UA University – Class 1A -
Ping-Ping! Ping-Ping!
A happy tune echoed inside the classroom just a minute before the lesson started.
"Oh!" and as always, Momo Yaoyorozu's smile turned from formal to ' Warm' as soon as she saw the message heralded by that custom alert.
" Have...A nice day...You too! ...Should I put a smile? Or a heart?" she muttered, thoughtful.
"Smile for a Friend, Heart for Something more. When in doubt, use the kissing face, it can be used for both." Tooru the invisible girl answered.
"Thank you." Momo answered, sending the message and then releasing a tiny sigh.
"Your Chef friend?" Mina asked.
"How do you know?"
"I didn't! But the alert sound is different from other messages AND you never pull-out your phone in class, unless it's an emergency OR that sound effect plays. You just confirmed who the sender is yourself!" the pink girl answered, smiling smug.
"Oh…" Momo muttered, looking a bit guilty.
"Don't be sad! He is just a good friend, yes?" Tooru asked.
"...Yes."
"Took too long to answer, you would like him to be something more?" Jiro asked with a smirk.
"Me and Izu...NO!" she replied, face burning red.
"Liar." Jiro answered with her ear-jacks jokingly poking Momo's cheeks.
"I am not!"
"You still up for a visit to his Restaurant then? I checked, it's in Yavin Street. Kinda fancy location to open his place, and it's not too far from here either." Mina asked, she too with a fanged smile on her face.
"Couple bus stops at most," Tooru added.
"I-I don't think we can."
"Actually, I believe it will be possible. Tomorrow there will be that mysterious outdoor visit Professor Aizawa didn't want to give us details about. After Lunch we'll be free, so if we actually leave to have lunch in another place, we should not have troubles, if we alert our teachers before that, of course." Tenya offered.
"You others are coming too?" Mina asked.
"Everybody in our class is, apparently. Ribbit! I heard a couple guys from 1B too will go, the rumors about that Restaurant are spreading quite a bit." Tsuyu answered, croaking faintly.
"I am happy he is finally getting some recognition, recently he had been harassed a lot by complacent Health Inspectors that just kept visiting him in hope of forcing him to close." Momo answered, sighing in relief.
"Uh? Why?"
"Jealousy mostly, my brother was there when the Police Force questioned them. Few friends of Midoriya-san's rival tried discredit him, they have been finally told to stop." Tenya answered.
"Oh-Oooh! Underhand tactics to stop a Chef threatening their businesses? Now I REALLY wanna try it!" Mina answered, smiling intrigued.
"Then it's settled? Will we all go?" Kaminari asked.
"If you don't mind," Momo asked.
"…"
"Ochako? I can pay for you if you want," Tsuyu offered.
"I-I don't need charity!" the girl answered, ashamed.
"It's not charity between friends, silly-head. It's just being friends. You will offer me lunch next time." the frog girl answered, smiling wide.
"O-O-Oh! Okay then!"
"Cool! So we all are going to visit Momo's Boyfriend then!" Tooru declared.
"H-HE IS NOT!"
"If you react like that, nobody will believe you. Now sit down and let's start our new lesson, shall we?" a woman in a skin-tight Hero Costume said with a cheerful tone.
"Yes, Professor Midnight!" the entire class answered as one.
Later that day – Number 4 Yavin Street – Green Cloud Restaurant -
The famous Gourmet Street was, as always, bustling in activity as the city's Foodies congregated there en masse during lunch hour to satisfy their bottomless stomachs, clamoring and walking over each-other to secure a seat in their favorite Restaurant.
"Daaaamn! They really have everything here! They even have American-Style BBQ Restaurants!" Mina said in wonder.
"They say rent is not cheap here, does he manage?" Aoyama asked, curious.
"He has a very good sponsor, even if my father is still digging around to see if it was a scam. They actually bought the entire two-story building and asked Izuku to cook for them there, in exchange for his work the flat above the Restaurant it's his to use." Momo answered.
"He has a Sponsor?" Shoto asked.
"A certain ' The System Incorporated' , specialized in Import-Export of Ingredients all over the world...Or so they present themselves."
"Never heard of them." Mezo admitted.
"Me neither, but everything seems to be in order. There, that's the place." Momo answered, pointing at the Green Cloud restaurant once the place came into view.
"Ooh! Small and cozy! Nice!" Kirishima admitted with a wide smile.
"Doggie!" Koda said with a happy smile as he neared the black dog sleeping next to the entrance.
" ...What do you want?" the dog answered with an annoyed tone, only opening a single bleary eye to look at the boy and glare him into submission.
"Nothing, nothing. Just saying Hi ." he answered immediately.
" Ah! Okay. Hi. " Blackie answered with his baritone, magnetic voice gaining a sarcastic undertone before he returned to sleep.
"Don't bother the talking dog." Katsuki said, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry."
"Too sexy a voice for somebody with that bulging belly," Sero commented while eyeing the faint rolls of fat that had started to appear on the once-lean Lord Dog's stomach.
"It means the food's good then! Let's get in!" Mina ordered with a cheerful scream while barging inside.
Dling! Dling!
The tiny bell on top of the door chimed happily as soon as they got in, with all of them turning extra happy at feeling the faint chill of air conditioning lowering the temperature just right, and even happier at the amazing mishmash of food aromas wafting everywhere.
"Good evening! What can I do for you?" Izuku was soon walking up to them to welcome the students with a gentle smile.
"He is a cutie, Yaomomo chose well!" Tooru whispered.
"She must be into freckles, his cheeks are adorable." Jiro whispered back.
"I find his Chef Uniform quite dashing too." Aoyama added.
"Quiet, you three." Tsuyu silenced them.
"Sorry if I took so long to pay you a visit, Izuku." Momo admitted with a sheepish smile.
"No need to worry, you are a future Pro Hero, your studies take precedence! My Restaurant and myself will always be here for you, so there was no rush for you to come visit." he answered, chuckling amicably.
