Katsuki wouldn’t admit he had been hurt when over a year ago the Hero he looked up to had chosen his childhood rival/friend to take under his wing. He had looked up to him just as much as Deku, had bought merchandise and watched the YouTube clips over and over. He may not have the obsession of scribbling notes, or the cheery personality but he still didn’t think he should have just been excluded.
All-Might, despite how much he had looked up to him growing up, had made him feel like one of the dumb extras. Had made him feel second best, he wouldn’t tell anyone that. Or about the nights in his room, in his dorm where he’d lie well into the night trying to work out why it wasn’t him, what was wrong with him. Admittedly, that had spiralled away from just All-Might to other areas. The guilt of growing up and tormenting Deku, his anger issues, being emotionally inept, the list went on in nights like those.
It had ate at him for the most of the first year, and his bitterness had turned his already present anger issues into something much worse. Orritable, more competitive and aggressive in both verbal and physical, though he tried to keep that side strictly to training.
The second year, when they moved into the dorms, it continued for a month or so, before he stopped caring. Not all at once, but gradually. He had found something else to focus on, more pressing than his last role model disregarding him for a sidekick. It was a cruel twist of fate, and it only made him louder, most perceiving it as more anger.
They were wrong, this was his hearing going. His quirk was loud, and while most of his body had adjusted go be able to handle his quirk, it appeared his ears were one of the exceptions if the ringing in them after explosions was anything to go by, or how he started to miss bits of conversation. The volume on the TV getting turned up louder, headphones blaring but sound still feeling too far away. He had refused to tell anyone until it was affecting his grades, and he knew despite wanting no help that if he was going to be number one he would have to get this fixed. Hell, if it was affecting a classroom imagine how it would affect the battlefield. Or training.
It was ringing his mother up, voice harsh and disguising the vulnerability he felt. Their usual back and forth, grateful for once that even in a conversation like that she would still act the same, even if telling him it was nothing to be ashamed of and they would book a doctor’s appointment.
With a bit of hindsight, it would probably be the start of his recovery as twisted as that was. He had to get hearing aids, his mother willing to pay more for the smaller in ear ones that were less likely to get damaged during physical training that went hand in hand with the hero course. He had to tell the U.A staff, or atleast the ones he was taught by, of the new addition to him.
Aizawa was definetely his most eventful to tell, not that the usually tired looking homeroom teacher has any kind of reaction out of the ordinary. A simple nod, asking if it was waterproof and then dismissing him, telling him if he needed anything extra or had any problems to see him. That was the part he expected, calming hid nerves. What he hadn’t expected was the words that left Aizawa’s mouth as he was leaving, hand on the door knob and glancing back over his shoulder at the teacher.
“You should talk to Present Mic, he’s been in your situation. Still is.”
Katsuki nodded, a gruff ‘okay’ and he was slipping out the door, trying to not let the surprise at that information from showing. He should of expected it really, especially with Present Mic’s quirk.
After that talk, his anger ebbed away slowly with someone willing to listen to his rants, and someone who understood past blatant general advice which did nothing to his situation really. Mic had advice, and a shoulder to lean on that wasn’t as temperamental as the others, no pity. Hell, when the hearing aids broke in training he had gone straight to Mic rather than Recovery Girl or Aizawa, or even his parents.
And that was how he got into radio presenting, slowly of course. He sat in on a few shows in the studio, before coming on and helping every so often.
After the media calling him a villian after the results of his kidnapping, he essentially just said 'fuck it’, nothing would be more damaging to a hero career.
So he started his own radio show, an hour every two weeks, deciding to dedicate it to music and interviewing hero’s in categories under represented. This was from people who had disabilities to those under the LGBT+. He hadn’t realised how little there was until a minor set back had caused him to freak out and doubt his career, and then again when he realised he was bisexual. That was a fun experience, and led to an interesting revelation about a certain one of his classmates.
By the start of third year, his anger had simmered drastically compared to before, even if his volume remained louder than most. He was more manageable to be around, and even if not necessarily not friendly to any outside his immediate group, still nicknamed the Bakusquad by the idiots he hung around with.
He no longer cared about All-Might in an idol way, he was cool but, and majorly without him realising it, his idol had become Present Mic. He found himself completely okay with that, going as far as collecting a few things that was part of the heroes merch.
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