Montage chapter!
Accepting others was a challenge for him… but even so… all challenges could be overcome with enough conviction, and though he had lacked it, the same could not be said for his compatriots.
Ever since that day with Annie Leonhardt, and after he had (perhaps unintentionally) gotten her to come out of her shell, Mikazuki's days ended up becoming mostly occupied by his acquaintances, so much so that the pilot barely had any time to himself from there on out. Mina and Nac were still unsure on why or how Annie had become so much nicer towards them… but even so, her sudden change in attitude was mostly blamed on Mika, and for once, it wasn't a bad thing.
Metaphorically, anyways. In a literal sense, it was more annoying than anything as it meant that they were now pestering the pilot into becoming their friend with greater vigor.
And the worse part?
It was working.
Mikazuki was a wall, and like all walls, the boy was resistant. He could take some damage, both physically and mentally… but as with all walls, he could only take so much before the cracks begin to show, and in time, the well meaning attacks sent at him from Mina and Nac began to crack his foundation, and little by little, he began to find himself… liking them, so to speak, as he fell prey to their deviously infectious attitudes…
"So, uh, Mikazuki… do you have any… hobbies?"
"Hobbies?"
The confusion in Mikazuki's voice made it clear to Mina that he had no idea what she was talking about, and as he processed what he had just heard, the pilot unrooted a carrot from the ground and tossed it into the bag he was holding, dropping it in there like no one's business. The duo were currently out in the fields, as per Mika's usual routine to get some food without being overly reliant on the Carolina household's generous supply, and as with most other times, the pigtailed girl was here to accompany him through it all.
The duo went about it like they always did, with Mina engaging with her acquaintance in casual conversation, though it was mostly her that did the talking. Mikazuki, as per usual, was more than happy to just stand by and listen to her talk, though before long, the girl bumbled onto the topic of hobbies, and although it was a small issue all on its own, it was still enough to get a tiny rise out of the boy beside her as he wondered… did he even really have any hobbies to begin with?
Was working out a hobby? Probably not…
"Y'know… like, reading books, staring at the sky or… I dunno, just… talking, maybe? Well, probably not talking for you, of course. You… prefer to be talked to than anything," listed Mina, with her eyeing Mikazuki kindly as she spoke. In response to this, the pilot hummed as he ignored how rude that last bit might have sounded, and moments later, he shrugged.
"No. I don't," mused Mikazuki absentmindedly, with him frowning lightly as he flexed his fingers and unrooted another carrot in one swift motion. Mina, for her part, felt rather surprised at this, as she tilted her head curiously.
"Really…? What about just… something you like to do?" offered Carolina, and at that, Mikazuki huffed.
"Training, I guess," answered Mika, not even glancing Mina's way as he responded. To that, the pigtailed girl blinked a fair bit in surprise, though moments later, her aforementioned surprised was quickly trumped by amusement when she realized that… it wasn't exactly difficult to see him respond in such a way. Although she had never seen it in full, Carolina has very well seen glimpses of the pilot's muscular frame, much to her embarrassment, and even through that, she could tell that the boy's stature had been built up through countless years of hard work.
She highly doubted that anyone would be able to keep muscle bound arms like his without constant, rigorous training, after all.
"Well… uh… that's cool. Do you think that's your hobby?"
"Does it qualify as one?"
"Maybe?"
"Then I guess it is."
"Cool, cool."
"Hmph."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... hey, uh…"
"Hm?"
"Do you think that I… could train with you someday?"
"... huh?"
Let it be known that Mikazuki was rarely ever caught off guard, so when Mina had asked him such a roundabout question… the pilot was thrown into a loop as he blinked at her in surprise, and moments later, the girl blushed lightly and tapped her fingers together in a meek display of sheepishness.
"Can I maybe… train with you someday?" repeated Mina sheepishly as she tapped her index fingers together awkwardly, to which Mikazuki huffed as he confirmed that he wasn't hearing things incorrectly, and moments later, he shrugged.
"I don't mind it. If you want to work out with me, then you can. Just wake up early, that's all you need to do. And do warm-ups. You don't want to pull a muscle by mistake," advised Mikazuki, sounding a little sterner than he usually did as he spoke. He truthfully did not wish for his acquaintance to injure herself whilst working out, and Mina could hear it in his voice. She felt rather flattered at how the pilot seemed to genuinely care for her safety and wellbeing, though she let those thoughts flow to the wayside as she nodded stiffly and smiled widely.
"Thanks, Mikazuki!"
And to that, the pilot simply grunted as he went back to work.
Some time thereafter
"Do I even want to know…?"
A grunt was the only response that Annie received at the time, with her raising a brow as she looked between the boy that sat atop the couch with his back turned towards her (with a small towel on his back, covering up his spines) and the girl laying on it beside him, seeming incredibly winded and worse for wear all the while.
If Leonhardt hadn't known any better, she would've assumed that something had happened that would've bumped the rating of this story up from a T to an M, but as things were now, the blonde could only sigh in bemusement as she approached Mikazuki and stared down at him with an unamused look.
"Care to explain?" insisted Annie, to which Mikazuki shrugged. He didn't really care to do so, but he did anyway, with him handing Mina a cup of water all the while. She really needed to rehydrate herself.
Apparently, the pilot had been working out with Mina, though there were a few… issues that came with him doing so. The most glaring issue was that she wasn't as fit as him, which was… understandable (Annie, despite vehemently denying such a claim, had checked the pilot out on rare occasions, and she could safely say that just based on his arms alone, he was probably even stronger than she was, physically), and by all accounts, she had done nothing more than slow him down in his usual training regiment.
That being said, however…
"She has guts."
"We all have guts, Mikazuki."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah. But still… less than thirty sit-ups."
"She was just starting out."
"It's below average."
"It's a competition now?"
"No. I'm just stating the obvious."
"Hrg."
That aside, the pilot had apparently taken up jogging as a more recent training regiment. How far he ran was anyone's guess, but he'd usually be back by the time Annie woke up, which was at the crack of dawn. How early he went to sleep was up for debate at that point, but that aside…
"Mina…"
"She overworked herself and almost fainted."
"And you decided to continue your jogging… whilst carrying her over your shoulders like a ragdoll."
"... the extra weight gave me more of a challenge."
"You're a masochist."
"Thanks."
"That wasn't meant to be a complement."
"I'll take it as one."
And by all means, the deadpanned glare that Annie had shot his way was probably more than enough to convey her bemusement towards Mikazuki's attitude, though the pilot met it with an unimpressed look of his own, something that made the blonde roll her eyes as she moved on to check on Mina's heart rate, which was higher than average, but it was slowly steadying itself, much to her relief.
…it still felt strange to think that, to feel relieved at knowing that Mina would be fine, though Annie thought very little of this as she turned back towards Mikazuki with an unreadable expression, one that he mirrored as she opened her mouth to speak.
"So… you work out every morning, huh?" murmured Annie, barely audible to anyone present as she spoke. Mikazuki caught her words, however, as he nodded stiffly and glanced in her direction. A moment of silence soon followed, with neither blue eyed teen saying a word as they just… remained as is for a brief period, though not long after… "Mind if I tag along?"
"Only if you can wake up at three in the morning," responded Mikazuki almost instantly, with him seeming unopposed to the idea, and by all means, having a training buddy that could keep up with him didn't seem all too bad either. To this, Annie found herself almost smiling as she acknowledged how, due to her past few weeks of sickness, she had been unable to properly train herself physically, resulting in a slight degradation of her physical strength. She needed to fix this, ASAP.
"I can manage," assured Annie offhandedly, to which the pilot hummed.
"And your sickness? You only just recovered recently," reminded Mikazuki, surprising Annie with his words all the while. She never took him as someone that cared for her physical state, though after she got over that unexpected inquiry, she simply scoffed.
