I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.

1A had finished their little outing without any further incident. And with that, they all went back home to continue preparing for their trip to the forest lodge. Well, most of them did that. Mineta, Kaminari, and Iida were still out and about on Musutafu's streets however.

"It's a shame Midoriya couldn't join us, really could've used the extra brain power." Kaminari said as he fished out a can of soda from a vending machine. They have been wandering around the edge of one commercial district, looking for any signs to their treasure hunt. And according to one clue, something around here would help them narrow their scope. But just as the sun was close to setting, the trio decided to take a break.

"Midoriya-kun looked like he was about to have a heat stroke, so it's better to let him rest. Still, what could've caused such a sudden onset of symptoms? The temperature today is rather mild for Summer and Midoriya-kun's a rather sturdy individual… Does he have any health complications I'm not aware of Mineta-kun?" Iida replied before turning to the shorter boy.

"What? No. He just had a sudden idea that just fried his brain. But otherwise, he's doing fine. Now hold on, I think I found something." Mineta replied before turning back to his notebook. He had sketched something from one page in the magazine. It was another symbol of unknown design, meaning he wasn't going to find it online. But now that he was here, he found something to help them along.

There was a flier was on the side of a barber shop, advertising good prices for various styles and cuts. And tucked away in a corner was the symbol. This caused Mineta to quickly write down what the flier says. Then, on the backside of his current page, he began making a rough but relatively accurate sketch of the thing.

It was hard, but after many weeks of practice, Mineta was starting to get used to using his left hand. Now he could write and draw things without it looking like a garbled mess. And while it wasn't even close to being as neat as his right, Mineta could at least stop pestering Midoriya for notes. But as the thoughts of his injury waned, he soon found the Hero Killer on mind.

The shorter boy frowned as he stopped drawing the flier. Since their encounter a month and a half back, Mineta has not heard any word of Stain. There were no new victims, sightings, or breakthroughs in the Police investigation. He just simply vanished since that night. And though that meant an end to his violent string of crimes… It did leave Stain's victims and their heart broken families without justice.

"I've got to stop thinking about that monster… There's not much I can do about it now…" Mineta muttered as he shook his head. He took a deep breath and began to store away his thoughts for later meditation. Right now, he needed his all his brain power for this treasure hunt. The shorter boy quickly finished his sketch and got back to Kaminari and Iida.

"I've got the next clue. Kaminari, could you and Iida look for anything familiar? I'm going to double check our current riddle to make sure this is it." Mineta asked before passing his notebook to the electric blonde. He happily nodded before studying it with their Class President. So with that, the shorter boy removed his backpack and began scrounging inside for the magazine.

What should've been a few seconds had became a few minutes. And with each extra minute, Mineta began to sweat more and more. The magazine wasn't where it was supposed to be. In fact, it wasn't ANYWHERE in his bag. The shorter boy paled as he looked up, Kaminari and Iida already having noticed his franticness.

"You alright dude?" Kaminari asked; sweat starting to appear on his face too.

"I… I lost the magazine…"

"I'm sorry, but did you just say you lost the Magazine?" Iida asked as he adjusted his glasses. Mineta nodded slowly as a sense of defeat loomed over them. But before they could trudge back home in despair, a sudden cough caught their attention. Looking to the source, the three met the gaze of a suspicious Jirou. And standing behind her was Tsuyu, Mina, Hagakure, and Yaoyorozu.

What were they doing here?

"Looking for this?" She asked, doing her best not to look absolutely revolted. The girl then showed them an issue of the world famous, ultra premium, subscription only, gentlemen's magazine Worship. But it wasn't just any issue, it was the one Mineta and Kaminari found.

"H-H-H-How?" Mineta asked with a stutter. His skin also became bleached from the implications this thing could cause. Not only would this make look him and Kaminari look like actual perverts, if the Sports Festival hadn't done that already… But they would also be dragging poor Iida down with them.

"Since we'll be stuck with you guys for a whole week, we decided to have a girls' night out. We were just finishing up when we saw you drop this thing. And seeing how it practically costs an arm and a leg, we wanted to know what you were doing with it. So we tailed you." Mina explained with a sly smile. Too many thoughts were going through Mineta's mind for him to even formulate an answer.

