-Chapter 12-
Mikasa felt the soft breeze hugging and cling onto her skin. She closed her eyes as Kyo's voice told her the story which went something like this:
"A very long time ago, God told the damn rat: 'I am inviting you all to my banquet. You must not be late!' After hearing the news, the obnoxious rat, who likes practical jokes told its neighbor, the cat, that the banquet was the day after tomorrow. Later that day, the rat rode on the ox, and jumped off into get to the banquet first. The ox followed and then the tiger and everyone else. The celebration with everyone lasted until the next morning except for the deceived cat..."
Mikasa looked over at Kyo as she remembered the letter that she had read, "I am being very thoughtful towards you, cat."
"So, basically, this story can describe where we stand in our family. Akito is the…" he paused for some odd reason but then continued, "Akito is the head of the family. Then we've got the rest of the family and we each represent the roles of this story."
Mikasa looked at him, what a peculiar story and what an interesting way to show the roles in a family. Somehow she got the feeling that he was specifically not telling her something; she didn't mind, she respected his privacy. Her mind quickly began to make connections between the story and the letter that she had read.
"From the way that the letter sounded, Yuki must have the role of the rat and you obviously have the role of the cat. Apparently you have to beat him in a fight, right?" Mikasa looked at him softly as she tried to understand the feeling behind his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I should just face reality." Kyo's voice sounded flat and emotionless. Mikasa looked up at the wind as she closed her eyes and remembered her past,
"If I had faced reality, then I wouldn't be alive today. If I would have let Eren die and if I had accepted the way things were going then I wouldn't exist at the moment. Kyo, if you don't fight then you don't stand a chance. You want to survive? Then fight."
She felt a fire in her eyes; it was as if it was Eren speaking through her.
Kyo looked at her as he felt his eyes widen. He realized that he was incorrect but he didn't feel upset over that fact. Instead something else filled his heart. What was this feeling? It was rather new to him; he couldn't find the word for this feeling. He focused on this growing feeling as he tried to find a word to describe. His thoughts were interrupted as Mikasa stood up and offered a hand to him,
"So, what do you say? Will you fight or give up?" She looked down at him; he caught the fire that was burning in her eyes. He sighed as he took her hand,
"Fine. I'll fight." He was about to take his hand away from hers but suddenly, with an amazing force, she pulled him up.
"You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine." She nodded towards him softly as she looked at the sky and continued,
"Tomorrow we will begin your training. I'll teach you everything I know from the Survey Corps. Be ready at 5 a.m. tomorrow. We'll start fighting to achieve our goal."
"Right. I'll be up by that time. Oh…and Mikasa?" It felt odd calling her by her first name,
"Yes, Kyo?"
"Um…thanks." He felt himself go a bit red, he was not used to saying thank you and was definitely not used to being called by his first name.
"Of course. You're not alone in this anymore." And with that she went back inside.
Later that night, as Kyo lay in his bed, the conversation echoed in his head.
"You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine."
He turned and as his face looked at the ceiling. His heart felt lively and he felt excited. He knew this feeling very well; it was exactly how he felt whenever his sensei would take him away to the mountains to train. Maybe he should take Mikasa to the mountains! They would have early mornings and train the whole day! It would be like survival mode! He looked around and noticed that he was sitting up; he tried to relax as he lay back down, maybe he was just too excited. He sighed and closed his eyes,
"You mean we'll fight. Your battle is now mine."
He shook his head; why was that circling in his head? Well, most importantly why was Mikasa saying that this battle was now hers? Plus what really stood out to him was the tone in her voice. He didn't sense her doing this because she felt bad for him just like everyone else. She was so sincere about wanting to help him; she treated him as a companion…as a friend. The feeling that he couldn't find a word for came back twice as strong. What was that word? He went through a list of words but none of them fit.
Time passed and his heartbeat slowed down; his breath got slower and deeper. His mind became quiet and drowsy. As he was falling asleep, the word that he was trying to figure out earlier came into his mind: Hope. This was something that he had never felt before. Mikasa filled him with hope. A small, light smile took over his face as everything around him blacked out.