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

"You sure you okay Midoriya? Those fingers aren't looking too healthy." Mineta asked as he, Midoriya, Tsuyu slowly waded through the waist high water. Well, waist high to them, the shorter boy was still quite buoyant and his movements were slower as a result.

"Perfectly… At least, okay enough if we get into another fight…" Midoriya answered, his voice straining to hide his pain. He even had the audacity to cover his injured hand with one of his elbow guards. Even then, there was nothing they could do without medical supplies.

Perhaps Mineta should acquire a first aid kit if they all survive this incident.

"Let's not Midoriya-chan, we're not in an ideal environment." Tsuyu said as the finally reached land.

"Yeah, it's better if we sneak around the next one…" Mineta replied quickly. He had his fill of 'near death situations' for several months and as such, isn't so eager to go fight some more Villains. And luckily for him, Midoriya nodded in agreement and began looking around.

"You're both right, we need to focus on getting out of here and calling for help. Let's follow the shoreline and avoid the plaza all together." He said, eyes locking onto the nearby battle. Both Mineta and Tsuyu also turned their gaze there, seeing their homeroom teacher giving it his all.

While the shorter boy knew his former master was strong, there was still a hard limit to his body. Compared to before, his attacks and dodges were starting to slow down. What's worse, more and more Villains began to press in on him, each of them hungry for the chance to soak their hands in a Hero's blood.

Mineta felt a shiver crawl up his spine. He could never handle that level of bloodlust aimed at him, let alone be able to fight them all off. The shorter boy grabbed his partner's shirt and began pulling. They had to get going before they were inevitably forced into a fight. But Mineta soon made the mistake of looking at Midoriya's face… His eyes were lit with the flames of courage.

"Aizawa-sensei… He's drawing in so many of them…" Tsuyu commented, her voice low with uncertainty.

"But he won't be able to take them all on by himself… Aizawa-sensei is capable, but the stress will catch up to him eventually. Despite that, he jumped in any way to protect our class…"

"Midoriya, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking. We only got out of our situation because the conditions were just right. If all of us go there to help, we might not be so lucky and cause more problems for Aizawa." Mineta said as he glared at his partner.

"I didn't say we'd dive right in. Instead, we'll look for an opening and go for a 'hit and run' instead. That'll lighten Sensei's burden and put us in the least amount of danger." Midoriya replied. And looking at his eyes, Mineta could tell that he put a few strategies under consideration. But even if that was the plan, they don't know what could happen to throw a wrench in all that. The risk was too high.

But should they succeed, Aizawa will have a moment to rest. And in a crisis like this, every second of respite matters for a veteran Hero. It could even be enough to turn the battle around.

What to do…?

"Hmmm… We should observe the situation before making a consideration. I also wish to help Aizawa-sensei. But if we went in there and bit off more than we could chew, it would render his efforts to protect the class moot." Tsuyu said, finger on her chin. Mineta began nodding like crazy to the girl's thoughts as Midoriya looked between the two. And luckily for them, he conceded.

"Okay, we'll read the situation. If Aizawa-sensei has it handled, we'll go. If not, we'll give whatever help we can and then go." Midoriya replied.

With that, the three of them dipped lower into the water to lower their presence. But they all kept their eyes above the bit of ground in front of them, keeping watch over their teacher. It was a frantic spectacle as Aizawa continued to demonstrate his martial ability against the Villains. And never had Mineta felt such fear for the cryptic master that aggravated him.

"Make it through this you lazy bum! We still haven't learned anything yet!" Mineta thought, hands clasped together.

It was here that they noticed the pale, hand covered man charged towards their teacher. But there was something strange about the way he moved. It wasn't slow, but not exactly fast. His ran was more calculated than anything. Like he was counting down to something…

Wait…

Mineta's face paled as his eyes immediately went to Aizawa, who moved in to engage. For the pale man, he easily snagged the capture scarf that was thrown to him. The scraggly hero went low, increasing the speed of his dash. And once he was close enough, he delivered a high speed elbow to his opponent. But on closer inspection, the pale man caught it.

And then, Aizawa's elbow began to peel, crack, and crumble.

"That guy… He timed when Aizawa's Quirk would end… And now…" Mineta said, his bowels becoming uncomfortably loose. Even when Aizawa leapt away, seeing his arm hang limp was allowing fear to take hold.

"The Villain has a disintegration Quirk… It looks like anything he touches starts to break away until…" Midoriya added. But he wasn't able to finish that thought as Tsuyu let out a nervous croak. What happened next however, really didn't help the three's growing apprehension.

