The laboratory slowly fell quiet after the fight.
The two boys were still on the ground, unconscious where Aren had left them. One lay near the broken cabinet, his chest rising slowly while his jaw hung slightly to the side. The other was slumped against a table, clutching his broken arm even in unconsciousness.
Aren ignored them.
His attention had already shifted to the woman.
She had managed to pull herself together while he dealt with the attackers. Her lab coat was back on, though it hung unevenly around her shoulders and some of the buttons were missing. She had straightened her clothes as best as she could, wiping tears from her face and brushing strands of hair away from her eyes.
Even in that state she carried herself with surprising composure.
She looked to be somewhere in her mid-twenties. Her skin carried a warm light-brown tone that caught the pale daylight filtering through the laboratory windows. Her hair was short and brown, cut just above her neck, though the struggle had left it slightly messy.
Her eyes were narrow and sharp, almost fox-like, and even though she looked exhausted there was still alertness behind them.
She stood near one of the lab desks, keeping a small distance from Aren.
She was Guarded.
Ready to move if necessary.
Her arms folded loosely across her stomach as she tried to steady her breathing.
Aren noticed the tension immediately.
She didn't trust him.
Which, to be fair, made sense.
The world had fallen apart only hours ago. People had turned on each other faster than anyone expected. The two boys lying on the floor were proof of that.
A stranger walking into the room wouldn't automatically be trusted.
Especially not by a teacher who had just experienced the worst side of her own students.
Aren rested the metal rod against a nearby desk and raised both hands slightly.
Not in surrender.
Just to show he meant no harm.
Up close, he looked older than the boys he had just knocked out but still young. His build was lean, but there was strength in the way he carried himself. His skin was darker than the teacher's, his features a blend of his heritage.
Black hair fell loosely over his forehead, slightly damp with sweat. His brown eyes scanned the room constantly, alert to every movement. There was a calm seriousness in his expression the kind that came from someone who had already faced more danger than he expected today.
If someone looked closely, they would notice something else too.
A quiet confidence that didn't need to announce itself.
The teacher studied him carefully.
He looked about eighteen… maybe nineteen. But the way he had handled those boys earlier made it clear he wasn't someone easy to intimidate.
"Are you alright?" Aren asked.
His voice was steady.
Not overly gentle, but not aggressive either.
The woman hesitated before answering.
"…I'm fine."
Her voice sounded rough from crying earlier, but she kept it controlled.
Her eyes flicked briefly toward the unconscious boys before returning to him.
"You shouldn't have come here," she said quietly. "This place isn't safe."
Aren gave a short glance toward the hallway outside the lab.
"Nowhere is safe right now."
That answer seemed to make her pause.
He then rubbed the back of his neck slightly, as if unsure where to begin.
"I wasn't looking for trouble," he said. "I came here looking for someone."
The teacher narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Who?"
"My siblings."
Her posture shifted just a little.
"They attend this school." she thought.
The woman seemed to process that information for a moment.
"…Your siblings?"
Aren nodded.
"One of them should be in SS2. The others are younger."
The teacher's expression changed.
Recognition.
"…Wait."
She stepped forward slightly.
"You mean Alero?"
Aren looked surprised.
"You know her?"
"I'm not her homeroom teacher," the woman replied, "but I've seen her around. She's a good student."
She rubbed her forehead slightly, trying to recall what happened earlier.
It's not she knew alero right away or if it was her he was looking for, by studying his appearance he had this resemblance to the girl she escaped with. So she just guessed and she didn't even know how it came to her mind.
"My name is Celine, by the way."
Aren nodded.
"Aren."
For a brief moment the tension between them eased slightly.
Celine studied him again.
Standing there in the middle of the destroyed laboratory, he looked strangely calm despite everything happening outside. Broken glass scattered across the floor, blood stains marked the walls, and the world beyond the school had already descended into chaos.
Yet he stood there talking about finding his siblings.
She felt something strange while watching him.
For a moment, a ridiculous thought crossed her mind.
Like something out of those stories she used to read when she was younger the moment when someone appears to rescue the person in danger.
A hero arriving for the damsel in distress.
Except reality wasn't a fairy tale.
And if he had come just a little later…
She pushed that thought away quickly.
Still, she was alive, and it was because of him.
Celine sighed softly.
"I saw Alero earlier today," she said slowly. "When everything started."
Aren's attention sharpened immediately.
"Where?"
"She was with her younger siblings. I helped them hide for a while."
Aren stepped closer without realizing it.
"Where are they now?"
Celine was about to answer.
But before she could say anything—
The side door of the laboratory slowly creaked open.
Both of them turned their heads.
Standing in the doorway was a teenage girl.
Her hair looked messy from running and hiding. Her uniform was wrinkled, and there were faint smudges of dirt on her arms. Her eyes looked tired, but they widened the moment they landed on Aren.
For a moment she didn't move.
She just stared.
As if her mind needed a few seconds to believe what it was seeing.
Alero felt something break inside her chest.
She felt different emotions at the same time,
Relief.
Shock.
Disbelief.
It was like a movie scene.
Her eyes filled with tears almost instantly.
"…Brother…?"
The word came out barely louder than a whisper.
Aren froze.
He turned fully toward the doorway.
And there she was.
Alero ....
Standing there exactly as he remembered her though now her face carried the weight of everything she had been through today.
Behind her, two smaller figures peeked out nervously.
Then suddenly they recognized him too.
The younger ones broke into motion immediately.
"Brother!!"
They ran across the laboratory floor without hesitation.
Aren barely had time to react before they crashed into him.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around them, pulling them close as they clung tightly to his sides.
For a moment he didn't say anything.
His shoulders relaxed for the first time since entering the school.
Alero walked toward them slowly.
Tears streamed down her face now, though she tried to wipe them away quickly.
"You idiot…" she muttered softly.
But the way her voice shook betrayed her.
Aren looked at her and smiled faintly.
"I told you I'd come."
Since when the chaos began…
The four siblings were together again.
Finally.