Y/n huddled under the thin blanket. She had herself wholly cocooned. Shigaraki could sometimes hear her sniffle or lightly sob from under her hiding spot. He didn't get it. Why is she so sad over someone she didn't even know? It was downright irritating that he tried so hard to be so kind to her, and yet she didn't seem to appreciate it. He even allowed her to come back early. Had it been anyone else, he would have told Dabi to get over it.

Tomura considered all his options. What more could he do? He was reassuring. He didn't yell at y/n or blame her for anything. Shigaraki scratched at his neck as he pondered.

The sound of y/n's light crying made his skin crawl. He dug his nails deeper into his skin. Finally, he decided he couldn't take it anymore and rose to his feet. The blue-haired villain walked into Kurogiri's room, closing the door behind him.

"What's wrong with Miss y/n?" Kurogiri asked. The sound of y/n's cries could just barely be heard through the walls.

"I don't know," Shigaraki admitted; "I've done everything I can to get her to stop. I'm out of ideas, and the crying is annoying."

Kurogiri noted that his leader's hand hasn't parted from his neck since he walked in. "Are you sure you've done everything you could?" he asked.

Shigaraki growled, irked by Kurogiri's question. "Of course, I've tried everything!" he snapped.

"But have you–" Kurogiri was cut off by Shigaraki, who further insisted that he has, in fact, tried everything he could.

"I think I'm going to send y/n to Giran. How much do you think he'd charge for his services?" Shigaraki asked, wondering how much y/n's anxieties were going to affect The League financially.

"Giran?" Kurogiri asked. "Might I ask why you're sending her to The League's broker."

"He works with a larger array of villains in a relatively safe environment. I figured its an effortless way to desensitize y/n." Shigaraki waited patiently for his comrade's input.

Kurogiri gave it some thought. "That sounds like an excellent idea. How well thought out of you, Tomura Shigaraki. Would you like me to arrange it?" Shigaraki gave him clearance to continue.

Shigaraki went silent. He began to listen very carefully. It sounds like y/n's crying had stopped. For the first time since her crying fit started, Shigaraki pulled his hand away from his neck. "It's about time," he grumbled just before leaving Kurogiri's room.

Shigaraki listened once again for y/n's cries. Silence. Shigaraki let out a sigh of relief. Listening to y/n cry anymore today would have driven him up the wall. He knelt beside y/n.

She was still cocooned in his blanket. The blanket was more like a bedsheet and was very thin. If the lights in the room hit y/n at just the right angle, he'd probably be able to see her inside.

She fell asleep so much quicker this time, Shigaraki took notice that she was sound asleep already. He guessed that the stress from her experience with Dabi must have left her exhausted. Shigaraki watched as the blanket lump before him rose and fell with every inhale and exhale.

Y/n's breathing was slow and rhythmic. It was almost hypnotizing. Shigaraki snapped out of it and stood up, deciding to leave y/n be for the night.

The next morning, y/n was woken up by a hand nudging her shoulder. The warmth from the hand seeped through the thin blanket and onto her skin. Her eyes fluttered open. In a confused daze, y/n looked up. The hand on her was so comforting and warm, and there was no way it belonged to Shigaraki. Y/n saw Kurogiri looming over her.

"Good morning, Miss y/n. Hurry up and get ready. I have someone to introduce you to." Kurogiri sounded gentle, y/n guessed that Kurogiri heard her breakdown last night. She sat up and glanced over to the couch. Shigaraki was still asleep. "I'm going against Tomura Shigaraki's orders today. I will allow you to go home and pack your things."

He heavily stressed that he couldn't allow her to go back to her house very often. This time was a special treat for trying her best the night before.

Y/n's eyes lit up. This was the first time she looked legitimately happy since the first time he's met her. He motioned to the still sleeping Shigaraki across the room and urged her to hurry up. She nodded and jumped to her feet.

For the first time, y/n didn't hesitate to walk through Kurogiri's portal. She hurried into the entrance and was welcomed to the comforting sight of her living room. The portal closed behind her, and Kurogiri took its place.

"If you excuse me, I'll be waiting for you here," he said; "hurry up now, we have a meeting, and we don't want to be late." Y/n nodded and hurried into her room.

Kurogiri observed y/n's living room while he waited. Her living space was reasonably neat. He wasn't sure how long Shigaraki would insist on keeping y/n close to him, but he appreciated that y/n knows how to put her things away.

