I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.
A few days have gone by since that visit to Eri and three pieces of good news had already come up.
One, Eri was indeed allowed to go visit UA during the Culture Festival. So step one of Operation 'Reclaim Joy' was underway.
Two, Mineta, Midoriya, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Kirishima had finished their supplemental classes and can now devote their time in Festival preparations.
And three, Class 1A was able to decide on what they should be doing for the Festival. 1A is to put on a performance that combines music and dance.
Considering the hobbies of two of their classmates, Mineta knew 1A would be able to put on a stellar show. Only problem is getting everyone up to that standard within a month. Within a month they needed to get their routine, musical program, and special effects working… Combined with all the other things they need for the performance, like costumes…
It was going to take a lot of work to get it just right.
As such, on Saturday, each group of Class 1A committed to perfecting their part of the performance.
"Midoriya! It's called lockdancing, L-O-C-K! It's got to look more like this!" Mina shouted as she demonstrated the movements again. Midoriya nodded as he tried the movements again, correcting his mistakes from before but was still fumbling many of the movements. Mineta would be offering advice to him…
"Mineta! That half turn is still too wide! You're an artist! Make a reference point to start and stop on!" Mina said loudly before going to someone else.
But he was also not that great at dancing. Even with his flexible body, Mineta still had to move it in rhythm to not only the music, but also his friends. And doing so was surprisingly difficult as everyone had different little quirks in their movement. If 1A are to become in sync enough by the day of the Festival, Mina was going to have to put some serious work in.
"I should see bodies moving people! We've got to nail the fundamentals by tomorrow night, only then can the real fun start! You're looking good Tooru-chan, keep up that energy!" Mina shouted as she continued checking on everyone's progress. Though given how the pink girl was already at 120%, Mineta knew their group was in good hands.
This did leave the shorter boy wondering how the others, the band and FX teams, were doing on their end. The music team had to contend with Bakugou and his perfectionist attitude, Kaminari was probably getting an earful right about now. The FX team had to run their ideas by both the dance and music teams before they could fully commit to it. And both of them needs to rely on the dance team not missing a step throughout the entire process.
Honestly, it was more overwhelming than some of their Hero course work.
"Okay… Then I guess we've just got to put in the same amount of effort…" Mineta thought as he started his half turn. It was only a moment, but using the alignment of the bricks underneath him, he snapped to a stop 180 degrees from where he was facing before.
There was something about the snappiness of the motion that enticed Mineta. It sort of reminded him of Fenghuang when she demonstrated her skills, showing the sharpness of her flowing movements. And that, in turn, made him remember something that Master Kamishiro said during the week Mineta spent at the Heaven and Earth Temple.
"Once you've built strength and learned the techniques, it's important to start understanding the mechanics behind it all. It's difficult to explain… But you'll understand what I mean when each of your moves start feeling light, powerful, and full of purpose. Everything will start and stop on command and any sluggishness or excess will disappear. That is what sharpness is."
With those words ringing in his head, Mineta made another half turn and began going into the practice routine that Mina had taught everyone. His arms, legs, and body felt lighter than they had in a while as he went through the motions. Even if it wasn't 100% accurate to what Mina had done, the shorter boy was able to start and stop each move on command and had felt his strength flowing into those moves.
Was this what Master Kamishiro meant by sharpness?
"Woah Mineta! Those aren't the moves of an amateur! You sure you've never danced before?" Mina asked as she popped up beside him. The shorter boy stumbled but ultimately caught himself by quickly restoring his stance. He took a moment to stabilize before turning to his pink classmate.
"No, I haven't. And I wouldn't count bad attempts at an arcade as dancing. Besides, I don't think I've done what you showed me completely right."
"Well, you could've fooled me. And don't worry about not getting everything right, nothing in art is completely perfect. You just got adapt things to suit your style. Like on that middle part, try doing this instead. I think you'll find it much smoother for someone your size." Mina said before demonstrating for her shorter classmate. Mineta observed carefully as the pink girl did the moves again before gesturing for him to try.
And so, Mineta did.
Combining with the sharpness he had just experienced, this modified routine felt even more satisfying to perform. Again, it wasn't completely like Mina showed him, but Mineta didn't feel like he failed the performance. It once more reminded the shorter boy that a marred canvas isn't the end of a project, but an opportunity to improve it.
"Yeah! You got it! Feels a lot better now doesn't it? There is still something a bit off about it… But I'm sure that'll fix itself with practice." Mina said while nodding her head.
"If you say so… So, uh, what do I need to practice next?" Mineta asked. Mina then pointed towards Aoyama, who was gracefully flowing through a practice routine that Mineta never seen before. A few others were watching him, most likely because they too were ready to move on. Even if the faux Frenchman was his friend now, Aoyama was still a bit of a handful.
So learning the next set of moves from him was going to take a while if his narcissism kicked in.
