I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.
Mineta's eyes slowly opened, mind and body numb to everything around him. Where was he? Was he okay? How about Iida? Did Todoroki encounter anymore trouble? Did Midoriya lose Stain? Or did the worse happen to his partner?
That thought almost snapped him out of his stupor. But upon thinking about it, Midoriya fit Stain's ideal standard of a Hero. So at worse, he'd just paralyze him and continue to run. Still, that meant there was still a maniac on the loose. And who knows when he'll make the streets run with blood again.
"Shifu'll be mad…" Mineta thought as he prepared his body to finally move.
He felt something fluffy at the back of his head, definitely a pillow. He was laying against something stiff yet slightly spongy, most likely a bed. His right arm felt sore and something was pricking his left, left over damage from the fight? Finally, the bright light and sterile smell in the air gave him the key to his location.
He was in a hospital.
He also felt another presence in the room. And it was sitting right next to him.
"Hello…?" Mineta groaned, eyes still too blurry to recognize anything. But the moment it spoke, the shorter boy was able to relax. Well, half relax as there were still questions on his unfocused mind.
"Mineta-kun, you're awake. Are you feeling okay? Hold on, I'll get you a Doctor." Midoriya said, the sounds of him rushing around filling the air.
"Midoriya…? Where's Iida?" Mineta asked as he began blinking the clouds out of his eyes. Slowly but surely, he was able to get a visual on what was around him. He was in a hospital room, one that could only fit two patients. His partner was standing by the door out, looking relieved but ready to get help. And outside, the sun was shining bright all around.
If he had to guess, it was close to noon.
"The Doctors are examining Iida-kun's wounds one more time. But don't worry, he's fine." Midoriya answered before leaving the room. And so, in the relative silence of that room, Mineta could now finally settle his nerves. He stared at the ceiling, thoughts going to his other classmates and their internships. And with every fiber in his body, Mineta hoped they don't run into anything like Stain for the rest of the week.
That encounter was going to hang over him like the USJ attack did.
"… Two League of Villain events and it's still Spring. Coincidence or not, they were too close of a call. In case they come back, I need to be ready." Mineta thought, as he felt a tingle run through his right arm. He carefully raised his right hand and stared at the bandages that wrapped it. He then looked at his right shoulder, wrapped up in very much the same way. While the damage could've been worse…
It certainly could've been better. A testament that Mineta still had ways to go before he could be a true Hero.
The door slid open and turning over, Mineta could see that his partner had lived up to his words. The Doctor came over and began going through a basic diagnostic test. Questions were asked, answers were given, just your standard affair that came with any medical examinations. And just as the Doctor left after getting everything he needed, Midoriya returned with Todoroki and Iida.
"Mineta-kun! You're awake!" Iida said quickly rushing over. Mineta would've answered back had his focus not been entirely on the cast around Iida's left arm. It was being supported by a sling as well, making the implications of it that much worse. Noticing this, Midoriya and Todoroki looked towards their Class President as well. All three of them silently asking the big question, how's your arm?
Iida simply gave a sad smile as he raised his left arm slightly.
"I suppose I should get the bad news out of the way. The injuries on my left arm have some residual complications. While, thankfully, it isn't paralyzed, I won't be able to move it as I originally did."
"Iida-kun, that's… Could it be treated?" Midoriya asked, his eyes widening.
"It can. With just a bit of nerve grafting surgery, my arm will be fully functional again. However, I won't go through with the procedure… Not until I become a true Hero. Think of it as a reminder of my mistakes from last night." Iida replied before facing Mineta. The shorter boy didn't know what to say. Naturally, he wanted to tell his class president to not worry over what Stain said. That Iida should get the surgery to get himself back on track.
On the other hand, after a moment of thought, Mineta knew why he couldn't go through with it. The question he had asked Iida must still be on his mind. And until he could answer it, Iida couldn't back down. Honestly, it felt like he was now under an unspoken contract.
"Hmmm…" Todoroki hummed contemplatively. That caught everyone else's attention as they turned to face their dual colored classmate. He was touching the scar that surrounded his left eye. And not too long after that, his eyes went to the injuries that Iida and Mineta sustained.
"Todoroki-kun? What's on your mind?" Iida asked.
