Chapter 1

The idea of going with what his dad was saying made him want to gag, but it was this or suspension. Shoto glanced towards the rain pounded against the car window. He wasn't sure how it had gotten this way. Or how he had let his dad get this advantage in control over him. His father hadn't paused for a minute to even consider that he may have not wanted to take over the family company. And well, in an unsightly manner that built up to a rage that finally exploded in his current school.

To escape being suspended, especially since the school had decided it was due to pent up stress, there was no way Shoto could do anything wrong. He was one of their top students after all. Friendly, professional, and intelligent. It wasn't like him. He just needed a break. But any other student who lit the men's bathroom up in flames while destroying their paperwork would've been suspended. So, an internship as punishment it was.
The decision of the school would've been fine. It made sense. He would've considered himself lucky, but there was a catch that made him dread this idea completely. His father got decided where his internship was held.

Shoto let his head slam against the taxi window harder than what he would've liked. He glanced towards the taxi driver waiting for some form of reprimanding. He was quiet, he had been quiet the whole ride. The driver was likely being paid a pretty penny to keep hushed about the whole situation in general. It was better to not talk to him than risk talking to him and have something he wanted to talk to the world about. And risk losing his job over confidentially. So, the driver stayed quiet.
A silhouette blurred by in the distance, a person struggling with their luggage being blown around by the heavy rain, "Driver? Driver? Can we stop for that person?"

"I was told not to make any stops. It'd be dangerous for you, sir." The taxi driver sighed, slowly in contrast.

"I can handle myself. Besides, if that's a trained assassin I'd rather prefer it over this company my father decided."

The taxi driver sighed, slumping their shoulders as they watched Shoto already unlocking the door, if he didn't make it to the destination he didn't get paid. And Endeavor's Studio was offering a hefty gamble just for driving him there.
"Do you need help?" He called staggering through the rain as it pushed him around easier than a ragdoll in a daycare.

The woman looked up, backing away a few paces as she noticed him, reaching for something within her pocket.
He raised opened-hands, "Look I won't hurt you. I promise. There's a taxi over there, I can ask him to take us to where you're trying to go."
She couldn't have been much older than he was, there wasn't any way he could leave her out in this storm where her voice was barely audible, "I'm not letting you take me anywhere." She pulled a knife from out of her pocket, waving it in a display.
He paused taking a breath. Growing-up the chosen heir to the in-famed Endeavor's Studio he had gotten every kind of course his father could think of in material arts, fighting, and self-defense. Enough to know that this teen was waving that knife at him purely for show. She would never make it with someone cold-blooded coming to rob her.

"Get in the cab and just tell the driver where to go, I'll sit on the other side, I'll tell him to let you sit in the front. You can't stay out here." He ran his hand through his hair, the driver was probably near his boiling point. Not only did he have to drive Endeavor Studio's heir around without saying anything which meant zero publicity, on a long drive, but now he would be picking up an extra passenger. It was probably an extra charge.
The teen glanced at him, taking unsteady steps towards him, and likely not just because of the wind, "You aren't going to murder me, are you?"
At the rate his out-of-character had been for the last couple weeks he wasn't sure he could promise anything, but he knew the cab driver was going to murder him if they took any longer, "Let's go." He hurriedly grabbed her things, throwing them in the back, before sliding his way into the other side of the vehicle.
She followed, surprisingly sitting next to him, the cab-driver was at his limit, "No, no, no! Your father said no pit stops!" With that reaction, at least she would be reassured that they weren't around kidnapping random girls off of the street.

"Put it on my tab, get over it. Where do you want to go?"

"It's a bit far, but I was heading towards Creal's Main Tower to meet my family, if you can just find a hotel nearby I can stay there until morning."
Shoto glanced at the driver, "Do you know the directions? I would rather get her close as we can."

"Of course I know the directions. Didn't your parents tell you anything? It's where you're going to be interning and spending your next six months there."
Six months? That was a lot of time. It would be nearly half the school year before he was done with the internship. "What about my schooling?"
"You'd have to talk to your parents about that one, but I'm sure they won't make you repeat a semester. The news talks about how smart you are all the time anyway." The taxi-driver hushed turning his attention back to the barely visible road.
"So, I guess we're going to be living together for a while." The teen said, glancing towards him, "My name's Momo what's yours?"

"Shoto." He glanced towards her dripping hair; he hadn't known how long she had been standing out in the rain, likely she would catch pneumonia at this rate, he slipped off his coat handing it to her.

Heat lit her face as she glanced in-between him and her clothes. Realization hit him, "I don't really have a change of clothes up here. You can at least use it to dry your hair." He muttered, turning away anyway.

"It's okay." She mumbled, setting her wet-clothes in-between them. Shoto glanced down towards a pile of clothes sitting in-between them. Great. He hadn't met her family yet and they were already going to think he was a wolf. They knew he was being sent to them for emotional control problems, but now they were going to flip. Maybe he should go with that suspension after all. He wasn't there yet, but he knew he wanted to turn around and run back.

"If you're going to be spending the next sixth months with her at least talk to her." The driver shouted back over the strumming of the rain against the car. The car slowed, pulling up to the main house of the Creal's. Shoto slid out, already grabbing their things before the taxi-driver could finish his task.

He circled the car to find Momo tipping the man, "Mame', I was already paid some and I'll get more when I get back it's okay." He sounded friendly than when it was just the two of them, "It's okay, make sure to get yourself a safe place so you don't have drive in the rain. Oh, and this is for dinner."

