Family and child soldiers were words that were never meant to go together, and whenever they did, it would only end in disaster.
The closest Mika had to a genuine family prior to this… incident was Tekkadan. Brothers in arms, a family that was not held together by blood, but by their commitment to one another. Honestly speaking, they were probably more tightly knit when compared to most actual families, and frankly speaking, Mika wouldn't have it any other way.
Now, however, Mika had the opportunity to live in an actual family, and as odd as it felt at first, the pilot slowly found himself growing used to that idea. And in a way… Mina, Nac, Annie and Mrs Carolina weren't that much different from his old family.
Aside from the lack of (friendly) violence, minus various occasions where Annie smacked Nac over the head when he ended up talking too much, their little family seemed to be just as tightly knit as Tekkadan, more so Mina and Nac as Annie was still warming up to the two, as was Mika.
Augus himself did find himself enjoying their company, truth be told. Though rather annoying or even frustrating to deal with at times, Mina and Nac were both extremely endearing, so much so that Mika was willing to put up with their chattiness for extended periods of time, much to their delight. As for Annie, the girl was as she always was, even if she did seem to be just a little less silent after their little visit to Reiner and Bertholdt's humble abode.
Though of course, even when living in a normal family, so to speak, Mika's life never did become any less interesting. Hell, he reckoned that it got a lot more so…
"So Mika… do you have any hobbies?" inquired Mina as she sat beside him, offering a small smile as she shook from side to side in a somewhat childish manner that Mika was familiar with by now. The Pilot raised a brow in response to that, only to shrug in response. He couldn't exactly recall doing anything that could be considered a 'hobby' outside of him eating raisins, and even then, that wasn't exactly a hobby. Did piloting Barbatos count as a hobby? Probably not… "Erm… I'll take that as a no…?"
"Ah," replied Mika with a nod as Mina scratched her cheek, blinking as she eyed her friend's hair, especially that ahoge of his. Upon noticing that, Mika raised a brow as he tilted his head a little, causing said ahoge to bounce a little at the sudden movement. "What…?"
"Can I… do stuff with your hair?" inquired Mina, sounding somewhat sheepish as Mika gave her a questioning gaze. It was rather evident to Mika that she didn't think before she asked that question, as her expression told him that she almost immediately regretted doing so.
"...huh?" muttered a confused Mika as Mina chuckled, her face red as she tried to make him forget about that ridiculous question of hers.
"Uuu… nevermind!" proclaimed Mina, having acknowledged how weird her request was after putting more than a second of thought into it as she covered her face. In response to that, however, Mika simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Sure," quipt Mika as he shrugged, with Mina widening her eyes in shock, much to Augus' confusion. "You can do stuff with my hair as long as you don't remove it."
And almost immediately after, Mina's shock quickly made way for an enthusiastic smile as she suddenly got a rather… predatorial look in her eyes.
One that made Mika shudder a little.
Several hours later
"... please do explain…"
The uncharacteristic confusion in Annie's voice was enough to show everyone present that she was truly shocked at the current state of Mika, or more specifically the current state of his hair. Hell, even Nac seemed just a little taken aback by it, though his reaction was a slack jawed expression as he stared in shock. In response to both Annie's question and Nac's shocked expression, Mika simply shrugged.
Currently, all three of them were sitting on the living room couch, with Annie and Nac staring at the Pilot in confusion. The reason was rather obvious… as the boy's short hair was now rather… stylised, for the lack of a better term, in a way that was rather… interesting, to say the least.
His ahoge was now laying flat against his head, and his fringe was pulled back, giving him a hairstyle that was just a little similar to Nac's. His hair was held back by a… large bow that Mina somehow managed to find that sat on the very top of his head, and the end result was a… strangely cute looking Mikazuki, one that made Annie nod in apparent approval, something that only Mika noticed as Nac simply glanced at the boy with an awkward glance.
"Hm, well whatever happened, I must admit, you do look… unique," admitted Nac after he cleared his throat, smiling as he glanced at Mika in… approval? Yeah, approval. That was probably what it was. Augus replied to that with a raise of his brow while Annie shrugged.
"Could use some makeup," admitted Annie, and at that, Nac leaned forward to look the pilot a little close as he rubbed his chin in apparent agreement, only to recoil when he noticed Mika narrow his eyes at him.
"Hey, she said it, not me," defended Nac, stepping back and raising both his hands as he spoke. Mika simply sighed gently as he crossed his arms, not sure of what else to say as he patiently waited for Mina to return. She did say that she wanted to get something, though what she wanted to get was still a mystery to him…
… and as if on cue, Mina returned, now clutching a box in her hands as she rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping as she got down to ground level.
