Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 57 A Poet Who Knows It

            After Thursday evening's Shokugeki against the Kujira Academy students, Torrey and Soma were drained. Looking forward to a meal of their own (nobody ever thinks to cook enough for themselves during the heat of a competition), they'd only just set foot inside Polaris when they were confronted by an impatient Erina.

"I thought you said you wouldn't be gone for long!" she said, glancing at the clock. It read 9pm.

"Well you see, here's the thing..." started Torrey.

"Not this again! Why are you always the one with an excuse?"

"It's not an excuse; it's a reason. And this one's even better than the last one! We had to defend our school's reputation."

"He's telling the truth, Nakiri. Some punks from Kujira were talking a lot of smack about Totsuki," said Soma. Torrey nodded.

Suddenly, Erina burst into a laughing fit. This sudden attitude reversal was alarming; the boys each took a step back.

"I don't get it," said Torrey.

"Maybe she finally cracked," said Soma.

"Don't say that like it was bound to happen! I simply find it hilarious that anyone from THAT school would have the audacity to challenge Totsuki students. Kujira Academy itself is a poor joke among culinary schools, nothing more than fungus needing to be scraped clean off of Totsuki's feet..."

"Okay, we get it! Thank you for that unappetizing analogy, Erina. Anyways, we still managed to get saffron," said Torrey, procuring the bottle and waving it around with a flourish. Erina's gaze followed it with mild interest.

"And some other things," said Soma, holding up a paper bag full of goodies.

"I'm assuming you used the funds I provided to finance these so-called 'things'," said Erina, clearly unamused.

"That old lady gave us a killer deal! The more we bought, the more we saved!" said Soma enthusiastically. Torrey nodded his approval; both chefs were well-known for their bargain hunting tendencies.

"You two seem to have a poor grasp of basic economic theory. In any event, I suppose I should be grateful for the saffron. Did you happen to acquire juniper berries?"

Neither of the boy's flinched.

"Anardana?"

Nothing.

"Should I even bother asking about the kala jeera?"

"I wouldn't..." said Torrey, earning a blank stare.

"You're hopeless," Erina declared a moment later.

"Can you shut yer traps in there? We're trying to study!" said Ikumi loudly, from the other room. The fact that she was still at the dorm after 9pm was a testament to her dedication.

Though Erina had chosen to confront the boys in the foyer, they were close enough to be heard from the cafeteria.

"An excellent point, Mito. Yukihira- your break is over. Before you get back to your studies, make sure you apologize to your peers for disrupting them," said Erina, pointing to the cafeteria.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Soma, trudging out of the room.

"And as for you..." said Erina, looking at Torrey.