For all it was worth… living in the Carolina household was… alright, Mikazuki supposed.

Having a proper roof atop his head was nice, and having a soft spot to lay his head on was nice as well. It wasn't perfect, of course, as the building he was now living in was rather old and rickety, but still, Mikazuki would take bad over horrible any day of the week.

Unsurprisingly enough for someone like him, however, the hardest part about living in this new building was him getting used to the other occupants of the house. By default, Mikazuki was an antisocial guy, someone that only ever opened up to the other members of Tekkadan and a very few others beyond, and for the most part, he's remained this way whilst staying in the Carolina household, though with all of that being said, the pilot still didn't take long to grow out of his somewhat tightly wound together shell and grow… fond of these kids.

In truth, Mina was probably the main source of this change in Mikazuki's demeanor. The pigtailed girl had been so approachable when she had first met him, and her general, sweetheart nature had made him less apprehensive about approaching those that she trusted. Mika himself wouldn't admit it, but after spending as much time as he has with her… he's grown to trust her to a certain degree, and though he wouldn't consider her a friend, not just yet, at least… he still had a great deal of faith in her nonetheless.

When she had found out about Mikazuki staying with them, Mina had done her utmost best to get him acclimated to his new environment. The girl was enthusiastic, to say the least, and she was no doubt ecstatic to learn that someone she considered to be a friend was now staying with them, with her suggesting a myriad of things for them to do now that he was, in her words, a part of the family. Mika… wasn't in agreement with most of these things, but for her sake, he went along with most of her words for the time being.

"We could make you a bed! I know Nac and I made a bunk bed when Annie started living with us!"

Mikazuki appreciated the thought, but he was fine with the couch. Mina… wasn't fine with it, but regardless of how much she pestered him, the pilot refused to budge. He had no real right to ask for more, not after these people had already provided him with so much.

"You don't need to work in the fields anymore, you know…? We have enough food to go around…"

Mikazuki did not agree. Although there was enough food to feed five mouths, he estimated that what they had stocked up wouldn't last for long. At best, they would last them about a week before depleting. He needed to work for more.

"... you could at least take this blanket…"

… Mikazuki agreed to that last one. It was a small request, and Mina just looked so sad after he had denied so many of her offers. And besides, she had a lot to spare, and the look she had on her face when he said yes was probably worth it.

Mina aside, Nac had also done his best to get Mikazuki comfortable with his new residence. The young man had made a few attempts at getting Mika onto a proper bed, but as with Mina, his pleas had mostly fallen on deaf ears as the pilot still preferred the couch. That aside, however…

"You can have some of my clothes. Not like you can wear yours all the time."

Reluctantly, Mikazuki had accepted these terms. Although he wasn't particularly worried about his own hygiene, now that he was living with others, he'd have to abide by their rules.

"If you want extra food, you just need to ask."

Mikazuki never asked for more. He didn't deserve it.

"... you could borrow a pillow from me, you know?"

Mikazuki never did. Their bedrooms only had one pillow for each of them, and though he had tried to lie to him, saying that they had more than that, Mika would always see through his white lies. Nac sucked at being dishonest.

As for Mrs Carolina, the woman was usually not present in the household. Thanks to her job (Mina said she worked at a clinic), she was rarely ever home, though what few times where she was, she would often stare at Mikazuki with uncertainty. Mika couldn't blame her, he wouldn't trust himself either.

But all in all… it was… an experience. One that Mikazuki didn't quite mind as he went through his new routine with… disinterested vigor. Said routine wasn't much different from his previous one; he'd wake up, perform a few stretches, work out a little before doing… whatever, really. He'd usually finish working out before either Mina or Nac woke up, and although when either of them had walked in on him working out for the the first time, the two had reacted oddly similarly (they had both blushed up a storm, with the former stuttering whilst the latter just… drooled in amazement), though once they had gotten over it, they kept telling him to take a shower before he made the place smell like a gym.

Mika saw no reason to object, so he went along with it.

After his usual morning routines, Mikazuki's afternoon routine tended to vary from day to day. Although working in the fields was still a normal thing for him, Augus could now afford to do so less frequently thanks to how his new home had a supply of food in it, however small it might be. Whenever he wasn't out in the fields, Mika would spend his time just getting used to the Carolina household, with him walking around it absentmindedly and looking for possible structural issues with the old place. He took note of several spots he could probably squeeze through to escape in the event of an emergency, though those weren't much more than mere passing thoughts more than anything.

Every so often, however, the pilot would leave the building at an ungodly hour, typically around midnight, with some food stashed away in some cloth. With it, he'd head back to his old hideout and spend a few fleeting hours, or minutes depending on the day, with Barbatos, with him hiding the food in its cockpit whilst also taking a while to (try and) clean his partner. It was the least he could do for it, especially after all that it's done for him…

"I'm sorry, Barbatos. I can't do much more than this right now," apologised Mikazuki at one point, with him frowning as he wiped off a layer of dust that had settled across his partner's outer shell. The Gundam's physical state was deteriorating, slowly but surely, as the elements ravaged it at full force, and right now, Augus doubted that his pitiful attempts at keeping it clean would do anything to improve it… but even so, it was better than nothing…

Barbatos, as per usual, did not respond, with it simply remaining silent as it 'watched' its pilot chase away a few birds that had attempted to take up residence in its cockpit. Thereafter, Mikazuki draped a blanket over its cockpit before turning towards its optical unit, frowning all the while, and moments later, he placed his hand against his unit's cheek armour fondly before patting it twice over.

"We'll make it out of this someday, Barbatos. I promise… you won't be stuck here forever…" muttered Mikazuki, with him making an unlikely promise to the inanimate object he stood upon as he slouched his shoulders sadly and stared into his unit's lifeless optic for the briefest of moments, though not long after, he sighed and jumped off it and landed on the ground gracelessly. Best to leave now, he reckoned… it was almost morning now, and he hasn't gotten any sleep just yet… "See you next time, I guess, Barbatos."

And for all it was worth, once Mikazuki had left the barn, Barbatos' optics flickered a gentle, green glow as a few of its pistons hummed in acknowledgement of his words.

