"I'm bored!" Buriki whined. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed loudly.

Y/n carefully set Tomoru in his stroller and covered him up in a light blanket. Summer was just around the corner, and the days were growing longer and hotter. She kept her eyes down towards the infant as she spoke. "That sounds like a personal problem."

In the same playfully whiny tone, he continued to talk. "Let's do something!"

Y/n circled around and gripped onto the handle. She quietly began to guide the stroller down the sidewalk. Finally, y/n spoke up. "Something?" She didn't like the sound of that.

Y/n weaved around bodies walking down the sidewalk as she pushed the stroller along. Behind her, she heard his footsteps quicken until they were following along next to her. "Yeah!" Clearly, he either didn't pick up on her deadpan tone, or he didn't care.

"Let's rob a bank or something!" He gave y/n a toothy grin as she flinched.

Y/n shoot him a glare. "Why don't you say that a bit louder? I don't think any heroes heard you."

Buriki took a deep, exaggerated breath in. "I wasn't serious!" Y/n gave the male a quick jab in the stomach. The muscles she had come in contact with hurt the side of her hand.

Buriki used the air he had collected to let out a loud cackle. Several pedestrians turned around and looked at Buriki with quizzical expressions on their faces. "Is that the best you can do? You've got, like, no upper body strength." Y/n rolled her eyes and began walking faster.

He matched her pace. "So, what are we doing today?" Buriki asked.

"I'm running a few errands." Y/n had a mental to-do list. Tomura sent her out with a list of equipment he needed to be ordered from Giran. She also decided to visit Twice and get herself measured again.

Somewhere between buying equipment and going to see Twice, she had accidentally stumbled on Buriki. In fact, this had been the fifth time in a row since she agreed to partner with him. He seemed to have made a habit of finding her whenever she stopped by Giran's office.

"Can I come?" Y/n hummed as she thought, her fingers fidgeted with the little silver locket around her neck. That wouldn't be a bad idea.

She looked up at the black-haired man. "Are you going to stay out of trouble?" y/n asked. Buriki shrugged with a mischievous smile on his face. "Can you try, at least?" Once again, he shrugged.

Y/n glared at him. "Fine. What's the worst that'll happen." Death. Y/n knew the worst possible outcome would be the two villains killing each other.

Y/n discussed Twice a bit as they walked, namely his condition. Buriki chuckled. "So he's bonkers too?"

Y/n side-glanced over to Buriki before returning her gaze forward. "At least he has a reason."

"I have one too!" Y/n raised a brow, unconvinced. "I do! I swear!"

"Who is the craziest person in the room isn't a contest," y/n said. She rolled her eyes.

"I can make it a contest if I want to. And I'd totally win." Y/n shook her head. When he says stuff like that, it made her regret partnering up with him. "You try not being able to hear, see, and move for, like, forever. I was tube fed!"

Y/n rolled her eyes. "Forever, huh?" y/n said. She glanced over to Buriki. "The information Giran collected on you said you were only in there for a year. That hardly sounds like forever."

"One week, one year, one decade, one lifetime, it's all the same." Buriki waved it off and shoved his hands in his pockets.

The sun was slowly setting as y/n and Buriki made their way to Twice's most recent hiding spot. People became more scarce on the streets and, the lights lining the sidewalk began to flicker on.

"Remember, don't be a weirdo," y/n mumbled. The two stood in front of a door in the middle of an old hallway. Buriki snickered in response.

Through the door, y/n heard footsteps. Twice was coming. Her heart raced, this was like throwing two cats together without adequately introducing them beforehand. She hoped this meeting wouldn't have a bloodied end.

Twice opened the door. He looked down at y/n. His gaze immediately shifted to Buriki. "This is your new recruit, eh?" Y/n held her breath as she nodded. The blonde-haired villain stretched out his hand towards Buriki. "Nice to meet you, man."

Buriki's emerald eyes looked at Twice's hand. He took it and gave a firm squeeze. "I'm crazier than you."

Y/n covered her face with a hand, feeling her face heat up. "It's not a contest," she whispered.

"Everything is a contest," he replied.

Y/n glanced up between her fingers. Twice looked confused. "Oh, well, okay. That's good to know, I guess." He pulled his hand away and stepped out of the way, giving the two and baby entry into his little motel room.

Y/n pushed the stroller inside and Twice knelt in front of Tomoru. "Hey, buddy." He reached into the stroller and gently patted the infant on his head.

Twice rose to his feet. "I'm sure you've got other places to be, so I'll try to be quick." He turned around and grabbed a plastic tape measure from a small bag hastily stuffed with clothes. Y/n caught a short glimpse of his grey and black bodysuit.

The second measurement went a lot smoother than the first time. This time around, she knew what to expect. Buriki leaned against a wall, his arms crossed while he watched. It didn't take long before he began to make exaggerated yawns and express his boredom. Y/n watched Twice to see his reaction. Buriki can be off-putting, especially when unprepared for how much he can talk.

