The First Timeline.
Seiki.
Seiki liked to think that he wasn't always evil.
Well, no one was always evil. Some people were definitely born twisted, and a lot of people were easily corrupted, but no one was evil from the start. If they were raised in the right environment and circumstances, then anyone could become a 'good' person... even if there were some schmucks out there that'd need a really firm hand to not turn out like the vile dirtbags that they are today.
Fortunately, Seiki was NOT one of those people.
'If I'd grown up into hero-worshiping trash...' Seiki shuddered at the thought.
Society suppresses Quirk usage, and that was something Seiki could understand. Quirks were inherently dangerous, and letting everyone use their Quirks whenever they wanted– without restriction– would just lead to anarchy. Suppressing the usage of Quirks was pretty much required for society to function.
And heroes, much to Seiki's dismay, were required to keep the 'villains' in check.
However, most people glossed over the fact that society was made and run by people, which made it the easiest thing to corrupt by far.
Something Seiki became infinitely aware of at the age of 4, when he revealed his Quirk to the world.
Save & Load.
Seiki had the ability to 'save' a place in time, and then 'load' it whenever he wanted by sending his consciousness into a previous version of himself– or something along those lines. It was impossible for him to know how it truly functioned, but that hardly mattered. The only thing that mattered was that Save & Load allowed Seiki to live in false time, to do quite literally anything that he wanted, consequences be damned.
When he first awakened it, though, all Seiki really knew was that he could do things over and over again. He was just happy to have his own Quirk, his own superpower, and he happily told anyone that would listen.
It only took the Hero Public Safety Commission a single day to come for him.
"Seiki, is it? Could you tell me about your Quirk?"
Yuki-nee [img]
Yuki Takisawa had brown hair and hazel eyes. She was fairly pretty, but not overly so. All in all, Yuki was an unassuming woman, and her Quirk made sure of that. Trust Me quite literally made her one of the HPSC's most trusted agents.
Especially so for Seiki, a child without a Quirk to counteract its effects.
So when Ms. Takisawa showed up on their doorstep, Seiki's mother and father were more than happy to let her in, and Seiki didn't even question their decision.
"Um, I call it Save & Load. It lets me save a point in time, and then go back to it."
"Are there any restrictions?" Yuki asked, slightly tenser than before.
"Restrictions?" Seiki parroted. He didn't know that word yet.
"Is there a limit on how many saves you can have? On how many times you can go back?"
"Uh, I can only have one save. And I can go back–" Seiki paused. That wasn't something that he had tested yet. So Seiki decided to make a save on the spot, and then he went back to it immediately.
And again, and again, and again...
Until he finally lost count.
"Seiki? Are you okay?" his mother asked.
"Uh, sorry mom. I'm fine." Seiki assured her. "I didn't know how many times I could go back, so I tested it."
"What do you mean by that, Seiki?" Yuki pressed.
"I made a save, a few seconds ago, and went back to it... um... about 100 times before I lost count. I haven't learned to count that high yet."
Ms. Takisawa had visibly tensed at that, her knuckles going white as she firmly gripped the edge of her seat. All three of the Yamazaki's present caught her tense up, but none of them commented on it. If anything, they wondered if she was alright.
Trust Me was a wonderful Quirk.
"Do you feel any pain? Any headaches, or anything of the sort?" Yuki asked urgently.
"No? I don't think so."
"I– I see," then Ms. Takisawa turned to his parents. "I'd like to speak to the both of you alone, if possible."
*
Seiki hadn't know it at the time, but after Yuki's little interview, his profile– his name, Quirk, loyalties, etc.– had been brought before the HPSC's top brass. Whenever a new hero, villain, or civilian managed to catch their eyes– specifically, someone who could or would become a threat to the nation of Japan– the Hero Public Safety Commission would assign them a threat level. This was determined by a number of things– those being their political influence, their affiliations, their battle prowess, their crimes and offenses (if applicable), and most importantly, their Quirk.
