School is a bitch, isn't it? -.- Yep, school started for me and well...it's been eating up most of my time. I've been trying to work on this for the past few weeks, but then I either have homework to do or something else. Here's your new chapter though! And it's long too, so enjoy it while you can because I've put a lot of effort in this (even though it probably doesn't seem like it). We're going to start off with a flashback, so don't be confuse here!
"It has to be right now, Mom? Armin's suppose to show me something later on." A young boy cried in distress. His mother looked down at him with clear affection but discipline in her eyes.
"Eren. It's only going to take a few hours of your time. Afterwards, you can do whatever you want." Ten-year-old Eren pouted unhappily, despite his mother's calm response. It was obvious that he was still aggravated.
Eren's mother, Carla, noticed her son's face and sighed. It has always been this way with Eren. She placed her kitchen knife down and headed towards the wooden dining table to sit. Carla signaled Eren to come take the seat next to her. He obliged to her order, although with hesitance.
"I'm just asking you to go get your mom some more bread so she can cook for you. I know for sure that Armin wouldn't mind waiting for you while you do this for me." Eren turned his head away from her gaze, still being hardheaded. Carla was slightly surprised by his actions. She never seen Eren so upset over something she asked him to do.
"What's the matter? Is it really important to go see Armin today?"
She was fully aware that Armin was Eren's only friend who has manage to withstand his impulsive personality. To some extend because of that reason, he was very special to Eren. But for Eren to react this negatively, it must be something else.
Eren scratched the back of his head and slightly blushed. "Well…I was just…planning." Carla raised her eyebrow. "Planning what?"
"Uh, I just…well, I wanted to, erm…do something for…uh…"It was evident that Eren found it hard to form words to respond back to her. Needless to say, Carla was very intrigued to figure out what her son was even stuttering about.
With a great deal of effort, Eren finally stammered, "I…wanted to sh-show Mikasa around the place since she doesn't…know much around here."
Carla felt a smile come across her face. "Ah…I never thought Eren would even consider doing this for her…anyone for that matter." She actually found it cute that Eren, as rough as he is, has a soft spot.
Carla clapped her hands together and grinned. "Eren, don't fret! I didn't say you have to go out alone. You can bring Mikasa along as well and show her the place at the same time!"
That being said, Eren's mood instantly lifted up. "Really? Can I seriously bring her along?"
Carla placed her hand over her mouth in order to hide her growing smile at her son's adorable response. "Yes, yes. Just make sure you come back before the evening, okay? You're responsible for Mikasa. No matter what, make sure you watch over her."
Eren leaped out of his chair and hugged Carla. "Okay! I promise I'll protect her from any dangerous men out there!" He proceeded to race upstairs to fetch Mikasa.
"…Hey, Mikasa! Are you in here?" Eren burst through his bedroom door and quickly scanned the room for any trance of Mikasa. She was usually in here, either helping his mom out by folding the laundry or cleaning his room. He found her by his small work desk, appearing to be writing something down. Mikasa didn't even look up to Eren's loud outburst.
"Mikasa, what are you working on there?" Eren walked up behind Mikasa and peered over her shoulder. On the paper were some strange and unknown symbols Eren never even seen in his life. "Hm? Are you trying to draw, Mikasa?" Eren asked bluntly.
She finally looked up from the piece of paper and stared at Eren with the same monotone gaze. "What is it Eren? Are you talking about this?" Mikasa pointed her pencil at one of the symbols, to which Eren nodded instantly.
"Yeah. I've never seen those strange things you're writing down before." Mikasa lifted the pencil off the paper and placed it gently to the side. She then grabbed the top of the paper and folded it in half. A few moments later, she replied back to Eren.
"I was trying to practice the Japanese written language. I didn't…want to forget or anything like that. And it's good to refresh my mind every once in a while."
Eren smiled awkwardly at Mikasa and nodded his head once more. "I'm glad you're still able to do so." Like he did earlier with his mother, Eren found it hard to talk back to Mikasa. Mikasa tucked the piece of paper in her pocket and looked expectantly at Eren.
"Did you need something from me, Eren?" She simply asked him. Being reminded why he came to her in the first place, Eren smiled at Mikasa with anticipation.
"Mom wants me to go out to the market and get her some bread. I just thought that maybe you want to, uh…come with me and then I can show you around town! You might even get to meet Armin. He's a friend of mine that has all these books full of information of the outside world."
Eren thought it was a good idea to do this since Mikasa was still new around certain parts of the town. Also, he was excited to tell her his fantasy of the outside world and how great it would be if they were able to have the chance to one day explore it.
Mikasa stood up from the chair, the legs of it screeching against the hard wooden floor. Eren felt the palm of his hands getting sweaty. He was actually nervous that she would reject his offer. Mikasa had to shift her eyes upwards to meet Eren's since he was slightly taller than her.
