Hiro Nakamura

Template:Heroes character box Hiro Nakamura (中村 ヒロ, Nakamura Hiro) is a character on the NBC drama Heroes who possesses the ability of space-time manipulation, enabling him to teleport, manipulate time, and travel through time by bending the space-time continuum. He is played by actor Masi Oka. According to the online comic on NBC.com, Hiro is named after Hiroshima, so that his family will always remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tim Kring has been quoted as saying, "It's no coincidence we named him Hiro... he truly is on a hero's quest." To this end, his name is often used as a pun. His co-worker Ando once called him "Super-Hiro" in jest.

Character development

Hiro was one of the last main characters to be created by Tim Kring; he was added to the pilot episode after Kring's wife noticed none of the existing main characters were happy about their powers. During a panel session, Kring explained that he developed Hiro as a comic book geek "trapped in a life that was kind of not of his making". Thus, viewers were introduced to Hiro as an office worker in a sea of cubicles. In an interview, Tim Kring noted, "I didn't start off by saying I want a guy who can teleport. I started off by saying I wanted a guy who felt trapped in a life that was not his dream and what could be a power that would be most wish-fulfilling for that character? And that was the ability to teleport out of that life."

Fictional character synopsis

Hiro Nakamura is an office worker, specifically a level 3 programmer at Yamagato Industries, living in Tokyo, Japan who one day discovers he has the power to manipulate time and space (The Crane). An otaku, Hiro is an avid fan of superheroes and science fiction. Naïve and over-eager, Hiro is the one character that aspires to the pure heroism of comic book crime fighters, shouldering the responsibility to use his powers for good. His best friend is the skeptical Ando Masahashi. At the start, Hiro is only able to speak Japanese, relying on Ando as his translator, but as the series progresses, his English slowly develops. Hiro's Blog, maintained by NBC and written from Hiro's point of view, is updated after each new episode is aired, usually about the events of the episode.

Genesis

At the start of the series, Hiro's power is developed enough for him to turn the second-hand of his clock back one second. It is later discovered that this same power made a train fourteen seconds late. Ecstatic at these accomplishments, Hiro confides in his friend, Ando, who is extremely skeptical of Hiro's new abilities. At Ando's suggestion, Hiro teleports himself into the women's bathroom of a local club, though Ando is not looking at the time. Seeing Hiro dragged out of the bathroom, Ando states that this only proves that he is a pervert, and a crestfallen Hiro walks away as Ando yells sarcastically that he is a "Super Hiro!" As Hiro returns home on the train, he sees a vacation ad for New York City. At this point Hiro's power inadvertently activates, teleporting him to Times Square.

New York

Hiro appears extremely happy to have successfully used his ability. He soon discovers a comic book called 9th Wonders! in a nearby newsstand that shows himself standing in Times Square with his hands up and yelling, "I did it!", an incredibly accurate depiction of Hiro's arrival in New York. He attempts to pay in Japanese yen, and runs off with the comic book. Hiro then discovers that the story includes what has already happened between himself and Ando, and his discovery of his abilities. Hiro decides to find the artist and writer, Isaac Mendez, by visiting his loft.

Hiro visits Isaac's loft, discovering the artist's dead body, partially decapitated with the brain removed. Hiro is arrested by the police and during the interrogation discovers he has traveled not only through space, but through time as well. It was October 2 when he left Tokyo, and he arrived in New York November 8. Just as Hiro discovers this, he witnesses a cataclysmic explosion. Before the blast reaches him, Hiro turns back time to the exact moment he left Tokyo and teleports himself back to the train he was standing on, still holding the comic he picked up in the future.

Mission

After going to the future, Hiro decides that he must save the world by preventing the explosion. Hiro then persuades Ando that his powers are genuine by saving a young girl from an oncoming car (as predicted by the comic book from the future).

