To say Hitoshi was excited about the placement was an understatement with the kid being up and downstairs before either of the two pros.

Hizashi yawned as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, little listener."

He smiled.

"Mornin'."

"You ready for today?"

Hitoshi nodded.

"Would you mind if I joined you both?"

His eyes widened as a huge smile came to his face.

"I would love that."

Shouta knocked on the door of the Nezu's office before hearing the call to come in.

"How can I help you all?"

"Any chance you could get this stupid thing off Hitoshi's arm, we can't train otherwise."

A drawer slid open before footsteps crossed the floor.

"I must say the police need to learn to accept feedback, there is no reason for you to still have to wear this Master Shinsou and I can only apologise that it is still a requirement. It must be quite unpleasant."

"I'm getting used to it." Hitoshi sighed.

The bracelet clicked open.

"There we go; I hope you have a productive training session."

"Thanks, Nezu."

"You need to keep your balance when striking or you won't be able to put your full power into the-."

"Hitoshi!" A familiar voice shouted.

"Mei." Hitoshi smiled as she entered the training facility.

"I've got your stuff and they're really cool!" She squealed.

"What's this?" Shouta asked.

"Hitoshi asked me to make a support item for him and design something for his costume." Mei explained before holding out the briefcase and clicking open the locks. "Ta dah, my babies!"

Inside sat the voice manipulator he'd requested and the replica set of Eraserhead goggles this time painted purple.

Hizashi was uncharacteristically silent.

Hitoshi felt emotional as he carefully removed the items from the case, scared he was somehow going to break them.

"Thank you so much Mei." He smiled.

"It's no problem, I'm glad you like 'em."

"I love them."

Her watch began to beep.

"I need to go, see you around Mindjack."

Mindjack.

That was the first time anyone had ever used his hero name.

If he thought he was getting emotional, he was practically drowning in it now as he took a moment to look down at the creations.

This was really happening; he was really training to be a hero.

"So what did you order?" Shouta asked.

"Is that…" Hizashi cleared his throat as he finally found himself able to speak. "A streamlined version of my directional speaker?"

"Yeah."

Hitoshi handed Shouta the mask, the erasure hero's fingers tracing the shape.

"Will you be able to wear this without, you know?" He asked.

"Mei and I tried out a few different designs and fits; this one is reinforced carbon fibre so it doesn't weigh enough to trigger anything."

"And the costume item?"

Hitoshi suddenly felt nervous, turning the goggles around in his hand he hesitated for a few seconds before finally handing them over, almost scared in case the pro wasn't going to take too kindly to the infringement.

Shouta recognised the design in only a few seconds before he looked up at the teen.

"Why these?"

"Well it's what people do, right, when they admire a hero? Most people grow up watching animated cartoons about heroes or have visits from pros when they're at school. You get older and you start watching them on the news, or buy their merch to show your support and admiration. Even before all this happened and you fostered me you were always the most prominent figures in my life. I had a really old radio in the room they kept me in at the facility and I would lie in the dark and just listen as you talked about songs you liked, the dinner you'd cooked the night before, the weather, or even how you described going for walks with Shouta, I obviously knew you weren't there with me, and you didn't even know who I was, but your show was a lifeline to me. Even on the nights when I felt like death itself, bloody and drained and sometimes not wanting to be alive anymore I would turn on your show. I told myself that I had to keep going because Present Mic said tomorrow needed me and so did he so that was my mantra, just one more goodnight monologue, which then became another goodnight monologue and so on until it became my entire reason for living."

Tears were streaming down Hizashi's cheeks at this point.

"And as for you." He turned to Shouta. "I saw the interview you did with Present Mic while hiding in the doorway of the room where they kept the old, beat up TV. It was the first time I'd ever seen heroes so I was really excited. Then when I saw how close by you were I got the courage to run. I was so young on the night we met that I flat out blabbed the names of the people holding me not knowing how much danger that put me in if the League found out. I listed some of the most prominent villains in Japan at the time and your first reaction was to pick me up and tell me that everything was going to be okay because you were a hero and you weren't going to let anyone hurt me."

Hitoshi's breath shook a little in his throat as he held onto his composure.

"You're an underground hero who doesn't have any of that commercial stuff, or a known presence on radio shows, you're not even ranked, but despite all of that you're the hero I wanted to be growing up. I still remember every word you said to me that night, and I can quote whole monologues from your show, Hizashi. I never mentioned it because I didn't know you'd react but the reason I sneak off to my bedroom is so that I can listen to your show. On the nights when I'm scared and the nightmares are really bad I'll pull up one of your podcasts and listen to it just so I can fall asleep. That's how much of an impact the two of you have had on my life both directly and indirectly. Present Mic gave me a reason to stay alive, and Eraserhead showed me that there is good in this world and you can be a hero regardless of your quirk if you truly believe in yourself."

He looked down at the mask and the goggles.

"These are my tributes to the two of you and I promise that no matter how long it takes me or how many stupid enforcement bracelets the police throw on me before they decide I'm not evil, I will become a hero. I will be there to listen and reassure people that everything is going to be okay. I will fight for the thousands of kids out there who are in situations like I was where the world has given up on them. I want to be their Symbol of Hope and their reason to fight. I didn't make the decision to commission copies of your equipment lightly, I know how vital image is to a hero and I would never wish to destroy the reputations you've both built over the years as pros which is why I'm going to prove to you that I'm worthy of wearing your speaker and your goggles and I will make you proud."

As he finished Hitoshi looked to the two pros to find them both quietly sobbing.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you both cry."

Hizashi closed the gap between them.

"Oh come here you incredible boy."

The voice hero pulled him into a big, reassuring hug.

Shouta took his hands in his own and offered them a squeeze with an accompanying smile on his face.

"We're already proud of you, Hitoshi, you come on in leaps and bounds every single day and your determination in the face of past adversity is just incredible. I think I speak for the both of us when I say for you to wear our support items would be an honour."

Hizashi sniffled.

"When I first came up with the idea to do the monologues I had no idea what to write. Oboro told me one day about how he always felt like he needed to be the sunshine on the rainy day and the effect that had on him sometimes. Even on the days were he himself felt down he told me he would fake it because he knew there were people at school who needed to see his smile or have a 'hello' directed at them so that they knew they weren't alone. After he died I knew then that it had nothing to do with what I wanted to say, all that mattered was what people needed to hear. My show never ventured into any serious topics not even back when it was just a podcast, but I wanted there to be some kind of message for people to hold onto and that's when I wrote 'and remember my beautiful listeners, tomorrow needs you and so do I, look after each other and I'll see you again'."

Hitoshi smiled as he lifted the mask to show the inside to the voice hero revealing a quote written in gold calligraphy.

'tomorrow needs you, little listener and so do I'

"You said that the first night you stayed with me through the nightmares, and because some of them are about having to wear something so similar to this I thought having a reminder there to ground me would help. Those words mean so much to me so it was important that my costume incorporated them somehow."

Hizashi hugged him even tighter.

"I always knew that there had to be listeners out there who'd I'd helped with those words, even in just a small way, but to have you be one of them makes me very thankful that I did because a world without you in it would be a much sadder place, Hitoshi, I hope you know that."

Hitoshi's lip wobbled before he burst into hiccupping sobs, burying himself against the chest of the voice hero.

"Thank you for helping me live."

Author's Note: Extra little easter egg, the goggles say:

'you're going to be okay, Hitoshi'

This is what Shouta said to him all those years ago when he was a kid. Repeating these words to himself helped Hitoshi to stay strong despite the treatment by the League and so they have a special place in his heart, just as Hizashi's words do.