"Thirty-seven left," y/n muttered to herself. Y/n hugged her pillow in her arms and looked out through the window. She found herself feeling even more conflicted as ever. 

Y/n considered the positives of helping The League. Villains were off the streets. Cities y/n had visited saw a slight decline in crime. Y/n didn't want to take credit for those stats, but it sounded a bit too convenient. Y/n wasn't sure she could go back to her old life again, and The League kept a roof over her head.

Her attention jumped to the negatives. Even if she didn't know The League's plans in full, y/n knew people were going to die. She could potentially get caught. A minuscule thought nagged at the back of her mind. Tomura might get arrested, or worse.

Y/n tried to ignore the little voice in her head. She told herself that it would be a good thing if Tomura got caught. Wherever Tomura goes, he leaves nothing but death and destruction in his path. Y/n didn't think he deserved to die, but he needed to get caught sometime soon. The realization left y/n feeling empty inside. 

He's been the source of so much warmth and happiness. While also being y/n's cause for despair and her darkest hours. Tomura has made her feel things no one has ever made her feel before. As selfish as it was, y/n wanted to continue exploring those emotions, both the highs and the lows. Y/n wanted to get high off those warm feelings he gave her, as well as drown in the melancholy that only he could cause her. 

Y/n took her mind off of Tomura and back to The League. She didn't feel confident that she could stop The League anymore at this rate anyway. Tomura's project has progressed too far. At this point, y/n thought things were out of her control.

Y/n's mind traveled to another possibility. Instead of her foiling The League, she wondered what would happen if Tomura's plan crumbled on its own. After giving it some thought, she decided that a few members would be arrested, while others will make it out alright. Tomura, Kurogiri, Himiko, and Dabi were least likely to get caught. She was the most likely suspect not to make it out. As Compress put it, she was the weakest link in The League.

Her mind jumped again. Y/n knew she had to cover all her bases if she wanted the best possible outcome for herself. The next thing she had to consider was what to do if she got arrested. Y/n wondered if she could talk her way out of going to jail. She furled her brows in thought. There were too many uncertainties to plan for.

Y/n had to consider both whether or not her quirk was made public. If not, she had a chance to get away with everything, but even then, the future was filled with unpredictability. If so, she was going to get arrested no matter what. Either for working with The League or for forging her Quirk Documentation forms to mark herself as quirkless. More likely than not, she'd be charged for both.

"Thirty-seven left," she repeated, trying to estimate how much more time y/n had left. Y/n had found more Nomu than everyone in The League put together. How fast or slow the Nomu Project progressed was almost entirely in her hands. She could get it done in a week or stretch it out over a month. Y/n didn't know how long it takes to make a Nomu, y/n guessed a few months. By y/n's estimation, she had two or three months left.

Beyond all the uncertainty, the only clear-cut thing was that she needed to come to a decision soon. Y/n rested her head on the pillow in her arms. She listened to the dead silence of her room. What to do, what to do.

A chilly breeze brushed up against y/n's skin. She woke up huddled in a ball, hugging onto her pillow, y/n couldn't remember falling asleep. She sat up and shivered before closing the window.

Y/n already knew she was going to get sent out again tonight. The Nomu Project was reaching its conclusion. There's no reason why Tomura and Kurogiri wouldn't send y/n out practically daily.

Y/n reached out for her belt and hoodie. She held them in her hands and looked down. Every time she put the hoodie and mask on, y/n felt she lost a little bit of herself. It made y/n feel sick.

Dressed in the hoodie, y/n stepped outside and walked down the hallway. "Good morning," y/n mumbled as she walked past Tomura's unconscious body and headed towards the garage.

Y/n sat down in front of Nobuo. "Hey, buddy," y/n greeted. The Nomu got down and rested his head on her lap. With the tip of her middle finger, she lightly rubbed Nobuo between his eyes.

She tried not to think about it often, but sometimes y/n would think about who Nobuo used to be. She knew, from The League's recruitment process for The Nomu Project, that Nobuo was a villain who most likely did something terrible. Everything past that was speculation on her part.

On some days, y/n guessed that Nobuo was a married man with kids who turned to villainy in secret to support his family. Other days, y/n theorized that he was in prison for murder, but managed to escape and continue his murder spree. Until The League found him, that is.

