Kyle was stiffly walking down the hallways to his third hour class the next morning, Kai vibing in the back of his mind as per usual, when Kai noticed something unusual.
The typical energy of all the pubescent teens was rampant in the hallway as always, and yet a part of that energy felt familiar.
It was vibrant and spicy, like neons and chili peppers, and Kai could feel it from across the hallway. He reached out with cautious curiosity, when he suddenly felt connected to the energy flowing through the mind of the human.
Kai piloted Kyle to a stop around the corner, out of sight, before focusing more intently on the human nearby.
She was murderous.
Kai's concentration nearly broke as he was taken aback by the new energy surging through him. It was as if it were a part of him, yet something foreign. It was tasteless, yet made him feel powerful.
Kai recognized the feeling as anger. An uncontrollable rage, rushing through the mind of the poor human in front of him. And yet, Kai did not absorb the energy.
Instead, he peered into the mind of the girl and was startled by what he saw.
Her mindscape was made of shattered ice and seething water vapor, melting directly off the ice. The ground shook violently, pools of furiously boiling water becoming momentarily visible under the frosty wasteland. The vapor rose, freezing into thoughts before shattering in the turbulence.
If Kai had to guess what he saw appearing in her mind, it would be Kyle.
The vapors would freeze into Kyle's face contorted in pain, as if he were dying, before shattering, beginning the cycle anew.
Kai stayed there for a minute, contemplating consuming the terrible energy, before deciding against it.
Seeing her thoughts made Kai realize something important, and the reprecussions of experimenting might slow his newest plan - the one he believed to be the most important yet.
Kai took one last glance into her terrifyingly turbulent mind before rejoining Kyle and heading about his day.
After that, he needed to do some thinking.
~~~~
During fourth hour, Kai was still lost in thought when something strange caught his attention.
He had grown used to keeping a slight awareness of all the minds around him, yet there was a human he could not observe.
The history teacher was wearing his typical beanie, smiling towards the class as he energetically presented more conspiracy theories to the unamused students. And yet, Kai could feel nothing from him. No scent, no flavor, nothing.
It was as if he did not exist.
Confused, Kai dove to investigate, intending to temporarily possess the man, when he ran into a metallic wall once again.
Kai had forgotten about the man's peculiar fashion choices amidst all his scheming. Or more aptly, he had forgotten about the tin foil hat the man seemed to be wearing at all times.
Kai backed away, returning to Kyle, intending to investigate this further at a later date, when the he noticed the teacher had stopped talking during his expedition.
He had his hand raised to his head, as if expecting to feel blood.
When he lowered his hand, he turned to the class with a grim expression on his face.
"Class, I had feared I was wrong, but it seems my greatest fear has come true. The ones from Hiroshima, they've arrived. If someone you love seems to be acting strangely, do not trust them. They'll crawl into your mind, steal your bodies, and use you to take control of your loved ones as well. Do not trust anyone."
His face was dead serious. This man truly believed what he was spouting.
The students, on the other hand, seemed afraid. They were whispering amongst himself. Kai caught a wisp of a resounding thought shared amongst the students. Confusion, concern, and fear. The uncertainty of being told the world is ending by an authority figure.
Some of the students laughed nervously, as if to hide from their fears, while others listened with rapt attention, ready to absorb whatever he said next.
That spotlight did not remain favorable for long, though. Uncomfortable laughter echoed throughout the classroom as the man pulled out a roll of tin foil. Suddenly, everything made much more sense. The teacher was just pushing his foil hat propaganda upon the students once again.
Kai, on the other hand, did not feel relieved.
This man appeared to know of his existence. What else did he know!? How did he find out!? Was he not cautious enough? Perhaps he had been too obvious in his newfound desire to discover more about himself.
As his metaphorical stomach continued to knot, Kai knew he would have to do something about this man before the day was over.
But what could he do about the teacher without his powers?
It seemed the conclusion he had reached before the class had begun was the same thought he had settled upon now, despite their different reasonings.
Seeing the possibility of his singular host being murdered, learning of the turbulence of human minds, and discovering there were ways to defend against his existence brought him great fear.
Even if he had adapted somewhat, he would die if he were without a body for too long.
By both desire and necessity, Kai had decided.
He would need to prepare another host in case anything went wrong.