The bell sounded, ending the second day of school. The students of Sina Academy collectively breathed a sigh of relief, for they, too, were about done for the day. Eren, who waited patiently in his last class of the day, cheered as the announcements came on to indicate the end of the day. He picked up his backpack and excitedly ran downstairs and out the exit.
Students poured out from every building on the campus, except for the few staff/administrative buildings, of course. Eren sat on a bench next to the fountain in the central courtyard. He saw Armin maneuvering through a crowd of students, and waved at him. The other boy noticed and came over.
"Hey, Armin," greeted Eren, somewhat disappointed, "Looks like we have to go our separate ways for today, huh?"
"Yeah, about that, Eren. My mom's coming to pick me up in her car. She called me and said she didn't want me to get wet."
"That means we can't even sneakily walk together home! How unfair."
"I know! Maybe we could hang out tomorrow. But it looks like I have to go. See you, Eren."
Armin waved a goodbye to his best friend and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of exiting students. Eren sighed and rested his palm on his forehead, deciding what to do. The bench somewhat shook, and he suddenly felt the presence of someone else sitting next to him. He shifted his finger to allow one eye to allow one eye to see, and his pupil rested on Mikasa Ackerman.
"What is it, Mikasa?" asked Eren, his hand still obscuring his sight.
"Eren," the girl whispered back softly, "Let's go home together."
Taken by surprise, Eren lifted his hand off and blinked at Mikasa, whose face showed no emotion. "What?"
"I want to walk home with you."
"I don't even know where you live, Mikasa. And we only just met."
"You're my only friend so far. I will show you. Come with me."
Mikasa, with amazing strength, grabbed Eren's arm and pulled him off the bench. She dragged him along to the gate of Sina Academy. All the while, students stared at the two of them, astonished and amused. Eren sheepishly laughed and looked away from everyone's faces as they moved. But when Eren and Mikasa reached outside of the wall, a small group of boys stood in their way.
"Oi, Eren," called out one boy, who appeared to be their leader, "We still got a score to settle from yesterday. You ready to apologize and take back what you said, or are you gonna get another whooping while your stupid girlfriend watches?"
"Pardon," replied Mikasa, her voice turning bitter, "I am not stupid. You are threatening Eren and you are in our way. I suggest you leave."
"Oh, yeah? What're you gonna do about it, girly? C'mon, boys! Let's teach them both some manners."
"Geez, Mikasa," said Eren, in total shock, "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes. They wasted our time."
They continued walking off, with no visible injuries or fatigue. Behind them laid a scattered group of boys, all of them moaning in pain. Mikasa brushed her hands as if to clean them. After a while, when they were enough distance from Sina Academy and far enough into downtown, Mikasa let go of Eren's wrist. He immediately grasped it and rubbed it.
"Ow. You held me really tight."
"Sorry, Eren."
"Nah, it's fine. Just lead me on."
Soon enough, the first raindrops began to fell. At first, occasionally, but then, a soft downpour. Eren instinctively took out his umbrella from his backpack, but saw that Mikasa did not bring anything herself. Wet droplets fell on her black hair.
"Hey," said Eren, opening his umbrella, "You don't have an umbrella?"
"No."
Eren, saying nothing, walked closer to Mikasa so that the umbrella covered both of them. By now, they stood side-by-side underneath a crimson canopy, rain splattering on the ground around them. They continued in silence, the only noise coming from the rain.
"Mikasa," Eren spoke up, "I've wondered. You came here all quiet and lonely, but since you started getting more talkative, I've wondered. Were you always like this? Not to get personal or anything, but..."
"No. Before I moved here, before I met you, I was like any other girl. I was young, and careless."
"W-what happened?"
Mikasa breathed in through her nostrils, and breathed out.
"My parents died."
"Oh... I'm sorry th-"
"No, my parents were killed... They came one day to our home. Dad tried to fight. He perished. Mom tried to fight. She perished. She told me to run. I could not do anything. I hided and avoided them. The police came hours later. My uncle found me and took me in."
"Mikasa, it's okay, you don't need to tell me everything," said Eren, concerned.
"I will tell you. My uncle and aunt worked hard. They tried to take care of me, another mouth to feed in their impoverished family. They felt pity, they saw that I was alone, that I hated my life as it was. They took most of their money to send me here, to get an education, to find hope. I was still alone when I came here... until I found you, Eren."
"Well, thanks for that, but why would you just explain your life story to me that quickly? I mean, I'm just someone you met today. Pretty weird to open up like that."
"I already said it myself, Eren. You're my only friend right now, and you're the only boy I can trust. No one else has been there for me to let out my feelings, aside from you... and my diary."
Eren shrugged and turned his attention to his path. For whatever reason, his surroundings and environment seemed vaguely familiar. Before he knew it, he arrived at Mikasa's home.
"We're here, Eren," said Mikasa, pointing to a cheap-looking apartment building.
"Whuh? You live here?"
"I thought you realized by now that my financial situation is rather bleak."
"No, not that. You live here, in Shiganshina? That means you're me and Armin's neighbor! I live a few blocks away."
"*gasp* That gives us more time to spend together."
"... right. I'll be going home myself, then. See you, Mikasa."
"Wait, Eren. Don't you want to hang out with me... in my home?"
"Nah, not today. Maybe on Friday. I've gotta make sure my mom isn't worried that I'm a little late. Bye!"