"Sorry, just thinking about what they say about scars. They are supposed to be something one can be proud of… But I've only seen and felt the opposite… These injuries feel more like brands of failure." Todoroki answered solemnly. Mineta gripped his sheets as he turned away. His classmate's words began to ring within him, his injuries throbbing with each echo. For what happened, the shorter boy supposed it was appropriate that this happened.
To be punished for his mistakes.
"You aren't wrong, Todoroki-kun… But you aren't right either. Scars do complex things to a person's mind, so we can't simply generalize them. Some are discouraged, some are motivated, and some just don't care about them. But what I can say is that HOW we see scars can change. And that, in turn, can become a sign for us to grow as well." Midoriya said, looking between each one of them. He then held out his right hand, which was gently balled into a fist.
"We all still have much to learn. So let's move forward one step at a time, surviving our mistakes and learning from them." Midoriya continued, smiling at each of his classmates. However, before anyone could say anything to that, the door slid open. All eyes went to their new visitor, Mineta's eyes widening to the sight. Though she had several bandages on her arms and face, perhaps countless more beneath her robes, Fenghuang firmly stood before them.
And this was in spite of the crutch she was using to support herself.
"Shifu! You're okay!" Mineta said, slowly sitting up in his bed. Honestly, he wasn't sure what happened between his teacher and the Nomu last night. Based on her injuries, it must have been quite the fight even with all the support she had.
"You know me, my young pupil; I'm not one who gives in so easily. Not while I still have lessons to teach. In fact, let's have a session right now. Your friends are welcome to learn too." Fenghuang replied, gesturing to the empty beds. Iida and Todoroki looked at each other before shrugging and taking a seat. Midoriya was in full on Hero otaku mode, listing off several achievements under the Radiant Wing. It was only when Mineta hit him with a spare pillow did he stop to sit down.
This did leave the shorter boy wondering what wisdom were they about to receive.
Fenghuang looked at the four boys, hobbling over to them as she adjusted her crutch's length. She then began to hold it by the peg end of it. Mineta watched as gears were turning in his teacher's eyes before realizing what she was up to. But before he could speak, Fenghuang raised the crutch and swiftly smacked their heads with it. Now while it actually didn't hurt, something about the hit felt heavy.
"While you all maybe Heroes in Training… What you've done last night was beyond foolish. Going after Stain without any plan or knowing if more help will be on the way. What would you have done if things have gone awry?" She asked, readjusting her crutch. The Heroine then pointed at Iida, causing him to flinch as he knew what was coming.
"I'm disappointed with you most. How could you do this to your friends? More importantly, how could you do this to yourself? Your brother may have had regrets regarding the Hero Killer. But Tensei isn't so selfish that he'd risk his own family for his sake. Especially not for something like revenge."
Iida stood and bowed to Fenghuang, his torso almost parallel. He didn't say anything. But the penitent silence that emanated from him was all she needed. Because he was already on the road of improvement, there was no need to say anything more. The Heroine's gaze then turned to Todoroki and Midoriya, causing the latter to bristle.
"And you two, was it really a good idea to split up when a known killer was still around and very capable of fighting?"
"I'm sorry… But I just couldn't let the person who hurt so many people get away…" Midorya said as he deeply lowered his head.
"And yet you've failed to consider yourself in this. How would your friends react if you've gotten killed chasing a man who willingly retreated? I understand that you're a true Hero at heart. But without tempering that courage, you'll find quickly yourself in need of a Hero. Just like Young Iida had." Fenghuang replied. This just kept Midoriya's head down as the Heroine turned to Todoroki.
"What about you? You've allowed your friend to recklessly go after a known murderer. What were you thinking in that moment?"
"Because there were injured people, I thought it was best to guard them in case someone else came by to finish them off. The Hero Killer might've had help of some sort." Todoroki replied.
"Did you have any evidence of this before acting? Have thought that maybe this accomplice had retreated with Stain? And thus, leaving young Midoriya to fend off two assailants on his own?" Fenghuang asked bluntly. The dual colored boy opened his mouth, a response on the tip of his tongue. However, nothing came out as he lowered his head in defeat.
"… No. You're right, we were fools."
