Mineta couldn't sleep.
Hadn't, for three nights.
He didn't know why.
Every time he closed his eyes, he was falling—
Not down, but through.
Through desks, concrete, bone.
Through screams that weren't his own.
And every time he hit the bottom?
He woke up with blood on his lip and a voice in his head saying:
"This isn't your body, little grape."
U.A. Infirmary.
Mineta sat on the edge of the bed, cheeks puffed, trying to look casual.
Recovery Girl hovered near his chart.
"Overexertion?" she muttered.
"I haven't even trained this week," he said.
She leaned in. "Headaches?"
"Crushing."
"Voices?"
He blinked.
Too long.
"...No."
Eri walked by the hallway.
Saw him.
Stopped.
Mineta looked up, waved.
His pupils dilated for a moment too long.
Her horn tingled.
She took one step toward him.
Time lurched.
Not froze.
Just bent.
A poster on the wall flapped backward.
Dust pulled into vents.
A fly flew in reverse.
Only for a second.
But Eri noticed.
And Mineta?
He grinned.
Later. Dorms.
Aizawa stood in front of the Class 1-A board.
New headline:
"Minor Distortions Detected in Sector 3 Dormitory – U.A. Satellite Scanner Logs."
He read it in silence.
Tapped the side of the screen.
"Mineta's room," he muttered.
Beside him, Present Mic said nothing.
Just adjusted his glasses.
"They're not over, are they?"
"Nope," Aizawa replied. "The Spiral broke, but the ripples didn't."
Eri kept her distance.
Watched Mineta in class.
He raised his hand.
Answered questions sharper than usual.
No jokes. No perversion. No stupid comments.
Just cold, clinical facts.
Too perfect.
He blinked slower.
Breathed quieter.
He was mimicking a person—
Not being one.
Midoriya noticed it too.
"Mineta's… different," he whispered to Uraraka.
"Yeah, like he finally matured or something."
"No," Deku said.
"He's… rehearsed."
Uraraka blinked. "What?"
He didn't answer.
Just turned to Eri.
Her eyes were already locked on the grape-headed boy.
That night.
Mineta stood at the mirror.
Stared.
Then his reflection didn't match.
It blinked after he did.
Then smiled before he did.
He leaned closer.
"You don't belong here," the reflection whispered.
"But I do now."
A crack formed in the mirror.
Red light bled from it.
Like a horn being born beneath the glass.
Eri stood on the rooftop.
Wind in her hair.
Horn glowing faintly.
She felt it again—
Not a Spiral.
But an Echo.
Not hers.
Not anymore.
It was inside him.
She closed her eyes.
Muttered to herself:
"They're not trying to rewind time anymore."
"They're trying to rewrite people."
Down below.
Mineta walked into the courtyard.
Hands in pockets.
Whistling a tune that didn't exist yet.
And in his shadow—
Something twitched.
Fingers.
Too many.
To be continued.