I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.


It's been several days since the Shie Hassaikai mission had concluded. In that time, much was learned about the forces involved. First was the Shie Hassaikai themselves, who practically fell apart upon discovering Overhaul's death. Without their leader, many of their members attempted suicide before being caught.

Second was Damocles and Stain. Many investigations were done at the Shie Hassaikai underground, but what was discovered only raised more questions. Based on captured samples and electronic history in the area, they had the help of an incredibly skilled Doctor, a Craftsman, and a Hacker. Then there was the fact that no one had seen Stain or Damocles since. It was like they just disappeared…

Third were the Heroes and Police Officers. While it was lucky that there were no fatalities, many were still faced grave injuries. Ryukyu was required to be put on temporary leave as she continues to recover from her injuries. Mirio was still stuck in as kid who was trying to relearn how to use his Quirk. As for Nighteye, he was now visually impaired to a serious degree. He could still perceive light, but could only see incredibly vague shapes.

This damage has even affected his Quirk, with him unable to clearly see a person's future…

However, there was a spark of hope in all this bleak news.

Recently, Eri had regained consciousness and begun regaining her strength. But while her psychological state was still unstable, notes on Eri's condition had been slowly, but steadily, improving. And once she recovered enough, the Doctor would be willing to allow visitors come in. And knowing Midoriya and Mirio, they were counting the days until that happened.

"But for now… There's this…" Mineta thought with a sigh.

Currently, 1A was in PE working on their basic combat skills. This involves improving their abilities in hand-to-hand in spars against one another. They could also spar using staves of varying lengths, though only Momo and sometimes Ojiro uses them. Of course, Mineta simply stuck to his baton as there weren't any staves that suited his height. And naturally, he did much better in spars with it than he did without it. A blessing Mineta never forgot to thank Fenghuang for.

Todoroki, who was trying his hand at using a staff, was disarmed by Yaoyorozu after a minute long clash. Taking advantage of this, the regal girl quickly thrust her staff at her opponent's throat. Yaoyorozu, however, stopped just centimeters from her target before going back to a relaxed stance. And just like that, the intensity she demonstrated throughout her spar vanished and her usual self returned.

"Not bad Todoroki-san, you've improved a lot since last time." Yaoyorozu said, bowing to Todoroki.

"Thanks, but I've still got a long way to go until I match you." He replied before stepping off the combat space.

Aizawa quickly noted down the pair's performance before turning to the other spar that was going on nearby. Uraraka was doing her best to grapple Hagakure. But thanks to her Quirk and her lack of a shirt, the invisible girl was able to evade her opponent's grabs. And once Uraraka was close enough to the edge, she was simply pushed out.

"Wooo! Five wins in a row!" Hagakure cheered as she put her jersey back on. Those who had fought her just let out a large groan as Hagakure stepped off the ring, signifying to Aizawa that she was going to rest. As such, their scraggly teacher pointed towards Mineta, Midoriya, and Bakugou and gestured them to come forward.

"Mineta, you'll be facing Yaoyorozu. Midoriya, Bakugou, you'll be facing each other." He said as he pointed to the appropriated spaces. The explosive blonde simply smirked at the opportunity to fight Midoriya and went. In the meanwhile, Mineta and Midoriya simply looked to one another, nodded, and communicated the only words that mattered right now. 'Good Luck'.

"Okay… It's been a while since I spared with Yaomomo… Her skills with the staff aren't as advanced as Shifu's, but I've still got to watch out for sweeps and overheads." Mineta thought before extending his baton. This will be the mark the first fight against a person since the mission, so the shorter boy could feel that his grip was tighter than normal.

And no amount of conscious effort could get him to loosen up…

"Mineta-san, are you ready?" Yaoyorozu asked, readying her stance. However, despite doing his best to suppress the uneasiness he feels, Mineta couldn't help but sound hesitant. And it was something that didn't go unnoticed by Aizawa, even if he didn't say anything. Now, the shorter boy could feel his teacher's scrutinizing gaze even more.

"Y-Yeah, I am."

Yaoyorozu nodded as Mineta readied his stance, an unusual stiffness taking hold. But before he could do anything to relax and steady himself, the regal girl charged forward. She first started by sweeping up with her staff, aiming for Mineta's left side. The shorter boy simply shifted his body to that side, meeting the length of wood with his baton.

But the moment Yaoyorozu was met resistance; she pushed the other end of the staff towards Mineta from above. Mineta simply sidestepped the strike to the right, carefully watching his opponent's movements before moving in. He made a quick strike towards his Yaoyorozu's left knee. But when it was met by her staff, Mineta moved his arm and baton in an arc and thrust the tip into her thigh.

It was a hit, Yaoyorozu flinching for a moment before she whirled her staff around to force Mineta back. That tactic worked for a moment and Mineta backed off. However, considering the shorter boy faced worse when sparring with Fenghuang, this didn't dissuade him for long. Mineta stepped forward, parrying, ducking, or weaving through Yaoyorozu's strikes. He readied his body to strike once he was in range.

