Chapter 2: Emotional Support Cuddlebug

Midoriya Izuku was a magnet for danger. Not only did he attract danger to himself, but also to anyone around him. Kirishima, Uraraka, and Tsu had all been pulled into the insanity that many believed had inadvertently been caused by the hero-in-training called Deku.

This was only their first year of high school... Honestly, Shouji wasn't sure just how far he would survive if his friends continued putting themselves in this much danger. His hair was naturally gray; but he knew that if it hadn't been, he'd undoubtedly be graying prematurely because of the people he loved the most.

"You guys had us all worried." he murmured to Midoriya as the green haired menace-to-himself tightened his hold around Shouji's waist. "I'm just glad you're all safe."

Midoriya didn't say anything. He didn't really have to. None of his friends had to explain themselves because everyone in the class understood. This was what becoming a Pro meant. From the moment they became pro to the moment they died, their lives would constantly be jeopardized whenever they went out on missions. There was no such thing as an easy mission and there was no such thing as an assured victory. Every time they went out to help the world, there was a chance, no matter how small, that they may not make it back alive.

Everyone within the 1-A class understood that.

But no one felt like it would be genuine to say such a thing to the four students that had been on the news along with one of the most violent battles to take place in recent history. Because, even if they understood the dangers of heroic duties… that didn't mean they were okay with losing any of their friends.

"Thank you, Shouji." Midoriya's smile was tense and all Shouji wanted to do was wrap him back up in a hug and never let him step away. But he knew that Midoriya wouldn't like that. He was headstrong and didn't like showing vulnerability, in the beginning. Eventually, he would calm down from his high-strung nerves and relax enough to let Shouji help. But the six-armed teen had to be patient to see that day.

"I'm here for anything you may need."

Midoriya walked away from the common room with a forlorn expression clear on his face and worry swimming deep within his eyes. Shouji watched him go with a heavy heart.

"Hey, Shouji... I know it's not very common for me to ask this..."

Kirishima seemed just as lost as Midoriya. But unlike the green haired teen, it really wasn't all that common for them to hug or share touches. Kirishima was much too busy jumping around with his friends and exhausting his need for physical contact with the ones he considered to be closest to ever seek Shouji out for such things. Their relationship was kind, but it certainly didn't revolve around personal contact like others Shouji had made with his fellow students.

Without offering any words because he didn't really feel it was necessary, Shouji merely opened up his arms. Quietly, Kirishima shuffled close to his body, hands clasped tightly in front of his chest. It was odd that Kirishima wasn't going to hug him back, but Shouji didn't dwell much on that thought. Instead he just enveloped the redhead with all of his arms and cocooned him with, essentially, his whole upper body.

If Kirishima sniffled within the hug, no one would ever point it out.

After a few seconds had passed without Kirishima pulling away, Shouji closed his eyes and allowed himself to melt around the smaller teen. Kirishima's whole body was tense, as if still wound up and prepared for another fight, but the tension slowly ebbed away and his body drooped a bit. By the time the embrace broke, almost all of their classmates were gone.

Uraraka and Tsuyu were sitting on the couch, shoulders and legs touching. Their eyes were closed, but they didn't seem to be resting. Their bodies were, much like Kirishima's before the hug, much too tense.

"Thanks, Shouji." Kirishima whispered as he took a step back.

"If you ever need me, you know where to find me."

With a nod of gratitude, Kirishima followed the same route Midoriya had taken a few minutes ago. And that left Shouji with the two girls that seemed more shell-shocked than terrified.

"Is there anything I can-"

"Please sit between us, Sho." Uraraka's voice sounded to be far away and Shouji's heart clenched.

As heroes in training, they all knew that their lives would be constantly surrounded by danger... but knowing one thing truly was very different from living through it.

"Of course."

That's how he found himself sandwiched, essentially, between both of them. Uraraka's head lay on his shoulder while his left arms held her side, offering her warmth and comfort without being overbearing. Tsuyu, on the other hand, had splayed out against the couch and was using his right thigh as a pillow; his two lowest arms hovered above her arm and side, all the while the hand on his top arm ran over her hair.

That night, no words were shared between them. There weren't any jokes that would be appropriate to break the tension. They couldn't even think about an interesting fact or past experience that might alleviate the pressure that was currently enveloping the three of them. There wasn't even the motivation to try and bring up what had happened during the mission.

Eventually, both of the girls managed to fall asleep. Shouji counted his blessings because of this fact, even though he, himself, was not able to follow them into the land of slumber.

Admittedly, he was worried about all of his friends. They were all important in his life; he cared deeply about their well being.

