Kirishima's PoV

Frantically I left the path and hid behind a rock at the roadside. The troop seemed to take a break and rode slowly along. I didn't dare to move and peek past the rock. The adrenaline in my veins made it hard for me to stay calm and my pulse hammered loudly in my ears. Still I heard the voices. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing as I pricked my ears trying to understand the words.

Although, according to the number of hooves I heard, there seemed to be considerably more men, only the two who rode in the front spoke.

"What are you implying?" one asked calmly.

"Tch. I'm just saying that Ochako lied. That's all," grumbled the other one. His voice was deep and full and gave me goose bumps.

"You're too suspicious."

"Huh? You of all people tell me that? Someone who doesn't even accept tea from her just because he wants to make sure there's not more to it? Instead, you rely on dubious rumors spread by this half-and-half bastard," the deep voice replied irritated.

"Bakugou! Don't call the prince a bastard," said the first one with a warning tone.

My heart skipped a beat. Bakugou? Like the dragonslayer Bakugou? The two men continued to talk, but the blood rushed so loudly in my ears that I couldn't understand them. I clawed the fabric of my trousers and tried to calm down. My breathing was flat and hectic and I kept trying not to make a sound.

On the edge of my consciousness I noticed that the men had been riding on already and one could only hear quiet hoofbeats in the distance when I collapsed. My lungs filled with air again. Trembling I stood up and stroked one of my red strands out of my face.

It was worse than I thought. The dragonslayer was not only close on my heels, he would even be in Tamio before me, which meant that he could receive me there without effort. And it was not anyone.  It was Bakugou. The most feared dragonslayer in the country. I didn't know much about him, only that he was young, only a little older than me, and that he was strong and merciless.

I briefly wondered if I should just not go to Tamio after all. But I couldn't do that. The provision Miss Crownway had given me wouldn't last forever, I'll have to stock it up. And above all, I needed a map really badly. I had never traveled in my life and only had a rough impression of the country I lived in. To be honest, all I knew was that the Todoroki Empire was bordered by a huge mountain range in the north. In Nirakawa I knew that the sea was in the east and the royal capital Shiyama in the west. All this knowledge was vague and I needed a precise plan where to go afterwards. I had to go to a place away from the villages if I wanted to shift.

I had to go to Tamio. There was no other way. I looked down at myself and saw the grey clothes I had always worn in the orphanage. It could hardly have been more inconspicuous, but perhaps they were looking for it. Surely, they had visited the home and had seen the clothes worn by the other children. I took the bundle from my shoulder and looked for the clothes Ochako had given me. Frowning, I looked at them.

For my upper body she had only packed me a light blue vest, which was elaborately sewn around the edges and had a small pocket. In addition, there were light grey trousers and a large red cloth that resembled a military tunic. She had also packed me a thin scarf with a somewhat faded tiger pattern. Sighing, I looked at the clothes. I had never worn anything like this before and didn't know if I would feel comfortable in it. Nevertheless, I decided to put them on. Maybe it made me more conspicuous, but it distanced me optically from the orphan I was.

Quickly I changed my clothes and the old grey clothes went into my bundle. I pulled a little at the hem of the vest, which seemed short to me, but sighed beaten. It is what it is.

Since I didn't want to lose any time, I decided to go further. I hoped to arrive in Tamio tonight. For a moment I considered whether I should walk away from the path as a precaution, but immediately rejected the thought. It would only take an unnecessary amount of strength to run through the undergrowth and my pursuers were ahead of me.

After a few hours of hiking I heard the soft splashing sound of a stream. I followed the sound and found the small slow flowing watercourse. I took the water skein from the belt and filled it up. Then I bent over the stream and took some water with my hollow hands and washed my face. I was sweaty from the hike and enjoyed the refreshment especially. Then my gaze fell on my reflection.

If I didn't know it better, I'd have said it was a different person. Just yesterday I had done everything I could to be as inconspicuous as possible and hid behind my black hair and simple clothes. That had never bothered me, but now that I was looking at this new me, I had to swallow a little. The new hair color and the different dress style gave me a bold and impetuous look. The vest only covered a small part of my muscular upper body. An unknown wave of self-confidence came over me. I looked good.

Bakugou's PoV

In the early evening we arrived at the village Tamio. I inhaled the salty air of the nearby ocean. I had been here several times, mostly because of missions for the king. But I had to admit to myself that I liked the place. Sure, the village was small and the people uneducated, but the landscape was simply beautiful. I knew no other place in the kingdom where forest and ocean met so directly.

"Bakugou, are you listening to me?" I heard Aizawa ask with an annoyed undertone.

I looked at the man next to me. Of course I hadn't listened, so I just raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"The hostel doesn't have enough single rooms for all of us, we have to share a room," he repeated.

"Tch. No way. I barely slept last night. If you keep me awake with your snoring, I'll kill you," I growled.

The troop leader of the Country Guard looked at me annoyed. "And what do you want to do instead?

"I'm going to another hostel. There's another one at the other end of the village."

"Yes, a much more expensive one. You know the king pays for our missions, but there's no place for special requests!"

"I don't care. I'll pay for it myself," I replied tiredly and turned around. I wanted nothing but my privacy.