"S-Stay away, you...you...you stinky devils!!"

There was no way they couldn't be aware of how smelly they were. All the customers had fled the restaurant the moment Komatsu and Toriko stepped inside after being gone on a journey to get the Dodurian Bomb. The world's stinkiest ingredient who went extinct 300 years ago, but Teppei has recklessly revived it. Its wretched odor as once again returned to the world.

The Dodurian Bomb can only be eaten once it's ripe, and its stench is, at its worst, a consequence of it becoming tastier; the fouler its stench, the better it tastes. It can even be smelled hundred of kilometers radius, releasing a devastating gaseous explosion that spreads and is capable of killing vegetation, waking hibernating animals, and killing fish in local seas upon touching the ground. And now that they had returned, the stench was attached to them like a second skin.

"Come on, (y/n)-chan...You can't keep me out of my own kitchen-" Komatsu said, but sweated as you gave him the stink eye that scared the hell out of him.

"Get rid of this awful smell! I can't even breathe!" you yelled.

"Oi, Usagi. Do you still have some of that Cocodile's milk-" Sunny entered the restaurant, only to freeze when he caught the scent of the Dodurian Bomb. "SO GROSS-URG!"

"GYAHH! SUNNY-SAN!" you panicked as the Heavenly King fell backward and lost consciousness on the floor of Hotel Gourmet.

"Are we going to have to live as super-smelly characters from now on?" Toriko sweatdropped.

"Hell no! Off with you! Out! Out!"

You used your hammer to push the two men out of the restaurant before they infected the whole place with the stinky smell. While you were relieved to see them after a long month without hearing news, you had your limits. Returning inside the restaurant, you sighed as you examined the empty chairs and tables. It wasn't their fault for scaring off the customers, but still.

"So Toriko and Komatsu-kun made a stop here, didn't they?" hummed an amused voice behind you. "The smell still lingers"

"Honestly...I'm lucky that you're not bringing me on those kinds of trips, Coco" you replied, smiling as you watched your partner coming up to you.

"Not so fast. You risk to jinx yourself" the Gentleman grinned, before arching an eyebrow at the unconscious and sprawled form of Sunny in the background. "Sunny? I was wondering why the floor seemed so soft to walk on, but now I understand"

"Coco!"

"I was wondering if you would be interested in visiting the Scaled Trees. They say that the ingredients you find inside are fully ripe before the beginning of spring..."

"Since our two friends decided to show up while wearing Beelzebub's perfume and probably scared off the whole hotel, I have nothing to do, so...Yeah, I guess I'm interested" you replied. "But first, help me remove Sunny-san from the restaurant's floor..."

"When I said to remove him from the floor, I didn't think of bringing Sunny-san with us" you sweatdropped as you gazed at the still unconscious form of the Heavenly King sprawled on Kiss.

"If Sunny ever wakes up, we can always find some use of him" Coco stated from behind you, holding your waist close to him. "Ah, seems like we're already here"

The Scaled Trees of the Central Continent was a touristic area targeting mostly those who where fine or like climbing. A forest of giant pillars and rocky structures that were molded by nature 500 years ago. Various types of vegetation found their way to live in this rainy place where it was constantly targeted by small tornadoes on a humid day. One of them being the Scaled Tree.

The average height could be found around 350 ft (107 meters), which was taller than a normal Sequoia where its height can easily reach 300 ft (91 meters). As the name suggests, the bark of those trees is mostly covered by several layers of overlapping plates resembling scales. Various ingredients can be tasted, and the deeper the layer, the better its taste. The same goes for the size of the Scaled Tree. Incredible tastes are found in the tallest trees, but they are however almost unreachable.

Kiss landed next to a cliff that gave a nice view of the region that inhabited the Scaled Trees. You descended from the Emperor Crow with Coco, stretching your limbs and groaning blissfully at the cracking sounds it made.

"So, what do we do? We search for the tallest tree?" you wondered.

"I'm mostly interested for the red and pink scales..." your partner responded with a shrug of his shoulders, before he extended a hand toward you for you to take. "Shall we?"

Kiss took flight and soared between the pillars and rock structures. It didn't take long before you found your first Scaled Tree with red and pink scales. The crow perched itself on one of the huge branches, and you hopped down to find it incredibly soft under your feet. You wobbled your way to the trunk, making sure to not look down since you knew you would immediately faint by the distance separating you from the ground.

You touched the red scales, mildly intrigued by the way they felt under your fingertips: rigid, yet easily pliable. A delicious smell escaped when you pulled on a scale: strawberries for the red scale, and peaches for the pink ones. There was also a hint of rosemary in them, making you drool slightly.

