Archive of Our Own ^beta

It flicked its ears up, nose twitching. For a moment, it seemed like its safe space wasn't so safe anymore. When it couldn't hear any sounds apart from the breezy wind and the river flowing in the distance, it returned to feeding - bundling down the grassy area without much further caution.

A mistake - it should have took note of the fact the sound of water was slowly getting louder. 

A shadow cast over the creature - it didn't even have a moment to process what was happening before it froze up - dry grass still in its mouth before its neck was crushed.

It was a swift bite.

The hunter hauled the corpse back to its owner, digging its claw into the ground to get her attention.

"Oh, back already?" She says, glancing over the dead animal in its mouth and getting up from the ground, putting the notebook away into her satchel. She gives it a small look over before letting out a hum of approval. It met her standards.

At the sight of the animal looking expectantly at her, she beckoned it down, and they complied. She rubbed their head affectionately as the animal bent down to recieve praise, "Good job, Fluffy." The creature leaned into the touch and grunted happily. “You’ve gotten better at this, I told you if you took your time predicting its next move, it wouldn't be so hard.”

They let out a loud huff in response.

"Okay, okay. I understand." She laughed, nodding along.  "'I've always been good at this, it's you who needs to improve.'" She says in a slightly lower pitch voice as if pretending the animal could speak.

They nodded in agreement, confirming her words.

"Yes, of course." She let out a small smile at the creature, though they could never respond with words, there was a deep sense of understanding between the two of them that didn't need verbal commication. "Now, stay still so I can tie it to you securely, alright?" She opened her blue bag pulling out a thick rope. "This is the last one we need to get, so we can leave after this."

Someone once said,

There is a beast covered with meat that melts in your mouth the moment it hits your tongue,

There are Omar lobster and king crab growing out of a tree.

That there is an amber coloured, high-quality mellow brandy eternally flowing out of a spring.

If someone told you that, would you believe them?

Mankind is fascinated by these flavours and is desperate to find more, a constant need for new flavours.

Welcome to the Gourmet Era!

The time of discovery of unknown tastes and food in this different reality. 

Let us follow the adventures of a chef, someone you already know very well.

He said that he’ll pick it up here...

The night air ran around your legs as the below lights grew even brighter. There was the distant sound of cars and people echoing from the streets below reaching your ears despite being so high up.

You waited patiently on the rooftop, where are you exactly? On the rooftop of Hotel Gourmet. 

Why? Your friend told you that he needed to get some cheese rabbits.

Why couldn't he buy it himself? Well, why not be a good friend and help him out in a time of crisis?

You double-checked your texts, making sure you weren’t late/early. You didn’t want to get arrested for trespassing.

Alright, I’m in the right place, at the right time.

...

So why is he not here yet?!

You wanted to leave this place, the longer you waited the more nervous you got. Your foot tapped the ground impatiently, and your hands found a place playing with the other. At first the cool air had helped you calm down slightly, but it was barely helping anymore as more time passed. Meanwhile, Fluffy laid down on the ground, clearly not as nervous as his owner. In fact, they started tasting the puddles of water that had collected on the rooftop. 

Once, a person came up to get something, and they glanced at you questioningly before leaving. You stared at them like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do until they got afraid (?) of you and shuffled away. This had happened before on another night a couple of weeks ago, with another person. 

I wonder if I stay here long enough I'll become an urban legend ... "Ghost of horse owner haunts local 5-star restaurant: only seen on rooftops at night, and the ghost will run away from you if you try to approach it!"The horse may attack!"

...I hope not, but I also hope they don’t think I’m a criminal who somehow got on their roof. Please don’t snitch to the police, I'm not tough enough to survive gourmet prison...

Five minutes passed.

Alright, you were leaving. Anymore waiting and you were going to have a cardiac arrest. A helicopter passed overhead, and you thought it was the police for a moment, before it continued on its path. 

While you hated to disappoint your friend, you hated the idea of collapsing from nervousness more. At this point you might actually become a real ghost haunting the premises. It wasn't helping that he hadn't followed up on your texts for help. 

You turned to face your animal companion, getting ready to leave before the door slammed open, effectively scaring the shit out of you, while Fluffy doesn't seem all that scared - now trying to access the water pipes leading down the side of the building, 

"Sorry, I'm late! I was talking to the Business Bureau." He panted out in between breaths, face beet red from the blood flowing around the body, desperate to cool down.  "h-hold on, give me a second..." He held his palm before doubling over in exhaustion, not even having the energy in his body to hold up one limb. Then fell onto all fours, practically dry heaving at this point.  

"It's fine..." You watched him try to fill his lungs with oxygen. "It's great to see your health is still in tip-top shape Komatsu." You teased, feeling the previous stress leaving your body.

He gave you the stink eye in response, still panting, then slowly, while wobbling on his feet, stood back up "You," he huffed, "you were about to leave weren't you?" He pointed at you accusingly.

"...Maybe." You averted your eyes, avoiding his look. "Listen, if I stayed any longer, I would have a heart attack."

"...I refuse to believe that."

"Don't you care about my health?" You gasped dramatically, then turned away from him. "You've become so cold..."

"Never mind." He dismissed, not taking any of your nonsense especially after he run up several flights of stairs to catch you. "Did you get the stuff I asked for?" The tone he had was unmistakeably excited, not to mention the rocking back and forth with the wide smile. Wow, he recovered from his exhaustion fairly quickly.

"Yup. It's with Fluffy." They started to walk over towards the pair of you at the sound of their name, long given up on trying to steal the hotel's water. 

"Wow... Did he get even bigger?"

"Yeah... They eats a lot, well, drinks." They huffed proudly at your words. "Why did you need me to get these? Doesn't the hotel usually just buy them?" You asked while untying the ropes attached to him.

"Well, there's going to be a party soon," He paused, looking uncomfortable from Fluffy's gaze. The two had met before, but Komatsu always seemed a little scared of the creature. Reasonable, most people were afraid of animals. Even more so of animals that barely has any official information on them and is known for drowning people they seemingly "dislike".

But-! Not to worry, as for your animal companion?

...They can't beat those allegations either . 

"Nice. Continue." You urged, noticing the tension between the two and decided to give him some price of mind by making Fluffy lay down. The Kelpie let out a loud burble of water, something of a huff for them and Komatsu flinched back before regaining his cool after seeing you had Fluffy under control. 

"Oh! And..." He collected his thoughts, trying to get back on track after the small scare. "We need these ingredients, but since we couldn't find any that's good quality in time, so I offered to try to find it myself - turned out that's a little harder than expected, and so I asked you for help..."

"Oh. That makes sense." The wrapped up rabbit fell to the ground with a thump, you picked it up and handed it over to him. He just kind of stared at you, fully knowing that he was unable to carry something of that size. "...Right. I'll just leave it here, and you can get help carrying it later." You say, placing it back on the ground, making sure the fabric was still fully wrapped around the animal. Then you pulled the other satchel off of your body, handing it over to him. This time, he could actually hold it in his hands. 

"Don't worry, I'll pay you back." He took the satchels from your hand after you offered it to him.

"I accept cash, card or ingredients." You said lifting a finger for each form of payment. "Though, I prefer ingredients."

"...You know damn well I can't hunt." He says, but there's an undertone of worry you noticed, or maybe you were just imagining things. 

"It's the thought that counts." You say, doubling down. "Or you could steal a little something from the pantry and give it in exchange for this cheese rabbit and other additional goodies?"

He sighs at your mocking tone. "Well, uh, I'll pay you back with cash? Is that fine with you?" He began pulling at the satchel trying to open it. 

"'Kay, pay me back before the end of this week." You nodded, "not with your own money, the restaurant's money. I'd feel bad taking yours." He hummed in response and finally pulled the satchel open.

"Wow! You really got me the best!" He exclaimed looking inside it.

"Yeah, it took me a while to find the Leek Deer's horns, but I got everything you asked." You nod, feeling glad for a hunt  well done. Though you were a chef by trade, there wasn't anything wrong with doing a little extra on the side. 

"Y-you really didn't have to get me the adult's." He held the horns in his hands, looking down at them with excitement, it was a funny sight, considering the size of the horns were bigger than his head. "The children's would have been fine too, and I'm sure it would have been easier for you to get..."

"Yeah..." You nod, not understanding why he was somewhat reluctant about taking the horns. Did... he feel bad? "But the adult's taste better."

"Well, thank you!" He smiled brightly, then stopped when he realised you weren't even looking at him anymore.

"Okay, bye." You sat on Fluffy's back and prepared to leave. They shook a few times, flinging water drops everywhere before preparing to run off the side of the building. "If you need me you know where to find me."

"Um!" He stepped forward a few steps before Fluffy started to gallop. "(Y/n)-san!" Komatsu called after you, catching your attention.

You placed a hand on your steed, "Yes? What's up?" Fluffy stopped in their tracks, huffing angrily at the sudden stop. "Why are you addressing me as 'San'?" You looked at him suspiciously, "what do you want from me? Did my brother call you again? Oh no, did you find my satch of poiso-"

"No-! I'm... ugh." He took a moment to collect his thoughts, too occupied go even properly acknowledge your questions. "I'm going to... Well, I'm going with a Bishokuya tomorrow to catch a Galala Gator!" He shouted out, the thought clearly weighing on him. 

"Oh..." You processed his words, trying to think what was weighing on him so much, before it hits you in the face. "Oh!"

"Yeah... Have you got any tips or anything? Y’know, you’ve got more experience with this kind of stuff...”

"Good luck." You reach out to pat his shoulder. "You'll need it." He looked at you in shock.

“T-that’s all you have to say?!”

“You’ll need luck more than experience, buddy. But if you really want hints...” You thought to yourself. “But what else...? Hmm... They have a capture level of 5, purely from its bite force. Please tell me you got a good Bishokuya to hunt it. Any average one wouldn’t be able to take them down.”

"Yes! I got Toriko-san to hunt it!"

I have no idea who that is?

You shrugged your shoulders. 

Oh well, I hope he's reliable.

"You should be fine...? Unless it's really hungry or it's a big glutton, it shouldn't target you. It is territorial, so try to stay out of its way. They're also pretty dumb, they rely on brute strength. It is completely okay to run away - it is never shameful to run from danger, ever. They taste nice when grilled over a hot open fire..." 

"...This one is a little different."

"Oh?” The tone of his voice picked up your interest once more, “how so?"

"This Galala Gator is approximately 300 years old..."

This intrigued you. 300 years old? It might have destroyed the ecosystem it's living in. Furthermore, it probably sees itself as king of the island. Sounds like an inflated ego. But apart from that?

You got very excited at this potential study, very rarely is animals left unchecked for such long amounts of time. They're usually kept in check by other animals or people.  You were racking possibility of the creature before realising that you are in fact an adult. And that means you have responsibilities. Sigh. Guess you had to maintain your own cafe with your own time and money because you opened it. Really, who's bright idea was that? (Yours.)

Snapping out of your thoughts, you noticed that Komatsu seemed extremely nervous about it. His head hanging low and seemed to be trying to reassure himself, wiping his sweaty palms on his apron, something you've seen him do a number of times when he was still in culinary school. 

Oh... That’s right, he’s never hunted before...

You cleared your throat, "be careful, Komatsu. It might have turned the local ecosystem upsidedown. If it lived that long, it must have no predators to keep it in check. Write a will."

