The warehouse was like a cavern, the only light filtering through cracked skylights.
In the center of the floor, ten men scrambled around a series of heavy, reinforced crates.
"Move it! We're already twenty minutes behind!" one villain barked, as he shoved a crate toward the loading bay.
"If the sun comes up before we're off the main road, we're dead men."
"It's not my fault the hydraulics jammed!" another snapped.
"Just keep loading. We've got millions in high-end support tech sitting here."
"I don't like it," a third whispered.
"The silence in this place is too loud. We're sitting ducks."
"Stop complaining and lift!" the leader hissed. "Every second we waste is a second closer to a Cape dropping through that roof."
An amused chuckle drifted from the darkest corner of the warehouse.
"You know, you just jinxed it," a voice called out, dripping with irony.
"It's like you guys haven't ever seen an action movie in your life, you don't know the tropes."
The villains spun around, weapons raised. From the shadows, a figure lounged casually on a stack of crates, one leg draped over the other.
He wore a black hoodie and a Deadpool-style mask that seemed to smirk even without a mouth.
A second Deadpool-style-mask was crudely drawn across his chest, and two handguns strapped to a tactical belt.
In his right hand, a silver coin spun lazily.
"Who the hell is this?" the leader squinted, lowering his rifle slightly as he saw the figure's stature.
"Wait... is that a kid? Hey, brat! You picked the wrong night to play dress-up. Get lost before we decide to use you for target practice."
"Target practice? Harsh," The figure said, "You've got some real nice merchandise here. Care to share? I promise I'll return it… eventually. Probably."
"Now, are we going to do this the boring way where I have to use these little ones..." he patted the pistols at his hips.
"...or are you going to realize you're just background extras and let me have the loot? I'm trying to keep the pacing brisk today."
"Kill the little punk," the leader barked.
One villain, brimming with bravado and desperate to get back to the schedule, lunged forward with a quirk-enhanced blade.
Bang.
The gunshot was deafening. The villain's head snapped back, his momentum vanishing instantly as he dropped to the concrete like a sack of flour.
The figure didn't even stand up. He just yawned and spun his coin again.
"The boring way it is" he sighed.
Before the others could process the body on the floor, a knife whistled through the air from the opposite side of the room, burying itself in the shoulder of a man reaching for his holster.
A girl stepped out from behind a pillar, her school sweater slightly oversized, her eyes shining with mischief.
"Ooh, that one sounded like squish!" she chirped.
Chaos erupted. The remaining eight scrambled for cover, shouting over the ring of gunfire.
Knives whistled through the air with precision as The girl danced between the shadows, her blades flashing in the dark.
The figure stayed in his corner, leaning back against the wall.
His movements calm, a tilt of the head to avoid a stray bullet, a flick of the wrist to fire precise shots.
Across the room, tucked away in the shadows of the far corner. A man in a gray-and-black mask.
His hands were clamped over his ears, He was hunched over, his head twitching with every gunshot as he watched the carnage
Within moments, the warehouse fell silent. All ten villains lay unconscious, groaning or dead, on the floor, the smell of blood mixing with the sharp smell of gunpowder.
The figure stood up, stretching his arms over his head. He looked over at The girl and a masked man, who was currently leaning against a wall, trying to catch his breath.
The figure leaned back against the corner wall, spinning the coin lazily.
"Hi guys, it's been like...forever!" he called casually.
The girl pouted, crossing her arms, and the masked man huffed, still catching his breath.
"It's been booooring! Why didn't you invite me to the fun at USJ. Haruto you meaniii?" the girl complained.
The masked man tilted his head, confused "Why would you want to be there, Toga-chan?"
He turned to face Haruto
"but she's right. It's been already two months, Haruto?" the man added.
"Oh, stop. You weren't forgotten, you were strategically delayed."
The two groaned, still pouting, but their eyes gleamed with excitement.
[SIX MONTHS AGO] ========
The night air reeked of burnt rubber. A man was cornered by two uniformed cops.
