After watching her for a little longer, Shigaraki finally understood where that odd feeling had come from.
It was her smile.
Himiko Toga's bright, carefree, almost childlike smile was simply too perfect.
Not pretty. Not charming.
Perfect.
So perfect, in fact, that it didn't feel natural at all. It looked less like an expression that had appeared on someone's face in the moment and more like something carefully drawn by a gifted artist—every line, every curve, every hint of warmth placed exactly where it was supposed to be.
That was what bothered him.
Perfection itself.
Because in the real world, absolutely perfect things didn't exist.
Especially not expressions.
Once that thought clicked into place, Shigaraki's mind immediately linked it to the version of Himiko Toga he knew from the original story.
And in the next second, a possibility surfaced.
She was pretending.
The cheerful tone, the lively sparkle in her eyes, the open and innocent smile—
All of it was an act.
Or at least, not the whole truth.
That only made him more curious.
Why was she doing it?
Was someone forcing her to behave like this?
Was she trying to meet some expectation placed on her?
Was this camouflage?
A habit?
A survival mechanism?
Or was it something even deeper than that?
One possibility after another flashed through his mind, and with each one, his interest in the girl in front of him rose a little more.
Himiko Toga had always been an interesting existence.
But the version standing here now felt even more so.
He was just about to answer her question about All Might—while also casually steering the conversation toward her odd behavior—when a loud, extremely obvious sound suddenly broke the atmosphere.
"Grrrrrlll…"
It came straight from his stomach.
The air froze.
For a moment, even the faint bustle of the shopping street in the distance seemed to go quiet.
Shigaraki's body stiffened on the spot.
"…."
He felt a rare and distinctly unpleasant sensation.
Embarrassment.
He genuinely had not expected his stomach to choose that exact moment to betray him.
Of course, rationally speaking, there was nothing strange about it.
He hadn't eaten much at noon.
Then he had spent the rest of the day moving around, burning energy, fighting, thinking, running, dealing with Steel Boy, dealing with All Might, and then walking all the way here with the sole intention of finally getting something decent to eat.
Under those circumstances, his stomach growling was perfectly normal.
Still—
Having it happen in front of a girl he had just met was another matter entirely.
No matter how reasonable it was, it was still awkward.
Toga blinked once, then tilted her head slightly.
"The sound just now…" she said, her voice full of innocent curiosity. "You haven't eaten dinner yet?"
Her brows drew together a little in confusion.
After all, it was already fairly late.
At this hour, most people had long since finished eating.
So why hadn't he?
Then, as if she thought of something, her expression shifted.
A trace of guilt flickered across her face.
Did he miss dinner because he came to save me?
The thought seemed to hit her all at once, because she immediately straightened and spoke with surprising decisiveness.
"Um… if you don't mind…"
She looked at him earnestly.
"Would you like to come to my house for dinner?"
She lifted one hand slightly, almost like she was afraid the suggestion might sound too sudden.
"I haven't eaten yet either, so…"
Shigaraki stared at her for a second.
He was, genuinely, a little surprised.
Part of it was because of how quickly she invited him.
And part of it was because of the sheer boldness of it.
This girl had just met him.
Technically, they were strangers.
Yes, he had saved her life—but even so, inviting a boy she had only just spoken to back to her house this casually was still… unusual.
Did she really have that little sense of caution?
Or did she trust him that much?
Or—
Was there another reason?
Shigaraki quietly took a breath and smoothed out the mess of thoughts in his mind.
Then he asked, in a more serious tone than before, "Is that really okay?"
He paused.
"Won't it trouble your family?"
Naturally, from Shigaraki's perspective, there was no real reason to refuse.
Someone was offering him a home-cooked meal while he was starving.
That alone was already enough to make the invitation extremely attractive.
Besides, food made at home was usually cleaner and better than whatever he would grab from a random shop on the street.
As for the possibility of some trap or scheme—
He wasn't worried.
Strength made many things simple.
If there really was some strange plan waiting for him, he could deal with it when it appeared.
Toga shook her head immediately.
"It's fine."
Then, with that same bright, open smile, she added, 'My parents won't be home tonight."
She said it so casually that Shigaraki almost twitched.
His mouth didn't move, but inside his head, his thoughts became very lively.
What exactly was wrong with this girl?
Was she naturally airheaded?
Did she really trust him that much?
Or had she somehow decided, after one rescue, that he was completely safe?
She had just told a boy she barely knew that there was no one else in her house tonight.
That was not small information.
That was the sort of thing people generally did not tell strangers.
Not unless they were either absurdly trusting… or operating on a completely different wavelength from everyone else.
Shigaraki couldn't help mentally complaining.
What, exactly, was he supposed to make of this?
Did she not see him as a man at all?
Was she so confident in his self-control?
Or was she just that reckless?
His thoughts got no less ridiculous the longer he followed them, so he forcibly stopped.
Still, while he was mentally roasting the entire situation, he didn't miss one important detail.
When she said No one's home tonight—
There had been a tiny change in her eyes.
Very small.
So small that most people probably wouldn't have noticed it.
A brief dimming.
A faint trace of loneliness.
It vanished almost instantly, buried under that same cheerful smile.
But Shigaraki had already seen it.
Which meant one thing:
The fact that no one was home tonight probably wasn't just a casual household detail.
There was likely more behind it.
Something unpleasant.
Something private.
Noticing that, Shigaraki's eyes flickered for a moment.
Then he stopped pushing the matter.
Whether what waited ahead was a trap, a mess, or simply an unexpectedly decent dinner, he had already made up his mind.
He was going.
For one very practical reason:
He was truly hungry.
And right now, hunger outweighed most mysteries.
So instead of continuing to stand there and act politely hesitant, Shigaraki gave a small nod and answered with an easy smile.
"Then I'll accept."
His tone softened slightly.
"Sorry for the trouble."
The moment he agreed, Toga's face brightened again.
"Great!"
The delight in her voice was immediate and real—or at least real enough to sound that way.
She took half a step forward, then seemed to remember something and stopped herself, clasping her hands behind her back again.
"Then come with me, Shimura-kun."
Under the warm streetlights of the shopping district, the blonde girl turned to lead the way.
Shigaraki followed after her at an unhurried pace.
As he walked, his eyes rested briefly on her back.
A cheerful girl with a perfect smile.
A future villain wrapped in the shell of an ordinary schoolgirl.
And now—
A very interesting dinner invitation.
For the first time that night, Shigaraki found himself thinking that perhaps skipping the shops hadn't been a bad trade after all.
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