"...If you're telling me to be careful, then it's serious, huh?" His face grew pale with worry.

Crap, you’ve made him more nervous.

"Nah, it's only serious if it's you. If this 'Toriko' guy is half decent, you should be fine." You joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"What do you mean ‘only serious if it’s you’?!" He snapped angrily, making you giggle in response.

"You heard me. I said what I said."

"Grr..." he couldn’t deny your words, but it still made it infuriating.

Smirking at the response, you decided to try to wrap up this conversation. "Alright, is that all? Or do you have any other questions?"

He thought for a second before answering. "Do you want to eat something? I can make something for you."

"No, I can make my own food." You rejected politely. "Thank you for your offer, but I don't think I can afford a single thing from this place anyways..."

"Can you make something for me?" He said almost immediately after you.

"...You didn't actually want to make me something, did you? You just wanted to eat my food?"

"...I mean, I'll cook for you anytime, but... maybe you're onto something...?"

You laughed loudly at his response, your voice crackling in the air, "If you come to my cafe, I'll be sure to serve the best I can."

This clearly irked the poor chef. "You haven't even told me where it is! I have no idea where you work!"

A cheeky smile was on your face. "Figure it out. It's not that hard - you know where I live."

He sarcastically repeated your words, fed up with your elusive teasing. It was probably because you 

Fluffy huffed, telling you to hurry up, or they'll kick you off and leave you to take the train. "Alright, I best be going now. Good luck, Komatsu!"

"Bye!" A strong gust of wind from Fluffy blew the chef's hat off of his head as he waved you goodbye.

Huh, maybe it was time for Komatsu to start his new chapter. Now, what about you...?

You let out a satisfied sigh, staring up at the sky as Fluffy flew higher up into the sky. 

The moon sure is beautiful tonight. 

Yes, you were in Gourmet Town. Yes, you were standing awkwardly with no one else with you. Yes, you had arrived earlier than both of the people you made these plans with. Yes, you had mixed feelings about this place.

It’s not that you didn’t like the town, no, as a chef you found it to be an amazing place. The new ideas in the air, creativity oozing from the menus and the delicious dishes that are created there was absolutely amazing, to say the least.

But as an awkward person and a fear of social embarrassment, it wasn't exactly helping you with those fears. It's fine. You told yourself. If you don't embarrass yourself, it'll be alright.

You were sitting on the outskirts of the town where few people were walking around. Plenty of space to walk/run away from them if needed. So it wasn't that bad yet.

Now…

What should you do to kill time?

The two of them would probably take a little time to get here, so you had a few free hours.

Eat some food? Maybe, but your wallet will be crying at the end of today if you did. Look around the place? Not a bad idea, but you might get lost. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained?

You walked around the place, it was mostly restaurants and occasionally a shop. The restaurants were nice, but every place you went to felt like something was missing. Not from the decorations (not that you'd know anything about that), but from the food. Turns out, lots for the places handed out free samples, so you didn't need to spend any money. Even better, they just left them out on the tables outside, so you didn't even have to talk to anyone.

Anyways, there was something missing. Like a misplaced display from a museum, or a slightly different shade from the pallet they’re using from the rest of a painting.

You sighed to yourself quietly and tried to think of what was missing. A spice? No, there was plenty. An ingredient? No, any more would ruin the balance. Preparation? No? It seemed fine? 

You inhaled deeply and a blurry image of the dish started coming to mind, slowly becoming clearer before someone bumped into you.

"Oh! I’m so sorry-" you quickly sputtered out, realising that you must have been blocking the way for other people.

It was an old lady, who was now currently laughing. At you.

Of course, she is. Why did I think it was a good idea to walk around? I should've just stayed still and waited.

"Now, now. Why are you apologising? I’m the one who bumped into you."

"It was probably my fault! I must have been blocking the-"

"You're so different from your mother, you know that?" She cut you off, not wanting to listen anymore.

...What?

"She’s so rude compared to you. You need to be more assertive if you want people to hear you."

"...My mother?" You repeated. "Y-you did say that right? I’m so very sorry, but who are you?"

She chuckled at your confusion. "Ah, I met you when you were younger, but you must have not remembered. I’m Chef Setsuno, but you can call me Setsuno."

"Chef?" The name resonated with you, Setsuno, you felt like you heard of her before. "Are you a famous chef?" If she is, Komatsu must have told me about her.

"Fuhfuhfuh, 'famous' doesn’t even begin to describe it."

That's very confident of you...

"Anyways, I have a reservation for my restaurant today." A crowd starting to gather around her, chattering to each other.

"Wow! It’s Chef Setsuno!"

"Oh my God, it’s a gourmet national treasure!"

"Has she finally decided to open her shop?"

"I need- I need an autograph! Does anyone have a piece of paper?!"

"I have to get a picture of her!"

Oh, she’s famous famous.

"Who is she talking to?"

Oh, no, no, no. I don't want to be remembered by people. Not today.

"Well, It was great remeeting you. I must go now. Goodbye." You say, then turned to bolt away. 

"Would you like to come? You could learn a thing or two." She offered, freezing you up on the spot.

It won’t take long to look at her kitchen, so you can still meet up with Komatsu and Toriko. Plus, it’s, very rare a chef would invite someone to their kitchen. For chefs, It's like giving a stranger the keys to your house.

"Can I? I hope I wouldn't be intruding." You wanted to see her kitchen, her working place. She must be a skilled chef, you could probably steal some techniques from her.

She waved her cane dismissively, "nonsense! I serve whoever I want to serve. Now come along, I need to pick someone up. That idiot must have forgotten the time to meet-up."

'I serve whoever I want to serve.' Sounds like something I could get behind.

Surprisingly, she's a fast walker, you had to change your pace to match her. It made you question why she needed a walking cane if she could walk this fast without any trouble.

Both of you were silent until you spoke up, your curiosity taking charge. "So, can I ask, how do you know my mum... Is it through cooking?"

"Yes, she was an excellent chef, but she had a terrible personality." She bluntly answered. "I bet she still does have that horrible way of speaking. And existing."

Well, yes... But, I can't really say that...

You stayed quiet as she scrunched her nose. "She always knew how to prepare the ingredients a different way, and it pissed me off when she did it faster than me since she was so condescending about it." At those words, your mouth opened, then closed again.

...I can see that...

"...Alright. Then, how did you know that I was a chef?"

She suddenly stopped in her tracks, almost making you slam into her back from her sudden stop, and looked at you. "I didn’t, I guessed." She took off again and she sped up even more.

Thank God you had some stamina. Otherwise, you'd be losing your breath.

"...You guessed correctly." There’s no way that was just guessing, there's nothing about me to suggest that I would be a chef. I'm not even that well-known here!

"Actually, I need you to do something for me." She said in a rather serious tone, worrying you, but still accepted her request.

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"Here’s the keys to my restaurant," She shoved the keys into your hand, "I want you to replace the light bulbs in there," she then put a pack of bulbs into your other hand. "Go there without me, I need to find this idiot."

You instantly started spluttering. "Wait, what? But-" She already left.

What?! You don’t trust someone you just met with keys to your restaurant! I mean, I guess she has met me before, but that's beside the point! I don’t even know where her restaurant is! It makes no sense for her to-

You took multiple deep breaths before you just started panicking public. The people walking about thankfully didn't see you panicking internally or simply just ignored you.

Okay, she’s famous, right? I can search her up and they’ll probably give me the location to her restaurant.

You pulled out your phone and searched her up, finding the restaurant easily. Along with a few 10-star reviews. Actually hundreds of 10-star reviews.

Navigating the busy area was the hard part. Not because it was hard to find the paths or the route to take, it was because you didn’t want any of these strangers to try and rope you into buying their food. 

---

Somehow, you made it out alive.

The restaurant was unlocked, so there was no point to even give you the keys. Unfortunately, it was a bit hard to see in the dark, so you just stumbled about trying to find it until your eyes adjusted to the dark.

You sighed to yourself, putting your bag on a nearby table and stepped onto a chair to reach the ceiling. It was strange. Despite being so famous, she didn't put her restaurant closer to the centre of town. Maybe she just doesn't like the attention?

The line of thought trailed over to a certain fortune teller, remembering how he was mobbed by all of those women in Gourmet Fortune and how you had to trigger the alarm. 

Ugh, how did he find out I did it? There were no cameras, and there's no one around when I did it. 

A loud ding interrupted your thinking, it was quickly followed by multiple other dings. You opened up your phone to find Komatsu was texting you franticly

Fuck, you've completely forgotten that you were meeting up with him. You jumped off the chair and quickly read through the messages

Chef Lâche

Omg

Omg

We’re meeting with Setsuno-sama!!

I can’t believe that we get to eat at her restaurant!!!!

I

Best day of mylife

It’s a dream come true!!!!

Where are you?

You blinked in confusion, no way. This was a really big coincidence, it can't be true. You gotta confirm.

You

Is this her?

Chef Lâche

Yeah

Did you not know?

You

OK

Yeah Im here

I met her just now

Chef Lâche

What

You

-I’m in her restaurant

Chef Lâche

the heck

How???

You

She asked me to change her light bulb

as you do

Chef Lâche

.....

We're almost there

Let's finish this later

She is an extremely experienced chef.

The door opened, making you quickly turn around to see who it was. Relaxing when you saw that it was just your friends and Chef Setsuno. "(Y/n)-chan, I'm back! I hope replacing the lights wasn't too hard for you?" She says happily. "I see that you also cleaned the place. You shouldn't have!"

H-how, friendly... Already addressing me as -chan...

"It's okay, you're going to be cooking for us. It's the least I could do."

"Oh! (Y/n)-chan! Nice to see you could make it." Toriko greeted, standing next to a surprised Komatsu. It seems like he was also surprised by the appearance of the restaurant.

"Yep, somehow I found this place before you two."

"Komatsu-kun! The battle with chefs is with cooking! Besides that, nothing else matters!" Toriko says, slapping his back.

"I know... I just didn't expect it to be so... normal."

"There's no need to keep standing up like that! Please, take a seat! You're my customers now!" She stood on the other side of the counter, beckoning the other two to come to join you.

"She only cares about the quality of the food. That's old lady setsu!" Toriko shouted/whispered in Komatsu's ear whilst walking over.

Setsuno’s Full Course Menu:

Holy shit.

Half of those things was thought to be a myth, clearly not. Your heart started beating harder in excitement. Just how good will the food you taste be today?

Komatsu scooted into his seat next to you while Toriko jumped on the little chair, making it shake slightly. Hm, Toriko looked a little different.

"...Toriko-san, did you get a hair cut?" You asked, tilting your head.

"A-a hair cut?!" Komatsu looked at you shocked, "do you seriously not see that his hairstyle changed completely?!"

A light bulb went off above your head. "Ah, I see it now..." Both of them gave you a deadpanned look in response. 

Setsuno laughed at you then turned to Toriko. "This time is a rare case where ya haven't reserved my "Full Course", you reserved the special menu, didn't ya, Toriko?"

"Of course I did. The 'Century Soup'."

The name rung in your ears.

Century Soup? Is this the soup that makes everyone smile or something like that?

You have definitely heard of it before, but the details just aren't coming to you right now.