Eren's heart pounded hard against his chest. He feared that Mikasa would hear it. Hear how jittery he was being.
"Why am I feeling like this? Stop acting so out of it!"
Finally Mikasa reached over to Eren's right sleeve and tugged on it lightly. "Alright. I'll come with you around town."
Eren's heart nearly leaped out of his throat. He felt like crying out to the world in joy and triumph, but he manage to smile stiffly at Mikasa. He wasn't sure why he felt the way he did right now, but he somewhat knew it wasn't a bad thing.
"I just already know some places that you'll like. And you're sure to get along with Armin. He's a pretty nice guy and smart too." Eren grabbed Mikasa's hand and softly dragged her downstairs as he continued his small description of Armin. To say in the least, he was extremely happy at the moment.
Carla heard the footsteps of the two as they came down and greeted them as they stepped on the first floor.
"Ah. I see that you two are ready and set to go. Eren, I want you to watch over Mikasa since she's still new around here. Make sure she doesn't get lost or anything like that." Eren impatiently nodded his head and headed towards the door with Mikasa following shortly behind.
He was about to exit the house when Carla stopped him. "One more thing before you go." Carla grabbed something on the kitchen table and handed it to Eren. "Pay the old lady at the stand with this money. Now you can go. And don't forget to thank her!"
Eren rolled his eyes but nevertheless placed the money in his pocket. His father always reminded him how important it was to not lose money. "Okay, okay. Bye Mom. I'll see you later."
The walk to the market place wasn't too far from their house. It was actually only a couple of minutes away.
"So Mikasa. Do you know the pathway back home yet?" Eren asked casually once they've walked a good distance away.
Mikasa glanced over at Eren and then back straight in front of her. "…Yeah."
"That's…uh. That's good. I'm just making sure in case you go out by yourself and can't find your way home." Eren noticed that Mikasa slightly tensed up, but quickly went back to her relaxed state.
"By…myself?"
Eren barely heard Mikasa as she whispered into the red scarf wrapped around her neck. He didn't know if he should reply back since she didn't show any indications that she wanted him to.
The rest of the way to the market was an uneasy silence for the two of them. Eren couldn't find anything else to talk about and Mikasa didn't even make any noises.
Clearing his throat, Eren pointed over at the market place. "Here's where Mom and many other town folks shop at. This is the few places where Mom can buy her groceries."
The market only consisted of a few stands that held many goods and items. There were sellers trying to advertise their products to people who passed by. Even Eren and Mikasa were stopped by a man who tried to sell his clothing to them. Eren curtly declined his offer and gently pulled Mikasa closer to him.
"Stay near me. There are some people here that are fucked up in the head…" Eren muttered into Mikasa's ear. As if on cue, a woman with a crazy outfit and way too much makeup approached them.
"Hello there! Would you kids like to buy some nice little gifts for your parents? We have all sorts of things to sell!" The lady pointed to many cheap household items on the shelves of her stand.
Eren growled deeply, "No thanks. We don't need any of your junk." Eren didn't care that he was acting rude. He just wanted to get Mikasa away from all this fuss. His father wasn't around to scold him anyways.
Just as he was about to walk away, Mikasa pulled on his sleeve. "Mikasa? What are you doing?"
Mikasa didn't respond back to Eren's question, which sort of ticked him off. He opened his mouth again to say something when the lady suddenly asked Mikasa, "Ah young lady! Are you looking at this right here?"
Eren bit his bottom lip and glared over at the woman. "The hell is she talking to Mikasa about?" When Eren looked over at Mikasa, he was surprise to find that her eyes were staring at a particular item in the woman's small shop.
"It looks like a giant green snake with whiskers and claws. And it's standing on a black rectangle. Why is Mikasa so interested in that?"
The woman carefully took down the small figurine from her shelf and placed it on the table so Mikasa could look at it better.
"I see you're interested in this. You, little girl, have a good eye." The lady waved her index finger to Mikasa and smiled. "This here is a 'dragon'. From what I heard over the years, a dragon was a mystical creature that originated in the continent Asia (A/N: I actually don't know if this is true XP). It could breathe fire and fly in the air. No one knows if they were real or not, but some people still worship them as gods."
Mikasa followed each and every word of the lady's small speech about the figurine, but Eren felt as though the lady was just wasting their time.
"So. Are you willing to buy this from me?" The woman asked Mikasa. Eren felt some sort of siren come off in his head and was about to reject the lady when-
"How much does it cost?"
Eren stared in shock at Mikasa as she spoke those words with ease. The woman smiled and replied back, "I'll charge you five dollars."
The words "hell no" were about to come out of Eren's mouth when Mikasa tugged at his sleeve again.