The shadowy villain looked over the vast array of books on her bookshelf. She had everything from fantasy and romance to horror and true crime. It made sense that she'd have such a massive variety of books. She had her nose in that fantasy novel ever since Shigaraki gave it to her. It was impressive how well-read she was.

A little voice caught his attention. "W-who are we meeting with?" Kurogiri could hear the anxiety in her voice. There was no doubt that y/n was worried that he was going to make her do more recruitments again.

"We're meeting with Giran, The League's broker, he agreed to take you under his wing for a little while." He opened up a portal.

In y/n's hands, she held a bag that seemed filled to the brim with clothes. Shigaraki might be oblivious to social norms, but Kurogiri noticed the embarrassed look on her face when Shigaraki admitted to digging through her clothes. At least now it won't be a problem anymore.

Y/n looked at Kurogiri hesitantly before walking into the other side. As she waited for Kurogiri to manifest again, she wondered what Giran was like. Was he as scary as Dabi? As welcoming as Himiko? When it comes to The League of Villains, everything was up in the air.

Kurogiri transported y/n to a small hallway with white tile floors. The building wasn't as run down as Shigaraki and Kurogiri's living space. As Kurogiri took the lead, y/n followed behind, glancing out the windows every time she passed by one.

Out of the window, she could see a city. People were walking down below. Kids in school uniforms. Businessmen on their phones. Mothers were hauling their sobbing children around. Nothing about the town stuck out to y/n. There was no way to know what city she was in.

Kurogiri stopped before a door at the end of a hallway. "Here we are," he said, looking at y/n from over his shoulder. Kurogiri opened the door for y/n. She hesitated, wanting Kurogiri to go first, y/n placed all her anxieties off to the side and walked inside.

The small office was hard to breathe in. The air was lightly mixed with cigarette smoke. Kurogiri stepped in front of her and talked to a man sitting at the desk. Y/n scanned the office silently as the two men talked.

The office was cramped. There were filing cabinets jammed side by side all along two of the four walls. A couch sat against one wall, more filing cabinets placed on both sides. An oaken desk sat in the middle of the room.

Y/n's gaze redirected to the two men standing in front of her as she heard her name being called. Kurogiri placed a hand out to Y/n. "Miss y/n, don't be rude, come and say hello. Properly introduce yourself." There was that parental tone in his voice.

Y/n did as she was told and approached the two men. She bowed her head. "H-hello mister Giran, sir. My name is y/n l/n. I-it's a pleasure to meet you."

The man sitting at the desk took a deep, long inhale of his cigarette. He slowly exhaled the smoke as he chuckled. "Well, you weren't kidding when ya said she's skittish," Giran smirked.

"Tomura Shigaraki sends his regards, and thanks for taking on this project," Kurogiri replied.

Giran waved off Kurogiri's words. "You an' I both know that ain't true. Shigaraki doesn't know what gratitude is. Thank you, though."

Y/n was taken aback by Giran's comment. She thought everyone working with Shigaraki would keep their negative opinions to themselves. Kurogiri offered to take y/n's bag and place it by her bed. Y/n let the straps slip through her fingers as Kurogiri disappeared into one of his portals at once. Y/n was now alone with Giran.

Y/n stayed utterly motionless as she studied Giran. He was an older man with short greying hair. He had a smirk on his face that made him seem a little smug. His purple suit straddled the line between professional and a fashion disaster.

Giran stretched out his hand to y/n from the other side of the desk. "Hello there, missy, it's a pleasure to be working with you." Y/n looked down at his hand. He seemed friendly enough. She reached out and took his hand in hers, Giran gave her a firm handshake.

He directed y/n to the chair across from his desk and invited her to sit down. Y/n did as she was asked and sat down where he told her to. She fumbled with the hem of her shirt as she listened to Giran talk.

Y/n thought he was the most pleasant person she's met since joining The League of Villains. He was charismatic, he seemed rather friendly, and he had a sense of humor. She didn't feel anxious around him.

Giran talked for hours. He spoke about how he first started in the business decades ago. He explained the differences between then and now. He went over the bare basics of his job, adding a small lecture about how he gets costumes and support items from hero support agencies that play both sides.

Y/n furrowed her brow and tilted her head. "Why would they do that?" She couldn't fathom why a hero support agency would sell to villains. It didn't sound ethical.

Giran lit up another cigarette. "Money makes the world go 'round, sweetheart." Y/n frowned. Even if that was true, it still didn't make it right. Giran pulled out a rather thick notebook and slid it across his desk. "This is my client log. Go on and take a peek. Ya best familiarize yourself with it."

