A/N : Sorry this took so long, working slowly through the story. I just want to say thanks to all the friendly reviewers, and will be addressing them below. I had debated on sending everyone who reviewed it this time a private response but thought I'd be done sooner. Sorry it took so long. Stay safe, and good luck to anyone in summer classes. This will also mark one of the first chapters in a while I didn't have to go back and edit to include notes.
The week was moving easily enough to Mineta, but not as quick as he'd hope for that glorious lunch with Momo. Apparently Operation: Zero-G Broccoli was a no go, and though she wouldn't mention why, Momo said that it was probably a bad idea to keep matching classmates up. Fair enough, he thought, she probably wants everyone to focus more on school. It just meant he was going to have a handicap when it came to the others, though it wasn't as if the universe was looking out for him here. One look at his height was proof enough of that.
Speaking of the lovers to be, he also noticed Uraraka boring holes into him as he walked into class Tuesday morning. He did take extra time to comb his hairballs to try and look a little more presentable, but he would prefer if it was Momo doing the staring. Although a sizeable part of him craved female attention in any capacity, he knew it was not destiny. Sorry me, he spoke resolutely to his internal self, but I have already blocked off the harem path. It is Momo that guides me now. He at least hoped he could upgrade from acquaintance to boyfriend at some point here.
Truth be told, the combination of a pep talk with the teachers and a quiet evening of texting Momo did wonders for his morale. Talking to her about the most recent chapter of her favorite book he read was actually more fun than playing video games with Denki. The friendly smile Momo showed him as he sat down was enough to keep his spirits strong. Even Midoriya gingerly turning around to talk with him was only enough to mildly shake him up.
"Good morning, Mineta!"
"Mornin' Midoriya. How are you?" he said in a relatively balanced tone. It was at about this point he knew he could forget about peaceful mornings from now on.
"Can't complain too much." Is how he started but he quickly added an overly dramatic look of realization. "That reminds me, when you came back you said that the talk with Aizawa yesterday wasn't really about anything, right?"
Geeze Izuku, can't let a good mood go unpunished, can you? "Nah," Mineta leaned back, arms behind his head, "just checking up on yours truly."
"Well that's good. I figured an after-school punishment for daydreaming might have been a bit overboard." he said it while smiling, but Mineta knew he had a way of disarming people beforehand. "What sort of things did you guys talk about, anyway?"
Some of the others looked over, even though he was only speaking with an inside voice. Luckily for Mineta, they were almost surrounded by the clique of indifference. Todoroki merely glanced over for a moment, but looked like he was busier reading something on his cellphone. Tokoyami merely opened an eye before going back to his quiet meditation. If Bakugo even cared, he wasn't showing it. Unfortunately Sero and Jiro were pretty close by, and looked over to listen in.
Although Mineta was staring right at Midoriya, he felt those other gazes looking over and placing him once more in the unwanted center of attention. He was partway into thinking of something in his defense, before someone else spoke up.
"Really, Midoriya, I think it's a bit rude to suddenly try and pry into personal affairs."
Looking at the source of the voice, it was none other than Momo. Try as they might, not even indifference could trump curiosity. Tokoyami still did his best to maintain a calm demeanor but even Bakugo had turned to watch.
Midoirya was definitely not expecting her to say something but tried to push a bit more, "I'm sorry if that seemed really rude, Yaoyorozu. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. We are all in this together, you know!"
"I'm certain", she replied with finality, "that if he wanted to say what their conversation was about, he would have told everyone yesterday. I think if you want to find out, you should at least ask permission from him in private, instead of pressuring him out in public."
Although she was pretty happy to finally stick up for her friend, Momo realized quite quickly how out of place her defense of Mineta seemed. Even Shoto was watching with rapt attention
Looking close to the front, she saw Jiro's jaw turn to lead. Sero did his best to pretend not to notice but it was glaringly obvious. Bakugo, oddly enough, was snickering. Apparently anyone putting Deku in his place constituted a win in his book. Looking just in front of her, it hit her that even Mineta was staring in surprise.
