Toriko - Gourmet Legacy

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Another day was dawning in Gourmet Town. "Hello? Ah, Mister Corice. Yes, I was told to expect a call from you sometime soon. Mhm? A crab pig, you say? Well, those are a bit fast for just one pe... oh, I'll be going with other hunters? Alright. Yes, I'll be there.Have a good day." Well, Victoria knew that the low-level jobs would end once she did a few of them... but to jump from groups of Capture Level 3 Lily Oysters, up to a Capture Level 8 Crab Pig? Good thing they were putting her into a group.

Her current orders were simple, as were those of her soon-to-be co-workers. Arrive at Gourmet Tower just before 3PM, and head to the 246th Floor. A 7-Star Restaurant known as Soulful & Spicy. Victoria and her yet-unknown allies would take a small airship from there (after lunch, of course), and head to an area where the rare Crab Pig were reported to inhabit. From there, they would acquire at least one of the large and delicious animals, be paid a significant cut, and go about their business as they saw fit. A fairly sweet deal all around no matter how you slice it. And at the price of Crab Pig meat, even a 5-man crew would get a few million yen each.

At 3PM, sharp... Victoria was already sitting at a table, a delicious Gararagator Steak, seasoned with the intensely spicy peppers laid by the Duck-Billed Platypeppers. An expensive meal, were it not on IGO's dime. And it was while enjoying this wonderful meal that Victoria would wait for her new team members. Would they make the cut? Or would the lot of them bite off more than they could chew? Only time would tell.

Across from her sat a man in a suit. The two were conversing about the upcoming job, payment, and so forth. Clearly, this was Mr. Corice, the man who hired her and the other Gourmet Hunters for the task at hand. On a small platform mounted to the outside of the tower sat the plane they would board once business discussions were concluded.

Just another day in the New Gourmet Age, an age where the world’s greatest heroes quest for yet undiscovered culinary delights..
 
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Shinjo's Surprise, Gourmet Town, North End, 2:35 PM
Though it was past what most restaurants would call the 'lunch rush', Shinjo's Surprise still managed to be bustling with activity from top to bottom. From the cacophony of conversations being had by customers in the dining area to the clamoring of cooking equipment from the kitchen in the building's East-side. It was the kind of chaos you got used to, even come to find solace in, when your chosen profession involved making food out of whatever ingredients your colleagues shoved in front of you at the time. Jinsei himself was currently putting the finishing touches on what would be his last dish of the day: Ox Chicken Fettuccine Alfredog. The fur of an Alfredog was especially thick fettuccine that took far longer than most noodles to actually cook, though the fact that an especially rich Alfredo sauce naturally occurred in the fur certainly was helpful.

"Hey, Jin! Shouldn't you have left by now?" Jinsei was only just about to wipe off his hands and signal another member of the staff to take the dish to a customer when the voice of one of his colleagues caused him to look up at the clock in the center of the kitchen. 2:40 PM. Shit. Have you ever seen a movie where your lovable protagonist is late for an important meeting and comedically have to change clothes while damn near tripping over themselves? That's what was essentially happening to Jinsei when he managed to stumble out of his place of work. He still had a jet black Shinjo's Surprise T-shirt on in conjunction with a simple pair of jeans and white sneakers, though he was sure he didn't exactly look his best, not to mention he'd still smell like a kitchen until he next took a shower.

It took nearly two minutes for Jinsei to hail a Taxsheep, and he barely took the time to notice the "Troy's Taxsheep: Fastest Taxsheep in Town, no Ifs ands or baas about it." painted into the thing's fur before hopping up onto the seat next to an admittedly rather large driver.

"I need to get to the Gourmet Towers like yesterday."

"Say no more, pal. This baby gets about 30 kilometers to the bushel."

They were off at top speed in a matter of seconds, and going from zero to a hundred and thirty kilometers per hour wasn't exactly the best of experiences for the young Chef-turned-Gourmet Hunter. Despite its large size, which would make you think it'd crash into most everything while moving at such a high speed, the man Jinsei assumed to be Troy managed to maneuver the taxsheep around other cars and transportation animals on the road of the Gourmet Metropolis in such a way that Jinsei wasn't entirely sure whether or not they were breaking several traffic laws a second.

Jinsei was too busy fearing for his life to check just when they arrived outside the massive Gourmet Towers at the epicenter of Gourmet Town, but a simple tap on the shoulder sent Jinsei on his way after he managed to fish a few bills out of his pocket to pay the psychopathic driver, and no sooner than had Troy counted the money had he then disappeared down the road, off to go find another patron, no doubt.