Before these four had arrived; when all they had was the news and social media, he had seen just how terrified the rest of the class had been over what may have happened to them. He had witnessed just how scared everyone had been; mostly, because they were worried over their friends... but there was still the shadow of the villains they had been forced to face months ago hanging over them... they were all thinking the same thing, Shouji was sure: how long before one of us is finally killed by them?

Even though the League of Villains had yet to flat out kill any of them... at this point, such a conclusion was inevitable. There had been too many attacks focused on them. It was a very real possibility they had to worry about.

With a heavy sigh, Shouji began to wonder exactly what time it was. The windows he could just barely see were completely dark; there was no digital clock for him to find without using his quirk in this area.

Tsuyu shifted in her sleep, mumbling incoherently. Uraraka's hand somehow managed to wrap around his stomach, holding him loosely.

The six armed teen closed his eyes and thanked the world that his friends had come back alive to the class.

Things weren't really the same in Class 1-A after that night.

It was kind of like they had reverted back to the time after the summer camp; before they had started to get over the fact that they had twice been placed in perilous situations, against their will, in a rather short amount of time. There was tension following everyone and no one really dared try and break it down. Shouji wasn't sure if any of them were even capable of trying to break it, considering how everyone was so scared.

Honestly, though, Shouji was more terrified of the states his friends were currently in than the possibility of danger from villains. From a young age, he had wanted to be a hero. With parents as pragmatic and caring as his own, the dangers that came with the title of pro-hero had never been ones he had been ignorant to. Because of this, he was more worried about his friends mental states than he was about the danger he may possibly face in the future.

Because of this, Shouji was more focused on being able to aid his friends in any way they needed him than he was on sharpening his abilities for his future career as a pro-hero.

And this mindset became the reason why his status as a Cuddlebug within the class received an upgrade. In no time he had received the promotion of Emotional Support Cuddlebug.

Uraraka

The Cuddle Chart was one of Class 1-A's most important traditions- if not the most important one. It had been established with the input of the whole class and everyone actively took part in offering Shouji some form of physical contact. Unlike Satou's and Bakugou's meals, which happened sporadically, or Ashido's dance parties that were only capable of taking place whenever Aizawa-sensei was absolute exhausted or nowhere to be found, the Cuddle Chart's activities occurred every single day.

But it had been established at a time when most of the class was in a pretty good mental state.

Uraraka was the first one to ask Shouji to adjust his time a little bit so she could spend just a tiny bit more time cuddled up to him. Shouji had agreed immediately, more than aware of the frazzled state of her nerves, and cut some time away from his own free time to make sure he could do what had been asked of him.

She hadn't been sleeping well. The bags under her eyes were enough of a testament to the fact for Shouji to be aware of the problem. But there were other things Uraraka did that pointed towards her not getting enough sleep during the night. Her concentration in class had dropped and, more often than not, she wasn't paying attention when a teacher called on her to answer a question; she had also wound up with her face against the desk with soft snores emanating from her body on two occasions now.

While he wasn't sure, he also had the growing suspicion that all of the times she had run into walls recently had been because her eyes had been closed as she walked. Normally, if she walked into a wall, it would be because she was paying too much attention to some conversation or maybe because she had been too deep in her own thoughts. But Shouji didn't think either case was connected to the recent wall run-ins.

On the Cuddle Chart, Shouji had Sunday afternoons to himself. This was because he normally took this time to go and visit his family- so he wasn't really available for anyone to cuddle with him. But he didn't have to visit his family on these days; they didn't expect such a thing of him. He visited because he wanted to.

But when Uraraka asked him if he could stay a while with her on Sunday as she caught up on homework, Shouji phoned his mother to let her know he wouldn't be visiting that week.

His mother was saddened to hear such a thing, but understood that he was his own person and there would be days in which he would not be able to visit home; just make sure to visit when some free time reappears.

That's how Shouji now found himself with Uraraka sat on his lap, leaning over the table in front of them as she languidly worked on her homework.

Shouji wasn't very good at English and so he couldn't really give much valuable input on this specific assignment- he had been much more helpful with the history course. But that didn't stop Uraraka from asking for his suggestions every now and again.

"Hey, uh, Sho?" the scratching of pencil against paper stopped a little before Uraraka spoke up and he quirked his head slightly to the side.

"Yeah?"

Uraraka shifted somewhat and Shouji felt her body tense up momentarily.

He frowned at this- he didn't like seeing Uraraka like this. She wasn't supposed to feel self-conscious or worried... he much preferred it when she was allowed to be happy and care-free.

"C-could..." Uraraka took a moment to breathe in, square her shoulders, and continued, "Would you please hug me?"

