Chapter 89: Perversive Purseverance

"GAHHHH."

Picked up by the scruff of his neck, the handler was careful not to have their hands come into contact with the sticky purple balls atop the short, squirming boy's hair.

He thrashed around like a child caught doing something naughty, not that that was untrue considering his height and how he was trying to get dangerously close to Midnight's midsection, though he would say it was part of his masterful plan.

'Get close to her, attach myself to her, and bring both of us to the ground, trapping her and allowing Sero to escape to the exit.'

That was the original plan.

Of course, instead of simply using his quirk the second he could on her leg, the teenage boy naturally wanted to attach himself to a higher part of her body.

Unfortunately, the opportunity escaped him, and he became captured—not that he was particularly minded at the moment.

As the heavenly scent filled his nostrils, with each passing second, his thrashes got weaker, less fluid, and more rigid as his body shut down.

Midnight, the captor in question, raised an eyebrow at the behavior of the boy in front of her, casting one last disappointed glance at his figure.

'After all, that's the reason he was put against her.'

His reason for being put in this pair was to test whether he could go against his perverted instincts or whether he would succumb.

'Aizawa will be disappointed.' Her colleague did tend to put too much trust in his students, despite how hard he seemed on them.

Regardless, the teacher moved her open hand to her collar, moved a single finger to her easily breakable suit, and ripped a small hole in it.

Simultaneously activating her quirk, pink pheromones wafted off of her body and into her immediate vicinity, which contained the still-trapped boy.

The effects were harmless—merely sleep inducement.

CLANG

The pro directed her attention away from the boy; she knew her quirk would remain for a few minutes, more than enough time for him to succumb to its effects.

Thus, she set her eyes on the creator of the noise that caught her attention—the other of the two students she was testing, Hanta Sero.

'Interesting quirk that could prove to be troublesome.'

His surprised expression, mixed with the fact that he was currently on the third floor of a building previously in her blind spot, and his tape sprouting from the ends of his elbow caught on multiple pieces of rock, spoke of his plan.

"~My, that's no way to treat a lady."

Amidst her provocative speech, she took a few steps toward the boy, making sure to emphasize the sway in her hips as she intentionally pulled at the red leather material that sat between her cleavage, emphasizing her sensual body.

'Another good thing is that my quirk is effective on men, even more so on men attracted to me.'

Her calculating eye was unlike her sultry expression, and seeing the redness creep up on the boy's face, Nemuri, the pro's actual name, knew she had him caught.

"Gotcha."

Sky blue eyes widened as a voice unlike her own, still high in pitch yet holding the distinct depth reminiscent of a teenage boy going through puberty, broke through her ears.

The pro planned on spinning around to confront the unexpected person, yet she was caught off guard when she couldn't move!

She turned her neck, the only part of her body that she could freely move, and saw a half-conscious Mineta sticking to her midsection and sticking her to the ground!

"D-Don't…underes–t-timate. M-Me."

Even in his delirious state, those words—words the boy felt from the bottom of his heart—were spoken through pure will.

He knew 'those' eyes.

Eyes speaking of how they didn't believe in him, of how they thought he was nothing, nothing more than trash on the side of the road.

He'd been the bearer of such eyes even before his nature changed to such perversion.

It was because he'd been receiving such eyes that he chose to not care what people think, changing his nature to suit his desires.

Yet even as such had been his resolve, he found himself changing ever so slightly.

It started during the USJ exam, when he, Midoriya, and Asui were trapped on the boat, surrounded by villains.

He was scared—too scared to even move at first—and that wasn't helped by the fact that he fell into the water and almost DIED by one of the villains.

Yet it was Midoriya, a true hero, who saved him, and in that moment, the boy who'd vowed to never care about others' opinions of himself felt embarrassed.

The feeling nagged him; no matter what he did or how much he gave in to his desires, the feeling stuck with him.

And after an even more disappointing sports festival, he finally decided to change himself.

He cut back on the number of women's magazines he read each day, deciding to go on a run occasionally around the block.

He wouldn't say everything always went well and that he didn't occasionally have lapse days where he cheated himself.

Because that's what he found out—that he was doing this for himself.

But regardless, he kept up, kept doing so, trying to change—not into any preset mold others set for him, but into a better version of himself.

Seeing such eyes, eyes that spoke like they knew him when they'd barely ever met, eyes that dismissed him before…before he even got to PROVE anything?

It messed with him.

The feelings resulting from such eyes were the fuel that kept the boy conscious long enough to activate his quirk twice, once to attach himself to her and the second to attach her to the ground.

It's what allowed him to resist the heavenly sleep that was whispering to him.

It'd be easy.

It is so easy to simply sleep, give in, and enjoy the pleasure that would come from it.

'I'm done with easy.'

Through pure grit alone, the boy bit his tongue, opening his heavy eyes, defying all odds, and glaring at the teacher.

"Gotcha." He spoke his determination into that word.

Then, using the already fizzling out fuel, he craned his neck, looking over to where Sero, his partner, was, sporting a rare true smile as he completed his task.

His side of the bargain was done.

"GO!" He shouted with all his might, using all he had.

And as he did, the boy falling into sleep turned back around, not caring for Sero, and instead fixed his expression on Midnight.

Thus, as his resolve crumbled, he watched as her expression twisted into surprise, shock, and even…respect simultaneously as the boy fell into the abyss of sleep.

'That…wasn't so easy.'

'Huh?'

Now it was the pro's turn to be caught.

She watched as her captor fell asleep under the effects of her quirk, effects that, until now, he had fought off.

A spike of respect flashed through her as her impression of him was raised just a little bit.

She watched along as Sero's face was similarly filled with shock, the nervousness before resolve flashed into his eyes.

He looked at her, meeting her eyes as the glint of a hero could be seen coursing through him, pushing him to his goal.

Stuck to the ground due to Mineta's quirk, Midnight watched as yet another hero candidate raced off, succeeding through adversity and chasing their dream.

'Maybe Aizawa wasn't so wrong after all.' She remembered how he had told them to be careful.

As she thought so, a smirk was brought up to her lips as the teacher licked them, watching the enormous cuts made in her hero suit when she fell.

'Unfortunately…'

She looked up, seeing the speed at which the wind carried her quirk all around, an area that also included the escaping Sero.

The boy buckled his knees, preparing to jump and utilize his quirk to increase his mobility and speed, at which point he escaped.

That was his promise, his job in their mission, a mission he initially didn't believe would work.

'Mineta's seriously been training, huh.' A fire of competition was lit under Sero, he wouldn't get left behind.

Unfortunately for him, such lofty thoughts would have to wait as he halted his jump, hearing an unfamiliar voice in his ears.

"Since I'm still a teacher, I'll tell you some advice: Never leave a villain unattended."

'Wha—'

THUD

Midnight looked at the slumped boy, reminiscing about how this was how her quirk was supposed to work: fast, efficient, and lethal.

Thus, on the road, there were three people, though only she was awake.

She heard the breathing near her, signaling that nobody had gotten hurt and that everyone was alright.

Thus, smiling briefly, she thought, 'Sorry, Mineta, but this is my checkmate.'