"honesty and grace" (Mezo Shoji X Reader)

Chapter 34

Never before had the dupli-armed boy gone through something like this. Talking to countless police officers, giving them tips, speaking to pros; yet the general public had no idea what was going on. All within the span of what was barely twenty-four hours, there was already a total of thirty-two heroes, pros and basic level, searching the city. The police were looking through abandoned warehouses, vacant buildings, rundown hotels, and even popular places with a lot of people coming and going everyday.

Patrols around the city also changed. Numerous heroes were assigned a district, and pros were expected to have two or more sidekicks with them at all times. The patrols graveyard shifts would also have multiple heroes working in an area. They would be accompanied by the occasional squad car, each police officer patrolling the city well aware of the situation at hand.

Aizawa had eventually informed his students about what was going on, given that Shoji told a few of them he was closest with. On Friday, which would have been the current day, he had been excused from classes, but refused to stay at the dorms and sulk. As much as he wanted to sit around and do nothing, he knew that it wouldn’t solve anything, but only make things worse.

Ojiro, Sato, and Tokoyami would constantly talk to him throughout the day, trying to distract or comfort him. Though it wasn’t the most effective, he genuinely appreciated the effort his friends were going through to help him out. It was beyond meaningful to know that his friends were really there for him, all of them wanting to just try and help him out.

The mood of the whole class had changed once Aizawa told them. Everyone seemed to fall silent, not a single person feeling comfortable enough to speak. That was, until the legitimate classes started. Some had stopped by Shoji’s desk to make sure he was alright, but he constantly brushed them off. Occasionally, during the hero training with All Might, he would snap at Mineta for his antics, not wanting to put up with anything he didn’t necessarily have to.

After classes were done and they had made it back to the dorms, he asked his teacher if he could sit and do his homework in his study. “I’m not going to be in there to help you with anything, I’m going with All Might and Tsukauchi to search for (Y/n).” Aizawa said, standing near the exit door of the dorm building. He was wearing his dark hero costume, a thin eyebrow quirked up in confusion.

“I know, I just want it to work in silence.” The boy says, adjusting his backpack over his shoulders.

“What’s wrong with your room?” He asks genuinely, wondering why he can’t just work in the comfort of his own bedroom.

Shoji points backwards and over his shoulders, his thumb directed towards Mina and Bakugou. The two people seem to be conversing excitedly about a game they both enjoyed. “They’re planning on playing video games, both of them on the same floor, screaming at their TV’s; Mr. Aizawa, may I please work in the study?” The boy’s tired voice is steady and monotone.

The ravenette looks up at him, eyes portraying something other than exhaustion for once. “Yes, you may. Please don’t get into the desks or cabinets, though I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that.” With that, Aizawa turns and walks out the main doors.

There was a slight heaviness that fell over the teenager, his eyelids slightly drooping as he walks into the teacher’s study. The room was small, a circular table filling the center of the room. Right when you walk in the door, a dark oak desk was in the right corner. It stands at about six feet and has a few artificial plants sitting on the top shelf. His teacher’s computer is off, the keyboard pushed underneath the slightly raised monitor. Numerous filing cabinets litter the room’s walls, none of them actually being in a coordinated spot. The grey walls melt coolly with the dark blue carpeted floor. The very room smelled of boredom.