District 8 Public High – Fall Semester, Three Years Ago
The wind was sharp that day. Leaves blew across the cracked courtyard like they had somewhere better to be. Students were buzzing around in small cliques, gossiping, flirting, yawning—doing everything but preparing for class.
Kaito Han leaned back against a vending unit that smelled faintly of lemon soda and regret. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, hoodie half-zipped, black eyes quietly scanning the scene. He didn't care about grades, or popularity, or who was dating who. He just wanted to get through the day without stabbing a desk with a pencil again.
Then the gate creaked open.
There she was.
Rika Saotome, ponytail bouncing with every step, like she was stomping the ground into submission. She marched across the courtyard like she owned it—which, in a way, she kinda did.
"Yo," she said, tossing a tightly wrapped bento box into his chest. "You forgot your lunch again, dumbass."
Kaito caught it, barely. "I didn't forget. I was planning to win someone else's."
She squinted at him. "Right. Like that went well last time?"
"I got half a sandwich before security showed up. That's a win."
Rika sighed, adjusting the strap of her backpack. "You're impossible."
"And yet, you keep showing up," Kaito said with a smirk. "Kinda makes me think you like me."
She gave him a look. "Don't flatter yourself. I just hate seeing food go to waste."
They sat under the crooked tree near the far fence, where the vending drones never bothered to fly and the teachers couldn't be bothered to patrol. Their unofficial spot.
Kaito opened the bento. Rice, pickled plums, karaage chicken, and just enough seaweed to spell out the kanji for "Idiot."
"Really?" he muttered, pointing at the rice.
Rika sipped her tea. "Accurate, isn't it?"
Kaito grinned. "You're evil."
"Someone has to be. You'd starve without me."
Kaito known her since first grade but never dare to talk. Back when Kaito had two chipped teeth and Rika wore oversized fox ear hair clips. She was the only kid who didn't back down when fighting bullies… and the only one who didn't judge him for throwing punches before using words.
"Remember that time I kicked Kenji in the face for calling you a mutt?" she asked, poking at her rice.
"Yeah. Then you told the teacher I 'accidentally' tripped."
"Technically, you did trip. While kicking him in the face."
They both laughed, and it wasn't loud—it was real. That quiet kind of laugh that happens when you don't have to pretend.
Kaito leaned back, hands behind his head. "Y'know… school sucks. But it sucks less when you're around."
"Aw," Rika said, mock-sniffling. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. I might cry."
"Don't. You'll short-circuit."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing."
Later That Week – Akira's Garage Lab
The smell hit first.
A weird mix of solder smoke, fried wires, and… soy sauce?
"Do you guys live in here?" Rika asked, stepping over a pile of half-built drones like it was just another Tuesday.
"You're both weird," she muttered, crouching beside a headless robot with blinking eyes.
"Correction," Kaito said, kicking a circuit board under the workbench. "He's weird. I'm just violent."
"Thank you," Akira deadpanned, not even looking up from his holoscreen. "Now come here and help me move this quantum core."
"That sounds expensive," Kaito said, eyeing the glowing orb of energy floating in midair.
"It is," Akira replied. "Don't drop it."
Kaito immediately wobbled it. "Oops."
"Stop it!"
Rika rolled her eyes and snatched the core out of his hands like she was stealing a candy bar.
"You're both hopeless."
Akira blinked. "Did you just casually catch a levitating quantum core?"
"I also make a mean miso soup," she said, not missing a beat.
Kaito whistled. "Marry me."
"No."
"Didn't even hesitate..."
"Why would I marry someone who thinks soda and potato chips are an acceptable breakfast?"
"Because I'm charming?"
"You're allergic to charm."
They worked in companionable chaos for a while. Kaito helping move parts, Rika organizing wires (and occasionally electrocuting Kaito "by accident"), and Akira scribbling formulas on the wall like a man possessed.
At one point, Kaito dropped a bolt that rolled under the table. When he ducked down to grab it, his forehead collided with Akira's leg.
"Dude. My brain lives in this body. Don't break it."
Kaito grumbled. "Maybe if you didn't sit like a spider having an existential crisis..."
Rika giggled and threw a paperclip at them. "Focus, children."
"Bossy," Kaito muttered.
"Loud," she shot back.
They bickered the whole afternoon, and yet, the lab never felt tense. It felt alive. Like something was building—not just machines, but trust. A strange kind of friendship built from bent metal and rice boxes.
Later That Night – Rooftop, Under the Stars
The school rooftop was off-limits. Which meant it was their favorite place.
Kaito sat on the edge, legs dangling over the city lights. Rika laid back on the concrete, arms behind her head. Akira sat cross-legged with a cup of instant noodles balanced dangerously on his knee.
"You ever think about how weird this is?" Kaito asked. "Us. Here. Together."
"Every day," Rika said.
Akira slurped. "Statistically, this kind of group dynamic is highly unstable."
Kaito blinked. "...Was that a joke?"
"Yes."
Rika raised an eyebrow. "It's scary when he tries."
Kaito chuckled. "Still. I'm glad we met."
Rika smiled faintly. "Same."
Akira didn't say anything. But he offered them each a piece of dried seaweed.
That was enough.
Akira: "Hey, did you hear? A new guy's transferring into our class tomorrow."
Rika: "Yeah, I heard something about that. Word is, he got expelled from his last school… but no one knows why."
Kaito: [leaning back in his chair] "Hmm… sounds interesting. Guess we'll find out for ourselves tomorrow."