"Yes there was, I want to show you my support! I know my parents came here at least twice already, so it was only fair I came as well! So in exchange I brought along a few friends. I hope it won't be a problem," Momo replied in conviction.
" Huhuhu ! Thank you for the extra Customers then! I have a couple of tables close to each other so you can sit together. There are also other students from AU, if you don't mind their company. Please, this way." the young Chef answered while guiding them to their tables.
"Fellow students? No problem for us, Midoriya-san!" Tenya answered.
"You must be Mister Tensei's brother! He spoke very highly of you, he just left for his patrol," Izuku said with a surprised expression.
"Big brother came here today too?!"
"He seems to love my Rainbow Dumplings and Stir-fried shrimp noodles," the other answered sheepishly.
"Do I see ' Cold Soba' on the menu?" Shoto asked, sounding almost surprised instead of monotonous.
"Eh! That would be my father's fault, he loves that Dish so much I kind of put it on the menu as an homage. Why? You like them too?"
"Yes." the young man answered.
"OH! Fucking amazing! Those idiots from 1A are here as well!" It was then that a female voice growled in annoyance.
"Rumi, please!" Pony Tsunotori begged with a groan.
"Hey, if they are idiots, it's only fair we call them that!" the only boy of the four-people table answered, huffing.
"Tetsutetsu, not you too." Itsuka as well looked ready to die from embarrassment.
"What?! You look for a fight, fucker!?" Katsuki asked with a challenging, fanged smile.
"Please don't fight inside my restaurant. Go out if you need to have a cock fight." Izuku asked, unimpressed, while Whitey's robot head immediately peeked inside the room from the kitchen.
" Troublemakers?"
"Not yet, Whitey."
"It's okay, cutie! WE are not here to cause trouble." Rumi answered with a sweet smile and kicking Tetsutetsu's shin hard enough she forced him to fall back down sitting.
"Thank you," the Chef answered, showing a tiny smile.
"...Sure if you bribe me with a kiss to the cheek I may feel inclined to make extra sure they all sit quietly." the bunny girl then said.
"RUMI!" Pony yelled in scandal.
"Outrageous!" Tenya gasped in horror.
" Tch! " it was faint, but Ochako could swear she heard a strange, annoyed growling sound come out from Momo's mouth.
"I am afraid I can't do that, it would be highly unprofessional. But I am honoured you offered me the chance." Izuku answered, bowing slightly.
"Aww! Well, there is always next time! You won't be able to say no forever!" Rumi answered, unperturbed.
"I can kiss ya if you want! I can kiss you everywhere! Especially on both of your Lips. " Mineta said with a lewd smile.
STRIP! BANG!
" Disgusting Pervert dealt with! " Whitey said proudly once flash-stepped into the room, stripped the short guy down to his boxers and then bitch-slapped him out of the Restaurant in the span of a single second to then return inside the kitchen.
"Thank you, Whitey. If he does it again, he will be blacklisted." Izuku answered with a sigh of relief.
"I like this place already." Tooru admitted, amused, while she and the others took their seats.
"Good to know! Menu is written on those wooden tablets by the door while the small chalkboard lists the specialties we are offering today. If you don't see desserts, I will list them to you personally, since I like to change those daily. Everything is homemade, so sometimes I switch dishes around to offer some variety. Any particular request for drinks?"
"Water for now, maybe a bottle of cola later," Momo answered, getting a few nods from the others.
"Perfect, please study the menu as much as you want and call me when you are ready." the young Chef answered, giving them a bow before leaving.
Once left alone, the two tables quietly started deciding what to order when a towering giant of a man with fiery red hair entered the Restaurant with a scowl.
"Where is the Chef of this place?" the man asked.
"Oh, nice...Endeavor…" Shoto uttered in disdain once seen the guy he was forced to call ' father' enter the place with his usual lack of tact.
"That would be me, can I help you?" Izuku asked after returning from the kitchen with a tray of food he delivered to a more isolated table.
"Daaamn, that stuff smells amazing," the Pro Hero with Endeavor admitted with a low voice as soon as the aroma of those dishes filled the restaurant.
"Not now, Hawks! Is it you that kicked-out my assistant, boy?" Enji demanded.
"If you mean that unpleasant hag that was making a nuisance of herself just because a Quirkless cooked her food. Yes, it was me. She was bothering my Customers and stinking-up my Restaurant with her misplaced Overblown Ego. As the owner of this place I have every right to evict an eyesore like her." Izuku answered, still remembering the insults she gleefully hurled at him and at the man's son that was apparently at fault for not being ' Perfect' like Endeavor himself.
The very same son that Izuku was certain was the boy with red-and-white hair at the moment glaring at Enji in barely-concealed hatred.
"She is a Pro Hero, boy. Show some respect."
"Respect is earned, not a fancy gadget you get because you are obnoxious and have some superpowers." Izuku replied, unfazed.
"You dare?!" the man roared with a booming voice that rattled everybody's ears while fire covered his body.
"…" In answer the young Chef took a huge breath as a fiery-red flaming aura of energy enveloped his entire being.
" AH! " like the clap of thunder, the short scream the small young man produced assaulted Enji and snuffed-off the flames of his Quirk, the sheer volume also almost blew-up his eardrums, just like it almost deafened everybody else, while outside cars were heard come to a screeching halt as their windows exploded.
Not a single piece of glass inside the Restaurant got damaged, though.
"Wanna see who can scream the loudest?" Izuku hissed in contempt as the towering figure of his old Appetite Demon he took back from his Isekai (a gorilla with blood-red fur and boar-like tusks) briefly appeared behind him.
"What's that? A Stand ?" Kaminari asked.
"You can't make a JOJO reference in 2160…" Katsuki answered, groaning.
"But it looks like one!"
With Enji -
"You dare raise your voice against-"
"You dare...You dare...You dare. Who are you, exactly?"
"A Pro He-"
"Second place under that MORON of All Might. Let it be clear, I am the LAST guy you can wow with the title of Pro Hero. I treat everybody equally: Male or Female, Quirked or Quirkless, Pro Hero or Civilian. As long as one is a customer, they can rest assured I will treat them with the utmost respect and deliver them the food they asked for.
