Hiro

Hiro Nakamura
Portrayed By	Masi Oka
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	August 6th
Age	24?
Zodiac Sign	Leo
Aliases	JD
Place of Birth	Tokyo, Japan
Current Location	New York, NY
Occupation	Computer Programmer / Hero
Known Relatives	Kaito Nakamura (Father), Kimiko Nakamura (Sister)
Significant Other	Charlie Andrews (Deceased), Yaeko (Deceased)
Known Abilities	Spacetime Manipulation
First Appearance	Genesis

This is Hiro's IC wiki page. For Hiro's Blog, click here.

Hiro Nakamura was a mild-mannered computer programmer and Japanese salaryman. Now he's a time-traveling superhero. A lot happened between point A and point B.

History

From the day he was born, Hiro Nakamura had a bit of a problem. He was average. And not a little average, like Clark Kent might call himself. Clark Kent is not particularly average. Hiro Nakamura was a boy of average height, average weight, average looks, average charisma — about the only thing he had was an above average intelligence, but that was countered by above average energy, which was not particularly favored. And for most boys, this wouldn't be a problem.

But the catch is this: Hiro Nakamura was not just Hiro Nakamura, Japanese everyman. He was Hiro Nakamura, son of Kaito Nakamura, billionaire industrialist and CEO of Yamagato Industries. He was not supposed to be average, not as the son of a remarkable man (even more remarkable, really, than Hiro thought).

But so it was. And Hiro wanted, more than anything, to be special. He loved comic books and superheroes and cartoons and action and fantasy and — well, really, Hiro liked his imagination. Unlike so many other of the Evolved (with one notable and Sylarish exception), he dreamt of being special. Different. A hero. But the "Hiro" didn't mean "Hero" — it meant "Hiroshima", and it was meant to be a memory of a burden, not a promise of hope.

Still, Hiro became the biggest geek that ever geeked. Thanks to the wealth of his family (which Hiro notoriously avoided), his grandfather was able to give him a copy of Action Comics #1 as a child; he had to set aside his childhood pursuits to work at Yamagato Industries, where his father put him at the bottom rung of the company in the hopes that he would claw his way back up to the top.

But still he dreamt and dreamt of being special. Different. And then he noticed strange things happening. He would wake up one morning at 6 o'clock on the dot, shower, dress, and leave for work… at 5:59. He became convinced that he could control spacetime. So he began to focus, and focus, and focus — at work, spending all of his time gritting his teeth and concentrating.

And then one day the clock ticked in the wrong direction. Just once. But it ticked.

Hiro confided in his best friend, Ando, who — naturally — doubted him. Until, that is, Hiro (who believed, with his rational knowledge of physics, that control of time entailed control of space) teleported to Times Square. Oops. And not only that, he's now a character in his favorite comic book, 9th Wonders!.

At first overjoyed, Hiro realized that something was wrong. The dates didn't quite line up. He had moved through time /and/ space. Hiro discovered the corpse of Isaac Mendez just in time to witness the bomb, narrowly escaping and returning to Tokyo.

So that was that. The world needed saving. Hiro had the power. Hiro made a choice that so few would make: He would drop his life and go set about saving the world. He found his copy of Action Comics, tore it to shreds, folded a crane, and set it on the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. And then he quit his job, and set about saving the world.

Over the following weeks Hiro played a key role in stopping the bomb; his haphazard quest brought him into contact with more Evolved than any other during those hectic post-Eclipse weeks. He even fell in love — a side-track that caused him to miss the confrontation with Sylar at Homecoming — lost his powers, and gained them back again by (or so he thought) obtaining the sword of Takezo Kensei. And, more and more, it seemed to be Hiro's destiny to stop the bomb by killing the exploding man — Peter Petrelli. Traveling to the future a second time, Hiro came to understand the true penalty of failing in their mission. After an initial failure to stop Sylar, Hiro realized that his power lay not in the sword, but in his confidence.

