"Subject: Request for Professional Interview

Hello Fuchizaki-san,

It has come to our attention that you currently work as a popular local club disc jockey known as DJ Surround Sound. Our radio station has been following your career for a while now and we have been greatly impressed by the name you have made for yourself in the underground music scene. While we rarely do interviews on the various shows we produce, your work has caught enough attention that we would like to offer you an opportunity to be interviewed on one of our highest-rated radio shows. As the show has an evening run time, we would make sure to work around your professional schedule so that you would not have to cancel any upcoming events.

We look forward to hearing back from you here at Put Your Hands Up Radio.

Uesugi Koiso"

Yukine grimaced and shoved the computer back toward her companion. One hand held up her head on the glass cafe table while the other one pinched the bridge of her nose as she willed herself to keep the frustration to a minimum.

"Well, you were the one who told him it was his move," Akio stated curtly while pushing up his rectangular glasses. "What were you expecting exactly when you said something like that?"

⟨"I don't know! For him to come to my next show or something!"⟩ Yukine signed back grumpily.

"He's a worldwide celebrity and one of the hottest radio personalities in the nation, and you told him your real name in the context of a professional setting," Akio paused to sip his tea, "Plus you have taken to teasing the poor boy every time you see him. The fact that you didn't see this coming is the real surprise here."

Yukine shot a glare at the man sitting across from her. What was supposed to be a Friday morning business meeting at a local cafe to discuss the prior night's show had started off with her best friend and manager, Kozue Akio, shoving a surprise email in her face with a look of barely-restrained exasperation. Akio had been in her life since she was a child when he had - as a 7 year old - matter-of-factly informed her that attempting the monkey bars with a cast on was not only a brash, but illogical action to take. Yukine had replied to his unwanted comment by dragging him over to the jungle gym, shoving a furiously written note that merely said "Watch me" at him, and then proceeding to struggle defiantly across the piece of equipment. Akio had taken it upon himself to be her voice of reason after that and the two had remained fast friends; Akio had even been the one to propose she learn JSL and took lessons with her so that she wouldn't slack.

⟨"When did he even have time to contact the station to send the email?!"⟩ Yukine signed with agitation. ⟨"The show went until 2 AM for fuck's sake!"⟩

"And his show runs at night so his producer is probably used to running on an evening schedule."

Yukine gave her friend the most pained you-are-so-not-helping-right-now look she could muster before heaving a quiet sigh, ⟨"I hate that I have to reject him like this."⟩ Yukine's brows furrowed and her mouth set itself in a guilty frown.

"Who says you have to?" Akio asked, his eyebrow raising skeptically at her comment. "I have offered on multiple occasions to act as an interpreter for you so that you can hold interviews. You're doing well with your current elusive marketing strategy, but soon that won't be enough. An interview would boost ticket sales and venue options and allow you to put out that album you've been wanting to create of your original works to a wider market."

⟨"...I'll have to think of a fitting response to that,"⟩ she signed petulantly.

Akio sighed, ⟨"This isn't about your work; this is about the fact that you have a crush on Present Mic despite barely even meeting him twice and you don't want him to know you can't speak,"⟩ Akio signed, slipping into the visual language he knew Yukine preferred to use when discussing her personal problems in public.

Yukine silently scoffed, ⟨"Well when you put it that way, you make it sound like there's more to it than just wanting to get into the man's pants."⟩

⟨"Am I wrong?"⟩

⟨"Not in the slightest and I hate it, as usual."⟩

Yukine's phone dinged and the two friends took a break to continue their breakfast. She saw that it was a message from her latest client, Japan's very own All Might. She had only talked to him via email so far, but they were supposed to have their first meeting this afternoon at his agency. The pro hero was looking to have a theme song composed for a TV show or movie about him or something and for some reason he'd decided to hire her. She opened the message lazily, assuming All Might was just confirming their meeting, and took a bite of her omurice.

All Might3
"Hello Fuchizaki-san! It is me, All Might! I have found myself in a scheduling predicament and was hoping you would be able to change the location of our meeting to Yuuei High instead. I apologize profusely for this inconvenience."

Yukine choked on her food as she read the message. Go to Yuuei High? The thought immediately made her nervous. The school was massive and if she got lost, she would be unable to ask for assistance. Still, not many civilians got a chance to step foot into the prestigious and high-security school, and she had to admit she liked the idea of being one of the few who got the chance. Yukine settled back in her chair and picked up her phone to tap out a reply.

Fuchizaki Yukine
"Yes, that will be fine so long as you're sure you can get me the appropriate credentials to enter. It is my understanding that Yuuei has rather high security clearances, and I would not want to impose. I just request that you leave a map clearly indicating your chosen location for our meeting with the receptionist so that I can find my way there. Does the scheduled time still work for you or would a later meeting be better to accommodate your schedule?"

All Might3
"Wonderful! I have already cleared the meeting with the appropriate authorities and cleared you for security so there is no need to be concerned, and I will gladly leave a map at the entrance for you! I can keep the scheduled time no problem, and thank you for accommodating my mishap!"