Posturing idiots, Bullies and Troublemakers instead are neither needed nor will be missed. Your Secretary , that I am starting to think you have an affair with, was bothering everybody, and between HER and my Customers, my Customers are more important! Ergo, she had to go. Her doing it willingly was not an issue." Izuku answered.
"She is a Pro Hero, boy! SHE is a useful member of society, contrary to you, Chef. " Enji hissed in contempt, and spitting Chef like an insult.
"…" a tense silence fell into the Restaurant as Izuku bristled in blatant fury.
"An ignorant fool dared to insult the category of Chefs. Host Izuku must avenge his honor and teach this buffoon the true horror of an angry Chef!
Abrupt Mission: Teach Endeavor Humility.
Reward: 10% bonus on your Experience Points total and unlocking the Wine Cabinet of Wonders ." The System's voice echoed inside Izuku's head soon after.
" What's that cabinet? " he asked, slightly surprised.
" Host Izuku will gain the ability to add to the menu a selection of wines offered by the System, at the increase of Host Izuku's level, the number and quality of wines offered will also rise. When the Host Level will rise to the third step, Host Izuku will be permitted to produce his own wine." the voice answered. And Izuku found it a good incentive to shut the moron up.
"So you think we Chefs are nothing…" Izuku asked with a low, dangerous tone accompanied by the growl of the Demon behind him.
"Seriously, what the hell is that?!" Sero whispered.
"Looks a bit like Dark Shadows . Only solid ."
" Ssh !"
"You people can barely cook a decent meal, nothing more." Enji answered, scoffing.
"Let's put that to the Test then." Izuku said with narrowed eyes.
" Hn ?"
"Last week I offered a small challenge to my Customers: Eating an entire bowl of Spicy Mapo Tofu, the prize was a free meal ticket for two people and not ONE of them managed to last and win. I will prepare for you the exact same dish and IF you can eat it whole without a single problem I will personally kneel in front of you and beg for forgiveness.
BUT! If you admit it's too hot, or even just gasp for air or show discomfort, you will cover the bill for everybody here. You feel up for it, Pro Hero ?" the young Chef asked while imitating the same scornful tone of Endeavor.
"Ah! That's it? Then just kneel and be done with it. I am not one of those losers that eat here, you are not dealing with a Sissy that can't handle some chili sauce." Endeavor declared haughtily, unknowingly losing any chance at sympathy from the customers present.
"If you feel so sure of yourself, then you won't have problems going through this bet, right?"
"I will humor you, kid! Bring it on, eating for free is always welcomed." Enji answered, taking a table together with Hawks.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" the winged Pro Hero muttered in dread once the young Chef disappeared inside his kitchen.
"Endeavor challenged the wrong Chef." Momo declared.
"You sure?" Shoto asked.
"Izuku's talent is more vast than what you may believe, I have full trust in his abilities." she answered.
Inside the Kitchen -
"System, I need my special chili sauce, is it ready?"
" The new batch has finished fermenting and it's ready to be used. Thanks to the Devil Peppers that had been added, spiciness has increased by 70%." the System answered as a side cabinet opened to show dozens of unlabeled glass jars containing home-made chili sauce.
"Good." Izuku answered with a chilling smile as he took out a jar to study its blood-red content.
Izuku's own creation, a blend of chili peppers and other spices mixed together to create a diabolical mixture that can only be described as ' Agony in Sauce form' that the young Chef created in his lifetime as Zaus to appease his new-found love for spicy food...And to make Setsuno's life hell when he was younger as even SHE had trouble withstanding its power.
One Drop would make normal people sweat as if they ran a marathon. ( Normal Dosage)
Two drops could melt through a normal human tongue. ( Challenge Dosage )
A spoonful could cause vivid hallucinations. ( Blackie's Requested Dosage )
Two spoonfuls were literally lethal for normal humans. ( Izuku's own Lunch/Dinner Dosage)
Izuku in a bout of ' Edginess ' had called the first version ' Satan Sauce ' , but to be fair once he'd seen its effects the name became surprisingly apt.
The young Chef had decided to use one spoonful only of the thing, though, he almost went for two, but even the System could not reassure him Enji would have survived that, so he opted for a single spoon...And five drops.
Mapo Tofu was a fairly easy recipe of Chinese tradition, and actually born to be spicy, thus Izuku's first choice when he wanted to have his Satan Sauce take center stage to show both its divine taste AND its world-ending spiciness.
"Let's see what the ' Number 2 Hero of Japan' is made of!" the young Chef declared while taking a wide wok and putting it on the fire with some fresh oil already inside.
Once stir-fried a mixture of spices until they became fragrant and tasteful, Izuku then poured in the same wok few ladles of chicken broth to simmer it in the spice mixture; once done he delicately added the pure-white cute cubes of Tofu he personally cut and infused in Gourmet Energy, each one of those cubes trembled heavily at every faint movement of the wok as he gently turned them around in the sauce, and after adding some scallions he toppled everything with his chili sauce, soon turning the harmless cubes fiery-red and making them almost shine in the room's lights like pieces of ruby.
"Finally ready." Izuku declared, smirking, once moved the finished dish into a big white bowl decorated with tiny and cute green clouds.
Main room -
Everybody watched as the young Chef calmly walked out of the kitchen while holding with both hands the bowl of Mapo Tofu for his bet against the Pro Hero.
"Here he comes…" Hawks muttered, his feelings of dread increasing tenfold at each step of Izuku.
"Let's see what you got, boy!" Endeavor said with a feral smirk that faltered a little when the bowl was actually put on the table in front of him.
As he took a deep breath and perceived the aroma surging out of the dish, his eyes widened, it was arguably a really spicy dish, and from its aroma, it was obvious that its spiciness was not just intense, but ferocious .
"This is my prized 'Hellfire Mapo Tofu', it's a variation of the traditional Mapo Tofu recipe I only make for this chili challenge, it's extremely spicy and intense. You can still back down from the Challenge if you don't feel able." Izuku explained while pointing at the big bowl in front of Endeavor.
