Chapter Text
Pain.
That’s all I felt as my world turned to black.
Lights.
The only thing I saw before I was plunged into darkness.
And now… now I felt… fine?
What the hell?
And why do I feel… lighter? Smaller?
The sound of cars coming from outside the window reach my ears and my senses stir awake before my eyes open. The smell of musk hits my nose and I scrunch up, the smell not flattering in the least.
Opening my eyes, I look up and am faced with… a midnight poster?
The fuck?
Sitting up from my bed, that seems to be a full size, I came face to face with walls of costumed females from.. My Hero Academia?
Miruko, Mt. Lady, Ryukyu, hell, there was an Uwabami magazine on the desk in front of me.
Who the hell would even-… no… nonononononono
My head was in shambles as I scrambled out of bed and ran into the bathroom-
How did I know this was the bathroom?
- and stared in the mirror, only to see… okay who the fuck was this?
I mean, subconsciously I knew exactly who was staring back at me in the reflection, but I just couldn’t believe it.
This couldn’t be… Mineta?
No, no, absolutely NOT! The Mineta I remembered was a dwarf with balls for hair and a libido that was three times his size.
THIS Mineta? He was… actually kinda solid. He definitely wasn’t… somewhat nice to look at in the face, in this version. He wasn’t a dwarf, he was… tall.
Okay not tall, but definitely taller! The fact that this version didn’t need the step stool that was in front of the sink he was leaned over definitely told me this. I couldn’t put an exact height on it, but I could safely say he was around 5 feet. Not the tallest person, but officially not the shortest anymore. That now belonged to Tsuyu.
The final change that was really getting to me, however, was the hair.
No like, ACTUAL HAIR! Not balls for hair or whatever that shit was. Purple, kind of fluffy, almost like Izuku’s or Mina’s but more… tamed. And looking more closely, the spheres were still there, just… mixed in with the actual hair now. It was also, pretty long, dipping just below the shoulders.
Not gonna lie, whatever parallel universe this was, it wasn’t-
PAIN.
Grabbing my head once again, pain shot through it. Behind my eyes, images and words flashed, like a camera film that was just fast forwarding through and filling my brain with a shit ton of info at the same time.
It felt like shit, if you were wondering.
In the images, I saw… well I saw Mineta, but… it was different. The images… they were not what I was expecting to see, and they just kept coming.
A baby Mineta, a mother- his mother - holding him in her arms, tears-lots of tears-, broken bottles, hospital beds, his mother in the hospital beds, laughter, fingers pointing, fist, feet, dirt, blood-
And then it stopped.
I gasped for air, trying to find the pier to breathe again.
It was too much. It was… it was hell.
My breath came back but… what was that?
No… no that’s a stupid ass question, I know exactly what that was.
It was… memories. Mineta’s memories. And it was tough to stomach.
But if his memories were in my head then… then…
Fuck…
Now it was coming back.
What happened right before it black.
I was crossing the street. Coming back from class. I went to a vocational school and was on my way back to apartment when… a car decided that stopping at the stop sign was optional. Fucking California drivers. So if I was here now, then…
I guess… back in the real world, I died.
Shit…
Fuck this is…. not how I expected to go out of I’m being honest. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of death. It’s always been one of those things that never scared me in itself.
What scared me was dying before I got to do anything I really wanted to do… to properly live my dreams…
Fuck I… I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my mom!
Taking a deeper breath, I look back in the mirror, coming face to face with one that isn’t my own. The only explanation is one that I didn’t even think possible. Who would’ve thought that some made up anime shit would actually happen in real life? What happened?
Well… I got isekai’d… into My Hero Academia… into the body of fucking Mineta… perfect.
——————————————————————
Admittedly, it didn’t take me long to calm down and really settle my thoughts-well OUR thoughts- it was still really ducking confusing, if I’m being honest. It’s like, like I had my old memories, but… also new ones of Mineta- fuck I AM Mineta now so there’s no need to really differentiate.
Whooo boy, this is… not a fun experience like they make it look in anime or mangas.
Okay so, o have his memories, which means I know what he knows. And boy is this so fucking weird.