Toriko slammed his fists down loudly in excitement, effectively scaring the shit out of you and Komatsu. "Let's get started! From here, we aren't stopping even if there's a level 7 earthquake!"

...You’re kidding, right?

"Well then, I hope you enjoy the soup." She says smiling, then turned around and began to prepare ingredients.

Her hands were barely visible as they glided over the kitchen, effortlessly doing the work of multiple people while humming a tune. Every movement was so fluid, from the way she skilfully prepared the ingredients, to even the way she picked up her seasoning.

Needless to say, you became enchanted by it. The sounds of the cutting seemed to happen before you could even see it appear, the smell of the food was simply amazing in every way, and the sight was spectacular.

Soaking everything in was challenging, wanting to leave this place having learnt as much as you possibly can. After all, when will you ever meet a chef of this calibre again? though, you weren’t sure if you could really learn anything as she was moving too fast to even see her hands.

You didn't even realise that Komatsu was speaking until he nudged your elbow, causing you to flinch from his touch.

"Uh, do you want some water?" He pushed the glass over to you while you blinked at him, trying to clear the shock away.

"Oh, um, thank you..." You took the glass and drank a sip of the water.

So light?

You peered down at the glass with interested eyes. What is this?

"That's water from the aqua mountain," Toriko says, answering your unsaid question.

"From the aqua mountains? It's called 'Air Aqua', right?"

"Yep."

In the past, only the highest ones in the monarchy would have the pleasure to drink it. It was said that people went on yearly suicidal trips to even try to get a sip of it. Even now this tradition lives on. You remembered, thinking back to something you read before. 

"Huh... Kinda amazing how we get to drink as much as we want of this too." You took another sip of the water, then opened your thermos and poured it in. Hopefully Fluffy will appreciate it too.

"I know right?!" Komatsu exclaimed, much more excited than you. "As you expect from the Setsuno Dining Hall..." Turning his head, he looked to the menu hanging on the walls. "If I look carefully at this menu, it's all high-class ingredients..."

Toriko hummed at this, mid drink, then responded. "Old lady Setsu's Full Course is cooked with Jirou's Full Course."

Jirou? Where have I heard that na-

"EHHH?! Then it's the highest class of the full course in the world, isn't it?!" Setsuno started to laugh at Komatsu's outburst, making him slink back in his chair.

"Fufuufufu... It's hard to supply the ingredients for my full course. I can't serve it ordinarily, so I have to send Jiro-chan."

You briefly thought about getting a combo partner, it would be nice to not hunt. It gets rather tiring... Though it is fun from time to time. If you do get one, you'll need to think carefully about it. Ah, but a lot of people probably wouldn't like your 'style' of cooking...

"Oh! (Y/n)-chan!" Komatsu clapped his hands together. "Speaking of Full Courses, are you planning on getting one? I know it’s a bit more uncommon for chefs to have one compared to Bishokuyas, but still!"

You blinked at him owlishly, "I already have one, well it's not complete yet. How about you?"

"What?! How do I not know about this?!" He yelled out in surprise, skimming past your question.

"You just never asked..."

Toriko asked, "what are you missing?"

You paused, counting on your fingers. "Hm, 4 things? The hors d'oeuvre, Main course, dessert and the drink."

"What's in your menu, (Y/n)? Well, so far." Komatsu asked, excitement brimming from his tone.

(Y/n)'s Full Course Menu:

Toriko smiled widely when you finished. "That sounds great! Say, make it for me sometime!"

"If you come to my cafe and make a reservation, I'll be okay with that. Though, you'll have to tell me beforehand."

"Sure! Where is it?"

"That's for you to figure out."

"...How the could I laugh at that?" Komatsu muttered quietly, but you still picked up on the question.

"...My mother did when I told her..." You murmured, thinking back on the memory.

"You shouldn't listen to that damn woman," Setsuno interjected, still cooking flawlessly.

...She really doesn't like my mum. I know she isn't the most likeable, but...

"I mean... I guess... But..."

"Do you want some Garlic bird parent and child donburi? It’ll take a little longer till the soup is done." Setsuno offered, looking over to the pot boiling.

"Really? Then I’ll leave it up to you old lady Setsu!" Toriko answered, some drool already coming out of his mouth.

An irk mark appeared on her forehead. "Toriko, if you keep calling me old, I won’t make you any."

"Erk! I mean young lady Setsu!"

"That’s better." She nodded with a smile on her face before turning back around.

She opened a box with the garlic bird inside, already knocked, and de-feathered it in a flash. Then cut it into cube sized pieces and started grilling them. She lifted up the wooden lid and revealed the paradise rice she was cooking earlier, separating them into three bowls. She continued to cook while you watched with sharp eyes.

Surely, you would be able to learn something from this. Nope. She was still going to fast for you to process anything she did.

You decide to just live in the moment instead since you clearly won’t be able to take anything away from this.

Toriko was making a river out of their drool, and let’s be honest, it was a little disgusting. He looked like those koi fish in the ponds looking for food, not that you would ever tell him. 

A quiet 'kilk' made you look over to the counter, Setsuno placed the bowls of food onto it. "Here ya go, all done. Garlic Bird Parent and Child Donburi!"

"Wahh! It looks delicious! Thank you so much!"

"Thank you for the food." Oh, you were drooling now. Probably worse than Toriko.

You quickly wiped it away with your sleeve and carefully dragged the bowl over to you.

Komatsu began to mutter to himself, describing how it tasted, then turned over to the two of you. "This is superb, isn't it?! What do you guys thin-"

"Young lady Setsu, seconds! Actually, 20 more bowls!"

"This is why I always say you're so fast whenever you eat!" He scolded, "you should savour it more, like (Y/n)-" He stopped when he saw that you had finished half of the bowl, "You too?!"

You sheepishly smiled at him, but continued to eat "sorry..."

He sighed. "How about we enjoy the flavours more slowly... Such delicious cooking... What's more, this parent-child donburi, it has a bit of a sesame chestnut smell." He stated, which it did! It was incredibly subtle but it was definitely there.

"Hou! Nice job recognizing it." She picked up the bottle of the stock. "It has a tiny amount of my original soup stock, cut crushed sesame chestnuts are in it."

"Heeh! Is that why? It goes well with the parent-child donburi! I'm learning a lot! I think there's some seven flavour herb in here too."

I wish I was learning as much as you, Komatsu... 

"Fufufu, That's an interesting notion... You've got a pretty good palate and a good power of observation. Together with the qualities of a curious power of imagination... And eroticism."

"No, well- 'Eroticism'?! What do you mean by that?!"

Toriko started laughing loudly while you snickered at this, "It means you've got a talent for erotic cooking, doesn't it?" He added fuel to the fire.

"What on Earth kind of cooking is that?!"

"Erotic cooking exists 'Matsu. Remember that blonde girl in culinary school? The one you had a crush on?" You added the last part quietly so the other two in the room didn’t hear.

"Yes, I know! Don't remind me!" His face flushes red, not wanting to remember the memories.

The lid on the soup started rattling, "Now, then. It's done!" You all looked over to her. "My special menu! 'Century Soup'!"

The two rapidly stood up from their chairs, almost knocking it over. Desperate to look at the soup.

"This is the legendary soup- Eh?!"

"It's- it's empty, Setsuno-san?!"

What? 

Also getting up to also get a view inside the pot, you confirmed their words. It was empty, but, that can't be? Could it?

"Fufufu, it's really in there. Is it a level of transparency so high that you can't see it?"

Eh?! Is that possible?!

"You can smell it, can't you?" Setsuno asked.

You closed your eyes. Oh my gosh. It smelled amazing. This was truly a work of art.

People started shouting outside, inhaling the smell of the soup from outside.

Setsuno chuckled at the noises they made outside, "They really are starting a fuss outside. They can all smell the soup. No wonder, it is many of this century's best ingredients cooked together for half a year. Having removed all the harsh taste so only the delicious taste of stock remains and this perfectly clear soup." She said scooping up the soup into three different bowls. "Here you go, eat up."

"It's here!"

"Itadakimasu!"

"Thank you..."

You looked down at the soup and still couldn't believe that soup could even look like this, it had the same transparently of water. How could you have not heard of this before?!

Gently scooping up a spoonful and drinking it, you felt thousands of ingredients flood your taste buds, words couldn't describe the taste of it. 

But you felt something was missing, like a book missing the last page. You weighted the opinion in your head, tell her and get banned from another kitchen, or don't tell her and be insulting her would be an insulting her by not being honest. You sighed, maybe if you could point out what was needed in the soup, you could then-

"Uh, (Y/n)-chan? (Y/n)?" The words snapped you out of your trance and made you realise that you've probably been ignoring them by accident with your thinking.

You turned your head so quickly that you could have had whiplash from it. "Yes?!" Too loud. "Oh, uh, um. Yes?" You repeated quieter, feeling your face go warm.

Oh my god. Why are you like this.

"Can you name any of the ingredients? Toriko got mineral coconuts and I got silk bird remnants." He motioned to the man who was currently trying to get seconds from Setsuno.

"Yes?" You squeaked, still embarrassed by your outburst. "There's uh, Wall Penguin? Wall Penguin drool? I think?"

Setsuno stopped talking to Toriko to look at you for a second, not that you realised.

Komatsu had a surprised look on his face, "Huh? Really? I didn't taste that."

"Oh, then I'm probably wrong. Ignore me." To be honest, you just spluttered out whatever came to mind, still slightly lost in thought. You just felt slightly unsatisfied with the taste of the soup. Now that you had the thought that something was missing, you couldn't get it out of your mind.

"Hm, Setsuno-san?" Komatsu started, "I get the feeling like it's lacking something too..."

Thank you so much for pointing it out Komatsu. I couldn't have done it myself.

You nodded slightly alongside his statement as he turned to look at you for confirmation.

Setsuno's facial expression changed, and now you were worried if Komatsu would get banned from her kitchen. Thankfully, she seemed relieved that someone pointed it out.

"Ne- You mean with its ingredients?" Toriko asked.

She smiled to herself then stood up straight. "Toriko, Komatsu-kun, (Y/n)-chan! Come with me, I'll show you my preparation kitchen!"

Your heart skipped a beat, another kitchen?! Amazing! I knew that some chefs had different kitchens for different purposes, but you never knew that one would be so open to showing people it.

"Your preparation kitchen?!"

"Ehhhh! The kitchen is in a different place?! The tension is petapeta!" Komatsu cheered, using a word you had no idea what it meant.

"Before that, young lady Setsu!"

"Hm? What?" She turned back around, her hand halfway lifting something up.

"Is it okay if I eat all of the soup?" Toriko asked, already picking up the pot on the stove.

"Can we eat more afterwards?" Komatsu said, joining in the pleading.

An irk mar appeared on her face, "Hurry up!" She roared as Toriko lifted up the pot and started to drink it all in one go.

We all went over the counter as Setsuno lifted up a trap door, revealing a dark staircase seemingly going into nowhere.

Is this a trap? Are we going to be turned into ingredients?

"Come on, it's down here." She called from the trap door, already down multiple steps.

"Eh?! It's in the basement?!" Komatsu seemed shocked at the sight.

"Uff, This is my first time of hearing of it too," Toriko said, following down after her, disappearing into the darkness.

"The kitchen is just a place to finish the cooking. My dining hall is to be mostly just space for preparation. You saw the giant castle near the dining hall, right?"

