The sun had long since set, lights in the top floor apartment a clear indication of someone being home. So why the occupant doesn't respond to Himiko Toga's shrill shout of his name, "Akaaaaa taaaaaa niiii!", as drawn out as it may be.. still remains a wonder to her.
The blonde raps her knuckles against the door, not for the first time, as she leans an ear to it. Despite receiving no response after yet another failure, she remains firmly planted at the welcome mat. Her next whine isn't any less indignant, "Come on, I know you're home."
Only when she follows it with a threat, "Don't make me bust the door down!", does she finally get a response.
"It's open.", Akatani speaks at a much lower decibel, making the girl's straining worthwhile.
Himiko balks at the revelation, "Eh? Really?", before actually trying the knob. When it turns and the door swings open, she shakes her head in further exaggerated disbelief. "That's not a good way to prevent robberies, ya know.", she shuts the door behind her as though to emphasize her point.
Akatani doesn't play along, his energy dwindled to the point of nonexistence. He's sprawled across his couch in a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt, one arm hanging loosely over the side that his hand touches the floor. His voice still low enough to be a whisper, "What are you doing here, Himiko?", he lazily drawls a question.
Though admittedly surprised by the boy's attitude, Himiko isn't wavered by it. She has a pep in the steps that carry her over to his bedside. "I went to Anteiku to surprise you but your boss said you called in sick today.", she then hoists up a shopping bag that Akatani had failed to notice earlier, "So I brought you some medicine!"
Himiko pauses, seemingly noticing the drugs she bought the same time he does. Before he can even get the chance to sit up and sift through the bag's contents himself, she's already doing her own rummaging. "Oh, wait.. Does medicine taste bad to you too?", she recalls the side effect of the ghoul's quirk as she searches for something to give him, "Ah, it tastes bad for everyone anyways!"
Taking the bag from her, Akatani sets it on the floor in a particular spot where nobody will trip over it. "I'm not sick. That was just an excuse to not have to work.", he finally raises his voice to a normal frequency so he can quell any concerns for his health.
"Huh? That isn't like you..", Himiko tilts her head in confusion. She hadn't expected that of him. She just as quickly dismisses the lie to his boss though, concern shifted to other matters. "You owe me eight hundred yen then.", she gestures to the medicine she bought before glancing around the apartment, "Where's Eri?"
Reminded of the real reason for his sudden reclusiveness, Akatani plops back down onto the cushioning of his couch. He may as well rip it off like a bandaid and tell it to her straight, he figures. "The heroes and police found me.", he closes his eyes in anticipation of what he's sure will be a rambunctious response.
"You let them take her?!", his expectations are met when Himiko shouts incredulously at him. It didn't take her long to connect the dots and realize the reason for Eri's absence based on the bomb he dropped.
He really doesn't want to deal with this right now. He's already trying to process what happened himself and his own emotions. He heaves out a heavy sigh, sinking deeper into the couch, hoping that it'll swallow him up. When it doesn't, he forces himself to open his eyes in order to fix Himiko with a hard stare. "What else was I supposed to do?", he genuinely wants to know what other choice he had in the matter.
Himiko throws her hands up in the air. Whether the gesture be because she feels the answer is obvious or that she herself doesn't know is only unclear for a mere moment. "Fight them! Rip them apart! Something!", her suggestions fly out with swipes of her hands that make her spiral and fall on the couch beside Akatani.
He shakes his head with what minimal energy he can muster, "It was a hero. Not the Yakuza."
"What's the difference so long as they're trying to take Eri from you?", Himiko crosses her arms under her small bust as she challenges Akatani on his excuse.
He glances up at her in disbelief, taken aback by the sincerity in her tone. He'd forgotten about this side to her. Himiko had proven a few times that she can be a bit.. Intense. He just hadn't expected her to suggest he kill heroes on top of criminals. He was certain that they agreed a line must be drawn somewhere. "The difference is that the Yakuza wanted to hurt Eri. This hero wants to help.", he assumes that she's just being protective of the little girl.
But when he sees the same sincerity in her eyes as she says, "Akatani, you should know by now that heroes don't want to help people like us.", he knows it's more than having an attachment to Eri. For her, it's personal.
Akatani's brows furrow, his frustration leaking into his expression. It's not like he doesn't care about Eri too. It's just that he trusts heroes a little more than she does. Deep down inside, he's still a hero Otaku. Plus, he had a fair amount of time to get acquainted with Eraserhead. "This one is different. I can tell.", he knows not all heroes are like All Might, good or bad as that comparison may be.
Himiko huffs, still not taking him seriously. "Does your quirk make you psychic too now?", her sarcastic remark has Akatani sitting up to address her on a more personal level.
Wanting to be taken seriously and for his word to hold some merit, Akatani recalls the incident more vividly. "He could have erased my quirk, Himiko. A swat team could've shot me full of tranquilizers or a team of heroes could have overpowered me before I even knew what happened. They had the element of surprise.", the hardness in his tone is its own sincerity.
Hearing how easily he could have been captured, Himiko lowers her guard a little. Her eyes soften and she uncrosses her arms, thinking about how close of a call Akatani being cornered truly was. "So why didn't they?", her voice wobbles as it sways between anger and sorrow.
Seeing how difficult it is for her to process the news, Akatani takes Himiko's hand in his own as an attempt to comfort her. "He wanted to talk to me first. He wanted to give me a chance.", he gives her hand a soft squeeze to let her know he's still there for her, "If that's not a real hero, then I don't know what is."
Himiko looks as though she wants to say more, continue trying to dispute the decision to hand Eri over, but refrains. Instead, she admits defeat as well. Her shoulders drop and her head hangs, "So that's it? You're just giving up?"
