Chapter 7: Just a red scarf part 1

'It has been 2 years since the battle for the underground, with no sign of another uprising to be seen. Both Eric and Eren had celebrated their victory after finally reaching their home, overjoying Carla that the Yeager men had all come home to her alive. Armin's return home however had ended up with him being grounded for a year, after the Yeager brothers explained to his parents what had happened and what Armin did. He was great full for them helping out with the explanations, especially when he had begun to cry again after remembering the man he had killed.

His parents were shocked to hear this, but quickly told Armin that it was not his fault and that he did the right thing. Armin told them that he knew that, and that Eren had already helped him make peace with it during the battle itself. They were very proud of Armins actions however, saying that his friends could still visit him becasue he deserved that much. Everything had become peaceful after that, not having anything serious happen since that day.

Though some of the yellow men that had survived the battle and were captured by the MP's, soon escaped when they had the chance to about two months ago. Eric and Eren both had tracked down the men with the help of a few higher up friends, someone that they had been thankful for making. Because with the help of Zackly, they had caught and killed off all but four, they have been hiding since then, and both brothers did not know where the last four remnants of Jacks army had went...until now.'


It was a cool morning in Shiganshina district, winter coming closer by the day as the residents went about their peaceful lives as usual. A now eight year old Eren Yeager was currently sleeping in his bed, sleeping soundly until he felt the chill of the morning come through the wooden walls. He shivered slightly due to the chill hitting his exposed face.

He brought the blanket closer to his face as a means to combat his now clod face, but it was in vain as he was woke up by a stronger breeze of cool air hitting his semi covered face. He scrunched his eyes together tightly until he slowly opened them and blinked a few times to adjust to the bright room. He was a little disoriented till realizing where he was at, in his bed, in his home safe.

He smiled at that thought as he tried to use the warm feeling as a means to fall back into his slumber, but it had failed him. Eren groaned out after finding out he was not going to sleep any more for the day, making him get out of bed and head to the kitchen to eat what his mom had made him. What he did not notice though was that Eric was not in his bed at the moment.

As Eren moved through his house with half lidded eyes, he scratched the back of his head and let out a yawn as he soon smelt his mother cooking breakfast for him and his brother as well. He was more awake now as a result of smelling the delicious breakfast being made, prompting him to move quicker towards the kitchen. As he finally did reach the kitchen though, his smile vanished and was replaced by a look of confusion as he saw only his mother at the table since his father had already left for work.

Eren stood there awkwardly until he managed to ask his mother where Eric was at this morning, she replied with "Eric left before sunrise Eren, he had said that Hannes had heard from someone that some bandits were near the forest in the main part of wall Maria. *sigh* Why can't you two just give up on this whole burden of trying to find these men, it was the MP's responsibility to watch them anyway" Carla said very annoyed that the MP's were doing a terrible job at finding these men, and also tiredly at the fact that her two sons were going to great lengths just to find these men and put them down permanently.

Eren looked down at his food while he ate after that, knowing just how much their anger had driven them to such measures to only find a handful of criminals. He swallowed his food after making up his mind to apologize to his mom, "mom...I am sorry for doing all the things that I have done for the past three years, me and Eric both are. Eric more than me, as he thinks that it was becasue of him that I had become so used to seeing death and murder. But I want to say now is that I am very sorry for becoming such a monster in your eyes.

I don't want to be considered a monster, Eric does not either but I know you know it is becasue we care about all of you that we killed all of those men mom, but I and Eric both are getting tired of killing as well" Eren said to his mother as she sat in quiet and listened to what her son had just told her.

Carla was speechless after hearing what Eren had just said, knowing that he was right about how they did it only for her and the rest of the districts safety, but she was also speechless becasue he thinks that he and Eric are monsters to her. This revelation hurt her deeply, because of how she had acted ever since the orphan incident, mortified at the fact that her two baby boys had become killers out of revenge for the orphans murder.

