I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


"Midoriya!" Mineta finally cried out, running towards his partner. The guy looked like he was about to fall over, so the shorter boy had to be there to support him. Or that was the plan until he felt a painful tingle on his left check. Growing curious, Mineta rubbed it a little and saw blood upon examining his hand. He then looked at Midoriya's right arm, which was swaying quite a quite a bit.

"Did… Did you just slap me with a broken arm?" He asked, staring at his partner. That was when Mineta saw the anger in his partner's eyes, a rare sight that always startled the shorter boy.

"Why did you come back!? If I didn't win just now, he would've killed you and Kouta-kun! From the start, I was planning to sacrifice myself. I knew, as long as you two were okay, things would wor– GAH!" Midoriya began, until he was interrupted by Kouta's kick to the shin. The green haired boy turned to the child, his anger dying when he saw his puffy and reddened eyes. Kouta then hugged him, doing his best to wrap his short arms around Midoriya's waist.

"You idiot… It wouldn't work out…" Kouta grumbled as he continued to cling to Midoriya. Mineta saw his partner stare at the younger boy, unsure of what to say. But as a few moments passed, the anger on the green haired boy's face melted away. And before long, the soft expression Mineta always knew returned. And had it not been for his broken arms, Midoriya would've returned the hug.

"… I'm sorry. I was just so worried about you that I forgot to include myself in the bigger picture. I'll do my best to be more careful, okay?" Midoriya replied, his voice like soothing rain. Kouta nodded before stepping away from the green haired boy. Midoriya then gave a nervous nod to his friend, a gesture Mineta returned with a little more confidence. Apology accepted.

"Classes 1A and 1B! Eraserhead has given you the permission to fight! Regroup at the Courage Test entrance or at the lodge!" Mandalay's voice said from within Mineta's head. Well, a little late there…

"Bakugou Katsuki, return immediately! You can't fight off this many Villains!" She continued before going silent. Mineta and Midoriya immediately looked to one another, plans for the other already on their tongues.

"You take Kouta-kun back to the lodge and regroup with the others. His Quirk can also help put out the fires."Midoriya instructed.

"You find Bakugou and help him. If he realized he's the target, then he'd lure them somewhere he could cut loose. And the best place for that would be…" Mineta replied.

"The training grounds!" the two concluded.

"Wait! Are you seriously going back out there!? Look at your arms, what could you do?" Kouta asked fearfully, gesturing towards the bloodied limbs hanging from Midoriya's shoulders. The green haired boy didn't buckle to the question. Instead, with shining eyes and a roar dwelling within his gentle words, Midoriya answered him.

"Don't worry, Kouta-kun. It's going to be tough, but that's what being a Hero means. Overcoming any pinch to help out in any way he could. And besides, I still got my legs."

Kouta opened his mouth, an argument on the tip of his tongue. But as the moments passed, nothing came out. All the possible retorts died as he recalled just what Midoriya was capable of. Mineta placed a hand on the young boy, a proud smirk spreading across his face.

"Yeah… That's usually what happens when Midoriya gets motivated enough. But enough of that, we got to get going. And I'm sure your Aunt's really worried." Mineta said as he held his hand out to Kouta. The younger boy only nodded to that, slowly taking Mineta's hand. The shorter boy then turned to his partner, doing his best to salute to him. But, without any usable hands, Mineta was just jutting his chin at Midoriya.

"… We're not exactly in saluting condition." Midoriya said awkwardly, looking at his arms.

"I know…"

A small smile spread across the duos' face before they took off in opposite directions. Mineta had to slow down to accommodate Kouta's slower speed, but they were still making good distance. Not that this made the shorter boy any less paranoid of his surroundings. Any loud rustling forced the pair to stop. Mineta then concentrated on the sound as he drew his baton, making sure it wasn't an enemy. And only then did they continue their journey back.

"Is your partner really going to be okay?" Kouta asked. Mineta had to stop himself from jumping with how sudden that question was. And after taking a moment to breathe and check their surroundings, the shorter boy gave his answer without any hesitation.

"Absolutely, he's not the kind of person who lets anything hold him back. Midoriya has already fought through a lifetime's worth of pain, what's an hour compared to that?"

"I'm just… Just scared that another Villain like Muscular would kill… I didn't even get to apologize for hitting him in the junk... Or thank you both for everything you've done… I-I finally got what you meant by hope…" Kouta explained as tears threatened to fill his eyes again. Mineta reflexively put his arm on the younger boy's shoulder, putting the weight of his emotions into the gesture.

He would've used his hand, but it was still holding the baton. Not that this detail blunted the words that escaped Mineta's lips.

