A/N Well I got out of that writer's block a lot faster than I thought, and I kind of how an idea of where I want to go with the story. I wasn't sure where exactly I wanted this one to end, but I figured a slight cliffhanger was okay. I did like reading everyone's reviews and will address them at the bottom of the page. As usual leave your thoughts out and I'll try to address them as I see them. Thanks again for taking time to read the story and have a wonderful day!
The morning of the new week Mineta happily walked into the classroom, actually nowhere close to being late for once. A few students looked a bit curious, but most continued with their conversations. Denki seemed to notice the change, but was quickly diverted when Jiro started asking what he thought of the music that she lent him. Both Iida and Uraraka noticed pretty easily that Mineta carefully zig zagged around them to get to his seat, including trying to sneak behind Midoriya. For some reason, although the former two were glaring slightly at him, he even went as far as to hum as he reached his seat. Puzzled and with no easy answers, the two shrugged and went back to their morning rituals.
On the outside Mineta appeared relaxed but inside he was feeling the pressure from the group who caught the show he pulled that weekend. He knew that it was going to take time to fix. Still, even with the staring, he was in high spirits. In fact, Mineta thought to himself, Izuku hasn't even tried to talk with m-
Of course the universe is a bit crueler than that. Midoriya, armed with a smile only a protagonist could muster, greeted the grape haired student behind him. "Good morning, Mineta! How was your weekend?"
Of course he starts with that! This guy can't even give a man a break. Why can't you try talking to Ochaco instead!? Fighting through the fear of the social minefield his friend has just casually tossed him into, Mineta calmly replies," Oh it was pretty great actually, peaceful even thanks to the lack of homework", and with the intention of leaving it at that, he added, "Say, is that Ochaco waving at you?"
Turning beet red at the mention of the first girl to give him the time of day, Midoriya steals a quick glance towards his bubbly friend. Much to his dismay, she was not waving at him. From what it sounded like over the shouts and laughs of others was how excited she was about getting to learn some new martial arts the next time she got to intern to an interested Iida.
Feeling a bit silly falling for such an easy trick, Izuku went to face the front, but not before he also noticed Momo. He was a bit worried about her feelings after the whole incident and having to sit behind the guy who caused the commotion. Although considering what she told the group afterwards, she wasn't too bothered. The only issue now, however, was Momo's reaction. Despite Mineta's over-the-top and over-the-line behavior, it wasn't only that she didn't even mind the shorter boy's presence. It was that, looking closely, there was a small smile on her face as the two looked at one another briefly.
Midoriya in a state of shock quickly snapped to the front before the two could notice him. Already his mind was in overdrive. Is she smiling, at Mineta!? Why? Wasn't he bothering her yesterday? I'm almost positive he was, but shouldn't she be glaring at him instead? What could have happened? Did they talk after he ran off? Did something happen to Momo? He wouldn't be forcing her to do that, right? This is way too strange... I have to be imagining it, right?
Pretending to quietly stretch, Izuku turned again and tried to catch a glance of anything else. Momo was studying a clearly advanced book with plenty of diagrams on her desk. As her eyes darted across the lines, she was also organizing her thoughts into neatly written notes in the notebook next to it. In the same motion, Izuku looked down towards Mineta, who looked to be busy checking his phone. Or, at least not too busy, as he made eye contact with Midoriya after a moment.
Quickly facing the front, Midoriya was trying to just come to grips with what he just saw. For a split second, he thought he saw Mineta smirk. If the alarms weren't blaring before, they were now. There has to be something going on! Or maybe he was smirking because of his joke? But he would have probably said something about it, right? Old habits dying hard, Midoriya started muttering out loud, only for Bakugo to turn to face him.
Not looking to pick a fight by any means this early in the day, Midoriya tried the friendly approach, "G-Good morning, Kacchan, can I help you?"
