When the Radio Turns Off

by SincerelySunny

Summary:

What happens when the regular caller everyone has grown to love, doesn't call in? What happens when the next time he calls in, he's begging for help? What happens when the quirkless green bean, otherwise known as Izuku Midoriya, calls for help, and someone finally answers?
*********************************
Or, Izuku calls into Hizashis' radio show asking for help, and he finally recives.

Notes:

this is the first part in a series! ive got so many ideas you just have to let me write them all down.

Chapter 1: sleep well green bean

“Heyo little listener! You're on air!” the cheery voice of Present Mic calls over the line.

“Hey Present Mic!” the mysterious kid smiled.

The hero laughs, “what can I do for you kiddo?”

“Could you tell me about your quirk?” He asks.

He’s caught off guard for a moment before answering, “of course little listener! But can I get a name for you first?”

“Um, I don’t wanna tell you.” Izuku whispers, afraid that he’s hurt the man’s feelings. It’s not that he didn’t want to, but he didn’t want his mom to know he was calling in.

“That’s alright listener, how bout this.” Present Mic bargains, not wanting to keep calling him kiddo, “tell me something interesting about you instead.”

“M-my hair is green.”

“Ooh okay!” He chuckles, “can I call you green bean then?”

Izuku laughs softly at that, “sure.”

“Alrighty green been. Let me tell you about my quirk.” The hero starts.

They spent a good twenty minutes on the line before a large yawn comes from the child.

“Woah there little listener, you sound tired, and it’s getting pretty late. How about you call again some time and we can talk more.”

“Okay Present Mic.” Izuku yawns again. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Present Mic smiles, “talk to you tomorrow Green Bean.”

The line clicks off and the hero looks at the clock, it was way past 11pm and the listener seemed to be pretty young. Oh well.

Selecting one more song for the night, and readjusting in his chair.

The song hums out one last note and Present Mic hold down his microphone button, “Goodnight listeners! I’ll talk to you tomorrow!”

And the radio turns off.

……………

Izuku was tired when he dialed into the radio line. Honestly, he didn’t really expect to get an answer, even though he was only eight, he knew that sometimes the radio was pre recorded. So when the line clicked in acceptance and Present Mics voice welcomed him, he has been fairly surprised.

He was tired, but he was hungry too, and the hunger seemed to be winning over tiredness. Mom wasn’t home to cook dinner tonight, so he simply stayed up, listening to the radio. After Present Mic signed off for the night, he closed his eyes and begged his body for sleep.

……………

Something about the interaction with the last caller of the night felt off to Hizashi. He groaned into his husbands shoulder as they lay beside each other in bed.

“What’s up Zashi?” Shouta asks. It’s late, they should both be asleep, but they weren’t.

“A listener called in today.” He says quietly. Shoutas about to ask what’s wrong with that, since Hizashi loves when people call in, but he doesn’t get a chance to before his husband is talking again. “He sounded so young. And it was late. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel right.”

Shouta hums quietly as places a kiss on the loud heroes head, “maybe he’ll call in again. You can check on him then.”

“Mm you’re right.” Hizashi responds before promptly falling asleep.

……………

It wasn’t often that Hizashi was worried about something, so when he expressed his feelings the night prior, Shouta knew he should do some digging. Now, as he crouches atop a building, well after children should be asleep, he listens to his husbands radio station via earpiece.

Sure enough, a small voice pop in air, Hizashi giving them a warm welcome. “H-hey present mic!”

“Green been!” He laughs brightly. “Good to hear from you.”

The child’s voice squeaks, causing shouta to flinch away from the device in his ear, “you remember me?!”

Hizashi assures the child that he could never forget him, then begins asking questions just like they planned.

“Green bean you remember how I got to ask you a question first and then you asked me?” Hizashi asks, when the kid hums excitedly he continues, “well, I was thinking we could do that again!”

“Okay!”

“How old are you kiddo?”

The kid over the line let’s his excitement fall, “oh um- I- I’m eight.”

Shoutas face softens as he listens. Hizashi had been right about the kid being so young.

“Wowow listener! You sound so much bigger than that!” Hizashi- no present Mic says because he’s in his hero persona. “Alright. Your turn.”

“Do you have a hero partner?” He asks without missing a beat.

Present Mic smiles behind his recording glass, obviously none of his listeners can see him, but he still smiled. “I do have a hero partner!”

