[Extra story taking place during wanted: cyclone's time skip scene. Ft. Present Mic]
[This story was ready to post over 10 months ago and I just didn't, I'm so sorry]
Nico fidgeted in the sofa-chair that he sat in, tucked into the corner of the studio's recording booth, as he listened to the quiet clicks of the producer's mouse on their workscreen and the loudspeakers blasting the near-yells of the loud radio presenter above his head.
Nico doesn't know what possessed him to agree to this.
A few days of aimlessly wandering searching for Percy and Leo perhaps? That is what he had been doing when he encountered the kind-looking female producer a few days previously after a week of fruitless work. Miss Taketora, as she'd told him to call her, had pretty much coerced Nico into a radio interview after she had bought him an orange juice at a nearby cafe.
Through the closed wooden door, he heard two pairs of footfalls and muffled voices.
Soon after, a young man, possibly an intern, walked in sipping a coffee and handing a second to Miss Taketora, which she took gratefully.
"How was Mount Lady?"
"She's a bit intimidating but I managed to lead her to the right studio without getting lost, so I guess that's a plus."
The assistant looked up to where Nico was watching and his eyes widened with a star-gazed look.
"Oh! Mr di Angelo! Forgive my rudeness, I'm Kaito, Miss Taketora's assistant producer."
"No problem," Nico replied and turned to where Taketora had swiveled in her chair. "When am I going in?"
"Not too long now. You're live at 7 so you'd best go in five minutes before. Mic's running through the news segment and then you can go in while the ads run."
"And what do I have to do?"
"I ran through this already Di Angelo. Keep your head facing the microphone and don't fidget in your chair too much since it'll squeak or we'll pick up your rustling in the mic. Otherwise, relax; we'll give you pointers if you need them, so keep an eye on the window." Miss Taketora gestured to the glass as she said this. A warm smile spread across her face. "Honestly, if the host's any good, and Present Mic does have a lot of experience under his belt, they'd make you feel welcome and guide you through the questions. You've got nothing to worry about."
Nico didn't seem any less unsure so she fished into her bag and pulled out a small carton.
"Would you like some orange juice?" Nico, ever impartial to the sweet drink, readily took it and began gulping it down, crushing the cardboard in his nervous grip.
She pulled out any bottle and poured some water in a cup before exchanging it for the already crumpled empty carton.
"Wash it down with this. Wouldn't want you to get an embarrassing case of sticky mouth now, would we?"
He took it from her and downed half the bottle, before closing it and placing it on the desk. A few moments passed in as much silence as could be found in a workspace with a radio presenter blaring on the speakers.
Then Taketora's face perked up. She removed her headphones and stood up, followed closely by Kaito. She opened the door and smiled at Nico,
"The ad break is on. It's time for you to go inside."
Body stiff, Nico tensely stepped out into the hallway then through the next door over to enter the recording room.
"Hi, there!" The radio presenter swung around in his swivel chair and stood, narrowly avoiding smacking the armrest into his microphone. "I'm Yamada Hisashi but I ask that you call me Present Mic."
"I'm Nico Di Angelo, nice to meet you, Mike."
"I've been excited to talk to you Di Angelo! Thank you for giving up your time, I'm sure you've been very busy."
The already booming speakers in the side room must have been turned down quite a bit because it didn't prepare him for the sheer volume that the man produced. Other than destroying them with force, Nico wondered how many microphones the presenter had blown out just from the noise.
"Of course you have," he said at Nico's silence, "get yourself comfortable here and let's get prepped."
He gestured to the chair next to Nico and himself sat back down in his own swivel chair. He swung it back, once again nearly obliterating his hanging microphone and read over something on the nearby monitor as Nico gingerly lowered himself. From the corner of his eye, he could spot the reflection of Taketora's monitor on her glasses and Kaito's discrete thumbs up through the studio glass.
"There are a few topics I'd like to talk with you about today." Mic began. He looked to Nico who gave him a brief nod back in acknowledgment. "Your hero work mainly, of course. There's also a new historically set video game recently released based on you, which I'd like to touch on. Then, I guess, we can roll from there."
"Sure." Nico replied simply, too tightly wound up to truly concentrate on the words, and Mic smiled reassuringly.
"There's really nothing to worry about. We're on in just a mo. Put your headphones on and let's get this show on the road!"
With a thumbs up and a silent countdown, Mic began.
"Welcome to all my lovely listeners who are tuning in now on this fine evening! We've got something special lined up tonight. An interview with Mr Di Angelo, more commonly known by his popular nickname, the Quirkless King!"
"Thank you for having me Mike." Nico replied stiffly.
"You're the publicly proclaimed hero with a shocking debut. Mysterious and handsome, you've really captured the people's eye these past few months. What do you have to say about that?"
"It was never my intention to become a hero, even one as popular as you say I am, but I appreciate it all the same."
"You've really built an impressive following. Not every hero takes part but if you signed up to participate, you might get into the top 100 on the rankings." Mic paused and Nico hummed his agreement. "Now, to start on a fun note! A few of the listeners might be aware of the new jrpg game released earlier this month by the indie developer Yatanokagami studio."
