The Mentor
After the train left the station and District Six was well behind us I make my way to the main lounging car after being summoned for dinner. There, I find that Hanji, Eren, and our Mentor are already sitting around the large dinner table.
"Sheesh took you long enough. What did you do? Take an extra-long dump?" my Mentor bluntly demands. I am stunned and appalled by his crude question so I just ignore him. Now that my brain had time to process everything, I remember who this Mentor was. His name is Levi and he won the Games when he was our age, five years ago.
The unique thing about him though is not that he was one of the only Victors from our District but that he wasn't even from our District in the first place. Levi was from a gang that survived living underground. The Capitol or anyone else didn't even know existed and they were able to escape the Reaping's. The Military Police found Levi though when he was out scouting and trying to find extra food. They captured him and made him watch as they bombed and murdered the whole underground village that he was from. And if that wasn't punishment enough, they stuck him in District Six's Reaping because that was where the underground hideout was closest to and they didn't even put in any other boys' names in the Reaping that year because Levi was forced to be the one to participate in the Games.
Nobody expected anything from him because of his small build and his cold, standoffish personality didn't gain him any supporters or Sponsors. But Levi proved them all wrong. He turned out to be the deadliest Player in the Games history and won the Games in the fastest time in the Games records. But now he was stuck as a Victor and a Mentor for District Six and was on the Capitols leash and ever watchful eye.
And now he was watching me as I make my way to the table where everyone is sitting. The table is filled with plates of different sorts of food that I never knew existed. I bet this whole table could feed a third of our District and it was only just for the four of us.
"Ah, Mikasa!" Hanji says as I find my seat at the table, "So nice of you to join us for dinner."
I nod and I try to smile at Eren but he refuses to look at me. I sigh and notice that Levi is still staring at me with his bored, black eyes. His stare makes me uncomfortable and I'm grateful when Hanji announces we can now begin eating. I don't ever remember eating this much in my life and I look up and see that Eren stuffing his face as well.
When dinner is over Levi orders us to sit and talk. His command is sharp and cold and both Eren and I freeze in our seats. He leans toward me in his chair and he has a questioning look in his eyes. "I'm very curious about you, girl." He says and I grimace, which only makes him smirk, "I would like to know why in all the hells would you volunteer for these damned Games?"
I don't like his questioning. It is none of his business why I chose to be in the Games. I know if I tell him he'd just scoff at me and tell me that I only need to watch out for myself in the Games. That's what everyone does and that's the whole point of the Games. So I snap, "I have my reasons and it is none of your concern."
Levi's stare turns hard and cold again and he slams his hands down on the table and bellows, "IT IS MY CONCERN BECAUSE I AM YOUR MENTOR NOW AND IT IS MY DUTY TO HELP YOU SURVIVE!"
I stand angrily, grabbing a butter knife and I throw it with such force that it sticks into the table right where I aimed for, between Levi's thumb and index finger. He stares wide-eyed at the knife and I fume, "And that is exactly why I don't want to tell you!"
Eren finally looks at me. His eyes are wide and his mouth is in a firm line. And I desperately look back at him, hoping he finally understands why I did this.
"Sit down," Levi orders and I obey. He looks at the two of us through narrowed eyes. I have most likely just committed a major crime for threatening my Mentor but sometimes I can't control myself and my emotions take over.
Finally Eren spoke up, "Dammit Mikasa, why did you have to volunteer!? Do you know what this means!?"
"I am well aware what it means, Eren." I calmly tell him.
"Only one of us has a chance to become a Victor!"
"I know."
"One of us will have to die!"
"I know."
"Then why?" Eren asks desperately.
"I volunteered to protect you, Eren! To make sure you survived!" I answer.
"You didn't think I could win on my own?" Eren frowns, "If you just wouldn't have volunteered and I won we could have both survived!"
"That wasn't a chance I was willing to take," I say as I close my eyes. "Where ever you go, I go, Eren. You should know this by now."
Eren growls, "I am not your son or your kid brother! You don't always have to protect me!"
"So are you two lovers then?" Levi finally asks.
"NO!" Eren and I both remark.
"You guys!" Hanji calls out from where a screen was set up with furniture around it, "They are about to announce the other Victors. It's important to know your competitors."
"Hanji's right," Levi says, "We better go watch."
We both follow Levi and take a seat on the couch. The screen flashes to life and the words 'The 74th Games: Players' comes on the screen followed by Wall Sina Districts: District One. Next it shows the Players names and ages. Bertholdt Fubar Age: 18 and Christa Lenz Age: 15. Their pictures flash next to their names. Next it shows the recordings of when they stand on the stage after their names were called. The boy, whose skin is darker than Eren's, is a giant compared to everyone else and he towers over the petite blonde girl that was chosen. Neither of them looks too threatening besides the boy's height. If anything, he looks nervous and sweaty.
District Two- Reiner Braun Age: 18 and Annie Leonhardt Age: 16. These two definitely look more threatening. They both have blonde hair and the girl has serious, icy, blue eyes and the boy has piercing golden ones. The boy has a broad chest and shoulders with a strong brow. The girl has a very pronounced nose and is only slightly taller than the District One girl but she looks deadly, like a coiled snake ready to strike.
