Chapter Text
Hizashi loved his jobs. All three of them.
He got to meet so many enthusiastic kids and students through UA and took pleasure in his ability to help guide them towards their futures.
He loved seeing the nervous and hesitant first years become strong and independent third years, ready to take Japan by storm with everything that they’ve learned, using the knowledge that Hizashi himself had helped provide them with.
It made him proud to see the future generations making waves in their respective career fields and he always smiles whenever an old student of his sends him a thank you card or invites him to their weddings and monumental moments of their lives.
And then there was his physical hero work.
Admittedly, he doesn’t patrol as much as a regular hero does, since he’s usually called in as a heavy hitter for large missions and such, but he loves being able to walk around and provide a sense of ease with just his presence.
Talking with fans and helping around with things people considered mundane always brought him a feeling of satisfaction that he wasn’t sure would ever be erased.
There was something about being able to actively help the citizens of Japan that eased something dark and scarred in his heart, letting that restless feeling find the calmness in his day to day life.
There was also something about his radio show that helped him smile brighter on those darker days and feel a sense of peace wash over him while he virtually interacted with his fanbase.
If Hizashi was being honest with himself, his radio show might be the job that he takes the most pride in.
His radio show started off during a dead night shift slot, with only the help of a producer and himself working around the clock to make sure everything could be perfect for when they aired their segment on Friday nights.
Within a year, he had been able to move his radio station inside his own agency and was given a full team to ensure the ongoing success of the show.
He still ran his Friday nights like he used to, with him physically manning the show and talk portion segment, but it was fantastic to be given the opportunity to grow his dream and place Put Your Hands Up as an official radio station to play songs and offer segments of news to look out for during all hours.
And he absolutely loved the one constant that came with his radio show.
It was within the first week after he had started his caller segment that he was able to meet one of the brightest minds he’d ever had the pleasure to speak with.
Their mother had called in and politely asked if it was okay for her son to ask a few questions. As soon as their pleasantries were finished and the phone was handed off, the child started to talk.
The things that the child came up with were fascinating.
Theories that Hizashi would never think of were being fired at him, almost faster than he could process, and questions were littered throughout an impressive analysis of a recent hero fight Hizashi had been a part of, especially for a child that sounded no older than seven.
If the kid hadn’t been so proud to exclaim that he wanted to be a hero (just like Hizashi) then he would’ve been fearing for his life.
But the kid didn’t want to use his gifts for terrible things and so, thus started one of the best Friday night traditions Hizashi could’ve asked for.
A few weeks into their discussions about hero fights and if they did the wrong or right thing (which was absolutely fascinating to listen to - the empathy this child could have for everyone, including villains), Hizashi asked for a name from the little listener.
Admittedly, he had started to call the kid his littlest listener, but that probably wasn’t true and he didn’t want to make the kid uncomfortable by choosing a nickname for him.
And, with the help of the boy’s mother, Hizashi had finally been formally introduced to his favorite caller; Kannon.
Throughout the years, without fail, Hizashi had the opportunity to talk with Kannon about many different things.
They spoke about heroes and their activism (straying away from too much analysis after that first night when Hizashi got a call directly after Kannons’, threatening to use the kid’s analysis to defeat Hizashi when he went on patrol next), and they talked in depth about societal issues surrounding those with weak and useless quirks, villainous and mutant quirks, and especially about the quirkless.
Kannon had one of the most open minds Hizashi had ever had the pleasure to speak with and the kid was smart enough to piece out specific clues Hizashi would give them throughout a call whenever he asked a few questions about Hizashi’s hero work and support gear with clues of his own.
They spoke about how villains were created and why governmental parties should be working to fix the problem instead of attempting to slow the symptoms of their broken society (that night was the first night Shouta had outwardly told Hizashi that he had listened to the broadcast and they spoke - at length - about the concepts a young child was able to think of with growing fascination).
Hizashi learned that Kannon loved All Might but anyone who wanted to help people was admired by the boy as well. He fondly listened as the boy would talk about his favorites with Hizashi, lovingly describing the katsudon he ate at least once a week and happily expressing his admiration for the color red.
