Chapter 339: Trust
When he returned, everything had changed. The happy and relaxed atmosphere in the dorm was nowhere to be seen. Instead, everyone was in a complicated mood, and they couldn't believe it, yet this was the truth.
Aoyama, their classmate, was a traitor who had been snitched all the news about Yuuei.
In other words, this bastard was the cause of their nightmare!
Even now, they still couldn't forget all the attacks which they had received before.
If Mineta wasn't around, they would be killed.
Yet, that person, who had caused everything, stayed with them as if nothing had happened.
Even if someone had thick skin, this guy was simply brazen!
"Hey, what's wrong?"
His voice woke everyone up.
"Minoru!"
Hagakure couldn't control it anymore and hugged him tightly. Before, she was told to check on Aoayama since he felt that there was something strange about him. He was worried about him, so she helped him to check, yet the truth?
Aoyama was a traitor.
This fact... she was so furious.
"How dare he! How dare he!"
Without a doubt, the one who was most affected by Aoyama's traitorous action was Mineta.
If Mineta wasn't strong enough, then he would be buried and die.
If such a thing happened, without a doubt, it was Aoayama's fault.
Yet, what did Aoyama do?
Aoyama was just standing with them, showing a happy smile as if nothing had happened.
Knowing this, Hagakure was furious, and she just wanted to bury him alive!
The other girls were the same, and many guys also thought the same, but few of them, such as Midoriya, didn't think so since he felt like Aoyama was in need of help. Someone had to save him, yet this time, he didn't say anything since the one who was hurt the most in this accident was Mineta.
While Midoriya wanted to save Aoayama somehow, he also knew that Aoyama needed to pay the price for his action.
No one could get unscathed after they had hurt others.
The karmic law had always worked in this world.
"Where is he?" Mineta asked and didn't ask anything else.
"He is being apprehended, and Aizawa-sensei should be talking with him now."
"Mineta-kun... what do you think we should do?"
Mineta looked at Iida, who asked this question. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... what should we do toward Aoyama?" Iida asked in frustration since he just didn't know what to do. One part of him hated Aoyama and felt glad that this person had been caught, but another part of him had thought of him as a precious classmate.
This didn't just happen to him; it also happened to all of them except for Mineta. This was why this betrayal hurt so much, and the pay for betraying one's trust was big. It was hard to believe someone could do something like that, but even so, was it okay to leave their classmates like this?
This might be easy if they were a little older since an adult could be callous and cold. An emotion in their hearts wouldn't be able to sway their decision.
Mineta wondered whether he had to become a counseling teacher once again.
"Do you want to do something to him?"
"That's..."
Part of them was still scared of Aoyama since if Hagakure didn't expose him, then what would this Aoayama do?
Would he give all of the information and then let Hokusai drop a hydrogen bomb when Mineta wasn't around?
If so, then wouldn't all of them die?
They had never thought about it before, but death had always been so close to them.
This feeling... unless one tasted it, they wouldn't understand. Even now, they had this lingering feeling around them, and it wasn't until they saw Mineta that they sighed in relief since they knew that with Mineta around, they would be alright.
"To be honest, I don't know much about the detail, but one thing for sure, whether he was being forced or not, the fact that he had betrayed all of us and even put us in danger didn't change."
They nodded since this was a fact.
Midoriya struggled, but in the end, he couldn't say anything. Unlike in the original, he didn't meet Lady Nagant, and he worshipped Mineta now, so he couldn't say anything if his hero didn't want to forgive Aoyama since, without a doubt, the one who hurt the most in Aoyama's action was Mineta.
"Without a doubt that he would receive a punishment that he deserved, but even so, let's forgive him."
"...eh?"
"I mean... is there anyone who can fight against All-For-One's will? If your family is being threatened with being killed, and you were forced to do something, could you disagree?"
"......."
No one could say anything since if they were in Aoayama's place; they were afraid they would do the same.
"Let bygones be bygones. The only thing that we need to focus on is to defeat All-For-One, Shigaraki, and Hokusai."
"Yes!"
The thought of their friends being forced into something that they didn't want to by All-For-One, put their youth-like feelings in turmoil, and they put all of their hatred into All-For-One!
Mineta wasn't surprised by their reaction. Instead, this was a normal thing since he knew that they were still in a state of disbelief. They didn't want to believe that Aoyama had betrayed them. Instead, they wanted to believe in something else, so he gave them a chance to do so, which was to put all of their hatred into All-For-One.
If they were an adult, while they were hurt, they would be able to mask their emotions. Unfortunately, they weren't, and they needed someone to direct them, so they wouldn't be at a loss.
Still, for him? How did he feel about Aoyama?
Honestly, he didn't care. Instead, he thought that it was stupid of them to be able to forgive Aoyama, but people needed to be given a chance. Only one chance was enough, and if this person still betrayed after that chance was given, then everything was over. There was no need to talk anymore since it was impossible for a trust to be born once again.
With this matter resolved, he thought to rest since he hadn't slept for a night. Yet, Nezu called him to his office.
"........"
What could he do?
In the end, he went to Nezu's office, but fortunately, Jiro whispered something to him, which made him sigh in relief and anticipate tonight.
"........"
Jiro thought that this guy was as perverted as ever.
---
"Sorry for interrupting you, Mineta-kun."
"...um."
"I understand." Nezu sighed. "Your mood must be bad to know that your friend has betrayed you..." He thought that Mineta's mood was caused by Aoyama, and he didn't feel surprised by it, but even so, please forgive him since Mineta was the only person with whom he could discuss this matter.
"......."
Mineta shut his mouth since this wasn't the reason why his mood was bad. "Let's be straight, Nezu-sensei. What's wrong?"
"Okay, I will cut everything short since there is something important that you need to know."
Nezu took a deep breath and said, "The strongest hero of the United States, Star and Stripe has been killed by Shigaraki."
"......"