All Who Wander [Chapter 15 - BLUEBERRIES]

[Chapter 14]

Izuku kicked at the dirt lightly, contemplating the piddly little plants that had grown over the past few weeks. He hadn’t had many opportunities to fertilise the soil, and it was showing. Plus the dirt was riddled with sand, blown up from the beach, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with that – his book didn’t say anything about dirt types. He’d managed some tiny lettuce plants that he had to treat like glass to keep them growing, and the radish seeds from Chimura had begun to make some little blobby radishes, but they seemed to want far more water than Izuku could actually offer them – he was making three trips a day, most days, and still the soil was bone dry every time he got there.

“I’m thinking about bringing soil in from the forest,” Izuku mused, when he made it back down to the dock. “The soil here is so dry and sandy, which makes sense, but I wonder if stuff would grow better if I brought in easier soil to work with.”

“Yeah?” Eijirou asked, contemplating it. “That would be a lot of soil, though, right? Like, even if you used all your buckets, and borrowed more from the town, it would take days. And you wouldn’t want to get it too close by, right? Because the soil at this end of the forest is the same as by the trees, so you’d have to go deeper.”

“There’s a little area about halfway to Chimura where I grow lettuce for the bunnies to eat. I was thinking I could bring some from there, because I know it works.”

“That makes sense. But that’s what, three days away? Four? For each trip?”

“Yeah,” Izuku agreed, climbing into the boat with much more ease than he’d done the first few times he went fishing. “That’s why I’m thinking about it, not just doing it.”

“It’s a shame you don’t have a cart, like some of the traders have. You could tow it along with you and take much more dirt at once.”

“I wish Mei was here, she’d be able to make me one out of a couple of coconuts and some fish bones.”

“Fish bones?” Eijirou asked, laughing. “I’m not sure they’re much good for anything.”

“Exactly. That’s Mei for you.”

“Are you planning to visit her any time soon? You could ask.”

“I’ve been considering it.” Izuku nodded. “It’s such a long trip though, all my attempts at crops would die long before I got back. It would be nice to bring some stuff across from Chimura too. But it would take me... at least three weeks? To be back here, I mean.”

“Yeah, that’s rough,” Eijirou agreed. “If you want to teach me, I’d be happy to try taking care of the crops, but I’m not sure how much good I’d be. I know you’ve been struggling, and you’re a thousand times more useful than I’d be.”

“You’d be great,” Izuku objected. “But yeah, they aren’t in very good shape.”

“The lettuce has been awesome, though! I know you say it isn’t much, but it’s a lot for us! And those potatoes your family sent, they lasted us so long!”

“You’re always so positive,” Izuku laughed. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure!”

For a few hours, they sat out in the little boat, lines hanging in the water limply. Eijirou had taken the day off from their main fishing excursions to instead help bring in a massive coconut haul, but he was always up for a short trip with Izuku, just a couple of hours to sit back and chat and see what Izuku could catch.

“There’s a river in the forest,” Izuku said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen fish in it.”

“Yeah, we’ve been there a few times,” Eijirou said. “It’s a much longer trip, though, and the haul we get doesn’t tend to make up for the extra days. We have a net in the branch that feeds the lake, so we catch anything that comes down that fork, but most of them stick to the much wider parts of the river.”

“I wonder if I could catch anything on my way, though,” Izuku continued. “Like, to help feed myself while I travel.”

“Well you have been getting better at preparing them!” Eijirou said, a hint of teasing in his voice. “And if it’s only for you, then you’d only need to catch one or two fish, so it definitely seems viable for that.”

“That’s true! I could maybe catch some near Chimura as well, just as a treat for my friends.”

“I’m sure you could manage that,” Eijirou agreed. “You could get Rikido to teach you that salt and vinegar fish you love, since you said Chimura has plenty of vinegar.”

“Oh, that would be great!” Izuku gushed. “Do you think he would?”

“I’m sure he’d love to!”

