Kiwame Life

Farmwork, as it turned out, was far more grueling labor than Izuku had ever imagined. Four hours of kneeling in the dirt and bending over left his knees and back aching. The field had seemed endless, but at least Martin and Alicia were working right alongside him the entire time.

They seemed inordinately pleased too. They were probably programmed to expect him to be uninterested in farmwork, at the very least Alicia had seemed certain he would try to avoid working in the apple orchard.

Unfortunately, he'd never done farm work before. The only plants he ever took care of were the houseplants his mom had, and all he'd done was water them. Trying to figure out which plants to pull out was another level entirely.

He dithered for long enough that Alicia and Martin noticed. He expected them to complain since he wasn't actually working like he'd offered to, but after a shared glance, Alicia crawled over and began to talk to him about what he was supposed to do.

It was a bit embarrassing, especially since she was very close, but she didn't sound irritated like the teachers at Aldera. Instead, she smiled at him, even when he asked a question. She kept a close eye on him for a while, gently correcting him when he almost made a mistake, and congratulating him after he finished an area without making one. Martin agreed wholeheartedly, flashing him a smile before he returned to work and Alicia scooted away to get back to work.

By then it was just the three of them. They'd split off from Carpenter after lunch, and Reona had logged off after they'd arrived in the field, complaining bitterly that he was just going to pad his time pretending this was a farm simulator rather than an adventure game.

And on some level, that's what he'd been planning. It would be safer if he met her demand to play for a few hours and then return to get a refund. Once he got that money back, he'd only need to save for another month or so before he could afford All Might Battle Challenge.

But…

It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. Stupid, reckless, and dangerous. But he kind of liked the time he spent in the field with Alicia and Martin. It was nothing compared to All Might Battle Challenge, but they were treating him so nicely. They weren't bothered by him, they didn't treat him like a nuisance or ignore him.

They treated him like–well, they treated him like a friend.

It was silly and desperate and Kacchan would laugh at him forever, but they seemed so much more real than just NPCs. They weren't like the boisterous announcers in All Might games that offered praise for combos and knocking out villains. He could see their smiles as they worked, he could hear the satisfaction in Alicia's voice as she confirmed that he was doing a good job, and he could feel the calluses on Martin's hand when he was offered a hand up.

Could he really just let that go?

It was an unspoken rule that Katsuki had to eat his meals at the table for a few days after buying a new All Might game. Mitsuki and Masaru knew their son. He was a perfectionist at heart and obsessed with the number one hero. Getting him to log off and forcing him to eat with them wasn't just so they would see him, they wanted to make sure he ate.

It did not make dragging information out of him any easier.

"How's the game going, brat?" Mitsuki asked as her son watched her impatiently.

"I beat it." He snapped, picking up the bowl of rice she reluctantly placed before him and digging in.

"Really?" Masaru blinked, "But you've only had it for three days."

Katsuki let out a tsk, "It's All Might, dad, no one can stand up to him."

Mitsuki huffed, giving him a small bowl of fish drowning in the abominable death sauce her son somehow enjoyed, "You'd think they'd make it at least a little challenging so you'd get your money's worth."

The look that crossed her son's face was almost amusing in its rudeness, "I still have the speedrunning challenges and no hit runs to finish."

"Well, that's nice." Masaru offered, watching Katsuki down his lunch like a ravenous wolf. He caught the bemusement that crossed Mitsuki's face before she rolled her eyes. "How long do you think–"

"Done," Katsuki announced, finishing the meal in record time and jumping out of his seat, rushing back to his room without another word.

"Hero?"

Izuku looked up from the field, "Oh, hey Carpenter!" He smiled, welcome for the distraction. "How are you doing?"

She dithered for a moment before approaching, "I'm fine. I'm just… surprised to see you."

Izuku glanced at Martin and Alicia, "Mind if I take a quick break?"

Alicia hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something, but Martin waved him off, "Just come back once you've had a chance to talk."

"Thanks!" He got up, walking to meet her on the road, "Heading back to the orchard?"

"Yeah." She said, still looking puzzled, even blushing slightly. Which made him realize he was probably pushing too hard. But then she smiled, "Ah, would you like to come with?"

"Sure," He answered, glancing back and waving goodbye.

Carpenter set a leisurely pace, glancing back a few times until she was sure they were out of earshot before speaking, "I didn't expect to see you again." She admitted.

Izuku bit his lip, "I wasn't sure if I was going to come back either." He admitted back, "I know I promised Reona to play a bit, but then I was working in the field and Martin and Alicia were nice so I decided to come back." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I guess that's kind of dumb…"

"I don't think so?" Carpenter offered, smiling, "The NPCs are supposed to act like real people, and your starter NPCs are supposed to start as your best friends."

Izuku looked at the road, "Yeah, they're great."

Silence descended as they continued walking. He could see Carpenter fidgeting slightly until she stopped at the entrance to the orchard, "I want to apologize for yesterday." She said, ducking her shoulders, "I didn't expect you to come back. That's why I asked for so much food, I thought your money was just going to disappear when you logged off, and I thought that was a waste…"

Izuku blinked, listening to her apology peter off, "Oh." He glanced away quickly, "Y-yeah, I guess I gave that impression?"

Carpenter shook her head, "It's not just you. It happens with everyone Reona suckers into buying Kiwame Quest. Nobody comes back. The game's too hard, or not fun, or they die and break their console." She gave a helpless shrug, "It just became a routine, trying to get what I could from a new player. But if you're planning to pay more I can… pay you back."

The words looked like they hurt to say. If Reona was telling the truth, Carpenter really was here for the food. He shook his head, "It's fine. I don't care. I won't need much, since I'm not going questing."

"But you're still going to keep playing?" Carpenter asked quickly.

Izuku chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Y-yeah. I kind of like the farming…" He lied, like a liar. "A-at least with Martin and Alicia. And it was really neat when I logged off last night and all the aches and pains disappeared. I felt refreshed."

She stared at him, and he felt his face begin to burn. It was almost becoming unbearable when she suddenly smiled, "W-would you like to help me then? With the orchard sometimes? We can earn more together, and we can talk and hang out."

"S-sure." He stammered, not sure what else to say.

"Great!" Carpenter beamed at him, "We should probably exchange contacts so we can tell each other when we're getting on."

"Contacts?" Izuku couldn't help but squeak.

"Yeah, the friend list for the console." Carpenter rolled her eyes, "Kiwame Quest doesn't give you a menu for that sort of thing."

"This game feels a bit too realistic in places," Izuku admitted, blood still pulsing at the thought of exchanging contact information with a real girl.

"Yeah," She agreed, smiling at him, "So, what's your screenname?"

"Ah…" Izuku winced, "Hero782913851238153? I think?"

Carpenter pursed her lips, "Maybe I should just give you mine instead?"

"That's probably a better idea."

"Once you log off, add me under carpenter daughter, both capitalized with two underscores, but you can also put it as my real name. Ochako Uraraka."

Author's Note: I was so very frustrated with myself about letting her name slip out last chapter. I'm not sure how many of you caught it, but I've been waiting for this to drop for a while. So, yes, I totally believe that Uraraka would play a ten year old game to 'eat' food. She likes to play this if she doesn't nap instead of eating. And, to be blunt, she has far more variety than she does at home.