There's a ringing in his ears without the use of an alarm clock. That same piercing rumbling shakes up his stomach next. And so he wakes up as if there is an emergency, as if sleeping had suddenly become a dangerous thing. Considering his nocturnal nature and the lack of bed rest prior to now, he feels that may very well be true. His heart matches the throbbing rhythm with rapid thumps as the buzzing segways from his ears to his brain. Akatani feels as though he's hungover, an after effect of some sort of drunken state that leaves him woozy.
When he shifts in the bed to sit up, his shoulder screams at him too. Wincing at the sharp sting, Akatani glances at the sore spot to see a bite mark. Suddenly, he's no longer delirious. The ambience fades and his vision focuses as he sobers up. He's awake and he's able to see that he didn't sleep alone. In the bed next to him is a familiar blonde, her usual buns undone and her hair a mess. The blood in his system goes to his face, making it a bright red hue. Her body is covered by the blankets and sheets, but his imagination gets the better of him.
Turning away and smacking his cheeks to calm down, Akatani shakes his head to clear away those impure thoughts. He doesn't recall doing anything of sexual nature with her. Well, not in the ordinary sense at least. His eyes are drawn back to the bite mark on his shoulder. It still hasn't healed for some reason. Even if Himiko had bitten deep enough for it to scar, that shouldn't be. His quirk has been on the fritz for a while now. It may be from the lack of nourishment, he figures. However, even if that's the case, it's a tad bit concerning.
The rustling of sheets behind him has Akatani snapping out of his thoughts and turning back around. Himiko stirs from her sleep, blinking back any remaining sleepiness. "No breakfast?", she asks in a drowsy voice.
As flustered as he should be, Akatani keeps his mind honed on the most important factor of the blonde's presence. "That was dangerous, what you did.", he has to remind himself of the night before and the state he was in when she had found him. He was at his tipping point and being as close as she was to him in such a starved state of mind, things could have gone horribly wrong as opposed to how things actually turned out.
Himiko, however, doesn't quite comprehend the meaning of what he's saying. Misinterpreting his statement, she blushes a bit while averting her gaze, "We didn't do anything that needed a condom-"
"That's not what I meant!", Akatani's eyes go wide as he flails his hands in a wild gesture to make her stop. While he may have been able to keep his embarrassment at bay before, that was enough to send him over the edge. His face heats up more than the girl's.
"But you should still take responsibility-", Himiko carries on anyways. Whether she didn't hear the boy or just enjoys teasing him is unclear.
"Himiko!", but Akatani eventually has enough. The blonde stops, hearing the severity in the tone of his shout. His blush fading, Akatani schools his expression and returns his gaze to hers, "I could have gone too far. What if I didn't stop at drinking your blood? What if I.." His voice trails off, getting caught somewhere in his throat.
Now comprehending what he meant, Himiko takes Akatani's hands in hers in an attempt to console him. "Hey. I'm still here. See?", she gives them a soft squeeze to show him that she's alive and well.
Sighing, he nods. "Thank you. For being here.", he can't leave it at that though, "But I still think it was too dangerous.." He looks deep into her eyes. He has to let her know that she can't do anything like she did last night ever again when he gets like that.
Himiko hums, staring back at him. After a moment, she breaks the contact to glance at her shoulder. There's a specifically shaped mark there that matches the one on Akatani's shoulder. "Well, you did bite pretty deep. You leave one heck of a hickey, Akatani.", she returns to teasing him in an attempt to lighten the mood.
It works. Sort of. Akatani pulls away, embarrassed and flustered. "I- I, uh- I gotta c- call somebody back!", he uses his phone as an excuse while unplugging it from its charging cord. Seeing Himiko brows raised inquisitively, he elaborates, "I- It was about Eri."
The blonde instantly beams at that, "Oh! Let me talk to her too! Let me say hi!" She's throwing the sheets that cover her off, revealing a white t-shirt with Kanji that reads 'pajamas'.
Recognizing the shirt as one of his own, Akatani swivels his body to face the opposite direction. He hastily stammers, "Ah! Sure, sure!", before calling Aizawa back.
After a few rings, the underground hero picks up. Surprisingly, his voice isn't that groggy, "Problem child. You're lucky I'm up this early."
Glancing around for a clock, Akatani winces slightly. "Sorry. I just thought I'd return your call. I didn't really bother checking the time.", he bashfully rubs the nape of his neck despite Aizawa not being able to see him.
