Éclair ran her hand on the wall, "This ice is so beautiful." She stopped to look at her reflection and what she saw was her younger self. "What happened to me? What happened to Éclair Bleu Fire Reinbou?" In her reflection she saw her 15 year old self with long pigtails and a white dress. "I was just an aspiring chef back then, and now I work in a 5 star restaurant. Never would I have thought I would be in the position I am now." She shook her head, "I don't have time to think about this. I have to get that soup." She continued to make her way down and she saw a man kneeling down. "You lost sir?" He quickly ran toward the woman and she stood defensively, "I don't want to fight." He clapped his hands together and squashed the capture level 39 Gamura Mosquito near her. She stared at him as he took his mask off.
Éclair laughed nervously, "Thanks. Well I have to get going." He grabbed her hand "Hush now, okay. You're better off not talking or you'll never leave this continent." She scowled at him, "Was that a threat?" Before he could answer she was already trying to get away. "Let go of my hand right now! You don't understand how important that soup is. Everyone is counting on me. ~Toriko's counting on me, and I won't allow you to stop me so let go!" "Stop squirming. I'm trying to help you." She raised her hand and slapped the man across the face, "I can't be distracted! Let me go!" She yanked her hand away from his and ran deeper into the mountain. "That guy couldn't have been Bishokukai or he would have killed me already. Who is he working for? I feel bad for slapping him but he'll be okay." She continued on her path and felt small pieces of ice fell on her head. "I hope you're okay Toriko. Just keep up your end of the deal and I'll keep mine."
She took another step down the frozen path and her foot slipped. She slid down the icy path and laughed at the new slide. She fell down a few feet until she dug her machete into the ground, "Okay, fun time is over. That was amusing though." She chuckled at her own mishap. Éclair kissed her machete, "I don't know what I'd do without you." She looked up as she saw the bottom tip of the Gourmet Showcase. "Yeah! I made it! Victory dance!" She began to dance over to the open crevasse. "I can't believe it! Who's got two thumbs and didn't let everyone down?" She looked closer and saw nothing but ice. "Apparently not this girl. You kidding me!" She poked the ice with her finger, "The soup, it's~" "Shhhh!"
Her mouth was covered before she could finish. She looked behind her to see it was the green haired man from before. She tried to speak with the hand softening her words, "If this is about me slapping you, I'm sorry. That was way out of line." He brought up a notepad and she squinted, "I can't read that." She sighed, "Okay, just keep it there for a while, I'll figure it out." They stood there for a solid 8 minutes in silence. Éclair moved the hand from her mouth, "Oh, I get it. ~What! What do you mean we'll be stuck here if that old bastard finds out there is no sou~" "Shhhhh!" She nodded, "Right, right, sorry." She moved his hand again, "Okay, but what do you mean?" He wrote on the paper again and she scratched her head, "Okay I get it. So we can't exactly say everything we want. I catch your drift. Loose lips sink ships and all that good stuff. But I don't wanna get left behind!"
"What the hell! Where's is it!" Éclair looked back to see Zongeh and his two friends. The girl jumped up and down, "Shut up Zombie! You're gonna get us left behind!" The man continued, "It's Zongeh, and no, I won't let any elephants be left in the room! The soup is~" The green haired man hit the man in the chest and Zongeh's words turned into mumbles. "I said shush." Éclair's jaw dropped, "How in the world?" "I just knocked him temporarily." He sighed, "Phew, he almost gave it away. He almost said the soup is gone." The blond girl picked up a small rubble of ice and chucked it at the man. "You idiot!" She grabbed more ice and threw it at him, "What, is, your, problem!" He covered his face as the ice was being thrown at him. She folded her arms, "I take back my apology for slapping you."
He wrote on his notepad again, 'Terribly sorry.' Eclair ran to the man and grabbed the notepad and pen, 'Stop writing on this thing and speak! You already gave it away!' "Then why are you writing on it?" She pulled her hair, "I was making a point!" The hot head sighed, "I'm sad, and now we're gonna get left here to become our own showcase." One of Zongeh's companions panicked, "Are you serious? We're gonna get left?" Eclair punched the loose lipped man's arm, "Yeah thanks to this moron!" He rubbed his arm, "You are very abusive." "You're damn right I am! Especially when I'm gonna get left behind! Quick question, when is Xylophone gonna be able to move again? I've only seen knocking preformed with guns and you did it with your hand. Who are you exactly?"
