Hi guys! Sorry its been so long since i updated the story, i will try to update more on the story.
Chapter 75
"Okay, let's go find Melk the first!" Aiko cheerfully said.
After enjoying their meal, Shina, Komatsu and Melk the second waved Toriko and Aiko goodbye as they jumped into the Heavy Hole.
"Toriko and Aiko will they really be alright?" Melk questioned, "Heavy Hole is one of the most dangerous places in the human world. Even the beast's average capture level exceeds 50."
"It'll be okay, Melk-san" Komatsu reassured Melk. "Toriko-san is very strong! Ai-chan can handle herself!" Komatsu smiled making Melk give a smile in return.
"He's right and Aiko can handle anything you throw at her, Toriko and Aiko make quite the power couple." Shina said
SSSSKRRRERE!
Komatsu looked up towards the source of the noise, only to see a large figure flying towards him and Shina. Komatsu could only blink as the figure came into focus showing a gigantic purple beast with the body of a gorilla that had large bat wings along with ears and sharp teeth with yellow eyes glaring at them.
Vampire Kong (Mammalian Beast) Capture Level 30
"AAAAAHH!" Komatsu screamed as the beast growled at him.
"What's happening?!" Shina panicked trembling holding her cane for protection.
"Stop it, Pochiko!" the beast stopped inches away from Komatsu's tear ridden face.
"They are our guests!" Melk explained, "Gave you two quite a surprise, huh? This is my pet Vampire Kong. Her name's Pochiko."
"P-Pochiko?" Shina repeated
"Pochiko was originally my master's pet. She's intelligent enough to deliver knives for me." Melk explained while walking towards the beast.
"D-Deliver knives," Komatsu repeated, he blinked as he then noticed that the gigantic beast was wearing a backpack.
"Welcome back, Pochiko, you did well," Melk said as Pochiko handed the gigantic backpack over to them. Pochiko then gave a growl and climbed up the tree right next to the house and perched herself upright at the very top.
"Huh, so that tree is her nest, well that would explain why there's only one tree out here," Komatsu sighed, "she has the face of a bat, but she doesn't hang upside down. And she's making such a dignified stance, as well"
Melk smiled before turning back to Komatsu and Shina "well, time to get to work! As usual there are a lot of orders to fill today!"
"Yes, let's get to sharpening, Melk-san!"
"Yeah!" Shina said
Toriko took a deep breath as he had hopped down from one of the higher levels to the lowers, with Aiko behind him. The entire place had a design similar to a canyon with ledges at different levels. He steadied himself as he looked around, while they were away from where they began, the bottom was still nowhere in sight. Aiko looked ahead seeing the terrain.
"We've made some good distance, but it looks like we're not even close to the lowest level," he gave a sigh, "Still kind of annoyed with Komatsu though."
"You're still upset about that Toriko-kun?" Aiko asked "Don't be upset about it, I'm sad that Shina can't come with me either and you don't see me crying."
FLASHBACK
" Toriko-san, anyway you could go with Ai-chan on this one? Y'know since it's such a dangerous place" Komatsu fidgeted as he tried to not look at him. "And I worry about Shina's safety too."
"Komatsu-kun is right, I think it would be better if Only you and Aiko go." Shina chimed in.
"Why?!" Toriko jumped at them. "What do you think we came here together for?! I need your strength Komatsu! There's no point if we don't conquer it together!"
"Yeah! I'm with Toriko on this one!" Aiko said "Remember what happened last time?"
"Of course I remember!" Komatsu fidgeted before turning his head, "What do you think Melk-san?"
"Hmm, it's probably too dangerous for Chef Komatsu and Shina" Melk answered
"I know right!" Komatsu exclaimed
"If it's too dangerous for us I'm sure you two will be fine." Shina said
"Don't tell me," Toriko scowled, "You two just wanna stay behind so you can watch Melk work?"
"Whaaaaat?" Komatsu said while backing away from him, "I-It's not like that."
"Well…" Shina fidgeted in her seat.
Toriko raised an eyebrow at them. He gave a sigh, "I understand perfectly. Fine. But I'm going to take one of your knives with me."