"Eren. Can we afford this?"
"What?! Do you seriously want to buy this…this thing? I don't get what's so great about it!"
"I like it. Can we buy it?"
"That's not a good enough reason!" Eren fished out the money from his pocket and counted slowly. "We only have six dollars and we need to buy-"
"Good. We have enough to buy it."
"Mikasa! Our top priority is to get bread for Mom! She's going to be so mad at me if I don't get enough for her."
Mikasa's face became darken, her hair covering the view of her eyes. The feeling of guilt quickly overcame Eren.
"I can't buy this though! What if I don't have enough money to buy bread for Mom? And I don't see the fuss over this drogan or whatever."
Sighing, Eren removed one dollar from his hand and placed it back into his pocket.
"Fine. We'll buy it." He handed the lady the money with reluctance and watched as she gave Mikasa the figure.
"Thank you! Now be careful with that thing since it's fragile. Come and tell your little friends about this place, okay?"
Mikasa clutched her newly obtained item with both of her hands, holding it close to her chest as if it was a gem. Eren walked away from the stand and headed towards where his mom usually got her groceries. He didn't bother to see if Mikasa followed him. He wasn't mad, just a bit anxious if he had enough money now.
"Why did I even buy it? Mom's not going to like me spending money without her permission…"
"Oh! Eren, is that you?" An elderly voice called Eren out of his thoughts. He stopped in the middle of the path and looked around in confusion. A hand tapped his shoulder, to which belonged to Mikasa.
"There Eren…" She pointed towards an old lady who waved at the two of them.
"That's where we're suppose to buy the groceries at. At least we don't have to search all over the place for it." Eren made his way through the growing crowd of people and found himself in front of the old lady.
"Eren! It's so good to see you. How's your mother and father?"
"They've been doing good. Mother wants me to buy some groceries since we're running kind of low." Eren answered back politely. He didn't have any close relation to the old lady, but he'd seen her plenty of times when he accompanied his mother before.
"Carla's already almost out? She just came here a few days ago."
Eren shrugged his shoulders. "I just came here to retrieve Mom some more bread."
"Ah. Well that's so kind of you to do this for your mother. You're such a sweet kid, Eren."
Eren felt the need to roll his eyes. All he wanted to do was get bread and then show Mikasa around the district. He didn't want to be smothered with compliments that weren't even exactly true.
"…Eren. There are a lot of people here now." Mikasa's breath tickled Eren's ear, making him become flustered.
"Wh-what? Mikasa, what are you…t-talking about?"
Eren's eyes widened at the sight before him. It was true. There were at least five times more people in the shopping district than what it was a few minutes ago. The old lady chuckled in amusement.
"It seems as though it's that time of day. It's the rush hour right now."
The lady pulled Eren and Mikasa closer to her food stand so they wouldn't become victims of the stampede.
"Now then. Let me go get you your bread so you can be on your merry way!" The old woman smiled gently to them before she went to the back of her tiny stand. Eren and Mikasa stayed silent during the whole time she was gone. Eren glanced at Mikasa a few times, with each time Mikasa's eyes staying glued to her little dragon.
Eren frowned slightly. He didn't expect the day to end up the way it was right now. Finally, the woman came back to the two and handed Eren a small paper bag.
"There you go sweetie. Do you have money to pay for it?" Eren nonchalantly handed the lady the money he had leftover and watched as the woman's smile slowly disappeared.
"What's the matter?"
The lady quickly shot Eren a nervous smile and replied back, "Well. This isn't enough to pay for the bread. Do you have about one more dollar?"
"O-one more dollar?" Eren's face scrunched up. "I don't…have anymore money with me."
"It-It's fine! Don't worry about it. Just next time make sure you bring money to repay me, okay?"
Eren didn't know much about money and politics, but he knew it was bad if he didn't have enough money for something. His dad use to tell him that if he didn't get a job, he wouldn't be able to afford the essentials he needed to live.
Eren's face lit up with doubt, but the woman gave him a reassuring smile. Reluctantly, Eren bowed his head to show his thanks.
"I-I promise you that I'll pay you back the next time we come back here!" Eren's face was red from embarrassment, but the lady couldn't see it.
"Ah, okay. Just…run along now. I have to deal with something in the back. Tell your mother I said hi."
Eren mumbled a goodbye and turned around to exit the shopping district. Mikasa followed shortly behind. Eren walked a good amount away from the stand when he turned around to check if Mikasa was with him. As he was doing so, something else caught his attention. Eren would have dropped the bag of bread if Mikasa haven't been there to swiftly catch it.
"Eren? What's the matter?" She asked innocently.
He didn't reply back. Eren only stared as the old lady that gave him the bread was struck in the face by a man that Eren presumed to be in his sixties. Instead of retaliating back, the woman allowed her tears to flow down her cheeks as the man yelled at her with anger.
