I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.
Not wanting to sit in a damn hospital for any longer, Bakugou convinced the doctors to discharge him. Surprisingly, his mother let him shout and swear his way out, knowing that there was somewhere else he would rather be. And after several time-consuming health tests, the explosive Hero stiffly walked out into the late afternoon air looking alive yet feeling dead inside. Even the weather agreed with him, seeing how bright the overcast was…
"Why didn't you stop me?"
"You clearly needed to go somewhere, so I let you run your mouth."
He simply stared at his mother as she lead him down the street, where he saw his father, Masaru, waiting besides a car. No matter how many problems he gave them and vice versa, Bakugou still loved his parents for everything they do. And after everything that's happened, maybe it's about time to start showing some damn appreciation…
"Thanks…"
"No problem kid. Do you want something to eat?" Mitsuki asked as she opened the passenger side door, Bakugou doing the same with the back-seat door.
"As much as I want good shit in my stomach, I need to be getting back. See what I missed."
"Alright, just don't go cursing them out when you end up starving." Masuru replied, starting up the car. Throughout the drive back to UA, Bakugou was filled in about the state of Japan after that fateful battle. From how the chaos of clean up took a while to settle… To how Class 1A earned the highest honors from the Government… To how the moniker 'One True Hero' for Midoriya came about… He listened without asking any questions, this was the only way for him to make sense of anything after waking up. Luckily, he was able to get everything he needs to know by the time he reaches UA. With a quiet farewell between Parent and Child, Bakugou walked through the gates of his school once again. He was home…
Or at least…
So he thought. When walking into the 1A dorms, it was absolutely quiet and completely devoid of any other sensory cue that someone was there. His classmates' shoes were here as well, so they're here… Well, except one. Bakugou violently shook his head, there's no use breaking down here. Moving further in, he found his rest of his classmates just sitting about crestfallen and in clear denial. Well, most of them, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Mineta, and the class adopted child Eri isn't anywhere he could see. Before he could speak up, someone finally noticed him, the King of Explodokills has returned.
"Hey man, you're back." Kaminari's greeting was simple enough, but the gold-haired Hero sounded exhausted. Even more so when he wore that fake smile on his normally cheery face. The rest looked up, but by the looks swimming in their eyes, none of them were fairing any better. He could tell, they're all still grieving… Hell, HE was still aching over this… Over that damn nerd…
"Where's round face, the frog, and the shrimp?" Bakugou asked.
"Uraraka-san and Eri-chan are in Midoriya's room… Asui-san is cooped in her own room…" Yaoyorozu was doing her best to remain composed. But even she and Iida were struggling to keep themselves from falling further into the depression spiral. Though that resolve wouldn't last long when a somber chuckle rattled the overbearing silence. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, no one could tell which, it came from their self-proclaimed Alien Queen, Mina.
"Re-Remember how Midori would mumble a whole lot when he's writing in his little notebook? He would always look so serious!"
"Yeah… And 1B would look so awkward when they hear it…" Tooru replied with a sad laugh.
"Studious and ever focused…" Tokoyami agreed. Though the crow was still serious and flat toned, there was an air of sorrow that laced his voice.
"I mean just last month, he… He… Midori…" Mina couldn't finish, tears began falling as her once cheery face twists into a shadow of her normal self. She couldn't even say his name again without it coming out as a choked sob, tears and wails growing more and more intense. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back, the catalyst that broke down whatever remained of their fractured spirits. Bakugou witnessed the crumbling of the Heroic resolve he once saw in each of them, being replaced by a mess of grief, rage, and denial. He himself could feel his own heart breaking down again, desperately wanting to be part of this mire of sorrow.
But no, he can't, someone must keep everyone together somehow… Even if he has no idea how to do that… What was he supposed to say without pushing them all further down?
"He's really gone… Midoriya's D… D…" Tooru couldn't admit it, no one could blame her, everything that happened was already too much. Ojiro offered a comforting embrace to the invisible girl, who accepted it and clung to him earnestly. It was always hard to tell what kind of expression Tooru had without differing to body language and tone of voice… But it was a small blessing of sorts that they didn't have to witness the face she would make when crying. A sight like that, their bubbliest classmate, would surely cause them all to sink even further…
But that's only part one of the equation.