Renewed of purpose and with the blessing of his father, Hiro went off to encounter Sylar again, this time succeeding in rescuing Ando, and a second time, finally meeting with destiny at Kirby Plaza just in time to stop Sylar — but one second too late. Finally meeting Peter Petrelli, his counterpart in stopping the bomb, he faced himself with the the inevitability of having to kill him to stop the bomb. … But, again, it was not to be, thanks to what should have been Sylar's last gasp.

Kyoto. Japan. 1671. Oh, boy.

Stranded in the past, Hiro, unaware of how things went in the present, was only able to to do his best to keep history on its proper track — which meant taking a drunk Englishman and turning him into Takezo Kensai, ensuring that he fell in love with the beautiful sword-princess, Yaeko, and doing it all without anyone knowing he did it.

Great. Tall order.

Well, he mostly succeeded. Hiro thought he could make the Englishman the hero; they fought many battles, but there was the one thing he didn't count on — that Hiro himself was the great hero, and that Yaeko fell in love, not with Kensei, but with himself. Hiro saved Japan, but he and Kensei were torn apart due to their shared love of Yaeko. Before he returned to the present, Kensei vowed that no matter what, no matter when, he would destroy Hiro. So Hiro, now in possession of the sword — and his own confidence — once again, returned to the present, leaving Yaeko behind to fulfill his destiny in his own time.

But, hey, check it out. They stopped the bomb. Yatta!