Y/n held the log in her hands and looked through it. Giran seemed to have a lot of repeat customers. Page after page, many of the same names popped up over and over again. A specific name caught her eye. Tomura Shigaraki. "You do a lot of business with Shigaraki."

"I sure do," he said as he exhaled. He sounded exhausted. "Shigaraki an' I have what you might call a love-hate relationship. As a client, he's alright, a little stubborn but fine. As a person, eh, I wouldn't call him a buddy. I can do without him."

Y/n could understand that. She could also say she has a love-hate relationship with him. Y/n thought Shigaraki was scary, but sometimes he was uncharacteristically kind. Y/n honestly had a good time spending time with him when he was calm. Unfortunately, Shigaraki's emotions were a rollercoaster.

Giran glanced at the clock. "Well, I think it's about time I send you back. Tomorrow, I'll have you do some hands-on work for me." Y/n looked hesitant, causing him to chuckle. "Nothing to worry about, sweetie. Just some paperwork, nothing more." Y/n smiled at him, that didn't sound so bad.

Giran stood up and walked y/n out of his office. He waited outside with y/n until Kurogiri's portal manifested in the hallway. "Okay, well, I guess I'll be seein' ya around, sweetheart." Y/n nodded and gave Giran a little wave before going through the portal.

Y/n was greeted to Shigaraki standing in front of the portal. She stopped before him and looked up. "How was it?" he asked.

"I-it was fine," she said in a quiet tone. She didn't know what else to say to Shigaraki, so she quietly stood in front of him and waited for more questions.

Shigaraki asked several questions. What did she do? What did Giran talk about? Was he polite? Y/n shyly answered every one of them. After a few more questions, Shigaraki slowed to a stop.

Shigaraki went back to his desk, allowing y/n to continue the rest of her day however she'd like, as long as it didn't include leaving that is.

Y/n had to start going to bed much earlier in the morning. She was due to meet with Giran every morning at 10 am sharp. She had a new routine for her day. Wake up, get ready to meet up with Giran, stay with Giran until 7 pm, and then go back to Shigaraki's hideout.

Giran taught y/n the bare basics of what he expected of her. He was stern with her but never made her feel like he was talking down to her. Y/n's job was relatively easy. Just like he said, y/n was mostly in charge of his paperwork, and she did some research for him on slow days.

He taught y/n how to file away paperwork properly. Giran's paperwork was particular, and he made sure that y/n knew precisely how to fill it out correctly. After several days, Giran got y/n her very own desk to work at. For the most part, y/n liked working for Giran even though she disagreed with his business.

The only thing she didn't like about working with Giran was when his clients or business associates came in. Villains still made y/n anxious, but it wasn't so bad at Giran's office. At first, many of his clients were curious about y/n. Giran explained that she was a temp worker. After that, the villains left y/n alone for the most part. They came in for business reasons, not to gawk at Giran's new assistant, after all.

On their downtime, Giran would take y/n out to lunch. Y/n took this time to observe her surroundings. Unsurprisingly, there didn't seem to be a police station nearby or any patrolling heroes.

While out, he'd ask all sorts of questions about her. He seemed curious about her story. Giran said he wanted to know how such a sweet girl, who was not a villain, ended up in The League.

The words that came out of his mouth made it seem like he was concerned about how Shigaraki was treating her. However, her distrust of villains made it seem disingenuous.  He explained that he was well aware of his temper tantrums. Giran told her to come to him if Shigaraki ever stepped out of line. "I'm no League of Villains member or a fighter, but I'll bump up his fees if you'd like," he said with a chuckle.

To some extent, it was such an empty promise. If Shigaraki ever did anything, there wasn't anything Giran could do. She knew he only brought it up to ease her mind some and to make her feel better.

Y/n felt comfortable around Giran. He'd never once came off as scary or violent. On the contrary, he was smart, charismatic, and witty.

Giran was straightening out some paperwork on his desk. To keep y/n busy, he asked her to look for any deals on throwing knives. Y/n diligently searched around online from her desk.

Looking for deals through online black market sites was a step up from the paperwork he's been having her do for a little over a week. It offered a little bit more of a challenge while still being very difficult to mess up.

"You know, I don't think I've ever asked, but what is your quirk?" Giran asked.

Y/n glanced up from her laptop. "My quirk?" She hesitated to answer Giran's question. Even though Giran has always been friendly towards her, she worried that his opinion of her would change if he ever learned her quirk. Y/n placed all those fears aside and explained her quirk in detail.

