Mikasa felt comforted by Armin's words, laying back against the pillows as she allowed her tired body to relax, despite the new tension in the cabin. Unknown to anyone in the cabin at this point, Mikasa was gradually going into labor. She likely had another day or two yet, but her body was definitely preparing itself. And she was already worn out by the persistent pains that were gradually transitioning more into real contractions. As her eyes shut, she drifted off almost instantly, keeping her hand on her swollen middle.
"Thank you, Armin..." she seemed exhausted, already starting to drift off to sleep. Armin watched her gently, placing a hand very softly on her round belly and feeling it.
He wasn't an expert and didn't have as much knowledge as Hange did, but even he could tell something felt different. Mikasa's stomach had become extremely tight and tense, and it's been noticeably lower. Armin was hoping she still had a few more days, to give time for the tensions in the house to somehow die down a bit. But his gut was telling him that this baby was finally coming soon…and despite his worries, it needed to. Mikasa was exhausted, especially with being so overdue.
He gently observed her as she went to sleep, feeling a sense of relief fall over him as he leaned back slightly in his seat, allowing himself a moment of clarity. He knew this would be short-lived, and knew that he would have to address her persistent pain once she had woken up. However, he knew well not to push himself or Mikasa at such a crucial moment in the pregnancy... one wrong move could shift the course of things, tilting the balance deeper toward the worrisome path her pregnancy had already been on. Carefully, Armin leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on Mikasa's swollen middle, whispering a gentle encouraging message to her abdomen, knowing that the baby would be able to hear him.
As if sensing the coast was clear inside the cabin, Eren walked back in, glaring darkly and keeping his eyes trained on the bedroom door, which was opened. He could see Armin's back, as he continued to sit at Mikasa's bedside. Eren walked over to the doorway, clenching his fist as Hange watched him cautiously, ready to step in and protect Mikasa and Armin if it came to that. Eren ignored her, and stopped at the bedroom doorway, glaring down at Armin. Mikasa appeared to be asleep at this point and Eren took that as his window.
"Armin. Outside." He suddenly demanded, his tone much darker than before.
Eren's voice chimed into Armin's thoughts, causing him to jump to his feet. He shot the man a glare, his hands pulling into a tight fist as he nodded silently in his response. He didn't speak a word until the two of them had exited the cabin fully, Armin shutting the door behind him before turning his head to face Eren again. This time, he was left with no weapon, and entirely exposed to Eren's anger. Although alarming, Armin remained strong in his posture and hardened expression, stepping further away from the cabin as he kept his glance locked on him.
"I should be focusing on Mikasa. What do you want now? Going to try and sympathize with me too? Or manipulate me when you run out of options? I'm not as easily charmed or tricked." Armin responded a bit cockily, scoffing a bit.
Eren's eye slightly twitched, and in a sudden flash of rage, his fist slammed into Armin's face, knocking him to the wet ground. Before Armin could even react to the sudden assault, Eren pinned him to the ground and proceeded to beat him violently, swinging his fists down and slamming them into Armin's face.
Before Armin was able to process anything that had happened, he felt his body slam against the mud, with the heavy weight of Eren pinning him down. He felt nothing but immense pain shooting through his face, as he felt his features give into the man's strong knuckles. His hands reached out to grasp onto Eren's chest, attempting to pull him away as he felt his chest heave painfully. The metallic taste of blood flooded into his mouth, and his eyes quickly began to swell shut. Any blood that had escaped from his broken nose and busted mouth had splattered all through his face with the blunt of Eren's blows. When he finally pulled away, Armin's shaking body remained limp on the ground, his hands still held out as if preparing for another hard blow.
"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, YOU RAT BASTARD! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! NO GOD DAMN RIGHT!" He screamed, punching Armin over and over again, his eyes flooded with tears as he glared down at Armin.
"You were my friend...you were like a brother to me, Armin! So how?! How could you do this? I love her! I want Mikasa to want me and only me...and when I'm gone I want her hung up on me for ten years! At the least! And now I can't even spend my last three years with her...and it's all because of YOU! You betrayed me, Armin! YOU BOTH DID!" Eren threw down one final punch, before finally stopping and getting off Armin, sitting on the ground and hanging his head low, breathing heavily.
Tense silence lingered between them for a moment, the only thing breaking it between them was Armin's pained breathing. After a few moments, he was able to recover slightly, turning his head towards Eren, watching as he held his head in his hands, narrowing his glare as he frowned.
"Y...you left... this was your fault Eren..." Armin rasped out softly, slowly moving to push himself into a sitting-up position, leaning forward as blood spewed from his crooked nose.
"M... Mikasa allowed herself to get close to me... I didn't do anything unless she had decided it was what she wanted... I... I cannot control her loss of love for you... Selfish bastard..." He spat some blood out mid-sentence.
