This does NOT effect the story. soggy_pizza wanted me to do the One-Shot where Lillian is a PC gamer for her winning prize! She is the amazing creator of the current cover art. I love it so much; it's literally so cute.

This would really by better as like an entire book not gonna lie

Also uh,,, I kept writing "ShadowBat" instead of "SnakeBat" so if you see that, I'm sorry-

Third person pov

Books are an escape, but many people don't realize that video games are too.

Lillian has been an avid PC gamer for three years now. She's good at the games she frequents, most of which are first person shooters. She's not a violent person at heart, but dominating the competition online is something she's always been able to enjoy. Online, she's confident. She knows her skill-set, what she can and can't do, and she works with it. She's not the best gamer in the world, nor does she know every aching detail of the games she likes to play. She's decent and knowledgeable enough to be considered a "real gamer." 

It's not something she's embarrassed of, but she also doesn't typically tell people about it. Her virtual life and real life are two things that have always been separate. For as long as she's been playing games, she's kept it a relative secret. Her not-parents knew she played, but they didn't really know what. She had backpack charms from some of her favorite games, but nobody ever asked. It wasn't something she hid, but it wasn't something she shared either.

But now she was living with Hitoshi and Todoroki, and she didn't have the privacy of her own room anymore. That wasn't particularly an issue in her mind. She got her PC, and she set it up with ease. They didn't comment on it, and she didn't try to let them know. She simply plugged it all in and sat herself down.

Sometimes they'd peek at the game she was playing, only to wince when made a head shot. She had a headset that glowed blue, but they never asked who she was talking to. That was one thing she was a little hesitant to tell them about. She wasn't a social person to begin with, so hearing her shrieking demands at someone in a panic as she co-oped on PugG might have been a shock. Her groans as they braved Far Cry 4. Her cheers as they played through Portal together. It was honestly a little odd that they didn't ask questions.

Truth be told, she had an internet friend. She didn't really know his name, and he didn't really know hers. He called her by her username, "SnakeBat", and she called him by his, "DustBowl".  

She'd known him for about two and a half years. After getting randomly paired in the beta of a multiplayer game, they quickly realized that they made for a good team. So she'd sent him a friend request despite having no friends on Steam, and he'd accepted. And that was it. End of the story. Whenever she played a multiplayer game of any sort, it was always with him. Seldom was he never available. He was definitely older than her if his voice was anything to go off of, and was probably the type that lived online. She didn't mind.

They were good friends. Though they didn't know one another names, they still managed to learn a lot about each other. She knew DustBowl had a job. One he was constantly complaining about and questioning. He never said just what it was, but it sounded rather shady from what she could tell. He also seemed to hate heroes, but had openly admitted that Present Mic wasn't the worst when Lillian had almost started to cry at some point.

In contrast, Lillian told him about her anxiety and about the fact that she'd been kidnapped. He wasn't the best at consoling or understanding emotions, but he'd gotten mad on her behalf, and that was enough. Hearing him devolve into a pissed off rant told her he cared, and had turned her down mood into a brighter one. DustBowl was a good friend, whoever he was. She was glad to have someone online to talk to! 

Now it was the evening. Todoroki was stressing over Neko Atsume for some reason, an app he'd quickly become addicted to, Hitoshi was stress knitting on his bed, and Neito was shoveling Ice Cream down his mouth while watching Yuri On Ice in the background. She was playing Borderlands 2 with DustBowl, listening readily as he grumbled about how he should be getting payed just for putting up with such "idiots". From the background noises she was hearing, she agreed.

"Was that an explosion?" She snorted as something odd echoed through the mic, sounding an awful lot like the toaster oven Shoto had a run in with had when it blew. DustBowl let out groan.

"Don't ask." He grumbled, and she could tell he was shaking his head. "What the hell is that in the background? Music?"

Lillian swiveled around in her chair. "Can you turn down your gay anime?" She asked, causing DustBowl to sputter and choke on the other end. Neito looked her dead in the eye, spoon still in his mouth as he turned up the volume. Todoroki and Hitoshi didn't even look up from what they were doing. Lillian sighed heavily. "Yeah, I thought so. Thanks for that."

