I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.
Mineta stared at his costume as it rested in its case. Three hours ago, he and Fenghuang returned to the Temple after reporting to the Police who arrived at the scene. Eclipse stayed behind to oversee the after action clean up. For the surviving girls, they were escorted to the hospital for physical and psychological treatment. As for the thugs, their injuries were treated on site. And once that was over, they were driven to the station for detainment until their criminal classification trial.
But anything short of Villain seemed unlikely.
Mineta's heartbeat paused to that thought. In just a single night, those thugs had ruined their lives. They will be branded as Villains. Everyone connected to them, friends and family, will be shamed and disparaged. Then those same friends and family will refuse to help the thugs, even in their time of need. And thus, the downward spiral begins. With no hope of escape, they will embrace the life of evil.
All because they were tempted by their baser instincts.
Now what if that was Mineta? Imagine the damage the shorter boy could wrought on all those around him. While there's the possibility it won't happen, especially now that he's aware of himself… The shorter boy couldn't trust himself. Not when he already failed and the entire country saw the result of it.
"Mineta Minoru, Shifu requests your audience." A monotonous voice said after a knock at his door. The shorter boy jumped to the sudden sound. And upon recovering, he quickly clambered to the door and slid it open. No one was there. He carefully leaned out into the hallway and saw a shimmering shape moving away.
That was Eclipse. But what was this about Fenghuang wanting to see him?
"Not that I've got anything better to do… Other than mull over how I'm a disgusting human being…" Mineta mumbled as he folded his arms together. His face scrunched to that. He really needed something to distract himself from his deviant half. So with that, he quickly rushed to the Taiji hall where his teacher no doubt waited.
The shorter boy barged through the doors before gently closing them. He leaned against them as he caught his breath. There wasn't any need for Mineta to be that quick. But with the enemy within threatening to come out, his only hope was for any sort of busy work. It's just like with Aizawa's training and the fight against Shinso. If he was concentrating on something, then his mind won't have the time to make stupid comments.
Mineta, nodding to that, looked around the hall. All the lights were off, allowing the light from the floor above to bleed down the hole in the ceiling. Due to how late it was, there was hardly any noise, giving the place a serene atmosphere. And with Fenghuang sitting cross legged on the yang of the Taiji in clear meditation, it raised the mystical nature of the place.
"My young pupil, please sit upon the yin. We are ready to start your next lesson." She said softly, breaking the silence. Without asking, seeing that there was hardly a point to that, Mineta did so. And then he waited for Fenghuang's instruction.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Due to the lack of stimulus, the shorter boy began to feel his thoughts wander. And the first thing it chose were the events from earlier that evening. A chill ran up his spine as the sounds echoed through his head again. And yet, like then, he could feel a heated sensation building in his gut. All the depravity he was trying to bury was surfacing again…
"Focus you idiot! This is not the time!" Mineta thought as mimicked his teacher's posture, hoping it would help him block out the noise.
"It takes more than sitting and self discipline for you to tame those inner demons. Think with me, young pupil." Fenghuang said. The shorter boy nearly fell over by the sudden wisdom of his teacher. He then corrected himself and waited for her next set of words. Only to find himself waiting again in silence. To Hell with not asking questions, Mineta needed a distraction from himself.
"What exactly are we thinking about?"
"Ourselves, my young pupil. Meditation is not the purging of our thoughts, but the exploration of them. What makes us good? What makes us bad? By asking and answering these questions, we can start to understand who we are. It is the first step in becoming whole and finding our place in this world." She answered.
"But what if I already know plenty about myself?" He asked with partial confidence. This was easy as there was nothing to think about. Mineta already knew what kind of person he was. There's the pervert trying to be a gentleman. There's also the coward trying to be a Hero. And there's the dirty rat that's also a loyal dog. That's about it. That's all there was to Mineta Minoru's existence.
"We don't know ourselves like we think we do. A person, regardless of personality, will always bloat or diminish their virtues and vices to those around them. And thus, they become their own strangers." Fenghuang said. Mineta was about to ask another question but was interrupted. His teacher still had words on her tongue.
"As an experiment, tell me about yourself. Be honest."
"Okay… I'm a student at UA. Compared to my classmates, I'm not that strong and my Quirk is pretty bad. I'm also a coward who tends to run when danger–" Mineta began before stopping mid sentence. Hang on; this scenario seemed oddly familiar…
Then it hit him, this was like the aftermath of the USJ attack. Dark thoughts clouded Mineta's head, causing him to belittle himself. He brushed aside his own actions while commending those of his classmates'. It got so bad; he doubted his place as a Hero in Training. And had it not been for Tsuyu's words and Midoriya's faith in him, Mineta might've given up on his dream.
He even did the same thing at the Sports Festival, though it was a milder incident. The shorter boy downplayed his contributions in favor of Tsuyu and Shouji. But those two had reaffirmed his abilities and gave him the confidence to fight in the tournament.
He continued to think along that line. But the more he thought about it, the less he understood himself. So with a bow towards his teacher…
"You're right Shifu, I really don't know myself… Please teach me the way."
"That way is meditation. Face those little voices at the back of our head; they are your angels and demons. They will guide you through the many aspects of yourself. And if you like, you can consolidate them into two, opposing forces that define your current mentality. Your own yin and yang. Give them names to give them power and make them conscious." Fenghuang explained.