A heavy silence hung over them.

Shouji did not move immediately.

Uraraka didn't elaborate her request.

Silently, Shouji moved his upper two sets of arms, unwinding them from being crossed tightly over his chest, so they gingerly moved around Uraraka's stomach. His lowest sets of arms remained beside him, hanging from the edge of the seat he was sharing.

Uraraka's body tensed up at first, but slowly, as the seconds ticked by, her body began to lose that tension.

They fell back into their past silence; only speaking up whenever Uraraka asked a question to break the monotony of their surroundings.

Hagakure

The Cuddle Chart had been designed to give Shouji enough free time to be able to rest up and recharge while alone; the nighttime was supposed to be another one of those moments in which he was completely off-duty.

He began to work over-time because of Hagakure; but he couldn't truly turn her down- the way the Cuddle Chart worked, she got a full hour with him on Wednesdays, but that was it. While most others were able to see him twice a week, she had traded off the multiple cuddlings for a longer time.

"Sho?" his door opened without a sound; he was only able to faintly hear Hagakure's barefooted steps.

He didn't even open his eyes as he rolled onto his side on his futon. "You know the drill."

With a grateful squeak, Hagakure rushed to the futon and made herself comfortable, pressing her back against Shouji's own.

This had begun around a week ago and Shouji only barely understood why Hagakure was having such bad nightmares that caused her to seek him out.

She'd probably tell him about the kind of nightmare that had woken her up this night come morning.

But, for now, he wanted to get some shut-eye before he needed to face another day of draining classes and rigorous testing.

Tokoyami

Because of the way the Cuddle Chart was composed, Shouji didn't really have free time during the school week. Unlike most of his friends, the free time they were supposed to have after class to complete homework and relax was always scheduled out- he didn't have as much free time to choose where to go and where to be because of the commitments he had to his classmates.

With the way that the Cuddle Chart had been sectioned off, he had a free period after school to be alone. After that, from five in the afternoon to a little after eight at night, he was always with someone.

Shouji didn't mind this because he didn't really have that many school activities he needed to take care of- and the ones he did have were usually shared with the people he spent his time with because of the way they had constructed the Cuddle Chart with his own input.

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow had him on Wednesday afternoon and Friday night. Generally, on Friday nights, Kouda, Ojiro, Iida, and he would get together and watch some kind of movie before turning in for bed; because Tokoyami was the last person on the Cuddle Chart on Fridays, it was customary for Dark Shadow to remain wrapped around his shoulders with Tokoyami sat close by until 8:10 p.m. hit. Afterwards, Tokoyami would shift away, Dark Shadow would return to his human, and Shouji would be given his space.

Two weeks after The Almost Disaster (as the class had taken to calling the close-call four of their own had experienced), Tokoyami didn't shift away once his time was up; Dark Shadow didn't leave Shouji's shoulders.

If anyone was bothered by this fact, no one said a word.

Kaminari

On more than one occasion, Kaminari and he had gotten in trouble during lunchtime.

It wasn't really either of their fault- if anything, it was the fault of the school officials that didn't understand that sitting on someone's lap didn't have to mean anything more than friendship.

Due to this, Kaminari had decided that he would leave sitting on Shouji's lap for his turn on Saturdays and during his turn at lunchtime on Thursdays, he'd settle for other forms of human contact with Shouji.

Three weeks after The Almost Disaster, Kaminari sat down beside him on the lunch table with a tray piled high with foods- he offered Shouji the takoyaki he had managed to snag before it had run out. How he had managed to do such a thing was beyond Shouji, considering how takoyaki was one of the foods that ran out the fastest in the cafeteria.

Kaminari pulled his chair close to Shouji's and sat down in a way that their bodies were touching each other and there was little space between them. Shouji wound up having to lean back somewhat in his chair and move his left arms behind Kaminari- essentially hugging his side the whole lunch period.

Conversations continued around him, Kaminari laughed and made fun of Bakugou with Ashido's help, and things seemed pretty normal.

But, at the beginning of lunch, Kaminari's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, which were duller than normal.

With each passing minute, though, Kaminari's mood picked up and Shouji was able to see him return to his usual fun-loving self before they had to return to class.

Asui

Normally, whenever he was with Asui, they always spoke about possible upgrades or additions to the class garden.

Recently, they had begun to talk about their families and had come to find out that they had very similar backgrounds- Asui had many siblings, just like him; Asui's parents were kind and had essentially predisposed them to care about others, just like him; Asui had a constant worry of disappointing them after they had helped her so much to achieve her dreams of becoming a hero... just like him.

