The evening air was cool, carrying the faint scent of smoke from the city below. Astra's campus looked peaceful, but we all knew better. Someone was watching. Someone had been sneaking in — leaving sticky notes and knives.
Crowe led us to the rooftop access point near Nova-1. His dark eyes scanned the grounds below, every rooftop, alley, and shadowed corner.
"Divide the area," Crowe instructed, voice calm but commanding. "Taiyashè, you cover the east wing and courtyards. Kirishima and Bakugou, you handle potential access points and emergency response. Denki and Mina, stay mobile — provide alerts and distractions if necessary. Midoriya, assist Renny-Penny with observation and note-taking. Quietly."
I nodded, gripping my notebook tightly. The faint pull of my Sovereign Pulse thrummed in my chest, subtle but insistent — a signal I couldn't fully control.
The team fanned out. I followed Midoriya, watching rooftops and windows, scanning for any sign of movement.
Then I felt it: a tug in my mind. Subtle. Faint. But unmistakable.
Someone nearby. Observing. Waiting.
"Midoriya," I whispered, voice tense. "I… think someone's close. Up there." I gestured toward a shadowed ledge across the quad.
He leaned closer, frowning. "You… sense them?"
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. Not fire. Not physical. Something else. Like… mind. Or presence."
Crowe's voice crackled over the communicator. "Renny-Penny, stay calm. Note it. Do not approach."
I scribbled furiously in my notebook. The pulse intensified slightly, and suddenly images and fragments flashed in my mind: a figure slipping across a rooftop, a glint of metal, movements deliberate and playful.
And then… faces, quirks, and habits of girls who had left notes before. My hand shook as I wrote down the files — focusing only on girls. One name stood out clearly:
Himiko Toga — 5'6 and a half, female, Quirk: Transformation (drinks blood to take someone's form for a period depending on the amount consumed)
The pulse subsided slightly, but I could still sense her presence lingering somewhere near the rooftop gardens.
"Got it," I murmured. "She's here. Or was recently."
Taiyashè's voice came faintly from his team. "Renny-Penny, what's happening?"
I shook my head. "Just… write it down. She's smart. Careful. We're not going to catch her outright tonight. But she's here. That's enough."
Crowe's voice cut through again. "Exactly. Observation is the key. Note everything — timing, location, methods. Patterns emerge over time."
The team regrouped after the sweep, exchanging reports and scribbles. Denki buzzed excitedly. "No contact, but wow… that was intense."
Mina bounced. "I want another sweep! This is like a real-life hero game!"
Bakugou scowled, arms crossed. "No. We don't chase. We watch. Don't make mistakes."
I rubbed my temples, notebook full of notes and sketches. The Sovereign Pulse hummed faintly in my chest, like a quiet alarm — subtle, but insistent. Someone was still watching. Testing. Waiting.
Crowe looked at us all, dark eyes assessing. "Good first sweep. No direct confrontation. Information gained. Patterns to analyze. Next step: anticipate her moves without revealing yourselves. Astra is more dangerous than it seems."
I glanced at the rooftops, shadows stretching long in the evening light. Somewhere up there, Himiko Toga had been close — and she could return at any moment.
But for now… we had a first lead. And we had each other.