Bakugo didn't bother giving him much more than a disgruntled look, before facing the front. Speaking to the blonde, Izuku couldn't help but back to yesterday. You'd think Kacchan would have exploded over Mineta messing with the school's reputation, but he didn't even bat an eye to it. Maybe he was still angry at us? Shaking off the odd thought, Midoriya figured he could ask Iida and Uraraka if they noticed anything new from yesterday. Maybe some of his other classmates might know as well.
The night before, Momo was staring into her phone's screen. A new text message this late into the evening was a surprise, especially considering the sender. Around her the girls were winding down from their weekend as Toru mentioned a brand new restaurant she spotted today. Remembering earlier, Momo was still feeling pretty down. The memory of Mineta making a fool of himself just to not create any problems for her burned into her mind. She chastised herself for not calming him down. I didn't even have the decency to ask if he was alright afterwards, she thought. Sure, he got a bit too confrontational, but what kind of friend doesn't at least ask?
Still buried in her phone, it was a shock to see the wall of text in front of her. Even though she didn't try to check up on him, he made the first move to try and salvage things. Regardless of who was at fault, at least he had the decency to try something. Why is it so tough for me to take the initiative? It's not a villain causing chaos, it's only checking on a friend after an awkward misunderstanding.
As she mulled over how she thought of him as a friend now, her mind flashed to the Cafe and how hopeful he was to hear an honest answer about a relationship. The hurt he felt, not because she declined his request, but when he realized she was worried about a relapse in his behavior. Eager or not, he probably didn't deserve to have me doubt his dedication to change himself for the better. He's trying to be a hero too, that should have been proof enough for me. So why did I doubt the change? It was understandable early on to worry about his lack of growth, but maybe I'm the one who needs to grow.
At this she couldn't help but sigh. Some of the other girls noticed but seeing her recover rather quickly they didn't pay much mind. Momo was too busy focused on one other thought to worry about their opinion at the moment. Her mind lingered on Bakugo. Outside, he had been shouting loud enough to be heard inside the building, and yet when he was inside he only stared at her in silence. It was like he had some idea of what was going on. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt like he could see through everything. Whether he went as far as to intimidate Mineta or why he would even bother stayed on her mind. In fact, his actions were the oddest part of the day and she couldn't even see a reason why he wouldn't be angry at Mineta or react with indifference when he looked at her.
Although the conversation around her was getting louder, it was only the messages holding her attention. His apology was a bit too long, truth be told. It was genuine sure, but it probably didn't help he used half of those messages to tell her how unsurprised he would be if she ignored him and the messages for the rest of her days. Definitely a bit much, she thought to herself, though I can't really hold it against him, he thought he was never going to speak with me again. At that point, the din of the girl talk was reaching a fever pitch. Apparently Jiro was talking about the cute date she was on with Denki, and the girls were all gushing over his gentlemanly ways. Hearing Jiro mention their relationship would usually cause a spontaneous smile for Momo from how sweet it was, but right now it only made her think of Mineta's question when he asked her, "What are you afraid of?" It was odd, she just couldn't see them being together, but every time she heard someone talk about their hopes of landing their dream boyfriend, she could see Mineta looking hopeful. Is it the same for boys too? Why am I trying to worry about this so much? That seemed to be a rabbit hole she wasn't interested in jumping down tonight.
With an exaggerated yawn, Momo excused herself from the group, claiming exhaustion. Giving everyone their good night's she started to walk towards the girls dorms before hearing a voice call out. Mina, lounging back in her pajamas on one of the couches gave a playful yell, "If you landed yourself a boyfriend, Yaomomo, don't forget to show us pictures
Usually this teasing would get a roll of the eyes from the others, but Momo half froze. She turned, giving a halfhearted laugh, and replied, "I'm a bit too busy trying to better myself for a boyfriend right now
Mina didn't take her easy out. Resting her chin on one of her hands, eyes narrowing in glee with a smile to match, she says back, "Love doesn't work on a schedule. We saw what happened to our pros-in-training over here," adding a pointed finger to Jiro as a finisher.
Jiro, seeing how flustered Momo was looking began to chastise Mina. Happy she had such a great friend, Momo wished everyone one last goodnight before heading to her room. She didn't hear Jiro stop yelling at Mina until the door closed behind her.
