[COMMANDER'S OFFICE]
The room was quiet. Was. Everything in its proper place—the shelves full of neatly arranged files, spotless. The crescent-shaped desk perfectly organized.
Negra was pleased with the order in her office—was—as she waited for Solares to arrive. Of course, that calm atmosphere was, but as soon as the white-haired girl stormed in, it vanished.
Bursting through the door, the Head of Recruits marched with heavy steps toward the Commander's desk. Once close, she slammed both hands onto it.
"Can someone explain why a Conductor is in the dorms? Free? No guard?"
Negra, who—even seated—was still taller than Solares, remained silent for a while, weighing the situation in her mind.
"My dear," she said, picking up a Rubik's cube and handing it to the girl, "don't let anger control you. Use it as strength for—"
"For the real enemy!" Solares shouted, snatching the cube from her hands. She began fiddling with it, pacing back and forth, clearly upset. "But he's a Conductor. He's the enemy. What's he doing here? What kind of idea is this?"
"Relax. Recruit Kaiki poses no threat to our facility. We're keeping an eye on him."
"He nearly used his powers on me!"
"No," Negra corrected. "You're the one who picked a fight with him in the first place. He should be the one here, confronting me—not you."
"What? He almost fried me!"
"Maybe," she said, her voice hissing like wind through steel—enough to send chills down the girl's spine. Negra rose from her chair and walked toward her with graceful yet deliberate steps. "But all of it could have been avoided if you, Head of Recruits, hadn't started an unnecessary fight."
Negra was tall enough to intimidate anyone. Solares shrank slightly, even knowing nothing bad would actually happen.
"Calm yourself," Negra said, placing her hands gently on the girl's shoulders, giving a soft massage. "Everything is under control and proceeding as planned. Kaiki will be useful to our cause."
"Still," Solares muttered, "I don't trust him."
Negra gave a slight smile.
"If you doubt my word, I have no choice. Remi!"
"Yes, Commander?" came a voice, echoing from everywhere in the room.
"I need you to monitor Recruit Kaiki."
"The Conductor? The one from District 2? How exciting!"
Mechanical sounds filled the room, followed by an abrupt system shutdown. Then, a small panel opened in the Commander's desk, revealing a digital wristwatch.
"Hello! I'm Remi, Electronic Watch Version!" said the robotic voice. "I've transferred all my data into this device. My intelligence is now 100% contained here and nowhere else. I will collect data and observations on Conductor Kaiki and make it available to the Commander—or to any four-star member, should the information be requested."
Negra picked up the device and placed it in Solares's hand.
"That should be enough. Now—I won't tolerate another incident like this, Chief. If I hear that you've lost your composure again, I'll have to reconsider your position. Am I clear? Act like the Solares I know."
The white-haired girl looked at the woman, and for a moment she felt she'd never live up to that kind of presence.
Thinking that left her frustrated—but she held it in. Still, the frustration was so deep it slipped out in the form of tears.
[MESS HALL]
I head toward the mess hall. Time to eat. I'm following Noan—the only one who seems remotely interested in me after learning what I am. The others keep their distance.
That's kind of a good thing—I won't have to make friends with too many people. But also kind of bad, because if they're not my friends… what are they?
"So, can you fly?" Noan asks—for the third time.
"I told you, I don't know. These powers are new to me."
He keeps pressing for details about my abilities. Meanwhile, all I want is some info on where the hell I am.
Truth is, when I think of asking Noan anything, it's mostly about her. Sol. She looks angry—but there's something deeper behind that, and I want to know what.
"Must be cool, though, right? I mean—you can shoot lightning and stuff…"
"Alright, Noan, stop asking about me." Asking directly about her might send the wrong message. "Just tell me where I am."
"You don't know?" He turns and starts walking backward, his face lit with curiosity. "Wait, you got here without even taking the trials?"
This guy's got so much energy. Honestly, he'd make a better Conductor than me. But he's missing a few screws.
"No, Noan," I sigh. "Tell me about these trials. And this place."
"Okay, but like—you really don't know anything...? Whoa!"
He trips over his own feet and starts to fall.
"Noan!" I grab his arm, though I get the feeling he wasn't actually going to fall. Still, I scold him: "Watch where you're going!"
Some people walking by laugh. I don't care about the comments—but my new friend? He turns red as a tomato.
I help him up and check if he's hurt.
"I'm fine, relax. You sound like my mom. Ow!" I slap him lightly on the forehead.
"What was that for?"
"Lucky for you I'm not her. Now walk straight and start talking."
"Alright, alright!" He walks ahead, this time watching his step. "So, you're in District 1, where the Class S base is. It's the only one. We don't actually know where it is exactly, though—they kind of hide the way here. I think that's weird, honestly. Like, doesn't hiding stuff from your own people make rebellion more likely…?"
"Noan, focus." I give him a gentle push on the back.
"Okay. To become Class S, you have to get a perfect score on the National Exam."
"Isn't that the same exam people take to qualify for higher class jobs?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"That's weird." We pass through the mess hall doors—it's packed in here. "I know people who got perfect scores. But they're not S. My brother's one of them."
I grab my tray, a spoon, and a knife. Noan almost walks into the line without his.
While we wait, he keeps explaining the exam, and I start to feel like someone's watching me.
"After the test, there's another special test—but only for those who got perfect scores. And on that one, you need a decent grade to be invited into a secret project. Of course, they make you sign tons of paperwork first. Total bureaucratic nightmare."
"Hm."
If the tests are really that tough, then everyone here must be highly qualified—unlike me. The only thing that makes me useful is my powers.
If they find out I'm a total nobody who didn't even finish basic school, my reputation's done.
Neither option sounds good. I don't want trouble with anyone, so my only move is to earn their respect. Easier said than done.
"Ugh, this stuff's nasty," Noan says, looking at his plate. "Hey, is it true you fought with Chief Solares before?"
Finally, the topic I wanted to get to.
We leave the line and sit down with trays full of some strange slop. I won't complain—I know what it's like to go hungry.
"Yeah. But I didn't know she was that strong, so I underestimated her. The result was me blacking out and a splitting headache."
"You underestimated the Chief? You gotta be crazy. Didn't you see those murderous eyes of hers? I'm scared of her."
"Why does she scare you? You two are about our age."
I glance around, checking for anyone watching. A lot of eyes are on me. If it's just curiosity, fine by me.
I focus back on Noan. I'm almost done with my food, and he hasn't touched his.
"She's the Chief of Recruits. That means she's better and more capable than everyone here. No one beats her. Plus, she got a perfect score on every test in the Class S exams." He slides his tray over to me. "Want it?"
"Give it," I say, dumping the contents onto my own tray and digging in.
"You're an animal."
I grin.
"But what about that anger of hers?" I ask. "Is that normal? When I looked in her eyes, it felt like… I don't know, like she was hurting just by looking at me. Did I do something to her?"
I stare into my bunkmate's golden eyes. He looks shaken, like he knows exactly why. Yeah—this guy knows something.
"Look… it's not every day we see a Conductor on our side—" he starts, half-apologetically. But then suddenly:
"Kaiki! Watch out!"
I turn around and see a huge guy towering over me, holding a tray high, ready to slam it into the back of my head.