I knew something was wrong before I even opened the door.
The Sovereign Pulse wasn't buzzing.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Like when a room goes silent right before someone says your name.
Kaito walked beside me down the hall. "You good?"
"Yeah," I lied.
We reached our dorm.
The door wasn't broken.The handle wasn't scratched.Nothing looked disturbed.
That somehow made it worse.
I pushed the door open.
Everything looked normal.
Desk. Chair. Window. Closet.
Then I looked at my bed.
And froze.
Something was sitting perfectly in the center of it.
Neat.
Intentional.
A small folded piece of paper.
And resting on top of it—
A strand of crème-blonde hair.
My stomach dropped so fast I thought I might actually pass out.
Kaito saw it a second later.
"…No," he muttered.
The Pulse didn't explode this time.
It tightened.
Like a string being pulled slowly around my chest.
"She was in here," I said quietly.
There was no sign of forced entry.
No broken lock.
No open window.
Just that paper.
Waiting.
For me.
Kaito stepped forward first, scanning the room like he expected her to still be there.
"Door was locked when we left," he said. "Windows too."
I nodded slowly.
"She didn't rush," I whispered. "This was planned."
I walked toward the bed.
Each step felt heavier.
The folded paper had my name written on it.
Not "Renny-Penny."
Not something playful.
Just—
Ren.
Neat handwriting.
Careful.
I picked it up.
My hands were shaking again.
Inside, it read:
"You didn't chase me.Good.I like it when you learn.
Your room is quiet when you're gone.I wanted to see where you sleep.
— H ♡"
The air left my lungs.
Kaito swore under his breath.
"She—" he stopped. "She was on your bed."
The Pulse flared sharply.
Not with data this time.
With feeling.
Excitement.
Possessiveness.
Interest.
Not random curiosity anymore.
Focused.
On me.
"She wasn't mapping the campus," I said slowly.
Kaito looked at me.
"She was mapping me."
There was another sound.
Soft.
Near my desk.
Kaito turned first.
My notebook.
The one Aizawa told me to log Pulse fluctuations in.
It was open.
I definitely closed it this morning.
One page had been flipped to.
And circled.
The time 12:17 a.m.
Under it, written in different handwriting:
"That's when you feel me strongest, right?"
My pulse didn't hum.
It slammed.
She wasn't just observing from outside anymore.
She was studying the way I studied her.
"She touched your things," Kaito said, voice low.
"Yeah."
"And she wanted you to know."
Yes.
That was the worst part.
This wasn't a hidden infiltration.
This wasn't stealth.
This was a message.
I can get to you.
Whenever I want.
The hallway outside suddenly felt too far away.
Too many people unaware.
Too normal.
Kaito stepped closer to me.
"We call Aizawa," he said immediately.
I nodded.
But my eyes stayed on the bed.
On the strand of hair she left behind.
A calling card.
Not messy.
Not accidental.
Deliberate.
"She's escalating," I said quietly.
The Pulse hummed again — but softer now.
Satisfied.
Somewhere on campus, she was probably smiling.
Because now it wasn't about U.A..
It wasn't about patrol routes.
It wasn't about security testing.
It was personal.
And she wanted me to feel that.