On Friday afternoons, they would sit in the garden, side by side, Asui's hand on his thigh and his arms rested against her back, as they just spoke about their truths.

The Almost Disaster had truly affected Asui and it had taken her a while to be able to return to a regular sleep schedule with only minimal amounts of nightmares.

She thanked him for lending a listening ear always- talking about these issues had truly helped her out.

Shouji was just thankful he had been able to be there for her.

Kirishima

Kirishima had tried to soldier through and surpass the trauma from The Almost Disaster for three whole weeks before he gave in and sought Shouji out.

It had been an unfortunately rainy Sunday; no one had been truly focused on heading out and doing much of anything because of the gloomy weather.

Taking advantage of his free time, Shouji had remained in his room most of the morning to rest up and prepare himself for another week he knew wouldn't be easy to get through.

As he moved through some stretching yoga poses, he heard a knock on his door. He moved out of the leg stretch and called out for whoever it was to open up as he moved to sit cross-legged.

He had been expecting either Uraraka to appear- to ask him to accompany her for a little bit of time- or Bakugou Satou, maybe- because they enjoyed pushing their newest baking endeavors on him to taste; it wouldn't even have been a stretch of the imagination to find Ashido or even Tokoyami seeking him out just to hang out in the common area for a little.

His eyes widened ever so slightly when he found Kirishima's bright red hair drooping around his face. He had only ever seen Kirishima with his hair in this style when he was going to sleep; never before had he seen him walking around in such a state.

"Kirishima?" he asked.

Silence fell over them for a few seconds; Shouji's eyes narrowed as he took in the heavy bags underneath the other boy's generally bright eyes.

Still clad in his pajamas, Kirishima shuffled into his room and softly closed the door behind him. He didn't move away, instead remaining leaning against the door with his eyes seemingly glued to the floor.

Shouji pressed his thin lips together as a few more seconds passed by in silence... and then he cleared his throat, "It seems you found me."

Kirishima's eyes narrowed in confusion at this, but soon widened. Shouji smiled to himself and waited for him to do anything.

He was here for Kirishima; whatever he may need. If Kirishima needed him to hug him, he would. If Kirishima needed him to talk, he would. If Kirishima just needed him to stay seated while he remained standing against the door, he would- anything.

"Man, you're so manly." Kirishima sniffled softly, one hand raising to rub at the eyes he closed.

"Thanks."

A few more seconds of silence passed between them.

Then Kirishima breathed in heavily, breathed out with just as much force, and threw himself into Shouji's arms.

The babbling that followed these actions was mostly incoherent and if anyone were to ask Shouji what Kirishima's biggest fears were (fear of failure; fear of not being good enough; fear of not being able to protect himself and much less others; fear of being used against those he cared most about; fear of amounting to nothing), he wouldn't be able to say anything- he'd understood nothing.

Mineta

Much like Hagakure, Mineta got time with him once a week but for a whole hour.

Because they were always together on Saturday nights, Shouji generally found himself accompanying the shortest member of Class 1-A out on some kind of every day, common hangouts most teenagers were able to experience.

Mineta wasn't one for touching others- and Shouji believed this was for the best due to his... obsessions with the female form. Every now and again, though, he'd poke at Shouji's shoulders or legs- whichever was most readily available- to get his attention or make a point.

Things with Mineta didn't really change too much after The Almost Disaster. They continued going out to different arcades to waste a few coins on meaningless games and then buy some delicious treats.

One thing that did, though, was the conversational topics. Instead of pointing out every other cute girl his eyes caught whenever they were together... Mineta refrained from too much woman talk when with Shouji. Interestingly enough, he would instead ask about possible combination ideas and battle strategies- especially for search and rescue missions.

He'd still alert Shouji whenever a 'True Ten' caught his eyes, of course, but... well... Mineta was just Mineta.

This change was still a noticeable change.

Kouda

"Kouda?"

"Hm?"

Shouji blinked at the large white dog currently within Kouda's bedroom. On all fours, it was huge; it wouldn't surprise Shouji if it was able to reach his shoulders if it were to raise up on its hind-legs and stand up straight.

The large animal had been snoozing in the center of the room, but when Shouji had spoken up, it had raised its large head and looked at him. Its ears were long and floppy, with long brown spots on both, there was a brown line of fur surrounding its mouth, and its nose was a wet black. With a heavy yawn, the large dog showed off its particularly sharp teeth.

Shouji contemplated what his next plan of action should be.

Should he ask Kouda about the dog? Should he remind his friend about school regulations against large animals? Should he just walk out and deny ever having seen the evidence of Kouda breaking school rules?

