Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Toshinori's Choice

Chapter thirty-seven: The Yaoyorozu-Mineta friendship plan, part two

During a brief break from being on UA campus, Izuku and Tokoyami went over to the Uraraka mansion, at the invitation of Ochaco and Tsuyu. As it turned out, the girls were going to take some old stuff that was still in good condition and had been cleaned, and take it to a thrift store to donate. Among the clothing that the girls were donating were Ochaco's old clothes from before she started her weight loss efforts; now that she's in the same slender shape as Tsuyu and the other girls who were in class with them, Ochaco no longer needed her fat girl clothes.

Holding an old shirt of Ochaco's out, Dark Shadow who was out and hanging next to Tokoyami said, "Wow, it's amazing how big Uraraka used to be."

"The gag gift that Ashido and Hagakure got me during our first Christmas as UA students was the final straw," Ochaco said, a dry look on her face as she spoke in an unamused tone.

Tossing the old shirt of Ochaco's back into a box of things to be donated, Dark Shadow said, "So you and your folks donate old stuff you don't need anymore to thrift stores?"

"My parents and I used to get our clothing from thrift stores before the construction company my parents ran was revitalized thanks to Izuku's dad," Ochaco explained, "This is part of what we do to give back and pay it forward."

Izuku nodded in approval. "It really is inspiring how you and your family want to give back after how far you guys have come."

"Yeah, and I've been pitching in too kero," Tsuyu said, "Even Samidare and Satsuki help out."

"Speaking of the little Asuis," Dark Shadow began, "I saw the lad take this big badass looking studded club from his room over to the home office that Uraraka said her dad keeps here. What's that about? You think the lad will wanna donate it to the thrift store? Because if he does I'll convince Fumi here to buy it."

"Oh, my dad mentioned that to me," Izuku said, "He told me it's potential evidence in a case that is being built against some group called Cornucopia's Company."

"Ah yes, Ryumaru's Kanabo," Tsuyu said, "Samidare told me the story of how he got it when he and Satsuki were bringing all of the stuff they got while they were part of Dabi's Crew."

"I think Samidare said something about moving it to our dad's home office to be kept there in case the heroes do need to collect it and Samidare isn't home when the heroes come by," Ochaco said, "They just have to go to dad's home office and find it leaning in a corner if they need to collect it."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask what Samidare was doing with a kanabo in the first place," remarked Tokoyami as he picked up a box to help carry it. Arching a wry eyebrow, Tokoyami asked, "So it's evidence in a case?"

Shrugging, Ochaco replied, "Not sure. It might be." Ryumaru's kanabo might be evidence that can help the pro heroes with the case they're trying to build against Cornucopia's Company, and might even end up leading to Cornucopia himself. But it's a long shot, especially as Cornucopia is such a secretive weasel that the heroes only recently were able to get it that Cornucopia is male; his very gender was a secret up until a few days ago.

So what are the odds that Ryumaru's Kanabo will lead to finding Cornucopia himself?

A few days later, Class 3-A were on a field trip to visiting a company. Said company just so happened to be owned and run by Mineta's uncle, Akoji. The man looked like Mineta but taller, he had a thin whispy moustache, and he had regular hair instead of balls for hair; conversely Akoji's hair was still purple.

Leading the field trip was Aizawa, as the Class 3-A teacher was unavailable to do it and the current Class 1-A had a day off that day. "So this is how Mineta was able to get back into UA," Jiro said as she took a look around, "He has a rich and influential uncle who is friends with Principal Nezu." It was clear that Jiro, still hardline against Mineta, was unamused with how Mineta was able to get back into UA, much less that he was able to get back in period, after Aizawa had expelled him.

Jiro herself looked as she did about this time two years ago, aside from her hair now being slightly longer. Mina had also let it slip that Jiro's annoyed her hair grew but her bust didn't.

Putting everything aside, Aizawa said, "Everyone, this trip's important for you all to learn how businesses can help pro heroes and vice versa."

"Indeed, children," Akoji said, getting all eyes to turn to him, "Although not strictly necessary for a hero to do a good job, it helps a hero if they're famous and popular among the people. I mean, say two pro heroes are trying to save you. One is a highly successful hero but you never heard of them, and the other is only a moderately successful hero but one that's all over the news and media in a good way. Who would you leap into the arms of?"