Timeline

• February 16th, 2007 — Hiro Nakamura arrives in the present. See also: Episode 1: Combustion.
• February 17th, 2007 — Hiro makes contact with Ando and Kaito in Tokyo, retrieves the Kensei Sword, and begins his search for "the artist", following his only clue: a burnt sketchbook with the name "Sydney Ransom" in it. He is joined in his search by Clint and, ostensibly, Paige.
• February 18th, 2007 — Recognizing the importance of the Mendez Set, Hiro and Clint raid the only known Company office, at Kirby Plaza. Hiro successfully steals the Mendez Paintings, and Clint has a face-to-face with Rainer Madsen himself. In the process, Hiro rescues Kellie, whom he believes is an innocent girl held against her will.
• February 19th, 2007 — Clint, Kellie, and Jane go to to ground, splitting up and keeping out of sight in case of Company reprisal. Hiro tracks down and contacts Jack, who has one of the remaining paintings.
• February 20th, 2007 — Hiro locates "the artist" — Sydney Ransom — who turns out to be an exotic dancer working in downtown New York. He finds the last four Mendez paintings in her possession, and has thus what is as far as he knows the complete set. From the paintings he learns that Sylar and Takezo Kensei are still alive, and he catches his first glimpse of the tornado.
• February 21st, 2007 — Hiro begins to relocate the paintings, as well as Kellie, to Sydney's loft, which has not yet been compromised. He also pays a visit to Nathan, who was crippled by the bomb, in an effort to get a grip on his mission, which is rapidly increasing in scope.
• February 22nd, 2007 — Hiro works on stopping the tornado, a difficult proposition, considering he has no idea what causes it or when it happens. He begins making contact with numerous Evolved in New York, believing it is his mission to band heroes together behind the common cause, or to at the very least warn them against the dangers of Sylar and the Company. He quickly realizes he is becoming the center of a network of heroes, and the pressure of being looked at as a leader is not lost on him. Despite his uneasiness at being viewed as a "leader", Hiro spends the next several days coordinating the efforts of his allies and making contact with new heroes until he can discover a way to find Sylar and Kensei, to stop the tornado, and to figure out the meanings of the other paintings.
• February 26th, 2007 — After meeting with an unwilling agent of the Company, Hiro realizes it may be his duty to directly oppose them, and considers the possibility of staging a breakout at Kirby Plaza.
• February 27th, 2007 — Kellie disappears. While out searching for her, Hiro encounters Molly, who recognizes him as the man who killed Sylar at Kirby Plaza. She informs him that Kellie is in Hartsdale. Before he can learn more, Hiro encounters Adam. After a chase, they have a brief confrontation during which Hiro attempts to persuade Adam to help him save the world; Adam is still holding a grudge, but they do not yet come to blows.
• February 28th, 2007 — During a visit to Nathan, Hiro runs into Noah Bennett, who had been planning on secretly meeting with the paralyzed Petrelli. Noah and Hiro compare notes and realize that they can rescue Claire from the Company, and set off to make contact with Suresh, who has Molly in his care. They find that the apartment has been broken into, and also find signs of gunplay. Hiro travels back in time to investigate, and discovers that Sylar has kidnapped both and taken them to Mohinder's lab in an effort to have his abilities restored. In the present, Hiro and Noah teleport to Mohinder's lab to prevent Sylar from doing so. Sylar decides to shoot Molly in order to cover his escape; Hiro stops time and shoves Molly out of the way, but takes the bullet in the chest when time resumes unexpectedly. Though Sylar is forced to flee without his abilities restored, and both Molly and Mohinder are safely recovered, Hiro is killed immediately.
• March 1st, 2007 — Hiro is revived in the early hours of the morning by a blood transfusion from a regenerator. His resolve bolstered by his pyrrhic success against Sylar and the experience of dying, he sets out to get back on track with his plans: Stop Sylar, stop the Company, stop the tornado, stop the virus. In short: Save the world.
• March 2nd, 2007 — Hiro learns from Molly that Peter Petrelli is alive, and held by the Company at Kirby Plaza. He and Nathan immediately begin forming plans to rescue him.
• March 3rd - March 8th, 2007 — Amidst the logistical difficulties of planning a large-scale break-in and Hiro's self-doubt when it becomes more and more apparent that he is the leader of his motley band, difficult questions must be answered regarding the ethicality of rescuing Peter Petrelli, who poses a risk of exploding again. Encounters with both the Company and the Foundation leave him with many unanswered questions regarding right and wrong, and Hiro realizes that when he is uncertain of himself, his powers wane.
• March 9th, 2007 — After Mara is badly injured by Sylar, Hiro considers the grave possibility that he must kill Sylar while he is powerless and imprisoned, an act which would undeniably be murder.
• March 10th, 2007 — Hiro and a small band of heroes break into Primatech's facility at Kirby Plaza to rescue Peter Petrelli. However, Mohinder Suresh and Noah Bennett are revealed as traitors when the rescue mission quickly becomes a trap. In the ensuing chaos, Bennett tranquilizes Hiro, exhausted from teleporting Noah and the others into the building. Though most of the would-be rescuers escape, as well as Peter Petrelli and an unconscious Elle Bishop, Hiro, Nathan, and Jane are captured and taken into custody.
• March 11th, 2007 — While in custody, Hiro is interrogated by Rainer, who shows him Kellie's file and informs her of her shady past. Though shocked, Hiro refuses to give up Kellie or any other of his allies.
• March 13th, 2007 — Through extreme persistance and help from a secret benefactor, Hiro escapes the Company facility to Yamagato Industries. After an argument with Kaito Nakamura over his methods and his failures, Hiro resolves to learn from his mistakes and never again put so many people at risk. Still, his self-doubt takes a noticeable and negative toll on his powers.
• March 14th, 2007 — Hiro returns to New York City, where he puts the rent down on a small apartment on the Lower East Side, primarily to put a roof over Kellie's head. Despite knowing the truth, Hiro chooses not to confront Kellie.

Abilities

Hiro possesses the ability to manipulate the spacetime continuum through force of sheer concentration.. The limitations of this ability are unknown. Currently, Hiro can use it to perform the following feats.

