Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 17 Into the Wild (Yuki Yoshino)

            The morning sun had yet to rise, and the mountaintop was covered in shadow. Everything was still. The only sound that could be heard was their boots squishing through the mud. Several days of hard rain had left the ground wet, but on this morning, the sky was clear and the conditions were perfect for a hike. Hiking wasn't the goal, however. Yuki and Torrey wanted to take home a deer.

The silence might have resulted from their stealthy approach, or perhaps they were just too tired to speak. Yuki yawned loudly.

"I think I'm starting to wake up!" she said, finally breaking the spell.

"That makes one of us," said Torrey.

"Are you already complaining? It was your idea to do this in the morning anyway!"

"True. I'm not much of a morning person, but this is the best time to be out here."

"That storm probably stirred up some critters, too. We gotta bring back a trophy to show everyone at Polaris!" said Yuki, eyes glittering with passion. Her energy was infectious, and speaking with her helped to wake Torrey's tired brain.

The hunt was brought up several nights ago during a group dinner. Torrey had found some venison in the fridge and cooked up curry meatballs, earning praise from his peers. Yuki was so impressed that she forgave him for taking her stash, and asked him how he'd learn to cook with deer meat.

"I hunted with my dad a lot when I was growing up, so venison was almost always stocked in the freezer."

"That's so cool!" Yuki had said. "I raise some deer in the fields near Polaris, but nothing beats the thrill of the hunt! We should go together! I know a great spot nearby."

Torrey jumped at the chance to get back to his roots. Everything had been a whirlwind since he moved to Japan and started school at Totsuki. It was during the rare moments when things finally slowed down that he realized how homesick he was.

"You know, we're not THAT far from campus. Even with licenses and tags, is it really okay for us to be out here?" Torrey asked, weaving his way through a densely wooded area. They were each carrying a Winchester model 70 bolt-action rifle, courtesy of Yuki's personal collection.

"Oh yeah, I've done it tons of times." Yuki said.

"And?"

"And what?"

"I don't know, I guess I was hoping you'd elaborate on that."

"Relax already, students never go this far out and the land is all owned by Totsuki. They'd probably think of this as a valuable part of our culinary education. This was how man used to acquire food, before supermarkets and stuff!"

"Fair enough. They let you keep rifles at the dorm though?" Torrey waited for a response. Yuki put a finger to her lips and winked. "Wonderful," said Torrey.

They trudged on, falling back into silence as they kept their senses alert. If this spot was as good as Yuki claimed, they were likely to see something soon. Torrey followed behind Yuki, trusting her knowledge of the area to guide them.

He realized something funny. Yuki might be the only girl at school who hasn't gone out of her way to attract my attention. Everyone else seemed to flirt with him when given even the slightest opportunity. Everyone else made it a point to get his opinion on their scant Halloween wardrobes. Torrey could admit to being dense about such matters, but he wasn't THAT dense.