The sun had just begun peeking over the horizon when Izuku's eyes snapped open, he turned off his alarm clock and after a long shower he went down the stairs connecting his apartment to the Restaurant under it.
"Good morning, Whitey." the young Chef said, yawning, while giving a friendly pat to the robot's soft round belly.
"…" the tall robot simply scratched the shining dome of his round head with his big hand and gave a small nod.
"Aaah! I would have never thought I would ever enjoy waking at dawn…" he muttered with a chuckle.
" Host Izuku, today you will meet other candidates for the Delivery Service . You still need to find 1 candidate for the Lunch hour and 1 for the Dinner hour, you have until before today's closing hour to find them for the Abrupt Mission to be considered a success."
Mission: Find 4 worthy Candidates to start your Delivery Service.
(2 For Lunch hour and 2 for Dinner)
Reward for completion: Unlocking of the Utility Dish: Berserker Burger and the Ingredient Meteor Garlic .
"Host should also remember that Candidates with an Aptitude Level for this job inferior to 95% won't be accepted as worthy members of the Delivery Staff. " the System declared.
"Meteor Garlic! And I can have it either already ready for use or just raw for me to prepare?" Izuku asked with wide eyes, he was so surprised he almost dropped the bulky, heavy knife he normally used for training, one so heavy even he had trouble lifting it.
" As always, Host. Please remember that there will be a small fee to pay should you desire the selected Ingredient to be already prepared by the System. In the case of Meteor Garlic, asking for it already without its outer shell will cost you 1000 yen." the System answered.
"Ugh! Okay...As always that option will be left for cases of emergency…" Izuku muttered with a grimace.
"I forgot to ask. What is a Utility Dish ?"
" Since the Host has shown his Heroic Spirit by saving All Might and his Pride as a Chef by defeating the best Inoshiki Academy had to offer, the ' Hero' sub-routine has been unlocked. Host will be now permitted to utilize recipes offered by the System to create Dishes with special effects. These Dishes won't be added to the Menu."
Berserker Burger: a burger created with Ingredients rich in Life Energy and Fighting Spirit, it will increase the Customer's fighting power up to ten times.
Compatible with Quirks too.
Side Effects: the Customer will lose half their fighting power for 24 hours.
Compatible Ingredients: Berserker Bear Meat, Jewel Meat, King Python Meat, Scorpio-dile Meat.
Should the Host utilize Meteor Garlic to prepare it, the effects of the Dish will be tripled, but the Customer will lose consciousness to recover their strength for 24 hours as a side effect.
"Utility Dishes...If I use them...I will bring even more attention onto myself than what I am already getting." Izuku muttered.
" Host, you are walking the path of the God of Cooking , you cannot limit yourself for fear of the people of this world."
" I wish I had your optimism…" the young man answered with a sigh.
With that said he just fell into silence and simply went through his training regimen for the day: using that giant, ridiculously heavy butcher knife to cut tomatoes into hair-thin slices without squishing them, and by the looks of them, that day he was expected to cut over a hundred of them in under an hour and then worry about the breakfast service.
One hour later -
"Here it is! Caramel Cappuccino and a honey-filled croissant." Izuku said once delivered a customer his order.
"Thank you!" the short woman with red hair answered, happy.
"Much appreciated, my boy!" the old man with her added.
"Guys, just hurry-up before some Pro Hero shows-up." Izuku answered.
"...Please don't rat us out, Chef Izuku!" the young woman begged with a low voice and a weak smile.
"Miss La Brava , I understand why you and Mister Gentle do what you do...But there are better ways to do it than Vigilantism." he answered, sighing.
"Things are a bit more complex than us simply not trying…" Gentle answered, grimacing.
"We did try to do it properly, I swear." La Brava added with a whisper.
"I know I have no right to ask you this, but please, do try to get a License or something. I know you have good intentions, but the people in charge clearly don't like you doing things your way...I've lost count of how many times you or Pop Step have come here to hide...You and her just need some ' Polishing' , you are not as bad as many other Vigilantes." Izuku begged.
"Boss Icchan, I really wish things could be that easy." Gentle admitted with a sigh.
"I am just worried about you, guys. You will always be welcomed here, I only wish the best for you." he answered.
"We'll be careful, promise." La Brava answered, showing him a reassuring smile and gently patting his hand.
Sigh! "Okay." The Chef conceded his defeat and walked away.
"We are trying, my boy. I swear we keep trying to have our chance…" Gentle muttered with a sigh of defeat.
Dling! Dling!
The tiny bell on top of the door chimed lightly as the Pro Hero Endeavor entered the Restaurant, causing the two Vigilantes in civilian attire to squeak in fear and keep their head low while having their breakfast.
"Yes? Who is it? AH! Mister Endeavor, good morning."
"Good morning," the Pro Hero number 2 of Japan answered with a grunt, and glancing at the strange duo pressed against the wall in the far corner, he gave a shrug and took a table under one of the giant windows.
"The usual?" Izuku asked.
"Yes…"
"The cupcake too?" the young Chef asked with a tiny amused smile.
"Don't mock me, boy!"
"…"
"...Yes, the cupcake with pink strawberry frosting too." the Pro muttered with a super low voice full of shame.
"I'll bring both to you immediately. And there is nothing shameful in liking strawberry-flavored sweets."
"They are feminine." Endeavor muttered.
"Debatable. They still taste good no matter the color."
"...True. Bring me two...Please."
"Of course."
Once the Chef disappeared inside his kitchen, Enji gave a sigh and leaned slightly back on his seat, watching the people passing-by in front of the window and sending a smug smirk to the ones he recognized as his fans every time they pointed at him in awe or waved at him in excitement.
It was then that he saw an absurdly tall girl with a fox-like mutation Quirk and her skin covered in greenish-blue fur stop in front of the door, her long ears folded back against her head in a show of discomfort.
She was dressed in a green checkered shirt and skin-tight beige pants, she was an absurdly tall girl, probably twice Enji's height if not more actually, and the Pro Hero was already pretty tall himself.
With her there was a more normal-sized young man with his face adorned by numerous earrings and piercings and a short Mohawk hairstyle dyed bright-blue and dressed in leather from head to toe with under his jacket a Pre-Quirk-Era-style Sonic the Hedgehog shirt showing the game's mascot giving a ' V Sign' salute to whoever looked at the thing.
"Uhmmm….Uhmmm…" The giant girl was hesitating in front of the door, as if ready to have a panic attack.
"Want me to get in for us both?" the punk young man asked with a surprisingly gentle voice for somebody with a look like his.
"Thank you," the girl answered with a shy whisper.
