Hello all.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. No this is not a belated April Fools chapter either. And no, it's not even the dreaded author's note^TM
I am alive, and I am still writing NTT.
Now by the length of this chapter (5k words), you can probably tell this isn't the full chapter I'm afraid. It's the 'opening' scene of that chapter which is really its own thing so I decided to post it standalone.
Now as to what caused this long delay I can only apologise profusely. As I have alluded to in many notes before I am a part-time university student and also a full-time employee, and this year has been my final year at uni so that means assignments, disso, group projects and exams (those are next month! Eep!) while at the same time I have taken on new responsibilities at work. As you can imagine whenever I'm stretched for time NTT is, unfortunately, the first thing that gets put on the back burner as while I enjoy writing it, it is just a silly fanfic.
Anyway enough of me whining, I hope you all enjoy this little semi-chapter which will hopefully tide you over for the proper one.
The Olive Branch
A lifetime ago
The distant chorus of birds drifting in through the open window was the first sign of the impending dawn, and had it not been for the monstrously tall Wall encircling this city, that sweet song would have been joined with arcs of golden light from the rising sun. It was a blissful change from the unending pounding of the rain that had lashed the city overnight.
Blissful to some, but it meant little to Mikasa Ackerman, who had been awake for hours for reasons totally separate from the noise and rain, and was currently staring up at the still unfamiliar ceiling of her new room.
It had been nearly three weeks since she moved in with the Yeagers after… after what happened… and it was rare for her to sleep for more than a few hours each night. So much so that Mikasa had developed a routine for it now, with her heading to bed at whatever time Eren did, lying down and staring up at the ceiling or the wall until exhaustion sunk its unwelcome claws into her and dragged her from the waking world. Then after enduring the nightmares for as long as she could, Mikasa would wake up in a cold sweat, usually several hours before first light, and wait for Eren to rise.
She always heard Mr and Mrs Yeager getting up bright and early from across the hallway, the old hinge on their door squeaking slightly as they left their room and headed downstairs to start their day.
Mikasa knew Mr Yeager was heading to the interior today to attend some kind of medical conference - he had told them so over dinner the night before - and wouldn't be back until tomorrow evening. From her three weeks of fitful sleep, she also knew that whenever Mr Yeager got up to start his day, Mrs Yeager did the same, rising with her husband to see him off.
While Mikasa's usual routine demanded she wait until she heard Eren moving about in the next room before getting up herself, that night's bad dream had been especially visceral and brutal, and the thought of laying here for much longer endless repeating those scenes in her head was swiftly becoming unbearable.
At least if Mrs Yeager was up, Mikasa could go downstairs and distract her mind from those memories, while also preparing herself for whatever it was Eren wanted to do today when he finally rose.
With her decision made, Mikasa pushed the bedsheet off her and stood up next to her bed. Then, with her long nightdress swishing at her ankles and red scarf warming her neck, Mikasa exited her room and stepped into the hallway, making sure to avoid stepping on the squeaky floorboard outside the bathroom and the creaky step at the top of the stairs. She didn't want to disturb Eren of course.
However, as Mikasa approached the staircase and went to avoid the dodgy step, she paused, hearing a quiet conversation taking place downstairs.
One of the voices was definitely Mrs Yeager's, but Mikasa couldn't tell who she was speaking to. However, she knew it wasn't Mr Yeager as he had already left.
"-of course I will, but are you sure you can't stay for breakfast?" The woman who had taken her in said softly, standing by the partially open front door and speaking to whoever it was outside. "You know you're always welcome here."
Mikasa couldn't see the person thanks to the angle of the stairway, and they were speaking so quietly that Mikasa missed their reply, but she did hear what Mrs Yeager said in response.
"Well, alright then, but I expect to see you here for dinner at some point this week, you hear? It's been too long." She said with faux sternness, but Mikasa could clearly hear the warmth and affection in her voice as she said goodbye to the mysterious person at the door.