If he wasn't in so much of a hurry, Jinsei would probably be awestruck by his first time walking into either of the Gourmet Towers, but priorities were priorities, and he had to get to the 246th floor as soon as possible, and checking in with a receptionist was going to take up valuable time.

"Welcome to Gourmet Towers! How may I help you?"

"Sorry, I'm running late for an appointment at Soulful & Spicy with a Mr..... Corice?" Jinsei had nearly shoved his Gourmet Hunter I.D. Card in front of the poor woman while he was talking.

"It says here Mr. Corice sent out helicopters to pick up members of your team, Mr. Jinsei."

And after that, Jinsei's world filled with a kind of absolute silence born from pure, unadulterated bad luck.​
 
Gourmet Town, South Side, 2:06 PM

"Bluurgh...." Odis yawned and rolled over, swinging his feet around to the side of his bed, standing up and stretching his arms groggily. It had not been the smoothest night for the young Gourmet Hunter; he had spent the entire day and much of the night stalking the rather elusive ChickTen, a gargantuan bird with five pairs of wings. This bird was Odis's dream to capture and cultivate, as each of its wings was guaranteed to be succulent, very large, and perfect for frying and tossing. The mission, as more than one of his missions had in the past three years, ended in failure; he had had a clean shot, but his nerves got the better of him, and he missed his Wing Cannon, allowing the bird to escape. Three years, and you still can't even take down Capture Level 2 ingredients consistently. You really need to work harder....

Bad luck or incompetence aside, he had gotten back to the motel, where he more or less lived permanently, pretty late, hence his late wakeup time. He felt like he had to do something today, but for the life of him, it had slipped his mind. With a sigh of forgetfulness, Odis proceeded to the bathroom, getting his razor out. His last real success had been taking down a Baron Tiger, but he had sold the beast's useful parts three months ago, and he couldn't ride that windfall forever. He needed to get another good score soon, and it needed to be either great for his cooking or great for his wallet; he didn't care which.

The phone ringing interrupted him mid-shave, and he shambled over to the phone by the bed, picking it up.

"Hello...o-oh! N-no I didn't forget....twenty minutes, right...Th-thank you, I'll be ready...." He had completely forgotten about his meeting with Mr. Corice at 3! Scrambling, Odis quickly dressed himself and got his gear, taking extra care to make sure his jar of spices was stored in his pack carefully; couldn't afford to lose his family's little spicy secret. The distinct whir of helicopter blades hummed outside; they were getting him that way? Rushing outside, he saw a rather impressive helicopter looming overhead, the deafening hum of its blades drowning out the day's traffic. A ladder dropped down from the vehicle, stopping a few feet in front of the Gourmet Hunter. Taking it, Odis began his climb up to the cockpit, hauling himself in with a sigh.

It was a fairly quick ride to the Gourmet Towers. Odis had never been anywhere near the building before, and its grandeur caught him off guard even as they approached from the helicopter. Now inside, he quickly was escorted to the 246th floor, stopping at the Soulful and Spicy. The name fit his tastes pretty well, he had mused to himself as he entered. Not too many people were in here, it seemed....just a young woman who bore an aura of a big spender, and a well-dressed man, one he could assume was Mr. Corice himself. Glancing to his right, he spied a mirror, and felt his cheeks flush; in his haste to get ready for this, he had forgotten to finish shaving, and the left side of his face was still covered in stubble. Whoops.

Pretending like it was on purpose, Odis distracted himself with the mouthwatering scent of roasted Gararagator. Looked like lunch was on the house today. A good thing, as Odis's stomach grumbled just from looking at the dish in front of the woman. Pulling up a seat across from her, he gave her a good look before looking away: Just a glance told him that her skill was out of his league. Just why had this Mr. Corice fellow hired him, exactly....?

He realized both of the room's occupants had been watching him in silence since he entered. Looking at the table, then Mr. Corice, he spoke up. "Hey...sorry for barging in like that. Name's Odis XII. I think I'm gon' be workin' with you." He said this part specifically to the woman...might as well introduce himself, right?
 
It wasn't soon after that outside the Gourmet Tower, another visitor was preparing to enter the building's top floors as a helicopter came and went among the various others. Dropping off a woman, the first notable thing to see was her long, scarlet-red hair pulled up neatly into a rather large ponytail. The next was seeing how tall she was comparatively to average women at 6'0, her slender legs looking to give some reason to that. She didn't carry the look or aura that would say she was rich at all, but otherwise seemed to take care of her body. Dressed properly in a business-kind of outfit, the red-haired woman looked around in awe, "Am I glad mom let me borrow one of her outfits.. Nothing I already own would have been able to give this place justice.. It's amazing." With a gentle sniff of her nose, her lips lit up in a smile as her sapphire blue eyes shimmered in delight, "And the food~.. Oh, I don't deserve to be up here it smells too good~.... Hum.. Okay-.." With a shake of her head, the woman composed herself as she was guided into the tower from the drop-off, towards the restaurant she was told to reach, "Soulful and Spicy.. A 7-star restaurant of all things.. Ah~, I haven't even had the luxury to eat in even a 5-star location.. Gourmet Town surely has so much to offer. I don't think I can thank IGO enough to let me have such a privilege to try such spectacular food.. Well, there's the job offer too but still!" The woman was quite excited as she approached the doors to the inside.

