Viridity

1

You had always admired your sister.

Being the youngest of three siblings, you were greatly pampered by your family.

And compared to your brother and sister, the age gap between you and them was much greater. While they were only two years apart in age, you had a gap of about 6-8 years. So obviously, you were the baby of the family.

Naturally, you wanted nothing more to be included. Since they were older than you, you wanted to converse with them like they would with each other. They always looked so cool in your eyes, shining so brightly, even when they weren't doing anything.

But you knew that you were still too young to get their grown up, big kid talk. So you stuck to your parents' side, and it didn't help that your parents sheltered you a lot. While you did grow up a bit lonely, you had your loving, overprotective mother and an equally loving, but much more easy-going father.

It was only natural that you were a bit of a baby.

Whenever a problem arose, your parents were always there for you. When you went to school for the first time, your mother stayed nearby the area, should you come crying while looking for her. It seems her mother instincts were right, because not even a few moments later, you ran out sobbing with the teacher rushing behind you.

You can say that you have always admired your family.

But your father's quirk was rather useless. He could change the color of anything by looking at it or touching it, basically just interacting with it. His quirk, in your eyes, was flashy but in the most useless way. With a quirk like his, he obviously was no pro-hero. Instead, he chose to be a chemist at some high tech lab.

On the other hand, your mother's quirk was amazing.

She... could read people's minds!

Sure, she had to maintain eye contact with them, but how cool of a quirk did she have! Her quirk was so amazing that even though she was not affiliated with heroes, she was often called on cases to confirm if the arrested person was actually the culprit or not.

As a child, like all children, you had wished to be a hero. It was only natural! And with your mother having such a cool quirk that even the police needed her help, you could see yourself standing with All Might one day as a sidekick! You didn't care if you would be just a sidekick, you just wanted to talk to your role model.

Your admirable sister and your cool older brother had already inherited your mother's quirk. And seeing how both of your siblings had your mother's quirk, it solidified the fact in your child-brain that you would most definitely be getting her quirk.

But then, all your hopes came crashing down, a week after your fourth birthday.

You remember it vividly. You had just came back from preschool when all of a sudden, the color of your clothes changed. Your mother, who was asking you how your day went, stood shocked for a minute before looking back at you.

You stood shocked too.

Confusion was painted all over your child face. You didn't mean to be rude to your father, but as a child who treated your siblings' words like the Bible, you knew that your dad's quirk was not a hero's quirk. Your siblings said so.

And the moment this fact registered in your brain, you burst out in tears. Your poor mother scurried to calm you down but your hysterical sobs caught the attention of your father who was resting inside.

Seeing the changed color of your preschool uniform, he realised what had happened. A part of him felt guilty when he saw your face, stricken with tears and his wife, who looked so confused and worried as she tried to calm you down.

You were the only one out of your siblings who had inherited your father's quirk.

And that was the beginning of it. It was the first sign you ever got from nature, to tell you that you will always be less than your siblings.

————

After crying up a storm, your parents took you to the quirk doctor and he officially edited your documents with your new quirk; Color Control.

This was stupid. Your quirk was stupid. The doctor was stupid. Everything was stupid.

You were quick to grow resentful towards your stupid fate for taking away your only chance to be a hero.

But it was hard to stay angry when you parents coddled you with love, saying that despite not being the most powerful quirk, it was still a cool and unique quirk.

Your quirk was simply a more refined version of your father's. For you, you could change the color of anything and unlike your father, the color would even retain if you wanted.

Your sister would coo kindly at you, wisely telling you that life didn't always give people what they wanted, and your brother would try to make weird, funny faces to make you laugh.

You found it hard to be angry when your family tried so hard to make you happy.

The teacher at your preschool wasn't judgemental and neither were the students. They awed at your ability to change the color of things and even the color of your own skin and eyes.

But the awe was something that came with every person's new quirk. It wasn't actual amazement. It was just curiosity, hidden under childish wonder.

Yet, you got over it.

You got your old, cheery self back. You chatted with your preschool friends and played with the class. You giggled in glee when your mother treated you with love and basked in the adoration your father showered you with.

You grew older, and started elementary school.

But the deeply hidden feelings of inferiority never died out... in fact, they only worsened with the years to come.