"It's behind me by now. A little sickness won't hold me back forever," mused Annie, and at that, the pilot simply nodded as he took her words at face value, something that she appreciated to a certain extent. It was nice to be treated almost like an equal and not like a fragile little girl for a change, something that Mina and Nac had unintentionally done back when she had just recovered from her sickness.
She appreciated their concern, don't get her wrong, but at the same time… it felt nice to not be pampered for a change. Others might see it differently, but thanks to her unique upbringing, the blonde couldn't help but feel otherwise.
"Alright then. Tomorrow, here, at three. Not a minute later," said Mikazuki with an air of finality behind his words. The way he had said that sounded almost like a challenge… and for all it was worth, Annie almost grinned at that unspoken challenge as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Can't wait to watch you eat my dust."
"Is that a challenge?"
"It might very well be."
"You want to be a masochist as well?"
"Only if it means leaving you in the dust."
"It's a challenge then."
"One that I'm going to win."
"Bet."
And even if it wasn't the most healthy start to a proper relationship, both Mikazuki and Annie had to admit that it was quite a fun one…
Nac, Mikazuki decided, was weird, but then again, in his book, the term weird was rarely ever the same as the term bad.
Quite the contrary, really. Nac Tias was strange, but in a good way. The boy was a whole two years his senior, but in no way did he feel as though he was older outside of his height and general appearance. Sure, he did occasionally act the part of a seventeen year old, but for the most part, the young man was very much a jovial guy. His attitude reminded the pilot more of a curious child than someone that was actually on the clasp of adulthood, much like Shino, now that he thought about it, and whilst back in his own home, the pilot would've considered such immaturity to be less than ideal, considering his current circumstances, he reckoned that it wasn't all that bad.
It wasn't as though they were planning to enroll into the military, after all. That would just be ridiculous…
That aside, however, the pilot was rather quick to learn that, amidst his somewhat eccentric and extroverted self, Nac had quite a habit of working with other people's hair. It wasn't something he did too often, though whenever he could, he'd get to work on braiding someone's hair up something fierce, and although he wasn't particularly comfortable with this, Mikazuki never did reject the older guy's requests at changing up his hairdo, if only because it helped him pass the time.
"Hey, uh, Mikazuki?"
Conversation was also something that Nac would try to drum up whenever he worked with Augus' locks, and although he rarely ever responded to him, the pilot would always be listening, and the older teen seemed to know this, as, regardless of whether or not he responded to his words, Tias would always speak onwards, as if knowing that, even if he offered no verbal response, Mikazuki would still be listening. It seemed to be some sort of small comfort to him.
Sometimes, Mikazuki envied just how Nac could revel in the smaller victories, though he said nothing of that as he grunted in response to Tias' conversation prompt, and at that, he cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Do you ever feel like you're doing something… stupid?" continued Nac, and at that, Mikazuki grunted softly as he shrugged. The older boy had long since associated his shrugs with, more or less, a yes, or perhaps a maybe. Grunts were usually a yes whilst dead silence was, more often than not, a flat out no. Seeing this grunt, combined with his shrug, as a yes on his acquaintance's part, Tias continued. "Well… what do you do then? When you realize that what you're doing is stupid?"
"I'll keep doing it," mused Mikazuki, sounding more amused than anything as he felt Nac braid some of his bangs up, only to pause when he processed his words. The older guy's gaze was felt reflecting on the back of Augus' neck as he gave him a look of utter bewilderment.
"I… beg your pardon?" muttered Nac, baffled at what he was hearing, and at that, the pilot rolled his eyes, though he kept the motion simple and non-exaggerated to keep it hidden from his acquaintance.
That response from the taller guy more or less confirmed a few things to Mikazuki, with one of those things being that, in spite of his age, Nac was very naive. Augus doubted that the older guy had really made any really big decisions in life, though he supposed that it wasn't too much of a surprise, as living in Trost was probably rather cozy, cozy enough that he didn't need to make any real life changing choices, but still…
"Do you think that what you're doing will be worth it in the end?" rephrased Mika, to which Nac paused briefly. Removing his hands from his locks, the taller boy moved to sit beside his shorter acquaintance as he shifted uneasily, something that made Mikazuki raise a brow as he eyed him curiously. He's known Tias for the better part of two months at this point, and he's never seen him fidget this badly, not prior to now, anyways…
"What if I said no?" asked Nac uncertainly, eliciting a raise of Mikazuki's brow as he spoke. The older boy didn't seem to notice this, however, as he clasped his fingers together, twiddled his thumbs and continued. "I… personally, I'm not sure if what I'm doing is gonna be worth it in the end. If I'm being perfectly honest and logical about it… what we… what I'm planning to do is completely moronic and very much out of my league, and I'll need to put in a lot of effort only to accomplish what I'm setting out to do for an almost nonexistent reward."
"Sounds rough," hummed Mikazuki almost sarcastically as he gave Nac the side-eyed glance, to which Tias gave him a pout.
"Doesn't answer my question, you know?" grumbled Nac, to which Mika shrugged.
"Because there's no answer to it," mused Mika, and when Nac had given him a look of utter confusion, the pilot thought it best to explain himself. "If you want to do it, then do it. No point in beating around the bush."
"Heh. The way you say it makes it sound so simple," bemoaned Nac, with him clasping his fingers tighter around each other as he spoke. Mikazuki shrugged at that, with him blaming his straightforward nature all the while. It was something that Mina was (apparently) trying to fix as she claimed that being so forward with people could hurt their feelings.
In response to this, Mikazuki kept at it with his absurdly forward approach to conversations. So what if people were hurt by his words? The pilot refused to sugarcoat things. His actions were always straight and to the point, so why should his words be any different?
"Difficult things are usually a lot simpler if you look at them from a different perspective," offered Mikazuki, with him glancing over at Nac with a flat expression as he spoke. To this, the older teen scoffed.
"Yeah, I guess… but what w- what I'm trying to do… it just feels like a fool's errand, you know?" countered Nac, only for Mikazuki to shrug yet again.
"Sometimes, a Fool embarks on a journey, only to conquer The World," mused Mikazuki, with his words catching Nac's attention as he raised a brow in his direction. "Just because you think it's a dumb thing to do doesn't mean that it's not worth doing. If you want to do it, then do it. Pour your heart and soul into what you want to do and crush anything that gets in your way."
"That… is oddly philosophical of you, Mikazuki," muttered Nac, impressed, to which Mika scoffed.
"I'm just saying it like it is. Do whatever your heart wants. If anyone gets in your way, crush them."
"I would rather help them."
"Help them?"
"Yeah… just because someone stands against you doesn't mean that they're bad. They must have a reason to do it, after all…"
"You'd work with your enemy?"
"If it means we can be friends, yeah…"
"... do what you wish. I won't stop you."
"Heh. Well… I guess it just boils down to that, huh? Following your heart."
"Hm."
"... thanks, Mikazuki. I knew that talking to you would help me see things better."
"You're welcome, I guess."
A brief few seconds of silence lingered between the two as Nac felt some form of gratitude forming towards Mikazuki, something that surprised him to an extent as he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck meekly. In truth, he never did feel all that strongly about Mika, as he still saw him as an acquaintance more than anything. Him dispelling this fog of uncertainty that had remained around him, however, was making him think otherwise… and he wasn't too opposed to it, if he were honest.
Opening his mouth, Nac was about to ask something else, though he was quick to pause when he realized that Mikazuki seemed somewhat disinterested in continuing the prior topic. Realizing this, Tias cleared his throat and, expertly, switched the topic.