As she walked inside, she was greeted by the sight of a few particular people gathered around a table, one of whom she recognized as her Contact for the job offer. Almost distracted by all the lovely smells of cuisine all over, the woman made her way over to the table before she gave a somewhat nervous greeting, mostly due to holding herself back from giving in to admiring the wonderful aromas that assaulted her, "H-Hello.. I'm Hitomi. It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Mr. Corice.." Hitomi gave a light bow as she looked over to the other two currently present as well, a woman who showed a clear stature of grace that was enjoying a meal of her own, one that looked very appealing to Hitomi, "Oh-.. Would it be safe to assume you are a hunter too? It's a pleasure to meet you.." Looking between Victoria and Mr. Corice, Hitomi bore a rather awkward look as a hand went to her stomach, embarrassed as a sound came about, signalling her hunger, "Ehehe--... You wouldn't mind if I sat down, do you?.."
 
Gourmet Towers, 3:05 PM
Have you ever been on an elevator that went from ground level to approximately 2,500 feet in the air? While the Gourmet Towers had faster elevators than most (they sort of had to, considering just how huge the place was) Jinsei still found himself bored out of his mind during the climb. He'd been stopped on at least a dozen floors to pick up and drop off various other parties, and the mellow jingle on the radio was slowly beginning to drive him insane. He was afraid he was going to bang his head on the wall just to hear something else by the time the display above his head dinged and flashed "246". His asylum was ended when the doors finally slid open to reveal what he could only describe as the 'fanciest western bar he'd ever seen'.

Being a chef, Jinsei entertained himself with the aroma of the place, and he couldn't help but be curious when he smelled a few things here and there that he could've sworn he'd never had the pleasure of working with; Regal Mammoth, Devil Gecko, and Hardcrab, among others. Was there this big of a difference between a six and seven star restaurant? Or was it because Soulful & Spicy was essentially owned and operated by the IGO? Jinsei made his way to what he presumed was his table, considering the entire restaurant was devoid of life except for a single group of customers and, presumably, the chefs in the kitchen, who he hoped wouldn't be annoyed by the fact that he was essentially still wearing his own restaurant's uniform.

He couldn't say he was all that impressed by what he assumed were his colleagues. One of them had managed to wear a rather fitting formal suit while another looked like he'd only just gotten out of bed. Not to mention only half of his face was shaven. At least Jinsei had the excuse of coming straight from work, right? He did manage to eye up a half-eaten Gararagator Steak sprinkled with platypeppers in front of the woman who seemed to arrive fast enough to order something. Well, at least one of them had good taste. Maybe she was a fellow chef? He could only hope.

Before long he stood across from the only other person who was standing and gave a half-hearted smile at the man who sat at the head of the table.

"I'm terribly sorry for the tardiness. Came straight from work, you see?"

Met with a steel gaze from Mr. Corice, Jinsei sighed and looked visibly exhausted for only a moment before he nodded in the general direction of his colleagues. "Name's Jinsei, by the way." he tried not to let his eyes linger too much on the finer members of the group, and he only gave a moment's notice to his male contemporary.

 
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So her new teammates names were Jinsei, Hitomi, and Odis? The woman was well-dressed and presented herself well. Seemed a bit awkward, but meeting new people tended to make some folks uneasy. One of the men was half-shaved and seemed to be... flirting? The other man looked like he just came out of a kitchen, but introduced himself as if Corice had hired him. So he wasn't a chef at Soulful and Spicy? In any case, Mr. Corice smiled and cleared his throat. They were all polite enough to introduce themselves and Victoria had been rude to not do the same. With a nod, she proceeded to right that wrong.

"Nice to meet you all. The name is Victoria Daniels. And of course you can sit down, Hitomi." said Victoria as he pushed a chair out with her foot. While sizing up her new co-workers, the simple logo on Jinsei's work shirt caught her eye. "I know that shirt. Shinjo's Surprise, right? On the north side? I brought them a crate of Sirloin Mushrooms a few months ago. Gotta say, Shinjo definitely earns his number one-hundred ranking. The food was amazing." ... but now was not the time for that, and Mr. Corice motioned for everyone to take a seat at the table with himself and Victoria.

