Crimson
-Maya Salsa-
- II -
Bargain
- II -
"Where is she?" He mumbled, fingers fumbling with her chain of keys. It was nine o'clock on a Sunday morning. She was on his mind the whole night. She wouldn't leave his head at all. Mikasa's face haunting him. He couldn't even blame her. Everything was his fault.
He wished time travelling was an option. By then, if he'd arrived on time, then he would have fixed the fault. The fault that he created himself.
After last night's dramatic events, he doubted she'd forgiven him. It was an impossible task to do overnight. But still, as stubborn as he could ever be, he tried. He promised himself last night that he would fix everything and ask for forgiveness. He just... had to go for it.
Finally, after a minute had gone, the door clicked, an inviting snap was heard and his ears perked to the sound in an instant. He took no less time to take off his footwear, eyes laid steadily concentrated to where he took himself.
His eyes only darkened at the sight that he was seeing. The whole condo was completely... clean. Clean, as in... empty.
Mikasa, wasn't the type to mind the decorations in her condo. Her room was always so empty. But now that all the furniture were gone... the condo had looked so much more lonelier. No sign of life anywhere, not even a speck of dust. Her entire condo was... lifeless.
"Shit... Did she actually...?" He cursed. He had expected too much. Mikasa at her bed, on her side, facing on the wall was his point of scenario... but...not this.
How could she act that fast? Did... did she really mean what she had said? —That they were over, and that she loved him?
"I loved you so fucking much!"
Yes, he noticed that she used passed tense.
What the hell was he supposed to do now? Drive all around the city to look for her? Even if he did that, he knew it wasn't that easy to find her. Mikasa was always unreadable. Her whole self was just...mysterious. She was the kind of woman that would stay in the shadows, leaving no tracks to let anyone, even himself, to follow her trail. She wasn't secretive at all, but yet she wasn't also revealing. You would ask, and she would answer, it was as simple as that.
He clenched his jaw, muttering to himself as his feet took him to the kitchen. "Mikasa, where are you?"
He was desperate, and he knew it himself. Mikasa was gone, and he was the reason why she nowhere out of sight. Never in his life had he realized how wrong his mistakes really were. She trusted him and he failed her. She was faithful to him and yet, he gave her a broken heart. He crumpled what Mikasa had for him, and undoubtedly, he knew that it wasn't going to be the same. EVER, again. Why did he do this to her?! WHY?!
He asked himself why, yet he knew what the answer was.
He was scared. Eren was scared. He feared that Mikasa would hurt him and that's why he did it. Unfortunately, it was him that ended up hurting her. It was him that tore everything apart. It was him.
With a broken relationship, and a torn heart, he was sure Mikasa wouldn't dare speaking to him again. He just knew it.
Before he could even sigh off his guiltiness, a vibrating motion wriggled on his left thigh. The right hand scrambled the keys in a thick fist whilst the left hooked onto his smartphone.
'Sasha Braus.'
"Huh? Why is she calling?" He didn't even realized he voiced out his thoughts. "Hello?"
"Eren, goodness Lord! Where the hell are you?" Her voice had gotten enthusiastic as ever.
Eyebrows rose atop. "I'm at Mikasa's... Do you need something?"
A pause was her answer.
"...Hello? Sasha? You there? What do`ya need?"
He could sense Sasha's awkwardness as she slyly said her words."I uhm... was calling if you knew where Mikasa was... uhm... Is she perhaps... there?"
"I've got the same problem as you. I'm still looking for her and it looks like she's not at her condo."
"Ah, I see... Uhm, well thanks anyways..."
"Yeah."
Upon the last click of his phone, he staggered his way out of her condo, eyes lowly lingered on the silvery tiles. As he locked the door, he strode further afar to the hallways. His head laid depressingly short as he climbed down the stairway case. He was not going to give up just yet. He will find her and make things right again. For him and for Mikasa.
8~8~8~8~8
She sighed, laying back ahead on her mattress. "Are you happy now?"
