I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


A week has passed since 1A's strange excavation of the paintings. Since then, Yaoyorozu had managed to deliver the goods and was in the process of being appraised. Not much else occurred as everyone was finalizing their preparations for the trip to the Forest Lodge. All of it honestly gave Mineta some hope. Maybe things won't go sideways like USJ and the internship week, though it never hurts to be prepared.

"First aid kit… E-Tool… Extra phone…" Mineta mumbled as he double checked his luggage case. Once the shorter boy's belongings were checked off, he then patted his pants for his wallet, keys, phone, and baton. And, as always, they were all in their rightful places. So with a nod, Mineta closed up his luggage and put it with his classmates' things to be loaded up.

Though when he was going to meet up with everyone else, Mineta quickly found them being antagonized by 1B's very own windbag of arrogance. And judging from how Kaminari and Kirishima were holding back Bakugou, it must no doubt be very grating to listen to.

"Don't you find that strange!? And here I thought 1A was supposed to be superior! FU HAH! Looks like 1A's talent was but a myt–!" Monoma continued before Kendo interrupted him. With a swift chop to the neck…

"Sorry, Monoma's still a little upset about the Sports Festival. And, to be honest, so am I because of a certain someone…" Kendo said as she and a few of her female classmates glared at Mineta. The shorter boy quickly looked away, covering his face from the side with his hand as he relived that one moment during the Sports Festival.

"We're sorry about that. That tactic was quite unfair to you and your team." Tsuyu said with a bow as Shouji did the same. Kendo, surprised by the action, began to shake her head a bit frantically.

"Oh no no, you don't need to apologize. I now recognize the necessity for those sorts of tricks after reflecting on Aizawa-sensei's words." She replied quickly. The orange haired girl then took a deep breath, her heavy exhale expelling the tension within. Kendo then flashed a friendly smile, holding her hand out towards Iida. A gesture that diffused whatever animosity existed between the Hero classes.

"Which is why today, we're going to put all that behind us and focus on what really matters, becoming great Heroes. So, I hope our classes get along." She said.

"Likewise, Kendo-kun, I'm sure our classes could learn a lot from each other." Iida replied, immediately giving his fellow Class President a hearty handshake. And as soon as he and Kendo broke it, Iida began to call 1A towards their bus for boarding. Mineta gave a relieved sigh as he watched Kendo began doing the same for her classmates. Normally, the shorter boy would be ranking the 1B girls in his mental list of desirable ladies…

But with the internship week at the front of his mind and the Sports Festival trauma at the back, Mineta decided it was best to leave it for another day.

"You excited? I can't wait to see what Aizawa-sensei has prepared for us." Midoriya said as he and Mineta got in line.

"I'd be surprised if he didn't throw us into the fire the moment we get there. I mean, this is Aizawa we're talking about." Mineta replied before starting some basic stretches. Now that he got that thought on his mind, a sense of apprehension began to take hold. Despite everything that has happened thus far, the shorter boy was still a little paranoid of his old Master.

Hell, with all the cryptic wisdoms of Fenghuang, Mineta was sure he was even more paranoid of his teachers.

"But here's hoping, we need a break from everything." Mineta added quickly, a nervous chuckle escaping his throat.

"We'll be fine Mineta-kun. If anything's going to happen, at least we have our friends with us." Midoriya replied, gesturing to their classmates. A resounding yeah from a few of them brought some comfort to the shorter boy. So with that new found courage, he boarded the bus and they soon departed for the forest lodge.

The trip had been a fun, chaotic mess as multiple conversations and a few games filled the bus. Throughout this, Mineta had kept a close eye on Aizawa in case he sprang something on 1A. But when nothing occurred, the shorter boy was able to finally settle in and join in sharing some, strange untold stories. And God knows how much Mineta needed to tell the tale of the passionate artist and the numerous baguettes…

"And that is how we got a wine stained painting of a green man being slapped for free." Mineta concluded. Just about everyone in the class, including Bakugou, was listening in on this strange account. And while there were many reactions amongst the faces, it was Tsuyu's comment that summed it all up.

