Ren's alarm blared, yanking him from a dream about... something. Tea, maybe? He groaned, fumbling for the snooze button with his eyes squeezed shut. His fingers brushed the clock, and—

"Oh no," Ren muttered, eyes snapping open. The world had slowed to a crawl. Even the alarm's beeps stretched into endless wails. Dust specks hung frozen, twinkling.

Ren sighed, his breath billowing out in slow-mo. "Every. Single. Morning." He swung his legs out of bed, nearly toppling as his body flickered like bad reception.

He shuffled to the bathroom, playing his daily game of "Don't Teleport Into the Wall." Been there, done that. Twice.

The mirror showed nothing. "Great," Ren deadpanned. "Invisible. Perfect start to a perfectly normal day."

He groped for his toothbrush, which promptly vanished. "Traitor," he accused, squirting toothpaste onto thin air. As he brushed his maybe-there teeth, Ren mused, "At least I can't see my bedhead."

Time hiccupped back to normal. Ren's reflection faded in, revealing a lanky teen with hair that screamed "electrocuted smurf."

"Not again," he groaned, tugging a cerulean lock. "At least it's my natural color," he added.

Ren's gaze fell on his power suppressor ring. Tempting to take it off, but nope. Last time, he'd ended up in the girls' locker room. Kenji wouldn't shut up about it for weeks.

"Alright, Ren," he told his reflection, voice dripping sarcasm. "Just another day of being perfectly average. Dodge Yuki's slow-mo love confessions, ignore Haruki's theories, and don't let Miyu catch you being too average. Oh, and watch out for Hiroshi's normalcy police. Easy peasy."

He grabbed socks without looking. One navy, one black. "Close enough," Ren shrugged. "Not like anyone will notice with all the 'natural' hair running around."

Ren crept down the stairs, his mismatched socks muffling his footsteps. As he reached the bottom, he froze, taking in the scene before him. His father, Takeshi, was on his hands and knees, meticulously arranging a complex pattern of dominoes across the living room floor. In the kitchen, his mother Miyuki bustled about, surrounded by a small army of mixing bowls and ingredients.

"Perfect," Ren muttered under his breath. "Just another normal morning in the Kazuki household."

He tiptoed towards the kitchen, careful to avoid disturbing his father's domino masterpiece. Just as he thought he was in the clear, a voice piped up behind him.

"Nice hair, bro. Going for the 'electrocuted porcupine' look today?"

Ren whirled around to find Hana grinning at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief. He instinctively reached up to pat his hair, only to remember he couldn't see it in the mirror earlier.

"Is it that bad?" he whispered, glancing nervously at their parents.

Hana's grin widened. "Let's just say if you told people you stuck your finger in a light socket, they'd believe you."

Ren groaned. "Great. Just great."

As they entered the kitchen, Miyuki looked up from her pan, her face lighting up. "Good morning, sweethearts! Ren, your hair looks... interesting today. New style?”

"Uh, yeah," Ren mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "Trying something new."

"Well, it's certainly... eye-catching," Miyuki said, her smile a bit forced, her apron covered in what looked suspiciously like radioactive sludge. "Want to try my new recipe? It's Quantum Quiche!"

Ren eyed the pan warily. The contents seemed to be... pulsating? "Uh, rain check, Mom. Gotta watch my figure for... gym class."

"Oh, come on!" Miyuki pouted. "I need honest feedback before I present it on 'Miyuki's Marvelous Meals' next week."

Just then, Takeshi wandered in, a faraway look in his eyes. "Has anyone seen my lucky domino? I could've sworn I had it a moment ago..."

Ren felt a familiar tingling sensation in his hand and looked down to see a small, ornate domino materializing in his palm. He quickly shoved his hand in his pocket. "Nope, haven't seen it, Dad!"

Hana shot him a knowing look, which Ren pointedly ignored.

"That's strange," Takeshi mused, scratching his head. "I was just about to complete my masterpiece. It's a recreation of the Tokyo skyline, you know. When it falls, it'll spell out 'Takeshi's Tumbling Towers' in domino morse code!"

