Doorstep Delivery

Stepping outside his apartment in a windbreaker and running shorts, Kenji froze as he saw the thick gray line spanning across the horizon—the twenty-foot barrier of reinforced steel concrete with lead rebar. While he knew it would be big, Kenji didn't think it was large enough to be seen from over fifty miles away. Eventually, Kenji managed to tear his eyes off the massive defensive embrasure and made his way to the stairs.

Reaching the bottom, Kenji looked around before picking a random direction and breaking out into a light jog. 

While looking for clothes in his apartment, Kenji discovered a phone and wallet in the bathroom. With access to the internet, he took the liberty of confirming what Lucifer had alluded to in his letter. Unfortunately, the devil hadn't been pulling a fast one on him. 

Dread Beast was the widely used term for quirk-enhanced plants and animals, and from the videos Kenji had seen online, it was a well-deserved name. 

According to the wiki, the first Dread Beast appeared over one hundred years ago, around the same time as the first quirk-enhanced human. But humanity lost out on the evolutionary arms race. Civilization collapsed with governments scrambling to establish secure strongholds. Only nine survived the test of time, eventually becoming the Nine Bastions, the only safe havens left for humankind. 

But in the beginning, even the bastions struggled to repel the waves of Dread Beast, who were constantly assaulting their walls. And things only became more dire when the first Dread Kings appeared. 

Usually, Dread beasts were solitary creatures that would gladly attack their own kind. However, In addition to being more powerful than the average Dread Beast, Dread Kings possess the ability to command their lesser parts, forming massive armies capable of launching coordinated attacks. 

In the past, they were the bane of humanity, but now, Dread Hoards were seen as literal cash farms. In addition to being natural killing machines, Dread Beasts were worth their weight in gold.

Not only were their meat and hides signs of wealth and status for clothing and food but weapons and armor made from Dread materials had a chance to awaken their own quirks. 

Kenji found a few examples online, showcasing a hammer that could change its weight and a pair of daggers that grew more powerful when soaked in blood. The possibilities were seemingly limitless. 

'Superpowered monster hunters with magical weapons. How did it come to this? Maybe I should have just gone straight to hell.' 

---

With a wheezing gasp, Kenji doubled over, short of breath, in front of his door, 'This has to be hell. There's no way cardio sucks this much. How much did I run?' 

Opening the system with a thought, Kenji paled as he stared at the measly [4/100] for his quest progress, 'I haven't even done a single push-up yet, and I feel like I'm about to pass out.' 

After catching his breath, Kenji stood upright and was about to go inside when the door of the apartment, two doors down from his, slammed open with a bang. 

"Get the fuck out of here, you freak! If I see you again, I'll kill you myself!" 

Kenji watched as someone fell through the door, landing roughly on the ground with enough force to make him think they had been thrown. 

"Daddy, please don't do this! I-I'm sorry!" 

With a start, Kenji realized the person was a girl, based on the pitch of their voice, as they turned and pleaded with someone standing in the doorway. 

"I'm not your father! There's no way I had any part in creating a thing like you! Your whore of a mother must have cheated on me before she left! Maybe we would have been able to work things out if you hadn't come along and fucked everything up!"

The girl broke down into tears, sitting on the floor sobbing into her hands. 

"If I ever see you around here again, I'll kill you and dump your body where no one will find it!" 

With that final scathing remark, the door slammed shut, leaving the girl crying at the doorstep. Having watched the entire thing, Kenji was moving before he even realized it. He knelt down next to the crying girl and gently reached out, tapping her on the shoulder. 

Her head snapped up, revealing watery golden-yellow eyes as she flinched back. "W-who are you?!" 

Taking back his hand, Kenji gave her what he hoped was a friendly smile, "My name's Kenji. I heard what happened, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." 

The girl stared at Kenji for a long moment before she lunged at him, burying her face into his chest and beginning to sob once more. Moving on habit, Kenji's arms went around the girl's body, pulling her in close as she continued to cry. 

For some time, they sat there until the girl's sobs slowly died down as she tired herself out and lay nearly motionless in Kenji's arms. 

Realizing he needed to say something, Kenji gently asked a question, "Do you have a place to stay the night?" 

The girl mutely shook her head, and she seemed to hug him even tighter, "Would you like to stay with me? I don't have much, but-" 

Kenji was cut off as the girl nodded her head and grabbed onto his shirt like a lifeline in a raging storm, "Alright, but could you at least tell me your name?" 

The girl was silent for a long moment before she spoke softly, "My name is Himiko, Himiko Toga." 

Kenji tried to keep himself from reacting. He was either the luckiest or unluckiest person in the universe, 'I don't remember her living in an apartment; however, her parents were also together in the anime. Maybe this is one of the things Lucifer changed behind the scenes.'

Realizing it didn't make much of a difference, Kenji decided to follow up on his promise and picked up Toga off the floor, "Sorry about me being so sweaty. I have a shower inside where you can wash off." 

Instead of being repulsed, however, Toga seemed to push her nose into Kenji's shirt, "It's fine...you smell nice." 

"Right," Kenji tried not to pay much mind as he opened his apartment door and carried Toga inside.