"I bring this up 'cause, with your surge in popularity, the main character is named after you. Nick Angel!"
Nico spluttered out a startled laugh.
"Seriously?"
"Yep, he's also been modeled on your hero move set though of course with a couple of additions like the unlockable quirks of teleportation and monster summoning among others, which, of course, aren't your quirk. The story's historically based, in the era of ancient European warfare and the mythology of the period. What do you think?"
"I don't know what to say." Nico admitted with a short laugh, tension dissipating. "I'm flattered though. Mostly, I'm interested in how much attention went into researching the myths."
"Indeed! The project's head, Kagami, Fukusho announced that historical accuracy was the top goal for the game's development." Then a smirk stretched across Mic's face. "How about your own historical roots? I've heard there's something about your birth records."
"What about them?"
"You were found to have a matching record in the 1930s."
Nico waved it off dismissively,
"A grandparent perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
Nico shrugged and leaned back into his chair with a squeak.
The pause where he had shrugged on the radio was momentary but noticeable. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Taketora repetitively tapped her mouth with one hand and he sat up, mentally face-palming.
"Sorry. Not great at the radio thing. I am from Italy, so it must be a coincidence that I have a relative in the region with the same name as me. Did they bother checking any closer to a more reasonable date?"
"I don't know if they did and if they tried, they must not have found anything."
"What can I say?" Nico replies leaning back and shrugging. "If I were a time-traveler, I'm sure I'd notice."
"You're not wrong," Mic shot back a smile in his voice. "Onto the topic of your involvement in the Urokukichi incident. We talked about your debut but that is really the thing that's on everyone's minds. Any thoughts you'd like to share? You really gave us a spectacle with the UA barrier."
Nico took a brief moment to mull over his answer.
"I'm grateful for the kind recognition I received from the Urokukichi family. I haven't had the chance to get in contact with them, but I'll make sure I do while I'm around, to give them thanks. As for the Barrier? That was just to get away from the attacking villains. I wouldn't do that in any other circumstances."
"Of course - I don't think I'd be able to climb the barrier either."
"I did manage to get some good back-up from some of the heroes and even some students from the academy to deal with the villain group, though."
"Yep, it was a good move to head for UA. And your quirk, might I ask what you call it?"
"I wouldn't be called the Quirkless King if I had a quirk now, would I?" Sensing a question, he continued, "I've seen so many different interesting quirks while just walking around. I, for one, am interested in yours."
Mic's face lit up, distracted from his original train of thought. From the corner of Nico's eye, he spotted the producer's assistant frantically signing a with his hand across his throat. At Nico's sly grin in his direction he sighed, facepalming, and looked Nico in the eye; he pointed at his watch and put up a single finger.
Indulge him for only one minute.
Nico zoned out momentarily as Present Mic got into his own quirk for the minute that Kaito allowed, before sending him a discrete thumbs up.
"Quirks as a whole are a really fascinating business, and I found out that some of the best are pro heroes that help people. You must be one right?"
"Yeah-"
At Kaito's, and now Taketora's, fiery looks, Nico quickly interrupted Present Mic.
"That's great, where I live there's no hero system like here's, the police deals with all the regular crime, so this seems pretty abnormal to me." He continued,
"Anyway, the 'Quirkless King' reminds me of a name some people call me by, being the Ghost king, or more personally by my good friends like Percy, stuff like 'Death boy', which, I guess, shows exactly how good we are as friends." Present Mic's already large smile grew into a wide grin at his words.
"You might not know this but the listeners here would already recognize the ghost king as one of your nicknames online."
Nico raised one eyebrow looking at Present Mic's face.
"Perhaps your friend 'Percy' was the one who started that trend?" He suggested but Nico shook his head.
"Not possible, but I can see where the public could have got that nickname from."
"Not possible?"
"Like me, He doesn't live here, so he doesn't actually know anything about me being any form of hero, at least in this sense of the word. He, another friend and I are here on a trip right now from America."
"Oh? That sounds exciting! Any scoop on how that's going?"
"Not great at all." Nico laughed, a little less tense. "I lost both of them within the first hour. It's been a couple weeks now and I haven't met up with them again yet."
"And not even a chance to see all the sights of Musutafu together! How tragic! Perhaps our wonderful listeners can help you out?"
"Possibly... I lost them along Hanagawa street about 3 weeks ago. They might still be around that area."
Mic nodded understandingly.
"I hope your friends are safe out there, with some new villains like Cyclone on the rise.
Nico froze."
"Cyclone..?"
"You haven't heard of him? If you listeners haven't heard yet either, he's a villain with a water quirk who uses a sword and has been active recently. I'll cover it on a later segment if you listeners ask for it."
Nico felt he'd been dunked in an ice bath.
"No... I hadn't heard of him."
Noticing Nico's concerned expression, Present Mic mentally back-pedaled, clapping Nico on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about your friends, heroes like us are always on patrol to look out for villains like him so no one needs to have any fear!"
"Of course. They're capable of holding their own." Replied Nico tersely and his chair squeaked slightly under his fidgeting hands.