"Are you looking down on me, boy?" the Pro Hero asked, growling.
"It's the usual warning I give to whoever takes this Challenge, I won't be held accountable if you have vivid hallucinations. Or explode." the young Chef answered, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"I handle fire everyday, Boy! You are not the one who decides if this dish is intense or not, it's me. I am the unquestioned Lord of Flames!" Enji answered, sneering.
" Host Izuku should not worry. If one wants to tickle the nose of Fate, then they can only blame themselves for their misfortune. " The System declared, making Izuku wonder if even the gender-less, strange Entity as well found the Pro Hero unbearable.
"What are the crossed fingers for?" Tokoyami asked.
"Lesson in humility or self-combustion?" Mezo added.
"Or coma?" Mineta added as well, having just received a rare second chance from Izuku after some begging from class 1A and returned to sit at the table once Momo created a giant and long shirt for him to cover himself with.
"Yes." Shoto answered.
"Then please, do enjoy it. And also remember the terms of our Bet should you lose." Izuku answered with a sigh, he had heard the man was callous, but he just wasn't aware Enji was THAT MUCH of an Egomaniac.
"Get ready to lose." Enji sneered as he picked up the porcelain spoon next to the bowl and took another whiff of the tofu's aroma before scooping up a spoonful of it with a thin trail of red juice following behind it.
"I have become an instrument of your Revenge and Justice. I hope you know you owe me one now." Izuku declared while walking back towards the kitchen, leaving behind a confused Shoto.
In the meantime, Endeavor slowly raised the spoon filled with tofu to his mouth, idly noticing how the blood-red colour of the wobbly cubes was getting more sinister the closer the spoon came to his mouth , along the small voice in the back of his head growing more frantic in trying to stop him.
Squish!
Once seen him swallow the spoonful of Tofu, the completely silent crowd watching him heard a soft squishing noise come from his mouth as he chewed.
"Oh! It actually tastes kind of good." Enji was forced to admit, awed at the pieces of tofu being so soft and tender they easily melted from the slightest bite and pretty much flowed down his throat by themselves, eager to be eaten.
"It was a given that it would also taste good, other than being spicy." Momo felt the need to remind him, as a way to defend her best friend's cooking skills.
"I still can't feel the spicy-" Then it happened, as soon as his mouth was filled with the tofu's rich fragrance from his second spoon and he grew ' complacent' , like a deadly snake poised to strike the true power of Izuku's personal blend attacked the Pro Hero's entire being when he least expected it.
At first Enji felt a wave of numbness travel from the base of his spine up to his head that made every single hair on his body stand straight like a needle, then came an overwhelming scalding sensation surging from right under his skin and wildly rushing outside, as if every pore of his body had become a volcano ready to vomit lava everywhere, it felt even hotter than his own fire somehow!
" Aah …" the man gurgled-out pitifully, soon regretting his believing that thanks to his Fire Quirk he could not get scalded by a dish.
Good God, he was wrong! He was so wrong! Too wrong!
"He is sweating." Sero said, matter-of-factly.
"No surprise! I felt my nose hair get singed as soon as Midoriya-san walked out of the kitchen with that plate, I don't want to think about what it feels like to actually eat that." Tooru admitted.
"Like eating my acid?" Mina asked.
"Something tells me that Endeavor-san would gladly drink your acid as a reprieve from that," Tsuyu answered, actually looking at the Pro Hero in pity.
" Aah ..." by now Enji was fearing having forever lost his ability to taste, if somebody told him he was eating boiling lava, he would have believed them! There was seemingly no end in sight as the spiciness kept mounting inside his mouth while his body turned completely red.
FWOOSH!
Even his Quirk awoke, covering him completely in flames as his instinct was fervently hoping the heat of his fire could somehow spare him some of that misery.
"ENJI-SAN!" Hawks yelled in worry.
"Have no fear, he won't burn a thing," Izuku, looking absolutely unfazed, reassured the customers present while delivering a new order to a table nearby.
"...The table is not burning." Ochako confirmed with a faint voice.
Indeed the table, tablecloth, glasses, bowls, spoons and seats and everything else were still pristine clean, even the floor was not getting damaged by the intense flames covering Enji's body, not a single scorching mark was appearing anywhere nor smoke or the smell of burning matter came to be.
"Are the tables made of asbestos?!" Mineta asked with a gasp.
Tock! Tock! "This is pure wood, and the tablecloths are made of cotton. And yet they aren't burning." Katsuki answered once gently knocking on the table.
"As I said, have no fear. Endeavor-san does not have the Skills to break anything in here." The answer of the young Chef made several eyes bulge-out in shock at the bold, but apparently true, statement.
" Everything has been built by The System, I was assured nothing can break anything in here. " Izuku thought while walking away.
"W-Why...Why I accepted…" Enji groaned between clenched teeth as huge beads of sweat began to drip down his head and loudly splatter on the table.
The Pro Hero was already re-evaluating MANY of his Life Choices while swallowing the last mouthful of tofu remaining inside his mouth, and to the now overly-sensitive skin of his throat the jelly-soft thing turned as rough as glass shards leaving behind deep scorching marks everywhere during their journey towards his stomach.
" Ah-Aahh …" The Pro Hero could no longer hold back his groans, turning into a whimpering dying animal as his nostrils contracted and emitted thick streams of smoke at each breath.
"Poor thing," a nearby woman muttered in sadness from her table.
"It happens when you don't know your limits, dear. He can only blame himself now." her husband replied while taking her hand in his in a comforting manner.
" I AM THE ONE SUFFERING, NOT HER! COMFORT ME!" Endeavor roared mentally, now tears as well started flowing from his eyes in thick boiling-hot streams.
"Sir, how does it taste? Is the dish's spiciness intense or not?" Izuku, MAYBE channeling a bit too much pettiness, asked with an overly-innocent tone.
