It was nothing like what they had expected.

The papers were about ten pages full of information, but in a language none of them could understand. Way to go, confidential document.

"Search it up online. There's a translator for languages," Titan suggested.

"It's Kalosian," Sage said as he scrolled through the translated text on his phone.

"Here goes." Jade took the phone and read through the content. "This is full of boring stuff." When she got to the last page, she swore to tear the document into pieces. It basically wrote about Kalos's history and it was not at all interesting. That was, till the last page. "Hold on. There's a fine print at the bottom of page 10." She zoomed in on the text. "This is..."

Titan took the phone and his maroon eyes fell on the words. "If you have read this document, find the clue." He handed it to Mei.

The girl's blue hair slid over her ears. "This is left there on purpose then. What's the clue?"

She glanced through the document twice. Think, Mei, think. What's so special about Kalosian history? AZ?

She rubbed her temples and faced the other students. He met his Floette, an Eternal Flower Floette which has the signature move Light of Ruin. And?

Mei minimised Zayn's story on his white laptop. She searched online for this unique Floette, only to find that three years ago, the Floette disappeared along with AZ. Their whereabouts were unknown. Three years ago, they reconciled. What was so important about this?

Typing on Zayn's laptop, she gave up and closed the tab. Zayn had too many files on his desktop and she was dizzying at the sight of them.

"What's this clue?" Mei asked.

Wait, now's a good time to look through his laptop. Never know what secrets he may have. Who knows, he might be the real mastermind. Mei's fingers waltzed across the keyboard, the tap, tap, tap sound bringing a smile to her face.

Beside her, Jade thought about the document and decided it was a mere prank. She told them she would return to her room to sleep and left. The truth was that she didn't want to burden them. She didn't know much about Healer Killer, and she could only heal people with her Singularity. Titan, too, returned to his room soon after, claiming he was exhausted. Now, only Mei and Sage remained in the room.

"Mei," Sage said. "Why don't you take a break?"

"It's fine." Mei turned to the boy and gave him a reassuring smile. When she averted her attention to the screen, she saw it. "Sage, do you know why Zayn has a locked file? It appears to need a password."

"Nope," the boy said. "What's the file name?"

Mei didn't want to believe it. There had to be a mistake somewhere.

Blade gasped. "Healer Killer."

Sage gritted his teeth. So he did have something else to hide about this.

「」

Yuzu disposed of the phone and smashed it into smithereens with a hammer. She thought Mei might have fallen for it, but it didn't seem to be so. Now, that device had no other purpose and deserved elimination.

"Karma, huh? What a pity a beauty is wasted like this."

Now that Zayn was gone, Yuzu thought she could finally have some fun. It was all thanks to him that her plans worked. Though now he was a stone in her path, seeking to rebel against her because of some stupid video.

Her phone rang and she picked it up. "This is Yvette speaking."

Yvette. That was her real name.

"Milady, how are things going over there?" A baritone voice asked. "How are my plants growing? Healthy?"

"Good. Everything is going well. Oh, I know." She pursed her lips. "Why don't you give the healing plant some fertiliser? I don't know, maybe more nitrogen would be good."

"'Course, milady. I would like some other advice here too. Say, if X tells the truth tomorrow, what is the best and least suspicious way to shut his trap?"

"Money. Humans are but vessels of greed." Yuzu got up from her chair and walked over to her laburnums. "Else, we could always hire a sniper. Humans have always wanted to try death out when they have lived enough, sometimes biting off more than they can chew, you know."

"Thank you for the advice, milady."

Yuzu raised a brow and crossed her fingers. "What is he doing right now?"

"Eating penne pasta." Rushing water filled the air. "Can't stay in the restroom for too long. I feel someone watching me. Oh. He's still eating, I think."

"Don't you worry. Once I win her heart, we'll hold a battle of wits between them." Yuzu watered the plant and smiled. "We're the predators and they're but our prey. You do your job well. Don't expose yourself."

"Got it, milady." The man at the other end of the line hung up.

Yuzu ran her fingers over the leaves of the laburnums and strolled over to the window. Moonlight streamed into the room, lightening her profile so she could see part of her face in the long bronze mirror.

