GT Robo, but different."
"It's not a GT Robo, they do look similar, but this one didn't have the titanium alloy smell that GT Robos have." Toriko clarified, "And if it had been a GT robo, I would have sensed the human operator's presence. There's no doubt about it, that's a living being."
"Wait, are you saying that this is a natural inhabitant of Vegetable Sky?"
"Nope, it's smell was different than anything I've smelled before. My theory is that it didn't come from the human world, but from a different one." Toriko said
"Then what was it doing here? All I saw it do was eat the Ozone Herb."
"It probably just wanted to eat the foods here in Vegetable Sky. It took a bite of the Ozone Herb and then spat it out. Since it didn't eat it with someone else, the plant probably rotted," Toriko turned to look at the Ozone Herb only to stop to see that the Ozone Herb was still in one piece, and had not rotted at all. Instead there was another set of bite marks on both sides of the leaf.
"How is that possible? Did that thing bite into the Ozone Herb at such speed that the Ozone Herb couldn't tell that they were two seperate bites," Toriko's eyes narrowed, " How could somebody have such an instantaneous force? He must have been watching us, ever since we were trying to peel the leaves of the Ozone Herb. It learned everything by just watching us."
"It learned by watching us?" Kimiko repeated.
"Yeah, it probably didn't know how to get to the Ozone Herb before, so it was watching us. It knew that it couldn't be able to peel the leaves by itself, so he waited until we got the Ozone Herb and took its chance to eat it. It possesses a high level of intelligence and agility."
"But, for it to go through all that trouble of eating it, " Kimiko pondered, "Only to spit it out such a delicious vegetable. This guy must not have great taste." she gave a little laugh.
Toriko cracked a grin at Kimiko's statement, "Yeah, you're right. High intelligence or not, it doesn't know a good thing when it eats it." he patted her head.
"I'm just glad, that nothing bad happened to us." Kimiko sighed
"Alright, Kimi. Ready to get another Ozone Herb and bring it to the old man." Toriko said
"Well, by bringing it back, does that mean we have to go down the plant again?," Kimiko's face started to turn pale at the notion.
"Yep!" Toriko grinned as Kimiko gained a depressed aura.
"Please tell me, you at least have a spare shirt in your bag." Kimiko sighed
"What? Something wrong with seeing me half naked?" Toriko teased
"No, I've already seen you lose your shirts. I'm just worried. What would happen if you didn't wear any clothing to protect you when we have to climb down." Toriko stared at Kimiko for a moment.
"Aw, Kimi! You care so much for other people!" Toriko then picked her up and hugged her. Kimiko yelped as she was pressed against Toriko's bare chest. Her cheeks grew red at the close proximity they were sharing. "Don't worry, Kimi. All we have to do to get down from here is to jump off."
"Jumping from such a height isn't an easy feat." Kimiko sighed as Toriko let go of her and placed her down.
"C'mon Kimi! Let's go get another Ozone Herb."
"Yeah!"
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Kimiko smoothed out the creases on her business suit, while holding the container that was housing the Ozone Herb in her other hand. She was a bit fidgety as she was going to meet the IGO President for the first time. Toriko patted her head making her look up at her combo partner.
"There's no need to be so nervous Kimi. The old man would be happy to meet you. After all, we're combo partners after all." Toriko's statement dissipated the nervousness that she once had, as she had complete trust in her combo partner.
"Mr. Toriko, the president will see you now," the president's assistant said, while opening the door for Toriko and Kimiko to go through.
"Oh yeah, the Ozone Herb. I did tell you to get that for me, didn't I." the president laughed. He was a little shorter than Toriko, having tanned skin with spikey blonde hair and a moustache. He was in his business attire wearing black slacks with an orange button up top and a purple tie.
"You forgot about that, old man," Toriko grumbled
"Anyway, I'm impressed that you were able to bring that back. The Ozone Herb is Special Preparation Ingredient with a Capture Level of 66." The president told his son
"It's all thanks to her!" Toriko patted Kimiko's head, "This is the chef that I've teamed up with, Kimiko."
"I-It's an honor to meet you! I'm a chef at the Hotel Gourmet." Kimiko gave a bow while introducing herself.
"Oh, so you're, well technically. You're an employee of IGO," The president said as he walked over to them and placed down a tray of tea in on the table in front of them.
"Y-Yes! I-It's an honor to meet you!" Kimiko repeated only for Toriko to ruffle her hair.
"Calm down, Kimi! You're being too nervous." Toriko laughed.
