The night before the final exam was a night I should have spent resting, recovering, and reviewing the complex strategy I had built with Bakugo. It should have been. But as I stared at my phone screen, at a set of coordinates in Hosu City and the short, burning message from Akame, all those plans felt irrelevant. My entire orderly, calculated world was suddenly thrown into chaos.
I paced back and forth in my quiet room, my mind a battlefield more fierce than any festival arena. On one side, there was logic and survival. My duty as a U.A. student was to take the exam. My promise to Bakugo, though born of manipulation, was a commitment. And most importantly, Ryukyu's warning still rang in my ears. I was under strict surveillance. If I disobeyed her again, if I snuck out, especially to respond to a message from an assassin, it would be the end for me. I would be handed over to the Commission, become a specimen in a lab, my secrets would be stripped away, and I would never see my friends or family again. The safe choice, the rational choice, was to delete the message, turn off my phone, and go to sleep.
But then, my mind turned to the other side. I saw Iida's face in class, his usually vibrant eyes now filled with the cold shadow of revenge. I knew he was walking into a trap, driven by grief and anger. I knew Midoriya, with his limitless heroic spirit, would inevitably be dragged into the chaos. And I knew Stain. I knew how dangerous he was, a crazed idealist with a lethal skillset and Quirk. People would get hurt. My friends would get hurt.
As I warred with myself, exhaustion finally took over. I fell into a restless sleep, and the dream came again, stronger and clearer than ever before. I was no longer just an observer. I was him. I was Tatsumi of Night Raid. I could feel the weight of the Incursio armor on my shoulders, not as a painful manifestation, but as a powerful second skin. I felt the hilt of the spear Neuntote in my hand. At my side, Bulat, in his own armor, was laughing boisterously as we crushed a group of Danger Beasts. I felt a piercing sorrow as I saw Sheele get injured, and an overwhelming wave of protective rage surged within me. This was no longer an echo; it was an experience. These emotions—loyalty to comrades, anger at injustice, the determination to protect the weak—felt like my own.
I woke up with a jolt, my heart pounding, the name "Bulat-aniki" almost escaping my lips. I looked at my hands. Who was I? Was I an observer from Earth? Or was I a warrior who had forgotten his battles? Maybe... maybe I was both. And if I carried this warrior's soul, I couldn't turn away when a comrade—even if that comrade didn't know it yet—was walking toward his destruction.
My decision was made. I had to go to Hosu.
But how? I was under strict surveillance. Ryukyu might have even assigned a sidekick to watch me while I slept. Escaping like last time wouldn't work. I had to be smarter. I had to play a chess game against my own mentor, using my greatest secret as my weapon.
I got out of bed, deliberately making myself look panicked and distressed. I ran out of my room and pounded on Ryukyu's door in the silent hallway. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Ryukyu stood there, wearing a robe, her face showing surprise and concern.
"Tatsumi-kun? What is it?"
"I'm feeling it again!" I said, my voice intentionally breathless and desperate. "The echo. The power of that 'Ghost,' Akame! But this time it's different. It's so strong, so clear, and it's filled with killing intent! She's... she's fighting!"
Ryukyu's eyes immediately sharpened, all her sleepiness gone. "Where? Nearby?"
"No!" I shook my head frantically. "Far. Very far," I said, planting the seed of my lie. "I don't know why, but I can see a city in my mind... a big clock... narrow alleys... Hosu City!"
I could see doubt and suspicion warring with alarm in her eyes. "Hosu? Why there?"
"I don't know!" I continued my lie, mixing it with plausible analysis. "The news has been reporting on the Hero Killer's activity there all day. Maybe Akame sees him as a rival, or maybe as a target. The two most notorious serial killers in the country are in the same city, on the same night. It can't be a coincidence! This is our chance, Ryukyu-san! A chance to observe how she fights against another high-level threat! We can study her abilities from a safe distance!"
