Chapter Text
Mineta gulped as he entered Principal Nedzu’s office. The furry being smiled as he turned to face Mineta.
“Ah, excellent,” Nedzu beamed, “I’m glad you could join us, I’m sure you must still be tired after the Sports Festival, but there is something that needs to be addressed.”
“...Umm…” Mineta paled.
“Simply put…” Aizawa stepped into the room and glanced down at Mineta, “There’s been complaints about your behavior.”
“Um…”
“Oh yes, quite a few, see?” Nedzu’s cheerful tone and smile never vanished as he pulled out a stack of papers and set them on the desk, “I don’t think I have to go over all them, do I?”
“Mineta, why do you want to be a hero?” Aizawa asked as he strolled over to Nedzu’s side.
“....Because I want to help people?” he weakly replied. Mineta withered under Aizawa’s glare, “Because I want to be liked by girls and be popular.”
“Hrm, we tend to see that sort of reason quite often,” Nedzu nodded, “But, do you really think your actions and your words match? Sexual harassment is quite serious, especially for heroes.”
“Um…” Mineta trailed off. That thought never occurred to him, but Nedzu was right.
“But, after speaking with the rest of the staff and some of your fellow classmates, we do have a solution,” Nedzu continued, “You can continue to attend U.A., you can continue to be in Class A-1, but…”
“One more incident and you’re expelled. Period.” Aizawa concluded, “Be grateful, at least some of your classmates stood up for you. Also, you will have to apologize to the entire class once we get back.”
“Is that understood?” Nedzu beamed.
Mineta sat there in silence. Oh god, they’re serious. He thought to himself.
“Mineta? Is that understood?” Nedzu asked again. Mineta could sense the seriousness hidden behind the principal’s cheerful tone.
“Yes sir,”
“Good!” Nedzu beamed, “Well, you best be off before you’re late.”
Teacher and student left the office and walked back to the classroom in silence.
Oh god, what am I going to do now? Mineta thought to himself, No more perving on girls, no more boobies, no more-
“One more thing,” Aizawa broke the silence, “We’re going to be starting internships today as well. The same rules are going to apply to which ever pro hero you pick. So I’d strongly suggest you pick someone you’ll actually learn something from, not just someone who’s pretty. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Aizawa-Sensei.”
“Good.”
The two stopped at the classroom’s door.
“I’ll go in first. Then I’ll tell you to come in and you know what to do.”
“I understand.”
---
“Dude, Midoriya, have you seen Mineta?”
Kaminari and Kirishima crowded around his desk.
“We tried asking everyone else, but no one’s seen him.” Kaminari scratched behind his head, “That and I made a bet with Jirou over whether or not they kicked him out yet.”
“No, I haven’t seen him either,” Midoriya shook his head, “Did something happen to him?”
“I don’t-”
The class fell silent as Aizawa stepped in. The class quickly settled into their seats as Aizawa took his place at the front of the room.
“Alright, before we start, there’s an important announcement that has to be done.”
“Is this about Mineta?” Kaminari asked.
“Yes.”
On que, Mineta shuffled into the room and stood at the front of the class.
“Well?” Aizawa cocked an eyebrow.
Mineta sighed, “I’ve been informed that my behaviour is completely unacceptable, and….”
He trailed off, “I apologize for my actions. I’ve also been told that this is my last warning on the matter.”
“Take your se-”
“Why should we believe you?” Yaoyorozu interrupted, “You-”
“Because I’ll be expelled if there’s another incident.” Mineta responded and shuffled to his seat before anyone else could respond.
“Right. That’s over. Today’s Hero Informatics Session is a little special….”
----
“It’s weird that you didn’t get any nominations, Ashido. You put on a good show,” Ojiro sighed.
“I thought so too…. You guys picked an agency yet?” Uraraka asked.
Mineta sighed as he rested his head on the table.
“....Dude, are you ok?”
Mineta looked up at Kaminari and Asui.
“...Why do you care?”
“Dude, we’re friends….” Kaminari looked at Asui, “You’re friends with him, too, right Asui?”
“I guess. I mean, I don’t hate you, but I don’t really think we’re good friends,” Asui paused, tapping her chin, “I think it’s more…”
“I get it,” Mineta sighed, “....How am I going to live if I have to give up my one true calling in life?”
“....Maybe now you’ll focus on school, ribbet.”
“But what am I going to do now?”
“Maybe you can get an internship with a hot chick?” Kaminari suggested.
“Aizawa-sensei already told me that the last rule also applies to the internship. Otherwise I’d pick Mount Lady.”
“....Of course you would, ribbet.”
“Well…. I’m sure there’s someone on there that can still work for you,” Kaminari shrugged, “What about you Asui?”
“I think I want an aquatic hero. You?”
“I got some ideas….”
Mineta slumped back onto his desk and groaned.
--
“...Mineta?”
“Huh?” Mineta looked up as Aizawa stood above him.
“Your choices for your field training? And don’t say Mount Lady.”
“Um…..” Mineta glanced down at the list of offers and quickly jotted down several names, “Done!”
Aizawa picked up the sheet of paper and looked over it, “Hmm. That one, huh? It might be a good choice for you.”
Aizawa turned and left, leaving the startled student behind.
Oh no, Mineta realized, I just picked them at random!
“Oh man, what am I going to do?”
---
The rest of the week had gone by without incident, much to the relief of the female half of the class and Mineta. Mineta got off the train and started down the street, glancing down at the map in his hand.
“Oh, you chose someone around here too?” A familiar female voice asked him.
Mineta spun around to find Jirou looking down at him.
“...Yeah.”
“Who’d you pick?” Jirou asked, “I don’t think you told anyone.”
“I ended up with Kamui Woods.”
“Really? That’s a weird choice.”
