"How did everything go?" a deepened voice asked as soon as y/n passed through the portal.

"Alright. We found the car. Compress is keeping it for us, and we searched the doctor's house and gathered a few last minute things for Himiko." Y/n waited expectantly for Kurogiri's approval.

"I see, then we should be good to go." The shadow-like villain wandered off into the darkened hallway. Y/n watched as he slowly disappeared into the darkness.

She let out a small sigh, wishing that he had at least told her she did a good job. Y/n leaned against the couch's armrest and waited. It hit her that Tomura hadn't greeted her. She wondered if he was in the room.

Y/n poked her head through the bedroom door and peered inside. Nothing. Tomura wasn't in the room either. She stopped at the door frame and wondered where the blue-haired villain could be.

"Uhm, Kurogiri," y/n said in a low tone as she knocked on his door lightly. "Where is Tomura?"

"He's still with Dabi and Spinner," Kurogiri called out from the other side of the door.

Y/n thanked the villain and stepped away from his door. She walked down the hallway and entered the garage. Y/n felt awful that she didn't have as much time for Nobuo lately.

Dried blood was splattered all around the concrete floor, and chunks of half-eaten organs were strewed about. Her nomu was sitting on its bed, chewing on a long and fleshy piece that had dried up and became something appeared to be like rubber. Y/n felt her stomach knot up at the sight of the gore. Feeling her legs weaken, y/n walked into the room. 

Nobuo got up and slowly crept towards y/n. He rubbed his shoulder against her leg. Now able to take a close look at what exactly was in his mouth, y/n guessed that the stretchy substance was at one point intestines. She chewed on her cheek as she carefully patted the monster.

Y/n found a clean spot to sit. Much to her dismay, Nobuo rested his head on her lap as he vacantly chewed on his prized organ like a dog and a stuffed animal. Y/n took a shaky breath as she felt the dried-out flesh touch her skin.

Y/n lightly rubbed the monster's shoulder blade. "I'm going to be relying on you at Tartarus, okay?" she said in a hushed tone. The Nomu let out a huff. Y/n gave him a small smile. For a short moment, y/n wondered if he responded to her. She immediately let the thought slip her mind, reminding herself that Nobuo was incapable of speaking.

Y/n sat down with her Nomu for much longer than she intended. The monster gave off enough heat that she felt like he was her personal heater, and it was beginning to lull her to sleep. Y/n yawned, and Nobuo lifted his head in response. "I'll see you in a few hours. When we get back from Tartarus, I'll get you an extra special treat."

As she left the room, y/n could feel Nobuo's black, lifeless eyes vacantly stare in her direction. Even after she had closed the door, she could still sense her Nomu's gaze.

Light peered in from the kitchen window. Y/n walked up to the sink and looked out. It was still fairly bright outside, y/n guessed that she still had a few hours before the sun went down. Quickly, y/n walked back to her room.

She retrieved her hoodie and her belt. Y/n wanted to get in some last-minute training while she still had light. 

Y/n reached into her belt and pulled out her knife. It felt weighted in her hand. Between gathering information and spending time with Tomura, she had allowed her daily training routine to slip. 

It took several practice swings to get back to feeling comfortable with her knife. Y/n felt her arm beginning to feel sore. She stabbed the ground with the blade and flailed her arm. "Has it really been that long?" y/n asked herself.

She recalled the last time she had practiced with her knife. It was with Tomura, shortly before he and her had become official. Feeling a bit better, y/n reached down and retrieved the blade from the ground.

Y/n stared in front of her and tried to imagine herself an opponent. She furrowed her brows in deep concentration as she thought about what a Tartarus guard might look like. 

In her mind, y/n conjured the image of a tall man with razor-sharp teeth and piercing dark eyes. A chill ran down her spine as she added more horrifying details about her imaginary man.

Y/n took a step forward. "Always aim for the neck," she reminded herself as she swiped her blade forward. She took a step, preparing for another swing when she suddenly stopped. "Ah, but what if he has a really thick coat on to protect his neck? Is this blade sharp enough to cut through?" 

