See You Later, Eren Chapter 5

Title: I Forbid you to Die

I want to preface this by saying that YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE AUTHORS NOTE, it will be quite long as some things have happened.

Anyways, hey all! I finally managed to upload on Sunday yaaaay. Except it's a week late :p. Apologies, but my reasons for this are threefold. The most significant of which is that getting a new chapter posted on the previous Sunday became unfeasible, as life will be life. Second reason is that I really wanted to reset the clock I've been behind on, so I decided to just wait out the week and post on the next Sunday. Now I'm set up to where I should be uploading every week again. Finally, I also wanted to hold off because chapter 139 was rapidly approaching, and I was worried that it was gonna shake things up, so I was preparing myself to edit my entire outline to take recent events into consideration.

And I ended up being… very wrong in that assumption. But in a good way. I am going to proceed to rant a bit about the final chapter because it is so deep that I'm still trying to understand it. Afterwards, I will discuss what this means for my story and then I will respond to some of the amazing reviews. I will separate each subject by line breaks so if you want info on one or two of these then you can skip as much as you'd like.

[SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 139 AHEAD. SKIP THE CONTENT IN BETWEEN THE NEXT THREE LINE BREAKS OR JUST AVOID THE REST OF THE AUTHORS NOTE TO AVOID SPOILERS]

My Thoughts on 139

It turns out I was near totally right about what would happen in chapter 139. I didn't have lofty theories, and everything I expected I've laid out in my previous authors notes and responses to my kind reviewers. The titan curse was lifted, Eremika confirmed (omg I am dying I've been waiting so long for this), Eren always loving Mikasa, and not much else. So here are my thoughts…

Honestly, my reaction to the latest chapter is this: it's just about everything I hoped for, kinda. The execution could have been better and far more fleshed out with some extra chapters, I'm not gonna delude myself there. But as far as the content that was there… fucking beautiful. I always wanted a happy ending to this story, and I honestly thought that that was where it was gonna go. There was no way Eren was just gonna genocide the world, and in the end we got to see his humanity once again. I've heard a lot of people say (been spending too much time on r/titanfolk) that Eren's character development was destroyed and stuff like that but that's not the case in my opinion. It was a moment of weakness from a teenage boy that's seeing his best friend again and is moments away from death, and the, for lack of a better term, pathetic spectacle that is Eren in this chapter feels completely understandable now that we have the full knowledge of what he was doing and why he was doing it. But yeah some people are saying that Eren did the rumbling for no reason, ruined the lives of his friends for no reason, and all that stuff because they feel that it wasn't necessary to protect his friends, and yeah I think that Eren is a flawed character because the rumbling was never necessary, but it's an understandable belief and that's why I buy it. Plus he also wanted to get rid of the titans, something that was only possible through Ymir seeing Mikasa kill Eren, so you could even argue that the rumbling was necessary for the goals he was trying to achieve, even though genocide's still pretty cringe. He even had to kill his mom (or I guess technically keep Dina from eating Bertholdt which inadvertently caused his mom to be the next victim) and that's fucking tragic. And that's what this ending is, despite all the happiness that comes from it, a tragedy. Eren is undoubtedly a tragic character, a slave to freedom, but at the end of the day he achieved it for everyone, at least with regards to the titans.

It's a shocking ending, and it's not perfect, but Isayama is a masterful author, so I'm more inclined to believe that the people who say this came out of nowhere are misguided rather than the man who spent 12 years writing this masterpiece. EMA is the core of Attack on Titan, and I couldn't be happier that it ended the way it did (okay maybe if things were a bit more fleshed out but other than that)

What This Means for my Fic

All of that being said… how does this affect my story? Well I'm pleased to say that, because my predictions were relatively spot on, chapter 139 won't change my outline that much. There's no erehisu, so I don't have to deal with that can of worms, and the eremika tragedy of 139 only bolsters the themes of my fic. There may be some questions as to how I tackle Mikasa going back in time and the characters' reactions to it, as the time travel occurred during 138 in my fic, but that will be revealed in due time. Also, apparently the dream Mikasa had in chapter 138 gave her closure on Eren's beliefs towards her in the same way Armin's 139 dream did, which means that Mikasa, after having experienced the dream, knows that he doesn't hate her… which is something we are going to ignore for the time being. The fact that Mikasa resolved her "i've always hated you" issue through that dream, in which that specific topic is not addressed on-page between them, is an example of why I wish the ending was a bit more fleshed out, so think of my fic as a way to partly amend that. The same goes for Eren's personality. A lot of people dislike where he was taken in the final chapter, so you all should know I'm not going to be tackling this Eren for at least a long time, as we're still working with pre-future-memories Eren in my story. And when the time does come to fully address it, rest assured I will be taking my sweet time to explain it, unlike the manga.

So for those of you who didn't like 139, which I predict there are many, don't think that because I liked the ending I'm going to roll with all of the sudden changes that were not fleshed out enough. My goal is to create my own fanfic that doesn't pretend like the big 139 revelations don't exist but gives them context, clarity, build-up, and development that is desperately needed. I'm no Isayama but I'll give it my best.

Responses to Reviews

Response to Melie - Ann: Thank you once again for the great review! I love hearing your comments, especially the compliments about the gradual romance and staying in character, as those are some of my biggest priorities and it's good to know I'm doing okay! Also I agree the Jean, Eren, Mikasa dynamic is wayy too entertaining to ignore, so you'll definitely see more of it in the future chapters hehe. Also yeah, Eren isn't gonna be convinced to quit, Mikasa tried last chapter but there was no way it was gonna work with the way he is, so she'll have to improvise some more. To address your hopes about Armin and future POV's with him, don't worry, he will definitely become a big character as events unfold. Also, I'm glad you asked this because many others seem to have interpreted the last scene as Eren starting to reclaim his memories. The paths work in mysterious ways, and while Eren's future memories will certainly play a role in his character eventually, I was actually hearkening back to Eren's dream at the beginning of the manga (recall he sees her say see you later Eren before waking up). So, it doesn't necessarily confirm that all his memories are starting to come back, just that he remembers the dream he had. It was meant to poke fun at the fact that they both had that dream without either of them realizing they shared it (except now Mikasa knows) and hint at a development that will play a big role in the story.