They take a plane to Los Angeles but go the rest of the way by car, because that is what the comic book says they do. Hiro and Ando then have several misadventures in Las Vegas, starting when Ando decides to hit the casinos. Ando convinces Hiro to use his powers to cheat, stopping time to give Ando winning hands in poker games. The two make a lot of money but are later thrown out of the casino and then beaten up by a player they had cheated.

After an argument, Hiro and Ando go their own separate ways. Hiro ends up in a diner near Las Vegas where he sees Nathan Petrelli literally fall from the sky like a meteorite. After Nathan enters the diner, Hiro briefly talks with the man, and Nathan decides to give Hiro a ride back to the casino, where he and Ando are reunited.

Their attempts to call Isaac Mendez are finally successful, as Peter Petrelli answers the phone, relaying a message from Hiro's future self, and tells them to come to New York City. However, the pair are detained further when the same player they cheated earlier forces them to play a poker game to make money to repay what they gained before. Ando and Hiro manage to escape shortly before the other players are slaughtered by Jessica Sanders. Hiro is crestfallen that he is unable to prevent their deaths but is comforted by Ando, who claims Hiro is still beginning his journey to become a true hero.

Hiro exercises his power as a hero again when he and Ando run across D.L. Hawkins and his son, Micah, at the scene of burning car wreck with a passenger trapped inside. As D.L. frees the passenger, the vehicle explodes and Hiro freezes time to save them. Hiro complains about not having super strength when he is forced to drag the pair away from the explosion. After he unfreezes time, he shows the future edition of 9th Wonders! to Micah and speaks to him in English about his space-time manipulation powers.

Charlie

Continuing their journey to New York, Hiro and Ando stop at a diner in Texas and meet a waitress named Charlie, who recently developed powers of her own. As Hiro talks to Charlie, who finds him to be "sweet," Sylar watches them talk. Charlie is later found murdered in the diner's storeroom with her brain removed, just as Hiro had found Isaac's body in New York. Not wanting to fail to save someone like he did in Las Vegas, Hiro goes back in time in an attempt to prevent her murder, promising Ando that he'll return in five seconds.

Hiro's attempt to teleport to the day before Charlie's death goes awry, landing six months in the past, on the day of Charlie's birthday. Though he considers another time-travel attempt, the possibility of being eaten by a dinosaur dissuades him. Hiro tries to warn Charlie and protect her from the "very bad man", but ends up forming a close relationship with her after his attempts to convince her fail. Eventually, he asks her to come with him to Japan. As the date of their departure gets closer, Charlie reveals that she has a blood clot in her brain and will die no matter what. She says she was going to give up before Hiro came and that she has fallen in love with him. Just as they are about to kiss, Hiro inadvertently teleports to Japan some time after he and Ando had left for the United States. Unable to return via his own powers, he is forced to make his way back to the diner through normal means. Ando, happy to see Hiro again, assumes Hiro used his powers (not least because Hiro now appears in a photograph on the Diner's wall taken with Charlie six months previously) and was successful, but Hiro explains that he failed and made his way back through public transportation. After this incident, Hiro's powers appear to weaken.

The novel Heroes: Saving Charlie expands and changes the events of the history. Hiro's love story with Charlie is expanded, as is her own role in foretelling her demise. They dated and fell in love during the months Hiro teleported back to, and eventually told her that her memory was a power like his own. He did convince her to go to Japan with him, and they ended up in the same bar where Hiro has first told Ando his mission was to save the cheerleader, and save the world. Charlie realized Hiro lied to her (he had told her his mission was to save her) and went back to the US to live her final days with the people she knew her entire life.

This storyline is explored in more detail in the novel, Heroes:Saving Charlie.

