All Who Wander [Chapter 19 - WOOL]

“Izukuuuuuu!”

A grin stretched across Izuku’s face immediately, and he held out his arms, letting Eri run straight into them and absorbing her into a tight hug. Her fingers curled into his shirt lightly, holding him close, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.

“I missed you too,” he said fondly. “How are you doing?”

“Good!” she assured him. “Did you have fun at home? Is your mom happy? Did Mei make anything cool? Was your trip with Detour fun? Was he a good boy?”

“He was the best boy,” Izuku assured her. “I was just about to grab him a treat when you came running. We had a great time, Mom is great, Mei is great, and she made me saddlebags!”

They finally parted, to let Eri take a look, and her mouth fell open into a perfect little O when she saw the gleaming leather bags.

“They’re so nice,” Eri gushed, hurrying over to pat Detour and admire the craftsmanship. “Mei can do anything.”

“Pretty much,” Izuku said sheepishly – he’d always thought the same. No matter what the task was the came up, Mei somehow had a way to do it. “She upgraded my tent, too, so it’ll be better in the cold and the rain and stuff.”

“That’s so nice!”

“Do you need to get home? It’s getting late.”

“I came to get dinner!” she explained, grinning. “Have you eaten? Come have dinner with us!”

Izuku’s stomach growled in response, and Eri just laughed, patting Detour one more time before she turned to the rows of crops.

“Dad wants tomatoes,” she explained, grabbing a clean bucket to gather them into. “He’s gonna roast them with cheese, it’s his favourite right now. We’ll get lots and you can come eat too!”

“I’ll bring some mushrooms,” Izuku offered, gesturing toward the Mei Box. “I brought a ton.”

“Yippee!”

Izuku cut off some lettuce while she worked, feeding it to Detour and getting a happy noise in return as he immediately nosed at Izuku’s hand for more. With a laugh, he caved, returning for a few more leaves for him to munch on.

“You’re such a good boy, thanks for taking care of me,” he said softly. “I’ll be back in a little while, okay?”

Detour wandered off to investigate a water bucket, and Izuku grabbed a bucket of mushrooms from his Mei Box, picking up Eri’s tomatoes too, despite her protests, for them to walk up together. She chattered away as they walked, telling him all about their latest school projects, including the long-awaited lettuce-planting trip for the bunnies in the woods, which had apparently gone very well, and all her classmates had been delighted to see the little creatures hopping around in the brush.

“There you are,” Aizawa said, when Eri opened the front door. “Everything okay?”

“Surprise!” she called back, wriggling out of her shoes and hurrying to the kitchen. “Dad! Look!”

Aizawa turned around, looking down at her hands first, taking a second to register the second figure standing in the doorway. Izuku lifted a hand, waving sheepishly, and watched as a surprisingly bright smile found its way onto Aizawa’s face.

“It’s good to have you back,” he said. “Did your trip go well?”

“So well,” he confirmed. “Sorry to show up unannounced, Eri insisted I come for dinner. I brought mushrooms though!”

“You’re always welcome here,” Aizawa assured him. “Thank you, mushrooms and tomatoes for dinner sounds excellent.”

Eri took the bucket, putting both sets of crops on the counter, and setting to work on a little step stool at the sink, to clean them all off. Izuku stepped forward to help, but they both waved him off, and Aizawa pointed at the little kitchen table.

“Tell us about your trip,” he instructed, stirring at a pot of hot milk on the stove. “How’s your mother doing?”

They continued to cook, while he regaled them with his stories, mediocre as they felt to him – they were all part of his everyday life, not so long ago, but people from outside of Musutafu always seemed weirdly fascinated by them. Then again, he supposed it was like the way he was fascinated by the animals in Chimura; the residents probably thought he was pretty weird for that.

Before long, Hizashi showed up too, grinning as he joined Izuku at the table to listen. Aizawa pulled a hot tray from the oven, setting it on the table with a couple of big spoons to serve themselves, and a pot of hot milk and melted cheese to pour over the roasted vegetables. Izuku smiled to himself as they all dished up their food; he still hadn’t gotten used to the whole concept of eating abundant food with your friends and family, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to shake off the idea of just sitting down with a tiny plate, taking slow, small bites of everything to make sure he wouldn’t finish too quickly. The fact that there were leftovers on that tray in front of him was kind of mind-blowing.

