Friendship was always something which Mika never thought he'd be able to explore anywhere beyond what he had already experienced during his time with Tekkadan/CGS.

It wasn't exactly his fault for not being interested in the concept of friendship. In fact, Mika remembered a time when he was actually willing to be friendly around others. However, as time went by, he realized that with his… 'occupation' as a child soldier, friendships were next to meaningless. The survival rates of children that went into combat were not high, and having friends only meant that if they died, you have to deal with the loss.

In response to losing a couple of people he deemed as 'friends' during his early CGS days or being betrayed by others who considered themselves as such, Mika had shut himself off, unintentionally making him an antisocial prick. The only person he considered a friend was Orga, with everyone else being considered no more than acquaintances, though there was one exception. And he had occasionally wondered if it would stay that way forever.

The boy had stopped wondering about the concept of friendship not too long before Kudelia had hired CGS as her escorts to earth, having deemed it a redundant topic by then, and frankly, he never thought he'd have to do so anytime soon.

And then Nac had to butt in.

Ever since that night he spent chatting with the taller boy, Mika felt his unfriendly demeanor falter just a little. It wasn't by too much, but it was enough for him to warm up to his new… acquaintances. The boy still wasn't too interested in befriending them, but he didn't find himself to be against it anymore. And, admittedly, he has found himself becoming rather fond of three of the four people he shared the Carolina household with.

It was rather obvious to Augus that Nac had told nearly everyone whom they lived with about what Mika had told him about himself. The most obvious clue to that was just how Mina was sticking much closer to him for the next couple of days. The slightly shorter girl did seem to be staring at the pilot with more worry than usual, so much so that Mika did find himself almost becoming a little flustered from time to time thanks to her constant gaze, though never enough to bother asking about the constant staring.

In a similar fashion, Nac seemed to be much more friendly and open Mika whenever they would speak to one another. Instead of trivia regarding the going ons in Trost which Mika didn't care about, Nac was now boring Mikazuki with trivia regarding the outside world… which Mika also didn't care about. Of course, he still pretended to be interested in it just to humor the boy. And, admittedly, the boy was slowly getting used to Nac's constant chatter. It was a regular thing by now.

Sure, the information which Nac had presented to him was most likely not 100% correct, but Mika never really was the kinda guy to care about accuracy (unless it came to Barbatos, food, farming or combat), so he didn't really mind. Besides, despite being a usually stone cold bastard, Mika found that he couldn't find enough drive to bring up any potential inaccuracies in Nac's explanation of the outside world. The tall fellow was just a little too nice to warrant that. That, and Mika wasn't exactly sure if he had enough knowledge to actually be a smartass anyways.

The most noticeable thing which both Mina and Nac were doing ever since they became a little more friendly with him, however, was how they seemed to be trying their absolute hardest to get the two blue eyed, emotionless, silent residents of the Carolina Residence to befriend each other. And to say that it was one of the hardest things they've tried doing in their lives would be an understatement.

While it was true Mika was no longer against the idea of making friends, he was still rather indifferent to it, and Annie seemed to have a similar mindset. Neither one of the blue eyed kids would even spare a glance at the other intentionally, and whenever their eyes did meet, they'd break it within a microsecond and move on. The few times when they were together intentionally were planned by Mina and Nac in an effort to get them to befriend one another, or at the very least get acquainted, both blue eyed teens typically said nothing to one another before going their separate ways.

Despite their indifference towards one other, Mika and Annie did wonder when Nac and Mina would give up on their quest to get them to befriend each other. If they were honest, it was getting a little annoying, and ironically enough, it was the only thing which they could agree on with one another at the moment.

For the longest time, Mina and Nac's plans to get the two blue eyed, antisocial kids to at least get acquainted with each other never seem to work, to say the least.

Then came the day when Mina and Annie returned from a visit to some friends house, with a request from said friends that did seem to surprise at least Mika.

"... so your friends want to meet me?"

Mikazuki's quick response from Mina was a happy nod as she smiled immensely and clasped her hands together, her tone reflecting her expression as she nodded.

"Did you tell them about me?" asked Mika. The boy could guess that either she or Nac did. It could have also been Annie, but that in itself was very unlikely.

"Well duh!" replied Mina, smiling as she held up her index finger, smirking a little proudly as Mika glanced at her with a raised brow. "They said they were very interested in meeting you in person! I mean, they seem to like you, judging from how they looked after I told them how you were like."

"Ah," muttered Mika with a nod after Mina was done, prompting Carolina to give a chuckle. Such a simple answer was usually not enough to satisfy Mina, though when it came to Mika, the girl was able to let it slide. The guy was a simple person at heart, and Mina reckoned that was what made him endearing to her.

And evidently, she ended up thinking a little too much into that little fact, as she quickly found herself staring at Mika for quite some time, just enough to make the Pilot notice and raise a brow. In response to that, Carolina shook her head as her face reddened a little in embarrassment.

"I… erm… was wondering… well, if you could, y'know… visit them?" said Mina, covering up her previous blunder with a small, nervous smile as she maintained eye contact with her pal. Much to her relief, Mika seemed to not notice her still slightly red cheeks as he replied.

"I don't know where they live,," pointed out Mika rather matter of factly, and his response was a few seconds of silence before Mina's small smile grew to twice its size.

"Well," began Mina, smiling brightly as she spoke and tapping her fingers together awkwardly. "That's simple to fix! Annie's going to visit them in a few days! Maybe you could go with her? You don't mind, right? I mean, Annie doesn't exactly like you that much… but she's a pretty nice person when you get to know her and all that!"

Mika lowered his brows at that and gently rested his hand against his chin, seeming rather thoughtful as Carolina waited somewhat impatiently. And, for a brief moment, Mina thought he would decline, but after a few seconds of silence, he nodded and offered a mild shrug. "Alright."

Upon hearing that, Mina's smirk grew in size as she fistpumped triumphantly, much to Mika's confusion, and his confusion increased just a little as she gave a sigh and rested both her palms against her cheeks to stop herself from smiling as her cheeks began hurting just a little.

'Well, Mika's up for it… I hope Annie's just as willing.'

Up top, in Mina, Nac and Annie's shared room

"No."

"...no?" repeated Nac as he watched Annie pack another parka into a small bag which seemed a little too small for it. Annie simply nodded as she forced the bag to zip. Over the past several minutes, Leonhardt had packed a comically small bag full of the essential things she would possibly need whilst gone, and her peaceful packing was rather unceremoniously broken when Nac entered and asked if Mika could follow, much to her irritation.

"No," she echoed, turning to fix Tias with a harsh glare which made him tense up. Whilst she did tolerate him, Annie still wasn't acquainted with the taller boy enough to actually consider him a friend, and as such, her hostility towards him was still very apparent, and Nac was able to notice it right away as he took a step back. Upon noticing that, Annie reckoned that the conversation was over as she went back to packing up, though much to her annoyance, Nac wasn't about to let that happen.

