I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.

Month 1, Day 1

"Alright, not so loud next time. Now, tell me why you want to be a Hero?" Aizawa said, taking a moment to clean his ear.

"Two reasons. The first is that so I can help my friend become the best Hero and become worthy of being his partner." Mineta answered quickly. Since the day he was saved by Midoriya, Mineta wanted to support him in whatever way possible. Whether it was moral support, which he can give. To combat support, which he can't but still tries. He'll do all he can to make Midoriya's dream a reality.

Aizawa began nodding, feeling the determination that his trainee was releasing. "You put his wishes ahead of yours, good. Most other students I've encounter put themselves ahead of others. What's your second reason"

He hesitated to answer. Aizawa raised an eyebrow to that, seeing that Mineta was avoiding eye contact. And then the boy began to sweat. "Uhhh… I want to be popular with the ladies?" He forced out.

"… At least half of you is in the right place."

Month 1, Day 2

Continuing what he started yesterday, Mineta was trying to contain the urge to scream. Currently, the boy was in a peculiar pose that stretched certain muscles. But as he finally vocalized his suffering, Aizawa reminded his student why he needed to do this.

"Both of your arms are flexible, but the rest of your body isn't. Before we move on to something more complex, we need ready that scrawny physique of yours. That means improving your strength, stamina, and dexterity."

"But is it supposed to feel like I'm dislocating myself!?" Mineta screamed, continuing to hold his stretch.

"That's because you're not doing it correctly."

The boy collapsed with a groan, splaying his body all over the worn pavement. His muscles finally relaxing from being pulled apart. Aizawa looked down at his student with a sigh. And as Mineta began to get up, his trainer said something through his yawn.

"Oh yeah, I've signed you up for Yoga.".

"What!?"

Month 1, Day 3

Mineta found himself standing outside the entrance to a fitness studio, dressed in his sweats. It was six in the morning and he just finished his morning run with Midoriya. But as he stared at the frosted glass door, the boy felt his motivation waning. And this is despite knowing that he'll have many opportunities to ogle at women in form fitting yoga pants.

"Something about this doesn't feel right… Aizawa purposefully sent me to a place with plenty of ladies and said 'I'll know'… Based on what I know about him and how much he trusts me, the guy's probably inside." Mineta thought. Some small part of him still hope that was not the case and he can enjoy a serious eyeful of healthy figures.

But given his luck, not very likely. With a sigh, Mineta opened the door. There his eyes scanned the contents of the room. And though there were some women inside with a few men, he instantly spotted his scraggly trainer stretching in the corner.

"I knew this would happen. And yet my heart's still crying…"

Month 2, Day 29

As Mineta ran besides Midoriya, he noted how fluid his body was feeling. That and he was able to keep up with his friend on these morning runs. All that basic training he's been doing have worked wonders. Still, Aizawa told him it was still too early to move onto the complex trainings. And after reading up on some books on pitching, where it mentioned just how strenuous pitching is, Mineta could see why.

But that's enough about him. Looking over, Mineta saw how much Midoriya's training was starting to affect him. Just from his arms alone, the green haired boy had budding muscles as opposed to consistently soft flesh. And though Midoriya was still a nervous mess, Mineta could now feel his friend's strength. It wasn't much now. But by the time of UA's entrance exam, he knew Midoriya was going to have a Heroic build.

Though one does have to wonder about the trash he picks up…

"Hey Midoriya, did you ever find anything interesting in the junk you sort through?" Mineta asked, breaking the calm silence between the two.

"Hmm… I found an arm."

"A real one!?" Mineta squealed, already feeling his stomach shrinking. Sure, he was jumping to conclusions, but wouldn't anyone?

"God no, I would've screamed and passed out. It was just a prosthetic."

"That's a relief…"

"Though I did find a petrified, half eaten leg next to it… I don't know if it was an animal's leg or a person's…"

Mineta let out a nervous laugh, one that Midoriya returned. And it continued for a bit, slowly getting louder… Until a passing bush rustled abruptly, causing then both to sprint as hard as they could. Neither of them looked back to see what it was.

Month 4, Day 1

He felt really limber. Mineta couldn't even remember what his body was like before his training. But now he could do splits! And reach that one itch on his back. But as he continued to stretch, Aizawa just dumped a volleyball and a small rubber ball into his lap and walked off. The boy first looked at his trainer as he laid back down to sleep and then at the ball.