Eren sat there on the ground, holding his head as he seemed to be hyperventilating for several seconds. He was silent as he tried to collect his thoughts. His anger was still seething for both Armin and Mikasa, but even more so for Armin. However…there was a part of him that almost agreed with Armin. Because he was right…Eren did leave. He left Mikasa alone, pregnant, and with no means of contacting him.
No matter how much he justified his reasoning, even Eren couldn't deny the damage he caused by leaving her. He just never realized that Mikasa would lose patience and stop forgiving him. He always believed she would forgive him no matter what…perhaps he unknowingly took advantage of that endless patience…and now it had run out.
And after putting her through that grief, that process…he just suddenly shows back up, at arguably the worst time possible. He should have never left her…if he had just stayed…he would be the one taking care of Mikasa. They would be continuing their peaceful, happy life. Sure…he would still die in three years but at the least, they could have made three years of happy memories with their child.
It sunk in suddenly…Eren was no better than his father. Right when the Titans attacked, and Carla was defenseless and alone, leading her to be eaten by that titan…Grisha had left. He abandoned his wife and his son, to go off and focus strictly on his goal of obtaining the founding titan. Not only did his absence doom Carla, but it doomed humanity's last fighting chance.
No…that wasn't even true. Eren was the one to convince Grisha to do just that. To take the founding titan. To exact his revenge for his sister. It was Eren from the paths that did all of this…only now he was doing it himself, to his own wife and child. It was his turn to doom humanity with his plan.
Armin could never understand the extent of all of this…and Eren honestly didn't even want him to. As he thought of all of this, he realized he was in no position to place blame on anyone for anything. For he was the biggest monster, and the greatest sinner of them all for what he was determined to do.
"You're right Armin...I'm a selfish bastard. I should have never left her side...by doing that I lost her..." He went quiet, his mind going numb as he held his hand to his forehead.
"Still...that confirms what I already suspected about you two...god damn it...of all guys, I thought it would be Jean...wait till he hears about this..." He sighed, before finally looking at Armin.
"I guess that cements my plans then. Armin...when all of this is over, I'm entrusting Mikasa and our child to you. I'm going to rid the world of the power of the titans so that you can live a long life with them..." He seemed to be slowly accepting this. Not happily, but Eren knew he had no chance in this situation...and at the end of the day, as much as he loved Mikasa...he wanted her to be happy above everything.
Armin wiped the blood from his swollen lip, pulling his blood-covered hand away as he spat the rest of it that had pooled into his mouth. Through his beaten lips, a smile peaked through, as his blood-stained teeth shined through the bruising and slight steaming coming from his shattered features. He could tell his jaw must have broken, which made it a challenge for him to talk to, but he still pushed his words through.
"You have got to be the most pathetic excuse for a human being I have ever seen... you place yourself in the shoes of a victim...what about standing in Mikasa's for a moment? Do you realize how much sleep she lost over you? How many tears she had shed for you? But you're the victim? Disgusting..." Armin mumbled through his bruised lips, turning to face Eren for a moment, cocking a brow at his last comment.
"Eren... What are you even planning? Nothing will be able to rid the world of the power of the Titans... you included. You're just after another massacre... which had drawn Mikasa away from you in the first place..." Armin hissed out bitterly, as his tone had seemed to change slightly, but not in concern for his old friend.. that care for him had been lost when he had found the remains of his actions. Slowly, he stood to his feet, stumbling back a few steps as more blood spewed from his nose, falling onto the grass beneath him.
"I don't expect you to believe me, Armin. But I assure you...my goal has changed. And it's not for war or violence. I can understand if you don't trust that." Eren got up to his feet, sighing.
"You should go back inside with Mikasa...I'll sleep out here. It's most likely best someone keeps watch for any intruders." He decided, leaning against the cabin as he went quiet and hung his head low, his thoughts racing.
Armin didn't respond to Eren, narrowing his eyes as he moved to spit blood right at his feet. With that gesture, he had sealed his opinion towards what he had considered an old friend and a brother. Slowly, he turned his back to him, leaving him in silence as he made his way back into the cabin, giving a soft groan of pain himself. He felt his vision blur, and the room around him began to spin slightly, causing him to reach for the nearest surface, gaining his balance. He could hear the muffled voice of Hange, which had been tuned out by a persistent ringing in his ear.
"Armin, are you alright? Armin!" Hange's voice finally chimed in through the ringing, causing Armin's vision to focus, noticing how Hange had immediately begun to wipe the blood from his face.
An angry expression remained locked on her features, and she refused to question him any.. almost as if she had known exactly what had happened. Carefully, she slammed the bloodied rag down and made her way towards the exit of the cabin, only to feel her sleeve be grabbed firmly.
