I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.


*Clunk*

Shinso reached through the vending machine's deposit slot and extracted a can of lemon and honey tea. He then proceeded to pop the tab and took one long drink of it. Mineta awkwardly fiddled with his can of grape soda, something to take the edge off the tension that was simmering. Currently, the two boys were standing in one of the many public rest areas that dot the stadium interior. Here, the audience can use the bathrooms or get a quick drink before the next match.

And as the battle between Sero and Todoroki should be starting soon, the place was currently deserted. The perfect place for a conversation.

"Alright, that's much better. Now, what's this about a chance?" Shinso asked before sitting down on one of the benches.

"Before that, I want to answer all those things you said during our fight. There was so much I wanted to say, so please give me this chance to get it off my chest." Mineta said, leaning back into his seat.

"Just so you know, I don't actually believe in any of the things I say. It's just something that lets me get under people's skin so that my Quirk could work. Pretty shitty thing to do, but what other options do I have? It's the only reliable way to get a response."

"I wouldn't say shitty, there are worse ways to use a Quirk. But that's not the point I want to talk about… During our fight, when you were preaching about how one's Quirk decides their place in the world. You were talking about yourself, weren't you?" Mineta asked. Here goes nothing.

Shinso didn't say anything, nor did the expression on his face change. However, the grip on his drink tightened as the sound of aluminum straining took to the air. Mineta hit the nail right on its head. But this was no victory, just the prelude. For the fear of this conversation closing off is now in the air. If the shorter boy fails to read the atmosphere for even a moment, he knew that his words won't reach Shinso's heart.

And while Mineta had experience with motivating Midoriya… He doesn't know if those same techniques would work on a different person. It doesn't matter if they have similar problems, they may react differently.

Still, Mineta had to try.

"Why do you care? My problems are nothing compared to the stuff you deal with in the Hero course." Shinso answered quickly. A bit too quick for the shorter boy's liking, but at least he didn't just completely cut the line. And that's not even going into the actual content of that statement. But it did give an angle of attack that Mineta can follow.

"But problems are still problems. And what kind of Hero would I be if I ignored someone in need?"

"… Point taken. Still, I don't think you really get what it's like. To be born with a bad Quirk and be treated a certain way because of it. You're all the golden eggs that'll be our future Heroes after all." Shinso replied, taking another drink of his tea. Mineta took a deep breath as he began to conjure memories from before UA.

Of the times they mocked his Quirk.

Of the times they treated him like a pest.

Of the times Midoriya got bullied for his Quirklessness.

Of the times where Midoriya almost lost his dreams.

It all came back and filled the shorter boy with a fierce determination. He was not going to let someone else suffer that Hell any longer. He needed to tear down whatever tinted lens Shinso was looking through and give him a another perspective. And only then can Mineta share the knowledge that can revive his dream.

"We might have been chosen… But we're not as spotless as you think, both physically and mentally. Every last one of us is carrying a weight in our hearts. And mine can tell you, with absolute certainty, that I've walked every mile in your shoes and seen a friend go twice as far." Mineta said, each word bearing the sorrow of the past. Shinso looked over, one brow raised high. Though there was a glint of skepticism within his stare, his ears have opened up more. He wanted to know.

Were there really kindred spirits even amidst the coveted Hero Classes?

"Twice? How's that even possible? Was friend's Quirk that awful?"

"Worse… He was born without one." Mineta said as his grip on his can tightened. It didn't feel right, talking about Midoriya's past without asking for his permission first. It was, after all, his second greatest secret after One for All. However, if Mineta remained vague enough about it, his partner's identity will stay safe.

Shinso's normally half closed eyes snapped open, his pupils shrinking slightly. He began making several gestures to help articulate the words on his tongue, even though they never came out. He went through showing all kinds of emotions as Mineta waited for a response. But there was one thing that was consistent about Shinso right now. And that was his attitude towards his own issues.

"To dream of becoming a Hero only to discover you're Quirkless… I can't imagine the pain he went through. It really makes all my moaning and complaining look petty. So what happened to him? If you don't mind me asking."

Oh boy, this was getting a little close to the line. However, with no way to go back, Mineta silenced that cowardly voice in his head and spoke the lie from his heart. Well, half-truth. Whatever the term was, the shorter boy had taken the air of an empathetic sales clerk.

"He managed to get into a Hero school, but only after months of non-stop training. Even then, the problems he faced didn't end. You see, he did something that made him well liked by his class and became popular with them. However, to live up to those standards, he's constantly hurting himself and lives in constant fear of having his condition discovered. He even had to lie about having an analysis Quirk to avoid suspicion." Mineta answered, words smoothly flowing from his mouth.

Shinso carefully listened, his expression changing as the words came out. There were two that remained consistent, a healthy level of awe and the realization of extreme adversity. He must have realized that, even if one squeezes through those 'golden gates', the hope of becoming a Hero is still very far away. And it wasn't just that, there was also the revelation that one's problems don't disappear. In fact, some will say that it can get worse.

"Damn… I knew it was hard, but that's something else. He must have quite the luck to have even made it that far." He asked.

