FOREWORD: (Spoilers: Anime Episode 4/Manga Chapter 3) A slightly longer chapter than what I have written so far... This is based off the manga rather than the anime—the moment when Mikasa tells Eren she is joining the Recons Corps/Scouting Legion.
Also, thank you all for your kind reviews, and most of all for simply reading. To Anon, thank you for your suggestion in your review! I will try to post that one up as soon I finish writing it!
Summary: On the night of the disbanding, Mikasa tells Eren where she is applying, and he is not very pleased.
I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin, or any of its characters.
Anywhere he leads, that is where she is.
.
"That's it!" he hears Jean call out as the others restrain him, and Eren thrashes against Mikasa's strong, firm grip. "Have Mikasa haul you around again like a baby! Surely you also intend to drag her down with you into the Scouting Legion?!"
Eren's body tenses up and ices all over at Jean's words. So intent had he been on eradicating vermin that he had never stopped to think about which path Mikasa would follow. The Military Police, he tells himself. She is certainly choosing the Police; she has to. None of the righteous lecture scorning the twisted logic of their training and those seeking the fleeting comfort of the inner districts he has just poured out in the dining hall applied to her.
He crashes back to reality when once outside, she unceremoniously dumps him on the ground like a sack of potato—even Sasha would have been fooled if not for the immediate protest that escapes his mouth.
"Ow! That hurt, you know!"
"You tend to be impulsive when things get out of hand. It's almost like a reflex…"
She is right, but he is not about to admit that. When he gets riled up and the situation heats up, he tends to think with his fists. There is very little that can stop him and she is one of the few who knows how to. She says nothing else, does not apologise; shows no sign of contrition for her actions. She just stands tall and unrelenting before him, daring him to prove her wrong.
He looks up at her like an admonished child, dozens of protests biting at the insides of his mouth. But he says nothing and swallows them down. He does not apologise either because that is how he is, and Mikasa knows that.
He snorts, looks away and sits up, wordlessly putting an end to that discussion. He has more pressing matters to clear with her.
"About what Jean said…" Eren starts. "Where are you applying, exactly?"
A second goes by as she sits down next to him, but a couple lifetimes pass him by as he awaits her answer.
"I will join the Scouting Legion," she finally says.
He does not even know why he is surprised.
Eren, the boy with grand speeches when it comes to killing titans and joining the Legion, is struck dumb before the top ranking member of his class. Because she happens to be the girl with the red scarf, because she happens to be Mikasa.
He really should have known without even asking. He has never had to say a word to her. She has always been like an old playback on tape—I'm going with you, I'm coming too, I'm going with you—stop, rewind, play, repeat.
His tone is not very far from that of a plea when he says, "You're top of our class… Go for the Police! Few people in history have demonstrated as much talent as you. You could get some special treatment…"
A good life, he wants to add, because that is all he ever wanted for her.
But before he can finish, she replies, "If you go for the Police, so will I." She stares at a fixed point on the ground as she continues, "Enter the Stationary Troop, and I will follow you there."
He knows the sound of those words all too well. He knows the irritation that makes his brows furrow. He knows the beat in his heart that quickens his breath. He knows the feeling that grips at his insides and twists.
"You will die very quickly if I'm not around," she then says glancing at him.
"How much longer are you going to keep this up?" he asks, exasperated. "I didn't ask for anything!"
She never got it; still does not get why he never asks her to come with him. She never understood that he knows he is not strong enough to protect her—not yet. He never wants to, but he knows he can rely on her when push comes to shove. What about her, though? She is strong and capable, but that does not take away the fact that she remains human—mortal. Would she ever feel safe with him? Would she ever feel like she could rely on him?
"For as long as I live," she replies. "I died once, and I was brought back to life. It's a debt I won't forget," she says quietly covering her nose with her scarf as her eyes cloud over. "And above all, I don't want to lose what's left of my family…"
Eren understands then that there is no changing her mind. Mikasa is joining the Scouting Legion... and he has to get stronger. That damned Jean is freaking wrong. He is not going to drag her down. He is not going to let himself be the burden that is the end of her.
This time, he will be the one watching over her.
