Yavin Street n.4 - Green Cloud Restaurant -
The Restaurant was already packed for the Breakfast Service, with several people standing by the door or sitting on the four chairs by the entrance as they waited for their turn to sit and place their orders; Whitey standing in a corner and tirelessly scanning the room to stop eventual Troublemakers from bothering the customers while Blackie was, as always, sleeping outside by the door.
It may have been just two days since Izuku's first bout against Inoshiki Academy, but already the name of his Restaurant ( and his own ) had spread far and wide through the city, drawing to him a new influx of customers, coming to try the dishes of the mysterious young Chef and to see the infamous wooden cabinet containing the five knives he won hanging from the wall.
The majority of the customers though were still Pro Heroes, and at odd hours Vigilantes under fake identities, something that almost made Whitey's own security feel redundant, but between them and the chubby bot, the green-haired Chef still trusted his Robot Bodyguard more.
"Here we are! Cappuccino and Espresso for Mandalay and Pixie-Bob , and chocolate milk for Kota-chan!" Izuku said once delivered the drinks.
"Thank you, Chef Icchan!" both members of the Wild Wild Pussycats said as one with a wide smile.
"Thank you," added the small kid with them, with a more low voice.
"Where are Ragdoll and Tiger?"
"Those two will be here soon. God forbid Tomoko wastes an opportunity to have that sacher pie or whatever with her coffee." Mandalay answered, smirking.
"I'll save a big slice for her then. Is everything else of your liking?"
"Yup! Damn best chocolate croissants ever! As usual you have an angel's touch when making desserts!" Pixie-Bob answered.
"Glad to hear that," Izuku admitted in relief.
"The eggs are good too…" Kota muttered while looking straight at his plate.
"I still don't know how you manage to drink chocolate milk while eating scrambled eggs, but as long as Chef Icchan manages to make you eat your eggs, I won't ask questions." the boy's Mother admitted while gently rubbing his head.
"Uh-hu…"
"Forgive him, he is a bit shy with strangers." the blond Pussycat muttered.
"It's okay,"
"At least he does not have a Quirk, those Heroes are too annoying." the kid muttered under his breath.
"KOTA!"
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry," Izuku answered with a placating tone.
"...You don't like Quirks?" he asked once bent-down on his knees to meet Kota's eyes.
"Quirks are okay. I don't like Heroes, they are stupid." the boy admitted.
"The Wild Wild Pussycats don't look stupid to me,"
"Sometimes they kinda are."
"Kotaaaaa! That's meeeeeean!" both women replied with an exaggerated whine.
"Only sometimes, though! It's still something!" Izuku replied, chuckling.
"...Maybe." the boy conceded.
"What's your ideal Hero then?"
"I don't want to have a Hero."
"Why not?"
"Because I hate them." Kota answered, scowling.
" Uhmmm ...If not a Hero...What about a Role Model?" Izuku asked.
"A What?"
"A Role Model! Somebody that makes you say: ' I want to be like them! I want to be Strong, or Cool, or Smart, or Brave like them!'. Somebody that makes you feel safe whenever you think about them!"
"...Isn't that what a Hero is?" the boy asked, confused.
"Not really." the Chef answered with a cheeky smile.
"So? Do you have one?"
"I...I don't think so?" Kota answered, uncertain.
"Oh! Okay! One day maybe you will find one!"
"Yeah, maybe. Don't really need one."
"That is also true." Izuku conceded.
"Hey!" Kota called-out when he saw the Chef excuse himself.
"Yes?"
"Do you have a Hero?" the kid asked with a challenging tone.
"...I used to. Now I don't." Izuku admitted with a sigh.
"It's okay, they do that. They are just liars," Kota commented with a sigh.
"Kota…" Mandalay muttered with a sad tone.
"Not all of them, in my case I was just wrong in believing my own Hero held all the answers to my prayers, I got better now. I am sure you will soon find a real Hero to look up to," Izuku answered, his smile tiny but encouraging.
" Tch! As if. That's never going to happen." the kid answered, returning to eat his eggs without a care in the world.
With Izuku -
Once reassured the two women with Kota that everything was okay, the young Chef moved towards another table to collect the empty plates and mugs in front of the customers.
"You okay?" the Pro Hero known as Ryukyu asked with a gentle smile.
"Uh? Of course I am!" he answered, smiling.
"Unfortunately some of us are in the business for the wrong reasons, I don't blame you for losing respect for Heroes after meeting one of the bad ones." Pro Hero Kamui Woods admitted with a sigh.
"I never lost respect for Heros, I still recognize what you all do for the community, don't worry. I just don't have a specific one to call ' My Hero' at the moment." Izuku explained.
"I can be your Hero, Chef Icchan!" Mountain Lady offered with a smirk and a thumbs-up.
"AGK!" only to then gasp in pain when Ryukyu slapped the back of her head.
"Please forgive her, she just discovered that Midnight surpassed her again in number of Fans and is still salty about it." the Dragon Hero explained, sighing in dismay at the girl's manners.
"Huhuhuhu! I see!" Izuku answered, chuckling.
"Who's prettier? Me or that hag?" Mountain Lady asked.
"Me of course!" Midnight was heard hollering from the entrance, she and Aizawa had just entered the Restaurant while accompanying Nezu.
"Shut your trap!"
"You don't accept my superiority? Let's ask Chef Izuku then. So? Who's prettier?" Nemuri asked with a teasing smile.
"Who's prettier? My girlfriend, of course!" Izuku answered, smirking.
"Whipped!" Mountain Lady answered, scoffing, and getting a new slap on her head by Kamui Woods.
"Nope! I am desperately in love." the Chef corrected her, unashamed.
"...AAAAND this recording of your answer and admission of Love will go to Yaoyorozu. Good thing I got her number." Midnight declared once showed the phone she was hiding behind her back.
"That's low and underhanded!" the young man shrieked with bulged-out eyes.
"Whatever! Message sent! I wonder how she will react to this." Nemuri answered with a mischievous smile…
Barely a second later and a faint squeal-like noise was heard coming from far-away, but nobody in the Restaurant actually paid that voice any mind.
"Funny theatrics aside, I am not here for breakfast this time, Chef Izuku. This will be just an official visit." Nezu said.
"But I made that honey-lemon cheesecake you talked about!" Izuku answered, hurt.
"This will be an official visit where I will also have breakfast. Take that dessert out." The University Boss switched gear immediately, no shame whatsoever.
"I can't believe this, he's got him under his spell too." Aizawa grunted in disbelief.
"I also made some coffee-flavoured muffins…"
"I'll take six!" Eraserhead answered instantly, pride immediately forgotten.
"Ah-ha! You two are Foodies!" Nemuri declared with an evil smile.