Miyuki sighed fondly. "That's nice, dear. Now, who's brave enough to try my smoothie bowl?"

As if on cue, Ren's time bubble fluctuated. The kitchen slowed to a crawl, and he watched in horror as a glob of the violently purple smoothie mixture began a slow-motion arc from the blender towards him.

"Oh, come on!" Ren hissed. He glanced around frantically, trying to figure out how to stop the impending disaster.

Just as he was about to give up and catch the goop with his bare hands, time snapped back to normal. The smoothie splattered across Miyuki's cheek, and she let out a surprised yelp.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed, wiping her face. "I guess the blender lid wasn't on tight enough. How clumsy of me!"

Ren breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned into a groan as Miyuki brightened. "Well, at least I got to taste test it myself! It's delicious!"

"Great," Ren muttered, resigning himself to a breakfast of questionable nutritional value. As he reluctantly accepted a bowl of the purple concoction, he caught Hana's eye. She was barely containing her laughter.

"Actually, Mom," Ren said quickly, "I think I'll just have some cereal."

He grabbed a bowl and the cereal box, carefully pouring it while trying to keep his time bubble in check. So far, so good. Then he reached for the milk.

In his concentration, Ren didn't notice the slight shimmer around his hand as he tilted the carton. Suddenly, the milk poured out at supersonic speed, creating a mini-cyclone in his bowl.

"Whoa!" Ren yelped, jerking back. Milk sprayed across the counter, narrowly missing Miyuki's recipe cards and splattering Takeshi's latest domino creation.

"My Tokyo Tower!" Takeshi cried, diving to protect his masterpiece.

Miyuki turned, her eyes widening at the mess. "Ren! What on earth?"

"I, uh..." Ren stammered, frantically looking for an explanation.

"The milk must've gone bad, Mom," Hana chimed in smoothly. "It practically exploded. Weird, huh?"

Miyuki frowned, peering at the carton. "That is strange. I just bought this yesterday."

"Maybe it's one of those new, high-pressure milk cartons," Takeshi mused, carefully realigning a domino. "You know, for faster pouring. Or perhaps it's part of Miyuki's next cooking show challenge!"

Miyuki's eyes lit up. "Ooh, explosive milk! That could make for an exciting episode!"

Ren and Hana exchanged incredulous looks before bursting into laughter.

"Sure, Dad," Ren chuckled, relief washing over him. "High-pressure milk for Mom's extreme cooking show. That must be it."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

As he mopped up the mess, Ren caught Hana's eye. She winked, and he mouthed a silent "thank you." Just another breakfast in the Kazuki household, where the only thing more unpredictable than Ren's powers was their parents' ability to turn chaos into opportunity.

As Ren mopped up the last of the milk with a paper towel, Miyuki clapped her hands together. "Oh! I almost forgot. Ren, honey, could you run to the store after school? I need a few things for tonight's dinner."

"Sure, Mom," Ren replied, tossing the soggy towel into the trash. "What do you need?"

Miyuki rummaged through a drawer, pulling out a crumpled list. "Let's see... we need eggs, butter, and... oh! Pickled plums. Your father's been craving them."

Takeshi's head popped up from behind his domino city. "Ooh, yes! The extra sour ones, please!"

Ren nodded, pocketing the list. He glanced at the clock and nearly choked on his dry cereal. "Is that the time? I've got to go!"

He grabbed his backpack, almost knocking over Takeshi's carefully arranged dominoes in his haste. Takeshi let out a small yelp, diving to protect his creation.

"Sorry, Dad!" Ren called over his shoulder, already halfway out the door.

Hana followed close behind, smirking. "Smooth moves, bro. Try not to teleport into any walls on your way to school."

Ren shot her a glare. "Ha ha. Very funny."

As they walked down the street, Hana nudged him. "So, what's the plan for today? More 'being average'?"

