Chapter 41 — The Ones Who Stayed
Silence.
Heavy, suffocating silence.
The battlefield still smoldered from the aftermath of the explosion. Burned concrete cracked beneath the heat. Smoke drifted through the ruined streets like ghosts refusing to leave.
And in the middle of it all—
Tokita stood alone.
His body was covered in scorch marks. Steam slowly rose from his skin, especially the tip of his fingers.The air around him still distorted faintly from the remaining heat.
But nobody spoke.Not the civilians.
Not Aoi.
Not Kaito.
Not Natsuki.
Not even Nezuko.
They only stared.Because moments ago—
They had watched him catch a star.
Tokita slowly turned toward them.
The moment he did, several civilians instinctively stepped back.
Others avoided eye contact entirely.
Some parents quietly pulled their children behind them.
Tokita paused.
His expression didn't change.
But inside—
Something twisted slightly.
...That look again.
His eyes lowered a little.
Memories surfaced quietly in the back of his mind.
Fear.
Distance.
That silent hesitation people always had around him.
Whether he saved people...
Or ignored them...
It was always the same in the end.
Like he was something unnatural.Something wrong.
Tokita looked away slightly.
"...Whatever."
His voice was quiet inside his own mind.
"As long as they're alive and safe... who cares?"
Even so—
The feeling lingered.
Then—
"Dude."
Tokita blinked."huh?"
He looked up.
Natsuki stood there staring at him with the strangest expression imaginable.
Half serious.
Half horrified.
"...Tokita."
"Hm?"
Natsuki pointed downward.
"You're naked."
Silence.
Tokita froze.
"...What?"
Slowly—
Very slowly—
He looked down.
Then his eyes widened instantly.
"...OH SHIT."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT—"
He immediately crouched downward, smoke swirling around his lower body as panic finally overtook him for the first time since the fight ended.
"My clothes are gone?!"
Kaito burst out laughing so hard he nearly collapsed again from his injuries.
"PFFFT—HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Dude—"
He pointed weakly while trying to breathe.
"Your legendary entrance got ruined instantly!"
"STOP LOOKING OVER HERE!" Tokita shouted.
Nezuko and Aoi turned away immediately, their faces flushed red.
Several civilians awkwardly coughed and looked elsewhere.
One old man, however, casually reached into a nearby emergency bag before tossing a pair of boxers toward Tokita.
"Kid. Put those on before you traumatize somebody."
Tokita caught them instantly.
"...thanks,You're a lifesaver."
"Just hurry up."
The large civilian leader folded his arms.
"And don't think saving everybody means you get to flash the entire district."
"I'm literally the victim here," Tokita muttered while hurriedly putting them on beneath the cover of smoke.
Kaito continued laughing uncontrollably.
"This is actually the funniest thing I've ever seen."
"You almost died ten minutes ago," Tokita snapped.
"Yeah, but this is worth surviving for."
"You are the worst friend imaginable."
Small laughter slowly spread through the area.
Quiet at first.
Then louder.
The tension that had nearly crushed everyone moments ago finally began to crack apart.
Even Tokita noticed it.
People weren't looking at him with fear anymore.
They were laughing,Smiling.
Relieved.
Tokita scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"...What the hell are you all staring at?" while still in underwear.
That only made several people laugh harder.
Then—
Suddenly—
Someone slammed directly into him.
Tokita staggered slightly in surprise.
Nezuko.
She hugged him tightly before he could even react.
Her hands trembled against his back.
"You idiot..."
Her voice shook.
"I thought you were dead."
Tokita froze.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Nezuko buried her face against across his neck while crying.
"Don't ever do something like that again..."
Tokita looked at her silently.
Then something inside him softened.
...She's not scared,but worried... about me?
Even after everything she saw—
She wasn't looking at him like a monster.
Slowly, carefully—
His hand began moving toward her back.
Then—
SMACK.
Natsuki instantly appeared and smacked Tokita across the head before physically dragging Nezuko away from him.
"You damn creep!"
Tokita nearly lost balance.
"OW—WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"I KNEW IT!" Natsuki pointed accusingly at him. "I knew from the beginning you were after my sister!"
