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


A week has passed since 1A received their internship offers. And since then, they have chosen their respective Heroes to follow. Mineta finished his apology letters and spent the remaining time waiting like them. And as the days ticked down, the excitement and anxiety grew. It was so great that the intense coursework of UA could barely distract them.

But alas, the day of reckoning was upon them.

"Alright, does everyone have their costumes? Wearing them in public is prohibited, but don't you dare lose them." Aizawa asked, looking at his students. Mineta nodded as Mina shouted 'yeah' at the top of her lungs. His heart was beating so loud, he swore that anyone was able to hear it. And looking to his partner, Mineta could tell he was feeling the same. But there was one person there that wasn't so cheerful.

That thought grounded the shorter boy as he slowly looked to the Class President. A shadow of stern gloom separated Iida Tenya from 1A. Throughout this whole week, ever since his brother was crippled by rising Villain Stain, the Hero Killer, he was disconnected from them. He did enough to prevent the whole class from worrying. But Midoriya, Uraraka, and Mineta knew better.

He was volatile right now.

"Iida-kun… I know you don't like it being brought up… But if you want to talk about how you feel, we're always here to listen." Midoriya said after Aizawa concluded his statements, turning to Iida.

"Yeah… So please don't carry everything on your own…" Uraraka added, eyes begging like a puppy.

"If you're stressed, just say it. You trust us right?" Mineta asked. Iida, whose eyes was mostly on the ground, looked up. There was some light in his eyes as he gave a calm smile. But there was still darkness shrouding his noble soul.

"I do." Iida said with a nod. He then began walking away, off to his internship. Mineta bit his nail, he wanted to say something. He felt like he should say something. But there was nothing. And looking over to his two friends, they don't have the words either. Midoriya brows were furrowed as Uraraka gripped her costume case tighter.

"… I'll see you guys later." Uraraka said as she broke off. Midoriya and Mineta nodded to her before turning to one another. There was so much that needed to be said. Even then, neither of the two partners could voice it. That was how grave the situation was with Iida. All either of them could do now was pray for Iida's safety.

"Good luck Mineta-kun." Midoriya said, began turning towards his platform.

"You too partner." Mineta replied. And on that heavy note, the two parted ways. The shorter boy wanted leave in higher spirits, for him and his friends. But he supposed it was hard when a good friend was suffering from a tragedy.

"Come on Minoru, stand tall. You can't help anyone with that attitude…" Mineta thought as he took a deep breath. The shorter boy was about to go, his stride a little steadier, until a band of cloth stopped him. Recognizing the article, he turned around to see Aizawa talking on the phone. Oh what now?

"Is there something you need Sensei?" Mineta asked, almost groaning at his teacher.

"Mt. Lady just caught the flu, you can't intern under her." He said, hanging up his call. Mineta dropped his costume case with a thud. His eyes just stared at Aizawa as he reeled in his capture scarf. Then the shorter boy's brain shed a single tear. But then there was the bigger question of where to go now? Mineta never made a second or third choice. And why would he? Mt. Lady was a relentless pursuer of fame and glory. So the shorter boy assumed she would take great care to not miss a day of work.

Then again, his luck was half decent recently. So perhaps it was about time for it to take a nose dive.

"I don't have a second or third choice." Mineta said.

"Which is why I'm disappointed, you should've had the sense to make some contingencies. However, I managed to get someone to take you just now. It's still along the Heikou line, so there's no need for another ticket. You just need to get off at the station in Inuito city." Aizawa explained as he handed Mineta the address. The shorter boy raised an eyebrow upon taking it. Someone was able to take him in at the last minute?

"Heaven and Earth Temple… Are you trying to tell me something?" Mineta read, before looking at his teacher. Just the name alone made him think of monks and abstaining from worldly pleasures. I mean, if that's what it takes for him to become a great Hero and partner then sure. But this still seems like the perfect recipe for disaster.

"Perhaps, but it's still a good learning experience. So whatever happens, make sure you come out knowing where you are as a Hero, physically and mentally." Aizawa answered, crouching down and putting a hand on Mineta's shoulder. The shorter boy felt the encouragement passing through the gesture. And he couldn't help but firmly nod to that. Aizawa may be an emotion eating, cryptic kung fu master… But his honest lessons to his students really said everything about him. Aizawa Shouta wanted them to succeed.

So with a bow, Mineta took off towards his new destination.