Then it happened…

When Mineta made the last step to begin his attack, Yaoyorozu held her staff a certain way and began to counter. Normally, with the shorter boy's reflexes, he'd be able to avoid such an attack. But this time, something else appeared in his senses.

For a moment, Yaoyorozu's staff looked like a sword much longer than she was.

For a moment, her light and nimble footsteps sounded heavy and metallic.

For a moment, Mineta can smell blood and chemicals hanging all around him.

For a moment, Mineta could feel a large shadow being casted over his feeble self.

An immense and sharp pain soon followed, erupting from the left side of his head. The shorter boy, with both vision and hearing clouded by the sudden pain, fell to the ground with a thud. Mineta's right arm had naturally reached out towards the floor for support, the metal of the baton clinking against it. His other hand was clutching his head and felt something oozing between his fingers.

"E-Eh?"

Yaoyorozu could only let out a confused gasp as all movement and chatter ceased. Mineta looked to his classmates, his somewhat shaken vision catching the stunned worry on their faces. And honestly? If he saw one of them took a blow to the head like he did, he'd be worried too. But that was enough, Mineta had to reassure them.

But when he tried to get his feet back under him, Mineta couldn't. Did he have a concussion?

"Hey, can you give me your name?" Aizawa asked as he crouched next to him.

"Mineta Minoru..."

"How about the time and where we are?"

"It's the middle of 4th period… Gym Theta…"

"And what just happened?"

"I took a serious blow to the head from Yaomomo… Good swing by the way…" Mineta replied, carefully looking towards the regal girl.

"That doesn't make me feel any better about this... But at least it doesn't look like you have a concussion, Mineta-san." Yaoyorozu replied with a sigh of relief. So that meant he was just heavily dazed… Great…

"Still, we need to get that injury of yours treated." Aizawa said as he stood up. He then looked towards the rest of 1A with his tired eyes and randomly pointed at Kaminari.

"Kaminari, get Mineta to Recovery Girl." He said. And with a silent nod, the electric blonde got up and carefully put Mineta onto his back. He didn't even attempt to take the baton from his hand, mostly since Mineta's grip on it was absolute.

"Sorry…" Mineta apologized quietly.

"It's fine dude, bros help bros." Kaminari replied as he began walking. The shorter boy decided to look to see how Midoriya was doing against Bakugou. And though he was still standing compared to Mineta, the shorter boy could tell something was very wrong. Midoriya wasn't dodging any of Bakugou's punches; he was taking them head on as if trying to prove something.

As such, bruising began to form along his arms and parts of his face.

As Kaminari approached the gym doors, Mineta saw the green haired boy get sent to the floor by a particularly nasty right hook. Then came the usual shouting Bakugou was known for. However, unlike other times, he actually sounded a little concerned for Midoriya.

"The Hell you doing Deku!? You're not hardheaded like Kirishima, use those damn legs of yours! Duck and weave you idiot!"

"R-Right… One more time then…?" Midoriya asked before standing up. Mineta wouldn't know what would happen next as Kaminari finally carry him out of the gym and away from the sparring. Now, there was just the ambiance of nature and Kaminari's steady breathing and footsteps. Mineta closed his eyes to the serenity and began mediating. He needed to understand what just happened and why.

But the moment he thought back on Yaoyorozu's stance, his senses were overloaded again with something darker.

"Agh…" Mineta groaned as his head injury began throbbing again.

"Dude, you okay? That hit to the head was no joke." Kaminari asked, slowing down to a more comfortable speed. Mineta wanted to say yes, but something was preventing him from outright saying it. Considering he took a blow from something he should be able to avoid, perhaps he wasn't. But there was no way of knowing how deep the problem goes.

Mineta knew where it began… But the end and how to get there was still nowhere in sight…

"I don't know… When Yaomomo readied that swing… I saw something… Felt something deep inside me… Something bad…" Mineta replied, closing his eyes. He then felt HIS hollow eyes looking at him from that darkness, his sword poised to fall upon the shorter boy. Mineta kept his eyes shut though, trying his best to stay by the words of Fenghuang.

He needed to face and understand the darkness to have true control over it.

Though considering WHAT Mineta had to face within himself… Regaining control seemed impossible…

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm sure that master of yours would ask you the same thing." Kaminari asked, turning his head to get a look at Mineta. But the shorter boy doesn't meet his friend's gaze. All he could do was clutch to Kaminari's PE jersey just a bit tighter. Mineta's only other response to the electric blonde being silence.

"… Did whatever happen during your internship go that badly?" Kaminari asked after a while, most likely considering his next words carefully.

"Yeah…"

Luckily Kaminari didn't ask any sort of follow up question, understanding just how heavy the matter was. Still, Mineta could feel the electric blonde's resolve as he tightened his hold on the shorter boy. Kaminari moved with a new purpose, doing whatever he can for his shorter friend, and Mineta really did appreciate that. However, it also made him feel even more of a burden than usual.

Once more reminding Mineta of how little things actually changed…


And that has been Chapter 109!

I don't got much to say this week. This is mostly because I've managed to find my writing groove again. So I'll just end things here and leave you to think about what this chapter could mean.

So with all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.