Tomura kept his fingertips on y/n's neck for a moment longer. The pulse he was feeling was beginning to slow to a healthy pace. Although the villain felt like this new kiss was much less cringe-worthy than his prior attempt, a small thought in the back of his mind was gnawing at him. That singular thought was stopping him from thoroughly enjoying his successful kiss.

Tomura couldn't help but compare himself to a man he had just recently learned existed. The look on y/n's face showed she was thoroughly content with both the kisses they've shared just now. However, Tomura couldn't help himself but wonder if she's had better.

This sudden realization that he was the one experiencing all these new feelings, as terrible as they are at times, while y/n was simply reliving old emotions. 

A warm set of fingers touched his wrist and cautiously traveled up his hand towards his neck. Tomura hadn't noticed he had let go of y/n's neck to begin scratching at his own. 

"What's wrong?" y/n asked, worry intertwined with her voice.

Tomura looked away. That look in her eye made him mysteriously hurt. He couldn't stand to look her in the eye. For the first time in a long time, Tomura began to feel those familiar invisible shackles that connected him and y/n.

"Nothing," Tomura replied, refusing to give her any more information.

The villain moved away from y/n and sat at the foot of the bed as if the short distance would free him from the chains he felt. Sitting further away, with his back turned to y/n, Tomura could finally breathe again.

"Do you remember any of those childhood stories I've told you?" Tomura asked as he refused to turn and face y/n.

He could hear y/n hum in thought. "I remember a lot of the stories you've told. Which one specifically?"

The sound of the bed creaking filled the room. Tomura could feel the bed lightly rock. Suddenly, both the creaks and the movement stopped. Tomura could tell without looking that y/n was sitting next to him.

"My purpose in life," Tomura replied, giving y/n all the hints she needed. If she genuinely remembered everything, she'd know what he was talking about.

Without skipping a beat, he heard y/n speak. "To be a good leader? The next King of The Underworld? The light of darkness for the villains to rise up and follow?" y/n paused; "actually, I think that last one came from Kurogiri."

Tomura was only partially surprised y/n remembered. She even recalled one of Kurogiri's rhetorical exaggerations. 

"And do you know what every king needs?" Tomura asked.

Y/n paused for a lot longer than he expected her to. "Lots of things, I'd think."

"Most importantly, his loyal servants," Tomura informed; "a king can create his kingdom, but without anyone following his word, he's nothing."

Y/n continued to stay quiet. He wondered what she could possibly be thinking. As if y/n could read his mind, she spoke up. "Like, Kurogiri and me? The rest of The League too?"

"If I recall correctly, I once asked if you were loyal to me, and you said no." For the first time since he started this conversation with y/n, he looked at her. The look on her face told Tomura that she remembered that conversation at the Nomu Factory as well. "Is it still a no?"

Y/n was quiet. Tomura paid attention to each possible tell, not wanting to give y/n any wiggle room to bend the truth. "It's not a no," y/n finally said. Tomura was sure she was telling the truth. "But," y/n hesitated; "I don't think I could say yes either." She was telling the truth. 

Once again, y/n didn't give him the answer Tomura wanted. Being undecided was still better than her previous response. He was making progress, knowing that was better than nothing.

"Tomorrow afternoon, we're going to have a meeting, be ready for it," Tomura said, dropping his previous topic and starting a new one.

"We?" y/n asked.

"You, the rest of The League, and I. Then, I will talk about our next move." Something on y/n's face made Tomura think she had something to say. His eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"Ah-" y/n stammered; "it's nothing. Kurogiri was asking if I knew what you had in mind next a few days ago. I was just wondering myself is all."

Tomura placed a three-fingered hand on y/n's head. His fingertips lightly ran in her hair. "I don't play favorites. You'll find out with everyone else."

Tomura stood up and exited the room without saying another word. He stopped in front of a little end table beside the couch. The blue-haired villain knelt down as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small key.

For the most part, most of his things were slowly moved into y/n's room. However, he had a handful of small things that he didn't want to keep in the bedroom inside this lockable end table. 

The villain turned the key and heard the lock click open. He opened the drawer and picked up a slip of paper that was placed on top of everything else.

