HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AIKO
put your records on - corinne bailey rae

The rising sun dawned upon the quiet morning of the city, casting a pinkish hue across the blank open sky. Some of the sunlight had poured into a small room peeking through the open curtain, illuminating the darkness that once occupied the place. Located right in the middle of the room, a sleeping figure continues to lightly snore yet heavily dream of fighting off imaginary villains in her subconscious.

Nonetheless, the peaceful morning was disrupted by the sound of small footsteps running across the wooden floor, followed by a high-pitched scream.

"Happy birthday, Aiko onee-chan! It's your birthday, good morning!" A small hand jumped onto the end and grabbed the sleeping figure's fingers before attempting to drag the pitiful person to their dining room.

"Give me a break...it's not even seven in the morning..." she groaned in annoyance, pulling away from the small boy and his futile attempts before pulling the blanket over her face.

"Nooo! Mommy made chocolate chip pancakes, onee-chan! Hurry!" He grabbed her fingers again with an agitated pout. The older girl widened her eyes and sat upright, stomach growling at the mention of food.

"Chocolate chip pancakes? Say less, little brother," she stated before rushing down to their dining room, with her little brother trailing behind in excitement. The two stopped to see their mother who had just set the table for their mini celebration.

"Aiko, darling, happy 18th birthday," her mother's voice spoke in tranquility. Aiko could never get tired of hearing her mother's voice. Her mother, Hayato Uta, had never raised her voice at their family nor has she spoken in any rude or cold tone - Aiko always believed since young that her mother was an angel in disguise.

"Good morning mom, and thank you. So, pancakes?" Aiko replied in a rush, her stomach begging to taste the warm food on the plate. She rushed to her designated seat, grabbing the utensils hastily as she watched her mother serve her breakfast.

"Help yourself, dear. I can't believe you're turning 18! It feels like time is passing way too fast for you. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday," her mother continued, giggling at the memory of her firstborn child.

"Mom~ you say that every year, will it kill you to - i don't know, stop embarrassing me?" Aiko replied. She could feel her blood rushing to the apples of her cheeks as she bit down on her piece of pancake.

"Mom! What about me? Do you remember mine?" Ryo asked. Natsume Ryo was 13 years younger than Aiko - only at 5 years old but he is smarter than an average kid his age. He has always been curious about every little thing, from how quirks were created and formed to atomic particle theory that even Aiko had a hard time understanding.

"You were harder to bear than your older sister, my baby. You kept kicking me every single night like you wanted to get out of there as soon as possible," her mother replied, pinching her little brother's cheek. Ryo smiled widely before digging into his own food.

Aiko only shook her head and smiled slightly.

Ryo always loves to be babied. Well, he is the youngest so I don't blame him.

The trio ate in active conversations talking about their schedule of the day, fond memories, and random facts spouted by the youngest.

"Uhm, mom...did dad call this morning?" Aiko asked as she washed her dishes together with her little brother's. Her school starts in 2 hours which meant that she had enough time to get ready and walk to her school with her friends.

"I'm sorry, angel. He hasn't called yet...but if he does call while you're in school, I'll let you know okay?" Her mother solemnly answered, rubbing her calloused hands on her daughter's arms.

Aiko frowned before putting on a fake smile. She patted her hands dry before facing her mother.

"It's okay! He's probably busy doing his research. Time zones are difficult to keep up with anyways. I'll go get ready for school, okay?" Aiko stated but she walked away before her mother could reassure her again.

It's the same every year. He only calls us to update us on successful findings in his research. He never cared about any of us.

Aiko clicked her tongue at the thought before preparing for the day.

— ❦ —

She trudged her feet towards the big glass building that screams prestigious and 'heroic' from a distance. Her eyebrows scrunched slightly at the text messages her group of friends had left her a few minutes ago.

e-girl wannabe:
hey natsu-chan !! we'll meet you in class later (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ mirio wants to speak to aizawa-sensei about smtg!

tin tin:
So sorry to leave you alone Natsume-chan 🙏🏼 See you soon!

Aiko sighs for the umpteenth time; the trio always waited for her before going to school because she lived at the heart of the city so she had to walk while they had to take the public transport together to reach their usual meeting spot.

Oh wells, it's got to be important if they're asking Aizawa early in the morning...that man is never nice in the morning - I mean, is he ever nice? That little bi-

On the way to school, she occupied herself by going through the various social media platforms. Her voice humming random music as she scrolled past a Tok Tik video. Once again, her calm morning was interrupted by shouts and screams from what seemed to be a group of reporters crowding by the gate.

Aiko frowned deeper than earlier - hating the fact that she had to use some of her energy early in the morning to walk past a bunch of humans who had nothing better to do than to harass students for their own job.

She grunted as she tried to shove herself through the group. She wasn't small, but she wasn't tall either. She'd like to state that she was 'just a few centimeters away from average' while her friends that stood half a head above her, laughed at her pitiful statement.

