Izuku x Ochako fanfic "Parents To Be"

Chapter 9: Role model?

"You nervous?" Deku asked. Uraraka rolled her eyes.

"Of course I am! I'm never done this before" Uraraka replied nervously brushing her hair back behind her ears and checking that her dress looked ok.

"You'll be fine. It's just a talk show" Deku said trying to be supportive but it didn't help much. She was a bag of nerves.

"But what if I say the wrong thing? What if he asks me a question I don't know the answer to? What if-" Uraraka started to go into full blown panic mode but Deku grabbed her by her shoulders and got her to stand still and be calm for a moment.

"What if you absolutely crush it?" Deku asked getting her to think about the positives rather than the negatives.

"What if I don't?" Uraraka asked with a question of her own instead of answering Deku's.

"Would it matter? Either way you come home to a boyfriend who loves you very much along with a daughter and a dog that adore you. And you'll still be a hero after this interview so it's not like the public are going to ostracize you for one bad interview" Deku said with a calm and soothing voice. Uraraka's nerves didn't disappear entirely but they did fade a little.

"Thanks Deku. You're the best" she said giving him a kiss on the cheek before waiting to be called on stage.

"Good luck" he said giving her two thumbs up before she disappeared around the corner, waiting to go on stage. She barely had time to collect herself before she was introduced and it was time to go on stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome, pro hero, Uravity!" The announcer said introducing her to the crowd who roared into life at the mention of her name. Uraraka couldn't believe it.

They love me.

She completely forgot to move and one of the workers had to give her a little nudge to remind her that she was supposed to be walking on stage. She mouthed her apologies and made her way onto the stage. The lights blinded her the moment she emerged and she couldn't see a thing beyond them. So there was just noise and a very smiley man stood before her with his desk and guest sofa. Uraraka smiled and waved to the noise behind the lights. She didn't know if there was anybody there for real or if it was just the audio of an audience being played through some speakers.

Well this is...something.

She walked over to the host and shook his hand. However Uraraka was very nervous and she didn't realise that she'd accidentally used her quirk on him as his legs began to suddenly float up. Quickly realising her error, she deactivated it, bringing the man back down to ground before he began to float way too high. Luckily for her though he simply laughed it off. The two of them took their seats and eventually the crowd settled down so that the interview could begin.

"Well first of all Uravity thank you for being here" he said. Uraraka was still taking in her surroundings and almost completely missed the question.

"Of course, thank you for having me" Uraraka said putting on a smile despite being completely uncomfortable with the situation. The bright lights, the crowd, the cameras, all this attention on her was wildly unsettling.

"Oh, the pleasure is all ours. So, how are you finding your first year as a professional hero? I mean you've been fighting villains for quite some time now as a student but how does it feel to be doing it for real as a pro?" he asked leaning back in his chair. For some reason it helped to relax Uraraka a little bit. His calmness seemed to be somewhat infectious. Whilst Deku weighed up the possibility he had a calming quirk of some sort, Uraraka took a moment to ponder the question.

"It's strange. Nothing really changed other than the fact that I get paid to do it now and I don't have classes to attend in between each battle or patrol that I do" Uraraka said as she realised that she'd had so many encounters with villains as a student that all of this seemed pretty normal to her. Yes she had time with professional heroes to fight villains but sometimes it wasn't her choice. Shigarakis attacks on UA and her class forced her to encounter the worst of the worst. Her kidnapping, All For One, Nomus, all that and more. She'd been numbed to the life of a hero. This was just what she did now.