"Gourmet Central Station. About 25 million people go through this place every day." Toriko nodded, "You would be right." She sighed, "It looks exactly the same as the last time I saw it." "I forgot you used to live here." She smiled as she allowed Toriko to guide them through the crowd, "Yeah, I loved it too. The lifestyle was a bit unconventional though. I never kept steady friends because most of them were tourists. Because of that reason I stayed inside a lot, so it was actually pretty basic now that I think about it. My sister has a shop here but she's closed this time of year. A prissy girl like her only works every six months." They walked up to the gates and entered their Gourmet ID's. It was a food heaven, Gourmet Town. Éclair's eyes glistened as she looked at the place, "Wow, this place has changed so much since I lived here. There are much more attractions and shops. Let's grab a bite shall we?"

Grab a bite they did. Running from Ramen shops to boneless fish shops, to sashimi shops. They sat on the bar stools at a sushi eatery and scarfed down plates of food. Éclair smiled, "Wow Toriko, this has been very promising day and it just barely started." "Éclair?" A woman's with a thick Russian accent called the woman. The blond turned around and saw a woman standing at a whopping 6'1. She had green eyes, green hair, and she was very curvy. The blond girl got out of her seat, "Vanilla!" The two gave one another a warm embrace. "Toriko, this is my baby sister Vanilla." Though she was taller and more mature looking, she was Éclair's younger by 2 years. The two shook hands and Toriko smiled at their meeting. "It is an honor to meet a Heavenly King. You two should come to the shop. It's closed for my vacation so there won't be any customers." The woman pet Eclair's hair, "Oh dear, you still haven't grown your hair back? You look like a boy, stop doing this to yourself."

The three made their way to the shop and it was a small two story complex. The ground floor was a rice restaurant and the other story was apart of her own house. Vanilla lead them upstairs and the house was very luxurious. The green haired woman seated the two, "Please sit, you two are guests. Toriko, allow me to make you some of the rice that got me in business." She looked at Éclair, "Actually Éclair, you get in the kitchen, your Exo Rice is rusty." Toriko frowned, "Exo Rice?" Éclair set her things down and prepared to cook, "Exo Rice is the name of this restaurant. She sells exotic rice here, hence the name Exo Rice. I'll make you some steamed Banana Rice." After Éclair left for the kitchen, Vanilla took a photo album from under the marble coffee table. "Let me show you pictures of little Clair. She was so cute as a child. It was when she still had long hair and none of the tattoos." The green haired woman sighed, "She changed after our parents died. She used to be such a princess."

Toriko looked at the photos and everyone but Éclair had green hair and eyes, but the facial features were all the same. Vanilla sighed, "Both of my parents were in the armed forces, they died going into the battle. Clair always looked up to my mother, I think that's why she cut her hair to look like her. My parents passing changed her so much. She moved out of Gourmet Town and never came back."

Eclair served a bowl to Toriko, "Here you go Toriko. I used my parents old recipe with my own twist. If you wait ten minutes the flavor will fully mature." She snatched the photo album from her sister, "Stop showing him pictures of me! And quit making it sound like I got PTSD. I came to terms, and I like my boyish haircut." Vanilla rolled her eyes, "Fine. So where are you two headed?" Éclair smiled, "Well we're going to stuff our bellies a bit more. I still have a lot of room for more food." "That's not what I meant Clair. There had to have been a reason you came to Gourmet Town." Éclair smiled softly, "Toriko's got business and I'm tagging along. Speaking of which, as much as we'd love to watch you cook rice all day, we have to go. It was nice seeing you though sis. Next time let's not wait another 6 months to see each other." Vanilla waved the two off, "Visit me more often, and grow the pigtails back nee-chan. They were cute."

As soon as they left, Toriko nudged the girl, "Pigtails? I can't even imagine." She ruffled her own hair this time, "Yeah, but it's way easier cooking when you have short hair. It's not in the way as much." The girl ran over to a drink machine, "Want a drink?" "That's four stars, look at the price." She laughed, "I see the price. I got it." Ten minutes finally passed and Toriko put the rice in his mouth. His eyes immediately amplified and couldn't stop inhaling the food. "Yummy! This is great." "I'm glad you like it. I'd like to think I still bring some honor to the family name." She entered her card and pressed a button, "Soda Melon soda, sounds so yummy." The drink fell down and it was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. "What! Wait a minute 458,000k! Oh no, I'm going to have to live on a budget for the next few months! I didn't see the extra zero!"

Toriko shrugged, "I told you." She looked at the tiny drink, "I'm so sad. I guess I better enjoy it. She opened the bottle and the fizz sparkled from the side of the bottle. She poured the green liquid down her throat. "Wow, this is the best drink I ever had. The drink is so fizzy and it bubbles so much in my mouth I can't even handle it!" Toriko grabbed her hand and lifted her off the ground. He took a sip of the drink "It mixes so well with the Banana Rice! The sweetness is extreme!" He began to guzzle the drink down and Éclair pulled her hand away from the man. "No! This is mine! Do you know how much this cost!" He released her hand and left her all of one ounce. She pouted, "What the hell man!" She poured the rest into her mouth, "You so owe me, and I want barbecue."