"Anyways, any thoughts on losing the ahoge? I think it could be a nice-" began Nac, only for Mikazuki to elbow him in the ribs lightly. And by lightly I mean the pilot had almost cracked a rib with the impact.
"The ahoge stays," was all Mikazuki said in response to Nac's words, with his tone telling him that they would not have this conversation regarding his ahoge any more in the future.
And with that, Nac could only shudder at just how firm and resolute the shorter boy's words were, with him sounding ready to break a bone or two as he glared at him for even bringing such a thing up.
A small part of him wished that he could've sounded, or even felt, that convicted.
"If someone you know wants to do something stupid, would you try to stop them?"
That… was rather random, Mikazuki had to admit, and as he did another push-up, the pilot paused briefly as he raised himself up and glanced over in Annie's general direction. The aforementioned blonde was standing by the waysides of the living room, with her having ended her bout of exercises a few moments prior, as she glanced over at him with an unreadable expression.
After the events of just a few short weeks prior, Mikazuki and Annie had been linking up to workout with one another on many an occasion. It… wasn't all that spectacular, really, as it mostly involved them going on short jogs or partnering up with one another whilst they performed exercises that required the help of another. Things never did feel too awkward between the two, though then again, it would require them to actually be able to… well… feel awkward to begin with, and considering who they were, one would very much doubt the fact that they could feel that way to begin with.
Neither spoke much to the other, though, and that was what made this one comment from Annie so surprising to Mika himself. The pilot had never uttered a single word to his partner ever since their little agreement had begun, and likewise, she had not done the same to him. They could understand one another via their grunts and gestures alone, so to waste their breath on words just seemed so… unnecessary, in their honest opinions.
That being said, Mikazuki had been surprised by her sudden bout of words, to the point where he remained silent briefly as he gave her a surprised stare. Evidently enough, his surprised gaze resembled a deadpanned glare, as Annie, surprisingly enough, flinched, however lightly, and retracted her question with a sigh.
"Nevermind, pretend I-"
"I'd try to stop them, I guess. Or not. Depends on how stupid the thing is," mused Mikazuki offhandedly, with him shrugging (as best he could whilst in a push-up position anyways). Annie, for her part, paused briefly as she gave him a bemused look, surprised that he had responded in such a way, as she sighed and shook her head.
"That's even worse than an answer I'd disagree with, Mikazuki," snarked Annie, and in truth, Mikazuki could probably agree. What he had responded with amounted to a glorified maybe, though then again, Leonhardt was probably a fool for going to him for advice with friends, so that was mostly on her.
"But it's still an answer, Annie. Do whatever you wish," grunted Mikazuki as he finished his two-hundredth push-up, and at that, he flipped himself back up to his feet and rolled his shoulders. Annie's expression noticeably darkened at that, as she crossed her arms and looked at the ground thoughtfully, though not long thereafter, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"It's… not that easy sometimes," muttered Annie, eliciting a raise of Mikazuki's brow as he glanced in her direction, curious as to what she was getting at. Apparently, what she had just said was not meant to be heard, as evident by how her shoulders squared themselves when she noticed Mika's gaze. "... what?"
"Why are you even asking me? I'm not good with these sorts of things," mused Mikazuki, sounding oddly amused as he wiped at his brow, to which Annie scoffed.
"You're the only one that has an unbiased viewpoint here," answered Annie, eliciting a raise of Mika's brow.
"Unbiased viewpoint on what?"
"On… something that the others have been babbling on about in private. With me, I mean."
"...?"
"... have you heard of the Survey Corps, Mikazuki?"
Some time later
It was… surprisingly simple to get Mikazuki up to speed on just why she had asked him that question initially, and in summation, the pilot only had a few words to say as he sat on the couch, half a metre away from Annie with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Mina and Nac both want to join the Survey Corps, and you don't want them to."
"That's putting it lightly, but yes. That's what I just told you in summation."
A soft sigh was the only real response that Mikazuki could give at that point, with him frowning lightly as he leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling with an unamused look on his face. Joining the Survey Corps, huh…? Well, that was probably to be expected of both Mina and Nac, really…
To his knowledge, the Survey Corps existed to try and retake the outside world from the Titans. Keyword being try… and if anything, it wasn't hard to see both Mina and Nac amongst their ranks. Only idiots would think that it would be possible to retake an entire world from the clutches of the Titan infestation, and though it was probably a little… mean of him to say this, Carolina and Tias were both… well, let's not say stupid, but they were certainly naive.
Based on what Annie had told him…
"Mina and Nac know that it's a dumb thing to do, and that they're not prepared for this… but they still think they can make a difference if they manage to join."
… Mina and Nac were definitely smart enough to realize that they were punching up a little too high with their aspirations, but they were still naive enough to think that they could make a difference. It was almost respectable, to a certain extent, but even so, such a train of thought could prove to be fatal.
In battle, the naive would always fall first, and if anything, Mikazuki, despite his stoic nature towards them, would rather have neither Mina nor Nac fall any time soon. He… liked them a little too much for that…
But by that same virtue…
"I don't think you should stop them."
The surprise was palpable on Annie's face, and for all it was worth, Mikazuki had to hold back a mild smile as he glanced at her with a mostly neutral expression. It was rather obvious to him that she had expected him to side with her on the matter, especially considering how their personalities lined up a lot more than either would want to admit.
Still though, in his short time knowing her, Mikazuki could pin down something that was fundamentally different between himself and Annie. Leonhardt was very much a logical person. She did things practically, moved robotically and stared at everyone and everything around her with an expression that told Augus that she was expecting them to attack her. To put it simply… she was too one note in both her movements and, evidently enough, in her mindset.
There seemed to be no room for emotion in that stone cold heart of hers, and she had assumed the same applied to Mikazuki when she had told him about Mina and Nac's plans. That… was where she was wrong.
Mika wasn't a big fan of showing emotions, but he still found it important to take them into consideration when making whatever decisions he had in mind. Orga had done that on more occasions than one back with Tekkadan, and with him being who he was, Mikazuki would not hesitate to follow in his footsteps as he opened his mouth to explain himself to the blonde.
"You told me that…"
"Mina and Nac keep talking about it when Ms Carolina isn't in earshot. They won't stop talking about it to me. They… just keep going on and on about how it's a dream of theirs… to help humanity achieve victory…"
"... it's a dream of theirs, right?"
"Yeah. It's one of their dreams. A stupid one at that."
"Why's that?"
"Dreams get people killed."
"Do you really see it that way?"
"..."
"I don't."
"Then what are dreams to you?"
"Dreams lift us up. They make us want to improve ourselves."
"... and what if they kill you? Would that fit your definition of improvement?"
"... no. Not all dreams are meant to come true."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... but there's no harm in trying to pursue them."
"Even if it results in death?"
"Life is short. If you're going to die either way, you may as well die doing something you find meaningful."
"..."
The long pause from Annie was more than enough to tell Mikazuki that she was losing the will to argue. His words seemed to have struck a chord within the girl as her irises shuddered briefly, as though she was remembering something dear to her, though whatever that something was, she did not share it as she closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, and not a moment later, she nodded and stood up.
"I see. There's no point in trying to get you to come to my side of this bullshit, is there?" muttered Annie in defeat. She didn't need to turn around to see the pilot nod, he had already grunted in affirmation anyhow. "Then this was a complete waste of my time."
"Was it?" hummed Mikazuki as he cracked his neck, with the audible pops making Annie cringe as she turned to look him in the eye.
"It was," muttered Annie, not trusting herself to say much more than that, before Mikazuki stood up and approached her. Stopping directly in front of the slightly shorter girl, Augus glanced down at her before he nodded, accepting her words but not taking them at face value, before he moved to get himself cleaned up.
