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Vanilla Beans and Spice

Chapter 5: Reminiscence

Summary:

Ice Cream by Shouto gets a new flavour. Shouto gives an interview, and Bakugou eats a kulfi.

Notes:

The secret to churning out chapters at a frightening pace is to procrastinate on very urgent IRL work with looming deadlines. Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Mom?”

“Mmm?” Rei responds, eyes focused on the waffle cones cooling on the rack as her hands work away at making more.

“Did Touya-nii like ice cream?”

Rei stills, stiffening imperceptibly as she sets her work down on the table. The stainless steel cools rapidly under her fingertips, and the cone she was making splinters slightly where it lays.

“…do you remember?” Shouto asks, voice quiet and hesitant.

Rei gathers her bearings before the table freezes solid and wipes her hands on her apron. Her fingers are almost numb, and ice crystals break off from her nails against the fabric. She thinks of a little boy, fiery and determined, insistent and energetic, powerful and fragile all the same. Her first boy. Soft, soft black hair, fading to white as he grew, sharp blue eyes that glimmered like the endless ocean on a clear sunny day. Little arms and legs that kicked and a pre-pubescent high pitched voice that screamed as she tried to get him into the bath. An indomitable spirit, she remembers his insistence on trying spicy foods and crying for water after the first spoonful – and then going back and trying it again, with tears glittering in his eyes, face scrunched up in determination. She breathes out quietly, and the air fogs as it leaves her mouth.

“Mom?” Shouto’s soft voice halts her thoughts. Shouto, always soft, always kind. Thoughtful, empathetic Shouto. His hand touches her arm. It’s warm where his fingertips close around her freezing skin.

“I’m sorry mom-” he starts apologizing, because of course he does, he is the kindest boy Rei has ever known. And his eyebrows are furrowed in worry and his other hand is hovering over her shoulder, telegraphing its movements so slowly she can hardly tell it’s moving at all.

Rei looks into the eyes of her youngest, and she takes a deep breath. The warm scent of vanilla fills her lungs, and she smiles at him.

Shouto falters in the middle of his sentence, and Rei’s eyes crinkle at a fond memory only she knows.

“Pineapple soft serve”, she remembers aloud. “Dipped in chocolate.”

“What?” Shouto asks.

“It was the only ice cream he would eat”, Rei continues, squeezing the hand Shouto still has clasped loosely around her arm. “There was this one little shop next to a gas station in Musutafu that used to make it.”

Silently, Shouto sits back down so he can listen to her. Rei’s hands start working on the waffle cones again.

“I don’t know how or when he found it, but suddenly one day he was obsessed with it. He dragged Natsuo there one day and he came back crying because he hated pineapple.” She picks up the cooled cones and stacks them together to make space for new ones. “Fuyumi thought it was alright, and then she found they also sold two-in-one vanilla and chocolate soft serves, so they would go together to get them sometimes.”

The warm waffle cups are deliciously pliant, bending along her fingers as she shapes them into sundae bowls, talking. “I went with him once too. He insisted it was the best ice cream in the world and he got me the kind with the dark chocolate dip. Paid with his own pocket money. When I tried to stop him, he looked at me with these devilish eyes and challenged me to try. Turns out he had hid my purse before we had left, and then he insisted it was his treat”, she laughs, the waffles warming her freezing fingers as she works with them.

“It became his thing. When he was crying or having a tantrum, one of us would have to run out to get the ice cream for him. They served them in these terrible cheap cones, and the soft serve would always start to melt by the time we managed to bring it home, but it always made him happy.”

“…it always made him happy”, she says again for emphasis. She got carried away in her storytelling. The waffle press has gone a little cold, and this time it isn’t so easy to shape. The thin mass feels brittle under her fingers as she attempts to shape it into a bowl for sundaes.

