5

The lanky boy narrowed his eyes at Hikaru as he returned with food for himself and Ren. "He doesn't look that special," he announced flatly, shifting his attention back to his tablet.

"Wow," Hikaru deadpanned. "Thanks for the warm welcome."

The girl with messy half-pigtails and wavy hair fading from blonde to pink gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. "Oh my gosh, he's sarcastic too. Kaede, behave," she mock-scolded herself with a playful smirk. "Ren, where did you find this gem? A brooding bad-boy type with humor? We are so keeping him."

"Tone it down a notch, Kaede," Ren sighed, rubbing her temples. She turned toward the boy without missing a beat. "And you-stop trying to analyze people like one of your weird experiments."

"Noted," he said, pushing up his glasses without sparing her a glance.

The quiet girl with neatly braided dark blue hair offered a small, polite smile. "Aoi Yuna," she introduced herself softly. "Nice to meet you."

"Kanzaki Hikaru," he nodded in acknowledgment. "Looks like I'll be around for a while."

Kaede grinned mischievously. "Oh, you're more than just around. You're officially one of us now."

"That's bold," Hikaru remarked. "I haven't agreed to anything."

"Too late," Ren said blankly. "You followed me here. That was your first mistake."

He sighed, shaking his head but unable to hide the faint smile tugging at his lips.

Kaede clapped her hands together like she was officiating a grand ceremony. "Welcome to our little circus, friend. Population: nerds, chaos, and fate lady over there. Oh, and ice queen."

"Accurate," the boy muttered without glancing up from his tablet.

The blue-haired girl tucked a loose strand behind her ear. "Apparently, I'm fate lady," she said mildly.

"Fair. Ice queen should be Ren," Hikaru said, playing along. "But what about Chaos and Nerd?"

"Chaos is me," Kaede announced proudly. "Nerd is obviously him."

The boy adjusted his glasses with the air of someone long used to nonsense. "Actually, correction: genius. There's a difference."

"Sure, my buddy Tsuba." Kaede giggled.

Hikaru tilted his head toward Ren, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Is this what your lunch breaks are always like?"

"Pretty much," she sighed. "And now it's your problem too. You'll get used to it. It's kind of nice, in a strange way."

Hikaru arched a brow, catching the sincerity in her tone. He didn't respond but found himself silently agreeing.

The bell rang, and the group dispersed, heading back to class.