Kouda was resting with his back against the large animal's own- he seemed relaxed and content.

With a sigh, Shouji shook his head.

"We should get the rest of the Class involved if we want to keep Aizawa-sensei from finding out about this."

"Hm!" Kouda's eyes opened and he nodded quickly.

The large dog glanced from Shouji over to Kouda before resting its head against the ground once more and closing its eyes.

No cuddling was had that afternoon. Instead, Kouda and he began to contemplate ways to get the rest of the class to cooperate in keeping the dog's presence from their teachers.

Aoyama

"You don't really have to make so much stuff for me, Aoyama. My closet's already full."

Aoyama continued to flit about him, straightening out the most recent coat he had made to make sure that it was a perfect fit.

"Nonsense, mésange à tête noire. Believe me when I say there is no such thing as a full closet."

Aoyama had been working on countless articles of clothing for the whole class ever since The Almost Disaster. Everyone- even Bakugou and Todoroki- had received at least a brand new, fashion-forward article of clothing made by the blonde boy.

With the almost frenzied way Aoyama was working, Shouji could tell that this was one of the ways he was working through any of the negative feelings the horrible moment in time had caused within him.

So, even though he didn't even have enough space left in his closet, he allowed Aoyama to continue working on the gray and blue coat and he accepted it and twin kisses to his cheeks once night hit and Aoyama had finished.

Ashido

Ashido had recently begun to take naps on him while they were together.

Shouji did his best to try and keep from accidentally waking her up from moving too much; while simultaneously doing his best to keep their friends from making too much noise.

Ashido wasn't the kind to speak about things that were bothering her- instead, she was the kind to talk positively about the future and their plans. She was the kind to offer reassuring words and comforting hugs to any that may have seemed to need it. She was seemingly filled with boundless positivity and was more than happy to share it with the rest.

In a way, Shouji could relate to her. She was clearly doing a lot to help their friends; just like him.

So when Ashido first started snoring with her head lolling lazily against his chest, he found out that her energy was not boundless and she needed to recharge.

He was just lucky he was able to help her rest up.

Sero

Sero, Kaminari, and Ashido had a somewhat dangerous monopoly over him on Saturday afternoons. Kaminari's time with him started at five p.m., Sero's followed his, and Ashido's came last before Mineta's. Because of this, they were able to, essentially, having Shouji's cuddles for a full hour and a half at the same time.

Before The Almost Disaster, a few of the students would grumble about this monopoly and call it unfair.

Now, whenever anyone came into the common room to find Shouji trapped underneath a mountain of Baku-squad members, they just shook their heads and walked off- differing looks of amusement or happiness on their faces.

But on the days that they wanted their individual time with Shouji, the two that didn't have their time with Shouji at the moment would leave them to give them privacy.

Which was the reason why Sero was currently laying on the couch with his head in Shouji's lap. There was a comedy movie playing on the television, but neither of them was paying attention to it.

"You've got the best hands too, Sho." Sero mumbled sleepily as Shouji continued to card his fingers through his dark hair.

Shouji smiled, thanked him, and asked when was the last time he had managed a full night's rest.

If Sero heard the question, he certainly acted as if he hadn't. Within a few minutes, he was snoring.

Midoriya

There was only one student that didn't get two days out of the week to cuddle with Shouji: Midoriya Izuku. He had taken this in exchange for being Shouji's exclusive partners on field trips.

Under normal circumstances, this really wouldn't have been too much of a bother.

But ever since The Almost Disaster, Midoriya had stopped himself just short of asking Shouji for some more time with him whenever he sought him out. He only ever spent time with Shouji on Thursday afternoons for half an hour- as the Cuddle Chart dictated.

Shouji waited patiently for a full month before he decided to take matters into his own hands. Midoriya could make his own decisions, after all, and was more than free to choose if he wanted to ask for help or not.

But after almost burning his own hands during a misread of the instructions during their science lab, Shouji decided that enough had been enough.

One month after he had faced one of the most violent moments in recent history, Shouji finished getting dressed and made to go search out some breakfast. Once he was down in the kitchen, he found Midoriya seated at the table, head resting heavily against the hand he had propped up by his elbow.

Sighing softly, he made his way towards Midoriya, sat down beside him, and pulled him in close. "Get some sleep, Deku."

Midoriya didn't even attempt to fight him off.

That Sunday, he had to call his mother and inform her that he wouldn't be able to visit because he was making sure a friend of his finally got the rest he had been denying himself.