A neighbour perhaps?
Mikasa didn't really know how neighbours were supposed to act or treat one another. Just having neighbours was a novel experience for the young girl who had lived most of her life in a remote mountain cabin, isolated from the rest of humanity.
Whoever it was must be close to the Yeagers to have been invited to share breakfast and dinner with them.
Descending the stairs in a quiet, cautious gait, Mikasa found Mrs Yeager plodding around the kitchen, humming a little tune under her breath, and moved to the table to claim a seat. Pulling the chair out from under the table emitted a low scraping sound which caused the humming women to jump and spin round in surprise.
"Oh Mikasa, it's you." Mrs Yeager breathed out, hand lingering on her heart for a moment before dropping back down to her side as a smile appeared on her face. "Good morning, dear. I didn't hear you come down."
"Sorry," Mikasa murmured, deliberating whether she should take a seat or not now. She had frightened Mrs Yeager and might not be welcome anymore.
A sad look briefly flashed across the woman's face.
"It's alright, Mikasa. I'm actually quite glad you're so quiet in the morning. Makes a nice change from the racket Eren makes, don't you think?" The mother asked, hoping to draw Mikasa out of her shell slightly.
It didn't work. Not really.
Mikasa didn't have a problem with how loud Eren was in the morning. On the contrary, she liked hearing him, it made her feel at ease, knowing he was nearby. Still, Mikasa nodded her head in reply, her chin tucking itself in the folds of the crimson scarf adorning her neck.
Mrs Yeager's smile faltered at the awkward silence and stilted conversation, but she would not be deterred. Instead, she simply brought her hands together in a soft clap.
"Tell you what, Mikasa. Why don't you take a seat and I'll whip us up some breakfast? I was thinking eggs and bacon this morning. Sounds good?"
Mikasa's grey eyes briefly widened. Eggs had been a staple part of her diet in her old home thanks to the chickens they had, but bacon was something she very rarely got to taste.
Her stomach rumbled at the prospect and Mikasa wanted to sit but…
"What about Eren?" She asked, marginally louder than before. If they cooked the bacon now it might get cold before he woke up.
However, Mrs Yeager just let out a small chuckle at the question.
"Mikasa, sweetie, I'll let you in on a little secret. Just between us girls, alright?" She said, her voice dropped into a stage whisper. "Boys can always smell bacon being cooked, even if they are fast asleep, and when they do, they'll come running."
Mikasa blinked a few times, unsure if Mrs Yeager was joking or not. "Really?"
"Really." Mrs Yeager confirmed with a nod, moving across the kitchen to the pantry to grab some salted bacon. "Just watch. As soon as this hits the pan and starts cooking, give it five minutes, and lazybones will be sitting next to you, ready to eat."
There was a slight tugging sensation at her cheeks, as a spectre of a smile broke across Mikasa's face.
Mrs Yeager grinned to herself at the smile and turned to light the stove with the strike of a match. Mikasa moved to help, planning to set the table as she had done for her own mother during mealtimes. She fetched the plates from the cupboard and laid them out on the table before grabbing some cutlery from the worktop drawer.
However, as she did so, Mikasa came across a large parcel wrapped in brown paper that hadn't been there the day before.
"It's for you." Mrs Yeager said, having spotted her lingering gaze.
Mikasa froze in place, her head swivelling round to stare at the older woman in surprise.
"W-what is it?" The question slipped out before she could stop it.
"Not sure. But I do know there's a letter inside for you." Mrs Yeager gestured at the package with a fork. "That should explain everything."
A strange smile on the kindly woman's face made it obvious that she knew a lot more than she was letting on, but she refused to elaborate. So, hesitantly, Mikasa picked up the package, feeling the bulky, rectangular object hidden beneath the hastily wrapped paper.
Retreating back to the table, Mikasa placed it down between the plates and after receiving a nod of encouragement from Mrs Yeager, started to warily pull away at the wrapping paper, piece by piece, layer by layer until it revealed...