Ren sighed, running a hand through his still-blue hair. "That's the goal. With any luck, I'll make it through the day without any... incidents."

Hana snorted. "Right. Because that always works out so well for you."

"A guy can dream, can't he?" Ren muttered.

As they approached the school gates, Ren's stomach did a little flip. Another day of navigating the minefield of high school while trying to keep his powers under wraps. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Here we go," he thought. "Just act normal. Be average. How hard can it be?"

"Oh, come on!" Ren groaned. "Not now!"

He watched in horror as a frisbee, thrown by a student in, arced gracefully towards the back of an unsuspecting teacher's head. Ren had mere seconds to decide: let it hit and maintain his cover, or use his powers to prevent a painful (and hilarious) accident?

He watched in horror as a frisbee, thrown by a student in slow motion, arced gracefully towards the back of an unsuspecting teacher's head. Ren had mere seconds to decide: let it hit and maintain his cover, or use his powers to prevent a painful (and hilarious) accident?

With a resigned sigh, Ren concentrated, expanding his time bubble. The world around him slowed to a crawl. He carefully maneuvered through the frozen tableau, reaching out to adjust the frisbee's trajectory ever so slightly. Satisfied, he retreated to his original position and let time resume its normal flow.

The frisbee whizzed past Mr. Tanaka's ear, missing him by inches. Ren allowed himself a small smile of relief. But his victory was short-lived.

"Eek!" came a high-pitched yelp from behind Mr. Tanaka. The frisbee had found a new target: Yuki, who had been walking up to greet Ren.

Ren winced as Yuki stumbled backward, her face flushing bright red. "I-I'm okay!" she stammered, her eyes darting nervously to Ren.

"Who threw that?" Hiroshi's stern voice cut through the courtyard. The self-proclaimed "normalcy police" of the school marched over, his eyes narrowing as they settled on Ren.

Ren tried to look as innocent and average as possible, which of course made him stand out even more. He could practically feel Hiroshi's suspicion radiating off him in waves.

"It was me!" Kenji called out, bounding over with his usual enthusiasm. "Sorry, Yuki! I was aiming for Ren, but I guess my throw was a bit off."

Hiroshi's scowl deepened. "Aiming for Kazuki, were you? How peculiar. I'll be keeping an eye on both of you."

As Hiroshi stomped off, Kenji threw an arm around Ren's shoulders, nearly knocking him over. "Did you see that? I saved you from Hiroshi's interrogation!"

"Thanks, Kenji," Ren muttered, trying to subtly extricate himself from Kenji's enthusiastic embrace. "Your aim is... impressive."

"I know, right?" Kenji beamed, oblivious to Ren's sarcasm. "I've been practicing my frisbee throws. You know, in case we ever need to fight off an alien invasion with sports equipment."

Hana sidled up to her brother, smirking. "Nice save, time boy. Though I think you might have made things worse."

Ren sighed, watching as Yuki stumbled away, still beet-red from her near-collision with the frisbee. "Story of my life. Try to fix one problem, create two more."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Hana teased. "Look on the bright side - at least your hair isn't turning neon green again."

Ren's hand flew to his head. "It isn't, is it?"

"Nope, still blue," Hana grinned. "Though I think I see a hint of purple at the roots. Going for the galaxy look?"

Before Ren could retort, Haruki popped up beside them, his eyes wild with excitement. "Guys! Did you see that frisbee? It totally defied the laws of physics! I think we might be dealing with a temporal anomaly!"

Ren froze, his heart racing. "W-what are you talking about, Haruki? It was just a frisbee."

"Just a frisbee?" Haruki scoffed, pulling out one of his many notebooks. "The trajectory was all wrong. And did you see how it seemed to slow down mid-air? I'm telling you, there's something strange going on in this school!"

Kenji laughed, slapping Haruki on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "Man, you and your theories! Next thing you'll be saying is that Ren here can control time or something!"

Ren let out a nervous chuckle that sounded more like a strangled hiccup.

"Actually," Haruki began, his eyes narrowing as he studied Ren, "now that you mention it..."

