Chapter I: Training for War

Part IV: Graduation

Mikasa's Room, Bunk 40

A week later

Armin, Mikasa, Eren and Shinji were all hanging around in their bunk.

Mikasa was toying around with the red scarf around her neck. The girl was deep in thought. Today is supposed to be the last day of training. Tomorrow we will all be shipped off to the front to fight the Titans. I wonder if it is time for me to tell Eren how I really feel. I don't know what to expect but I'd like to at least die knowing he knew the truth. As she walked out the room, she spotted Eren working hard at the kitchen. "Eren are you cooking something? It smells delicious."

Eren nodded. "It's a new form of potato soup I cooked up. It combines a bit of spice into the original recipe. You want to try some?"

Mikasa just nodded at him with a small smile on her face. The girl was blushing a bit. "I..would." She then took a seat.

Eren set a bowl in front of her.

Mikasa then took a small sip. Her eyes widened. "Eren..this is amazing." Eren smiled and shlyly blushed. "Well..uh thanks. I appreciate the good feedback."

Mikasa then went silent and clutched the red scarf around her neck for support. He's so amazing. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close. "I..wanted to tell this when I was less…emotional. I wanted to be able to put it in words but…"

Eren raised an eyebrow at her and blushed. "But.."

Mikasa brushed her hair to the side. She then just sighed and shook her head. "Ah to hell with this. I'm no good with words. I'm just going to show you." She then pulled him in and kissed him as passionately as she could muster.

Eren let out a gasp. "Mikasa.." Mikasa faintly smiled at him. "I'm in love with you Eren. I have..always been in love with you. From the moment you saved my life in that cabin to..now. I...was such a scared little girl back then. I had just watched both my parents die protecting me. I was..broken." She then caressed his face in her hands and smiled with hope in her eyes. "But then you rushed in...you rushed in and fought them as hard as you could. You..told me I had to learn to fight and survive and that saved my life Eren. Then..after it was all over and your father came to get us out of there…you just wrapped me in this scarf to keep me warm." The girl then unfurled the red scarf around her neck and showed it to him. "I felt so much warmth and love emanating from this scarf then. Every time I have it on..it gives me a sense of security and warmth that I cannot describe. From then on, I made a promise to myself."

Eren nodded blushing. "What..promise?"

Mikasa smiled at him warmly. The light was shining in her eyes. "I promised from then on that I would protect you with every breath I had left. When I found you and Shinji in that forest surrounded by those giant corpses.…my drive to protect you just got a million times stronger at that moment." She then let out the deep breath she had been holding and chuckled awkwardly. "Well what do you know..baring your soul to the man you love is…easier than I thought it'd be. So..um..what do you say? Do you feel the same way?"

Eren sighed and bit his lip nervously. "That..makes a lot of sense now. Why my heart beats for you whenever you are near. The shuddering feeling I got when you kissed me for the first time. I didn't understand it then but I do now. It was love." He then sighed and shook his head. "Mikasa..this is risky. We are fighting a war against an endless army of human-eating Titans who want nothing more than to have us for lunch and dinner." The boy's face then reddened and he averted her eyes. "Even if I said I did..I can't promise you a happy life with a wife and kids. We are in the damn Survey Corps. We aren't going to live inside the walls in relative safety waiting for those bastards to strike. We are the first line of defense. We are looking to hunt them down. How are we supposed to manage a relationship in all that chaos?"

Mikasa then smiled at him with hope in her eyes. "You are right. This is crazy for us to consider but ask yourself Eren..is falling in love with me even more crazy than going off to kill all the Titans?" Mikasa glanced into his eyes and stared into them with an adoring look in her eyes. "You are trying to shoulder all this on yourself. You have this grand destiny but you don't have to do it all alone. Maybe it's time you let me be strong for the both of us when that is necessary. We will find some way to make it work. You can't save humanity alone...or at the very least..you shouldn't have to. Let me in. Please. I want to help. I want to fight the Titans at your side." Eren let out a frustrated sigh and glanced at her nervously. "You would really face down an army of titans at my side? Mikasa. That is insane."

The brunette then blushed and smiled shyly. "Perhaps it is insane of me but then again maybe that is just who I am Eren. Maybe I am. I am crazy. Crazy for you." She then caressed his face with a hand. "I would do anything and kill anything if it meant protecting you. I have no fear of death. I can handle anything." The girl's tone suddenly got somber and her lip started to quiver. "The only thing I can't handle..is losing you. I can't let that happen. You are my purpose in life."

Eren nodded, a bit stunned by the new revelation, "What about the others?"

Mikasa smiled warmly and laughed. "They...do mean something to me. I'm not a sociopath but they are nowhere as important as you. They don't make my heart beat like crazy when I'm near them. I love you Eren."

Mikasa then took his hands in hers and spoke with a desperate tone in her voice. It was shaky. "Wherever you go..I want to be with you. That is my sincerest wish. Life is meaningless without you in it."

Eren just pondered the girl's words. Mikasa is insane. But then again so am I. In a weird way…I feel compelled to her side. This is all insane but it is what she wants. If I truly love and respect her…then I have to respect that. He then sighed and caressed her face in his hands. The way she was looking at him caused his heart to melt. "Is this what you want Mikasa? You know as well as I do that once we do this..there is no coming back. These emotions...can't be locked back in."

