I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.


It seemed all of 1A went to Midoriya, the same way they did for Uraraka. Of course Bakugou wasn't there, but that's to be expected.

However, before too many words were said, Recovery Girl kicked everyone out. And with that, 1A went back to prepare for the fight between Tsuyu and Bakugou. However, Mineta surreptitiously stayed behind and was able to head back to see his partner. He was definitely going to miss the next battle. But seeing that it involved Bakugou…

"Sorry Tsuyu… You're not going to win…" Mineta apologized sadly, walking back to the temporary nurse's office. That's where he saw the emaciated All Might sneaking to the same door. His dark sunken eyes landed on him, causing the Hero to jump back as sweat soaked his face.

"Young Mineta! You almost gave me a heart attack… I thought you were going to cheering on Young Bakugou and Asui." He said, taking a few deep breaths.

"I know, but this is about Midoriya." Mineta answered.

"Point taken." All Might said as he knocked on the door. After a minute or two, the door opened slightly and Recovery Girl peered through the crack. She then slowly pulled open the door and wordlessly gestured for the two to come in. Mineta raised an eyebrow, why was she being so quiet? The shorter boy looked to the Symbol of Peace for some kind of answer but he just shrugged. So without any other options, the two went in quietly.

All Might and Mineta practically tip toed towards the occupied bed. And upon arriving, they could see why Recovery Girl wanted them to be silent. Midoriya was soundly sleeping.

"He knocked out the moment his classmates left. Honestly, I'm surprised the boy was conscious for that long after all he's done on the field." The elder Heroine commented as she sat down.

"What's the damage like?" Mineta asked, eyeing the casts and bandages that wrapped his partner's arm, leg, and fingers.

"His arm has multiple breaks in it and his leg is fractured. But luckily nothing had fragmented; otherwise I'd have to perform surgery before starting the healing process. Midoriya's muscles, however, were thoroughly torn and tenderized. He'll need three weeks of therapy before the damage is completely reversed. And lastly, the damage to his fingers will only leave minor scarring and nothing else. All in all… The boy should stop emulating you and your recklessness." Recovery Girl replied, pointing her cane to All Might.

The Number One Hero choked up a bit, but didn't argue back. And Mineta could see why. All Might was Midoriya's Hero, so of course he would mimic that courageous rush on towards danger. But since Midoriya was no absolute wall of muscle, he'd get hurt trying to be Heroic. Still…

"He was doing it for someone else. So I'd feel all this was a bargain." Mineta replied. She turned her head and Mineta could feel the glare from behind her visor. Perhaps telling off a Doctor's advice wasn't so smart after all…

"The boy said the same thing. Whatever curse it was that Todoroki Shouto held, Midoriya managed to break it. And if not, loosened it. He also wanted to apologize to you, Toshinori."

"What for?"

"For failing your expectations. If he had kept his mouth shut, he'd move onto the finals." Recovery Girl replied. All Might nodded before wistfully looking to his young successor. He then pulled up a chair and sat down, watching over Midoriya as he rested.

"I'll wait here until he wakes up. Young Mineta, you may go back to the Tournament." He said, turning to the shorter boy. Mineta wanted to stay, in case they need some piece of information about his partner. But seeing that this was a certified healer and his mentor, Midoriya was in good hands. So with a nod, Mineta wordlessly left the room.

"Okay, see you later." Mineta thought as he closed the door behind him. But the moment he walked to the first corner, he bumped into someone who just appeared and fell flat onto his butt. Looking up, Mineta found himself before Todoroki Shouto.

"… Sorry." He said, slowly stretching his hand out to Mineta. The shorter boy raised an eyebrow, Todoroki never did this before. And after studying his face, Mineta found his cold stare to be much warmer. There was still a clouded look in his eyes though…

"No problem, I should've been paying attention." The shorter boy said, finally taking his classmate's hand. Todoroki pulled him up before Mineta patted the dust from his pants. But upon finishing, he found that the guy was still there with him. It was almost as though Todoroki was waiting for him.

"Can I help you?" Mineta asked.

"… You've known Midoriya second longest after Bakugou. So I'd like to ask you something."

The shorter boy raised an eyebrow over the request. Why? For what reason? Did this guy somehow figure out his partner's involvement with All Might? Did he figure out Mineta's involvement with All Might?

"Calm down Mineta… No one knows except for a select few people…" He thought before nodding to Todoroki.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Was he always like that?" Todoroki asked. Mineta raised an eyebrow to that, his mind trying to figure out what he meant. A lot of Midoriya's characteristics, both positive and negative, could be the subjects of many conversations. To talk about one thing, you're going to need to be specific. And luckily, it didn't take long for his dual colored classmate to realize that.

"Did he always go out of his way for others?" Todoroki corrected.

"Oh that. Yeah man, three years and that part of him never changed. Midoriya's always trying to help people and I'm always there to help him. Our successes before now were a bit rare though… But a little dirt to the face never stopped us from still trying." Mineta answered. Those memories popped up into the forefront of his mind. And while those weren't the best times, especially when Mineta and Midoriya spent more time licking their own wounds than helping… It was still their past, their origin point.