"Okay… Do you have tech inside?" He thought, examining the ball. Mineta then started to search the things for six black dots, eventually finding them. Okay, so they're going to be recording his performance…

"Alright, let's just start with hitting it…"

And so Mineta begun doing just that. With the volleyball, he began hitting several serves towards the wall with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the ball didn't have enough power to reach his intended target. Sometimes it was too far left or right. And sometimes, it just went over the wall and landed in the foliage. This was done with both arms and it made him realize…

"Volleyball's hard. How do they get the ball to where it needs to be?"

Maybe he should switch it up, try that small rubber ball. Whatever it is. After some brief research, Mineta found that it was an American handball. And it's played by hitting the ball to a wall with your hand. Then another player hits it back before it could bounce off the ground twice. Easy enough. He lightly tossed the ball and swung his hand around to hit it.

Only for it to go wide of his intended target. Mineta watched the ball lazily roll before stopping, sighing as he went to retrieve the thing. "Today's going to be a long day…"

Month 4, Day 3

Since then, Mineta was instructed to keep trying until he can make these two balls go where he wants. And while he was making progress with the accuracy… The boy was losing motivation. Why did he need to do this anyway? If he needed a long-range option, he could always get a slingshot. And that would have even better accuracy and distance compared to what he's doing now.

He looked over to his trainer, who was playing with a stray cat, and did what he normally does when doing a task he doesn't like. Complain.

"Aizawa, sir, I'm not seeing how this helps when there are better options for going long range."

The man sighed and reached over to his bag. What he pulled was a slingshot and some metal pellets. Aizawa then got up, brushed off the dirt and cat hair on his body, and handed off the items to Mineta. And before he could ask questions, Aizawa began walking some distance away.

"Uhhh… Sir!?" Mineta asked, his trainer still walking. The man only stopped when he was about twelve meters away, not far but not exactly close. He then begun to stretch lightly, shouting something across the open space.

"Alright, shoot me."

Now the boy was even more confused. Why did he want to be plinked with a slingshot? And the one Aizawa gave him was an Usopp, the undisputed king of slingshots. Only highly reputable shooters could get their hands on these, since they could potentially kill someone at max draw length using a metal pellet. And it's really easy to draw it back. At this distance, his trainer could actually die if he hits.

"If you manage to hit me, you can go home for the day." Aizawa yelled, his tone still sounding bored. Mineta couldn't tell if the man was insane or if this was another one of his Kung Fu Master wisdoms. So, with a whole lot of reluctance, Mineta pocketed the pellets and got ready.

"Okay… Here I go…"

The boy first waited a few minutes, observing his teacher. Midoriya always said to examine your opponent first, make observations. Granted, even Midoirya couldn't figure out who Aizawa was since the guy gave no clues to his identity. All they know is that he's a Hero like All Might, which isn't saying much. Since there're a lot of Heroes.

Mineta sighed, seeing that he was getting nowhere. Aizawa was still standing around, looking uninterested, not taking up any sort of stance. With no clue what to do, he decided to just humor his trainer. But the moment he reached for the pellets in his pocket… His trainer dashed forward with surprising speed.

The boy flinched and begun to hastily remove a number of pellets from his pocket. He then fumbled to load it into the pouch, only managing to get two or three into it. And the moment he started to pull back, Mineta didn't feel the ground beneath his feet. Then there was the pain all over his back seconds later.

"Ugh… Well that sucked…"

"And you're about to relive it. Now, we'll do the same thing except you will be hitting those balls of yours at me."

"C-Can we not?"

"Non-negotiable."

With a groan, Mineta got back up on his feet as Aizawa walked back into position. This time, the boy didn't call out whether he was ready or not. He just went straight for his hair and hit it towards his mentor. Aizawa was already on his way by then, but he actually had to dodge the projectile. Mineta quickly reached up for another and hit it. And another. And–

"Gah!"

The boy found his back to the ground again… But as he laid there, his mind began processing what just happened. Under pressure, a slingshot requires more finesse to use as opposed to just the pluck and hit method. Mineta can get out at least three times as many shots before someone could reach him. Reactivity, that's where this method's strength lay.

Also, it might be smarter to aim at the ground just in front of Aizawa. That way, he has a chance to step and trip on it. Or, if Mineta really improves his accuracy and timing, be able to place it where his foot will fall next. That way, he's forced to step on it.

The more he thought about the positive aspects, the more he wanted to hone it. As Aizawa stared down on him, Mineta got up and begun practicing again. The scraggly teacher nodded and went back to his sleeping sack, where the stray cat was lazing about.

