Oboro's Back-Alley Tavern…
"Welcome back to our humble establishment, Giran" Midoriya said with a half-sincere smile as he sat down across the table from the sleazy info broker and underground smuggler. "What brings you here today, looking for me specifically?"
The silver-haired man chuckled. "Midoriya, my man, I've heard rumors that you're planning something big for your underground debut as a villain. Now, as an info broker, I don't like being left in the dark." Sighing and dropping his joking tone, the man's face turned serious. "Tell me what you're planning, kid, and I'll see what I can do to help you."
"And what if I refuse? Why should I trust you?" Midoriya retorted, taking a sip from his glass of cola.
Giran grimaced slightly. "Look, kid, I'm too afraid of your parents to backstab you for any reason. If I know the kind of job you're planning, I can track people and gear down to help you." Pausing for a moment, the man studied the greenette teen's face and noticed a large bruise on one side of his jaw. "...I'm going to guess you've recently learned why people are afraid of your mother."
Midoriya winced. "I don't know the details of why or who she is to inspire such fear, but I can tell that it's for good reason. Mom hits like a truck and moves like a cat" he groaned, rubbing his sore cheek.
The silver-haired man chuckled. "Oh, you'll find out sooner or later, and boy, you're going to be shocked when you find out" he said. "But back to business. What's the plan, kid?"
"We're planning a raid of the Shie Hassaikai's headquarters" Midoriya responded, Giran's eyes widening as he took in the implications of an upstart villain group (even one backed by the Symbol of Evil) raiding as well-established a Yakuza group as the Hassaikai. "We need all the data you have on the Hassaikai's heavy hitters and key members, a bunch of low to mid-tier thugs to act as a diversion, and some mid to upper-tier thieves to help us break in and out in the first place."
Okuta Kagero's jaw dropped slightly. "Well, aren't you an ambitious one? Give me 48 hours and I can get you any data you don't already have on Kai Chisaki and his goon squad and find you some dumb muscle to distract him. As for your thieves…I know just who you need to call." Reaching into his pocket, Giran withdrew a card with a phone number and nothing else written on it. "Calling this number and saying the password 'The Spirit of Arsene lives again' will get you directly in contact with Mister Compress, leader of the Peerless Legacy."
It was Midoriya's turn now to be somewhat awed. The Peerless Legacy was a group of around a hundred self-styled Robin Hoods operating semi-independently across the country. Their leader, Mister Compress, had pulled off a daring heist of the HPSC's headquarters at Paragon Plaza with the aid of some of his fellow thieves, earning him a S-rank designation as an official supervillain. His great-grandfather, the Peerless Thief Oji Harima, was the namesake of the organization as a whole.
"...What's your price for all this?" the greenette decided to ask the most important question so far, since he didn't want to make his plans rely on resources he couldn't afford to pay Giran for.
"Aside from keeping your parents off my back? I want a 20 percent cut of whatever monetary assets your team drains from the Hassaikai's accounts" Giran said, putting out his cigarette. "They're one of the longest-operating Yakuza clans left in Japan, so they're sure to have a lot of money being laundered through various establishments. I want some of that; it'll help me afford to stay in this business a little longer."
Midoriya held his hand out for a handshake. "Consider it a deal, Mr. Kagero. Twenty percent of the Hassaikai's ill-gotten gains in exchange for information, some hired muscle and the Peerless Legacy's aid." Giran nodded and stood to shake the greenette teen's hand, before wandering back out of Oboro's Back-Alley Tavern to get to work for his latest client.
A dingy alley somewhere…
"Aaaaaaaargh!" screamed the generic Yakuza henchman in a plague mask as a naked teenage girl suddenly leapt out of nowhere onto his back and bit into his neck while gripping him in a sleeper hold. The weight on his back grew heavier as some sort of mud formed around her, slowly reshaping itself into his own physical form, clothing and all. For her part, Himiko Toga didn't let go and stop drinking the man's blood until he was firmly down for the count, before dragging him into a nearby warehouse and tossing him through one of Kurogiri's gates.
Walking back out onto the street, the girl disguised as a man hurried to catch up with the man's partner. "Nobuhiko? Where the hell did you go, man?" asked the other bird-masked Yakuza.
"Sorry, Kawamura, I was checking that alley for trouble after hearing a disturbance. The Boss wouldn't want vigilantes or other Yakuza intruding on his turf, right?" the lie slipped off of her tongue as easily as breathing.
