3

The bell rang, sharp and grating, signaling the end of the session. The teacher's voice was barely audible over the sudden scrape of chairs and the shuffle of notebooks being hastily stuffed into bags.

Hikaru leaned back in his seat, arms crossed behind his head as students filed toward the door in noisy groups. He watched them with faint disinterest—none of this was new to him.

“So,” Ren drawled, turning toward him with a small but sly grin. “What’s the plan now, Mr. Cool Guy? Gonna brood dramatically in a corner by yourself?”

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. “What, you worried about me?”

“Nah,” she smirked. “Just wondering how long you’ll last here without any friends.”

“Who says I need friends?”

“Oh, right,” she said with mock realization. “I forgot. You’re a tragic lone wolf or whatever.”

Hikaru let out a low, amused sigh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were worried about my social life.”

“Someone has to be.” She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Come on.”

He blinked, still seated. “Where?”

“The cafeteria,” she said simply. “You can meet my friends. They’re weird, but you’ll survive them.”

“And if I say no?”

She leaned down slightly, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Then you get to eat lunch alone like the brooding loner you clearly don’t want to be.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes but stood up anyway, grabbing his bag. “I guess I can spare some time.”

“That’s the spirit.” She laughed lightly, leading the way through the bustling hallway. “Try not to scare them off, yeah?”

“No promises,” he muttered dryly.

As they walked toward the cafeteria, Hikaru couldn’t help but wonder what kind of people Ren surrounded herself with in this life, and why he had the nagging feeling that this meeting would be anything but ordinary. After all, these powers and abilities just get wilder and wilder with each passing year.

The cafeteria was a chaotic symphony of chatter, clattering trays, and the occasional burst of laughter. Students were crammed around tables, forming their usual cliques- athletes, gamers, and the ones too lost in books to notice anyone else. The scene was painfully familiar, no different from the countless schools he'd seen over centuries.

Ren weaved through the chaos with ease, turning briefly to look at him. “Try to look less like you hate being here,” she teased.

“It’s a school. I could've been anywhere else right now, I don't have to be here.”

“That’s something called a you problem. No one asked you to be here, but of course, I appreciate you being my shadow.”

Before he could retort, she stopped near a table by the windows where three students were already seated. They were an eclectic bunch, instantly radiating the kind of vibe that screamed… eccentric.

The girl on the far end had wavy hair dyed bright pink, tangled with cherry earrings that dangled from her ears. She wore a mismatched assortment of bracelets that jingled as she animatedly waved her hands while talking. Next to her sat a tall, lanky boy with glasses perched precariously on his nose, tapping idly on a tablet. And then there was her, the one who immediately caught Hikaru’s attention.

A quiet girl with dark blue hair braided neatly over one shoulder, her eyes glinting like polished sapphires. She was the calm in the storm, watching the room as if she could see more than just what was visible.

“Hey,” Ren greeted casually, dropping into the empty space at the table bench. “Brought a guest. Try to be nice.”

The girl with pink curls gasped dramatically.

“Wait, wait! is this the infamous Hikaru?!”