Shigaraki felt y/n tremble under his arms as she quietly cried into his chest. He adjusted his head and rested his cheek on top of her head, so the flowery scent was even closer to him. He tried to think about how to make y/n feel better. His eyes drifted to the pile of ash and bone on the ground behind her. Y/n is too sentimental.
Y/n's tears eventually stopped. Shigaraki was starting to feel thankful, she was starting to get on his nerves. She kept her forehead pressed against Shigaraki's collarbone. That flowery scent was comforting at first, but now it was starting to bother him. It was beginning to give him a headache and knot up his stomach.
Shigaraki let go of y/n and looked down at her. He noticed her reddened eyes. He's never seen her look so sad before. He reminded himself once again that y/n is too soft before an idea crossed his mind.
He got up off his knees and walked over to the pile of bone and ash. The villain dug through the collection while y/n absently stayed in her spot. Shigaraki picked up the skull sitting among the dust as carefully as he could and blew away the lingering ash.
He held up the skull to y/n. "Sentimental people like you like keepsakes, right?" Shigaraki watched as y/n began tearing up again. He didn't understand what was wrong. She stopped crying, so she had to have been over it, so why did the tears start again?
Shigaraki didn't know what else to do, so he gave up. He placed the skull down onto the ground before walking to the couch. The villain placed the box off to the side and began playing a game. Shigaraki scrunched up his nose from under the hand covering his face. He could still smell flowers from the other side of the room. The smell was intoxicating yet nauseating.
Y/n was not like herself for several days. This breakdown was different from all the other ones she's had since meeting Shigaraki. Now, they were more frequent, and he often heard y/n muttering to herself about wanting to die.
The breakdowns became much worse when Shigaraki showed her a missing person ad he had come across online. He mentioned that the timing of the announcement and IronStrike's disappearance happened to line up just right. While Shigaraki found this a pleasant surprise; it also seemed to worsen y/n's crying fits.
He did some research on the side, and her disappearance was being tied up to IronStrike's as well. He added that some sources are painting y/n to be a possible culprit. Day by day, that narrative was becoming more and more widely accepted. Shigaraki would excitedly talk about how great it was that y/n couldn't go back to her old life. He often added that change is a good thing.
IronStrike's remains were removed from the hideout, except for the skull Shigaraki had pulled out. He kept that on display next to his computer. As far as Shigaraki is concerned, it was like the whole ordeal never happened. Y/n didn't feel the same.
On a near nightly basis, y/n was having nightmares. Y/n would wake up in a cold sweat, sobbing over a dream she can't remember. Shigaraki didn't know what to do, and Kurogiri was no longer offering him any good advice. Kurogiri kept telling him to be more agreeable to y/n, to throw away the skull, and to apologize again.
Shigaraki was already as friendly to her as he could. He also didn't want to get rid of the skull. He thought it made a good decoration piece for the hideout. Besides, he considered that y/n might potentially want to keep it as a souvenir one day. The last thing he needed was y/n getting even more upset once the skull is gone. Shigaraki refused to apologize. He didn't do anything wrong. If he were in her place, Shigaraki would have personally really liked the gift he gave her. As far as he's concerned, y/n was being ungrateful.
The League was hanging low for a while, so Shigaraki had a bit of downtime for the time being. He would use that time to be with y/n. She'd spend all day huddled in bed so he'd sit at the foot of the mattress. Sometimes, Shigaraki would try to talk to her, but she stopped responding to him. The silence worked out in his favor because he often ran out of things to say. She wasn't reading at all, and he was unfamiliar with her other interests, so he wasn't sure what else there was to talk about.
Over time, he managed to get back onto speaking terms with y/n. The loneliness must have gotten to y/n. After all, Shigaraki was the only person she had for human interaction. He knew she couldn't give him the silent treatment for too long. Even so, he didn't expect her to stay quiet for so long.
The blue-haired villain decided he had wasted enough time waiting for y/n to feel better. She was still very sad, but she wasn't crying so much. The night terrors have eased down a bit, or she stopped complaining about them. Either way, that was improvement enough for him.
Shigaraki sat down on the ground by y/n's side. He placed the box down on the ground next to her. "I had other gifts for you." Admittedly, Shigaraki realized that he should have started with the box before IronStrike. However, he was worried that the hero would die before y/n had a chance to see him again. Things would have been a disaster if Compress pulled out a dead body rather than an injured hero.