For the most part, there isn’t too many discrepancies between what’s been in the anime/manga and what’s in my head now from Mineta’s view of things. Start of the year, USJ, Sports Festival, Stain incident (which he found out by being sneaky, being little has its advantages) training camp, Provisional Licenses, Overhaul getting his shit pushed in, Culture Fest, ooh he learned some good things with the Lurkers in his internship with Denki, Sero and Ibara, and then… the war.
Okay this is where things get a little funky. There was… a lot that went on. But the main thing I see is that… wait Midoriya is still in class?! Wait and All For One is… dead?! Wait back the fuck up- what is going on here?!
The images flash and information fills my brain again as it only comes as a mild headache this time and the answer comes to me.
After the war arc, would’ve been the escapees arc, but in this version… it didn’t go as planned. Tartarus is very much a high security penitentiary, so it would function in theory like one should. Except in the manga, it was very easily broken into and broken out of in the same chapter.
Well in this version, when they tried to break in, they found much more.. resistance to say the least. They had already planned in advance and put a kill switch in AFO’s cell had power been magically lost or if he even attempted to get out. It was swift and without mercy.
Shiggy and his band of merry psychos got pinned down, but the lunatic escaped. Dabi was at large, Toga was as well Skeptic, but everyone else had either been captured, or in the case of Spinner, dead. He had gotten a little too overzealous and had gotten a few well placed bullets and didn’t survive those injuries. There was also word that a few inmates had escaped, but no word was given, at least to Mineta’s knowledge, of who they were. I had a feeling I knew exactly who the few names were but only time would tell.
After the war, the students and the remaining pros that stuck around after the were basically on call to patrol for the coming weeks. Classes were on hold, basically halting the students from moving up in grade except the third years, who had already graduated before spring break started. The incoming freshman also weren’t here as of yet, which is what led to what currently was happening.
Currently, in this timeline, the students were given a break. The pro heroes were getting back into the swing of patrols, even with the mass amounts of retirements across Japan. U.A and other schools like Shiketsu had their students take a two week break so they could get some much needed R&R while they prepare to start the new school year properly this time. Originally, the students were to stay on campus by word of the board, but after some deliberation by Nezu, we were allowed to go home and rest there, at least until we had to move back in to the dorms. Some chose to stay, and others like Mineta went home, though seeing what his home life was like, I had to question why, but a story for later, it was… a lot to process.
When I died in the real world, the manga was on its final arc, supposedly. But I was basically flying blind now in this new world. Had I got pushed into say, the beginning of the year, I could at least try and fix some things, but now? Now I was just as out of the loop as everyone else, which was so agitating. So not how I wished to Isekai’d.
But there was a bigger problem to solve at the moment that needed all my attention…
Mineta had no clothes I could fit. Apparently, him hitting a very unnatural growth spurt was not knowledge to him as he thought he’d be the short little midget boy forever. Which meant I needed to borrow clothes, but bothering Mineta’s old man for some was firmly out of the question. And to be honest, I didn’t feel like knocking someone out today either.
So that meant I had to call someone to drop off some clothes. Oh goodie!
Picking up the cell phone from the desk, I open the contacts and immediately scroll to Midoriya’s contact info and right before I hit the call button, I freeze.
Why… why did I go straight to Midoriya’s number? Why not Denki and Sero?
Well, there was a story behind that one too. Canon really didn’t show much of the background and other peoples stories that much or just didn’t show what was deemed unimportant. A part of what they didn’t show was Mineta and Izuku having a very close friendship.
What Mineta and Izuku initially talked to each other over was the USJ incident. Then, off screen, one day at lunch, Mineta sits with the Izukrew at lunch and finds out, him and Midoriya actually have more in common than they would’ve originally thought. Out of that bloomed a pretty awesome friendship if I do say so myself. While Mineta didn’t really have much in the way to reach Midoriya except introduce him to some popular, umm.. adult stars and explicit content, Midoriya gave him confidence. He gave him a purpose and something to strive for other than being popular with the ladies.
Mineta wanted to be as great of a hero that Izuku was. Becuase despite them being the same age and in the same school training for the same goal, they were not in the same league. Mineta recognized that and actively chased it in the ways that we provided to him. Granted, his size was a very big factor in him not getting as far as he could, but he still pushed all the same. It’s why when the opportunity to intern with Mt. Lady and the Lurkers came up, his overall fear of his previous experience with the heroine was outweighed by his need to prove himself.