"…"
"You made that ' Rainbow Fruit Jelly Pie' again, didn't you?" the woman asked in dread once seen the contrite expression of the young man's face.
"Yes?"
"Goddamnit...Bring me half of it!"
"Half the entire thing?!" he shrieked in horror.
"YES! Hurry before I actually remind myself how many calories are in that!" she answered, tears already falling from her eyes. It was all very overly-dramatic.
Once the three Heroes' Breakfast was served -
"Good, now that we have sated our stomachs, I say we can talk business." Nezu said, having just finished wiping-out his third serving of cheesecake and the four giant cups of tea accompanying it.
"God, these muffins will be the death of me." Aizawa muttered while still munching.
"What kind of business, sir?" Izuku asked while collecting the empty plates the three amassed.
"I want you to come prepare Lunch for our school today." the rat-bear-man chimera declared, making a DEEP silence fall into the entire Restaurant.
"I beg your pardon?" the young Chef asked while leaning slightly forward.
"Simply put, Lunch Rush wants to see you in action in person while dealing with the huge amount of picky eaters we have at UA. It is rare for him to show interest in anybody, either in cooking or Heroics, but in your case he has pestered me enough to force me to either talk you into coming to UA at least ONCE to cook, or kill him. And since I am not a murderer, I only had coming here as an option to finally have him stop asking." Nezu explained.
"Nothing else?"
"Recovery Girl too has a couple of questions for you. You know why." Nezu whispered in answer.
"I see. Unfortunately, I can't do it."
"Why not?!" Nemuri asked, and she will forever deny her tone was the whining of a spoiled kid.
"I have a Restaurant to manage. Contrary to you Heroes I have not a stable income from publicity, I need to work to live." Izuku answered.
"I know that. That is why the school will cover the expenses by paying you the average income of the lunch hour you have here on a normal day...And I am also sure the Pro Heroes behind me that are blatantly eavesdropping will pay for their fill should they join us for lunch in our cafeteria if you accept." Nezu answered, and the various Pro Heroes behind him all looked sheepish, but they all nodded along as well.
"I don't know…" Izuku muttered uncertainly.
"Host, this can be the chance to further spread the fame of your Restaurant. " the System whispered in the young man's head.
" Will the money they give me count for my experience points at least? " he asked.
" Yes, the money UA University and the other Pro Heroes will pay you will be considered valid for the Experience Point Conversion. " the Entity answered.
" Good."
"Okay, I'll do it. But on one condition."
"Which is?" Nezu asked.
"I choose the menu and bring my own Ingredients. I finally got my home-made aromatic vinegar ready, so I can prepare the real Century Soup . I want to see if the Recipe is up to my standards, and I need Taste Testers for that." Izuku answered.
"…" the silence grew even more intense at those words.
Every Pro Hero in there had tasted the mysterious ' Proto-Century Soup' at least once and learned of the story behind it: of the soup that can be made " Properly" only in very limited amounts and only once a year since the key Ingredient, that vinegar, was apparently difficult to prepare and took one year to ferment.
The Proto version had already bewitched many customers no matter its ludicrous price, and the idea of tasting a version several thousand times better ( Per Izuku's own admission ) got everybody interested no matter the probable increased in price, and in case of the Civilians without the same overflowing bank accounts as those Heroes, caused many to look in seething envy at the few lucky bastards that will be able to taste it.
"I-It's ready?" the Pro Hero Backdraft asked with a trembling voice.
"Just filtered it this morning. It is now 8AM, and UA is having lunch at?" Izuku asked.
"13,00." Nezu answered.
"That makes it roughly five hours...Yes, by that time the soup will be ready. Unfortunately I still have limited amounts of my Vinegar , so I will have to split the soup in two: the Proto one and the Real One." Izuku answered, thoughtful.
"...How many servings?" Ryukyu asked with narrowed eyes.
"Of the real one? Not considering I want to put aside 3 bowls for a couple friends, and the two bowls for Momo and Ochako...20 or so servings will be up for purchase. I will distribute it on a first come first served basis. Everybody else will get the Proto Version. Sorry but that Ingredient is still a pain to produce." the Chef answered with a contrite expression.
"ONLY 20 PORTIONS!?" somebody screeched in horror.
"I-"
"Of course the teaching staff of UA will get first pick." Nezu declared, unconcerned.
"...Fair enough." Izuku conceded after a short pause of thought.
"BULLSHIT!" a multi-voice roar exploded from behind the short animal hybrid, luckily Kota's ears had been promptly covered by Mandalay so to protect him from hearing that cussing.
"This is abusing your power! Plain and simple! " a Pro Hero yelled in outrage.
"Haters gonna hate!" Nemuri answered, smirking.
"ARGH!"
"Good to see you open to the idea, shall we send somebody to pick you up or you can manage by yourself?" Nezu asked.
"Don't worry, I am not afraid of taking a bus or two to get there." Izuku answered.
"Good to know. We will wait for you then, I suggest to arrive a bit earlier, to acclimate yourself with our kitchen, you will work alone after all,"
"Of course, Mister Nezu." the Chef answered.
"Perfect, now tell me what menu you wanted to bring, so I will be able to tell you if our budget can cover it or if you need to change something."
"Of course." The young Chef answered, nodding, and already making a mental checklist of the Ingredients he will use, all coming from other worlds, just to flex a tiny bit on those Heroes.
It was not childish for him to do so...Right?
Later that day – UA University – Corridors -
The students of Class 1A were, as always, loudly talking between themselves while making their way towards the University's Cafeteria, and offering a polite greeting to the other students once joined the crowd of young men and women clamoring to get their fill.
"Yaoyorozu," Rumi uttered with a terse tone.
"Usagiyama." Momo replied, just as coldly once met the eyes of Class 1B's Star .
"The rivalry is in full swing?" Tsuyu asked with a whisper.
"It happens when you openly declare you will steal a girl's boyfriend." Pony whispered back.
"Oh, boy…" the other replied with a soft, defeated croak.
"Hoy! You heard the rumors? Seems like there will be somebody else preparing our lunch!" a student from the Support Department was heard saying to his classmates.
"Uh?" Mina was heard muttering, curious.
"Somebody else? Who?" Mei asked.
"Dunno!"
"Somebody from outside…" Mina muttered.
"You will tell me how it was later, I will have lunch elsewhere today," Momo answered with a small smile.
"Oh-Ooooh! Yaomomo will get some food from her Husbando ! See if you can bring back some dessert, please?" the pink girl answered, smirking.
"I'll see what I can do." she replied, chuckling amused.
"Would you look at that! I think I will do the same!" Rumi said with a challenging tone.
