A small yawn was the first thing to escape Mina's lips as she sat herself down behind one of the many tables within the Survey Corp HQ's cafeteria, and as she did so, Nac couldn't help but offer a small yet exhausted chuckle as he sat beside her.
In one of his hands was a cup of water, and as soon as his rear made contact with the seat beneath him, the tall guy was quick to gulp the entire cup down before he slammed it back down onto the table thereafter. A quick sigh of exhaustion wormed its way out of his lips not long after, though he was quick to get over it as he nudged Mina gently with his elbow.
"That was certainly something… huh?" quipped Nac in a rather lighthearted manner as he eyed his friend, and in response to his words, Carolina shrugged indifferently and rested her elbows up on the table they were sitting behind. Thereafter, she propped her head up atop her hands and exhaled sharply, and though Tias didn't really approve of that behaviour of hers, he couldn't bring himself to tell her to stop it as he understood that she was tired, to say the least.
Hell, she wasn't the only one who was tired, after all. Rather quickly, Nac looked away and glanced around the cafeteria, where he could see several other Survey Corp recruits in similar states to Mina. Hell, from where he was sitting, Tias could see that Sasha had already fainted from exhaustion, with Connie sitting beside her with one hand propping his head up while the other pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep himself awake for reasons only he knew of.
"Y-Yeah… training's a lot harder than it was back in our Cadet days, now isn't it?" replied Mina, sounding somewhere between sarcastic and serious as she glanced over at Nac with a small smile on her face, a smile that seemed forced, Tias noticed, though he didn't comment on it as he nodded and shrugged.
"It could be worse, honestly," assured Nac dismissively as he set his cup down and raised his hand up to rub his forehead.
As Mina had said, their new routine was definitely a lot more… strenuous than what they were used to. As Cadets, Keith, whilst not being the kindest drill sergeant in the world, had probably 'gone easy' on them, so to speak, as he knew that they weren't full fledged soldiers just yet. Now, however, their trainers, namely Sys and Ness who were almost always present to whip the recruits into shape, spared them no quarter as they quite literally worked them to the bone.
Nac understood why they were doing so, of course. He knew that neither one of his superiors wished for any of them to be Titan food when it came time for them to depart on their first expedition, but even so, they could stand to be a little more lenient when it came to teaching.
"Yeah… it really could, huh?" rebutted Mina rather offhandedly as she removed her head from her hands and rested them atop the table they were sitting behind. Rather stiffly, the pigtailed girl clasped her hands together and stared down at her intertwined fingers with a rather… distant look in her eyes, and upon noticing this, the taller boy found himself frowning as he exhaled gently.
It was rather obvious to him that she wasn't feeling great, so to speak. Ever since the end of the whole Trost incident, the Cadets that participated in the whole ordeal had left it much worse for wear. Though it has been more than a couple of weeks since the incident had ended, the experience as a whole was more than enough to traumatize the participants to the point where a complete recovery was most likely impossible, and though everyone else did show signs of being changed by it, Nac realized that Mina may have taken it harder than most, though then again, she was technically one of his closest friends, and he could pick up on small changes in her demeanor whereas others would fail to take note of them entirely.
Ever since the end of the Trost incident, Mina has been a lot more… reclusive than Nac was used to her being. Silence was never really her strong suit, especially when amongst friends, though now, she spoke less frequently, even to Nac, and had a tendency to stare off into space. For the most part, Nac found himself dismissing it as he didn't wish to push too much into Carolina's personal space, especially after what the two of them had been through mere weeks prior, but even so… he could only stop himself for so long, and before he could stop himself, the black haired young man sighed and cleared his throat, catching Mina's attention as she glanced his way.
"Hey, Mina, can I ask you something?" began Nac, with him keeping his tone of voice as gentle as he possibly could so as to not agitate the aforementioned girl. Though it wasn't exactly obvious, Tias has been losing his touch in regards to being friendly to everyone, something that was rather embarrassing for him to admit, but even so… the things that Ymir had told him back during the Trost incident… they ended up sticking with him for much longer than he'd like to admit, though even so, he did his best to not dwell on those issues as he watched his friend raise her brows at him and nod.
"Of course. What is it?" asked Mina, with her offering the taller guy a small, if a little tired, smile before he rubbed his chin and cleared his throat. This was going to be rather… awkward, but he's been through worse, he reckoned.
"You've just been acting… off recently, and it's starting to worry me," pointed out Nac, with his worries for his friend more than a little audible in his tone of voice, something that made Carolina shudder a tiny bit as she bit her lower lip and looked away from him, and when he placed his hand over her shoulder, the young woman jolted upright rather intensely as her friend spoke in as calm a tone of voice as he could muster. "Mina, if there's anything you want to get off your chest, I'll listen. We're friends, aren't we? Friends can always count on each other when we're down!"
"Heh, you got me there, Nac," quipped Mina as she gently punched her friend's shoulder. Tias snorted a tiny bit in response to her comment, though he was quick to shake off his amusement as he reminded himself that this could be a serious issue, and at that, he cleared his throat once more and continued speaking.
"Care to share what's on your mind? Only if you want to, of course. I'm not going to push you to do it," assured Nac as he shifted his hand forwards and rested it atop her clasped together pair. The guy raised his brows a little when he noticed how her hands were shaking ever so slightly, almost as though she were afraid of something, though as soon as he rested his palm atop them, the shaking subsided a little as she shut her eyes and exhaled gently.
"It's probably best if I shared it anyway. You definitely won't stop bugging me if I didn't," quipped Mina, with some sarcasm apparent in her tone of voice as Tias flinched a little at that.
"I'm not that invasive…" defended Nac as Mina smiled and smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand.
"I know, that was a joke," assured Mina with a wink, prompting Nac to roll his eyes before he stared over at his friend expectantly. At that, Carolina exhaled sharply before she glanced behind herself to make sure that no one was listening in on them, and as soon as she confirmed that they weren't about to be eavesdropped on, she turned back to Nac and spoke. "But… I… I'm just worried, alright?"
"Worried…" echoed Nac as he glanced away for a brief few seconds to think about just why she felt this way… though before long, the gears in his mind clicked into place as he blinked and turned back towards his friend. "You're thinking about them, aren't you?"
"It's that obvious, isn't it?" quipped Mina humorlessly as she smiled and pinched the bridge of her nose. She kept it there for a handful of seconds before removing it and smiling meekly. A humorless chuckle left her lips not long after as she responded. "Yeah, I… I'm worried for them. For Annie, Mikazuki… and for both of us."
"You want to elaborate on why?" asked Tias, hoping that speaking her mind would help ease it, if only by a little. Upon hearing his request, however, Carolina found herself offering him a strained smile before responding.
"The Trost incident's aftermath… we… were on cleanup duty. And there were so… s-so many…" began Mina, with her frowning deeply as she recalled the faces of all those soldiers that were lost during the Trost incident. Many others didn't even have any faces left to look at, and that in itself was more than enough to make her sick to her stomach as she nearly belched at the memory.
It took Nac a little longer than he wished to admit to take note of how uncomfortable his friend was feeling as she explained herself, prompting him to raise a hand up and rest it atop her shoulder as he offered her a small smile to calm her down.
"Hey, if it's too much to talk about…" muttered Nac in a reassuring manner, only for Mina to wave him off as she offered him a smile that radiated no happiness. Nac didn't like it, though he said nothing as she responded.
"Don't worry about it. It's just… a memory, and it can't really hurt me…" assured Mina, prompting Nac to shudder a tiny bit before he reluctantly nodded, allowing her to continue as he simply listened. "But even so… the thought of all of that happening to anyone… to any of our friends… to either Mika or Annie… it's unbearable…"
"... I understand why you feel that way, Mina, but even so… we're not all so… underprepared?" assured Nac with an awkward smile as he gently patted his friend on the shoulder. Mina flinched a little as she acknowledged her friend's reasoning, but even so…
"I know… I know. But even so… the thought of all of us… dying like that in battle… it's enough to make me… worry a little…" admitted Mina rather meekly as she twiddled her thumbs against one another. Upon processing his friend's reasoning for being worried, Nac found himself opening his mouth to assure her that such an outcome was unlikely, though he was quick to stop himself when he realized that he couldn't be too sure about that. After all, some of the best within the 104th Trainee Brigade had fallen during the Trost incident, and while they did survive it, Tias didn't wish to wait and see just how long their luck would hold out whilst they were out in the field. "I know that being a Survey Corp wouldn't be easy… but seeing all… this… it's enough to make me wish I didn't sign up…"
"But we did, didn't we? We signed up because we wanted to make a difference, Mina," reminded Nac as he offered his friend a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "We joined because we want to prevent another Trost incident from happening in the first place, to make sure that mum… and everyone else living within these walls, stay safe and hold onto hope."
