Haruto's mother had decided that since he loved plants so much, they should start the balcony garden immediately.
*Immediately,* as in, at 7 AM on a Saturday.
*Who gardens at 7 AM?* Haruto thought groggily as his mother dressed him in overalls that were, frankly, insulting. They had a smiling sunflower on the front. *Criminals. That's who. Criminals and my mother, apparently.*
"Isn't this exciting, Haru?" She was way too energetic for this hour. "Your first real garden! We got tomato seeds, and some herbs, and—oh! I got you a sunflower seed because I thought you'd like it!"
*A sunflower. To match my humiliating overalls. Perfect.*
The balcony was small, but his mother had set up several pots and a bag of soil. She'd also purchased a child-sized watering can that was, of course, All Might themed.
*I can't escape him,* Haruto thought, staring at the watering can. *He's on my ice cream, my medical posters, and now my gardening equipment. The man is omnipresent. He's like gardening Santa Claus, but worse.*
"Okay!" His mother clapped her hands together. "First, we need to fill the pots with soil. Can you help Mama?"
She handed him a small trowel—one from his birthday present—and Haruto dutifully started scooping soil.
Immediately, he got dirt under his fingernails.
*This is disgusting,* he thought, but something else was happening too. The moment his hands touched the soil, that strange sensation from the park came back. Stronger this time. Like the earth was *aware* of him, humming with potential.
*Okay, that's actually cool. I can work with this.*
"That's it! You're a natural!" His mother was already taking pictures. "Kenji is going to be so sad he missed this!"
*Dad's still asleep like a sensible person,* Haruto thought. *But sure, I'm glad one of us is having fun.*
They filled three pots with soil. Well, his mother filled three pots. Haruto mostly just moved dirt around and got it everywhere, including somehow in his hair.
"Now we plant the seeds!" She opened the seed packets. "Tomatoes in this one, basil in this one, and sunflower in this one! You get to plant the sunflower, okay?"
She handed him a single seed.
Haruto looked at it. It was tiny, unimpressive, and currently his entire responsibility.
*No pressure,* he thought. *Just don't kill the seed. Easy.*
He poked a hole in the soil with his finger, dropped the seed in, and covered it up. The whole process took maybe ten seconds.
His mother acted like he'd just performed surgery.
"Perfect! Oh, you did so well! Now we water them!"
She handed him the All Might watering can, which was both lighter than expected and more humiliating than he'd anticipated.
Haruto watered the sunflower pot. As the water soaked into the soil, he felt that sensation again—stronger, clearer. Like he could feel the seed down there, tiny and dormant, waiting.
*Grow,* he thought at it. *Come on. Do something.*
Nothing happened.
*Right. Because I'm a toddler with an unmanifested quirk, not a god. Patience.*
"All done!" His mother surveyed their work proudly. "Now we just wait for them to grow! It'll take a few weeks, but—"
She stopped.
Haruto looked up to see her staring at the sunflower pot.
More specifically, at the tiny green sprout that had just pushed through the soil.
*Wait, what?*
They both stared at it.
"That's... that's impossible," his mother said slowly. "Seeds don't sprout in ten seconds. That's not... Haru, did you...?"
Haruto stared at the sprout. He'd felt something when he watered it. Had thought *grow* at it. But he hadn't expected...
*Oh. OH. So apparently I can affect plants even before my quirk manifests. That's... that's actually really useful information.*
*Also potentially problematic if I can't control it.*
"I think," his mother said carefully, "we need to call your doctor."
---
Dr. Yamada arrived at their apartment an hour later, looking both fascinated and confused.
"So you're telling me," she said, adjusting her sparkly glasses, "that he planted the seed, watered it, and it immediately sprouted?"
"Immediately," Haruto's mother confirmed. "I was standing right there. It pushed through the soil in seconds."
They all looked at the balcony, where the sunflower sprout was now definitely, undeniably there.
Dr. Yamada pulled out her quirk scanner and ran it over Haruto. The device beeped more insistently than last time.
"Fascinating," she murmured. "His quirk factor has increased significantly since his last visit. It's almost like..." She frowned at the readings. "Like it's responding to his intent."