Eren was pretty far from where they were, but he picked up some words that the man said.
"Why…fucking kids…ruining our business…you dumb whore…"
Eren's blood boiled with rage at what he was able to hear. He wanted to badly sprint over there and punch that man in the face, but he remembered Mikasa was there standing next to him.
"Uh…it's…nothing." Eren gritted his teeth and shifted his gaze to Mikasa. "Let's go."
Mikasa nodded and handed the bag back to Eren. He stared at the ground for a few moments before Eren began to walk again. Regret filled his body, along with frustration.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have wasted the money on that useless shit." Eren bit down on his tongue as his anger started to take over his body. "People here are monsters. One day I'm going to make them all pay for their sins."
"Eren."
Eren snapped out of his thoughts and saw that Mikasa had walked up beside him.
"What's up?"
Mikasa looked over her shoulder and said calmly, "There's a man calling us. He looks angry."
Eren stopped in the middle of the pathway, making some people bump into him. Mikasa stopped moving as well.
"What are we going to do? He's coming closer to us."
Eren turned his head and indeed saw a man trying to catch up to them through the crowd of people. His heart stopped when he realized it was the same man that had hit the woman. Eren's lips mumbled a single word.
"Run."
"What?"
"RUN!"
Eren took off sprinting, scrambling his way around the crowd. He heard the man curse at them, which only made him run faster.
"Don't stop running Mikasa! Keep pushing!" Eren screamed at the top of his lungs. He had hoped that she heard him.
"Shit! What does he want from us? It doesn't matter, just keep running!" It became a blur for Eren what had happened next. All he remembered was that his lungs were practically begging for him to stop running, but every time Eren slowed down he thought he heard the man getting closer and closer to him.
The crowd gradually thinned out the further he ran, and by the time Eren was about two minutes away from his house, it was quiet.
He reached the corner that lead to his house and collapsed there, gasping for air. His vision was hazy, and sweat was streaming down his face. There was also a ringing sound in his ear.
"I…I think we lost him…Mikasa." Eren gasped. He wiped some sweat away from his face with his sleeve and turned around to check on her.
"Huh? Mikasa?"
Eren placed the bag on the floor and stood up. His eyes scanned the area, but he didn't see her anywhere.
"Mikasa, where are you? Come out already!" Eren's voice started to become panicked.
"Mikasa?!" Eren called out. He finally faced what had happen.
"No…she got lost when we were running. I should have monitored her. I should of…wait…shit…"
Eren covered his mouth as a horrible thought crossed his mind.
"Th…that man. No no no no no…" Eren placed his right hand against the wall to steady himself.
"No…she probably just got lost. No way that guy got her. No way." Eren shook his head and screamed.
"THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY."
Eren allowed himself to calm down a bit and began to retrace his steps.
"Mikasa! You better of not lied to me when you said you know your way back home!"
"…I think it was this turn here."
Mikasa rubbed the back of her neck as she stared intently in front of her. There were two roads that led to different places, and she forgot which one was the way back to the house. She sighed as she transferred the figure from her hand to her pocket.
She had lost Eren through the thick crowd of people, and to make matters worst, she had forgotten the way back. He was too fast for her, and some people even pushed and shoved Mikasa.
Luckily it quiet down a bit, giving Mikasa some time to think more clearly.
"I'm going to guess it's this way." She walked into the left path, which was almost like an alleyway. She didn't recall anything that looked familiar.
"Ah. It must have been the other one."
Mikasa swung her body around and took a step forward when…
"Oi. You there. You were with that boy who ripped me off." An old but buff man stood a couple of feet away from Mikasa.
"That stupid fucking wife of mine gave you mercy, but that's not how the world works. I'm not going to give away my products to some peasants like you kids."
The man had white and black messy hair, pale skin, and a strong build for his age. He advanced a couple steps towards Mikasa, where she responded by stepping back a few. Mikasa could tell from his face expressions and movements that he had bad intentions for her. A single thought ran through her mind.
"Don't stop running Mikasa! Keep pushing!"
She twisted her body and ran the opposite direction from the man.
"The hell do you think you're going? You're not getting away! Where's that friend of yours?!" The man hollered at Mikasa. He cursed under his breath and began to chase after her.
Mikasa heard the man's loud footsteps directly behind.
Keep pushing!
A new burst of energy flowed through her veins. She ran two times as fast as she did before. Mikasa kicked the ground underneath her so hard that she left a couple of dents behind. Up ahead, Mikasa saw two roads separating to different areas. She randomly picked the right path and continued running. For a short while afterwards, it was quiet. Mikasa turned around and saw it was completely empty. The man was nowhere in sight.