Hey onyx pairs lingered in awe as her gaze stayed steady on her friend's tired state. "Thanks, Sasha. Thank you so... much..."
Sasha's eyes squinted before slowly, closing themselves completely shut. "Mikasa, seriously. When are you actually going to talk to him?"
"Probably never."
Sasha went wide-eyed. "Wh—You can't be serious!" She laughed, a bit of nervousness could be sensed in her laughter. "You know you'll eventually have to talk to him, right?"
Mikasa looked away, her eyes focusing on the warm cushion that wrapped around her friend. "I said never, didn't I?"
"Mikasa..." Sasha called out, a tired look stared off at the oriental. "You work at the same company and plus... tomorrow is a Monday, which means... you have work. Don't tell me you're calling in sick?!"
Shit. She cursed inwardly. She had totally forgotten about that. How the hell was she supposed to face him tomorrow? She can't just resign right away, it'll show how much it affected her. That should definitely be the last thing she should do. Eren's a bastard and she knew it for sure. Bastards don't deserve attention. They shouldn't even be allowed to play with a woman's feelings.
Why the hell was she worrying in the first place?
"Oi, Mikasa..."
She was the one with the broken heart... yet she had to be the weak?
"Earth to Mikasa~hello~?"
She let him break her heart into pieces, and she has to be the one picking up the shattered chunks of hatred?
"Mikasa!"
She had enough.
"MIKA—"
"—I heard." She overlapped her friend's calling.
"Why didn't you answer me the first time I called you?" Sasha's mouth formed into a pout whilst voicing out her complaint. "That hurt my—"
Before any more words Sasha could say, a rumbling rustle of sound interrupted her sentence. It took her a full minute before she realized where the sound had came from.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" Sasha smirked.
"I—"
She grab a hold of her friend's forearm, shuffling herself off of her bed. "Don't worry, I am too!"
8~8~8~8~8
"Ah, now that filled my stomach!" A sparsely slap on her abdominal satisfied Sasha. Leaning her back at the furthest, with hands stretched afar, Sasha grunted in contentment. The food was not the finest that her tongue had tasted, but it definitely pleased her stomach.
After her little stretching session, Sasha gazed at her friend, who was still at the mid-way point of finishing her plate. It didn't even look like Mikasa was eating her viand, but more perhaps, playing with it.
"If you're `gonna play with your food, at least show some enthusiasm while doing it." The surprised look on Mikasa's face told Sasha that she startled her.
"The food didn't taste good," she warily replied, hands started putting away the remaining viands on her plastic plate.
Sasha did the same, following her friend as Mikasa made her way to the nearest trash bin.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!" Happily enough, Sasha lightly nudged Mikasa's side.
Already, her friend had gone quiet. The atmosphere had drawn to a much awkward locus, despite them having no requirements of speaking or whatsoever. Sasha knew the reason behind Mikasa's silence. It was him. Eren. The grieving trail aback in her eyes gave it all away. She was mourning inwardly, and Sasha saw it through her soul. Whether her friend was a total expert of masking her own concerns, Sasha had learnt, through great experience, that Mikasa has feelings too. She may be the kind of person to show no trail of emotions, but deep, very deep inside, Mikasa cared. In case for herself or to others. She totally cared.
It wasn't her intention of telling Mikasa what she had knew. It wasn't really. The fact that she understood how Mikasa's feelings were for Eren drove her to lose her sanity ,held the key of responsibility for all. After witnessing something that she wasn't supposed to see, the image of Eren and what she thought of him significantly changed. He deceived her friend. The total loss was, she was probably the only one who knew what was going on...
"Darn you, Connie!" She hollered. Hands were on the wheel, and angered eyes looked carefully down the road. If it were't for Connie, she wouldn't bother driving all the way to Mikasa's place. The files that he needed to scan through were taken by Mikasa. Not that her friend did it on purpose. But coincidentally, her boyfriend and Mikasa have same coloured folders. Who knows how Connie's folder was exchanged with Mikasa's.