"Ah, so this is where you've been hiding, "Kurogiri called out from behind y/n. Nobuo sat up and hunched partially over y/n in a protective manner.

Y/n pat the monster on the arm. "Down," y/n ordered. The Nomu returned to the mattress and vacantly laid down. 

"I see you expect to leave today?" Kurogiri asked. Y/n explained that it was the most logical thing to do. "I see. Well, everyone is working tonight. With our collective efforts, we should have enough subjects collected within the next day or two."

Y/n was caught off-guard; she didn't expect The League to rush the process so much. They'd been working on The Nomu Project for almost a year. They've waited this long, y/n thought they'd be able to wait another two or three months.

"Everyone?" y/n asked, glancing over to the door.

"Almost everyone, "Kurogiri corrected. 

Y/n let out a hum. At this point, she's accompanied everyone in The League at least once while recruiting, some more than others. The only exception was Tomura, who didn't recruit at all. He says it's not safe for him to do so. "Oh, that's a shame, I was hoping Tomura would come along," in a much quieter, mousy voice she continued; "with me."

"I don't think so," Kurogiri snapped. He suddenly calmed himself and cleared his throat. "Today," Kurogiri began, thoughtfully. "Let's see. I'll send you with Dabi. I think you'd get much done with him."

Y/n held back a groan. Dabi was one of the last people she wanted to be paired off with. "Really?" y/n asked, trying to sound polite. "How about Mister? Or maybe Jin?"

Kurogiri shook his head. "You'd benefit more going with Dabi today." Y/n opened her mouth, but Kurogiri cut her off. "No excuses." 

Y/n was surrounded by darkness before she knew it. A snowflake landed on her cheek before the warmth of her face melted it. Y/n shivered as she covered her hands in the hoodie's sleeves, allowing the full length of the sleeves to run down her arms.

"Took you long enough," Dabi said. Y/n frowned at Dabi. Tomura and Dabi sometimes seemed like they had the same sour attitude; for apparent reasons, y/n had a much easier time with Tomura. Dabi was plain irritating.

Y/n approached Dabi. "Can we just get this over with?" Y/n didn't want to spend more time with Dabi than necessary.

Dabi chuckled as he stepped forward, leading the way, y/n followed behind him. "So, it's been about nine months since the first time." Y/n stayed quiet and listened to him. "You know, it's impressive you lasted this long, we all owe Toga some cash."

Y/n glanced up at him. "What?"

"We had a betting pool running for how long we thought you'd last." Y/n could hear a bitter tone in Dabi's voice. "Apparently, Toga won." Dabi sighed. "Ah, well, nothing you can do about it now."

Y/n narrowed her eyes at Dabi, glaring at the back of his head. "Oh."

Dabi glanced over his shoulder. "Well, don't you look all tough and scary," he chuckled. Y/n turned away from him, hiding her reddening face from behind her hood. "I've heard you've improved. I want to see it for myself."

Y/n kept her mouth shut. Out of everyone in The League, he knew exactly which buttons to press. Y/n could hear him chuckle again. This is going to be a long night.

Dabi walked straight ahead with y/n following far behind him. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't necessarily happy to see him again. Not that he blamed y/n, the first time she shadowed him was a trainwreck. Dabi was interested in seeing how y/n has improved over the past nine months. 

From what he's heard, y/n isn't a complete lost cause these days. Twice had said nothing but good about her. However, as far as The League goes, Twice is a little on the kinder side. Dabi, on the other hand, valued Compress' opinions a little more. Compress had his criticisms of y/n. Even so, according to Compress, he was pleasantly surprised at how y/n will pull it together when push comes to shove.

That's not the sobbing mess he remembered needing to babysit months ago. So far, he could tell that y/n can pretend to be tough. That glare y/n gave him earlier was burned in his mind. Dabi chuckled to himself, just thinking about it.

"What are you laughing at?" he heard y/n's soft voice behind him. Her tone had a mix of curiosity and mistrust. Knowing y/n, she most likely didn't want to ask, but the curiosity got to her. 

Dabi wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that. However, he considers himself a bit of a people pleaser, so he decided to let y/n in on what he was thinking. Dabi slowed down a bit so that he could hear y/n's response.