• Teleportation: By focusing, Hiro can bend the fabric of the spacetime continuum and "teleport". Unlike most Evolved who possess this ability, however, Hiro does not translocate — that is, move himself from one point to another point by will alone. He brings two points together and remains stationary (or maintaining his present momentum) in the process. Remarkably, Hiro does not need to know the exact coordinates of his destination. He seems to be able to teleport to a point simply by concentrating on it — while looking at a picture of Times Square, he might teleport there, or by focusing on "must intercept Adam", he can teleport through the bowels of a sprawling underground complex with pin-point accuracy despite not knowing where he's going. +roll Willpower required, with accuracy determined based on result. The downside of being capable of a blind teleport is that Hiro cannot reduce the difficulty of his jump by being familiar with his destination. A failed roll could send him to a random location, or even to a random time.
• Time Travel: The fabric of time bends in the same fashion as that of space. By concentrating on a point in time, Hiro can jump back and forth along the timeline. Traveling through time with accuracy is much more difficult than moving through space, and the difficulty of the required Willpower roll reflects this. A successful roll indicates pinpoint precision; a failed roll may send him a few weeks, months, or years off target. A very bad roll may send him many millennia off target. Presently, Hiro can only travel through timeline currently dictated by events. With practice, it may be possible for Hiro to journey to alternate timelines as easily as he travels through space.
• Stop Time: In addition to controlling his location in the time-space continuum, he can control the time-space continuum itself. Hiro can stop time by sheer concentration, acting with relative impunity for the duration of the stop. During this period he can act on other objects, moving them at will, including the ability to act on other people, who are generally statuesque. Hiro is not moving at super-speed, nor are other objects especially brittle; he might move a person's finger, for example, without breaking their finger off. The duration of Hiro's time stop (or whether he achieves it at all) is determined by a Willpower roll. A good roll might provide him enough time to fold 1,000 paper cranes, while a poor roll might barely give him enough time to shove a child out of the way of a moving truck. Certain individuals might be able to resist this ability with an opposed Willpower roll — particularly those who possess the ability to manipulate time, or individuals with other applicable powers. For example, Sylar's ability to understand Hiro's power and the nature of spacetime enable him to potentially resist a timestop.
• Slow Motion: Much easier than stopping time is Hiro's ability to slow time. While slowing time, everything to Hiro appears to move in slow motion, whereas Hiro appears to function at superhuman speeds. The primary appeal of slowing time over stopping time is the relative ease; it puts a far lessened strain on Hiro, and in cases when he cannot muster the willpower to stop time, he can still slow it. The success of a Willpower roll determines the degree to which time is slowed and the duration that Hiro can maintain this state.
• Rewind: Most unusual of Hiro's abilities it he ability to /reverse/ time. Hiro can turn back time relative to himself, effectively setting events into rewind. The most unusual aspect of this ability is that Hiro can reverse time in a limited area; at a previous time, he stopped a bullet, reversed it, and the recoil of the bullet returning to the gun surprised the shooter. On another, he made the morning train late. The effectiveness of this stunt is determined by a willpower roll; success indicates how far back he can rewind, and the size of the are affected. An excellent roll may stop time everywhere, giving Hiro the option to slow time in any smaller area he might wish. A poor roll may indicate too little of a rewind, too much of a rewind, or a rewind in too small a radius.
• Fast Forward: Hiro can also fast forward time, although it is not often of particular use to him very often. In this state, Hiro causes events to accelerate around him; to the outside world, he seems to stop, still as a statue. This can in theory help Hiro pass time, or subtle sorts of applications, but it does leave him dangerous vulnerable. Success on a Willpower roll indicates his accuracy in fast-forwarding, and his ability to react to any dangers that might abruptly affect him while in this state.

Quotes

• "Yatta!"
• "Fine. Stay here. Be just like everyone else. Me, I wanna boldly go where no man has gone before."
• "Who am I? I'm Hiro Nakamura. I'm going to save the world."

Trivia

• Hiro is not actually named after the English word "hero", but after Hiroshima, Japan.
• Hiro's AIM screenname is "yattaimhero".
• His favorite video game is the SNES role-playing game, Chrono Trigger.
• Despite his unathletic build, training under Kaito Nakamura and his battles in Feudal Japan have turned Hiro into a surprisingly formidable swordsman. At the end of his adventure in the past, he was able to overcome Adam Monroe in a duel at Whitebeard's camp.
• However, Hiro is still extremely clumsy.
• Hiro does not know how to drive.