A glassy knock woke Luke up, his vision returning from absolute blackness.
He hadn't indulged himself in a physical brawl with Amon last night, but every inch of his body hurt as he sat up, feeling accumulated tiredness.
Tuck-Tck!
Luke yawned and looked toward the ceiling-high window that opened to the balcony.
Nyx was on the other side, looking as tired as he was and thoroughly pissed.
Oh, shit! Luke cursed under his breath. He was supposed to call her after arranging the room, letting her know how it all went. But he had fallen asleep much before that, only waking up now. The mere thought of what events would have led Nyx to be here made him instantly lose all his sluggishness, his face gaining an apologetic twitch.
As Miss Justice confirmed that Amon wasn't parasitizing Nyx or was anywhere in his surroundings, Luke got off the bed and opened the window. "Ah, sorry! I…"
Bang!
Nyx mimicked the sound of an angry revolver going off.
The Air Bullet hit squarely on Luke's chest and made him stumble back.
That was only the beginning, though. Nyx burst into flames and appeared right over Luke's head, and fired another Air Bullet. Then another. And then two more…
Then, she fell, panting like a person who had just run a full marathon.
Luke rolled on the floor, squirming in pain. Being a Cryptologist and Faceless, Nyx's Air Bullets weren't strong enough to hurt him. However, they did hurt like strong, rubber bullets hitting his body, leaving behind bruises.
"You… dumb fuck…!" Nyx took a deep breath, sprawling on the bed on her back with her legs up. "We thought… He got you again…"
Luke's head snapped toward Nyx. "We?!"
"Cough!"
Luke looked back toward the window.
Standing near the curtains was Ms. Kazuho, dressed in UA's school uniform, her skirt fluttering as the wind played with it.
Luke's head once more snapped toward Nyx, his eyes widening in shock.
"I…" Nyx looked away. "… was desperate."
Luke instantly put his hand on his face.
The room was still dark, so she must not have seen his face.
Even if Trick*Step knew Dr. Blessed's identity, Luke wasn't ready to actually interact with the Apostles as Luke.
So, as he swept his hand down, an older version of himself replaced his face.
"That doesn't help…" Kazuho joked as she walked in. "You look even more handsome with that face, Leader. No wonder that girl… Hehe…"
Luke noticed that the Sequence 7 Astrologer had at least remembered to dye her hair black.
"Did someone notice you, Trick*Step?" he asked, standing up, wondering how much of his dignity he had already lost in the last few moments.
Luke patted his hair down and watched as Kazuho looked around the dark room.
"No," she said, opening the bathroom and expressing shock, seeing the size of it. "UA's uniform. Empress Raven's Illusion Creation. Door Opening. Escape Trick. On video, I might be another girl chasing a bird."
Luke raised his brows. "Empress?" he asked, looking at Nyx.
Then, shaking his head, he said, "Impressive. You are getting the hang of it, Ms. Kazuho…"
"Kazuho is fine…" Trick*Step said, smiling at him. "This Miss makes me feel like an old woman…"
Luke didn't let the frown come to his face.
"As you wish," he said, not finding a reason to make a big deal out of it. "Did you…"
"Yup," Kazuho said, flashing her mobile at him. "Dropped a message in the group that you are safe and sound, Leader."
"…" Luke squinted his eyes at the mobile. "… We… have a group?"
"Duh?" Kazuho looked flabbergasted. "It's 22nd century… How else are we supposed to connect? Owls?"
"…"
"Don't worry," Kazuho said. "It's all encrypted. I should be going now, then."
Luke nodded.
He snapped his fingers, activating Descorrer Quirk in Nyx.
And the moment he did so, Nyx's eyes rolled back in her head, and she passed out.
"…"
"…"
Knock-Knock!
Luke and Kazuho jumped, their heartbeat quickening.
Silently, and ever so slowly, Trick*Step stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
Luke swept his hand on his face, regaining his young appearance and adding sleepy, baggy eyes to it.
He opened the door and found Momo and Tsuyu staring right at him, both dressed casually. Their eyes landed on his face, instantly making them frown. Then, they noticed that he was still in his uniform before looking at the darkness behind him.
It became obvious that Luke hadn't even unpacked and must have fallen asleep right after coming to the room.
And that… was the least like him.
"Are you okay?" Momo asked, looking concerned.
Tsuyu's eyes narrowed as she noticed that concern, but decided to discuss it with Uraraka later.
"Yeah…" Luke said, smiling at the girls. "Was just a little tired and didn't know when I fell asleep…"
Shooty-Go-Blam!
Shooty-Go-Blam!!
Momo and Tsuyu jumped at the sound.
"What was that?!" Tsuyu asked, peeking behind Luke.
"…" Luke decrypted with a speed like never before. He smiled wryly. "That's my notification ringtone. Sorry. Big fan of Hero Skycrawler. The one who came from USA. Remember? He saved so many people during the Kamino Incident."
Momo and Tsuyu exchanged glances.
"Alright," Momo nodded. "We all were going downstairs."
"I will be there in a few minutes after unpacking," Luke said, misdirecting the girls' thoughts. "Who knows when Erasure Head will pop up for a random check?"
The girls giggled at the picturesque joke and left.
Luke shut the door, and his shoulders drooped with a sigh.
He switched on the lights and came back to the bedroom. "Come out."
Kazuho, with a deep cherry-red face, walked out of the toilet, her eyes shifting left and right, daring not to look at the Leader.
"Oh, yeah…" She suddenly remembered something, patting her cheeks to hide the blush. "Master Iw… Iron Mentor said that he found two bodies in Tokyo. Some Yakuza members."
Luke frowned. "And?"
"He said he was getting this… odd feeling from the place," Kazuho added, walking toward the window.
Luke nodded. "Send me the location," he said. "And… add me to the group."
Kazuho grinned wider than ever. "Umu… enjoy your schooldays… Leader!"
She opened a door into the balcony's floor and fell, landing in the bushes, Luke smiling wryly overhead.
Then, shaking his head, he was about to go back to the room when something caught his eye.
It was a full moon today. But the moon looked dimmer. Like something was casting a blurry shadow over it.
In the next moment, the blurry shadow receded, as if it had never been there.
I need proper rest… Luke massaged his temples, lampooning. Will have to change my ringtone to that stupid move name, too… Sigh…