“Are you heading back to Tsuricho?”

Izuku jolted, then managed a little nod, swallowing hard before he dared to open his mouth.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I uh, I don’t think I’ll be back until spring, this time.”

“That’s so exciting,” Eri said, flashing him a big smile. “I’ll take good care of the farm, I promise!”

“We’re already making plans for the winter,” Aizawa added. “When it gets too cold for anything to grow properly, we’ll harvest the last of it and bury the plants, before the snow hits. Hopefully that will keep the ground fed for spring.”

“Oh, I love that,” Izuku said. “Maybe I’ll do that in Tsuricho with the plants that didn’t grow or died off.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Hizashi said, glancing over at Eri and her empty plate. “Did you see Kouda?”

“Yup!”

She jumped up without an explanation, running off to her bedroom, and Izuku just stared at her back for a moment as she left. It didn’t take long to get an explanation, though, when she came back with her hands full, proudly setting down her spoils on a clear patch of table.

“What’s all this?”

“Clover seeds!” Eri began, nudging the paper packets closer to him, to read the carefully inked labels. “We found the flowers when we were planting lettuce, so Kouda helped us harvest the seeds for you!”

“That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

“You can just scatter them and let them go for it, you don’t need to plant them individually like crops,” Hizashi added. “Apparently Kouda has planted them for the animals in the past, he said he just kind of threw them on the soil and left them, and they took root all by themselves.”

“That explains why there’s so much of it,” Izuku mused. “It must spread quickly, I’m so excited.”

“Are you going to grow it to eat?” Eri asked. “I don’t think it tastes very good. Unless you’re a horse.”

“I thought maybe it could be animal feed for Detour, while I’m there, and if anyone out there wants to try raising animals they could use it too. And whatever extra there is, I can cut and bury for feeding the ground, to see if it improves the soil.”

“You probably don’t even need to cut it,” Aizawa suggested. “We were just planning to grab a shovel and turn everything over, here.”

“Oh, that’s even better! That’ll save a lot of time with anything we can’t eat!”

“Make sure you remember all the stories, okay?” Eri insisted. “When you come back later, I want to hear all of them.”

“I’ll do my best,” Izuku assured her. “And I’ll be sure to bring back presents, too!”

“Yay! Presents!”

By the time they’d all finished eating, Izuku was yawning in his chair, and Hizashi gave him a knowing smile.

“Do you want to stay over?” he offered. “We have a perfectly good couch if you want it.”

“I’d better not, Detour is already in his pen.”

“He’ll cope for one night,” Aizawa said firmly. “Stick around, you don’t want to set up your tent in the dark.”

“We insist,” Hizashi finished. “Eri, can you grab him some blankets?”

“On it!” Eri agreed, jumping out of her chair. “Stay right there, Izuku!”

His protests died on his lips when she ran off to a closet, and he sighed, giving in. He knew they wouldn’t have offered if they didn’t mean it, and it was so sweet of them to want to take care of him like that, even if he would have been fine in the dark. He’d just have to find a way to pay them back for it later, somehow.

She returned with a thin pillow and two soft blankets, and he gave her a hug for her efforts that she gladly returned. For a little longer, they all remained, catching up on their stories, until it was past Eri’s bedtime, and Izuku was stifling his yawns, and with a fond smile, Hizashi stood up.

“I think it’s time we all get some rest,” he said, ignoring Eri’s whines. “It’s good to see you, Izuku.”

“You as well,” he agreed. “Thank you for letting me stay over.”

“Any time,” Aizawa assured him. “It’s our pleasure.”

With a last hug from Eri, they headed off to their bedrooms, and Izuku laid out his on bed on the cushions. He turned out the lanterns, casting the room into darkness, and with a long, contented sigh, he settled in.

———

Eri climbed up the fence to get a closer look, and Izuku positioned himself behind her, just in case. The sheep were bleating at each other, only occasionally pausing to munch on some grass, and Eri joyfully bleated back at them, making Izuku laugh.

