Ashido's POV
It was at the end of a particularly hard week of training and classes, and not gonna lie, I was pretty burned out. We'd been drilling all sorts of pro-hero exercises and I felt like I kept missing the mark, messing up and the like.
On top of that, Bakugou and Todoroki had made the news right after finally getting their provisional licenses. Like, boom. I'd had mine for forever and I hadn't gotten on the news or made any kind of headlines, and they just get to make the news right away? I mean, no fair, right?
Well, Todoroki did, anyway.
"Not 30 minutes after receiving your provisional licenses, you went to work and displayed some heroics that would put the pros to shame! You must have become good friends throughout all the training you've done, right?" Asked the Reporter lady.
"That how it looked to you? Better head to an optometrist. Or a neurologist,"Bakugousnapped.
"Yes, we are friends," said Todoroki.
"Huh? YOU MAKING CRAP UP NOW? WHEND' WE BECOME FRIENDS?"
"We spent a lot of time together during the licensing course."
"That ain't how it works! There's no correlation between time spent together and friendship!"
"Correlation?"
"All right, you need that brain doctor too!"
It was the final week of classes in December, term just about over, and we were all having a pretty good laugh over it.
"A WHOOOL E hour long interview!" Kaminari was snickering. "And Bakugou's part was totally cut!"
"It's for his own good, in a way," said Uraraka.
"HOW DARE THEY CUT ME!?"
"Not very All Might-ish of him," sassed Midoriya.
What the hell did you just say?
"He's nuts," said Mineta, while Iida shouted at him "Remove yourself from that desk, Mineta!"
"I HEARD THAT DEKU, YOU DWEEB! YOU TOO, BALLHEAD"
"To think that was his third interview…" said Yaomomo.
"What a waste - just think of all the good press he could've gotten after they got their licenses," said Jirou.
We switched over to the rest of the news.
"These newly licensed heroes in training are just the sort of fresh faces we can rely eagerly await the day they can become full-fledged pro heroes so that hopefully we won't see a repeat of the Deika City tragedy. It's been nine days since that disaster where 20 individuals pushed Daika to the brink of destruction in less than an hour."
"They say the scope of the destruction was even greater than the Kamino incident," said Iida. "Although casualties were fewer thanks to Daika's remote location."
"Some see this planned attack as a deliberate attempt to shake society's faith in pro heroes, but what are people on the street saying?"
A series of interviews followed. "It's dumb to criticize the heroes of Deika. What they oughta be talking about is relaxing this whole rigid system."
"Let's not go after the heroes who stepped up in Daika. What, were they s'posed to file the proper paperwork first or something?"
"Keep trying even harder heroes! Cuz, like, we'll do our best too!"
"In the past, a situation like this where heroes were forced to make a difficult call would've earned those same heroes criticism. But I suspect we may be witnessing a critical turning point in this era. A large-scale shift in opinion from criticism to passionate support."
"Feels like everything's different ever since the 'captcha see kid' did his thing!" Said Uraraka, miming over her eyes with her fingers.
"It's all cuz Endeavor kicked butt!" I smiled, putting my fingers over my eyes just like hers.
"Y'think the future's bright? Not so fast!" Came a voice from out the door. "It might seem like the winds of good fortune are blowing our way, but if you stop and think about the flip side of all this, it's actually coming from a sense of urgency - it's a response to danger! These cheers for the conquering heroes are really prayers - a plea that we emerge victorious! They've had enough of the showbiz side of heroism and want us to prove our worth for real now!"
It was Mt. Lady! And Miss Midnight.
"Mt Lady!" Mineta shrieked. Following them was Aizawa sensei. "She's your guest lecturer, since you'll have more media exposure going forward."
"More exposure my butt!"Bakugou snapped.
"You'll do better next time, dud!" Said Eiji.
"Today we're talking about the media!" Said Mt. Lady, holding up a placard. "And as a rising star myself, I'm the perfect hero to teach you how to work it!"
