I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.
Mineta stared at the darkened ceiling of his room, collapsed baton at his side.
The day ended without further incident, though not without some disturbing insights. After Mineta had been got fixed up by recovery girl, Iida brought in a bruise covered Midoriya. During his and Bakugou's second spar, the green haired boy apparently still didn't bother dodging or parrying incoming attacks. As such, Bakugou refused another spar on the account of Midoriya 'being more stupid than usual'.
And with that, just about everyone in 1A knew something was definitely wrong with their friends.
With hushed, but concerned, voices, 1A tried to ask Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Kirishima for answers at varying points in the afternoon. But, being the saints that they were, the three did their best to give reassurance or vague answers about the matter. Still, none of that could stop the slowly darkening atmosphere from building around the class.
Not to mention the growing divide between 1A and Mineta and Midoriya…
Mineta groaned as he extended his baton and thrust it at the darkness before him. He liked to imagine he hit something that was lurking deep within it. But alas, there was nothing. The shorter boy let his arm fall back onto the bed before going back to staring at the ceiling. Well, he would've continued staring, had his phone not turned on, it's light banishing the dark around Mineta.
"… Who's texting me at this hour?" Mineta thought as he reached for his phone. It was 1 PM, far too late for anyone normal to be texting him. So it's either Kaminari with a weird joke or Midoriya who just finished some really late night studying.
Izuku: Are you awake?
Minoru: Yeah.
Izuku: Can you come over?
Mineta raised an eyebrow to that. A sleepover? Now? The last time the two slept over at either of their places was when they were still training for UA's entrance exam. The memory caused Mineta to reflect and mull over those days. Those days where all they had to worry about was getting strong enough to fulfill their dream. A dream that could take anything and anyone on...
Yet…
Minoru: I'm on my way.
The shorter boy quickly grabbed his pillow off his and the sleeping bag he always kept handy from the corner of his room. He then silently opened his door and silently made his way to Midoriya's door. And with a low knock, the door was unlocked and Mineta slipped inside. There, the two came face to face with how the other was doing.
"You don't look so well, Mineta-kun…" Midoriya said with a weak chuckle.
"I could the same to you… Did a sleep paralysis demon get you?" Mineta replied, a tired smile spreading across his face.
"If it's a giant covered in metal, would you blame me?"
Things grown silent between the two as their smiles ran away from their faces. Midoriya's green eyes could only stare at some random spot on the ground as Mineta tired, but failed, to say something else. It was only when Midoriya let out a cough that the two bothered to do something else other than stew in uncomfortable thoughts.
"We should head to bed; we're having Hero training tomorrow…" Midoriya said as he turned around. Mineta nodded and followed him, laying out his sleeping bag on the floor next to the bed. And with a simple good night, Midoriya turned off the light and plunged the room back into darkness. Luckily for them, having their friend so close by actually allowed them to feel calm enough to drift towards sleep…
That was until the door to the veranda began making sounds.
It first began with small taps. Nothing that unusual really, it could be a small animal that made it onto the veranda, something that happens to Kouda often.
Then a banging noise could be heard as though someone wanted to break in. Now that's what caused Mineta and Midoriya to open their eyes and slowly aimed their eyes alone at the door. Through the glass, the lean silhouette of Aoyama Yuga could be seen peering through the glass. But just as suddenly as he was there, he left.
Not that it calmed either of the two boys though…
"What was that!? Why was Aoyama-kun there!?" Midoriya asked quietly, doing his best to not move.
"I don't know! Do I look like an expert in narcissistic, accidental fire starters!?" Mineta replied as he continued to watch the veranda door. Midoriya then nervously got out of bed, Mineta getting out of his sleeping bag the same way. And as the green haired boy got ready to throw open the curtains, the shorter boy stood next to him with his baton ready.
Finally, the curtains parted.
Of course, Aoyama was no longer there… But he did leave a message on top of a nice cloth on the ground. And it was written in cheese for some reason. It read 'I know' with a cute cheese star at the end of it. Naturally, this provoked a reaction out of Midoriya and Mineta.