“Who is it?! The child asks excitedly.

“Ah uh. That’s two questions! I get to ask first, remember?” Present mic tuts. “Where do you go to school kiddo?”

The line goes silent for just long enough that Hizashi begins to wonder if the child hung up, “I don’t go to school.” He states simply. “My mommy took me to do some tests and they said I was really smart so I don’t go.”

“Oh okay.” Present mic hums even though he didn’t like that answer.

“Okay so who’s your partner?” The green been asks with a complete change in his mood.

Hizashi laughs, “I don’t think you’re going to know him. But I’ll give you a few hints.”

Shouta smiles atop his perch, listening to his husband and knowing that he was smiling.

“He’s tall, but not as tall as me. And he’s a really good hero, he helps me control my quirk sometimes, he doesn't really like the media.” The voice hero smiles, “he’s super grumpy all the time too.” He adds on a weak laugh.

Green Bean barely gives the hero time to breathe before he’s talking again, “so like EraserHead?”

“Yeah. Kinda like EraserHead.” Mic chuckles and shouta blushes from across the town.

“Okay well, I’m tired so,” the kid starts but doesn’t finish because of a large yawn.

The voice hero grins, “get some sleep kiddo. Call back in tomorrow.”

He assures he will, and no one listening has any doubt that he would. So Hizashi plays another few songs before bidding his listeners a goodnight, and turning the radio off.

————————————

That’s how it went for a while, Izuku would call in, ask a question, answer a question. So on and so forth. Hizashi trying all the while to get information on the kid, and coming up short every single time.

Eventually, they gave up, content with what they did know about the green bean. He became a regular caller, quite literally calling every night. But no one would complain. Not only did Hizashi enjoy the conversations, but other listeners big and small tuned in to listen to green beans questions and comments.

It continued just like that for almost three years, and then one day, he never called in.

————————————

It was the kids regular call time, 10:15pm. He was never late, and never early. So when the line didn’t ring, it was slightly off putting. It didn’t take long for callers to send in messages asking where he was.

“Hey listeners, I’m not sure where green bean is right now so why don’t we go ahead and put on some tunes!”

Hizashi wouldn’t admit until later that night, snuggled into his husband's arms, that he was worried about the kid. His listeners and viewers seemed just as worried because they flooded the text line for hours that night, asking questions about where he was.

The next day, everyone held their breaths when 10:14 clicked across the clock, waiting for that phone to ring.

RING RING

The phone vibrates from its spot and Hizashi relaxes internally as he races to grab it, “green bean!” He smiles over the line.

“Hey present mic.” The kids voice is barely a whisper.

“Hey kiddo, is something wrong?” He uses a calmer voice than most of them had heard.

The kid takes a minute, “if- if someone was in trouble. Would you help them?” He hesitates.

“Of course!” He assures, “I’m a hero. That’s what heros do!”

When neither of them say anything for a minute, Hizashi continues, “is someone in danger green bean?”

“Hmm?” The kid hums, “oh! No. No. Just asking.”

After that, the kid goes right back to his usual ranting about any and everything. When he yawns loudly a half hour later, Mic asks him for a song suggestion before saying goodnight, and ending the call.

————————————

The next day was the same as usual, the radio starts, they listen to music, they talk and laugh with listeners, and at 10:15 the green bean tunes in.

“Well hey there green bean!” Hizashi grins.

“Hey.” His voice is smaller than yesterday. That panics the hero but he won’t admit it.

Trying to lighten the mood, Hizashi starts, “how are you today?“ the kid gives a small hum, “is there something on your mind green bean?”

“Um-“ he sounds drowsy, as if he’d fall asleep at any moment. “Do, do you remember yes-terday.” He struggles out his words, “you said you would help if some-one -eeded it?” He can’t get all of his letters out.

“Yeah I remember. Does someone need help?” Slight panic shows in his voice and the comments from his viewers are coming in a record pace, concern lacing each of them.

“I don- know.” He states plainly. “Maybe-“

The hero speaks next. “Well, let’s think about it. If the person is unwell, or hurt, or if someone is doing something to them that isn’t right, then they might need help.”

“Present mic?” He asks carefully.

“What’s up green bean?”

“I um-“ he speaks the most clearly he’s spoken all night. “I need help.”

 

———————————

“Transfer the line.” Hizashi states with urgency to his intern, “take over.” He directs someone else.