"It's fine. There's nothing to apologize for.", Aizawa is quick to allay the boy's worries though. Well, only momentarily. He's also quick to add, "Other than not calling before now. Where have you been?"
"O- Oh, yeah, I've been.. Um..", Akatani struggles for an answer as he tries to come up with a valid excuse or reason to his lack of contact. It's not like he can admit to having a breakdown to a licensed hero who reports to a detective that wants to lock him away.
With the lack of an answer, Aizawa makes a guess, "I've made a full recovery now if that's the reason why you've been avoiding me."
"I- I haven't been avoiding you!", Akatani panics at the suggestion. Even if it is a little true.
"Whatever you say.", Aizawa huffs. Hearing how much anxiety is in the boy's tone, the underground hero lets it go for the time being. "My point is, you should be able to eat now without putting a strain on me.", he instead gets back to the original purpose of their meetings.
Akatani hesitates, searching for a response. "Um, thank you. But..", he's not so sure he's able to face the man after what he's done or if the eating regime that they developed will even work anymore.
"You can't tell me you aren't hungry still.", Aizawa catches the hesitation in Akatani's tone immediately. Worried about his problem child, he asks, "You haven't been doing anything to hold yourself over, have you?"
"No!", Akatani shouts a little too forcibly. He grimaces at how hasty he was with his response before toning it down, "I mean.. No.." His eyes are drawn to Himiko who's been listening in on their conversation the whole time with mild intrigue, "My, um, friend.." The blonde frowns. "My girlfriend?", he tilts his head hopefully. Her frown diminishes and she nods.
"Hi!", she cranes her neck forward to be heard through the phone.
"I wasn't aware that you weren't alone.", Aizawa somehow manages to sound both amused and annoyed.
"She helps! I mean, her quirk. It can.. Um..", Akatani slaps a palm against his face when he realizes how terrible he is at communicating between his newly claimed girlfriend and technical probation officer.
"I don't need to hear the details.", Aizawa cuts the boy short. Akatani holds back a sigh of relief, realizing the underground hero is probably just as at ease to drop the subject. He then asks, "Was she the one behind the blood bank idea?"
Remembering the time he and her broke into a blood bank, all Akatani can reply with is, "Oh.." He doesn't want to get Himiko into trouble, but answers honestly anyways, "Yeah, that was her."
"I had a hunch.", Aizawa says with a small smile on his face. Akatani can practically hear the expression on the man's face as he continues, "It's better than the alternative, but don't do anything like that again."
"Yes, sir.", Akatani allows himself to have a small smile too.
"So, are you absolutely certain that you don't want to come over for breakfast?", the smile slips when Aizawa asks about eating again. Especially when he adds, "Eri would love to see you."
"I..", Akatani's grip on the phone nearly crushes it when he remembers the extent of his craving and what he had fantasized doing. There's no way in hell that he could put her in that type of danger. "Could you just put Eri on the phone instead?", he tries to keep his emotions in check but his voice comes out strained.
Aizawa must notice by the way he pauses, but he's considerate enough to let it slide. "Sure, kid.", Akatani holds the phone away from his ear when he hears the sound of rustling and Aizawa calling out, "Eri. It's for you. Your brother-"
"Akata-nii!", followed by an even sharper shout from the little girl herself.
"Eri. Hey.", Akatani smiles again upon hearing her voice. He holds the phone closer to his ear now that she's talking.
"Dad said I'd see you soon-", the sound of Aizawa choking on his saliva makes Akatani laugh. He wonders how long it's been since Eri started calling Aizawa that. She carries on cheerfully, oblivious to the man's coughing fit in the background, "-but it's been too long!"
"I know. I wanna see you too.", he turns when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Seeing his girlfriend standing behind him, he remembers that he isn't alone. "Um, so does Himiko.", he gives her an apologetic look before holding out the phone for her.
"Hi, Eri!", Himiko flashes her teeth as she grins and speaks into the phone.
"Big sis! Can she come too?!", Eri cheers loud enough for both of them to hear without it being on speaker. Akatani shouldn't be as taken back as he is, but it truthfully hadn't dawned on him that the two girls would be missing one another's company too.
"Well..", he scratches the top of his head as his brain tries to process the request and the current situation.
