Downtown Tokyo.
Saiko Intelli.
Sitting in the back of their family limo, sitting across from her owner (mother.) Two captors (bodyguards) sitting to her left and two more captors (also bodyguards) to her right. With another captor (their butler) driving them all towards her would-be auction...
Saiko did not pout.
Her arms were crossed, however. Defiantly.
Saiko Intelli [img]
"I still don't see why I have to go to this, mother. Marriage contracts in this day and age are barbaric, insane, preposterous—"
"Don't be so dramatic," her mother chided. "This isn't anything of the sort. It's simply a meet and greet between you, Yaoyorozu, Hado, and the Yamazaki... heir." And while she was about to go on another rant about how no matter how many bows and ribbons you tied around it, she could see this "meet and greet" for exactly what it is...
"...Yamazaki?" A name she hadn't heard before.
"Hmmm, yes, the Yamazaki's. Still trying to make sense of them," her mother said, obviously trying to manufacture interest in the family she was going to sell her daughter to. Something that definitely was not working, at all. "Do you know how many people win the lottery a year?"
Saiko blinked at the question. "A couple dozen, at the most. ...Your point?"
"What does that tell you about Narumi Yamazaki?"
"The brat's mother?" Saiko questioned, before humming in thought. "Well, the name hadn't rung any bells before now, but if she won the lottery... then she's trying to force her way up into the upper echelons of society. So, very brave, and very stupid."
Money wasn't everything.
Contacts and ties mattered just as much, if not more.
So even if you stumbled into a billion dollars... yes, you probably wouldn't have to work another day in your life. Lucky you. But when you didn't have the first clue who to bribe, or where you had to throw your money to make problems go away... you would be hard pressed to integrate yourself with the government, the state, and the corporations that all but run them in the later stages of capitalism.
You would need ludicrous amounts of time, effort, and luck (as well as money) to make yourself untouchable from within the social hierarchy, a social elite...
Or you simply needed to be born a Yaoyorozu.
"Mmmm... not that simple, sweetie. Ms. Yamazaki won 500k yen from a scratch ticket a little less than a decade ago... something that completely flew under the radar, despite her having an info-type Quirk on record. It wasn't until she committed some rather liberal abuse of the stock market did the government start monitoring her. And now Narumi has nearly twenty people under her employment... and as far as I can tell, every single employee of hers has been vetted. 1 suspected A-rank, 3 suspected B-ranks."
Saiko stared.
Vetted was NOT a word her mother used lightly.
Narumi's "employees" must be loyal. As in, if they were forced to choose between their country and the Yamazaki's, then they would always choose Yamazaki.
"She has a private militia?"
"Nothing of the sort," her mother dismissed. "Just that her manor requires a lot of maids, and she went out of her way to hire maids that would be unlikely to betray her. The same goes for her bodyguards."
"I see..." Saiko muttered, letting the unspoken parts of that stay, well, unspoken.
Their own bodyguards ignoring the unspoken parts as well.
"Their Quirks?"
"Seiki Yamazaki, Quirk: Trickshot. Emitter, Self-Targeting. Gives the user seemingly perfect aim. Works through a subconscious, absolutely precise control of the user's hands," her mother quoted... and Saiko eventually decided that it wasn't awful. She wasn't one to judge people by their Quirks, but this brat was a candidate for her husband.
A mental-aspect emitter Quirk was not a terrible match for IQ.
"...and Narumi Yamazaki, Quirk: Flashback. Emitter, Touch. Lets the user quickly view up to 24 hours into the past of a target."
"Aaaaaah," Saiko said, smirking. Instantly knowing what must've happened.
"Yes yes yes, my daughter is so very smart," her mother told her in the most infuriating tone imaginable. Sounding genuinely proud of her. "The HPSC reached the same conclusion. Either Narumi held back on her Quirk evaluation— unlikely— or when her husband perished, she achieved a Quirk Awakening."
"Right," Saiko grit out.
"So no, this isn't a marriage contract. This is a meet and greet with the Yamazaki heir, trying to get a read on the brat of the woman who is trying to brute force her way up the societal ladder... and succeeding."
*
20 Minutes Later.
Yamazaki Penthouse.
Meeting up a penthouse downtown? At Yamazaki's personal penthouse? Well, at least she was allowed to bring two of her captors (bodyguards) with her. Something that she decided to do, because going alone would be foolish.
Pain Inducer and Chitin Chips. A non-lethal touch-based Quirk and a... rather odd, but effective transformation Quirk that allows both growth and strength. Not that she thought she was walking into a trap (besides being sold against her will), but it was good to be prepared nonetheless.
