'Has time stopped? No. Time does not stop for anyone or anything. It just keeps moving forward no matter what. ~Tell me what I am seeing is not reality. Tell me that what I see is just some horrible dream and that I'll wake up. I just want to wake up now. Such a dreadful visualization I see. Certainly this cannot be the Toriko I know. Toriko doesn't lose to anyone.' Her eyes watched as Starjun dropped the man and walked toward her. She wasn't scared, she wasn't even angry anymore. She could only feel the bitter taste of sadness. The only thing she wanted to do was cry, and cry she did. Her tears were quickly washed away in the downpour of rain. All she could do was yell out his name in hopes of getting a response. "Toriko! Toriko please get up!" In her mind all she could think about were the good times and it made her even sadder. From the time they met, to getting the Century Soup, to their official pairing, to their first kiss. This was a ghastly feeling, but somehow she still maintained hope that he would get up. She found herself always doubting the man, but not anymore. Starjun began to reach for her again and she yelled out "Toriko!" As he advanced she'd not hesitate this time. "Get away from me!" The girl reared her fist back and began to lunge forward to throw a punch of her own. Before she could connect, the man flew out of her range.
Her eyes did not deceive her. Toriko looked at the girl, "Your tears and your voice will always give me strength. Everything is going to be okay now. ~No matter what I will keep standing up to protect you Éclair." He faced Starjun and prepared to continue the fight of his life. As he stepped away he left her with an inestimable feeling that could not be forged or replicated. She felt safe again, but most of all she felt indispensable and wanted. Even in the horrible situation they were in she couldn't help but see the break in the clouds. Even with the euphoric feeling, things were about to get very ugly. She ran until she was a good distance away from the fight dragging along her little pink friend with her. As she sat behind the rock she lifted the sweater and then her tank top to grab her prized knife. She had it hidden beneath her shirt. "It's a good thing I grabbed this before getting Vanilla or I'd never see it again." She looked at the small droplets of blood hitting the ground. "Even tightly wrapped up it's still dangerous." Though she hadn't noticed, the knife had been poking at her side this whole time. It wasn't anything major but it could quite possibly leave a small scar.
She looked back at the fight and Toriko was serious. In that moment she felt as if she could see Starjun on a plate in front of the man. It was like Starjun was now the hunted prey that was going to get his just desserts. It was frightening, but most of all, it allowed her to remain hopeful that this fight would go exactly the way she wanted it to. Ultimate Routine was what he called it. A part of her didn't want to look anymore. All she wanted to do was wait for Toriko to come by her side and tell her it was all over. She exhaled and leaned against the rock waiting for that moment to come.
As she began to relax a bit, a large gust of energy blew her hair forward. She looked back and saw the ground beside her had melted. She turned around to see that Toriko was going all out. He used every weapon in his arsenal. A flurry of forks and knives came at the man. As the blue haired man came closer, Starjun engulfed the both of them in a Flame Tornado. She looked down and shook her head, "It's okay Poof Ball. Toriko can~ Toriko will win this!"
She cringed as she noticed the bleeding wasn't stopping and the extreme heat was making everything worse. She closed her eyes and exhaled, "Vanilla's gonna kill me for not taking care of myself. But I have to survive this for her. ~And Toriko has to survive this for me." The flames seemed to be getting even hotter and crazier. She wiped the sweat from her face, "How is he even in there? Being a chef I am used to hot temperatures, but even this distance away is enough to evaporate water. I couldn't imagine what's going on inside there."
She clenched her fist, "But I know that Toriko will make it! The emotions he's fighting with are burning hotter than the flame itself! ~Stay here!" She got up from behind the rock and yelled out "Hang in there Toriko!" As she got closer she could actually see what was happening. "Toriko just go! Run! You don't have to stay in this fight!" The man flew out of the flames and onto the rocks behind him. This time her hope was shattered. His arm was gone, his leg was gone, and the man was unconscious. As the tears fell from her face, the immense heat dried them before they could hit the ground. She quickly pulled the cloth from her knife and swung it as hard as she could toward Starjun. "Get away from him!" The knife sliced into the ground and nearly touched the feet of the man. "I'll fight you, you bastard! Come at me!" He looked over at her "You're quite a reliable combo partner. ~Hmm, that kitchen knife. It's fascinating every time I see it. ~However, it is not meant for harming people." As he finished talking to the girl he shot a burst of flames her way and caused her to take a hard fall.
"You bastard. What did you just do to Éclair? I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" It was the most intense sight to see the beastly arm of Toriko reach through Starjun. He'd created a hole right in the middle of the man with his hand. Starjun fell to his knees as Éclair approached. She knew that even though Starjun was hurt, he could still kill Toriko. "I need to use it. Please don't attack him anymore. I will go with you Starjun, but just allow me this~" She'd not wipe the tears from her eyes but insistently let them fall. "Let me do one. One swing is all I ask." The man frowned at her, "When did you learn that technique!? ~Well, whatever~" She walked over to her unconscious partner and put her knife to his chest, "You're gonna be okay Toriko." She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, "Everything will be just fine, I promise." Starjun grunted, "This fight is over. ~I'm returning to the stadium. ~I have to go!" The man gathered his energy and knocked the girl out. It wasn't anything that was going to harm her, but it was enough so that she wouldn't struggle when he took her.
As the girl was unconscious she could hear the words of people surrounding her. She couldn't decipher what was being said, but she knew that the world was in danger. Even in her sleep she felt uneasy. Her heart was hurting. She was at such an all-time low that the only way to go from here was up.
"Nee-chan~" Vanilla looked up at the sky. In her heart she could feel intense grief. Her intuition told her something bad happened to her sister, and something even worse was coming for the rest of the world. She shed tears of tribulation as she knew what followed next. She looked at the road ahead as she was still leaving the Cooking Island. She sat by the window in a train leaving the key. It didn't matter where the train was going. The Meteor Spice was already headed for Human World. Her eyes looked at something gleaming in the sky light. Her green eyes amplified as she noticed this was not a sign of peace. As she had guessed, something bad was coming. The girl stood up and yelled, "Everyone get down now! Brace yourself for impact!" She tucked herself under a small table and waited for the Meteor Spice to hit. "Please~ let us survive~"