Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: Uh, wow, I wasn't expecting that much of a response to my cliffhanger. You guys doubled the amount of reviews for my story after that one chapter. Thanks, I guess. Just means more pressure for me to make this chapter good. ^_^;;;

Chapter 7

Shocked and confused exclamations surrounded them. No one could believe the Captain was doing this, least of all the girl in his arms. It felt so cheap and unfair, but no one dared make a move against him, afraid that Mikasa might be harmed.

"Hey, Eren," Levi called out casually. She could feel his warm breath against her ear. "Change into a titan, or I kill her." As if for emphasis, he pulled the blade up higher toward her chin.

Across from them, the boy had fallen to his knees at the sight. His shimmering emerald eyes stared helplessly at her. "No… Mikasa…" Once again, his teeth were biting down on his hands desperately.

Soon a sob choked in Eren's throat as he found himself failing again. Blood was all over him, from his palms, to his face, to down the front of his shirt.

"Captain, I don't think he can transform, even if he wanted to," came Armin's shaky voice from behind them.

Her captor cocked his head to the side. "How do you figure, Arlert?" he queried without looking back.

"Eren knows deep down that you won't kill her," he explained. "He's always believed you're not that kind of man. So the titan within him must not see you as enough of a threat to come out."

She could hear the strain in Armin's effort to sound confident in his answer. It was a plausible theory, she admitted, but their fearless leader wasn't going to let that deter him.

In fact, the Captain seemed to take it as a challenge. "Then I'll make that monster realize there are fates far worse than death."

He removed the blade from her throat but still kept his grip on her. As he put the weapon away, he leaned his head forward over her shoulder. "Last chance, Jaeger!" he called out to the boy.

The dark-haired teenager was only able to look up at him wordlessly. He couldn't have known what to do; his titan power was beyond his control.

"Suit yourself," the Captain muttered darkly. Without warning, he turned her deftly with his left arm, which now ran across her back, such that she was angled almost perpendicular to his body. A strong hand clamped over her distal arm to restrain it, and his inside shoulder secured the proximal. Suddenly, his lips were pressed upon hers. Mikasa's eyes widened into saucers as he kissed her roughly, his callused lips scratching at her own.

"Captain, what the hell?!" Jean screamed from afar. Grunting noises followed from her admirer's direction as if someone, or multiple someones, was holding him back.

Meanwhile, a dozen different emotions assaulted Mikasa's psyche, but one thought rang loud amongst them: 'This is wrong!' She could feel her body going numb, her gut clenching. No matter what feelings had arisen as of late, this wasn't what she wanted or how she wanted him. She refused to reciprocate his forceful kiss, yet she couldn't bring herself to struggle either.

The deplorable act may have been brief, but to Mikasa, it felt painstakingly long. As he pulled away, she could feel hot liquid start to sting the edges of her eyes, threatening to spill out in her rage and confusion. Throughout this, his stony visage loomed heartlessly before her. The next thing she knew, she spat in his face. He scowled and wiped at it with his free hand.

Jerking her head away, she took this opportunity to look for her brother.

Eren had somehow gotten to his feet and taken a few steps toward them. An angry aura surrounded him, threatening to burst out and engulf them in the flames of his utter fury.

But he was still human, which meant the Captain wasn't done with her yet. With the same free hand, he traced a solitary finger from her cheek down along her throat, leaving behind a burning trail. Mikasa couldn't help the shiver that resulted from his unwelcome touch. The intruding digit eventually came across her scarf, which impeded its progress. "She certainly is a pretty one, isn't she, Eren?" his smooth voice grated on her like nails on a chalkboard.

The maroon piece of cloth was suddenly ripped from her neck, tossed carelessly aside. Before she could yell in protest, his head had lowered to plant a biting kiss on her exposed neck. She gasped at the new sensation. If it were any situation but this, she may have enjoyed it, but right now, it felt like a snake had injected its poison in that spot. In the meantime, his finger had crept up on her again, retracing its path, but this time, going down further until it reached her chest just above the top button of her shirt.

He once more raised his head to torment her brother. "Tell me, is she as pretty underneath her clothes?"