Response to kaffeenator666: Thank you for the encouragement, as I am not disciplined and usually work best when I have a creative moment! I think that Mikasa's development is going to be something of a rocky road as the story develops, so I'm glad you like it when she sometimes fails to distance herself from Eren or resist the urge to just run away and protect him. Sometimes she'll be very forward thinking and independent and sometimes she'll run straight back to Eren depending on the situation, but by the end of the story I hope to have resolved Mikasa's character in a way that leaves everyone satisfied as the struggle to understand him is basically her primary conflict in the story. I appreciate your thoughts towards Armin as well, as he is by far the easiest of the three characters to write about because we are so similar and I definitely would expect him to start using his noggin once Mikasa starts acting out of place. Either way, thank you for the great review!

Response to gabrielvitorio101: yes :)

Mikasa thrusts the worn shovel into the raised mound of ground. She wipes her tired hand over her forehead, slick with sweat, and then wipes her cheeks, slick with tears. Some kind of monument... a cross, or a rock, she doubts she could get anything too fancy out here, but something needs to sit there, to overlook Eren's grave. But not today. She can't.

The tears are out. She's lost too many, her cheeks and nose red from the sniffling and swiping away. She stumbles back to their home, the weakness forcing her to balance on the walls once she reaches them. She lets out a quiet sound, halfway between a chuckle and a wail. Mikasa used to be so strong, stronger than everyone else, so maybe it's fitting that all her strength dies with him. After all, why else should she continue to be strong?

She had spent so long thinking about it, Eren's eventual death. It had robbed her of countless nights, back when he was alive, and now she aches, wishing more than anything in the cruel world that she just enjoyed every single second of those last four years she had with him. They both knew it was coming, and Eren seemed to have come to terms with it, but she couldn't. "he was always stronger than me...", she regrets.

The door to their hut opens with a remorseless creak. The silence is louder than anything she's ever heard. She remembers Eren's laugh, the brisk squeaking of the wooden floors when he moved about, the fumbling and occasional curses when he tried to clean or do the dishes, the light whistle of his nose when they slept. She'll never get to hear any of that again.

She looks by the window sill, the once beautiful flowers that sat there, which she got for his twenty-third birthday, now droop out of the glass, as dead as everything else in her heart.

At least she got to spend those last four years with him. All of her feelings exploded out of her soul that day, when she confessed to him, and Eren actually wanted to run away. How could she say no? It was what she always wanted...

But what did it cost? Now she is completely and utterly alone. She can fend for herself, but she's freezing without the warmth of Eren's embrace. She told him 'See you later', but she knows she'll never see him again. Unless she's lucky enough for a heaven to actually exist. Although, with the way she abandoned her friends, abandoned Armin, she doesn't think that she'd get to go either way. She could go back to Armin, apologize that she left him, her best friend. And he might even, by some miracle, forgive her. But what's the point? He only has five years himself now. She'd just be repeating the process, the last person that she could possibly call her home, gone from her dwindling heart.

She lowers her eyelids, unwrapping the last piece of Eren's warmth from her neck, and folding it into her lap. She could never throw it away. She could never forget him. Not in any universe. Not in any timeline.

But either way, it's inevitable. This cruel world has sealed her destiny. All alone, in the house they built together, her last home.

This is her fate.

She lowers her head onto the folded scarf she holds. Sounds of sorrow won't do justice to the pain she feels, nothing will, so she just holds the scarf to her face.

Mikasa shakes awake. Her breathing is labored and quite loud compared to the dull silence of her sleeping quarters. She barely notices the sweat that's stained her backside and the boundless tears that continue to leave her eyes, no matter what she does. Frantically, she reaches for her small bag of things under the bed, trying to find her most prized possession using only her sense of touch. Skipping past her shoes, she finds it, and grasps it tight, bringing the red scarf to her eyes to block the tears.

After a few seconds, she figures that she can't stay here, so she grabs the aforementioned shoes and walks out. Sure, she's in the military and as such has curfew, not knowing what time it is only that it's the dead of night, but she doesn't dedicate more than a moment to those thoughts.

The cold air hits her like a train, just what she needs. She begins to pace around aimlessly, mostly to get the grief-filled shaking out of her system. A soft breeze bites at her fingers and ears, stopping her tears momentarily, and allowing her to take a ragged but calming exhale. A few minutes simply standing in the cold, and she's already forgotten most of the contents of her dream. There were flowers... she thinks.

The memory of her holding the scarf to her face comes back in a blaze, and she juts her head away from the fabric, tear stained eyes wide. Suddenly, it doesn't feel so cold anymore... it doesn't feel much like anything.

"I can't get Eren to leave. He won't do it.", she gives the ground an emotionless gaze as she walks to nowhere in particular.

"He may die to a titan. He may die to a human. He may die to the curse... but he's going to die". She glances back at the building that holds her sleeping quarters. "Sasha will die too."

Fireflies flash in and out of the darkness around her, a part of her wonders what they're doing here in the late autumn. The yellow spots that flicker give Mikasa a brief respite, but as she focuses on one of them in particular, its color begins to flash blue.

