Twisted Nightmares

Chapter 4

Keep your cool! Exams start now!

After the short, but tense confrontation a few minutes earlier, the last thing Sero had been expecting was Mineta to ask him to form a plan of all things. Then again, Mineta these past few days had been doing a lot of things that Sero would never have expected. The only question is, why?

Sero was no professional psychiatrist, but he could at least guess sudden flips of someones personality were usually caused by something happening to the person, most likely traumatic? It didn't just happen normally, so there was obviously more than meets the eye. Question was, what exactly happened that made him like this?

Was Mineta attacked by someone? Sero couldn't see any injuries on Mineta arms or legs, and his face seemed fine. Sero knew that Mineta hadn't skipped school. So it wasn't that something bad happened to him, because he probably would have been absent for a day or two. But Mineta had a perfect attendance. And the school hadn't informed the students of something happening, so it couldn't of been that.

Still, it was rather strange for Mineta to change like that. It was as if something in him snapped. Sero was decently intelligent, not exactly high tier brains like Yaoyorozu, but he paid attention in class. Mostly.

Sero remembered that when Mineta changed, it was when Aizawa had announced that the finals were a week away, that was when things had turned for the worst.

Before that, Mineta had been his old, unlikable, pervy self. Eyeing the girls rears during training, drooling over Midnight or Mt Lady, or making perverted comments about the girls in his class. And just obsessing over every attractive female in general, just Mineta being himself. Not that everyone liked Mineta for who he was, but it's what he was, and everyone knew Mineta for being that way. But then he changed, not just a slow, eventual change either. It was like someone had flipped a switch, and changed Mineta for the worst.

In reality, he didn't realize it at first, but he had saw that Mineta had changed before he lashed out at Kaminari that day in class. When Mineta walked in, he was...different.

The grape boy had the most blank expression, his eyes completely dull. They weren't empty or devoid of life, but something was definitely wrong. His eyes seemed almost hardened. Before the change, Mineta's had an infamous way of entering the classroom. First, he'd try to get a glance at one of his female classmates, with the respective females giving him a glare of disgust in return. He'd then ignore the looks and greet the few people that actually talked to him, then sat down. But when he entered that one day...

Nothing. He didn't even glance at the girls, just walked by everyone to his seat with a blank look, ignoring the conversations around him or the greeting from Kaminari, who just assumed Mineta didn't hear him and continued conversing with Midoriya and Mina.

He eerily reminded Sero of a mannequin.

Ever since that day, Mineta had been noticeably more prickly now. He didn't randomly lash out at people though, if you played nice to him, he'd play nice as well. It was when people wanted to start something he'd get irritated. And Mineta would get irritated quickly. He never yelled loudly at someone when he got mad, but when he did seem to get irritated at someone, he didn't back down. The worst part is that he rarely had a smug tone. It was just this cold, bored voice. Not exactly monotone. And when the argument was done, no matter who seemed to have the last word, it would just end. Mineta would turn back into his seat and continue working as if nothing ever happened. No dirty looks were shot to the opposing student when their back was turned, nothing. It was as if Mineta completely forgot the argument had ever happened.

Sero was going to get answers from Mineta. How he would, he didn't know. Sero occasionally would greet Mineta, and he would greet back, and that was that. He wasn't exactly chummy with the small grape headed boy, only occasionally having talked with Mineta once or twice. Nothing really spectacular. It seemed he'd have to figure out later how to ask him without coming by as suspicous.

"But we're lucky," Mineta's voice shook Sero from his thoughts. "That it's just Midnight we're up against." Mineta's voice was a bit cocky, but a touch of confidence could be heard as well.

Sero tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Why do you say that?" Mineta sounded like was about to strategize something, so Sero figured he would listen if he could get more out of the little grape headed boy.

Mineta raised a finger, as if a light bulb switched on in his head. "When it comes to our quirks, we could just cover her and immobilize her. Both our quirks are mostly capture based, effectively immobilizing the opponent." He tapped one of the grapes still on his head. "We'd be able to do it quickly if we played it smart."

