Prologue

The sound of footsteps echoing off the brick walls of the buildings was muffled. It was subtle and easily drowned out by the city life that was beyond the twisting alleyways. Here in the cover of darkness, where only the ones who thrived in such an environment dared to venture, a woman moved silently as a shadow.

Her destination was the single door at the end of this long hall. Lit only by the single lightbulb in the alleyway. It was safer in that room than out here in the seemingly private alleyway. The woman didn't hesitate as she entered the ring of light. She opened the door to see a dark room beyond. She turned on the light switch illuminating the bare room beyond with the light of a lamp in the far corner. Despite the light, shadows were present even here. She entered the room, holding the door open only long enough for her shadow to follow her in. The door closed with a final click allowing the woman an illusion of safety as she glanced around the room at the dusty chairs and couches piled in the corners. The lamp in the far corner stood beside a desk made of wood. It smelled old and musty in the room, almost like a library.

The woman walked over to the side where a darkened doorway opened up to a stairway. The woman silently climbed upstairs to the second floor where, upon further examination, she saw a man sitting on a cracked leather chair behind a wooden desk. The man was older than the woman by a few decades if the wrinkles and facial hair were anything to go by. He had gray shaggy hair, round glasses on his face that did nothing to hide the narrow, dodgy eyes behind them and he was missing a tooth on his upper jaw. A cigarette was in his mouth that only looked half done while a thick gold chain laid around his neck. Even if his clothes weren't so gaudy or memorable, the woman knew she would never forget this man's face.

"You finally made it Sunfire." He spoke, a half-smile formed on his face as he took out his cigarette. The woman, Sunfire, moved forward to flop onto the opposite cracked chair. She didn't say anything until she was comfortable.

"I was on vacation Giren." She finally spoke, a light frown marring her face as golden eyes stared at the man with irritation.

"So you said and I'm sorry, but this job came through last minute." His voice held lightness that Sunfire didn't appreciate.

"It could have waited a few more weeks." Sunfire stated in boredom. "My clansmen and I have been looking forward to this vacation." Giren didn't bother to continue down the path Sunfire's irritation travelled.

"They asked for you and your team personally."

"They usually do." Sunfire snorted before deciding she was done dragging out the pleasantries. She needed to get going soon. "What kind of job is it? You don't usually pull me in unless it's something high-profile like stealing the Mona Lisa or a pretty and famous jewel. None of which is worth cutting my vacation short by the way." Giren coughed lightly.

"Well, the client reached out to me last week actually and he was adamant it was you and your clansmen. It's a team effort. One that he wants to discuss further with you and your clan in person." Gold eyes flashed, for a moment they became brighter.

"Not going to happen." Sunfire stated. "Tell me what the job is." Giren sighed.

"I told him you would refuse but he insists. He says the job is to have your clansmen go undercover in a school, but he wants you to infiltrate a few Hero Commission buildings for some information."

"Who is this client?" Sunfire asked. "And why should I oblige him by having my clansmen go to school?" Sunfire's eyes narrowed. "Does he know who we are?"

"No no no, nothing like that." Giren's face twitched as he spoke to assuage Sunfire. "I mean, he knows your clansmen are teenagers, but I think that's all he knows."

"You think he does?" Sunfire asked. "He could know who we are Giren." Sunfire hissed angrily. The shadows flickered, Giren saw a hand form from a darker area and land on Sunfire's shoulder. It only stayed for a few seconds before it disappeared into shadows again. Sunfire seemed calmer when she looked at Giren. "Who is this client?"

"He's known as All for One. He and his apprentice want you and your clan. The apprentice is Shigaraki but that's all I can say. They'd like to go over the details with you in two days." Giren slid a card across his desk to Sunfire. She saw the address printed on it. "I swear, they're legit. You'll be paid handsomely if you agree. Even if you don't, I think it would be worth it to hear them out."

"Tch." Sunfire leaned forward and grabbed the card off the desk. She stood up, heading for the door. "I'll think about it." Instead of taking the stairs, Sunfire seemed to melt into the shadows as they darkened and pulled her in. She was gone a second later and so were the shadows.

Giren sighed and took a deep inhale of his cigarette. His part was done. He'd passed on the message and now it was up to Sunfire and her team if they accepted or not. He had a feeling she would though. If they'd appealed to him, he knew they would appeal to her. Whether she wanted to or not.


GM NASAI: Well this is embarrassing. Who has a new story out when there are still three or four other stories on hiatus? Oh that's right me. I got pulled onto the My Hero Academia bandwagon and well let's just say I haven't been able to pull myself free yet.

In all seriousness, I got COVID thankfully to a lesser degree and since I wasn't feeling so good I decided to listen to medical professionals and take it easy while my body healed. It wasn't a good week, I got caught up on my TV shows and movies within a few short days and who should come crawling back but my plot bunny. If that's terrible I apologize, humor is my defense mechanism to bad news. The good news is, this fic is actually a group effort between me and my cousins since they're quarantined with me. And they're addicted to the story since they inspired it, so I am not going to be leaving this story to rust.

I'm looking forward to this journey and all the ideas for it. I will be sticking to the basic storyline at least until I can't ignore the deviations but for now, lets say it's practically the same as the anime. Lastly, I hope this fic brings you some relief to the real world and you're able to escape with us, at least for a little while. See ya in the next chapter!