First off, how did he drop the magazine? Second, why did it have to be the girls who find it? And most importantly, what possessed them to follow them instead of throwing out the magazine and continue on with their own business?

"Well, that's certainly a surprise I wasn't expecting today. However, before we have any more misunderstandings concerning the contents of that particular magazine… Mineta-kun, please explain the matter to our classmates in the same way you did for Midoriya-kun and I." Iida said calmly and collectedly. The shorter boy snapped to their Class President. He wanted him to explain all this!?

"Please do, I'm just dying to learn why you think carrying this around is okay." Jirou replied before folding her arms and tapping her foot.

"Okay… Alright… First of all, it's not what you think this is…" Mineta began after a defeated sigh. And so he told the story of how the magazine came into his possession. How he discovered its true content. And finally, Mineta vaguely explained how Iida and Midoriya got on board.

However, despite his complete sincerity, Jirou still had this hard skepticism on her face.

"Do you honestly expect me to buy that?" She asked; glare growing more intense by the second. Mineta was out of options and simply hung his head in defeat. After the whole cheerleading trick at the Sports Festival, it was reasonable to think that Jirou would doubt him. So it was either going to take Iida or Midoriya to convince her.

And even then, would they even be enough?

"Kyouka-chan, Mineta-chan's telling the truth." Tsuyu said. Her face was still neutral but her tone was very gentle and supportive. Somehow, the girl was on Mineta's side despite how everything looks. It honestly made Mineta count the number of times Tsuyu helped him so he could properly thank her sometime later.

"Tsuyu, you do realize how ridiculous his story sounds, right?" Jirou asked, turning to her amphibious classmate.

"I know. But Tooru-chan and Mina-chan are looking through the magazine and it is as he says." Tsuyu replied as she pointed to said girls flipping through the cryptic pages. Jirou's eyes widened as she checked her hands, finding the magazine no longer in them. She then quickly walked over and looked at the garbled mess that Hagakure and Mina were staring at.

"What the Hell?"

"I know! This isn't something I'd buy, but I still feel my wallet dying with each messed up page. I can only imagine how Ochako-chan would feel if she saw this." Hagakure said, turning to the next page.

"Hang on, where she? If you're having a girls' night, then shouldn't Uraraka be with you guys?" Kaminari asked, finally noticing that the girls were down by one.

"She said she wasn't feeling well, so we let her go home and rest. But please, tell us more of this 'treasure map'. How are you certain that this isn't some sort of trick?" Yaoyorozu replied before gesturing to the magazine again.

"I've asked the same thing. But based on the specific nature of each cipher, we've been lead to the conclusion that this is no trick. Nor does this involve any criminal elements, since the puzzles can be figured out by anyone with the knowledge." Iida explained. He then briefly went into the puzzles that they have solved thus far. And with each detail, the girls progressively got more and more bewildered. Mina especially, since all this no doubt brought back painful memories of the end of term exam.

"Oh please God no more… My brain can't handle this level of nonsense…" Mina said as she rubbed her temples.

"Come on, don't say that. I mean just look at Kaminari, he managed to solve something all by himself." Jirou replied with a wry glace at the electric blonde.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Still… It does seem like whoever planned this wanted the 'treasure' to be found. Do you mind if we join you in this hunt? All of these riddles have made me curious as to how this story will end." Yaoyorozu asked. Mineta raised an eyebrow to that, they wanted to in on this? Granted, seeing how someone joins him every time he decided to tackle the magazine mystery, the shorter boy should've expected this.

"Oh don't give us that look. You can't expect us to sit out now. You're up to something fun, how could we ignore that?" Hagakure said before handing the magazine back to Mineta.

"Personally, I just want to make sure none of this ends with trouble. We're still Heroes in Training after all." Tsuyu added before nodding to Iida. Their class president returned the gesture as he clapped his hands together, drawing the group's attention.

"Since it is better for all of us to stick together for this little venture… We'll gladly accept your aid and company. Now, let us proceed with the code breaking. Currently, our clues have led us to that flier on the wall." Iida said, pointing towards the nearby flier. He then held up Mineta's notebook, showing the girls both the transcription and rough sketch of the flier. Jirou gestured to the notebook and the flier repeatedly, silently asking 'why bother?'.

