"I um, I don't know how to say this. ~I guess I'll start with the words I know I have to say. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hating you before and after you died. I'm sorry for never accepting responsibility as the oldest. I'm sorry for abandoning Vanilla. But most of all, I'm sorry that I never allowed you guys to be more than strangers in my life." The blond girl kissed her hand and placed it on the large headstone in front of her. "I know that beyond the grave you guys forgive me, and I forgive you too. I'm afraid that this will be my first and last time coming here though. If I keep coming back the wound will never close. ~See you on the other side." The girl felt arms wrap around her and squeeze her into a tight hug. "Feel better nee-chan?" "I do. ~But you know what would make me feel even better right now? Going to work. I miss my staff and customers." Vanilla nodded, "Then do it! Go to work, and I will too!"
The girl was finally back where she felt most comfortable. She sang along in her kitchen as she made food for the customers she loved so much. "Feels good to be back." Komatsu smiled, "It's good to have you back. You never know the power of a song until it's gone." The woman laughed, "I'm glad to know that I've been missed. ~It's so great, people have really been wanting mochi lately." The boy smirked, "It's because of what you did." "You know Komatsu, it's interesting. If I never met Toriko that one day, I wouldn't be the chef I am today. It's funny too, I almost took that day off. Then it would have been you going to get the Bishokuya Toriko instead of me. Ha, imagine." The man scratched his head, "That's an interesting way to think about it. I don't think I was working that day though if I remember correctly." "All I know is, ever since that day my life has been one crazy roller coaster and I'm not getting off any time soon. ~Alright, I'm gonna go serve this. I miss talking with my customers."
As she picked up the bowl of mochi, she began to head out. Before she could take even one more step, her manager ran in frantic and flustered. "There are 2 guys from G7 here! Eclair, this is huge!" The girl set the bowl back down and walked out of the door. A line of men in black suits surrounded the important man. The girl frowned, "Um?" "Hello, I am Kitt of G7." "And I am Painomi." The girl waved at the men, "Hey. Come here for some food?" "No. We are here to tell you that you have ranked 79th in the World Chef Ranking." It was a good thing she wasn't holding onto the mochi anymore or it would have dropped. Her body felt like a wet noodle, but somehow she managed to stay standing. "In addition you have earned the right to participate in this years Cooking Festival. We have come here to issue you the invitation." The girl's smile began to fade, and so did she. "Okay, someone catch me now please~ I do believe I am about to faint~"
A few weeks passed and the Cooking Festival was among them. It was a worldwide event that took everyone's minds off of work, stress, and any other daily problems. The streets were baron, and houses were empty. Everyone was on their way to the most watched event in history. Riding down the street in a long stretch limo was a worried Eclair. She breathed heavily in and out as she made her way to the festival. The girl occupied her mind by stuffing fried food down her throat. The bluenette looked at his partner, "You've been nervous for weeks, but I think this takes the cake Eclair." The girl continued to eat as she spoke to the man. "You don't even know the half of it Toriko. I keep having to remind myself to breathe." She inhaled deeply, "Air is just swell. Isn't it swell? I think it's just swell." "Calm down would ya? It's a festival right? You're here to have fun above all else." She stuffed an entire roll of sushi down her throat as she spoke, "It's just so much pressure you know? I'm gonna be in front of so many people. I just want to be perfect. I swear, if even one hair is out of place~ I'm gonna freak out. Full on melt down I tell ya. So don't ruffle my hair this time kay? I even got my uniform freshly dry cleaned and pressed for this event." He raised his hands innocently, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Quit worrying about how you look and just have fun. You're gonna do great!"
She turned her head and looked at the man. "Hey Toriko. I just wanted to thank you again. Without you there's no way I would be where I am now. Your confidence in me has been nothing short of benevolent. Words can't really express my appreciation." She turned her head away and continued to stuff her mouth with the variations of food. "I probably look so hideous. Don't look at me." She lifted her head only to see thousands and thousands of people eating and enjoying the pre-festival activities. She looked at her partner, "Let's stop here to eat! Food will curve my nervousness!" The man nodded, "It's like you read my mind." The limo was coming to a stop and Toriko just looked at the girl. He laughed at her nervous eating.
Her eyes amplified as she felt a hand run over her hair. It was Toriko's hand smoothing the front edges of her hair back. She grabbed his hand and scrunched her nose, "Did you lick your fingers?" He shrugged, "Well, I didn't want you to freak about your hair being out of place." The girl pointed at the limousine door, "Go out there and grab me some buns. I'm not done emotionally eating yet." She licked her finger, "Wait a second." The girl rubbed the corner of his mouth with her saliva coated finger. "You helped me look perfect and I'll help you right? I can't have my partner walking out looking a mess. ~Doesn't feel too good to have my saliva on you now does it? ~Now go! Those buns won't get themselves!" The man laughed as he exited the limo, "I can't guarantee that they will still be there after being in my hand. ~And your spit doesn't bother me by the way~" The girl quickly closed the limousine door as her face immediately got red. She grabbed a pocket mirror from her purse and looked at herself. "What the hell is happening? I look like a crazy person! ~Not like anyone was gonna be impressed about how I look anyway. ~That reminds me." She opened the limo door, "Hey Toriko! Can you bring back some mustard too?" The crowd looked over at the man "Look, it's Bishokuya Toriko!" "Woo! Our savior!"
