The Quirkless King and Co.

Wireless Windup

[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."