All Who Wander [Chapter 17 - CLOVER]

Izuku wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Eri as excited as when she ran up to the Tsunotori farm, already waving at Izuku and Pony. For days she’d been begging to join him for a ride, and finally Pony had decided Izuku was ready for it, ready to venture out beyond the fenced-in yard without Pony right by his side.

“If anything goes wrong, you listen to Eri,” Pony instructed, a little teasingly. “She’s been doing this a lot longer than you!”

“I know,” Izuku laughed. “I trust her!”

Eri squared her shoulders, trying to look tough, and it took all of Izuku’s willpower to not laugh at her for it. Instead he just nodded, stepping aside a little, and Eri beamed up at Detour’s big face.

“He’s so pretty!” she gushed. “Can I pat him?”

Izuku glanced at Pony, but she nodded before he even got there, letting Eri step forward and offer out her hand. She did it like a pro, so quiet and patient, and Detour just gave her a little sniff, turning his head a little to let her stroke his neck.

“Aww, he’s so sweet!” she gushed, stepping forward to reach his long mane. “It’s nice to meet you, Detour! Izuku has told me all about you! You take care of him, okay?”

Izuku watched, genuinely impressed, as Eri bonded with the horse, giving him a few minutes of affection before she and Pony headed for the barn. They came back with all the same gear Izuku had just put on Detour, but unlike Izuku, she needed little direction to get her horse tacked up – Pony helped her reach to get the saddle over, but she fastened everything up all by herself, and Izuku envied her ease. He thought he’d gotten pretty good at it, in such a short space of time, but Eri made it look like she was born with a saddle in her hands.

“So where exactly are you gonna go?” Pony asked, as she helped Eri up onto her horse. “So I can come looking, if I don’t see you.”

“Across the bridge and into the forest,” Izuku said. “We’ll probably go as far as the next bridge, just over the little hill, then we’ll stop and have lunch out there, and come back after. We should be back by the time the stores close, I’ve got some stuff to pick up from Nejire’s.”

“Okay! If I don’t see you by then, I’ll come and meet you, just in case. Eri, if anything goes wrong, what are you gonna do?”

“Stay calm!” Eri answered quickly. “If Izuku has trouble, Cookie can lead him home, and if something bad happens, I can ride home super fast like you taught me, and get help!”

“Perfect, good girl.”

“But nothing is gonna go wrong!” Eri promised. “We’re gonna have a fun time!”

“Definitely,” Pony agreed. “It’s all gonna be perfect, but I still have to make sure!”

Izuku stepped up onto Detour’s back, stroking his mane lightly before he picked up the reins, and Pony gave him a big grin as she pulled open the gate for them.

“Have a great time!” she called to their backs, when they strode off ahead. “Be safe!”

Eri took the lead as they headed through town, single-file to ensure they didn’t run over any of the townspeople before they even left. She waved to everyone they passed, getting bright smiles and waves back, while Izuku kept his hands on his reins, smiling sheepishly at everyone as he followed. Despite Pony’s assurances, he was still worried he might not be ready – Detour had been amazing, they hadn’t run into a single issue, which just made Izuku wonder how he was going to handle it when something did happen. He really hoped Eri wouldn’t have to be the one to help him, no matter how confident she seemed to be.

“Are you gonna ride Detour to your Mommy’s house?” Eri asked, when Izuku pulled up beside her on the bridge. “Or are you just gonna walk?”

“I’m hoping to ride!” Izuku said, smiling nervously. “Hizashi said he’ll go with me, if I want, but I feel bad taking him away like that.”

“He likes to visit people!” Eri assured him. “He said he wants to sell to your hometown lots now.”

“Yeah,” Izuku agreed. “He says he’s gonna take plenty of trips up there, I just feel a little guilty.”

“I’m not supposed to tell you yet,” Eri whispered, leaning over a little to get closer to Izuku. “But Dad said when you wanna go back to Tsuricho, maybe we can walk with you for a bit.”

“Yeah? That would be super cool.”

“Mm-hm! Uncle Hizashi said he’ll go up north when you go back to Tsuricho, so he can walk with you for a bit in case you’re worried,” she explained. “So Dad said maybe if we can do it in a few days we can all go and camp together at the Bunny Farm, and then split up lots of ways!”