"Doesn't sound that way, but sure. Keep telling yourself that," huffed Mikazuki, sounding neither condescending nor upset, more neutral than anything, as he passed Annie, and at that, the blonde brought a hand up to her chest and clenched it into a fist as she grimaced in dissatisfaction.
His words shouldn't mean anything to her… but they did. This little… conversation she had with Augus had made her question more than a few things that had been instilled into her at a young(er) age, and by all means, on a more technical level, it had also made her reconsider stopping her… acquaintances from joining the Survey Corps as well…
After all…
'Who am I to get in the way of another's dream…?'
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... if you're going to call the two of us in for a group huddle, Nac, then you'd best have a reason beyond just being silent."
Those words, courtesy of Mina, had snapped Nac out of his little stupor as he blinked and flinched at them. Currently, Mina and Annie were all present in their shared room, with the pigtailed girl sitting on the ground with her knees up to her chest and her back leaned against one of the beds, the blonde sitting on one of the aforementioned beds and Nac sitting on the one opposite to her. As Carolina had said, Tias had called for a group meeting between the three of them, and without pause, they had gathered here, with Mina, somewhat sadly, having to miss out on following Mikazuki out on a 'walk' around Trost.
That made her a little sadder than she was willing to admit.
"Sorry. It's just… a somewhat sensitive topic for me to talk about is all," mused Nac, eliciting a confused blink from Mina as she tilted her head. Annie, however, wondered if the guy was still going through puberty or something, though that thought was, thankfully, dispelled when he spoke. "It's just… I can't be the only one that's noticed Mikazuki's… well… you know…?"
Pausing as he said this, Nac brought his hand up to his upper back and stroked it somewhat awkwardly, and upon doing so, the girls present all got the hint and flinched a tiny bit at his words, one more so than the other. They were quick to catch onto what he was trying to get across, and when they did, Annie spoke up first, frowning all the while.
"I noticed it a lot. His spine things, huh?" mused Annie, with her recalling just how many times she had seen them in the past. The pilot's triple spine things were very hard to not notice, especially when you trained with him on a nearly daily basis, though Leonhardt had made it a point to not comment on it. She wasn't one to be polite to others, but even so… whatever that thing was, it had to be a sore spot for Mikazuki, and to be frank, she didn't wish to start any beef with him, of all people, especially when it looked like he could break her with just three fingers.
For his part, Nac had flinched a little at the bluntness of Annie's words, but even so… he soldiered on as he nodded and rubbed at his upper arm.
"Yeah… that. It's… been bothering me recently. N-Not visually! …well, okay, maybe a little visually. They… freak me out a bit but… I… I just wanted to ask if you gals thought about it? I don't think that they're really all that uncomfortable on him, and I don't think he'd mind if I did but… I'm not sure about how I'd go about asking him about them someday…" stuttered Nac, with him trying to recover from how he had accidentally admitted to his discomfort around Mikazuki, though as he did so, Annie ended up rolling her eyes and cutting him off.
"If it bothers you so much, then man up and deal with it," snarked Annie, with her laying down on the bed and waving the older guy off as she spoke. Nac made a sound that was akin to a choked frog as he shot up and began chastising Leonhardt, with him scolding her lightly for her lack of care towards Mikazuki's feelings, something that amused her more than anything. "Mikazuki's not the kind of guy to get worked up over small shit like this,, so just ask him if you're so fucking curious about it."
"Kh… why are you like this, Annie," bemoaned Nac, though he got no response from Annie as she just huffed and kept her back facing him. She seemed keen on sleeping the morning away, which was something Nac himself was usually opposed to, though considering her more recent early morning training regiment with Mikazuki, he reckoned that she could use some rest from time to time. "Gah… whatever… Mina, you got any thoughts on the matter?"
"Well… uh… not really? It's not like it changes anything about him, right?" stated Mina with a smile. Waving her hands around, she grinned lightly as she rested her chin atop one knee and continued. "Just because he's got something different about him doesn't mean that we'll treat him any differently, and about asking him… I think we shouldn't. It's not polite to ask someone else about something so suddenly, you know…?"
"True, but still… aren't you just a bit curious about what they're for…?" mused Nac. There was no questioning the older guy's sincerity when it came to him treating Mikazuki normally, regardless of his little spinal defect, but at the same time, he was only human, and as with all other humans, he was naturally wary of what he did not understand, and by god, he did not understand a single thing in regards to whatever was on Augus' spinal cord.
"Well, no… okay maybe a little," answered Mina, with her changing her answer within seconds as she covered her face in embarrassment. Annie said nothing, though that was probably because she was asleep, so Nac ignored her for now as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "But still, I still think that we shouldn't just… ask him about it. Not so directly, anyways. That's… not nice, and I don't think… I don't think Mikazuki trusts us. Not completely, anyways."
"Smart," mused Annie from her spot, eliciting a wince from the other two in the room as they processed her words.
Although there wasn't much of a difference in his behaviour, Mikazuki has seemed to warm up to everyone present in the past few days. If Nac had to guess, the pilot had been with them for the better part of three months by now, and in those three months, quite a lot had happened between all four of them. Annie gradually coming out of her shell was one thing, but her becoming someone that he'd legitimately call a friend (rather than someone freeloading until her sickness was completely gone) was another.
And yet… in those three months, not much had changed between them and Mika. The pilot remained very much distant with them, with him rarely ever speaking unless spoken to, and even then, he'd only give them a word or two before going back to being so… passive. He rarely ever made eye contact with them, and overall, even if it was unintentional, the guy never seemed to respect them in any way, something that, much to his dismay, made Nac feel… infuriated.
Still though, he never brought these issues up with anyone, more so out of respect for Mikazuki and, to a further extent, Mina, who had invited him here in the first place. Nac might not have trusted the pilot fully, not yet at least, but he trusted Mina to a fault, and if she said that he was worthy of his trust, then Tias would put his faith in her words and let things play out… for now.
"Smart… but also not exactly nice," muttered Nac sadly, to which Annie snorted.
"Those two things rarely coincide," mused Annie, eliciting a scoff from Nac.
"Yeah. You'd know a thing or two about that, I guess," whispered Nac somewhat bitterly as he recalled how Annie had acted towards them initially. He was, admittedly, over that by now, but still, it didn't mean that he was happy about it. The blonde heard him mutter this, though she did not comment on it as she kept her back turned to him, even if her arms did tighten around herself in a somewhat self conscious manner, though as for Mina, she flinched a little as she got up and lightly smacked Tias over the head, a gesture that made him wince as he turned to face her. "Hey…"
"Don't be mean, Nac. Annie was just wary of us. You don't have to be a big meanie over that!" scolded Mina lightly, and at that, Nac, somewhat guiltily, nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck meekly.
"Yeah, I guess. Sorry, I didn't mean to pull up things from the past," apologised Nac with a bow of his head, to which Annie grunted. She didn't seem to care, though both of her acquaintances could tell that Tias' words had affected her a lot more than she was willing to admit. That being said, however, she didn't seem keen on continuing on with this conversation, and at that, the oldest person in the room cleared his throat and changed the topic as quickly as possible. "By the way… any idea where Mikazuki is?"
"... no, actually," muttered Mina sheepishly, to which the others stared at her blankly. Annie had made a conscious effort to turn around just to do that, and when she did, the pigtailed girl shuddered lightly as she blushed a tiny bit. "W-What?"
"No it's just… he's been going out a lot at random, you know? Too late for field work most of the time. Alone. Do… you think he's doing some dangerous stuff without us knowing?" posited Nac, with him frowning lightly as he entertained that idea, and in response to this, Annie shrugged, not really caring about the issue, whilst Mina shook her head vigorously.
