(( No excuse other than life hitting me like a freight train. Anyway have the next serving for this story.)

Fawn's POV

The trip back to the Biotope was uneventful, my mind was swimming with trying to find the reason why I couldn't experience most of the foods of this world in the same way that my new friends did. Was it because I was so far removed from their time or dimension? Or maybe I was doomed to be that way like Starjjn or Starjun or...however you say his name. It was a downer for sure, then again these had all been common items that I had eaten. Except for that Crococola meat and the Amber Antlers seasoning mixture, THAT was extraordinary. If you've ever had crocodile meat, imagine it sweeter like a honey-glazed ham but still rich in flavor and with the Amber Antlers spice...it was like someone suddenly added a boost to that all over. It was the first time that I had felt what the others did, it was like a wave of cool air flowing through my body. Inside and out, it was amazing and I was looking forward to finding out what else could surprise me. However...at that moment I was more concerned with other things.

As much as I liked the company, I wasn't too willing to talk on the way back. Coco seemed to understand that he couldn't help me with this mental state of mine and remained silent as well, as for Kiss and Rex...Kiss kept letting out soft caws of worry while occasionally glancing back at where I was sitting on his back. Rex just clung to me a bit tighter while letting out concerned noises for me. I used a free arm to hold the baby Troll Kong closer to me, I welcomed his gentle sounds and appreciated the child gorilla's attempts to comfort me but I just wasn't up to doing much. When we landed in the hangar bay, I thanked Coco for the adventure quietly and picked up Rex before heading back to where my room had been. I knew there was living quarters somewhere but I hadn't been moved from the medical bay since coming to the biotope, so it was normal for me to head that way.

"SCREEEEE-EEE!" That short call snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked up to see a certain violet Devil Python sitting beside my door, his long tail thumping on the floor loudly in excitement while shattering the marble tile into pebbles.

"Gemini!" I couldn't help but smile at seeing one of my other pets waiting for me to come home, moving quickly over to where the reptile was sitting and placing my hand upon his snout. "Hey, boy! Were you waiting this whole time?"

A soft rumble alerted me to the Devil Python's version of a purr, he was certainly happy to see me. What a good snake, staying put and not causing trouble (I hoped). Sure, the species were dangerous but it seemed my taming had forged a permanent bond between me and the two Devil Pythons here at the Biotope. Gemini was dark violet while Pisces was deep navy blue, both males and both just as gentle around me. If anyone else tried to approach them I wasn't sure how the twins would react.

"You're amassing quite the collection of pets, Fawn." Mansome's voice made me turn around to watch the alcoholic approaching me with another bottle of whiskey in his hand, I moved away from the annoying stench he carried with him today. "A Troll Kong, two Devil Pythons, and from what I hear...a herd of Geodeer. All as obedient as house hold dogs in your presence."

"Wow Mansome..." I waved a hand in front of my face to try and dispel the scent of his drink. "You've been...indulging."

"HA! How can I not?!" He leaned forward after laughing and I moved back again to avoid his breath. "Ever since you came here, things have been getting better and better! The Devil Pythons are calm as kittens around their handlers, we found a Grand Berry right here in the Biotope, AND word is that Zebra's been quiet since you left!"

"Zebra?" I blinked, I don't recall talking to him much after that moment when I first got here. I knew when he was listening, but I didn't have a reason to speak with him. "I don't know why he'd do that...but thanks for telling me."

"Anyway," He looked up at the Devil Python beside me. "Getting back to business, with all the creatures you've been taming already...you are going to need a place to keep them, and a place to live yes?"

"...Yeah." I watched him as my hand remained on Gemini's snout, the reptile content to just be there. "It's not like I can go home...if I could even call it that."

"Well then, come with me..." He started heading off down the hall, motioning with his hand for me to follow. "The Director has something for you...but we'll need to take Ricky to get to it first. Don't worry about your snake, Rin will take care of him and meet us there."

"Um...okay." I had no idea what was going on but it was fine, best just to roll with it and see where it goes. "Gemini, stay."

The Devil Python let out a canine like whine of disappointment but he let me leave so I could follow Mansome out to wherever Ricky was waiting...

"Oh one more thing," Mansome waited for me to catch up before speaking again. "I know you need your daily dose of cola but...have you put any thought into what kind of ingredient or kitchen house you would like?"