"Cheese!?" Midoriya muttered, restraining the shout that almost came out of his throat.
"And what does he know!?" Mineta added, racking his brain for answers. What did their faux Frenchman of a classmate know? Was it the reason for their strange behavior throughout class? Could it be their secret to All Might? Who knows what kind of knowledge Aoyama his hiding from them?
Still…
"We need to confront him first thing tomorrow… There's not much we could do now… At least, not without disturbing everyone…" Mineta suggested before a yawn escaped his mouth.
"Right… Still, we shouldn't leave that cheese out there. It could make any animal that comes by sick…" Midoriya replied, still staring at the message.
"Should WE even eat it if that's the case? Not to mention, it's suspicious as Hell considering..." Mineta asked, gesturing towards Aoyama's room.
"I know, but someone's got to. And I don't think Aoyama-kun's so bold that he thinks he could get away with poisoning us at school."
"I don't even like cheese that much…" Mineta sighed, burying his face into his hands. If Bakugou ever catches him munching on any of this, the shorter boy knew he would be the butt of every rat/mouse joke in existence. Not that the explosive blonde didn't have material already, Mineta just didn't want to give him more to work with.
"It'll make for a good studying snack. But let's head to bed once we clean this up, it's been a long day…" Midoriya replied as he opened his veranda door. And with that, the two swiftly dealt with the dairy products left out and head straight to bed. Whatever that was about, they'll deal with it tomorrow.
And tomorrow came slowly as Midoriya and Mineta could barely rest. Too much was on their mind to allow them to fully drift off. As such, they were almost late to homeroom that morning. Of course, the first person that would greet them when rushing into class was Aoyama, who did so with a wink. Then that would be swallowed up by Iida's frantic orders to get everyone seated.
As each subject passed by, Mineta couldn't help but glance at Aoyama every so often. Now that the shorter boy thought about it, he didn't really have an opinion on the faux Frenchman. He was eccentric and narcissistic, doing things that would make himself stand out. He was also somewhat cowardly, though he does shine every so often along with his Quirk.
Was there a reason Aoyama was like this?
An answer only really came once Hero Fundamentals began, though not without some delay.
It was just after Modern Hero Art History with Midnight. 1A had begun moving to gym gamma with Cementoss to continue working on their special moves. Some of them even wanted to try to make team attacks, a decision made when Kaminari found news regarding several Pros teaming up. Naturally the first people they decided to ask about team attacks was–
"The M&M special?" Mineta asked as he looked to Mina. 1A had just finished changing and were now simply warming up before the training can seriously begin.
"Is that seriously what you're calling it? Eugh…" The pink girl replied, her head shaking in disapproval.
"I-It's still a work-in-progress." Midoriya said with a nervous chuckle.
"Work-in-progress my butt, it's practically finished! The way you two would zip around like a pinball and smack everything in your way without hitting each other was super cool! Ojiro-kun's words, not mine, since he saw it firsthand at the License Exams." Hagakure replied, pulling the tailed boy closer to her.
"It was quite the spectacle… That's why they're so keen on your input…" Tokoyami added as he walked by, ready to begin training. If that was the case, then who was Mineta to deny his friends and classmates the wisdom they sought. So with pride in his chest, Mineta removed a hairball to begin explaining the mechanics of the M&M Special.
But that all stopped when Mineta felt the texture of his hairball.
The shorter boy stopped and gave the hairball a quick squeeze. And though he was wearing gloves that were treated so that it wouldn't stick to his Quirk… He could tell that this hairball wasn't going to stick to anything. In fact, it felt abnormally slippery, like it was drenched in oil. But it could just be that one, so he plucked off another much to the confusion of everyone. And…
It felt the same…
"Midoriya… Could you take a hairball for me?" Mineta asked nervously, color slowly draining from his face. Without hesitation, the green haired boy did so. He gave it a quick squeeze and the color from his face drained as well. Midoriya then did something else, something only he could do, and pressed the ball against his face. Thus confirming Mineta's worst fears…
His hairballs didn't stick to him.
