-Somewhere beyond time and space-
Tap… Tap… Tap…
The sound of footsteps could be heard as the man marched through the halls. He was dressed in elaborate robes with gear motifs and metal decorations. The outfit itself was a combination of a wizard's robe with a military officer's uniform, with the flowing cloak and wide hood combined with the stripes on the shoulders and sleeves along with the badge and fancy coat. In his right hand, he held a staff with an elaborate contraption of gears and cogs on the end. On his hip was a sophisticated and elegantly, decorated daisho with matching gear motifs.
The tubular walls around him were made of glass with brass framings. They glistened in the lights, untouched by corrosion or wear. Inside the walls, moving pieces shifted and turned, generating a symphony of clanks, clicks, and whirrs. Past the windows lay an infinite expanse of darkness lit up by several strands of light that shone like a white star, flowed like a river, and occasionally split like branches on a tree.
He stepped up to a vault-like door made of shimmering metal and composed of interlocking plates and gears. The staff in his hand flashed between green, blue, red, and yellow in a pattern seemingly too quick to understand. The door seemed to, though, as it deconstructed itself and retracted its pieces to reveal the room within.
The room itself looked like some sort of control room or bridge. It was a dome with a wide diameter and high ceiling. At the center of the room, there was a large circular device embedded into the floor. It was wide enough for several people to stand on it.
Buzzing about the room were several other robed individuals with staves and slightly less elaborate uniforms. A select few of them wielded various weapons. They looked different, with a wide variety of physical qualities, and spoke in an ancient language over miscellaneous topics, some more serious than others.
The man sighed before chuckling. They were technically on the job right now, but he could allow them some friendly banter. He continued through the room before one of the robed individuals, who was at some sort of advanced computer, called over to him.
"Captain Miraino! We've located an anomaly in timeline Q1-U78," he declared, "coordinates appearing… now!"
As he said that, a hologram of a planet called Earth appeared above the console. It zoomed in on a large island, named Japan, and focused on an urban city.
"The subject appears to be avoiding local law enforcement due to a lack of strength. Should I send in Agent-" he stated before Miraino cut him off.
"No, no, I'll take this one," he reassured. The man looked confused.
"Why, sir? It doesn't appear to be very strong; an Agent would be more than enough."
"Simple," the captain replied, "I'm the only one here at the moment who knows Japanese. My native tongue may be a tad bit rusty, it has been a while since I've needed to use it, but it should be more than enough to communicate with any locals. Especially important because timelines around here tend to have strict policies about heroics and vigilantism due to rampant 'quirks,' as they call them. My ability to communicate would be vital if I encountered anyone, which, in a highly crowded urban environment like this, would be likely. Plus, it would be nice to see my homeland again. Even if it is a different version." The man nodded in response.
"Understood, sir. Prepping the Chronogate now!" The man pushed a few buttons and the device at the center of the room roared to life. It began whirring and glowing. Green, blue, red, and yellow flashed as gears began to move and lights flared. Outside, a stream of light formed from the device and reached out towards the bigger stream seen from the window.
"Connection established! Coordinates locked… now! Ready to enter the timeline!" called out the man. Miraino nodded and stepped up to the Chronogate.
"Be right back," Miraino said before raising his staff and bringing it back down. The staff flashed the four colors and a bright light consumed the area above the Chronogate. When it faded, Miraino was not there, but one could see a particularly bright spot moving through the connecting stream of light towards the larger stream.
-Musutafu, Japan-
The sharp shrill of the alarm clock jolts the young teen awake. He looks around groggily and slaps the infernal device with the wrath of a thousand dads sensing someone tampering with the thermostat. The foul thing finally stops screeching and the boy breathes a sigh of relief before crawling out of bed.
Gobi Bunkatsu meandered over to his closet and picked out his cleanest-looking clothes; he didn't wash or iron them very often. The 14-year-old kid didn't really care much about what he wore or about what people thought of him. Not that anyone paid any attention to him anyway.
He was of slightly above average height with fair skin and dark-grey-bordering-on-black hair. He never thought of himself as particularly thin, but he was rather lean. His bright lime green eyes stood out against his dark hair, shining like a lighthouse at midnight.
After getting dressed, he moved to the main room of his apartment. Seeing that the living area and kitchen were empty, he started making breakfast.
'Mom's still probably asleep,' Gobi thought, 'good. She needs it badly.' He got out the cooking utensils and started making something for his mother and him to eat. He was in the middle of cooking when he heard the squeaky hinges on his mother's door gently creak open.
