Yamazaki Loft, Year 2304.
Seiki.
Seiki's first and foremost priority was to set himself up in a way that, no matter what happens, he'd never have to pull a hard-reset again.
Sure, Seiki liked being doted on by his mom, but he'd like to be an adult eventually.
And he wanted to stay an adult, too.
That was why he used his Quirk to acquire all the money they'd ever need. Money was a good solution to a lot of problems, and it made for a good foundation. It would also let him better prepare for any potential threats to him and his mother... not that anything could ever pose a threat to Save & Load. Ideally, Seiki would eventually have such a large powerbase that even if the true nature of his Quirk were to somehow get out, it wouldn't even matter.
For that, though, he'd need people who were loyal to him and Narumi.
But how does one buy loyalty?
Loyalty wasn't something that you could actually purchase... but with Save & Load, Seiki could direct any experience, event and conversation exactly how he wanted it to go. With every iteration, he could learn more and more about a target– what they like, what makes them tick, what they value, and even how they want to be treated... and then he could use all of that to retroactively steer them towards his cause.
And the best way to earn it quickly was to find someone at their darkest moment, right before they're about to break, and offer your earnest support.
All in exchange for loyalty.
*This just in from Minato Tokyo, the newly debuted A-rank Villainess, Deathclaw, was taken down through the combined efforts of Edgeshot and Endeavor.* the announcer took a breath, a mixture of sadness and relief on his face. Then he continued, *Despite only being a Villain for five days, Deathclaw managed to seriously injure and kill 12 different Pro Heroes on their patrols. Luckily, the wretched Villainess in question was stopped before she could do any more damage. To think someone could be capable of such... carnage...*
Watching the TV intently, Seiki smiled thinly.
Deathclaw was an A-rank Villain, who based on all the public reports he could find, was always one step away from becoming a monster, before she finally decided to give into her base desires. But Seiki wasn't one to take the news for its word, especially with all of the hero propaganda floating around.
Recruitment, manipulation, leadership... these were all far outside his usual area of expertise.
But there was always a first time for everything.
"I wonder, how much will you thrive under my rein, little wolf?"
'Load2.'
*
6 Days Earlier.
Rinka.
Taking the bus home after getting fired from her minimum wage job, her gnarly, crooked teeth slowly growing past her lips... Rinka didn't understand.
Rinka was strong. Really strong.
Rinka [img]
Her Quirk, Hyper Wolf, gave her the traits of a wolf. That alone would put her leagues above the rest of humanity, but her Quirk was both a mutation AND transformation type. She had the perfect combination of her parent's Quirks. With just a thought, Rinka could become even more wolf-like than she already was, in any way, shape, or form. Whether it was bigger, stronger, faster, or tougher.
Or deadlier.
But all Quirks had their downsides, and her Quirk was hard to control. Incredibly so. All it took was just a bit of joy, just a bit of anger for her to slowly transform into a, as her schoolmates used to put it, 'a monster.'
But she was stronger than them.
She was far stronger than her limpdick boss.
She was stronger than most Heroes.
But if she was so strong... then why was she poor? Why couldn't she hold a job? Why was she slowly losing everything? Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY!?
CRI-I-I-I-CK.
The metal bar she was holding warped under her grasp.
'Shit,' Rinka cursed to herself. She lost control again.
The bus went silent.
Everyone on it was staring at her.
She could smell their fear.
"U-Um, mam, I think I need to ask you to get off here," the bus driver said, even though it was raining outside. Even though it was cold. But no, it was her fault that the slightest bit of anger sent her Quirk into a frenzy. It was her fault that she was so much stronger than everyone else that she made others uncomfortable.
But Rinka just let out a soft sigh and got off the bus, already used to this treatment.
"Monster."
She wouldn't have caught it without her enhanced senses, but she did.
Rinka's claws scraped the bus door on her way out.
*
Finally home, but drenched from the rain and shivering from the cold, Rinka bit her lip as held her flip phone up to her ear. After losing her job for scaring off customers, Rinka just needed a few more weeks on her rent. Surely she could get that, right?
"Hey, uh, Mr. Kaguchi, I just need a couple weeks on the–"
*No.*
"Wait, I just–!"
*Ms. Wolfe, you're already 3 months behind. I'm tired of your excuses. If you don't pay up by the 31st, you're out.*
Click.
Rinka shook in place, letting out a choked sob that slowly unraveled into a laugh.
Her teeth growing past her lips. Her claws growing past her hands. Her entire body shivering as she stretching towards the ceiling. Spikes growing out of her spine as she got stronger, faster and deadlier by the second. Her toenails tearing out of her shoes, digging into the carpet as she turned into something downright horrific.
Her overwhelming anger pushing her Quirk to the fullest.
Why did she try so hard to fit in? Why put so much effort into controlling herself, when it got her nothing in return? Why? Why? WHY!?
'A monster, huh?' Rinka thought. 'I'll show them a MONSTER.'
Creeeeak.
"WHO'S THERE?" she growled, her ears catching the front door slowly open. A door that she was certain that she had locked.
