MHA: Gamma Chapter 72 72: Cooking

Novel: MHA: Gamma Author: S4tus Updated: Jun 15, 2026

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Now reading: Chapter 72 72: Cooking from MHA: Gamma, a Action novel by S4tus.

It was four in the afternoon when training finally ended.

At least, the first day officially ended.

In practice, most of the students looked like they had left pieces of their souls scattered across the training field.

Classes 1-A and 1-B were taken to the courtyard behind the dormitory, where several picnic tables had been spread out. On two of them were boxes and baskets full of ingredients: potatoes, carrots, onions, at, rice, seasonings, and large pots.

Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob were standing near one of the tables, smiling as if this was not the final psychological blow of the day.

"The pampering ended yesterday", Pixie-Bob said, swaying the tail of her costu.

Ragdoll continued, cheerful:

"If you're hungry, you'll have to make your own food!"

Pixie-Bob raised both paws dramatically.

"And today's dish will be..."

Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob spoke together:

"Curry!"

Both classes answered in chorus, but their energy was so low that it sounded more like a collective groan.

"Yes, ma'am..."

Ragdoll burst out laughing when she saw the state they were in.

"You all look terrible!"

"Thanks for noticing..." Kaminari muttered, almost lying down while standing.

"That's why this isn't just a simple al for hungry kittens to prepare", Ragdoll continued.

Iida raised his head at once.

"Ah! I understand now!"

A few students looked at him.

Iida adjusted his glasses, regaining his posture despite his exhaustion.

"In tis of disaster and evacuation, soone needs to feed tired, injured, and fatigued civilians. Filling people's stomachs is also part of a rescue operation."

He turned to both classes and raised his hand.

"Naturally, U.A. would never let a learning opportunity pass us by! We will all make the most delicious curry in the world!!!"

A tired chorus answered:

"Yeahhh..."

Dash tried to steady himself beside Ryo.

His body looked even thinner after training with Violet. His eyes were sunken, his shoulders were slumped, and his stomach was growling with an almost alarming frequency.

He looked at the table full of ingredients.

"Food..." he murmured, as if he were seeing a mirage.

Ryo looked at him.

"You really are in bad shape."

"I am spiritually empty."

Dash took one step.

His knee almost gave out.

Before he could fall, Pony appeared beside him and held him by the arm.

"Dash-kun, you don't need to push yourself. I'll do your part for you."

Dash looked at her with emotion.

"Pony..."

"Don't talk. Sit."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ryo watched Pony take Dash to one of the tables, where he sat down like a wounded soldier returning from war.

The class began splitting up to prepare everything. So went to gather firewood for the concrete stoves. Others picked up knives, cutting boards, and pots. The two classes mixed together with so hesitation, but hunger was a very good incentive for cooperation.

Ryo looked around and noticed Ragdoll looking at him.

She gave only a small nod, as if saying that everything was fine.

Then she went back to talking to Aizawa, who was standing beside her. The two exchanged a few quick words before both left the courtyard.

"Takeda!" Kirishima called. "Co help over here! You're not Dash, so you don't get to do nothing!"

"I'm coming."

Ryo walked over to the table.

The stoves were lit shortly afterward.

They were simple concrete structures, with space to place firewood underneath and large pots on top. Iida and Tetsutetsu were responsible for organizing the firewood and controlling the initial fire. Todoroki could have solved part of it in seconds, but Aizawa had made it clear before leaving that they were supposed to do it the normal way.

While part of the class handled the fire, the rest began preparing the ingredients.

At first, everything seed normal.

Until Ryo picked up a knife.

The first thing he did was wash his hands, secure the sleeves of his shirt more tightly, and separate the ingredients by type and cooking ti. Then he placed three cutting boards on the table, lined up carrots, potatoes, and onions, and began cutting.

The knife moved with absurd precision.

Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak

The carrots turned into identical pieces in seconds.