"That oh-so-scary face you made earlier," he replied. Much to his dismay, y/n didn't seem to react, not verbally at least. The patchwork villain looked back at her and saw the displeasure plastered on her face. 

Dabi thought prodding at y/n was a little fun, but that wasn't the only reason why he picked on her. He wondered how long it would take for her to figure it out.

The sun was beginning to set. The League had been taking advantage of the winter months. The days shortening gave them more time to go out and about with their plans. Dabi decided now would be an optimal time to take a shortcut. "How lucky are you feeling?" he asked. Y/n didn't respond. "Semi-serious question."

"Not very, "y/n replied, sounding a little reluctant; "why?"

"The first guy we're looking for likes to stalk around in the dark. He looks for unsuspecting people. From what I read he likes to rip peoples heads off. I just thought that your head looks pretty decapitate-able." Dabi glanced behind him to see y/n had slowed her pace significantly. Dabi chuckled. "I'm joking. Well, kind of. The reason why I was asking was actually because pros are currently trying to find him. We might end up running into one or two."

He stopped and turned around so y/n could catch up to him. He watched as y/n fumbled in her hoodie pocket. "Oh, no," she lamented. Dabi asked what was wrong. "I left my mask at home."

"Pretty rookie mistake," he mumbled. He wondered if it was genuinely an accident or if she was trying to get out of what's coming next.

Y/n glared at him. "I didn't ask to be sent here. Kurogiri didn't check in with me and make sure I was ready." 

Dabi shrugged it off. "Probably for the best. If you look like a villain, our guy might not want to rip your head off." Once again, Dabi didn't get a reply. Instead, he got another glare out of her.

The patchwork villain continued leading y/n through shady back alleys and deserted sideroads. The walk was quiet between the two of them, Dabi guessed she was a little irritated at him. He stopped at a crossroads. He pointed up ahead. "Ladies first." Y/n scoffed as she passed by him. Dabi chuckled in response.

He watched as y/n disappeared on the horizon. His phone rang, he paused as he looked at the name. That's terrible timing. Dabi thought about ignoring the call before ultimately deciding he had to answer it.

His phone read Tomura Shigaraki. "Here we go, "Dabi mumbled under his breath, already exhausted from talking to his leader before he even answered his call.

"Do I even need to tell you to play nice with y/n?" Tomura's voice was dripping with ire. It sounded like his leader had just woken up.

"No, we've been doing peachy," Dabi replied. "I dunno about her, but I've been having a good time. She can be pretty entertaining."

Dabi heard a low growl over the phone before Tomura warned Dabi to keep y/n safe. Dabi decided that he shouldn't tell his leader that he was currently using y/n as bait. "If that's all you wanted to say, I'm going to hang up now." 

Before Tomura could answer, Dabi hung up and headed the same direction he watched y/n go. Just as I thought, that's where she picked up that attitude. Shigaraki is rubbing off on her.

Y/n would occasionally look over her shoulder for Dabi. She felt like her senses were on high alert. Y/n would sometimes jump, thinking that she heard something in the darkness. Y/n held the hem of her hoodie as she walked, trying to take in the scenery around her.

It looked like she was in a residential area. Every house she walked by looked old and frail. Many of them didn't seem suitable to live in. The falling snow made it difficult to see ahead of her. Y/n took advantage of the snow on the ground. She scanned the perfectly fluffy snow, looking for footprints beyond hers.

Y/n felt her hands and face go numb. She pulled the hood closer to her face and shoved her hands in the front pocket. Y/n watched her breath manifest in front of her with each shaky exhale. "I hate this," she quietly complained to herself.

"Cold night, isn't it?" Y/n spun around and doubled over, losing her footing on a sheet of ice below her.

Y/n froze in her spot as she looked up at the man with the wolf mutation, standing over her. He was an immense mass of silver fur, and his animalistic golden eyes appeared to be glowing from the moonlight bouncing off the snow. The man was snarling and baring his teeth.

Y/n had flashbacks of the last time Dabi, and she went out recruiting. Y/n acknowledged that Dabi wasn't around to save her this time around. With unsteady hands, she reached under her hoodie and pulled out her knife. Y/n held It close to her body.

