Six months passed since Himiko took y/n under her wing. The first few months were difficult for y/n, but over time, things became much more manageable. Y/n and Himiko did a combination of fundamental strength and speed training and children's' games.

Y/n and Himiko's game of Tag had changed slightly over time. After a few months, y/n was expected to keep up with Himiko. Because of that, the penalty for losing their game of Tag became more and more punishing.

The tables have turned. Himiko started each game of Tag as it. Y/n's task was to evade the girl as best she could until her twenty-minute time limit was up. If y/n got tagged, twenty more minutes would be tacked onto however many minutes were remaining from Himiko's time.

The most significant difference between six months prior and now was that weapons were introduced to their game. Now, y/n's training was getting serious. Y/n was encouraged to wear her villain costume while she trained with Himiko and to use all of the support items at her disposal. She needed to learn the positives and negatives that come with her gear.

In the colder months, y/n welcomed wearing Tomura's sweater to keep herself safe from the frigid air. As the weather began to warm up again, y/n began to suffer the consequences of wearing a sweater and heavy gear. Y/n had never experienced heat exhaustion so many times in such a short period in her life.

Although she knew the extra weight could be the death of her, y/n considered the sweater to be lucky. She's narrowly escaped many dire situations while wearing it. Because of that, y/n stubbornly refused to wear lighter clothing in the warmer seasons. Y/n wholly expected to suffer through it and learn to tolerate the warmth and extra weight.

Once Himiko began phase two and introduced weapons to their game of Tag, y/n found she was having a hard time keeping up. Armed with only a knife and her mask, y/n felt like she was at a disadvantage. After several sessions, y/n began staying up late and evaluating what she's learned from Himiko. Y/n knew she had to start adding more to her arsenal if she wanted to compete with the girl.

Y/n's first order of business was to fix and replace all her broken gear. Her mask had broken during the Nomu Attack, Tomura was high off the excitement of his success, y/n never had a chance to tell him that she broke the mask. The knife Tomura had custom made just for her was also gone. Y/n lost that while she and Dabi were out recruiting, months before the Nomu Attack.

Along with getting her mask fixed, y/n ordered additional voice boxes from Giran. Now, y/n kept a total of five on her. As the name of her mask, The Ventriloquy Apparatus implied, y/n's voice boxes were perfect for throwing her voice around. It was the first survival tactic y/n thought of to combat Himiko. Y/n began trying to throw the girl off and disorient her by placing her boxes all around. Y/n planned to try leaving verbal breadcrumbs away from her location. That worked for a while. Once that began to fail her, y/n added yet another support item.

Y/n found that Himiko was no longer falling for her voice box trick. That wasn't surprising, she was a brilliant girl, y/n knew it was only a matter of time until that trick became old. The next problem y/n faced was that she had a hard time creating distance from the girl once she found y/n. That's where her next order from Giran came in, smoke bombs. 

The smoke bombs y/n received from Giran were much smaller than what she expected. When she ordered them from the broker, she expected tennis ball-sized bombs. Much to her surprise, they came in at half the size. When y/n asked him about her purchase, Giran reminded y/n that she still needed to carry them around in her belt, smaller bombs meant she can hold more at one time. Giran promised y/n that the little smoke bombs were top quality items, ending their conversation with a playful joke as he asked y/n if he'd ever rip her off.

Giran wasn't joking when he promised they were quality bombs. One smoke bomb had enough power to fill a small room with a thick black fog that could rival Kurogiri's mist. While the smoke they released were nontoxic, they made it difficult to breathe. Fortunately for y/n, when she ordered the bombs, Giran took back her mask to add a better air filtration system. Her mask didn't filter all of the smoke. Still, her Ventriloquy Apparatus made it much easier to breathe than everyone else.

Y/n was swiftly running out of ideas when it came to support items. It was challenging to think of ways to compliment her quirk. Tomura did an excellent job at that when he ordered her mask, y/n didn't know if there was any way she could improve her quirk with more items. The only thing y/n could do was to learn what she can from Himiko and improve her fighting style further and pick more support items as she saw fit.