"Everyone take a seat, please. Order a meal if you like, as we have much to discuss and I'd prefer to not be a rude host." The menu, as expected of a place named "Soulful and Spicy", consisted of many cajun and southwestern-style dishes intermingled with soul food. One of their claims to fame was a Ruby Crab boil with a Neo Tomato and Bacchus Onion sauce, giving the shining and succulent crab a slightly acidic and brandy-infused taste.

After each person sat down (and ordered a meal, should any of them do so), Mr. Corice would once again clear his throat. "On to business, then. As you are aware, we are hiring you to procure Crab Pigs. You may be familiar with them, you may not be. You're not in any real danger in this hunt, however." And then he said what the assembled chefs and hunters may or may not have already guessed. "This is simply our way of testing you. Depending on the results of this hunt, we may assign you more pressing tasks of increasing difficulty and pay-grade." He then went on to discuss payment... Eight Million Yen per person per Crab Pig they succeeded in capturing.

Victoria raised an eyebrow at the amount, but said nothing. Instead, she took another bite of her steak and looked at the others to gauge their reactions. That certainly was a sizeable chunk of change for most people. Even she would be set up for a little while with that much money. Still, she knew something that she didn't dare voice with such a prominent line of work being dangled in front of her. But would anyone else here know what she knew? Not likely. Possible, but not likely. Even so, she couldn't be sure until the others spoke up.
 
It hadn't taken long for Jinsei to be introduced to his compatriots. So, the half-shaven imbecile was actually supposed to be there. He expected there to be a few of them, what he did not expect, however, was to be noticed purely for his restaurant uniform. Especially by someone he'd speculated was the most easily recognizable person in the room. He didn't know exactly what to say when Victoria had introduced herself, confirming his previous theory of her, being, well, her. He was even more flabbergasted when she singled him out, and he could feel his face warming up when he instinctively chuckled out a response.

"Hilariously enough, Shinjo wasn't even in that day. I'm glad you enjoyed the sirloin shroom stew, as I like to call it." Jinsei remembered the day well enough. It was a hectic day as usual, but it was kind of hard not to notice when a supermodel you'd been ogling for the past couple of years showed up in your place of employment. Before Jinsei had an opportunity to continue the conversation the group was signaled to take their seats by the IGO employee that had summoned them there. Jinsei obliged and took the liberty of ordering a Garlicow Steak. He was about halfway through his meal before Mr. Corice began his explanation of the situation.

Jinsei wasn't a fool, he'd been working in a six star restaurant for several years. He knew how much certain ingredients cost and Corice was low-balling them on crab pig meat by a fair amount. "I've seen what crab pig goes for on the market, Mr. Corice. Even split between the four of us, we could easily get nine million yen per person per crab pig." Jinsei had crossed his arms and met Corice's gaze head on. He was used to haggling with salesmen and having various chefs scream at him in the heat of a kitchen. He wasn't going to be intimidated in the middle of a restaurant. "You're going to have do better than that if you want me to go on this escapade."
 
Gourmet Town... Well she was finally here. She had plenty of time before she had to get to her meeting. Might as well enjoy it. Where's the nearest bar again?

Henri hadn't been here for a few months. She was enjoying her time at the Diner as always. This place just felt off to her. All these high and mighty fancy chefs. It was a little irritating to say the least. So she wandered around for a bit, looking for a place she could have fun. It didn't take her long to find a fantastic little pub. It had the kind of atmosphere that she loved. Guys arm wrestling, people gambling. Might as well spend some time here for a bit. And so the hours passed.

"You can't be serious. That's all you've got? Ugh, I thought men were supposed to be able hold their liquor."

Henri tipped back another pint of beer. This guy gave up after his third one! Henri, on the other hand was perfectly fine(Only a slight buzz). "I'll let you rest up. You seem pretty beaten." And with little more than that, she walked out into the sunlit world outside. Huh... That sun seemed kinda low... Oh god. It must be past 3!

"... Who cares! The guy was desperate enough to pay for my ride here. He obviously wants my assistance. I'll get there at the time I want."

It was a leisurely walk to Soulful & Spicy. She hated those chefs, but damn, was she looking forward to having the finest Drunken Frenzy Steaks. When she got to the 246th floor, she definitely received a few glances, as she walked up to the group. She pulled out a chair from the table, sat down, and propped her feet up on the table. Then she waved a waiter over, and gave her order.

"Hey there. Henri at your service. I got a little caught up. But I'm here now. So, Crab Pigs, huh?"
 
