Mumbles came from inside Tomura's bedroom. I leaned forward, pressing my ear against the door. Was he talking to someone? Who is in there with him? That familiar need to protect Tomura sunk in.

My fingers curled around the doorknob. What if he's actually alone? That would upset Tomura. I stopped, unsure of what to do.

"Where's Da-" A voice far too deep to be Tomura's came through the door. "Dad?" I muttered.

What were they talking about? I jumped to my feet and walked towards my room. My desk in the corner was littered with crumpled up and shredded pieces of paper. I sat down in front of the mess and took a brown sheet of construction paper, a hole puncher, and a marker.

I listened to the sound of clicks as I punched holes in the construction paper. After I had about a dozen, I collected the tiny circles and dotted them with the marker. Carefully, I set them off to the side and began working on another project.

Pretty paper people take a while to make, and I didn't have enough time. I threw together a quick one that was akin to a stick figure. Its little body was about the size of my hand.

The hastily made little person sat up. It roamed the desk as if it were observing its surroundings. I placed my chin on the wooden surface. "Hello," I whispered.

The figure walked up to me, its little hands touching my face. "Can you do me the biggest favor?" I asked.

It stopped moving and sat down in front of me. "Can you eavesdrop on a conversation and tell me what they're saying?"

I sat up straight and reached for the little circle cut-outs I made earlier. Displaying them in front of the paper human, I continued to speak. "I made you these cookies."

The paper person picked one up and smashed it against their featureless face. The cookie fell to the desk, and it gave me a nod. "Thank you so much!"

I carried the little paper human outside of Tomura's room. The wooden floor cooled the back of my hands. "Remember, don't let the giants see you." It hopped off my palm and slid through a crack under the door.

My back pressed against the hallway wall. I stared at the all too familiar unnatural blue light shining under the door. A notebook and pen sat untouched on my lap.

I sighed as I waited. Did they catch the little guy? Both Tomura and Kurogiri were too smart for me.

I nearly lost hope as the little paper human slipped back through from under the door. My smile grew as it trotted closer to me. I placed the notebook on the floor and offered the pen. "So, what did you find?!" I tried to whisper, but my excitement got to me.

The little paper person hugged the pen or its tiny arms. It scribbled on the notepad. I leaned forward and looked at what it had written. The letters were messy and hard to read. I squinted my eyes and turned my head. Finally, I saw what it was trying to write. Y/n.

"Me?" I asked; "why were they talking about me?"

I rested my head in my hands as the paper person continued to write. It stopped moving; its featureless head acted like it was looking over it's writing. With a nod, it stepped away and looked up at me. Go outside.

"Go? Outside?" My eyes fixed to the writing as I tried to figure out what that meant.

Questions and guesses swirled around in my head. Was the little paper person telling me to go outside? Was something waiting for me? I hadn't left the house since I've woken up. Maybe they were talking about how I need to get out for a few hours?

The doorknob turned, and my eyes widened. I turned the notebook around to a clean page and snatched the pen out of the paper person's arms.

"Oh, how convenient, y/n, we were just discussing you," Kurogiri said.

Both the paper person and I looked up at Kurogiri and Tomura from the floor. "You were?" I tried my best to sound like that was new information.

Kurogiri looked down at my paper creation. He approached us and got down on a knee. "What do you have here?"

I hesitated, unsure if that was an actual question for me to answer. "A paper person?" I muttered.

"I haven't seen one of these for quite some time. What were you doing with it?" Kurogiri's have lifted from the paper creation up to me.

"Well, you were all in there, so I made a friend to play with."My eyes met the paper person's blank face. It turned to Kurogiri and nodded.

"I see," he replied. Kurogiri's tone was always a challenge to figure out. He could either be suspicious or not.

Kurogiri continued to talk. "Y/n, Tomura Shigaraki is going to accompany you outside for the day. I think it will be good for you to acclimate to the outside world."

I blinked, and I looked over to the blue-haired guy standing behind Kurogiri. His face was emotionless. He kept looking away at something over his shoulder. "Tomura Shigaraki doesn't seem excited."

"He's not fond of going outside," Kurogiri replied.

I already knew that.

I smiled a bit. "Well, yes, that is true."

Tomura didn't look happy at all. A portal opened up; he sighed as he walked through. I crumpled the little paper person into a ball as I rose to my feet.

A hand touched the top of my head. "I'll warp you two back by dinner time. Keep an eye on Tomura Shigaraki for me, okay?"

