It's been about ten minutes since we started fishing.
The deck of the boat was overflowing with fish.
The poor creatures lay there on dry land, flopping around pathetically, gasping for air.
Perhaps the merciful thing would be to put them out of their misery.
But Souko-chan doesn't deliver finishing blows.
Why? Because she's a good girl. Such a good girl that Santa brings her presents every single year. That's why she doesn't attack recklessly.
Go ahead and flop around all you want.
I'll show you a living hell.
"Whoa! Midoriya! One's headed your way!"
A particularly lively fish—or rather, Thug Number One—was dragging his heavy body toward me. Looks like the restraints were too loose. My, my, aren't you energetic?
"You little brat!"
I yanked a newly hooked fish out of the water and launched it at the charging thug.
Shooting a freshly caught fish at a rowdy one! Super exciting!
Yes! Knocked him out cold! Take that! Serves you right!
"Midoriya! One more coming from the front!"
Tsuyu-chan, surveying the area from her elevated position, reported another incoming fish.
I spun to face forward and activated my attraction Quirk at full throttle. Immediately, the recoil hit my arm.
My anchored feet and active arm felt like they were being torn apart, but I held firm through sheer grit, determination, and the indomitable power of a maiden's spirit. Mostly my back muscles.
"Nnnnggghhhaaa!"
As I pulled him from the water, the off-balance thug flailed wildly as he rocketed toward me. But I didn't panic—after all, I'm a super girl.
I immediately positioned my arm in a reaper's arc and struck precisely at the flying thug's neck.
Yes, the ultimate technique exclusive to Japanese maidens, a lady's refinement—the lariat.
The thug slammed into the deck with a wet thwack, eyes rolling back as he foamed at the mouth.
Behold this devastating power.
I sincerely hope all the girls in our class master this finishing move.
"Grape! Restrain him!"
"I-I know!"
While Grape plastered his black spheres all over the prone thug like they were ice on an injury, I took deep breaths to steady myself.
Continuous fishing really takes it out of you.
Even a Grander Souko would struggle.
I wonder if those black spheres are edible?
I'm hungry.
"Midoriya! Last four! Coming from both sides!"
Apparently, the thugs were voluntarily heading toward our boat, wanting to climb aboard.
Well, that's convenient.
Really convenient...
But four at once is too much!
Are you trying to kill me?!
Normal anglers usually go one-on-one, don't they?!
"Fine then! Bring it on! Don't underestimate a perfectly invincible girl! I'll crush all of you at once!"
I poured every ounce of strength into both arms and activated my attraction Quirk—
◇◇◇
The Fishing Operation.
When I first heard Midoriya's plan, I seriously questioned her sanity. Because it was a strategy that put me and Midoriya on the front lines.
Midoriya's plan was simple, with two parts.
First: Midoriya would use her attraction Quirk to pull villains out of the water.
Second: I would restrain the villains once they were on the boat using my Quirk.
The former was fine, but the latter meant I'd be standing in the line of fire, so I flatly refused. I mean, come on—restraining them means getting close, which is dangerous, and I might end up being resented.
When I said Tsuyu could handle the restraints, I was told there was no rope or anything to tie them with, and besides, Tsuyu had to provide overall support and serve as Midoriya's eyes since Midoriya couldn't move. So that was a no-go.
Also, I was told that while it would be the most dangerous role, if I didn't do it, I'd become fish food. The look in her eyes told me she was dead serious.
I still wasn't convinced and complained some more, but then Midoriya started explaining her Quirk.
Midoriya has two Quirks.
One breathes fire. The other attracts objects.
The one she'd be using for this operation was the attraction Quirk, but apparently it wasn't omnipotent.
Her Quirk can only attract things that weigh less than she does. If the target is heavier than her, she gets pulled toward it instead. And using her Quirk on heavier objects puts massive strain on her body, leaving her unable to respond to anything else.
The problem of being pulled toward the target could be solved by anchoring herself, but the physical strain was unavoidable. Plus, anchoring herself would slow her response time in a crisis, which is why she absolutely needed backup.
That's where Tsuyu came in—she could calmly assess situations and provide mid-range support with her tongue, making her the perfect backup.
So the only person available to restrain the pulled-up villains, someone with free hands and a Quirk perfect for restraining, was me.
I watched Midoriya strip off her cape to use as makeshift rope to anchor herself, but my resolve still hadn't solidified.
