The group met back up after lunch. Alice had changed into her Hero costume and was waiting outside class 1-A for Aizawa to pull her in. She was back to being nervous again. This would be the first time that she actually showed off her quirk to the other students. It seemed anticlimactic. Chess meowed in annoyance in her hood. He didnt think so. He was proud of what they could do, even if sometimes he got a bit over excited or hurt her. He was learning too. "Ms. Rise, you can come on in." Aizawa poked his head out of the room, he was in his signature yellow sleeping bag, a tired look on his face. "Class, Ms. Rise will be joining us today in Quirk practice." He said with a yawn. "All Might will be taking over the class to work on quirks. Youll be meeting him in the P.E Gym."
"About time you joined us!" Kaminari approached, a wide grin on his lips. "Youve been sitting on the sidelines for weeks, I wanna see what you can do."
"Same." Mina appeared as well, her pink hair was a mess per usual and she ran her hand through it, making it worse as she did so. "We know your quirk is like Tokoyami's quirk and that he's the cutest little cat I have ever seen, but we dont know what you can do with him." She reached out to scratch under the cat's chin, her grin wide.
Kirishima nodded from his place atop his desk, he motioned her over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "AND I heard from Fat Gum that you get a probational license?" This got a few excited congratulations from a few others.
"Yeah! Did he text you? I just found out a few hours ago." Alice laughed, her smile wide. She enjoyed Kirishima's company.
"Fuck yeah! Youll be working with us for the next week! Im so pumped!" He thrusted his fist in the air. Bakugo grumbled softly at the male's excitement, he gave Alice a dirty look and went back to what he was doing. Alice... frowned? She didnt know how to take that. He'd been super standoffish since they had talked the night before. He wouldnt even answer her texts aside from the single emoji he'd sent. She awkwardly glanced away from him, moving to follow Kirishima as they headed towards the door.
The class went to get changed and they met up at the P.E Gym again. All Might was standing in the center of the room, waiting. Alice didnt know him aside from what she had heard from other Heroes and on TV. He seemed... not what she expected. He was scrawny and hollow-faced. "Good Afternoon Ms. Rise. Im glad you could join us this time around." He smiled upon her entry and she responded sheepishly.
"So my wonderful students! We will be working on Quirk enhancements today. Ms. Rise will be joining us. We will be getting into the groups we had before when we did this, so please dont hesitate to get with your partners ahead of time." All Might had motioned to the group as he spoke. "As for Ms. Rise. I know that the Hero class here has been asking you constantly for some sort of example of what your quirk can do. Would you mind doing a demonstration- or I can pair you with another student for a quick starring match."
Alice rubbed the back of her head, "Sure! Uh. You can pair me up if you want." She felt her cheeks flush. She wasnt used to being the center of attention.
"Alright! How about." All Might looked across the group, clicking his tongue. He didnt know anything about the girl truthfully, aside from her quirk. He'd been given little information about her. "How about Rikido Sato? Would you step up to help our new student feel more at home?"
Sato rubbed the back of his head and stepped forward. "I dont mind at all!" He grinned to Alice. He had minimal interactions with the girl, but she was super sweet from what he knew.
"Awesome! Thank you." Alice bowed to him and the pair moved to stand in front of the group, readying themselves to spar.
"Alright! Fair fight. Quirks can be used." All Might got between them and both nodded. Sato tried to crack a smile to reassure her. Alice responded with the same excitement. She was ready.
"Okay! Begin!"
Alice didnt even hesitate to rush him before he could even grab the sugar from his belt. She swung her arm back and Chess formed into a large hammer around her hand. She swung hard, narrowly missing as the male stumbled back. He hadnt expected this. She was fast and wasnt gonna let him get a word in edgewise. He rolled to the side, scrambling to get the sugar in his mouth before she attempted to hit him again.
Alice slid away from the male, putting the hammer over her shoulder and settling into a good distance away from him. It'd be boring if she didnt let him respond. Sato dumped the sugar into his mouth, licking his lips as his Quirk took over. The male could feel his strength increase and he flexed to feel the new muscle under his skin. He had three minutes, he better get to work. Sato ran towards her and Alice danced away from him. Chess reformed and clung to her back, the four clawed hands coming to block the male's punches as he swung on her.