Her dilemma had her ended up taking back Connie's work for him. It drove her insane how Connie had always have the upperhand in their relationship. 'Damn him and his excuses!'
He would casually yawn and fib how drawn out he was during his work. Or how he lost hours of sleep, so he needed to catch up to his missed chances. They worked for the same company, how could he not consider her part?
Grunting, Sasha focused intently on the street as she drove nearer to her destination. Up ahead, her eyes had caught on two figures standing by close. Her senses picked up right away, knowing the person on the left was Eren. She apprehended Mikasa to be the other presence since the two were holding hands, but when her eyes studied that somebody, she figured it wasn't Mikasa. She wasn't even close to be compared with her...
"Annie?" She parked her car on the sidelines, cocking her head nearer to the cold glass.
Her forehead had collided onto the transparent object, eyes were wide-eyed by the sight that beheld before her. Indeed it was her. It was Annie's hand that Eren was holding.
They—they looked so happy, exchanging smiles that were only supposed to be shared with couples. Eren's eyes glistened, a sight that Sasha saw for the first time. The way they twinkled was so foreign in her eyes. Eren has never done that before. Not even to Mikasa. She knew what she saw because she had always took notice of how Eren looked at her friend. His eyes weren't as full of magic as it were right now. It was unusual, very unusual...
What surprised her even more was seeing Eren and Annie together individually. They were never this close. Not even close to being just friends. Annie was never seen talking to Eren, not alone holding hands with him. And Eren was just there... He never really talked to her either.
But seeing the way those two were acting like they've done much more beyond what Sasha was expecting... bounded her hands to begin trembling in fear. Thinking of it was enough to bring up a quavering raw of shiver to swallow her entire spine.
She wanted to get out of there, NOW. But before her foot could even step on the pedal, an action was taken by the people that were in front of her. Too shocked to even say anything, she only managed to flinch by the scene that flashed before her.
They kissed, and she saw all of it.
Shit.
Maybe... just maybe ...what she was hoping for was right.
If what she saw right now was real, then definitely, Mikasa and Eren had broken up.
Her fingers played on her touchscreen, dialing a familiar number on the keys. An answer spoke after a couple of rings.
"Hello?"
"Mikasa?"
"Sasha? Why are you calling?"
Sasha nervously answered, eyes never leaving on Eren. "It's... it's something important."
"Oh, just on time. I accidentally took Conni—"
She cut off Mikasa's explanation. "—Are...Are you and Eren still dating?"
A pause happened. Chuckling followed-up the silence, frustrating the girl in a bit of way. How can Mikasa joke around with what's happening right now?
"Is this some kind of joke, Sasha?"
"No! I'm legit serious! Tell me!" She desperately pleaded before seeing Annie close the space between her and Eren for the second time.
"Of course we're still dating. Why do you ask?"
"N—nothing," her heart crumbled by what Mikasa had answered. " Just wondering. H—hey..."
"What?"
"If... if you're free tonight, can we meet at my place?"
Mikasa asked, rather confused. "What for?"
"I... need to tell you something," she simply answered.
"Why can't you just tell me over the pho—"
Upon witnessing a kissing scene for the third time in a row, Sasha inwardly panicked. If Eren and Mikasa were still dating... then what the heck is he doing with Annie? Why... was he letting her kiss him? And why—
"—I... I have to go."
"Wait! Sash—"
Mikasa had no idea.
She had no idea what was waiting for her at the other side of th—
"Tch, watch where you're fucking going."
Being rudely cut off with her thoughts, Sasha stepped aback, dumbfounded at the immediate push someone had given her. Realization sunk, her mind was still occupied with clouded thoughts to even think of something. Something to say as of an apology.
"Watch your language," Mikasa spoke from behind.
The man looked over, darting his dangerous eyes intently at the woman who answered him back. "Who told you to speak?"
She kept a straight face, smirking as she thought of an answer. "Your mom."
"Look here ,you little shitheads," The man sighed expressly. "I've got a meeting going on in less than five minutes. My shirt is covered in plain coffee shit because of your friend. Being a complete arrogant woman isn't helping."
