lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko

"blah" normal talking

blah thinking

Someone once said that there are beasts whose whole bodies are covered with marbled meat that melts on your tongue. That there are dense, mellow tasting Musk Melons, fully-ripe mangoes containing the highest grade juice, sweet bubbling that dances endlessly and springs that gush forth with liquid that feels exhilarating as it goes down your throat.

This is the Gourmet Age

People are entranced by the wide variety of food available

Out in the forest near the mountains a lone woman with long black hair that is tied in a ponytail wearing a blue business suit is found walking through the forest. She struggled to walk on the uneven terrain as she was wearing heels. She silently cursed at her situation as she tried to find the man she was told to make a request to. Once she found the clearing, a man with blue hair wearing an orange shirt and navy shorts was sitting on a rock fishing using a gigantic bug as bait. Looking closer she could see that he had three scars on the side of his face.

This is the world's Gourmet Age

The age of pursuing undiscovered tastes

The Giant Beast of the Unexplored Land! Toriko, Capture the Galala Crocodile!

"U-Um, my name is Kimiko. I've come to offer you a job as a Bishokuya" She managed to say, "The International Gourmet Organization, or IGO, is having a gourmet party. They would like you to provide the ingredients for the meal that will be cooked at the party." Kimiko started to fidget as the man hadn't even acknowledged her presence "Uh, are you listening?" that was when the giant bug that was dangling from the fishing line was pulled underwater. "Toriko-san?" She then saw that the fishing pole was moving. The man gave a grin.

"Here it is!" the man known as Toriko yelled as he yanked back his fishing rod pulling out a gigantic fish with lobster arms, amazing the woman, then a brightly colored bird swooped in and grabbed the fish. "Hey, that's my prey!" the man yelled and then pulled his fishing rod down forcing both of the animals to hit the ground causing a dust cloud. Once the dust cleared Toriko walked closer to the fallen animals.

"And I got a Five-Tailed Great Eagle right along with it! Guess this is what they mean by 'killing two birds with one stone!'" he joked

A Crawdad-Fish and a Five-Tailed Great Eagle I've never actually seen them caught before! I'm awestruck! This man is truly amazing, She thought as she saw the animals

"Toriko-san, I'm sure that the Galala Crocodile can be caught if you're on the job!" she exclaimed getting the said man's attention

"What? The Galala Crocodile?"

"Yes! Besides being really difficult to find, its biology is a mystery. They say that even with a tank it's hard to bring one down. It's a ferocious creature." she replied as she thought about the horrifying facts of the creature.

"That's a top-class ingredient. Just one piece is worth 100,000 yen. It's marbled throughout with fat, and tastes like deliciously tender high-grade king crab meat combined with A5 grade top-quality wagyu beef! The Galala Crocodile... it's irresistible!" he exclaimed with drool dripping down his chin.

"Does that mean" Kimiko asked with hope

"Let's head out!" Toriko exclaimed

"Full speed ahead!"

"Sorry to bother you Tomu. By the way, why're you coming too?" Toriko asked while eating a fish. Kimiko was sitting on her knees wearing a khaki shirt and pants; she also brought her backpack and a carrying case.

"I was told by my superiors to research the biology and behavior of the Galala Crocodile" She answered as she put her long hair into a ponytail.

"Are you a chef?" Toriko asked

"Huh? How'd you know? I mean, it is true that I have been given the position of head cook at "Hotel Gourmet", but…"

"That's a 5 star hotel!" Toriko exclaimed, "I thought I caught the scent of high-grade ingredients coming from your hands."

"Huh" Kimiko looked at her hands, Am I not washing my hands properly?

"They're imbued with the smell from handling the ingredients every day."

"Haha! Toriko's sense of smell is better than a police dog's" Tomu explained as he drove the boat. Tomu was a tall man with tanned skin, he had brown hair and was sporting a pair of sunglasses.

"If I'm ever at the Gourmet Hotel treat me to a full course, all right" Toriko said as he held a gigantic onigiri that was practically the size of his torso, in his hands and took a gigantic bite of it. "Yum! A 3½ liter rice ball!"