I looked at her with a plea in my eyes. "I know my exam is tomorrow. I know this is crazy. But this might be our only chance to get the intelligence we need to stop her for good. Send me there. With supervision. I swear I won't get involved. I'll just act as a long-range 'sensor' for you."
Ryukyu stared at me for a long time, a great internal struggle visible on her face. She had to be suspicious. The timing was too coincidental. My request was too absurd. But on the other hand, the potential intelligence gain was immense. She was a pragmatic hero. In her mind, she was weighing the risks and rewards. This most valuable and most unstable asset of hers was presenting her with a crazy proposal, but one that had a twisted logic to it. If Tatsumi was right, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"You will go with supervision," she said finally, a heavy decision made. "One of my most trusted sidekicks, Rock-san, is already near Hosu on other business. I'll have him watch you like a hawk. You will report to him every five minutes. If you deviate from protocol in the slightest, if you even think about getting involved, he has full orders to incapacitate you and bring you back here. The mission will be aborted instantly."
"I understand. Thank you," I said, a cold wave of relief washing over me. My crazy plan had worked.
Half an hour later, I was on the last bullet train to Hosu, wearing dark civilian clothes under my hoodie. The journey felt like a ride into a warzone. The guilt of having lied to Ryukyu was heavy, but it was overshadowed by the urgency of what I had to do. I was no longer just a student. Tonight, I would be acting as something else.
I arrived in Hosu after midnight. The atmosphere was exactly as I had imagined. The air was filled with the smell of smoke and tension. Sirens wailed in the distance. This was a city under siege. I immediately headed for the coordinates Akame had sent. It was the rooftop of a tall office building that provided a wide view of several blocks of narrow alleys below.
I contacted Rock-san, the sidekick assigned to watch me. "I'm in position," I reported, my voice calm and professional. "I'm feeling her echo strongly around this area. She's hunting. I will observe from here and report any changes."
"Understood. Stay put and don't move," Rock-san's heavy voice came back in my ear.
From my perch, I watched the canonical drama unfold like a horrifying stage play. I saw an enraged Iida find Stain. I saw their one-sided fight. I saw Midoriya arrive heroically to save him. I saw the two of them being pushed back by Stain's terrifying skill. I watched it all, my fists clenched, my heart screaming at me to go down. But I waited. I had to wait for the right moment, the moment my arrival would have the greatest impact.
Then, I saw the winged Nomu descend from the sky, carrying Midoriya away. I saw Stain about to kill Iida and the Native Hero. And I saw Todoroki arrive with his magnificent wall of ice. The three-on-one battle began. The three of them—the greatest hero prospects of their generation—were fighting desperately against one man, and they were barely holding their own.
Stain managed to paralyze Todoroki and Midoriya with his Quirk. He raised his sword high, ready to execute the helpless Iida.
This was the moment. There was no more time to wait.
I stood on the edge of the roof, the hot night wind from the distant fires hitting my face. I felt the dragon's heartbeat within me accelerate, no longer as an echo, but as a pounding war drum.
I spoke into the communicator one last time, an official report that was also a declaration of defiance. My voice was cold and hard, without a hint of doubt.
"Target identified. Hero Killer: Stain. Engaged in combat with multiple U.A. students in the alley below. They are in mortal danger. I am going down to assist."
"Negative, Tatsumi! Hold your position! That is not your mission! Do not move! That is a direct order!" Rock-san's panicked voice yelled in my ear.
I switched the communicator off, cutting off his shouts.
I closed my eyes for a moment. 'Come on, partner. Let's show them what a dragon's fury means.'
The familiar, burning heat exploded from my body. The Incursio armor—gauntlets, leg guards, and chest plate—materialized forcibly, a painful process that now felt like a welcome embrace. Without hesitation, I leaped from the roof of the building, free-falling toward the narrow alley below, a black meteor descending from the sky to interfere in a fight that was not my own. I had made my choice. The consequences could come later. Right now, my friends needed a hero.