Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 114 A Night at Nakiri Manor, Part Three (Finale)

It was well after dark, but the moon was nowhere to be seen. The only thing keeping the narrow mountain path lit was the headlight on Soma's scooter.

Predictably, the banged up old one-seater struggled under the weight of Soma, Megumi, and Ryoko as they rode onward towards Nakiri Manor. Somehow it kept chugging along, topping out at about 10 miles per hour.The distance between Polaris Dormitory and Nakiri Manor was only a few miles, so the trio expected to reach their destination soon even though their pace had slowed to a crawl.

"Is it just me, or is this thing going even slower than when we started?" asked Ryoko.

"Beats me. I told you this was a bad idea though," said Soma, sounding as if he didn't really care either way.

"And yet you went along with it anyway," said Ryoko.

"I was planning on making a few more dishes before I called it quits for the night. When Waldy rejected my challenge for a rematch, I kinda lost my fire though," said Soma, shrugging.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wish he would have stayed home too," said Megumi, though for a much different reason than Soma. The thought of Torrey spending time alone with Alice was gnawing at her.

"Right?! He seriously needs to get his priorities straight," said Soma. "This is Totsuki for cryin' out loud! If he expects to graduate after all this carousing around, he's in for a rude awakening!"

"C-carousing?" said Megumi, worried.

"Those two had better not be carousing," said Ryoko, a frequent carouser herself.

"Eh...maybe carousing's not the right word. Debauchery! That's what I meant to say."

"That's even worse!" said Ryoko.

Put put put. Ptoooom. The scooter, which had been hanging on for dear life, finally sputtered to a halt. Torrey's potential debauchery suddenly became the least of their problems.

"Argh, I knew this was gonna happen," said Soma, tossing his helmet aside in frustration.

"S-sorry, Soma-kun," said Megumi. "At least the light still works! It'd be awfully scary out here without it."

Click click. Their single light source flickered out, leaving them in complete and total darkness. Wind rustled the leaves of nearby trees. Other than that, silence.

"Guess there's nothing to it but to turn around," said Soma. "Oops, I left my phone back at the dorm." He stumbled around aimlessly in the darkness, trying to find his helmet.

"Here, I'll help with..." started Ryoko, but as she patted her pockets she realized that nothing was inside them.

"W-we left in such a hurry," stuttered Megumi, who had made the same mistake evidently.

"This kinda sucks," said Soma. "It'll make for a great story though."

"If we even live to tell it!" said Ryoko.

"I'll just finish writing my will. I got a pretty good start on it before the advancement exams," said Megumi, reaching into her pocket.

"You forgot your phone, but you brought your will? Haha, classic Tadokoro," said Soma. "Let's just start walking back the way we came. It's a pretty straight shot, and our eyes should adjust to the dark soon."

"That's actually pretty sensible of you, Soma," said Ryoko.

"Why does everyone always act so surprised when that happens?!"