Y/n stayed up late reading some books at night. While she read, y/n's mind was thinking about everything Himiko had taught her. A realization suddenly came to y/n; she didn't like using knives. The thought of stabbing someone made y/n feel uneasy, and her skin crawled just thinking about it. After giving it some thought, y/n realized the act of stabbing someone made her feel uncomfortable, but it was the thought of killing someone that made y/n most upset. Y/n knew she needed to think of a way to defend herself while keeping deaths to a minimum. The chance of death was still possible, but only one thing came to y/n's mind. A stun gun. 

While Himiko and y/n continued their daily game of Tag, the girl had begun to use her knives. Y/n knew she was playing around, but that didn't make it any less scary. Y/n was sure that Himiko had the same thought as her, Tomura would be upset if y/n got hurt again. Because of that, Himiko seemed to be very careful about her knife usage around y/n.

Y/n couldn't believe how long Himiko had been training her. As far as y/n was concerned, her skills were nothing compared to the rest of The League, but she could see slow and steady improvement.

"Come on out, sis!" Himiko's voice rang out from the ground below. From her bird's eye view, y/n could see the girl skip around. She stopped and looked around. Y/n saw a wide, toothy grin on the girl's face when she glossed over her direction.

Y/n chewed on her lip as she looked at the stopwatch strapped to her wrist. She had to survive for five minutes to win today's game. Although her mask completely masked her voice, y/n still instinctively held her breath. Y/n tried her best to carefully pull her sweater sleeve back down while trying to keep the branch below her feet from moving. Her eyes followed the tuft of blonde hair, walking around on the ground below her.

A voicebox was placed at the base of the tree y/n was in. Y/n considered if she could use her quirk to throw the girl off. With each passing day, y/n became more hesitant to use Liar, her quirk was becoming more and more difficult. The same lie doesn't work on the same person twice. Usually, y/n would consider bluffing, but she knew Himiko was too smart for that. Y/n knew there was only one other option.

"You're getting warmer," y/n's voice rang out from the box on the ground.

"I'd believe that," Himiko replied as she walked over. Y/n watched her uncover the voicebox and inspect it in her hands.

Y/n reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a pair of smoke bombs and threw them as hard as she could. The bombs began leaking out their thick black smoke.

In the smoke cloud, y/n could hear Himiko coughing. Y/n took a deep breath in and jumped off the branch under her feet, unsure if it was another branch, a bush, or ground directly underneath her.

Y/n rolled a little as she hit the ground below. Himiko was still getting her bearings, and y/n knew this was her chance to run away. Y/n weaved between trees as she fled from the girl. As she ran, y/n weighed out her options. 

Himiko still had one of her voice boxes. Y/n mentally debated if she'd expect her to attempt to wait out the remaining minutes by creating as much distance as possible between her and the girl. Alternatively, y/n considered the exact opposite option, taking the stealth route and hiding close to Himiko.

Y/n made her decision as she took a full turn and circled back to Himiko. The sound of Himiko coughing was still off in the distance, and y/n could see the puff of black smoke beyond the trees. Y/n glanced up and debated whether or not she should remain on the ground or climb up. She fell down to her knees, picking to stay low. She lifted the hoodie a bit and pulled out her knife. Y/n flicked it open as she waited for Himiko to come her way.

Her eyes were glued to the black fog off in the distance. Y/n felt like her senses were on edge. The smell of the grass below her seemed amplified. Y/n heard something rustling in the foliage nearby, causing y/n to hold her breath. It seemed too quiet to be a person. Y/n wondered if it could have been a squirrel or a bird.

Y/n's concentration broke as she lifted her sleeve and looked at the stopwatch. Three minutes left, she reminded herself. Her victory was so close, y/n felt like she could almost touch it. 

A leaf gently drifting from the tree above her to the ground beside her caught y/n's attention. Feeling as if something, or someone, was watching her, y/n glanced up. She saw Himiko standing on a branch looking down at her with a psychotic look on her face.

Y/n tried to run, but Himiko threw a set of knives her way as she effortlessly jumped down to the ground. Noticing the blades flying in her direction, y/n stumbled back. In the corner of y/n's eye, she could see the grin on the girl's face widen. 

Y/n staggered onto her feet and regained her balance. Blade in one hand, y/n reached into her pocket and pulled out yet another smoke bomb. Another knife came flying towards y/n, hitting her hand. Y/n recoiled and dropped the little black ball. She watched as it bounced and rolled away from her.

