Lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko
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A man with dark brown hair and tanned skin wearing the uniform for a Gourmet Transporter which consisted of a white jumpsuit. He wore a hat with Gourmet printed across it and sunglasses. He gave a sigh as he finally finished registering the last of the inventory.
"Hey Tomu, you can go ahead and take your lunch break. We can take it from here." a worker said
"Really?" Tomu stretched his back and sighed as he heard it crack. "Thanks, I appreciate it!" He waved his co-workers goodbye before heading towards the city to get himself a meal to eat. Tomu gave a grin as he walked up to a familiar restaurant, walking into the restaurant he was immediately seated at the counter bar. Taking a look around he could see that tables were filled with customers, which was common as it was lunchtime.
"Tough day?" Tomu gave a shriek at the sudden voice and looked around to see that nobody was at the bar.
"Right here." Tomu rubbed his eyes to see that there was a woman waving her hands in front of his face. He gave a grin as he saw the familiar ebony colored long hair and eyes of the lady that was wearing a chefs uniform.
"Kimiko! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" Tomu cried as he laid his hand on his heart.
"No, and you sound like a girl when you shriek." Kimiko bluntly stated causing Tomu to sigh. Kimiko placed a cup of tea in front of him along with some cookies. "This should relieve some of your stress. What's wrong?"
Tomu happily took a sip of tea and gave a sigh of relief at the taste of the liquid, "I just had a big shipment, that's all."
"Right." Kimiko went and placed a plate of onigiri in front of him. Tomu's eyes lit up at the plate of food and took a bite. After a couple of moments, Tomu let out a big sigh.
"I overslept and was running late for work, so I couldn't get breakfast. Once I did get to work, it turned out that Toriko brought a rare ingredient for resale, in which it took forever to sell all of it. Once that was over I remembered that I had to ask Toriko to get some chocomushrooms, but by then he was already gone!" Tomu groaned before stuffing his face with another onigiri.
"Feel better?" Kimiko asked as she went to refill his cup of tea and placing another plate of onigiri.
"Much better," Tomu sighed and bit into another onigiri, "Delicious! Salmon onigiri is the best!"
"Y'know, you should take care of yourself more. Skipping meals is bad for your health." Kimiko stated.
"I'll try." Tomu said before finishing up his onigiri and went to grab another onigiri. Kimiko gave a sigh as she placed another plate of onigiri in front of him and looked at the two plates that he had finished.
"Chocomushroom," Kimiko said making Tomu look at her, "That's a rare ingredient."
"Yup, it's hard to find," Tomu said, "That's why I always ask Toriko to get it, with his nose he's bound to find a couple of them."
"Well if it can help, I can track down Toriko-san and ask him to get the chocomushrooms for you," Kimiko said
"Really?" Tomu asked
"It's no problem at all, and besides I don't want you to overwork yourself." She then sported a thoughtful face, "Maybe I can have a few for my restaurant too, I wonder what I could make, perhaps a pasta, no, maybe a dessert. I wonder how it'll taste if I put it on a pizza."
"Kimiko, your mind is wandering again," Tomu said making Kimiko turn her attention back to him, "anyway, how about I take you to the island where Toriko should be."
"Oh, you don't have to, you're tired" she said in concern, "You can just tell me where to go and I can go find him."
"Don't worry about it!" Tomu said as he gulped down the last of his tea. "After all, what kind of Gourmet Transporter would I be, if I couldn't transport you to the island where the ingredient I want is."
There's no stopping him, Kimiko thought.
"Fine." Kimiko sighed. After telling the chefs and manager that she was leaving, Tomu quickly took her to the harbor.
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"Hey Tomu, what island is Toriko-san on exactly," she asked as Tomu was navigating the boat.
"Evergreen Island," Tomu said, "it's an island that has plants blooming in every season. Plus the plants grow at a rapid pace so it leads to a lot of animals and predators to be there. Be careful okay." He turned to look at her, "If something were to happen to you, who'd cook my meals."
"Tomu-san," Kimiko smiled at him, "I'll be fine. I'm a lot stronger than I look" Kimiko averted her gaze to where the boat was heading. Unknown to Tomu, Kimiko's eyes had flashed to a gold color before turning back to their usual ebony. "So where do you think I'll find Toriko-san?"
"He'll eat anything that's edible so just follow a path with a lot of eaten shrubbery or something along those lines," Tomu commented.
"Does he really eat that much?"
"Yup, just imagine how much I eat when I'm hungry, multiply it by two hundred and that's what he considers an appetizer," Tomu said, "anyway we're here." Kimiko looked at the island to see that it was completely overrun with foliage, it was thriving with plants and definitely had beasts residing on the island.
