Chapter Two: Striking Poses

"Eren," Mikasa knocked the door to his room before opening it, "i need to talk to you."

"Mikasa?" Eren stopped the scribbling of his pencil, gesturing for the girl to come in and have a seat. She sat on the edge of the bed as he rolled on his swivel chair towards her.

"It's about the Student Council."

"What of it?"

"I've been invited to join... So i was wondering about your take on it."

The unexpectency of this piece of news was shown on Eren's face as he quickly recovered by asking who exactly invited his sister.

She quickly avoided the question. "That doesn't matter. Anyway, i know you've always showed keen interest in joining the Council. What do you think i should do?"

"That's... Pretty awesome, Mikasa! A first-year being invited? Not only that, but you get to work along side people like President Erwin and Vice President Levi!"

"You don't hate the Vice President?" Mikasa raised an eyebrow at his enthusiastic mention of the name. That shorty had ratted Eren out, didn't see that one coming.

"Quite the opposite. The other day when i was stuck in the Principal's office almost going to get suspended, Vice President Levi actually came in to appease the old man and switch the punishments. Actually... My record is getting pretty bad, expulsion was close..." The green-eyed boy revealed the last part, embarrassed. But that wasn't the part Mikasa was surprised about.

That shorty helped Eren? She thought about the incident that occured the other day was due to the selfish need the Vice President had for someone to do labour. Guess there was a little more to that. Just a little.

"I see, i'll think about it a bit more carefully. Thanks, Eren." She gave a small smile where you could barely see the ends of her mouth curled upwards.

Being in the Student Council also meant she'd have more power and influence. If that meant saving Eren's ass from expulsion, she would be willing to do anything.

Mikasa was trying to think of several ways to tell Levi the reply to his invitation. She knew of his class through the word of mouth, but decided against it. She could be seen as taking interest in the expressionless robot. Though she herself never cared about what others thought of her—with the exception of Eren—the fact kind of made her feel uncomfortable herself.

Who would be anyway? she smirked to herself with the scarf over her lips, pondering for a solution as she wandered.

Unbeknownst to her, her feet had brought her to the Student Council room. And the same deadpan expression looked up at her as he was just about to twist the doorknob. A few moments of silence passed between the untalkative duo before Mikasa decided to break the quiet tension.

"I accept the offer. I'll join the Student Council as Secretary." She said at last. His face remained unchanged at her statement, so did hers.

"Get in."

"Is that her? Is that the new recruit? Is that Mikasa Ackerman?" She was greeted by an awfully loud and bubbly person the minute she stepped foot inside. The bespectacled girl had a sparkle in her eyes, as if Mikasa was a rare specimen to her. It made her twitch a little.

"I'm Hanji," she introduced herself, sticking her hand out rather abruptly. The dark-haired girl gradually stuck out her hand. Before she could introduce herself the other had already done so for her. "Mikasa Ackerman. Levi invited you to the Student Council, didn't he?" She said, trying to keep a little grin off her face at the last statement.

"Wipe that idiotic grin off your face, Hanji." The Vice President addressed her weirdness irritatedly while heading for his desk, not glancing at their exchange even once.

"Oh, Vice President Levi, there's no need to be so mean," a girl with light coloured hair, tinted slightly orange came up to greet Mikasa as well. "I'm Petra Ral. Everyone calls me Petra, nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly as she stook out her hand in the exact same gesture Hanji did, just a lot more restrained.

"Sorry about that, i'm sure you can see it's quite lively here whenever Hanji-senpai is around. She's a little-" Petra thought hard for a second to find an appropriate description,"hyper. No worries, you'll get used to it soon."

The friendly girl showed Mikasa to her desk and went to get some tea. During her absence, Levi had come to her table, a stack of paper in his hands. He dumped it on her table.

"It's Secretary paperwork" was all he said, leaving without any further explanation.

For Eren's sake, Mikasa reminded herself of the reason why.

"So what are you going to do on the day of the festival?" Petra asked, reopening a conversation. The Sports Festival still held it's position as top topic in the school. Mikasa only spared a glance as she continued writing away with her pen. Unlike her, the others in the room seemed pretty free. Drinking tea, relaxing in the club room.

"Archery."