Tomura sat down on the couch and looked at the little paper. It was the note y/n had written years ago. He had destroyed the pictures of y/n he had kept long after she began staying with him. He didn't need the photos when the real thing was always by his side. However, he could never get rid of the note.

The note gave Tomura the same uneasy feeling y/n typically did. It wasn't nearly as unpleasantly painful, though. As he looked over the faded letter, that uncomfortable feeling took over again. He remembered how y/n described her previous boyfriend. Sweet, kind, often going out of their way for others. None of those things described Tomura in the least. In fact, he sounded like the kind of person Tomura would love to wrap his fingers around and decay away.

He gritted his teeth as he remembered another thing. Y/n said she had loved him at one point. Feeling like he was going to vomit, he put away the little note and locked it away. As he did so, Tomura wished he could physically pull out all these unpleasant emotions that were clouding his head and stabbing at his chest. He'd do anything to lock them away as well. 

For once, Tomura was wide awake before y/n. Still half asleep, she rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing she found in the dresser. She had a little bit of time before everyone else in The League showed up. Y/n spent a little bit of time writing in her journal.

Y/n documented that The League was visiting to hear Tomura's next plan. She was sure to leave a large amount of room over the following pages blank. Y/n wanted to record each member's opinions and thoughts as thoroughly as she could. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to transcribe the whole meeting. Y/n figured Tomura would assume she wasn't paying attention and get upset.

In the other room, y/n could hear talking. Curious, y/n left her room and walked down the hallway. The closer to the livingroom she got, the more y/n was able to hear and recognize the voices talking.

Y/n stood at the end of the hallway. Compress was sitting down on the couch. Kurogiri was sitting across from the masked villain. Twice was leaning against a wall, facing the two men sitting down.

"What a lovely little house, did you happen to decorate it, y/n?" Compress said as he turned to look over to y/n.

Y/n shook her head. "Uhm, no. Kurogiri did, actually."

Compress looked around. "Yes, I think this room is a little too monotone to be your doing."

As if to change the subject, Kurogiri turned to Twice. "Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some," Twice said in a perky, upbeat tone. He cleared his throat. "No thanks, I'm more of a coffee guy." Twice gave y/n a small nod, and y/n smiled at him politely.

"Y/n, why don't you sit down with the rest of us?" Kurogiri asked. Y/n nodded and took a seat on the couch next to Compress. 

She looked at the men idling in the room. "I thought everyone is supposed to be here?"

"Yes, they're coming. Some of us are more punctual than others," Compress confirmed.

Y/n spotted Kurogiri glance into the kitchen. "It's about time I gather the rest. If anything, Tomura Shigaraki should be ready by now." In an instant, kurogiri vanished.

Several black portals opened up minutes later. The remaining League of Villains members walked into the little room. Y/n made eye contact with Tomura before anyone else, but that didn't last long.

Himiko stood in front of y/n with an unusually out of character frown on her face. "Do you really think you don't need to train with me anymore?"

Y/n kept her eyes forward towards the blonde girl's direction. However, y/n was looking past her towards Tomura. Y/n's eyes flicked back to Himiko's face, and she smiled warmly at the girl. "Sorry, I've just been so busy lately. We can do something soon, though." Y/n figured Liar wouldn't activate, that was the truth. It was just vague. Tomura was keeping y/n busy, and y/n was sure she and Himiko would go shopping again sometime. After The League finished Tomura's next plan.

Himiko's face lit up. "Okay, I understand." Y/n returned the girl's smile, all while looking past her towards Tomura as if silently signaling that she now knew Tomura lied about Himiko's lessons.

Tomura stepped in front of everyone, y/n could see his eyes behind his hair, scanning the room. Himiko sat down next to y/n and linked her arm in hers.

"Are you all ready for level two?" he asked before crossing his arms in front of his chest. "To be brutally honest, I'm not sure we will succeed." Y/n looked around the room. Even the usually relaxed Himiko had a serious look on her face. Before y/n had a chance to look back towards Tomura, she heard his voice. "We're going to break into Tartarus."

It felt like y/n's heart jumped into her throat as soon as she heard Tomura's plan. Tartarus was one of, if not the most, secure prisons in the world. Only the most notoriously violent villains get sent there. Rumor has it, no one who goes into Tartarus ever makes it back out.