"The more successful hero," Jiro said, "Duh."

"But Kyoka, the more successful hero in that example is stated to be one that you never heard of," Kaminari pointed out, "How would you know how successful the more successful hero is if you never heard of them or otherwise aren't familiar with them?" Like most of the boys in Class 3-A, Kaminari looked more or less the same as he did around this time two years ago, aside from now having his hair in a barbarian longhair style.

Pointing to Kaminari, Akoji said, "Exactly. You could be the overall most successful and highly accomplished pro hero in the nation, but if your exploits aren't widely known, if the people aren't all that familiar with you, then a person you're trying to save will sooner go with a less successful pro hero if they know them and are familiar with them. Fame and clout are important aspects to the pro hero profession."

Going on, Akoji continued, "Why else do you think pro heroes whenever they're newly minted make such big debuts to the public? They want to get their name in peoples' mouths, get their face in peoples' minds. As distasteful as it can be sometimes, there's simply no getting around the fact that having a little bit of good fame can help a hero do their job. Why else do you think an average of ninety-one point six percent of underground heroes here in Japan are mostly unknown to the people of Japan at large?"

"So you're saying fame is important," Tenya asked. Tenya looked as he did this time two years ago, and he's one of the few boys in his class to NOT have grown his hair out, he kept his 'do in the same style and length as he's always had it in.

Doing the so-so gesture with his right hand, Akoji said, "More like a necessary evil. I'm not trying to encourage you to seek as much fame as possible as quickly as possible when you all become pro heroes. That, I believe, is part of why Endeavor fell from grace, he was obsessed with achieving as much fame and clout as possible, hence why he strove to 'surpass All Might', because that's pretty much saying you wanna be famous, boasting you'll one up the most famous hero Japan had ever known in the modern time."

Holding up a hand, Kirishima said, "I got it from my girlfriend, when she was studying past villains for an assignment on the psychology of villains, that the late villain Stain sought to kill pro heroes that were obsessed with fame and getting as much of it as possible." Kirishima looked as he did this time two years ago, and although his hair was now much longer, rather than hanging free like a barbarian's hair, Kirishima's hair was spiked and fell back, making it look like he was a mix of Super Saiyan Three and (because Kirishima's hair is red) Super Saiyan God.

"That's part of why being obsessed with getting as much fame as possible is bad," Akoji said, "It can get a target on your back. I say that a light touch is sufficient."

"How can businesses help heroes and vice versa?" Shinso asked. The brainwasher looked largely like he did this time two years ago, and his now longer hair was styled in a manner reminiscent of a certain underground hero.

Pointing to Shinso, Akoji said, "Good question. Mainly, a business can help a hero by getting their name out there, by advertising them to the people. This is where the hero merch industry comes in, it's why you see people buying merch of various pro heroes. Who here owns a lot of merch of a particular hero?"

Holding up a hand, Izuku said, "I have a collection of All Might merchandise, although I kind of downsized my collection after discovering that All Might is my dad."

"My little brother has a fair collection of Ryukyu merchandise," Tsuyu said as she raised a hand, "And my little sister has started gathering a collection of merchandise based on Mirko."

"I saw Kirishima's girlfriend wear a Fat Gum hoodie that Kirishima got from Fat Gum himself," Mina said, "Does that count?"

"Yes, all of those are examples of helping heroes get their names out there," Akoji said, "Now, much like how widely successful businesses can help heroes get their names out there, a widely successful pro hero can help a lesser known business get cast into the spotlight by giving it their seal of approval. Can anyone name an example?"

Holding up a hand, Ochaco said, "The construction company my parents started up was not doing too hot originally. But then All Might came in and shot a commercial for it where he gave it a thumbs up. Now the company is the top of its field in the country."

"A very excellent example, young lady!" Akoji said, "Remember children, don't try reaching for too much too soon, but you should still try to reach for at least a little bit." The rest of the lecture there was spent covering a few more questions, but the general gist that Class 3-A got is that fame and clout are important aspects to the pro hero profession, and that they should feel no shame at all in trying to gather some for themselves.