"Amazing. An amazing sense of smell is needed when examining flavors. This is a Bishokuya" She mumbled

"HEY! JUST HOW MUCH ARE YOU GONNA EAT, HERE?!" she yelled as she saw Toriko finish his onigiri and was now eating about a dozen Almond Cabbages.

"Almond Cabbage is delicious!" he replied

"Looks like we're here. The Baron Archipelago" Tomu said as they neared land. Passing by the rocky area of the water that led to the shore. Kimiko saw that there were skinny yellow mammals that were perching themselves on the rocks.

"Um, what are those" Kimiko asked as all of the creatures were turning their heads to look at the boat.

"Friday Monkeys, they're extremely wary and cowardly beasts. They won't attack us" Toriko explained "But why're they in a place like this? They usually live in caves."

If they're supposed to be in the caves, then what is causing them to be out here? Kimiko thought.

The boat stopped at an opening of the mangrove trees.

"This is the only entrance to the Baron Archipelago. It's a mangrove tunnel, nicknamed 'The Ogre's Mouth'" Kimiko whimpered as she saw the forest of trees.

The two were in the row boat entering through the tunnel; Toriko was rowing while Kimiko was looking at the fish that were circling the boat. She gave a shiver as she saw the fishes dorsal fins push up to the surface of the water. She took out the rifle from her backpack and cradled it to her chest in hopes that it would ease her fears.

"Huh? Are those sharks? This place is swarming with them." she mumbled

"They're called Baron Sharks. Though it varies a little depending upon their size, they're Capture Level 1" Toriko explained

"Capture Level 1! It takes ten pro-hunters to bring the thing down?!" she exclaimed "And... there's ... this many?" she whimpered as the number of sharks started to increase. A bird cry startled her as she held her gun closer to her chest.

"That's just a wild animal there are around 50,000 in the Archipelago, and the king of them all is the Galala Crocodile" he informed her

"R-Right" she stuttered, "I'm really scared about facing that creature."

When the boat abruptly stopped it cause Kimiko to fall forward right into Toriko.

"Ouch" she mumbled and then realized what happened and quickly backed away. "I'm really sorry Toriko-san"

"We're here" Toriko said completely unfazed at the situation as he got out of the boat and started walking towards the forest, Kimiko quickly following him.

"I may have made a poor life choice, here" she mumbled as she held the gun close to her

"There's no time like the present. Anytime afterwards is the wrong time." Toriko said, "By the way, your rifle's practically useless against the beasts here."

"I'm pretty sure that the present is the wrong time, too… Wait, what?" before she could say anything else she felt something slimy on the back of her neck. "Kya!" she yelled as she felt the foreign object. "SOMETHING'S STUCK TO ME!"

"That's a Baron Leech. It's just sucking your blood, don't worry about it" Toriko replied nonchalantly

"I'm totally gonna worry about it!" she cried as she went to move her hands to get it off.

"It'll open a gaping wound if you try to force it off" Toriko told her making Kimiko stop herself from ripping the leech off of her. Toriko only sighed at her predicament before pulling off some of the leaves of a mangrove tree.

"Please help me!" Toriko then squeezed the juice of the leaves out onto the leech making it detach itself leaving a red spot on the back of Kimiko's neck

"Eh, what happened" she asked as she faced Toriko who was holding the leaves for her to see.

"The sea water gives the mangrove leaves a high salt content, which the leeches are weak against" he explained

"I see", she said. "Oh, I better put a bandage on it" she took off her backpack and rummaged for her first-aid kit and took out a bandage.

"Toriko-san" she said getting his attention. "Can you put this on my wound? I can't see it"

"Sure." he said as he took the bandage and faced her back. She moved her ponytail out of the way so that he could put it on. Once he applied she put her ponytail back in its place.

"Thank you, Toriko-san" she smiled brightly making the Bishokuya pause slightly at her happy face he then turned around and continued walking

"This place is really creepy" she mumbled while walking alongside Toriko.

"Wait!" Toriko yelled as Kimiko continued walking.

"Coming here was definitely-Eh?" she looked behind her and there was gigantic tiger that was easily as tall as a house.