“That’s so exciting!” Izuku exclaimed. “I’ll try my best to get good enough at riding, so we can do it. Otherwise I promise we’ll sort it the next time, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Soon they were deep in the trees, surrounded by singing birds, and Eri smiled to herself as they walked, looking around at all the plants and wildlife. Despite living so close, she’d never really ventured into the forest – it was only since the school class had started taking riding lessons that it had really become plausible. Her confidence shone, though, in the way she occasionally sped up a little to get ahead when the path narrowed, or pulled closer to a tree to take a look at a pretty bird or flower, directing her horse as if they were one unit, rather than a little girl sitting atop a gigantic creature.

“There they are!” she called back, already taking off ahead. “Izuku, look!”

Sure enough, tucked away in the trees was a little group of bunnies, chomping on some leaves. She stopped her horse at the edge of the trees to watch them, careful to stay quiet and not scare them away, and Izuku was grateful that Detour seemed to listen, when he slowed down to join her.

“They’re so cute,” she whispered. “What are they eating?”

“Just the grass, I think.”

Eri crept a little closer, then looked back at Izuku with shining eyes.

“They have clovers!” she gushed, in a whisper to keep from scaring the bunnies. “Uncle Hizashi brings them sometimes, he must get them here!”

“Is that a type of grass?”

“Kind of,” she agreed, climbing down from Cookie’s back. “Come look.”

Izuku slid down after here, and together they crouched in the detritus, brushing away debris to reach the green underneath. The plant had tiny round leaves, completely covering patches of the ground, and Eri beamed as she ran her hand through them.

“They all have three leaves, see?” she told him, plucking one gently from the mass. “But sometimes, you can find a super rare one that has four, and Uncle Hizashi says it brings you good luck. He’s never found one, but one time he stuck an extra leaf to a normal one to give to me. I didn’t tell him I knew.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Izuku said fondly. “I’m sure he was happy.”

“Uh-huh! I like that he tried so hard for me, it was nice of him.”

“He seems like a great man.”

Eri plucked a handful of the clovers, offering them to Cookie, and Izuku followed suit, grabbing a little snack for Detour to match. They walked closer, sniffing around, and soon they were leaning down to munch straight from the source, while Eri grinned at them both.

“Pony saw mine once,” she said, rubbing Cookie’s side fondly. “She said Cookie might try to steal it, because she likes clovers.”

“I’ll have to remember to stop by and let Detour graze here when I ride through,” Izuku said. “As long as we’re not taking it away from the bunnies too often, that is.”

“What will the bunnies eat in winter?”

It was a great question, if Izuku was honest. The trees were already beginning to change colours, fading from the brilliant green hues into something more muted, before they would eventually turn into the even more amazing shades of red and orange.

“There’s a ton of lettuce at the Bunny Farm,” Izuku assured her. “And up by Kouji’s house too. I’m sure they’ll all move to somewhere with food. Their little bunny friends will show them the way.”

“I’m gonna plant lettuce too,” Eri said firmly. “I can ride over here, then I can walk back and plant lettuce as I go.”

“That’s a good idea, but not on your own,” Izuku reminded her. “Maybe you could do it with your class, one day. I bet Kouji could give you some good advice about what the bunnies need, and where to plant things.”

“Yeah! I’ll talk to Dad!”

They climbed back onto their horses, Eri getting a little boost from Izuku to reach, and as they continued their way down the path, Izuku found himself smiling a little wistfully.

“You guys are doing some really cool stuff for school now,” Izuku said. “Mei and I just read from old books and stuff, when we were at school.”

“We used to as well, when I was little,” Eri agreed. “But when we started farming school got super exciting! And after we did our town presentation there were lots more people interested, so we have more friends in school now, and we stay all day instead of just a little bit, and we go visit lots of different people at their jobs! We even do cooking, sometimes!”

“That makes me super happy.”

“Me too! I’m gonna cook for you, okay?”

“That sounds great!”

“I’m really good at making jam, like we had with the custard.”

“Oh yeah? You’ll have to teach me, I’ve never made it before.”

