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If he’s being honest with himself, Minoru has to say that there’s more to this than just him dating Tsuyu, but that’s why he’s rarely honest with himself anymore. He knows that he can’t pretend that it’s just her being shared evenly between an odd group of guys, that there’s something between Midoriya and Tokoyami, and something between Tokoyami and Shoji as well, but even if he admits all of that, he still can’t bring himself to admit that there’s anything else going on on his front.
He likes a girl who, for some reason, thank his lucky stars , likes him back, and she just happens to be going out with three other guys, and that’s all there is to it. Never mind the weird feelings he gets, regarding both Midoriya and Shoji, those don’t mean anything because he likes girls, and that’s it. When the five of them hang out, it’s just him sharing his girlfriend- seriously, how did he even get one of those?! - with four other guys, which he’s fine with, because he’s modern and he’s confident in himself, and he really can’t afford to be picky, anyway.
Tsuyu is the one always getting them into weird hobbies, and lately, she’s gotten Tokoyami interested in something she calls “urban exploring”. Initially, Minoru thinks it’s going to be something boring, like going to weird shops and cafes in big cities, but she laughs at him when he says that and explains what it actually is.
“Isn’t that kind of illegal?” he asks.
“I think it’s only illegal if you’re trespassing,” Midoriya says.
“Don’t worry about,” says Tsuyu, “we only trespass sometimes.” She says that as if it’s actually reassuring, but when it comes down to it, if she and Tokoyami decide to do something together, the other three follow behind, and Minoru tags along on these strange adventures even though he really isn’t sure why. For the most part, they do stick to areas that aren’t private property, but every now and then, she’s daring, and Shoji acts as a lookout while Minoru trembles next to Midoriya, the two of them reluctantly following along.
On one such day, she manages to convince them to go with her into an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, and the area almost doesn’t feel real, it’s so different from what Minoru is used to. It feels out of place, almost, and the house itself is downright terrifying. Most of the windows are broken out of it, but Tsuyu jiggles the back doorknob and it opens for them.
“Now, don’t get scared, but Mina told me she read about this place on one of her favorite haunted locations websites.”
“Sh-she what?!” he shrieks, praying that he misheard her, but the look on Midoriya’s face tells him that he didn’t. Neither Shoji nor Tokoyami seem phased, however, and they follow her inside without hesitating. “Is she totally crazy?!”
“Shouldn’t we go with them?” Midoriya asks, his own voice shaking a bit.
“Are you totally crazy?!” By now, Minoru is close to tears. “I’m not going in there, I don’t care what she says!”
“Well, I’m gonna make sure they’re okay in there,” Midoriya finally says, going into the house without looking back, leaving Minoru completely by himself.
“Yeah, well, that’s fine! Do whatever you want!” he screams after him. “I-I’m just fine by myself!” And he is just fine, and perfectly safe, whether he has the rest of them with him or not. That is, until he swears he hears something, and then he lets out a shriek and runs inside after them, crying, “Well, don’t just leave me by myself!”
When he catches up to them, Tsuyu turns out to shush him, before going back to leading the way, a flashlight in hand. Even though it’s daylight outside, some areas of the house are dimly lit, adding to the terror factor. The group walks close together, but Minoru does not feel much safer, and every sound he hears leaves him whimpering.
“Did anybody else hear that?” he hisses.
Shoji, who always keeps a couple ears out to detect anyone approaching, replies, “It was just the house settling.”
“You said that last time!”
“Because that’s always what it’s going to be.”
“Y-you don’t know, what if it’s a-”
“Can you please try to keep calm?” asks Tokoyami.
“Yeah, I’m sure Shoji’s right,” Midoriya mumbles, but another sudden sound leaves Minoru leaping forward to grab onto Tsuyu’s leg.
For a moment, he’s calmed down as he remembers that he’s with a girl, and he’s just wondering if now might be the appropriate to make a move when she reaches down to shove him off. “Everyone’s fine, so calm down,” she says.
Well, he can’t say he isn’t used to being shot down, and even actually having a girlfriend doesn’t mean he gets to do whatever he wants. That is a lesson he’s still slowly learning, but today, being shoved off snaps him out of his trance and is once again terrified for his life in this creepy, abandoned house.