"Your roommates sound like a pain." DustBowl muttered. And they did, to him. Not as bad as Dabi and Toga were now that they'd joined, but pretty damn close. SnakeBat was his only friend. The relationship they had was impersonal, but she was someone he trusted greatly. She was smart and good at video games, and had stayed loyal for over two years now and didn't once find him weird. He could easily say he cared for SnakeBat, and Shigaraki didn't care about anyone.

"Not as much of a pain as yours are." Lillian responded. Todoroki scooted closer, peering at her screen while trying his best not to fall off his bed. Lillian leaned to the side a little so he could get a better look, turning her chair for him. He watched with curious eyes as she gunned down a psycho in a gas mask. Games were yet another thing that was foreign to him, and seeing Lillian play them made him curious.

"Who's DustBowl?" He asked, his voice carrying through her mic easily. Shigaraki tensed.

"My internet best friend." Lillian answered with ease. Shigaraki listened closely. He was actually rather curious about SnakeBat's life, but she didn't ask about his, so he didn't ask about hers. It was "common courtesy" not to pry, as Kurogiri had explained it. If she asked a question, he was allowed to ask it in return. That's the policy he went with for fear of upsetting her and causing her to run off. There was an odd period of time where she'd vanished for a few days. At first he'd thought she was ignoring him and it had sent him spiraling into a panic. As it would turn out, she was just moving after finding out her parents weren't her parents.

"Ah, well I'm your real life best friend then." Shoto seemed to decide. Shigaraki frowned to himself, adjusting his headset.

"No, that's me." Hitoshi called from across the room. Shigaraki twitched. It made sense SnakeBat would have real life friends. She was a... good person, as one might call them. Not the villainous type at all. He almost envied her.

"No, we're her stand-in parents, Hitoshi." Neito reminded, shoving more Ice Cream into his mouth despite the fact that he was indeed lactose intolerant. Anytime anyone brought it up, he just flipped them off. Lillian could relate to that. If someone got between her and her Rocky Road, there'd be hell to pay and knee caps to bust.

Shigaraki felt the urge to scratch his neck all of a sudden as his chest tightened. It made sense that she'd have friends, and he knew this. It made sense that he was her internet best friend and that she had a real life best friend. Of course it made sense. He just... didn't like it. It upset him. He didn't really know why. He remembered a time when SnakeBat had no friends outside of him, but now suddenly she had three roommates who she hung out with every day. And he was still just... sitting there. Alone.

"Have you ever met DustBowl?" Shoto asked curiously, peering at the screen. Shigaraki blinked curiously. Was that a thing that was possible? That they could do? He hadn't realized you could meet someone you played games with. She was obviously Japanese, just as he was. It just hadn't occurred to him that maybe they could become real life best friends as well. That would surely show her roommates, right?

He'd never considered that he could have friends. But SnakeBat was a real person. Quite possibly his favorite person, as she liked games, and wasn't annoying. He thought about it more as he and SnakeBat both took down a camp of psychos and bandits. They already worked well together and talked almost daily, which was what friends did. If they met... then she could be his friend. That was the one thing he didn't have right now, and the one thing he felt he might want now.

"No, actually. Which is weird considering how long we've known each other." Lillian tilted her head a little. "I-I've known him longer than I've known you guys."

"So he's basically god." Neito decided. Hitoshi smacked him over the head.

"Would you want to meet?" Shigaraki felt nervous all of a sudden. What if she said no? What would he do then? She was the only one he wanted as a friend, which meant he had one chance. If she said no, he didn't want to upset her by ignoring her wishes and finding her anyway. Besides that, he didn't know her name or what school she went to. He wasn't sure he could track her down. Especially if she... she unfriended him. 

The thought alone made him shiver.

"That would actually be really cool!" Lillian's eyes lit up. Shigaraki deflated with relief before quickly perking up with excitement. Was he finally going to meet SnakeBat?

They worked out the details. He was pleased to find that she was in Musutafu like he was, which meant neither had to go far. To think she'd been in his prefecture this entire time, and he had no idea. He almost wanted to hit himself over the head for it, or get Kurogiri to. That didn't matter. They picked a public place to meet in. Shigaraki knew he was taking a great risk in agreeing to meet at a cafe, but he could only hope nobody recognized him. It had been a while since the USJ incident, so there was a chance nobody would realize it was him so long as he kept his hood up and head down.