"Hey, you! Have you seen All Might around the school? We need answers!"

"I'm not your dog, I have a name and yeah I've seen All Might. I'll Might just stick that microphone up your a-" Aiko retorted with a pun but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"All Might is not on campus today. Now get out of here, you're disturbing my students,"

The reporters tried to squeeze more questions but heaved in frustration before the gate was slammed closed right in front of their faces.

Haha..losers

"Aiko. Why are you still here? You're going to be late to class." The same stern voice reprimanded her. She turned her head to see her teacher, Shota Aizawa.

Aiko and her teacher had a very close relationship. When she first transferred to UA in the second year, she was impulsive which meant that she was hard to control. Moreover, she was in her rebellious phase in her teenage years so Aizawa had quite a difficult time letting her know her place in school. It wasn't until Aiko slowly opened up to him in a few months about her family's situation - having no father figure to comfort or discipline her younger self, no one to turn to for protection that Aizawa realized that she felt hopeless. Her mother never having anyone to lean on especially when she had to raise two kids in this god-forsaken world.

Aizawa being the big softie he is (though don't say it out loud or you'll get detention) brought it upon himself to care for his lonely student like a parental figure since then; now, they were close like family - teasing each other, looking out for one another.

Aiko also swears that whenever her teacher came over for dinner, she actually saw her mother and Aizawa flirt with each other. Aiko shuddered in thought. At first, she felt disgusted that the two adults in her life had an interest in one another, especially when her mother was married, but she dropped that train of thought when she saw Aizawa and her mother were the happiest with each other. So she and Ryo let it be. If their mother is happiest with that sleepy man, so are they.

It not like their biological father could do what a man in a sleeping bag could.

"Oh you know, I'm here to look at the scenery. Wow! Who knew the gates are stainless steel?" She jokingly replied before walking in pace with her teacher.

"Hurry to class now. Midnight says she's got some important announcement for you guys,"

"Sheesh, why the rush? Mom didn't send you a good morning text today? Or was it without a heart?" She smirked, crossing her arms.

The only response she got was a smack to the back of her head. Aiko grumbled as she rubbed the spot.

"My god, this is abuse! I will snitch on you to Principal Nezu. I don't deserve this!" she pouted dramatically. They walk through corners of the empty corridors, indicating that the bell had rung.

"Do that and I'll give you a failing grade," he replied, his eyes rolling at her small figure.

"DO IT NO BALLS!" She shouted before running up the stairs to her classroom, not wanting to get hit again. She giggled as she heard her teacher grunt before walking away.

She quickly walked to her classroom, hoping she reached earlier than Midnight so that she wouldn't get whipped for being late. As she reached the big doors, there was utter silence. Aiko raised her eyebrows in question, looking back and forth at the class sign and the door.

Did they go to the training grounds? Isn't it homeroom for the first period?

Aiko timidly opens the door, praying that she wasn't interrupting anything.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATSUME-CHAN!" A chorus of voices screamed at her. Aiko's eyes were wide and her mouth gaped open before she used her hand to cover it. Her eyes darted across the classroom she was familiar with.

Her vision shows her classmates smiling with party hats on, some smiling widely with their teeth while others were just polite. Confetti's were falling from the ceiling as they had popped the moment she opened the door. What made her teared up was seeing her three best friends carrying a candle-lit strawberry vanilla cake towards her.

Immediately, they started singing the song which made her feel very awkward and weird as she looked around. Once that was done, she wished and blew her candles. Her classmates clapped and shouted in glee as Midnight joined in.

"Hey hey, Natsu-chan! What did ya wish for?!" Hado asked, grabbing both her hands in curiosity. Aiko thought Hado's eyes were shimmering when she asked her question.

"I'm not telling you girlie. If I do, my wish won't come true. When did you guys even do all these?" Aiko questioned. A party hat was placed on the top of her head before a voice answered her.

"If you're talking about the decoration, this morning! But for the planning, it's been going on since last week," Mirio stated, giving her his charming smile. Aiko smiled back. She was so oblivious that she didn't realize they did these all behind her back.

"Well, thank you, guys. I love you all, and I love this so much," Aiko mumbled, looking at the cake in her hands but her three friends heard the confession.

Hado grinned widely, clutching both her hands together. Mirio patted her back and Tamaki blushed before looking down to his feet.

"H-happy birthday, Natsume-chan," Tamaki muttered but his eyes were glued on the floor. Aiko giggled as she hugged each of the three, each of them hugging back - well Tamaki shivered and almost passed out.

"Oi, everyone! Thank you for all these, I would never know how to repay you back!" Aiko raised her voice, bowing slightly to show her gratitude.

"Clean the classroom for a month!" Midnight stated, causing some arguments and laughter in the room before they settled down for their homeroom.

