Disclaimer: I do not own Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

My Hero Academia: Entreri Gaiden

Chapter sixty-one: Mineta Gaiden part three- The birth of a dark legacy

Aside from how he had gotten revenge on the gang who was responsible for both the destruction of his uncle's sex goods shop and the death of said uncle, as well as how getting said revenge allowed him to really flex his criminal gang lord muscles, there was nothing that Minoru Mineta enjoyed about what had happened. Not only was his source of income (as far as the public eye knew) gone, but so was the sole remaining family he had who hadn't disowned him for something he knew he didn't do.

Speaking of said family, they had tried to bully their way into getting a slice of the pie that was Mineta's uncle's estate when the will reading came up. This offended Mineta greatly; the family had disowned both him and his late uncle, and yet when there was goods and money left behind to collect they wanted to be the first ones in line. Thankfully, the law was on Mineta's side here, and had told Mineta's family, for all intents and purposes, to fuck off. They did disown Mineta and his uncle, so they had no real right to a slice of the pie.

Which meant that, as he had named Mineta as his sole beneficiary in his will, Mineta's uncle left him the whole of the pie. Granted, the sex goods shop is a bust as it was destroyed in that fire, but everything else is still good. That included the house that Mineta's uncle owned; a decent one story home located close to the ruins of the sex goods shop, and roughly two and a half times as big as the hovel of an apartment that Mineta was currently renting. Given that it was his uncle's home, Mineta understandably had some reservations about using it.

Still, it didn't come with rent, and it was located in a safer (for Mineta, as his gang was secretly controlling that neighborhood) part of that area of town than the cheap apartment building he was living in. Thusly, after making certain arrangements, Mineta moved into his new home, taking with him what all he had at his old place. There wasn't much work for Mineta to have to do here; he was previously living here before he got his cheap apartment, and he only needed a pickup truck to ship everything he was keeping from his old apartment to his uncle's old house.

Since he was (as far as the public eye knew) now jobless, Mineta had some free time to set things up in what is now his house to his liking. He cleaned the place up a bit, moved things here and there, and even packed away a few things that reminded him of his uncle. Mineta was unable to look at those items, but at the same time he couldn't bear to part with them. The only item he kept out in this regard was a simple golden band ring that his uncle had worn; Mineta wore it on his right ring finger.

As Mineta worked away, he heard a knock at his front door. Curious, he went over to check. Being cautious, Mineta looked through the eye hole first; to his surprise, Mineta saw that he was being visited by four of his old classmates from UA, those being Sero, Kaminari, Mina, and Kyoka who clearly looked a little annoyed. They were all in their hero outfits, and he highly doubted that any of the heroes from UA's 'legendary year' would ever want to pay him a social visit, so Mineta assumed that they wanted to see him for official reasons.

Knowing that he could get into legal trouble if he deliberately avoided a pro hero wanting to see him as part of official hero work, Mineta knew he had no choice but to let them in.

...

"I had barely any money at the time period since my folks kept most of what I had to themselves when they kicked me out after I got out of juvie," Mineta shot back defensively when Kyoka jumped on him about how the cafe staff contacted Kaminari and charged him for the bill he left Mineta with, as they had no idea who Mineta was but knew Kaminari as an up and coming pro hero, "I in no way could have afforded the bill, and I had no way of getting Kaminari to come back and help out!"

"Don't you give me that, you little pervert!" Kyoka snapped angrily, "It figures that you'd never change! First UA rightfully kicks you out after all the perving you did on me and the other girls, and now you try to stain Kaminari's pro hero record by skipping out on a bill!"

Getting his now wife to settle down, Kaminari said, "With all due respect Kyoka, Mineta does have a point on how I had kind of screwed him over on the cafe bill by leaving without covering my share of the bill from when I had that talk with him." Turning to look at Mineta, Kaminari went on, "If anything, I'd like it if you paid me back for how I had to cover your share of the bill." Mineta nodded in understanding and gave Kaminari what he owed.

As Kaminari pocketed the money, Sero said, "Since we got that business covered, I'd like it if we can move on to why we're actually here." Turning to face Mineta, Sero asked, "What can you tell us about your late uncle's business? Do you have any idea who might have wanted to target him for a shakedown, assault, and ultimately murder slash destruction of his place of business?"

Mineta knew full well, but the persons in question, by his order, were now all dead and laying in morgues around the area after having been fished out of the water near the harbor. Giving a gentle shake of his head, Mineta answered, "Sorry, but I'm as lost as you are on who could have wanted to do that to my uncle. I had never known him to step on the toes of others, never knew him to deliberately make anyone his enemy."

"Bakugo told us that he encountered you coming to the now destroyed shop that your uncle had owned," Kaminari said, "Can you tell us what you were doing before your arrival at the scene of the crime?"