It was… honestly very heartwarming. Yeah he had a good friendship with Kami and Sero, hell Kami was his best friend. They had the most in common and he was the only one besides Izuku to never judge him for his lewd behavior but rather see the person underneath. Those were the two friendships he values the most and he wouldn’t change that for anything.
But Izuku was the name my hand hovered over. Why? Well, deep down, Mineta, no, I didn’t want Kami to see my home life. It was a part that he didn’t know of and Mineta was scared that Kami would treat him differently had he known. But with Izuku? He didn’t have those reservations. Because he knew Izuku would still look at him the same way… after the initial shock of seeing him taller of course.
Breathing out a sigh, he clicked the call button and waited for Izuku to pick up. Thankfully, he did.
“Mineta? What’s up?”
“Hey man, uh, are you busy?” The hell was I so nervous for. Just speak normally! There was nothing overly unusual about Mineta and his speech pattern. Well, at least not now.
“Nothing, just in the dorms. You okay?” He sounded slightly concerned over the phone and that made me smile genuinely. Always worried about others.
“Yeah I’m good, we’ll that’s a lie. I’m not really all the way good- it’s hard to explain. You’re basically a small shirt and pants size right?”
“Uhh yeah ?” I could alamar picture a look of confusion on his face right now. “Did you need some clothes? Can you even fit my clothes?”
“It’s why I called you. I kinda… hit a growth spurt” the line was dead silent after that. I assumed he was processing that information.
“Like.. how big of a growth spurt? Can’t be that big, I mean the average person with dwarfism only grows to be like 4’3, it can’t be-“
“Midoriya, I’m pretty sure I’m around Tsuyu’s height now” I interrupt and I swear I can hear a record scratch somewhere. “I also need a pair of shoes. I know you said your like a size ten. I look like a nine-nine and a half. Can you come over and drop them off for me? Please? I’d rather not have to go around naked while I shop for clothes”
“Uh… uh-yeah! Y-yeah I can do that. Just u-uh, just text me the address and I can be there. I’m authorized to leave campus by myself now so it shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll see you soon?”
“Yeah. Thanks Midoriya. You’re a good friend” I say as I hang up and then flop back down onto the bed.
That was… something.
I know what some of you are thinking too. Did Midoriya not leave U.A and go out villain hunting? That is in fact exactly what happened.
In this timeline, all the students managed to intercept him before he and All Might and could sneak out the hospital and pleaded him not to leave. It was there that he shared the details of his quirk with the whole class and all that applied with it. How much danger we all would be in.
And it didn’t matter. The class stuck by him anyway. It was a fairly emotional affair, spearheaded by Ochako, who was the final nail in the coffin of Izuku deciding not to go rogue. He had since been on house arrest basically until while they searched for any sign of Shigaraki. He was still out there somewhere and of what Izuku said was true and he could be sensed through OFA, then it was truly a problem. But Nezu was not an idiot, at least not in this AU. He had made UA an impenetrable fortress that, like in the manga, housed refugees and families affected. There was some pushback on letting Izuku into the gates of U.A, but it was quickly put to bed by All Might and Nezu themselves and truthfully? What were they gonna say to the man (chimera? Thing) that was in charge of their safety? They had to suck it up. And knowing Nezu and Aizawa, who just got cleared out the hospital not too long ago, he was definitely gonna have a escort or a tail on him while he was out and about.
.
.
.
Fuck, I have to clean up before he gets here too. Looking at my phone to check the time, I nod my head and get up, opening my door and peaking my head out. Making sure the coast is clear, I move, traveling down the stairs, where I’m met by a sight I wasn’t expecting.
A man, who seemed to be about a good foot taller than I was and had flowing purple hair that was tied into a braid. Dark violet eyes and what could only be described as the face of someone who wanted to be anywhere but here.
He looked up from taking bottles off the table to lock eyes with me, widening for a second before they return back to normal.
“Was wondering when you were gonna hit that growth spurt” he says as he continues to pick up the trash.
This man, is Mineta Keiji, my uncle on my-Mineta’s- mothers side. Best friends with my dad since they were kids. He’s been coming over periodically since mom died a few years back, basically being the only thing that’s keeping dad from joining her in a grave.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask as I walk up, grabbing a trash bag and helping him clean.
