Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 80 Regiment de Cuisine: 4th Bout

(Author's Note: Season 4 of Food Wars just ended, but according to Tokyo Otaku Mode, Season 5 has already been announced for next April! There's also a pretty interesting documentary on Crunchyroll right now about the animation process for Food Wars. Shout out to everyone on the team who works hard to make sure the dishes all look amazing! And the characters too, of course.)

            Torrey watches patiently as Erina, Isshiki and Takumi take turns stepping up to the wind tunnel. They draw the theme cards, one at a time. Erina pulls brown sugar. Isshiki gets rabbit. Takumi ends up with eggplant.

"And there you have it! With the themes now chosen, the 4th bout is all set to begin! It's Erina Nakiri vs Momo Akanegakubo in a brown sugar battle! Satoshi Isshki vs Eishi Tsukasa in a rabbit race! Takumi Aldini vs Torrey Waldenpond in a...in an eggplant extravaganza! Chefs- start your cooking!" says Urara. The crowd roars to life.

Eggplant, huh? I might not have enough time for that dish...but this is my chance to prove how far I've come as a chef. To prove that all of this trouble has been worth it, thinks Torrey. If I'm gonna make this work, I can't afford to waste a single second.

After making some quick calculations in his head, Torrey springs into action, the first chef to do so. By the time the others decide on their dishes, he already had three pans set on the stovetop over high heat, and his oven preheating at 350 degrees. He races next door, to the ingredient warehouse.

Eggplant, onion, olive oil, garlic, ground beef, cinnamon, nutmeg...crap, I'm gonna need a bigger cart, Torrey thinks, as he hustles back to the entrance to ditch the handbasket he'd been using. No more mistakes.

While browsing the shelves, Torrey hears the others finally enter the room. He grabs what he needs and heads for the exit. Racing down the aisle, he takes a sharp corner...and nearly slams into his opponent, Takumi.

"Pezzo di merda!" Takumi screams.

"Sorry! It was an accident," Torrey pleads, though he continues toward the exit without stopping.

"You're going to hurt somebody," says Takumi, but Torrey is already gone. Erina appears at his side, from the next aisle over.

"What was all that commotion about?" Erina asks. She holds one of the handbaskets, which contains brown sugar, bean paste, eggs, and greek yogurt, among other things.

Takumi does a double-take at Erina's basket, then shakes his head. He doesn't have time to figure out what dish she plans on making.

"It was just Waldenpond, up to his usual, reckless antics. We're all pressed for time, but moving that fast can only lead to big mistakes," says Takumi. "I guess that's a good thing for us, right?"

Erina zones out, as her mind flashes back to Torrey's match against Saito. When he accidentally sliced his finger.

"Nakiri-san?"

"Hmm? Oh, right. As long as we focus on executing our own dishes, I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

Momo casually approaches the pair, from a different aisle. Her basket isn't nearly as full as Erina's. She's taking her time, completely assured of victory.

"Don't be so sure about that," says Momo. "Tor-myan knows what he's doing. If anyone can handle cooking at that speed, it's him."

"Senpai..." says Erina, unsure of what exactly she means to ask. Momo looks at her, expectantly. "Umm, never mind. May the best chef win!" Having already gathered everything she needs, Erina races for the door.