Her eyes should widen in realization, but it only makes her shoulders slump. "is that why I'm here?". She sees her reflection in a nearby window. "am I trapped in a fantasy...?".

That could explain it all. She never wanted to kill Eren, she had to think about their love, completely distance herself from what she was doing, just to do it. Maybe she still hasn't left... maybe she's utterly lost in this cruel world. What is real and what's not? She's always been strong, stronger than is possible for most humans, maybe that proves that it isn't real?. Nothing makes sense... the only thing that's real is love.

And here she is, having the opportunity to love and save Eren, save everyone from this horrible fate... so... that's real enough, right? Maybe. But something's wrong. Call it her Ackerman instincts, but she always had a knack for knowing if Eren was ever in trouble, even when she had no possible way of knowing. And, that's what's been bothering her, among other things. Something is wrong here. It has been wrong since she woke up in this past world... it feels different than it did, back when she did it the first time.

Is it because it's not real? Because this is all in her head? She's still in the Colossal's mouth, living out infinite lives until she can come to terms with Eren's death?

She sighs, the breath tinged with a faint visibility thanks to the November air. A light throbbing in her head makes itself known, something she definitely picks up on, seeing as how her headaches have lessened since she's entered this new timeline.

"Be sure to thank them when you see them" Mikasa remembers... no, hears the voice of the young girl, the one she saw in the dream she had a few days ago.

"See you later, Eren"

"Uh, what did you say?".

"what?"

"Sorry, I feel like I've heard you say that before. I'm just tired, I'll see you later, Mikasa", she recalls the conversation she had with Eren a few hours ago. She thinks about his passionate emerald eyes, his warm smile, his strong presence, his indomitable will.

"No." she feels herself saying aloud. "This is real. He remembers what I said to him."

This is real. How does he know? Was he there? Was he a part of her dream? Did... he hear what she said it him? He had to have! Mikasa looks back to her quarters, starting to make her trek back. "Sasha. Connie. Jean. Armin. Eren...", tears form under her eyes, and she doesn't even realize she's practically running back to the building, too focused on her newfound resolution. "I will save you. I will save all of you!"

"That's why I'm back here, to save everyone!" she shouts to the night, the chirping of crickets and the whistle of trees her only response. "I'm strong! I've been given another chance, it's the only conclusion! I won't let it go to waste! I-"

"What are doing?" the drowsy voice of Sasha interrupts her. She's standing by the doorway, eyes half closed and bed head ravaging her hair. Mikasa is startled, but she quickly lets that leave her face, an impassioned smile replacing it.

"Sasha..." she lets out. Sasha cocks her head, "uhh, Mikasa, right?". Mikasa nods, trying to keep her tears from falling again as she realizes that she's been so cold towards everyone, even when she's been given another chance to see them. She thought for so long that she'd never see Sasha again, and here she is.

"I'm sorry..." she whispers pitifully.

Sasha's eyes open a bit more at this, and her eyebrows arch slightly, "uh, it's fine, really. You didn't wake me up or anything," she offers, clearly confused by Mikasa's emotion. "I was just wondering what were ya doing out here shouting?".

Mikasa can't help but chuckle.

THE NEXT YEAR

The rain pounds at the trainees' heads and limbs, adding to the stress of their arduous expedition. Carrying heavy packs, running in the deep mud as the commander barks orders at them probably isn't anyone's idea of easy, but that's the point. Shadis has grown to like this band of good for nothing chunks of glorified titan-food, not that he'd ever say it, but a test is a test.

"Too slow! Pick up the pace! Run, you lead-footed laggards!" he shouts from his horse, galloping around the compact line of cadets as they maneuver through the forest. He slows down to check up on the blond that's a fair bit behind. "What's your problem, Arlert?! You're dragging your feet! Too heavy for you? Maybe you'd prefer if I let you drop your gear? If this were a real mission, you'd be titan food by now!" he berates, leaving as quickly as he appeared to go find someone else to harass.

"Damn!" Armin grunts, scrunching his face and pushing his feet forward ever-so-slightly faster, though it isn't doing much good. Suddenly, a massive weight is lifted off his shoulders, as he looks to see Reiner pacing away from him with both his and Armin's pack in tow. "You're gonna fail at this rate, we're being graded today!" he reminds him with his usual frown.

"But you'll get points marked off too if you do that, Reiner"

"Then make an effort not to get caught. Don't make me change my mind" he finishes.

"Reiner Braun. He has a robust physique and mental strength, and most of his comrades put great trust in him" Shadis scribbles down quick evaluations in his notebook. His glance shifts to the struggling boy beside him.

"I refuse to be a burden! Even if it costs me my life.", Armin resolves, with a newfound fortitude. He runs forward a hoists the pack back onto his shoulders as he takes deep, ragged breaths forward.

"Armin Arlert. Though he clearly lacks physical strength, his aptitude in the classroom is extraordinary"

Jean, Bertholdt, and Annie zip through the lines of trees, all honing in on a single titan dummy. Annie and Bertholdt slice deeply through the nape area, with Jean's cut not being quite as thorough.

"Annie Leonhart. Her slice attacks are nearly flawless, but her reclusive nature makes her a poor fit for coordinated efforts. And Bertholdt Hoover. He possesses remarkable potential, but lacks assertiveness" Shadis assesses. Jean elects to take a quick turn through one of the bigger trees, separating himself from the pair.

"I can't slice as good as those two. I'll just have to find the titans before them!" he concludes, easily navigating the dense foliage with his gear.

"Jean Kirstein. Top-class in 3D mobility, but his volatile personality tends to cause friction with others"

Behind Jean, a rapidly approaching figure appears, passing him by towards a new titan dummy. "Thanks for the help, Jean! Following you was a good idea!" Connie calls out. Unfortunately for them, their bickering left an open opportunity, one quickly taken by Sasha, cheering as she gets the kill before either of them.