"I guess so" Kawamura relented. "Just don't sneak off like that again without telling me, okay?" The man relaxed when the disguised girl nodded in concurrence as they continued back to the Hassaikai's compound; Jin had located it a week earlier on his foot patrol and relayed the data back to the League. Izuku had then studied the clan's patrol routes via the security cameras he and Kurogiri had secretly installed in the neighborhood, and found one that went right past a warehouse owned by one of All For One's shell companies.
The chosen target Himiko had disguised herself as was Nobuhiko Akaza, a fourth year member of the Shie Hassaikai who was reasonably well-trusted by Overhaul and his top brass. Akaza also had another advantage to stealing his identity - he was Quirkless, which meant Himiko wouldn't have to worry about blowing her cover by being unable to use his Quirk. Her and Akaza's partner, Michiro Kawamura, re-entered the Hassaikai's compound and descended an elevator to one of the lower levels.
Saluting as they passed an enormous man with red hair and a plague mask covering his entire head, the duo continued down a corridor. "Where are you headed next?" Himiko asked her "partner".
Kawamura sighed. "I'm off to play pack mule in the freight area; we just finished another big batch of Black Gold and are gonna be shipping it off to our clients in Hokkaido. How about you?"
"Akaza" laughed. "I'm stuck on desk jockey duty. I'll be answering emails, checking security cameras, all that boring stuff. Still, I guess it has to be done; even Mimic can't stand to be doing that all the time."
The two Yakuza parted ways, with the disguised Himiko continuing down to the IT department in the compound's computer room. After finding Akaza's cubicle, the girl logged into his desktop while downing one of the man's cherry sodas. Scrolling through the man's junk mail folder, she eventually found her objective - an email titled "FIND HOT SINGLES IN YOUR AREA - NOW!" from the email address "DustyMcGee .jp". Clicking the link, the girl took another sip of cherry soda while watching Tenko's malware link establish a backdoor connection between his gaming PC and the Hassaikai's computer mainframe. "We're in" Himiko thought, finishing the beverage.
From there on, the disguised girl spent the rest of her shift pouring over various bits of intel from the Hassaikai's system. The blueprints for the building revealed that the compound was constructed in 2007 by a company called Majima Construction and had five levels - two aboveground, and three underground. The top two levels were residential, although most of the Hassaikai were only permitted to enter and live on the lower one - Overhaul, his lieutenants and the Eight Bullets lived on the upper one.
The first underground level, where the computer room was located, was where most of the basic criminal work the Hassaikai did was coordinated from - money laundering, weapons smuggling, racketeering, et cetera. The one below that was the laboratory where their various drugs (mostly Trigger) were produced and stored, as well as where the cargo elevator up to their loading dock was located. The bottommost one…well, Himiko had no idea, because she wasn't even allowed to access the cameras down there.
Akaza's security clearance was "red", which authorized him to access the three middle levels, but not the topmost or bottommost ones. The top floor was "crimson" clearance, which meant that the Eight Bullets and Overhaul's lieutenants could access it, while the bottommost was "violet" - only Overhaul, Chronostasis and Mimic were allowed down there. "That must be where the girl is being held…"
After her shift ended, the girl returned to Akaza's quarters on the ground floor of the Hassaikai compound. Stepping into the room, the girl waited a few minutes to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted and discovered before shooting a text off to Kurogiri. A few seconds later, the real Akaza's body landed on his futon with an unceremonious thump, while Himiko took the opportunity to leap through the warp gate with just a few minutes of transformation time left.
Intelligence: gathered. With the backdoor established, Tenko could now access all the Hassaikai's shipment information, electricity use data, security footage and banking info. Now, all that remained was to start poking the bear until he responded.
Taking a seat at the same booth that he had negotiated with Giran at a week earlier, Midoriya looked at the latest guest to visit Oboro's Back-Alley Tavern. "Mister Sako, I presume?"
Sitting across from him, a brown-haired man with blue eyes who appeared to be in his early thirties laughed slightly. "Please, Mister Sako was my father. Call me Atsuhiro. Or, if we're on duty, just 'Compress' is fine" he said. This was the man himself, Mister Compress, leader of the Peerless Legacy band of phantom thieves.
