The lunch bell had rung several minutes ago, and the school cafeteria area was bustling with students buying food, chatting with friends, and enjoying their break.
Meanwhile, Mineta Minoru walked through the hallway leading toward the vending machines outside the cafeteria.
"Honestly, making me get drinks because they're still eating..." Mineta muttered under his breath. "This is exploitation of labor. Child labor."
Even as he grumbled, there wasn't any real annoyance in his voice. A few moments later, he arrived at the vending machine.
The familiar rows of colorful drinks greeted him. Mineta inserted the five hundred yen coin Himiko had given him and immediately reached toward the grape juice option.
Then his finger froze. A serious expression appeared on his face. An expression so intense one would think he was making a life-changing decision.
'When I become a Pro Hero...' His eyes narrowed dramatically. 'The grape juice brand will become the Mineta family's patented product.'
A strange aura seemed to radiate from him. 'I will fight tooth and nail for it.' The image inside his mind became clearer.
A future version of himself stood heroically atop a building wearing his completed hero costume. Wind dramatically blew his cape.
In one hand was a can of grape juice. The can itself had his face printed on it. A giant billboard behind him displayed his heroic pose.
"Feeling thirsty?" Future Mineta declared confidently. "Then drink Mineta Brand Grape Juice! The choice of heroes!"
Explosions went off in the background. Several attractive reporters swooned. Children cheered. The stock market skyrocketed.
The grape industry entered a golden age. Future Mineta gave a thumbs-up toward the camera. The commercial ended with shining letters.
MINETA GRAPE JUICE.
PLUS ULTRA FLAVOR.
Smack! Mineta slapped both cheeks. "No." He shook his head rapidly. "Focus. I am twelve years old."
The vending machine quietly dispensed three cans of grape juice. "...Though it is a good idea."
Mineta quickly grabbed the drinks before his imagination could continue. With the cans in hand, he began walking back toward the rooftop.
Unfortunately...His attention was still partially occupied by thoughts of future grape juice empires.
As he turned a corner—Bump.
Mineta collided with someone. The three cans nearly slipped from his hands.
"Sorry!" he immediately apologized. Then he looked up and froze. His eyes widened. His brain stopped functioning. His soul nearly exited his body.
'Nejire Hado!?' Mineta screamed internally.
Standing before him was a girl with short light-blue hair and striking blue eyes. She was beautiful. Ridiculously beautiful.
Even at this age it was obvious she would grow into one of the most attractive girls in Japan.
More importantly—Mineta knew exactly who she was.
Nejire Hado. Future member of U.A.'s Big Three. Future top hero candidate. One of the strongest female heroes in the entire series.
Someone whose quirk possessed ridiculous power. Someone who should currently be a third-year middle school student.
For a moment Mineta expected the energetic, curious, endlessly talkative girl he remembered from the anime.
The girl who would bombard people with questions because she genuinely wanted to learn about them.
The girl who smiled brightly and got excited over almost everything.
Instead—Nejire merely glanced at him. "Hm."
That was all. No smile. No curiosity. No questions. Nothing. Then she simply walked past him.
Mineta blinked as he slowly turned around. The blue-haired girl continued walking away while carrying a sandwich she had apparently bought from the cafeteria.
Her expression remained cold and detached. Like she didn't care about anyone around her. Like she wanted to be left alone.
'...What?' Mineta stared at her retreating back. 'That's... not Nejire.' The Nejire he knew wasn't like this. Not even close.
Before he could think further, whispers from nearby students reached his ears.
"Isn't that the Ice Queen?"
"Yeah, that's Nejire Hado."
"She's from the third year."
"I heard she's the prettiest girl in school."
"Pretty, sure. But she's impossible to talk to."
Another student snorted. "I heard she made fun of everyone back in first year."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Apparently she kept asking weird questions and making people uncomfortable."
Someone else joined the conversation. "I heard she made a guy cry."
"No way."
"It's true. She kept bombarding him with questions until he broke down."
"Honestly, she acts like she's better than everyone else."
"Well, with a quirk like hers, she probably thinks she's special." The group laughed quietly.
Mineta's frown deepened.His grip around the juice cans tightened. 'So that's how it is...' He remembered.
He remembered the story shown much later in the original timeline.
The lonely past that most people never knew about. Nejire wasn't malicious. She wasn't arrogant. She wasn't trying to hurt anyone. She had simply been curious.
She genuinely liked talking to people. She liked asking questions. She liked learning new things.
Unfortunately...Most people misunderstood her. Her powerful quirk made others treat her differently.
Her endless curiosity exhausted people. And because she often asked questions without realizing they could be sensitive topics, many students began avoiding her.
Then came the rumors. The whispers. The isolation. Little by little, people stopped seeing Nejire Hado. They only saw the image they had created of her.
An annoying girl. A weird girl. A girl who couldn't read the atmosphere. A girl nobody wanted around.
And eventually...She started believing it herself.
Mineta looked toward the hallway where Nejire had disappeared.
'This will continue until she joins U.A.' He remembered what changed her future.
Mirio Togata. Tamaki Amajiki. Yuyu Haya. The friends who eventually helped her become herself again.
Especially Yuyu. Mineta remembered how close those two became. How important Yuyu was in helping Nejire regain confidence in her natural personality.
But right now? Right now those people weren't here. All that remained was a lonely middle school girl wearing a mask called indifference.
A girl pretending she didn't care because caring had only gotten her hurt before.
Mineta quietly stared at the hallway. A thought slowly appeared in Mineta's mind. 'Should I help her?'
His grip tightened around the grape juice cans. 'Should I help Nejire Hado become herself again before she reaches U.A.?'
The question lingered in his heart as he stared at the place where the future Big Three member had vanished.