That was another thing that made Sero well aware of Mineta's sudden change. The way his attitude was towards troublesome situations in training class. Other then his pretty decent academic ranking, he never really was for making plan. Sero recalled having a conversation with Tsuyu, and how she elaborated on how Mineta had freaked out and cried during the attack on the USJ. But Midoriya and Tsuyu had kept their cool the entire time, mostly. But suddenly, Mineta now had a more cool headed attitude towards combat situations. He liked to analyze situations now, almost like how Midoriya mumbled his plans he formulated on the spot. And that usually had worked.

"Sero! Are you even listening to me?" Sero felt little hands tugging at his arm. He shook his head, and looked down. Mineta was looking up at him with a pout on his face. Only after a few seconds passed did he realize Mineta was still in the middle of his speech, and Sero had spaced out right in front of him. Sero felt his face heat up with embarrassment. "R-right." Sero chuckled nervously. "Minds all jumbled, since we're going against a teacher." Well, it wasn't a lie. His nerves were positively wracked.

Mineta mostly didn't seem to bothered at Sero's spacing out. "Relax," Mineta said. "In a technical term, Midnight is the weakest teacher. We're lucky we're fighting her."

But Sero didn't seem convinced. His expression screamed disbelief. Why was Mineta so confident about this? This was a Pro Hero! Quirks didn't matter if these were the top tier Pro Heroes

Sighing, Mineta continued. "Technically, Midnight could be considered a normal person, just with the knockout gas of hers. And even if she did have some exercise, the weights she is wearing is half her body weight, it'll quite literally weigh her down. And she only has a whip, which isn't exactly the greatest thing for combat in my opinion. Just don't breath in, and it'll be a cinch." Mineta ironically had to take a big inhale after he finished his explaination, as he had said all of that on one breath.

Mineta did have a point, Midnight was a formidable opponent, but she was no All Might or Eraserhead. Even though the grape boy had been acting rather odd lately, he did have valid points. Perhaps he didn't need to be sweating like crazy. Sero eventually found himself nodding. "Yeah, you are right. This should be a piece of cake!" He trailed off, since Mineta seemed to be giggling to himself. "What's so funny?"

The purple boy stifled his laughter. "It's just, I find it funny how we're gonna pass, and Kaminari and Mina won't."

Okay, Sero didn't think Mineta would say that. The old Mineta at least, he wouldn't say that. The new one however...

What has gotten into you Mineta?

Sero frowned. "Are you sure? They make a decent team."

Mineta lifted a finger. "Hey to be fair, they can get very cocky. They were the lowest scorers as well. They've got bratty attitudes as well if they get too confident, and they seem to lose cool if the situation is bad enough for them. They're against what's probably the smartest thing alive. In my personal opinion, it's a bit unfair for them, but I won't go too much into detail." Mineta would wait until Kaminari and Mina failed. Then he'd shove it in their faces.

Truth be told, if you had asked him, Mineta couldn't tell you where this newfound hostility towards everyone came from. He'd felt different ever since he woke up. Everything seemed different as well. The fact he was from the future was a shock to him, but he felt like he'd adjusted. But he felt a change in him as well. A feeling he couldn't explain at first, but when he realized what it was, he was proud of it.

Resolve. He felt like he was brand new. He felt more confident, and he felt like he actually had a spine now. If someone would push him, he'd push back. And it felt pretty nice actually. He was going to save everyone, and nothing would stop him from doing that. Even Bakugo, even though he was borderline intolerable. It was the right thing for him to do.

And now he was going to retake the practical, and he already knew he would pass, so it was already in the bag. It felt a bit too easy.

Midoriya and Uraraka seemed surprised to see Mineta and Sero come into the spectator room. They both stood in front of the giant screen that broadcasted the fights between the students and the teachers, with multiple camera angles and zoom ins. Expensive stuff, but they knew very well UA could afford this kind of tech, since they had the #1 Pro Hero working in their school. Mineta noted with amusement how Midoriya and Uraraka were standing awfully close to each other.

Ever since those two had met, Mineta never really noticed at first, but now with another try at life, he'd noticed how the two students acted near each other. It was obvious they both had feelings, but were both too nervous to speak to each other when it came to that kind of stuff. It was adorable to watch in all honesty.