She took a calm breath and then spoke to her son, "Eren, you are correct about how I know it was becasue you wanted to protect all of us is the reason you and Eric kill, but the other pare of where you think I only see monsters in you is totally false." Carla stood up from her chair and made her way over to Eren and keeled right in front of him and continued to talk.

"I admit that my reactions to hearing about you two killing someone and so many as well, had just shocked me that someone so young had to kill. For revenge to top it off as well, but you must know is that I do not think you or Eric are monsters at all Eren...just ashamed that you both had started to do grown men's jobs for them. All I want from you two is to promise me that from now on you will never take another life ok?" Carla asked her son as he stared into her eyes with tears in his as he nodded and hugged her.

Carla let out a few tears herself, but kept her smile as she comforted her son for a good while until he finally calmed down enough to start eating again. He had finished his food a few minutes later, and was now coloring in his notebook he had created a few months ago, "I want to keep memories just like Eric can with his phone" said a determined Eren as he colored all of the good times that they had shared up to this point together.

She smiled at her child as he finished yet another drawing of him and Eric flying through the air with their 3dmg, but was soon brought out of her trance as she heard the front door open and Grisha coming in with his suitcase of medical supplies. "What are you doing back so early Grisha?" asked a confused Carla as she saw Grisha walk towards her with a small smile.

"I came back to get Eren, he is old enough now to understand what I am doing becasue it is important to know basic medical treatments, and because the Ackerman's also have a young girl his and Eric's age to" Grisha said with a smile as he saw Eren look up at him with a big smile as he jumped out of his chair and ran to go get dressed.

Carla laughed at her son as he scrambled to his and Eric's room to change into more fitting clothes for the outside, and then going into some random chatter with her husband as they waited for their son. Eren soon ran out in his red over shirt and dark brown pants with a look of anticipation on his face. Grisha asked if he was ready to go, to which Eren nodded rapidly bee lining for the door, but was caught by his mother as she held out his old red scar to him.

Quickly thanking her, he ran out the door and hopped into the carriage seat right next to his dad, "mhmhmh he sure is excited Grisha, please watch him and also...be careful I love you both" Carla said at the door as she kissed her husband goodbye as he nodded at her request. 'Please for the love of the walls, let this be just a regular happy visit' begged Carla as she waved the two Yeager men goodbye.


1 Hour Later...

Eren and Grisha were headed towards the Ackerman's home near the middle of wall Maria, which means that had about two more hours to go, and Eren had been a little restless since. Eren was looking around the forest in awe, seeing all of the still leaved trees and the ones on the ground that crunched as they moved along, making Eren giggle in excitement.

Grisha had kept to himself since they had left, only ever nodding or shaking his head at Eren asking questions about random things such as if they could eventually go to Dauper and visit Sasha again, the last time they did was a little over eight months ago now. Grisha was thinking back to all of the questions his son had asked him so far, making him chuckle silently at how curious Eren is about the world...and how he could switch to a battle hardened warrior in a second

'Warrior huh?' thought Grisha with a sarcastic smile on his face as he looked at Eren who was watching a bird off the the right of them. Eren for his part did not catch Grisha looking at him, but what he did catch was the fact that he knew nothing about these Ackerman's, raising his curiosity level once again for the day.

Eren looked at his father who had long since brought his attention back to the rode, had thought of all the questions he had wanted to ask, and ask away he did as he first asked who they are. Grisha looked at him and spoke for the first time saying, "the Ackerman's are a little family that live out in the wilderness of wall Maria, taking most of their needs from the forest itself as well as being regularly checked by me" .

Eren drank in every word Grisha said, with the most attention he could give as a way to combat the boredom that slowly began to creep up in his mind. "What is the girls mom like?" asked Eren as he was curious if the girls mom was like his and Eric's, "she is a very kind woman, a lot like your mother but was much more quiet and relaxed than your mother for obvious reasons" Grisha said the last part in hopes of Eren getting it.

