More Toriko Stuff
And this time, it's Coco/Komatsu. In the off chance that a fan of the pairing might want something to read. :P
It was almost sundown at Ocha Valley, a location famously known for not only its prized ingredients, but for an amazing panoramic view at its mountain peaks. But the valley was also well known for its giant animals that served as a barrier to keep most people away from its borders.
There were only two people brave enough to pass through the valley that day: Coco, a gourmet hunter turned fortune teller, and Komatsu, a chef.
“Wow, Coco-san, look at this!” Komatsu had stopped on the mountainside to appreciate the scenery around them. The sky became a canvas of lively harvest colors layered across the horizon. The neighboring mountains were darkening into misty silhouettes, providing a stark contrast to the colorful sunset.
Komatsu turned to Coco, bubbling over with enthusiasm. “Isn’t this a beautiful view?”
Coco replied with a nod, smiling back with affection. Komatsu’s energy was infectious and his company provided a refreshing sense of cheer to an otherwise hazardous profession.
They soon reached a path clear of trees on the mountain slope and found what they were looking for: rows of bushes packed with Matcha Nuts. These fist-sized nuts were pleasing to the eye, and had shiny shells with a pretty viridian color. But the real prize was what lay beneath the shells - a high-quality, naturally made matcha powder.
“Uwahh, they’re so pretty!” Komatsu cried. With all these Matcha Nuts ripe for the picking, he felt like a proverbial kid in a candy store. He plucked one right off its stem and put it in a large Gourmet Case. “Oh, I see even more over there!” he said, and trotted over to another bush a few meters away.
“Don’t stray too far, Komatsu-kun,” called Coco.
“I won’t!” Komatsu replied and went back to picking. “Oooh, the excitement here is mega-mega! I can’t wait to get these back to Hotel Gourmet!” Already he had ideas of using the powder to flavor confectionaries, cakes and soba noodles to give a new spin to their existing menu.
Then something caught Komatsu’s eye. It was a patch of shrubs that were full of the juiciest-looking blackberries he’d ever seen. “Coco-san, I found some wild blackberries!” he called, and immediately ran over to investigate.
Coco looked over in Komatsu’s direction, and his eyes widened in alarm. “Komatsu-kun, stop!” he cried. “Don’t touch those berries!”
“Huh?” Komatsu immediately stopped in his tracks just in time to see the blackberry bushes rise from the surface to reveal a tank-sized boar with meter-long tusks. In a flash, its head snapped toward Komatsu with wide, drooling jaws.
It all happened so fast -- Komatsu didn’t even have time to scream.
“Poison Dressing!”
A thimbleful of poisonous liquid slapped against the boar’s eyeball. With a high-pitched squeal, it hesitated before it finally dropped to the ground, immobilized.
Komatsu looked on with wide eyes and legs that felt like jelly. He stared at the boar senselessly and was startled when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. Komatsu turned and saw it was Coco.
“Coco-san…”
“Don’t move. Stay close to me.”
“What… what is…”
The sound of rustling vegetation interrupted any questions that Komatsu would have asked, and a cold sweat broke over his forehead when he saw a few pairs of glowing eyes in the darkness ahead.
“They’re Blackberry Boars,” Coco explained. “They grow blackberry bushes on their backs and use those as bait. They also tend to travel in packs.”
“Just my luck,” said Komatsu, laughing nervously through frightened tears.
Coco looked down silently. After a moment’s hesitation, he put both arms around Komatsu’s small, trembling body.
“Don’t be frightened,” said Coco. “You’ll be fine.”
Komatsu looked up with a hopeful glance. “You mean you don’t see a grim demise in my immediate future?”
Coco smiled. “No.”
Komatsu gave a great sigh of relief.
“Of course there is always a small chance that my predictions could be wrong…”
“Augh…” Komatsu’s face fell back into a frown so hilariously that Coco had to laugh.
The other Blackberry Boars had moved out into the open and began to get more agitated with each passing second. Finally, one charged right at Coco and Komatsu at full speed.
