Mineta's Redemption

Chapter Three: The Workout

 About an hour had passed since the time Kaminari talked to Mineta about seeing if Kirishima would be available as a workout buddy. He was about to go upstairs to his room when suddenly he noticed that Kirishima was about to exit the elevator. He was dressed in UA gym clothes and looked like he was about to start stretching.

"Oh hey Mineta." He says casually as he starts waving his arms around in circles to start warming up for a workout.

"Just the man I wanted to see! I know this is kinda random because you and I haven't really talked that much before, but do you mind if I join you in whatever it is you're about to do?"

"No problem at all! I was gonna go run for half an hour and hit the weights with Tetsutetsu after that. You think you can keep up with me?"

"Uh I hope so. I've never seen your workouts before. You mind if I get my gym clothes on too?"

"No problem! Just make it quick though. I have a schedule I need to keep."

Mineta starts running up the stairs and gets to his room. He looks for his gym clothes but gets distracted again. It had been a couple days since the last time his lustful mind had noticed the scantily clad posters of various women and was tempted to indulge himself with checking out their curves again.

Wait a minute! Stop right there! Don't fall into this trap again! You were going to go work out remember??

Just in the nick of time, he spotted his gym clothes wrinkled in a pile next to his bed and threw them on and then hurried out the room without looking back. Damn, that was a close one! He thought.

He made it back down stairs and Kirishima was just about to walk out the door. "Oh there you are! Alright, let's get going!"

They both make it out the door and Eijiro starts running immediately after. Mineta was running at about 110% of his usual capacity just to keep up and had to slow down. "Hey, um, I'm sorry. You mind going a little slower? I can barely keep up with you."

"Oh sure. I suppose a brisk jog can help save my strength for weight training later. So what is it you want to accomplish anyway?" Kirishima asks.

"I'm by far the weakest member of our class and I think the girls will start being nicer to me if I get stronger."

Kirishima stops suddenly. "I hate to break it to you buddy but strength alone isn't going to change that. Your reputation with the ladies is as bad as it is because you look at them like they're pieces of meat instead of people. That's very un-manly bro!"

"Yeah...I gathered as much. How is it I'm the only one that gets dumped on for this though? You can't possibly tell me I'm the only one that's ever thought about sex before!"

The two of them start back up again running.

"Of course everyone thinks about it a little bit. But I've learned to appreciate the ladies for who they are, not just how they look. Besides, I've become so focused on hero training that it rarely crosses my mind these days. Maybe , just maybe, the same can happen for you too. How about this? Can you name me a single feature about the ladies that doesn't have to do with their appearance? Start there."

It actually took some time before anything came to him.

"Well...Tsu is usually blunt but always says something to give helpful advice."

"There you go! Think of something else!" he says as they continue running.

"Uraraka always seems happy and makes others happy with her presence. Jiro is an excellent musician. And Momo has gotten better with making good decisions in simulated battles lately."

"Way to go buddy! I knew you had it in you! Anyway, how about we head over to the weight room and start a few sets of bench pressing?"

"Uh ok. I hope I don't embarrass myself in there. It's been a while."

"Gotta start somewhere. It's okay if you aren't strong enough. Staying weak is the mindset you have to shed."

"Yeah you're right. I'll at least go for surpassing my max with bench pressing."

"Alright! Plus Ultra Mineta! I'll race you there!"

_____

The combined weight of the bar and other weights he was lifting was only a hundred pounds, but for someone that's only three and a half feet tall and not very strong anyway, it was taking everything he had.

"Come on MIneta! Push through this!" yelled Kirishima as he spotted him. He was about half way done to lifting and was struggling but just managed to finally lift it to the top. He was panting heavily but felt a sense of accomplishment.

"Alright! I knew you could pull through! Let's go hit the dumbbells now!"

Mineta continues panting. "How on earth do you guys do this so easily??"

"It never is easy. I may be way ahead of you, but pushing my limits is something I'm used to doing now. That's how I unlocked my unbreakable mode!"

Mineta sighs. Nevertheless, he sucks it up and grabs some 15lb dumbbells while Kirishima grabs some 50lbers and keep lifting. Although he had much smaller weights, he resolved within himself that he'd keep going until Kirishima stop his reps. He knew he was in for some pain, but he knew he had to step it up. Eijiro sensed this and didn't want to lose either, so he kept lifting until about ten minutes had passed and his muscles were finally spent. Mineta just barely managed to lift each dumbbell once more and then collapsed on the ground.

"Nice going Mineta! You outlasted me with your max. Way to step it up!"

"Thanks." He says continuing to pant hard on the floor. "I haven't been pushed like this in a long time. I should've started doing this instead of watching hentai after class. It's nice to hear someone actually believe in me!"

"Glad I could help! I need a few more minutes to rest but let's do some leg strengthening after that!"

Off in the distance on the other side of the gym, a young woman from class 1B watched them from afar and took notice of Mineta. She wasn't smitten or anything; in fact she'd been disgusted by him in their brief encounters with one another in the past, but something about his sudden streak of changed behavior was to her a mix of intriguing and something to respect. She'd noticed him at the class competition from a few weeks ago and was becoming more curious.