Month 5, Day 17

"Here we go Mineta-kun!" Midoriya shouted, throwing up five plastic disks as high as he could. Mineta wasted no time tossing four of his hairballs into the air before hitting a fifth from his hand. It sailed through the air and struck one of the disks. And as each ball fell down, he hit them towards a disk. But as the short boy hit the last ball, the last disk already touched the ground.

"Damn, looks like four's my limit."

"At the rate you hit them and its accuracy, I think you did pretty good." Midoriya replied, carefully picking up one of the plastic disks. The ball placed on this one was the closest to the center in comparison to the rest.

"Thanks, Midoriya. But man, this isn't getting any easier, Aizawa's keeping me on my toes." Mineta sighed.

"Yeah, All Might's doing the same… Though to tell you the truth, I'm not really following his schedule."

Mineta turned to his friend, his face sinking with concern and regret. "It's not because I'm bothering you is it? Cause I can shut up and leave you to your thing. All of this would be pointless if you don't get in."

"No! No! It's not that! I'm not behind on my training. I'm actually trying to get ahead of it." Midoriya said, scratching at his head. This did not change the shorter boy's look of worry. In fact, it got deeper.

"Midoriya, I know you REALLY want to get into UA. But you can't overwork yourself because of that. You'll get set back if you get hurt."

Midoriya sighed and stared at the night sky above. There weren't many stars visible, but nine of them were shining rather brilliantly. With feet firmly on the ground, he spoke from his heart. "I know… But it's because I have a chance for UA that I need to work hard, harder anyone else. I only got one shot at this after all… And I won't be left behind anymore, not by Kacchan… Or by you, Mineta-kun."

The shorter boy's jaw first dropped. Then it was pulled up into a wide smile. Never had he thought that his usually sheepish friend could say something so cool. Midoriya was starting to look more and more like a Hero.

"Holy shit Midoriya… That was badass."

And then the guy went back to his usual nervous wreck self. Blushing and fidgeting like crazy.

"R-Really? C-Cause I was just… I-I mean… It wasn't that…"

Mineta just gave a laugh and threw his friend a thumb's up. "Don't worry about it! You'll get there!"

Month 6, Day 1

Mineta hit the five balls that fell down one by one, launching them to the falling disks. Each one landed dead center except for the fifth, which went completely wide. Mineta exhaled as Aizawa picked up a disk that wasn't stuck to the ground and examined it.

"This is acceptable. We can move on now."

"Am I going to learn some pitching now? I've been reading up on baseball on my free time."

"Your body's still not ready for it. Now follow me." Aizawa answered, walking off. The boy sighed and went after his trainer, knowing that he can't get anything out of him. For a while, the two just walked. And walked. And walked until they were at the edge of the nearby woods. Mineta looked at Aizawa and then the trees.

"You… Want me to climb trees?"

"Less climbing trees and more like jumping between them. You ever played 'the floor is lava' as a kid?"

"Yes?" Mineta has no idea what his trainer was going on about now. He may have way more wisdom than him. But he goes about teaching that wisdom in a roundabout way. Like using a logical ruse or something…

"Well the floor is lava."

Silence.

"I don–?"

"THE FLOOR IS LAVA."

The short boy immediately jumped to the nearest tree, latching to it using two of his hairballs. He then climbed up using a few more balls until he was perched safely on a branch. But before he could ask what to do next, something small flew past him. Looking down, the boy could see Aizawa holding a large popcorn tub filled with acorns. Now, he was even more confused.

"Where di–?" Was all he could get out before he was pelted with acorns. Mineta began to jump to different branches in an attempt to hide from the attack. However, every time he changed positions Aizawa was already there to pelt him with more acorns. With that, he had no choice but to jump to another tree.

Mineta took two balls from his head and leapt to the nearest tree, sticking to the trunk. He would've scrambled for the branches to hide from the acorns… But the boy noticed that nothing was hitting him. Looking back at Aizawa, he saw that the man was just waiting with one hand in the acorn tub. That got him thinking.

"I'm wide open right now, why isn't he pelting me?"

Still, he chose to keep moving, climbing up towards the branches… Only for an acorn to hit the area above him. Looking back at his trainer again, Mineta saw that he was ready to throw more acorns at him. He focused back on the tree and reached up… Only for his hand to get hit.