"Mikazuki doesn't strike me as a guy that would do something like that," mused Mina, with Annie silently, and begrudgingly, agreeing with that statement. Mikazuki could be rather dense from time to time, but the blonde knew that stupid was something that he was not. He was probably just going out for a walk on his lonesome, something that was understandable as Mina and Nac could be quite a handful in large doses.
"I know… I know. But still, it doesn't hurt to be on guard sometimes, you know?" reminded Nac, and at that, the pigtailed girl nodded while the blonde rolled her eyes and turned her back towards her acquaintances once more.
"Well, be on guard all you want. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up for dinner or something."
Elsewhere
"Morning, Barbatos."
Mikazuki had received no response from the mechanical behemoth before him, not that he was expecting one, anyways, as he approached it and sat in front of it, with him sighing to himself as he brought a knee up to his chest and draped an arm over it.
So rarely was he ever given time to himself to just… think these days, something he'd attribute to Mina and Nac's attempts at friendship. Don't get him wrong, he found it endearing, but even so… from time to time, he found himself missing the peace and quiet that came before he met that pigtailed girl.
"What do you think about them, Barbatos? Mina, Nac and Annie, I mean," asked Mikazuki, with him glancing up to stare at his Gundam's head unit as he spoke. In his past few visits to his unit, the pilot has told him about his three new acquaintances, and although it was rather dumb of him to do so, considering how Barbatos was an inanimate object at the moment, it still felt… nice to be able to speak to something without having to resort to half-truths and, at times, outright lies.
Sure, Barbatos couldn't respond, but from time to time, Mikazuki found it nice to be the one speaking rather than just listening. He was a good listener, sure, but even he needed to vent out his frustrations and thoughts to another from time to time. He was only human, after all, and as with everyone else, even he had his limits in regards to how much he could bottle up before things spilling out.
"... I like them."
"..."
"They're nice. They don't have to be, but they care for me."
"..."
"I'm not sure if Annie really cares, but she at least knows when to leave me alone."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... they want to join the military, you know."
"..."
"I… don't know if I should support them or not."
"..."
"What would you do, Barbatos?"
"..."
"Stupid question. But… what would Orga do…?"
"..."
"... stupid question as well. I know what Orga would do. But… I'm not Orga, am I?"
"..."
"It might be a while before I visit you again, Barbatos. I… I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... until next time."
With those words uttered, Mikazuki got up and lightly patted Barbatos' knee and stood up from his former position on the ground. Thereafter, he glanced up at his Gundam, seeming very much reluctant to leave it all the while, but he knew for a fact that if he stayed away for too long, either Mina or Nac would get worried for his sake, and as such, with some reluctance, he offered it one last nod before departing.
For its part, the Gundam remained, unsurprisingly, unmoving and unresponsive, even as Mikazuki slid out of the barn and shut the rusty door behind him. Even so, however, it had heard its pilot's grievances, and in a weird way, it did process them to a certain degree. It couldn't share its 'thoughts' with him, unfortunately, not unless Mikazuki were to connect to it directly, and as such… it was forced to remain silent for now as it simply gave a quiet good luck to its dear pilot.
And even if he didn't 'hear' its well wishes, Mikazuki, whilst returning to his new place of residence, did feel a mild tingling sensation run through his Alaya-Vijnana system, something that gave him a strange amount of comfort as he huffed and smiled a fair bit in response.
"Mikazuki?"
Blinking as his name was called, Mika turned towards who had spoken and saw Mrs Carolina approaching the couch where he sat on. Currently, it was rather late, with Mina, Nac and Annie all asleep by now. Mikazuki himself kept his spot on the living room couch as his bed, somethin that drew protests from his acquaintances on more occasions than one, and though he appreciated their worries, the pilot really didn't wish to try his luck with one of their makeshift bunk beds.
They protested this, of course, but Mikazuki held strong, and they eventually relented. It wasn't all that bad, honestly, as the couch was still rather comfortable, but even so, it wasn't perfect, and, by all means, Mika reckoned that, sooner or later, he would end up coming face to face with Mrs Carolina once more.
Mikazuki's relationship with the older Carolina was… strange, to say the least. The two rarely ever saw one another, and whenever they did, they wouldn't really acknowledge each other all that much. At best, the pilot would acknowledge her with a nod whilst the woman would respond by looking at him directly, though that was usually it. The older woman never found any reason to try and improve their relationship, which was fine by him, especially since they rarely ever saw each other to begin with.
That did make their current meeting rather awkward, however, as they rarely ever saw one another to begin with. The older of the two had just returned from her job at the clinic, and she seemed somewhat exhausted, so much so that she had not noticed the pilot as she entered the building, and though he was content with her not acknowledging him, Mikazuki ended up greeting her on reflex, something that he's picked up from Mina and Nac, much to his chagrin.
"Mrs Carolina," greeted Mikazuki, with him nodding in her direction as he spoke. He regretted his words almost immediately, especially when the older woman perked up before glancing towards him, finally acknowledging his presence all the while. Seeming a little flustered that she had not noticed him sooner, the older individual felt her face growing flush as she smiled and moved to sit beside Mika.
"Mikazuki, I… did not notice you," greeted Mrs Carolina meekly, to which Mikazuki shrugged. He didn't seem to take any offense to that, much to her relief, though she did notice something else… "It's quite late, why are you-"
"Not tired."
And wasn't that the truth. Earlier that day, the pilot had linked up with Annie once more to get some exercise in, though he might have overdone it as the two had run five whole laps around Trost without pause. Because of this, the duo had immediately dropped dead by the time they returned to the Carolina household, and they had slept well into the evening. Nac had apparently tried to wake Annie up at one point.
Mikazuki read between the lines and realized that was also why he had a bruise on his nose. He thought it prudent to not question it further.
That aside, Mrs Carolina was quick to nod at Mikazuki's reasoning for still being awake. Although she had not interacted too much with him, her daughter and adopted son had spoken to her about him on many occasions, and most of their conversations about him told the woman that he was very much an eccentric young man, though she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. A large part of her still remained very much wary of him, but even so, to hear her kids speak so highly of him had made her come around to the little guy, if only by a little.
"I see. It isn't healthy for you to stay up so late?" mused Mrs Carolina, to which Mikazuki scoffed. He didn't seem to sense the underlying tone of maternal protectiveness beneath the older individual's words, as evident by that indifferent tone of his, but even so, the boy did still spare his senior a quick glance as he responded.
"Yeah. I know," muttered Mikazuki with a nod, and at that, he exhaled sharply and moved to lay down on the couch. Mrs Carolina's frown deepened just a bit as she watched him do this, with him using his jacket as a makeshift blanket, but even so, she said nothing against this as she nodded a tiny bit in victory and stood herself up. Thereafter, she left the living room to get herself ready for sleep… and yet, before she could do so, she paused briefly when she saw that Mika seemed to be fidgeting a little in his sleep. He didn't seem particularly uncomfortable, though there were slight movements in his face and limbs that told the woman that he wasn't completely comfortable either. Frowning at this, Mrs Carolina briefly considered ignoring it in favour of getting herself some shut-eye, though in the end, her maternal instincts won out as she approached him once more with a sigh.
Leaning towards him, Mrs Carolina removed Mikazuki's jacket and slung it over her shoulder. A quick sniff told her that it needed a wash, though that aside, she was quick to replace the jacket with a proper blanket that was brought up to Mika's chin. Upon doing so, the pilot's features softened just a bit as he fell into a more comfortable state of sleep, and for all it was worth, seeing him so… peaceful, so to speak, made the older individual smile, if only a little, as she sighed and threw his jacket into the laundry basket.
"Good grief…"
And by all means, she thought that this would be the last time this would happen… until it happened again.