Odis listened carefully to the woman, Victoria, introduce herself. The name sounded familiar....Odis recalled an up-and-coming Gourmet Hunter in the news, but didn't know he'd be meeting the lady himself. And apparently this Jinsei character worked at a top-class restaurant? Odis felt a bit out of his league sitting amongst them; he absentmindedly fiddled with the loose strap of his pack as they spoke, trying not to think about it. It wasn't exactly an easy task, but somehow he managed to keep himself from diving too deep on why he was hired in the first place.

The Mr. Corice fellow was offering them a free meal? Odis nearly jumped at the opportunity at some real gourmet food, quickly perusing the menu, eventually selecting a simple Cajun-style roast Flyer Bird. Sounded simple enough-he wondered if its wings might be any good for his experiments as well.

With his dish served and Odis taking a hearty bite, business began. He was a bit surprised to hear that this assignment, already leagues above his most successful hunt, was a mere test-was he going to be ready for this? Even so, his jaw dropped at the amount named-eight million was more than he'd had at any one time...ever, really. The rest of the group didn't seem all that impressed, which only made him look at his feet in a bit of embarrassment. These people were pros-what was he doing here? In fact, the other male, Jinsei, complained about their stipend, something Odis never would have considered doing.

Still, something seemed just a little bit off to Odis....ignoring the other male's demands for more money as well as the new girl barging in late, Odis calmly addressed the man himself. He had to bite his tongue to stop from asking 'why me', though...."Okay, please tell me," he began, "If this is the test...what's the ultimate goal here? It seems like you've got your mission schedule planned out ahead of time, anyway..."
 
As Hitomi had taken a seat while everyone chattered and a newcomer had arrived, she actually found it amusing that it was another woman. Taking up Corice' offer to order a meal, her eyes caught on to one of the few dishes that gave this place its reputation. Plus, she couldn't really pass up a chance of seeing Ruby Crab up close while the discussions would ensue. As her order arrived, Hitomi stared at it in wonder and a spark in her eye, "Ahh.. This aroma is awesome..." Without much hesitation, Hitomi clapped her hands together in a silent act of gratitude, reaching for her silverware to start eating, "Itadakimasu-u~~.."

While it seemed like she was in fact not paying attention at all to anyone anymore with the food in front of her, the fact the others mentioned something did have thoughts cross her mind on whether there was truly more to this than what was being presented. She decided to remain quiet about it as there'd really be nothing else to add, wanting to see what Mr. Corice or the others had to say afterwards. She had no complaints about 8 million at all but one of them seemed to feel shafted about it. But was there really more to this job than they were letting on? Whatever the case, it was actually getting Hitomi more interested to take the job on.
 
Ah, another of the team arrived. Late, of course. Still, it was better they arrived late than not at all. Mere seconds before Henri's timely arrival, Chef Jinsei mentioned wanting more money and that he refused to work for that amount. Corice smirked, thinking that Henri's arrival could not have been timed any better. "Chef Jinsei, as may be apparent to you now, There are others that we have contacted about this same task. The amount is merely an estimate based on the number of potential hunters sent, and MIGHT be increased or decreased depending on the ACTUAL number sent." He then turned to Chef Odis, who was apparently concerned about what would come after the Crab Pigs were captured. "Chef Odis. While this may sound dismissive, I advise you to worry about the task at hand. Are there future tasks planned? Yes. But you won't be a part of them if you don't succeed here."

Victoria couldn't help but snicker when Jinsei's ballsy move blew up in his face, and some Thunder Beer she had been drinking came out of her nose as a result. "Ok, I'm sorry. THAT was funny. He's all... "I won't do it for any less than this." and then another person shows up who'd obviously lessen the split. I'm sorry for laughing, but that timing was too perfect. Henri, was it? Seriously, that was awesome. You couldn't have arrived at a better time" But this development raised another question. "So, Mr. Corice... just how many other people did you tell about this in an effort to hire them?" A fair question that would also tell her how much the 'estimated' payout was ripping them.

Corice nodded in response to the question before giving his answer. "In addition to those present, the IGO attempted to hire three others. Eight in total." Well, that made more sense. As long as no one else showed, their payout would logically increase. Satisfied by this, Victoria chugged down the rest of her beer and stood up. "Let's get this show on the road, I say. The sooner we get there and nab a pig or two, the sooner we get paid!" Clearly, she was fired up and raring to go. Who WOULDN'T be ready to go when a payout as big as this was on the line? Still, the fact that Corice was being so stubborn with information WAS a bit of an annoyance. Oh well. Not much Victoria could do about it.