Saiko took a deep breath.
"Game face, Saiko," she muttered to herself, reaching out to knock—
Only for the door to swing open.
"Ah, welcome Intelli-san!" greeted the... not brat.
No, the hunk.
Seiki Yamazaki, Quirk: Trickshot. She knew that he had one red eye, one blue. She knew he had black hair that ended in a purple tint. She knew that he was 11, one year younger than yours truly... but her mother had not given her a picture of the boy. This entire meeting being very last minute. Most likely to mess with her.
And she couldn't help but blurt out...
"You're 11?"
Seiki blinked, and then chuckled, scratching the back of his head a bit. "Yeah, well, I can see how that might be a little jarring..."
"Hello, Saiko-chan! Are you here to be married off too?" Nejire butted in, peaking around Seiki's shoulder. "Momma said that I could choose whether or not I wanted to. Said that it'd be super good for the family. I asked her why that was, but she said she couldn't answer! Then she told me that Seiki-chan would know the answer! But he won't tell me anything about him! He said we have to wait for you to show—" to which she instantly whirled around on him.
"Just what is your Quirk? It's your Quirk, right? Momma said you're a "rising elite" which means that you aren't "old money," whatever that means. But I know that the easiest way to rise is with a Quirk that makes you super duper rich, like the Yaoyorozu's! So... can you print money too?"
Nejire Hado [img]
"Let's let Intelli come inside, Nejire-chan," he said, and then Nejire beamed. Saiko knew that Nejire preferred to be called by her first name, since being called Hado reminded of her of her grandma... 'But -chan instead of -san, hmm? Well, he certainly comes off as more mature...'
"Nejire-chan??? It's Nejire-san! I'm the older one."
"Eh, only technically," he muttered, holding the door open for her and her guards. Six guards standing around the edges of the room, two of them Momo's, two of them Nejire's, the two she didn't recognize being Seiki's... and now there were eight. All of them idly looking at one another.
"Baaah! You can't just say things that make more questions! What do you mean, technically? Are you technically an old man with a Quirk that makes you look young? Are you—"
"He's 11," Saiko said absentmindedly. "Though I'd also like an explanation."
"Let's all introduce are selves first," he said, guiding them to where Momo was sitting.
Momo Yaoyorozu [img]
The black-haired heiress was silently sitting alone on the couch, staring down at the tea in her hand... and Saiko couldn't help but notice that the Yaoyorozu heiress looked the most out of place. From what she knew of the girl... yes, this was the classic "sheltered from high society" scenario, and now, she was meeting with a boy who looked like he was already in highschool. One that she might be forced to marry.
Well, the Yamazaki heir actually was her age, so little Momo should count her blessings.
The three of them took their seats around the coffee table, sitting across and next to Momo, only for Seiki to ask, "what would you like to drink, Saiko?"
'Just Saiko, hm? A little too familiar.' She decided not to call him out on it.
"Raspberry Tea, if you have it." Something a little sour would help her most here.
"Souka," he called, and then out came a maid came out just a few seconds later... with a Raspberry Arizona Iced Tea. Saiko couldn't tell if he was messing with her or not.
She took a sip.
"Now who wants to go first?"
"Me! I'm Nejire Hado. I'm 13 years old, and my Quirk is Wave Motion! It lets me release waves of spiraling energy," she said, holding out her hand and releasing a few swirling yellow sparks. "And I'm going to be a hero!"
"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. I'm 11 years old, and my Quirk is Creation. Letting me make anything non-living that I know the atomic structure of. And I... I'm going to be a hero, too."
Saiko blinked. That was the first she's heard of that. 'Must be a recent development.'
"Saiko Intelli. 12 years old. Quirk, IQ. Makes me smarter than you, and drinking tea makes me even smarter than that. And I'm obviously going to be a hero as well."
She was too smart not to.
"Hmm, makes sense," Seiki muttered, loud enough for her to hear. "If your Quirk enhances your mind, even if its an active effect, some of those effects would have to linger. The brain is too complicated for such a Quirk to neatly switch itself on and off."
Saiko raised an eyebrow. "Quirk Psych?" That was a college level class. Not really a challenge for someone like her, but for Seiki—
"Just something I picked up via independent study," he said. "But enough about that. My name is Seiki Yamazaki. Feel free to call me Seiki. I'm 11 years old, but only technically. And my Quirk was a government secret."
"A government secret? But wait, what do you mean was—?"
"His Quirk is called Trickshot. It gives him perfect aim," Saiko cut Nejire off, not willing to entertain this farce any longer.