"Then don't ever forget how you felt at that moment. No matter what kind of trouble you're in, you'll always have something that'll give you the determination to break through. That's the kind of hope Midoriya and I have been running on for three whole years. And I'm sure it'll be the same for you." He said, flashing a small but confident smile. Kouta stared at him before giving Mineta a more resolute nod. The younger boy stood a little taller, doing his best to reflect the unyielding backs that saved him.

Mineta patted Kouta's back before they continued their journey. But while the shorter boy looked calm and collected, his mind was being plagued by an over-active imagination. Kouta's possibility of Midoriya running into another powerful Villain had stoked the fear Mineta had been suppressing. They already sacrificed too much to defeat Muscular. And now that he was alone, Midoriya's chances of victory are as slim as his survival…

"Calm down Minoru… Midoriya's got this… He's got a good head on his shoulders. He'll think of a solution that doesn't involve blowing up his already blown up body…" Mineta thought to himself. He had to restrain the loud exhale his body was naturally compelled to release. Kouta's faith has just been restored, no sense in undermining that with his stupid paranoia.

Otherwise, neither of them could recover from it.

"The lodge!" Kouta shouted as he ran ahead. Mineta snapped out of his thoughts and looked ahead. Through the slits between the trees, the shorter boy saw two things. The first was the forest lodge, which was either on fire or smashed to rubble. The second were the remedial students, receiving first aid from Iida and a few others. Mineta ran harder than ever before, the harrowing thoughts in his heads worsening.

He knew everyone was in trouble to some degree… But what if it's even worse than he expected?

"Guys!" Mineta shouted as he and Kouta came out of the woods. Kouta simply stared at the burning lodge as the shorter boy hurried to his class president.

"M-Mineta-kun!? Where were you? The whole forest is in chaos and neither– Is your arm broken!?" Iida began before noticing Mineta's loose limb.

"It's also dislocated, but there are far more important things than that. How's everyone else doing?" Mineta asked as he looked over the injured. Kaminari was in full idiot mode as a heavily patched up Sero taped him up, no doubt to keep him from wandering. A somewhat scuffed Kirishima was wrapping a tattered shirt, most likely his, around Mina's head to slow the bleeding. 1B's Monoma was just straight up unconscious…

Then there were the healthy ones. There was the aforementioned Iida, who was trying to tell Mineta to rest. An anxious Kouda was doing his best to instruct birds for reconnaissance. Satou was helping guard the perimeter with Vlad King, 1B's homeroom teacher. And that was it.

Mineta bit the bottom of his lip, this wasn't nearly enough people to muster a Bakugou/Midoriya support team.

"Hey, uh, Class Pres? Not to be the bearer of bad news, but the medical supplies we managed to save are almost out." Sero said, approaching Iida. The shorter boy snapped back to the present, immediately rushing to the ruined lodge. Mineta, recalling the location of the boy's room, walked around to the rubble side. And, as he expected, it had been breached and was exposed to the outside. It was also not on fire yet, the silver lining in this shit storm of a night.

The shorter boy quickly hopped up there using a hairball. He scanned around the still intact part of the room, spotting his luggage with the others. He quickly grabbed it and jumped back down with it in tow. This was when Iida noticed him. And he wasn't happy with what just occurred.

"Mineta-kun! Explain to me why you just went into a collapsed, burning building!?" Iida shouted, his anger pretty much justified all things considered. Mineta first moved away from the ruined lodge before opening his luggage. He quickly discarded the clothes on the surface to reveal the first aid kid he brought along. Mineta threw it at Iida, who caught it despite the suddenness of the action.

"… Since when did you have this!?" Iida asked, handing it off to Sero when he arrived to see what's going on.

"I'm hella paranoid." Mineta replied as though that explained anything.

"Hella prepared is more like it." Sero said with a wide smile, running back to the injured.

"Regardless, will you please allow us to treat your arm now?" Iida asked. Mineta simply nodded as he went back to the injured zone. And as Sero began preparing a splint and sling, more light began to breakthrough this bleak darkness. More have returned to the lodge, some of which were relatively uninjured. Perfect.

"Kouta-kun!" Mandalay shouted, her voice full of relief. Her voice had caught Kouta's attention, causing him to break out into a run towards her. The two hugged tightly as tears began falling. Objective one has been completed. Now for the next one…

Mineta broke his gaze from the reunion and noted who came back. There was a shaken Tokoyami, a dirt covered Shouji with an injured arm, a slightly cut up Todoroki with someone from 1B on his back, an incredibly agitated Ojiro, a spooked Uraraka, and finally an unnerved Tsuyu. With this, Mineta began putting together something that could finally help Midoriya. And it first starts with…

"Guys! I know where Bakugou went!" Mineta shouted loudly. Despite all that was happening, all eyes fell onto him.