“It’s amazing that they go from this, to all the blankets we use and clothes we wear and everything.”

“Uh-huh! We learned to make the balls of string at school, and later we get to learn how to make them into cloth!”

“That’s so cool, I’m jealous.”

“I’ll teach you next time you visit!” Eri promised. “I’ll be an expert by then.”

“I can’t wait.”

Izuku owned his wool jumper, of course, but woollen clothes were so expensive, and now he thought he understood why. It took so much work and skill to go from sheep to jumper, not to mention feeding and raising the sheep until they were old enough to even work with. At least Mirio’s chickens starting laying eggs pretty quickly, and continued to do it every day; sheep seemed like they needed much more time and effort.

“I wanted to show you before I give you my present,” Eri said, giggling.

“Present?” Izuku asked, eyes wide. “You don’t need to give me any presents!”

“I wanted to!” Eri told him, reaching into her little bag. “I made these in school for you!”

She handed over a bundle of string, and Izuku carefully spread it out, gasping when he figured it out. Much like the big coconut bags he’d borrowed from Mina, Eri had made him two little string bags, carefully knotted into nets that compressed down tiny when empty, but spread out wide when pulled.

“I thought they’d be useful for picking vegetables,” Eri explained. The coconut ones are too big, things will fall through, but these ones will hold little things!”

“They’re amazing,” Izuku gushed. “They’re so easy to carry!”

“I hope they last a long time!”

“I’m sure they will. Thank you so much, Eri; you spoil me. I’m so lucky to have a friend like you.”

“Because of you I get lots of yummy food!” Eri said, grinning up at him. “So I wanna do little things to say thanks.”

“I hardly did a thing! You’re the one who takes care of the farm!”

“But you made it, and fed the soil, and figured out how to grow stuff again when other people couldn’t! You’re amazing!”

“You’re gonna make me cry!”

He hugged her, holding back his tears, and she just laughed as she hugged him back, squeezing tightly.

“We should go try harvesting with them,” she suggested. “I thought we could use them today and make sure they work.”

“That sounds like a great plan! How much are we harvesting today?”

“Everything ready!” Eri said excitedly. “Dad said to take it all to Mirio, and we’ll preserve it for winter, since you haven’t done it with us yet.”

“Yeah? That sounds awesome. Let’s do it!”

He offered her a hand, helping her jump down from the fence, and together they started their walk back through the town. They got waves from all the townsfolk as they passed, everyone looking happy and well-fed, and Izuku was relieved to see it. The first time he’d visited, everyone had been a little more tired and slow, but he hadn’t really noticed it, since the people at home were the same. Now, though, he could see the difference in every single person, and he was so endlessly grateful that he’d been able to play even a small part in that.

“We used up all the cherries making jam,” Eri told him, as they got closer to the farm. “We got lots and lots of tomatoes all season so we made lots of tomato jams too. And soups! We can eat lots of soup in winter to be warm!”

“That’s so great, I’m glad. I guess the milk and eggs don’t last as long?”

“No, but butter does! And the animals still make stuff in winter, just not as much, so it’s okay!”

“Oh, that’s good to know. I thought maybe when it was cold and there was less grass, they wouldn’t make any.”

“That’s why they make less!” Eri agreed. “But we keep them warm in the barn, and we feed them anything we can, and Mirio buys lots of extra food for them before winter starts.”

“That’s good, I’m glad. Did Hizashi tell you he’s trying to convince my mother to get a chicken?”

“He did!” Eri giggled. “I think she should get one.”

“Me too, I just hope she could get enough to feed it.”

“One chicken wouldn’t take much food! Mirio buys sacks of seeds from the trader which last a long time. And they like vegetable scraps and grass!”

“I’ll have to try to convince her again, another time.”

“We’ll try too!” Eri promised. “Uncle Hizashi is good at that.”

“Yeah, he seems to be.”

When the net bags were full to bursting, they started their walk back to Mirio’s house, and Izuku was completely unsurprised to find him waiting at the gate for him. He swung it open, ushering them in, and took the bag Eri had insisted on carrying that far, though Izuku had sneakily kept a hand on it too, to take some of the weight off. Together they headed inside, and Izuku froze when he saw the place; every surface was covered in jars and tools, there were pots already bubbling on the stove, and Tamaki was inside again, hard at work with a bowl of something.

