The school hallway was silent. Not the normal silence after school… but that other kind. The kind that comes when something is out of place.

Ritsu felt it instantly. A subtle pressure in the air, like static clinging to his skin.

It wasn't Mob.

He stopped halfway down the hall, pretending to check his phone as his mind focused. He closed his eyes.

Yes. Someone else was manipulating psychic energy… close. Precise. Controlled, but not entirely hidden. A kind of "mental signature" he didn't recognize, but clearly wasn't amateurish.

He turned his head. And there you were.

Standing a few feet away, your gaze also searching for him with the same caution. You said nothing, and neither did he. But you both knew: You'd sensed each other.