A speeding heart
It was nothing like Komatsu expected, this moment: the Four Heavenly Kings coming together at last. The hope had begun sprouting at the back of his mind after their time in the Gourmet Pyramid, taking seed and growing slowly now he'd met all four, somehowbefriended all four, come to adore all of them in equal measure.
But he'd always assumed such a reunion would happen when they were on the very cusp of entering the Gourmet World, about to experience a whole new level of adventure – a prospect that still frightened Komatsu deep, deep down, but the fear loosened its grip on his heart the longer he spent out in the field with Toriko, with Coco and Sunny and Zebra, never failing to make him feel safe – but here they were. Still in the Human World, drawn together by a challenge from the IGO President. Komatsu hadn't even realized how much sway Ichiryuu held over the Kings until now, even if Zebra insisted he was only there to eat.
It was nothing like Komatsu expected but thrilled him nonetheless. Though he'd have given really quite a lot to see the Kings working together, Komatsu supposed there was only so much he could hope for from their first gathering. And so, despite their potential for teamwork immediately dissolving into some sort of childish competition in one-upmanship, Komatsu decided that stepping back and letting this play out as it would – with as little inter-King violence as possible, if he could help it – was all he could do.
If this hunt went well, if this gave his friends the chance to reacclimatize themselves to each other even the tiniest bit, then the next time might be smoother sailing, and the time after that easier still. Eventually the Kings would learn to work as a team again. Komatsu would do his best to see it happen.
The six of them stood on the frozen surface of Pot Pond, and for a split second Komatsu thought they might actually stay together, match or not. But Rin attached herself to Toriko and started dragging him away, both her arms wrapped around Toriko's own and body pressed close to his side. Komatsu heard his partner huff out a sigh and protest half-heartedly as he allowed the eager beast tamer to lead him away from the group. Toriko glanced over his shoulder just long enough to cast an apologetic grin in Komatsu's direction and then set about trying to pry himself from Rin's grip without hurting her as they headed further across the Pond.
Komatsu watched their retreating backs, laughing as Rin's high, happy voice echoed through the open space. He would hardly begrudge her this; he kept monopolizing not only Toriko but her brother as well, couldn't help feeling guilty for it even though he remained helpless to explain why the two bishokuya thought so highly of him in the first place. Sharing his partner when there were three other Kings around wasn't exactly going to put him in any danger.
He startled at the sudden oppressive aura behind him, a mixture of familiar – if less potent – intimidations. Swinging around to see what the remaining bishokuya had managed to get up to while his attention was elsewhere, Komatsu slipped, arms wheeling frantically to keep from landing ass first on the ice, and then decided he may as well sit down anyway because his knees had turned to jelly.
The tension as Coco, Sunny, and Zebra faced off was palpable, thick enough for Komatsu to cut with his knife, oppressive enough for his skin to break out in goose bumps despite his winter clothing. They stared each other down, Zebra's arms crossed and lips drawn back in a silent snarl, Sunny's fists resting on his cocked hips, hair whipping restlessly through the air. Coco looked calm but for a certain darkening of his eyes, and Komatsu swore he caught a glimpse of his ghostly intimidation flickering into existence and disappearing just as quickly.
Komatsu had been sure they'd simply split up like Toriko and Rin, that he'd accompany whoever reached out and grabbed him as they passed by. So what were they fighting about now?