“And then it all stopped, you know. The trips to the odd little soft serve shop next to the gas station, the mischief. Enji-Endeavour would still try to bring him the treat sometimes, but he always ran warmer than the rest of us and it would end up a melted, soupy mess in his hands. I had my hands full with you at the time, and I couldn’t- it just changed, you know.” The bowl is unrelenting. Her delicate maneuvering has given it some shape, but it looks wonkier than the others. Handmade, with love. She places it carefully with the rest of them. “But I’ll always remember how his eyes shone when he could eat that pineapple soft serve…how he saved up his pocket money to go eat it…how he loved sharing what he loved with the rest of us, even if Natsuo cried every time.” A little laugh bubbles up her throat, and when she lets it out it sounds a little strained, but the air is crisp and fresh inside the back room, and if Shouto spots the wetness in her eyes when she turns to him with a slightly wobbly smile, he doesn’t mention it.

 

***

 

JapanEats.com

Ice Cream by Shouto’s Best Creations, Ranked

10. The Rei – vanilla with toasted walnuts and warm honey

9. The Uravity – strawberry and mochi with strawberry sauce and fresh mint leaves (seasonal)

8. Citrus Delight – orange and cinnamon with candied oranges

7. The Chargebolt – lemon sorbet with limoncello dip and popping candy

6. The Blasty McSplode – Kulfi infused with dried red chillies, cinnamon, and green cardamom

5. Tropical Summer – Mango (seasonal)

4. The Touya – pineapple soft serve with chocolate dip

3. The Deku – banana split with dark chocolate and toasted nuts

2. The Katsuki – dark chocolate and raspberry with fresh mint leaves

1. The Sugar Rush – Young coconut and sugarcane (seasonal)

Special mentions: saffron and pistachio, green tea, butterscotch with salted caramel popcorn

Head over to Ice Cream by Shouto to enjoy these fantastic flavours and more! (Ice Cream by Shouto is open from 11am – 10pm Tuesday through Sunday)

 

***

 

Tokyo Times

Exclusive Interview with Shouto: Ice Cream, Heroism, and More

Our correspondent caught up with ex pro hero Shouto to discuss his love of ice cream, the ever-growing range of flavours at his shop, the current debate on heroes and leisure, and his cat, Soba. Read on to get the full scoop!

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on running Ice Cream by Shouto for three years! I myself am a big fan of your mango flavour – it is quite exquisite! How does it feel going from heroism to entrepreneur over the span of a few years?

Thank you, it has actually been three years and four months since I started the shop. I am glad to know you enjoy the mango, it is one of our most popular flavours. It feels good to have moved on from heroism.

What do you think about the current discourse on heroes taking leisure time?

Well I am not a hero anymore, so I don’t think much about it.

With so many heroes participating in fashion shows, sports tournaments, game shows, and cooking competitions, some of the public feels that they may be neglecting their hero work. Would you say that heroism as a profession should require less of such public presence?

Heroes are already in the public eye when they are working. I don’t see why they should limit themselves to appearing only as heroes on their off time.

So you support the recent trend of heroes appearing as celebrity guests on a number of publicized shows and other spaces?

Sure, if people want to have them there.

Do you think it in any way demeans what it is to be a hero?

No.

As someone who worked as a pro hero before certain rules – like rotational shifts, set working hours, emergency response teams and systems, on-call duties, and paid vacation days – were universally implemented, what is your opinion on the current hero profession?

I think it is good that general labour rights are finally applying to heroism as well.

Do you think that with heroes taking so much time off, villainy will be able to make a comeback?

We have social institutions put in place to prevent that very thing, so no, I don’t think villains will grow stronger just because heroes’ free time isn’t entirely spent recovering from grievous injuries or overwork.

Did you know of Deku’s appearance at Hero Con this year?

Yes, I believe he has attended every Hero Con he could since he was a teenager, as long as time allowed.

The public perception of heroes has changed greatly in the past few years owing to incidents like Deku’s participation at Hero Con. Do you think people’s faith in heroes will strengthen when they see them engaging in “normal” things?

Well, heroes are normal people. They always have been.

Would you say our previous generation of heroes were also perceived as normal people?

I don’t know. I was raised by a narcissist and an abuser who was also a hero, so I think I am too biased to judge.

