All Who Wander [Chapter 16 - SUGAR]

It felt weirdly nostalgic to spend his morning on the Chimura farm, harvesting crops into a stack of buckets that had grown even taller while he’d been gone. He hadn’t been away that long, but everything seemed to have changed, grown bigger and more incredible. He was glad he’d been able to play a part in getting it established, but Aizawa and his little class of schoolkids were really the ones who deserved the credit. He hoped those kids never had to worry about their next meal, the way Izuku and Mei had as kids. He hoped they had the chance to choose what they wanted to eat, instead of just living on whatever was available. He’d been a happy kid, with his mother and Mei around him, but he knew these kids could have an even better childhood than he’d had, if that stress was taken out of their lives.

“I brought the poop!”

Izuku looked up, watching Eri run toward him with a bucket in each hand and the brightest smile in the world on her face. He laughed when she set the buckets down, hurrying over to jump at him for a hug, and he held her tightly in return, blinking back tears.

“I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

“I missed you too! But I’m happy you’re doing cool things!”

“Me too,” Izuku chuckled. “Look at all this stuff I harvested! You guys are doing so well with the farm!”

“Yeah!” She took a step back, still grinning. “We come down with school once a week and harvest everything that’s ready, and there’s always a ton more by the next week! But me and Dad and Uncle Hizashi and Mirio all take turns coming down to water stuff every day, so it keeps growing. And we have a big box of poop to use whenever we plant things!”

She took him by the hand, dragging him over toward the river, and showing him a big wooden crate someone had provided for them. She emptied her two new buckets into it, and reached for a shovel, stirring it all up with the blade.

“We put in all the food scraps too, so when we need good dirt to plant something new, or to put by the cherries, we can just scoop it from here! It gets a bit stinky, but we don’t have time to do it every day without you, so Dad said we should try this!”

“It looks great, that’s so smart!” Izuku praised. She was right about it stinking, but it was somehow still better than the fish. “I was thinking about checking out the cherries, have you fertilised them lately?”

“Nuh-uh! Wanna do it together?”

“Absolutely.”

She grabbed some buckets from the base of the crate, clearly designated poop buckets rather than clean food and water buckets, and Eri handed him the old shovel to go with them. Carefully he began to scoop out batches of the poop mixture, filling the buckets as best as he could without spilling any. She gave him a thumbs up when he got to five, and he just smiled back, ceasing his efforts. Clearly she’d been working hard, if she knew exactly how many buckets of poop they needed.

“Do you ever run out of poop?” he asked, as they carried their buckets into the trees together. “The box looks pretty full right now, is it always full?”

“Sometimes it’s too full,” she said with a laugh. “One day it spilled all over Sho’s feet and he squealed, it was funny.”

“I wonder if I could take some, when it’s too full,” he mumbled, more to himself than to Eri. “I could try it out in Tsuricho, see if it helps.”

“You should get a box with a lid,” Eri warned him. “Then it won’t be as stinky.”

“Yeah, that’s a great point.”

“Are you gonna go see Pony today? I bet a horse could carry poop.”

“I am,” he agreed, raking away the dried grass to get to the soil beneath. “It’ll take me a while to learn, though.”

“Can we go riding together when you’ve learned?”

“We can go riding together while I learn, if you want!” Izuku promised her. “As soon as I get the basics, we can ride together for me to practice!”

“How far do you think the bunnies are, on a horse?”

“That’s a great question,” he said, humming to himself thoughtfully as he began spreading the first bucket of poop around the cherry trees. “It takes about three days without a horse, I’m not sure how much faster riding a horse would be.”

“Maybe one day if you try,” Eri suggested. “Or two days if you walk lots.”

“I probably can’t take you there for a day trip, then,” Izuku lamented. “We could walk in the closer forest a bit though, there are usually some bunnies around there too, just not as many as at the farm.”

“Close ones until I’m bigger,” Eri said. “Then one day I can visit the bunnies’ home.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan,” Izuku agreed. “Until then, I can at least bring you the blueberries sometimes.”

