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[Stay True]
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| Minutes later… |
...
Taka and Mineta stood in a line, waiting for their turn to buy at the stall filled with all sorts of candies and snacks. Mineta was ahead since he had been the one to lead the way and the first to join the line.
'When he said it was in an alleyway, I thought he might try to jump me... but turns out it really was here?'
Taka stared at the stall with a speechless look.
"Why is it even inside an alleyway? It's harder to find for anyone looking for it," Taka grumbled, scanning the somewhat dark and narrow stretch of alleyway. The stall was set into the side of a building that faced directly onto it, which made the line of people waiting feel a little cramped.
This sort of shop wasn't that unusual a sight across Japan. But they tended to be bars or ramen spots that could hold multiple people sitting inside. Not this.
'Though, I'm not an expert, so maybe I'm just talking nonsense,' Taka thought, scratching his side.
"Must be because it's cheap," Mineta offered.
Taka considered the idea, then shrugged.
'Most likely.'
Soon enough, Mineta's turn came. The owner had a bit of trouble noticing him given how short he was, but as soon as he did, Mineta ordered a grape soda—one Taka hadn't seen before.
Once the owner grabbed it, it came time to pay.
Mineta immediately took out his wallet and began digging through it.
Only to slow down as several droplets of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Slowly, he turned to Taka.
"You mind, uh… paying for me? I swear I'll pay you back!"
Desperately, he tugged at the hem of Taka's clothes.
Taka could only stare at the pathetic display with a wry and baffled look.
Pay him back? He highly doubted it, given they weren't going to see each other after today.
Except maybe when both were pro heroes. There was a chance he'd run into him again then.
Although he doubted he'd pay even then.
Still…
-Sigh…-
After letting out a loud, long sigh, he took out some bills and paid for the soda.
'Let this be the compensation for screwing up his entrance exam.'
He had already apologized, but this was at least more tangible.
After this, he wouldn't feel like he owed the shorty anything.
Besides, he wasn't short on money nowadays.
Before long, Mineta was handed his soda, and Taka's turn came. As soon as he caught sight of the candy apples he'd been looking for, he ordered six, then spotted a pack of spicy potato chips and bought those as well.
Everything got handed over in one bag, and with that, he and Mineta stepped out of the alleyway.
As soon as they did, Mineta turned to him, scratching his head with an apologetic look.
"Hey, thanks for paying for it. I swear I'll pay you back!—someday…"
Taka smiled faintly, shaking his head. "Don't mind it. This one's on me."
"For real? Alright! No taking that back, you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Grinning, Mineta opened the can and began drinking, manners long abandoned.
Watching him drink merrily, Taka snorted faintly, then figured it was probably time to leave. The matter between the two was resolved, and he had a home to visit while he still had time.
But just as he was about to pass, coincidentally, a busty woman walked by the two of them as they stood at the exit of the alleyway, disappearing into the crowd soon after.
Naturally, Mineta's eyes went wide as platters as he followed her figure, his interest in the soda evaporating instantly as he forgot to close his mouth.
But as she disappeared through the crowd, no longer visible, and he hurriedly wiped at his chin, his eyes shifted to Taka.
And caught him stealthily glancing the same way.
Only after a second or so did Taka notice what he was doing, and pulled his gaze back, sweatdropping as he felt the weight of Mineta's stare.
"…"
"… What?"
A fiery look appeared in Mineta's eyes. "I see, so I wasn't wrong. This companionship I felt between us… it wasn't an illusion!"
"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Taka sent him a disbelieving look.
Mineta shook his head with a wide smile, eyes closed. "They say great minds think alike."
Then, he pointed a finger at him, sweeping it back and forth between himself and Taka, sporting a cheeky grin.
"You and I… we are not so different after all."
"Ugh…" Taka's eyebrow twitched at the shorty's words.
Truth be told, he had been swept up by the guy's attitude, and when Mineta glanced the woman's way, he'd ended up following the sight on pure instinct.
Usually he would have been able to act like those proportions didn't exist. But apparently keeping this guy's company was getting the worst out of him.
'If I stay with this guy, I'll start losing aura.' He thought with alarm, before blinking as he noticed something. 'Hold on—why hasn't the system said anything?'
[Do you want me to?]
'There you are—and no.'
[Then I'll be back to watching from the shadows.]
'Funny guy.' Taka snorted.
Although it probably wasn't lying. These past weeks, or months, it had been almost completely silent.
'I wonder why...' Taka mused.
"Then, what do you think about that one?" Mineta suddenly asked, pointing at someone in the crowd.
Taka followed the direction, finding yet another woman of… interesting proportions.
A few seconds of silence passed while the woman continued on and disappeared into the crowd.