The potatoes were peeled with clean cuts and almost no waste.

The onions were split, sliced, and separated so quickly that Sero, who was beside him, stopped what he was doing just to watch.

"What the..."

Momo turned her face.

"Takeda-kun?"

Ryo was already on another step.

He placed so of the at in a bowl, mixed in seasonings, salt, pepper, and a little oil, then began stirring with one hand while the other continued cutting vegetables.

"He's doing two things at the sa ti", Toru said, impressed.

"Three", Jiro corrected, pointing at the pot. "He's also controlling the fire."

Ryo had pushed part of the firewood with his foot to adjust the heat without even looking.

Kendo, from Class B, stopped with a carrot in her hand.

"Does he always cook like that?"

Kirishima opened a proud smile, as if he had any credit for it.

"Takeda is full of surprises."

Mina approached, her eyes shining.

"This is starting to look like a cooking show."

Ryo poured the vegetables into the pot at the right mont, stirred the curry base, and adjusted the seasonings with quick movents. When it was ti to add salt, he took a pinch, raised his hand, and let the grains fall from above, sliding down his forearm in an exaggeratedly stylish gesture.

Kaminari pointed.

"Why is he so stylish while doing that???"

Sero clenched his fists.

"Yeah, and the girls are getting hooked by it..."

"This should be forbidden."

The girls, on the other hand, seed enchanted.

"Takeda-kun, you're amazing!" Uraraka said.

"You have exceptional practice", Momo comnted, genuinely surprised.

Toru waved her invisible hands.

"I didn't know you could cook like this!"

Ryo looked at them, not understanding the reason for their reaction.

"I'm just making curry..."

Sero and Kaminari continued watching from afar, both with onions in their hands.

"He's strong, he flies, he heals sohow, and now he cooks like Gordon Ramsay", Kaminari muttered.

Sero cut an onion with too much force.

"It's not fair."

"It really isn't."

"There should be a limit to how many skills one person can have."

"Agreed."

On the other side, Toru kept looking at Ryo.

"But how did you learn to cook?"

The question made Ryo's hand stop for a mont.

Not for long.

Just long enough for a few people to notice.

He stirred the curry slowly.

"I learned to help my mother."

The girls grew quieter.

Ryo looked at the pot as he spoke.

"Every morning, I would wake up and see her cooking for . Even when she was tired. Even when her hands were shaking."

His voice remained low, simple, without trying to make the story bigger than it was.

"I felt guilty. She already had too much to deal with, but she still made sure to prepare my food. So I thought that, if I learned, I could let her rest a little."

He let out a small sigh through his nose.

"At first, I couldn't even fry an egg properly. I burned several. But then I started getting the hang of it. I learned rice. Soup. Curry. Simple things. Then better dishes."

He stirred the pot once more and tasted a small spoonful, adjusting the seasoning right after.

"Maybe now I can make tasty things for her so she can relax better."

Ryo turned to Toru and the others.

Uraraka had tears in her eyes.

Mina did too.

Toru seed to be crying, although no one could see her face.

Momo brought a hand to her chest, moved.

Kendo looked away, trying to hide it.

And Kirishima, who had only been passing by, had manly tears streaming down his face.

Ryo stared at all of them.

"...What?"

Uraraka sniffled.

"Nothing..."

Mina wiped the corner of her eyes.

"You're much sweeter than you look."

Ryo frowned.

"I only answered the question."

"That's what makes it worse", Toru murmured.

On the other side, where Sero and Kaminari were cutting onions.

The two were crying.

A lot.

Kaminari wiped his arm across his face, but the tears kept falling.

"I misjudged you, Takeda..."

Sero sniffled.

"He just wanted to help his mother..."

"He's just a good boy..."

Shoji appeared beside them carrying a box of potatoes.

"Are you crying because of the onions?"

Kaminari turned to him, offended and red-eyed.

"Don't destroy this emotional mont, Shoji!"

