She finally had some off time. It was nice to relax once in a while in between work and her crazy and adventures with Toriko. She was on top of the roof at the Hotel Gourmet. Her yoga mat was besides her sister's, and they were in the handstand position as they spoke. "It's been a while since I've done yoga Nilly. Tell me why I'm doing this again?" The green haired girl dropped her legs and stood up, "It's releasing your stress. You've got a lot of stress and tension." The girl rolled her eyes, "I knew I should have just taken you to the Gourmet Spa." Éclair flipped forward out of the position and sighed, "Is that what you came here to do? Tell me I'm stressed and make me do yoga?" The younger girl rolled up her mat and shook her head, "No, I just wanted to loosen you up. I want you to feel calm and collected." She brushed her hair back with her hand, "Your hair. It grew even longer now. It reaches past your shoulders. Such changes nee-chan. I like the new-old you." The two took a seat under a gazebo and rehydrated with ice water. Before they could continue their conversation, Komatsu ran upstairs with a magazine in his hand. "Éclair, Vanilla, the new issue of Gourmet Monthly is out. Want to look at it?" The blond girl smiled, "Yeah, bring it over!" She flipped open the magazine and saw the list of top 100 chefs. Her eyes glistened, "Oh my goodness! My favorite chefs are here. Look guys Tsurara Mama! I saw her in person and she was gorgeous! Setsuno's on here of course!"
The green haired girl blushed, "My boyfriend's on the list! Tylan." Éclair stood out of her seat, "What! Chef Tylan is your boyfriend!? When did this happen?" "Calm down Clair, he's not really my boyfriend. ~A guy like him would never notice a girl like me. I'm not a good enough chef." The blond wrapped her arms around her sister, "Don't say that! Don't you ever say that! You are damn good enough to be on this list Vanilla! Hell, you could beat any of these people 10 fold. If you expand your skills beyond exotic rice, you will go far, even further than me. And if Tylan is dumb enough to pass up a beautiful, talented, generous chef like you, than that's his loss." Komatsu nodded, "Éclair's right, you're a really great chef Vanilla." The small girl pointed at Komatsu, "I expect to see you on this list someday Vanilla, and you too Komatsu. I don't want to hear you say you aren't good enough, because you are." Vanilla smiled, "And we expect to see you too Clair." She looked down at the magazine, and her finger pointed at the bottom of the list, "Look nee-chan." Éclair's eyes amplified, "Ootake is 99th." Her eyes gazed at the page for a moment before she scooted out of her seat. "Fairy Tale Castle huh? I'll be back guys." "You're going like that nee-chan? In your yoga clothes?" The woman walked away from the table, "As they say, strike while the iron's hot." Vanilla looked to the man frighteningly, "Nothing good can come of this."
She stood outside of the Fairy Tale Castle and busted in the door. "Where's Ootake!" A woman at the front desk looked frightened at the sight of the serious woman. "Uh, he's~" "Éclair?" She looked to her left and saw her once best friend. She ran to the man and jumped onto him. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she held him tightly, "I missed you so much Take-chan." The man embraced her back, "I'm sure there's a lot you'll want to know. Let's sit and talk." She nodded and dropped from the man, "Yes, let's talk, please."
The girl looked around the dining area, "Wow Ootake, this place is amazing! I can't believe this is all yours. You were right under my nose and I didn't even know it." The man pulled out her chair and the two sat face to face. Éclair took a deep breath, "Why Ootake? Why haven't you contacted me for so long? I've tried to talk to you, but you didn't seem to care." The man put his hand over hers, "Éclair, it's not that I didn't care about you. I cared and I still do. I heard about the Century Soup and your partnering with Toriko. It's just, I saw our lives going in separate directions. There was no need to hinder one another with contact. You're a chef Éclair, your job is to make money." She pounded her fist on the table, "What!? No Ootake, you're wrong. My job isn't to make money. It's to make my customers happy! ~And what do you mean hinder with contact? You weren't a distraction to my work and I'll be damned if you tell me I was one to yours. I just wanted to be your friend! We didn't have to be anything more! I just wanted a call from you saying how proud you were that I made the Century Soup. I don't care what you say, that's a big deal! ~I just hope Ume hasn't changed as much as you. I couldn't bear it."
"Ume?" "Yeah, Nakaume, he was our best friend from back in the day." The man rubbed his chin, "Oh yeah, I forgot all about him. ~You know, you say I've changed, but so have you. That comment goes both ways." A man walked in where the two were sitting, "Excuse me Owner, the interviewers are here." Ootake looked back at the girl, "I've been very busy since ranking in the top 100. I think you could reach it too with a couple of patents and branding. ~Listen, I know you didn't come all this way to fight. Would you like to try the food?" The girl sighed, "You're right, I didn't. I was excited to see you actually. You were my best friend Ootake. Better than Komatsu and Ume combined. ~I would love to taste your food Ootake.
