I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


Mid-August was the moment it happened. Mineta threw his backpack over his shoulders as he readied to leave his home for the last time in a long while. He turned around and nodded to his Dad, to which Takumi nodded back. This wasn't a good-bye, more of a see you later. So, with tears held back, Mineta headed off to UA.

And open a new chapter in his and his friends' lives.

"It's huge!" Satou commented as he examined the building in front of him.

"We're some lucky kids!" Mina added with a cheer, pumping her fist.

Heights Alliance, their new dorm, was an impressive thing to witness. Standing at five stories tall, the dorm could comfortably hold all of them and possibly several more. And looking at the sparkling windows and clean walls, Mineta could tell UA spared no expense during the dorms' construction. UA was going to be keeping these standing for a very long time...

But despite this new joy… A thread of immense tension cut right through it. And if it hadn't been for a select few keeping up the excitement, all of 1A would be all too focused on it.

Mineta and Midoriya were standing on opposite ends of the group.

Neither of them spoke a word to the other. They also didn't even try to face their partner, preferring every other direction. And even when their eyes occasional met, they quickly yet remorsefully turned away. But despite this, the both of them actually had the beginnings of an apology on their tongues. It's just that neither of them felt ready for it...

"… What's going on with those two?" Jirou asked quietly as she leaned towards Kaminari. The electric blonde, as well as a few others, tensed up a little more, a drop of cold sweat began rolling down his face.

"Yeah… Uh… They got into a fight… A really bad one…"

"What!? That doesn't sound like them at all… They're practically brothers." Hagakure replied, trying to contain her shock. Mineta wasn't sure why they kept their voices down, he and Midoriya were literally right there. But he supposed this was their way of processing the events of that night. Especially when some weren't there to witness the disaster themselves…

"Even brothers bicker and argue sometimes…" Tokoyami commented grimly.

"Maybe this will help…" Ojiro said as he approached Mineta. The tailed boy then removed a familiar metallic tube out of his pocket and handed it off to his shorter classmate. The weight of the object came back as Mineta extended it without hesitation. Feughuang's baton, fully repaired and back in his hands. Mineta stared at it before looking towards Ojiro, his eyes asking 'how'.

"I just looked up the Temple's address and mailed it to them, explaining what happened. And they mailed it back all fixed up, saying I should give it back myself. Said it would mean more if it was by my hand." He replied.

"That sounds like Shifu alright… Thanks." Mineta said as he gave a melancholic smile.

"It's you who I should be thanking; your baton got me through some close calls. I don't know what it's made of, but it didn't fail me once." Ojiro replied happily.

"Yeah, it's pretty reliable…" Mineta said as looked back at the baton. But as he kept staring it, Mineta's gaze became heavy and his fingers lazily fidgeted with the weapon's tip. This action made the atmosphere tenser as the shorter boy's unsaid words filled the air.

"It didn't work…" Hagakure said sadly as she clung to a defeated Ojiro. But before the rest of 1A spiraled down this rift between two friends, Aizawa came out of the dorm building. And when their scraggly teacher spotted what's happening, he hastened his pace. A small blessing to weary Class 1A and something Mineta was glad to accept at this point.

"Against all odds… Somehow, you've all made it here. Welcome 1A to the next chapter of your lives. But before I give you a quick overview of the dorms, there's something I must get out of the way first… Todoroki, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Iida, Midoriya…" Aizawa began before turning his gaze on those five students. Mineta could feel the sweat rolling down his back as he knew where this was going. And judging by how everyone was preparing themselves, so were they.

"We all know you went out on THAT night to rescue Bakugou… Now I'm sure you all understand the consequence of their actions as well as your own… But even if it's been swept under the rug, I'm still disappointed in you. So much so that, if All Might hadn't retired, I would've expelled all of you except Bakugou, Jirou, Hagakure, Ojiro, and Tokoyami." Aizawa continued as his glare hardened. No one really said anything as most of 1A's eyes went to the ground. They all knew what this was about…

"You five broke several laws and the rest of you just let it happen."