"Hey, guess what?! Mum said that we could use her makeup!" proclaimed Mina as she rushed in from the second floor, smiling widely as she held up a box of cheap makeup that seemed to have been left untouched for a long time. Annie's eyes visibly sparkled just a little when she saw it while Nac gulped, unsure of how to react to all this. As for Mika, he remained silent, though on the inside he was screaming just a little. "I… don't know if it still works, but mum said we could use it anyhow!"
And at that, Mika found himself sensing up just a little, especially after he noticed that predatory glanced Annie was giving him alongside the thoughtful rub of her chin. Meanwhile, Mina leapt up into the air, with the top of her head just barely missing the ceiling, before she landed right beside Mika, smiling as she opened the makeup kit. Augus seemed ready to speak up and say that he didn't want this… though the overjoyed look that Mina gave him made him stop.
"... go on," grumbled Mika, not content with this situation though willing to go along with it as Mina smiled, with Annie almost smiling as well as she stepped forward to help. Meanwhile, Nac crossed his heart for his friend, silently wishing him good luck as he watched it all happen.
And it was safe to say that at that one moment, the Titans were not the most horrific thing in this world to Mika…
Illiteracy was certainly not the biggest issue for Mika. Reading was unimportant on the battlefield, where physical prowess, reaction speed and cunning reigned supreme, with even the smallest of mistakes potentially costing you your life.
And yet, all of that was irrelevant here. There was no real combat within these walls, and as such, Mika's most well tuned senses were put on the side in favor of his less nuanced traits… with such a trait being his illiteracy.
That was where Nac came in. With him being a… smarter than average young man, Nac was the prime candidate in helping the pilot get over his illiteracy. Hell, funnily enough Nac was the one who noticed his illiteracy in the first place after Mika failed to write a single word several times.
From that point on, Nac took it upon himself to perhaps try and teach him how to read and write, and to say that it was a slow process would be an understatement. Knowledge of the battlefield had been ingrained into his mind, and if anything it was a little too ingrained in there as he was unable to remember basic things, such as spelling his own name, properly without making a mistake.
Even so, the pilot was making progress, however slow it was, and Nac did have the help of the entire house from time to time in teaching Mika how to read and write.
"So, the words needed to spell Titan are T-I-T-A-N," explained Nac as Mika held up a pen and paper. Off to the side, Annie remained silent as she read her book which related to other languages, occasionally glancing in their general direction to see if Augus had made any progress. His education didn't exactly mean much to her, though she still did find his attempts at improving to be… lackluster at best and downright awful at worst. At least it was all amusing to her, she supposed.
By all means, Mina would've joined the trio, though she was off with her mother getting groceries, leaving them two teachers down, which didn't seem like much, though in actuality it was quite the ordeal to teach him with just two people, especially when one of the two didn't seem keen on helping at all.
"W-Wait… no, that's not how you spell Titan…" muttered Nac after Mika showed him what he had written. His eyes were wide beyond belief as he stared at whatever Mika had written, and Annie peeked over and was quick to widen her eyes when she saw it as well, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at that.
'Tieten…' thought Annie, holding back a snort as she refocused on her book, ignoring how Nac was correcting him once more, being more specific on how to write the word properly. After a short bout of encouragement, Mika went back to writing, and Tias sighed in an apparent show of frustration and stress.
"You could always help, Ann. You did say you would…" muttered Nac, sounding rather pitiful as he glanced at the blonde with puppydog eyes. To a lesser lass, that would've been enough to convince them to help, though to Annie, all it did was make Leonhardt roll her eyes once more.
"Yeah, but you seem to have it under control," retorted Annie, her tone dripping with sarcasm which made a vein to appear on Nac's forehead. That was a rarity, and Annie allowed herself to be surprised for a short while before she went back to reading, much to Tias' chagrin.
"But it wouldn't hurt you to just help, perhaps?" pleaded Nac, narrowing his eyes a little in irritation as he glanced at Leonhardt. When he realized that she wasn't really paying attention, Nac glanced at her book and pursed his lips. "I mean… you're reading a book on languages… so…"
"Don't use my reading tastes against me, Nac," growled Annie defensively as she glared at him, sending a chill down Nac's spine as she went back to reading. She had expected the conversation to end there, and it by all means it did, though what she didn't expect was for the guy to take a peek at her book.