"But is it really worth it, though… to trade our lives just to inspire hope for others…? Especially when there's so many other people that're more qualified to do the deed than we are…?" inquired Mina, with her voice sounding increasingly strained as she continued on. Nac found himself wincing at that as he opened his mouth to respond, though before he could do so, Carolina cut him off as she buried her face in her hands and continued. "I don't want it to end, Nac… I don't want our friendship to end like this. Annie's safe, but what about us…? We chose a path that would lead us to dying early… and I don't want that…"
"We won't die early, Mina. We're not Titan bait, regardless of what you think. We've improved a lot since the Trost incident, and we'll be able to hold our own against the Titans, I'm sure of it!" assured Nac gently as he wrapped an arm around Mina's shoulder and squeezed her shoulder gently to reassure her. He didn't like her new, defeatist attitude one bit, and he'd be damned if he allowed her to continue being this way.
Even so…
"Yeah, we improved… but that doesn't change the fact that we'll probably be dead on our first Expedition, huh?" quipped Mina humorlessly as she glanced up at Nac with a flat look in her eyes… a look that reminded the taller guy a little too much of either Mikazuki or Annie as he shuddered, though he drowned those thoughts for now as he opened his mouth to retaliate, though before he could do so, a new voice rang out through the cafeteria, and said voice was calling for Mina and Nac, prompting them to cut their conversation short as they jolted upright and turned to have a look at who was calling for them.
Surprisingly enough, Luke Sys was the one who had called for them, with the soldier in question appearing mostly neutral as he looked around the cafeteria for the two aforementioned recruits. Though confused, neither one of them were willing to ignore a superior officer as they got up from their seats and jogged up to him. The senior soldier noticed them as soon as they got up, with him watching as they jogged up and saluted him rigidly.
"Commander, is something wrong?" inquired Nac in confusion as Sys offered a shake of his head, in turn causing his ponytail to wave a little behind him, and smiled gently, with him gesturing for his juniors to be at ease all the while.
"No, nothing is wrong, Nac Tias, Mina Carolina. I simply wish for the two of you to follow me. Don't worry, you're not in any trouble, just follow me," assured Sys with a sly smile as he turned on his heel and gestured for his juniors to follow him out.
Both Mina and Nac shared a quick glance between one another before they shrugged and did as they were told, though as they walked on, Nac found himself frowning a little as he watched Mina rub her upper arm uncertainly, with her still wondering if she chose the right path in life as they marched on.
On instinct, Nac raised his hand up and rested it atop his friend's shoulder, prompting her to jolt upright a little as she was jolted out of her thoughts, though she was quick to relax when she saw that it was Nac's hand atop her shoulder and not the tooth of a Titan.
"Hey… things will be alright, Mina," assured Nac as he did his best to alleviate the aforementioned girl's fears for the time being, and despite everything, Carolina found herself smiling a little at his attempt as she crossed her arms and nodded in earnest.
"For both our sakes… I hope so…"
Some time later
Their walk was mostly in silence, with Sys leading his juniors through the Survey Corp HQ rather briskly.
For the most part, the junior pair found themselves growing increasingly worried as they marched on, with them doing their best to figure out just what Sys wanted them for. Sure, he had told them that they weren't in any trouble at all, but even so… you couldn't be completely sure these days.
Before they could voice out their concerns, however, Sys finally stopped walking and stood in front of an office door, and likewise, his juniors did the same as they stared at their senior in confusion. In response to their confused stares, Luke simply gestured for them to enter the room with a smile on his face, and though he was apprehensive at first, Nac eventually got over it and approached the office door and knocked it a handful of times. Best to be polite first, he reckoned.
"Come on in," came Ness' voice from the other side of the door, telling Tias that this was likely his office, and upon hearing him approve of their entry, Nac twisted the knob and opened the door, with him allowing Mina to enter first all the while.
"Ladies first," quipped Nac lightheartedly as he winked at Mina, who, at the very least, rolled her eyes a little at his comment as she entered. Turning towards Sys thereafter, the junior soldier had expected him to enter along with them, though he motioned for Tias to go on ahead, prompting him to nod in understanding as he entered the room and shut the door behind him.
Turning away from the door, Nac was quick to widen his eyes quite a bit when he walked right into Mina's back, prompting him to turn and stare down at her in confusion. She hadn't taken more than a step away from the office door, Tias realized, as she was staring straight ahead, directly at… someone, with her eyes widened and her mouth slightly agape. Curiously, Nac followed her gaze and glanced ahead as well, and as with Mina, he found himself tensing up when he made eye contact with… two other people in the room aside from Ness himself.
The first was Mike Zacharius, who was standing in front of Ness' office table with his hands by his side and his nose perked up. Though they had met the Elite soldier in the past, to simply be in his presence was more than enough to overwhelm both himself and Mina as they were quick to salute their senior, a sight that seemed to amuse almost everyone in the room greatly as Zacharius chuckled mildly at their display of respect.
And as for the other person in the room…
"Mikazuki…" muttered Nac with a small smile on his face, and despite his tone of voice being barely even a whisper… the pilot in question seemed to hear it as he offered both of his friends the slightest hints of a smile as he nodded.
"Mina, Nac," greeted Mika in a rather nonchalant tone of voice, though in spite of the flatness of his tone, there was an undeniable hint of happiness buried beneath it all as his attention was now fully fixed onto Carolina and Tias.
And yet, despite being elated at seeing their good friend once more after several weeks, neither Mina nor Nac had forgotten their manners as they were quick to snap out of it and address Ness, who appeared rather amused as he watched them from behind his office table.
"C-Commander Ness! You… called for us?" inquired Nac rather meekly as he did his best to focus on his trainer. His response was a mild chuckle from the bandana hearing man as he shook his head and rubbed his chin in amusement.
"Yes, but if we're going to be completely honest here, Mikazuki is technically the one who has called both of you here," explained Ness as he gestured towards the pilot in question, and at that, all eyes in the room turned towards him, and if he felt any form of awkwardness towards the sudden attention, he was certainly not showing it as he nodded and glanced away indifferently.
"O-Oh… and… why is that, sir?" inquired Nac, with him bouncing a little on the balls of his feet as he wished to get this conversation over with so he could actually spend some time with Mika. Likewise, Mina, despite appearing mostly neutral thus far, fidgeted a little more than she usually did as she found herself growing increasingly restless at all this small talk. She really did want to know if Mikazuki was alright…
"Simply put, Mikazuki has been given permission to visit you, and boy, did he jump on that chance like his life depended on it," joked Ness with a wink as he jerked a thumb towards the pilot in question, who simply rolled his eyes in amusement at his antics before he offered the bandana wearing man a glare that told him to get on with it. And, for all it was worth, the guy did flinch a fair bit under his cold, hard gaze as he nodded in compliance. "But regardless, we're giving him the night to spend with you. By sunrise, tomorrow, he'll be gone, so spend your time wisely!"
"Y-Yes sir!" proclaimed Nac almost immediately after Ness concluded his instructions, and with that said, Mike gestured for Augus to get a move on, prompting the pilot to nod and walk towards his two friends. Likewise, Ness dismissed both Mina and Nac with a simple gesture with his hands, and seconds later, the three of them exited his office, leaving him in silence along with Mike, who exhaled sharply as he nodded.
"Now then, in regards to why you were here in the first place. Our traitor…?"
"They are likely someone that Mikazuki is familiar with."
Outside
As soon as Nac shut the door to Ness' office, things became rather… silent as he turned on his heel and briefly made eye contact with Mikazuki, who appeared just as neutral as he usually was. Despite that, however… there was an unmistakable glint of happiness in his eyes, a glint that made Tias smile just a little, as he raised his hand up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Beside him, Mina seemed… unable to look her friend directly in the eye as she stared off into the distance whilst she twirled one of her pigtails around between her fingers. That in itself was more than enough to worry both of the guys present, with Nac gently placing his hand atop Mina's shoulder after a few seconds of silence, with the gesture being enough to make her jolt upright in shock.
"Mina, are you…?" began Nac, only for Mina to cut him off as she waved her hands around in the air nervously, seeming unable to string together a sentence completely all the while.
"O-Of course I a-am, Nac! W-What makes you think that I'm not?!" demanded Mina in embarrassment as she looked between the boy in question and Mikazuki with her cheeks burning red, something that worried both as the pilot raised a hand up towards Carolina's forehead and rested the back of his hand against it, causing the redness to intensify as she recoiled from his touch. "M-Mika?!"
"You became red. I wanted to check if you were having a fever from all your training," explained Mika as Nac laughed a little in amusement. As for Mina, however, she found herself rubbing her cheeks in confusion as she found herself unable to comprehend just why she was feeling these ways.
"I guess… I'm just happy to see that you're alright, Mika," muttered Mina, with that being the only thing she could think of to justify the sudden redness in her cheeks as she forced herself to make eye contact with the pilot for more than a few short seconds, thus allowing her to take note of the genuine worry that was present in his gaze as he nodded apprehensively. He didn't exactly believe her entirely, though he had more than enough trust in Mina to let it slide for now.