Panic filled Mikasa's head. No, he wouldn't… She tried to move her arms and legs, to fight her way out of this, but she found that all her limbs had turned to lead. Mikasa hadn't felt this helpless since her parents had been murdered in front of her. Only now it was her inner turmoil that paralyzed her.

She shut her eyes tightly. Where was everyone else? What were they doing this whole time? They couldn't just be sitting back and watching, could they?

Her brother's barely contained voice shortly reached her ears like a light at the end of a nebulous tunnel. "Take your filthy hands off her!"

Onyx eyes fluttered open to see him standing only five meters away, his crimson fists up in a battle stance. His teeth were gritted, and his tear-streaked eyes held a murderous glare. She could only imagine what was going on in his head. The Captain, the one person he respected and admired the most, had in the span of minutes turned into the scum he'd fought so hard to protect her from.

"Or else what, brat?" the older man bit back. His gaze turned back to her, and he now pulled at her white shirt with that damn finger. "Even if you could save her now, what about tomorrow? Maybe I'll find out the answer to my question when she comes to my bedroom…alone."

It was then that Mikasa could see something snap within her brother.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he cried. A flash of lightning struck where he stood, knocking the both of them back.

Hot steam blew over them like a scalding wind. A hulking figure emerged before them, twin green lights gleaming from its head.

Her mind still swimming, Mikasa had barely gotten to her feet when she felt herself being thrown into someone else.

"Hanji, start the clock," the Captain ordered in his deadpan voice. "And get her ready to do her part."

She could feel the woman who had caught her nod shakily. Before anything more could be said, an arm was around her waist, and she was suddenly flying to the nearest tree.

Mikasa watched as her unfazed commanding officer turned to the remaining cadets and barked, "Get to high ground, all of you!" How could that bastard be so damned collected after what he pulled?

Eren's titan form let out a fearsome roar.

Everyone below was still gawking at each other, unsure of whether or not to follow the orders of a man who'd just done something horrible to a fellow comrade.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation to get crushed?" the Captain shouted. His patience with his stunned squad was wearing thin, and he couldn't afford to hold out for them any longer. Acutely aware of his dangerous surroundings, he quickly launched himself at a nearby tree. A split second later, Eren's fist connected with the ground he'd stood on moments prior.

Armin and Krista had made it to safety in time, but Jean, Sasha and Connie barely managed to scramble out of harm's way at the last moment.

"Mikasa…" The glasses-wearing woman gave her a gentle shake. The girl finally tore her eyes away from the chaotic scene.

The tree branch she'd brought them to was broad and sturdy. There was enough room for the teenager to freely turn around and fling her arms around her companion. "Oh, Hanji…" The tears now poured from Mikasa like a floodgate opening as she buried her face in the other's shoulder.

A strong, comforting arm gently rubbed her back. "It's okay. Take a moment to get yourself together." She couldn't believe how soothing Hanji managed to sound. It was a stark contrast to the trees crashing behind her, the confused cries of her friends echoing around them. "It's going to be all right."

"No," Mikasa gasped, choking back sobs, "no, it's not!" Like hell anything could be "all right" after what he did. Her heart was in millions of pieces, and words like that only served to smash them into even more shards. After all they'd been through together, all they shared this past week…did none of that matter in his sadistic little mind? In the end, was she merely a pawn for him to play with? Was that all she really was to him, someone to be used and discarded at a moment's notice?

The older woman shushed her. "Yes, it will be. We're going to get through this."

"You don't understand…" Mikasa sniffled and slowly pulled back, her voice wavering. Should she tell her? It was becoming increasingly more painful for her to hold her emotions in. After what just happened, she felt like she was going to burst if she couldn't tell someone, anyone. To hell with this secret. He wasn't worth it anymore. "You remember the guy I told you about…?"

Hanji's face was only puzzled for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh yeah, the one you like?" Her countenance instantly brightened. "That's a good idea. Just think about him."

Mikasa winced at the thought of crushing that hopeful look. "It's him," she croaked, just barely above a whisper. "The guy I liked…is Captain Levi."

Armin couldn't tell who was the most outraged in the group, but he was sure he was only second to Eren. The Captain, the one everyone looked up to, lost all his respect with that single act.

