A/N: We're finally at my girl's birthday!

This is by far the longest chapter in my entire fic (and will likely stay that way), coming in at 2,204 words. I had to get this all out in one chapter and just ended up writing SO MUCH. This chapter IS somewhat plot-relevant, because it's going to kind of plant the seed(?) I want to try developing more later on.

Art -

[Complete Gallery] Add /21axlkt3bolc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

[Ch. 26] Add /21vcx2vdtth2 to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

Nari lay down on Hitomi's bed, swinging her feet as she scrolled through her best friend's phone. Hitomi was seated at her desk next to her, watching a YouTube video of a guy trying to power a car with lemons. It was now the week after final exams, and Nari had come over to hang out for the day.

"What are you even doing with my phone?"

"Just snooping through your messages. I wanna see what kind of stuff heroes-in-training talk about!"

"Well, you're not gonna find anything interesting…"

Nari stopped scrolling when a name in Hitomi's contacts caught her eye.

Kirishima (Sunshine-y Boy).

"Hey, Hitomi. Who's Kirishima, again?"

"Hm? Oh, he's the one with spiky red hair. The first friend I made at UA, remember? He's really nice."

Hitomi turned back to watch her video as Nari opened Kirishima's contact page, pulling her own phone out.

Let's see…

She copied the number to her own phone, setting Hitomi's phone down to message the redhead.

Hey, it's Nari. Hitomi's friend.

Oh, hey! Did Hitomi give you my number?

No, I copied it from her phone when she wasn't looking.

Oh, so what's up?

Did you know Hitomi's birthday is in a few days?

Woah, really? She never told me when it was!

Listen, I kinda wanna surprise her this year since it's her first birthday back here after she moved to America. Can you help me?

Of course! Just tell me what you need. Oh, I can get the rest of the class to help too!

Perfect.

July 11

Nari barged into Hitomi's room only to find the bluenette still asleep.

"Happy birthday, Hitomi! Wake up, I've got plans for you today!" She tried shaking her friend awake, but Hitomi only glanced at the clock to see it was 8 o'clock before pulling the blanket over herself.

"It's too early, Nari… You know I hate waking up before 9 if I don't have to…!"

"Aw, come on," Nari said, trying to yank the blanket away. She was unsuccessful, as Hitomi's hero training made her stronger than the blonde. "You gotta get up so you can make the most out of today! It's your birthday! Come on, I've got stuff planned for you. We won't be able to do it all if you don't get up."

Hitomi shuffled under the blankets until she sighed, throwing them off as she got up from her bed. "Fine, fine. You win. Just let me shower and get changed…"

"Alright!" Nari cheered, dashing out of the room as she closed the door behind her. "Today's gonna be awesome, I guarantee it!"

3:30 PM…

Hitomi slumped to the floor as the song finished, the Dance Dance Revolution machine announcing Nari as the winner.

"Yes!" Nari exclaimed as she pumped her fist.

"That's not fair…" Hitomi sighed. "Even though I may have better stamina from training, you're the one who's actually good at dancing… How do you even get the steps so quickly?!"

"It's pure skill, Hitomi…" Nari said as they stepped off the dance pads. "Well, that and a lot of practice."

Hitomi huffed as they left the arcade, that DDR round using up the last of the game credit stored on their arcade cards.

"So… what now?" Hitomi asked. "We watched that movie I've been wanting to see for a while and then the arcade; what else you got planned?"

Nari's phone buzzed as they walked down the street, prompting her to pull it out.

It was a message from Kirishima.

We're all set!

Great! Give us maybe 15 minutes?

Got it.

Hitomi had stopped in front of a store, staring at the display as she waited for Nari to catch up.

"Sorry about that!" Nari chirped. "Just had to text a friend real quick. As for your question, you okay with getting some boba? We can just stop by the place that I work at."

"Oh, okay then."

Hitomi followed Nari to the boba shop around the corner, already anticipating getting her favorite drink along with an indulgent snack.

Nari worked at a locally owned boba shop, popular for its unique flavors, homey treats, and small meals. Hitomi went there quite often just to hang out with Nari, so the owner knew her personally.

Hitomi blinked as they approached the building, noticing the lack of customers through the window and the "Closed" sign by the door.

That's weird…

She saw Nari type something out on her phone before she pulled out a key, unlocking the door.

