Chapter 17: Making a Home

Asta wiped the sweat from his brow, as finished planting the last of the tato plants that Goku gifted to him. His little tato farm was all set up! He liked the quiet out here. The town was all well and fine but it just wasn't for Asta. He had been calm for the first time since dying. Even though his heart still ached for his life, it's not so bad anymore. He slept more and the activity of planting, gathering wood and water, and hiking through the woods helped him manage his energy levels.

And when Asta needed to talk to another person, Izuku was there. Izuku was a good roommate. He helped clean up the house, though it wasn't often messy. Izuku got caught up in his head so there were times that Asta almost forgot that the green-haired hero was there! Their friends gave them a lot of books, so Izuku had been busy reading and learning. After farming and making their meals, Asta joined him sometimes.

Many people didn't know that Asta liked to read. When the Black Bulls found out, it was a shock to them because they didn't think that Asta was able to sit still long enough to read a book. Admittedly, Asta had a poor attention span, but as long as he broke down the books into manageable reading selections, he could get a 400-page book done within a week. Magic Knights also had to do research sometimes too, especially with certain types of missions and Asta wanted to be the best Magic Knight, so reading was important.

(Did the Black Bulls start a book club? Yes, they did and it was grand.)

Asta looked at his field and grinned. He did a good job. He picked up his water jug and grabbed his cart that had his farming tools (also a gift from Goku—he was such a nice guy). Once his tools were in storage, Asta headed inside. He took off his shoes in the mudroom and put his house slippers on his feet. He entered the living room to find Izuku sitting on the floor using the coffee table as a desk. The coffee table covered by a bunch of books didn't look like a table. Izuku scribbled away in his notebook.

"Find something interesting," asked Asta, sitting himself on the couch, peering over Izuku's shoulder to see what the other man wrote so frantically.

"It only rains outside of the set-up towns," said Izuku, looking up. He grinned at Asta. "Should we set up a well somewhere then?"

Asta said, "That might be an idea! It'd be great to see rain again. Oh, but I'm gonna have to figure out a way to know when rain is coming so it doesn't kill the tatoes."

"From what I understand from your planting books, potatoes needed a dependable watering schedule, but too much or too little will harm the plants," said Izuku.

"True. This ground is cool enough here, so I don't have to worry about that. Tatoes are very easy to grow," said Asta. "Hmm, maybe a tarp set-up to divert the water…?"

"We can collect the rainwater that way," said Izuku. "We'll need some supplies from one the towns to build the contraption."

"Since I finished planting today, I just need to water tomorrow, so we can head out to town after that and grab the stuff we need," said Asta, nodding. "So, what do you want for dinner?" Their kitchen was well-stocked, courtesy of Naruto, Hinata, Acier and All Might.

"I think we still left over rice from yesterday," said Izuku.

"I'll make some stir-fry. Miss Hinata taught me how to make it," said Asta. He stood up and headed to the kitchen to start dinner. Asta took care of the cooking because Izuku was kind of a disaster in the kitchen. Izuku was a great cleaner and handy around the house (he did tell Asta that he grew up in a single-mother household so he learned different things to help his mom).

In the kitchen, Asta went to work on dinner. Cooking was cathartic in a way that farming wasn't. Asta used to help Sister Lily in the kitchen at the church orphanage in Hage. He liked cooking for other people.

After dinner, Izuku and Asta usually took a long hike through the nearby woods to learn more about the area where they found themselves living. All the woods were very similar to the ones where they originally had been dropped in this afterlife.

"Do you think there's someone interested in weather somewhere," asked Izuku. Though Izuku grew up in a city, he wasn't clumsy in his movements in the wilderness.

"Well, there's gotta be someone. I mean if not a witch or wizard, there's gotta be someone," said Asta.

"I suppose," said Izuku. "This world is still so creep without animals."

"Right?! I think so too," said Asta.

Walking after dinner was always a good idea to help digest things faster. They were chatting happily when Asta sensed someone. Even without the anti-magic demon, Asta still knew how sense ki. Asta put up his hand to stop Izuku. Izuku's eyes narrowed. Without both their respective powers, they'd still put up a fight.

Asta moved towards the presence.

It was just a kid, maybe twelve, he was training.

"That's Morro," said Izuku, softly. "He's supposed to be back in town, studying with Ichigo."

Asta nodded in understanding. Izuku had told him that there were kids who didn't like adults telling them what to do, especially depending on the circumstances which brought them to this afterlife.

"Who's there," Morro called out.

Asta and Izuku traded looks and stepped forward. Asta said, cheerfully, greeting the teen. "Hi! I'm Asta."

"I'm Izuku," he said.

Morro looked at them and ran.

Dumbfounded, Asta said, "Huh? He's a jumpy kid, ain't he?"

"Let's just keep an eye out for him," said Izuku. "Ichigo said that he had a rough time when he first got here."

"Agreed," said Asta. "We should let Ichigo know that we saw him."

Cameos:
Morro, the Elemental Master of Wind, from Ninjago