The Quest for the Blade of Takezo Kensei

In "Fallout", Hiro and Ando find their way to Claire's high school, but arrive after Sylar's attack and believe her to have already been killed. Ando tries to be optimistic about the situation, claiming that "save the cheerleader, save the world," is just a progression of events — save the cheerleader and then save the world — and not a conditional statement. Hiro doesn't accept the claim, believing that he would have meant it as a conditional statement. While thinking about their next move, Hiro is called by Isaac Mendez, who arranges a meeting with them in Texas. Once they meet, Hiro shows Isaac the future 9th Wonders! comic, much to the artist's surprise, then asks him to paint the future. At first, Isaac isn't convinced he can do so without drugs, but once he realizes that some of his rough sketches depict Hiro traveling back to save Charlie, he tries again. Hiro recommends that Isaac concentrate, using the same face he makes when activating his own powers, and Isaac manages to activate his power successfully. Isaac's painting depicts Hiro brandishing a sword while encountering a carnivorous theropod dinosaur, seemingly confirming Hiro's earlier fears. Hiro remarks, "I really need to find that sword."

Two weeks later, at the beginning of "Godsend", Hiro and Ando go to the Museum of Natural History looking for the sword that Hiro saw in Isaac's painting. They find it in a glass case on the back of an ancient warrior, Takezo Kensei. On the hilt of the sword is the symbol that appears in various points throughout the series. Hiro recalls a story his father told him of Kensei and how the sword was believed to have benefited him. He decides to steal the sword, believing it will help him control his powers. While doing so, he brandishes it against a model dinosaur in the museum, mimicking the picture Isaac had drawn earlier. However, the museum's version of the sword is only a wooden replica made by the Linderman Group. He returns to Isaac's loft, where he meets Simone Deveaux. Hiro also happily re-encounters Nathan (whom he addresses as "flying man"). After introductions and brief discussions, Simone recommends Hiro go back to Las Vegas with the dinosaur painting and see Mr. Linderman, an avid collector of Isaac's paintings.

Return to Vegas

In "The Fix", Hiro and Ando are chased by unknown men. Eventually, they are captured by the men, and Hiro is told that the men work for someone "truly powerful." Hiro and Ando are then told to stop their quest. Hiro declines, even after being offered first class plane tickets back to Japan. The men state their boss won't be happy and bring the two to him. Hiro then realizes the men work for his father, Kaito.

In "Distractions", Hiro's father tries to convince him to go back to Tokyo, admitting that it was a bad idea to start him off at the bottom and offering him a job as Executive Vice President of the company. After Hiro's initial refusal, his father rips up Isaac's painting. Kimiko, Hiro's sister, admits to him that, though his father is too proud to admit it, the company has gone through hard times. Ando reminds him that his powers are declining and it might not be a bad idea. Hiro eventually convinces his father that his sister is a better candidate to take over the company. Mr. Nakamura then lets Hiro continue with the mission.

In "Run!", Hiro and Ando are again sidetracked by a weeping Las Vegas showgirl named Hope. Hiro and Ando get separated while trying to retrieve a bag for Hope. Hiro is locked in a closet by Hope, then later freed by a Gaming Commission agent, who is looking for her. After watching Ando get shot during a firefight between the agent and Hope in "Unexpected", Hiro feels his mission is too dangerous to bring Ando any further. Hiro defeats Hope by unexpectedly using his powers to reverse the bullet in time one second sending it back into the gun, disarming Hope. She and the agent are arrested but since Hiro had his eyes closed he doesn't realize he used his powers which haven't been working lately. He leaves the Versa with Ando and boards a bus alone (greeted by comic icon Stan Lee playing the bus driver).

In "Parasite", Hiro tries to enter Linderman's casino, but becomes aware that he has been red flagged and is not to enter the casino. As Nathan Petrelli enters the casino to meet with Linderman, he uses his influence to help Hiro get inside. Hiro delivers the painting to Mr. Linderman's vault, where the vault curator accepts it. While the curator is in another room, Hiro locates the sword and steals it, with the help of Ando, disguised as a security guard. Hiro teleports them both out of the building to escape the other security guards, but they find themselves on top of the Deveaux building, in a post-apocalyptic New York five years after the explosion.