Trying to find an easy way out, she finished with a rushed, "At least I'm sure that's how he feels. I remember feeling that way after Kamino, at least."
She could see Izuku was a bit hurt being reminded of that situation, and she felt bad doing so, but she needed an excuse of some kind! Finally Midoriya relented after searching for something else to say but failing.
"I'm sorry, Mineta. If you want to talk about it later would that be fine?"
Mineta was still taken aback by Momo's sudden defense, and only registered what Deku was saying after a moment.
"A little later sounds fine, sure man."
Smiling at hearing the response he was looking for, Midoirya gave his thanks and faced the front, doing his best to not listen to Bakugo laughing. Since the show was over, most had turned to focus on other things, but Jiro and Todoroki looked rather lost. Jiro grabbed her phone and started quickly typing, while Sero just gave Mineta a cheesy grin and a thumbs up. Momo wasn't a mind reader, but judging by the reaction Mineta gave, he wasn't too thrilled with having Sero as a witness. Shoto on the other hand remained quiet, watching to see if anything else would occur.
Thankfully, the start of class cut the possibility of any awkward questions to either Momo or Mineta. Momo did see Jiro's name on a message before putting her cellphone away, but she would need time to come up with a reasonable excuse.
As lunch rolled around, Denki chose to relax and eat lunch with Mineta at one of the emptier tables in the cafeteria. Food in hand, he strolled up to his vertically challenged friend and sat down.
"Hey bud, you were looking a little lonely out here, mind if I grab a seat?"
Kaminari was definitely one of those people who could lift a room's mood. Even the awkwardness of the morning stand-off was washed away by that smile of his. Maybe it helped that Denki didn't notice what happened. The less questions he had to answer on that, the better.
"Sure man", Mineta replied, the grin being contagious, "but aren't you worried what the wife will say if you don't come straight home?"
As they both started laughing a voice behind the two of them spoke up. "Luckily, this wife keeps good track of her man." Jiro's sudden appearance giving the two school boys a fright. Relaxing a bit and lifting her tray towards them, she added, "Is it fine for me to sit down with you guys today? Everyone else is being pretty loud."
To say both boys were dumbfounded would be an understatement. Some things just don't happen, and Jiro being willing to sit so close to Mineta was one of those things. Denki of course was ecstatic over the idea.
"Sure babe, the more the merrier, right Mineta?"
"What? Uh, yeah! Of course, Jiro. Plenty of room here!" Mineta didn't mind Jiro per say, but she had a way of quickly punishing him if he made a misstep in her eyes. He still was a tiny bit bitter over the peephole incident, but his eye didn't have any lasting damage. Hopefully there won't be a repeat of either thing anytime soon, was all he could tell himself.
Although Jiro gave her thanks and looked happy in the presence of Kaminari as they ate, Mineta couldn't help but notice she was sending a lot of sidelong glances his way. Oh no, I hope she doesn't have secret feelings for me, I couldn't imagine harming Denki like that! Heck, what would Momo think? Coupled with Uraraka staring, he tried to ignore the no doubt slowly forming harem the universe handed him. Hoping to focus on other things, Mineta tried conversation to change things up.
"So how did your guys' date go this weekend? Go anywhere nice?"
Jiro mood visibly dropped and the daggers she was staring at the purple haired boy was not for the faint of heart. Denki however was pretty open and willing to share their weekend.
"Oh it was great! We went to the arcade and man it was a blast! I even won her a giant Milkshake plushie."
Denki was oblivious to his skill at appeasing the two acquaintances, but Jiro's mood actually lifted a bit. Trying to play it cool as she relaxed she claimed "What can I say? It was so cheesy I just had to have it."
"What? No way! You were practically begging me to win you that thing!" Denki can't help but grin at the shade of red his girlfriend was turning. Even Mineta would go as far as to call it cute.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the couple he got together, between Denki being head over heels and their back and forth antics, it was like a romantic comedy. He certainly felt like it was one of his greatest achievements to pair them up. Still, though they were having their fun, a chance to tease her doesn't come by often.
