Toriko and Éclair walked inside and the loud chatter they were hearing from the outside quickly stopped. The blond girl put her hands on her hips, "Somehow I knew I would bring a nice feminine touch to this place." Everyone looked at the man behind her and screamed his name. So much praise was given to him. Toriko pointed, "Let's go sit at the bar." The girl took a seat and the bartender looked at her, "This a friend of yours Toriko?" The blunette nodded, "Yup. She's tagging along for the journey."
Éclair smiled, "Good to meet you sir." As Toriko was speaking to the man, Éclair noticed a certain someone sitting next to her. She grunted, "You know Zombie, it would be nice if you stopped following us to, I dunno, everywhere!" Just as he was going to correct her and speak on about the new adventure, she tuned him out with an obnoxious yawn. "When's this client guy getting here?"
Just as she asked, the man himself walked in." He came right out the gate with guns blazing. His body guards surrounded him, "I'll give ten billion to whoever can carry out this job. We'll be headed to a frozen tundra. An ice continent." Éclair whispered to Toriko, "That's the guy who was recklessly spending in the department store earlier. I'm sure giving away cash like that is not hurting his wallet." The girl stood out of her chair and cheered with the rest of the men." She looked back at the bartender Moriji, "You think a chef like me can handle an adventure like this?" He broadened his eyes, "A chef you say? I can see the fight in you, Éclair was it? Go for it, and be careful. It's no tea party." The girl smiled, "Good, because I don't like fancy teacups."
They embarked and Éclair was sound asleep by a window. Toriko shook her awake and handed her a box, "Hey, wake up. Put this suit on to protect you from the cold. I highly doubt jeans and a tank top will do you any good on this journey." The bathrooms were completely packed, so changing in front of a bunch of crazy Bishokuya was her only option. She grabbed Toriko's arm, "Stand in front of me, okay?" She stripped down into her underwear and skeptically looked out for wandering eyes. She caught a glimpse of someone's eyes, but she couldn't see who's it was considering all of the men in the way. "Those eyes, they carried so much weight, so much pain, and pride." She fit in the last bit of her suit and looked around for the owner of the potent eyes, but as luck would have it she couldn't find them. "I wanna test this thing out! Let's go outside Toriko!"
She excitedly ran into the freezing weather, "Yeah, it really works! How amazing is that! I'm not even a bit cold!" As she was prancing around, a hoof stepped next to her. She looked up to see a rather large equestrian and its rider. He looked down at the blunette, "Good day Toriko. My name is Takimaru of the Gourmet Knights." "The Gourmet Knights? You seem kind of young. How's Aimaru?" The Knight hesitated a bit, "He's fine. I'll let him know I met you. And you're right. I am young. I just joined." Éclair smiled at the man, "I don't mean to get weird on you, but you're a very pretty man." Before he could reply, a large Great Leg Fish climbed on board." Éclair pointed, "Toriko!" There were so many climbing onto the ship.
The blunette knocked a couple as other Bishokuya joined in. She looked over at Zongeh and he threw a short ranged dud. Her terror turned into boredom, "Are you kidding me Xena, if you're not gonna help then leave!" He ran for his life away from the infuriated shark, "Run! ~And it's Zongeh by the way!" She turned her attention to another Bishokuya, blond hair, white suit. She couldn't see his face, but she could see him stand up to the fish and cut it in three right before her eyes. She gasped, "Whoa, I barely even saw what happened." Her attention went quickly back to Takimaru who had dislocated the spines of the fish. She felt a bit more safe as the fish were all put back in their place. The ship was coming up on Ice Hell, their sole destination. The continent was huge enough to fit millions of the ship they were riding inside it.
Éclair ran to Toriko and Takimaru, "Amazing job guys. I just wish I didn't have to be so useless on the sidelines." Toriko pat her on the back, "You aren't useless. You have a high voice that tells me when we're in~" "Danger! This is it! That giant block of ice is going to kill us all" Toriko smiled, "That's the voice I'm talking about, now get back!" She clasped her hands together hoping Toriko could do something.
His knife seemed to scratch the surface, but it was not breaking the ice boulder. "Fork!" That seemed to crack the foundation even more. "Five fold Spiked Punch!" The ice rock crumbled sparing the lives of everyone on board. Éclair jumped on his back, "For the millionth time, you're totally my hero man!" He chuckled, "The ice was hard, but you have no idea what I had to go through to get that BB Corn. There's no comparison. Get ready, the first wave of people are going up right now." Éclair stayed silent as she was going up in the helicopter. She just looked out the window and thought to herself out loud, "I am of no use. This time, I will be of assistance. I promise, I will help retrieve the Century Soup." Toriko looked to the girl, "You say something Éclair?" She shook her head, "No, nothing at all."