Baron Tiger (Mammal Beast) – Capture Level 3

"A Baron Tiger" Toriko said as the beast roared in front of Kimiko

"Capture Level 3? It takes 30 people to take that beast on. It is official my life is over. I should have wrote my will before I came here," she cried as she looked at the tiger. Toriko said nothing as he moved to stand in front of her.

"Want to... mess with me?!" Toriko said in a demonic voice causing the Tiger to run away in fright.

"Huh?" was all Kimiko managed to say at the scene in front of her. The Baron Tiger running away in fear only at Toriko's statement.

"I thought something was weird the Baron Tiger usually live deep in the Baron Marshlands. They shouldn't be in the forest. Just like the Friday monkeys. The only explanation for that is that something drove them out of their natural habitat. It's not a level 5 Galala Crocodile it's something more powerful"

"More powerful than the Galala Crocodile" Kimiko whimpered.

"It's been awhile but I'm going to have to use that again." Toriko clenched his hands, "Fork and Knife."

"Itadakimasu" Toriko said as he picked up a serpent frog from the fire and ate it. He picked up the other serpent frog that was cooking and handed it over to Kimiko who took a bite of it..

"Tasty, isn't it" Toriko said with his mouth full

"Yeah, but it's really quiet, isn't it" Kimiko said as she looked around. They were camped right by the river and there was no animal in sight. Looking around there wasn't even any foliage either, even though they were next by the water. The only things that she could see around that wasn't them was a couple of dead trees. "I know that we're near the Galala Crocodiles habitat, but there are hardly any animals around here. It's weird to not hear anything when you're out in nature. It's starting to get creepy"

"It's probably because they've been eaten" Toriko said making Kimiko freeze.

"Eh?"

"We don't know how big it's appetite is, but it looks like that it could eat pretty much every creature on the Baron Archipelago" he said as he saw a spider web that had no spider in sight.

"So that means every creature on the island is in danger?" Kimiko exclaimed "Including ours, this can't be good."She started to rub the back of her neck as she got anxious only to pause as she felt the bandage. "By the way, I'm still bleeding from where the leech bit me. Is it okay"

"That's because leeches secrete a substance called hirudin which prevents blood from clotting, but it'll stop bleeding eventually." Toriko informed her

"Just when exactly is eventually" she nervously asked causing Toriko to laugh. That was when they both heard a loud sound causing Toriko to stop laughing.

THUMP!

"Eh?" Kimiko said as she stood up. Then a gigantic snake emerged from the river, Kimiko yelped as the snake was easily the size of a train.

Swamp Snake (Reptile Beast) – Capture level 5

"A Swamp Snake" Toriko said. The snake swayed for a moment before finally collapsing right next to where Kimiko was standing

"What's with this wound" Kimiko looked at what Toriko was talking about and saw that something had taken a bite out of the snake.

"It was killed by one bite" Toriko said.

"There's no way the Swamp Snake and Galala Crocodile are the same Capture Level" Kimiko reasoned

"Yeah, but this jaw size isn't normal" Toriko stated, "But how did it get the Swamp Snake? They're supposed to be hard to find..." that was when he saw some lumps on the Snakes skin."Those are-".

"Baron Leeches" Kimiko exclaimed as she recognized the what was attached to the snake.

"It was making the Baron Leeches suck this thing's blood, and then following the smell?" Toriko said just as the corpse of the Swamp Snake was dragged back into the river. Kimiko shivered as she saw that something was starting to emerge from the river.

"Speaking of which, you were also bitten by a Baron Leech. So ever since you entered Baron Archipelago we've also been targets" Toriko turned around "your targets Galala Crocodile" the creature roared. Kimiko shivered in fright as she saw that the gigantic crocodile was massive, having a dark red color and sharp teeth that could instantly snap her in half.

"It's humongous!" Kimiko cried the crocodile opened its mouth and showed that it had dozens of leeches in it. "It's been raising Baron Leeches!"

"This guy has probably been living for about 300 years" Toriko said.

"Even the IGO don't have data about this" Kimiko cried as the crocodile started to walk towards them.

"Now it all makes sense" Toriko said, thinking back to all of the animals that were out of their habitats, "So you're the overwhelming powerful predator?" The crocodile roared in response.