I apologise, I wasn’t speaking of Endeavour per se…

I guess All Might was pretty normal when he wasn’t doing hero work. He kept cue cards on him when he was teaching and he had very bad taste in suits. Eraserhead liked to take a lot of naps and drink absurd amounts of coffee. I heard from Present Mic that he still likes to follow stray cats around the neighbourhood, and that Snipe really loves crocheting, so I guess yes, they have always been normal people.

Speaking of crocheting, I love the new Soba merchandise at your shop!

Yes, Momo and Ochako helped me come up with that. I can’t crochet at all, but my sister made a few prototypes before we finalized the design.

Does Soba get to try any ice cream?

Soba is lactose intolerant, and he is very picky about eating anything that isn’t fish. I did try offering him a lactose free spoon, but he batted it away in front of some children and then he became a meme.

And that is how Soba became the mascot of your shop?

Yes, it was Deku’s idea to turn him into the mascot since he became so popular.

Any thoughts on expanding Ice Cream by Shouto in the future?

No, I intend for it to be a family run business, and I really wouldn’t have time to manage more shops personally.

You have a truly astonishing selection of flavours at Ice Cream by Shouto. How do you come up with them?

I am not in charge of deciding flavour profiles. That is mostly Dynamight’s territory, although sometimes I have ideas. He is the one who helped formulate a list of flavours that would range from everyday to gourmet, and he helps me with the creation process whenever we decide to try something new.

How long has Dynamight been a part of the process?

From the very beginning. He was the one who taught me to make ice cream.

Perhaps the shop should be called Ice Cream by Shouto and Dynamight!

I did suggest the name to him when I started, and then he threatened to explode the shop sign, so I just went with Shouto.

Going by your public personas, it was never obvious that you and Dynamight were so close. While all your former U.A. classmates have shown up, he has never visited your shop publicly!

Dynamight is a very private person, and he never wished to be part of the ice cream shop except in the background. Our class is very close, and we all try to keep in touch as much as possible.

Has Sugar Rush ever helped you concoct any flavours?

No, his position in Osaka prevented that from ever happening, although I would love to collaborate one day.

Dynamight’s recent appearances in cooking shows does not suggest that he has a fondness for desserts. He is mostly seen making very spicy and very decidedly savoury food.

He doesn’t like desserts or any cold food, including soba.

There was a twitter storm a few months ago about a bet between you two involving several plates of cold soba?

Yes, we had an agreement that he would make me 50 plates of cold soba, and he stuck to his word.

Would you ever consider participating in a cooking competition with Dynamight?

No, I would lose and then he would gloat about it for the rest of our lives.

What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?

Vanilla.

Any advice for kids who want to grow up to be a hero like you, or open an ice cream shop?

Be careful with fire, don’t overuse ice, ask Dynamight for help.

 

***

 

To: shouto.not_todoroki@yahoo.com
From: bakugou.katsuki@might.hero.com
Subject: You bastard

Why would you do this to me?

Attachment: link/uncledynamight

Great Explosion Murder God DYNAMIGHT (He/They)
JP Hero Rank #2
Might Hero Agency

|<message clipped> <click to expand>

 

To: bakugou.katsuki@might.hero.com
From: shouto.not_todoroki@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: You bastard

Bakugou,

What’s wrong with children asking you for cooking tips?

Best,
Shouto (He/Him/His)

||<message clipped> <click to expand>

 

To: shouto.not_todoroki@yahoo.com
From: bakugou.katsuki@might.hero.com
Subject: Re: Re: You bastard

YOU GAVE THEM THE STUPID IDEA IN YOUR IDIOTIC INTERVIEW FUCKFACE

Great Explosion Murder God DYNAMIGHT (He/They)
JP Hero Rank #2
Might Hero Agency

|||<message clipped> <click to expand>

 

To: bakugou.katsuki@might.hero.com
From: shouto.not_todoroki@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: You bastard

That’s because it’s true ^_^

Best,
Shouto (He/Him/His)

||||<message clipped> <click to expand>

 

To: shouto.not_todoroki@yahoo.com
From: bakugou.katsuki@might.hero.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: You bastard

You evil little shit

Great Explosion Murder God DYNAMIGHT (He/They)
JP Hero Rank #2
Might Hero Agency

|||<message clipped> <click to expand>

 

***

 

“Bakugou?”