'See you, pilot…'

The sound of creaking wood had gotten his attention, and upon hearing it, Mikazuki glanced up and looked to its source. Likewise, Mina, who was sitting not too far from him, with her legs playfully dangling off the edge of the couch, did so as well, with Nac whistling off in the far side of the room, in the kitchen area, whilst preparing some stew.

Before long, the culprit behind the noise had shown themselves to be a short, blonde girl with unruly hair and cold blue eyes, seeming somewhat irritated at… nothing in particular, really, as she walked down the stairs of the building, and as she came into view, both Mina and Nac gasped as they raced over to check on her, with the latter so panicked at seeing her that he vaulted over the kitchen counter just to get to her faster.

"Annie?!" yelled Mina as she got up to check on the newcomer, Annie Leonhardt, in a fright. In response to this, Annie found herself frowning as the slightly taller girl with pigtails skidded to a stop in front of her and immediately placed the back of her hand against her forehead, attempting to feel her temperature all the while, only to be shrugged off by the blonde, who appeared mildly irritated. The same applied to Nac, who had held his hand up to do as Carolina had before, only to be stayed when the blonde held a hand up to halt him. "Annie… you shouldn't be down here, your sickness-"

"I'm fine…" was all Annie bothered to say as she nudged Mina away and brushed past her without much concern. As she did so, however, the blonde failed to take note of the genuinely worried looks on her acquaintances faces, something that made even Mikazuki frown a little deeper than usual as he watched her march up to the couch, though their expressions were quick to revert back to their previous, worried looks as they followed Leonhardt along, though before long, the girl paused briefly when she finally took note of… "Who's he?"

Motioning towards the pilot, Annie glanced back at Mina and Nac as she turned to them for an answer. To their credit, neither withered under the short blonde's admittedly frosty gaze, with the former stepping forwards and clasping her hands together in a somewhat placating manner as she introduced her to Mikazuki and vice versa. Leonhardt didn't seem too impressed with Mika, and the same could be said about the reverse, as Augus simply stared at the blonde with an expression that told everyone present that he couldn't give any less of a shit about who the girl was, and before long, they just… began to ignore one another, with Annie moving to sit a on the couch, a good distance away from Mikazuki, who didn't even bother to acknowledge her all the while.

The silence stretched on for minutes, with both Mina and Nac watching on intently as they hoped the two would say something… anything to the other, though after a few, long moments of nothing… they decided to just let the issue drop for now as the latter moved back to the kitchen whilst the former moved to take a seat beside Annie.

Mikazuki watched on curiously as the pigtailed girl moved to sit by the one with the ponytail, who had pulled a book out of seemingly nowhere by now all the while. Annie didn't seem to mind nor care when Mina had taken a seat beside her, and she had only acknowledged her presence with a disgruntled hum when Carolina had placed the back of her hand against her forehead.

"... you're not feverish anymore, but you should still take it easy for now, alright, Annie?" muttered Mina, sounding just a bit maternal as she pulled her hand back from her… acquaintance, who simply frowned as she looked away. Mikazuki couldn't quite place what her expression was, exactly… but she certainly did seem just a tiny bit flustered as she huffed and nodded in annoyance, frowning deeply all the while.

"Fine," huffed Annie, with her tone of voice telling Mika that, despite her annoyance at Mina's coddling, she was still willing to go along with this. Hell, she did seem just a bit grateful towards her concern, though that was neither here nor there, Augus reckoned, as he watched the girl glance back down at her book with disinterest. The minutes went by from there on, with Leonhardt simply reading her book whilst Mina hummed to herself whilst swinging her legs off the couch. If Annie was annoyed by this, she did not voice it out, and Mikazuki certainly was not, as evident by how he was able to close his eyes and just… relax for a moment or two, with him tuning out the more annoying sound of Nac chopping vegetables up all the while.

As he threatened to lose consciousness, however, Mikazuki took note of how the sound of flipping pages had ceased. Though it rarely seemed that way, the pilot was incredibly observational of his surroundings, with his neutral, and at times even mistakenly unfocused, demeanor doing quite a bit to suggest otherwise, and as such, he was able to sense when things had changed, even if by a little. So, when Annie Leonhardt had stopped flipping through the pages of her book, and when he had heard her shut it with a soft thump, he almost opened his eyes to check on what was happening, only to pause when he heard some shushed words.

"So he's the guy you were talking about, huh?" Annie asked. Her voice was hushed, though Mikazuki's senses were razor sharp, allowing him to pick up on her words with minimal difficulty. He remained motionless aside from the rise and fall of his chest as he eavesdropped, and moments later, Mina grunted, eliciting a snort from Leonhardt as she responded. "You shouldn't keep picking strays up from the streets. It's a bad habit."

"I… don't think so. If I can help people, then… I don't see why I shouldn't," argued Mina, with her sad smile evident through her words as she spoke. Annie… said nothing in response to this, though a groan could still be heard as she got up to leave the area, and as soon as she was gone, presumably up to the second floor of the house… Mina sighed. "She's still so… cold…"

"Give her some time. She lost her home, just like with Mikazuki, Mina. She needs a while to adjust to her new setting," reasoned Nac from the other side of the place, though considering his tone of voice, Mikazuki wondered if he was truly confident in such a thing happening, though he didn't comment on it for now.

"Do… you think she'll still want to leave once she's recovered?" muttered Mina, sounding almost scared to receive her answer, piquing Mikazuki's interest with her words as one of his ears perked up upon hearing it. Neither noticed the movement as Nac sighed.

"... yes. I think she will. Annie's… independent, to say the least. I don't think she'd want to stay with us for any longer than necessary," lamented Nac, with his voice telling Mina that he felt somewhat uncomfortable as he cut into something whilst speaking. Mina herself let out a somewhat uncomfortable sound as she grunted in response to her friend's words, though not long after, she sighed and let the topic drop for now, and that was when Mikazuki decided to… wake up, so to speak.

Grunting a little as he made his awakening a little more dramatic than usual, the pilot brought a hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, with him sitting upright and leaning forwards as he opened his eyes slowly. Though he was faking the whole sleeping business, he had still been closing his eyes for quite some time, and as such, he had gotten them unused to light, so he still had to squint a little when he opened them.