“You should show Uncle Hizashi where, too. Then he can visit the bunnies when he goes trading.”

“I can definitely do that!” Izuku agreed. “He would take good care of them for us.”

When the trees were fertilised and the soil was covered up again, they headed back to wash their hands, retrieving a couple of clean buckets, this time, to harvest the last of the cherries. Aizawa had been right about it being more remnants than anything else, but still they got two solid buckets full, even with Eri – and, admittedly, Izuku – snacking along the way.

“Are you going back to Mirio’s?” Izuku asked, when they got back to the farm. “I’m gonna borrow a knife from him, and probably his kitchen, and get the fish ready for us to eat. You won’t want to watch that part though, it’s kind of gross.”

“I have to go to school,” Eri pouted. “But I’ll be back for dinner!”

“Oh no, I didn’t realise you had school! Have I kept you too long?”

“Nope! I have time left to go change my clothes!”

“Okay, I’m glad! Take the cherries with you!”

“I don’t need all of them!” Eri giggled. “They might go yucky before I eat them all!”

“Alright, one bucket then,” he suggested. “One for each of us!”

“Okay! Thanks, Izuku! It’s nice to have you back!”

She hugged him goodbye, then grabbed the bucket to head off, a little more hurried than usual – Izuku was pretty sure she was gonna be late for school, regardless of what she claimed, but hopefully Aizawa wouldn’t mind too much, if it was just the once. Just as he began picking up his buckets, though, a familiar voice rang out, and Izuku looked up to see Hizashi heading his way, bouncing on Oboro’s back.

“Good morning!” Izuku called back, grinning us he hurried over to pat Oboro’s nose. “What brings you down here? Do you need food?”

“I was checking up on Eri,” Hizashi laughed. “I met her halfway here though, heading to school with her face covered in cherries.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise she had school or I would have sent her sooner!”

“No, no, you’re good. Shouta wanted to give you two a chance to catch up, she’s missed you a lot.”

“Aww. I missed her too – all of you, really. It’s so hard to be away, but so rewarding too!”

“Tell me about it,” Hizashi chuckled. “I have to travel, but it’s always so hard to leave. Anyway, Eri said you’d been harvesting a lot, so I thought I’d come the rest of the way down and give you a hand! Where’s all of this going?”

“I was just kind of debating that,” Izuku admitted. “It would be nice to take it all to Mirio’s, I need to fillet some fish up there, then we could choose what to keep and what to take to the store and stuff. I’m not sure if I should keep anything here, I usually cook and eat with Mirio when I’m here anyway, so it seems a bit silly.”

“Let’s load Oboro up, then!” Hizashi offered, swinging himself out of the saddle. “You can always bring stuff back later!”

Without waiting for an answer, Hizashi began picking up buckets of crops, hooking them to the sides of Oboro’s saddle. Izuku dithered for a moment, but quickly caved, grabbing the smelly fish buckets and letting Hizashi show him how to attach them. Along the sides of Oboro’s saddle were a series of leather straps, each with a strong metal buckle on it. They were shining clean, clearly well taken care of, and Izuku smiled softly as he attached a bucket to one.

“I’m gonna go see the Tsunotoris, today,” he said. “One day soon it’ll be me attaching all my stuff to a horse.”

“It’s gonna be great,” Hizashi assured him. “Oboro keeps me from getting lonely on a long trip.”

“What’s the longest trip you’ve done?”

“Well, most of my trips don’t really end,” he said. “I kind of just go back and forth between different towns for months on end. It’s a little different now, since I like coming back to Shouta and Eri when I can. I guess I hadn’t realised how much I missed him, until I spent more than a day or two here.”

“Are you gonna stay here, now?”

“A lot, yeah,” Hizashi confirmed. “I’ll still do my trade routes, but maybe I’ll take a break in between, to hang out here. Especially when the weather gets colder. The same way you still go back home to visit!”