When they’d brought in a few fish, and the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, they rowed back in to shore, and Izuku watched with admiration as Eijirou stepped out of the boat with ease to tie it up. His ‘sea legs’, as Hanta called them, had improved a ton, but he still didn’t have anywhere near the coordination the others had, with going back and forth between the ocean and dry land.

Eijirou held out a hand, and Izuku accepted it with a grin, letting Eijirou help him up onto the wharf. He leaned over to get their bucket of fish next, handing it up to Izuku, and Izuku held his breath as he accepted – he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to that smell.

“Thanks for coming today!” Eijirou said, when he’d tied the boat up and taken the fish back from Izuku to carry. “I’ll fillet these for dinner, if you want to check in with the others?”

He looked over to where Rody and his siblings walking along the beach, and Izuku nodded, giving Eijirou a grateful smile as he took a few steps toward them.

“See you at Rikido’s soon?” he asked.

“Can’t wait!”

With a last nod, he ran off along the sand to meet up with the group, admiring the buckets of lettuce hanging from little hands.

“Thanks for your work today!” he said, as he fell into step beside them. “Listen, I’m thinking about making a trip back to visit my friends in Chimura soon. I’ll be gone for at least a couple of weeks, maybe more. I know you’re pretty much finished clearing things out, it’s all looking great, but could you maybe keep making trips up there to water and harvest the plants for me? I’m so sorry to ask, I’ve been watering them like four times a day because it gets so hot here, and I won’t be here to pay you but I can give you some in advance, and you can have everything Sato pays for the crops you harvest, of course, and eat what you want, and-”

“Izuku,” Rody cut him off, smiling faintly. “We’ll sort it, don’t stress.”

“Thank you so much!”

“Don’t worry about paying, we’ll sell the harvest like you said; save your coins in case you need anything in Chimura.”

“Don’t be silly, you deserve to get paid for your hard work!”

“We will,” Rody assured him. “There’s plenty of lettuce each day at the moment, plus the coconuts and coffee cherries, we’ve got plenty to harvest and sell.”

“If you’re sure,” Izuku conceded. “If it turns out to be more work than you expected, I’ll pay you when I get back, I promise!”

“Thank you,” Rody said with a chuckle. “When are you heading off?”

“Probably early tomorrow morning. I’ll gather up some food tonight to take with me, so I don’t starve along the way, then I’ll head off at dawn to get as much daylight as I can.”

“Take coconuts!” Roro suggested. “They don’t go bad for a long time!”

Izuku blinked at him, but Lala nodded sagely.

“We keep them for months,” she said. “You can hit it on a rock!”

“To open it,” Rody clarified. “Instead of an axe. Our Dad used to take them when he travelled, so he’d always have a food source. Just try to keep them cool, the heat will make them spoil quicker.”

“Thank you! I’ll definitely grab some coconuts!”

By the time they all reached Rikido’s place, Izuku could smell the dinners cooking, and his mouth started to water as they headed inside. Everything Rikido cooked up was excellent, and he was oddly disappointed to know it would be a while before he was back to taste it again. He was just gonna have to enjoy his last dish as much as possible, in the meantime!

“Eijirou said you’re going back to Chimura?” Mina asked, the moment she saw them enter. “I put some stuff aside for you, so you can eat along the way!”

She gestured to a pile on the counter, and Izuku smiled warmly. He had such good friends, always ready to take care of him.

“The jarred fish is salted, so it’ll last a long time,” Rikido explained. “The sack of coconuts was fresh this morning, so they’ve got at least a month in them, and the coffee beans are dried, so they’ll last too, and you can share them with your friends in Chimura. Take some of the lettuce harvest, too, it should go well with the salty fish.”

“You guys are amazing,” Izuku said softly. “I’m gonna miss you so much!”

“We’ll be here,” Mina assured him. “It’ll go by like nothing! A couple of weeks in transit, a couple more with your friends and family, you’ll be back in like a month!”

“I’m so excited already,” Izuku told them. “I bet they’ve got more vinegar and oil by now that I can bring back with me, and maybe some vegetables! I’ll try out Mei’s box and see if it gets things here intact.”