Shigaraki could see y/n eye the box with an unsure expression on her face. He could tell she still wasn't in the mood, but he thought, this time, she'll like these gifts. "Hey, now, these aren't going to kill you or anything," he said in his best attempt at mimicking a joking tone. Y/n sat up and vacantly looked at the box.
The blue-haired villain began opening the box for her. He pulled off the tape that secured the box closed. Shigaraki paused as he looked over the contents inside. "Wait, I want to add something else to this." He stood up and wandered away to the other side of the room.
He looked around through his personal belongings. Sometimes, the villain would look over his shoulder to see if y/n was interested in the box enough to take a peek. He noticed that she was sitting still. Shigaraki was okay with that. He wanted to show her all the things he got her anyway.
Shigaraki came back with a black mass in his hands. He stretched it out on the ground in front of him. "I don't wear this anymore. It doesn't conceal my identity that much these days. You can have it." He could see y/n look at the black hoodie. He picked it up and placed it on her lap.
The blue-haired villain dug around in the box some more. He had three more items to give her. He wasn't sure which one he should show her first. He picked up a little black jewelry box and opened it.
Inside the bag was a little locket. Shigaraki held it up to her so she could see it. "I designed this one myself," he said proudly.
The design was fairly simplistic. It was silver and heart-shaped. A small f/c stone embellished it along with her first initial engraved in a fancy font.
Shigaraki stood up and knelt behind y/n. He fumbled with the locket's clasps before finally getting it around y/n's neck. He circled back around y/n and looked it over from the front. It looked just like how he imagined.
The villain found himself looking at it much longer than he expected. He stopped and made eye contact with y/n. "Oh, don't mind the thing inside," he finally said. Mentioning the contraption inside made y/n open the locket and take a look. There was a tiny black button inside the locket. "That will come in later. When you're feeling up to it." He watched as y/n closed the pendant and held it in her palm.
Shigaraki reached into the box and pulled out the next thing he wanted to give her. It was a metal mask. A heart-shaped design was carved into the steel. Shigaraki leaned forward and helped her put it on.
He noticed y/n was tugging on the mask. "I'm sure it's heavy. It's probably really uncomfortable too, but you'll get used to it in no time."
Shigaraki leaned forward and asked her to say something. Y/n did as he said. Silence. The silence caused y/n to claw at the mask some more. She stopped when she realized that she didn't know how to take it off.
Shigaraki grinned from behind the hand. "That mask was specifically made with your quirk in mind." The villain reached into the box and pulled out a tiny black box. "The guy who made it called it something like The Ventriloquy Apparatus. And this was named The Voice Box."
The villain handed y/n the little black box in his hand. He watched her observe the tiny speaker before he reached out and flipped a switch on the side. "That mask is supposed to completely mute you. Inside your mask, you have a little microphone inside. That microphone should carry your voice to this speaker when it's switched on."
He saw y/n raise an eyebrow. "But why?" came ringing out through the speaker. Y/n looked down at the speaker in her hands.
"Your quirk's range is only as good as how loud you can talk," Shigaraki began to explain; "this will level out the playing field for you. Alternatively, I plan on giving each member an even smaller version of this speaker. So if we ever need you to do surveillance, that'll be an easy way to talk to... everyone." Shigaraki hesitated before finishing up his sentence.
The thought of having y/n talking to her fellow League members left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't have to worry about sharing y/n with everyone else, but now it looks like he will have to go back to that again.
Shigaraki leaned forward and removed the mask from y/n's face. He could tell that she felt uncomfortable wearing it. "We can play around with it later, okay? I still have one last thing for you, but I don't want to go if you're not ready."
At this point, y/n feared she had gotten herself into too much trouble. She was reported missing, and some media outlets are linking her to a hero's disappearance, painting her as a possible suspect.
The League is one of the most well known and wanted villain organizations in Japan right now, and here she was mixed up with them. Y/n promised to offer her quirk to Shigaraki in return for her safety. It probably won't be long until he has her kill someone herself.
Y/n reminded herself that she couldn't show how much she didn't want to work with The League. She mustered her nerves and looked Shigaraki in the eye. "I can go now. I think that's enough moping around."