“What.”

“Bakugou.”

“WHAT”, the blond snaps, turning to look at Shouto with sharp red eyes.

“Have you ever thought about retirement?”

“Hah?” Bakugou gapes, looking at him like Shouto’s got a screw loose. “Hell no. Not everyone wants to make ice cream with their mum in the idyllic snowy mountain life, y’know.”

“I know”, Shouto acquiesces. Bakugou of all people would hate this question, he knew that. But he’s got a belly full of warm food and sake and he feels adventurous right now. “But you’ll eventually have to retire. What will you do after that?”

“I dunno”, the blond answers, stretching out in the little patio chair and taking up as much space as possible. A balled up paper napkin on the table is all that remains as proof of the kulfi he finished a few moments ago, and his foot comes to rest on Shouto’s shin when he extends his legs to stare up at the night sky.

A few stars find space to twinkle at them between the clouds above, and the string lights along the patio seating at Ice Cream by Shouto are reflected in Bakugou’s bright red irises. Shouto nudges his foot with his own leg, and Bakugou’s arms come to rest on the white iron tabletop.

“I never thought about it”, Bakugou admits, cracking his knuckles absentmindedly in the crisp autumn air.

“Hmm”, Shouto breathes, eyes focused on a squirrel climbing the nearby plum tree. It shakes slightly with the wind, casting ghostly moving shadows across the empty tables at one in the morning. For a while, the only sound is the rustling of leaves that echo across the mountains and Bakugou’s quiet but persistent drumming on the table with his fingers.

“How about joining a band?” Shouto suggests.

“Nah”, the blond counters immediately with a signature “tch” punctuating his disdain for the idea.

Bakugou’s dedication to hero work and his voluntary efforts with Shouto’s ice cream shop leaves him very little time for hobbies and socializing. Some days when Shouto calls him, he will be dangling off some terrible cliffside and yell at him on loudspeaker for interrupting his ‘relaxation time’. Shouto doesn’t get it. When he wants to relax, he takes a nap. When Bakugou wants to chill, he climbs mountains.

When Shouto thinks about it, he doesn’t understand when the blond even finds time to sleep. As long as Shouto has known him, Bakugou is either doing something intense or he is asleep. In his waking moments, the blonde typically cannot sit still. An insatiable drive to be a better hero, and a similar determination for productivity in his downtime ensures his prickly friend is sparse when it comes to just hanging out with friends.

When he appears, Bakugou is like a comet. A sudden thunderclap – unexpected and undeniably profound in his presence. He just shows up, and when his mood allows, he stays. Like a thunderstorm in a hot summer he crashes Shouto’s life and makes a home out of it. For that limited timeframe, everywhere he looks there is Bakugou – sprawled out on his couch watching TV, arguing loudly on the phone over something insignificant with an equally irate Izuku while perched on Shouto’s favourite armchair, cooking up strange and mysterious dishes with Fuyumi-nee in the kitchen, snoring on Shouto’s futon, bringing random plants and arranging them on Shouto’s windowsill, coaxing Soba out from under the bed with cat treats. Bakugou is everywhere and then nowhere in a heartbeat, when Shouto looks around his apartment and finds no signs of it having been lived in outside of himself and Soba. He understands, his friend is intense in everything he does. Like the chilli spiced kulfi he just inhaled with a ferocity hitherto unknown to mankind, Bakugou doesn’t understand the word subtle. It’s only in those precious few moments when he’s neither fully awake nor asleep, when he hasn’t had his coffee yet or hasn’t finished putting the leftovers away after dinner, that his limbs come loose.

And so he sits, at a cold metal table on a chilly autumn night, at 1:16 in the morning, discussing retirement plans with a slightly sleepy Bakugou. Shouto is used to late nights and late mornings, and Bakugou’s sleep schedule has changed significantly since high school, but once the clock strikes midnight the blonde is simply more pliant than the public is used to.

