"Why didn’t you pair up with Angel?" Renn asked for the sixth ti since they got over the fence. He didn’t understand why he had to be stuck with Kaito when he could have been with his girlfriend, protecting her like he was supposed to.
Kaito gave no reply. He simply closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on trying to shut down the lights in the Central House. If he could do that, they would have an upper hand in the dark. Most of the Housemates were humans after all, and darkness was their enemy.
"I would have made a better pair with Angel than Hiro. I’m sure he’s bullying him," Renn went on, still talking as they moved behind the dormitory. The building was tall and quiet, and they needed to find a way in from the back. If Evan had caras set up in his room, they had to be extra careful. "I would have—"
"You’re getting on my damn nerves," Kaito cut in sharply. His voice was low but filled with irritation. He didn’t understand why Renn kept talking about pairing up with Angel. Couldn’t he see how serious this was? Couldn’t he shut the fuck up for one damn minute?
"And for the record, about that pairing shit. Hiro is better."
"Why?"
"Because I said so. I don’t owe you an explanation," Kaito snapped, not caring how harsh he sounded. "I’m Angel’s Alpha and his roommate. I know what’s good for the boy."
Renn stopped walking. The pain in his eyes was sudden, but deep. "So you think I’m not good enough for him?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Kaito’s words hit harder than he expected. Was that what everyone thought? That he was a bad influence on Angela?
"Don’t think of it like that," Kaito sighed, running a hand through his hair. Maybe he shouldn’t have said it that way. But again, maybe Renn deserved it. He had hidden things. He acted like nothing was wrong and expected them to figure it out on their own. No one ca to him. No one said a word.
"You already said it. I can’t stop thinking about it now," Renn muttered, shaking his head. The sadness on his face was raw. Real. He had done wrong to Angela before, he knew that. But it was a stupid, careless mistake. And if punishnt was what he deserved, he was willing to take it. Anything but being separated from Angela. That, he wouldn’t take.
"I’m sorry if my words got to you," Kaito said, his voice softer now. But then, as the words left his mouth, his expression twisted with confusion and anger. "What the fuck am I even apologizing for? You don’t deserve it."
"I think you just have a problem with ," Renn replied bitterly, eyes still fixed on Kaito.
"Maybe."
"I love talking to you. It’s been really helpful, Kaito," Renn said with a roll of his eyes, clearly not in the mood to argue anymore. His phone beeped just then and he tapped on the new ssage from Stales. It said they had gotten Evan out of the dorms. He looked up. "We can go inside now."
"Behind, right?" Kaito asked.
"No. You can destroy the caras with your power. That anonymous guy won’t even know," Renn replied quickly. "We’ll just make it look like thunder struck."
"How the hell are we supposed to make it look like thunder struck?" Kaito asked, like he didn’t already know where Renn was going with it. But when Renn looked away and didn’t answer, Kaito sighed. He knew exactly what he wanted. "No, man. If I keep using my powers like that, Slade will figure it out. He’s not fucking stupid."
"Then just make it rain after we’re done here. Let it rain over Mistvale. That way, he won’t suspect a thing."
Kaito nodded slowly. That wasn’t a bad idea. It was risky though, and it would drain him like hell. But fine. He took in a deep breath, and then his eyes lit up red, glowing like embers. Renn glanced around quickly, making sure the coast was clear. When he was sure there was no one nearby, he turned back to watch.
He always found Kaito’s powers fascinating, no matter how many tis he’d seen them. It was sothing he couldn’t get used to. His eyes shifted again, changing from red to sothing brighter, almost white, but not exactly... more like the color of lightning.
Renn raised his hand to shield his eyes as Kaito began connecting with the earth and the sky. It started with a low hum in the air, then a rush of wind. And then it happened. A lightning strike so fierce it shook the ground under their feet. The sound exploded in the air, echoing through the place. It shattered so light bulbs and, more importantly, knocked out the CCTV caras... if any were still on.
"It’s okay, man. Don’t blow us the fuck away," Renn muttered.
Kaito pulled back, finally releasing the built-up energy. He staggered, nearly losing his balance as his eyes dimd back to red. Sweat dripped from his face, and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He could feel the drain already settling in, that familiar emptiness that ca each ti he pushed himself too far.
"You alright?" Renn asked, his voice lower than before. There was actual concern in his tone, and even Kaito noticed it.
Before he could answer though, noise erupted from inside the building. Voices. Students shouting. Security guards getting tense.
Without wasting ti, they ducked into a corner, hiding in the shadows. They stayed still, waited it out. A few long minutes passed. Then Kaito peeked out and saw students rushing out of the dorm, panicked and confused.