They made plans to meet this weekend, and he was exited. She reported what outfit she'd be wearing so he could find her easier, and he did the same. He made sure to carefully set aside his gloves for that day as well. They were the kind that were fingerless on the thumb, pointer, and middle fingers, leaving his ring and pinkie finger covered. He didn't want to accidentally hurt his soon-to-be real life friend. His favorite and best and only friend. Other than sensei, she was the only one he could really trust. 

Watching videos on Youtube of internet friends meeting only excited him further. They often times did things that sensei never did for him. They hugged. When was the last time Shigaraki was hugged? He wasn't actually sure he'd ever been hugged before in his life. the realization was saddening and made him wonder how much Sensei cared about him. You hugged people you cared about, right? It's not like Sensei didn't have arms.

They exchanged phone numbers. Phone numbers. The only number he had in his phone was Kurogiri, but now he had a friend's number too. She sent pictures of her pet snake, and of the meals she was eating throughout the weak, and things like that. He did the same when he could, though what he ate was never that exciting. It only made him want to meet her more. Maybe she could introduce him to all the things she did in her life. Then, he could live like her and bring down All Might.

Shigaraki arrived at the cafe ten minutes early, tugging at his gloves. Seldom did he ever feel nervous, but he couldn't seem to sit still. He felt almost as though he wanted to cry, which was weird. He guessed his relationship with SnakeBat was just that serious and deep. Sensei never made him feel like he wanted to cry. So maybe SnakeBat was better somehow. More important. He'd have to wait and see, he supposed. 

Lillian was nervous. She had decided to come alone, which she would very possibly come to regret. She knew DustBowl was twenty-two years old. That was almost a full six years older than her. He was Chad's age, so being friends with him couldn't be too terribly weird, right? She was still nervous. What if he was a total creep? Or not who he claimed to be? She'd chosen where they'd meet and chosen a time she knew there'd be people around. If worse came to worse, screaming was an option...

She spotted him first. His back was to her, but she somehow didn't doubt it was him. He was wearing exactly what he said he'd be wearing. A grey hoodie, denim jeans, and the same shoes they'd sent a picture of. They were shifting their weight from foot to foot, also seeming nervous. Lillian suddenly felt very self conscious.

"D-DustBowl?" She squeaked, and he turned around. Time seemed to stop right then and there.

So DustBowl was apparently Shigaraki, from what she was seeing right here before her. He had the same messy mop of dull blue hair she remembered, and those piercing red eyes. He was missing the hand on his face, giving her a full view of his dry, cracked lips. They'd been stretched into a maniacal grin last she'd seen him. She felt terror seize her heart as she took a step back, staring up at him with wide eyes.

Shigaraki was also horrified, possibly more so than Lillian. This was one of those brats from the USJ! Only SnakeBat wasn't a brat, she was the best person he'd ever met, and an even better gamer. Which meant someone was wrong. Either she'd been faking it, which he didn't think was the case. She had never lied to him before. Or Sensei was incorrect about all the students at UA High. He'd said they were all going to grow up to be just like All Might. That they were nuisances. That they were... but this was...

"Don't scream." Was the first thing he blurted out, eyes scanning her outfit. It was the one she'd said she was going to wear. He observed her. She didn't look as annoying as she had at the USJ. Her hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, and her eyes were a nice shade of blue. She had freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and over the bridge of her nose, scattered like a fine powder. He took a deep breath. This wasn't what he'd planned. This wasn't what he'd planned.

"Y-Y-Y-You're Shigaraki." She squeaked out, shoulders tense. "You... w-we've been f-friends..."

He smiled, but it wasn't a malicious one. She'd referred to them as friends! This was good. Not all hope was lost, and she wasn't screaming yet. He took a step back just in case. He never would have attacked the USJ had he known his only friend was inside, or he at least would have ensured her safety first. This had to be a shock, but that was okay. Clearly their opinions of one another were a little wrong. She wasn't a brat, and he wasn't as horrible as she thought, right? Right. 

"You're SnakeBat." Shigaraki offered his hand for her to shake. A hug would be pushing it, but Kurogiri said handshakes were still polite. "Lillian, right?"

