Such a cozy place that was darkness. Low murmurs echoed all around you, unintelligible to your comprehension. You felt warm, draped under layers and layers of blankets. The sound of a door opening and closing, feet padding quietly until they stopped right next to you.

"(y/n)..."

You could recognize this voice from anywhere as an equally warm hand place itself over your forehead, brushing away the strands of hair that fell there messily. You slowly blinked your eyes open, gazing to your left to see the face of your lover hovering your form. A look of relief washed over him, letting a small grin appear on his lips:

"How do you feel?" Coco spoke quietly.

"There's...a numb feeling in my stomach..." you replied. "What happened?..."

"You were wounded by the Anglerus after you stupidly ran up to help him" he frowned down at you. "You passed out from the pain and they needed to put a stop to the festival for some time"

"Oh...I'm so sorry..." you sniffed, gazing down sadly at your laps. "I...I wanted to help it"

"You could have died! Again, you're being too reckless" the Heavenly King exclaimed in slight anger.

However, he calmed himself down when he saw you flinch, eyes becoming watery. His arms embraced you carefully in a tender manner, bringing his chin on top of your head's crown. You hugged him tightly, nose burrowing into his chest.

"I can't lose you. You're among the people who mean the whole world for me" Coco murmured in your hair, rubbing your back as a few tears cascaded down your cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Coco...I promise from now on I will be more careful"

There was a knock at the door, and Coco pushed himself away from you to see your friends coming into the infirmary. Seeing that you were wide awake, they looked beyond relieved. Komatsu ran to your side, pulling you into a tight hug that left you breathless, following by the nagging of both Sunny and Zebra from acting like a pure idiot. If it wasn't of the latter using a Sound Armor, your wounds would be much more serious. You were able to escape with just a few scraps and a bandage around your stomach after your injury was disinfected.

But the bitter part of all of this is that you were disqualified of the festival, the judges who didn't want to put your life in danger in case your wounds worsened.

"It's fine..." you sighed after you learned the news. "What about the Anglerus? How is it doing?"

"Caring about that beast after everything that happened? You're just too kind with that graceless animal" huffed Sunny.

"IGO will examine it to determine why the esca took so long to fall before it'll be released in the wild" said Coco. "They don't really see the use of a defective obstacle in the festival, after all"

"So blunt with your words" you all thought at the same time, sweatdropping at the fortune teller.

"The visits were limited, so your family couldn't make it even if your older brother tried to fight them off" Komatsu said, his expression mirroring your exasperated one. "But once the festival is over, they will come visit you"

"What about you? Were you able to pass to the next round?" you inquired, and you couldn't help the squeal when your friend nodded with a small blush as you hugged him. "I'm so proud of you, Komatsu-kun! Show them who's the boss!"

"I-I will do my best, (y/n)-chan"

The next round would put the chefs in a situation where they will have to choose their partner for the event. They had to select an island of their choice, and cook the whole thing with the ingredients provided on it. Since the area was blessed with a perfect climate, the vegetation was growing back. There was no need to worry about the environment.

You could watch the whole thing on a TV screen inside the infirmary. You felt a bit jealous of seeing Coco and Tylan, the Poison Cooking Specialist, working together, but you couldn't deny they shared a certain chemistry with poison. Komatsu made it to the finals, and he would face Zaus in the first match: Darkness Cooking. They won't be able to see anything, so they'll have to rely on sense of smell, intuition and experience as they cook.

Your heart began to beat faster as Komatsu and Zaus headed inside the purple tent where the match will unfold. Cameras inside used night vision to allow the audience to see what was going on. Not that it really helped in the first place, as the screen became a bit blurry all of sudden. You felt uneasy, thinking there was something wrong as something blue flashed, the sound of crackling fire filling your ears. The building began to rumble violently, the bed you were laying in shaking under you. The scene changed to show the outside, and you watched in horror as the purple tent was engulfed in a blue fire. The sky turned dark, beasts and GT Robos invading the arena while people screamed. The chefs were attacked by members of the Gourmet Corp.

You left the bed and ran to the door, only to freeze when the knob began to jiggle. The person behind wasted no time to tear the door down from its hinges, a GT Robo with white fur passing its huge head inside the doorway.

"Come with me, doll. If you don't put a fight, it will be easier for the both of us-"

"As if!" you spat, taking a step back.

However, your resolve quickly dissipated when the robot advanced forward. You shrieked when it lifted you on its shoulder, your hands hitting its back. The GT Robo broke through the walls, not caring about the staff that were trying to stop it. Your struggle was in vain as it led you outside, stepping in the chaos that was the fight between Gourmet Corp. and the chefs. Those who couldn't fight were tied up and sent into some kind of cage monster, while the others did their best to defend themselves. If only it could be your case.

You trashed in its hold, elbowing the sides of the robot. It was leading you straight to the cages.

"LET ME GO!" you yelled, punching the back of its head.

"So annoying" growled the robotic voice, stopping your leg from kicking it.

It was distracted enough to not see the fast figure running up to it, and landing a hard kick in its stomach that sent jolts of shock through its body. A yelp left your lips, but instead of hitting the hard concrete like you first thought, you were caught in the arms of a familiar face:

"B-Brunch-san!" you exclaimed happily, lips pulling into a smile.

"You and that kid are troublesome, but less than those bastards who decided to show up" the tengu grunted, glaring darkly at the Gourmet Corp.