A book. A thick, leather-bound book with an elegant gold leaf title proudly displayed on the cover.
'Mundus Naturalis - The Natural World'
By J-
The rest of the author's name had long since faded away, leaving only a faint smear of black ink in its place. There was a long crack down the spine from where it had been opened so many times before, but it was still in one piece despite many of the not-quite paper pages having torn and folded corners.
It was clearly an old book, ancient even. Mikasa didn't even know what language the first half of that title was in.
Why would someone send her this? And more importantly, who would send her this?
She was an orphan. She had no family or friends beyond the walls of this very house. No one else even knew she existed.
...The letter. Mrs Yeager said that would explain everything.
Blinking again, Mikasa pushed the strange book aside, and beneath it found a folded slip of paper with her name on it.
'Mikasa Ackerman'
Picking it up slowly, Mikasa noted how neat and clear the handwriting was before unfolding it with oddly stiff fingers.
'Hello Mikasa, it's me, Armin Arlert, Eren's friend.
If you haven't already thrown this letter away - not that I would blame you if you did - I just wanted to say how very, very sorry I am about what I said the other week. I shouldn't have asked you such personal questions without permission, it was incredibly rude and inconsiderate of me.
I know I should be apologising to you in person, but I was afraid I would say something stupid and make everything worse if I did. As you've probably guessed, I'm not very good with new people, especially people our age. Apart from Eren, all the other kids think I'm nosey and weird, and they're probably not wrong (And please don't tell Eren I said that! He doesn't like it when I say that). Many people say I'm too curious for my own good and that it'll get me in trouble someday, as it did with you.
I hope you can forgive me, and if you're willing to give me another chance, I would like us to be friends. Real friends, not just two people that hang out with Eren. I think he'd like that as well.
As part of that wish, I hope you will accept the book I've sent you; it's mine and Eren's favourite. It's all about the outside world and what it's like beyond the Walls. There's more than just Titans out there; flaming rivers, frozen plains, and fields of sand. And there's the Ocean too. Picture a giant lake, bigger than anything you've ever seen, stretching out over the horizon. And it's made up of saltwater as well, so much so that even if all the merchants in the land worked together they wouldn't be able to get it all!
We're going to find it one day, Eren and I. We're going to go beyond the Walls, past the titans and see it with our own eyes. I know we will.
And I hope when we do, you'll be there with us.
Your friend (hopefully!),
Armin.
P.S. - Please don't tell anyone outside the Yeagers about this book. It's technically illegal and could get all of us in trouble if the MPs found out about it.
P.P.S. - After re-reading that, I realise how bad it sounds that I'm sending you an illegal book as an apology, but I promise I'm not trying to get you or the Yeagers into trouble. They're like a family to me, and I'd never do anything to hurt them.
P.P.P.S. - If Eren gets annoyed that I sent this book to you and not him, just remind him about his 7th birthday party and why I don't lend him books anymore. He'll know what it means.'
Finally reaching the end of the letter, Mikasa lowered it from her eyes, face scrunched up, unsure what to make of it. She looked up and over towards Mrs Yeager, who had a gentle look on her face, awaiting her reaction to the letter.
"...I don't understand." Mikasa expressed her inner thoughts in a quiet whisper.
Mrs Yeager's face dropped. "It's his way of saying sorry, Mikasa. For what he said."
Mikasa tensed up, alarmed that Mrs Yeager knew what had happened between the two of them. She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Eren!
"Armin told me what happened." The mother informed her, briefly turning around to flip the bacon.
"Oh." Was all Mikasa could think to say.
"Mikasa, I know it's difficult to believe after… after what happened… but I promise you he didn't mean it like that. He's not that sort of person, and if I didn't believe that with all my heart, I'd never let him near you or this house ever again."
Mikasa's head shot up, mouth forming a little 'o', completely lost for words.
