All Who Wander [Chapter 22 - CABBAGE]

Izuku woke to bright sun shining in through his windows, smiling to himself as he yawned and stretched contentedly. Momo had laid out a little folding mat for him the night prior, making it up with soft blankets for him to sleep on, and it was actually very reminiscent of his makeshift mattress in his tent. Where his tent had the new inflatable floor to add some extra padding, Momo’s house had floors made of some kind of woven mats rather than hard wooden boards, and honestly, they weren’t so different for putting a bed on. It was comfy enough, and familiar enough, and quiet enough, that he’d managed to sleep the whole night through without waking even once. All in all, he felt good.

He carefully slid open the pretty sliding door, peeking his head out into the hallway to take a look around. Momo’s bedroom was still closed up, the house silent, so he tiptoed down to the bathroom as quietly as he could, to keep from waking her. It didn’t take long for him to be clean and dressed, and he dithered for a minute, before finally heading for the front door; there was no harm in going for a little walk, after all, to start learning his way around while he kept out of her way and let her sleep a little longer.

The morning breeze was a chilly, even through his coat, so he kept a brisk pace as he moved, to warm himself up a little. Everything about the island was beautiful, with all its rolling hills and carefully-stepped fields, the colourful wildflowers dotting his path that he wished he could take home to Eri, and best of all, the unimpeded views of bright blue ocean waves, crashing against the rocky shores. He wished he had a way to capture it, to take it home for everyone to see, but he knew he’d have to settle for describing it as best as he could with his words alone.

Rounding a corner, he spotted a figure in the distance, stopping for a moment to just watch, wide-eyed. Shouto was clearly a man of few words, had neglected to even introduce himself when they met – though Momo had done that for them – and everything about him had seemed so poised and elegant; he stood tall, had a pretty face and silky hair, and his clothes were so perfectly tailored, with none of the wear-and-tear Izuku was used to in his own belongings. So when Izuku saw him in that field, he was honestly a little shocked; farming was hard work, physical labour, and Shouto just... hadn’t seemed like the type.

But there he was, leaned over a dry field, hard at work in the dirt. When Izuku got closer, he saw neat, even rows of little green crops inside. It was different from the rice he’d seen the day prior, closer to the kind of thing he grew at home, and Shouto was working away at pulling out weeds, just like Izuku did on his own farm. It just further reinforced his certainty that he was looking at something new, not at the rice with its flooded fields to keep the weeds at bay.

Shouto’s eyes darted toward him, clearly spotting him staring, but he didn’t say a word – not a ‘good morning’, or a ‘did you sleep well’ or even a ‘quit staring at me you weirdo’. He didn’t even really acknowledge Izuku’s presence, just kept going with his weeding in silence under the morning sun. In a moment of boldness, Izuku squared his shoulders and kept walking, dropping to his knees at the other end of the field before he watched for a moment longer. Sure enough, the neat, even rows were what Shouto was protecting, and it wasn’t hard to figure out which ones didn’t belong.

Besides, Izuku was an expert weeder.

When Izuku got too warm, he tossed his coat aside and continued. When he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, he used his sleeve to wipe off his face. And when his stomach began to growl, he finally glanced back again, surprised to see Shouto watching him this time.

“Do you grow cabbage at home?” Shouto asked, his voice just as silky-smooth as his hair, which inexplicably seemed unbothered by the hours of farmwork. Izuku needed to learn his secrets.

“I grow other things,” Izuku answered, pulling his last few weeds and standing up to admire his handiwork. “I’ve actually never seen a cabbage before, though.”

Shouto blinked at him, but after a moment of silence, he reached into his bag, pulling out a little wooden box. He wiped his hands on a damp cloth, then offered it to Izuku to do the same, letting him clean himself off while Shouto opened up the box.

“Breakfast,” Shouto explained, offering him first pick of the little purpleish rolls inside.

“Are you sure?”

Shouto just nodded, so Izuku accepted, picking up one of the little rolls and trying to contain his excitement about it. He suspected he might scare Shouto off, if he let out too many of his emotions; then again, Shouto had already surprised him once that morning. Steeling himself, he took a bite of the food, praying he could continue to bite back his emotions along with it.

The purple leaves housed something pale brown in colour, made of tiny little pieces all squished together and wrapped up. It tasted savoury and salty, while the leaves reminded him a lot of his lettuce back home, with a hint of vinegar like they used in Chimura.

“This is amazing,” Izuku praised him. “Which part is the cabbage?”

Shouto blinked at him, and then, to Izuku’s disbelief, he laughed. It was no awkward chuckle or amused little giggle he couldn’t quite contain, but full-blown laughter, like Izuku had cracked the funniest joke he’d heard in weeks. Izuku didn’t know what he’d said that was so funny, but he liked the expression on Shouto’s face when he laughed, so he didn’t bother to complain.

“The leaf,” Shouto said finally, when he’d gathered some composure and handed Izuku another roll in apology. “The inside is rice and soy sauce.”

