I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.
One week later… And Mineta is worried.
After the entrance exam, when the two met up outside of UA, Midoriya had this thousand-yard stare. When he asked what happened, his friend said to not worry about it. Mineta figured that it could just be the adrenaline, that Zero Point Villain was no joke after all. So, he suggested that they should go to that new café that opened up to cool off. Midoriya, however, just wanted to go home and sleep.
Mineta couldn't force him, so he let him go and hoped his friend was in better spirits tomorrow.
Then tomorrow came around and Midoriya still had that empty stare. It made him wonder if something happened during the exam. So Mineta asked him. Only to get the same response, don't worry about it, and the guy went straight home again. This has persisted throughout the week and Mineta was at the end of his rope. What can he do? How's he going to cheer up his friend?
"Minoru, letter for you."
Something lightly hit him on his head and taking it to look, it was a letter. From UA specifically. He then turned around to see his Dad, struggling around the corner with a giant bundle of mail. Huh, that pile gets bigger every week. Being a popular Mangaka must be hard work, having so many expectations to meet.
But that was his business and not Mineta's. So, the short boy took the thing to his room and opened it. There was a letter inside, but also a weird disk thing. And after examining it, the boy saw that it was a hologram projector. "Just press this and…"
A light shot up and he saw a humanoid animal dressed in a nice suit. What animal it was… He can't tell. But it raised its paw and greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning, afternoon, and evening Mineta Minoru! I'm Principal Nezu, headmaster of UA High. And I'm here to announce that you've passed our rigorous entrance exam! Now you must be over the moon over this announcement, I know I would be, but don't get too excited yet. This is but the start of your Hero's Journey and you must prepare for the trials and tribulations ahead. Before the school year starts, take the time to reflect over your strengths and weaknesses. Your successes and failures. And most importantly, those flaws you have yet to outgrow. Good luck and I'll see you at orientation."
The light disappeared, but Mineta's grin couldn't be any brighter. He made it. He actually made it. All that effort he put into his training. All those aches and sores. All those days and nights spent ignoring his libido. All of that had value. And this was its worth. He couldn't wait to tell Midoriya the good news. He was just glad the points he got–
…
His smile sunk.
Oh…
Mineta fell into his chair and buried his face into his hands. How can he have been so blind? The only reason why Midoriya was acting so hopeless was because he couldn't get a single point during the practical. Therefore, he had zero chance of getting into UA. Why did it take him this long to figure that out?
Even then, what could he do about it? He can't change the results of the test without busting several laws. He's not even sure he has the ability or resources to pull that off. No matter what, Midoriya's trapped at a dead end and Mineta has to accept that. It looks like the dream for the greatest duo stops here…
His thoughts were broken when his phone began buzzing. And checking it nearly gave Mineta a heart attack. It's Midoriya.
"H-Hey man, what's up?" He asked, answering the call.
"Hey Mineta-kun. I know it's late, but you want to play some catch?" Mineta didn't know what to make of this statement. His friend didn't sound so hopeless like before, he sounded normal. Also catch? When the night has begun? Now he's even more confused.
Still, the boy now has a chance to reach out to Midoriya. Figure out what's going on with him. So without hesitation… "Yeah sure. Meet you at the park."
"Got it. See you there." Midoriya said, hanging up. Quickly changing out, Mineta gathered his glove and a few baseballs and rushed out of his room.
"Dad! I'm going out!" He shouted, putting on his shoes.
"Don't get into trouble. Or let trouble find you."
"Okay!" He shouted back as he closed the door. Mineta ran as fast as he could from his home, towards the park where he first Midoriya. There wasn't anything special about it, but that park was their place. They've hung out there, talking for hours about Heroes or the future. And recently, it has become their spot to train whenever their schedules line up.
Upon arriving there, he could see his friend Midoriya doing some stretches. But what's different is that he looks so relaxed. Completely different from this past week. Mineta approached, trying to suppress the millions of questions he has.
"You ready Midoriya?"
"Only after you finish your stretches. This maybe catch, but you know how fast it devolves between us."
Mineta gave a nod and placed down his stuff, beginning his stretches. The two at first starts casually enough, tossing the ball between one another. And then it slowly becomes a game of who's the first to miss the catch. This is how they end up losing several baseballs, flying somewhere they cannot reach. So after a good ten minutes, Mineta put the glove on his left hand and raised it.
"Your ball."
Midoriya gave a lazy throw, low speed and easy trajectory. And then Mineta returned the throw. That level continued for a good while, with no conversation between them. It kind of unnerved the shorter boy since they usually took the time to talk about recent hurdles in their training. But with just the ambience of the night, some despaired filled thoughts clouded his head.
