Earworm

Ch. 3: Presentation Microphone

"Oh, is my voice really that recognizable? Heh." He peeked around the corner, seeing a startled and flustered Yoru, who was holding the book in their hands up to cover their face. Yoru had seen Present Mic announcing at the entrance exam, of course, but this was in public! A one on one conversation!

"H-hey..." They mumbled, their dark green eyes peeking over the book.

"Did I scare you, kid? Was I too loud?" The blonde man asked, trying to catch a glimpse of their face behind the book. He took a step back, hoping to seem friendly and non-threatening. "I'm sorry, little listener."

"N-no! You're fine! I'm just, um, surprised to see you here..." Yoru managed to say, keeping the book held up.

"Even pro heroes have lives, you know," Present Mic said, chuckling warmly. "I'm just looking for a book to cover on my talk show tonight. We've gotten lots of requests to do so."

"I, um, I love your talk show! I... listen to it whenever I can!" Yoru felt their cheeks grow warm. Were they being weird? Is this what being star-struck felt like?

"A fan? Why, I'm flattered! Nice to meet you, little listener!" He grinned, pointing a finger gun at them.

Yoru noticed that he wasn't in his hero costume, which they probably hadn't expected him to do since he wasn't on patrol or anything. This was the first time they had seen him with his hair down and normal glasses, but he still looked just as cool in his opinion.

"Um... can I get your autograph? Or... something? Sorry, you probably hear that a lot..."

"It's no problem, listener! Uh, here!" He fumbled through his pockets, searching for a pen. Yoru put the book down and fished a piece of paper out of their pocket.

As Present Mic started to write his signature, he froze. "Hey, I know you! From the entrance exam, right?"

Yoru felt the color drain from their tinted cheeks, their throat tightening slightly. They nodded. Their spirits had been lifted by this encounter so much that they sort of forgot that they hadn't gotten into U.A....

"Is something wrong?" Even if he didn't look like it, he had a very keen eye and noticed their shift in expression almost immediately. Yoru shook their head, quickly putting the book up in front of their face.

"Pfft, put that down, you dork," He said, giggling. He gently put his hand on top of the book and pushed it down to see their face. "I can obviously tell that something is wrong. What's up, listener?"

"I, um... I sort of didn't get in to U.A. and I feel all embarrassed about it," Yoru caved in, something about the understanding look in the pro hero's eyes causing them to open up. "With my quirk, everyone thinks that I should be in the entertainment business, but I don't want to do that... um, no offense!"

"None taken, kid!" He chuckled again, resuming writing his signature. "The entertainment business isn't for everyone, I understand that. What is your quirk exactly, anyways."

Yoru hesitated, trying to find the best way to explain it. "It's... sort of similar to yours, actually. I can... manipulate sound waves, to put it simply."

His eyes lit up. "Another voice hero, I hear?"

"I... guess..."

"YYYEEEEEAAAAAAHHH!!" He shouted triumphantly, putting his hand up for a high-five. But Yoru's hands were covering their ears.

"Uh... kid, you okay?" He suddenly grew concerned, realizing that he could have possibly given this teenager permanent hearing damage.

"I'm alright... I don't think that my ear drums can be destroyed any further, heh..." They said half-jokingly, taking their hands off their ears.