"Oh! You're taking that too, aren't you Vice President Levi?" The light-hearted Petra exclaimed with much excitement. The slight nodding of his head was the single response she got.

"Why don't you two practise together?" She suggested.

This time, neither of them responded. The sound of Levi sipping his tea, and the sound of Mikasa's pen making its marks over the paper—which seemed to grow louder at her remark—was as much as she got. You could hear a certain person sniggering in the background. "Well..." Petra tried hard, though unable to avoid the ever so strong awkwardness, to change the topic. "It's getting late, hahahaha." she added in a laugh which by no means helped the situation. "Mikasa, why don't you finish that up tomorrow?"

Even though Mikasa had no intention to stop, she quietly obeyed when Petra took the load of paperwork away from her and put it aside.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" Hanji waved her hands rhapsodically. Mikasa waved hers, with much less passion, but waved nonetheless.

Levi made his way to target practice for archery. He wasn't particularly caught up in the hype about the Sports Fest like the rest of the student body, but since it was a school activity it was necessary for him to put in some effort. If his respected President was sacrificing so much, the least he could do was enjoy it.

The blunt sound of arrows hitting the target board could already be heard as he approached. And when he entered, he saw a certain short-haired girl aiming the dangerous weapon at a target board. Clad in her sports attire of a white t-shirt and shorts, she glared at the yellow circle that was in the centre of it all. The way she had glared at him when they first met. He entered. Mikasa didn't even turn her head. He noticed the arrows, all surrounding the outer red circle, but none hitting the portion that rewarded the most points.

"You're doing it wrong," he commented, taking up his own bow and arrows.

"Yeah, great," she said back, completely ignoring the criticism given. She picked another arrow and attatched it to the bow. Levi figured he wouldn't concern himself with her, and so imitated her by continuing to mind his own business, murdering his own practice target.

After a couple more shots, he could sense the frustration from Mikasa three boards away from himself, which frustrated him. He placed his equipment down before heading her direction.

"Why do i always have to repeat myself twice around you?" he said, irritation evident in his voice.

He disregarded whatever sarcastic reply she might have come up with and went straight up to her.

"It starts with your stance," he began to instruct. He placed a hand on her hip to adjust her position, then one to straighten up her back. "Back muscles are important" he explained.

His right leg pushed her's back to widen her base. "Feet at 90 degrees to the target," he said softly, almost like a whisper. "After that, it's your grip." He placed his right on her right, left on her left, gripping her hands tight while bringing the bow up to her face. Her back was tightly pressed against Levi's chest as he had his arms around her. The man ordered her to pull back the string, elbow as high as her jawline, eyes on the target.

"Shoot."

They released the arrow together. It sliced through the air at top speed and landed dead centre, in the middle of the yellow circle. Exactly where the girl had been trying to aim all this time.

Mikasa's eyes had a minor glint of surprise and pure happiness when she saw that sight. They stood there together with the bow at rest, even though the arrow had already been fired for quite some time. Mikasa wasn't tense or disgusted at his warmth that enveloped, in fact... It was quite the opposite.

"Keep doing that and you'll be hitting wherever you want. The red teams counting on you," he said before returning to his post.

"So you've already enrolled for your activities?" Jean asked casually, addressing the group of friends at another usual gathering.

Ymir was the first to reply. "Three-legged race for Krista and me!"

"I'm doing the 100m dash!" Jean declared proudly while sneering a little at Eren.

"Isn't that great? I'm doing the relay run," Eren replied, oblivious to Jean's condescending look.

"Wait, what-?" Jean paused Eren, undeniably confused by his statement. "Weren't you going to be in the 100m dash?"

"Yeah i was at first, but Armin and i decided it would be more fun to participate in a team event."

No. It would have been more fun to see you lose, Jean thought and cursed Eren silently in his head.

The snickering Connie, well aware of Jean's now foiled plans, went up to him. "Disappointed?"

The self-centred boy clicked his tongue.

"I haven't signed up for anything yet, is there an eating competition?" You don't even need to guess who asked that question.

"No Sasha, it's a sports festival."

"Well, then there should be one," she pouted and sulkily took a bite out of her baked potato.

"Putting that aside," Reiner finally stepped in to give some useful input into the conversation, "Mikasa, i heard you recently joined the Student Council."

Word travels fast.

