A/N: Hey, I actually found time to update this chapter, buhuehue... Anyways, I uploaded Chapter 6 on AO3 so feel free to check that out if you're not patient enough. I'm also taking the time and updating the chapters on AO3 with the newer and better ones on FanFiction dot net. So you don't have to worry much about too much differences between the two. The main reason I'm re-updating everything is because I never had a Beta for this story. However, you are free to choose which one to read.
Disclaimer: I don't own shiet.
Minor Note: Italics mean Sasha is talking. -WINGS OF FREEDOM- is the section divider
This week was the annual Kendo Competition. At certain moments, Mikasa and Eren would disappear without reason and she would have to spend the day with Armin or herself. As it turns out, the times that Mikasa and Eren were missing, they were at Kendo practice. Usually Armin would have gone with them to watch, but Mikasa requested that he stayed home and took care of Sasha. For some stupid reason, dogs weren't allowed at Kendo Practice, despite being animals being allowed on school grounds (on a leash or cage however). Perhaps it was the teacher's irrational fear of dogs. She had found out one morning when Mikasa was cleaning up her Kendo gear in her room. Sasha was at first was frustrated to find out that Mikasa hasn't told her about the kendo club, but Mikasa had reasoned that she had might have felt jealous for not being able to go with her, mainly because of the fact that the dog and the girl rarely spent time apart. The dark haired girl had tried convincing her instructor to allow her dog to come, but he had respectively refused. Although annoyed at the fact that Mikasa treated her like some sort of child, Sasha had begrudgingly accepted her apology and explanation, but tried to avoid Mikasa the rest of the day. Of course she was mad, it was so illogical of Mikasa to treat her as if she was a child.
After finally cornering Sasha in the evening, Mikasa told Sasha that she was allowed to watch the Kendo competition. It was going to be hosted at the School's gym. The other team was visiting this time. Overjoyed, Sasha had impulsively tackled her owner, and licked Mikasa's face until she realized what she was doing. Stopping, Sasha felt her face glow in embarrassment.
Sorry…Sasha whimpered apologetically, stepping off her owner. Just a tad bit embarrassed I think my dog side took over for a moment.
"That's alright." Mikasa smiled back, wiping Sasha's slobber off of her face. "I don't mind you doing that, but a little warning would be nice."
If Sasha could blush, she bet she would have. Fortunately, as a dog, Mikasa couldn't see her cheeks practically glowing red, not that her furry cheeks could anyway. Even though her owner couldn't see her pink cheeks, Sasha felt her face burning, almost as if it was going to burn off the fur on her face. How embarrassing was it to lick someone's face as a dog? It was almost like kissing! She had "kissed" Mikasa! So with her tail in-between her legs, Sasha high tailed out of there, eventually deciding to hide behind the couch, where Eren was busy playing games with Armin contently watching. Armin glanced at her worriedly, but the dog ignored his question asking whats wrong. Sasha was flustered, that was what. She was a dog, behavior like that was absolutely normal, she shouldn't be embarrassed. However, unlike normal dogs, Sasha still had her human mind. She could think and act like a regular human. Acting like this was an embarrassment, to her, and probably Mikasa.
"Agh!" Eren's loud sudden shout, startled Sasha, causing her to yelp in shock, yanking her out of her thoughts. "I almost had it that time! I'm going to kill them all! Those stupid dang Gremlins!"
"Take it easy, Eren. I'm sure you'll get it next time." His friend said, trying to calm Eren down, who was about to smash the controller on the table. "You scared Titan."
Hearing her name and Eren's rage, Sasha poked her head from behind the couch curiously, only to find Eren staring with a rather murderous look on his face. His titan green eyes pierced through Sasha's heart and suddenly the dog felt extremely vulnerable and weak. So doing what she felt best, Sasha retreated backinto the space between the couch and the wall, whining uncomfortably. After a moment, Eren's face slowly appeared at the opening, his eyes still having that rather crazed look, but he looked somewhat calmer.
"Hey Titan…" Eren coaxed slowly and Sasha instinctively growled. "Hey…um, look, I didn't mean to look at you like that…I'm not going to kill you or anything. Just those gremlins."
