Every Rose Has Its Thorn || ShojiNeta

10||Found

Here! Have a complete Ex Machina moment!

How could I have allowed myself to make such a silly mistake? Shoji thought to himself as he strolled through the park.

It was early in the morning. The octopus boi was on his way to UA to pick up a text book he accidentally left behind. He realized he forgot it last night when he went to get his homework out of the way, just so that it was done and out of the way.

Shoji continued to walk down the path, scolding himself, but also taking in the scene around him. The park sure looked beautiful in the winter time. Especially with the snow that decorated the trees. He smiled a little to himself. The snow's appearance is what makes this season bearable. he thought to himself with a shiver.

Being that coats that properly fit him properly are impossible to find, Shoji has no choice but to try to stay warm wearing a thick poncho. But it still didn't feel like much. He wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to warm himself, when something caught his eye.

Something that made him completely forget about the cold and why he was even out here in the first place.

Shoji felt his breath catch in his throat as he sprinted forward to get a closer look.

Sure enough, it was exactly what he feared it was.

A large puddle of blood had soaked into the snow. Curled up in a ball was a small body that shivered from the cold. Blood was frozen to a shoulder wound and a back wound. Tears were frozen to his cheeks. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow.

Mineta! Shoji thought in a panic. Good thing I'm on my way to UA. He pulled off his poncho, leaving him in just a tank top on his upper half. Carefully, he wrapped Mineta in the poncho like a blanket. Then he scooped his small classmate into his arms like they were a basket. Once that was taken care of, he ran towards UA.

"Mineta! Mineta, can you hear me?" Shoji asked.

A small whine escaped the boy's lips and his eyes opened a little. "W-Wha ... ?" he stammered.

"Hang in there, okay? You're going to be fine!" Shoji assured.

"Sh ... Shoji ... ?" was all Mineta was able to say before passing out again.

Please hang in there, Shoji silently pleaded. I don't know what happened to you, but that's not important right now. Let's just focus on keeping you alive. I'll worry about what happened later.

Shoji thought about the state Mineta was in when he found him. Especially the wounds. There were so deep and cleanly cut.

Clearly, whatever caused them was not an accident.

Shoji realized this and felt anger rising in his chest.

Shoji never told anyone this, but ever since Mineta had first approached him during the quirk apprehension test, he had developed a soft spot for him. It was the first time someone new to his life had looked at him with something other than fear in their eyes. In fact, it was also the first time someone looked at him in awe. Shoji figured Mineta must be different than everyone else.

The memory playing in Shoji's mind got interrupted when he realized he had approached the UA gates. He picked up the pace and rushed into the building, heading straight for Recovery Girl's office.

He ended up encountering Aizawa on the way.

When he saw his teacher, he rushed over to him. "Mr. Aizawa!"

Aizawa turned around and was a little surprised to see one of his problem children. "Shoji?"

Shoji stopped and took a moment to catch his breath. "I realized I left one of my text books here and I came to pick it up, but on the way...." His voice trailed off and he gestured to the bundle in his arms.

It was then Aizawa noticed the bundle. He took one look and gasped in surprise. "What happened?"

"I wish I could say. I just found him like this in the park. He was shivering and bleeding. Barely breathing, too. And unconscious."

"Come on. Let's get him to Recovery Girl," Aizawa said.

Shoji nodded and the two raced down the hall.

The moment the teacher and students burst into the room, Recovery Girl gave them a shocked look. "Aizawa? Shoji? What's going on?"

Shoji quickly explained what had happened.

"I see," Recovery Girl said when he finished. "You did good, Shoji. Now, go get your textbook and leave the poor boy to me."

Shoji nodded and set Mineta down on the nearest bed, leaving his poncho wrapped around the still slightly shivering boy. Shoji gave Mineta one last sympathetic look before turning around and heading towards the dorms. Aizawa walked alongside him.

The two walked in silence for a while before Aizawa spoke up. "Recovery Girl's right. You did good today, kid."

Shoji sighed to himself. "I hope I wasn't too late...."

"Try not to focus on that. Focus on what you succeeded in. If it weren't for you, Mineta might still be in the snow, freezing and bleeding out. He's tougher than he seems. He'll be okay," Aizawa assured.

"Thank you, Sensei. That helped," Shoji replied.

After a short while, Shoji got the text book he needed - an English one for Present Mic's class - and he and Aizawa headed back to Recovery Girl's.

However, when they got there, the healing was still in process. Shoji wasn't that surprised by this, but it still put him on edge. There wasn't anything he could do, so he took a seat in the hall and stared at his lap.

Aizawa watched looked at his student closely. Shoji always seemed so calm and collected. He had never seemed so upset.

"You okay, kid?" Aizawa asked.

"Yeah. Just worried for him, that's all," Shoji said.

Aizawa studied Shoji's face for a moment longer. Then he smirked a little. "He's a special one to you, isn't he?"

Shoji's face immediately changed from sorrowful to shocked. His face turned bright red. "W-What's that supposed to mean?!"

Aizawa chuckled a little at the reaction. "I know that look all too well. You care a lot for him. And you've gotten closer in recent times, I've noticed."

"Well, I've kind of always had a soft spot for him. He's the first person in a long time to see me as something other than a monster. I know the rest of the class doesn't think that, but he was the first to let me know it. He did it just be looking at me like I was cool instead of looking at me in fear. It was a nice change from what I've dealt with my whole life," Shoji explained. "Then I later found out he's actually a great guy to be around."

"I see," Aizawa said. "Makes sense for you to be worried, then." He'll figure it out eventually. Aizawa thought to himself.

The look in Shoji's eyes was the same one Aizawa had a few years ago.

Aizawa took a moment to think about that villain attack on a local bank. Cliche as that may be, the villains were actually pretty strong. And dangerous. Present Mic ended up getting badly hurt. Aizawa had never been so worried in his life.

That attack ended up being what made Aizawa realize he loved the loud blond that annoyed him so.

Meanwhile, Shoji couldn't stop thinking about what Aizawa said. Was he implying something? If so ... what? He couldn't POSSIBLY be implying that I-

His thoughts were interrupted when Recovery Girl walked into the hallway.

"Mineta's awake now. He's tired, but he'll be okay," Recivery Girl said.

Shoji let out a breath of relief and rushed into the room, eager to see how his classmate was doing.

Aaaaaand that wraps up another chapter. Hope you enjoyed!