"Ah," replied Augus, with him dropping the subject right there and then as he continued. "I'm guessing you guys want to catch up, or you want me to continue on from where I stopped last time."
"Well, that would be nice, but… not here, preferably," commented Nac, with him rubbing his chin a little as he wondered if Mina was feeling that way towards their friend, though he didn't dwell on it for too long as he continued speaking. "Would the cafeteria work out for you?"
"Ah."
And with that said, the trio departed for the aforementioned location, and all the while, they failed to notice how a close-by door creaked open, allowing Sys to peek out at them as they waltzed off.
"Ah… young love…"
Survey Corp HQ Cafeteria
"So… Sasha fainted three days ago and had to be carted off to the infirmary?"
"That just about sums it up."
In response to Nac's claims, Mika couldn't help but chuckle just a little as he envisioned Sasha fainting mid-training whilst on a mostly empty stomach and tumbling towards the ground shortly thereafter. It was definitely a sight to behold, one that he probably wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon he reckoned, though he was quick to dismiss it for now as he turned back towards his friends with a neutral look on his face.
Several minutes prior, Mika, Mina and Nac had entered the HQ's cafeteria and found a spot to sit at to converse. Augus' presence did, understandably, rile up a handful of the recruits present as they were still unsure on if he was even on their side in the first place, though Mika ignored most of their staring as he focused on catching up with his friends.
For the most part, the three were able to converse in peace for quite some time, with Nac sharing their training regiment with Mika, who appeared… unimpressed, so to speak, as he simply nodded in response to his friend's words. Mina remained oddly quiet throughout the whole conversation, however, something that worried both her friends to varying degrees when they noticed it, though they didn't press the issue for her sake.
Their peace and quiet was inevitably ruined, however, when Ymir, of all people, burst onto the scene and claimed the empty spot beside Mika. Her sudden appearance was more than enough to startle both Mina and Nac whilst Mikazuki remained mostly unphased, and they didn't say much as they watched the freckled woman wrap an arm around Augus' back and poke him in the chest.
"Sup!" was something that Ymir had led with as she barrelled into their little conversation with the subtlety and grace of a whale being sucked into a typhoon and launched towards the closest city. She didn't get much of a response from Augus, however, as he simply offered her a mildly irritated look from the corner of his eye, though Nac found himself chuckling nervously as he waved at Fritz. Likewise, Mina found herself smiling just a tiny bit at her antics, even if her eye did twitch just a little in response to Ymir's brazen actions towards her friend.
"Sup yourself, Ymir," responded Nac as he lowered his hand down to his side, and to that, Fritz smirked as she winked at him, though before long, she turned back towards the pilot she was sitting beside and eyed him, sizing him up, no doubt, prompting Tias to shudder a little. "Erm… any reason as to why you're here?"
"No real reason, really. I just wanted to know more about him," assured Ymir rather slyly as she smirked playfully at Augus in the hopes of getting a rise out of him for her amusement, only to be let down when she realized that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, prompting her to roll her eyes as she sighed. "Well, not him specifically, of course. He's no fun. No, I wanna know more about your… Gundam, Mikazuki Augus."
"Well, don't you think that's a little too soon to ask? He just got here, after all…" began Nac in defense of his friend, only for Mika to wave him off rather absentmindedly as he glanced his way, surprising both his friends and even Ymir to a certain extent as he glanced over at her.
"I don't mind sharing what I know about Barbatos," assured Mika, and to that, Ymir found herself raising her brows in surprise before her smirk grew to twice its size. Now this was a proposition she could definitely get behind, though she reckoned that, to make it more interesting…
"Heh, good to know that you're not so stone hearted! Hey, everyone! Mika agreed to answer whatever questions we have about his Gundam!" replied Ymir, only to raise her voice and yell out the latter half of her statement, prompting everyone present to turn towards her in surprise as they felt their interests piqued by the pilot's apparent offer, and seconds later, their curiosity got the better of them as they swiftly rushed up to the pilot's table and more or less boxed him in.
Not all of them were keen on getting too close to him, of course, as a good majority of them stood a respectable distance away from the pilot, with Ymir currently being the closest to him as she sat right by his side. Rather noticeably, however, the only ones who were not present were Mikasa and Armin, with the former having dragged the latter out as she didn't wish to have anything to do with the pilot due to… personal issues.
And before long… the pilot found himself surrounded as he sighed in irritation. Ymir found that reaction to be different in a pleasant way as she smirked, with her fully expecting the pilot to go back on his word, though much to her surprise, as soon as everyone had gathered around him, he simply exhaled sharply and nodded in acceptance of his fate.
"...what do you all want to know?" inquired Mika, sounding half hearted at best and completely disinterested at worst as he glanced between his fellow 104th Graduates. Upon hearing him ask that, the soldiers were quick to go silent as they pondered on what to ask first, though before long, Sasha, of all people, moved to sit beside Mika as she held a finger up in the air, shocking everyone with her apparent bravery all the while.
"Well, you say that you're from the outside? As in… beyond the confines of Shiganshina?" inquired Sasha, with her sounding strangely thoughtful as she spoke. Augus didn't think much of that, however, as he nodded, confirming the hungry hungry girl's question as she nodded in return. "Well, how is it out there?"
"..." no words escaped Mika's lips as he lowered his gaze down towards the table he was sitting behind. Upon noticing this, both Mina and Nac felt their breaths being caught in their throats as they realized that the Dauper resident may have hit a rather sensitive topic. Though they did touch on the topic of Augus' past back when they spoke all those weeks ago, they had never dug too deep into the whole issue, mainly because they didn't have time to do so, but partially out of respect for their friend.
As such, to hear Sasha ask such a brazen question was more than enough to get both Mina and Nac riled up, though surprisingly enough, the former seemed to be faster to act as she opened her mouth to tell Braus off for asking such a sensitive question, though before the words could even leave her mouth, Mika spoke up, effectively cutting her off as he answered as vaguely as he could.
"It was terrible," said Mika, with him offering the Dauper resident a sideways glance as he responded. Sasha found herself gulping a little under his gaze despite there being no real malice behind it, though the pilot ignored most of it as he continued speaking. "But I survived, and that's all that really matters."
"Survived…? But there's, like… nothing outside the walls… right?" pointed out a voice from Nac and Mina's side of the table. Upon hearing it, everyone present turned towards the speaker and saw that it was Mylius, and upon realizing that he was now the center of attention… the poor guy shrunk down and scratched the back of his head timidly. "Just… saying, of course. I could totally be wrong…"
"There are… places outside. Places where Titans won't go," explained Mika, though as he spoke, the pilot offered Mina and Nac a look that told them that he wasn't exactly telling the truth, prompting them to blink in acknowledgement as he continued. Before he did so, however… the pilot did acknowledge how Reiner and Bertholdt, who were sitting and standing beside and behind Nac, respectively, tensed up just a little upon hearing him… though he didn't voice that out for now as he continued. "I came from there."
"So there are walls like the ones that surround us out there, huh?" commented Connie as he moved up beside Sasha and sat down with his back facing the table. Leaning backwards, the mostly bald young man propped his elbows up onto the table and leaned his head back to look Augus in the eye. In response, the pilot shook his head, surprising the baldy as he continued.
"No walls. We were just lucky enough to be in a place that Titans avoid, that's all," lied Mika as Connie felt his jaw drop at this… new information. To learn of a place that Titans actively avoided was a big deal, to say the least, and it was enough to make everyone present widened their eyes in disbelief as they processed it. Everyone except for Mina, Nac, Reiner and Bertholdt, at least, as the former two knew that Augus was lying and the latter found themselves… horrified at just what all this meant.
"Well, then about that… Gundam. In the court, you said that you were the only one with one of those," pointed out Connie as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The mere mention of the Mobile Suit was more than enough to put everyone on edge as they recalled just how effective it was at tearing Titans apart, though Augus remained neutral as he nodded. "Well, call me crazy, but it sounded like you were… lying back there, y'know?"
"I wasn't. I'm the only one with a Gundam," assured Mika nonchalantly as he waved Springer off, and to that, the guy, for as boneheaded as he could be at times, saw fit to drop the issue for now as he nodded, and at that, Ymir wrapped her arm around Augus' neck, placing him in a headlock of sorts, before she asked her question.
"Well, since we're on the topic of your… Gundam, lemme ask, how does it even work, anyways?" inquired Ymir, with her sounding genuinely curious as she held a finger up into the air. Likewise, everyone present, including the pilot's two friends, appeared just as intrigued in Mika's answer as they stared at him curiously, though much to their disappointment, the pilot shrugged. "Seriously, you don't fucking know how the thing works?"
