Lunamugetsu: I do not own Toriko

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Somebody once said… there are fields of rye from which piping fried shrimp and fried oysters grow Frying Fields. There are dandelions of sweet, aromatic, sesame dumplings… Sesame Dumplions.

This is the Gourmet Age.

An age in which people quest for unknown culinary delights.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Super Celeb! Once in a Lifetime, Gourmet Carriage Journey!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"This is a 20 year old bottle of Crystal Cola," a waiter uncorked a bottle that resembled a wine bottle, "The cork of this bottle was fashioned from the trunk of a Crystal Cola Tree." The waiter presented the cork to the blue haired man who was sitting before him.

"What a refreshing scent," Toriko sniffed the cork.

"And now onto the tasting," the waiter poured the cola into a wine glass being mindful of the bubbles from the carbonation, "every single fine textured bubble sparkles like a crystal." Toriko held the wine glass up to his eye level admiring the amber color before downing the whole glass.

"Delicious! It's like a top quality champagne. The flavor is so mellow that I can't even believe it's cola! How about a glass, Coco?" Toriko looked at the person across from him. Coco was wearing a mint green suit as he cut into his steak.

"Very well," Coco grinned as he took a glass, "The cool sensation, it's just what I'd expect from Crystal Cola. In nature, Crystal Trees are said to take 1,000 years to grow just a single centimeter of crystals. It's no wonder high grade cola is made from the seed of that tree."

"Do you think that the Mellow Cola is going to be more delicious than this?"

"Mellow Cola?" Coco repeated only to have someone laugh, looking to his right, Coco saw Sunny, who was in a red shirt and white pants, with his hair tied in a ponytail laughing.

"So the President gave you another ridiculous request, huh, Toriko?" Sunny said

"Mellow Cola is found in the Gourmet Hunter Tomb, the Gourmet Pyramid," Coco contemplated, "Our training has been tough but it sounds like Toriko's is the most rigorous of all."

"Poor guy," Sunny grinned as Toriko fumed.

"Oh, shut up! Are you sure you two are even training!" Toriko pointed at the two.
"Of course," Sunny scoffed, "I've already cleared the gravity challenge and low oxygen level, too."

"By the way, Toriko." Coco said, getting his attention. "How has Kimiko-chan been? I heard you recently went on your first food journey as a combo."

"She's been fine, she made Melk fall in love with her, we bathed together, and we ate the Melk Stardust." Toriko looked up as he heard something snap. He gave a grin as he looked at his brother's faces.

"Do tell why you and Kimiko-chan were bathing together," Coco said in a calm manner, Toriko looked at the broken cutlery that was currently in the poison man's grasp.

"Nothing much, we just needed a bath, and there was a hot spring there," Toriko said with a grin.

"You're such a disgusting being," Sunny said, "Why I-"

"Sorry for the wait! I hope I didn't make you wait long," Kimiko's voice rang out. Sunny, Coco, and Toriko turned their heads to watch as Kimiko ran to them. She was sporting a short mint green sundress that reached her knees, she was also wearing gladiator sandals to match with her outfit. She was smiling wide as she carried her backpack along with a large straw hat.

"I got so distracted when looking at the Melk knife that I lost track of time," she said with a smile.

CUTE! They all thought at the same time.

"Aren't you extremely happy today?" Coco asked, making Kimiko blush.

"I can't help it, this is the first time I've ever been on a cruise ship." she said, "Coco-san, Sunny-san, it's been a long time."

"We're about to take off soon." Coco said, "You seem happy to be on the Gourmet Carriage."

"I am! You have to reserve a place her five years in advance! It's so amazing! I can't wait!" she exclaimed before running over to the side of the carriage.

"She's like a kid in a candy store," Sunny muttered.

"This place is huge!" they heard her exclaim. It was true, they're in a ship that was practically three times the size of a regular skyscraper that was being pulled by two Giga Horses that were the same size as the ship itself. The ship could carry thousands of people and still have plenty of room for everyone to play and have fun.

"The Gourmet Carriage shall be departing!" the captain over the ship's intercom said as fireworks were being let off into the air throwing confetti everywhere. Crowds of people all waved from the deck to the people on the ground. The two Giga Horses gave a cry before moving forward. "This trip of a lifetime that lasts approximately two years begins now."

"Well, I'm actually getting off next month," Sunny laughed

"We're moving," Kimiko gushed only for Toriko to ruffle her hair.

"Don't get too carried away, Kimi" he laughed at seeing her starry eyed face.

Unknown to the group, a person was currently lamenting over their good luck as they had finally gotten to go on their desired vacation.

"It took me five years and eleven months after I was able to make the reservation, but I was finally able to get on the Gourmet Carriage!" Tina cried as her pet Kruppoh sat on the railing next to her. She had ditched her news anchor outfit for a comfortable summer one that consisted of a long tank top with shorts along with a hat to block out the sun, "Although with my budget I can only stay here for a week. I'm going to forget about my jerk boss and have a heaping helping of a great time, Kruppoh!" her carrier balloon pigeon gave a cheering cry.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"This is World Connect, the massive track that connects the world's gourmet cities. The Gourmet Carriage runs on World Connect bypassing various dangerous territories, and stopping off at the world's gourmet cities during its two-odd year tour. Please enjoy the changing scenery and the wonderful journey itself."

Kimiko looked around all of the food stalls that were situated on the deck of the ship. While there were tons of restaurants in the interior, the food stalls were much more fun. She looked over at Toriko who was already munching on some kebabs. Coco was currently being handed a beverage from a juice stall. Sunny was sipping on a drink that he got from one of the fruit stalls. Her eyes lit up as she caught sight of an ice cream stand. Going over to the stall, she surveyed the menu. There were so many to order from, the stand had over fourty flavors.

"Ah, would you like to order?" The stand owner was a middle aged man wearing an ice cream cone hat.

"Oh! I don't know, there's so much to choose from," Kimiko looked at the array of ice cream before her.

"The rose water and cardamom doesn't sound bad." Kimiko looked up to see that Sunny was looking over her shoulder.

"You think so, Sunny-san," Kimiko smiled at him.

"Well it's all up to you, Miko. I don't usually eat ice cream, too much fat for my taste," he answered.

