A wet disaster and the new member.

A moment ago,

....

I was living the dream, sitting in my favorite spot, legs casually propped up on the table, manga in hand. The perfect mix of comfort and contentment—my babies, as I like to call them, had my full attention. If anyone dared to disturb me, well, they'd be sorry.

On the other side of the room, Lia (Magnolia, whatever) was quietly combing her hair, glancing at her reflection in the mirror while her cat, Oyen, slept peacefully.

He looked as unbothered as a cat possibly could, which, to be honest, was pretty impressive considering the chaos we usually caused.

Meanwhile, Nay(Nayla) was in the corner, tossing her water balls in the air like some kind of water-themed juggling act.

She looked like she was in the middle of a private performance for a crowd that didn't exist—until, of course, her water ball decided to take a detour.

It flew through the air like a missile, heading straight for Oyen. And then, it happened.

The water ball landed directly on Oyen, and in an instant, the cat's entire world was turned upside down.

He let out a yowl that could only be described as dramatic and immediately collapsed to the floor in a pool of water, looking like he'd been through some kind of existential crisis.

"MY CAT!"

Lia shrieked, the volume matching that of a fire alarm.

I barely registered the words, not even bothering to look up from my manga.

"Oh, here we go again."

But I couldn't escape the chaos for long.

Lia's face was already contorted with rage—she was one bad hair day away from going nuclear—and I knew exactly what that meant: Nay was in trouble.

Nay, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to the consequences of her actions. She looked at the now-waterlogged cat with an almost confused expression.

"I swear, he looked like he was just chilling. It's not my fault he didn't dodge the ball."

Lia was already stalking towards her, arms raised like she was going in for the kill.

"You drenched him! I swear—"

But before the verbal onslaught could escalate, Nay did the most Nayla thing possible—she hid behind me.

"Lucy, save me!"

She pleaded dramatically, clinging to my shoulder like I was her human shield.

I had two options: A) Stay out of it, and B) Definitely stay out of it. But the universe had other plans for me.

"Lucy," Lia's voice sliced through the air, icy cold.

"You. Your legs are on the table again."

I blinked, my manga now feeling very, very far away.

"What? My legs are perfectly fine where they are."

Lia, already wound tighter than a spring, wasn't having it.

"your feet is stink, Lucy."

"....."wtf

And with that, she cut the table in half.

A clean slice right down the middle—like it was some kind of oversized sandwich she was making for a giant.

I froze for a moment, staring at the newly severed table. Half of it crashed to the floor with a dramatic thud, and the other half tilted dangerously close to toppling onto me.

"Lia, what the hell?!" I gasped, barely holding onto my manga. It was still my babies I was worried about.

But Lia didn't seem phased by the wreckage she'd just caused. Her eyes were still fixed on Nayla, who was pretending she wasn't part of the reason for the chaos.

I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead. There was no way I was getting out of this one.

"Really?" I mumbled,

"This is what I get for just trying to read in peace?"

And, of course, fate was relentless. Just as I thought I was about to maybe get some reprieve, Lia started pointing directly at me.

"And you,"

She said, voice dripping with annoyance,

"Get your legs off the table, or I'll cut you in half next."

I looked down at my legs, still comfortably stretched out. They weren't even in the way! But somehow, I was the villain in this situation.

"You can't just attack me like this, Lia!"

I groaned, pushing myself off the floor.

My manga was safe, but I felt like I was stuck in some kind of bizarre action movie.

"Survival of the fittest, Lucy,"

Nay said brightly from behind me, still grinning.

"You're in the hot seat now."

I barely had time to process that as Lia lunged forward, her expression a mix of irritation and determination.

"This is what you get for ignoring me, Lucy!"

I tried to move, but my leg had somehow gotten stuck on the broken table half that was still hovering near my feet.

"WELL," I said in exasperation,

"This is how I die—trapped by a table I didn't even ask for!"

Lia wasn't backing down, and Nayla was too busy enjoying the drama from the sidelines. So, with one final sigh, I braced myself.

And then, the chasing started.

---

After narrowly escaping Lia's mood swing (and the table massacre), I was finally taking a breather, leaning against the wall when my uncle Leonard, as usual, appeared out of nowhere.

But this time, he was with someone... new.

A guy, with messy black hair and a skinny frame.

Honestly, he looked like a walking corpse.

Not in a spooky, mysterious way—more like someone who forgot to take a nap for five years.

I mean, the dude's face was so pale it practically screamed I need a coffee.

I took one look at him and thought, Okay, this is either some kind of joke, or I'm about to learn what it feels like to be trapped in an anime filler arc.

