Mineta's Redemption

Chapter Two: The Conversation

The next day Mineta and Denki Kaminari were going through the motions of their internship at Mt. Lady's agency.

The people Mineta works around have become accustomed to seeing him act a certain way most of the time. It's usually on the lines of fantasizing in his head of wanting to grope an attractive woman, or steal a glance at Mount Lady in her office when she wasn't looking, but today he was completely different.

Not only did he seem a lot more focused on taking care of his janitorial duties around the office that were given to him, but the look in his eyes were that of someone who looked hollow inside. There was a part of them that was glad that Mineta didn't need to be chastised yet today for his usually inappropriate behavior, but it also made them worry. Was he up to something? There was no way to tell, because he also gave off the vibe that he just wanted to be left alone.

Kaminari was the first to notice himself since he knew Mineta better than anyone there, but felt it would be best to wait to ask about it later. Once they returned to the office from their last patrol of the day and submit their latest report to go home, he finally decided to talk to him.

"Hey Mineta, you've been quiet all day! This isn't like you buddy! I can't remember a single time seeing you steal a glance at an attractive woman the entire day! I almost feel like asking you who are you and what have you done with my good friend!"

"What does it matter? I'm never going to get girls no matter what I do."

"Don't say that! You just need to tone down the pervert act several notches! I mean look at me! I'm almost as perverted as you but I learned boundaries and now I'm dating Jiro-chan!"

Mineta just got angrier.

"But you're also much better looking than me! Not to mention your quirk is way more useful for getting a babe!! You think I haven't noticed how much Jiro laughs at you when you go into dummy mode from shooting out too much electricity and how cute she thinks it is?!

"Nobody wants to be with a grape head like me! Seriously, I'm the shortest student in our class, my hero costume makes me look like I'm wearing a diaper, and I look like I have a large intestine on top of my head! Hell, Midoriya and Todoroki weren't even trying that hard to get girlfriends and yet here they are dating two of the hottest girls in our class! Half of that is their looks and the other half is their quirks!"

"Something tells me it's not just that that's bothering you." Responded Kaminari.

Mineta sighs.

"I've done some reflection after what Tsuyu said to me the night of the Christmas party about changing my tactics. But that's just it. I act out that way partly because no one will even notice me anyway if I don't. I'm just one of those classic trouble-makers who does what I do to get attention."

Kaminari stays silent for a minute and then a thought comes to him.

"You may have way better book smarts than me, but I think the answer to your problem lies in surrounding yourself with guys that act like true men. Kirishima is a good example of that. He treats everyone with kindness man or woman, he's always positive, and he works as hard as our class's big three even though his quirk isn't anywhere near as powerful as theirs. Maybe you should try to see if the two of you can work out at the gym some time!"

The wheels in his head start turning.

"Hmm...well I guess it's worth a shot. I haven't even tried talking much to him before. He never seemed to care about getting girls so I never thought we'd have anything in common." Said Mineta.

"Trust me, if you can hang out with him, his influence will help you so much! You've got nothing to lose and I bet he will help you be a stronger hero too.

"Anyway, I better get going here. Jiro and I were planning to go do karaoke tonight after we finish up our homework. I hope this leads to something great for you!"

Kaminari starts jogging away and Mineta feels a little more hopeful. It's a long shot because he's usually busy training with Tetsu tetsu or someone else in class A but it's worth a shot to ask.