"It's fine to treat yourself every now and then." She countered while turning her attention towards the sign. "Honestly, I could go for either of these."

"Well, if you're fine with any flavor, would you like to participate in the game?" The vender asked

"Game?"

"It's kind of like a raffle. A lot of customers don't know what they want, but they're open to trying new things. So I created a game for when people press the button the lights next to the flavors on the menu will light up one at a time at a high speed. When you press the button again the light will stop on a flavor and that's what you'll get. Interested?" He asked

"Sounds fun, I'd love to try" The vendor nodded and presented her with a button for her to push. She gave it a press and watched as the lights on the menu started to illuminate one by one.

"Hey, why's that star in the corner of the menu lighting up?" Sunny pointed out.

"Oh, that's just a special 'win all' symbol. If she lands on it, it means she'll get all the flavors. But nobody's ever gotten it before, she'll have to be pretty lucky if she lands on it." Kimiko pressed the button for the light to stop. It stopped, right on the special star symbol.

"Huh." The vendor's eyes bulged in surprise, "Well I'll be, looks like you're pretty lucky, young lady. Cone or a cup?"

"Cone?" Kimiko said in disbelief, there was no way she was going to be able to finish all of those flavors.

"Here you go, young lady. Now you and your boyfriend enjoy your time on the Gourmet Carriage." Say what?

"Huh?" Kimiko blinked as she was handed the cone piled high with ice cream scoops.

"C'mon Miko, let's go see the rest of the carriage." Sunny had his hand on her shoulder guiding her away from the stall owner as he waved at them.

"Uh, okay?" She guessed that Sunny didn't really care about the man's mistake. It wasn't that big a deal.

"Wow Kimi, that looks amazing!" Toriko said with skewers of meat sticking out of his mouth.

"Yeah, but there's no way I'll be able to finish all of this," she said as she tried to balance the scoops of ice cream. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to eat this."

"Don't worry Kimi, I'll eat the ice cream you don't finish." Toriko laughed as he patted her head. "C'mon let's go see the ocean from the one of the observation decks"

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"By the way, Sunny-san." Kimiko said as they were all looking at the view. Toriko had already eaten her ice cream and they were now lounging on the observation deck drinking some smoothies. The observation deck was basically a backyard patio that was attached to a ship. With grass, trees, and patio furniture for people to lie on and rest. "You said that you were going to be getting off on one of the stops. Where are you going?"

"It's not for sightseeing, but the forest that leads to the Wac Continent's Road of Three Hells," he told her.

"Road of Three Hells?" Toriko repeated.

"One of the routes into the Gourmet World?" Coco said

"You're not thinking of going to the Gourmet World already?" Toriko asked.

"No, no." Sunny waved off their questions, "I'm not that stupid. I'm just going to meet a certain man.

"There's only one person who lives on the Road of Three Hells." Coco said, "Sunny, you've got a hard journey ahead of you, too."

"And where might you be going?" Sunny asked.

"In about two months. I'll get off near the Jidar Kingdom." Coco smirked at Sunny's outraged face.

"Jidar! You have a 'tough journey' too."

"Jidar?" Kimiko repeated, she's never heard of that before.

"Jidar," Toriko said, "That's not a member of the IGO. It's an extraterritoriality where gourmet crime runs rampant."

"Sounds like you two have pretty dangerous journeys," She sighed. The mere thought of danger always got her heart skipping beats.

"What are you talking about, Miko?" Sunny said, "You have the toughest trip of all!"

"Well, the Gourmet Pyramid is dangerous."

"No! Before that!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You haven't told her!" Sunny exclaimed while looking at Toriko.

"Huh? What's going on? What do you mean?" She looked at Sunny in panic, Coco placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This carriage doesn't go to the pyramid." Coco said

"Really, I thought the carriage went everywhere. Toriko-san! What's happening?"

SPLASH!

A gigantic golden whale jumped out of the water before diving back into it.

"A Solid Gold Whale! How cool!" Toriko exclaimed as he leaned on the railing.

"Toriko-san!" she ran over to him, "Where are we heading?"

"It looks so yummy!"

"Toriko!" she pouted making Toriko grin.

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough." He patted her head.

"Define 'soon enough'"

"Tomorrow." he answered

"That soon" she said in surprise

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"C'mon Kimi, let's enjoy the food!" Toriko said from their seat. They were eating outdoors to enjoy the sunsetting on the ocean. The four of them were seated in a booth that had a semicircular bench so they were all sitting next to each other. Kimiko was sitting in between Sunny and Toriko with Coco sitting across from her. The table was filled with dishes that anybody could get from the food stalls that were a couple feet away from them.

"They sure have a variety of food" Kimiko said as the dishes ranged from pasta to roast beef to seafood skewers.

"TORIKO!" a voice called out. They all looked up to see Tina holding a camera at them, while munching on a crepe with Kruppoh sitting on her shoulder. "I found you all!"

"Tina!" Kimiko exclaimed, "Are you an assignment?"

"Nope! I'm on vacation!" She said

"Then what's with the camera?" Coco asked

"Oh! This is my private camera, it's just for the trip." she said, "But to see three of the Four Heavenly Kings together! I smell a heaping helping of a scoop!"

"You're acting just like you're on the job," Kimiko sighed

"GEEZ! What's with you guys! Wherever I go you're always there. Are you following me!" Kimiko blinked. Who was this caveman dude? Then it hit her.

"Oh! You're the Longe dude!"

"MY NAME'S ZONGE!"

"So Toriko," Tina turned back to the group, "Where are you going? Tell me! Tell me!"

"DON'T IGNORE ME!"

"These two don't match the ambiance of the carriage at all," Sunny muttered.

"C'mon let's celebrate! It's been a long time since we've all met up!" Toriko said

"KANPAI!" they clinked their glasses together.

"Where's all the food!" Toriko exclaimed at the empty plates.

"You ate it," Kimiko sighed.

"That's fine, there's a school of Marbled Tuna alongside us, right now!" Kimiko's eyes widened as she saw a group of fisherman all pull out the Marbled Tuna fish right out of the water.

"This is ridiculous. That's not fresh it's 'right off the hook,'" she sighed

"C'mon Kimi, try it!" Toriko held out a plate of Marbled Tuna nigiri sushi for her to eat.