"Ah, Sero! Mineta! Hey!" Midoriya greeted with a smile and a wave. Sero responded with a friendly wave of himself, and stood by Uraraka. Mineta decided to place himself by Midoriya, him and Sero effectively sandwiching Uraraka and Midoriya together. Mineta didn't respond to Midoriya's greeting at first, and he had his reasons. This was the first time he did this. He never went into the spectator room to watch his classmates fight their respective teachers. And that meant he might not know what people were going to say. He'd actually have to experience new something for the first time in a while. Which meant Mineta was actually unprepared. Mineta knew that this was going to be an interesting experience.

Midoriya seemed to pick up on the lack of Mineta's response when he initially greeted him, and Mineta seemed to just be staring blankly at the screen.

" But I'll pass. Unlike you two."

"So, uh... Mineta?" Midoriya began.

The grape haired boy looked up. "Hm?" Mineta looked up with mild interest, as if he was deep in thought.

"You said you and Sero we're gonna uh, plan right? Do you think you got it figured out?" Midoriya said hesitantly, not wanting to sound insulting to the boy who stood by him.

Mineta narrowed his eyes. "I don't think I have it figured out, I knowI have it figured out." Mineta's voice held confidence, and cockiness as well. Midoriya didn't know whether to be slightly intimidated by his confidence, or be happy he had finally started believing in himself, like he advised Mineta to earlier.

Kirishima and Sato had failed,the two students favored their brawn over their brains, and it ended in their downfall against Cementoss. The next group was up to fight their chosen teacher. Midoriya hadn't even noticed their unfortunate failure at first until Uraraka had nudged him and pointed at the screen with a sad look.

It wasn't like the Sports Festival. Instead of fellow students, they clashed against teachers, and it hurt Midoriya's little heart to see his friends fail. And with how confident Mineta had suddenly become, he really hoped the small grape boy succeeded. He'd probably need the boost of confidence for himself.

"And I'm sorry about that Midoriya." Mineta's voice shook Midoriya out of his thoughts.

Midoriya's face scrunched in at Mineta's response. "Eh?" Why was Mineta apologizing? Had he done soemthing wrong?

"About your exam." Mineta clarified, seeing the befuddled expression plastered on the green haired boy's face.

Midoriya didn't recall a bad score on his exam. What was he trying to imply?

"Being paired up with Bakugo must be really unpleasant." Mineta deadpanned. He had a slight frown, as if saying the word "Bakugo" left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Oh. Midoriya sweatdropped. He'd been trying to not think about it ever since All Might informed him that the explosive blonde was going to be his ally in the practical. Against All Might himself no less, that was also something to be very concerned about. Midoriya didn't hate Bakugo, but he knew better than anyone that being within his vicinity was not the most enjoyable thing to experience. But Mineta's recent interactions with Bakugo however...

" Let me guess, you'll kill me?"

"O-oh. It's alright, we'll figure something out!" Midoriya tried to say cheerfully. He didn't want to think about being paired with Bakugo, or his classmates fighting. They were UA, they shouldn't be having petty disputes like that, right?

Amused at Midoriya's attempt at being cheerful, Mineta chuckled. He knew that the two boys had passed, despite all odds. Though his thoughts when this first happened, still popped up. It seemed almost impossible for Midoriya and Bakugo to beat All Might himself. But he'd entertain the thought of being cheerful, just to make Midoriya happy. Besides, seeing Midoriya all sad probably would physically damage someone who saw it. "Plus Ultra?" He tried Midoriya's favorite catchphrase, that would always get Midoriya excited.

That seemed to be the correct thing to say, Midoriya's smile lit up. "Plus Ultra!" he whispered. But then, Midoriya's smile slowly died as he looked at Mineta, and made the grape boy rather uncomfortable under Midoriya's judgmental gaze. Did he do something wrong?

Midoriya realized at that moment that Mineta was trying to distract him. Trying to throw him off his scent. But why was he doing this? Mineta's behavior these past days had been concerning him, and he'd been meaning to ask him about it. He guessed now was a good time as ever to try. "Mineta, how are you doing?" Midoriya asked as non accusingly as he could. He didn't want to irritate him with the question, and hoped it didn't sound too harsh.