A coworker immediately hops in the air, “alright listeners! Present Mic has some hero work to attend to, so why don’t we listen to some tunes!” The comments of course are filled with questions, but none of them will be answered tonight.

“Hey green bean, it’s just us. No one else can hear.” Mic tells him, “what’s going on?”

“M-my mommy hasn’t c-come home.” He whispered, “she um, she hurts me and and- she hurt me the o-other day and she w-won’t come back.” He stutters, “I- I’m hungry, and I w-wanna go t-to sleep.”

“Okay, alright, this is what I need you to do.” Hizashi pushes the phone between his ear and shoulder, and slides his chair across the floor to his private computer, “can you tell me your address?”

The kids voice is gradually growing softer, “w-we don’t have one. M-mommy and I stay in a b-building c-cause w-we didn- have money.” His stutter increases and his words begin to slur.

“That’s okay.” Hizashi tells him, even though it’s not, “do you remember my hero partner?”

“Raserhead?” The kid asks because as they had grown to know each other, shouta had introduced himself a few times to the kid.

“Yeah. EraserHead.” He says, starting to track the line, “I’m going to send him to you.”

“Ok.” The kid says and goes quiet.

Hizashis sense of urgency spikes, “kid what’s wrong?”

“He’s gonna hate me.” He states.

“Who is?”

“Raserhead.” Tears prick into his eyes as he talks.

The hero presses send on the coordinates and shouta jumps into action. He had been pinged on to listen to the line as soon as Hizashi felt something was off, “what do you mean?”

“I can’t leave the closet.” He pauses, “I never leave the close-“ his words are cut off by a small hiccup, “it’s gross.”

Hizashi can only imagine what the kid means. He can’t leave at all, and if he’s hurt, it’s probably worse than he’s making it out to be. He probably had to relieve himself wherever he was.

“I threw up.” the boy whines, “a lot. ‘M srry.”

“It's okay kiddo. He won't hate you, I promise.” Hizashi tells him. “We are heroes kid, remember? We’ve seen plenty of gross things.”

“Oh alri. Ee ya soo.” the small voice patters off and it's getting harder and harder to decipher what the kid was saying.

The Voice hero switches lines quickly, giving his husband a push to move faster, before going back to talking to the kid. “Green Bean? Green bean are you still there kid?”

“‘M tired.” green bean manages, “rell tire-”

Hizashi frowns, listening to his husband through the ear com saying that he's two minutes away. “EraserHead is two minutes away green bean, can you stay awake until then? For me?”

He doesn't get an answer, nothing at all. Not a grunt or a sigh or even a gentle sob.

As he holds his breath, praying for something, anything, he jumps at the sudden sound of pounding. Splintering wood follows and Shouta slides to a stop in front of the kid.

“Green Bean?” he asks just once, cringing at the state and smell of the room around him. There was a pile of vomit in one corner, and urine and feces with it. The poor kid had been living in these conditions for who knows how long. “Kid, can you hear me?” Shoutas voice rings through both the earpiece and the open line.

“Sho is he-” Hizashi is cut off by his husband.

“He's alive. But it's bad.” Shouta tells him, “His leg is broken, badly. How long until that med car gets here?”

“Five minutes.” The voice hero informs.

A grunt comes from across the line as Shouta sets the kids leg, “He doesn't have five minutes up here. I almost didn't find him and I'm not going to leave him to find the EMTs.” He says, lifting the child into his arms. “Shit, he's so light.”

Hizashi can only imagine how small the child must be. If the clues he had gathered today meant anything, the kid had probably been struggling with abuse and neglect for a while. He flinches at that thought.

After a moment or two of heavy breathing over both the cell phone and the coms shouta had pushed into his ear, sirens can be heard weakly. Hizashi holds his breath as the lines go spotty.

“Zash- cell- servi- all- you- ba- mee- hos- ital- '' Shoutas voice breaks and it terrifies the voice hero.

Three loud beeps ring in his ear and as he pulls the phone away from his ear, he frowns at the message displayed.

*Call failed. Please try again.*

And with that, he's up and headed for the door.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Izuku wakes up alone in a very scary place and in a lot of pain.
…………………
Alternatively, a small green bean finds the beginning of a family.

There is a constant beeping in his left ear and he can already feel a migraine coming on. Shifting slightly, he winces at the pain in his legs, remembering vividly the way his mother used her quirk against him. Her quirk allowed her to pull small objects towards her, and while he himself was small, the bones in his leg were smaller and easier for her to move.