"They prepared it already!" she exclaimed as she took one and plopped it into her mouth. "YUMMY! It feels like it's melting on my tongue! I wish this taste would last forever!"

Toriko, Sunny, and Coco all smiled at her blissful face. Tina blinked looking at the three then back to Kimiko. She grinned, she felt that something interesting was happening.

"Eat as much as you want, it's all you can eat!" Toriko grinned as Kimiko's face lit up. "Let's all eat up!"

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"That dinner was amazing! Wasn't it Kruppoh?" Tina sighed as she fell back on her bed

"Kruppoh!" her friend chirped as she looked at the ceiling.

"Well, this is no time to laze around, Kimiko said that she and the Heavenly Kings were going to go to the dance hall later. I better get myself ready! Kimiko said she'll come by so we can show up together." Tina shot up from the bed, surprising her pigeon friend. "I'm gonna take a shower Kruppoh, tell me if anybody knocks on the door."

"Kruppoh!" her friend chirped.

After a refreshing shower, Tina wrapped up her hair in a towel and then went to grab her party dress. When working, she was confined to wearing her news anchor uniform, which was the same old pink suit. It was nice to dress in something different every now and then. She worked fast in blow drying and styling her hair, working on her makeup and finally putting on her dress. It was the same dress she wore when she went to the Hotel Gourmet when Kimiko unveiled the Century Soup. She liked the large white ruffles of the a-line skirt and the spaghetti straps. She gave herself a once over before looking around for her shoes.

"Kruppoh have you seen my shoes?" she asked as her friend shook his head no.

Knock! Knock!

"Oh, that must be Kimiko." Tina walked over to the door and opened it. Kimiko stood there with her hair in a bun, wearing a simple knee length black dress.

"Hey, Tina." as she walked into the room, "Hi Kruppoh." the bird gave a chirp at her comment.

"Hey, I'm almost done, I just need to find my shoes."

"Take your time." Tina looked into her suitcase, she knew she packed them. Now where did she put them? A glimpse of something sticking out from underneath her bed caught her attention. Aha! She bent down to pick them up, silver heels that matched her dress. She looked up to see that Kimiko was looking over at the makeup set that Tina had left out in front of the vanity.

"Something interesting to you?" Tina asked, getting Kimiko's attention.

"Oh, it's nothing." Kimiko blushed as she took a step back from the makeup.

"You could use it, I don't mind." Tina said, placing her shoes on top of the bed and walked over to the chef.

"It's fine and besides I wouldn't really know where to start." That was a surprise, Tina thought that Kimiko would know how to use makeup.

"Makeup not your thing?" she asked.

"It wasn't something that I really needed and besides I don't need to wear makeup for work, like you do Tina." Kimiko did have a point, being on tv reporting the news means that you have to look your best. A thought struck her, she gave Kimiko a smile.

"Come sit in front of the vanity. I'll put some makeup on you." She pushed Kimiko into seating in front of the vanity.

"No, you shouldn't. This really isn't necessary." Kimiko tried to protest.

"C'mon Kimiko, live a little. When are you going to have time to go to a fancy party all dressed up. Let's go all out!" Tina cheered as Kimiko gave a sigh in resignation.

"If it makes you happy, but are you sure you could use any of that stuff on me? We don't exactly have the same skin tone." Tina gave a grin at Kimiko's statement before going to her suitcase and pulling out another makeup case that looked like a tiny suitcase.

"A good reporter is always ready for any situation," she placed the container on the vanity and opened it revealing the bottles of different shades of foundation, primer, bronzer, and other eye shadows. "My cousin's a cosmetologist, she gave me her stuff." She explained as she saw Kimiko's surprised face.

"Oh, that explains the makeup." Kimiko said as Tina held up the shades of foundation to her face.

"You are tanner than me," Tina commented, "All those food journey's with your combo partner are giving you plenty of time in the sun isn't it."

"Yeah, and heart attacks," Kimiko joked as Tina started to test out some of the shades on her arm.

"Sounds fun." Tina said with a smile. "There it is, this one looks like your shade. How are the trips with Toriko? Oh, lift your chin up, please." Tina tilted her friend's head up as she began to apply the primer.

"It's been fun, I saw so many gourmet creatures. I also got a new kitchen knife."

"Yeah, I remember you texting me something about a knife. You had me take care of Yun for a little while. How is the penguin by the way?" Tina commented.

"He's still as happy as ever. One of my neighbors is looking after him while I'm on this trip." Tina hummed at Kimiko's answer.

"I've been meaning to ask. How's it like knowing the Heavenly Kings? You guys are hanging out with each other since you've been here. You guys close?"

"Well, I'd like to think that we're good friends. I went to Coco-san's house one time to have tea. And Sunny-san comes over to the restaurant once in a while. Toriko-san comes over to the restaurant whenever he wants." Kimiko answered as Tina started to put foundation on her face.

"Sounds nice. You think they like you, like you?" Tina grinned as she saw Kimiko turn red.

"Tina, please don't joke about that. We're just friends." She said looking away at Tina's grinning face. "And besides I doubt they'd look at me like that." Tina frowned as she saw Kimiko's forlorn face.

"Kimiko," Tina knelt down so she was eye level with her friend. "Do you not believe that someone would like you like that?" Kimiko stayed fidgeted for a second before sighing.

"I've never really had good luck with relationships. It's okay, I think it's better that I focus on my job" She sighed, Tina stayed silent for a second before tilting Kimiko's chin up to look straight into the mirror. She stood next to her looking into the mirror with her.

"Don't go selling yourself short, Kimiko. People come in all shapes and sizes. Everybody has their own likes and dislikes. It's fine if you want to focus on work, but don't give up on finding someone to love." Tina smiled as she saw that Kimiko was smiling as well. "Come on, I'm going to make you look magnificent tonight." Kimiko gave a little laugh as Tina was psyching herself up.

"See, you're excited, aren't you? Here, let's turn you around." Kimiko raised an eyebrow as Tina made her face away from the mirror. Tina gave her a wink, "I want you to be surprised. Now sit still and let me work my magic."

