No Reason To Cry Wolf, Right?

Chapter XXIV

"The air out here is practically made of dust; I think I'll be sick." A man with short brown hair coughed as he readjusted his red beak-like mask.

"Join the club! Everyone inside has been sick for a while." Twice reassured as he led the man into an abandoned factory.

Opening the doors, the league all turned to face the two men walking inside. "Well, now. You brought us a pretty big catch, huh, Twice?" Shigaraki rasped, while Twice and the man stood in front of him motionless.

"You think so? Strange, coming from you. The League of Villains" The man responded.

"What gives? Is this guy famous or something?" Magne asked.

"My father showed me a picture of him. He's what you'd call 'yakuza'. The young head of the Shie Hassaikai. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Shigaraki questioned while answering the Alphan woman.

'Overhaul'

"He's the number two of the whole gang? Ooh, I've never met anyone like him before! He smells so dangerous! How exciting!" The woman stated almost mockingly as she 'excitedly' waved her arms around, while still keeping her large magnet placed in her arms.

"What's the deal? We're all criminals here, so how is this guy different?" Toga questioned with a bored tone, finding this meeting all too boring for her tastes.

"Ah! Allow me to tell you a story. In the past, many different scary troupes ran the underworld. After Heroes started arriving though, they slowly but surely began to disband. When All Might took the stage, their era was over. The yakuza survivors who weren't caught became rent-a-thugs for villain groups. In other words, they were the lowest form of criminal, barely scraping by to make a living." Compress began to explain as Toga looked up at the man from where she sat on the floor, while Compress sat with his legs crossed on a large metal container.

"Frankly, they're obsolete. An endangered species." Compress further explained while Overhaul tilted his head down as he closed his eyes.

"Endangered species, huh? I guess that's true." Overhaul chuckled.

"Yeah, what's a yakuza thug from the slums doing here? Lemme guess, you're excited about All Might's retirement, too?" Magne questioned.

"It's good that he's gone, sure. But I'm more interested in All For One's absence. The dark emperor who ruled over the shadows. The old-timers always feared him. Even after rumors of his death. Honestly, though, most people my age thought he was an urban legend. You can imagine the shock when he showed up in the flesh." Overhaul stated.

"United States of Smash!!" All Might roared as he gave the final blow.

"But in the end, the big bad was thrown into Tartarus and the Symbol of Peace retired. This means those of us in the shadows and those in the light are both leaderless. So, who will step up to take their places?" Overhaul questioned tauntingly. Though his expression stayed nonchalant.

"You know who my father is, but you've still got the nerve to ask that? Sounds like a challenge." Shigaraki stated as he stepped forward, only for a quick blur of shadows to quickly step up beside him, a shadow-like tendril wrapping around the Alpha's hand as either a form of comfort or a form of restraint.

"I'm the next leader. Even now, I'm gathering my troops. Our numbers continue to increase. With our combined power, I will turn this corrupt hero society to dust." Shigaraki declared, only gently swiping his thumb across a bandaged hand as a form of acknowledgment to the boy who now stood at his side.

"You have an actual plan?" Overhaul questioned, only paying the masked boy a single glance.

"Watch your tongue and your tone," Shigaraki warned, while the shadow tendril only tightened around his hand.