“I can!” Eri agreed enthusiastically. “We made so much jam that we even sold it to the trader, and everyone got to take coins home! I’m saving mine to buy a horse and a bunny when I’m big”

“That’s so impressive!”

“Do you think I could make lettuce jam? Or potato jam? Dad and the others put tomatoes in a jar to keep them longer, but they didn’t make jam.”

“I don’t really know,” Izuku admitted. “Maybe we should try it, when you teach me.”

They wandered a little further, watching the scattered bunnies that popped up around them, but when they reached the wider branch of the river, Eri stopped knowingly. She slid down off her horse carefully, tying her to a tree, and Izuku followed suit, making sure Eri checked his knot twice before he dared to step away. From his satchel he pulled a couple of jars, with the potato salad they’d made the night prior, and Eri carefully filled up the two buckets she’d brought along, giving each of the horses some water. They sat together on the bridge, watching the water flow beneath them, and ate their potato salad from their jars, enjoying the peace of the quiet forest.

“Do you think we’ll always have lots of food?” Eri asked quietly.

Izuku turned to look at her, stunned for a moment, but Eri didn’t seem to notice his surprise.

“Dad told me that when he was little like me, they had good food. Not lots of food, but good food. But when he got bigger, it went away, so when I was little I didn’t have good food like he had.”

“Yeah, the food situation has been... messy,” Izuku agreed. “It’s pretty amazing right now, having lots to choose from.”

“Will it go away again?”

“I hope not,” Izuku said softly. “I’m gonna do everything I can, to make sure it doesn’t. But I’m only one person.”

“I’m a person too,” Eri said firmly. “And Mirio is a person, and Dad, and Uncle Hizashi, and Sho, and Takuto, and Tamashiro...”

“You’re right,” Izuku said, nodding. “We’re all only one person, but we can work together and keep doing our best.”

“Do you know why the food went away?”

“I’m not sure, but I have some guesses.”

“About the dirt being hungry?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I think something happened to make the dirt bad, and people had forgotten how to fix it. Lots of things we used to have, before any of us were born, went away. We had less food, which meant we had less scraps because we were eating everything we could, so the dirt got less fertiliser, and it just kept going in circles.”

“Like how we have lots more scraps now than at the start,” Eri said. “Sometimes things go bad before we eat them, so we made lots of jams this time, to keep them longer.”

“Exactly. And I’m a little worried, I think, about what might happen in winter. When it snows, the plants won’t grow, so we won’t have as much to choose from. We’ll have to start all over again when spring comes, and we might just have to do that every year. But maybe we can do things like make your jams, and keep those for winter, so we can get through.”

“Dad says food lasts longer in the snow.”

“Yeah, when we have food we can use the cold to keep it good for longer, we just have to make sure we have enough of it before things stop growing.”

“Thanks for talking to me like a person.”

Izuku blinked at her again, and this time she looked up, a little sad.

“Do other people not?”

“Only you and Mirio. Dad and Uncle Hizashi do sometimes, but not always, and I know when they’re not telling me the truth.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure they think they’re doing what’s best, maybe they just don’t want to scare you.”

“Like when my Mommy died?”

Izuku fell silent. He didn’t have anything remotely closer to an answer for that.

“She left me first but then later she died.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“My Daddy too.”

“Your Daddy?”

“My first Daddy,” she clarified. “When I was just tiny.”

“I’m sorry Eri, if I knew anything I’d tell you, but I think you’re gonna have to ask Aizawa about this one. Maybe if he knows you have questions, he’ll talk to you about it more?”

“Maybe.”

Izuku reached out, hugging her lightly, and she leaned into his side, sighing contentedly.

“Thanks for coming with me today,” he said softly. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

“I like spending time with you, you’re fun.”

“I’m glad.”

“And I like riding horses, too.”

“I can tell, you looked very happy and comfortable.”

“Do you like it too?”

“I think so. I’m still a bit nervous, but I think when I have some more practice, I’ll like it a lot.”

“And Detour will keep you company so you don’t get lonely.”

“That’s true,” Izuku chuckled. “It does get a little lonely sometimes, taking long trips. It’ll be nice to have Detour with me next time.”

