A few days had passed and Noriko was back in school. She had enjoyed her days off more than she ever had before. She had gotten a lot done while still relaxing. Noriko had also gone to the arcade with her brother, which had turned out to be a lot more fun than either of them thought it would be.
"Hey, Hiromi," Uraraka greeted as Noriko sat down.
"Hey," she replied simply.
"Did you see the news?" Uraraka asked. When Noriko gave her a slightly questioning look, she added, "About the USJ incident."
Noriko muttered an "oh" before shaking her head, "Not really. My brother saw it before I came home. And then made me tell him everything that happened."
"He must've been worried," Uraraka said.
"Yeah," Noriko replied with a nod. "Both him and Ryu were."
Uraraka gave Noriko a confused look and opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Iida. "Attention! Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone stop talking and take your seats."
"Uh, we're all sitting," Kirishima pointed out.
"Yeah, you're the only one standing," Sero added.
Iida had a frustrated look on his face as he sat down. "Dang it."
"Don't sweat it," Urarak told him.
"Hey, Tsu," Mina started, leaning back almost a little too far in her chair, "who did you think's gonna teach class teach class today?"
"No idea," Tsuyu replied. "Mr. Aizawa's still in the hospital recovering from his injuries."
As if on cue, the door slid open to reveal Aizawa standing there with bandages covering his face and his arms in casts, "Morning class."
"Mr. Aizawa, what are you doing here?" Everyone yelled.
"Woah! What a pro." Kaminari exclaimed.
Iida raised her hand, "Mr. Aizawa. I'm glad you're ok."
"You call that ok?" Uraraka questioned.
"Yeah," Noriko agreed. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital resting?"
"My well-being is irrelevant," Aizawa said. Noriko looked up at him with a concerned and confused look as he continued. "What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet."
Noriko tensed, What does that mean?
"The UA Sports Festival is about to start," Aizawa finished, the tension dissolving from the air. Noriko felt excitement suddenly fill her. The UA Sports Festival was a whole event at her house. Her and Shiro would get way too much junk food and set up the tv so they would be able to switch between the three different events that were going on for each year. Most of the time, they'd watch the third years, but they had also watched the other two and always made a point to record all three so they could rewatch parts they missed after the live event ended.
But this year, she wouldn't be doing that because she would actually be participating in the event.
The excitement that had temporarily filled her and her other classmates disappeared when some of her classmates voiced their concerns.
"Is it really such a good idea to hold the sports festival right after a villain attack?" Jiro questioned.
"They could attack once we're all in the same place," Ojiro added.
Noriko looked at Aizawa for his response. She had to agree with what Jiro and Ojiro said. No matter who excited she was for the event, after what had happened at the USJ, she had become a lot more nervous about everything. She didn't think she'd actually have problems just going places after the USJ event, but going anywhere outside her house made her a bit nervous. And the sports festival was a publicized event. Something like that could draw more attention to her than she wanted.
"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years." Aizawa explained. "This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains. Our sports festival is one of the most-watched events in the world. In the past, everyone obsessed over the Olympic games. But then quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of size and viewership. For anyone who cares about competition, there's only one tournament that matters. The UA Sports Festival."
"That's right! And top heroes everywhere will be watching. This is where you get scouted." Yaoyorozu said.
"It's true that joining a famous hero agency can gather you greater experience and popularity," Aizawa continued. "That's why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event could open the path for you. One chance a year. Three chances a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training."
"Yes, sir!"
"Class is dismissed."
* * *
"So, Hiromi, are you excited for the sports festival?" Uraraka asked as her, Noriko, Midoriya, and Iida sat down at a table for lunch.
Noriko nodded, "Yeah, me and my brother watch the sports festival every year. Actually being in it is gonna be crazy."
"You have a brother?" Midoriya questioned, looking at Iida and Uraraka, who already knew about Noriko's brother.
"Yeah," Noriko answered. "He's two years younger than me."
"Oh, that's cool," Midoriya said.
Noriko shrugged and Midoriya changed the subject back to the sports festival. "I'm kinda nervous about the sports festival."
"You'll do great, Midoriya," Iida encouraged.
"Honestly, I'm really nervous about it too," Noriko said, poking her food with her chopsticks. "I just want to make it past the preliminary rounds."
"You'll definitely make it past the preliminary rounds!" Uraraka exclaimed. "You're super strong."
"Thanks, Uraraka," Noriko said before sighing. "It's just... you all got here through actual work. I... I don't know. I kinda feel like I shouldn't be here sometimes."
"What? Why not?" Midoriya questioned.
Noriko could think of a few reasons, but didn't say any of them, "I don't know. Maybe it's because I got in on a recommendation I feel I didn't really deserve."
"What do you mean?" Uraraka asked.
"I don't know," Noriko said with a shrug, even though she did know. "But it doesn't matter, the sports festival will be a good way to prove myself."
"You don't need to prove yourself," Uraraka told her. "You should be here like everyone else."
"I guess," Noriko muttered. She knew they only thought that because they didn't know the reason she got in through recommendations. And she couldn't tell them.
"Come on, Hiromi," Uraraka said, nudging Noriko with her elbow. "Don't start doubting yourself."
"I'm not," Noriko replied a little defensively. "It's just... Well, you all have wanted to be heroes for forever. I... haven't."
Midoriya gave her a confused look, "What?"
"Well, for a long time, I didn't even think becoming a hero was possible. And I wasn't upset about that. I just, didn't want to be a hero." Noriko said, staring at her food to avoid looking at the trio. "I mean, obviously, that's changed... For the most part. But I've always had other goals."
"What other goals?" Uraraka asked.
Noriko tensed. She knew this had been where the conversation was going, but thought she'd get lucky. Now she needed to find a way to change the subject. "Uh, just, like, other things?"
"Like what?" Uraraka pressed.
Noriko looked from her to Midoriya and Iida. All of them had eager and curious looks in their faces. She couldn't tell them she was the famous singer Nora. That would lead to everyone finding out. Todoroki knowing was enough. Noriko shifted in her seat and tried to think of a good way to change the subject or think of a good lie.
"Well, I-" Noriko was cut off by the bell and everyone in the cafeteria stood up, including Noriko. That's when she spotted her way out "Excuse me, there's someone I need to talk to."
Noriko walked away from the slightly confused trio and up to Todoroki, who she had spotted in the crowd of students.
"Hello," Noriko greeted with a small smile.
Todoroki looked down at her looking slightly confused, "Is there something you need?"
"Yes, actually," Noriko replied folding her hands behind her back. "I need to pretend to be talking to you about something so I don't have to talk to Uraraka, Midoriya, or Iida."
"Why don't you want to talk to them?" Todoroki questioned.
Noriko sighed, "I said I had other goals that were more important to me than being a hero and they asked what they were. For reasons you know, I can't just tell them that. And I don't really want to lie either."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
A bit of silence filled the air and Noriko started to regret coming over to him. Though, she guess dealing with extremely uncomfortable silence was better than revealing her secret to some of her more talkative classmates.
Noriko swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before saying, "Well, anyways, thank you for this."
"For what?" Todoroki asked.
"Uh, being a way for me to get out of exposing myself," Noriko answered with a shrug. "If I had ended up telling those three about who I am, the whole school would know before the end of the day. And that would be a nightmare."
Todoroki stared at her for a second and she was slightly surprised when he nodded. Then it went silent again and Noriko spoke before it got back to the point where she felt awkward, "Ok, well, I'll see you in class." She said before giving him a small wave before speeding up a bit so she could get back to the classroom first and avoid walking in uncomfortable silence.