In the few weeks she had been here, from all the snippets of conversation she had pieced together Mikasa had been led to believe that Armin was something of a second son to Mrs Yeager, an honorary member of the family who'd come round for dinners or sleepovers on a semi-regular basis. He'd stay in the guest room - her room now - and sit at this very table to break bread with the Yeagers.
He was more part of this family than she was… or so she had believed. Would Mrs Yeager really do that for her?
"Y-you would?" Mikasa had to wet her lips to stop her voice from breaking.
"Yes." Mrs Yeager confirmed without a second of a doubt. "But I won't need to because I know Armin. He's shy, nervous, and as socially inept as Eren sometimes, but he's a good kid at heart. Just a very curious one."
"So he wasn't…"
"No, sweetie, he wasn't. It wouldn't have even crossed his mind."
Mikasa glanced down at the letter again. Oh.
"What… what should I do?" She asked, feeling a slight pang of guilt knowing that Armin was still trying to connect with her and apologise despite being given the cold shoulder for so long. He was certainly determined; she'd give him that much.
"I don't know, Mikasa. Only you can decide who deserves a second chance. What does your heart tell you?"
The kitchen fell silent except for the sizzling of cooking meat.
What did her heart tell her?
"I-"
"Is that bacon?!" Eren yelled out from upstairs, shattering the heavy atmosphere in the kitchen.
The bacon was still cooking in the pan, but that didn't stop Mrs Yeager from shooting Mikasa a knowing smile and silently mouthing the word 'boys' before she cupped a hand to her mouth and yelled back.
"Might be! You best hurry up and get down here before it's all gone!"
Mikasa could feel another small smile gracing her face. Her decision regarding Armin could wait. Eren was here.
"Gah! Save some for me!" Came Eren's reply, which was soon followed by a loud thud that shook a small amount of dust for the rafters. It sounded like the sort of thud that came from someone literally falling out of bed, and that suspicion was confirmed a moment later from the muffled curse Eren emitted.
Unfortunately for him, however, it wasn't muffled enough.
"Eren Yeager!" Mrs Yeager boomed out the name, obviously irked by her son's colourful language. "If I hear you say that awful word again, I'll wash your mouth out with soap! Do you hear me, mister?!"
Mikasa hadn't known many swear words before she met Eren and moved to Shiganshina. She did now though.
Eren's following acknowledgement and subsequent apology were both similarly muffled, partially out of embarrassment and also because he was dressing at a rapid pace, shoving an old shirt over his head and then hopping around in his bedroom, attempting to force his feet through his trouser legs.
Mrs Yeager grumbled something about 'Drunks', 'Hannes' and 'wringing necks' under her breath as Eren threw open his door, darted down the hallway above their heads, and then barrelling down the stairs like a runaway horse.
His hair was a total mess, sticking up at awkward angles, and the plain t-shirt he wore was both inside out and back to front. Mikasa said nothing about this, caring more about the sense of warmth that his presence brought to her heart.
"Is there any left?!" Eren asked frantically, looking at his mother with pleading eyes.
Mrs Yeager folded her arms over her chest, a wooden spatula clutched in one hand and raised an eye.
"Good morning to you too." She dryly replied, causing Eren to wilt slightly under her gaze before gesturing towards the table with the utensil. "It needs another minute or two, so take a seat and be patient. Oh, and since Mikasa laid the table this morning, you're on cleaning duty. Got it?"
"What?! That's not fair! I was asleep!" Eren bemoaned, his shoulders slumping. Of all the chores in the house, Mikasa had learnt that cleaning up dirty plates and cutlery was Eren's least favourite.
Mikasa always offered to do it for him, and while he had gleefully accepted the first few times, Mrs Yeager had found out and gotten rather annoyed. It hadn't been directed at her, however, despite catching her arms deep in soapy water and suds, but at her son for shirking his responsibilities and 'taking advantage of Mikasa's good nature' as she called it.