"Sasha Braus. Has unconventionally good intuition, but also demonstrates poor teamwork as a result" Shadis looks back to the stunned faces of Jean and Connie. "Connie Springer. He excels at making quick turns, but is also a bit dim witted"

"Here they come" he hears one of his subordinates exclaim, raising up two titan dummies. They're not up for long though, as a raven-haired girl, moving at lightning speeds, lands two perfect cuts on the dummies in one fell swoop. "Damn, shallower than Mikasa again!" the boy that's, at this point, quite behind her remarks.

"Mikasa Ackerman. Breaking multiple trainee records, she surpasses what I have expected in every sense of the word. It's apt to say that I have never seen such unprecedented genius"

"Eren Jaeger. He has no real specialties but he's improved his grades with his unparalleled effort, and he possesses twice the sense of purpose than anyone else"

Eren stomps back to the storage building, where many of the cadets are located right now. The sun beams at the rocky ground, baking anyone who's unlucky enough to be standing around on their training grounds, which just so happened to be the entire 104th today, as examinations have been taking place over the week. As such, the sun was only really a contributing factor to their sweat and fatigue, with the excessive ODM gear practicing being the main cause, forcing many of the trainees around the building to slouch. Eren was fairing better than most of them, but it's possible that the only reason for that is because his mind's been focused elsewhere.

It's stupid, really. Mikasa has always been stronger than him, seemingly without trying, so he shouldn't be so upset at this turn of events. Well, if he's being honest, it wasn't really a turn of events as much as it was something that had always been there, just made painfully obvious during examinations. Her skills with the ODM gear are extraordinary, simply put, despite how hard Eren has been training to be at least on par with her.

He's not about to say he's jealous or anything stupid like that, but it's frustrating nonetheless. She picks up each lesson like she's heard it a thousand times, and then executes them like she's practiced it a thousand times. Yeah, he's had years to accept the fact that she's stronger than him, and most days he can shut up and deal with it, but on days like these, where he's been hard at work all day under the debilitating heat of the sun, with the line at the storage building moving at a snails pace... he's allowed to get a little mad.

His sulking is interrupted by the graceful hand that snakes its way into his, giving it a light squeeze. He doesn't have to look up to know who it is, but he does anyway. "Hey, Mikasa", he says halfheartedly, her not exactly being the person he wants to see right now.

Her smile fades rather quickly, and her eyebrows arch slightly in concern, "what's wrong?". Definitely not wanting to get into it at the moment, Eren retracts his hand and crosses his arms, "just tired. Exams have been difficult" he puts emphasis on the last word while glancing at his friend to probe her reaction. "Even though for you, it's been the easiest thing in the world." he resists the urge to mutter at her. If she senses that something's wrong with him, she doesn't bother with it, instead resuming her signature impassive expression and looking forward at the sluggish line ahead of them.

"Did you finish your exams today?" he asks, anxious to keep himself from brooding too obviously. She nods, "this morning, actually."

She finally looks down to see Eren also wearing his gear, "I thought H through N were supposed to go tomorrow," she wonders aloud. Eren puffs through his nose.

"yeah, but I can always do with some more training", or at least that's what he thought, but he failed to consider how hard it would be to train during the examination day where cadets with last names A through G would test their ODM capabilities, and just how annoying it would be to wait in line just to return his gear to its proper place.

"MIKASAAAAAA" Eren hears the ecstatic voice of Sasha slowly fill his ears. He looks past Mikasa's shoulder to see the brunette practically jumping towards her, and before he registers it she has Mikasa trapped into a tight hug. "Thank you so muchhh!" she says overdramatically, as if on the verge of weeping. The disturbed face many of the other tired cadets wore at the sight is similar to his own, glancing at Sasha with confusion.

"Did you get your grades back?" she asks, and Sasha rips herself from the embrace to nod. "Yeah! My marks were way better than before, thanks to you!"

Mikasa flashes a light smile, "I'm glad I could help."

"You helped her?" he finds himself asking Mikasa, though Sasha is the one to respond, "y-yeah, just to practice, though!" she pushes her hands in front of her in clarification. Eren finds himself smiling at that.

"I didn't mean it like that. What did you get, anyway?"

"I got an 83/100!" she flashes a smile and shows him her papers, a big 83 stamped onto the top of the front page. Eren raises his eyebrows, after all, it is a pretty impressive score. "At this rate, I could even get into the Military Police if I wanted to" she emphasizes with pride.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Sasha, there are plenty more exams to come, and the ODM gear training is only going to get more difficult" Mikasa tries to warn, though it does nothing to abate the brunette's grin.

"Does that mean your scores are in, Mikasa?" Eren asks. A significant part of him doesn't want to know, but his curiosity gets the better of him.

"If it's not a perfect score, I'll be shocked" Sasha laughs.

"I, uh, don't actually know yet. I haven't checked." she explains as she averts her gaze from the two.

"The commandant's put them by his office, you can grab them anytime..."

"I know, but I haven't bothered yet."

Eren frowns, "what, so she's too good to even check her grades now?". Refraining from starting a conflict in the hot sun, he bites his tongue. "You should, check Mikasa-"

"Yeah! I bet the whole the corps would be interested to know" Sasha interjects. Mikasa only shakes her head, "you're exaggerating"

Maybe, but Eren isn't too sure. They were only a month into training when Mikasa changed, once again, seemingly overnight. He remembers the day after he first was able to use the ODM gear as if it was yesterday. The cold shoulder was completely gone, replaced with a light smile and genuine caring in her eyes. Eren was never able to discover why she had acted so cold after the nightmare she had half a year ago, but he learned to stop caring a while ago. As training continued, she easily became the best member of the class, maneuvering her omni-directional mobility gear as if it was an extension of herself.