Mikasa steadily slowed down and leaned against the wall with her back. She closed her eyes and tried to regain her breath. Her scarf had become untied and hung messily around her neck. It was slightly damp because of her sweat.
When she placed more of her body weight against the wall, the piece of paper she was writing on earlier fell out of her pocket. It managed to become unfolded and drifted across the floor underneath Mikasa. It fully stopped when it was directly in front of her. Mikasa pushed back a couple strands of hair away from her face and crouched down to pick up the paper.
Her delicate fingers grabbed each end of the paper and lifted it closer to her face. In kanji, the black ink spelled out her name and Eren's. She felt a sense of pride when Eren couldn't figure out what she had written down. Mikasa was happy but sad that she was the only one who could probably understand the written language now. Maybe one day she would tell Eren so he too would know. Mikasa sighed and stood up. She placed the paper back in her pocket, and stared upwards to the sky.
"I'm…alone again. This time I really have no idea what to do or where to go…I wish…Eren was here."
Her hands reached over to fix her scarf when something clamped onto her wrists and pushed them against the wall behind her. She looked in front of her and saw the man, his eyes burning with anger.
"Fu…fucking kid. You think you're getting away with this shit?!" The old man spat in her face. He tightened his grip on her wrists, making Mikasa yelp in pain.
"I ain't allowing you to leave. I'm going to make you pay. One way or another."
He took Mikasa's left wrist and placed it under his right hand's grip. Now with one free hand, he took Mikasa' scarf and pulled. Mikasa's eyes widened as he began to suffocate her.
"Tell me where the FUCK is your house. If you can't PAY me back, then I'll gladly take some of your shit as payment!"
Mikasa tried to break free, but his hold on her was too strong. She looked at him directly in his eyes and clenched her teeth.
"I…I won't tell you!"
"You said the wrong thing, you stupid brat!"
He tugged the scarf as hard as he could, and watched in satisfaction as Mikasa struggled under his control.
"E…E…Eren..." Mikasa's vision became darker and darker. The cloudless, blue sky became a scary shade of black, and Mikasa's ears began to close off the sounds around her.
In the midst of the blackness, Mikasa saw a bright, glimmering light. She saw her mother and father smiling at her, brightly. They were sitting in her old house, clearly happy and alive.
"Mother…Father. I…I miss you."
"YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"
Eren tackled into the man's side, completely stunning him.
"What the fuck…!"
They both toppled on the ground, but Eren was the first one to recover.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Eren dived right on top of the man and attacked him with a fury of punches. The man blocked most of his punches with his right arm and pushed Eren off of him.
"You stupid punk!"
The man got up and kicked Eren in the stomach. Eren rolled over a couple of times before his back collided with the wall. Eren coughed out blood and tried to get up, but the man already grabbed his shirt's collar and lifted him up.
"I'm going to KILL YOU!"
The old man pushed Eren on the wall so he was about the same height as he was and lifted his fist to punch him. Eren raised his left leg and kicked the man's crotch. He released Eren, giving Eren the opportunity to jump right onto him. Eren bit the man's shoulder and pounded his fists against his head.
When he tried to reach to grab Eren, Eren dropped down and ran off to the side of the man. His stamina was depleting, and although he was dealing some damage to the old man, it still wasn't enough. The man was at least twice his size.
"You're DEAD. You hear me? DEAD!"
Eren glanced around the small alleyway for a weapon, anything he could use. It was when he saw Mikasa's red scarf on the ground near where the man stood. An idea clicked in his head, and Eren prepared himself.
"FUCK YOU!"
Eren sprinted towards his opponent, his right fist ready to strike. The old man laughed.
"You are a fucking idiot! It's going to take more than that to kill me!" The man taunted Eren. His smile quickly disappeared when Eren turned sharply to the right side.
"Huh?!"
Eren grabbed the scarf with his right hand, jumped towards the wall, and kicked himself off of it. He leaped towards the man like a frog, and landed perfectly on his back. Eren used the time the man was confused to his advantage.
"THIS IS FOR HURTING THAT KIND LADY!"
Eren wrapped the scarf around the man's neck, grabbed both ends, and tugged as hard as he could. He gagged in response.
"AND THIS IS FOR HURTING MIKASA!"
Eren kicked himself off the man's back, bringing him down. Eren released the scarf from the man's neck once he was content with the results. The man laid on the ground, gasping for air. Eren just sat there and stared, his expression still unchanged. His eyes burned with hatred and his mouth stayed as a scowl.
"You…monster." Eren growled.
The man, despite his current situation, mustered a low laugh. He rolled on his side so he can look at Eren.
"M-me? The monster? I can see it in your heart, boy. I can see it from your expressions and actions. One day…you're going to end up like me. Try to protect that girl. Go ahead. But in the end, you're going to be the one who's going to hurt her the most."