"Okay, Tina." Kimiko said as she sat still for Tina to work her magic. She didn't really know how long it was, but she was silent as Tina went over her face with different sponges and brushes. She closed her eyes as Tina was putting some eyeshadow and eyeliner on her. Tina then went on to putting lipstick on her, going for a dark red shade. She even worked with Kimiko's hair letting it out from the bun and using a curling iron to give her hair some waves. Kimiko watched as Tina gained a thoughtful look.

"Something wrong?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but your dress is a little plain." Kimiko looked at her black dress. It wasn't anything special. It had a high collar and hugged her torso and had a flowy skirt that reached her knees. It was more on the simple elegant side than cute and casual.

"I don't have any other fancy dresses though." It was true, any of the other dresses that she packed with her were casual.

"Hm, I think I have just the dress for you to try on." Tina said

"That's really nice of you Tina, but I don't think we wear the same size." She gestured back and forth. Tina is taller than Kimiko, almost a foot taller to be precise.

"It's fine, we could at least try to see if it fits. This was a dress that I ordered online, I packed it before I could try it on. I tried it earlier today and I found out that it was way too short. Ah, the woes of shopping as a tall person." Tina sighed as she searched through the closet. She grinned as she found the dress on the hanger. "Here, I'll help you zip you up and no peeking in the mirror. I'll know."

"Okay," Kimiko laughed as Tina helped take off her dress and helped her step into the new one. She held her breath as Tina zipped up the dress.

"How's the fit? Too loose? Too snug?" Kimiko moved her body for a second, it was a strapless gown so there wasn't any constricting her shoulders or arms. The dress wasn't too loose nor too tight. She gave a little spin to see how the dress held up. It was fine.

"It fits great."

"Man was I lucky to have a dress that'd fit you." Tina said before grinning. "Ready to look in the mirror?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Ready, turn around!"

Kimiko turned around and looked into the mirror. Her eyes widened as she looked at her reflection. Tina had done great with blending the foundation into her face and neck. Her work on the eyeshadow was amazing. It looked like Tina had used a smokey black eyeshadow as the base and then added the darkest blue eyeshadow for her eyelids and added a shimmer to it making it look like a night sky was on her eyelids. Tina had managed to use the makeup to bring out her eyes, making them appear bolder and larger. Her wavy hair was framing her face draping across her back in such an elegant fashion. Kimiko's eyes trailed to the dress that Tina had given her to wear was a strapless dark blue dress. The dress was tight around her waist and spread around her hips, the skirt was a high low style, with the skirt being cut at the point above her knees in the front and becoming longer in the back stopping around her calves. There were layers of dark blue tulle wrapped around the dress making it appear delicate. What made it even better was that there was a layer of transparent blue fabric on top of the tulle that had silver star designs across the fabric making it look like she was wearing the night sky. It was beautiful. She looked beautiful. She turned to look at Tina who was smiling.

"Do you like it-ooph!" Tina was cut off as Kimiko had wrapped her arms around her.

"It's beautiful! I don't know how I'll ever repay you! Thank you!" Tina smiled as she returned the hug.

"Hey, what are friends for? There's no need to repay me. C'mon let's go to the dance hall!" Tina exclaimed.

"Yeah!"

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

In a large spacious area, there hung a chandelier that illuminated the entire hall. The room was large enough to put in a staircase for people to walk up and see the dance floor from the second floor. There were many statues of people and paintings that were there for people to look at as they walked around. A small orchestra played as a slow tune as some of the guests were dancing with their respective partners. Others chose to lounge or mingle around one of the many open tables that had food set up for them. Many were sipping glasses of wine and watching the people around them.

"Paintings and sculptures that make you feel the weight of history. And the scent of vintage wine that tickles the nose. All of it fits in perfectly with this voyage. Completely perfect." Sunny said to himself.

"What do you mean we're not allowed in!"

"Your attire is not up to dress code for this hall."

"What do you mean by dress code. Can't you see our fur clothes are stylish!" Sunny chose to ignore that conversation. It was not happening. Those brutish cavemen are nowhere near here! He looked across the hall to see that the reporter they had met was talking to Toriko and Coco. The three were all enjoying a glass of wine while conversing. Sunny had chosen his white suit for this place and had tied his hair up in a ponytail. He saw that Toriko had worn a burgundy suit and Coco had picked a dark purple suit. He frowned as he saw Toriko call a waiter over for another glass and ended up taking the entire tray of wine glasses. That oaf clearly had no class whatsoever. Sunny gave a sigh, he looked around for Kimiko. Toriko had told them that she had left earlier to go get Tina. The reporter was here, but where was the chef? He gave another sigh before taking a sip of wine.

"Sunny-san." He recognized the voice he looked over to the speaker, only to have his eyes widen at the sight of Kimiko in the dark blue dress looking like she was wearing the stars. Her hair was curled in gentle waves that were draped down her back

"Miko." He said, making Kimiko smile.

"Thank you for helping me at the restaurant, back then," she said. Sunny quickly composed himself before smiling at her. "I didn't have the time to express my gratitude towards you and it bothered me. You gave me Knocking Master Jiro-san's contact information. Thanks to that, Toriko-san was able to come back from the Gourmet World. It's thanks to you, Sunny-san. That I've been able to go on another trip with Toriko-san. Thank you." She bowed her head in a show of gratitude.

"You're the one who contacted Knocking Master Jiro. I didn't do anything." Sunny said as he looked at her. "This trip of yours will be more dangerous than any you've had before," he leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Be sure to stay alive, Miko." Kimiko blinked as Sunny leaned back and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You look exceptionally beautiful in that gown."

"Thanks, Tina lended me the dress and she helped me with my makeup and hair. Isn't that sweet of her." Kimiko smiled as she did a little spin.

"Yes, very kind of her." Sunny looked over to the reporter who was getting another glass of wine from one of the waiters. Tina saw Sunny looking at her and sent him a wink before going off to mingle with the other people in the hall. She couldn't possibly know. Could she?

"I'm not used to these kinds of outfits, you don't think it's too much?" Sunny turned to look at Kimiko who was looking up at him.

"It is never too much, when you're happy." Sunny heard the music change into a fun tune. This was something he could dance to, he looked back to Kimiko who had taken to smoothing out the dress. He held his hand out to her. "Would you like to dance?"