The man let out a laugh that closely resembled a howl. Y/n flinched and crunched forward, gripping both of her eyes closed. "Whatcha think you're gonna do with that?" 

Y/n peeked at the knife in her hands and realized the blade was still folded inside the handle. Y/n tried calling out for help, but she was left speechless.

"Ah, it seems you took my bait," a familiar voice called out from behind the wolfman. Both y/n and the man looked over to the direction the sound came from. A slightly bored looking Dabi was slowly trudging his way through the snow towards the pair.

Y/n could see Dabi glance over to her. His icy cold gaze looked her over. "Well, at least you tried to defend yourself this time." At this very moment, y/n wasn't sure if she should feel relieved to see Dabi or furious that he put her in such a dangerous situation.

Dabi looked up at the man, still towering over y/n. "Yuuta Shimamoto," Dabi muttered under his breath.

"I'm Dabi," he pointed to y/n; "and you've met y/n. We're from The League of Villains."

Y/n saw Shimamoto glance at her before turning his direction to Dabi. He reached out with a clawed hand and picked up y/n by her arm. "She's part of The League too?"

Y/n let out a whimper as she felt his razor-sharp claws pierce through her hoodie and break her skin. Dabi's didn't cut eye contact with Shimamoto; he appeared to be completely unphased. "I can't have you hurting that one. The boss would kill me."

"Oh, so this one is worth something, then?" Y/n could feel his sharp, golden eyes on her, and she could only guess that he was trying to size up her worth. Y/n trembled.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try bargaining with me." Dabi's voice was calm and collected. While Shimamoto was distracted, y/n released the blade with her free hand and sloppily tried to stab his arm.

Shimamoto must have seen it coming. He took y/n's other hand in his and dug a claw into her skin until she dropped the knife and recoiled in pain. "She's feisty," he said in a low growl. 

Y/n looked over to Dabi with a panicked expression on her face. She saw Dabi make eye contact with y/n; he maintained the bored expression on his face as he cocked his head to the side. Beyond his visage, he seemed lost in thought. If y/n weren't in the situation she found herself in, she would have wondered what Dabi was thinking about.

Shimamoto yanked on y/n with one firm tug. In an instant, a surge of pain ran up her arms and rested at her joints. Y/n bit down on her cheek to muffle any cries of pain. All the pain seemed to come from her right. Y/n's left arm, which Shimamoto's claws were firmly planted, barely hurt at all. It felt numb.

He repeated himself in a much more animalistic tone. "What's your boss' price for this one's life."

Y/n decided that she'd rather gamble her life than stand helpless on the side. "Nothing," y/n blurted out. Liar activated. Shimamoto froze in his place. 

Y/n knew it would be futile, but she released her right hand from his grip and desperately reached it for her knife. She knew the blade would be just barely out of reach, but that didn't stop her from trying. 

Much to y/n's surprise, she managed to grab onto the tip of the sharp blade, even though she knew it should have been out of her reach. Y/n held the knife and put as much force as she could muster into lodging the pointed edge into the hand still firmly planted on her arm. 

Shoving a knife into a person took much more force than y/n initially thought it would. She considered pulling the knife out and trying again. Instead, she opted to put all her body weight on the blade. Y/n could see a glimmer of life in Shimamoto's eyes. Y/n held her breath in anticipation.

Shimamoto recoiled on pain and loosened his hold on y/n. She took that opportunity in an instant and sprinted to Dabi. A rupture of blue flames came forth from Dabi's direction. Y/n toppled over, tripping over her legs and falling into her side.

Y/n sat and watched as the blue flames engulfed Shimamoto. Even though y/n had witnessed Dabi's quirk to some extent, she didn't expect things to be so quiet. Not hearing screams of agony or Shimamoto's last moments of life made a chill run down her spine. The ghostly silence scared her most of all.

Melted snow ran along the road like a river. If not from the snowflakes falling to the ground, the scene around Shimamoto's crisp corpse would have seemed like a warm, spring night. Y/n's eyes lingered towards the scene before her, unmoving.

Dabi blocked her view of the corpse and crouched down in front of her. She felt his fingers along her jawline. He moved y/n's head up, so she was now looking at him.