“I’ve been meaning to ask; you said the potatoes last a long time in storage, right?” Mirio asked.

“Yeah! We always store a bunch before winter starts, and they don’t really go bad. We cut off the rooty bits that grow and replant those, if they start doing that. But you can still eat the rest when you do that.”

“Perfect. The radishes last a while too, so I thought I’d just chuck the potatoes in the cellar with them, and use them as we need them. Everything else, we’ve been working away at. Eri probably told you we made a ton more tomato soup and tomato jam, we made a lot of lettuce soup that turned out way better than I expected, we’ve been processing those coconuts you brought in a bunch of different ways to see what happens, and of course we have the last of the cherry jam from last visit. You ready to do some work?”

“Always,” Izuku agreed, grinning at his friends. “I can’t wait.”

———

Izuku carefully loaded Detour’s saddlebags up, making sure everything was in place and secure, before they started the walk together up through the town. It was still dark out, only the tiniest rays of sunrise beginning to peek through the forest, but Izuku had wanted to get an early start, with so far to go. If he was lucky, he’d be able to reach the clearing by nightfall, with Detour’s help – or so the others told him. He had his Mei Box stuffed with food for his travels, and his backpack of clothing on his back, but everything else was Detour’s job now, and Izuku loved that, even if he felt a tiny bit guilty for it.

For the first time, according to Mirio and Tamaki, Chimura had enough food stocked to get through the winter unimpeded. They would have their small amounts of eggs and milk too, of course, but with all the jars stored away, they’d be eating well for the whole season, and Izuku was so happy for them. Every household had their own little stock, most of them held underground in a nice, cold cellar, many of them topped up by Mirio and Aizawa’s efforts to preserve things, then get Nejire to sell them onward for cheap. And even after all of that, Nejire had built up extra stock in her massive general store pantry, to make sure if people ran low, they had somewhere to go. And, on top of that, while Mirio had sworn him to secrecy about it, he’d made sure to keep extras of his own, too, so he could check in on everyone and make sure they were doing okay – not that he wouldn’t have rationed his own supplies anyway, if that was what someone needed. His friends were good people.

“Good moooorniiiing!” Eri called, waving from the end of the bridge. “Hi Detour!”

Izuku waved back, hurrying over to meet them, and Eri immediately held a hand out to greet Detour, stroking his face when he allowed it. Apparently his horse got attention before he did, good to know.

“I’m so excited,” Eri told him, hugging him when she was satisfied with Detour’s affections. “I can’t wait to see it!”

“I’m excited to show you all!” Izuku answered, his smile stretching wider. It really was exciting to finally show Eri the bunny farm she’d been dreaming of. “Thank you all for coming.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Aizawa assured him. “Hizashi is going to head up north for a bit, so it seemed like a good time.”

They all climbed onto their horses, Eri with a little boost to get her high enough, and Hizashi, thankfully, took the lead, with Eri right by his side. Izuku was feeling a lot more confident about his riding, but he still had much more faith in the others than in himself.

“You feeling good?” Hizashi asked knowingly, when he looked back. “Ready to try a little speed?”

“Just a little,” Izuku agreed, laughing. “I’m glad I have you guys here.”

He’d continued his lessons with Pony, had finally learned how to travel at more than just a walk, and Eri was delighted by that knowledge, so beyond ready to run. Not that they could actually run, of course, but any little step higher was exciting, after all.

Hizashi and Eri picked up their pace, and Izuku shortened his reins a little, squeezing with his legs and feeling Detour respond beneath him. He shivered a little in the breeze, despite his warm jumper; he just had to hope when the sun came up, things would improve a little.

Everyone else looked so natural in their saddles, like they’d been born on horseback, and it made him feel a little inadequate. He supposed Aizawa and Hizashi had probably been riding since they were Eri’s age, and Eri was so passionate about riding that she was taking lessons daily, but still, he felt oddly guilty, like he was holding them back.

