Shingeki no Pacific Rim

SUMMARY: When humanity is threatened by the Kaiju—nightmarish beasts that arose from the sea—only the Yeager pilots stand a chance. One of these pilots, a prodigy named Mikasa Ackerman, finds her skills put to the test as she must re-join the program to fight for humankind. Levi x Mikasa, Christa x Ymir.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter's a little bit of a cool-down from the last crazy battle. It's also important to Mikasa's character development and how she finds herself dealing with the death of her comrades, etc, etc.

Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favourited it! Your support is just so so fantastic.

The tech crews had managed to salvage parts of Striker Angel. Heaps of scratched metal streaked with white covered the hangar floor. Wires poked out from every tear, frazzled and tipped with splitting copper while water poured from the holes made in the Yeager.

Mikasa didn't want to watch a single moment of the process. It'd been five days since they'd saved Trost from the onslaught of Voidstalker and Festeredge, yet the events seemed all too fresh in her mind's eye.

"They're getting a larger crew to bring in the head," said Armin, handing her a cup of coffee which she gratefully accepted. His eyes were bloodshot red and his hair stuck up at odd angles, the result of overseeing the operation while spending every spare second he had with Annie.

The girl had been found alive in one of the pods ejected from Armoured Omen, but the force of the attack had left her comatose. Doctors had chalked it up to head trauma. Currently, she was taking up residence in the Medical Bay. Reiner and Bert hardly left her side, taking turns talking to her.

"The tech crew said once they bring in the head, they're going to close the hangar to the public," continued Armin. "Out of respect for Christa and Ymir."

Mikasa drew her scarf over her mouth and nose, breathing in the comforting scent of her bed. Not the bed at the Shatterdome, but at her small apartment in Shiganshina where she lived by herself in a tiny studio overlooking the city. "How's Annie?"

Armin brushed a hand through his hair, making the blonde strands stick up. "The doctors said she should come out of coma in a few days."

"That's good. Have you been getting any sleep?"

He laughed nervously. "Some."

"You should sleep. It's not good for you if you keep staying up like this. There are other people that can oversee this, you know."

Armin sighed. "Nobody wants to."

Mikasa pushed a lock of hair behind her eye and stared out at the tech crew. A large, mechanized arm streaked with the silvery-blue Kaiju blood was being brought in by vehicles. There was still a half-broken blade attached to the appendage.

Armin followed Mikasa's gaze. "Losing pilots is never easy."

"They were nice kids."

"They were," agreed Armin. "Young kids, too. Christa was supposed to graduate from the Academy this year and Ymir only finished last year."

"Have you informed their parents?"

Armin shook his head. "Erwin's taking care of that. And how are you, by the way?"

Mikasa shrugged. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"This is the first time I've piloted since Bonecleaver."

Armin leaned his head on Mikasa's shoulder. "You guys were amazing, though."

"I guess I just miss piloting with Levi," she said.

"Is that why you've been avoiding Eren?"

She didn't reply.

"It's okay to miss Levi. You two spent years working together. It's only natural that you would instantly compare him to Eren."

"I just don't want Eren to think I don't want to pilot with him," she divulged.

"He won't," promised Armin. "I'm sure Eren worries that he won't be good enough for you."

"How do you know that?" Mikasa began absentmindedly trying to smooth down Armin's hair.

"I know Eren and I know you. And I know the Drift. I may not have Drifted with anybody before, but you have. I know that the Drift melds your mind with your partners and that while you can't access all of their memories, you share emotions. If you were feeling worried, Eren probably was too."

Mikasa hummed.

"And you need to talk to him. Driving a wedge between the two of you is only going to hinder your performance."

"I should, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, Mikasa. Yes, you should, especially if you plan on Drifting with him again."

"Thanks, Armin." Mikasa wrapped her free arm around him and together, they stood huddled, watching the last remnants of Striker Angel being brought up from the sea. There was a part of Mikasa that felt bad about lying, but the other part of her that felt even worse about lying to Armin. Sweet Armin, who'd helped her clean her apartment and always bought her cake from a tiny bakery about an hour's drive from her house whenever he happened to be in the area.

But, at that moment, Mikasa was too tired and too stressed to care.

"Mikasa!" The loud, incessant banging at her door could only be Eren.

Mikasa rolled out of bed, dragging her covers along the door. She lazily pushed open the unlocked door. "Hm?"

"Can I come in?"

Mikasa wedged open the door even further with her outstretched hand, wordlessly permitting him entry.