"No, that's not it! He can read minds! But like, that's not his Quirk? That's just somehow a side effect of his Quirk. Which makes no sense!"
Saiko narrowed her eyes at Seiki. '4.629.' It was a simple test, just to see if Nejire was actually on to something, and hadn't been tricked into thinking he could read her mind. Because Nejire was quite the gullible child—
"Four point six two nine," he muttered, his eyes swirling as he took another sip of his tea, looking over at her with faint amusement.
Then it clicked.
A little less than a decade ago, Narumi didn't awaken her Quirk.
Seiki manifested his.
"It's not Narumi's faction... it's yours."
"IQ, huh," he said, leaning forwards in his seat. "So what's my Quirk, exactly?"
"Some type of precog, obviously—"
"Nuh-uh."
Saiko scoffed. "You've won the lottery, manipulated the stock market, and you know what numbers people are thinking of. You're a precog. But perfect aim..." she trailed off, warily looking over Seiki's figure. A figure that didn't look 11... because it had been trained to the absolute extreme. Further than some Pro Heroes have trained, if she were to guess. 'A very formidable precog at that. One that might not even be able to lose, but his Quirk can't be perfect.'
"An unbeatable precog, huh," Seiki muttered. "You know, Nezu thought the same thing..."
"Nezu? As in, the principal of Yuuei?" she asked, bewildered.
And instead of clarifying, he simply said,
"I call it Save & Load. The power to save points in time, as well as load them, with just a thought."
It took a second for it to register.
Saiko's breath hitched. Momo and Nejire also looked far more tense, knowing that such a Quirk was powerful, but not to what extent. Nejire not even going into her usual rant of questions, both of them just sort of staring at Seiki Yamazaki, eyes wide.
"You're a Titan," Saiko breathed.
And then Seiki let out a sigh, leaning back in his seat. "Sure doesn't feel like it..."
"Of course it doesn't. You aren't any stronger, faster, or smarter than a Quirkless person. But depending on how much time your Quirk gives you... you can be perfect."
"You don't sound very scared," he said, sounding amused.
"Marry me."
Seiki barked out a laugh. "Hmmm, you know, you're still a little young for my tastes," he teased, and before Saiko could retort— "my Quirk carries its exhaustion through time. So even if I overuse it, I can just go back a few months and wait it out, and come right back to the present. Or rather, back to your present, since to me—"
"You're always living in the moment. How... how old are you?"
"If I had to guess, early 20s. Or maybe my late 20s..."
"That's perfectly fine. Your Quirk will only make you age exponentially faster mentally than everyone else, so your age doesn't matter. If anything, deciding not to date you because of it would be Quirk discrimination."
He shook his head, clearly amused with her reasoning. Which was good. The worst thing she could do was gather his disinterest. After all, if he was bored, he could always leave.
With just a thought.
And knowing that there was still a chance that none of this will happen— "You know, I'm surprised you haven't brought it up yet. The am I really a time-traveler, or just shunting my mind off to alternate, delayed timelines? question."
"I'm trying not to think about it," she said. "Do you know?"
"Not in the slightest. And the version of you that I will know will never know either, unless I somehow figure it out. But that's... unlikely."
"That's fine," she said. It wasn't fine. But that was just the nature of his Quirk. And it was a question that she would never have to know the answer to... hopefully.
"There are still a few more hang ups..." he trailed off.
"List them."
"I'm a bit of a slut."
Momo let out a small snort at that, drawing all their eyes to her... only to immediately cover her face with her hands, mortified beyond belief. "I, I'm s-sorry, Seiki-sama, s-sir!"
"You're fine," he said calmly. "It'll take a lot more than a snort to piss me off."
"What exactly do you mean by... slut," Saiko continued, ignoring Momo's outburst.
"If a woman manages to catch my eye, I'm almost guaranteed to seduce them in false time. On top of that, I'm having ongoing sexual relations with multiple women in real time."
"Do they... know, about each other?" Not that Saiko had a problem with him cheating. He was a Titan, he could do pretty much whatever he wanted. Even more so when taking the nature of how his Quirk functioned into account. But if he was cheating on them in some form, then the fallout could be messy.
"Oh, they're all well aware," he said.
"Manageable. I wouldn't want to see it, but—"
"Ah, you misunderstand. I'm in love."
Saiko blinked.
"You have to understand my point of view. I'm a Titan, yes. But I cannot protect myself indefinitely, not in real time. I only have the stamina of a Quirkless person. So I went out of my way to recruit would-be villains at their most vulnerable moments. Women that I spent quite a bit of my time to approach in the best way possible, using my Quirk to ensure their loyalty," he explained.
