Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki No Kyojin / Attack On Titan nor its characters.

Reaching the road, he ran towards Sachiko with the goal of saving her, to push her out of the way.

Now, was that goal able to be achieved? Or had it been too late for Sachiko? Or too late for Eren? …or had it been too late for the both of them?

Ah, will the beauty in this cold, cruel world ever show?

When Sachiko was running, she had absolutely no idea where she was running to. She would've ran back to the safety of her home, but would she have one anymore? Even though she knew her father was a kind person at heart, was he kind enough to let her stay any longer? When she had caused his wife's death? She knew these questions were foolish to ask, but the doubt and guilt that weighed heavily on her shoulders told her otherwise.

The expression when Eren had shouted those cruel words that reflected the truthful reason as to why she didn't have a mother, was mostly filled with pain. And to Sachiko, she felt that she was the one who caused this pain, his hidden pain that was now clearly exposed. And given the fact she had noticed Eren's sorrow long back ago, it only made her feel worse. How long had she caused this sadness to her father?

As those negative thoughts went on, Sachiko not only felt sick to the stomach, but she felt a little dizzy. She wasn't sure if it was due to the rain or due to the storm that raged inside her fragile heart—that was already in shattered and scattered pieces. She was afraid to pick those pieces up, she wasn't sure if she had the right to even do so—to feel okay.

But with her light headedness, it made running harder, and it caused her vision to blur slightly. Running and running, she came to a halt at the brunette's sudden increase in panicked tone voice, turning around slightly, she had noticed a truck driving towards her, and it seemed the driver hadn't notice the little girl's presence.

Another scream ripped out from the brunette, telling her to get out, to save herself. But, she didn't move. She stood there, frozen, staring blankly at the oncoming vehicle. One single dark thought went through her mind—that she deserved what was coming for her, death. Being too young to understand or control such excruciating emotions that had burst out after the truth had been revealed, she had only assumed that the fate that waited before her was only right, and that was the only way for her to atone her mistake. She was the mistake, she had thought. 'If only I hadn't been born… papa and mama would have a happy life…'

'I killed Mama… and now... this is only right…' she had thought, tears still streaming out her eyes. She didn't want to die, a part of her wanted to live with her father normally, and act as if the truth was still in hiding. But, the other part of her didn't want to live on with such burdening and painful emotions, she didn't want to live on carrying this guilt—that she had killed her mother, the person whom she had secretly longed to see.

Suddenly recalling a story her teacher had told her about a completed family, she started to realize how twisted the world was, how unfair it actually was. That completed family could've been her life, but the world didn't allow it—that's why her mother wasn't in the world anymore. "The world is a cruel place…" She murmured softly, closing her eyes slowly as she felt the truck coming closer. Everything was silent by then, she couldn't even hear Eren's screams anymore. And then, she recalled certain memories where she had joyous times with her father, with her family—family that didn't have to be directly blood related, like Armin. "… but the world can be beautiful sometimes." She murmured. Ah, happy times. Had all of them known the truth as well? Why had they still been so nice and welcoming to her? Why had Eren still welcomed her with loving arms? Was she able to return to such happy times ever again? Would it ever be the same again?

Sachiko didn't know the answer to any of those questions that began to cloud her already foggy mind. Though, a sudden feeling of conflict had overcame her. She wasn't sure if she was ready to leave the world, at the same time she wasn't sure if she could stay in this world any longer. Her broken heart ached with pain, not just because of the conflict… but the pain of leaving everything she loved behind. Was this what her mother had felt when she was doomed to her cruel fate?

Her eyes still closed, she finally took a deep breath as she heard the truck's engine sound growing louder, it was too late to escape, she had thought. 'I didn't even get to say goodbye to Papa…Papa…'

"Papa… I'm sorry." She mumbled. And as she did, she felt a familiar pair of warm arms pressed onto her back. Opening eyes, her emerald orbs widened in shock at the sight before her—it was Eren, her father. He was putting his life on the line for her. 'W-Why..?' Sachiko thought silently as her whole body began to shiver non-stop.