When they’d finished eating, Izuku got his fishing rod out, setting up to dangle his line off the side of the bridge. Eri watched him at first, then wandered off to look at the bunnies again, though she thankfully made sure to stay within sight. The horses had their own little break, grazing on their nearby grass, and Izuku found himself surprisingly content. Despite the hard conversation, the horse nerves, and the looming trips he had to figure out how to take, overall he was just happy.

“Shall we head back?” he asked, when he’d caught a few fish and chucked them in a bucket.

“Okay!” Eri agreed, returning to grab the horse buckets and empty out the leftover water. “I think I know how to plant the new lettuces.”

“Oh yeah?”

“First I thought all the people who like riding lots can go fast and come out here, maybe with Pony if she wants, and the people who don’t like riding as much can just walk and go less far, and the people who don’t want to ride can walk on their feet. Then we’d do lots of different areas. But I don’t think we have enough horses for that, because we can only ride some of them. So instead maybe we can do a walking day all together, and on a different day, the people who wanna, we can come out here and plant more.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me.”

“And I thought we could ride fast then walk back and plant, but then we don’t know how long it’ll really take. So maybe we can walk and plant first, then ride back fast when we start running out of time. Then it’ll be easy to plan.”

“That sounds smart too.”

“It’ll be lots of starting and stopping to plant though,” Eri lamented. “Lots of stuff to unload and use and then load again to keep going. It’ll take a long time, and it might be hard to get on and off the horses without steps and things.”

“Well, you don’t have to plant them everywhere,” Izuku pointed out. “The bunnies move around, right? So maybe you could just pick some spots that look good and plant lots of them there, and then move on to find another good spot. Like, you probably want them to be somewhere they’ll get rained on, so you don’t have to water them all the time. So the thickest parts of the forest might not be good for planting. And if there’s a lot of clover or grass in the area, you might not need lettuce there, so you could find somewhere more empty.”

“Yeah! We can look while we walk back and find some good spots, right?”

“Absolutely,” Izuku agreed. “We’ll count how many good spots there are, and add up how much stuff you’ll need to bring. “Kouji told me Yuwai really likes the leafy bits from the top of radishes, so maybe you could plant some radishes too if you wanted, or just keep all the leafy bits out of the fertiliser when you’re coming out here, to chuck them around as a treat.”

“Ooo yes! And ripe tomatoes! Not the unripe ones, but the bright red ones!”

“You can eat those, though,” he laughed. “Give the bunnies the parts that people can’t eat!”

“That’s true,” she sighed. “Okay, radishes and lettuce then!”

Izuku gave Eri a little boost up onto her horse, when she was ready, and she insisted on taking the bucket of fish, too, despite the smell. She secured it on the front of her saddle, where it wouldn’t swing around and scare the horses, and Eri turned her horse around to reach the tree, to untie her rope. She waited there while Izuku carefully swung himself into his own saddle, then untied Izuku’s rope as well, winding it up and handing it over for him to store.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yep!” she grinned, trotting ahead a little to lead the way. “Do you wanna see something cool?”

“Only if it’s something safe and cool,” he laughed.

“Super safe!” she promised.

She looked up ahead, at where a couple of fallen branches lay across the path. They’d diverted around them easily enough, as they approached, but now she sat up straight in her saddle, adjusting herself before she made a noise at her horse and set off at a quicker pace. Izuku watched in both awe and fear as she approached the logs, her stride changing, easily sailing over the little obstacle before she slowed down again and looked back.

“That’s very cool,” he agreed. “But you’re gonna give me a heart attack if you keep doing that.”

Eri just laughed brightly, waiting for him to catch up the much easier way, and he couldn’t help but grin back as they met up again on the path.

“Pony has been teaching me,” she assured him. “We go much higher in the paddock! Do you wanna come watch?”

“I would love to,” Izuku said. “Just tell me when, and I’ll be there.”

“I’ll ask Pony,” she promised. “Dad doesn’t like watching because it scares him, but Uncle Hizashi thinks it’s awesome.”

“I think it’ll scare me too,” he admitted. “But I still want to see! Will it throw you off if I squeal?”

