7

The next day, lunch at Seisen Cross was as chaotic as ever. The cafeteria buzzed with students jostling for seats and chatting over trays piled with questionable food options. Hikaru had followed Ren, who sat at their usual table near the window.

Kaede had already claimed the seat across from them, munching loudly on a bag of chips. “I’m telling you,” she said between bites, “if they don’t fix the vending machine by tomorrow, I’m staging a coup.”

“Dramatic much?” Tsubasa muttered, adjusting his glasses as he scrolled through his tablet. “It’s just a vending machine.”

“Just a vending machine?” Kaede gasped, clutching her chest like he’d personally offended her. “That thing is my lifeline, nerd.”

Ren leaned back in her seat, deadpan. “Maybe this is your chance to start eating real food.”

Kaede narrowed her eyes. “Betrayal from my own teammate. Tragic.”

Hikaru chuckled, snarfing down some rice. “Guess I’ll have to join the coup now. Can’t let Kaede suffer alone.”

Ren sighed dramatically. “And there goes your last shred of dignity.”

“I had dignity?” Hikaru smirked. “That’s news to me.”

Yuna approached the table with her usual quiet grace, setting down her tray neatly before taking a seat. “What’s this about a coup?” she asked calmly, like it was a perfectly normal conversation topic.

“Vending machine politics,” Tsubasa explained dryly without looking up.

Yuna nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense.”

Kaede beamed. “See? Yuna gets it.”

“Yuna just doesn’t care,” Ren corrected.

Yuna took a sip of her drink, unbothered. “Correct.”

As the conversation drifted toward rumors about an upcoming mission announcement, Hikaru glanced out the window, watching the clouds drift lazily across the sky. Despite the chaos around them, moments like this felt oddly peaceful - a strange kind of normalcy amidst the unpredictability of their lives.

"Hey," Kaede suddenly said, snapping him back to reality. "Since when do you zone out like that? Got something on your mind?"

Hikaru shrugged lazily. "Just thinking about how nice it is when things are... quiet."

Kaede blinked. "Quiet? Dude, we’re literally surrounded by chaos."

"Exactly," Hikaru grinned. "I don't have solitude, but this is more fun."

Ren rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips. "You're impossible."

"Thank you," Hikaru said smugly.

Kaede clapped her hands together. "Alright, new plan: we skip afternoon classes and go on a mission instead."

Tsubasa sighed, putting down his tablet. "Why am I even friends with you people?"

"Because you love us," Kaede chirped.

"No, I don’t," he deadpanned.

But as they all laughed, even Tsubasa’s scowl softened just a bit.