"I was getting back from visiting a girl named Raphtalia who my uncle and I saved from living off the streets," Mineta explained, "My uncle was able to identify that she was suffering from an addiction to some bad variant of weed, so we made arrangements for her to go to rehab to get treatment. I can provide you with the address of the rehab center so you can visit Raphtalia yourselves to verify that I was seeing her at the time."

Right away, both Mina and Kyoka regarded Mineta with suspicious looks. "...You saved a girl from living on the streets," Kyoka said dryly, "Sure. And I bet you wanted to get nasty with her as a sort of 'reward' for your 'heroic' act."

"On the contrary," Mineta shot back, sounding a little pissed at the implied accusation, "She wanted to get nasty with me, but I declined on the basis that she was clearly under the influence of her addiction. As much as I would like getting frisky with Raphtalia, I refuse to do so until her mind is truly her own and she still wants to do it."

Getting the girls to stop before they started, Sero said, "Mineta's actually right, girls. I've heard it from Todoroki when he went to investigate the matter upon hearing that Mineta helped to make arrangements to send a homeless girl suffering from an addiction to rehab to get treatment. He isn't up to anything nasty."

"He admitted he still wants to have sex with her!" Kyoka exclaimed as she gestured at Mineta.

"Only when she's cleared of her addiction and if she still wants to do it with him," Kaminari pointed out, "He isn't going to force the matter, or take advantage of how the poor girl's still trying to clear herself of her addiction." Turning to face Mineta, Kaminari remarked with a look of sympathy, "Sorry about that, Mineta. Not all of us from our year at UA are able to tell that you've changed, that you're trying to change."

Rolling his eyes, Sero muttered under his breath, "More like some of us refuse to believe that you've changed." The tape dispensing hero then regarded Mina and Kyoka with a knowing look, not that either saw it as they were firmly fixated on giving Mineta firm, suspicious looks.

In the end, the visiting heroes had gotten what all info on the matter of his uncle's shop being destroyed and his uncle's death that they could from Mineta. Kaminari then got the address info of the rehab center Raphtalia was staying at, saying he and Sero would go to visit Raphtalia and ask her if Mineta was visiting her at the time his uncle's shop was attacked by those thugs. The four pro heroes then left, but Mina and Kyoka shot Mineta one last dirty look each before they were both gone with the guys, leaving Mineta alone.

Alone once more, Mineta let out a breath of tension, trembling a bit as he tried to calm himself down from his nerves. He was talking to four pro heroes at once after all, who were questioning him on what had happened to his uncle and said uncle's shop. He also worried that Raphtalia might unknowingly say something that will get him in trouble with the heroes and or police, but held faith that she'd be able to keep her lips sealed on certain matters.

He also didn't like how the girls were still treating him as if he bore a black spot. He hadn't done anything wrong (that the public eye is aware of) since getting out of juvie aside from one case of dine and dash, and that was partly Kaminari's fault because he stuck Mineta with a bill that he couldn't afford. A fault that Kaminari admitted to, no less. And yet Mina and Kyoka had still shown him nothing but contempt, as if he was still the same little troll he was back in UA.

He came to the realization that, plain and simple, some people will never change. Granted, he did acknowledge that what he had done in his UA days left a lot to be desired, but he wasn't as bad as the girls were acting like he was. And he still knew full well that he didn't do the stunt that had resulted in his expulsion from UA. But not even any of the guys would believe him there on that matter, although the guys at least are able to be civil with Mineta when trying to have a serious talk with him.

Having calmed down enough, Mineta decided to get back to cleaning up what is now his house. Seeing the time, he figured that he could go to a nearby fast food place to get some lunch. Considering that he had actually forgotten to get some breakfast, the grape haired man was actually a bit on the hungry side right now. He figured that a decent sized combo meal would be sufficient, and after deciding he'd bring it back to the house and eat it there rather than eat out, Mineta took off to get some lunch.

Some time later, after Mineta had finally gotten his new home straightened up to his liking, he heard another knock at the door. Checking through the eye hole first, Mineta saw Kaminari and Sero were there. A bit nervous, Mineta opened the door to greet them. "I suppose this is some manner of follow up?" Mineta asked.

"Yeah, we just got back from talking to Raphtalia," Sero explained, "Her story checks out with what you told us. She... also cried a bit when we told her that your uncle had died."

"She also got a little offended when we mentioned it that Kyoka and Mina both thought that you'd try to get nasty with her as a 'reward' for saving her," Kaminari went on, "And she made it clear to us that you were being pure and courteous to her." A look of mildly piqued surprise appeared on Kaminari's face. "...She also told us that, in addition to you and your uncle saving her from a life on the streets and helping to get her treatment for her addiction, you guys also saved her from having to be a prostitute to earn money."