"Why?" asked Nac, sitting down on his bed as he did what he was (usually) best at, starting a conversation with a friend. That question was enough to make Annie roll her eyes as she ignored him, though when it became apparent that he was actively waiting for an answer, she sighed and turned towards him.

"I have my reasons, Nac," she said coldly, turning to glare at her acquaintance. Nac noticeably flinched under her gaze, still being unused to her glare, though to his credit he didn't break eye contact. Surprisingly enough, Nac replied to Annie's gaze with his most disarming smile. It wasn't exactly 'sexy', as Mina would put it. More of an innocent, almost adorable, smile. One which made Annie raise a brow as she stared at him in confusion.

"Well, we're friends, Annie," said Nac with an assuring tone as he kept his smile steady. Annie rolled her eyes at how cheesy that sounded. Hell, she even snorted, finding it funny how he had thought them to be friends. Though even then, she couldn't prepare herself for what he said next, something that was much cheesier. "Family, even. You can share with me your reasons."

Annie's response to that… was silence. She was in the middle of packing another parka into her bag when Nac had said that, and she almost immediately froze when the taller boy mentioned that they were family. Her sudden stillness was enough for Nac to notice that something was wrong, though before he could snap her out of it, Annie shook her head and went back to packing, ignoring how… strange the mention of family made her feel.

"Annie… are you worried that you'd lose another friend or family… like… in the Fall of Maria?" asked Nac, his tone reflecting his worry as Annie grimaced and shoved a pair of pants into her bag, not even bothering to fold them up as her irritation grew. On a regular day, Annie's patience would've been rather hardy, requiring several good shots at it before it even began crumbling. Now, however, at the mere mention of family… it began to wear down much faster, just not for the reason Nac had expected.

If anything, the reason he had thought up couldn't be further from the truth.

'She's scared…' thought Nac sympathetically, his usual, happy go lucky expression melting away the moment that thought entered his mind, now replaced with a solemn, almost depressed look. 'She doesn't want to feel the way she did during the Fall of Maria…'

For a long moment, Nac stayed silent while Annie kept her gaze off the taller boy. And, after said moment was up, Nac spoke up in the most sincere voice he could muster..

"Annie… I know that you don't want to make any friends…" he said solemnly, prompting Leonhardt to turn towards him, her brows raised in apparent surprise when she saw that he wasn't smiling like he usually was. Her surprise only heightened when the much taller boy stood and approached her, placing both his hands on her shoulders once he was in front of her. "But you can't stay like this. It's unhealthy for you. You think the best way to avoid the feeling of loss is to push everyone away…"

'I don't…' thought Annie as she stared at Nac, grimacing at the taller boy whom she was forced to live with. And yet, despite that thought, Leonhardt had to admit that there was at least some truth in Tias' words. Pushing everyone away… there was certainly some truth to that statement, not that Annie would admit it, anyways…

"I know that I won't be able to understand how you feel. Never in a million years," he continued, gently squeezing Annie's shoulders as he spoke. The shorter girl retaliated by grasping his wrists and applying a mild amount of pressure on them, enough to make Nac wince and release her. Despite the pain, however, he still continued, ignoring the increasing pressure Leonhardt was applying onto his wrists in an attempt to make him shut up. "But my point still stands, you can't just push everyone around you away. It'll only result in making things worse… and I don't want that. Mrs Carolina doesn't want that. Mina doesn't want that…"

And at that, Annie released Nac's wrists and closed her eyes, letting out a loud sigh of frustration as she grimaced. She hated this. She hated how Nac's words were actually affecting her more than she wanted them to, and she hated how him bringing up that Mina, of all people, would be affected by her mental state actually made her feel bad.

"Mikazuki isn't interested in making friends," pointed out Annie as she kept her eyes shut, hoping that this conversation would end at that, with the blonde starting to feel guilty for reasons which were not entirely related to the conversation at hand, and she did not want to spill anything important on accident. However, she was a fool to think that Nac would let the topic slide so easily.

"Maybe, but I've had success with Mikazuki," reminded Nac, smiling a tad as Leonhardt fixed a harsh glare on him, one that he either ignored or let slide. "Mina too! I'm sure that you can make another friend if you just open up to him a little."

Clenching her fists, Annie narrowed her eyes at the taller boy in one final attempt to urge him to back off. Nac's eyes reflected some form of fear at that, but his sincere gaze and determination to help her open her heart to others outweighed his fear. And by then, Annie knew that nothing would change Nac's mind. So, after closing her eyes, unclenching her fists and giving a defeated sigh, Annie lowered her head.

"... if he wants to follow, then fine," she grumbled, and Nac gave a mental fistpump.

"Alright!" he said, finally breaking out of his unusually solemn expression and turning back to his usual, happy self. It was almost a relief to Annie, honestly.

"But I'm not promising to befriend him," added Leonhardt coldly, making Nac slouch forward once more, though he still sighed and gave a nod in acknowledgement.

"Well, fair enough," he admitted, sliding his hands into his pockets as he offered a smile to his housemate, one that made a mild shudder go up her spine for still unknown reasons as the taller boy nodded. And from there on, they both remained silent, with Nac rocking back and forth awkwardly on his heels as Annie went back to packing.

And right as things seemed to calm down, Mina had to ruin it by crashing into the room, practically tearing the door off its hinges as she burst in, startling Nac something fierce and nearly causing Annie into launch her fist at her out of instinct, only to stop herself when she realised who had entered.

"Mika said he's fine with going, Nac!" confirmed Mina, smiling widely as Nac chuckled awkwardly. Mina's smile was quick to fade, however, when she finally noticed how Annie was in the room with them. "Oh… erm… whoops?"

No response to that, with Annie just rolling with the thought of this all being another elaborate ploy made by her housemates to get her and Mika to get along. With that in mind, she simply went back to stuffing yet another parka into her bag as Nac chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah… uh… about that, Annie doesn't mind him following either," replied Nac, smiling awkwardly as he gave a double thumbs up, to which Mina replied with by bouncing on her heels rather enthusiastically, much to Annie's amusement as she shook her head.

"Do you have to be so dramatic?" inquired Leonhardt, her tone a mix of irritation and amusement as Mina giggled awkwardly.

"Sorry… I'm just glad that you actually said yes…" admitted Mina sheepishly. "We… just want to see you happy, y'know?"

At that, Annie was about to mention that she was happy enough as things were, though she bit her lip to keep that from leaving her lips and opted to just nod. Holding her tongue would be better in the long run, she reckoned, and she did as such as Mina held her hands behind her back and kicked the ground a little.

"So… when exactly are you leaving?" inquired Annie.

"Tomorrow," replied Annie almost instantly as she zipped her bag up. It was no less than a miracle that it actually even managed to zip itself up. "The faster this ends, the better."

Nac gave an uncertain chuckle and nodded in response before he left to perhaps inform Mika about this turn of events. Meanwhile, Mina approached Annie and gave her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder, prompting the blonde to turn towards her with a raised brow.

"It'll be fine… trust me," assured Mina with a gentle smile that seemed to break something within Annie, who looked away from her marginally smaller friend as she nodded.