Once Eren had his arms pressed onto Sachiko's back, with whatever strength he had left. He pushed Sachiko out of the way successfully, and now he closed his emerald orbs as he braced for the bone-crushing impact. Except, the impact never came. Opening his eyes slightly, the truck's driver had pressed on the emergency brakes on time once he had noticed the brunette suddenly dashing across the road to save his daughter. Though instead of looking relieved that he hadn't hit the two Jaegers, he had a pissed off expression on his face as he started yelling out violent, threatening curse words directed at the two. Eren didn't seem to focus on that, in fact whatever he was shouting was totally inaudible to Eren at that point, his focus was now on Sachiko, who laid motionlessly on the ground, not moving a muscle.

Had he pushed her too hard? Worry started to fill the brunette as he rushed to her side, turning her around as he pressed his ear onto her chest, searching for a heartbeat, which he found. At first he was relieved, but then, he wasn't sure if it was the stress that caused him to think so but her heart rate seemed to be slower, not only that but blood was oozing out of her arm that had been scraped on the impact of falling onto the ground after Eren's push. But she was alive, she was still breathing. At that thought, Eren began to tear up. However, without any hesitation, he started to search his pockets for his phone to dial for an ambulance, which unfortunately wasn't there. He had begun to panic, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Eren?"

Looking up, it was Armin. And without a moment to lose, he shouted, "Call the ambulance! Now! Quickly!" Without any questions, Armin took out his phone and immediately called for the ambulance. Having just glanced at the unconscious Sachiko, his heart was filled with worry… but definitely, not as much as the brunette whose body began to shake, his tears raining down heavier than the rain itself.

Once they had reached the hospital, Sachiko, who was still unconscious, was sent to an emergency room to get checked on. Eren wasn't allowed to follow.

"Sachiko! Let me fucking see my daughter I swear—"

"Calm down sir, she will be fine. We just need to check if there's any severe injuries or internal bleeding just in case she—"

"How can I fucking calm down?! I said I want to see—"

"Eren!" Armin screeched, holding him back. "Sachiko will be fine, she's with trained professionals." Armin assured, as he signalled the nurse to leave, which she did, not wanting to get yelled at the brunette who clearly looked like he wanted a fight.

After calming the brunette down, Eren began to explain what happened, and as he did, his body couldn't stop shaking in worry—either that or it was his soaked clothes that caused his shivers. Armin sighed quietly as he heard what had happened, "Let's just… not talk about it for now." Armin started off. Of course, he did have many, many things to say to him. Like how foolish he was to have said such things to Sachiko in an angered way. But, he was sensitive enough to know Eren had enough guilt on his plate.

"You should go get changed… luckily for you, they have a laundry dryer and washing machines at the third level, and some extra set of clothes that you can ask for at the counter." And before Eren could refuse, and say he couldn't care less about getting a cold, Armin had pestered him more, in a more stern tone until he gave in and went to do so. Armin, on the other hand, had texted Annie he wouldn't be back early due to what had happened, he then went on to text Levi about the situation, who had responded in an instant he was coming.

After everything was settled, Armin and Eren had entered Sachiko's room, to only see her still unconscious.

"She is expected to wake up soon, there is no severe injuries other than some bleeding wounds that we bandaged. Considering with the information you've given us, she probably passed out from exhaustion or stress. If she doesn't wake up, please alert a doctor as it may be something more serious." With that, the doctor left, seeing that Eren nor Armin had nothing to ask about.

"She probably fainted from the overwhelming emotions she felt, I'm sure there is nothing physically wrong with her." Armin spoke, attempting at reassuring Eren who sat on a chair next to her after placing his more or less dried clothes aside, whose expression was still full of worry and guilt. But more than that, he seemed exhausted. "Why don't you take a nap? I'll stay here. If she wakes up I'll wake you too." At his words, Eren shook his head, refusing his offer. Though after an hour or so, even exhaustion had gotten the best of him, the tiredness of having ran all around the place, of chasing and most of all, the emotional exhaustion was too much for him, and he fell sleep. Armin sighed, shaking his head as he pulled a chair over and sat next to Sachiko, watching over her quietly.

