"With that, the second round is officially over!" Present Mic announced once the timer had run out.
The tense moment faded into nothing. Todoroki and Midoriya's teams froze and Bakugo seemed to freeze in mid-air before falling straight to the ground.
Noriko separated from her team and they all walked over to where Bakugo was still laying on the ground.
"Bakugo! Are you ok man?" Kirishima questioned, crouching down next to Bakugo.
Bakugo growled and repeatedly hit the ground with his fist.
Noriko smiled, amused at the sight, "Oh, don't be a baby. We still made it to the next round."
"Now let's take a look at who the top four teams are!" Present Mic announced. The screen changed back to show the teams' scores. "In first place, team Todoroki! In second place, team Bakugo!"
"We were so close," Noriko muttered with a sigh. It would've been nice to come in first place, but she really didn't care as long as they made it to the next round. "But as long as we're moving on."
"I don't think our team leader would agree with you," Kirishima said.
"Yeah, defiantly not," Noriko agreed as Bakugo screamed. Noriko walked up to Bakugo and crouched down beside him. "You need to calm down, Bakugo. It's not like we lost."
Bakugo stopped screaming and sat up. He turned around and glared at Noriko, who just stared at him. After a minute, Bakugo looked away without responding.
Present Mic announced that Shinso and Midoriya's teams were the other two teams to move onto the final round before announcing an hour lunch break.
Noriko followed everyone else out of the arena and to the cafeteria until she remembered that she needed to meet up with Shiro and Ryu. "Oh, I need to go. I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria."
"Where are you going?" Kirishima asked.
"I told my brother I'd talk to him during lunch," Noriko answered.
"You have a brother?" Bakugo questioned, coming up beside her.
"Yes, I do," Noriko replied, then she turned around. "And I have to go."
"Ok, see ya, Hiromi," Kirishima said before Noriko walked off to find her brother and Ryu.
She made her way through the stadium and found Shiro and Ryu surprisingly quickly, "Hey guys."
They both looked up at Noriko and Shiro was the first to speak, "That was awesome, Nori!"
"Great job on making it so far," Ryu praised with a smile.
"Thanks," Noriko said. "I'm gonna keep fighting and see how long I can last."
"You'll do great," Ryu said.
"You know," Shiro started. "You have some pretty strong people in your class. They're all really good at using their quirks. It's awesome!"
Noriko smiled, "Yeah."
"You should probably go now," Ryu said. "You need to eat and get ready for the next event."
Noriko nodded, "Yeah. I'll see you guys later."
"Good luck," Shiro replied.
"Thanks."
* * *
"Hey, I'm back," Noriko greeted as she sat down at a table with Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero once she got food.
"Hey, Hiromi," Kirishima replied.
"Where did you go?" Sero asked, he hadn't been there when she told Kirishima and Bakugo where she was going and they must not have told him.
"To see my brother," Noriko said. Sero opened his mouth to say something, but Noriko cut him off. "Yes, I have a younger brother. His name is Shiro. He exists."
Bakugo rolled his eyes and Sero and Kirishima shared a look. Noriko sighed and took a few bites of her food before her lunch was interrupted by Kaminari and Mineta, who had come up to the table Noriko was at and gained her attention, "Hey, Hiromi."
"Hey," Noriko replied, glancing between the two, a gut feeling telling her the two weren't there just to say hi.
"We just wanted to remind you about the cheer battle that's going on this afternoon. All of the girls have to wear those cheer uniforms for it," Mineta said, pointing to the American cheerleaders that were running around the cafeteria.
"Really?" Noriko questioned, looking at the American cheerleaders before giving Kaminari and Mineta a suspious look, "I never heard about that."
"Well, unless you wanna get in trouble, you should go see Yaoyorozu," Mineta said.
"I-... Um, ok," Noriko replied, confusion filling her as Kaminari and Mineta walked away before she could ask any more questions, leaving Noriko to decide if they were telling the truth or not. She didn't want to get in trouble if it was true, and if they were lying, she wouldn't mind wearing the outfit. It didn't seem like that terrible of a situation. "Ok, I'm gonna go "
"Are you sure he's actually telling the truth?" Kirishima questioned as Noriko stood up.