"GOD DAMN IT!" Kirishima's anger didn't really startle them, it was in fact understandable. But the action that followed his shout made their eyes widen… The crimson haired Hero punched through the wall.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS PEOPLE LIKE HIM THAT HAVE TO DIE!?"
"Kirishima-kun please! I understand your anger! But please don't vandalize the dorm! This was Midoriya-kun's home too!" Iida shouted, tears flying from his face. Kirishima clenched his injured fist, gritted his shark like teeth… But he ultimately softened and fell upon the wall he just struck. Slowly falling to the ground and slumping over, the Hero began silently wallowing in his regret and shame.
"Yeah… He wouldn't want this…"
"He's an understanding guy, nice and forgiving. Don't beat yourself up about it." Sero gave an encouraging but melancholic smile.
"He always saw the best in us, even in Mineta… Maybe Midoriya died because he was too good for this world…" Kyouka wondered, wiping at her eyes again.
"Never a crack in his virtuous heart, a true saint who blessed us with his grace. Sleep soundly now noble prince, for the flight of doves shall sing thee to thy gentle rest…"
"What a nice take on Shakespeaer's Hamlet Kaminari-san. I'm sure Midoriya-san would've loved to hear it…"
"Thanks Yaomomo…"
"He would've been around to had I been stronger…" Bakugou swore the room turned several degrees colder with those words in the air. The tension doubled as watery eyes turned to the class former ice king, bearing witness to his own brand of sorrow called loneliness.
"We did the best we could Todoroki…"
"Did we really Shouji? Midoriya… He pushed himself past his own limits, went beyond… And what did we do during all that? We did nothing but watched as he died for us! All the training we did! The battles we went through! And that was seriously the best we could do!? Midoriya needed the help and we let him down! If we didn't choose to save those civilians, then may–!"
Todoroki couldn't finish that line, a slap across the face interrupted him. Dual colored eyes didn't blink as he stared at the person in front of him who did the deed… His Vice Class President who stared back through puffy, tear stained eyes.
"Todoroki-san… Don't you dare say something like that… Midoriya-san would be disappointed if we chose his life over those that couldn't protect themselves…"
"…I lost my head for a moment… It's been two long weeks… And I still haven't gotten over any of this… Sorry…"
"None of us have… Two weeks… And it still feels like Midori was here just yesterday…" Mina softly cried as she curled up into a ball.
"Umm… Is this a bad time?"
The class turned to the source and saw their short pervert standing about. But there was something different about him, they just weren't sure what it was though…
"Mineta-kun? Was there something you need?" Iida asked, wiping the tears from his glasses.
"Yeah. I know this is going to sound weird, but I need Yaomomo to make me a wheelbarrow."
Where once the room was consumed by sadness and tension… It was now occupied by immense confusion. Tears were still falling, but that didn't stop anyone giving Mineta the strangest look.
"A… What?" Bakugou wasn't sure if he heard that right either.
"A wheelbarrow, one for my height. I need it to take care of something."
The way the imp said it was completely serious, there was absolutely zero Mineta in his voice. There was no whining or desperate shouting, only speaking. This is what ultimately won the Vice Class President over, despite the confusion buzzing about her consciousness over accepting the request.
"I'll do it, but it's going to take some time. What was your height Mineta-san?" Yaoyorozu began unbuttoning her shirt, causing the other girls to scramble to stop her… Only for them to stop when they saw Mineta, again, not acting like his usual self. He was completely composed and wasn't twitching with perverse excitement over the fact that he managed to get the usual target of his depraved curiosity to undress. In fact, he actually turned around and walked away as to given the girl some decency.
"Thanks, I'm 109 cm right now. You can leave it by the elevator when you're done and I'll come back for it later."
Just as emotions flared earlier, the bafflement couldn't be any higher over this encounter. The Avatar of Pure Lust just went through a civil conversation with Yaoyorozu without him devolving into sexually charged mess.
"Am I the only one weirded out by this?"