As soon as they readjusted to the light, however, he found himself staring at Mina, who smiled at him with a smile that seemed less real than usual as she offered him a two fingered salute.

"Morning, sleepyhead," greeted Mina, with Nac rolling his eyes at her words. Mikazuki himself grunted in acknowledgement as he looked around to get his bearings back together, though as he did so, Carolina mistook this for him wondering about Annie. "Annie's gone upstairs, if you're wondering. She… still needs a bit of rest before she's fully recovered. Mum's orders."

"Hm," grunted Mika, with him rubbing at one of his eyes as he yawned a little on reflex, and at that, Mina snickered a little whilst Nac rolled his eyes in amusement.

"You must've been tired, Mikazuki. It isn't even the afternoon yet!" hummed Nac with a grin, to which Mika frowned and glanced out the closest window. It was indeed still morning… but even so…

"I have a feeling that that won't change any time soon."

"Really, and what makes you say that?"

"It's just a feeling."

And for as strange as that was to say, neither Mina nor Nac questioned him further on it as they went back to doing their own things.

For the most part, Annie's presence in his life, however small it may be, didn't really change much. If anything, barely anything had changed whatsoever.

When Mina had first mentioned her some time ago, Mikazuki hadn't put much thought into what kind of person Annie Leonhardt was. The pigtailed girl had said that she was like him, making Mika assume that Annie was just an antisocial prick… and for the most part, he was right.

Whenever she was with company, the girl would avoid direct eye contact with everyone around her and just read that book of hers whilst sitting on the couch. Mikazuki saw her often, but in another way entirely… he did not truly see her. Her presence felt more akin to the furniture around them rather than any one of their compatriots. Mina and Nac had a thing for making their presence known in one way or another, but Annie? She had always just… blended into her surroundings, something that she seemed completely fine with as she sat up straight, too straight for any normal person, and just… read.

Mikazuki had known Annie for about two weeks by now, and he had seen her physically in those aforementioned weeks… but even so, nothing really changed between the two, as they remained strangers evermore to one another, regardless of how frequently they saw the other. Mina and Nac's relationship with Annie seemed somewhat strained, to say the least, with the two being able to coerce her into starting a conversation or two with them, but they never did last all that long, and whilst they did try their best… Leonhardt always seemed keen on pushing them away.

"Hey… if you want, we could try braiding your hair. Mina says it's nice…" hummed Nac at one point, with him smiling gently as he looked away from Mina's thick braid of hair. As he had said, the oldest person present was smiling happily as he worked his fingers through Carolina's strands and braided them up, and as he spoke, Mikazuki watched on silently whilst Annie seemed more keen on ignoring it all.

"No," muttered Annie coldly, with her sounding… somewhat reluctant as she slouched her shoulders sadly, and moments later, things went back to normal, with Nac frowning a fair bit as he slouched his shoulders and worked on the braid with a bit less vigor. Likewise, Mina herself seemed less enthused about it all as she sat in silence, allowing her friend to do his thing. Mikazuki… held no opinion on the matter, with him simply remaining silent as he watched as his acquaintances did their thing, though not long after, Leonhardt snapped her book shut and left the room, eliciting a few saddened hums from her acquaintances (barring Mikazuki) all the while.

"Bummer…" muttered Nac as he finished up on Mina's braid.

"Well… thanks Nac. Hey, Mikazuki, how do I look?" asked Mina, with her smiling as she showed off her new hairdo. Mikazuki hummed as he took stock of how Carolina's typical pigtails were now tied up into a single long braid, and for all it was worth… he thought she looked weird with it. In a good way, at least.

Personally he hoped that this wouldn't be a permanent thing. He preferred the pigtails.

"Good," was all Mikazuki bothered to say at that point as he gave Mina a quick glance, to which she grinned and winked at him.

"Don't I always?" laughed Mina happily as she leaned back against Nac's chest, eliciting a huff of bemusement from the aforementioned boy whilst Mikazuki simply hummed indifferently.

He'd… rather not admit that he agreed with that statement.

It was around midnight, that much was obvious to him… but even so…

Thump… thump… thump… creak…

… someone else was awake in the Carolina household, someone that wasn't him, anyways. Perking his ears up just a tiny bit as he heard this, the pilot almost opened his eyes to check on who the person was, but he resisted the urge, as he remembered that, although rare, Mina and Nac tended to come down to get some things, be it a glass of water or just to go to the toilet. Either worked, really, and out of habit, the pilot simply grunted and rolled over to his other side, a small but ultimately benign gesture to tell whoever was down here with him that he was awake, aware of their presence… and that he didn't care. He had done this with both Mina and Nac previously, and they had always apologised to him in an awkwardly hushed tone every time.

It was… amusing, to say the least, and although it's happened less than a grand total of three times, the pilot still found it just a little funny, how those two had apologised in such a way. They were certainly spineless… but at the same time, they were polite, and in some ways, he didn't see that as a bad tradeoff.

When he had turned around this time, however, the pilot didn't hear any swift apology, nor did he hear the sound of cups being shifted or the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing. No… all he heard was the sound of footsteps halting, if only for a moment, as the person present with him stood at the center of the room, seemingly gauging if Mikazuki was awake, but after a few moments of observation, they seemed to assume that the pilot was still asleep, seemingly to their relief, as they made their way towards the door.

Mikazuki remained quiet as he heard them leave, and when they did, the pilot opened his eyes. His blue irises almost shone in the dark as he got up and tugged on his blue innerwear, and moments later, he glanced over towards the door and frowned in annoyance. A small part of him did wish to just let the issue slide… but with that being said, there was something undeniably exciting about this whole situation, he had to admit.

Things have just been so unspeakably… dull in the past few weeks, and although Mika wasn't exactly the type to seek out violence, not unless he had to, anyways… even he had to admit that things were getting very boring around here, and by all means, he'd like for something different to happen for a change. And this? This was different… and considering how things went, this could be interesting as well…

Huffing to himself as he acknowledged the stupidity of what he was about to do, Mikazuki got up, did a few quick stretches and picked up his Tekkadan jacket, with him wearing it with minimal issue before he moved towards the door. Opening it up, the pilot glanced down and saw a set of footprints on the ground. A fresh trail… he almost smiled as he followed it, excited for something interesting for a change as he trudged onwards with a tiny bit of curiosity.