“We’ll be looking forward to it,” Rody said with a smile, helping the kids lift their lettuce buckets onto the counter. “Don’t worry about us, we’ve got everything covered back here.”

“You guys are the best.”

───

When Izuku walked into the clearing, he was surprised to see only a few bunnies around, munching on lettuce leaves. The plants were growing wild, the outer leaves big and a little wilted where they hadn’t been eaten on time, and Izuku felt his stomach churn. Where were all the bunnies he’d seen on his last visits? Had he scared them away with too much lettuce, or too many visits? He set down his gear, pumping up his tent before the coming sunset made it difficult, then grabbed the small knife from his cooking kit to get to work. He cut away all the limp, wilted leaves from the lettuce plants first, setting them aside in a little pile; he would shred them later to use as fertiliser, but that was something he could do by fire or lantern light. When that was finished, he picked out the biggest of the plants and cut some more of the outer leaves, adding them to his Mei Box to eat later. It was honestly kind of impressive how well the lettuces seemed to grow, in that area. He really did need to drag some dirt to Tsuricho, to give them a better shot at growing vegetables.

When the area began to get dark, Izuku headed into the trees to find some fallen sticks for his fire, immediately distracted when he heard rustling in the distance. He crept forward to look, and soon he saw a patch of scattered bushes, with a whole herd of bunnies munching at the lower leaves. He smiled to himself as he watched, grateful to see they were doing okay, but he couldn’t help but be curious – what was it they’d deemed more exciting than the lettuce?

When they moved on from one of the bushes, he sneaked over to look, surprised to find that it wasn’t the leaves they were snacking on, but clusters of tiny blue things that looked a little like the cherries everyone loved so much. The ones left below were tiny, green-looking things, but up the top, where the bunnies couldn’t reach, were big, blue balls, just like the ones the bunnies seemed to be chomping from other bushes.

Throwing caution to the wind, he plucked one, tearing it open to search for a pit or a bean and finding nothing. When he sniffed it, it smelled sweet, and with the bunnies munching away, it had to be safe, right?

With a deep breath, he threw it in his mouth, taking a bite and letting the juice burst in his mouth.

It was amazing.

He quickly picked a few more, shoving them in his mouth and marvelling over how tangy it was, with just a hint of sweetness to cut through and stop it from becoming too much. He pulled up the front of his shirt, forming a little basket to hold the fruit, and gathered as many as he could get without disturbing the rabbits, before he took them back to his tent with him. He’d entirely forgotten about getting sticks, but he didn’t even care anymore – it was warm enough without a fire, and with his new fruit, he didn’t need to cook his dinner. He sat back on his sleeping bag and ate to his heart’s content, admiring the clear skies and bright, tiny stars that were on display above him. When morning came, he’d gather any more of the fruit that were ready to go, so he could take them back to Eri and the others. But for that night, he retired to his tent, quickly dozing off with a clear view of the stars out his door, and his fingertips stained bright purple.

───

The sky was alive with rays of red and orange by the time Izuku crossed the bridge into Chimura, his arms starting to go numb from the weight of everything he carried. He had his dad’s old backpack on, as always, with his tent pack strapped to the top; over one shoulder he wore the Mei Box, loaded up with jars and bundles; over the other shoulder, he carried the big rope bag full of coconuts that he’d been given in Chimura; and in each hand, he carried a metal bucket, loaded up with freshly-caught fish from the nearby river. He knew he should go straight to the farm and unload, but he couldn’t resist the allure of Aizawa’s front door, stepping up to it all dirty and smelly, but knocking all the same. He heard footsteps from within, and then a familiar face was peering out at him, shooting him the biggest smile he’d ever seen.

“You’re still here!” Izuku said, smiling tiredly. “Thank you for passing on the packages, for me!”

“Izuku! It’s so good to see you!”

Tiny footsteps raced toward them, at the sound of his name, and Izuku crouched carefully, setting his buckets down just in time to catch Eri in a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, and Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle, holding her tight in his arms.