Just some, enough so that the people know who they are. Unless they're perfectly okay with being largely unknown to the Japanese public at large, which Bakugo snarked will most likely be the path that Shinso will take, although instead of referring to Shinso by his actual name, Bakugo just called him Eyebags.

Shinso for his part merely rolled his eyes in annoyance; the only thing about Bakugo that's changed from this point two years ago is that Bakugo's hair is now longer. After the lecture was over, the class was free to tour around the business that they were at, so long as they avoided going into off limits areas.

...

Izuku was later enjoying lunch outside with Ochaco, Tokoyami, Tsuyu, and Mineta. Ochaco kept her lunch light, not wanting to return to her former size. Izuku noted that Tokoyami's lunch included a couple of apples. Tsuyu's lunch included a few jelly candies, a favorite snack of hers. Mineta had a simple lunch of a sandwich with some meat, lettuce, and a few other sandwiche fillings that made for a good sandwich. Izuku's lunch was the same as Mineta's, a simple sandwich albeit Izuku's is made differently. All in all, typical lunches.

"Your uncle kind of gives off sleazy vibes, Mineta," Dark Shadow said as he popped out of and hung next to Tokoyami.

"He gets that a lot," Mineta said casually, "You'll have to try very hard to say or find something about Uncle Akoji that does surprise me."

"So he gets being called a sleaze a lot, ehh?" Dark Shadow said, "Sort of how like you get it a lot that you're told you're a pervert."

Sighing, Mineta remarked, "If you mean how at least half the girls in class still act like and still think I'm the same as I was on day one of our first year at UA, then yeah. I mean, technically I still have said interests, but I keep them to myself and don't openly talk about them. I also haven't tried in ages to do anything pervy like what some of the girls think I still do on the regular. I really wish that they'd just drop it."

"Yeah, it is nice that you've been keeping your interests to yourself for a while," Ochaco said, "It's a breath of fresh air, unlike how Ashido, Hagakure, and Jiro-"

"-Especially Jiro," Dark Shadow put in, a smirking look of knowing amusement on his face.

Nodding in agreement with Dark Shadow's point, Ochaco continued, "Unlike how those girls keep ragging on you. I think it's safe to say we're far from the only ones sick of it by this point."

"It was nice of Yaoyorozu to vouch for you when she accidentally fell on you and you pushed her away in a panic even though your hands touched her butt kero," Tsuyu said, "It's clear she saw that it was a sheer accident."

Gesturing to Ochaco, Mineta said, "Well Yaoyorozu IS the smartest one in our class, no offence to everyone else. It's obvious that a smart person like Yaoyorozu can tell when something is and is not an accid-"

*CRASH*

Mineta was cut off when he and the others heard a crashing sound coming from off the grounds of the outdoor break area he and the others were in. As the group got up from their table, they were met up by Izuku's friends Tenya, Shinso, and Todoroki. Much like Izuku, Todoroki had let his hair grow out long and wild warrior esque; it was a point of pride for Todoroki as in the few times he had visited his father in Tartarus, Enji openly objected to Todoroki's longer hair.

"Did you hear that?!" Tenya said, "There's trouble on the other side of the street from here!"

Seeing the rest of Class 3-A gearing up to check it out, Izuku said, "Let's go!" As such, Izuku and his group all took off for the trouble across the street.

...

When Class 3-A arrived, they saw that a fairly large number of criminal thugs were milling about, wrecking up stores and the like. "Alright! Some action!" Bakugo yelled as he flew into the thick of things, blasting the thugs with explosions left and right.

As the others followed in after Bakugo, Tenya and Todoroki looked primed to rush in as well but stopped short when Mineta ran off in the direction of an alleyway. "Why you running off, Mineta?" Dark Shadow asked as he grappled a thug for Tokoyami.

"I heard a panicked cry coming out from there," Mineta said, "There's a civilian in need of rescue!" The short grape haired boy continued running for the alleyway as the rest of the group followed, with Dark Shadow first knocking out the thug he was grappling.

...

