So, what exactly happened that day for Mikasa to be in such a sullen mood?

That morning, both of them had sudden eruption of blushes, and they could not even talk straight to each other without stammering. The two of them went to school, feeling bashful. When Armin met them outside the school gates, he lit up a Cheshire cat grin.

"Eren! How's the audition?" was the first question he asked them.

Eren lit up a smile, while Mikasa suddenly went glum.

"Annie-chan and I got in the band," Eren told his bestfriend. "We will be starting to meet with the rest of the band members this Saturday to practice."

"Whoa, sugoi!" Armin exclaimed as he positioned himself in between them before putting his arms around them. "Eren, please give me free coffee, huh? Huh?"

"Oy, Armin! I'm not the owner of the coffee shop," Eren told Armin.

The three of them entered the school together, but Mikasa suddenly became so silent. The other guys did not notice any change because she was always the silent one whose role in the group was the listener.

"Ohayou!" Sasha greeted the three when they entered the classroom. "Armin-kun, let's hide from Hange-sempai today!"

"That we shall!" Armin replied as he punched the air.

"I am tired of washing those messy Petri dishes and test tubes for her," Connie complained when he showed his burnt fingers.

"So do I!" Sasha complained too.

"I had been washing banana peels since lunch time yesterday. I have to hide from her today," Armin said.

"You guys can just let those lovebirds over there do the dishes for you," Jean suggested to them about Ymir and Krista as the three friends went to their separate tables. When he saw Mikasa, he greeted her a smile, "Hey."

"Hi," Mikasa calmly replied in her usual manner, no smile and all.

"That's a good idea, isn't it? Isn't it?" Jean asked Mikasa excitedly.

"About what?" she asked him.

Jean was stunned. So, Mikasa did not pay attention? How sad!

"Uhm, about Krista and Ymir washing for Hange-sempai!"

"What did you say?" Ymir called him out.

Because of that, Jean and Ymir had another heated altercation again. Armin turned to Eren and smiled.

"Hey Eren, it's good that Jean's got preoccupied into fighting with Ymir now," he said to his friend.

"Yeah, that's a relief," Eren told Armin before taking out the earphones from inside his bag. Then, he called out to Mikasa, "Oy, Mikasa, wanna study with us?"

"Study what?" Armin asked as Mikasa turned around.

"Our lesson for the first subject," Eren said.

"Wow! This is a first," Armin said in amazement as he looked at his friend.

"The first what?"

"A first! Of you inviting us to study! We know you laze up all the time," Armin explained.

"Nah, I was just inspired to study after the good things that happened to me yesterday," Eren said.

But Mikasa just stared at him without a word.

"So, wanna join?" Eren asked Mikasa again.

Mikasa nodded and pulled her chair closer to Eren's table. Armin didn't notice unusual with their girl friend, so he also pulled his chair so they can study.

However, Armin only noticed Mikasa's change that lunch time. Annie approached Eren and invited him to practice with him.

"Let's go to the music room," Annie suggested.

"Yeah, sure," Eren said with a smile.

As they were about to leave the room, Eren felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around to see Mikasa.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"Where are you going?" she asked calmly.

Eren knew where this was going to, so he told her that he'd be practicing with Annie. But when Mikasa was about to pull him, he flared up again and held her wrist.

"Sorry, Annie, just go to the music room first. I'll follow," he told his classmate.

Annie shrugged her shoulders and went away. As for the foster siblings, Eren pulled Mikasa to follow him to the most forbidden place on earth—the rooftop.

"What is it again? Trying to forbid me to practice?" he asked in exasperation.

"Naze?" she asked, her voice slightly betraying some emotion. "You're not going to eat lunch? Armin will be eating with us."

"I am not hungry, thank you very much," Eren said as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Would you mind, Mikasa? I have some important things to do, and this is one of those."

But Mikasa bowed her head.

"What is it again? I am tired of having to apologize all the time every time you are acting like this. Like, is me practicing with Annie so wrong? Why do I always owe you an apology? Tell me!"

"Are you purposely running away from me?" she asked.

"Of course not! It's just that I have a life too, you know," Eren said.

He rolled his eyeballs and sighed heavily. "You know, you should get a life too. Find your own friends. Find a hobby. Don't let your world revolve only around me! Don't be too clingy! You are not even my girlfriend. You're my foster sister, for crying out loud!"