"That's adorable Jiro" Mineta chuckled, "did you name him anything cute?" Mineta smirked as it dawned on Jiro that she alone in this two versus one.
"No way," she said with a roll of her eyes, "it reminded me of a certain short stack I know, so I named it after him and use it as a punching bag now."
Mineta couldn't honestly tell if she was serious or not on that as a shiver went up his spine, but Denki was grinning as he ate.
"See that?" he said between bites. "You guys can talk to each other no problem. You should sit with us more often, Kyoka."
Although she blushed at that, Mineta was the first to respond. "Yeah, Jiro, having you around ain't too bad, especially if it keeps Denki grinning like a fool."
He was fine with saying just that at first, but he felt he needed to throw out a joke to go with it. He usually tells Momo the jokes are like him weaning off his perversions as a way to break habit. He recently told her that he's down to only one mildly perverted comment a week now, though she joked she would be keeping track of that. He hated using them up so early in the week, but this was a special situation. He and Jiro were finally not at odds, and if he could get on her good side, maybe he could spend time with Momo in public.
"Although personally, I wouldn't mind enjoying lunch with Yaoyorozu on top of that." he replied in blissful fantasy as he closed his eyes and leaned back.
The atmosphere grew more intense as Jiro dropped the fork she held. Denki only had enough time to stop laughing and look to Jiro's narrowed eyes.
"Mineta." Jiro's voice grew quiet. "Not to spoil the mood, but you better watch what you say about Yaomomo." To add emphasis to her words, she pointed earphone jacks dangerously close to his face. Mineta, seeing that horrifying moment in the locker room again, reflexively covered his eyes.
It didn't take more than a fraction of a second to realize just how screwed he was. Shit. Definitely should have saved it for later. Although he started to apologize, she interrupted him.
"No, don't bother." she said as she raised her hand. "This is honestly a good opportunity, though. I've got some questions for you. What was up with this morning? And you better answer truthfully."
Denki was lost, but judging from his good friend's expression, Jiro was on the money with something. "Hey hun, what are you talking about? I don't remember anything happening this morning."
"You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes, Stun-gun. Momo actually told Midoriya off for the little creep."
"What?! No way! You sure you didn't just imagine it, like Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster?" Denki exclaimed.
"Not likely, Pikachu. Even Todoroki was watching, and if Mineta knows what's good for him, he'll explain himself."
He had little reason to doubt his girlfriend, but Momo and Mineta were oil and water. They just didn't mix. Watching their exchange, however, he couldn't help but remember that joke Mineta told him two months ago about a date with one of the girls. No way, he thought to himself, did he and Momo actually go on a date? Was that why Midoriya's group talked to me? I don't think he'd pull something criminal, but I'm pretty sure he'd need to move heaven and earth to get a chance to even talk with Momo. Denki wanted to believe his friend was innocent but he knew that this was something he'd have to ask later on in private. All he could do was let Jiro and Mineta continue their conversation and see if he could fit it all together.
"Come on!" Mineta's voice strained only a bit more this time. "Is it really that tough to believe the vice-prez would want to let things be left alone?" Damn, can't even make a joke without the universe coming back at me.
Jiro pulled back the earphone jacks, but only enough to get a better look at Mineta. "If it were anyone else, I'd be willing to believe that, but with your track record you think she'd give you the time of day?
He was really out of options, so the best Mineta tried a different approach, "Look, I don't know why she stuck her neck out for me like that. I wasn't dealing with anything crazy, but the fact of the matter is that she helped me out. For all I know," adding a shrug, "she just didn't want to hear Izuku talk in the morning, but I couldn't tell you why."
"If that's your excuse, Mineta," she said after a short pause, "then fair enough. Its bullshit, but I believe it." She couldn't help but sigh at the slightly trembling boy in front of her. Of course he wouldn't know why. Still though, even if Momo is virtually a saint, I've never once heard her say much of anything about Mineta that wasn't her questioning the sort of parenting that would make a kid turn out that way. What would make her flip on Midoriya asking a question?