"... other languages, huh?" muttered Nac, peeking at the page she was on with great interest, raising a brow when he noticed that the page in question was about the crescent moon. There were several pronunciations of the words in question that Nac was unable to read out properly, though he did do his best, something that amused the blonde a little as she glanced his way.
And then, he did notice something…
"Hey, is that…" muttered Nac, only for Annie to nod as she focused on what Nac had noticed.
"Yeah," confirmed Annie as she looked between her book and Mika, rubbing her thumb over a word that went by Mikadzuki as she spoke. "That's… his name."
"Huh, good to know," quipt Nac, only to raise a brow at another word, having forgotten about the sudden appearance of the pilot's name in the language book as he pointed at this new word. "I've… never seen that word before."
"... neither have I. It's very long," agreed Annie as Nac attempted to read it out.
"Super… cally… frag? Supercallyfrag… illistic-expelp-doshus?" muttered Nac in confusion as he attempted to read out supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Annie didn't even attempt to read that crap out as she flipped to the next page.
"Good enough," assured Annie, wishing to dissuade Nac from trying again as he puffed his chest out proudly, much to her amusement.
And his chest was quick to cave in on itself when he saw Mika's other way at writing Titan. Meanwhile, Annie was somehow able to remember that expression he had as he went back to teaching Mika about reading and writing, deciding to log it in her mind as something to remember whenever she felt upset.
Trost, western wing
"So, doughnuts, huh?"
As he said that, Mikazuki and Annie stepped out of the doughnut store that the latter was rather fond of. In their hands were four doughnuts, two meant for them and another two meant for Mina and Nac. Mrs Carolina had turned down the offer Annie gave when she asked if she wanted one as well, which was a bummer. Annie thought that her surrogate mother would've liked one, though her mind was changed when she was told how Mrs Carolina was not one for sweet things, unless they were the metaphorical kind.
Without much hesitation, Annie took a bite of her doughnut, and Mika did so as well. Frankly speaking, it wasn't that good, and yet, both Mika and Annie metaphorically melted at how they tasted, probably because it was a lot nicer than most other things either blue eyed child had eaten prior whilst confined within the district.
"That was definitely worth the cash," muttered Annie, offering a faint smile as she hooked her pouch of coins onto her hip. Mika was quick to nod in agreement as he took another bite, and the two were quick to finish their doughnuts within a handful of seconds, with Leonhardt licking the remains off her fingers in an uncharacteristically childish manner, though Mika didn't comment on that as he just wiped all that off on his jacket. He'd probably get a scolding from his surrogate mother later for that, though he'd let future Mika deal with it for once.
And right as they were getting comfortable, with the doughnuts sitting happily in their stomachs, Annie felt something, or more accurately someone yank her coin pouch off her hip. Widening her eyes just a little at that, she grimaced when she saw someone run off with her coin pouch, and almost immediately after, Mika was noticed as well.
"Thief," pointed out Annie as she crouched down just a little and got ready to sprint after the thief. Before she could take off, however, Mika rushed forward and sprinted after the guy that stole their coin pouch, his sudden take off shocking Annie briefly before she shook her head. "Show off."
And at that, she took off after Mika, expertly weaving through the crowd of Trost as they tailed the thief. Unlike her, however, Mika's method of getting through the crowd was less elegant as he elbowed and shoved his way through it, not bothering to slow down for even a second as he kept his gaze locked firmly on the thief, at one point even knocking over a guy for getting in his way, much to his chagrin.
The thief didn't need long to notice that he was being pursued, as he grimaced and turned back to them before moving to trip a random shopkeeper that was moving a handful of boxes. At that, the poor lad fell forward and crashed onto the ground, making for a potential obstacle in Mika and Annie's way.
What the thief didn't seem to expect, however, was for both Mika and Annie to leap straight over the obstacle with little to no effort, with Augus vaulting over the fallen crates while Annie lunged straight over the fallen man. They landed in near perfect sync, with Augus rolling a little while Annie landed on her feet before they continued their chase.
"Not bad, Mika," praised Annie, a rarity for her as she did her best to focus on sprinting whilst holding onto the bag of doughnuts meant for Mina and Nac.
"I'd say the same to you too," replied Mika, and with that, they went back to sprinting in silence.
The chase had ended after Mika and Annie cornered the thief in an alley.
Whilst the thief appeared rather exhausted by then, neither Mika nor Annie appeared even winded. If anything, they seemed irritated at having to chase the guy for as long as they had to, with Augus really wishing that he had his pistol with him. Sure, Annie would've probably wondered how he got such a weapon, though at this point in time, he was so irritated that he didn't even care.
