CHAPTER 4: THE WHISPERS OF EARLY MORNING
[Still a continuation of the 2nd day. Also the start of the third day]
First, it was humiliating Mikasa in front of a lot of people. Now, it was punching her on the face. Ohh Eren, why do you always end up doing all these?
It was around 8:00 at night when Eren finally caught up with the rest of the Special Ops Squad at one of their usual meeting places in town. He still looked pissed.
Levi: "Where's Petra? We were all waiting for the both of you since this afternoon" he looked at him with a slightly crooked eyebrow which Eren got shaken slightly for.
Eren: "I came alone heichou but I thought Petra-san was already with you...I think she's with Hanji-san and my other girl classmates since she left that little restaurant with them..." he explained.
Auruo: "Huh!? What are they both doing with those rookies!? Unlike the rookies, they have important jobs to do!"
Levi: "Tsk! We'll wait for her here." he said which shocked everyone since he just let it slide like that.
Auruo: "Are you seriously alright with all these, heichou!?" he blurted out.
Levi ignored Auruo's question and the whole Special Ops Squad quietly waited for their "only lady." While Levi wasn't looking at them, Eldo, Gunther and Auruo looked and went towards Eren with eyes filled with curiosity. They began to whisper to him.
Eldo: "Oi Eren, what's with you earlier?"
Gunther: "Yeah, you were such a hothead!"
Eren got very embarrassed as he thought of what to respond to the things his companions said. He himself did not know why he acted like an idiot earlier. He did not know why he was so angry with Jean just because of confessing to Mikasa. He thought to himself that what Armin said was true, that he looked like a super jealous boyfriend but the instant he thought about it, he felt so ridiculous.
Eren: "I-It was nothing! I just lost my head earlier..." he wasn't able to think about a proper response.
Then Auruo butted in, "That girl with short black hair, Mikasa Ackerman, was it? Do you like her or is she your girlfriend? It pretty looks like that to me seeing how you reacted earlier when that guy was confessing to her."
Eren's face started to turn red, "I don't like her and she's not my girlfriend! Why does almost everyone think of us that way!?"
Auruo: "HUH!? I don't understand you. Maybe you're just at the denial stage." he continued to tease Eren.
Eren: "I'm not on the denial stage, Auruo-san!" he was getting even redder and redder.
Gunther and Eldo laughed at them so much especially on Eren's reaction towards everything that Auruo said. It wasn't long enough till they also caught the attention of their captain. Levi got so irritated since they began to shout at each other and because Petra wasn't there yet.
Levi: "Oi Auruo, go look for Petra. I'd like to return to the castle as soon as possible. We need to rest" he ordered Auruo and considered it as somewhat a punishment because of his noisiness.
Auruo: "Why me!? Just let her go back to the castle when she's done hanging out with her 'girlfriends' herself, heichou."
Levi looked at Auruo intimidatingly which made him agree reluctantly to his captain's command.
Auruo: "Okay heichou, I'll do it..." he said irritatingly.
Since Eren knew that Petra was with his girl classmates and possibly with Mikasa now, he volunteered to go with Auruo.
Eren: "Auruo-san! I'll come with you. Petra-san is probably in the scouting legion's sleeping quarters. I have a strong feeling she's there..." he suggested.
Auruo: Fine, we'll start there. Let's hurry up."
Mikasa was in the place where she often contemplated...her room. She pressed an ice pack on her slightly swelling cheek which was accidentally punched by Eren earlier.
"From receiving a flower to receiving a punch from him...what a turn of events..." she thought to herself then chuckled afterwards even though there was nothing funny about it.
Then the expected knock was heard, the "alliance" was finally there. Mikasa placed her ice pack on the side table of her bed and proceeded to the door to let them in. Then they sat on the floor, forming a circle just like they always do.
Krista: "Mikasa...are you alright?"
Sasha: "Oh my...Was Eren's punch very painful?"
Hanji: "Mikasa, how painful is it? I want to know!"
Petra: "That Eren can be very...uhmmm...wild."
Ymir: "Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
They all looked at her with worry written all over their face.
Mikasa: "That punch was nothing...I can even punch harder than that...By tomorrow, I'm sure the slight swelling will be gone" she tried to convince them even though her cheek was a little bit burning in pain.
