Mineta's Redemption

Chapter Six: The Moment of Truth

Two days had passed since Mineta and Yanagi had their workout date together and the following day in class was quite eventful for him. Not only had Mina and the other girls seen Yanagi go up to Mineta's dorm several days earlier and then seen them work out together more recently, but the class as a whole was starting to notice that Minoru was, believe it or not, not being a perv! They didn't miss the old him, of course, but several 1A class members almost felt like asking who he was and what did he do with the real Mineta. He was on a role and wanted to keep it that way so he did his best to just act like he didn't notice it.

As he sat at his desk facing forward, however, Tsuyu walked up to him before class began. The looks on their faces were a mix of surprise and skepticism that he hasn't really changed even though they wanted to believe it and wanted to confront him about it.

"Mineta-chan, I remember at the Christmas party I told you that if you wanted to get girls you should at least change your tactics so I really hope this latest string of good behavior of yours is sincere. Kero! I don't know Yanagi well but by all accounts, she's a good person and is doing well overall in her hero training. Drop this now if you haven't really changed or else it won't be just her that gets hurt."

Minoru suddenly furrows his brow in anger.

"Look Tsu, I've been a terrible person in the past and you helped me see that. But as bad as my previous behavior was, even I didn't meddle in the affairs of other girls once I knew they were actually dating someone. I'd appreciate it if you'd extend the same courtesy to me."

She suddenly blushed in slight embarrassment and went back to sit down and Aizawa got up from his sleeping bag right after to begin his next lecture.

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As lunch hour began, he and Kaminari walked into the cafeteria and noticed the Reiko was sitting by herself. She didn't seem lonely per se, but it suddenly seemed like an opportunity for him to spend time with her. She also looked especially nicely dressed today to add to the appeal. "Dude, go sit next to her! This is your chance!" Mineta started tensing up but was thrilled at the opportunity. "All right man, here goes nothing." "You got this buddy! I'll root for you! I gotta find Jiro-chan now. See ya."

He walks over to Yanagi and he waves to her. She in turn smiles at him. "Hey, nice to see you again. How has class been for you?" She asks. "Kinda boring to be honest. Not because I didn't understand anything, it was simple enough to follow, but I couldn't stop thinking of you. You may have kicked my butt at video games the other day, but it actually made me happy to play against someone for once." The two of them both blush.

"Well hey, it's been a while since the last time I've been challenged that much when gaming in a while. I'd be more than happy to play against you again when we have a chance. Though I do need to keep up with my training." She responds. "Yeah me too, shall we help one another at the gym again later today?" "It's a date." She smiles and he feels like he's on cloud nine.

Moments later, however, the scheming Neito Monoma walks into the cafeteria and sees the two of them together for the first time. He freaks out in a mix of shock and anger. Of all things for him to see, this was an absolute abomination in his sight. "Reiko-chan, what on earth are you doing with this vagabond?! 1A class members are the enemy! Even worse is that you two are acting like you're a thing now! How can you be seen with him!? Even if he was in class B he'd still be the most untrustworthy guy in our class!"

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Seriously, drop it with the class rivalry stuff already. You're the only one who cares that much about it. And for the record, Mineta has been a nice guy to me. He's really worked hard at the gym and we have a lot in common. Leave us alone!"