"Man, you two blue eyed fucks really are persistent…" quipt the thief, frowning as he backed up against the wall, breathing hard as he clenched Annie's cash pouch tightly in his hand whilst his other hand reached around behind him. Leonhardt's gaze noticeably sharpened at that as she approached him, with Mika just standing back and watching as she did.
When Annie was just close enough, however, the thief smirked and whipped his other hand out, revealing a rather sizable kitchen knife which he swung at Leonhardt. Before it could even come close to striking her, however, Annie grabbed the slightly taller guy's wrist before it could even get close to striking her abdomen and squeezed it tightly, forcing him to drop the knife and whimper at how tightly his wrist was being held.
After more pressure was applied, the thief dropped Annie's coin pouch and began attempting to pry her hand off his wrist. Upon noticing that, Annie released him and crouched down to pick it up, ignoring the pitiful cries of the thief, only to be stopped when Mika audibly groaned.
"You'd best step off," came an unfamiliar voice, prompting Annie to stand and narrow her eyes when she saw four unfamiliar faces standing in front of Mika, all blocking the exits for the alley and wielding a weapon of sorts. Narrowing her eyes, Annie made out three boys and a girl, all of whom were undeniably friends with the thief.
"We're surrounded," observed Mika nonchalantly, not sounding that alarmed as he kept his hands in his jacket pockets. His response was a nod from Annie as she picked up her coin pouch and hooked it onto her belt, ignoring the shiteating grin the first thief had on his face as he spat a handful of insults their way, all of which were also ignored.
"Yeah, how observant of you," quipt Annie as she glanced at the four newcomers, her gaze showing no sign of fear, something that set them on edge. Hell, if anything, she seemed to be getting ready for a throwdown, as evident by how she began to fold the sleeves of her parka up as she glared at the newcomers. "Get out of our way."
"Fat chance. That pouch is ours, blondie! Give it up, or we'll take it by force," advised the only girl in the group, holding onto a wooden plank of wood as her only weapon as she stepped forward in an attempt to intimidate Leonhardt, who had to hold back a snort. Likewise, Mika had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he flexed his hands, watching nonchalantly as Annie walked up to stand by his side.
"I guess words are more of Nac's forte, huh…?" muttered Annie as she sighed and raised her fists up to her face, with her feet falling into a combat stance as Mika nodded and fell into a stance that was similar to hers.
And for a brief moment, the air was rather tense, with silence being the only thing exchanged between Annie, Mika and the now tense thieves that surrounded them…
… and almost instantly, the silence was broken when Mika spun on his heel and extended his arm out to the side, in turn redirecting a jab from the first thief's kitchen knife. The thief was briefly shocked by this, though the shock was quickly wiped off his face when Mika's fist collided with his face, knocking him out cold with a single blow.
The other thieves all took a step back at that, shocked at seeing one of their own taken out so quickly, though they quickly recomposed themselves, remembering that they had a numerical advantage, and they charged.
The first to get into combat range was a guy wielding a rusted pipe, who swung it at Annie. In response, she simply ducked under it, using her height to her advantage for once, before jerking her head up and striking the thief below the chin. As he recoiled, Annie grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him in close for a strike to the stomach with her knee, causing him to double over in pain.
Before Leonhardt could kill… pardon, knock him out cold, another thief, a guy who relied primarily on his fists, rushed in and attempted a handful of jabs. Two jabs were avoided by Annie and another was blocked by her forearm, though to the guy's credit, he was able to get a strong right hook to connect to Leonhardt's cheek, prompting him to smirk victoriously.
His smirk quickly left his face, however, when he saw that Annie barely even flinched from the strike. Instead, she simply glared at him with the strength of ten thousand stars, prompting him to shudder a little and give Leonhardt enough time to grab his outstretched wrist with her free hand. Squeezing on his wrist with all her might, Annie forced the guy down to his knees as she glared at him, furiously embarrassed at being caught off guard by a common street thug, and when he was low enough, she launched her knee at his face and probably broke his nose on impact.
Hell, he was sent flying backwards from the impact alone.
Sighing a little as the guy fell backwards, Annie rubbed the cheek she was punched on, acknowledging how it would probably bruise, before turning towards Mika… and she quickly raised her brows when she noticed how well he was handling things on his end.
