Lilly stretched her arms above her head with a soft yawn. "Alright, tour's over. You two are officially less lost than before."
Eren smirked. "That's a... stretch."
Lilly silently pulled a neatly folded paper from her pocket. "Here." She said, "Academy map. You'll thank me later when you're not wandering into the alchemy labs by mistake. Trust me, that smell never comes out."
Ereno looked at her.
"I mean it," she nodded seriously. "Still can't wear my cloak without crying."
Eren chuckled, a little more freely now.
Lilly placed the map in Ereno's hand and took a step back. "Anyway, I'll leave you guys to it. My class is in the west wing, so..."
She paused, squinting at the schedule posted outside the door just ahead of them.
"…Wait. This is your class?" Asked a surprised Lilly.
Eren replied "Uh… yeah?"
Lilly stared "No way. I didn't even check, i didn't even think…" Her eyes widened with shock. "This is my class!"
Ereno tilted his head.
"Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting," she grinned happily. "Alright then. Guess we're not done hanging out. Hehehe."
She gave them a quick wave. "I'll head in first before the rush. Try not to choke in there. See you in there!"
With that, Lilly slipped entered the classroom, leaving the twins in the hallway.
The vibe shifted, the lightness faded, bit by bit, as the silence around them got more heavier.
Eren stood still for a moment, eyes locked on the door.
Ereno looked at her. She didn't say anything, just breathed in.
Together, they waited. Not hand-in-hand, but close enough that the space between them felt like armor.
They knew eyes would be waiting behind that door as they stand in front of the classroom door.
Eren shifted on her feet, eyes glued to the wooden surface. Her hand reached for Ereno's without thinking.
He stayed still, held it tight. Then, a sharp voice came from behind the door.
"You two outside, come in already."
Ereno didnt't flinched, unlike his sister.
Their hands locked tighter. Not just fingers... palms, wrists, knuckles. Like the contact itself was grounding them.
The doors slid open with a quiet creak.
She grabbed Ereno's hand tighter. He didn't pull away. Just held it gently.
Together, they stepped in, still hand in hand.
The room went silent, as eyes followed them as they walked, but they didn't let go.
As they walked in, a boy two rows back rested his chin on his palm, eyes golden and unnaturally sharp. They weren't human eyes. He watched the twins with a cold stillness that felt... wrong.
To his right, a girl with sky-blue hair and headphones glanced over, eyes behind rectangular glasses scanning like she was running a quiet calculation. Her gaze paused on the twins; not harsh, but knowing, as if she understood something others didn't.
On the left, a guy buried in a pile of strange books, all marked with runes and odd emblems, didn't even notice them. His attention was locked on his pages, yet something about those books gave off the same strange feeling.
Between them all sat a student who didn't seem to belong. His clothes didn't match the academy's style, almost as if he was saying, "I'm not one of you."
In front of him, a girl sat so quietly she barely seemed to exist. Even the teacher might've missed her. Her eyes shy, anxious. She didn't look up... until she did. Her eyes met Ereno's. She froze.
Ereno stared back. His eyes lifeless, didn't speak, but they said everything: "I see you. I notice you."
And there was Lilly, second row center, waving with a friendly smile. But Ereno noticed it; just barely; a tightness in her expression. Not something most would catch. He did, it felt like she was trained for it, but he didn't thought much of it.
The teacher tapped the desk. "Here are your seats. You sit there, and you there."
Eren blinked. "Erm… aren't we kinda far from each other?"
"Why? Don't like the classmates already?" the teacher replied, flatly.
"Uhh, maybe we can swap seats with someone?" Lilly offered. "They've lived together their whole lives. Sir Erling even said it's best they stay as close as possible."
"They're in the same classroom. That's close enough," the teacher replied, unbothered, refusing Lilly's suggestion. "You two, sit. Now."
The twins looked at each other, no way around it. They obeyed.
As Eren sat, Lilly turned to greet her again, welcoming her to her new class... but she froze. The girl was pale. Frozen. Her smile had completely vanished. She was shaking, like someone lost in the middle of a storm.
Eren felt the world around her shift in a way she couldn't quite comprehend. She blinked, and then again, but the world around her stayed uncomfortably quiet, like a thick fog had descended. She reached out instinctively, her hands trembling in fear as they searched the air, desperate to find her brother. Where was he? Her chest tightened, and as she gasped for breath, the sensation of being alone sank in like a cold stone in her heart. Where's Ereno? The silence was suffocating. The world had suddenly become an empty place, and she could no longer feel him near her.
