All Who Wander [Chapter 9 - LETTUCE]

[Chapter 8]

Izuku reached the farm mid-afternoon, gasping when he emerged from the trees and found ten little kids running back and forth across the land. Some of them were carefully sprinkling water on the plants, some of them were raking dirt, and Eri, in all her infinite childhood wisdom, was lecturing one about over-watering.

“Izuku!” she beamed, forgetting her conversation immediately. “You’re back!”

She hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back as best as he could, with his heavy backpack and tent on his back.

“The farm looks amazing!” he praised. “You’ve been teaching people so well!”

“We planted more tomatoes!” she said proudly, pointing at a new row of dirt and slightly-wonky trellises. “Mirio did the seeds so we planted them to try!”

“That’s so cool! You’re an expert, now!”

Someone called her name from across the farm, and with a last smile she ran off to help, leaving Izuku to watch them with a soft smile. The kids had done such a good job of running the farm while he was gone, and Izuku suddenly felt a lot less guilty about his plans for the coming days.

“I told you we’d take care of it,” Aizawa said knowingly, as he wandered over to stand at Izuku’s side. “I never thought this farm would get back up and running, let alone with just a couple of months of work. Eri and I won’t let it die off, this time.”

“You’ve done such a good job,” Izuku said softly, smiling as he watched the kids work. “Are the kids enjoying it?”

“They love it. We came down the day after you left and harvested tomatoes so all their families could try them, now they want to keep working hard to grow more food to eat.”

“I’m so glad! Have you been here every day?”

“Just about. If we’re not here, we’re with Mirio or Pony to work with the animals. We’ve been picking the cherries regularly too, and cutting grass for all the animals in town, including Kouji’s.”

“I’m so glad. It makes me so happy, seeing you guys thrive like this.”

“We owe it all to you,” Aizawa said, pausing to look out over the farm in a weirdly avoidant way. “We can get by, now, if you... want to move on.”

Izuku blinked at him, but Aizawa didn’t meet his eyes.

“I know everyone in town loves having you here, and would gladly keep you for as long as they could, but I’d hate to think we were holding you back.”

“I’ve loved being here, you’re not holding me back,” Izuku assured him. “But... I think I’d like that, too. Moving on, I mean. I should start thinking about where to go next.”

“I think I can help you with that one.”

Izuku stared at him again, but this time Aizawa turned to meet his gaze, smiling faintly.

“If you go all the way through town and head East, there’s a bridge. It’s a long trip, but there’s another forest across it, which leads to Tsuricho. The traders come through regularly, but I’ve never been there myself.”

“Tsuricho,” Izuku said softly. “What’s it like there, do you know?”

“I’ve heard some things,” Aizawa nodded. “But wouldn’t you rather find out for yourself?”

Izuku grinned, and Aizawa chuckled at him, patting his shoulder lightly before he headed back over to the kids.

“You’d better get your tent set up,” he called back. “I’m sure you’ll want to go visit everyone before dark.”

“Right!”


—

Izuku opened his eyes at the first rays of sunrise through his tent, yawning as he rolled out of bed and began to pack his things. He’d obtained extra gear over the past few months, and it was getting harder to fit them all in his bags each time he moved, but he couldn’t face the idea of leaving anything behind, either. So he rolled up his sleeping bag full of padding as tightly as he could, tying it with some leftover string he’d bought for the trellises, and bundled it up inside the tent with his blanket, too. Most of his improvised farming tools he left in a pile, for the kids to use, but he hung his stack of buckets from his backpack, to use for water and foraging along the way.

With the sun still emerging from the horizon, he headed off through a quiet town. Even Mirio was still asleep, in his little farmhouse, but Izuku had said all his goodbyes again the night prior. It was a short visit, only enough time to stop in and catch up and have a meal together, but it had still been good to see all his friends again on his way through. Mirio had stocked him up on food, despite Izuku’s attempts to refuse, and now he had a bag full of jars, with a soup made from some of their excess tomatoes, butter and cheese to go on his potatoes, and even a wrapped up portion of omelette to eat for his breakfast as he walked. He also had a pocket full of coins from his cherry-selling season, for when he reached Tsuricho, in case they had anything interesting in their stores that he wanted to buy. He was all kitted out, all ready to go, and he took a deep breath as he crossed the long, wooden bridge that led out of town, stepping into a thick forest that reminded him of home.