Dark future

In ".07%", Hiro decides to learn as much as he can about the future to know what went wrong with his attempts to stop the bomb. He and Ando enter Isaac's apartment, but find it netted with newspaper articles suspended on strings, each article relating to the explosion and even the heroes themselves. Just then, Hiro and Ando hear a sound, and Hiro takes out his sword to confront whoever it is, but is shocked when he comes face to face with his future self.

In "Five Years Gone", Hiro learns from his future self that the bomb still went off. The younger Hiro in turn reveals to his future self that their present day Claire was rescued and Sylar got caught, but Sylar himself wasn't killed yet. This gives Future Hiro hope, but before they can do anything about it, Matt Parkman and his Homeland Security team break into Isaac's loft and begin a raid. Ando and Future Hiro manage to escape but present day Hiro is apprehended by Matt and the Haitian. Hiro is brutally interrogated by Matt, who doesn't believe he is telling the truth about time travelling. Mohinder Suresh is called in to investigate Isaac's loft, where he is convinced about Hiro's story but fails to convince the President, Nathan Petrelli (who is in fact Sylar in disguise). The President orders Mohinder to kill present day Hiro, but Mohinder finds he can't bring himself to do it. In the meantime, Ando and Future Hiro enlist the aid of future Peter Petrelli and they break into the building Present Hiro is captured in. They defeat all the guards and with the aid of Mohinder manage to rescue Hiro. Unfortunately, before Hiro and Ando manage to travel back to their time, Future Hiro is shot by Matt Parkman, who is in turn stopped by Peter, who uses telekinesis to close the door on Parkman. Hiro is shocked to see his future self die, but when Ando confides he believes in Hiro now and shows him a copy of the 9th Wonders comic book in which Hiro stabs Sylar with his sword, Hiro gets his confidence back and travels back to the time from which they came.

Stopping Sylar

In "The Hard Part", upon their return to the present timeline, Hiro proudly vows to New York City that he'll do his best to save it. However, he does realize it will be the hard part of his destiny. Hiro and Ando return to Isaac's loft, hoping to fill in the gaps of the futuristic comic book. However, they arrive to find that Isaac has been killed by Sylar. When Hiro and Ando hear Sylar in the bathroom, they hide behind a painting. Sylar hears their heartbeats and uncovers their hiding spot. However, Hiro teleports Ando and himself to safety before they are found.

File:Final Fight.jpg

Hiro stabs Sylar in "How to Stop an Exploding Man"

Hiro and Ando continue to follow Sylar and watch him meet with his mother, attempting to reconcile with her. After Sylar's mother is accidentally stabbed, Hiro stops time and approaches Sylar, sword drawn. However, as he swings, time resumes and Sylar grabs Hiro's sword. Sylar begins to freeze the sword, and - as Hiro teleports to safety with Ando - it breaks in two.

In "Landslide", after Ando looks in the Yellow Pages for someone who can repair the sword, he finds an ad bearing the helix symbol seen throughout the series. Upon arriving, they encounter Hiro's father Kaito, who tells Hiro that he is worthy of the family destiny. He also trains Hiro to fight and kill with a sword. When Hiro is done training, he and Kaito discover that Ando, thinking that Kaito had convinced Hiro to return to Japan, bought a sword and has left to confront Sylar alone.

In "How to Stop an Exploding Man" Hiro teleports to Isaac's loft to find Ando about to be killed by Sylar, but manages to teleport them both out of danger and back to Japan. Hiro returns with Ando's sword, leaving the Kensei sword with Ando, telling Ando that it is "so you know I'll be back." Upon returning he stabs Sylar. Sylar uses the last of his strength to send Hiro flying toward a building, forcing Hiro to teleport to save himself. In doing so, however, he sends himself three centuries into the past to Kyoto, Japan, circa 1671. Upon collecting himself, he finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between a small group of samurai about to attack a figure on the horizon, who appears to be Kensei, the original owner of Hiro's blade. Before the battle begins, however, an eclipse shadows the scene.