With her mood not bordering on murderous, Mineta figured he try to at least get back at her in how own little way.
"It's okay, Jiro. I can understand why you're jealous."
Jiro took the bait almost instantly, "I'm what?"
"Don't worry", he began, arms weaving a tale for the now reddening girl, "one day you too will have your chance in the limelight, as you swoop in and save Denki from a roving pack of villains. His own knight in shining armor!"
Kaminari, still trying to piece things together, was still glad for a distraction. Taking Mineta's hint he swooned and went to wrap his arms around Jiro, calling out "My hero!" while laughing. Even Jiro couldn't help but to crack a small smile at that.
"Geeze, looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Denki is bad enough without your lousy stories adding to his antics." Though they were all laughing, Jiro couldn't help but worry about Momo's well-being. She hadn't responded to her text at the start of lunch and she had yet to hear back during all of this. I hope you're okay, Momo.
"... and that's pretty much all that was said."
"I have to admit," Iida said, deep in thought, "it's not something that I would expect myself, Midoriya."
"Defending Mineta? That's pretty out there." Uraraka looked surprised but her voice had a certain calmness to it, as if it wasn't too surprising. The things you can get someone to do with blackmail are something else, she thought. "Still, what do you think made her do it? Did she mention anything else? Maybe something that would give her a reason to do it?"
Midoriya thought about it for a second, but quickly shook his head, "No, nothing I can think of. She just told me that if I wanted to know that I should ask him in private."
Everyone paused in thought for a short time, before Iida finally spoke, "Well it could be that she truly acting in her capacity as Vice President and trying to keep distractions to a minimum."
"That might be the case, Iida, but there probably is more to it." Ochaco pointed out. "Actually, I think she gave Deku a pretty good idea."
Izuku tilted his head a bit, "You think it might have had something to do with Mineta's talk with Aizawa?"
"It wouldn't be a bad place to start. He probably is expecting you to ask him about it soon enough anyway." Uraraka gave a gentle smile here. And the further away from Momo, the better. I might have to pay Mineta a visit later on as well, to make sure he stays on his best behavior.
Izuku felt his pulse racing just a bit in the face of Ochaco's smile. How could he not? Doing his best to pre-emptively hold back his stammer, he quickly agreed.
"Then it's unanimous," Iida's comment breaking the two student's attempts at slow burnt romance for the moment. "Uraraka, you make sure Momo isn't being bothered by Mineta. Don't be too forceful, just keep an eye on her. Midoriya, you try and see if you can get him to tell you about what the conversation was about later on, preferably after school. I will ask around and see if the other students noticed anything we didn't."
With renewed purpose, the trio finished their food and got ready to head to the next class.
At another part of the cafeteria, Sero had just finished telling the others about what he saw. Needless to say, the table was speechless, although in Bakugo's case it was more because he was still focusing on the food in front of him.
"Wow man, gotta say that's pretty tough to swallow..." Kirishima, dazed, but not too interested for the most part, was the first to gain his mental footing. "You sure she wasn't just telling Midoriya to relax instead? What do you think, Katsuki?"
"I think everyone is overreacting." Bakugo's sentence was short, and as he continued to work on his plate it became apparent he wouldn't budge on his opinion.
Mina immediately pushed herself next to Kirishima, the sly smile she shot him before talking not helping to make him forget how close she was. "I think Bakugo is just being a spoilsport," she said, clearly enjoying the glare she was shot from the explosive blond. "I mean, it doesn't matter why! Do you know what it means?"
"Uh, I guess it means Momo is doing a great job of looking out for everyone?" Eijiro was trying his best, but he knew Ashido craved gossip like it was water in a desert. I wish she wouldn't go out of her way to look for this junk, he thought to himself.
Laughing at his attempt to calm her down she looked to everyone else, "No! What it means is that Momo is hiding something interesting. To top it off, I can get back at Mineta for THAT."
Even Sero had to sigh there. During a joint training with class 1-B, Mineta managed to deflect a blow meant for Mina. While it was actually pretty incredible considering the circumstances, the only trouble was his heroism also resulted in something that benefitted him as well. The look on her face making it clear she hasn't completely forgiven him for it. Apparently teasing the two was going to be the payback.