I nodded and passed through the black fog.

My vision cleared as I moved. Something yellow made my eyes sting. The sun was much brighter than I remember it being. I covered my eyes with my hands while I walked. Suddenly, I slammed into something and fell back.

Tomura had his arms folded across his chest; sneering at me. "Are you always this clumsy?"

"Sometimes," I mumbled. I got up and brushed off my pants with my hands. "Sorry, Tomura, did I hurt you?"

"Of course not." He pulled his hood over his head and began walking. I followed closely behind him.

I couldn't keep myself away from things most people wouldn't think twice about. How the warmth of the sun felt on my face. The chatter of people. Dandelion fuzz floating in the wind. The clouds looked so fluffy and soft while the freshly cut grass seemed prickly.

Since I couldn't touch the clouds, I decided to see if I was right about the grass. My hand hovered over the patch of green before carefully patting the bristly blades. "What are you doing?" I paused, Tomura sounded upset.

I tried my best to come up with an answer that wouldn't make him even madder. A strange feeling told me that it was impossible. "Uhm, petting the grass," I replied.

"Weirdo," he muttered. Tomura stood still for a while. The sunlight made his cherry-red eyes seem like they were glowing. It honestly made him seem angry. "Can we go now? It's just grass. Quit acting like you've never seen it before."

I got up and nodded. Tomura walked a distance away from me; it took a few minutes to catch up to him. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Kurogiri said to take you to a library or something. Educational trip or whatever." I kept quiet. That didn't sound fun at all.

A bell caught my attention. I followed the noise to a small, brightly colored sidewalk stand. My eyes widened. "Oh! Oh! Tomura!" I reached out and grabbed the back of his hoodie, giving him a few small tugs while pointing across the street with my other hand. "Ice cream!"

Tomura groaned. "You're such a kid."

I pushed out my lip in a pout as I let go of Tomura's hoodie. "I'm not a kid," I mumbled. My eyes glanced down at the sidewalk before looking back up.

My heart nearly stopped as I realized Tomura wasn't standing in front of me anymore. Wide-eyed and in a panic, I scanned the crowd for him. My throat felt dry as I quickly jumped from face to face.

Tomura stood across the street, in front of the colorful ice cream stand. I looked both ways for cars before rushing over to him. Tomura held an ice cream in both of his hands. He looked down at me with a glare and shoved one of the cold treats in front of me.

"Kurogiri would never let me hear the end of it if you whine about today." Before I had a chance yo say anything, Tomura turned around and began walking.

I glanced down at the ice cream as I followed Tomura. A sticky droplet rolled down my fingers. Realizing that it was melting, I began to eat. The sweetness tasted familiar. Even though it's cold, it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Tomura, do you remember the last time you had ice cream?" I asked.

"Why would I bother remembering stupid stuff like that?" he replied. I had a feeling he'd say something like that.

"I remember the last time. Dad bought it for me after pushing someone down the slide." Tomura glanced at me. For once, he didn't look angry or irritated. Instead, he more seemed confused. "I pushed her off the ladder side."

I looked down at my mostly eaten ice cream. The sweet liquid pooled inside the cone. "At least, I think I really did that."

Tomura was still staring at me. He turned away. "I told you, don't call him that. It's weird."

"But he's my dad— I think." I paused, eyes lowered to the melted ice cream. "He adopted me."

"What are you muttering about? Are you coming it what?" My head shot up. Tomura glanced towards me from over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as out eyes met. I hurried to his side and we continued down the street.

A row if colorful flowers lined the inner sidewalk, creating a path to a tall building. Golden lettering decorated a sign up front that read Library. Standing in the grass, a massive water fountain cooled the air. Tomura continued to walk. I grabbed onto his hoodie sleeve and tugged lightly. "I thought we were going to the library?"

"We aren't going there." His raspy voice sounded a bit deadpan. The thick fabric of his hoodie slipped from my fingers as he continued walking.

Curious of where he was actually planning on going, I followed Tomura closely. I couldn't help myself from looking at every face that passed by us. It was a bizarre need. Something told me that any one of these people could harm him.

The walk was quiet between Tomura and I. He didn't seem to be very social. I knew that as soon as I first saw him. Be also didn't seem to like listening. I already knew that as well. Once again, I accidentally slammed into Tomura as soon as he stopped. I stumbled back, regaining my balance.

Tomura stood in front of a building with colorful posters decorating the door and most of its windows. He headed towards the door and I hurried after him.