Generations

Japan - 1671

File:Hiro Nakamura Season 2.jpg

Hiro Nakamura

In "Four Months Later...", the premiere episode of Season 2, Hiro freezes time as the archers from the battle scene at the end of "How to Stop an Exploding Man" are about to kill him. He then teleports who he believes to be Takezo Kensei away from the battle and into a small forest. There, he learns that the man is a decoy, and that the real Kensei, an Englishman in samurai armor, had been hiding in a tree in order to snipe the enemy with a crossbow. After some conversation, Hiro realizes that, by interfering in the battle, he has changed the past, and Otsu is razed. The swordsmith's daughter, a woman named Yaeko, who Kensei was supposed to wed according to the legend, grows angry at Kensei and takes back her father's sword given as payment, saying that she will go fight the bandits herself. Kensei reacts to this with general apathy.

In "Lizards", Hiro impersonates Kensei by donning his armor in order to make sure the bandits don't kill Yaeko and to prove to her that Kensei is a hero. Scaring off the bandits using his abilities, Hiro as Kensei wins the heart of the Yaeko. Encountering the real Kensei afterwards, Hiro manages to convince him to help Yaeko rescue her father. However, as they are about to leave, the bandits return and fire arrows at Kensei, seemingly killing him. However, once the arrows are removed, Kensei regenerates in a fashion similar to Claire Bennet.

With Kensei's newly discovered power, Hiro realizes how he became the hero of legend. Since Kensei isn't quite ready to accept his destiny, Hiro forces him to play out another of his legends, this one the retrieval of the "fire scroll" from 90 angry ronin. The task convinces Kensei to take up his own mantle, and he likens Hiro to his conscience — except he pays attention to Hiro. Believing his task to be done, Hiro initially decides to return to his own time, but during the attempt suddenly stops and returns to Kensei.

Hiro, determined to preserve the timeline, decides to remain in feudal Japan until Kensei defeats White Beard and saves Japan. They locate White Beard's army camp and Hiro helps Kensei rescue Yaeko's father. However, in a moment of weakness, Hiro gives into his own desires and confesses his love to Yaeko and they kiss, unaware that Kensei is watching them. Hiro tries to apologize, but Kensei reverts back to his old ways and knocks Hiro unconscious and turns him, Yaeko, and her father over the White Beard's soldiers. According to Hiro's note to Ando, this causes a currently unknown alteration to the timeline.

Hiro is kept prisoner in White Beard's camp where they use opium to dull his senses, preventing him from using his powers. Yaeko manages to free herself from her shackles and removes the opium. Hiro is able to focus just enough to teleport them to safety. Later, Hiro returns to White Beard's camp to destroy the guns. Before he can set the gunpowder cache on fire, Kensei confronts him and the two engage in a sword fight. Hiro tries to persuade Kensei to join him to stop White Beard, but Kensei refuses, and vows to Hiro that as long as he lives he will destroy everything he holds dear. Hiro teleports out right before the guns explode. He meets Yaeko under the cherry blossoms one last time, and tells her the final tale in the legend of Kensei, where he is forced to cut his heart out. Yaeko vows that as long as she has a breath in her she will tell his story as the story of Takezo Kensei. They share a final kiss, and Hiro teleports out, leaving Yaeko alone under the cherry blossoms.

Return to the present

Hiro then teleports back to the present day, effectively fulfilling the final task by leaving Yaeko behind, and he learns from Ando that his father has been killed. Hiro attempts to go back and prevent his death in "Cautionary Tales", but his father convinces him that they cannot play God with their gifts. Hiro accepts this advice, but uses the opportunity to learn that Kensei was the one responsible for murdering his father. In "Truth & Consequences", Hiro is able to learn more about Kensei and his new name, Adam Monroe. He travels back in time to 1977 and learns that Adam was imprisoned by his father after he almost releases a virus that could kill everything. He learns that the virus will be kept in the Primatech facility in Odessa, Texas. Determined to avenge his father's murder, he teleports to the facility with his sword and stops time. There he sees Peter Petrelli for the first time since "How to Stop an Exploding Man". Hiro declares his intentions to Peter, but Peter refuses to let Hiro harm Adam. Peter's hand crackles with electricity as Hiro lets out a battle cry and charges with his sword drawn.

