Birds of a feather

1. Nepotism

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"Ughhhhhhh" I groaned as I reached from my face down position to turn off my phone alarm.

Once the incessant sound had been thwarted I hummed a happy sigh and once again made myself comfortable within my pillow nest. The apartment was completely silent which was a joy as I had only recently moved here a few weeks ago after having the Commission officially reject me from the program. I would still be able to become a hero, but they were not willing to fund that or train me themselves due to some...personality clashes.

Still, getting to live in my big brothers apartment in the city was far better than the facility and the bed he had bought me was divine. He was clearly spoiling me, and I was very much enjoying it.

BRRRRRR BRRRRRRR BRRRRRRR

I glared, lifting my head to spot the phone lighting up with an incoming call. I had half a mind to ignore it until I saw the caller ID... "Big Bird".

"Good morning" I answered half enthusiastically, half supressing a yawn.

"Yikes, did you just wake up Suzu?" came the chuckle from my older brother, the hero Hawks.

"Yep" I admitted before letting that yawn break through now that he already knew, "what do you need? Are you on patrol?"

"Yeah I am...you DO remember what day it is right?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"...Monday?" I asked, uncertain that the answer was the one he was after.

"Riiiiighhht, and what do you now have to do on a Monday?" he asked as patronisingly as possible.

I blinked a few times, attempting to boot up my brain in order to make sense of what he was hinting at...

"Oh shit!" I screamed as I fell out of bed, my brown wings breaking my fall a little as I tried to untangle myself from the blanket, phone still in hand.

"Ah, there you go" Keigo laughed from the speaker.

"I'm gonna be late!" I panicked as I located the uniform and attempted to brush my hair, phone being placed down on loudspeaker.

"Calm down, I reset your alarm 30 minutes early last night because I knew this would happen. Get ready, fly there to save time, and make sure you don't embarrass yourself too early on the first day" he laughed as I breathed a sigh of relief at his smart thinking.

"You're a genius Keigo, thanks!" I said gratefully as I stopped rushing as much.

"What are big brothers for?" he chuckled in response, "Call me when you finish school and I'll bring home dinner".

"Will do. Wish me luck!" I said happily as I ended the call and proceeded to get myself ready to fly out.

It took me about 20 minutes to get myself ready, my uniform completed with solid black leggings underneath so I could fly without flashing the world. My hair was up in space buns so it wouldn't impede my vision as I flew and I made sure to secure the visor my brother got for me before leaving through the balcony door of our living room.

We lived on the very top floor of the building and although it was the penthouse suite, it was pretty modest, only boasting 3 bedrooms and the necessary living spaces as well as 2 bathrooms. Keigo had lived alone before I moved from the facility, and considering how much he usually worked it wasn't surprising that his home was barely lived in. I climbed up the railing of the balcony and let my wings stretch out properly, feeling the muscles lose some of the tenseness they had been carrying from being folded all morning; besides a small fight I got in with my shirt that had been specifically modified to accommodate these wings. I took my backpack and put it on backwards so that it would hang on my stomach instead of my back while I flew. I COULD technically fly with it on normally but it felt uncomfortable and restricted my ability to make sharp turns if needed for any reason. I breathed in deep the morning air, and then tilted forward, letting my wings fold in once more as I began to plummet from the building.