The man coughed some more. "That girl…if you keep dragging her around with you, then…who knows what the hell is going to happen to her."
Eren bit the bottom of his lip and snapped, "Your shallow words does not change the fact that you…you tried to kill Mikasa! Stop spouting nonsense!"
"You're still too young to understand the real problems in this messed up world." The man chuckled lightly. "So fucking young and naïve. So…naïve…" With the last of his strength, the man rolled on his back and heaved a sigh. He closed his eyes, but continued to smile.
"Hey! Don't think you're out of danger yet! I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to Mikasa-" Eren shouted angrily. A short groan cut off his sentence, however.
Eren's eyes widened. "Mikasa…" He breathed out. She laid face flat of the ground to the side, her hair covering most of her face. Eren abruptly stood up and hurriedly went over to her side.
"Mikasa! Mikasa, are you okay?" Eren crouched down beside her body and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. Her eyes were slightly open, along with her mouth.
Eren began to panic.
"Come on, Mikasa! Let's get you up." Eren grabbed her shoulders and gently lifted her upper body up.
"M…Mikasa?" Eren called out softly. He fell on his knees; his body was beginning to become numb. Mikasa's head hung to the left side. Her eyes were a dull color of gray. Eren nearly went mad when her chest rose up, although barely.
"Oh…! Thank the lord. Mikasa, you're okay! You had me worried! I thought that man…I thought he'd…" Eren embraced Mikasa and began to softly weep.
"E…Eren…?" Mikasa muttered out. She was finally regaining consciousness, and all sound and sight around her was coming back.
"Are…you crying?" She weakly lifted her arm and stroked the back of his head. "Don't…cry, Eren."
Eren removed himself from her shoulder and rubbed his tears away with his sleeve.
"I can't help it! I…I went back to find you and when I did mange to locate you, that man…He tried to take you away from me…" Eren released Mikasa from his grip and glanced over to the side.
"It's my fault! I should have made sure you were with me the whole time! It's my fault that lady got in trouble and hurt…and it's also my fault that you got hurt… I'm supposed to protect you from those sinners. I'm fucking stupid! I can't…I can't-"
"Eren!"
Mikasa's body lunged forward and collided with Eren's, making him fall on his back.
"Mi-Mikasa!"
"No Eren! You're wrong. It's not your fault!" Mikasa cried into his chest and tightened her arms around his waist. "When my parents were murdered, I thought I would be alone in this world…but you came and gave me life again! And this time is no different! I thought…" Mikasa trailed off. Her voice was starting to crack.
"Mikasa…" His soothing voice encouraged her to finish.
"I…thought I was alone in the world again. I'm scared of being all by myself. I know I can handle myself, but I need you Eren! Please don't blame yourself…Please…don't leave me again!"
Mikasa's tears soaked into Eren's shirt. Her words echoed in his mind multiple times before it finally sinked in.
"Mikasa…oh Mikasa…" He hugged her back, allowing Mikasa to cry her heart out. "Shh…it's okay. I won't allow anyone to touch you ever again."
It was a few minutes afterwards when Eren suddenly sat up, but still held Mikasa in his arms. He gently pried her off, and wiped the tears off her face with his thumb.
"…Let's go home. Our home." He simply told her. His expression was the same as it was when he first saved her. Mikasa nodded her head.
"…Okay."
Eren helped Mikasa to her feet and grabbed her hand.
"Come on then. It's getting late."
And so the two of them left to go back to their house, with the sun beginning to set behind them. What was also left behind them was the unmoving body of the man. Eren never seen or heard of him or the old lady ever again.
"Hey Mikasa."
"Hm?"
"I want you to know that…no matter what, I promise that I'll save you from any danger. No matter what form or shape it is."
"…Thank you Eren."
"Yeah…"
"Eren…?"
"Yes?"
"I…want to one day return the favor to you."
"Don't worry about returning anything to me. Just know that…I'll be there for you. I promise."
"…M…Mikasa…I'll…always…protect…" Eren groaned and rubbed his forehead. He was surprise to find out that his body was stiff. He opened one of his eyes and found it hard to see. There was a small lantern right next to him.
"The hell? I don't remember training today. Why is my body so hard to move?" When Eren tried to sit up, a sharp feeling stung his stomach.
"OW! What the hell?!"
"Oi. Unless you want to reopen your wound, I would stop moving and lay your ass down."
Eren's eyes widened as he recognized that voice.
"Jean?! What are you- what's going on?"
Eren realized he was in a small horse wagon, with Jean controlling the horses in front.
"Pft. Ain't it obvious? I'm trying to help you and Armin. I also just saved your life, so shut up and just follow my orders."