It hits him then, that that wasn't all that happened. He had sat in a pile of his own blood, urine, and vomit for three days after that before Present Mic said he would help.

Help.

Help?

Did they really help him?

No one had helped Izuku before.

He let his eyes flutter open, blinking harshly at the white fluorescent lights above him. This obviously wasn't the closet he was so used to, so he sits up, much quicker than intended.

With a small shout of pain, he throws his hands over his mouth to keep him from saying anything else, he knew better.

“I don't recommend moving. You're still healing.” The gruff voice of eraserhead speaks from a chair in the corner of the room.

Izuku panics at the realization that he made a sound in front of the man, he wasn't allowed to talk to grown ups, he wasn't! He needed to try harder. Keeping both his hands clamped over his mouth, he turns his face into his shoulder and squeezes his eyes shut, preparing himself for the inevitable strike that comes with disobeying the rules.

Instead of a hit though, the voice becomes softer and much more gentle. “I didn't mean to scare you green bean. You're not in trouble. You're okay.”

Izuku looks up towards the man, urging himself to speak before he loses the courage, “you helped me?” he asks and clamps his mouth shut once more. Asking questions to present Mic over the phone was one thing, asking the questions in person was so much worse. He wanted to close his mouth and never open it again.

Just as EraserHead opens his mouth to speak, Present Mic walks through the door. His hearing aids are out but he looks right at Izuku, smiling and sliding closer to the bed to interact with him. But as he comes closer, the child throws himself forward and wraps his arms around the voice hero.

“You helped. You really helped.” Izuku cries into his chest, “no ones ever helped before. thank you.”

Mic can feel the vibrations of the kids words against his body, but as he isn't wearing his hearing aids, he glances at eraserhead, who already knew what to do and is signing everything the kid says.

And if the words of the eleven year old boy don't break the hearts of the two pro heroes, then nothing would.

Mic slips the hearing aids out of his pockets, settling them on his ears before registering the headache he had and remembering why he took them out in the first place. But that didn't matter now, the green bean had been out for three days, and all the while the comments coming into the text lines were dying to know how the boy was. “Hey there kiddo, why don't you lay back down and we can talk. Ya dig?”

The kid listens to the instructions given by the pro, leaning back and controlling his breathing to stop himself from panicking again.

“Alright,” Mic smiles, “You obviously know who we are, but let's do this anyway.” Eraserhead stands and moves to stand next to the voice hero. “I'm Present Mic. Or Hizashi Yamada.” his smile grows brighter.

“I'm Aizawa Shouta. Better known as Eraserhead.” Shouta says plainly.

“He's kidding.” Hizashi laughs, “No one knows who he is.”

Shouta looks as if he's going to kick the man standing beside him, but he doesn't as the kid bursts into laughter. Real, genuine, laughter. Unlike any they've ever heard on the phone before.

His laughter dies down, but both heroes continue to grin at him, “so listener, do we get a name for you today?”

The kid freezes and Hizashi mentally curses himself, knowing he should have gone about that a different way. “N-no. ‘M sorry.”

“That's okay green bean, don't sweat it.” Mic assures him, “take all the time you need.” Shouta gives him a look and he sighs, “okay so here's the thing kiddo. We need to locate your mom and we can't do that without your help. Just a family name would be great but we can take time.”

He relaxes slightly but not much, “the nurse asked us to call her when you woke up, so sit tight and you two can talk while I go get her.” Shouta gives a small smile and turns for the door.

The voice hero watches the kid silently as he rubs his palms together. “You alright there green bean?” he asks carefully.

The greenette pauses, clicking his tongue twice and jerking his head to the right, “yeah, sorry.” His eyes widen a few times before he scrunches his nose and looks at the hero, “I didn't think you would really help me.” He admits.

“I promised that I would.” Hizashi frowns.

“People don't keep promises to me.” He mutters, scrunching his nose up again and lifting his chin up, “They never do.”

The hero continues to frown, “Well green bean, that won't happen anymore. Not if you're with us.”

Three tongue clicks and a head jerk “Sorry. I just-” He pauses clicking his tongue loudly a few times, “I'm not doing that on purpose I swear.” He says with a hint of attitude in his voice, which he quickly shuts and apologizes for.

