I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


Mineta and Midoriya proceeded to hunt down the other targets, destroying them with new and old techniques. It was here that the duo learned just how the other expanded their move list. Apparently for Midoriya, he was inspired by the way his internship mentor, Gran Torino, fought. And using the Sports Festival footage of Iida's fights, he came up with a new fighting style. A name for it was still in the works though.

However, not everything went their way with the last target, the heavily armored giant, proved to be too much. No matter what maneuver was used against it; Mineta nor Midoriya could do anything to it. The target was too strong and too well armored for either of their current abilities to work.

And thus, the two ran out an invisible clock All Might had set, ending the run.

It was pretty frustrating as they went back in defeat. Not even the encouragement of their classmates could help the disappointment. It only goes to show that Mineta and Midoriya still have much to learn. But that is for the future as All Might said. For now, the two watched how their classmates faired in their raid.

Here are some highlights.

Aoyama fired his laser at the wrong moment, interrupting Tokoyami and Dark Shadow's attack. This resulted in the two getting blasted by the gun target.

Mina literally melted the heavily armored target into a puddle. Even if that did leave some minor burns on her skin.

Kaminari demonstrating what that device on his arm was. It was a grappling hook with an ultra conductive cable. His accuracy with it, however, was something best left unsaid.

Bakugou, being Bakugou, was able to complete the raid the fastest out of everyone. However, this was only achieved because he left Yaoyorozu far behind.

And then there was Uraraka… She used an excavator to run over and pin down the heavily armored target, allowing Kirishima to finish it off.

So with that, All Might was ready to present the results.

"Good work everyone. Despite the highs and lows, you've all completed the raid wonderfully." All Might said, clapping his hands together. Before he could continue though, someone let out a rather condescending scoff. Three guesses as to who it was…

"MOST of us finished. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and say 'everyone did well' All Might." Bakugou replied, folding his arms. And while he didn't mention any names, the class knew who he was referring too. Mineta's brow twitched as words of rebellion rose up within his small being. The shorter boy knew this would go nowhere, tangling with an explosive.

But Mineta really was sick and tired of Bakugou.

"At least MOST of us didn't abandon our partner the first chance we got. Could you imagine what people would think if someone did that for real?" Mineta retorted with a growl. The air surrounding Class 1A went cold as Bakugou slowly turned to the shorter boy. He wasn't showing any sort of expression. That serenity, though, was betrayed by the fumes within his sharp, red eyes.

"Hey. At least Ponytail's grade won't drop because of me. You and Deku on the other hand will need a fucking miracle to fix. Shit stains can't even beat the last one to save your lives…"

"Pretty bold of you to assume you did better when the point of the exercise was to work together. Which YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY." Mineta retorted loudly.

"I don't need to! If I had, we wouldn't have achieved anything! I got us results!" Bakugou shouted back, hands starting to spark. The murmurs around them grew a little louder as tensions rose. Yaoyorozu took the explosive blonde's comment the hardest, looking downcast as the girls try to cheer her up.

"Kacchan… Mineta-kun… Let's calm–" Midoriya began, trying to step between them. Mineta and Bakugou immediately snapped to the only person who could resolve this issue.

"All Might put down this jerk!"

"All Might tell Rat Bitch I'm right!"

"W-Well… Then why don't we take a look at these results." All Might said nervously as he pushed down a remote. A holographic screen appeared, listing all ten pairs, their time, target's destroyed, their average cooperation rating, and their overall score. Mineta went straight for his and Midoriya's, finding them at rank 6. That quickly put the fear in him, knowing that Bakugou could easily overcome that level of effort. He looked at the pairs above their own, sweating bullets over Bakugou's rank.

Only to not find his or Yaoyorozu's names at 1st through 5th. Instead, looking one rank down, he saw it. 7th place, Bakugou and Yaoyorozu. Wait, what?

"While individual strength is important for a Hero, it doesn't allow them to do everything. Just as a single teacher can't teach an entire school, us Heroes must be able to cooperate with one another during massive operations. And believe me, in a really harrowing scenario, you'd appreciate every bit of help you can get." All Might began with a cough.

"Despite Young Midoriya and Young Mineta's inability to defeat their last target, they demonstrated a level of coordination that takes months or years to build. And given their flexible abilities and good nature, they'd be able to integrate themselves into most plans." All Might explained.

"On the other hand… Your abrasive nature, Young Bakugou, makes things difficult for other people. Young Yaoyorozu only wished to help, but you disallowed her to even do anything. Imagine how she felt through all this? Imagine the consequences of not showing anyone respect or regard to their opinions. I say this because it's shockingly easy to ruin a relationship, even amongst good friends. And when you no longer have anyone around you… You'll find yourself fighting the odds without any rest." All Might concluded with a heavy sigh.