The helicopter stopped and they all disembarked. "Get on my back Éclair. We have to climb the rest of the way." She nodded and did as such. She wasn't speaking as she couldn't get out of her own head. Toriko frowned, "It's unlike you not to be a little chatter box. Something the matter? Any divine revaluations?" She shook her head, "No, just thinking about how good that soup is gonna taste!" He smiled, "That's more like it!" His hand reached the top of the ledge and a strong wind hit their faces. Silence filled the girl's mouth and mind as she pointed. Toriko yelled, "Is that~ the tundra dragon! Cerberus of Ice Hell and also known as the Gatekeeper." The blond girl held on tighter and Toriko looked back at her, "This journey is gonna be much harder than anything we've face in the past, so stay on your toes Eclair, and whatever you do, stay by me."
The rest of the group finally reached the top to see a frozen Tundra Dragon. Toriko frowned, "The dragon is frozen." Éclair continued to point, "But look at the other frozen corpses. Bishokuya risked their lives to get the soup and all they could see was an icy grave. It's awful." Toriko put the side of his face to hers, he knew that death made her feel a certain way. "It's okay Éclair, don't look at them." She slid off his back and stood proud, "It's about time I start carrying my own weight. Don't worry about me." A group behind them yelled, "What the hell is this? We're going a different route!" "Should we do the same Toriko?" He shook his head at the girl, "No, straight ahead is the best way. Let's go guys."
The road was not an easy one for the girl. She almost regretted passing up that free ride, but pride pushed her on. "Who's eyes were those back on the ship? I can't tell, but whoever it was, they affected me in a strange way. Those pained eyes, I just wanted to comfort him." As she was lost in her head, she felt Toriko pounce on her. "Éclair look out." He quickly got up and stopped a Zastruga from hitting one of the men in the face. The blond girl stayed low to the ground so she was least likely to get hit. "Good eye Toriko." He looked at the group as he and the others fought off the speeding shards. "Let's get some rest. I'll cut us a safe space.
As Toriko cut out the large hole, the other hunters entered. Éclair made a safe decent as well. She unrolled her sleeping bag from her backpack and bundled herself up. She looked up at the open sky and watched the extreme breeze go by. She felt something warm next to her face, "Here Éclair, drink this. It'll warm your insides." She sat up, "Thanks Takimaru. You want some too?" He waved his hand, "No, it's fine. You drink it all." The blond gangster turned to her and it was the first time she actually saw his face. She quickly looked away as she didn't want to be rude from looking at his scars. "Those Gourmet Faith fanatics are into those month long fasts. He probably feels better on an empty stomach." Takimaru rolled his eyes, "There isn't enough for you, only your men." "Alright, well make sure they receive it. How charitable of you." The pretty man smiled, "The Gourmet Knights aren't that different from you old man." Match frowned, "Cut it out with the old man crap. I'm still in my 20's." Takimaru raised his eyebrows, "No way that's true! Hey Éclair, you haven't touched your drink, what's wrong?"
"Where is Toriko?" Match pointed up, "He's been up there this whole time." She smiled, "He's such a stand up guy." She drank her beverage before it got cold. "I wish one day I can be like him." She rolled over and looked at the icy wall, "The drink was tasty Takimaru, thank you." He nodded, "You're welcome." "Please, wake me up when we're moving on."
She woke up on a bumpy road. Her body was being carried once again. She looked up and saw that she was in the arms of bluenette. "You're up." She lightly slapped his chest, "Toriko! I said I wanted to carry my own weight!" She jumped out of his arms and he sighed, "I didn't want you to expend more energy than necessary." She smiled at the man, "Trust me a little bit. I got it." She took a step forward and her knees buckled. "Whoa, working my sea legs." Toriko picked the girl back up, "Éclair, accept my help. You need warmth and you don't have the strength to walk on your own right now." Toriko squinted as he looked back, "How many are still with us?" The mafia lieutenant replied, "You two, the kid, and my men." The blond girl realized how intense their situation was. "I'm lucky to have you Toriko. I would have been dead a long time ago."