The trees were different, though, he noticed. There were some that looked like the ones on his hill, or by his little farm, but others were different colours, or had different shapes of leaves, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that changed anything about them. Did they still make good firewood, like the ones back home? Did the leaves still turn red and fall onto the forest floor, when the weather began to cool down? Were they still used to build homes? He wished his Dad’s old book talked about trees, too, instead of just things that were edible.

Animals surrounded him, too. Birds sang from high up in the treetops, little critters scuttled by in the bushes, he even saw a couple of bunnies hop across his path, smiling at the thought of how excited Eri would have been to see them.

He stopped for a quick lunch of fresh cherries, when his stomach started to growl, and scooped fresh water from a flowing river that regularly crossed his path in narrow branches. He shifted his bag on his back, moved his buckets from side to side occasionally, and stopped for breaks when his feet were too sore to continue. And when the sun began to sink in the sky, he found a place in the trees to set up his tent, grateful as always for how quick it was, with the special tent Mei had built him. He laid out his bed, he gathered some sticks, and he built a fire to heat his soup over, marvelling at how delicious the sweet, tangy, creamy mixture was. Mirio had been experimenting while he’d been gone, apparently, and he seemed to have done an amazing job of it. Izuku was a little sad he hadn’t been there.

When morning came, he began the process all over again, packing up his things and hiking through the trees, following a narrow dirt path that seemed to weave its way through. It was where the traders walked, he had to assume, since the townspeople had told him none of them went that far – they cut wood from the nearest end, sometimes, but they never ventured more than a few hours out.

It wasn’t until the third day that he came across a little clearing, as he searched for somewhere to spend the night. There were bunnies there, too, munching on something leafy, and he just sat and watched them for a minute, curious. They hurried away when Izuku started his fire for dinner, and he bit back the urge to call an apology after them, knowing it would just scare them even more. But with them gone, he gave in to his curiosity, plucking a couple of un-gnawed leaves and sitting down by his fire to examine them. They looked nothing like the leaves on the trees or bushes, much wider and crisper than anything he’d seen before, and he found himself reaching for his book, searching the pages by firelight and lamplight, in hopes of finding a match.

Some of the leafy plants, he noticed, had sprouted little puffy flowers, not unlike the radishes he grew, when he left them too long. It made Izuku’s brain whir, but he forced himself to leave it alone, to wait for morning and daylight before he started experimenting. Instead, he focused all that excited energy on flipping pages, hunting for something that looked like the leaves in his hand.

In the end, he found them all at once – three different plants, their entries one after the other in his book, all leafy and green just like what the bunnies had shown him. He couldn’t entirely tell them apart, from their descriptions and hand-drawn pictures, but all three seemed to grow similarly, so he hoped that was a good sign.

The most fascinating part, he found, was that the leaves seemed to keep growing. The bunnies had only been eating from the outside, and if his book was to be believed, the middles would just keep growing back, at least for a while.

There was only one thing left to do.

He took a cup of water from his bucket, rinsing the dirt off the leaves in his hand, then he shoved them in his mouth.

In all honesty, he didn’t think they tasted like much. They had a little earthiness to them, like his potatoes but much milder, but also a very slight hint of sweetness, like a bit of cherry or tomato juice had been spilled on them. The texture, though, was an instant hit in his mind. It was crisp and crunchy, like the thin potatoes his mother made him on special occasions, only it didn’t shatter and disappear in one bite, like those did. He chewed a few times, and every bite still gave him that same, exciting crunch.

“I like you,” he said to himself, staring at the leaf in his hand. “What are you?”

There were three candidates in his book: kale, lettuce, or spinach. Honestly, he wasn’t sure it mattered what they were called, but it only seemed polite to try to figure out their name.

His stomach grumbled, and he smiled to himself as he went and plucked a few more leaves, rinsing them off and munching away as he waited for his potato to bake.