Galala Crocodile [300 years old] (Reptile Beast) – Capture level 8

The beast roar created a large gust pushing Kimiko against one of the dead trees. "Toriko-san!"

"300 years, that means that the meat has gotten tastier as it matured, right?" Toriko asked.

"Is this really the time to worry how tasty it is?!" Kimiko yelled exasperated at his question.

"I may have decided something" Toriko said facing the Galala Crocodile, "to add to my Full Course Menu!" The crocodile roared as it headed for Toriko who quickly evaded but wasn't quick enough for the Baron Leeches to cling onto his arm. The Galala Crocodile then swung its tail towards Toriko which he quickly dodged and then grabbed the tail and swung the Crocodile back. The Galala Crocodile then lunged for Toriko, but missed and caused a dust cloud to form; it then quickly tried to constantly bite Toriko but kept on getting evaded. Toriko then pulled back his arm and delivered a firm punch to the crocodile's jaw sending the beast back. The Galala Crocodile quickly swung its tail at Toriko sending him through a couple of trees.

"Toriko-san" Kimiko cried in worry, as Toriko stood up.

"He senses the smell of blood and then he's able to appear everywhere" Toriko brushed the leeches off his arm, "It's not going to be good to draw this fight out longer."

"Galala Crocodile, those tough fangs and hard scales" he said as he looked at the six legged reptile, "and that jaw that probably has 3 tons of power an appropriate look for the king of the Baron archipelago." the beast roared.

"I will show you respect and present you with my, human weaponry!" as he said that a gigantic red demon could be seen behind him holding a fork and knife.

"A demon" Kimiko said.

"I give thanks to all the ingredients in this world, Itadakimasu!" as he put his hands together and the red aura around him started to grow, as he prepared his signature move the fork and knife. The Galala Crocodile roared and charged at Toriko.

"FORK!" Toriko yelled as he jabbed his left hand at the crocodiles underside.

"KNIFE!" He yelled as he brought down his right hand on the beasts head.

"Gochisōsama-deshita" he said as the Galala Crocodile fell to the ground behind him.

"A-Amazing, this is Bishokuya Toriko!" Kimiko said neither of them noticing a robot flying around in the sky.

In an unknown location

"There was a disaster on the Baron Archipelago. We received a report that it was the work of the Galala Crocodile, but that was unfortunately not the case." a purple wrinkly man wearing a cloak said while carrying a staff, "There is also some interesting information to report. The Galala Crocodile was killed by one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Toriko."

"Oh? So they've started to act? Those Four Heavenly Kings" a man wearing a mask said as he sat in the shadows.

Back with Toriko and Kimiko

The Galala Crocodile is currently roasting over the fire as Kimiko cooked it.

"Is it really okay? To be sitting here eating the food for the party?" she asked as she looked at the Galala crocodile meat that Toriko had cut up.

"It's fine" Toriko reassured her, "Anyhow, there's no way we could carry this huge thing back." he gestured to all of the Galala Crocodile meat that was surrounding them.

"Check it out! The marbled fat is sparkling!" Toriko drooled as he took the peace of meat that was done roasting over the fire

"It's just like the stars in the sky!" Kimiko commented as the meat practically glisten in the firelight.

"Itadakimasu!" Toriko then gobbled the entire piece of meat, "That's incredible. After just one bite of this tender meat, juices continuously drip from it! It's a veritable flood of bouillon! Here try some!" Toriko offered Kimiko a piece.

"O-Okay, Itadakimasu!" she said before eating the meat, "~The texture of the meat, and the fat that seem like it's melting~" she sang, "Wait, if we stone-roast it this way, I'm sure" she placed the slab of meat on a rock. "That way I can sauté each side of the meat in its own fat, and all the meat's juices will be sealed inside." she said as she flipped the meat. "It's done" she then cut it in half and gave one to Toriko

"The outside is crunchy and fragrant!" Toriko said.

"The inside's marbling is perfectly cooked and juicy!"

"YUUUM!" they both exclaimed.

"But tell me, why would someone who can make something as good as this come all the way to Baron Archipelago?" Toriko asked making Kimiko pause in her musing.

