I only own this fan fiction. May contain Out of Character moments.

Their training and duties at the Heaven and Earth Temple started simple enough. Izuku and Minoru would go out on patrols with Fenghuang, resolving incidents as it cropped up. And in between those patrols, the two would undergo some generalized training with Masters Kokyu and Murakumo. But while their strength and dexterity didn't improve all that much, Izuku and Minoru's footwork and reactivity improved dramatically.

The first was accomplished through increasingly intricate dance routines that made Mina's Culture Festival routine look like a cake wake.

The second was far, FAR, less glamorous as Izuku and Minoru had to dodge Murakumo and her archers' numerous arrows. Padded, of course.

But overall, rather simple for their stay here thus far. However, once the next week began, the duo could feel something was going to be different. Mostly since the tea they received that morning with breakfast was different from the days prior.

"Your tea gentlemen, steeped to perfection." Gentle said, setting down two tea cups before Izuku and Minoru.

"Thank you, Tobita-san. It smells wonderful." Izuku replied, picking up his cup and breathing in the aroma. Ever since they knew the reforming Villain was here and vice versa, Gentle had been preparing them, and many others within the Temple, their tea. As such, Izuku and Minoru became more familiar with tea terminology and culture than they would've liked. But the shorter boy had to admit…

The man knew how to brew.

"And different. This smells earthier… And tastes a little bitter…" Minoru commented, taking a sip from his cup. It was still incredibly good, that fact was irrefutable. But the shorter boy preferred the kind the man had served them until today.

"As you gentlemen know, I brew a certain tea in accordance with the occasion. Today, I was asked by Lady Fenghuang to make this for you. Its main component is a root commonly used in medicinal teas, making its bitterness difficult to balance for casual drinking. But with the careful combination of other ingredients, it becomes a fine blend that fortifies your physical health and increases mental acuity." Gentle said as he began cleaning the tools he used to make the tea.

Izuku and Minoru looked at one another, understanding the hidden symbolism behind the cup of tea. The last brew that they partook in over last week was given to them at the end of the day. It's a blend that was said to help to relax the body, ease nerves, and make it easier to sleep at night. Between draining training, patrols where they play an active role, and just sleeping in a new location…

Izuku and Minoru didn't realize how tense and on edge they were until they drank the tea. It was made to help them settle into the new routine created by this Internship.

So with this new tea…

"We've got some new training ahead, don't we?" Izuku asked, taking another sip from his cup.

"One that's hard, has many complementary parts, but it'll make us even stronger and sharper… All of that from a single cup." Minoru answered, drinking from his cup as well. The shorter boy sort of gave up on reacting to all the teachings that were hidden in everyday things. It was much faster and easier on his sanity to just take things in stride.

"You gentlemen are truly something else, figuring all that out from a mere description… Continue to enjoy your tea, I'm off to deliver breakfast to my hardworking beloved. Happy training." Gentle said, carrying a metal bento box out of the break room.

"What do you think Aiba-san's doing that she needs to work so early in the morning and late into the night?" Izuku asked, finishing off his tea.

"She's apparently a tech expert, so maybe she's fixing the Temple's servers or something. I don't know dude. Why are you asking me?" Minoru asked as he emptied his cup. The two of them then got up and stretched out their limbs, the rest of breakfast settling comfortably in their stomachs. And then with a light jog, the two of them made their way down to the Taiji Hall. They've been down there before, to meditate with Fenghuang during daybreak, but now it's time for business.

"Good morning students, shall we begin?" Fenghuang asked, standing up from her seat at the center of the taiji.

"Yes Shifu!"

"Good. Young Midoriya, go up to the Earth Hall and talk to Master Kamishiro. He'll be handling your training today." Fenghuang replied, gesturing to the stairs for the green haired boy. Izuku immediately nodded to the order and gave a wave of good-bye to Minoru, climbing the stairs right after. As for the shorter boy, Fenghuang walked over and handed a metal rod to him. It was similar in length to his baton when it was extended, except it was several degrees heavier.

There were also 3 more buttons on it than his baton.

"Let's just push one of them." Minoru thought as he pressed the left button on top of the rod. A length of metal shot out from the top and doubled the length. If comparing it to Minoru's height, the rod was now the length of a short staff. The shorter boy nodded to that and pressed the other button, causing a length of metal to shoot out of the bottom. Now the original rod had tripled in length, making it a regular staff that was slightly shorter than Minoru.

Ah… So that's what this is…

"You'll be teaching me the Flowing Taiji Shifu?"