Laying out on her bed, she stared quietly at the ceiling. With a sigh, she scrolled through the messages Mineta sent. Nothing new since the earlier evening, and it was already quite late. She was still worried about how to even reply, or if she should. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could almost hear a voice egging her on to delete the messages. Give him an inch and he'll take a mile, just like he always has done. How long can you pretend he will keep up that mask he wears around you? When he finally strikes, you know he will never let you live it down.
Her finger rolled across the trash option, but a much kinder, stronger part of herself forced the horrid thoughts away. An act? He was nothing but genuine towards me. He risked possible expulsion just to not force people to question me. He is sitting here spilling his heart out and I have the gall to question if he is a friend? Hesitating no longer, she began typing up an apology of her own. Still, she thought, I may as well tell him to stop with the self-depreciation too. Fingers working away she began a wall of text to match his own.
You know, you really didn't have to go that far with your apology. I don't think calling yourself a "worm on two legs" was really all that necessary. You were hoping for an answer and I wasn't up-front enough about things. Besides, I know what you did was for my well-being without any regard for your own. I also know the apology you sent was as genuine as the friendship we built over these past few weeks. I disagree with your idea being necessary, but it was my fault that the situation deteriorated like it did...
Back in the present, staring at the back of the Mineta's head, Momo was just glad everything worked out. The text her purple haired friend sent was a bit much, but beyond a few choice words for himself, his apology was heartfelt. To apologize in her own way, she did ask everyone not to worry about the event after Mineta ran off, to at least not get him into any trouble with Aizawa. It was his choice to go that route, but he shouldn't face consequences for trying to save her reputation.
Iida and Uraraka both were hesitant at first, but agreed to it since Momo claimed the confrontation was punishment enough. Midoriya thankfully was much more worried about everyone in the class not hating each other, and accepted it without question. Bakugo was quiet for a little while after she asked everyone this of everyone but brought his attitude back to his usual levels before walking off. She was worried that he might take matters into his own hands, but as far as she could tell though, he didn't bother Mineta for the whole weekend.
Classes were mercifully more about academic subjects today. Thanks to Momo's tutoring earlier in the year, even her lower ranked classmates were doing an okay job of answering questions. Denki even tossed a quick look her way, giving her a thumbs up sign when the answer he gave out turned out to be right. Jiro looked just a tiny bit jealous, considering it was her that was giving him all his current tutoring lessons, but she was happier to see him not bordering on failure.
The morning went by quickly and for lunch Momo decided to spend it with Jiro and Denki. "Honestly Momo", Jiro midway through the meal started, "I'm so sorry about Mina bugging you like that. You'd think she could take a hint"
"Oh no, it's quite fine. I'm sure she was just seeing if I had anything new going on in my personal life in her own way." She couldn't really hold it against Mina. When Mineta convinced Denki to go on the offensive and ask Jiro out, Momo and Mina both latched onto every cute thing Denki did for her. Heck, she even was part of the group pushing for her to give more details. It's only fair it came back around.
Denki looked over from his nearly finished tray and smiled, "Honestly I'm kind of jealous of how close knit you all are. Can you believe when I wanted to tell Mineta about my first date with Jiro, he blew me off and told me he had homework to do instead?" Momo sure could, because Mineta was too busy laughing at how anxious Denki was beforehand with her over texts. Between Denki impersonations he was also suggesting some new places that would be nice to visit so they could talk in peace, and even asking how her day was. Looking back on that let her smile between bites of her piping hot food.
The pleasant thoughts were interrupted however, as Jiro wasn't too thrilled to hear Denki trying to be loose-lipped. It was hard to tell which shade of red was from anger and which was from embarrassment, "You tried telling that pervert about our date? Was that why he was looking all smug at me when I saw him the next day?"
"Woah, there's no need to angry about it, babe, he's actually been doing well on the not being perverted side of things. Besides, I had to tell someone at least." Denki was doing his best to both appease his girlfriend and defend a good friend of his.