'You two care too much about me for your own good… even my own.'

The next day

If Leonhardt were honest, she found herself a little surprised at how quickly Mikazuki had packed everything he needed for the trip to Reiner and Bertholdt's house. Then again, he didn't have much to actually pack as he only had his jacket and his toothbrush, something that had been given to him by Ms Carolina not too long ago, and he had it stuffed into his jacket. If she were honest, Annie was a little impressive at how little Mika had brought with him, at least when compared to her as she herself brought at least thrice as much as he did, even if the appearance of her bag did make one think otherwise.

In the morning, perhaps around six if one were to look at a clock, Annie had woken up, perhaps too early as, if she remembered correctly, Reiner and Bertholdt were often asleep up till about ten in the morning, with the latter probably sleeping an hour more, though Leonhardt didn't really care about that. The only thing on her mind at that moment was the intent to leave the place before Mika woke up in order to skim around having to go with him, something that would undoubtedly be beneficial for both of them.

Unfortunately for her, however, Mika was quite an early bird himself, something she'd find out when she saw that he was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking wide awake. She would come to learn that the boy had woken up close to 5 in the morning for no particular reason, though even without that added detail, seeing him up so early still shocked Annie to a certain extent.

As soon as she got over her initial shock, however, the blonde grouchily moved on to get herself ready to leave while Augus had watched her move with mild amusement, and by nine in the morning, Nac, Mina and Ms Carolina were waving them off. Annie was somehow more enthusiastic than Mikazuki when it came to responding to Mina and Nac waving them off, mainly because she actually waved back, however unenthusiastically, while Augus just offered a flat stare.

The walk to Reiner and Bertholdt's house was rather lengthy as the place was located near the western side of Trost. The trip involved taking several abrupt turns, crossing a bridge and, near the end of the trip, entering a small, forested area. The two encountered several interesting members of the community during their walk, including several Wallists, a handful of marketers who tried selling things to them or, Annie's personal favourite, a donut stand, though unfortunately for her she didn't bring enough cash to get a snack.

Aside from the general scenery and people whom they saw on the way to their destination, Annie found one other thing rather interesting, and that was Mika himself. When they left the Carolina residence, she had expected him to start a conversation topic, having long suspected that Mikazuki's silent nature was just a facade to look cool in front of people and that, when alone, he'd just devolve into a bumbling idiot who tried to impress others only to end up making a fool of himself, much like how Nac was when he was much younger, at least according to Mina. Sure, Nac did say that Mika was silent, even when alone with just another person, much like she was, but Annie was still convinced that it was still just an act to look cool.

But to her surprise, what she got was the same, silent, emotionless, cold gazed boy which she had grown used to by then. But that wasn't the thing which surprised her to most. On occasion, Annie would steal quick glances at Mikazuki to see if anything about him had changed, only to realize that practically nothing would. His expression remained passively neutral and virtually unreadable, and for some currently unknown reason, it put her on edge.

Annie simply felt that there was something wrong with Mikazuki Augus, and she suspected that it was mainly because of his eyes. They didn't just tell her that he was close to being an emotionless husk. They looked as though they belonged more on a trained killer and not on a teenager. They also told her that he was hiding something. There was an odd glint in his eyes which gave that fact away, though Annie couldn't be completely sure on what it could be.

There was, however, one thing she could at least be somewhat certain of, and that was that Mikazuki Augus seemed, somewhat like her, lonely. As though he had closed his heart out to the world after suffering a tremendous amount of loss, and for a currently unknown reason, it made Annie feel both guilty and pity for the kid.

'We should have turned back when we had the chance…' thought Leonhardt bitterly, only to shake that thought out of her mind almost immediately after. No, that wouldn't be possible. The deed had already been done. No point in dwelling on the consequences now, of all times.

After some time of her best to ignore the thoughts that lingered in the darker corners of her mind for the duration of the walk, Leonhardt and Augus eventually made it to a decently sized house. It was about half the size of the Carolina residence, with only a single floor and a small window. It looked rather shabby from the outside, even by Mika's standards.

Wasting no time, Annie raised her hand towards the door, balled it up into a fist, and gave it three firm knocks which were enough to make the entire door and its frame shake. Their response was a few moments of silence before the ground below them shook a tad. And within seconds, the door swung inwardly open rather abruptly, something which made neither blue eyed child flinch.

The one who swung the door open stood at about Akihiro's height and was probably just as buff. Perhaps a little less, if Mika were honest. He had blonde hair and a strong jawline alongside twin hazel eyes. The boy wore a light ash brown shirt with short, brown pants. He would've looked intimidating to anyone else, but to Mika, who'd fought alongside a fellow muscle bound boy for a long time back in the day, this blonde was nothing more than a painful reminder of his past life.

Besides, he didn't look intimidating at the moment, what with his somewhat charming smirk and the friendly look in his eyes.

"Annie!" greeted the blonde, extending his arms in a welcoming manner as he addressed Annie specifically, looking hopeful for a hug, only for his smirk to falter when he realized that he wouldn't be getting one. He didn't seem to notice Mika at the moment. "You actually came on your own! I knew you could do it eventually!"

"Yeah, but I didn't come alone," was Annie's deadpanned reply as she jerked a thumb towards Mika, and that was when the blonde boy finally noticed Mikazuki standing next to Annie. Rather dramatically, the blonde rubbed his chin and examined Mikazuki from head to toe, something which made Mika feel a little awkward and amused Leonhardt to a certain extent.

"Hmm… let me guess," muttered the blonde, smirking as he averted his gaze towards Leonhardt. And his smirk only grew wider when Annie nodded in annoyance, prompting him to fistpump rather dramatically. "I called that one! Welcome, Mikazuki Augus! I was honestly wondering when you'd actually visit…"

"...ah," said Mika. He would have said something else, which he didn't, but even if he did, he would have been cut off by the taller blonde anyways, who extended a hand of friendship towards him.

"Reiner Braun!" proclaimed the taller bloke, introducing himself enthusiastically. Deciding to humor him a little, Mika accepted the handshake with a nod, prompting the taller blonde to smirk victoriously. "But you can just call me Reiner, or Rein, depending on your preference."

Reiner's handshake was rather firm, though Mika didn't seem to acknowledge his strength as he simply gave a nod in response to the blonde's introduction. When that was done, Reiner retracted his arm and took a step back, allowing them entry into his humble abode. "Well, don't just stand on ceremony, come on in!"

Annie was the first to step into the small house while Mikazuki followed suit. Once both of them were inside, Braun shut the door with a rather loud thump and followed his guests into his small home.

The interior was a little less shabby than the exterior, which wasn't saying much as it still looked like a dump. A lot more than the Carolina residence, at least. The walls were much more damaged than the Carolina residence's, with most of them being partially torn down and the ground with a handful of holes in it. A small ripped couch, a partially destroyed coffee table and a small candle were the only things which Mikazuki could see at first glance, though on further examination, Augus also noticed a small box and a door leading to an extra room. He wasn't curious enough to wonder what was inside either.