"C'mon, you can't catch me!" the man shouted, dashing down the alley.
But one misstep sent him crashing into a dumpster.
"Need a hand?" a voice called from the shadows. Haruto emerged, spinning a coin in his hand.
"Who… who are you?" the man said, pushing off the ground.
"Just a friendly neighborhood meddler," Haruto said, grinning.
"And judging by your predicament, you could use one."
"Predicament?" the man muttered, rubbing his elbows.
"I… I didn't do anything wrong, okay? It's just… I was trying to get away from them because… uh… well… they think I—"
He paused, swallowing hard. "They think I stole a snack from a convenience store. But it wasn't my fault! The cashier freaked out… it's… it's a misunderstanding!"
Haruto tilted his head, spinning his coin. "You're running from the police over a snack? That's… impressively dramatic. I like it. Okay, name's Haruto. What's yours?"
"Jin… Jin Bubaigawara," he muttered. "And… I swear, I'm not a criminal. I just… panicked."
"Perfect! You're in." Haruto grinned. "Now, let's make this little misunderstanding a lot more fun before we grab some katsudon."
He didn't wait for a reply. Haruto vaulted over a low brick wall and reached back, and pulled Jin over. They hit the ground running.
Within seconds, the two had vanished down a side street, leaving the sirens fading in the distance.
Jin, breathing hard, finally looked at Haruto.
"Why… why did you help?"
"Why not?" Haruto shrugged, spinning the coin again. "Besides… your whole vibe screams 'chaotic merc with a mask.' I see myself in you, kid."
*******<>*******
A week later, Haruto and Jin were wandering the backstreets. Jin was nervously looking over his shoulder, clearly regretting leaving the house.
"Seriously, why am I letting a kid drag me around like his henchmen" Jin muttered.
"Relax, Jin you worry too much. And I'm technically older than you by… math" Haruto said,
Suddenly, a glint of metal caught Haruto's eye. A small figure crouched near a dumpster, twirling a knife with high precision.
"Uh… that's… dangerous," Jin whispered, inching back.
Haruto, intrigued, stepped closer. "Hey! Those are some neat tricks"
The girl froze, then her eyes snapped toward him. In an instant, her knife lunged toward Haruto.
Jin yelped. "I told you! Dangerous!"
Haruto barely flinched, the blade grazing him before the wound healed instantly, the skin knitting together in seconds. He raised a hand to steady her, his voice calm.
The girl froze, "Wha—what?!"
"Sorry, kid… stabbing's kind of a non-issue for me. Comes bundled with the whole 'won't stay dead' package.", Haruto said,
He crouched slightly, lowering himself to her level so his eyes met hers. His tone softened, just a bit.
"Hey… you look like you've had enough of people yelling at you, calling you crazy, forcing you to act like something you're not…" he said, a small smirk on his face.
"So how about this instead? You hang out with us. No judging, just… a little chaos and a lot of fun."
"Haruto," Jin cut in immediately,
"can you not phrase it like that? I'm the one who's going to get arrested here. I'm already on thin ice as it is - I'm literally a decade older than you."
Haruto waved him off without even looking. "Relax, Jin. Don't go full tsundere on me. I know you're one bad day away from begging for company."
"I am not-! I mean, I am, but that's not the point!" Jin snapped, immediately contradicting himself.
"See?! This is exactly what I mean!"
Haruto chuckled, then turned his attention back to her, expression softening again.
"So… what do you say?" he asked, flipping the coin once and catching it. "Interested?"
She hesitated, the knife lowering slowly.
Her tense shoulders relaxed. "You… you really don't care?"
"Care? Nah. You didn't go for the kill - which, congratulations, earns you a gold star in my book. The name's Haruto, that over there is Jin. So… friends?"
She glanced at Jin, whose jaw was practically hitting the ground from embarrassment, and then slowly, she nodded.
"I'm Toga...okay… friends" she muttered.