The two sat in an outdoor shop and drooled over the delicious food in front of them. Toriko looked at the girl, "I'm sorry for your loss." She picked up a Swamp Eel Skewer and poured some Wul Star Sauce on it. "You mean about my parents? Thank you, but to be honest, they were never really at home so it was like I didn't really know them. My sister and I practically raised each other. They only came home once every couple of months." She noticed the food stopped coming as Toriko was eating it all before it could come to her. "You pig, save some for me! I only got one!" He talked with a stuffed mouth, "Your story got me down, all I can think about doing is eating." She slapped the back of head, "Toriko, how are you even paying for everything? I feel like your card should have already been run up." She sighed, "Can we go shopping? There's a gorgeous department store I always used to window shop in as a kid."

They were in a large store filled with Gourmet items. "This place is amazing, and it looks better than when I was a kid." She looked like a true kid in a candy story. "Whoa, if I didn't spend all that money on that soda I would totally buy a new pot! Then again, if I bought a new pot, I would be living on a budget for the next few years. But everything looks so great!" Her hands shook as she brought them close to the display window. "Oh, it's things like this that get me up in the morning." "And I'll take one of those. Two, no, three of these, all of that over there." Éclair pouted as she looked at a short older man buying out the store, "Rich people. How great it must be to buy whatever you want." She quickly sucked it up. "Oh well, window shopping is no problem with me." She moved on to a different case, "Whoa, a Melk knife carved by Sharpener Melk himself. I would give my right leg for a knife like that. Then again, if I had a knife like that I might end up accidentally cutting my own leg off." Her mind was swerving everywhere as she looked at all the utensils and cookware.

"Toriko, let's go look at the rice cookers, yeah?" She grabbed his hand and dragged him along. Without looking in front of her, she ran into a pack of thieves dressed as ninjas. The hot headed girl yelled, "Hey watch where you're going!" They quickly got up and ran past her, "How about you watch out girly!" Éclair let go of Toriko's hand and realized they somehow snatched up her backpack, "Hey, get back here you bastards!" The two chased down the thieves and Éclair jumped on Toriko's back so she could see over the crowd.

She pointed, "I see them. Toriko, chuck me at em!" He picked up the girl and threw her like a paper airplane. She grabbed two of the guys by their necks as she flew onto them and tackled them to the ground. She looked up to see the third was running off into the crazy crowd, and he had her backpack in his hand. Éclair raised her hand, "Stop!" She saw as he taunted her and ran straight into a firm clonk on the head. An old woman with pink hair handed Éclair the backpack, "Is this yours sweetheart?" She sat upright on the two thieves fractured bodies. Her eyes couldn't be taken away from the woman, "Yes, that is mine." She bowed before the woman, "Thank you living national treasure Setsuno." Toriko ran up behind Éclair, "I see you met Granny Setsu." She took her backpack and looked up at Toriko, "You know the national treasure?" He nodded, "Yup, and we have a meeting today actually." The old woman chuckled, "Such a handsome man you've become Toriko, let me fix up your hair though. You look like a hippie." She fixed the man's hair into a nice bouffant. Éclair smiled, "Wow Toriko, you actually look good like that." The man ruffled his hair, "I like my hippie hair. It's my style." Setsuno turned from the man, "Fine, if you don't want to look the part, we have nothing else to discuss. Our meeting is canceled." He quickly fixed his hair, "No, no. Granny Setsu, please is my hair okay like this? I'll make it longer if you want me to."

They made their hike to Setsuno's place and stirred up some interesting conversation along the way. The old woman smiled at the two, "Toriko, it's nice to see you've found a girlfriend, and a cute one at that." Éclair blushed fiercely, "You mean me? No, no. We're just friends, you know, running buddies." Toriko was also a bit red in the face from the comment, "Yeah Granny Setsu, let's not get that mixed up." She shrugged, "I'm sure that would have made little Ichi happy. Oh well. So I hear that you're a chef, correct?" Éclair nodded, "Yes ma'am. My name is Éclair Reinbou, head chef at the Hotel Gourmet." Setsuno smiled, "Well miss Reinbou, I see you work under the IGO. Speaking of little Ichi, how is he?" Toriko clued the blond in, "Granny Setsu and the President go way back." The girl's blue eyes brightened, "Don't tell me, you were paired with the president of the IGO as a combo?" She shook her head, "No, not by a long shot. I was paired with a man named Jirou. Oh he was so handsome back in those days. We traveled all over the Gourmet World. He'd get the food and I would cook it. Oh how we were in love."

Éclair looked somewhat surprised, "Well that explains the fondness for bouffants. That's amazing. You were with the knocking master. He saved my life. I owe him everything." Setsuno continued, "Yes but that was a long time ago. We're here." The blond girl gazed in astonishment. Setsuno's place was nothing short of spectacular. It was gorgeous, and it looked just like a castle. She stopped as she basked in the glory of the great restaurant, "Wow, I can't believe~." "Éclair, you just gonna stand there and suck up air or come inside?" He waved her over to a small shack. She was surprised to see that the great Setsuno was working out of yore run of the mill, working class restaurants. She stepped inside to see the plain decor. Toriko gave the girl a nudge, "Don't bat your eyes too much, this place makes enough money to rival that of the ten star Gourmet Towers." Those words changed things for her. Her excitement about getting a meal from the national treasure never changed, but she hadn't realized how much business was brought in.