She shivered in his arms as a pack of Freezer Bison came along. Toriko yelled behind him, "Takimaru, Match, watch Éclair for me." They shook their heads, "Allow is to take out the Bison." Toriko watched the fight getting ready to take place, "Don't worry Éclair, we'll have you warmed up in no time." "Thank you Toriko." She watched closely to Takimaru's warm up routine. "Wow, he's good. I don't think I'd ever want to piss him off." Match as well made the Freezer Bison look like an easy fight. Toriko powered up his intimidation, "I think we've got as much as we need." The rest of the Freezer Bison fled and they skinned what they had. Toriko rolled Éclair in the fur and she looked like immobile roll. She cracked a subtle smile, "It's so warm. I just hope its natural warmth doesn't cool off anytime soon." He picked up the little rolled and carried on, "Don't you worry. We're getting to the mountain and we're tasting that soup." Her eyes began to shut again, but she refused to fall asleep. At the risk of her eyes not opening again, she did what she could to stay up.
"There it is, the Ice Mountain of Ice Hell." Her eyes amplified as Toriko spoke. They went inside and he set the girl down, "You okay? You still conscious?" She nodded, "Right as rain Toriko." She stood up and rubbed the ice, "It looks so pretty. Does it bring out my eyes?" She batted her eyes dramatically. Toriko laughed, "That's the little chatter box I know." She smiled, "Wow, the air is way different in here. It's like I'm on a crowded subway in Gourmet Town compared to the wind we were just experiencing." The bluenette nodded, "Its because of the methane hydrate being released in the wind. We came when the weather is the deadliest, but the soup is thawing out." The blond girl rubbed her chin, "With weather conditions like that, no wonder that Tundra Dragon froze over." He shook his head, "That dragon would even flinch from these weather conditions. It was killed first." She gasped, "Who could have killed a Tundra Dragon? The capture level is plus 50!"
A good time passed and they set up another camp. Éclair warmed her hands by the cooking Ice Jaguar. "So the Aurora, it's supposed to lead us to the soup?" "Yes. Like a curtain being raised to a restaurant that's been closed for 100 years." Match ate a bite of his food, "We're chasing some twinkling lights huh? Sounds like some kind of fairytale." Éclair stood up and pointed to the dead Ice Jaguar, "Well this is one twisted fairytale. Though I wouldn't mind so much if I got a pretty dress out of it." She looked around and was reminded that she was surrounded by guys. She rolled her eyes, "I was kidding. Clearly you guys don't understand my girl talk." She took a vicious bite out of her food, "I wish I was eating something hot. For the first time ever I really wish my food was burning my tongue." She felt a small poke on the back of her leg. She looked and saw a small pink Penguin.
Éclair's eyes glistened as she looked at the animal. "It's so cute, it looks like a poof of cotton candy!" She hugged the Penguin and snuggled it tightly. Toriko chucked, "Looks like that baby Wall Penguin has taken a liking to you. They're so naive at this age. They'd walk up to predators if they came across some. A grown Wall Penguin is something to be feared though. They're both vicious and gigantic. Probably are gonna kill the kidnappers of their baby." Éclair poked out her lip, "Thanks for reminding me again that this is not a fairytale." Match looked at the girl, "Better take care of that lost little chickie. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I'm gonna pack it in." She nodded as she held tightly onto the Wall Penguin, "This little one is in good hands."
Soon after he left, Éclair' curiosity peaked, "Hey Match's, um, friends? Why are you after the soup?" They sat in silence until one of them spoke out, "Nerg City. It's where we all live."
Toriko smiled, "The non-IGO city run by criminals." The man nodded, "It's where we're all from. Slums to other, but home to us. The lieutenant wants to bring the soup back to feed the homeless children. The three of us were kids back then when he saved us. He was the only one who actually gave a damn about us beggars. He was a leader in the Gourmet Mafia back then as well. We all joined the mafia to repay our debts to him. We owe him our lives."
She smiled as she fluffed the penguin's fur, "Sounds like that Match is a real softy. It's endearing I suppose." Toriko nudged the girl, "Oh, come on Éclair, you're a big softy too." She frowned, "I'm not soft! Well, I have gained weight from being around you." She poked her stomach, "But I'm not soft! Only toward children, and cotton candy." She began to baby talk the Penguin, "Which is what you look like. A big piece of cotton candy. I could just eat you up." She stood up and yawned, "Hey Takimaru, I never asked, what's your play with the soup?"