He did as he laughed and smiled at why their mother's temper can go through the roof sometimes, but was glad to know that this woman was a lot like his mom, making him excited to talk to her and see just how nice she really is. He asked about the father soon after and Grisha told Eren everything he knew about the man, feeding Erens mind with more information about this family that he had been so curious about.

He asked a different range of questions about them for the next hour, surprising Grisha that Eren was so curious about these people all of a sudden, but soon had a pretty good guess as to why when Eren asked "is the girl pretty?". Grisha had laughed at this, shocking Eren to hear his always stoic dad actually cut up for once, 'first the joke and now actual laughter...what's up with dad today?' thought Eren as he watched his dad wipe tears from his eyes.

"So that's how it is then, and to answer your question Eren...you will have to wait and see" Grisha said as he watched Erens face turn to a small childish pout for being denied to know what thee girl looked like, but was rewarded with something else, something he did not think of to ask. "Her name is Mikasa" Grisha said as he looked down the road, giving Eren a name to the face he will soon see.

'Mikasa...Mikasa...that's a strange name, but I like it' Eren thought with a smile at knowing that he really liked the girls name. It settled into a comfortable silence after that, with both Yeager's not having anything to say at the moment, until Eren spoke in a low voice. "Dad" Grisha at hearing his son call him looked at him at see that Erens head was tilted down a bit, "do you think Eric will finally catch those monsters after evading us for so long?".

Grisha just looked at Eren in complete silence after hearing his sons more somber question, turning his head back to the path as he came up with an answer to the question. "I believe that Eric will catch those men, he is as determined about it as much as you are Eren, but also I can tell that he is done with the vengeance and anger" Eren looks up at his father as he said this with a blank face, "I believe that all of the killing has finally caught up to him, and he is now very tired of it. Just as much as you are Eren I can tell by looking into your eyes right now that all of the killing has become too much for even you two".

Eren nodded at what he said, agreeing fully that what he spoke was the truth about how he and Eric feel about all of this. Grisha continued saying, "I...am glad that you two are feeling this way, showing that you both are still only killing to protect, but I also know that your mother is very distraught that you and Eric do it. She cries while she sleeps every time she dreams about it, hoping and praying that her children were not actually cold blooded killers. I to hope this, but after seeing what you two did against Jack and his men I can say that you to are very mature for your age."

Grisha said as he nodded at that last part, "going to lengths that even some grown soldiers would not dare to go, and also how you both did not let your anger completely overcome your judgment. I have a theory about how ever since Eric had arrived, you two had shaped each other for the better, and seeing all of the things you two have accomplished thus far, I can't wait to see what you two do next"

Grisha said to his son with pride in his voice at what they have done, making Eren smile at this as he watched the path in front of them go by. But his smile soon vanished as Grisha continued on, "but...I would like for you two stop killing, Carla can't take much more of the fact that you are killing the remnants of Jack's army, taking away what little innocence you have left as is. So please promise me that after the reaming members of the army are dealt with, you will stop killing" Eren nodded at his words, saying that Eric would definitely agree as well.

Grisha knew he would to, so he did not say anything more about it as they soon after arrived in front of the Ackerman household. Grisha stepped off of his side of the carriage first, with Eren getting off quickly after as they made their way to the front door. Grisha then began to knock on the door, waiting in expectancy to see either Mr. or Mrs. Ackerman answer the door.

After about ten minutes of knocking and waiting, Grisha grew more worried as he grabbed the knob of the door and twisted it, it opened without restraint causing Grisha to go on high alert. As he then opened the door wide enough to see what was going on, he gasped as he saw the cut up and bloody parts of Mikasa's parents.

Grisha ran over to see if the mother was alive, but soon found out she had an axe wound to the top of her head and the father's throat slit. Grisha searched everywhere for a clue to figure out who did this, but could not find anything at all. This had frustrated him to no end becasue he could not figure out who had murdered these innocent people.