There was something about Eren that Sasha always felt uneasy about. Every time Eren got angry, his face disturbingly oddly resembled a murderous cold-blooded killer. Well, she never saw one before, but she watched several Horror Movies to make the comparison. The way his eyes shone, it almost as if he has really killed people before. Even though Sasha enjoyed finding entertainment in Eren raging during video games, when getting eye contact with him when he's angry, she could feel herself shirk back. Thank goodness Eren was a little intimidated by her too. Being a large dog had it's moments.
Uh, no. Sasha growled bluntly, showing her sharp canine teeth. I think I'll stay here thank you very much.
"It's no good." She heard Eren say, a little exasperated. "She's not coming out."
"Maybe you can crawl in there and try to get her to come out." Armin suggested.
"Are you kidding me? She's going to bite my hand off!" Eren said exasperated. There was a slight pause and a series of approaching footsteps. Oh no. "Oh hey Mikasa, can you-"
A friendly face poked through the opening behind the couch. It was Mikasa alright. Sasha's uneasiness and fear was quickly replaced by shame. Since Mikasa was the only one who knew that 'Titan' was actually Sasha's reincarnation, acting this childishly was shameful. Feeling her face burn once again, Sasha retreated backwards, covering her nose with her paws. This was just not a good day for her social pride. Not that she had much anyway.
"Hey, Titan." Mikasa said sternly, yet a there was a kindness to her tone. "Come out will you?"
I don't want to. Sasha barked back, pouting. She was still kinda mad at Mikasa for keeping the secret from her and uneasy with Eren being so tedious at the moment.
"Come on, Sasha." She whispered softly, not loud enough for Armin or Eren to hear her, but loud enough for Sasha to pick up with her canine hearing. "Don't be this way."
Hearing her human name, Sasha's ears instantly perked. After a moment or two of thought, Sasha flattened her ears, giving Mikasa a look. Sighing in defeat, Sasha allowed herself to be won over by Mikasa's sweet talk and crawled back to the entrance. A gentle hand greeted her as well as a short session of being pat on the head. Leaning against, the dark-haired girl's leg, Sasha wagged her tail, enjoying the feeling of being petted. She was getting used to be a dog, it was really easy-going, other than listening to her owners there was barely any worries that she needed tending too. No homework, no studying, no school, no tests. She was a dog, someone to be played with and looked after. What a life. Looking up at Mikasa, Sasha knew that no matter what case it was, she was always going to obey the girl with the red scarf. Even if she didn't want to.
- WINGS OF FREEDOM -
Mikasa and Eren had left hours earlier, to prepare for the competition that afternoon. That left Armin and Sasha alone at the apartment. Sasha obediently watched as Armin prepared a video camera, probably to record his friends for the memories, and placed it in a bag he was bringing. Armin was always the one to treasure memories. She doesn't spend much time in Armin's room, but he had a whole filled with Hard Drives filled with photos and videos telling of the past. He had almost every important moment documented. Good, that mean Sasha wouldn't forget anything else. Armin also placed a bag of dried jerky, which was probably to feed to Sasha if she couldn't sit still. Sasha could only scoff, if only Armin knew.
Sasha uneasily watched as Armin clipped on the leash to her collar. She had been told by Mikasa earlier that she was allowed to come, as long as she was on a leash. Even so, Sasha tried to argue, telling Mikasa that she was probably the most intelligent and obedient dog on the planet, maybe the whole universe, and that she won't do anything drastic. Despite agreeing Mikasa shut down all of her attempts to reason; the judges and audience didn't know she was a reincarnation of a human. And so she was wearing a leash, just for today. After so long without wearing it, now wearing a leash felt demeaning, but yet she was a dog. It was all in her head. She might as well try to get used to it.
"We're going to see Mikasa and Eren in the Junior Kendo Competition, Titan." Armin explained softly as they entered into the elevator. "Are you excited?"
Of course. Sasha barked a few times in reply, wagging her tail.
"Be sure to cheer them on." The blonde said, as the elevator doors open. He began walking out and Sasha followed.
