-Chapter 11 – Shadows

Mikasa couldn't get any sleep, the bed seemed to be too soft and the duvet felt extremely heavy and warm. The fireplace kept crackling on and the moon was sitting high in the sky, lighting up the room slightly. She got out of bed, put on her jacket and boots and walked out into the corridor. It was dark and eerily quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the faint ticking of the great grandfather clock at the furthest side of the corridor. Mikasa slowly and quietly crept to the door opposite hers. After looking around her, she slowly twisted the door handle and pushed forward. It was locked.

'Well at least you're not that reckless to keep the door unlocked...' Mikasa just to makes sure, she peered through the keyhole. It was brighter in the room as the moon shined out from the window and she could easily see Eren gently snoring and muttering something inaudibly as he hugged a nearby pillow tightly.

Mikasa breathed out a short sigh of relief as she quietly shut the door behind her and then quickly sauntered over to Armin's room and peered inside, only to see Armin quietly sleeping as well. Mikasa nodded as she got up. She was about to walk back to her room but suddenly heard something. She tensed up slightly and stepped to the side, her back against the wall and hiding behind a set of large curtains. She peered past to see a silhouette glide past eerily from the corridor and disappear out of sight. 'What the hell was that?' She thought as she sauntered over and began to tail the silhouette, making sure to remain behind cover and peak past the edge to see the silhouette move around in the mansion through the maze like corridors.

'Just what the hell are you…' She thought suspiciously as she eyed the figure. She took a step forward, about to move to the cover.

THUD!

Mikasa froze for less than a second before sliding back into cover and crouching down. The silhouette's head turned suddenly to the noise. It stood there as minutes passed. Slowly, the figure began to move forward, it's slow and light footsteps audible enough to hear. Suddenly, there was a series of quick footsteps and the silhouette dashed off to the other side of the corridor to disappear out of sight. Suddenly, the door swung open and Dante dashed out unsteadily, and looked around wildly. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts and in his hands was a pillow and a gun.

"Who's there?" He called out groggily as he looked around and raised his arm, unaware that he was raising his pillow instead of his gun. After a few seconds, he realised his mistake and raised his gun instead, slowly scanning the corridor.

"...Meh...Probably nothing…" Dante grumbled as he staggered backwards into his room and slammed the door shut.

Mikasa slowly exhaled and leaned to peer around the corner. The silhouette had gone. 'Dammit. He's gone…' She thought as she crept to the other side of the corridor and looked around for any sign of it. 'What was that anyway?…' She thought but stopped until her ears picked up the sound of crackling coming from the staircase nearby. Her face creased in confusion as she slowly descended the stairs and walked to what she realised was the study.

Just as soon as she was about to enter the study, she saw someone sitting by the fireplace in armchair and reading a book. Whoever they were, they were facing away from the doorway and didn't seem to notice Mikasa at the doorway. Instantly, as quietly as she could, she walked out and went to slip into the shadows.

"You do realise it's quite rude to just walk past someone like that without even acknowledging them." Al shut his book turned around to look at Mikasa. Mikasa paused and walked back in, eying Al who was looking at her over his shoulder

"How did you know I was there?" Mikasa walked in.

Al stood up and put the book back into the shelf. "Your footsteps sound just like that of a titan…"

Mikasa stared at him, "Did you just stop me just to try and insult me?"

Al shook his head, "Oh no, I'm just noting how its bad manners to walk past someone without acknowledging them...and that your footsteps sound like that of a titan..."

"Well, I'm sorry but I have way more important things to take care of…" Mikasa retorted curtly as she tried to walk away.

"Hmm, what can be so important to do in the middle of the night, hmm? Checking up on your friends, making sure where we are so you can find the best way to get rid of us?" Al asked sarcastically.

Mikasa blinked in shock, "I never said that…."

"I know you didn't, I'm just suggesting ideas, that's all" Al smirked back at her.

"But then again I could say the same about you" Mikasa asked him.

"I couldn't get any sleep so I thought I'd read or something, it's supposed to help a person feel tired you know. Also no I'm not just sitting here trying to think of a way to get rid of you and the rest, it's the last thing I would be thinking of by the way" Al took out another book and sat back down on the armchair.

"And why wouldn't that be at the top of your priority list?" Mikasa kept on questioning Al.

"Because it's goes against the duties of a host" Al opened the book and flicked through the pages, "a host must always treat his guests with respect and should always make sure they are comfortable, provide them with the necessities to live such as food and shelter…and because, you're not so bad compared to some of my other guests..."

"Unbelievable..." Mikasa muttered to herself.

"I'd recommend you to read as well, you know," Al nodded and smiled innocently, "It's quite a relaxing hobby to put your time into. I mean, you're not the chatting type to be honest and it's fine, I don't think a person in their right mind should have a problem with that... but, let's be realistic, that shouldn't stop you from reading, right?"

Mikasa stared at him with growing resentment, "Don't you think reading is the least of your concerns? Of humanity's concern?"