"I only know how to control it. I don't know the finer details on how to operate it," rebutted Augus, with him pinching Ymir's hand, in turn forcing her to release him from her headlock as she squealed in pain. At that, Christa, who had claimed the empty spot beside Mina, gasped as she watched the pilot do his thing, though as for the pigtailed girl beside her, she couldn't help but snicker at that as she reckoned that Fritz had that coming from a mile away. "Isn't that good enough?"
"Well… n-not exactly, Mikazuki Augus…" piped up Christa, with her frowning quite a bit as she tapped her index fingers together. At that, the pilot in question, alongside everyone else, minus Ymir who was now nursing her injured hand with a pout on her face, turned their attention towards her, though to Christa, the only one that mattered was Mikazuki's gaze.
Unlike the stares of everyone else present, Mikazuki's in particular was more than enough to set Lenz on edge as the young blonde felt a harsh shiver go up her spine. It felt almost as though he could see through her, so to speak, and that in itself was more than enough to make her shrink down in fear as she broke eye contact with her fellow 104th Graduate, though not long after…
"What do you mean?" asked the pilot, and rather abruptly, the blonde blinked and glanced up to see that the pilot's gaze had softened just a little. The harsh glare was still present, though there was an undeniable gentleness behind his gaze as he addressed the young blonde, and for as subtle as it was, it was still enough to make the young woman respond as she felt some of her tension being released from her system.
"I… I mean to say that… we know not who built that Gundam… yes?" explained Christa as she twiddled her thumbs together awkwardly. Everyone seemed a little puzzled by her comment, everyone but Nac, at least… as the taller guy found himself rubbing his chin thoughtfully as the blonde girl continued speaking. "If we were able to find out who had built it, perhaps… perhaps we could enlist his assistance in creating more…?"
"That wouldn't work," was her immediate answer from Mikazuki as she flinched a little at his straightforward answer, and at that, everyone eyed the pilot curiously as they expected him to continue on with his words, and with a reluctant sigh, he did as they expected. "The person who built them isn't here anymore."
"As in… he died?" asked Reiner, with him perking up rather abruptly as soon as he heard Mikazuki speak of the Gundam's creator having apparently left this mortal realm. His response was a half hearted shrug from Augus as he responded.
"We don't know. But we do know that the Gundam's were made over 300 years ago," answered Mika, a notion that made everyone present, including his two friends, gasp out in shock. Hell, Bertholdt, who was sipping a cup of water as he listened in on all this, found himself spitting all of it back out in shock, prompting everyone present to turn and give him amused looks as he pounded his chest and coughed to regain himself.
"Sorry…" apologised Bert, and he was quickly forgiven by everyone… except Ymir of course, who just flipped him off, much to Christa's chagrin, before the tall dude continued. "But… 3… 300 years ago?!"
"Ah. 300 years ago," confirmed Mika, and to that, Reiner shut his eyes and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"That explains why it's so damaged. 300 years can certainly do that to you," lamented Braun as everyone present nodded in agreement. Mika didn't really comment much on that, however, as he reckoned that Barbatos was currently in much worse shape than it was whilst it was still acting as CGS' main power core. That in itself was rather amusing, all things considered…
"Hey, that thing's tough! If it can almost single handedly clear out all of Trost, then who's to say that it can't survive three centuries?" reminded Connie, with him sounding a bit more like himself now as he reminded everyone of the Gundam's power. At that, the recruits present all collectively agreed on that one fact as they recalled the times where they were saved from certain death by the unit, and for as small as it was… the pilot couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride well up in his chest as he listened to them converse about all this.
So this was how it felt… to be looked at as a sort of savior… some sort of… hero, huh? Well, Mika doubted that he even deserved to be considered either at this point, but even so… he couldn't say that he didn't at least enjoy it to a certain degree…
Even so… he wasn't going to let some 'hero complex' stop him from fulfilling his primary goal. Being hailed as a savior was nice and all, but at the end of the day, it was meaningless to him. All that mattered was their safety, after all, and right as he thought that, Mikazuki found his gaze locking onto Mina's for the briefest of seconds, and in those few seconds, the pigtailed girl found her face heating up just a tiny bit as she brushed her hair behind her shoulders, a sight that made the pilot chuckle a tad as he offered the faintest of smiles.
And though it was subtle, Christa, of all people, found herself enamoured by that little interaction as she found herself growing mildly curious as to what was going on between Augus and Carolina, though before she could think too much about it…
"You've got some serious power, Mikazuki Augus, but tell me, how are you going to use it?"
Upon hearing the voice of Jean Kirstein, everyone present halted their conversation and glanced over towards the young man in question as they stared at him in surprise. The recruit ignored all of their stares, however, as he took a step towards Mikazuki and stared down at him passively, in a way that was very unlike how Mika remembered him to be during their Cadet days, before he elaborated.
"You said that you'd help fight for humanity back at the court, didn't you? Well, the court believed you, but I'm still apprehensive," muttered Jean rather uncertainly as he narrowed his eyes at Augus. He was silently judging the pilot, that much was obvious, though for as sharp as his gaze was, Mikazuki was more than capable of matching it as he hardened his stare just enough to do so, but to his credit, Kirstein didn't back down as he continued speaking. "Power like yours is almost impossible to come by, after all, and I'm probably coming off a bit rude by asking this, but tell me, are you willing to use it properly, Mikazuki Augus?
"Are you willing to use the power that you have to save lives. Not just those of your family, but of those around you?"
The guy's answer didn't come immediately, with Mikazuki simply breaking eye contact with him as he stared down at his left hand passively. The pilot found himself staring at the bracelet that was wrapped around his left wrist for quite a while. Not long after, the pilot clenched his left hand into a fist rather gently before he turned back towards Jean, and though it was subtle, the look in Augus' eyes told Kirstein all that he needed to know as he blinked in shock.
"You're not as important to me as Mina or Nac," replied Mika, with him speaking just as harshly as he usually did as everyone around him flinched a tad at his bluntness, though he wasn't done just yet, as the pilot was quick to shut his eyes and continue. "But… you're all still important to me in some way. We're all a part of the 104th, aren't we? We're teammates, and teammates look out for one another, regardless of circumstances."
Upon finishing, Jean found himself narrowing his eyes as he attempted to make out any form of deceit in Augus, be it in his words or in his body language, though much to his shock, there was none to be found, and by all means… it was probably a good thing, as the young man found himself… smiling a tiny bit in relief as he nodded.
"I see… thank you for being honest with me, Mikazuki Augus," thanked Kirstein as he nodded in gratitude, and to that, Mika simply shrugged as he mirrored Jean's gesture.
"Just Mika is fine."
"Whatever you say, Mika."
Some time later
"You know, Mika, if you hadn't kept Barbatos a secret for as long as you have from us, I wouldn't have guessed that you were lying back there…"
Upon hearing Nac's voice, Mika found himself turning back to stare at his taller friend as he walked out of the cafeteria to accompany him. The guy stopped as soon as he was standing beside his shorter friend, who had to look up rather far just to stare him in the eye. Sure, he wasn't as tall as, say, Bertholdt, but Nac was still tall enough to be a mild inconvenience to Mika's neck from time to time.
The 'interrogation' of Mikazuki, so to speak, had ended not too long ago after Sys had come in and ordered his juniors to keep it down. They were being a little more noisy than he would've liked, and though they didn't like being bossed around, they complied with his demands, though by then, a good majority of their questions had been answered by Augus, so it didn't really matter regardless.
Besides, not everything he told them was the truth, after all…
Not long after, the group had dispersed, leaving Mikazuki, Mina, Nac and, surprisingly enough, Christa behind as they sat in silence. Lenz ended up staring at the pilot curiously for quite some time, something that, admittedly, creeped Augus out to a certain degree, though he didn't dwell on it for too long as he got up and left the cafeteria, claiming that he needed some fresh air, especially after all that talking. No one stopped him from leaving, of course.
And that all led to the present, with the pilot staring up at the stars and the crescent moon above him in peace, though he didn't exactly mind it when Nac walked in on it.
"You can't reveal everything to everyone, Nac," replied Mika softly as he didn't wish for anyone to overhear their little conversation, and in response to his words, Tias nodded in apparent agreement.
"What about Mina, Annie and I?" inquired Nac, with him raising a brow apprehensively as the pilot offered him a deadpanned glance, one that made Tias snicker awkwardly as he got his answer.
"I can't trust everyone to keep a secret, but I can trust the three of you," pointed out Mika as he stared down at his wrist and adjusted the bracelet that was wrapped around it. Upon hearing that, the taller guy couldn't help but smile fondly as he nodded in response to his friend's words, with him feeling rather… nice that the pilot had not changed one bit even after his secrets were exposed. "And besides, not everything that I told all of you back there was a lie, anyways."
"Really now? Care to enlighten me on that?" inquired Nac curiously as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and before long, his answer came in the form of a mildly amused chuckle from his short friend, confusing him briefly. "Erm… what's so funny, Mika?"