"I'll wait here for you," Tomu said as he docked the boat.
"No, you should go back, it's going to take a while to obtain the chocomushrooms, not to mention there are beasts here with high capture levels. I'll call you to pick me up, so don't worry," Kimiko told him as she got off the boat and waved goodbye to Tomu as he reluctantly left.
Kimiko started to wander around the forest and observe the wildlife that grew there. A plant that had leaves that looked similar to band aids had caught her eye.
These are medicinal, she thought, once you take the leaf and put it on your wound it starts repairing it at a rapid rate. Kimiko proceeded to take some of the leaves and wandered off to look for Toriko. Although she did get sidetrack by the plants and herbs that grew there. After awhile of searching, she was just about to give up.
"Who knew it would be so hard to find one person," she muttered. The sound of grass rustling made her go on high alert. Quietly she reached into her pocket to pull out a knocking gun, slowly she started to walk forward to when she heard the sound. She slowly pushed a bush to the side to see that there was a boot which was connected to a leg. Trailing her eyes up she saw a blue haired Bishokuya wearing an orange outfit snoring loudly as he slept in a meadow of purple flowers.
He's sleeping! Kimiko yelled in her mind. She took a look at the flowers and immediately went on high guard, the flowers looked similar to lilies but had a dark purple color.
Those are, Kimiko quickly ran over to the sleeping man. Her eyes shifted to a golden color and her hair that started to change into a silver color. She proceeded to pick up Toriko's upper body and started to drag him out of the flower beads and into a clearing.
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Toriko groaned as he started to regain consciousness and sat up only for his head to spin as soon as he got up.
"You shouldn't be getting up so soon," a voice said alarming Toriko, he quickly turned around to see nothing but a boiling pot of soup on a burner.
"Right here." Toriko jumped in surprise as a person seemed to appear right next to him and was also stirring the boiling pot of soup.
"Who are you," Toriko asked
I couldn't even smell her scent, he thought
"My name is Kimiko, here drink this," she handed him a cup of tea in which he gratefully took a sip of and sighed as the pain in his head started to subside.
"What happened," he asked as Kimiko presented him with a bowl of vegetable soup.
"You were knocked out by the Sleep Lily."
"Sleep Lily." Toriko repeated.
"Yes, it's pollen is a sleeping agent. People use them as sleeping aids when they have trouble sleeping. You must have walked in on it when they were pollinating." She explained.
"Why do I have a gigantic headache?"
"You were passed out for a long time, you probably inhaled a large amount of pollen. That's probably equivalent to about twenty sleeping pills since you got in its raw form. You're lucky to still be alive," Kimiko told him.
"That explains it," Toriko looked down at his bowl of vegetable soup and clapped his hands together, "Idtadakimasu" he then swallowed the soup in one gulp. "Gochisousamadeshita."
"You don't chew your food, do you." Kimiko bluntly stated and then sighed, "Toriko-san."
"Yeah."
"I came here to request you to get chocomushrooms, in Tomu-san's place."
"Tomu," Toriko said.
"Yeah, he's busy with work, so I came in his place" Kimiko answered.
"Now that I think about it, Tomu did tell me to get some chocomushrooms before," Toriko said.
"Then shouldn't you have gotten the chocomushrooms earlier," Kimiko muttered.
"Kimiko," Toriko said getting her attention.
"That's your name, right?" Kimiko nodded in response.
"What are you doing here?"
"I told you, I'm here to ask you to get the chocomushrooms."
"But aren't you a chef?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I am."
"What I mean is, why are you going to such a dangerous place. You don't look like a person who's skilled in combat. Even if it's for a friend won't you be a little scared." Toriko's eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"
"I am just a simple chef,"she replied giving him a small smile.
"Um, can I have seconds?" he said as he presented her with his empty bowl.
"Of course!" She smiled as she gave him another bowl of soup.
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"Shall we go, Toriko-san," she said as she put the pot and burner back into her bag. Toriko handed her his empty soup bowl, Kimiko gave a quick thanks before she put it back in her bag. "Where do we go?"
"Chocomushrooms are usually found in swamps rainforests, and near mountains. WE should start by heading to moist places," Toriko said.
"That's a great idea!" Kimiko immediately remembered that she had past a swamp while looking for Toriko, "I saw a swamp a couple miles from here, this way!" Before Toriko could say anything Kimiko had grabbed his hand and pulled her with him.
"W-Wait a minute Kimiko!" Toriko yelled making Kimiko stop.
Realizing that she had grabbed his hand without permission, she immediately let go, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I-I'm not good at socializing with people."
"Eh, wouldn't you have had to socialize with all the other people that you were working with," he asked.