"… I already have names for them. They are Heart and… P-Pants." Mineta said, keeping his head down. His teacher then hummed to that. And as Mineta raised his head, he saw her doing her best to contain her laughter. Seriously? He was suffering from his inner turmoil and she found it funny?
"I apologize, young Mineta. In all my years of teaching, I have never encountered such a unique name for the other half. But this is good; you have one foot within the confines of your mind. Now, the next step is to identify what is troubling you and why. If one doesn't know what's wrong, how can they fix it?" Fenghuang said as her laughter faded.
"That's easy, I've been thinking about what happened earlier tonight. When those thugs attacked those girls and said those things, I actually got… A little aroused by what was happening…" Mineta said, lowering his head as he spoke. To admit these feelings left a sour taste in his mouth… And yet it felt oddly liberating. Kind of like vomiting up something making you feel sick.
"Please continue."
"I knew it was wrong to feel that way, especially since it was happening right in front of me. But I couldn't help but let my imagination wander. A part of me was okay with what was going on. It really made me question if I could control my own revolting desires. And when I couldn't answer myself… I felt disgusted…"
Fenghuang didn't say anything. And as Mineta looked up, expecting some kind of anger, he found none on his teacher. Instead, the serenity of her face brought calm to him. She opened her eyes and their gazes met. There seemed to be an understanding behind her black eyes.
"Young Mineta, your plight is nothing new. Those with a growing sense of their sins often ask the same things you do. They wonder if they are abnormal for imagining such dark fantasies. But what they do next will determine what they do in reality. Those who uncompromisingly seal those feelings away will begin to act out those desires unconsciously. While those who face and understands where those impulses come from will be in greater control."
Mineta began to process those words. And slowly did he find himself acknowledging them as true. The shorter boy had shown shades of his perversion without realizing it. He could already think of several incidents where his thoughts and behavior were unwittingly driven by his libido. It was a shattering revelation. But after the shock had passed, Mineta knew what he must do…
"I think I need to reevaluate myself…" Mineta said as he crossed his legs and rested his hands on his lap.
"Then allow me to aid you and provide the first question… Where does your lust stem from?" Fenghuang asked. She then closed her eyes and entered a meditative silence. With a deep breath, Mineta did the same and plunged into the depths of his mind.
…
…
…
…
…
"Uhh?" Mineta groaned, his head feeling groggy. As his senses began working again, he began to feel a few things. The first was a fluffy pillow against his face. The second was a warm blanket draped over his body. And the last was the hard floor beneath him. His eyes peeled open as he sat up again, brain finally registering where he was.
He was in the Taiji hall.
Mineta immediately patted himself for his phone, only to spot it next to the pillow. He then picked it up and checked the time. It was 5:58 of the next day. The shorter boy actually slept through the meditation session.
"Damn it… I learned nothing about myself…" Mineta grumbled as he stretched his body.
"Not true, you know more now than the day before."
He fell onto his back before scrambling to look in the direction of the voice. And there was Fenghuang, in the same place and position as last night. In fact, there wasn't even a hair out of place or any new wrinkles and creases on her robes. It was like she hadn't moved for the last eight or nine hours.
"Did you meditate all night?" Mineta asked.
"Don't be silly, this is simply my morning session. But enough about me, tell me about you. Did your thoughts lead anywhere last night?" She replied with a chuckle. The shorter boy shook his head as he casted his eyes on the floor. Nothing concrete formulated. He just wasted his teacher's time and wisdom. As though sensing this shift in emotion, Fenghuang opened her eyes. She then stood up, walked over, and put the blanket around her student
"Don't look so down young Mineta. Finding ourselves is a journey, not a trip to the store for a snack. It'll take more than a night to discover who we are."
"But I'm still scared of what I might be…" Mineta said, eyes still on the floor. The Heroine placed a hand on his shoulder. And from the weight and warmth, the shorter boy could feel the full extent of the emotions flowing through it. The doubt began to melt as he gained the courage to look up. There was an encouraging smile across Fenghuang's lips, one that could rival even Midoriya's.
"It's okay to be scared, anyone would be. But you're on the path of change and will only grow from here. But even if you lose your way, as long as you keep fighting for your ideals, things will get better. You can become better. And when that happens, the true shape of your heart will reveal itself." Fenghuang said.
Mineta had to blink away at his eyes, tears starting to form. Those words stirred up recent memories from the Sports Festival. Specifically, he began remembering the times he spoke to Todoroki and Shinso. Those words he used to encourage them to move forward, it struck at his very being. All this time, the words he wanted to hear were already with him.
He just never thought to practice what he preached.
"So my young pupil, are you ready to fight again?" Fenghuang asked as she stood up, offering her hand to her student. Mineta wiped at his eyes and gave a firm nod. He then reached up and took his teacher's hand with confidence.
"I am Shifu, I am."
And that has been Chapter 43.
Thank you all for leaving such enlightening comments. In the future, if I ever decide to write another scene dealing with heavy subject matters, I'll take more consideration before putting it to paper. Perhaps, there were many reasons why I chose to do it the way I did... But no amount of explanation from me now could change how you felt two weeks ago. All I can do now is write on with just a little more wisdom.
This chapter was the first step to both my and Mineta's improvement as individuals. We all have strengths and weaknesses, but not as we know them to be. So we must take care and listen to the words of others to build ourselves up. So please, give me your thoughts on this chapter in relation to the previous one. I will continue to take your questions, comments, and concerns to heart.
Tune in next time as we continue Mineta's training and watch him receive even more wisdom. So...
Until Next Time. T1.