⟨"It seems I'm gonna get to sneak a peek at the inside of Yuuei High,"⟩ Yukine informed her friend offhandedly. ⟨"All Might needed to change the location of our meeting."⟩

"I still do not understand why he has decided to hire you for this job, nor do I understand why you would take it. Film soundtracks are not exactly in your portfolio of work," Akio muttered.

⟨"If the number one hero came to you and offered you a job, would you turn it down?"⟩ Yukine retorted. ⟨"Besides, I've been looking for a challenge lately, and a theme song sounds fun!"⟩

Her companion snorted and Yukine caught an incredulous look cross his face before he ended the conversation in preference of finishing their breakfast in peace and quiet.

. . . . .

Yukine gaped as she looked up as the gargantuan and heavily guarded entrance to the hero training academy. Tentatively, she stepped up to the security wall and entered the Special Entry ID number All Might had just texted her. Quickly, the barrier to the school opened and she stepped through, curiously taking in the surrounding campus as she made her way to the entrance.

Once inside, Yukine was surprised to find a small bear...dog...mouse thing smiling pleasantly and apparently waiting for her.

"Ah, you must be Fuchizaki-san. Welcome to Yuuei High!" the creature chirped, clapping in its paws together happily, "I am Principal Nezu, and I'm here to escort you to your meeting."

Oh no. This was Yukine's nightmare come true. She hadn't even been at Yuuei for a full minute and she had to speak to someone. This was exactly what she had been attempting to avoid when she asked for the map, which - come to think of it - All Might had probably obliviously considered the principal of the entire school to be the best map.

Smoothing the pained expressed off of her features, hopefully before the principal saw it, Yukine flipped to the page she had prepared in her notebook before bowing politely and holding the note out for Principal Nezu to see.

"Hello, it is very nice to meet you. My name is Fuchizaki Yukine. I am sorry, but I must inform you I am unable to speak due to my quirk so I must communicate through notes. Hopefully this will not be an issue."

Yukine knew that saying her name was redundant, but she always filled the first half dozen or so pages of her communication notebooks with different forms of greetings to more easily deal with most types of situations she'd find herself in, and she'd just decided to use her formal greeting for today's meeting.

Principal Nezu peered at the note for a moment before giving her an understanding hum of acknowledgement, "Ah! No need to be sorry, Fuchizaki-san. We at Yuuei understand quite well the vast array of differences in communication people may have due to the nature of their quirks," he motioned for her to begin following him to the meeting room before continuing, "If it would be of use to you, I can offer interpretation services during your meeting. I am fluent in several visual-modal languages, and we have the latest in terms of text-to-speech technology available here."

Yukine hurriedly wrote out her response, feeling embarrassed by the principal's attempts to accommodate her, and handed her guide the note, "I'm grateful for your offer, but I prefer to use my notebook."

Nezu nodded kindly up at Yukine and gently patted her arm, "I understand. One's level of comfort is always an important factor to consider. If you need anything while you are here, please feel free to find me in my office," he gestured to a door as they passed it, "and I will be more than happy to assist you. Now, I'm sure that as a civilian you're more than a little curious about the campus. Let me tell you a little bit about its design..."

Yukine couldn't help but relax a little at the principal's calm yet cordial demeanor as he took away the pressure of conversation by acting as a tour guide to different buildings and rooms they passed. Before she knew it, they were stopped in front of a rather large set of doors with a plaque that said "Meeting Room" on them. The principal opened the door for her and told her that All Might would be with her momentarily before cheerily wishing her a good day. Looking around, Yukine sat down in a chair facing the doors and waited nervously for the hero to arrive.

. . . . .

Meeting with All Might was definitely an experience. Yukine had been surprised by how boisterous and friendly the top hero was in person and found herself to be almost swept away by his personality. He'd taken her opening note well and was more than patient throughout their discussion whenever she needed time to write out a full reply. Apparently, the theme song he was hiring her for was for a documentary being made about his rise to the title of Symbol of Peace, and All Might had wanted to support as many independent artists as he could with this venture. They had begun wrapping up their meeting when she asked All Might if he had any footage he felt really embodied the kind of hero he was so that she may study him. He had nearly knocked her back with his excitement over the chance to show her some of his favorite hero moments and interviews before leading her out of the meeting room.

"We can use the teacher's lounge since most of the staff will be busy," All Might boomed out as they navigated the halls with Yukine keeping track of where they were thanks to the crisp map in her hand. About ten minutes into the meeting, they had been interrupted by the single most exhausted person Yukine had ever seen. He had dragged himself over to her, stuck out a map of the school in front of her, and muttered something about Nezu believing she would want it. She barely had time to bow a thank you before he was gone, leaving the room much faster than he had entered it much to Yukine's surprise.

While they continued walking, Yukine flipped open her notebook and began writing. All Might peered over her head, knowing at this point that Yukine was intending on conversing with him.

"You're still fairly new to teaching, yes? How do you like it compared to hero work?" That simple question was all Yukine had to ask to set All Might off. He barked out a short laugh like thunder before launching into the joys of teaching for the rest of their walk.

She had been focused on the massive hero regaling her with a story about one of his classes as they walked through the door to the lounge when a crash and an excessively loud yelp startled the pair and jolted their attention to the disaster in front of them.