"Is she okay?" a sudden voice echoed through the room. Turning his head, Armin saw the other Ackerman with a frantic expression, such an expression was rare. But then again, who wouldn't be worried for Sachiko?

"She's expected to wake up 'soon'" Armin groaned quietly, frustrated at himself who he wished had asked the doctor to specify on 'soon'.

"Ah… I see." He mumbled quietly, as he leaned against a wall after entering. "The brat's sleeping?"

"He passed out from exhaustion." Armin sighed. "I see." Levi responded quietly.

There was silence for a while, till Levi broke it. "This was the last thing I expected from happening when the truth would come out, to be frank it's shitty." He grumbled as he walked over to Sachiko, grabbing her hand gently. "I know she'll wake up soon, she has Mikasa's strength, and she's a part of the Ackerman family as well. She's a strong girl."

"She's what we all have left of Mikasa…" Armin had murmured, Levi glancing over to him. "That is true. But we mustn't forget that she isn't Mikasa. She's a fragment of her, but Sachiko is Sachiko." Levi stated plainly.

"I know that of course, I don't just love Sachiko because she's what I have left of my childhood friend, Mikasa, Sachiko's like family to me for more reasons than just that. The same goes for you, I assume?" Armin had asked, Levi giving a nod. "For the brat as well." Levi mumbled as he took a glance over Eren before his focus went back to Sachiko. "Did she really… not move when the truck was driving towards her?" Levi asked quietly as Armin gave a nod, "At least, that's what Eren said." Biting his lip, Levi whispered softly, "Sachiko… if only you knew how much Mikasa loved you, even before you were b—"

Before Levi could continue on with his conversation, he felt Sachiko's hand moving slightly. His eyes widening, his eyes focused completely on Sachiko, whose eyes began to struggle to open. And within a moment, they were wide open, confused at the ceiling light which she stared at a little.

Slowly and carefully, the little girl had sat up tiredly as she looked around at her surroundings, before her gaze fell upon the blonde and the raven, "Where… am I?" Sachiko muttered out in an exhausted way. "You're in the hospital…" The blonde finally spoke, a few tears clouding in his eyes, though he was relieved to see that she was okay. "Do you remember what happened?" He added, having hoped she didn't somehow suffer from any sort of memory loss.

Sachiko had remained quiet for a while, though once her eyes widened a little more, and her body began to shake again, the two knew she recalled the incident earlier. Gripping her hand tighter in comfort, Levi had pulled her into a gentle embrace—something that even caught the blonde with surprise. But Levi knew she needed comfort, and despite him knowing he wasn't good with hugs, he gave her one anyway, which had soothed her a little. "It's over now. Don't think about it. Your father's safe as well, he's taking a nap over there." Levi muttered in an reassuring manner before pulling away, as he motioned to Sachiko's left, in which she saw her father resting, seeming okay—which relieved her.

There was silence for a while, Sachiko didn't know what else to say. Though, it was clear in her emerald orbs she wanted to talk to Eren, at the same time, she didn't. She was a little afraid, to say the least. "Sachiko… none of this was your fault." Armin started, which Sachiko looked towards him blankly, as if her life had been sucked out of her. "The coconut is right." Levi scoffed as Armin rolled his eyes at Levi's lame attempt at humour. "Sachiko, Mikasa loved you a lot—"

"Mikasa..?"

"That's your mother's name." Levi responded, causing Sachiko to flinch a little. The topic of her mother seemed a very sensitive topic, and despite Armin's nudges for him to stop talking about such, Levi continued. "She loved you so much, she gave you your name—Sachiko—, which means happiness. She wanted happiness for you, Sachiko." Sachiko continued to remain silent, as she pondered on if she could even regain the slightest bit of happiness.

"She loved you so much, she gave you life." Levi had spoken out suddenly.

At those very few words, it caused Sachiko to freeze completely. "Oi, Levi—!" Armin spoke in a slight frustrated manner, though he was cut off by Sachiko quickly, "But she died because of that…" She murmured, as tears started to stream down her eyes again.