Behind their teacher was what could be described as a wall of muscle. It was like All Might, but this… THING was more bestial and unrestrained. And looking at the creature, Mineta didn't know which of its features were more nightmarish. Was it the exposed brain? It's jagged, rock like maw? The deep agony dwelling within its bulging eyes and shrunken irises?

However, what he was certain of was this creature's obscene level of strength. Aizawa attempted to counterattack by throwing his capture scarf around the beast. And while it did wrap around, the monster broke free of it with a simple flex.

The thing then shot its arm out towards their teacher. And while Aizawa was practically a ninja, the creature caught his leg as he tried to jump back. It slowly lifted him into the air before hitting the ground with the Hero. Face first.

The surface cracked as blood sprayed into the air. Their teacher was barely moving, but the thing found it necessary to pin him down with one of its hands anyway. With the other, the monster firmly grasped Aizawa's arm and twisted it as easily as clay. His scream resounded through Mineta as his own arms twitched and tingled. The shorter boy slowly looked towards his partner and Tsuyu, finding them drinking deeply from the rising despair.

Mineta turned back to their teacher, who was still mustering the strength to struggle. But all that accomplished was the complete shattering of his other arm. Another scream tore through the three, stilling their hearts and threatened to knock them out. The creature then grabbed Aizawa's head and drove it into the ground, more cracks and blood appearing.

Now Mineta had to physically cover his mouth to stop any noise from coming out. With the way this narrative was going, the three of them will surely die if he squealed. And with that, all the confidence he had since the three escaped the ship vanished. No matter what kind of bravery Midoriya shows, it won't be enough to save them. And here did the shorter boy remember something, words that his partner said before UA…

"But do you ever have that… Sinking feeling that whatever little power you have might not be enough next time?"

As Mineta continued to eye the broken form of his teacher, black smoke began to gather near the pale man. It was the Villain that separated everyone. They began talking about something that he could barely hear. Snapping out of his desperation for a moment, he began trying to listen in. In all honesty, it wasn't much given the state they were in… But he needed to hold true to Midoriya's wisdoms. The first and most important thing in any situation is information.

And maybe whatever he could pick up could lead to their salvation.

"It's game over… There's no way we can take on that many Pro Heroes… We'll need to try again another day… Kurogiri, get us out of here." The pale man said, frustration lacing his raspy voice.

"If that is what you wish, Shigaraki Tomura." The smoky figure, Kurogiri presumably, replied.

"Ah wait… We need to leave a calling card… A few dead kids should do…"

Before Mineta knew it, Shigaraki was looming over him, Tsuyu, and Midoriya. And up close, the shorter boy could see how inhuman the villain was. Most of his upper body was covered in hands, all of them unnervingly life like. His hair was a frayed and thin. The exposed parts of his neck were covered in flaky scars. And the one eye Mineta could see through that hand on the Villain's face… It was wide open and full of spite.

"Shame I won't be around to see All Might's face when he finds you…" The Villain said, unable to contain his glee. He reached out towards Tsuyu's face while any of them were too stunned to react. And as both Midoriya and Mineta turned to her with desperate eyes, the image of Aizawa's arm played in their head. The shorter boy's thoughts were running too fast for him to formulate any action. All he could was watch.

…

He and Midoriya stared as Tsuyu remained still; the Villain's fingers were touching her face. Nothing was happening. And from the corner of Mineta's eyes, he noticed the sharp eyes of their teacher. Aizawa Shouta was glaring at Shigaraki with all the grit and fury of a cornered Hero.

"What a trooper, that Eraserhead… It's nice to have a teacher go above and beyond for you." Shigaraki commented. He then made a gesture with his head, causing the creature to slam Aizawa's face back into the concrete.

"Not good! Not good! Not good!" Mineta thought as he quickly turned back to Tsuyu. He saw Midoriya leaping out of the water, ready to blow this Villain away. But even seeing his partner act, the shorter boy couldn't move anything. His arms, legs, mouth, everything couldn't find the courage to help in some way. He couldn't jump out of the water to tag team Shigaraki. He couldn't move just a step to push Tsuyu out of the way.

Mineta was as useless here as he was before UA.

"SMASH!" Midoriya shouted, a torrent of wind and dust enveloping the wind. Mineta looked up at his friend, did he get him?

As the dust settled, a large mass was standing over all of them. It was that monster and it was unfazed by the blow it received. Mineta could only let out a stuttered laugh in response, darkness swallowing his surroundings. He could still register what's going on around him… But he didn't even try to help resist their fate.