Mineta swallowed the lump in his throat as everyone marinated in the silence that swamped the room. What started as a misguided quest for vengeance had turned into a serious mess of missteps. Had their luck been worse, it would've their names showing up in the obituaries. So in all, they deserved this miserable atmosphere. It was their punishment for their rashness.
At least, it was until Fenghuang gave a light sigh and a smile replaced her scowl.
"However, you can take pride in what you've accomplished last night. You've stopped Stain from adding another tally to his blades."
"Wait, but I thought–" Mineta began before his Shifu raised her hand.
"Yes, you were fools… But you still saved lives. And Heroes who fail to even try could never help anyone, not even a single life. More than that, you forced a Villain to retreat, a feat that's surprisingly difficult to achieve. And though you've sustained injuries, look at the results of your efforts." Fenghuang said as she gestured to Iida. The shorter boy turned to his Class President and something began to well up inside him. Honestly, he was so disorientated with everything that happened that he failed to realize it.
The relief that came after all the pain and anxiety had faded.
That Iida Tenya and Mineta Minoru were still here.
"Yeah… I guess I did good…" Mineta said, tears starting to well up in his eyes.
"See? I knew you were a Hero too." Midoriya said with a smile.
"I mean, why wouldn't he be? Mineta's in the Hero course." Todoroki said bluntly. Iida, using his uninjured hand, lightly bopped the top of his dual colored classmate.
"Todoroki-kun, please read the mood."
A quick laugh went around as Fenghuang nodded. She then began to hobble to the door, having finished what she accomplished. But she then stopped and turned back to the group, words still on her tongue.
"One last thing, you'll be visited by the Hosu's Police Chief a little later. He'll be speaking with you about your act of vigilantism in similar yet different way to me. It's annoying and stifling to hear, I know, but important never-the-less. All the greatest lessons are the ones that often repeat. Be seeing you later, young Heroes." Fenghuang said as she opened the door. The Heroine then bowed before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
"Honestly, I was expecting her to reprimand our ears off… But that was a pleasant surprise." Iida commented.
"That's what happens when a kung fu master teaches; cryptic wisdom gets shoved into your ears." Mineta replied.
"Better that than something unrelated though. With the League of Villains and now the Hero Killer loose, we have to learn everything we can." Todoroki said solemnly. That dread that clung to the back of their minds came to the forefront, creating a steep drop in the atmosphere. And though Mineta wanted to berate his classmate for being so negative… He was right. With all the Villain activity these past few months, things could start to snowball into anarchy.
The League of Villains and Stain have shown that Heroes aren't infallible. They were able to disrupt societal order on a scale never before seen. Well, not seen since All Might became the Symbol of Peace. This could be enough to inspire all sorts of Villains to redouble their efforts. Or worse, pool their strengths together and form an actually cohesive unit.
Hell, who's to say that the League of Villains isn't doing that right now? They could be gathering skilled villains to make an elite death squad. And unlike the mass of generic thugs used at the USJ attack, they could pose a serious threat to the underprepared.
So before that chaos comes to pass, Mineta, Midoriya, and all their friends needed to get stronger. Strong enough to stand alongside the great Heroes they look up to.
A knock at the door shook the group out of their thoughts. And upon it opening, they saw the Hero Manual, a short, old Hero, and a tall man with a dog head in a suit. Was this the Hosu Police Chief that Fenghuang was referring to?
However, before the man could speak, a nurse came in and looked right at Mineta. She then turned to the dog man and began speaking. "My apologies sir, but there's been a new development with Mr. Mineta's injuries. So we need to speak with him immediately."
"Oh, if that's the case, then go right on ahead." The man said, gesturing towards the shorter boy. Mineta raised an eyebrow as the nurse came to him, making sure he could move without issue. There must have been over a dozen questions he had over it. And not helping matters were the utterly concerned stares of his friends.
Iida was looking especially guilty. No doubt blaming himself for whatever Mineta was about to hear.
So without another word, Mineta followed the nurse out of the room. He was led down the hall and into an examination room. That was when he spotted a crash test dummy looking at x-rays on the wall. It wore semi-formal clothes and was taking notes on a clipboard. And despite the physical mutations one could get from Quirks… This was by far the strangest thing Mineta has seen thus far.
"This is Doctor Buster, a trauma specialist visiting from America. Due to your injuries having a unique damage pattern, we had to contact him before we continued with your treatment." The nurse said. The Doctor turned over, his face completely expressionless as he wordlessly nodded to Mineta.
