The next hour went by fast. The group made their way to Ground Beta and Alice was released to go find a place to set up camp. She had placed herself atop one of the buildings, keeping towards the shadows. Chess stood next to her on the edge of the building, his ears perked for noises. "This wont be another repeat of The Poacher. I know it wont." She looked down at Chess, who meowed softly in response. "Right? We got this. We just have to stay hidden for..." She looked down. "Two hours, right?"
Chess shrugged absently and turned his attention to the field again. He could hear the doors to the main grounds opening and leaned forward to see if he could get a good look. He couldnt. "It's 1.30 now. So "The Villain" should be entering the field. Chess, search."
The cat flattened into the shadows and zipped down the side of the building, trailing through the various alley ways and roads to find Gang Orca's location. The male was making his way down the center street, hands shoved into the pockets of his suit. He'd heard about what happened earlier this year and hoped this might help Alice work through her trauma.
The Poacher was a man who was kidnapping Hero students and hunting them on a secluded property somewhere in the Canadian wilderness. Alice had been one of those students. She didnt talk about what she experienced there and even after attempting to push her into therapy, they had decided the best option would be to send her to live with her mother and attend U.A.
Authorities had crashed the camp site, but the villain kidnapping students had escaped. It'd left the girl traumatized afterword. From what the other students had said, Alice was one of the first kids to fight back while being hunted for sport. Her and a group of students had escaped, notifying the police of the location. Gang Orca sighed softly- for someone so young to have gone through that. His heart ached. It was disgusting to think that someone was hunting students like animals. No wonder the girl was anxious to do the last test. It felt inhumane, but it was a trait that Alice had to have if she was going to be field support.
Chess had found the male as he turned down an alley. He'd spotted Gang Orca passing and zipped back to Alice immediately. "What'd ya find?" She ran her hands down the cat's body and he motioned towards the direction that Gang Orca was coming from. "Good. Unless we do something stupid or he decides to go atop the buildings- we should be good to hunker down for a bit." She sat back and let out a breath. Chess was just as anxious as she was, she could tell. The cat was having trouble maintaining form, his cat-like body shifting and jittering constantly. This was the first time in a situation like this after they escaped. Chess had suffered just as much as she had.
They kept low for awhile, letting the minutes trickle by until Chess heard the Pro-hero enter his territory. He pawed at Alice, who nodded and motioned for Chess to take hold of her. Their normal means of travel was to have Chess hold onto the back of her jacket, using his 4 additional clawed arms to maneuver across the tops of buildings and climb to higher areas. He looked like a small backpack, his little face the only thing visible in this form, with 4 large arms to help the girl move. They headed inward towards the main doors again. She hoped that heading back to an area that Gang Orca had already been in would help keep him off the trail. It was a great plan if Alice hadnt stumbled landing from one building to the next. She hit the cement hard, letting out a soft hiss as Chess helped her to her feet. He kept her suspended in the air as the girl rubbed her elbows. "Ohhh, that hurt so bad." She whined softly and Chess set her on her feet- his hands retracting to sit on her shoulder and hold her hips.
Gang Orca's head snapped around and he stopped walking. He had been listening out for the girl for the last few minutes after he detected movement, but the tumble had given him an exact location. His abilities helped enhance his hearing enough to pinpoint where she was in the grounds. He had hoped she'd stay hidden from him so he wouldnt have to track her down. "Sorry Kiddo." He turned on his heel, heading in the direction of her fall.
Alice groaned softly and went to look over the side of the building. She didnt see the hero, but that didnt mean he wasnt still after her. The fall was a stupid mistake, she'd hoped that a stupid mistake wouldnt be her downfall, but the gods had other plans. "We gotta find a place to lay low and fast." She backed up and took off running, jumping from one building to the next as Chess was careful to help her land. Her anxiety was spiking again, which only turned into a trigger the moment the male came into her view as she landed.
She noticed him before he noticed her. The Pro knew she was in the area, but it was hard to tell where. She had gone quiet to his ears and ducked down behind the building ledge, her hands over her mouth. She had been trying not to hyperventilate. The anxiety had escalated into a panic attack the moment she saw him, her heart was roaring in her ears. Chess wrapped his arms around her chest to calm her and give her some sort of reassurance. He felt bad that his master was struggling, but their job was to hide- not fight back. He knew that this was training, Alice had said it was training. The big fish man said it was training, but her fear felt so real. He tightened his grip and Alice whimpered. It hurt, but he didnt notice much. He wanted his master to feel better. Pressure helped. She was scared. He could help. He wanted to make it go away.
"Chess, please!" The girl screamed his name and the cat snapped back to reality. Gang Orca was standing over them, his hand on her arm to reassure her. She was gasping desperately for breath and trying to push the cat's arms off her. The cat retracted, alarmed and reformed next to her. He could tell that a few of her ribs were broken. Chess flattened his ears and reached out to touch her. "Im okay. Im okay." She coughed, wiping the blood that dripped down her chin. The pain shared between them was obvious now that his brain wasnt hyper focusing on her fear. He rubbed his cheek against her leg, meowing anxiously.
