Chapter 24: And So It Starts

A year passed.

(Or what Izuku estimated to be a year).

The afterlife was good.

Asta yelled outside from the kitchen. "Izuku! It's time for lunch! You need to take a break anyway."

"Coming," Izuku called back. He sat outside all morning after Asta told Izuku that he needed to get some of that artificial sun or he'll become a vampire. Izuku wondered how Asta knew that reference or if Asta's world had vampires. He wondered if they were the same kind of vampires mentioned in folklore in Izuku's world. He left his books and papers outside and went into the kitchen.

Asta's farm had become quite easy to maintain, far easier than Asta expected, so Asta had been back to experimenting with cooking and baking again.

Izuku loved what he smelled cooking in the kitchen. It reminded him of the Bakugou household on Friday nights.

"I made my old senior Magna's Ma's famous spicy curry," said Asta.

"Great! I've not had really good spicy food in ages. Kacchan's mom always made the best," said Izuku.

"Hah! Well, this is pretty rough," said Asta, plating up curry and white rice for them.

Their daily mealtime routines became a good habit. Izuku had a problem remembering to eat and Asta was good at reminding him. Asta was also not shy about lifting up Izuku (who was not a small man in the least) to drag him to the dinner table. Ignoring the funny feeling in his stomach when he thought about that time, Izuku dug into the food. He grew up with Kacchan, so he knew how to eat his spicy food.

"This is so good," said Izuku. "My mouth is on fire."

Asta laughed. "The first time I ate it, I couldn't taste anything for a week. I grew up on tatoes, and not much variety in seasoning other than salt, so it was a shock!"

Izuku smiled. It had gotten easier to talk about the little things that their bigger story left out, like the little tidbits and anecdotes about their friends and family that were so mundane. Izuku loved it. Asta loved telling stories about his Black Bulls squadmates. It was like he knew them just as much as Asta. They all sounded like they were so much fun. Izuku told Asta stories about his friends and his time at Yuuei, too. "I bet! Me and Kacchan grew up together, so we ate a lot of the same things. When we were little, you couldn't be Kacchan's friend if you couldn't take your spice."

"A little Izuku hero-worshiped the ground that Kacchan walked on, so you learned really fast how to eat spicy foods," said Asta, grinning.

Izuku's face burned red from embarrassment. Other than Shinsou (who figured it out easily) and Shouto, Asta was the one person that Izuku had told about his feelings for Kacchan. "Kacchan is just so cool!"

Asta laughed again. "I think I'm going to be disappointed when I meet him with the way you talk him up so much."

"No way," Izuku protested.

"Well maybe he's as impressive as you say. He kind of reminds me of a mix of Magna and Luck!"

"That's terrifying," said Izuku. "But you know, maybe in another world, he was their son!" Izuku grinned.

Asta snorted. "Yeah, you're right that is terrifying."

They continued chatting, losing track of time as they did in this afterlife. Asta had to check on the tomatoes he planted and Izuku went back to his work. He still hadn't found anything explaining how this world worked on a metaphysical level, which had been driving Izuku up a wall. Closing his notebook, Izuku leaned in the chair on the back porch and looked at the sky. Was it a real sky? Or was it artificial? The sun was artificial, that much was certain, how Izuku didn't know.

This place was weird.

Sighing in relaxation, his body was at ease. He napped more than he ever did when he was alive. Resting for so much was hard to get used to, but it turned out that his mind needed the rest. To keep going and going without a break was an awful way to run yourself into the ground. Izuku wasn't good at recognizing that fact.

He closed his eyes and just thought nothing.

"Napping," asked Asta, in his "I'm-trying-to-use-my-indoor-voice" way, which was a normal speaking voice for anyone else.

"No, just resting my eyes," said Izuku. Then, he froze and opened his eyes, "Oh God, my mother used to say that."

Asta sat down next to Izuku and ruffled Izuku's hair. Asta leaned into Izuku's space, their shoulders touching. "Father Orsi used to say that too."

"Maybe it's true we become more like our parents as we get older, or we just pick up some of their habits and traits," said Izuku, leaning his head against Asta's shoulder.

"Oi! Izuku! Asta! I've come for a visit!"

