Chapter 1

"Jake! Come play Heroes versus villains with us!"

I peered down at the boy, he had snot smeered across his face and was waving excitedly.

The tree branches around me swayed as a breeze blew. I was small enough that I could sit comfortably on all but the thinnest branches.

I poked my head out from behind the cover of the leaves and replied, "Thanks for inviting me Fumiko! I stayed up late last night watching TV and eating ice cream so I'm too tired to play! Go be an awesome hero!"

Fumiko grinned, "I will! I'll beat up all the bad guys!"

He called out goodbye and ran off as fast as he could to return to the other children in the playground.

I didn't have many friends amongst my classmates. I didn't dislike any of them, I just always felt at home with just the sound of the wind blowing and my own breathing. I liked to listen to the birds singing and watch the sun set.

Fumiko was 4 years old just like me, his quirk had awakened a month ago. It gave him the ability to turn his skin any colour he wanted. He was still getting the hang of controlling his colour changes and often made the class laugh by turning completely red when he was embarrassed.

I liked Fumiko, my classmates were all friendly and nice, but he always went the extra mile. I didn't like to participate in games like the rest of my classmates, but he always came to invite me anyways. It became a bit of a game, he'd invite me and I'd peek out from the tree and make up a silly reason why I couldn't.

"I wonder what my quirk will be." I said aloud to myself.

Cheep cheep!

A bird in the branches above me answered my question with it's song. Animals were always comfortable in my presence, the birds were happy to let me share the playground tree with them. Occasionally a robin would bring me a berry or hazelnut to snack on.

I believed that one kindness deserved another, so naturally I'd share some of my lunch with the robins.

The sound of a bell ringing loudly interrupted my peace and quiet. The bell signalled the end of the school day which meant that it was time to go home.

I gripped the trunk of the tree tightly with my arms and legs. My body was small and light so climbing was a breeze. Unlike some of my classmates who frequently slipped or fell while climbing, I made sure to always grip tightly and remain focused on the task.

I was different to my classmates. They were so easily distracted and easily fooled. I knew that the teacher only told us white lies in order to keep the class calm, but I didn't understand how no one else could see through them. The store couldn't possibly be all out of fizzy drinks, there was no need to share a can between 10 people when we could all have on each. Our teacher was kind and helpful, she'd told the lie so that we could all try a brand new type of drink without using up the class's small budget.

I didn't hold any resentment towards the adults who lied to me. I understood that their white lies were said in my best interest. My life was happy and full of love and care from my parents and teachers, their white lies were easy to forgive.

I dusted off my hands, I would wash them when I got back to the classroom. Some of my fingers were sticky from the tree sap and I didn't want to get the sap on my bag or clothes.

Holding my hands stretched out in front of me I made my way back to the classroom.

Our class's teacher spotted me walking torwards the door and smiled, "There you are Jake! Oh and your hands are all dirty! Good boy, you haven't got any of it on your clothes, go wash them in the sink."

She placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me towards the sink. Her help was unnecessary, I'd washed my hands in the sink a million times before, I knew where it was.

"Thank you miss Akari." I smiled and said to her.

She grinned and pinched my cheek, "Such a gentleman! So polite!"

A child called out to her from across the room. She smiled again and patted me on the shoulder, "Bye Jake, be good for your patents."

"I will." I said firmly.

Miss Akari laughed and turned her head towards the child who had called her. She set off at a hasty march torwards them, saying in an exasperated tone, "Yuito we've been through this a hundred times! You can't have your yoghurt now, you have to wait until you get home! Look darling you'be spilt it all over your shirt, let's go get you cleaned up."

Miss Akari was like that, always looking out for every child in her class and helping them with compassion. Her intentions were always good and I would repay her kindnesses, even when uncessary, with a smile and a thank you.

"Everyone get your book bags! Your parents are here to pick you up!" Miss Akari announced.

My classmates cheered and rushed to grab their coats and bags, the room was filled with excited conversations about action figures and sleepovers and what ice cream flavour they were having for dessert.

I waited until the rush had died down a little to walk over and gather my things. The other children greeted me warmly and allowed me to get past them to grab my coat and bag. In return I smiled and asked a few questions about what they were having for dinner or what action figure they wanted to get.

I liked to be in my own company. I wasn't alone when I had birdsong and the breeze, but I still enjoyed talking to my classmates. Their actions were so uncomplicated, they were happy so they smiled and when they were sad they cried. I liked it, the simplicity of it all.

"Come along, come along." Miss Akari said, counting us as we passed her and headed into the corridor.

A crowd of parents stood beyond the gates waiting for us. I looked through the crowd until I found my father waiting for me.

He must've spotted me before I saw him, because he was looking in my direction and waving cheerfully.

His enthusiasm was one of the things I loved most about him. He gave good hugs also.

"Jake! Over here!" He called out. A couple of the other parents turned to look at him, but I knew that he couldn't care less.

Alfred was my father's name. His American features stood out amongst the crowd of Japanese parents. He was kind, patient and loving. I could go without speaking to my classmates, but I could never go without speaking to him.

"If you can see your parents you can go." Miss Akari said.

