"honesty and grace" (Mezo Shoji X Reader)

Chapter 14

The boys return to the dorms after about two hours of messing around at the playground. Everyone sits in the common room at their return, greeting them as they walk through the large entrance door. "Good afternoon!" Shouts Iida as Sato and Ojiro nod in his direction. The two other boys raise a hand to wave to him.

"Guys, we're playing board games, wanna join?" Midoriya asks, looking over at the rest of the group.

Three of the four boys nod, agreeing to play Sorry with Mina. Shoji, however, shakes his head and politely denies his offer. "No, I think I'll just watch." He says simply, sitting down next to Kirishima on the green couch. He had a white bandanna around his forehead, a large smile on his face as he watched Bakugou destroy Sero, Denki, and Hagakure in Monopoly.

From the other couch, Shoji looks over at Mina's game of Sorry, watching as Koda takes the lead and the other three fall behind. One by one, the kids left the room, going to their respective bedrooms or leaving the building. Now, it was just the girls, Ojiro, and Shoji sitting in the common room. Mina, Tsu, Ururaka and Momo finish a game of Sorry, Tsu coming out victorious.

"So, how was your guy's time at the park?" Mina asked aloud, looking over to the two boys.

Ojiro took the reins, looking up from his phone with a smile. "It was actually really fun. Koda had a bunch of birds by him, and a hawk came out of nowhere and scared everyone." He chuckles, placing his tail in his lap.

The girls shared a laugh along with the boys, though Shoji didn't react. His eyes were glued to his phone, texting a certain woman in particular. "Whatcha doing?" Mina asked, sitting in between the two boys while looking at that taller boy.

His eyes flick to the girl before flicking back to his phone, stammering a little as he answers. "I'm talking to (F/n)." His voice is soft, shutting his phone off and sliding it into the pocket of his sweatpants.

"You two are so cute!" Ururaka cries, her eyes closing while her face becomes a slight shade of pink.

The two boys sputter, looking at her with wide eyes. "What?" They ask in unison, eyes wide.

Her face lights up with confusion. "Oh, are you telling me you two are just friends?" She asks, now really embarrassed. "I'm sorry for assuming things, you guys just seem a lot more than that."

"In fact," Tsu starts, putting her finger on her chin, "you used to always head over there before early morning classes. You haven't done it recently, but you always walk over there after school."

Jirou smiles, crossing her arms and sitting back on the couch parallel to the boys. "It's kinda obvious. Either you agreed to be one of her caretakers, or she seems to be someone you fancy." She teases, a small smile on her face.

Shoji's face, though covered by his mask, is visibly a warmer shade. "She is just a friend." He manages to get out, standing up.

Mina's face lights up with excitement, standing along with the tall boy. "I can't believe it! The second time I get to say it, but someone's in love!" Her voice is teasing, loud, too.

With a sigh, the color disappears from Shoji's face as he turns to meet Mina's eyes. "I'm not in love, I'm just trying to be a good friend." With that, he turns and goes to his room.

Once he's out of view, Ojiro laughs and looks at the rosy skinned girl. "Yeah, I'm sure he's in love. Whenever we hang out, they're always together." All the girls turn to him, looking at him with wide eyes. "What? It's true."

"Do you know how (F/n) feels about him? I mean, we can't just assume things, so we have to break things down." Uraraka says, looking up at Mina. "Like she did when she found out I liked someone." She chuckles.