"No, no… I think we're all weirded out by this Satou…" Ojiro answered, scratching the back of his head with his tail.
"Do you think our little friend has lost it? I saw him carrying around some twine, garbage bags, and boxes earlier." This time, it was Aoyama who laid that suggestion onto the table. It wasn't long before a dark image wormed its way into their collective thought space… And that was when the panic entered the picture, so much so that no one could tell who was saying what.
"Oh God! Is that why he needs a wheelbarrow!?"
"Shit! You don't think he–!?
"He wouldn't! We're all still here!"
"Would that even stop him!?"
"Maybe!? I don't know how he thinks!"
"Someone go get Asui-kun and Uraraka-kun! The rest of us will confront Mineta-kun!"
Swept away by the stampede, Bakugou found himself being dragged along without offering a single ounce of resistance. What happened to him? When did he become so complacent? Before the explosive Hero could get any time to mull over his thoughts, he noticed he was just pulled past Midoriya's room, a few people banging on it to get it open. And before Bakugou could see the results of that endeavor, he and several other classmates barged through the open door of Mineta's room.
And since no one has been inside, it was both a surprising and unsurprising sight. On one end of the spectrum, there was a lot of lewd material scattered about the place. On the other… It was in the process of being tied up and placed in garbage bags and boxes. The imp in question only stared at his unwarranted invaders before going back to his work, as if nothing happened. And like his composed self from moment ago, Mineta acting so serene whilst being surrounded by smutty material elicited more bewildered expressions.
"What the Hell are you doing grapist?" Seeing that the rest of them were too unsure, Bakugou decided to cast the line to see if he could fish up any answers. And luckily for him, Mineta was more than willing to talk. Though it was using his recent calm and steady tone…
"What does it look like? I'm cleaning up…"
"You never bothered picking up this trash before, so why now?"
"I could say the same to you. You never bothered with any of us before, so what's different?"
The others' confusion piled up, rarely did the imp bounced back an observant response that didn't involve his perverse nonsense. Even more, said observation was about Bakugou, the Human Grenade. But then again, why were neither of them acting like normal? Bakugou wasn't screaming nor was Mineta cowardly whining, almost as if they saw eye to eye.
"I guess I'm just a little caught up on that shit Deku…"
"Me too Bakugou… Me too…"
For a good while, neither of them spoke up as Mineta continued to throw away the erotic filth that littered the place. It was so long before any of them talked that Tsuyu and Uraraka came about, Eri clinging to the latter's shirt.
"What's going on?"
"Oh Ochako-chan… Um, Mineta is throwing away his trash?" The brunette raised a tired eyebrow at her invisible friend, she really hasn't been able to rest well and is slightly delirious. Tokoyami was kind enough to clarify things for the exhausted girl.
"Correction, his USUAL trash."
"Oh… Didn't he throw that away before?" The girl remembered how the imp threw out it all away when Eri was first admitted into the dorm. This is after he taught Eri about how to protect herself from unsavory characters like him. So whatever respect Uraraka had for him just went out the window… Though this new situation might have her reevaluate Mineta.
"I did… I was afraid Eri might find all of this… See that I was really the type of person I taught her to avoid… I really thought I could overcome this because of her… But habits are so hard to kill… So all of this eventually came back and I just got better at hiding it…" Mineta heard the girl outside, admitting to his return to deviancy so calmly. But she couldn't be mad at him, not with that kind of voice emanating from his throat.
"What changed?" This time it was little Eri that asked, sounding just as exhausted as the rest of them.
"Your Dad Midoriya… He changed everything after that battle… I don't know if any of you heard him before he went on to fight that monster… But he talked to me…" Bakugou flinched at that statement and based on how everyone else did the same, looks like he wasn't alone in that weird phenomenon.
"He told me that he believed in me… Believed that I could be a great Hero… A kind of faith I know I don't deserve… Yet there he was giving it to me… And after I woke up, I began thinking about myself and what I've been up till that point… And now I realize that I'm the worst…" Mineta's fist tightened, eyes getting bleary, frustration growing.
