Light from the rising sun began to beam through the windows of the Black Steel Hero Agency. Kojiro, fast sleep on the couch in his office, started to stir as the rays of light illuminated the room. He opened his eyes, squinting at the near blinding light now shining directly in his face. After a few moments, he slid himself off of the couch and yawned loudly while he stretched his waking body out. [color=9e0b0f][i]‘I’ve either gotta stop sleeping here so often or find myself a more comfortable couch,’[/i][/color] he thought as he twisted his body trying to crack his aching back. 

This was the third time in as many days that he stayed at the office late. He’d take care of paper work and go on patrols during the day and then follow that up with training until he was too exhausted to go home. This hectic schedule left him with almost no free time but with all the increased villain activity lately, he had to step things up a notch. Something big was about to go down soon. He could sense it, feel it in his bones. And when it did, he wanted to be ready. 

Looking at the time, he realized it was barely dawn. It would be hours before any of his sidekicks or assistants came in. After a quick change of clothes, he took the elevator up to the top floor. The entire floor had been converted into a dojo for both his personal use and to instruct his sidekicks and students in the martial arts. Black mats covered the entirety of the floor, while the walls were painted a metallic chrome color. The walls were adorned with kanji symbols of the virtues of Bushido: morality, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty. 

The one wall not covered with symbols was racked top to bottom with an assortment of melee weapons. There were several types of swords as well as staffs, spears, halberds, daggers, escrima sticks, kama, sais, nunchaku, etc. Other than the wooden weapons that the students used for practice, everything else was made by Kojiro himself. He used a combination of his quirk and the blacksmithing techniques he learned back at home, making sure to never sharpen any of the bladed weapons. [color=9e0b0f][b][i]“I can’t go around killing or dismembering people. I am a hero after all,”[/i][/b][/color] he once said to one of his students when they inquired about the dull weapons.

He stepped out of the elevator and sat in the middle of the floor to briefly meditate. After a few moments passed, he got up and strolled over to the wall of weapons. He surveyed the wall intensely before grabbing two metallic short staffs and walking back to the center of the room. Using his quirk, he began to merge the two short staffs into a slightly longer staff. While the length didn’t increase by much, the density, strength, and weight of the weapon was now far greater. Just as he was about to begin the session, his phone beeped, indicating a text message had come in.

[color=9e0b0f][b]“Who the hell is messaging me this early?”[/b][/color]

Curiosity got the best of him as it often did, so he dropped the staff and dug around in his pocket for his phone. His eyes widened as he read the message, the mild annoyance he felt a moment ago now turning into shock and concern. [color=9e0b0f][b]“Fucking hell,”[/b][/color] he cursed loudly as he picked up the staff and headed back towards the elevator.