And finally, the pilot noticed another person who was standing by the side. Turning to glance at him, Mika saw that it was a boy, a tall sonova gun at that, standing seemingly taller than even the tallest Tekkadan comrade he knew of. His hair was cut short, black and rather neat, with brown eyes and an elongated face. And, for whatever reason, he seemed rather nervous to be here.

Mika also wondered how he spotted the boy last even though he was arguably the tallest thing in the entire room, but he didn't put too much thought into that as he felt an arm smack against his back.

"Oi, Bertholdt!" proclaimed Reiner as he slung both his arms around Mikazuki and Annie's necks. Annie gave an annoyed grunt at that gesture while Mika glanced at Reiner with a raised eyebrow, though Braun promptly ignored both of them as he continued speaking. "You forget about your manners or something?"

Bertholdt, as Reiner had called him, seemed rather uncertain on if he should say anything, but he eventually, after about ten seconds of horrendously awkward silence, he came up to Mikazuki and shook his hand. Bertholdt visibly winced when Mika shook it, most likely thanks to how much force Mika had (unintentionally) applied in the handshake. When he had let go, Bertholdt immediately began massaging his hand.

"Y-You got a strong grip, Mr Augus," said Bertholdt as he shook his hand a tad. Mika's response was a simple nod as he remembered how Nac had said the exact same thing to him when they first met, making him snort in amusement. Reiner, on the other hand, gave a chuckle.

"It's a good thing, don't ya think?" asked Reiner, placing an arm around Mikazuki's shoulders and giving him a hearty poke to the chest, strong enough to make him wince ever so slightly. "A strong handshake is a good sign of strength, a must have quality for us survivors, dontcha agree?"

Bertholdt nodded shakily at that whilst Mika held no response, though it seemed as though the former's agreement with him was enough to make Reiner's smile grow a little. Annie, on the other hand, moved towards the room at the far side of the house. Opening the door, the blonde entered and slammed it shut, making both Reiner and Bertholdt flinch while Mika gave no proper reaction to that.

For a brief moment where no one said anything, simply wallowing in the silence which followed the door slamming. Then, after about ten seconds had passed, Reiner gave a slight chuckle and placed a large hand on Mika's shoulder. "Don't mind her. She does that all the time!"

"Ah," replied Mika, not even turning to look at Reiner while Bertholdt noticeably slumped a tad.

'I kinda wish that Reiner was joking,' thought Bertholdt, mentally sighing as he slouched forward. In truth, the tall boy and his blonde friend did wish for Annie to stop being as much of a prick as she was. Sure, it would prove to be an inconvenience in the future, but before that day was to arrive, the two wanted Annie to at least have friends outside of them and to actually have fun. To act like a normal teenager and not a… warrior, for the lack of a better term, for however long they would be here. Sure, she was very slowly starting to consider Mina and Nac to be friends, but in the tall boy's mind, it wasn't enough to break her cold exterior.

"Oi, Reiner to Bertholdt!" came Reiner's voice, and the boy in question shook his head as he was snapped out of his trance. Refocusing his vision, Bertholdt saw that Reiner was snapping his fingers in front of his face, and it was then when he realized that he had spaced out for a while. Shaking his head once more, Bertholdt gave a soft, uneasy chuckle as he held both his hands up defensively.

"Y-Yes, Reiner?" he said, sounding somewhat sheepish. Reiner didn't seem to notice, however, one arm still slung around Mikazuki's shoulder, with the boy not seeming to mind as he just kept his flat stare fixed on Bertholdt.

"You alright there? You kinda spaced out for a moment," inquired Reiner with a short chuckle. Bertholdt's face lit up a tad in response to that before he gave a nod.

"I suppose so," responded Bert, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'm alright. I was just… thinking about things."

"Well, think about them later!" protested Reiner as he walked over to the couch. With a slight grunt, Braun sat down on it and adjusted himself until he was comfortable, with both Hoover and Augus hearing an audible snap inside the thing as he did so. Bertholdt himself took a seat down as well, though he left a noticeable gap between himself and Reiner, and Mika didn't need to think too hard to know what they wanted him to do. Seeing no real reason to not do so, Augus moved and sat himself down between Reiner and Bertholdt.

For a short while, neither one of the three uttered a single word. Reiner stayed silent to allow Mika to get comfortable while Bertholdt didn't say anything as he didn't know what he should actually say. And as for Mika, he didn't say anything because he was Mika.

And finally, after a minute or two, Reiner cleared his throat and spoke up.

"So, you're like us, huh?" asked Reiner with a smile. Mika and Bertholdt turned to face Reiner, with the former raising a brow while the latter seemed rather… unhappy with that question, though Reiner blocked that sight out and focused on Augus. The expression the Pilot gave him told Reiner that he needed to rephrase himself, and the one which Bert was giving him told the blonde that he was as paranoid as ever. "What I mean is that, you're from Maria too, hm?"

"Ah," answered Mika with a stiff nod, deciding to respond to keep his boredom at bay. "Shiganshina."

"Oh right… that… place," muttered Reiner, and Mika thought that he heard a small hint of guilt in his tone as his smile faltered just a little. Bertholdt himself tensed up as well as a small drop of sweat slid down his cheek. Augus raised a brow when he noticed Reiner's sudden change in tone and demeanor, though both had gone as soon as they came, as when he spoke up once more, his tone was back to normal and his expression went back to how it usually was. "Nac said you were from Maria, but he didn't tell us where, you see?"

"Mmm," muttered Mika with a nod. "You two also from there?"

"Well duh," said Reiner sarcastically, apparently trying to lighten the mood as he leaned back on the couch. "We came from a village in the mountains southeast of Maria and were among the few who escaped from the damn place. The two of us met Annie on a refugee boat. It was a pretty good day… depending on how you view it."

Reiner cleared his throat and seemed reluctant to continue, prompting Bertholdt to do so for him. "Annie ignored his handshake until she got annoyed and accepted it. Reiner considered it the bad part of our initial meeting. Frankly speaking, it was rather entertaining to watch."

"Ah," repeated Mika with a faint nod. Admittedly, a part of him was interested in some of the more nuanced details of how the three of them met, especially what the 'good' part of the meeting was, just enough to ask. That, and Reiner and Bertholdt both seemed very keen on knowing more about him than he was of them, anyways.

"So, what about you, Mika?" inquired Reiner, confirming his thoughts as Braun nudging the shorter boy lightly. That action made Mika stare at him while Bertholdt looked somewhat antsy about that question. Reiner ignored the latter while he continued to question the former. "You're from Shiganshina, hm? I'd like to know how you escaped and all that."

'How I escaped…' he thought, not expecting Reiner to ask that. The boy knew that Mina, Nac and Ms Carolina were a little too respectful about his privacy to ask speak of that topic, and Annie herself wouldn't bother asking anyways. Bertholdt himself seemed to fit into the former category. Reiner, however, apparently wasn't too shy on inquiring about that topic.