"Okay. Wait here, baby! Big Brother Zoom has got this in the bag!" the guy replied with a cocky attitude that somehow made her chuckle.
"Thanks!"
Dling! Dling!
Truth be told, the guy's smug look dropped as soon as he actually got inside, meaning that he was indeed acting tough to cheer the girl up a little, in truth he himself was clearly just as nervous as she was.
"Good morning!" Izuku was fast in welcoming the new arrival, all the while carrying in his hands a small tray with Enji's breakfast on it, and as always the scent of his freshly-made coffee mixture managed to take off some edge from the dour man's everlasting foul mood.
"Finally." Endeavor half-grunted in answer once delivered his order.
By now Izuku knew that was the man's version of the common ' Thank you.' ( at least when it came to the young Chef) so he paid it no mind and just addressed the new arrival.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"Hi! I... Uhm ...I saw that AD in the newspaper…About you looking for somebody to take care of delivery…" the young man said with a nervous smile.
"Yes? Are you here for the job?"
"Yes. Sonoda Iga, nice to meet you, Midoriya-san."
"A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for coming here for the job, but you do know I am Quirkless , right?" Izuku said, slowly.
Now the leather-dressed guy knew he was treading on thin ice as Enji had immediately stopped drinking his coffee to look straight at him in the eyes, and the two strange guys in the far back too were probably looking at him with the corner of their eyes, if the cold feeling traveling up his back was anything to go by.
"I...I fail to see what this has to do with the job...Is this a Test?" the guy asked, gulping.
"Oh, nono! It's just that the last guy that came for the AD stormed off once he learned that, I just wanted to make it clear immediately so we both won't waste time. I almost added that in the AD too, to be honest." Izuku answered, shrugging.
"Oh! That's no problem then, I am not that sort of guy!" he answered, finally relaxing a bit, and secretly happy to see the customers return to mind their own businesses.
" Damn, they really love their restaurants here… " the guy thought in wonder.
"Nice to hear! The thing is very simple: I need somebody open to take care of deliveries for either the lunch or dinner hour, working hours and the pay are as I listed in the AD, if you have any doubts don't be afraid to ask. I need somebody quick and professional in deliveries though, so either with flying or speed-related Quirks or a scooter at the very least, and good manners of course." Izuku answered.
"My mom did not raise a hooligan, sir! And I do have a speed Quirk: I have literal wheels under the soles of my feet," the guy answered.
"Oooh! What are they made of?" Izuku asked with starry eyes.
"Hardened bone covered with a thick layer of enamel, as long as I keep a calcium-rich diet, they regenerate very fast. I am a fan of both Pro Heroes Ingenium and Speed Limit ...And Sonic of course! I will be known as the Pro Hero Zoom one day, so trust me when I say that with me you will have the fastest deliveries in the entire city!" he answered, puffing-out his chest, something that made Izuku chuckle amused.
"Proud to meet a Pro in the making then! Which shift are you applying for?" Izuku asked.
"I would prefer the dinner hour. I am already under Apprenticeship with a Hero Agency and they did argue a bit when I asked if I could take this job, or at least they did until I told them you were the author of the AD." Zoom answered.
"Really? Which agency are you working with?"
" Speed Limits' , why?"
"Huhuhu! I see! Akane-san may have a soft spot for me and my orange-flavored cheesecake, that may be why she agreed to allow you to work here part time. Do you want some of that to bring back to her as a bribe just to make sure she will let you work for me?" Izuku asked with a mischievous smile.
(orange-flavored cheesecake)
"You know her personally?!" the other shrieked in surprise.
"She is a regular." Enji supplied from the sidelines.
"Oh! Then yes, please."
"Perfect! I would really love for you to start tomorrow, is it a problem?"
"O-Oh! Already?! I...I thought it would have been harder to get a job here,"
"Why?"
"...My piercings…And the hair." he answered with a bitter tone.
"What about them?"
"They always say that I look too Scary , that I may scare customers…" he admitted.
"Oh! Well, for what it's worth, I like them." Izuku admitted, smiling wide.
"T-Thanks. S-So I got the job?" Zoom asked hopefully.
" System?" making it seem like he was deep in thought, the young Chef actually asked for confirmation to the Entity itself.
" This young man, Sonoda (AKA Zoom ), has an aptitude of 95% for this job. Making him just suitable enough to do his duty in a satisfactory manner and not bring shame to your Restaurant Host. If you want, you can hire him and he will be counted as the third candidate for the Delivery Staff quota for your Mission. " The System answered.
"S-So?"
"Huhuhu! I was kidding, you got the job no problem, I was just pulling your ear a little," the Chef answered with a cheeky smirk.
"That's mean, Boss!" Sonoda answered with a whine.
"Sorry, sorry. I am just happy that thanks to you I managed to cover for the dinner hour delivery, now I only need somebody for the lunch hour and I will be able to start the test run for the delivery service."
"O-Oh! I may have somebody for that!" Sonoda said immediately.
"Uh? Really?"
"Yeah, an old friend of mine, we went to the same middle school. Don't be fooled by her appearances, she is a HUGE softy. Literally." he answered, motioning to the girl outside to present herself, even if she had to get on all four to squeeze her head through the door to do so.
Many young men did make some ruckus at the amazing sight of her pretty heart-shaped butt sticking out from the restaurant, but those perverts are of no importance to the story, so they will be ignored.
"H-Hi! I-I...My name is Ippan Josei, nice to meet you." the giant fox-girl muttered.
"Nice to meet you, Ippan-chan. Are you here for the job too?" Izuku, hiding his stricken expression, asked with a gentle tone.
He may have a thing for tall girls, but Momo was still his number one, even if this young fox girl could probably cradle his entire body in the palm of her hands effortlessly, something that did make his heart race a little.
"Hu-uh. I have moved here to be closer to my school, but I need a part-time job for some extra money." she answered.
"And you won't have a problem taking the lunch hour shift?"
"Not really, I asked my teachers and they told me I could do it. I-I have my scooter for the deliveries, is it okay?" she answered, unsure, while pointing to a custom-made scooter parked nearby and made for people her size, meaning the thing was actually bigger than a normal car.
" This hard-working girl has an aptitude of 98%, please snatch her before another Restaurant does, Host. The scooter itself will be updated by the System to assure worthy performances as well. " the System prompted immediately.
"Don't worry, it will be perfect, Ippan-chan. If you want, the job is yours. But you both will need to work hard, okay?" Izuku answered.
"Of course!" Both answered at the same time, and their smiles simply lit up the room.
"Good! I will bring you your uniforms and a portion of cheesecake for Sonoda-kun to bring to Miss Akane, this time free of charge." Izuku answered.