Threat levels ranged from C to S.
C-ranks were threats... to ordinary people. A competent police squad could take them on, or pretty much any Pro Hero for that matter– even the ones at the the very bottom of the rankings.
B-ranks required a bit more power, but were still nothing special. Any Pro in the top 3,000 could deal with one no sweat.
A-ranks were far more formidable, usually requiring someone from the top 100, maybe even the top 10. But even then, they weren't anything truly special.
But S-ranks... S-ranks were people of nigh-immeasurable power or influence, people that the HPSC could not deal with by normal means. People that could topple a small country if they so desired, or an island nation. Thankfully, the only known S-rank threats within Japan's borders were All Might and Nezu, and even if those two were firmly rooted outside of the HPSC's control, they were still heroes. Well, there was one more S-rank threat, but that guy was more of a myth than anything.
And then there was Seiki Yamazaki, a child who's only had his Quirk for a couple of days. A child who was already A-rank, bordering on S.
The HPSC was hell-bent on recruiting Seiki and raising him into an exemplary hero. Someone who was willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.
Repeatedly, if possible.
His mother, Narumi, was hesitant. She only wanted what was best for her little Seiki. She also didn't like how the government was suddenly intruding on their lives, no matter how much support they were trying to throw at her little boy.
His father Hiroshi, though... he was all for it.
The result wasn't pretty.
It delved into a shouting match of cries, tears, and betrayal, which ended with Hiroshi getting 50,000,000 yen, signing an NDA, and agreeing to never contact his son or ex-wife again. Seiki didn't really understand what was happening at the time. All he knew was that his father was gone, and his mother was sad.
But despite her heartbreak, Narumi still put on a smile for her son.
"Seiki, do... do you want to be a hero?"
"Of course! Heroes are the best!"
His mother smiled weakly. "That's– okay. I'll support you."
And that was that.
*
8 Years Later.
They almost got to him, they really did. Seiki hated to admit it.
They filled his head with their fucking mantras, about how hero society was necessary, about how hero society has to keep people in check, about how his potential for good was infinite, about how it was only right for him to become a hero.
They had him use his Quirk to the fullest, to get the most out of every day possible.
Every hour of learning became two, every hour of training became three.
Seiki was being molded into an exemplary hero.
When he had unlocked his second save at the age of 6, the HPSC had debated whether or not to raise his threat level, and it was only when he unlocked his third save at age 10 that he became an S-class threat. The ability to endlessly acquire knowledge and experience could not be underestimated.
Seiki was going to be Japan's next top underground hero, with his Quirk being registered as 'Super Mastery.' According to public records, it would let him quickly master anything he decided to try, physical or mental.
Or rather, that had been the plan.
It was foiled by his mother, Narumi, as well as the HPSC's greed.
From the very beginning, the HPSC had tried to wedge themselves between Seiki and his mom, to try and bring Seiki solely under their influence.
The HPSC wanted Seiki to latch on to his 'handler,' one Yuki Takisawa. Her Quirk, Trust Me, which made others naturally comfortable around her, was perfect for this. It had been just over 8 years since she had showed up on the Yamazaki's doorstep, and their little child soldier still hadn't noticed the effect.
But Trust Me had its limits.
It couldn't make people reveal their deepest darkest secrets on the spot, and much to the HPSC's dismay, it couldn't stop a boy from wanting to see his mother.
Regardless, the HPSC still slowly lessened their time together over the years. From every day, to once every two days, to twice a week... once a week... three times a month... and so forth. And whenever Seiki wasn't with his mother, he was with Yuki Takisawa– or rather, Yuki-nee.
It took 8 years for his mother to break... and in their own twisted way, the HPSC wanted this outcome.
They wanted to use this moment to convince Seiki that Narumi was 'unfit' to be his mother, that Yuki-nee was there for him.
That Yuki-nee was all he needed.
All so Seiki would be loyal to Japan, and only Japan. Forever.
