I AM VERY VERY SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE.
I know it's been four months. Nothing can express how deep I feel sorry for neglecting all of my readers for that long. But school had been hard and I had been charmed by other anime to actually focus on this fic. But it's okay now since the final exam is over and now I only have my college entrance exam to worry about. Please pray for me to pass the test and then I'll have a whole four months free. I'll have more time to write and I promise I won't take a month to update!
Thank you very much: Seseorang, sukoshi yuki, Gleam Tamers Hikari27, meshi-chan, felicity2hawt4u, GoodXBad, JellalxErza, AnimeLoverxxxSinceBirth, Guest, Jackson, darkslayer65, gaberr, realnoobs, wallesia, Guest, Kimigawa Twin, Karen, Laudi14, KasPer1516, Nabbla8,Pusha, Gishel, RazorRunner, and Guest for reviewing the previous chapter! Your review keeps me going! Thank you very much!
I truly hope you guys haven't given up on this story yet.
Oh, by the way, the second OVA is gem.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin!
Black.
At the moment, it was the color that dominated the room. From the grim aura and muttered prayers, he was forced to believe that his mother was gone forever. Reality slapped him hard.
Standing beside the hexagonal coffin, he had to suppress everything he felt at the moment when he saw the figure of his once alive mother. She looked almost as though she was merely sleeping and would wake up once he cried for breakfast. Never once in his life did he hope that everything was just a bad dream so bad before. He truly regretted that his last conversation with his mother just happened to be some stupid argument again.
Suddenly, a small hand grabbed his and he turned to the side only to see his foster sister looking at him understandingly. Her expression was slightly hurt and he knew that she was as griev as him. He squeezed her hand gently,
"Don't worry, Mikasa, even if mom isn't here anymore, I'll protect you."
Instead of nodding, the little girl shook her head.
"No, Eren, I'll protect you."
Chapter 19. Sleepover
The culture festival finally came to an end. That afternoon, the students danced around the bonfire to mark the end of their long-awaited festival. For most students, it was an experience they wanted to repeat, however for seniors, it was their last and most memorable one. The rest of the month would be just some school days before winter break and then by the next year they would spend months studying for their college entrance exam.
Going back to several hours before, an incident occurred that involved Eren Jaeger's very life. Just when he happened to stand near a portable shrine at the shrine parade, he was almost crushed alive by the falling shrine. Luckily, he was saved by a certain someone just on time.
"Ugh…" he moaned as his hand gripped his ringing head. His eyes opened to see the white curtain that looked like the one in the infirmary.
"Eren! You're finally awake!" came a voice from his side which belonged to no other than Mikasa.
Eren made an attempt to get up and Mikasa quickly assisted him. She was wearing a very worried expression on her face and he felt a bit guilty for it.
"Eren, how are you feeling?" she asked.
"Uh… I remember people suddenly became restless and when I turned around, something big was about to fall on me… Ah, shit… was it you who saved me again, Mikasa?"
At that question, Mikasa looked a bit uneasy and restless, like she had zero intention to answer it. She bit her lip, thinking back on what actually happened before Eren was out cold.
.
.
.
The crowd cried in horror and started running for their lives as a certain shrine was about to crush a boy alive. Mothers pulled their children away and students escaped as quick.
"EREN!" Mikasa screamed on top of her lung.
Before the girl could move, another figure leaped toward Eren and pushed him to the side. The shrine hit the ground and broke into pieces in the matter of seconds, followed by cheers of awe from the crowd. Immediately, Mikasa rushed to their side to confirm their condition. Luckily, both Eren and the person who saved him survived with only a few light scratches. The girl let out a relieved sigh.
"Ouch," the person clicked his tongue and rubbed his bruised elbow.
"Thank you very much, kaichou, I don't know what I am going to do without you," Mikasa almost choked, her heart hammering against her chest due to the tension.
Rivaille gave her a look, "It's nothing big. As the Student Council President, I am in-charge of protecting the students. But," he narrowed his eyes at her and she jerked away slightly "I'm more surprised as to why you didn't move at all when this kid was about to get crushed. Normally you'll even stupidly jump to your death to save him if necessary."
Averting her eyes, Mikasa shut her mouth and avoided saying anything.
Letting out a sigh, Rivaille handed Mikasa an unconscious Eren and got up to brush the dirt on his pants. "Never mind. Whatever your circumstances are, never leave your friend to death again. Understood?"
Mikasa nodded, caressing Eren's brown locks.
.
.
.
The room fell silent for a couple of minutes before Eren suddenly decided to break the ice.