You assume I'm observant enough to see a building? I mean, I guess I did see it?

"This place is connected to its basement."

"That amazing castle was a kitchen?!" Komatsu exclaimed.

Setsuno pressed a switch, lighting up the view. A massive room appeared in front of your eyes. Your position on the stairs giving you a perfect view of everything. Dozens of red counters were spread out across the room, On each table, it seemed to have a different ingredient on top of it. On the ceiling hung multiple contraptions, also preparing ingredients.

You had to suppress a sudden urge to run around the kitchen and explore every inch of this place, but if you did that you would surely never want to leave get lost in this place. Stumbling after the group, they continued walking down the bridge and talking while you were still soaking in your surroundings.

"You probably understand too, Komatsu-kun and (Y/n)-chan..." You snapped your head in her direction.

What were you talking about? I wasn't listening, sorry. Crap, I hope that wasn't important.

"You could say that the quality of cooking mostly depends on its preparation. This place is in the basement so customers can't see it, but it's the most important place supporting the shop." She continued, going deeper into the room.

Komastu's eyes seemed to shine even more at those words as he skipped after the older chef, "Thank you for showing us such a precious place!"

A muffled roar shook the kitchen, and also your friend as he stumbled on his feet and fell over in fear.

"Komatsu!" You called, watching him almost rolling/falling off the suspended bridge. You tried to leap forward to catch him but Toriko got there before you, grabbing his leg.

"Come on, Komatsu, it'd be normal for living ingredients to be here." He huffed, watching the small man flail upsidedown.

"I didn't think a beast like that would be here!" He was lifted back to his feet and you petted his back comfortingly as he looked at the beasts in fear.

"Don't worry, they aren't that scary... Are you okay?" You motioned to the creature, they were behind a thick fortified glass fighting one another.

"Wh-what on earth are they...?"

"They're Lonely Grizzlies." Toriko answered as the taller beast took a swing at the other.

Lonely Grizzle (Beast) - Capture Level : 37

(Y/n)'s Notes:

Lonely Grizzlies are giant beasts related to bears that are known for their solitary and very aggressive nature. Much like me.

Lonely Grizzlies live solitary lives, rarely interacting with other members of their kind. When they do encounter one another, and they are both males, they will start a fight for dominance or for their territory. It is not known in females to exhibit the same behaviour.

It has also been known that if a male adult encountered a cub, they will kill it regardless if it's their own. While a female will only attack if its not their own.

"Normally Lonely Grizzie's meat is too tough to use for cooking, but if you have them keep up a strong fighting spirit, their meat gets tender and delicious. They show their strongest fighting spirit when they see other males of their species."

"I...I see. So they get fellow males close to each other and wait for their meat to get into good..."

You looked at the next cage over. Love Sardines.

Love Sardines (Fish) - Capture Level : 11

(Y/n)'s Notes:

The Love Sardine is a small light blue-coloured fish that can grow to be around 20 centimetres in length, and when fully grown it can weigh up to 150 grams. Males and females look practically identical and it takes a keen and experienced eye to discern the differences between the two genders. Though, the only difference I could notice is that the female's scales reflect better in the light. 

The meat itself is okay, though the eggs are more note worthly than anything. 

The females only lay good quality eggs when they're surrounded by 100 males. Hah, I could never.

"C'mon, this way. Hurry up."

You stood there stunned, meanwhile Toriko excitedly grabbed the rope and swung across the room with the biggest grin on his face.

"Your turn, who's next?" He shouts across to the two of you and swung the rope back in your direction.

You caught the rope in your hands and shared a look with Komatsu. "Uh, should I go first...?"

He nodded furiously, "Go right ahead."

You swung yourself across, stumbling on your landing, but didn't fall over, which was a win in your book.

"Ey, good job, (Y/n)-chan." Toriko commented, which, unbeknownst to you, earned a jealous look from your friend.

"Thanks..." I see you’re also calling me chan now.

Komatsu looked extremely worried to use this method of transportation, but grabbed the rope tightly and flung himself across, screaming the whole way, before swinging too high up, making Toriko catch him.

"Uh, thank you, Toriko-san." he quickly jumped off and ran after Setsuno. Leaving the two of you to catch up to him. Strange. Maybe he's just really excited to see the century soup.

The corridor was dimly light, only leaving the candles attached to the walls to lit up the path. Fortunately, the steps weren't that hard to see or else you'll fall down the whole way.

"Um, Setsuno-san, the reason you open your shop once a month isn't because of how long it takes to prepare the food?" Komatsu asks, his voice echoing slightly in the dark corridor. 

"Fufufu, I said it depended on my mood, didn't I? Though that mood I was talking about wasn't my own. It's the ingredients mood."

"The ingredient's... mood?"

"Komatsu-kun, do you think a cook chooses their own ingredients to cook?" He nodded reluctantly, "How absurd. If I thought that I would only be a half-baked chef. It's the opposite, the ingredients choose the costumers and the cook..."

"The ingredients...?!"

Her words only made you puzzled, you've never heard of this before. Regardless of the questionable logistics, you accepted these words.

"I just ask the ingredients their mood every day whether the shop is open or closed all depends on if the ingredients feel like it.

"E-even though you have such perfect preparation-"

"Fufufu, I'm sure you'll be able to understand someday. Certainly, someday..."

Mildly ominous...

"Now, we're here! This is the place the century soup is prepared!" You exited the dark tunnel and saw a metal wall.

What the-?

"No way..." You breathed, looking upwards.

It was actually an extremely large pot with a tall ladder going up to the top. Hung on the walls was utensils the size of cars. Never had you seen cooking to such a large scale before. You stood there, stunned by the sheer size of it. (Please do not that out of context. Thank you.)

"It's huge!" Your friend screamed, his eyeballs almost flying out his skull.

"This is the legendary pot the soup is cooked in!" Toriko inhaled the scent of the soup and started drooling again. "I've never seen such a big pot!"

Setsuno laughed at your reactions and squatted slightly before jumping up to the top of the pot, landing. The pot that was easily the same height as a 3 story building, possibly higher. In one jump. And landed.

...Why do you even use a cane?

"Ehh-hhEhhh?! Setsuno-san, just what is she....?!" Komatsu looked like he witnessed a ghost. "I-is she even human?!"

"Come on, Komatsu! Let's go up too!" Toriko was already one quarter up the ladder.

-

Komatsu heaved heavily as he reached the top of the ladder, while you were huffing slightly and Toriko seemed like he had gained more energy from smelling the soup.

Your friend stood up and looked inside the pot, then, instant tears. "Amazing! So moving! So this is how the ingredients are put into the century soup!" He cheered, regaining his breath back within seconds.

You looked in to see hundreds of ingredients inside the pot, and that was only the surface of it. Imagine all of the ingredients that when into making this soup!

"I'm surprised it's already this clear before being strained..." Komatsu stated. 

"Fufufu, that's because it has the harsh tasting matter boiled out of it continuously for half a year." She explained, looking over the soup proudly. "And to be truthful, this soup is still incomplete."

"Incomplete?" You echoed, so you were correct! The soup was missing something.

"It has the ingredients silk bird remnants and mineral coconuts in it like I thought, Toriko-san!"

"Yeah! And there is motor onion in it too! What an awesome lineup! It's awesome, young lady setsu!"

You smiled at the two nervously as they ignored Setsuno. A small irk mark starting to appear.

"Fufufu... You think so?" She says, trying to get the attention of the other two and suppressing her anger. "But, this soup truthfully, it's still incomplete...."

You stared at the soup, gaining more and more appreciation for it, barely believing that it was incomplete. The two named more of the ingredients they saw while you just admired it happily.

"Ah! If I look carefully, there are German swordfish bones in there too, Toriko-san! It's said that the strong smell and harsh taste of it don't stop for months!"

"But it has no smell at all! Awesome, Young Lady Setsu!"

"Yeah, right It's really awesome!" She shouted, stopping the two from speaking any more and also forcing you to cover your ears. "But this century soup isn't done! It's not complete!"

They looked back at her in confusion, "eh?

"You're so slow! Realise faster!" She shouted the irk mark on her head growing bigger.

"W-what do you mean it's not complete Setsuno-san?"

"Fum, This truth is, century soup is something that exists in the natural world."

"How?!"

"Eh, really?!"

"Fufufu... A long time ago Jiro-chan scooped some up for me, unable to forget that mouthful... I made this soup imitating it." She smiled at the memory while stirring the pot with the largest ladel you've ever seen.

"It's plenty delicious already though... Setsuno-san, it's still incomplete...?" Komatsu asked, looking over at her.

"It's not in me to be able to reproduce the taste perfectly..." She says with real sadness in her voice.

"But..." He instantly noticed the tone of her voice. "Uh, it's delicious, isn't it Toriko-san?" He says, trying to comfort her.

"It's too delicious!" Toriko shouts, drinking the soup straight from the pot, making loud slurping sounds.

"Don't drink like that, Toriko!" Setsuno scolded, temporarily stopping her stirring.

"Might it be that... The century soup in the natural world tastes better than this...?" Komatsu wondered.

"...I wonder... It's hard to explain the taste, but... Komatsu-kun, when you ate this soup you said it is lacking something... You agree with him, don't you (Y/n)-chan?" You nodded, surprised that she saw your subtle nod. "Yes... Exactly according to this feeling, the real thing has a kind of taste with something more..."

She let out a heavy sigh before continuing, "What that one thing is I can't figure out, no matter how I try!"

"N-no, I, about that, I haven't eaten the real thing either..."

"Komatsu-kun, Why do you think I brought you three to this kitchen?"

"Uh, no?"

"Of all the countries' presidents and wealthy people and gourmets, not one of them has given my advice on my cooking..."

"I've been charmed by you twos sense of taste and sensitivity, Komatsu and Toriko... But (Y/n)-chan..."

"Uh, yes?" Oh no, am I in trouble?

"May I speak with you a second?" She asks, motioning you to come closer to her, making Komatsu to stare curiously. You shared a look with Komatsu, the both of you shrugging at the same time then walked over to her.

"...So, do you need something?"

"I think that it'll be a good idea for you to go as well." She says in a blunt tone.

"...Can I ask why?"

"You said that you tasted Wall Penguin Drool, correct?"

"Yes?"

She hummed to herself. "You should go and ensure that they get the century soup."

Her words confused you more and more, "...Why?"

"I think that you'll figure that out yourself, this would be a good experience to hone your skills, both you and Komatsu." Alright, I guess you'll leave me dying with curiosity. "If it's you three, perhaps you'll be able to make this soup perfect..."

Komatsu waved his hands in front of himself. "S-something like that, for me to do something like complete it..."

"Fufufu, don't you want to try it? The real century soup?"

Instantly, Toriko stopped drinking and shouted, "I wanna try it!"

"Fufufu, is that so, Toriko?"

"Hey, Komatsu, (Y/n)-chan! You wanna try the real soup, right?!"

"Y-yes. I'd like to try it!" Komatsu replied and you nodded alongside him. 

"The time is right! The Century Soup only appears once every 100 years! That's why it's called century soup. That time is now, your timing is good too! Right now there's a man in Gourmet Town who knows about the news. He's gathering Bishokuyas from all over the world so he can get his hands on the soup!"

A large smile creped onto your face, sounds like a pleasant trip. Your bag rustled, seemed like Fluffy agreed.