After 35 minutes of travel and 15 more spent wandering around Inuito city. Mineta found the place he needed to go. Or at least he thinks he is. Mineta compared the address and name to the building in front of him. It was a match… And yet, something was off. For one thing, the building wasn't a temple at all. It was just your standard concrete office building. But while it was quite large, covering more than half the block, there was nothing indicating that this was indeed a temple.

The shorter boy pulled out his phone and brought up the research he did. From the Hero who owns the building, to the purpose of it, Mineta left no stone unturned. The Heaven and Earth Temple was both a Hero Agency and a school for various martial arts from around the world. There were eight courses one could take ranging from MMA to authentic Viking combat. It was a place that celebrated Humanity's age long endeavors to perfecting the art of battle.

However, there was one thing omitted from all the research… There were no mentions of the building appearance wise. There were photos of the interior, but never the exterior. The master of the temple, the Radiant Wing Fenghuang, made a comment on how 'the building was designed to test one's preconceptions of the world'. And that all who go there, student and Hero alike, says it's a 'secret known to everyone'.

But Mineta couldn't find what this secret was. No one talked about it. Thus, leaving him in the dark about the nature of the Temple.

"I swear to God, if this is more cryptic kung fu wisdom, I'm going to cry." Mineta said as he opened the front door. He looked inside, finding a normal looking reception area. There were two attractive, but normal ladies at the front desk. There were a few Heroes in costume, but they were pretty normal too. And finally, there were some people in workout clothes filling something out. New attendees?

This did nothing for Mineta's confusion. In fact, it only deepened as nothing seemed out of the ordinary. One of the receptionists looked up and their eyes met.

"Are you the student from UA? Mineta Minoru? Come, Shifu is waiting." She said as she stood up. Mineta absent mindedly followed as she guided him through a door. There were too many questions buzzing around in his head for him to be in the present. Was all that research a lie? Was this just a normal building and there was no temple? Then why was it called that in the first place? Was this actually a test? Because right now, Mineta was in no mood for it. Hell, he had his life time fill of cryptic bullshit from just Aizawa alone.

"Welcome to the Heaven and Earth Temple, domain of all martial arts." The receptionist said as she stopped. Mineta's brain finally reconnected with his senses. But where he found himself only caused his sense of reality to crash. He was in a large, wood furnished octagonal room decorated with all sorts of training equipment. But what caught Mineta's eye was at the center of the room. There was an octagonal hole in the ceiling and floor, complete with railings.

What a strange thing to have here.

The shorter boy walked over to it and looked up. From where he stood, he was able to see the seven floors that were above him. The sounds of combat and instruction echoed down towards him. Mineta then looked around the first floor, catching people learning about self defense maneuvers. Finally, he looked down the hole on the floor. Below was a large image of the Yin and Yang surrounded by the eight trigrams. All of it made use of light and dark wood, with the grain somehow blending in with one another.

It was almost supernatural by how good it looked.

And upon this was a short haired older lady, moving about whilst twirling and swinging her staff around. But what was more surprising was the number of petals that danced around her as she did so. None of them touched the ground and they came in eight colors. Certain movements from the lady directed the petals, causing certain colors to move in specific ways. Eventually, each petal settled into one of eight, elevated baskets that surrounded her space.

Looking closer, Mineta could see that they were all sorted by color. Not one was out of place.

"What. On. Earth?" He asked, still entranced by this mystical sight.

"That's Fenghuang Shifu, using her Flowing Taiji style to perform her famous flower dance. Shall we go take a closer look?" The receptionist said as she began walking towards the stairs. Mineta continued to stare before reluctantly breaking away. He had to see this up close. And after a quick trip down some stairs, the shorter boy was standing before the head of the Temple.

The movements of Fenghuang were even more graceful up close. It was like watching a great bird dance amongst the clouds. The precision of her foot work, the snappiness of her hips and shoulders, the fluidity of her hands and fingers, Mineta couldn't look away. Then there was the physical appearance of the Heroine. While she was 48 on record, she doesn't look a day over 30. And despite wearing a loose red and yellow robe, her fit figure still shown through with certain moves.

It was no wonder she was still among Japan's best looking Heroes.

"Shifu, I've brought Mineta Minoru." The receptionist said with a bow. Fenghuang continued to perform until only she had a black and white petal left. She then entered a still, relaxed stance as the petals flowed in a spiral. They then gently settled upon the floor… Black upon Yin and White upon Yang. The Heroine opened her eyes and turned to Mineta and the receptionist.