It had been the right call, too. Midoriya slept just about the whole day away. He only ever woke up when he was jolted awake by a nightmare. But by just taking one look at Shouji, who remained by his side the whole time, he was able to calm down and fall back asleep.

Ojiro

"I want you to be able to protect yourself."

Ojiro, just like the rest of his friends, had been affected by The Almost Disaster.

"I'm fi-"

One glare had Shouji shutting up immediately.

"You're all brute strength in a fight, Sho. You're a diamond in the rough, yes, but you'll never get far without proper technique."

Shouji wasn't even looking forward to having to be a frontline fighter as a hero- he was built for search and rescue or supporting roles. That, or stealth based missions. Because of this, he had never been too keen on having to refine any true fighting style.

Besides... he wasn't a big fan of violence. He used his large body in a fight, yes, but that didn't mean he liked having to use brutal methods when necessary.

"I'm sure that if we were to ask the rest of the class, they would agree that you need to know how to defend yourself in the event you're ever attacked."

Ojiro was worried for his friends and their safety; Hagakure had also begun to learn some martial arts under him a few weeks ago.

Shouji, truly, didn't want to have to learn how to fight... but he sighed and gave in because he knew that this would aid in giving Ojiro some of the peace of mind that had been destroyed a month ago.

Yaoyorozu

"Would you like some more tea?"

Shouji shook his head, "I'm good. Are you sure you've eaten enough, though?"

Wednesday lunch period was one of Yaoyorozu's periods to be with him. She took full advantage of this by getting him to aid her in preparations that pertained to her job as class vice president. Even though Iida was president, Wednesdays were his day off from this sort of work and Shouji took his place to help Yaoyorozu.

Now that he thought about it... even though Iida got a break from this sort of stuff, Yaoyorozu didn't...

They were currently within their classroom, figuring out how to bridge the disconnect between Class 1-A's teachers and the students. Yaoyorozu admitted that things in the class were damp nowadays in a way they had never been and she believed that maybe getting the teachers to talk to them about the harsh realities of hero work might help.

Shouji wasn't very sure about the plan, but he was here to help, not to question ideas.

"I'm fine."

She wasn't. She had barely touched her bento box.

Shouji sighed as he stood up from his desk and made his way towards her- Yaoyorozu was hurriedly moving past papers she had dumped on the desk at the front of the room. Her bento had been forgotten on top of her own schooldesk.

As he passed by it, Shouji picked up the container and moved towards her.

Once he was in front of her, he placed one hand over the papers she was moving while offering the bento up with another. A third hand came to rest over her right shoulder and he offered, "I can't let the class vice president starve on my watch, you know. I can't have the class turn on me."

There was a split second in which her eyes narrowed and a frown appeared on her lips; causing Shouji to wonder if he had crossed a line... but soon, Yaoyorozu sighed and grabbed a hold of her bento.

"Thank you, Sho."

Satou

Satou was now uniting his Cuddling Time with Ojiro to force melee fighting education on Shouji.

Hagakure, Jiro, Mineta, Kouda, and Tokoyami were now part of the classes and Shouji couldn't understand why they would rather force him to learn a fighting style he was clearly incompatible with instead of cuddling up to him.

He missed the feeling of Ojiro's tail over his shoulders as they worked on homework; just like he missed Satou's hugs that left him covered in flour and sugar.

But... this was what his friends needed to clear their minds. Hopefully, after a few more weeks of this, things would go back to normal...

At least Satou would clap him on his shoulder and Ojiro would fist-bump with him whenever he managed to successfully complete a move. It wasn't quite the same as before, but at least it was something.

Iida

The way in which Iida coped with The Almost Disaster was... interesting, to say the least.

"And what new information have you brought to the table, Shouji?"

With a small sigh, Shouji put down his notes on the Hero Killer Stain.

Uraraka looked over them, murmured about how this was all pretty basic information, but reassured Shouji that he could do better if he just put some more thought into it. Midoriya nodded in agreement but commended him on having had the foresight of getting information on a villain that might be able to break out of prison with the way things had been spiraling into chaos recently.

The time he was supposed to spend with Iida cuddling him to some degree or another was now spent in a sort of 'Doomsday Preppers' meeting space. Uraraka and Midoriya went to all of the missions, but kept their distance from Iida and Shouji.

Iida always sat directly beside him with their shoulders touching. That was as far as their human contact went.

"You can do much better, Sho-kun! Have you ever thought about putting your information acquiring capabilities to the test within our own dorm rooms?" Shouji turned to look at Iida, only to find the blue haired boy with his eyes closed and his chin trapped between two fingers.

There was a moment in which they were engulfed by silence. Uraraka, Midoriya, and he waited patiently for Iida to speak again.