"Uhhh… Deku-kun? How did you do that?" Uraraka asked, unsure of what to actually say.
"That should be stuck on you for the whole day…" Tsuyu added, sweat rolling down the side of her face.
"Don't tell me the rat–" Bakugou began before Kirihsima's hand covered his mouth.
"Not now dude..."
"I don't… Why is…?" Mineta muttered as he took several more hairballs of his head, each one feeling the same as the last.
"Hey! You're all warming up a little too long over there!" Cementoss yelled. 1A students that were still there looked their teacher, then back at Mineta. But to prevent them all from getting into trouble, Midoriya gave a reaffirming nod to his friends and classmates, 'we'll be fine'. So with a nod back, they all went on their way.
Though not without an anxious look back at Midoriya and Mineta…
"I've also got something troubling to tell you Mineta-kun… You're not the only one experiencing a Quirk malfunction…" Midoriya said quietly as he led Mineta to a part of a gym that was more covered. Mineta observed the green haired boy, noticing the dancing sparks of One for All surrounding him. However, he couldn't feel the same intensity that once electrified the air whenever Midoriya activated it.
And it seemed like Midoriya even had trouble maintaining this low level of power. Just what's going on?
"Every morning, I activate Full Cowl to see if my body's ready for a higher percentage. But today, I couldn't draw out more than 3%..." Midoriya said somberly.
"Damn it… What's going on? Could it be because of…?" Mineta muttered with fists clenched. Just how deep did this curse of theirs go? How much more will it affect them? Whatever the case, if they do not overcome it, both Midoriya and Mineta's abilities will wither away until they're kicked out of the Hero course.
And their dream would die there…
"When it comes to things like this, there is no easy answer. We've just got to fight through it and hope, that one day, it'll come to us. Fenghuang did say that, didn't she?" Midoriya replied, looking at his shorter friend.
"Yeah… I just wish all this wouldn't drag everyone else down… Did you see how they all looked?" Mineta asked.
"I know. That's why we must work harder than ever before, for their sake and ours."
"My, aren't you two determined?"
Both Midoriya and Mineta flinched and turned to the sound of the voice. And looking back at them was Aoyama, who was propping his elbows on a concrete barrier that came up to his chest. He then gave the two a wink and sent a chill up their spines. How long has he been there?
"H-How long have you been there Aoyama-kun?" Midoriya asked, color draining from his face.
"Long enough to understand your and Monsieur Mineta's predicament … And so, I shall aid you! Observe!" Aoyama said before his body tensed up. All tension that Mineta and Midoriya felt evaporated as a laser shot out of the other end of the barrier Aoyama was leaning on. What was more impressive was he shot through it length wise, where it was thickest.
But Mineta had no idea what was the point of doing that.
"Uhhh? That's… Impressive?" Midoriya replied as he continued to stare in confusion.
"But wait, there's more! How about his new technique? Laser Buffet!" Aoyama said, his body tensing again. Lasers began to fire in bursts out of his belly button and the ports on his pauldrons. While it looked quite impressive, Mineta still wasn't sure how this was going to help them. In fact, it was starting to get on Mineta's nerves.
Yeah, show off your Quirk to people with malfunctioning Quirks… That'll make them happy…
"Woah…"
Well, at least Midoriya looked like he was having a good time.
"And one more…" Aoyama replied, his face scrunching up as he took a step back from the barrier. The laser that then came out was thin as a wire. The faux Frenchman proceeded to shake his body around, writing something in the stone. It was written in French of course, so Mineta couldn't read it. Still, that was actually impressive.
"And now I've got a stomachache… Please give me a moment before I explain my point…" Aoyama groaned as he doubled over in pain.
"He actually had a point?" Mineta whispered to Midoriya.
"Let's give him a chance; I'm sure we could learn something. Also, this might explain what he was doing on the veranda last night…"
"Ah, so you have seen my message. Good, it saves me quite a bit of time… I know what's going on with you both. Your lack of strength has cost you your ideals, your sense of who you are in this world…" Aoyama said, standing up once more. The tension that Midoriya and Mineta felt when Aoyama first appeared returned. Whilst 1A, outside of Tsuyu, Uraraka, and Kirishima, only knew that something bad happened in general…
Aoyama was the first to actually get this close to what actually caused it all.
