I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.
Mineta tossed a baseball up into the air as he leaned against one of the statues at the front of UA. The first day just ended and he was waiting for Midoriya to return from the nurse's office. And as he watched other people pass by, he thought about the power his friend demonstrated today.
"So it's a strength enhancing Quirk and a pretty strong one too. Midoriya broke his finger in the process though… I mean, it's practically fresh out of the box, so it's going to be inevitable until he gets some experience with it." Mineta thought. Still, he can't help but smile that Midoriya now has a Quirk as strong as his heart. Once the guy gets used to it, he'll be Number One in no time.
Which means Mineta needs to get stronger himself to keep up.
"Mineta-kun!"
Turning around, the shorter boy saw his friend jogging towards him. Mineta caught the baseball he was throwing around and tossed it to his friend. "How was your check up man? Did Granny give you extra kisses?" Mineta asked, a small smirk appearing on his face.
"No, I didn't get any more kisses..." Midoriya replied, avoiding eye contact. He still caught the baseball that came at him, evidence that he was still mentally sound. Mineta let out a small laugh and patted his friend on the arm.
"I was just teasing you man. Now that we've officially survived day one, you want to head to Mott Teahouse for a drink?"
"Sure, after Recovery Girl's Quirk, my body needs a pick me up." He answered, as the two began walking while tossing the ball between each other. However, before they could even reach halfway to the front gate, a hand stopped Midoriya. It startled the green haired boy, causing both him and Mineta to look behind them. And they came face to face with Iida Tenya again.
"Oh it's you, what's up?" Mineta asked, putting away his baseball. Why did this guy have to startle them like that?
"I just wanted to check up on Midoriya-kun. Did your finger make a full recovery?"
"It will; thank you for asking. But am I tired, from both the treatment and today's sudden test." Midoriya replied.
"Agreed, Aizawa -sensei has put us through the wringer. But I am glad that I got a taste of what it means to attend UA. Having our own instructors use deception as a motivator was mean spirited, but I do see the merits in that tactic. Pressure, after all, does tend to push people to exceed their limits." Iida replied.
Mineta looked to his friend and thought back to whenever they were caught in a pinch. In each of those moments, Midoriya would go beyond his weak self to try and do something incredible. And though it usually ended with them eating dirt, Mineta would never forget the unyielding back his friend showed. It was his undeniable proof that Midoriya was nothing but pure Hero.
So with that, the shorter boy whole heartedly nodded to Iida's statement. "Like you wouldn't believe…"
"Well, let's hope they don't get too crazy with the pressure. We're, after all, still just kids who want to have fun and be with friends... Actually… If you're not busy, do you want to join us for tea Iida-kun? To celebrate our first day?" Midoriya asked after a brief pause. Mineta raised an eyebrow to that, inviting someone they only just met.
Granted, Iida's a pretty good guy who's just too honest for his own good. He only wishes the best for everyone and would never intentionally hurt someone. And having him around didn't feel weird, so that 'third-wheel' problem was nonexistent. Nothing but good can come out of this, so Mineta easily relented to his partner's idea.
"Just saying, if you back out, you'll be missing out on some really good tea." The shorter boy added.
"Then say no more, I'd be honored to join you."
"Do you mind if I come too?" A cheery voice asked. The three looked to the open gap to the left and saw Uraraka Ochako. Mineta saw Midoriya's face beginning to turn red, his mind probably being fried right now. The shorter boy nudged his friend, hoping that would get enough of his thoughts together to answer. And he didn't want to miss the chance to have a cute girl join their trust circle.
"S-S-Sure! Y-You're always welcome t-to join us Uraraka-san!" Midoriya blurted out. Mineta proceed to pat his friend's arm, his chest swelling with pride. He had just invited a girl to hang out with him. And as far as first girl friends go, Uraraka was the perfect candidate. She was kind and happiness seemingly radiates from her, like the sun on a cool Spring day. With her, she'll accept Midoriya for what he is and won't judge him for what he isn't.
Unless it's the mumbling, then she'll need a month or three to adjust.
"Really? Thanks Deku!" Uraraka said with a smile. Both Midoriya and Mineta's giddiness dropped to the floor. The former became a bit more reserved, his arms being tucked in tighter than before. The latter had his brows furrowed, eyes threatening to bore through the girl's skull. This change in demeanor was completely noticed by both Iida and Uraraka.
"Did… Did I say something wrong?"
"You two, what's going on?"
"No! No, nothing's wrong! It's just… Why did you call me Deku, Uraraka-san?" Midoriya replied quickly, trying to diffuse the tension. Mineta took a few deep breaths and cooled his glare. There must be a good explanation for this.
