Chapter 5: One More Night (Maroon 5)
I walked to the entrance of the cave from the river to find an emperor crow standing there like he was supposed to be there. Hades let out a hiss. Someone's here, I thought. I walked into the forge to see him sitting down at the kitchen table.
"What are you doing here, Coco? And how did you find this place?" I asked.
"I came here on orders to help you get materials. But before we go any further on that subject, I believe it's best we resolve our problem first," he explained.
"I don't see what there is to discuss," I said, subconsciously fiddling with the green bandage ribbon in my hair. Coco noticed this and chuckled to himself. I guess she's not that mad at me, he thought.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you for some time now," he started, getting back to business.
"Okay," I said.
"A friend told me you were skilled in poisons but I don't remember you dealing with anything like that. Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked. I couldn't tell if I was more surprised or angry. Who told him? Zebra? No. He's not the kind of person who would do that. But Takeshi would. She probably thinks it's best for me. I thought for a minute, deciding whether I should tell him or not. Finally, I gave in.
"Do you remember me warning you not to bring attention to yourself now that you're a poisonous human?" I asked.
"Y-Yeah. I'm regretting my actions now," he said quietly.
"I didn't want to see you go through what I had to go through," I explained. Coco's eyes flickered in surprise.
"Don't tell me you're –" he said before he was cut off.
"A poisonous human," I said, finishing his sentence, "but at least I'm not afraid to be around people like you are."
"I never said I was afraid!" Coco argued.
"Admit it. You're afraid you'll poison someone. That's why you always keep everyone at arms length," I said. Coco was silent.
"Poison is dangerous and should be handled with caution," he finally said.
"That may be true but are you just going to lock yourself away because of it? You just need to be more confident that you can control it and you'll be fine," I said, walking into the food pantry to get some ingredients to cook for lunch.
"Clearly, you are good controlling yours because you seem perfectly normal to me," he said as I walked out with the ingredients. I shot him a glare, summoning my gourmet demon, which looks like a skeleton, dripping in toxic poison. Coco seemed quite intimidated by it and nearly fell back in his chair.
"W-What is that?" he asked. Without realizing, he let out his demon and there was a standoff between the two monsters.
"That is my gourmet demon. Also, there's another major difference between us: while you use Human World poison, I use Gourmet World poison, though the toxicity varies," I explained. I turned back to the ingredients. Coco followed my look and saw something unmistakably familiar in my hands.
"Is that … a puffer whale?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yep," I said as I grabbed a knife.
"Do you even know how to prepare it? It is a special preparation ingredient, you know," he said.
"Watch me if you don't believe me," I said as my demon told me where the poison sac was. I took the knife and cut the fish open, revealing the poison sac. Coco watched in fascination as I gently removed the sac and disappeared into the food pantry to put it carefully in a special jar. I would use this later for research and to make more of the antidote. I walked back out to the kitchen.
"Amazing! I've never seen such precision without guidance!" he said in astonishment. He hadn't seen my demon. I decided to lightly fry the fish and sprinkle some spices on it. I went on to cook some sides. Kiss and Hades entered the cave to investigate the good smell. I put the food on the table and went on to give some to the two curious beasts. Coco tried some of the fish and froze after one bite. I looked at him with concern.
"Are you okay? You look a bit zoned out," I said. Coco blinked.
"Y-Yeah. It's just … Have you ever considered becoming a professional cook?" he asked. I chuckled to myself. "I'll take that as a compliment," I said with a smile. I could have sworn Coco was blushing. I didn't say anything though.
After lunch, everyone gathered outside the cave.
"I think the reason Ichiryuu sent you to me was not just because I need the help of a skilled bishokuya. Knowing him, he probably knew that we knew each other and also about my poison ability. He probably wants you to use this opportunity as part of your training for the Gourmet World," I explained.
"So how many weapons do you have to make?" he asked.
"500 guns and 200 blades," I said like it was nothing.
"That many?! This will take a while," he said
"Not necessarily. All you have to do is get the materials. I'm the one making them into weapons," I said.
"I guess you have a point. What do I need to get?" he asked.
"I still have some things to decide but it's not too bad. I have 350 guns and 150 blades. That leaves 150 guns and 50 blades to make," I explained.
"I see … Out of curiosity, where have you been for the past couple days?" he asked.
"Nerg City. I went there to drop off food about a week ago. A friend of mine ate some poisoned Puffer Whale and I stayed longer to watch over her after giving her treatment," I said.
"Oh," he said, remembering his conversation with Takeshi. 'Savior', he pondered.
"So how many tasks do you have left?" I asked.
"Counting this one, five," he said, "I just came back from a mission in Jidal Kingdom."
"I see. It must have been tough considering it's a country outside the IGO. It wouldn't have been so hard if I came along with you. The royal family knows me and lets me into the country all the time," I said with pride.
"Really? Maybe I should join one of your crazy adventures one of these days," he said jokingly. All of a sudden, a carrier pigeon dropped a heavy package on me. Coco had to pull me out from underneath it. I looked back at the package to find a note on top.
I request the skills of a professional weaponsmith to repair my sword. You will be heavily rewarded. ~Match
"If it's his sword, then why such a big box?" I asked. I opened the massive box to find the sword and a bunch of semi-rare ingredients.
"So is this how customers pay you?" Coco asked.
"No. Only Match. He knows that I deliver food to the slums from time to time," I said. There was an awkward silence.
"Are you still dwelling on your past?" he asked finally. That hit hard.
"So what if I am? You know just as well as I do that there is no way to escape the past. You may be trying to run away from it but me … I embrace it like death itself. There is no way I am going to turn my back on these kids. They cry for help but no one answers. I'm going to change that and give them the future they deserve," I said with a flicker of hope in my odd-colored eyes. Coco was speechless until he did something I never thought he would do.
"You're right," he said.
"What?" I asked, surprised
"You're right about everything. I've been trying to run away but end up right back where I started. And I am afraid that I'll poison someone. And I admit I'm not at all confident in my power," he said, "And you're the only one who has and will ever criticize my faults because you are the only one who has ever truly known me for who I really am."
He gazed at me with his soft brown eyes and I slightly blushed. I may know everything about you, but you hardly know a thing about me, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath to calm my throbbing heart.
"I'll take that response as consent for your training. Meet me here at dawn 5 days from now," I said with a smirk.