Eillya glanced at the bun and the milk, then accepted them slowly. Though her face remained flat, a small warmth crept into her chest. On that silent school rooftop, their identities returned to being simply Eva and Illya, long before the world knew them as "Nameless."
In contrast to the formal and competitive atmosphere of Rosendale, Westeria High that morning was loud with raw energy. Alia Adelaide walked down the hallway of the arts building with a stride that was no longer hesitant. Inside her guitar bag, the seven-string instrument felt lighter or perhaps, it was her heart, now weighted with purpose, that made her feel stronger.
As the music studio door swung open, the scent of wood dust and iron welcomed her. There, behind a drum set shimmering in the window light, Eris Carlsey sat with a drumstick spinning nimbly between her fingers. She didn't look up, but the rhythmic tapping of her hi-hat signaled she had noticed Alia's arrival.
"You're back," Eris murmured, her voice raspy but not unkind.
"I need an answer to my frustration from last night," Alia replied briefly as she began to unpack her guitar.
Without much talk, they began a small session. Eris opened with a syncopated funk groove, leaving space for Alia to enter. This time, Alia didn't just think about the metronome in her head. She tried to remember the vibration of Eva's Crimson bass and the explosion of Eillya's vocals at Horizon. Her guitar strings vibrated harder. A few notes missed the mark technically, but for the first time, those notes carried emotional weight.
The session ended with a long crash cymbal hit from Eris. She wiped a bit of sweat from her temple, her sharp eyes staring at Alia with a different intensity than the day before.
"There's progress," Eris said flatly. "Just a speck, like dust. But at least your guitar doesn't sound like a data-reading machine anymore. You're starting to... listen."
Alia took a deep breath, her fingers still feeling hot against the fretboard. "I've decided. I'm joining them. Eillya and Eva... the 'Nameless' duo from the concert last night."
Eris's hand, which had been adjusting her snare drum, suddenly froze. The room went silent, leaving only the hum of the live amplifier.
"They invited me," Alia continued, her eyes fixed on Eris. "And I think... you should join too. They need drums with a 'life', and I only know one person who can hit them like that."
Eris remained silent for a long time. She picked up one of her sticks and tossed it onto a foam mat in the corner with a rough motion. "No."
"Why?" Alia furrowed her brow. "You saw them last night, didn't you? They aren't an ordinary band. They have exactly what you've been looking for so you won't be bored."
Eris chuckled, but the laugh sounded bitter and cold. "Listen, freshman. I've been in plenty of bands. Five? Six? I lost count. And the end is always the same. They want my energy, they want my technique, but the moment I start becoming 'too alive' or when they can't keep up with my rhythm, I get tossed out. I'm labeled a tempo-ruiner. I'm called too aggressive. In the end, I just become a stranger in my own rehearsal room."
Eris stood up, staring out the window with a stiff back. "I'd rather be alone here than wait for the moment someone says, 'Eris, your playing doesn't fit with us'."
Alia stepped forward, her voice hardening with determination. "Eva and Eillya aren't those kinds of people. They aren't looking for players they can control; they're looking for souls that can unite! Try it once, Eris. Just one rehearsal session. If you feel like you're going to be cast aside, you can leave right then and there."
Eris turned, her face showing a fierce resistance to the hope Alia was offering. "You don't understand, Alia. Once you give your heart to a rhythm and they stop it by force, it hurts more than a broken bone. The answer is still no. Go to that duo, be their guitarist, but don't pull me into the same hole again."
Alia stood frozen as Eris put her headphones back on, closing herself off from the outside world. The studio turned cold again, leaving a wide gap between the guitar that had just begun to breathe and the drums that chose to remain isolated.
The chime of the bell marking the end of break broke the silence on the rooftop. Eva rose first, straightening her skirt with a movement much lighter than when she had arrived that morning. There was a different spark in her eyes, the spark of freedom she had regained after Eillya's "permission."
She entered Class 1-A with a step that almost resembled a small dance, greeting a few friends in the front row with a wider smile than usual. Not long after, Eillya entered. She still walked with her chin up and an expression as cold as ice, but to Eva, the aura around her friend no longer felt like a wall of thorns, but rather a protective veil she understood perfectly.
The afternoon lessons began. The history teacher entered and started dissecting the timeline of ancient civilizations. In her seat, Eva wasn't entirely there. Her gaze occasionally drifted out the window, past the drifting clouds, while her fingers tapped the desk to the rhythm of Seele's Aria. Her mind wandered toward Amily, toward the future of "Nameless," and toward their first practice with Alia. However, every time the teacher tried to break her daydream with a complex trick question, Eva answered fluently without needing to look at her textbook. Her sharp cognitive abilities left the teacher nodding in satisfaction, while her classmates felt more than ever that Eva was a mysteriously perfect figure.