Mikazuki remained close to the shadows as he followed the trail, with his eyes adjusting remarkably quickly to the darkness as the seconds ticked on, and before long, he had caught up with his mystery perpetrator, with him slowing down and slinking into an alleyway for cover when he caught sight of them. When he did, the pilot raised a brow in surprise when he saw that it was…

'Annie Leonhardt…'

… dressed in a long sleeved shirt (Mikazuki believed it was called a parka?) and with a pair of pants that seemed to belong to Nac. Strange… why would she be out here, at such a time no less? Hm… that in itself didn't really matter, Mika supposed… or at least that second part didn't matter all that much. The first part, on the other hand, did. What was her business out here…?

Seemingly in response to his thoughts, the blonde turned towards an alleyway that wasn't too far from the one that Mikazuki was hidden in, with her moving with purpose as she did so. Humming a little at this, the pilot watched as she disappeared from view, and once he couldn't hear her footsteps, Mika left his hiding spot and moved to pursue. He kept his back against the corner of the alleyway Annie had walked into for a moment as he peeked around it to have a look if Leonhardt was close-by, and much to his chagrin, she was not.

He could, however, hear the girl's voice from deeper into the alleyway, and though it was faint, he could still make out some snippets of conversation…

This was a simple arrangement… but for all it was worth, Annie Leonhardt was still… apprehensive about it as she stopped in front of a dimly lit portion of the alleyway. The source of the light was a torch, held by… a Garrison soldier, of all people, who was staring at her apprehensively.

"You told me to come meet you here, so here I am," commented Annie coldly, with her frowning as she did so. There was frost behind her voice, something that was normal for her, but even so… there was some desperation behind it, something that was rare, to say the least, as she glared at the soldier before her.

"Slow down there, sunshine. We need the goods first," hummed the soldier present as he eyed Annie expectantly. Frowning at her words, Leonhardt held back the urge to grimace as she reached behind herself and pulled a small sack of coins from her belt. Subconsciously, she was very much aware of how there were other eyes on her as well, with three other Garrison soldiers present, leering at her as the seconds ticked by. She ignored most of them as she threw the coin bundle at the one holding the torch, who caught it with minimal issue.

Opening it up with one hand, the soldier hummed as he used the torch to illuminate its contents, only to frown when he saw how… mediocre the amount was. There were certainly quite a few coins in there, though they didn't amount to much, and Annie knew this. She was honestly just hoping that her luck would hold up, just enough for her to-

"Hey, kid, this isn't even close to the amount we had agreed on," muttered the first soldier, who frowned as he spoke, eliciting no reaction from Annie as she maintained her dour expression.

"It's all I could scrape together these past few months after the Shiganshina incident orphaned me… it's all I have," retorted Annie weakly, with her lowering her gaze as she spoke. The neutrality of her voice was still there, but at the same time, there was a hint of desperation in her tone, and she didn't like how vulnerable it made her sound. The soldier, on the other hand, seemed to acknowledge her weakness, as he sneered at the girl and tossed the small sack back at her without much of a care in the world.

"Well, it won't be enough to justify us smuggling you into Rose, kid," hummed the Garrison soldier as he threw the sack back to Annie, who glowered at his words as she considered a retort, though she thought better of it as with a grimace. No point in arguing such an issue, not when she had nothing to argue with, she reasoned, as she nodded and turned on her heel. The deal was no doubt off, so she may as well just- "We could think up an alternative payment, though…"

"... no," was all Annie could really say as she felt her shoulders tensing up. The smile that was no doubt present on the Garrison soldier's face made her feel ill, and although she had already stooped rather low in asking them for help into the inner confines of Rose, Leonhardt outright refused to stoop that low for their help. She still had her pride, after all… "The deal's off. Just pretend that none of this happened."

And as if on cue, the other soldiers present all stepped forwards, seeming somewhat… perturbed by Annie's words as they did so. Leonhardt grimaced at this, seeming just a little taken aback by just how they were staring at her, though she maintained her composure as four soldiers, much older than she was, surrounded her from all corners, though said composure threatened to collapse as she felt a hand rest atop her shoulder.

"C'mon, kid. You were talking kinda desperately just a few days prior… surely, you'd do anything to get into Rose now, yes?" hummed the soldier behind her as he stepped closer to Annie and adjusted his grip on her shoulder. Breathing in deeply, the blonde frowned as a shadow loomed over her eyes, shielding them from view as she steadied her breathing.

"That is none of your concern. The deal is off," mumbled Annie, with the discomfort she was feeling hidden behind her tone of neutrality as she spoke, though it didn't stop her from stiffening when she felt the man's hand slither down from her shoulder and towards her chest…

"Don't be like that, babe. Surely we can-"

He didn't even get a chance to finish that statement as, within seconds, the soldier's wrist was seized with remarkable force. Said soldier didn't even have time to register that, however, as Annie was quick to pull him forwards via his arm and kick one of her legs towards his shins, and despite his larger size, Leonhardt was able to sweep him off his feet and force him to land on his stomach within a matter of seconds, with the torch he was holding fallin inches away from his face moments later. Upon hitting the ground, he made an attempt to get back up, only for the blonde to slam her foot down onto the back of his head, effectively forcing him to kiss the dirt once more.

"Do not call me babe," growled Annie, with her blue irises glowing with malignance as she kept the older man down with just her foot. The other soldiers present seemed taken aback by Annie's unprecedented skill (as was another individual watching from a distance), though before long, they were quick to snap out of their trance-like states and stomp forwards, having found Leonhardt's retaliation to be quite a hit to their pride all the while.

They had, unfortunately, underestimated just how agile the blonde was, as, when one of the three others had attempted to strike the back of Annie's head, the girl had ducked under it and twirled around, striking the man in the stomach with her elbow and forcing him to lean forwards, lowering himself down just enough for her to knee him below the chin. Whilst he staggered back, Leonhardt grabbed onto a fistful of his hair and used that to throw him into one of his compatriots, slamming them into one another and causing them to fall to the ground.