"Gabu...Ggabuuu-buu…" Whatever Enji tried to say came out garbled and distorted, because his tongue had been thoroughly ' cooked' under the unrelenting Hell that was the spicy tofu.
" WHY!? WHY DOES SOMETHING SO SPICY EXIST, GOD?! FOR WHAT REASON DO YOU LET SOMETHING SO EVIL EXIST AMONG YOUR CHILDREN?! " Enji, maybe already going insane from the spiciness melting his brain, for an instant felt very religious as he sent this heartfelt question up to the Heavens.
"I pride myself in my personal chili sauce, it's my own secret recipe! If it is still not intense enough, you just need to take more mouthfuls of it. My blend is special, the more you eat, the more intense the flavor will be, what you felt up until now is nothing." The young Chef explained while describing his chili sauce with a proud voice.
Nothing? NOTHING?! That whore of your mother is nothing! This thing should be forbidden to use like Mustard Gas, Bio Weapons and Nukes! It's a chili sauce that only exists as a threat to Human Rights!
Able to only roar in the privacy of his head, Endeavor glared at Izuku intensely enough to make others believe he was trying to incinerate the Chef with his eyes only.
"...Unless you are a little Sissy that can't handle some chili sauce, of course." Turning juuuust a tiny bit evil, Izuku threw back at Enji the exact same words the Pro Hero dared to use against his beloved Customers.
"He is dead, Midoriya-san tickled his Ego." Shoto said with a sigh.
"Will he attack Izuku?" Momo asked, immediately turning apprehensive.
" Hn ? No, I was referring to my father. Now that his Ego and Manliness have been put in question, he will lick that plate clean, even if it means he will die right after." he answered.
"...You don't seem worried about that happening." Jiro asked, confused.
" Hn ." the young Todoroki answered with just a shrug.
"Thi-This dish isn't intense! It Do-Doesn't burn! I will eat...I will eat everything!" Enji gave a defiant roar, and to Izuku's surprise, the man actually emptied the entire bowl in one go and swallowed the remaining pieces of Tofu whole.
Tears came like a river then, and even the snot from his nose burned like acid on his skin while the Pro Hero's fists pounded the table continuously as he valiantly fought the blistering heat turning his mouth into an inferno; as sweat kept falling from his forehead like rain, he fixed his blurry and blood-shot eyes on Izuku's, like a feral beast no longer holding humanity inside glaring at its prey.
" Ah …" it was both scalding and spicy, Endeavor decided then and there that it was not God that made the spices, it was the Devil himself! And that blasted Chef was the Devil's emissary to bring such foul agony to light!
"Still not intense?" Izuku's gentle question horrified even Katsuki, no human was THAT merciless, Endeavor was clearly agonizing, and yet the young Chef asked that question with a completely calm demeanor.
"I-"
"Because remember, if it hurts NOW...It will hurt even more later, because all that will have to come out from your body, eventually." the young Chef explained.
"Ah." Enji's complexion turned ashen immediately as that revelation dawned on him, and unknown to him, the looks of sympathy from the other customers grew in intensity.
"A moment of silence for his assho- GUEH !" Before Mineta could finish his disgusting remark, Mezo and Sero slammed their fists on the guy's head with zero mercy.
"There are people eating here, lil' moron. Don't make me call the Robot again." Tsuyu added.
"I...I give up…" Enji had finally reached his breaking point, as his Quirk stopped working the fire enveloping his body rapidly dispersed and the porcelain spoon in his hand fell on the table with a resounding thump.
He felt like he had just stripped off his clothes and jumped into a pool of magma, he could feel the spiciness permeate his entire body like a demonic possession, it was overwhelming to the point that it had begun distorting his view of the world.
"What was that?" Izuku asked, leaning slightly forward as Enji's expression turned unsightly: from red, his face became scarlet, and then gradually began turning purple.
Cough! Cough! "I-I-I give! I give up! You win! I can't take this! It's too much!" The Pro Hero fell sprawled on the table and coughed severely, with his hand grasping his throat as though it was about to spout fire out of it.
"Good to know. As promised, you will cover everybody's bill today. Hopefully you will have a different view of Chefs after today." the young Chef declared with a happy smile.
"Fine! Whatever! Now give me some Water!" Tears dripped down to Endeavor's cheeks nonstop, and the heat emitted by his cheeks made the tears seem like they'd evaporate any second.
He craved water. He wanted to drink a large quantity of water, as his tears were doing little to moisten his swollen lips.
" Where am I? Where do I want to go? What am I going to do? Why are my lips so swollen?" The Pro Hero's thoughts were a mess now, raving like a victim of high fever.
"I'll bring you some very cold milk, when dealing with spicy food, water won't help much." Izuku gave a sigh and walked back towards the kitchen.
"Th-Thank you!" Enji gasped in gratitude, he would normally be furious with the boy, but the agony of the chili sauce had numbed even his feelings of anger, along turning his normally-thin lips into giant sausage-like rolls of angry-red flesh.
As the Pro Hero and Hawks moved to sit in a more isolated corner, the students from 1A and 1B were finally able to order their food in peace.
"I would have preferred watching Whitey strip him, but I take what I can get!" Rumi admitted, grinning in amusement at watching Enji empty the giant bottle of chilled milk Izuku brought him in merely three gulps and then developing an elated expression.
"I-"
"You already gave a sad spectacle, Enji-san. That's enough for today." a Customer said while daintily cleaning his mouth with regal composure.
" Tch ! FINE!" Endeavor conceded with a bitter tone, before setting down to try fix his blistering lips
"That reminds me, are you ready for the fish soup now, Nighteye-san?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, thank you. And congratulations, everything up until now has been delicious." the man answered while adjusting his glasses, having lost not an iota of composure while eating, to Izuku's relief.
"Yup! Absolutely amazing!" Gunhead, sitting with Sir Nighteye, added with a thumbs up, Jeanist at Nighteye's other side as well gave a nod of praise.
"I aim to please. Are you others too ready for the next dishes you ordered?"
"Yes."
"You bet!"
"I will be with you in a second then, please give me a moment." the young Chef answered, bowing, before addressing the tables of the students.
