I snarl as I claw through the throat of the last gang member, watching as he falls to his knees with eyes widened in terror and shock as he desperately clutches at the profusely bleeding gap that used to be his windpipe. It doesn't take long for him to fall to the side, dead after choking on his own blood. Just like the others.
I take off my mask and tilt my head upwards towards the setting sun as I close my eyes. I take a deep breath, the cloying scent of iron filling my nose. I let it out slowly. In, and out. I repeat the action a few times, letting the satisfaction of a successful hunt wash over me, replacing the rage I came here with. I smile to myself, lightly hopping across bodies to avoid the puddles of blood that pockmark the concrete.
"Finnyally. I think I can see that tom without clawing his face off meow." I stop on top of a small group of bodies that all had complimentary quirks, putting a hand against my forehead like a visor as I look around the harbor. My eyes pass over the abundance of bodies and blood splatters, all that remains of a meeting between two gangs and their mid-tier villain bosses. Well, those and a stereotypical suitcase typically brought to these types of things buried in the chest of one of them. But that's not what I'm looking for. Where is…
My ears twitch as I hear a faint sound, drawing my attention towards some shipping containers. It's a happy sound. I continue using the bodies to avoid the blood as I make my way over, the noise steadily growing in volume. Not that simply wading through the blood would change anything… I muse to myself with a quick glance down at my blood-soaked vigilante costume just as I round the corner and see the source of the noise.
"Hehehehehehe." Himiko is giggling with a lopsided smile as she splashes around in a plastic drum barrel filled almost to the brim in blood. The crimson liquid scattered around it and dripping down its sides attests to where the remaining blood went. The pile of bodies stacked next to it makes it clear how she filled it so quickly. Seeing me, she half rises out of her literal blood bath, waving her hand excitedly and sending splatters of the crimson liquid scattering.
"Cati-oops!" She puts her fingers against her lips as she giggles again. "That was clooose~. Cat-aclysm, come join me! It's nice and waaarrrm~."
I roll my eyes at her lilting tone and accidental (maybe) slip of the tongue. "Are mew blood drunk? It's been a long time since mew've gotten like that. Do I knead to call the League of Villains to pick mew up?"
She frowns, crossing her arms under her chest, and I look away, sighing when I see her clothes thoughtlessly tossed aside in one of the blood puddles. "I'm not drunk! Just haaa~py!" She sways a bit, leaning backwards as she lets her body drop back into the drum with a splash as she lets loose another giggle.
"It's been so long since we've hunted together, after all," she pouts at me with puffed cheeks. "You've been so busy with your fancy-shmancy hero school that we never hang out anymore!"
I sigh, getting ready to explain to her yet again why I don't have the freedom to act as I please now that I'm attending UA. But she waves me off before I can even open my mouth. "I know, I know. They're watching you since you reflect on them, they need to make sure you're safe since the 'attack', blah blah blah."
She ducks into the blood with a huff of annoyance, bubbles slowly rising to the surface afterwards. I know what she's probably planning, but I walk up to it anyway, waiting for her to resurface with my hands on my hips. And resurface she does, spitting blood in an arc to more fully drench my head, dying my black hair scarlet. My ears twitch and I shake my head to clear the worst of the blood off as she licks her lips and leans onto the rim, crossing her arms and resting her chest on top. She speaks, her voice light but no longer lilting.
"We both know that's bullshit. You're here now, when they're arguably keeping even more of an eye on you. Especially with how you reacted when that purple haired guy brought up your mom."
I wince, looking away. She's right, and like she said; we both know it. The fact of the matter is that I can get some free time from UA, even with how they're monitoring when we leave and enter school grounds. I'm lucky that they had to turn that specific part of the security off with how they needed to let the public in. Even if they left it on though, they'd be so inundated with alerts from the public coming in and out that it would basically be useless.
It's not like I dislike Himiko or hunting, either! I actually really like both of them! It's just…
"You're stuck." She says simply, gently. "You know that, despite your end goal, you don't want to hide in the shadows. You don't want to live wondering if today is the day a hero gets lucky and takes you in." I feel a finger under my chin, and I let her lift my head so she can meet my eyes, a sad smile on her face.
"You don't want to have to live like me."
I swallow the lump in my throat, unable to say anything. But I don't have to. We both know her words are the truth. It's not all of it though.
"But you love the hunt." She continues as if reading my mind, leaning forward. Her body follows as she slowly rises, clad only in the blood sticking to her skin.
"You love the sensation of flesh being torn under your claws. You love the thrill of a good hunt, the fight that follows when someone is more competent than you thought. The satisfaction when they fall anyways."
Her face is getting closer and closer with every word, every worry that she dredges up from where I buried them after the Shie Hassaikai raid, after the warning she spoke back then.
"You know you love being a villain far too much to quit, you love the thrill. But you hate what it means if you commit to that life. You hate the fact that if you officially become a villain that, for once, you'll become the prey. And heroes the hunters. You are the hunter, and you refuse to be the prey."
Our faces are close, too close. Her lips are only a few inches from mine as she rests her hands on my shoulders, sliding them back. Her familiar scent fills my nose even through the tang of iron. Ginger. "But you don't have to worry about all that. Because as long as we're together, we'll always be the hunters."
I can feel her words on my lips, her own practically touching them. But before they can lock together, I pull back. The drum tips over and we both fall, Himiko landing on top with our chests pressed together, her head next to mine. My hands rest on her hips, the blood cooling to match her own body's temperature. I'm looking up, past her, staring as the sky steadily loses its brightness. I close my eyes, taking a labored breath to steady myself.
We stay like that for a while, neither of us moving. Eventually she speaks, making no move to change our positions. Her voice is quiet, barely more than a whisper in my ear. "So. You're still mad?"
I take a moment to reply, memories of our time together drifting through my mind.
When I found her after her breakdown.
How long I spent helping her realize that she is not a monster. That her quirk does not make her evil. That she matters just as much as someone with a so-called 'heroic' quirk.
Spending time together.
Going to karaoke.
Shopping.
Hunting.
Having nice dinners together.
…Sharing our first kiss.
Going on official dates.
They were good days, happy days. I hoped that they would never end.
But then…
I sigh, gently sliding my arms up and around her, the bodies underneath us acting as a warm bed even as the blood cools. "I'm nyat mad, Himiko. I've long forgiven mew. But…"
I trail off, not finishing the sentence. I don't have to.
She sighs understandingly, nuzzling her head into the crook of my neck and sniffling as she drapes her arms around it. "I really fucked things up, didn't I."
I say nothing, ignoring the new liquid that trails down my neck. Instead, we stay like that, wrapped in each other's warmth as the sky turns from a dark orange, to a bloody red, mirroring the scene around us.
We let the world pass us by, unbothered by the bloodbath around us. For the moment, we forget about everything else. Heroes. Villains. Right and wrong. Here, for a single moment that I wish could stretch forever, nothing else matters. Not even revenge.
We just enjoy the bloody sunset together, silently enjoying what we used to have.
And what will not be again.