"Wow! Since when?" Some others who were kept out of the loop asked the girl, eager to know.

"Just...yesterday."

"Dats amayfwin'!" Sasha looked at Mikasa with another sort of new found respect—little potato bits coming out from her mouth. "Thanks" she accepted the compliment with her usual detached expression.

"Doesn't that mean you'll have to work with that guy? You know, short, grumpy, scary?" Ymir illustrated her point by placing a hand at the level of her stomach and putting on a frown.

Mikasa nodded and smirked internally. What a perfect description.

"I heard he was one of the top delinquents once," Krista started some juicy gossip going. "There's a rumour going around that he beats people who stare at him to death." Jean decided to add on.

"Dude, that's obviously false, where'd you get that from?" Marco put an end to his best friend's gibberish as soon as it started.

Those are some crazy rumours they have about you, Vice President.

"Vice President Levi wouldn't have done something unreasonable like that." The admirer of the man spoke up.

"And how would you know?" Jean raised an eyebrow at Eren's sudden outburst.

"The Vice President is in truth not all that evil as everyone makes him out to be. Though he is scary," Eren shuddered as he remembered the cold hard stare he got from him, "he helped me escape suspension before. Right, Mikasa?"

Mikasa nodded her head but sighed under her breath. Eren was still going on about him. Though he wasn't completely wrong, she retained the mindset that Eren was overly delusional about Levi's intentions.

What was with earlier on anyway?She battled in her mind, even though "earlier on" had undoubtingly made Mikasa quite very happy.

The entire school building was decorated in white and red. White and red cheer banners, white and red flags, and not to forget: white and red students. Mikasa, like the rest of her team mates, was dressed in a plain red shirt. This was one of the rare times she didn't don her red scarf. Gusts of wind in the outdoors blew against her bare neck. It certainly felt different.

"MIKASAA!" The fervid upperclassman came running up to her from a distance, red streaks painted across her cheeks to show her very high team spirit. It didn't take Hanji long to close the gap between them, which made Mikasa wonder whether she would be participating in any sprinting competitions.

"Mi-ka-sa," Hanji panted away as she wheezed out the syllables to her name. "Levi's archery match is going to start soon! Come on!" She started to tug on Mikasa's arm but the girl resisted.

"Uhm, actually i was going to watch the 100m dash-"

"Oh look at the time!" The four-eyed girl ignored the excuse given and resumed dragging her away.

The audience area for the third-year archery contest was packed. Hanji squeezed her way through, arm still pulling Mikasa along as she arrived at their seats, reserved for them by Petra.

"Hanji-senpai, Mikasa, the match is about to start," she said sweetly like usual as she moved aside to make space. Being forced into this, Mikasa gave a little sigh. Not that she was particularly interested in seeing that guy partiupate in competitions.

Among the tall men, the major drop in height made it easy to spot the undersized Levi. However, despite his lack of charm in the height area, the man had a certain allure. He had a calm demeanour and his face was relaxed. Picking up his bow gracefully, he examined the curves on it with great detail and gripped it in different spots until he found the perfect grip. Then picking up his arrows gently, he placed it in his bow with nimble fingers. He got into the exact stance he had taught Mikasa days ago, straightening up his back to get those muscles working. He lifted up the weapon and brought it closer to his face, his right hand pulling back the string with great force and control.

When Mikasa watched, she had to admit, her eyes were that of admiring the man. The air of professionalism and competence he gave off. However, she noticed beside her, the girl's eyes had a different shine. The girl named Petra had a soft look in her eyes as she stared at Levi. That wasn't admiration. Mikasa thought to herself, what a waste of a perfectly nice girl. Petra was in love with Levi.

The sound of a whistle and a multitude of whizzing arrows followed. Some hit the ground, some hit the outer circles printed on the target board, but of course, Levi's arrow hit the full yellow circle in the middle. And with every blow signalling the next shot, Levi's arrows ended up around the same spot each time. By the end of the competition, his target board hand a bunch of arrows decorating the inside of the bullseye.

"The winner is: Levi from 3-A with 500 points for the Red Team."

Cheers erupted from the red-dressed half of the audience. The girls beside Mikasa also clapped, despite one being a member of the opposing team. Mikasa herself decided to clap, slowly and tepidly, out of sheer politeness.