"I seriously hope you will just go to some random fast-food restaurant,"
"I will have lunch wherever I want, Yaoyorozu. And I feel like pampering myself by having some Cutie green-haired Chef preparing me lunch!" the bunny girl answered, sneering.
"You are toeing a line you better not overstep, Usagiyama." Momo hissed with narrowed eyes.
"Please don't fight in the corridors! It is against the rules! Seriously Yaomomo-san, you should lead by Good Example!" Tenya said, aghast.
"Yes, you too, Rumi. We are not hooligans." Itsuka chorused, sighing.
"Stay out of this!" Rumi growled in answer.
She was already pissed that between Momo's constant visits and Ochako's own interference she had hardly any time to enact her small Hunt for the cutie Chef, at least in school she won't have people walk all over her!
"Fucking amazing! Now we'll need to eat shit food for some retard's Publicity Stunt! Goddamnit, I will have lunch outside!" Tetsutetsu was heard cursing in the background.
"I agree with a blowhard, incredible." Katsuki agreed with him, surprisingly.
"Ahahaha! Why so gloomy? Something's wrong?" a new voice said in amusement.
"INGENIUM!" A girl from the second year group squealed in excitement once seen the Pro Hero, and many others, join the students in the ample cafeteria from a side entrance.
"Big Brother!" Tenya himself exclaimed in wonder at seeing his brother there.
"Hey there! I was passing by and I decided to come snatch a bite." Tensei answered, gladly accepting his brother's hug and returning it with gusto.
"Oh, My God! Thirteen is here as well!" Ochako squealed in awe right after.
"Nice to see you again, kids! I am glad you all recovered well from the... Intense Visit to my USJ." the astronaut-dressed woman said while waving playfully to the awed students looking at her.
"Hoy! Hoy! Hoy! There is a line already!?" The youngsters' surprised mood seemed to prolong into infinity as Hawks and Mountain Lady, soon followed by Kamui Woods, entered the place as well.
"DAMNIT! I told you we would have been late!" Tomoko of the Wild Wild Pussycats swore loudly once seen the other Pros already there.
"In my defense, the traffic was a nightmare." Tiger tried saying with a small voice with behind him the other two women looking in annoyance at the crowd of Pros already taking over tables left and right.
"So many Pros! Why?" Kaminari gasped in wonder as many other Heroes arrived on the scene.
"There is Endeavor too…" Shoto added in distaste, even if the memory of the man's defeat at Izuku's hands still helped him sleep well at night.
"I smell some bull here," Jiro muttered, thoughtful.
"I assure you it's just a coincidence," Tensei answered with a forced smile.
"...Big Brother?" Tenya muttered, confused.
"Blame Nezu for this, it was his idea." Powerloader said while hurrying to fetch a table.
"Nezu-san?" many students muttered, confused.
"Hey! Isn't that girl...The one from the livestream?" Mineta said in surprise once seen the three strangers Nemuri was accompanying inside.
"Yeah! That Soup King girl!" Kirishima confirmed after recognizing Mako from the Livestream.
"What is she doing here?" Momo asked.
"That girl and the other two are Guests of the guy Nezu coerced into cooking for us today." Aizawa explained once joined his class.
"Guests?" Tooru chorused while watching Mako, Toshio and Sadao ( Soup King, Meat King and Fish King ) take a seat with a few Pro Heroes at a table very close to the window connecting the cafeteria's kitchen to the rest of the room.
"I don't get-"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
When Whitey actually walked out of the kitchen to stand by the window to scan the whole room, many in the know immediately understood who the mysterious Chef was.
"WHITEY-SAN/WHITEY?!" many yelled at the same time.
"Hahahaha! I should have known! Izu-kun always wanted to come here after all!" Ochako was heard laughing in amusement right after.
"Huhuhu! Well, would you look at that, it seems like my lunch came to me instead!" Momo said with a tiny and cute chuckle.
"Boss Izuku is the Chef? FUCK YEAH!" Tetsutetsu declared with a wide, fanged smile.
"So the Nerd did manage to get in here at least once...Eh! In hindsight it was just a matter of time," Katsuki muttered to himself, and curiously, he felt more amused than angry at the idea.
"Let's get a table then! I want to have an encore of our super lunch!" Mina said, excited.
"Mina-san, I remind you that you will have to pay any extra servings out of your own pocket, our Meal Plan covers for one serving only." Tenya immediately reminded her.
"Don't be a stick in the mud, Tenya-chan! I just got my allowance so it's not a problem!" she countered.
"WAIT!...Big brother...Are you actually here to eat his food? Not to visit me?" he then asked, looking at his brother with a betrayed expression.
"N-N-No! I-I am here to...To visit you?"
"No, he isn't!" Mountain Lady yelled in the background.
"Tensei…"
"MIND YOUR BUSINESS, YU-SAN!" Tensei screeched once seen the broken expression on his brother's face.
In the meantime – With Izuku – Cafeteria Kitchen -
"I have to admit it, this is nice." Izuku said once finished studying the ample room and the professional equipment in it, everything was top-of-the-line.
"Yes, Lunch Rush was adamant in demanding only the best, justifying the cost in our annual budget meeting has been a pain." Nezu answered.
"But the results show. This is an amazing kitchen!" Izuku admitted, and the Chef Pro Hero Lunch Rush flashed him a grateful thumbs-up.
" Host, this kitchen is barely good enough for a future God of Cooking , do not lavish mediocrity in praises that are not deserved. " the System said.
" Jesus. Too much, System, too much! " the young man grimaced at the merciless boasting.
Could the Entity be capable of jealousy? It always seemed to get jealous if other kitchens were complimented.
" It's not jealousy, Host. The System is only stating facts. "
"It's almost time, are you ready?" Nezu asked while still eyeing the three giant crates Whitey had deposited in the middle of the room from which they watched Izuku take out Ingredients and his own utensils.
"Yes, I gave the Ingredients a preliminary preparation before leaving my Restaurant, like seasoning, and actually finished cooking most of the dishes here while we waited for the lunch break to start...Only…" Izuku answered, unsure.
"Yes?"
"Why did you make me change one of the menus I suggested completely?" he asked.
"That livestream of yours had caught the interest of many of my students and pretty much my entire Teacher Staff. So I wanted to play the Nice Guy and give them a chance to try one or more dishes," the rat-man-bear chimera answered, smirking.
After much deliberation, both Izuku and Nezu agreed on two Menus:
Menu A:
Rainbow Steamed Fish Buns
Fried Tofu Udon Soup
Hamburg Steak
Rainbow Mochi skewer with chocolate parfait.