Mineta could only nod and walked towards Aoyama. Mina went back to inspecting everyone's progress again, shouting suggestions at full volume. The shorter boy chose to stand next to Tsuyu, who was observing the movements of Aoyama carefully. He didn't dare disrupt her concentration, even if the shorter boy wanted to talk to her.
Though what he wanted to talk to her about has yet to be decided...
"Is there something on your mind Mineta-chan?"
Mineta jumped, not expecting her to react to his presence so quickly. But he quickly recovered and began thinking of a topic to talk about. Failing that, the shorter boy decided to just be honest with her. It wasn't ideal, but it could lead to some interesting discussions. Besides, with 1A, you could talk about nothing and still have a good time.
"Not really… I just felt like standing here. Do you mind if I do?"
"I don't, having you nearby is always nice. Besides, I've been thinking a lot about you recently..." Tsuyu replied, shaking her head. Mineta had to fight back the blush that was trying its hardest to cover his face. He was also wondering how the girl could say something like that with such a straight face. They were just lucky that everyone was too distracted to notice them.
Having Uraraka catch them that one time was more than enough…
"Y-You have?" Mineta spurted out, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it in that way… It's just… Are you doing okay?" Tsuyu answered as a light blush dusting her face. The question caused Mineta to tilt his head, replacing any other thoughts in his head. It was an odd thing to ask since he doesn't think there was anything…
…
Ah.
That's what she was talking about.
"Well… I haven't had any freezes recently... And Midoriya and I have started to regain some control over our Quirks… Nothing happens when I'm asleep anymore either… So I think I'm doing pretty well." Mineta replied with a nod. While all of those things were ultimately true, he could still feel those empty eyes staring at him from the back of his mind. It was like it was waiting for the right moment to spring on him…
For the right moment to drop its massive sword upon his neck…
"Then that's good to hear. Every time I see you or Midoriya-chan act differently than normal, I wonder if there is anything more I can do. You know, since neither Ochako-chan nor I was much help during the raid…" Tsuyu replied as she wistfully stared at the ground. Mineta reached out and put a hand full of emotion on her arm. Once more, he was glad everyone was too distracted to notice.
"You've done plenty to help. Nighteye, Lock Rock, and especially Ryukyu are okay now thanks to you two. If you hadn't been there to help Aizawa, their injuries could've been a lot worse, especially Ryukyu's. It's Midoriya and I who messed up badly on that raid… We couldn't get Overhaul, the guy that killed him, the League of Villains, or Stain… We let them all get away…" Mineta said as his own fell to the ground. He then felt Tsuyu's other hand rest on the one holding her arm.
Her emotions were flowing through them as well, fueling the shorter boy's resolve more.
Mineta's eyes went to Midoriya and saw how the green haired boy was giving his all to learn the routine, even if he wasn't particularly good at it. He then thought back to how he practiced, feeling that phantom strength flowing through his limbs from his memories. And that strength gave him the confidence to hold back more of the pressure that those empty eyes in his mind was giving off. He won't let it take any more than it already has.
He looked up at Tsuyu and the amphibious girl was able to meet his eyes.
"But I think that's why we're throwing ourselves into this Festival so hard. We're making sure we can actually contribute to a cause instead of screwing up everything at the very end. It's the least we can do after making you guys worry over these past several days."
"So you've noticed… All of us have been debating on whether or not to bring it up. We were just lucky Kirishima-chan got a handle on Bakugou-chan before he can just confront you two about it." Tsuyu replied as the two released their hold on one another, seeing that neither needed the gesture anymore.
"I mean, if I've seen one of us take what was an easy-to-dodge attack to the head, I'd want to talk to them too… But it's nice to hear that you guys are thinking about us, thank you."
"You're welcome. It's just that 1A doesn't feel the same without everyone doing what they do best. So if you two need anything, don't be afraid to ask. All of us are more than willing to help you two get through this." Tsuyu replied with a smile.
It was reassuring to hear that. It meant that Fenghuang wasn't wrong when she said that everyone would be waiting for them. So with a resolute nod and a glance over at Aoyama, who was almost finished showing their group the next routine, he gave a slight, but courteous, bow.
"Then would you like to help me with this routine? I'm pretty sure Aoyama added in a couple extra steps just to show off."
"I would be happy to help you, Mineta-chan." Tsuyu answered. And having picked up on the shorter boy's intention, she jokingly did a simple curtsy. With that, the two continued to practice dancing amongst their friends. It was something that left Mineta feeling much lighter than before. Even if the pressure in the back of his mind was still there, looming over him…
He at least got his feet moving towards something better.
And that has been Chapter 113!
Not much to add except I'm being horribly distracted by Bloons TD 6 and shipping characters from other series. But somehow, I'll prevail. So...
Until Next Time. T1.