"Not exactly my young pupil… The Flowing Taiji style is a modification of my Shifu's Soaring Dragon style because the original forms were ill suited for my body. For me, my body was not strong enough to generate enough power to make decisive strikes. For you, it's your height that will render several forms ineffective due to your much shorter reach." Fenghuang explained. She then demonstrated a form much different than anything Minoru has seen. But while the movements were as sharp and agile as before…

He could see what she meant by lacking power, as attacks didn't look as strong as it could be.

"This is why you must be aware of your limits, so you can figure out how to work around it. And this is my work around for you, Young Mineta." Fenghuang said, letting out a long but steady breath. She then began demonstrating other sets of forms, ones that Minoru recognized from her Flowing Taiji style. These forms flowed from one to another with utmost ease. No matter where she was facing or what her footwork was like, the Radiant Wing moved unhindered.

She then stopped and relaxed her stance, letting out a long, steady breath again.

"My Flowing Taiji style consists of 8 sets of forms, all named after the bagua, or the eight trigrams. Which one did you think those forms were?"

"That's easy! Water, for easily you move between forms!" Minoru asked, chest puffed out in pride. Fenghuang let out a light chuckle before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but you are incorrect. What you saw were the forms from 'Moon'. Each of the other forms have distinct characteristics and focus on their movements that reflect their namesake. 'Fire' is aggressive, 'Water' is reactive, 'Thunder' starts high and ends low, 'Mountain' starts low and ends high, and so forth. However, because of those distinct characteristics, moving between one another is surprisingly difficult on my body as I was forcing the end of one sequence and the start of the next."

Fenghuang then started another demonstration, moving between her forms. However, Minoru saw a distinct pause between her movements, destroying the flow of her forms. It looked awkward and completely not like Fenghuang's usual style. The Flowing Taiji DID NOT flow at all in this state.

"The 'Moon' is all about transitions and change. So once I began incorporating the movements of 'Moon' into the ends and beginnings of my other forms, it all just clicked. However, know that 'Moon' isn't something that can be used on its own." Fenghuang said as soon as her demonstration ended.

"And my job is to figure it out once you teach me the forms?" Minoru asked.

"Exactly. By that time, you'll know how to make the most of all of your abilities. Watch me closely first, then follow my movements. Just like before." Fenghaung said, standing at the ready. Minoru simply gave a determined nod and opened his eyes and mind. He'll commit it all to memory. And from there…

The path to his best self will open once more.

…

…

…

"I don't think that was it…" Minoru muttered as he forced his body off the ground.

The shorter boy had learned the forms themselves easily enough, though with a bit more difficulty than he did with the baton and Balintawak Eskrima back then. He kept hitting himself with the extended staff and really had to keep in mind HOW the staff was moving. Eventually though, he was able to move the staff through the forms as easily as he did the baton.

Finding a way to use the forms in a fight, however, was a lot more difficult.

Fenghuang had been correct as the 'Moon' forms had no real damage behind their movements. Sure the staff would sting if it hit someone… But it's not nearly enough to stop a person in a fight. Minoru tried everything to make the staff behave the way he wanted it to. He wanted it to be his new offensive tool in place of his baton, due to its greater weight and reach. However, he always came up short.

"Don't worry about it, it took me some time to figure it out too." Kazama replied, offering a towel to the shorter boy. The Tsujigiri student had appeared a half-hour ago back from his patrol with one of Fenghuang's sidekicks. And upon requesting that he show Minoru the fruits of his labor, the two sparred for 30 minutes straight. Through those spars, the shorter boy learned several things about how his opponent was fighting.

One… Kazama was the inheritor of Fenghuang's 'Thunder' forms. Minoru recognized many different strikes that started high and ended low being worked into his fighting style.

Two… Kazama's fighting style was nothing like how Fenghuang fought. Sure, he used a staff like she does, used it defensively like her too… However, when it came to offense, he used it more like a heavy hammer or a large club.

Three… Kazama was using the staff that way because of his Quirk. If he's touching something that's completely made up of flat surfaces, he can add his body weight to it. And since his staff is an octagonal pole, Kazama could trigger it whenever he wanted.

With those things combined, Minoru kept getting slammed by an incredibly heavy attack from above. And even if the shorter boy managed to dodge or, rarely, block the attack, Kazama simply deactivated his Quirk and regained his agility to block or dodge. It was frustrating as all Hell as Minoru's window for offense kept shrinking due to exhaustion and lack-luster performance with his own staff.