Eren walked in and sat on the very corner of Mikasa's bed. "Can we talk?" His eyes strayed to the photo she had of her and Levi when they were Rangers fresh out of the Academy. Other photos—pictures of her and Armin or her and Hanji—were scattered haphazardly on the wall. Mikasa's desk was an organized mess; several novels lay in piles sorted alongside scribbled-in notebooks and stacked loose-leaf paper.

She lumbered back toward her bed, the covers still wrapped tightly around her. Mikasa curled up in the corner, only the top of her head visible. "Shoot," she said, her voice muffled.

"Are you avoiding me?" That was the nice thing about Eren. He never beat around the bush.

"I'm really tired."

Eren pulled back the sheets covering her face. "I can see that."

Mikasa mock-glared at him, huddling deeper in her cave of blankets.

"Hey Mikasa…" Eren's voice trailed slightly. He ran the palm of his hand along the concrete wall. "When we were Drifting…"

"We had a good Drift," said Mikasa. "An incredibly strong Drift."

Eren perked up. "It was!" He stretched out his body and made himself more comfortable on the bed. Mikasa shifted over to make room for him. "Hey, promise me you won't get mad if I ask."

"That depends!"

"Do you still miss piloting with Levi?"

Mikasa eyed Eren, the blanket falling from her head. "I miss piloting with him," she said carefully, watching the boy for his reaction. "But, that doesn't mean I don't like piloting with you."

"Good," said Eren, nodding resolutely. "We can kill the Kaiju more efficiently if our Drift is stronger." With a bit of an ungraceful whump, he rolled onto the floor and brushed off his pants. "Do you want to get something to eat with me?"

Mikasa shook her head. "I think I'll just take a nap."

"Don't lie in bed all day."

"I know."

"I'll save you some food?"

Mikasa still shook her head. "I'll come down when I'm hungry."

Eren hovered by the door, his hand ghosting over the handle. "Alright," he conceded. "But don't stay up here all day."

"Mm." Mikasa faced the wall and drew her blanket over her head.

Eren rolled his eyes and closed the heavy metal door behind him.

When Mikasa was sure he'd left, she drew herself into an even tighter ball and pressed her fist to her mouth, trying not to think about how it felt to be locked inside the Conn-Pod as some monstrous being pried open its head to get to you. She tried not to remember the pain of Bonecleaver stabbing Genesis Titan and how it felt like there should have been blood but there was only white-hot pain and the desire to live and fight and win.

Every time she looked at Eren, she only saw the pain on his face when Voidstalker bit through the wrist of Genesis Titan. And she didn't want to see that.

"I can't protect him," she whispered lowly. "I can't even protect myself." She ghosted her fingers over the circuitry scars that ran up the side of her body—a lasting reminder of the pain she had to endure in order to survive.

There was a knock at her door. Two short raps. It was Levi.

"I saw the brat come out of your room, so I thought I'd better check on you." Like Eren, he sat at the edge of her bed, but his posture was more relaxed. "Was he being a little shit, again?"

Mikasa made a noncommittal noise at the back of her throat. She coughed lightly, hoping to prevent cover the sound of her sobbing, but it was no use in front of him.

Levi gently pried the blanket off of Mikasa, putting his hand atop hers. "Don't worry too much about the brat. He's like a goddamn cockroach. I bet you could toss him in the Breach and he'd come out unscathed."

Mikasa gave him a watery smile.

Looking down, Levi saw that her hands were covering the scars that marred her torso. "And those scars you have are a sign that you'd risk anything to protect the people you love, so there's nothing to worry about. Between your self-sacrificing nature and the brat's tendency to avoid death, the two of you are going to be just fine."

"I just," Mikasa began, "I guess I didn't realize what it meant." At Levi's confused blinking—once for understanding and twice for bewilderment—she clarified, "getting into a Yeager, again."

"It has been a long time," said Levi. "Three years is a fricking long time."

"I thought it would be easy. Or, as easy as piloting a Yeager gets. I'd forgotten how big the Kaiju were."

"It's our job to remember, Mikasa." Levi leaned over to her desk and straightened out the papers. "We remember those big-ass monsters so others don't have to."

"We have a lot to shoulder for humanity."

"We were the idiots that signed up for this." Sliding in next to her, Levi ran a hand through her hair. "You need a shower."

"I showered this morning."

"It sure doesn't feel like it," remarked Levi. "I'm going to take one now. Care to join me?"

Mikasa leisurely shrugged the blanket off and loosened the top two buttons on her pajamas. "I suppose another shower wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit."

Finally, thought Mikasa. With the newfound understanding between her and Eren, as well as the renewed relationship with Levi on the rise, maybe things were starting to look up.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Armin?" Hanji peered over the young man's shoulder. "What are you looking at?"

"It can't be," he said. "We just had one! How can we have two double events in a row?"

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