In the alleyway, half a dozen thugs had a lone girl cornered. The girl in question was very clearly homeless, her dirty appearance and threadbare clothing helping to highlight that. She was slender, had chin length azure hair that even without being unkempt would look at least a little wild, and her eyes were yellow and a bit bloodshot in a way suggesting she was suffering from an addiction of some kind. Those yellow eyes also looked scared.

But given she was being cornered by half a dozen thugs, that wasn't much of a surprise.

"About damn time we found you, you dirty whore," the lead thug of the group sneered, "And what luck that I found you while out doing work for the boss!" Cracking his knuckles, the lead thug went on, "Now to collect what you owe me!"

"But I already paid you for the drugs this week!" the homeless girl said, clearly scared.

"No, I meant how you owe me the ten-thousand yen you took from me after we banged," the lead thug spat angrily.

"That's what I charge people I have sex with!" the girl said.

"I'm your dealer, bitch," the lead thug said, "The least you can do is let me bang you for fr-"

*sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch* *sploch*

The lead thug was cut off when he and the others heard a bunch of sounds of wet, sticky things hitting the ground behind them, and a few of the thugs even felt a few things hit them in the back of their legs near the bottom of their calves. Turning to look, the thugs saw that a bunch of sticky purple balls were stuck to them and the ground. The thugs then turned just in time to see Mineta, though they had no idea who he is, grab the homeless girl by her hand and run out of there.

"Hey, some bitch kid is running away with the whore who owes me money!" the lead thug yelled, only to stop short when Izuku, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Tokoyami, Tenya, Todoroki, and Shinso all rush in to confront them after Mineta ran out. The sticky balls actually kept the thugs pinned, they couldn't run around or anything. As such, they were sitting ducks for the Class 3-A students.

...

Eventually, all of the thugs, both in the open and those found in the alleyway, were subdued. Izuku's group after they knocked out the thugs in the alleyway dragged them out of the alleyway to put with the other thugs that the rest of 3-A had defeated. After he and his group put the thugs they knocked out with the others, Izuku looked around for Mineta, spotting him with the homeless girl that he had pulled out of harms way. Also with Mineta were Yaoyorozu, Sato, and Shoji.

Izuku and his group reached Mineta and the others just in time to hear Mineta say to the homeless girl, "...to take you up on the offer, you're clearly not in a sound mindset. The excitement of being saved aside, you're clearly under the influence of some form of substance."

"...Promise you won't get mad," the homeless girl said to Mineta, "But you're right in how I'm taking drugs. The one thug you pinned down is my dealer."

Looking curious, Izuku asked, "What's going on?"

Everyone in Mineta's group turned to look at Izuku and his group. "This girl here who Mineta rescued from those thugs just tried offering Mineta to have sex with her," Shoji explained to the others, "And Mineta's trying to gently turn her down."

"She's clearly worked up by the excitement of Mineta having saved her," Yaoyorozu said, "And Mineta was able to identify that the girl is suffering from an addiction to some sort of substance that the girl just admitted is some kind of drug."

Gesturing to himself, Mineta said, "I'll admit that I'm still a bit on the eager side to turn in my v-card. But I won't do it with a girl who clearly has her judgment impaired. I'm going to ask some pro heroes about finding a rehab program for her to get into, get her cleaned up. Then after all of that, when she's of clear mind and unimpaired judgement, if she still wants to let me bone her, then who am I to tell her no?"

Izuku's group wasn't too surprised that Mineta STILL had his lewd interests. But he at the same time is still in very firm control of them now, he won't openly act perverted unlike how he did on day one of year one of Izuku's time in UA's hero course. There's also how Mineta had openly objected to the idea of having relations with a girl whose judgment can be reasoned to be impaired due to a mix of excitement over being saved and the fact she's under the influence of some manner of substance.

Speaking of the homeless girl, Izuku turned to look at her. She stood next to her hero Mineta, showing she's a head taller than him. Not surprising, as there's few persons in Japan shorter than Mineta without being roughly half Mineta's age; the only people Izuku could think of who are shorter than Mineta are Izuku's adopted little siblings Eri and Kota, and Tsuyu's and Ochaco's younger sister Satsuki. Tsuyu's and Ochaco's little brother Samidare is actually a shade taller than Mineta.

Gesturing to the homeless girl, Izuku said, "Well first off, I think we need to get your name."

