A/N: At last, chapter 2! Hope y'all will enjoy it. :) And if you do, I really really really hope you will check out my main fic, 'Tears of a Titan'! It's also Mikaere, but a much more serious fic that keeps in line with the tone of the SnK manga. I try to develop as many of the characters as I can in that story, and I explore various themes and sub-plots. Honestly, I've just put a lot of effort into that story (well, I've put effort into this one as well, of course, but nowhere near as much as for that one) and I really want people to read it! So, if you've read this fic and haven't read 'Tears of a Titan', I really implore you to read it! For me? ;) Please? So far I've managed to update that fic once a week on Saturday for the past 3 or 4 chapters, so like, that's a good thing, isn't it? Hehe.
Well, anyway, without further ado, Chapter 2 of 'Midnight Song'. :D
Track 2 - Kurenai
"Give me another round. Come on, you pussy, punch like a real woman," Keith Shadis exclaimed, holding up the punch training gloves in front of him. Not one to hold back no matter the situation, Mikasa unleashed a barrage of strikes at him, hitting the gloves with brutal force and accuracy. "That's more like it! You're going to win. You hear me? Anything less and you're food for the dogs! Understand?"
"Yes, coach!" Mikasa replied coolly, her demeanor calm and collected.
"Coach, it's time," Jean said when he and Connie entered the room together. When his eyes fell upon Mikasa, he felt the breath leave his lungs as his heart clenched up, tying itself in knots. Ever since he met her for the first time at the gym, he'd been utterly infatuated with her, though she didn't seem to have noticed it yet, despite it being painfully obvious to just about every single one of their friends. He squeezed her arm with his hand and said "Good luck out there, Mikasa!" with a slightly trembling voice. The girl nodded at him and left the room, coach Shadis following right behind her.
"There's no point trying to talk to her when she's in the zone like that, lover boy," Connie teased, nudging the blushing boy in the ribs. "Oh, oui oui, oh je t'aime ma chérie, Mikasa ooooh," he cooed, earning himself a slap to the back of the head.
"Shut up, idiot. Get the water and the towels, we've got to be ring-side right now!" Jean said, silently muttering French curses as he left the room, leaving a chuckling Connie to gather the items.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, the final day of the preliminary rounds for the Titan Mixed Martial Arts tournament is finally coming to an end!" the emcee bellowed in a voice that was deep and full of charisma. His words blared out of the speakers surrounding the arena, shaking the air with baritone vibrations that sent the crowd into rapturous applause. "Oh, what a treat we have for you!" he continued when the clapping died down. "First to enter the ring! She's fast, she's skillful, and she's a local favorite! Please give it up for PETRA - THE WASP - RALLLLLLLLL."
The audience went crazy as the girl's entrance music started playing; Brother Firetribe's grittier and edgier cover of Cheap Trick's 1986 classic : 'Mighty Wings'. The powerful keyboard melody underscored by the palm muted guitar power chords really pumped up the crowd, driving them into a frenzy that one would normally expect at a heavy metal concert. She strutted towards the cage where the fighters were to engage in combat, her vertically-challenged coach easily keeping pace by her side. Coach Rivaille was a legend in the local mixed martial arts scene, and everyone had high hopes for his latest protégé to go far in the sport. Her movements were muted yet brimming with power, each stride full of confidence and grace. Outside the cage, the MMA physician applied petroleum jelly onto her face, a standard practice in the sport. It is done so that punches and strikes to the face will be less likely to cause cutting injuries, thus leading to a longer fight because severe bleeding and lacerations on the face can lead to premature match stoppage. On her back, Petra wore a green robe which she shrugged off before stepping into the ring. She jogged around and waved her hand at the supporters packing the seats, acknowledging their cheers graciously.
"And her opponent! A newcomer to the MMA scene! She's also from around these parts! Born and raised in Japan, but moved here two years ago! Please give it up for MIKASA - THE BLOODY SCARF - ACKERMANNNN."
The crowd cheered for Mikasa as well, though her reception was relatively subdued in comparison to what Petra had received. Her entrance song started with a bang, all machine gun bass-beats and harmonized lead guitar work as speed metal band X-Japan's 'Kurenai' rang through the building, assaulting all the people with a barrage of sound. Mikasa walked into the ring silently, her muscles rippling as she moved towards the battleground. On her back she wore a red robe, and very unusually for an MMA fighter, she also wore a maroon colored scarf around her neck. At the foot of the steps, she crudely dropped her robe to the floor, revealing her finely sculpted physique. Her scarf however, she removed far more carefully. She held it to her heart and closed her eyes, almost as if she hoped that it would give her the strength to fight. She handed it to Jean before walking up the steps, the door of the cage slamming shut behind her the moment she crossed its boundary.