"Hey, wait… Is it okay for us to go in?"

Nari waved her off. "It's fine! Besides, the boss knew I'd be coming in today for your birthday; she's fine with it since you're a regular."

"But she didn't have to close for today because of me, right…?"

"Oh, don't worry," Nari said, pushing open the door. "It was open earlier this morning; she only closed it about… 2 hours ago…?"

Hitomi had a confused look on her face as she followed her friend inside. "But, why-?"

"SURPRISE!"

Hitomi stopped as a chorus of voices chimed, nearly tripping over her own two feet as she saw her classmates jump out of various hiding places, whether it be from under tables or the storage closet in the back.

"Uh-?! What?"

Hitomi stared dumbfounded as more of her classmates appeared from the back room, feeling her cheeks turn red from embarrassment. "What, what?! What's going on?"

"Happy birthday, Hitomi!" Kirishima said as he approached her, clapping her on the back. "You didn't tell me your birthday was so soon!"

"Huh?! What are you all doing here? How'd you find out about my birthday?"

Her head swiveled around to glare at Nari, who only wore an innocent smile on her face.

"Nari! Did you tell him? Is that why you were messing around with my phone last week?"

Nari shrugged as she laughed. "Took you long enough to catch me. Of course I told him!"

"But why?! You know I would've been fine just hanging out today…"

"That's just it, though. I know you say you're always fine with just a nice dinner for your birthday or whatever, but that's so… uneventful. It's your first birthday back here in Japan since you left, so I thought I'd make it a lot more fun this time. Look, your whole class came!"

Hitomi glanced at the class to see that yes, everyone was in fact here. Even Bakugou and Todoroki had come, which surprised her to say the least.

It meant a lot to her that everyone decided to celebrate her birthday like this.

She beamed as she willed the blush on her cheeks to fade, turning to face the class properly.

"... thank you, everyone."

It turned out to be one of the most fun birthdays Hitomi had ever had, laughing with her classmates and chatting with everyone.

Nari provided everyone with food and drinks with the help of her boss, running around the shop to get Class 1-A their meals.

"Nari, shouldn't you take a break?" Hitomi asked as the blonde passed by. "You shouldn't have to work while we're all here…"

"It's fine!" Nari reassured her, a cheeky smile on her face. "I already had fun with you today. Setting this whole thing up is my birthday gift to you, so don't worry about it! Besides, someone's gotta provide the food here, right? I'm practically the only one qualified to do it; I work here after all," she said as she placed a hand on her chest with confidence.

Hitomi laughed. "I suppose so… thank you, Nari. You're the best. Just don't work too much, okay?"

"Jeez, you sound like a doting mom. Don't worry, I've got help," Nari smiled as she pointed to the back room, referring to her boss. "Just have fun."

Hitomi nodded as the blonde turned around to return to the counter, Uraraka catching her attention to ask about life in America.

Hitomi felt like a spotlight was shining on her as her classmates presented her with gifts, feeling like she wanted to combust at all the attention.

"You guys didn't have to get me anything…!" she exclaimed as she waved her arms around in embarrassment. "Just being here was enough!"

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?" Kirishima said, pushing his present towards her. "It's your birthday, just take them!"

Hitomi felt her face burn as her classmates and Nari all gathered around her, swarming her with presents of various shapes and sizes.

It's too much…!

She made sure to thank each and every one of her classmates as she opened their gifts one by one, feeling flustered each time.

She'd received various articles of clothing and gift cards among other things. Jirou had gotten her albums of bands she thought Hitomi might like, Sato had baked her the birthday cake, and Kaminari had gotten her an adorable giant Pikachu plush she would definitely cuddle in her sleep. Yaoyorozu gifted her a beautiful tea set, and Iida had given her a very nice pair of sneakers she could use when training.

There were two only two gifts left to open, unnoticed until now because of their small sizes.

She grabbed the smaller one first, a small gold box with a simple red bow on top. Reading the tag, she realized it was from Bakugou.

She sweatdropped, feeling his eyes on her as she untied the bow.

Let's see what it is…

She opened the lid to find a gift card sitting on top, recognizing it was for a designer brand store her own allowance would shrivel at if she ever bought anything there.

She turned it over to look on the back, her eyes widening as she saw that it held more than 16,000 yen (~$150).