Sero nodded, still crying.

"We're processing complex feelings."

Shoji looked at the almost destroyed onions on the cutting board.

"You're processing them badly..."

The two went silent.

Ryo returned to the curry, confused by the general commotion.

Beside him, Pony stirred another pot while adding extra portions with Dash in mind, who was still sitting at the table with the look of soone waiting for divine salvation.

"Will it take much longer?" Dash asked weakly.

Ryo looked at the pot.

"A few more minutes."

Dash closed his eyes.

"I can survive until then..."

Pony smiled.

"You'll eat first."

Claro, querido.

Ryo kept stirring the pot calmly, thinking of sothing delicious to cook for his mother.

Sothing simple.

Sothing warm.

Sothing that said, without needing many words, that he was happy she was awake.

Without realizing it, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a small smile.

Almost invisible.

But it was there.

"Ah."

The voice ca from behind him.

Ryo froze.

Two fluffy paws landed on the sides of his shoulders, far too soft to match the imdiate shiver that ran down his spine.

"Oh? You know how to cook?"

Pixie-Bob's voice sounded close to his left.

Ryo slowly turned his gaze.

She was behind him, leaning close enough to rest her chin on his shoulder, watching the pot with shining eyes.

"Very well, apparently."

Ryo went completely tense.

"w, w..." She smiled, amused. "n who know how to cook well are rare, you know?"

Ryo looked at the pot.

Then at the paws on his shoulders.

"No..."

"They are." Pixie-Bob gave his shoulders a light squeeze, as if she were appraising rare rchandise. "And a lot of won are interested in n like that."

Ryo remained motionless.

Behind him, Sero and Kaminari stopped cutting onions.

The two looked over at the sa ti.

Pixie-Bob brought her voice closer to Ryo's ear, in an exaggeratedly dramatic whisper:

"Do you know why?"

Ryo swallowed dryly.

"Because they would make great husbands~"

A heavy silence fell around the pot.

Ryo felt another shiver climb up the back of his neck the mont he felt her softly blow against his ear.

"I-I'm fifteen years old..."

Pixie-Bob laughed, as if that were just a funny detail and completely irrelevant to the joke.

"I know, I know. I'm talking about the future, kitten~"

"Don't call that."

"w~"

She finally pulled away, hopping one step back with the sa playful smile. Then she brought one of her paws to her lips and blew him a little kiss.

"Save so of that curry for , okay? I want to evaluate your skills..."

Ryo remained still, holding the spoon.

Pixie-Bob winked at him.

"Gently~"

Then she turned around and skipped away, as if she had not just threatened an adolescent's emotional sanity.

Ryo stared forward.

No reaction.

Kaminari squeezed the onion too hard.

"I take back what I said..."

Sero placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll prepare the torch."

Ryo took a deep breath.

Then looked at the pot.

"...I'm going to need another spoon."

Momo tilted her head.

"Why?"

"This one seems cursed now."

Jiro turned her face away to hide a laugh.

Toru couldn't hold it in.

Mina was already laughing openly.

Ryo simply kept stirring the curry, nervous and terrified, trying to pretend nothing had happened.

And after so ti, the curry was ready.

The sll spread through the entire courtyard, warm and strong, mixing spices, at, vegetables, and freshly cooked rice. For two classes that had spent the entire day being crushed by training, that aroma seed almost divine.

"Food..." Dash murmured again, sitting at the table with sunken eyes.

Pony placed a full plate in front of him.

"Take it easy."

Dash picked up the spoon.

"I promise nothing."

On the other side, Ryo started serving from the pots he had helped prepare. At first, so students tasted it cautiously, still expecting sothing simple from a camp al.

Then everyone stopped.

Uraraka widened her eyes.

"It's really good!"

Momo brought the spoon to her lips with elegance, but her eyes shone with surprise.

"This is completely divine."