Stepping to the side, Mika sidestepped a knife that was swung down at him and seized the wrist of his assailant, and before he could react, Augus delivered a solid strike to his face, causing him to recoil in pain as he dropped his knife. At that, the pilot twisted his arm, most likely breaking it in the process, and forced the guy to bend down just enough for him to knee him in the face.
As the former knife wielder held his face in pain with his good arm, Mika heard a warcry of sorts, however pathetic it sounded, and turned to see the only girl in the group rushing at him with her weapon, that ridiculous plank of hers, held up over her head. Rolling his eyes at that, Mika simply seized the collar of the guy he had injured and, at the last possible second, Mikazuki yanked him in front of himself and used the guy as a makeshift shield.
The girl didn't even have time to stop herself before her plank of wood slammed into her acquaintance's head, knocking him out cold. Gasping in shock, the girl stepped back a little, and she fell back the moment Mika tossed her unconscious acquaintance to the side and glared at her.
"Y-You wouldn't hit a girl… right?" was all she managed to say before the bottom of Mika's boot made contact with her face, knocking her out cold with a single kick. And at that, Annie couldn't help but snort as she shook her head, watching as Mika slid both his hands into his jacket pockets and nodded towards her.
"Show off," quipt Annie with a smirk as she stepped to the side, dodging a pipe with little effort as she did so, and turned to see her would be assailant looking somewhat horrified, though that horrified expression quickly left when Annie slammed her hand into the back of his neck, knocking him out with a simple strike.
"I could say the same to you," replied Mika, his tone a little joking, something that was rather unexpected from him, as he motioned for them to just get a move on.
And the moment they left, a Garrison soldier came by and saw the aftermath of their little skirmish, and he shuddered when they saw the states of some of the thieves.
"Man, Trost is strange…"
"So, you said that you got hit?"
"Yes. Nothing to worry about," assured Annie as she held a warm cloth over her bruised cheek, frowning as the lukewarm water made contact with it. Currently, Annie, Mina and Nac were all in their shared room, with Mika off in the showers while Mina and Nac checked on their blonde friend.
Mina's concern for Leonhardt was more than apparent, with the twintailed girl periodically checking on her, much to the blonde's annoyance, though she didn't have the heart to tell her to stop as she just went with it. Nac opted to give the girls some space for now, knowing that a worried Carolina being pulled from the source of their concerns usually ended badly…
"It was just a mild skirmish. Don't worry about it," assured Annie as her pal pouted, not buying her explanation despite it being the truth, much to her dismay.
"You… couldn't settle it without having to punch someone?" muttered Mina, sounding more worried for the people that Annie and Mina had probably crippled a few hours ago. At that, Leonhardt simply rolled her eyes.
"They didn't really give us much of a choice," replied Annie, prompting Mina's pout to grow a little more as Leonhardt shuddered, turning to Nac for potential support, only to realize that he wasn't about to offer any as he raised his hands up, showing that he probably wouldn't be able to help much.
At that, Annie sighed and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off when Mikazuki swung the door to their shared room open and entered, a towel still atop his head. The pilot wore only his pants and blue sleeveless shirt, which showed more than enough muscle to make Nac envious. Mina herself flared up just a little when she saw those triceps, and Annie would've lied if she said that she didn't feel some envy at his physique… and perhaps a little impressed by his muscles…
"What?" muttered Mika as soon as he dried his hair, removing the towel and causing his ahoge to pop upwards as he spoke. The pilot raised a brow when Mina looked away and waved him off, not trusting her voice at the moment, while Nac simply waved both his hands in assurance. Annie, on the other hand, simply sighed and responded.
"Nice timing," quipt Annie somewhat jokingly as Mika walked past them and towards the side of Nac's bed, where his jacket was. He had left it in the room after returning for some unknown reason and, as evident by his presence here, he had come to retrieve it after taking a quick shower.
"Ah," replied Mika with a nod as he leaned forward to pick his jacket up, realizing that he probably walked in on something but not curious enough about what it was to ask about it. As he did… however, he had unintentionally let his Alaya-Vijnana spines show.
The sight of those spines set everyone present on edge. Though they knew about those spines that were present on their friend's back, they had never brought it up out of respect for his privacy. However, perhaps due to the sudden heat rush to her face, Mina wasn't able to hold herself back as she blurted out: "Hey, uh, Mika…?"
"Hm?" muttered Mika, raising a brow as he turned to glance at her. Nac and Annie did so as well, and they noticeably tensed themselves up as Carolina continued.
