I own nothing. May contain Out of Character moments.
It was no wonder the rooftop was off limits to students, UA was a tall building. Even with Quirks, someone could seriously get hurt or even die at this height. This very thought began to stir a particularly bad memory within Mineta.
It happened halfway into their second year at Orudera Middle. And Bakugou was trampling on Midoriya's dream for the Nth time. While Mineta had tried to argue against him, it was hopeless like always. Then the bastard said something that came close to ending everything.
"If Deku wants to play Hero so bad, then he should take a dive off the roof. Who knows, he could have a Quirk in the next life."
Mineta clenched his right hand, feeling his nails dig into his skin. He was glad that Midoriya never took that 'suggestion' and stayed away from any ledges. But they had to spend a lot of time recovering from that comment. And while Bakugou never said anything like that again… He hadn't actually apologized either.
Even to this day.
"I have so many reasons to hate Bakugou that I'm starting to forget them." Mineta muttered.
"Holy crap! This is great!" Kirishima shouted, snapping Mineta out his thoughts. The shorter boy turned around and noted how his classmates were having fun. Yaoyorozu had generated a blanket so they all didn't have to sit on the rough concrete, practically turning their lunch into an impromptu picnic. Fenghuang was pouring them tea as 1A helped themselves to pork buns.
"I'm glad you enjoy them. My son and daughter will appreciate your kind words. They put a lot of work in making these for the students and masters at the Temple." Fenghuang said with a warm smile.
"You know, how did Mineta intern under you Fenghuang Shifu? I don't think your agency was one of the available options we had." Ojiro asked he took a cup of tea.
"My young pupil happened to stumble into a secret condition Aizawa-sensei had set. Should anyone fail to intern under anyone, he would send them to me. As it would happen, Mineta's choices all canceled for one reason or another. And thus, here we are." She answered. The shorter boy thought back to that strange chain of events, realizing just how quickly Aizawa put together the transfer. And while Mineta could've gone without the knowledge of his devious machinations…
This was probably for the better.
"Damn, you really are lucky." Jirou said with a smirk. Mineta didn't know about that, seeing as something was about to happen. Still, it was interesting to see how quickly Shifu endeared herself to his classmates. Even Todoroki was being a little more talkative when Fenghuang inquired about the state of their studies. But the moment everyone took a break to eat or drink something, her tone changed subtly.
"Do you have your baton my young pupil." She asked as she reached for her staff.
"I do…" Mineta answered with a gulp. He then reached into his pocket and removed it. The heroine proceeded to stand up and remove her feathered cloak, asking Iida to hold onto it. And while 1A was blissfully enjoying the food, weather, and company… She looked back towards her student with a glare.
The shorter boy immediately extended his baton and brought it up. Fenghuang was before him and sent him reeling back with a wide arc of black. The sharp sound of the clash caught 1A's attention, their eyes widening at the sight before them. The Heroine immediately stepped forward, her staff whirling around her. Mineta's thoughts were caught in a loop. He knew once someone was caught inside her Flowing Taiji bubble, they wouldn't be able to get out.
"Let's get to the point my young pupil! What do you think of Bakugou Katsuki?" Fenghuang asked, her staff extending out to sweep Mineta's feet. The shorter boy jumped back, only to find his teacher already covering that distance. Her staff began to whirl again, forcing Mineta to block every streak of white and black that came his way. He was stuck in her bubble.
But her question did stir within him long enough.
"I hate the guy!" Mineta shouted, eyes paying attention to how his teacher moved her staff. It was almost like clockwork with the way she completed her movements. Her steady footwork, the snappy twists of her body, the fluidity of her arms and shoulders, the speed and grace of her ever changing grips… All of it spoke of her experience.
"Why?" She asked. The shorter boy intercepted a particularly heavy rising strike, almost as if it emphasized her question. He managed to push the staff away and stepped in for a strike. Mineta too was putting the feelings of his answer into this attack.
