Shota was never going to live this down. His husband would find out about this and tease him relentlessly. Nemuri would find out, and he could just imagine all the stupid, not to mention immature and sexual, puns she would have about the entire thing. And the worst part of it all was that the cat wasn't even real.
Which was the true crime here.
Shota had been enjoying his day. He managed two hours of sleep the night before thanks to patrol and a bad case of insomnia. Which meant he did his best to sneak naps in between and during classes. And he had to stay after school for hours to get enough work done that he wouldn't have to worry about the next week.
It didn't matter, though. Nothing was going to stop him from his grand plan. It started with him going to the grocery store after work. He bought ingredients for a cake and a homemade meal for Hizashi. When he got home, Hizashi was already gone. His husband had to go to his radio station early, which worked out for him. It gave Shota enough time to sleep for a few hours, begin to prep the food, and then realize they didn't have any damn eggs for the cake.
So, he had to run back out to the store, still dressed in his hero costume. When he got home, he would get the food going, take a shower, and change into something nice. A fresh meal would be ready for Hizashi when he got back, and the cake would be almost done.
The plan had worked perfectly so far. Hizashi thought he was going on patrol that night, and Shota had just been playing it up by apologizing all week for having to work. It would make it that much sweeter when he revealed it was all a logical ruse and that he actually took the night off to spend all of Hizashi's birthday with him.
The eggs were a bit of a setback, but there was a store open twenty-four hours that he could run to. And the store had eggs. Which meant everything with the plan was back on track.
Then the cat happened.
It was the mewling that caused his ears to perk up. It wasn't the normal noises of a cat, and it sounded distressed. So, Shota did the logical thing and stepped into the alley to check on the cat. His gaze shot around to the multiple entrances and exits to the alleyway, as it seemed to act more like a sidewalk.
A white cat stood at the back of the alley, making those strange noises. It didn't seem hurt. At least not visibly. Shota moved to the cat and knelt. He held a hand out. The cat regarded him a moment before taking a step closer.
Which really should have been Shota's first clue. Most cats didn't like him at first glance, and he always had to win their trust. For one to just jump right into his arms as this white tabby cat did should have sent alarm bells ringing through his head. Instead, he smiled as the cat raced up his arm and stopped at his capture weapon.
A paw nudged the material, and Shota spoke, "Take a nap in it. You'll enjoy it."
"I'm not sure she will, hero," a voice said. Shota whirled around to see who had spoken. Well, he tried to. Instead, a heavy weight was suddenly latched to his neck as an arm wrapped around his throat. The sudden weight threw him completely off balance and toward the ground.
Shota hit the ground feeling a much heavier weight than a cat on his back. His head turned to the side as he saw a glimpse of a woman with white hair and bright silver eyes. She snarled at him as she kept her arm around his neck, squeezing. Unfortunately for her, she just wasn't that strong.
Shota grabbed her wrist and twisted the thin bone, snapping it with ease. She yelped as she pulled back. Shota twisted his body, throwing her off of him. As she hit the ground, he jumped to his feet, beginning to take in the alley around him.
But as his feet brushed against solid ground, a heavy weight slammed into his back and two arms wrapped around his biceps, pinning them to his side. As the man interlocked his fingers, Shota saw them turn to stone.
"You can't break my grip, hero," the man taunted. Shota took the time to look around the alley. There was the woman who initially attacked him, still on the ground. About five more men approached and maybe more behind him. He had walked directly into an ambush.
Shota sighed and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he activated his quirk and looked down at the man's fingers. They turned from stone back to flesh, and Shota slammed his head back into their nose. A yell escaped the man behind him, and Shota broke his grip, dashing forward.
His capture weapon wrapped around one man, throwing him into his buddy as Shota threw himself at the third one, planting a foot into their chest. The three of them crumpled with ease, and Shota dodged a punch from the fourth. The fifth tried to tackle him, and he jumped over them.
Shota wrapped his capture scarf around the fourth attacker, but he felt another person slam into him from behind and try to hold onto him. He cursed as he stumbled, but he still pulled the fourth toward him, slamming an elbow into their nose. As the man fell to the ground, Shota noted all the attackers were on the ground but not the woman. She must be the one behind him.
He pried her arms away and turned toward her, only to feel two arms wrap around his right leg. Someone else jumped on him from behind, and he saw a blur before someone planted both feet on the wall in front of him like they were going to spring off of it. Shota activated Erasure and watched the man hit the ground like a fish out of water.
This gang was unorganized and inefficient. The close quarters and their numbers were a disadvantage for him, especially as he felt one of them slam into his other leg. It buckled immediately, and he fell to his knees. Another attacker slammed into his back and drove him directly into the ground.