"Huh, but I-I" Kimiko stuttered as she looked at Sunny's outstretched hand and then to his face. She didn't really think that she'd make a good dance partner, but. Kimiko reached her hand out to him. How could she say no to her friend. Sunny smiled as he brought her close, he leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"It's okay, just follow my lead." Kimiko blushed at the proximity before nodding. They walked onto the dance floor, Sunny bowed to her before taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist. She held her breath as Sunny guided her around the dance floor. She followed his movements the best that she could, not wanting to fall on her face.

"Relax, dancing is for fun. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Let's just enjoy ourselves. " Sunny said before twirling her around and sending her into a dip. He pulled her up with a smile. Kimiko smiled as well as she listened to the fun upbeat melody that the orchestra was playing. She looked up at her dance partner who was smiling at her. She held her breath, his face. It was the exact same expression as back when he had kissed her forehead. She couldn't place what kind of expression it was back then. Looking at him right now, it was warm. The dance slowed down as the song was coming to an end. Sunny gave her a bow and took her hand and kissed it.

"You're a vision, Miko. If anyone tells you anything else, they're lying." Sunny said as everyone started to move off the dance floor.

"That's kind of you to say, Sunny-san," Kimiko blushed as they walked off the dance floor back to the tables.

"Kimiko! Did you have fun on the dance floor?" Tina said as they were walking back.

"It was great, Tina. How have you been doing?"

"Just recording the party and talking to Toriko and Coco. Don't you guys think she looks great?" Tina smiled as she looked back and forth at Toriko and Coco who were completely frozen.

"Toriko-san? Coco-san? Everything okay?" Kimiko blinked at the sight of the two frozen men.

"Don't worry Miko, let them be. Why don't we have some wine." Sunny said, snapping the two out of their stupor.

"There's no need," Coco said, quickly recovering from his shock.

"You look great Kimi, you changed again?" Her combo partner asked, he remembered that Kimiko had left their room early to go get Tina. She had been in a black dress with her hair in a bun.

"Yeah," Kimiko blushed, "Tina helped me put on some makeup and do my hair, she even lent me one of her dresses." How many times has she said that? It didn't matter, she was just happy that she got to dress up.

"Hey Kimiko, let's go get some wine and some snacks." Tina grabbed Kimiko's hand and pulled her away from the men. The reporter was sure that the men would be fine on their own. Tina called a waiter for a glass of wine. She looked over at Kimiko who had been offered some hors d'oeuvres. Tina snuck a glance at the Heavenly Kings, the three seemed to be entangled in a three way staring contest from the looks of it. Sunny seemed to be winning as he was currently sporting a smug look while the other two were currently glaring at the colorful haired man. As a reporter she was naturally curious, she looked back to Kimiko and to the three men. She remembered the fond look that they were giving to the chef earlier that day. Tina held back a grin. Oh how did she not notice this. She was going to have fun with this. She smiled as she saw that Coco was walking away from the others to go get another drink. Now's the perfect chance.

"Ooh, this is delicious. Tina, do you want some?" Kimiko was holding out a small plate of small sandwich hors d'oeuvre.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you." Tina smiled, "Coco might want some though. I just saw him go get a drink. He probably might want something to snack on." Kimiko looked over to where Coco was standing and then back to Tina.

"But, I don't want to just ditch you, it'd be mean" She said

"Don't worry, my feelings won't get hurt if you hang out with someone else. And besides I have to go back to the bathroom. I'll be back with you before you know it."

"Okay, if you're fine with it." Kimiko waved to Tina as she walked over to where Coco was. Tina gave a grin before disappearing into the crowd of other people and heading towards the orchestra. She gave a grin as she saw the conductor bringing the song to the end. She walked over to the conductor and stood there as he lowered his hands, effectively making all of the musicians bring the song to a close.

"Can I help you?" the conductor asked

"Do you take song requests?" Tina asked with a smile.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Kimiko grinned as she walked over to Coco. She took note that the poison man's hair had grown a little since the last time she saw him. Coco took a sip of his glass of wine before catching Kimiko in the corner of his eye.

"Hello, Kimiko-chan," he greeted her, "How are you doing."

"I'm doing great. Do you want a snack?" She lifted a small plate that had some hors d'oeuvres on it.

"I would actually, thank you," Coco took a small sandwich from the plate. He looked at Kimiko, she was always a sight to see. A sweet person who shows kindness to everyone, it's a beauty that comes naturally. Seeing her all dressed up only highlighted her beauty.

"Does it look weird?" she said breaking him out of his thoughts. "You were staring. I know that I don't really dress up a lot. You don't think it's too much, right?"

"I think you look beautiful no matter what." He smiled as Kimiko blushed at his words. He liked seeing her getting all flustered.

"You're just being nice Coco-san," she said with her face all red.

"When it comes to you Kimiko-chan. I always tell you nothing but the truth," Coco noticed that the small orchestra had started to play a song that he was familiar with, similar to jazz but with more accented notes and changes in beats. A tango. He looked back to Kimiko who was seeing that some people were leaving the dancefloor. This was the perfect time to ask.

"Kimiko-chan," he bowed and offered his hand to her, "If you don't mind my touch, would you give me the honor of having a dance with you?"

"Huh?" Kimiko looked at his outstretched hand. Hadn't she just been in this position? "But, I don't really know how to dance to this kind of music." she reached out to Coco's hand. Coco gave her a smile and leaned into her ear.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," He whispered. He led them onto the dance floor. It was just the two of them. "If you don't want to dance, we can leave if you wish."

"It's okay," Kimiko looked up to him, "I trust you." Coco smiled as he guided her into the standard tango position, he waited for her to get into the rhythm of the music.

"Now you're getting it," he said as they were moving in sync. "You want to switch it up?"