Her hands shook as she looked at Bakugou, a distraught look on her face. "Bakugou, why'd you get me something so expensive?! I could never even afford anything from here with my own money!"

Bakugou tched at Hitomi's outburst. "Your cheap-ass American clothing always bugs me whenever you wear it, so I thought you might as well get something actually decent. Besides, there's more in the box."

Hitomi turned back to the box, picking it up to see clip-on earrings sat inside. She pulled one out, holding it up to see it was in a crescent shape, light blue gems lining the edges to look like a moon. Small star charms hung from the bottom, completing its nightly theme.

Hitomi was awestruck with how pretty it was.

"Wow, how cute!" Mina exclaimed, leaning over Hitomi's shoulder for a better look. "Hey, it reminds me of your hero name!"

She's right…

Hitomi felt herself blush as she stared at the earrings. She wouldn't have expected it from him, but it seemed he payed attention the day she told the class her hero name. Bakugou knew the sentimental value her name carried, and chose something based off of that.

Well, maybe it was just a coincidence, but the thought made her heart flutter nonetheless.

Hitomi turned to look at the ash blonde, a genuine smile on her face. "Thank you, Bakugou. They're beautiful."

Kaminari crossed his arms as Hitomi put Bakugou's gift away. "Never thought you'd be so thoughtful, Bakugou," he said. "Always feel the need to be the best, even in giving gifts, huh? Although, to be honest, I'm surprised you even got one at all…"

The ash blonde scowled at him as Hitomi pulled the last gift towards her. "Of course I'd bring something. You'd have to be rude and dumb as hell not to bring anything for someone's birthday, you idiot!"

Hitomi saw the last gift was from Todoroki as she tore the wrapping paper open, revealing a slim burgundy box. She gasped as she opened it, feeling her shoulders tense as she stared at the necklace inside.

It had floral accents weaving down the chain, coming down to accentuate a beautiful butterfly pendant.

Hitomi was stunned into silence.

It was really, really nice. It also looked really, really expensive.

Todoroki must've thought something was wrong, because he looked at her with concern. "Do you not like it…? I didn't really know what you liked, so I just got something that looked nice…"

"Todoroki, how much did this cost…?"

The boy only shrugged. "Don't worry about the price. I used my old man's money to pay for it."

Hitomi blinked, shutting the box closed. "Actually, you know what, don't tell me. It's better if I don't know. If you told me how much it cost, I would probably never wear it until I'm dead.

It's really pretty, Todoroki. Thank you! Although I probably won't wear it unless it's for very special occasions…"

Todoroki returned her gratitude with a small smile. "That's okay."

Kirishima nudged Bakugou as Hitomi put everything away, smirking at him. "Looks like you got upstaged again by Todoroki, huh?"

Bakugou scoffed as the class dispersed to help clean up the shop, grabbing some plates to throw in the trash. "Whatever, Kirishima. It's not expensive enough that she'll only save it for special shit; at least I know she'll actually wear them."

"Whatever you say, man…"

A/N: When you realize this chapter is Hitomi and Todoroki's one and only interaction oh no-

If Nari seems a little over the top or anything it's because she's always trying to keep Hitomi happy, as she saw firsthand the tired and depressive state Hitomi fell into for the first few months after "the incident". She tries her best to keep Hitomi as far away as possible from those feelings.

I rub my hands together and cackle like a dorky villain as I plant the start of Bakutomi mwahaha... I mean, do you guys remember in Hitomi vs. Bakugou how I said, "the relationship I want to write between those two"? Things will happen, feelings MAY develop, and it'll likely stay one-sided. Unless... you guys don't want it to be...👀

Another quick note: I'll be taking a quick one week break to let myself rest from updates, and also so I can draw up more chapters in preparation. I didn't have drawings for this chapter originally because I didn't realize her birthday was coming up until a few weeks ago, and I kinda fell behind on drawing chapters anyway because I started watching Stranger Things, haha...

So I'll be taking a one-week hiatus. And guess what? The MHA movie will be a part of this fic! It'll be the upcoming chapters. I won't give you the details, but basically it'll be more setup for Bakutomi. *wink wink*

[UPDATE 8/19/2021] There is a side story to accompany this chapter that takes place directly after its events. Check it out! :)