Standing before her opponent, the expression on her face was a solemn one. She was ready, all her muscles taut, like a lioness ready to pounce on its prey. She stared straight in the direction of Petra, who was directly opposite her, but she did not truly look at her. Some would call this arrogance, but Mikasa knew it only as pure focus. The referee stepped between the two combatants.
"Ladies, I want a good, clean fight. Listen to my commands at all times, defend yourselves at all times. Touch gloves and go back to your corner."
The two fighters parted from the center of the cage, all eyes in the room resting on them as they walked to the edges of the ring. The next time they met, it would be in the glorious fury of combat. The tension was palpable, all breaths held and all noise replaced by the silence of anticipation.
"Are you ready?" the referee asked Petra, pointing towards her. When she nodded, he turned towards Mikasa. "Are you ready?" he asked her. She nodded as well.
"Then let's go to war!" he yelled, starting the fight. Immediately, the two girls moved forward and clashed in the center of the ring in a flurry of quick strikes and punches. Mikasa kept her guard high, absorbing Petra's attacks and responding with quick jabs of her own. She knew that the smaller girl would attempt to engage her in a ground battle, using her superior grappling technique and Brazilian jiu-jitsu background to force her into submission, so Mikasa stayed defensive, circling her opponent and dodging her strikes to the best of her ability.
"She's shooting for your legs! Keep it low!" Jean screamed by the ringside, struggling to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Of course, Mikasa knew that already. She'd gone over it with Coach Shadis before the match, when they were analyzing Petra's strengths and weaknesses while formulating a strategy for the fight. Petra was quicker than her, that much was certain, but Mikasa had a reach advantage, having greater stature and longer arms than Rivaille's student.
Before the first round was over, Petra had landed a greater number of punches and kicks, testing her opponent's endurance to the fullest. Mikasa, on the other hand, bided her time, patiently counterattacking with accurate jabs to the face whenever the opportunity presented itself.
When the bell rang, the two of them walked over to their respective corners and seated themselves as their cutmen treated their wounds and they received advice and motivation from their coaches.
"You're doing okay out there, Ackermann, but okay is not enough!" Shadis said harshly as he wiped the sweat off her face with a towel. "You're not going to just 'okay' your way into the biggest MMA tournament in the region! End this, or go home!"
Jean lifted a bottle of water to Mikasa's mouth, pouring the cool liquid down her throat. "Small sips, Mikasa. Small sips."
When the battle resumed, there was a new fire in Mikasa's eyes. Being reminded of her goal seemed to have given her greater urgency, her strikes and kicks landing with greater power and ferocity on Petra's body.
Fight! If you don't fight, you don't stand a single chance to win!
Unbidden, the words that had once given her the strength to live on now gave her the power to claim her victory. "Tatakai!" she yelled suddenly in the middle of the match, surprising those who could hear it over the din, though none of them understood what the word meant. Petra saw this as a momentary lapse concentration from the girl, immediately ducking below her guard and attempting to spear her to the ground. Mikasa was ready though. In fact, this was the moment she was waiting for. She clenched her toes tightly, firmly standing her ground and absorbing the impact from her opponent's attempted tackle. Wrapping her arms around Petra's waist, Mikasa lifted the girl up with all her strength, holding her upside down above the ground. A veritable wall of sound engulfed the arena when she locked her opponent's head between her legs in the prelude to the devastating move that would end the fight. With all the strength that she could muster, Mikasa slammed Petra's head into the floor in a vicious piledriver, knocking her out cold instantly. The referee quickly slid over the canvas and pushed the triumphant fighter aside, preventing her from continuing to pummel her unconscious foe. The bell rang, signalling the end of the match. The audience cheered madly for her, won over by her underdog's victory. Jean and Connie ran into the ring, offering their congratulations. This was it. She had qualified for the knockout rounds.
"That was amazing!" Jean complimented, his eyes positively sparkling with admiration.
"Yeah! Damn, Mikasa, remind me never to piss you off!" Connie chimed, handing the girl a wet towel to wipe her skin with.
"Thank you. Jean, where's my scarf?" she asked between labored breaths.
"Oh, here!" he said, handing her the maroon-colored fabric. "I can't believe I've never asked till now, but, what is it with you and this scarf, anyway? You're always wearing it!"