"Sometimes it helps me see things. And it's good practice for my left hand." Mineta replied.

"… But I can't see anything though. Is there some sort of hint or something to help?" Mina asked, squinting at the flier.

"The last riddle gives you a clue for the next one. And it said 'Find the mark around the Seventh Scissor. And trust not your bias, for the next step is found when twilight's equal meets the page'." Kaminari answered tiredly. Their pink classmate flinched to that, her brain visibly smoldering from that clue. Hagakure, Jirou, and Tsuyu were mentally trying to break down the riddle for its meaning.

Yaoyorozu, however, was looking at the flyer on the wall itself.

"Yayorozu-kun, do you have something in mind?" Iida asked.

"No, simply thinking how interesting this riddle is. What does it mean by twilight's equal?"

"No idea. It's one of the worst stumbling blocks we've met so far. We were hoping that finding this flier first would help. But after looking at it, at this time of day… I've got nothing." Mineta replied, scratching at his head. The past riddles were just a matter of time and expertise to breakdown. But this riddle were neither of these and required problem solving to deal with.

And the only problem present was as cryptic as one of Aizawa or Fenghuang's lessons.

"So then let's break things down one step at a time. Now is this puzzle figurative or literal?" Yaoyorozu replied, turning to her classmates.

"Well, considering how all the riddles we solved up to this point has been tangible… I'd say this is very much literal. However, that still doesn't explain how we approach the issue. At least our End of Term exams had end goals we could aim for." Iida replied.

"Then Kaminari and I won't be any help, we failed the practical. Like, how does a time of day, where it's not bright or dark, have an equal? That doesn't make any sense." Mina said as she let out a frustrated groan. Kaminari gave a serious nod to that, smoke practically coming out of his ears.

"I'm sure it makes sense in some way, kind of like riddles that force you to change perspective. Maybe we can roll with that definition you gave us." Jirou replied as she placed a hand on the pink girl's shoulder.

"I don't see how that helps…"

"Hang on… Wasn't there a word that puts opposite things together? Writers like to use them to create interesting pairs of things." Kaminari asked.

"You mean Oxymoron? What about it?" Yaoyorozu asked as she placed a finger on her chin.

"Since twilight is something that's not bright or dark… Our answer could be another oxymoron like twilight. And therefore, it would fit as 'twilight's equal'…"

A completive silence went around as they mulled over the electric blonde's words. Because they had ruled out the 'time of day' definition, this was their only lead. Mineta's mind was filled with several phrases that are composed of opposing words. But the more he sifted through them, the more he found himself back at the corner called bewilderment. And looking to his classmates, they were starting to feel the same.

"Hmmm… I feel like we're overlooking an obvious answer. Though I suppose it's only fair since complex problems tend to overshadow simple solutions. It honestly makes me feel this whole thing is just a lesson in keeping your mind flexible." Tsuyu commented.

"Oh please don't say that… I've already had more than my fair share of cryptic nonsense… And I actually want to pay you guys for all the help. So I do hope there is something at the end of the rainbow." Mineta said while rubbing his temples. Even if it was a small chance that this treasure was real, he had to tightly grasp it. Otherwise, he wasted not only his time, but the time of his friends and classmates.

And that sort of debt was far harder to settle than mere cheerleader shenanigans.

"We haven't really done much, but it's nice to know that you're still putting us on the payro– Wait. Oh no… You've turned us into minions like Todoroki." Mina said cheerfully before her head hung in sad realization.

"He's not my minion and neither are you! So stop thinking that right now!" Mineta replied.

"Yes boss…" Mina muttered, her voice somewhere between beleaguered employee and smug joker. Mineta narrowed his eyes at the pink girl as a wide grin slowly appeared on her face. The shorter boy then began pinching the bridge of his nose. Somehow, this was worse than dealing with Bakugou. At least with him, Mineta knew how most conversations would end up.

But this… This was going to take another month to adjust to.

It was here that Hagakure snapped her fingers. All eyes went to her as she moved towards Yaoyorozu with a clear spring in her step. Hagakure whispered something into her ear, causing the regal girl to immediately create a small flashlight. Yaoyorozu then shined its blue light on the flier, causing certain characters to glow a florescent red.