It was surprising, but not nearly as surprising as her change in personality. At the end of the day, she was still blunt, relatively reserved, and the same girl he's known for nearly four years, but she talked with her fellow cadets with a new compassion. She helped anyone who needed it, and took great care to make sure they improved. As such, she became respected, not only for her incredible skill, but her dependable persona.

Whenever Eren would talk with her in private, or together with Armin, she wasn't that different, but it was nonetheless strange to see her immerse herself in the social component of training. He expected her to stay quiet and get her work done, but she was the star of the entire training corps instead.

And Sasha has a point, whatever Mikasa's score is, most of the trainees would want to know.

DAYS LATER

The whiz of the ODM gear is sharp in Armin's ears as he makes his way through the forest, frequently being forced to execute sharp turns, much sharper than he is comfortable with. It's even gotten to the point where he finds himself hitting a few trees with his whole body whenever he fails to expel gas early enough. By the time it happens, it's never with much momentum, so it's not like it hurts, but he grits his teeth anyways. Every blunder wasn't making it any easier for his teammates, and once again he felt like a burden.

Mikasa was right, he supposes, when she warned him a week ago that the complexities of the ODM gear were only going to be further utilized once the first exams were finished. How she knew, he isn't sure, but he doesn't have half a mind to pay attention to it right now. They're doing another group exercise today, this time a race, with the ODM equipment. Thomas, Hannah, Sasha, and Krista are on the competing team, with himself, Jean, Annie, and Marco together.

Standard, one on one ODM races were nothing new, and they were straightforward. In his time, Armin might have won one? He gave up on believing he could actually beat most people, but the only thing losing to them did was hurt his non-existent pride and lower his grades a bit, the latter of which he made up for with his classroom grades.

But now they're doing team races, and so not only is he in dead last, he's, once again, a burden to his fellow trainees, which makes his ears burn in shame, even though no one is there to directly witness his failure.

"if only I could move my body better! I wouldn't have to use more gas just to catch up" he thinks to himself. But as he enters an area of the forest that leaves a bit more open space for gaining momentum, he instead applies more pressure on the gas, increasing his speed greatly. "My teammates need a fourth member, I guess I'll just have to find a way to use less gas when I catch up".

The reason for teammates in this race, as well as the need to minimize fuel usage, is because this is a long course. One full of traps, pitfalls, annoying trees, and titan dummies one could kill for extra points. Armin had originally rationalized that it was okay if he staggered behind his teammates, because he could get any titans that they might have missed in their haste. For a while that worked, but he's long past the point of being in a position where he would be able to find any unsliced dummies in time.

The speed of his extra fuel usage makes the wind push at his face, almost causing him to close his eyes. However, after a few more lucky dodges from some branches, his plan was working. He sees Jean not far ahead of him. The brown-haired boy turns around to see Armin, an intense look on his face from all the racing.

"Oi, Arlert, where have you been?!" he shouts, the sounds of the oppressive wind resistance and obnoxious ODM gear keeping any lower volume of voice from being heard.

"I fell behind! Where are the others?"

"They're ahead!" Jean's eyes shift into a disgruntled glare, "we're sticking with your plan, Annie in the front with Marco spotting her, though I've had to stay behind and fulfill your job!"

"Sorry about that! You go back to Annie and Marco, I can..." he stops to take a long inhale, exhausted from the extra speed, "I can take it from here!"

"You're gettin slow, Armin, you sure you're up for that?"

"Go, Jean!" Armin orders, filled with conviction, which surprises Jean. The taller boy widens his eyes a bit, but nods.

...

This is what he's been itching for. Staying behind to get the titan dummies has been too slow for Jean, and now he can go back to using the gear to it's fullest potential, which always felt natural to him. He decides that now's a better time than ever to use that trick Mikasa told him about. He remembers it like it was yesterday.

"You're really good at using the gear" she approached Jean one day. This was a few months after she had stopped being so unfriendly to everybody. Most people assumed she was just shy the first couple of weeks, but Jean likes to think he broke her out of her shell with his smooth talking, a thought that always makes him grin.

"uh-uhm... thanks... you too"

"You know, there's a maneuver that I think I could teach you"

"Really?" his eyebrows jumped at the offer, but he wasn't about to turn down his crush.

"Yeah, it's not something trainees learn in their first year, but I think you could handle it". Jean was going to ask how the heck she knew it, then, but his ego soared and his cheeks burned at the sudden compliment.

Even now that he's got some practice on the maneuver in, he doesn't look as beautiful as Mikasa doing it, but it works nevertheless. He shifts his abdominal muscles, pulling them slightly upwards, and lets out a large puff of gas, sending him upwards at a near seventy degree angle. He retracts his wires and shifts his upper weight further and further backwards until he's looking back at the tree he came from, upside down.

"remember, the key is to keep a record of where you are, because it'll be harder to tell when you're upside down. And right as you feel gravity start to pull at your head, focus on the same motion with your lower weight..." she instructed.

Jean lifts his knees and within the split second he is back upright. He pushes his feet forward and hooks onto a faraway tree, expelling another large puff. The inertia gained from the backflip is more than enough to send him flying at rollercoaster speeds, and in just a matter of a few seconds he's back with Marco and Annie.

"Jean!" Marco's relieved voice calls.

"I take it Armin's back to his position." Annie says, managing to sound nonchalant despite having to shout. Jean nods, taking a look ahead to the trees passing them by.