"Very well then, Compress" Midoriya replied. "To get right to the point, I'd like to hire some of Peerless Legacy's members for a heist-slash-raid of a Yakuza clan's compound. I already owe Giran 20 percent of the Shie Hassaikai's assets, but I'd be happy to pay you double that and throw in some select valuables taken from the compound. The operation will take up to two weeks and begin tomorrow morning."
"Your terms are almost agreeable, Prometheus" Compress replied. "But I understand you have a very valuable asset in your hands, one that I'd like to borrow if you wish to use my own human assets."
"And pray tell, what might that be?" the green-haired teen asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Sako smiled slightly. "I understand that a man formerly known as Twice entered your employ within the last six months. His Quirk would be a valuable asset for another job that I've been hired to do at about the same time."
"Jin is a valuable member of the League, but he's not cheap. You'll get 30 percent plus him" Midoriya said.
Compress shook his head. "40 percent and Twice, or no deal."
"My final offer is 35 and Twice; take it or leave it" the greenette replied.
"Your bargaining skills need work, but I have a soft spot for young villains like you after my own heart. 35 percent and the services of Jin Bubaigawara in exchange for three members of Peerless Legacy. It's been a pleasure doing business with you" Compress said, finally agreeing to Midoriya's terms.
Reaching into his pocket, the man produced a small blue marble, which he then turned into a cell phone. After a few seconds of tapping on the phone, Compress looked back to Midoriya. "I've sent you the details on the specialties of the three PL members I'll be lending to you. Use them in your plans as you wish; just make sure they all come back alive."
"You have a deal, Mister Compress. I look forward to future collaborations between our organizations" Midoriya replied, shaking the taller man's hand. As Compress left the bar, a small smile graced his face under his mask.
"You're an interesting one, Prometheus. I look forward to seeing just how far you'll go from here. Who knows…maybe I'll work for you, instead of just with you, someday in the future."
"...Giran, who the hell are these people?"
Midoriya stared at the assortment of bizarre-looking thugs that the info broker and underworld recruiter had brought with him to Kurogiri's bar.
"Why, they're the future of the League of Villains, of course" Giran replied, selling the group as best he could. "Go ahead and introduce yourselves to the boss-man, boys!"
The group of similarly-dressed hoodlums on the left consisted of four men wearing dark pants, blue jackets and horned masks. "Cider House, at your service!" the one in the center saluted. "We're generally upstanding citizens most of the time, but nobody's self-control is perfect. During the holiday season, we're small-time pickpockets…but if you're giving us a chance to fuck things up for other villains without worrying about the cops, we're all on board!"
"Interesting. What can you do?" Midoriya asked, slipping fully into his Prometheus persona.
One of the thugs spoke up. "The boss can control seltzer water at will, I can make myself and others within 10 meters of me balance perfectly, Natsu over there can react slightly faster than the average person, and Kola behind me can create a disorienting gas."
"Not bad, not bad. I look forward to seeing you four in action" Prometheus responded. "You, in the middle…what can you do?"
The unassuming salaryman in the center raised one arm, which dissolved into a long tendril of foul-smelling green liquid. "My name is Suige Dorome, and my Quirk is Sewer Sludge. I'm an unemployed accountant by trade, and my Quirk allows me to transform my entire body into a viscous liquid impervious to most blunt attacks. I can also absorb mud, water and decaying organic matter to increase my size and strength."
"Growing up with a Quirk like that cannot be an easy experience" the villain leader noted, and the other man sighed in confirmation of his point. "I think you can do some good work for us. You four - it's your turn."
The four really odd-looking men on the other side grinned. "I'm Red! I've got a strength Quirk!" said the blond man in a white tanktop.
"Blue; I have a speed Quirk" added a man in a gray turtleneck with batlike ears on his head.
"I go by Green, and I am basically a human GPS" said the red-haired man with a green mask on his face.
"And I'm Yellow! I've got a pig mutation Quirk that improves my physical stats and gives me a good sense of smell!" added the unusual-looking man with a yellow spike on the nose of his mask. "And together, we are…"
"TEAM RESERVOIR DOGS!"
"Impressive. Very nice" Midoriya said, taking in their hammy personalities. "Aside from your Quirks, do any of you have other assets you bring to the table?"
"We have a truck" Green said, raising his hand. "Because of my Quirk, I'm pretty much a perfect getaway driver."