"Although she may no longer be with us here physically…" Levi started quietly, as he reached out to stroke her hair gently, "But…" He murmured, as his hand gripped her hand gently and placed it on her chest, where her heart was beating. "She'll always be in there, in your heart."

Sachiko remained silent for a while, tears still rolling down her cheeks. In her heart..? But it was broken, she had thought.

"I think what Levi is trying to say is that your mother will always be there for you, even if you cannot see her. You see… your mother really did love you a lot, Sachiko. Don't ever doubt that." Armin spoke, yet there was no response from Sachiko. "I'm not good at these sort of things, plus I don't think we are supposed to be telling you this." Levi spoke suddenly as he glanced over to the brunette. Armin sighed quietly, understanding the signal, he stood up, "He's right." Armin agreed, and the two were about to leave the room until Sachiko called for them to stop, "Wait…!"

She didn't want them to leave yet, because she knew once they left, she would be alone with her father, who she was sure had a lot of things to say, a lot of things she didn't want to hear but knew it was inevitable. It wasn't that she didn't fully wanted to hear it, she just didn't want him to sound so frustrated like that, like when he shouted at her about the truth.

"What is it?" Armin asked.

"T-Thank you… I sort of understand but I also don't… b-but—"

"Sachiko, it's okay." Levi spoke, reassuring her again. "I know you have many questions, many things to say as well. But tell them to your father, he has answers that even Armin and I don't have. He has words that Armin and I are unable to convey out to you. He's your father, you're his daughter."

"B-But—"

"Sachiko, it'll be okay." Armin and Levi had spoken in sync, both of their tone being soothing, as they left the room. Levi had especially closed the door loud enough to wake the brunette, which it did.

'She loved you so much, she gave you life.' Ah, those words carried so much meaning, Sachiko knew.

Levi had always been blunt and straightforward, Sachiko knew. She also knew that Levi wasn't the best at comforting, at least that's what Eren told her once. But those words were probably too straightforward for Sachiko to comprehend in such a fragile state, but it struck something inside of her. Had her mother really loved her that much? What was love anyway— to feel loved, how did that feel again?

Thinking about it now, her mother could've gotten rid of her to save herself, so why didn't she? Why'd she sacrifice herself for her—for her daughter whom she never had the chance to raise? Moreover, that life she had given her… she nearly threw it away, just like that.

At that thought, she felt a shiver going down her spine, but her growing curiosity had managed to push thoughts like that away, for now.

As these new questions popped in her brain, she glanced over to her father who slowly woke up, looking around the room before his eyes fixated on Sachiko, on his daughter who was awake, who was alive. At first he was speechless, he was so relieved. Rushing to her side, his arms embraced Sachiko tightly. The hug Eren gave was different from Levi, it felt so much warmer… was this what it felt like to be loved?

"You're okay… you're okay…!" Eren spoke softly tears rolling down his cheek a little. Sachiko's arms reached out to wrap around Eren a little, "Papa…Papa…?" she called out weakly.

Eren pulled away a little, wondering if he squeezed her too tight, but before he could ask if he had done so, Sachiko spoke, "Did Mama… really love me?"

As Eren heard those words, his eyes softened. And given the fact Levi and Armin weren't in the room anymore, he had a feeling that they had said some things to her before leaving the two Jaegers to have a heart-to-heart conversation. And this time, Eren wasn't scared anymore, he didn't want to run away. Now that the truth was out, now that he had a second chance, he wanted to make things right, he wanted to explain things right.

Sachiko on the other hand, having seen Eren's softened look had felt even more reassured—she felt safe, she felt it was okay to ask the questions that have been buried in her mind for such a long time. She wasn't afraid anymore.

"Well… where do I even start?" Eren smiled a little.

Author's notes: I hope this was okay, please leave a review! I wanted to write Sachiko and Eren's conversation as well but this chapter is already long enough. Well, at least Eren's opening up now… but it doesn't mean the angst has stopped since Sachiko still has some doubts (Despite the fact that Armin and Levi tried reaching out to her and reassuring her hmm… ) Well, Please leave a review!