"Using some garlic and chicken, and adding the flavors of the scales to the dish sounds amazing...I should bring back some too" you sighed in content.

You blinked when you felt Coco's hands envelop yours, pulling your body along with him. His lips laid kisses all over your neck, making you giggle and blush. You tried to turn your head to stare at him, smiling and a bit puzzled by his sudden actions:

"Not that I mind, but is there a reason for that?" you wondered softly.

"Can't I show you some love?" Coco mused against your skin. "I did warn you in what you were getting yourself into when you decided to be my lover..."

"But here? In the open?" your breath caught in your throat when the Heavenly King made you step backward until you were pressed against the trunk, sandwiched between the two.

"They say the red scales induce lust for those who pluck them. Do you think it's true?"

"Is that why you wanted specifically a Scaled Tree with them?"

Caging you in his arms, the fortune teller smirked down at your flustered state. You were easily lifted in his arms, prompting to enroll your own around his shoulders and your legs around his waist. Well, as the best as you could because of the man's built. You couldn't help but let out a chuckle when Coco gave you an Eskimo kiss, rubbing his nose with yours.

"Get a room you two" a voice behind the two of you spat, earning an eye-roll from Coco.

"What a perfect time for you to wake up, Sunny" the Gentleman sighed, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he gazed at the colorful man.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have bring me along with you, bast'rd!" the princess yelled in a pissed manner, shaking his fist at the fortune teller.

"Sunny-san, do you want to help us in collecting the scales? I could prepare a delicious meal once we're back at the restaurant..." you suggested, offering an apologetic smile to Coco for the interruption.

"Well, since I'm here..." huffed Sunny, jumping from Kiss's back who looked beyond relieved to have him off.

Since that moment, the day was filled with snarky comments from Sunny's part and back-handed statements on Coco's. The two men didn't give you any rest, but at least you were getting the job done quicker with the help of the other's sensors. At some point you started to climb the Scaled Tree to access the plates who were a bit higher. Not concerning yourself about what the others would think, you began to pluck the pink scales one by one, all of your senses invaded by the peachy and mangoes smell. You bit your lips at the delicious flavors, already drooling just by thinking of the dishes you will make out of them.

"Should I stack or just deposit them?..." you murmured to yourself, gazing down at your Gourmet Case. "I fear their tastes get mixed with each other..."

The foliage of the tree rustled above you suddenly, and you took a second to look up. Something was shuffling through it, but you couldn't see anything. There was a rumble, and you felt your skirt being lifted abruptly. Even though you were wearing shorts under, it still made you shriek in outrage. An unfamiliar chuckle rang in your ears, and you soon found yourself being tossed over an invisible shoulder.

"W-What the-?! COCO!" you began to struggle, hitting the invisible fiend with your fists, swinging your legs too.

Hearing your call, your partner gazed at you, agitated. All he was seeing was you floating in the air, body bent over and kicking. Coco's eyes widened when you started to turn transparent, your shouts resonating all around him until you completely disappeared.

"Sunny!" yelled the fortune teller, turning to the other Heavenly King.

"Already on it!" he replied.

His brows furrowed, he used all of his concentration in his sensors to find you. His hair flickered and sneaked in every corner, until they found an unusual heath below the place the two men where standing on. Sunny followed the trail with Coco behind, running and jumping from branch to branch.

"I managed to corner them...Right there!"

Sunny used his Hair Net to catch your kidnapper, only to freeze in pain when his locks were electrified. This also caused the camouflage of the stranger to turn off, revealing a man wearing a red, spandex suit and a mask similar to a GT Robo. Coco became relieved to see you, but narrowed his eyes at the sight of your hands now bound together and a cloth forcing your mouth shut.

"Seriously...You're starting to become a pain in the ass!" spat the kidnapper, removing his mask to reveal brown hair and scarlet eyes.

"This is-!..." you thought in disbelief, your eyes widening. "This is Lot!"

"Ah. I remember you. Back at the Llyne Station, I caught your electromagnetic waves before they suddenly disappeared..." spoke Coco. "Also the same ones at the Regal Plateau and inside the cave in the Azure Mists . You are Merlot, I presume?"

"Woah, an Heavenly King remembering my name. What an honor!" Merlot drawled, shifting his arm around your waist to bounce you over his shoulder, readjusting his hold. "Unfortunately, I'm not here to fight any of you. I came here only for the cutie. Tired of my lonely nights, you see?"

"No, I don't. Nor do I want to" Coco scowled, his whole body already engulfed in a fatal poison. "If you release her now, maybe I will consider letting you live once I'm done with you..."

"So scary..."