"Oh, so he is doing well now, huh? I'm sure he was doing well the last time he tried to peep on us, and he probably was pretty quiet before he tricked us with that ridiculous cheerleading scheme
Denki was trying to stand by what Mineta was doing, like acting more heroic and even participating in class, but Jiro was beating him back verbally. Listening to her talk down about Mineta like this hurt. Not because Jiro was right persay, but because Momo couldn't say a thing about it. Her only choice was always to listen about the side others remembered from so long ago, never the side she got to see. It was what reinforced the negative thoughts and had her worried about how violent a reaction there would be if it was found out Mineta was secretly meeting up with her.
Jiro at this point was calmer than she started after getting some frustration out, but she still had a few choice words, "I'm surprised you didn't spill everything to him anyway!"
"Honestly Jiro, I think you're being a bit too over-the-top about this. Besides, let's not talk about who the one is playing kiss and tell, since Mina seemed to know quite a few details without me saying a word."
Jiro was blushing at this, but merely sighed after a short pause. "Fine, you win. We both wanted to talk about how great our date went. All I'm saying though, Pikachu, is you give Mineta an inch and he'll always take a mile. I get he's your friend, but you have to understand where we're coming from."
Momo felt her chest tighten. She knew those same negative thoughts were boiling up inside of herself. Images of Mineta using her during the sports festival, every lewd look and awful comment. She wanted to raise her voice, say something to fight against it, explain how he's changed, how he is doing much better now and how even before their talk he was trying to improve. Her mouth opened for a moment, but try as she might, nothing came out. Fortunately for her, Jiro and Denki were both too busy arguing to notice their friend wrestling with her own feelings. After realizing too late she lacked the courage to stick up for her new friend, she closed her mouth. It wasn't like she could easily explain her suddenly positive opinion about him.
Denki sighed after realizing Jiro wasn't going to budge. "Fine", he said, dusting himself off, "Looks like we aren't going anywhere on this. Since we still have some time before lunch is over, I'm going to go check up on him. Want to help look?"
"I'm fine, lover boy," Jiro said with an eye roll, "go and see how's he's doing, you already gave me plenty of attention today." and waved him off. Denki grinned, leaned in and softly planted a kiss on her forehead before running off.
Jiro watched him for a moment, focused on his back, "I honestly don't know what he sees in that grape bowl, but I love watching the way he sticks up for his friends." Momo winced a bit at that. Staring at the blonde's back as well before looking down at her unfinished meal, a single though stuck with her, If only I could defend mine.
As Denki ran through the halls looking for his short friend, a familiar voice called out to him. Skidding to a halt, he took look around the corridor to pinpoint the owner. The voice couldn't have come from anyone else. Iida was fast walking towards the boy, with Uraraka and Midoriya following closely behind. Although Denki was getting an excuse ready to apologize quickly, Midoriya was already talking.
"Hey Kaminari! We just had a quick question to ask."
"And no running in the halls!" came the chastising tone of Iida before Denki could even answer, although Uraraka mercifully cut that short by placing a hand on his Iida's shoulder.
Although he always saw Midoriya as a nice guy, Denki also knew when the green-haired kid was trying to look into things. Needless to say, this was definitely one of those times. Bracing for the worst, he was hoping it wasn't what he had noticed this morning. "Sure man, what do you need?"
And that's that! Wasn't sure where I wanted to end it on again, but I think it's an alright place to stop. I'm hoping to try and write less words a chapter so people can enjoy it more. As for the previous reviewers I'll try to answer in order of when I got them:
Guest 1: Thanks for the encouragement! I honestly love Mineta stories, but they tend to be few and far between, so if I can make a decent one I'd be all the happier for it.
Guest 2: Thanks and I really like your ideas. I want to do something with Aizawa and Recovery Girl specifically (since they are the ones who mainly pay attention) but it may take some time. I do like the idea of conflicting a bit with his original idea.
Harkenul: I want to hopefully show Mineta growing, not just tell it, but I think it'll take some time. I want to do a few other interesting things with the other kids, but it might be a chapter or three.
Thanks again, and be safe out there!