You know I will. Sasha silently assured, tail still wagging.
It took about twenty minutes to get to school and the entrance was already bustling with people. Sasha winced, feeling intimidated by the large crowds. Crowds have never been a problem when she was human; probably because she was pretty tall for a high school girl. She towered over most of the girls in her class and a portion of the boys. She could always see over everyone's head. As a dog, she was much shorter than the crowd and a dog's eye view in a large group of people was a tad bit frightening. There was also a bout of unsettling uneasiness that seemed to overwhelm her the moment she had stepped on School Grounds. It made her nervous. It was like it was telling her that something imminently dangerous was going to happen soon. Unsure of her feelings, Sasha whined uneasily.
"It's okay, Titan." Armin said, tugging the leash, coaxing Sasha a little closer to him. He leaned over, giving Sasha a brief pat on the head. "Let's just go inside and find a seat."
Bark.
Swallowing, Sasha followed Armin as they weaved through the crowd. Sasha felt like she was drowning in a sea of unfamiliar scents and sounds. As a dog, she could smell things much more sharply than she could as a human. Even as a human, she was quite acute in her sense of smell and hearing, Connie deemed it a super power of hers, especially when it came to food. It was a great plus when it came to hunting, which Sasha once did on her spare time. Now though, it was overwhelming and it was almost a relief to finally make it to the gym. The gym was quite large, so the scents weren't as strong as they were in the crowd, making Sasha feel a little more relaxed. It wasn't that dense and she could easily ignore the unwanted smells. There were seats in the left and right side, one side titled home, the other side titled Visitor. Her blonde owner led the way to the Home side, where they took the front seat so Sasha could sit on the floor. Sitting on the bleachers could be troublesome for a dog. The brown canine peered over at the visitor's side, wondering which school they were up against.
Trost District High. Sasha read aloud in her mind. It took a moment or two for Sasha to realize. Her heart jumped in joy.
Trost District High was Sasha's high school. Her high school. Can you believe it? What a giant coincidence for her to watch a competition between Mikasa's school and her school. Sasha felt the blood pumped in her ears, her heart beat quickening as she tried to search for familiar faces in the crowd. Her friends! Where are her friends!? She whipped her head back and forth, frantically searching, searching. She didn't look for anyone in particular. Just anyone-anyone she could recognize, please…She scanned the crowd over and over. Checking, Double Checking, Triple checking…
Connie wasn't here, Sasha decided disappointingly. Now that she thought about it, he and Sasha weren't very interested in Kendo and had only attended one Kendo match when they were in middle school to get some service hours. To be honest, she and Connie almost fell asleep before the match even started. There was nothing particularly entertaining about two individuals swinging a bamboo stick at the slowest pace in the world. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a boy with a rather long face entering the gym in a headless kendo suit.
Jean! Sasha barked happily, startling Armin who was taking out the video camera. She hopped on for legs and wagging her tail. She could barely contain her excitement and happiness. What are the odds that you see your old friends after your death? The happiness only grew when Jean was joined by a dark-haired freckled boy. Marco! It's Jean and Marco! Guys! I'm over here! It's me! Sasha!
Sasha yapped happily, trying to run towards them, earning a sharp tug from her leash. She was snapped back to reality. Armin, who looked at her sternly, tightly grasped her leash. Sasha slowly turned around to face the blonde, who had a rather disappointed look on his face. She sheepishly lowered her head.
"Titan, lie down." He ordered firmly. Sasha flattened her ears, looking hesitantly back at Armin and back at Jean and Marco. "I know you're excited, but please try to stay still. You don't want Mikasa to get into trouble won't you? She did a lot for you to get her."
B-But..but…I know…Sasha sighed, sinking onto her belly, resting her muzzle on her nose. She longingly watched Jean and Marco, who were having a conversation she couldn't really make out from this far away, even with her ears. There was just too much noise and distance. She whined, wishing they would just recognize her and talk with her again. It's been so long. It's just that…I miss them.
Seeing how the dog seemed depressed, Armin's eyes softened. He reached into his bag and rummaged around a bit. He took out a piece of Jerky, which he offered to her with one hand. Sasha curiously looked at the blonde and then noticed the jerky in his hand.