Menu B:
Spicy Pork Baozi (Or Scorched Carpaccio)
Proto Century Soup
Red Braised Bear Paws (or Yin-Yang Pizza)
Queen's Apple Tarts
Of course every Ingredient used in those dishes came from other worlds, like the Coral Fishes, the Berserker Bear meat, the Jewel Meat, the Albino Boar, the King Python and the Scorpio-dile and more. All Ingredients Izuku either earned by fulfilling the System's missions or captured himself in his first sortie in another world. He kinda wanted to flex hard on them at least once.
And he earned those Ingredients either through Abrupt Missions or by going Dimension-Hopping, so he was gonna use them!
The True Century Soup dish was listed as a Dish sold outside the two Menu with a counter of the servings still up for purchase, and many eyes bulged-out in horror at seeing the absurd price of the thing, it was pretty much legalized robbery! And even any extra dish, should one want seconds or try a different dish from the possible choices in the second menu, were expensive as well! It was basically Izuku holding them by their feet and shaking them to empty their wallets!
"GOD ALMIGHTY!" a girl with thorns for hair yelled in shock from somewhere in the back once checked the price list.
"So expensive! You are a bad influence, Yaomomo!" Tooru cried-out with a childish whine once seen the prices.
"Uh? Me? Why?" Momo asked, confused.
"I guess it was a given, he had to probably prepare most of it beforehand and bring everything here." Shoto guessed.
"There they are! My fish buns!" Tensei was heard declaring happiness.
"...Big Brother…" Tenya uttered with a broken heart.
"Don't tell me you hate coming second to a plate of fish buns?" Kaminari said, amused.
"Be quiet!" the tall young man hissed in embarrassment.
"Now kids, remember the rules! Get in line and place your order and wait for your portion." Nemuri said once near the table of Class 1A.
"Of course, Professor Midnight!" the class replied as one at Momo's prompting.
"A last thing. Yaoyorozu? Uraraka?"
"Yes?"
"I was asked to tell you this: You will find a special extra in your own portion, and our Guest Chef wants you to know that should you want you can order that True Century Soup free of charge and without having to get in line for it. Congratulations!" the woman added with a mischievous smile, she then left to join the teachers' table.
"…" both girls shrunk a little under the combined glare of the rest of the table.
" Nepotism , pure and simple." Mina hissed with narrowed eyes.
"You can't use your being his waitress to cheat, Ochako-chan!" Tsuyu added with a disappointed-sounding croak.
"Totally unfair!" Aoyama cried with an overly-dramatic tone.
"Haters gonna hate, hn !" Ochako answered, huffing.
The roar of childish anger that came in answer eclipsed any other noise in the cafeteria.
In the kitchen -
"Almost time, you ready?" Lunch Rush asked after checking the time.
"I am, the Century Soup is finally ready and can be served, we can start." Izuku answered.
Most of the more complex dishes had been prepared beforehand, like the dessert, the Century soup and the fish or meat buns, or had been pre-cooked once he arrived at the University, but most of the work on the dishes still needed to be done at the moment of the order for the final product to be as much good as possible, THAT exercise of speed cooking was what the Chef Pro Hero was after, and Izuku was more than ready to take on the Challenge!
"We start now then." Lunch Rush declared as he rang a little bell he had mounted outside the kitchen just for that occasion, and the long line of students and Pro Heroes ready to order took maybe a tenth of a second to form.
" They are pretty hungry and eager, will he manag-"
SWOOOOSH!
The Pro Hero's thoughts derailed gruesomely when he saw the young man having already turned into a blur of motion to prepare the hamburg steaks, paws and the noodles and fried tofu for the Udon Soup.
" And THAT is a Quirkless?" the Pro Hero thought in surprise.
Boa meat (Passed for beef) simmering on a wok, tofu getting gently turned around to be fried into cute golden cubes with the utmost care in another, noodles being pulled by hand to become thin string smooth as silk and both pork (in truth the meat of the giant albino boar) and crocodile meat being minced by hand at ludicrous speed to be then mixed together into several hamburg steaks and pan-fried. All at the same time, or so it looked from outside.
Whoever the young man's doctor was, Lunch Rush decided, needed a good beating because those were not normal human abilities!
Main Room -
"Menu B. " Whitey declared when the first tray was delivered to him by Lunch Rush himself once ready.
"Yes!" Pony squealed happily as she rushed to her table.
"What do you want?" the robot asked the next in line.
"Can I disassemble you, Whitey-chan? Please? Pretty please?" Mei asked moving forward to place her order.
"No. Place your order."
"It will take a minute! I will put you back together right after!" she begged.
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeease! That Chef built an amazing Baby! I wanna see how he did it!" the young woman begged again with a drawn-out whine.
"No."
"Ple-"
"JUST ORDER YOUR FOOD, WOMAN! I AM STARVING HERE!" Tetsutestu bellowed from waaaaay in the back.
"What is happening?" Lunch Rush asked once seen the line stopping already.
"The psycho from class 1H is blocking the line! She is harassing the robot!" a girl from the second year classes with butterfly wings answered from behind Mei.
"I am not harassing him!"
"Place your order, Hatsume. Or I will ban you from the lab for a week." Powerloader , fourth in line behind Mei, said with a groan.
"... Menu A . " Mei finally ordered with an annoyed grunt.
"Understood." Whitey answered, and when a couple minutes later he gave her her order and she left, the cheering that followed her departure made her grow even more sour.
Small issues aside, many noticed that Izuku seemed to remember the preferences of his usual Customers without them even asking, as seen by Tensei getting an extra helping of rainbow buns ( for the Pro Hero's clear delight) , Mandalay getting her Dishes gluten-free or Hawks getting everything in his order extra-spicy. All this without slowing-down the delivery of even a second, as both students and Teachers barely felt any substantial difference in waiting time between Lunch Rush or Izuku, if ever, the Guest Chef seemed even slightly faster.
"Uraraka."
"Yes?" Ochako asked once it was her turn.
"Host Izuku says you can have mochi no matter the Menu you pick. They will be delivered at double the amount and size, as a thank you for your hard work as a Waitress of Green Cloud Restaurant. Do you also wish the True Century Soup to be added to your order?" Whitey asked.
"Yes please! Menu B with giant mochi and True Soup!" she answered immediately.
"Understood."
"I LOVE YOU, BOSS!" the girl, crying fat tears of happiness at seeing the numerous and HUGE mochi that had been added to her order, declared with a loud voice.
"I know! The feeling's mutual!" Izuku's voice echoed from inside.
"Menu B with True Century Soup…" Momo asked right after as it was her turn, and she clearly did not glare at Ochako for that outburst, she merely followed the girl's every move with narrowed eyes until she sat at their table just because she feared Ochako could trip along the way.
"Understood. Host wants to know if you want a slice of tiramisu added to your order as an extra or if you prefer a coffee parfait."
"The parfait, thank you."
"Yes."