"The trees are thinning, we must be close!" he remarks. Glancing far away to his left, he can see Sasha blazing past at a much quicker rate, a smile on her face. Jean scowls, "all it takes is one, right?"

Marco nods, "all it takes is one of us to cross that line", a concerned frown appears on his face.

"surely Marco realizes it too. Annie isn't fast enough, and we can't rely on her to push herself to the finish." Jean ponders. Gritting his teeth, he hooks onto a far tree. "I'm not about to lose brownie points to that potato girl!". Jean speeds past the rest of his team, earning a shocked look from Annie.

"Hey, Marco, aren't you gonna stop him?", but Marco keeps his mouth shut, his eyes narrowing. Jean easily gets ahead of Annie and Marco with a few puffs of gas and well placed hooks.

Marco also increases his speed, passing a confused Annie. "I'm going to take out those titans for Jean!" he announces, using a large amount of the little gas he has left. But before he can make too much ground, a net trap is triggered near one of the trees by them, shooting straight at Marco. Unabated, however, he keeps pushing, leaving Annie to be the one to act. She shoots out some gas backwards, positioning herself right above Marco and taking a wide slice in the middle of the net trap. Momentum completely halted, she spins around, struggling to orient herself past the net debris, ultimately hooking onto a tree and sticking to the branch. Marco pushes forward with full force, going low to prepare himself and cutting the soft nape area on the dummies with an impressive but unsustainable speed.

He gets about three of them before he's tumbling uncontrollably into a tree, using his final amount of gas to ensure a safe fall to the ground. The rest of the team effectively halted, Jean makes a clean dash through the strip of space that was seconds earlier blocked by the dummies. And with it, he passes Sasha. All that remains is a small maze of trees, one which he makes full use of his skills in, passing the finish line with one final sling.

The crack of a flare echoes through the skies, an announcer shouting "green team wins!".

Jean fumbles to the ground, breathing heavily as he tries to regain his composure. He smiles as he sees Sasha cross the finish line shortly after, roaring in frustration as she does so.

"What the hell was that?! That must have been Armin's idea, switching your lead's up at the last second like that!"

"All me Sasha, why are you acting so surprised?" an extremely smug smile manifests on his face.

"Annie was in front the whole time and then you change it all of the sudden?! There has to be some kind of rule against that!"

"Yeaahh Jean!" Marco screams ecstatically as he sprints towards the pair.

"Ugh!" Sasha grunts, stomping away from the scene as Marco pats Jean on the back with a toothy grin.

Jean, Marco, and Annie make their way back to the training grounds on foot, having lost sight of their opposing team.

"So how did we win, exactly?" Armin asks as he catches up to the group.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you were way behind the whole time" Jean says with a grin. Armin ignores the comment, continuing to walk with a hand to his chin.

"From what I could tell, we were losing for most of it... thanks to me."

Marco puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "No, it was thanks to your formation that we made it as far as we did."

"Well then what changed?"

Jean's smile grows, "looks like I had to take charge of the situation" he answers with a shrug. "After that, I guess our victory was assured"

"Hmm, I doubt that" Armin replies without a hint of irony in his voice, still in contemplation, earning a shocked frown from Jean.

"To be honest, I wasn't planning that many steps ahead" Marco explains. "There was no strategy, I just realized that Jean was the fastest of us. The rules state that only one member of our team has to cross the finish line for our whole team to win, so I decided to trust Jean to see it through. I used all of my gas to take out the titan dummies so he could go as fast as he could", he smiles.

"The only reason you could do that was because I stopped that trap from catching you." Annie chimes in with her signature blunt demeanor. Marco rubs the back of his head.

"Yeah, I saw the trap, I just kind of hoped that you would take it out with your better cutting skills"

Armin's eyebrows rise a bit. That sure was a gamble. It's no doubt that Annie is the best at using her swords, Armin thinks, but he wouldn't have expected her to help like that. "huh, I thought you said before the match began that you didn't care to help our team."

Annie keeps her stone face, but her eyes shift ahead of her. "I don't. I just want to make sure we're not losing to a team who's most competent member is Braus."

"well, that's clearly a lie" Armin thinks, but he doesn't push it. Instead, he smiles warmly at her, which she seems to notice as she puts even more of an effort at not looking anywhere near him.

"Well, thanks anyways, Annie. I knew I could trust you" Marco says.

At the back of the group, Armin notices Jean pinch his nose with a discomforted face.

"You okay, Jean?"

"... yeah. just some deja-"

"Armin!" the nearby voice of his best friend calls not far ahead of him.

"Mikasa!"

"Did you guys win?" she asks as she approaches the group. Jean shoves himself in front of Marco.

"Yeah we won!..." but his confidence wilts within the second as he's face to face with Mikasa, a small hint of pink on his cheeks, "but it was only thanks to what you taught me... so, uh, thanks"

Mikasa gives a light smile, "I'm glad you could put it to use. I just wanted to see you all before Sasha comes to me to complain how unfair her loss was."

This earns a laugh from all but Annie, expectedly. Mikasa herself was easily victorious in her race, but unfortunately Eren was on the opposing team, which explains his absence right now.

However, what catches Armin's eyes is the way her smile, as faint as it always is, falters when she lays eyes on Annie. He had been fully aware of her well disguised disdain for the girl for some time now, but he never succeeded in coaxing an explanation out of her.

She looks back at him. "By the way Armin, Eren needs you."

"Huh? What for?"

"..training"

"Damn, that upset that he lost to you, eh? Not surprising for Jaeger." Jean comments.

"Uh, I'll go to him, then" he says, his inquisitive expression pointed at Mikasa. Her face remains unchanged as they hear Sasha's frantic footsteps advancing towards the group. "You're all cheaters! You can't change my mind!" she hollers at them.