"Thank you, Boss!" Zoom answered, looking ready to cry.
"…" Once sure Izuku was out of hearing distance, Enji cleared his throat loudly enough to catch the duo's attention.
"You will soon learn that several Pro Heroes love this place. Fuck-up and they will skin you alive, I will look the other way when that happens so don't beg for help." Endeavor delivered his short threat with an utterly casual tone before leaving the money of his bill to Whitey and bidding goodbye to the returning Izuku.
"YESSIR!" Both Sonoda and Ippan answered as one while paling considerably, and scampering away fast to let the man all the space he wanted to exit the restaurant.
"Please ignore Enji-san, he has bad manners, but I believe that deep ( VERY DEEP ) inside, he is a good guy. And maybe one day he will actually act like one too, or at least like a decent human being."
"That's a big maybe, Boss Izuku!" Sonoda answered, gladly accepting his Green Cloud Restaurant brand jacket and the small package with the cake inside.
"Yours will be ready tomorrow instead, Ippan-chan, custom made for your size."
"Thank you, Boss." Ippan answered, smiling a little.
"We'll be ready for tomorrow then. See you later, Boss!" Zoom asked.
"Bye!" the young Chef answered, waving both goodbye with a wide smile on his face.
"Congratulations to Host Izuku for completing another Mission of the System! Both Rewards are now unlocked! " The System alerted him with a victorious fanfare that made him chuckle.
"Thank God, I thought I would not manage this time!" he admitted with a low voice and a sigh of relief as he returned inside his kitchen.
" Never doubt yourself, Host. And since you have successfully unlocked the first Utility Dish , it means the Host can take on the next Dimensional Travel Ingredient Hunt sooner than programmed. Tomorrow you will depart for another world and-"
" No!"
" What?" the Entity asked.
"I am not going, tomorrow there will be the Sport Festival and I WILL be there to cheer for Momo and Ochako."
"Host- "
"I will be there. End of story. I always go through your Challenges and Missions and whatnot without missing a bit, but this time we will do things my way. Postpone that Mission."
" Host cannot-"
" See if I can't, instead!" he roared back in answer.
"…"
"…"
"... The Host is supposed to go through Tests and Missions to better his Skills. "
" Well, The Host has already decided he will! But The Host won't put aside his loved ones just to appease his demanding Sponsor that thinks I exist only to dance around following its tune!" Izuku answered with a growl.
" Host Bu Fang was easier to manage. "
"Bu-san maybe had nothing else to think about besides cooking, but I am a different person. I already was 'Married to my Job' once, now I want to spare some of my time to spend it with my family and loved ones!"
" Host risks being unable to ascen- "
"TO HELL WITH IT THEN!"
" Host is unaware of the power of the System. Ho-"
" Bring it." The Chef answered, unwavering, and looking upward in the hopes of meeting the eyes of the Entity itself.
"…" there was a long silence after that, until the System finally spoke again.
"... The System will compromise then." the Entity said after a long pause.
"Yes?"
" If Host is adamant in having a personal life beside his training to become the God of Cooking , then the System will relent and even help, but in exchange the Host must double his efforts during morning and night training sessions. "
"Did I ever strike you as a lazy guy?" Izuku asked with crossed arms.
" No. The System only wants to make sure the Host won't feel tempted to ." the Voice answered.
"Unlikely."
" Indeed. "
Saying that the young man brought the bill to La Brava and Gentle and watched them leave as cautiously as they could to not be recognized, thus leaving Izuku with a rare moment of peace he had not seen in a while recently.
" Host? "
"Yes?"
"The System has a question, though. Why show this determination now? And against the System?"
"Because while I am grateful for everything you have done for me, I can't put my life aside and just blindly follow your every order. I promised Momo and Ochako I would have been there and I can't betray their trust in me."
" Does the Host love them ?" the Entity asked.
"A lot, System."
"... The Host still has to go through the Mission the System has decided for him, so the System is offering an alternative: the Host will go to another Dimension tonight after closing hours instead of tomorrow at dawn. Thanks to the effects of the different flow of Time in the other world the Host will be back by dawn following this world's Time flow. This is the System's last offer, otherwise the departure will happen tomorrow morning as previously planned no matter the Host's protests. "
"Fair enough, I accept. Sorry for being so stubborn, but I decided it is finally my turn to be the spoiled one! I want the cake and to eat it too, no matter if I have to bake the bloody thing myself!" Izuku declared.
" The System can accept this reasoning, as a future God of Cooking bends to the whims of nobody, but only follows their ideals. But for future reference: the System is indeed open to dialogue if a properly-made argument is presented to delay a Mission, Host and System should not need to fall into quarreling since both want to achieve the same goal. " the Entity answered, sounding almost pleased.
"Of course, thank you." the young Chef said with a wide smile.
" Very well. Host should remember that the System only wants to help the Host to Ascend, and doing so in the most optimized way, but any schedule can be adjusted if both parties involved are ready to collaborate and find a middle ground between their respective needs and requests."
" Glad to hear that, the feeling is mutual."
" Good...Sure the System would also appreciate an apology for the previous outburst of the Host…The System is not a tyrannical being bent on making the Host dance to any tune whatsoever, and Host cannot deny our partnership had always been one of mutual trust and camaraderie. "
Sigh! "Okay...I am very sorry for snapping at you, I promise I will first try to talk things out with you before getting ready for a fight." Izuku said while rolling his eyes.
" The System only detected a level of honesty of 35% in that statement, but as the Mature one between us, the apologies will still be accepted as valid."
"Whatever makes you sleep at night- KYAAH! " Izuku's mumbled answer went cut short by a flash of pain similar to a tiny and weak electric shock centered on his left butt-cheek.
"…"
"Mature, tch! As if!" the Chef muttered in disdain, while returning to work in his kitchen while massaging his abused posterior still stinging a little from the childish attack of the Entity.
Later that night – after dinner hour – Closing time -
The Restaurant was finally empty as the closing hour approached, in fact not many people could be seen wandering the streets when night fell and the streetlamps outside became the only source of light, but before Izuku could actually begin to close, a lone man entered.
"Good evening." It was a tall and lanky man with a long beak-like nose and wearing a clearly-expensive striped suit.
"Good evening." Izuku answered with a polite bow.
"I hope it is not too late, I had to organize a sudden business meeting that ran way longer than anticipated and now I am starving. When I passed by here I remembered some rumors I heard about this small restaurant and decided it was high time I actually tried your dishes, is it feasible?" the man asked with a polite tone and friendly smile.
"It's okay, just pick a table and I'll be with you in a moment." the Chef answered, curious to see Blackie enter sooner than usual to sit under one of the trees in the far back.
