Idol Hero | BNHA

Chapter 26

The next day, Noriko ended up waking up late and getting a short lecture from Ryu. Then he jumped into the schedule for the next two days which sounded more like something that was happening over a week. She had 8 different interviews, including tv show appearances as well as finishing up the final songs in her album and meeting with another singer she would be making a song with. Then they would also have to work out what would be going on for the next tour and how to deal with the rumors that had quickly become the most important thing to people on the internet - and was the first thing Ryu and Noriko talked about after going over the schedule.

"Deny everything," Ryu had told her. "Nora is not Noriko. You are two different people and when you are with those reporters and tv show hosts, you are Nora, someone who's never heard of Noriko. Remember, if they don't have your confirmation, they can't say anything. They could find all the evidence they want, but unless you confirm it, it's not true. Got it?"

After Ryu's lecture, Noriko grabbed the last few things she needed before they left the house and started the 30-minute drive to the first stop. They stopped to pick up breakfast from a fast food place before arriving at the tv studio. Ryu ushered a tired Noriko out of the car and into her designated changing room. Ryu left her alone to get changed and when she walked out of the room, she felt a lot more awake and was mentally preparing herself for the inevitable questions she knew was going to get asked.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Nora," a woman greeted, walking up to Nora and holding a hand out to her. She looked to be some sort of assistant.

Nora shook it, "It's nice to meet you too."

"Now, follow me this way and we'll get started," she said before leading Nora over to the set where a man, who was clearly the tv show's host, was waiting for her.

The man greeted her before telling her to sit down in the chair across from the one he was sitting in. They exchanged a few words before everyone got ready to shoot and the cameras started rolling.

The man started with the intro to the show before he turned to Nora, "Nora, it's an honor to have you here on the show today."

"It's an honor to be here," Nora replied with a smile.

"So," he started, wasting no time, "your short performance at the UA Sports Festival was a very pleasant surprise. It was a performance many have been asking for. And from what I've heard, you've been wanting to perform during the Sports Festival for some time now, correct?"

"Yes, I have," Nora answered. She paused for a second, seeing that he wanted a slightly longer answer and continued. "I've always watched the sports festival with my family and being able to perform during it was a big dream of mine. I was very honored to get to perform there."

"That's very sweet," the man said with a smile that quickly faded as he went to the next question. "But after your performance, a rumor quickly spread through the internet. If you aren't already aware, people think that you go to UA high in the hero course. Some have even gone so far as to conclude that you are going there as a student from class 1-A, Noriko Hiromi. What are your thoughts on this?"

Nora resisted the urge to glance at Ryu, who was standing behind the camera. "This is the first I'm hearing of these rumors," Nora lied. "But, while going to UA High might have been something I thought of doing a long time ago, I can assure you I'm not a student there."

"What do you have to say about the evidence people are bringing up?"

Nora tilted her head slightly. Her and Ryu had talked about the best way of handling talking about the rumors for the first time and that would be to act clueless about it. The rumors were big, but people didn't know what she had been doing after her performance the day before, so they couldn't say that it was unbelievable for her to have never heard of the rumor. "What evidence?"