Minoru Mineta was sitting in the living room of his house, facing his parents who were seated right in front of him.
The atmosphere was oddly tense yet chaotic in its own way, and while Manami had a wide, proud grin on his face, practically glowing with excitement, Umeko sat beside him with her eyebrows twitching dangerously, clearly trying to control herself as she listened to her husband boast nonstop about their son.
"My son is a genius in matters of love!" Manami declared loudly. "He got a girl on his very first day! That's my blood right there! He definitely inherited my charisma!"
Smack!
A spatula hit Manami right on the head.
"Now is NOT the time for your stupid monologue!" Umeko snapped, her voice sharp as she turned her full attention toward Minoru, her glare intensifying as she spoke again.
"So… who was the girl who gave you that hickey?"
Minoru raised both hands slightly. "First of all, calm down, both of you," he said. "And second… she's not my girlfriend."
Umeko's glare didn't soften—in fact, it got worse. "So what? You're playing with some girl's feelings for her body now?" she asked coldly.
"That's not it!" Minoru cut her off quickly. "You're both getting it wrong."
Manami leaned forward slightly, still rubbing his head. "Then explain, son. Because right now, this looks like top-tier romance success."
Minoru took a deep breath before speaking seriously. "Her name is Himiko Toga," he began. "She's not… normal. Not in the way people expect."
Umeko narrowed her eyes but stayed silent, letting him continue.
"She has a quirk related to blood," Minoru said. "And her parents… they think she's a monster because of it. They don't let her consume blood… or even food with high iron like liver. They suppress everything."
Umeko's expression slowly changed from anger to focus.
"They abuse her," Minoru continued, his voice steady but serious. "Not just physically… but mentally too. They forced her to hide what she is until she couldn't take it anymore."
Manami's proud smile faded as he listened.
"I figured out her cravings during lunch period," Minoru said. "She was… losing control. So I let her drink my blood."
Both of his parents went silent.
"She broke down right after," Minoru added quietly. "She cried… like everything inside her just collapsed."
The room fell into complete silence for a few seconds.
Minoru then looked directly at his mother. "Mom… I need your help," he said. "You've handled cases like this before, right? You can save her… can't you?"
Umeko didn't reply immediately. She leaned back slightly, deep in thought, her lawyer instincts clearly kicking in as she processed everything.
Beside Minoru, Manami placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing," he said seriously. "I'm proud of you."
Minoru blinked, slightly surprised, before blushing and scratching his head. "It wasn't anything that big…"
Umeko finally spoke. "I can make some calls," she said calmly. "If what you're saying is true, her parents can be taken down. But we'll need evidence."
Minoru leaned forward slightly. "How long will that take?"
"A bit of time," Umeko replied. "But if the girl cooperates, we can remove her from their custody much faster."
Minoru's face lit up as he immediately hugged her. "Thank you, Mom!"
Umeko smiled slightly and patted his head. "When my son is acting like a hero to save an abused girl… the least I can do is help."
Manami suddenly flexed his arms. "And if you need your dad to beat up her father, just say the word! I'll bring my baseball bat—old times style!"
"Dad/Manami!" Minoru and Umeko snapped at the same time.
"No!" both of them said together.
The next day.
Umeko had already left early, heading out to meet her colleagues and contacts from the police and hero departments to start gathering evidence against Toga's parents.
Meanwhile, Manami had dropped Mineta off at school on his Suzuki Hayabusa and sped off again, shouting something about "bringing the gang back for such occasions."
'…I'm not even going to think about that,' Mineta thought, deliberately ignoring the terrifying possibility of his father reuniting with his old delinquent group to handle things personally.
He shook his head lightly—And suddenly felt something cover his eyes.
Two arms wrapped around him from behind.
"Guess who?" a familiar voice said playfully.
Mineta froze slightly before blushing. "Himiko…"
The arms moved away, and Himiko Toga appeared in front of him, smiling brightly—this time, genuinely.
She grabbed his hand without hesitation. "Good morning!" she said happily.
Mineta blinked, slightly caught off guard. '…She's already this comfortable?' he thought, though he didn't pull his hand away, and as she stood close to him, he couldn't help but notice the soft pressure against his back earlier.
'…That was definitely—yeah, I'm not thinking about that,' he quickly shut down that train of thought or else his perverted side might awaken sooner.
Toga continued talking excitedly as she pulled him along toward the school entrance, completely ignoring the stares around them.
And there were a lot of stares.
Students whispered, pointed, and looked shocked.
"Isn't that Toga-senpai?"
"Why is she holding hands with a first-year?"
"Wait… isn't she the most beautiful girl in second year?!"
Mineta felt all the attention but kept walking calmly. '…Great. Second day and I'm already famous,' he thought.
Just as he was about to enter the building—"Mineta?"
A familiar voice called out in surprise.
Mineta turned his head.
Toru Hagakure stood there.
Toga and Toru both looked at each other.
Silence.
'…I should really stop thinking things can't get worse.'