" Host?" the System warned him.
" Yes?"
"Please make him sit under one of the trees. " the Entity requested.
" O-Okay..."
"Thank you, especially for going along with my little selfish request for dinner at this hour," the man said, his smile turning sheepish and embarrassed.
"I can't say no to an empty stomach, please do sit at one of the tables under the trees, they have been cleaned already compared to the others." Izuku offered.
"Thank you, I'll just have some steak, Argentinian, well-done."
"Of course." Izuku answered, leaving for the kitchen just as Whitey walked out by himself to look at the man.
"The famous Relax Trees of Yavin Street, I wonder if they really help you relax…" the man muttered with an amused chuckle at the thought of such silly superstitions, his expression turned grim as soon as he sat directly under the plant itself.
" M-M-My Stockpile! " the man thought in alarm as he could feel the huge amount of Anger and Frustration his Quirk had stored for a while being siphoned away in a matter of seconds until he felt his reserves run completely dry, and no matter how frustrated he felt about it, even with the hidden amplification ability of his clothes he was utterly unable to rebuild his reserves, the consumption rate of the plants was simply too great for his Quirk to overcome.
"Stay put, kid. It's bad manners running away right after placing an order." Blackie said with his magnetic voice filled to the brim in mockery.
"What? The dog? Is the plant really doing this?"
"It is not just a fancy rumor, these plants are Soul Appeasing Trees , also known as Soul CLEANSING Trees . They feed on negative emotions, like the ones you use to fuel your powers." Blackie said, smiling in cruel amusement.
"You know me then?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"No, this Lord personally does not care enough to even learn your name, you are still not a worthy enemy for me to have a nice fight with, so at best I consider you a Non-Entity, like any other Mortal I see here everyday, except for my Protegee. All this is just standard procedure, you are not Special ." the Lord Dog answered, lying down to sleep under one of the trees without a care in the world.
"Standard Procedure…" the man muttered, finding himself becoming intrigued at the discovery that there was a plant that was basically the perfect counter to his powers.
As he waited for Izuku to finish cooking, he entertained himself by studying the plant that had sapped away his Powers; he looked at every leaf, studying the faint runes the veins naturally formed on them, each line and twist and angle.
He looked closely at each node of the wood and committed to memory as many details as he could: from the color, to the smell and even the unnatural chiming the leaves produced when flicked, a sound complex enough to change tone depending on the force of the flick and where one did hit them.
"Fascinating." he muttered, he dared not to take a leaf away once noticed the robot missing not a single minuscule movement he made, nor did he try switching tables, as a show of good faith.
"Here it is, sorry for taking so long." When Izuku finally resurfaced from the kitchen, he delivered the requested steak and took a seat at a table nearby to watch the man eat.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Sorry if I ask, but did I see you somewhere before?" the Chef asked.
"Oh! I seriously hope so! Otherwise my PR Team will get an earful from me! I am Rikiya Yotsubashi, CEO of Detnerat Company ." the man answered, smirking.
"...AND Leader of the Villain Group called The Meta Liberation Army . The Villain Re-Destro ." Izuku added.
"…"
"The steak is not poisoned, or drugged in any way." he added once the tense silence between them elongated for way too long.
"…"
Sigh! "Do you know what a Chef is, Rikiya-san?" the young man asked with a sigh.
"...I guess you are going to say they are more than just somebody cooking food?"
"Just like a Hero is more than just somebody chasing fame and sponsors."
"Hn? They aren't?" the other asked with a challenging tone.
"Not to me. I treat being a Chef like being a Hero: I help whoever is in need, in my case, whoever enters that door looking for food." he answered.
"A Hero Chef then? Cute." the other answered in sarcasm.
"Eh! I wish I was that! I always wanted to be a Hero, you know? Just not in the current meaning of the term, though." the young Chef explained.
"You were chasing the pure ideal then?" Re-Destro asked, looking at Izuku while leaning his chin on his stapled fingers.
"You can say that I was idolizing the thing: ' A Symbol of Hope and a living example of what everybody should aspire to be' .
A ray of light in times of darkness, the embodiment of the idea that everything will be okay, that there will be somebody ready to share the weight of whoever is in need...I admit it was very childish, but I still believe that a Hero should at least try to be that. You can imagine how that already put me at odds with the other kids, then I had to be diagnosed as Quirkless and things got even worse." Izuku explained.
"Quirkless?"
"Surprised? People always are. I learned at 4 that Men are not created Equal...At 4, kids at that age are still wetting their bed while I had an epiphany people ten times that age still cannot grasp. Then at fifteen I discovered another facet of that Truth,"
"Another? Which is?" the Villain asked, honestly curious.
"That this world has a hard-on for Quirks so pronounced that it's almost comical. Do you know what the Quirkless-Quirked rate is nowadays? 80% of the population of the entire planet has a Quirk, and each and every kid born has up to a 90% chance of being Quirked." The Chef said with a bitter expression.
"That means that 15% to 20% of Earth's population is Quirkless, it means that out of seven billion people, at least 1'400'000'000 are Quirkless, that's basically 14 followed by eight zeros; that's pretty much equivalent to the total population of India. And we are still literally invisible to society: Useless , all because we don't have powers."
"…"
"The Meta Liberation Army wants every Quirked to be Free and use their powers as they see fit, doesn't it? That was basically the goal of the group when the Villain Destro was in charge. I have read his biography, and you yourself still champion those ideals, don't you?" Izuku asked.
"You have? What do you think of it?"
"It was a cry for help, as far as I am concerned. Even if it came from a Villain, it was interesting."
" Tch ! Villain...Please, you seem to be a smart kid. Don't use such labels." the man answered with a tone of contempt.
"We have always used labels, some people actually need to label everything to function normally."
"Normally?...Normal...What even is Normal? Isn't it odd how society conforms to the old ways of thinking while eliminating anyone who doesn't fit the mold? Especially since we as a species have moved beyond the very notion of normal !"
"We haven't."
"Uh?!"
"Had we moved beyond the Normal as a species, as you said, there wouldn't be Quirkless, we all would have powers, even if that would mean the return of the Normal, just under a different and updated version of the term. Or have you forgotten we Quirkless exist, just like everybody else?" Izuku asked.
"I am championing the oppressed, boy."
"And I am not oppressed? I am always at the bottom of the waiting list for everything because Quirked people get special treatment. Before getting a Sponsor and opening this Restaurant, I could not find a job anywhere nor could I get a place in a decent university, because this society is so enamored with Quirks to pretend to have Quirked working everywhere, all just in the tiniest hope that one of your employees will become world-famous Heroes and make you shine in their reflected light."