—


It took almost a week for Izuku’s food stores to start wearing thin; Mirio really had kitted him out for the long haul, like the good friend he was. While part of him wanted to keep going, to see how much further it was to Tsuricho, he knew what his better option was. After all, what if he didn’t even make it to Tsuricho on what he had left?

In that week, he’d cut the flowery bits from the old leafy plants, and hung them from a string between two trees, to let them dry out in the sun. Once they’d gone a little crisp-feeling, he wrapped a rag around each one and gave it a good shake, feeling little seeds fall into his grasp. Delighted with himself, he’d carefully worked the soil, just like he’d done back in Chimura in the early days, and planted rows of tiny seeds, watering them carefully from his river buckets he fetched each day. They hadn’t shown any progress yet, but Izuku was hopeful, for his sake and the bunnies’. He was sure they’d get by on the grass and the leaves they had, but there had been so many of them when he’d arrived, only a few at a time sneaking back to have a munch while he was present, and he’d worried every day that they might run out of food before more could grow back.

He bundled up all his leftover seeds carefully, tucking them into his bag as he packed his things away, and flipping his book open one last time before he packed that away, too. All three pages said the same thing, that it would grow fast, maybe even in a week with the right conditions, and he smiled to himself, waving to the neat rows of seeds he’d been taking care of.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” he said, as he shouldered his backpack. “Grow for me, by then!”

And so began the long trip back again, hurrying down the little path and hopping over the narrow parts of the river, each day getting a little closer to the farm he’d left behind. Before he could make it, though, he heard a tired voice somewhere up ahead, mumbling to itself just like Izuku did some days.

“Hello?” he called, as he got closer. “Is someone out there?”

“Hello!” a voice called back. “I don’t often meet people out this way!”

Izuku hurried through the trees to meet up, surprised to find a man with a horse, trying his best to heave a fallen tree off the trail. Izuku had climbed over it on his way over, hadn’t thought anything of it, but apparently the same couldn’t be said for the man and his horse.

“I’ll help,” he offered, shedding his bags. “Does your horse not go over trees?”

“Unfortunately not,” the man laughed. “He can’t pick his legs up high enough for this one, and he doesn’t jump, so we were a bit out of luck here!”

Together they managed to roll the log aside, clearing space on the path, and Izuku shot the man a grin when he sighed with relief.

“I’m Izuku,” he offered. “I’m glad I came by!”

“I’m glad you did too,” the man laughed. “I’m Hizashi, and this is Oboro. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too! Hi there, Oboro!” He patted the horse’s side lightly, getting a tail swish in return. “He’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t he just? He’s been a lifesaver, carrying all my gear. I can do a lot more travelling now that he’s big enough to help out.”

“Oh! Are you a trader?”

“I am! I’m heading over to Chimura. Are you headed that way too?”

“Yeah! I’m travelling to learn about the area and grow food, but right now I’m heading back to Chimura to visit friends.”

“Toss your gear up on Oboro’s back, then, and we can all walk together!”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to overload him.”

“He’s a strong one, don’t you worry. He’s been carrying me half this way, so taking your bags will be a good little break for him.”

With a grateful smile, Izuku hitched up his bags, and Hizashi helped him secure them on Oboro’s saddle. He felt like he was floating, with all that weight gone from his back, like he could run the rest of the way back to Chimura and not even get tired.

“So you must have travelled around a bunch, huh?” Izuku asked, as they walked down the little path. “Have you been to Tsuricho?”

“I have! I was there not long ago, in fact. Is that where you came from?”

“No, not quite. I was heading there, but I ended up camping in the woods for a bit, helping take care of some bunnies. I’m gonna restock on food in Chimura, then head out again and try to get all the way there! How long does it take?”

“With Oboro it takes me a few days, on foot it used to take me about a week, all up.”

“I guess I got about halfway, then,” Izuku mused. “Have you eaten all the different foods in other towns?”

“Different foods?” Hizashi asked, humming thoughtfully. “I suppose so. In Tsuricho they mostly live on fish, but you can get fish in most towns, if you know how to catch them.”

“I’ve never had one,” Izuku admitted. “How do you catch them?”

