Chapter 6!
As I've said before, I'll now just be updating whatever I have whenever I have it, with some exceptions, so then everyone has things to read regardless. I do want to update some older fics that have gone without an update in a while but I am stuck on some of them or am just more motivated or have a more clear direction with others so I'm just gonna update to not have long droughts of no updating at all. Anyways an update on Sheer Cold went up with this one so check that out too.
User/Reviewer TeraellinII: Yup! I based this Izumi off Kizaru and I wanted to really get a fun blend of all the enjoyable things about Kizaru and his powers and implement them here. He's actually my favorite Navy character in One Piece so getting to write this Izumi has been really exciting and of course relaxing since she's on easy mode.
User/Reviewer Cyde: Thanks as always for the reviews! Glad I got a good grasp of Kizaru during the action scenes cause that's a good place to really show off what's so enjoyable about him and more true to the inspired character in contrast to the more toned down sections being more of a blend of this Izumi with slight Kizaru tendencies. I do find it can be a bit tough to capture his character in the downtime when Izumi is so prevalent in the story unlike how we only get bits and relatively small appearances of him in One Piece so I definitely need that outlet to really get Kizaru moments here.
User/Reviewer EndlessChains: The last couple chapters were fun to write and release both for the comedy parts and the small but sweet moments which I've really prioritized in this fic given that it's a slice of life type. Being able to focus instead on the daily life and moments in between really helps to highlight just how much time the characters get to spend together and how they interact with one another with the changes of them growing coming in slowly. Thanks as always for the reviews!
To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!
Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA or the referenced power
Enjoy, more notes at the end!
Chapter 6: To the Heart
*Momo POV*
There were a number of things that Momo truthfully hadn't partaken in much and suffice to say, one of those things was cooking.
Of course, since meeting Izumi, the black haired girl had been exposed to more activities like the culinary arts but she had only ever helped with the assortment and packing of the food rather than actually cooking it. Once again, Momo had found herself at Izumi's house and since it was nearing dinner she had asked if Izumi would show her how to cook something.
The light girl tapped at her chin in her usual manner as she briefly mulled over the idea, "then I'll show you and let you make croquettes."
Momo perked up at the idea since she quite enjoyed whenever Izumi made them and after putting on an extra apron the creation girl was ready to go. The black haired girl slowly and carefully peeled the potatoes that Izumi had provided her with before slicing them into thick disks and placing them in the boiling water. Momo would have watched the entire process of them cooking if Izumi hadn't drawn her away to get the rest of the ingredients ready, a timer being set for the potatoes instead. Momo meticulously chopped up the already cooked ham into small cubes, as uniform as possible, and then the green onions before setting them aside alongside some shredded cheddar. Momo hadn't expected to get so immersed in just the preparation of ingredients but the process still pleased her regardless and Izumi handed her three large plastic trays.
"Flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs!" Momo listed off and Izumi laughed kindly as she also supplied the three things the black haired girl had mentioned.
"You've already got it down," Izumi praised somewhat playfully and shuffled about with a hum.
The timer went off and Momo, with Izumi's assistance, carefully strained the potatoes and returned them to the pot they'd just used for Momo to mash them up. Afterwards, the cook in training added the other ingredients and mixed them together before the mixed mash was set aside to cool. Momo took a quick break and closely watched Izumi speedily chop up her own ingredients for the main dish, the light girl easily making short work of the task.
With the mix cooled enough to handle, Momo sat at the table and shaped disks out of the mash and placed them on a platter that Izumi had prepared. Once she had finished, the potato patties in the fridge for a bit, Momo washed her hands and went to get the breading ready. Starting with the flour, Momo had heard Izumi's quiet chuckle as she poured the flour into the tray too fast and got a face full of it puffing back at her. Next, the black haired girl had a bit of trouble cleanly cracking the eggs and had to spend a bit of time plucking shells out in between but had eventually managed and beat them. Finally, and without issue, Momo simply poured a generous amount of breadcrumbs into the last tray.
"Now you can start breading them," Izumi remarked and set out another empty tray beside the breadcrumbs and took the tray that had the potato patties from the fridge and placed it by the flour.
Truthfully, Momo had been a bit surprised at just how long it took to prepare croquettes but she reasoned that they didn't take particularly long to cook. Well, it wasn't as if she disliked the busy activity in the first place. Izumi took one of the patties with her right hand and Momo paid close attention to what was to be her example.
"First the flour," Izumi dropped the potato in the tray and flipped it with her right a few times until it was fully dusted before removing it and flipping it in her hand multiple times, "removing the excess," she explained and Momo nodded at her.
Giving the patty one last flip, Izumi placed it into the egg and used her left to turn it once while her right grabbed a handful of breadcrumbs. The greenette lifted the potato and shook off a little of the hanging egg and dropped it into the breadcrumbs before dropping the handful on top of it and repeating the same flipping process she did with the flour.