"Neither does being an asshole," she spat, while saying so, she felt Sasha's nervous stare flung at her, as if it was warning her to not take this far. Too far.
"I—
Sasha interjected, stopping any planned cursing from the man, and from Mikasa. "—I'm really, really sorry, sir! It—it was my fault— My entire fault! Please! Is—is there anything I can do to fix this ,anyhow?"
His eyes squinted, prompting himself to think of something.
"Well darn, isn't this mister taking his precious time!" Mikasa exclaimed, sarcasm behind her every word. The man took full notice of her enthusiasm, eyes turned deadly by the minute. Mouth was opening, in ready for its venomous words to come out, only to be interrupted by a tone of ringing.
It was his phone exactly. At the third ring, his hand clung on his phone, thumb rushing to jab the answer button. Rudely, without bothering to excuse himself, he answered, his apathetic expression never leaving his face.
"What is it now, four eyes?"
...
"I know I'm late, shut your trap, I'm coming."
...
"Don't you dare let them start without me "
...
"No, I don't freaking have it. Your little coffee is at fault for getting me late."
...
"Some shithead decided to bump into me."
...
"I don't care. I'm hanging up now."
At his last click on his phone, his head swerved sideways to look at the girls. His eyes never blinking as he said,"You brats are lucky I'm running out of time. The next time I see anyone of you, you better prepare your ass to dry clean this shit."
Mikasa effortlessly rolled her eyes, coking an eyebrow at his own arrogance. "Oh you bet."
"Thank you so much, sir! I—"
"—Tch," the man sneered, never letting Sasha finish off her sentence. Hands traveled to his chest to dust off his soaked suit. His face turned into a disgusted hysteria as his hands caught onto to the sticky substance.
Mikasa pitched an eyebrow, amused at what she was seeing. "Well, if we're going to stand here and look at this rude mister clean himself, I'd rather get going."
Stuttering, Sasha bowed apologetically, her left arm nudging Mikasa's ribs, cautioning her friend to do the same. "I'm so sorry!"
"Let's go, Sasha." Mikasa tugged her companion's sleek sleeve, earning an intensifying glare from the man. She snorted as he took his leave, and to what he had said.
"Fuckin' kids these days."
Mikasa attempted to shoot back. "Look, you jer—"
"—Come on, Mikasa, we have to get going, now!" Eyebrows drooped down on her cellular face , the definition of worry plastered on her friend's facial lineage. Mikasa grunted after being interrupted.
"What the heck were you thinking, Mikasa?!" Sasha exploded through gritted teeth.
She replied without looking at her friend, "I don't know, you tell me... I was only doing you a favor since your thoughts were somewhere else."
"I... I was just thinking what we're `gonna have for dinner." Sheepishly, Sasha fibbed, not admitting to herself that her friend had scored the jackpot.
"Right."
"Wh—while we're here, why don't we go shopping. My treat?" A sweat formed out of nervousness on clenched palms, Sasha could only hope for her friend to bite onto her plan.
Mikasa's shoulders rose up, wondering at the back of her mind why Sasha had been acting a little strange. "Sure."
8~8~8~8~8
The oriental beauty coped with Sasha's little shopping spree. Her entire day had only consisted with mostly shrugging or just plain sitting down. Her self wasn't the type to go shopping, only bothering to do it for special occurrences. For instance, she would go in the look-out for a dress for her and Eren's anniversary—
No. What the hell was she thinking? Here she was, having Sasha exhaust herself to her own accessible limit only for herself, Mikasa, to make her mind forget about things for a little while, just to find herself thinking of him for non-stop. The things that never even happened.
It was true, even if she had all the money in the world at this moment, her mind couldn't let go of him. Of Eren. She had known him all her life, and loved him for eternity. It wouldn't be as easy as a snap on the fingers to forget about it. The scars that he had left behind never healed, and she was prompted to do everything in her power to let the broken pieces fix themselves.
She was desperate. She really was.