"He's an asshole! Treating everyone like dirt! Thinking he's the center of the world! For getting away with everything he's done! I can't forgive him!" Mineta shouted, punctuating every swing. But like all the other times they've spared, Fenghuang brushed each attack aside with ease. The shorter boy charged in with a thrust that held the full extent of his hate. His Shifu simply stepped aside, allowing the boy to pass before hitting him square in the back.
Mineta fell to one knee before sensing a blow from his right. He threw up his guard and managed to stop it. But with another push from Funghuang, he was knocked to the ground. The shorter boy tried to get up. Only to find the dark wood of his master's staff pressed against his chest.
"Is that the only thing you feel about him?" She asked somberly. Mineta was about to answer 'yes' until a strange apprehension hit him. He didn't know what it was about this question that had him stuck. But it did, however, remind him of the first time he meditated with Fenghuang. It reminded Mineta of how he blinded himself with shame.
Was… Was he blinded by all the built up resentment towards Bakugou?
Before he could answer, Fenghuang quickly leapt away as a flash of green sparks flew over head. Mineta blinked and saw Midoriya's reliable back shielding him. He quickly looked to where his Shifu was and saw his classmates stepping into the fray. They had her surrounded on all sides, beginning a standoff.
"It's alright Mineta-kun, we've sent Aoyama-kun and Hagakure-san to get help. We'll be holding her right here until the teachers come." Midoriya said, tightening his combat stance.
"And don't think we'll hesitate just because you're a Pro Hero. Mineta-chan's our friend and classmate. We won't idly stand by and see him get hurt like this." Tsuyu said as she crouched down.
"So will you please explain what's going on?" Iida shouted, his engines revving up.
Fenghuang didn't answer, but she did maintain her intense aura. In fact, she wasn't looking at anyone else except Mineta. And as the shorter boy stared back, he saw that she was waiting for a response. But with all the tension in the air, he could hardly think of something to say. For now, he should try to diffuse the situation.
"Oh screw this!" Kaminari shouted. A 'boom' soon followed. The world slowed as Mineta began turning to the sound's source.
Kaminari had fired the cannon Yaoyorozu had created and manned, startling the girl. The fired net began opening up, but not before Fenghuang readied her staff. And in one smooth motion, she swung at the ensnaring projectile. The staff caught one of the various loops and began dragging it out of its intended path. She then began whirling her staff around, making the net look like an odd flag.
She turned and weaved the net in front of her, catching and dispersing a jet of flame from Todoroki. She then flung the burning mass right onto a lunging Dark Shadow. As the living shadow pulled away shrieking, Tsuyu shot her tongue out as Sero launched tape from the opposite side. Fenghuang leaned away from both attacks before slapping the non sticky side of Sero's tape. This caused the tape to adhere onto Tsuyu's tongue, forcing both to be stuck.
Fenghuang jumped to avoid a three sided attack from Iida, Kirishima, and Ojiro. The three barely stopped themselves from hitting each other, though they still crashed into one another. Fenghuang landed on Sero's tape, feet resting on the non sticky side. Her eyes then snapped to Jirou, whose jacks were coming in fast.
Mineta couldn't even see what happened next. Because when he blinked, Jirou's jacks were caught between Fenghuang's index, middle, and ring fingers. The heroine pulled on them, leapt into the air, and kicked her staff, hitting Jirou square in the chest. Fenghuang landed and charged at Kouda, who was readying commands for some pigeons. She threw feint right at his face, causing him to flinch and scared the birds away.
The Heroine proceeded to pull the boy forward a step and vaulted over him. But before Kouda could recover, a thick layer of ice encased his feet. Fenghuang then performed a sweeping kick the moment she touched the ground. This allowed her to avoid a break dance kick from Mina while knocking away the arms that supported the pink girl. And as she fell down, Fenghuang stood up to stop an overhead staff strike from Yaoyorozu. The Heroine then grabbed the Vice President's hand and twisted it a certain way, forcing her to let go of her weapon.
Fenghuang immediately took the length of metal and threw it several steps in front of Kaminari. The staff embedded itself into the ground before the electric blonde discharged electricity towards her. All the energy, however, didn't hit the Heroine. Instead, it all went into the rod and harmlessly into the ground. Uraraka, Midoriya, Shouji, and Ojiro proceeded to charge into fight. The tailed boy was notably wielding Fenghuang's staff in an attempt to use it against her.