"There's no doubt you'll be hired by him soon, Toriko! Take Komatsu-kun and (Y/n)-chan. Eat the real soup and make a magnificent Century Soup!"

"Oh she's-"

"Over here..." You quietly say, raising your hand. "I really don't want to go in... It's already so loud..." Glaring at the 'Heavy Lodge Bar' or otherwise known as ' The Meeting Bar'.

There were sounds of chatter poured out from the doors of the bar. A constant train of traffic was leading in and out of the building and the smell of overpowering alcohol was stinging your nose. 

Yeah, you did not like this place too much.

"Hah! Yeah, it's even busier than usual." Toriko laughed at your disgust/fear.

...I feel like I'm going to vomit...

Komatsu noticed your expression. "(Y/n)-chan, you can do this! Remember this is for the Century Soup!" 

"Ugh, I'll do it... I'll do it for the Century Soup."

"That's the spirit! Alright, let's go in!" Toriko pushed open the gate and the bar instantly went silent. While your ears thank this, it made you worry.

"Hey, what's up?" Toriko greeted, breaking the silence.

"IT'S TORIKO!"

"T-TORIKO HAS SHOWN UP HERE!"

How does the deafening get even louder?

The majority of people stood up just to get a look at Toriko. Thankfully, they only cared about him and not his companions, which happened to be you and Komatsu. 

"Hahaha! I missed it, the Heavy Lodge! It's as crowded as always!" Toriko laughed while walking up to the bar with the two of you trailing behind him.

"It's amazing, Toriko-san, everyone knows you! Well, now that I think of it, I guess you are pretty famous." Komatsu said, you could barely hear his words over the excited cheers. He looked around the place and judging by his looks, he seems to recognize a few people from the crowd. 

Toriko plopped himself down on the small stool, making a squeak. "Hey, master, haven't heard from you in a while!" He greeted, who you assumed was the owner.

He grinned, slamming the cup down. "Here ya go, some enamel beer. Drink up, Toriko! How many years has it been?! You got so famous so you haven't been showing your face around here? I've been lonely!" The owner roared, matching the sound level of everyone else

"It's cause even without coming here, I've had plenty of luck with job requests."

"Don't be so cold! Come over here even if it doesn't have to do with work!"

"Mm. 'another beer." 

"Fast!"

Tuning out of their conversation, not finding any interest in it, and more in keeping food in your stomach. You sat in your seat unmoving, trying to tune out the noise around you. The smell of alcohol was one thing, but all the people talking? It making you feel more miserable.

After failing badly, you went back to listening to Toriko's conversation. It seemed like someone else joined the conversation? It was a monkey with a scar over his eye and seemed overconfident. Did I say monkey? I mean man.

"...Recently the clients have had more harsh judgment, they don't get into negotiations so much anymore..." You overheard from Toriko's conversation.

"Sounds tough... For people to not hold negotiations you must not get an intermediation fee."

A.... intermediation fee?

"Eh? Master, works as an intermediary between the Bishokuyas and the clients?" Komatsu asked, joining in.

"Yeah. Master is known as 'Judgement Morijii'. He's got discerning eyes that can see through a Bishokuya to know his true power and talent! Though it's a shame that not as much people are asking for his help nowadays."

"Right now there's a lot of Bishokuyas with fake 'Full Courses' so not being able to check their IDs there are lots of clients who come here to rely on Master's judgment."

"I see..."

"Hah, Toriko, I can see your level went up drastically again."

"You can tell? I expected no less from you."

"I see you brought some good company here, who's this little man?" He motioned over to your direction, which you didn't notice at first until you looked back over to him. 

Your friend's eyebrows shot up, "Eh? Me?" 

"No, not you. Him." He pointed directly at you. 

You sweat dropped but realized that it might be better for people to think you’re a guy. Female Bishokuyas tend to draw a lot of attention just because of how uncommon they were. Chefs, not so much, but just to be safe it might be better to not correct him. 

"Oh, I'm (Y-, er, Kelpie. Please address me as Kelpie." The three of them gave you a weird look, probably from how you just said your name is 'Kelpie'.

"Hah, your level is good, but it looks like you haven't improved on it for a while. Though, it's not quite the level of the Heavenly Kings. You're a chef?" 

You can tell that much? But you can't tell I'm a woman? On the other hand...

You avoided eye contact. Not wanting this person to know that much about you, you decided to play dumb. "Yep, I'm a chef, and It's a bit surprised you're saying that I don't really fight that much."

"..." 

Uh oh, he doesn't believe me. Oh well...

He didn't press on his suspicions and turned back to Toriko. "By the way... Today, strong customers and small fries alike are gathering here, probably gathering for the customers who are coming here soon..."

Abruptly, the doors slammed open and alarmed everyone. They all stood up, prepared to fight. Even you stood up by this commotion. 

It was hard to see over the crowd of people, but there were a few men in jet black suits with sunglasses causing the noise. They didn't look like businessmen, looking more like bodyguards. Definitely not your average Bishokuya.

"Everyone! Stop eating! Mr Colonel is here!" One of them commanded.

Who...?

A short old man walked in after the men in suits and blew out a puff of smoke.

"I'll give 10 billion to whoever takes the magnificent me's request." His voice echoed through the room.

10 billion?!

You would have done a double-take on the man but everyone started crowding around him, blocking your vision. 

"T-TEN BILLION?!"

"THIS PERSON IS-"

"MR COLONEL MOKKOI! THE COMPANY PRESIDENT WHO MAKES 20 TRILLION A YEAR!"

Komatsu's eyes widened. "Toriko-san! That man...!"

"Yeah, he's the big spender from the department store." 

Am I missing something...? Oh wait, that must have been the reason why Toriko and Komatsu were late.

"IS THAT REWARD AMOUNT SERIOUS?!"

"NO, MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO YOU KNOW THE LOCATION OF THAT INGREDIENT?!"

The room stilled, and you savoured the silence. 

The old man laughed loudly, his voice echoing. "What a foolish question... Who do you think I am...?" He let out a puff of smoke, then turned around. "I won't refuse anyone who comes. Anyone who wants to take the challenge of the century soup, come with me!"

Your eardrums erupted, the amount of noise was unbelievable and you almost regretted coming to get the century soup. Well, that was an exaggeration, you would never give up food for something so petty. But it was coming really close.

"Be careful on the journey, Toriko. It'll probably be a rough trip. You too, I believe you said Kelpie?"

"Ne? That right?" Toriko looked at him, looking as excited for the trip ahead.

"Oh, uh, t-thank you for your concern." 

"Ah, um~ Do you think that someone like me would be all right with travelling with him? Master...?" Komatsu asked, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Hm? You're going? Actually, who are you?" 

"Ah..." His voice getting quieter, "Sorry, I was slow in telling you... I'm called Chef Komatsu, like, um, Kelpie."

"He's been coming with me."

"Ho, a chef?! You've got two chefs with you, Toriko? Which one’s your combo partner?"

"C-combo partner?!" Komatsu squeaked out, while you shook your head in response to his question

Not me. No one would want  me  of all people for a combo partner.

"Neither."

"Ah, shame..." He tutted, before inspecting Komatsu carefully. "In these long years, looking at people going on journeys... There are people I've wanted to stop no matter what, then there are people like you... It's mysterious."

His response confused both you and Komatsu, while Toriko just brushed it off, standing up from his seat, stretching.

The man's face lit up with a wide grin, "It's fine for you to go! Be careful!"

Toriko let out a bubbly laugh, "I bet you're glad Komatsu!"

"Yes!"

-

You were on a big boat, if you knew what model it was you would name it, but since you don't know anything about boats, the only way you could describe it is that it looked like a metallic battleship. 

"Gentlemen, you've done well to assemble here." Mr Colonel said. Everyone was currently gathered in one big room listening to this short stack.

Not surprisingly everyone in this room was male. Hopefully, none of them thinks you're female. You really don't want to stand out. 

"First, I'd like to thank you for bravery. Now then, without delay, I'll tell you the location of the Century Soup. Towards the intense cold, where everything is frozen, Ice Hell!"

To summarise, in the past, since there were no fridges, some people went to Ice Hell to preserve the ingredients. Only the strongest could afford to preserve the food this way, so all of the ingredients would be very high class. And recently the ice started breaking apart because of an eruption of.... methane hydrate? If you remember correctly? This happens every 100 years or so, and what comes out of the melted ice is the century soup. 

They gave everyone these things called 'Rider Suits', basically, they help preserve body heat. You wore yours underneath your clothes, whereas Komatsu and Toriko wore theirs and nothing else, speaking which, where did they leave their clothes?

Currently, the three of you were on the front of the ship. The two of you were talking to each other while you talked to Fluffy who was relaxing in the thermos. 

"...Why are you talking to Fluffy, (Y/n)-chan?" Komatsu whispered to you, careful so Toriko couldn't hear, who's looking at the cold sea. 

"I'm just telling him to prepare to get cold."

"Really? Can he cope to such a cold place? I mean... They're literally just a living body of water."

Kelpie (Fluffy) - Capture Level: ???

(Y/n)'s Notes:

Not much is known about Kelpies, IGO doesn't have that much information about them, so I'll just talk about Fluffy. Anything you read in here may just be an exception to Fluffy. Why am I even writing this down, no one apart from me will ever read this.

Kelpies are animals made out of water, they mostly take the form of a horse, but they can transform into other creatures it sees (humans are no exception).

It can only transform into an animal it remembers. Sadly, it's memory isn't very good, and it will choose to transform into something it physically sees. Fortunately, you can train them to remember a few animals. There doesn't seem to be a limit so far, but even then, it's still very difficult to train them.

Young Kelpies seem to struggle self-regulating their temperature and only start to learn when it's around a few years old. They also have trouble transforming into other creatures and will tend to stick to being a horse or just a body of water. 

Once they made their home somewhere, they seem to only want to stay in that area. They are also quite territorial of their home, showing that they will defend it will their lives. Maybe this is out of pride. They will often try to drown anyone who approaches, usually by tricking them, but sometimes they will just attack the intruder outright. 

"...It'll be fine. We've been practising." You turned back to your bottle, "Fluffy, choose an animal that can last in the cold, okay?" They nod, slinking out of the bottle and shifting into an arctic fox, then snuggling into your bag.

"That'll do." You twist the bottle shut and place it back in the bag, letting Fluffy curl around it protectively. 

"Mm... I'll just hope they don’t freeze up.."

"Don’t worry, the rider suits will keep us warm if you guys are worried about freezing up," Toriko reassures, only hearing this part of the exchange. 

"Er, speaking of which, how do these rider suits work?" Komatsu asked. 

"They explained when we were back inside. They put multiple layers of high cold-resistant rubber material into a suit. The thin layers rub together with each other and frictional heat preserves the whole body. The heat insulation could even rival that of a blizzard bear's fur that lives in permafrost, and use this substitute for it." Toriko explained.

"Even still, it seems there isn't a version you can use for a horse, unfortunately..." Someone says behind you.

There was a beautiful white stallion, flowing white mane. Around its neck was a gold plated necklace with a crescent-shaped symbol dangling from it. Oh, and a person was riding them.

Fluffy gazed at the newcomers warily from your bag, peeking from the covers carefully. You rubbed the top of their head reassuringly, coaxing them back into the bag.