"This Gourmet Case." Ichiryuu pointed at the container, "Are you the one who programmed it to preserve the Ozone Herb."
"Y-Yeah, since they don't sell a data card for the Ozone Herb. I had to enter the numerical values for the temperature and pressure on site. Although it did take awhile to make sure I got everything correct." Kimiko told him.
"I see, and you can hear the voices of the ingredients." The president said and then turned to Toriko, "Toriko, you chose a great chef. Make sure to take good care of her" Toriko nodded and went to take a sip of tea. "Oh and also to make sure that you don't do anything rash. Like I said before I don't want to be a grandparent anytime soon!" Toriko started coughing on his drink as Ichiryuu laughed.
"Toriko-san, you okay? What was he talking about?" Kimiko gave him her handkerchief to clean himself up.
"Don't worry, Kimi! The old man is just becoming senile" Toriko managed to say, "That and the tea is bitter."
"That's Ozone Tea, it's made from the outer leaves of the Ozone Herb."Ichiryuu said, "It's extremely bitter but if you get used to it, you'll get hooked."
"Wait." Toriko pointed at the president, "Are you saying you already had the Ozone Herb, old man!"
"Yeah, so" The man sipped his cup of tea.
"Then why did you bother asking me to capture it for you!" Toriko growled.
"For training of course! If you were to go into the Gourmet World, as inexperienced as you are now. You would be throwing your life away." Ichiryuu scolded his son.
"If we're talking about cold and low oxygen levels, I've already adapted. I'm totally ready to go into the Gourmet World."
"Fool!" Ichiryuu cut off Toriko, "There are still heaps of environments that you have to be able to adapt." He took out a sheet of paper from his pocket, "This is your next assignment!"
"What is this? Another request?" Toriko grumbled as he took the paper.
"Several actually, you're going to have to capture every single ingredient on that page. Until you do, I won't allow you to go into the Gourmet World"
"No way." Toriko said as he looked at the paper.
"As we speak, Sani and Coco are training to adapt to various environmental conditions too. Just like you." Ichiryuu said
"Sani and Coco," Toriko repeated
"Depending on the ingredient, you can invite those two along. It'll be good training for them too." Ichiryuu gave a grin, "And also for Zebra."
"Zebra! But isn't he-"
"Toriko, soon I'll be going into the Gourmet World. If you boys feel up to it." Ichiryuu grinned, "Make yourselves stronger and follow me."
"Yeah," Toriko's face gained a grin as well, "I'll be along soon, so wait for me!"
"By the way, Kimiko" Kimiko jumped as the president addressed her "I'm looking forward to seeing you there, too."
"Y-Yeah. Thank you!" Kimiko's eyes gained a sparkle at the thought of all of the food she could find in the Gourmet World, " The Gourmet World, there's going to be tons of ingredients that I've never heard before!"
"When the conversation turns to food, you always perk up, don't you Kimi!" Toriko said
"Yeah! I can't wait!" Kimiko said giving him a bright smile making Toriko's cheeks redden. He quickly covered it by taking another sip of tea only to grimace at the taste.
"But this is the Gourmet World, we're talking about. Aren't you scared?"
"Toriko-san, I've been with you to a cave where the Devil Python lived and freezing Ice Hell. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I died once," Kimiko muttered making Toriko laugh.
"You might be confident, but in the Gourmet World, there are waterfalls that drop a trillion liters of water, one kilometer thick per minute. And in the desert the temperature is 60 degrees Celsius, with sandstorms and shifting sands. I hear its severity is unrivaled." Toriko said only to look at Kimiko's pale face.
"Please don't make me think of that. The idea of me dying on one of these adventures is enough to give me nightmares." Kimiko muttered, she then looked up at Toriko, "But it doesn't matter, I'll still go."
"Really, even though you're always scared out of your mind?" Toriko asked
"Yeah. Because I trust you, Toriko-san." She gave him a smile making the bluenette blush.
"Don't say things like that," Toriko grumbled making Kimiko laugh.
Toriko and Kimiko, Ichiryuu thought, they remind me of Acacia-sensei and Froese-sama.
"By the way, we saw a weird creature in Vegetable Sky." Toriko's statement broke Ichiryuu out of his thoughts.
"It looked like one of the Gourmet Corp's GT Robos, but I'm positive that it wasn't a robot. It was a wild beast."
"What?" Ichiryuu said with alarmin his voice.
