Rebirth of the Storm (Kenshin)

In the past, Kenshin would fight crime on his own. He was a lone wolf. It was not that he thought he could do things himself, or that he did not want to work with others. He just was not used to being a part of a team. Red Edge was the solo vigilante, a lone swordsman. But that all changed when he joined up with the Storm Knights. He initially joined because he was intrigued by the idea of a group of asskicking vigilantes working together to stop crime more efficiently than they could manage alone. He wanted to see if such an idea would work. But then he got attached to everyone in the group. G, Toma, and Yuri. They were all badass individuals, and Kenshin began seeing them all as worthy partners and friends.

But then things took a sudden turn for the worse. The Storm Knights were now down two people. Yuri had seemingly vanished, and Toma had gone and went pro. Not that Kenshin had a problem with the latter, as in the boy's mind, there was little separating a pro-hero from a vigilante. They both worked hard to stop villainy, so although the paths were different, the goal was ultimately the same. If Toma wanted to go down the legal route, the boy could respect that. In truth, he still did not know whether to continue being a vigilante or try to join UA as a student. So even if he were to have a problem with Sunhawk becoming Vega, Kenshin really could not criticize Toma's decision without being a hypocrite.

But back on topic. The point was that with two members gone, the Storm Knights were pretty much disbanded. After all, it took more than two people to keep a group like that going. With how fond of the group the boy became, he naturally wanted to do everything he could to keep the Storm Knights up and running. He was not about to give up on it without a fight. Fortunately, G shared a similar sentiment. As soon as the boy could, he made his way to G to discuss plans.

"Yo! So any ideas you have in mind?" There were several questions and thoughts on Kenshin's mind, but he wanted to see what G had to say first before saying anything. He had no doubt that G would think of something good.

Word count: 401

Notes: Let us be reborn and stronger than before!

Kenshin listened as G brought up several valid points. First, there was the matter of the hideout. If the Storm Knights were to be in operation once again, they would need a base to operate from. The current hideout was a no go. A group of vigilantes using a building owned by a pro-hero was just a reckless if not outright stupid idea. Kenshin had nothing against Toma, but the boy was not so trusting to the guy's higher ups. It was far too risky. They needed to relocate.

As for the second point, Kenshin agreed that the Storm Knights' new base and the place the possible recruiting would take place should be kept separate so that those who did not join would not know where they could be found. Not everyone could be trusted, after all. The last thing G and Kenshin needed was either some asshole joining the team, or someone shady who would have no qualms with selling them out. They needed teammates they could trust, ones that were strong and loyal.

Unfortunately, Kenshin personally had no idea just how to handle the interview itself. He had an idea of what to look for in the candidates, but in his opinion, he felt like G was better suited to the task. Not that the boy didn't want to help, far from that. He just saw himself as being more of the brawns of the team, rather than the brains. Back when Toma and Yuri were still around, Kenshin would often just trust them and G to handle most of the big decisions of the group. He would just go along with whatever they deemed correct. Kenshin's contribution was more or less just lending his strength and quirk in whatever combat scenario the group was in.

Still, Kenshin did want to fix that. He wanted to do more for the Storm Knights than just help beat up whatever criminal needed their ass kicked. So regardless of how he personally felt, he was determined to help G in any way he could.

So with that, it was time to go look for a new hideout! That shouldn't be too hard, right? Just find some abandoned building no one is likely to ever visit, buy it so that nobody will come to bulldoze or take the place, and then revamp it into a proper hideout worthy of a badass group of vigilantes. Here in the outskirts of Tokyo, there were a couple of abandoned buildings, warehouses, and factories. Surely there was one building among all of these that would become 'the one'. And even if not, G and Kenshin could always move on to the next area and continue their search elsewhere.

Hopefully it would not take too long to find the perfect future home of the Storm Knights.

Word count: 469

Notes: Hope they don't find one with some hobos still living in it

So many crummy buildings. So many to choose from. And yet, G just kept passing them by, not being satisfied with the ones he saw. Kenshin could not blame him. These places were all dumps. Maybe some rats would find these buildings suitable enough to call home, but the Storm Knights would not settle for this! No, they needed to strive for nothing less than absolute perfection!

Fortunately, it did not take too long to find something that wasn't complete trash. After getting his attention, G pointed out a certain building. Kenshin then followed him there. After Goliath busted in the main entrance, Kenshin followed G inside and began to look around. The first thing Kenshin noticed was how freaking spacious the place was. "Woah!" He then heard his voice echo around the building. Woah... woah... woah...

Kenshin began to look around everywhere, imagining where various things could go. There could be a training area with weights and dummies set up over there. Some cameras set up for surveillance up there. A table, some chairs, and a fridge could go in that corner there. Perhaps they could get some ladders to reach the upper level more easily, and maybe even build an underground tunnel in case the group needed an emergency exit! The more Kenshin put thought into this, the more excited he became. Holy shit, this is going to be such an awesome base for the Storm Knights once everything was set up!

Smiling, the boy then turned to face G. "With a little cleaning up and some renovations, I'd say this place is perfect."