The rain had stopped by then, and sunlight flowed through gaps in the clouds. Eren shortened his umbrella and waved at Mikasa before running off. She stared after him as he left, memorizing a single thought in her mind: Friday.
Friday did arrive. The last day of the first week of school. For many students, it was a moment of relief. For Mikasa...
"Let's go, Eren," bluntly stated Mikasa, pushing Eren along. Lunchtime began, and Eren, Armin, and Mikasa headed to the cafeteria.
"You know I can walk on my own, right?" replied Eren, annoyed.
"Yes."
She continued to force him. But when they reached the cafeteria entrance, they found a foldable table positioned at the front, draped in green cloth. A short, bored-looking man with dark undercut hair and cold grey eyes sat on one end of the table, while a bespectacled woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail and cheerful brown eyes sat on the other. A poster behind them featured an insignia with two wings (one blue and one white), and underneath lay text that read, "Freedom".
Eren gasped in an almost girly voice. He quickly broke free from Mikasa's grasp and ran up to the desk. He jumped up and down in glee, much to the annoyance of the short man sitting in front of him.
"All right, that's it," said the midget, "Kid, I thought we already made it clear that we're not a soup kitchen. We are not giving you any free meals."
"*gasp* He... he spoke to me!" replied Eren, sweating, "Um... are you guys, by any chance, the Survey Club?"
"'Survey Club'? Hange, tell me what the hell this idiot's talking abo- Oh. Yeah, that's us, kiddo. Normally, I call this place the Recon Club."
"Really?" spoke up the woman in glasses, "I got it incorrect this whole time! I always thought we were the Scouting Club. Gosh, how humilitating!"
Eren stared at them like a puppy wagging its tail, his eyes fixated on the Survey Club members. The short man propped his legs up on the desk and leaned back in his chair.
"So, twerp. Why're you here again?" asked the man.
"Well, isn't this a recruitment desk?" responded Eren, confused.
"Recruitment... Ah, right. I forgot. There's been so few morons that actually signed up that I can't even remember why we're here in the first place."
"Levi!" said Hange, "Don't say that around the students! Let me handle this. You're way out of touch with kids these days."
"And you aren't? Fine, have it your way. Gives me more time to think about the meaning of life and the universe."
"So, anyways," said Hange, turning to Eren, "I see you want to join the Survey Club, hm? Looks like you already know a good deal about us. No one has ever come up to us without asking what the Survey Club is. Because... you know, we're kinda a small club."
"Yes, yes! I want to join, I want to join!"
"However, in accordance with school policy and the law, we still have to inform the students about the club itself anyways. Otherwise, we'd get so many lawsuits. The Survey Club is an international organization with divisions in the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Our local branch has a headquarters in Sina Academy (which is right here!) along with operations in its sister high schools, Maria Academy and Rose Academy. Our division leader is none other than Erwin Smith. We strive to perform community service that includes numerous ways to help society, such as helping conduct research, distribute food, blah blah blah, and all that mumbo jumbo. So you go on lots of field trips, but-"
"Christ's sake, Hange. Just get to the point, you're already scaring the kids," interrupted Levi, covering his ears.
"Sheesh. Woke up on the wrong side of bed today, hm, Levi? Anyways, besides that, looks like we're ready to sign you guys up. You're Eren and you're Mikasa, correct?" She glanced at Armin. "And you... you're Krista?"
"No, that's Armin. And how do you know me and Mikasa's names?" asked a startled Eren.
"Don't be silly! You two are the talk of the school. I've never seen something so heartwarming and just straight-up adorable. Gosh, reminds me of when I was young and happy."
"What?! Why?! Probably because of those guys Mikasa beat up, huh? What the heck, Mikasa?!"
"I believe it's because of our friendship," replied Mikasa.
"B-b-but how do you adults know our names?"
"Kid," spoke up Levi, "You do not want to know what kind of talks go on in the teacher's lounge. I bet you'd cry yourself to tears."
"Huh. Now I know why you haven't gotten any new recruits. It's because of Mr. Snarker here!" Eren complained, pointing at Levi.
"His name's not Mr. Snarker. His name's Mr. Ackerman, and he's the janitor," joked Hange.
"Me? A janitor? I take that as a compliment. However, that is not my fulltime job. I also teach track," spoke up Levi, grinning.
"And I'm Ms. Zoë. I teach biology! Say, what were we talking about, again?"
"Um, you know, signing up for the Survey Corps?" responded Eren, impatient.
"Oh, right," said Hange, pulling up a huge stack of papers from under the desk and setting them onto the surface, "All three of you are joining, right?"
"I am!" exclaimed Eren. "If Eren joins, then so will I," said Mikasa. Armin looked around, uneasy, then said, "Uh, no thanks. I heard kids get hurt all the time. I'll see you guys in the cafeteria." He walked past the desk and into the mess hall.
"Brilliant!" shouted Hange all of a sudden, "Finally, finally, we get some people to join! Erwin's going to be so pleased. Now, if you two would sign here, here, and here, also over there..."
"What are these for?" asked Eren as he scribbled his signature on the dotted lines.
"Oh, legal waivers. Like your friend said, kids are injured quite often. These are just to ensure that you understand that the Survey Club takes no responsibility for you if you are injured during a club activity. But no worries, that only happens like, what, once a week? Also, your signing up process isn't complete until you attend the induction ceremony after school, which is today!"
"Awesome. I've got nothing planned after school! Let's go, Mikasa! Survey Club, here we come!"
Mikasa sighed. This'll be a long ceremony.