He'd taken extra care to drink a lot of water before coming here. That way his voice wouldn't be so scratchy. Lillian gaped up at him, but he could be patient this time. But only because it was her. Those other annoying brats at the USJ were all All Might fans. They looked up to him like he was some shining beacon! At least Lillian didn't awe over him like everyone else in this god forsaken country. She looked up to Present Mic, who wasn't even a big hero. 

Lillian hesitated. She didn't think this was a trick. Shigaraki had looked just as surprised and taken aback as she felt, and he had gloves on. Everyone knew how his quirk worked now. It disintegrated things, but only when all five of his fingertips were in contact with his target. Two of his fingers were covered completely. Did it work through gloves? She was about to find out. And possibly cough up a bunch of blood trying to freeze someone and run.

Shigaraki lit up like a puppy as she hesitantly reached out her hand, letting him shake it with his much larger one. She cowered back and waited for the worst, but it never came. No pain. He shook it twice before dropping her hand and replacing it in his pocket. Lillian peered up at him. He didn't look angry, but more exited. Like how she'd been feeling. 

"You're a villain." She reminded herself that this was DustBowl she was talking to. The person she'd known for two and a half years and laughed with on a nearly daily basis. So she recognized him and he was a highly wanted villain who'd nearly killed her and all her friends! Cool! And he was also the suspected leader of The League of Villains. Also fun. So great. 

The thing is, she met DustBowl before she met Shigaraki. As in they were friends before the USJ, before anyone knew she had a quirk, and before she even considered going to UA. Even she hadn't told him of her quirk until she finally joined UA. She hadn't even told him what school she was going to, or that she was in the hero course! There was no way he'd know unless someone in the League had a quirk that allowed them to see into the future.

"And you're in that hero school." His face twisted into a scowl briefly before he sighed, slouching. "But I suppose I'll have to support it, if that's what you want to do."

She stared. Okay, not what she was expecting. But she wasn't dead yet. And this was still her friend. She recognized his voice better now that he wasn't shrieking at Nomu's to attack or scratching at his neck. He looked borderline dejected as she tensely stood there, arms pressed against her sides. He made to sudden movements, just standing there observing him.

"U-Uh... thanks?" She tried. He smiled.

She somehow managed to sit down. He rushed into the cafe to get drinks, coming out with her favorite. Lillian wasn't sure what to think of that, but it was proof enough that he was indeed DustBowl. Not the DustBowl she expected, but the DustBowl she got. It was becoming abundantly clear that he wasn't going to kill her, which was a relief. But uh... well, did she call the police? He was her friend, but he was also a villain who'd almost killed Mr. Aizawa and had sent Nomu to Hosu, teaming up with the Hero Killer Stain. There's no way he could stay here.

"I-I... I should go." She realized, standing up. Shigaraki jumped slightly at the sudden statement. "You should go too. I... I-I-I have to report this, and-"

"Wait!" Shigaraki reached out to grab her, but stopped. "Do you remember that time on Call of Duty Ghosts?"

Lillian halted. "W...With the grenade launcher?" She couldn't help but snort as she carefully sat back down, clutching her drink in two hands. "I've never heard someone curse so much in my life." 

And that's all it took. They dove into a conversation about things they'd done in games, things they'd seen, games they wanted to try. Shigaraki carefully talked about Kurogiri and some of the stuff he'd done. He knew giving information to the enemy was a big no-no, and that's what Lillian was. But she was also SnakeBat, his best and only friend. And she was laughing just like she did on the mic, and excitedly replying just as she did when they chatted during games. It made him feel happy. He liked feeling happy.

So he explained that the League of Villains wasn't all that scary. He told her about Spinner, the fucking idiot, and about how Dabi had set himself on fire just this morning. He talked about Magne tripping and falling down the stairs and taking out both Toga and Twice on the same time. And it had taken them a minute to stop screaming like they were on a roller coaster. And he didn't hesitate to out Mr. Compress, who's room was covered in Madoka Magic posters. Lillian had almost spit out some of her drink at that.

"Sometimes I disintegrate cups and all the water splashes on me." He scowled as he grumbled it out. It wasn't something he liked to share or was proud of, but hearing her laugh made him overjoyed. This was working out! She was being his friend, and he was being her friend. That's how it worked. Talking with her made him much happier than trying to take down All Might did.