“I missed you too,” he said softly. “Thank you for the cherries, they were delicious. I shared them with all my new friends, and they were so jealous that I had a friend like you who would send them to me.”

“I got to pat the bunnies,” Eri sobbed into his shoulder. “It was the best.”

“I’m glad you had some fun while I was gone!”

It didn’t take long for Aizawa to join them, giving Eri a fond look when she finally composed herself, wiping away her tears.

“Happy cries!” she told him, sniffling a little. “I’m okay.”

“I know,” he assured her. “I’m happy to see you, too.”

“Looks like you’ve gathered quite a collection of gear,” Hizashi chuckled, when Izuku stood back up carefully, making sure he didn’t lose anything in the process. “Let me give you a hand.”

“Me too!” Eri insisted.

“You don’t have to do that,” he assured them. “It’s getting late, you guys are probably busy!”

“Nope,” Hizashi said, carefully lifting the big sack of coconuts off of his shoulder. “You can tell me all about it as we walk.”

“I’ll take the special box!” Eri insisted, reaching for it on his other side. “I carried it to the trader when he came, so he could bring it to you!”

“Thank you, I appreciate that!” Izuku said, conceding when Aizawa reached to take it from him and pass it on to Eri. “I think it’ll make my food stay good for longer, but I haven’t tested it much yet.”

“I think that was the gist of it,” Hizashi agreed, with a wry smile that Izuku understood all too well. “She mentioned soaking the liner in cold water, and insisted that we do not, under any circumstances, hit it with an axe.”

Izuku laughed brightly, tearing up a little at the thought. It was such a Mei comment to make, and he loved her for it.

“Let me,” Aizawa said, reaching for Izuku’s buckets. “You learned to fish, then?”

“I did! The smaller streams don’t get me much, but I slept by a wide river last night and spent the morning fishing before I hurried over here. There are some nice big ones! I thought I could make us dinner with them, but it took longer than I expected to get here, so you’ll have to join me tomorrow instead!”

“We’ll be looking forward to it.” Hizashi grinned at him. “And plenty of coconuts, I see! You carried these all the way here?”

“Yeah,” Izuku laughed. “Thankfully Mina loaned me that cool bag for them, otherwise I’m not sure I could have managed it. I’m thinking about buying some more rope to make one of my own.”

“It’s very nifty,” Hizashi agreed. “It wouldn’t do much for cherries or tomatoes, unless you made the gaps much smaller, but for coconuts it works great!”

“Oh yeah, it’s definitely just for bigger stuff, but it’s so light and compact, it would be great to carry around as a back-up!”

Mirio came rushing out his front door when he saw them coming down the hill, grinning and waving excitedly, and Izuku managed to muster up the energy to lift an arm and wave back, despite his fatigue. Before he’d even said a word, Mirio was unstrapping the tent from Izuku’s backpack, lightening his load a little for the rest of the trip. Izuku teared up all over again at the kindness, wondering, not for the first time, how he was ever supposed to leave them all again.

“You should really get yourself a horse to help,” Hizashi said, when they reached the farm and began unloading. “I wouldn’t be able to do all my travelling without Oboro, he’s a lifesaver.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Izuku agreed. “I was thinking just the other day about how to haul more stuff around with me. I wouldn’t know where to start, though!”

“You should come to my school,” Eri suggested, with a painful sincerity. “Pony can teach you.”

“The Tsunotoris ran a few classes for us,” Aizawa explained. “I’m sure they’d be happy to sell you a horse and teach you how to ride, if you wanted.”

“I’ll have to go talk to them tomorrow!”

