Kaminari walked into U.A. with Mineta and Midoriya flanking him, the morning air already warm enough to stick to his uniform collar. Mineta had come up with a 'brilliant' plan to request a pool day on the same day the girls were having theirs, and Kaminari, despite knowing full well how dumb that was, had still agreed without hesitation. He smiled anyway. Dumb ideas were half the fun.

  Midoriya, dragged along as the moral cover, walked beside them without a clue about their nefarious plan... the perfect distraction for any teacher who might get suspicious.

  Kaminari leaned toward Mineta with a lopsided grin.

  "Man, you really are an evil mastermind when you try," he whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

  Mineta smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets like he thought that made him look cool.

  As the three walked down the halls toward the teachers' lounge, Kaminari glanced out a nearby window. The sunlight hit the courtyard and he caught sight of a few familiar faces. "So some students still do club activities in summer?" he asked casually.

  Midoriya glanced at him, smiling. "Yeah, some clubs have to keep up their schedules. Why do you ask?"

  "I just saw Robinn near the gardens," Kaminari said, nodding toward the window. "Got curious."

  Mineta followed his gaze and nodded. "Oh yeah, she's in the gardening club, right?"

  Midoriya's eyes widened slightly when he looked out and saw her, crouched with her hands deep in the soil. "Robinn?!..." He paused mid-sentence, his expression tightening. "Hey guys, sorry, but I have to go do something."

  "Wha-" Kaminari started, but Mineta cut him off, panicked. "Midoriya, waiiit! We need you so Aizawa approves our propos-"

  He stopped when Midoriya disappeared down the hall.

  Mineta slumped, turning to a slightly disappointed Kaminari.

  "So what do we do now?" Kaminari asked with a small grin, trying to lighten the mood.

  Mineta groaned miserably. "We give up. There's no way Aizawa'll let us go if it's just us two."

  Kaminari sniffled dramatically, placing a hand on Mineta's shoulder. "Well, cheer up, dude. We'll find something else to do, yeah?"

  Mineta clenched his tiny fists, outrage returning. "That Midoriya! Abandoning us just to talk to a girl!"

  Kaminari nearly burst out laughing, the irony of Mineta being the one to say that. "Yeah, not exactly subtle, huh?"

  Mineta's face twisted with determination. "Let's go find them. We're getting what we came for."

  Kaminari chuckled. "You really never quit, do you?"

  They started heading toward the gardens.

  "So the occult club isn't doing anything during summer?" Kaminari asked casually as they walked.

  Mineta's voice wavered. "I heard the president and Yanagi started dating... so I don't really have a reason to go to meetings anymore."

  Kaminari slumped a bit. "Not really what I asked, but sure."

  Midoriya stopped just outside the garden. Rows of planters stretched before him, neatly lined and half-shadowed by the surrounding trees. The air smelled thick with soil and flowers.

  Robinn was the only one there. Her gloves were streaked with dirt as she shifted a small potted plant into a new bed, calm and focused.

  Her eyes flicked toward him the instant he stepped closer. She set the pot down, straightened, and smiled faintly.

  "Midoriya... hey!"

  "Hey, Robinn," he answered, his tone softer than usual. "Been a while, huh?"

  She smiled, tilting her head. "What's up?"

  He hesitated. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while."

  She studied him for a moment, then bent to grab another pot, speaking as she moved. "About what?"

  He followed her. "The last few times I tried to bring it up, you dodged me. So please actually talk to me this time."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Her eyes flicked back briefly, just enough for him to see the hint of annoyance there.

  "How did you already know about All Might's true form?" he asked finally, voice steady now.

  She turned fast, eyes lighting up with something close to amusement, like she was entertained by his boldness.

  "Oh... I saw him transform by accident once. He had to tell me. But I don't know much, just that he can't stay in his muscle form long."

  Midoriya frowned. It didn't add up. All Might didn't 'accidentally' show his form to anyone.

  He opened his mouth to press further, but she cut him off with a playful tone.

  "Y'know, you really shouldn't ask a question you can't answer yourself."

  His heart stuttered. She was right.

  Her grin widened slightly. "So, Midoriya..." she said, leaning forward slightly, "how did you already know about All Might's true form?"

  He froze. "I..."

  Her grin faltered and her gaze shifted past him.

  Kaminari and Mineta stood at the entrance, announcing themselves with a loud "Hey!" that shattered the tension like glass.

  Midoriya turned. Both of them looked winded, like they'd sprinted across campus.

  "Hey, you two, what brings you to the garden?" Robinn said brightly, her tone changing in an instant, straightening up again.

  Mineta averted his gaze while Kaminari stepped forward, hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "Hey, Robinn! Oh, nothing... we just needed Midoriya to help us with something."

  Robinn watched them carefully before asking, "What's he gonna help you with?"