"Nothing, really. I just thought that you could tell what was a lie and what was not. You're the smartest between the three of us, after all," replied Mika in a rather amused tone of voice as he glanced up at his taller friend, who recoiled a little in faux hurt as he smirked just a bit. Mika responded with a tiny smirk of his as he added: "I think it's pretty obvious which is the truth and which is a lie, after all."
"Heh, look at you being sassy for once, Mikazuki," commented Nac with a wink at his friend, a gesture that was mostly ignored as Augus shrugged. And at that, the topic was dropped for the time being as the pilot remained silent whilst Nac thought back to the things he had said whilst they were still in the cafeteria… and before long… "So is Barbatos really 300 years old…?"
"Yes," confirmed Mika nonchalantly, causing Nac to blink in bewilderment as his eyelid twitched a little in shock. That… was very hard to believe, he had to admit, but then again… Mikazuki Augus was allegedly from another fucking world… something that was less believable than a machine being over three centuries old… so there's that…
"Jeez… it's pretty damn cool for something so old," quipped Nac with a gentle, awkward chuckle. His comment was enough to make Mika grin a tiny bit in apparent agreement.
"You have no idea," agreed Mika softly as he reminisced on his earlier days piloting Barbatos. The transition from Mobile Worker to Mobile Suit wasn't exactly that smooth, but even so, the Alaya-Vijnana system helped a lot, so he reckoned that it could've been a helluva lot worse. The pilot's thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, when Nac let out a nervous chuckle, catching his attention once more as he turned to stare up at him with a raised brow.
"Yeah, I bet… you must've kicked a lot of ass back in… your… uh… world? Planet…?" commented Nac offhandedly as he gestured a little. His response was a mild shrug from his shorter friend, who did recall 'kicking quite a bit of ass' back in the day… though he didn't wish to reveal that specific portion in his old life just yet, even to someone like Nac.
"You… could say that," answered Mika cryptically as he rolled his shoulders a little, prompting Nac to raise his brows as he nodded. He didn't seem too surprised at his friend's answer, honestly, as he had already expected Augus to have a lot of prior experience in piloting that Mobile Suit of his, especially after having a firsthand view at just how effective it was on the field. Despite this, however… Tias' expression told Augus that he was a little… unsure on something, though before he could comment on it… Nac sighed and spoke up, cutting him off in the process.
"Hey, uh… Mika," began Nac as he crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against his upper arm. The pilot in question raised a brow at that, though he said nothing as his friend continued to speak. "I… want to ask you a question."
"Go ahead," goaded Mika gently, with him more than willing to reveal anything and everything (barring a few notable exceptions) to his friends whenever they asked. Nac seemed to like his answer, and thereafter, he asked his question.
"What… are the people from your world like?" asked the taller boy, a question that surprised the pilot quite a bit as his neutral expression noticeably faltered as he processed that question, though he regained it before Tias could turn and stare at him as he patiently waited for an answer, one that he got after a few seconds of silence from his short friend.
"They're fine. I know a lot of good people, people I would die for… people like you, Mina and Annie," said Mika rather cryptically once more as he felt his heart tighten at the memory of Tekkadan, but even so, he didn't let it affect him too much as he sighed and glanced up at Tias, who smiled a little at his words. Mikazuki wasn't exactly sure why he was smiling, exactly, as he hadn't said anything that would've warranted it… though it didn't stop him from continuing. "But I've met a lot of people who deserve to die. A lot more people than I'm willing to admit."
And at that… Nac's smile faded from existence as he blinked in shock. He knew that Mikazuki was incredibly blunt, almost cruelly so at points… but even so… that was a little dark of him…
"...really…?" asked Nac, with him sounding almost a little fearful of his answer as he spoke, and to that, Mika closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, something that answered Tias' question rather well as the pilot frowned deeply…
Memories came back to the pilot rather quickly as he processed the question that was issued to him, memories that were… unsavoury, to say the least…
"You filthy brats don't even deserve the slop we feed you!"
"Go slinking back to the martian soil you came from, you Rats!"
"You animals know nothing about the righteous path for humans! I shall kill you and your comrades… purify you of your sins!"
"Yes, really," muttered Mika as he reopened his eyes and stared up at his friend, who appeared… taken aback by the almost… soulless look in the pilot's eyes as he stared up at him. Augus was quick to break eye contact with his taller friend, however, as he continued speaking. "Not everyone in this world is like our friends in the 104th, Nac. The world is a cruel place, and cruel people are born from it."
"I… I get that, Mika… but even so… with every bad thing, there has to be some good… right?" inquired Nac rather meekly as he hugged himself a little tightly. It sounded as though he was trying to reassure himself on something, though whatever that was flew right over Mika's head for now as he found himself shrugging at Tias' comment, a gesture that set him a little on edge as he frowned a little deeper. "You said so yourself… you know a lot of good people… Mina, Annie and yourself are all good people… and we can't be the only exceptions… right?"
"You, Mina and Annie are all good people, Nac, and my old… friends… they were good people to me as well. But to others…" replied Mika silently as he bit his lips briefly and recalled the actions of Tekkadan. They did many deplorable things during their tenure as Kudelia Aina Bernstein's guide to Earth… and to the people that opposed them, they were certainly not good people, especially after they put them ten feet under. "They were not… we were not good people."
"I… I see…" muttered Nac dishearteningly as he nodded in defeat… a gesture that made Mika frown a little more than usual as he shook his head. For as many good points as he had, Nac still had one fatal flaw… and that was that he was too desperate in seeing the good in everyone. Learning that not everyone was a saint must've come as a massive shock to Tias, to say the least…
Mikazuki, for one, was not exactly a fan of Nac's naivete, and if he were honest, he would rather his friend see the world for the stinking cesspool that it was… but even so… he didn't have the heart to tell him just that as he sighed.
"But even so… not everyone is completely evil, anyways," commented Mika dismissively as he eyed his friend awkwardly. Nac noticeably perked up at that as he stared over at him with raised brows, a sign for the pilot to elaborate, which he did, after clearing his throat just a little. He wasn't the best when it came to these philosophical quandaries… but despite this, he would be lying if he claimed to not have more than a bit of insight on the matter as he continued speaking. "The people I knew that were good have their reasons for doing bad things, and I'm sure that the people who were 'evil' in our eyes had their own reasons for being that way too. Personal gain, working towards a bigger picture… or maybe just trying to protect others…"
As he said that last one, Mikazuki found himself smiling a tiny bit at his friend as he did his best to get his point across to Nac… and he did quite a good job at doing so, as evident by the sheepish smile of his as he scratched the back of his neck and chuckled a little in apparent embarrassment.
"That's… a good way to put all that, I guess," commented Nac with a small smile as he rubbed his upper arm meekly and smiled gently at his friend. Mika ended up raising a brow at that, however, as he continued. "I… I'm sorry for all this. I didn't mean to ask you all this weird stuff all at once… it's just… Ymir… she told me some things that've been keeping me awake at night recently… and I didn't want to worry Mina with all these questions. Heh, now that I think about it, asking you is probably not that different from asking her, now is it…?"
"Hmph, you probably would've had a better answer if you asked either one of your seniors," commented Mika rather dismissively as he stared at Nac in amusement, and to that, the tall guy chuckled awkwardly as he shrugged. "I'm not the best person when it comes to making people feel better."
"You say that… but your answer made me feel better," admitted Nac with a small smile as he chuckled, prompting Mika to shrug as he had no rebuttal to that comment.
"That's lucky then, I guess. I prefer to let my actions speak louder than words," quipped Mika offhandedly, prompting Nac to chuckle briefly as he nodded a little in agreement.
"That's… fair, but even so, you're better at reassuring others than you think," muttered Nac as he gently punched his shorter friend's shoulder, only to recoil as his knuckles smacked against the firm muscles of his upper arm. Thereafter, Augus could only watch in amusement as Tias recoiled his hand and began to nurse it meekly, though before long, he turned back towards the pilot and found himself focusing directly on the bracelet that was around his left arm. "Hey… Mika, mind if I ask you another question?"
"Ah. Ask away. Being truthful to all of you is the least I can do after keeping so many secrets away from you guys," assured Augus as he adjusted his Tekkadan jacket and nodded. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, it's not particularly important, but… that bracelet around your wrist… it seems… important to you," pointed out Nac, prompting the pilot to glance back down at his wrist as he spoke. His eyes were quick to lock onto the thing as a warm, comforting sensation rushed through his chest for the briefest of moments, though he was quick to shake it off as Tias continued speaking. "If I may… is there anything significant about it…?"
"There is," confirmed Mika rather dismissively, prompting Nac to blink a little at that simple answer as he continued.
"Erm… care to elaborate?" inquired Nac, with him sounding a little awkward as the pilot gave him a deadpanned stare, and for whatever reason… his cheeks seemed to have reddened just a little as he responded.