She grit her teeth, "Oops." "Savior? Wouldn't that be me?" Into the crowd came Sunny. People began to run toward the man until he tied them up in his Hair Lock. Next came Coco, and all of the woman ran screaming toward him. "Rough behavior isn't beautiful Sunny." Eclair laughed, "Looks like the lady killer's still got it." As she stepped completely out of the limousine, the final Heavenly King showed up. "Shut up you bastards!" At one glance, everyone began to run away from the Bishokuya Zebra. Eclair yelled at the four, "Must you guys always have dramatic introductions!?" "Is that Chef Eclair Reinbou?" "Another savior! Thank you so much! Congratulations on your ranking!" The girl smiled, "Me? Oh, it was nothing spectacular."
"Interesting. You know, at the Century Soup event I never imagined you would become what you are now. Your potential is immeasurable. You may even pose a threat to the top ranks." Everyone spread out as Patch of G7 approached. Eclair shrugged, "Oh, thank you sir. But in all honesty, I don't believe that to be true. I'll give everyone a run for their money though, that's for sure." Toriko looked around, "You sure have a lot of security here don't you think?" "It's not for me. You understand don't you Toriko." Eclair looked at the time on her phone. "Hey, I better start heading to the Cooking Stadium. It's my first time being invited to the Cooking Fest and it would be horribly tacky if I were late."
The girl was getting dressed before she was going to be introduced to billions of viewers. She could hear Munageh announcing as she pulled out her chef uniform. Her heart skipped beat as she looked at her outfit. "Oh no! What the hell is this! Please tell me this is some kind of joke! And not the practical kind. Tell me this is a joke that will be resolved in the next couple of seconds! This cannot be happening!" There was a small note attached to the outfit.
'I know this is your big day, so I thought you should wear something pretty special to fit the event. ~ Ouch! My mouth hurts really bad. I think I've got a cavity, because payback is so sweet. Love ya and kick ass at the Cooking Fest. I'll be in the crowd cheering you on the whole way! P.S. I asked Toriko for this Amplifier Stone. You'll know what to do with it. Play to your assets little big sis.-Nilly'
The blond girl's hands began to shake as she didn't know what to do. "I~ am going~ to kill her!" ~She made her way out and waited for her name to get called. She stood next to Setsuno as she waited. The woman looked over at her "Hnh hnh, well don't you just look cute as a button?" The girl sighed, "Thanks Granny Setsu. ~I know." Munageh shouted into his microphone, "First off the bat we have a big name. Last year's Cooking Fest Champion! Chef Zaus!" Eclair fanned herself, "I'm getting overwhelmed." The girl's jaw dropped as more chef's were being introduced. "Prince Anyo Jr. He's so hot!" She put her hands over her cheeks, "Chinese Emperor Reishun too! There are so many hot men here! ~Dammit Vanilla! Of all the times to mess with my wardrobe!" When Setsuno's name was called, the girl really began to panic. She wanted to hear her name, but she at the same time didn't want to hear it. The announcer finally got to her, and it was all or nothing. The girl shrugged, "No turning back."
"Now everybody look! She ranked 79th overall! Starting with the Century Soup, then the discovery of the Mors Oil, then shocking the world with the ingenious Medicinal Cooking Mochi. Head chef of the Hotel Gourmet, Eclair Reinbou takes the stage!" As she walked out, all of her embarrassment magnified. From her head to her toes she was an adorable white bunny. The onesie was the cutest thing the crowd had seen. Her chef hat was replaced with a bunny hood, and her shoes were switched for furry boots. She was whole-heartedly embarrassed as her ear bounced up and down when she walked. She tried to hide her face from everyone by hiding her eyes with the hood. Her red faced looked over at her competitors. 'I can't do this. Surely no one here actually believes I have a shot at winning this, right?' "Show them what you're made of Eclair! Let the world see what you can do!" Through the roaring crowd, all she could hear was that one voice. She looked up and saw Toriko cheering her on. "You can do it! I believe in you!" She nodded at the man, 'Of course. I should have known. Thank you Toriko.'