"I wonder if they have solved the clue I left them. GPS is just great." Yuzu bit into an apple. "Grow, my healing plant, grow. Learn the art of despair."

Trailing to her drawer, she pulled it and gazed at a dark green gleba. A knock at the door sent her closing the drawer, a dull glint disappearing beneath the brown cabinet surface.

A second, then a third knock came, compelling her to head to the door.

"Yes, Amity?" The girl combed her dark red hair and unlatched the door for her junior to enter.

"Yuzucchi, there is something I've always wanted to tell you." The girl's hushed voice piqued the older girl's curiosity.

"What is it?"

"Come closer." The girl had worn a hairband to stop her hair from blocking her vision where they would have flowed down her forehead. A hand shuffled in her pocket, her legs trembling. She drew and released her breaths.

"OK," Yuzu said as she bent a little.

The second-year's lips collided with hers and she tasted Cheri Berry. Yuzu wanted to freeze that moment, but Amity removed her lips. What came after really caught the Director of the Film Club off guard.

"Yuzucchi... Can we go on a date tomorrow?" Amity's cheeks flushed. "I didn't know it then, why I wasn't really attracted to the guys. It's because I'm a lesbian."

Yuzu forced a smile. She didn't know how else to react. It was the first time someone else took the initiative. Someone unexpected.

"Uh." Her word lasted half a second. Yuzu anticipated silence, but the air was filled with the three words she hadn't heard for a long time.

"I love you."

「」

It had been ten minutes since Mei and Sage stared at each other. Neither of them spoke a word.

Zayn? Is he really the mastermind? Am I living with a twisted person all along? Sage cupped his ears.

I don't want to admit it, but this might be true. The boy took in a deep breath.

He thought back to the first time they met, when the lively boy enveloped him into a warm embrace. It couldn't have been true. Zayn was a kind soul.

It couldn't have been true. Mei was thinking the same. Realisation poured over her like a bucket of iced water. No, this is probably just a red herring. Right? Right?

The only way to find out was to unlock the file.

「」

The boy turned and his brown hair flew in the light zephyr. Yellow eyes narrowed as he recalled the times he helped Max and Lark from Dynamite write their songs. Loud and explosive, one of their songs blared in his earpieces.

Riding his red, foldable Mach Bike down the pavements of Foncrise City, Ferro rocked his head with the music. Nothing could compare to feeling the wind against his face.

Rain, his brother's roommate, was a decent young man, no doubt about that. How he wished Rain was his brother instead. Gentle, bubbly and cute.

"Damn it!" He braked the bicycle when a lax Combusken crossed the road. He rang the bell and waited for the Pokémon to leave his sight. "Angery KFC. Angery Kung-Fu Chicken."

He was alone on the path lit only by five street lamps. Darkness clouded his vision but he continued cycling anyway.

"I want to be better than Clay. I am not weak. I am not weak."

Ferro pedalled furiously and aimlessly. Faster, faster! He needed to be faster. Clay would always be first and he would come in second. Ferro wanted to change that.

The path became bumpier. Ferro swerved his bike left and right to avoid tiny pebbles. He thought back to the first time he found Healer Killer on his phone. He carelessly left his phone in the classroom and when he returned, the app was already there. It was the same with Titan who left it in the gym instead.

His mind hovered to his username, Error. Why did he choose it again? Because Clay always repeated to him that Ferro was a mistake? An accident?

His eyes widened when he tried to pull his bike away but he collided into a wall. His shadow fell and the shadow of his bike crashed onto his, creating a black pile on the wall. The wheels still spun, as if the cyclist was still pedalling, the faint whirring sound bringing life to the northern part of the city. It was always quiet, so quiet that one could hear the trickling of sanguine fluid.

A figure appeared from the depths of the alley, a polished object in hand. Jagged edges took a plunge into the boy's shadow. The figure was not there any longer. The quietude of the place was disrupted by continuous wheezing. Despite that, one could hear a fountain spurting out gently, the trickling crimson painting the stone path, red rivers flowing in between tiny, grey islands with bits of moss.

There were no footsteps, no caws and no wind. The flock of Darkness Pokémon from few nights ago circled the still body and swooped down.

With all the remnant energy he had, the boy mustered a minuscule grin and mumbled, "It's a murder."

Dots covered his vision.