The green-haired teen let a smile cross his face. "Magnificent. I look forward to watching you all become a major thorn in the Hassaikai's side."
Two weeks later…
"Friends, thank you all for being here" Midoriya addressed Oboro's Back-Alley Tavern, receiving a chorus of rowdy cheers in response. The bar had officially closed that day for a "private party", which wasn't technically wrong. "We are gathered here this afternoon because, after two weeks of preparation - and by preparation, I mean fantastic work on the part of our friends Cider House, Mr. Sludge and Team Reservoir Dogs -" Once again, rowdy cheers came from the men in question. "-We are finally ready to initiate the main phase of our operation."
From his seat at the bar, Tenko used a remote to turn on the TV in the corner, showing a map of the Tokyo metro with a blinking red dot moving slowly across it. "Right now, Overhaul is on his way to personally stake out one of his Trigger shipments in Naruhata. Cider House, Mr. Sludge and Reservoir Dogs will depart momentarily to beat him there and begin attacking the shipment before he arrives" the blue-haired teen said, taking over from his adoptive brother. "Kurogiri will send you and your truck there; you are to distract him and the backup he took with him."
Switching over to a PowerPoint deck, the Decay user continued his pitch as images of six men appeared on the screen. "Overhaul took his trusted lieutenant Hari Kurono, and half of the Eight Bullets - Rikiya Katsukame, Yu Hojo, Toya Setsuno and Soramitsu Tabe - with him. We do not expect you to engage them in combat; instead, distract them with a car chase for as long as you can."
The nine men nodded in understanding and filed out of the building, hopping aboard Team Reservoir Dogs' truck, which Green then drove directly through one of Kurogiri's gates, traversing well over a hundred kilometers in a matter of moments.
Taking back over from Tenko, Midoriya resumed his part of the lecture. "The rest of you will be aiding us in the actual strike on the compound. La Brava." The small red-haired woman saluted. "You and Kurogiri will be taking up a recon and remote command position atop a nearby apartment block. Kurogiri will be on standby to warp us all away if necessary, while you will support us by communicating potential hazards to us and draining all of the Hassaikai's bank accounts for us."
"On the other hand, the rest of us will enter the compound on the first underground level, at the coordinates that Himiko gave us during her reconnaissance of the building a few weeks ago. Tenko and I can handle ourselves, as can Gentle" Midoriya said, while the silver-haired man nodded in agreement.
"Himiko, I want you and Inversion to stay close together; if Mimic divides us up, she'll be the best support that an ambush predator like you can have in direct combat." The blonde rolled her eyes, but acquiesced. The other girl, a brown-haired teen wearing a face mask, black pants, a black shirt with a pink necktie, and pink fingerless gloves, looked to her partner and nodded, a determined look in her brown eyes.
Tenko once again took over, info-dumping about their potential foes. "Our biggest issue will be Joi Irinaka, AKA Mimic. He'll likely try to divide us from each other with his Quirk and pit us against the remaining Eight Bullets as soon as he realizes there's a problem, so be ready. Remember, lethal force is authorized for this mission - the Yakuza will likely be trying to kill us, so don't be afraid to beat them to it if you have no other choice."
Two more warp gates opened in the bar, each one leading to a different destination. Prometheus cleared his throat. "This will be the League of Villains's first major operation against an enemy. Our objective is to bring down the Hassaikai and rescue the child named Eri, who is being held prisoner on the bottom underground floor of the building."
"Let the Yakuza Extermination Operation…commence!"
Notes:
And here we go! This chapter took only a day to complete, and for the first time ever, I've actually written a backlog on one of my fics. To recap…
This chapter was half fun spy shenanigans, with Himiko infiltrating the Hassaikai's compound to steal all their potential tactical advantages, and half recruitment of manpower, with Midoriya negotiating with both Giran and Compress over manpower.
Overhaul has no idea that, by addressing the attacks on his Trigger shipments personally, he's fallen right into his foe's trap. Then again, he has literally no idea that this is coming for him.
La Brava and Gentle have entered the scene as members of Compress's national thief syndicate, as has a girl called Inversion. Hm, I wonder who she could be?
Meanwhile, the unorthodox team-up of the Sludge Villain, Cider House and Team Reservoir Dogs is about to be a massive pain in Chisaki's rear. Fun times.
Anyway, stay tuned for chapter five, when the fun really begins!
Cheers,
~ DVD181
Next update: September 4th