With all of these Friday night calls, Hizashi was informed by his PR manager that he had shot up in the rankings as soon as he started to give a bit of insight about his own life.
It made sense, since most of the public saw heroes as untouchable beings and unreachable celebrities but it still warmed his heart more than he thought possible when he found out.
Because the public loved Kannon and, in turn, loved Present Mic’s radio show.
Once, a caller specifically asked Kannon a question about his nickname, even though the boy wasn’t on the air with Hizashi. He just wrote it down and asked Kannon himself a few minutes later, when the kid inevitably called.
Flustered and stuttering, just like the kid was seven again, he finally explained that his mother liked to learn about different religions, mythologies and other cultures, earning him some questionable nicknames throughout his life.
Kannon was the earliest odd nickname he was given, and was the Japanese equivalent of a Chinese bodhisattva who was known for their compassion and kindness.
Hizashi couldn’t deny that the nickname suited the kid well.
Afterwards, many different people would call in and praise Kannon for something that he brought up the previous Friday night, ask him certain questions, or take to social media to praise the regular caller for giving them something fun and informative to listen to as they studied for their finals or made lunches for the next day.
Hizashi was a bit distraught when Kannon didn’t call in until late one Friday night, although he felt terrible when the kid quietly confessed that he hadn’t realized so many people were listening to their talks over the years, obviously worried about the idea of people intentionally listening to him.
It took a few months to work Kannon back into the habit of calling earlier and forgetting about the other people listening in.
He seemed to be as allergic as Shouta when it came to his media presence (because it was undeniable - the kid had garnered a presence worthy of a PR staff) but was quick to forget about it when he spoke with Hizashi and got lost in his theories and ideas.
The most interesting thing that’s ever happened with Kannon was when Hizashi read off a question asking about the kid’s quirk.
He had to admit, he was interested in knowing about it too but Kannon had panicked out a polite goodbye and hung up before Hizashi could get a word in.
So, just like Hizashi, the public started learning Kannon’s boundaries as well as his passions.
Hizashi made sure to only ask the questions that were guaranteed to set the kid on a talking spree, hardly pausing for breath in between his long sentences.
The avid followers of Kannon on social media started doxing anyone who tried to pry too hard about the kid’s personal life and (on one memorable occasion) aired a hater’s dirty laundry to the world when they threatened to track down the kid and expose him.
It was the constant that Hizashi never knew he needed with the radio show.
And then the day came where he heard Kannon’s voice in real life.
Admittedly, Hizashi had decided against asking about anything school related since it seemed like Kannon wasn’t excited to share that part of his life, so you can imagine his surprise when he called on Midoriya Izuku to answer a question in class and heard his favorite little listener’s voice.
He was sure he stared for a bit too long before he jumped back into his hero persona and continued on with the class, internally screaming at his husband for not giving him a warning (because he just knew Shouta had figured it out).
And he admits that he did brag to his co-workers and other heroes that he had finally met Kannon after all this time.
And then the sports festival happened and Hizashi got the best seat in the stadium to watch Midoriya race through the obstacle course with inventive plans, strategize with a team during the cavalry battles, and then proceed to break and re-break his fingers and arms during his one v one battles.
Hizashi’s heart couldn’t take it. He knew this kid was undeniably the same one who broke down his analysis into clever clues so he could talk to Present Mic about it all. So his power must’ve been near unusable before he started training at UA, which terrified Hizashi to no end.
But he knew intimately how hard it was to get a wrangle on his own powerful quirk, which is why he spent so many years learning about the physical mutations his throat and ears had and why his body needed such a natural resistance against his quirk.
From the looks of it, Midoriya didn’t have any physical mutations to help him wrangle his quirk, so he was stuck with a powerhouse inside of him with no clear guidance on how he could use it without breaking apart.
Hizashi just smirked to himself as he wrote down Midoriya’s name on the internship paper. He had no issue offering up an internship to Midoriya. He knew how fast a learner Midoriya was through Shouta’s stories about the kid and he, selfishly, wanted to see it in action.
And if he could teach the kid a thing or two about confidence, then maybe, just maybe, he could finally ask Kannon to officially join him on Friday nights for his radio show.