I was relieved not to be left behind, but I was terrified at the thought of facing those villains. Just imagining it made my hands shake.
Midoriya looked completely composed as she methodically prepared.
She's strong, so of course she can be so calm—that's what I genuinely thought. Someone like her probably doesn't understand how weak guys like me feel at all.
That's when Tsuyu spoke to me.
"Mineta, are you okay?"
It was just empty comfort, but it eased my bitter mood a little.
"Of course I'm not okay. But I'm the only one who can do it, right? So I guess I have no choice."
"I see. If you do your part well, Mineta, it'll really help me too."
Tsuyu's words made me happy.
I'd never been relied on like that before.
So I got a little full of myself and started complaining about Midoriya.
"Must be nice for Midoriya, you know? She's got a strong Quirk and she's just naturally strong. She doesn't understand how guys like me feel—"
"Mineta."
"What?!"
Tsuyu shot me a stern look after my complaint.
I didn't know what I'd done wrong, but seeing that expression, I didn't say anything more.
"Midoriya said what she said, but she's actually the one in the most danger in this operation, you know? She'll be the first to clash with the enemy. I don't know how bad the recoil from her Quirk will be, but she's bearing the heaviest burden."
"Well... but she's different from me—"
"Midoriya isn't the person you think she is. She's not as brave as you believe."
I was speechless.
That description seemed impossibly distant from Midoriya.
"But she literally charged at that black mist villain!"
"I thought so too at the time. But I think I was wrong."
Tsuyu looked at Midoriya.
"Midoriya is desperate too. Desperate to survive. That's why she says such harsh things. Looking back now, Midoriya was right—if we'd made it to shore with her, the situation would've tilted in our favor. You saw how strong she is, didn't you? On land, she probably felt confident she could handle being surrounded by this many villains."
"But then that means I—"
"Most likely, if you'd stayed on the boat, you would've been dealt with later. At the very least, the villains knew from me rescuing you that you couldn't escape across water, and they probably would've kept their distance since they didn't know your Quirk. They would've gone after the two of us running away instead. One person is a liability in water, after all."
I was shocked to learn that the proposal back then hadn't been about abandoning me. I never imagined she was trying to get me to choose the option with the best chance of survival, not with how coldly she'd phrased it.
But then I wondered why she hadn't just told me that. Then I realized it was only a possibility, not a certainty, and understood why she'd kept quiet.
"Against one or two careless small-time villain thugs, your ambush could've worked, Mineta. Your Quirk is strong."
"Maybe..."
"You can do it, Mineta. You passed the entrance exam, didn't you?"
Surrounded as we were now, it was just pie in the sky. But back then, it was still a viable strategy.
Low risk, high chance of at least one of us surviving, and as safe as possible.
And I'd ruined it by throwing a tantrum.
I felt a crushing pain in my chest.
"This operation falls apart if any one of us fails even once. If we pull it off, we all survive—but if even one person messes up, none of us make it. And I'm the one who made Midoriya choose this."
"No, that's not—I'm the one who—!"
"It is me. I'm the one forcing the impossible. So please, Mineta, lend me your strength. I put us in this dangerous situation. Midoriya's trying to make it work. So please, Mineta. Help Midoriya, who's working so hard—save her..."
With a great splash, the last of the villains were hurled into the air.
Maybe from the recoil of pulling four at once, Midoriya's arms were trembling violently.
Her anchored feet had blood seeping through—it was painfully obvious how much she'd pushed herself.
I saw Midoriya trying to raise her head to take down the villains, and before I knew it, I was shouting.
"Leave the rest to me!"
I was scared. Terrified, actually.
But seeing Midoriya fight until she was falling apart, I just couldn't stand the thought of losing.
I hadn't come here to become a hero—I wanted to be a cool hero so I could be popular with girls.
So there was no way I'd let a girl like Midoriya steal this perfect moment to look cool.
"Grape Rush!"
The ultimate move I'd been thinking about since middle school.
What I threw stuck the floating villains together, turning them into one big cluster.
"Grape! I'll allow you this praise!"
Midoriya's oddly haughty voice rang out, and I forced my fear-trembling body under control, spun around, and struck a victory pose.
"When I get serious, I get things done!"
This day, this moment—I'll probably look back on it someday.
The day I became someone's hero for the very first time.
***
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