Chapter 56 : Conversation Between Two Ghosts

The silence in the dimly lit park was heavy, filled with all the things left unsaid between us. I was face to face with Akame, a legend from my old world, now a real figure of flesh and blood, and the most wanted assassin in this city. The echo of the original Tatsumi's soul pulsed within me, a strange mixture of familiarity and caution. She broke the silence first, her calm, sharp voice cutting through the night air.

"Talk."

One word. A command, not a question. She wasn't here for pleasantries. She was here for answers to the anomaly that had disrupted her orderly world. I took a deep breath, steeling myself. This was it.

"To understand my situation," I began, my voice hoarse, "you first have to understand where I come from. I am not from this world."

I saw her eyes narrow slightly, a sign of wary interest. "I come from a world... that you would probably find very boring. A world without Quirks, without heroes, without supervillains. A world where the only 'monsters' we faced were traffic jams and work deadlines."

I told her about my life on Earth. I described myself as an ordinary man with an ordinary job who found escape in works of fiction. "In my world," I said carefully, "there are forms of entertainment called 'manga' and 'anime.' They're comic books and animated shows. Stories about fantasy worlds, adventures, and battles."

I paused, looking straight into her red eyes. "And your story, Akame... the story of Night Raid, of the corrupt Empire, of General Esdeath, of the Teigu... it was one of the most famous. A dark and tragic manga called Akame ga Kill!."

Her reaction was subtle, but to someone who had studied her, it was telling. Her jaw tightened slightly. Her hand, hanging at her side, clenched into a fist. I had just told her that her entire life of suffering, the deaths of her friends, all the blood she had shed, was a product of entertainment for my world. It was an unintentional cruelty.

"I read your story. I watched it," I continued, my voice softening. "I know about your brutal training with Kurome. I know about your betrayal of the Empire. I know about every fallen member of Night Raid. Bulat, Sheele, Lubbock, Chelsea, Susanoo, Leone..." I listed their names like a prayer, a tribute. Each name made Akame flinch slightly. "And I... I know about Tatsumi."

"That's not possible," she whispered, more to herself than to me.

"I know," I replied. "But it's the truth. I died in a ridiculous car accident. And when I opened my eyes, I was here, in this world, as a baby. The world of My Hero Academia—another work of fiction from my world."

She stared at me for a long time, her razor-sharp mind surely processing this impossible information. "If that's true," she said finally, "it still doesn't explain the armor. Incursio is Tatsumi's Teigu. It chose him. Why do you have its power?"

In the makeshift command van parked several blocks away, a total silence had enveloped Ryukyu, Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu. They were listening to every word of the conversation through Tatsumi's hidden microphone. Their faces were masks of complete confusion.

"Another world? Stories?" Uraraka whispered, her eyes wide. "What is he talking about?"

"Teigu? Night Raid? Those names... I've never heard of them," Tsuyu said, her finger on her chin. "This is stranger than I thought, kero."

Nejire, for the first time, was utterly silent. Her eyes were glued to the audio monitor, trying to comprehend. 'So he's really from another world! And the killer is too! And they know each other from a... comic book? Wow! This is the craziest and most interesting theory I've ever heard! So his Quirk isn't a Quirk? But a weapon from another world? How does it work? What's its fuel? What...' her mind raced with a thousand new questions.

Ryukyu was the calmest, but internally, her mind was in turmoil. This story was insane. Completely irrational. But it was the only explanation that existed. It explained the draconic resonance she had felt. It explained the strange armor that obeyed no laws of Quirks. It explained Tatsumi's impossible knowledge. She was listening to a truth that could shake the very foundation of her understanding of the universe. She didn't interrupt. She just listened, every hero instinct she had screaming that she was dealing with something far beyond her experience.