Shigaraki hid his smile. He stood up and offered her his arm. Y/n looked at his arm for a moment before taking it and standing to her feet. "Kurogiri!" Shigaraki called out, "hurry up, we're leaving!"
Kurogiri manifested into the room. Shigaraki explained to Kurogiri that they were going to take y/n to the factory. Y/n could see Kurogiri's eyes flicker like flames in y/n's direction before opening up a warp gate. Shigaraki gently pulled y/n into the portal.
It was too dark to see; y/n could barely make out her surroundings. Instinctively, she grabbed onto the hem of Shigaraki's shirt while her eyes scanned the building. There were large tube-like capsules lined up right next to each other. They looked like they came right out of a science fiction novel. The room was just barely lit by the light coming out of each capsule.
Shigaraki began to walk forward. Y/n followed close behind him. The blue-haired villain began to give y/n a vague explanation as he walked. "Sorry, it's dark. I can't have you come here until the guy who works here leaves. He doesn't trust you at all, so he doesn't want you to see him. Don't take it personally. He doesn't trust anyone." As he talked, y/n looked over the empty capsules as they walked by.
Shigaraki stopped in front of a set of capsules. Y/n's eyes grew wide with terror as she studied the contents of the tubes. Six capsules were lined up, and each capsule had a monster inside. None of the monsters looked precisely the same; they all vary in color, size, and shape. The only feature they all shared was the exposed brains peeking out from the tops of their heads. Y/n has seen these monsters before on TV. They looked like the ones that attacked Shinitori city.
"These are my Nomu," Shigaraki announced proudly; "the League of Villains has been making these for years." Y/n was utterly speechless. Her eyes were fixed to the capsules. Shigaraki looked at y/n, his eyes followed her line of sight. He placed a pair of fingers on the tube she was staring at. "Do you like this one?"
Y/n's attention went back to Shigaraki. She looked over the monster inside. It was short with grey skin, with razor-sharp teeth that peeked out of its muzzle-like mouth. "Uhm," she hummed nervously. Y/n didn't know what to say.
Shigaraki pulled her hands off his shirt. "Go on and take a good look at all of them. Let me know which one is your favorite."
Y/n stayed close behind Shigaraki, refusing to come any closer to the monsters inside. Her eyes looked over the beasts. They were all horrifying in their unique way. Assuming that Shigaraki was asking her a symbolic question, she blindly pointed at a Nomu.
Just like the other monsters, a brain peeked out from the top of its head. The beast had pure black eyes, and the monster's face closely resembled a skull. The one she pointed to was much taller than the others
Its arms were twice as long as the others as well. Its skin was a pale greyish blue color that matched it's equally sickly appearance. The monster inside seemed like it was nothing but skin and bone. Y/n could see each bone clearly.
"That one is your favorite?" he asked. Y/n hesitated before admitting that she didn't really have a favorite. Shigaraki walked up to the capsule and began messing with the control panel off to the side. Y/n looked on in horror as the blue liquid inside the tube started to drain slowly.
"Wh-what are you doing?" y/n asked, taking a few steps away from the capsule.
"Releasing him," Shigaraki responded. He noticed y/n was stepping away from the capsules. "No, come back here. He needs to be imprinted." Y/n forced out a confused huh as Shigaraki took her arm and pulled her close to the capsules. "This will be pointless if it imprints to me."
Y/n began to ask what he meant by that, but she was cut off by the capsule opening. She trembled as the monster started to feel around the ground with its hands. Y/n hadn't noticed the oversized razor-sharp claws on the beast until now.
The monster slowly crept to y/n. It's soulless black eyes looked at y/n's face. The beast tilted its head and stood up straight, looming over both her and Shigaraki. Almost immediately, it crouched back down and looked up at y/n.
Shigaraki chuckled. "Look, it likes you. Stop trembling like that." Shigaraki's words didn't ease y/n's nerves. The blue-haired villain let go of y/n and approached the Nomu. Shigaraki pulled out a little black object. Delicately, he pushed the device into the monster's exposed brain.
"You remember that contraption in your locket, right? The little button?" Y/n slowly began to nod. "Well, keep it with you, it'll bost your defense stat. When you press that button, it'll send a signal to this chip. That'll alert this Nomu, and it'll go looking for you." Shigaraki pulled his hand away and observed the little chip he installed into the Nomu's brain.
