Couple of warnings for this one! One is that this particular chapter is a little more serious and maybe the slightest bit more violent than the other ones so far. The other is that this chapter takes place from Mineta's point of view(who is a decent human being in this story). If either of those things bother you, I'd recommend skipping this chapter.

For those of you who haven't left, I hope you enjoy! :)

If Mineta's math was correct, it had been about five hours, twenty three minutes, and forty eight seconds since they'd stepped foot on that bus when it finally slowed to a stop in front of a small 24-hour open convenience store for a quick pit stop.

The drive to their location hadn't been all that great either, but they weren't all completely exhausted at the time. The majority of his classmates had been excited over the school visit, with the chance to show off U.A.'s status to the country by competing with another school for a demonstration. It had been set up so that everyone would be fighting together as a group against the other school's top hero class, and the winner was the team with the most people still standing when time ran out. Of course, he himself had been nervous(who wouldn't be!?), but he could at least pat himself on the back for not making a complete fool of himself this time. Sure, he didn't have the most impressive display of power, but he could say that he helped defeated at least one opponent and was still standing at the end. That, and a girl had called him adorable. A GIRL HAD CALLED HIM ADORABLE! Easily one of the greatest moments of his life. Not even his aching back could ruin that for him.

And now they were heading back to U.A., together on a bus with twenty of them half asleep from exerting themselves all day. Filing off the bus towards the convenience store, Mineta leaped out of the way of Ashido's smoothly crafted legs as she launched herself off the bus with a giddy cheer as she raced into the store, Kaminari quickly jumping out after her. Slowly, the others followed, Uraraka with her beautiful rosy cheeks as she beamed back at Midoriya pulling the two of them off towards the store while Iida and the tall and slender Yaoyorozu calmly made their way off as they discussed something that is far above his own head. Todoroki got off just in front of Kirishima, who was practically dragging a protesting Bakugou along with him while Sero just laughed at them from somewhere behind. Besides the mysterious beauty that is Hagakure, everyone else chose to stay by the bus and stretch their sore limbs instead of going into the store to buy something.

"Dude," Kaminari materialized beside him. "Have you seen the cashier? She's pretty hot."

Mineta had to agree, her sharp eyes and short but smooth hair complimenting her petite physique and average sized rack well. "Mm-hmm. I like her more minimalistic style."

"Yeah, her Mini- Ma- M- uh, that thing you said." Kaminari gave him a wink and a thumbs up, and Mineta couldn't help but sweat drop.

The two gallivanted around the store, looking through celebrity magazines and walking down the candy isle before making their purchases and failing at flirting with the unimpressed cashier. Mineta decided that the girl at the rival school that called him adorable was cute and friendly enough to make up for it and moved on as he and Kaminari walked out the door while Kaminari continued to talk about every random thought that came to his head.

Kaminari suddenly stopped, whipping his head around to somewhere off to their left. Mineta looked up at him, confused. "What's wrong?"

"I said go away." There was so much venom in those words that Mineta barely even recognized Ashido's voice. Finding their way around the building, where a couple of oddly placed vending machines filled with toys and trinkets stood, the two boys finally got a decent view of what was happening. A man, about three times Ashido's size, was following her around, a stench wafting through the air as they approached his direction. By his clothes, Mineta could only assume that he was homeless, and the look in his eyes couldn't possibly be that of any ordinary civilian.

Which meant that this could get really ugly at any moment.

"We should go get a teacher." Mineta whispered, lightly tugging Kaminari in the direction of the bus where Aizawa-sensei was napping.

"And leave her there?" Kaminari hissed.

Mineta rapidly shook his head. "I'm trying to be rational here! Adult intervention would be a really good idea right now, or we just might make the situation worse! We don't know his quirk or-"

Kaminari had already turned, marching towards the man with confidence and frustration as he attempted to latch onto Ashido's arm, who in turn through a shopping bag at him. "Don't make me use my quirk! I'll do it!"

Kaminari stepped in between them. "Leave her alone, loser!" he yelled.

"Yeah, you tell him!" Ashido shouted, standing partially behind him while prepared to shoot if she needed to. Mineta was about to take his own advice and run to get Aizawa when he suddenly felt his skin start to crawl and the balls on his head stiffen uncomfortably. Pulling at them, he quickly discovered that they were all but stuck in place, forcing him to tear at it for a few seconds before it finally popped off. Even then, however, it wasn't sticky.

