The interviews resumed, as the rest of my classmates each stepped up to the stage to talk with Mt. Lady.
"I am the one who runs at a breakneck pace to inherit the mantle of my brother Ingenium!" Said Iida.
"Great! I can really feel your sincerity!"
Next, it was Yaoyorozu's turn. I watched her mount the stairs and wondered about her - since that defeat, would she be feeling beaten down? But she was perfectly secure.
"I bring encyclopedic knowledge and a powerful memory to the table," she explained when Mt. Lady asked about her skills, and demonstrated with an impressive new move.
"So confident! I'm reassured already!" She told her.
Reassuring… I thought as Yaoyorozu rejoined the crowd, Miss Midnight beaming at her. She definitely knows how to be that…It's the skill I've got to learn the most.
Indeed, it seemed most of my classmates knew that art, well - except for -
"I ain't gonna waste time on sound bites! Just shaddup and follow me!" Shouted Bakugou.
"You're a better interview alone, got it? You just don't mesh at all with humans…." Said Mt. Lady.
I guess it's kind of my fault.
"Sorry," I apologized. "I guess they cut you from the interview because I was there."
"You think you're hot stuff? As if I care what you say about me!"
"Maybe he should follow your lead and just avoid the media altogether," said Midnight.
"No," said Sensei. "I think there's someone better for him to emulate."
She shooed me off stage then, for crying out loud! I mean, I was only getting started - what was up with that?
Midoriya didn't fare much better as he went up for his interview.
"You go by Deku, right? I saw you in action!"
"Hey, that's great! Really great!" He said, sweating like crazy.
"Any thoughts on your performance out there?"
"Hey, that's great!"
"He's mastered his hardening quirk!" Said Kirishima.
"He's so nervous," said Asui. "He isn't used to this sort of thing."
"Many of your moves seem to be homages to All Might. Is he a hero you admire?" Mt. Lady asked.
"YEAH!" He shouted.
"So that gets you going?"
"But - I'm not just copying him! I'm actually customizing All Might's moves in ways that suit me best like take my Delaware smash for instance, named for a state not in All Might's repertoire and recently improved to come up with the smash Air Force and aversion that -"
"ENDLESS MUTTERING!"
"What about that move that burst out of you?" Said Midnight. "I heard you've made some progress. How's that going?"
Midoriya raised his hands as if about to do something.
We all waited. Is he -
A tiny little whisper of black came from his fist. That was it.
"Admittedly, that was just a tiny one, but it's my first step towards controlling it, so little by little, I'll -"
"Seriously?"
He rejoined me soon enough, sighing and looking tired. "How do you stay so calm?" He asked me. I smiled at him and shrugged.
Midoriya and Bakugou. Those two could certainly use some help, especially with PR…