In truth, Mika had no actual answer to that. He never had any reason to think of a proper cover up for that small detail up till now, and he hastily thought of the one thing which he could use to cover it up.

"A Titan," replied Mika, looking down at the couch as Reiner and Bertholdt raised their brows at him, intrigued at how a Titan was involved with his survival. Their brows were raised higher when he continued. "It was large, with white armour."

And when he said that, Reiner widened his eyes while Bertholdt let out an audible gasp. Reiner was the first to speak up, seizing Augus by the shoulders and shaking him back and forth as he did. "You saw the Mechanical Titan?!"

'Mechanical Titan…' thought Mika, doing his best to keep himself from breaking Reiner's arms as he shook back and forth, sighing as Braun manhandled him. 'They really do think that anything that's bigger than them is a Titan of sorts.'

"Ah," replied Mika as after Bertholdt calmed Reiner down, prompting him to stop shaking Mika and actually let him speak properly. "I didn't know it had a name."

"The Mechanical Titan wasn't much more than a myth to the citizens of Trost and even most refugees from Maria and Shiganshina," pointed out Bertholdt, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Most reports from the handful of refugees that actually saw it state that it was a white, mechanical Titan which only attacked other Titans and ignored humans, sometimes even saving them."

'I guess I did save a few people in Shiganshina…' thought Mika with a nod. That realization didn't really illicit any real reaction from the boy, though he did feel mildly proud of himself for some reason.

"The Military Brigade is most likely keeping the existence of this Titan under wraps," said Reiner thoughtfully, snapping Augus out of it as he turned to face the blonde haired boy. "But I've heard rumors that the Survey Corps have encountered it on their most recent expedition, amongst most others. Most people think that these rumors are all fake, but practically all refugees from Maria and Shiganshina stick to their beliefs and say that they have at least some merit to them."

"And the Wallists are pretty divided on this," added Bertholdt, crossing his arms as he looked up at the ceiling. Upon hearing the Wallists being mentioned, Mika perked his ears up. While he didn't exactly care much about this radical group, Mika did find Nac's tales regarding them to be entertaining. Hopefully what Bertholdt was about to tell him in regards to how they reacted to Barbatos would continue that trend. "About half of the Wallists consider the Mechanical Titan to be a menace, one who kills both Titans and humans without remorse, considering the reports of it not targeting humans to be nothing but false information. Pastor Nick himself seems to be part of this half.

"The other half, the less vocal half, see the Titan as some sort of holy guardian of sorts. Like an angel sent down by their Gods, the Walls… somehow, to defend them from the Titan threat. It's very hard to take that claim seriously, but I guess you can't change how someone thinks, y'know?"

When he had finished his sentence, Bertholdt scratched the back of his head and gave a chuckle. Mika, on the other hand, was a little surprised at this new information. Never did he even think that his Mobile Suit would become this infamous within these walls. Sure, it wasn't like everyone was speaking its name, though the knowledge of it being known to as many people as he was led to believe was almost enough to give Augus a small sense of pride. Almost.

"But enough about what we think," said Reiner, smirking as he leaned forward and looked at Augus, who raised a brow at that. "I'd like to hear from you, the person that saw this thing up close and personal!"

And without much else to talk about, Mika gave a simple shrug.

"...sure."

Inside the bedroom

The only other room in the house of Reiner and Bertholdt was a simple bedroom. It was rather sizable, taking up at least a quarter of the entire house, with four beds in total, two bedside tables and two lamps which acted as the only source of light in the entire room. In short, it looked just as Annie remembered it as she sat on her old bed, flipping one of the two lamps on as she began reading a book regarding different languages, one she had brought with her from her old home.

Annie remembered the days when she lived here, about three months ago before she met Mina in the fields of Trost. She still remembered that day rather vividly, with Mina walking up to her, a huge smile on her face as she introduced herself. She remembered Mina saying that she looked lonely and that she wanted to accompany her despite her protests. It didn't take long for Reiner and Bertholdt to catch onto this, much to Annie's dismay, and they were quick to insist on her perhaps befriending the two Trost locals, much to her irritation.

It wasn't long before Bert and Rein had requested to meet Mina, and they were quick at becoming fast friends. And before long the two of them were urging Annie to move in to live with Mina. It wasn't because of the lack of space in their own 'house', far from it actually, with Annie herself suspecting that their little building could hold an entire family for at least a generation without issue. Instead, she knew that it was for an… ulterior motive.

To befriend Mina Carolina and, rather recently, Nac Tias.

It wasn't so much that Annie herself did not want to befriend them. Quite the opposite really. Her whole life, all she wished for was to live the life of a normal person, and having friends would have certainly been a regular part of that life. But she knew that was nothing more than a delusion at this point, at least until their goal was complete.

Annie could only imagine their faces when that day came. The look of betrayal… their anguish and disgust at her when she and her allies inevitably went through with their plans. If they were nothing more than acquaintances, Annie knew that she could handle it. But if they were friends… she didn't know how she would be able to bear it. For as stoic as she was… Leonhardt really was quite a softy at heart.

Thankfully, however, Reiner and Bertholdt seemed to have calmed down on their efforts after Annie had moved into the Carolina Residence. They were probably aware of the blonde not being friendly with the two, but they supposed that Leonhardt moving in with them was enough. That, and she did seem to be lightening up to Mina at least…

Then Mikazuki Augus showed up.

Annie still remembered the day Nac, whilst visiting Reiner and Bertholdt with her, spilled the news that Mika was now living with them. When he described how Mika was, Reiner seemed to get an idea, and ever since then, they had been insisting that Annie perhaps get acquainted with Augus. And Leonhardt had to wonder if they had suffered some head related injuries right after Nac spilled the beans as they seemed to keep ignoring the fact that Annie and Mika shared the same cold, emotionless attitude, the kind that was not good for friend making.

Whenever she would point that out, Reiner simply said that she should try harder in getting a friend as it would be beneficial to have more, much to her annoyance, while Bertholdt pointed out that, perhaps, speaking to a person that acted similarly to her could be beneficial as Mika could have had the same views on life as she did. Annie did her best to ignore how tempting the prospects sounded.

Even now, Annie could hear the faint sounds of conversation outside in the main room. It was very tempting, and she knew that it wasn't happenstance. Reiner was most likely accentuating his words on purpose to try and goad her into coming out and joining the conversation. It had never worked before, and it still didn't work now, though the prospect was… tempting, to say the least.

'I never asked for this…' thought Annie as she grit her teeth together, a sign of clear frustration. She began grimacing as she tightened her grip on the book she held, a book which she'd stopped reading long ago when she began reflecting on the bleakness of her current situation. 'I should have turned back when I had the chance!"

And as quickly as she was about to lose herself to her emotions, Annie calmed herself. Swiftly, Leonhardt's growing levels of frustration died down and was replaced with her usual, stoic self. Without missing a beat, she bookmarked the page she had stopped on and snapped the book shut before placing it inside her bag. Once that was done, she dimmed the lights of the lamp and undid her small ponytail.