"Très magnifique!" Aoyama declared, raising his spoon as if he were at a noble banquet. "The sparkle of this curry matches my own!"

Tokoyami tasted it in silence.

Then he closed his eyes.

"A deep flavor... warm enough to drive away the shadows of fatigue."

Jiro looked at him.

"You managed to make curry dramatic."

"It was necessary."

Kirishima devoured a huge spoonful and almost cried again.

"Bro, this is absurdly good!"

Sero ate another spoonful and pointed at Ryo with his spoon.

"Takeda, you are forbidden from hiding skills like this from the class."

Ryo sat down with his own plate, still not understanding the scale of the commotion.

"I just cooked."

"You always say that like it's simple", Mina said.

"It's true", Tsuyu agreed. "Takeda-kun has a habit of acting like everything is normal, ribbit."

Ryo looked down at his own plate.

"Because it is normal. Curry is normal."

"This one isn't", answered half the table at the sa ti.

On Dash's side, Pony already had another plate ready before he had even finished the first one.

Dash lowered his spoon, breathing deeply like soone returning from the dead.

"I can feel my soul slowly coming back."

Pony placed the second plate in front of him.

"Have more."

Dash looked at her with gratitude.

"Thank you. You're an angel."

Pony turned red, but tried to keep calm.

"Don't talk too much and eat before it gets cold."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kirishima watched that with an amused smile.

"Speaking of that, Dash, that girl who was training you today..."

Dash raised his head, still with rice at the corner of his mouth.

"Violet?"

"Yeah. She seed pretty harsh with you in a... personal way."

Dash swallowed.

"Well, that's because she's my older sister."

The table went silent.

"Wait", Kaminari said, pointing at him. "That girl is your sister?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe it."

Dash frowned.

"Why?"

Kaminari opened his mouth without thinking.

"Because she's way too hot to be your sister."

Jiro smacked him sharply on the head.

SMACK

"Have so decency!"

"Ow! But it was a complint!"

Dash simply shrugged.

"It's fine. Yes, she's my sister. And she and her boyfriend ca to help with the training."

So students blinked.

"Boyfriend?" Uraraka repeated.

"She has a boyfriend?" Mina asked, imdiately interested.

Dash pointed with his spoon into the distance.

"That guy over there."

Everyone looked.

Near a tree, Violet was sitting on a folding chair with her legs crossed. In front of her, Tony was kneeling on the ground, holding a plate of curry with both hands as if offering a sacred relic to an ancient queen.

"My lady", Tony said with theatrical seriousness. "I present the al earned after a long day of suffering, sweat, and regret."

Violet looked down at him over the bridge of her nose.

"Did you put enough vegetables?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't overdo the spice?"

"No."

"And did you steal any portion before serving ?"

Tony hesitated.

Violet narrowed her eyes.

"Tony."

"One small piece of at..."

Violet took the plate.

"You're a good boy for confessing."

Tony looked relieved.

"Thank you."

"Now sit there and keep watch. You're still grounded for telling my mom about our nap."

Tony straightened his posture imdiately.

"Yes, momm— I an, yes, ma'am!"

He sat beside the chair, alert, as if he were protecting a fortress.

The class continued staring.

No one knew exactly how to react.

Kirishima slowly pointed.

"Is he really her boyfriend?"

Dash went back to eating.

"Yes."

"And is that normal?"

"They must be going through another couple's fight."

Mina tilted her head, watching Violet completely dominate the situation.

"That looks more like pet-play..."

Uraraka looked at her, confused.

"What is that?"

Mina turned red instantly.

"Nothing! Forget it! Wrong word!"

Jiro looked at Mina suspiciously.

"Mina."

"I said nothing!"

Midoriya, who was also watching from afar, placed a hand on his chin.

"She has a powerful and frightening aura."

Iida nodded seriously.

"Indeed. Those who have completed the hero course possess a completely different atmosphere. Her posture conveys authority."