God knows how she easily melts by the power of Eren's charms, and she wished that she had found the best weapon that was able to withstand her own kind of weakness in that very instant. Sooner or later, in less than twenty-four hours, she would see him again. But this time, she wouldn't dare batting an eye at him, even at the very slightest. He had painfully hurt her and put herself into great remorse, the bastard doesn't deserve forgiveness at all. It would take a thousand years for her bleeding heart to stop it's painful doings because Eren just hurt her that much.
The tremendous trust that she had given to Eren was crushed by himself; the last person she had ever expected to do so. Eren, Eren, Eren, it was all his damn fault. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be mourning during the time of her sleep. If she hadn't made the choice of saying yes to his 'dear' question, her heart would have lived happily for the rest of her life. If it weren't for him— He... just...he really did have a very special place in her heart, and with her love crumpled like a useless piece of paper, Eren didn't fit the place anymore. Heartlessly, she had to admit, even up to now, she still loves him. She still does with all her heart, and with all her soul, and with all her mind.
Even after what he had done, she still loves him. She felt like an idiot for feeling the same after all she'd been through. How ironic, he threw her like a boomerang, and she came back for him, like any other boomerangs would do.
Not even realizing it, a familiar soaking sensation drifted over her face. As the tear contacted the base of her throat, she jolted back to reality. She was in public for goodness sake, how the hell was she crying so carelessly?
Quickly, her wrist yanked its place off the arm rest of her current spot, and rubbed the liquid off of her face.
"Mikasa~ Pick which one you like! I found a load great deals with some really good branded lipsticks. Come on!" Hands had an inviting motion, gesturing Mikasa to come over.
She straightened her back, herself never leaving the seat. "You pick for m—"
"—Oh no you don't, missy! This is supposed to be our day. Emphasize on our!" Sasha stomped, making her way to Mikasa's direction. "Now pick!"
The selection was only out of two, eyes immediately caught on to the salmon coloured cosmetic. It was Eren's favourite, not that he had admitted it, but because he would compliment her for wearing the colour from time to time...
"What?" She questioned, confused at why Eren's stare focused on her. Only at her.
"It suits you," he simply smiled, thumb caressing her right cheek as he neared himself to her.
The lifted eyebrow asked an invisible question, and automatically, her boyfriend answered. "The lipstick. Pink suits you, babe."
"...Thanks."
Attempting to avoid his strong, fixed stare, her head swung sideways, Eren caught her chin just on time. "Mikasa..." was the last thing he said before closing the remaining distance that separated them...
"I want the red one," she declared as she shook off head, already having enough with the useless reminiscing.
"Nice choice, I think it fits you perfectly," Sasha sassed a wink. "I guess I'll have the pink one, then."
Mikasa waved off, "Thanks. After this, I think we should head back. I've got some files to fix for our usual Monday meetings tomorrow."
"You're going back to your condo?" Sasha began to worry.
"...I guess."
"You don't even have your furniture there. Where are you going to stay? And... what if Eren's there?"
Mikasa chuckled confidently, "I can call them to hold on my furniture for just another about,Eren. I doubt that—"
"—You never know," Sasha frowned. "He sounded awfully desperate over the phone, as if he was aching to see you... Oh come on, Mikasa, I'm your friend... I'm only trying to the hell are you `gonna sleep on anyways when you come back?
"I...fine," slowly, an upward curving shifted on her scarlet lips. "Thank you, Sasha."
Sasha's face softened, "You're always welcome—But before this conversation turns depressing, why don't we finish this up so I can have my afternoon beauty nap?"
"That's a deal."
Mikasa was already at the counter, paying off the items.
8~8~8~8~8
Monday had flashed before Mikasa could even blink. Actually ,she was tired, Sasha was one to blame. She had forgotten to wake her up, and here she was, running late for work.
She enters a room, right hand tightly clutching on a brown envelope.
The woman fixed her glasses, cocking her head towards the door as it played a 'ting' sound, a sign that someone was entering her office.
"Ah, miss Ackerman, you're late." She said with her ever so ecstatic expression. "Don't worry, I , myself is also late for the meeting. Mind walking with me to room '101?'"