"What?" Mineta mumbled in confusion. Turning back to the situation at hand, it seemed that Kaminari was also having trouble, looking at his hands in surprise as nothing but a few measly sparks few off them. Mineta's heart began to race. "Our quirks aren't working?"

"Cool, huh?" the man laughed. "I can suppress the quirks of anyone within a twenty five foot radius around me. It's not that you can't use them completely, but I doubt that they're gonna be of any use right now." With one unexpected, powerful swing, Kaminari was sent flying into the store wall, leaving a heavy dent in it as he crumbled to the ground in a heap. Ashido screamed, both in fear and anger, and started throwing whatever she could get her hands on at him as he approached her, not willing to leave Kaminari behind.

"You're a feisty one, aren'tcha?" he cooed, grabbing onto Ashido's arm. A sizzling sound could be heard and he winced, but held tight despite her struggles. "Seems like you got a pretty dangerous quirk if you're not careful."

At this point, Mineta knew that he'd been wasting a lot of precious time while just standing there like a moron, and now he was afraid of leaving and coming back to find no one there. With no other option, he was about to call out for help when Sero suddenly turned the corner, sprinting in next to Mineta and taking in the struggle going on behind the store.

"What's going on!?" Sero bellowed down at him.

"What do you think is going on!?" Mineta screeched back, near hysterical. "Ashido's being manhandled and Kaminari's hurt and I can't do anything because that guy suppresses quirks and I panicked and just stood here like a dingus and what are we suppose to do now!?"

Sero, seething as he looked down at his currently useless elbows, was about to yell something else, and probably planning to jump into the fray himself, when he looked back up and instantly paled.

"Oh f***."

"What?"

BAM!

The sound of solid metal hitting flesh just might have been one of the loudest sounds that Mineta had ever heard. The man instantly slumped, Ashido yanking herself out of his grip as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Sero immediately ran to check on Kaminari, who had yet to get back up, while Ashido looked up at her rescuer with concern. Mineta was just left dumbfounded.

Bakugou looked conflicted. On one hand, his shoulders were relaxed and his stance was slouched. On the other, however, his hands had a death grip around the metal pipe and his face was that of a grimace as he stared down in disgust at his handiwork.

Did he actually kill the guy?

"F***." he breathed, dropping the pipe as if it burnt him. Ashido seemed at a loss for words, hands shakily reaching towards him, almost as if she wanted to comfort him, but wasn't sure how to go about it. He abruptly strode past her, pushing himself past Sero to get a better at Kaminari.

"Yo, Sparky." he called, tapping his face more gently than anyone had ever seen him handle anything. There was a light groan in response and the ash blonde seemed to finally start to truly relax. "The f*** is the matter with you?" he huffed halfheartedly.

Seeing as everything had calmed down, Mineta finally decided to stop being a b**** and get Aizawa-sensei, Sero jumping up and following close behind.

It was announced after the ambulance arrived that the man would live and be safely in custody. Midoriya had showered Mineta with questions, constantly glancing in Bakugou's general direction as the students prepared to finally board the bus and get out of there.

"Has anything like that ever happened?" Mineta asked carefully.

Midoriya shook his head wildly. "No! Countless fights, absolutely, but he's rarely ever done anything that brutal. And nothing like that."

It was also announced that Kaminari had no serious injuries and could travel back with them to the school. Resting on a stretcher for the time being, Kaminari laughed as Ashido asked if he was okay for the umpteenth time, the electricity quirk user promising her that he was just a little sore. Neither of them complained about Kirishima's constant frantic(and entirely unnecessary) apologies for not being there to help them, nor did they point out Bakugou's pacing, staying within a five foot radius of the two of them at all times.

When they finally boarded the bus, Kaminari was offered an entire row all to himself, but he had demanded that Ashido sit with him, and the two found themselves snuggled up with three of them squeezing onto a seat meant for two. Nobody dared to question Bakugou sandwiching himself between the window and Kaminari.

Jirou decided not to let the moment that they all fell asleep go to waste and quickly snapped a picture of Kaminari fast asleep against Bakugou's shoulder, with Ashido sprawled over both of their laps without a care in the world.

Normally, Mineta would be jealous of the intimacy, but in context, he knew he had no right to complain. Not after acting like a complete idiot and not doing anything, even after he'd tried to be the rational one in that situation. He knew that there was no way that he would be popular as a hero with any girls if all he did was stand there and soil himself. He'd already figured out from the beginning that there was so much more to being a hero than he'd ever imagined, but he'd just have to suck it up and earn some d*** respect, now wouldn't he? The boobs could wait for now.

He still had a lot to learn.