The day after, she had no struggle waking up, because she had woken up at 2:30 a.m, which meant her night had been no more than a short nap.

It is not a suiting night for our flimsy protagonist. Sleeping a bit more than two hours is not enough for a twelve years old girl.

But she didn't care, because she didn't want to sin into her nightmares that made her sweat like nothing else and woke her up in the middle of the night, hours before dawn and the first seconds of fleeting sunlight. She got up, then stretched and went in the showers' direction to take a quick wash. Everyone was still sleeping; the sun was just beginning to go up.

Aki, once showered and dressed -she was getting into her uniform for the first time-, not wanting to go back to her dorm in fear of waking her comrades up, went out and sat up on the stairs. She put her elbows on her knees, her right cheek in her palm and stared at the sun that was lazily going up. She stayed there for a moment, observing dawn's first glimmers. She almost could have fallen into the illusion of believing that this world was full of beauty and hope. Until a voice startled her.

-Hey, said the tall brown-haired boy while sitting next to her.

-Good morning, Yuki. Have you slept well ?

-Hmmm yeah. You ?

-Perfectly well, she lied.

The teenager furrowed his brow, seeing the heavy dark circles under her eyes, but didn't comment.

-Hmmm. So today we begin training, right ?

-Yes.

-We're gonna eat titans !

She forced herself to smile. Aki simply couldn't bear this sentence. He used to say it so often.

-Big brother…

The other put his head back up.

-What ?

-Ah ! she said, embarrassed. I was thinking out loud… Sorry.

She scratched her neck, uneasy. The other decided not to push it, he didn't want to hurt the young girl who had already gone through (too) much.

-Yuki ?

-Yeah ?

-Do you think I'll be alright ?

-I can't say… You are really small, true, and quite thin but it'll depend on your skills for 3D. I think -but that's only my opinion- that you'll be okay, but… Nothing is sure.

She looked up at the sky, appreciating the rising sun with its different orange shades.

-Thank you. You should be just right, she said mockingly.

The brown-haired boy was taller than a meter seventy-five, and he was well-built. He was about twenty centimeters taller than the girl.

-Mhhhm, yeah, should be okay.

He turned his head in her direction and asked ;

-Shoudn't we go eat ?

The blond nodded and went to the dining hall, Yuki on her heels. The room was still empty, given that it was relatively early. The blond sat on a chair, the brunette in front of her. They waited for a good hour before they finally saw recruits that looked like they'd fallen off of their bed. Haru came to sit next to the brunette, ruffling up as she passed Aki's hair who winced. She hated that.

While the whole of the dining hall ate, the young blond only drank a coffee, which earned her a reprimand from Haru ("This isn't good at your age ! And eat something else, you're gonna die right there !").

Thank you for reading ! I hope you liked it.

Do not hesitate to let me a little comment, it really helps. :)