He turned around to y/n, his back facing the monster. "I don't take Nomu to my hideouts. They take up too much room; however, we can take this one."
"Ah, n-no, that's o-okay," y/n stuttered, stepping away from Shigaraki and the monster.
Shigaraki crossed his arms. "What?" he asked in a sharp tone. "No, it's staying with us for a while. What's the point of having a Nomu if you're going to be scared of it?" Reluctantly, y/n nodded. She wasn't going to convince Shigaraki otherwise anyway. She decided that she might as well go with it.
Y/n followed closely behind Shigaraki, holding onto his sleeve, the Nomu followed far behind. Every once and a while, y/n would turn around and look at the monster from over her shoulder. Every time she looked over, she would inch just a little bit closer to Shigaraki.
Kurogiri was patiently waiting for the pair on his own. He glanced behind y/n and took a look at the Nomu she picked out. "Oh, that's a good one," he noted. Y/n stayed quiet. She didn't know what to say to Kurogiri. She didn't want the Nomu.
Kurogiri opened up a portal and allowed everyone to pass through. As soon as y/n made it back to the hideout, she hurried onto the couch and tucked her knees close to her chest. Her eyes were fixed onto the Nomu. Shigaraki sat down next to her and pointed to the ground in front of the couch. "Tell it to sit there."
Y/n looked unsure. With a shaky hand, she pointed to the ground. "S-sit," she ordered in a weak voice.
The monster did as he was commanded and sat down onto the ground in front of y/n. Y/n hugged her knees even closer to her chest. Shigaraki could see a very distinct frown on y/n's face. He decided he needed to ease her mind.
"It's not going to hurt you. This Nomu is going to be your bodyguard." Y/n looked over to Shigaraki. "These things are stupid. They don't know how to think for themselves. If no one tells it to get up, it'll stay like that on the floor for who knows how long." Y/n nodded her head slowly, refusing to let her guard down.
Shigaraki followed through on his promise and vaguely explained to y/n what his plans for her quirk were. Y/n learned that Shigaraki needed her quirk to make more Nomu. She didn't feel great about Shigaraki's project, but she felt a lot better knowing he wasn't asking her to kill anyone.
Y/n tried to ask Shigaraki how her quirk could help him make more Nomu. She found a hard time connecting Liar to the monsters. Shigaraki said he would go into more detail later. Y/n wanted to learn a little bit more but accepted that Shigaraki didn't want to say anything more. She made some progress, y/n decided that was good enough for now.
Shigaraki hadn't lied to y/n. After several weeks, she realized the monster didn't do much on its own. Y/n still found the monster's appearance off-putting, but she wasn't necessarily scared of it.
Shigaraki was sitting in front of his computer from across the room, playing games as usual. Y/n was sitting on the mattress, her back pressed against the wall. Her Nomu was vacantly lying down on the floor at the foot of her bed.
She leaned forward and watched the monster zone out. Nomu is a mean name. Maybe I should rename it? She thought to herself.
Quietly, as to not disturb Shigaraki's game, she muttered possible names under her breath. Nomu was a proper name for the monster, but she decided she should give him something else. Y/n wanted a name that sounded close to Nomu. "Nobuo..." she said silently. Y/n tilted her head to the side and looked over the monster. "I like that. Nobuo."
"Please tell me you aren't naming it," Shigaraki said from across the room. She didn't think Shigaraki could hear her from over there, y/n assumed that the game was distracting him. Y/n wanted to argue that he said the Nomu was hers, but she held back her tongue. Instead, she asked if that was a problem. Shigaraki sighed. He verbally mentioned that he figured you would try to humanize the monster. "Fine. Do as you wish. I'm still going to call it Nomu."
Y/n thanked Shigaraki with a cheery tone. Shigaraki didn't say anything else or acknowledge y/n's thanks.
Shigaraki glanced behind him to see y/n sitting on her knees at the edge of the bed. She was trying to use the monster's new name to get it's attention as if she was trying to teach a puppy. He looked back at his computer and minimized the game he was playing.
In front of him was a list of local events. The villain was looking for one that would have a lot of people around. The more bystanders, the better.
His eyes glossed over times and dates. Shigaraki narrowed his eyes. He would need to rearrange his plans, but he spotted a local event that caught his eye.