A sob caught in her throat, and before she could stop herself, her voice broke through the stillness, trembling with desperation, "Ereno?" Her fingers grasped blindly at the desk, her whole body shaking as though she were searching for him through the very air itself. Her heart pounded, panic rising in her chest, and she cried out again, her voice cracking, "Ereno, where are you? Please, where are you?!" Her mind raced. What's happening? Why can't I feel him?
The room fell into a tense silence. Eren's hands twitched nervously, still reaching out, unable to find him. She could feel the room closing in, the weight of all eyes on her. Every breath felt too loud, too heavy. She couldn't stop shaking or crying. Her voice trembled, still calling out, "Ereno?!" But the silence remained.
Lilly flinched. A few students glanced her way, confused but quiet. Maybe it's just nerves, they thought.
The golden-eyed boy stood and began to walk toward Ereno, his steps slow and deliberate. "What's wrong with your..." he began, but then stopped dead in his tracks. He froze, as if he had just come face-to-face with death itself.
Ereno didn't move. His face was unreadable, but his eyes; soulless, blood-red; stared back with an unbearable, suffocating pressure. It was as though he was staring into the very heart of existence, his gaze empty and cold, like the void of death itself. The air around him thickened, and the room seemed to hold its breath, caught in the pull of that gaze.
The tension became tangible. The darkness in his eyes was quiet, but it radiated a silent rage that filled the space, pressing in from all sides. His presence was overwhelming, like an invisible force consuming everything. The boy froze, breath hitching in his throat, his heart pounding. It wasn't loud, this rage... it was still, silent, yet it screamed danger. It felt like a silent warning.
No one in the room had expected this. No one wanted it to happen again.
Lilly noticed Ereno, and she could feel it... he was about to snap. And to everyone's surprise, she hugged him. It felt like light hugging the darkness, like when the sun rises. She didn't know what was happening, but she just did it.
"It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay. You're not alone."
Surprisingly, he calmed down a little. He was still numb, still full of rage, but her touch shook something in him. Not in a scary way… in a warm way. In his eyes, it felt like he was resting under a sakura tree, with rose petals falling all around him.
But then, everything burned.
He saw fire. Blood on his hands. It was like something broke inside again. And just when everyone, even Lilly, thought it was over... he lost it again.
Then Lilly realized something.
"It's not just about calming him down," she said. "It's about bringing them back... together."
She ran to Eren, guiding the crying girl to her brother. Eren was shaking, whispering his name as her hand reached for his face.
And then Ereno felt it. That familiar touch.
With the help of a stranger, the twins hugged.
But it still wasn't enough. Ereno was still on the edge.
So Lilly hugged them both, pulling them, holding them together. Not as a friend... but with warmth.
"That's enough," she said. "He's here. She's here."
Eren's sobs started to slow. Ereno blinked, took a breath… and the heavy feeling started to fade.
The class watched in silence, not sure what they had just witnessed.
Ereno's body slowly relaxed. The rage in his eyes faded. That cold, murderous look was gone.
Eren stayed close, still clinging to him tightly. She sobbed like a baby, her voice shaking and full of pain. But little by little, her cries grew quieter. She wasn't just crying from fear anymore. she was crying because she thought she'd lost him.
She held on as if letting go meant losing him again.
Lilly stood still for a moment, watching them. Making sure they were okay. Making sure they wouldn't feel her leave.
Then, step by step, she slowly moved back, her eyes never leaving the twins.
Around them, the classroom stayed silent. No one dared to speak. Some were frozen, others confused. No one fully understood what just happened; only that something heavy had passed through the room, and now it was gone.
Lilly's steps were slow. Her heart was still racing, but she didn't show it. She just watched the two, sitting together like broken glass slowly being put back in place.
The teacher, who had been too stunned to act, finally cleared his throat. "Let's give them a moment." His voice was unsure, soft. He turned to the class. "Everyone, settle down."
Chairs shifted. Whispers started again, but now low and nervous.
Ereno didn't care. His head lowered, his hand resting over Eren's as if to say, I'm here now.
And Eren, eyes red and face wet with tears, nodded slowly. She wasn't smiling. She was still scared. But she wasn't alone.
She stayed there, her forehead resting against his chest, still sniffling softly. She didn't care about the stares; she didn't care if anyone saw her cry, her brother was back, that was all that mattered.
"Don't leave me again… please."
She didn't know if he heard her. She didn't need him to answer.
Just knowing he was still there… was enough.
Even though they weren't whole yet... at least they were together.