*Intent,* Haruto thought. *I intended for it to grow, and it grew. So my quirk is thought-activated? That's... that's exactly like Mokuton should be.*
"Is this normal?" his mother asked nervously.
"Normal? No. Impossible? Also no." Dr. Yamada continued scanning. "Some quirks have... let's call them 'preview phases.' Where the child can access small aspects of their quirk before full manifestation. It's rare, but it happens."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Not that I can tell. His vitals are fine. He's not showing any signs of strain." She smiled at Haruto, eyes doing their sparkle thing. "You're just very excited to use your quirk, aren't you?"
*I'm excited to not be completely useless for three more years, yes.*
"The early access might actually be beneficial," Dr. Yamada continued. "It gives him time to develop control gradually, rather than all at once. I'd say encourage it, but supervise. Keep notes on what he can do. And call me if anything concerning happens."
"Like what?"
"Oh, you know. Sudden forest growth. Trees bursting through your floor. A massive oak tree in your living room." Dr. Yamada said this like it was totally normal. "The usual plant quirk concerns."
*THE USUAL PLANT QUIRK CONCERNS?* Haruto thought. *That's USUAL?*
His mother looked slightly pale. "Right. Of course. The usual."
After Dr. Yamada left, Haruto's mother sat him down on the couch with a very serious expression.
"Haru, sweetie, I need you to promise me something."
"Don't grow any trees inside the apartment."
"Okay."
"I'm serious. No matter how much you want to, no trees indoors."
"Okay."
"Or—or large bushes. Nothing that will break the floor."
*Does she think I'm trying to destroy our apartment?* Haruto wondered. *I mean, I'm not. That would be counterproductive.*
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She hugged him tight. "I know you're excited about your quirk. I'm excited too! But we need to be careful, okay? We don't want to hurt anyone or damage anything."
*I'm planning to use this quirk to trap and eliminate villains,* Haruto thought, *but sure, let's focus on the apartment damage as our main concern.*
---
Word of Haruto's "quirk preview" spread through their building faster than the sunflower had sprouted.
By afternoon, Inko and Izuku were at their door.
"He can already use his quirk?" Inko asked, sounding impressed and maybe a tiny bit sad. "That's wonderful!"
"Just a little bit," Haruto's mother clarified. "He made a seed sprout instantly. The doctor says it's a preview phase."
Izuku's eyes were huge. "Can I see? Can I see what he can do?"
They went to the balcony, where the sunflower sprout had grown another inch since morning.
*It's still growing,* Haruto realized. *Faster than normal. Because I touched it? Because I wanted it to grow?*
"Whoa," Izuku breathed. "That's so cool, Haru-kun! You're gonna have an amazing quirk!"
*One of us will,* Haruto thought, feeling guilty.
"Can you grow other stuff?" Izuku asked eagerly. "Can you try?"
Haruto looked at the other pots. The tomato and basil hadn't sprouted yet. He knelt down, placing his hands on the tomato pot, and thought: *Grow.*
Nothing happened.
*Come on,* he thought harder. *Grow. Sprout. Do the thing.*
Still nothing.
"Maybe it doesn't work on everything?" Izuku suggested. "Or maybe you need to practice more! Like training! Heroes train their quirks all the time!"
*Kid's got a point,* Haruto thought. *I probably need to figure out the limits. What I can affect, what I can't, how much energy it takes...*
He tried the basil pot. Still nothing.
But when he went back to the sunflower, he could feel it immediately. That connection, that awareness.
*Interesting. So I can't just grow anything on command. There has to be... something. A connection? Compatibility?*
"The sunflower likes you!" Izuku declared, as if this was a scientific observation. "It's your special flower!"
*My special flower,* Haruto thought. *Great. I have a pet plant now.*
They spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony. Izuku talked non-stop about how cool Haruto's quirk was going to be, listing possible applications with the enthusiasm of someone who'd been studying heroes their entire life.
"—and you could grow a tree under a falling building to catch it! Or make vines to swing from! Or grow food for disaster victims! Or—oh! Oh! You could grow a flower that—"
Haruto tuned him out slightly, focused on the sunflower. Every few minutes, he'd touch it gently, and he swore he could feel it respond. Growing a little more. Reaching toward the sun.