Mr. Corice motioned to the helipad on the outside of the restaurant. "When your are all ready, please take a seat in the helicopter and you will be taken to the drop-off point. I'm sure you will find the trip a comfortable one, and look forward to working with you all again." With that said, Mr. Corice stood and made his way out of the restaurant. It seemed like everything was set up and ready to do. All that was left to do was get aboard and head to the location of the Crab Pigs.


 
Odis was a bit concerned with Corice's response to his question; keeping the agents in the dark about their assignments was shady at best. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what he had in mind for the future...especially considering the IGO themselves were the hiring party. Just how difficult were their captures going to get? Then again...Corice was right, he needed to go snag Crab Pigs first.

Even so, Odis couldn't help but laugh at the complete shutdown of Jinsei's demands. Odis hadn't noticed too much of a discrepancy in price, even with only four Hunters, so he wouldn't have complained either way. Victoria more or less voiced exactly his opinion; Henri's timing was absolutely priceless. No doubt the 'gourmet chef' was feeling more than a bit exasperated right now. As this thought crossed his mind, Odis crunched down on the last of the Flyer Bird's bones; delicious, how everything about this creature was edible. Delicious...but not Full Course delicious.

With Corice departed, it seemed all there was to do now was get on the helicopter and work out a Crab Pig strategy. Odis was about to head out to the helipad when he noticed his reflection in the mirror again. "Oh yeah," he muttered to himself. Taking two steps toward the mirror, he reached into his pack and withdrew a giant meat cleaver, affectionately named Appetit. Five quick strokes later, and his shave job was complete. "Always good in a pinch." Replacing the all-purpose blade, Odis glanced back at the rest of his teammates.

"Might as well get on with it before we get replaced!" Odis was the first one out to the helipad, but waited at the door for the rest to arrive. Ladies first, after all.
 
Well, the surprise arrival of another Gourmet Hunter to this merry band of misfits sure was a perfect way to take all the air of seriousness out of one's argument. In fact, Jinsei had been positively dumbfounded by Henri's appearance in the restaurant. He'd subconsciously entered defense mode by crossing his arms and burying himself as far as he could in his chair, and he could feel his face heating up with the echoes of laughter directed at him.

Jinsei couldn't exactly say he paid attention to the rest of the conversation, seeing as he was too busy cursing everyone around him and wishing he was somewhere else. Stubborn as he was, Jinsei knew what they had to do. Catch some crab pigs and hopefully get called back for more work. He'd positively glared a hole in the back of Corice's head when the IGO representative had taken his leave of the assembly of Gourmet Hunters.

The young chef rose from his seat without paying any mind to his associates, and although Corice had assured the food was accounted for, he did take the time to reach into his wallet and fish out a few 1,000 Yen bills, a fair amount of money, even to the assistant of a Six Star Restaurant. He was sure the Chefs were compensated for their work, and while he was almost certain that they didn't exactly need extra money, it was a personal habit of Jinsei's to ensure he didn't go to a restaurant without tipping the waitress or the chef who made whatever meal he ate. Maybe it was an unspoken code amongst culinary workers or something.

Replacing his wallet and shoving his hands in his pockets, Jinsei was halfway to the helicopter before he was passed by the now clean shaven man he'd singled out as someone he definitely wasn't going to like. He didn't bother to pay him any attention when he ducked into the helicopter, seeing as he was apparently waiting for the rest of them, but rather took his place on the far end of the chopper, next to a window. You could say he still didn't exactly want to look at anyone right now.
 
Well that was odd. She didn't think she'd be praised for being late. Whatever had happened, Mr. Corice used it to his advantage, mentioning something about the pay and the people going. At that point, she was met by some hearty laughter. Another woman. In fact there were two women here. The majority of the hunters were all girls huh? Well, ain't that funny? She looked around at the others at the table. One was half-shaved, while the other seemed to be defeated.

When the girl finally stopped laughing her, she explained the situation, and actually it was pretty funny. You know... Henri was pretty sure she was gonna like this girl. Whoever she is. Everyone else, well...

Red hair - Too Quiet

Two Face - Utter Mess

Grumpy - Well, he's kind of a pushover it seems.

"Glad to see my timing was perfect. Good thing I didn't rush." And so she sat there, listening to Mr. Corice. Or she would have been had it not been for the fact that she was so hungry, and these restaurants take WAY too long preparing food. And so she sat there, just waiting, and very hungry. She hadn't eaten in like what? an hour?! That's way too long.

And then, just before all hope was lost, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted it. The waiter. Oh at long last she would taste the succulent flavors of her long awaited meal. The plate was placed in front of her, and the vapors rose from its steaming goodness. However, she noticed there were a few people missing.