"The first-years are up now, aren't they?" Hanji turned to Mikasa to confirm after the mini celebration had calmed down. "Yes..."

"Oh, is that so? I'll be cheering you on then! Even though you're from the other team," Petra chuckled lightly and sent Mikasa off with moral support. Making herway to her post, she passed Levi.

"Remember what i taught you," he said so only she could hear.

Mikasa picked up the equipment and fired the shots.

"That was great!" The recent friends she made in the Student Council had come over to congratulate her victory as soon as the tournament ended.

"Mikasa!" A very familiar voice to her called, approaching. Eren and Armin came up to her. "That was an awesome match!" Eren complimented her, his eyes big in excitement.

"Who are they?" Hanji questioned.

"This is Eren, my brother. Armin, my childhood friend."

"Hello!" Hanji greeted them like the first time she had met Mikasa. "Eren Jaeger, right?" Hanji already seemed to know all about him.

The boy hesitated at her odd behaviour before answering "Yes"

"Well, all right. See, there are a few questions i have to ask-"

"Hanji-senpai! I see Vice President Levi! Hey let's go see him. Bye guys, enjoy the rest of your day!" Petra hurriedly stopped her eccentric senior before her behavior frightened the stranger. Stanger to Petra at least.

Eren scratched his head in confusion. "Those are some interesting people you work with in the Council, huh?" He laughed a little, trying to cover up the shock he had received from his recent conversation.

Armin spoke up all of a sudden, prompting the boy. "Oh, Eren, we have to be there soon."

"Right. Mikasa, our relay match is up next! Wanna come see?"

"Sure." She agreed readily.

"COME ON! PICK UP THE PACE ARLERT!" Ymir shouted from the spectator stands. The petite boy was running as fast as he could, finally getting to Eren and passing the baton, although already in 3rd place. "GO JEAGER!" She continued to scream. All the Whites joined in.

"Hmph, he won't make it." Jean smirked with arroagance.

"Shut it, Jean." Ymir glared at him. Mikasa did the same.

In the end, however, Jean proved to be right as Eren's relay team came in second.

"Damn it guys!" Ymir whined.

"Come on, Ymir, they tried their best, didn't you guys?" an angelic voice sent from Heaven above spoke up.

An angel, Reiner and Armin both looked at Krista appreciatively.

"I guess..." The girl stopped complaining once Krista had chided her.

"This was one of the last activities, let's all go grab a bite," Connie suggested, a nodding Sasha next to him.

But just as they were about to depart, the other clique of friends had come back to haunt her.

"Mikasa!" Petra waved and approached, a scowling Levi tagging along. There was no sign of Hanji around. Thank God, at least.

"We were thinking we could have dinner together. Are you free?"

Mikasa looked to her classmates. No, she would much rather spend her meal time with Eren than the Vice President. She wouldn't want to interrupt Petra's quality time with her beloved anyway.

"Sorry, i've already decided to eat with them," Mikasa gestured to the group of people behind her.

"I see... Well, look for us later, okay?"

"Yeah," Mikasa lied striaght through her teeth with no intention of doing what she promised.

The unsociable girl split up with her pack, a lone wolf wandering to her unknown destination. Mikasa wanted to avoid civilisation and noise, she made her way to the highest level of the building: the rooftop.

Entering the area open air, she made out a figure sitting at the railings near the edge of the rooftop.

Oh crud, she swore in her mind but

still advanced until she stood beside the sitting Levi. He looked up her. She sat down a distance away. Not a word was uttered between the taciturn two.

"Weren't you going to meet Petra?" He finally broke the silence.

"I lied."

"Guessed as much." A pause. "Although she does quite like you, she's trying her best to befriend you." He started again.

"What about you?" She asked.

"What about me?" He retorted with another question, an indifferent expression on his face.

"She likes you. You know that, don't you." Mikasa stated the facts.

"And what does that change?"

"Can you even have romantic feelings for anyone?"

His eyes met hers and he gazed into them for a moment. Her dark, and somehow captivating eyes.

"Maybe not. Though same can be said to you."

She tittered. Levi raised his head that was casted downwards the whole time at her unsuspected behaviour. The first time she actually laughed.

"I wonder if that's our curse," she wondered aloud.

His slightly widened eyes relaxed back into the normal expressionless ones.

"Maybe so."