The warning bell rang, cutting off Haruki's theory. Ren breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the interruption.

Ren glanced at the clock and nudged Hana. "We're gonna be late. Let's go."

As they entered the school, Ren silently hoped for a normal day. Fat chance of that happening at Chōwa Academy, especially with his luck.

"This is me," Hana said, pausing at her classroom. "Try not to end up in the girls' locker room again, okay?"

Ren groaned. "That was one time! Kenji bumped into me!"

"Uh-huh. Sure." Hana smirked. "Bail you out again, and you're buying me pudding for a week."

"Fine," Ren muttered as she disappeared into her class.

Heading to his own room, Ren felt eyes on him. He glanced back to see Hiroshi watching him, clipboard at the ready.

"Great," Ren grumbled. "The hall monitor from hell."

He picked up his pace, but then-

"Ren-kun! Wait!"

He turned to see Yuki rushing towards him, red-faced and stumbling. As she tripped, Ren froze. Catch her and risk his powers going haywire, or let her fall?

At the last second, he sidestepped. Yuki caught herself on the wall, barely.

"You okay?" Ren asked, trying not to sound too relieved.

"Y-yes," Yuki stammered, face burning. "Um, want to study together? For the math test?"

Before Ren could answer, the classroom door opened. Their teacher peered out.

"Kazuki, Mori. Inside. Now."

Saved by the bell. Ren shrugged apologetically at Yuki and ducked into class.

As he sat down, Kenji leaned over. "Smooth moves, man. Playing it cool with Yuki, huh?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Sure, sure," Kenji grinned. "Hey, did you do the homework? I totally spaced and-"

"Ishida! Kazuki! Something to share?" their teacher snapped.

"No, sensei," they chorused, straightening up.

Ren sat up straight in his chair, trying to focus on the algebra lesson. But seriously, who cared about quadratic equations when you could bend time? His eyes drifted to the window, where a stray cherry blossom petal danced on the breeze. In July. Weird.

A muffled snicker drew his attention. Haruki was hunched over his desk, scribbling madly in that ratty notebook of his.

"I'm telling you," Haruki whispered to no one in particular, "those aren't normal lights. They're probably alien mind control devices!"

Ren suppressed a sigh. If only Haruki knew that the real supernatural element was sitting right behind him.

His gaze wandered to Kenji, who was - oh god, was that supposed to be Hana? The stick figure with the lopsided ponytail barely qualified as human, let alone a portrait of his sister. Note to self: destroy that textbook before Hana ever saw it.

A soft giggle made him turn. Yuki. Again. She blushed furiously and looked away, suddenly fascinated by her pencil case. Great. Just great. As if he didn't have enough to worry about without adding "accidental heartbreaker" to his resume.

Ren absently twisted the plain silver ring on his finger, feeling the familiar tingle of suppressed power. Family heirloom, his mom had said. More like a cosmic joke. Who knew his ancestors had a twisted sense of humor?

"Kazuki-kun!"

Ren's attention snapped back to the front of the class, his face a mask of attentiveness.

"Perhaps you'd like to share with the class what's so interesting outside the window?" The teacher's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Sorry, sensei. I was just... admiring the cherry blossoms," Ren replied, immediately regretting his words.

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "The cherry blossoms? In July?"

A ripple of laughter went through the class. Ren felt his cheeks warm as he quickly added, "I mean, I was thinking about how nice they'll look... next spring."

"Nice save, time boy," he could almost hear Hana's voice in his head. Sometimes he wondered if telepathy was another power he'd developed.

As the teacher turned back to the board, Ren silently berated himself. One of these days, his attempts to be inconspicuous were going to backfire spectacularly. He just hoped that when it happened, he wouldn't accidentally teleport himself into next week.

With a quiet exhale, Ren refocused on the algebra equations scrawled across the blackboard. Just another normal day at Chōwa Academy, where his biggest challenge wasn't advanced mathematics, but simply making it through class without revealing he could bend the laws of physics.