It was the same situation, really. Mrs Carolina comes home, Mikazuki is still awake, they exchange pleasantries, she tells him to sleep, he does as he's told and she gives him a blanket. It was rather odd at first, but even so… she never had the heart to comment on this as she kept this routine going. There were a small handful of times where the woman would return home to see Augus dozing off on the couch already, something that, admittedly, disappointed her to a certain degree, though she never voiced that thought out as she would always put a blanket over his shoulders regardless.
She didn't want him to get sick… regardless of how wary she was of him. He might have been a hard one to pin down, but the Carolina matriarch had put a lot of faith into her daughter's judge of character, and even if she wasn't entirety trusting of the pilot just yet, she trusted her daughter's judgement and allowed herself to treat Mikazuki like her own child… even if he would have to settle for being the current least favorite.
(Not that he seemed to mind or care, anyhow.)
Regardless, the two of them shared a short but somewhat pleasant, in a weird way, bond with one another, forged through awkward greetings and a small amount of maternal love on Mrs Carolina's side of things. It wasn't much, but it was still rather nice, and the older of the two had to admit to finding the pilot's peaceful sleeping expression to be very endearing. He almost looked like a normal child whilst he was asleep, very much akin to Mina in a few ways, though she never thought beyond that before retreating to her room to turn in for the night.
On one particular night, however, after a quick exchange of greetings between the two, the pilot had spoken up before Mrs Carolina could ask him to turn in for the night. Hearing him speak more than a handful of words was very much a rarity to the older woman, and to hear him speak to her was even more so, though she was able to hold her surprise for a short while as she listened in on what he had to say.
"They want to join the Survey Corps, you know. Mina and Nac. I think Annie wants to as well," mused Mikazuki, sounding both indifferent and intrigued with the idea as he glanced towards Mrs Carolina, who flinched at those words.
"Yes… I know. But… I won't let them," muttered the older woman with a frown. She knew that her kids' dream was to join the military brigade's Scouting regiment, but even so… she didn't want them to. It was… dangerous! She didn't want them to be in constant danger… Mina, Nac and Annie were all that she had left in this world…!
"Why? It seems unreasonable to deny someone their dream," muttered Mikazuki, sounding somewhat sympathetic as he spoke. His tone of voice told Mrs Carolina that he understood why she didn't want them to leave, but at the same time, he didn't agree with her overprotectiveness.
"I do what I must to protect my children," rebutted the elder Carolina, and at that, the pilot frowned.
"You can't protect them forever, nor can you protect them from everything," was all Mika bothered to say by then as he looked away, and at that, Mrs Carolina flinched and looked away. She… saw some logic behind his words, but even so, she didn't wish to accept them as she grimaced and went silent, and before long, she stood up to leave the room, an admission of defeat more than anything, as she left Mika behind to his own devices.
It was a cold night for the pilot.
The next few nights remained mostly the same. Nothing was exchanged between the two, nothing past a quick nod of acknowledgement between them, anyways, with there being no small amount of tension built up between the adult and the teen that still lingered, even after a week since their small discussion. It hadn't been much, but it had been enough to make Mrs Carolina wonder if she was being too controlling of her children…
… and ultimately, that tension between herself and Mikazuki led her to ask him a question, after almost two weeks of silence between the two, and a mild argument she had with her daughter was probably the spark that set off this inquiry in the first place.
"Am I being unreasonable?"
"Yes."
Mikazuki's immediate answer came as a surprise to Mrs Carolina, who glanced his way with raised brows. Vice versa, Mika hadn't even glanced her direction as his frown deepened just a tiny bit. He was aware of why she was asking this; Mina had asked if she could join the Survey Corps the day prior. Well, not ask. She posited the possibility of her joining them… and without thinking, perhaps due to workplace stress, Mrs Carolina had raised her voice, and things spiralled out of control from there on, with the two getting into quite the argument. Mikazuki hadn't been present to see it, but according to Annie, it was bad enough that Mina had run out the building near its end, with Nac chasing after her moments later.
Mikazuki… did not know how to feel about this, as he too wished for his acquaintance's safety, but even so, he could, at the very least, confirm that Mrs Carolina had been unreasonable based on what Annie had told him…
"How so? Is it unreasonable to want your children to be safe…? I… don't want to lose them… they're all I have left," said Mrs Carolina, her voice barely a whisper as she bit her lower lip sadly. In response to this, Mikazuki simply huffed, with him having heard her clearly thanks to the silence between the two, and with a shrug, he leaned back on the couch and responded.
"It's not unreasonable to want them to be safe. It is unreasonable to hold them back," mused Mikazuki. Mrs Carolina had given him a look of confusion at this, prompting him to elaborate. "If you love them, then you should give them space to grow on their own. Keeping them safe all the time will get them killed one day."
"And letting them join the military brigade won't?" rebutted the older individual as she shot Mikazuki a heated glare, eliciting a shrug from him all the while.
"Probably. Honestly, letting them join is probably a smart thing," mused Mikazuki, with his words confusing Mrs Carolina as she gave him a pointedly uncertain look. Mika was quick to notice this, with him rubbing at his nose before he elaborated. "Shiganshina and Maria were breached, weren't they? It proves that they're not invincible. One day, Trost and Rose might be breached as well, and when that happens, we'll all probably die unless we're prepared."
That comment from Mikazuki shook Mrs Carolina up quite a bit, with her pausing briefly with her rebuttals as she glanced away from him, eyeing a random corner of the living room with an uncertain look in her eyes all the while. Biting at her lower lip, the older woman considered his words greatly before shaking her head wildly and getting up to her feet. Nothing more was said as she left the room, seeming lost in thought all the while, and, if only by a little, the pilot did absentmindedly wonder if his words had affected her a lot more than he had intended.
He didn't think too much of that, however, as he laid down and dozed off.
When he woke up, he felt a blanket covering his person rather than his usual jacket, and for all it was worth, he couldn't resist a small smile as he curled up inside it and shut his eyes to try and go back to sleep.
His exercise could be put on hold for the day. For now, he just wanted to sleep…
Not even a few hours later, he had woken up to come face to face with Mrs Carolina once more, and this time, it was late into the morning. The older Carolina had apparently taken the day off for once and was sitting not too far from where Mikazuki had been sleeping. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light as he focused them onto the woman, and by the time he did, he saw that they lady was staring back at him with a focused expression, one that was somehow both cold and warm all at the same time. She seemed… conflicted about many things, and upon noticing this, the pilot grunted as he shook his head.
"... good morning," greeted Mikazuki flatly as he pushed the warm blanket off his body and sat up, stretching his arms lightly as he spoke. Mrs Carolina hummed, echoing that greeting without words as she kept her gaze on him, and moments later, he got up and surveyed the room. It was empty… barring himself and the older woman, anyways. "Where-"
"My children have left for the day. They… wished to spend some time alone," responded Mrs Carolina, with the pain behind her voice being very evident as she spoke. Despite this, however, she tried to suppress it to the best of her abilities as she sighed and continued. "It is convenient for me, however, as it gives me some time to speak with you. Privately."
"You've been doing that for the past few weeks," reminded Mikazuki, eliciting a frown from Mrs Carolina as she reached forwards and pinched his cheek. The pilot could've very easily retaliated in many ways that would leave the woman in agony, though he opted to humor her and grumble a little as he lightly swatted at her hand, a reaction that got a small smile out of the woman as she sighed. "Stop that…"
"I don't want to," responded Mrs Carolina as she continued to pinch his cheek, much to his chagrin, before she was fully satisfied and pulled away. At that, the pilot rubbed his slightly sore face, with him frowning all the while. What a strange sensation… and yet, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant one… "But still… that's besides the point."