“Do you think there are blueberries left?” Eri asked.

“Oh. I never thought about that. Maybe?”

Eri squeaked in her delight, and Izuku couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t know how quickly they go bad, though,” he warned her. “And the bunnies were eating the ones they could reach.”

“That’s okay!” she assured him. “Even if it’s just a few, that would be exciting!”

Soon they were riding along the section of the path where Eri had gone planting with her class, and she was pointing out patches of lettuce they’d started to grow, just barely beginning to sprout. When they passed that, riding single-file over the next bridge, Hizashi began pointing out spots he’d seen the bunnies before, for Eri to keep an eye out for them. And finally, when they’d had their lunch break and were starting to itch for a dinner break too, Izuku got to point out the little break in the trees, the tiny dirt path that led to where he liked to pitch his tent on the way through.

Eri clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw all the bunnies hopping around, muffling the tiny squeal that she couldn’t quite hold back. The bunnies looked at them, freezing and staring for a while to make sure they didn’t pose a threat, but then they went back to their dinner, hopping around and finding plants to gnaw on.

“There’s all your lettuce!” Eri gushed, looking at the rows and rows Izuku had planted as he passed through. “Where are the berries?”

“A little further into the trees. We’d better sort out the horses first.”

“We’ll sort it,” Aizawa told him, taking the reins from Izuku’s hand as he climbed down from Detour’s back. “You two go look at berries and bunnies.”

“I couldn’t possibly!”

“It’s fine,” Hizashi agreed. “I have to set up my tent as well, so take care of Eri for us!”

Despite another weak protest, Izuku caved. His own tent was a lot quicker to set up, but he knew Hizashi’s took a little while, and he didn’t want to delay that with the sun already going down. Not to mention, if they waited much longer, they wouldn’t be able to see the bushes in the first place. So Izuku set down his backpack, grabbing his lantern just in case, and together he and Eri headed into the trees to take a look.

Sure enough, all the friendly rabbits were still hanging around, and Izuku gasped when he spotted a bunch of tiny little ones hopping around beside them. Clearly the bunnies had been busy, since he’d been gone, and now all the little rabbit babies were out with their parents, searching for their dinner.

“Babies!” Eri gasped, from behind her hands. “Izuku look!”

“Aren’t they sweet?” he said knowingly. “I haven’t seen them before, they must be so young.”

“I love them!”

They were so distracted by the baby bunnies that until Aizawa came to join them, they hadn’t even noticed the berry bushes. Plenty of the higher ones had fallen off, rotting into the ground, but when Aizawa pointed a hand at them, Izuku spotted so many perfectly round, perfectly blue orbs just waiting for them to pick.

“But Dad, the bunnies!” Eri whispered, grabbing at his arm. “Look how little they are!”

“They’re very cute,” he agreed. “I’m glad we came.”

“Me too!”

After another minute to just stare, she finally nodded, and they crept over to an unoccupied bush to start picking. One by one they went around the bushes, apologising to any bunnies they scared in the process, loading up with so many berries that Aizawa had to go back and grab buckets for them to fill up. Hizashi returned with him, helping to pick, and they did their best to split the riper ones from the slightly less ripe ones, so they could hopefully take some on their travels. If they were lucky, some of them would even last a couple of days, so that the Chimura folks could make more jams out of them and add them to their stockpiles.

Heck, if they were really lucky, Rikido might have some sugar waiting in Tsuricho, so that they could do the same.

And if not? Well, Izuku had a ton of vinegar and cheese in his Mei Box that Mirio and Aizawa had insisted he take, so Rikido would be delighted either way.

“Ready for some dinner?” Aizawa asked, when Eri’s stomach grumbled. “It’s getting a bit dark for bunny watching, anyway.”

It was true, the rabbits had all but disappeared into the darkness, so Eri conceded a nod. Her lips and hands were stained purple, so Izuku was a little surprised she was hungry anyway, but when Aizawa produced the jars of food he’d prepared for their dinners, she was itching for a taste. He emptied a jar of salad into a bowl, first, so they could all pick at it while Hizashi set up his little stove, but soon there was potato soup simmering away in a pot, and the smell made Izuku’s mouth water. No matter how many amazing new foods he discovered, there was still something so comforting about occasionally coming back to the potatoes.