Hizashi wants to tell him that it's alright, wants to tell him that he's safe now, wants to ask if he's ever been diagnosed with a tic disorder, but instead he smiles simply as the door swings back open and the doctor barges in.

“You're green bean!” they exclaim excitedly, “I have heard you on the radio.”

Shouta holds a scowl across his face while Hizashi moves to stand. “Heyo! Let’s give the listener some space ya dig?”

The doctor apologizes several times before stepping back, finally leaving the kid room to breathe, who has frozen again now that a new person has entered the room.

He looks like he’s trying really hard to stay still, opening and closing his fist by his side instead of moving his head back and forth. It worries Hizashi how good he seemed to be at hiding his tics.

The child seemed to zone out through the entire conversation with the doctor, he didn’t ask questions or even nod his head when something was directed at him.

Eventually the doctor gave up on trying to talk to the green bean, and just told the two heros what needed to be done for him.

The kid didn’t have enough energy for any healing quirks so he would have to either heal completely on his own, or at least until he was healthy enough for a quirk.

He would need crutches to get around, and his recovery time should be between 4-6 weeks. He needed a diet plan to help him gain weight and height.

After what felt like eternity for Izuku, the doctor left and the two heros passed a few words in sign language. As much as he wanted to know sign, he had never learned, maybe he could learn sometime soon.

Shouta sits down, Hizashi follows, taking the seat next to him. It only takes a few seconds for the settled silence to be broken, the small child clicking his tongue a few times before wet tears free flow down his cheeks.

“Hey woah!” Hizashi jumps up from his chair, rushing to console the child. “What’s wrong little listener?”

“I don't-“ he clicks his tongue, “you’re supposed to-“ a jerk of the head, “why are-“ he gives a small whistle before throwing his hands in the air and grunting in frustration. He takes his uninjured leg, and pulling it to his chest, begins to cry harder.

Finally, after a long few minutes, the sobs and hiccups die down and the greenette uncurls from his ball. His lips draw into a thin line and his eyes point down, no emotions visible on his face.

“Grean been, you okay bud?” Hizashi kneels beside the bed, giving the kid some room.

“Why are you doing this?” He asks with minimal ticks.

“Doing what?”

The kid huffs out an angry breath, “helping me! Why are you helping me!? You don’t even know me.” He whispers the last part.

By this point, shouta is on the ground beside his husband, trying to figure out what’s bothering the child. “Green bean, we do know you.” Shouta tells him. “We’ve known you for years.”

“Yeah listener, we know how smart you are. And how much fun you are to talk to. We know you’re very punctual and you know when to ask for help.” The loud hero smiles and reaches out his hand, offering the comfort of touch. “We know so much about you.”

Slowly, the small hand of the kid reaches out and laces his fingers in between those of the hero’s.

“What now?” Izukus voice was so small that Hizashis hearing aids almost didn’t pick up on it.

“Well, now,” shouta starts,”we talk.”

Hizashi continues, “yeah listener, so, we were wondering if you wanted to come home with us?”

They had talked about it before, the thought of meeting green bean in person. Not really adopting him, but at least meeting him.

“What?” The child shifts slightly in the bed.

“Have you ever heard of fostering?” Shouta asks with a soft voice, because despite how smart the kid was, he was only 11.

“I know what fostering is.” He starts, voice whining, “but- but you don’t even know me. Well- I know you do, but I won’t even tell you who I am. You can’t foster me. It won’t legally work!”

Hizashi sends his husband a look at the knowledge the child knows, but doesn’t waiver. “Well, you're right. We don’t know your name, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

“It just means it will take time.” Shouta finishes.

“And if it’s something you want green bean,” Hizashi gives the kids hand a small squeeze, “then it’s something we can start on right now.”

Izuku normally wouldn’t have agreed so quickly, normally he would have curled in on himself more and cried harder. But he had known these heros for almost three years, not in person, but enough that he trusted them. “Please?” He whispers, “can I please stay with you?”

“Absolutely green bean. Hizashi smiles and ruffles the kids hair. Without another thought, Izuku leans forward, ignoring the searing pain in his leg, and hugs the two heros.

Maybe this could be home.

Notes:

That’s the end. More is coming I promise! But I’m currently balancing college, and a job, medical issues for me and my baby brother, a new relationship, and I’m in the nutcracker next month soooooo….. yeah.

Hopefully I’ll be able to post soon. Until then-
Good day and fair well- Sunny.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Heyo! You're on Air!