"Oh, thank you, Bi-bi," he heard his mother say wearily. He turned around to face her. Her long hair, the same color as his, was frazzled beyond belief. Though, it seemed like there was a new gray streak in it every day. Her tired pale green eyes had been dulled somewhat over the years from their previous.
"It's nothing, Mom," Gobi replied. He was always happy to help her out around the house, and even happier to know that she wasn't constantly doing things. He walked over and helped her towards the table. All the while, she was wincing in pain. She tried to hide it, but Gobi caught every single twitch and grimace.
She had a medical condition that caused her incredible pain, as well as severe back problems and a busted left ankle. Using an ankle brace, she could walk, barely, but moving fast was out of the question. She could hardly remain stable on her own when moving at a snail's pace. He tried asking her to get a walking cane many times in the past but she insisted that their limited money be used for him.
She sat down in a chair and made herself comfortable while Gobi resumed his culinary creation process. It didn't take long for Gobi to finish making breakfast. He served the food and ate quietly with his mother. After finishing, he grabbed his bag and headed towards the door.
"Since the classes today are in the afternoon, I'll do my two-hour shift at the bookstore in the morning and pick up groceries on the way home. Maybe see Dad on the way. Is that alright, Mom?" Gobi's mother smiled and gently nodded.
"Yes, Bi-bi. It has been a while since you've visited him," she responded with a slow wave, "have a nice day."
"Thanks, Mom," the young boy replied before stepping out of the apartment and softly closing the door behind him. He always tried to be as soft and quiet as possible at home. It helped prevent his mom from getting headaches.
As Gobi walked to the bookstore, he saw a building being flooded by teens around his age: Aldera Junior High. Gobi was going to go there once he finished grade school, but that never happened since he was pulled out. He was bullied as a kid by both his peers and teachers, so when his mother found out about it, she immediately pulled him from public schools and got him online lessons to avoid harassment. Gobi wasn't nearly as bothered about it as his mother was, but if it calmed her overly-stressed nerves, even somewhat, he would comply.
He made his way to the place where he worked. It was a small corner-shop bookstore and cafe called 'Drink Your Own Words'. Gobi sighed. Mrs. Shinpashi always liked that name; he never understood why.
He opened the front door, ringing the bell hooked up to it. An elderly woman looked up from behind the counter, smiling once she saw the boy.
"Young Bunkatsu, good to see you again. Come to work the morning shift, I presume?" she asked as she set down a fresh stack of books she had stored beneath the counter.
"You would be right, Mrs. Shinpashi," Gobi responded with a nod. Shinpashi pointed to the stack of books.
"Then could you get these on the shelves? Young adult section, with the rest of Fukuseni's works," she ordered. Gobi picked up the stack and walked down the isles to the right shelf. Each of them was lined with books, and while the selection was limited because of the small size of the store, you could still find quite a lot here.
Gobi glanced at the books as he neatly put them in their places; something about a quirkless kid who got transported to a parallel world where he was the only person with a quirk, becoming a vigilante. Huh, interesting.
The shift went on as morning shifts usually do: a lot of people coming in and out, ordering breakfast and coffee while reading a book or working on something. This place was rather popular with college students. Customers browsed the isles occasionally, some picked up a book or two and walked out with new additions to their bookshelves. No one really paid him any mind, he was just doing miscellaneous chores around the shop, like sorting books, restocking shelves, and fetching more ingredients.
After Gobi finished his shift, he left with a pastry, paycheck, and hot tea in hand, waving goodbye to Mrs, Shinpashi. The elderly woman waved back with a kind smile as he walked out.
By the time Gobi reached the local grocery store, he had finished his pastry and drunk his tea. He tossed the empty cup into the nearest trash bin and walked through the automatic doors. He picked up one of the shopping baskets and stalked the isles for the things he and his mom needed. A lot of the things they got on the regular were cheap, and honestly not very good, but money would be tight until his mom got paid for her new job.
Gobi paid for his items and walked out of the store when he saw a small flower shop across the street. He eyed a bouquet of white roses and paused. It had been quite a while since he'd visited his dad, so it might be worthwhile to get some flowers for him.
After paying to the kindly botanist who ran the shop, Gobi took his leave and, carrying groceries in one hand and the bouquet in the other, strolled through the city towards his destination.
He arrived at the cemetery.
Walking between the rows of shrines to the deceased, he found one labeled 'Tekitsu Bunkatsu'. Gently laying the flowers in front, Gobi kneeled down before the grave and sighed.