Kimiko's eyes dulled as memories flashed through her mind.
"Don't go near her, she's a cheater," one said
"She copied the chef right next to her. Seriously, doesn't she know that we're here by our hard work. Why is she even here?"
"She's probably just here because she's bored. There's no way she's going to be a chef if she can't even create food on her own."
"Kimiko," Toriko called out to her as he saw the blank emotion that Kimiko was portraying.
Quickly snapping back into reality, she turned to look back at Toriko, "I'm sorry, I tend to daydream a lot."
Toriko silently took her hand surprising her, "You were heading in the wrong direction, the swamp is this way." he pointed in the opposite direction.
"Toriko-san," She looked at their joined hands and gave a smile, "Right! This way!"
"So," Toriko said after a couple of moments of them walking, "Where do you work?"
"I'm the head chef of the restaurant called The Tricky Knife." Kimiko said with pride.
"Never heard of it."
"I don't blame you," Kimiko sighed as a depressing aura surrounded her, "It's not a well-known restaurant."
"But it has to be good," he said breaking her out of her depressed aura, "You're a capable chef."
"The soup you made for me," he answered, "It was made from the plants that were growing on this island, weren't they."
"Yes."
"Even though there wasn't any meat in it, the stock was rich and full of nutrients. Not to mention you added the correct herbs that complimented the vegetables that were in the soup," he explained.
"It's not that big a deal, besides I'm not even a high class chef," she replied
"Maybe not yet, but you have talent. Even I can tell that," he answered with confidence
"Toriko-san," Toriko looked at the chef that was giving him a big smile. "Thank you!" She jumped up and hugged him, "You're the first to say something that nice about my cooking!" Shen then immediately noticed that Toriko had stiffened. "Sorry!" she quickly let go of him.
"It's fine, just make sure to mind others space okay," Toriko said as he continued walking with her following right after him. It was after a couple of minutes of walking that Toriko stopped.
"Toriko-san?"
"We're here," Toriko pointed to the swamp that was in front of them. Kimiko looked at the trees that had moss growing on them with their roots submerged in muddy water.
"Um, how are we supposed to find them?" Kimiko asked
Toriko pointed to his nose, "With my sense of smell."
"Oh yeah, Tomu-san mentioned that you had a good sense of smell," Kimiko pondered
"Yup, you can compare me to a-"
"Truffle pig!" Kimiko interrupted creating an awkward atmosphere to hang in the air.
"Eh, I'd prefer a dog actually," Toriko said
"Ehh? Why? I think truffle pigs are awesome and they're pretty cute too," she said completely confused at his reaction.
"Fine, just don't say that when other people are around," Toriko said while sniffing the air.
"Eh? Why?"
"Just don't" Toriko responded, he didn't want to think about Coco or Sunny's reaction to that statement.
I don't even want to start thinking about Zebra's reaction to that, Toriko thought.
"Fine," Kimiko sighed, unconsciously she had squeezed his hand. Looking up at the Gourmet Hunter she hesitated before speaking, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
Toriko flinched at her statement. "No, it's just that it would be weird if my friends heard that."
"If you say so," she then gave him a bright smile, "Then, I promise I won't say it! Cross my heart!" She did the motion of crossing the area over her heart.
Before Toriko could reply to her, a certain sweet scent then invaded Toriko's nose.
"This scent," Toriko lifted his head in order to try and catch the scent.
"Toriko-san?" Kimiko asked as she saw him continue sniffing around.
"Kimiko." Toriko turned to look at her, "I smell them." he grinned, "the chocomushroom."
A smile spread across her face as she continued to watch Toriko sniff around. Following close after him, after a couple of minutes of tailing him. They came upon a group of chocomushrooms growing along the base of a tree.
"That's amazing!" Kimiko exclaimed and proceeded to pull out the Gourmet Case out of her backpack and placing the chocomushrooms into it.
THUMP!
Kimiko and Toriko both went on alert at the sound. Kimiko's eyes widened at the sight of an Applesauce Panther. Its fur was a mix of red, yellow, and green with a pattern being formed by slices fruit. Its ears were leaves of a rich green. While its tail looked like a branch that had multiple apples growing from it.
"That's a-"
"An Applesauce Panther," Toriko interrupted her
The Applesauce Panther gave a roar before charging at the two. Toriko took a quick look at Kimiko who was frozen in fear.
"Kimiko get out of the way!" Toriko yelled as a red aura surrounded him and a red demon started to appear causing the panther to stop and take a step back.
"Toriko-san," Kimiko said
"Kimiko stay out of the fight," she nodded and ran off out of the way of the battle.