"I'm feeling quite fine now, so… can we go home?" he asked.
"About that… they're saying something about having a sleepover at Christa's house for a party. Are you fine enough to go?" she asked.
Eren blinked, "…a sleepover?"
"Eren! Dude, you worried us!" Reiner was the first one to welcome him with a big, bone-crushing hug when he entered the classroom.
"Really, Reiner, get your ass here! Don't leave your work half-done, gorilla!" Ymir shouted from the other side while moving the chairs and desks to their rightful places, Christa trying to help her which only ended up in vain as she could barely move the desk without panting.
Class 1-04 was busy undoing the decorations and placing things to their former places so that the class would be available the next time they use it. Winter break might be coming soon but they still had more than a week of studying at school before they could succumb to holidays. Come to think of it, their field trip would be conducted on winter break. Reiner did say something about Christa's dad's connection giving them a good place to stay at the mountain.
Again, it was still quite a way to go.
"Hi, Eren, I'm sure you've heard from Mikasa but do you think you can go with us to my house for a sleepover tonight?" Christa smiled. Eren was slapped back to reality when the smallest girl in class approached him with her infamous goddess smile.
"If everyone's going I don't see why not," Eren said simply.
"Of course! Even Annie is going!" Christa beamed as she gave a look at the other blonde, who then gave her a small smile. It seemed the two blondes were getting along better lately.
The girls took a ride on Christa's car while the boys made it there by foot, which obviously resulted in the girls arriving first. The exterior of Christa's house would have made their jaws land on the ground out of astonishment if only they didn't know that her dad was a mafia boss. When they entered, however, they didn't find those lovely maids they expected to be there but instead, a bunch of men in black carrying guns like it was the most obvious thing to do in the world.
Sasha was overly-conscious by the number of scary men in black in the house and had stuck with Mikasa like a glue since they first arrived.
When Christa told her that the men weren't going to attack her and they went further into the house. A few maids emerged and Sasha let out a sigh of relief. The maids swiftly and professionally led the way to the dining room and that was where Sasha found her personal paradise.
"Tell me I'm not dreaming."
"You're not, Sasha. You're wide awake and drooling for Pete's sake."
"B-bu-but! Look at all this meat! There's no way…I mean, how can you get this many meat!? How does your world stay connected!?" Sasha exclaimed exaggeratingly.
"I don't even know what you're saying anymore, but chill, girl. It's all yours. Dig in," Ymir smirked and used her chin to point at the various meat dishes served on the rectangular dining table. The brunette thanked her with teary face and screamed a "Thank you very much, Ymir-sama!" before leaping onto her very own paradise.
"Why are you even talking like this is your own house?"
It was rare for Annie to start a conversation but Ymir welcomed it whole-heartedly. Grinning, the freckled girl slung her arm across Christa's shoulder and said proudly, "Coz I live here, what else?"
"Ymir!" and the taller girl received a jab on the ribs.
"Oh, I see," Annie ended the conversation there. Either she couldn't care less or she closed the topic there on purpose because she was being considerate, no one knew.
At the other side of the room was a restless Mikasa who couldn't stop walking back and forth while glancing at the clock then at the front door, most likely too worried about Eren. Before, she had been trying to convince Christa and the girls that they should take Eren on the car instead of her since he should still be tired and that she would walk to the destination with the guys instead but her suggestion was ultimately rejected by both the girls and Eren himself. She was again thrown a tantrum about how overprotective she was and she could only obey Eren's commands with a defeated face.
"What's wrong, Mikasa? Aren't you going to eat?" Christa asked with a smile. Ymir and Annie had joined Sasha for the dinner, except Annie was too disgusted with Sasha's cannibalistic manner to actually eat anything and Ymir was busy teasing the brunette while snickering.
"No… I'll wait for Eren before eating…" she said in a low voice.
"You look sick," Christa muttered worriedly while placing a hand on Mikasa's forehead, which slightly shocked the Asian girl. "You're a bit warm, Mikasa. Do you want to get some early sleep? It's okay. We'll wake you up when we're going to start the midnight party."
Shaking her head, Mikasa muttered, "I'll be fine once Eren's here…"
Smiling in defeat, Christa decided to start a topic, "Aren't you and Eren such close siblings?" she giggled in a teasing manner.
A light shade of pink decorated Mikasa's cheeks as she looked down in slight embarrassment, "Well, he's my only family left. It's only natural to be overprotective…"
"Hmm~" Christa's smiled turned a bit too devilish for her Goddess title. "I've been wondering for a while, but…" she eyed Mikasa intensely and gave the Asian girl a chill, "you and Eren just fit so well together. When I first saw you, I thought you were a couple!" she cheered.