The faces on the League members ranged from dumbfounded to furious. Even Kurogiri, who didn't have many distinguishable facial features, looked bewildered at Tomura's announcement.

"Did you hit your head recently or something?" Spinner asked, saying what was undoubtedly on everyone's minds.

Tomura reassured Spinner that he was entirely well in the head. Y/n heard Dabi, who was standing reasonably close to her, mumble something about that being debatable, under his breath. Y/n turned around and shot the patchwork villain a look. "What?" 

Y/n noticed Spinner was looking in her direction. "Hey, you," he called out in a demanding tone; "convince him that this is a terrible idea." 

For once, y/n agreed with Spinner on something. Even so, she guessed Tomura had been working on this for at least a few months, y/n knew he'd be stubborn about changing his plans. Y/n decided to give it a try anyway. "No one has ever escaped from Tartarus," y/n said, not trying to sound harsh, in a futile attempt to convince Tomura to change his mind.

"There's a first time for everything," Tomura growled. It was just as y/n thought. He was planning to stand his ground on this one.

"By chance, is this about getting All for One out of prison?" Compress asked.

"This has nothing to do with getting Master out. We'd probably need every villain in Japan to have a chance at that." Y/n was taken aback by Tomura's statement. Out of every villain in Tartarus, she would have assumed that was Tomura's end game.

"Then what's the point?" Dabi asked; "this just sounds like a waste of time and effort."

"Imagine the chaos that would ensue if we broke out at least one villain from Tartarus. We've already the Nomu Attack has already put some doubt in the minds of the populace. Tartarus is a cornerstone of society. Everything would crumble if we successfully break-in. What else would society have left?" Y/n could tell most people were unmoved by Tomura's nearly psychopathic rant. Interestingly enough, there was one person who didn't look so doom and gloom.

Himiko raised her hand and waved it about excitedly. Y/n flinched, feeling like the little blonde girl might hit y/n on the head in her excitement. "Can we break Mr. Stainy out?!"

Mr. Stainy? y/n wondered. That name didn't sound very villain-like. She couldn't imagine who Himiko could possibly be talking about.

"I don't think the risk is worth the reward," y/n heard Compress say as everyone discussed Tomura's plan.

From what y/n could hear, Himiko and Twice were on board for their own reasons. However, everyone else strongly opposed the plan. Even Kurogiri, who often sided with Tomura, had expressed concerns.

Y/n felt conflicted. She was familiar with the stories. She knew breaking into Tartarus wasn't a simple task. It was near impossible, in fact. However, most of The League was ganging up on Tomura. Y/n couldn't help but pity Tomura, while also wanting to defend him. At the same time, she also admired his headstrong personality.

Tomura broke the silence and motioned to y/n. "The first order of business will be to find someone who has a connection to Tartarus." The villain's ruby eyes met hers. "I believe I can trust you with that task."

"Me?" y/n asked in a doubtful tone. "I-I dunno about that." Y/n could hear how unsure she sounded, she knew everyone else could as well.

"I'm sure you'll find something," Tomura said, blowing off y/n's doubtful tone. "The rest of us will be busy preparing, so you're the only one I can leave this task to."

"Okay," y/n mumbled. 

Kurogiri opened up several portals, signaling the end of the meeting. Y/n could hear The League mutter to each other as they all dispersed into the darkness. Y/n sat motionlessly. The pressure of Tomura's task was already getting to her.

"You've been adding to your skill tree. Remember, you're not a fighter. You've been a scout since the beginning. I'm sure you'll find something." Y/n put on a fake smile and thanked Tomura for the motivation.

One phrase played over and over in y/n's head as she sat in bed, brainstorming in her journal. What can I do?

Y/n stared at the empty pages in the journal before her. She tucked her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees."What should I do?" y/n muttered under her breath.

Before y/n knew it, the sun had gone down, and the room dimmed to near darkness. Much to her surprise, Tomura hadn't checked up on her once in the past few hours. She assumed he was trying to give her space so she could concentrate on the task at hand. Trying to find someone connected to Tartarus in some way was not an easy task, after all.

Y/n closed her journal, the blank pages she had been staring at for hours had remained blank. If there was one thing y/n was thankful for, she wasn't scared to ask for help when she needed it. Y/n decided she would talk to Kurogiri about visiting Giran soon.

