The morning sun barely reached the dorm courtyard, and the sticky note still fluttered faintly on the window outside Ren's room.
Ren sat cross-legged on his bed, GrabPack resting beside him, fire faintly flickering across his palm as he thought. Kaito crouched on the floor, laptop open, a tangle of wires and sensors strewn around.
"We need to figure out how she got in last night," Ren said quietly. His voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp, scanning every corner.
Kaito tapped the screen rapidly. "Yeah, but every security log shows nothing. No unauthorized entry, no fog sensors tripped, no access recorded."
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "…She can bypass detection. She watched the entire birthday setup. That fog… the Prototype—she memorized it all."
Kaito nodded, worry lining his features. "…Which means she can follow you… anywhere."
Ren's hands glowed faintly again, just a spark, just a warning. "…And she will if we don't figure it out."
From the doorway, Aizawa leaned against the frame, arms crossed. His expression neutral. His eyes… tired but watchful.
"Start with patterns," he said simply. "Don't ask for help. You'll figure it out faster if you treat it like a real threat."
Ren and Kaito exchanged a glance. "Understood," Ren said.
Step 1: Reconstruct the Night
The boys retraced their steps from the previous night:
Dorm → Common Room → Courtyard → Training Yard → Factory Maze → Final Fort
Kaito pulled up the blueprints of U.A. on the laptop. Red dots indicated every fog machine, every prop placement.
"She would've needed to know all of this," Kaito muttered. "…The timing. The red smoke. The GrabPack positions. Nothing in the logs shows her moving through any of it."
Ren's fingers itched. Fire sparked again. "…She either has someone on the outside giving her intel—or she sees differently than we think."
Step 2: Analyzing Entry Points
They checked windows, vents, and access points. Every door had a steel panel. Every hallway was monitored.
Ren crouched beside the floor vent outside his room. "…This vent was left unsecured overnight."
Kaito leaned close. "…No alarms tripped. No motion sensors."
Ren whispered: "…She could've used it."
Kaito nodded. "…Or she memorized the blueprints and bypassed sensors. Either way, she knows us intimately."
Step 3: Tracking Signatures
Ren pulled out a notebook, drawing faint lines in blood—just a small drop on his fingertip—testing how far he could sense movement if someone else was touched. Crimson Marionette… or Bloodlock… he didn't know which yet, but it worked enough to detect faint pulses.
He concentrated. Closed his eyes. Let the slight twitching of his quirk radiate.
Kaito watched, amazed. "…You're… actually doing it?"
Ren nodded slowly. "…Just a little. I can sense something. Someone was near my window last night. Someone small. Light on their feet."
Kaito's fingers flew over the keyboard. "…Cross-referencing last night's camera shadows—wait… there's a faint irregularity. Look here."
A tiny anomaly in the security footage. Not a figure, not a shape—just a distortion. Something moving faster than natural.
Ren's eyes narrowed. "…That's her."
Kaito shivered. "…Yeah. That's definitely her."
Step 4: Hypothesis
Ren leaned back, letting the faint fire in his hands die down.
"She didn't need logs. She doesn't need entry codes. She doesn't even need stealth technology. She just… watches. Learns. Memorizes. Then exploits weakness."
Kaito nodded, typing furiously. "…We need a counter. Sensors, traps… pattern analysis. We have to predict where she'll appear next."
Aizawa spoke again, calm, detached:
"You have enough to start. Don't underestimate her. Don't underestimate yourselves."
Ren looked at him. "…We won't."
Step 5: First Countermeasures
By mid-morning, they had:
Tiny motion sensors in hallway vents
Magnetic tripwires across key points
Red-light laser grids linked to a simple alert system
Notebook with maps and predicted pathways
Kaito grinned. "…Okay, if she tries to sneak in again, we'll see her."
Ren exhaled, hands glowing faintly. "…And we'll be ready."
A pause.
"Phase Two," Ren murmured. "…She's not just watching anymore. She's testing us."
Kaito nodded, leaning back. "…Then let's make sure she regrets it."