“Well, there are a couple of ways. You can get a rod, like a stick with a long string coming off it, and you put something on the end that the fish like, so when they bite it, you can pull them out. Or you can get a net, and use it to catch more at a time, but that only works in deeper water.”

Izuku’s mind was already filling with thoughts of fish, of what they might taste like and how you might cook them, but he tried not to show Hizashi exactly how excited the thought made him.

“Have you ever eaten these leaves?” Izuku asked, digging one out of the top of his pack. “I found them in the forest, I’ve been trying to grow more.”

“Wow, would you look at that?” Hizashi took one gently, turning it to look over. “No, but I’ve heard of it. My father used to get it from some town up north, but their crops stopped growing, like everywhere else, and they stopped selling it. What did he call it? It started with an L.”

“Lettuce?” Izuku prompted.

“That’s the one! I haven’t seen this stuff in forever, thanks for showing me.”

He started to offer the leaves back, but Izuku shook his head, smiling fondly.

“I’ve got a bunch,” he said. “To show my friends and eat together. You can eat that bit!”

“I’ve got a gorgeous cheese in my bag that I got up in Rakuson, let’s have lettuce and cheese for lunch, when we stop.”

“That sounds great!”

When the sun got high in the sky, they found a place to stop and sit, shaded by thick trees to keep the sun off their faces. Izuku fetched water from the branch of river they passed by, rinsing off the lettuce, and together they wrapped chunks of sharp cheese in lettuce leaves, sighing contentedly.

“Is this what you do, then?” Hizashi asked. “You said you were growing food.”

“Yeah! At home we just have potatoes and mushrooms, but I came down to Chimura and learned about their farms, so now I want to go to Tsuricho and do the same.”

“That’s a very cool idea, I wish you all the luck in the world. I’m sure we’ll cross paths often, so make sure you sell me anything you don’t need!”

“I will,” Izuku laughed.

“Potatoes and mushrooms, so you’re from up in Musutafu?”

“I am! Have you been?”

“Not yet. My father used to go regularly, but I haven’t. I was thinking about making the trip up there, this time. Do you go back often to visit?”

“I was there not long ago.” Izuku nodded. “I was thinking about taking some lettuce home, if I have some left. It’s just such a long trip, you know? And I want to go see Tsuricho so bad, I just keep getting caught up with things back home and not getting there.”

“I’m more than happy to do a delivery for you,” Hizashi offered. “I often take letters or packages between towns, for a small fee of course. We’ll call it even, for helping me with that tree trunk.”

“That would be great!” Izuku beamed at him. “I’ll write her a letter and pack up some vegetables from the farm!”

“The farm?”

“Yeah! In Chimura!”

Izuku regaled him with tales of the farmland, and Hizashi just stared at him as they walked, lost for words. In all his life, he’d never seen a working farm in Chimura. The remains of an old man’s work, sure, but never a properly functioning farm.

“You’ll have to show me, while I’m there.”

“I’d love to!”

Hizashi smiled, and Izuku grinned back, stretching his arms lightly to relish the freedom of not being weighed down by his backpack.

It was gonna be a good trip.


—


Izuku parted ways with Hizashi at the edge of town, with plans to meet up again the next day, to visit the farm Izuku was so proud of, and show Hizashi everything he’d grown. Hizashi headed up to the Tsunotori farm to get lodging for Oboro and pitch his tent in his usual spot north of town, where the store-goers would see him in the morning, while Izuku went onward to visit his friends.

He realised his mistake too late, when no one answered the door at Aizawa’s house – it was still the afternoon, and Aizawa was probably off somewhere with the kids, teaching them something new. Izuku sighed at himself, but smiled all the same – he couldn’t expect his friends to just wait at home for him to come back, after all. He’d just been so excited for Eri to open that door and see him standing there!

Instead, he headed down the hill to Mirio’s place – at least he would be home, working on his own land. His cows would be milked and his chickens fed, but Mirio would no doubt be brushing the cows, or cleaning out the barns, or even starting to cook his dinner. Izuku ran straight to his door, with only a brief detour to pat the cows fondly, and knocked excitedly.

No answer.

“Where on earth is everyone?” he mumbled to himself. “Shopping?”