“What do you want to do? Aside from being a hero?” Shouto asks now, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu.

“Honestly…haven’t thought much about it”, Bakugou responds, voice gravelly in the night.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

Shouto thinks about it. Not many heroes reached the age of retirement when they were growing up, so he supposes it makes sense to have not given it much thought. But now…things are different now. He wonders.

“What do you like?” he tries.

Bakugou’s eyes snap back towards him, and Shouto feels like he’s been put under a microscope.

“What do you think I like?” the blonde retaliates, and Shouto is confused.

“I…guess…you like fighting, and winning, and exploding things?” Shouto offers.

“Mhmm”, Bakugou replies curtly, and Shouto feels like he’s been slighted.

“You like cooking, and mountain climbing, and that awful spicy ramen from that place-”

“What’re you tryin’ to say?”

“I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud…there has to be something you want, right? Something other than heroism, something that means a lot to you”, Shouto muses. “…like being a MasterChef judge, or training the next generation of heroes, or travelling the world, or…I don’t know, maybe you could want to get married and have kids.”

Bakugou snorts at this, and Shouto is affronted. “You’re a perfectly eligible bachelor, Bakugou- I can see you marrying a professional bullfighter or someone.”

“A professional-” Bakugou cracks up, laughing with his whole chest, the sound echoing across the trees and scaring away the poor squirrel trying to bury a nut under the plum tree. “-BULLFIGHTER”, he wheezes, cackling with unrestrained mirth, eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

Shouto pouts. “It could happen”, he argues.

“Yeah, Halfie, and then me and my bullfighter husband are gonna work the register at yer ice cream shop, eh?” he guffaws, shoulders shaking with laughter.

“You could. It would depend on whether they- he is good at arithmetic”, Shouto says meekly, hoping the blond didn’t catch how he faltered on the pronoun.

Bakugou doesn’t seem to have noticed, as he shakes his head in delight at Shouto’s imagination.

Shouto wasn’t aware – he doesn’t pry into people’s personal lives much. He knows about the few relationships that have bloomed among their classmates and beyond because he was explicitly told about them. It doesn’t change how he views Bakugou at all, but he wasn’t expecting him to come out to him so nonchalantly while discussing retirement plans in the middle of the night on the patio of his ice cream parlour. But perhaps, to Bakugou these things don’t matter much. In a way Shouto feels privileged. The blond might deny to this day that they are friends, but this- this is proof that they are. They always have been.

It almost slips past him how Bakugou casually inserted Shouto’s ice cream shop into his imaginary retirement plans. Almost, but Shouto grabs on before it can disappear.

“Wait. You will still help out with the shop when you’re retired?”

The blonde looks at him like he just grew a second head. “Yea, ‘course I will. One day without me and you’ll probably burn this place down on yer own”, he grins, sharp canines glinting in the dim light.

“Alright then. You and your bullfighter husband are coming to work at my shop. It’s settled then”, Shouto smiles, nudging the foot that is still resting warm on his leg.

“Yeah we are. Someone’s gotta take care of ya”, Bakugou smirks, his other foot stretching out to join the one already enclosing Shouto’s left leg like a bear trap.

Shouto’s futile struggle to free his leg ends for naught, and he retaliates by hooking his other foot under Bakugou’s knee and trapping one of the blond’s legs.

Bakugou doesn’t even react. Shouto sighs.

“You staying over again?” Shouto asks after a beat of silence.

“Yeah. Your mom promised me breakfast”, Bakugou responds, voice raspy with the exhaustion of the day.

The get up and walk towards Shouto’s apartment at a leisurely pace. Crickets chirp around them and the stars slip in and out of the clouds on this moonless night. The autumn air blows chilly, and Shouto can see Bakugou shiver slightly. But even when he rubs his warm hand on the blond’s arm to get rid of the chill, the goosebumps don’t go away.

Notes:

I feel like I've been building up to the TDBK for long enough, so here, have some crumbs.

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