Only then did Taka say something.
"She's fine."
"FINE?! Man, you can't tell me you aren't salivating right now—look at those! They are bigger than my head—although I'm not so sure that's hard to accomplish."
Taka's hand covered his eyes and forehead, almost like he was disappointed in whatever was happening here.
In reality—
'Damn it, I made that exact comparison. How did this guy know?!'
Had his interference in canon somehow given Mineta mind-reading?
"I see I hit the target." Mineta smiled slyly, watching Taka's face twitch, before lifting a finger and wagging it left and right in a no-no gesture. "There's no need to be ashamed of it, my friend. We are carnal creatures. Those that act like such feelings don't exist are simply hypocrites, fearful of their own soul and what it has to express!"
"You just want to say whatever comes to mind without getting beaten, don't you?"
"Yes. But beyond that, I also believe what I say, which is why I'm not afraid to admit that my motivation for becoming a hero is to get cool and be incredibly popular with women!"
Taka could only stare at him, baffled by his total lack of shame.
"You probably aren't very popular in your class, are you?"
Mineta froze, as if lightning had struck him.
"T-that's… damn it." Mineta slumped forward, clearly having been hit somewhere tender.
Seeing him like that, Taka felt a bit bad. He'd spoken without thinking since the shorty was getting on his nerves.
His pity lasted very little, however.
"... YEAH. I BARELY HAVE ANY FRIENDS THERE, AND THE GIRLS HATE ME! HAPPY?!… Damn it, a popular guy like you—why did I think you could understand my pain? With how famous you've become, you probably even have a girlfriend and everything, damn bastard!" Mineta's face contorted in pure rage, teeth gnashing as he seemed to imagine Taka happily skipping along hand-in-hand with an imaginary girlfriend.
However, it was actually Taka who froze this time, and Mineta noticed it.
"… Aha. So you're as lonely as me." He muttered with a mocking grin.
"Should I send you flying?"
"… Ahem—I mean, you're probably like that because of your own choices, right? I mean, what girl would even catch the eye of someone as popular as you?"
Taka's hostile gaze withdrew—albeit slowly, really slowly, making Mineta sweat cold.
While the short guy decided it was better to just stay silent, Taka's mind slowly turned the topic over.
'A girl, huh…? Ugh, this is like talking with Seiji.'
Well, he was too busy for relationships. Yes. Aura farming was a very occupying task. He couldn't focus on a girl at the moment.
Yes.
And besides, just like Mineta said, he didn't really fancy anyone in particular at the moment beyond just thinking they were good looking.
No one…
'Although Jiro—'
Taka cut his own thought short on instinct, blinking in surprise.
'Ugh, I can't stay here with this guy anymore. He's making my mind go weird places.'
Totally not embarrassed, Taka turned to Mineta, about to bid him farewell for good.
But upon seeing him still a bit sulky over the earlier comment, Taka heaved a sigh.
'Though, I suppose I can give him some advice before leaving.'
"You said your ultimate goal for becoming a hero was to get cool and be popular with women, right?"
Mineta frowned. "Hmm? Yeah. What, are you going to tell me I shouldn't aim for such banal things?"
Taka let out a short laugh. "I don't really care. I am… I was like that too, a while ago."
"So I was right?!" Mineta asked, grin and eyes wide.
"Let me finish."
"Okay..."
Taka paused for a second, then went back to what he was saying, looking at the bustling street in front of them. "Then you should know that the reason you're probably unpopular is that very pervy way of acting, right?"
"…" Mineta fell silent, looking somewhat annoyed, like a hormonal teenager having to listen to his parent's advices. "Yeah, I guess…"
"Then why don't you stop? If you want to become popular, you don't have to change what you like—but you could try acting less… freakishly?"
Mineta seemed to take in the words with some resistance, but took them in regardless.
"Maybe… but, you know, if I did that, would I still be true to myself? I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not, even if it helps my goal come true," He said with genuine conviction, or stubbornness. "It's why I'm not ashamed of my goal. Isn't that cool enough?! Huh?!"
"…" Taka fell silent this time.
'He sure is rigid about being honest with himself.'
After thinking for a moment, he turned back to Mineta.
"Then don't change. Just take into account how other people might feel about the stuff you say and do, instead of trampling over those feelings just because you want to express something."
Mineta seemed confused by that, scratching his cheek as he took another sip of his soda.
Taka decided to explain better. "Hmm… Imagine a 100-year-old mummy makes constant inappropriate comments about you, disregarding how that might make you feel, just because it wants you bad and wants to express it. That mummy is you. The feelings it has might not be bad in themselves—but it should at least be aware that it's making you uncomfortable, instead of outright ignoring it. Shouldn't it?"