"My knife?"
"Yeah, the knife that you were preparing dinner with would suffice. Your knives are your life so I'm going to take one with me."
"But why?"
Toriko turned his back to Komatsu, "think of it as collateral, if something should happen to me, something you value as much as your life will share the same fate."
"Wait, what!" Komatsu panicked
"Just kidding!" Toriko laughed, "We're partners, aren't we?! Besides, this will be a good division of labor. You've got an important job, Komatsu, Shina."
"Important job." Komatsu repeated
END FLASHBACK
Toriko checked the wrapped up knife in his hand before putting it into his shirt pocket.
"Komatsu always jumps at the chance to see rare ingredients in their natural environment. Well, I guess that just shows how much he's interested in Melk's work," He patted the knife to make sure it was secure, 'Well I'm sure Melk prefers it this way, too. This time, my partner is Aiko.' He glanced at her as she looked ahead.
'Aiko…this is the first time that we're alone together…' Toriko thought
'If Komatsu and Shina were here they would say to be cautious…' Aiko thought
"Ready Aiko?" Toriko asked
"Yep! Let's go!" Aiko said smiling
They both went and jumped off onto another ledge.
Komatsu saw the large pile of all the carefully wrapped kitchen knives on the table. "These are all kitchen knives?"
"Yes, chefs from all over the world sent them to me to be sharpened. I get about a hundred knives a day."
"Wow…that many?" Shina said
"A hundred!" Komatsu sighed, "i guess that's why you said it would take three years for mine."
"I can usually tell the who the owner is just by looking at the knife." Melk told them.
"Really! Um" Shina fidgeted, "C-Can I touch one?"
"Be my guest, just be careful."
Shina raised her hand and Komatsu guided her hand on the table at the pile for a moment before picking up a large knife that was around the length of her forearm and hand. The top part was narrow but then it widened out a few inches from the top.
"Oh wow…it feels pretty light…and the handle makes it easy to grip it." Shina said "It's very well made."
"Who is the owner of this expensive looking knife?" Komatsu asked
"That's chef Lulubu's knife. The chef at Guts." Melk answered
"G-G-G-Guts!" Komatsu exclaimed, "You mean the seven star restaurant on the 312th floor, the very top floor of the Gourmet Tower. This is the knife that the owner-chef Mr. Lulubu uses?"
"So, I'm holding the knife of a charismatic chef like that." Shina said softly then smiled. "Amazing!"
"Incidentally, this knife belongs to Mr. Yuji at Mogura" Melk held out a knife whose blade was shaped like that of a crescent moon.
"Mogura, the eight-star hormone-yaki restaurant in Gourmet Alley. That knife belongs to the manager's Mr. Yuji? All of these knives belong to super-famous people! Everyone trusts you completely!" Komatsu exclaimed
Melk chuckled, "Most of them were regular customers of the first Melk. It's because my master only ever saw the knives. He didn't know where they came from, and I don't think he particularly cared. But to be honest, I'm curious myself." Melk walked over to a wash basin where a stone was submerged in water, "I wonder what kind of chef uses a magnificent knife like this. That's what I thought when I saw your broken knife, Chef Komatsu. I asked myself, 'Just what kind of person is this Chef Komatsu who puts so much love into using this knife?'" Melk picked up the stone and walked over to a stool where a small table was placed in front and set the stone onto the table. "Maybe my curiosity about the knives' owners is a sign that I lack concentration. Compared to the first Melk, perhaps I'm still a novice."
"T-That's not true!" Komatsu exclaimed as he walked over to Melk, "You're right, kitchen knives reflect the traits of the people who use them!"
Melk gave a sigh before lifting up a knife from the pile, "All my master had on his mind was making good knives." The knife in their hand practically sparkled under the light.
"That's a beautiful knife. It doesn't look like it even needs sharpening." Komatsu said
Shina raised her and and softly tapped the knife with her finger listening to the sound.
"It sounds…different…i don't know why" Shina said
"I can't see anything wrong with it, it sounded okay to me." Komatsu said as he stared at the knife trying to focus on the area that Melk was looking at.