Wall Rose Districts: District Three- Marco Bott Age: 18 and Ymir Age: 17. "Ymir?" I hear Eren remark, "That's it? Doesn't she have a last name?"
"I don't have a last name." Levi stated.
The girl is taller than the other girls and her skin is the darkest and covered in freckles. She looks mean and not like a person you'd expect from the pampered closer Districts to look like. She could possibly be a bigger threat as well. The boy on the other hand looks the exact opposite. He looks friendly and soft and hardly a threat. Like the girl, he too, is covered in freckles, although his skin is a bit lighter. I remember that their District is known for its harvest so they work outside a lot to get all those freckles.
District Four- Jean Kristchein Age: 17. I am starting to get nervous; most of these Players have been older than Eren and me, except the girl from One. But then I notice the girl's from Fours age and it's only thirteen, her red hair is braided in pig-tails. I hear Levi scoff and I turn to look at him. He's glaring at the screen, "So young," he mutters and I turn my attention back to the male Player from Four to determine if he will be a threat or not. He's a pretty average looking guy and looks like he's slightly taller than Eren with a slightly longer face. But there's something about him that bothers me and I can't tell yet if he's going to be a threat or not.
Wall Maria Districts: District Five- Connie Springer Age: 15 and Sasha Blouse Age: 16. These two look like how people in our District look, small and underfed. The boy is even shorter than the girl and has a shaved head. The girl is eating a potato as she stands up on the stage and the boy is trying very hard to suppress his laughter. Neither looks like a threat. Like our District, they also, don't get many Victors.
District Six- Eren Jaeger Age: 15 and Mikasa Ackerman Age: 15. The camera shows me running up on stage to volunteer. Before, I never noticed all the looks I received or how Eren never looked so helpless in his life but it quickly turns to anger or Levi's spark of interest and slight smile. I didn't even notice how determined I look until I see it on the screen.
"Well, there you have it folks," the announcer of the Games appeared on the screen, I recognize him from past Games, "From the monsters of Districts One and Two to the orphans of District Six, those are your Players this year. Who's going to be the Victor? I guess you'll have to wait to find out."
The orphans from Six, huh? They really did their research I guess to find out that we're both orphans. I wonder how much of our personal lives they know about. And I get the uneasy feeling that the Capitol is always watching us.
I hear Hanji whistle. "Wow, that boy from One is a giant. And the boy from Two really does look like a monster." Hanji's eyes then widen as they look at us, "But I'm sure you two will do just fine! There's nothing to worry about!"
Levi rolls his eyes, "Great pep talk, Hanji. That's sure to lift their spirits."
"I'm going to bed," Eren says as he gets up and starts walking towards the door.
"Eren," I call after him but he ignores me and walks out of the room.
Later that night I lie in my bed, unable to fall asleep. And I hear a knock on my door. "Come in," I say eagerly hoping that it's Eren. But to my dismay it's only Levi. He's probably here to deliver some sort of punishment for the incident with the knife. But the Mentor only leans against the doorway with the same bored look that he always wears.
"Hey, brat," he says and I glare at him but he only shrugs. "I need you to tell me why you are so bent on protecting that kid."
I sigh and pull the scarf up to my face. I suppose there's no avoiding it. So I look at my Mentor and I tell him the story of how Eren became my only family.
"When I was nine, three men broke into my house and killed my parents, right in front of me. They kidnapped me and were going to sell me to the black market, probably into the sex trade. Eren and his father came to my house because Dr. Jaeger was the town's doctor and I had a checkup. And when they saw my dead parents Dr. Jaeger went to get help and Eren went looking for me.
"Eren didn't even know me back then but he found the cabin in the woods where the kidnappers were hiding out with me and killed two of them without hesitation with a knife he found. He was able to get me untied but the third man came back and started strangling Eren before we could get away. I was so afraid and I didn't know what to do. It was then that I heard Eren say something that I will never forget.
"He told me, 'Fight! If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. If you don't fight you can't win!' And suddenly everything became clear to me. I realized that death happens all the time, all around me. It was then that I accepted that this was a merciless world and to survive in it, I must too, become merciless. I was no longer scared and somehow I knew exactly what to do and I picked up Eren's fallen knife and I ran at the man and stabbed him in the back all the way into his heart.
"Eren saved me that day and gave me this scarf because I was cold and alone. And then I was invited to live with him and his parents. But only a year after that Dr. Jaeger disappeared and Eren's mother was killed by raiders. Eren is the only family I have left and he saved my life. I promised myself that I would protect him no matter the costs!" I say desperately looking up at Levi.
"That is an intriguing story." Levi replies, "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose everyone you love." He then turns to leave but retorts over his shoulder, "Get some sleep. We'll be in the Capitol by morning."
And I do sleep. But it is a fitful one, filled with nightmares of monsters and fires. And I find myself waking up from my own screams. Each time I do wake up I swear I can hear a person outside my door but they never enter and I listen as their footsteps fade down the hallway. Whether it's Hanji, Eren, or Levi on the other side of my door, I'll never know.