Jean rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Armin will explain to you the things that had happened when you were knocked out. But right now, ya gotta be quiet okay? We just stole a horse wagon and I don't think they'll be happy to figure out it was us who took it."
Armin appeared right beside Jean and smiled when he saw Eren.
"Ah! Eren, you're awake! Good, I've been worried about you."
Armin entered the inside of the wagon and sat right next to Eren.
"Eren, lay down. You might put too much stress on your wound."
"My wound? What happened to me, Armin? Why is Jean here? And why did we steal a horse wagon?"
Armin raised his eyebrows in confusion before realization hit him.
"You don't remember Eren? I guess that's understandable since you hit the ground hard after that guy shot you in your abdomen."
"What?! I got shot in the stomach?" Eren looked down. "Wait…I think I'm starting to remember…"
Armin nodded his head and placed his hand on Eren's shoulder.
"Well…we were sneaking out of camp when…a guard noticed us. I tried to distract him, but I didn't do so much of a good job. He found out that you were sneaking up on him, and tried to shoot you. The first shot missed, but you slipped on the ground and the second one hit you. You landed head first on the floor, and that was when Jean showed up and well…we took care of the guy, stole a horse wagon, and just rode out. I bandaged your wound right now. You need to rest Eren. You've lost a lot of blood."
Eren's head was spinning with all the new information he was gaining, but before he could further question, Jean interrupted.
"You know you sleep talk right? Damn, you pretty much moaned Mikasa's name every single five seconds. It was really starting to become annoying."
Eren's eyes widened. "Mi-Mikasa! Shit, we need to hurry up and find her! She could be in trouble!"
Armin raised his hands up and signaled Eren to calm down.
"Eren. We just left camp a couple of minutes ago. We'll be there soon, just wait. It's only going to take a few more minutes."
Eren gritted his teeth and snapped at Armin. "I thought you of all people would understand how I'm feeling right now! You know it's only been a couple of weeks since I've closed that hole. It's still dangerous!"
"Eren, shut up. Stop bashing on Armin. You need to calm down."
Armin scratched his cheek in embarrassment and said back, "It's okay, Jean. Eren's just under stress. I'm kind of jumpy too, actually."
Jean closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "We did just sneak out of camp and stole a horse carriage. Tsk, not to mention that we have no fucking idea why Mikasa left in the first place. It doesn't add up, really."
He turned around and looked at Eren curiously. "I bet you have an idea, right?"
Eren opened his mouth to retaliate back, but quickly closed it. His eyes shifted to where his abdomen was patched up.
"…Yeah. I have a clue as to why she's doing this."
Eren sat up and placed his hands in his lap. This time, Armin didn't reprimand him. Everything was quiet for a few seconds. The only sound was the clomping of the horses.
Impatiently, Jean hissed, "Well? Aren't you going to share with us? I mean I'd rather know what the hell is Mikasa's plan before stopping her. That is…if it's a good enough reason." Quietly to himself, Jean grumbled, "If it isn't, I'm going to stop her from killing herself for sure."
Eren glared at Jean, looking as though he was going to pick a fight with him once more. Armin's worried gaze stopped him from doing so, however. Eren moved his eyes to look at Armin instead and began to speak.
"She's trying to go…back to the Shiganshina District. For what reason, I don't even know."
Armin gasped and stammered, "W-why would she risk the high chance of dying to go back there? Wh-where it's just Titan territory! That's crazy! It would take more than a few days to go there and back! And aren't we going there in a few weeks anyways?"
Jean nodded his head and began to think deeply about it.
"That's true. What's the point of going by herself when we would be heading there for an expedition later? I know Mikasa is probably one of humanity's greatest soldiers, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a suicide mission to go by yourself all the way over there."
"But knowing Mikasa, she can probably travel there in under a day or so without rest. That's how great her stamina is. That's also why we have to stop her! She's not thinking right. None of this is making any sense. Anything past Wall Rose is just...rubble."
Jean combed his hair back and closed his eyes.
"Geez. You know you're sounding just like her. This isn't like you, Jaeger."
Eren squinted his eyes and replied, "What the hell does that mean?"
"Oh come on. Isn't it usually Mikasa worrying over you instead of you worrying over her? It's rare for you to even show any concern for Mikasa, or anyone for that matter. And you always act so cold towards Mikasa. I question if you even care for her."
Eren practically turned red with anger. It looked as though smoke was coming out of his ears.
"That isn't fucking true! You don't know anything about Mikasa or me! You don't understand-"
"That's where you're wrong! It doesn't matter that I'm not close to you like Armin, but anyone can see that your relationship with Mikasa is one sided! She literally fusses over you all the time, and I know for a fact she would die for you! Eren, you don't understand how much pain and sorrow you've brought to her. Has it crossed your mind how fucking broken Mikasa was when we all thought you'd died?! Do you realize that maybe she's sick of you never showing any affection to her? Maybe the reason why she left was because of YOU."