"Wait Aizawa-sensei! Mineta tried–" Kaminari interrupted, raising his hand. But the moment Aizawa's eyes glowed; the electric blonde simply stopped and began making himself smaller.

"Then he should've tried harder. You ALL should've tried harder. Even notifying one officer would've been enough. But that's past and no amount of lecturing would change that. So just promise me you'll behave properly in the future and follow procedure. Otherwise, you'll never regain the trust you've lost. Understood?"

"Yes sir…" 1A said quietly, their heads bowing slightly.

"Good. Now, let's get into this with some heart." Aizawa said as he began walking towards the dorm. Mineta had to take back what he said before about their teacher… This was no blessing, this was a curse. And he had made an already tense situation even worse. The shorter boy slowly looked around and winced at the current scene. All of 1A was crestfallen…

All except Bakugou, who had a brilliant idea reflecting off his sharp eyes.

"Let's go Drooly." Bakugou commanded as he dragged Kaminari away.

"Wai– What!? No! I don't want to! Help!" He screamed before the two disappeared behind a bush. A brief period of silence followed before a massive electrical discharge occurred. Mineta anxiously waited to see just what happened between those two… Only for Kaminari to come blundering out in full idiot mode. And no one could help but crack a smile at him stumbling around.

"Whey~!" He blubbered. And naturally, Jirou was the first to start laughing.

"W-Why? Why is that… Still so… Funny…?" Jirou asked between giggles.

"I mean, this is KAMINARI we're talking about." Sero replied, one hand covering his rising laughter. Bakugou then came out from behind the bush, making a beeline for Kirishima. And with the most intense glare on his face, he threateningly presented the red haired boy a number of bills. To say Kirishima was startled would be an understatement…

"Did you just–!?"

"Wrong, this is mine. I brought it with me because I don't leave debts unpaid. That'd just piss me off..." Bakugou interrupted before shoving the money into Kirishima's chest. And as the red haired boy pieced together what his friend was referring to, a toothy grin spread across his face. He accepted the money, but not without words of his own.

"Thanks man. But don't think I'm not going to pay you back."

"Huh!? That's now how this works Kiri– Actually, I'm going back to Hair for Brains since you clearly don't get it. You don't need to pay me back!" Bakugou said with a growl. Kirishima, not fazed by the human grenade's change in demeanor, just hug an arm off his shoulder and began rallying 1A.

"I know this won't tell me how sorry I am, but I'm dedicating this money to everyone tonight! How does barbeque sound?"

Cheers resounded through 1A as they all began to move towards the dorm. Jirou, through her laughter, was leading the still addled Kaminari as Yaoyorozu and Sero fed him batteries. Kirishima still hung off Bakugou's shoulders as, much to the explosive blonde's dismay, Mina joined the party. And Iida, resuming his role as 1A's class president, got everyone inside the dorm in an orderly manner.

But through all this, there was one thing that was still off.

Midoriya and Mineta hung back from the rest of their classmates and friends. And when it was just them, the two finally faced the other. Though not without some distraction on both ends… Mineta was repeatedly extending and collapsing his baton, his eyes unfocused and uncertain. Midoriya was looking at everything except his partner, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

And this awkwardness didn't stop even when their gazes finally met again.

"Midoriya…"

"Mineta-kun..."

"I…"

"Uh…"

"About that night…"

"About our fight…"

A few minutes passed, no other words came out of their mouths. So with both eyes reflecting defeat, Mineta and Midoriya broke eye contact. And the two simply shuffled to enter the dorm in silence. Neither enjoyed this situation they were both in… But Mineta knew that an apology won't stick unless he put his whole being into it. So until his body, mind, and spirit were ready, he'd have to put it on hold.

"At least Midoriya feels the same…" Mineta thought as he sadly glanced at his partner.

As the two entered the dorm, Aizawa began giving the tour of the dorm. And as Mineta expected, UA didn't hold back when it came to making this place a home away from home. Kitchen, Dining hall, baths, laundry room, living room… These were the things that made up the common area. There was even a courtyard at the center of it all.

