"She has food poisoning?" Aizawa frowned behind his bandages. It was believable; he knew what sort of food she mostly kept. She probably tried cooking something that expired. He briefly considered going to visit her, but then imagined what a train wreck that would be. She was sick and he was still healing. Even if he did go to see her, he would be unable to help her. "So are you going to her place?"
"Akari said not to go there. She said it's pretty nasty," Yamada replied. He tapped at his phone screen, a grin spreading across his face. "I did order her some delivery food though! No way am I going to let my Akari baby suffer! I mean, even if she can't eat it right away, she can always eat it later!"
Good. At least there's that. He looked down at his bandaged arms and his frown deepened. Sighing in frustration, the man narrowed his eyes. The knowledge that there was nothing he could do left him feeling powerless. Weak. Irritated. "So what are you doing now?"
"Let's go get some food. We'll just be a party of two tonight."
Aizawa's gaze slid to the blond hero and saw that his usual grin was fading. There was something about the way that Yamada looked down at his phone. A crestfallen luster to his eyes. He had really wanted to see Akari and now he was worried. Like Aizawa, there was little that he could do to help her. "Where are we eating?" The dark-haired hero knew how to bring back the cheerful Yamada.
"Well, since we don't have Akari with us, we can go there!" His grin returned full-force and he put a hand on Aizawa's back to steer him down the sidewalk.
"I thought you were banned."
"That was a long time ago, Shouta! It's been over ten years; I'm sure they forgot! Besides, I want to see how they're doing!"
The second that they entered Akahana Sushi, Aizawa saw a medium-sized, framed photo of Yamada from high school with the words "Lifetime Ban" written above his head. "You're still banned."
"No way! They probably won't even recognize me!"
A server was carrying a tray to the back and paused, his cerulean eyes going wide behind their glasses. "Whoa! Hey, it's been forever! How's Aka-nee doing?"
"Heeey, Takumi-kun! You're all grown up now?"
Aizawa stood back as Yamada greeted the young man and he realized quickly that this must be Akari's younger brother. He had her eye color, but his hair was coal black in color. This kid seems to like him. Maybe…
"Hey, you! Do you not know what "lifetime ban" means?! Get the hell out of my shop!" This shout came from a black-haired, blue-eyed man behind the counter. Judging by his intense glare and scowl, he was probably Akari's father.
Having never met Akari's family, Aizawa was forced to guess who these people were, but it all seemed logical to him. Her brother and her father. So her family hasn't forgotten. Aizawa looked to his fellow hero and nodded toward the door. "Let's go somewhere else."
Once they were outside, the blond hero seemed to almost pout. "It's been years! How is her family still mad at me?! At least Takumi-kun is still cool!" He checked his phone again, the playful pout falling to worry once more. "Well, I guess I did kind of steal their daughter."
"You what?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! I never told you, did I? Right after we graduated, Akari moved in with me!" Yamada flashed him a wide grin and tilted his head when he saw Aizawa's bloodshot eyes go wide. "What's up, Shouta? You knew I dated her!"
You never said that you lived together. How close were they? He was about to continue his interrogation when the server came jogging around the corner of the shop, carrying a large paper bag. Now what?
The young man bowed and held out the bag to Yamada. "Sorry about my dad. You know, he stills gets pretty worked up every time he hears your name. And he still hasn't forgiven Aka-nee. I can't even remember the last time he spoke to her. Is she doing alright? I heard that she's working at UA with you this year."
Accepting the bag, the hero beamed. "She's got food poisoning today, but she's doing great otherwise! You'll have to meet up sometime!"
"Yeah…that would be pretty cool. Oh! Hello, sir." The young man bowed to Aizawa a bit awkwardly. "Well, tell her that I said "hello", okay? Thanks for taking care of my sister!"
The two watched him disappear around the back again and Aizawa grimaced, looking to the bag and then Yamada. "They think you're still together."
"I guess so! Let's see what goodies Takumi-kun brought us!"
Shift P.O.V
She was still a little bit groggy, but when Akari felt the mattress shift, she acted quickly. Her hand darted out, closing around a wrist, and she glared over her shoulder. "Don't leave."
"Okay…?" Jin sat down again, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck.
"What time is it?" The hero was trying to stay calm, but the morning's events were starting to come back to her. The gift on her doorstep, the fight with criminals, the blood loss, being rescued, capturing Jin, and finally forcing him to go home with her.