Jean swung his head back to look in front of the wagon and remained silent. Armin awkwardly watched the flames in the lantern, while Eren stared at Jean's back.
"Maybe the reason why she left was because of YOU."
Eren clenched his teeth and was about to yell at Jean when the wagon stopped.
"…We're here." Jean announced. He looked in the back of the wagon and glanced at Eren for a second before returning his gaze back to the front. He leaped off and tied the wagon to a nearby tree trunk.
Armin started to get out of the wagon when he turned around and offered to help Eren. Stubbornly, Eren denied his kindness.
"What right does Jean have to talk to me like that? He can go ride off to hell!"
When they were all out of the wagon, Armin asked Eren, "Are you fit enough to use your maneuver gear?"
Eren twisted his body around and felt slight pain, although he didn't want to worry Armin. "I'm fine." He assured Armin.
"Well. Since that's all settled, I presume we're just going to dive head first in?" Jean placed his hand of his hip and waited for a reply from either of them.
Armin was the first to say something. "I think we should split up. Someone go in the middle side, someone on the right side, and someone on the left side. That way, it'll be easier to locate her. When we do find her, we need a way to communicate."
"That's easy. Just use smoke flares."
Eren rolled his eyes. "We don't have any with us."
Jean shook his head and grinned. "Maybe you and Armin didn't come prepared, but I did. I stole a few when no one was looking back at camp. Figured it'd be useful."
Jean threw a smoke gun to each of them and a few cans of smoke. "So if one of us are in danger or if we find something, we shoot a flare. Simple."
"Okay. I guess we're all set to go. Eren, how about you take the right side, Jean will take the middle, and I'll take the left?"
"Yeah. That sounds good. So can we finally go find Mikasa?" Eren asked with a hint of irritation.
"Yes. Let's go already. We need to head back as soon as possible. They might think we're betraying them or something like that. Worse case scenario, they'll think we're chickening out." Jean shuddered at the thought of his reputation being downgraded.
"Finally! Let's fucking do this."
Armin gulped. "Be safe you guys."
Eren shot a grapple hook on the wall and pushed his way upwards. He didn't even bother to wait for Armin and Jean.
Jean's words were still stuck in his head.
"The reason why she left…was maybe because of me? Did she want…to actually die? No I…won't believe that. I don't care what the others may think of you and me. I promised that I'd always protect you."
Eren flung himself high in the sky and found Jean not too far away from him on his left side. Further away was Armin. They all exchanged looks before separating ways.
"Mikasa. Why…why are you doing this? This isn't like you. No one is dumb enough to do this actually! To go all the way to Shiganshina District without a clear alibi. You've got a lot of explaining to do when I find you!"
Eren and Armin stayed on the top of the wall, while Jean dashed downwards towards the buildings. Eren sprinted and scanned the area for Mikasa. He instantly felt his heart stop when he saw something completely abnormal.
"Sh-shit. I thought we'd got rid of you!"
Two Titans stormed around the area Eren was looking at, their humongous feet smashing multiple buildings.
"You assholes leaked through, huh? I can't believe you're so close to the beginning here. I guess I'll have to kill you, don't I?"
Eren cracked his knuckles and smiled with anticipation.
"This is going to be fun."
So we've FINALLY moved back to Wall Rose and whatnot. Now I want to actually clear something up. When I first started this, I thought that Wall Rose's territory was just buildings and shit. But when I watched that episode of Snk when they went out for that expedition, I realized that there was nature crap too, like forests and meadows. I should of realized it before, but...I didn't -.- It was until like...Chapter 3 (of my story)that I figured it out. SSSssooo...right now, let's just assume that if you enter into Wall Rose, there's going to be this great land of buildings before you see forests and shit. There. I said it. Or if I'm wrong about this entire thing, then ignore me omfg.
Something else that's very important for you readers to know is that since school is in session, i'll be uploading around every 2-3 weeks. Sorry, but it actually takes about two hours for me to proofread and check spelling. And don't get me started with how long it takes to write it all out.
Last note here. I'm starting to come up with another idea for a Eremika, but I'm not going to be doing it while writing this one. I know i won't be able to handle two fanfics at once. This time I'm going to plan out everything before I start writing.
Funny story here with this story. I never actually came up with a clear plot when I began this. I just said fuck it and well...put words together and tada~ Here we are now! Hopefully my next fanfic will be easier for you guys to read and understand because i feel like with this story, I'm confusing people with how i describe things.(but i still love this one a lot)
Okay. Now you can go and read other Eremika fluff. Just don't forgot my fanfic here~ Till then you guys! Now i got to do my English Homework...-_-