"It's nothing," Mikasa answered, her face turning slightly red as she held the scarf in her hands. Feeling its softness, she remembered the warmth it had given her on a lonely winter night, two years ago to this day. "Just a memento."
"Are you sure you don't want to go grab a few drinks to celebrate your victory?" Jean asked Mikasa when they were outside the building. It was getting very late and all the spectators had left an hour ago.
"Yeah, a victory like that deserves a few pints!" Connie said.
"Thanks guys, but no. Not tonight. I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Alright! I'll hold you to it!" Jean said happily. "Time to go home, then!"
"No, you go on ahead. I've got something to do first," Mikasa said, a thin smile spreading across her face. She lived with her aunt and uncle in an apartment downtown, and Jean's house was nearby, so normally she would have walked home with him, but not this night. She looked again at the watch on her wrist, checking the date displayed on its screen. 4th of August.
"What? It's really late, you know? What is it that you've got to do at this time of night?" Jean asked, thinly concealed disappointment dripping from his words.
"Ah, leave the girl be. She can handle herself," Connie said, chuckling as he poked Jean in the ribs. "I'm off! See you guys tomorrow!" Waving goodbye to his two friends, the boy walked away, leaving the two of them alone.
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"
"Thanks for the concern," Mikasa said, "but I'll be fine. I'd better go now. See you tomorrow, Jean!" The girl smiled warmly at her friend and pulled her scarf tighter around her face to ward off the cold before heading off into the night. With her gym bag slung over her shoulder, she weaved her way through the streets and alleyways, a silent traveler in a sleeping town. Her footsteps echoed loudly off the pavement as she walked, her muscles sore and aching from the beating she'd taken earlier. Passing by closed shops and lonely street lamps along the way, she couldn't help but appreciate the cool quietness of the town late at night, a stark contrast to the deafening roars of the spectators in the arena. She knew that she was nearing her destination when the soothing sound of gently flowing water reached her ears on the wings of a cold winter wind. Looking up, Mikasa saw the bridge where two years ago she had gone to find death, but instead, found life.
Just like the year before this one, she stood alone at the bridge, braving the cold to indulge her foolish hope to see the boy with the guitar again. Straddling the river, the bridge connected the two sides of town, like a portal between two worlds. Sometimes, Mikasa wondered if the boy was from another world after all, so impossible it seemed for her to find him. Thanks to his kindness, she managed to move on with her life, and she was eternally grateful for that. She'd never forgotten him, the scarf that he'd given her a constant reminder of that beautiful memory. She wanted to thank him, if only she could find him again. She wanted to show him how strong she had become. How much she continued to fight to live each and every day.
But she was weary. Her hopes grew dimmer with each passing hour, and when she finally gave up on waiting for him, she left the bridge, sighing as she wondered if she should come here again next year. The moon was hidden behind the clouds tonight, and the stars were absent from the sky. In the darkness, she didn't see the figure hiding behind one of the trees near the bridge, watching her as she went.
"It's her," Eren muttered under his breath when he saw Mikasa. It was hard to see her face in the dark, but as she passed under the yellow light of a street lamp he saw the scarf and knew that it was his. There was no mistaking it. His heart raced at a million miles an hour, and the thoughts in his mind were ten times that. Caught between running after her and forgetting all about her, Eren stood frozen to the spot, a mixture of fear and happiness keeping him in a state of confusion.
What's the point of meeting her again? he thought, gripping the tree bark as he saw her walk further and further away. It's not like I can have a normal relationship with her anyway. It's good enough to know that she's still alive, right?
Eren turned his back on her and started to walk away, still silently debating with himself on the right course of action. But why did she stand at the bridge for so long? Was she thinking about committing suicide again? And she's still wearing my scarf after so long?
It would have been easy to just run away and continue living his horribly lonely life, never taking any chances or risks. Just thinking about it made him feel stupid. He remembered every single word that he said to Mikasa that night. Right now, he was going against every single one of them. He was being a coward. How ironic. But he couldn't bring himself to go after her. It was just way too scary. When he crossed the bridge, he stopped at the exact spot where she had been standing for hours. Noticing a piece of paper stuck to the railing, he picked it up and read its contents.
'Thank you,' were the words that were scribbled on it. Mikasa's handwriting was nice, but the ink became blotched and the words unintelligible when he let the paper drop into the river below as he immediately started running after her, not even pausing to think for a moment. Because thinking breeds fear and unreasonable doubt. Right now, all he knew was what he felt. He had to see her.
By the time he started chasing after her, she was already out of sight. Sprinting in the general direction that he saw her heading towards, Eren ran as fast as he could, the guitar slung over his shoulder slapping painfully against his back as he desperately scanned his surroundings for any sign of her.