"No, luck had nothing to do with it. He just had some really good people by his side. He had a teacher who believed in him, a mom who did everything to support him, and a friend who never gave up on him. These were the things that kept him going. All so that he can become the Hero they know he could be. And it's the same story with me, I'd be nothing without the people in my life." Mineta answered.

Shinso raised an eyebrow. He was curious, but anything beyond that was a mystery to the shorter boy. Oh no, did he push this angle too hard? Did he see through it?

"But isn't meeting the right people a luck thing? Don't get me wrong, you have a point. It's just that your message is weakened for that reason, you won't know someone until you take a chance on them." He asked. Okay, that's what it was. A little difficult to argue against, but not an impossible task.

Unlike the one Mineta made for himself when he screwed over Bakugou.

"Sure, but it's still our decision to let them in. I decided to make friends with a Quirkless guy even if it meant I'd get ridiculed too. I decided to learn from my master even without knowing any of his skills. And BOTH of us decided to have this conversation, right after our match."

Shinso opened his mouth, an argument dwelling within his throat. But as the seconds passed in relative silence, Mineta could see that he was reconsidering it. The General student placed a hand on his chin, the cogs of his mind turning. A new argument was starting to form, only to be scrapped. Mineta could tell that much, since he himself was like that whenever Midoriya brought up a good point.

The seconds became minutes as Shinso continued to think. The air went from the usual semi-loud murmurs all stadium interiors to a strange and eerie quiet. Something must have happened with the Todoroki and Sero fight that stunned them silent, just like the Midoriya and Kirishima match. Still, that was just a momentary distraction as Shinso's voice finally came through.

"Then who do I decide to meet with and become a Hero in Training?"

There was both a steady resolve and a turbulent fear dwelling within that question. For him, this may be the only chance for him to still realize his dream. And while one part of Mineta was over the moon, considering he held someone's future in the palm of his hand… The other, more rational part, was also feeling that turbulence.

"Would he accept a student like Shinso? He was willing to teach if the student was willing to learn… And this guy wasn't utterly hopeless with his abilities… Still, that's too many chances to gamble on. Here I was talking about how we can still make our choices…" Mineta thought. He had to say it though and take that leap of faith.

"There's a teacher here named Aizawa Shouta, he's not your average Hero. He has scraggly black hair and wears this massive scarf around his neck. Right now, he's in the commentator's box with Present Mic giving battle commentary. If you met with him, he can help you."

"He's the one covered in bandages right? But how do you know he'll even accept me?" Shinso asked. Mineta, with every ounce of confidence he had, leaned in and gave an expression halfway between pride and weariness.

"Let's just say he and I are on familiar terms…" Mineta said, the pain of those torturous months coming back.

"Ah, so he's the one who trained you. Hmmm… Kind of worried though, he didn't seem to do that good of a job." Shinso said, frown forming on his face.

"Hey! I'll have you know–!"

Mineta's mouth stopped as his whole body went stiff. He could still feel the world around him; he just had no power to interact with it. From the corner of his eye, he could see a pretentious smirk spread across Shinso's lips. Oh that bastard, he just wanted to use his Quirk on him.

"Like I said, I don't believe the things I say. If only you were this easy during our fight, then I'd move on to the next round. But then I suppose we wouldn't have had this conversation. I just guess life's funny like that." Shinso said as he got up from his seat. He proceeded to throw away his empty can of tea and began walking off. And before Mineta could even think that he was going to be stuck there for a while, his body began moving again.

The shorter boy looked to the General student and found him giving a wave of farewell. Shinso then walked around a corner and vanished from sight. Mineta watched that corner for a while, but not really knowing why. Perhaps some part of him was afraid that would be the last he sees of Shinso Hitoshi? Could be, after all, he faced problems that Mineta and Midoriya had faced and are still dealing with.

"God speed Shinso... There's a Hero in you."

Mineta began getting up from his seat. He stretched to get that strange lingering feeling of Shinso's Quirk out of his body before tossing out his drink can. It's about time he got back to 1A and see what's going on with the matches.

However, before he actually began walking, the shorter boy saw Midoriya and Uraraka walking his way. Did both of them need a drink or a bathroom break?

"Ah! Mineta-kun, there you are! I was wondering where you went after your match." Midoriya asked as he hastily approached his partner.

"Oh sorry, I was a bit busy." Mineta replied, his eyes immediately going for the corner Shinso disappeared around.

"But missed you something crazy! Todoroki-kun froze over half the stadium!" Uraraka said, stretching out her arms to try and describe whatever happened. Mineta's gaze snapped back to his two friends, brain trying to process the words the girl spoke. And ultimately… He couldn't.

"Wait, what!?"


And that has been Chapter 28.

In essence, this chapter was everything Mineta was supposed to say but couldn't. Naturally, this is assuming that Shinso would listen in the first place. But I supposed that I did have Mineta dangle the carrot in front of him... So all in all, I supposed the set up to this scene could've been done a little better.

"I mean, our purple boys literally talked about that in one sentence."

I know, but I still wished I could polish this even more. However, I'll let you, the audience, decide on how well I put this together.

I don't have any other news this update except one. Next month, I'll be putting out two updates because I'm now facing another stumbling block. So, at the very least, I'll try to make it entertaining enough to be worth the read. So wish me luck as I set out on that endeavor.

"Good luck."

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.