"I'll see you guys later" Armin says as he walks back to the main training grounds where Eren is. As he hears the combative voice of Sasha and the retaliatory voice of Jean soften with the distance, he thinks about Annie.

It's strange, he thinks, that she's always so quiet and reserved while hiding a great amount of skill, just like Mikasa. And there's something about her that Armin finds... cute. Not that he'd tell anyone about that, especially Mikasa, but he wishes he could get the opportunity to know her more. Maybe it's because he wants to solve the mystery of why she acts the way she does, or maybe it's just that he wants to be friends with her, who really knows.

He sees Eren far away from him, and waves his hand in the air to try to get his attention.

He thought that Mikasa and Annie would at the very least get along, considering how Mikasa has made an effort to help almost all of her fellow trainees, but Annie remains a notable exception. "maybe it's because she's almost as skilled as Mikasa in hand to hand?".

His pondering is cut short by Eren's voice. "hey, Armin, what do you need?"

"Uh.. you wanted to see me?"

"Huh?"

Realization sprinkles Armin's face, "oh, sorry. I meant I wanted to see you, I need help with some ODM training, if you wouldn't mind" he fakes a calm smile.

"Mikasa... what is going through your head?"

WEEKS LATER

"Ackerman! Please report to the commandant's office." one of the officers instructs Mikasa as she walks with Mina on a busy path, hoping to enjoy some of her free time, despite Eren having to train. Unfortunately, Shadis wanted to talk to her.

She mutters a quick apology to Mina before heading off. Following the officer through the main girls' area. Not far from her she can see Ymir talking to Sasha and making her clearly uncomfortable, and Mikasa laughs to herself at the sight.

Mikasa can't say that she remembers reporting to the commandant's office at this time, but besides the particularly notable bits she doesn't actually recall much of anything that happened during her time here at the cadet corps, so she gave up on trying to keep faithful to the events that happened last time quite a while ago. She certainly hasn't thrown caution to the wind or anything like that, but these were the last few years of her life that she could say that she enjoyed to any extent, so she's been basking in it.

The epiphany she had half a year ago was awakening, and the cold and depressed Mikasa that had entered into this world was slowly ebbing away with time. It isn't only happier, it's more optimistic. The future is scary, but with the skill she's kept from her years as a scout and the extensive foresight she has, she knows she can do something about it this time. But now, there's no real decision to be made, no event that sets Eren on any horrible path, just training with her comrades. The relative peace of it isn't enough to make her forget about her experiences, but the nightmares have become less and less frequent.

She isn't an outgoing person, but already knowing most of her comrades well from her past life, along with the lack of any intense worry for Eren, seems to have made her much more amicable towards everyone. Truthfully, she became the most respected member of the 104th before she knew it, second only to perhaps Reiner. Despite initially being scared of the consequences that this change may bring, nothing but positive things have come of it. Many of her comrades are more skilled than they were before with her help, something that will definitely come in handy in the times to come.

It isn't long before she's at the door of the commandant's office, Shadis' lackey knocking on the door and exiting from where he came. A gruff but muffled "enter" is what she hears, opening the doors and giving him a salute.

"You wanted to see me, sir."

Shadis shuffles a few of the papers at his desk. "yes"

A few more moments of silence pass as he gathers his papers together and prepares his words.

"Mikasa Ackerman. Since your time in the 104th you have showcased your aptitude towards all subjects, both in the classroom and on the field. Though you never checked the scores from your examination a few weeks ago, you should know that you received a perfect 100." the formal nature of his words clash with his rough voice.

"..Thank you, si-"

Shadis holds his hand up, signaling that he isn't done. "did you know you've broken the record for the most records broken?"

Mikasa keeps her silence, and masks the worry that's slowly forming in the pit of her stomach. "I was strong before, too. Surely Shadis doesn't suspect anything... what's there to suspect from his perspective? Still... why did he bring me here, then?"

He takes her silence as an invitation to continue. "In my years of being a commandant, I have only done this with one other cadet, and your skills far exceed his. I'm offering you to make your choice between the Military Police Regiment, the Garrison Regiment, and the Scouting Regiment, here and now. Once you have made your choice, you can begin work there immediately instead of wasting two more years here."

She blinks a few times in surprise, this definitely not being what she expected.

"By my judgement, you are more than capable of learning the material and skills required to become a soldier at a much faster rate, and I can ensure that you receive the rest of your training by whichever branch of the military that you choose. In my opinion, you are too valuable of a soldier to waste two more years of training on.", with that Shadis finishes, waiting for Mikasa's response.

Though she doesn't, not for a few seconds, taking in the offer. She didn't know that was something even the best cadets were able to do, even if it does make sense, now that she thinks about it.

And what of the possibilities there? If she joins the Scouts early, would that be good or bad? She'd be away from Eren and Armin for a long time, a clear downside, but she might be able to work her way up the ranks of the Scouts in that time, perhaps landing in Squad Levi due to her skill, and from there she could change things...

But change what, exactly? She isn't sure, and she knows that if her immediate goal is to stop Trost from taking place... she wouldn't be able to do that under the Scouts, as they will be in the middle of an expedition. Additionally, her being in the Levi Squad would only expedite their journey to the basement, right? Trost is what triggers Eren's memories of the basement, and after that he'll be dead set on joining the Scouts and finding the truth.

"Thank you, sir, but I must decline"

Shadis raises an eyebrow at this, so she elaborates. "I don't think it would be best for me to leave now. There's still so much I am inexperienced in, I would only be a burden to whichever regiment I choose"

"with your skill, I doubt that highly" he argues.

"still, my answer is no." she finishes curtly.