“I’m sure they’ll be glad,” Izuku said with a grin. “They seem to all like having you around.”

“I sure hope so!”

When Oboro was loaded up, they began their walk up to Mirio’s farm, chatting all the while about travelling with a horse. Izuku picked Hizashi’s brain as best he could, during that short walk, and felt like he came out of it a little more knowledgable, and a little more excited to go with it.

“There you are!” Mirio called, when they came within eyeshot. “I saved you some eggs!”

“Really? You’re the best!”

He stepped back inside, as they finished their walk over, and by the time they led Oboro through the gate, Mirio was back, handing Izuku a bowl of scrambled eggs with cheese.

“These smell amazing,” Izuku gushed. “I feel like I haven’t had eggs in forever.”

At Mirio’s insistence, he sat down on the porch steps to eat, while Mirio and Hizashi began to unload the saddle. When Oboro was free of his burden, Hizashi lifted off the saddle, too, letting Oboro wander off to graze in the field with the cows.

“So, you’ll be proud of me,” Mirio said, sitting down beside him with a grin. “See that new fence across the middle of my field?”

“Yeah!”

“I built that while you were gone. I was thinking about how much care you give your plants, and I thought maybe the grass could use a little care, too. So the cows switch fields every month, now, to give half the grass some time to grow and recover. Eri has been helping me fertilise the field every time they switch, too, since they end up with so much of it at the farm, and the grass seems to be doing well with it!”

“You’re right, I’m so proud!” Izuku said gleefully. “I’m sure the grass appreciates the help!”

As he finished off his eggs, he heard footsteps again, looking up to see Tamaki emerging from the house. Izuku blinked at him, then managed a smile, getting a tiny one of Tamaki’s own in return.

“How are you?” Izuku asked. “It’s been a while!”

“It’s good to see you back,” Tamaki said, nodding. “I’m doing well, are you?”

“Yeah! Everything is great!”

“I'm glad. Let me take that for you.”

He held out his hand for Izuku’s bowl, and Izuku pouted, but Tamaki just smiled again faintly as he took it all the same. He expected one of them to explain why Tamaki was there so early, but no one said a word about it, and Izuku didn’t dare to ask. He showed up for breakfast regularly, after all, so he supposed Mirio’s town-friends probably did the same, even if he’d never thought about it before.

“Is it still okay to borrow a knife?” Izuku asked, when Mirio flashed him a grin. “I want to fillet those fish so we can eat them today!”

“Of course!” Mirio assured him. “That big stone table by the side of the house is a great place for it, and easy to wash down after if we make a mess. Can I watch?”

“It’s pretty gross,” Izuku admitted. “Are you sure you want to?”

“Yeah! I can always change my mind later!”

Hizashi excused himself when they began to set up, with his drop-off made and Eri accounted for, waving back at them as he walked off up the street – apparently Oboro was staying to graze, then. Izuku supposed that made sense, Aizawa’s house didn’t have a ton of space around it for him to just hang out in. Tamaki hung around to watch for a minute, but as soon as Izuku put a fish down on the table he quickly excused himself again, hiding away in Mirio’s house.

“So you’re taking all the scales off first?” Mirio asked, watching him get stuck in. “I guess they wouldn’t be very nice to eat!”

“Yeah,” Izuku laughed. “They’d be a little too crunchy.”

When the scales were removed, he began the even grosser part, but to his surprise, Mirio didn’t run away at the sight of it.

“Um, from here you can cook them as is, if you want,” Izuku offered. “But most people prefer if you... take out the meat, so it looks less like a fish?”

“I can understand that!”

He watched as Izuku carefully filleted the meat, rinsing off the pieces and wrapping them in clean cloth. He was a little proud of himself when he finished, with his nice, clean pieces of meat and not a single gag, and Mirio clapped for him when they exchanged a grin.

“Can I have a go?”

“Sure!”

Mirio grabbed another knife, following along as Izuku started on the next one, and Izuku was insanely impressed by how quickly he caught on – was it only Izuku who was so terrible at it, to begin with?