"No," was the taller guy's eventual response from the shorter lad as he lowered his arm back down to his side, and for as curious as he was about the thing, Nac saw fit to let the topic slide for now as he chuckled meekly.
"Alright, fair enough then," quipped Tias with a small smile on his face, one that showed that he understood that he had stumbled onto a rather… sensitive topic as he waved a hand through the air.
Augus seemed to be rather relieved at him dropping the topic, as evident by his rather sharp exhale as the taller guy rolled his shoulders and glanced back towards the cafeteria, where several of his fellow recruits were eyeing him curiously. That in itself was more than enough to make Tias raise a brow, however, as he knew that they were aware of how he, alongside Mina and Annie, were closer to Augus than anyone else, and as such, he found himself confused by their staring, though he was quick to dismiss their gaze as he nudged Augus and walked back into the room.
"Well, I… uh… I'll leave you alone for now. You might need a break from all that talking," quipped Nac with a double thumbs up, and as he spoke, the pilot found himself twitching his eye a little. He found Tias' presence to be rather welcoming, all things considered, but even so, he had to admit, his head was aching a little from all the questions and lies/half truths he had answered with, and as such, he reckoned that some alone time was warranted, so he said nothing as he watched Nac back himself into the cafeteria and claim his seat beside Mina, who was idly conversing with Christa all the while.
'... I wonder what they're talking about,' thought Augus dismissively, only for him to shrug a little as he shook his head dismissively.
'Probably some girl stuff…'
Some time later
If he wasn't wrong, Mika reckoned that it was probably about ten at night, and though it could be considered late, the pilot didn't feel any form of fatigue as he leaned himself against a concrete support and kept his arms crossed.
The pilot had shifted quite a bit away from the cafeteria by now, with him getting away from the noise for the time being as he wished to have some peace and quiet for the time being. By all means, he was here to spend some time with his friends, but seeing as how they were a little preoccupied at the moment, the pilot reckoned that it could wait.
Rather abruptly, however, Mika felt himself perking his ears up when he heard someone leave the cafeteria. Glancing towards their general direction, the pilot raised a brow as he saw Connie, of all people, leave the room whilst rubbing his upper arm uncomfortably, and once he was out, the bald guy sighed to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve his stress.
A few seconds later, Springer lowered his hand and shook his head rather intensely to shake the thoughts that were plaguing him out of his mind. Thereafter, he clenched his hands into fists and began to breathe in and out deeply in an attempt to calm himself down more effectively, though it didn't seem to be working that well as the bald fella groaned and smacked himself in the head multiple times.
"Dammit! Get yourself together, Connie Springer!" whisper-shouted the bald guy as he pounded his skull a handful of times to get himself to think straight. Mika raised a brow at the sight, though he didn't say much as he watched him smack himself several more times. Before long, however, Springer stopped smacking himself and buried his face in his hands in a mournful manner, with him sighing into his palms thereafter.
Upon seeing this, Mika found himself snorting in bemusement as he wondered just what was on the once jovial and naive baldy's mind, though that sound was apparently more than enough to catch his attention as Connie jolted upright and turned to face him almost immediately. His bright hazel eyes widened in embarrassment as he realized that he was being watched, though when he realized that Mika was the one who was observing him, he noticeably relaxed, if only a little, as he sighed.
"Oh… Mika… I forgot that you were out here…" apologised Connie as he scratched the back of his head meekly, and his simple response from the pilot was an indifferent shrug as he remained silent. It was rather apparent, however, that Springer wasn't as used to his silence as his other friends were, as the guy began fidgeting a little as they kept their gaze on one another, though after some time, he blurted out a continuation. "I… I'm sorry for dropping in on your alone time!"
"It's fine. It was starting to get a little boring, anyways," quipped Mika, with him half lying as he shrugged at his comrade once more. Connie found himself releasing a breath that he didn't even know he was holding at that, though he was quick to shake it off as he nodded.
"Oh… I see…" muttered Springer, and to that, things became rather silent as the recruit scratched the back of his head nervously. Mika simply kept his gaze fixed on Connie, with him silently wondering just what was making him act this way all the while, and before long, he reckoned that he had nothing better to do as he shrugged a tad and cleared his throat, catching the baldy's attention all the while.
"Is something wrong? You look tense," asked Mika, with his tone of voice sounding somewhere between worried and deadpanned as he spoke. Connie found himself momentarily stunned at how Mikazuki, of all people, was asking him such a question, though he quickly got over it as he smiled meekly and shrugged.
"Can't say I am, really. It's just… the shit that happened in Trost… it's still fucking with me," admitted Connie meekly as he held a hand up to his forehead, and to that, Mika nodded understandingly.
"Ah. I understand," assured Mika, with him pausing briefly as he considered his next words, and before long, he shrugged and voiced out his thoughts. "You can talk to me about it if you want."
"... I certainly didn't expect you, of all people to say that," was Mika's immediate response from Connie, with the mostly bald young man offering the pilot a small smile as he spoke. His response was a shrug from Augus, and thereafter, he chuckled and got on with it. "But… you wont tell anyone, right? I… have a reputation to keep, as one of the Top 10, after all."
"My lips are sealed," assured Mika, with his voice and expression betraying nothing as he spoke. Connie quite liked that, and as such, he nodded and explained himself.
"Look… during the Trost debacle, I… failed a lot of people. A lot of my teammates, people I trained with back during our Cadet days… my friends… I failed so many of them," lamented Connie as he grimaced and crossed his arms. "I failed them… because I was a coward. I could never bring myself to save them, Mika. Every time one of my friends was caught, I found myself… frozen. Frozen in fear! I couldn't move my body, and… and I just… let them die."
As he concluded, Mikazuki found himself raising his brows in amusement as he pushed himself off the concrete support he was leaning against and began to approach Connie. He stopped once he was about a metre away from the guy, and at that, he stared at him with a gaze that was just as ironclad as Barbatos' kill count. Springer found himself shrinking down a little beneath it, though he didn't show his fear as he kept his gaze leveled with Mika's.
"Yes, Connie. You did let them die," responded Mika after an uncomfortable amount of time in silence. Springer found himself flinching a little at Augus' bluntness as he looked away from him in shame, though the pilot didn't let him deter him one bit as he continued. "You were scared, and you were weak. Because of this, you let almost everyone that counted on you down."
Biting his lower lip, Connie shut his eyes and squeezed them together tightly as he felt a massive amount of shame pump through his body. Mika wasn't wrong on that front, though despite knowing that he was speaking the truth, his words still stung him a lot harder than Springer wanted to admit.
Before his words could cut too deep, however, the pilot continued on.
"But even so… it doesn't have to happen again," continued Mika, prompting Connie to open his eyes and stare up at the pilot in confusion. For a brief few seconds, the two of them made eye contact, and at that, Springer raised his brows higher up onto his face in surprise when he saw some form of… encouragement shining in Mika's as he continued speaking. "Cowardice is something that can be suppressed, Connie. You just need to work on overcoming your fears and stepping up as a soldier."
"Yeah, I know… but how long would that even take? If I take too long… more people might end up dead because of me…" lamented Springer as he lowered his gaze down towards the ground in shame, though right as he finished his counter argument, he felt Mika thump him over the head with the back of his hand, prompting him to wince all the while. "Hey, what was-"
"You wanted to become a Military Police Brigadier, right?" inquired Mika, with him asking a rhetorical question to test Connie's sincerity. His response was a mild, and perhaps a little regretful, nod from Springer, who avoided direct eye contact with the pilot as he did so, and that was probably everything he needed to know as he snorted and continued. "Then why did you join the Survey Corps?"
"So that I could stop any more unnecessary deaths from happening!" proclaimed Springer almost immediately after Mika had finished, prompting the pilot to raise a brow in amusement all the while. "I… I can't stand idly by, knowing that other people are dying, when I can do something about it!"
"In that case, you're already less of a coward than you were before," commented Mika, with him offering Connie a look that could be best described as 'smug' as he pointed that out. The bald guy required a moment to process just what the pilot had told him as he raised a brow in confusion, though before long, his confusion turned to realization as he slouched his shoulders down a little and smiled in a self-deprecating manner. And, for as uncharacteristic as it was, Mika couldn't help but go in for a dig as he rolled his eyes. "I thought you said you were a genius. A genius would've figured that out."
"H-Hey! All geniuses have lapses in judgement from time to time!" defended Connie as his smile became just a little more genuine, and at that, the pilot simply nodded as Springer's smile faltered. Thereafter, the recruit raised his hand up and scratched the back of his neck before he continued. "But… thanks for telling me all that, Mika. I… really needed to hear it all."
"Hmph. you could've gotten the same results by talking to someone else," pointed out Mika in a rather nonchalant manner, and at that, Connie found himself rolling his eyes a tad as he shook his head.