— ❦ —

Aiko didn't know how it happened. She was getting ready for lunch with her friends when their classroom corridors were suddenly jam-packed.

A fight in school? Oh my god, finally! I wanna see it!

However, what Aiko failed to notice was that the crowd was filled with around 20 boys with gifts in their hands. When she slid the door open, her face was shoved with letters and small presents wrapped decently (but at least they put in the effort)

"Natsume-senpai! Ha-happy birthday! We wanted to give you these...we hope it isn't too much haha.." a young man with brown fluffy hair spoke, rubbing his nape nervously. Most of them were bashful while some confidently stated at her.

"Aw you guys, thank you so much. Of course, it isn't much!" Aiko reassured, taking some gifts as a form of crowd control.

It's too much. Is that a balloon animal I see? And is that supposed to be my face drawn?? Why do I look like medusa? Wait those are my ribbons, oh god but they look like snakes.

The group of boys smiled in delight, having praised for their actions and seeing their crush looking at them. Even talking to them. This was the best day of their lives!

The girl laughed nervously. When she transferred to the UA in the second year, she has titled the 'New Girl' which cause some uproar and rumors since no one could really be directly placed in the hero course. The first few weeks of school was fine until she helped out some juniors and seniors around (she was bored and was skipping class, she didn't dare leave the school) that her name started spreading again - as a form of "she's an angel, she always comes in to save me from danger".

Aiko started receiving confessions and love letters at first then she got fan letters when they saw her train at the training grounds, claiming that they admire her and wanted to be like her. It started with a handful of boys but after Hado investigated after talking to the second year, they had formed a secret fan club by Aiko's third year; supporting her and hoping she would interact with them.

(Sadly, Aiko doesn't date younger guys but they don't need to know that)

Damn it, mom will surely laugh at me when I go home with this much stuff. That stupid Aizawa is also going to make fun of me if he sees me like this!

Aiko quickly thanked them before going back to her friends and placing all the small gifts in a bigger bag.

"Man, they're really going all out for you," Hado said, taking a glass-like sculpture of a cupid and a bow. Aiko sighed.

"Well, we are graduating this year so it doesn't surprise me that they would give everything they've always wanted before Aiko goes away," Mirio laughed, handing the birthday girl a cat ear prop.

"I-I've never seen your fan club do this, Mirio," Tamaki said, eyes widening when he saw the number of gifts on the girl's table.

"That because I talk to them! Give them my attention! They're really nice and they helped me a lot on different stuff, they give me free stuff from time to time so I'm used to it,"

"Isn't that leading them on?" Aiko tilted her head.

"Huh..I didn't think of that," Mirio replied, placing a hand under his chin as if he was thinking. Hado facepalmed at their gullible friend while Aiko laughed.

Mirio...you are a charming man but dumb too...

— ❦ —

"I'm home!" Aiko shouted, slipping on her house shoes. Behind her was Aizawa doing the same thing. They were both tired - during lunch the school alarm rang which caused Aiko to try and control the crowd with her friends while Aizawa had to handle a bunch of reporters after that, almost punching one in the face.

"Welcome home, angel, and hello Shota. I'm glad you're free to celebrate with us tonight for Aiko's birthday," her mother blushed, taking off his coat and leading them to the living room.

"I'm always free for you and them," he smiled slightly.

Aiko rushed to her little brother Ryo that was busy trying to make a small robot. The two younger ones started talking about their day and how they missed each other while the two older ones headed to the kitchen to finish their dinner.

The night went on smoothly, they had dinner, opened presents from Aiko's friends and family. The trio had gotten Aiko a lovely necklace in the shape of a small orb, the color, and reflection resembling her quirk. Her mother and Aizawa had gotten her a large white cape that she had done herself; the material was similar to Aizawa's capture weapon and they wanted Aiko to broaden her abilities on the field. Although it wasn't as flexible as Aizawa's capture weapon, hers could hold stronger enemies at a time.

Her little brother, Ryo, gave her one of his most prized inventions which was a holographic video of pictures of their family and a few of him because he didn't want his sister to forget about him.

The moon stared back at Aiko as she turned her room lights off. She locked her balcony door and stood by, hands on the glass as she tried to memorize each star and cloud into her memory. Their apartment having located on the highest floor lets Aiko see the beautiful city lights glimmering like they were diamonds.

Finally, for the day, she slept with a smile. Today was the best birthday she's ever had, spending time with her friends and family.

I wish that I will be with my loved ones until the very end, that these kinds of days will always come and nothing will change. That's my wish.

Little did she know, she had received a gift overnight and one of her loved ones would have a glimpse of death the next day.

— ❦ —

I hope chapters like this is not too long? Let me know if it's okay for it to be longer or shorter!

Don't worry, hawks will come in soon :) just introducing the characters and how their life and relationship with others is like!