*This is my quirk,* he thought. *Really, actually mine. Not just memories from an anime. Not just knowledge from a past life. This is something I can do.*
It was empowering and terrifying in equal measure.
"Haru-kun?" Izuku's voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you okay? You look sad."
*I'm not sad. I'm just realizing that having power means I'm one step closer to having to actually do something with it.*
"Fine," Haruto said. "Just thinking."
"About your quirk?"
"Yeah."
"It's gonna be amazing," Izuku said confidently. "You're gonna be an amazing hero. I just know it."
*Hero,* Haruto thought. *That word again.*
He looked at Izuku's face, so full of genuine belief and admiration, and felt something twist in his chest.
*I don't deserve this,* he thought. *Your faith, your friendship. None of it.*
But Izuku was still smiling at him, and the sunflower was still growing, and somewhere in the apartment, his mother was humming happily while making lunch.
And Haruto thought: *Maybe I don't deserve it. But I'm going to protect it anyway.*
Even if it meant becoming something no one could call a hero.
Even if it meant lying to everyone he cared about.
*The sunflower doesn't judge me,* Haruto thought, touching its leaves gently. *Maybe I should just become a gardener. Forget the whole hero thing. Live a quiet life growing plants.*
The sunflower seemed to lean into his touch.
*Yeah, thought so,* Haruto thought. *We both know that's not happening.*
---
That night, Haruto couldn't sleep.
He kept thinking about the sunflower. About the way it had responded to him. About the potential of his quirk.
Finally, unable to resist, he climbed out of his crib—a feat that was getting easier with practice—and toddled to the balcony door.
It was locked, but his parents always left the key on a low hook for easy access. Haruto grabbed it, unlocked the door, and slipped outside.
The city lights cast everything in orange and yellow. The sunflower stood in its pot, leaves rustling slightly in the breeze.
Haruto knelt beside it and placed both hands on the soil.
*Grow,* he thought. *Show me what you can do.*
The sunflower responded immediately. Haruto could feel it stretching, reaching, expanding. The stem thickened. New leaves sprouted. The plant grew from six inches to a foot in the span of thirty seconds.
It was incredible.
It was terrifying.
It was *his*.
"Haru?"
Haruto jumped—as much as a toddler could jump—and turned to see his father standing in the doorway, hair messy from sleep.
*Busted.*
"What are you doing out here?" His father didn't sound angry, just confused and tired. "It's past midnight."
Haruto pointed at the sunflower, which was now very obviously bigger than it had been at bedtime.
His father stared at it. Then at Haruto. Then back at the plant.
"Did you... did you just grow that?"
Haruto nodded.
His father sighed, but he was smiling. "You couldn't wait until morning?"
Haruto shook his head.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Nod.
"Too excited about your quirk?"
Another nod.
His father picked him up, and Haruto expected to be scolded. Instead, his father just looked at the sunflower with an expression that was hard to read.
"You know," he said quietly, "when I was your age, I couldn't wait for my quirk either. Stayed up all night trying to activate it." He chuckled. "Turns out my quirk is 'can see structural weaknesses in buildings.' Not exactly exciting for a four-year-old."
*It's actually incredibly useful for an engineer,* Haruto thought, *but I see your point.*
"Your quirk is going to be amazing," his father continued. "I can already tell. But Haru, you need to sleep. Growing quirks are great, but growing boys need rest."
*Did he just make a pun? At midnight? Is this what fatherhood does to people?*
His father carried him back inside, locked the balcony door, and put the key on a higher hook.
"No more midnight gardening," he said firmly. "We'll practice in the daytime, okay?"
"Okay," Haruto agreed, because arguing would just make this worse.
Back in his crib, Haruto stared at the ceiling.
His quirk was coming in early. Unpredictably. Stronger than expected.
This changed things.
This changed everything.
*I can work with this,* he thought. *I can train, develop control, get stronger faster than anyone expects.*
The fake stars spun overhead, and Haruto smiled in the darkness.
Maybe being stuck as a toddler for a few more years wouldn't be so bad after all.
Not if he could spend that time becoming powerful enough to change the world.
*Watch out, villains,* he thought. *The Wood King is coming.*
*Just... you know. Slowly. Very slowly.*
*Because I still can't reach the top kitchen cabinets and that's really limiting my dramatic potential.*
---