Seeing the fight drain from her system, Akatani allows his own to fade. "Like I said.. A hero has her. She's in good hands. Probably better than mine.", his gaze falls to he and Himiko's intertwined fingers, "Why are you so opposed?"
Himiko stares off into the distance, looking at nothing nor no one in particular. "Heroes take away the things I want.", when her eyes return to Akatani, he lifts his head to meet them, "The things that I love." The boy blushes at the slight confession, but forces himself to maintain eye contact as she continues speaking, "They took Eri away.. And they almost took you too."
"L- Love?", Akatani nearly chokes on the word. He pulls away and coughs into the hand that he was using to hold Himiko's. "Wh- Whatever.. They let me off the hook. Sorta..", he shakes his head to clear away any romantic thoughts and returns the conversation to its original point of origin, "My point is that you don't have to worry about them locking me up and Eri is just as free."
Himiko blinks in reaction to his reaction. Having already had one intense conversation for the day though, she decides to save that one for another time. "What do I need to worry about then?", she sighs while standing up. "You're going to make me stress eat.", she travels from the couch to the kitchen while asking, "You still have food in your fridge?"
Though the topic of discussion is no longer about heroes, Akatani isn't quite able to forget about Eri. Afterall, she's the only reason why the place is stocked with ordinary food. "And the cabinets. Help yourself.", he falls back onto the couch with just as heavy a heart as he had when Himiko first intruded.
Himiko raids the fridge while saying, "I'm no hero, but I want to help YOU, Akatani." And returns with a bright red apple. Eri's favorite. "If the heroes can take Eri, then let me take you away, yeah?", she takes a bite from the fruit once she arrives back at the couch.
Having already exhausted what energy he could muster to argue with her, he isn't prepared for what the blonde has up her sleeve now. Akatani lulls his head to the side, eyelids drooping just as much. "What do you mean?"
There's a glimmer in the blonde's eye that wakes Akatani back up. "Instead of laying around here sulking all day, let's go on a date!", she holds out her free hand for him to take.
Akatani pauses just as he's about to grab it, "A d- date?" He'd like to blame his short circuited brain on being drowsy, considering they'd already been on one before according to her.
Himiko finishes the reach for him and takes his hand in hers, "Yeah! It'll cheer you up!"
"I don't know..", but the boy is still much too reluctant to move just yet.
Himiko tugs on his arm, trying to get him to budge. "Come on! It'll be fun!", but to no avail.
Only when the blonde resorts to violence by throwing her apple at his head does he give in. "Alright. Alright, fine.", he groans like an old man with weak knees as he stands up to go.
But of course, their date night is that of two teens. They're young and full of vim vigor. Nor are they ordinary. Roaming rooftops brings them closer to the stars. Spring in their step carries them from building to building. Akatani's mask warms his face when the cool breeze brushes through his hair.
The type of thrill that they get from this above average form of parkour is greater than any simple type of outing. There's nothing quite like a hunt to a predator. Even if Akatani is no longer allowed to eat his quarry, there's something about the actual action of instinct. When they come across a purse snatcher who's completely oblivious to their stalking, there's no comparison to that kind of euphoria.
The ghoul drops from above, tentacles wrapping the prey using powerful suctions, momentum of the strike throwing coils around the victim's body. The red limbs constrict, going for a quick suffocation. They squeeze. Every time the prey exhales, they squeeze a little more tightly.
Himiko doesn't even get a chance to do anything herself. She draws back and watches as Akatani handles the purse snatcher himself. Normally, she'd be content with doing so. It's enticing to her to watch the ghoul hunt. However, this is notably different from those other times. He's not enjoying it himself. Not truly. There's something smaller than the red speck in his Kakugan which spurs him on.
Akatani always hunts with aggression. The release of rage is always evident. Except, there's no burst of agony this time. Blood doesn't spill and none of that sorrow is shed. He nearly rips the purse snatcher apart, but he stops himself. He holds back for the sake of the promise he made to Eraserhead.
The thief is rendered unconscious instead, let off easy. Acts of vigilantism, regardless of restraint, is sure to still cause him trouble. And yet, it's not even worth it to him. As he leaps from roof to roof with Himiko in search of another criminal to vent through, he feels just as empty as he did when leaving his apartment.
Himiko spends the rest of the night in a similar state of unrest. She studies Akatani rather than joining in, no longer having any fun either. However, there's no knowing what the ghoul's face looks like as he does all this. There's no telling what sort of sad expression he's making. Nobody knows when he has a mask to hide it.
-AUTHOR'S NOTE-
Briefly addressing Aizawa's Erasure quirk working on Akatani, I see your points BoundlessSea, but let me quickly explain my own reasoning. Since Akatani's Kagune and Kakugan require him to bring them out (aren't always active) I consider his quirk rather Transformative. It's not exactly a permanent Mutation like Mashirao's tail or Ashido being pink 24/7. On the other hand, it was an oversight of mine that his tastebuds are always effected by his quirk. You could chalk that up as a mistake, but we could also stand to reason that it's apart of his Transformative quirk type anyways that it'd be turned off. I'm probably wrong in this assumption, but I'm thinking Aizawa's quirk only doesn't effect physical changes in anatomy such as having four arms or gills. Or perhaps, if someone did have gills, they'd keep them while not being able to breathe underwater with them anymore. The effect of the quirk itself would be rendered inactive and fall under the same reasoning as Akatani's tastebuds being altered. Like Kurogiri being made of wispy smoke still, but not being able to open warpgates. That may not be 100% canonical to Aizawa's quirk, but that's what we're running with here.
And no worries, OrigDayday, there's still plenty story to tell! We're just entering a new arc, you could say!