Mic's eyebrows pinched together but he continued with a flourish, undeterred,
"What's your friend's quirk? Perhaps he could be identified that way."
Nico hesitated, mind whirring.
"I'd say... a quirk for improved blade use."
"A weapon mastery quirk, huh? Weapon mastery quirks are pretty powerful if let loose. There are restrictions on emitter quirk use but there's equal regulation on weapon purchase so I guess we won't find him that way."
Nico nodded, making sure to hum quietly into the microphone. Mic continued,
"I dare say there are not many weapons mastery heroes but there are loads with firearm and blade support weapons. Snipe, Scope, Psikni, Slinger - just to name a few popular heroes beginning with S. Scope, as far as I can remember, has a hand steadying quirk and Slinger's might be super joint flexibility. Psikni telekinetically controls blades and as for Snipe-"
"It sounds like you know a lot about heroes."
"A good hero should know other heroes quirks. Never know when you could be paired up with someone else on the fly."
Nico nodded,
"Percy and I have fought together a lot. He's a master swordsman, he'd probably fit in that Nick Angel character you mention more than I could - I guess you could say he's into history, too. But yes, it would be cool if people could find him, but if he's by himself, he only speaks English, so I can't say he'd be very cooperative."
"Any clues to his appearance?"
"Tall, dark hair and green eyes, pretty muscly. He could be wearing anything by this point, so there's not much else I could add."
"And you said there was a second friend?"
"Yes, Leo. Rather short, messy brown hair and a bit grubby - knowing him, he's probably still got his tool belt and work kit on. He's got a fire quirk and is more likely to be able to speak Japanese than Percy, so he might be easier to find."
Present Mic quirked up an eyebrow.
"That's interesting. Did he learn the language with you? You've got great pronunciation for a foreigner."
Nico furrowed his eyebrows in confusion for a second before he remembered the Interpreter, and began to laugh quietly.
"No, no. I didn't learn the language." It was Mic's turn to look confused but Nico cut him off. "It's this little device." He tapped at his cheek where the interpreter was pinned. "It translates speech for me so I can understand and speak different languages."
"That's a cool bit of tech. I know there are hero support items for imitation and voice changing which is a pretty old system but that must be a new development. Do you sound any different without it on?"
Nico shrugged, then remembered the radio microphone,
"I don't know, but I definitely wouldn't be speaking Japanese."
"Could you speak without it on?" Mic said, eyes bright. "Might be something fun for fans of the Quirkless king."
Nico flushed but reached for the device, anyway.
"Sure, I can give it a try." The interpreter buzzed briefly and beeped once, then fell silent as he unhooked it from his ear. "But I'm not sure how well you'd be able to understand me."
Present Mic grinned widely and replied readily in somewhat accented English,
"I teach English classes at UA so don't worry about my understanding."
Nico put the device back in and it rebooted. Present Mic returned to Japanese while the interpreter clicked and whirred,
"That's certain to please some people," He started with a loud laugh. "I don't think anyone had any idea you weren't speaking from good practice. You definitely have a different voice than when using your gear."
"I had no idea," Nico replied, shrugging slightly. "Anyways, since he's incredibly handy, Leo has probably made a translator for himself and so he'd be able to talk if anyone approached him."
"Oh yes, your missing buddies. My heart goes out to you kid. I hope you find your friends and I'll send you any information I hear about them from the listeners." Mic leaned back in his chair checking the wall clock briefly. "Unfortunately for all the lovely listeners, our time with Mr Quirkless King is nearly up. Be sure keep an eye out and we hope to have him back on the show soon!"
"Thank you for inviting me". Nico answered back, stiffly bowing his head towards the microphone.
Hizashi sent him a joyful grin and Nico could help to smile back in return.
—————
@officialpresmic
How did you find today's talk with the #qrklssking? We hope to have Di Angelo back sometime and keep your eyes open to help him out!
@fieonrey
Nico sounds like a sweet enough kid. I'm certain he does have a quirk but that's whatever Good luck with finding your buddies! #qrklssking
@shophiee
Leo sounds like the shifty english speaking guy who's been hanging around my neighbourhood. Darufu area. #qrklssking
@ghosteij
@shophiee I think I saw him in the supermarket in that area the other day. Jato district. He's rly short and wears the same ear piercings as Nico does if that helps #qrklssking
@littlerocketship
Asfdjfk he sounds so cute lmao With the prewar theory going around I thought he might sound super old but he kinda sounds girly
@ethan
@littlerocketship I think that's the translating tech he talked about. Think he might have got it from UA? @ibrokeanotherbone and their support dept were crazy at the sports festival
[ ] Urokukutie79 [ ]
Hey there! News of the Quirkless King's missing travel partners has blown up recently with the retweeting and reblogging of Present Mic's message by a few top twenty heroes after the original interview a couple of weeks ago.
All my wishes go out to him and to his friends. It's dangerous out there with villains about, in a new place especially, and with hero killer legacies like Cyclone coming up now. I know that all too well unfortunately.
#quirklessking #heroes #hero #diangelo #ghostking #findpercy #findleo #cyclone