Hot-Headed (Now also a podfic on spotify!)

Chapter 10

A/N: So sorry this chapter took longer than usual. It's got a LOT going on in it and it's super long. I was considering chopping it up into two chapters but I knew exactly where I wanted this one to end so I stuck with it. Enjoy!

School was rough for Ochako since the Sports Festival.

She continued to be tired for a few days after initially waking up and Aizawa-sensei allowed for her to take the rest of the week off (only one day, but it was a relief), then felt back to normal after the weekend had passed.

She eventually had to face her classmates and reassure them that she was ok and there were no lasting effects she would sustain. And she was able to speak with Kaminari and make sure he knew that he shouldn't feel guilty for her own blunders. He said that he accepted what she was saying but she found that he was still careful around her sometimes, never fully being at ease in her presence.

Her body and her social presence felt back to normal when she returned to class the next week but she still felt down. Having to sit behind Deku and next to Bakugo weren't helping matters. Iida would try and make conversation but he could definitely sense the negativity between them. She felt touched that he kept trying to keep his triad of friends together despite such awful clouds of unhappiness.

Ochako did her best to avoid Deku and Bakugo outside of class completely. She started spending more time with Mina and Toru. They became closer friends to her than she ever thought they would. How had it been that she'd spent two full years in class with these wonderful girls and not been as close as they were now? Her sadness and heartbreak became more bearable having found deeper friends in her classmates.

She was able to survive and keep smiling as the weeks passed. She mostly focused on schoolwork and herowork. She even started teaching some of the girls the self-defense moves she'd learned from Gunhead after Toru asked her how she pulled off some of the moves she'd done in class.

For Ochako, this was just another activity to keep her mind occupied.

That was until Aizawa-sensei brought up first term exams and, finally, their internships at the end of class one day.

In years past, they were given offers soon after the Sports Festival and got to do a short stint at the agency of their choice, then work studies with other hero agencies if they so chose. This year, they were working practically as fully fledged sidekicks in their internships to prepare them for graduation and to help them decide who they would like to work for in the future if they hadn't already.

Ochako was one of those who was still unsure. She had always wanted to help with rescue but had been willing to consider more hand to hand combat over the years as well.

"We haven't discussed internships until now because your offers will not be coming until after exams are through," Aizawa-sensei explained. "When you get your offers, you should try to choose more than one if you are still unsure of where you'd like to go when you graduate so you can try different work environments until you feel comfortable with one. Your first internship will be over summer break. There will be no training camp this year. You need every second of fieldwork you can get."

It was mostly silent in the room for once. It seemed like everyone in the room was deep in thought, shouldering the full weight of realizing their futures were soon to be determined.

"First term exams begin next week. 3 days for academics and 1 day for your practical hero exam. Be prepared," he said, effectively dismissing them for the weekend.

After class, Mina caught up with Ochako.

"Hey, so do you want to make a study group to cram over the weekend?" she asked, "I bet Momo-chan would love to help us all out."