Hopping from tree to tree, the blue-eyed teenager made sure the rest of their squad had gotten out safely. Unfortunately, the object of his loathing was moving erratically, and his titan friend was so bent on destroying him, he wasn't concerned about collateral damage. That meant Armin had to constantly be on the go in order not to accidentally get in the way of Eren's rampage.

Luckily there was one area that the older man was purposely avoiding, and so he made his way steadily there.

The boy alighted on the broad branch in time for Hanji to moan an "Oh dear…"

"Mikasa, are you all right?" Armin just now realized he was out of breath already. He must've pushed himself harder than he thought to get here.

A panicked look crossing her face, the scientist of the group waved an arm nervously. "Armin, hey, fancy seeing you here…" She then motioned for him to stay where he was. "Do-Don't worry… She'll be fine. She just needs a moment, that's all."

The trembling girl suddenly sank to her knees, and Hanji dropped down beside her. Armin involuntarily took a step forward. "Mikasa!"

The auburn-haired woman held her protectively. "I'll take care of her. You guys subdue Eren," the Squad Leader ordered.

"But…" If the blond didn't have other things to be more concerned about, he would press further about Hanji's strange behavior.

"No but's!" she insisted, her face turning serious. "The sooner you stop him, the sooner this nightmare can end for her."

Armin nodded. Much as he wanted to be there for his friend, he knew the Squad Leader was right. "I'll let Jean know he's up for cutting Eren out. Krista should be able to—"

"I can do it." The teenage girl's interruption caused him to give a start. "I'll get Eren out."

"Mikasa," Armin pleaded. "You're in no condition for that. Let us handle it."

"Five minutes, that's all I ask." The resolute tone of her request settled it.

Every fiber in his being screamed against letting her fight in this state, but he knew there was no arguing with her. "Five minutes it is."

With one final concerned look at her, Armin leapt off and shot toward a certain brown-haired comrade.

This was crazier than being put in the middle of a pack of Aberrants. Jean launched himself into another tree as the one he'd been standing in came crashing down when Eren had landed a stray fist into the one right next to it, causing a domino effect. At least the Captain was moving in one general direction now instead of haphazardly jumping around.

That bastard…

How dare he do that to Mikasa! Normally he was scared of him, sure, but in that moment when she was being kissed against her will, he had lost it. If Connie and Armin hadn't held him back, well, he didn't know what would have happened. Either he would have become the dashing knight he'd always dreamed of being to her, or he would have gotten his face pounded in.

For the present moment, though, all he could think about was making sure he and his friends stayed alive. All the lessons they had learned over the past week flew out his ear. He didn't know where to begin directing everyone in a strike against the rampaging titan before him.

"Jean!" A quickly-approaching voice came from behind him. He turned in time to see a fair-haired teenager land on a branch around the corner of the tree he currently stood on.

"Armin!" he greeted. Then more urgently, "Mikasa, is she…?"

"She'll be fine," his friend reassured. "Hanji's taking care of her as we speak. More importantly…" He pointed to the giant creature he had previously been staring at. "I think we can get him with formation H if the Captain would just hold still."

Jean gawked at him. Not only because he was having a hard time remembering that particular formation but because the blond had jumped straight into planning, not even saying a word about their traitorous leader.

"You remember, the one with all of us in standard formation, but—"

The brown-haired young man cut him off with a hand. It was starting to come back to him. "I got it, but how do you propose we deal with the Captain?" By the look in Armin's eyes, he'd caught Jean's implication.

"Let me handle him for now. Commander Erwin can take care of him later." As they exchanged resolute looks, the teenager continued, "You round up Connie and Sasha and get them in position. I'll fill Krista in. Let's just say she'll be your signal."

Cryptic. Jean didn't like that kind of answer but he supposed he'd have to work with it. If he ever wanted to be a good leader one day, that meant trusting others and playing according to the cards he was dealt. Still, there was one thing Armin hadn't addressed yet. "Who's cutting Eren out?"

"Mikasa," was the instant reply.

"Eh?!" he exclaimed. "There's no way I'm letting her—"

"She's already made up her mind," Armin interrupted. "I wasn't keen on the idea either, but we need to have faith in her."