"Huh, that's something you don't experience every day."

"I mean, who would run into an Australian man pretending to be a French man who is also a painter and half mad drunk in all of Japan?" Jirou asked, scratching at her head.

"We have Aoyama." Mina replied, jabbing her thumb over to their classmate. And he, in turn, responded bright and cheerful 'Oui'.

Before anyone could ask one of the many questions about Mineta and Midoriya's story, the bus began to slow down. And the moment it to a stop as Aizawa got up from his seat.

"Off the bus, we're here." He said plainly before exiting the bus.

"Hmm? This area doesn't seem to be a rest stop…" Iida commented, looking out the window. Glancing out, Mineta found that their class president was right. They were in the mountains for sure, but on some empty vista overlooking the wooded valley below. The discrepancy was enough to put a small pit back into Mineta's stomach. This wasn't normal.

"Is there some other purpose to our being here? Oh well. Class 1A, let's disembark!" Iida commanded, not that his classmates waited for it. That did, however, turn the pit of doubt within Mineta into full on anxiety. He just knew 1A was about to be thrown into some sort of pre-planned nonsense. But before the stress could boil over, Mineta felt Midoriya place a hand on his shoulder.

And looking to his partner, Mineta saw the quiet determination he always knew him for.

"We'll be fine. Our training hasn't failed us yet." Midoriya said. It was such an obvious statement, but a correct one. They've already passed through several treacherous trials before; this one was no different. In fact, Mineta didn't know why he felt so spooked to begin with. Was it because of the Stain incident followed by One for All's immense legacy? Probably, just one of those would be stressful enough. But with his partner, there was no challenge too great for them.

Best Hero duo or bust.

So with a deep breath and a slap across his own face, Mineta gave a resolute nod. He was ready for whatever Aizawa had planned. With that, the duo quickly charged outside towards whatever's awaiting them. But imagine their surprise when it was a confused 1A gawking at two attractive Heroines dressed like cats.

"Wild, Wild Pussycats!" The two shouted as they struck a pose, no doubt finishing their dramatic introduction.

Mineta could feel the sweat gather on his forehead as his eyes naturally wandered the pairs' bodies. Their costumes were identical save their color, almost giving them an appearance of an idol. And with their fit figures, their costume really emphasized the ladies' legs and midriff. But that was all just distraction from their claws and utility belt with an assortment of tools.

"Yeah… I'm in danger…"

"Here are the Pro Heroes who'll be helping with your training, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob of the Wild Pussycats." Aizawa said, gesturing to the two ladies.

"Really!? The Pussycats are veterans and specialists when it comes to Mountain Rescue Operations! They're also one of four Hero teams who found the Union Affairs Offices! We could learn so much from them and their 12 years of field experi–!" Midoriya said quickly, his motor mouth only stopping when Pixie-Bob grabbed his head with her large paws.

"I'm 18 at heart." She said with a light growl. The Heroine also loomed over Midoriya as he nervously nodded his head, ensuring he doesn't make that mistake again. It seems age is a sensitive subject for Pixie-Bob. Mineta wasn't sure what this info would be good for, but he'll have to keep it in mind whenever she's around.

As Pixie-Bob released his best friend from her vise grip, Mineta noticed Mandalay gathering 1A's attention as she walked over to the wooden railings. This was when the shorter boy noticed the scowling child with a horned cap standing next to her. A few questions began running through Mineta's head about the child's identity as well as his purpose being here. There was no way he was part of the training.

"He doesn't even look like he wants to be here…" Mineta thought before catching the growing panic of his classmates. The shorter boy could only sigh as he and Midoriya began stretching their limbs. It was about to start…

"It's about 9:30 right now. If you all kick it into high gear, you'll get to the lodge at 12." Mandalay said, a certain level of dread emanating beneath her sweet voice. Mineta ignored Kirishima's call to retreat as he finished his stretches by practicing his pitching grips with both hands. His right hand still couldn't throw anything with precision, but that was no excuse to let it get rusty.