"Hello, Toriko-san. I am a member of the Gourmet Knights. My name is Takimaru." His hair covered one of his eyes and he had a moon crescent embedded into his turban. 

Is he matching his horse? 

"Hoo, the Gourmet Knights, eh?" Toriko replied, his eyes glinting. 

"...Gourmet Knights?" Komatsu repeated.

"They are a devoted band of bishokuyas to dedicated to the teaching of the happiness of food: 'Gourmet Doctrine'. There are only a few of them but hey got supremely strong hearts." Toriko stepped closer to Takimaru. "It's surprising to see a young man like you with them."

"It's because I'm a new member."

"I see... How is Ai doing?"

Takimaru's eyes widened, "Y-yes, Leader is doing well...! I was surprised when I heard I would meet you, Toriko-san."

Suddenly, Fluffy shook your bag franticly, even scratching the inside of it slightly. "What's wrong- Whoa!" You almost lost your footing as the ship shook wildly. 

"What the-?!" Takimaru held onto the reins tightly, keeping his horse in place. 

Multiple consecutive gunshots when off and shot into the sea, sending waves flying up into the air. A loud voice alerted everyone, "It's a wild beast!" Komatsu screamed in fear as the ship began to sway. 

Uh oh, that doesn't seem good...

The crowd around you, got louder, mimicking the same behaviour at the bar. 

"Already, in this part of the ocean?!" Toriko says, looking out at the sea. It was still fairly shallow waters. 

"It's-It's a school of sharks!" Komatsu shouts, before going behind Toriko for protection.

Grand Shark (Fish) - Capture Level: 6

(Y/n)'s Notes:

Very aggressive creatures, they will attack any prey despite being on the lower end of the capture levels (compared to creatures living in the same area). Because of this, they attack in packs and will often fight over food when they successfully hunted their prey. 

In terms of food, broiling them is fine, but sashimi or sushi is better. Though, the fins are quite nice in a soup.

"Heee, Grand Sharks should do just fine. They'll make delicious sashimi."

Everyone started fighting the intruders, lunging to attack them without even thinking about it. There were multiple loud screeches in the background, a mix of sharks and people.

One of them approached you, snapping its jaws hungrily. "Well... You don’t really want to do that." You warned, opening your knife pouch. It roared back in response before it was cut off by a wave of your knife, making it leap back in fear. It then scuttled off to fight someone else.

You noticed a Grand Sharks started snapping at the smaller chef in the corner of your eye. Shouting, you gained his attention. "Your knife! Use your knife!"

"I-I can't fight them with my knife! Who do you think I am?!" 

The shark ran forward before you could get to him.

"KOMATSU!"

The shark's head was impaled by a spear through its head. It was intercepted by another Bishokuya. 

You ran over to him, dodging the fights happening around you. "A-are you okay?!" 

"Yeah... Yeah. I'm okay." he nodded. "I left Toriko's side for one second..."

Sighing loudly, "Komatsu... When we get back, let me teach you some techniques..." You say, walking back over to Toriko as he was clearing the sharks off effectively. "If you die on one of these hunting trips I'm going to never get over your death..."

"Eheh... Thanks... Things have gotten really serious, but we can get to it safely, right?" He shouted over everyone screaming in pain.

"Ah? The trip's just starting. To this kind of situation, Komatsu, aren't you already familiar?" Toriko finished with a bright smile. 

A striped sea crocodinde roared and slammed itself upon the front of the ship, causing the transportation to dip forward. "I'm still not used!"

"A baby!"

"(Y/n)! No!"

-

The fights lasted for hours as more and more animals wanted to destroy the ship, leaving everyone busy fighting them off. Most of the time, you stayed out of their way, much to Fluffy's disappointment. 

The boat was getting closer and you could finally see it in sight. 

"Whoa! This is ice hell?! It's huge!"

It looked like a glacial plateau, and from the current position of the boat, you could see the tops of mountains on top of it.

Everyone was making a ruckus overseeing this big chunk of ice while you scooted through the crowd to find the pair after you've got separated from them during the fights.

The chef noticed you first. "(Y/n)! You're back! Where were you?!"

"Sorry, sorry. I was trying to avoid getting into any fights."

"Everyone look up!"

"Eh?"

Oh, just an extremely large chunk of ice which definitely has the potential to crush and kill everyone on this ship. Nothing big.

"UWAAAA! THE ICE SHELF BROKE APART AND A PIECE IS FALLING TOWARDS USSS!"

Sounds of screaming erupted as impending doom approached. Multiple cannons went off and shot the falling massive snowball (it might be more appropriate to call it a small iceberg), doing nothing to stop it. Not even denting it in the slightest. The size of the ice was the same size as half of the ship, there was practically no way that anyone would survive if it hit the ship. Great.

"(Y/n)! I don't wanna die!" Komatsu pulled your sleeve, clearly scared for his life.

"I do, I've got a will ready." You joked. 

"Gyah! Toriko-san!"

"Don't lose your head screaming, Komatsu-kun. Step back."

He stood on the helm of the ship, preparing to attack it. You stood back and watched, interested in how he'll handle this problem. 

"KNIFE!"

Oh, he's going to handle it like that. You know what? I don't know what I expected.

"FLYING FORK!"

.....It doesn't seem to be working right now.....

You started feeling slightly nervous, seeing that both of the strikes hadn't stopped the chunk of ice. "Uh, Toriko-san? Do you need help?"

"No, it only needs one more push." He said, readying his attack. "Stand back."

"AHHHH! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"5 REN KUGI PUNCH!"

Success. 

The iceberg was forced into itself, cracks flowed through its sides, and it split in two. Magnificently crumpling into dozens of pieces of ice. 

"Toriko-san! You're amazing!" Komatsu praised, jumping at his friend. 

"You scared me for a second..." You breathed out, stroking Fluffy reassuringly. More for yourself than him.

Then they bit your finger. Ouch.

Sounds of praise and shock echoed around Toriko before it was cut off by Mr Colonel speaking into a megaphone. "Now then, from here a helicopter will be transporting you gentlemen to one of the platforms near the summit of the ice shelf. After that, you'll be ascending on your own power."

Some people chattered to each other at this. "Why nearby it? Why can't they just fly us over?"

"That's because a helicopter can't land in 'Ice Hell'. Didn't you know that? Maybe you shouldn't go up..."

Mr Colonel continued speaking. "Here, our number of people will get considerably smaller. There's only one helicopter, though. If you divide into two groups there'll be plenty of room. Get ready right away! The first group leaves as soon as possible."

"Komastsu-kun, (Y/n)-chan, we'll leave in the first camp."

"Okay," a sudden thought came to mind. "ah... If you guys could..."

"Hm? What?"

"From this point on, please refer to me as Kelpie. I kinda don't want my name to give..." you motioned to yourself, "this away... Y'know?"

"Sure...?"

-

The flight up happened quicker than expected, and the same person from the heavy bar came over to talk to Toriko again. You learned that his name is... Zombie? Zonge? He was the only one there who wasn't wearing a rider suit. And would soon regret that.

"From this point on, please climb up on your own! I wish you food luck." And with that, the pilot flew off.

The cold instantly bit at you, even with the rider suits on. You clung onto your bag and clothes tightly, then took a deep breath, preparing yourself mentally for the journey ahead.

Fluffy peeked out of your bag, seeing that the lane had now landed. "Sorry, but you’ll have to stay inside here for a while.. Okay? If you need anything, just tell me, otherwise please stay."

They let out some sort of grunt before tucking themselves back in the bag.

"Alright... Let's do this." You whisper to yourself, then began to climb up the frozen wall slowly.

Toriko got up there before everyone else, and you joined him shortly after. Taking his hand as he extended it to you. "Thank you.."

You looked straight past him. Noticing the frozen creature immediately.

Tundra Dragon (Dragon) - Capture Level: 55

(Y/n)'s Notes:

[N/A] 

It was frozen in place mid-roar, still in attack mode. Even in death, it’s presence seemed to linger.

Something didn't seem right. No way it was so cold that it just froze over! Something had to have happened to it. I mean, if it as really that cold it would have froze over when it was a child. 

Just what is going to happen here...?

Komatsu's attention went to the frozen people. "Wha- What is this?!"

There were a few dozen people, frozen mid-step. They had clothes of all sorts, showing generations of people from the past.

"Bishokuyas." You answered, looking sadly at the icy figures. Not every hunt goes well.

"What?! No way...!" Komatsu shouted against the bellowing wind, looking back at the statues.

"Even though this is just the entrance, So this is the intense-cold Ice Hell?!" Toriko exclaimed, looking at their environment around him with intense eyes.

"What happened, Toriko-san?!" 

That voice... Takimaru? I think that was his name?

"Uwah! T-tundra Dragon!"

Toriko turned around to face him, his skin already covered in snow, "Takimaru! Roll up your sleeves! If you're half-hearted you won't survive!"

-

A few more minutes passed by and everyone finished climbing up the summit. They too were shocked by the frozen corpses.

Takimaru suggested to everyone to stay close together (you didn't enjoy this idea, but understood the logic behind it), Toriko wanted to go the most direct path. Apparently, not everyone agreed with Toriko's idea to walk straight forward, so some decided to spilt off into different directions. 

Your group went straight ahead, another one took a more indirect route and the other route where it was led by that... monkey..? No, no, his name is Zombie.

You walked closely to Toriko and Komatsu, feeling most comfortable next to your friend. Tightly gripping your bag strap, you pushed on. Even staying still for one second made you feel like falling asleep forever.

Barely a few minutes have passed and the group had already lessened. It seemed like you weren’t the only one struggling to walk through this thick blizzard. Not long after, your group was already cut in half. But there was still a good number of people. 

Until flying shards of ice started killing everyone. 

Mother nature is not feeling kind today. 

You scraped past, barely dodging the ice in time, even diving into the snow at one point to hide from it.

On the other hand, your group was reduced to less than 15 people. 

Thankfully, Komatsu was fine. But as a result, you, Toriko and Komatsu agreed that Komatsu would stay close to Toriko or you as any given time since he was almost hit today. Though, you’re not sure why Toriko would trust you with something so important even though he hasn’t seen any of your skills.

Occasionally, you would look back. And wish you didn't.

-

After the whole day of walking, people needed to take a rest.

Toriko had dug up a hole in the ground to avoid the blizzard/flying icicles, and everyone was either inside their tents or resting on top of a sleeping bag.

You didn't fit in either of these categories. From going outside so much, you could sleep like a dog, on the cold floor. And that's what you planned to do.

Opening your bag, a fluffy companion jumped out at you. 

"GEh?!" Your voice was muffled as it clung onto your face. They let out a small cry, then leapt off, scampering away. "Oi! Where do you think you’re going?!"

You found them curled up on top of Komatsu’s face, blocking his breathing effectively. "You little brat, what do you think- Hm? Komatsu-kun? Are you alright?" You asked, noticing your friend was laying down, trying to gather as much heat as possible, but his body was shivering more than to be expected. He didn't answer at first, which made you increasingly worried. "’ Matsu? You okay?"

"Huh...? Yeah, I'm fine." His voice was slurred, which didn't reassure you in the slightest, examine closer.

Slurred speech, drowsiness, shivering, decreased reflexes...

"Komatsu, I'm going to make some hot chocolate or something hot you can drink for you. I think you have hypothermia. Please try to stay warm."