"Hey, there, Dad. I know it's been a while, but things haven't been going the best. Mom's job has been taking a toll on her and my online lessons have been getting harder. But I know you wouldn't want us to give up. 'That's not the Bunkatsu way!' you always told me, eh?" Gobi chuckled half-heartedly before pausing and letting out a heavy sigh. "Thanks for everything, Dad. Wish you were here. I love you."
Gobi gripped the grocery bag and walked away in solemn and remembering silence before returning to his route home. The next few minutes passed by quickly, the trek being rather uneventful.
That was until Gobi heard something. He looked to his right, where he thought he heard a person whimpering. It came from a shady alleyway between two run-down buildings. Now, this wasn't the nicest part of town, so Gobi figured that someone might be hurt, hungry, or otherwise need help. He briskly stepped into the alley and looked around, hearing the noise coming from deeper in. He ventured further and looked around a corner to his left.
There was a young kid, probably still in school age, and he was backed into a corner, whimpering and crying with terror.
"P-Please Mister! Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to get lost from Mommy!" the child squealed, looking at something that Gobi couldn't see. All he heard in response was a low, intimidating growl. Something was definitely wrong here. Peeking out from behind the corner, Gobi glanced towards what the boy was afraid of.
Needless to say, he was now afraid too.
Whatever was standing in front of him… didn't look right. There was something very off about it. It didn't even look human at all. It had a solid pitch black body covered with weird glowing lines, circles, and patterns. They almost looked like clocks and cogwheels. Its eyes looked like markings on its face and it seemed to be outlined in blurry white or grey. It looked vaguely humanoid but was hunched over and visibly vibrated and twitched like it was glitching in a video game.
Gobi's hand immediately dashed to his pocket to pick out his phone and call a hero for help, realizing that in the time it took for a hero to get there, or even in the time it would take to call for help, this kid could die. He couldn't sit there and do nothing in this situation. He made up his mind, steeled his nerves, and moved.
Gobi dashed over to him, grasped the child, and sprinted back down the alley. He needed to get out of here and somewhere where he could safely call for help. A more open area would mean this thing would draw more attention to itself and heroes could show up.
Gobi was making a break for the end of the alley when the thing suddenly seemed to teleport in front of him and hissed with a voice that seemed to reverberate and echo unnaturally. The kid screamed in Gobi's arms as the elder boy silently cursed and dashed back in the other direction. If he could lose this damned thing, it would be safe to call for help.
Gobi kept running through the alley until he reached a dead end. Looking around desperately for help, he saw the thing behind him and that there was no way out of here.
Desperate to protect this kid with whatever he could, he sat the kid down in the corner.
"Here, kid," Gobi quickly said as he swiftly unlocked his phone and passed it to the boy, "call for help while I hold this thing off."
"B-but mister!" the young boy cried, "you'll get hurt!" Gobi smiled nervously back at him.
"If I can help you, that's okay," he replied before turning back to the thing. Gobi took an uneasy breath and assumed whatever of a fighting stance he could muster.
"Come on, you weird clock shadow thing, if you want him, you'll have to go through me!" The monster roared at Gobi before charging at him. Gobi braced for impact and memories of his parents flashed through his mind.
'Sorry, Mom. I might not be home this time. Take care. Dad, I might be talking to you again sooner than I expected. I love you both,' Gobi thought to himself as he prepared for the impact… that never came.
An unholy screech rang out as Gobi opened his eyes and saw the thing writhing in pain and bright flashes of multicolored light. A figure walked out of it, someone dressed in an elaborate costume that kinda looked like a robe and military uniform mixed together with a clockpunk aesthetic. Were they a hero? They held two glowing swords, one in each hand, and Gobi recognized them as a daisho. There was a weird staff with gears and stuff on one end strapped to the figure's back.
It had seemed like the new figure had appeared and slashed the thing with the swords, but there wasn't any blood anywhere. Before Gobi could fully realize what was going on, the figure sheathed the two swords, took the staff off of their back, and began saying something.
They spoke in a masculine-sounding voice, Gobi could tell that at least, but he had no idea what he was saying. It was no language he understood. Was he a foreigner? He looked Japanese, at least, so maybe not? Whatever he was, his staff was flashing colors and the thing started screeching with that abhorrent voice and almost seemed like it was being pulled towards the man. It struggled against the pull like it was fighting against a giant vacuum.