Word count: 266

Notes: A place worthy of being called 'Home Sweet Home'

Alright, so now it was established just what it was that the two needed to do. The question that remained, however, was how to actually do that. Cleaning would be the easy part. Just get a couple of cleaning supplies and get to work. Hell, Kenshin would be fine with doing it himself if G did not feel like doing so. He could use his quirk to move around faster and get the place all cleaned up a bit sooner. The boy could always use the extra training, so this was a very suitable task for him.

The other two objectives would not be as simple to achieve, however. There was the goal of finding out who owned this building. How they could get that done, Kenshin had no idea. And then the issue of raising enough money to actually be able to buy the building off of whoever did own it. And as G pointed out, Yuri was the one who had the money. But now she's gone and who knew where she could be now? Kenshin did have an idea or two in mind, though. Nothing amazing, but it was still a thought he wanted to share with G.

"If for whatever reason contacting Yuri doesn't work out, I could get a part-time job or something. Maybe I could work at some place, or find a gig to perform with my bass at. It wouldn't help that much in the grand scheme of things, since I doubt I'd make that much. But hey, money is money, right?" Eh, now that the boy said it out loud, it did sound ridiculous. Oh well, at least he tried. Hopefully they could contact Yuri and she'd be willing to help out. Either that or G comes up with something else.

"I guess since cleaning is the only easily achievable goal at the moment, we could start with that. Or I could do it if you want to focus on one of the other things in the meantime." Oh right, the two needed to get some cleaning supplies first. Unless Goliath's water would be sufficient for this? Kenshin doubted that water alone would be enough, but he had to admit that the thought of Goliath nuking the place with water was hilarious. "I should probably head for the supermarket and buy a broom, mop, and other cleaning crap first. Unless you already have those things somewhere?"

Naturally, rebuilding the Storm Knights from the ground up was never going to be easy. But there was no way in hell that Kenshin would not try anyway.

Word count: 432

Notes: Gotta start somewhere, right?

So it was settled! Kenshin would help clean up the place along with a few others (the boy was curious to see just who G would get to come over and help), while G would take care of the money issue. As the man took out his phone, Kenshin wondered just who it was he was calling. However, the boy was not going to pry, instead letting G do what he needed to do. But then he heard G say 'honey'. Oh right, Hanako! Kenshin did not know if she was rich or not, but he felt like facepalming for not thinking of her sooner. Of course she would be who G would call for help in this matter! Who else would he trust more than her?

Although Kenshin backed off and tried to ignore G so the guy could have some privacy, he could not help but grin a bit at hearing G ask Hanako for money. It reminded the boy of himself and his younger brother asking their mother for some money to buy various stuff. Kenshin just could not get that image out of his head. At the same time, it was kind of adorable and heartwarming. It reminded Kenshin of his own parents, who would often do favors for one another to help each other with various things.

Once the call was done, after G assured Kenshin that the ownership stuff would be covered, he then dropped some pretty exciting news. "Oh shit, that's right! I saw the baby bump on Hanako! Congratulations, man!" Kenshin could not believe that he forgot to tell G about that time he met with a pregnant Hanako! Or more specifically, the day he stopped some shitbag who tried to run off with some of her bags. Kenshin would have told G about that now if not for the fact that Hanako had probably already told G about it on the day it happened. Oh well. If that stupid prick thief ever tried that shit again, Kenshin would be there to kick his ass if G did not already do that first.

With all the students G had, Kenshin sometimes joked that he was basically a dad to them all. But now he actually is one! And regardless of whether the baby was a boy or a girl, there was one thing Kenshin could tell already. One day, they would grow up to be a badass.

Word count: 405

Notes: Time for Kenshin to go buy a #1 Dad mug for G

"I don't have anything else I need to do at the moment, so I don't mind getting started now. It's better to get that out of the way as soon as possible, right?" Why delay when they could get Operation Revive the Storm Knights rolling quickly? Kenshin looked forward to moving on to phase two. It did not matter how long or tedious cleaning out a warehouse was going to be. The end result was worth it in the end. Besides, Kenshin was not one to complain while doing chores.

And once the place was cleaned up, then it would be time for the part Kenshin was looking forward to. The rise of Storm Knights Mk II, and more importantly, the interviews that would precede that. As great as it would be to have a bunch of vigilantes team up to kick criminal ass, the sad fact of the matter was that not everyone could be trusted. The two would need to be careful to ensure that no bad apples would ruin things from within. No, those people would have to be weeded out. Kenshin was determined to not allow anyone with selfish goals and an ulterior motive anywhere near the Storm Knights. The group had become almost like a family to him, so of course he would be wary of who wanted to join in. For starters, anyone who was more interested in getting into fights or just showing off than actually caring about protecting the innocent was not very likely to get Kenshin's recommendation to join.

"Right. Hopefully we'll get a promising cast to interview. But I suppose only time will tell." It would really suck if it turned out that literally everyone the two interviewed did not fit into the ideals of what the Storm Knights were all about. The boy doubted such an extreme scenario would happen, but you never know. In any case, Kenshin looked forward to the rebirth of the Storm Knights. Bigger and better than before, or at least he hoped so.

Word count: 339

Notes: And that wraps up part 1!