'My name is~' Eclair grabbed the notepad and threw it further into the icy cave, "Stop!" The green haired man cleared his throat, "Sorry. My name is Teppei. I am a Gourmet Reviver." "You're a Saiseiya? Whoa that's amazing!" He nodded "Yes, instead of hunting them, we save and preserve ingredients." She smiled, "You seem just as important as Bishokuya, though your goals are completely opposite." He knelt down to her level, "So who are you. You've abused me enough; I think I deserve to know who you are." "My name is Éclair. ~Yes, like the pastry. I'm a chef, and Teppei, I apologize for hitting you." He smiled, "You're a chef? You seem very passionate about food. I saw your victory dance when you found the soup, it was very endearing. And I forgive you. Just please, keep the ice to yourself." Her face turned bright red, "Are you kidding me! You saw that? I haven't done that since I was a kid, I'm so embarrassed."
She held her red cheeks as she heard feet running toward her. It was the tiny Wall Penguin heading straight forward. It had a sad look in its eyes as it came forward. She opened her arms, "Come here you little cotton candy poof ball!" She looked into its eyes, "What's wrong baby? Are you~ You're all alone like me huh?" She squeezed him tighter, "Don't be sad honey. I don't want you to cry." The eyes looked into his and he looked passed her. "What is it? What are you looking at." The girl turned around and her eyes shined. A light flowed through her eyes and it was a memory she'd never forget. "This hasn't been in any fairytales I've ever seen. The Aurora is so captivating. It's like the light is commanding me to look at it."
Her attention finally swayed as the ground shook. She looked up and small ice chips fell over them. "What was that?" Teppei looked up, "It's probably Toriko and the others still fighting." She picked up the Wall Penguin, "If Toriko still has some fight left in him then so do I! I won't stop until I get that soup for Toriko, Takimaru, Match, and the poor kids!" Zongeh grunted, "Um, Zongeh said don't leave him." Éclair sucked her teeth, "Try and stop me! Coming Teppei?" The green haired man took out a seed from his pocket and poured a liquid from his earring. "Sorry Éclair, I have other obligations. Grow Protection Tree! Shelter the Show Case!" He threw the seed at the ice and a large plant grew. It covered the tree and kept the ice intact. Éclair ran her finger down the line of earrings, "And here I thought this was here for style. Alright Teppei, I'll see you after I make it out of this Ice Hell, and after I get the soup."
She ran with the pink penguin in her hands as fast as she could. She followed the way of the aurora and didn't stop no matter how tired she felt. She looked down at the little guy in her arms, "You want some soup too cotton candy poof ball? We're getting close I can feel it. It's like I hear a melody calling me. I can't hear the words because the song is so faint." The blond girl stopped in front of the soup before her. It was in a small crevasse with the aurora above it. She sniffed the air, "It smells so good, just like it did in Granny Setsu's kitchen." She took a container out of her backpack and scooped the soup inside. "That's it, there isn't a single drop or even residue left. Long lived the legend of the Century Soup." She looked at the soup, "I want to taste it so badly." The penguin grabbed her arm and she laughed, "Don't worry little one, I wouldn't dare eat this without Toriko. In fact, I'm probably the last person on the list of people who need to eat the soup." "You could say that again." She frowned as she turned around, "What!" She put the lid on the soup and held it behind her back. She stood face to face with a GT Robot and it was her worst nightmare. She not only had to protect the soup, but she had to protect the baby penguin and herself. She pulled out the machete and swung it at the robot. It was too fast but she managed to slice a bit of the fur off. Even if he wasn't very fast, it was highly unlikely that her knife would do much damage.
The operator spoke out, "I won't have you disrespect me like you did Starjun. I'll end this quickly." Even being a tiny bot the size of a fly, its power was still very devastating. A hand hit the girl in her abdomen fast and hard. It was enough to knock her far away into the wall of ice behind her. Her head hit the back wall and her consciousness began to die away. She looked ahead and saw the GT Robot getting away with the soup, "Toriko, I'm so sorry."
Her eyes opened once again and who knows how long it had been. She looked around, and her mind was completely scrambled. "Where is it, where is it?" She was so detached from reality she didn't even notice Zongeh and his group. She was so mad at herself. Her nails dug into the hard ice, "I'm a failure." She was at the brink of tears but she'd dare not let them fall. "I have failed! Everyone~" "Why so glum Éclair?" She looked up and her eyes were sadder than they'd ever been. "Toriko, I can't bear to look at you. I'm a failure. I'm a complete failure." The wall Penguin came to her side and wrapped its arms around hers. She looked up, "It's the first time you ever asked anything of me, and I couldn't deliver. You guys left it all upstairs and I have nothing to repay you with. Toriko, I don't have the Century Soup!"