The weekend was boring, Alice spent most of it texting her friends and relaxing. She was itching to leave by Sunday evening. She had been released early on "Good behavior" and the fact she was already jogging up and down the stairs. Aziawa and WildSpire had come to pick her up with Eri in tow. The younger girl was clinging to Aziawa's leg as he waited for Alice to gather her things. He motioned her over as he saw Alice come out of the elevator, "Afternoon Ms. Rise." He said with a faint bow. Alice genuinely didnt expect Aziawa of all people. He wasnt even her teacher.
"Afternoon, Sir." Alice shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, finally relaxing when WildSpire came around the corner.
"Alice! Im glad to see you are out early!" The woman wrapped an arm around Alice's shoulder, a deep rumble in the back of her throat. "The nurses told me you were an absolute pleasure to have. Im so proud of you." She squeezed the girl's cheek, to which she squeaked in response.
"Yeah. My mom would have my butt if I was rude to the hospital workers." She swatted at the older female, a wide grin present on her lips. Alice glanced down, spotting Erin hiding behind the older male's leg. "And who is this?" She put down her bag and crouched down to Eri's level, a wide smile on her lips as she held out a hand. "My name's Alice, what's yours?"
Eri hesitated until Aziawa put his hand on top her head, "Eri..." She said softly. Alice mused faintly. "Your name is like the story..."
"Alice in Wonderland?" Alice asked, putting a finger to her lips. "I know. I even have a little Cheshire cat." She said, motioning as Chess slipped from her shadow, his tail straight up and hooked at the top as he stretched in greeting. Eri's gaze lit up and she hesitantly reached out a hand to Chess, who promptly nuzzled his head into her hand. Unlike Alice, who wasnt all that fond of kids- Chess loved them. "Its a pleasure to meet you, my dear. Im sure we will see more of each other." She gave a wink and stood, letting Chess continue to rub on Eri playfully.
Aziawa motioned for them to step outside and crossed his arms as they waited for the car to pull up. "So Ms. Rise. I have some news for you." He held up a hand as WildSpire went to jump in. "Let me speak first." He shot the woman a glare and she just pouted at him. "Your last mission ended with you in critical condition, but you showed so much promise as a hero. You might havent realized it, but you saved the life of a very important person and he would not take no for an answer. So starting tomorrow, you have been pushed into the Hero course and will be given the material to catch up to us."
Alice felt her mouth drop open and she scrambled to right herself, "W-wait, really?" Her heart was hammering in her chest. "Who did I save?" Her brain was jumping around to each person.
"Mr. Sakana. You might have noticed him by his fish quirk." Aziawa smiled faintly and opened the door to the car, allowing Alice to slip in with Eri. "He has a tie in with the the school's sponsor-ships and would not take no for an answer. So you will be added to my class starting tomorrow, with your license intact."
Alice could not keep the squeal from passing her lips and clung to the back of the seat. "I cant wait to tell everyone!" She exclaimed, shaking the back of WildSpire's seat as the woman got in the driver's seat.
"They already know." Wildspire looked in the mirror and laughed. "We got them together sometime last week when we found out. Im surprised that everyone kept the secret for so long." She put the car in drive and headed back to the Academy.
"They already know?" Alice's eyes widened. Excitement bubbled in her chest. "Holy-" She sat back in her seat, the widest smile on her lips. Truthfully, this was a dream. She had finally gotten comfortable with the fact she'd always be a support student. No amount of reassurance could change that, but to have Aziawa look at her and tell her she was good enough to be a hero... It was mind blowing.
"Aziawa told me how you saved Mr. Sakana." Eri piped in. She had Chess sprawled across her lap, idly purring as the girl scratched behind his ears.
"We did." She said and motioned to the cat in the girl's lap. "Chess isnt just my quirk. He's my partner. We saved him. I couldnt do it without him." She reached out to pet the cat, biting back the tears that threatened to fall. The pair had gone through so much in the past. No matter what happened, she knew Chess would always have her back. He might not make the best decisions, but who was perfect?
When they got back to the dorms- Uraraka, Deku, Kirishima, and Bakugo were all idling outside. They all perked as the car parked and Alice got out. Kirishima was the first to scoop the girl up off her feet. "Congrats on getting into the Hero course!" He grinned and swung her around, setting the girl on her feet. "Wait, Did you tell her Mr. Aizawa? Shit, did I just spoil it?" He covered his mouth, looking down at Eri once he realized he swore.
Aziawa sighed, "I told her because I knew this would happen." He rubbed his temples and ushered Eri inside. He knew that the kids wouldnt be able to keep themselves under control around the small girl.
"Yes! Congrats!" Uraraka linked her arm with Alice's and grinned, pressing her cheek to the smaller girl's. "It was so hard to keep the secret. Trust me. I wanted to tell you right away, but Aziawa and Wildspire wanted to keep it a secret so you could worry about healing."
Bakugo scoffed and rolled his eyes at the pair. "Its not a big deal," He grumbled. "Now you have to stay out of my way, support." Bakugo smirked at her and nudged her arm. "But congrats."
They all headed inside to quite a congratulations, the class had gotten food from the cafeteria and Sato had made a cake to welcome her into the hero class. The group had set up a movie to watch and settled in for the night. Bakugo had kicked Kirishima off the couch, which put Alice next to him instead. She eyed him a moment before leaning on him, quite content with the situation either way. Kirishima waggled his brows at the pair and pulled out his phone, snapping a photo. This caused Bakugo to put his foot into the male's face, snapping under his breath the entire time. Its not that he'd complain about her leaning on him, but the fact that Kirishima was gonna use this as fuel for later had ticked him off. Alice just smirked to herself, listening to Bakugo try not to yell at the male. He was obviously trying not to hurt the girl's ears the first day after being out of the hospital.