Nezuko immediately smacked Natsuki on the head.
"IDIOT!"
"OW!"Natsuki shouted.
"He literally just saved everyone's lives!"Nezuko screamed at Natsuki.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I TRUST HIM WITH YOU!" Natsuki shouted annoyingly.
Tokita pointed at Nezuko defensively.
"She's the one who hugged me!"
"Yeah, but don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at her."
"W-Whoa, hold on—"
Tokita raised both hands immediately.
"It's not even like that!"
Natsuki narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Sure it isn't."
Kaito, still laughing, weakly raised a hand.
"I support this relationship purely because watching Natsuki suffer is hilarious."
"I will kill you."Natsuki replied while looking at Kaito.
"You say that every day."
Meanwhile—
Aoi stood quietly nearby.
Watching.
Unlike the others, she hadn't laughed much.
Her eyes remained fixed on Tokita.
Careful.
Curious.
Almost analytical.
Eventually, she stepped forward.
"So."Tokita looked at her.
"What's up?"
Aoi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That's your real ability?"
Tokita scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"...Kind of."
Everyone stared at him.
"What do you mean kind of?" Kaito asked.
Tokita thought for a moment before sighing.
"It's hard to explain."
He walked toward the ruined remains of the river nearby.
Or what was left of it.
The water still steamed violently from the heat of Ragna's attack.
Tokita crouched down slowly.
Then dipped his hand into the water.
Everyone watched silently.
Tokita closed his fingers.
And grabbed it.
Not scooped.
Grabbed.
The water stopped flowing.
Held perfectly still inside his hand as though it had suddenly become solid.
Several civilians gasped.
Natsuki's eyes widened slightly.
"...No way."
Tokita slowly lifted his hand upward.
The water remained suspended in his grasp unnaturally, trembling slightly between his fingers like living glass.
Then—
He clenched harder.
The water compressed visibly.
Kaito stared at him.
"Holy shit..."
Aoi narrowed her eyes carefully.
"...You're physically interacting with things that shouldn't be touchable."
Tokita nodded once.
"It's called Conceptual Grasp."
The air around them became quiet again.
Tokita released the water gently.
It splashed back into the river.
"I can grasp the 'concept' of things."
Everyone stared at him blankly.
"...That explanation somehow made less sense," Kaito admitted.
Tokita shrugged.
"I told you it's hard to explain and even more confusing to understand."
Then—
He raised his hand again.
This time—
He reached into empty air itself.
And grabbed something invisible.
Several people flinched instinctively.
Because for a split second—
The air distorted.
Like his fingers were physically holding space itself.
A faint pressure spread outward before Tokita released it casually.
"...Okay nope," Kaito said immediately. "That's horrifying."
Natsuki stared at Tokita for several seconds before exhaling slowly.
"Dude..."
"We already knew you were strong."
"But this?"
He pointed directly at him.
"You're actually a monster."
Tokita laughed awkwardly.
"...Sorry?"
"Don't apologize!" Kaito shouted. "That's cool as hell!"
Tokita rubbed the back of his neck before glancing at everyone again.
Then his expression softened slightly.
"...Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
Tokita hesitated.
Then quietly asked:
"...You guys aren't scared of me?"
The group stared at him for a moment.
Then Aoi frowned immediately.
"Dude."
Her expression looked genuinely annoyed now.
"Are you actually dense or just stupid?"
Tokita blinked.
"We all knew you were suspicious from the start."
"Seriously suspicious."Nezuko replied
"Like absurdly suspicious," Kaito added. Natsuki nodded.
"But scared?" Natsuki scoffed.
"You literally saved all of us."
Nezuko smiled softly.
"And besides..."
She looked directly at him.
"You're still you."
Tokita went silent.
For a moment—
He didn't know what to say.
He looked at Nezuko.
At Kaito.
At Aoi.
At Natsuki.
These idiots...
They're all insane.
But slowly—
A small smile appeared on his face.
A real one.
"...Yeah."
Inside his mind, his thoughts became quieter.
Warmer.
These friends of mine...They might be a little crazy...
But—
I wouldn't have it any other way.