“The whole dwarf thing? Quirk side effect. Thank you grandpa Kenji” he said the last part under his breath, but the only thing I was, was confused. So this height thing was… genetic? The fuck?
“Wait wait wait, so… so I was never gonna stay a midget my whole life?” He answered that with a shrug before he verbalized an answer.
“I mean the chances were high. Grandpa had a collection of kids, a few stayed dwarves, but the majority of us hit the growth like we were supposed to”
“So what the hell was his quirk that it literally effected his damn near all his descendants?”
“It was called Growth. Very on the nose, I know” he added, seeing my unimpressed face. “They weren’t that creative with names back then. He was born a Dwarf, but with his quirk he could grow himself to be… I’d say around where I’m at now”. Keiji himself was around 175 cm in height, so that was around average. Still a big jump from anything under 4 feet though.
“So this is a thing everyone on that side of family goes through?” I asked. If that was the case, maybe I’d still grow.
“Yeah kid. You might stay on the shorter side since your dad and mom are pretty small regardless though”.
That… was probably true. Dad was a solid 167 cm and mom was around 158 cm. The best I could hope for was something in between there unless I was an anomaly.
“Well… that’s not too terrible I guess. I can still grow a few more inches” I said more to myself.
“I was concerned a little when you hadn’t woken up yesterday, but then I remembered the process takes a while, plus it wasn’t like you weren’t busy before then. Still, two days is a long time”
Uh… what?
“I was out for TWO DAYS?!” He nodded before continuing.
“The process isn’t something that can just happen in one go. It’s a process that’ll take a little bit. It would take grandpa a solid 5 minutes to go back and forth from small to big, but that was in his older years. I could only imagine what it was like when he was still training it to at least get to a height that wouldn’t get him bullied” he said this with a slight edge in his voice. Of course. If we all started out as dwarves then it now made sense what mom would say.
That wasn’t what really threw me off though. It was something that else entirely really.
It was the fact that no one had reached out in those two days. Hell not even Denki and he was Mineta’s-my best friend. Granted he had his own life and things to do, but still. It hurt a little bit. But it was a concern for later.
“That’s why mom said it’d get better eventually, huh?”
“Yeah. You’re mom had it rough growing up before her spurt hit. Kids are cruel” he sounded like he was speaking from experience.
“A heads up still would’ve nice. Would’ve made it a little easier” I more mutter this to myself, but he still hears me and sighs.
“I should’ve yeah”
We moved in silence after that, only really saying to get by here or there.
It didn’t take long until the trash was cleaned up and we moved into the kitchen.
“I think your dad should have some stuff that fits in his room” I look at him questioningly, and he shakes his head at me. “He’s not here. I managed to get him to work this time”.
Well that’s a surprise.
“My friends coming over to drop me off some stuff” he nodded before returning to the fridge and pulling out some bacon and eggs. American style? Not complaining, considering I was one… well partially now I guess?
This was still way too confusing.
“You good kid? You don’t seem all there” he looked at me, slight concern etched into his face.
“Yeah just, still processing. Honestly thought I’d be stuck like that my whole life”
“Heh, yeah I get that. But there are advantages at the very least. Easier to slip away and be unnoticeable”
“Yeah well I also inherited dads big mouth so” I add with a shrug and he laughs slightly at that.
“Well now the playing field is at least a little more even. I’m sure there were things that were harder for you because of your size. Hopefully now the burden is lighter” he told me before going back to the cooking.
And maybe he was right. In more ways than one actually.
I still… wasn’t fully on board with this whole isekai thing, but it was seeming more and more likely that it was actually gonna be a real thing.
And reallly, this was my second chance. In my old life. I hadn’t really done anything of importance. I was 26, nearly 27, and my future was… well not all too bright. There was a light sure, but it was very much dim.
With this? With this I might’ve had a real opportunity to do something worthwhile. I mean, being a hero wasn’t really high on my priority list yeah, but I wasn’t majorly against it. Though that could be the mineta side of me talking more than the Vonte side of me talking right now. Both sides were equally parts terrified at everything that had happened and equal parts motivated to keep going. Death was a real possibility now. But being a hero… being a hero was still at my core.
… fuck well, I guess I’m sticking with it huh?