“This is gonna be so good over winter,” Izuku said, nudging Eri lightly. “You were right, the soups were a great idea.”

“They don’t use too many ingredients, either,” Aizawa pointed out. “It was an easy way to stretch our vegetable stocks further.”

“Oh, that’s true! And did I see you adding milk at the end, there?”

“Cream. It helps with the texture, makes it a bit thicker and more filling.”

“I’m gonna have to start doing that!”

When their stomachs were full, Izuku pulled his tent out to step up, and Eri watched in awe as he pumped it up. With the extra flooring layer Mei had added, it had become so much more comfortable to sleep on, and he was weirdly excited to go to bed each night.

“Can I sleep in your fancy tent with you?” Eri asked, tugging at his arm lightly. “Pretty please?”

“Uhhh... If your dad is okay with it?”

She turned her pleading eyes on Aizawa, and with a little smile, he nodded. He handed over her pillow and blankets from his bag, and she hugged him excitedly before she accepted, diving into the tent to set them up.

“You’re family,” Aizawa said knowingly. “We trust you.”

“Well, thank you, I appreciate that,” Izuku said softly. “I promise I would never betray that trust.”

“See that you don’t,” Hizashi warned him, chuckling all the same. “We’ll be right next door if you need anything, anyway.”

With the sun gone, and the fire from the stove put out, the forest had gotten incredibly dark. Only Izuku’s little lantern and Hizashi’s gas lamp gave them any light to work by, so when Izuku yawned, it wasn’t hard to make a decision.

“I think I’m gonna get ready for bed,” he said, standing up slowly and stretching out his sore legs. “Do the horses need anything?”

“They’re all sorted for the night,” Hizashi assured him. “Food and water within reach, and plenty of space to stretch out and to sleep.”

“Thank you. I’m just gonna go fetch some water to clean up, then I’m gonna get some sleep.”

“I don’t think we’ll be far behind,” Aizawa agreed. “Thank you for taking good care of Eri.”

“It’s my pleasure!”

He took his lantern with him toward the stream, finding a spot to relieve himself and then get all the dirt cleaned off for the night, before he headed back toward the camp. He left a full bucket of water by the tents, along with some jars they’d refilled on their way through, then watched as Aizawa and Eri headed into the trees, to take their turn cleaning up.

“I’m going to make one more trip up to Musutafu,” Hizashi told him, before he could make it inside. “As soon as we get the first snow, I’ll make my final trip. Mirio didn’t want to tell you because he knew you’d argue, but he’s stocked up a bunch of extra soups and things, and we’ve done the same, so that we can give them to your mother and Mei’s family. I know they’ll end up sharing with the rest of the town when they need it, so we want them to have plenty to spare.”

“That’s so sweet of you all. You have to let me pay for the food though, at least. You’re doing so much for them!”

“It all came from the crops you picked,” Hizashi told him, though Izuku wasn’t sure he believed it. “You don’t owe us anything, I promise.”

“Fine,” Izuku huffed. “Then I’m just gonna send you a ton more presents every time I can, to pay you back.”

Hizashi laughed brightly, and Izuku couldn’t help but smile again, especially when Hizashi nodded.

“I can’t say no to that,” he agreed. “I look forward to seeing everything you discover.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t discovered more,” Izuku said, glancing over at Hizashi’s saddlebags full of goods to trade. “You’ve been everywhere.”

“People don’t tend to have food to spare, these days,” Hizashi explained. “There are some things, like the sugar, that they get a whole ton of at once and they’d have more use for other items, so they trade them onward, but things like vegetables don’t travel well, so it’s never really come up. I’ve been curious though, since you’ve been around, so I might start asking people, seeing what it is they live on, even if they don’t have any to spare.”

“You’ll have to tell me everything you learn!”

“No,” Hizashi said, smiling faintly when he saw Izuku’s surprise at the word. “You’re gonna learn it all yourself, aren’t you?”

Izuku stared at him, then slowly relaxed, his smile returning again as he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said firmly. “I am.”