Mineta nodded in confirmation. "Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to mention that."

Shrugging, Sero said, "It would have been a nice detail, but it wasn't technically required. And since me and Kaminari had Mina and Kyoka with us at the time, you forgetting to mention it that Raphtalia was a prostitute was probably for the best, given that they would have used said info to try to further justify their suspicions that you'd seek having sex with her as payment for you saving her from the streets."

The grape-haired man nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I don't wanna give them anything that they will try to use against me." Looking up at his former classmates, Mineta said, "Well, is there anything else I need to answer?"

"No, we figured that we'd tell you you're cleared as a courtesy," Kaminari said, then took out a business card and handed it to Mineta. To his mildly piqued interest, it was for the Dynamight hero agency. "Yeah, we're all working out of Bakugo's agency as sidekicks right now," Kaminari started to explain, "Me, Sero, Kyoka, Mina. Only Kirishima isn't part since of the picture as he's got his own agency, although his and Bakugo's usually work together."

Gently shaking his head, Sero went on, "But that's besides the point. Point is that if anything comes up, like if you remember anything that could help, call the number on that card and ask for either me or Kaminari. Oh, be sure to use our hero names. You know them, right?"

"Cellophane and Chargebolt." The two heroes nodded in confirmation to Mineta's reply.

With that business out of the way, the two heroes proceeded to take off, but Kaminari turned back a bit, giving Mineta a sympathetic look. "...Sorry again about the girls earlier. And hey, you've been able to land on your feet alright either way. Just keep on going, and I bet that you'll do well enough." Kaminari then turned around and took off with Sero, leaving Mineta all alone once again.

Mineta let out a tired breath as he closed the door behind Kaminari and Sero. Turning back around, Mineta went back into the kitchen where he left some food waiting; in the time between the heroes' first visit earlier and the visit from Kaminari and Sero just now, Mineta had gone out to get some food for dinner. He ended up getting a cheap bento, not wanting to go to another fast food joint again.

He sat down at the table, and was able to finish off the bento, as well as drink the grape flavored sports drink he got as the beverage to go with his meal (he had always liked grape flavored sports drinks and sodas, for obvious reasons) before he heard another knock at the door. When he looked through the eye hole again, Mineta was a bit surprised to see that the visitor was the thug who had brought him to the gang so he could take it over.

...

"All that they asked about was how my uncle's sex goods shop was destroyed, as well as what all I knew about my uncle's death," Mineta explained as he sat with the thug in the living room, "Like hell I'd ever tell them anything about what we get up to. They weren't even able to make the connection between that rival gang torching my uncle's sex goods shop and how the whole of that rival gang was sent for a swim."

The thug had asked about Mineta seeing a few pro heroes, as the gang was secretly controlling that neighborhood thus they knew that the heroes had visited their boss, not that the heroes even knew they were talking to a criminal gang lord. The thug let out a relieved breath. "Thank goodness the heroes didn't get too suspicious," the thug said, "It'd be really terrible if they found out who you were, boss."

Mineta nodded in agreement. "Indeed. So, is there anything to report?"

Gesturing to the boss, the thug said, "Yeah. We just carried out a major successful smuggling job, and right under the nose of the hero Creati no less." That actually surprised Mineta a little; he remembered Momo Yaoyorozu to be bar none the top student from their year of UA's hero course in academics, topping even known academic titans like Midoriya and Iida. And yet she failed to notice a major smuggling job in territory she regularly patrols.

The grape haired man nodded in acknowledgement. "Not bad."

Shrugging, the thug went on, "Of course, it helped us that we gave some trouble to the heroes Welder and Mudman over in a completely different area that was far away from the smuggling job, and the moment she heard of that trouble her fellow heroes were in, Creati rushed right on over to assist." Things fell into place for Mineta then; Yaoyorozu went not so much to back up her fellow heroes, but to back up Awase who she's in love with and in a relationship with.

And yet Yaoyorozu, back when they were in UA, had the nerve to call Mineta out for thinking with something other than his brain. Hypocrisy at its finest.

But Mineta supposed that he was getting off subject. Looking to his thug, Mineta asked, "So how much did the smuggling job bring in?"

The thug couldn't help but smirk in knowing amusement. "...About 9,987,300 yen, not counting what went to paying the guys who carried out the job."

"That's... impressive," Mineta said, almost blanching at the amount that was stated to him; it was roughly three times what he'd make in a year at the job he held at the now destroyed sex goods shop that his late uncle owned and ran. Even though he's seen loads of money ever since he took over and started leading the gang, big amounts like that still make him take pause every now and again. He supposed that it'd fade in time.