"Hey, where did..." It was then that she saw the two men at the doors. "Gah, sonuva... Excuse me for a second ladies."

Like lighting, her hands flew. Bits of food went flying everywhere as she ravished her meal in a hurry to get back down there to meet up with them. And as soon as it had started, it stopped. She was out the door before anything else could be said.

"Alright. Ready to head off?"
 
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As everyone looked to be preparing themselves now, Hitomi somewhat rushed a little to finish her food as she was enjoying it almost a little too much. Snapping herself back into reality, the red-haired woman got up from her seat after quickly wiping her hands and her mouth with a napkin. Making her way over to where the others were gathering, she looked at their mode of transport a little more closely as she started to run the job through her mind, "So uh.. Crab pigs huh.. I wonder how it'll go..." She waited for the others to start boarding the helicopter before she did, looking at the people she were to work with again before she spoke up, "Well... Like I said when I introduced to our client, I'm Hitomi.. Hitomi Kokuro. I'm sure it'll be great working with you guys.. It's uh, my first time working in a team aside from my trainer.. I'll try not to slow anyone down but otherwise I'll be happy to help."

Hitomi gently smiled before she looked out the window of the helicopter when they were inside, her sapphire-blue eyes clear and open as she peered out, "Well.. Why don't we try and get to know eachother a bit better since we'll be working together on this job. How many pigs do you think we'll manage to capture anyways, in your opinions?" While she was speaking, she seemed to keep her eye contact more towards Victoria among the group somewhat like she was sizing the woman up in a curious manner, "I'm sorry.. I feel I might have seen you somewhere before.."
 
Victoria waited for everyone else to be ready to leave before heading out to the chopper. She left about a dozen or so thousand-yen bills on the table. With a meal as pricey as Garara Gator steak, a large tip was the least she could do to thank the staff. Stepping into the chopper, she was very surprised at how luxurious it was. Leather seating, ample room, decorative wood trim, and even a stocked wine rack. The IGO was really going all out on this one. Then again, this group was about to bring in a pretty sizeable haul.

"Yeah, Crab pigs. They're not dangerous, just fast and durable. And yeah, I suppose getting to know each other better couldn't hurt. I'll lead off." After removing her glasses, Victoria created a bridge of sparking electricity between the fingers on her right hand. "I'm Victoria Daniels. Gourmet Hunter and former professional model." Sparks dancing across her hand and moving up her arm, Victoria continued on. "My Gourmet Cells allow me to generate and manipulate electricity in large amounts." The shocking display ended as soon as Victoria finished speaking about her powers. "As for where you've seen me, Hitomi, that is probably a result of my old career."

At the mention of her modeling career, Victoria became visibly annoyed. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her jaw tensed up. It wasn't anything her new co-workers had done, it was simply that her old job always reminded her of WHY she decided to become a Gourmet Hunter... of her father's passing. In any case, she shook it off fairly quickly. "What about all of you? What do you bring to the table?" Oh, a food pun. How funny. Still, it was a fair question to ask. "I know your names, but that's about it."
 
After letting the ladies on the helicopter (and subsequently noticing then ignoring the rather disgruntled guy, Jinsei), Odis hopped aboard himself, shutting the door behind him. For a helicopter, this was a pretty swanky place; it made his inn look positively disgusting. Then again, it wasn't exactly a 5-star hotel or anything. Odis commandeered a rather large-looking chair,leaning back in its leather back as he relaxed from his delicious meal (that he, incidentally, did not have the money to tip nearly as generously as the others had).

It appeared introductions were under way. He had already recognized Victoria from her past exploits as a Gourmet Hunter, but the modeling had slipped by him, probably because he was still fry-cooking at the time. Speaking of fry cooks...that girl Henri had caught his eye. She had some sort of Western theme to her....he wondered just what kind of skillset she might bring to the party. Not to mention, she probably was the closest to his level of cooking at the moment; he had a hunch that Jinsei fellow would laugh at his attempts at the gourmet. But he digressed.

"Name's Odis Eyrie Freyweather the Twelfth. Heir apparent to Odis's Place, and current Gourmet Hunter. Goal in life's to run a self-sufficient restaurant." Odis realized his goal and achievements were probably just a bit shadowed by Victoria, and the pride he had in his words took a small hit. "Er, ah, yeah. Anyways, my abilities stem from my greatest love in life." From his finger dripped a small blob of 5-alarm sauce-Odis caught this in his other hand, wincing a bit from the burn; he had mostly gotten used to it, though. "I don't got a lot of skills now, but I can turn wings and sauces into weapons, and even combine 'em for a nice little smorgasbord of attacks." Lame food puns seemed to be the norm here. "Obviously I don't got the renown Victoria has, but who cares, right? What matters is the job we all got hired for."
 