Mineta noticeably tensed up at the question. He'd been hoping Midoriya wouldn't notice. Scratch that, he'd been hoping no one had noticed the change in his behavior. He hadn't been really paying attention to anyone's reactions to his new attitude, he'd been to focused on shutting everything out, hoping that the summer camp would come quicker so he could stop the villains from harming any of the teachers, the students, or the pussycats. It was his job, and he needed to prepare.

He had to be smart, but what here could throw Midoriya off? He had to think fast, before Midoriya noticed. Midoriya was definitely no fool, and he'd have to hit a topic that would get Midoriya flustered. "I'm doing alright, but you're doing fine, seeing your current situation, Midoriya." The look Midoriya gave him in response told Mineta that he had definitely thrown the green haired boy off, but he had to hit the target to finish it.

"What do you mean?" Midoriya said curiously, not understanding what Mineta was trying to say. His eyebrow was raised, and his head was slightly tilted to one side.

Mineta went for the bullseye. He motioned for Midoriya to bend over, and when the boy did, he delivered the final blow.

"You and Uraraka go really well together, huh?" Mineta whispered.

Bingo.

Midoriya's face went red as a beet, quickly standing back up straight and stuttering in denial.

"W-what? N-no! I don't! Sh-she's..." Midoriya stuttered, waving his hands in a frantic motion.

"Deku?" Uraraka seemed to notice the very obvious flustered Midoriya. "Deku, what's wrong? Why's your face red? Are you ill? Should I call Recovery Girl?" Uraraka said while leaning a bit too close to Midoriya, her chocolate eyes full of concern for the green haired boy. "Do you have a fever?"

Without warning, Uraraka put her hand to Midoriya's forehead to check to see if he indeed had a fever, causing Midoriya to freak out even more.

Midoriya looked like he was ready to melt into a puddle."I-I'm fine!" he squeaked. "N-nothing to worry about!" He waved his hands all over the place, finally settling to bury his face in his hands while turning his back to Uraraka.

She didn't seem convinced. "Deku, are you absolutely sure? Because if not, Recovery Girl isn't too far..."

"I'm sure!" Midoriya managed to say behind his hands. Mineta was pretty sure the green haired boy's legs threatened to give out.

Mineta smiled at the rather cute display happening in front of him. Wow, that worked like a charm! I can see why people enjoy those romance books and movies, it's entertaining!

Other then the rather entertaining outcome of that scenario, Mineta had succeeded in throwing Midoriya off his trail. For now, at least. After the little distraction, the group watched as Tsuyu and Tokoyami took on Ectoplasm. Recovery Girl had also decided to join the group and watch them take on the clone based Pro Hero. Mineta already knew that they had succeeded, so he began to think about the camp attack situation once more.

How would he handle the situation of the villains at the camp? The purple smoke was obviously poisonous, unless the League Of Villains had decided to visit their local fireworks store and purchase roughly 5,000 pounds of purple colored smoke bombs. And they also had one of their members light them and scatter them throughout the forest while the students were training.

As amusing as the idea was, this was the League Of Villains. As Mineta remembered, they didn't exactly hold children's lives in high esteem. Well, they didn't value any lives if Mineta was going to be honest. And with the smoke situation, his counter for that would obviously be gas masks. But where would he get that many? Combined with Class A and B, that would be a ton of gas masks. And how would he afford it?

Yaoyorozu. Her quirk was absolutely perfect for that problem.

Question was, how would he convince Yaoyorozu to make them all those gas masks?

Rewrite for 4 has been completed! Added a bit more stuff just like last time! And to the situation of Mineta's sudden odd change, if you feel like that's rather sudden, let me explain. Mineta basically has PTSD, and I looked up some details online to get the specific reason and I think I have a good explanation. The stuff I looked up said that "PTSD" mostly will happen with people who have been severely stress relating to violence if they have been attacked,tortured, etc. One of the long lasting/permanent effects could be paranoid towards the things around them, and feelings of social withdrawal, and are easily irritated. And they also have very low tolerance for stressful situations. Source: NCBI "Enduring Personality Changes after Intense Stressful Even: Case Report" Hope that explains it! Please Review/Follow/Fav if you happen to like this story!