"Oh yeah, there's a lot more coming in thanks to the other jobs," the thug remarked, "From the small time bumps to the big hauls. All the money adds up." The thug gave Mineta a curious look. "...Hey boss, what are we going to do about dealing with the heroes?"

"Hmm?" Mineta replied, looking mildly confused.

Gesturing to his boss, the thug explained, "Well even with the size of the gang, even with what all that we've done thus far to overall screw with them, heroes still don't take us, don't take you, seriously. Because of that, we're still facing trouble from them. We need to make them wary of getting in our way so we can act with impunity. Wary of us to the point that even Deku won't try to start anything with us, with you."

Mineta gave the notion some serious thought. His thug here did have a point on how making the heroes wary of the gang would help them get away with more. The grape haired man also liked the idea of all of his former classmates and schoolmates all cowering before him. It was a nice fantasy to entertain, especially where Mineta imagined using Todoroki and Izuku as the back and seat (respectively) of a chair that he would sit in while using Bakugo as a foot stool.

He gently shook his head. "The heroes will be tough to deal with in any case, so we'll need to come up with a plan to psyche them out."

"And what will we call said plan, boss?" the thug asked.

Mineta opened his mouth, but stopped short when what his thug had literally just said gave him food for thought. What will they call the plan. Call the plan. Call.

A name.

Pointing to the thug, Mineta said, "...You just gave me an idea."

"I did?" the thug asked, "What is it?"

Gesturing to the thug, Mineta said, "You know how every pro hero has an alias that they use in the field, right? Like Chargebolt and Cellophane and Pinky and Earphone Jack. Names that have a tendency to strike fear into the hearts of those against the law, from villains trying to sell themselves off as big time threats to more rational minded folks like those in our line of work. Names that make those who hear them turn around and run away from them."

"...I think I can see where this one's going, boss," the thug said, "You intend to adopt a new name for yourself, one that will be spread far and wide, one that will make even some heroes second guess themselves about trying to confront us."

Mineta nodded a few times in the affirmative. "You catch on really quickly."

The thug smiled a little, clearly amused by what his boss had in mind. "But what will you choose as your name, boss?" Mineta gave the idea some thoughts, even scratching his head as a sign to show that he was thinking. While Mineta scratched his head like this, his fingers met the purple balls on his head. The purple balls, which were part of his inspiration for the hero alias, Grape Juice, that he held long ago back when he was still a hero student.

But now that was a thing of the past. The name Grape Juice was a relic of times long gone, back when Mineta was younger. Granted, it was when he was just a few years longer, but even so his naiveity had long since been stripped away by powers well beyond Mineta's knowledge and control. The grape haired man now had full knowledge of just how unforgiving and cruel the world can really be, in a way forcing him to grow up.

As such, Mineta figured that his name as a criminal gang lord ought to sound mature and grown up. And that's when it hit him. Grapes, the fruit that seemingly defined Mineta's whole person. They are small like him, but get enough of them together and they can be used to make drinks, like grape juice or grape soda. There was another drink that can also be made if one were to get enough grapes to do so.

Wine.

Remembering that he had a bottle of wine in the pantry (he found it while cleaning up after the heroes left the first time) and a few wine glasses, Mineta let out a chuckle. "...Wait here, I want to celebrate this moment with someone," Mineta told his thug, "And since you were the one to help spark the idea, I figure that you would be a great drinking buddy."

The thug let out an amused hmph. "That's mighty grand of you, boss. Also I didn't know you had beer here."

"Oh, it won't be beer we're drinking," Mineta replied, "You'll see what I mean when I get the stuff." The thug looked curious but nonetheless played along. After Mineta went out into the kitchen, he grabbed two wine glasses, a cork twist, and the bottle of wine. He brought everything out to the living room, opened the bottle, poured himself and his thug one glass each, then handed one of the glasses to the thug.

Mineta gave his thug a wry, smirking look. "...Here's to the next big name in Japan," Mineta said as he raised his glass in a toast, "Here's to Fine Wine."

The thug looked confused for a second, then immediately caught on, even smirking a bit in amusement. "...Oh yeah, your hair resembles grapes, and those are commonly used for making wine. Now I get it." The two men then clinked their glasses of wine together, to toast the birth of a name that Japan was never going to forget.

END, CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Author's notes;

Here we see Mineta come up with and adopt the Fine Wine name, which will go on to carve an irreparable gouge into history. This is a pivotal moment in Mineta's history here, as he'll go on to see his gang go on to become one of the largest criminally inclined operations that Japan has ever (and will ever) know. The next chapter will see more growth for the Fine Wine gang, as well as some growth for Mineta's personal life.

Peace out.