Ren shuffled into the crowded cafeteria, his stomach growling. He scanned the room, hoping to find a quiet corner, when a voice cut through the noise.

"Ren! Over here!"

Kenji waved from a nearby table, nearly knocking over his tray in the process. Ren sighed. Another lunch with Kenji's well-meaning but exhausting company.

"Hey, Kenji," Ren said, sliding into the seat across from his friend. "What's for lunch? More mystery meat?"

Kenji poked at the lump on his plate. "Curry, I think. Though it might be alive."

As Ren stood to join the lunch line, he froze. Yuki had just walked in, and her face lit up when she spotted him.

"Oh no," Ren muttered. "Not today."

With a subtle movement, Ren slowed time. He walked past his frozen classmates, carefully avoiding Yuki's outstretched hand.

Reaching the lunch line, Ren let time flow normally again. He glanced back to see a confused Yuki looking around.

"Hey, Ren!" Kenji's voice made him jump. "How'd you get there so fast? You were just here!"

Ren shrugged, grabbing a tray. "The lunch line waits for no one. Gotta be quick."

Kenji nodded. "True. Hey, did you study for the math test? I totally forgot about it."

Kenji's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh crap, the math test. I completely blanked on that."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Tanaka-sensei's been reminding us all week."

"I know, I know," Kenji groaned, slumping over the table. "I was too busy perfecting my new ninja stealth technique."

"Your what now?"

"My ninja stealth technique! Watch this." Kenji ducked under the table, then popped up on the other side, nearly knocking over a passing student's tray. "Ta-da! Invisible, right?"

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kenji, I literally saw you crawl under the table."

"Impossible! My movements were too fast for the human eye!"

"Sure," Ren deadpanned. "And I can teleport."

Kenji's eyes lit up. "I knew it! That's how you always beat me to the cafeteria! Can you teach me?"

Ren stared at him, dumbfounded. "Kenji, I was being sarca-"

"Oh man, this is gonna be great!" Kenji interrupted, practically bouncing in his seat. "We'll be the ultimate ninja duo! The Teleporting Terror and his sidekick, the... the..."

"The Utterly Visible Ninja?" Ren suggested dryly.

Kenji pointed at him excitedly. "Yes! Perfect! Now, quick, teleport us to a world where math doesn't exist!"

Ren couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, but my completely real and not-at-all-made-up powers don't work that way. Maybe try, oh I don't know, opening a textbook?"

"A textbook?" Kenji looked genuinely puzzled. "Is that some kind of ancient ninja scroll?"

As Kenji pondered the mysterious artifact known as a 'textbook,' Ren turned his attention back to his curry. He poked at a suspicious-looking lump. Did it just... wink at him?

"You know what?" Ren muttered, pushing his tray away. "I think I'll pass on lunch today. Suddenly, the idea of facing Tanaka-sensei's math test seems less terrifying than whatever's on this plate."

Kenji looked at him, aghast. "You're skipping lunch? But it's the most important meal of the day!"

"That's breakfast, Kenji."

"Really? Huh. No wonder I've been so hungry in the mornings."

Ren shook his head, suppressing a smile. "I'm gonna get some air. Try not to ninja-teleport yourself into detention, okay?"

As Kenji began practicing his "invisible" hand signs under the table, Ren slipped away from the cafeteria chaos. He made his way to the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time until he reached the door to the roof.

The moment he stepped outside, Ren took a deep breath of fresh air. Finally, some peace and—

"Ah-ha! I knew someone would come up here!"

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Ren froze, turning to see Haruki crouched behind what looked like a homemade satellite dish cobbled together from aluminum foil and coat hangers. His wild dark blue hair stuck out at odd angles from under a tinfoil hat, and his eyes were wide with manic excitement.

"Haruki," Ren sighed, "what are you doing up here?"

Haruki grinned, adjusting his makeshift headgear. "Isn't it obvious? I'm monitoring for temporal anomalies! This school is a hotbed of paranormal activity, Ren. And I'm going to prove it!"

Ren eyed the contraption warily. "And that... thing is supposed to detect time anomalies?"

"Exactly!" Haruki exclaimed, patting his creation lovingly. "I call it the Chrono-Detector 3000. It's sensitive enough to pick up the slightest fluctuation in the space-time continuum."

Ren felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead. "Right. And you really think there are... time anomalies at our school?"

Haruki leaned in close, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't think, Ren. I know. Haven't you noticed how sometimes people seem to move impossibly fast? Or how certain events seem to happen in slow motion?"

Ren laughed nervously, trying to keep his powers in check. "That's just your imagination, Haruki. There's nothing weird going on here."

"That's what they want you to think!" Haruki declared, turning back to his equipment. "But I'm going to uncover the truth. Care to join me in my observations?"