And he just ended up blurting out something just to cut through the void.
"I got my letter from UA."
"You don't need to tell me the results, I know you got accepted Mineta-kun. You've been training just as hard as me." Midoriya replied, tone just as relaxed as before. But that still didn't stop the anxiety building in Mineta's chest. He bit his lip as he threw back the ball, should he ask? I mean, this is a conversation that he started unintentionally. He should at least see it through. For Midoriya's sake.
"What about you? Did your letter come in?" Here goes nothing…
"I did. And I was accepted too." Midoriya said with a smile, tossing the ball back. Mineta's shoulders slumped and his arms fell, eyes widening. So stunned was he that the boy didn't even register the ball bouncing off his head. Midoriya immediately went into his nervous phase, fretting over his dazed friend.
"M-Mineta-kun!?"
"But didn't you get no points? That's what I assumed since you were so heartbroken?" Mineta asked. Midoriya gave an awkward laugh, as though he wasn't sure himself.
"Well… You see… The test committee wasn't just looking for people who can fight. They were also looking for people who have that special quality… And it turns out I have that."
What immediately came to Mineta's mind was the sight of Midoriya's reliable back during moments of crisis. And that shock turned into a grin. "You did something cool, yeah?"
"And stupid…" Midoriya added. He didn't try to deny that whatever he did wasn't cool. Mineta picked up the ball and threw it with more vigor, having heard the best news of the week. His friend caught the ball without issue, but he was starting to rotate his shoulder more.
"You know, I was so worried. The whole week you had a fish like look in your eyes. Alive but mostly dead."
"Sorry, I was just in shock… I mean, I thought I failed and wasted All Might's time." Midoriya replied. He then threw the ball back to Mineta and it was much faster. He didn't let that slip and caught it. But what his friend said next threw him off completely.
"And suddenly getting a Quirk was also fairly taxing."
What? Midoriya suddenly has a Quirk now? Wasn't he Quirkless since childhood? The green haired boy realized what came out of his mouth and covered it. And as Mineta stared at him, he started getting more flustered and jittery.
"Uhhh… Y-You see, on the day of the test, my Quirk manifested out of nowhere! It was a huge surprise for me! I-I thought that was impossible, because you know… S-Studies state that most Quirks appear by the age of four! So, when it appeared, I thought… Maybe I'm an outlier in all that!? Cause Quirks are weird! You know!?"
Mineta did his best to not show disbelief. Cause if he did, his friend would be in a whole world of trouble. He knows that Midoriya only lies so that he can save someone else the trouble. And Mineta knows that Midoriya knows that he can recognize this particular habit a mile away. By trying to do so anyway, Midoriya must be protecting a really big secret for someone.
And Mineta's not about to blow the whistle on this charade. Especially when he has a gut feeling that this was connected to All Might somehow. Again, he's not about to destroy society as they know it just because he has loose lips.
With a look of understanding, Mineta gave a nod. "Yeah man, Quirks ARE weird. Remember that one guy with laser arms?"
"Light Work? I think his partner had the stranger Quirk. It's interesting, but… Pose Power?" Midoriya replied. Mineta winced at the memory of that Quirk. To gain some kind of buff, the guy had to first strike an exaggerated pose. It was horribly out of place for any circumstance and it usually left most people confused. Not to mention the conflicts between him and Light Work's costumes and personalities. What's with Heroes having partners that heavily contrasts with them?
Though, as he thought about that, another grin slowly began spreading across his face. He pitched out a cutter to Midoriya that matched his elevated mood. And despite the suddenness of the ball, Midoriya caught it without difficulty. The green haired boy nodded and called out to his friend. "Nice ball Mineta-kun, what's got you excited? Did an attractive girl walk by?"
"I wish. But I'm just thinking about how, once we start school, we're going to be the next great Hero duo. We're even standing in the place where I told you that." Mineta replied.
"Life's funny that way. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's do our best Mineta-kun."
With a nod, the shorter boy turned his glove and received a hardy throw from his friend. From two wimps to two fledgling Heroes, Midoriya and Mineta are now upon their starting line. There would no doubt be more trouble to come. But Mineta was confident that they can take care of anything that came their way.
They were partners after all.
And that was chapter 8.
In all honesty, I've got no real exciting news this update. However, I did receive some advice from my Uncle on how not to suck at life. And depending on how that goes, I might tell you guys about that.
"But seriously, that was some expert grilling he did. You practically got grill marks on you."
It wasn't so bad. But anyway, you all know the drill, leave your questions, comments, and concerns and I'll do my best to answer them.
"No criticism equals bad writer."
So with that said...
Until Next Time. T1.