"And what would the point even be," asked Mikazuki, to which the older woman frowned. Parting her lips several times over, she seemed to want to say something several times over, only to stop herself each time. Mika's patience was rather long, though considering how he had just woken up, it was safe to say that he didn't have much of it as he usually would, and as such, he found himself growing impatient towards Mrs Carolina's reluctance to speak, though before he could voice that out…
"You care for them, don't you. Mina, Nac and Annie," inquired Mrs Carolina, with what she said being phrased more like a statement rather than a question. Her sudden comment was more than enough to make Mikazuki pause briefly as she spoke. Taking his silence as confirmation, which wouldn't be an incorrect assumption to make, the lady continued. "You wouldn't say all those things if you didn't."
"Hm," hummed Mikazuki, with him not wanting to confirm or deny that claim as he kept his gaze averted from her, though Mrs Carolina wasn't quite done as she continued.
"Do you really think that they could take it… in military training I mean. I… I'm worried for my babies…" admitted Mrs Carolina, with her frowning deeply as she thought of all the possible things that could go wrong whilst her kids were away, and at that, Augus shrugged.
"I don't know. I can't see the future, but they'll probably be fine," mused Mikazuki. His words weren't spoken without cause, as, despite their lackluster performance during their occasional training sessions, Mina and, more recently, Nac, who had requested to join their little exercise routine on occasion, showed good potential with their physical prowess. They were still lacking, of course, and they were horribly naive, but even so… a small amount of naivete wasn't all that bad, and if they stuck together, they could probably make it through military training with minimal issue.
As for Annie, well, she was a powerhouse that was probably on par with the younger members of Tekkadan. He doubted that she'd reach the level of the older members of his former family, but at her current level, she'd survive it without issue.
"I see… then, what about you? Do you wish to follow them into the military brigade?" inquired Mrs Carolina, to which Mikazuki shrugged. Admittedly, he had given the idea some thought, and ultimately, he had decided that, if he had the option to do so, he'd probably follow them. If he were honest, he had grown relatively fond of these three individuals at this point, enough to actively worry about their wellbeing, and considering how two of the three were still somewhat wet behind the ears in regards to many situations, he supposed that Annie would need quite a bit of help to keep them from doing something stupid.
"Probably. They need someone to stop them from doing stupid things, and Annie can't always keep an eye out for two people at once," mused Mikazuki, and at that, Mrs Carolina smiled lightly as she nodded, seemingly agreeing with that jab as she sighed.
"I see…"
"Are you considering letting them go?"
"In truth, now that I've given it enough thought, yes. Who am I to deny my children their dream?
Mikazuki thought it best to not comment on how Annie didn't really care about that, but that's besides the point…
"And regardless, I believe that if I continued to refuse them, Mina and Na would try to enlist themselves regardless…"
"You can do that?"
"Yes. So long as you have identity papers to prove your existence, you can enroll into the military brigade as a Trainee. Mina, Nac and Annie all have them, so theoretically, they could enlist without my approval."
"But they didn't."
"Yet. I worry about my daughter's temperance after our previous argument…"
"Mina won't do anything stupid."
"I know, but a mother worries, you know?"
"Hmph."
"..."
"..."
"... you need identity papers, don't you, Mikazuki?"
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
"Do you know that it's easy to forge identity papers?"
"Now I do."
"I see. Would you?"
"Probably not. Too much effort."
"I see…"
"..."
"..."
"Mikazuki Augus, how would you feel about becoming a permanent part of this family?"
"... huh?"
That… had caught Mikazuki off guard. The question had come out of seemingly nowhere, and Augus was stumped by it, so much so that he had turned towards Mrs Carolina with a bewildered expression that, for a change, made him look like a fifteen year old child rather than whatever the Hell he usually appeared to be. The sight of this alone was more than enough to make the woman snicker lightly as she elaborated.
"It's obvious to me how my kids all like you, and you… you clearly like them a lot more than you're wishing to admit. You don't need to say anything, a mother can always tell when one of their children is about to lie," giggled Mrs Carolina, to which the pilot huffed. She got him there, he supposed… "However, officially, you're not even supposed to be under my care. There are… issues that might arise in the future if this keeps up, especially if you run into the wrong people when out and about, and likewise, even if those issues didn't exist, being a free person without an identity slip is difficult in itself, and you've been incredibly lucky, to not be stopped by anyone whilst roaming Trost. For both our sakes, we should get you some identity papers as soon as possible."
"... are you sure about this? You're basically adopting me if you do this," reminded Mikazuki, with him frowning lightly as he spoke. Vice versa, however, the older woman smiled as she responded.
"I know that. I will admit to being rather… harsh against you, but I… I've come to realize that you're just as important to me as my other children, and I'd be grateful to have you as one of my own… if you want to be, anyways…"
And at that, Mikazuki had to look away as he silently considered her offer.
He wasn't… opposed to the idea, so to speak, but still… it felt odd to him that someone wished to do just that, even if they didn't realize it. His entire life was basically spent with people that were around his age, with brothers, basically, and never with any parental figures. The closest he ever got to an actual parent was Fumitan Admoss… but that little relationship never got too far before her death, god rest her soul, and he could always tell that Fumitan wasn't exactly thrilled to have him, amongst so many others, be under her care.
So to hear that Mrs Carolina was offering him the chance to be adopted by her… it made him pause in shock as he processed her words. It was probably the one time in his life where he was truly at a loss for words… and evidently enough, it showed, as the older woman smiled sadly at his reaction and leaned in to squeeze his shoulder.
"You… don't have to answer right away. There's still a few months before-"
"I accept."
This time, it was Mrs Carolina's turn to be shocked as she turned towards the pilot with widened eyes. She had expected him to require at least a few days to get an answer, especially with how cold and distant she had been up till quite recently, but even so, when she had turned to acknowledge him, she saw him staring right back at her with a… thankful look in his eyes. It seemed as though he was… happy to be adopted by her, and the sheer brightness in his eyes had legitimately caught the woman off guard.
"I'd… like to be a part of this family, Mrs Carolina," said Mikazuki, sounding almost… nervous as he glanced at the ground whilst speaking. Those words hung in the air as the pilot patiently waited for the aforementioned woman's response, which came in the form of a sizable grin as she nodded and stood up, still smiling all the while.
"Hm… that certainly makes things easier for me! Well, with that settled, we can get to work on getting your papers. When are you free to do so, Mikazuki?"
"Is… now alright?"
"Of course. Come on, let's go before it gets crowded!"
Mina… couldn't believe it… and yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but whoop victoriously as she burst into the room she shared with Annie and Nac to tell them about what she had just been told.
Nac, who had dozed off by then, and Annie, who was reading a book, both turned to face Mina the moment she burst into the room, with the former falling off the top bunk after being woken up so suddenly while the latter resisted the urge to throw her book at the interloper out of annoyance. She was able to hold herself back, however, as she watched Nac get up and grumble to himself.
"Mina, wha-"
"MUM SAID YES!"
"...?!"
In an instant, Mina relayed the good news to her friends, with said news being that Mrs Carolina had apparently reconsidered not letting them enlist into the military brigade. She had… thought over it for quite some time and, ultimately, she settled on letting them go… on the condition that they would watch each other's backs. It wasn't as if that would be an issue, seeing as how Mina and Nac did that on a daily basis anyhow, and, even if she didn't wish to admit to it, Annie would always keep an eye on their backs as well.
Nac's lingering sleepiness had all but disappeared by then as he took in her words, with him grinning wide to metaphorically split his face in half. Annie seemed less happy with this and more… astonished that Mrs Carolina had reconsidered her former stance on letting them join the military, though before she could comment on this, Nac cleared his throat and voiced out the first thing that came to his mind.
"Does… does Mikazuki know about this?" asked Nac, and in an instant, Mina gasped.