“.....I kind of just picked it at random,” Mineta muttered.
“....You know I can hear you even if you mutter, right?” Jirou sighed, “Listen...About what you said in class…”
“I don’t want to talk about it,”
“I was just going to say that you ought to find a new hobby.”
“Kaminari and Asui said the same thing.”
“Yeah, well think about it this way. If you’ve got a hobby, you might be able to find a girl interested in the same thing. It’s better than acting like a little pervert and creeping everyone out.”
“...Why do you care?”
“Because…” Jirou trailed off, “Because it kind of freaks me out to see you all depressed and mopey like that. Like, I dunno, Tokoyami’s already got the creepy guy thing going on, and we don’t really need another one. Anyway, this is my stop, I’ll talk to you later, alright?”
With a wave, Jirou turned off and entered a building.
“....A hobby? And girls will like me for that?” Mineta muttered to himself, “I never thought of that b-”
“Hey there!” a voice boomed out from behind him. Mineta screamed as he spun around, one hand on his hair.
“...Sorry about that,” Kamui Woods apoligzed, “Didn’t mean to scare you, kid. You’re Mineta Minoru, correct?”
“Um...yeah.”
“Great, I thought you were coming later, I guess I just got the times mixed up. Anyway, let’s get to my office and we can talk more.”
“Yes sir.”
---
Mineta hefted himself into the chair as Kamui Woods sat behind his desk.
“Give me a moment…”
The Pro hero undid his helmet and took it off, revealing a plain looking face and short black hair.
“Right then, before we do anything, I want to just talk with you. Get an idea of who you are and your motivations. I did get to see a bit of you in the Sports Festival, especially that bit at the beginning. Pretty smart using your quirk to bypass the ice like that….Although attaching yourself to that young lady’s….backside was….”
“It was really rude of me.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Kamui Woods coughed, “Aizawa informed me of the, um….restrictions that you’re under. Also, heads up, you really wouldn’t have wanted to intern under Mount Lady, I heard that another student did last semester and she mostly used him as a maid.”
Mineta slumped over in the chair with a groan.
“Hey kid, Mineta, don’t let that get you down. Why did you want to become a hero?”
“....So I could get girls to like me and think I’m cool.”
“....Ah,” Kamui Woods chuckled, “Don’t feel bad about that Mineta, I’m sure a bunch of kids had the same reason. Heck, that’s why I wanted to get into U.A.”
“Really?” Mineta asked in disbelief.
“Sure. I learned from it though. Anyway, let’s go,” Kamui Woods got up, “I want to see what you can do.”
“We’re patrolling?”
“What? No, we’re going to spar. I want to see what you can do.”
Mineta gulped.
---
The week had been the longest of Mineta’s life. Kamui Woods was a relentless teacher, relentless on patrol, and Mineta had ended up dragged into more than one situation the short teen wasn’t prepared for. There were a few incidents where he did manage to perform well; a purse snatcher there, a robbery here. But Kamui Woods made it clear that Mineta’s quirk was best for support and hindering, not out and out combat like many of his classmates. Still, stopping a crime in progress was pretty impressive for him, everything considered.
“What are we doing today, sir?” Mineta asked as he entered the room.
“Today…well, even superheroes need a break,” Kamui Woods responded, “No need for costumes today, we’re gonna do something fun.”
---
Mineta would not consider a hike in the woods fun. He was sweaty, he was tired, and he could have sworn he’d been attacked by every mosquito in Japan. Kamui Woods shook his head as they took another break.
“Are you sure you passed the U.A. Entry Exam?” The hero asked, “Compared to that, this should be nothing.”
“That’s different.”
“Well, it’s only a little further. So let’s get going.”
With a groan, Mineta got back to his feet and continued up the trail.
“What’s the point of this?” Mineta asked.
“The point? Of hiking?” Kamui Woods shrugged, “Sometimes I like to be by myself and think. The woods are quiet, they’re calming. Might just be because I do a lot conservation work on the side...ah here we are.”
The two stepped out into the clearing: the two stood up looking down at a sprawling sea of trees that went on as far as the eye could see. Mineta gasped at the sight.
“It’s a great view isn’t it?” Kamui Woods asked.
“It’s amazing. I’ve never realized how….gorgeous nature can be,” Mineta responded.
“Ha! That’s true,” Kamui Woods laughed.
The two stood there taking in the scene.
“Mineta, here’s some advice. You can’t force being cool, you gotta work there. No one’s gonna think you’re cool if you act like a creepy. Be confident, be friendly, respect people and their boundaries. You’ve got great potential and I want to….You know it dawns on me that I never asked what your Hero name was.”
“It’s….It’s Grape Juice.”
Kamui Woods stared at him in shock.
“You’re calling yourself what?”
“They said I could change it later.”
“...Start thinking of a better one now. But anyway, You’ve got great potential, and I want to be proud of you. Think of this as the first step into a new, better chapter of your life. I want to be able to look back and say ‘I helped Grape Juice become the magnificent hero he is today,’ you know what I mean?”
“Thanks, Kamui Woods.”
“It’s Nishiya.”
“Huh?”
“You can call me Nishiya. I mean, if you feel like it.”
“...Um, I’ll just stick to Kamui Woods, if that’s ok.” Mineta replied.
The pro hero shrugged, “Suit yourself. Now, we need to hike back. It’s a different route, so we can see more and it shouldn’t take as long.”
“Yes sir.”
---
That night Mineta collapsed into bed, thinking over Kamui Wood’s words.
“Hobbies, huh?”
Mineta pulled out his phone and quickly began to type away.
“What do chicks like to do?” he muttered to himself as he typed. The moment he hit search, the screen light up with results.
“Huh that’s….”
He trailed off as he read through the results.
“That’s not a bad idea.”