As the two fell to the ground, Annie kicked at the man that she had tripped previously, forcing him to fall to his side in a somewhat pathetic showing, only for her to be caught from behind moments later. The final soldier present wrapped his arms tightly around Leonhardt's arms and waist in an attempt to restrain her, and he had done so quite efficiently, though she didn't count on the blonde jerking her head back and slamming the back of her skull into his face, striking him hard and forcing him to loosen his hold on her, just enough to let her break free and turn around to sock him in the stomach. The punch made the taller soldier double over in pain, and seconds later, the blonde raised her fist up to ready another punch…

… only for it to be halted when one of the other soldiers, who had recovered from her initial attack, grabbed onto her wrist tightly, effectively halting her punch, and glowered at her. Grimacing at this, Annie narrowed her eyes and, instead of trying to pry her arm away from the man, instead swung one of her legs up towards the man's head. Said man's eyes widened when Leonhardt's leg swung up to almost 180 degrees and hit him in the face with quite a bit of force, and on impact, he released her wrist, much to her relief, and staggered backwards, opening himself to a follow up attack from the blonde girl, which she took by lunging forwards and drop kicking him in the chest, sending him staggering back into one of his compatriots, causing the two of them to fall to the ground moments later.

'Hmph…' huffed Annie, seeming mostly unimpressed by these soldiers' skills as she stepped back and reassumed her more defensive posture. They were probably trained in basic hand to hand combat, but still… that was hard to believe, as they kinda sucked at it. Then again, Annie did have a lot of training in the same department, and even if they were older and stronger than she was, Leonhardt still had more training and agility on her side.

Whilst she kept her eyes on the soldiers that were in front of her, however, namely three of them, two of which were still scrambling back up to their feet whilst the third seemed somewhat unsure on what to do, the fourth person, the one that Annie had punched in the stomach before her wrist was caught, had recovered from the strike by now and had his eyes set on Leonhardt. Noticing her back turned towards him, he grinned and began charging forwards, fully intent on tackling her into the closest wall all the while. Annie had heard his approach in an instant as she turned to face him, though before she could even do anything to halt his approach…

… the charging man was quickly tackled from the side by Mikazuki, who barreled into the fray with no regrets whatsoever. Slamming his shoulder into the charging man, Mika forced him to stop as his shoulder tackle sent the older man soaring backwards rather dramatically, and he landed back on the ground in an awkward roll moments later.

"... Mikazuki Augus?" muttered Annie as he watched the newly arrived boy stand up and rub his wrist, with her blinking a little as her usually emotionless mask crumbled in favour of a shocked look that was very much an oddity for her… though as for the pilot himself, he simply grimaced as he pulled back one of his hands.

"Duck," was all he bothered to say as he swung his fist out towards the blonde's head, and when he did, Annie widened her eyes just enough to be noticeable as she, well, ducked, and as she did so, a fist went sailing over the top of her head… and within moments, said fist collided with Mikazuki's, and on impact, a solid crack could be heard as both the soldier's and Mikazuki's knuckles dislocated themselves from one another. Said soldier screamed as he staggered back in pain, though as for Mika himself, he simply stepped back and cracked his knuckles, relocating his dislocated knuckles without hassle, something that impressed Annie quite a bit.

Of course, that didn't distract her for too long, as, in an instant, she turned towards the injured soldier and swung her legs at his own, sweeping them out from under him and causing him to fall onto his side. As he landed on the ground, Mikazuki jumped forwards and slammed his boot down onto the side of his skull, with the impact knocking the man out in an instant. Annie… admittedly, offered a tiny smile at just how easily Augus had dealt with that soldier, though she didn't say much more about it as she jumped back up to her feet, and moments later, the two were facing off against the last two soldiers that could still fight.

To their credit, the two soldiers seemed to acknowledge that they were wholly outmatched. Mikazuki and Annie had just taken down two of their numbers with seemingly no effort whatsoever, and it seemed as though they had been pulling their punches this whole time. Their best option was to retreat, but alas, their pride stopped them from doing so, and with a yell of anger, one of the two soldiers rushed forwards, screaming bloody murder all the while. Annie narrowed her eyes and moved to intercept this one, with Mikazuki huffing as he moved to bring down the other.

Annie's opponent attempted to punch down at her, though she was able to avoid the strike with relative ease by twisting her body to one side and twirling behind the man, where she bent down a tiny bit and struck his back with the side of her elbow. Staggering forwards at this, the man growled in annoyance as he attempted a few more punches down at Leonhardt, with none of them connecting, and on the sixth attempt, the blonde caught him by the wrist and used it as a lever to slam him face-first into the ground. Before he could recover, Annie pinned him down onto the ground by planting a knee atop his upper back and grabbed onto his arm with both her hands, and in one swift gesture, she pulled the arm back and broke it. The bone gave way with a sickening snap as she did so, and the pain rendered the soldier unconscious after he let out a short yet pained cry.

Mikazuki's end of things were much less interesting, to say the least. Whilst Annie focused on speed and agility over raw brute strength, Mika had enough muscle to power through most of his issues, and that shone through quite well as he watched the man before him hesitate to strike. Ultimately, however, he attacked, and the pilot dodged left and then right before he ducked under a haymaker and socked the man in the stomach with a powerful strike that left him heavily disorientated. Coughing out in agony, the man attempted to recover as he staggered back and spluttered out his saliva, though before that could even begin to happen, Augus brought his arm up and seized him by the neck, squeezing it tightly and cutting off the air flow.

The pilot kept his grip on the man's neck, even as he squirmed, thrashed and clawed at his wrist, and before long, his movements ceased as his eyelids fell upon his eyes. He wasn't dead, but he was damn well close to being so, though that didn't really matter, Mikazuki reckoned, as he carelessly tossed the man's unconscious body off to the side like it was a sack of garbage, and upon doing so, he was met with the somewhat impressed face of Annie Leonhardt, who had her arms crossed as she watched the pilot do his thing.