"Sho-kun! Your next assignment is to bring us a complete record of Class 1-A's sleeping habits!"

Luckily for him, before Iida could elaborate on what kind of insanity he was hoping for Shouji to take part in, Kirishima's head popped into the storage closet they were hiding within and asked if Shouji was ready to head over and watch some television.

Jiro

"The class is kind of going crazy, huh?"

Shouji sighed as he nodded and finished braiding half of Jiro's hair. "You've seen the way Ojiro and Satou are trying to teach us how to fight. Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya all want me to spy on the class to hone my skills."

Jiro was a much appreciated breath of fresh air in the dorms. While she was also worried about the future, she wasn't being consumed by the worry. She worked on her fears one day at a time, worked to become better, and was overall taking the aftereffect of The Almost Disaster in stride.

She was very much afraid of what could happen, yes... but she wasn't allowing it to consume her like others.

"I can't blame them, Sho."

"Huh?"

Jiro chuckled softly as she pushed herself up and moved from laying over Shouji's lap to sit down beside him. She grabbed a hold of the two hands he had suspended in the air, moving to hold them between her own.

"You're too sweet for your own good, Sho." she smiled softly, but there was a sadness to her eyes that Shouji couldn't understand. "You're kind of really important- I'm sure you've noticed."

Shouji pursed his lips behind his mask, morphed a mouth out of his shoulder, and murmured, "If you mean that everyone likes cuddling me, yeah. But there's plenty of other students a lot more-"

Jiro shook her head, "You're so lucky you've got us around, Sho." with another sad smile, Jiro shrugged her shoulders. "Just indulge them and their plans. They're working through stuff- slowly but surely. Midoriya's sleeping again, right?"

"Yeah..." Shouji clicked his regular tongue but nodded nonetheless. "I guess I'll have to start taking notes on people's sleeping habits, then."

Jiro's body tensed, her eyes closed, and then she shuddered. "Slowly but surely."

Bakugou

Spending time with Bakugou was somewhat similar to spending time with Ojiro and Satou- he too forced combat lessons on Shouji, but a different brand. Instead of hand-to-hand combat, Bakugou seemed more focused on teaching him how to avoid explosive long ranged attacks.

Well, at least, this was what happened on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, when he got Shouji at seven at night, he forced him into the kitchen to eat the dinner he knew that Shouji had not yet gotten.

While on Tuesdays Bakugou was all business and characteristically distant, on Thursdays he would sit beside Shouji and eat along with him.

There was still a distance between them because Bakugou only ever initiated physical contact when it was necessary; but it was noticeably less from what Bakugou tended to make between him and others.

Shouji appreciated Thursdays with Bakugou much more than Tuesdays. But, well, at least his hand-eye coordination was slowly getting better.

Todoroki

Todoroki, much like Jiro, was a calming presence in the classroom. Whenever they hung out, it was with Todoroki seated close enough to touch, but far enough to not be on top of each other, and they would play video games, watch simple movies, or maybe complete homework if Shouji hadn't yet finished it.

They were both very similar in the way that they preferred silence to remain between them if a conversation was not absolutely necessary.

Although, sometimes, Todoroki's cold hand would seek out Shouji's, clamping around him with an iron-tight grip that had Shouji biting his inner cheek to keep from commenting on how much it hurt.

Those times didn't come often. Generally, when they did come around, seemingly nothing had set Todoroki off- Shouji had yet to figure out a pattern to those moments.

They didn't talk about those moments. Shouji just held onto Todoroki's hand- the one that grabbed his own as if were a lifeline keeping him from being swallowed up by pure evil.

Eventually, Todoroki's grip would lighten and Shouji would still remain quiet.

If ever Todoroki wanted to talk about it, he was there to listen. But, until then, Shouji was just happy to help his friend.

With everything that had currently been going on, Todoroki's Cuddle Time was on par with Jiro's in aiding Shouji in relaxing.

+1: Eri

There was a girl sobbing in front of Class 1-A's dorms.

Shouji crouched down on his haunches a few meters away from her, attempting to make himself seem smaller than he truly was by hiding two of his three sets of arms behind his back and making his voice just a tad bit higher pitched.

"Are you lost?" he asked, desperately hoping that his appearance wouldn't make the girl scream out once she opened her eyes.

His appearance had always terrified those of such a young age. Due to this truth, he would have normally sought out any one of the girls of the class to aid him with the girl; but they were all at the festival grounds already, preparing for the busy day. Most of the class was already out of the dorms, really. The only ones left were Bakugou, Todoroki, and Mineta- who had less tact when dealing with children than him.