"...What? Am I going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think it's mild, so you'll be fine." I'll make sure of it

"Excuse me," a voice said behind you, turning your head to look at them. It was Takimaru. "I have some soup, but it's cold right now, would that be okay?"

You hesitated to accept the offer. Komatsu needs it. Put your pride aside.

"Yes, that would be great." He hands over the thermos containing the soup. "Thank you. Do you want some too? I'm going to heat this up."

"No, I'll be fine. But please heat up all of it for everyone else. You included." He smiles kindly.

...Strangely generous of you.

It isn't long before the soup is heated up, and you poured some into a little cup Takimaru offered to you. It was a simple vegetable broth, none of the ingredients looked outstanding. It was strange, you saw other Bishokuyas carrying around high protein foods on this trip, but Takimaru chose this? Why?

You didn't question it, and held the cup in your hand, waiting for him to take it. "Here, Komatsu-kun." 

"Ah, thank you." He took a sip of the drink and was pleasantly greeted with its warmth. "It's delicious, thank you, (Y- er, Kelpie."

"Thank Takimaru-san. I didn't make it." You had returned the now heated soup back to the man.

"Oh, thank you, Takimaru-san. You should have some too." Komatsu offered back to him.

"No, I'm alright. Please drink all of it." Takimaru opens his small bag, bringing out some cups. Presumably for him to share the soup with everyone else.

Komatsu had a concerned look, "but, Takimaru-san, you haven't eaten anything this whole time, have you?"

A man in the white suit intruded into your conversation, "It's because of 'Gourmet Doctrine' has a month of fasting, doesn't it? You've gotten used to an empty stomach." You looked up at him, seeing that his face was covered in scars.

Does he fight a lot..?

".....I don't have any for you old man, but..." He poured another cup, "I have some for your subordinates, please give it to them to drink."

He warily gazed at the cup in his hands, "A charitable soul?" He let out a dry laugh, "Gourmet doctrine sure is dazzling."

"No... There's not enough for an old man like you..."

"Quit saying old man, I'm only 20 years old," Match says, then looked past him and... glared at you...?

Did I imagine that? Did I do something? What did I do?!

"Huh? Where is Toriko-san?" Komatsu asked, not noticing your confusion.

You quickly answer his question, letting the other two continue speaking to each other. "He's up above, I think he's keeping watch."

"Eh?! In the middle of this blizzard?!"

"Yeah, don't worry I told him if needed to swap he can get me to do it."

"You said he was keeping watch... For wild beasts?"

"That is the most plausible explanation, right? But, there is always the improbable." 

"....You know I don't like it when you speak like that, right?"

"I know. It's just funny to scare you sometimes." You laugh then closed the book.

"Not funny!"

"...Actually, I want to ask Toriko-san something, I’ll be back in a second, watch Fluffy for me."

"Erk, Okay...?" Komatsu squeaked, looking at the animal cautiously.

You climbed up to the top, feeling the cold air suffocating you all over again. The blizzard had lightened from earlier, but still enough to not question it's name. 

"Hm? Kelpie? Whatcha doing here? Or should I call you (Y/n)-chan since there's no one here?" Toriko asked, his skin blue.

"Please stick with Kelpie until the trip is over. Anyways, I have a few questions to ask you... If you don’t mind."

-

Last night, Toriko had swapped with Match during his watch. You felt that it was mildly insulting that he let Match keep watch but not you. Actually no, you weren't insulted, you were just upset that you had to spend the night with other people and not by yourself.

The group took off again when everyone was rested, which you assumed was in the early morning, but had no way of telling due to the constant blizzard above. No one in the group had any way to tell the time either, and even if they did, it would have frozen over. 

There were even more deaths today, leaving very few people now. They froze to death. It wasn't as painful as getting ripped open from flying icicles, but still, it was not a peaceful death. 

But in the wild, you have to fight for yourself.

You shook your head.

Komatsu seemed to be suffering a lot more and more from the cold. You hadn't even realised that this was extremely new to him until you remembered him. He had never experienced anything like this, meanwhile, you had experienced a similar environment. Everyone had gone through tough experiences similar to this, he had never. 

As a result of your worrying, you checked on him every so often, looking over to him, even offering to carry him at one point. He refused.

Fortunately, Fluffy sensed a pack of animals up ahead, he crawled out of the bag and was now hiding in your clothes. Probably to gather more heat as well. 

You whistled at Toriko, passing the message on. He looked over to your direction.

Chance was on your side when you realized it was a pack of Freezer Bisons.

Freezer Bison (Mammal) - Capture Level: 11

(Y/n)'s Notes:

They live in cold environments, such as Kilton Mountains, Harbin River and Ice Hell.

They have a strong resistance against the cold due to their thick furry hides and their layers of blubber, and can even survive being frozen. Hence the name.

They are somewhat strong in battle and attack by ramming their heads and horns into their targets, but they mainly rely on their large numbers to subdue enemies. 

Their muscles are laced with blubbery fat to keep them warm, the best way to cook them is to slow cook in hot water first then to sear on a hot iron pan for a solid minute. Personally.

"Yo, I'm going to leave Komatsu with you. We're going to use their pelts as clothing and they'll ease our hunger." Toriko says, lowering your friend down. Komatsu was lagging behind and was swooped up by Toriko when he was getting too slow.

"No need, Toriko-san," Takimaru spoke up. "From here we'll be attacking."

"Yeah, if we move, our bodies will heat up a bit," Match said, approaching one of them

"Is that so? You guys sound promising."

You observed them carefully, now having a closer look at how they attack. Before you saw glances of their fights on the boat. But now, you were up close and personal. 

Takimaru had a pre-shot routine, amplifying his chances of success. It was interesting, you've never seen anything quite like it. Though, it seemed to require a high level of concentration.

Match's techniques... It probably isn't something you could replicate. I mean, you could do it if you tried hard enough, but it probably isn't worth it. It would be rather taxing on your body if you did.

The rest of the pack had gotten angry/defensive, wanting to attack. Match drew his sword out again. You were about to step in until they all scuttled away from Toriko's intimidation.

The fur was split among the 8 of you, and the meat was frozen cold. Obviously, your group couldn't just stop and eat the raw meat right there and then, so everyone carried a small piece of the meat. Good thing was that the freezer bisons was mostly fur so it wasn't wasted too much.

The fur did an excellent job of trapping the warmth, finally being able to somewhat feel your feet again. Fluffy snuggled into the fur, enjoying it as well.

"Here, Komatsu-Kun, this should alleviate most of the cold." Toriko bundled the fur around the small chef, shielding him from the cold. 

"T- thank you, Toriko-san..." Komatsu breathed out, clinging to the fur. 

"Um... Toriko-san, aren't you going to take some fur?" You asked as Toriko carried Komatsu on his back again.

"No, I need to adapt to this temperature."

"Are you sure? There's still some left."

"Nah. Okay, let's go! If we enter the ice mountain this wind should calm down, too."

-

Toriko was right, the wind had calmed down once inside.

The ice mountain was grand. The ice glitter despite the lack of light and there was a beautiful blue shine throughout the place. Even if you died here, you wouldn't mind. This was a stunning place to die in. 

You looked for your friend. "Komatsu-kun? You okay? Whoa-" he swayed slightly, Toriko quickly supported him.

"A... Alive... We somehow made it alive... I'm really glad." He breathes out with a smile, seemingly relieved. 

"Yeah, you did great, Komatsu-kun." You reassured.

Toriko had a small smile on his face, something you found strange considering his smiles were always taking up a third of his face. "Good job, Komatsu-kun, you've got guts." He brushes off some snow on his head before turning, "You guys did well enduring this much too. That's why you're gourmet yakuza members." 

Match looked to his subordinates. "If you guys lost to something like nature, I wouldn't know who to get revenge on."

"Vice-boss..."

Takimaru asked, taking off the cape of fur, seeing that there was no need anymore. The large walls of ice were blocking most of the wind coming in. "Shall we take a small break, Toriko-san?"

"No, let's hurry on ahead. The century soup is somewhere in this ice mountain. Let's go while the meal is hot!"

So you just want to eat?

"Okay! Let's go! I wanna eat some soup!"

"Toriko-san, could it be... You're just hurrying because you're hungry...?" Takimaru asked, watching the glutton running into the mountain.

"That's exactly right, Takimaru-san," Komatsu confirmed.

-

If you thought that the outside was beautiful, the inside was stunning. 

There were pillars of ice reaching the pitch-black ceiling, it sparkled like the night sky. A blanket of snow covered the ground, providing softness to your surroundings, a stark contrast to the sharp, but mythical ice walls/floor. 

You wanted to take pictures of the place, but due to the fact your phone was dead, you couldn't.

Currently, you were sitting down and listening to your group talking about the aurora inside of the cave. Apparently, it was related to the century soup somehow. 

"The aurora is a guide... It's really like a fairy-tale story." Match says.

"Y-yes... Though if it was possible to have less wild beasts show up it would be a lot more fairy-tale-like..." Komatsu said, looking at the body of the Sliver Grizzly. 

"It's a valuable source of protein in this intensely cold land. Be more grateful, Komatsu-kun."

"Don't invalidate my efforts, Komatsu-kun." You lightly scolded, being the one who prepared the meat, grilling it over a small flame. "Also, you're discriminating by looks, Sliver Grizzlies are rather gentle creatures."

"It's a shame that there are no spices to go with the Sliver Grizzly," Komatsu added to your grief.

"Yes..." You sighed sadly, slumping over slightly. I wanna marinate it in soy sauce and garlic...

"Yun, yun~"

You snapped your head upwards, "Huh, sounds like a Wall Penguin. Or maybe an ice fin gull...?"

"What are you talking abou- UWAOH!" Komatsu screams, looking behind him, revealing a little pink bird. "That surprised me! What's this?!" 

The penguin flapped its flippers happily, "Yun!"

It's so fucking cute.

"Ho, that guy's rare. It's a child wall penguin. I'm surprised you knew what it was by its voice." Toriko states. 

"Yun! Yun, yun!" They flapped it's flippers again.

You clutched your hands tightly, holding yourself back. So fucking cute!

"It's- It's- so cute! What is it?~ This is fairy-tale like." Komatsu hugged the bird, making it squeal out in joy. 

"That guy is an endangered species..." Toriko says.

"It's even a lost child, isn't it?" Takimaru added in. 

Komatsu ignored the comments and the penguin started pecking his cheek, probably trying to play with him while squeaking happily. "This guy!~ What're you doing?~" 

Its probably just a few months old, judging by behaviour and bright pink coat. Fluffy peaked out of your coat, looking at the newcomer. When finding the source of the sound, it yawned and snuck back into its original position.

"The child wall penguin isn't cautious, it'll get attached to any living thing that comes near it... even meat-eating beasts. Because of that, it's been preyed on and it's numbers have been decreased." Toriko explained, watching the scene unfold. 

"But on the other hand, the parents are over-protective. They're almost definitely trying to find them." You say, handing over a small piece of meat to the baby bird. They munched it down happily, then resumed pecking your friend in the face.

"That's an understatement. A better adjective is brutal," Toriko said with a smile on his face.

"Heh?! Are you serious?!" The pink animal squealed happily as Komatsu's face was overcome with fear.