Alice slid back, a wide grin on her lips. She had watched the students for so long that the anxiety that normally invaded her mind was long gone. Chess braced himself against the ground with 2 of the paws, the other two wrapping around her arms to give her access to the claws themselves. She swung at the male and he dodged, rolling away from her. She had expected this. She figured he was trying to get some space between them, so she kept swinging- the claws slashing through the air as he dodged. Sato's gaze widened and he kept stumbling back, the claws barely touching his chest every time.
Sato blocked one of the claws with his arm, his other arm swinging at the girl's core. She was able to block with one of the claws, but slid back. It had hit hard enough not to hurt her, but oh man had it knocked the wind out of her. She coughed and tried to get her breath back- Sato took this opportunity to get close to her. He tried to get an uppercut on her, but Chess pulled her back. He kept his claws in front of her, letting her breathe.
The pair stood face to face, both heaving from the quickness of the battle. Sato wasnt done, he rushed at her- swinging at her side. The claws were helping her balance, so he'd use this opportunity to get a knock in. Alice didnt try and block or retaliate. She took the hit to the side, letting gravity do the rest. It got enough distance between them that when the girl got to her feet again- Chess had reformed into something different this time around. Alice took a deep breath and straightened. In her hands was a short handed scythe- the black material was made from Chess himself, his little face appearing on the blade. It's hilt length matched it's blade, making it the perfect weapon for her. Instead of fighting hand to hand with it, the girl readied herself- and threw it. The blade whipped through the air, making a soft whine as Sato scrambled out of the way. His eyes were wide, he hadnt expected the girl to throw her weapon. Hell, he didnt even know the cat could disconnect from her. Tokoyami's Dark shadow couldnt really separate from the male, how the hell could the small cat?
The blade whirled around, coming back to the girl's hands, where she caught it. The weight of the recoil caused her to slide back a bit, but she locked gazes with Sato- ready to throw it again. The male stood staring at her, his eyes wide. The sugar had worn off and he deflated to his previous form. Three minutes hadnt been long enough, but truthfully- he didnt see the fight going on any longer. Alice would have beaten him anyway. He could already see it.
"HOLY FUCK." Kirishima sprinted over to the girl before anyone could say it was over and dove atop her. She promptly screamed, but accepted the hug as the male scooped her up. "Where have you been hiding that sort of Quirk?" He grinned and held her up. She was light compared to the weight he could lift.
The rest of the class filtered over, they were all babbling excitedly. They hadnt really expected her to come out on top like that. She really was full of surprises. Uraraka grinned, "Didnt you say earlier you werent Hero material?" She put her hands on her hips as Kirishima set her down.
Alice rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah... Im not. Trust me." She wasnt. She'd never be. She was happy with what she had.
"I definitely beg to differ." Uraraka linked her arms with Alice and grinned. The only person who didnt seem thrilled to see the girl show off was Bakugo- who stood a good distance away. The male was gritting his teeth, anger bubbling up. Didnt she say that she wasnt going to get in his way? How could he believe that when she just trashed the sugar headed idiot? She took a hit from him to literally trash him. It was disgusting.
"BakuBro! Did you see that?" Kirishima wandered over and motioned over his shoulder to the girl getting praise from their classmates.
"Yes, I fucking saw it." Bakugo hissed the words under his breath. "It wasnt too exciting. So the cat can turn into fucking weapons. Doesnt mean she knows how to use them."
Kirishima rose a brow, "Uh? I think she does. She literally threw Sato on his ass. I think she knows what shes doing."
"Well if you fucking think she knows what shes doing, go fucking work out with her then!" Bakugo snarled the words, which got the attention of the rest of the class. Alice blinked in surprise. "She aint no hero! So why the fuck should I care how well she does?" He was yelling now. "She said it herself, she's fucking support. She'll always BE support! All she is gonna do is get in our way." He turned on his heel and stomped off, leaving the group standing in silence.
Alice's shoulders drooped slightly- part of her had been waiting for someone here to say that. She'd been anxiously waiting for someone to come and tell her she didnt belong. "He didnt mean that." Uraraka whispered, tightening her grip on the girl's arm defensively. "He better not have meant that."
"Its okay, I get it." Alice laughed lightly, but it was a hollow sound. "Im the new kid. He doesnt want me to get in the way." She felt the lump in her throat forming. No, she couldnt cry because of that. He was right in a sense.
"Its not okay." Kirishima's voice was hard and he gritted his teeth. "I dont know what his problem has been lately. He's been more irritable than usual."