A magazine publicist and his crew came into the room and Éclair watched as they photographed the food. She smiled, "Ootake, I can't believe you're doing this well. Your food looks like it's out of a dream. I'm happy for you." The publicist nodded, "Yes, isn't the food great? ~Hey, aren't you Chef Éclair from the Hotel Gourmet." She nodded, "Yes, that's me." "Here take my card. Call me to schedule an interview for the magazine, Calorie." She smiled, "I'll be sure to keep this in my back pocket." A man called to the girl, "Excuse me Ms. Reinbou, your food is ready."
She sat in front of her food and just glanced at it for a moment. "He remembered that I still love cotton candy I see. Cotton Candy Cloud is very rare and expensive. Good to know he feels the need to go all out for me." She took a bite out of the food and set her fork down, "What the hell?" The man walked back over to her, "Something wrong Éclair? Do you like our food?" "Yeah, it's great." Her face remained straight as she complimented the food. "Good, because it was very rare and almost never found on the market. It's expensive might I add." He chuckled, "But with money, you can easily buy things like that. It's simple, really. You just get somewhat rare ingredients, advertise, and the customers come flocking. They're so stupid, they come in here dropping money like it grows on trees, just because of what the media said about it. They don't even understand the taste. You'd have more money if you did the same." The girl stood up, "Shut up Ootake! It was a mistake for me to stay! How the hell can you do this? The reason reporters come in here without touching the food is because they already know what they're going to write, isn't it?" "Yes, and there is nothing wrong with it. The stupid customers want to hear all that stuff about the ingredients. That's what attracts them. It's not like they write lies." She tightened her fists, "How can you talk about customers like that? They are the people who made you who you are. Screw everything you said Ootake. I've tasted more love and dedication in a single noodle from an unknown chef's ramen than I feel coming out of this entire place. I'm sure Gourmet Goddess Frohze herself is rolling in her grave from the words you speak."
As she was going to continue, she heard a prevalent voice in her hears. 'I know this. It's not just voices in my head, that was an ingredient.' She looked back at Ootake and his face changed as well. 'No way. Did he hear it too?' "You're jealous." "What?" The man continued, "You're jealous of me Éclair. You're upset that I have a 7-star restaurant and that I got on the list of top chefs. Admit it, your envy is getting the best of you. That's why you're saying those things about the customers, to make yourself feel better?" Without a word, she raised her hand to the man and slapped his face red. "How dare you say such a thing. I love my customers. Whether they be Toriko, and Coco or people I've never met, they will get treated with the utmost. I don't respect your ways, and I think it's best I leave now. You're making this into a rivalry that never was. I don't intend to compete with you Ootake, but the way you're going about things~ It's a battle you'll never win." As she walked away, she looked back at the man, "You broke my heart years ago, and you continue to break it today. When does the vicious cycle end?"
The girl made her exit from the restaurant and tears streamed from her face. 'I have to meet up with Toriko in a few hours. I better get myself together so I won't worry him.' She tried to wipe the tears away, but they just kept coming. "Damn you Ootake!" She walked until she reached a bridge overpass. She looked over the side and put her hands on her face, "I want this feeling to be over with. I never thought I'd make a rival out of my best friend. I never thought I'd raise my hand to him. He's so different." She continued to walk on her way. "I can't think about these things. Block them out Éclair. ~I just need to meet up with Toriko already. Someone I know won't change."
A few hours passed and she was in search of the meeting place. She looked pouted, "I'm so frustrated! I can't even find one shop! I swear I've walked past this barber statue a million times now. ~Wait a sec." She looked at her map, "I'm an idiot." The girl walked inside and Toriko was sitting in barber seat. "Hey Toriko, good to see you. It's been a while." She gave the man a hug, "So what have you been up to?" "I was getting ingredients that I could never get with the people I trained with back in the day. It was just me and Coco in the end though." She smiled, "Sounds nice, reliving old memories with someone who hasn't changed." The man frowned, "Huh? What do you mean?" "Nothing." "Hey, that reminds me. Didn't you go visit your old friend too?" She sighed, "Yeah, but~" "The appetizer is ready." The girl turned around and saw a man carrying a plate of food. Her eyes glistened, "Wow, that food looks great." Toriko nodded, "I know right! I give thanks~" "Wait a second Toriko!" The barber Pen yelled, "The haircut and the meal are a package deal. You can't just eat." She looked at the small man and smiled, "Hair treatment and a meal? Sounds like paradise."