For a time, the two simply stared at one another blankly, with one trying to figure the other out as they did so. Mikazuki himself was the one to break the silence, surprisingly enough, as he huffed and adjusted his jacket's position on his shoulders.

"You're not half bad in a fight," admitted Mikazuki blankly as he removed his jacket and rubbed at his bare arms absentmindedly, and as he did so, he glanced off to his side and saw that the guy he had tackled was slowly getting back up to his feet. Annie saw it as well, though she didn't question it as she remained neutral and nodded.

"You too, I guess," hummed Annie. Thereafter, she just… stared at him for a moment, trying to discern his motives, before ultimately failing to do so, prompting her to sigh in annoyance once more. "Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that question," countered Mikazuki, with him slinging his jacket over his shoulder as he spoke, and for all it was worth, Annie seemed just a little remorseful over her actions as her hand brushed against the sack of coins on her belt. The action caught Mika's eye as he hummed to himself in bemusement, though not long after, Annie responded.

"I can answer your question… just… not here," said Annie, with her rubbing her upper arm meekly as she spoke. How… odd. Mikazuki wasn't used to seeing the otherwise stoic girl act so meekly, though he supposed that nothing was impossible at this point, and at that, he nodded, though before he could motion for her to lead the way… both he and Leonhardt turned to their sides and saw the soldier that the pilot had knocked down had gotten up to his feet once more and was charging towards them, one fist raised as he closed in on them.

And before his strike could connect, Mikazuki raised his jacket up and caught the man's punch in it, and moments later, he stopped the strike with his article of clothing before he swiftly coiled the jacket around the man's arm. Upon doing so, the man flinched as his strike was so easily halted by something as simple as a jacket, prompting him to pause briefly as he attempted to pull his arm back, though he didn't get a chance to do so as, within moments, both Mika and Annie were already upon him.

Mika started off with a haymaker that forced the man's body to twist downwards, straight towards Annie's fist, which collided with his cheek with enough force to rebound him back up towards Mikazuki, who kicked him in the groin, causing him to double over in agony. Leonhardt followed up on this by clasping her hands together and uppercutting the man in the face, forcing him to stand up once more and allowing Augus to deliver yet another haymaker to his face, jerking his body to one side and allowing for his blonde acquaintance to jump up and kick him hard in the cheek.

This time, when the soldier rebounded back up to his usual height, Mikazuki grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the closest wall, and before he could even recover from this, both he and Annie lunged forwards and punched him right in the face. The combined force of the Warrior and Pilot was more than enough to knock him out cold, with the wall behind him cracking from the sheer force behind the impact, and as they pulled their arms back, they shook their wrists to rid them of the soreness they were currently feeling before turning to look at one another with a newfound sense of respect.

"So… where to now?" asked Mikazuki flatly as he moved to retrieve his jacket, eliciting a snort from Annie as she watched him wear it without a care in the world. Such lack of concern for what just happened was impressive, to say the least, and for all it was worth, Leonhardt reckoned she could respect that.

"Not here, I guess. You just wanna… go for a walk?"

And after giving a grunt of acknowledgement, the two abnormalities were off to do their thing.

"... how much did you hear?"

Annie had been the one to break the silence, surprisingly enough, as both she and Mikazuki walked down the dark streets of Trost. It was well past midnight by now, perhaps around three in the morning, if the position of the moon was anything to go by, and both the blonde and the pilot had been walking aimlessly around the district for the better part of half an hour.

For the most part, the two had been content with remaining silent and walking around the place without words, but ultimately, the duo knew that there was an unspoken question that needed to be answered between the two of them, and in the end, Annie was the one to voice out that question, eliciting a huff from Mikazuki as they paused by the center of Trost. It felt kinda strange to see the usually crowded and bustling heart of the district so barrand and empty, but neither commented on it as they stood by idly.

"I heard enough," responded Mikazuki dryly as he slid his hands into his jacket sleeves, eliciting a nod from Annie all the while. She didn't seem too hungover on him learning about why she was in that alley to begin with, though he did wish to know… "You wanted to go to Rose, and the soldier said you were desperate. Why?"

"... you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you," muttered Annie absentmindedly as she waved the pilot off and walked towards a small crate over by the side. Mikazuki huffed as he followed her, seeming just a tiny bit curious all the while.

"Try me," challenged Mikazuki, surprising Annie with his words as she sat atop the crate, with her hanging her legs over its side all the while. Mika himself held back an amused scoff when he saw this, with him finding her mediocre height to be a little funny, though even if he didn't let that noise escape his lips, Leonhardt still noticed how his expression had changed just a little, prompting her to give him a deadpanned look of annoyance.

"Hmph… fine," grumbled Annie, with her leaning backwards, propping her weight against her arms which rested against the corners of the crate, and spoke. She seemed less tense than Mikazuki remembered now, with there being a somewhat melancholic undercurrent in her voice that Mika hadn't noticed prior to now. She was longing for something… though what this something was was beyond his comprehension. "I… I want to get into Rose because my friends are there."

"... that's it?" was all Mikazuki responded with after a brief pause, with him raising a brow in disbelief as he gave her the stink eye. He… was half convinced that Annie wasn't telling the whole truth, though the look that the blonde gave him moments later more or less confirmed that she was speaking the truth. "I was expecting a bit more."

"Why would you? I just want to see my friends again. That's all," muttered Annie, with her sounding almost ashamed to say such a thing as she leaned forwards and brought her knees up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around them, Leonhardt hugged her knees close as she spoke, and though her tone of voice was very much neutral, Mikazuki, who's spoken in such a manner for practically his whole life by now, could tell that there was something more behind that reasoning.

She wanted to see her friends again, yes… but there was something else she wished to do as well…

"... I can understand that feeling," admitted Mikazuki, with him letting his curiosity on what else Annie wished to accomplish fall to the wayside for now as he spoke. Annie, upon hearing this admission, found herself blinking a little as she tilted her head up to look Mika in the eye, and noticing how he had her attention now, the pilot continued. "You're a refugee too, right? From Shiganshina."