"Hell no! No one round' here's as blunt as you are!" quipped Connie as he offered Mika a playful punch to shoulder alongside a thumbs up and a wink, though he was quick to wince as his knuckles impacted the rock-hard muscles of the pilot's shoulder, prompting him to shake his hand in reflex. "But again… thanks for the pep talk, Mika. It means a lot, especially coming from you."
"Hmph. Leaving someone like you in a depressed state tends to lead to disastrous outcomes," commented Mika as he turned around and began walking towards where he once stood. As he did so, Connie found himself blinking in curiosity as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"The way you say that tells me that you've experienced such a thing happen before…" commented Connie curiously, and to that, the pilot stopped briefly in his tracks as he recalled a certain event in a boat… with a good friend mourning the death of another…
"... you have no idea."
The sound of pots and pans being rummaged through was the first indication to Mikazuki that something was wrong, prompting him to push himself off the concrete support he was up against as he turned towards its source.
'... the kitchen?' thought Mika as his eyes locked onto the door that led to the aforementioned location. Staring down at the base of the door, Mikazuki noticed how the lights for the place were turned on, prompting him to wonder if someone had left them on beforehand. If that were the case, then there was probably a rodent running around in there, and though he wasn't adversed to dealing with pests, Mika decided that it wasn't worth his time as he turned away from the kitchen and went back to basking in silence.
Or at least… he would have done so if not for the mild gasp that came from inside the room, prompting him to turn back towards it with newfound curiosity as he realized that it wasn't a rat that was making all that noise. The pilot was quick to raise his eyebrows when he saw some frantic movement from inside the room, and, out of a general form of curiosity, he was quick to push himself off the concrete support he was resting against and approach the door to the kitchen.
Once he was in front of it, the pilot raised a hand up towards the door and pushed it open with little issue. Right as he did so, Mikazuki found himself staring at the… amusing sight of Sasha Braus consuming a baked potato. Said potato was being held in her left hand and was already being shoved into her mouth whilst her right arm cradled several dozen other baked potatoes of various shapes and sizes in it, and by all means, Mika found himself lowering his brows as he shook his head and eyed the bumpkin with a mostly neutral gaze.
Vice versa, Sasha found herself shuddering in terror at the notion of being found out, though to her credit, she didn't drop any of her stolen potatoes as she looked Mika in the eye. Silence was quick to reign as the pilot eyed the girl with a deadpanned expression, and it was only broken after Braus took a bite out of the potato in her left hand and lowered it as she chewed.
"... heya…" greeted Sasha before she had finished chewing, and to that, Mika rolled his eyes at her appalling lack of manners before he nodded, seeming uninterested in all this as he exhaled sharply and took a step back.
"If you want to steal food, at least try and be quieter about it. And turn the lights off so no one suspects a thing," advised Mika nonchalantly as he shut the door on Sasha, who appeared baffled at not only having been caught in the act, but that Mika was giving her advice on how to steal better.
As for Mika, however, he found the whole ordeal rather amusing, but ultimately, it wasn't unexpected as this was Sasha they were talking about. She was the kind of person who'd make her way into an enemy base just to get her hands on their food, after all.
A short while later
The sound of the kitchen door slowly being opened and shutting itself once more was the first indication to Mikazuki that Sasha was done with her grand theft, and though it was tempting to look back and watch as she snuck her way back into the cafeteria, for her sake, he opted to not do it as he kept his gaze fixed up at the night sky.
Unexpectedly, however, the pilot realized that Sasha's footsteps were not directed towards the HQ cafeteria, but instead, they were approaching his general direction. He opted to ignore it at first, though before long, the pilot felt something warm hovering close to his shoulder, prompting him to turn towards the source of the heat with a raised brow.
And what he found was… surprising, to say the least.
"Sasha?" greeted Mika, with a few hints of surprise making its way into his tone of voice as he stared up a little at the gluttonous young woman. Vice versa, Braus said nothing as she offered the slightly shorter young man half of a baked potato. Said potato was still steaming and, if the teeth marks were any indication… half eaten as well.
"Take it," insisted Sasha rather reluctantly as she held the potato up, and though he was reluctant to take a half eaten baked potato… the pilot did as he was instructed nonetheless. He's eaten worse things in the past, after all, and it wasn't as if he could refuse an offer of free food!
So with that in mind, the pilot was quick to accept the partially eaten baked potato from Sasha and sunk his teeth into it. Thereafter, he fully expected Braus to leave him alone, though rather unfortunately, she did no such thing as she watched him bit into the thing with a rather fearful look in her eyes, and to that, the pilot rolled his pair as he exhaled and chewed the potato he had in his mouth up.
"You gave me the potato to make sure that I don't tell anyone about you raiding the kitchen, didn't you?" accused Mika, with him getting straight to the point as the hungry young woman reddened in shock at just how quickly her subterfuge had been called out on. That was more than enough to answer Mika's question, he reckoned, as he snorted and bit into his potato once more. "Figures."
"Tsk… was it really that obvious…?" lamented Sasha as she bit her lower lip in irritation.
"Yes. It was," confirmed Mika as he swallowed the potato piece, and at that, he glanced over at Braus with an indifferent look in his eyes. "I won't tell them. It doesn't really affect me at all anyways, so there's no reason to inform anyone about… all that."
"I see… thank you, Mikazuki Augus," responded Sasha, with her sounding surprisingly earnest as she smiled at the pilot gently. And, admittedly, Mika found himself surprised by Braus' attitude as, in the short time when they trained together back in their Cadet days, Mika had never seen her act this… nice, so to speak, back then, but then again, those were the days before the breach, and as with everyone else, Sasha has, undoubtedly, changed. For better or for worse was yet to be seen, however… "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. You just seem more mature is all," assured Mika, with him getting straight to the point as he went back to consuming his baked potato. And to that, Sasha simply chuckled as she nodded.
"In a way, the breach in Trost changed us all," assured Sasha rather bashfully as she smiled and crossed her arms. "And becoming more mature is probably one of the… better outcomes of the whole ordeal."
"Ah. But you're still eating a lot, aren't you? Doesn't seem so mature to me," pointed out Mika sarcastically, causing Sasha to redden just a little in apparent insult as she retorted.
"I eat more than usual when I'm stressed, thank you very much!" protested Braus indignantly as she waved a finger at the pilot, only to pause when she realized just who she was addressing. Rather quickly, she found herself fumbling for an apology, though before she could do so, Mika reached into his pocket, pulled a raisin out and flicked it into her mouth, causing her to widen her eyes in shock as she felt it drop into her mouth.
Shutting it rather shiftly, Sasha was quick to chew it up and swallow, and thereafter, she felt herself placing her hands on either side of her face as she squealed a little.
"So sweet…! Where do you even get all that?" asked Sasha, sounding genuinely curious as she forgot about the topic beforehand. Mika snorted in amusement at that, though he didn't comment on it as he shrugged.
"Miss Sakura gave a lot of them to me. She grows them in her farm," explained Mika, with him only realizing that he may have revealed a little too much when he finished speaking. He couldn't take his words back, however, as he watched Sasha's eyes shine with gluttonous curiosity.
"Miss Sakura… as in… a friend from where you came from?" asked Sasha, and rather carefully, Mika nodded in response to Braus' words, prompting her to rub her chin thoughtfully. "She must be a good person, to have given you all these raisins."
"Ah. She is a good person," confirmed Mika as he recalled the oldest known member of the Griffon family. He hoped that she was doing better for herself back on Mars, though as he thought of all that, Sasha had seemingly mistaken the pilot's reminiscing for her having stumbled onto a sensitive topic, and as such, she frowned and cleared her throat.
"I see… I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories, Mikazuki," apologised Sasha meekly as she smiled a little. In response to her comment, the pilot in question raised a brow in amusement as he stared at his fellow 104th graduate, though he didn't let it show for long as he waved a hand through the air.
"It's alright," assured Mika as he finished up his potato and wiped his lips. "It doesn't really matter now, anyways. I'm… not able to return to where I'm from, after all, so dwelling on it doesn't really benefit anyone."
"I see… were you… exiled from wherever you came from, Mikazuki?" asked Sasha, with her speaking carefully as she eyed the pilot warily. She knew of various villages, Dauper included, that tended to exile their members after they committed a grievous crime, and by all means, she had no reason to believe that wherever Mika came from did not do the same.
Much to her surprise, however, the pilot shook his head as he responded.
"No. I'm here because I got… lucky, I guess you could say," quipped Mika with a shrug as he lowered his head down a little, allowing his hair to shadow his eyes a little as he spoke. At that, Braus realized that she was probably overstepping her boundaries, and at that, she shuddered and nodded.
