Chapter 5: The Eyeball
In front of a vending machine downstairs from the Department of Management building, under the bright sunlight, Yoshikage Kira found himself in a bizarre standoff with a single, floating eyeball. It had a round, metallic shell with a spherical glass lens embedded in it. It looked just like the Pokémon Magnemite, but with its U-shaped magnets on either side removed...
Have I seen this thing before? Yoshikage Kira searched his memory, recalling the night two days ago when he had been walking alone through the school corridors.
"I didn't bother to look for you last time, but now that I've run into you again, don't even think about getting away from me." Yoshikage Kira downed the rest of his oolong tea in one go. A shimmer of Hamon flickered across his hand as he charged the empty can with energy, took aim, and hurled it at the eyeball.
"Oolong Tea Overdrive!"
The eyeball detected the attack and deftly dodged it. After making a quick loop, flames shot from its rear as it accelerated and fled towards the Management building.
You're not getting away! Kira took off after it, his eyes gleaming. The eyeball moved as if it had a will of its own. Unless this was someone's Quirk manifesting as a kind of intelligent machine, it was definitely something valuable. As Kira ran past the spot where the tea can had landed, he bent down without breaking stride, scooped it up, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.
It was currently lunchtime, so the only people left in the classrooms were the few students who had brought their own bentos. As a result, almost no one in the Department of Management saw a student chasing a flying eyeball down the hallway.
The eyeball moved as if it had run this course hundreds of times, always taking the most efficient, time-saving path. It quickly reached the club activity rooms on the fourth floor and vanished around a corner, disappearing from Kira's sight.
Kira took the stairs to the fourth floor and scanned his surroundings. As mentioned before, very few people remained in the school buildings during lunch. And unlike the Hero Course, the other departments usually held their club activities after school, making this floor feel even more silent.
"So you want to play hide-and-seek, do you? You really think I can't find you?" The eyeball was tiny. Since Kira hadn't seen which classroom it entered, there were countless places it could be hiding. And even if he did pinpoint the room, getting inside was another matter. Kira had no intention of destroying school property.
Despite the difficult conditions, a smile remained on Kira's lips. He lightly pressed the skull emblem on his left wristwatch, gave it a slight twist to detach it from the watch face, and placed it on the ground. He gently touched the tiny skull.
"Sheer Heart Attack."
As Yoshikage Kira whispered the words, the skull-tank on the floor seemed to spring to life. It felt as though its entire body straightened up as two bony claws extended from beneath its treads. Instantly, a boisterous shout echoed in Kira's mind.
"WUAHAHAHA!" The skull roared with manic laughter the moment it gained consciousness. "Master! You've finally summoned me! Who do you want me to blow up this time? I'll blast them until not even ash remains!"
Kira narrowed his eyes. "I seem to recall telling you that I wouldn't be using you to blow people up. It seems you'd prefer I lock you away again."
The skull instantly cowered. It let out a dry, nervous laugh. "H-ha! I was just kidding! Please, have faith in the skills of Special Agent Sheer Heart Attack!"
"You can use infrared to see heat sources, can't you?" Kira asked casually.
"Of course! That's how I can track enemies indefinitely!" the skull boasted.
"Have you forgotten your own weakness of charging toward any high-temperature source?" Kira rolled his eyes. This thing really had no memory. It always acted like it was the strongest in the world. Did it already forget how Koichi made a fool of it in the past?
Right now, however, Kira needed its infrared function. He issued a command in his mind: "Find any heat source on this floor other than me."
"As you command!"
The tank spun in place a few times, like a police dog sniffing for a scent. A moment later, it shouted excitedly in Kira's mind, "Master, I've found the target!"
Kira paused for a moment in thought. "Locate its position and stop at the classroom door."
Based on his guess, since the eyeball had come to this floor, its main body or its controller had to be here. In other words, there had to be another heat source besides himself.
Watching the tank drive forward, Kira followed leisurely behind it. It finally stopped in front of a single door.
"The Social Experimentation Research Club," huh... Kira read the nameplate, and it seemed he was beginning to understand the situation with the eyeball.
"Is anyone there?" Kira knocked on the door first. The glass panel on the door was too blurry to see through, and he couldn't just barge in. What if there was a girl changing clothes or some other unexpected situation? As expected, the room was silent. Not a sound came from within.
"Well then, I'm coming in."
The door was unlocked. With a slight pull, Kira opened it, revealing the true appearance of the Social Experimentation Research Club.
It looked like a typical research classroom. In the middle of the room, four rectangular tables had been pushed together to create a large workspace for group discussions. The entire room was visible at a glance, and it appeared to be empty. However, the direction the tank was facing had already given away the target's location.
Kira walked to the front of the teacher's desk and knocked on it. "Aren't you going to come out and explain? I'm very curious as to why you've been following me." He deliberately emphasized the second half of the sentence.
"Yipe!" A dull thud and a small yelp came from under the desk. A moment later, a girl in a school uniform crawled out, rubbing her head.
She was incredibly petite and wore a pair of large glasses that seemed mismatched with her small frame. She had shoulder-length hair and looked to be only about half a head taller than Minoru Mineta. It seemed she had stood up too quickly and hit her head, as a few tears welled in the corners of her eyes. If it weren't for the color of the tie on her uniform, which signified that she was a second-year student, Kira would have mistaken her for an elementary schooler who still needed to hold hands to cross the street.
"You're the one controlling the eyeball?" Kira was surprised. He had already come up with a number of threatening and manipulative scenarios, but his opponent's tiny stature made it impossible for him to go through with them. His tone softened slightly.
She nodded meekly and gestured with one hand behind her. The eyeball flew out from behind the curtain and began to circle around her.
The culprit was confirmed. Seeing her on the verge of tears, Kira's playful side took over. He put on a stern face.
"Alright, talk. What reason would a second-year senpai have for following me?" Kira said, discreetly retracting the tank back into his watch while she was distracted. He sat on the edge of a table, looking down at her. "I'm just a first-year student who enrolled a little while ago. There shouldn't be anything about me worth your attention."