She stood in line waiting for the events to start. As Patch took the microphone, she did all but stay out of her own head. Not one single word from Patch even went into the mind of Eclair. She was standing with the greats now. All she could feel like was a small blip on the map in between these guys. She found comfort in the crowd though. Knowing that there were people really cheering for her and wanting her to give it a good go gave her a boost of confidence. Finally her eyes made contact with the girl who was number one on her 'to kill list.' She looked at her sister through the crowd and gave a look that meant, 'This means war!' Her eyes looked over to Tylan and a glint of evil appeared in her eye. 'Right when Patch is done talking, I'm gonna do some damage!' As soon as the thought crossed her mind, the time came. She was ready to spill some embarrassing secrets, but before she could, she was approached by Chef Wabutora.
The man smiled, "The Mors Oil you discovered is wonderful. I use it at my shop for deep frying. Thank you." The girl shook her head, "No, thank you Chef Wabutora. Thank you for even talking to me and saying that. I can't believe you are even in front of me right now. To be honest though, I don't give myself complete credit for the oil. Never could I have found that on my own." "I like that oil too." Eclair turned around to see Granny Kama approaching. "Wow, thanks. ~a bit creepy~ But thank you." "It wasn't really the oil that impressed me more than the Medicinal Cooking Mochi. The girl pointed, "Huh? Chef Ton you aren't talking to me are you?" 'Oh no! If more of these chef's talk to me, I might faint. It's a good thing I had a lot to eat before this.' The man nodded, "Of course if I were there I'd be able to make twice as much mochi." "Only twice as much? I'd be able to make three or four times the amount." The girl began to once again remind herself to breathe, "Oh my goodness. Chef Nerimaru is near me!" "You know, cooking isn't just better because it's done faster. ~~~~~If you seek speed, you will find it harder to make it exude richness." The blond girl nodded, "Mhmm! I agree! I agree with anything you say actually. You just seem so wise and knowledgeable." She looked around at the people near her, "It's such an honor to be in all of your presences, really. Thank you all for your words of kindness and wisdom."
"Alright! Without further ado, let's get started! Let's get on with the preliminaries! ~Food endurance race made up of swimming, biking, and running. We call it Triathlon Cooking! Here is where 50 of the 100 chef's will be eliminated!" She was shaking in her furry little boots. Swimming, and running weren't too much of a problem. She never learned how to bike however, so that would be. "What kind of cruel joke is this? Who ever decided biking would be a good event choice? I mean come on! I wouldn't complain if it were something simple like Underwater Basket Weaving!"
The contestants stood on the beach. Everyone was ready and willing to jump right in. The girl stood there in her frilly pink swimsuit stretching out her arms and legs. She looked out at the water and smiled. 'I'm a good swimmer so this shouldn't be a problem. In my condition, I can get a 10 minute leg up from the swimming. Maybe I can figure something out when I get to the bikes. I'll give myself a quick lesson on how to ride a bike? I've seen people ride bikes all the time. It should be cake. ~I think.' "Now we're here at Cooking Island's famous sandy beach made of uncooked rice! Rice Beach! Here is where Triathlon Cooking will begin! The signal for the preliminaries will begin with the signal by this man. He is ranked 2715th in the world. He's the Fortune Telling Sushi Chef, Monchy!" The man frowned as he jumped into the ring, "It's 2714 moron!" As he hopped in his legs got caught on the rope and the starting gun sounded. Everyone raced into the water.
Eclair walked in up to her knees and stopped. "Ahh, it is freezing cold!" She rubbed her stomach, "Okay, last time I ate was about 47 minutes ago. I only have 13 more minutes to go. ~Damn, if only I didn't eat like I crazy person I would be able to swim right now. It's not worth the cramp though. ~Guess I better calm my nerves before I start my swim." She walked out of the water and began to do some calming yoga. The viewers were so confused by the girl. Was she insane? She was taking part in the biggest competition of her life, and of all things, she decided to do yoga. As the time was running down, she could hear a familiar voice. She repeated the words she heard, "All we have is this moment? ~No way. Could that really be the ingredients singing to me? From here?"
The girl moved into the scorpion pose, and before her stood Granny Setsu. "What are you doing here?" "Hnh hnh, I saw you still at the starting line. I thought you may have been confused so I came to check on you." The girl shook her head, "No Granny Setsu, I'm not confused. You know what they say. You have to wait an hour to swim after eating. I still have about 12 more minutes to wait, so I'll be fine." The woman smiled, "Well, I am your rival in this so I better get going." Eclair nodded, "See you at the finish line!" The old woman sped off leaving Eclair behind. "Alright, so I obviously can't swim THAT fast. I already calculated in the delay. My leg up won't come from the swimming, but the run will be my play. I can catch up to at least the back half there." She flipped forward to her feet and grinned at the sea before her. "Ready~ Set~ Go!" The girl dove in the water and swam her little heart out. 'These other chef's better watch out!'