Chapter 11

"21-24 stitches"

Despite the somewhat desperate attempts to keep people from noticing the blood Jiro had inevitably gotten on her clothing, it had been hard to keep what had happened a secret. When your friends and classmates are also heros-in-training, 'Its not my blood' definitely only made things worse. That Mineta couldn't help himself from saying that they'd been dropped-off by a Dog Grooming van, made it near impossible. There was also the small detail that Alarice hadn't shown back up with them, either. Iida had been the first to grill them about it, thusly: to be the first to know the situation in any detail.

Sadly, by mid-day the next day, half of 1-A knew, and by the end, all of them knew. Worse was that by the time Alarice arrived back on campus, having ridden with their English teacher, again in Aizawa's car, everyone knew. Everyone. Sure the story had mutated here and there but almost the entire student body had some knowledge that something had happened and rumors were abundant. Everything from the truth to the extreme; that the hell-hound quirk girl got nearly eaten by a wild giant dog from the dog grooming van.

Everyone knew that Alarice had gotten injured enough that she had been rushed away to hospital.

"Stone! It's good to have you back in one piece!" Iida stiffly greeted her back and she gave him a rather dead eyed look back, before nodding. She wasn't going to admit she was still supplied with some painkillers for the healing stitches in her side. Sure with the help of the healing quirks of the people around her, it wouldn't be more than another day longer but still it felt weird and there was pain from being stabbed where the muscles were healing. Alarice just looked at him, before jumping at being patted on the head.

"You good, Stone?" Hizashi asked, waiting for her tired nod. She did, and he waved to Iida, before heading towards the Teacher's building.

She started up the stairs and found Iida's hand on her shoulder, again with that big brother energy, that he definitely had going on with him. It did help he was actually just a little bit older than she was. "It'll be Fine."

Still she found herself unwilling to speak about it so just nodded to him.

Heading to the downstairs kitchenette for some thing comforting, perhaps like one of Sato's finished cakes, which the whole room smelled like. Delicious, warm, sweet cake. She noticed uncomfortably that the room had gotten quiet when she walked in, and just looked at her silent classmates, equally silent. She broke the awkward silence first. "Sato, did you make any cake.. Is there still some left?"

"uh... yeah ! Yeah there is! You're totally welcome to some~!" There was a small amount of blush on his face, either because he had hesitated out of possible concern, or pride that the first thing she wanted, was to eat one of his cakes.

"Thanks, I'll get it myself." Which she did, and then carried her slice, along with her small bag of the previous days clothes, that reeked of sweat and blood to her nose, up to her room. Ignoring pretty much everyone and leaving before any one could ask her anything else. She didn't want to answer, when she'd been in the hospital around Hizashi, he'd successfully made it less of the depressing experience it would have been if she'd been alone. Now though she didn't want to acknowledge that she'd been injured, and in fact, still was injured. She could tell they were going to ask any minute if she was okay and she didn't have a good answer.

She was grateful at least that Aizawa, being true to his word, what little they did on Sunday was low in its impact and actually kind of relaxing. Focusing more on her ( and Shinso's ) analytical skills and observation, than working them physically to the bone. Though, to her frustration, Midoriya had appeared to avoid her; whatever, she was too tired to practice again anyway.

It was easy to say that, when Monday morning rolled around, and despite being the last day she'd spend 'injured' she wasn't looking forward to it. There was a minor but constant ache in her side, that she desperately tried to ignore. Jiro seemed to be the only one able to treat her normally, and skipped-over talking about the incident in favor of asking more typical questions. Conversing normally like students would before their homeroom teacher came in.

The day began and Aizawa caught Alarice by her shoulder after he was about to hand them off to All Might for Hero training.

"Not you, Stone, you'll be with me and watch your classmates." Aizawa's voice was calm as if trying to be as a gentle as possible about holding her back from doing the exercise. At least her teacher had waited till literally no one else would have noticed, he didn't particularly like holding her back, but this could be capitalized in its own way.

He watched her settle, disheartened, into a position to comfortably watch while he did the same. Settling into a near-by chair, and looked like he was about to fall asleep.

Alarice watched her classmates interact and for the first time found herself almost upset that she had to be put to the side for her own sake. She also found herself thinking, instead, of things her classmates could improve on. She found herself wanting to work with Tsuyu, and Deku. It'd be nice to get something of a Redo again on her and Kirishima as a team, and even started to have ideas about how to work cooperatively with Kaminari, Mina or Koda even. Though she doubted Japan had enough herd animals for that last idea... but it would be kind of fun to help farmers with their cattle.. She shook the idea from her head, it was tame, if cute. Would she really be okay with being ridden? The more she thought about it the more she thought that it wasn't a big deal, if it made for a good move to use with others. Not to mention if she matched herself with the right teammate for a Job they could make quite a team with her higher-defense type nature.