Éclair and Toriko took a seat and Setsuno took her place behind the counter. "You two will receive the special for today, The Century Soup. But in the meantime I'll make you two a little snack." The blond girl watched all of the steps being taken. It was like she was doing the work of many chefs at once. She set down a cup of water for the two. Éclair drank the water and savored each drop on the way down. "I never thought I would say this, but that is the best water I ever had. It was so cold and thirst quenching." The rice was ready and everything had her on the edge from drooling out. The rice, the seaweed bug, the chicken, spices, everything. Her taste buds were nowhere near as satisfied as her nostrils. Setsuno set down the bowl of food for each of them. "Thank you so much Granny Setsu, this looks delicious." She picked up her chopsticks and put the poultry in her mouth. "Oh my, this is fantastic!"

Toriko agreed, "It sure was." Éclair's eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets, "How can you enjoy your food when you eat at such a crazy pace?" "How can you not eat her food fast?" Éclair wasn't a fast eater and she wanted to pinpoint the full recipe as she chewed. "I'll have to recreate this at home." "Speaking of recreations, the soup is on!" Setsuno yelled out as she placed her hand over the lid of the legendary soup. The two looked in and saw nothing. That was impossible though, there were so many scents and aromas flowing around. A bowl of the soup was placed in front of the two once more and they were ready to indulge. As Éclair took a sip, her face changed. She wasn't nearly as excited for the century soup as she was for the previous dish. "For a transparent soup it's so hearty and flavorful. Silk chicken bones, right? And a Sirloin Onion? You used those ingredients?" Setsuno looked surprised, "Wow. All that from a couple sips? You're pretty sharp kid."

Éclair put her head down, "Excuse me if you will for my saying, but this soup tastes incomplete." Setsuno wiped her hands on a towel, "You two come with me please." She came from behind the counter and lifted a secret entrance on the floor. "Follow me. I would like to show you something." The two followed the old woman down and when she turned on the light an entire kitchen masterpiece was illuminated. Éclair put a hand over her mouth, "This is amazing. It's nothing short of extraordinary. Granny Setsu, your kitchen has my praise and admiration." The woman laughed, "Hnh hnh, the quality of preparation determines the quality of the outcome." Toriko rubbed his chin, "Is that why you only open up the diner once every six month?" The old woman snapped back, "No that isn't why! I just check in to see how my ingredients are feeling from time to time. Chefs don't choose the food. The food chooses the chef as well as the customer." She glanced over at Éclair, "You'll realize that soon enough."

Toriko ruffled the girl's hair like usual, "I'm surprised that you didn't whip out that machete once you saw the live ingredients." In all honesty, she was completely oblivious to them. The girl looked eerily to her right and pouted at Toriko, "Hey, I've been getting better at not acting on impulse. Not to mention it's stuffed in my backpack. Didn't wanna freak the locals." Setsuno grabbed a rope and swung to a small ledge. Toriko was next leaving Éclair to be the last to swing. She put her hands on the rope and looked up, "Please don't let me die on this rope swing." She smiled joyfully as she karate kicked to the other side. She came up just a bit short and Toriko caught her mid air leg, "Come on, let's not get left behind." She let go of the rope and man set her back on solid ground. They walked up down and around many flights of stairs before the destination was reached.

Setsuno excitedly yelled, "Welcome to the Century Soup prep room!" The blond girl looked at the giant pot in front of her, "I think I'm gonna get a nosebleed." The old woman jumped to the top of the gargantuan pot and Éclair gasped, "I'm not even gonna ask how. Toriko, how are you already halfway up the ladder? Ugh, my arms are gonna fall off." By the time she reached the top, the aroma was stronger than ever. Her mouth watered, "This is breathtaking! I'm just going to soak up this view for a moment. It's once in a life time." Setsuno looked at the two, "The soup is incomplete though, as you said yourself. Years ago Jirou got me the ingredients for the soup and as a paid homage I tried to recreate it. You said it yourself Éclair, something's missing. You two couldn't have had better timing. Right now there's a man hiring Bishokuya from across the globe to find the soup found in nature." "Toriko, stop eating all the soup! You are so greedy sometimes." Setsuno frowned, "Did you two hear a word I said! Go now and taste the soup and tell me the missing component. Go make the greatest batch of Century Soup the world has ever known!" Éclair smiled, "You got it! We won't let you down Granny Setsu!"

The two walked up to the Bar Heavy Lodge and it was a very masculine joint. Éclair raised an eyebrow, "Somehow a place like this doesn't surprise me as being a Bishokuya hangout." She cracked her knuckles, "No turning back now. I don't need any facial tattoos to blend in right?" Toriko lifted her arm, "I think you're good in the tattoo department. Don't worry about it, we're only here for the client, so let's head inside." She nodded, "Look out Bar Heavy Lodge! Éclair Bleu Fire Reinbou is no pushover!"