"Feeling the pressure of a full restaurant?" Mina asked with a teasing smile as soon as he stopped at their table.
Sigh! "I really need to find a waiter or waitress, but I can't seem to find a good one," Izuku admitted with a defeated sigh.
"Why so?" Momo asked.
"Various things. The last three were especially awful: one had such a bad memory she could not remember the customers' orders long enough to reach the kitchen window and tell me. The second was a stuck-up fool that wanted to tell me how to run my Restaurant and the last one left as soon as he learned I am Quirkless. Apparently he found working for me an insult to his pride." he answered.
"I am sure you will find somebody good enough, you just have to have faith." Momo answered, smiling gently.
"I really hope so! But please, tell me what I should bring you, this small issue with Endeavor-san already made you waste enough time." Izuku asked with a sweet smile, although that same smile turned very stiff once he looked at Katsuki to take his order.
"You two know each other?" Tenya asked once the young Chef disappeared inside his kitchen, between them and the guys of 1B, the ensemble of orders was extremely varied, enough so that the students did feel kind of bad since each one of them ordered something different.
"Sort of." Katsuki answered.
"You put him into a coma, Katsuki-san." Momo explained with a cold tone, way colder than usual as her sharp eyes drilled a hole in the blond's head.
"What?!"
"...How do you know?"
"His mother and mine are close friends. Izuku comes to my house weekly to give cooking lessons to my mother, and often Inko-san accompanies him so that our mothers can have tea together after the lessons. My mother managed to have Inko-san explain what happened to her son that made him choose the path as a Chef...Your almost killing him was one of the key factors." she answered.
"I DID NOT-"
"Please don't make a scene," Izuku cut him off while delivering water and a few appetizers to the table.
"Today I have Edamame and pickled cucumber as an appetizer, feel free to ask for refills if you want, the first refill is free." he explained before walking towards the table of the students of Class 1B to deliver the same small dishes.
"...I did not try to kill him, it was an incident." Katsuki said again, this time with a normal tone of voice.
"What part of blasting him away after he saved you was an incident?" she asked.
"The blasting part," he hissed between clenched teeth.
"That sounds awful," Tenya admitted.
"I was wrong, okay?! I was wrong."
"You almost killed an innocent bystander that actually helped you, that is worse than being wrong ." Tokoyami answered.
"I am sorry, okay!?" Katsuki answered.
"Does he know you are?" Shoto asked.
"...He doesn't talk to me, he doesn't look at me nor does he want me anywhere close to himself or his family. I technically have a restraining order his family issued against me, I can get close to him only if I am accompanied by somebody else, I am not even supposed to be here, actually. I guess he did not force the issue just because you others kind of vouched for me." he answered.
"Do you actually want to apologize?" Mezo asked.
"And tell him what? ' Sorry if I almost killed you, I was an asshole' ?" he shot back.
"...That would be a good start, Bakugo-san." Izuku answered from behind him as he came to deliver a tray of Carpaccio .
"FUCK!"
"Your appetizer, Momo." he then said, smiling gently and delivering the big plate of white Puffer Whale Carpaccio he prepared for her.
He passed that Ingredient for common puffer fish whenever somebody asked, but it was actually the Reward the System bestowed on him for passing his Test.
"Just like the one you made when I got into UA?" she asked, sounding very hopeful.
"The very same. Please enjoy your meal," he answered before walking away.
"Thank you!" the girl replied, taking a couple of pieces with her chopsticks and swallowing them whole.
" Mmmmh !" and developing a blissful expression of pleasure while chewing.
"Shit...He heard me…" Katsuki swore again.
"At least you know where to start,"
"Shut-up, Bird-head! "
"Can I try it?" Tsuyu asked.
"Here…" looking a bit reluctant, Momo moved her plate a bit towards the Frog Girl, who had the brainwave of taking just a single piece once seen the tall girl turn frantic at her chopsticks grabbing two.
"Curious…" she muttered while studying the small piece of fish fillet and then trying it, going wide-eyed right after once tasted it.
"Mine!" Momo, maybe sensing danger, immediately said while pulling the plate closer to herself.
"How's it?" Ochako asked as she watched her friend chewing rabidly and without any intention of stopping.
"Holy Shit…"
"Does it mean it's good?" Jiro asked, smirking.
"Holy-" Ribbit! "- Shit…"
"I take that as an ' It's very good' ." Mina answered, chuckling.
"Izuku-san! I want a plate too!" Tsuyu asked as soon as she saw the Young Chef come out from the kitchen to deliver a few dishes. To the others' surprise she sounded extremely needy .
"Now I am curious," Aoyama admitted.
"Me too! Midoriya-san! Can we have some as well?" Tooru called-out as well.
" Puffer Carpaccio ? Okay! How many of you want it?" Izuku asked.
"All of us!"
"Okay!"
"We want some too!" Itsuka asked.
"Very well,"
"Can I eat it while using your abs as a plate, though?" Rumi added with a feral smirk.
"T-T-T-That is impossible at the moment!"
"HOY! HOY! HOY!" Enji shrieked in horror once seen the price of the dish they all asked for.
"You lost the bet, if you did not want to pay for all this, you should have won." Shoto answered, merciless.
"TU QUOQUE?!" the Pro Hero bellowed with an expression of pure betrayal.
" What happened to the bond between Father and Son? To the Love between family members?! " the man thought in misery.
After that, more and more plates went amassed on the tables of the students of Class 1A and 1B, with the young men and women there gorging themselves, and looking at the young Chef in awe for the sublime taste of the food, all at the Pro Hero's expenses.
Two Hours Later -
"Shit! I am about to explode!" Katsuki said with a strained voice while massaging his bulging belly.
"It was all so amazing!" Kaminari muttered in awe.
"We have to come here again," Tooru said, groaning in fatigue.
"I want to eat more, but while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak and ready to burst!" Tenya added while looking in sadness at all the dishes on the menu he had not tried yet.
"That tiramisu was orgasmic!" Mina admitted.
