Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 84 Regiment de Cuisine: 5th Bout

Torrey takes a bus ride to the arena with the Resistance members, though they are without Soma, Erina, Takumi, Megumi, and Isshiki. The two chefs competing in the 5th bout, along with their team of advisors, will be joining them shortly before the match begins. They seek to take advantage of every last minute for their preparations.

            Several minutes earlier, while the group was waiting for Torrey in the hotel lobby, Ryoko won a very intense game of rock-paper-scissors to earn the seat next to him. It's only a ten-minute drive to the arena, but to each of the girl's, those are ten very important minutes.

            "Hey Torrey...there's something I've been wondering," says Ryoko, bashfully, once they're on the road. Her cheeks are rosy red.

            "Oh? What is it?"

            "How come you made it a point to ride with us today? Shouldn't you be with your Central teammates?"

            "An excellent question. I struggle to find the answer, myself," says Marui. "Neither Soma nor Erina is here, ruling sabotage out of the equation. So what could his motive be? Does he wish to finally accept someone's love? That also seems unlikely, given that a one-on-one scenario would be much more conducive towards..."

            "Don't do that," says Alice, cutting him off. "Don't give me hope. Nerd."

            "Besides, it's already been decided. We're gonna settle that score with a Shokugeki when we get back to Tokyo! Right, Torrey?" says Ikumi, suddenly fired up.

            Why do I keep thinking that everyone forgot about that? thinks Torrey. And shouldn't they be more worried about today's match?!

            "I guess once all this Central vs. Resistance stuff's settled, we won't have much of a choice," he says. Ryoko smacks him on the shoulder.

            "Don't make it sound like a hassle!" she says, pouting.

            "Finally! The moment that we've all been waiting for!" says Yuki, excitedly.

            "Oh...I didn't know you were planning on participating, Yuki," says Torrey. Yuki's face drops.

            "B-but...I've always...I mean...really? Is it because of, you know..." she says, looking down at her chest with a frown.

            "No no no! Nothing like that! I'm just surprised. Wow this is really awkward now...uh, I didn't know you had the same interests as everyone else," says Torrey, scratching his neck.

            "Same interests? You mean to say...you think that I'm..." says Yuki, still upset. 

            "Wait, I didn't mean it like that, either! 'Interests' meaning me! I didn't know you were interested in me," says Torrey, his discomfort somehow getting worse.

            "Heh, it's not even an exaggeration to say 'everyone else'" adds Ibusaki.

            "Ibusaki...you too?!" says Yuki, eyes widening in shock. For the first time ever, Ibusaki loses his cool.

            "N-no! That's not...obviously 'everyone' meaning the girls. Right Marui? C'mon, back me up on this one, pal," says Ibusaki, nudging Marui.

            "You're right, of course. It's natural to assume that he's referring to the females. Though I can't say I don't understand their fascination with Torrey...after several data collection experiments, including: measure of heart rate while in his presence, frequency of dreams involving him, and amount of time spent thinking about him throughout the day, I've concluded that I am not in love with Torrey," says Marui, pushing up his glasses.