The Singing Chef:Tasting the Ten Year Puffer Whale

Everything was dark. There was no sign of light for miles. It felt as if Éclair were in an endless tunnel. She felt something give her a jolt of energy, but she just died, how was that possible? There it was again, the energy. She moved around before she came to. The blond girl sat up and rubbed her head. When she opened her eyes, there was Toriko and Coco. She ran over to the blue haired man, "Toriko! I'm so glad to see you!" She stopped short of a hug, "Hey, what the hell did you give me huh? That was no firecracker, that was capsulized death! I died! I caught a glimpse of some old geezer before I fully came to. I think he saved my life." Coco raised his eyebrow, "An old man? Considering the damage done on this Devil Python, that seems to be the work of the Knocking Master Jirou." She shrugged, "I don't care if it were the Knocking Master or Zombie and his crew. I seriously owe somebody my life."

Toriko sniffed the air, "The beach, we're near it!" He ran up ahead and the two followed. Once again, his sharp nose didn't fail him. Éclair pulled off her boots and stepped into the sand, "It's the beach!" Toriko began to undress and the blond girl did the same. She ran into the water without a second thought and soaked her body entirely. Both Toriko and Coco followed behind her and entered the water. She didn't dive under like they did, her lung capacity wasn't that large, so she just backstroked on the surface. She washed her face with the water as they swam under. "Who saved my life back there? How? I clearly remember seeing an old man with grey hair, but I don't know if that was real. That old man was gigantic, 5 times the size of a normal human at least." She splashed the water in her face, "Oh whatever, I better not think about it. After all, we're getting Puffer Whale!" She covered her mouth, "Oops, I better be quiet, they probably need to concentrate." Éclair swam back to the surface and lied down in the sand. "What's taking them so long?" She rolled on her side as she waited. Her eyes began to close and her mind started to drift. "We got it!" She propped back up quickly from the sound of Toriko's voice. "Awesome, how many did you get?" He laid out his catch, and there were ten Puffer Whales in front of them. The girl clapped her hands excitedly, "Oh wow! You got ten!" She looked over their paralyzed bodies, "Let's see you work your magic lady killer." Coco picked up a Puffer Whale and placed it in front of him. He took out a knife and delicately cut into the flesh. Before his knife cut too far, it sliced right into the poison sac and ruined. Éclair looked at the man, "Oh, that's alright. We still have 9 more." He shook his head, "I'm too shaky from fatigue. You'll have to take over Éclair." "Me?" She didn't deny the challenge and nodded her head, "Alright then! I'll do my best!" Coco smiled, "I'll walk you through it okay. Don't worry about messing up." Her face changed, "You guys might want to catch some more in case I mess up." The black haired man shook his head, "They're long gone by now. They lay their eggs and leave just like that." Toriko's jaw dropped, "What! You mean we're leaving the Puffer Whales up to Éclair!" She sighed, "Thanks for your confidence in me Toriko." She stood up and walked to her satchel. Out she pulled her chef uniform. It was everything except her white boots. Her wrapped knives were placed beside her, "Okay. I'm ready as I'll ever be. Tell me what to do Coco."

"First make a ten centimeter incision from the tail fin." She placed her clean, sharp knife into the Puffer Whale and it immediately ruined. She gasped, "But I barely even touched it. It seems like this process is even more delicate than I thought." Coco continued to instruct with her new Puffer Whale, "Make a slice from the gills to the lower jaw." Another ruined fish. She sighed, "Damn, I'm sorry." Coco looked seriously into her eyes, "It's okay, just relax." She placed the poisonous fish to the side and grabbed a new one. ~Six poisoned Puffer Whales later, and she was down to the last one. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the two men. "Coco, you told me to relax, right? I think I have this." There was uncertainty in her voice, but she displaced any doubt in herself. She slid the knife in from the tailfin and a melody came out her mouth. She looked at her movements carefully as she sang. Coco's eyes couldn't be moved from the woman as she sang. It was so captivating the way she was completely at peace when singing. She got to the climax of her song, and there was the high note. A slice down the diaphragm, and there it was. The poison sack was in plain sight. She stopped singing and placed her knife to the side of the Puffer Whale. She looked up at Coco with fearful eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Peal away the membranes surrounding the sack, and when you have them all, scoop it out with your hands. And Éclair, by all means, finish your song." She nodded and continued to go back into her comfort zone. The song softened, and she sang in a low tone. Her fingers felt the heaviness but delicacy of the sack. She pulled away, and there it was, a poison free Puffer Whale. After placing it to the side, Toriko picked up the girl and swung her around in excitement. "You did it! Yeah!" She laughed as she was being carried, "No we did it, all three of us!" Coco smiled, "You did great!" She jumped out of his arms and gazed upon the golden Puffer Whale. The sight was enticing. She wiped her hands on her apron, "I'll have this thing prepped and ready in no time. I know the perfect dish."

~Toriko screamed out in pure bliss "Sashimi! You made sashimi!" She nodded, "Yes, I wanted us to be able to taste the Puffer Whale in all of it's true flavor." They put their hands together "We give humble that's to the vast bounty this world provides. Itadakimasu!" Toriko wasted no time taking a large scoop of the meat. Éclair hit the mans hand "You glutton! Save some for the rest of us will ya!" They all ate the precious Puffer Whale at the same time and their faces changed. So happy they all were. It was so fatty with it's tuna-like qualities. It was rich, and the flavor was undeniable. Éclair fell back with her hair in the sand, "Oh, a gal could live off this stuff forever." She picked up a couple pieces and put it in a container. Toriko scratched his head, "Saving it for later or something?" She shook her head, "No, just saving some for a friend." She clapped her hands one time and propped up, "Oh Toriko, now that we've made a delicious meal out of this thing, what do you think? Is it good enough to be on your full course menu?" The bluenette shook his head, "The Puffer Whale is a very delicious fish, there's no denying that. But I just want to see what else is out there before I commit to it being on my list." She nodded, "I see. Well, I can't wait to see what you'll pick. I want to taste a fish even tastier than the Puffer Whale someday. It would be so~" Her sentence stopped. Coco was going into full poison. He didn't even remove any of his wraps. Her eyes focused on Toriko, and he looked more intimidating than ever. They stared harshly at a bird-like creature that surfaced from the water. The girls blue eyes looked directly at the black creature, and she'd never felt more intimidated in her life. It stopped and glanced at the three, scratched its head confusingly, and walked away.

After it left, the two powered down. Éclair put her hands over her mouth, "What was that thing?" Coco looked down the dark vacant cave, "It wasn't human, that's for sure." Toriko gestured the girl over, "Come on Éclair, let's get you home before anything happens." She nodded, "Alright, I've got a Puffer Whale that needs examining."