Canary

Chapter 24: A Taste of the Future

Midoriya quit dance.

It took a lot of convincing for his mum to even give him the telephone so he could ring Mrs Kita, informing her that he wouldn't be coming back. However, a check on the dance class' small social media account informed Midoriya that Mrs Kita would be stopping her dance lessons anyway, considering she was expecting in a few weeks' time. That meant the whole ordeal was sorted for him. There was no way he'd keep going if there was an unfamiliar teacher there – someone who likely didn't know sign and would know Midoriya as Canary and not Izuku.

Maybe he'd go back, given some time. He just needed space – space to get used to his new... way of life, so to speak – getting comfortable with his fame and his Quirk and, most importantly, his talking.

With the thought hanging heavy in his mind, Midoriya hopped on the train to reach the radio station that morning, rather than going to UA. It was only when he gave up his seat to a frazzled looking mother and her child, that he looked across the train and spotted Shinso's head of indigo hair.

With only one stop left, Midoriya decided against pushing his way through the crowd of people to reach his friend, and instead just hurried along vaguely behind him one the train stopped – rushing up escalators and weaving his way through the steady stream of people to finally catch up with him.

Together, they walked to the front entrance of the hero agency for once. Since it wasn't Canary's Hour, nor was there any particularly famous guests in the building, the persisting mob of press that often hovered outside the building had dissipated.

They were immediately greeted by Aozora.

"WHAT'S UP, HERO FLEDGLINGS?!" she yelled, and with a swift kick, she sent the boxes that held their hero costumes skidding across the polished floor towards them.

There was someone else standing next to her that Midoriya didn't recognise – clearly a hero, judging from his costume. "Be careful with those," he told Aozora in a hushed voice.

"They're hero costumes," Aozora protested, "Count it as durability testing."

The hero sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation.

"THIS –" Aozora exclaimed suddenly, dramatically pointing at the white- and grey-haired man beside her, "– is Static! I do the radio stuff; Static does the super-secret hero stuff. And then you that know Present Mic does, like, the main hero stuff."

Static opened his mouth to say something, but Aozora threw her arms open excitably, unknowingly cutting him off.

"Static and I used to be co-workers in our emergency line call centre! Until he got his proper hero licence, that is. But, hey! Canary knows all about our hero agency – but Raven doesn't!"

Midoriya wasn't at all discouraged by the fact that he would have to sit through an explanation of how things worked around here for a third time. So, when Aozora told the two of them to run off and get changed into their hero costumes, he practically skipped the entire way, a warm, buzzing feeling rising in his chest as the matter dawned over him that, for the first time, Canary was becoming more than just a radio star.

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Shinso could see himself working here.

He could visualise graduating UA and becoming a sidekick for Present Mic, alongside Midoriya. Oh God, if someone told him that he'd be considering this in the future, he'd brainwash them to throw themselves into the nearest fountain.

Of course, Present Mic's hero agency didn't seem to work in the same way as most others. Present Mic was the main hero – the head of the operation, and the main presence in the public eye. He went out on patrols; had a few sidekicks that did the same, alongside having their own, slightly less popular radio sections across the day. However, the real focus of the hero agency relied heavily on the radio station. By ensuring its popularity, those who listened to the radio would have a specific number drilled into their minds – a sort of emergency contact for people to call if they need a hero for a more... delicate situation. Anything from mental health problems to serious, domestic abuse cases. They don't always send out a response team – sometimes just relying on those in the call centre to give those on the other side someone to talk to.