"R-really?" Mikasa blinked, cheeks suddenly warm.
"Yep! Even after I know that you're foster siblings I still think the same!" Christa clapped her hands together and beamed at the half Asian girl.
"I-I see…" Mikasa scratched her cheek in a nervous manner. "Well, actually… I may like Eren more than I should…" she whispered, almost squeaking, and it surprised the shorter girl to actually see Mikasa in this state.
"Eh? You do?"
Mikasa nodded reluctantly.
"But Eren only sees me as his sister. No matter what I do, he only treats it as a nuisance. No matter what I say, he only calls me a meddling sister. But if he can live his life happily as long as I manage to keep him in line, I guess our current relationship isn't so bad…" Mikasa whispered again, careful so that the other three wouldn't overhear their relationship.
Christa held her breath. Before long, she wore her usual smile on her face, "When I first saw you I thought you're really impossible to read. I almost thought you're emotionless," Mikasa looked at the shorter blonde. "But after spending a year in this class I come to know that you," she shook her head "no, all of the students in our class aren't just how they appear to us on the outside."
Christa looked at the dining table, acknowledging Annie who had now become Ymir's new teasing victim. Before now, Annie was just a lone wolf in class who wouldn't even look twice when someone tried to approach her. Despite being trapped by the past while not being able to move forward just a while ago, now she was able to act like those tragedies never happened. Ymir and Sasha had their own conflicts as well, but now they were here. All of them, different people with different background and problems, could meet under the same circumstances and become comrades.
"I guess there is more to people than meets the eye." Christa winked at the Mikasa.
Mikasa was about to say something in response but when she heard Eren and the guys' voice closing in, all the words she was going to say just disappeared without trace. Before dashing toward her foster brother, she whispered to Christa: "Thank you."
Christa looked as Mikasa doted on Eren, only to have the guy get mad at her again.
"Well, Mikasa, actually it's my thanks to you. If not for you, I wouldn't have come into terms with Annie at all," the blonde whispered before welcoming the guys.
Late midnight, the group had decided to pull an all-nighter while playing games. The first game they decided on was The King Game. As explained by Reiner, it's a popular game often played in a mixer. To start it, prepare identical objects of the number of players and write numbers on them. But one of them had to have "King" written on it and the person who drew the "King" would be the King with rights to order the other players. Players who defy the King should be given punishment.
"That sounds scary…" Sasha muttered.
"Why now? It sounds fun to me," Ymir smirked, most likely thinking of what she should order once she became the King.
"C'mon guys, it's just a game. It's not like we'll give you impossible orders." Reiner said, though his mind had started planning on numerous kinds of ridiculous orders.
"Now, now. Let's enjoy the game, shall we?" Christa played the peacemaker again.
"By the way, this is what you get if you can't do the King's order," Connie showed them a glass of brown liquid that smelled like nothing they knew. The unidentified liquid left an unpleasant sensation in their nostrils. "It's a juice combination of strawberry, Tabasco, mustard, tartar sauce, and wasab—"
"Are you fuckin' serious!?" Jean retorted almost immediately when he had started imagining the taste.
"This is horrible…" Annie's lips twisted in disgust as she pinched her nose.
"Is that even edible?" Bertholdt jerked away.
"I'm not going to drink that shit," Eren added, eye twitching slightly at the smell.
"Then the more interesting this game has become! Once you're dead set on not wanting to drink this thing, it means you're going to have to do anything it takes to do the King's order!" Reiner exclaimed. "Let's begin!"
When Reiner shook the container and the sound of chopsticks colliding was heard, everyone gulped and prayed from the bottom of their heart that they wouldn't get any silly order.
"Fuck yeah! I'm the King!" Jean shouted like a retard while showing off his chopstick with the word "King" written on it.
Everybody gulped. Good thing it wasn't Connie or Sasha who got to be the King first but Jean wasn't that nice either. Secretly they hoped Christa would be the King until the end of the game.
"Okay, now let's begin with my favorite number. Who's number 2?"
"It's me."
Jean's eyeballs almost fell from their sockets and all the oxygen supply was stolen from him when he heard Mikasa's voice saying those words. Those two words echoed inside his head like a mantra and he didn't realize that he had already stopped moving.
"Ooi~ Jean~ why are you drooling? Are you hungry?" Sasha asked while waving her hand.
Jean slapped himself back to reality. His heart started hammering against his ribs when he thought of many things he had imagined to do with Mikasa for half a year now. Cheeks growing warm without warning, Jean began to panic like a girl.
