Battle Boy (Toriko fanfic) (boyxboy)

Chapter 5

Walks became a new habit. After successfully taming a small Cherry Robin and delivering it to the tiny chef to contact me with, I began to occupy my time with walks.

Well, they more like long trips, really. I explored various areas of the human world, going farther away from home in a various direction each day. At the speed I run, a three hour trip for me would take the average human about two days. I familiarized myself with the land, learning of ingredients and flora I had not known of.

Many of them, I found, I could not prepare on my own. It saddened me, my lack of knowledge of this place. Back home, eating was simple. Here it seems to be more complex. I should perhaps ask the tiny chef some basics on Human World ingredients...

My gaze is drawn away from the clear pool of carbonated water in front of me by an unfamiliar smell and powerful presence. The smell of a kitchen... and ash. I narrow my gaze towards a small grove of trees a good distance away, spotting a man with long black hair sitting... rather alone. On a picnic blanket. The sight seems odd to me, and since this is a rather short distanced trip from my home today, I feel the need to protect my territory.

So I head towards him.

My feet are silent, and I'm concealed by the shadows of the rocks around me, but I have an acute sense that he's perfectly aware of me. He does not move from his place, instead waiting for me to draw close enough to be able to hear one another without having to shout or speak particularly loudly.

"You're an odd thing for this place."

"I could say the same to you."

He laughs at my reply, and I look him over more carefully. He's quite tall, fair-skinned and dressed in a casual purple long-sleeved shirt and pants. A burn scar covers the left half of his face, his dark amber eyes eyeing me with the same intensity that I am looking at him with.

"Can I help you with something?"

"I came to inspect the intruder upon my territory. So unless you have something I am interested in, I insist you get lost."

"Your territory? Ah, that explains why you didn't even try to hide."

He's too relaxed. He may be powerful from what I can sense, but I am confident I can deter him away in a fight. He's just not... rushed. Besides, who just sits out in the middle of the wilderness with a picnic blanket?

At least it's a dark blue and not some horrid pink.

"Before I remove you, I have to ask... What in the world are you doing?"

"Doing? I'm resting before I prepare lunch. You look tired, yourself."

He smiles at me, and I turn my head slightly to the side to look at him with one eye out of habit. I return his smile with a frown. His lack of movement is making me uncomfortable, and I want him gone.

Better to chase them off as if you're a beast before they realize you're just an unsocialized abomination.

"Would you like to join me for lunch, lord of these lands?"

The name is a joke. I'm sure of it. He's teasing me. However, with my current status on preparing my own food and curiosity over this human... I can't really find a reason to refuse.

"Will you leave if I do?"

"If that's what this agreement demands."

If this is a trap... I'll kill him.

"Are you going to supervise me while I gather ingredients?"

"No. I'm taking a nap."

Let the human do what humans will do. I turn around, and jump up onto a branch of a nearby tree. I sit against the trunk of the tree, making myself comfortable while placing myself in a position where I can see the area of his blanket. Except from this angle, he can't necessarily see me in return.