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

Chapter 11

Ochako sat on a plush couch next to Mt. Lady, facing another couch seating Edgeshot and Bakugo. She seemed to be having a staring contest with the latter person as neither of them had given in and looked away from the other, even as introductions were made and they were seated to be debriefed on the mission.

"We received a request recently to provide two heroes as an escort for the prince of Croatia, Prince Nathaniel, who will be visiting Japan for the week," Mt. Lady explained, bringing a picture of a dark-haired, pale-skinned young man with crystal blue eyes up on a large display that hung behind her desk.

Ochako finally tore her eyes away from Bakugo to look up at the photo. He looked to be about her age, maybe a little bit older, and his face was angular with high cheekbones and a soft dimple in his chin. She would definitely have described him as handsome.

"He'll be arriving on Monday and be staying until Saturday," Mt. Lady went on, "There is no real imminent threat on his life but he is a public figure and royalty so his status requires a guard. But," she flipped her hair while saying this, "not that much of a guard. So Edgeshot and I agreed to hand off this task to you two. He doesn't know that you two are students so don't bring that up. I want him to always have confidence in the people in charge of his safety. You will be staying at his hotel with him on the same floor. You will report to the airport bright and early at 7am on Monday and will be with him with minimal outside support from then until he leaves Saturday evening. Any questions?"

Ochako felt excited to be given such a crucial mission on her very first day of her internship. She was determined to prove that she was responsible enough for this.

She vigorously shook her head but when she heard that annoying "tch" coming from the person across from her, she looked back over to him to see him rolling his eyes.

"This is nothing. I should be thrown into the action fighting villains, not babysitting a pretty boy," he scoffed.

Mt. Lady and Edgeshot frowned. Ochako felt mortified. They'd given them a job to do on their own when they could've just had them following them around holding their purse, figuratively speaking! Talk about arrogant!

She burned to say something snippy but Mt. Lady only responded, "Baby steps, Bakugo Katsuki. Prove that you can do this with no issues and you will be thrown into the action." She looked at Ochako too, "Both of you will."

Ochako beamed, her face brightening at the acknowledgment and being given a clear path to doing hands-on hero work.

But he just had to open his mouth again.

"I'm pretty sure I've proven myself to be ready already. This is side-kick work," he grumbled.

Ochako felt her face getting hot in anger and couldn't stop her words from coming out before she said, "Stop being so rude! We should be grateful they gave us a mission to do without any supervision! I bet there are other students who are going to be put on desk duty the whole summer! You should show some respect, Bakugo!"

His eyes turned back to her, glowing like molten lava.

"Of course you're ok with doing the boring work, pink-cheeks. You've never tried to be anything but middle of the pack."

Her face flushed hotter at the stinging retort. "You know that's not true!" she said, her voice getting higher in volume, "I just know that there are steps you have to take before getting to the top. You can't just blast away all of the people around you. That's not how you become a hero!"

"Aww poor sweet little Ochako-chan. Always wanting everyone to like her. Always following the beaten path. Always picking the safe choice," Bakugo growled at her, a sneer coming to his lips.