"They'll think you've abducted him, 100% chance."

"Ehhhh?!"

"Sorry Komatsu, but I don't think I can help you from two adult wall penguins. This is the end for you." You said, snickering slightly, still feeding it little scraps of meat.

"No! What do I do?!"

"Fufu... A baby penguin that got separated from his parents, huh....?"

"Match-san...."

"That sounds like a pain. Our real journey starts here. We need to retain our strength for the crucial time." He says, standing up and turning to his tent. 

"Have a nice rest, Match." Toriko says in response.

He took a second to respond. "Yeah." And he went inside the tent, closing it tightly.

Maybe you would have noticed the tone in his voice if it wasn't for the darn cute baby penguin next to you. 

"Um... You guys in Match-san's group..." Komatsu started, still holding the baby, "Why did you come to get the century soup...?"

They didn't reply, and glanced at each other, unsure of how to answer. 

....Sensitive subject?

"I just said that accidentally... I'm sorry, eheheheh...." 

"Nerg City." The one in the back started. "That's the city we live in."

A deeply buried memory came to the surface. Nerg city...? That's in Jidar Kingdom. 

Jidar Kingdom...

Your eye widened in realisation. That's why he doesn't like you! Oh no, I shouldn't have chosen to be called Kelpie, it was just so natural to pick it! Of course, they're going to recognise the name 'Chef Kelpie'! Idiot! Idiot!

"A slum, huh? The crime city, not affiliated with IGO, Nerg city. One of the poorest places in the continent."

Toriko, please. I think this is a sensitive topic...

"That's the lawless area where ingredients prohibited from being circulated are publicly marketed, isn't it?" Takimaru started, "they say 10% of prisoners in gourmet prison are said to come from Nerg City, the 'criminal producing factory'."

Takimaru?! You too?! Don't you think that some of these things are unnecessary to say?

"Pardon us... But it's still our home town where we were born in."

"Match took up this request for the reward money, it would seem. But, if were just for money, selling illegal ingredients, would get a higher percentage." Toriko says, eyeing the three men curiously.

"Of course. Vice boss plans to bring back the soup for the sake of children there with no families."

You stayed quiet.

"Us three were all originally street children... Filthy brats. Back then, the only one that answered our begging was him. Match-san." He smiled at the memory. "For us who just searched through for food scraps, Match-san was blessing us with a feast we'd never seen before."

"So the reason you guys entered the Gourmet Yakuza was because you're in his debt from that time..." Toriko says, breaking the silence that followed.

"We were saved with... with just a single feast... Though I may just be exaggerating. We returned from being hyenas back to human beings."

Komatsu spluttered, "T-then..."

"The ultimate evil is poverty. Children are the biggest victims of that." He clenched his fist in anger, shaking. "No matter how much we are hated by constitutional countries, at least we don't turn a blind eye to starving children. Match-san always says: 'The first thing is being fed. Being a good person or a bad person is after that.'"

... That was really heavy.

You couldn't even think of anything to say in response to this. Absolutely nothing came to mind. It seemed that everyone else felt the same.

"Yuun~"

Well, every human.

Komatsu pet the head, making it chirp quieter. "I-I think that wanting to give soup to children to eat is a wonderful idea! I'm sure that Mr Colonel will understand too!" He says, desperate to fill the silence.

"We've ever cared about what the old man thinks. We just wanted to know where the soup is."

"...But to go as far as facing such danger for a high-level ingredient..." Takimaru says.

"What about you Takimaru-kun?" Toriko asks, taking another piece of meat.

"Eh?"

"Do the gourmet knight know about this work? The century soup is far from the recommendations from the principal foods in the gourmet doctrine."

Oh... That's why Takimaru's soup was so simple...

Takimaru paused, then lowered his gaze. He let out a small puff of white air. "The other members don't know about this job..."

"I knew it... I thought that is was strange for you to be along for this kind of work. Especially for them to leave it to a young new member. Did you not tell a single member?"

"No...! I didn't even tell Aimaru-san... Even though he's the leader...!" he says, his thoughts seemed to be weighing down on him heavily for a long time.

"Then why?"

He cradles his hands in his lap. "I... I need money. A great deal of money... The country of healing: Life. I need money to buy medicine sold there."

"Medicine...?" Toriko echoed, finally speaking. "What kind?"

"A... medicine for curing diseases. One to cure any illness."

"In other words, helping someone, eh...?" One of Match's subordinates says. "You're the same as us."

"But surely Gourmet doctrine says that-"

"Yes. i know. It teaches us that one's life should be entrusted to nature. Using man-made medicines to fight against disease goes against it, but if it's all-natural, it won't go against the doctrine!" His eyes began to water, "I must get the medicine!" He shut his lips tightly, in a poor attempt to hold back tears. "I must...!"

You continued to stay quiet.

I feel like... other people's reasons for the century soup is nobler than us who just want to eat it...

"Takimaru..." Toriko placed a hand on his back, "those tears have a value that won't lose to the century soup. The amount you cry is the amount you need to feel relieved."

Komatsu needs to be relieved a lot in that case then.

"When you act for someone else's sake, people bring out their greatest strength. We'll all get our hands on the century soup! It's alright! I'm sure we'll find it!" He gives a wide smile, reassuring everyone. 

"Toriko-san..."

"By the way, Toriko-san, for what reason are you trying to find the soup?"

"Eh? I haven't said? It's because I want to eat it! That's all!"

You began to snicker at this, covering your mouth. I can't believe that he's being so honest! Even after everyone else said such serious reasons!

Everyone else started to join in, their moods lightening up. 

"No, Toriko-san is serious! It's not something to-" Komatsu was interrupted by the wall penguin pecking his cheek. "Stop it, you!" he scolded with no heat.

"Yun, yun!"

Toriko smiled brightly, "Hahahah! Komatsu, he's totally attached to you!"

"Look at the responsibility you've got now!" You added, still giggling. 

"Eh?! No, I don't want to! What do I do when the parents come?!"

"It'll attack you without hesitation." 

You continued watching the two of them talk, feeling felt out of the conversation. Not in a bad way! More like in a way that you're glad that Komatsu made a friend. Though you did feel you had feelings of envy buried deep down. 

Lost in your thoughts, you began to think about why Setsuno sent you on this trip. Why did she send me...? There's not really a good reason why, Komatsu and Toriko could have gotten it easy. There was no need for me to come at all, it makes no sense...?

Fluffy bit your hand. 

"Ouch! What do you want now...!" You hissed, picking them up by the scruff of their collar. "You just woke up and you're biting me already! You know, you're not usually this bitey." 

They squirmed out of your grip and jumped onto the ground. They waved their tail, indicating to you to follow you then ran off, blending into the snow carpet. "Eh?! Where are you going?" 

"Er, K-kelpie? What's wrong?" Takimaru asked as both Komatsu and Toriko was still talking. 

"Sorry! I need to go! If I don't come back, keep going without me!" You respond, flinging your bag on. 

"What?! Where are you going?!" Komatsu asked, finally noticing you leaving. His voice seemed so far away as you sprinted. 

You booked it after the furry bastard, running away from the camp. "Fluffy! Get back here! Fluffy!" You shouted, almost slipping on the snow and ice.

This was beyond strange behaviour, they never left away from you without notice and they never disobeyed you. 

"Fluffy!"

-

They were still scrambling away from you. You still had no idea why they were behaving like this. 

"Fluffy, let's go back, what are you looking for...?" You called, following them aimlessly. 

They continued to ignore you but stayed still whenever you slowed down to let you catch up, then skipped ahead again.

"Flufffyy! Come on, tell me why you're doing this? Are you hungry or something?" You questioned as the two of you approached a small cliff. "What is it?" 

There wasn't anything strange about the cliff until you looked downwards. There was a small clearing of snow with two wall penguins there. They seemed to be panicked, running around in circles. 

"Oh! Did you want me to bring the baby wall penguin here?" You turned to Fluffy, who swished its ears back and forth. "...No? The what did you want me to do?"

Suddenly, they leapt on your head, "what do you want now-"

A loud howl interrupted you. 

You swooped down, hiding in the snow, crouching and looked down. The two penguins were currently fighting a man with... interesting clothing choices. Especially in this weather.

Naked. He was naked.

You wanted to leave but continued watching the situation, it seemed like the man was trying to eat the penguins. And no, you didn't continue watching because he was naked, you continued because you were concerned for the penguins. 

He lunged at them, bearing his teeth like a wolf. The birds hopped up and crushed him under their weight. 

Ouch... To be fair what did he expect? They're adult wall penguins, they aren't going to take pity on you.

You picked up Fluffy and placed them in your bag, turning away, there wasn't anything to be done here. 

"...uo fucking birds!"

Snapping your head back, you saw he was lifting the penguin with his bare hands.

How did he not get crushed?!

He flung the bird onto it's back, roaring. It slid across the ice but got back up. The other penguin seemed to be furious at him, as it also jumped upwards to crush him. 

This time, he grabbed it's feet and threw it at the other penguin, knocking both of them onto the ground.

You felt something snap within you and jumped down to them without thinking.

When you landed, he turned around to you. "Who are you?"

Fuck. Fuck.

You looked at him, now having a better view. He had dirty grey hair and striking yellow eyes. Towering over you, he was as tall as Toriko, maybe bigger, and had a very muscular body with a fair amount of body hair. 

"Uh, hi...?" You mumbled, "you should stop attacking the penguins. T-they just want to find their kid, if you leave them alone they won't hurt anyone...!" 

He glared sharply at you, "who do you think yer bossing around...?" 

A-are those fangs?! They look like canine teeth!

The two penguins glared at you warily, unsure of your intentions. They seemed to be willing to fight...

You cleared your throat. "Are you hungry...? If you need food I have some here..."

"Fuck off. I want fresh meat. Not something you picked up from the floor. Don't want your bullshit."

Unnecessarily aggressive...

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

He tilted his head, "Huh?!"

"I said: I can't let you do that." You took a deep breath of cold air, planting your feet firmly on the ground, "those animals are endangered. If you must hunt, pick an animal that isn't."

He walked over to you, his height now more clear than before. He smelt like blood. "I'll ask again. Who do you think you are. Ya some Saiseiya?" 

"Just a chef."

"A chef...? Run home why don't ya? You're bothering me."

"If you're going to hunt those penguins, I can't do that."

He scoffed, "what are you going to do? Fight me?"

You pulled Fluffy out of your bag, letting them know to leave the place. Go bring the penguins to Komatsu and the others. 

They nodded, and ran over to the pair, guiding them to safety.

"If I must, I will."

His teeth seemed to grow alarmingly bigger, and it smiled in excitement. "Go on then. Stop me."

Boom!

You flinched at the noise, but stayed still, not showing him any weaknesses.

What was that?!

It seemed to be far away from the echo of the explosion but still didn't reassure you in the slightest. 

"Ahh, that must be Tommyrod-sama..."

"Who?"

His smile grew more sinister, "He's the sous-chef of Bishokukai. Heard of us?" 

"No..."

"Is that so? I was ordered to kill anyone in my way." He licked his fangs, and flexed his hands, showing his claws. "Anyone." He growls, hunching his body over, his hands almost touching the floor. His skin grew furrier and his face contorted into a snout.

....A werewolf.

"Don't worry, I'll make this quick." 

And, just like that, a wild battle between two animals began.