He was so caught up in his despair, he did not see Eren walking up behind him with something covered in blood in his hand. After hearing his son, Grisha turned around to look at the bloody item in Erens outstretched hand. "What is it Eren?" asked Grisha as he saw the pure hatred filled eyes of his son as he looked at the bloody item in his hands, "it's one of their bands dad...they did this" Eren said angrily as he dropped the band to the floor with the bloody smiling titan facing up.

Grisha was beyond horrified by this news, not knowing what these men were after, but soon began to think of why they did and then it hit him. 'It's becasue the mother and daughter are Asian' thought Grisha as he quickly summarized that they did it as a means to get some money to buy more men. 'Figures these scum would stoop so low to human trafficking' thought Grisha in anger as he then watched his son exit the door.

He ran outside to see his son walking into the forest, screaming after him wanting to know where he was going, Eren looked back and yelled out "I'm going to track these bastards down dad, Mikasa was not in there which means they had took her for whatever reason that is. But I won't let that happen I swear it, go get the MP's help and Eric's if you see him" after saying those final words he than ran into the forest while following the blood tracks on the leaves.

"*sigh* That boy is becoming more and more like me everyday" Grisha said aloud as he shook his head and ran to his cart and pushed the horses hard in hopes to get some help quickly.


An undisclosed location...

A young half Asian girl is lying on her side with hollow eyes as she watched the three men before her talking about their mishap, "the woman and kid together would have made us more money you fucking moron" said one of the guys as another nodded in response to the third ones incompetence at following orders.

The third man protested by saying, "come on the bitch had it coming since she stabbed out my fucking EYE" making the other two men look at him with blank stares as the first one spoke again saying "that may be true, but at least those Yeager brothers haven't found us yet". They chuckled darkly at that, all knowing what would happen if they were ever caught by them.

"Yea that is true to, especially considering that the little fucking freak Eren scares the shit out of me" said the third guy who stood in front of the doors that slowly opened inch by inch. The three men all agreed that the Eren brat was just as terrifying as his freak of nature brother, but as the men semi celebrated their somewhat victory, Mikasa just sat there and replayed her parents getting murdered over and over again in her head as fresh tears fell down her face.

The men continued to laugh and such until they all heard the door creak fully open, scaring them all becasue of it being closed a few moments ago. The one with the axe(the one with one eye) called out to whoever was inside of the cabin, putting them on more edge as they did not hear a single sound being made.

The axe man looked at his partners and swallowed hard as he took a step forward into the tiny room before leaving the cabin, to only then be stabbed from behind in his legs as he let out a loud scream until his throat was then slit. The other two were alerted as they soon heard the screaming, making them both leap from where they were to then see their now dead friend and no one else.

They began to sweat after hearing this, but became very frightened when they heard a knocking from the door. The two men looked at each other, expecting one to go and answer it, but neither wanted to move at all. So the leader of the group had shoved the man beside him right in front of the door, motioning him to open it as he raised his gun.

The man looked at him and nodded as he slowly turned the knob on the door handle and open it to then see something that made him piss himself, a pair of pissed off green eyes, brown shaggy hair, and the same knife that came close to killing him two years ago. As he soon realized that it was Eren there with a angry look on his face, he screamed and tried to get away from the boy.

But Eren was not having any of it, as he lunged at the man and stabbed him in the stomach bringing him to his knees, and as this was going on the other man had been startled by his partners screams and even more scared when he saw who had made him scream in the first place. But soon pointing his gun at Erens head in hopes that he would get a shot, but did becasue he saw his partner be stabbed into the stomach, giving him a better view of Erens head.

As the man cocked the weapon, Eren heard it and turned it to see the man with the gun, and then taking action as he brought the other mans body in front of the bullet...instantly killing him. The man quickly cursed as he tried to reload his weapon, but could not as Eren slid into him and kicked his knee out from under him as Eren then got up and round housed the man into the other room.

Mikasa had been awoke from her trance by the gunshot, making her move her head to see a young boy with green eyes kick the man back into the room with her. She was amazed by this kids strength as he bobbed and weaved the adults punches easily, but soon ending up with him being leg sweeped and then stabbed to death by Eren.