"What… what's with your spine…?" inquired Mina, who immediately regretted it as Augus tensed up a little. The other two in the room were quick to freeze up as well as they heard the question, and Mina herself felt her heart stop for a handful of seconds when she realized what she had asked.
Silence was quick to prevail and take over the next few seconds as Mika's free hand flexed a little, with his back facing all three of them, something that created quite a lot of tension as the three watched in fear.
"W-Wait… ignore that! Y-You don't need to-" was what Mina blurted out after some time, only to be cut off by Augus as he glanced at her from over his shoulder.
"It's something I was born with," was Mika's response, cutting Mina off as he turned and glanced at Mina, who gulped and readied herself for the worst at first, only to pause when she realized how… neutral he appeared as he slung his jacket over his shoulder. As soon as those words left his mouth, Nac seemingly passed out from the sudden release of tension while Annie seemed close to doing the same.
"O-Oh…" muttered Mina as she raised her brows, still a little unnerved as Mika nodded.
"Ah. You've all been staring at it," replied Mika, turning to face his friends as he spoke. Mina and Annie seemed rather surprised as they were called out that easily at staring at his spines every so often while Nac remained passed out, though they kept their lips sealed as he continued. "It's a part of me. You don't need to worry about asking about it."
"Well… if you say so," muttered Mina as Mika turned towards the passed out Nac and grabbed him by the collar, a brow raised as he shook Tias in his hands. When he didn't wake immediately, the pilot gave his taller friend a slap that was mild by his standards, though by Nac's standards it was a rather rough whack, and that was more than enough to wake him up.
"Oi, you alright?" inquired Mika as he kept his hands on Nac's collar. At that, Tias nodded, rubbing his cheek with his free hand as Augus released the guy, and at that, the latter sighed a little and turned to leave… only to pause when he felt a strange sensation on his AV Systems.
Turning to glance at whatever it was, Mika raised a brow when he saw Annie standing behind him, a hand holding the still lukewarm towel up against her face while the other ran against the gaps of his AV System. Upon noticing his gaze, Leonhardt simply raised a brow as Mina gave a rather worried squeak.
"I just wondered what they felt like," admitted Annie nonchalantly as Mika nodded, not minding his friends touching his spines as the blonde retracted her hand. With that, the pilot got his jacket back on and glanced at Annie with a raised brow, prompting her to roll her eyes.. "I'm not that impolite, thank you very much."
"Hm. Satisfied?" inquired Mika, half joking as Annie shrugged.
"I guess," was his response, and as he nodded, he heard Mina clear her throat as he glanced in her general direction.
"Can I…?" began the twintailed girl as she tapped her fingers together, and with a shrug, Mika simply nodded.
"Ah."
And at that, the day ended with the team asking about those spines. Mika answered as vaguely as he usually did to keep the truth away from them, opting to go with the lie of a 'spinal defect' that Nac had brought up.
The touching did feel rather weird, though it wasn't intolerable…
Though admittedly, Mina placing a scarf around his spines was a little weird…
"So, we have the greenlight?"
"YEP!"
As she said that, Mina smirked widely and jumped up and down, her twintails bouncing as she did. It was rather cute, to say the least, and even Mika and Annie couldn't resist offering a smile as she jumped up and down in excitement.
"Mum said we could join the Trainee Corps and she'll be filing in requests later today, but we have to look out for each other if we get accepted!" continued Mina, her tone filled with excitement as she spoke. "But she knows that she can count on the four of us to look out for one another!"
"Hmph," was all Annie could mutter out in response as she shook her head, making everyone present raise their brows. "You need me and Mika to keep you two out of trouble at this point."
"Hey, we're not that bad!" protested Nac, his face red with insult as Annie rolled her eyes and gave her tall friend a look that said "Are you sure about that?", and in response, he bit his lower lip and tapped his fingers together. "Well, ok, maybe we are kinda like that… but still…"
And to that, Leonhardt offered a mild victory smirk while Augus shook his head.
He still recalled how anxious Mina had looked as she spoke to her mother about enlisting them into the Trainee Corps. She seemed so prepared to be let down, considering how protective Mrs Carolina was… so it came as a massive shock when she was quick to agree to it.
That led them to the present, with Mina still leaping up and down in joy as everyone watched.
Out of the corner of Mika's eye, however, he noticed that Mrs Carolina was peeking down from the top floor, glancing at her children celebrating their possible enrollment into the Trainee Corps. The pilot did notice that she was glancing at him more than the others, though, and he raised a brow as he made eye contact with her.