"Switch it up?" she repeated, "you mean like this?" she stretched her leg out, drawing a semi-circle on the ground around her

"Just like that," Coco smiled, "Follow my lead." He moved out of the position and slowly circled around her, she started to circle along with him. He gave her a suave smile before holding out his hand which she took. He pulled her close, her back hitting his chest. She held her breath as Coco lowered his head to kiss her bare shoulder. "Is this okay?" he whispered into her ear. She nodded as he spun her around leading her to clutch onto him as they were now facing each other. She blushed at the closeness as he leaned his head closer, resting his forehead against hers. Kimiko smiled before placing her hand on his chest keeping him at a distance. Coco raised an eyebrow at her as she held out her hand coaxed him to come closer. He gave a suave smile as he walked over to her and grabbed her hand, bringing her into another spin which ended with her hooking her leg around his hip. Coco gave her a smile before dipping her head back as she continued to hold onto him. He brought her up and they went back to the standard tango position. The music was coming to a close soon. He leaned into her ear and whispered a couple of words, Kimiko nodded as he spun her again leading them to separating. She gave him a smile before running and jumping into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist as he spun them around for a second before slowly bringing her down to the ground. One of her legs was wrapped around his hip. He gave a smile as he brought her into a dip and then as the music started to end. He spun her around one last time before ending the dance with her clutching onto his arms looking straight into his eyes. They both broke apart as the audience clapped.

"Thank you for the wonderful dance, Kimiko-chan," Coco said as he bent down to kiss her hand. He ignored the negative energy that was currently radiating off of his two adoptive brothers.

"I could say the same to you, Coco-san," she said

"Come, why don't we rejoin the others," he held out his arm for her to take. Kimiko smiled before reaching out and grabbing it.

"I would like that very much." He gave a smile as they walked back to the group. Kimiko waved to Sunny and Toriko who were both giving the same smile to her. She took an offered glass of wine from one of the waiters as she walked over to them. She gave a blink as she felt Toriko grab her hand and lead her away from the group before she could say anything. She heard the shouts of Sunny and Coco from behind her as Toriko led her to one of the balconies that led outside. She watched as Toriko let out a breath as they were standing under the starry sky, a cool breeze helped cool down her warm skin.

"Something wrong Toriko-san?" she asked as Toriko turned to look at her. He pushed some strands of his hair back.

"Nothing, it was just a bit stuffy in there." He said as he loosened the tie around his neck. Kimiko smiled, Toriko didn't seem like the guy who'd go to fancy parties. "By the way Kimi, what'd you think about the Gourmet Carriage?"

"It's been great," Kimiko leaned against the railing of the balcony. She lifted her wine glass to take a sip, "I've been having a lot of fun here."

"And dancing too." Toriko joked as he situated himself next to her.

"While the dancing is fun, the heels, not so much," Kimiko gestured to the six inch heels she had sported for the occasion. She didn't think that she was going to be moving around so much in these heels otherwise she would have gone for a more comfortable choice of footwear.

"Yeah, I doubt walking around in those is much fun. Like imagine if I wore that." Kimiko coughed out her wine, the imagery of Toriko in heels while striking a pose brought tears to her eyes.

"I can't mph-hahaha!" Kimiko tried to smother her laugh as her combo partner smirked.

"Aw, c'mon Kimi, imagine it, how would I look?" Toriko egged on as Kimiko continued to try to stop her laughs.

"No-hahaha! Stop it! I can't!" Toriko gave a smile as he ruffled up his partner's hair making the girl swat at his hand in a playful manner.

"You had fun today?" he asked.

"Yes, it's nice to not run for my life when going on a journey with you," she got a shiver up her spine, hopefully she hadn't jinxed it. Aw, who was she fooling, of course she was going to be running for her life. The question was, when. "But you said that we were getting off tomorrow, right? Where are we going?"

"Just a pit stop," Toriko said before patting her head, "Trust me on this Kimi."

"I always trust you," she answered before finishing her wine glass. "So is there a reason why you took us away from Coco-san and Sunny-san?"

"Nothing much," Toriko waved off, making Kimiko raise an eyebrow at him. "I guess I'm just used to having you all to myself."

"Aw, you're jealous," Kimiko teased, making the man blush, "I can't say I really understand it. I mean what do you have to be jealous for? We're all friends, what exactly did they do to make you jealous?"

"Friends," Toriko said before sighing, he walked away from the railing to stand in front of her. His arms were now at Kimiko's sides, encompassing her in his space. Toriko leaned down so that his face was right in front of hers.

"Toriko-san?" Kimiko blushed at the close proximity. He was close, was her heartbeat picking up?

"Hey Kimi, if I told you that I don't think of you as just a friend. What would you say?" Toriko was really close.

"I-I" Kimiko stuttered as she looked up to him. "Do you not think of me as a friend?"

Toriko frowned before reaching his hand out and ruffling her hair.

"It's just a joke," he laughed as he patted her head. "You're more than a friend Kimi, you're my combo partner!"

Kimiko let out a breath as Toriko took a step back. She watched as her combo partner took a breath before looking up to the sky, the moon was full tonight. Toriko turned his gaze back to the chef in front of him.

"If you're not too tired," he bowed and held out his hand, "would you like to dance with me."

Kimiko looked at his outstretched hand and smiled. She took his hand. It wasn't fast paced, this was a slow dance. Perhaps Toriko didn't prefer the fast dances or he didn't want Kimiko to tire herself out. The two of them just moved with the motions of the music that was spilling out of the ballroom. It was calming. Kimiko sighed before laying her head on Toriko's chest as they continued to swing back and forth with the music. Toriko gave a smile as he watched his combo partner lean on him. This was truly a wonderful night to dance.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"This night was amaz-osh!" Tina swayed back and forth, her cheeks flushed from all of the wine that she had consumed. Kimiko smiled as she helped steady her friend and walked with her down the hallway. Toriko, Coco, and Sunny had gone back to their rooms, but Kimiko had noticed that Tina was a bit tipsy so she had told them that she was taking Tina back to her room.

"This was a pretty fun night," Kimiko said as she saw Kruppoh land on her shoulder. The balloon pigeon was currently swaying back and forth from having been up for so long. The chef gave a chuckle as the pigeon tried to chirp only for it to come out as tired garble.

"Great! Oh fun! Ish the bestest vacation ever! Ishn't it!" Tina slurred as she leaned on the chef.

"Yes it is, now we're at your room, Tina. Do you have the key?" Tina waved her clutch wallet around in front of Kimiko's face.

"Ish is there! I know it!" Tina sang. Kimiko smiled as she opened the wallet and took out the hotel keycard. After a bit of maneuvering, she was able to get the door open and haul the reporter into her room.