"I'd disagree with that statement," Al tilted his head, "There are many benefits to reading, it's relaxing, it increases one's creativity and is very informative…"

Mikasa let out a sigh of exasperation. Al eyes narrowed and he smiled sweetly.

"Especially about Oriental culture…" he stated matter-of-factly.

Suddenly, Mikasa clenched her fists and turned to face him, "Do you enjoy this? Hmm? Pretending that you actually care and that you're so interested in each of us."

Al looked back at his book collection and then turned to her, "No, not pretending," he smirked.

Mikasa stared at him with resentment, "You really are that naive, aren't you? Maybe it's because you live in such a privileged background, you'd have no idea what it's like to have suffered losses."

Al's smile cracked momentarily, but just enough for Mikasa to see that she had stuck a nerve

"Everyone has suffered the loss of something," Al stated flatly, "especially to those things outside of the walls. So I'm going to pretend that nothing was said about this..."

Mikasa thought on what Al said, "So what if you lost some petty mansion or land within Wall Maria. It was probably a waste of space anyway."

Al paused momentarily and didn't look at her. He slowly got up and walked over the table in front of the window and poured himself some wine into a glass. When he spoke his voice was low and slightly trembling"...My brother was part of the Garrison, did you know that?..." He gave a small humourless chuckle, "...Well I guess not, I didn't even talk about him much… His name was Markus. Not only was he always there for me but he was one of the best. I always wanted to be like him. He was a hero. When I hear people talk about him, I was just so happy that I could say I was his little brother…But 6 years ago, he went away and was stationed elsewhere..."

"Where?..." Mikasa couldn't help but ask.

"Shinganshina," Al remarked, taking Mikasa by surprise, "Yeah...He was there when the titans broke in...And he never came back... Part of me wishes he never was in the military… At least I could have had my older brother back…"

Mikasa stayed silent for a while, contemplating on what Al had just said, "...Alright" she said quietly, "I'm sorry for saying that..."

Al lifted his hand up and shook his head, "No forget it, it's fine. Like I said, nothing was said here… but if I were you, I'd think twice before judging people like that again just because they're nobles...not all of them would take it as well as me" Al gave her a wry smile again just like that. Mikasa breathed out in annoyance but a small part of her felt relieved. "Anyway moving away from grim reminders of the past. How's Eren doing after Jay happened?" Al asked, somewhat returning to his normal self.

"He's fine after you helped him...And about that and what happened in the basement. Thank you for supporting us. I mean it." Mikasa thanked him.

"Oh it's no problem. Jay's not exactly the type of guy you would warm up to at first but give him some time to explain his reasoning behind what may seem like impractical and irrational methods… I mean, I thought about what he said for a while now… And to be fair and brutally honest... He does makes some valid points after all" Al muttered, taking a few sips of wine.

Mikasa blinked in shock, "So you're saying that you actually agree with what he said back there" Mikasa said, her voice rising.

"Well yeah. Like I said I know his behaviour with Eren was uncalled for and I couldn't agree with you more on that matter but I'm afraid what Jay said is true"

"And what evidence do you have to support him" Mikasa stared at Al, clearly annoyed.

"Look I don't want to start another argument like the one with Jay and instead I just want to explain why reasons as to why I believe he has a point..." Al quickly stated.

Mikasa paused for a moment and relaxed, "Fine. Explain."

"First of I've read your reports on all of you. I know everything from your graduation rank to your backgrounds and families. Looking through Eren's report he graduated 5th in your division of the 104th Trainee Corps whereas you came 1st."

"There's no need to repeat what Jay said. Just get straight to the point."

"As you say so. There's a whole four ranks between you two and reading through the report there's nothing on you helping him in any way. The only people who helped him that are listed in the report are Annie Leonhardt and Reiner Braun who happen to be the Female and Armoured Titan respectively. Of course I can understand no one at the time knew this apart from Annie and Reiner themselves but the fact still remains that you didn't help him even the slightest bit during the whole three years you were in training all according to the report-"

"Well actually I did help him. Of course the reports won't have had mentioned this because it was outside of training hours and the instructor wasn't present at the time. Even ask Armin, he knows, or even better ask Eren himself since you clearly rely on the reports to support all of your arguments along with Jay because none of you were there now, were you?"

"What did you help him with?" Al asked, his head giving the slightest gesture of a nod.

"...I'm sorry?" Mikasa asked, her voice rising.

Al exhaled and gave her a shrug, "I said, what did you help him with?...From what I've seen, his fighting technique is nothing like yours or on your level. This is also the most significant, important part of training, so if you didn't help him with that, then what did you do? So apologies but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you've...assisted...him with balancing while using his gear as this was the biggest problem on his report. In addition to this, there is also the case of how much you've helped him, but for now, I won't delve deeper into this part. Also, because I know that you deeply care about Eren, you must have discouraged him altogether from joining the military altogether and told him to throw in the towel...correct?"