Mikasa murmured an apology as her hand slid on the woman's glass table. "Sure, that's fine with me."
"Ah! By the way!" Her superior snapped her fingers delicately, her walking pace never stopping.
"Yes?"
"Do I have any stain on my clothes or what so ever?"
Confused, Mikasa's eyebrows intertwined. "No?"
Reading through her worker's expression, she laughed. "If you're wondering why I'm caring how I look , it's because some clean freak's coming to the company today."
"Hm? Today?" She questioned , hand reaching for the knob.
"I'll explain later," the older woman entered firstly.
Barging in the room, eyes darted at the incoming persons. Mikasa didn't care, but was only relieved by the fact that Sasha was there. As usual, Connie was right at her side, his elbow supporting his head as he tried his very best to not slumber in the middle of the beginning meeting. The brothers, Reiner and Berthholdt, were also there, nonchalant expressions tied equally on their faces, an obvious sign of boredom behind their eyes.
...Eren was also there. Surprisingly, he looked normal as ever. Her presumption had changed as his eyes alternated his current state. By the second her figure approached towards her usual seat, his eyes widened, obviously shocked at his ex-lover's presence appearing before him.
His mouth slightly moved, and slowly, a familiar name was pronounced. "Mikasa."
She absolutely heard him, but chose to ignore it. She promised herself that she won't bat an eye at him, and she was determined to do it for sure. Instead of accompanying Eren, she strode to the direction where Sasha was sitting, her friend's smile enlarged as Mikasa settled at her right.
The boy frowned, creases of wrinkles forming at his forehead after witnessing Mikasa's modernized attitude. This was supposed to be expected. Why does it seem like it's hurting way more than he actually apprehended?
Trying for the second time, he said her name once again. "Mikas—"
"—Okay, people, settle your butts down to whatever free seat you see!"A whooping shriek overlapped his saying. "I've got news for you."
The room stayed quiet, rigid as ever.
"As you may have noticed, CEO Erwin Smith,is not here today. My husband sustained an injury during his hockey training with our son."
Expectantly, the woman paused, allowing the whispering gossips to pass from one person to the other. She continued, shortly. "He won't be able to come to work for about a month or two, depending on how well his recovery goes. In between my spouse's restoration, he'll have a temporary substitute in place. He will replace Erwin's duty, so don't expect yourself to slack off because this guy's tough. Even tougher than, Erwin. Anyways, he's here in the building, actually."
On cue, the mentioned individual entered the room. The staff silencing at the person's entrance. It was a man, simply a man... that looked utterly familiar in Mikasa's perspective.
The jet black hair that was parted merely in the middle swayed as he walked towards the leading woman.
"Oi, Hanji, cut to the chase and introduce me already." He spoke, Mikasa's mental bell rang in warning as she recognized who he was. It was the man she and Sasha had bumped into the other day. The same man she called an asshole, the same one that was so cruelly arrogant.
Hanji grinned, "I was in the middle of it." Her head turned to face her seated employees. "Guys, this is Rivaille, the vice-CEO of Recon Megacorp."
His impassive orbs scanned individually at each worker.
Eyes then broke colder than usual as it spotted a certain woman he met the other day. The arrogant girl who promised him she'd wash his stained suit the next time they'd see each other.
Oh the irony, how he loved coincidences.
Pairs of disinterested eyes cruised lower at Mikasa's chest, concentrating its vision on her nametag that tagged along her upper left-side bust.
"Mikasa Ackerman, I presume?" He asked, straightforwardly.
"Yes, sir?" Sourly, she replied at Rivaille's call.
He suddenly smirked. "Looks like you have to do the end of your bargain...and dry clean what you've promised me."
- Fin -
Crimson
Maya Salsa
- II -
進撃の巨人 © 諫山 創
Thank you, reviewers who shared their words in the previous chapter. Till next time!
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Peque Saltamontes
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This is the updated version. Revised on April 2015.
Word Count: 4, 921