"Watch your step, and we're just going to lie in bed now," Kimiko said as she guided the drunken woman to lie on bed.

"Oooh comfy!" Tina snuggled into the pillow, her balloon pigeon gave a chirp as they flew over to the other pillow and nested in it. Kimiko smiled at her friend who was currently looking at the bright light coming from the lamp at her bedside.

"I'll make sure to get one of the stewards to get your dress back to you, thanks for letting me borrow it," Kimiko told the reporter.

"Aw, thats shooo shweet!" Tina cooed, "No wonder all those guys are so shweeet with you!"

"I'll put some aspirin and a bucket near your bed, for the next morning too," Kimiko sighed, her friend was clearly inebriated to the point that she was saying nonsense.

"Yoosa the besta Kimiko! Bestest friend ever! I be the maid of honor at your wedding!" Tina sang before passing out.

"Sure, Tina," Kimiko humored her friend. The chef placed her friend's wallet and hotel key on the nightstand. She made sure to silently close and lock the door before leaving. Well, someone's going to have a killer headache when they wake up. With her friend safe and sound in her room, Kimiko went to head towards her and Toriko's room.

When she had gone in, Toriko was already sprawled out on the couch, he had already changed out of his suit, opting for his usual set of casual clothes.

"Hey Toriko-san," she greeted, getting his attention, "Coco-san and Sunny-san aren't here?"

"They'll be here later. They said they had to get something in their room to change their clothes. We've been in that dance hall all night, it's early morning now," Kimiko looked at the clock, he was right, it was almost five o'clock in the morning. Wow, time really flew by didn't it. Well she had to get out of this dress and wash off the makeup. Kimiko grabbed a change of clothes and headed toward the bathroom. She reached behind her back to grab onto the zipper. Uh oh. She couldn't reach it. Kimiko tried to reach for the zipper again. Nope, no luck. She stuck her head out of the bathroom, Toriko was just enjoying a glass of scotch that had come from the minifridge.

"Toriko-san," she said, taking a step out of the bathroom.

"Yeah Kimi," he answered, putting down his glass. Kimiko blushed before turning around and moving her hair out of the way. She pointed to the zipper.

"Could you help me unzip it. I can't reach it," Kimiko said.

"Uh, sure. Let me just," she watched him stumble a little when he got up before walking over to her. She smiled and turned around exposing her back to him.

Ziiiiiiiip

Kimiko held up the dress as she felt it loosen around her.

Click!

"Hey Tori-"

Her head snapped up as she heard the door to the room open. She turned to see Sunny and Coco standing in the doorway, watching Toriko unzip her dress.

"Uh," was all Kimiko managed to say.

"You DISGUSTING PIECE OF FILTH!" Sunny yelled before charging at Toriko tackling the man to the ground.

"Wait, don't fight! This is all a misunderstanding," Kimiko tried to tell Sunny who only proceeded to try to shove Toriko's face into the carpet floor.

"Yeah, I was just undressing her."

"Toriko-san you're not helping." Kimiko retorted. "I needed help with unzipping my dress and he was just helping. Please don't misunderstand, Sunny-san."

"I see," Coco said before shedding off his suit jacket and wrapping it around Kimiko. "Why don't you go change your clothes, while we compose ourselves out here."

"Okay," she said before heading back into the bathroom and quickly changing out of the dress and into the jumpsuit that she wore when journeying with Toriko. She made sure to wipe off the makeup and wash her face to make sure that there wasn't anything left behind. Her hair shall remain wavy until the next time she takes a shower. She double checked if she had missed anything before heading out of the bathroom. All good. She poked her head out of the bathroom, she smiled as she saw that Toriko, Sunny, and Coco were all sitting on the couch all of them drinking a glass of scotch. She let out a breath, looks like they were able to calm down. They all looked to her as she walked out of the bathroom and folded her dress and placed it on one of the tables.

"Everything alright?" she asked. Sunny gave Toriko a glare before being nudged by Coco. The multicolored hair man took a deep breath before setting his glass down.

"Everything's fine," he gritted out through his teeth. Kimiko gave a little laugh, why did she not believe that.

"Sunny and I wanted to ask you something Kimiko-chan." Coco said breaking the tension. "You told me that you were able to get a knife made by the Knife Sharpener Melk. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"Is there any chance we could see it." Coco asked. Kimiko perked up at the request and nodded her head.

"Let me go get it, I packed it away in my backpack," She quickly grabbed her backpack and found the knife that she had so lovingly wrapped up for it to be safe. If the chef had looked behind her, she would have seen the death glare that Sunny was currently giving to Toriko while Coco was pulling him away. The chef picked up her knife and placed it on the table where the two men were sitting. It was wrapped in a white cloth, she gave a smile as she slowly started to unwrap it. Coco and Sunny's eyes widened as they saw the shine of the blade as the cloth was pulled away from it.

"So this is the knife that Melk made es for you," Coco said

"I-It's beautiful," Sunny said, Kimiko could tell that the man was completely entranced with the knife. She stiffened as she felt a shiver down her neck.

"Ah, Sunny-san, don't go close to the knife, the blade is incredibly sharp," she warned.

"I know" Sunny told her, "I just tried to feel it with one of my Touches, but it got cut in half." At that moment his hair tie snapped letting all his hair free from being in a ponytail. "This serious sharpness is also….beautiful." Yup, he was definitely entranced with the knife. She smothered her smile before grabbing something from her bag and walking over to Sunny.

"Do you mind?" She held out a hair band that was in her hand.

"No, go ahead," Sunny managed to say as Kimiko walked behind him and gathered his hair together. Now Kimiko knew that Sunny's hair has the capacity to feel hot and cold, perhaps pain as well. That's why she made sure that she was gentle with handling the man's hair. Now if only Kimiko knew that Sunny's hair was also sensitive to any stimuli that came in contact with it. So her gentle touches practically made the multi colored hair man melt at her handling of his hair.

"All good?" She said as she finished up tying his hair into a bun.

"It's good," the flushed man said.

"Kimiko-chan" Coco said, getting the chef's attention, "you must be really happy that you have such an exquisite knife."

