They headed over the bridge and down one of the side streets in silence. It was a comfortable feeling. Alice didnt let go of Uraraka's hand the entire way. Truthfully, Alice thought the girl was cute. She knew she wasnt completely straight since getting into middle school, but she did prefer boys more. So holding hands with her was extremely casual. Uraraka on the other hand was lost in her own head. She didnt feel like she felt with Deku at all. Alice was a good friend and the thought of holding hands with her made her chest flutter excitedly, but was she attracted to her?

"So were you going to tell me what happened with you and Bakugo?" Uraraka said as they rounded the corner onto the main street. It was a bit louder here, people walking to and from jobs or getting food before they went home.

Alice laughed nervously. "Yeah, okay... So. When I came back from my license training, he had come up stairs to get his Japanese to English translation book and I guess to check on me? He didnt outright say it, but he asked what was up and I snapped at him."

"Oh, so he just avoided you for like 12 hours because you snapped at him?" Uraraka frowned. The avoiding was like Bakugo, but the reason didnt feel right.

"Yeah? I guess? I sent him a text to apologize and apparently Kirishima said that it wasnt enough. He didnt do texting?" Alice rubbed the back of her head. "So after his outburst, I cornered him and actually apologized. I think he needed that?"

"It seems out of character truthfully. He's never that dramatic with anyone and wait- he gave you his number?"

"Yeah, Kirishima even said that it was a surprise to him. Bakugo rarely texts anyone, so I guess I can see why a text apology wouldnt suffice."

Uraraka frowned, it was out of character for Bakugo to be as nice as he was to Alice. Did he like her? The girl furrowed her brows. Did he have the ability to like anyone? Let alone like someone in a romantic way? She'd never seen him act like that towards any of the other girls. Uraraka glanced at Alice, who was staring up and watching the lights as they passed. She was in her own little world, trying to figure out why Bakugo would want to check on her in the first place.

The Coffee shop was about a half hour walk from the bridge. It was settled in a small two story building next to an apartment complex. Alice opened the door and took a deep breath, allowing Uraraka to walk in first. The entire shop was more modernized compared to some of the other buildings in the area. A small display case was off to the right of the counter, a woman in her late thirties was cleaning one of the machines behind it. Her hair was a pale blonde, tied back in a ponytail. "Afternoon! Ill be with you in just a moment. Thats what I get for trying to clean during a moment of silence." She laughed to herself and turned, her smile widening the moment she say her niece. "Alice! Himiko! Your daughter finally showed up!" The woman scrambled around the counter, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl. "Its so good to see you sweetheart. Congrats on getting your license. Im so proud of you." She cupped Alice's face, her bright orange gaze filled with tears.

"Ive missed you too, Akari-Oba." Alice laughed lightly and hugged her aunt in turn. She missed her. Uraraka smiled faintly, it was good to see Alice to at ease. "Oh! This is my friend Ochako Uraraka. She tagged along to help with the sweets."

"A pleasure to meet you." Uraraka bowed deeply and straightened. "Alice has become an extremely good friend of mine. I hope it's alright that I tagged along."

"Its always good to meet some of Alice's friends." A woman's voice came from one of the rooms off to the left. Uraraka was actually surprised to see the pro-hero. She knew of Rising Sun by appearances rather than name alone. The woman's magenta gaze matched her daughter's, her platinum blond hair pulled over her shoulder was laced with deep oranges and yellows. Its what gave her the name Rising Sun to begin with. She was in an orange turtleneck and a pair of jeans, a white cane held in her left hand. Himiko had been in the top five for the first few years after her daughter was born. She was a powerful hero with a light based quirk who fought for Villain rights openly. She was one of the first heroes to push for rehabilitation rather than punishment in Japan.

Uraraka felt her face redden and she bowed, "Thank you for having me!" She managed out as Alice went to hug her mother.

"Its not a problem, dear." Himiko smiled to Uraraka, activating her quirk for just a moment. The woman had gotten good with her quirk over the years, she could create illusions, projections, and even some physical things with the light around her. It also made it easier for her to see in various areas via how light bent. She had been losing her eye sight for years before her retirement. Her quirk had a horrible drawback that took her vision the more she used it. Now she only used it in emergencies and to get a good look at people she felt she'd see more of. "Its really a pleasure to meet you. Im Himiko Rise."