'No, there's no point in thinking about any of this,' thought Annie, frowning as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'It's all in the past. And that can't be changed, no matter how much I wish for it.'

And with one last sigh, the girl laid back down onto her bed and stared at a random wall in the room, a wall which had a few noticeable splits in it. There was still light out, enough to make it look as though it were about two in the afternoon, but Annie didn't really care. Deciding that her waking up early, too early in fact, had made her a little drowsy and perhaps a little numb in the head as well, Annie decided to use this opportunity to take a nap and regain some of her energy.

'I just hope that I'll stop thinking about all this when I wake up…' thought Annie as she began drifting into a deep sleep. '...and that I can actually sleep when night rolls by…'

Hours later

To say that Annie had woken at an awkward time would be putting it lightly.

Hell, by the time she had woken up, she noticed that both Reiner and Bertholdt were already in bed. And it was then when she began yelling at herself (mentally) for being such an idiot and taking a long nap at such an awkward time.

After about a minute of self reprimandation, Annie decided that there was no real point in just sitting around and waiting to fall asleep again. So, in a simple motion, Annie swung her legs off the edge of her bed and felt around the bedside table until she gripped her hairband. Looping it around her wrist, Annie made her way out of the room, though before she exited, she took a moment to have a look at Bertholdt who, as usual, was performing some rather flamboyant poses in his sleep. His current position told Annie that the next day would be sunny, which wasn't a surprise by then.

With that, Annie left the room and closed the door gently so as to not wake her allies up. When she was out, however, she saw that Mika was nowhere to be seen. She also noticed that the combat boots which he always wore were also missing, a discovery that was enough to make her huff in amusement.

'So he took off while everyone was asleep, huh?' thought Annie as she tied her hair up into her signature ponytail. 'Not much of a surprise…'

With that in mind, however, Annie couldn't help but feel just a little sheepish as she glanced over at her pair of shoes as well. Frowning perhaps a little deeper than usual, Leonhardt was quick to acknowledge how she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep anytime soon… and without much reluctance, she moved to put her shoes on and got ready to leave the house.

'They won't notice that I'm gone,' reasoned Annie as she got her shoes on. 'I'll be back before they wake up…'

And as she left the house, the blonde couldn't help but internally groan.

'Great, am I letting myself go soft too?'

Judging by how high the moon was in the sky, Annie predicted that it was close to about… twelve in the morning, something which did actually baffle her to a certain extent as she didn't expect herself to take a nap for that long, though she didn't let it bother her that much as she walked through the empty streets of Trost. After all, she wouldn't call it a bad thing, as walking around the district at night was a personal favorite thing to do for Annie, though her nightly walks were typically cut very short after she moved in with Mina and Nac.

Ever since then, Annie found herself more occupied by her acquaintances, enough to stop her from going out at night on a daily basis, though she would leave whenever she could. Trost was just, in Annie's opinion, just so much quieter at night, something Annie preferred over the overly loud markets in the morning. The stars in the sky and the cresent moon only made it more enjoyable.

'Reiner said the moon is made of cheese…' thought Annie wistfully as she looked up at it. She had to suppress a smile at that as she raised a hand up to 'pinch' the moon between her fingertips, allowing her rarely seen 'immature' side to take over. 'I wonder how it really tastes, though…'

For a long moment, Annie simply walked, thinking about random trivial topics as she moved. Whilst she did have to take several turns and, on one occasion, backtrack after somehow reaching a dead end, Leonhardt's attention was fixed almost entirely on the night sky. The blonde allowed herself to let her stressful worries in regards to her current 'objective' fade for a moment to allow for her more childish thoughts. But after about an hour of walking, Annie found herself bumping into the one person she'd never expect to see out here on this time and day.

"Mikazuki?" muttered Annie, a little dumbfounded that she was now face to face with him in such an unusual setting. Augus himself seemed rather surprised as well, something he showed with a simple raise of his brows and as he slid his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Annie?" he echoed, sounding just as confused at meeting her out here, at this ungodly time of day no less. And for a long moment, neither blue eyed child spoke, simply letting the initial shock slide past as they stared. Surprisingly enough, Annie was the one who broke the silence.

"What are you doing out here at this time?" she demanded, sharpening her gaze to tell Mika that she wanted an answer. Mika didn't falter under it unlike most others, with his gaze remaining neutral as he shrugged and issued his response, one that was so simple that it left Annie speechless for a brief moment.

"I couldn't sleep," was what he said. "I needed to clear my mind, so I decided to head for a walk."

"I see…" muttered Annie with a subtle nod. And slowly, she approached Mika. When she was about five metres in front of him, she continued, mentally cursing herself for being about an inch or two shorter than the pilot. "I suppose you're headed back to Reiner and Bertholdt's house. I won't stop you."

And she had expected that to be the end of their conversation, with the girl walking past the boy without a second glance at him. Rather shockingly, however, she was wrong, as when she had walked about five metres away from him, the boy piped up.

"I was going to," began Mika out of nowhere, prompting Annie to stop walking and turn to face him. And she saw that he was also looking at her with a sideways glance. Much to her surprise, however, he did not have that strange, almost dead gaze in his eyes. Instead, he seemed rather carefree, childish even. The early hour was affecting him, Annie supposed. "But that was before I ran into you."

"Yeah, and?" shot Annie, raising an eyebrow in confusion at what Mika was getting at.

"I'll accompany you," offered Mika, turning his entire body so that he was facing her completely. And, admittedly, Annie was caught off guard by that proposal, and it seemed to show as she felt her face change from her usually stoic expression into a more… shocked one. Mika himself also noted it as he raised an eyebrow, slowly approaching the slightly shorter girl as she stared at him. "Is something wrong?"

"...no," replied Annie, feeling certain that Mika was pulling her leg. Deciding to confirm something, she asked, "Did Bertholdt and Reiner put you up to this?"

"No," said Mika with a shake of his head. "I just need more time to unwind. And I don't feel like sitting in the house until those two wake up."

"I see…" muttered Annie with a nod, turning on her heel as she sighed. She reckoned that Mika accompanying her wouldn't be that bad. She wouldn't admit it, but Augus was admittedly her favorite type of company, mainly because he didn't talk as much as the others. Leonhardt doubt that he would change that habit so soon, so she simply shrugged and replied with: "Sure, I guess."

And her response was a simple nod before they went on to walk in silence.

An hour later

Silence was the only thing which was exchanged between Mika and Annie during the duration of the walk, or at least during the first hour.

For the most part, Annie could pretty much pretend that Mika was not walking beside her as he was so silent. She knew that he took occasional glances at her, but in all fairness she herself was also taking small glances at him as well, so touché, she supposed.

It was… nice, to say the least. To have someone as quiet as the boy accompany her through her trek around Trost. He never announced his presence, unlike Nac, and he was mature enough to keep out of her personal space, unlike Mina and Reiner. The only person who could theoretically compete for the spot of best walking buddy was Bertholdt, though that guy was too much of a softy for Annie. If she was going to walk with someone, then she'd rather walk with someone who stood tall and confident. Bert may have been tall, too tall, but he sure as Hell wasn't confident.