Noriko shrugged, "Not really, but I don't care. I don't mind wearing a cheerleader outfit either way. And it's better to be save than sorry."
Noriko said goodbye to the boy she was sitting with and walked away to find the other girls from her class. Yaoyorozu noticed her right away as she walked up to the girls, "Hiromi, I was just about to come find you. We're heading to the locker rooms to get changed."
"Alright," Noriko said before she followed the girls to the locker rooms.
* * *
"It's almost time for the last round! But before that, good news for everyone that didn't make the finals. Since this is a sports festival, we've prepared some super fun side games for everyone! We even flew in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping." Present Mic announced. That's when he noticed something, "Hold up. It looks like class 1-A is going full-on fan service!"
Noriko and the other girls in her class were stand in a line wearing cheer uniforms. Noriko let out a sigh, having figured out that the cheer battle had been made up by Kaminari and Mineta to get them to wear cheerleader outfits the second they stepped onto the field. She didn't feel the same embarrassment that she guessed her classmates were feeling, but she also found she didn't like that she had fallen for Kaminari and Mineta's trick.
"What?! You tricked us! You're gonna regret this!" Yaoyorozu yelled at Kaminari and Mineta, who were laughing in the distance. Then she fell to the ground on her knees. "Why is it that I always end up falling for that little pervert's stupid tricks? I even used my quirk to make these outfits."
"I hate those guys," Jiro growled, throwing her pom-poms to the ground.
"It's really not that bad," Noriko said, shaking the pom-poms a little.
"And I do kinda like these uniforms," Higakure added. "So... Let's just roll with it!"
"Are you crazy?!" Jiro yelled as Noriko laughed and Higakure waved her pom-poms around.
"Wow, Toru, you've got skills," Tsuyu commented.
"Have fun competing in these side games everyone!" Present Mic shouted before the screen changed to show a bracket. "After they're over, the 16 students from the top four teams will be duking it out in a tournament-style fighting competition! I promise you're not gonna wanna miss these match-ups!"
"Oh yeah. Finally getting a chance to show what we're made of." Kirishima said with a grin. "I watch these finals every year and now I'm actually in them!"
"Yeah, it's gonna be awesome," Noriko agreed.
"So wait. Is it always a tournament for the final?" Mina asked.
"Yeah. It's always a one-on-one competition, but there's different conditions. Last year it was a foam sword-fight match." Noriko explained as she recalled the sports festival from the year before. It had been the year she had debuted as Nora and her popularity had skyrocketed out of nowhere. That's why Ryu had been fussy about canceling her plans for that day, but she had managed to convince him by promising to do more the next day and do a ton after the festival was over.
"Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against. Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games." Midnight said, holding up a box that had the word 'lots' on it. "The 16 finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina. I'll start with the team in first place."
"Um, excuse me," Ojiro said, raising his hand and gaining Midnight's attention. "Sorry, but I'm withdrawing."
Everyone gasped at Ojiro's statement and Midoriya and Iida attempted to talk him out of it, but he didn't change his mind. Ojiro said something about not being able to remember anything from the cavalry battle and didn't think he deserved to move forward because of that. Another student, Nirengeki Shoda, also asked to withdraw as well. He had been on the same team as Ojiro and had the same reasons for withdrawing.
"This sort of talk is incredibly naive boys. That turns me on! Shoda! Ojiro! You are withdrawn!" Midnight exclaimed. "Now, let's see, we'll have to move students from the fifth place cavalry team so we have enough constants."
After a short conversation on who would take Ojiro and Shoda's place, Midnight continued, "Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki will advance to the final! Take a look at the bracket, my dears. These are your opponents."
The screen above Midnight changed to show the match-ups and Noriko quickly found her name. She would be fighting Aoyama.
"I'm afraid this battle will be the end for you, Mademoiselle," Aoyama said, walking up to Noriko.
"There's no way I'd lose to you," Noriko countered confidently.
"Ok! Let's press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it's time for some heart-pounding side games!"