"He's most likely at the training grounds. That's the only place he could go wild and not be blindsided by anyone. Midoriya's already on his way there to support Bakugou but he's not going to last long. He broke both of his arms when we fought a Villain." Mineta explained quickly. The color drained from his classmates faces, a reasonable reaction. The idea that Midoriya was still out there fighting with two dead limbs was just plain horrifying.

"Wh-Why didn't you say anything!? We've got to get going!" Iida shouted, about to run off.

"Wait! I've already told Eraserhead, you kids just sit tight and let us handle it." Mandalay said, gesturing to Vlad and herself. Mineta shook his head and directly challenged the lady's authority. She might have assumed leadership, but the shorter boy was going to determined to rain on the Villain's parade.

Literally.

"You're going to as many hands as you could get. And I've got a plan to get you there fast." Mineta said with all the zeal and fury left in his body. Mandalay could only raise an eyebrow. She only broke eye contact when Kouta tugged at her hand. The young boy was giving her this desperate pleading look, no doubt begging for her to listen. Something must have clicked within her mind and she relented. But not without pinching the bridge of her nose first…

"Alright… But whoever's going with us has to follow our orders." She replied. The members of 1A who were there regained some heart, looking a little more determined as they awaited the plan. Mineta nodded, lowering his head in thanks before quickly, but clearly, explaining his idea.

"Kirishima, Todoroki, Iida, Ojiro, and Tokoyami, you'll be going with Mandalay and Vlad. Uraraka will then make you all weightless before Shouji grabs onto you. And when you're all ready, Tsuyu will throw you towards the training ground as hard as she can. And when you're over the area, Uraraka will release you and you'll rain down onto the battlefield."

The members of the plan looked to one another, processing the pieces of it. And given the pressure of the situation, they were able to put together any questions in mere moments.

"No, one of us should stay behind. We don't know if the Villains will attack again and I don't think the students here are healthy enough to fend them off alone." Vlad said, looking to Mandalay.

"Then I'll go with the students. I can give live updates that everyone can plan around." The Heroine replied. Vlad nodded in agreement before beginning to instruct those who were not part of the plan and healthy enough to stand guard.

"I'll be using my arms for course correction, yes?" Shouji asked, raising .

"Can you handle a load this big?" Mineta replied after a nod. Shouji was the biggest and strongest one in 1A. He had effortlessly carried him and Tsuyu around in the Sports Festival, so the shorter boy hoped this was still within his limits. And to his joy, the giant gave him a stoic thumb's up before looking to Tokoyami. The bird headed boy apprehensively looked between Shouji and Mineta. He then turned to the dual colored classmate, who gave him a stern yet comforting nod.

"Don't worry about going berserk again, I've got you." Todoroki said.

"Then let's not waste anymore time! Hit us Uraraka!" Kirishima yelled, pumping his fist. The gravity defying girl tapped her classmates, one by one, before being Shouji grasped them with duplicated limbs. Mandalay gave one last hug to Kouta before allowing Uraraka to make her float. But as Tsuyu began to wrap her tongue around them, a thought passed through Mineta.

"Wait!" He shouted, going into his pocket. The shorter boy removed and extended his baton before tossing it to the group. Ojiro was the first to catch it, curiously staring at it before looking back at Mineta.

"A good luck charm."

"We'll do our best." Ojiro said, brows furrowing with resolve.

"Uraraka-san, I'll tell you when we're near. So be ready." Mandalay said as Tsuyu got into position. The amphibious girl, turning with a shout, hurled the support team skywards. All eyes followed them as they sailed through the night sky, eventually disappearing from sight. They all waited with bated breaths for Mandalay's signal. Mineta was especially tense, his mind being hounded by questions that refuse to quiet down.

Had he and Midoriya been wrong about Bakugou's whereabouts? Did he just worsen their survivability by splitting the group? Were they already too late?

"There's a battle at the training grounds, lots of explosions and several Villains. Send us down there now!" Mandalay's voice said within Mineta's head. Uraraka immediately pressed her fingers together, after which one last message was broadcasted.

"Wish us luck."

And then the silence came back. But while Vlad began giving out new orders to ready everyone, Mineta simply continued staring at the one spot in the sky. Despite there being a small ray of hope now, the shorter boy still couldn't banish the questions that cursed his mind. Most of all, he couldn't begin to comprehend the chain of events they've been dragged into.

If USJ and Hosu was the prologue and today was only chapter one…

Then where will this twisted story take them next?


And that has been Chapter 74!

Still got nothing in the way of news, so I'll just jump to the preview. Next time, Mineta has to comfort and restore the faith of a woman who fears for her son's life. So with that said...

Until Next Time. T1.