Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 22 Sixth-Seat Showdown

The residents of Polaris were standing together in the kitchen, watching Torrey churn out recipe after recipe. Erina had rejected every dish thus far.

Dish number one: Beef Noodle Stir-Fry. Erina: "Too much garlic. The texture of the meat and noodles are satisfactory, but the taste is lacking cohesion."

Dish number two: Teriyaki Chicken Noodle Bowl. Erina: "The teriyaki flavor is slightly underwhelming. In addition, the chicken was cooked for 4 seconds too long."

Dish number three: Thai Shrimp Noodles. Erina: "The cilantro is too distinctive, and the linguine is lacking a punch. The vegetable oil was a poor substitute for sesame."

Dish number four: Pasta Milano Soup. Erina: "The broth is missing something; a chicken stock would have likely improved the dish exponentially. The mushrooms seem to detract from the overall quality of the dish."

Leaning over to Megumi, Ryoko whispered, "Is this really the best way for Torrey to practice? I'm guessing it'll just hurt his confidence."

"I feel bad, he's working so hard but every dish just gets shot down for the slightest imperfection," Megumi whispered back.

"Why'd he accept Nene's challenge, anyway? He could have at least made her choose a different theme," whispered Yuki.

"Because Torrey never backs down! Look at his determination right now. Plus, there's still a few days before the Shokugeki, so he still has time to craft the perfect dish," said Soma.

"Shhh! They'll hear you," said Ryoko. Her warning was pointless, though. Torrey had paid no attention to the group gathered in the kitchen, and all of his focus was directed towards cooking. Erina had been watching him work, with a similar concentration. She could identify the problem with a dish before it was even finished.

"I can't believe she's actually helping him with this. When I asked her to try one of my dish's, I had to bribe her with..."

"Soma Yukihira! No comments from the peanut gallery!" Erina snapped.

"Whoa! Sorry, I guess I'll just sit here in silence."

"That would be preferable," said Erina, as Torrey was passing her another dish. She gave it a curious look before picking it up and taking a bite. "By the gods, what is this creation? It's got a pleasant crunch, and the sriracha gives it a subtle spiciness that tickles the tongue."

"It's just a Ramen Burger. Honestly, I was getting tired of all the rejections so I tried to thinking outside the box," said Torrey.

"Hey, you asked for my help! If you can't handle the heat, then you have no business being in the kitchen."

"I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule for this. I'm actually impressed by your...honesty."

"Not the word I would have used," whispered Soma, earning an elbow from Yuki.

"Oh...ah, it's really no trouble. I figured I owed you, from after the baking contest," said Erina, averting her eyes. Suddenly she resumed her high-and-mighty act. "So consider my debt repaid! This isn't the sort of thing I'd do for fun, of course."

"Right, I'm sure it feels like just another job for you," said Torrey. "So thanks again."

"Don't mention it. As for this last dish...it definitely surpasses the others, but I'm not sure it has the wow factor it needs to defeat Nene Kinokuni. She's a soba specialist, so you can expect her noodles to be nearly perfect."