Noticing that, the elder Carolina blinked and walked out of sight, and at that, Augus simply shrugged and went on with watching, leaving Mika to his own thoughts as he watched all this happen.
"C'mon, Mika! Show some enthusiasm!" proclaimed Nac with a smirk as Mika raised a brow and shrugged, not really bothering to do as he was told. Instead, he motioned for Nac to back up as he pushed him away.
"I don't care enough to show enthusiasm," replied Mika with narrowed eyes. At that, Mina, Nac and Annie, however slightly, appeared surprised, prompting Augus to continue. "Being a part of the military isn't my concern. The real concern is if you guys survive it all."
"Ah shucks, we'll all be fine!" proclaimed Nac as he punched Mika's shoulder, only to wince when he hit his muscles and hurt his hand more than he actually hurt him. As Tias nursed his mildly injured hand, Mika rolled his eyes and looked past the tall guy, raising his brow when he noticed the redness in Mina's cheeks and the mildly sheepish look on Annie's face.
"Hm," was all Mika replied with as he offered a mild nod, glancing at the small group as he offered the smallest slither of a smile. "Someone needs to protect you all when Annie isn't around."
"I never did think you'd care that much," quipt Annie with a smirk as she rubbed her wrist, smiling a little as she bonked Mina over the head to get her to regain her senses. "And I think you broke Mina with how much you seem to care."
"Hmph," was all Mika said as he crossed his arms, and from there on, he remained silent as they continued speaking with one another, though thankfully enough, Mika was left out of it for the most part…
"Mikazuki?"
Blinking as his name was called, Mika turned towards who had spoken and saw Mrs Carolina approaching the couch where he sat on. Currently, it was rather late, with Mina, Nac and Annie all asleep. Mika did have a new bunk bed up in their shared room, though he opted to stay down here to clear his mind until he felt like sleeping.
And, as fate would have it, Mrs Carolina had come down as well to greet him.
"Mrs Carolina," greeted Mika, nodding as the woman sat down beside him and placed both her hands on her blouse. She seemed a little awkward as she sat down, though Augus didn't ask about it as he remained silent, allowing the older Carolina to speak.
"Hm… are you feeling well? Especially after all that celebration. You must be a little winded at least," inquired the woman rather awkwardly, gesturing as she spoke. In response, Mika raised a brow and turned towards her, though he was quick to nod, prompting the elder Carolina to smile as she nodded. "I am glad. Don't forget, seeing as how I'm your mother, you may-"
"You're… my mother?" muttered Mika, tilting his head a little as Mrs Carolina blinked, surprised by that question and just how… genuinely surprised Mika looked… and how damn cute he was when confused! It was enough to make her smile a little as she rubbed her cheek. This reminded her of when she told Nac to call her mum instead of Mrs Carolina all the time! Ah… that was quite the moment.
"Of course! You've been living here for over five months now, and I must admit, though my first impressions of you were… not the best, I've admittedly grown rather… attached to you," admitted Mrs Carolina, smiling as she shifted a little closer to Augus, who didn't mind their close proximity as he simply looked her in the eye. "Like with Annie, you appeared rather… off when we first met, though I've learnt to love your quirks… no offence."
"Hm," muttered Mika, a sign that he didn't mind as Mrs Carolina patted him over the head, a gesture that he was unfamiliar with, prompting him to glance her way. He did seem keen on telling her to stop, though paused when he saw that look on her face. She seemed content with providing some headpats… so much so that he sealed his lips and allowed her to do so.
"I… am deeply sorry for everything that you've lost, Mikazuki," continued Mrs Carolina, her tone reflecting her apparent sadness as she eyed the pilot, who was surprised by her words.
"You don't have to be-" began Augus, only for the elder Carolina to shake her head, cutting him off as she continued.
"To lose almost everything you love is… something that I can never experience, and as such, I may never know how you truly feel…" continued Mrs Carolina, her tone reflecting her genuine care for Augus… care that only a parent could give, as she gently held Mika close.
The hug was something that Mika was unused to… and yet… he didn't pull away as he simply allowed himself to be held by Mrs Carolina, who stroked his hair and back affectionately as she embraced his smaller form.
"I truly am a disgrace of a mother, aren't I?"
That question made Mika raise a brow as he glanced up at her, frowning a little as he perked his ears up and eyed the elder Carolina, only to raise his brows when he saw how… disheartened she looked as she spoke.