Midoriya getting grabbed by that monster? There was nothing Mineta could do to even bother it.

The Villain reaching for Tsuyu again? There was no defense he could offer that could save her from the inevitable.

"That's it… We're done for… A new life sounds pretty great right about now…" Mineta muttered as Shigaraki's other hand reached for him. Slowly did the hand of death came to him and the world was just about to black out entirely…

That was, until a new sound broke through the hopelessness. USJ's front gate exploded off its hinges, the noise ripping through the whole building. Everything stopped as they all looked towards the source. And standing there, before all the chaos, was the familiar form of the Symbol of Peace. Dawn has finally come to this dark night.

"Have no fear, for I am Here!" All Might's voice was practically shattering. His signature catch phrase brought all those who heard it a profound feeling. For the students of 1A, a great joy and relief. For the Villains, a sense of undeniable uncertainty.

"ALL MIGHT!" Mineta cried out, finally letting out all the emotions he had bottled up. While his eyes were mostly busy producing tears like the Midoriya family, some part of him caught something odd. While he could recognize All Might standing before everyone… He wasn't his usual self; there wasn't a bold smile to be found.

In its place was the sight of clenched teeth and a solid scowl.

"A continue… We can still clear the game." Shigaraki said as he stood up. The creature that grabbed Midoriya released his grasp on the boy and shuffled next to the pale man. In all honesty, this only made Mineta cry even more than before. Things were that desperate for the three of them.

"I can't believe it… We've managed to survive…" Tsuyu said.

"Yeah… We're going to make it… Right Midoriya?" Mineta replied as he wiped his tears. Looking towards his partner, the shorter boy noticed something worried within him. It caused a sense of disconnect from his more hopeful half and anxiety began building in Mineta again.

What's wrong? All Might's here? Shouldn't you be happy?

Mineta heard movement and turned towards it. And before him were the unconscious bodies of all the Villains in the plaza. All Might, who now stood in front of Shigaraki, was cradling Aizawa in his arms. His eyes glared at the Villains before him and disappeared.

Suddenly, Mineta was looking at Shigaraki and the creature from another angle. Not only that, he, Midoriya, and Tsuyu were now next to one another again behind All Might. As for the Villains, Shigaraki was frantically picking up one of his various hands off the ground.

"Huh? What just…?" Mineta asked, looking around to gain his bearings.

"Students! You must take Aizawa and go!" All Might instructed. Mineta looked at his feet and saw the battered Aizawa. Without another second, he began to pick him off the ground. He struggled but once Midoriya stepped in, they got him off the ground. Though this was just background noise to Midoriya, he was focusing on relaying information to their Basic Heroics teacher.

"Be careful, that Brain Villain over there took One for– I mean, my attack at full power without flinching! My arm didn't break so maybe it wasn't that powerful… But still! Taking a blow like–"

"Young Midoriya!" All Might shouted, interrupting his partner. All Might turned around with the widest smile and made a pose like he was taking a photo. "Don't worry."

He then proceeded to launch himself towards the Villains. The Hero's initial attack didn't do any damage but he managed to dodge the counterattack. And as the two danced a ballet of fists, Mineta, Midoriya, and Tsuyu were ready to move Aizawa.

"All Might really is on a different level… Let's get Aizawa out of here dude." Mineta said.

"Y-Yeah…" Midoriya replied. But while they did start moving, Midoriya couldn't help but look back at the battle behind them. His eyes were pleading to All Might, almost as though he knew it was going to be a hard fight even for him. This caused Mineta to focus his own thoughts on picking apart his partner's mind. What could he be concerned about?

"That monster was able to take a blow from Midoriya at full strength… But All Might is much stronger than Midoriya, so he should be able to break down its defenses eventually. Though that thing is still extraordinarily strong for a Villain… Could it be that is what they're going to use to kill All Might? And combined with my theory that All Might could be weakening due to age or health…" The shorter boy thought.

Mineta began to feel his bowels loosen again as he turned his head around back to the battle. There was a cloud of dust over it, but he could feel something ominous going on in it. Was All Might in trouble?

"Tsuyu-chan… Please take Aizawa-sensei for me…" Midoriya said.

"Sure, but what are you going to do?" The girl said as she took his place in carrying their teacher. Looking at his partner, Mineta knew what he was going to do. It was stupid, but there was no other choice now. Midoriya needed to be there for his teacher.