Saiko now understanding what her mother meant by his maids and guards being vetted.
"Rinka, come here."
One of Seiki's bodyguards stepped forwards... one that had drawn her attention earlier, given just how intimidating she looked. Standing at over 7ft tall, she towered over everyone else in the room. Covered in scars, with claws and fangs that looked like they could slice through skin as if it were butter, the wolfgirl looked like she had been through wars. Multiple.
"Sit."
She very clearly bristled at the indignation, but sat on the floor next to his feet regardless.
"Good girl."
Then Seiki patted her on the head, tousling her fur.
"Rinka Wolfe, Deathclaw. She slaughtered 12 heroes in the span of a week. She was eventually killed by Edgeshot and Endeavor working together, and seriously injured the latter," he said casually. "Arrogant, brash, violent, hard-headed... mine." he all but growled, wrapping her arms around her waist, lightly kissing the edge of her snout.
A kiss the wolfgirl couldn't help but lean into.
"But on the other hand, the time I spend with them overlaps. My Quirk only letting me spend more time with everyone I interact with, you included. And given that I'm not an unfeeling sociopath," he chuckled, "it's no wonder that I ended up getting attached. And she's not the only woman I'm hopelessly in love with."
Then he returned to his seat right across from her, Deathclaw returning to her post at the edge of the room.
All the other bodyguards eyeing her warily.
"This is something that I want you to understand. If you decide to marry me, it doesn't matter if you know my Quirk. I will take advantage of you. I do it with everyone I interact with, always knowing more, always knowing the best way to get what I want out of everyone I meet."
"That's fine," she said. It was more than fine, actually. Because taking into account his Quirk, Rinka Wolfe... is set for life. And not just for life, but for all lives. Because Seiki Yamazaki won't let her die, not when she belongs to him.
So if Saiko Intelli were to be his, she wouldn't be allowed to die either.
"But... polygamy, but only for you? Sounds unfair." Mostly in jest, because Titans could do whatever they wanted, but it had to be said.
"It is. Well, if a woman happened to catch you eye, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed—"
"Because lesbians are hot?" she said flatly, already knowing that trope.
"Exactly."
"Do you not want me to marry you?"
Seiki leaned back in his seat.
"In my first life, I went ahead and registered my Quirk exactly as it was—" Saiko grimaced, already knowing that couldn't have been pleasant— "and then the HPSC recruited me the very next day. Buying me off my father, trying to separate me from my mother, doing their best to mold me into a child soldier, that sort of deal. Not the best timeline, so I went back to the day I awakened my Quirk. Did it all over again.
"My life has certainly been easier this time around, even if I did things a little sloppy. People knowing we exist isn't the best thing. But hey, I was still a child, so it's to be expected. And now we're here.
"So, do I want to marry you? Eh. You know what you want and are willing to work for it, which is something that I like. You're also a total narcissist, but honestly, that just makes you all the more adorable." Saiko tried her best not to look affronted. She failed. "But as for what I want... I want to live my life. That's pretty much it. But with my Quirk, that's not so easy of a thing to do. So I need the tools to make my life as secure as possible."
"Like the backing that would come from being an Intelli," she said.
"Yeah. Momo and Nejire..." Seiki turned to the side. "You're both good girls, but Intelli is more along what I'm looking for. A business partner, one with the potential to be more."
"But, um, are you fine with us knowing about, um, your Quirk, sir?" Momo squeaked.
"Of course. Just promise me you won't tell anyone, okay?" Seiki said lightly, not even bothered by it. Coming off as careless, stupid, and naive... but Saiko already knew. Seiki was going to go back to before this all happened.
She was starting to see the bigger picture.
Seiki had informed their parents— no. He somehow convinced all of their parents of the true nature of his Quirk. Of the benefits of his Quirk being tied to all of their families.
No wonder her mom was so goddamn smug the entire car ride here.
But he couldn't have possibly vetted them, let alone begin to trust them in so little time... so that meant Seiki wouldn't be keeping this timeline under any circumstances. And that meant she needed to strike while the iron was hot. Or rather, Saiko needed to strike the iron while she still remembered the iron existed.
"Intelli-san. If you need more time to think about it—"
"No. You are going to marry me, and that's final. However," she said, a faint red hue erupting on her cheeks, "are there any other hang ups I should be worried about?"
...To which Seiki grimaced.
"Ugh. Well, not so much a hang up, but a problem that I'm working on in the background," he trailed off, not sounding ominous at all. "It'd be a problem for you whether you married me or not, but you should probably know about it."
And before she could ask,
"Have you ever heard of All For One?"
*
*
*