In Powerless, Hiro confronts Peter, but is knocked unconscious. Later, he is reunited with Nathan Petrelli and Matt Parkman, who are there to stop Peter and Adam from getting the virus. Hiro teleports into the vault and confronts Adam for the first time since the tent in White Beard's camp. Hiro tells Adam he should not have let Adam live long ago, then grabs Adam and teleports him away. Hiro later reveals to Ando that Adam will not hurt anyone ever again. The scene cuts to Adam locked in a casket, buried alive in a Japanese graveyard.

Villians

Race For the Formula, The Speedster and the New Future

In "The Second Coming", Hiro has taken his father's place as head of Yamagato. His family's lawyer gives him a tape his father recorded telling Hiro that in the office safe is one half to a dangerous formula that could destroy the world if in the wrong hands. Out of curiosity he opens the safe and removes the envelope containing the formula, which is then stolen by a speeding superhuman named Daphne. Hiro attempts to stop her but she moves so fast she is able to knock him to the floor even when he has slowed time to a near halt.

Hiro then travels to the future to see how the formula would affect the world in order to stop it. He teleports to Tokyo at an undetermined point in the future, and finds everyone fleeing in terror. He also sees Future Hiro and Future Ando, the latter demanding Hiro give him the formula. Future Hiro refuses and draws his sword to strike Future Ando, who then electrocutes Hiro with a red lightning power and runs off with the formula. Present Hiro then sees the whole city, perhaps the world ripped apart by a horrible cataclysm, then teleports back, telling Present Ando that they must find the formula at all costs.

Hiro and Ando chase Daphne to her home in France, where they almost get the formula back but Hiro has to let Daphne and the formula go when she threatens to kill Ando. Unbeknownst to Daphne, Hiro had placed a tracking device on her and starts teleporting after her. They locate Daphne in Berlin, Germany. Daphne reveals to the two there is another half of the formula. It appears the Haitian is also there to collect it for Angela Petrelli. Hiro and Ando knock the Haitian out and get the other half of the formula, but are intercepted by Daphne who steals it from them. Before Hiro can stop time, he and Ando are captured by the Haitian and locked in Level 5 of the Company.

Future Hiro

Another Hiro Nakamura, this one claiming to be from the future, first appears in "Collision". When he appears to Peter Petrelli in a subway, he freezes time in order to speak with Peter privately. He urges Peter to "save the cheerleader, save the world" and to "be the one we need," but doesn't elaborate for fear of causing a rift in the space-time continuum. He also mentions that Peter looks different "without the scar."

The future Hiro appears to be much more fit, confident, and experienced than his present self. He sports a soul patch and ponytail, no longer wears glasses, wears a black overcoat, carries a katana on his back, and speaks fluent idiomatically-correct English. Future Hiro's fluent accent is in fact Masi Oka's real voice, deepened for dramatic effect. He is also completely different from the current-day Hiro; he is much more serious, focused, calm, and his sense of humor appears to be diminished. The future Peter Petrelli speculates that it was Ando's death in the Kirby Plaza explosion that changed Hiro.

He appears again in the episode ".07%" when he meets with present Hiro and "Five Years Gone" which tells a side story about himself. Future Hiro also appears on the graphic novel Heroes #30 "String Theory" in which he acts as a nightwatcher who watches over people with powers getting hunted down by normal, human police officers. In this issue, Hiro rescues a girl named Sparrow and the two seem to know each other. He also explains a bit what happened in the future after the bomb went off. The issue ends with the final scene of ".07%".

A second Future Hiro is seen in "The Second Coming," and this Hiro, while dressed the same as the first version, still has the same hairstyle and glasses, indicating that because Sylar didn't kill Ando he was not affected by the loss.