"Yeah." she perked up, "I've been able to slice so many new things. It feels like my cooking has gotten better."

"That's right, you were after the Melk Stardust. How did it taste?" Sunny asked, "You were able to eat it right?"

"That's" Toriko took a sip from his glass of bourbon, "a secret!" the man smiled at Sunny's blank face.

"That's right," Kimiko said, gaining their attention, "the taste of the STardust is a secret between Toriko-san, Melk-san, and me!"

"What?!" Sunny exclaimed, "That's disgusting! It makes me sick!"

"So the taste of the Stardust is a secrest too, huh" Coco said, "You have quite a few secrets…. Toriko." he turned to look at his blue haired brother, "You can tell us, can't you?" Toriko grinned before finishing his drink. "Why did you get on this carriage when it doesn't go to the Gourmet Pyramid? I know you have to go there first before going to the pyramid to get the Mellow Cola."

"Toriko-san," Kimiko spoke up, "Where exactly are we heading?"

"Going there by this carriage's route is taking the long way around." Sunny said. Huh, that was news to Kimiko, why would Toriko choose to go on this carriage? "Why did you get on the carriage?"

"That's because-" before Toriko could finish the carriage speaker turned on.

"We have an announcement to all passengers" the carriage announcer's voice rang through the room. "Please take a look out the front windows on the left hand side. You can see the entrance to Hell. We're going to stop before the Gate to the Underworld."

"What? Already!" Toriko stood up.

"Huh? What's going on?" Kimiko said as she saw Toriko grab his bags.

"Come on Kimi, we need to grab all our stuff!" he said, making her move.

"The only people who can pass through this gate are vicious prisoners who have committed serious crimes" the announcer said. Sounds like there were already people looking at where they had stopped at. "As all prisoners are given life sentences, they never leave the gate."

"That's the Gate to the Underworld?" Kimiko said as she looked out the window. It looked large and ominous, having large spikes coming out the doors sides and around the path that led to the gate. It was like the path to the villains' lair in some kind of storybook.

"The reason this is called the Gate of the Underworld is because beyond it lies the largest Gourmet prison in the world, Honey Prison!" the announcer stated.

"C'mon Kimi, we gotta get off here," Toriko said, grabbing a large white sack.

"Coming," she said as she wrapped up her kitchen knife and placed it back into her backpack and grabbed her suitcase. "We need to get off here?"

"Yeah, there's something I have to do at Gourmet prison." he told her.

"Really?" she said. Who exactly did Toriko know that was in prison?

"We're going to meet Zebra." Toriko said, Kimiko recognized that name.

"He's one of the Gourmet Kings, right?" Kimiko said.

Toriko nodded.

"Come on, we gotta hurry, we need to get off before the carriage needs to move again."

"Yeah, I-I've been meaning to ask. What is Zebra-san like?" She never really heard Toriko, Coco, or Sunny talk about Zebra a lot.

"He's a troublemaker to the nth degree." Toriko said as he slipped on his orange vest, "But he's strong. If we're going to penetrate the Gourmet Pyramid, we'll need Zebra's strength. Although there's no guarantee that he'll agree to help. Coco." he turned to the poison man. "You wanted to know why I'm on board this carriage, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"When I heard you two would be on this carriage, I decided to come along, too...because I have a favor to ask!" Sunny and Coco raised an eyebrow at Toriko's question. "In the name of friendship between fellow Four Kings Gourmet Hunters…" Toriko clapped his hands together and gave a cheery smile, "would you go with me to see Zebra?!"

"No!" Coco and Sunny said immediately.
"That was a fast refusal," Kimiko said in disbelief. Just what kind of person is Zebra?

"We will be departing in five minutes." the announcer said over the intercom, breaking the atmosphere.

"C'mon Kimi, we gotta go," Toriko said, grabbing his stuff.

"Okay," she said, she walked over to Coco and Sunny, "Can you two bend down a little."

"Like this?" they said as they bent down a little.

Chu! Chu!

Coco and Sunny turned red as they realized that Kimiko had just kissed them on the cheek.

"I wish you luck with your training, I'll see if I can message you." Kimiko waved to them as Toriko grabbed her hand and went through the door leaving the two men there dumbstruck.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

STOMP! STOMP!

Kimiko stood on the path with Toriko watching the Gourmet Carriage being pulled in the distance. She looked over at her combo partner who was in a disgruntled mood.

"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS GO WITH ME! YOU COLD BLOODED BASTARDS!" Toriko shouted at the carriage as it was leaving. "Who turns down the chance to see an old comrade after not meeting for years?!"

"Toriko-san, you can't forget. They have to train too, so they're busy as well," she told him . Although she had to admit, it did set her on edge when both Coco and Sunny didn't want to meet up with Zebra. Just what kind of guy is he?

"Hey, don't act like you're all innocent too Kimi. I saw that little peck you gave to Coco and Sunny. What's the deal with that?" Toriko said as he picked up the large white sack off the ground.

"Well that was for good luck," she said, making Toriko stumble.

"Wha?"

"Well you said I'm pretty lucky and Coco-san and Sunny-san were going to go to dangerous places. I wanted to give them some luck before I left." She explained making Toriko blink.

"Oh," he said before straightening himself up, "Well, let's go Kimi." he slung the white sack over his shoulder.

"Uh, I've been meaning to ask Toriko-san," Kimiko trailed behind her partner, "What exactly is in that sack you're carrying."

"It wouldn't be polite to go empty-handed," Toriko said, "So I brought along some souvenirs for Zebra. Although I'm not sure if this is enough."

Aw, that's sweet, Kimiko thought, only to be brought out of her thoughts by Toriko yelling.

"Huh? What's wrong?" she said as she saw Toriko looking around before smiling.

"Hey, Zebra! Can you hear me?!" Toriko shouted, "Your opening remark to our reunion seemed pretty distant!"

"Uh, Toriko-san?" Kimiko blinked as she watched her partner yell at nothing.

Meanwhile, miles away from the two. A scarred man sat in a prison cell all chained up. The man gave a smile.

"Hurry up and get here, Toriko."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Lunamugetsu: So this chapter took a long time to type. Thanks to those who were patient for this chapter. What did you think about this chapter? Who's ready to meet Zebra?!

REVIEW