The thing that creeps him out the most is all the stuff left in here. He would have assumed that it would have been picked clean by now, if it’s so easy to access, and there are some areas that look like they’ve been torn apart in the hunt for valuables, but most commonplace house items are still there, and his imagination runs wild, trying to figure out why someone would leave so many things behind. There are unmade beds in the bedrooms, pots and pans littering the floor of the kitchen, and a ladder coming from a hole in the ceiling.
“Oh, no,” he says, dread creeping into his voice.
“It’s the only place we haven’t searched yet,” says Tsuyu. “Let’s go up.”
“I really, really, really don’t want to,” Minoru whines, but she’s already started up the ladder, and this time, Midoriya is the first to follow her, with Tokoyami right behind.
Shoji turns to him and says, “If you want to stay down here, you can.”
Naturally, he follows them up, but he isn’t happy about it. The attic is creepier than the rest of the house, and he can’t stop shaking as the others explore it. Tsuyu gestures everyone over to where she is and says, “Everyone, sit down for a second.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t the floor fall out under us?” he asks, but the other’s ignore him, so, like always, he just follows them even though he knows better.
“They say it was murder,” she says, once she has their attention. “But whoever did it was never found. All that was left behind were the mangled corpses of the family, and some say vengeful spirits were already here before that. Either way, most agree that, whether there were or not, the family at least haunts this house, and will drag others into their unfortunate fate.”
Before he even realizes what he’s doing, Minoru is letting out a shrill scream and leaping to his side, clinging to the person closest to him...who happens to be Shoji. He’s so scared that he doesn’t even think about the fact that he’s hugging another guy, and tears well up in his eyes as he says, “Let’s get out of here before it’s too late! Come on, guys, we have to, before we...before we…”
“I don’t actually know why it’s haunted,” Tsuyu says. “I just made that up.”
“Well, you certainly startled him with it,” says Tokoyami with a slight smile.
“Are you going to let go any time soon?” Shoji asks, and Minoru jumps off of him, landing with an uncomfortable thud that reminds him of his fear for the structural integrity of the attic.
“C-come on, guys, that isn’t funny! That’s not even a little bit funny, come on!” he wails. “Can we please just leave?”
Standing up, Tsuyu says, “Yeah, I think we’ve looked at everything. Fumikage, did you get any good pictures?”
“I got a quite a few,” he replies, standing up with her and helping Midoriya to his feet.
As Shoji stands, he pulls Minoru to his feet as well, and says, “Unless you were planning on hugging me the whole way out of here.”
“Sh-shut up!”
One by one, the five of them descend the ladder, and Minoru is even jumpier than he was before. He doesn't want to fall too far behind, and he walks as close to Midoriya as he possibly can, trying to nudge him forward and tighten the group up a little more. Soon the nightmare will be over, he keeps telling himself, and then he will never, ever let Tsuyu drag him somewhere like this again, no matter how hot she may be!
He hears a sudden crash, one that's close, and he screams at the top of his lungs. It's over, it's all over, and they're going to die for tempting fate, and he knew he shouldn't have come here, he should have stayed outside or gone home or never come here to begin with, and he clings for dear life, sobbing and not even realizing that he hugging Midoriya’s leg so tight that the other boy can't walk at all.
“It's okay,” he says, patting Minoru on the shoulder. “Shoji just knocked something over.”
“I-I-I just wanna go home !” he wails.
“We’re almost out of here, but you're going to have to let go of me if you want us to keep going.”
That's when he registers the fact that it's Midoriya that he's clinging to and he yelps, letting go just as quickly as he did with Shoji. He's tired of this scary house and of these weird situations, and he shoves past the others, running for the door as fast as he can go.
“Mineta, wait up!” Midoriya cries, chasing after him, though Tsuyu, Tokoyami, and Shoji take their time following behind.
“I thought I was gonna die,” Minoru mumbles, once he's outside. “Let's never do anything like that again.”
~X~
If he’s being honest with himself, Minoru has to say that there’s more to this than just him dating Tsuyu, but he's rarely honest with himself. He comes out of what he knows must have been a life or death situation, and he decides that what happens in those situations doesn't count for anything in his day to day life. Maybe he did hug two guys, but that definitely doesn't mean anything!
Or so he continues to tell himself.