Twice seemed to be at least a little interested in Buriki. Even though y/n still had an underlying worry that things weren't going to end well, Twice was the perfect person to start with. Generally, he accepted everyone. He didn't like seeing someone outcasted. Y/n just hoped that Buriki wouldn't take advantage of Twice's kindness and try to push his buttons.

The two villains went back and forth. Twice asked questions. Buriki answered them, sometimes it was clear he was earnest, sometimes his answers appeared to be jokes. His rather laid back and playful demeanor made it challenging to distinguish the two. By now, only knowing Buriki for a few weeks now, she had gotten pretty good at telling the difference.

"You were one of the ones we got out of Tartarus, weren't you?" Twice asked.

One of them? There were more out there? Y/n had no idea. Tomura never mentioned that part. She wondered where the other ones were and what they were doing. She made a mental note to ask Tomura.

"Sure was. I was one of the first ones broken out." Buriki sounded proud of himself.

"And what landed you in Tartarus?" Twice asked. He briefly turned around and looked at the green-eyed villain. "It doesn't take a few robberies or an occasional murder to get sent to Tartarus."

His smile faded. He didn't look upset or mad by Twice's question, Buriki merely seemed lost in thought. "Lots of things, actually." He hummed a short tune. "I don't know what exactly was the final straw. I guess it was just everything I've done altogether."

Twice asked him to explain. "I've murdered, arson, robbed people and places, tried kidnapping once, which led to giving blackmail a whirl. If you can think of a crime, I've probably done it. Off the top of my head, there are only a few things I haven't done." Buriki tapped his cheek with his index and middle fingers, still very lost in thought. "I think that's all."

"What are the things you haven't done?" Twice asked. Y/n was curious about this, as well. Giran kept detailed notes, but his file on Buriki was still relatively empty. Taking him in was a gamble on her part.

"Any type of trafficking? People, money, drugs, that sort of thing. Too much effort if you ask me." He hummed again. "Rape, haven't done that. Let's see. Anything else?" This is the first time y/n has ever seen Buriki think about anything. He concluded that he probably listed everything.

Twice tried asking about his personal life. Family, where he grew up, any friends that he could recall. Buriki's answers were playful jokes. He didn't seem interested in discussing any of that.

Slowly Twice's questions began to stop. To take place for the ever-growing silence, Buriki started to talk.

"You're a real chatterbox," Twice mumbled. The villain sighed as he took y/n's hand and measured her fingers individually. "You're not talking enough!" He bit his bottom lip and cleared his throat.

Buriki had a disturbing smile on his face. It looked almost devil-like. "Oh, really? Let me fix that for you." Buriki began to playfully chatter about, leaving no room for anyone to possibly butt into his one-man conversation. Twice stepped away and dug through his bag, pulling out his mask.

"Buriki, settle down," y/n called out. The last thing she needed was him agitating Twice any more than he most likely had. He, in return, chuckled and said she had pulled out her mom voice.

Y/n opened her mouth to argue with him but Twice stepped in the middle of them. "Let's see how you look now."

She closed her mouth and watched Twice's quirk got to work. A congealed blob landed on the floor and morphed into a shape. A y/n clone, much more accurate to the present day y/n.

Y/n leaned forward a bit and looked at her clone. "I think that's a bit better." In her peripherals, she saw Buriki perk up.

He looked at the clone, he was unreasonably close to her. She leaned back a bit. While y/n felt terrible that her clone was so uncomfortable, she thought it was better if it was her clone rather than her.

"Can I keep it?" Buriki asked.

Y/n furrowed her brows and scrunched up her nose. "No, wait— what, why?"

"You're my only friend." Buriki batted his eyes at her. Y/n said he was not allowed to keep the clone. He gave her a mischievous smile. "Well, fine then."

His attention switched over to Twice. "How do you make them go away?" Twice explained a bit of his quirk. He left it at that the clones go away after taking a certain amount of damage.

His face perked up, and his green-eyes practically glowed with excitement. "Can I do it?"

Even from behind the mask, it was clear that Twice looked bewildered. He stood up straight and crossed his arms. The now masked villain stood between y/n and Buriki. "You want to? I personally feel bad when I have to do it, especially when they look like one of my friends."

His smile widened and looked unusually disturbed. "Of course! It sounds like fun! I like looking for reasons to use my quirk." The beaded metal bracelets that decorated his wrists jingled as he raised his hands. He looked them over. "This is, what, two hundred shots?"

Twice maintained his overprotective manner. He motioned his head towards y/n behind him. "If you're excited to kill off a clone, what's stopping you from hurting the real y/n?"

Buriki shrugged. "I dunno. Because I like y/n, I guess." Y/n certainly didn't feel like it. At the same time, this lined up with his rather unusual sense of humor. For the first time in at least a few days, y/n wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or not.

"Yeah, sure." Twice didn't sound convinced. He glanced out the window, y/n followed his gaze. The sun had almost completely set, and the first signs of stars decorated the sky. "It's getting dark out, I think I'm going to take y/n home."