"You-"
"You say the Quirked are oppressed and can't use their Powers the way they want? Let me guess, you even justify Villains, do you?"
"They get into Villainy because Society forces them, it's their only form of freedom!" he answered, anger rising, but still unable to channel it into his Quirk.
"Some do, yes." Izuku admitted, surprising Re-Destro.
"Some have been abandoned and are just lashing-out, that's true, but that is hardly a justification if they don't even try."
"Oh! Really?! What about Heroes then, eh?"
"They are no saints either. I don't justify Heroes acting like greedy morons and I don't justify Villains acting like spoiled children throwing a tantrum and I don't justify Quirkless whining night and day about their misfortune."
"Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?" The Villain asked, smirking.
"Perhaps, but I have long since decided to stop sitting on my ass and wishing for a miracle to change my life, now I just focus on the path I have chosen at the cost of creating said path myself if there is none, I may still shed a tear about my lack of Quirk, but I am pushing forward towards my goal all the same."
"And your goal is becoming a Chef?" the man said, smirking cruelly.
"A Chef is a treasure, Rikiya-san. We make our Mission to bring a tiny bit of joy to whoever needs it through their stomach. Our Weapons are savoriness and Ingredients, and our enemy is an empty belly. That is why I turn a blind eye when Vigilantes and Villains enter that door under fake identities: as long as one is a Customer, I will do my best to fill their stomach, if they show proper manners and Food Etiquette, that is."
"So you serve even the Villains?" Re-Destro asked, amused.
"That's your Label, not mine. You see Villains and Heroes, I see Full and Starving . That's the difference."
"That's a childish way to see it, boy." Rikiya admitted, chuckling, and finally giving a try to the steak, and actually developing an expression of pleasant surprise.
"...Impressive." he commented while eating.
"Glad to hear that you like it."
"So to you a Chef is a form of Hero then?" once midway through his steak, Re-Destro addressed a small curiosity of his.
"Let's say that watching an old friend of mine treat All Might as an example of what he wanted to achieve helped me form my ideal as a Chef," Izuku answered, shrugging.
"Please elaborate." he asked while rapidly finishing his steak, still obviously pleased with the taste.
"He said that he wanted to be even better than All Might, to have everybody know who he is once he got to the top as the greatest Hero ever.
Once I realised this I saw where we were different: he wanted to have what All Might has, I wanted to be what All Might is.
Many nowadays treat being Heroes as Celebrities: having tons of Money, Fame, Sponsors, Fans and all that. I wanted to be a positive Role Model and teach people to never lose Hope, and luckily I saw there were many others like me becoming a Hero for those same reasons I used to have, they were only drowned by the vocal minority just looking for cash and popularity.
Unfortunately without a Quirk I could not even start studying to become a Hero, so I decided to still reach that goal through a different path,"
"By Cooking,"
"Yes, my teacher had a vision of Chefs that pretty much matched my ideals of what a Hero should be, so the transition was not that hard."
"Quite the intriguing way to see your career, but let me tell you a secret…" Re-Destro said with a whisper while motioning him to move closer with a finger.
"Yes?" Izuku asked once close enough to the man's face that the tips of their noses touch.
" Ngh!" the Villain tried to use the knife he was eating his steak with to cut the Chef's throat open, but in a surprising show of speed the Chef's own knife seemingly phased into being and gently poked the Villain's jugular vein, so fast it did not give him a chance to even just initiate his attack.
"Hey…" Re-Destro heard the young man's voice as if coming from a far-away place, because he was too entranced by the cold light coming from the Chef's emerald eyes to notice anything else.
"Have you ever seen a fierce animal you were sure would never bite? Because I haven't...So why do you think a Chef can be easily bullied instead? I said I am Quirkless, not that I don't have other skills." the far-away voice said as a fierce red flaming aura enveloped the young Chef while a giant figure surfaced from his back in the form of a monstrous gorilla with blood-red fur and boar-like tusks, a creature with a body showing-off huge muscles barely containing their savage power.
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and with a wild roar of the beast the scene in front of Re-Destro's eyes shifted…
He saw a giant table covered in a tablecloth of the finest silk.
He saw expensive porcelain plates adorned by a thin border of pure platinum.
Three enormous forks were on his left, Three giant knives and two spoons were on his right, tall glasses of pure crystal finely engraved in leaves towered behind him big like skyscrapers.
Above him a gargantuan chandelier decorated in delicate drops of crystal glittered in its own light as if made of solid starlight.
The very formal dinner was faintly illuminated by a lone pure-white and thin candle, and Rikiya finally caught-on to where he was: he was standing alone in the middle of the plate, in the role of the food and dwarfed by everything around him, every object so big he himself looked small, like an ant in comparison.
With a soft, humming laugh a giant figure appeared from the pitch-black darkness surrounding the giant table to sit on one of the regal chairs: a planet-sized titan in the shape of a red-furred gorilla clad in a pure-white tuxedo with gold buttons and a blood-red handkerchief tucked elegantly in the suit's breast pocket.
Brandishing a knife and a fork while maintaining the air of a gentleman, the beast sat at the massive table with royal composure and its back straight; the Monster had simply surpassed the mere concept of 'Top of the Food Chain' , and as it moved to pierce Re-Destro with its fork to eat him, the creature ascended to a realm even beyond mortal understanding:
A Predator King.
Tack!
"Hn?" That was when Izuku brought a small dish with a piece of paper on it, the bill, and awoke the dazed Villain with the soft cling of the dish on the table.
"Here is your bill, thank you for choosing the Green Cloud Restaurant ." the Chef said, nonplussed, returning to his kitchen with the empty plate.
"Thank you for the meal…" Rikiya answered with a thoughtful tone-
He silently left the requested money plus tip and exited the restaurant that immediately closed behind him and turned off the lights, along with dropping the drapes to obscure the view inside.
"...Uhm." The Villain simply stood there to observe the outside of the building.
"Sir?" a voice said from a limo nearby as soon as the car stopped next to him.
"Huhuhu!" In answer Re-Destro conceded himself an amused chuckle once he got into the limo and felt it move.
"Do I take you home, sir?" the driver asked.
"Yes, please."
"So? What about that kid?" the woman sitting in the seat in front of Rikiya asked.
"It was a meeting way more intriguing than expected," the Villain answered, chuckling once more.
"Oh, really?"
"Indeed, Curious . Apparently even a Quirkless can be Liberated . It was a nice surprise, let me tell you," Re-Destro admitted.
"Liberated? Him?"
"In his own way he was, in a sense. See if we have somebody that can keep tabs on our little Chef from afar," he instructed, using the frustration and anger at the memory of the plants stealing his stockpile and of the moment of weakness Izuku dared to make him feel to rapidly re-build his reserves of power.