“No!” she giggled. “But I might laugh at you.”

“I’m okay with that.”

───

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Hizashi assured him, for at least the third time. “I have a few wares from my last trades that they might be interested in buying anyway, and you said they should have a big mushroom crop growing that people will be interested in buying, so it benefits me too!”

“I really appreciate it,” Izuku said softly, smiling to himself as he stroked Detour’s mane. “I’m not sure I’d have the confidence yet on my own, but I definitely think we can make it together.”

“For sure! I’m sure nothing will go wrong anyway, especially at a walk, but you’ll have me beside you just in case.”

He finished tacking Detour up, getting a nod of approval from Pony, and then he was climbing up onto that powerful back, settling in for a long ride. When he got back he was going to have to start looking for someone to make him saddlebags, so he didn’t have to wear everything as he rode, but for the one-off trip home, he was just going to put up with it. Hizashi had already taken his tent bundle from him and strapped it to Oboro to help out, so at least he had lightened his load a little for the time being.

“Make sure you take a break every few hours to rest and drink!” Pony reminded them, as she opened up the gate. “And set up your fence overnight!”

“Got it!” Izuku promised. “I’ve got plenty of ropes!”

Izuku had taken a few days to harvest and sell crops to fund it, but he’d managed to get enough money together for everything he’d needed – for Detour, for riding lessons, for a saddle and bridle and everything else he needed for riding, for grooming tools, and finally, for ropes to build a makeshift fence with. Pony had taught him plenty of options for keeping Detour nearby overnight, depending on his surroundings and equipment, but keeping Detour tied up all night just felt mean to him, so he was grateful that Detour seemed to respect his rope boundaries, letting him wander as he saw fit within the area Izuku allowed him.

The sun was only just rising as they rode past the farm, after their early start, and Izuku let Hizashi take the lead up the twisty little path that would take them to Musutafu, through the dim light of the forest. They had plenty of crops tucked away in the Mei Box, and Izuku felt the metal pressing against his back, where he’d carefully positioned it beneath his backpack. It was definitely not the most comfortable way to ride, but it did the job, and he was sure he could figure out a better solution by the time he left for Tsuricho – that one would be a much longer ride, so he hoped it would be at least somewhat comfortable.

Izuku didn’t recognise many landmarks on the trail, since all the trees looked pretty much the same anyway, but there were a couple he did notice, every time he made the trip: the spot where the path became much more zigzaggy, as the hill got steeper; the little clearings he picked between when it came time to pitch his tent; the seemingly only flat spot in the whole ride, where he often stopped for a break to eat something, because it was not remotely convenient as a campsite; and, of course, the clearing where he and Mei gathered mushrooms, where he knew there was only a half day left until he saw everyone again.

When they reached the first of his usual campsites, he was delighted. They’d passed his on-foot distance so easily, with the horses to help, and the horses didn’t even seem remotely tired. They stopped there to take a rest all the same, to give the horses some water and a chance to shed their load for a little while, and as Hizashi pulled out two jars of milk for them to drink, Izuku found himself staring into the trees where the horses grazed.

“Is that clover?” he asked, when Hizashi handed him his milk. “Eri was telling me about it, when we went for our ride.”

“Yeah! Oboro loves it, we always stop here for a snack.”

“Cookie and Detour seemed to as well. I’ve never noticed it before, but I guess it’s always been here.”

“It’s everywhere,” Hizashi agreed. “It just looks like grass and weeds from a distance, so if you’re not looking for it, it’s easy to miss.”

“It must grow easily,” Izuku mused. “If it’s everywhere, it must spread well and grow quickly.”

“You’re already planning to grow it, aren’t you?” Hizashi asked, a little teasingly. “For Detour to eat?”

“I was thinking about Tsuricho. I wonder if it would grow out there, since it seems to survive easily.”

“Oh, that’s a good question,” Hizashi agreed. “It’s not much good for eating, though. You definitely can, it won’t hurt you, but it’s not exactly filling.”

“No, but maybe they could keep animals easier, if they had it as a food option. Can chickens eat it?”

“It wouldn’t be good as their only food, but it would probably help.”

