The Rising of the Shield Hero of Peace

Chapter 6: A New Member

"What is going on in here?!" Motoyasu yelled.

"Oh, hello Motoyasu." Todoroki said, completely oblivious to the situation.

"Uh- I- I- Uhm-" Raphtalia stuttered, stumbling to search for an explanation to the predicament she was currently involved in.

"Hello?! That's all you have to say?!" Motoyasu yelled.

"Uh, yeah. That's normally how you greet someone." Todoroki said, still unaware.

"Oh, don't you get sassy on me! We're going back to Sensei, and you better have a good explanation for this!" Motoyasu said, pulling Todoroki by his arm while Raphtalia followed along.

A few minutes later, Todoroki, Motoyasu, and Raphtalia arrived at the church, where the rest of the heroes had agreed to meet at to increase their level capacity.

"Ah, young Todoroki, young Kitamura! Good to see you again! And who's this?" Yagi asked.

"Yeah, Todoroki. Who's this?" Motoyasu said, staring daggers at Todoroki, who did not react.

"This is Raphtalia, she-" Todoroki said, before being interrupted.

"He did something to that girl! I found them both cuddling each other back where I found them." Motoyasu accused.

Raphtalia blushed once again after recalling the memory, while Todoroki still didn't understand what Motoyasu meant.

"Cuddling? She was cold, so I used my quirk to light a fire and warm her up." Todoroki said in monotone.

"Warming her up with your body, huh? That's an interesting way to put it." Motoyasu said, glaring at Todoroki.

"That's enough, Motoyasu. Young Todoroki, please explain yourself." Yagi said, wanting to make sure this wasn't just a misunderstanding.

"Right. When I got distracted, I heard the girl running away from a man. I took the girl to a safe place after freezing everything behind me to make sure he didn't follow us. I gave her some healing potions because of her bruises and cuts. She started to cough, so I assumed that she was cold, so like I said before I lit a campfire to warm her up. She wrapped around me to increase her body heat, I think." Todoroki explained, making Motoyasu feel like a fool after hearing how much that made sense, but still feeling like something was being left out.

"I see. Is this true, little one?" Yagi asked, kneeling to Raphtalia's height.

"Well, yeah... But I just hugged him and he hugged me back, nothing else!" Raphtalia said, trying to justify her actions towards Todoroki.

Then, an idea for what possibly could've happened clicked in Deku's mind. "Wait. Todoroki said Raphtalia wrapped around him to warm her up. While Raphtalia said that she hugged Todoroki, who is said returned the hug."

Everyone realized where Deku was going with this theory. Said theory being continued by Ren. "So that means that both of them saw each other's actions differently. Todoroki saw it as a way to warm up and Raphtalia saw it as a hug. Combine the fact that they fell asleep and Motoyasu's poor sense of analysis, you get the conflict we are currently dissecting."

Raphtalia was completely embarrassed and Motoyasu was ashamed of himself for jumping to conclusions too fast. And for that, he received a scolding from Yagi and...

"Dumb piece of crap!" Bakugo shouted before smacking Motoyasu in the head.

"OW! But I deserve that..." Motoyasu complained, rubbing the back of his head.

"So what are we gonna do with the girl, Sensei?" Itsuki asked.

"We should return her to her parents." Yagi said.

Raphtalia told him the truth about her parents. "My family died after the first wave of calamity. Shortly after, a man with a mustache and a top hat took me to a huge tent and put me in a cage, where I was sold as a slave. Before they put a slave crest on me, I managed to escape. That's where I met Mr. Todoroki, you all know what happened next after that."

The seven heroes stood silent, taking in what Raphtalia had just said. After a minute, Yagi spoke up one more time.

"Would you like to come with us, young one?" Yagi asked Raphtalia.

Everyone was taken off guard by this offer, especially Raphtalia. She didn't know if she should trust a group she just met until she saw the shield Yagi wielded on his left arm.

"Are you the shield hero?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yes, that's me!" Yagi replied.

Raphtalia then remembered what her parents had told her about the shield hero: "The shield hero is a shining beacon of peace that will protect anyone at any costs, it is said that he treats all living beings as equals, even creatures like us." This made Raphtalia ease every suspicion she had about Yagi. Without any other choice, she accepted his offer.

"I'll go with you!" Raphtalia exclaimed, determined to change her life for the better and be of assistance to the shield hero.

"Excellent! Well, time to get going if we want to increase our levels." Yagi said, getting a nod from all his students and Raphtalia.

After Motoyasu finished feeling ashamed of himself, he approached Todoroki.

"Hey man, I'm sorry about the whole misunderstanding thing. I guess I just got caught up in the moment... I mean, I'm glad you were there to save the girl." Motoyasu said.

"It's alright, not everyone can be the sharpest knife in the crayon box." Todoroki said, confusing Motoyasu.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Motoyasu asked.

Todoroki simply walked away with the others, smiling to himself.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Motoyasu asked, even more confused than before.