To be honest Mikasa didn't see the problem. She didn't mind taking Eren's chores, especially the ones he didn't enjoy, but the formidable housewife had put her foot down. Everyone was to do their fair share of the housework, and that was final.
"No cleaning, no bacon." Mikasa had no idea how Mrs Yeager made a spatula look so threatening, but she did. "For you that is. Mikasa and I will share your portion."
Whether it was the threat of missing out or the spatula being pointed his way, it was enough to coerce the now visibly pouting Eren into submission.
"Fine." He grumbled, shuffling forward to take a seat at the table while rubbing his still bleary eyes.
Taking the opportunity to quietly shuffle her chair closer to his, Mikasa greeted her rescuer with the same gentle question her parents asked her every morning.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, mostly." Eren yawned out, as he turned to face her. "Had this weird dream about a bird and a tree and-"
Mikasa would never hear the rest of that dream, for Eren suddenly stopped mid-sentence and his eyes widened to an almost comical degree. At first, Mikasa was worried Eren might be ill or that she had something on her face, but then she noticed that Eren wasn't looking directly at her as he had been before. Instead, his gaze was transfixed just over her shoulder at the book still resting beside her.
"That's… That's Armin's book." Eren breathed out, stunned. "Where did you get it?"
"Armin dropped it round this morning." Mrs Yeager called over her shoulder, answering on Mikasa's behalf.
"Awesome!" A brilliant smile broke across Eren's face, as his arms stretched across the table to grab it. "Man, this is so cool! Armin never lets me hold onto this one. Quick, pass it over Mikasa- Ow!"
The sound of a spatula lightly thwacking Eren on top of the head filled the room, as Mrs Yeager walked over with pan in hand.
"Firstly, young man, there's no reading at the table, not while we're eating. You know that. And secondly, Armin dropped it off for Mikasa, so don't be selfish. Let her read it first."
"But-!"
"No buts. Eat."
Several rashers of bacon and a fried egg were placed on Eren's plate, triggering an internal battle between protesting further or eating. Hunger won out in the end, for the quietly grumbling Eren snatched up his knife and fork and dug in.
Mikasa looked down at the book as a hand came to rest on her head, and lightly ruffled her hair.
Mikasa tensed under the touch, but then relaxed as she looked up. She was still uncomfortable with people touching her hair, especially after what those men had said about it, but the way Mrs Yeager did it, with that affectionate, loving smile on her face made her feel at ease.
Her mother used to do the same thing.
"You can read it later, sweetie, but remember what he talked about. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. Now, you best eat up before it gets cold. I'm sure Eren will want to go straight out and interrogate poor Armin about this."
"Hey!" Eren blurted out through a mouthful of food which led to another argument about table manners between the mother and son.
Ignoring the raised voices, Mikasa cast one last cautious glance at the book before picking up her knife and fork and settling in for another lively breakfast in the Yeager household.
Eren (and by extension Mikasa) had spent all day looking for Armin, after breakfast and completing their chores, but they had no luck finding him. They only abandoned their search after one of the soldiers by the inner gate - Hannes, Mikasa recalled - told them that Armin and his Grandpa had left town early that morning and wouldn't be back for a few days. Something about a yearly camping tradition.
At least that explained why Armin had arrived at the Yeager's home so early that morning and had declined to stay for breakfast.
Eren had been upset and a bit put out by his unexpected absence, grumbling about how he 'keeps forgetting' the Arlert family tradition. And Mikasa?
Well, Mikasa wasn't quite sure what she felt now. Twenty-four hours ago she would have been both happy and relieved to have a few days where she wasn't having to compete with the blond boy for Eren's attention, but now she found her thoughts and feelings were all jumbled up and confused.
She didn't like the feeling. Not one bit.
Still, at the very least Armin's unexpected departure gave her some time to process everything before she next saw him. To get her head in order and decide what she was going to do.
