"Alright, let's try this again," Yuto murmured, clenching his fists with renewed determination.
He was in the same forest clearing where he'd been the day before, the secluded spot that had become his training ground. Tall trees surrounded him, and the wind made the leaves whisper around him. It was the perfect place to practice.
He pulled a plastic watch out of his pocket, the one he had "borrowed" from the orphanage. Well, "borrowed" was putting it kindly. He had grabbed it without much thought while one of the caretakers was washing their hands in the bathroom.
"I'll return it... someday," he muttered to himself, as if that would ease his conscience.
He looked at the watch and held it up to his face. The hands showed 4:13 p.m. He didn't want to lose track of time. The idea was simple: try to jump forward about five minutes and see if the watch reflected the change. He placed the watch on the ground and stepped back a few paces.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, trying to feel that familiar pull he had experienced the last time. He recalled how the jump had felt: like the world compressing around him, only to stretch and snap him into another moment.
"Focus," he whispered to himself. He couldn't force it, couldn't make it happen just by wishing. It wasn't magic; it didn't work like that. What he needed was that spark of momentum, that deep desire to move something within himself, something that connected him to the moment and pushed him forward.
Then, like a sudden gust of wind, the pull came. Yuto's body distorted for a split second before vanishing, and he reappeared in the same spot.
When he opened his eyes, the forest looked unchanged. He glanced down and saw the watch. Picking it up, he checked the time. Everything else was the same... but the watch's hands now read 4:25 p.m.
"I did it!" he exclaimed, both surprised and excited. It wasn't the exact amount of time he had aimed for, but he had managed to jump forward. It was progress. For the first time, he felt he had some real control over his power.
Feeling the rush of his first success, Yuto grew more confident. Maybe he just needed more practice. Without wasting any time, he got ready to try again—this time aiming to jump forward ten minutes.
He placed the watch back on the ground and stepped even farther back. The wind brushed against his face, and the stillness of the forest surrounded him. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, focusing on that distinct sensation he felt when time started to bend around him.
Then, once again, the pull came. His body seemed to twist slightly, as if the air itself was squeezing him, and in a blink, he disappeared and reappeared in the same clearing. When he checked the watch, the hands now read 4:29 p.m.
Yuto frowned. He hadn't jumped as far forward as he had wanted. Sitting on the ground, the watch in his hands, he stared at the hands pointing to 4:29 p.m. This was frustrating. He repeated the process three more times, each time feeling a growing sense of control, but the results remained unpredictable. On one attempt, the watch showed 4:41 p.m., on another 5:10 p.m., and on another 5:30 p.m. Each time he looked at the watch, the hands displayed a different time, and Yuto couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't land precisely on the time he aimed for.
"Well… I guess this is still progress," he muttered, staring at the watch with a mix of frustration and satisfaction. At least he was making some headway, even if it wasn't exactly what he had planned.
With a sigh, Yuto forced himself to shift focus. This time, he'd try moving backward—but he wasn't sure he should. The last time he'd tried, he had almost caused what he could only describe as a temporal collapse. Or at least, that's what he had gathered from the movies he'd watched. If his past self encountered his future self, wouldn't that create some kind of paradox that could unravel the universe? At the very least, that's what he believed.
But as always, his curiosity about his powers outweighed his fear. After all, he couldn't spend his life avoiding them. He took a deep breath, steadying his mind.
Yuto knew he had two ways of traveling to the past. The first involved physically transporting himself to a point in time, where he would coexist with a younger version of himself, creating two simultaneous existences. The second, the method that had brought him here, was different: his consciousness traveled back in time, but without creating another version of himself. In this way, it wasn't as if his body went back. Instead, his mind returned to occupy his earlier self, leaving the timeline intact.
It was the second method that intrigued him the most. If he could send his consciousness into the past, he would retain all the memories and experiences of the future, giving him the chance to correct mistakes or make different choices. However, there was one thing he didn't fully understand. What happened to the consciousness of his past self? Did he replace it, erasing it in the process? Or did he simply merge his future memories into his past mind?
Yuto decided not to dwell too much on those details. For the sake of his sanity, he preferred to believe that he would simply remain himself, as he had always been, but with the knowledge and experience he carried from the future. That explanation, though simple, was enough for him.
Clenching his fists, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The sun was beginning to set, casting the clearing in a golden glow. This time, he wouldn't try to move forward. His goal was to return to the past, to that specific morning. He recalled the details of the day's beginning: the sound of the alarm clock, the warmth of the blankets against his skin, the smell of coffee brewing in the orphanage kitchen.