"H-Hello…" Mineta replied, wondering if this guy was not just a robot.
"Please excuse my silence. It takes time for my voice synthesizer to accurately process my intended tone, pitch, and intensity." Buster said suddenly. Robot was starting to seem more likely…
"Are you–?"
"I am not a robot, just a cyborg. My body is over 80 percent mechanical, but the rest is the body I was born with. I apologize for any displeasure or disappointment to this revelation."
Mineta only nodded before being led to a chair by the nurse. The shorter boy watched as the Doctor began to stiffly move to the open seat in front of him. Buster sat down and wordlessly gestured to Mineta's hand, his voice coming on a few seconds later.
"How is your hand and shoulder faring? It took quite some damage last night."
"It still hurts a little… But I think it's healing nicely." Mineta answered. There was something about the Doctor's words that unsettled him. And that's not just from the man's synthesized voice. The robotic man nodded before handing his clipboard to Mineta with a pen. And going over the contents, Mineta saw it was a blank patient information form.
"That's great to hear. If you don't mind, could you fill this in? Your friend only gave us the basics when you came in, so we're missing a few details. We like to keep our patient's information as updated as possible in the event they return in the future." Buster said after a pause. The shorter boy simply nodded and looked to the first blank.
Strangely enough, it was his family and given name.
He quickly put the pen to the line and began to write… Only to find that every character he made was garbled and sloppy. Mineta raised an eyebrow before crossing out the messy one. This time, he tried to be as methodical as possible but ended up with the same result. A deep sinking feeling was settling in the bottom of his gut as he tried one more thing. He tried to draw a circle.
Now while a perfect circle was impossible, Mineta could consistently make good circles. Not this time as the five circles he sketched were completely uneven and lumpy.
"… Doctor? I think there's something wrong with my arm." Mineta said, looking back up.
"I suspected as much. Please, take a look at these scans of your right arm. Note the line in blue." Doctor Buster said, handing the shorter boy a laminated sheet. Mineta took it, examining the thing. It was a bunch of white lines piled together in the shape of an arm. Among them was the line in blue that ran along the entire thing.
At the palm and shoulder, the blue line was much thinner than the rest.
"That line is a rather small, but important nerve. It serves as the relay for all minute movements that occur in the arm. But because two points have been damaged, your fine motor control has been reduced considerably in the right arm. Athletes who suffered the same injury, specifically Baseball pitchers, saw a drop in accuracy as great as 83 percent." Doctor Buster explained.
Mineta's heart sank lower than it has ever before. Though he could pitch from his left… It was his right that carried the weight of his heart and soul. It was this hand that created art on his free time. It was the hand that learned from Aizawa and then Fenghuang. It was the hand that protected Iida.
It was the hand that started it all with Midoriya.
"Are… Are there any treatment options?" Mineta asked nervously.
"There is none, mostly because any sort of treatment would make the damage permanent. Whether it is surgery or the use of a recovery Quirk, this nerve is oddly sensitive to external forces. So it's best to leave the nerve alone and it should recover within seven to eight months." Doctor Buster replied.
Mineta leaned back into his seat as a sigh of disbelief left his lungs. Eight months of not being able to use his right arm like normal... It was almost like a bad joke. His morning started off as well as it could with Iida and his teacher being safe…
But this seriously made the shorter boy worry about the days to come.
And that has been Chapter 48.
Oh gee, what an ominous last line. Let's hope that doesn't come true sometime in the near future.
But in all seriousness, Class 1A gets put through real horrible nonsense. I mean, just look at what happened in the most recent chapters. Those kids are going to need some serious therapy after all this is over. Granted, I shouldn't be talking since I might be putting them in a situation that's probably even worse later on, Stain got away after all...
So what did you think of this chapter? This was more of a cool down after everything that's gone on this arc. So if you, my dear readers, found this a little low key... Well, things will pick back up after a bit. So look forward to that.
Any how, that's all I've got for you this update. Next time, we'll be revisiting our strange magazine as Mineta breaks through with the help of his best friend. So with all that said...
Until Next Time. T1.
*As of 1/30/2021, I edited Fenghuang's quote on saving people.