The room was a lot bigger on the inside than I initially thought. One side was lined with what seemed like colorful books, and the other had rows and rows of boxes. People aimlessly walked around, glancing over the boxes and books. My eyes darted from face to face, trying to decide if Tomura was in any danger.

Tomura shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket and made his way to the boxes. He stopped in front of a row, his eyes glossed over the row of darkly colored pictures from behind his hood.

I walked up behind him, curious of what he was looking at. It was a dark-colored box with lots of red splattered everywhere. He moved on to another picture— a group of people with all sorts of weapons and a shadowed figure in the background.

Tomura picked up the box with the group and turned it over. I quietly watched him read the paragraph printed on the other side. "Quit hovering," Tomura grumbled.

I sighed. "Okay."

Having Tomura out of my sight for a few minutes too long made me nervous. I scanned over the pictured books, occasionally glancing over my shoulder to see what he was up to. Although I was across the room, I was always acutely aware of when Tomura did so much as to move a finger.

From a distance, I observed Tomura pick up and look at several colored boxes before placing them down. Whenever he turned to glance over towards me, I'd look down at the thick book in my hand.

I didn't really know what the book was about. The colors were dark and muddled, and a big, nearly skeletal monster was front and center.

Tomura once again had his back towards me. A small box rested in his arm as he reached out with his other hand. He began to walk towards another side of the store. I lowered my head towards the book.

It was like the lights dimmed as a shadow loomed over me. My gaze met with a familiar set of cherry-red eyes. Tomura reached out and took the book I've been holding. He looked at the cover and turned it around to.inspect the back. I noticed his eyes dart as he read.

He slipped the book on top of the boxes in his arms and wandered to the front of the room. I watched Tomura closely as he approached a man behind the counter. He placed the things in his arm down and what looked like paper.

The man talked to Tomura, but he ignored him. After placing the things in a plastic bag, he walked away and towards me. "I'm done here."

The door chimed as we passed the doorframe. The man said goodbye, I spun around and waved. A hand gripped onto my wrist, giving me a firm tug. "Cut that out," Tomura muttered.

I lowered my head. "Okay."

My wrist slipped from Tomura's grip as we approached a very familiar black portal. Before anyone bad a chance to say anything, a deepened voice spoke up. "Did you have a good time, y/n?"

"Tomura Shigaraki bought me ice cream!" I smiled at Kurogiri.

He looked towards Tomura and then back at me. "Is that so? Well, hopefully that didn't ruin your appetite, it's nearly time for dinner. Did you do anything else?"

"Bookstore?" I couldn't think of an appropriate name for the store. Tomura bought me a book, so that was what I settled on.

"Oh?" Kurogiri's voice perked up. He seemed interested. Tomura placed the plastic sealed book in my hands. He leaned forward. "Manga don't count as books." He sounded flat and disappointed.

Kurogiri turned to Tomura. "Besides, that looks far too violent for y/n." I pushed out my lip in a pout as soon as his words hit me. My grip on the book tightened.

Tomura shrugged off Kurogiri. He was completely unphased by his tone.

Kurogiri crossed his arms. He looked towards me, then Tomura. "Fine. But do try to take y/n to something more educational next time. A zoo, perhaps?"

My eyes lit up. "One that has penguins?"

"No," Tomura grumbled.

"Yes," Kurogiri shot back.

"This is stupid." And with that, the miniature argument between the two was cut short as Tomura left for his room.

Kurogiri invited me to prepare dinner. I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. As we cooked, we talked about our little adventure outside. Was Tomura nice to me? How was the weather? Did I see any heroes? I answered everything as best I can.

Once dinner was prepared, Kurogiri sent me with a plate to give to Tomura. I walked down the cold, dimly lit hallway to his room. The usual blue, flashing light peeked out from under his door.

I opened the door. Tomura sat in front of his computer. The plate lightly clinked as I set it down on the desk beside him. He didn't look up from his computer or acknowledge me.

"Thank you, Tomura." I said.

He didn't reply. I turned away to head out of his room to have dinner with Kurogiri. "For?"

"The-" I paused, trying to remember what Kurogiri called the book. "The manga."

"Also, for going outside with me." Tomura grumbled under his breath, making his words nearly impossible to understand. I smiled at him. "I'm going to leave you alone now."

The table was set by the time I made it back to Kurogiri. "Thank you, dad." I sat down across from him. Dinner smelled warm and delicious. However, as excited as I was to eat, I was more excited to read the book Tomura bought me.