Without saying a word, he and Renn joined the crowd, slipping in among the students heading out. Blending in. The security didn’t suspect a thing.
Kaito led the way until they got to Evan’s room. His roommates had already left, and that made it the perfect ti for what Kaito had in mind. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then played the video of Angel and Evan.
Renn shut the door behind them and stood close, eyes locked on the screen as the video played. He watched it carefully, trying to make sense of it.
"This was recorded from this angle," Kaito said as he pointed to the corner near the door, but even he looked unsure. "It doesn’t make any fucking sense. It won’t work here."
Renn replayed the video again. He zood in and his eyes caught sothing. There were clothes piled beside the cara’s view. It confused him at first, but the more he thought about it, sothing clicked.
"I think you’re right," Renn said slowly, "but what if this video wasn’t taken by soone holding the phone? What if they had already set it up before Angel even ca into the room?"
Kaito frowned. He didn’t say anything, just hit play again and watched the video from the beginning, this ti with Renn’s theory in mind.
"Look," Renn said, stepping closer and pointing at the screen. "The clothes. They’re stacked up to support the phone. That person wasn’t holding anything. It was already positioned."
Kaito nodded as he noticed the school uniforms in the video. Sothing shifted in his expression. He walked straight to the wardrobe and opened it.
"Can you turn your flashlight on?" he asked without looking back.
Renn did it imdiately. He shined the light toward him and watched as Kaito placed the phone inside the first section of the wardrobe. Then he turned on the front cara and stepped back to where Renn was standing.
"Angel ca in through here," Kaito said as he stood near the door. On the phone screen, his reflection matched the exact angle shown in the video. "It was right there. That’s how they got it."
"They didn’t even notice the wardrobe was open," Renn said quietly, shaking his head. He walked toward the phone, picked it up, then turned to face Kaito again. His gaze shifted, and sothing above caught his attention.
His eyes flew to the ceiling.
There, at the top right corner above the first bed, was a small CCTV cara. It wasn’t working. The lens was cracked. But it was there.
It had been there the whole damn ti. Broken, but watching.
"A CCTV in students’ room? I thought we wouldn’t find it," Kaito muttered, still surprised. He couldn’t believe that the room actually had one, just like they had feared. "We’ll check every fucking corner, every box and bag now that we still have ti."
They didn’t have much ti left. The power house would soon trace the fault and fix the electricity, and once that happened, it would be harder to move around unnoticed. Kaito picked up his pace and began searching the wardrobe. He checked every student’s section, went through the boxes, tore through folded clothes and bags, but still found nothing useful. Nothing that could explain what the hell was going on. It pissed him off.
Frustrated, he stord toward the bathroom. Maybe luck would be on their side in there.
"You think we’ll find anything important?" Renn asked as they stepped inside. Kaito didn’t answer right away. His eyes scanned the walls slowly until he paused at one side. There was sothing off. Sothing strange about the texture.
He walked closer and placed his hand on it. Then he touched the opposite wall.
"You feel any difference?" Renn asked from behind.
"Yes," Kaito answered quietly. He stepped back and looked at him. "Can you break the wall?"
"Break it? That’s going to alert whoever the fuck is behind this. They’ll know soone was here."
"He already knows we’re snooping around," Kaito said. "We can’t waste ti. We need to get to the bottom of this shit."
Renn didn’t argue again. He stepped forward and placed both hands on the wall. The texture was different. Softer. Lighter. Not as solid as the others. He tapped it gently with his knuckles, then clenched his hand into a fist. Without hesitation, he threw a hard punch.
The wall shook.
He hit it again.
And again.
Finally, with a loud crack, the wall gave in and broke open, revealing a hidden safe.
Renn didn’t wait. He forced the safe open and the contents spilled onto the bathroom floor.
Then everything stopped.
His breath hitched as he looked down. There were photos. Dozens of them.
Photos of Angela.
His heart dropped. But it was the last picture that made his entire body freeze.
It was a photo of her wearing jeans and a crop top. Her long, dark, wavy hair fell around her shoulders. She stood beside a shop, her face turned slightly to the cara. It looked old... like it had been taken before she ever stepped foot in the Academy.
There were more pictures of her—so in her Academy uniform, with short hair. There were also papers scattered around, docunts they couldn’t understand yet.
Before Renn could move or think, Kaito dropped to his knees. He picked up the photo slowly, his eyes fixed on it, unable to speak.
He turned the picture around.
There was a short ssage written on the back, and his voice dropped as he read it out loud.
"Angela now Angel."
His hands tightened around the photo, and for a mont, neither of them could say a word.
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