"Alright… He doesn't want me to go above the branches… And he wants me to jump between trees… This is starting to feel more like an obstacle game show…"

Mineta went around the trunk until his back faced the nearest tree and he pushed himself off his balls. They had quite some spring to them, so there was no issue pushing him over that distance. He then quickly pulled a ball off his head and latched to it. The boy climbed up to gain some height before realizing something.

"How long do I have to do this?"

"Until I say otherwise. Now get a move on." Aizawa replied, throwing more acorns at his trainee.

Month 7, Day 23

Mineta kept leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk, taking just moments in between to plan out his movements. To be able to jump freely among multiple surfaces was the point of this exercise. With this, his ability to maneuver through strange terrains have improved. Though if he thought about it, there wasn't a lot of places that fulfill the conditions of his training. The world, after all, isn't some kind of platformer where there are free floating objects to jump on.

At least his climbing skill has improved.

Still, it did get him thinking. Looking back at his trainer, who was ready to throw more acorns, Mineta opened his mouth. "Aizawa, do you think I should learn how to dodge whilst latched onto a person?"

"Interesting concept, like a leech or something… But that's a fairly difficult thing to do. You not only have to learn to read someone's body movement. You also need to find a way to move around that person without causing them to lose balance. Even with your size, that's a tall order to make."

Mineta stared at his teacher. Was he really comparing him to a leech? And making height jokes? Granted, everyone but Midoriya has called him a parasite before… It's also not rare to see people mock his height… Still, what Aizawa said was true. If he's going to cling to a person, Mineta's going to need to keep in mind of a lot of things.

"If you managed to do that though, you're effectively a jockey. You'd be able to 'steer' the person you're attached to by shifting your weight correctly. Though why you would do that instead of causing them to fall over is beyond me." Aizawa continued.

"Just curious." Mineta replied before jumping to another tree. It was an interesting concept… Maybe he should ask for Midoriya's opinion on that tactic.

Month 8, Day 1

"Alright, you're ready. Here's your baseball." Aizawa replied, giving his trainee a ball. Mineta inwardly cheered as he took the thing. There were the six dots he grew accustomed seeing. And looking over to the wall he's been training with for the past several months, there were nine boxes drawn on it. The boy shook off the tension from his limbs, recalling everything he read and watched about pitching.

"Let's try a four seam…" He thought as he adjusted his grip. The boy raised his leg and begun moving it outwards. The arm with the ball pulled back as the other went forward, much like a sword and shield. And when he stepped out as much as his legs would allow, Mineta slung the ball forward.

And went way outside of bounds. The boy stared at the ball that came rolling back to him. Then, turned to his instructor for any comments.

"At least it has speed. Keep throwing, we'll review after a hundred pitches. And do try to use both your arms."

"Yes, Sir."

Month 8, Day 2

"Why does everything still hurt…?" Mineta groaned, his jogging was rather sluggish. Eventually, the short boy just started walking since his body was too sore to move. Especially his arms. Midoriya slowed down his run until he matched his friend's pace. Though he was still running vigorously in place.

"You did pitch 100 balls yesterday with both arms, most pitchers are relieved by then. And you're not used to it."

"I also see why Aizawa wanted to up my flexibility… I would've tore something if I didn't do all that Yoga…" Mineta replied, stopping for a moment to stretch.

"Then take it easy today, I read that pitchers need a few days of rest after a game."

"Oh, don't worry, I fully intend on doing that… Maybe do some more baseball studying…" Mineta then began jogging again, Midoriya closely following beside him. For a good while, the two didn't speak, simply taking in the frigid early Winter air. But soon the natural ambience was broken by a bolt of inspiration.

"Mineta-kun!" Midoriya shouted, causing his short friend to stagger.

"Woah! What's got you hype up man!? You freaked me out!"

"Instead of focusing of pitching alone, you should also practice fielding!"

Mineta furrowed his brows, gears working in his head. Fielding? Like if the ball is out there and has to be brought back to the bases before a runner gets there? Alright… Thinking about this… The boy could see that it would test his ability to aim… Though wouldn't practicing more pitching do the same?

"I'm not seeing it?"

"You see… When you're doing Hero work, you'll hardly be standing still the same way a pitcher does on the mound. You'll be running around on patrols. And fielding requires a lot of movement. So…" Midoriya begun explaining, using gestures to egg Mineta on. Now with that explanation, the shorter boy realized what his friend was talking about.

Fielding is about getting the ball from point A to B as quickly as possible. No matter where the ball lands or what a fielder is facing when they pick it up. They'll get the ball back to the bases with efficiency. Applying that element to Hero work requires copying that snap decision making, speed, and those accurate throws.