A little slower, he went back into town, glancing in shop windows in the hopes of getting a glimpse of a familiar face, but finding nothing. It wasn’t until he got right to the middle of town that he started to hear voices, following them out to a little old building that he wasn’t sure he’d ever looked twice at, before.

“Mister Kouda taught us all about taking care of wild animals, especially when they get sick,” a familiar voice was saying, when Izuku crept up to the door. “He showed me Yuwai, the bunny he adopted after he helped it get better. When I’m big, I want to have a thousand bunnies, and since I learned to farm I can grow them lots of good food to-”

She stopped in a hurry, eyes going wide, and Izuku grinned sheepishly when she stared right at him. She gasped, and he waved awkwardly, laughing when she jumped off the little stage to run to him. No matter how many times he came and went, she always ran to him for a hug the moment he arrived, and honestly, Izuku kind of loved it. The townspeople turned to look, smiles lighting up the room when the saw the pair hugging, and Izuku laughed again as he gave her one last squeeze.

“I wanna hear the rest,” he said, nudging her toward the stage. “Go on.”

“Okay!”

She ran back to the stage, climbing up to face the crowd with the biggest smile in the world on her face, as she pointed straight at Izuku.

“Izuku taught me how to grow plants,” she said. “And the bunnies like to eat plants, so if I take good care of the plants, I can feed lots and lots of bunnies and take care of all of them!”

She continued with her little presentation, everyone applauding as she stepped back down to join her classmates, the next child stepping up to take their turn. Izuku just watched fondly as they all talked about what they’d been learning, about the different jobs Aizawa had been exposing them to, and all the people who had been welcoming them in to see them at work.

When the class was finished, people began carrying out bowls, and Eri ran back to his side, taking his hand in hers.

“We’re having dinner all together,” she explained. “Everyone brings some food and we all share!”

“Oh, that’s so neat!” He paused, then glanced down at her. “Do you think you could find a big bowl somewhere, for me? And some water?”

“Yeah!”

She ran off into another room, bringing back a simple wooden bowl full of water, without question, and Izuku quickly pulled out a couple of cloths from his backpack, opening them up carefully. He washed a bunch of lettuce leaves in the water, then tipped the dirty water outside, mixing up the clean lettuce and the last of Hizashi’s special cheese, determinedly gifted to him after their meal together. He didn’t say anything as he slid it onto the table, only Eri giving him a curious look for it, but soon the eyes of the townspeople began to land on the unfamiliar dish.

“Where did you get this?” an older man asked, eyes going immediately to Izuku. “I haven’t seen lettuce in decades.”

“Out in the forest!” Izuku beamed. “I found a bunch of it, so I looked it up to see what it was, and then I met a trader on my way back, and he had this cheese that he thought would mix well with it, and he told me to take the leftovers after, so here it is!”

One-by-one the villagers took barely a mouthful each from the bowl, making sure to let everyone have a taste, and Eri marvelled when she tasted it, looking up at him with shining eyes.

“It’s so crunchy!”

“Right?! The trader is in town now, so maybe he has some more cheese I can buy, or we can try it with the kind you guys make, if you have some! I kind of want to try lettuce with a tomato, too, and see how it tastes. Maybe we should go ask him to come have dinner, too? His name was Hizashi and he was very nice!”

Aizawa’s head whipped around, and Izuku saw a ripple of excitement go through the townspeople. He understood, on some level – the day the trader came through was always a special one back home, too; the day they could get oil to cook with, or wool, to make string and patch blankets and beds. He’d always felt like the people of Chimura were better off, with how versatile their foods were, but he supposed it was still an exciting day for them, too.

“I’ll go invite him,” Aizawa offered. “Eri, you stay here until I come back, okay?”

“I’ve got her,” Mirio promised, shoving Aizawa fondly. “Go get ‘em!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes, but headed out all the same, and Mirio shot Izuku a grin.

“It’s good to have you back!” he said. “And never empty-handed!”

“Of course!” Izuku laughed. “I couldn’t come back with nothing to show for myself, could I?”

He glanced after Aizawa, at the sun starting to get low in the sky, and gave Eri one last quick hug.

