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What's your quirk?

It was a question that followed her everywhere

It was a question that haunted him

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First Grade

They said his name was Yagi Toshinori and that she had to be nice to him—to not use her quirk on him no matter how aggravating he may be—because he didn't have his quirk yet.

They stressed the word yet as though he was not six years old and him getting a quirk would still be a possibility. She had scoffed at this but begrudgingly nodded. She knew what it was like to be picked on when you didn't have a quirk… plus, heroes weren't supposed to be bullies.

With hair that stood as though the wind was consistently pushing it back and bangs that laid on both sides of his face, hanging freely and just brushing his chin, Tanaka Himeko was less than thrilled to see the literal ray of sunshine bound towards her, smiling so wide she feared his face was going to split in half. His hair—a disgustingly shimmering gold—shuffled with every step he took while his cerulean eyes—annoyingly glowing with excitement, and she didn't truly understand why—held her mud colored ones.

"I'm Yagi Toshinori," The sunflower beamed, and Himeko forced a smile, knowing that her face looked more as a grimace than true happiness, but it was the best she could do.

"I know," She stated, her tone flat and her 'smile' quickly slipping. The sunflower—Yagi Toshinori, she wondered if she should even bother remembering his name—seemed to almost deflate for a moment, almost bringing a true smile to her face, before the bright smile was once again gracing his face as though it had never left.

"What's your name?" Himeko's shoulders flattened at the question for she realized that she'd most likely have to remember his name (and no, her stomach did not flutter with hope that she'd finally make a friend that wouldn't leave because that would be ridiculous and she was not ridiculous). The sunflower had taken her hesitation, it appeared, as nervousness and she watched as he twisted his shirt, her brow quirking at the sudden shyness that presented itself in the boy.

Why was he nervous? There were still fifteen other people in the room that he had yet to introduce himself to?

Still, Himeko felt as though she should introduce herself. It was only fair, she guessed—a name for name. Besides, he most likely wasn't going to stick around when he met the other kids. Everyone tended to leave when they found out that she was the youngest in the class, saying that she was 'too childish' for them to be around and that they couldn't be seen with a 'cry baby'.

It wasn't her fault that their version of 'childish' was actually called maturity.

Pursing her lips, the young girl looked over the tall child in front of her (and, by God, was he tall). Giving her name wouldn't hurt her; yes, that was true, giving him her friendship would but her name wouldn't.

"Tanaka Himeko… it's nice to meet you, Yagi-san." Himeko flashed the sunflower a genuine smile, mentally cackling at the nickname she had given him.

"You can call me Toshinori, or Toshi! We are going to be friends after all!" Himeko wanted to throw up at the amount of kindness and enthusiasm that was practically leaking out of the giant of a child.

"You can call me Himeko, I guess."

Fourth Grade

Sunflower

It was a fitting name that Himeko had mentally dubbed the child with.

He was bright, constantly smiling and helping people without them needing a real purpose for the assistance. His hair, she noticed over the past three years, never seemed to grow down; instead, the golden locks grew out—they literally grew vertical and Himeko hoped that, for his sake, his parents had styled his hair to appear as such. How odd would it be if that were his quirk, growing hair vertically. His eyes were always bright and kind, and Himeko, not that she would ever tell a soul, enjoyed the warmth that radiated out of them when she had an especially bad day.

His hair reminded her of a sunflower and his eyes reminded her of the sky. It didn't help that his abnormal height seemed to aid his nickname.

Sunflowers were unusually tall, and so was he.

"Hi, Himeko," The sunflower greeted her, placing his bento on the table in front of her, his eyes practically shining with excitement and Himeko knew that she was going to experience another one of Yagi's tales, "You'll never guess what happened today!"

"What happened, Toshi?" The words were practiced, repeated every day and had been repeated for the past three months.

The sunflower didn't leave her alone like she expected him to when he found out her age and, in all honesty, she was glad that he was mature in some way. She forgot how foolish children could be, how naïve and idiot they were when it came to people they didn't consider their equal. Being the youngest in the class, being born in August and being… a Virgo (not that she had anything against being a Virgo), Himeko experienced the true villainy of being a child. However, despite the rise of the sunflower's popularity among her classmates—which she understood because, if she wasn't always overthinking everything, she would be fawning over him too—the sunflower seemed to have taken a special liking to her.

Honestly, the only thing that made her different compared to her classmates was the fact that she knew when to shut up and listen.

"When I was…" Himeko took a bite of her rice as she listened, the words going in one ear before rushing out the other. Every day, the sunflower seemed to have something new and exciting happening in his life. Whether it was seeing a hero or his cat jumping on his lap (which had surprised her when she learned that, she had thought of him as a dog person), the sunflower always found a way to make his day seem amazing.

Sometimes, she wished she could think like him.

Seventh Grade

"I don't know why you let their words get to you," Himeko ran a hand through the strands of her flat, russet hair, "You always act like you're all mighty and that not having a quirk doesn't bother you, and then, when they leave, you turn into a depressed cow."

Sunflower didn't respond for a moment, his head drooped down as he remained hunched over the desk. Himeko twirled her hair in the silence, her back resting against the frigid glass window and her legs dangling off the ledge. Despite the fact that she could just sit in the desk next to Toshi—Sunflower—she refused to, finding the chill of the glass relaxing against her warm skin.

Side effect of her quirk, even when she wasn't using it.

"I'm not depressed, Himeko." Sunflower breathed, his voice cracking and, even though she wanted to, Himeko didn't laugh. Puberty was tough and so was being a thirteen-year-old. Besides, based on his current attitude, she didn't feel like bringing him further down… he wasn't fun when he was sad.

"Yeah, but you're sad because you're actually listening to those stupid idiots." Himeko said and slid off the ledge, standing in front of Toshi's desk. She knew that he wasn't going to look up her. He was, not that he would ever admit it, a sensitive guy and, while he liked to laugh off his classmates remarks and pretend that they didn't bother him, she knew that their jabs hurt him.

He was the only one in their class who didn't have a quirk.

She would hurt, too, if she were in his shoes.

Sighing, Himeko kneeled, her eyes becoming level with his down casted one. They were rimmed with red, not that she was surprised, and his hand was shaking in his lap. She loathed that she didn't have a quirk that could make him happy or, at least, take away the quirks of their other classmates so they could experience what it would be like to be teased.

"Come on, Toshi," Himeko frowned when his eyes still refused to meet hers, the frown deepening as a small tear ran down his nose and dripped on the wooden desk, darkening the wood in that small area.

For a moment, Himeko didn't know what to do. She hadn't been with him when the 'notorious three', or the 'Most Definitely Overcompensating For Something Squad', as she called them, had cornered him before lunch. They normally went together but, unfortunately, she had to stay after to meet with her teacher about her 'constant tracking in dirt' and how it was 'unsanitary'. Himeko knew that it was because her teacher didn't want her to bring in anything that could assist her quirk… and her inability to pay attention in class. So, Toshi had told her he'd meet her in the cafeteria and, when she got there, she knew something was wrong.

His eyes, which were always so warm, held an trace of melancholy and his smile wasn't splitting his face in half.

She knew who it was the moment she sat down.

Glancing down, Himeko dipped her finger in a pile of dirt, that was slightly smeared from people walking on it, and rubbed her fingers together. Her nose wrinkled, a grimace taking over her features momentarily before a soft smile erupted on her face.

"You know what sunflowers do when they're covered by clouds?" Himeko asked, mentally cheering as Toshi looked at her, his blue eyes meeting her brown and she held out her hand.

"What?"

"Look for the sun."

Toshi smiled, taking the sunflower from her hands.