"S-Seiki! I miss you! I w-want you to be happy, but they won't let me see you! They want to take you away from me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Narumi wailed, falling to her knees.
"Mom, what's– what's wrong?"
"It– I d-don't know. The government is w-wrong. They're t-taking you from me."
Ms. Takisawa stood in the corner of the room, watching this all unfold. She was barely hiding her grin– with Seiki was relying on her, and only her, she'd be far more valuable to the Commission. She'd have leverage, even more leverage then she had right now.
But far from seeing her as an unfit mother, Seiki just wanted to help his mom in any way possible.
"Mom, do you want me to be a hero? Don't lie for me."
Yuki tensed at Seiki's question. 'This could be very good... or very bad.'
"I'm sorry, I just want you, Seiki," Narumi cried. "If being a hero means I can't see you, raise you, love you, then I never want you to be a hero. I'm sorry, I'm sorry Seiki, I'm sorry..."
But despite all of their extensive planning, the HPSC had made one small oversight.
They thought they knew the full extent of Seiki's Quirk.
They knew that he had three hot-saves that he could go back to whenever he wanted, without limit. They knew that he could even go to the future, technically, by loading an older save, and then loading a newer one. However, they did NOT know about his soft-save, which lets him load the last time that he woke up, or his hard-save, which lets him load the very moment that he awakened his Quirk.
Seiki had never told anyone about those, not even his own mother.
It was instinctual– in the same way that some emitter types were hot-headed, and most people felt an urge to use their Quirks, Seiki was no different. He loved to rewind his subjective time, and was practically addicted to it. But on top of that, Seiki had an instinctual desire to hide the existence of both his soft and hard-saves.
And since no one had pressed him for those answers, no one knew.
"Mom, listen to me. Mom. Mom! MOM!"
Narumi stopped, surprised by her son's shout. Ms. Takisawa was surprised too.
"S-Seiki?"
"Mom, if I could go back to the day I got my Quirk, would you want me to?"
Yuki stilled. Her earpiece crackled. *Don't move. Not yet. Proceed with caution, agent.*
"C-Can you?" his mother asked.
"Whenever I want."
Unbeknownst to himself, Seiki had spent most of the last decade slowly climbing his way up the HPSC's threat level rankings. He'd been in the top 10 for the last 5 years, and he has sat at rank 6 for the last 2. The only reason that he wasn't higher was because he was firmly rooted under the HPSC's direct control.
But with just a single statement, he shot straight up to rank 1.
And not just that, either. Seiki was no longer an S-rank, but rank-Null. An unspoken rank, a rank that the HPSC never thought they'd have to assign. A rank that they had hoped they'd never have to assign. A rank for people that existed solely outside of their control, a rank for people that could not be controlled in any way, shape, or form.
A rank that, once granted, was to be killed on sight.
*Kill the boy. It must be a bullet through the head. KILL HIM NOW!*
After a single moment's hesitation, Yuki-nee, a woman that Seiki had come to trust almost as much as his own mother, drew her gun and shot him in the face. Too focused on his mother, Seiki never even noticed Yuki pull her weapon.
Unfortunately for the Commission, that wouldn't be enough.
*
"–I miss you! I w-want you to be happy, but they won't let me see you! They want to take you away from me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Narumi wailed, falling to her knees.
"What?" asked Seiki, confused. 'What the hell? I didn't load, did I?'
"I'm sorry, S-Seiki, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
'I didn't load, I know I didn't. But I was still brought back to my latest save. Was it accidental? No, that's impossible. It had to've been activated due to outside influence. I know it triggers whenever I'm knocked out... but how was I knocked out? Eh, I'll just do things over again, but this time I'll be on alert. It's been a while since this's happened,' Seiki mused inwardly.
Then Seiki loaded again, this time on purpose. Playing out the conversation with his mother in the exact same way, faking his reactions to his mother's outburst. This was one of the many skills that the HPSC had him master– the ability to act things out in an identical fashion was a very useful skill for someone like Seiki.