“When the animals die, we use the meat from them too,” Mirio explained, when he saw Izuku’s expression. “I mean, not if they’re sick, but like, the old ones and stuff. Or occasionally when we get desperate for food in winter. It’s always a little sad, but you get used to it!”

“Oh, I never thought about that.”

“Mm-hm. They taste pretty great, if I’m honest. I try not to do it often, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do! Some of the farms raise animals just for the sake of eating them eventually, but most of us see it as an ending rather than a purpose.”

“That makes sense. One one hand I’d love to try it, but on the other, the thought of it...”

“I know,” he chuckled. “I’ll let you know, next time it comes up. I won’t make you do the gross bits, I promise.”

As they worked through the buckets of fish together, they caught up on all each other’s goings on: from how all the townspeople were doing, and what the school kids were up to, to all the new friends Izuku had made, and his plans for the next part of his trip. Soon they had a whole collection of fish fillets, wrapped neatly in pieces of cloth and tucked inside jars for the smell. One jar they kept for dinner, but since they were best eaten fresh, they tucked the others inside the Mei Box, ready to take up to the general store. They sorted through the crops next, to do the same – the cherries and blueberries stayed with Mirio, apparently he had some kind of plan for them even beyond custard that he wouldn’t fully share with Izuku, and they kept some vegetables for their next couple of days of meals, but the rest went in jars and bundles for the general store, the Mei Box quickly running out of space to hold it all. What they couldn’t fit inside, Izuku tucked into his satchel instead, loading himself up with a strap over each shoulder to carry them.

“Come back tonight for dinner!” Mirio instructed him. “The others are coming by as well, so you’ll have to teach me something awesome with the fish.”

“I’m looking forward to it already!”

He hurried up the hill, bags thumping against his sides, and when Nejire saw him open the door she immediately jumped from her chair, giving him a massive grin.

“It’s been so long!” she gushed, hurrying over to hug him. “Welcome back!”

“Thank you!” he laughed, hugging her back shyly. “It’s good to be here, how are you?”

“Great! The kids have been by every week to sell their leftover crops from your farm, it’s amazing how well those plants are doing. When you were selling to me we would still run out of food every day, but now I end up with food to spare, most weeks! Everyone is doing so well.”

“I’m so glad to hear it. I want the kids to have a better childhood than me, when it comes to food!”

“Me too,” Nejire agreed, her bright smile fading into something a little more wistful. “You and I were probably pretty similar, just growing up on what was available.”

“Yeah, it was pretty much just potatoes for me. Sometimes mushrooms, but that was about it.”

“I just had eggs and radishes,” Nejire said, nodding. “We couldn’t even get milk, there weren’t enough cows around. Mirio used to sneak me a cup of it from his breakfast, sometimes. Those days were the best.”

“I’m glad you had each other.”

“You have a friend back home too, right?”

“Mei,” he agreed. “She’s amazing. Smartest person I’ve ever met, always inventing something new. She made this box for me, to help keep food fresh for longer! I mean, I haven’t tried it much yet, it’s still pretty new, but I have faith in her work. Speaking of food, did you want to buy some? I know you said you have leftovers a lot anyway, but-”

“Always,” Nejire assured him, ushering him back to the counter. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”

He pulled out all the crops first, the easy ones to discuss, then offered her a coconut, amused when her eyes lit up.

“Mirio gave me one of these, when you sent some!” she explained. “Gosh, they were so good, once we figured out how to get in.”

“Consider that one a gift, then!” Izuku insisted. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want them or not, I’ve got some more at the farm, but apparently they last forever if you store them somewhere cool, so there’s no rush on them. You can make milk from them, too! I haven’t had a chance to show the others how, yet, but they’re so versatile.”

“Any time you’ve got some to spare, feel free to bring them by! Honestly, I might not even resell them, I might just eat them all.”