“It’s coming right for us!” Komatsu screamed and clung to Coco with all his might. If Coco wanted him to stay close, this was as close as it was going to get.
“Don’t worry, Komatsu-kun,” said Coco. His voice was determined and confident. “No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
The boar at full charge suddenly stopped to a halt in front of the two adventurers, eyes wide. Its attention was directed at Coco, who stared back at it intensely. It seemed the boar had finally picked up on the threat of Coco’s poisonous body. The boar’s snout was so close to them that Komatsu could feel its hot breath upon his back.
After what seemed like eternity, the boar turned tail and took off with the rest of them.
When the boars were out of sight, Coco looked down and saw that his companion was a shivering ball of nerves. He frowned in concern, finding he had a strong desire to comfort him. Comfort him? Then Coco realized that his arms were still around Komatsu’s back and panicked, his hands shooting up as if he’d been burned.
“Ko… Komatsu-kun, I’m sorry!” said Coco. “I didn’t mean to hold you like that, I… I didn’t want that boar to go after you instead of me…”
“It’s okay…” Komatsu’s voice was weak and tremulous. He still clung tightly to Coco as if he’d fall into an unending abyss if he let go.
“Komatsu-kun?” Coco gently pried Komatsu’s arms away and kneeled down so that their faces were only inches away. It was nightfall by now and in the moonlight Komatsu could see that Coco’s expression was kind and full of compassion.
“It’s all right,” said Coco. “You’re safe now.”
Komatsu’s bottom lip began to tremble and he buried his face into Coco’s chest with a strangled sob of relief. “Sorry, Coco-san… Just give me a chance t-to… calm down a little…”
“…All right.”
After a moment of silence, Komatsu felt Coco’s fingers move to rest on the back collar of his shirt for a gentle embrace. He let his eyes fall shut, and finally relaxed. The Matcha Nuts hung in a case over his shoulder, long forgotten. If anything, he knew in the future if he came to think about the Ocha Valley, those nuts wouldn’t even be the best part of his memory.
Komatsu decided to linger in that best part with Coco, under the peaceful moonlit sky.
It was almost sundown at Ocha Valley, a location famously known for not only its prized ingredients, but for an amazing panoramic view at its mountain peaks. But the valley was also well known for its giant animals that served as a barrier to keep most people away from its borders.
There were only two people brave enough to pass through the valley that day: Coco, a gourmet hunter turned fortune teller, and Komatsu, a chef.
“Wow, Coco-san, look at this!” Komatsu had stopped on the mountainside to appreciate the scenery around them. The sky became a canvas of lively harvest colors layered across the horizon. The neighboring mountains were darkening into misty silhouettes, providing a stark contrast to the colorful sunset.
Komatsu turned to Coco, bubbling over with enthusiasm. “Isn’t this a beautiful view?”
Coco replied with a nod, smiling back with affection. Komatsu’s energy was infectious and his company provided a refreshing sense of cheer to an otherwise hazardous profession.
They soon reached a path clear of trees on the mountain slope and found what they were looking for: rows of bushes packed with Matcha Nuts. These fist-sized nuts were pleasing to the eye, and had shiny shells with a pretty viridian color. But the real prize was what lay beneath the shells - a high-quality, naturally made matcha powder.
“Uwahh, they’re so pretty!” Komatsu cried. With all these Matcha Nuts ripe for the picking, he felt like a proverbial kid in a candy store. He plucked one right off its stem and put it in a large Gourmet Case. “Oh, I see even more over there!” he said, and trotted over to another bush a few meters away.
“Don’t stray too far, Komatsu-kun,” called Coco.
“I won’t!” Komatsu replied and went back to picking. “Oooh, the excitement here is mega-mega! I can’t wait to get these back to Hotel Gourmet!” Already he had ideas of using the powder to flavor confectionaries, cakes and soba noodles to give a new spin to their existing menu.
Then something caught Komatsu’s eye. It was a patch of shrubs that were full of the juiciest-looking blackberries he’d ever seen. “Coco-san, I found some wild blackberries!” he called, and immediately ran over to investigate.