"Huh?" I was highly confused by what he meant by that, I was aware that chefs had the final preparation areas and their major kitchen was hidden away somewhere and Toriko liked having a sweets house (which honestly sounded really cool) but I wasn't aware that it was literally a choice in architecture. "Well...I guess that as long as it keeps people from dropping in unexpectedly, that would be the best. What would you recommend?"

"Hrmm..." He put a hand to his chin as he thought it over a bit before speaking. "Well...since everything other than meats haven't had much of an effect on your Gourmet Cells, perhaps something that would help you best prepare meat of all kinds while also being able to keep your cola constantly cold and flowing. So...a roast house, or at least that for your kitchen."

I blinked then thought it over. I had completely forgotten that every person with Gourmet Cells has a certain kind of food that worked better than any other to get a response out of their cells. For Coco it was foods with a high nutrition content, Mansom preferred alcoholic items, and Toriko's cells best responded to anything with high flavor or extreme rarity. I must've been a more difficult one to please; meats that were packed full of flavor and hard to find. Great...I was gonna have to learn how to cook all new meals, maybe I could ask Komatsu for recommended cookbooks or lessons.

"Anything in particular you want us to stock it with?" Mansome's next question was one I expected, seemed that IGO hadn't actually built the house yet but had chosen a location.

It took me several minutes to think about the ingredients that I wanted to try while also sorting out most of what wouldn't help out my Gourmet Cells, I still had a lot of catching up to do compared to the boys. "Well...Baatton Candy, a Fruit Parlor Tree, a Tropinut Tree, and Serloin Potatos. I figure a lot of hunts will be for meat or fish ingredients so I'd best balance it out right?"

"A new pet and some plants, got it." Mansome laughed at my choices but he seemed to agree with it over all. "Glad to see someone's thinking through all this!"

The trip was uneventful save for Mansome picking my brain on the style of house I wanted, even offering to have "a sweets cabin made for me at a seperate location from the main house. I wasn't gonna argue, cause that was cool just as long as my Devil pythons remained there to guard it so it wouldn't get eaten by other animals or Toriko if he ever happened to find it. What? The very idea was awesome and I wasn't gonna have it vanish in a matter of hours. As for the main house, I figured a one story with a kitchen in the basement would be enough for me and when Rex got bigger we could have him get his own enclosure or...send him back to Biotope 8 depending on his behavior. I'd have my Geodeer does to transport me for now, the Devil Pythons were too risky to take to populated places and I didn't have a flying beast yet.

"Take a look missy!" Mansome's booming voice snapped me out of my daze from watching the world pass by below. "We're entering the crater now!"

I had to lean to the side heavily to see past him so I could get a veiw of what I was supposed to be looking at. It was a miles wide huge crater, or what used to be a crater. Now it was a circular valley enclosed by jagged, rocky cliffs with a large hill in the center. Nothing could enter or escape that valley if it fell in from the cliffs and if it survived the fall. I could see a large lake in the center, out of which the hill was rising out of, the hill was probably the meteor that fell long ago but centuries had left it covered in dirt and now it was just a hill. There was a great forest to the west, rivers in the north plus some wetlands, the south and central area had plains rippling with long grasses, and the east had rocky terrain like a bunch of peices from the mountians had fallen and collected there. It was like a much less active version of Biotope 1 and as we decended I could see construction crew working at the base of the cliffs as they worked on making an entrance for those without flying mounts.

"What do you think?" Mansome was grinning, I could hear it in his voice. "That enough room for all your pets?"

"Wait, you mean all this is for me?" I stared at him like he was crazy, this seemed a bit extreme.

"The director figured that if you're gonna be taming high level beasts you're gonna need space to keep them in and the IGO get the chance to study them safely!" Mansome ignored my stare as Ricky let out a meow while circling down to the center of the crater. "We weren't using this space so...everyone wins! We were calling it Biotope Unknown while it was unused...hope you can come up with a better name for it."

"Wow..." I breathed out as the flying beast touched down upon the hillside, where a rather large multi-roomed tent had been set up like a temporary house. "Remind me to thank the director personally, sometime."

"None need, my dear." That deep voice came from the tent as I was dismounting the feline, turning around I spotted the old retired hunter, Ichiryu by his vibrant attire as he was exiting the tent and set his hands on his hips as he observed me. "I'm happy to help out Coco's partner, from what I've heard you've proven yourself indespensable."

