A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 71

even able to take a break before he was shoved into the assembly line for sandwiches that Iida had organized. He was tasked with chopping and then adding the veggies to a large platter so everyone could add what they wanted to their sandwiches. He was glad he had some experience with cooking because watching Iida try and cut onions was actually painful. And if he was just as slow as the taller boy the veggies would never be done.

By the time the platters of half made sandwiches were done everyone was starving. The piles of meat and bread didn't stand a chance as they were swarmed by a small army of teenagers. The adults, wisely, made their own sandwiches in the kitchen. Not even attempting to get in between the kids and the food.

Soon enough though they were being herded back outside and regrouped. This time with different instructors as they were coached through a new set of drills or training exercises.

Izuku was actually sent inside once all of his yearmates were settled. Ragdoll took him to an office with a large computer setup. Apparently it was their control point for any rescue operations in the area. But it was also the only computer set up to receive any signal this far out in the middle of nowhere.

Ragdoll quickly set up a call, explaining that every afternoon he would be getting lessons from either Nezu or someone of the rat's choosing. Apparently he should expect to be surprised by some of his guest teachers.

It took a few minutes of securing the line and a whole slew of passwords, but then they were being patched in to Nezu and Ragdoll left them to their lesson. Which was an entire lecture series on dissecting quirks that seem to defy the laws of physics and paring them down into something that actually makes sense. Needless to say, Izuku had a blast for four straight hours.

The process of making dinner was an experience for everyone involved. Most of the teens had minimal kitchen skills at best. And some of them were active disasters when within five feet of a knife or fire. So deciding tasks was a skill in and of itself.

Izuku once again ended up chopping veg. Coaching some others who had never done the task before, but who were not likely to hurt themselves, through the process. Once everyone had gotten the hang of things he allowed himself a moment to people watch, huffing out a laugh at a very bemused looking Todoroki who was being dragged around by Mina so he could light the fires for the outdoor cooking area.

The curry came together relatively quickly. It was a bit messy, not all of the vegetables had been cut evenly, and the roux had been a bit bland in the name of saving the kids who couldn't handle spice. But it was palatable and Izuku found himself enjoying sitting down to eat outside with his friends.

But he was only half way through his plate when he noticed movement from the treeline. He turned to look, finding Kota slipping away into the woods. With a frown he shoved one last large bite of his food into his mouth before standing and excusing himself, waving off Hitoshi's questions.

He made a second plate and hurried off in the direction he had seen the little one go. Finding a well worn path half hidden in the bush he followed it quietly, looking around at the darkened trees and wondering where the track led to.

He found out soon enough. After following the path up a sharply rising series of rocks he came out onto a little ledge in front of a shallow cave. Kota was sitting with his back to the rock face staring out over the edge of the cliff forlornly.

Izuku frowned to himself for a moment before announcing his presence with a cough and a kicked rock. The little boy startled a bit, spinning in place to face him. Before scowling and turning back away. "Go away. This is my secret base! Go find your own!"

The greenette hummed. "This is a pretty cool base! Don't Worry! I won't tell anyone about it. I just wanted to bring you something to eat is all."

That only got him another glare. "I don't want your stupid curry. Go. Away."

With a sigh the teen settled down near the boy on a rock, setting the plate on the ground between them. "I understand if you aren't hungry, but I'd re-really like it if you tried to eat anyways… there have been times I've had to go without food and honestly it never ends well…"

Another glare. Great. "I don't want anything made by you stupid hero wannabes. I hate all of you, going around showing off your stupid quirks and beating up stupid villains for the supid cameras."

Ah he hates hero society. Izuku could honestly relate to the feeling even if he had always wanted to be a hero anyways. Instead of saying that though he asked a question. "What if I d-don't have a quirk to show off? Am I still a stupid hero wa-wannnabe?"

That seemed to throw the little boy off, just as he had intended. "You… what?"

The greenette chuckled before leaning back and looking up at the mass of stars strung across the sky. "I'm quirkless Kota. And all I've ever wanted was to be a hero so I could help people. Pretty stupid r-right?"

Dark eyes blinked up at him in confusion, obviously at a loss of how to respond. The teen just smiled down at him for a moment before nudging the plate closer with his foot and standing to leave. "Eat up. Y-you never know when you'll need the extra energy."

With that parting comment he headed back down the slope towards the lodge, hoping he had shifted the little boy's ire towards heros as a whole at least a little bit.