Giran opened up a filing cabinet and removed several files. "Is that so," he said thoughtfully.

"You know, if there was a way to trade quirks, I think I'd trade with you in a heartbeat." Y/n had a sad tone in her voice. She'd rather be quirkless.

The older villain chuckled. "Ah, well, you'd be in for some mild disappointment if we traded quirks." Y/n tilted her head and gave him a confused look. Giran waved it off and went on a tangent about how much money he'd save if he had her quirk.

Odd comment aside, y/n has never heard someone say that about her quirk before. It made sense that the first time she's ever heard someone offer to trade quirks would come from a villain. Y/n let out a soft laugh. "You can have both. I'd be more than happy just to be quirkless."

Giran sat down at his desk and rolled his chair, so he sat across from y/n. "I wanted to surprise ya with support items, but I don't think I can come up with anything. You're no fighter, and your quirk isn't the physical type. It's hard to gear up villains with support quirks like yours." He paused and took another drag of his cigarette. "Not that I'm callin' ya a villain. Personal experience is all." Y/n chewed on her cheek as she began to wonder what the villain's quirk is.

He leaned back in his seat. "You said you like to read..." she heard him mumble under his breath. Y/n watched as he walked over to the other side of the room and stared at a small bookshelf. 

Giran's fingers lightly ran across several book spines, he stopped at one and pulled it off the shelf. The older villain presented the book in front of y/n. "Here. Why don't ya give this a read? I think this is as close to a support item I can give ya for now. I think it'll do ya an' your quirk some good if you learn from the best liars the world ever had."

Y/n took the book and looked at the cover. It was a biography of the world's most famous con artists. She opened to the first few pages and skimmed through it. "Oh. Thank you. I'll start reading it when I get back."

The older man looked at his phone. "Oh, it looks like it's seven. Time flies when ya have company, yeah?" Y/n smiled and nodded. "Alrighty, I'll see ya again tomorrow. Same time, the same place."

Giran walked y/n out of the office and waited with her in the hallway. Y/n waved goodbye right before walking into Kurogiri's portal.

As usual, y/n was greeted by Shigaraki, waiting on the other side. He'd spend a little bit of time and try to gauge if her anxiety has improved any. Y/n would clam up as soon as she made her way back to the hideout. She would go back to being very shy and very quiet.

Shigaraki grew more and more upset by the day. He wasn't paying Giran to have someone do the tedious work that he didn't want to do himself. Giran was supposed to be desensitizing y/n to villains.

Y/n sat down on the mattress and cracked open a book. Now that she was distracted, Shigaraki decided not would be an excellent time to get his complaints out.

The blue-haired villain stepped outside of the hideout, his phone in hand. He paced around outside the door, listening to his phone ring. Shigaraki gritted his teeth while he waited for Giran to answer his call.

"Hello. What can I do for ya, Shigaraki?" Giran said from the other side of the line.

"I want you to do your job," Shigaraki responded. Giran was silent for a moment before asking him what he meant. "She's the same. Nothing has changed. It's been over a week. What do you think we're paying you for?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Giran denied; "she's fine at the office. Y/n picked up the job fast. She doesn't seem as skittish as ya said. Not here, at least." Shigaraki went quiet as he listened to Giran talk about how social y/n was around the older villain.

He started to boil with rage, realizing that y/n seemed to be happier in Giran's company than his. "She's done visiting you. This is a waste of money."

"Ah, well, what's done is done, I suppose," Giran replied; "do what you want. I don't mind relieving my babysitting duties." The calm tone in Giran's voice was pissing the blue-haired villain off. Without saying another word, Shigaraki hung up on Giran. He shoved his phone in his pocket as he walked back inside.

Questions attacked Shigaraki's head. He scratched at his neck to help ease his irritation. What does Giran do that I don't? Why is she so quiet around me? I've been nothing but pleasant around her, this is ridiculous.

Shigaraki slammed the front door closed, causing y/n to jump. He looked at y/n in his peripherals as she watched him from the mattress, hiding behind the open book in her hands. Shigaraki walked into Kurogiri's room, slamming that door behind him as well.

Irritated and a little offended, Shigaraki paced back and forth in Kurogiri's room. Questions continued to bombard his mind. She was trembling when I came into the room. Why is she so scared of me? Why does she have to be so infuriatingly stubborn?