Izuku hummed thoughtfully, and Hizashi shot him a grin.

“We’ll have to keep an eye out for some flowers that have gone to seed,” Hizashi suggested. “It’s worth a try, after all.”

“Yeah,” Izuku said with a grin. “Thanks.”

When their short break was done, they were off again up the hill, heading toward his second campsite – would they really manage to travel two days of walking distance in just one on horseback? That would be like a dream come true. When the sun passed overhead, though, and started to sink down the other side, he wasn’t so sure. Not that it was a problem, of course! He appreciated how much work the horses were doing, how much further they’d gotten already! Detour was his new best friend – sorry Mei – and he was so grateful that he’d be able to visit his friends in different towns so much more easily than he used to.

They stopped again, this time to eat, and Izuku sighed contentedly as he sat against a tree, stretching his legs out where they’d grown a little stiff. Mirio had packed him two jars of potato salad the night prior, for them to have for lunch, and he smiled to himself as he popped his jar open. It had become his favourite travel-meal, since it didn’t need heating, and he could eat it straight from the jar without any mess. The potatoes in Chimura still didn’t grow as big as the ones in Musutafu did, but he was glad they got enough of them for people to enjoy a variety of recipes.

“A couple more hours, I think,” Hizashi said, when they’d packed their things away and climbed back into their saddles once more. “We just need to make sure we stop with enough light to set up a fence and our tents, but there’s a spot I often camp out with Oboro, that I think we can make it to.”

“I guess I never asked, how long does it take you to get there, usually? Two days?”

“About that,” Hizashi agreed. “We usually trot a little on the flatter sections of the hill to make it easier, but we always make it to the campsite before nightfall, then the next day I have plenty of time left to make it to town and do some trading. Did I tell you that your mother doesn’t let me camp out anymore? She insists on me staying in your room when I visit, I thought that was very sweet. Of course, I’ll camp out this time, but—”

“Don’t be silly,” Izuku cut him off. “Of course you should stay in my room, and you should this time, too! I’ll sleep on the sofa, it’s no big deal!”

“Don’t be silly, it’s your home.”

“And you’re my guest! You came to help! There’s no way I’m letting you sleep in a tent when we have a perfectly good bedroom for you!”

Hizashi chuckled, but finally caved, nodding.

“Thank you, it’s very kind of you.”

“Besides, Mei and I will probably be up all night catching up, so it’s not like I’ll get much sleep.” Izuku chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll have a bunch of new things to show me, and she’ll want to see how my tent is looking, and talk all about the Mei Box – it’ll be dawn by the time we realise we’re tired.”

“I’m glad you have such a good friend to come back to.”

Izuku paused, staring at the back of Hizashi’s head for a minute, then looking away awkwardly.

“Is Aizawa like that, for you?”

Hizashi chuckled to himself, taking a moment to think about his words before he began to answer.

“He was, when we were younger,” he said finally. “Then we were apart for so long that I guess I kind of forgot. Not about him, but about how much he meant to me. It wasn’t until that day you and I walked over together, when he showed up all breathless and red in the face from running across town, that I remembered how important he was.”

“He ran to you?” Izuku asked. “He seemed composed and everything when he left the gathering.”

“He doesn’t like it when people see him flustered, especially his students or their parents,” Hizashi said knowingly. “He probably waited until he was out of sight.”

“That’s really sweet, I never knew.”

Hizashi glanced back at him, a soft smile on his face, though there was something a little off about his eyes, like he wasn’t quite as calm about it all as he appeared to be.

“I don’t know if it’s the same as you and Mei. We’re together, Shouta and I.”

“Together? Because you’re in the same town, now?”

“No,” Hizashi said, his chuckle oddly forced. “Like, some day soon I hope I’ll be delivering you a wedding invitation.”

“What?!”

Izuku stared, and Hizashi kept his gaze straight ahead, no longer taking glances back at him as they spoke.

“Are you serious?” he asked. “That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you!”

“You are?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be? You two deserve so much happiness, and I’m so glad you got to reunite again! It’s such a perfect love story!”

“Not everyone approves,” Hizashi said awkwardly. “There are people who think men should only marry women, and vice versa.”