"Goku-sa!?"

Having his farming mentor at his house was a blast, even if the Saiyan ate more than Izuku and Asta and the entire Diamond Kingdom combined. Never say that Goku didn't appreciate someone's cooking, but Asta wondered what would happen if Goku ever met Miss Charmy. There would be no more food anywhere. Goku had gotten bored, he told them, and he decided to go traveling. He left Ace and Gintoki in charge of his farm. Asta didn't know if Goku would still have a farm when he returned.

"Asta, you're getting so much better at cooking! Not as good as Chi-Chi's, but getting better," said Goku, rubbing his belly, satisfied.

Asta's eye twitched as he wound up using all of the dishes in the house. How did they get so many dishes and bowls anyway? Asta wasn't sure how many he and Izuku had been gifted. Izuku patted Asta on the back.

Izuku said, "So, Goku-sa! Let's give you a room to sleep before you continue your traveling!"

"You two are good kids," said Goku, grinning. "Can I use your bath?"

Asta showed Goku where the bathroom was and left the Saiyan warrior to his own devices, as Asta rejoined Izuku in the kitchen. Izuku said, grimacing at the pile of plates, "Well, we had better get started."

"At least Miss Charmy cleaned her own dishes," Asta grumbled.

"It was nice of him to visit. But I wonder if he just followed his nose," said Izuku.

With their teamwork, Asta and Izuku managed to get everything clean and dry by the time Goku was done in the bath. Asta and Izuku were exhausted, so everyone said good night and Goku crashed into their guest room.

Asta had crawled into his bed, in the room he built for himself and suddenly had a bout of nostalgia for Black Bull parties. Curling in a ball, the urge to want to go home was strong. He loved his afterlife. It was great, relaxing, and safe. And Izuku was amazing to have in his life.

But the Black Bulls were his family.

He barely got any sleep, but he still rose with the sun to make breakfast. He walked down the stairs to find that Izuku must have woken up in the middle of the night with an idea and he was still scribbling and mumbling away in his notebook. Asta smiled and shook his head. He made breakfast and the smell of food had summoned Goku. Where the man put all that food, Aata didn't know and didn't want to know.

Goku wanted to see how the farm was doing so Asta took him to look around the yard while Izuku stayed inside and washed the breakfast dishes.

"You know, I'm really happy for you two," said Goku, nodding.

"Oh, thanks," said Asta, sheepishly.

"I mean, it's really hard to die and leave everyone behind. You get lonely and you want to go home, but it's nice that even in the afterlife, people can find love," said Goku, smiling.

"Love," asked Asta.

"You and Izuku! You remind me when I first married Chi-Chi and how happy we were then," said Goku, with a wistful sigh. "Good for you, Asta. And for Izuku. You two are great together."

"Um, Goku, me and Izuku aren't like that," said Asta.

"Really," said Goku, eyes widening. "I was sure...ah, well, don't me, I'm kind of a dummy about things like that anyway. This is a really great farm!"

Goku changed the subject.

After showing him around and Goku oohed and ahhed at Asta's plants, Goku left, flying off on his adventure. What Goku said had made Asta think? Did everyone else think that he and Izuku were together? Technically, the more Asta thought about it, he realized what it looked like to other people. Asta and Izuku met on the day they died and came to this afterlife and became quick friends, bonded, then left the Nameless Town to build a farm together. Asta and Izuku live together, work together, have meals together, and they have a strange kind of synergy.

Asta told Izuku everything about himself and vice-versa. They had no secrets. Asta didn't have to put up the image of being strong all the time to comfort others. Asta didn't always have to smile when he didn't feel like it, because there were times where didn't want to smile. Izuku was a comfortable person to be around and Asta was amazed to have met him.

Huh? Guess we sorta do act like a married couple…

Shrugging, Asta walked back inside to find that Izuku finished the breakfast dishes and found that Asta had hidden brownies just for them.

"You had better share," said Asta.

"Hurry. Did you get lessons from Miss Makoto? I'm glad you hid them from Goku-sa!"

"Me too," said Asta, smiling widely.

This was nice.

Maybe Goku was right.

Asta had a little thinking to do later when he tended to the farm.