Alternate future

Before "Five Years Gone" takes place in the graphic novel series "Walls" Parts 1 and 2, Hiro and Peter break other people with special abilities out of a prison, though Hiro and Peter aren't able to stop time, because one of the others block the ability, though Hiro does draw his sword.

In "Five Years Gone" the scene starts again with Hiro and Ando meeting Hiro's future self. He tells them how they aren't supposed to be there and asks why the future hasn't changed. Future Hiro learns that present day Hiro has not had the chance to kill Sylar yet. He decides that he must get present Hiro back to the past so that he can stop Sylar, but before Future Hiro can do so, Matt Parkman, his Homeland Security squad, and the Haitian raid the loft. Future Hiro and Ando are able to escape, but present day Hiro is captured.

Future Hiro begins recruiting people so that he can free present day Hiro and goes off to Las Vegas to seek Peter's help. Ando and Future Hiro encounter Niki, who is currently in a relationship with Peter. Niki tells them nothing about Peter, but when prompted, tells them that she knows that Mr. Bennet is in Texas, helping those with abilities to establish new identities and hide from the government.

Once there Future Hiro asks Bennet for help, specifically requesting D.L. Hawkins, Candice Wilmer, and Molly Walker. While at first Bennet doesn't want to help, he agrees when he hears that they know Claire is alive.

Future Hiro and Ando then begin talking about what happened to Ando in the future. Right when Hiro is about to tell Ando something important, he is shot with a taser by Matt. Before they are about to be captured, Peter comes and by utilizing Hiro's power, is able to help them escape.

With Peter's help, Future Hiro and Ando are able to enter the building where present day Hiro is being held and make it to him. Right after they free present day Hiro, future Hiro tells them he will take them back to their time since present day Hiro still doesn't have full control of his powers, but before he can do it he is shot and killed by Matt Parkman. Before Future Hiro dies he gives Ando Isaac's incomplete comic book.

• In another alternate future, introduced in Season 3, Hiro witnesses himself arguing with and then being murdered by Ando, who has gained an energy-based superpower, just before an unknown force destroys Tokyo.

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Hiro discovers in "Genesis" that his power is related to the control of the space-time continuum, giving him the power to manipulate time relative to himself, travel through time, or teleport to any location at will. The first noted occurrence is when Hiro inadvertently made a subway train late using this power. In "One Giant Leap", he also slowed time to a near halt relative to himself. He could not hold time in this state for very long, but has since duplicated the feat repeatedly. He also slows time long enough in "Six Months Ago" to fold 1000 origami cranes in an instant, which would have otherwise taken much of Hiro's time.

Although stressful events and active use have helped Hiro to develop his abilities, Hiro has had trouble with the more complicated teleportation and time travel abilities. For example, when he attempted to teleport to New York, he ended up inadvertently traveling five weeks into the future as well. Although he was able to travel back to the same time and place from which he left, he was only able to do so when his life was in danger from a nuclear explosion. Later, when he attempted to save Charlie's life by traveling to the day before her death, Hiro accidentally ended up six months in the past. He also inadvertently teleported to Japan from Texas just as he and Charlie were about to kiss and then could not teleport back, no matter how hard he tried.

After the incident with Charlie, Hiro's powers began slowly decreasing for unknown reasons, to the point that even excessive concentration would produce no results. Two weeks later, in "Godsend", Hiro has seemingly reverted to the level of control and power he had in "Genesis". He seeks out Takezo Kensei's sword in the hope that it will focus his failing powers. While searching, it takes two tries just for him to slow time down, rather than bring it to a full stop. By "The Fix", it seems he has lost control of his power completely, having failed to even move time back by one second. However, in "Unexpected", Hiro reflexively regains his power momentarily when a would-be murderer fires a pistol at him, and indeed develops a new aspect to his power; not only does he slow time around himself as usual, but he simultaneously reverses the flow of time local to the bullet fired at him at point blank range, effectively forcing it back into the barrel. Having his eyes closed, though, meant that he didn't know that he had his power back, attributing his survival to the gun misfiring.