Giran had connections everywhere, it seemed. If there was anyone who could give y/n a start, she was positive Giran was the best person to talk to. Undoubtedly one of his more unusual connections had something y/n could work with.

Y/n turned on the little lamp on her end table and glanced at the disembodied hand sitting on top. "That's strange," y/n said to herself. While Tomura didn't wear the palm all day, every day, he often carried it around. It was unusual to see it just sitting in the room, unguarded.

She stepped out of the room and silently closed the door behind her. Y/n wasn't sure what time it was, but she was sure Kurogiri was sleeping by now. Waking up the shadow-like villain was the last thing she wanted to do if she needed to visit Giran. Otherwise, Kurogiri would probably insist y/n call a taxi and take herself to his office.

Y/n placed her fingertips on the wall to her side and navigated the darkened hallway. She stopped at the hallway's entrance and slowly made her way to the kitchen. She sat on the counter as she took a cup from the cabinet and filled it up with water.

Y/n squinted her eyes as she looked out the open kitchen window. It was almost pure black. The moonlight dimly lit the grass and the treetops. She shuddered, thinking about how a random villain could be standing in the darkness, and she would be none the wiser.

"Actually," y/n mumbled; "I haven't seen Tomura around. Maybe that isn't too far off." She jumped off the counter and walked to the backdoor to see if it was unlocked. Y/n turned the doorknob and gave it a firm tug, the door remained unmoving. "Guess not," y/n said as she let go of the metal handle.

"Maybe Tomura and Kurogiri went out," y/n pondered as she fumbled in the darkness, headed back to the room.

As y/n walked down the hallway, she suddenly felt a firm grip on her wrist and another over her mouth. Y/n squirmed in the icy cold hold on her, trying to free herself and call out for Nobuo or Tomura. She glanced over her shoulder, but it was too dark to see the figure holding onto her. Y/n instantly relaxed as the darkened figure leaned forward and began to hush her.

Her heart was still rattling around, and it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. Although shaken on the inside, her body was fully relaxed. The icy cold hand over her mouth slipped down to her other wrist. Y/n felt three distinct fingers firmly pressed against her skin.

"You scared me, Tomu-" the villain cut off y/n and hushed her. "What are you-" Once again, Tomura silenced y/n before she could finish her question.

Y/n couldn't see Tomura from beyond the darkness, but she could hear his breathing. By the sounds of it, Tomura was leaning close to her. Suddenly, y/n stumbled back, feeling a weight push against her. Y/n couldn't move, she was pinned to the wall. "Tell me, what is the most expendable thing to a king?" Tomura asked in a gravelly whisper.

Y/n stayed silent. She had no idea what Tomura wanted to hear. "I don't know," y/n finally admitted. Y/n wondered if Tomura was having some kind of psychotic episode. If that was the case, y/n hoped she could stay calm and ride out this episode. Y/n reminded herself to remain still, and maybe Tomura wouldn't act out.

"His loyal servants," Tomura replied; "a king should have many, so the life of one is very expendable." 

Y/n recalled Tomura using a similar analogy the day before. She wondered if Tomura was trying to tell her she and her life didn't matter to him, that she was nothing. For the first time in well over a year, Tomura was scaring her.

Not wanting to enrage Tomura, she stayed quiet and let him talk. "But are you indispensable?" Y/n didn't know how to answer that. For all she knew, this was an indirect warning from Tomura. "What's something a king needs that isn't as replaceable."

Y/n actually gave Tomura's question some thought, fearing that admitting she didn't know yet again would anger him. Nothing came to mind, technically everything is replaceable. "I don't know," y/n said in a quiet tone.

"A queen," Tomura answered; "every king needs one, right?"

Y/n felt a lot calmer, knowing he wasn't going through a bout of sudden psychosis.  Her heart was still racing. However, this time, it was for different reasons. "I-is that so?" she stammered.

Tomura pushed himself against y/n as his fingers slipped from her wrists. He placed the palms of his hands on y/n's face. The villain's thumbs lightly rubbed her cheeks.

Y/n wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his. She heard Tomura's breath hitch at her touch. "If that's what you need me to be, then I'll accept."