Aizawa of course was quietly also observing with her, making his own notes of judgment on his students. His transfer was quiet the whole time, but he wasn't too surprised. So far in the time he'd had, to get to 'know' Stone, he still knew surprisingly little when it was broken down. She was loyal, but secretive, he doubted he would have ever known she was a fan of his boyfriend if there hadn't been circumstances that forced her hands. Not that he wanted her to waste time talking to him all the time any way.

"Sensei," she started, breaking her pattern of being the non-intiator of conversations. "Is there still time for me to be able to make a change to my suit?"

"Should be, might be a bit close."

She was fiddling with her hair when he looked at her, letting her continue if she wanted too. "I think I want to make a modification to it..." She trailed off, not really saying what that was going to be. Then again, he didn't really care, not in the specifics of what it might be any way. Support wasn't his Job after all, if it wasn't viable they'd tell her so.

"Stone, " Alarice looked at him confused for a moment. "Who do you think has the most developed control of their quirk so far? Biggest threat to you? Weakest to you?"

"Oh." She hadn't expected him to ask her specifics apparently when she started talking to him. Of course he would ask her about these things. "um... Uravity, ah and Froppy, I think, have the most control. but maybe its because they're really cooperative with others that it becomes clear. They're very at-home with their powers, they're both really calm too, like they're balanced."

She looked to him to see if that was what he wanted, and got nothing. Aizawa fought out the voice of Mic telling him how cute the puppy dog eyes were. It was absolutely not cute. Though it was hidden from him again as she accepted she wasn't going to get a clear answer and answered his last two questions.

".. Iida, Koda and Uraraka, I think I would have the possible hardest time. I don't have the benefit of my adaption with my form against them. Hell-hound form is also really bulky, so that can get the way too.. Also its sort of like an animal so I don't know if Koda's ability would have any affect yet? " She paused but clearly thinking about who to pick even though there was a clear obvious answer. "Kaminari's the weakest to me I think, Momo and I also share the same weakness of energy consumption."

"What if you didn't have your quirk at all? What then?"

Alarice looked embarrassed, realizing that she had totally focused on her with quirk, her hell-hound self, not all of herself. She scratched the back of her head anxiously a bit before daring to look back up. "oh. Right. Yeah..."

"Who do you think you could take right now?"

Alarice shifted uncomfortably, it was good that she was taking her quirk more seriously as the tool it truly was. However she was starting to ignore her abilities outside of it. " I don't know... maybe Momo?"

"Think about the classmates you said were the most developed, Stone." With that he walked away from her and down to the whole class that had wrapped up their exercise. Alarice sat there and essentially did as she was told.

With her class recalled, she decided to dodge the awkward conversations and looks about her not being part of the exercise, and instead headed down to the support area to talk about her modifications she had in mind. Not too terribly thrilled to deal with Hatsume again, and then thrilled she wasn't there to harass her. Instead delivering her ideas directly to Powerloader, a teacher whom she had new found respect for.

"That's all huh? That shouldn't be too hard to get worked in." He nodded his metal hooded head, then noticed she was still awkwardly standing there. "Was there more?"

"Uh, well is it possible to get a second one made as soon as this one is done? Just so... I'm not caught without one again?" Alarice asked, shrugging her shoulders and trying not to think about being dropped down into holes and pits again. She swore she could see him smirking just a little about that.

"Don't want do a rematch without one huh?" There was definitely a smile there, maybe even a chuckle. "Shouldn't be an issue. You aren't the only student here whose needed a backup suit because of their quirk."

"oh, alright, well thank you." She gave a nervous nod, and at the shooing motion scrambled out before Hatsume got back. As much as she was annoyed about being pulled out of the exercise because of the lack of suit and still healing stab wounds, she wasn't sure she could deal with Hatsume while injured. Not to mention the baby threat that was still there. What even were the babies she talked about!? She couldn't stop picturing the ridiculous idea that Hatsume would some how be strapping actual babies of some kind to her.

Course that meant joining at least some of her class for lunch. Deciding to sit with the ladies as long as no one fussed over her, but mostly because Jiro was there. She settled herself down next to Momo, across from Jiro, of the two, Momo being the most tense. Despite everyone sitting down now and eating... Uraraka couldn't take it any more. "Alarice are you okay?"

Alarice just looked at her, and then looked away and just kind a shrugged, then sighed. "Yeah.. I'm okay I guess."

"Doesn't hurt any more?" "No.. its still sore I guess, but I'll be alright"

There was some relief, "That's good, Aizawa-sensei should let you be in the exercise tomorrow." Tsuyu said between bites, catching Alarice by surprise. Despite respecting the frog girl, Alarice hadn't said much to her, usually finding herself at a loss of words and the two would just share a friendly nod or greeting and be on their ways. Her ears felt a little tingle and she smiled against her will. "I hope so. I've felt pretty bad since Saturday night if I'm honest. I really wish everyone hadn't found out though."