"Not too complicated," Izumi smiled as she placed the breaded patty onto the empty tray, "If you want more crust then after the first breadcrumbs go egg once more and then back to breadcrumbs." Momo's head eagerly nodding, unable to wait any longer. "Then, I'll leave it to you."
"Yeah, I'll do my best!" Momo exclaimed and readily took to the task, doing her best to copying what Izumi had done.
It didn't take long to sort of get into the swing of things but the same could be said for some minor issues. Momo had been so wrapped up in the breading process that she hadn't noticed the weird pasty mess accumulating on her finger tips.
"Ah, um Izumi? What do I do about this?" Momo called out, wondering if she might have done something wrong since this didn't happen to the greenette.
The light girl peered over and gave that curious hum of hers before a chuckle left her lips, "Momo you can wash your hands you know." she suggested and the creation girl blushed a little from not having thought of that initially.
"Am I doing something wrong?" she wondered as she cleaned off her fingers and Izumi walked over to where Momo had been working.
"Not exactly but there's a bit of a rule to follow when it comes to breading foods," Izumi revealed, Momo drying her hands off, "use one hand for dry ingredients and the other for the wet one."
"Ah," Momo realized plainly, she had been finding it easier to turn and cover the patties with both hands, now seeing why Izumi had distinctly used her left and right the way she did.
"Though you did get the process well enough that you didn't really have to think of it." Izumi noted with a curious tone, Momo wondering what she was up to.
"Yeah, I suppose I was able to multitask it if I wanted to." the creation girl agreed and Izumi once more put the patties in the fridge.
"What things do you like to make with your quirk?" the light girl suddenly asked and Momo was caught off guard but clearly Izumi had thought of something.
"Matryoshka dolls," Momo replied instantly, remembering how long she spent learning to make them as a child and how it was the first thing she successfully created.
Izumi set up a pot for deep frying as she hummed, "Do you think you'd be able to make croquettes again without me?" Izumi's confusing questions becoming even more out of nowhere.
"Yes." Momo went along with it and answered truthfully, while longer than she had thought and having its own intricacies, she had gotten down the process.
"Could you make a Matryoshka now?" Izumi requested, the oil heating in the pot and Momo, used to the strangeness of her friend, made one instantaneously. Izumi side eyed the doll with a smile, "it's nice," the greenette praised to Momo's pleasure. "Not much thought needed."
"No, not really," Momo agreed, running a thumb along the item. She had made so many that it was like second nature to create one.
"It's good to be confident." Izumi hummed and Momo shook her head at the words.
"I'm not that confident honestly," she tried back but Izumi laughed again.
"But you said you could make croquettes without me and have only done it once." Izumi reminded her and Momo was about to argue about how different those things were but the greenette continued, "how many times have you made different things with your quirk?"
The creation girl's mouth closed, her protest gone with Izumi's message. Everything she had worked towards was something she could put trust in. If she didn't quite have the confidence then she could believe in all she had done to get where she was.
"You're unfair Izumi." Momo sighed, still barely wrapped up in her own thoughts, "you could compliment people more directly."
"Would it have more meaning?" the greenette wondered, her back towards the creation girl and Izumi's tone told Momo that that small smile was on her lips.
Momo let Izumi's question hang, already knowing that it wasn't one that needed an answer, and the black haired girl pinched her own cheeks, "is it time to keep cooking?"
"It's all ready for you." Izumi gestured, already ahead of things as always as the croquettes were out once more.
"Right!" Momo pumped herself up and instead of moving out of the way, Izumi shuffled away a touch so they were standing next to each other.
While it had taken a bit of Momo retreating from small splashes of oil, Izumi eventually showing her a way to slide the croquettes in on chopsticks, clearly discolored sides, and of course the creation girl's growling stomach, Momo was proud of her first successfully made dish.
-break-
It had been a couple days since her cooking practice with Izumi but now Momo had found herself being driven all the way from her home in Aichi to Chiba.
While quite early in the morning, Momo had called about the greenette's plans for the day but Izumi had revealed that she was mysteriously in Otaki in Chiba Prefecture. It was quite a ways out but Momo had made the slightly impulsive decision to join the greenette on whatever adventure had brought her out so far. The drive was quite the long trip but luckily her driver had family in Chiba so she wasn't putting them too out of the way. After being dropped off, Momo immediately spotted Izumi waiting for her at the spot they designated to meet at.
"It's quite out of the way you know." Izumi surely referencing the distance between Aichi and Chiba.
"I could say the same to you Izumi." Momo giggled a bit and the light user stood up with a hum of acknowledgement.
The pair began walking, Izumi directing the way as they made small talk, Momo being suckered into eating an umeboshi onigiri and making a face at the extreme sourness while the greenette was unaffected. The black haired girl did some slight sightseeing as they continued on their way and eventually they reached the destination that Izumi had been aiming for.