"Nepotism...Sheer Fucking Nepotism…" Mina hissed from her third place in line behind Momo, and many nodded along with her.
At the tables -
Everywhere one looked, there were hungry mouths greedily getting their fill of the feast in front of them.
The Mochi Skewer was a long wooden needle with seven golf-ball-sized ( or grapefruit-sized in Ochoako's case) dessert balls colored, as the name implied, like the rainbow: Red for the ones with Red Beans Paste filling, Green for the Green Tea ones, Yellow for the Mango Flavored ones and so on. Each bite is amazingly soft and yet chewy, elastic and flavorful.
"That guy did this? My God, this is amazing!" the student called Monoma said in amazement while devouring the fried tofu soup in front of him, each cube had a crunchy exterior, but once bitten it revealed a creamy filling that submerged the mouth in taste every time he chewed,
"That's Boss Izuku for ya! That guy cooks like a God!" Tetsutetsu answered, angrily swatting away the floating hand that tried to snatch a piece of his small Yin-Yang Pizza.
A version of it Izuku made with a normal recipe instead of the one he used against the Vegetable King that instead needed insane amounts of Cynarine to be consumed beforehand to become tasty.
"This' mine, you bitch! Fuck off!" he roared.
"I just wanted a bite, moron!" the girl replied once recovered her severed hand and reconnected it to her arm.
"This is yet another proof that our Lord exists! He gifted one of his children with a divine talent for cooking!" another girl, the one with thorns for hair, added.
"Ibara-san, if you really have to preach even while eating...At least swallow first, you are shooting Baozi crumbs everywhere." Pony begged with a scrunched nose.
"AH! I AM SO SORRY!" the young woman shrieked in shame.
"So much for the well-mannered Maria ." Itsuka muttered, smirking.
"Your future husband is still a Master in cooking, Rumi-chan!" Pony said.
"Yep! I am trying to snatch him, but don't worry, soon he will be mine!" Rumi answered, smirking.
Fried Tofu Soup.
Class 1A Table -
Nobody could tell the Ingredients used came from other worlds, even Tamaki's own Quirk was not reacting outside of his expectations when eating his own food, but what was certain was that the ones that had not tried Izuku's food before, silently swore to visit the Chef's Restaurant again, all under the knowing looks of the other people in there that were instead Regulars of Green Cloud Restaurant .
"Boss Izuku's Mochi are soooo goooooood!" Ochako declared in tears while inhaling her food with zero manners.
"Maybe I should change your name from Round Face to Kirby , are you even breathing?" Katsuki asked, disgusted.
"NOM! NOM! NOM! NOM!"
"Can't be worse than Denki-san," Tokoyami admitted, looking impressed by the eating speed of the guy.
"It's not their fault, everybody acts like this the first few times, but the effects do lessen once one gets used to eating Izuku's food." Momo explained, looking unaffected as she was eating with impeccable manners.
"Well, not all of us have the benefit of eating this whenever we want," Tooru answered, huffing.
"Nor do we have your bank account…" Tsuyu added with a whisper.
"I often enjoy this for free, actually. Especially when he comes to my house to give my mother cooking lessons." she replied.
"My jealousy is immense and my lunch is partially ruined." Mina uttered in disdain.
"...Have you ever used him as a plate? His abs, I mean." Jiro asked, and for once Momo did lose control and choked a little in her food.
" AGK! W-What are you saying?!" she asked with a shriek.
"Well? Did you?" the girl pressed on.
"W-W-Well...I-I may have...C-considered it...Once or twice…" Momo admitted with a very low voice, a burning red face and a completely ashamed expression.
"Uh, it takes courage to admit that, I am impressed." Mezo admitted chuckling.
"EEEK!"
"Lucky Bastard of a Chef…" Mineta muttered in disgust, while still enjoying his food, to his dismay.
Once finished serving everybody -
After having delivered the last order and the last dish of True Century Soup, Izuku finally surfaced from the kitchen to see the results of his work: hundreds of people eating to their heart's content the food he prepared, something that filled his chest in Pride for a job well done; and the applause the people in the room gave him once they saw him get out turned him into a shy blushing mess as he had not actually expected it.
As he had requested, though, whoever got their hands on the True Century Soup did not open the lid of the special container it had been put into; Izuku had reassured them that the special container would have kept it at the right temperature without spoiling the taste, and he personally trusted the System to create and give him containers with that ability, until the time to open them came.
" You did well, you actually surpassed my expectations ." Lunch Rush declared while using sign language.
"Could have gone faster, but one can't accelerate the time needed for Ingredients to cook, so more than just being fast in preparing, cooking still required the same time." he answered.
" For now, Host. " the System replied.
" Uh!?"
"True, but the fact remains that both speed and results were way beyond what I expected after seeing you go against the students from Inoshiki ." the Pro Hero said.
"I don't usually crush my opponents, I don't want to scare anybody by winning too hard, because I am not that kind of person." Izuku admitted.
" Understandable. By the way, those Ingredients you used...Their quality is astounding, I would like to inquire with your Sponsor if they are open to the idea of selling us some to use here in the Cafeteria. "
"I'll try asking." Izuku answered.
" Thank you. Is it time for those containers to be open? I think the ones that managed to snag that True Soup deserve to eat it. " Lunch Rush asked.
"Right, sorry about that. I wanted to make a spectacle out of it, to be just a bit dramatic for once." Izuku admitted sheepishly.
"A Spectacle?" this the Pro Hero asked with his actual voice, too taken aback to remember to use sign language.
"Yep!" the young Chef answered, smirking, and clapping his hands to get everybody's attention.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I would like to apologize to all the ones that paid extra for the Soup, you can open the lid now. I just wanted the dish to have your undivided attention. Sorry again, you can eat it now." he said to the people in the room with a sheepish smile, and without waiting for a second prompt, the lucky ones did hurry to open the Soup containers they were given, all at the same time.
Teachers Table -
"FINALLY!" Mako said in glee.
" Uuuuhm! Aahm...Uuuhm!"
"Vlad? Are you eating that, or Eating that?" Nemuri asked, unnerved by the man's lewd moans as he chewed.
"Shut up!" the teacher answered, face red in embarrassment.
" NOM NOM! "
"Are you still eating bear meat?" Sadao in the meantime asked in disbelief.
"I asked Boss Izuku for a third serving! God almighty, this is to die for! The bear meat he prepared in our Challenge can't even be compared to this!" Takeo answered while still gorging himself in red braised bear meat, a tender and spicy flavour he was rapidly getting addicted to.
"Yeah! If you keep this up your cholesterol will certainly murder you!" the Fish King answered, taking away his plate.
"NO! I still have to lick it clean! I said nothing to you getting four plates of carpaccio, you hypocrite!"
"I am saving your life, moron!"