"My dream is to become a first-class chef. Although there are some people that believe that women could never be as good as the male chefs," Kimiko gritted her teeth at that statement before taking a breath, " so I want to try my hardest to make the best dishes and I believe that if I don't see the ingredients as they are in their original form, I'll never be able to cook them as best I can. The first time I saw you hunt, Toriko-san, I realized that. That's why I decided that I wanted to see the Galala Crocodile while it was still alive, even though it would be dangerous." Toriko grinned.

"When you eat delicious things, power flows through your body. That's because eating or cooking something means that you are receiving the power of its life. That's why we say 'Itadakimasu.'"

"Toriko-san, what's your dream?" Kimiko asked.

"My dream is to create a Lifetime Full Course Menu."

"Lifetime Full Course Menu?" she repeated.

"Yeah" he started "you start with hors-d'oeuvre, then soup, a fish dish, a meat dish, a main dish, a salad, a dessert, and a drink. I've actually only decided on one of them, though. Right now, my menu is full of nothing but blanks. But someday I'm sure I'll complete it. There are still plenty of delicious things in this world that no one knows about. And those delicious things, all with different lives, I want to meet every single one of them."

"Toriko-san's full course" she repeated, "Toriko-san, if an opportunity like this arises again, would it be okay if I come with you?"

"Do what you want" Toriko said not even looking at her, "There's no time like the present."

"And anytime afterwards is the wrong time, right?!" she replied.

"Kimiko, let's keep frying more of this stuff up!" he said.

"Okay, Toriko-san!"

"It's awesome, isn't it, Kimiko, once you get going you can't stop!" Toriko stated.

"Yes, it's so delicious!" she replied.

"C'mon, fry it up faster!"

"Okay, Toriko-san Leave it to me!" she replied.

Toriko sat watching the fire burn as he munched on the rest of the Galala Crocodile meat. The faint scent of blood still lingered in the air, the wound on Kimiko's neck had stopped bleeding by now. Looking down at the chef who was currently sleeping, using her backpack as a pillow while wrapping herself in a blanket to keep herself warm.

For such a weak person, she sure has guts to actually go through all of this. Even though half of the time she was scared out of her mind, Toriko thought as he prepared another slab of meat to grill. Seeing that the chef was sleeping comfortably even though they were in the middle of the wild, Toriko gave a grin as he cooked the Galala Crocodile meat. He looked over in the distance see that there were other beasts hiding in the shadows. Now that the Galala Crocodile had been eaten they wouldn't have anything to fear. Toriko gave a sigh as he saw that some of them were getting closer to the point that he could see that the campfire flame was reflecting across their eyes. He turned to look at the chef that was blissfully unaware of the situation/

"You sure are lucky Kimiko," Toriko stood up and walked so that he was standing in front of her, "If I wasn't here. Who knows what would have happened to you." The animals only growled as they saw Toriko stand up. "You.. want to fight." Toriko growled as a red aura surrounded him. All of the beasts stopped in their tracks as they looked at Toriko. The blue haired man grinned as he saw that the animals were starting to back off and leave them alone.

"Well time to eat," was all that Toriko said as he took the meat that was grilling and proceeded to gobble it in one bite. He then turned to the rest of the Galala Crocodile and grinned.

"WAIT! HUH!" Kimiko exclaimed as she looked around only to see the skeleton of the Galala Crocodile lying around and no meat. She had woken up, expecting to get ready to bring back the meat that she was requested to get, only to see that none of the said creature was in sight. "No way, you really ate it all, Toriko-san!" she yelled at Toriko whose stomach has enlarged to the size of a blimp.

"Whatever I eat, I eat till there's nothing left. That's my rule! Aw, man, I'm stuffed!" Toriko stated.

"Toriko, didn't I tell you that we couldn't eat all of it! What am I going to tell my superiors?" she whined as she pulled on her hair.

"Just tell them this- it was delicious."

"What good is that going to do! What am I going to do!" she yelled, "Forget being the greatest chef, I'm going to get fired!"

"That sure was delicious, but it was still a step below getting into my Full Course." Toriko said.

"So after all that, you're giving it a failing grade?!" She exclaimed.

lunamugetsu:This is a rewritten version of the first chapter