Coco looked over in Komatsu’s direction, and his eyes widened in alarm. “Komatsu-kun, stop!” he cried. “Don’t touch those berries!”
“Huh?” Komatsu immediately stopped in his tracks just in time to see the blackberry bushes rise from the surface to reveal a tank-sized boar with meter-long tusks. In a flash, its head snapped toward Komatsu with wide, drooling jaws.
It all happened so fast -- Komatsu didn’t even have time to scream.
“Poison Dressing!”
A thimbleful of poisonous liquid slapped against the boar’s eyeball. With a high-pitched squeal, it hesitated before it finally dropped to the ground, immobilized.
Komatsu looked on with wide eyes and legs that felt like jelly. He stared at the boar senselessly and was startled when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. Komatsu turned and saw it was Coco.
“Coco-san…”
“Don’t move. Stay close to me.”
“What… what is…”
The sound of rustling vegetation interrupted any questions that Komatsu would have asked, and a cold sweat broke over his forehead when he saw a few pairs of glowing eyes in the darkness ahead.
“They’re Blackberry Boars,” Coco explained. “They grow blackberry bushes on their backs and use those as bait. They also tend to travel in packs.”
“Just my luck,” said Komatsu, laughing nervously through frightened tears.
Coco looked down silently. After a moment’s hesitation, he put both arms around Komatsu’s small, trembling body.
“Don’t be frightened,” said Coco. “You’ll be fine.”
Komatsu looked up with a hopeful glance. “You mean you don’t see a grim demise in my immediate future?”
Coco smiled. “No.”
Komatsu gave a great sigh of relief.
“Of course there is always a small chance that my predictions could be wrong…”
“Augh…” Komatsu’s face fell back into a frown so hilariously that Coco had to laugh.
The other Blackberry Boars had moved out into the open and began to get more agitated with each passing second. Finally, one charged right at Coco and Komatsu at full speed.
“It’s coming right for us!” Komatsu screamed and clung to Coco with all his might. If Coco wanted him to stay close, this was as close as it was going to get.
“Don’t worry, Komatsu-kun,” said Coco. His voice was determined and confident. “No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
The boar at full charge suddenly stopped to a halt in front of the two adventurers, eyes wide. Its attention was directed at Coco, who stared back at it intensely. It seemed the boar had finally picked up on the threat of Coco’s poisonous body. The boar’s snout was so close to them that Komatsu could feel its hot breath upon his back.
After what seemed like eternity, the boar turned tail and took off with the rest of them.
When the boars were out of sight, Coco looked down and saw that his companion was a shivering ball of nerves. He frowned in concern, finding he had a strong desire to comfort him. Comfort him? Then Coco realized that his arms were still around Komatsu’s back and panicked, his hands shooting up as if he’d been burned.
“Ko… Komatsu-kun, I’m sorry!” said Coco. “I didn’t mean to hold you like that, I… I didn’t want that boar to go after you instead of me…”
“It’s okay…” Komatsu’s voice was weak and tremulous. He still clung tightly to Coco as if he’d fall into an unending abyss if he let go.
“Komatsu-kun?” Coco gently pried Komatsu’s arms away and kneeled down so that their faces were only inches away. It was nightfall by now and in the moonlight Komatsu could see that Coco’s expression was kind and full of compassion.
“It’s all right,” said Coco. “You’re safe now.”
Komatsu’s bottom lip began to tremble and he buried his face into Coco’s chest with a strangled sob of relief. “Sorry, Coco-san… Just give me a chance t-to… calm down a little…”
“…All right.”
After a moment of silence, Komatsu felt Coco’s fingers move to rest on the back collar of his shirt for a gentle embrace. He let his eyes fall shut, and finally relaxed. The Matcha Nuts hung in a case over his shoulder, long forgotten. If anything, he knew in the future if he came to think about the Ocha Valley, those nuts wouldn’t even be the best part of his memory.
Komatsu decided to linger in that best part with Coco, under the peaceful moonlit sky.