Krista: "I hope so...Anyway, I really liked what you told Eren before leaving the restaurant earlier! '...And Eren...Mind your own business' YOU ARE SO AWESOME! You're progressing!" she told Mikasa as tears of joy started forming in her eyes.
Sasha: "Yes! Yes! I also liked how Eren reacted when Jean confessed to you! He was so jealous!" she said as she opened the wrapper of the potato chips she just brought and shared it to everybody.
The word jealous made her heart skip a beat. She never considered Eren's reaction earlier as something brought upon by jealousy! Is that even possible?
Mikasa:"Eren...was jealous of Jean?"
Ymir: "I know you always say things like "We're family" and such and I also know despite you always say those things, you just don't want to admit it but you do LOVE Eren so aren't you flattered that he got jealous? Who knows...maybe it was a sign that he liked you too...OH CRAP! I sounded like I was really into this girly game. Ughh! Just forget I said all that!" she said, much to her embarrassment until she was out of breath.
Petra: "I think you're right, Ymir. Eren was jealous..."
Ymir: Petra-san! Please! It's okay if you're going to say that 'the words that slipped right out of my mouth' were right but please don't remind me that I said those things by acknowledging me. Yuck! I'm so humiliated..." she said while smiling uneasily at Petra.
Petra: "Fine...fine" she told Ymir pleasantly.
Mikasa who was still thinking about the possibility that Eren was in fact jealous with Jean earlier tried to drive away her embarrassment by declaring one thing.
Mikasa: "Everyone! Everyone...Please don't say that Eren was jealous because it is not true...I'm sure of it..." she protested while blushing and looking directly on the floor.
Hanji then fixed her glasses and spoke to her, "Well, isn't that something for him to decide? Anyway, I'm really getting curious of what thoughts Eren has for you stored in his mind. I kind of get the urge to split open his head and see for myself." she said as she was blushing and quite looking like a psychopath which made the other girls afraid of her even though they knew it was a joke (except for Mikasa)
Mikasa: "Hanji-san! Please don't!" she said terrified as she started tearing up.
Hanji: "Calm down, I was just kidding around"
MIKASA SHOWED CONCERN FOR EREN! VIOLATION ALERT! VIOLATION ALERT!
Krista: "Ooops, no concern for Eren, remember?" she reminded Mikasa.
Mikasa: "But...Oh right!" she wiped her tears and covered her mouth which made everyone adore her cuteness.
Then Sasha who was so curious of what happened after Mikasa and Jean left the restaurant quickly shifted the topic to it.
Sasha: "How did it go, by the way?" she asked while her eyes were glistening and as well did everybody's.
Mikasa did not know what Sasha meant. Maybe it was "How did the bump on the table feel?" or whatsoever. She finally asked, "You mean?"
Sasha: "What else could I mean? With Jean!"
Mikasa blushed as she remembered about Jean's confession and of what he told her...
"He's the one you like, ain't it?"
Mikasa: "I rejected him" she said straight to the point which shocked everyone.
Ymir: "Well, not like it wasn't expected guys" she said while looking at all the girls' shocked faces.
Mikasa then spoke again. Now everything was clear for her, "I rejected him because...I think what he said was true..."
The girls wondered, "What did Jean tell her?"
Sasha: "Why, what did he say...?" she voiced out for everybody.
Mikasa took a deep breath and said, "He sort of implied that he was aware that I did not feel the same way for him because...I like Eren..." she then got very embarrassed and regretted saying what she just said.
Everybody paused for a moment...
Ymir: "Whoa! Finally, she admitted it instead of saying "We're family"
Krista: "OH MY GOSH MIKASA! You're finally completely honest with your feelings!" she hugged Mikasa then Sasha, Hanji and Petra followed while Ymir looked at them laughingly.
Mikasa: "Uhmm...but I'm still...not sure if...it really is it...please let me breathe" she said as she was still getting squeezed by the girls then they finally let go.
Petra: "Don't worry Mikasa! You'll soon figure out whether it really is what we all think it is or not" she assured her.
Sasha and Hanji continued to hug each other because they were so happy with what Mikasa just confessed to them.