"Here, eat this." Armin smiled comfortingly, making Sasha feel a little better. "Maybe it'll calm you down."
Thank you. Sasha gently took the jerky between her teeth, careful not to bite the blonde's hand by accident. She placed the jerky between her paws, sniffing it disinterestedly. She quickly snapped it up, trying to savor the taste of the dried meat on her tongue. Usually, she would really enjoy the tender feel of jerky in her mouth, but right now, she was too upset to enjoy the meat properly. Instead, she put her head on her paws and silently watched her two friends from afar. Eventually they disappeared from view, probably to prepare for the competition. The loud booming voice nearly made her jump out of her skin.
"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Junior Kendo Competition between Wall Maria High and Trost District High" A loud voice boomed. Sasha perked her ears towards the loudspeaker that was located near the corners of the gym. It was way too loud in her opinion, but she could handle it. The crowd instantly quieted down. "Thank you all for coming! And so without further ado, let the competition begin! For the first round, we have Eren Jaegar representing Wall Maria High and Jean Kirschstein from Trost District High. Contestants, please step up the platform."
Interesting...Sasha thought to herself.
Sasha watched curiously as two familiar figures walked onto the platform. The person on the right side of the platform was Eren, who donned his murderous look, which was clearly visible through the protective mesh of the Kendo mask. On the left was Jean, who seemed to have copied Eren's look and was baring his teeth at him. Jean was a little closer to her now and she could see him slightly clearer. Sasha wagged her tail, hoping that Jean would notice her. He didn't of course; Sasha didn't know what to expect, but she still felt disappointed. Even if he did look at her, he probably wouldn't recognize her at all. She felt her heart sink in sadness, but wouldn't let herself look away. She was still curious of the outcome.
Eren and Jean both stiffly bowed, both struggling to suppress their snarky remarks, Sasha guessed. The dog wondered if there was an incredible history of rivalry between them that she didn't know about. It wouldn't be surprising if they did, Jean never talked much about his life to her, let alone what competition he joined on his spare time. Perhaps as a human, Sasha had suspected that Jean joined competitions and had tried to ask Marco about it. She couldn't really remember clearly of her life as a human. Maybe he lost a lot and was too embarrassed to tell her, though Sasha wouldn't really be surprised. In fact, she wouldn't even be surprised if she had possibly run into Mikasa, Eren, and Armin when she was a human and had forgotten about it. She pushed her thoughts away to concentrate on the match.
"Start!"
Both Eren and Jean rushed at each other, yelling at the top of their lungs. Sasha hasn't seen Eren's strength and fury at the same time, so this was a frightening, yet very interesting experience. Sasha noted that even though the two seemed like they were really at it, they bore similar expressions. Even though they seemed like enemies, they had quite a lot alike. In the past, she and Jean would argue with each other, one time challenging each other to a cooking competition, which she had unfortunately lost due to her overconfidence. Even so, Jean had been a good sport about it and never teased her about it like she expected him too. The dog silently wondered what Jean thought of her death. Did he miss her?
"Men!" Eren shouted, slamming his bamboo stick onto Jean's head.
A whistle pierced through the tension and both fighters abruptly stopped, freezing in their position, breathing heavily. Sasha chuckled, remembering that during Kendo, a person must shout the place they were going to hit, before they actually hit the spot. Sasha and Connie thought it was a stupid rule. What was the point of fighting if you were going to tell the enemy what you were going to do? They could have the chance to block and therefore make the fight useless. Even so, Sasha couldn't help, but feel happy for Eren, even though she felt a twinge of pity for Jean. If he had found that out, he would have probably snapped at her.
"Eren Jeagar has won by first scored two points! He will proceed to the next round!" the announcer boomed.
"Yay Eren won!" Armin cheered, smiling and laughing. He looked at Sasha. "All that practice finally paid off!" Sasha sniffed indignantly. Too bad she never saw those practices.