"Umm… Err… Then, number 2 shall… I mean…" he murmured and fidgeted nervously. "Number 2! K-k-kiss the King!" he yelled.
Christa went red and quickly went to see Mikasa's reaction while the boys, except Eren, cheered at Jean for finally growing balls to make a move on his crush after six months. Annie also stole a glance at Mikasa who, by coincidence, sat beside her.
"Pass me the drink," was what Mikasa answered.
The cheering died and Christa sighed in relief while Annie acted as though she wasn't interested. It was only the first round and someone was already willing to take the punishment. As Connie handed Mikasa the drink, Jean went to sit at the corner while chanting some sort of mantra.
"How does the shit taste like?" Eren asked.
"Well, like shit?" Mikasa answered in monotone. "But it's better than kissing random people."
"I guess you're right."
Being considerate, the group didn't force Jean to participate in the second round. Reiner shook the container again and this time the group had become more desperate.
"I'm the King," Mikasa showed her chopstick and they gulped.
"Be nice, Mikasa…" Armin smiled nervously.
Mikasa nodded before speaking, "Okay. Number 8…"
Eren jumped, "What? Me? Oh shit…"
"Wear your maid outfit and call me Master—"
"You're fuckin' kidding me!"
"Isn't it supposed to be Milady instead?" Armin said in-between.
"Shut up, Armin, you're not helping!"
"Come on, Eren. The King's order is absolute," Mikasa reminded while spinning around her chopstick. Her expression void of emotion but Eren knew more than anyone that she was really enjoying herself. And for some reason the girls were getting hyped up as well—even Annie, although she didn't show it openly.
That night, two guys dropped out of the game caused by none other than Mikasa.
After taking baths, the boys and the girls returned to their respective rooms. In the end, the all-nighter plan was called off due to the unreasonable Mikasa-dominant game. For some reason Mikasa kept getting the "King" chopstick for ten times in a row and since they got bored of the game and many of the guys had received mental damage due to the command Mikasa had come up with, they decided to take some rest.
"Be sure to tuck your blanket. You don't want to catch a cold. The winter is coming—"
"I know, I know. Oh come on, you're not my mom."
The group watched as the two siblings bickered, or more like one-sided bickering by Eren. The guys didn't know if Eren was lucky or damned to have such an overprotective sister. They had started whispering to discuss whether Eren ever brought porn magazines home or whether he had even a tiny bit of privacy. Of course, Jean was incredibly jealous.
"If you have nightmare, come to my room."
The girls yelped and Jean gaped at Mikasa's sudden announcement.
"HUH? Why do I have to do that? Hell, I'm not a kid anymore, Mikasa! Just let me be! Come on, guys!" Eren ignored Mikasa and went to the room Christa provided for the guys.
Mikasa sighed. She was treated like a nuisance again.
As if trying to cheer her up, Christa tapped her shoulder and smiled. "Let's have a pillow fight after this, Mikasa!" she offered.
Forcing a smile, Mikasa nodded.
Rivaille tortured the remote control when he couldn't find any interesting channel on the TV. It had become rather frustrating and he was about to throw the damned thing before Hanji, who had been lying and shifting about on the couch, head on the floor, butt on the couch and legs resting on the backrest, turned to him and talked.
"Hey, Rivaille. We're visiting the house tomorrow, right? You know, for the grave visit."
"Yeah, so what?" Rivaille turned off the TV.
Hanji was practically burying her nose in her phone as she swiped the screen again and again. "And you see… I told your dad about our visit tomorrow and…"
"And… what? Stop dragging your words, dammit."
"I didn't read this wrong, right? He tells us to bring Mikasa along. What, do you get a job offer you need to discuss that urgently?" Hanji asked, titling her head to the side.
Lifting a suspicious eyebrow, Rivaille got up from his spot and went to sit beside Hanji before taking the phone from her.
"Wait, that old man… did he visit Mikasa without my knowing?"
"Ah… Come to think of it, I heard from Eren that your dad sent her a bouquet of rose this morning. Ugh, is he flirting with her?" Hanji's lips twisted in disgust as she fixed her position and went to see the screen of her phone as well.
Eyes narrowing, Rivaille muttered, "No. It's got to be something else."
Hanji stared at Rivaille and blinked, "So… you're bringing Mikasa along tomorrow or what?"
Standing up, Rivaille threw the phone to Hanji and the girl quickly caught it before it landed beautifully on the floor. "Why not? Let's see what that old man has up his sleeve," he said before he marched to his bedroom.
TO BE CONTINUED
I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. See you next time~
