#Somewhere in the academy
A masked man entered a dark and unnerving room where hundreds of computer monitors lined the walls, displaying live footage of everything happening in the academy. Sighing tiredly, he sat down on a desk chair, peering at the screens through his one-sided mask. His attention was drawn to thousands of people climbing walls in a frenzied search for the escape door.
"HA! LOOK AT ALL THOSE SUCKERS BEING EASILY FOOLED BY THAT WHITE-HAIRED GIRL!" he let out a loud laugh, not being able to contain his amusement. "Ah man, being the one behind the monitor sure is fun. I remember the day when I first entered. Sure was unnerving." he reminisced those memories with a smile, then sighed sourly.
"Before... that... happened. Hopefully, this time, I'll be able to stop it from happening. What am I on? Attempt 442? ah, shucks, I lost count." He was speaking out of his ass, and it probably wasn't the best idea to talk about that out loud. Never knew who was listening.
"Yep, my paranoia never ends with that god damn eavesdropping people with Hearing. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm such a hypocrite; I have every Sense. But at least I'm not stuck with one! HO HO HO!"
Yep, he sure was a rather interesting character. Maybe a bit delusional, too.
"Attempt number 442, huh?" The white storm tapped his index finger rhythmically on his desk, creating a song."Im honestly hoping this doesn't work out. It's such a weird number. Maybe I should skip it to 444? that would be a better number. Meh, I already did so much planning on this one; it would be a waste now." He gave out a yawn while looking at one of the monitors.
"Team Sen? huh?" he rubbed his imaginary beard. "Zizu?” The masked man called out; faced with no response, he raised his voice. "ZIZU!! I NEED YOUR HELP!" A young woman with short green hair and glasses emerged from the shadows, holding a tablet device.
“HOLLY F*CK, DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!” He jerked his body as he saw her materialize out of thin air.
"I was just sleeping in the corner there, you seriously didn't know? And what were you blabbering about? Attempt number 442 or something?" The short, green-haired woman let out a yawn of exhaustion. The White storm blinked under his mask, and a tiny drop of sweat came rolling down his chin.
"UH... AHEM..." he cleared his throat. "Nothing, dear, Zizu, I was just thinking about a game I played. I died like 442 times already. I wanna finally beat it!"
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His assistant just shrugged in response, not really caring. Whew, that was close. He let out a relieved sigh inwardly.
"Anyway, what did you want?" she groggily asked him.
"Oh yes," he nodded eagerly, then pointed at one of the security camera screens. "I would like to know a little more about those two."
The assistant adjusted her glasses and peered at the screen.
“Hmm, let me check our database.” She pulled out her tablet and began searching.
“Thank you, dear; what would I do without you?” the man chuckled.
“Anything for you, Mr. Storm,” she nodded appreciatively before returning to her task.
“Interesting…” she muttered after a moment. “The boy and the girl with white hair are Sen Ano and Hana Ano. The girl has Touch as her super sense, and the boy has…” Zizu paused, adjusting her glasses again as if doubting what she saw. “And the boy… Well, it’s not in our database,” Zizu frowned, puzzled. “That’s a first. Must be a glitch or something.”
The man steepled his fingers, deep in thought.
“Interesting… What about the stern-looking girl and the boy who resembles her?” Mr. Storm inquired.
“Ah, that is Ayame Shinzu and Genkai Shinzu. They both have Sight as their super sense,” the assistant reported.
“The girl presents herself as strong, while the brother seems more innocent and carefree,” he observed. “However, is that truly the case?”
“I'm not quite sure what you’re implying, Mr. Storm. Could you elaborate?”
“Oh, it's nothing substantial,” he said with a dismissive wave. “I’m merely suggesting that appearances can be deceiving.” His eyes lingered on the contestant named Genkai. “It appears we have quite a collection of intriguing contestants this year.” His grin widened behind his mask as he watched the white-haired boy leap into a pit of snakes.
“Yep, and especially," her eyes were drawn to a different monitor, "Team Nova. I can't believe that was even possible. That must be a world record."
The marked man nodded in agreement.
"Well, If that’s all, I’ll take my leave now,” the green-haired assistant said, bowing slightly.
“Wait, Zizu, one more thing…” He raised his hand to stop her.
“Yes, what is it, sir?”
“This might seem like an odd question, but it’s been on my mind,” he admitted, fingers interlaced again.
“Go ahead. What's on your mind?”
“Who do you think would win in a fight between a rabbit and a wolf?” he asked curiously.
The assistant looked confused by the unusual inquiry.
“Um, I would assume the wolf, given it is much stronger and larger than a rabbit,” she replied.
“Now, let's assume hypothetically that the rabbit eludes the wolf’s pursuit, leaving the wolf to starve. In that scenario, who is the victor?” he probed further.
“Well, in that context, I suppose the rabbit would be the winner,” she responded, unsure if this was a serious conversation or a riddle.
“Exactly. In this world, power is inconsequential if it doesn’t lead to victory,” he stated, smiling subtly. “However, I am the exception. With abilities like mine, winning is a foregone conclusion.”
His laughter filled the room, echoing his conviction that no one could outwit or defeat him. His gaze returned to the monitor, to the white-haired boy named Sen.
“Now, Sen, the white rabbit…” he mused, fingers still interlocked, “how will you manage to escape this predicament?”