Y/n knew that was a stupid question, of course, the blade was sharp enough. Tomura ordered if specifically for her, and she was sure the blue-haired villain was looking at the quality of her knife above everything else. Y/n knew she meant to say if she had the physical strength to cut through it. Maybe even the mental strength, she's never physically hurt anyone before. Y/n hesitated to think if she could actually kill a person.

Y/n looked down at her hands. She saw the light from the setting sun bounce off the blade. Everyone in The League made killing seem so effortless. Even so, y/n wasn't sure she could do it herself.

She readjusted the handle in her hand to a more comfortable position and looked forward. Y/n had lost the image she had been building in her mind. She kept her e/c eyes ahead of her as she stared at the trees ahead.

"Trees don't make good opponents," a voice whispered into her ear. Y/n lowered the blade in her hand and turned around. She rested her forehead on Tomura's chest.

Against her skin, y/n felt Tomura's heart beating. She felt the rhythmic pace as she closed her eyes. Around this time two years ago, y/n wouldn't have believed Tomura had a functioning, beating heart. She was so sure he was a heartless monster who wanted nothing more than to see her upset.

"It's not that cold outside." Y/n looked up at Tomura. She gave him a look as if to ask what he meant by that. "You're trembling," Tomura clarified.

Y/n hated how Tomura could make her face heat up so effortlessly. Half the time, he doesn't even know what he did. "Oh, I see," y/n replied.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

Out of anyone, y/n didn't want to lie to Tomura most of all. She nodded. "Yeah, a little."

"You don't have to come, you know." Y/n could hear a hint of agitation in his voice. She knew that it was because he's told her plenty of times that she didn't need to insert herself into this plan.

"I know," y/n replied. Knowing that her answer wouldn't satisfy Tomura, y/n continued. "I want to go. If I can support you, then that's what I want to do."

"You've already done your part. Having you go to Tartarus isn't necessary." Y/n sat down on the ground, and Tomura followed her lead. The two sat on the grass, facing the sunset.

Y/n was so curious what Tomura had to say if she questioned why he was so hellbent on having her stay home. "Are you worried about me? Or am I going to be a burden?"

Tomura's sharp gaze quickly whipped towards y/n. "Why would I be worried?"

Y/n held back a smile. That reaction alone gave away what was going on in his head. She decided to prod at the blue-haired villain a little more. "So, I'm a burden?"

"If I agree to that, will you change your mind?" he asked.

Y/n shook her head. "I've invested too much time and effort into this. I'm following through to the end."

"Things could possibly go wrong," Tomura replied in a matter of fact tone.

"It could," y/n admitted. "But I also know you're smarter than that. I don't know what you have planned, but I know you have an escape measure in mind."

The blue-haired villain went silent for a moment. "I ordered Kurogiri to evacuate at his own discretion."

"Oh, so it's like the last time, and he will send us to a rendezvous spot?" y/n asked.

"Not exactly," Tomura replied. "He's going to split us up. If one of us gets tracked down, I don't want to risk all of us being found at once. I don't know where Kurogiri is going to send us, that's going to be up to him."

"So..." y/n's voice trailed off for a moment. "Where do I go? Here?"

"No," Tomura replied. "Stay put. I'll have Kurogiri come to collect you when everything settles down."

Hearing that Tomura was planning on coming back for her made y/n feel warm inside. She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.

The sun in the distance was just starting to fall into the horizon. The darkened sky had stars sparkling above. This was like the calm before the storm. 

Tomorrow will either be the fall of The League of Villains or the beginning of a new chapter. Y/n silently hoped that everything will go according to plan and that everyone will make it out okay.

"This is enough nature for me," Tomura said, breaking y/n's train of thought. She felt his shoulder slip from her cheek as he stood up. The blue-haired villain stared down at her. "Are you coming or what?" Y/n nodded as she got up. 

She stayed close to Tomura's side as they walked back to the house. At that moment, y/n wished she could be like Himiko. Y/n wanted to be as carefree as the young villain. How Tomura was acting made y/n feel like something was off.