Krista grabbed Mikasa's hands, "You really progressed Mikasa and soon enough, it will be your relationship with Eren that would flourish. We are so proud of you! Announcement! Announcement! This is a great accomplishment guys!"
Mikasa: "I like Eren...but I'm still mad at him..."
They were all so surprised. MIKASA? MAD? WITH EREN? The color of the mood in the room changed from pink to gray as did Mikasa's expression.
Sasha: "...You're angry because he punched you...right? That's all there is to it, right?"
Mikasa: "That and-" she was cut off
Everybody move towards her even more closely, "THAT ANNNNNNND?"
Mikasa: "That and he was minding someone else's business, just like with Jean earlier. He always told me not to butt in every time but he butted in on Jean's business. Eren was being unfair and being a hypocrite...This is really the first time I became truly mad with him!" she complained to them.
The girls looked at her as if they were saying, "Mikasa...are you really Mikasa!? GIVE US BACK MIKASA!"
Ymir: "Sheez! She has really progressed. From being 'Eren, are you feeling okay?' to 'Eren, mind you're own business. I'm mad at you!'" she joked.
Petra: "And it's just the 2nd day of the consequence!" she was holding her hands together.
Hanji: "What can I say? Keep doing what you're doing, Mikasa!"
Krista: "And the time would come when Eren would even go as far as transform into his titan form just to snatch you back on his side, sweetly concerned for him all the time!" she gave Mikasa a thumbs up.
Mikasa got so embarrassed of everything they said. She thought to herself, "I just said that I was mad at him...Why did everybody suddenly sort of celebrated?" After that, she chuckled and sincerely said, "You're all so funny...Thank you for being my friends..." They all got surprised and soon, blushed so hard as they paused for a moment then shouted with delight "WE"RE PROUD TO BE YOUR FRIENDS TOO, MIKASA!" as they hugged her so tight again.
When they all finally let go, Petra smiled then stood up from where she was sitting, "I kind of get this feeling that the rest of the Special Ops squad is waiting for me somewhere so I've got to go back. Well, see you tomorrow."
Mikasa: "Will you be alright, Petra-san?"
Petra: "Yes, don't worry"
Hanji: "Pssst! There are a lot of stories lurking on town about a group of thugs robbing soldiers who walk alone at the streets at night. You might be an able soldier but you can be powerless when the enemy is a group. You know that Levi won't be pleased if that happened to you" she really loved teasing Petra.
Everybody laughed while looking at Petra's face as it began to turn red.
Petra: "I swear I'll be just fine, don't worry. I also hope Eren's there already since I promised them I'll be bringing him back with me" she hurriedly went out of the room and waved goodbye.
When Petra was gone, Hanji also stood up from where she was sitting, "I'll follow her to make sure she's safe. That short guy would really be mad if she gets hurt, hahaha! Good night!
As Petra walked out of the building, she met Auruo and Eren outside.
Petra: "Why are you both here?"
Auruo: "Heichou told me to look for you. Eren just came along and he suggested that you were here which turned out to be true. So, let's go back.
Petra noticed that Eren wasn't paying attention to what she was talking about with Auruo as he was seemingly scanning the place...seeing if Mikasa was inside "Eren, I know fetching me here wasn't the only reason why you came here, right? You're here to apologize to her."
Eren: "Ahh...uhmm...yes...even though I'm getting sick of always apologizing to her..." he rubbed his head, blushing so hard.
Auruo: "Oi! You know that heichou is presently getting tired of waiting for us, right? So shouldn't we just head back this instant!? Leave resolving your lover's quarrel with Ackerman for tomorrow, Eren!"
Auruo was talking to air, Eren was no longer standing beside him. He went inside to go to where Mikasa's room was. Hanji saw him approaching and hurriedly went towards Mikasa's room too, before Eren could. She slammed the door of Mikasa's room open which startled the rest of the girls.
Sasha: "Hanji-san, I thought you were going to follow Petra-san?"
Hanji: "Well, Petra suddenly went out of sight...Anyway, Sasha, Ymir and Krista! It's kind of getting late so we should probably head back to our rooms." she said while winking at them. They immediately knew that she was up to something so they followed her and said good night to Mikasa.
As they were already outside Mikasa's room, everyone turned towards Hanji and began to whisper.
