A Veterans Bunny Boy

6: In Sickness and in Health

Inko, out of the goodness of her heart, had finally burst at Izuku when he refused to listen to her demands in staying in bed. She had hit him, hard, and on the yellow bruise near his chin no less when he had tried to deflect it with a loud smack of her palm. He deserved it, he'll admit, but he was tired of staying in the dark of the surrounded alleyway, the backs of various buildings suffocating him from the inside out and had yelled in protest to her pushing and nudging.

Inko was a strong woman, so she didn't freeze up after the slap, but she did cry, begging him to just listen to her and stay put or he'd only get worse. He listened to quiet her, but snuck out the night to go cool down since the humidity finally caught up behind all the buildings and in their little resting area.

She was sleeping when he left, taking the jacket he'd been wearing to cover her, and grabbed a lighter one from under his sleeping bag. Despite his stubbornness and pettiness, he wasn't stupid enough to not cover up.

When he left, he took some coins and bills to pocket them and few people glanced his way when he came out of the makeshift tent, acknowledging his leave but saying nothing. The sidewalk was devoid of people, again, but the same teenagers plus a little more were hanging out around the park. It wasn't particularly cold out, but the little breeze that was there carried a smell so warm and welcoming to where Izuku's nose led his body towards it.

He turned corners, crossed a few streets and busy intersections until he reached a shop and izukus mouth salivated at the smell. It looked relatively new too since he's never seen the place until today, vaguely remembering that there was an old building here. They must have taken it down to build whatever this place is, with delicious aromas coming from inside, beyond the glass doors.

Izuku opened them wearingly, ears tucking down as he made himself visible and catching the attention of the occupants in the room. A group of men plus one woman in their mid 30's and enjoying a large bowl of noodles sat at the counter and watched a sports game on the television, and a loner over by the corner texting. Thankfully, the one behind the counter, black hair fit in a net, noticed him too and Izuku gave him a meek smile.

"C-can i come in?" He asks, worried that since he's never been inside before and wasn't 'known' per se, they would deny him.

"Of course! Anyone's welcome." They spoke and Izuku smiled at them as his ears rose from above his head and made his way inside and over to the counter where the other group sat and ate. Izuku tried not to notice their looks from the corner of their eyes, but the highchairs they sat in made them look so intimidating to where Izuku fumbled with his fingers.

"Whaddya feel like eating?" The black haired man called and Izuku's head jumped to him before letting out a noise of realization as he went to dig in his pockets. He pulled out the money he had and laid it out onto the counter, apologizing at the crumpled bill and dirty coins.

"What can I get for this much?" Izuku asks as he glances up at the male behind the counter, the floor on that side definitely more raised then where he stands, making him feel so small in comparison. But the smell was just too good to make him walk away from it.

The guy takes a closer look, moving the coins and single bill around to count before he's looking behind him at the menu.

"Well, it depends on what ya want!" He exclaims and izuku looks at him in surprise.

"Really?" he questions, hopeful and the male smiles as he looks at Izuku.

"Yup! Pretty much order anything you want from the menu." He says and Izuku looks at the board, looking at the images of various soups, broths, noodles, and dumplings. Izuku finds the last one makes his stomach grumble so he stays on the dumpling side of the menu and looks over the drawn ingredients.