The man's speech grew louder as the pull seemed to grow stronger. Then, the thing's footing gave out and it was seemingly sucked up into the man's staff. There was a flicker of darkness or hole within the center of the mechanism before closing up and vanishing. A few seconds of silence passed before the adrenaline wore off and Gobi's knees gave out. He fell to the ground, breathing heavily. He looked up at the figure in curiosity and wonder.
"Who are you? Are… Are you a hero? What did you do to that thing? What was that thing? What language were you speaking?" Gobi asked frantically in a flurry of questions. The man chuckled before stepping forward.
"You could say that I'm a hero of sorts, but I'm not supposed to say much more," he replied in Japanese, "however, were either of you hurt by that thing?" The little boy raised his hand.
"I kinda scraped my knee when it scared me and I fell," the boy pulled back his shorts to reveal a patch of raw skin. The man stepped over to him.
"Don't worry, you'll be better in a second," he reassured the kid. He held his hand over the wound as it and his staff glowed yellow. Magically, the wound mended closed, almost like it was rewinding itself. Gobi and the kid marveled at what just happened.
"Was that your quirk?" Gobi asked curiously. The man shook his head.
"Not exactly," he responded. Gobi was confused. How could that not be his quirk? He didn't get it, but maybe it was a super-advanced support item or something. He wasn't keeping up with that sort of thing.
The man stepped away from them and spoke in that weird unintelligible language again into what seemed to be a communicator of some sort. He seemed to finish the conversation and stop talking. Just when he seemed to be about to leave, Gobi got up to ask him something.
"Could you at least tell me your name, please?" The man looked back at the boy and smiled.
"Captain Kyoshi Miraino, young man. What's yours?"
"Gobi Bunkatsu, sir." Miraino looked back at the small child.
"And who are you young one?" The kid stuttered for a bit before answering.
"Akarui Suta, mister Miraino." Miraino turned back to Gobi.
"I do hope to see you two again someday, especially you, Bunkatsu," Miraino commented, "that was quite brave of you."
"Oh, that," Gobi replied sheepishly, "that was nothing." Miraino waved his finger at him.
"Oh no, that was quite impressive of you. You'll be a fine hero someday, young man." Gobi bit his lip for a moment before responding.
"But sir, I'm quirkless. I can't be a hero like that." Miraino paused for a second before continuing.
"That doesn't matter, Bunkatsu. What matters is your heart and it appears yours is in the right place." Gobi smiled in appreciation and bowed.
"Thank you, sir," Gobi replied. Miraino smiled and lifted up his staff.
"You're welcome, Bunkatsu. Until we meet again," the man said as he brought his staff to the ground and vanished in a flash of light. Gobi stared in amazement and confusion before turning around to the similarly dazed Suta and sighed.
"So, kid, do you need help finding your mom?"
-Back Beyond Time and Space-
In a flash of light, Miraino reappeared on the Chronogate. One of the fancier-dressed individuals, who had strange glowing war paint-like tattoos on his face, walked up to him with a worried expression and some sort of holographic projection in his hand.
"Captain," he spoke in that ancient language, "we have detected an abnormally large amount of fluctuation originating from timeline Q1-U78. It is likely that it is unstable. Should we send an appeal to Timekeeper Zinna for the creation of an outpost there?" The captain shook his head.
"I don't think so, Demir. While Commander Xenact may be willing to form one on your information alone, the Timekeeper would probably need more solid confirmation. Meaning more anomaly reports and investigations," he sighed in dismay, "which we may not have the time for."
"Sir, if i may," a robed woman spoke up, "it could work to have some agents and even a lieutenant or two on standby for Q1-U78 in case any anomalies appear. It's not as effective as a full outpost, but it would still fly under the Timekeeper's rules and mitigate as much chronal deviation as possible until a formal outpost can be approved." Miraino put his hand to his chin and squinted in thought before nodding.
"Yes, that might work. But in order to do that we need more people to be able to speak Japanese, which means I need Kimmi and Khrulak." He walked over to an ornate-looking bell near the entrance to the bridge and struck it with his staff. In a flash of green, someone appeared at the door. His robes, however, were decorated with waves, bells, and ripple patterns. His staff was topped with an intricate bell grasped in a circular frame.
"Send a message to Lieutenants Kim Yong Mi and Malina Khrulak that they're needed on the 3048th's bridge immediately. They're currently off-duty, so they should be in the 3048th's barracks." The bell-wielding man nodded and disappeared in another flash of green. The captain turned back to the bridge.
"On the bright side, though," he said confidently with a grin full of anticipation, "I met a young boy that caught my eye there. We might have ourselves a new cadet in the future."