"Well, don't feel bad about it." Momo beat Jiro to the response. "Things happen, its not your fault, or anything like that, its not like you went out seeking injury. Or can control the spread of gossip."

"I guess." She received a head pat for her response. "Okay your right." Alarice was rewarded with a small smile from Momo before she went back to finishing her lunch.

"Sorry everyone found out though." Jiro offered with a shrug of her own. "Admittedly it was kind of unusual, so it was hard not to get asked." Alarice just nodded to her response, Jiro didn't go around blabbing things after all.

"I'm not surprised I guess, and I think I know who told everyone anyway."

The conversation ended there, and moved onto other topics, which Alarice was grateful for, and listened to her friends talk away.

Kirishima surprised her between classes when there were few enough other students, to ask if he could see the stitches. Alarice flushing pink in her ears, stating she couldn't show him here, in the middle of the school. Though she did show him her bandaged side where the stitches were. Telling him the number she got as well of course. 21- 24 stitches to her side in total. She didn't mention that their English teacher had stayed with her so she wasn't alone the whole time. Ashido cleared herself ofbeing the one who said anything by giving her a gentle hug quietly later, though she did teasingly ask what it was like having her favorite hero stay with her at the hospital.

The day passed well, and she was given a pass on her extra-class that she usually had with Aizawa, since she was still healing and also had no suit. Alarice didn't mind she had some 'extra' training she was going to do on her own any way.

"Midoriya, please!" Alarice practically begged the green haired boy. She was desperate to do something.

"But your stitches!" He protested gesturing heavily, while sweating about the matter. "I don't want to be the reason you pop one or anything!"

"We wont!"

"What about your painkillers, doesn't your adaption affect that too? What if you run out because you had to take more than you have?! I don't want to be the cause of your pain either!"

"Maybe if I went full hound, but I wont! We're not even trying to fight, this is really important to me!" Alarice countered. "We were so close last time!" She was desperate and Midoriya could feel it in his bones. This was more emotion than most ever saw out of her.

The other teen let out a strangled noise of frustration, and then slumped. Alarice smiled, relieved. "'I'll meet you in the usual place, alright? And I'll bring extra pills with me just in case okay?" Midoriya just nodded, still uncertain.

Midoriya's choice of location had always been the same: one of the Gyms. At first, Alarice had wondered why he'd pick a gym for this, but as time had gone on, she found it better not to ask. When she got there, Midoriya was just wearing his basic gym clothes, an extra bag at his side. Alarice was just wearing basic clothes she was prepared might get destroyed in some way. She wasn't quite ready to destroy another pair of UA Gym clothes.

Trying to bring out and focus on only one part of her body was difficult. Midoriya had explained it had a reverse issue for him, and distribution was his solution. However he had, quicker than Alarice thought, put forward that he agreed that for her, methods of getting access to her abilities with reduced energy cost was a smart idea. The problem was getting there, she was so use to just going all the way to hound form that it was difficult for her to pick out a 'phase of the process'.

At Midoriya's insistence they were only going to focus on her senses, the ears or nose. Less risk of re-injury there. He tied a blindfold around her eyes to try to help the process.

"So... last time we got something with focusing on a body part, and visualizing... so we know its possible." Midoriya commented trying to figure out how they'd focus specifically on her ears. He should have brought something they could have used to focus hearing on. He couldn't think of anything specific, so he just parroted back what they had learned from last time. "See if you can focus on just your ears, like you did last time, just picturing your ears as your hound ears."

"Right." Alarice went quiet as she tried to focus, though she noted that her helper wasn't far from his own notebook, and was distracted by the skritch-skritch of pencil and paper. They had proved it last time, that it was possible even if it had weirdly just been her eyes, when they were making faces at each other for fun between attempts. Midoriya had shown her his 'All Might face' and she tried to copy him, with more fire-eye like results.

She tried to picture her ears as she knew they existed, being the ears of her hell-hound form, and focus on her hearing. It was an odd silence that became less as she felt her ears grow. She could tell they were getting furrier and bigger when the range of sound she was picking up changed, and changed significantly, and the sound of steps coming to them from the north while Midoriya was west of her. The foots steps where heavier than she expected from a classmate.

"Young Midoriy-"

The sound of a male's voice startled her, louder since she was trying to bring out her hell-hound ears and just them. In a second the blindfold, and all of her clothes were destroyed. Toshinori Yagi looked at the skull-faced hell-hound and she looked back at him before lowering herself to the floor and like a guilty dog put her paws over her face.

"AH! All Might sir!" Deku burst out, sweating and looking a little wide eyed having not expected to see his mentor. "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see how you were doing, but I see you are helping out another student!" Yagi's tone was booming despite his otherwise frail size. It was obvious the pride he had in Midoriya. Alarice thumped her tail and then kept it from doing that again.