The little girl had long white hair, what appeared to be a small horn protruding from the right side of her forehead, and was wearing a white and red overalls-looking dress with large brown boots.

He had never seen her before in his life and she didn't really look like she might be related to any of his classmates... except maybe Hagakure- he had no idea what she would look like without the invisibility.

His heart was beating quickly in his chest now.

The girl's soft sobbing slowed just a bit and her head moved, as if noticing that there was someone in front of her.

His breath caught in his throat when bright red eyes- both from the iris color and from all of the crying- looked up at him from above balled up fists.

There was no immediate reaction from the girl.

Would she start screaming because he scared her further?

Maybe he truly should have gone in and grabbed one of the last students in the dorms instead of attempting to take care of the situation himself...

"S-Sho-k-k-kun?"

Her voice wobbled with tears and she sniffled after saying the name... and Shouji's eyes widened.

How did she know that name?

Taken aback by the name, Shouji spent a few seconds staring back at the girl.

When the tears began to well up in her curious red eyes yet again, Shouji decided that his own confusion could be pushed to the side- this girl needed help.

"Yeah, that's what my friends call me."

She shuffled her feet, her hands lowered to grab onto the skirt of her dress, and, through stuffy nose, she asked, "I-Is it true you give the best h-hugs?"

Hmm... so maybe this girl was related to one of his friends. That would certainly explain how she knew such a thing.

With a soft nod, he opened up his top set of arms and closed his eyes, "Why don't you find out?"

He heard the hurried, undecided tapping of her feet running in place against the ground... then, that running took on some weight and soon he found his arms filled with the little girl. Her arms weren't truly capable of wrapping behind his back.

Shouji smiled softly at this, made sure to keep his hug loose but firm, and patted her back softly.

"You do give the best hugs..." she whispered, voice somewhat distant and absolutely amazed.

Shouji chuckled at the gasp, "Well, that's reassuring! I was worried I'd lose my title one day."

The little girl giggled and Shouji breathed out a sigh of relief- at least she wasn't scared of him.

Eri dug her face into the junction between his shoulder and neck, long hair whipping quickly as she shook her head in discontent.

"Eri, you've got to let go of Shouji. He's got to go perform."

Apparently, it had been Midoriya to inform the little girl about Shouji's hugs.

Shouji didn't doubt that Midoriya had only had the best of intentions when he had told her about his hugs and how, even with his terrifying appearance, he was still a kind person. And, really, it was flattering that Midoriya spoke to others about him.

But now Eri refused to release him from their hug; even after having carried her around for most of the afternoon in search of Mirio or Midoriya; and he really needed to be free so he could perform in their class' dance number.

"No. Sho-chan's hugs are only mine!"

Aizawa-sensei was standing behind Midoriya and Mirio and looked more surprised than tired at Eri's reaction. Mirio himself seemed taken aback by Eri's reaction to Shouji than either Midoriya or Aizawa-sensei- probably because he didn't know Shouji all that well.

Sho-chan... that was a new one.

Shouji knew that there were only a few minutes left before he had to go off and dance... and he really wanted to dance with his friends... this festival was kind of a new beginning for them all...

A dumb, very Midoriya-like idea popped into his brain as he looked over the crowd that was forming.

"Hey, Eri-chan, how would you like to go dance with me?"

"What?" Mirio and Midoriya chorused and Shouji created a mouth from his shoulder to smile apologetically at them.

"D-dance?"

Eri leaned backwards in his arms to look at him- face pulled in with clear confusion.

Shouji knew that there was a true backstory to this little girl that had never tried cotton candy before or been able to take part in a child-appropriate roller-coaster. She had marveled at these things once Shouji aided her in experiencing them, only to thank him profusely for the opportunity.

His heart squeezed at this thought... and nodded once.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe. All you've got to do is hold on tight and trust me."

Eri's eyes narrowed further as her lips pursed, truly contemplating the choice.

For a moment, Shouji thought that she would decide that the risk was too much and she would finally let go of him.

She surprised him by frowning sternly and nodding stiffly.

"I trust you."

Dancing with the girl held firmly by his top two sets of arms hadn't been easy, but his struggle felt so small when he heard the sounds of pure glee that came from Eri as she took part in Class 1-A's big dance number.

~..~..~

And that's that!

Hope y'all liked it! I got this idea for a sequel after watching the Overhaul insanity at the beginning of the fourth season and finally got around to writing it.

I may make a third and final one-shot where I go a bit deeper into Class 1-A paying Shouji back for all he's done- but I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?

Review if you'd like- it'd be pretty cool to hear thoughts about this!