“By all means!” Izuku laughed. “I’ll make you some cool stuff with them, too. We made a cherry milk drink in Tsuricho, to spread the cherries further, and Mirio said we could make a custard today too, I’m super excited. Oh! You should come over for dinner! Has Mirio already invited you? We’re gonna cook some fish together and make dinner for everyone, I promise it’ll be delicious!”

“That’s so sweet of you, but you don’t have to do that!”

“I want to!” Izuku insisted. “Please come, it’ll be so much fun!”

Nejire hesitated, but finally nodded, her smile a lot softer this time.

“Thank you,” she said fondly. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’ve got some more fish here, too,” Izuku said, pulling it from his bag. “These should really be eaten today, maybe tomorrow at the latest. Do you think anyone would come in today and buy them? Otherwise I could just go give them away or something.”

“I’m sure people would love to buy them,” Nejire assured him. “It’s been a long time since any of us had fish. I’ll let everyone who comes in know that it’s here and they’ll spread the word. Is there likely to be more?”

“Probably not any time soon,” Izuku lamented. “I’ve got some stuff to do around town, then I’m gonna go visit my mother, but I’m not sure it’ll last long enough to take some home with me.”

“You could try salting it, or pickling it. I’m not sure how they’ll taste, but they usually preserve things for a while.”

“Oh! My friends in Tsuricho gave me some salted fish for the trip over, so that must work!”

“Have a chat with Aizawa, he’ll probably give you some good ideas.”

“I will! Thank you!”

“Oh, and here,” Nejire said, reaching under her counter to grab a jar full of something white. “I kept a jar of sugar for you. We got a ton of it from a trader recently, there was some town who sold it to get other supplies, so we bought a bunch. We made a huge batch of cherry jam to help us get through the winter, there were so many cherries this year!”

“You’re amazing! How much do you want for it?”

“Don’t be silly, this one is a gift.”

“What? No! This is your business! I can’t take things for free!”

“Consider it a thanks for all the other business you’ve brought in!” she assured him.

“Well... Okay, thank you, you’re so sweet. I can’t wait to try it out in some new foods.”

He opened the jar to take a little sniff, inhaling the sweet scent that came with it. They’d had tiny amounts of sugar at home, and they’d used a cube or two at Mirio’s, but he’d never had a whole jar of it before, and it was kind of thrilling. He gently picked up a cube, rolling it between his fingers, but when Nejire grinned at him, he put it away in his satchel safely.

“Thank you,” he said again. “I don’t get to use sugar very often.”

“I hope you have fun with it!”

“I’m sure I will!”

“Alright, so before we settle up, is there anything else you need at the moment? I’ve got a bunch of glass jars that I’ll give you in exchange for the ones with the crops, so I don’t have to stress about getting those back to you, but I know you’re often looking for other bits and pieces, too.”

“Umm... I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’m about to go see the Tsunotoris about getting a horse, so I’ll probably need some stuff after that, but I’m not exactly sure what yet and I don’t know what a horse will cost me either, I might have to talk to them first.”

“Oh, that’s so exciting! I’ll just give you coins for everything then, and we can sort it another time if you want more stuff. I’ll bring the jars down to Mirio’s for you tonight, so you don’t have to carry them up to the ranch.”

“That’s so kind of you! Thank you!”

Izuku produced his little coin pouch, watching in awe as Nejire started dumping coins in it. He tried to protest, but she just pointed at the stack of jars full of food that he’d given her, and he felt his face turn a little pink as she continued. He’d never felt greater relief than the moment she finally stopped, letting him put it away in his satchel to go buy a horse with – at least, he hoped he could buy a horse with it. He supposed he didn’t really know what the cost of a horse was.

With a quick goodbye, Izuku hurried on up the hill, grinning to himself when the wide paddocks came into view. Sure enough, there were horses aplenty hanging out, munching on some grass, and Izuku stopped to just watch them for a minute, as they grazed.

“Izuku, right?”

He jumped, spinning around to find a young woman smiling at him, her blonde hair hanging long and wavy down her back – he wondered briefly how it didn’t get in her way constantly on the farm, but he supposed she’d grown up in that environment, so what did he know?