The ground then began shifting beneath him. Mineta quickly adjusted his footing in hopes to remain upright, even if that was rendered pointless as he, Midoriya, and the rest of 1A were swept away in a wave of earth. It carried all of them over the ridge and down to the woods below, giving them a semi-rough landing.

"Feel free to use your Quirks; this is our land after all! You have three hours to get through this Forest of Devil Beasts!" Mandalay shouted from above. The shorter boy got up with a groan as he cleaned off the excess dirt on his body. It was here that the heroine's words registered in his head. Demon Beasts? And luckily, he wasn't alone in that sentiment as Kaminari expressed his own disbelief at all this.

"What is this, Dragon Quest?"

"Seems like something UA would do. They've got a habit of throwing us into fantastical nonsense." Jirou answered, plugging into the ground to get a read of the surrounding. Only for her to immediately unplug and ready a fighting stance. 1A quickly followed as a strange noise came from behind one of the trees. A large claw came into view as the rest of the body followed suit.

Before them was a four legged monster as large as an elephant, it's giant maw and tusks ready to bite and gore them.

"It's here!" Sero and Kaminari shrieked.

"Calm down beast, we mean no trouble. Please fall back." Kouda said, quickly approaching the creature. The thing, strangely enough, ignored Kouda's command and began to raise one of its claws to crush their shy classmate. And had it not been for the panic of seeing his classmate in danger, Mineta would've noticed the discrepancy.

Luckily for Kouda, Iida, Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki rushed forward and blew the creature to pieces with a combined assault. The shorter boy blinked as his eyes began scanning the chunks of the 'Demon Beasts' that were coming down. Instead of flesh and blood, what came down were simply chunks of dirt, rock, and wood.

Ah, that explains why Kouda's Quirk didn't work.

"Get ready, more are coming." Shouji said, retracting his extra ears. And not too soon after, multiple more creatures came into sight. Many resembled classic fantasy creatures like dragons, ogres, and minotaurs. And all of them were quickly descending upon them, fangs bared. Mineta quickly removed balls from his head and threw them out to the beasts that weren't flying. Sero and Todoroki followed his lead, quickly binding any limbs they could, making it easier for others to break them down.

Midoriya and Iida zoomed around, destroying any that stumble into them.

Uraraka and Tsuyu forced them high into the air before causing them to fall back down.

Kirishima and Satou simply pummeled creatures until they stopped moving.

Jirou and Shouji continued with surveillance, ensuring nothing caught 1A off guard.

Kouda and Hagakure ran interference, distracting beasts before Aoyama and Ojiro ambushed them.

Kaminari, despite having an elemental disadvantage, outputted enough to weaken them before Tokoyami and Mina finished them off.

Yaoyorozu supported whoever needed it from a distance with cannon fire.

As for Bakugou, he was doing what he does best.

"DIE!" He shouted as an explosion completely enveloped a creature. Mineta wiped away at the blood dribbling down his forehead as the carnage finally died down. All the creatures were gone and 1A were all experiencing minor degrees of exhaustion and Quirk backlash.

"Is… Is everyone alright?" Iida asked as 1A came together again.

"I think so… But we need to get moving before more show up. We won't last out here forever." Midoriya replied, looking to his partner. Mineta nodded as he wiped at his forehead again, he went through a lot of balls. Anymore and he wouldn't have a scalp left. However, just as 1A was ready to move out, the ground shifted beneath them again.

From the earth, many humanoid figures of average height rose out and randomly dividing 1A. They were all armed with various weapons. Their melted faces seemingly giving off a murderous glare despite being only an animated puppet. Mineta groaned as he drew his baton, quickly picking up a large rock with his left. A presence soon appeared behind him, but it caused no alarm for the shorter boy.

In fact, it only gave him all the confidence in the world.

"You ready, Mineta-kun?" Midoriya asked, green sparks surrounding his body again.

"For you partner? Always." Mineta answered with a smirk.


And that has been Chapter 65!

Not much to say this week. In next week's update, we'll be going spending an eventful evening at the Pussycat's Forest Lodge. So...

Until Next Time. T1.