The pull began, more intense than before, like an invisible current. He felt a sudden dizziness, his heart pounding hard, and then... nothingness. The world faded into white.
When he opened his eyes, he was in his room. The familiar ceiling, with small patches of dampness, stared back at him. He blinked, disoriented. His body was still under the covers, and the murmur of voices drifted in from the hallway. He looked at the clock next to his bed: 7:03 a.m.
He had done it.
With this success under his belt, Yuto decided to try again. Without overthinking it, he focused once more, feeling the pull take hold again. That familiar sensation of being compressed and stretched surrounded him, and when he blinked, he found himself in a completely different place.
Looking to his left and right, he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He was sitting with other kids from the orphanage in the dining hall. The hum of laughter and chatter filled the air as the caretakers served plates of food.
Yuto grimaced at the plate in front of him. He recognized the meal immediately; it was the same one they'd served yesterday—or rather, today. The rice was clumpy and yellowish, the vegetables were tough and undercooked, and the grayish meat was shapeless and flavorless. In his opinion, it wasn't even edible.
"No thanks," he muttered, pushing the plate away with disdain.
Without a second thought, he activated his power again. In a blink, the dining hall vanished around him. The noise was replaced by silence, and the scene shifted entirely. He was now back in the forest where he had started his jumps.
Yuto looked down at his feet, where the watch showed 5:30 p.m. He smiled in satisfaction. "Yeah, this is definitely a big improvement." His precision had gotten much better, and although he still didn't fully understand how his power worked, at least now he could control both the direction and the exact moment he wanted to arrive.
"Well, what's next?" Yuto thought aloud, glancing at the peaceful surroundings of the forest. Suddenly, a smile spread across his face as an idea crossed his mind.
...
...
In the orphanage's yard, Akira and his group of friends—or rather, his group of followers—were sprawled on the ground, absorbed in their game. Hero action figures were scattered everywhere as the kids argued over which character each of them would play.
"I'll be All Might!" Akira declared enthusiastically, raising his action figure like a trophy.
"You were All Might yesterday," one of the kids complained, his tone full of annoyance.
"Got a problem with that?" Akira stuck out his tongue, knowing full well that, as always, no one would dare challenge him.
Just then, a shadow loomed over them. The boy who had spoken frowned and looked up, where a familiar face appeared. It was Yuto, wearing a wide grin as he approached, his expression unreadable to Akira.
"What do you want, loser?" Akira let out a mocking laugh, not bothering to get up. His tone was dripping with disdain, making his feelings toward Yuto clear.
Before Akira could say another word, the punch landed like a lightning strike. A direct hit to his face sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Damn, that felt so good!" Yuto thought to himself, shaking his hand slightly, a faint smile still playing on his lips.
Akira, stunned and feeling the sting of his cheek from the impact, lay on the ground for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. The group of kids around him was equally shocked, as if they couldn't believe someone had dared to challenge their leader.
But Akira's anger flared almost immediately. He scrambled to his feet, his face red with rage, and pointed a trembling finger at Yuto. "Get him!" he barked, his voice seething with fury.
The kids began to move, rising to their feet and attempting to surround Yuto, the tension in the air growing thick.
Yuto, however, didn't flinch. Still wearing a mischievous smile, he watched as Akira's followers closed in on him. He couldn't help it—he was enjoying every second of this. But just as one of the kids was about to grab him, Yuto made a single move and activated his power.
The scene shifted in the blink of an eye. The world around him blurred, as if everything had vanished in an instant, and suddenly, he was standing in the middle of the orphanage yard. The sounds of voices and chatter returned to their usual rhythm, but now, Yuto observed Akira from a different vantage point, completely unaware of what had just transpired.
In the distance, he saw Akira once again surrounded by his group of followers. His hand clutched the All Might action figure, and loudly, he repeated the same words as before: "I'll be All Might," Yuto heard him declare again, as if nothing had happened. Because, in a way, nothing had.
A small chuckle escaped Yuto's lips as he allowed himself a satisfied smile, relishing the surge of power coursing through him. "I like this. I could get used to it," he murmured to himself, savoring the growing sense of control that filled him.
"The future is in my hands..." he thought, then hesitated. "Wait, that sounds way too 'chuunibyou,'" he mentally corrected himself, shaking his head slightly as he began to walk away.
He left Akira's group behind, leaving them absorbed in their game, blissfully unaware of what had just taken place.