It was 12:17 a.m.
I only knew because I kept checking my phone.
I couldn't sleep.
The Sovereign Pulse wouldn't shut up. It wasn't loud or painful or anything dramatic. It just… buzzed. Like static in the back of my brain.
Kaito turned over in his bed.
"You're awake too?" he muttered.
"Yeah."
The pulse twitched.
Window.
My head snapped toward it.
There — a shadow.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was standing right outside our dorm window.
My heart practically punched my ribs.
"Kaito," I whispered. "She's here."
A hand pressed against the glass.
Then another.
A girl leaned into view.
Her hair wasn't pink in the moonlight. It looked more like a soft crème-blonde — messy, slightly fluffy, framing her face in a way that would almost be cute if it wasn't for her eyes.
Her eyes were wrong.
Too wide.
Too excited.
She stuck a sticky note on the window like she was decorating it.
Kaito shot up and yanked the window open.
The girl didn't flinch.
She just smiled.
Not normal smiling.
The kind that stretches too far.
"Ohhh," she said softly, voice airy and way too cheerful. "You're awake."
The pulse exploded in my head.
It wasn't just a tug this time.
It was a flood.
Information poured in all at once:
— Rooftop maps— Camera blind spots— Astra's patrol timing— League member files— Backup disguises— Escape routes— Multiple versions of herself
And under all of it —
Excitement.
She was having fun.
I grabbed the edge of my desk because my vision blurred.
Kaito grabbed my shoulder. "Ren?!"
"I'm fine," I lied.
She tilted her head slowly.
"You can feel me, can't you?" she asked, like she'd just discovered her favorite toy could talk.
Footsteps started in the hallway. Doors opening.
Denki's voice: "Why are you guys up—"
Bakugou: "If this is a joke—"
The girl giggled.
It wasn't loud.
It was quiet and breathy.
"You brought friends," she whispered, eyes flicking past us into the room. "That's adorable."
The pulse tightened again.
She stepped lightly onto the railing like it was nothing. Balanced perfectly. Hands behind her back.
Crème-blonde hair swaying in the wind.
Her smile got wider.
"I wanted to see how fast you'd react," she said. "You're faster tonight."
She leaned forward slightly.
And for one split second, our eyes locked.
The pulse didn't just show me information this time.
It showed me her.
Her thoughts spiraling.Her curiosity about me.The way she kept replaying my reactions in her head.The way she wanted to see how I'd look scared.
It made my stomach drop.
"You're interesting," she said softly.
Not flirty.
Not friendly.
Interested.
Like I was a puzzle.
Crowe's voice came from down the hallway, calm but sharp.
"Step away from the window."
Her eyes flicked toward the door.
"Ohhh. Authority," she hummed. "Scary."
She reached into her pocket and flicked something through the open window.
It landed on the floor between me and Kaito.
Another sticky note.
Then —
She crouched.
Smiled.
And flipped backward off the railing.
Just gone.
No panic. No rush.
Like she knew exactly where every landing spot was.
Kirishima rushed to the window. "I don't see her!"
Bakugou clicked his tongue. "Tch. She planned that."
Denki sparked nervously. "That was DEFINITELY her."
Mina peeked from behind him. "Why does she move like that…"
I bent down slowly and picked up the sticky note.
My hand was shaking.
It read:
"You almost caught me ♡I like it when you try harder."
The pulse throbbed once more — faint now. Distant.
She was moving farther away.
But not gone.
Crowe stepped into the room, eyes scanning everything instantly.
"You made contact," he said.
"Mentally," I replied. "Yeah."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"What did you see?"
"Everything," I said quietly. "Escape routes. League files. Surveillance gaps. She's not just sneaking around. She's studying Astra."
The room went silent.
Midoriya already had his notebook out. "So she's mapping response time. Testing security. Measuring Ren's reaction."
Bakugou crossed his arms. "Then we stop reacting like idiots."
Kaito stood beside me.
"She knows Ren can sense her now," he said.
That part hit the hardest.
Because it was true.
She knew.
Not fully.
But enough.
I looked back at the empty rooftop.
The pulse was calm again.
But something had shifted.
This wasn't just her watching us anymore.
Now it was mutual.
She was curious about me.
And that was way more dangerous than if she hated me.