"Uh yeah Stone asked me to help her out... we've been trying to see if we can do partial transformations... or just parts." Midoriya described while Alarice seemed to relax, its not like any one could see anything away. Fur and scale-like structures was protecting her and covering her up completely. Yagi nodded, understanding the problem more than Alarice would know. "Sounds like you two are working hard then, I'm sorry to have interrupted it... although didn't Young Stone just get back from the hospital?"

"OH. YEAH... Are you okay?!"

Alarice was glad they couldn't see how annoyed that made her but in a show of the level of flexibility she had she was able to check. Though her tail-hand came around to block any other views. She gave a curt nod back that her stitches were fine, albeit hidden under a scale or five. Did itch now that she'd looked at them though. Midoriya let out a breath of relief.

Another moment of awkward silence before Midoriya grabbed the bag he'd brought with, chucking it to Alarice and trying to push his mentor out of the room. "There's some extra clothes in there!" She caught it's handle gently between her jaws. She carried it over to a spot she could safely change. Though she could still hear them whispering and she respectfully decided to ignore it. Putting on what clothes were available in the bag since hers had been scattered around in in little shreds. Except the bra which had barely survived, but would work for now. Especially given that all she had now to wear was essentially boy's clothes.

In a moment's time, when Yagi and Midoriya had gotten whatever it was they needed to say out between each other, Alarice walked back around. Putting her hair back into a sort of pony tail. "Soo, are we in trouble, Yagi sir?"

"What? No! Of course not! Not from me any way!" He smiled, all teeth. Though the first time she'd met Yagi she had shamefully found herself a little intimidated, she'd managed to get over it. Picturing him more like an old giant dog. Skinny and all bone it seemed, but gentle and patient from a life's worth of working. It might have helped to know he was the very famous All Might, just retired and teaching at UA. She couldn't help but smile back (with teeth as well ) at him. "It seemed like for a moment there, you had what you two have been trying for."

"Yeah, we've sort of figured out a way to do it, but its hard to keep it there." Alarice confessed, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not sure how to make it stay."

Yagi ruffled her hair gently. "Keep at it then, I'm sure you'll figure it out, especially with Young Midoriya's help." Midoriya also received the hair ruffle.

"Thanks... I guess its over with for today though." Alarice said quietly, nodding to Midoriya, "I'll bring you back your clothes tomorrow." "o-oh its not a big deal." "Well, good night Midoriya, Yagi" With her good-nights given out, she headed back to the dorms. She noticed as she walked up, one of her classmates sitting on the stairs.

"Stone, hey uh.." Kaminari said anxiously, standing up at her approach. A little confused as to what she was wearing but decided not to question it. "Stone, I wanted to apologize, I was the one who told everyone..."

Alarice looked at him, nodded, and followed through with a shrug. "It's okay, I think, I shouldn't have expected any one to not notice or anything like that."

"It was really hard not to say anything! I mean we showed back up at the school in a dog grooming van!" Kaminari energy was coming right back apparently, clearly having been excited to tell her that. Alarice remembered the brief moment of her and Jiro's conversations they'd had earlier about the odd silences and concerns from her classmates. She came up the stairs and settled next to him, as he sat back down.

"Ah... Jiro said Midnight took you guys back to the school"

"She did! In a Dog Grooming Van!" His face seemed to light up a little, like this was a story he had some fun telling. Alarice couldn't help but smirk in return. "That's really weird."

"What's really weird is you'd think there would be more room in one of those!" He began to gesture actively about it. "Mineta had to sit on the table and hold himself to it with his little hair-balls." Alarice couldn't help but giggle a little bit. Kaminari continued to recount what all had happened with the group post the separation. Mineta's aforementioned unusual manner in which he had to ride. Jiro and Mina having to share a seat. The pair being concerned bout the blood and the groomer stating she 'knew how to get it out' in a ominous manner. The mother hen way Iida reacted, the possible intoxicated state of Midnight. Aizawa-sensei's angry concern and acceptance of the situation. The poor confused dog groomer who thought she was just going to have a good night, but had suddenly been made chauffeur for a group of high school kids and their drunk teacher. She was pretty sure he was exaggerating but it was really nice to listen to him tell and it clearly made him feel better.

Till they were shooed back into their dorm for curfew by their teacher , as Midoriya ran into the dorm ahead of them, though they kept conversation up once inside.

(( Hey my doods, lemme know what you think so far of the fic, this pretty much closes 'Act 1' and There won't be an update next Monday, but there will be the Monday following, then a skip, then it should return barring any other time issues :V

Also let me know if there's any scenes in chapters 1-11 that you'd like to see drawn! :D

TLDR: Schedule: No Fic on the 1st, Yes fic the 8th, No Fic on the 15th. Then fic again. ))