After he made sure the man was dead, he quickly ran over to Mikasa and cut open her rope constraints while saying to her "It's going to be ok Mikasa". Mikasa was shocked that he knew her name, but was then startled as the man that was shot had snuck up on them. "L.l.l. out" Mikasa said as Eren turned around to only be grabbed by the throat of the dying man.

The knife laid in front of Mikasa, who quickly picked it up but was now shaking in fear becasue of everything that had been going on for her today. 'W...wh..what do I do?' Mikasa questioned herself as she watched the boy look at her and scream out "Mikasa! use the knife on this bastard, it's okay to kill him because he is trying to kill me...the one who wants to protect...you...so please..." Eren began to choke out until he saw the gril still frozen in place further making him angry.

He quickly brought his head up and kicked the man in the throat, letting his hold on Eren loosen enough for Eren to say to her, "Mikasa...in this world only the strong survive and win, but the weak die..." the mans grip then hardened tenfold as he was now starting to become more enraged by this little bastard. "What are you Mikasa?...weak...or..."Eren looked at her in that moment with the most fierce glare he could, and then scream out "STRONG!".

Mikasa also heard Eren say before he blacked out "to protect the ones you love", giving Mikasa thought as she froze in time, thinking over what all the boy had told her, and tat thought soon ignited something within Mikasa as she lunged at the mans back with a powerful scream and plunged the knife into the back of the man instantly killing him for good.

Mikasa was panting right now, filled with a new sense of power as she looked at her bloody hands, 'what...is going on...?' questioned Mikasa as she stood there until hearing Eren groan. She quickly made her way to his side as he slowly opened his green eyes to meet stormy grey, and then him smiling as he said "hehe nice one Mikasa" as Mikasa just stared at him in happiness for the one who saved her.

But all of that happiness was put to the side, because she soon remembered there were four men, but before she could say anything at all, she and Eren both were pinned to a wall by a very big man with a lot of scars on his older face. "You two brats just killed my only partners, no I'm going to kill you." said the big man as he began to crush their throats.

The pressure was so immense, they could not scream at all, but the squeezing stopped when they heard their saviors voice "hey...let. them. go.". The man froze after hearing that voice, slowly turning his now fear filled eyes to see the glowing anger filled ones of Eric Yeager. Who at the moment was extremely furious after hearing what these men had done to an innocent family.

"I'll give you to the count of three to put them down" Eric warned as the man was shaking at this point, but soon glared at Eric and laughed as he said "ahahah if I die then they die" as he tried to kill both Eren and Mikasa with a snap of his thumbs, but did not as he felt a fist ram through his stomach. He then slowly looked down with his mouth hanging open in a silent scream as he watched as the bloody arm being retracted from the gaping hole in his stomach.

He looked back up the the two in his massive hands one last time before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and collapsed backwards. Both Eren and Mikasa both were on all fours as they were grasping for more air to fill their sore lungs. After regaining their breath, they thanked Eric as he helped them both to their feet.

"Are you guys sure you are ok?" asked a worried Eric as they nodded towards him while rubbing their sore throats, but then punched out of nowhere by Eren. "Ow what the hell Eren" asked a pissed Eric as he looked up to Eren who said in response, "that was for not being with me and dad today Eric". Eric looked down after that, knowing that his hatred had almost caused his brother his life.

He looked back up at Eren and said, "I'm sorry Eren, if I was here instead of chasing my hatred, then you would not be in this state" Eric said sadly as he looked at Eren with regret in his eyes. Eren soon calmed down how ever and then said, "it's ok Eric, you are here now and we are finally rid of those bastards forever. But please from now on don't let your emotions control you...that's my thing" Eren said as he and Eric chuckled at the joke.

Mikasa stood off to the side quietly as she watched the new boy who had just killed a man with one blow, amazing her even more than when her first savior now known as Eren had came. She was brought out of her trance as she heard how the other one named Eric had went throughout wall Maria in search for these men, ending up with him coming back to Shiganshina to then hear about how Eren and his father came to visit them.