Her words were met with cheers and all of my classmates who could see their parents rushed towards them. The parents laughed at their children's behaviour and met them with big hugs. A couple of my classmates screamed with delight as their parents threw them high into the air and caught them as they fell.

"Good day Jake?" My father asked with a beaming smile.

I was usually in meticulous control of my emotions and facial expressions. My smiles were always gentle and not too big. But my father's infectious energy was one of my weaknesses.

In spite of my inner protest, the corners of my lips curled into a beaming grin just like my dad's, "It was a good day. The robins gave me some more goji berries."

"Look at my two handsome boys!"

I hastily turned to the source of the voice. My mother sat in the driver's seat of the car, her phone held in her hand and a gleeful grin on her face.

Flash!

The camera went off with a dazzling burst of light.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

My dad laughed and picked me up, throwing me onto his shoulders. I didn't usually engage in childish behaviours, but when I was around my parents I couldn't help but act my age. Of course I was still very different to a normal child. I refused to throw a tantrum or laugh at funny faces.

But I did quite like being carried on my dad's shoulders or being chased around the house by my mother as she tried to tickle me.

"Sorry I wasn't at the gate darling! Mummy had to finish a phone call." My mother apologised to me, kissing me on the forehead as my father strapped me in to my car seat.

"It's okay mummy, I don't mind." I replied.

My father reached back from the passenger's seat in the front and ruffled my hair, "That's my amazing son!"

I sometimes wondered whether I was actually the grown up and my parents were the children.

The drive home was good, my parents were the only people who's company I didn't mind staying in for a long time. They chatted about work and groceries and other grown up things as we drove. They would occasionally ask me a question about my day, but they knew I didn't like to speak too much and were good at balancing giving me space and including me in conversations.

I didn't like to say too much. I wasn't shy and I didn't lack confidence. I just didn't think that anything I had to say could be as beautiful as silence.

I loved quietness. Ever since I first recognised that "I" existed, I had sought out quiet spaces. I loved the woods near my house and climbing mountains with my parents until we were the only people for miles around.

My parents had been concerned at first. At about a year old I stopped crying. I hated the loudness of it, it hurt my ears and I didn't understand how I'd spent an entire year of life howling and screaming.

They'd taken me to the doctor several times. I understood why they were worried, I tried to reassure them that I was fine. It took them a while to come to terms with it, but soon enough it became normal to them.

The doctors did scan after scan and confirmed that my cognition was fine. I was healthy and had no signs of depression or anxiety.

My parents had taken me to a quirk doctor as well, concerned that my quietness was the result of my quirk manifesting.

The quirk doctors ran a few tests, but there wasn't much they could do. They said that the levels of quirk factor in my blood were completely ordinary for a child my age and the scans of my brain showed no signs of tumour or detioration.

In the end their medical opinion was that I was simply a unique child. I was more emotionally mature than most adults.

Some of the more direct doctors declared that they wished their son could be more like me. I always did my chores, I never complained and I was always respectful and kind to my classmates and teachers.

"Can I go play in the garden?" I asked as soon as we got home.

My father smiled and unbuckled me from my car seat. He picked me up and held me like a sack of potatoes. I was perfectly capable of getting out of the car by myself, but he routinely found silly reasons to pick me up or put me on his shoulders. I think he liked to help even when he knew it wasn't needed, I was so independent that my parents struggled to find their place in my life.

I had overheard one of their conversations on my second birthday. My mother had been crying in my father's arms and saying how she felt so useless as a parent. That conversation had opened my eyes to their point of view. I'd never realised that they might miss the needy child who always wanted his mum or dad.

Since then I'd changed a lot. I made myself ask for help much more often. I stopped making my own lunch and allowed my mum to do it for me. The way her face had lit up when I asked her to make my lunch for me one day had always stuck with me.

I thought that she would've been happy when I started making my own lunch. She was always in such a rush in the mornings, if she didn't have to make my lunch, she would've had more time and maybe she wouldn't bump into so many things and say bad words.

My parents were good people. I knew that I wasn't a normal child and they'd never ever made me feel unloved for not being like everyone else. They deserved to feel loved and needed too.

"What do you think Jane, can this sack of potatoes go play in the garden? I didn't know potatoes had legs so I'm not sure how he'll get there!" My father said, laughing at his own awful joke.

"Hmmm." My mum replied, stroking her chin as if she were pondering some profound universal mystery.

She looked at me with a serious face, "Well. Since he ate his apple and his celery. I think this potato can go play."

I met her gaze with an equally serious expression, "This potato is very happy."

My parents burst into laughter and my father doubled over struggling to breathe and stay standing.

I laughed too, smiling happily. I liked making my parents laugh. Laughter was the next best thing after silence.

Giggling I ran through the open front door and through the house. I hurried to my favourite tree and quickly shimmied up it until I was sitting on my favourite branch.

'Made it in time for the sunset.' I thought to myself.

The horizon was like a painting. The sky was an orangey purple that cast a gentle glow over the trees. It was so beautiful. I never got bored of the sunset, each one was so different.

The sound of my parents laughter drifted over from our house. I wished that I could make the moment last forever.