"Ichiryu!" Mansome hopped down from Ricky and waved at his friend while I stared at my feet. "Good to see you! I didn't know you were coming out here!"

"I figured that I'd best see the new "Heavenly Queen" for myself." The IGO president told the other high ranking fighter as they clasped hands in greeting. "She's made quite the impression all over."

While they were talking about everything that I had done up to this point (recap for those who missed whatever episodes previous to this I guess if this world still followed anime logic) I was silent. I felt like the mouse in the lion's den, standing before me were two people WAY more experienced than I was and even more so than even the Heavenly Kings. However...I also knew Ichiryu's fate in the future, and I knew I couldn't change it. This man knew everything that had happened before and what was going to happen, I wondered if he knew about me...the truth.

"Now Mansome," A gentle but large hand was set on my shoulder as Ichriyu stood beside me now. "Why don't you let me spend time with the young "princess" while you go tell the workers what her castle's going to need?"

"Alright, Alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Mansome put up his hands as he backed away and hopped back up on Ricky. "I'll see you both some other time then. Don't be too hard on her director...she only got her Gourmet Cells a few weeks ago. And Fawn...welcome home."

As Ricky took off I set Rex down on the ground beside me, the little gorilla watching the IGO director curiously as all three of us headed inside the large house-like tent. The interrior was just like a humble home with a portable stove off to the side and wooden tables and chairs in the center with a single rose in a vace at the center, but judging from how the whole room smelled like cinnamon I was willing to bet that that was no normal rose. Rex hopped into a chair obediantly and I followed suit, knowing that the director wanted to privately talk to me. I sat there with my hands in my lap, worries running through my head until a large cup was placed in front of me.

"Here, you've had a long day." The old man gave me a gentle smile as he held out the large cup of tea for me to take, only sitting down once I accepted it.

"Thank you." I accepted the drink and took a small sip after blowing on it gently, it was simple mint tea with a cocoa aftertaste.

After my period of silence Ichriyu broke the ice by asking his first question. "...You've done well hiding the truth, Fawn."

I stiffened, figured that he would know. The guy could identify good or bad just by being near them. "...No one would believe me if I told them, sir. I figured it was best to remain silent on my true origins."

"A wise choice," He nodded his approval of my choice to keep my story hidden from those around me. "I don't know why someone kept you for all this time only to drop you in the middle of this age, but I do know that you are aware of things that many others are not. Care to explain to me how you know these things?"

"...There was a series of books, about events in this time, this world." It wouldn't do me any good to hide things now, might as well spill it all out. "Mostly it followed Toriko and Komatsu but sometimes it would follow others and show what their storylines had in store. I read it up to when I was removed from my home and brought here, I am aware of future events but not all of them. And my own inclusion may cause things to change...but I do not think it will cause any major changes."

"So...all this was predicted before?" He seemed slightly suprised but mostly curious about this. "The Gourmet Corp. Toriko's injury in Ice Hell. Even the little wall penguin?"

"Yes, and much more." I nodded my head to him as I knew so much more that was to come. "...some things I don't like remembering very much."

"Alright...then tell me something that only I know." Ichriyu leaned back in his chair while watching me to see my response.

"Your main course is the Billion Bird," My response was immediate, this was the event that made me smile in one of the later arcs when the rest of that whole mess made me concerned for the main cast's saftey. "because that one ingredient can feed everyone in the human world for an indefinite amount of time and because the ingredient itself is under appeciated. Amazing how one little bird can prove to be so incredible, right?"

The director looked alarmed, he had never told anyone what his main course was and yet I knew not only what it was but why it had been chosen. Slowly, a wide grin appeared on the old man's face and he let out a booming laugh before leaning forward to set a hand on my shoulder once again. "Correct answer, my girl! Well done! I'm sure that welth of knowlege will be plenty useful in the future!"

I turned pink at the praise, really feeling that I didn't deserve it but I appreciated it anyway.

"You've done so much, yet you're so fragile..." He sat back as he looked me over, letting out a thoughtful hum. "Coco is going to have to take you on more hunts with him. I hear Zebra's been wanting to meet you as well. Toriko will probably seek you out on his own after he heals...my dear you have caught all of their curiousity. No wonder the common folk are starting to call you "the Heavenly Queen" despite you only showing up in public twice. You leave quite the impression."

He was quiet for a minute before looking directly at me with a serious expression, "...Have you met your demon yet?"