After obtaining the sword, Hiro exhibits the ability to teleport other people along with himself, which he uses to rescue himself and Ando from an impending attack by casino guards in "Parasite", though this too resulted in an inadvertent trip five years into the future, after the explosion had occurred. The episode "Five Years Gone" marks his first successful use of teleportation and time travel. By "The Hard Part", Hiro has seemingly mastered teleportation, as he uses it twice without traveling any discernible distance through time. In the Season 3 premier, Hiro is seen constantly fast-forwarding and rewinding time for fun in his office.

In addition to his power over time, Hiro is skilled with a katana sword, having been trained by his father.

Time alterations

Hiro's trips have given Hiro his own unique timeline, which is reflected in some of Isaac Mendez's paintings of Hiro. Along with the existence of an alternate future version of himself, Hiro has come across or induced a few time paradoxes or alterations in the series.

• In "One Giant Leap", Hiro travels with Ando to the United States even though Ando was still in Japan when he had previously traveled to New York City five weeks into the future. When directly questioned about this by Ando, Hiro says they are changing the future.
• Between the episodes "Seven Minutes to Midnight" and "Six Months Ago", Hiro traveled six months into the past in Texas.
  • There, he changed history again by forming a close relationship with Charlie in the past. This change was most noted by a picture which had originally shown only Charlie at her birthday party now showing both her and Hiro.
  • At one point, Hiro accidentally gives himself a phone call from Texas to Japan, while trying to contact Ando, though he immediately hangs up after he realizes it was the Hiro in Japan who had answered, afraid of coming into contact with his past self.
  • In "Seven Minutes to Midnight", Charlie said that someone had given her a Japanese phrase book on her birthday. In "Six Months Ago", it is Hiro who gives her the phrase book.

Ironically, in general, the future shown in "Don't Look Back" seems to be even more certain, as changes that have been or intended to have been made have been made futile:

• In "Six Months Ago", Hiro accidentally travels back in time six months to prevent Charlie from dying, only to find out that she has a blood clot in her brain and will die anyway.
• In "Unexpected", Isaac received a gun from Mr. Bennet - the same gun Hiro found in Isaac's apartment when he traveled forward five weeks.
• As of ".07%" Sylar has killed Isaac in a similar manner to his original death.
• In "String Theory", it is revealed that Future Hiro tells Peter to "Save the Cheerleader" so that the failed attempt to stop Sylar from exploding might prove successful.

However, the future has proven itself to not be entirely certain, as the characters were able to stop the explosion from destroying New York City in "How to Stop an Exploding Man".

Starting at the end of Season 1 and through much of Season 2, Hiro was in 1671 Feudal Japan. There he becomes personally entwined in the history and events surrounding the warrior, Takezo Kensei. Recognizing the man is not as history portrays him, Hiro works to help Takezo fulfill his 'destiny'. This results in Hiro personally influencing many major events.

• In "Lizards", Hiro impersonates Takezo and uses his powers to disarm 11 bandits ("The Battle of Twelve Swords") and gains the gratitude and admiration of Yaeko, the swordsmith's daughter.
• In "Kindred", Hiro forces Takezo to face 90 angry ronin in order to retrieve the 'Fire Scroll', fulfilling another part of Takezo's 'legend'.
• In "The Line", Hiro helps Takezo rescue Yaeko's father and discovers how Takezo will 'save' Japan, destroying the illegal firearms that White Beard's army are planning to use to overthrow the Emperor. However, Hiro gives into his own desire for Yaeko, causing Takezo to side with White Beard. Hiro destroys the guns by himself. Yaeko later asserts that Hiro is the person the "Takezo Kensei" legends are about and vows to spread the legends under that name. To fulfill the final part of the legend, cutting out his own heart, he leaves Yaeko behind and returns to the present.