During the Nomu Project, he was in high spirits. The blue-haired villain was excited to show off his Nomu. This time around was different. Tomura kept to himself a lot. He seemed like he was often lost in thought. Seeing the man who was supposed to be leading the small group of villains act so strangely made y/n feel uneasy.

Y/n quickened her pace and stood in front of Tomura. He stopped and looked down at her. "What?"

"How early do we have to go tomorrow?" y/n asked. "If there's enough time, why don't we continue your game? Didn't you say we were getting close to the end?"

Tomura crossed his arms. "You should get some sleep. I don't want you making dumb decisions because you're tired."

"Alright," y/n said in a saddened tone. 

The atmosphere in the house was much different. The air was heavy and suffocating. Even y/n's face was less comforting for Tomura.

He led y/n back into the house and towards the room. "You better be asleep when I come back."

"Where are you going?" y/n asked him.

"One last talk with Kurogiri. It won't take long." Y/n had a sad look on her face. She nodded and swung the bedroom door open.

Tomura knocked on the door. "Hey, let me in."

The villain waited a moment. The door creaked open. In the darkness, Tomura could see Kurogiri's yellow eyes flickering in his direction.

Kurogiri's room was dimly lit. The blue-haired villain spotted a bottle of wine sitting on a table next to a recliner. Tomura slumped into the chair and held the bottle in his hand.

Kurogiri sat down at the edge of his bed. Tomura watched his eyes glow in the darkened room as the villain poured a small glass of wine. He placed the bottle down, and his ruby eyes met Kurogiri's.

"What do you wish to talk about?" Kurogiri asked.

"Y/n," Tomura replied.

"You've known her for nearly three years, and you still have questions about her?" Kurogiri asked. "By now, you should know mostly everything about her."

"Shut up," Tomura snapped. "That's not what I meant." Kurogiri stayed silent as if to invite Tomura to continue speaking. "The moment she's in danger, I want you to send her away."

"I already figured y/n would be the first to go," Kurogiri replied.

Tomura drank a bit of the wine. He felt the tart liquid run down his throat. "Her skill set isn't needed for this mission. I want you to send her away as soon as possible. It's best for everyone. She'll get in the way and distract us."

"I can't force her to go through my warp gate," Kurogiri replied.

"I'll have Compress help." Tomura placed the half-empty glass of wine off to the side. He slouched further down into his seat as he interlaced his fingers together. "I just want her gone as soon as possible. I'll leave deciding when that is up to you two."

"Might I ask why you're taking our escape so seriously this time? It's never been so thought out before." Tomura's eyes darted to Kurogiri and back to the door on the other side of the room.

"I trust you will be able to escape. I can't say the same about everyone else, including me. This is a safety precaution. If one of us is caught, they can't use anything at Tartarus to get information out of anyone if you're the only one who knows anything about everyone else's whereabouts." Tomura reached out and took hold of the wine once again. He sloppily took another sip in his slouched position.

"If things go wrong, you will be my priority, as it has been for years," Kurogiri replied.

"No," Tomura protested; "y/n."

"Excuse me?" Kurogiri asked. "Why would I choose y/n over you?"

"Y/n's quirk is too valuable to give up. I will gladly take a bit of prison time if she could boost her skill points." Tomura paused, his eyes fixated on the door in front of him. "I trust she'd be able to get me out, one day."

"That's foolish," Kurogiri scolded. "Why would you gamble so much on her? Don't let your feelings get the best of you. She is replaceable. We can find someone better."

"Better?" Tomura asked as he glanced over to his shadow-like comrade. "How so?"

"In general. Someone with a stronger grip on their own quirk and has the mental fortitude to be in The League. Y/n is still too delicate and she's still inexperienced with her own quirk." Tomura ground his teeth as he listened to his advisor speak. Tomura muttered a very silent shut up.

"Maybe we can find a woman with a better quirk altogether. You're interested in producing your own successor, correct? I'm sure your quirk and hers won't meld together well at all. We can look for better quirks to pair yours with." Tomura felt his blood boiling as Kurogiri spoke. The blue-haired villain let out a more audible shut up.