The panther gave a growl before attacking again, this time trying to hit Toriko with its claws.
"Applesauce Panther, interesting." Toriko said, "You have tender meat that's flavored with apples that's accompanied by spice."
While Kimiko stood near the bushes, trying to to not be a hindrance in the battle. A rustling in the bushes caught her attention making her move the its branches aside.
"This is-" her eyes widened
Toriko rubbed his hands together producing a sharpening sound.
"I give thanks to all of the ingredients in the world," he clapped his hands together, "Idtadakimas-"
"Toriko-san!" Kimiko interrupted
"What is it?"
"Use this!" Toriko raised his hand to catch the object that she had thrown at him.
"A knocking gun. Why?"
"Just do it!" she told him. "We only came here to get the chocomushrooms, we don't need to take any unnecessary life!"
"But the meat is tasty!" he complained
"That doesn't matter! I'll cook you something else later" she yelled, "For now, just use the knocking gun!"
"Fine!" Toriko gave a sigh and gripped the knocking gun in his hand. Taking one look at the Applesauce Panther, "looks like you won't become a meal after all."
The Applesauce Panther gave a roar before charging head on at Toriko. Toriko quickly sidestepped the creature and went for the creature's blind zone. The panther quickly turned around as to not try and lose sight of the blue haired man. The bishokuya swiftly dodged the panther's claws as it went to take his head off and started to charge at the creature's side.
"Knocking!" Toriko yelled as he stabbed the device in the creature's side sending an electrical pulse through its system. The Applesauce Panther gave a cry of pain before collapsing to the ground completely paralyzed.
Toriko let out a breath of relief at the sight of his incapacitated foe, "Kimiko, what was the meaning-" he halted his sentence as he looked at the sight before him.
"Gao," a tiny Applesauce Panther cub said as it rested on Kimiko's head. It and the other Applesauce Panther was carrying in her arms were no bigger than the average house cat. While Kimiko was also riding on the back of another Applesauce Panther, this one being about the size of a horse.
"Eh." he said while looking at the scene, "Kimiko," he went to scratch his head, "I really don't know what to make of you."
"I didn't mean to, they just come to me," Kimiko said while sporting a blush on her cheeks.
You really are something aren't you, Kimiko, Toriko thought as he watched Kimiko walk over to the paralyzed Applesauce Panther and placed her cubs in front of her.
"I didn't want them to lose their mother. That's why I told you to not to take her life." Kimiko told him as she petted the panther's snout causing it to purr.
"Gao." the smallest panther said while snuggling up to his mom.
She gave a small smile and walked over to Toriko and grabbed his hand, "Come on Toriko-san, we still have to get more of the chocomushrooms."
Toriko gave her a grin of his own, "Yeah! Let's go!"
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After collecting a good amount of chocomushroom, the two were waiting at the shore of the island for Tomu to come and pick them up.
"Hey Toriko! Hey Kimiko!" Tomu yelled as he brought the boat over to the shore.
"Hey Tomu!" Toriko went and jumped onto the boat causing it to sink a bit from Toriko's weight.
"Where's Kimiko," Tomu asked
"Right here," the statement made both of them jump in surprise. Turning toward the sound of the voice, they looked to see that Kimiko was standing on the boat with them.
"Kimiko, stop that!" Tomu cried
"Sorry," she apologized
"Anyway, did you get the chocomushrooms?"
"Yep, here you go," Kimiko handed him the Gourmet Case that was filled with chocomushrooms.
"Wow! It looks like you got a lot," Tomu said, "You got enough for you to cook with too?"
"Yup, thanks to Toriko-san, we got plenty," She informed him, "I can't wait to make a delicious meal with this."
"Interesting," Tomu said, "Well sit tight guys, I'll take us home." The two other passengers nodded as they sat down as the Gourmet Transporter as he started up the boat and took off away from the island.
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The boat immediately jumped up as Toriko had stepped off to go back to the port. Looking back he saw Tomu walk off followed closely by Kimiko.
"I hope you're happy with the chocomushrooms, Tomu-san." Kimiko said as she handed him the Gourmet Case.
"Totally, thanks Kimiko," Tomu said while looking at the chocomushrooms.
"Toriko-san," she said getting the blue haired man's attention, "Feel free to come over to the Tricky Knife whenever you want. I'll be happy to cook for you."
"Sure, I'll look forward to it," Toriko gave her a grin before a strong gust of wind caused Tomu and him to close their eyes. When they both opened it the chef was nowhere in sight.
"How does she do that," Toriko muttered.
"Kimiko has a small presence," Tomu laughed.
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Lunamugetsu: this is a rewritten version of the first chapter. Kimiko's powers will be explained in later chapters.