Haruko Hitomi

Haruko Hitomi (はるこ ヒトミ) is a fictional superhero appearing in the OCVerse. Created by Syeed, the character made her debut in 2016, in the Edge of Time short feature. Since then, Haruko has appeared in multiple stories crossing over with central teams and characters. Haruko leads her own team of heroes, called the Time Force, featuring prominent superheroes from different periods in time. She is described as one of the most important characters in the OCVerse, being a central figure in various event stories. Haruko is one of the heroes to survive "The Conclusion of the Multiverse", an event caused by the attack of Extinction and by herself, where Haruko used her powers to restart the multiverse and prevent Extinction from conquering it.

In her abridged biography; Haruko is from the 24th century, born in 2381 to Isamu and Meiko Hitomi. Haruko has a younger sister, Yuuki, and a brother of the same age, Satoru. Unbeknownst to her, her father Isamu's true identity is the God of Time, Chronos, and his banishment into the Time Stream leaves her orphaned as a teenager. At some point, she forms a bond with one Dom Philips. When he first disappeared, Chronos left Haruko a means to travel through time and blueprints for a time machine, though these items were only discovered by Haruko after her graduation. Haruko's first adventure took her to the year 2040, where an older Strife Kurosaki took the blueprints Chronos had given Haruko and constructed a flying ship that could travel through time. When Haruko returned to the present, the first person she told of her new time machine was her best friend, Dominic Phillips. Dominic made Haruko promise that she would only use the machine for good. Haruko agreed to this notion. From then on, Haruko and Dom monitored the time stream, fixing any aberrations and negative alterations to the timeline. They would soon go on to form the Time Force, a team of superheroes throughout time dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the timeline.

Haruko has been a staple name in many event stories of both the pre-reboot and rebooted OCVerse. In the pre-reboot, she was the main protagonist of the full length feature Timeless Fate, and before that, was integral to the events of Velocity (Season 2), Holy Anthology (Book I), the Mobius Gods event, the Resurrection of Rush Leon, among others. In the rebooted OCVerse, Haruko is already the central character responsible for restarting the multiverse, the only remnant from the pre-reboot universe (currently known), and the only hero to survive Extinction's holy war on creation. She will take one of the lead roles in Nivius' Finest: Extinction, due for release in 2018, and is set to be the main protagonist of Infinity Clock, the follow-up to Timeless Fate, due for a 2019 release.

Development
Haruko was created on November 13, 2016, and made her debut in the OCVerse shortly afterwards. The OCVerse was split into many corners. The speedsters, the brutes, the martial artist, street level, all the way to the dark and supernatural end of the universe. But what it didn't have was a resident time traveler, someone who could pop in at any time, any place. And that's how Haruko came to be. Based off of the most famous fictional time travelers, the likes of Marty McFly, Rip Hunter, and Dr. Who, Haruko was also written with the typical fangirl in mind. The average person, stepping into the events of their favorite heroes lives. Imagine being able to attend the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, or watch the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In her initial concept stages, Haruko was a male named Haruo, a college student from the future who accidentally created a time machine out of a fridge in his basement. However, it was soon decided that a younger, high-school female written with a more child-like personality would fairly contrast with characters like Strife Kurosaki, and the backstory for the character was retooled as well. And, thus, Haruko Hitomi was born. Haruko's original design was much more gritty in contrast to her bubbly personality, with dark green hair, scarring around her eyes, and darker clothing in general.

Origins (Pre-Conclusion)
Haruko’s childhood was relatively uneventful. Her mother and father cherished her, she was their “spring child”, and took care of her. They made the necessary sacrifices to make sure Haruko had a more than content childhood, above and beyond her peers. Haruko is raised alongside her brother her sister, Yuuki. Yuuki was younger by a year and a half. At some point in Haruko’s early child life, she learns of her brother, who she is told was “sent away to an adoption agency”, and thus, she grew up with her sister. Haruko and Yuuki were inseparable, doing everything and anything together. Wherever Haruko went, Yuuki tagged along. All of Haruko’s friends were Yuuki’s friends. Although they had varying taste in music, art, and other hobbies, they always supported each other in their endeavors. Haruko collected manga and comic books, most of these books were classics written and drawn by one Takeo Tadashi, who was an active artist in the 21st century and founded the most successful manga distribution company in the history of planet Nivius. In these years, Haruko had a fondness for music. Playing the piano, singing as she played it, just like her mother. Unfortunately, a lot of Haruko’s hobbies and passions would take a back seat before middle school. Because, before middle school, her life took a… weird turn.

One “fateful” twilight, Haruko was awoken from her slumber by Yuuki. Mother and father have disappeared from the home, leaving the two girls by themselves. Haruko initially wasn’t too concerned about it, but to calm Yuuki’s nerves, she decided it would be best to reconnoitre her parents whereabouts. A step into the backyard, however, would change the course of Haruko’s kismet forever. Haruko remembers the scene perceiptly; her father in the backyard, staring at the flying vehicles soaring above, the lights in the nearby city illuminating his body. He informed his daughter that he and her mother would be going away ‘for a while’. Haruko and Yuuki were to be put in the care of their uncle, who lived just above an orphanage, which the uncle also owned and operated. Haruko had many questions, but her father shut down each of them, telling Haruko she was too juvenile to understand the fortuity of the situation. The sight that Haruko has engraved into her memory is her father becoming one with the air, disappearing in a large burst of white energy. It would be the last time Haruko saw her father for years.

Haruko and her sister, Yuuki, were moved to an orphanage where they lived in their uncle's home, located above the orphanage. She befriended a boy named Dom Phillips, and throughout middle and high school they became great friends, their fates practically glued together. At the age of 18, after graduating high school, Haruko's life spiraled out of control when she learned that her father was secretly Chronos, the God of Time. When he first disappeared, Chronos left Haruko a means to travel through time and blueprints for a time machine, though these items were only discovered by Haruko after her graduation.

The original time machine her father left her was only good for one use, and one use only. Haruko made the tough decision to travel through time. She had always been an avid fan of the heroes of her world's past, those who saved the world countless times and put their lives on the line to ensure Haruko could exist at all. Haruko's first adventure took her to the year 2040, where an older Strife Kurosaki took the blueprints Chronos had given Haruko and constructed a flying ship that could travel through time. When Haruko returned to the present, the first person she told of her new time machine was her best friend, Dominic Phillips. Dominic made Haruko promise that she would only use the machine for good. Haruko agreed to this notion. From then on, Haruko and Dom monitored the time stream, fixing any aberrations and negative alterations to the timeline.

They formed a team consisting of heroes throughout time to join them on their adventures. This team became known as the Time Force. Haruko kept her time traveling adventures a secret from her little sister, Yuuki. Due to this, Yuuki's suspicions grew, and she soon had a 'love-hate' relationship with her sister. Love on Haruko's part, sometimes-not-love on Yuuki's part. However, Haruko and Dom both felt it was still best that Yuuki didn't know, and especially didn't know the truth about her father.

Years down the line, Haruko came across her father, Chronos, again. This time, Chronos was furious. The timeline had been disrupted many times, and as the God of Time, he was losing his handle on the timeline. Eventually, he started erasing any 'troublesome' disruptors, mainly speedsters, who abused time travel. Haruko, Dom, and the Time Force teamed up with Velocity and a group of speedsters to take on the mentally descending Chronos. After a chaotic climatic battle that raged through the time stream and almost completely destroyed space-time, Haruko had to put her father out of his own misery, a choice that she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.