All might sighed softly. Sometimes it was best to let the students play things out on their own. Bakugo was a hot head, he always was a hot head, but something was definitely up. The boy would come around eventually. "Young Kirishima, isnt Bakugo your partner?" Kirishima nodded in response. "Then take Ms. Rise here and work with her. It might be best for Bakugo to come around when he is ready."
Everyone went off with their partners, leaving Kirishima and Alice to walk alone to their spots. Alice had her hands shoved in her pockets, watching the different people work on their quirks. "Sorry about Bakugo." The redhead said sheepishly. "I dont know what his problem is."
"He was fine up until yesterday." Alice said with a faint sigh. "After I came home and went to my room, he came up to get his book he let me borrow. I lashed out at him, I didnt want to talk about what happened. At least not right away. He seemed really pissed off that I told him no. He really didnt respond to me when I went to text him."
Kirishima rose his brows, "He gave you his number?" That was news. Bakugo rarely gave out his number, most of the class didnt have it. He and a select few were the only ones the hotheaded blond even trusted to give it out.
"Yeah. He was helping me with my Japanese homework." Alice tilted her head. "Id work on my homework all night, he'd get up in the morning and check it, then Id go sleep for a few hours. I did that every day since I got here."
"Huh. Weird. You apologized to him, right?"
"Of course! I ended up talking to Fumikage and texted him right after. He sent me an emoji and has avoided me since."
Kirishima nodded slowly, "Oh, that makes sense. Bakubro can be hard to apologize to. He doesnt like to text and would rather hear it from you face to face. Let him calm down and we can try again, okay?" He turned to face her and readied his fists. "Now show me some of that hand to hand combat Ive seen you face Uraraka with."
The pair faced off for a bit, keeping each other on their toes. It was easy for Alice to work on her weapon work with Chess due to Kirishima's quirk and it made it easier for him to defend against it. Plus, they'd be working with each other starting Monday, it was good to get the practice in.
Bakugo appeared a bit later, his smirk vanishing when he saw Alice and Kirishima taking a break together. He gritted his teeth, he didnt think Shitty hair would take his advice and go for it. He hated the girl for some reason. He couldnt put his finger on it. She had snapped at him, so what? Why did he care? The male froze. Why had he cared to begin with? He hadnt needed his book. He'd heard Kirishima talking to Uraraka about how much of a mess Alice had been when she had gotten home. Why did he go up there? Why was he checking on her? Why did he ask what happened?
Alice had spotted the boy before he had a chance to take off. She excused herself and trotted over to approach Bakugo, who recoiled when he noticed her. "Hey. Can I talk to you?"
"Tsh." Bakugo crossed his arms and felt the anger bubble up again. What did she want? To yell at him and call him an asshole? He knew he was an asshole.
"Listen, before you start screaming at me." She held up her hands defensively, watching him with a hard expression. "I want to apologize to you in person. I lashed out at you last night when you came to get your book. I took a really big blow to my pride and took it out on you."
"Yeah, you fucking did." Bakugo responded bitterly.
"I know it was a bad time, but I shouldnt have treated you like that. You've only been... nice to me since I got here. You helped me with my homework and have been extremely welcoming." Alice bowed deeply to him, she wasnt sure if this was the right gesture, but she was trying. "I failed my test because I had a panic attack. I have some trauma Im working through and my license test didnt go well. I shouldnt have taken that out on you."
Bakugo stared at her for a long moment- people didnt seriously apologize to him. They just wrote off his anger. "Fucking stand up." He grumbled. "I shouldnt have pushed." The male wouldnt look at her. He knew trauma. He wouldnt forgive himself for pushing All Might into retirement. "Lets just say we are both Sorry for what happened and get it over with, okay?" He looked down at her as she stood up. She was so small compared to him. "You did fine earlier against Sugar head. It was mildly impressive."
Alice cracked a faint smile and held out her hand to the boy. "Thank you and again. I'm so sorry for treating you like that."
Bakugo stared at her hand for a long moment before he hesitantly reached out to shake her hand. She was colder than he was and shaking her hand solidified just how small she was compared to him. He held her hand for a long moment, locking gazes with her. She didnt look away from him, nor did she back down. He felt a faint smirk tug at the corner of his mouth before he released her hand. "Lemme watch you beat the fuck out of Shitty hair."