Lillian was a bit... well, she knew this was wrong. Talking to him like he wasn't a murderer wasn't a good thing. How many people had he killed and hurt? It scared her to think about it. But this was also her friend, and she knew a part of him. He also seemed so happy, and she knew that was wrong. Not that he was happy! That she and him were both happy together, at the same time! It was just... just weird.

"U-Um... Shigaraki?" She asked hesitantly.

"Tomura." He insisted exuberantly, seeming almost like a little kid as he did so. She nodded slowly.

"Tomura, uh... wh-why do you want to kill All Might?" Lillian blurted it out. He blinked, expression darkening.

"He didn't save me." Shigaraki hissed out. "Heroes preach and preach ab-"

"Wait, wait, stop right there." Lillian held up a hand. A risk, cutting him off, but she'd freeze him if he did anything. She'd already done it once just to test, even if he hadn't realized it. He wasn't hard to hold. "What do you mean he didn't save you?"

"When I was a kid." He said. Lillian stared at him in a dumbfounded way. 

"U-Uh... well... you said you were rescued when you were younger, right? By your... Sensei?" She asked. He nodded. "Oh... well All Might didn't s-save me either. When I was kidnapped."

"So you understand." Shigaraki smiled gleefully. Lillian tilted her head to the side.

"I think you're forgetting something, Tomura." She said carefully. He blinked. "What am I? What species?"

"A human." He raised a brow. Was this going somewhere? He guess he'd just have to trust her. I mean, she was his friend and hadn't even run away yet even if she was scared of him at first. But now she could see what he saw! Their friendship!

"Right, and what species is All Might?" Lillian blinked at him. He hesitated.

"He's a human..." He trailed off.

"And you?" Lillian checked. Tomura gave her a dry look, but not an annoyed one. She gave him a more expectant one. He was glad to see she was acting more like she did when they were online, playing video games and chatting. He didn't want her to be afraid of him. Of course not! They were best online friends, and now they were going to be best real-life friends.

"Human." Tomura finally allowed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Can you be everywhere at once?" Lillian queried, propping her chin up on her hand. He blinked at her. What kind of question was that? She knew what sort of quirk he had.

"No, of course not." He scoffed. Lillian snorted lightly. She really hoped he got where she was going with this. Based on the look on his face, he had no idea what she was trying to say. 

"Why?" She tilted her head. He opened his mouth only to stop, red eyes going wide. She smiled at him as though she hadn't just given him a mental slap in the face. One that was so simple it left him just a little dumbfounded.

"Heroes are all human, so they make mistakes, just like you and me. They save who they can. If All Might had known you needed help, he would have come right away." She stood up, her smile turning into something sadder. "Taking him down isn't going to fix hero society. It's corrupted, and me and a lot of my classmates realize that. It's why we want to change it. It's a big reason a lot of us are hoping to become heroes. To stop unreliable people like Endeavor from rising so high in the rankings."

Tomura stood up as well as she began to walk away, head lowered. He felt... well, he didn't understand. And that frustrated him. The realization that she was completely correct meant he didn't know what to do. Thinking about it, how could All Might have known he needed help? It's not like anyone told him. He'd seen on TV several times that heroes had gotten a report of something, and then they'd go. It was always a report. Never did it claim that they simply knew. They'd heard from somewhere... so was it possible that nobody had heard about Shigaraki?

"Wait." He rasped, hopping up and rushing after her. "Lillian, wait."

"What?" She whirled around, tears in her eyes. She hated this. She hated that Tomura Shigaraki didn't even seem like a bad guy, and that he was her friend. That she liked talking to him and laughing with him. That she wished they could be friend.

"You're right." He had to force the words out. He wasn't often wrong. No, he was never wrong. But he knew SnakeBat. He knew Lillian, and she wasn't an idiot.

Lillian stared at him like he'd just struck her. He hesitated.

"Let me come with you." Tomura decided. "To... I want to know more about... about heroes, and..."

This could be a trap. He could just want information, but she couldn't help but feel that wasn't the case as she gazed at the conflicted expression on his face. She'd spent a lot of her life observing people rather than interacting, and she'd spent a lot of her life plastering on a fake smile for the world to see. This man wasn't lying to her. He was genuinely confused and he didn't want her to go. She wasn't sure she wanted to go either. He was a villain, but he was her friend first.