"I… I see. Thank you for answering, Mikazuki, and I… apologise for intruding on your alone time as much as I already have," apologised Sasha in earnest as she stepped away from the pilot and nodded apologetically. There wasn't much of a reaction from him at first as the pilot kept his gaze fixed on the ground, and at that, Sasha reckoned that it was probably time for her to leave before things turned south…
… and yet, before she could take more than a handful of steps away from the pilot, the girl's instincts flared up, and at that, she turned on her heel and held her hand up to catch a bag before it could hit the back of her head. Said bag had been thrown towards her by Mika, who kept his hand outstretched for a while before he lowered it back down to his side.
Curiously, Sasha stared down at the bag that was now in her hands, and she was quick to raise her brows when she saw that it was filled with…
"...raisins?" commented Sasha curiously, and to that, the pilot simply huffed.
"It's either this or you steal enough food to make everyone starve," said the pilot nonchalantly as he eyed her from the corner of his eye, and to that, Sasha found herself smiling a tad as she nodded.
"You're a lot friendlier than I remember, you know?"
"Being friends with Mina and Nac for as long as I have does that to you."
Some time later
"... heya."
Upon hearing Mina's voice, Mika cracked his eyes open a little and glanced over towards his trusted friend, who was standing not too far to his left as she stared up a tiny bit at him. The girl was fidgeting a little as she did so, though the pilot didn't think much of it as he pushed himself off the concrete support he was leaning on for the third time in the past two hours and turned to give his friend his undivided attention.
It was definitely his biase talking, but when compared to everyone else he had spoken to previously, only Mina and Nac deserved to have Mika's full, undivided attention. One couldn't blame him for thinking this way, however, as, in a way, the two of them, including Annie to a certain extent, were literally the only reason why Mika was still pushing onwards in this god forsaken world. In a way, they could be compared to Orga in terms of importance, and that was saying a lot, as the bond between Augus and Itsuka was very close to be considered a sacred one.
Regardless of his personal biases, however, Mikazuki found himself nodding towards Mina as the girl messed around with one of her pigtails nervously. The pilot found the sight to be rather amusing, to say the least, though he didn't voice that out as he nodded in greeting.
"Mina," greeted the pilot as he nodded at his friend, and at that, the girl smiled a little as she waved at him. "Can I help you?"
"Oh… it's nothing… I just wanted to accompany you a little. Kinda thought you were a little lonely, just standing out here…" admitted Mina awkwardly as she gestured comically with her hands. Mika found that to be rather adorable, all things considered, though a mop of blonde hair in the distance snapped his attention away from his friend as he stared past her for the briefest of moments, though right as he focused on it, the mop of gold was gone, something that made the pilot wonder if he was getting tired, though he quickly dismissed the thought when Carolina waved a hand in front of his face. "Uh… Mika?"
"... hm?" was her incredibly intellectual response from the pilot in question, and it was enough to make the pigtailed girl giggle a little as she held a hand up to her chin.
"You kinda spaced out a little there. You alright? You rarely do that, after all," pointed out Mina with a small, somewhat nervous looking smile on her face as she spoke. Mika's response was rather simple.
"Ah. I just thought I saw Christa hiding behind a pillar," commented Mika rather nonchalantly as he pointed behind his friend, and to that, Carolina sweatdropped a little and tugged on her collar.
"You might've just been seeing things…?" suggested Mina, and to that, the pilot shrugged as he nodded and went along with that.
"Probably…" said Mika as he went back to leaning against the support he was once up against. He left a noticeable space beside himself, however, and it didn't take long for Mina to realize why as she moved and leaned against the space beside him. She did feel rather… awkward, all things considered, though she didn't dwell too much on the issue as she smiled at the pilot, who acknowledged it with an amused look on his face.
"So… anything special happened between you and Team Mike?" inquired Mina, and at that, Mika shrugged.
"The preliminary expedition was the only interesting thing that happened," responded Mika, short and simple, as he glanced up at the sky. "It went well."
"Well, considering how you were on the team, I'm hardly surprised!" quipped Mina earnestly as she nudged the pilot gently, and though it was subtle, Mika did find himself smiling a little at her compliment, though before long, he shook his head and responded to her complement.
"I can't contribute too much if a formation is too large. I just got lucky that it was a small party," rebutted Mika gently as he glanced over at his friend, and to that, the pigtailed girl rolled her eyes at his dismissal of her praise as she chuckled.
"Jeez, would it kill you to accept some praise from time to time?" shot Carolina as she held an index finger up towards her pilot friend, and to that, the recruit in question shrugged.
"I'm not rejecting it. I'm just being realistic," assured Mika as he crossed his arms and shut his eyes before continuing. "I'm just one person, one person with a single powerful weapon. One powerful weapon. I can't help everyone… and I can't…"
"DANJI!"
"MASAHIRO! STAY WITH ME! MASAHIRO… MASAHIRO!"
"Biscuit… B-Biscuit… c'mon, don't die on me now… Biscuit… BISCUIT!"
"... I… can't save everyone, Mina. That's just a fact that we all have to live with."
Upon hearing Augus' words, Carolina found herself slouching over a little as she hugged herself in silence… but even so, there was no small amount of conviction shining in her eyes as she turned back towards her friend and gave him a determined stare, one that intrigued the pilot as she responded.
"I know… we can't save everyone, that's something that's impossible to do, but even so… just having you around… it makes… well, it makes me feel safe, at least," admitted Mina as she smiled bashfully up at her friend, though right as those words left her mouth, the sound of glass shattering could be heard in the background as Carolina realized what she had just said, and at that, she went into a catatonic state as she waved her hands around in a panic. "W-Wait! I… I didn't say that correctly! I just meant that you're strong and could probably keep everyone safe, even with Barbatos!"
"..."
"S-Seriously! Everyone's glad you're on our side!"
"..."
"I-I mean… i-it's not like I mind your help but… uuu…"
"..."
"M-Mikazuki…?"
And to that, the pilot in question simply offered a gentle smile as he brushed aside some of the bangs that had fallen over Mina's eyes whilst she was panicking over her choice of words. Brushing them up and above her fringe, the young man took a moment to look her dead in the eyes, and though she was a little uneasy at first, she was quick to realize that there was no trace of irritation or doubt hidden behind his gaze.
No, instead… there was a small amount of… gratefulness(?) being reflected in his eyes as he gazed into Mina's, something that was truly rare indeed… and it was enough to make Carolina look away with reddened cheeks as she tapped her fingers together.
"I understand what you're trying to tell me," assured Mika as he patted his friend over the head, and to that, the girl jolted upright as she made eye contact with her friend, who offered a mild grin as he glanced up at the night sky. "Thanks."
And to that, the Mina began to roll one of her fingers through her pigtails as she stared down at the ground in embarrassment and relief.
"Y-You're… you're welcome, Mika!"
"Well, I think that went as smoothly as it possibly could…"
That comment from Nac was enough to make Christa giggle a tiny bit as she and the aforementioned tall bloke peeked out at Mina and Mika from behind a nearby concrete support. They were lucky to have not been spotted beforehand, considering how unsubtle Christa's hair colour was. Her blonde mop of hair stood out like a sore thumb amongst all this darkness…
"I suppose it did, Nac Tias. Mina Carolina may not understand her feelings towards Mikazuki Augus fully just yet, but given enough time, I suspect that it could very well blossom into something truly special," replied Christa, and to that, Nac offered her a fistbump, something that confused the blonde at first, though Tias was quick to explain how a fistbump worked, and at that she fistbumped him victoriously.
"How'd you guess that Mina was… y'know… with Mika, anyways?" asked Nac curiously as they remained hidden behind the concrete pillar, and to that, the blonde simply smiled and winked at Tias, a playful gesture that was exceptionally rare for someone like her, though it was enough to get the point across as the taller guy sighed. "Girl stuff, huh?"
"Indeed. Girl stuff, Nac Tias."
And to that, the guy simply chuckled briefly before he took one last peek at his two friends, with him smiling just a little as he watched them stargaze without much of a care in the world.
"Alright then…"
Surprised?
Well, so am I.
Nothing much to say really. I'm updating faster now for reasons that will be revealed eventually. Renn said that people might ship Sasha with Mika because of this chapter. You do you if you wish, but it ain't happening in this story.
Review replies.
aandreloyo: well I hope you enjoyed this one. If length were truly the main factor to you enjoying a story, then I'm sure you did.
starscreamer11: next month? I only have two months before a hiatus is put up! Don't push your luck!
cassnova5424: yeah Levi could kill us all. And honestly, have a look at some of Fortress Hunter's stuff. He's good… even if he's a little slow with updates.
Spyro fanboy: aye… that he does. And thanks. I'm doing decently well.
Guest (Mark1): thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it! And by all means… it just might be…
Guest (Afdalul akbar): I probably won't get too into the sciency stuff because I'm no scientist, unfortunately.
Ack it's late…
"..."
"Annie?"
"Shut the fuck up, Hitch."
"... you look like you just saw someone kiss your boyfriend."
And to that, Annie pummeled Hitch straight into the ground as she grimaced and shook off the feeling of being cucked.
Minor edits were made on: 1/7/2021