With the luck he was having today, it was no surprise that he landed face-first in a puddle. Before he could lift his head, someone kept his face pressed into the dirty, probably disease-filled water. Shota choked on the water that slipped into his mouth, and it only got worse as his head was pressed hard into the ground.
A foot slammed into his side, and he grunted in pain. Then, there was another kick. He tried to stand, but another weight settled on his legs, and he was effectively pinned to the ground. His arms were wrenched behind his back as he felt handcuffs being roughly tightened.
"Shit. Someone needs to get the van," one of the men said.
"That was your job," another argued. Shota sighed and tried to crane his head out of the puddle. A bunch of amateurs had taken him down because he got sloppy. He should have just retreated further back and kept his distance. Another kick caused him to screw his eyes shut.
"You're going to draw attention," the woman whimpered. It sounded like she was the one sitting on Shota's legs.
"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. We sure this guy is a pro?" one of the other men asked.
"Did you see how he kicked our asses?" the woman demanded.
"Shut up, Kat," the man scoffed. Kat? Shota rolled his eyes. They had to be shitting him. "Asshole, you a pro?"
"No."
The kick this time was a little higher, hitting him in the sternum. He grunted again. Then, he was suddenly wrenched into an awkward position where he was on his knees, but there was a weight on the back of his legs keeping him pinned.
"You better hope you're a hero," the man said. He grabbed Shota's jaw and forced him to look up. A glint of metal rested near Shota's face. "Because you're going to need some rescuing when we're done with you."
"Welcome back from our break, Listeners! Now, I've been teasing all of you about a very special edition of Put Your Hands Up Radio. We've seen the theories and guesses on social media. And yeah, most of you guessed why today is so very special," Hizashi said as he leaned back in his chair. The night was going amazing so far.
Sure, he left a little early to go to work and didn't get to see Shota at all. But, he would see his husband later in the morning. For now, he had a show to host. Hizashi adjusted his headset until it was resting comfortably on his head. His hair was down for once. The rest of his Present Mic costume was, well, present, but the pouring rain from outside had managed to run away most of the gel.
Hizashi moved his gaze to the piping-hot plate of food that was waiting for him. One of his sidekicks had ordered it. Hizashi cleared his throat, "Looking at the clock, we are less than an hour from midnight, and I don't mean the hero. Though, she is in the studio tonight! We'll have a sit-down conversation with her later.
"But when that clock strikes midnight, it will be my birthday!" Hizashi continued. He heard some cheers from the glass separating his studio from the technicians. A smile came to his face. "Do you know the best part about all of this, Listeners? I get to spend it with all of you!"
After he got off the radio show, he would crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours before Shota returned from patrol. Then, Hizashi would pull him into bed, cuddle him to death, and sleep until the sun rose high in the sky. Then, they would spend the entire day together.
Hizashi just wanted a nice, peaceful day with his husband. Order some delivery. Watch some movies. Have a little fun. And a lot of sex, of course. Something that Nemuri kept teasing him about. Saying that he was too old for it. He just didn't have time. Between him and Shota, they had five jobs and a million nightmare children to teach.
Shota was really good about doing whatever Hizashi wanted for his birthday. He had even thrown a few parties for him, looking ready to crawl in on himself the entire time. But, he stuck it out and didn't complain. He even made an amazing host.
This birthday, it was just going to be the two of them.
"That means that for the rest of tonight, we are going to be playing party music! Good vibes only. So who is ready to party?!" Hizashi cheered as he let a bit of his quirk slip through. Not enough to damage any of the equipment, though. His gaze moved to the interns, two of them, who were watching him from behind the glass.
"I'll be taking calls in about an hour," Hizashi promised. "But until then, let's take a cue from our friends in America and party like a rockstar!"
Hizashi hit his playlist and leaned back in his seat. He muted his headset as Nemuri walked into the room. She grinned at him, "You're such a kid."
"I know!" Hizashi cheered. "That is why you are going to sing happy birthday to me in English! That's my birthday wish!"
"You know that my English is terrible," Nemuri complained.
"Which makes it all the more fun for me," Hizashi said as he gave her a grin full of teeth. Nemuri grimaced at his face. "What!?"
"Stop trying to do Shota's deranged smile. It looks terrible on you," Nemuri said as she sat in one of the empty chairs. Hizashi grabbed the plate and took a few bites of the delicious udon. The dish could be found on every corner, but there was a small family-owned place that Hizashi loved, Nemuri had been the one to introduce him to it.
