I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


"Mineta, we're here." Shouji said, rousing Mineta from his half sleep. Moments ago, during their last encounter, the shorter boy strained his right leg and left him with a limp. And rather than risk leaving him behind, 1A had Shouji carry him on his back. And while Mineta protested, the multi-armed giant did not. At some point, Mineta slipped out of consciousness due to the exhaustion from all the fighting. As unfair as it was for him to rest, Mineta knew it couldn't be helped. He did leave Midoriya his baton however, so that he was with the class in spirit.

"Thanks man… I think I've got it from here." Mineta said before Shouji lowered himself. The shorter boy climbed down, carefully setting down on his feet as he hobbled over to a staggering Midoriya. His partner simply gave him a tired smile as he returned the baton, noticeably a little more worn than before.

"One more fight?" Mineta asked, collapsing the baton.

"Yeah…"

"Hard?"

"A little… It would've been easier if we had you." Midoriya said, managing to put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Mineta seriously doubted that, but he was honestly too tired to argue. The shorter boy simply chuckled and patted Midoriya's back as 1A finally reached Aizawa and the Pussycats at the front of the lodge.

The sun was also starting to set. It took all of them the entire day to get here, leaving them all exhausted and hungry.

"That absolutely sucked." Sero commented, scratching at his irritated skin.

"I can't go on… Remember me comrades…" Kirishima moaned as he collapsed onto his knees. He was about to face plant into the ground if it wasn't for Bakugou stopping him. It didn't, however, stop the Human grenade from dragging the red haired boy around.

"Chin up kittens, you actually did better than we expected. A lot of you performed great, especially you four. You guys just sprang into action." Pixie-Bob said, pointing to Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugou. And as the Heroine went into somewhat dubious territory with her following assessment, Mineta noticed that kid with the horned cap again.

He was scowling and glaring at 1A, almost like he held some kind of grudge with someone among them. And while Mineta liked to imagine it was Bakugou, he knew this kid was a complete stranger. Midoriya, following his partner's line of sight, gestured towards the boy and posed the silent question.

"This is my nephew, Izumi Kouta. Kouta-kun, come say hi, you'll be living with them for the next week." Mandalay replied, gesturing for the young boy to come closer. Kouta did so, even if the scowl on his face never left him. Midoriya quickly met him, quickly introducing himself as he held his hand out.

"Hello, I'm Midoriya Izuku of UA's Hero–!" He began. However, it all came to an end when Kouta suddenly punched him in the groin. Mineta flinched but his feet quickly dashed forward, catching his partner before he collapsed onto the ground. But given his injured leg, it proved difficult until Uraraka came in to help keep Midoriya stable. And that in turn allowed Mineta to deal with the real problem.

"What was that for!? He was only being nice!" He shouted.

"As if I'd fuck around with a bunch of losers aiming to be corny ass heroes…" Kouta said with a snarl before walking away. Several question marks bounced around Mineta's head as Mandalay briskly went after her nephew. What was that kid's problem?

"Kid thinks he's an adult." Bakugou said with a sneer.

"Reminds me of someone I know…" Todoroki commented, eyes glancing at the human explosive.

"What was that!?"

"It was a joke."

"Enough chit chat. Go get your luggage from the bus and settle into your rooms. Dinner will be ready by the time you finish unpacking. Afterwards, take a bath and spend your evening however you like. Tomorrow will be the real deal, so hustle up." Aizawa instructed in his usual monotonous tone. 1A practically cheered at the opportunity to unwind, Kirishima even regained consciousness to this.

Things went into automatic as 1A unloaded the bus in a whirlwind of desperate efficiency. Everyone wanted as much time to unwind as possible. So much so, Mineta almost worsened his leg, Uraraka almost vomited all over Aoyama, and Yaoyorozu barely keeping herself from passing out due to the hunger. But all of that changed when they reached the dining hall as a feast was prepared for them.

And if Mineta had to set the scene, it was almost like a flash in the pan. 1A laid siege to the spread before them; such was the depth of their appetite. Class 1B was also there. Neither of the classes interacted during that moment though, no doubt exhausted from their own journey here. Some strange conversations floated around too, not that the shorter boy or Midoriya cared about that.

Instead, they couldn't keep their focus from the boy with the horned cap. He was just hanging about by his lonesome…

"Hey Midoriya, can I ask you something?" Mineta asked quietly as the two walked the halls of the lodge. Dinner was finished an hour ago, allowing 1A to clean up and rest at the Hot Springs. But now that was completed as well, allowing them to just hang around before bedtime. Some went right back to their rooms, while others explored the grounds and found things to do. Apparently there was a Recreation room with all sorts of activities inside, causing Kirishima to spring an impromptu Ping Pong tournament with 1B.

However, Mineta and Midoriya could hardly unwind when a certain topic kept itself at their forethoughts. From dinner to the bath, the pair just couldn't shake this apprehension surrounding a certain a child they've met today. It was honestly getting pretty depressing.

"I'm guessing it's about Kouta-kun, right?" Midoriya asked, taking a sip of water. Mineta nodded as he closed his eyes. He took a moment to find the right words to say, not wanting to sound too blunt. But given how much they were on the same wavelength, maybe it was best to not beat around the bush.

"He's hurting, isn't he?" Mineta asked sadly to which Midoriya nodded quietly. This caused the shorter boy to frown as he began thinking again. The main question being what weighed down Kouta's young shoulders. But that proved to be extremely difficult as the two knows next to nothing about him.