Shadis sighs, putting his papers down and leaning back in his chair. "very well. I can't force you to graduate." He lets a silence pass between them, Mikasa noticing that he hasn't dismissed her yet. He stares at her, as if assessing her for some reason. "you know, we'll take good care of Jaeger."

Mikasa's stomach shifts.

"I know he's the reason you're staying. I doubt I can change your mind, but there's no reason to protect him."

She wishes there wasn't.

However, remembering Shadis' friendship with Grisha, her eyes widen a bit. He was the one, after all, to sabotage his equipment... so he also doesn't want Eren to graduate the military. Just like Mikasa, he tried to get him to quit, and just like Mikasa, he must have realized that he couldn't. Eren won't quit.

"He's family. I'm not going to leave him." she states resolutely.

"Fine. You're dismissed."

She gives him another salute before turning around and walking out the doors.

"Grisha was the Attack Titan before Eren... Shadis doesn't know about it, but he might have some insight on why he did what he did... I have to know before training is over." she resolves to herself.

A FEW DAYS LATER

Eren fiddles with a small rock, its minute, jagged edge perfect for the situation it ended up in, stuck in the side of Mikasa's red cardigan. Eren's fruitless scratching catches her attention, and she prepares herself to ask what he's doing, but she lowers her gaze to the rock.

"I don't want to rip it, but it's pretty stuck in there..." he says absentmindedly.

They both lay next to each other, the sun hanging low in the air, casting an orange glow that is too good to not take advantage of. Sure, Eren probably would have preferred to be training, but it had been a while since she last saw him (not more than two days, which by her standards was a long, long time), so she dragged him up onto the hill that she used to spend her alone time at, whenever she had it, in her past life.

The silence might have been awkward for him, who knows, but it's been the definition of peaceful for the past ten or so minutes for her. Her popularity came with a few drawbacks, and not often getting to spend time with just Eren was one of them. Though right now, she had an opportunity as golden as the rays of light that shine on them. She could just be with Eren... the Eren she loves.

Judging by the way he's entertaining himself with some debris caught on her clothes of all things, she figures that this may be more on the boring side for him. But... he's not getting up, and something about him tells her that he won't anytime soon, so she basks in his warmth.

"Don't mind it, I'll get it out later" she says as she lays her head down on his shoulder, tiredness from the day overtaking her.

Though she'd be lying if she said this doesn't make her heart ache. It's Eren, just Eren, and he isn't trying to destroy the world. It's felt like so long since she killed him, and even though she's ready to fight, fight for this, it still stings to know what he became, and what he'll become if she does nothing. Here, by this tree, she understands him, the boy sitting by her side, she knows she does. When he stiffens slightly as she puts her head down on him, she knows he's slightly surprised.

They used to do this all the time in Shiganshina... but things have obviously changed.

But she wants things to go back. To the way they were before.

And they will.

He exhales, the initial discomfort of the situation leaving him. She gives a light exhale through her nose shortly after, closing her eyes.

She doesn't know how much time passes, but it doesn't matter, she wants it to last longer. Unfortunately, it's as if her past self won't let her rest, because she can feel the beginnings of a headache on her temples. She scowls a bit as the headache increases in intensity at a less than comfortable rate, and it isn't long before she registers that it's not normal for a headache to get worse so quickly. She moves to sit up to perhaps caress her temples, or drink some water, but she feels a hand cup her cheek.

Immediately opening her eyes, she sees the blazing greens of Eren staring back at her. Their faces are close... closer than she remembers them being earlier, and she promptly blushes at the situation. She once again moves to sit up, but his grip is stronger than she expected.

"Eren..." but before she can finish her sentence, she notices the expression on his face. His eyebrows are greatly furrowed, and she realizes that he's not staring at her... necessarily, but slightly below her eyes, to her right.

"...When did you get this?" he asks softly.

"What?" she finds herself asking. His eyes squint a little at her word, "don't tell me you didn't even notice..."

At this point, the confusion is clear as day on her face. "what is he talking about?". Luckily, he continues,

"That scar".

Mikasa's stomach sinks as she feels Eren lightly touch the area of her left cheek. "wh-what?", the light pink blush that had existed on her face completely dissipates, along with any other natural color of her face.

"It's a nasty thing... how did I not notice?" he comments.

She's at a total loss for words. "this is wrong... why is that there? this is the past, I never got that scar from him... or I haven't yet... why... why?". And all of a sudden it almost feels like the reality of the future she comes from is violently attacking her, the memories of his titan... of it attacking her in Trost, of it transforming in Marley and killing all of those innocents.

Her heart rate begins to spike as she sits up. At this point she knows she's worried Eren, so she has to think of something to say... quick.

"wh-... what's that... doing here?" she says, in a barely audible whisper, as she puts her index finger on the coarse stripe of skin and stares at the ground with widened eyes.

"Huh?" Eren asks. After a moment, he grabs her hand, "Mikasa, are you okay? you look sick..." the concern is dripping from his voice, but she can't manage to find any comfort in it.

"Sorry. I'm fine"

Eren doesn't respond to that, keeping her left hand clasped between both of his.

"I'm just surprised... I didn't think I hurt myself that badly"

This seems to calm him down a bit, as his grip softens. "oh... it looks deep, it might not even heal"

She supposes that time, even in the reverse, doesn't heal all wounds...

Yeah. Something is wrong here.

The plot thickens... thank you for reading! Apologies about the structure of this chapter, with scenes jumping from place to place with no real through line. I wanted to establish Mikasa's change in personality as well as the sense that these characters have had a lot of time to know each other, so the pacing might have taken a hit as a result. That should not be the case in the future, but if you have particular gripes, please leave a review telling me what you thought, as I love constructive criticism and praise, and thank you for waiting the extra week for this chapter! -Y