Chapter 2

'It's so bright.' I thought.

I wiped my eyes groggily. I liked to go to bed early and wake up in time to listen to the dawn chorus. I usually slept soundly, waking up in the middle of the night had never happened before.

I wondered what kind of toy my parents had bought me that shone with such beautiful colours of light.

'Huh?'

The colours, they were magnificent. Rich shimmering hues of purple and orange. They were so familiar, I had seen them before, I knew that I had.

I realised suddenly, the sunset! The purples and oranges were the same ones I had seen last night!

It didn't make any sense, the sunset had already passed and I'd fallen asleep cozy in my bed! The same sunset couldn't happen twice, so how could the colours be all around me?

I threw open the curtains and looked out into the garden. It was dark. That was how nighttime was supposed to be. The only sources of light was the glow of streetlights from nearby.

The beautiful sunset was taking place solely in my room. The vibrant colours didn't extend beyond my walls.

'Is this my quirk?'

I had always wondered what my quirk would be. Perhaps the ability to release torrents of scorching flame like Endeavour, or throw punches that could change the weather like All Might.

My quirk wasn't anything like that. It didn't seem to have any potential for combat. There was no way that a sunset, no matter how beautiful, could stop a villain's rampage.

I wanted to be dissaponted, to feel sad that I would never be able to be a hero. But, I didn't.

'How lucky am I to be able to watch the sunset whenever I please. Oh what a beautiful life that would be.' I thought.

I had never dreamed of a life of fame or fortune. My classmates spent every available moment discussing what their hero name should be and what catchphrase they should shout. I had always imagined a life spent outdoors, perhaps as a farmer, passing the days with my feet touching the soil and watching life bloom.

I wanted to help people as best I could. I didn't care about the fortune or prestige of becoming a hero, I just wanted to help build a world that was safe for everyone.

I stopped thinking about what could've been. Instead I chose to focus on what was.

The miniature sunset in my room was beautiful. It wasn't an imitation or replica, it was the true sunset, it's beauty captured in every way.

I couldn't help but smile. I felt so happy. The warm glow of the sunset would be able to accompany me whenever I wished.

'What an amazing quirk.'

I looked to my alarm clock and checked the time. 03:35. It was early in the morning and yesterday had marked the end of the school week. My parents had been looking forwards to a lie in since Monday.

'I have to wake them. The video that said that signs of quirk manifestation should be reported to a trusted adult immediately.'

I slid my feet into my slippers and put on a warm hoodie. I was only small and it was cold without the warmth of my blankets.

I opened the door to my room and walked out into the corridor. I was delighted to see that the miniature sunset followed me as I moved. I tested it out by stepping forwards and backwards.

Knock knock!

"Mum, dad." I called out.

I stood at the door to my parents bedroom. I could hear their steady breathing from inside the room. If it weren't for their repeated lectures to me about the dangers of uncontrolled quirk manifestation, I wouldn't have been willing to disturb their rest.

"Jake?" My mum called out sleepily. I could imagine her running her eyes and looking around confused on the other side of the door.

"Jake!" Her voice sounded again, this time urgent.

Before I could say anything else I heard her panicked footsteps as she rushed to the door. I had never woken my parents before and my parents knew that I never did anything without sufficient reason to do so.

"Honey are you okay?" My mother questioned, throwing the bedroom door open and anxiously looking me up and down.

I watched as her expression shifted from concern to bewilderment. She raised her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes, "Am I dreaming?"

"I'm awake! I'm awake! I'm here son don't worry, I'll-" My father awoke suddenly as if a gun had been fired next to his head. He was a heavy sleeper, he worked at a construction site and he always came home from his job exhausted and smelling like sweat. He enjoyed his job, he said that exercise kept him young.

His quirk was named 'Tiger Strength.'. He could lift more than twice the weight of a regular person. It wasn't a flashy quirk but it was extremely helpful for his job. He always shone with pride while flexing his muscles to me.

"If you're dreaming...then am I in your dream?" My dad said to my mum with a questioning look.

"Don't be silly!" She replied, flicking him on the ear.

"Well then." Unbothered by my mum's actions, he said with a beaming grin.

"I guess our handsome baby boy has awakened his quirk!" He finished his sentence and giggled excitedly. Sometimes he was more childish than my classmates.

"I'll go start the car, we can ring the doctors on the way. Jake kiddo go get dressed." My dad said, rushing downstairs. He was only serious when dealing with urgent or important matters.

"I'm gonna make some sandwiches honey, wear something warm okay." My mum kissed my forehead and followed my dad downstairs.

I could hear the car keys jangle in my dad's hands and the two of them discussing which route to take.

I walked back into my room and pulled open my sock drawer. All of my clothes were colourful, I liked blues and greens, I didn't like grey or black.

It didn't take me long to get dressed. I put on a long sleeve shirt and a thick fleece, I knew my mum would be pleased.