But when his attack went in first, she stopped it and twisted the shaft in a peculiar way. The black and white staff separated into three parts, each connected by a short chain. Fenghuang grabbed the furthest piece and bent it around, forcing Ojiro release and back off to avoid damage. Now with this three section staff, she wrapped two parts of it around Uraraka's incoming hand and forced her in Midoriya's direction.
The green haired boy went stiff, stopping his One for All fueled kick. Fenghuang then pushed Uraraka into the poor boy, causing them to crash. She then fluidly ducked away from Shouji's multi armed grab, slipping behind him. With her staff combined again, Fenghuang's first strike hit the back of his knee before the next struck the giant square in his back. Shouji fell face first into the concrete but began to scramble up as Fenghuang began contending with Kirishima and Satou.
Mineta continued to watch as his classmates got back up and continued charging into the fray. Despite the odds that were stacked against them, they continued to fight on. However, Mineta knew they weren't doing this because they thought they could win. Rather, it was because they were protecting the things that mattered to them. Anybody who watched how hard they were trying could see that.
They were being the Heroes Mineta saw them as.
Something about that thought clicked with his mind. And as he began thinking about Fenghuang's question from earlier, things started to become clear. Mineta got up from the concrete and stared at the frantic melee in front of him. He had to find a way to stop this and give his answer. And as if hearing his prayers, a black blur dashed past him.
Class 1A stopped and backed off as a new fighter came onto the scene. Fenghuang immediately raised her staff and blocked the kick to her head. And now things have slowed down, Mineta was able to see the scraggly hair of their ever tired homeroom teacher.
"Aizawa-sensei!" They all cheered.
"… Don't you think you're sampling UA's curricular freedom a little too much?" Aizawa asked as he leapt back.
"It was the only way to get my point across. But I suppose I've been a tad excessive. I apologize for that." Fenghuang said before deeply bowing.
"Excuse me?" Uraraka asked as Midoriya helped her up. Hagakure and Aoyama nervously stepped onto the roof, ready to fight. But seeing everyone standing around doing nothing threw them for a loop. Things began to clear up when Fenghuang began to impart her wisdom upon them.
"Sometimes to find ourselves, we must leave the comfort and conformity of our lives. This sudden spar was to do just that and challenge your way of thinking. So, what new thoughts do you have on Bakugou Katsuki my young pupil?" She replied before turning to Mineta. All eyes fell onto the shorter boy as he took a deep breath.
"Ever since I met him, I hated Bakugou. And for the longest time, I thought it was just because he was a dick. But after I saw how you guys fought, the truth started to become clear. Unlike me, everyone here is amazing. More often than not, I get jealous of your Quirks, strength, drive, t-the way you guys l-look…" Mineta began, trailing off at the end.
"Why our appearance though?" Tokoyami asked.
"Look at me; I'm a meter tall rat bitch. Why wouldn't I be jealous of you beautiful bastards? But that's not the point I'm trying to get to. Besides all those, I was more impressed by how you guys treated each other. No one acted like the world revolved around them. And while there was plenty of teasing and joking… None of you did it to be mean or anything. You were just being good friends, good Heroes to each other." Mineta continued, looking to his classmates.
"I… Don't think I should count. I ignored everyone in the beginning." Todoroki replied as he stared at his left hand.
"Don't be so hard on yourself Todoroki-san. Keeping us out of your personal grudge was, in some way, you looking out for us. You didn't want to burden us with your deep seeded troubles." Yaoyorozu said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Ever since the Sports Festival, 1A slowly pieced together, as much as they could, about Todoroki's situation. And while the specifics were still under wraps, they had a general idea about what happened between Todoroki, his family, and Endeavor. As a result, they do their best to both understand and encourage him. But that story was for another day.
Todoroki nodded to the girl, mulling over her words until Mina let out a noise of realization.
