I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


"As impressive as that sounds… I would advise against using it. The window of opportunity would be too narrow for the rest of us. Not to mention the fact that the field would be too hazardous for us to use as well." Iida replied, shaking his head. 1A was currently devising a battle plan. But because of the unknown variables that surrounded their unusual senior, any strategy they came up with was almost unusable. Either they kneecapped themselves during the execution or it would do squat all to Mirio.

And Mineta's plan was the former…

"I guess it's a little too crazy to ask you guys to jump into that… But now what? If we don't have some semblance of a plan, this will just end up like our fight with Shifu." Mineta said as he looked over to Mirio, who was in the middle of stretching.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. We've done a lot of growing since Fenghuang Shifu visited. Granted, she was holding back on us… And I've got a feeling Togata-senpai won't be giving us that same luxury…" Ojiro commented as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Then we'll alpha strike him! Since Todoroki sidelined himself and Bakugou's not here, we'll need to go Plus Ultra right out of the gates." Kaminari said.

"We should execute the attack in waves too. First us long ranged attackers will soften him up, then you close range fighters will deliver the finish blow. Mineta-san, if you will." Yaoyorozu said, gesturing for the shorter boy to join her group. Mineta nodded, but not without first dropping a hairball onto the ground. And without even asking, Midoriya walked over, put his right foot on it, and dug in.

"Also, take this. This might give the first strike some extra oomph." Mineta said, extending his baton and handing it to his partner.

"I won't let you down." Midoriya said. The green haired boy then readied himself, the sparks of Full Cowl dancing around his body. Mineta removed his hairballs from his head as all of 1A stood at the ready. Mirio, finishing his last stretch, calmly stood there and asked the strangest of questions.

"Are you ready kids?"

"Let's go Senpai!" 1A shouted. But the moment the war cry finished leaving their lips, Mirio's clothes started to fall off and pass through his body. Mineta's eyes burst forth from his skull as Jirou shrieked in horror. How did that happen!? Is this some sort of psychological trick!? Because Mineta wouldn't be surprised if it was.

"Whoops… Almost scarred you guys for life." Mirio said with an apologetic smile, pulling his pants back up. Midoriya shot forward like a gun, pulling his baton back as he quickly closed in on the smiling blonde. But despite this rush down, Mirio seemed too relaxed and kept his guard down. And as a result, the green haired boy was able to strike him in the nose.

Things played in slow motion as Mineta focused his eyes on his partner and their foe. The baton did indeed strike Mirio in the face. However, the way he recoiled didn't look right. Mirio should've fallen onto his back from the power and speed of that attack. But instead, he was simply knocked off balance.

Then there was Mirio… His face should've been in WAY worse shape. There should've been at least a broken nose.

"And did the baton just… Pass through senpai's head just now?" Mineta thought as things speed back up. Midoriya landed back onto the ground. He then began snapping his gaze between Mirio and the baton he held. It was easy to tell that Midoriya also felt something off about all this. But what could it be?

"Huh… Did I make a mistake?" Mirio asked out loud as he rubbed his bloody nose. A deluge of tape, acid, lasers, and nets flew towards his head and body… Though this impressive attack ultimately did nothing, for it harmlessly passed through him. It was almost like his body simply stopped existing…

"No, no, it's still working… Then why did…?" Mirio asked as he tilted his head. His blue eyes then gravitated to the baton in Midoriya's hand. And Mineta swore he saw a light bulb flash over the smiling blonde's head. The shorter boy reflexively pitched a hairball as Mirio began dashing towards his partner. It landed just before Mirio stepped down ont–

Suddenly, Mirio sunk into the ground, leaving his pants behind. Mineta took a step back, his confused gaze unable to leave the article of clothing on the ground. But that was when he saw, from the corner of his eye, Mirio popping up right behind Midoriya. The green haired boy barely dodged out of the way of his attack. But when he countered with a strike from the baton, the smiling blonde blocked it instead of letting it pass through him.