Nodding once in understanding, the homeless girl said, "Very well. My name is Ayumu. I... don't have a home, I just find places to hide out for the night. I... promise you won't get mad when I admit this next part, but I make a living charging folks for... sensual services."

"That's... a bit to take in," Todoroki said, seeing now part of why the now identified Ayumu was so eager to offer having sex with Mineta after he saved her.

"Hey Ayumu," Mineta began, getting Ayumu to turn to look at him, "You said that one of the thugs that I helped to save you from is your dealer. Would you be willing to identify him to the pro heroes? Drug dealing is illegal. I'm sure an offer can be made for you."

"He's the one with scruffy blonde hair and he's got a scar under his left eye," Ayumu said, "He also does work for some gang lord that I got is known as Cornucopia. Kind of a weird name fo-"

"The one thug works for Cornucopia?" Izuku interrupted, drawing all eyes to him.

Ayumu gave Izuku a curious look. "...Yes, I heard my dealer talk to someone who came to see him. I was pretending to be asleep on the couch in my dealer's living room at the time. My dealer and his visitor talked about work for their boss, and my dealer's visitor confirmed that the boss's name is known as Cornucopia." With a curious look on her face, Ayumu asked, "Why? Is Cornucopia some sort of important person or something?"

Nodding once, Izuku said, "Yeah, we're going to need to keep an eye on you, arrange for some protection. You can give the pro heroes a major lead in the case they're doing against Cornucopia to bring him down." It was around that time that Aizawa and Hizashi, leading Nemuri, Cementoss, and Snipe, came over to the scene.

After the teachers praised the students for subduing the thugs without major damage and saving all civilians, Izuku and the others explained things to the teachers, how Mineta saved a girl who could provide new info on Cornucopia. Shinso voiced Izuku's idea of taking Ayumu into protective custody, an idea that Aizawa agreed was sound.

Hizashi also picked up on Ayumu being a person who sold sensual services and offered Mineta to let him have sex with her, but he turned her down. The pro hero teachers, learning that Ayumu was clearly addicted to some sort of substance, agreed to look into Mineta's request to get Ayumu some rehab to help her get clean and break away from her addiction.

"If Mineta being chaste when a prostitute offers to have sex with him won't convince the girls in class with us who still think Mineta's nothing but a dirty pervert won't convince the girls that Mineta really HAS changed," Ochaco said, "Then I don't know what will."

Later that evening at UA, Nezu was having a meeting with the primary staff to go over the new info they have on Cornucopia's Company, thanks to Mineta saving Ayumu from some thugs. "So what all do we have on this girl who Mineta saved?" Ectoplasm asked.

"Her name is Ayumu Tomo," Nezu said, "A homeless girl two years older than Mineta, she made a living by being a... lady of the night who offered... certain services. She's also currently addicted to an illegal narcotic, but I got word that she's been checked into rehab to receive treatment. The costs are being covered by the Uraraka family."

"And she has new info on Cornucopia's Company?" Sekijiro asked.

Nodding once, Nezu said, "Indeed. One of the thugs who had Ayumu cornered in an alleyway earlier before Mineta saved her is not only Ayumu's dealer, but he and at least one other thug works for Cornucopia. She was pretending to be asleep on a sofa in her dealer's living room when she heard her dealer and the other thug have a conversation at the dealer's front door, and they had identified Cornucopia by name as their boss."

"All of the thugs from the incident Class 3-A resolved earlier today had been captured," Nemuri said, "Including the thugs who Mineta said were harassing that Ayumu girl. Ayumu identified one of those thugs who harassed her as her dealer, and a man now confirmed to be working for Cornucopia."

"As she gave info that could help us find Cornucopia," Toshinori began, "We ought to arrange protection for her. Cornucopia if he hears there's someone who gave info on him potentially might try to... silence her, if you know what I mean."

"Ayumu is currently staying at a top rehab facility," Nezu said, "And HPSC President Mera when I told him the situation arranged for trusted pro heroes to keep a constant eye on things. There's no way that Cornucopia's Company can try getting at Ayumu. Not without the HPSC and the pro heroes of Japan learning of it more or less instantly."