"What was there to believe in? Where was this Hero Midoriya could see? I was a coward, weak, and the worst pervert this side of the world had to offer… I thought about giving up so that no one would deal with me… So I won't get in the way of true Heroes like you guys… But that would betray what he believed, that I could be like you guys… And I can't stand doing that to someone like him…"
"Yeah… Betraying Midoriya is the worst thing anyone could do…" Todoroki agreed.
"See, he gets it… When I looked around this room, all of this junk reminds me of the me that no one believes in… The me that would surely throw out the faith Midoriya gave me… The me with flaws that ate away at the Hero I could be… So I decided that enough was enough and started to pack it away. I'm going to reinvent myself, start from the ground up, get serious, and be something more than just trash... For the guy who believed that I could, I'll show him that I am."
Mineta was always small, way shorter than anyone in the class. But when he made that declaration, the sniveling, perverted coward of a man stood much taller than before. It was a presence they never feel from him, seeing that he would prefer chasing women than accomplishing his goal. But now, they too felt like Mineta could finally be a Hero.
"Even if you guys don't believe me, I'll keep going until I either graduate or get kicked out. And though I still want to be a Hero that's cool with the ladies… I'll first be a Hero that's cool with everyone, just like Midoriya."
"Dude, you're starting to sound like a real man!" Kirishima shouted excitedly. It was refreshing to hear the Crimson haired Hero be in such high spirits, his good mood was spreading to everyone else.
"Now let's not get carried away Kirishima, it's still way too early to tell if this is going to stick. Give it a few months and if I haven't jumped back down the pit, you could give me a little bit of praise. And I still have a long way to go, so… Could you guys leave me to my work? Please?"
There was a nod from them all and they all began clearing out. Bakugou watched as the faces that were once filled with despair and hopelessness have a little life breathed into them again. He looked at the little imp once more as he continued to throw away his trash, looking nothing like his old self. Deku made a Hero out of a Pervert, and all it took was his death to do it.
"Uncle, Mineta wants to be alone." Eri said, tugging at the explosive Hero's jeans. He looked at the white-haired girl before silently walking out, muttering something to the still downtrodden Uraraka as he blew by.
"If something's wrong Round Face, you have all of us to talk to."
"I know Bakugou… Thanks…"
The explosive Hero continued walking before stopping in front of Midoriya's half open door. Pushing it open, he could see the nerd's collection of All Might memorabilia covering every inch of the room. He saw the silver age figure standing on the desk and went to pick it up, contemplatively stared at it.
"Believing in someone… Only you would say something so sappy…"
Placing the figure back down, Bakugou proceeded to leave the room, not caring that Uraraka was giving him a questionable stare. It's been a long day and he's certainly going to need the sleep.
5 days until the Memorial Service…
And that is Chapter 2! Today is Mineta's time to shine and for his Birthday, I've given him the greatest gift! Self-Redemption!
"At the cost of a good friend, but sure. Let's just roll with that."
Hush. When thinking about how I'm going to go about this story, I needed to think about 1A's personality and how they'll change in reaction to Midoriya's sacrifice. So for Mineta, did what I do make sense? For Midoriya, no matter how badly a person acts, he'll always believe that they could become a Hero. I mean just look at Bakugou.
"Just don't let him hear you. Being compared to the little imp will make anyone feel DIRTY".
But it's true, Mineta and Bakugou fit the criteria of classical Heroes because they each have a fatal flaw, with Mineta's being Lust while Bakugou is Wraith with a bit of Pride. And in ancient Myth, those things will be their down fall if they do not shed it. So who's better than Midoriya, the One True Hero, to help them shed those issues?
"Point..."
Anyhow, please leave your comments about these matters hero. Also I must apologize to Johnny Spectre and his friend Rex101111 for borrowing their ideas without asking. Between schoolwork and writing, I failed to remember to find time to ask to use their brilliantly heartwarming concept of having 1A serve as Eri's surrogate family. I've read their works and I'm touched by how much they care for the albino Unicorn Child, so much so that I find myself waiting for their next story involving the girl. So I give my thanks to you two with every fiber of my creative writing soul.
"I'm not even going to say anything, that was just splendid."
It probably isn't... But that is all I have this week. So...
Until Next Time. T1.