"You saying I'm ugly?!"
"I'm saying that's how you might come across based on your actions and comments. I don't know about your mug," He gave Mineta a look. "You don't need to change how you feel, or what you want to achieve. Just be more considerate. Then maybe your classmates won't mind your, uh... passionate heart as much."
"… I see." Mineta muttered under his breath after a few seconds of silence, seeming to actually give it some thought.
While he went quiet, Taka choked down the cringe he was giving himself, playing the sage.
He'd honestly just said whatever came to mind regarding Mineta's situation.
Although, maybe he'd said a bit too much because he saw something of himself in Mineta.
A less than ideal relationship with his classmates. (In his old school, at least)
Similar… tastes.
Not very heroic motives for taking on this career.
'I guess, just like he said… he and I really aren't so different after all.'
His eyes fell on the concrete floor, deep in thought.
'Stay true to oneself, huh?'
Soon, however, he shook his head, setting that train of thought aside for later.
He had somewhere to be.
"Anyway, give it a thought." He said, turning slightly to signal he was about to leave.
"Hm." Mineta nodded, saying nothing more, as if still turning it over.
Taka watched him for a bit longer, then attempted to fully walk away.
Only for Mineta to stop him one last time.
"Hey, you uh… mind exchanging numbers?"
Taka stared at him with a deadpan.
Those were words he hadn't particularly wanted to hear from a man, let alone from Mineta.
But he supposed it wouldn't hurt. The midget was… fun to be around.
-Sigh-
"Why not?"
...
°
°
°
Minutes later, he was already descending toward Shizuoka, near his house.
Another minute or so after that, he was standing before the door.
-Knock, knock, knock-
He called at the door. It took a moment for anyone inside to answer.
-Click-
Soon, however, the door opened, revealing Seiji staring at him with a condescending look.
"Well well well, look who it is—Mr. I'm-Too-Good-For-Your-Agency in the flesh, gracing us with his presence."
"You're just angry you didn't get to mess with me for an entire week."
Seiji grinned, stroking his chin while nodding. "True, true. But that doesn't make the betrayal hurt less."
"Taka!"
A voice came from behind Seiji.
Taka turned slightly, and saw Eri running toward him.
He received her with a hug—or rather, he was the one received with one.
Smiling, he patted her head. "I escaped for a bit to come see you guys. How's my absence been? Relieved you've got the TV to yourself?"
"I missed you."
Taka's smile softened.
"I brought you something." He showed her the bag of candy apples, smirking.
She took it with curiosity—and clear hunger in her eyes.
Soon, she dashed back inside to put them on a plate, while Taka came in and made himself comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV.
Before long, she came back and handed him one.
He looked at it for a moment, then grinned. "These are for you, you know?"
"I want to share." She said, sitting beside him and watching the screen as well.
Taka snorted with a smile, eyed the candy apple, then shrugged and bit into it.
After that, the two watched a cartoon together, with Seiji leaning on the couch's headrest and watching along, while sometimes snatching the candy apples that Eri gave Taka for himself—earning him a scolding from Eri who gave him a candy apple so he wouldn't steal from Taka.
An hour or two passed like that, and eventually Eri's bedtime arrived. He had gotten here relatively late into the day, so it wasn't much of a surprise.
At least he had gotten to see her for a while.
She was already yawning and rubbing her eyes as Seiji guided her by the hand toward her room.
"…Come back tomorrow as well, Taka…˜"
Taka gave her an amused look, then nodded and waved, much to her happiness.
"Sleep well. I'll come back tomorrow with more stuff."
"You're gonna give her cavities, Taka." Seiji commented.
Taka, however, ignored him.
Then, as she disappeared into her room, followed by Seiji who led her by the hand, they soon left Taka alone in the couch.
As he found himself back into solitude for a moment, he focused back on the TV.
'Home sweet home.' He thought, settling fully into the couch and huffing a big puff of relaxed air through his nose.
In about an hour he'd have to head back to the agency, since to everyone thought he'd just gone on a really long stroll. The curfew was also coming soon and he needed to be back there before then.
So he was going to make the most of this brief moment of full relaxation.
With such thoughts running through his head, his mind subconsciously drifted back to his conversation with Mineta—specifically, to a certain someone he had unintentionally thought of.
And, after a moment or so of staring blankly at whatever the TV was playing, he took out his phone, opening a certain chat.
...
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: How was the meeting with Mineta? Turns out even he has an honorable motivation for his actions—well, not really, but close enough.
This was supposed to happen way before in the story, but I forgot and then I didn't know where to put him. Luckily, he fit nicely here.
Next chapter things are getting spicy... Action-wise.)