Turning towards her intruder, Rinka stalled for a second. With black and purple hair, 1 red and 1 blue eye, and a bright yellow raincoat that went past his knees, her intruder... was a child. The boy couldn't be a day over five years old.
"Don't mind me," he said, taking off his raincoat and hanging it by the front door, before making himself at home on her couch.
"Who are you. Why are you here?!" Rinka growled, reluctant to attack a child, no matter how angry she might be.
"I'm Seiki Yamazaki," he answered, "and I'm here for you. To help you."
Rinka howled. "You? You are WEAK! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!"
If she wasn't staring the boy dead in the eyes, she wouldn't have caught it... but both of the boy's irises swirled. A Quirk? Was he using his Quirk on her?!
WAS HE ATTACKING HER?!
"No, I didn't use my Quirk on you," he scoffed. "It's self-targeting. But..."
His irises swirled again.
"Oh. So that's how you see the world, hm? You don't understand why you're so destitute, when you should be worshiped for your strength... and after finally snapping, you were going to show them all what's what. You were going to show the world that you're the strongest, by maiming and killing several heroes..." his irises swirled once more. "And then you'd finally be taken down by Edgeshot and Endeavor, not bad."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
His irises swirling one more time, the boy let out a long, defeated sigh.
"It doesn't matter, does it? After all, the only thing you'll listen to is strength."
Then the boy drew two long, curved knives from his pants pockets, and Rinka nearly flinched.
'S-Such bloodlust.'
This child was going to kill her.
Giving into her instincts, she lunged at the boy, making a wild swipe at his figure. A swipe that would surely kill him. But before she could even make contact, he leapt into the air, stepping onto her outstretched claw and leaping towards her face. She reflexively leaned back, not wanting the boy's knives anywhere near her eyes, and she howled as the knife sliced through the skin right below her left shoulder.
That was nowhere near enough to stop her. The angrier that she got, the longer she could fight. She wouldn't heal, but Rinka would bring down the enemy.
But even so... it was now slightly harder to move her left arm.
Making a mad swipe at the intruder behind her, Rinka missed again, howling as a knife glided across her ankle.
The boy just barely escaping her at the last second, every single time.
Perfectly targeting all of her tendons.
Cuts slowly adorning her neck and her face, all of them just slightly too shallow to truly threaten her, but deep enough that the threat Seiki represented was understood.
Blood dripping into her blood red eyes, it wasn't long before Rinka started to feel... afraid.
"Are you finally willing to listen to me, Rinka?"
"HOW..." she growled, cowering before the boy standing in front of her.
The boy with not a single injury on his body.
"Because I am the strongest," Seiki stated, as if it were fact. "It's as simple as that. I'm so strong that the Japanese government would've done everything they could to recruit me." Seiki continued as he walked towards her, her snout lowered all the way to the ground. "So strong that the second I'm no longer under their control, I'm to be killed on sight."
Standing right before her maw, he looked down into her eyes.
"I am the most powerful precog in the world. The future is mine to shape, and in that future, you will serve under me." Then he lifted up his foot, stepping on her snout. Not nearly enough to injure, or even to be uncomfortable, but the message was clear. "Understood?"
This boy was strong. Far stronger than her.
Maybe even the strongest in the world.
To him, she was weak.
"Y-Yes sir."
"Good," he answered simply. "Now if you weren't an idiot that only listened to strength, you wouldn't be covered in cuts. Let's get you to a hospital."
*
A Few Months Later.
Rinka's life changed drastically after that.
No longer poor, no longer living paycheck to paycheck, Rinka now had her own apartment, her own car, and more. She no longer had to worry about having to keep a roof over her head. As a bodyguard for the Yamazaki family, Rinka no longer had to worry about money at all. And while her boss's mother, Narumi Yamazaki, was weak, the boss cared about her deeply... and that made Narumi strong.
Because Seiki was the strongest.
Rinka held her hand up to her face, tracing her finger along her scars. A small shiver running down her spine as she thought back to their first encounter.
'A precog...' Rinka thought. She knew what that word meant.
She didn't know the exact details of Seiki's Quirk (her boss didn't tell her, so she didn't ask), but she knew that her boss could see the future.
Normally, most mental Quirks were looked down upon as weak and useless, while the flashier Emitter and Transformation Quirks were praised to heaven and back, but her boss... his Quirk was so far beyond the norm that it didn't even matter. It didn't matter if her boss couldn't turn to stone, if he couldn't spew fire. It didn't matter if her boss wasn't any stronger than the average human child.
If he could win, then he would win.
They sparred once every week.
In the last 3 months, Rinka hasn't won a single match.
Even when they fought without weapons, and her boss was unable to target her tendons with knives... she still didn't win. Her boss would just continue to dance around her attacks, always knowing exactly where and how she'll strike. Her frustration growing until she finally gave up, the match ending in a draw. Her boss wasn't even 5 years old yet, and he was already so far out of her reach.
Part of her feared just how strong he'd be in the future... but a larger part wanted to see it.
To see just what Seiki Yamazaki could achieve.
*
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