With Shinso, Mineta was able to pick up on his issues during their battle.

For Todoroki, he discussed the problem with Midoriya personally.

Midoriya let out a sigh of frustration as he stopped walking, fists clenched tightly. The shorter boy quickly went back and reached out to his partner. And as always, he put the weight of his emotions into it. Mineta completely understood where Midoriya was coming from. He was a Hero-in-Training who will one day succeed All Might's place as Number One Hero.

But how could he become that if he couldn't even help a single child?

"We'll figure it out dude, we always do. Let's just relax for now; we had a very long day." Mineta said quietly. Midoriya's body began to relax somewhat, a half hearted smile spreading across his lips.

"Okay, but we shouldn't wait too long. We've only got a week after all."

"You got it. Now, how does catch sound?" Mineta asked, some spring returning to his step. Before Midoriya could answer though, they heard an angry shout from nearby. The pair looked to one another before darting towards the noise. And upon turning the corner, Midoriya and Mineta encountered a bewildered Todoroki.

"Todoroki-kun? What happened?" Midoriya asked, laying a hand on his dual colored friend.

"Midoriya, Mineta… It was the kid." Todoroki replied, turning towards them. Mineta's ears almost twitched to that just as Midoriya's green eyes widened. Kouta was here? If so, what did Todoroki witness? The green haired boy quickly began asking questions about the situation while Mineta looked to the open door closest to them. It was like any other door found in the lodge. However, the name plate suggested that this was one of the Wild Pussycats' personal rooms.

Specifically, this room belonged to Mandalay.

"I was exploring the lodge, getting the layout in case something happens. And that's when I heard some very pained crying from within this room." Todoroki began, gesturing to Mandalay's room.

"I thought something bad happened, so I barged in without thinking. The kid, Izumi right? He was in front of the TV. It was off, but his eyes were all puffy and soaked. When I asked what was wrong, he simply started shouting about trespassing and minding my own business. Even if he was correct, I thought about how you two helped me without me asking. So, maybe, I could do the same for him. But…" Todoroki explained, a sadness taking his eyes as his right hand gestured to the far end of the hall.

"You did what you could man. Even with me and Midoriya, it's still hard to say the right words when you don't know what the problem is." Mineta replied, placing a hand on Todoroki's arm.

"Right... But even then… Are you two just going to barge into whatever mess he's in?" Todoroki asked.

"You know us too well. It won't be easy, but if we don't at least try, then he'll be hurting long before he gets better. And what good are we as Heroes-in-Training if we just let that happen?" Midoriya answered with a determined nod. The dual colored boy stared at him, only to give a light chuckle as a small smile appeared on his face. Mineta raised an eyebrow to that.

It was always strange to see Todoroki express such gentleness.

"Always going above and beyond... It's no wonder I'm afraid of you."

"E-E-Excuse me?" Midoriya blubbered out. One of Mineta's eyebrows raised themselves as an old memory came to the surface. In the corridors of the UA First Year stadium, moments before the finals of the Sports Festival, Mineta and Todoroki had a heart to heart. And before parting ways, the dual colored boy posed a question.

"I should've asked this before Todoroki, but what did you mean by 'was I ever afraid of Midoriya'?" Mineta asked, scratching at his head. The dual colored boy didn't say anything for a moment, thinking on how to say his answer. He then looked to Midoriya, eyes filled with an honesty that's different from his usual bluntness.

"Since our fight, I've had this creeping fear that you'll become a better Hero than me, maybe even out of us all."

Ah… Mineta and Midoriya stared at Todoroki for a bit, processing his words. And when it clicked, the duo had two differing reactions. Midoriya, being the modest yet nervous wreck he was, began to frantically blunder out something to downplay that comment. Mineta, on the other hand, was beyond ecstatic. Here was one of the strongest members of 1A feeling the pressure of his partner's heroic spirit. And unlike Bakugou, this was actually confirmed.

"But know this Midoriya." Todoroki continued, putting his right hand on the green haired boy's shoulder. A cold mist began emanating from it just as his eyes flashed a determined glare. This caused Midoriya to cease his floundering to meet his classmate's challenge. Though that didn't mean he wasn't stunned by this.

"Like you said to me, I won't step aside without a struggle. So prepare yourself and get all the help you need, for I'll overcome you before you know it." He continued, his glare continuing to pierce through Midoriya. The dual colored boy then proceeded to turn back and walk away. He stopped for a moment and turned around, nodding towards the open door next to them.

"Good luck with the kid. He's in good hands."

And from there, he continued to walk away. More than that though, Mineta could see that Todoroki's back felt different. Before, as it was in the middle of a metamorphosis, his back had a weak presence. Now, while there was still doubt, there was purpose dwelling within it now.

"Looks like your competition just got more serious." Mineta commented, turning to his partner.

"Yeah, it's going to get challenging… But at least he said to get help and I've got the best kind." Midoriya replied as he rested a hand on Mineta's shoulder.

"He's going to regret saying that. But we should get back to our original problem…" Mineta replied before solemnly turning to the still open door. The two slowly looked to one another, their nervousness apparent between one another. And with a nod, Midoriya and Mineta stepped into unknown territory.


And that has been Chapter 66! I still don't have much to say, so...

Next week, we'll be exploring Kouta's backstory but with my own personal twist on it.

I hope you're looking forward to it, my dear readers. So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.