"I need money, a lot of money so I can buy medicine from the healing country Life. It's a medicine to cure any disease, or so it's said." His eyes began to water as he continued, "The medicine there is all organic and natural." Toriko gave him a friendly pat on the back, "I won't ask for details but I'll tell you this, whenever you do something for someone else your best side shows. The fact that you were brought to tears means a lot, both parties. We'll find that Century Soup together." One of Match's men spoke out, "By the way Toriko, what is your reason for wanting the soup?" "I wanna eat it!" Laughs circulated from his answer and Éclair chuckled, "He's not kidding you guys know that right?" The little Penguin pecked her face and she sighed, "Let's go to bed little one. We need our rest."
In the tent they went. It seemed like as soon as she put her body on the ground she was fast asleep. Just as soon as she fell asleep, she was woken up by an explosion. As she ran outside, Toriko was already up. "Pack it up guys, we're leaving. That could most likely be the enemy and we need to get to that soup." Éclair picked up the baby Penguin, "Nothing says maternal instincts like running with a baby that isn't yours." She tried to keep up with the group, "How close are we? I thought we would be able to see the aurora by now." Her face turned red as she spoke of the soup, "The elegant curtain being lifted to one of the finest restaurants in the world." She smiled, "I can't wait, my body is trembling with excitement."
Another explosion sounded and Toriko stopped to look back. Armored bugs flew at the group. They were taking out arms and eyes, scratching, and tormenting. Éclair put her body over the Wall Penguin, "Don't worry kiddo, I won't let them get to you. I'd rather take the bite than you." She nearly suffered just that fate as a bug was headed right for her. Match sliced at the bug, but it was too fast. The best he could do was diverting its path. It came back for seconds and Éclair screamed, "No you bastard, stay away from us!" Toriko ran quickly and stopped it with a Spiked Punch, five fold. She didn't let go of the Penguin until the remainder of the bugs flew away. She looked up, "Is it over?" The bluenette shook his head, "Just the opposite, looks like the owner is here." Three men were headed right for them. Toriko scoffed, "It's about time the Bishokukai rear their ugly heads."
As soon as they touched down, a pink haired man hugged the Bishokuya Toriko. "It's so nice to meet you Toriko. I heard so much about you." Éclair pointed at the hand that pierced Toriko's stomach, "Toriko." The man wasn't fazed by it. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to say he was happy." She backed away a bit further and held the baby Penguin close. Toriko raised a fist to the man but stopped short of a punch. The blond girl sat baffled and wondering why. Something snapped at Toriko's hand and she wasn't sure what it was. It came from the pink haired man's mouth, what was it? Her eyes stared blankly as a new fear filled her heart. Someone should have told her to hold her fear, two fully grown Wall Penguin's angrily jumped onto the ice beneath their feet.
Being so large they easily broke the ice. The entire group fell through the floor and braced themselves for impact. She hit the ground hard on her shoulder and released the baby Wall Penguin from her hands once it was safe. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up, "The Gourmet Show Case!" She grunted as she lifted her body, "It's more beautiful than I ever imagined. I can't believe it. All of the ingredients are so astonishing." Takimaru nodded, "The show case is exuberant. That means if we can see this, we're standing right above the soup." Toriko looked at the girl, "Éclair, back on the helicopter I heard what you said. I want you to know you are very important. In fact, your presence is more vital than mine right now." Her face turned serious but her eyes were soft, "Toriko?" "You want to carry your own weight? Find the Century Soup. Find it before they do. I'll take on these guys." She nodded, "I will."
She began to run off and a hit was sent for her by the pink man, "Kill her." "Not so fast." Match and Takimaru stopped the two men. The blond man looked to the girl, "Hey, don't get the wrong idea Éclair. If you plan to take that soup for yourself you'll be next on my hit list." She looked at the man and shook her head, "I would never. I'll make sure everyone gets some, and that includes those children." Her eyes looked deep into his and an electric sensation filled her body, "Those eyes, they were Match's?" Before she ran down a passageway, Toriko yelled to her, "I'm counting on you Éclair." "I won't disappoint." Once she was out of sight, she had a mini freak out. "Toriko put all the eggs in my basket. I refuse to let him down. ~And Match~ That was Match this whole time? All of that pain and passion was him? It must be because of the children. Don't you worry guys, I'll get you the soup. I'll get all of you the soup and we'll eat it together."
She ran as fast as she could downward. "I hope there aren't any enemies in this mountain. Without Toriko to help me I'm at huge risk for getting hurt." She took out her machete, "But if there, are they better watch out!"