"First-rate chefs don't need their eyes. They can tell if there's damage by the way it feels when they're chopping ingredients. It's the same with cutlers." Komatsu's eyes widened as he continued to watch Melk, "We don't use our eyes…just like Ms. Shina did, we see by sound and sensation. "
Komatsu watched in amazement as it looked like Melk was practically glowing when they were angling the knife on the stone. It was a quick movement faster than Komatsu could see.
it took only a moment before Komatsu and Shina could hear the scraping sound of the knife against the stone. Komatsu could only stare in silence as Melk wiped the sweat off their brow. Their face completely drenched in sweat after that one movement.
' i can smell his sweat…its reminds me when i cooked alone concentrating on the meals i make. ' Shina thought her cloudy eyes went straight to the direction of the sound. 'For just that one scrape, every nerve in Melk's body must have been so focused.'
Melk gave a smile while facing Komatsu and Shina, "If it had been my master, he would've sharpened this without dripping one bead of sweat."
"What are you talking? Watching you gave me goosebumps! It was amazing!" Komatsu exclaimed
"Really?"
"Yeah! I just witnessed the greatest sharpening in the world!" Komatsu told Melk.
"Yeah! The way you scraped made a very beautiful sound! I could tell you focused so much in preparing that knife! You're amazing Melk!" Shina said making Melk blush.
"You're both too kind, thank you" Melk smiled at them.
"You moved so fast, I couldn't really see what had just happened," Komatsu said
"The sharpening speed depends on the knife's quality and purpose, as well as the grindstone. It also varies according to the user's style." Melk explained
"Is there any chance I could see you sharpen one slowly?" Melk looked at Komatsu whose eyes were practically sparkling in anticipation before giving a smile.
"Please Melk! I would love to hear it again!" Shina said smiling happily.
"Of course, why not." Komatsu gave a cheer before sitting back down and staring wide eyed. Shina smiled happily setting her cane down and propped her hands up to her ears to listen to Melk sharpen the knives. Both waited in excitement.
Toriko landed first then Aiko, both of them felt the sudden change in gravity it wasn't as bad as when they first went to the Gourmet world.
"Aiko." Toriko said as he looked further down. "I think we've must've descended about ten thousand meters…my body is getting heavy from this gravity…its not as bad as Gourmet world."
"You're right, it's easier to maneuver." Aiko said "But getting further down would get harder.."
"Yeah climbing would be tougher.." Toriko said as he turn to the giant hole in the wall. "I can smell the scent of a beast there. Something is coming..Interesting."
"Toriko-kun?" Aiko spoke up He turned his head to her.
"In the Gourmet world I didn't know what was going on and panicked…and when we got separated I freaked out even more..now it's different!" Toriko said as he cracked his knuckles.
"Whether you're a beast or a snake, come on out and take a crack at me!" Toriko said loudly
Aiko stared at Toriko. 'He's seriously picking a fight?!' She thought as the giant two headed beast emerged from its nest.
Barbamoth (Mammalian beast) Capture Level 44
Aiko glanced seeing more beasts emerge from all different angles.
"I think they really want to eat us." Aiko said as Toriko stood protectively in front of Aiko.
Toriko grabbed Aiko and jumped off as before the beast could attack them.
"I won't let anything happen to you Aiko!" Toriko said as he held her tightly.
It was early morning and Melk the second still kept on his work quietly while Komatsu and Shina slept upstairs.
"Still working?" A soft voice said as Melk looked up seeing Shina walking down.
"Oh…did I wake you?" Melk said "I'm sorry "
Shina shook her head. "It's fine I didn't sleep much because of all the excitement last night. You didn't go to bed either." Shina said
"I'm usually get loaded with requests that I don't really get to sleep," Melk answered, "I made some breakfast" Melk walked over to the steaming pot resting on the stove and ladled a bowl of soup for the girl. Shina thanked Melk before taking a sip.
"Oh this is delicious!" Shina praised, "It's refined and has a light flavor, yet it's a deep-bodied traditional soup. Did you used the Sake-Cake Snapping Turtle for the broth?"