He twisted Midoriya's hand, forcing the weapon out of his hand. Mirio then struck Midoriya with a heavy punch straight to the gut. And based on how his partner was reacting, Mineta could tell Midoriya was effectively out of the fight. The smiling blonde then kicked the baton into Nejire's hands, putting it out of commission as well.

What was it about Shifu's baton that got this Third Year so spooked? Mineta quickly tried to piece things together as his classmates went back to 'fighting' Mirio. All attacks passed through the guy without issue. However, despite it doing the same thing, the baton was still able to damage him. But as Mineta heard his friends fall one by one to a teleporting, incorporeal, naked man, the less he could come up with an answer.

"He shoots…" Mirio said, suddenly appearing in front of Mineta. The shorter boy held two hairballs in front of his gut, hoping they'd do something to stop his attack. But his senior's kick completely passed through his guard and Mineta felt Mirio's toes spearing his abdomen.

"He scores!" Mirio cheered as the shorter boy fell over. Mineta clenched his gut as he tried to look around. All over the ground were the defeated remains of Class 1A. Iida, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Kirishima, Shouji, Tsuyu… These boys and girls that Mineta admired had been thoroughly annihilated. The shorter boy then looked to Midoriya and watched how he desperately tried to get back onto his feet. He then fell back onto the ground after a few moments…

Damn it all…

"So… This is how you all felt… When you've fought… Kung Fu Lady…" Hagakure commented, clenching her stomach.

"This… This is worse…" Kouda replied with a sqeak.

"So, did you guys learn a lot?" Mirio asked as he stood between Nejire and Tamaki. Mineta wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry to that. On one hand, getting trounced by a naked man would make a funny memory to reflect on… But on the other, getting trounced by a naked man was demoralizing as all Hell…

"Question… How were you able to do things you do? Teleporting… Phasing out… How exactly does your Quirk work?" Midoriya asked, weakly raising his hand. Nejire was about to blurt something out, but both Tamaki and Mirio put a hand over her mouth. Mirio then released his hand as he began making gestures in an Iida-like way.

"My Quirk is Permeation; it lets me pass through anything. Phasing to attack through guards or letting attacks pass through me, those are the basic applications. The 'teleporting' is a way more advanced technique that first has me passing through the ground." Mirio began.

"So that was you… Falling?" Uraraka asked, referring to earlier. Mirio simply nodded to that before continuing with his explanation.

"And when I release my Quirk while I'm in an object bigger than myself, something strange happens. My mass can't overlap with the mass of the object, so I get instantly shot out of it, 'teleporting'! And if I adjust my angle while I'm still down there, I can choose where I get spat out!"

"That sounds like you're exploiting a glitch in the game! Someone should patch you!" Mina said with a pout.

"But what an incredibly strong Quirk, it's no wonder we were wiped out so quickly." Tsuyu commented, a sad croak leaving her throat. That was when the smiling blonde shook his head, a shade of unease appearing in his wondrous blue eyes.

"Picture this… You were just hanging out with your best friend when suddenly, you fall through the floor. You can't hear anything. You can't SEE anything. You can't even breathe or feel anything around you… It's just you, the indefinite abyss you're falling through, and the panic that's running through your head…" Mirio said quietly, making this the first time he dropped his boisterous tone.

Having a particularly active imagination, Mineta flinched at that description. To be robbed of your senses was Hellish enough. But to be thrown into a freefall as well? Does this goofball of a Senpai subject himself to that every time he uses his Quirk? If so… Was this story the first time he manifested his power?

"Doesn't sound so strong now huh? The amount of fine tuning my Quirk needs means that even going through a single wall requires a process that's easy to mess up. Because of all that, I fell behind like my clothes and my friends overtook me." Mirio continued, gesturing to Tamaki and Nejire. But before anyone could reply, the smiling blonde's spirit returned as he began jabbing his forehead with his finger.