"Of course I can, silly!", Himiko replies just as cheerfully as Eri, as though any other option wasn't even to be considered.
This only further eggs Eri on, "Yay!", leading her to ask, "When, Akata-nii, when?!" When her older brother doesn't respond immediately or as excitedly as the two girls, Eri's tone becomes slightly discouraged and asks again, "Akata-nii?"
Though Eri is unable to see the boy's expression, Himiko can. And what she sees is concerning to say the least. The blonde worriedly asks too, "Akatani.. ?", reaching out a hand to touch him.
Unexpectedly, he stands up straight, making her flinch back. He keeps his expression the same but talks in a relatively even voice, "It's.. Probably gonna be a while, Eri."
"Oh..", Eri tries to keep the whining to a minimum but her disappointment is evident.
Whatever face Akatani had been making falters. The cracks in his mask expose sorrow. A trace of remorse and a wrinkle of regret trail down each of his cheeks like tears. "But I want you to remember I still.. I'll always love you. You're my little sister. Even if I'm not there, I'll be keeping you safe.", his voice cracks just the same as he tries not to expose his feelings any more than he already is.
Eri's excitement reignites, mistaking his words for a different meaning, "You're gonna be a hero?!"
Not wanting to break her heart with an honest answer, but not wanting to lie, he refrains from responding. Instead, he says, "I've gotta go, Eri."
"Oh.. Okay.", Eri's mood plummets all over again on the wild rollercoaster of emotion that she's riding.
Wanting to save her from any more letdowns, Akatani decides it's best to just end their call. "Goodbye.", it comes out as a whisper but Eri hears it.
She starts to bid farewell back, "Bye-", but Akatani hangs up before she can.
Watching the entire exchange and the boy's stricken expressions, Himiko reaches out with a tender hand. This time, he doesn't spook her by making any sudden movements. He stays as stiff as a stone statue. "Akatani? What was that about?", her face scrunches up with concern as she tries to study him more closely.
When Akatani's eyes meet hers, she thinks that she understands. "I'm not going to get my hunger under control and I won't put her in that kind of danger. I'd never be able to forgive myself.", he's still wary of his own quirk and doesn't want to put Eri at risk.
"You need to stop worrying about hurting us-", Himiko starts to assure him otherwise but he has none of it this time.
"You know what I'm capable of!", he knocks her arm away and pulls back. Before he can go on a rant about his quirk and the dangers of its drawbacks, he realizes that the blonde is hanging her head. "Sorry.. I didn't mean..", he tries apologizing but Himiko raises her head and fires back.
"You're forgetting that it's because of who you are and what you can do that I like you.", he's shocked by her words and the passionate way that she says them, "Remember? You saved me! You saved Eri! Like it or not, you're basically a hero."
But he's still not hearing what her or anyone else has to say. He shakes his head, thinking bitterly that they'll just never understand. "A hero, huh?", he scoffs but feigns a smile for Himiko anyways, "Thanks for not giving up on me."
The blonde frowns, gaze lowering. It falls and lands on his shoulder. Where she left her mark on him. Akatani notices where she's staring and looks at hers. Each of them blush, but she doesn't pass up the moment. She bumps her shoulder against his, leaning into him, "You're stuck with me now."
Akatani locks up, not sure how to react. But after a moment, his body relaxes. He closes his eyes and sighs. Conflicted with wanting to be happy with her but also wanting to keep her safe, he tries moving forward with his newfound plan. "Himiko.. If I'm a hero, then.. You remember what I wanted to meet Dabi for, right?", his eyes reopen to look at her seriously.
Himiko looks up, staring back questionably, "That League Of Villains thing?"
Akatani nods, steeling his resolve. "I want to find them. They're a danger to Eri. And like I told her, even if I can't be there for her, I'll still continue to keep her safe.", he decides right then and there what he's going to be from now on. The ghoul is a monster that had been villainized, but he can at least aim that beast towards those who deserve it. Against Aizawa's better judgment, Akatani is going to leave behind his life at Anteiku and commit to being a vigilante.
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Himiko can't help but gush in awe. "Such a cool big brother.", her face starts to heat up and she grins before grabbing onto his arm to steer him, "Guess I gotta step up and do my part as her big sister." She begins pulling him towards the door so that they can start their new life together, "Come on, Akatani. Let's catch a train to Hosu and find those villains!", before either of them can back out and regret the decision too early.