"I don't know what we're gonna be doing…." Said Eiji.
"C'mon kids! Let's do this with Plus Ultra attitude! It's hero interview training!"
We were suited up and outside by a stage the teachers had set up, with camera crew and everything.
Todoroki went first, with Mt. Lady interviewing him.
"Amazing work out there, Shoto!"
"Sorry, what are we talking about?"
"Pretend you just finished a mission and say thanks!"
'Thanks."
"Now tell us, Shoto, what sort of hero do you want to become?"
"The type who can make everyone feel at ease when I show up.
"Fantastic! But if a looker like you suddenly showed up, I think my heart would burst out of my chest!"
"Do you have a heart condition?"
He's so handsome and clueless!
"What are your ultimate moves?"
Todoroki walked down the stairs and demonstrated with some huge iceberg.
"Heaven piercing Ice Wall. It's good for crowd control, stopping villains in their tracks and creating platforms. It has many uses. I has another move called Flashfreeze heatwave, which is a little more rough."
"Huh? What about that other one he used against Class B?" Asked Jirou.
"Endeavor's thing, right?"
'Flashfire fist!" Said Hagakure.
"That's my dad's move," said Todoroki, going up the stairs. "I'm not as his level yet."
"IT's okay to have personal, touchy topics, but if you're trying to put people at ease, smiling would be a good start. Flash smiles and you'll be a genuine ladykiller!"
"My smile will kill women?" He asked, looking freaked.
"All right, that's enough."
"Are we supposed to showcase our moves during interviews?" Asked Tokoyami.
Mt. Lady knelt next to him. "You sweet, naive UA kiddies. It's not like everyone in this world knows who you are already! Your ultimate moves symbolize you! It's through those moves that people can learn what you're capable of. Then you can prepare for impromptu team-ups nd combos and warn people of villains and crimes. This way, everyone trusts you enough to put their lives in your hands. Shouting out the names of your ultimate moves isn't just for show. There's plenty of meaning behind it."
"Not too long ago, she didn't give a crap about anything except being on camera," said Mineta.
"Mt .Lady's not the only one who has changed," said Sensei. Every hero out there is being pulled up by the number one hero's rising tide. "Next!"
Iida, then Yaomomo, Uraraka, Tokoyami, all went, giving great interviews - starting to be really intimidating! Then it was Eiji's turn.
"Great work out there, Red Riot!"
"Thanks - it was nothing, really!"
"Tell me, what kind of hero do you want to be? Is there a message you hope to send?"
"Yeah, I do." Eiji tensed up and showed off his unbreakable move. "No blood's gonna be shed behind this wall!"
Nicely done! He's so confident…like he knows exactly what message he wants to send. What do I want to say?
Ojiro was going…I was trying to think.
My ultimate move - do I even have one? How am I gonna look confident? I mean, I know I did - but is that -?
"Pinky, come on up!" She called. No more time to think about it! Gotta get going!
"So, Pinky, that was some good work you did back there!"
Pretend like you just fought a villain.
"Yep yep, you know! Those villains aren't gonna be doing any mischief, not on my watch!" It sounded silly to me, but what're you gonna do
"And what about your ultimate moves? Any you'd like to share?"
I swallowed. Then glanced out at the crowd. All my friends were looking up at me, smiling. People are rooting for you to succeed. Like Mt. Lady said.
I took a deep breath.
"This is mine - for now! Acid Veil!"
And showed it off, my great big acid veil blocking all the threats around me, acting like a shield. And it was sooo much bigger than I'd remembered!
"No attacks are gonna get in through this wall!"
I hadn't meant to sound like Eiji - but I kinda did anyway. It felt good - like a real rush.
And I got to hop down soon enough. After that, only Bakugou and Midoriya screwed up in anyway - but overall, it felt like we were doing pretty good.
All us heroes, being rooted for…