At about one in the morning, Annie and Mika had arrived at the center of Trost. When the sun was up, the area would usually be bustling with activity, but at night it was shockingly silent, and shockingly devoid of life as well. Darkness engulfed the area, and the only source of light was the moonlight which emitted from above, light which shone down on two of the only people who were out at this ungodly hour.

"It's darker than I expected," said Mika, making his voice heard for the first time since about the past hour. Annie simply snorted at that.

"It's always this dark at this time of day," deadpanned Annie. Her tone was mocking, though Augus seemed to either miss or ignore her rather obvious tone of voice as he nodded.

"Ah," said Mika as they approached a medium sized crate. Mika remembered it being the crate which the first Wallist he saw stood on. When they were right in front of it, Annie took a seat on it while Mika just stood beside her.

Mika himself didn't mind standing, and for about five to ten minutes, neither one of them said anything else, simply basking in the silence which their acquaintance provided them, with Annie just staring up at the moon while Mika took a raisin or two out of his pocket and ate it. Surprisingly, Mika himself was the one who broke the silence.

"Reiner and Bertholdt seem to care a lot about you. Mina and Nac too," he pointed out, making Annie raise an eyebrow and turn to him. He was staring back at her with a neutral expression, something that was unsurprising, though she noted that his eyes seemed to lack the cold, hard gaze which she had grown used to by now. If anything, they now resemble the eyes of a regular person and not… whatever she saw in them mere hours ago. In truth, it almost made Annie pity him.

"... yeah," responded Annie with a reluctant nod, deciding to just speak to him to help pass the time as she sighed. "A little too much."

"What makes you think that way, Annie?" questioned Mika, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. Though his tone of voice sounded as cold as it usually was, there was something off about it. If anything, Leonhardt thought that it sounded almost as though Augus was concerned for her… though Annie told herself that she was more than likely just hearing things as she shook her head.

"They keep wanting me to befriend you. All of them," replied Annie, frowning as she began to subconsciously vent out to Mika, who, to his credit, was a good listener. Leonhardt reckoned that if she was going to tell anyone about this, then it may as well be the one who was least likely to share her secrets. "Reiner and Bertholdt are persistent, but Mina and Nac are even more so. Surely you've noticed their attempts at making us befriend each other."

A nod from Mika told her that he knew, though it also told her that he did not mind, prompting her to sigh.

"I just… don't see the appeal of friends," admitted Annie, crossing her arms as she began speaking of a somewhat sensitive topic. "Friendships never last for long, and even if they do, friends will eventually… leave you, one way or another. Mina and Nac especially… considering what they want to do near the end of the year…"

"And what would that be?" inquired Mika, only for Annie to look at him with a deadpanned expression.

"They never told you?" asked Leonhardt, and when Augus shook his head, she huffed and told him all he needed to know in a few words. "They wish to join the Military Brigade alongside me, Reiner and Bertholdt."

"How does that connect to a friend leaving you?" pressed Mika, an eyebrow raised. Annie turned towards him for a brief moment, apparently expecting him to be mocking her with that question… though she soon realized that it was a genuine one. His tone of voice and expression was proof of this, and Annie gave a snort before replying.

"You never noticed, huh?" grumbled Annie, positioning her legs up on the crate she was sitting on and hugging her knees. Raising an eyebrow, Mika noted that Leonhardt seemed to be more… emotional than usual. He decided to attribute that to how late it was influencing her behavior, though for all he knew, it could've been something else entirely… "Both Mina and Nac want to join the Scout Regiment of the Military Brigade."

"...Scouts?" echoed Mika, unsure on what that was, prompting Annie to rephrase herself.

"The alternate name for Survey Corps," she replied. "I'm sure Nac's told you about the casualty rate for the average soldier in that regiment. Probably not that of a junior, though."

"Ah," confirmed Mika, remembering a conversation which Nac had with him one day. And… in spite of his usual self, Mika couldn't help but smile. "You care for them, don't you?"

"I…" muttered Annie, her tone becoming rather solemn as she turned her attention away from Mika, her frown deepening as she sighed. "Yes, you are correct. Go on, mock me to your heart's content. It won't matter to me anyways…"

As she spoke, Annie brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face between her kneecaps, having already expected at least a chuckle to come from Mika. That was how it usually played out from where she came from. If you showed any sign of weakness, you'd be laughed at, and Leonhardt reckoned that she had just allowed herself to show a massive amount of it just then.

And yet, to her surprise, Mika, someone who would've at least offered a chuckle at her bout of weakness, remained silent, prompting Annie to raise her head and glance in his direction. She raised a brow when she saw that he was staring up at the sky, his gaze as neutral as ever.

"Why would I do that?" inquired Mika, not taking his gaze off the moon as he spoke. "There's nothing wrong with caring for others. It's a good thing, actually."

"..." that was unexpected, and it was enough to make Annie pause for a brief moment before she could actually reply. "...and… why would you say that?"

"It shows that you're still human," replied Mika, glancing down at his hand. He clenched and unclenched it a little as he continued speaking. "To care for others… it shows that you haven't given into the trauma that you've been through. That you're still willing to look out for someone, even if you get nothing in return."

"How can you be so sure?" inquired Annie, narrowing her eyes as Mika glanced at her. His gaze seemed much more serious than she recalled… and it was enough to make her pause for a moment as he replied.

"Because someone I once knew showed me that he was able to care for me, a total stranger, a long time ago," replied Mika, thinking back to his earlier days rather wistfully as he glanced towards Annie.

"He was… a friend, I presume?" muttered Annie.

"Yes. The best I could ask for," confirmed Mika with a nod. "He showed me that caring for others was not a sign of weakness… but a show of strength…

"He told me that…"

"... true strength comes in many forms, Mikazuki," muttered Orga as he and his blue eyed pal sat in front of the inactive chassis of the massive Mobile Suit that powered CGS. "But if I've learnt anything over the past few years of working in this Hellhole, then its's this…

"In order to be strong…

"...you have to learn how to be strong enough to be gentle…"

And as he finished that, Mika gently clenched his hand up into a fist as he closed his eyes, remembering a simpler time as he sighed.

"... I see…" muttered Annie with a gentle nod, her frown faltering as she allowed the words of Mikazuki's still unnamed friend echo through her. And with that, she couldn't help but offer a small smile. "Your friend… he's a good person, is he not?"

"He was the best," confirmed Mika as he nodded, prompting Annie to offer a nod in response.

"Hm. I… thank you for sharing all that with me, Mikazuki Augus," thanked Annie, only for Mika to scoff a little in response.

"Just Mika works," assured Augus as he glanced at her, prompting Annie to nod.

"Very well then, Mika," was his response, and from there on, neither blue eyed child spoke as they kept their gaze up at the sky.