"I know of you." Uraraka stammered out. "We learned about you in our Heroes of History class. You were one of the first heroes in Japan to push for Villain rehabilitation back in the late nineties."

"Gah! They are talking about you already, Him." Akari leaned on the counter with a wide grin.

"Who would have thought, right? I feel so old." Himiko rubbed the back of her head as Alice released her. "Im glad they are still pushing that thought tho. I wouldnt have met Alice's father without that mindset." She mused faintly. Alice's father, Ren, had been what most people called a villain. He wasnt out robbing places, but he had struggled with his quirk for years. His quirk was turning nightmares and dreams into a reality. After he met Himiko, she had helped him get a handle on what he could do- now he was a popular psychologist in Canada. "How is he?"

"Good. He's been super busy lately. He's been helping rehabilitate some people that were shipped in from the states." Alice said casually. "Truthfully, he's never home. So it was just Luci and I most of the time."

"Im not surprised." Akari snorted and rolled her eyes. She turned to open up the small cooler behind the counter. It was there to store cookies and cakes when they werent in the cold storage up stairs.

"Behave." Himiko glared in her sister's direction. "Im glad he's doing alright." She kissed her daughter's temple. "What about you? Are you settling in well? Aside from Ms. Uraraka here, are you making friends?"

"Im doing well! I start with Fat Gum's Agency tomorrow and then sometime next week I move to work with Endeavor. If they agree Im up to standard. Ill be able to work with WildSpire!" Alice couldnt hold her excitement, her grin wide. She glanced to Uraraka and her smile only widened. Alice admired her mother a lot. Her mother had fought extremely hard for those who couldnt handle the world around them. It was why they had to now take villains like Stain into custody rather than killing them off.

"Ahh, Fat Gum is a regular." Akari put her hands on her cheeks and giggled like a school girl. "He's a sucker for our chocolate covered donuts. We do regular orders to his agency almost weekly now."

Himiko rolled her eyes, "Your fangirl is showing." She mused and hid behind her daughter at the glare her sister gave her. "But he does come in often. Im sure he saw your last name and offered."

"That's fair. Im just glad to get into a good place to practice. I didnt think Id be working with Endeavor though. He's the number one hero right now. Im kinda nervous." Alice chuckled and took the stack of white boxes from her aunt and set them on the counter.

"Endeavor and I never got along. So I dont have any idea. Im sure WildSpire had a play in that." Alice's mother smiled and ran her hand through her daughter's hair. "Im so glad you could stop by at least. I know you have a fairly early day tomorrow." Himiko tried to smile at her daughter. She had become so grown up in the past few years. She reminded her more and more of herself. "We would have planned for dinner if we knew you were actually going to come out today. You never responded to my text." She swatted at her daughter's arm and Alice laughed.

"I got excited! I wanted to come into town and visit Mama Mochi and then you guys. I promise we will make some time for dinner soon." She hugged her mother tight. Alice let out a soft sigh. She really cared about her mom. They had lived in different countries for the past few years, but their love never faltered. Himiko knew that her choice to move back to Japan was her choice and Alice had chose to stay in Canada.

The group chatted for a few more minutes before Alice and Uraraka excused themselves to head back towards the school. They both had grabbed a few extra things for themselves, a spicy chocolate bar for Bakugo, and headed out. "I had no idea your mom was THE Rising Sun." Uraraka said as they walked. "Shes incredible. We have been talking about her in depth recently with the whole Stain incident."

"Yeah. She told me about that." Alice hiked up her boxes as they walked. "We normally dont talk about her work. I had no idea that you guys talked about her in your history classes. We normally talk little about the Hero structure and moved into Support history."

"Yeah, Principal Nezu likes to have us learn about her for the new world to be more accepting. Truthfully. I didnt think that Villain's deserved any help or pity before coming to U.A. The teachers, the classes, and just... everything really helped me realize that they are people too. We are all a few steps away from becoming a villain if I really think about it."

Alice nodded as they went into the subway lobby to wait for the next train. "I used to think like that too. Its not discussed back at my old school like it is here. I had no idea until I got into high school that my dad had been one of those guys in the slums. He's not a bad guy, but his quirk was scary uncontrolled. Not everyone had the same opportunities that we did. So he was automatically put in the "threat" category by society."

The train screeched to a halt and the girls got on. The ride back was quiet. It was hard to really put in perspective that some of these Villains were just normal people put in a really bad place. Any one of them could end up as a Villain. Any of them.