"I get how you feel Ashido, but does Momo need to be included in there as well?" Kirishima asked.
"Yeah," Sero said, taking another quick bite between words, "I kind of thought you got Mineta good for that, but why Yaomomo?"
"Oh that's just going to be some fun between girls, nothing to worry about." Mina added a wink, and the trio of guys knew she had her mind set on it whether they wanted to stop her or not.
Kirishima started eating again, but after finishing some of his meal, turned to tell Mina, "Well, as long as you don't run off and...start teasing them... immediately." realizing too late that the girl leaning up against him had now vanished, leaving a plate half eaten.
"Damn it, I'll be right back, hopefully she hasn't run off too far." Grabbing the last couple bites, Kirishima left in a hurry as well as Sero couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of them.
Realizing he wasn't alone, Bakugo looked up and opened his mouth for something other than food. "What, you're not following those idiots?"
"Are you kidding?" Sero couldn't help but grin, "Mina is going to tell us all about it later on anyway. This way I get to skip the leg work." With that, Hanta starting digging into his rice as the two settled into a peaceful silence amongst the cafeteria noise.
In the solace of the temporarily empty classroom, Momo was wrestling with her emotions as she ate her lunch. Playing the morning in her head repeatedly, she couldn't pin down what caused her to jump to Mineta's defense. Try as she might, she came back to the same question over and over again: What came over me this morning?
Thanks to the awkward situation, Momo decided eating alone in the classroom today might be the most reasonable choice to avoid the questioning looks she saw on everyone's faces. Even Shoto was watching Minoru with more than a little curiosity as they went to lunch. She stopped. Minoru?! No, I meant Mineta. He's a friend, Momo, but he's not that kind of friend.
Thinking about it more and more, however, she couldn't help but ask if that really was the case. She had to admit, even if she wasn't on a first name basis with him, she had grown to appreciate those late nights texting about anything that crossed their minds. Especially with her favorite book. It was great seeing things from a new perspective, and Mineta tended to have a more grounded outlook on the choices heroes made, which allowed her to appreciate some of the sections she didn't quite agree with on subsequent readings.
Speaking of friends, she still hadn't found the right words to answer Jiro's text message. In fact, looking again, she saw a second message asking if everything was okay. It felt awful that she couldn't truthfully explain why to Jiro, but Momo couldn't even figure out why she did it. She wanted to claim that it had something to do with how powerless she felt as Jiro laid into Denki about Mineta's flaws but she felt there was another thing as well.
Maybe it was just because of how desperate he looked? Maybe he really needed someone to be there for him. She smiles as she thinks she hit her epiphany. Of course! I just wanted to help a friend out. It was a bit wrong for Midoriya to try and coerce Mineta about private matters in front of everyone else. No one should even be bothered about this. After all, I don't even know what that conversation was about!
Staring down at the almost finished food, she realized that she didn't actually know what Aizawa and Mineta spoke of. Maybe I should ask him about it. He always seems so content to listen to me, but maybe I should listen to him as well. Hopefully the lunch this weekend will give me a chance to ask him in a more relaxed setting.
As she reached for her phone, the clapping of shoes against cement rose steadily in volume, stopping before the door to her classroom. Though she thought that she had no reason to do this, Momo tensed up. It soon became obvious enough as to why once the door opened up, as Mina rushed through the door sporting a Cheshire grin with Kirishima, clearly out of breath, coming in after her. No amount of shouting or begging budged Ashido for even a moment as they ran.
"So," Mina started, having already thought of her lines beforehand, "I heard you and Mineta are an item now!"
Momo may have been frozen in place but her face burned at the ridiculous statement. Finally gaining a bit of her sense, her first reflex was to flatly deny it. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about!"
Seeing how embarrassed Momo was became too much for Mina as she burst into laughter. Kirishima tried his best to apologize, but Mina wasn't through.