So she offered her hand to him... and he took it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hooooly fuck."

Hitoshi had been worried about Lillian going off to meet this friend. He'd expected her to come back either really happy, or crying. Neito and Shoto were in agreement. They had food shoved under Hitoshi's bed on a blanket, ready to pull out should she be wailing her eyes out. Or maybe they'd pull it out for celebration! Let her ramble about how great he was and how it was amazing! How he was just as she thought he'd be!

Only it was neither of those things. She came in dragging mother-fucking Tomura Shigaraki behind her. Shoto fell off his bed, and Neito let out a shriek of surprise. Lillian didn't seem phased as she tugged him in, slamming the door and locking it behind her. He blinked at them, but didn't move to attack them. 

"This is DustBowl." Lillian pulled him forward. "He wants to learn about heroes."

There was a thump as Neito tipped over, consciousness gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saving people was the essence of being a hero. Not attention and not fame. Not power. Nothing he'd been told. Lillian had sat him down on her bed and began to explain. She was careful about it, explaining what a hero was and why most did what they did. Shoto pitched in and helped, cautiously, tell about Endeavor. Hitoshi and Neito also came around once they realized they weren't going to be reduced to piles of dust.

Shigaraki was hearing this all for the first time. It made him realize that he couldn't remember a time he remembered heroes on his own. He didn't recall a time when he heard about heroes on TV. Just that Sensei had explained. He remembered being so angry at All Might. Sensei had said that All Might hadn't saved him. That he'd left him. But it begged the question... did All Might even know Shigaraki was in danger?

"I'm calling Mr. Aizawa." Lillian groaned. It was dark outside now. Shoto, Neito, and Hitoshi had all been apprehensive at first. But Shigaraki had revealed himself to be an angry puppy. That was it. A mislead angry puppy, that is. He just sat there and blinked. He didn't even know what chapstick was. Neito had given him some and he'd looked at it like it was an unsolved, ten-sided Rubix cube. The poor guy. He had no idea what anything was. He thought being a villain was good. Poor guy.

"Yeah, you should do that." Hitoshi pulled out a picture of the man and handed it to Shigaraki, who took it with curious eyes. Lillian brought her phone to her ear.

Aizawa wasn't expecting a call at three in the morning, really. Sometimes Mic rang him that early, but only if he had a death wish. He blindly reached for his phone as it blared, pressing the green and bringing it to his ear. He'd expected the screams of his voice hero friend to shriek at him through the speaker, or maybe Midnight's drunken slurs. Those were usually the calls he got at this hour.

"M-Mr. Aizawa?" A voice stuttered from the other line. His eyes shot open. "Sorry to call. U...Uh, something came up."

"Are you hurt?" Were the first words from his mouth. The other end went silent.

"Well, no." Lillian cleared her throat. "There's just u-uh, something you need to see?"

"Can you bring it to school tomorrow."

"...Well, yeah-"

He let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't hurt, and she just wanted to show him something. It wasn't serious, it was fine. Teenagers stayed up late. Everyone knew that. Lillian was just not aware of the time and excited or something. That's what this was. It was fine. 

"Alright, alright." He sighed, relieved. "Bring whatever it is tomorrow. And get some sleep. You need it."

Lillian pressed her lips together and inhaled, lowering her phone. Her meme squad and Shigaraki stared expectantly.

"...So, we have some time to kill." She cleared her throat. Several groans passed through the small group, save for Shigaraki, who just stared. He clearly had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do. His shoulders were tense, his hands were fidgeting, and he seemed reasonably upset. Though he was making a real effort not to let it show. There was a lot of internal conflict going on in there. 

"Great, okay." Neito said. "No offense. But I'm not sleeping with him in here."

"Ditto." Hitoshi said. 

Todoroki tilted his head: "....Have you ever seen a Disney movie?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shigaraki didn't know a lot of things. He didn't very well know what it was like to have friends, and he didn't know what it was like to care all that much. Until now, the only people in his life he valued the opinions of were Sensei and SnakeBat, better known as Lillian. Now his opinion of his dear Sensei was greatly wavering, because he knew Lillian wouldn't lie to him. Not like Sensei had at times. He also felt maybe he was beginning to make three new friends. Neito Monoma, Hitoshi Shinso, and someone who also wasn't as bratty as he'd assumed at the USJ, Shoto Todoroki. 