“That’s me!” he agreed, quickly composing himself to smile back.

“I’m Pony, Eri has told me all about you. Did you come to see the horses?”

“I’ve been thinking about getting one for my travels,” he explained. “Everyone said you guys were the people to talk to, about learning to ride and potentially buying one.”

“Oh! I’d be happy to help you out! What kind of horse are you looking for?”

Izuku blinked at her, and after a second she laughed.

“What do you want to use it for, I mean”

“Oh! Well, mostly to be able to carry stuff around easier, I have a tent and a big backpack and stuff to carry with me, and it would be nice to carry around some tools and things too. Maybe to pull a cart with my stuff in it, or other stuff occasionally. I guess I’m not sure how much a horse can actually carry!”

“Any adult horse should be fine for those things,” Pony assured him, leaning against the fence to watch the horses graze. “We might have to do some training on pulling a cart, but they’ll all be happy to carry a rider and some saddlebags, which should suit your needs as long as you’re not hauling anything super heavy. Plus I can give you some lessons on how to look after a horse and how to ride and everything, that’s no problem! Do you live locally?”

“Well... I don’t really live anywhere right now,” he admitted. “My home is in Musutafu up the hill, but I’m travelling a lot right now, to see different cities and things. Do I need to have a home base for a horse?”

“Depends on the horse,” Pony said, smiling as she looked out at the field of them. “Some of them prefer to be indoors at times, others like to be outdoors, some like to run and jump, others just like to walk.”

“I think my biggest worry is that they’ll get lonely,” Izuku admitted, pouting a little. “I hate to take them away from their family and friends, you know?”

Pony paused, then looked back at him, a thoughtful expression taking over her face.

“Come meet someone,” she requested, slinging herself over the fence. “I might have the perfect new friend for you.”

He climbed up after her, carefully navigating himself down the other side, and together they headed for another, smaller, paddock. There were half a dozen horses in it, but one in particular stood away in a corner, chewing on some leaves from a tree that hung over the fence.

“This is Detour,” Pony said, offering a hand out and watching the horse turn to sniff at it. “He’s a bit of a loner, doesn’t like hanging around the other horses, but he loves going on long trail rides.”

“Hi, Detour,” Izuku said softly, holding out a hand beside Pony’s, when she nodded. “How are you, boy?”

“He’s super gentle, but very strong. And he’s not big on barns, so he’d be fine outdoors overnight. I’ll show you how to set up a highline or a makeshift fence to keep him close by, and he’ll be super chill about it, as long as you like each other.”

Detour looked over, sniffing at Izuku’s hand, and Izuku held his breath as a long tongue came out, licking across his fingertips.

“Have you been eating?” Pony asked, giggling. “He smells something on you.”

“I had eggs for breakfast?” Izuku offered. “Umm, and I stopped by the general store to sell some stuff. Oh! I have some sugar cubes?”

“That’ll be it! He’s a sucker for sugar. It’s not great for them, so they don’t get it often, but occasionally they get a treat!”

“Could I give him one?”

“Sure!”

He reached into his bag, tipping a sugar cube onto his hand, and Detour was sniffing him again before he even got close.

“Just keep your hand nice and flat so he doesn’t go for your fingers,” Pony warned him.

Izuku held his hand out, the sugar cube resting on his palm, and Detour went for it immediately, licking his hand again to chase any remnants. Izuku giggled, and Pony grinned at him, reaching out to stroke Detour’s neck fondly.

“You can give him a pat,” she assured him. “He loves the attention.”

“Yeah?” Izuku asked, following her lead and giving him a tentative rub. “It’s nice to meet you, Detour. You’re such a good boy. I hope we can be good friends!”

“It looks like you’re off to a good start,” Pony said fondly. “But you’ve got a lot to learn before you can run off into the forest with him!”

“I know,” Izuku assured her, stroking Detour a little more confidently. “I can’t wait.”