I get that smoking looks hot in akiangel fanart and I fuck with it but it’s sooooooooooo interesting that Aki canonically quits smoking after Himeno dies. In front of Angel too.
At the beginning of the Reze arc, he pulls out his last pack with only easy revenge left inside and he throws it in the trash, then turns around to yell at Angel for slacking off. After that, he is never again seen smoking in the manga.
It’s pivotal to his turning point as a self-sacrificial asshole too. As much as he did it alone, it was- in some sense- his and Himeno’s thing. She taught him this addiction, this symbol of adulthood and self harm, and with her gone, Aki sees no reason to keep doing it.
Later in that arc, it’s when the Angel hand-holding happens in the middle of the hurricane, and Aki very explicitly tells Angel he is sick of witnessing people dying— this extends to himself too. Simultaneously, he becomes more cautious of using his sword, hence why he seeks out a contract with the Future Devil, as a safety net.
It’s the start of him starting to care for Power and Denji, to the point of wanting to live longer, if only to keep taking care of them. It’s him losing faith in the bureau. It’s him throwing his pack away!!!!!
