You'd think that after Nezu drops the someone's dead bomb, there'd be a follow-up. Like, I don't know, a safety briefing? Maybe a little reassurance that UA has this under control? But no. Instead, we were all herded back to the dorms like cattle and left to stew in our own anxiety.

The second we got back, the common room erupted into chaos.

"Do you think it was a villain?" Kaminari asked, his voice shaky. "What if they got onto campus again?"

"Doubt it," Todoroki replied, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His calmness was borderline irritating. "If it were villains, there'd be more than one casualty."

"Unless," Tokoyami interjected, his voice all ominous and brooding, "it's one of us."

Dead silence.

"Way to keep the mood light, bird boy," I said, snapping the tension with a sarcastic grin. "Next, you gonna tell us ghost stories about haunted dorm rooms?"

Tokoyami just raised an eyebrow at me. "I merely observe the shadows where others do not."

"Cool, love that for you," I muttered. "Maybe next time observe some chill."

But his words lingered. What if...? No. No way. This was UA. Sure, we've had our fair share of catastrophes, but no student would actually... right?

I sat on the edge of the couch, fiddling with my notebook while the others spiraled. Maybe I was overthinking, but something felt... off. Nezu's announcement was clinical, cold even. The faculty wasn't acting like this was a random accident, but they also weren't treating it like an all-out villain invasion. So what the hell was it?

"Midoriya," Iida said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Shouldn't you—uh—be writing something down? You know, to prepare for... whatever's happening?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What exactly do you want me to write? 'Chapter 27: How Not to Die in a School Mystery?' Because I think I missed that lesson."

Iida frowned, but before he could reply, a sharp knock on the door froze everyone in place.

Aizawa-sensei stepped in, looking like he hadn't slept in a week—which, knowing him, was probably true. "Listen up," he said, his tone even gruffer than usual. "I'll make this quick. Curfew is now 9 PM sharp. No one leaves the dorms without permission. If you see or hear anything suspicious, report it immediately. Understood?"

We all nodded, but the air in the room felt heavier than ever. Aizawa didn't stick around for questions. He turned and left, his capture weapon trailing behind him like some grim warning.

"Great," Bakugo growled, breaking the silence. "First we're told someone's dead, and now we're locked in like criminals. What the hell is going on?"

"Maybe they don't want us to panic," Uraraka said, her voice soft but trembling. "You know, until they figure out what happened."

"Or maybe they don't want us finding out who did it," Jirou muttered, twirling one of her earphone jacks nervously.

"Guys, stop," Momo said, trying to take control. "We don't have enough information to make accusations. Let's just... stay calm."

"Easy for you to say," Kaminari muttered. "You're not the one freaking out."

I stayed quiet, watching the back-and-forth like a spectator at a particularly tense tennis match. Everyone was on edge, and honestly, who could blame them? Someone in our school—a place that's supposed to be the safest for hero students—was dead. And nobody knew how or why.

But then, something clicked. UA was practically a fortress. If this wasn't a villain attack, and it wasn't an accident, then... what?

I didn't have an answer. Not yet. But I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever happened, it wasn't over.

Later that night, the dorm was eerily quiet. Most of the others had gone to bed, but I couldn't sleep. Too many questions, too many scenarios playing out in my head.

I was sitting by the window, staring at the campus grounds, when I saw it.

A shadow moved near the edge of the forest, barely visible in the moonlight. It wasn't big—smaller than a person, maybe an animal? I squinted, trying to get a better look, but it vanished before I could make out any details.

Great. Now I'm seeing things.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to convince myself it was nothing. Probably just a stray cat or something. But deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever I saw wasn't random.

I closed my notebook, glancing at the half-finished page of notes. One word stood out, circled over and over again.

Why?

And for the first time, I realized just how much I hated not knowing the answer.