I walked downstairs. My mum was just finishing packing some peanut butter and jam sandwiches into tupperware. Sandwiches were much less common in Japan than America, but we ate them almost every day. I think it was one of my parents ways of keeping their American culture alive.

"Let's go Jake, your dad's in the car." My mum said.

"So what's your name gonna be Jake! The Sunset King? Orange Wonder! Purple Nurple?" Dad was back to his usual carefree self as mum strapped me into my car seat.

"That's not appropriate!" Mum flicked him on the ear again and pushed his shoulder gently.

"What's a nurple? Are they meant to be purple?" I asked curiously.

Dad laughed awkwardly and mum glared at him. His reply was several octaves higher in pitch than his normal voice, "Nothing nothing nothing, I-I-I meant to say turtle!"

The lie was a terrible one. He knew it, mum knew it and I knew it too.

"You must be sleepy." I said smiling. I made a note to ask him again when mum wasn't around.

We drove to the quirk doctors listening to music. They were doing well at hiding their concerns, but I could tell my parents were anxious for the doctors to review my quirk.

The adults didn't talk very much about what could go wrong as quirks manifested. I could tell that they were avoiding revealing the full truth. I understood why.

A boy in the year above me had a quirk that let him spray fire from his hands. He was extremely popular and most kids were jealous of his amazing quirk.

He said that he'd been in the bath when suddenly the water had started steaming. Then he'd been taken to the quirk doctors to name his quirk.

I thought of all the ways that the situation could've gone differently. What if he hadn't been in the bath, what if he'd been asleep in bed when suddenly his hands started shooting out sparks. His room could've gone up in flames and no one would've known unless the smoke woke them up.

Without the proper training and control, many quirks could cause huge damages and endager lives, even if it was accidental.

This was why quirks were forbidden to be used in public without a hero licence. Only in hero academies could powerful quirks be safely trained.

"We're here! The doctor is waiting for us!" Mum said, unbuckling me from my car seat before the car had stopped moving.

Dad took the keys out of the ignition and stepped out. He opened my door and picked me up, carrying me underneath his arm while hurrying to catch up to my mum who was practically sprinting through the door to the quirk doctor's.

"We're Jake's parents! We're here to see doctor Aoi?" Mum said hurriedly to the receptionist.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Sparrow, and this must be Jake. Nice to meet you all." A calm woman's voice sounded from not far away.

She wore a white doctor's coat and had a gentle smile. Her hair was shoulder length and she wore a pair of simple gold earrings.

"This way please, we're gonna play a couple of games okay Jake?" She said to me with the same kind smile, gesturing to a room with her name on the door.

Her office was huge and decorated with colourful flowers and drawings of famous heroes. She asked me to sit down on a chair behind a thick glass wall from floor to ceiling, while my parents and her sat on the other side.

A normal child might've been scared to be seeperated from their parents, but I wasn't. I could tell almost immediately that the glass wall was a protective measure to keep her and my parents safe.

"So Jake, what do you think your quirk is?" She spoke into a microphone on her desk. Her voice came out of speakers on my side of the wall.

"I can make a sunset." I answered.

I'd already figured out in the car ride that I could turn my quirk off and on. It wasn't too difficult, all I had to do was concentrate for a few seconds and the sunset would appear of dissapear.

"Could you demonstrate please Jake?" The doctor asked.

I nodded.

I closed my eyes and imagined the beautiful orange and purple colours. The scene gradually became more and more vivid in my mind. Then I felt something change. It was difficult to describe, but it was almost as if a bubble had popped. I knew that this meant my quirk was activated.

The doctor smiled and typed for a few seconds on her computer. I noticed a camera in the ceiling flash and take a picture of my quick in action.

"Do you think you can do anything else Jake?" She asked.

The question took me by surprise.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "This sunset, it looks just like the one from last night. Your quirk is recreating it on a smaller scale. Have you tried to replicate anything else you've seen?"

Her question made me realise my narrow frame of thought. I'd assumed that my quirk was only able to do one thing.

"I want to try something. You see this ball?" She said and held up a small red ball about the size of a table tennis ball.

"Look carefully Jake." She said seriously.

She took back her arm and threw the ball. It travelled a few metres through the air before falling to the ground.

"Close your eyes Jake. Imagine that ball. Think of the way it looked, the way it might've felt in your hand."

I shut my eyes. I could still feel the sunset's presence in my thoughts. It took up a strange space in my mind, like a child's drawing on the corner of a chalk board. I thought about the ball flying through the air, the way the doctor's arm had moved as she threw it.

I felt something change. The familiar feeling as if a bubble had burst.

My parents mouths were open wide. The doctor's gentle smile was wider now as well and her eyes shone with excitement.

I followed my parents shocked gazes to the floor. I saw it there, lying on the ground. A small red ball, just like the one the doctor had thrown.

Only now, there was more than one. And this one was on my side of the glass.