And it was this very skill that would lead to the HPSC's downfall.
"C-Can you?"
"Whenever I want."
Seiki watched from the corner of his eye as Yuki drew her gun. His eyes widened. Loading was something he could do instantaneously, faster than gunfire, but watching the woman that he held on the almost the same level of trust of his mother, not hesitate to kill him... it hurt. It hurt far too much.
Too much for him to react in time.
"–I miss you! I w-want you to be happy, but they won't let me see you! They want to take you away from me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Narumi wailed, falling to her knees.
It took Seiki a second to understand, but he did.
As soon as he revealed that he could go back to before he was under their control, the HPSC had decided to execute him on the spot.
They didn't even discuss it.
The moment his mother told him not to be a hero, Seiki was going to listen. Thanks to the government's influence on their lives, he had long since lost that innocent naivety that he once had. But even then, Seiki still had faith in the government for supporting him. With this new context, however, he was seeing everything under a new light.
'I was too strong to be controlled, so they killed me... but apparently, I'm also too strong to die.'
Seiki almost laughed.
But he didn't. Since it was Yuki Takisawa, Yuki-nee, who killed him.
Tears started to fall from his eyes.
'I'm– I'm crying?' he blinked. 'Well, it makes sense,' Seiki thought, doing his best to rub the tears away.
"S-Seiki? I'm sorry, I didn't..."
"No. Don't apologize, mom. You didn't do anything wrong. You never did," he assured her. To Seiki, his mother was now the only person he could trust.
She was his everything.
"O-Oh... okay." she sniffled. Seiki smiled fondly.
"Mom, I'm going to–" he stopped himself. "One second."
'Save1.'
Seiki immediately bolted towards Yuki, aiming a side kick at her stomach. 'Save2.' He watched as her eyes widened, obviously surprised, but Yuki still moved to guard his kick just in time– lowering her stance and raising her arm to block his assault. 'Load2.' Now knowing what she was going to do next, Seiki dropped his foot at the last second, slamming it into the floor as he pivoted forwards, punching the slightly crouched Yuki right in the throat. Hard.
'Save2.'
"UGHK!" Yuki stumbled backwards, instinctively clutching her larynx.
Seconds later, the door to the room burst open, and Seiki was immediately shot at. The Commission personnel had been ordered to kill him on sight, since the HPSC's top brass knew that he could always go back. From the very moment he had decided to lash out, Seiki had been declared rank-Null. Since if he were to ever manage to escape, which was all but guaranteed given the nature of his Quirk, then the HPSC would never be able to feasibly control him again.
Seiki was riddled with bullets before he could say a single word.
'Load2.'
"UGHK!" Yuki stumbled backwards again.
Seiki scoffed. "It's like you all were waiting for me to snap."
'Load2.'
"UGHK!"
Seiki immediately went for Yuki's gun, disarming her, and shooting her in the left leg, right below the knee. "ARRGH! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!"
Then Seiki turned to face the door, gun drawn. 'Save1.'
The door burst open once more.
Seiki shot the first agent– a perfect headshot, killing him instantly– but missed the next two. 'Load1.' He killed the first two, but grazed the last one. 'Load1.' This time he managed to shoot all three, but was subsequently stabbed by Yuki. It was almost ironic, given the way that she had stabbed him in the back. Well, not quite the back– it was more like the side of the neck– but the irony was still glaringly apparent.
'Load1.'
Seiki nailed all three guards, then he leapt forward as he turned back to face Yuki, 'Save1,' shooting the hand that was holding her knife. "AGH! FUCK!" she hollered.
'Save2.'
His handler stared at him, her eyes murderous and disbelieving.
"WHY?!" Yuki hollered.
Still splitting his attention between Yuki and the doorway, he carefully decided what to say.
'Load2.'
"WHY?!" Yuki hollered.