"My work keeps me away from all of you, I struggle to connect with you and Annie and I can barely even say no to sending my children to the military," continued Mrs Carolina as she smiled bitterly, biting her lip as she shook her head. "I… apologise for making you live in such conditions, Mikazuki. You deserve better than-"
"You're overthinking it," quipt Mika rather abruptly, cutting the elder Carolina off as she blinked and glanced at him, pausing as she rubbed at her eyes. Noticing that, Augus raised an eyebrow and continued speaking. "You're doing a good job as a mum."
"But… I-" began Mrs Carolina, only to be cut off by the pilot.
"You're still overthinking it," cut off Mika once more as he glanced up at the lady, the bottom half of his face still buried in her chest as he did so. "You're doing your best, Mrs Carolina. You don't have to… but you still do it. All for us.
"To complain would be to dismiss everything you've done for us. We won't, because we appreciate you for everything you've done."
And at that, a small amount of silence came up as Mrs Carolina took a moment to process all that information. As soon as she did, however, all she could offer was a small smile as she began to stroke her surrogate son's back, unsure of what else to say as she did so.
"That… is very kind of you, Mika," muttered Mrs Carolina rather uncertainly after some time, still taken aback by everything that Augus had said as she did so. Still, her smile remained intact, though it seemed less self hating and more, well, genuine as she held the pilot's head close to her chest, both content with the silence as the elder held her surrogate son close.
As time went by, however, Mrs Carolina began humming a tune… one that was unfamiliar to Mika, prompting him to glance up at the elder Carolina with a raised brow. Her eyes were closed as she hummed, and as the seconds went by, her humming grew a little louder, but still as gentle as when it had started.
The hand atop his head had also begun moving a little, going from simply resting atop his head to providing a gentle rub, and though Mika did find it odd at first, he eventually came to enjoy it just a little as he felt himself relax…
"Guten Abend, gute Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht…"
The pilot felt rather lightheaded as Mrs Carolina began her humming, and by the time she began singing, his shoulders had slackened a little, and his mind began feeling off as she stroked his back.
"Mit Näglein besteckt, schlupf unter die Deck…"
Mika found his eyelids grow heavier as he yawned gently into his surrogate mother's chest. He didn't get much sleep the night before… which probably explained all this…
"Morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt… "
Noticing his apparent exhaustion, Mrs Carolina nodded and gently moved her surrogate son's head onto her lap, careful so as to not disturb him too much, and gently ran her fingers through his hair as she continued singing.
"Guten Abend gute Nacht, von Englein bewacht…"
So this was what it was like to live in a somewhat normal family, Mika reckoned, smiling in his mind as he felt his eyelids grow heavier…
"Die zeigen im Traum, dir Christkindleins Baum…"
It felt… strangely nice…
"Schlaf nur selig und süß, schau im Traum's Paradies…"
And as the last verse was sung, Mika couldn't help but mutter out something rather unexpected before he fell asleep…
"Schlaf nur selig und süß, schau im Traum's Paradies…"
"Thanks… for everything… mum…"
And at that, Mrs Carolina had to bite her lip to stop herself from tearing up just a little as she gently stroked her child's hair.
"You're welcome, Mikazuki Augus…" was all she could say as her surrogate son fell asleep on her lap.
By all means, though she couldn't connect that well with him, the least she could do was to help him heal. In her eyes, her son had come from a terrible district, lived in conditions that no child deserved to live in, and had what little he had was taken away from him when the district fell.
Sure, she wasn't entirely correct with her assumptions on the pilot, though in a way, she did play a part in helping him recover from losing everything he held dear to him…
If anything, everyone who resided in this household contributed in some way… and even if Mika didn't wish to admit it, he owed them a lot for simply being there with him.
When it came for him to repay them, he wondered if protecting them with all that he had would be enough. It probably wouldn't be… but it would be the best that he could offer. His own two fists and perhaps a little bit of love.
And besides, if things got out of hand, he could always bring Barbatos in…
So uh… updated into oblivion.
There's nothing I can really reply to at the moment, so there's that.
Erm… see you guys next time?
Lullaby used: Guten abend gute nacht
Lyrics (rough translation)
Good evening, good night,
Bedecked with roses,
Adorned with carnations,
Slip under the covers.
Tomorrow morn, if God wills,
You'll awake once again.
Tomorrow morn, if God wills,
You'll awake once again.
Good evening, good night,
Little angels watch over;
In a dream they show
You a Christmas tree.
Sleep only blessed and sweet,
See paradise in your dream.
Sleep only blessed and sweet,
See paradise in your dream.