"It will be a worthy death! Give it to-"
FSSSSSSSSH!
The only warning everybody got was the hissing sound of the air-tight seal of the soup containers opening before a blanket of aroma conquered the entire room, and while gentle, the divine scent of the true Century Soup still managed to impose itself on everything else, silencing the room instantaneously.
At the other tables -
"Jesus…" Mirio admitted in awe at the amazing scent coming from Nejire's soup, even if she now sat far from him, the scent still punched him on the nose.
"M-M-Mirio…" he heard Tamaki shakily call his name from next to him.
"Something you want?" Nejire asked once noticed he was looking at her.
"M-M-Mirio…"
"I wanted to apologize," he said.
"M-Mirio, look!"
"Apologize for what? There is a LONG list of bad things you did to me. You'll need to be more specific." Nejire said.
"M-Mirio, oh God."
"You know why I did it! I-I-It's too important!"
"What's so important about it!? What's MORE important to you? Me or your Training?!"
"G-Guys!"
"I have a Legacy-"
"There, good. If it is that important then take care of that Legacy , whatever that means since you are telling me NOTHING. But do not expect me to be the good Trophy Girlfriend that will just stand there looking pretty and waiting for you. Our relationship is officially dead, and consider yourself lucky we are still friends at all!" she hissed.
"N-Nejire-"
"Mirio!"
"WHAT?!"
"...That soup created an aurora." Tamaki muttered in shock while looking at the ceiling.
"A Soup can't make- IS THAT A DAMN AURORA BOREALIS ?!" Mirio's angry answer turned into a high-pitched shriek once he looked up to see that yes, Nejire's soup and the others' generated a giant aurora covering the ceiling of the entire cafeteria.
Nobody could wrap their heads around the strange phenomenon, but by following the strands of colour connecting the aurora to various tables, it was impossible to not understand that indeed it was the Century Soup to produce that mirage, no matter how Impossible that was.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly normal." Izuku reassured them with a gentle smile.
"It's not normal!" Tenya shrieked.
"An Aurora is created by the ions of the solar wind colliding with the atoms of oxygen and nitrogen from the Earth's ionosphere! A Soup can't replicate that!"
"That is why I say it is an extremely difficult Dish to prepare! Something that I need an entire year to make properly; what I did during my Challenge against Inoshiki was an extremely rushed version, this isn't, and the adding of my homemade aromatic Vinegar not only changes the taste for the better, but it also causes the chemical reaction that generates the aurora. Simple as that." Izuku answered.
"What chemical reactions cause this?" Nezu asked, entranced by the aurora coming off from his and the other teachers' table.
"I have not the faintest clue." Powerloader admitted.
"Me neither." Recovery Girl added.
"What about you, Lunch- " Nezu tried saying.
"BOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!" The Chef Pro Hero was seen falling on all-fours to cry his eyes out as a waterfall of tears was seen pouring down from under his mask, and by the empty container next to him, they all knew he had already eaten the soup.
"He broke our Chef...Amazing…I hope the boy offers a take-out service, because he will have to take responsibility for this." the University Boss groaned in dismay.
"T-The soup is supposed to make people happy!" Izuku shrieked in horror.
" Unfortunately the feeling of defeat was stronger than the Century Soup's ability, Host. Have no fear, he will recover in a couple of days. " the System reassured him.
" A COUPLE OF DAYS?! "
Everywhere else, luckily, the reactions of who ate the Dish was more in the norm, with happy smiles and even laughter echoing from the various tables, with the smiles being either silly giant beady ones, or more normal wide and happy smiles.
"My God, it's so much more intense than the one he did before! It's delicious! It's Godly!" Mako admitted in awe, her smile a bit silly with how wide it was.
"Stop hiding, Shota! Let me see your smile!" Mic, showing the silliest smile of them all, prodded his friend to force him to stop hiding his head from under his arms.
"Go away!" Aizawa hissed, but any threatening intent he tried to put into his words failed spectacularly and his face simply refused to obey and form a frown, and he refused to show a similar stupid smile like Mic was!
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! AMAZING! I CAN'T STOP SMILING!" Toshinori in the meantime did the impossible and hulked-out just a bit more even if already in his All Might Form thanks to the soup, and his teacher's outfit gained few holes in the area of his biceps as he flexed subconsciously.
" Nana, if only you were here, you would have loved this!" he also thought with a bit of melancholy, unaware that part of her WAS inside his Quirk, and she was indeed loving the feeling the Century Soup managed to instill all the way deep into One for All and the Imprints inside the Quirk.
POMF !
"Holy Shit, Fat!" Gunhead yelled in surprise at seeing the Pro Hero Fat Gum jump from his Skinny Form all the way to his Fat Form in just a couple spoonfuls.
"WHOA!" the now giant guy admitted in shock.
"Why are you eating his food, Endeavor? That brat caused you so much pain!" a woman with burning acid-green hair hissed.
"Because at the end of the day, his food is still good." Endeavor admitted, and seeing him smile was secretly deemed creepy by the man's colleagues, it was a very alien sight.
"I should kick his ass and teach him respect, though." the woman said, grumbling.
" Burnin, the Chef's robot is here. Do you want Whitey-san to strip you and bitch-slap you away again?" Enji asked without looking away from his soup.
" EEEEK! " the woman, The Pro Hero Burnin , shrieked in fear when Whitey momentarily looked straight at her with red eyes as if he had heard them.
" Thought so." Endeavor muttered while fully focusing on eating, and ignoring his secretary now hiding behind him to avoid the robot's eyes.
As more and more declarations of awe and delight resounded in the room, Izuku grew certain: the Century Soup was a success that will make sure his Restaurant name gained just a bit more fame thanks to gossip, and his making the real one only once a year, will mean that he will also have the chance to sell something else during the rest of the year.
"Say...You think they will get him to work here if enough of us sign a petition?" Monoma asked.
"Yeah! Let's try!"
"Unlikely, he wants to reach the top, and to do that he needs to be as free as possible," Momo answered, shaking her head.
"That's a pity," Mezo admitted, and watching as the young Chef neared the Teachers' table to talk with the Kings of Inoshiki Academy and the Pro Heroes there.
" The Number One Chef, eh?...Yes...Yes, it suits him… " Katsuki thought with a near-silent saddened sigh escaping him.
"Izu-" before he could actually call the young Chef over, though, the Hero Student heard somebody behind him take a hissing breath between her clenched teeth.
While some students actually seemed interested enough in Izuku to try chat him up once he was done talking with the teachers of UA, Momo could not help but notice how most of them were actually girls, talking with Izuku and asking questions about his cooking or his restaurant, or even showering him in praises for how he acted in the Livestream Challenge...But Momo didn't feel threatened, she knew she had nothing to worry about!