"Okay? Why for?" the woman asked, confused.
"I am still a bit on the fence about him, but after his little show of skills I think we can put him in either category: he will either be a new asset to add to our organization, or yet another bump on the road that will need to be removed. It will all depend on how smart he really is when the time comes for him to choose where to stand."
"I'll see what I can do, we should have a couple guys good at both spying and corpse disposal."
"Thank you, much appreciated." Re-Destro answered, his smirk becoming full of malice once looked back to see the Restaurant disappear behind a corner when the car sped away.
With Izuku -
"Okay, the Ultimate Routine worked as intended and made sure Intimidation forced him to stay put and not start trouble. I can finally use it again." Izuku said with a sigh.
"Thank you for warning me about that guy."
" The Host should always know when he is dealing with a Hero, a Villain or a Vigilante so to act accordingly, the System will then take care to assure the Host's safety and the safety of the Customers." The System answered.
"Thank you…I hope they will stop him soon, though, because a megalomaniac with near-unlimited resources is extremely dangerous." the young Chef muttered in dismay.
He really did read the book/biography of the old Villain Destro , following his first dream of being a Hero himself and so wishing to study a Villain's mentality to be better prepared, so he was not lying when he said the book was a ' cry for help' , he only omitted to say that for him the book was the cry of help of a damn lunatic that needed serious help.
"I serve Heroes and Villains alike if they keep their fighting outside the Restaurant, but some of them really push it! I am already toeing the line with Whitey stripping troublemakers, a charge for Vigilantism would not help me." he then said with a sigh, recognizing that his philosophy as a Chef was a double-edged sword, all things considered.
He knew he was calling on himself way too much attention from both sides of the ' Good vs Evil' battle raging every day outside his beloved Restaurant, but by now it was far too late to stop it, unfortunately. He could only brace himself and hope for the best.
" Host can rest assured, a God of Cooking is beyond a small squabble like the one between Heroes and Villains, your Path will push you beyond, towards goals above their petty squabbles. " the System declared.
"I would kill to have just a tenth of your conviction, you know?" Izuku admitted.
"One day Host will realize he is indeed skilled beyond this world's finest. For now you need to prepare for your next Ingredients Hunt, Host. Soon the Teleportation Array will activate and bring you to another world."
"I know, I know. Where am I going this time?"
" Tian-Fa Continent, Host. There you will be tasked to learn how to replicate a typical recipe of the capital (' Starlight City' ) and capture the Ingredient known as Thunder Phoenix .
As always the System will make sure the Host will be able to comprehend and speak the world's Language upon arrival.
The Time Dilation has already been set: Twelve days in that World will equal twelve hours in this. Host has 12 days to capture the Ingredient and learn the typical recipe.
Any extra Ingredient will be counted as extra Experience Points. Work hard, young man!"
" Thunder Phoenix ?" Izuku asked.
" Correct. Host can compare its meat to Jewel Meat in terms of quality, as 'The King of Chicken Meat'. As long as the Ingredient is fed pure storm lightning, the creature will keep its Immortality and be reborn shortly after each death, thus acting as an endless source of meat."
"So it's like a normal Phoenix, only it is reborn from lightning instead of fire?"
" Correct. Upon Capture the Storage Area will be equipped with the perfect environment to assure the purest lightning to feed the Ingredient and assure its continued existence."
"Okay, how long do I have to get ready?" Izuku asked.
" Thirty minutes, Host ." the System answered.
"I'll prepare cooking equipment and some minor Ingredients, just in case." the young Chef muttered in answer while hurrying to get ready, and when he was ready he stood in the middle of his kitchen with Whitey nearby and his heart drumming loudly in his ears.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
That was also why he almost jumped out of his skin when somebody started to violently punch his door.
"What the hell?!"
"Intruders!" Whitey declared with his eyes turning red and flashing.
"Izuku, open! Please open! Please!" HIC! SOB! "Open, I beg you!" SOB! "Izuku!" a female voice begged from outside between sobs of despair.
"Nejire?" The young Chef uttered in confusion, and once unlocked the door he went thrown on the ground by the woman pouncing on him to hug his chest tight enough to almost snap his spine and bury her face in his shoulder, drenching it completely in tears in a matter of seconds.
"Nejire! What's wrong?!" he asked while watching the Restaurant's doors closing by themselves and getting locked tightly.
"Mi-Mirio t-told All Might we broke-up! N-Now everybody is-is angry at me! T-They are calling me an-an ingrate and-and selfish!" Nejire gurgled-out, her hands were clawing his chef robes so tight she almost managed to tear a hole in them.
"Calm down, what do you mean angry ?" Izuku tried asking.
" Initiating Teleport array preparations!" Uncaring of the situation, the System actually started drawing the circle of runes around them both.
"WAIT!" the young Chef shrieked in horror.
"T-They say I am selfish! That-That I should have waited for Mirio instead of putting more pressure on him! I was not adding pressure! I just wanted to mean something to him! T-To have what other couples have! To have a n-normal relationship! With kisses and-and dates and hugs!" Nejire was unaware of the light particles now circling around her.
"Nejire, this is not a good moment!" Izuku tried saying as the light was now turning blinding.
"I just wanted my boyfriend to love me back! WAAAAAAAAH! I WANT TO BE LOVED! TO BE CHERISHED! WAAAAAH!" deaf to his pleas, the young woman finally let loose her grievances as her heart fully broke down to pieces, with not enough tears to show the true depths of the pain she felt.
" Teleportation array ready. Beginning Dimensional travel!" the System declared as Reality started dissolving around the duo.
"GODDAMNIT!" It was rare for Izuku to curse, but even he had to do it in such a situation when Nejire and him landed in the middle of a giant and empty grassland.
"Why?! WHY?! I just wanted Mirio to return my feelings! To love me back just as much as I loved him!" The girl kept raving in sorrow.
He had just ' technically' kidnapped somebody in another Dimension, now not only did he have to comfort a truly heart-broken girl that had apparently been accused of selfishness for breaking-up with a boy not even trying to return all her awe-inspiring Love and Devotion, but he also had to explain to her why they were in another world and that they won't be back home before he completed his Mission, or at least not before spending there twelve days.
All this with the Addendum that he will probably need to disclose with her the true nature of his Sponsor, his Powers and who knew what else as well, something he had not done with anybody else besides his parents.
"...Oh, for fuck's sake…" Izuku cursed again with a low voice as Nejire was still crying her eyes out on his chest, so deep in desperation to have not noticed a bloody thing.
