History with Mr. Nakamura was a long-winded speech about the "Northwood spirit." English with Ms. Inoue was nice, but easy. The morning classes passed in a typical first-day blur, a mix of boring rules and syllabus readings. Ren just sat, observed, and stayed quiet, successfully ignoring the two (2) new notes Yosuke had tried to pass him.
Then, the lunch bell rang.
The classroom instantly exploded. Ren, used to being on his own, was already packed. His goal: find a quiet place. Eat. Be invisible. The roof was the obvious choice.
He was out of his seat and through the door while Yosuke was still trying to explain his theory on why Kaito Tanaka was in their class ("His brother must have blackmailed the principal!"). Ren moved through the crowded hallway with an economical grace, a ghost in the stream. He took the stairs two at a time, passed the 4th-floor landing, and pushed on the heavy metal door to the roof.
He was just about to step out into the bright, open air, a feeling of quiet victory in his chest, when he heard it.
"HE'S MAKING A BREAK FOR IT! KENJI, HE'S PULLING A NINJA-VANISH!"
A second later, the door slammed open again, hitting the wall. Yosuke Hanamura burst onto the roof, panting, his hair a mess, dragging a very out-of-breath Kenji Ito by the wrist.
"You can't... escape... new guy!" Yosuke panted, pointing a dramatic finger at Ren. "We're a pack! A weird, three-person pack! You can't just... leave your pack! It's, like... against the rules of wolves!"
Kenji pulled his arm free, wheezing, and immediately started polishing his glasses to regain his composure. "Yosuke. We are not wolves. We are high school students. And you just made me run up four flights of stairs. I think my lungs are collapsing."
Ren just stood there, his bag in his hand, his expression unchanged. He'd been caught.
"See? He's not even winded!" Yosuke exclaimed, finally catching his breath. "That's suspicious! That's 'secretly-in-shape' suspicious!" He plopped down on a dusty bench. "Anyway, we're eating here. Great idea, Ren-kun!"
Ren sighed, but it was a quiet, internal one. He sat down on the other end of the bench. Kenji, after wiping the bench with a handkerchief, sat primly in the middle.
Lunch was an immediate display of their personalities.
Kenji opened a neat, lacquered bento box. Everything was in perfect, organized sections: rice, a small piece of grilled fish, tamagoyaki, and pickled vegetables.
Yosuke ripped open a plastic bag and produced a sandwich that could only be described as a "disaster." It was a huge, messy pile of... something... wrapped in tinfoil, plus a bag of chili-flavored chips and a bright purple soda.
Ren unzipped a side pocket of his bag and pulled out a sleek, black, minimalist bento box. When he opened it, Kenji's eyes widened. It was as perfectly arranged as his own, but the ingredients were far more high-end.
Yosuke, halfway through his monstrous sandwich, stopped and stared. "Whoa. Okay. Add 'super-fancy-lunch-haver' to the list." He swallowed a huge bite. "So, Ren-kun—I'm gonna keep calling you that—what's the real story?"
Ren just raised an eyebrow as he picked up a piece of rice with his chopsticks.
"Don't play dumb!" Yosuke said, waving his sandwich. "You're obviously rich, you dress like you just walked out of a magazine, you're super good-looking, and you don't talk. My theories are: One, secret agent. Two, a disgraced pop star in hiding. Or three, and this is my favorite... you're a yakuza prince, and your family sent you here to lay low after a brutal turf war."
Kenji sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Yosuke, he is a 1st-year student. He is not a 'yakuza prince.' Stop trying to cast him in your manga."
"No way! Look at his eyes!" Yosuke shot back, pointing. "They're green! That's not normal! That's a 'main character' feature! That's 'I-have-a-secret-power' eyes! What is it? Can you see ghosts? Can you shoot lasers?"
Ren paused, his chopsticks in the air. He looked at Yosuke. He looked at Kenji. Then he went back to his lunch.
"They're just my eyes," he said, his voice flat.
"LIES!" Yosuke yelled, making a bird on the roof fly away in fright. "So, you joining any clubs? We talked about this. I'm not. I am the captain, president, and star player of the 'Go Home On Time' club. We have meetings every day at 3:31 PM. At the school gate. You should join. It's very exclusive."
"I... was considering the literature society," Kenji said quietly, mostly to himself. "It's quiet. And it's on the first floor. Not a lot of... running."
"Boring!" Yosuke said. "What about you, Ren-kun? Don't tell me you're gonna get roped into something. Did you see the desperation at that club fair? They're like vampires! 'Join usss, give us your youthhh!'"
Ren actually huffed, a tiny, almost-silent laugh, at that. Yosuke was an idiot, but he wasn't wrong.
"Don't worry, Ren-kun," Yosuke said, slinging a chip-dust-covered arm over Ren's shoulder. Ren didn't even flinch, his "don't-touch-me" barrier apparently no match for Yosuke's pure, chaotic energy.
"You stick with us," Yosuke grinned, holding up his purple soda in a toast. "We'll protect you from the 'club-activity-and-youth' vampires. The Anti-Social Social Club! It's perfect!"
Kenji just sighed. "Please don't call us that."
Ren just took another bite of his lunch. He had to admit, as noisy as it was... it was nice.