On the other hand, Jean looked like he was going to charge at Eren and knock him over, but instead he bowed and briskly left the platform, leaving Eren to gloat in his victory. Sasha couldn't help, but feel sorry Jean as he exited the gym, followed by Marco, who had a worried expression on his face. At least she could count on Marco to cheer him up right? But now there was no chance for her to catch up with them. Even as a dog. Feeling depressed, Sasha decided to focus her attention in the competition.
As the match droned on, Sasha couldn't really find herself paying much attention to the rest Kendo fighters, especially when most of the fighters are people she didn't know. Instead, she managed to pick out more of her old friends. Well, maybe 'friend' is not the right word. She had spotted Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt, the infamous senior trio that always seemed to be together. Sasha wasn't very close with any of them, although she knew Reiner slightly better because he was Connie's role model. Annie had bullied her a bit about that one time she was caught eating a steamed potato in class, but Bertholdt had made sure that it never really got out of hand, so Sasha wasn't the least bit bothered by it. It was sort of painful to see her old life function without her. Perhaps she hasn't gotten over her death after all.
Finally the moment that she waited for came up.
"For the next round, we have Mikasa Ackerman from World Maria High and Annie Leonhardt from Trost District High. Contestants, please go to the platform!"
Sasha eyed her owner as she made a grand appearance. The crowd in the Home side cheered and Sasha couldn't help, but bark along and wag her tail. Sasha could have sworn that Mikasa glanced at her and smiled as she was on the platform. On the other side, the crowd was cheering for Annie. Sasha had never seen Mikasa fight before, so she really didn't know what to expect from her. Annie on the other hand, was probably the most proficient fighter Sasha has ever known. Even though she might be a little short for her age, she could practically demolish people three times her size. She was one of those 'girls'. Sasha wondered if Mikasa was the same because of the fact that her personality slightly similar to that of Annie's.
The dog observed Annie, who was holding her kendo sword with great confidence, although seemed ever so slightly lop-sided in her opinion. Then a sharp feeling stabbed her in the back of her mind and she became alert. Feeling her heart quicken, she stood up on all four paws again, tugging a bit on the leash that Armin was holding back.
"Titan, down!" Armin scolded, pulling the leash. Sasha felt herself gag a little as her collar tightened around her neck, but she refused to be pulled back. "Sit!"
Glaring at Annie's kendo sword, Sasha felt a growl creep into her throat. Her danger meter was going off the charts. Something was wrong, there had to be. Something was warning her. She took a closer look and noticed that the way Annie was holding her sword; it was a bit off, disproportionate. There was no reason for Annie to be holding it that way, right? Annie was strong; there was no way she would be holding a light bamboo stick like that, right? Sasha uneasily began to pull against her leash, growling louder, catching the attention of the people sitting nearby.
"Mommy, what's wrong with the doggie?" Sasha heard a child ask from somewhere behind her.
"I don't know, sweetie." The voice answered, a bit nervous. "Maybe it's just excited?"
Sasha watched nervously as Mikasa and Annie bowed, before giving each other the mother of all death glares. Mikasa could be scary when she wanted to be. Again, the dog took a step forward, earning a sharp tug from Armin.
"Titan!" Armin commanded, a little weakly. He sharply tugged the leash, making Sasha stagger a bit, but she pulled forward, holding back coughs of the collar tightening around her throat. "Down, girl!"
The dark haired girl didn't seem to notice the commotion her dog was making on her side. Instead, she seemed completely absorbed at eyeing her opponent down. Mikasa and Annie got into position, pointing the kendo swords at each other, Annie still a tiny bit skewed to the left. Sasha eyes widened, baring his teeth at the sword Annie was carrying.
"Start!"
Deciding it was now or never, with all her might, Sasha wretched free from Armin, who shouted in shock, the leash tearing out of his hands. She bolted towards the platform. Shouts of surprise and fear rippled through the crowd as she gracefully leaped onto the platform. With an animalistic lunge, Sasha snagged the blonde girl's kendo sword in her mouth.
- WINGS OF FREEDOM -
Mikasa took a step back when she saw a blur of brown fur whirl in front of her and tackled her opponent's kendo sword. It took her a moment to register what she was seeing in front of her. Sasha? What was she doing here? Why did she attack Annie?