"Maria," corrected Annie, eliciting a nod from the pilot. Same difference, really…

"Hm. When the Titans attacked, I lost everything, and you probably did as well," hummed Mikazuki, with him frowning as he acknowledged the lie he had just told. It wasn't entirely a lie, as he has indeed lost everything he held dear, with the only exception being Barbatos, but even so… it did feel a tiny bit odd to be speaking insincerely. Mika was never the best at lying, after all, as most of his statements came from the heart in an absurdly blunt manner. Still though, he wasn't bad at it either, and when Annie's brows raised in response to his words, he continued. "I should feel envious of you, honestly. At least you have friends that you can see again in the future. I lost everyone in Shiganshina."

"Your… parents?"

"I never knew them."

"Siblings?"

"Didn't have any related to me by blood."

"... friends?"

"They're all gone."

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything."

"But I want to. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be. You weren't responsible for any of it."

A short pause from Annie, with her looking away briefly as she tried to steady her breathing. Mikazuki raised a brow at that, with him noticing how the blonde's shoulders were shaking as she tried to recompose herself, and on instinct, he almost raised his arm up to set his hand atop her shoulder, though before he could do so, her shaking abruptly ceased as she continued, with her keeping her gaze away from him as she spoke.

"... do you miss them?"

"Yes. A lot."

"You don't sound like you do."

"Because they wouldn't want me to."

"What does that mean?"

"My friends wouldn't want me to focus too much on their… deaths. They'd want me to keep moving forward with my head held high."

"How would you know what they'd want?"

"I don't."

"So you just assume?"

"Yes."

"What if you assume incorrectly?"

"That would be my problem."

"I see. It seems rather stupid, to assume that you know what a dead person would want you to do."

"Almost as stupid as asking the Garrison to smuggle you into Rose."

Mikazuki's final few words had struck a chord in Annie, as she turned back to face him with a frown. Said frown was a lot deeper than he was used to seeing, though it didn't make him flinch or recoil one bit as he maintained eye contact with the girl. Irritation and just a bit of anger burnt in her irises as she glared at him with mirth, though hidden beneath all that was something else entirely, and it took Mika a moment or two to figure out just what it was.

It was fear.

'You're afraid…' thought Mikazuki, with him looking away briefly as he realized this. 'You're afraid of being alone… that's why you were so desperate to head to Rose. You wanted to be with people you love and trust again…'

Mikazuki could understand that feeling…

"Is it stupid to want to see your friends again?"

"No. It's the method you chose that's stupid."

"It doesn't matter. I just… I just want to be with people I trust again. That's all…"

"Mina and Nac are trustworthy people."

"But they're not my friends."

"They see you as theirs, though."

"They're stupid for doing so."

"I used to think the same."

"Used to?"

"Ah. But then… I realized…"

Trailing off as he said this, Mikazuki glanced skywards and remained mostly neutral as he gazed up at the stars. One couldn't blame him for this, as it was a beautiful night sky, but even as he stared up at them, the pilot continued to speak, albeit with a more wistful tone of voice this time.

"They care."

"Pardon?"

"Mina and Nac care for me… and I've grown to care for them too."

"Well, good for you, I guess."

"You care for them too, don't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

Annie was getting a little defensive with her tone of voice. To anyone else, the mild shift in her tone would probably encourage them to stop speaking, though for Mikazuki, the pilot simply shrugged as he answered.

"You're never rude to Mina or Nac."

"It's called manners. I don't need to lose them, regardless of whether or not I care for them."

"You don't mind it when Mina or Nac try to talk to you. Or when they worry about you and your sickness."

"Their talking doesn't hurt anyone. I can just tune them out."

"But you're usually listening."

"How would you know?"

"I can tell."

"... alright then, smartass, tell me, why the fuck are you so interested in how I feel towards Mina and Nac?"

And there it was. Though it wasn't a full on yell, there was enough heat behind Annie Leonhardt's demand that Mikazuki had paused in his questioning for the briefest of moments, though not long after, the pilot shrugged and exhaled softly.

"Because I want you to know that if you were to disappear suddenly, without warning, they'd be very sad."

"..."

A pause, with Annie looking away quietly as she considered Mikazuki's words.

"Why would they? I've been nothing more than a burden to them for the past few weeks," muttered Annie, the confusion shining through in her voice as she shifted uncomfortably, and at that, Mikazuki simply shrugged as he pulled his jacket closer to his person. The cold chill of the night was slowly increasing, and even Augus was feeling its effects as he shuddered slightly, though this didn't stop him from responding nonetheless.

"Some people see things differently than others. Mina and Nac are different from you… from us, rather. I don't think they could see taking care of you as a burden, even if they tried," hummed Mikazuki as he scratched his lower lip. In truth, he genuinely believed that neither Mina nor Nac were capable of genuine hate, even if they wanted to. They just seemed so… so fucking nice! So much so that, on the day where they said they hated something… that would be the day where this world imploded.

It would've been for the best… but regardless…

"Hmph. They're idiots. Taking care of me without expecting any form of repayment… and not caring if I respect them or not…" muttered Annie, with her gaze looking a little forlorn as she buried half her face between her knees. Mikazuki recognised that look in her eyes as he frowned and crossed his arms, sighing all the while.

"Some people are just nice for no reason. You should accept that," commented Mikazuki, eliciting a snort from Annie.

"You speaking from experience? Aside from Mina and Nac, of course," asked Annie, with her tone sounding less neutral and more… well, casual as she glanced in the pilot's general direction, and in response to this, he offered her an obscenely small smile as he nodded, something that she could've very easily missed if she wasn't as attentive as she always was.

"Yes. I am," answered Mikazuki, prompting Annie to nod. She left the rest of her questions unspoken, and by all means, Mika was fine with that. To reveal more context behind his response would only hurt him more in the long run, and by all means… although he adored her, the pilot didn't wish to think any more about Atra than he had to.

Just thinking about her made his heart squeeze sadly…

"We should head back home now. Mina and Nac might wake up soon, and I don't think they'll be happy to see either of us gone," muttered Annie, with her kicking her feet over the edge of the crate as she spoke. Hearing her say this made Mikazuki blink a little in surprise, as he hadn't expected her to say such a thing so abruptly.