"Shit! I forgot to tell him! I just wanted to tell you two first! C'mon, I think he's downstairs!" yelled Mina, and in an instant, she seized both her friend and acquaintance's wrists and pulled them down. Nac himself gasped as he was pulled down after her whilst Annie raised her brows at just how strong Carolina had become after a few weeks of physical training with Mika. It was nowhere near her level, but it was still impressive nonetheless.
That aside, the three bolted down and saw that Mikazuki was sitting on the couch as he always was. The pilot didn't seem too surprised to see them, really, as he had turned his head in their direction beforehand, almost as though he was expecting them to show up. Upon seeing them, he offered the trio a quick nod as he watched Mina release her friends and bolt towards him to give him the news, and at that, he nodded.
"That's nice, I guess," mused Mikazuki, with him sounding rather neutral as he spoke. Mina and Nac didn't seem to mind, however, as they grinned from ear to ear in delight, though as for Annie, she took note of an underlying tone of happiness beneath his otherwise flat tone of voice… and moments later, she stared down at the coffee table in front of the couch and saw something else…
… a slip of paper.
Picking it up, she read through its contents rather quickly, and with each passing word, she felt her brows raising higher and higher onto her face. This was an identity paper, one for Mikazuki, no doubt, and seeing as he didn't seem to mind, Annie made a quick scan of the slip with just a tiny bit of curiosity in her gaze.
It was… an identity paper, one that was made for Mikazuki less than a day ago. The lack of wear around the edges of the slip told her that much, and if she were honest, Annie was surprised that Mika didn't have one made earlier, though that was besides the point, Leonhardt reckoned, as she read through it swiftly.
Mikazuki Augus… age 15… Shiganshina… H: 150cm W: 60kg… status: refugee… family: Martha Carolina…
That last one had caught her attention. Mrs Carolina had used her name in regards to Mikazuki's family, and upon noticing this, Annie felt her eyes widening as she lowered the slip down so that she could look Mika in the eyes. He noticed her gaze after a while and was quick to lock his gaze onto her own, and at that, his lip twitched upwards a tiny bit, almost into a smile, as he tilted his head in her direction.
'... Mrs Carolina had put her name down on my identity papers as well…' thought Annie as she slapped the paper into Nac's chest, essentially telling him to read it as well, which he did. When his eyes landed on the spot that read out Mrs Carolina's name, his eyes widened immensely, and moments later, he gulped and spoke his mind.
"Mikazuki… correct me if I'm wrong but… uh…" began Nac, with his face growing red with shock as he eyed the pilot meekly. Mina seemed rather confused as she watched him fumble over his words, and moments later, he blurted out: "Did Mrs Carolina adopt you?!"
And to that, there was a deafening silence, with everyone present glancing over at Mikazuki for confirmation. The pilot seemed keen on being quite brief to build up some suspense, and moments later, he almost smiled as he nodded, and somehow, that neutral gesture almost came across as smug.
"Yeah."
And moments later, Mina squealed and immediately pulled him into a hug. In all honesty, the pilot was taken aback by her boldness, but even so, he didn't push her away as he just… accepted the gesture and sighed to himself. Nac too moved in close and joined in on sandwiching Mikazuki between himself and Mina, though as for Annie, she was content with remaining by the sidelines and observing in amusement.
"I'm surprised. Didn't think that you'd agree to be adopted, nor did I expect her to ask you. She didn't seem to be coming around to you all that much," admitted Annie, not unkindly but not nicely at the same time. In response to this, Mikazuki simply shrugged, with him having great difficulty in doing so thanks to how he was being sandwiched between two of his… acquaintances.
"We came to an agreement," mused Mikazuki, to which Mina smiled.
"Mum has her rough points, but she always comes through in the end!" giggled Mina, prompting Mikazuki to shrug once more whilst Nac broke off the little hug of theirs. As he did so, however, something seemed to hit him with the force of a tidal wave, and moments later, he slouched his shoulders in disappointment when he realized…
"Hey… when we leave for military duty-"
"I'll be following of course."
"Wait what."
The initial wave of sadness in Nac's voice was quickly replaced with confusion as he glanced down at Mikazuki in shock, and at that, the pilot explained the situation. He left out most of the smaller details in favour of a I just want to make sure that you all remain safe explanation, which was still close enough to the truth regardless, and upon concluding, two of the three present whooped victoriously as they restarted the hug once more, except this time…
"Nac, don't you-"
… Nac had grown bold enough to rope Annie into it as well. With a gasp, Annie Leonhardt was pulled into the formerly three-person hug, much to her dismay. At first, she had made an attempt to break free, though she paused when she realized that she had been strategically (read: unintentionally) placed next to Mina, and if she struggled, she'd probably hit her by mistake.
And… she really didn't want to do that, and so, she relented and allowed the little group hug to continue. She would deny enjoying it when Mina squished her cheek against her own, even if the faint redness on her own would suggest otherwise.
Before long, however, the hug was thankfully broken off, and Annie was quick to jab Nac in the ribs, making him recoil, as punishment for pulling her into this whole thing. For all it was worth, Tias apologised rather awkwardly as he smiled happily in spite of the pain, much to Leonhardt's annoyance, though at the same time, Mina found herself giggling as she turned towards Mikazuki and spoke.
"Well, Mikazuki, I guess-"
"Mika."
"Huh…?"
Pausing briefly when they heard him say this, the three present turned their attention towards Mikazuki as they watched as he leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees. Whilst doing so, he sighed and continued to speak.
"My friends all call me Mika. I want all of you to call me Mika as well, if you want."
And as soon as he finished this statement, the three individuals present all went silent. Even Annie couldn't believe what she was hearing, as she never did come close to considering him a proper friend. At best, the two of them were acquaintances…!
As for Mina and Nac, however, they appeared to be stunned into silence when they heard him making this request, though not long after, Nac broke out into a face-splitting smile as he leaned towards Mikazuki with a grin.
"So… like, we're friends. As in the guys that can watch each other's backs sorta deal, right? Friend friends?" asked Nac for clarification. Mikazuki seemed confounded by that inquiry, though he chose to just nod in response to it, which seemed to be the correct thing to do as, in an instant, Tias raised both his arms and whooped in victory, seeming elated at this sudden turn of events, though as for Mina, she simply smiled as she clasped her hands together.
"Mina…?" muttered Mikazuki, confused at her reaction, or perhaps her lack thereof, though moments later, she waved him off, smiling all the while.
"N-No, it's nothing. I… it's just that… I've always thought about asking if we were friends one day, you know? I… I was always just a bit worried that you didn't trust us enough," admitted Mina, and at that, Mikazuki huffed. She wasn't wrong in that he didn't trust them 100% just yet. That would take time, he was afraid, but still… they had earnt some of his trust at the very least, and he would not let them down, not if he could do something about it! "Just… hearing you say that you consider us friends… it… it makes me very happy…!"
And with that, Mina stared up at Mikazuki and offered him the brightest smile he's seen since Atra, and at that, he… well… he mirrored the expression. His lips curled up in earnest as he shut his eyes and let out a soft but genuine chuckle, and for the briefest of moments, everyone present was enthralled by the sight of a genuinely happy looking Mika. His expression didn't last too long, but it lasted just long enough to leave an impression…
These three… they weren't Tekkadan. They would never replace them, but then again, nothing ever could. With that being said, however, Mikazuki knew that there was something special about them, and even if there wasn't, he still liked them, and he'd be damned if any harm were to befall his three new friends any time soon.
There would no doubt be many challenges ahead of them, especially now that they were about to join the military brigade, together, as Trainees, but Mikazuki was sure that they would all make it through. And thereafter… who knows? They might just make a difference if, or when, they became Survey Corps.
And if worse came to worst, he could always just bust out Barbatos once more.