When she remembered the red ribbon binding his wrists together, she felt that unfortunate reaction taking form. Blood rushed to her face and she attempted to maintain her composure, but it was clear that he had noticed her blushing. Why? When I think about it or see someone wrapped in that ribbon, it's just…an unfortunate turn on. It doesn't even matter who it is; it just makes me so excited. She frowned and pushed herself to sit up using her other arm.
"It's evening. Uh…around dinner time…? I was going to smoke outside. I planned on coming back."
"You're not…leaving my sight." Akari looked around her room and her gaze landed on the covered window. "Just open the window, okay? No one should be able to see up here; we're on the third floor."
"Oh…okay." He was released and awkwardly got up once more, reaching to his pocket for his cigarettes and a lighter. The man leaned against the window frame once the window was open and the curtain was pushed aside. He kept his eyes averted for the most part, but stole glances at her every so often.
She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried form a plan. Sleep had helped her immensely, but she still felt shaky and a bit weak. She had lost a lot of blood by using her quirk so much that morning. I don't know his quirk, but I doubt I could fight him right now. He doesn't seem like he wants to fight anyway. He actually seems…happy.
Jin ran a hand over his hair as their eyes met. He saw the flush of her cheeks and half-smiled. "I can…make you something to eat. If you're hungry."
"No…it's fine." Akari rose from the bed and was pleased to find that she was able to stay upright. Okay! First things first. I need to change clothes and then I need to figure out what to do with Jin. She made her way to the closet, being careful not to push herself too hard. "I'm going to change so stay out here."
"Uh…okay?" He watched her slip into the closet and saw the door close.
She moved quickly; changing her hero costume out for a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. The woman emerged from the closet and frowned, ruffling her hair. "Okay. Ah…so…let's move back to the other room." Leading the way, she started to wonder what he had been doing while she slept. I was asleep for most of the day. Didn't he get bored? Did he doze off, too?
It was shortly after entering the other room that Akari heard a knock at her apartment door. She immediately feared that it was Yamada or Aizawa, but was relieved when the visitor called that they had a food delivery. Once she had the food settled on the counter, she attempted to recollect her thoughts.
I can't let Shouta or Hizashi know that he's here. But…if I let him go now, what are the odds that he'll just go back to killing blue-haired men? He said that thing about loving me, but that doesn't make this okay. Even if he thought he was helping me, it's still murder.
Turning her gaze to Jin, she saw that his shoulders were hunched forward and he was fidgeting with his lighter. He looked nervous, but still oddly happy. He wanted to tell me, she realized. He wanted to tell me how he felt. I understand how he's feeling; this is close to how I felt about Shouta.
Shift P.O.V
"What you said before. Is that really how you feel?" Her voice was soft as she asked this and the woman's sharp blue gaze was directed at him.
Jin felt his pulse quicken and he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. Yeah…it's how I really feel." He felt hope blooming, warmth rushing through him when he saw her bow her head and blush faintly. The sight of it made him want to smile.
"And if I…let you leave tonight…are you going to kill more people?" The hero seemed hesitant to ask this. As if she was afraid of his answer.
She's upset. I didn't want her to be mad at me. She's not mad! She looks happy! The conflicting thoughts made him wince and he put a hand to the side of his head. "I…did it for you though…" he said, through gritted teeth.
"Jin, I didn't want that. I don't want innocent people to die. If I let you leave tonight-?" Akari went silent as he stood and she watched him closely. "Jin?"
I just wanted to keep her safe! I did it because I liked it! She looks scared! She looks happy! I shouldn't have done it! What am I going to do?! I should leave! I should do something to calm her down! The man began to feel like he was splitting apart, but he hesitated to put on his mask. She had looked so unsettled by the mask before.
He approached her, eyes burning with tears from his inner turmoil. "Akari…I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you. I don't…want you to be mad at me!"
She backed against the wall, eyes not once leaving him. "Jin. I'm not mad…I just don't want-"
"I wanted to keep you safe! He hurt you and I didn't know what else to do!" To his humiliation, the tears began to fall. He was now standing two feet in front of her, trying desperately to make her understand.
"I…I'm not mad," she repeated. "But you can't kill people! What were you going to do? Just keep killing guys with blue hair! How would you know if you got him?"
"Akari…" Staring down at her, he felt an urge coming on. Jin tried to fight it, but ultimately lost control. One hand threaded into her thick, crimson hair and the other pressed against her back as he held her against his chest. The embrace made his heart pound, butterflies exploding in his stomach. "Please don't hate me!" To his surprise, and delight, he felt the hero's arms shakily wrap around him.