Kurogiri inquired what was wrong, trying to calm down his leader before he acts out in violence. "Kurogiri, stop sending y/n to Giran," he ordered in a harsh tone.

"Why the change in heart?" Kurogiri asked, curious. He mentioned how just days before, Shigaraki was rather happy he thought of a hands-off solution for y/n's anxiety.

"Because I said so," he snapped. Kurogiri dropped the topic.

Shigaraki stormed out of the room, still clearly furious. Y/n silently watched Shigaraki pace around. Shigaraki could see what seemed to be a mix of confusion and concern on her face. Shigaraki ignored her. Knowing y/n, that's probably just far on her face. Everything I do scares her anyway. Shigaraki sat down on the couch to play his video game and take his mind off everything.

The next day, y/n woke up bright and early as usual and got ready to go see Giran. She waited on the mattress for Kurogiri to send her out like he always did. He didn't leave his room. Ten rolled by and nothing. Then eleven. By noon, y/n got up and knocked on Kurogiri's door.

Kurogiri opened the door and looked down at y/n. She noticed he glanced over to the couch to the still sleeping Shigaraki. He silently invited her inside and closed the door behind her.

Kurogiri explained the night before. "I was told not to allow you to go back there anymore, so that's what I'm doing."

A very distinct frown crossed y/n's lips. "Can I ask why?" She thought Shigaraki wanted her to learn from Giran. Y/n looked forward to visiting him, it was her only break from Shigaraki.

Kurogiri shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't know what brought about the change."

Y/n's frown stayed plastered onto her face. She bowed her head and thanked Kurogiri, even though he hadn't cleared anything up. Y/n walked back to the mattress and picked up the biography Giran had loaned her.

The book was interesting. Y/n noticed specific trends that all the con artists used to get away with things. As she read, she began to wonder what one of the people in her book could have done if they possessed her quirk. Y/n couldn't imagine it.

After a few hours, Shigaraki woke up. Y/n quietly greeted Shigaraki as she did every day. The villain stretched as he observed the book in her hand. That wasn't the book he gave her.

The blue-haired villain crouched down in front of y/n, his eyes fixated to the book in her hand. He pointed at it. "What's that?"

"Mr. Giran gave it to me. He says he thought it would help me with my quirk." Shigaraki's eyes stayed glued to the book.

"What about the one I gave you?" he asked.

Y/n closed the biography in her hand and pulled out the beaten and battered book that she kept right by her pillow. "Uhm," she hummed; "I'm almost done with it. I think there are only four or five more chapters left."

"But, you're choosing to read that other one?" Shigaraki asked. Shigaraki felt strange. An emotion he's never felt before now. Shigaraki wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I..." her voice trailed off as Shigaraki waited for her to explain herself.

Shigaraki gritted his teeth and stared her down. The villain thought he was nearly going to blackout from his rage alone. Y/n recoiled as he reached out for her. Shigaraki grew even more upset when he realized it seemed like y/n was expecting him to end her life. Shigaraki had never once hurt y/n, and he felt angry by her reaction.

His icy hands gripped onto her arm. He hold on y/n was firm, but not enough to hurt her. Shigaraki kept his middle finger off her skin.

The blue-haired villain pulled her to her feet and yanked her towards the couch. He sat her down and demanded she stay there. Y/n remained perfectly still, eyes wide and an unsure look on her face.

After a day, Shigaraki's outer rage has calmed down. He went back to his usual, somewhat friendly guise that he'd been putting on since y/n was forced to stay with him. Shigaraki refused to let y/n leave his side for any reason. If she needed to go to Kurogiri's room, Shigaraki would stay close behind her.

He felt more emotionally secure having y/n stay next to him. Her presence was comforting. Shigaraki decided that it wasn't y/n's fault that Giran was so inept at his job. Shigaraki accepted some of the blame as well. He shouldn't have tried taking the easy way out. Y/n was his little project a, d he realized he should have taken full responsibility for her.

While Shigaraki was feeling better about y/n staying right next to him for hours on end, y/n was becoming drained. He was emotionally needy, like a little kid desperate for attention. Y/n thought that kind of attitude can be cute from a kid, but not so much from someone who was a couple of years older than her.

Shigaraki became suffocating. Y/n found it hard to think and breathe with Shigaraki around. The only time she would get some peace from Shigaraki's sudden overbearing personality was when she went to bed.

Even as she laid down, she could feel Shigaraki's gaze on her. She'd go to bed every night with the same thoughts circling around her mind. What is going on with him? I hate this. I want things to go back to how they used to be.