Shoto felt like laughing. It was the first time he had seen someone shove money away from themselves. Especially a man that was being bribed to stay quiet about the whole drive. It was going to be hard to explain the sudden in surge of money. "Mame' your parents are going to think you were robbed, that's enough I'm good." The driver laughed pushing her wallet, still plump, back into her hands, "Get someone to teach you how to spend properly while you're at it." The driver glanced back at him already holding the suitcases before giving him a brisk nod, watching them walk to the door, and driving away.

Shoto hit the doorbell repeatedly. The house felt like a castle. It towered over what he would ever dream of living in. Shoto took a breath bracing himself to wait while someone came to the door while it opened at the same time. Tears coming to the employees' eyes, "My lady you're safe!" The first maid to greet them, rushed the teen next to him. He glanced towards her, it was as if Momo had been missing for weeks with the way that the staff was rushing her.

"Hey, guys," Momo whispered, sending a quick look towards him, the staff blushed before inviting both of them inside.

"I'm guessing you're the one who helped our precious Momo home, aren't you? It's such a long trip from that school!" The maid smiled hurriedly making them tea and snacks. "Where are you from? Any special plans?"

Shoto glanced around at the smiling staff, this wasn't the standard "I've been paid to be here, so I'm paying attention to you." Affection. It ran deeper. As though the staff were her family. Jealous ran through his hands. Warmth circled in their eyes, it didn't matter that Momo's only shirt right now was his jacket, but that he was their hero. Somehow, they had conjured up that he had gotten her home safely from whatever situation she was in.

"I'm going to be the company's new intern." The room fell silent, the warmth disappeared from their eyes as they each turned to him. They knew. They knew what he had done. In the matter of a few words, he had gone from being their hero to an enemy. He could see the staff from the corner of his eye move towards Momo trying to nudge her away. "I messed up, okay, I know. Where do I put my stuff before I start?"

Momo glanced down towards him, sitting on the arm of the couch he was sitting on, "You're not our intern yet, besides if it wasn't for you I would've been walking still. Do you know how many miles I had already walked?"

He glanced up, "Your staff has already decided I'm a monster, also, tell them to get you some proper self-defense courses."

"I-"

"Waving a knife at me? It was so fake if I were anyone else I could've taken advantage of you."

Red lined her face as she opened her mouth to protest, getting cut off by one of her staff, "One does not speak like that to a lady!"

He felt a glare run towards them, he hadn't felt like himself and this wasn't the best idea on making friends with the staff, but this was a place chosen by his father. What was the problem if he messed his father's plans up a little bit?

"He's right, I should."

"Lady, there's other matters which are more important right-"

"More important than defending herself?" He glanced towards staff with the rising anger. They didn't like the fact that they were wrong.

Creal's company was nearly as famous as Endeavor Studios, there was no logical reason for her to not have self-defense courses.

"She's-"

A man walked in the room raising a hand, the staff hushed each turning to him, "I've heard enough." Shit. It was his new boss. Irritating the staff and your boss that you were going to have for six months was a plan of someone stupid and irrational. Maybe somewhere deep inside he was hoping that one of them would call him out or fire him. Tell him to go home and deal with the suspension where he would take off. Be free to go anywhere, do anything.

"Your father said you would do this. But you're not here for what you or he thinks you're here for." Shoto straightened, he could feel his eyes narrow with suspicion. "We've been receiving threats concerning Momo, you are to be her bodyguard until the problem is solved." He paused glancing towards Momo, "And judging from your recent accommodations I'm sure that won't be too hard."

Heat ran up her face, "It's not, I-"

"If it is what you think, how will you take responsibility? If you were truly concerned for her life you would've sent a personal guard for her. Not make her walk. A bodyguard isn't all you need. You need to buy some brains because you can't manage to grow them." He stood, mentally kicking himself, but feigning a facade. This was not making friends with his new coworkers or his boss, or well, the person he was now assigned to be protecting.

A braver of the staff members grabbed his things, before escorting the two of them down the hall, other staff members falling behind Momo who was following close behind.

"Damn that's the single bravest thing I've ever heard anyone say to our boss." The woman in front of him laughed, sliding a key into what he assumed to be his room, leaning over to whisper, "Momo is our little princess if you hurt her we hurt you. No matter how many forms of martial arts you may know." The staff smiled before setting his bag down, "Anyway, as I was saying there's a call for you on line one, but knowing why you're here I really wouldn't pick that phone up. Ever. Or you could tell him to suck it. I'm sure it'll take him at least a day or two to get out here to reprimand you." The woman laughed before her heels clicked down the hallway. It was the first time he was absolutely terrified and felt laughter bubble up his throat in a long time, it felt strange to have a little old-lady way past retirement age threaten him and then joke with him in a matter of seconds.

Shoto moved to the phone. It had to be his father. He would call again tomorrow if he didn't pick it up now. "Shoto?"

"What do you want?"

His father paused, shuffling through some papers on the other end of the phone.

"Tell me what you want. I'm busy."

"You made it safely to the Creal's place, right?"

"I did, but I'll make sure you have a hard time trying to get to me."

" The taxi-driver that drove you has been murdered."

The phone-line gave way. A soft beeping sound echoing its point that no one was on the other end of the line. Shoto glanced over his shoulder towards his open door, Momo's a crossed the hall. What had he gotten himself into?