"Yes it was, it was delicious." Momo confirmed, having taken a few VERY VERY Generous portions of said dessert once she'd heard Izuku made it just that morning.
The table with the four students from class 1B were similarly stuffed to the breaking point, and from afar, Endeavor' soft sobbing was heard in all its misery, those greedy students tried to eat him into poverty! Monsters!
"I take everything was to your liking?" Izuku asked while nearing the students' tables.
"Fuck yeah! I am coming here again, I don't care if my blood turns into ragu sauce or a heart attack kills me! You fucker have just become my damn favourite cook!" Tetsutetsu answered with a thumbs-up.
"Glad to hear that, what about you others?" the young Chef asked.
"Are you open to the idea of Marriage?" Rumi asked.
"Ah?!" the students of class 1A almost died of fright at the sudden roar that tore its way out of Momo's throat once heard that.
"Yeah, marry him and invite me for dinner once a week!" Pony shamelessly suggested.
"Me too!" Itsuka chorused.
To their surprise Izuku turned cherry-red and bashful, catching the eye of the female customers present at the cutesy scene.
" Ah-humm ...I-I don't think I can do that. You are a very pretty woman, I am afraid I am not worthy of marrying somebody pretty as you, you deserve somebody a lot better than me!" Sounding absolutely shy, the young Chef answered with a low voice and a very embarrassed expression.
FWOOOOOSH!
"You...You should not sell yourself so short, you know? You have plenty of good qualities yourself! P-Plenty to attract any girl!" Rumi had said that as a joke, having already prepared a pretty-crass counter for his eventual answer, but being praised with that much honesty was not what she planned for, and while pulling down one of her long rabbit ears with one hand and playing with a fringe of her long white hair with the other, she gave a stuttered embarrassed answer herself.
" Aaw ! They look so cute, isn't that right, Yaomomo?" Tooru asked, both playful and actually gushing.
"…"
"...Yaomomo?"
"…"
"I-I-Is she okay?" Mineta asked, scared.
"…"
"She is not blinking…" Tokoyami whispered, sounding afraid.
"Yo! You there, Big Boobs- " BWHAM!
Katsuki was actually the only one that got an answer from the young woman: her fist moving backwards she slammed on his nose without even looking behind her and that made his entire face sink inwards in a perfect imprint of her knuckles.
Not too far away, Sir Nighteye and his colleagues left the money for their bill to Whitey and left the Restaurant on the notes of class 1A and 1B arguing with each other, and while Jeanist and Gunhead happily went their way once exited, the bespectacled Pro Hero remained on the sidewalk to watch the young Chef inside the Restaurant.
He knew Izuku had not been fully honest with Endeavor; they boy DID recognize the value of Pro Heroes ( The Serious Ones ) and what they did to society, and yet he also clearly held both Endeavor and All Might in slight contempt. And while one may understand how Enji could earn somebody's dislike, Toshinori instead was a different case, and Nighteye was not letting his personal feelings get in the way of his judgment either.
"That young man has something against Toshinori, something personal. You don't use that much distaste while calling somebody a Moron just because you are not a fan, that is a feeling with deep roots." he muttered, thoughtful.
Whatever it was, it was the boy's own personal affairs, something the Pro Hero did not want to intrude upon, even if it did make him curious as to why that was the case.
"He calls himself a Quirkless, and yet he could scream that loud and summon that avatar behind himself...And he doesn't like Toshinori…" it was then that a theory faintly formed inside his head.
" Another Quirkless asked me if he can become a Hero even without powers. I might...I might have been a bit too blunt in telling him it was not possible. He looked exceptionally hurt.'' There had been a moment, right after Toshinori had passed his Quirk to Nighteye's pupil Mirio, that he saw the blond man turn sad all of a sudden and deliver that line with a regretful tone.
"If I heard correctly, Midoriya-san has been put into a coma by one of those students around the same period of time...Could it be?" Nighteye muttered as he studied the young Chef as he momentarily stopped by the table occupied by the students from class 1A, and whatever he said, it seemed Ochako found it especially hilarious. Or at the very least, she seemed to find him personally endearing.
Nighteye decided that he needed to check a couple hospital reports to see where and when the young man had been brought to them, along remembering the date Mirio had his second Quirk injected, because the last thing they needed was another Villain acting on his hatred for Heroes because the ' Number One Hero of Japan' destroyed his dreams before he could actually manifest his powers. There were many Villains that turned to Evil for far less.
"If that is the case he may have manifested his dormant Quirk thanks to the coma, if we get him soon enough, we can still teach him how to use his powers for good. Whatever those powers actually are." Nighteye muttered, thoughtful.
"...Just to be sure…" he then muttered as he managed to lock eyes with Izuku, he had exchanged a polite handshake with the boy before leaving, meaning that he could actually use his Quirk Foresight to peak into the Young Chef's future to see if they could actually avoid him turning into a Villain.
" GUH !" Unfortunately, as soon as he tried using it, Something forcefully and mercilessly snapped their connection, making Nighteye stumble a few steps back with a splitting headache and blurry vision, and if he was not mistaken, there was blood dripping from his nose.
Whatever it was, Nighteye was almost sure it was not Izuku himself that repelled his Quirk so brutally, but a third party, that theory was helped by the Chef showing surprise at first and then annoyance as he glared at him briefly before returning to work.
"What was that?" he muttered with a low whisper.
" A warning. You are trying to see into things beyond your understanding, kiddo. Next time your pretty eyes will be forfeit. That Chef is beyond your or everybody else's reach, what is protecting him is not something you guys can trifle with. `` To the Pro Hero's surprise the answer came from the lazy dog sleeping next to the entrance, his voice was magnetically warm and deep, absolutely unfitting for a dog.
"What do you mean?"
" Is this Lord Dog your teacher? No. Then just walk away and forget what you saw or heard, this is just a normal restaurant, nothing more. "
"I-"
" I said scram ." Blackie muttered with a tone of finality, and as dog and man locked eyes, a deep sense of primal terror washed over Nighteye for a brief instant, before the dog returned to sleep.