"Komatsu is safe?! What a relief!" you sighed as he put you down back on your feet. "Do you know where he is?"

"Last time I checked, he was hiding somewhere...around there" the chef pointed behind him. "The Kings are fighting the big heads, so you should find a way out"

"Y-Yeah..." you sweated, eyeing the arena that soon turned into a battlefield.

You deeply hoped that your family could make it out as you ran across the field of the building. You were able to avoid most of the enemies that invaded the place, but you didn't want to leave until you were sure that Komatsu was safe and sound. You called his name numerous times, careful to not be spotted by unwanted guests. A shadow fell over you, and you slowly lifted your head to gaze at the sky to see something flying toward you. Correction: something falling toward you. A yelp was all that came out of your mouth when Yun landed on top of you with Komatsu riding the Wall Penguin's back.

"(y/n)!!!" exclaimed the small chef, descending from his pet. "Are you okay?!"

"T-Totally fine..." you grunted, Yun removing himself from on top of you. "I didn't know he could fly..."

"Yun! Yun!" cried the Wall Penguin, flapping his flippers.

There was a loud explosion, and you saw the beaten body of Coco flying just a few feet away from where you were standing. His shirt was no longer on, his skin glowing a purple lilac color from head to toes. Your partner gazed in your direction, his eyes widening slightly:

"(y/n)! Komatsu-kun!" Coco panted, lifting one leg from the ground to kneel.

"Coco-san!" cried out your friend, about to run in his direction when he lifted a hand to stop him.

"You should stay away. I'm emitting a considerably dangerous poison right now. Even with Zebra's barrier, you shouldn't get close to me" the Heavenly King warned, lifting his head to gaze at his opponent who was floating a few feet above him.

A bizarre-looking guy with an inflated belly from the amount of poison he inhaled by Coco's attacks with his giant straw. He went by the name of Grinpatch, and he was one of the Sous Chefs of the Gourmet Corp. Said enemy used his weapon to shoot a missile made of air mixed with the deadly poison. Yun dragged you and Komatsu out of the way while Coco avoided the attack by jumping. It created a screen of smoke, and once it has dissipated, it revealed a large hole. So deep you couldn't even see the bottom of it.

"As an organism, he's quite interesting with his incredible destructive power and lung capacity..." Coco sweated.

"Oh...That was close. I almost hit the chefs. Head Chef would yell at me if I didn't capture them. Alive, that is" grinned creepily Grinpatch, playing with the edge of his straw.

"I won't let you lay a finger on (y/n) or Komatsu-kun...." growled your partner, eyes becoming feral.

"Think you can do that?"

He shot more missiles of poison toward Coco, sending him flying once again. You yelled his name, already running to aid him when Grinpatch suddenly appeared in front of you.

"How about we go on a little trip to see the boss together?" he wondered, extending one of his four arms to grab you.

"W-Why are the Bishokukai going this far to capture chefs?" Komatsu trembled.

You flinched, closing your eyes tightly when you thought the strange man would grip your arm. However, Coco intervened at the last second by closing his hand around Grinpatch's wrist.

"That's a silly question, Komatsu-kun" answered simply Coco, standing next to his opponent who looked surprised.

"Oh? You can still stand?" he wondered, stepping back when Coco's deadly poison burned his skin.

"Chefs have just that much value. In the Gourmet Age, the people that have the most influence are not the politicians, the religious leaders, or the artists. It is the chefs" told your partner. "A chef being born in a country is like discovering oil. Compared to chefs, even us Bishokuya are insignificant beings. Even in the old Gourmet Wars, there was a struggle for chefs. They were ingredients worth more than military force or resources. And possessing no less a value were chefs. You understand, yes? You chefs are treasures of this world"

"Coco-san..." you breathed.

"That is why even the Bishokukai are desperate to get their hands on you two" Coco continued, blocking Grinpatch's straw with both of his arms. "And it's why we risk our lives to protect you! Chefs are the hope for this world!"

"I really hate that hoity-toity stuff. Enough already. I'm gonna blow you away along with that hope crap, poison man!" spat Grinpatch, inhaling sharply to gather as much as possible.

"Go, Komatsu-kun! I've made a prediction. Toriko definitely needs you. You've got to get moving as soon as possible. Get to Toriko! Now!"

Both you and Komatsu were pushed on your back when Coco's lance made of poison connected with the breath missile of Grinpatch. The enemy was walking toward you as you lifted your upper-half with your elbows, glaring in horror at the terrifying man. Yun stood in front of you and Komatsu, doing his best to protect you.

"You look pretty tasty, penguin. Is it okay if I suck you up a bit?"

Coco's Appetite Demon made a sudden appearance over Grinpatch's shoulder while his arms enrolled around his opponent's body, trapping him into a deadlock.

"Komatsu! Go!" shouted the fortune teller, and your friend didn't need to be told twice.

"Coco!" you yelled, eyes widening like saucers when he stepped closer to the bottomless hole.

"I'm going to be fine, (y/n). You have to run away from this place, okay?" your lover spoke softly, before smiling with his eyes closed.

Your breath itched in your throat when Coco leaned backward with his opponent. And before he fell, he added with the same expression:

"Love you!"

"COCO!" you shrieked, watching in horror as he disappeared with Grinpatch into the hole. "COCO!!!!"