Ren sighed, resigning himself to a lunch break that was anything but peaceful. "Sure, why not? It's not like I had any plans to relax or anything."

Haruki beamed, his tinfoil hat glinting in the sunlight. "Excellent! You won't regret this, Ren. We're on the cusp of a major breakthrough!"

As Ren settled down next to Haruki's contraption, he unwrapped his energy bar, trying to ignore the growing knot in his stomach. He watched as Haruki fiddled with various dials and switches on his homemade device.

"So, uh, how exactly does this thing work?" Ren asked, more to fill the silence than out of genuine curiosity.

Haruki's eyes lit up. "I'm glad you asked! You see, the Chrono-Detector 3000 uses a complex array of—"

Suddenly, the device emitted a high-pitched whine. Haruki yelped in excitement, nearly knocking over his tinfoil hat.

"It's happening! We've got a reading!" He frantically adjusted knobs and peered at a small screen covered in static. "Something's interfering with the temporal field!"

Ren froze, his energy bar halfway to his mouth. Had his powers somehow triggered the device? He forced himself to remain calm. "Are you sure it's not just picking up cell phone signals or something?"

Haruki shook his head vigorously. "No, no, this is different. It's like... like time itself is bending around us!"

Ren nervously chuckled, trying to keep his cool. "Time bending? Come on, Haruki. That's a bit far-fetched, even for you."

Haruki opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, the rooftop door swung open. Ren's heart nearly stopped when he saw who it was.

"There you are!" Hana called out, striding towards them with a bento box in hand. "I've been looking all over for you, bro."

Ren blinked in surprise. "Hana? What are you doing here?"

His sister grinned, holding up the bento. "You forgot your lunch, dummy. Mom asked me to bring it to you."

As Hana approached, Haruki's machine began to beep even more frantically. The blue-haired conspiracy theorist's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Incredible!" Haruki exclaimed, furiously scribbling in his notebook. "The temporal disturbance is intensifying! Could it be... are the Kazuki siblings the source?"

Ren felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck. "Don't be ridiculous, Haruki. How could we possibly—"

"Oh, you have no idea," Hana interrupted with a mischievous smirk, clearly enjoying Ren's discomfort.

Haruki looked between the two siblings, his tinfoil hat slightly askew. "This is unprecedented! Two potential time anomalies in one family!"

As Haruki rambled on about his theories, Ren shot Hana a pleading look. She merely shrugged, clearly amused by the whole situation.

"So," Hana said, casually leaning against the railing, "what exactly does your machine do, Haruki?"

Haruki's eyes lit up with manic glee. "I'm glad you asked! This, my dear Hana, is the Chrono-Detector 3000. It's designed to pick up the slightest fluctuations in the space-time continuum!"

Ren groaned internally. Leave it to Hana to encourage Haruki's wild theories.

"Space-time continuum, huh?" Hana smirked, shooting a sly glance at Ren. "Sounds fascinating. And you think there are... what, time travelers at our school?"

"Time travelers, dimensional rifts, temporal anomalies - the possibilities are endless!" Haruki exclaimed, adjusting his tinfoil hat. "And I have reason to believe that the source of these disturbances is right here on this very roof!"

Ren felt his stomach drop. "Come on, Haruki. That's ridiculous. We're just normal students eating lunch."

"That's exactly what a time traveler would say!" Haruki pointed accusingly at Ren.

Hana burst out laughing. "Oh man, you have no idea how right you are, Haruki."

Ren shot his sister a warning glare, but she just grinned wider.

Suddenly, the Chrono-Detector 3000 began beeping frantically. Haruki yelped in excitement, nearly knocking over his contraption in his haste to check the readings.

"Incredible! The temporal disturbance is off the charts!" He looked up at the Kazuki siblings with wide eyes. "It's... it's coming from you two!"

Ren felt panic rising in his chest. He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period.

"Oh, would you look at that," Ren said quickly, grabbing his bag. "Time to get back to class. Very important, can't be late!"

As Ren hurried towards the door, he accidentally bumped into Haruki's machine, sending it toppling to the ground with a crash.

"My Chrono-Detector!" Haruki wailed, diving to salvage the pieces.

"Oops, sorry about that," Ren called over his shoulder, not slowing his retreat.

Hana followed close behind, barely containing her laughter. "Smooth move, time boy," she whispered as they descended the stairs.

Ren sighed, knowing this incident would only fuel Haruki's theories. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned to his sister. "You just had to encourage him, didn't you?"

Hana shrugged, still grinning. "What can I say? It's not every day you get to watch your brother squirm like that. Besides, who knows? Maybe Haruki will figure it out one day."

"Don't even joke about that," Ren muttered, heading to his classroom and hoping the rest of the day would be less eventful.