Before Izuku could stop him, Mirio was inflating Izuku’s tent for him, only laughing when Izuku tried to tell him he didn’t have to. One by one they set Izuku’s gear down inside for him, and Izuku could only watch fondly, when they refused to let him do it himself. Eri laid out his sleeping bag and blankets for him carefully, Aizawa hung the buckets of fish from the nearby trees to keep them from stinking out the tent, and Hizashi hung the coconut bag beside it, since it was a little large to fit comfortably in his tent with him. When everyone was sitting happily in the dirt, ready to catch up and share stories, Izuku opened up the Mei Box, producing a big bundle of the blue fruits to show off. Eri gasped when she saw, reaching for one immediately, and Izuku just laughed, despite the look Aizawa gave her for it.

“It’s okay,” he assured them. “Try one! They’re delicious!”

“What are they?” Eri asked. “Blue cherries?”

“Something like that,” Izuku agreed. “I don’t know what they’re called, yet.”

She took a bite, eyes widening when it burst in her mouth, and Izuku could only laugh. Finding no seed inside, Aizawa and Hizashi put them straight in their mouths, and Mirio followed their lead.

“Oh my god,” he said, turning to look at Izuku in awe. “Where did you find these?”

“They were growing on bushes at the bunny farm, they must have started blooming while I was in Tsuricho. Much smaller plants than the cherry trees, but the fruit looked similar and the bunnies were eating them, so I figured it was safe!”

Izuku took a couple for himself this time, gesturing toward the pile, and one by one the others reached for a handful, marvelling over the sweet and tangy little orbs.

“Can we look them up?” Eri asked, pointing at Izuku’s satchel. “Like the tomatoes?”

“We can give it a go!” he agreed.

Before he could move, Eri had already crawled over to grab his bag, leaning against Izuku’s side as he opened it up. He set out his little lantern, much less used now that the days were so long, and together they began scanning through pages, hunting for the right item. He was pretty sure they were a fruit, from the way they grew and looked and tasted, so they went straight to the second half of the book, examining sketches for something that might look right.

“That one!” Eri said excitedly, the moment he flipped a page. “Berries!”

Mirio shuffled over to look, interest piqued, and Izuku held the book out for them all to see. Sure enough, while the lack of colour made it a little harder to tell, the drawings of the fruit and the bush looked almost perfect.

“Blueberries,” he read. “Well, they are blue.”

“Purple inside!” Eri said, delighted by the purple-stained hands she held up.

“That’s true,” Izuku laughed. “Maybe we should call them purpleberries.”

“It doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Hizashi chuckled. “I bet they’d be great with custard.”

“Oh! Yeah!” Izuku agreed. “Can you imagine a cherry and blueberry custard? My mouth is watering just thinking about it.”

“We can give it a go tomorrow,” Mirio suggested.

“We haven’t picked the cherries in a while, since they got scarce,” Aizawa said. “And we won’t be back for a few more days, with other things going on. I bet you could find the stragglers of the season, if you wanted.”

“Custard is so resource intensive, though,” Izuku lamented. “I’d hate to waste so much food just for my whims.”

“It’s to celebrate your homecoming!” Mirio insisted. “It’s definitely not a waste, let’s do it!”

“Okay, okay,” Izuku conceded, laughing. “That sounds great. I’ll come over in the morning and we can work on it together! Could I borrow a knife to fillet my fish, too? It’s a bit of a stinky process so I’ll do it outside, but I thought you probably have a better knife than just my tiny one.”

“Of course!”

For a little while longer, they sat around the farm sharing stories together, until the forest was dark and Eri was valiantly holding back her yawns. She protested when Aizawa declared it time to leave, but she didn’t stop him from scooping her up to carry, snuggling into his chest comfortably.

“Take my lantern,” Izuku insisted, stuffing it into Hizashi’s hand. “Get home safely, I’ll get it back another time!”

“Thank you. Have a good night, Izuku, it’s good to have you back.”

Eri held out a hand, and Izuku squeezed it lightly to say goodbye, waving at all their backs as they headed off to their homes. He waited until the light was long out of sight before he retired to his tent, sighing contentedly as he lay back on his sleeping bag. It was much warmer overnight than Tsuricho, despite the stinking hot days, so he lay on top of all his blankets for some extra padding, smiling to himself as he closed his eyes.