Momo raised an eyebrow when he saw Nyx's restless expression. He could tell the red-haired boy wanted to give him back something a few seconds ago, but his frantic search was yielding no result.
"What's wrong?" Momo asked.
"Ah, it's nothing," Nyx said hurriedly, thinking about all the places he'd been. 'Where could I have possibly dropped it… that thing cost a billion dollars! Maybe if I go back to the places I have been, I could find it.'
But Nyx was certain that he wasn't that careless to misplace something so important as the pod, the counter against one of the most powerful abilities in the world.
'Someone might have taken it from me, but who is so sneaky to escape even my eye–' Nyx's eyes flickered with realization when a certain face came to his mind-the mysterious bald boy with an eye on his forehead. He was the only one that had stood so close to Nyx, even brushing shoulders.
'Could it be him?'
Momo, who was sitting on his seat, was now watching Nyx with furrowed brows. He could see the shifts in expression on the red-haired boy's face and could tell something was wrong. He knew the thing troubling Nyx must be very important because the red-haired boy barely showed emotions.
'What could be troubling him like this?' Momo thought, and at that moment, a certain thought surfaced in his mind. 'Don't tell me he lost the earpods…'
Noticing that, Momo was getting suspicious. Nyx said, "If you don't mind, can you excuse me for some time?"
"Sure. If it would calm your nerves," Momo said, glancing at his expensive wristwatch before holding Nyx's gaze. "But whatever you want to do, you should be done in an hour's time because I've a special appointment to attend to."
Granted the opportunity, the red-haired boy walked out of the office, going through the hallway while searching for the bald boy.
'He dares steal from me!' Nyx thought with a cold gaze as he continued his search. 'Is this what they call karma? Is this what Ikor is feeling like by now?'
Little did Nyx know that Ikor's anger was beyond what he was feeling now. At this moment, he was even seeking outside help to retrieve his cloak.
"There he is," Nyx said as he stepped out of the administrative building. And standing opposite the building was the bald-headed boy. In his eyes was the earpod box, and he was flipping this box while staring at Nyx with a smirk on his face.
'The guts of this kid?!' Nyx thought when he realized the bald boy was actually waiting for him outside. It was as if he knew that Nyx would come for him, and this only made the red-haired boy more alert than he was.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me. Give it, and let's go our separate ways without making any fuss," Nyx calmly stated as he came up to the bald boy.
A derisive smirk appeared on the bald boy's face. "I found it, so it belongs to me now. Finders keepers."
Nyx was losing his cool just by standing before this boy. If this were outside, he'd have long put a hole through this boy's skull, but this was the Hero Academy, and that practice was not hero-like.
Besides, he just got out of one trouble; the last thing he wanted was to start another one.
"What do you want?" Nyx said after seeing the expression on the bald boy's face; he didn't seem like someone who would give this pod without a fight.
"How about a little spar?" The bald boy said, that annoying smirk still on his face.
"A spar, so you took my pod just to have a fight with me? I don't even know who you are. Listen up, kid, I don't have time for all this. Just give me back the earpod," Nyx said.
For a moment, he thought it was because of his recent popularity that was why this kid had come to challenge him to know his strength. That was until the boy opened his mouth and spoke.
"Yes, a spar. I want to know what my Master sees in you so much that he's willing to skip my training session to attend to you!" The bald boy spoke, bitterly through gritted teeth, and Nyx was starting to get an idea of this whole fiasco.
"You're jealous? That's the reason for all this!" Nyx said in realization. "You stole the pods because you were insecure. You were afraid Mr. Momo would not value you again?"
With each word coming out from Nyx's mouth, the bald boy was trembling with rage. Those words stung him more than Nyx thought. It was directly stabbing the bald-haired boy's pride.
His name was Bob Maxwell, a boy who had lost his parents at a young age to the cruel hands of villains. He had struggled on his own to put food on his table. It was during this time he had met the Enigmatic Momo in a suit and his signature glasses. Momo offered him a lifetime opportunity to attend the No. 1 Hero Academy all in return for joining his agency—which was still a mystery till today.
Under the tutelage of Mr. Momo, Bob was able to grow stronger and better control his abilities, and for this reason, Bob was extremely grateful to Momo, and he had done everything in his power to always please the man in the suit, but his expression had always been stoic.
However, a few times now Bob had been noticing a smile appearing on that stoic face anytime Momo's eyes landed on a certain red-haired boy. Bob would at times watch Momo, paying close attention to that boy, and he would be left wondering what his master saw in that boy.
He was very talented and strong with a rank five ability, one of the strongest in the academy, yet Momo seemed to show more attention to the red-haired boy who was a dud.
In order to make his master see that he was better and deserved all the attention, Bob vowed to humiliate Nyx the best way possible and reclaim his spot.
"Why don't you fight him?" At that moment, the two boys heard a voice, and looking in that direction, they could see the subject of their discussion, Momo, staring at them.