Uncle Leonard, as usual, acted like this was perfectly normal. He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses.

"Lucy, this is the new member."

I blinked.

"New member?"

"Yeah, it's been four months since our last one," Uncle(Leonard) said, clearly not bothered by the guy standing next to him who looked like he might collapse any second.

"His name is... um..."

The guy seemed to barely register his name. He just stood there, swaying slightly like a gust of wind could knock him down. He definitely looked like someone who didn't want to be here—or anywhere for that matter.

"But don't let his appearance fool you,"

Uncle(Leonard) continued, "He's actually one of us now. He's got potential. He's a bit... unconventional, but that's what makes him fit in here."

I squinted at him. Unconventional? Looked to me like he was just here to make the rest of us look good by comparison.

Then, Nay—always the one to break the silence and always the one to ask way too many questions—pounced on him like a curious puppy.

"Hi! What's your power? Do you make stuff float? Move rocks? Oh! Can you make takoyaki out of nowhere?!"

And she keeps continued,

"So what's your name? Do you have any powers? How old are you? Are you a water bender like me? Oh, wait, no—do you have a cat? I'm just asking because if you have a cat, we might be able to bond over that! What's your favorite color? What kind of coffee do you drink? I'm a latte person—"

The guy's eyes were starting to glaze over, and I could see the faint signs of him possibly... passing out. I mean, who wouldn't after getting a barrage of questions like that?

"Uh, Nay, maybe... give him a second to breathe?"

I suggested, but she was already in full interrogation mode.

"Do you like to play?Then play with me!" she blurted out,

completely unbothered by the guy's deathly pale complexion and his complete lack of response.

And then, like clockwork, the poor guy did the only thing his body seemed capable of at this point—he collapsed.

Thud.

He hit the ground like a bag of potatoes—no dramatic flair, no graceful fall. Just... down.

He's not become a real corpse, don't he!?

"...OI!"

I groaned, stepping forward to check on him.

"You passed out? Already?"

Nayla blinked, clearly surprised.

"Oh. Did I do that?"

I shot her a deadpan look.

"Nay, you didn't do that. He was already half-dead when we met him."

Uncle(Leonard), who was still standing there, somehow not phased by this whole situation, shrugged.

He sighed,he already expected everything but the situation actually still end up with unexpected thing.

"I did warn you he's a bit... fragile."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Fragile? Uncle, you let this guy join the team, and he can't even handle Nay's barrage of questions?"

Leonard sighed, rubbing his temple.His face screamed i don't even know too?

"You'll see. Once he's awake, you'll understand. He might look like a zombie, but he has his moments. He's just... getting used to everything.Maybe."

"Maybe."

As I stared down at the guy lying unconscious on the floor, I couldn't help but think that this was the most normal thing that had happened today.

Nay crouched down next to him, poking him lightly.

"He's kind of cute though, right?" she said, still in her own world.

"Like, I could definitely make him a cute friend... if he wakes up."

I rolled my eyes.

"Nay, he's literally dead right now, and you're already planning his fan club?"

Lia, who had been standing silently off to the side—looking like she might still be mad about her ruined cat—suddenly snapped to attention. Her eyes softened as she looked at the new guy.

"He... looks like he needs help," she said,

Her usual cold demeanor now replaced by a more polished politeness. She straightened up, smoothing her hair down as she regarded the new member.

"I suppose... I should offer assistance."

I raised an eyebrow. Wait, is this the same Lia who was ready to tear apart the entire room just a few minutes ago?

Lia glanced at me, as if reading my thoughts.

"What? A polite attitude is the least I can offer when meeting someone new,"

She said, her voice now even and calm, though a tiny vein on her forehead twitched, betraying her lingering frustration. She turned back to the guy, adjusting her posture.

"But he should definitely avoid falling asleep in front of us again. It's... not a great first impression."

I couldn't help but chuckle at how quickly Lia switched gears. From ready to unleash her fury on Nayla to now a picture of composure and courtesy.

The transformation was almost impressive.

The guy groaned again as he started to stir, looking like he was questioning every life decision he had ever made.

"I'm... so sorry..."

He muttered weakly, still on the floor like a corpse.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Well, that's one way to make an entrance,"

I said, shaking my head.

"Welcome to the team, I guess?"

ekkk

"HELP HE PASSED OUT AGAIN!"

"DAMNNN"

"we should call ambulance!"

"Where's my handphone??"

PAKK

"Haiya!!"

"Ouch!"

Lia already smashed our head in annoyance.

"Please just save your stupidity just for yourself,do you want our secret base to be discover huh!?"

Uncle once again sighed for a long time.This will never end.