"I also know that you, Monsieur Midoriya, do not have a Quirk that suits your body." He then said. Now that caused another fear to worm its way up to Mineta and Midoriya's heart, something that was far more insidious. How did Aoyama know that? That was only a secret known to a select few people.
"I could tell, because I am the same as you two. I am but a boy struggling to find his place in the world… All with a Quirk that isn't suited to me either… This belt of mine has always been on me ever since I was young. It keeps my Quirk from randomly firing off, a hereditary issue that I cannot overcome." Aoyama continued, tapping the belt that was still around his waist.
Mineta could feel a weight lift from both himself and Midoriya as Aoyama's words sunk in. So that's how he knew Midoriya's Quirk wasn't initially a good match for his body. Still, that doesn't explain how he was so quick in identifying the psychological side of their issue. Though, by the end of this conversation, the shorter boy knew they would get some answers.
"But even with its help, I still found myself helpless before my more talented peers. They've bullied me you know, over a weakness I had no control over. It filled me will all sorts of emotions… Pain, anger, sadness… I hated it. So despite wanting to be a Hero, I considered doing something regrettable to those who hurt me…" Aoyama said as his normally sparkling face growing dark.
That was something hard to imagine. Aoyama was strange, but he was one of the most harmless people in 1A next to Kouda. So for him to admit that he had, in the past, wanted to hurt others was jarring. He considered doing the un-heroic thing and pay evil unto evil. But while what Mineta and Midoriya went through was ultimately different…
The idea was the same; they lost their ideals to outside forces.
"Luckily I reconsidered, though not before my Quirk accidentally discharged, luckily in a safe space. This was because my Quirk was being impacted by all those negative emotions within me, something you both are experiencing now. That's why I know, more than anyone else, about this struggle you're experiencing. Weakness of the body… Weakness of the mind… They're old friends of mine…" Aoyama finished as he finally made eye contact again.
"Then… How was it that you found your answer? Surely you know by now." Mineta asked. At this point, he really was desperate for an answer. Even if Fenghuang did tell them that, ultimately, the answers lie within themselves… They still could call upon their friends for aid. So if Aoyama's answer could help them, then what's the harm in asking?
"If you must know Monsieur Mineta… I still don't have an answer. Even after all that's happened, I am still unsure of myself."
"Then how are you so confident Aoyama-kun? How do we shine as brightly as you do?" Midoriya asked, uncertainty returning to his face.
"Simple, you take life's surprises as they come. There are good surprises and there are bad surprises… But if you stay focused on the pain of bad surprises, you'll never shine when a good one comes. So tell me monsieurs, did my surprise last night and today help you shine a little more?" Aoyama asked as he dramatically pointed at the pair.
Mineta wasn't sure how to answer that. Now that he had time to process their faux Frenchman of a classmate and his words, he needed to sort out all Aoyama had done. Whilst last night certainly was a shock, the shorter boy did find it a little funny about how absurd it all was. In fact, all of this was pretty absurd…
So much so that Midoriya and Mineta found themselves letting out a chuckle.
"Yeah, I think we needed that. Thank you, Aoyama-kun." Midoriya said with a smile.
"As long as future surprises don't involve fire, I'll appreciate whatever you got." Mineta added with a nod.
"Of course, fire and I don't agree. Now, if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I've got a terrible surprise in my gut to attend to. Au revior." Aoyama replied before running off faster than they've ever seen him before. And with a good whiff of the air, the pair found out exactly why. Mineta and Midoriya turned the same shade as their costumes and quickly retreated from that specific spot.
A terrible surprise indeed…
And that has been Chapter 110!
I don't have much to say, since I've been quite busy with life stuff. So just leave your thoughts in the usual place and enjoy yourselves until the next update.
With all that said...
Until Next Time. T1.