Damn it. How am I going to find her now?
He ran and he ran, panting heavily and sweating profusely as he continued the chase. He ran even though he didn't really know where he was going. He just knew that if he stopped searching now, he would never run again. He would never try to break free from his chains again. In the back of his mind, he was worried that he wouldn't get back home in time to avoid the sunrise, so close it was to twilight, but for once in his life, he feared returning to the darkness far more than he did dying in the light.
As he turned into an alleyway, he ran into an outstretched armed that knocked him to the ground, winding him and replacing his vision with stars. He landed on his guitar, the neck and strings of the instrument snapping with a terrible crack and a series of metallic twangs.
"Why are you following me?"
Dazed, Eren shook his head and tried to regain his bearings.
"What the Hell man? Who the Hell just clotheslines someone like that? You trying to kill me?" he yelled, feeling the heat of anger rise to his face. When he looked up to see his assailant, they both let out a simultaneous gasp.
"It's you!" Mikasa said, disbelief etched onto her face.
"You- you're Mikasa, aren't you?"
"Ye- yeah. Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that!" She offered him her hand and pulled him to his feet, her face as red as a beet root. "I-" She struggled to find any words to say.
Eren gulped, unable to summon a response as well. Suddenly remembering how he had landed, he quickly removed his guitar from his back and inspected the damage. His face was ghostly pale when he saw its sorry condition. "Oh no," he whispered, gingerly touching the smashed instrument. He almost cried.
"I didn't mean for that to happen!" Mikasa said, utterly mortified. "I'll buy you a new one! Promise! Um-"
He looked up from the corpse of his beloved guitar and met her eyes with his own.
"Well, I still don't know your name," she continued, her face so hot that she could have sworn that steam was billowing out of her ears.
"I'm Eren," he said, forgetting about his guitar for the moment. "I- I've wanted to see you."
"Really? Me too! Oh, that's right!" She removed the scarf from around her neck and handed it to him. "It's yours. Thank you so much for it. I've wanted to give it back to you, but I didn't know your name, or where to look for you."
"Don't you like it?"
"Of course I like it!" she said. "I love it!"
Eren smiled at her. "Then keep it. I've gotten used to not wearing a scarf anyway."
"No, I can't! You said that your mother made it for you, right? I can't just keep it if it's so important to you!"
"Don't worry about it," he urged, his gaze strong and firm. Mikasa had almost forgotten how beautiful his eyes were, so green and fierce. The eyes of a boy that would brook no argument.
"Okay. Thanks, Eren," she said, his name tasting sweet as honey on her tongue. Eren. Eren. Eren. His name is Eren.
Silence resumed.
They both made to speak at the same time, then seeing that the other wanted to say something, both stopped in the same instant as well.
After another short pause, Mikasa finally continued the conversation.
"Are you free tomorrow?"
Startled by the straight-forwardness of her question, Eren found himself retreating into his defensive shell. "Why?" he asked, irrational trepidation in his voice.
"Well, I have to buy you a new guitar, right?"
"Um. I guess you could say that I'm free."
"What kind of answer is that?" Mikasa chuckled. "How about in the evening?"
Her question was like a gunshot to the chest, reminding him of the difference between him and her. "I'm... busy in the evening."
"Oh, then what about at night? I mean, music shops probably don't open so late, but if we try before 10 maybe we can find one? I train at the gym in the afternoon, so I'm only free from evening till night time."
It was a few awkward moments before Eren could decide what to answer her. Was it worth the risk? Should he really try to find the happiness that he was so sure he would never have? Seeing her beautiful grey eyes and tender smile, so warm and comforting in the darkness of the cold night, he found the courage to overcome his fear.
"O- okay. Tomorrow night. We'll go together."
Please give me a review! :D Reviews are a massive source of motivation for me. :)
Kurenai means 'crimson' in Japanese.
X Japan are an old Japanese speed metal/glam metal band that I love. They're one of the only Japanese bands that I truly respect.
'Mighty Wings' is a song originally performed by the American arena rock band 'Cheap Trick' for the movie 'Top Gun'. However, the song I mentioned in this story is actually the cover of the song performed by Finnish glam rock/arena rock band 'Brother Firetribe'. I really prefer their version, and I do love 'Brother Firetribe' in general. One of my favorite guitarists - Emppu Vuorinen - is in it, and I just really dig their throwback to the 80s kind of style when it comes to song-writing and performing, despite being a band that was formed in the 2000s!