Buriki shrugged and waved. "Goodbye, partner!" His eyes glanced over to the stroller, carrying the sleeping infant. "And little partner."

He began to head towards the door. Y/n went to go follow him out but Twice stepped in her way. He frantically shook his head, silently telling her not to follow.

Buriki seemed to have noticed, he chuckled as he closed the door behind him. So much for getting Jin to take his measurements.

"I think he was just kidding," y/n said. She wanted to try to smooth things out. There was a strong possibility that Buriki was going to have to work with The League one day. The last thing she needed was Buriki burning bridges before they had a chance to get used to him.

Twice sighed. "Well, we'll see. Come on, Shigaraki is probably waiting for you." Y/n noticed the clone went and grabbed the stroller. She saw a pained expression on the clone's face. Her lips quivered ever so slightly as she looked down at the baby. Y/n didn't need a mirror to see that she had a similar expression on her own face.

"I..." her voice trailed off as they began to walk. Y/n was on one side of him, and the clone was on his other. She fumbled with her fingers as she stared down towards the ground. "I don't think so. Honestly, I don't think Tomura has said more than ten sentences to me since meeting Tomoru."

Twice hummed. "Really? That's weird."

"Weird?" y/n repeated. She couldn't figure out why.

"Don't tell Shigaraki I said any of this," Twice began. "Blame Toga if he finds out!" Twice cleared his throat and practically begged y/n not to do that either. Y/n giggled, and the clone weakly smiled.

"The year you went missing was awful," Twice mumbled. "Don't get me wrong, a lot of us openly missed you and we were worried for you. Giran, me, Toga, Compress, mainly. Sometimes the act slips, and Spinner worried."

Twice hesitated. "Shigaraki, though." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "You know how irritable he can be?"

Y/n nodded. "Okay, well, take that anger, double it and then multiply it by a million. He was unreasonably angry, completely inconsolable. Sometimes he was honestly a little scary. We've never seen him like that."

She had no idea he had taken things so badly. Twice continued to recollect the prior year. "He threw unreasonable tantrums. Few of us felt safe when we had to give Shigaraki any bad news."

Both y/n and the clone glanced at each other. They both looked utterly shocked. "These past few weeks, this has been the calmest Shigaraki has been for a year. We gathered when Shigaraki said Giran found you, and for the first time in a while, we weren't gathering in fear."

Twice chuckled. "We had no idea how close you and Shigaraki are." Y/n felt her face heat up. The clone's face burned a deep red. "Well, Toga had a feeling, but we didn't think she was right. We all assumed Shigaraki came up with some kind of plan, and you were important. Like the Nomu Project."

The blonde villain caught y/n's attention. "It's a good thing that you two are close. I think sometimes Shigaraki can be," he hesitated; "well, a bit too much. You seem to keep him grounded. He needs someone like that."

Hearing Twice's words, it was like a weight was lifted off of her. She had been bearing so much pain. Y/n felt like she lost control of her family. She spent nights worrying that she was sticking around to avoid raising her son in something much worse than a broken household with an absentee father. Making excuses for his distance just to appear a little more normal.

Y/n smiled. "Thank you, Jin. I needed to hear all of that." While it made her feel better learning that Tomura missed her, she wished that he would try. She knew he'd love Tomoru if he gave the infant a chance.

"No problem," he replied.

Tomura paced around the shack impatiently. "It doesn't take an entire day to order crap and visit Twice," he muttered. He found himself short of breath. Merely walking around the house made it hard to breathe. However, he couldn't sit down or take a nap. Too restless.

He glanced out a window. Y/n and Twice were talking. What looked like another y/n was pushing a stroller. Tomura watched cautiously.

The still masked villain waved and motioned his hand. The y/n holding onto the stroller followed along Twice's side.

He held his breath as he saw y/n take the stroller and head towards the shack. His eyes scanned the room, looking at all his possible exits. He turned and retreated to the bedroom.

"Hm, I thought daddy would be awake still." He stiffened. Hearing y/n refer to him as a father made him uncomfortable. The blue-haired villain listened to y/n through the walls as he laid motionlessly in the bed.

The door opened, and he followed the sounds of her footsteps to the crib. Y/n quietly wished the baby goodnight with a hushed tone. She stayed by the infant's side for what felt like forever.

Finally, the bed dipped down. He held his breath for a moment as y/n wrapped her arm around his torso. Tomura had to mentally remind himself to breathe, to act like he's sleeping.

She was warm. Her soft skin brushed up against him. Her fingers lightly running along his torso, slowly tracing circles. Tomura thought back to the last time y/n hugged him. When he first picked her up from Giran. It's been weeks.

Soft lips brushed against the back of his neck. His stomach knotted and twisted. Attention.

For the first time in a long time, y/n was finally giving him attention.

Art Cornet #2—

*Deep inhale* Baby pictures! Baby pictures!

Look how cute!! 🥺👉👈

Art drawn by cosmospasms please go send them some love!!