"Are you sure this is why you came here?" Momo had to ask, still a bit surprised at what Izumi considered as worth a long trip.
The dark of the Mukoyama tunnel was laid before them and Momo was a bit hesitant to enter but Izumi strode right in, evidently pleased with what she had come to see.
"Here we go," Izumi offered while she raised a finger and the tip glowed relatively softly, her quirk in use.
Momo stuck close to her light using friend and once again voiced her confusion. "Is this really the attraction?" the black haired girl didn't even know what this tunnel was.
"I think it's quite pleasant," Izumi smiled as the two silently marched on and eventually Momo noticed that the light girl stopped using her quirk, "that's quite nice isn't it?" she asked, her finger still pointing and Momo took in the weird sight before her.
The tunnel had what Momo could only call a second floor, light flooding in from the top opening and giving way to a natural scene.
"What?" the black haired girl marveled at the strange thing.
"The top path was the original exit of the tunnel but another one was dug underneath and connected to the existing." Izumi explained concisely, "the top exit apparently couldn't be closed so it's a two floored tunnel."
"How weird," Momo remarked and Izumi urged her to follow her, the tunnels walls changing from the natural rock to a more man made one, and the pair exited before turning around.
Izumi pointed up at the sign, which listed a different name than before, "because of that, the name of the tunnel changes part of the way through."
"That's kind of interesting," the creation girl uttered in response to the story and Izumi laughed briefly.
"Though a tunnel may be a bit light for such a long trip." the greenette spoke thoughtfully, though her sarcastic edge was there.
"Let's go then!"
-break-
Momo stared at the blooming scenery in wonder as the vibrant flowers of spring rolled through the breeze like a wave.
The pair had come to the flower fields that the Kominato line ran through and Momo could see other people walking along the flower lined paths. Izumi slowly strode beside her and the creation girl heard her soft humming as she lazily dragged her gaze across every inch of the sight before her.
"I've never gotten to come here before," Momo remarked, still marveling at the bright field.
"It's always something to see," Izumi responded, "it's nice to see before things get busy."
The words drew Momo's attention back to her light friend, "is something happening?" she wondered aloud, Izumi seemingly was never busy, but suddenly realized, "the Sport's Festival!"
Momo was a little embarrassed to have forgotten but Izumi reassured her, "you've still been working just fine."
"Right, right," Momo agreed, it was true that she hadn't slacked from her practice, but she still wanted to do more, "I'm just not sure what else to work on to give me an edge."
"If you can't find it in your own head then an outside source can always help," Izumi instructed softly and the creation girl took a deep breathe.
After Izumi had introduced her to new forms of media, Momo had made a habit to search up blue prints, drawings, or the like of things from games and other fictional pieces but didn't quite have the ability to make the item or replace components of it.
"Though it's not like I can really test them." Momo reminded herself and Izumi took on a thoughtful look.
"If you scaled them down?" the light wielder posed and Momo wanted to perhaps give her a hug for knowing the answer for practically anything.
"If I reduce everything enough then I can probably test a number of them," Momo beamed a little at the prospect. "Let's definitely give it our all Izumi!"
"I suppose I should do my part then." Izumi agreed right after, no extra tone to indicate if she was messing around, and Momo snapped back to reality.
"Ah, no I just meant..." the creation girl sputtered.
"Oh, weren't you the one who suggested I give it my all for the Sport's Festival before as well?" Izumi reminded and Momo paled a little.
"T-that was a joke of course! A joke!" the black haired girl tried but Izumi smiled with her eyes.
"So I suppose not trying is better?"
"You should...I...but..." Momo tried, the words failing her again and again.
The creation girl was going to have to apologize to the school for what she had just done.
Notes and Stuff
I make croquettes a lot cause they're great and if you already have them prepared then they're pretty easy to just quickly make. Umeboshi is sour plum by the way and when I say sour I mean seriously seriously sour. They're delicious.
They say that the way to someone's heart is through their stomach and with the constant cooking stuff in this fic I feel like it is for Momo at least. Also RIP to all the U.A students, Momo set you all up for failure by unleashing Izumi. That'll be fun, read short, to write. The thought of Momo making mini prototypes/models of things from games was a fun thought for me and I think it'd certainly be helpful on some level.
By the way, if you like slice of life mangas then read Saguri-Chan Tankentai. It's very cute and I've used it as research and inspiration for some of the locations I have Izumi and Momo go to. A lot of great places get shown off.
Lastly, and I'll put this on my other fics that get updated, I've mentioned making a Yuri anthology in the past that would contain side stories from my fics as well as short stories and currently I have one side story done and perhaps a second by the time people give their thoughts. Should I just release it or wait until I have more content for it? As I've said I only have a side story currently so it's related to one of my currently existing fics rather than being something completely new from me in a sense. Let me know!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!