"You're a pretty impressive girl, Guessing the soup stock ingredient from just one spoonful," Melk commented
Shina smiled. "When you can't see…the other senses get stronger." She said "This soup is delicious you're good at cooking and at your work….is it okay if I do something?"
Melk raised an eyebrow as Shina raised her hand and gently touched Melk's cheek.
"Shina?" Melk said softly staring at the blind girl, Melk felt her soft hand gently touch all over them.
"That's what you look like Melk?" Shina said, smiling softly, "the sound of your voice and feeling your facial features tells me that you're a kind person and you need to be more confident in yourself Melk. "
A faint blush dusted on Melk's cheeks, After that Komatsu woke up and went downstairs seeing the two and joined them for breakfast.
Komatsu and Shina stood a distance away as they watched Melk hammer a heated piece of steel that was burning bright red.
"So you start making kitchen knives from the forging stage?" Komatsu asked as Melk continued to shape the heated metal on the anvil.
"No, before I do the work on making the knife I start first by collecting materials." Melk paused to inspect the shape of the metal, "But I'm not able to get materials that have high capture levels." Komatsu watched as Melk dipped the hot metal into a case filled with liquid causing steam to erupt from the metal cooling, while Shina listened. "My master used to do everything himself. That means I've still got a long way to go." Komatsu's and Shina's eyes widened as Melk presented the cooled blade in front of them "this tempering stage is extremely important for kitchen knives."
"It's ridiculous to say you've got, 'a long way to go' when you can make such a beautiful knife." Komatsu commented
"Yes that's true!" Shina chimed in.
"I don't know about that, but that's very kind of you to say" Melk said before transferring to a different seat that has a whetstone on it. Komatsu noted that the stone looked like it grew in layers. The chef moved in closer to see Melk moving the knife across the whetstone. "Normally, to sharpen cutlery step by step, you use three different grindstones. A rough grindstone, a medium-grad millstone, and a finer-grained 'finishing grindstone' for the final touches. But this Gradastone naturally has all of the gradations. With this one stone, you can accomplish all of the stage, using it as a rough grindstone to a finishing grindstone."
"Oh wow would such a miraculous grindstone like that would occur in nature." Shina said
"My master is the one who first discovered this, too." Melk said
"Th-That doesn't matter," Komatsu commented, "You're the one who's perfectly mastered it, Melk-san."
"No i haven't i'm not even close to the first Melk's skills." Melk said
'He's doing it again….he needs to have more confidence in his work and not compare himself to Melk the first.' Shina thought
Komatsu and Shina stood outside the house looking at the orange sky as the sun was setting behind the mountains. Melk stood behind them looking at the chef and at Shina.
"I hope Toriko and Aiko are okay" Melk said
"Let's have some faith! They'll be fine." Komatsu said, "I'm sure they'll come back with both Melk Stardust and the first Melk-san!" Melk smiled at the chef's optimism.
"They can handle anything. " Shina said smiling."They'll come back safe."
Komatsu looked around and saw a pool with a roof held on top of it.
"What's that? It looks like an open-air bath" Komaysu said, making Melk look in his direction.
"It's actually a hot spring." Melk answered
"Hot spring?!" Komatsu repeated
"Hot spring?!" Shina exclaimed in excitement
"You can go in if you want." Melk said
"Really?"
"I'm told that my master dug it out when he was young. Can you believe it, in this rocky mountain. My master is a one of a kind, he's just simply amazing!" Melk said,
"S-So he made it himself," Komatsu stuttered.
'The first Melk must be very strong to build a hot spring all by himself!' Shina thought to herself.
Shina stayed inside with Melk letting Komatsu enjoy the hot spring, she offered to cook dinner while working.
'Melk needs to realize that he can't keep comparing himself to the first Melk…he needs more confidence in his own abilities…he does wonderful work..' Shina thought to herself as she chopped the vegetables. 'Aiko….Toriko please come back safely.'
Thats the end of this chapter feel free to leave a message for any ideas or suggestions you want to see in this story! after the next few chapters Aiko will meet Zebra soon! Please leave a review!