I took a deep breath, ready to explain the most complicated part. "I don't fully understand it either. But I have a theory. I think... I'm not alone in this body." I told her about my dreams, about the feelings of friendship and loyalty that weren't my own. "I believe that when I was reborn here, my soul was accidentally bound to the legacy of Incursio. The armor itself is a vessel for the remnant spirit of the Danger Beast Tyrant. But I think there's another echo inside it. The echo of its last user. The echo of the original Tatsumi's soul."

I looked at her earnestly. "I think the reason I could sense your presence, the reason I impulsively protected you, it wasn't just me, the Earthling. It was him, too. He's still in there, as an instinct, as an emotion. And he still considers you his most precious comrade."

This time, Akame's defenses truly crumbled. A small tremor ran through her body. The memory of the original Tatsumi—his awkward smile, his burning determination, his final sacrifice as he fused with Incursio to protect civilians—hit her with full force. The idea that his spirit, in any form, still existed and was still trying to protect her even in this other world... it was an incredibly painful and yet deeply comforting thought. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but a lifetime of discipline held them back.

"You came here alone," she said, her voice slightly hoarse, trying to steer the conversation back to something logical. "You knew it was a risk."

"You gave me a choice," I said, showing her the wooden token. "I chose to trust you."

Our conversation then shifted to the present. "Akame," I said in a firmer tone. "I understand why you're doing this. But you have to stop. This world is different."

"Different?" she countered, her cold tone returning. "I see the same things. Corruption. Power abusing the weak. The 'heroes' here are busy with their popularity and their rankings, while scum like those human traffickers operate for years. My justice may be brutal, but it is effective and final. How many more lives would be ruined if I just sat by and waited for the 'system' to work?"

"The system isn't perfect," I admitted. "But it has hope. It has good people like Ryukyu. People with heroic spirits like Midoriya. They try. They fight. Your actions here will only make you an enemy to everyone, including those good people. You won't be a symbol of revolution; you'll just be another villain they have to stop."

"I don't need to be a symbol," she said flatly. "I just need to get the job done."

We debated, two worlds colliding. I spoke of idealism, of inspiring hope, of the power to save rather than destroy. She spoke of pragmatism, of results, of the harsh reality that sometimes, evil must be forcibly ripped out by its roots. We were both right, from our own points of view.

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Akame," I said finally, my voice softening into a plea. "I may not be him, the Tatsumi you knew. But I understand your burden. I carry it too, inside me. So let me help you. Join me. Not as an assassin. But as... a guardian. We can fight this Yozakura together. We can expose them, drag them into the light, my way."

She looked at me for a long time, an internal struggle clear in her eyes. She was a loner, used to working in the shadows. Trusting others, especially heroes, went against everything she had learned.

"I can't," she said finally, shaking her head slowly. "My path has been forged in blood. I am not suited for your bright, hopeful world of heroes, Tatsumi." The fact that she used my name felt significant. "And I cannot trust their system." She paused, then added, "But..." Her red eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of warmth in them. "...I might be able to trust you."

She stepped back, melting back into the shadows. "I will continue my own hunt for Yozakura. But I will not attack targets in this city... for now. I will give you a chance. I will give you leads. I will let you try your way first." This was a huge concession. A real truce. "But if you fail," she continued, her voice hardening again, "if your system fails to protect the innocent... then I will finish it my way."

A wailing police siren in the distance broke our tense moment. Our time was up.

"You have to go," Akame said, her tone professional again. "They will realize you are missing."

I nodded, knowing the trouble that awaited me. As I turned to leave the park, she called out to me one last time. "Tatsumi."

I looked back.

"Be careful," she said. It wasn't just a warning. It was a plea.

I didn't answer. I just turned and started running, disappearing into the city's dark alleys. In my earpiece, I heard Ryukyu's voice, tense and heavy with everything she had just heard.

"Tatsumi... return to the pickup point. Now. We... need to talk."

I kept running, Akame's words and Ryukyu's command echoing in my head. Tonight, I may have prevented bloodshed, but I had also started a much more complicated and dangerous game, caught between two worlds and two definitions of justice.