"Sa–er …Titan?" Mikasa lowered her sword in confusion. "What are you doing?"
In response, Sasha began to trying to tug Annie's kendo sword out of the girl's grasp. Feeling irritated, the blonde tried to rip the sword out the dog's mouth, but the canine remained steadfast. Sasha met Annie's ferocious and angry eyes. Mikasa watched as the dog pitifully began to tremble, but had bravely hung on. Shouts of confusion and terror echoed throughout the gym.
"Titan!" Armin was running towards the platform. "Come back!"
"This is your dog?" Annie said to Mikasa, locking her gaze with Sasha. The dog flattened her ears growling menacingly. "Make her let go. Now."
I'm not letting this go, Mikasa. The dark haired girl heard Sasha's stern growl in her head.
"Someone get that dog off the stage!" Mikasa heard someone scream out. "It's going to hurt the contestants!"
"No, she won't!" Armin shouted back, a little annoyed, but confused, shocked, and perhaps afraid. He turned to Sasha. "Titan, come here, girl! It's alright, it's just a competition! It's not real!"
"Titan, let go." Mikasa scolded her again, fear constricting her voice. Then in a firmer tone again. "Titan, let go."
I can't. Not. Sasha's voice echoed, drenched in fear and panic. I won't!
With that heartbreaking shout, Mikasa watched as Sasha, with renewed energy, painstakingly pulled backwards, falling back in the process. She staggered back onto her feet, the bamboo in her mouth as she stared tiredly at what Annie had in her hand. The blonde watched with terror as noticed that the bamboo kendo sword in her hand had been replaced by a steel sword, a real sharp sword, one that can actually kill people. Upon the realization, Annie retreated her hand back, as if the sword was poisonous, making it clatter noisily on the platform. Shouts of gasps echoed through all so sudden quiet gym.
"…T-t-that's a real sword…" Armin said under his breath. He took a step back and nervously began to edge closer to Mikasa. "Mikasa, you could've...you could've..."
"What's going on?" Annie demanded, turning to look at the referee with a deathly stare. "Why is there a real sword inside my kendo sword? It's supposed to be all bamboo!"
The referee just stared in shock and awe at the now revealed real sword. Unsure what to do, he blew the whistle and signaled for the match to be called off.
"The dog saved Mikasa!" a person shouted from the home side. It sounded like the mother of the child earlier.
Initiated by the random shout, the gym erupted into disarray as everyone had begun shouting nonsensically. Mikasa noticed Eren coming to Armin's side, who was on his knees, hyperventilating in fear. On the other hand, Reiner and Bertholdt cautiously approached Annie who was still questioning the referee, who was scared out of his wits by the angry girl. She kept asking why there was a real sword hidden inside her kendo sword. Unfortunately, the poor referee didn't know and did his best to try calm the angry girl down.
"Mikasa?" The girl didn't turn to look at Eren who was worriedly looking up at her from off the platform. "Are you okay? Mikasa?"
Eren's voice didn't reach her. Instead, Mikasa looked at Sasha, eyes widening. The dog was still snarling at the sword, protectively standing in front of her. She was panting terribly and she could see a few drops of blood on the ground below where Sasha's muzzle was. The dark haired girl dropped her own kendo sword as dread seemed to overflow her. Sasha flinched at the sound of the kendo sword being dropped behind her, but the canine didn't move from her position in front of her. Sasha was still bent on protecting her. Mikasa felt the sting of tears in the corner of her eyes as the dread transformed into panic and guilt. It didn't come from the fact that she could of died today by Annie's hand. The panic and guilt came from the fact that she could of died today by Annie's hand, but Sasha saved her again. Again.
A/N: And that's it for this chapter |D How mysterious huh? I don't know where I got the idea for the Kendo Competition, but I'm sure it came from somewhere. To be honest, I wrote this chapter almost a year ago so that might be the reason I don't really remember. Anyways, if you want to know what happens next, you can wait for me to update another chapter here or hop on over to AO3, where the next three chapters are already uploaded. Hopefully, I'll be to revise the next three chapters for FanFiction dot net soon :)
Until next time!