The only point he got off of Kazama was when he abandoned the staff all together and used his baton and hairballs. It was what he was using for all this time, so why fix what wasn't broken?

"No! Shifu went out of her way to teach me the 'Moon' forms! She knows it's something I can figure out!" Minoru thought as he wiped the sweat from his face. Fenghuang tapped her staff upon the ground, causing Kazama and the shorter boy to look at her.

"Young Kazama, thank you for your time. You may go take a rest, I will take Young Mineta and his friend out on patrol as a change of pace."

"Of course Shifu. I hope you'll have a peaceful route." Kazama replied with a bow. He then gave a nod to Minoru and began making his way up. The shorter boy then looked to his shifu, who simply gestured for him to begin preparing for the patrol. So with a sigh, he pressed the buttons on his staff and the extensions retreated back into the center.

All the buttons on the extending baton did that. Press once to extend, press again to retract. It was on both ends so that, no matter the orientation, Minoru could operate it just fine.

He quickly went up to the room he and his partner shared, opening the door to see Izuku already changing into his costume. But what drew the most concern from Minoru was the number of bruises the green haired boy had on his face and body. It seems his partner just got jumped by Master Kamishiro's hidden ferocity.

"I'm guessing he handed your ass to you?" Minoru asked, taking off his UA gym uniform.

"Like you wouldn't believe… Kamishiro-san can be pretty scary… How about you? Is Fenghuang Shifu teaching you new things with the baton?" Izuku answered, eyeing the new staff.

"That's an extendable staff. Shifu taught me some staff stuff and I've been trying to figure out how to make it work in a fight. It's not going well…" Minoru replied.

"Well… I'm sure we'll figure something out… My goal in fighting Kamishiro-san is to get a single hit in before he does. I don't know how he does it but despite throwing the first punch, I'm the first to get hit..."

"But first, there's the patrol. Let's see what our first patrol of the second week will be like." Minoru said with a smile.

With a nod Izuku and Minoru headed to the front of the Temple, where Fenghuang was waiting for them. And with a brisk but calm run, the 3 of them began their patrol. Not much occurred on their run, only minor incidents that were swiftly resolved through Minoru's hairballs and Izuku's empowered agility. Fenghuang applauded their swift reactions and decisive actions, but she could tell both of them were still pondering their own struggles.

"Don't worry about what you couldn't accomplish today. Simply reflect on it and try again tomorrow." She said as she bought some chicken skewers from a street vender.

"I know that Shifu… But the both of us, we're trying to get stronger for the masked problem on our hands." Minoru replied, taking one and taking a nibble of the hot and juicy meat.

"But rushing is no way to learn those lessons. Even hands-on learning requires some deep consideration on what it is you're trying to accomplish. Otherwise, you'll be stuck at a brick wall." Fenghuang explained.

"Hmmm… But we can't help but want to push forward. Our classmates, they're all working to get stronger. Like one of our classmates, Uraraka-san, she helped stop a plane full of illegal chemicals from falling into the south Pacific just now." Izuku replied as he stared at his phone. Minoru couldn't help but smirk at the news. Sure, the green haired boy kept an eye on Hero news, mostly for mentions of their friends.

But he kept an especially close eye on Ryukyu's agency…

However, before either Fenghuang and Minoru could ask for greater details, a nearby explosion caused them all to run towards it without a moment of hesitation. Nearby, out in the open street, were 3 large men who were all wearing pig masks and had bricks floating around them. They were hurling the red blocks at everything in sight, causing serious panic.

"We are the 3 Big Pigs! You people shunned our company! Got it taken away! Now we'll take away your lives!" The biggest pig man shouted, hurling a chunk of bricks at a nearby group of people. However, before it could make it very far, Izuku shattered it with a kick with Fenghuang and Minoru swatting away extra debris with their staves.

"Who are these fairy tale rejects?" Minoru asked.

"The Sentetsu brothers. They owned a construction company that encouraged corner cutting, resulting in various accidents in the past few months. Their company was seized by the city and the 3 were awaiting trial for public endangerment. But it seems their rage has gotten the better of them and they've gotten their hands on some Quirk enhancers." Fenghuang explained.

"How could you tell?" Izuku asked, sparks of One for All intensifying.

"Their Quirk, Stone Guard, shouldn't allow them to have this much control over the bricks." She explained, narrowing her eyes at the 3 as she gauged their strength.

"Radiant Wing! Stay out of our way! Or we'll kill 3 birds with one stone!" The middle brother shouted, threateningly pointing at them.