  Kaminari looked over at Mineta, through unspoken telepathy the two agreed they couldn't tell one of the girls about their plan.

  "Oh, we were going to ask the teachers for permission to use the pool for training in a few days," Midoriya said quickly, leaving both of them a bit slumped and caught off guard.

  Robinn nodded, her eyes returning to the plants. "Oh yeah, Uraraka mentioned something about the pool too, I think."

  Silence lingered, awkward and heavy. Robinn stared at the soil for a moment, then knelt back down and resumed her work.

  "Well then... we should go," Kaminari said after a beat, scratching his neck.

  Robinn nodded politely, but her expression was distant. A quiet, unspoken go away hung between them.

  They hesitated before turning to leave.

  Mineta lingered.

  Kaminari raised an eyebrow. "You coming?"

  Mineta waved him off. "You two go ahead, I gotta do something."

  Kaminari stared for a second, then shrugged and threw an arm over Midoriya's shoulder, steering him toward the path back to the teachers lounge. "C'mon, man."

  Midoriya frowned, confused. "What was that about?"

  "Let the little man shoot his shot," Kaminari muttered.

  "... what?"

  "Don't worry about it."

  Back in the garden, Mineta stood near the planters, watching Robinn work. Her hands moved with quick efficiency, dirt brushing off her gloves in small clouds.

  For once, he wasn't scheming... just nervous.

  Before he could say anything, Robinn straightened and walked toward him, boots crunching softly over gravel.

  She stopped close, closer than he expected and looked down at him. "Why did you stay behind?"

  Her tone wasn't harsh, but it carried weight.

  Mineta swallowed. "Hey Robinn... I've also been wanting to tell you about something too, okay?"

  She raised an eyebrow. Silence pressed down on him.

  "I tried to text you, but I think you have me blocked."

  "Oh yeah... Mina taught me how to do that."

  The words landed like a slap, brutally casual.

  Mineta stood frozen, then forced himself to speak. "Look, I just wanted to warn you about some stuff I saw online about you."

  Her expression changed, or maybe it didn't. But Mineta didn't sense hostility anymore. Then she crouched down to match his height, the movement slow and deliberate, like a teacher humoring a question she didn't fully trust.

  "What stuff?" she asked.

  The steadiness in her tone made it worse somehow, but his nerves eased a little now that she wasn't towering over him. He could finally speak without tripping over his words.

  "Well, I was browsing some forums, and I found a group that mentioned you a lot. And it was some really bad stuff.."

  She tilted her head faintly, the look on her face reading something close to what's a forum? but her tone stayed calm. "Bad stuff? In what way?"

  "Well... it was something like an All Might fan group, but they were being really mean. I think they're really mad at you for saying the 'symbol of peace' thing."

  Her expression and voice softened just a little. "Those don't sound like real All Might fans."

  "That's what I thought," Mineta said quickly, nodding. "But the group really was a fan group, yet most of them were criticizing you."

  Robinn's gaze darkened slightly and turned distant. "What things did they say?"

  Mineta hesitated. His throat went dry. Then he clenched his fists, took a shaky breath, and spoke. "That you were a delusional kid, and that they should expose you just for saying those things." He paused. "But they used much worse words."

  Her eyes narrowed slightly, then drifted down toward his pocket. "Show me... I wanna see." She extended a hand, palm up. Mineta hesitated only a second before pulling out his phone. He fumbled to close a dozen tabs, opened the forum again, and handed it to her, mostly out of fear of what she might do if he refused.

  Robinn took it with one hand, thumb scrolling slowly. Her face didn't move much, just small, imperceptible shifts of focus. Eventually, she began reading aloud.

  > "That bitch thinks she can replace All Might, pathetic idiot."

  > "She doesn't even have the looks to be a good female hero."

  > "She should just drop out."

  > "I tried finding her accounts on social media, but she doesn't have any."

  > "Who would ever want a female being the symbol of peace."

  Her expression darkened faintly at the last one. She stood up, the phone dangling loosely in her hand, gaze far away.

  "Robinn?" Mineta asked softly.

  She didn't answer. Just turned, slow and steady.

  "Robinn, wait, I was just worried... I didn't want to upset you."

  She stopped, half-turned toward him. "Thanks for worrying, and showing me that stuff."

  Then she handed his phone back... by sticking it into his hair. The rubbery pop of the grape-balls made a faint squelch as it stuck there.

  She looked down at him again, smiling, her tone light and even. "Well, you should go help Kaminari and Midoriya with that pool thing, shouldn't you?"

  A firm pat to his back sent him stumbling toward the exit.

  Mineta hesitated, looking back once. "Yeah, I should... So... see you later?"

  A curt "Bye" was all he got before she turned back to the garden, kneeling again, already lost in the rhythm of her work.