Jean let out a long sigh. As to be expected of the woman he had a crush on. "All right, all right, let's just get this over with." After one final nod, his friend zipped off ahead of him.

Things just got crazier and crazier…

Mikasa barely registered anything that went on around her after she made that confession. The mere utterance of his name on her own lips was enough to sink her back into her own thoughts.

'I liked him, I really did…' Memories of the past week flashed by in her mind. The way he examined her with such concern that second morning, him tossing her the key to his room in his office, the startled look on his face as he stood in the doorway earlier that day… 'But now, after what he did to me, what he did to Eren…'

A sudden weakness overcame her legs, and she fell to her knees.

"Mikasa!" she heard Armin shout. When had he shown up?

She slowly tried to bring herself back to reality, to remember the danger outside Hanji's protective embrace. That's right, just like all those years ago, she had to save Eren. She needed to get a grip on herself and fight.

But no jolt of internal lightning came. Her feelings were too overpowering. She couldn't even get her body to move.

"I'll let Jean know he's up for cutting Eren out," she heard Armin rattle off.

'No!' She was the one who'd made the promise to protect him.

"Krista should be able to—"

"I can do it," she declared without knowing how she found the ability to speak. "I'll get Eren out."

Mikasa shot down Armin's subsequent protest with an arbitrary request, one she wasn't sure she could fulfill at this point. But he had conceded, his full trust in her. Now she needed to work on pulling herself together to make good on that deal.

After her blond friend left, Hanji's brown eyes turned back to her, giving her an apologetic look through a pair of boxy glasses. "Mikasa, I'm so sorry about all this."

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "No need for that. You couldn't have known this would happen." She gave a long sigh and after a moment, found the strength to pull away from her newfound counselor. Mikasa then sat down fully on the tree branch, dangling her legs off the edge. "I wasn't meant to be with him anyway."

A pair of thin hands wrapped around one of her own. "I still say it's too early to make that call."

Her onyx eyes shot her a skeptical look. "No offense, Hanji, but even if I had a chance in hell with him, I think the Captain's proven he really is the bastard he appears to be."

The woman's face remained resolute. "I'm sure he has his reasons. Remember Eren's trial?"

'How could I forget?' Mikasa thought bitterly.

Hanji took this opportunity to sit beside her. "I'm sure you felt just as appalled and angry then, but in the end it saved him."

The dark-haired teenager turned her head away. "I don't see how any of this could be justified," she spat. "He violated me and for what? A stupid training exercise? And we had just started getting along…" She couldn't help the tears that began to stream down her face once more. "How could he do this to me?" Her voice was now barely above a strained whisper. "He used me without giving a damn about my feelings!"

Hanji's reassuring hand now moved to the girl's shoulder. "Mikasa, I know Levi can be extreme in his methods, but he only pushes emotionally as far as he thinks a person can go. I doubt he would have gone that far with you if he had known how you felt about him. I mean, if I couldn't figure out that you liked him from what you'd already told me, do you think he would have an inkling with even less information?"

"Makes me wonder what's going on in that head of yours."

The girl suddenly stiffened as his voice resounded within her mind. "Okay, so what if he didn't know. That still doesn't excuse his behavior," she snarled. What if it had been some other girl who Eren cared about? Would he have done the same thing? For some reason, the thought of him kissing someone else didn't sit well with her either.

Dammit, this was no time for jealousy. The man practically forced himself on her in front of everyone.

"I'm not asking you to forgive him," the scientist continued. "But maybe this will make it easier to understand where he's coming from and for now, use it to move forward. A lot of people are relying on you right now."

"Whatever it is, I'd suggest you get your shit together before tomorrow's test. I trust you won't let me down."

"I don't expect to be doing anything difficult today. That'll be your job."

Captain Levi's words from earlier rang clear as if on cue. Damn that bastard and his double meanings. Wiping away the last of the drying tears on her face, she stood up determinedly. Hanji was right; this was no time for her to be an emotional mess. Everyone was counting on her to be strong, even him.

Focusing her thoughts on her friends and on Eren, she shoved her feelings aside and readied her blades.