"Well, seeing as how we're introducing ourselves, I'm Henri Rougemont, The Hash-Slinger. Gourmet Hunter and part time Short Order Chef. I'm none too strong physically, I traded all that for a massive reserve of energy, so I use that to always hit my mark, and make sure it hits it's target. Thanks to this baby right here." She took her Spatulrifle off her shoulder, and held it up a bit to show everyone. Then she brought it back down. There was a smudge on the metal part. She couldn't stand to see her prized possession so dirty

She slipped a small cloth out of her pocket, and took a strange bottle out with it. Pouring a small amount of the liquid onto the cloth, and then some into her mouth. She let out a satisfied sigh, and slipped the bottle away... somewhere... Then went to work cleaning her gun. "I also make some pretty good food. Now, I'm no 6-star chef(Thank God) but I am better than a fair number of chefs. So, If you need some good tasting comfort food fried up real quick, just holler and I'll get it done in a minute."

She turned to the guy who was slumped in his chair in the restaurant. "You've been rather quiet since I've gotten here. What about you?" She stretched and made herself comfortable in her seat, taking up as much space as permitted in this helicopter.
 
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Jinsei had remained relatively quiet after they'd gotten onto the helicopter. It just wasn't in his nature to be chatty in these kinds of situations. When you spend the majority of your time in a kitchen with people screaming at you over the chatter of the rest of the restaurant, you come to cherish whatever peace and quiet you can get to yourself. That is, until you're singled out by someone you haven't already gone through rudimentary introductions with.

Raising his hand, Jinsei turned away from the window and gave a naturally awkward grin. "Name's Jinsei. Not fancy enough for a last name." He lowered both his hand and his smile when he realized he was probably expected to demonstrate his Gourmet Cells' abilities somehow. Looking around the compartment, he rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging towards the group. "As for abilities, they're a little hard to explain. I guess I'm what you could call a human pressure cooker." he took the liberty of assuming everyone knew what that meant. "As you can probably tell my the shirt-" he pointed his thumb at the small logo on the upper left side of the aforementioned garment, "I'm a chef employed at Shinjo's Surprise."

Relaxing his stance, Jinsei fiddled with his thumbs in an attempt to occupy his hands while he searched for something to say. "You could say I'm just a kid from the North Side of Gourmet Town who got extremely lucky in terms of place of employment." It wasn't an all too subtle retaliation to Henri's words, as he assumed her Six Star comment was directed at him, though he did wonder how on Earth she'd have known he was a chef at Shinjo's and not just some busboy. Apparently Shinjo's reputation preceded him. "For goals? Hmm. Do I want to be the greatest chef on the planet? Sure. Do I think I could do it? Of course I do. Now the hard part with that is that the world's greatest chefs are also some of the world's greatest Gourmet Hunters. Good thing I was born with Gourmet Cells, lord knows I'd probably never be able to afford them." Jinsei relaxed himself back into his chair before continuing. "But before I can do that, I gotta start somewhere, and catching Crab Pigs for the IGO sure is one hell of a starting point."
 
As Hitomi listened to everyone talk about themselves a bit more, the redhead smiled as they cooperated. Seeing as it now went back to her, Hitomi's grin did not leave her face, "Well, what you can expect from me I guess would be raw power.. Simple as that.. I've only had my cells show active progress for a year now but I would think they came around nicely.. You all have quite unique abilities I almost sound a bit too simple. Oh well." Hitomi looked out the window of the helicopter as she thought a little, "I guess I've only been at this for a few years but I've only had my Gourmet Cells for a short time. I've always wanted to be a Hunter since I was a kid. My parents were chefs but I just simply did not hold a passion as strong for cooking as I did for what Gourmet Hunters did in the world. Now, I don't know how you all have with your appetites but expect me to be a rather tough customer. I might look like a charming lady but some say otherwise when I'm enjoying a meal..." With a single, gentle laugh, Hitomi gave an awkward look with her tongue sticking out slightly to show her own nervous contempt about it, "Anyways.. I hope we get along nicely."

Getting back to when Victoria introduced herself, Hitomi blinked as she pondered in thought, a finger on her lips, "Hold on.. I wonder.. I think I might own some of the featured fashion you showed off then, Victoria.. You did look good in them now that I remember." She did however notice Victoria's tension about it, leaving it to just that being said. Looking over to the others, Hitomi still grinned as she then talked to them, addressing Odis first, "I have a feeling that sauce power of yours can get pretty messy too, doesn't it? I have a feeling I will get along with all of you - I know I already said that, but I hope you can handle my stubbornness with food.. Eheh.."
 
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