" I am a Yaoyorozu! We are always collected, well-mannered and proper! I am not a brutish, violent savage getting angry and territorial! I am a cultured woman that never lets her Instincts take over! I am Yayorozu Momo and- " Momo thought in pride while holding her back straight.
"Here is my favourite Chef! Finally coming to meet your favourite Customer?" Rumi choose that exact moment to shamelessly hug Izuku's side and " CASUALLY " burying the entire left side of his head in her chest, exactly where she had casually left several buttons of her school uniform's blouse open to form some outrageous cleavage for him to get smothered into.
" MOMO SMASH PUNY WHORE!" the student of class 1A mentally roared in fury.
"Control yourself, Momo-san. You are frothing at the mouth." Tenya muttered while shaking her a little.
"You are right, I have dignity. I can control myself, I can do this." she answered, taking a deep breath and recovering her self-control.
This until Nejire decided to jokingly join the hug from Izuku's other side as well so to rub her face in his fluffy messy hair, thus completely burying the Chef's cherry-red face in a Marshmallow Heaven many boys in UA could only dream and wank about, Jealousy looks soon overtook the males in the room.
"NO I CAN'T DO THIS! UNHAND HIM!" the class Pres bellowed, marching towards Rumi and Nejire and forcefully prying her boyfriend free from the booby-trap the young man was buried in. God, I envy him.
"What's wrong? Feeling the heat of the competition?" Rumi asked with a smirk, and moved closer to Momo so that they got nose-to-nose, unfortunately smashing their chest together as a result, and causing many boys in the room to gain captivated horny looks.
"I don't need to feel any competition! Because that would mean I consider you an actual threat!" Momo answered, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"So I am no threat to you? Good to know! So you won't mind me taking him to see a movie with me, yes? As Friends... Alone." Rumi said, smirk turning even more malignant.
"O-Of course! M-My Icchan is a gentleman and won't fall for your petty tricks!" she answered, albeit with a nervous tone.
" She still knows nothing about him! She will clearly choose a Movie he absolutely hates! " she then thought, trying to reassure herself.
"Stupid comment about tricks aside, I am glad to see you so sure of yourself! Because I happen to have two tickets for the Premiere of 'Assault on Hero Island 2.' and I want to go there with him." Rumi said, crossing her arms.
" SHIT! HE LOVES THAT MOVIE! " Momo thought in panic, remembering well the tickets for that same movie she herself bought for the two of them...But surely Rumi's seats were bad!
"Middle row, perfect seats in the middle of the room." Rumi said, as if reading the girl's mind.
" FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" beaten again, hers were at the corner all the way in the back! And while good seats for some Hard Petting/Dry Humping, for a movie those were bad seats!
"How do you know he loves that movie?! Are you spying on him?!" she demanded.
"He loves it?! Really?! NICE!" The bunny-girl looked honestly surprised at the admission.
"N-N-NO! H-He hates it! He prefers Horror Movies! The gorier the better!" Momo tried a last-minute desperate, and kinda pathetic, lie. Soon followed by a mental apology to her precious cinnabun boyfriend.
"...Liar." Rumi said with a fang-filled smile.
"W-W-Why am I worried? It is still up to him to decide if he will come or not! I-I have nothing to fear! He won't come with you in a theater where you will be alone, in the dark." Momo said.
" SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP!"
"Oh, RUMI-CHAN! Your tongue is so long and hot! I'm co-"
"Nononononono! That won't happen! That will NEVER HAPPEN!" she thought in desperation and banishing that disgusting image from her head; she herself hadn't done that to him yet and she won't let Rumi do it to him either!
"Oh, really? Why don't we ask him then?" Rumi said with a challenging tone.
"Yes, let's ask him, just because you apparently like being rejected!" Momo answered.
"Izu...Where has he gone?!" both girls said at the same time once seen the Chef and Whitey were both gone.
"Hn? Nejire and a girl from Class 1A kind of dragged him away to give him a tour of the school, at Nejire's insistence." Tamaki offered with a bored tone.
"WHAT?! THAT BITCH!" Rumi roared.
"What girl from 1A?" Momo asked.
"Eeeh. I think it's the one that makes stuff float, why?" he answered.
"…" a strange tick took over the girl's left eye at that, then came the roar of betrayal.
" URARAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! "
"Why did Nejire drag him away? Do they know each other? Since when? Are they close? How close? Are they friends? More than friends? Less than friends? Why did she never tell me she knows him? Why HIM then?" Mirio in the meantime kept looking at the door he saw Nejire disappear into while dragging Izuku away by his arm with a worried Ochako following behind them at the girl's insistence.
He wasn't jealous! They were obviously just friends and nothing will be born from that now that Nejire declared she and Mirio were done and she was once again single! So Mirio wasn't jealous!
Absolutely.
Not even a little.
Not at all.
hE wAs NoT JeAlOuS!
"Nejireee!" he muttered with a long whine.
"Jesus...Dad told me the guy was a magnet for trouble, and he was right. Maybe I should really keep an eye on him, just in case." Tamaki instead gave a self-deprecating sigh and shook his head.
With Izuku – Classroom -
"Hehehe! Here it is! My classroom!" Nejire declared proudly once opened the door wide.
"I...I don't think we should be here." Izuku said, unsure.
"Come on! They are all occupied with lunch! And I am sure Mister Nezu won't mind it too much! I just showed you the gym and this room, not a single secret place!" the young woman answered, she was also floating in the air, something that, unknown to Izuku, meant she was in a good mood.
"Maybe if we are fast they won't notice." Ochako added, just as nervous as he was.
"…" to the two girls' surprise, though, the young Chef soon fell silent as he walked inside the classroom while gently running a finger on the chalkboard.
"…" the room was empty, neat and clean.
"Boss?" Ochako tried saying.
As in a trance, Izuku chose a desk near the window and sat down without a sound, his eyes were unfocused and just staring far ahead at the chalkboard, but his gaze actually reached far beyond everything.
"Icchan?" Nejire asked, worried.
He was a student of UA, he wore a pristine uniform he kept with the utmost care and was eager to become a Pro Hero like All Might.
He had a Quirk, he could breathe fire like his dad, and his mom had helped him design a Hero Costume.
Dad said he should go as Green Dragon as his Hero Name, and both father and son would keep laughing at the kinda-cringe idea.
"Izu…" Both Momo and Rumi finally found them, but as soon as Momo saw the strange look in the Chef's eyes, she covered Rumi's mouth with a hand.
"Please...Let him, just once." Momo whispered, making the bunny girl's eyes widen in realization.
Of those four girls, Ochako and Momo were the ones that knew him best, that knew how much he LONGED to be a Hero, how much he wished to be their classmate and join the lessons, and they also knew how much it hurt him knowing he was denied all that because he was a Quirkless.