Giving one last look to her supportive comrade, she said, "Thanks for the talk, Hanji. I can take it from here." She barely saw the woman's proud wave as she shot off with her 3D Maneuver Gear.

Armin had just finished giving Krista her instructions. With a nod, the fair-haired girl shot off into the trees at an angle from the direction he was headed.

There was no more time to waste. Pushing out more gas than he was accustomed to, he rocketed ahead over a path of toppled trees.

Once he was within view of the Captain, he waved to catch his attention. The older man's eyes flickered briefly to him, indicating that he was watching, even if he was preoccupied with staying alive.

Armin gave a thumbs up. Time to test what he'd learned about Survey Corps sign language. With a quick series of motions with his hands, he indicated the Captain should hold position for 30 seconds at the 5th tree he landed on next.

The dark-haired man responded with a simple gesture of his own. "Are you insane?" Armin translated.

"Trust me," the blond signaled back.

One of Eren's swings came dangerously close to the Captain's trailing legs. Once he landed on a tree branch, however, he waved an agreement to the plan before leaping away from another attack.

Luckily, Jean, Sasha, and Connie had caught up by this time and were getting into position. Armin followed suit.

'One. Two,' he counted to himself as tree after tree fell to Eren's rage. Wait, where was Krista? He glanced around nervously. She was nowhere to be found.

'Three. Four. Shit!' In a panic, Armin quickly calculated how long it would take for himself to make up for the loss.

Five.

The Captain stopped like he was told, unsheathing his blades.

It would be too late, Armin concluded, his blue eyes going wide.

Eren's open titan hand shot toward his prey. There would be no chance for mercy in his berserker state. Armin grimaced, bracing himself for the inevitable outcome.

Suddenly, a streak of black, red and brown flew in front of the Captain. The sound of metal slicing through flesh resounded around them.

With a howl, Eren drew his hand back, most of its digits missing. The enraged titan tried again with his other hand, but this time, a flash of gold and brown shot past in the opposite direction, also taking some fingers with it.

Armin scanned the canopy around the man who hadn't batted an eye throughout all this. Perched within a tree on one side of the Captain was Mikasa, the retrieved scarf around her neck fluttering in the wind. On the other side, Krista gently touched down on a low-hanging branch. Steaming blood was evaporating from the jackets of both girls.

"Now!" Jean cried.

Snapping himself out of his surprise and focusing on the matter at hand, Armin sprang into action. Swinging up to one of Eren's arms, he ran across the appendage and made two textbook cuts. On the opposite arm, Jean was only a heartbeat ahead of him with the same movements. Both managed to shoot away in time for the titan's arms to go limp at his side.

Down below, Connie and Sasha shot over to his legs to make their cuts into his tendons. While Sasha was successful with hers, Connie's second slice didn't penetrate deep enough, forcing Eren to only drop down to one knee.

"Shit!" the boy with the buzz-cut shouted on his retreating arc. The brown-haired titan was already attempting to stand back up.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Krista planted a hook on a nearby tree and swung low, easily making the final cut to incapacitate Eren. "All yours, Mikasa!"

She had barely finished that sentence when the half-Asian girl released the line at the apex of her swing, spinning gracefully and shooting another into the back right of the titan's neck. Her feet were firmly planted into the top of his back in no time. Two precise slashes with her blades later, she popped open a layer of flesh, revealing her wide-eyed brother.

Sheathing her weapons at her side, she yanked him out by the waist. "Eren! Are you all right? Can you hear me?" He appeared conscious, but both emerald orbs stared blankly at her. When he didn't respond, she tugged at him again, attempting to pull him out completely, but all of his arms and legs were still embedded in knots of red flesh.

Armin took this opportunity to join her on the steaming titan back. "Hold him still, I'll cut him out!" He drew both his blades, and once he got a confirmatory nod from Mikasa that she was ready, he hacked away at his friend's bonds. Before long, he was free, and his adoptive sister wasted no time in carrying him away to safety.

The blond teenager saw that the rest of his friends were congregating on the ground below, now that they were in the clear. Launching himself away from the disintegrating giant corpse, he made a shaky landing beside them.

