"honesty and grace" (Mezo Shoji X Reader)

Chapter 7

Shoji kneels down next to the deflated mattress, helping you lay it out. He takes the electric pump and plugs it in, attaching it to the small nozzle on the far end of the blow up bed. Eventually, the two of you had the whole thing set up, neither of us not even saying a word to each other the whole time. You decided to break the silence, looking at the taller man with a small, lighthearted smile.

"I'll get you a blanket and a pillow. I hope you don't mind just laying on the mattress itself. We don't have any other sheets." Your hand rubs the back of your neck nervously.

"It's alright, really." He says, causing you to smile. You quickly ran to the small closet that you had gotten the air mattress from. Soon enough, the blankets and pillow you had grabbed from the small shelves are laid out on the mattress, looking cozier than ever. Shoji looks down at the bed for a little while, seeming as though he was lost in thought. "Thank you." He says, surprising you with his voice.

As he expresses his gratitude, you stand up and wave a hand in his direction. "No need to thank me, man, it's my pleasure."

You back towards the coffee table you had moved. Swiftly, you tidy it, collecting the small things that had been left on it for a few days. You even make a mental note of having to do the dishes, given that one of the things on it was a cup you had used about three days ago. Before looking back at the boy, you bring the things into the kitchen and put them away in their rightful spots. He seems to be lost in thought as he grabs his phone out of his pocket. You were about to voice concern, though he spoke before you could.

"I'm not sure why you haven't made me explain myself, but I have to ask; why would you let me in so quickly?" He asks curiously.

You lean over the counter while looking at Shoji as he stands and moves his bag next to the bed. "I know that you and I aren't exactly best friends, but you're just someone that needed help. Unfortunately, if my mom were here, you'd be on your way over to someone else's house." You laugh softly. The man nods, eyes traveling around the room. "Sorry if the whole thing is messy, I was supposed to clean the place but I got distracted."

Shoji gives you a small, just barely visible through the mask, closed eye smile and puts all six hands up in front of him, then waving his back pair at me. "Oh, it's no problem, I don't mind. I hope I'm not intruding." His tone is a comical type of overwhelmed.

"No, you're okay." You give him a small wave. "So why did you have to leave the dorms? Didn't you have to be there at four?"

He nods, taking a seat to feel the pressure of the mattress, patting it softly. "Health precautions, apparently."

You turn away from him, stretching your arms up towards the ceiling with a soft hum. "Are you hungry? I know we ate like two hours ago, but I noticed you didn't really eat much." He only shakes his head politely, placing his phone on the air mattress.

For a few moments, the two of you sit in comfortable silence. The sound of the AC kicking up is the only thing that can be heard throughout the whole building. Your eyes continue to flick towards the boy, noticing that the extra hand on his side has changed into an eye, looking down at his phone. His back set of arms had rested as they usually did, and so did the middle. But the first pair was a hand and an eye. When you had seen him do this in the mall, you were kind of weirded out. Knowing that his quirk could allow him to change his tentacles into other limbs was astonishing and very interesting to you, however. You had always been one of those people who kept very detailed notes on people and their quirks, but you only had notes on a few from Japan. In America, there are no major heroes, none like All Might. They really only mattered locally.

It takes you a moment to realize that you had been staring at Shoji. Luckily he didn't seem to notice. Your eyes scanned the room, making a quick decision to start picking up the place. After having cleaned the refrigerator, pantry, and spice rack earlier this morning, you decide to just clean off the counters and sweep the floors. You knew it wasn't exactly the polite thing to do with a guest over, but you were sure that Shoji would understand.