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❟❛❟ CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN ❟❛❟
"WHA—"
Akame didn't even have time to fully rise to her feet before something gripped her midsection and yanked her backward. Shadows coiled around her like arms. She wasn't the only one. In an instant, everyone nearby was pulled into a tight cluster, their shoulders bumping and breath mingling in the cold air.
"Izanagi—" she started, bewildered.
But her words dissolved the moment a massive arm made of darkness enveloped them all in what could only be described as a group hug. Several of them groaned, sore and bruised from battle, but none pulled away. Even Bakugou, who was pressed against her side, only winced when someone's elbow brushed his bandaged ribs. He looked... normal. Calmer than she expected. A flicker of something softer passed across his face—so faint it could've been imagined.
"I'm just glad that we're still alive," Izanagi muttered, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Akame gave him a strange look. For a second, she didn't recognize him. He'd never smiled like that before.
Then it hit her.
This had been their first real war.
They'd stood against someone whom all the One For All users fought and survived. She had nearly forgotten how deeply survival alone could shake you. No wonder they were clinging to each other like this. Even Izanagi.
Akame simply stopped counting the wars she had been through.
"We need to get Tokoyami to a hospital," Izanagi said quietly, finally releasing the shadows.
Tokoyami's wound had long since soaked through the makeshift bandage. What was once white was now seeping red. He didn't speak—just nodded weakly. Dark Shadow loomed behind him, wrapped around his shoulders protectively, eyes heavy with sorrow.
"You too, Hawks," Izanagi added, his gaze drifting to the hero behind him. Hawks' once-proud wings had been reduced to scorched remnants—little more than blackened stubs now.
"I can still stand," Hawks said lightly, attempting a smirk even as he swayed slightly on his feet.
"Yeah, sure," Izanagi dryly replied.
As the wounded were guided away—Tokoyami carried between two stretchers, Hawks stubbornly hobbling on his own—Todoroki turned. Then, without warning, he hurled himself at Bakugou.
"Wha—HEY!" Bakugou shouted as they crashed to the ground, the impact cushioned only slightly by the grass beneath them.
Todoroki wrapped his arms around Bakugou in a rough, full-bodied hug, his face buried in the crook of the blonde's neck. His voice came out muffled but trembling.