Arching a wry eyebrow, Aizawa said, "There's also how it was reported that Ayumu offered to... reward Mineta for having saved her, but he turned her down on a count of how she was clearly very excited over him rescuing her, plus how she's still suffering from an addiction that can be reasoned to be impairing her judgment."

"I got it that Yaoyorozu told the story to the rest of Class 3-A," Ryo said, "And that some of the girls refused to believe that Mineta had actually turned down the offer that Ayumu made him." Folding his arms over his chest, the Hunting Dog Hero said, "It's amazing how much some folks refuse to believe that Mineta not only is capable of changing, but that he actually HAS changed."

"Even both of Asui's little siblings," Aizawa began, "Both believe that Mineta has changed his ways for the better. They were both very much against Mineta in the past due to his brief instance of lewd actions against Asui."

Shrugging, Nemuri said, "At least some of the girls in Class 3-A are convinced that Mineta has his act cleaned up. I got it that Uraraka, Asui, and Yaoyorozu all believe in Mineta. Yaoyorozu even stood up for Mineta on his behalf when she explained to Ashido, Hagakure, and Jiro what all Mineta did to help save Ayumu, as well as him turning down Ayumu's offer to him and his reasons for why he had turned Ayumu's offer down."

Leaning back in his chair, Sekijiro said, "Yaoyorozu had suffered a lot ever since she first started as a student here at UA. She's been through a lot, including her family going near destitute, her father being arrested, and later her father being killed randomly during a prison riot. Yaoyorozu had gone through all of that, and yet not only does she not let it jade her view, she stands up for those being unfairly given the short end of the stick."

Toshinori nodded approvingly. "She shows a lot of strength of character, Young Yaoyorozu does. It's actually rather inspiring, if I'm to be honest."

"Well everyone," Nezu said, "I figured that I'd get you all up to speed on the new details we got on the case being made against Cornucopia's Company. Hopefully we'll get enough to not only learn who Cornucopia is, but where to find him so we can track him down and capture him once and for all." The others at the meeting all nodded in agreement and, with everything else settled for the moment, the meeting was adjourned, letting everyone get up and go home for the night.

END, CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Author's notes;

This chapter opens with Izuku and Tokoyami helping Ochaco and Tsuyu with carrying stuff that the Uraraka family is going to donate to a thrift store. During the conversation, Dark Shadow makes mention of how he saw Samidare move a kanabo to Mr. Uraraka's home office in the mansion, and Izuku points out how it might, might mind you, be evidence in an important case that the heroes are trying to carry out against Cornucopia's Company.

Later, Izuku and his classmates take a field trip to a business that Mineta's Uncle Akoji owns, where Akoji himself explains that a mild degree of fame and clout is actually necessary for a pro hero to do their job. During a lunch break, Class 3-A hears a commotion across the street, prompting all of them to rush over and see a bunch of thugs milling about. Izuku's group chases after Mineta who heard a panicked cry come from an alleyway.

Said cry came from a young adult homeless prostitute (fun fact: in one of the recent chapters of the manga, All For One said his mom was a sex worker) being harassed by some of the thugs, but Mineta pins them to the ground with his sticky balls and gets the girl out of there while Izuku and some of the others beat the thugs up. When things are resolved, Izuku and his peers learn the girl's name is Ayumu, she has new info on Cornucopia's Company that the pro heroes could make use of, and she offered... favors to Mineta but he gently turned her down.

The character of Ayumu is meant to help highlight how Mineta has changed for the better. He gently turned her offer down because she's obviously excited over him rescuing her, and she's also suffering from an addiction that can be reasoned to be impairing her judgment. Mineta will NOT take advantage of such a situation, he's better than that. He also helped with sending her to rehab to get clean, and Ayumu will be protected there. Sorry if it seems like I'm being repetitive with how Mineta is good now, but I feel it's a bit warranted.

There's also how Yaoyorozu is vouching for Mineta; this plays into the theme of this arc, which is highlighted in the title 'The Yaoyorozu-Mineta friendship plan'. Anyway, the next chapter will get into more work against Cornucopia's Company by the pro heroes, and some post-rehab plans are going to be set up for Ayumu. Until then, take care.