"Be careful Midoriya." Mineta said.

"I'll try." He answered with a warbled smile before starting to run towards the battle. Seeing his friend's stalwart back filled Mineta with fresh courage. While it was a shame he couldn't charge in there with Midoriya, he knew he had to tend to Aizawa first. But as the shorter boy watched him run, he felt that the dream was slowly getting further and further away.

"Can't think about that right now… Tsuyu, let's go!" Mineta said, turning back to Tsuyu.

"But, Midoriya-chan…"

A familiar explosion resounded through the air, causing the two to look towards the battle once more. Standing with alongside Midoriya was Bakugou, Todoroki, and Kirishima, all of them ready to support the Number One Hero in this battle. Mineta could only smile at the sight, his heart lightening a little knowing that his partner won't be alone in the effort.

"Midoriya's got strong back up, he'll be fine." The shorter boy said, a pang of inadequacy ringing in his heart.

"Okay…"

Both he and Tsuyu began making their way to the entrance, where their classmates were no doubt waiting. And as they walked, Mineta found that the sounds of battle were few and far in between. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Were they trading scathing verbal barbs? Where it was more of a contest of wills?

He will never know…

"Hey! Up here!"

Mineta looked up and saw Uraraka waving towards them. His heart continued to soar as he saw more and more of his classmates. And judging by how there were little to no injuries on them, they managed to survive as well. Uraraka and Shouji quickly went down the steps, helping with Aizawa the moment they were close. The former made Aizawa float while the latter took the task to guiding his unconscious body around.

Going up the steps, Mineta would've hugged the ground had he not noticed that a few of 1A are still missing. Did they get separated by that mist too? If that's the case, did they get away like him and Tsuyu? Those questions aside, he also noticed how the back of Thirteen's suit was completely ripped open. The shorter boy immediately ran to the downed Space Hero and began examining the damage.

"This costume's supposed to resist a butt load of hazards. It can't be cut, punctured, or burned. Electricity just flows around it, its water tight, and has radiation shielding… What did this?"

"You know your costumes… But this is was the work of my Quirk… Defense means nothing to the pwer of a black hole…" Thirteen grunted. Mineta felt a little sick to his stomach, but it did leave him wondering. How was the Hero's Quirk used against themselves?

It didn't take a while before that thought was interrupted by a thunderous rumble. Mineta had to flail his arms around just to stop himself from falling over. And looking around for the cause, he noticed a giant hole in the side of the USJ. A hole that wasn't there before…

"Was… Was that a Villain that got shot through?" Sero asked, sweat rolling down his neck. If that was the case, then there was only one possible explanation for it.

"All Might… He won… He Won!" Mineta shouted, tears starting to fall from his face again. The boy's classmates began cheering, the triumphant sound ringing through the whole facility. Mineta didn't even know what else to say, the nightmare they found themselves in was finally ending. And just as they all began preparing to evacuate the building again, more good news walked in.

Literally.

"Class 1A! Your President, Iida Tenya, has returned with help!"

Iida and a whole line of UA Faculty stood atop the steps, their presence completely banishing any remaining despair. Mineta's lips were pulled into a smile, allowing his eyes to tear up one last time for today. After all, there was nothing more beautiful than a Hero's reliable back.

"What the Hell took you so long?"

And that has been Chapter 15! I'll admit, this was not my best work. Because this portion of the USJ attack was focused on All Might, the students could only watch his incredible battle. Well, that isn't entirely true. But as far as Mineta was concerned, All Might did all the heavy lifting when it came to fighting Nomu. So really, I was in a corner and just had to fight my through in the most boring way possible.

"Yeah, not much really happened... That is if you didn't count the whole 'Mineta doubting himself' angle you've been pushing."

I don't think I've been doing that so well either. I know I've alluded to it early on, but because it hasn't been played often enough, it just feels very contrived. However, at the very least, it feels in character for Mineta to really doubt himself right now. What do you think dear audience, does this feel weird?

"It probably does."

Definitely. In other news, I've just finished my ESL teacher training last week and currently looking for a job. So wish me luck on that front.

"And who's better at teaching English than aspiring writer?"

Hush Eris, that has nothing to do with my ability to teach. But that is all I have for this update. Next time, we'll be watching a frog counsel some grapes over his self esteem.

"Crack ship fuel? In my fan fiction? It's more likely than you think."

Not your story. But since you are a figment of my imagination, I suppose you do have some ownership of the story.

"Exactly."

Hmmm... Anyway,

Until Next Time. T1.