Enjoy the chapter! (:
The following week passed as a blur for class 1A. Super move training had picked up once again and the interning students were extremely busy juggling both. The summer heat was bordering on unbearable, but the aspiring heroes never let it get in the way of their duties. During another study session with Iida, Izuku had been approached by Todoroki, whose eyes looked distant.
"Midoriya. Do you have a minute?" The heterochromic teenager came to a stop next to his two classmates that had been pouring over their books for hours now.
"Sure. Is everything okay?" The freckled boy inquired and exchanged a glance with the class president, who also had noticed the strange air around their friend.
"You seem troubled." Iida remarked lightly. It was unusual for the ever-composed Todoroki to have his brows scrunched together in thought.
"I guess? Ah, well I need your help." Todoroki replied and nodded towards them both. Iida and Midoriya looked at each other again and nodded simultaneously, before clearing some space on the table, so they hybrid quirk user could take a seat.
"What's on your mind?" Izuku asked tentatively, not wanting to rush the other boy, but also giving him leverage to start somewhere. He hadn't experienced a bothered Todoroki before, not like this anyway. It seemed like something was on his mind, but nowhere near as intensely as during the sports festival a few months back.
"Yesterday when we were eating, Uraraka told me that food made her incredibly happy." Todoroki stated and looked up from beneath his bangs. Iida nodded his head and prompted him to continue, while Izuku looked on curiously.
"I was just thinking that if food makes people happy, then surely they would appreciate if someone tried to make them food from scratch, right?" The pair of different colored eyes looked up at the other two present.
"Could it be that there is someone you want to cook for?" Izuku suggested kindly, trying to wrap his head around what his normally aloof friend was saying.
"Yes." He replied simply. Todoroki was always so direct that it made the corners of Izuku's lips twitch upward in a smile. He quickly regained his composure and thought about what his friend had asked. Would a person who enjoyed food appreciate something home cooked?
"If you ask me, I think anyone would appreciate something home-cooked whether or not they were complete foodies." Iida answered thoughtfully to which Izuku nodded his agreement.
"It's a nice gesture and speaks volumes about the effort you put into making them happy." The green haired teen supplied with a smile, having figured out what the ice user's intentions were.
"I see." Todoroki fell silent for a few moments. By now Iida and Midoriya knew him well enough to know he was mulling over their words and not necessarily done with the conversation. As predicted, he looked up again after a minute and addressed them once more.
"How do you cook? I can't make anything aside from rice." He asked curiously and tilted his head a little to the side, almost making Izuku laugh at the mention of his rice.
"Well, that depends on what you want to cook." Iida started and began listing different types of meals and their level of difficulties. The class president wanted to encourage his friend to cook by himself, but knew of his lacking experience in that department.
"Was there something specific you had in mind?" Izuku tried another approach when he could see confusion on poor Todoroki's face. Iida's heart was in the right place, but he was unknowingly overwhelming the ice user with options and information to go with everything.
"When I asked Uraraka, she said she liked sweets. But aren't they kind of hard to make?" Todoroki asked. The brunette hadn't elaborated on what kind of sweets she liked, but Shoto's impression of her was that she wasn't a picky eater. They had talked a lot about food the previous day and she had looked generally excited at the mention of most things edible.
"Again that depends on what type you are looking to make. Some are quite easy actually." Izuku listed off some of the easier options that he liked as well as the more complicated one.
"But you shouldn't eat too many! Sweets cause cavities and oral health should not be neglected!" Iida, always the voice of reason, interjected when Midoriya's list of favorite sweets was becoming long.
"Do you know if there is something that person likes to eat? That'll narrow down you choices." Izuku got the hint and steered the conversation back to the problem at hand.
"I think my mother likes cookies. I remember her baking them a few times." Shoto replied with a hint of a smile on his face, but missed how his friends' expressions softened.
"Are you making them for your mom?" Izuku asked and felt his heart melt the tiniest bit. Iida also looked like he was looking at a puppy. Todoroki really had come far from the closed off loner they had met months ago. Now he was actively seeking people out to help him and doing what he could to make his loved ones happy.
"Yes, didn't I mention that?" It must have slipped his mind when he asked their advice.
"In that case I think she would enjoy anything you made for her!" Iida expressed eagerly, hands flying forwards in his usual manner.