But should he master that. Mineta would be able to chase/intercept Villains better. Being able to throw when turning corners without losing too much momentum.

"Midoriya, you genius. I'll ask Aizawa about that."

"And I'll buy a glove, you can't practice fielding by yourself after all. You might also need a catcher to help you with those pitches."

"Midoriya… You're a Saint…" Tears were forming in Mineta's eyes. He really needs to find a way to repay his friend for everything he's done.

Month 10, Day 2

"Right hand Cutter." Aizawa said. Mineta slung the ball forward, it traveled relatively straight until it broke to his left. Midoriya, serving as his catcher, caught the ball effortlessly and tossed it back to his friend.

"Right hand Two-seam." Mineta slung the ball, this time it started sinking towards the right. And once more, Midoriya caught the ball without issue and tossed it back.

"Left hand Curve." Mineta removed his glove and pitched the ball from his left. It flew higher compared to the others, until it got closer to where 'home plate' was. At that point, it sunk. Midoriya held his mitt out and simply let it fall into it before tossing it back.

"Left hand Knuckle." The ball flew out, wobbling as though it was jelly, before falling towards the left. But regardless of the unsteady trajectory, the green haired boy caught it without issue and tossed the ball back. Aizawa nodded as he scribbled something down in a small notebook.

"Alright, we can move on. Midoriya, you can head back to your training."

"Yes Sir!" He said with a bow. He gave a wave of farewell to Mineta, who returned the gesture, and ran off. Aizawa then walked over to his stuff and picked up the small pack. Mineta then found it hitting his body. Though whatever it was inside the thing, it wasn't particularly heavy.

"Now practice with those."

Mineta began rummaging through the thing, knowing better than to question his trainer at this point. And what he found dwelling inside was a series of very soft, orange balls. However, unlike the balls he practiced with before, these didn't have the six dots. But there was something familiar about these… Holding them feels just right…

Then it hit him. "These are like the ones on my head, except not sticky."

"That's why I took that one hairball when we first met. And this came out of my own funds, so don't lose them." Aizawa replied.

"Thank you, they won't leave my sight. I just pitch these instead?"

"That's why I got them made."

The boy nodded and turned to face the wall again. With one of the balls in hand, he adjusted his grip so that he mimics a Four-seam grip. But since there isn't a seam to guide him, Mineta had to rely on intuition and habit. "Alright… Here it goes."

He pitched it and the thing flew right down the middle. There was a little deviation compared to the baseball, but it was still manageable. It was weird though. Because of how soft his hairballs were, he thought they would deform at fastball speeds. But all of this proves otherwise.

"I have a fighting chance now."

Month 11, Day 1

"Alright, we're in the final stretch. You've come a long way, but it's still too early to get complacent. From today until the day of the entrance exam, you'll be revisiting everything you've learned so far. And if you do this correctly, you'll become a mobile artillery." Aizawa replied, stopping in the wooded area they've trained in before. There was a light coating of snow on the ground and on the branches, but it wouldn't hinder anyone.

"I can't wait. Are you going to give me anything?" Mineta asked, doing a few more stretches. His trainer shook his head, signaling that he had to do this under his own power. A year ago, he might've complained about the odds being against him since his Quirk sucks. But now, he felt comfortable with what he was born with.

"I've hidden several targets in the area. Find them all and come back here as quickly as possible." Aizawa instructed.

"Okay."

The wind howled as the two stared at each other. And after a good while, the anticipation died within Mineta. Replacing it was just an awkwardness that could only be felt when expectation doesn't match reality.

"Shouldn't you count me in or something?" He asked finally.

"Does life give you a countdown?"

That caused Mineta to run, knowing that the time attack has already begun. Even to the end, his teacher was the definition of a wise but cryptic Kung Fu Master…

And that has been Chapter 6. Now this was the chapter that I needed to show off the ideas my brother and I put together. And it all centers around the question, how can Mineta improve? And this is the fruits of those brain storming sessions.

"Did those fruits happen to look like grapes? Cause you know, Mineta is a grape man... That was a bad joke."

It was. But what do you think about this? Is this a feasible method of developing Mineta's combat ability? If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, just shoot me a question and I'll answer it to the best of my abilities.

"Only you can stop bad writers and stuff like that."

And that's pretty much all I have to say, can't think of anything else to talk about...

"I can't think of anything either..."

Then I guess I'll end it here.

Until Next Time. T1.