"Oh…" Nejire, maybe getting a clue about his inner turmoil, dropped her smile in favour of a more sad expression.
He was sitting at his desk taking notes while the Pro Hero Eraserhead droned on with his usual drowsy tone of voice.
Ochako sat next to him while Momo sat in the first row, back straight and fully focused.
Kacchan was sitting not too far from him, clearly bored but not missing a thing either.
"Midoriya, pay attention," Aizawa said.
"Sorry, sensei!" he answered shyly.
"Problem child…" the teacher sighed in dismay, but still continued his lesson as if nothing was out of ordinary.
They were Class 1A, and they will one day become Heroes…
"Host?" it was the voice of the System to shatter the dream, and Izuku found himself sitting at the desk in the empty classroom while wearing his green Chef uniform.
"...Oh." that was all his reaction to the realization it was all an illusion, only his daydreaming; it did not sound like disappointment, not rage nor sadness. It was an empty, atonal noise.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought, you were saying?" it scared the girls how perfect the natural smile he showed to them was, looking at that one would have easily thought it was sincere.
"Nothing important. Sorry about all this, I didn't mean to hurt you," Nejire answered.
"It's okay, just a bit of childish daydreaming. Nothing to get worried ab-OH!`` To his surprise Ochako, who had sat next to him while he was mentally elsewhere, decided to give him a comforting hug that buried his face in her neck so that she could rest her chin on top of his head.
She smelled of vanilla and ' Ochako' , it had a nice scent.
"You would have been an amazing student. I would have loved to have you as a classmate, Izuku." she muttered, sighing.
"Hey, cheer up! I am no longer a crybaby! I will be okay! I just had a down moment, nothing more!'' The Chef's cheerful tone came-out slightly muffled, but everybody still heard it.
"If you need to talk, though...We are friends, remember. I am not just your waitress, okay? We're friends." Ochako said.
"I know, I know." he answered, jokingly poking her on the forehead once released from her hug, and chuckling at the cute ' Eek!' squeak she released once hit.
"We are still friends too, right?" Nejire asked with a small voice.
In answer he simply got up and opened his arms wide, a tenth of a second later the taller girl propelled herself forward like a human bullet to hug the life out of him, and had Izuku not used his own abilities, he knew she would have shot him down the floor.
"Thank you, Nejire-chan. You gave me a beautiful gift, even if it lasted only an instant."
"But it hurt you," she muttered, hiding her face in his messy hair in shame.
"Not at all." he answered, smiling wide and patting her back.
" Liar." the four girls thought at the same time in sadness.
"I better get going, I don't want you to be in trouble." Izuku declared, freeing himself from Nejire's Hydraulic Press Hug and walking towards the door where Whitey was already waiting for him, the robot had already collected everything left from his cooking and had reached him.
"Izuku…" Momo muttered.
"It's okay, no harm done. And those were only friendly hugs," he said, chuckling.
"It's not about that, silly." she answered, her own smile was tiny, and still forced.
"Just be a good Hero for us both, and I will be happy. Okay?" he offered, and the third tight hug of the day really went close to breaking something as his spine gave a faint crack sound.
"I'll be the best Hero, for us both." she answered, tightening her hug even more, making him release a strangled ' Ugh!' groan.
"...Hey…" Rumi asked when she saw Momo finally release him.
"Yes?"
"I...Uhm...I have two tickets for Assault on Hero Island 2 . I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go with me, but I guess now is not a good moment," she muttered.
"No-no, I believe a good movie would be a nice idea, I don't mind seeing it with a friend." Izuku answered with a gentle smile.
"Okay, and...It's not a plot of mine, okay?" she admitted.
"I trust you," he answered.
"Good, so...Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow. I'll be a gentleman, promise."
"Me too, I'll be good." Rumi answered, her usual cocky smile slowly resurfacing.
"But I won't say a thing should your hand get curious about me while we watch the movie, miss Jealous here will never find out," she added, maybe a bit forcefully, to lighten the mood.
"I have nothing to fear from him, from you on the other hand, I will keep my eyes on you." Momo answered.
"Good, I heard it's hotter when there is somebody watching!"
"Please don't joke on this, I am not that kind of guy." Izuku replied, giving a fast kiss to Momo at her request and one to Rumi's cheek once she nagged him enough.
"USAGIYAMA!" on the notes of Momo's outraged scream, the young Chef neared his robot bodyguard and gave it a gentle pat on his big rotund belly.
"Let's go, Whitey." he said, gaining a nod from the Robot that immediately fell in step with him as both left the school.
"Izuku…" Ochako muttered with a sad expression, very aware of how nice hugging him felt, and yet still unable to say if she actually liked him or not, and the sense of guilt about her increasing attraction to him once considered his relationship with Momo did not help at all in abandoning those budding feelings, quite the contrary in fact.
With Izuku -
The ride back to the Green Cloud Restaurant was spent in complete silence by the young man, even the System's own words of encouragement fell on deaf ears as that same daydream happened again and again inside Izuku's head over and over for the entire duration of the two bus rides he needed to return home; as he had said once already, his power of Imagination was extremely strong, and it only helped making everything more painful with how Real everything felt.
"You okay, Kiddo?" Blackie asked when he saw the drained expression on his protege's face up close.
"I'll be. I will prepare your noodles immediately." he answered, mechanically.
"...Take your time, this Lord is not a puppy. I can wait a bit more." the dog offered with a disinterested tone once studied the Chef's face for a little while.
"Okay." Izuku answered as he unlocked the door of the Restaurant and entered.
Sigh! " It was not a good day for him, unfortunately." the Lord Dog muttered to himself.
The empty room that greeted Izuku upon entering helped very little in cheering him up, even if it was his beloved Restaurant; he knew he had to prepare for the Challenge against the teachers of Inoshiki Academy and Yamato herself, since contrary to the Kings, his next batch of enemies will be proper Pros , not students, so preparation was essential.
"I need to prepare, those teachers won't show mercy." Izuku said to himself.
" Host can rest assured, the System was not lying: the Path towards the Role of God of Cooking will lead you to Greatness. The Host will be a Hero to the people, only in a different manner, " the Entity reassured him as soon as the young Chef entered the kitchen.
"I know, I know...It is not that the problem…" he muttered while leaning on his workstation.
Pat! Pat!
" It's okay. Let it all out… " It was a fleeting feeling, but Izuku felt his Appetite Demon give him a gentle pat on the back while flashing him an encouraging smile.
Plick! Plick-Plick-Plock!
And right after, in the absolute silence of the empty kitchen and Restaurant, the soft noise of tears falling down on a pristine-clean chopping board was clearly heard.