Shigaraki liked making friends.

 They'd all said they wouldn't fall asleep with him there, but here they were, huddled around him as he held Hitoshi's phone. Lion King was playing. He'd never watched Lion King before, but he liked it as much as he liked the other movies they'd shown him too. Watching it, he disliked Scar, and Scar was the villain. It made Shigaraki realize that hey, villains maybe weren't as noble as he'd been made to believe.

Lillian was tucked under his arm, Shoto leaning on her. Hitoshi was pressed up against his other side, Neito all but in the purple haired boy's lap. Shigaraki felt warm. Not in a temperature way, but in his chest. He hadn't realized he could feel an emotion like that. There'd never really been anything to invoke it, he supposed. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as well. He had a lot of thinking to do. Going to UA was a good way to get arrested, but he wasn't sure being a villain was what he wanted to do anymore. He wasn't sure...

He fell asleep looking back at his earliest memories. He found that he couldn't remember much of what happened before Sensei found him, which was odd. He knew the memories he had of that time existed. They just... weren't there, for some reason. He could feel them, but he could not for the life of him access them. Shigaraki found this concerning. All of this was concerning. His best-online-friend being a hero hopeful was concerning, and the reality of heroes and the system was as well.

The fact that those at UA knew the system was corrupted and were trying to fix it was concerning. Just... not in a bad way, necessarily.

Violence had always seemed like the quickest way to get what he wanted. He made demands and got angry, and he got what he wanted. That wasn't how the real world worked. Talking to Lillian and her friends, they weren't bad. They weren't annoying nuisances. He felt that if he let them, they'd go on to do amazing things and be great heroes. Sensei had insisted students at UA all grew up to be greedy attention hogs, but that... wasn't true. It couldn't be, after meeting Lillian in person and her roommates. If they were good people, how many others he tried to attack were?

He fell asleep listening to the end credits of The Lion King, wondering what the coming day would bring when he woke up. He almost didn't care if he was arrested. What other option was there? He didn't think being a villain was something he wanted to do, and when he didn't want to do something or didn't like to anymore, he stopped. It was pretty simple. In fact, being a hero seemed more enticing now. Not that he could... it was a bit too late. But at least he had friends.

An alarm on Hitoshi's phone woke them all up. Lillian and Todoroki were the first up, eyes snapping open. Shoto fell off the bed backing away from in surprise, and Lillian let out a surprised squeak as Shigaraki blearily blinked. Hitoshi jolted forward and set Neito flying off the bed in the process. The blonde took one look at Shigaraki and started to scream.

"Stop." Shigaraki grumbled, annoyed. Neito's mouth snapped shut.

"O-Oh, I forgot about that." Lillian sputtered, staring at Shigaraki. "Want pancakes?"

Shigaraki stared at her sleepily. "What the fuck is a pancake?"

"Oh my god." Hitoshi whispered. Shoto could only blink blearily, still tired. Lillian slid out of bed and made for her dresser, grumbling about how Shigaraki needed to be "brought into the world" and how "the villains had deprived him and his soul of the bare essentials." Shigaraki wasn't going to ask. There was only so much he could handle.

Lillian hopped in the bathroom first, getting dressed fast. She walked back in brushing her hair and looking slightly more awake. Shigaraki just sat and... yeah, he just sat. He didn't know what else to really do with himself. He'd never been in this situation before. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in a real house, let alone one this bustling. It was... nice. Really nice, actually. He liked it!

"Hey, kids." Chad entered the room just as Hitoshi finished pulling on his blazer. His eyes fell on Shigaraki. "What the hell did you do this time?"

"This is why I called you." Neito said, brushing past him. "Can you not see the problem? What are we supposed to do about him? He's actually not that bad a guy, just misled. That doesn't change the fact that he's killed people." 

"Just a few." Shigaraki said. They stared.

"Okay, that's still... that doesn't..." Hitoshi made some hand gestures nobody but Shoto understood for some reason. The half-and-half boy had gone back to his cold, cool, and collected self. The Shigaraki shock had worn off and now he was just bored. Shigaraki couldn't blame him. There wasn't much to do here. At least, not for him. He had no purpose anymore. He could go back to the League, but what was the point? He'd only feel unbearable guilt when he realized the children they were killing were literally just that. Children. Who weren't all bad.