"I'm not into shorter guys all that much myself," Mina started, leaning against a desk as she did so, "but I really dig that reverse role thing you guys have. Standing up to your boyfriend's bullies is pretty manly, Yaomomo." she added with a wink.
It took a bit too long but Momo finally understood she was just fooling around. Sighing at her friend who could probably use that energy for studying, Momo tried to explain herself. "Really now, Mina, there was honestly nothing to it. He was just someone who wanted to keep private matters private. It'd be one thing if he wanted to be open about it, but I felt Midoriya was too pushy."
It looked like it was Mina's turn to sigh. "Geeze, talk about boring! And here I thought you two were sneaking off into the woods to whisper forbidden nothings or something."
Mina turned to pout at Kirishima from disappointment due to lack of juicy gossip. Momo however locked up at the same time. Part of it was thanks to the possibility of someone knowing about the meetings (she still wasn't sure how much Bakugo knew). The other, odd thought came from the ridiculous image she had of her and Mineta hand in hand, walking off slowly into the dense, dark foliage near the dorms together. She used to say she could never imagine Mineta with anyone but she certainly didn't need to imagine herself while Mina was on a warpath.
Shaking that alien image out of her head, she finally replies as Mina turns back to face her "Hopefully all of those ridiculous stories are out of your system."
Kirishima manages to get a word in before his pink friend can, "Sorry Yaoyorozu, you know how Ahiso gets when she hears about something new. I get what you mean though. We all have things we would prefer to keep private."
"Aw don't act all brooding and mysterious now, Rocky." Mina said as she began to poke Kirishima's side, only making it worse when he began to blush. "Leave that to guys like Tokoyami!"
"Oi, come on."
With someone much more fun to bother, Mina decides to finally leave Momo be.
"Sorry if the teasing was a bit too much, but don't worry, your secret is safe with me, Yaomomo!"
Momo tries to ask what secret, but both she and Kirishima can only sigh as Mina runs off.
"Sorry again Yaoyorozu, I'll try to tell her to lay off on all of that." With a quick bow he rushes off after his pink skinned friend.
Momo, finally alone again, went back to getting a reply ready for Jiro. I hope she is fine with a little lie for the moment. She fidgeted with the phone for a bit as she struggled to find a solution that could work for both Jiro and Mineta. Maybe I should explain this whole thing to Jiro. I was pretty worried about what she would think but she trusts me enough to agree if I think something will work out.
As Kirishima closed the door and met back up with Mina, he couldn't help but be a bit curious. "So, do you think there's... you know, anything between them?"
Mina manages a double take at her friend before bursting out in laughter. After letting it subside she can't help but poke more fun at him. "Did someone replace that brain of yours with rocks? There's no way there's something going on between those two. BUT, I'm sure there's some boy that's on her mind, and I intend to find out who! C'mon, let's head back and make sure Bakugo hasn't murdered Hanta."
Hope people enjoy how the story is slowly progressing. To counter that, I decided to try and add a bit more going on this time instead of just focusing on one or two things. As usual leave a review and give me your thoughts.
For the newest reviewers I have, in order:
allthecoolusernamesaretaken: Thank you very much. I'm hoping to keep errors as few as possible, but it feels good going through and trying to improve the story in little ways along the way. Thanks for explaining the whole review thing. I should have realized sooner, but at least I understand now.
I'll try to keep it as natural as I can. Not sure if I could pull off writing my own book, but the encouragement is most certainly welcome.
: I'm glad you enjoyed the flashback. Hoping I can continue giving a story people will enjoy, and make character's reactions decently believable. Stay safe as well!
Sanguimancy : I truly appreciate the kind review! I'm trying to find some balance when it comes to describing things, but I feel you do a much better job.
As for Mineta's hesitation, I have to admit that I used your story as a sort of placeholder. I wanted to base the first chapter/one shot on how they'd talk after a recent heart-to-heart. But once I started writing chapter 2 realized I had to create one of my own to address what changed. Hopefully I did a half decent job there. Good luck to your fan fiction as well!
And thanks to all the future reviewers out there!