Kaminari looked at Tony sitting on the ground like a dog.

"I think it conveys sothing else."

Jiro raised her hand again.

Kaminari flinched.

"Okay, okay, I get it!"

While everyone talked, Ryo ate in silence beside Bakugo.

He heard everything, but only halfway.

His gaze occasionally passed over Violet.

Thinking specifically about the bubbles and shields she created.

During Dash's training, he had seen the structure of the bubble for long enough to notice a few details. It was not just a translucent violet wall. It seed like a sealed field, sustained by pressure, resistance, and shape. Sothing that blocked impact, sound, and even heat without needing ordinary solid matter.

Ryo slowly stirred the curry with his spoon.

"A defensive field..."

He already manipulated energy.

He could already generate waves.

He could already create electromagnetic rings for propulsion.

But shields?

"Maybe if I stabilize the energy into a layer..."

If it were electromagnetic, it could repel certain things. If it involved the strong force or a deeper interaction, maybe he could reinforce a barrier at a structural level. But that would be dangerous. He could not simply create a wall of radiation and call it defense.

It needed to be clean. No collateral damage.

His thought was interrupted by an irritated voice beside him.

"I already told you to get lost, brat!"

Ryo turned his face.

Bakugo was glaring at a small child beside the table.

The boy had light blond hair, round cheeks, and big eyes, now wet with irritation. He looked about five years old and was holding a small spoon with both hands, staring at Bakugo's plate as if it were a personal injustice.

Ryo blinked.

"Oh, it's just Jack-Jack..."

He went back to eating.

Then he stopped.

The spoon hung suspended in the air.

"...Wait."

Ryo turned his face again, faster.

"Jack-Jack?!"

His sudden shock drew the attention of the entire table.

Midoriya looked at him.

"Takeda-kun?"

Kirishima frowned.

"What happened?"

Bakugo pointed at the child, irritated.

"This brat won't stop bothering because of my curry!"

Jack-Jack sniffled, his eyes growing redder.

"I just wanted a little... You're an..."

Bakugo smiled provocatively.

"Yeah, now go cry sowhere far away."

Dash, who was in the middle of his third plate, finally looked more closely.

His eyes widened.

"Jack-Jack?!"

Pony looked at him.

"You know him?"

"He's my little brother!"

The entire table turned to Dash.

"Your little brother?!" Kaminari shouted.

Dash stood up so quickly he almost knocked over his plate.

"H-How did he get here?! Did Violet bring him?!"

In the distance, Violet was still sitting there, calmly eating curry.

Tony looked in their direction.

Then he looked at Violet.

Violet stopped chewing.

Tony froze.

"Ah", he said. "He ran out of cookies. That's not good..."

Jack-Jack tightened his grip on the spoon.

"I'm gonna teach you a lesson, you villain!"

Bakugo let out a mocking laugh.

"You? Try it, shorty."

Jack-Jack's body shone.

First, he burst into flas.

Then his skin changed into a tallic texture.

Next, electricity crackled around him.

Then the small body began to float.

Bakugo stopped smiling.

"Huh?"

Jack-Jack shot forward.

"BAH!"

He slamd into Bakugo like a tiny, furious projectile.

"WHAT THE FUCK—"

The impact pushed Bakugo away from the table, dragging him across the ground. Jack-Jack kept pushing, shifting between fire, tal, and a glowing form that looked like pure uncontrolled childish energy.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya shouted.

A circular portal opened behind the two of them.

Blue, purple, and gold, spinning like an impossible rift in the air.

Bakugo widened his eyes.

"HEY, WAIT—"

Jack-Jack and Bakugo passed through the portal together.

"Bakugo!" Kirishima shouted, rising from the table.

Everyone stood up at the sa ti.

The portal began to close.

Midoriya saw the edge shrinking.

"It's closing!"

He activated Full Cowling, green sparks appearing around his body before he shot toward the portal.