His words stung her.

"And... I don't even know why should I even say sorry!" he said.

He held her by the arms and looked into her eyes. There was rage and every other emotions associated with friends who are in conflict.

"Mikasa, you know I love you, and I care for you," he told her, but Mikasa's eyes only grew wide, like it's the first time he even said his feelings for her. "But we need to grow up and find our own paths. Okay? But the worst thing is, I don't feel like you even trust me."

"I... I do," she whispered.

"But why do you always restrict my actions? Why do you always treat me like some young kid! I'm not a young kid anymore, okay? I'm grown up! I'm not your younger brother!" he told her his deep-seated emotions. "I know I can never be like you. You're strong, you're good at almost everything. You are good in our classes, and you also are good in practical lessons. Those are things that make me jealous, so envious of you, that most of the time, I resent you for it. But now that I have found something that I can call my own, something that can make me proud of myself, can you just give it to me? Why can't you just let me be?"

He let go of his hands on her arms.

"Or are you satisfied of me being behind your shadow all the time?" he asked her sharply, malice laced in his words. Poisonous words.

Though Mikasa tried to hide her tears, one drop could not even keep itself from falling.

"Grow up, Mikasa! Look at me, huh? Look at me!" he begged as he leaned forward closer to her face. "Can't you see that I have changed?"

Mikasa nodded. "It's just now I see that... you have grown up..."

"I grew up a long time ago, Mikasa Ackerman," Eren told her. "It's just that you are too blind to see that I ever did. You are stuck in time, believing that I am someone who constantly need your supervision."

Before he could even say more mean things, he told her, "I'm sorry, Mikasa, but the Eren Jaeger you knew has grown up. I am not the same Eren you knew yesterday. I have grown up for my own good, and I have grown up for my dreams. It's time you find yours."

As he was about to go to the door, the two of them saw Armin standing there, holding the packs of bento that Mikasa left on her table.

"Ah, eeto," Armin started before laughing awkardly to break the tension. "Shall we all eat lunch together?

"I'm not hungry, Armin," Eren coldly told him. "Annie and I need to practice."

He turned on his heel and walked out of the door. Armin looked at him, then at Mikasa, but he was so confused that he ran after Eren.

"Oy, Eren, what was that for?" Armin asked him. "I heard it all. Why did you even say that?"

Eren looked at him angrily, "So, you side with her too?"

"Iie, chigai (no it's not like that)," Armin said. "It's just... You are too harsh."

Eren sighed. "I know, right? Armin."

"Yes?"

"You know I can trust on you, being my friend," Eren said. "You know I love Mikasa, right?"

"As a foster sister, yes," Armin said.

Eren's eyes furrowed. "Yes, as a foster sister. But what are you trying to imply?"

Armin mentally slapped himself. He knew Mikasa was all over Eren romantically, but Eren was not. He had no idea though, that Eren confessed to Mikasa last night. He wasn't sure if Eren's feelings for Mikasa had changed, but all he was certain that Eren only looked at Mikasa as a foster sister.

"Ah, betsuni," Armin lied.

"You know I love her, but I am just being tough on her because I don't want her to have me apologize all the time for things that aren't even my fault, things that only she give unnecessary meaning into," Eren told his friend. "I just want her to learn to be her own person and not to stay by me all the time. How come even twins can do that, but she could not even do that?"

"Dunno."

"I want to fly. And I want her to fly as well. We can't always be like this," Eren explained.

"Tough love, huh?" Armin concluded.

"Yeah. I'm showing her tough love," Eren replied, his expression getting depressed. "I love her and want the best for her... and for me. But I have to show her this side of me so she'll understand that I don't always need her all the time. That she has to trust whatever decisions I make."

"I agree," Armin said, getting his point.

"She feels like I am running away from her," Eren told Armin. "I am not running away from—yes, it seems I am running away from her. Like I am finally glad to be out of her shadow for once. That I have something I can call my own and not have her stick to me all the time. But you know, she did not know that whatever happens, I can always rely on her like I can rely on you."

Armin nodded. "Wakatta."

"Armin, can you keep Mikasa at bay for me?" he requested his friend. "I have to really practice..."

"But your lunch," Armin said.

Eren stretched out his hand to get the bento from Armin. After that, the blondie watched his friend walk away.