"Would she though? I am not sure if there are foods she doesn't like." Todoroki frowned as he tried to recall his mother's eating habits. It was too long ago, but he was fairly sure she at least liked cookies, which he told the others.
"Sticking with cookies would be a good idea then." Iida nodded in approval. Not many knew this about Iida, but he really enjoyed eating baked goods. In moderation, of course.
"I have no idea how to make them." Todoroki Shoto was nothing if not blunt, which triggered another smile from both his friends.
"You have to first choose a recipe and then follow it, Todoroki-kun!" Izuku laughed and his entire face lit up with mirth, causing Todoroki's mouth to twitch in response. Iida chuckled too and pulled up his phone to start browsing for recipes.
The trio sat for nearly twenty minutes comparing recipes and thinking up variations, before they settled on chocolate chip cookies with three types of chocolate, much to Izuku's delight. Having talked about cookies for nearly half an hour had made him want to eat some.
"Do you mind if I join you when you make them?" He asked Todoroki kindly and smiled widely when the ice user accepted gratefully. It had been a long time since Izuku had baked something and he was itching to start.
"I would like to assist you as well!" Iida offered loudly, bouncing with excitement. He could finally test out 'the Secret Iida Recipe for Perfectly Chewy Cookies™' while helping his friend! His brother would be proud, he thought and deflated for just a second, before returning full force with excitement. If he managed to recreate the ancient recipe, he could bring cookies the next time he visited his brother.
Feeling inspired by Todoroki's idea, Iida began writing a list of things they would need before they could get started. With the help of Midoriya and Todoroki, he finished and together they went off in search of the ingredients they needed to whip up the best cookies ever seen! That had been the plan at least.
The next two hours were spent scrounging up ingredients, tools and securing a kitchen station to work on. It had gone smoothly at first, but when the time came to begin following the recipe, tiny hiccups came in the way.
"I don't think the eggshells are supposed to go into the batter..."
"Iida-kun you are stirring the dough too fast!"
"Todoroki-kun don't use so much force! The knife will break!"
"Midoriya, I think there's too much flour. It's all over your face, too."
"Gah, I almost cut myself!"
"Todoroki-kun, please refrain from suing your quirk to melt the butter!"
And many other difficulties were voiced during the big baking project. Their peers had looked on curiously from afar, not daring to come near Todoroki with a knife in his hand for safety reasons. Some of the boys, mainly Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero had started betting on the outcome of the cookies.
After struggling for nearly an hour, much to the amusement of those who were watching, the first timer went off with a loud ping, startling the three bakers. They had forgotten about the timer and had been watching the cookies through the oven door. Iida carefully opened the oven, trying to avoid the heat from fogging up his glasses, and pulled out the first tray with his cookies.
Gingerly placing them on the cooling rack, the class president stepped back and admired his handiwork. Once the remnants of steam cleared from his glasses he got to take a good look at the cookies... that had been burnt all over the surface. Falling to his knees, Iida shook from disappointment. He had failed to make the Perfect Iida Cookies!
"Maybe it's only the surface that got overcooked!" Midoriya suggested hopefully, but his hopes were squashed when Todoroki picked up a cookie and it crumbled between his fingers and Iida let out a curse and started going over the recipe in hushed voice.
Now that the knives had been put out of Todoroki's range, some of their classmates stepped closer at the commotion. Sero sullenly handed over some bills to Kaminari who cackled loudly in response.
Next up was Midoriya's timer that went off. He nervously opened the oven and picked up the tray with his cookies, careful not to burn his fingers on the edges. They looked better than he had expected, although they seemed lumpy and a tad bit on the dry side. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, when they were put on the cooling rack and watched as Todoroki started pulling out his own batch. Iida's rambling could still
Once the ice-and-fire-user had put down his tray, he heard a collective gasp and was surprised to see a handful of their classmates gaping at his tray. He looked down and was surprised to see completely flat discs with lumps of chocolate in the middle. They weren't exactly circular either. Many of the balls of dough he had deposited onto the baking sheet had flowed out into one giant cookie without any distinct shape.
"...That wasn't supposed to happen." Todoroki observed. Midoriya got closer and inspected the edges of the cookies, but found little to salvage. Not only had they not retained their form, but they were way undercooked. Hushed whispers could be heard from the tiny crowd that had gathered and everyone looked on in suspense.