'Hm… I guess he isn't all bad…'

Hours later

Standing by the front gate of their home, Mina and Nac waited rather anxiously for Annie and Mika to return. Whilst Nac paced around the front of the Carolina Residence, restless as he usually was, Mina herself leaned up against the side of the house, seeming just as nervous as her friend was.

"Do you think they've become friends?" was the first thing which Nac asked Mina when she mentioned that their friends were most likely coming back back.

"Hopefully… but it's unlikely," replied Mina rather depressingly, slouching forward as she spoke. Her answer caused Nac to frown rather deeply, though with him being as optimistic as he always was, the boy held onto hope that Mika and Annie were at least acquaintances by now, as unlikely as it was, as they waited out by the front for their friends.

And finally, not long after the afternoon rolled in, the two saw their blue eyed friends getting closer to their house. Without missing a beat, both Mina and Nac rushed up to them and greeted their friends with more enthusiasm than necessary, with Mina jumping up and down enthusiastically whilst Nac almost got in for a hug, only to be reminded by Annie that it wouldn't exactly be appropriate with a simple raise of her hand.

Aside from her reminding Tias that a hug could've been inappropriate, Annie had responded to their greetings with a 'hey' while Mika just nodded, which was already more than they had expected, before the two were back in the Carolina Residence unpacking their stuff.

As they stood over by the side, watching their friends unpack and unwind, both Mina and Nac felt their spirits fall a couple of metres as they frowned.

"I guess it didn't work," muttered Mina, who, whilst having expected this to not work from the beginning, still felt herself disappointed by the realization. Beside her, Nac found himself ready to agree, though before he could…

"Oi, Annie."

Blinking at the sound of Mika's voice, both Nac and Mina raised their brows and turned to see Mika and Annie staring at one another, with both their expressions impossible to read as they did. For a brief moment, they simply stared at one another, though before long, Annie raised a brow, a prompt for Augus to continue.

"You forgot this," continued the pilot as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a book. With a snort, Annie took it and huffed.

"Yeah, thanks. I… don't know what I'd do without it," thanked Annie as she dusted the cover, the faint glimmer of a smile appearing on her face as she nodded. And with that done, both Mika and Annie moved back to unpacking, leaving behind a dumbfounded Mina and Nac.

Their shock only increased when Annie glanced their way and, after a moment of uncertainty, spoke up, holding the book she had up to eye level as she did. "...if either of you are interested, you could borrow it. Do not lost or break it."

And to that, neither replied. Nac could only muster up a weak thumbs up as Annie nodded and placed the book down onto the couch. With that done, she gave one final nod to Mika before leaving to wash herself up, in turn leaving Mina and Nac to stare at one another in shock.

Their gaze quickly turned towards Mika, hoping for answers as they stared at him. Upon noticing that, Augus simply raised a brow as, not knowing what they were staring for, and at that, Mina and Nac turned to one another with confused looks.

"What the Hell happened while they were out…?" muttered Mina, though before long, Nac gave a mild chuckle as he shook his head.

"Well… good things, presumable," replied Nac as Mika picked up Annie's book and flipped through it. Mina herself sighed and nodded, offering a small smile as she too glanced at Augus as he tried to read.

"Definitely…"

Bada bing, bada boom, I'm back.

For those of you who don't know, I was taking a slight break from writing and had placed this story on a minor hiatus. But the hiatus is broken.

I won't lie, but this chapter was kinda the main reason as to why I placed the story on hiatus. It was pretty fockin hard to write a chapter focusing primarily on Annie and Mika interacting for some obvious reasons. Hopefully I wrote it convincingly… hopefully.

Now, onto some other stuff. The next chapter will be the final filler chapter before we get to the 104th Trainee Corp episodes. Bear with me lads, the Trost arc is coming soon.

Oh and on another note, I've kinda stockpiled on a few Gunpla. Hi Res Barbatos, for instance. It was down from $350 to $115, so I just had to have it.

Now onto the review replies

Guest: why thank you. It'll probably be a few years before I manage to finish it though, considering how the SnK manga is still being written.

Glasses Writer: I'M BACK NOW MY DUDE

CrazyCriticizer46: well, I do try my best to write characters convincingly. It's more or less the best I can do at this point :P

Hellfire Kitsune Zero and Irresponsible boredom: why, thank you. And to Irresponsible boredom, I just thought it'd be better to have a proper reason before I left for two months or so.

Barbatos009: back from the grave, ma boi

Alright, now as a final note, Glasses Writer asked why I used Mina and Nac specifically. I may or may not have talked about this in chapter 1, but may as well bring it up again in case I didn't.

I used them just because they're severely underused in SnK fanfics. That, and Mina and Nac are rather enduring to me. Their wiki pages explanations regarding their personality traits made me like them much more, and their limited screen time… very limited… disappointed me. So that's the explanation, more or less.

Fun fact, back in the original version of this story, when I was still very new to this writing business, I used Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Sasha. I changed to Mina, Nac and Annie after much consideration.

Spoilers: Mylius will be part of the cast as well, alongside several others.

SEE YA IN CHAPTER 9

"Y'know, sometimes I wonder how Mika looks when he's naked."

Pausing for a moment to let what Mina just said sink in, Annie stared at her friend in disbelief at saying such a genuinely pervy thing, something very out of character for Mina. Confused, Mina raised an eyebrow as she chuckled nervously.

"What? Mika's strong, y'know?" she reasoned, a mild blush on her face as she waved a hand in the air. "A strong dude definitely has some muscles and…"

"Mina, do you think you're hitting that time of the year?" said Annie, cutting Mina off as she shook her hands immensely.

"What do you mean?!" she protested. "I'm just curious, that's all! B-Besides… I'm sure you also wanna know…"

"Yeah, right…" muttered Annie, her face starting to light up as turned away from her friend. Before she could think of a retort, however, a nearby door which led to the bathroom swung open, prompting both girls to turn to it.

And suddenly, the two girls widened their eyes and their faces turned an immense shade of red when they saw who had just left the bathroom.

"M-Mikazuki…" muttered Mina as the half naked pilot in question came waltzing out of the bathroom, with his lower half being covered by his usual pair of pants. His upper half, however, was uncovered, letting both the girls see his upper body in all its ripped glory. Mina herself could not stop staring, and her face was so red that she could very easily be thought to have a fever.

As for Annie, she kept her cool slightly better than her friend, though she still had an immense blush as she stared at Augus, noting how his arms were lined with muscles which could potentially give herself a run for her money, and the chiseled six pack abs which looked to have needed years of physical training to achieve…

"...what?" muttered Mika, noting their staring as he wiped his hair, his ahoge popping up afterwards. That snapped both Mina and Annie out of their trances and they shook their heads.

"We…" muttered Annie, embarrassed as she looked away, unable to respond to Mika's question. Mina, being more impulsive, responded.

"NOTHING!" she exclaimed, eyes wide and mouth agape as she covered her eyes in a childish manner. "WE'RE SO SORRY!"

"...alright…" muttered a confused Mika as he began to walk off, though as he moved, Annie took note of the three spines on his back.