"This is gonna get awkward, I guess," Armin thought as he turned to the other side to go up the rooftop where Mikasa might still be standing.

And guess what, she was still there, standing.

"Hey Mikasa," Armin called out, lighting up into a smile. "Tabemashou."

Mikasa looked at Armin with a blank stare. Her eyes were red, but there were no traces of tears. "Hai."

The two of them sat down on the cemented floor and silently ate their lunch.

~~.

"What took you so long?" Annie asked in boredom as she flipped her drum sticks.

"Sorry, I have a talk with Mikasa," Eren smiled in apology.

"What did you talk about?" Annie pried.

"Uhm, sorry, it's between the two of us," Eren replied.

"What's that?" Annie asked, pointing at the thing that Eren was holding.

He looked down and saw he was holding the bento that Armin just gave him some minutes ago, "Uh, the bento. Tabemashou."

Annie shrugged, grabbed her bag, and got a banana and a bottle of milk. The two of them began to eat their lunch. As Eren dug into his bento, he realized that it was Mikasa who cooked this for him this morning. The two of them were so happy, but the atmosphere suddenly changed this noon time.

After eating, the two of them began to practice. Eren loved Annie's company because she always engaged him to experiment so she could follow his lead. Even with her boring expression, Annie never hesitated to tell Eren what's wrong with his playing style and even to tell him to try what he thinks will sound best.

"We have to show the Sempais that we can be at par with them," Annie told Eren as she hit the snare drums.

"Yeah!" Eren replied with a smile as he strummed the electric guitar.

Unknown to them, Mikasa was watching at them from the glass window, at a distance.

~~.

"Naze? Are the two of them dating?" Levi asked before clicking his tongue. "Well, I don't see why they can't. After all, both of them love music, and they enjoy each other's company."

But Mikasa fisted her hand.

"I really don't get it," Levi said. "If you love someone, you should fight for him. If you love someone, you should just let him go. I am not a good advisor for you, but snap the f*** out of it and get your s*** together!"

Mikasa wiped her eye and looked at Levi, "Sempai, would you stop cursing?"

"Why not? Cursing is cool!"

"It's not," she replied solemnly.

"Well, it can't be helped," Levi replied in that fabulous way of his. "It's just being me."

Mikasa shrugged. "Whatever Sempai says..."

"Ay, this emotional brat!" Levi complained. "Just concentrate on whatever you need to do in school, okay? Should I beat the cr** out of Jaeger for you?"

Mikasa looked at him with a blank expression.

"I have the itch to kick someone on the face, but I can hold my own," Levi said. "And I just don't beat someone for the heck of it because I am too fab."

Mikasa complimented him, "Hai, Sempai is the coolest person in school."

Levi's radar began to tick, "You think so?"

"Hai."

"So, you can trust me in anything, Ackerman," Levi told her. "You want me to teach you Math?"

"That's my forte, Sempai," Mikasa replied.

"Oh, I didn't know," Levi nonchalantly replied. "Or any advice from me?"

"What do I need to expect from the out-of-school activity for tomorrow?" Mikasa asked.

As Levi was about to speak, someone called Mikasa. The two of them turned around to see Eren standing a meter away. Levi crisply looked at the brat, but he let out a smirk that made Eren flinch.

"You want a Math tutor?" Levi called out to him.

"Eh?"

"Sorry brat, but I've got a very important meeting with Ackerman here," Levi informed him with his air of superiority. "I'll have you in my appointment tomorrow if you like."

Eren could not even reply because of Levi's legendary reputation in school, being the school's coolest Sempai. When he turned around to Mikasa to ask for an explanation, she did not look at him. Instead, she was checking something on her phone.

"Uhm, hey Mikasa," Eren started awkwardly, knowing about their strife earlier that day, "I might come home late."

Mikasa turned to him and answered nonchalantly, "Wakatta."

Eren was bothered by Mikasa's apathy, and he felt bad again. But then, he had so stand with his resolve. He wasn't going to apologize to her. Practicing with Annie wasn't a crime, right?

"Ja, mata ne," Eren said to her before he ran off.

"Feeling guilty, eh? Tsk," Levi said to no one in particular. And, turning to Mikasa, he informed her, "Here is what you will expect for the out-of-school activity tomorrow."