Sasha: "What was that for, Hanji-san?"
Krista: "You're up to something, right?"
Hanji cleared her throat and replied, "EREN IS HERE! He's going to go to Mikasa's room to apologize...AGAIN and he'll be arriving soon so I thought we should leave them alone" she spoke so fast.
Krista: "OH I SEE!"
Then Eren finally appeared in the hallway. They all hurriedly went inside their own rooms and slammed the doors much to Eren's surprise, "What the hell are those women doing?"
He knocked on Mikasa's door, "Oi Mi-" he paused and thought of a gentler approach, "Mikasa...can I go in...?"
Mikasa who was now sitting on her bed wondered, "So that was why Hanji-san was so eager to force the others to leave, because Eren is here!" She quickly got flustered and without thinking, she said "...Okay"
Eren entered the door, approached her and sat on her bed as he held her swelling cheek. They never really minded touching each other directly but this time, it was different. They both blushed so hard but Eren still push forward on talking, "How's your face doing...?"
Mikasa: "...Uhmm, it's better now..." she replied as Eren's hand drifted away from her face
Eren: "I'm sorry, Mikasa. I acted just like an idiot earlier and I even punched you. I'm also sorry for being such a hypocrite, telling you not to butt in on my business but I myself is butting in on somebody else's...I just don't know how I should have reacted towards Jean earlier. It was like I was sort of scared or something...Ughh, I know you're getting sick of me apologizing all the time, trust me, I also do feel the same way..." he said, smiling at her.
Eren did his magic again, whenever he said sorry, Mikasa just can't help but forgive him right away. But, what did he mean by scared? What was he scared for?
Mikasa: "Fine...I forgive you...but I really got angry with you earlier...just so you know. Don't do it again" she reminded him.
Eren: "Yes, I won't! Let's just stick to this agreement, 'I mind my own business while you mind yours and we won't mind anybody else's, alright? For the nth time!" he said in a loud voice while surprisingly hugging Mikasa so tight because of feeling relieved after Mikasa forgave him.
Mikasa: "Eren...!" she blushed so much as Eren's arms were still around her.
Eren quickly realized that Mikasa was getting embarrassed and so was he and then let go of her, "Sorry...sorry..." They both drifted away from each other and ended up sitting on the opposite sides of the bed.
Mikasa's fast beating heart and the hot atmosphere surrounding the room made her sleepy. She closed her eyes, lay down the pillow and without knowing, finally fell asleep.
After a couple of minutes, Eren spoke again, still facing his back towards Mikasa, "By the way...how did it go with Jean earlier...?" He was so eager to know what Mikasa would say but he never heard it. He finally realized that she was already fast asleep. He smiled gently while looking at her adorable sleeping face as he slipped the blanket over her, "Good night Mikasa."
Petra and Auruo waited for Eren at the lobby of the scouting legion's sleeping quarters building...for quite a long time already.
Auruo: "Oi Petra, seems that kid is taking too long to make up with his girlfriend! Levi heichou is really going to skin us alive at this rate!" he exaggerated for he was getting tired of waiting.
"For your information, they aren't in that kind of relationship...just not yet though" Petra thought to herself as she chuckled. She responded to Auruo, "I know, I know, but we still just have to wait for him."
Auruo: "Wait!? We've waited long enough! I say we should go get him al-" he was cut off when Hanji walked towards them.
Hanji: "Oh Petra, you're still here? And Auruo too? What are you still doing here? Isn't Levi waiting for you? I thought you left a while ago, Petra." she asked pretending that she wasn't following Petra earlier and didn't know that Eren was in the building, in Mikasa's room.
Auruo: "Well that kid Eren is taking too long just to reconcile with his woman"
Petra: "And we're going to wait for him..." she added.
Hanji: "Ohh! We'll you should go ahead!" she told them as she winked at Petra.
Auruo: "Huh? Are you kidding? Would you like Levi heichou to scold us to death?"
Petra understood what Hanji meant with her wink. Hanji meant to say, "Let's leave those two alone, hahaha!"
Hanji: "Leave it to me! You should go ahead. I'll be making an excuse on why Eren isn't with you when you head back"
Auruo: "Wait! Would Eren be safe here!? Won't you disse-" he stopped talking as Petra pulled his ear, forcing him to go along with her.