“Momo showed me the rice yesterday,” Izuku said, nodding. “Where does soy sauce come from?”

“We grow soybeans, too. Some of them we eat as-is, others we make into sauce and milk and tofu. We’ve run out of fresh ones for the season, though.”

“That’s a shame! I love how versatile they sound! In Chimura they do that kind of thing with milk, and I always love that – cheese and cream and butter all from one thing! It’s amazing.”

“I suppose.”

“What else do you grow here?”

“Sugarcane, cotton...”

“Is that where sugar comes from? When I buy it from the traders?”

“Probably,” Shouto shrugged. “We sell it when they come by, but that isn’t very often.”

“And how do you eat cotton?”

“Eat?” Shouto asked, clearly holding back another laugh. “It makes our clothes and blankets and ropes, that kind of thing.”

“Oh! Wow! Is that why your clothes are so soft and smooth?”

“Probably,” Shouto said again. “It’s a little hard to work with, but there are people on the mainland who are willing to do it, so sometimes we process it here and send it over for actual manufacturing. Sometimes they mix it with other materials, like your trousers.”

Izuku looked down, staring at his old, worn-in pants. He’d never really thought about what they were made of; his mother had just sewn them from some fabric the trader was selling.

“Pure cotton is nicer, but they can sell more items if they stretch the supply further.”

By the time Momo found them, wandering her way up the hill to meet up, Izuku was enthralled in Shouto’s impassive descriptions of working with all their individual crops. He’d gone from not saying a word to suddenly saying a ton of them, with a little pushing, and Izuku could feel his eyes shining as he listened and learned. Momo just smiled at them both, offering them cold water she’d brought up from the stream, and Izuku grinned back in thanks as he accepted.

“Thank you both for having me here,” Izuku said, when Shouto was done with his explanations. “I’m so excited to learn about all this stuff, it’s so fascinating!”

“You’ll have to teach us about your home, too!” Momo instructed. “I can’t wait to hear about everything we don’t have.”

“I’d be happy to,” Izuku assured her. “I brought a little food over with me, so let me make you dinner tonight! It won’t be quite as good as fresh stuff, but I brought some things you might not have tried, so I hope it’ll be tasty all the same!”

“That sounds excellent,” Momo agreed. “Shouto will come over as well, right?”

Shouto just nodded, but Momo seemed a little surprised to see it, and Izuku couldn’t help but grin. She’d clearly expected to have to push a bit more, like Izuku did back home when Mei got invited to things, but despite what seemed to be Shouto’s best intentions, Izuku was pretty sure he’d made a new friend.

If he had any say in the matter, Shouto would be spending a lot more time being social, in the not-too-distant future. Izuku still had to learn everything he knew, after all.

———

“So what do you do with the water?” Izuku asked, watching as Momo carefully set aside purple-ish water in small bowls. “Use it to water the crops?”

“We use it as an indicator later, but we only need a few drops at a time, so most of the cabbage gets eaten in better ways,” Momo said. “But the boiled cabbage works as a base for other meals, so it balances out nicely.”

“An indicator?”

“It tells us when things are ready,” Momo explained. “It changes colours depending what it interacts with.”

“That’s so cool!”

She just smiled at him fondly, not bothering to say a word about it. She’d quickly gotten used to his enthusiasm, had stopped being surprised by his lack of knowledge and his excitement for obtaining it, instead just patiently teaching him about everything in her life that he hadn’t yet encountered.

“The rice should be done about now, do you want to grab it?”

“Yup!” Izuku said gleefully. There was just something about taking the lid off the pot and finding soft, fluffy grains instead of the hard things that had gone in, he couldn’t get enough of it. “Are we mixing it with the cabbage?”

“Yes, I think so,” Momo agreed. “We’ll add some of the soy sauce too, and a bit of vinegar.”

“Are we making the balls you made before?” Izuku asked, head darting up from his rice fascination.

“That’s the plan.”

“I’m so excited!” Izuku could barely resist the urge to kick his feet or start dancing – they had been so delicious, the time she’d made them, and he’d been hoping he might get a chance to learn. “Now that I’ve mastered the cabbage rolls, I want to try the balls!”

Truth be told, he hadn’t even close to mastered them, they still fell apart half the time when he picked them up or took a bite, but Momo didn’t call him out on it, she just smiled warmly like always. She never said a bad word about anyone, never shot him down when he got excited, she was just such an all-round lovely person, and he adored her for that.

Shouto, on the other hand, had a hint of snark hidden somewhere inside him. Izuku had seen it in the way a little smirk tugged at his lips on occasion, and the straight-faced humour Izuku had taken a few days to understand. He’d seemed so sincere at first, like he truly meant all the words he’d said, but eventually, Izuku had figured it out. He felt like an idiot for taking so long to get there, but he could at least be grateful that he’d made it.

“Dip your hands in here,” Momo instructed, pushing a pretty wooden bowl toward him. “It’ll help keep the rice from sticking to your hands.”