"It's alright. Take a deep breath. We will get you checked out. Can you stand?" Gang Orca had a look of concern on his face. The girl could have stayed hidden if she wouldnt had been gasping for breath. He'd heard and gone to investigate, only to find the teen clawing at her chest to get the cat's paws off her.
"Yeah. I just need a moment." Alice took a deep breath in and started hacking again. It hurt so badly to take deep breaths. She stood shakily and Gang Orca braced her with an arm on her shoulder. Chess flattened his ears and slipped into her shadow. He felt so guilty, but he knew she understood. The cat had gone through just as much as she had. He just wanted to help. He just wanted to keep her safe.
The pair made it back to the main gate and both WildSpire and Recovery girl were there to meet them. WildSpire was a worried mess, but Recovery girl got to work right away making sure there was no lasting damage. "He did a number on your ribs." She clicked her tongue and pressed a gentle kiss to the girl's cheek. "The pain will subside in a few minutes, but you must take it easy for the rest of today. No workouts, no strenuous activity. Just go back and relax."
Alice nodded, truthfully the whole panic attack had made her tired. She really didnt think she would get her license at this rate. The whole trauma had really set her back behind her peers. She had been at the top of her class back home. Now she was here. "I know. I will. Thank you." Alice kept her gaze on the ground, a faint frown on her lips.
"We'll take you back to the dorms, kiddo. Do you need anything?" WildSpire wrapped her arm around Alice's shoulder and steered her towards the car. She glanced back at Gang Orca, who looked just as Guilty as the cat. She'd talk to him later. This had been too much for the girl, she knew that. She should have put a stop to it when Gang Orca mentioned the final test. But right now, she just needed to get her student home.
"She broke a few ribs and Recovery girl wants her on bed rest." WildSpire was talking to Aziawa while Alice got her shoes off. "She's had a day, trust me." The older girl looked at her student, who was standing just barely in the door with a tired look on her face. "Remember to get some actual sleep. We will meet up tomorrow after lunch, okay?"
"Yes Ma'am." Alice said softly and headed inside. A few students were sitting on the couches talking. Kirishima glanced up and brightened, hopping over the back of the couch to come greet her.
"Hey! How'd it go?" His smile vanished as he saw the tired look on her face. That wasnt the face of someone who got their license.
"Not the best. I broke 5 ribs, but luckily didnt puncture my lungs." She looked up at the male and tried to give him a half smile. "We will have a meeting tomorrow to go over how I did and what I can do to improve and get my license."
Uraraka poked her head out of the kitchen and made a beeline over the moment she saw the shape her friend was in. "Holy crap, are you okay?" She rested a hand on the girl's arm, to which Alice pulled away.
"Yeah. Just tired." Alice rubbed her arm, but kept her gaze on the floor. She didnt want questions. She was ashamed, tired, and didnt feel like explaining how she had mucked up. "Im gonna go change."
Kirishima reached out, but Uraraka stopped him. As worried as she was for the girl. Alice had pulled away. She made it clear she wanted space. That had been unlike her thus far. "Give her some time. Ill check in on her later."
Alice's room was quiet, she closed the door and leaned against it- holding her head as tears started falling. Her body AND pride hurt. It was frustrating to deal with a traumatic event, even more so to go on with life as if it never happened. She took a few breaths to calm herself down from sobbing. She didnt want it to get that far. She didnt want her entire night to be ruined because she fucked up. But imagine if you fucked up during a battle? Her thoughts were so loud.
The knock on her door caught her off guard and she scrambled away to rub her face. "What?" She choked out, sniffling the tears back.
"Dont "what" me, answer the fucking door! Do you have the English to Japanese Translator book I borrowed to you?" Bakugo's voice came through the door and he tried the doorknob. Alice wasnt fast enough and they met face to face. He looked slightly surprised, but the expression didnt last long. He looked her over, almost scowling. "Did you fail your tests? You look like a wreck." He commented blankly, moving over to her desk to snag his book when he had seen it.
"Hello to you too." Alice sniffled and rubbed at her face again. This was the first time he'd ever been in her room. The male frowned and looked around before his gaze settled on her. The room suited her. It was a calm atmosphere.
"So did you?" He tilted his head, not really responding to her comment.
"Yes. I failed. What's it to you?" She couldnt keep the comment from slipping out and bit her tongue. After obsessing about it for almost the entire ride back home, she had determined she had failed. Bakugo rose his brows, looking... mildly impressed? She wasnt sure. It was still fairly dark in her room.
"Dont talk to me like that. I was asking a question." Bakugo snapped back at her and crossed his arms. "What happened?"
"I dont wanna talk about it. I just want to sleep."
"Too bad. Im here now. So spill. What. Happened?"
"Gang Orca got me. End of story."
Bakugo sighed and shook his head. This girl was almost as stubborn as he was. She was clearly struggling with something, but wasnt gonna talk just yet. "Sure Support. Whatever. Right?" He rolled his eyes and turned on his heels. The girl was pissing him off. Why did he even want to help her anyway? She was just an extra.
Bakugo slammed the door behind him and headed back towards his room. Why had he even asked? Why did he want her to pass? She didnt want to be a top 10 anyway. So she'd just get in his way if he was nice to her. The male closed his door and set his book down on his desk and changed into something more comfortable before dinner.