"She goes against our wishes almost every chance she gets. Her priorities are a mess. If you made her choose between doing something for The League or doing something for Giran, y/n would most likely pick Giran over us. He's not even a member of The League."

Tomura could feel his fingers twitching. "I said, shut up," he repeated once again in a demanding tone.

"Y/n knows you coddle her, and she gets by expecting you to treat her like a princess because you picked her to join us yourself." Tomura felt the glass in his hand crack under his fingers. Kurogiri stopped talking and sighed. 

In a calmer tone, he continued on. "Y/n's more manipulative than she lets on. She dangles being intimate with you to get her way. There's no way you can't see that. She's managed to coax you outside more times this past two months than you have all last year."

"Are you done?" Tomura asked, in the calmest tone he could muster. Kurogiri stayed quiet. His hand stung, and a sharp pain ran along his nerves. Tomura stood up. "Just stick to my plan," he mumbled as he walked to the door and left the room.

Tomura entered the bathroom and looked at his hand. Blood droplets stained the floor as he walked to the sink. Tomura picked at his palm, carefully trying to remove the slivers of glass that dug into his skin. He pulled out the first aid kit and wrapped up his collection of tiny wounds.

He paused as he stared at the bandage roll in his hand. Tomura wrapped up an undamaged finger and secured the bandage. 

The blue-haired villain hesitated as he put away the first aid kit. He looked at his other hand. Tomura pulled the bandages back out and wrapped another finger on his undamaged hand up.

As Tomura entered the bedroom, a faint glow coming from the bed caught his eye. Tomura pulled off his shirt and crawled under the covers. 

Y/n was lying on her side, her back towards the door. She held her phone in her hand. Tomura noticed she was staring intently at something. He took a closer look.

It was a wall of sent texts to Giran. Kurogiri's previous words made his stomach turn. "I thought I told you to get some sleep."

"You two were yelling," y/n replied in a flat tone.

Tomura paused. "What are you looking at exactly?"

"At what's missing," she replied. 

He could tell she was clearly not in a good mood. "His replies?" Tomura asked, mentally noting that all the texts on screen were sent from y/n. Y/n slowly shook her head. Tomura didn't understand. He asked her to elaborate.

"He hasn't looked at the messages," y/n replied. "Sure, he won't reply if he's busy, but he always looks at them at the very least."

Tomura wrapped his arm around y/n and pried her phone from her hands. "Just leave him be for now. After we're done tomorrow, we can work on hunting him down and lecturing him for making you worry."

"What happened to your hand?" y/n asked as he placed the phone off to the side. Y/n sat up and held the back of his hand in her palms. Her fingers hovered over the bandages as if she wanted to touch, but was also too scared of hurting him.

Tomura pulled his hand away. "Just a small injury. It will be okay by morning."

"And your finger too?" y/n asked, motioning to his other hand.

Before y/n had a chance to inspect his finger, Tomura placed all five fingers on her cheek. "I just want one night where I don't have to be careful. It's our final night before Tartarus, I just want to be able to forget about my quirk for once."

He felt y/n's fingers touch the back of his hand while she nuzzled into his palm. The look on her face softened like she was never upset to begin with. "Don't get too attached," Tomura warned. "Wearing gloves and bandaging up my hands like this is uncomfortable. Tomorrow night, everything is going back to normal."

Y/n looked Tomura in the eye. "Promise?"

"That I'll never wear gloves to bed? I don't need to promise such a ridiculous notion," Tomura replied.

"No, that there will be a tomorrow night," she said. He saw her lip quiver as she spoke.

"Sure," Tomura replied.

Y/n leaned forward and pressed her lips against Tomura's. Like it was second nature, Tomura relaxed his jaw. Allowing all his fingers to tangle into y/n's hair was the only part of the kiss that seemed unnatural to Tomura. He placed his injured hand on the side of y/n's neck. His hand burned as soon as his bandaged wounds touched her. Tomura didn't think anything of it. 

For the first time, he didn't have to stay alert. He didn't need to keep an acute awareness of how many fingers were touching y/n. Or even strategically decide which ones were allowed to touch y/n's skin. For this one night, Tomura didn't want to think about any of it.