A few days might not be that much time for others, but with how little she slept most nights, time to think was something she had in excess.
Like right now, for example.
If Mikasa had to guess she'd say it was probably around 2 in the morning, 3 at the latest. Either way, it was painfully early, and she was perhaps one of the few people in Shiganshina who wasn't military or criminal who was still awake.
Mikasa sighed into Eren's scarf as she rolled over again in bed and gazed at the modest dressing table with a built-in mirror that Mrs Yeager had bought her.
Having her own mirror was another novelty for Mikasa, who had grown used to sharing her mother's handheld one when brushing out the knots in her hair. Glass was expensive after all. However, it wasn't just the reflective glass of this new luxury she was looking at, but at what lay beneath the mirror.
The book - Armin's book – which was almost glowing in the moonlight shining in through her open window.
After breakfast, Mikasa had brought it to her room, not wanting to inconvenience Mrs Yeager by leaving it on the kitchen table, then left it to chase after Eren. Once they had returned, she had purposefully ignored the book while turning in for the night, changing into her nightclothes in the bathroom before returning to her room and crawling into bed.
But as sleep evaded her and the book started to taunt her with its glow, Mikasa found it harder and harder to ignore, especially now that she was staring right at it. It was almost taunting her with its glowiness, calling her to take a peek inside and find out what Eren (and Armin she supposed) found so fascinating about it.
She resisted that urge for a while, refusing out of principle to act. What that principle was however Mikasa couldn't really say. Perhaps it was childish spite? But, gradually, Mikasa's defiance and her general apathy in the face of another restless night were melted away by her growing curiosity.
A quick look couldn't hurt, Mikasa reasoned, not wanting to sound too eager even in the privacy of her own mind. A quick look just to see what all the fuss was about, and then she'd go to sleep (or try to).
Rising from her bed, Mikasa padded barefooted across the cool wooden panels to her dressing table and quietly scooped up the large tome in her arms. Perhaps it was just her tiredness talking, but the book felt much heavier than before, and Mikasa briefly wondered how Armin managed to carry it around with him all day with those scrawny arms of his.
Mikasa felt another flash of guilt at the rather unkind thought. Not everyone could be as strong in body and soul as Eren was.
She couldn't hold Armin to the same standards.
Pushing the thought aside, Mikasa returned to her bed and sat down crossed legged against the headrest, placing the hefty bundle of old paper and rugged leather down in her lap.
Her fingers traced the golden leaf title, wondering just how many other hands had brushed this page over the years, before she hooked them around the lip of the cover and opened it up. The book's spine had long since been broken, and it fell open onto a double-page spread, littered with blocks of text and a few crudely drawn illustrations, one of which was a giant, malformed… fish thing?
'The mighty Grey Vhale - Artist's impression.' the caption beneath the drawing said.
Peeling her eyes away from the drawing of this strange creature, Mikasa looked up at the top of the double-page spread and the two words that had been written there in neat black ink.
"The Ocean." She breathed aloud, nearly startling at the sound of her own voice.
So, this was it then? This mythical place Eren was always going on about and planned on risking his life one day going beyond the Wall to find. Was this oversized lake, as Armin's letter had described it, really worth that much to him?
Mikasa chewed her lip. There had to be something more to it than that. Something she just didn't understand.
A frown formed on her face.
The answer had to be somewhere within this book, somewhere within this page, and she would find it.
And so it was that in the small hours of that mild summer's night, with the faint snores of her adoptive family carrying through the thin walls, Mikasa Ackerman started to read about the Ocean and the outside world.
Please do review and let me know what you think or just want to shout at me for taking so long and that I've lost my touch.
Hopefully, I haven't lost any of my long term readers with the delay but if so I only have myself to blame.
Also, I just want to say that if you want to translate NTT or any other work of mine into another language, feel free to do so. Just drop a link into the comments or reviews so I and others can find it.
Big shout out to the translation on Wattpad. Hope you guys are enjoying the story as well!