To think his day had started so well…
Meanwhile – in front of Green Cloud Restaurant -
Shigaraki had finally reached the front of the Restaurant, around him there was complete silence as the road was devoid of people, and unknown to him the System had made sure even the ones spying on Izuku wouldn't be able to get in the way.
All under the explicit request of Blackie that was now walking out of the Restaurant to sit on his haunches in front of the Villain.
"You are late. This Lord has been waiting for your visit for days. What gives you such shameless thick skin to have ME wait for you?" the Lord Dog asked, huffing in annoyance.
"I had to wait until Kurogiri was distracted enough to organize our little gift for that 'Hero' girl your owner loves so much, but you... I will deal with you myself. Personally!" Shigaraki spat in answer.
"Hohoho! So you think you can actually be so bold as to tell me you will hurt the woman of my protegee? A woman MY PAW has defended once already? And what makes you believe you have the qualifications needed to perform such an insulting act towards me? Especially after openly telling me your wish to do so? Who do you think you are to threaten your Lord Dog so casually?" Blackie asked, looking at the Villain with eyes full of derision.
"I am the guy that will kill you, flea-bag! You got me once, but even Moderators fail! You are not Gods!" Shigaraki answered with a deranged smile.
BOOOM!
In answer an unseen force slammed the Villain onto the ground and kept pushing down until a crater formed around him, all the while Blackie enjoyed Shigaraki's groans of pain and his futile attempts to move even just a finger.
"Foolish boy. You are overestimating yourself and underestimating both this Lord and the Chef ruling the Restaurant behind me. " Blackie answered, and with a gentle pat of his exquisite paw a new wave of invisible power hammered down on Shigaraki making him bounce upward from the ground and land on solid ground next to the hole dug by his body.
"A-Aaaah…" groaning in pain, the Villain managed to stumble back to his feet, only for the Lord Dog paw to elongate in an unnatural way like a whip to pat him on his head forcing him to kneel down on the notes of his knees almost snapping in two under the weight.
As he stood there kneeling in a daze, Blackie slowly moved closer to him with his elegant cat-like steps and looked straight in the Villain's eyes.
"You won't hurt that woman, or me, or the kiddo managing this Restaurant nor anybody else he deems precious or family. Do you wish to know why? Because you are not a threat, an enemy or even just a small annoyance. And you will never be." Blackie explained with a very human-like smirk surfacing on his face.
"Just you wait…" Shigaraki tried saying, weakly lifting his hand to touch the Dog and getting it swatted away by an uncaring swat of the Dog's paw, and even then, that small pat snapped several fingers of the Villain in multiple points, unfortunately his scream of pain fell on deaf ears.
"Hohoho, how amusing! Listen well, boy: you are alive here and now just because this Lord Dog finds you entertaining. I find your bouncing at every gentle caress of my paw amusing, nothing more. You are only a plaything, a toy." The Lord Dog declared with a chuckle.
"A toy?" the downed Shigaraki muttered with a weak voice still full of hatred.
"Yes, child. That is all you are in this world: your Lord Dog's past-time. Now do your job, Toy , and bounce for your Lord." the Dog answered, lifting his paw a little and gently patting forward towards Shigaraki.
And the same unseen mighty force shot Shigaraki away and against the wall of the building across the street.
Boom!
Just enough strength to leave a faint imprint of the young man's body on the concrete, but before the Villain could even just start falling down after literally bouncing away from the wall, Blackie's paw patted forward again.
Boom!
Shigaraki's body went slammed again against those bricks, at the exact same point, turning the imprint just a tiny bit more clear.
Boom!
"He is bouncing me!" the young man thought, the pain so high his mind was actually unable to fully process it, and yet his instinct could tell Blackie himself was somehow stopping him from falling unconscious no matter the overwhelming agony.
Boom!
" I am his toy…" the Villain thought as yet another caress bounced him against the wall.
Boom!
His bones broke and his testicles burst to shreds once again.
Boom!
" I am a toy..."
Boom!
His clothes became rags and a mouthful of blood exploded violently out of his mouth.
Boom!
"I am not a threat..."
Boom!
His skin broke apart everywhere and his teeth flew away one by one.
Boom!
"I am a dog's toy! A DOG'S TOY!" his body was utterly covered in bruises and cuts and blood started slowly dripping down from his every pore.
Boom!
"Huhuhu! You really bounce well, Toy! " Blackie said with a soft chuckle.
BOOOM!
" I HATE YOU!...I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" It was either brain damage or just broken pride, but Shigaraki's mind finally lost the very last bit of sanity it still possessed, and putrid hatred flooded the Villain's entire being.
"Does this Lord look like somebody that cares if his Toy hates him? Be real, child, you are just not worth my attention besides being my plaything." the last paw strike did not make Shigaraki bounce, but it fully pushed him deep enough inside the wall to leave him stuck there like a sick form of decoration.
"Uh?"
"Yes, child, I can read your thoughts. And I still don't care about you." Blackie said with a canine smile that fully showed the sharp teeth he possessed.
"I-"
"That was fun, good job entertaining this Lord Dog a little before his sleep. I will wait for your next visit so to bounce you again, Toy , you are indeed good at giving me a few laughs. You are dismissed." Blackie declared with a loud yawn.
"I HATE Y-"
" Woof! " the short bark of the Lord Dog did not sound mighty or deafening from outside, but it had in itself a world-ending power that slammed on Shigaraki's body hard enough to send him through the wall he had been pinned against, but instead of landing inside the building, at the same time he broke through, the same bark had blasted open a hole in the void for the Villain to fly through to be transported right in the middle of the small bar acting as the secret base of the League of Villains.
And with a loud cacophony of breaking glass, Kurogiri and the others were roughly awakened by their Leader's arrival, and when they bolted out of their rooms to check on the source of all that noise, they found the unconscious Shigaraki lying on the floor in a broken heap and still getting bombarded by the various bottles of liquor falling down from the cabinet behind the counter he had crashed-landed onto, each full bottle landing on a random part of Shigaraki's body and shattering on impact to drench him and cover him in glass shards.
"What the hell happened?!" Twice asked.
"Call the Doctor. Master won't like this," Kurogiri answered with a tone of misery.
With Blackie -
" Idiot child, the gulf in power between me and you is even more vast than the distance between Heaven and Earth, stop deluding yourself about the measly power you have! Soon this Lord will grow bored of you, then you won't have your role as Toy to keep you safe . " the Dog muttered, shaking his head and entering the Restaurant to sleep inside once the doors opened by themselves to let him in and then close and lock for the night.
Nobody will know what transpired that night, Villain or Heroes or I-Island alike, even Shigaraki won't be able to alert the League of Villains that the ' Surprise Attack' on Momo they organized during the Sport Festival will result in a disaster if they don't abort the plan, he will wake-up from his unconsciousness far too late to warn them about the danger.