"Friends it is. Welcome to the cast Toga-chan", Haruto grinned.
Jin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm… too old for this."
[BACK TO PRESENT] ===========
The warehouse fell into a brief, heavy silence as Haruto's request hung in the air.
Toga tilted her head, her knife pausing mid-twirl, while Jin's mask practically squinted in confusion.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jin started waving his hands frantically.
"You want us to play bodyguard? To a guy with engines in his legs?! I hate engines! They're loud! Vroom vroom! Let's go, I've always wanted to see a hero up close! SHUT UP!"
"Yes," Haruto corrected, checking the action on his own sidearm.
"He's headed for an encounter with a blood-sucking weirdo with scarves and blades"
Toga's eyes widened.
"The one with all the scarves? Stainy? Is he gonna bleed? Can I have some?"
"Stain is a buzzkill, Toga-chan. He's all 'conviction' and 'society is fake' " Haruto groaned.
"If Engine-Legs goes after him alone, he's going to end up as a very expensive hospital bill. I need you two to make sure he stays in one piece. And for that…"
He kicked a heavy duffel bag toward them. It unzipped to reveal several sleek, black tactical pistols and a stack of mags.
"Take these."
Jin stared at the cold steel. "Guns? We use Quirks! Pew pew! Why do we need the loud sticks? They're heavy!"
Haruto looked at the ceiling, exhaling a long sigh of frustration.
"Because they are practical, Jin! Honestly, it beats me why the mangaka suddenly decided that firearms are useless in a world where 90% of people still have squishy, human organs. You have any idea how much easier the USJ would've been if Shigaraki just brought a sniper rifle?"
Toga picked up a handgun, sniffing on the barrel with a delighted shiver.
"Practical. I like it. Does it make pretty holes?"
"The prettiest," Haruto promised. "Just don't kill the 'Engine man'. He's a side-cast. If he dies, the tone of this whole arc gets way too dark, and I'm really trying to keep things at a PG-13 at school"
"Oh, and one very important tip for the boss fight," Haruto added, disgust showing on his face.
"Don't let him lick you."
Toga froze, her head tilting like a bird.
"Lick? I want to lick him too!"
"Gross, Toga-chan. No," Haruto groaned, shivering under his hoodie.
"His Quirk is Bloodcurdle. If he gets so much as a drop of your blood on his tongue, you're paralyzed. You'll be stuck on the pavement like a statue while he gives you a ten-minute monologue about 'true heroes' It's incredibly tedious."
Jin shuddered, his hands reaching to his own throat. "Paralyzed?! I can't move! That's cheating!"
"It's a total cheese build," Haruto nodded.
"That's why I gave you guns, they have a much better range than a guy with a tongue obsession"
He looked at Toga, who was now pouting even harder.
"I know, I know, you love the 'stabbing and tasting' meta, Toga-chan. But trust me on this one. Stain's germs are a biological hazard even I wouldn't touch, and I can literally grow a new liver. Just keep your distance, and aim for the limbs, try not to kill him unless you have to"
Jin tucked a pistol into his waistband, immediately nearly dropping it.
"Fine! We'll do it! We're gonna get arrested! It'll be fun!"
"That's the spirit," Haruto grinned, spinning his coin one last time.
"One more thing," he added.
"Soon, a guy with a really bad case of eczema and way too many hands on his face is going to come looking for talent. His name is Shigaraki. He's basically an edgy gamer with issues"
Jin froze, his hands flying to his own face. "Hands?! Gross!"
"He's the League's frontman," Haruto continued.
"When he tries to recruit you, accept. Just sign the contract and move into the base."
Toga pouted, her thumb tracing the edge of her knife.
"But the League is for villains! Bad guys!"
"That's the thing, kids," Haruto said, leaning against the doorframe with a shrug.
"We aren't villains. We aren't heroes, either. Those are just labels people use to categorize the merchandise. We're just a group of friends having a bit of fun."
"Now go train with those guns. I've got a Sports Festival to pretend to care about"