"Ah, well, no tears at least. Last time you cried like a baby." Y/n didn't know what she should be feeling. She didn't have much time to think about it. Her entire right arm, from her fingertips to her shoulder, felt like pins and needles.

Dabi glanced over to her arm. Y/n watched as his expression became much more grave. She saw him firmly place his fingers along her shoulder. Dabi clicked his tongue. "Gonna have to pop that back into place."

Y/n held her breath when she realized Shimamoto must have dislocated her arm when he pulled on her. "I-is it going to hurt?" y/n said in a weak whisper.

"Probably," Dabi responded nonchalantly. Y/n was hoping Dabi was messing with her like he always does. However, she knew deep down that he was very serious this time.

She watched as Dabi held not her wrist with one hand and her bicep on the other. He rotated her arm out. Y/n flinched as she felt a sudden wave of pain as her arm resisted moving any further. He began to lift her arm. Y/n whimpered as a jolt of pain ran through her arm and resonated throughout her body.

"That solves that problem. Shigaraki is still going to kill me, though," Dabi paused; "try to, at least."

Dabi pulled out his phone. Y/n's eyes widened. "W-wait, what are you doing?"

"Sending you back," he replied flatly.

"N-no, I'm fine. I promise, really." Y/n wasn't sure how convincing she sounded, but that was the truth. She genuinely wanted to continue recruiting with Dabi. She watched as Dabi's eyes narrowed at her. Y/n felt very small under his icy gaze. The patchwork villain put his phone away. "Thank you." Y/n smiled at Dabi, relieved that he was letting her stay after all.

Dabi did most of the work for the rest of the night. Y/n thought he was pretty persuasive as is; she was left wondering how The League didn't collect all the Nomu Candidates sooner. Between Dabi's work ethic and his charisma, y/n would have thought that The Nomu Project could have been done much sooner.

Y/n was still in pain by the time Kurogiri came to collect y/n. She was thankful that her hoodie was black; it masked any blood that seeped through the fabric.

She was anxious that Dabi and Tomura might end up hurting each other. Y/n tucked her arms behind her back, obscuring both Tomura and Kurogiri's view of her wounds.

Y/n nervously backed into the hallway and slid through the bathroom door without saying a word to either man. Now in the safety of the restroom, y/n could breathe. She turned the shower faucet and let the water run, which promised that neither Kurogiri or Tomura would bother her.

Y/n pulled off the hoodie and her shirt. She studied the scope of her wounds in full for the first time in the mirror.

The cut on her hand was small, and she was sure it would heal fast. However, the damage done to her right arm was much more severe. She had five distinct cuts along her arm and several smaller cuts and scrapes along her shoulder.

Y/n leaned forward and studied the wounds through the mirror as she wondered if they were going to leave a scar. The thought made y/n feel even worse than she already. Y/n already had a long list of flaws, and she didn't want to add these possible scars to the list.

She sat at the bathtub's edge as she wondered how she was going to hide the wounds from the two men. She, under no circumstances, wanted Dabi and Tomura fighting over this. Y/n grew thankful that it was winter, she decided that she could wear a sweater with gloves, and neither man would be none the wiser.

For now, y/n needed to clean her wounds and go to bed. The combination of tonight's disaster, and the stress of dealing with Dabi in general left y/n worn out. Y/n rinsed off her arm and hand under the running water from the shower. She sharply inhaled through gritted teeth as her cuts stung. After enduring the pain enough to clean the dried blood that clung to her skin, y/n grabbed the first aid kit under the sink.

Feeling the pain pulsating from both her hand and arm, y/n sloppily bandaged herself up. She tried to put the hoodie back on before turning off the shower, but it was no use. The pain was too much,   and y/n found herself growing faint.

Y/n gathered her hoodie and shirt in her arms, close to her nearly bare chest. She cracked the bathroom door open and peered into the hallway. Empty. Y/n dashed across the hall to her room and closed the door behind her.

The sudden burst of energy to hurry to the other side of the hallway was the last of y/n's remaining adrenaline. Y/n allowed the clothes to slip from her arms and onto the floor at her feet. Drained, y/n went straight to bed and fell asleep.