"You love it when he smiles," Hizashi said.
"Because he's always hiding his face," Nemuri complained. She leaned a little closer to Hizashi and watched his mouth movements carefully. Oh no. This wasn't going to be a good question. "Tell me, does he wear it at home?"
"You've asked me that already," Hizashi began. He stopped chewing and pinched the bridge of his nose because he knew what question was coming next.
"But does he wear it to bed?" Nemuri asked.
"For the thousandth time, no. I make him take it off when we get home."
"All of it?"
Hizashi groaned and buried his face in his hands. Why did he even bother? There was a shuffling of papers, and Nemuri tapped those papers on the top of his head. He looked up and frowned as he saw what looked like an essay.
"What is this?" Hizashi slowly asked because he felt like he was going to regret the question.
"Sex positions for you and Shota."
Yup. Instant regret.
"I put a lot of thought into it," Nemuri said with a coy grin. Hizashi just stared at the papers as he felt his face heat up. "Pages three to six include all the things you can do with that capture scarf. Pages eight and nine include some things you could do with your quirk. Because did you know that using your voice quirk with a hum during a bl-"
"Nope!" Hizashi interrupted as he smacked the heathen with the papers. "No! We are not doing this anymore. Take the papers back, you sex demon."
"Pages ten to fifty are all kinds of sex positions you can do while injured," Nemuri added.
This bitch.
"I hate you," Hizashi seethed as he put the papers into his bag because Nemuri knew her stuff. He felt like the red was now permanently stained on his cheeks. Nemuri chuckled as she stole a bite of his udon. "Hey! Quit being mean to the birthday boy!"
"It's not your birthday yet," Nemuri said. There was a knock on the door, and Jiro stuck her head in. "Present Mic, sir. Can I come in?"
"Of course," Hizashi said. Jiro stepped into the room and right behind her was Hizashi's other interns. A cake was in the middle of them. And the singing started a moment later. It was a tradition that Hizashi had picked up from his parents, with his mother being from America. And he had a huge grin on his face as they all sang.
Nemuri even tried it in English! Which caused her to throw off the rhythm and completely ruin the song, but it also led to Hizashi cackling madly. The rest of their crew had joined during the song, and when they finished, Hizashi took a moment to admire all the people who helped make the radio show what it was.
"Real quick everyone," Hizashi said as he looked around. "I just want to thank all of you for your hard work. We've got my sidekicks Ray Vision and Screech who help keep the studio and the streets safe."
"Along with killing spiders!" a voice added.
"The most important duty they have!" Hizashi agreed. "And to our interns like Jiro, Gruen, and Kiltz who helped us with the most mundane tasks but also made sure this old man stays in touch."
"And you are old," Nemuri added.
"You can leave at any time,'" Hizashi sneered at her. She winked at him. "To our technicians Kyo and Wila who make sure that this radio station keeps running when I'm not here. Thank you for all of your hard work. Let's all enjoy our cake and then continue to party!"
"And open gifts," Nemuri added as she clapped her hands together.
"Some of your listeners sent birthday messages to the website. We'll play them in between breaks, but I already made a copy of all of them," Kiltz said. Hizashi felt his mouth go so wide that it hurt his lips. It had always been his dream to have a radio station like this, and most days, he had to pinch himself to realize that dream had become a reality.
To have birthday messages was just another reminder of how much the people who listened to him cared about him. And yeah, he got fan mail all the time, but his favorites were the ones that talked about how he kept them going. It wasn't the fighting with his quirk or taking down the villains that made him a hero. Instead, it was being that steady voice that they could listen to throughout the day and know that eventually, things would be okay.
"Your playlist is all cued up," Jiro added as she cleared her throat. "Positive vibes only."
"I'm giving you extra credit," Hizashi promised. Jiro smiled slightly. "Just don't tell your homeroom teacher."
"Or he might expel you," Gruen grumbled. He had been one of the unlucky ones, well twenty, that Shota had purged and expelled from the hero course last year. All for varying reasons. But now, he was re-enrolled and doing a lot better. Hizashi liked to think that his mentoring helped a lot. It was a good balm after the kid had his world torn apart by being expelled.
"Gruen, can you help cut the cake?" Hizashi asked. That lit a smile up on Gruen's face, and he quickly moved to set the cake down and started cutting it. Kyo got them plates as Screech walked in with a few different bags and wrapped boxes. Hizashi felt his lower lip quiver for a moment.
"Cake and food first," Hizashi said as he felt his eyes water but he certainly could not cry. "Then, we can worry about presents. But the party comes first!"
Today was going to be the best day ever.