"A Blacklight! So that's what we were missing." Iida said as he adjusted his glasses. Mineta quickly took back his notebook from Iida and began writing down the characters. But as he did so, his mind began to wonder about the answer. In hindsight, a blacklight being the answer seemed really obvious. It matched all the details they've gotten out of twilight. It had also fit the 'hidden in sight' pattern established by previous riddles.

But what was it about this riddle that confused him? It could've been the obscure wording or something…

"Still, now we have our next step… Let's see… You've traveled far and stretched your wits, but it is time for the end of your journey. What you seek is beneath the earth of eight million. And be sure to translate the last few pages, for it shall aid you in this final trial." Mineta said before reading what he wrote down.

"… Just when I thought things weren't going to get more obscure, it does." Kaminari said with a sigh.

"This suddenly stopped being fun…" Hagakure said quietly, shoulders drooping down.

"Come on guys, at least it's the last step. I had to be part of everything since the beginning, including solving the first two and a half riddles by myself." Mineta replied, eyes still studying the new problem. Since beginning this treasure hunt, he had narrowed down the location to three places in Musutafu. By solving this riddle, they could finally dig it up and put this part of their lives behind them.

But this puzzle wasn't even a puzzle. Eight million what? He knew for certain that there wasn't anything in the city that came close to that number, let alone in a single space. There has to be something else to this problem. And he had a sneaking suspicion that the answer was also another 'hidden in sight' sort of thing.

" Eight million…? Hey Yaomomo, doesn't your family name mean that?" Jirou asked, turning to the regal girl. Mineta snapped up to the girl and quickly circled the characters for eight million. He then quickly handed his notebook off to Yaoyorozu, who took a look at the riddle. She carefully studied it in silence, everyone around her waiting with baited breath.

…

…

…

"This is indeed another way to write my family name. How peculiar. So this treasure is hidden on one of my family's properties? But that still covers a few dozen locations in this city alone." She finally answered.

"Not necessarily. Before this evening, Mineta-kun, Midoriya-kun, Kaminari-kun, and I have managed to narrow the possible locations down to three. But seeing how late it's getting, I'll send them to you by text and we'll all continue another day." Iida replied as he looked at the darkened sky. The shorter boy nodded to that. As much as he wanted to continue, trouble tends to come out at this time. And with that murderous intent from earlier still fresh in his memory…

It was best he didn't push his luck.

"Awww, just when we were getting to the good part… But I am pretty tired. So… See you guys in class." Mina said with a yawn. She and Hagakure waved goodbye before the two walked off on their own. Iida and Kaminari were off next, who went off with Yaoyorozu and Jirou as they were heading in the same direction. Thus leaving…

"Was there something you wanted to talk about Tsuyu?" Mineta asked, looking to his amphibious classmate.

"No, I just wanted to hang around you for a little while longer. It's not every day I get to observe such a strange person so closely." Tsuyu answered her face as neutral as always. Mineta initially raised an eyebrow before the rest of her words hit him.

"I'm not that strange…" He said with a grumble. Okay, that was a complete lie. But the shorter boy had to say something. Tsuyu gave a light chuckle before she began walking, gesturing for Mineta to follow. This caused the boy to tilt his head and hesitate. But seeing there was nothing else for him here, he decided to go with Tsuyu.

Granted… This didn't stop him from questioning these strange turn of events.

What started as a lone hunt for treasure now became a team effort. What started as a simple curiosity had now became a dedicated search. And now, he was taking a walk with a girl.

"… How'd I get here?"

And that has been Chapter 63.

I've only got two things to say this update...

One, writing word puzzles is hard. If you phrase it incorrectly, the whole puzzle unsolvable. While my brother claims black-light for the 'twilight's equal' riddle isn't a stretch, I feel like it is. How about you, my dear readers? Did you find the answer and the reasoning for it strange?

Two... I actually forgot what point two was in the middle of writing point one. If that's the case, then I'm a little more tired than I initially thought. Guess I'll just end it here and get in some extra sleep...

Next week, we'll be joining 1A as they dig a big dirty hole in search of treasure. This hunt will soon come to a close...

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.