Tomura looked up from his phone upon hearing y/n's bedroom door close. He waited expectantly for y/n to return from her room. Ever since he disclosed everything to y/n about what he and Kurogiri discussed, y/n has made a point to spend a little bit of time with him in secret. He never honestly noticed how stubborn y/n could be until recently. 

Tomura felt conflicted about y/n's defiance against Kurogiri's rules. On the one hand, he felt some semblance of pride, knowing that she wasn't as compliant anymore. Y/n was one step closer to being his perfect villain comrade — a model League of Villains member.

On the other, he didn't want to put up with Kurogiri's lectures once the shadow-like villain finds out. Tomura supposed that he and y/n could keep it a secret, but Tomura often wondered how long they could keep up the charade. Kurogiri was bound to find out eventually, no matter how cautious the two of them were.

Tomura looked over to the hallway again. She still hadn't made an appearance just yet. This behavior was out of character for y/n. Then again, she had been acting strange since she got back.

When y/n came back to the hideout, Tomura noticed that she hadn't said a word to either he or Kurogiri. This was strange to Tomura. He checked up on her, making sure Dabi was on his best behavior, via texts throughout the day. Y/n seemed fine. Her messages were consistent with how she usually replied.

The villain wondered if y/n and Dabi had a falling out right before Kurogiri collected her. Tomura knew she wasn't the fondest of Dabi, but Kurogiri insisted the two should work together more often. Kurogiri had said it would be beneficial pairing Dabi's work ethic with y/n's quirkmura understood the logic, but that didn't mean he liked it, sending y/n out with Dabi made him feel uneasy.

Instead of spending time with him, his skittish comrade hurried off to the shower. Tomura didn't think much of it. She and Dabi were it in the snow for hours, and she appeared pale, Tomura guessed y/n was trying to warm herself up.

Nearly an hour passed since he heard y/n's door close. He looked over to the door, expecting her to walk out at any moment. She didn't.

Tomura got up from the couch and walked into the bathroom. The room was still humid, and Tomura found himself rubbing his irritated skin. A wrapper in the trash caught his eye. Bandages?

He looked at the paper for a moment before pulling out the first aid kit. He knew for sure that it should be fully stocked and untouched. It wasn't. Uneasiness washed over Tomura.

The villain exited the bathroom and pressed his ear against her bedroom door. No light was peeking out from under her door. He could hear very occasional movement coming from her bed. He guessed y/n was tossing and turning in her sleep.

Taking a gamble, Tomura entered her room. He navigated confidently in the darkness, as if he's made this walk many times before, and stopped just shy of her nightstand. The villain ran a finger along the side of her lamp until he found the switch.

Now able to see, Tomura looked down at y/n. Her brows were furrowed, and it seemed like she was grinding her teeth. Tomura had a full view of her injuries. Her arm and her hand.

Tomura watched as she turned to lay on her bandaged arm before returning to her back. The pitiful sight left Tomura feeling livid. He told Dabi to keep an eye on y/n and to protect her. This is the second time y/n has accompanied Dabi, and she came back with an injury both times.

Tomura was furious at Dabi; however, the villain was also irritated at y/n. She didn't say anything. He felt his chest squeeze, just thinking about it.

He wondered if she planned on hiding her injuries from him. Tomura couldn't imagine why she'd do that unless she was trying to protect Dabi from his ire. He tried to convince himself that he was wrong. Y/n and Dabi didn't get along.

Kurogiri informed him that this painful feeling was called jealousy. Tomura didn't like it. It hurt. Tomura wanted to wake y/n up and lecture her, but the pained expression on her face stopped him.

Tomura sat down at the edge of her bed and looked at the mess of bandages on her. He knew y/n could wrap bandages better than that. He's seen her do it plenty of times when they first met. Tomura knew she had to be in a lot of pain to do such a horrid job.

That made Tomura's annoyance towards y/n's poor decision subside a bit. Tomura leaned to the side until his head touched the mattress. He felt strange. A bit of calmness overcame him, but that jealousy was still there even when he tried to ignore it, the feeling stabbed at the back of his head, making itself known.

Authors Note:
Thank you so much for the 500 votes!! I hit it way sooner than I thought I would 💙💙