14

The morning air was crisp, but the atmosphere inside some random cafe the group stumbled into so early in the morning was anything but refreshing. They were still groggy, lazily picking at their breakfast trays or sipping on coffee like it was their last lifeline. Even the staff workers, who looked like they were gonna quit because of these six kids who decided to have breakfast there.

"I'm just saying," Hikaru continued, gesturing wildly with a forkful of eggs, "if we had given the protagonist from yesterday a jet-powered unicycle, the escape scene would've been way cooler."

Kaede nearly choked on her food. "Oh my gosh, yes! And the villain wouldn't expect it because who expects a unicycle?"

"Exactly! Peak strategy."

Across the table, Ren rested her cheek against her palm, watching the two of them with a look of mild suffering. She wasn't sure whether she was more annoyed that they were still talking about this or that it was too early in the morning to argue.

Yuna stirred her tea, looking half-awake but at least somewhat engaged. "That would ruin the tension of the scene."

Kaede pouted. "Yuna, have some imagination."

"I do. That's why I know it's a bad idea."

Meanwhile, Tsubasa looked like death.

His head rested against the table, arms sprawled out limply. His glasses were slightly crooked, his hair was messier than usual, and his entire expression screamed 'someone woke me up with a baseball bat'. He seemed to have left his tablet at home for once.

Kuroya, seated beside him, poked at his tray with a disinterested look. "You good?"

Tsubasa let out the most pitiful groan known to man. "My siblings happened."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Classic."

Ren took a sip of her drink, unimpressed. "Elaborate."

Tsubasa lifted his head just enough to glare at them. "My little sister thought it would be fun to wake me up by dropping her entire body weight on me, and my younger brother thought that was a great idea to copy."

Kaede snickered. "You got sibling-slammed."

Tsubasa dropped his head back onto the table with a loud thud. "I hate my life."

Hikaru grinned, completely unsympathetic. "Sounds like they love you."

The ginger let out another long-suffering groan. "They have a little bit too much love."

Kuroya, who had been half-listening while chewing on his food, finally spoke. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Three. All younger ones. Too energetic. Too heavy. No off-switch. Absolute demon incarnates."

Yuna gave a small nod of understanding. "That explains why you're always staying in the library."

Hikaru nudged him with an elbow. "Come on, admit it. You love 'em."

Tsubasa lifted his head just enough to fix Hikaru with a deadpan stare. "Not when they’re jumping me awake. They should be legally too old to do that."

Kaede snorted. "At least they didn't pour ice water on you."

"Wouldn't be the first time they did."

Hikaru clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Rest in peace, buddy."

Tsubasa groaned again, slumping back onto the table, completely defeated.