There was something to All Might's last two statements. For the first, it sounded like something he went through. Like there was someone the Number One Hero ignored and it caused a fracture in their friendship. Mineta might have to ask Midoriya about that later…

Then there was the last statement. All Might was no doubt talking about his current situation. Really, this was the first time that he alluded to the fact that he wasn't invincible. But thinking about it from a cooperation perspective, he must not want anyone in the same position he's in now. Heavily injured and slowly losing his ability to fight.

"All Might… Are you okay?" Uraraka asked.

"I am now but not so much in my youth. This is why I want you all to not repeat my mistakes. Be strong and kind not for yourselves, but for people next to you. Understood?" All Might asked, the pep in his person coming back.

"Yes Sir!"

"Good, now head on back to change. I need to file these recordings away." All Might said with a laugh.

So with that, class was dismissed. But a strange tension hung in the air as Bakugou was quiet throughout all of this. Mineta swallowed the lump in his through as he hung next to Midoriya. Neither of the boys said anything either, but they've come to an understanding. Their explosive 'friend' was simmering, his pride no doubt injured. He was, after all, beaten by 'two shits stuck to his boot for three fucking years'.

"This tension is killing me… Why don't we talk about something else?" Hagakure whispered somewhat quietly to Ojiro.

"If you fuckers have something to say, then stop pussy footing around and say it." Bakugou said with a low growl. Everyone flinched as they all stopped all eyes on the human grenade. Mineta looked at Midoriya, seeing him give him an affirming nod of confidence. Seeing that the shorter boy started this, he might as well bring it to its conclusion.

"Bakugou, even if our scores–" Mineta began.

"Don't you give me that patronizing shit Mineta Minoru!" Bakugou shouted, interrupting him. Now that sent Mineta onto his back foot, as well as everyone else. This was the first time he used someone's full name. His full name.

"All Might proved your fucking point and shot me dead. So go ahead, take your little victory, and rub it in my face. But be sure to savor ever last second because it'll be the last time ANY OF YOU gets the better of me! Because I'll be the one laughing next time. So fuck off and get away from me…" Bakugou said before storming off.

"Wha–? Bakugou! Hold up!" Kirishima shouted as he tried to follow. Midoriya quickly held back the red haired boy, shaking his head gently.

Mineta however, in his infinite confusion and anger, picked up a nearby rock and hurled it right at Bakugou. Class 1A stared in horror as the small stone flew on a course for his head. The explosive blonde looked behind him, sharp eyes already on the rock. And in one clean motion, blew the stone to dust. The line has now snapped.

"You little rat fuck! You want to go?" Bakugou screamed, advancing before a hardened Kirishima charged in and blocked him. Not that he seemed to even register him.

"You know what? Yeah! I'm sick of your pompous shit!" Mineta shouted back, drawing his baton before Midoriya placed a hand on his shoulder. That gesture was enough to regain a bit of the shorter boy's reasoning. Why did he do that? What does this even accomplish? Whatever the answers were, he knew the heat in his chest was burning too fiercely to even hope to stop.

"Just when I thought you've learned, you bring it back to yourself! The world doesn't revolve around you, but you keep acting like it is! You left Yaomomo behind today. Demanded an apology from Todoroki at the Sports Festival. In fact, did you even thank anyone on your Cavalry team? Shouldn't everyone here get a little more respect than that!?" Mineta continued shouting.

"I respect them by not shitting them with kid gloves! Unlike you, I can look at them dead in the eye and say 'fuck you'. But I guess that's too much for a conniving cock sucker like you to get." Bakugou answered, thunder punctuating every word.

"Kacchan! Mineta-kun! Stop! I know you two aren't friends, but you don't need to make things worse." Midoriya said loudly. Bakugou and Mineta continued to use their glares to strangle the other. However, now that nothing else was being said, they simultaneously broke their glare. Bakugou began walking off, grumbling something that could only be heard by Jirou or Shouji.

Though he did stop and chuck something towards Mineta, which the shorter boy caught without issue. It was a rock, about the same size as the one Mineta threw.

"Payment returned! Now settle your debt with me!" He shouted before stomping off. Kirishima looked to Midoriya, who nodded towards him. The red haired boy quickly ran after Bakugou, hoping to at least salvage some kind of positivity from this situation. Mineta stared at the stone that sat in his hand. He honestly didn't know what he was looking for in it. Perhaps he wanted a solution on how to deal with Bakugou...

Once and for all.


And that has been Chapter 52! Honestly, this was going to happen at one point or another. Bakugou is the bane of Mineta's existence and vice versa, both struggling to prove the other wrong. But what do you, my dear readers, think of this? Was this a reasonable turn of events? Or was it a needless conflict? The choice is yours...

I really don't have anything else to say other than to stay safe. This goes double to my readers in the US, who's currently experiencing a political crisis. These are still stressful times, so I do hope whatever respite you find will give you the strength, courage, and resolve to face the future.

In any case, that is all for this update. Next time, we'll be joining Mineta and Bakugou as they get a visit from recent mentors. So...

Until Next Time. T1.