"...This doesn't make any sense." The Pro Hero muttered while walking away, dozens upon dozens of questions piling-up in his mind instead of going away; he felt there was something wrong about that restaurant, and he felt the need to see deeper into it and possibly save the young man working there from whatever Nightmare was hiding behind its doors.
Later that night – after closing hour -
Once the last customer was gone, Izuku could finally close the restaurant, tidy-up the place and spend a good two hours talking to the phone with his parents about how his day went, since Inko and Hiashi were apparently not happy enough to just be able to visit Izuku's restaurant whenever they wanted. Not that Izuku minded, he loved his parents too much to refuse their visits or calls.
Once everything was done, the young Chef washed himself and prepared to go to bed, only for the System's voice to suddenly ring in his head followed by a happy fanfare.
" Congratulations to Host Izuku for reaching the ' One hundred Dishes served' goal in the month time limit! An extra two bottles have been added to the Wine Cabinet as a prize. " the Voice said.
The Wine Cabinet Izuku unlocked thanks to Endeavor willingly destroying his bowels for their bet was a tall fridge-sized glass cabinet completely transparent and big enough to contain forty bottles of wine, five for each row; it now contained six different kinds of white wine and six reds, counting the extra ones he was just gifted with, and while only Middle-Range in Quality, they were still the sort of stuff wine lovers would love to see on the menu.
Speaking of Endeavor, Izuku found himself idly wondering what the Pro Hero was doing at the moment…
With Enji – His personal office inside his Hero Agency -
"OH, GOD, WHYYYYYYYYY!" a miserable shriek of agony echoed everywhere inside the office as the Pro Hero Endeavor was still blocked sitting on his personal toilet trying to not defecate his own organs out of his body.
His underlings could only listen powerless as their Boss and favourite Hero sobbed uncontrollably while trumpeting sounds kept exploding out of his behind, bringing his shame to new heights as a result.
"No more! No more! I'll respect Chefs, I swear! Just put an end to this torment!" the man whispered while crying fat tears of sorrow.
Back with Izuku -
"I hope he is okay and not suffering too much." Izuku muttered with a sigh.
All things considered, he loved his Restaurant, even if he kind of missed the more Exotic Ingredients of the Gourmet World, that while difficult, were always a pleasure to cook.
" About that, Dear Host… " as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the System talked again.
"And here I jinxed myself."
" Host Izuku, as the aspiring God of Cooking of the Hero World, you must not be idle, but venture outside to hunt for Ingredients! Be Brave and Work Hard, young man! " the System declared.
"Hunt down Ingredients? Okay, I guess. Where am I supposed to go? The sea? The mountains?" Izuku asked.
" The System will teleport you into Another World, where you will have twenty-four hours to collect enough Ingredients to fulfill your quota. Find the ' Special Ingredient' to unlock an extra, Special Reward."
"Another world?!"
" A simple human world like this one offers not the right Ingredients to nurture a future God of Cooking. As such, the "Special Rules" have been implemented. Tomorrow at dawn Host Izuku will be brought to the Jungle World by the System's teleport array.
Reward for Successful meeting of requirements:
10% bonus EXP.
1 Fragment of the God of Cooking Set.
Access to the ' Rainbow Fruit ' from the world the Host knows as 'Zaus' World'.
Bonus Reward for the capture of the King Python : Access to the Ingredient known as BB Corn from Zaus' World. " the System answered.
"A second Fragment...if I do this I would then only need another to unlock that knife again, and even gain access to two other good Ingredients from the Gourmet World of Zaus even without Leveling-up. And while not Ingredients of the highest grade, here those two would be a huge sensation all the same just like the Puffer Whale already is...What happens if I fail?"
" Host Izuku will lose 60% of his total EXP and lose his Washing Machine privileges for a month." the System answered.
" GUH !" the young Chef grasped his chest in horror, not only would he lose a ton of Experience Points, thus slowing his leveling-up, but he would also be forced to wash all those dishes by hand for a month! He HATED doing the dishes by hand!
"I accept the terms!" Izuku answered with blazing eyes, due to his cooking teacher's methods for punishing his students, washing the dishes had become one of the young man's worst nightmares, making him ready to do EVERYTHING to avoid such a fate!
" Good! The System will immediately start organizing for the teleportation of tomorrow. Nobody will notice Host Izuku's absence, Host can rest assured and only worry about preparing himself for the trip." the metallic voice answered.
"Okay!" the young Chef replied.
When the next day he woke-up, Izuku went through his usual training regimen of cutting and carving until the System alert for him to get ready came, and once took a shaky breath the young Chef moved to the middle of the kitchen to wait for his trip to another world to start, Whitey already standing behind him and ready to accompany him. He was ready, full of supplies and shaking heavily.
" Is Host Izuku ready? " the System asked.
"Yes."
" Good . Commencing Teleport. " the metallic voice answered, and in an explosion of blinding light both Chef and robot disappeared without a trace.
WOOOOOM!
As soon as the rain of starlight faded away, the young man found himself in the middle of a luscious forest of giant trees as big as skyscrapers and very tall grass, all around him the chirping, growling, howling and cawing of numerous far-away animals.
"I can do this...It's not different from any trip I made to the Gourmet World as Zaus. I did it once, I can do it again." Izuku muttered to psyche himself up before walking forward with Whitey silently following behind him.
And while this happened, Momo and the rest of class 1A were going to visit the USJ building, unaware of what a disaster that school trip would be.
(Author Explains Corner: in the Original novel, the Main Character Bu Fang is sometimes tasked by the System to go collect a special Ingredient somewhere in the world he has been moved on to open his Restaurant.
Those Missions more often than not result in Bu Fang fooling some guy's plans as collateral damage.
In this story Izuku will go in similar Missions for the System, sometimes they will be " harmless " and take place in other worlds ( Plural ), but often those Missions will take place in his home world...And those will put him between the Villains and their goals, meaning All for One will soon start to be PISSED with a mere Quirkless Chef too! XD).
