The Cosa Nostra (Part 5)

Shigaraki walked for miles before he finally came across the address Overhaul had given him a week ago. The leader of the League of Villains hadn't forgotten about the murder of one of his own, or the embarrassment he suffered in front of his troops. However, Shigaraki had to put all of his hatred aside for at least the moment. Overhaul was up to something big, and the only way to get a clue as to what was going on was to talk to the leader. For once, Shigaraki couldn't use violence to get what he wanted. He had to play along with Overhaul's game.

Some Cosa Nostra thugs led Shigaraki into a dimly lit, well furnished room. Overhaul was sitting on an expensive couch with a chess board perfectly set up. He looked up at Shigaraki. "I'll be honest, I was never actually expecting you to show up." Shigaraki sat on the couch across from Overhaul. "You don't like me, and I don't like you, Overhaul. Why are you so eager to have the League of Villains under your command?" Overhaul didn't move as he spoke. "Very simple reason, actually. Funds." "This is all about money?" "For me to complete my long term plans, I need funds. However, nobody is willing to invest in an outdated crime syndicate like us, and I can't say I blame them." Shigaraki's eyes narrowed from behind his mask. "I sense a 'but' coming." "But with your League under my command, we could acquire more funds, since the League of Villains carries a very powerful reputation across the underground." Shigaraki leaned back against the couch. "So why not join me?" Overhaul chuckled. "You're a terrible leader."

Overhaul picked up a pawn and placed it two spaces ahead. "Take the USJ attack for instance. You had a small army and an engine of destruction. How did that play out? Let me remind you: you lost all of your troops, the Nomu got apprehended by the police…" Overhaul smiled underneath his mask. "...and you were beaten by a quirkless student with less than a week of official training." Shigaraki picked up a pawn from his side of the board and angrily slammed it into its new position. "Jason isn't quirkless, and he's certainly not inexperienced. Even with that brat there, we only lost because of All Might." Overhaul placed another pawn down. "But the whole point of the mission was to kill All Might, no?"

Overhaul moved another pawn. "Then there's your humiliation at Cowell Park." Shigaraki tilted his head. "Humiliation? That mission was successful." Overhaul chuckled again. "Moonfish and Muscular. They were incredibly powerful tools and you lost them to a girl scared of her fire and to a kid who keeps breaking his arms." Shigaraki remained silent as he moved one of his knights. Overhaul leaned back in his seat, not making his move quite yet. "What's your plan?" "The destruction of hero society." Overhaul shook his head. "That's a goal, not a plan." "What's the difference?" Overhaul pointed directly at Shigaraki. "A goal with no plan is called a delusion. You need a plan in order to achieve your goal." Shigaraki reached into his jacket pocket. The two Cosa Nostra thugs in the corners drew guns and aimed them at Shigaraki. The villain placed a red dart on the table. "I assume your plan is related to these darts." Overhaul raised a single eyebrow. "You catch on fairly quickly." "The darts have the power to temporarily disable quirks. Is your plan to sell these and make a huge profit on the black market?" Overhaul nodded approvingly. "That was close. You really are sharper than you appear. However, my plans are still sensitive, and I can't work alongside you quite yet." Shigaraki glared again. "Why not?" "Because I don't trust you."

After a minute of silence, Overhaul leaned forward. "How about a test of trust?" "I'm listening." Overhaul held up three fingers. "Kurogiri, Twice, and Toga. Put them under my employ for a duration of time. I can use their abilities to accelerate my plans." Shigaraki scoffed. "You want to take my most important personnel from under me." Shigaraki closed his eyes and thought for a bit. Then he opened his eyes. "I will send Toga and Twice to you. That is all." Overhaul shrugged. "Fair enough." The gangster picked up his bishop and moved it across the board. Check mate. Shigaraki rose up from his seat. "I'll send them here in a week." "Pleasure doing business with you, Shigaraki."

Overhaul picked up the red dart that Shigaraki had left. "Lieutenant." One of his goons, a man dressed as a classic plague doctor, stepped forward. "Yes sir?" "We need to accelerate our production. I want the prototypes on the streets by the end of the week." The lieutenant wrote down a note on a notebook. "Yes sir. Anything else?" "No. Actually, yes." Overhaul stood up. "There's no way the heroes won't notice our products right away. I want to make sure there isn't a paper trail of any kind to follow, and make damn well sure that nobody can trace the product to us." "Yes sir."

On that note, Overhaul left.