"Thank you Kanzaki-san, I'll take it from here." She said as she flicked her staff. The two petals on the floor drifted upwards, which she then snatched out of the air. The receptionist bowed slightly before walking away, leaving a stunned Mineta. Fenghuang then returned her staff to one of four weapon racks before returning to the shorter boy.

"Welcome, I'm sure you have many questions. But let's first start with formalities. I am Saisei Chie, Shifu of this temple and the Heroine Fenghuang. It's an honor to meet you." She greeted, bowing with her left hand covering her right.

"Mineta Minoru… And you're right, I do have several questions. First of all, did I step into some dimensional rift? Because I was just in a normal building a few minutes ago." Mineta asked, gesturing to behind him. Fenghuang gave a rather sly smile as she walked past him, towards the doors by the stairs. She then pulled them open and gestured through it. And looking through, the shorter boy could see how the wood of the hallway turned to tile and dry wall at the halfway point.

"Huh!? Then… Who designed it like this?" Mineta asked.

"I did, to test one's preconceptions of the world. You cannot judge someone or something by their outer appearances alone. You must look deeper within to know the truth. Failure to let go of these prejudices will prevent you from properly learning." Fenghuang explained. The shorter boy felt his brow twitch. Dear God, he was about to be smacked upside the head with more cryptic wisdom. It also made every other question on his tongue die.

"Remember, if you have any questions, you are always free to ask. Now, allow me to give you your first task. Leave your belongings here and follow me." She said, going through the doors. Mineta, with a defeated nod, put down his bag and costume case before following. Seeing as how he was already here, he might as well try and learn something.

Fenghuang called the elevator at the interstice between modern and rustic. And as they waited, she began with her first lesson to Mineta.

"As you know, being a Hero is a very public job. Whether it's fighting crime, making statements on TV, or doing commercials for products, you're in the spotlight. However, it's the unseen things that keep a Hero and their Agency functioning at maximum efficiency. Paperwork of activities, keeping accurate logistics, finance management, and maintenance of the facility, all of it is just as important as actual Hero work."

The elevator doors opened and the two stepped in. Fenghuang then pressed the fourth floor button before continuing her lecture.

"While we have a 'backstage crew' for that, we must help if there's a particularly bad problem. Of course, you can always delegate it to someone else… But showing that you're above such menial tasks will do nothing but damage staff morale. Remember, others are your equals. They sweat, bleed, and cry the same as you, so treat them with respect."

Mineta felt his spirits lift, those were some wise words. Perhaps interning under another kung fu master wasn't going to be as bad this time. The elevator stopped and the two stepped out. Fenghuang then walked right before standing by one of two bathrooms. The shorter boy raised an eyebrow, staring at the 'cleaning in progress' sign.

His high spirits from seconds ago? They turned tail as Mineta pieced together what he must do.

"And so, your first task will be cleaning this bathroom. Now, I must warn you, it is not a sight to behold. No matter who cleans it or how hard they do it, the filth seems to come back a few days later. I've cleaned it. My eight masters have cleaned it. All the staff has cleaned it. The senior students have cleaned it. I even contracted professional cleaners; they've given up after the 19th time." She said, opening the door. The light then came on and Mineta bore witness to a new world of horror.

There sat a toilet, coated all over in a thick crust of God knows what. From the base to the tank cover, none of the pearl white could shine through. The only parts that weren't covered were the seat and the flush lever. Though what difference that made when the other 95 percent was filthy is beyond Mineta. At least it was only the toilet and not the entire room that needed cleaning.

Otherwise he would've run for the hills.

"I'll get started right away…" Mineta said, knowing there was no escape for this.

"You'll find everything you need under the sink. If you need anything else, there's a phone in the lunch room to the left of you. Just press the basement level button and I'll answer. So with that, I leave this to you." Fenghuang said before leaving with a bow. There was something about having a Pro Hero lower her head to him. But any pride the shorter boy could take out of that simply evaporated. Toilets don't clean themselves after all…

And so, clad in cleaning smocks and heavy rubber gloves, Mineta prepared to fight the worst this filth ridden porcelain throne had to offer.

"One of my friends closed himself off, I couldn't intern under Mt. Lady, and then this damn toilet… It's shit, it's all been shit…" Mineta thought as he scrubbed at the final filthy section. The whole thing then flaked off like it was bark on a tree. He held back the vomit for the umpteenth time before tossing it all into the garbage. The shorter boy then gave a final wipe to everything before tying the garbage up.