"I thought you didn't care for them?" hummed Mikazuki. He meant no real insult with his words, but at the same time, he couldn't resist a tiny jab, and for all it was worth, Annie did shoot him a look of annoyance when he said this, though not long after, she sighed and jumped to her feet. She seemed just a bit annoyed at how she had to look up a tiny bit to look Mika in the eye, though she didn't voice her grievances out as she exhaled softly.

"There's a first for everything, and to be honest, I'd rather not listen to their incessant whining about my whereabouts if we get home after they wake up," grumbled Annie, with her waving a hand through the air as she spoke. Mikazuki thought that was a fair statement to make, and as such, he nodded and motioned for Leonhardt to lead the way back to the Carolina household, which she did with minimal issue.

The rest of the night was spent walking in silence, with Mikazuki and Annie pausing briefly to observe the rising sun before they continued along the path to the Carolina household. Despite the typical silence one would expect from them, however, there was also an undeniable spark of respect that had been ignited between the two, one that would be maintained for years to come.

Truth be told, when Nac had woken up to see Annie's bed unoccupied, he wasn't all that worried. After all, the girl was an early riser, especially after she had made a full recovery from her illness.

Hopping down from his spot on the top bunk, Nac landed awkwardly and hoped that his footfalls did not wake Mina, who was still asleep on the bottom bunk, up. Thankfully enough, the girl remained asleep as she dozed away, back facing him, despite the admittedly loud landing that Tias had made, and after realizing this, the tall guy sighed in relief and hastily made his retreat from the room.

Rather meekly, he shut the door behind him and snuck his way downstairs, fully expecting to see Mikazuki and Annie just… sitting down there awkwardly as they pretended that the other wasn't around to ruin their tranquility.

"You suck at this."

… what?

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Be better."

"Okay."

Upon hearing the voice of not just Annie, but Mikazuki as well, Nac, out of shock, nearly stumbled down the steps as he raced downstairs and peered over at the source of the conversation, and when he did, his eyeballs nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw both Annie Leonhardt and Mikazuki Augus, sitting on opposing sides of the living room coffee table, playing a game of chess with one another.

Evidently, Nac must've made a noise when he saw this, as the two blue eyed teens turned their attention towards him the moment he came into view, and upon seeing him, Mikazuki grunted in acknowledgement whilst Annie simply nodded, a simple greeting to be sure, but it was a greeting nonetheless… and it made Tias pale a little as he swung his arms around wildly.

"Gah… wha… HUH?!" blurted out Nac as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Sure, it was rude to just… well, gesture wildly and blurt out words, but even so… his horrendous confusion wasn't unwarranted, as he's grown rather used to Annie's less than stellar attitude towards everything around her. Seeing her act so casually had no doubt caught him off guard, and evidently, it was showing through a lot more than he'd like, as Leonhardt had to throw one of Mikazuki's many defeated chess pieces straight at him to snap him out of his stupor. "Youch!"

"Stop gawking," grumbled Annie, sounding… well, annoyed as she glared at Nac in annoyance, though much to his surprise, there wasn't much heat behind said glare. That made him wonder… had any of her previous glares been heated, or were all of them just to get him and Mina to shut up? He may never know, though nonetheless, the young man snapped out of his stupor and scrambled over to return the chess piece to the duo, with him smiling meekly all the while.

"S-Sorry… I, uh… just wasn't expecting… well, y'know," commented Nac, to which Mikazuki nodded, seeming to understand what he was getting at, while Annie simply rolled her eyes. At the same time, Mika moved a chess piece in the wrong direction, earning him a flick to his knuckles, courtesy of Leonhardt, prompting him to glance up at her, curious.

"You don't move a Knight that way. You move it in an L shape," hummed Annie, to which Mikazuki grunted.

"Alright."

"That's a rook. It moves in a t shape."

"I don't get it. How does a castle move?"

"Beats me."

"What about this one?"

"The Bishop moves in an X shape."

"Weird."

"I know."

This felt surreal…

"Hey, uh… can someone, like, punch me or something?" muttered Nac as both Mika and Annie glanced over at him. The former seemed to be apprehensive about the request whilst the latter flexed her fingers, seeming curious on what might happen if she did so, though she held herself back as she shook her head.

"What for?" asked Annie flatly, to which Nac leans back.

"I… I think I might be dreaming…" was her answer, and at that, Annie rolled her eyes while Mikazuki hummed and moved the Bishop on his board in what he hoped to be the correct direction.

"You will be, if either of us punches you," stated Mikazuki, and much to Nac's shock, Annie actually… laughs. Okay, laughing might be an overstatement. It was more of an amused sound that managed to worm its way out of her throat, but it was still something, and when Tias heard it, he blinked in shock and nearly passed out from shock, though he managed to keep it together, and from then on, he remained silent as he watched the duo duel each other in chess.

Well, duel was probably too strong a word, as Annie was absolutely dominating her opponent in the game.

"Hey, Nac?" began Annie, with her speaking mere moments after trouncing Mikazuki at chess, eliciting a blink from the aforementioned young man as he turned to face her. Her usually cold blue eyes softened a little as she stared at him, with it being a good change from her usually menacing glare, and after a few moments of pondering on if she should even ask about this, and after Nac nodded, giving her the okay to ask her question… "Could you try braiding my hair?"

It took all the effort in Nac's body to not faint on the spot right there and then whilst he did his best to process her request, and when Mina had came down just under an hour later, she had immediately assumed that she was still asleep when she saw that her tall friend was braiding together Leonhardt's long blonde hair, and when she realized that she was, indeed, very much awake, she lost it and volunteered to borrow her a few of her hairpins.

And off to the side, Mikazuki couldn't help but smile a tiny bit as he watched all of this unfold.

Yeah… he could probably get used to this…

Omake

"You still haven't told me why you were following me."

"Oh. Well, I was bored. That's why."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. There's not much to do these days."

"So you left Mina's house at midnight to follow a potential stranger to an alleyway, where you eavesdropped on her plan to abandon her acquaintances, only to rush in to help her beat up some guys… and then give her a bit of therapy… all because you were bored?"

"That's a gross oversimplification, but yes. That sums it up."

"You're weird, Mikazuki."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Annie."