Preparing for the Round Table
"Mikasa, I've always h-URP!"
"Try again."
"Mikasa, I've always h…h…h."
"No! Try again."
"Mikasa, I've…I've…always…"
"Eren! Come on, we've been at this for an hour! How are you still not getting this!?" Floch yelled, throwing his hands in the air, and putting his hands in his red hair in frustration. Eren sighed and buried his face in both of his hands before running those hands through his brown hair that was tied into a man-bun.
"Look, you have no idea how hard it is for me to say this. I used to beat people up for saying shit like that about Mikasa," Eren responded, still looking at the ground. Eren was frustrated with himself, as his entire plan hinged on the performance he gave to Armin and Mikasa when they came to meet him for their Round Table Discussion. But when it came to saying that he hated Mikasa, Eren just couldn't do it. Every time he would attempt to say it, Eren would feel like he was about to throw up, his body would tense up, he would be drenched in a cold sweat, and would just generally feel like shit.
"OK, how about…I say it then and just make up something like…you didn't want to dignify her by talking to her?" Floch suggested, still pinching the bridge of his nose. Floch had wanted to get some more Jeagerists for their cause, but this whole preparing what Eren was going to tell his friends had taken much longer than he thought, mainly because of what he was supposed to say to Mikasa. Floch even left Armin and Mikasa with other Jeagerists so that he could help Eren make this Round Table discussion go well.
"No, it has to be me. Mikasa wouldn't take it as seriously if it came out of your mouth. She has no reason to trust you, so it would make more sense if I say it," Eren countered. Floch once again sighed, and not wanting to spend another hour with going over the script with Eren, he decided to think of something else. After a moment of both he and Eren thinking of what to do, Floch shot his head up, and snapped his finger, indicating that he had an idea.
"OK, this is something really simple, but it may just work. Instead of starting the sentence with Mikasa's name, just say Mikasa's name after saying that you always hated her," Floch explained as Eren looked at him with a raised eyebrow with a look and aura that asked Floch 'Is that it?' "Look, try it and see how it works."
"I've always hated you…Mikasa," Eren said with much less trouble than before. Eren looked up at Floch with his eyes as wide as dinner plates, while Floch had a victorious smirk on his face.
"See? I told you it would be easier. We have to make sure you don't hesitate when you say Mikasa's name, so we need to practice on that, but we're making a lot of progress," Floch said before a Jeagerist came into the room, and whispered something into Floch's ear, causing Floch to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Floch nodded and whispered something back into the ear of the Jeagerist.
"And we're going to have to hurry because Mikasa and Armin are going to be here in five minutes. Let's get this done!" Floch explained before he and Eren continued their training, which was going much easier now that Eren wasn't starting his sentences with Mikasa's name.