"What do you want Toriko? Coloring, perm?" "I'll leave that up to you Pen. I trust your judgment." The man left the room and Toriko dug into his food. "Yum!" The girl peeked at his food, "Toriko, this place is extraordinary." Pen came back with chopsticks in one hand and a spatula in the other. She watched as he combed through Toriko's hair. 'His technique. It's like he's literally cooking Toriko's hair. He's so thorough and gentle.' The man began to wash it and everything looked like the preparation of a meal. Her eyes were amazed as she looked on. It was like she was learning a new cooking technique by watching. "I can't believe how great you are sir." Toriko looked at the girl, "You wanna try it with me?" She nodded, "Very much so!" Pen looked at the girl, "You'll have to start from the middle of the full course. Is that okay?" "That's perfectly fine."
Her back was being massaged and it felt so good. She closed her eyes, "I feel so relaxed." "That's not what you're back is saying. You're carrying a lot of tension. Do you have any stress or worries?" She shrugged, "I can't think of anything in particular." She lied through her teeth as she spoke. There was nothing but worries on her mind. Everything that happened with Ootake was a memory that she'd like to remove, and as soon as possible. The man didn't think too hard on it and went to get their food. "The main dish is ready." She smiled, "That's Celebpig Steak." The girl put her hands together, "I give humble thanks. Now let's eat." She dug into the food and looked over at her partner. "This steak is so great. It's not rough in the least and it cuts like butter. Mmm, I'm in steak heaven." Pen sharpened his knife, "It's because of the massage. I was tenderizing for preparation." She rolled her shoulders back, "I was tenderized? Cool! I feel like an ingredient! It's amazing how your techniques work. It's truly astonishing."
She watched as Pen came back over with his fork and knife to cut Toriko's hair. She watched as every strand fell without touching the food. Doing hair was not her thing, but it was an art from that she could watch all day. The girl put her hand over her mouth and held back a laugh, "Toriko. You never told me you were giving up your days as a Bishokuya to become a clown." "Huh?" He looked at himself in the mirror, "What have you done!" He pointed at Éclair, "You think you're so funny talking about this green afro huh? Why don't you give her a new look too then?" She shook her head, "No, that's not necessary. I'm trying to grow my hair out. Please!" It was too late. She pouted as she looked at herself and Toriko in the mirror. "We look like an old couple. ~Wait a minute. I look like Jirou and you look like Granny Setsu." The girl frowned, "What are you trying to pull Pen! You trying to tell me I look like an old man?" "Calm down, now let's get you a good hairstyle." They went through many hairstyles and they got shorter and shorter until they had nothing but Mohawks. The girl was literally steaming from anger, "I'm bald! What the hell are you doing! This is irreversible!" Toriko stood up, "What! You mean I can't get this back!" The two were livid about their hair and the man shook his head, "No, wait you two! I have something here for you to grow it back." He ran to his counter and came back. "Eat this nori and it'll grow back to its normal length." They put the nori in their mouths and Éclair chewed fiercely, "You're lucky this nori is good after all that crap you put me through. ~And I'm happy my hair is back."
The shop doors opened and Éclair looked back, "Coco!" She hoped out of her chair and hugged the man. "Well look at these long locks. Just as I was going to give up calling you the lady killer, you slay me once again." The man laughed, "I'm not the only one with longer hair I see." Toriko smiled, "I'm glad you came so you can cut that crappily grown hair of yours." Éclair walked back to her chair and poked Toriko's nose. "Don't lie Pinocchio. Are you telling him to get a haircut so he could become less handsome?" The man rolled his eyes, "That's not at all what I'm doing!" The blond girl shrugged, "Alright, whatever you say." Pen put another meal in front of them and Éclair licked her lips. "My belly has been very happy with you Pen, thanks." As they ate, Éclair looked at the two, "So you never told me about the ingredients you and Coco went to get. What is it?" The bluenette shrugged, "It's the old man's full course. Each one is in a different biotope, 7 in total. It's hard to make out what they are. The thing we got was some bean. Coco and I took it to Granny Setsu and she said it was a seed of a tree, somewhat of a common find in the Gourmet World. She also said it's trying to speak to someone, and its scream is like an ingredients voice." The girl smiled grimly, "I heard it. Toriko, I heard that seed. Actually, it was seven voices in total." The man got serious, "I wonder if anyone else heard it." She shrugged, "There's no way to be sure. But I do know this, I need to see that menu Toriko!"