"Wait! Then the reason you hate Bakugou is because… He's a jerk?" Mina asked, unsure if she even reached the right conclusion.
"Bakugou has everything… A strong Quirk, relentless drive, overwhelming power, a striking appearance… He's arguably the strongest person in our class. And in that sense, I kind of admire him. Who wouldn't want to be like him? But when you start looking at him like a Hero, things start falling apart. Bakugou's violent, curses like a sailor, and self serving beyond any measure. He's a far cry from what I feel a real Hero is!" Mineta answered.
Stain came to mind as the shorter boy finished that last sentence. It sort of made him feel disgusted to know he was resonating with the Hero Killer. But how could he not agree? Bakugou was everything a Hero isn't. He was just a Villain who had really good publicity. He was the living proof of how the ideals of a Hero have changed.
It was frustrating to think that Bakugou was what people wanted. Leaving the Heroes that stood on this rooftop unknown and underappreciated.
"… A broken pedestal really does ruin a lot." Midoriya said as he approached Mineta. All eyes shifted to the green haired boy as he crouched down to his partner. He then laid a hand on Mineta's shoulder.
"I know how that feels Mineta-kun. To see someone you look up to break you down… It's rough. My mental image of Kacchan shattered more times than I could remember. However, there's a reason I still consider him my friend. There's a thing that Kacchan rarely does… But when you see it, you can't help but feel differently about him. Right Kirishima-kun?" Midoriya said as he turned to his red haired classmate.
"Oh yeah, it's quite something." He answered with a toothy smile.
"But… Sometimes don't you just wish things were a little more obvious?" Mineta asked.
"Things in life never are. You either seek out the answers or wait for them to come. I prefer the former, but the latter can sometimes be unavoidable." Aizawa answered with a yawn.
"Remember when we talked about gardening, my young pupil?" Fenghuang asked. The memories of those days spent patrolling Inuito city were still fresh in Mineta's mind. He could not forget the wisdom his Shifu had so graciously imparted onto him. So with those negative feelings mellowing out, he gave her a resolute nod.
"I do Shifu."
A new resolve found its way into Mineta's heart. And though he still hated Bakugou, the shorter boy aimed to try to understand him a little better. He wanted to see what it was that Midoriya and Kirishima saw. He wanted to clear all the pain and despair Bakugou caused. He wanted to finally move on from their turbulent past and face a better future.
A future where Mineta could rely on him too…
"Keep this in mind my young pupil and I'm certain that things will change. Now, as for the rest of you, allow me to comment on your performance today. Starting with… You." Fenghuang said before turning her attention to the rest of 1A, pointing towards Kaminari. The inspiration of the moment died right then and there. What replaced it was a looming terror called professional criticism.
"Please don't…" Kaminari begged, hoping the Radiant Wing would skip this part.
"Please do. Tell them exactly what went wrong." Aizawa said plainly, gesturing for Fenghuang to continue. For the rest of lunch, Mineta partook in another incredible yet harrowing ordeal. His two masters, old and new, had joined forces to teach Class 1A a lesson.
Needless to say, no one survived…
And that has been Chapter 54!
Honestly, I have no idea what to put here. I've been planning out some later chapters, gutting my heart in the process, and my mind is currently drawing a blank. So I guess I'll just throw out some of my thought processes when writing this chapter.
One, no matter who it was against, I firmly believe1A would step in to protect their classmates. And yes, that includes Mineta.
Two, despite being outnumbered, Fenghuang is a Pro Hero with at least three decades of experience. She could, with certainty, take on the relatively inexperienced 1A. If you have difficulty believing this, imagine this same scenario with Aizawa instead.
Three, Bakugou, despite being an exploding turd, is actually pretty complicated. I would explain why, but I don't have the space and there are already tons of Youtube videos on the subject.
Four, Aizawa will never ignore a chance to teach his class a lesson. Especially not when Fenghuang's there to back him up with her own cryptic wisdom.
Any how, that's all I have for this week. On the next update, it'll be the end of the term as 1A prepares for the challenge known as TESTS. So with that said...
Until Next Time. T1.