Merlot suddenly smirked, and put you down back on your feet. You flinched when you felt his tongue licking up and down your left cheek, an expression of pure distaste settling on Sunny's face while Coco looked beyond pissed.

"Hm...Not claimed yet" Merlot shuddered, his hands wandering to your hips. "Oi, Coco of the Heavenly Kings. I thought she was your woman?"

"I wouldn't put it that way to describe her as an object, but yes. She's mine" the fortune teller growled dangerously, his Appetite Demon appearing behind him.

"O-Oi, Coco! Watch out with the demon of yours!" Sunny took a few steps back. "I don't have the same antibodies that you have!"

"There's no need for you to pull out all of your artillery. I told you that I came here for the chef cutie. You see, that suit of mine acts as a camouflage using the best fabric in the Gourmet World for it: King Chameleon's skin. A beast who can easily erase its existence and fool the perception of its predators: taste, sight, smell, and sound. Of course, the only disadvantage is the touch" told Merlot. "Anyway, gotta go!"

Your muffled scream echoed as Merlot turned on the camouflage once again, but Sunny's sensors were much faster. They enrolled around your frame, and pulled you back against the Heavenly King. Immediately, Coco charged at his opponent in his poison armor, also creating a sword made of it. The brown haired male cursed under his breath, dodging aside as Coco sliced down the branch he was once standing on.

"Honestly, Usagi...You always get in trouble" Sunny shook his head, taking off the cloth that was enrolled around your head.

"It's not my fault!" you whined. "Trouble always finds me first!"

You sweatdropped as you watched your partner wrecking havoc in the forest while pursuing a playful Merlot, too blinded by rage to be careful about his surroundings. Sunny crossed his arms in front of chest, dropping down with a sigh:

"You sure have an effect on him, Usagi. Never did I ever see poison guy loosing his cool that quickly"

"I don't know if it's a bad or a good thing..." you murmured.

"Not for that bastard over there, that's for sure" the elegant man scoffed.

The fight had ended in a draw, with both parties totally worn out, even though Coco was up to another round when the Bishokukai stirred up the man further by doing lewd gestures in your direction. Even Sunny had enough of this guy, suggesting to hang the bastard somewhere where nobody could find his body. At least you were able to save the scales in your Gourmet Case before that sudden turn of events.

Sunny was pleased with the meal you prepared when you returned to the restaurant, accepting this 'gift' as an apology for bringing him with you without his consent (not that it seemed to mind in the first place).

You smiled as you overheard Coco grumbling under his breath, still mad and restless about what happened. Muttering things that turned around 'I should have seen the shadow of death over that bastard' to 'How can that idiot be that disrespectful to you?'.

"Coco, do you want the red or the pink scales over your Stir-Fry?....Coco?"

You turned off the stove when you didn't hear your partner's response. Blinking in confusion, you walked inside your living room to see Dino sleeping soundly on the couch, with no sign of Coco. That's, until you felt a tap on your shoulder and you let out a scream of surprise.

"Red scales sound delightful" the fortune teller grinned down at you.

"Don't scare me like that!" you cried out. "Why didn't you answer me the first time?!"

"Oh, I found that family picture and it got me mildly intrigued..." he trailed, showing a photograph of your whole family lined up in front of your childhood home. "I didn't know you were from a big family..."

"Even I have this feeling...It's been so long since the last time I saw them" you took the picture, gazing down softly at this object that brought so much memories. "I have seven siblings: five brothers and two sisters. That one over there is my twin brother"

Coco gazed at where you were pointing, seeing a young boy standing next to you in the picture. While your hairstyles and bodies were slightly different, he couldn't deny the resemblance in your faces. Same head shape and (e/c) eyes.

"I am the seventh child in the family, my twin being the youngest among us. I don't remember the last time I spoke to him, or anyone else in that matter. They were against the idea of me becoming a chef..." your smile turned sad.

"Why's that?" Coco inquired.

"We always had a close bound, so much that we couldn't live without another. The worsts were my twin and my older brother. Those two were constantly on me, always protecting me from whatever dangers their minds could fathom. Becoming a chef meant that I have to leave the small village we were born in...Living my life far away from them. To be a chef...This was my dream, you understand?"

"Of course I do" your lover nodded, taking your hand. "And you did a good choice"

"Sometime I question myself if I really did, but then I remember how lucky I was to meet Komatsu...Along with you all...And also you, Coco" you tilted your head to the side cutely, grinning at the man.

"Now, now..." the fortune teller mused, bringing your face closer to his. "Why don't we eat dinner before it gets cold?"

"You're the one who is sidetracking us..." you chuckled as Coco kissed you.

"You're just too kissable~"