"Well, that Bakugou kid was calling you that… And I thought it was a really cool nickname... So I decided to use the next time I see you... Am I not supposed to do that?" Urarka answered slowly, her fingers nervously touching one another. Mineta really couldn't stay mad at her, she seemed very sincere with her reasoning. So, with a heavy sigh, he decided to fill them in after a nod from Midoriya.
"You see, 'Deku' is less of a nickname and more of an insult. It means weak and useless when Bakugou uses it."
"Really!? I'm sorry, I didn't know." Uraraka apologized.
"So Bakugou-kun was mocking you this whole time? Tomorrow, I'll say some choice words to him!" Iida said, his authoritative tone booming. Mineta's mood lightened even more now that he saw how these two reacted. It was nice to see that other people care about Midoriya's situation for once.
"It's okay guys, I'm not too shaken up about this. I've been called that for so long that it doesn't really bother me anymore. But if I may ask Uraraka-san, why did you think it sounded cool?" Midoriya replied. Uraraka's face softened as a smile formed on her face. The warmth of the sight blew away the downcast that surrounded the air around them.
"Because to me, Deku sounds like 'you can do it'. Your nickname had that vibe to it, like you're ready to achieve the impossible. It's really cool and I knew that's what I wanted to call you from then on."
Mineta was floored by the weight of her words. She just brought new life to that dreaded nickname, flipping everything he felt about it. Where 'Deku' once highlighted Midoriya's weaknesses, it now highlighted his strengths. It was truly a name to be proud of and a perfect reflection of his friend's unyielding spirit.
It was as if the Copernican revolution happened again.
Though at the end of this flood of emotion, Mineta felt a pang of regret in his heart. How did he not think of that himself? Maybe if he came up with Uraraka's version before now, Midoriya would have a little more self-confidence.
"Another tally to the 'worthless partner chart'…" He thought as he watched for his friend's reaction. Midoriya was at first reserved; shoulders slumped with his eyes casted towards the ground. However, a smile began forming on his face. He stepped forward and put a hand on Uraraka's shoulder, green eyes sparkling with joy.
"Uraraka-san, you can call me 'Deku' whenever you want."
The girl's eyes brightened as well, her smile growing with it. She then nodded and held her hand out. "Okay! It's nice to meet you Deku-kun!"
Midoriya took her hand and shook it, returning that energy. "And it's a pleasure to meet you too, Uraraka-san."
They released their hands and turned to the Iida and Mineta. The shorter boy gave a thumbs up, the two and this whole thing had his seal of approval. Iida looked a bit more skeptical, but that expression was soon exchanged for a more lax one.
"At first I wanted to say that you shouldn't be so ready to make an insult a casual nickname amongst friends… However, upon seeing your enthusiasm, I can see that there's no stopping you. And plus, Uraraka's version is such a great interpretation that I can't help but approve. Though that won't stop me from referring to you as Midoriya-kun, etiquette training has made formality a habit."
"Yeah, 'Midoriya' is a habit for me too." Mineta said, nodding to his sentiments.
"That's enough I suppose. But shall we get going? They have a four person special between one and two o'clock." Midoriya replied. Uraraka nodded vigorously to the sound of that and with that the four of them began walking together.
Things might have started out shaky today, what with having Bakugou as a classmate and Aizawa's twisted wisdom… But Mineta feels that the stress was worth it. Because when was the last time he and Midoriya had other friends to hang out with? Never. So while their ultimate goal was to become great Heroes, this was too nice a detour to miss.
And what's a journey without companions to travel with?
And that was Chapter 10.
First of all, thank you gizmo321 for putting up a recommendation on the TvTropes FanFic Recommendations tab, you just allowed me to enter stage one of my nefarious plan to obtain my own TvTropes page. From this point on, I'm going to bust my nuts to improve The Saint and The Sinner.
"And the seeds shall fly all over the place!"
Although... That would interfere with the other thing I was going to talk about. I won't do the next update two weeks from now, instead, it'll be four weeks from now. This is because I need to get my real life nonsense sorted out while I have the motivation. Otherwise I'm just going back on what my Uncle has been advising me to do. But don't worry, I'll be dedicating some time to writing and improving on what needs to be fixed.
"So pepper this sucker with everything you've got. I'm talking about scalding reviews! Skinning criticisms! And a whole load of hoopla!"
And I hope that I find the time to answer those questions and concerns. But I'm confident that I can get this sorted out.
"He has the touch! He has the power!"
That is all I have for this week, so...
Until Next Time. T1.