Himiko, charging in her direction, was the last thing y/n saw before feeling the girl's weight on her stomach and her back pressed against the ground. Y/n looked up, her eyes meeting with the catlike yellow eyes above her. Himiko had y/n pinned down. The next thing y/n heard was her stopwatch ringing. "Ack, I was so close this time," y/n groaned.

Himiko giggled as she pressed the little button on y/n's stopwatch, muting the alarm. "Close isn't a win, though," she taunted playfully.

"I know, I know," y/n began; "now can you get off me? My shoulder blade is on a rock." Himiko got to her feet and stepped away from y/n. She held out her hand, and y/n took it.

Y/n saw Himiko take a quick glance at her knife. "You know, the pointy end is the other way." Y/n was holding her knife backward, so the handle was pointed towards the girl.

Y/n ticked the knife away. "I know. I don't want to hurt you."

Himiko took y/n's still bleeding hand, "You don't want to hurt anyone," she said in a matter of fact tone. "It doesn't seem fair."

Y/n pulled her hand away from Himiko and shoved it in the hoodie pocket. Y/n noted that her cut wasn't too deep. She hoped that the blood would soak into the hoodie, and the wound would stop bleeding before they got back to the house.

The two girls followed the trail of random knife slashes on trees, partially destroyed bushes, and fallen branches scattered along the ground back towards the house. As per usual, Himiko insisted y/n and her spend some quality time. Tonight, Himiko wanted the two of them to paint each other's nails.

Y/n warned Himiko to be careful if they were going to mess with nail polish on the bed. A small comment about Tomura being upset if the blankets got stained had nearly slipped out, but y/n caught herself. The last thing y/n wanted was the blonde girl finding out Tomura and her share a room. If she ever found out, the rest of The League would surely know by the time the day was over.

Y/n was relieved Himiko wanted to do a low effort task. The schoolgirl picked out light yellow and pink nail polish bottles. Y/n chose f/c nail polish for herself. 

"Y/n, sis, what do you think your kids are going to look like?" Himiko asked suddenly has y/n carefully painted her nails.

Y/n looked up from the girl's nails and back down to concentrate. "I think you're missing an important piece to having a child."

"I am?" Himiko asked.

Without looking up, y/n replied. "Who is the father?"

"Oh yeah..." her voice trailed off as she thought. "How about," she paused and thought; "Kurogiri."

Y/n snorted. That was not the name she was expecting Himiko to bring up. "Who knows," y/n answered. That was a genuine reply. Trying to imagine what he could look like without his mutation tough. Y/n couldn't decide what kind of genes Kurogiri might possess, other than his shadow-like characteristics.

"Well, what about Tomura?" Himiko asked.

Y/n knew it would be awkward if she didn't answer Himiko's next question similarly. She gave an instant and direct answer to her Kurogiri question, Himiko would probably tease her relentlessly if she refused to answer or change the subject.

Y/n thought about it, and the genetics were easy to figure out. "Well, it would probably have red eyes, I'd think," y/n replied thoughtfully. Back when quirks were still in their early stages, and only a few people had them, red eyes began showing up from time to time. Y/n recalled learning in biology class that red eyes were a mutation from brown eyes. Red eyes are just as, if not more, common than brown eyes.

"And," y/n paused; "I guess h/c hair." In this day in age, any hair color could be natural, blue was still one of the rarer colors. It made more sense to y/n if her hypothetical child with him had her hair color.

Himiko bounced in her spot. Y/n could tell she was excited that y/n was answering her questions. "How about Dabi?"

The thought of having a child with Dabi of all people made y/n cringe. While he wasn't the worst looking guy, by any means, his personality is what made him so undesirable. Y/n looked at Himiko and saw the hopeful sparkle in her golden eyes.  Without putting too much thought in her answer, y/n replied. "I dunno. His hair, my eyes. Uh, it might have a fire quirk."

One by one, Himiko asked about the remaining guys in The League as they finished up painting each other's nails. While y/n wasn't exactly comfortable talking about these hypothetical children, she decided to humor the girl.

Himiko gave y/n a hug goodbye before she left. Y/n watched as the girl skipped over towards Kurogiri. She turned to wave goodbye to y/n and Tomura. Y/n returned her greeting, while Tomura looked away.

As usual, y/n let out a small groan as soon as Himiko was sent away. Y/n appreciated all the time the younger girl sank into helping y/n better herself. However, she was always physically and mentally exhausted by the time the girl left.