"This is a bit much…" Uraraka said faintly as she began wobbling. Midoriya proceeded to put a hand on her shoulder, stabilizing her before the tour continued. From there, they made their way up to the second floor and went into a vacant room. Outfitted with air conditioners, personal toilets, refrigerators, roomy closets, and even a balcony, these rooms were the height of student living.

"Alright, now that you've got that down… Here are your room assignments. Everything you sent from home should already be in there. There are no other announcements after this, so just spend today settling in and getting ready for tomorrow." Aizawa said, handing out papers with the assigned rooms. Looking at it, Mineta could feel a sad laugh echo within his head.

Midoriya was his neighbor…

"In any other circumstance… I would've been over the moon…" Mineta thought as he began heading to his room. He then felt a presence to his right, but didn't really flinch to it. Though it did leave the shorter boy wondering what's on his partner's mind if he was willing to cross their current rift. It was probably just small talk to make things easier in the future.

"Well, at least some things are going our way…" Midoriya said sheepishly.

"It's a little hard to get excited though… Considering…"

"Yeah…" Midoriya replied as his eyes lost a little luster. It was here that the green haired boy broke off first, having arrived to his room. But he held off opening his door until Mineta arrived at his. The shorter boy glanced over and saw his partner's sad smile. Mineta nodded and both entered their respective rooms at the same time.

"Okay… First things first…" Mineta thought, closing his door. He then stared at the boxes that were sent from home, looking for an appropriate one to start unpacking. Once the order has been established, he changed into his PE uniform and Heaven and Earth Temple shirt. If there was a combination that'll give him the spiritual strength to get through these tough times…

It would be this.

"Prepare yourself!" Mineta shouted as he pointed at the boxes.

"That was way harder than it should've been…" Mineta commented as he sunk further into the couch. Currently he was sitting with the other 1A boys in the lounge. Night has fallen not too long ago and they were all equally wiped out.

"I know I promised barbeque… But is anyone up for cooking after this?" Kirishima asked. Everyone simply shook their heads, causing the red haired boy to let out a groan. Kaminari walked over and laid a hand on his classmate's shoulder.

"Don't sweat it man. Let's just order something over the phone and relax. I'm sure we'll have a good time anyway." He said with a grin.

"Hey! Hey! What's this about a good time?"

Mineta adjusted himself in his seat, looking over the couch's backing, and saw the girls. They must've just finished their rooms themselves. Though Tsuyu wasn't with them for some reason… The shorter boy wanted to point this out, but there really wasn't a good time for it. Especially not when Mina was suggesting something both fun and dangerous…

"If you want a good time… Then let's have a peek at each other's rooms!" Mina shouted with a sly grin. Mineta could feel a new tension appear around some of the boys. While some were excited, like Kaminari and Aoyama… Others, Midoriya and Tokoyami specifically, were incredibly hesitant.

"Three guesses as to what Midoriya's room looks like…" Mineta thought as 1A began getting up, much to Midoriya's dismay. He scrambled to his feet and rushed towards the elevators before anyone else got to it. That was when his voice hit a pitch Mineta didn't know he could reach.

"Wait! Hold on! Please!"


And that has been Chapter 80!

Have you ever got into a fight with someone you know well? And though you both wanted to apologize, how hard was it to actually do it? I feel that the worse the fight is, the harder the talk afterwards is. And because of this, the relationship is, at best, in limbo or, at worst, deteriorating even further. Luckily, it seems both Midoriya and Mineta are willing to talk it out. However, now the problem is how to approach the matter.

But what do you think of all this? Would this be a natural reaction between even the best of friends? Or is it because they are friends that they have difficulty talking about their fight? I shall await your responses.

In other news, planning the next several chapters has been taxing on my mind. I've been summoning every ounce of emotion in my body to write the more heartfelt scenes and I think I almost burned myself out. But worry not, I won't give up. However, if one day I decided to take a break, this is why. So wish me luck as I continue to plot out The Saint and The Sinner to the best of my ability.

And that is all for this update. Next time, we explore the highlights of 1A's dorm room challenge. So with that said...

Until Next Time. T1.