And how he supposedly just ran all the way here and met up with his father who had then explained to him what had happened to her family, being broken even more from the mention of it but also relieved that people so strong came to save her. After the explaining was finished, Eric had said that their father and MP's would arrive very soon.

This brought get relief to Eren as he knew that Mikasa would finally get the justice her family deserved, but then soon thought about where she was going to stay after this. While Eren was thinking to himself, Eric had walked over to Mikasa to introduce himself to her, "Hi I'm Eric Yeager what's your name?" asked Eric with a smile on his face.

Mikasa looked at him for as second until she quietly spoke out her name, "Mikasa Ackerman" Eric lked the name and told her it sounded cute, making her blush a little at the compliment. Eric then went on to tell her that he was sorry for what had happened and that he will do everything in his power to help her find a place to live.


1 Hour Later...

Grisha had arrived with the MP, and they were not happy about the events that the children did, but soon let it go as they knew that Zackly was on good terms with Eric. Grisha had scolded both of them for rushing head long into it like that, and that they both let their anger get the better of them, something that both Eren and Eric realized that they needed to practice to keep under control.

They soon made a pact with each other that they would not only get their emotions under control, but that this was the last time that they would ever kill any human beings. "No more killing people, I am very tired from doing it for so long" Eric said as Eren nodded and voiced similar opinions on the matter as well. They then began to talk about how things were going to be from now on since they had finally killed the last of the yellow men, making both smile as they thought the same thing, 'feast at the hideout'.

As they finished conversing with themselves, they saw Mikasa standing there off to the side with her arms holding each other close to her chest as she watched them. They both looked at one another and then went to walk towards Grisha, getting his attention as they said something to him Mikasa could not hear. But after saying what ever they said to him, they all looked at her and walked towards her making her feel smaller.

She looked up at Grisha and asked, "where am I going to go now?" to which Grisha smiled and looked down at his two kids as they smiled back, then him saying "why don't you ask these two". Mikasa looked confused until she looked at Eren and Eric as they looked at each other and nodded.

They looked back at her with Eren leading, "Mikasa it's getting kinda late don't you think" with Eric nodding and saying "yea it is, also cold to", but Mikasa did not fully understand what they were saying until Eren looked at her in the eyes and said "let's go home...to OUR home".

Mikasa was shocked and thrilled that she had a place to go, and it being with he people who saved her, something she would never forget. But she then sneezed and began to shiver as the Yeager brothers were about to walk back to the cart. Eren looked back at her and then dumped his scarf onto her, almost fully covering her face from view.

Mikasa was shocked at the kind gesture from Eren as he held out his hand with a smile towards her, with her taking it and letting a few tears roll down her eyes. As they made it onto the cart thought, Mikasa sat right beside Eren with both of their shoulders touching, and with Mikasa crying still. Eren was worried as to why Mikasa was crying, so he asked her what was going on, "thank you for this scarf...Eren, it is very warm" she said quietly as she looked into his eyes.

Eren laughed while scratching the back of his head with a tint of pink on his cheeks, making Eric snicker at him while Eren worded in English "shut the fuck up" making Eric laugh harder. Eren soon turned back to Mikasa who had not stopped looking at him, making him blush harder as he made a joke and said to her "it's no big deal really, It's just a red scarf anyway".

Now to Eren, that was all it was, jsut a simple kind gesture and nothing more, but to Mikasa...it meant the whole world to her. And seeing as how she will be living with Eren now, she could not wait to be by his side more...especially after teaching her such a valuable lesson today. In this world, the weak shall only die, but the strong will win and live...to protect the ones that they love.

That is what this "just a red scarf" means, something that only Mikasa her self will truly know just how much important this scarf is.


So that was my take on the Ackerman killed mini arc, as well as a little bit of ErenxMikasa. I also know which parings I am going to do now, and I am pretty sure you guys will know which one is first.