It's been done. The toilet, once cursed with filth, was finally restored. The pearl white was so shiny that it could be its own light source. Mineta nodded to himself over a job well done. He washed the gloves he wore first before peeling it off. The cleaning smock came off next, his uniform beneath protected from the waste and cleaning chemicals. Mineta finally washed his hands and emerged from the bathroom.

"I think I'll turn in for the day…" Mineta thought with a yawn. He didn't care what the time was or if he hadn't eaten anything, exhaustion weighed down on him. He shuffled into the elevator once it came and went down to the basement where his stuff was. Mineta slid open the door to the main hall. Inside, Fenghuang was practicing forms with a staff. The baskets were gone, leaving more room around the training floor.

Due to her intense concentration, Mineta knew it was best to not disturb her. So, he took one quiet step into the room. However, that was enough for the Heroine to stop and look his way.

"So you finished, good work. Room 5-2 has been prepared for the duration of your stay here. But before you go settle in, allow me to reward you for your efforts." She said before walking over to one of the weapon racks. Mineta groaned as he stood by his things. Normally, he'd be happy to get any kind of reward. It lets him know that his work was appreciated. But honestly, being able to sleep was its own reward.

Now the shorter boy understands why Aizawa treasured it.

Fenghuang walked over to Mineta, staff still in hand, and passed on… A stubby stick? It couldn't be. The shorter boy cautiously took it and began examining it. The stick was quite weighty and had this dark sheen on it. There was also a button on the side and a thatched pattern all around it. This wasn't a stick, it was a collapsible baton.

Mineta pushed the button. The baton extended, its full length was just a little shorter than his arm. There were also four blocks on the grip just above his hand, serving as a guard of sorts. The shorter boy then gave it a few test swings and felt the quality of each attack. This baton was extremely well made; way better than any commercially sold ones.

But what was he going to do with it… He couldn't say…

"Uhhh, thanks?" Mineta replied as he was about to collapse the baton. Fenghuang simply nodded before jumping back, staff swinging right for his head. The shorter boy, heart seizing, immediately guarded the strike with the still extended baton. He stumbled back from the force of the hit, but he was still fine.

However, before Mineta could shout something, he saw the Heroine coming in for another attack. This time, it was aimed at his body from the other side. The shorter boy moved his guard and intercepted it. However, due to poor footing, he was knocked flat onto his butt. That was when Fenghuang returned to a relaxed state, slowly exhaling her current breath.

"What was that!? You could've claimed my head!" Mineta screamed.

"But you managed to stop me, both times in fact. Not only that, your weapon still remains in your hand." Fenghuang said.

The shorter boy was about to argue, but then those words registered in his brain. He immediately looked to his right hand, the baton was still there. And now that Mineta was on it, he found that both his hand and wrist felt completely fine. Sure he developed them with his pitches. But two heavy blows like those would've still numbed his entire arm. If not, then it would've at least disarmed him.

But neither was the case. It was like his entire hand was strengthened over the last few…

"Oh fuck me. Can you explain to me why you needed me to clean a toilet for this!?" Mineta asked, gesturing to the baton in his hand. The air around Fenghuang grew tense, her eyes hardening with determination. She pointed her staff at him as words, heavy with omen, were thrown upon him. And judging from her tone, it was an inevitable event.

"In three days time, we will be taking part in a dangerous mission. We are to help hunt for the Hero Killer Stain."


And that has been Chapter 39. Here we are, the twist in fate.

Initially, while planning, I wanted to follow the canon route with Mount Lady. But after much thought, I've come up with something a hell of a lot more interesting. From the rest of this arc, it will be original territory. So wish me luck as I navigate Mineta through these uncharted waters.

"The thought process was... Mineta's going to need more than pluck and literal garbage for this."

That's spoiler territory! But then again, if you, my dear readers, are a clever cookie, you'll be able to see where I'm taking this. But anyway, I'll warn you by saying this... This part will mostly be about self-discovery and me beating your head in with pretentious philosophy.

"It doesn't help that he's been playing Persona 4, a game all about change and symbolism."

What can I say, it was available on Steam. So by combining this with my understanding of Berserk, I shall achieve enlightenment like the nerd I am! Wish me luck as I continue to figure out how to navigate this.

"Next time, we see our grape rat shake a stick good!"

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.