"However! I fought back by getting the one thing I lacked, experience! By building experience, I was able to gain a grasp on my surroundings and started to predict what goes where and when it'll happen! And by honing my predictions, I was able to fine tune my Quirk to where it is now. That's the sort of thing I wanted to show you all today, what experience really does for you. It brings you closer to your best self!"

A shiver ran down Mineta's spine when he heard that last statement. But despite this chill, he could feel the heat in his heart rise up. And how could it not? This was the sort of thing Fenghuang and Aizawa has been trying to teach him to achieve. Then came this Senpai and SHOWED Mineta the results of that hard work.

It was inspirational.

"But know that it isn't easy… When you're working with your provisional licenses, you're no longer an observer in a situation… You're sidekick standing beside a Pro! And that comes with all the anxieties a Hero must face. Can I save anyone? Will I die here? What if things get suddenly worse? What if I make things worse? All of these are real questions that your brain will ask you… And reality has an awful tendency to answer them…"

"But despite this pressure, the experience you'll gain will be more than worth it. Every journey begins with a single step. So have the courage to take it, you won't regret that decision." Mirio concluded. Mineta, as well as several others, began clapping out of nowhere. That was how moved they've been by their senior's speech. And honestly, it just further reinforced the lessons the shorter boy had picked up along the way.

"I've got a lot to meditate on tonight." Mineta thought smiling as 1A began happily chatted away.

"Though there was one thing that I could've never predicted… And that's this." Mirio said as he took Mineta's baton out of Nejire's hands. 1A turned back and immediately raised an eyebrow to that. Right, there was that. If Mirio's Permeation and his immense experience made him almost invincible… How did this stubby baton injure him?

"That's right… How did Mineta's baton hit Senpai in the first place?" Sero asked, scratching his head.

"Technically, it's Fenghuang's baton since he got it from her. Did she mention anything about weird about it?" Ojiro asked, turning to Mineta. The shorter boy nodded but shrugged to the rest of the question. Shifu just gave it to him as gift for cleaning a cursed toilet. How was he supposed to know it can touch the untouchable?

"So it is from the Heaven and Earth Temple… That explains a lot actually." Mirio commented as he handed back the weapon.

"I'm sorry Togata-senpai, but what does this explain?" Iida asked, receiving the baton and passed it back to Mineta.

"Well, to get my point across… Do you guys know anything about the Fog King?"

"The who now?" Uraraka asked as most of 1A blankly stared at their senior.

"The Fog King. He was a Villain with a Quirk that gave him a gaseous body. He could spread parts of himself like a mist, enter people's bodies, and turns them into hostages. It was also a way to shield himself from Heroes with elemental Quirks, his natural weakness. He managed to slip away from authorities for several months until he was captured in Inuito." Midoriya explained, hands reflexively flipping through an invisible notebook.

"Oh yeah! That's the guy who was knocked out by an arrow out of nowhere! It was like Robin Hood came in to save the day!" Kaminari said. Mineta's mind went a mile a minute as he pieced together all the information. They were no doubt talking about Master Murakumo of the Sky and her great bow. He had no idea she accomplished such a thing…

"And… How does this connect with Mineta's weapon?" Shouji asked.

"Based on all the rumors I heard and what I experienced just now… The arrow that defeated the Fog King, your friend's baton, and all the weapons of the Temple, they're not only unnaturally durable… But they also weaken Quirks!" Mirio said with an amused smile.

I'm sorry, it does WHAT!?


And that has been Chapter 97!

Not much to say this update except that my Brother has begun streaming! His username is lemonadeken and he's live on twitch every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12PM to 4PM EST. Offer your support to the guy as he's still trying to figure out how this whole streaming thing works.

As for The Saint and The Sinner, things have slowed down quite a bit. Between Elden Ring and my current fixation over Spy x Family, it'll be quite a bit before I could post more frequently. But worry not, I'll strive to continue the adventures of Mineta Minoru, King of the Rats.

So with that said, our next update will have Mineta calling an old mentor to quell the numerous questions he has.

Until Next Time. T1.