Time passed in the quiet concentration of the academy until finally, the bell for the end of school rang out.
Usually, Eillya would be the first to vanish from the classroom, while Eva would stay behind briefly for small talk before following secretly. This time, however, the script changed completely. As soon as the teacher left the room, Eva stood up and marched straight toward the back corner desk.
"Illya! Let's go home!" Eva called out loudly enough to be heard across the entire room.
Eillya's hand, tucking her history book into her bag, stopped for a moment. She didn't look up, but her ears turned slightly red. Eva's overt approach to the Icy Maiden's desk made the whole class freeze. The students who were chatting suddenly went quiet, their eyes widening as they watched Eva stand right beside Eillya, waiting patiently with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"You're so slow today," Eva teased with a soft chuckle.
"Shut up," Eillya murmured, finally closing her bag and standing up.
They walked out of the classroom side-by-side. There was no intentional one-meter gap. Neither walked faster than the other. They left as a complete unit. Their classmates could only stare at each other with jaws nearly dropped, unable to believe that the glass wall separating Eillya from the outside world had been shattered so easily by a transfer student named Eva Arabella.
Their footsteps echoed in the emptying corridors. As they were descending the stairs toward the schoolyard, a girl from Class 1-A who had been following out of curiosity finally gathered her courage. She jogged up to flank Eva on the left, while Eillya was on Eva's right.
"Eva... can I ask something?" the student whispered softly, casting a fearful glance toward Eillya. "About the video this morning... and this right now. Is it true you've only known each other for a week?"
Eva turned toward her classmate, her smile never fading. She felt the heavy burden of pretending finally lifted from her shoulders.
"Actually, we've been friends since we were very little," Eva answered effortlessly, her voice clear under the yellowing afternoon sky. "It's just that I had to move to Yesia during elementary school. And last week I came back here as a transfer student to find her again~"
The student covered her mouth with her hand, "Since... since you were kids?!"
Eva nodded sweetly, then added in a tone a bit more serious yet still warm, "Eillya is actually very kind. She asked me to pretend I didn't know her right after I moved, just because she didn't want my name dragged into her reputation... well, you know how people here viewed her before I arrived. She just wanted to protect me."
Hearing Eva's honest confession, Eillya shot a sharp look at her friend. Her eyes narrowed, emitting the aura of intimidation that usually sent people running in fear.
"Shut up, Eva. You talk too much," Eillya interrupted with a piercing, cold voice.
The student beside Eva immediately shuddered in terror, her face turning pale at Eillya's cold command. She felt as if she had just heard a verdict from the ruler of the North Pole. However, Eva's reaction was the exact opposite. The copper-brown haired girl burst into a fresh laugh, as if Eillya's snap was the funniest joke she had ever heard.
"Ehehe, see? She's just embarrassed now!" Eva exclaimed, waving a hand at her still-awkward friend.
They continued walking through the school gates, leaving the student in a mix of confusion and fear. Behind Eillya's stiff mask, she simply didn't know how to respond to Eva's sudden openness. Yet deep down, she felt a little warmer because she no longer had to hide Eva's existence in her life.
Afternoon in the city of Keiya was wrapped in a warm gold. Along the sidewalk toward their residential complex, Eva walked with a step that felt like it wasn't even touching the ground. The burden of the secret she had carried for the past week had fallen away, leaving an extraordinary sense of lightness.
"Aaah... what a relief!" Eva cried out, stretching her right arm into the air and taking a deep breath of the afternoon breeze. "It feels like I've just stepped out of a stuffy room after so long, Illya."
Eillya didn't answer, continuing to walk straight with a calm gaze. However, she didn't pull away when Eva suddenly leaned in and hugged her left arm tightly. The clingy gesture made Eillya lose her balance for a split second, but she quickly adjusted her stride.
"Let go," Eillya murmured, though her voice held no threat. She allowed Eva to cling to her arm the whole way, a sight that would have made all of Rosendale High faint.
"Noopeeee~" Eva replied, resting her head briefly on Eillya's shoulder. "Consider this compensation for being a good girl and pretending not to know you for a week. Do you know how hard it was to stop myself from greeting you in the corridors?"
Eillya only gave a small sigh, letting her friend do whatever she wanted. Under the shade of the trees, the silhouettes of the two girls bound by a childhood promise slowly disappeared toward their homes, leaving the bustle of school behind.
On the other side of the city, the atmosphere felt much colder. Eris Carlsey walked through narrow alleys toward her own house. her steps were heavy, and the sound of her soles against the asphalt sounded like a frustrated rhythm.
In her head, Alia's voice kept echoing: "They aren't looking for players they can control; they're looking for souls that can unite!"
"Tch," Eris clicked her tongue loudly, kicking a pebble until it bounced far off a concrete wall. "Souls? Nonsense."