"Deku, Grape Shot, each of us will take on a brother. You're both strong enough to handle them on your own, especially if you consider your current training." Fenghuang said, readying her staff.

"Wait what!" Minoru asked before Fenghuang simply darted at the 3 pig men. The shorter boy didn't hesitate any longer and dropped a hairball down and launched himself at the one on the right. Izuku flew into the one on the left with a kick and Fenghaung struck the one in the middle. However, their attacks didn't connect with the person and was stopped by a shield of destroyed bricks.

"If that's how you want to play, we'll blow your house down!" The youngest Pig shouted forcing Minoru back. When the shorter boy had landed back on his feet, he had to dodge a flurry of red blocks. But compared to the arrow rain that Murakumo subjected him and Izuku to, Minoru found it incredibly easy to dodge. Even the uneven ground, littered with all sorts of debris, didn't do anything as he was able to stay sure-footed throughout thanks to Kokyu.

So in no time, Minoru reached his opponent again and whirled his staff around. But like before it struck a stone guard that just appeared out of nowhere. Minoru dodged the next attack and struck again, this time on the opposite side. He just met the stone guard again. And as this kept up, Minoru kept meeting the guard of his opponent.

However, he did notice that his opponent had to react to it personally, his defenses weren't automatic.

So Minoru just needed to slip in one good attack and cause his whole defense to crumble.

But bouncing around his hairballs wouldn't do much, since the guy could just completely turtle up to block all angles. His baton doesn't have enough reach to make a decisive blow. It has to be the staff…

Then, he remembered something about the peculiar trait of his staff.

"If the buttons extend and retract the staff… What happens if I do it mid-fight?"

Minoru could always feel the buttons on his staff, so long as he had one hand on the center part. So he charged forward, putting his faith into the design of the staff, and readied his strike by holding the top half by his hip like a sword. The bottom half was still sticking out like a spear, making the youngest Pig think he was going to thrust it into him. The stone guard came up as Minoru moved the staff forward.

At the last moment, however, Minoru retracted the other end and allowed the motion to carry the staff to his right side unhindered. And before the youngest Pig realized nothing struck his guard, the shorter boy thrust his short staff at the one place he knew would paralyze his foe…

The groin.

And unlike his attacks before… This one was a clean hit as the man immediately crumpled onto his knees as Minoru pulled back. The man's head was now exposed for another blow. So quickly taking his baton into his left hand, Minoru extended it mid-swing. It bit satisfyingly into his opponent's jaw and caused him to fall towards the side. The youngest Pig, as well as all of the bricks he controlled, immediately fell unmoving onto the asphalt.

"Yes!" Minoru cheered as he immediately began restraining his opponent.

Once he finished, the shorter boy looked over towards Izuku to see his progress. And what he saw was a giant fist made of bricks thrown towards his partner, who was flying towards the middle brother with Float. And with a simple lean, the attack flew past Izuku and allowed him into the middle brother's guard. The green haired boy's ironclad kick was slammed right into his foe's face, knocking him clean out.

"How's that!?" He shouted with a smile as Minoru immediately rushed over to restrain the man.

"Good work partner! What did you do?"

"What Kamishiro-san has been doing to me since I started learning under him, counters and reversals. He'd bait in a dedicated attack, barely move out of the way, and hit me before I could do anything else. How about you?" Izuku answered.

"I just realized I could trick my opponents into blocking one place, retract my staff, and hit them somewhere else." Minoru replied, extending and retracting his staff.

"Excellent work my young pupils, you've found an answer." Fenghuang said, approaching the two boys with the unconscious body of the eldest brother. The man's face didn't have a mask any more, just an incredibly broken nose. Whatever she did to this man, it must've hurt like all Hell. Still with the 3 of them down, the incident has been resolved as police and other emergency services arrived to clean up.

They watched the 3 brothers get put into the armored van, all of them looking a little dazed. The drug must've worn off, rendering them more impotent than before. Izuku, Minoru, and Fenghuang were allowed to simply oversee the operations for their contributions towards the incident, allowing them to simply talk.

There was just one thing on the shorter boy's mind though…

"So, now what?" Minoru asked, looking at his staff with a new found drive.

"Not much to do except train even harder. I'm sure tomorrow we'll be learning something just as crazy." Izuku replied with a nervous laugh.

"That you will, my students. That you will…"

And that has been Chapter 133!

I've got no real news for you all so...

Until Next Time. T1.