"What's wrong, old man?" Ichiryuu only paused for a moment before answering.
"Work hard on your training Toriko," Ichiryuu said making Toriko confused, "C'mon, I think it's time you take your combo partner home. I'm sure Tomu would be able to give you a ride there."
Old man, Toriko thought as he saw the IGO President open the door for them.
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"To think that you formed a combo with Toriko, you must be excited Kimiko. He's never had a combo partner before." Tomu said while piloting the helicopter they were in.
"Oi, Tomu. I'm right here," Toriko grumbled as he was right next to Kimiko.
"It's a first for me too. " Kimiko said, "I never thought that I'd be in a combo at all, and for it to be with Toriko-san. It makes me so happy."
"What do you mean by that?" Toriko asked
"Well, Toriko-san you really love food, just like me. You're prepared to risk your life to obtain your ingredients. You can be serious when you need to and also at the same time I can feel comfortable around you. Plus, I believe in you, Toriko-san, I know I can always trust you in the harshest of situations." Kimiko gave a him a bright smile at her explanation. Toriko glared at Tomu as he heard the Gourmet Transporter give a snicker at seeing Toriko blush from the rearview mirror.
"That's nice Kimi, but I was referring to why you never thought that you'd be in a combo." Toriko pointed out, "Is it because you always thought you'd just stay in the Gourmet Hotel?"
"No, it's not like that. If I'm being honest," Kimiko took a moment to think, "I suppose it's from all my experience on becoming a chef. When I was in culinary school, you wouldn't believe how many jeers I got. Most of them were along the lines of 'How could you be able professional chefs with such mediocre skills. Women can't handle being in a professional kitchen environment, you should probably stay at home where you're meant to be. There's absolutely no way you can get into a combo with those skills'" Kimiko gave a sigh, "I swear, the ones who said that were so annoying. I guess I was an easy target because I was one of the few females there."
"You went through all of that, Kimiko? Man, school must have been terrible." Tomu commented.
"It was difficult, yes. But all I wanted was to bring out the most in the ingredients I use. If I can make people happy by just making delicious food, that's all I could ask for," Kimiko finished
Toriko stared at Kimiko as he remembered what she had told him when they were hunting the Galala crocodile.
My dream is to be a first-class chef. Even though there are some people that believe that women could never be as good as the male chefs.
"I guess, that explains how you and Toriko can get along so well," Tomu grinned ,"You both have a great passion for food."
"I suppose," Kimiko felt a hand on her head and turned to Toriko.
"Kimi, I'm glad that I got to meet you," He said making the chef blush and give him a bright smile in return.
"Looks like we're at your stop, Kimiko." Tomu said as he was landing on top of the Hotel Gourmet.
"Thanks Tomu." Kimiko turned to Toriko, "Bye Toriko-san!" she waved them goodbye as she saw the helicopter take off again.
While they were a good distance away from the Gourmet Hotel, Tomu turned to give a quick look at Toriko who hadn't said a word.
"Y'know, Toriko. I've been wondering. What do you like about Kimiko?" Tomu said making Toriko blush, "I'm just curious, you never shown interest in any woman before."
"What are you talking about?" Toriko said trying to cover up his blushing face.
"I'm not blind Toriko," Tomu replied, "Anybody could see it, it seems Kimiko's just a bit dense in the romance department. So what do you like about her? She seems to like a lot about you."
"Jeez," Toriko grumbled as he looked at the sky. "At first, she seemed like any other chef I've seen before. She caught me off-guard when she smiled at me though."
"Yeah her smile really makes you feel all fluffy inside, doesn't it" Tomu laughed.
"Do you want to know why I like her or not!" Toriko yelled.
"Okay, okay, I'll be quiet."
"Anyway, she's the type of person who looked like she'd give up anytime she's in a life or death situation. Yet, everytime we went on a food adventure, while she'd complain about the danger of the situation. She'd never give up, even if death looms around the corner. I guess it's her determination of wanting to become a better chef, that I fell in love with first. Her kindness and her love for the ingredients that she always cooks with. Her will of wanting to eat delicious food, just like me. I believe, that's why I care so much for her." Toriko finished
"Man, Toriko." Tomu said, "You really like her, don't you."
"Yes, I do."
And I'm not the only one, Toriko thought
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Lunamugetsu: Wow I wrote a lot for this chapter, but I guess I really wanted to speed through the Ozone Herb arc. Anyway, next chapter is Toriko going into the Gourmet World. PLEASE REVIEW! It really motivates me.