Chapter 63 : Consequences, a Confession, and an Alliance Tested

I stepped into Ryukyu's office, and the door closed behind me with a soft yet final sound, as if sealing me in with all the foolish decisions I had made. I swallowed hard, standing awkwardly in the middle of a room that felt much colder and larger than before. Ryukyu didn't turn around. She just stood like a statue before the giant glass window, her straight, tense back an intimidating silhouette against the backdrop of the glittering city lights. The silence she created was a weapon, designed to make me squirm, to make me reflect on the transgressions I had committed. And it was working perfectly.

My mind raced. I had lied to her. I had manipulated her to get permission to go to Hosu. And then, I had violated her most important direct order: do not engage. I didn't just engage; I dove headfirst into the most dangerous fight in the city. I had risked my life, their mission, and worst of all, the trust she had just begun to place in me. There was no excuse that could justify all of that.

After a silence that felt like an eternity, she finally spoke, her quiet, low voice breaking the silence like cracking ice. "Sit," she said, without turning.

I obeyed without a word, sitting on the leather sofa that felt incredibly uncomfortable. I could feel her gaze, even without her having to look at me. My own heartbeat sounded like a war drum in my ears.

Finally, she turned. Her face was not the mask of explosive anger that Bakugo might have shown. It was far worse. It was a mask of cold, deep disappointment, mixed with an overwhelming weariness. Her golden eyes looked at me, and I felt as if I were being stripped down to my very soul.

"You lied to me," she said, not as a question, but as an undeniable statement of fact. "You manipulated me. You used the trust I had just given you to commit a reckless act that nearly got you killed. You violated every order I gave. You risked the lives of your friends at U.A. and endangered this entire operation." She paused for a moment, letting each word sink in. "Give me one good reason, Tatsumi-kun, just one reason, why I shouldn't call Principal Nezu and the Public Safety Commission right this second and tell them that I have an unstable, unreliable, and potentially very dangerous asset under my watch."

Outside, in the agency's recreation room, Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu sat in a similarly tense silence. They had heard everything over the comms—Rock-san's panicked reports, the sounds of battle, and finally, the acknowledgment that Tatsumi had defeated the Hero Killer alongside Midoriya and Todoroki.

"He did it," Uraraka whispered, her hands clasped to her chest. "He saved Deku-kun and Iida-kun. That's... that's an amazing thing." She was trying to focus on the result, on the heroic side of Tatsumi's actions.

"It was also a direct violation of an order from the number ten pro hero, kero," Tsuyu countered with her usual pragmatism. "In hero society, the chain of command is everything. If every hero acted as they pleased based on a 'hunch,' it would be chaos. His actions, while the outcome was good, were incredibly dangerous."

"But he had no choice!" Nejire interjected, floating restlessly in the air. "He knew his friends were going to die! What was he supposed to do? Just sit and watch from a rooftop? That's not what a hero does!" She paused, then continued in a quieter, more confused voice. "And Stain's Quirk didn't work on him... how is that possible? Is it because he's from another world? Is his physiology different? And how could he fight like that? His movements... so efficient. So trained." They were all realizing the same thing. The boy they knew, their friend, was a puzzle far deeper and more complicated than they had ever imagined. They didn't know whether to be scared, impressed, or worried. So, they could only wait.

Back in the office, I faced Ryukyu's sharp gaze. I knew I could no longer hide behind lies or strategic excuses. I owed her more than that.

"You're right," I said, my voice low but clear. "I lied. I manipulated you. And there's no justification for it. I'm sorry." I bowed my head, a sincere admission of my mistake. "But I didn't do it because I wanted to show off or seek fame."

I raised my head, meeting her eyes. "When I received that message from Akame, when I knew that Iida-kun was walking to his death, I... I felt something. The echo of the warrior's soul in this armor. He would never let a comrade fall without acting, no matter the rules. That feeling was so strong it overrode all my logic and fear. I didn't go to Hosu as Tatsumi, the U.A. intern. I went there because a part of me that isn't my own gave me no other choice."

I told her about my dreams, about the feeling of loyalty I felt for people I had never met in this life. "And I was right, wasn't I?" I pressed gently. "If I hadn't been there, Iida-kun would be dead. Midoriya might be dead too. Todoroki wouldn't have been able to hold off Stain alone. I broke the rules, yes. But I saved lives."

I had thrown the greatest moral dilemma—the ends justifying the means—right into her lap.

Ryukyu walked toward me, and for a moment, I thought she was going to strike me. Instead, she just stood before me, looking me up and down. "You are the biggest problem I have ever encountered in my entire career," she said finally, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "You are unreliable, reckless, impulsive, and your secret could shake the entire foundation of hero society if it were revealed."

She paused, then let out a long sigh. "But you are also brave, strong, loyal to your friends, and in your deepest core... you are a true hero. You did what a hero is supposed to do: you saved people."

She returned to her desk. "I'm not turning you over to the Commission. The official report will state that you, Midoriya, and Todoroki accidentally encountered Stain during the Nomu attack, and in a fight for self-defense, you managed to incapacitate him with help from the pro heroes who arrived later. The Hosu Chief of Police has already agreed to support this story. You won't get public credit for this, but you won't be punished either."

The relief I felt almost made me buckle.

"But between us," she continued, and her tone hardened again. "You are on incredibly thin ice. Your internship here is, effectively, over. Tomorrow you will return to U.A." She looked at me, and her gaze was an oath. "One more mistake. One more lie. One more reckless act. And I will not be able to protect you anymore. Go back to school. Learn. Train. Get stronger, but more importantly, get wiser. And the next time you feel an 'echo' from that assassin friend of yours, you come to me first, and we will make a decision together. Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear," I replied, my voice hoarse.

That night, after that exhausting conversation, Ryukyu opened her office door. Outside, Nejire, Uraraka, and Tsuyu stood up immediately, their faces full of anxiety.

Ryukyu looked at them, then at me. "Get him back to your dorms," she said to them, her stern voice softening to the tone of a tired mentor. "Make sure he rests."

The girls rushed in. They didn't ask what happened in the meeting. They just saw the relief and exhaustion on my face. Uraraka supported one of my arms, while Nejire cheerfully floated on my other side. Tsuyu just gave me a small nod, a sign of quiet acceptance. As they guided me out of the office, I glanced back. Ryukyu was still standing there, watching me go with a deeply complicated expression—a mixture of a commander, a mentor, and a guardian of an impossible secret.

For the first time in a long time, I let myself lean on my friends. I may have shaken the foundation of our trust, but tonight, they chose to stay by my side. The immediate crisis was over, but I knew that the road ahead had now become far more complex and dangerous.