Mikasa just nodded and caressed his face with a hand smiling. "I'm sure Eren. This is what I want. Together..we can handle anything those Titans throw at us."

Eren shrugged. "Well..alright then."" He then grabbed the girl by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss.

Mikasa was taken by surprise but leaned into the kiss.

Shinji and Armin grinned at the new couple.

Shinji let out a chuckle and began a slow clap. "Bravo Eren. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to make your move. Armin and I were betting."

Eren glanced at him confused. "Wait. You two were betting on whether Mikasa and I would end up together?"

Shinji just chuckled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I was joking Eren. I knew you two liked each other. I was just wondering how long it was going to take for Eren to realize it."

Eren nodded dumbly. "Ah. Got you."

Mikasa smiled at Shinji and shook her head smiling "Oh well. I should have guessed you would catch up on it Shinji. You were always sharp."

104th Cadet Corps Training Camp, Wall Rose

Moments later

Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Shinji then stood in salute amongst their comrades.

Commandant Shadis then glanced at every single one of them. "You all have finally completed your training. Congratulations on becoming real soldiers."

Everyone saluted him. "Sir!"

Barracks, 104th Cadet Corps Training Camp, Wall Rose

Moments later

Everyone was in the barracks celebrating their graduation.

Whoops and cheers filled the room.

Eren, Shinji, Armin and Mikasa were celebrating at their own table.

Shinji then glanced at Eren. "Are you still going to go to the Survey Corps Eren? You won one of the top spots."

Eren nodded. "That was the plan." Mikasa then glanced over at him, clutched her scarf and grasped his hand under the table. She then covertly held his hand underneath the table and squeezed. She flashed him a warm smile and gave him a small peck on the cheek." As long as he is breathing...I have a purpose to live for.

Shinji just nodded. "Got it. Well we are all together in this."

They all nodded at one another.

Jean walked up to the four of them and waved. "Hey guys."

Eren waved. "Hey Jean. What's up?"

Jean grinned at him. "Guess who just made Military Police."

Eren just shrugged. "I'm guessing you. Well as long as you are happy man."

Jean just shrugged. "Have fun dying." The blonde man then just walked off without another word.

Eren then turned to the others with an irritated look in his eyes. "Seriously does he have to be such a prick? I thought he'd have changed over the weeks we've trained together."

Mikasa sighed sadly at her boyfriend's lack of mistrust. She rested herself against his right arm and sighed. "Your trust in others is admirable Eren but misplaced. Assholes like Jean never change. They just put on new coats of paint."

Shinji nodded. "I have to agree with you there Mikasa. That kid is deluded if he thinks the inner walls are going to protect him."

The brunette then felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Krista. The girl bashfully smiled at him. "Shinji..um..hi..can I borrow you for a minute?"

Shinji just shrugged. "Sure." Krista beamed and practically dragged the raven-haired boy by the arm out of the barracks.

Eren looked over at the two of them. "Damn. Wow. That was quick."

Mikasa just rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yeah who knew Krista was such a blissful romantic."

Eren just nodded. "So are you sometimes. You just aren't as open about it."

Mikasa chuckled bitterly and slyly smiled "You know...I would normally punch a guy's lights out for being so blunt." She took a sip of her drink.

Eren looked down at her and shrugged. "Are you going to punch me then?"

The brunette then tipped up his face to meet hers. She was blushing and let out a small giggle. She then pressed his lips against hers. "I suppose not. It would ruin that handsome face I love so much."

She then kissed him.

The two then took the chance to enjoy the moment they had.

Armin wiped a tear from his eye. "Beautiful."

Somewhere near a campfire

Krista and Shinji finally found a private place that was lit by a lone torch.

The blonde girl and raven-haired boy then took a glance at one another.

Krista blushed. It was under this lone light that Shinji really looked majestic to her. He looked like a majestic knight in armor. Her knight in armor. The flickering light really brought the caramel brown in the boy's eyes to view. Warmth

Shinji was entranced by her beauty as well. The sparkling blue in the girl's eyes made him feel something inside..it made him feel hope.

Krista finally found the words. She brushed a hair behind her ear. "So..we really did it. We are soldiers now."

Shinji awkwardly chuckled. "Uh..yeah. I..guess we are. It feels strange. I feel elated that we aren't training anymore but I am a little worried about the war ahead. I mean it is literally us against a whole limitless army of Titans that want us for dinner. You have to admit that we are a bit crazy to be considering this."

Krista nodded. "Crazy…yeah that describes how I'm feeling." She then let out a heavy sigh.

Shinji nervously ran his head through his hair. "Are you..having second thoughts..about us?"

gasped in shock. "What..I..no..not at all" She then took his hands into hers. "I..still want this. Do you?" A bit of trepidation gripped her voice.

Shinji went strangely quiet before answering nervously. "No..not at all." Krista let out the sigh of relief she had been holding in. "Ah..good. I was a bit worried there." She then leaned in and pressed her lips against hers. After a few moments, the two pulled away from another.

Krista smiled warmly at him and held his hands in hers. "We'll get through this somehow. I know we will."

Shinji just nodded and hugged her. "Yeah." The two stood there taking in the romantic moment as if it was the last one they'd ever have. They looked at the sunset.