"I don't get out much." Shigaraki said, as though that explained things. They all stared for a moment before going to eat pancakes.

Hajime didn't even look up from his newspaper as Shigaraki was sat down at the table. He'd never eaten at a table in a dining room before. He felt nervous as Mihoko stared at him for a moment before glancing at the four teens chattering and Chad before shrugging and giving him a cheerful "good morning" and ruffling his hair. It was a nice feeling, he decided as a plate of what he assumed were pancakes was placed before him, drizzled in a translucent caramel colored syrup. He glanced up and observed Lillian to try and figure out how to do it.

He felt out of place sitting here, but also in place. Mihoko asked him if he wanted Apple Juice or Orange Juice. He'd never had the latter, so he asked for the former for fear of not liking the drink. The man with the newspaper looking up and stared at him for a long while before sighing and deciding it wasn't worth it. Shigaraki relaxed at that.

Placing the first bite of pancakes in his mouth was like heaven on Earth, and he quickly devoured his new favorite dish before demanding more. Mihoko had put her hands on her hips and demanded the magic word right back. That's when Shigaraki became the one to share because, well, what the fuck was the magic word? He'd never heard of this before. 

"It's 'please.'" Neito whispered as though sharing test answers. He blinked and repeated it, and was rewarded with a fresh plate. He made a mental note to say 'please' more often.

Lillian was a little nervous about bringing Shigaraki to school, but that's what Mr. Aizawa had told her to do. So she had him pull his hood up and they set out, making a real effort to include him in their conversations. This seemed to make Shigaraki reasonably gleeful, even if he was clearly uncomfortable and extremely unsure of himself and what he was supposed to be doing. Of course he didn't particularly want to get arrested at UA, but he couldn't find it in himself to hate heroes anymore. Like he'd had some sort of rapid character development.

Hitoshi rushed ahead and slipped into the guard booth, turning off the gate just long enough for Shigaraki to step over the divide. When no alarms blared, they took this as the go ahead. Lillian grabbed his arm and began to drag him the same was she had the day before when bringing him to her house. He let it happen. It didn't really bother him anyway. Neito and Hitoshi followed behind, while Shoto took up his other side. He was fine with this too. 

Most of the class was there when Lillian all but slammed the door open, pulling Shigaraki in and presenting him forward like she was thrusting a shield out before herself. Aizawa had been anxiously awaiting her all morning. He'd been near calling her when she didn't arrive as early as she usually did. He felt his eyes go wide, his quirk activating on instinct as hesitant red eyes met his dark ones.

"This is what I wanted to show you." Lillian peeked around Shigaraki, who raised a hand to wave. 

"What... the hell?" Bakugo whispered. Shoto shook his head at him.

"Turns out he and Lillian have been online gamer friends for two and a half years without knowing." Neito stepped into the room with Hitoshi following close behind. "Anyway, they met up and she explained heroes to him. Turns out he was just misled and doesn't want to be a villain anymore, so here he is."

Aizawa can't comprehend. Of course he can't. Lillian just walked in with Shigaraki and was now smiling nervously at him like she wasn't presenting a super villain to him. This was what she wanted to show him?! This wasn't "something that could wait until tomorrow." This was the leader of the League of Villains. And apparently they'd reformed him and he was docile? I mean, he looked like a dejected puppy. His lips also weren't as dry. Had he discovered chapstick?

"You four, with me. And you." Aizawa kept his eyes on Shigaraki, glancing at his class briefly. They were all frozen in shock.

"Okay." Shigaraki spoke, causing most of 1-A to flinch. He looked down at Lillian. "This isn't going as bad as I thought it would."

"Yeah, I know. Let's go before someone kills you." Lillian steered him from the room. Hitoshi gave a salute to the class, Neito a bow, and Shoto a nod. Bakugo hopped from his seat and raced after them, but nobody else moved to follow them. They just gaped.

"...Dude, Lillian's a gamer?" Sero blinked.

"I think you're missing the point-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay uh,,,, I would have gone on longer but that's over 7,000 words. So instead I'm going to write a story based around the same idea. Godspeed.