Instead of answering her question, Seiki shot her in the liver. He easily could've shot Yuki in the head, but he wanted his handler to suffer. At least for the next few minutes.
"Mom, listen to me carefully." His mother was shocked, afraid, confused... and awed. Seiki took a bit of pride in that, but now was not the time.
"I asked you if you wanted me to go back in time to when I was 4." Her eyes widened. "As soon as I asked you that, Yuki-nee put a bullet in my head." Narumi gasped, and then glared at the slowly-dying Ms. Takisawa. "Luckily, it turns out that I'm immortal. I'm going to go back no matter what, but tell me if there's anything you want me to tell 'past' you. You have–"
'Save1.'
Seiki fired two more shots down the hall, killing two more agents. Perfect headshots.
He was doing pretty well for someone who's never used a gun before.
'Save1.'
"–fifty seconds. Hurry it up."
It took Narumi a few moments to catch up, almost half a minute even, but that was unavoidable. She was processing a lot of information at once, and she didn't have the luxury of Seiki's Quirk to fall back on. "Tell me how the government took you from me! And tell me to dump that stupid bastard for leaving you!"
Seiki grinned. His mom was awesome. "Of course, mom. Anything else?"
She smiled. "Just that I love you, Sei-chan. I always will."
Seiki smiled as well, just before a plethora of feathers flooded the room– it was Hawks, an agent that Seiki was familiar with. Seiki could fight him, and it was guaranteed that he would eventually win... but Seiki wasn't quite sure if he could protect his mother at the same time. Hawks' feathers were just too fast, too numerous.
'Load2.'
"WHY?!" Yuki hollered.
In response, Seiki unloaded the rest of the pistol's magazine right into her gut.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. Click.
"8 bullets left, so 13 total," Seiki muttered. "Then I shoot Yuki in the liver, and then the two guards currently running down the hall..."
'Load2.'
"WHY?!" Yuki hollered.
Seiki growled, unloading his pistol into Yuki a second time.
At the very least, he'd need more than five bullets if he wanted to fend off Hawks. Maybe he could make it to the other downed agents in time?
Not that it really mattered, since Seiki was dead-set on going back.
'Load1.'
"Fft– never mind." It always felt a little weird to load a save when he was in the middle of a physical action, talking especially. Seiki then unloaded his Yuki's pistol into his handler a third time, using quite a few saves to make sure that he shot her... correctly.
Left Hand. BANG.
Right Foot. BANG.
Left Foot. BANG.
Left Lung. BANG.
Crotch. BANG.
Click.
Not to mention the bullets already in her left leg, her right hand and her liver.
Yuki-nee, his handler, was still very much alive, weeping and gurgling as she thrashed on the floor, painfully drowning in a puddle of her own blood. He was still very, very angry at Yuki's betrayal– 'no, it wasn't even a betrayal, was it?' Seiki realized. Yuki Takisawa had always been an HPSC agent through and through.
Yuki-nee had never been loyal to him or his mother.
He wanted to kill her again.
Shaking his head, Seiki let out a huff as he walked over to his still-kneeling mother, sitting in her lap as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"S-Seiki?" his mother asked, scared and confused, but nevertheless returning her son's hug.
'Save2.'
"Mom, I'm going back in time, to the moment I awakened my Quirk. You've already told me what to tell 'past' you, so there's no need to repeat yourself. I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and that I'm going to miss all these years that we spent together."
It took nearly all of the time before Hawks' arrival for her to answer.
"I... oh. Okay." she smiled. "I love you, Sei-chan. Stay safe."
"Of course, mom. I love you too." Seiki didn't point out that he was now effectively immortal– or rather, he had always been immortal, but it just wasn't something that they ever could've reasonably tested. No, he just closed his eyes and as he tightly hugged his mom, this mom, for the very last time.
It wasn't long before Hawks' feathers flooded the room.
But it didn't matter, because he was going back.
Back to the beginning.
'Load...H.'
*
*
*