Chapter 48 : A Warrior's Dream and the Decision at the Crossroads

I didn't know how long I had been lying in that cold hospital bed. Time felt blurry, a mixture of restless sleep and painful consciousness. My healing ability was working overtime, knitting my body back together at an unnatural rate, but the process itself was exhausting. And it was in that sleep that the strange dreams came.

The dream wasn't like a memory from my old life on Earth. There were no skyscrapers, no computer screens, no sense of monotony. Instead, I was in a dense forest I had never seen, the air filled with the scent of damp earth and leaves. I was laughing. Laughing freely with a green-haired young man wearing an orange scarf, we were talking about something silly. I felt the warmth of a genuine friendship, a bond that felt so real. Then, the scene changed. I was in a training area, sparring with a large, muscular man with a strange pompadour hairstyle. I could feel the vibration of every clash, a respect for his strength, and the drive to become stronger under his guidance.

The scene changed again, and this was the clearest one. I was sitting by a campfire, and across from me sat Akame. But this was a different Akame. There was no cold aura of an assassin. She was just a young girl eating a large piece of roasted meat with a satisfied expression. I felt no fear or wariness. All I felt was... warmth. An overwhelming desire to protect her, to ensure she could continue to eat peacefully like that. It was a feeling of deep camaraderie, a bond forged through shared danger.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart pounding. Who were those people? Why did Akame feel like an old friend, not a threat? The dreams felt so real, their emotions felt like my own. As if there was another life I had forgotten, one not from Earth, that was now beginning to seep into my consciousness.

After a full day of exhausting examinations and interrogations, I was finally allowed to leave the hospital and return to the agency. The atmosphere was awkward. My team—Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu—greeted me with relief, but there was also a palpable distance between us. They had seen me protect a killer. They had seen me nearly die for it. And I couldn't give them a satisfactory explanation.

"We're glad you're okay, Tatsumi-kun," Uraraka said, trying to smile. "But… we don't understand."

"Your actions were illogical, kero," Tsuyu added bluntly. "You disobeyed orders and endangered yourself. You have to tell us something."

I looked at their worried and confused faces, and guilt stabbed at me. I gave them the same version of the story I gave Ryukyu—a strategic gamble based on a 'hunch' from my Quirk. They wanted to believe me, I could see it. But they could also see that I was hiding something. An invisible wall now stood between us, and I felt more alone than ever.

That night, I couldn't sleep. My mind kept spinning on two things: those strange dreams and the wooden token Akame had given me. I snuck out of my room and went up to the agency's rooftop, hoping the cold night air could clear my head. I sat on the edge of the roof, looking out at the city lights twinkling like a sea of artificial stars. I took the wooden token out of my pocket. Its surface felt smooth and cool in my hand. I channeled a little of Incursio's energy into it, and the faint map glowed again, showing a secluded park on the outskirts of the city.

An invitation. A secret meeting.

My choice felt incredibly heavy. on one side, there was Ryukyu and my team. I had betrayed their trust once. Now, they were giving me a second chance. My duty was to stay here, act as their detector, and help them capture Akame in the trap they had prepared. That was the path of a hero. It was the right thing to do.

On the other side, there was this token. There were those dreams. There was this inexplicable feeling that Akame was more than just a cold-blooded killer. This meeting was a huge risk. I would be disobeying a direct order from a pro hero, betraying my team's trust again, and walking alone into a meeting with the most dangerous assassin in the city. It was an act of insanity.

I closed my eyes, trying to feel my dragon's heartbeat. I thought about Akame. And as I did, the feelings from my dream returned with force: not the rage of Tyrant, but the warm loyalty of the original Tatsumi. An overwhelming desire to protect, to understand. The spirit of the warrior from the village, bound to this armor, seemed to be pushing me in a different direction from my cold logic. It was telling me that facing Akame in a trap was a mistake. She wasn't an enemy to be trapped; she was a comrade to be met.

I opened my eyes. My decision was made. I couldn't ignore this feeling. I couldn't ignore the echoes of a life I didn't even fully remember. I had to know the truth.

Escaping a hero agency was no easy task. Security was tight, and I knew Ryukyu was having me watched specifically. I couldn't go out the front door. I returned to my room, changing into a black hoodie and jeans. I waited until late at night, when most of the staff had gone home. I went to a window in a downstairs corridor that faced a quiet back alley.

I took a deep breath. 'Just the boots. Quick and silent,' I thought. With a now-familiar pain, Incursio's leg guards formed around my feet. I opened the window, jumped out, and landed in the alley below without a sound. I immediately retracted the armor, suppressing a pained groan, then melted into the city's shadows.

I followed the faint map I had memorized from the token. The journey took me away from the bustling city center, toward the quieter, older outskirts. Finally, I arrived at my destination: an old public park that looked like it hadn't been maintained in a long time. Rusty swings creaked in the night wind. A few park lamps flickered with a dim light. The atmosphere was quiet and a little eerie.

I walked to the center of the park, to an open area marked on the map. I stood there, surrounded by old, towering trees that looked like giant skeletons. The night wind was cold. For a moment, I thought maybe this was a trap. Maybe she wouldn't come. I was alone, vulnerable, and had betrayed everyone who trusted me.

Then, a calm, familiar voice broke the silence of the night, coming from the shadows of the trees behind me.

"I knew you would come."