“Why? Shouldn’t you just marry the person you love, regardless of who they are?”

“Yes, you should,” Hizashi said firmly, finally looking back again, his eyes a little watery. “I’m really glad to learn you’re not that type of person.”

“Never,” Izuku assured him. “But you’re right, that’s not the same as Mei and I, I don’t think. I guess I’ve never felt that kind of love, so I don’t really know, and I do love her, but it’s like how I love my mother, I don’t think I would want to marry her.”

“You’ll find someone,” Hizashi assured him. “There’s no rush. Do your travelling, learn everything you can, help as many people as you can, and one day, if and when you find the right person, you’ll figure it out together.”

“I don’t know if I’m built for marriage,” Izuku laughed. “I can’t see myself settling down with a wife and having kids or something, it feels wrong. But you’re right, I’ll just keep doing what I love, and if the right person appears, I’m sure I’ll know!”

“So not this Eijirou you’ve been telling me all about?” Hizashi teased.

“No!” Izuku laughed. “He’s amazing, and a great friend, but not like that.”

“Mina?”

“Nope!”

“Rody?”

“No way!”

“Maybe Shouta and I will start taking bets, decide which of the new friends you gush about is gonna turn about to be the one you marry.”

“Go ahead!” Izuku laughed. “But when you both lose, I get the winnings!”

“Deal.”

Soon the sky was beginning to dim again, but before Izuku could even open his mouth to ask, they crested a hill and saw a familiar clearing, Hizashi pointing to it happily. Izuku felt his eyes fill with tears, a tiny sob escaping him when he tried to wipe them away, and Hizashi looked back at him in alarm, staring in stunned silence as tears poured down Izuku’s face despite his best efforts.

“It’s the mushroom clearing,” he sobbed, giving Hizashi exactly zero extra information to help him out. “We’re s-so close!”

Hizashi smiled again, stifling his laughter in his hand, but Izuku didn’t mind. He knew it was silly, but he hadn’t even realised how far they’d come, in such a short time. The idea of being so close to home in just one day was so overwhelming, all he could seem to do was cry stupid tears about it.

“Breathe,” Hizashi reminded him, as he helped him down off Detour’s back. “Take a second, I’ll do the fence.”

“I’m okay, I can help!”

“I’ve got it,” Hizashi assured him, tying both horses to a tree while Izuku gathered himself. “Take a minute, then you can start setting up your tent.”

“It only takes a second,” Izuku assured him, digging out his ropes to help. “I swear, I’m okay. Your tent takes longer anyway.”

He wiped his tears away and set to work tying ropes to trees, fencing off their little clearing to keep the horses inside. With two of them working, it only took a few minutes to get the rows of ropes up, and then they were setting the horses free of their leads and saddles, letting them stretch out and graze again, and offering them buckets of water to settle in for the night. The tents were next, and Izuku quickly began sorting out dinner for them both, when his was pumped up and Hizashi was still hard at work on his own. By the time the forest got dark around them, a small fire was heating up their roasted vegetables, providing them a little light and warmth along with it.

“That tent really is a marvel,” Hizashi said, when he sat down with Izuku to eat. “I bet your friend could earn a whole lot of money, making them for traders.”

“I’m not sure how readily available the materials are,” Izuku lamented. “I still don’t know how she made the waterproof fabric or how she sealed the tubes so well to keep the air in. She spent all winter on it for me, so it would be super time-consuming to make more, she could probably only do a couple each year.”

“Ah, that makes it a bit tougher. If she’s interested, maybe she could find some easier ways though, who knows.”

“You could definitely have a chat with her about it! I’m sure she’d be happy to talk!”

“Maybe I will,” he agreed. “Alright, I think I’m gonna turn in. Are you okay to put out the fire when you’re done?”

“Yeah! Get some rest!”

Hizashi crawled into his tent, but Izuku remained in the clearing a little longer, taking in his surroundings. The forests at home were so much different from the ones around Chimura and Tsuricho, with their special kinds of trees, the quiet of it all, and the smell that was somehow so different from anywhere else he went. It all made him so nostalgic.

Just a few more hours, and he’d be home.