Mikasa showed little if not, any change of emotion on her face, but Al noticed her gaze flicker to the floor in shame. Al nodded, knowing that type of emotion all too well, "Trust me, I know…Someone close to me tried to put me off joining and I'm guilty of discouraging someone I care about as well from signing up…" Al looked up to her and smiled, "Anyway, you said you had trouble sleeping? Read this…" He pushed a book forward on the table, "It's very intriguing...Anyway, I better get some sleep myself...See you in the morning…"

Mikasa stared after him as he strode around the corner and left, waving goodbye over his shoulder. Mikasa checked back to see if he was nearby but to her relief, no one was there in the corridor. She stepped back in the room and stared at the book, Al's advice repeating in her head. She averted her gaze to the fire illuminating the room from the fireplace, it's flames flickering and moving around. With a sigh, she sat down in the armchair, facing the fire, picked up and turned to the first page.

Outside

Jay adjusted his hood and dug his hands deep into his pockets as he made his way into the woods, his footsteps making a crunching sound in the snow. Jay looked over his shoulder to the Retreat which was already far off. 'Doesn't look like anyone noticed I left…' Jay assured himself as he eyed his surroundings. It was incredibly dark outside and it was almost silent. The sky was filled with dark clouds and there were no stars in the sky.

CRACK!

Jay tensed up suddenly, and his eyes scanned his surroundings quickly. It was the sound of branches cracking nearby. Jay's brow furrowed as looked around. The sound of wings flapping and an owl hooting could be heard above him. Jay exhaled and looked down

"...So you do have a habit of sneaking up on people…" Jay noted, "Well, I can't say I'm surprised, Argus…"

"Jayden…Wasn't expecting to see you here." Jay turned to see a man standing about 4 metres away from him. He was lean and tall and was cloaked. He was wearing dark boots and black trousers and the top half of his face was covered by the shade of his large hood. "Where's Alphonse?"

Jay took off his hood and shook his head, "It's just me…I needed to speak with you privately…"

Argus let out a short sigh and leaned against the tree, "You know, this isn't really how this works. I'm technically Al's informant so I deal with whatever he deems necessary. No offense..."

"...Haven't you even questioned why a 17 year old would need an informant?" Jay asked, tilting his head to the side, his face creased in slight confusion. "In everyone else's eyes, he's still a child. Behaves like one as well…"

Argus raised his gloved hands and shrugged his shoulder, "Should I have any reason to question it? I'm loyal to his family and not all 17 year olds and their friends are part of one of the most secret groups in the military." Argus then nodded to Jay, "And certainly not all 17 years olds were once serial killers... And Al's older than you as well. So in theory, a better question would be why would you specifically need an informant? Hmm?"

Jay stared at Argus and gave the slightest hint of a shrug as he began to tap out a quick complex rhythm with his fingers, "Shrewd as ever...Yeah well, times change and so do the rules…And this is serious…"

"Oh yeah? Try me?" Argus asked with a small smirk. He had been doing this for years now, and very little had fazed him. But he'd be lying if he said this wasn't interesting. 'Well...Let's see what Al's grumpy little friend can do…'

"What I need you to do is to look into this person. Hans Schmidt. … I just need to find out where I can find him, nothing risky, that's it… I'll take care of the rest of it…" He asked as he pulled out a small notebook from one of his jacket's inside pockets and handed it to Argus. Argus took it cautiously and began to flick open the pages, "Sounds ominous enough…" Argus muttered but his expression slowly fell as he flicked past each of the pages, "…You certainly did a hell of a lot of research into this one in particular. He must be one nasty piece of work if you've taken a degree of interest into him. I don't see why you'd need my help though, seems like you could do it yourself in all honesty…"

"That research you're now holding took nearly two months to gather and compile. As of right now, I don't have that much time to be where he is… By the time I get round to it, he'd probably be long gone..." Jay folded his arms and looked down, kicking a small pile of snow as he did so and saying no more on the subject.

"And Al knows about this?" Argus asked, looking up at him. Jay only gave him a patient stare and Argus knew what the answer was.

"That's clearly a no then...You do realise he wouldn't like this… Not one bit…" Argus warned, looking at Jay with an eyebrow raised.

Jay breathed out as he ran a hand through his hair, his breath clouding in front of him, "I know…He doesn't seem to like most things nowadays, apart from partying, flirting and whatever noble kids do… But if my hunch is correct, then this is more serious than I thought… And I'm not going to risk doing nothing if it means the others' lives are in danger…"

Argus shut the notebook, pocketed the notebook and nodded, "Aye aye. You'll get a location in 4 days at the very most…"

"That's all I needed to hear…" Jay noted, pulling his hood so the shade covered his eyes. Argus grunted as he stepped back and looked around him just in case.

"Oh, if that was all you needed to hear, Jayden, then you wouldn't need to come to-"

Argus looked back and blinked only to realise Jay had disappeared without a word. He looked around, taken aback only to find no trace of Jay or where he went.

"...me…" He finished and let out a low whistle, "Still want to have the last laugh, hmm? Typical…" He let out a half chuckle before lowering his head and walking off.

AN:

Hi! :)

It's certainly good to add a bit of drama and mystery after all this character building. The next chapter will be more about Dante since it's about time to give the guy some attention. Don't forget to review, like and share. It would really help a lot.

Thanks and have a brilliant day!