A testament to their drive to become Heroes.

But after all that, it was Todoroki's turn to raise an eyebrow. A strange sight, seeing that he was normally stoic and unflappable. "Both of you… Kept failing? But neither of you are weak, how was it that you both lose?"

"We weren't as strong back then. But again, being weak hardly stopped us. Midoriya especially, it just made him try harder to be a Hero." Mineta answered, burying the truth under a layer of vagueness. It was a half truth; he and his partner were terribly weak. But Todoroki didn't need to know the whole, harrowing tale.

"But wouldn't that result in more failure? How can you both move forward knowing you'll stumble again?" Todoroki asked. This guy was surprisingly chatty. Perhaps the fight with Midoriya had left him with many questions on his mind. Still, the answer to this was easy and Mineta let the words simply flow out of his mouth.

"Same reason fish swim and birds fly, it's his nature to help people. Just as mine is to be his partner in crime. You can say it's the shape of our heart."

"The shape of your heart…" Todoroki muttered, his eyes casting themselves downward. His hand then hesitantly went over his chest and he stood in silence. Mineta kept his mouth shut as his eyes slowly looked around him. He took a several moments to study the intricacies of the stadium's interior. But as interesting as studying the paint was, the shorter boy needed to continue this conversation.

"What about you? What's the shape of your heart?"

"… I don't know. After that fight, I'm not sure what I am anymore. Maybe I have nothing to call my own…" Todoroki said quietly, clutching at his jersey. Mineta, for whatever reason, reflexively whacked his classmate's arm. As a result Todoroki jumped back, ready to fight. But whatever look the shorter boy had in his eyes made him reconsider.

"Take that last part back. If you honestly believe you're nothing, then Midoriya went the distance for nothing. He fought his hardest because he knew there was more to you than your grudge. He wanted you to discover yourself." Mineta said.

"But what if I really am a bad person? What if I am nothing?"

"Look… There's an artist saying my Dad brings up whenever one of his assistants has a problem. A marred or blank canvas is not a problem, but an opportunity. It's just up to the painter to determine what that maybe. You talk like things are absolute when they clearly aren't. The world and its people, little by little, change with each day that passes. And those changes can be good or bad depending on what we do." Mineta answered, voice firm with determination. He's going to get this message through Todoroki's skull and into his brain.

If not, there'll be Hell to pay.

"Your past has been set, but you can still shape your future. Make the right choices now and you'll find yourself closer to whatever ideal you have. You'll stumble, fail, and probably slide back to your old self… But as long as you keep standing up, things will change for the better. I mean, just look at where me and Midoriya are."

Mineta proceeded to spread his arms, gesturing to his surroundings. Todoroki's eyes followed and seemed to understand what was being referred too. The dual colored boy then began to think to himself again. And as Mineta waited for a response, he could see a glimmer of light in his classmate's heterochromatic eyes.

"I see... If only I had met you and Midoriya sooner, then maybe I would be…" Todoroki said, looking at his left hand. The roar of the crowd broke the mood and the two flinched. It seems the Bakugou and Tsuyu match was over… And Mineta was certain of who would be moving forward to the finals. Looking to Todoroki, the shorter boy saw him walking off.

"Go beyond Todoroki." Mineta said.

"I'll try."

But then the dual colored boy stopped and turned around. He carefully eyed Mineta and slowly opened his mouth. There was still something on his tongue that needed to be said.

"Last question… Were you ever afraid of Midoriya?"

Mineta reeled back, eyebrows scrunching as his brain tried to process where this came from. But naturally, he had to answer with a resounding but confused, "No?"

"… That's all I needed to know. See you around." Todoroki replied. He then disappeared around the corner, leaving Mineta mystified. Still, whatever's going with him, the shorter boy could tell that he was on the cusp of a metamorphosis. And Mineta could feel that 1A was about to get a little more lively after today.

But that was for the future. Because now, it was time to watch the finale.


And that has been Chapter 34.

It seems I've mislead you all with my author's notes in the previous chapter. And thinking about it, there must've been two people I referred as Mr. Perfect previously. Bakugou was the first but that has now personally shifted over to Todoroki. So I do apologize for that and will try to keep things in order for the future.

"Key word being 'try'. Unless writer man writes things down, he's probably going to forget."

But let's discuss the actual content of the chapter. In canon, when Todoroki spoke to Bakugou when the two ran into each other, it felt like there was something else our two toned boy wanted to say. So for here, I wanted to have Todoroki open up his bottled feelings more to Mineta. And being the supportive little bastard he is, our rat boy does his best to reinforce the words left by Midoriya. It was hard thing to do, come up with words of encouragement for someone who's been cursed by his own father. But I feel I managed to hit my target.

"Well, you hit something that's for sure."

What do you think though my dear audience? Was there something I missed about this? Leave your questions, comments, and concerns in the usual place.

Other than that, I have no other news for you. Stay healthy and I'll see you in two weeks.

"Next time, the grand finale!"

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.