"I wonder where we went wrong." Midoriya mused and put a hand to his chin as he glanced between the three batches of cookies. They had all followed the same base recipe and only added minor alterations to each of their doughs.
"How could I let this happen? I have tainted the history of the Iida family cookies!" The class president wailed dramatically. He had followed the instructions to a T, so he couldn't fathom his result.
"Chill Prez, at least Midoriya managed to make some decent cookies." Kaminari sauntered up to the counter and reached for one of the better looking cookies on Izuku's tray. His newfound confidence from having won the bets against Sero and Tokoyami, was urging him to try a cookie.
The second Kaminari Denki's teeth bit into the cookie, he saw his life flash before his eyes and dropped the cookie with a scream muffled by his mouthful cookie. Tears sprung to his eyes and he sprinted to the nearest trashcan, gagging and sputtering.
"Kaminari-kun?!" Midoriya's concerned voice cut through the air and Kaminari turned around with tear filled eyes to face the green haired teenager.
"You! You were trying to kill me!" He pointed an accusing finger at Midoriya, who frantically tried to defend himself. A sudden urge to retch overcame Kaminari and he turned back to lean over the trashcan, heaving loudly. Jiro and Kirishima appeared beside him, the former laughing her head off at his misfortune and the latter rubbing his back comfortingly.
"What did you put in the cookies Midoriya? I've never seen him like this." Tokoyami asked and leaned over the counter to inspect the frantic boy's craft. Retching sounds could be heard in the background, and poor Izuku was on the verge of a meltdown.
"I just followed the recipe, I swear!" Midoriya all but shrieked from panic. His gaze kept jumping between the retching Kaminari and the innocent-looking cookies on the counter. Iida had gotten up from the floor and was looking apprehensively at the remaining cookies.
Todoroki did something that was both brave and incredibly stupid. He picked up one of Midoriya's and took a bite out of it, before he started chewing it. Everyone in the room fell silent as Torodoki's taste buds were assaulted and he started turning blue. Iida reacted instantly and fetched a glass of water before reaching Todoroki's side. Izuku put his head between his hands with the realization that he had poisoned two of his friends! He was a horrible human!
"Todoroki-kun spit it out!" Iida shouted and grabbed hold of Todoroki who was stumbling backwards arms flailing. With immense difficulty, Todoroki swallowed and coughed for twenty seconds straight. Iida never let go of his arms, but his worry increased when he felt Todoroki's ribcage shaking from the force of his coughing. Izuku was reaching his hands out towards the ice user, when muttering could be heard from his classmates.
"Apparently Midoriya poisoned both Kaminari and Todoroki." The freckled boy turned sideways and watched as his friends cautiously stepped back when he looked over.
"M-midoriya. Did the recipe say to put in 150 grams of salt?" Todoroki asked as he heaved. Izuku could barely hear him in his frenzy. Salt? Had he used salt instead of sugar? Dread filled him as he looked over at the counter where he had measured out his ingredients. The bowl of sugar he had put to the side had remained to the side, and he had accidentally grabbed a bowl of salt someone had left out, no wonder his cookies nearly killed his classmates.
"I am so sorry!" He cried and bowed in apology forty times in a row, faster than anyone could follow. His classmates were impressed that he didn't give himself a concussion.
"I know where you sleep, Midoriya..." Kaminari whispered his ominous threat and glared at Izuku over his shoulder, still hunched over the trashcan. A chill ran down Izuku's spine and he hurriedy turned away, muttering reassurances to himself.
"Todoroki-kun, you should drink this!" Iida instructed and shoved the newly fetched glass of milk into his hands, while Kirishima offered a similar glass to Kaminari.
"I'm fine. I think Midoriya is broken, though." They both watched as Midoriya hugged himself close and stared in horror at his cookies, whipping up a mutter storm.
"Midoriya-kun, snap out of it!" Iida strode over to the panicking boy and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him enough to bring him out of his stupor. After a few minutes of calming everyone down, Iida stepped back to Todoroki and put a hand on his shoulder with a serous expression on his face.
"Todoroki-kun, it seems we have all failed in our attempt to bake cookies. In times like this, it is important to learn from our failure and reflect on what to do from here on out. In this case, the only option is to call an expert. Midoriya-kun, go ahead." Iida nodded in Midoriya's direction. He had pulled out his phone with a shaking hand and dialed the number of their savior.
There was nothing else that could be done.