Petra: "Come on now Auruo. Let's leave all the explaining to Hanji-san" she dragged Auruo with her and showed Hanji a thumbs-up.
As they left, Hanji sighed and went to her room again, "Now I'll be going to lie down at my bed again and think of what excuse to make for Eren not going back with Petra and Auruo to Levi until I fall asleep. You owe me, 'alliance'" she said as she buried her face on the pillow.
"Oi...leave my girlfriend alone...Oi Jean...! Don't you understand me...!? Leave Mikasa alone...!"
Mikasa was greeted by the fresh morning sun. What bothered her the most is the heat that she felt on her bed, it was warmer than usual. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was not just the heat that woke her up but...it was Eren, talking in his sleep, beside her. She got very surprised. "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE!? DIDN'T HE LEAVE LAST NIGHT!?" she screamed inside her head. She wasn't able to think and with a strong force, he pushed him out of the bed. Eren got slammed on the floor which woke him up.
Eren: "Oi Mikasa...OI! Why are you here in my room!?" he said while he was getting confused and massaging his aching back.
Mikasa: "HUH!? You're the one in my room! Why are you here!?" she hid her face in the blanket.
Eren: "Damn! I think I accidentally fell asleep last night...Petra-san and the rest of Squad Levi is going to kill me!"
Mikasa was getting more embarrassed around him...They slept on the same bed and...IT DID NOT FEEL RIGHT! IT DID NOT REALLY FEEL RIGHT! Her face was getting flushed and without a second thought, she threw the ice pack lying on her side table at Eren.
Mikasa: "Why didn't you leave? You're such an idiot! What would other people think!?" she angrily told him though she was blushing so hard.
Eren: "Ughh! Calm down, I did not mean too! All I can remember was saying good night to you! Tsk! I'm so stupid!" he shouted.
They continued to argue, not even realizing that they were too loud already. What Mikasa feared happened, somebody opened the door. She surprisingly jumped off the bed and fell on top of Eren without thinking. A woman peeked on the door, "Oi Ackerman...It's late and I thought I heard a boy tal-" she stopped as she gazed at Eren and Mikasa lying down on the floor on an awkward position, "JAEGER!? Why are you here?" Mikasa then got up from Eren in a flash.
A lot of the people gathered outside Mikasa's room while chattering about dirty thoughts
"Hey, what were Jaeger and Ackerman doing?"
"Did they finally hook up...?"
"Oh my gosh! They're still just so young for that!"
Soon, some of the girls from the "alliance" and their guy classmates arrived on the scene. Jean went towards Eren and grabbed him leading the other guys to restrain him, "OI! What the hell do you think you're doing, Eren!?
The "innocent" girls just blushed and did not know what to say to Mikasa. Mikasa cannot handle everything that was happening already and because of that...her scary side appeared, "Clear those dirty minds of yours! We weren't doing anything...or would you like to anger me more...?" Everybody was caught frozen because they knew how harsh Mikasa can be when it comes to fighting and such so they left without a second thought. The only ones left were their classmates.
Hanji then arrived after noticing that a lot of people were moving away from outside Mikasa's room, "Oi, what's happening here?" she looked at everyone as Eren and Mikasa were still blushing, feeling awkward with each other.
Eren: "It's quite a long story, Hanji-san..." he's face was still red.
Mikasa then turned her gaze towards Eren and began pushing him, blushing so hard, "GO AWAY!" she was very embarrassed with what just happened. Everybody, including Eren who remained sitting on the floor as he was continuously shaken by Mikasa found her cute as she said those words to him as if she was a child who got upset with her father for not buying her a lollipop. Soon, they all laughed at Mikasa, making her even more embarrassed.
Eren then patted her head, "We both know nothing happened. Don't mind what those people were chattering about. They're not worth ruining the your day" she blushed so hard then hid her face on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. The girls can't help but scream "KYAAAAA!" on their heads as they witnessed it.
Author's notes:
Whew! This was a very long one! Thanks for reading anyway!
Hahaha! Eren was such a careless guy, accidentally falling asleep in Mikasa's room and now, all that happened. But they're both still so sweet! xD
I hope you stay tuned for the next chapters! :)))