Jean was the first to speak, even though he was still gawking at the abandoned titan shell. "We did it…" His disbelieving voice was almost a whisper, as if the last few minutes were but a dream.

"Guess you were right when you said the Captain would have something scary for us," Sasha lamented, planting herself on the grass beneath them. "Let's not do that again any time soon please."

Speaking of the Captain… Armin immediately looked up to where he had requested the man to hold his position, but he was gone already. After a quick search, however, he found him arguing with the newly arrived Squad Leader on the lowest branch of a nearby tree. The boy didn't think he'd ever seen Hanji so angry with anyone before.

Curious, he walked over in their direction. As he got closer, he noticed a long pink mark on one of the Captain's cheeks, almost in the shape of a hand. Even though they had been in a heated conversation earlier, Armin seemed to have arrived in time for the calmer tail end of their discussion.

"Tch. They're going to have to do a lot better than 10 minutes 50 seconds," the Captain scowled.

"That's the total time starting from the transformation, Levi," Hanji clarified, unfazed. "I reset the clock when you stopped acting like your boots were on fire and held still. After that part was 2 minutes and 35 seconds."

"Still not good enough. Erwin's not going to be happy."

The Squad Leader snapped at him, "That's not the only thing he's going to be unhappy about."

Captain Levi opened his mouth to make a retort when he finally noticed Armin. Instead, he grumbled, "Like I said, we'll discuss that later." Using the 3DMG to soften his landing, he dropped off the tree branch and onto the ground.

Only briefly acknowledging the boy, he waved for him to follow. Armin complied but still shot wary glances at the man's back. He could hear Hanji land and trail not too far behind them.

Back at his gathering of friends, Mikasa had just joined them with a now unconscious Eren. 'Transforming must have taken a lot out of him,' Armin pondered to himself.

He wasn't able to muse for much longer as the Captain began to address them. "Congratulations, brats, you all passed, but just barely." The older man was clearly ignoring the pointed glares in his direction. "On our next mission, however, you will be expected to be much quicker with the extraction. Taking 10 minutes and 50 seconds is only going to get us and Jaeger killed."

Armin was really tempted to interrupt with their real time, but judging by their commanding officer's attitude earlier, it would be futile to bring it up.

"Hanji, get Jaeger checked out in the infirmary," the Captain continued with his orders. "The rest of you, hit the showers. This doesn't excuse you from your training for the rest of the day."

Before anything more could be said from anybody, Levi shot off with the 3DMG back toward headquarters. All eyes now turned to the next senior officer in their group.

The Squad Leader pushed up her glasses and sighed as Mikasa reluctantly transferred Eren to her care. "I know, I know what you're all thinking. Rest assured that the Commander and I will have a serious talking to Levi." It took her a moment to adjust the sleeping boy in her arms. "For now, though, I'd suggest you try to carry on like normal."

Armin wondered if that was as hard to swallow for everyone else. After what they'd witnessed and been put through, there was no such thing as "normal" for the rest of their day.

Nobody raised any objections, though, as Hanji likewise launched herself in the direction of the castle with her precious cargo. Mikasa was not far behind.

It wasn't until they were gone when one of his fellow squadmates finally piped up.

"Damn that bastard!" Jean seethed, kicking at a lone rock. "I'm sure he's broken some kind of law or something with that stunt. What I wouldn't give to report him and see him flogged for it."

Connie groaned, "Do you think anyone would dare do anything against 'Humanity's Strongest' though? It'd probably get caught up in so much red tape, it'd be better not to have said anything in the first place."

"But there's gotta be something we can do!" The taller young man crossed his arms. "Mikasa's honor is at stake here!"

"Maybe Armin can think of something?" Krista suggested.

Four pairs of eyes were now on him. His face involuntarily contorted into a nervous grimace. "Well, uh, there is a section of the Survey Corps code that addresses sexual harassment…" he thought out loud. By the hopeful gleam in everyone's eyes, he knew what was coming next. "I guess I could bring it up with Commander Erwin some time… soon…"

"Sounds great, Armin!" Sasha cheered. "That way the rest of us can head over for lunch."

The blond boy's face fell. Him and his big mouth…