As for Izuku, he was still helping Nejire recover from her breakdown, and the Chef was secretly dreading the moment when she will finally notice the change of scenery around her and will demand a well-deserved explanation.
Omake Time! (Each one takes place between chapters)
Minor Ingredient Hunting Scenes Ep 1: Cockatrice Curry Rice.
Another World – Forest -
A strange humanoid goat wearing long robes and sporting a long braided beard was at the moment cackling maniacally while talking to a small group of colorful ponies.
"It's over! Finally my greatest creation is ready to be unleashed! My Super Cockatrices Army will swarm everywhere and bring forth my revenge! You all will become mere garden ornaments in my new kingdom! EQUESTRIA IS DONE FOR! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the goat man declared, with his maniacal laughter echoing everywhere.
"We will stop you, Goatemberg!" the purple pony at the head of the group answered with pure determination.
"Try if you can! Each Cockatrice of my army is as big as an adult bear, and I command over three hundred of them! You can't defeat me!" the Goat man answered, unafraid, and unclasping a twisty horn from his sides to blow on it.
"Come, my servants!"
BAROOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Ah don't like this!" the orange pony with a cowboy hat admitted.
"We will pull through if we fight together, girls! As always!" the purple one answered.
"…"
"…"
"...Where in Tartarus' name are those stupid birds? I said to come here!" the Goat man hissed in anger.
Baroooooooo!
"…."
"…."
BAROOOOOOOO!
"Have you checked if the batteries are in?" the pink pony of the group asked, curious.
"Pinkie, Horns don't need batteries." the blue pegasus commented, rolling her eyes.
"Maybe his needs them!"
"COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'' Finally something made its way towards them, a giant chicken purple in color and with a lizard tail, and while big as a bear, the animal also looked to be scared out of its mind.
"Ah-ah! At least one showed-up! Attack them, Now!" the Goat ordered as soon as the cockatrice ran past him.
SWIIIIIING!
To everybody's horror though a flying crescent blade of pale white energy also flew past the goat man and caught the cockatrice fully, and under their wide eyes the animal's body went seemingly disassembled in an instant.
Feathers scattered away in the wind undamaged, then the skin peeled off from the thing by itself like a dress and the meat got cut and separated into perfect cuts without a single drop of blood, leaving behind a perfectly clean skeleton that instead of dropping dead simply kept running away until it disappeared from view.
Plop!
Said cleaned meat fell in an orderly manner, neatly separated in the various cuts normally associated with common chicken, plus an extra one for the skinned and cut lizard tail...THEN the blood finally started pouring out on the floor.
"Got the last one. With this, all three hundred have been processed, exceptions made for that male and female I left untouched for future breeding." that was also when Izuku and Whitey made their presence known, with the Chef collecting the cuts of meat, unfazed.
"…" both the ponies and goat man were a bit too stricken to utter even a sound.
"Oh! Good evening! You must be the locals!" the Young Chef said.
"...You killed it?" the cream colored pegasus asked with a broken voice, as if very close at having a mental breakdown.
"The chickens you mean? Yes, I need them for my Restaurant. Don't worry, I'll be on my way soon, the portal for my dimension should open in a moment." Izuku answered.
"You...You destroyed my army...For food?!" the goat man asked with a furious roar.
"I didn't know it was your army! I was just told to come here and collect as many ' Cockatrices' I could for my restaurant. I thought they were just wild Ingredients...You know...To make Curry Rice." Izuku answered with a weak smile.
"My Super Cockatrices...The results of fifty years of sleepless work...Destroyed for some CURRY RICE?!" the goat man yelled in outrage.
"...I am sorry?"
"GAAAAAAAAH!" with a deafening roar of madness, the goat man tried jumping the young Chef to maim him with his own hands.
Clang!
The assault though went stopped immediately by Whitey's hand clamping hard around the goat man's throat to lift him effortlessly.
"Troublemaker, cease your attack towards the Host, or you shall be stripped as an example to others!" the Robot ordered with his eyes shining red.
"Unhand me, you puppet!...Wait! My Magic is not working!" the guy tried saying while lighting-up his hands in a dark-blue aura that evaporated as soon as it appeared once it got in contact with Whitey's body,
"Troublemaker is not complying. Beginning stripping protocol and standard beating! " the Robot declared while grabbing the front of the goat man's robes.
"Is that thing-"
STRIIIIIP!
"HOLY FAUST, HE GOT STRIPPED NAKED FOR REAL!" the mares yelled as one while covering their eyes.
"NOOOO! AT LEAST SPARE ME THE HUMILIATION!" the goat man yelled in tears.
"No. " Whitey answered, and with a thundering Boooom! His giant fist impacted with the goat man's face to slam him head-first into the ground, burying the guy elbows-deep into the gravel and leaving him there with his feet up in the air, unconscious.
"I am really sorry for the sad spectacle, but I really must go." Izuku admitted with a sigh.
"WAIT! Did you really have to kill those poor animals?"
"I imagine that you can't accept other beings eating meat, being horses and all, but I serve people that do eat meat, and since I have a restaurant to manage, I had to hunt those animals. My Sponsor as well was adamant in me capturing those cockatrices and those strange giant translucent bears. I had no choice." he answered, sighing.
"Giant transluc...YOU KILLED A URSA?!" the purple one shrieked.
"Ursa can die?" the blue pegasus asked with a whisper.
"That's-a the first time Ah hear that," the orange pony answered, unsure.
"Six of them, actually. I kept two alive for breeding, I was told their meat was good for my Red-Braised Bear Meat recipe and for making hamburgers...Are they an Endangered Species? Because I made it clear I won't have hunted those!" Izuku asked, afraid.
"No! Those are...Are...Are pretty much Natural forces!"
"I have hunted worse." the young Chef blurted-out.
"WHAT?!"
And with that admission, a circle of light appeared around Izuku and Whitey to take them away back to Izuku's original world, leaving behind a confused group of mares, one crying for the death of those ' Poor cockatrices' , and another having a crisis at learning that what she thought she knew about the world was instead wrong.
When they later tried to ask a friend of theirs for help, a lizard/dragon Thing with mismatched body parts, with the intention to call the Chef back in their world for further questioning, a large black plump Dog appeared in Izuku's place, and the animal looked extremely pissed at being summoned in another world mid-nap.
But the full retelling of the world-wide effortless BEATING Blackie gave to literally everybody in that world ( so-called " Princesses" and "Lords of Chaos/Disharmony" included), leaving them all within an inch of their lives before returning to the Green Cloud Restaurant by himself, is a story for another time...