He watched first, letting Momo roll one expertly while he tried to take it in – it didn’t look that hard. When he gave it a go himself, though, he quickly learned that it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Even with his wet hands, he still managed to get rice all over the place, and just like his cabbage rolls, it was determined to fall apart. He tried to copy Momo’s movements, but no matter how hard he tried to emulate her, his rice just didn’t seem to behave the way hers did.

“It just takes a lot of practice,” she assured him, when his eyebrows knitted together in his frustration. “Do you want to take a break? We need to shred the rest of the cabbage and I know you’re good with a knife. You can try again later, when your hands have had a rest.”

Part of Izuku wanted to be stubborn about it, but he did appreciate the encouragement and the easy out, so he nodded faintly instead. She was right, he was pretty decent with a knife, so at least he’d be more useful that way. There was something soothing about the repetitive motion of it, too, once he got into a rhythm. He shredded the cabbage like an expert, like it wasn’t the first time he’d ever cut a cabbage – well, other than earlier that morning, when he’d helped with the boiling part.

“That looks great!” Momo praised, when she saw the neat pile of cabbage pieces. “Can you pack them into that jar beside you? Then you’re gonna add a little salt and sugar, and fill it up with vinegar and water. Pack it in nice and tight for me!”

“Chimura does something similar with their vegetables,” Izuku said, as he began scooping cabbage into the jar. “To store them for the winter. Is that what this is for?”

“They do last longer this way,” Momo agreed, “but also I just love the taste. Just putting them on rice is one of my favourite meals.”

“Oh, I’ll have to try it some time!”

“I’ll open a jar tonight, we’ll eat them together.” She smiled, glancing back over her shoulder. “Shouto will join us, right?”

“For what?” he asked, sliding the front door closed behind him. “Oh, it smells good in here.”

“Pickled cabbage!” Momo said brightly. “Izuku hasn’t tried it before. We’re making more now, but I thought I’d open one of the older jars, so we can eat it together.”

“Sure,” Shouto agreed, making Momo blink at him before she quickly composed herself again. “Are we having deconstructed onigiri too?”

He looked pointedly at the counter in front of Izuku, and Izuku felt himself turn red when he caught on, seeing the scattered clumps of rice everywhere. Momo, to her credit, managed to hold back her laugh, stifling it quickly into a tight-lipped smile.

“I need a lot more practice,” Izuku acknowledged. “I don’t know how you make it look so easy.”

“Try it with less rice,” Shouto suggested, leaning over him to reach the bowl and drag it closer. “And don’t squeeze too hard. It’ll stick together naturally, you’re just helping it, not forcing it.”

Izuku watched him take a tiny amount of rice, shaping it effortlessly with hands dampened by the bowl of water between them.

“If you have rice on your hands from the last one, it’ll try to stick to that,” Shouto added, gesturing toward the sink. “Make sure they’re clean and try again.”

Izuku shuffled over to the sink obediently, making sure his hands were sparkling clean before he returned, dipping them into the bowl again when Shouto pointed at it. Shouto scooped up a little bit of rice, dumping it into his hands when he was ready, and carefully, gently, Izuku began to roll it between them.

“You don’t need it to be a sphere,” Shouto told him, grabbing his own spoonful to demonstrate. “Just press it instead of rolling it.”

Izuku mimicked his motions, trying his best to imitate them perfectly, but when Shouto opened his hands on another neat little ball of rice, he was still dumbfounded by it.

“You’ve got it,” Momo encouraged him. “Maybe a little more water?”

Izuku dipped his hand in the bowl again, swishing off a few loose grains like he’d seen Momo do earlier, and carefully he went back to pressing on his lumpy little ball of rice.

“Press and turn,” Shouto directed, his hand warm against Izuku’s when he reached over to help. “Like this.”

He took his hand away again quickly, and Izuku continued, holding his breath when he finally opened up his hands to take a look.

“I did it!” he gushed, eyes a little watery as he stared down at his perfect ball of rice, speckled with bits of boiled cabbage. “Oh my gosh!”

“See? Just needed a little practice,” Momo praised him, smiling fondly at them both. “Thanks, Shouto. You’ve always been a better teacher than me.”

“That’s not true,” Shouto said flatly. “I just correct people more.”

Izuku turned the ball back and forth as they argued quietly, admiring the way the little bits of rice all stuck together neatly, just like the filling in the cabbage rolls he’d first had with Shouto. He wondered how hard it would be to make them back home, whether he could figure it out to try with his mother and Mei, or even with Eri and Mirio, but the thought of it made his throat swell.

“Everything okay?” Momo asked gently.

“Yeah,” Izuku assured her, slapping a smile back on his face. “I’m so glad I could come and meet you guys.”

“I’m glad we got to meet you, too.”

She glanced at Shouto pointedly, but he just blinked back at her, confused. Izuku managed a little chuckle over their faces, swallowing hard to fight back the tears waiting just behind his eyes, and after a moment, Shouto patted him on the back lightly.

“Good work,” he said, with an almost painful awkwardness. “Let’s eat them for dinner.”

“I can’t wait!”