“I want to go see Kouji tonight, so I’m gonna take off, okay? It was so good to see you and have dinner with everyone, and tomorrow I’ll come over to Mirio’s just like always!”

“Good night!” Eri said happily. “I’ll see you at breakfast!”

He clapped hands with Mirio as a farewell, then waved goodbye to the rest of the townspeople, hitching up his bags and heading for the big hill, hurrying his way to Kouji’s house. Surprisingly, he found Kouji already outside, sitting on his steps and stroking his pet bunny’s soft fur.

“Hello,” Izuku said with a smile. “It’s been a little while! How are the animals doing?”

“Very good,” Kouji said, smiling back nervously. “The children have been helping.”

“I’m glad! I brought a little something, for you and Yuwai to try. Want to see?”

Kouji nodded, and Izuku dropped his bags once more, pulling out a little bunch of lettuce he’d carefully wrapped up for travel. He opened it up before he offered it out, knowing Kouji would hesitate, and Kouji blinked at it as he tentatively picked up a leaf.

“A bunch of wild bunnies were snacking on it, when I saw them,” he explained. “So I looked it up, and it’s called lettuce, and it tastes pretty good. Actually it doesn’t taste like much at all, but it’s fun to eat!”

With a nod of encouragement from Izuku, Kouji took a bite, staring at the rest of the leaf in surprise as he chewed on it.

“I know!” Izuku grinned. “Isn’t it weird? Like, in a good way, though.”

Kouji nodded his agreement, and Izuku set the rest of the bundle beside him, not giving him the chance to object.

“Share it with the animals!” he instructed. “I’m gonna plant lots more, so I’ll keep bringing them some, as treats. Or, I’ll tell the kids to, if I don’t get a chance.”

Kouji offered a leaf to Yuwai, who gobbled it greedily, and Kouji could only watch fondly as she immediately sniffed around for more.

“I’ll plant some up here, for you guys,” Izuku said. “If you don’t mind, I mean. Then the wild animals can just munch on it as they want, too. I’d love to plant more crops for them, I’m just not sure exactly what they eat.”

“I have books.”

“You do?!”

Kouji nodded, carefully cradling Yuwai in his arm as he stood, and beckoning Izuku indoors. Sure enough, on a little shelf by his table, a little stack of books waited for them, with titles all about animal care. He pulled them down carefully, setting them on the table, and Izuku eagerly joined him, bringing his crops book along with him. Together they pored over the tomes, comparing pages, delighted any time they found matching information. Kouji had a whole list of foods which animals liked to eat, but had no idea what any of them were, while Izuku had a book bursting with information, ready to look them all up.

“I grow grass, sometimes,” Kouji told him, when the farming topic came up again. “I have seeds.”

“Grass seeds?” Izuku asked. “I didn’t know that!”

Kouji nodded, retrieving a little package of them from a cupboard, and Izuku marvelled over the little green specks.

“Where do you get them? In town? From the trader?”

“I harvest them, when the weather is right. Or the trader.”

“Oh! Do you think I could buy some off you, then? I’d like to plant some more grass by the farm, for the animals who go down there to get cherries!”

Kouji shook his head, pressing the package into Izuku’s hand, and giving him a shy smile.

“For the animals,” he echoed. “They’re yours, I have more.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

“Thank you,” Izuku said genuinely. “I really appreciate it.”

As they continued to read together, Izuku shared every detail of his little adventure in the forest, Kouji listening with rapt attention, and before he knew it, the sky was dark, and Izuku was looking out a window with dismay.

“Stay here,” Kouji said knowingly. “You can sleep in here tonight.”

“Really?” Izuku asked. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“It’s okay,” Kouji assured him. “It’s too dark.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. I’ll be gone bright and early to visit Mirio, so I’ll try not to be in your way!”

He dragged his bags inside, digging out his sleeping bag and his blanket to sleep on, and they shared a last little smile as they packed away their books.

“The lettuce grows fast,” Izuku told him. “The book says two weeks, so I’ll grow some for you really soon, I promise.”

“Thank you, Izuku. I’m glad to have met you.”

[Chapter 10]