As soon as Kurogiri left the room, y/n looked to Tomura. "I'm going to bed," she announced quietly. Tomura stayed silent. Y/n walked down the hallway. Behind her, she could hear Tomura following her.

Tomura woke up alone as usual. He rolled over and saw the cold, empty spot y/n slept. Ever since y/n decided to take Himiko's training seriously, she's been waking up much earlier to get in a few hours of extra practice before the girl showed up.

The blue-haired villain sat up, still tired, and grumbled as he got out of bed. He didn't choose to start sleeping in the room to wake up alone. If he wanted that, Tomura would have stayed on the couch. Himiko's lessons were beginning to get on his last nerves. Tomura stood in the center of the room and stretched his aching back before going out to retrieve y/n, knowing precisely where she would be at this time.

Tomura walked up to the back door and looked out the window. Y/n was outside with her Nomu. She had a yoga mat stretched onto the grass and was doing her morning stretches. Sometimes, y/n would stop and take a break. She'd spend her short break observing her Nomu, who was absently chewing on grass. Y/n had a broadened smile on her face as she carefully pried the dirt and everything else from the monster's mouth.

"It's not polite to stare," Kurogiri said from behind Tomura, breaking the villain's trance.

"It's not polite to sneak up on people," Tomura shot back in a semi-mocking tone. "I'm just checking up on my ally. A good leader should be doing that, right?" Tomura asked.

"Oh?" Kurogiri began; "and what is Dabi doing right now? Or how about Spinner? Compress? Twice?"

"I get it!" he snapped. He walked away from the door, giving Kurogiri a glare as he wandered to his couch. Much to his dismay, he could hear Kurogiri following him. Tomura threw himself onto the couch and pulled out a book. His eyes narrowed as he read and reread the same page, trying to ignore his shadow-like comrade's gaze.

"She's been improving a lot, hasn't she?" Kurogiri suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Tomura replied. He didn't know what Kurogiri wanted to talk about, nor did he want to continue the conversation.

"Miss Toga has been a great help too," Kurogiri continued as if he wasn't picking up on Tomura's hint.

"Sure," he replied. Tomura was trying his best to give Kurogiri as short a response as possible. He knew his advisor would either drop the conversation entirely or get to the point.

"I must ask how long are you going to keep The League on hiatus?" Kurogiri began. Tomura glanced over to his comrade, who was standing at his side. He knew Kurogiri would stop idling around and speak his mind. Tomura listened as Kurogiri continued. "Surely, you'd have something in mind by now. Are you holding off because of miss y/n? If you feel like she can't keep up, wouldn't it be best to let her sit out of your plans?"

Tomura was grinding his teeth as he listened to Kurogiri. He's been working on The League's next move diligently. Tomura personally felt insulted that Kurogiri would assume he's been goofing off just because he hadn't been asking for his opinion. "Soon," he replied behind gritted teeth. "I'm still working out the small details."

"Oh?" Kurogiri asked. "May I ask what that plan is?"

Tomura placed down the book and sat up. "No. You'll find out when everyone else does."

Kurogiri motioned towards the back door. "Does she know?"

Tomura was surprised Kurogiri could insult him any more than he already had. "No," he snapped; "I haven't told anyone."

The two men stared each other down. The air was thick with tension. The back door swung open, and y/n came in, herding her Nomu back into the house. She stopped at the door frame. Tomura could see her looking at Tomura and then to Kurogiri.

She seemed relaxed when she was walking in. However, now, after stepping into the house, she seemed much more recluse. Y/n wasn't holding her head high anymore, and her eyes were anxiously darting around the room.

Tomura took a deep breath in. "No," he replied in a much calmer tone. "I'll discuss it all with The League after I've thought some things through." Tomura's eyes darted to y/n and back to Kurogiri. "No exceptions."

In his peripherals, he could see y/n's posture soften a little more as the whole room became less tense. Tomura assumed his answer must have satisfied Kurogiri because he walked away without saying another word. Tomura slouched into the couch and sighed.

He felt y/n sit down next to him. "What was all that about?" she asked.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Tomura replied. He saw a small frown on y/n's face, and her eyebrows knit together. Tomura closed his eyes for a moment and calmed himself. He opened his eyes and looked to y/n. "I think I'm going to tell Toga not to stop by tomorrow. I have a side quest for you. If you want, you can sleep in."