"Leave him.. commander... we have more pressing matters to tend to..." Armin whispered out harshly, motioning towards the bedroom, where Mikasa had laid with her back to them, her body clearly in some sort of state of discomfort. They could hear her groans of pain starting to increase in volume and frequency, catching their attention. The two shared a worried glance before both rushed into the bedroom, immediately settling beside the bed. Armin knew that his current condition would cause an uproar for Mikasa, and hoped that keeping silent would allow some time to pass for his wounds to heal naturally. Slowly, he turned his head towards Hange, nodding gently.
Mikasa had stirred softly. Partly because she noticed Armin wasn't in the bed with her, but also partly because of a sharp, persistent ache in her lower back that wouldn't ease up no matter what position Mikasa tried to lay in. She curled up on her side, grimacing and groaning quietly to herself as the pain increased.
"Mikasa... It's Hange... I just wanted to check in on you.. we heard your groans." Hange whispered, gently reaching her hand out and laying it on her shoulder, shaking her body carefully.
"It's just..my back...it just started hurting out of nowhere..." Mikasa admitted through gritted teeth, as she tried to turn on her other side, her eyes squeezed tightly as she gritted her teeth, grunting quietly. The last time she experienced paralyzing pain like this was when her ribs were fractured. She didn't realize that she was experiencing back labor on top of everything.
She didn't notice Armin's condition as of yet, too focused on her own discomfort. She gripped the pillow tightly, panting heavily as she could only hope the pain would ease up soon. She didn't hear Eren's voice in the room...but at this point she didn't care. As long as she had Armin and Hange, she felt strong.
Armin watched Mikasa worriedly, watching as she worked through one of the hardest pains she had seemed to face since her ribs... Tears swelled in his eyes as he carefully placed a hand on her head, brushing his fingers through her hair as he furrowed his brows. Hange and Armin shared a glance once more, and both seemed to have the same amount of concern flooding their minds. Slowly, he moved his hand down, carefully caressing her cheek with his thumb, hoping that his silent gestures would be enough to reassure her.
"I know it hurts... Remember to breathe. Me and Armin have your back." Hange reassured, leaning over the bed as she looked over her body for a moment, studying her abdomen as well as the sudden tension that would strike through her body.
It had been enough cause for concern, as her head turned towards Armin, her eyes expressing her concern. Armin observed her, feeling his heart drop as he quickly drew his conclusions. He had now been fighting back tears, heaving a raspy sigh as he felt his face pulsate with pain, his body slouching slightly as he kept his hand firmly on her head.
Mikasa gripped Armin's hand tightly, grimacing more as she could only breathe and groan through the pain. The pain in her back was so intense, she didn't even notice the sharp pains in her abdomen that were still occurring occasionally. It took several minutes for the pain in her back to ease up, but finally after a good ten, twenty minutes, it eased up enough for Mikasa's body to relax. It took so long, that Armin's face had fully healed up. Once the pain eased up, Mikasa exhaled sharply, opening her eyes weakly and looking up at Armin.
She was exhausted, and couldn't even form words as she closed her eyes, relaxing at his presence near her. By this point, the thunderstorm had settled down and it was now just a mild downpour. Considering her condition, it was likely a good time for Armin and Hange to talk about it and try and figure things out. They both knew Eren would be no help either.
Armin stretched the tension from his face as he felt his injury finally heal fully, brushing his hand across a last strand of dried blood as it faded into steam right from his skin. Although he still found his abilities as a titan rather confusing and even frustrated at times… it was moments like these where he was thankful for his healing properties, which allowed him to focus fully on the emergency at hand.
"Everything she is facing.. is pointing to signs of labor… the issue is… how long it might last.. clearly… Her back seems to be bothering her the most… which can mean a whole lot of things…" Hange attempted to explain, realizing just how much unknown had been resting on this whole thing, especially after being so far passed her due date.
"Maybe we can ride to town and get her medicine? I saw a doctor there during our last visit." Armin rationalized softly, turning his head towards the window, noticing the downpour still raging outside.
"Our mounts are used to the heavy weather… I'm sure we could get back in a day if we hurry." Armin continued, squeezing Mikasa's hand firmly, staring down at her with his worried eyes. Mikasa listened to their conversation, but she was too focused on her pain to process their words. She panted heavily, trying to breathe through the pain, the sharp aches in her lower back nearly unbearable.
"That would be the option to go… but I'm not sure we have a day. Even then… we are unsure how advanced their medical science has gone.. not everyone has conjured up the proper drugs to ease the pain of childbirth. With Eren being as useless as ever… his approach might have brought forward some of his followers if things didn't go his way…we still don't have the guarantee he came here alone... which could put you at risk if you ride out alone. They'll be hearing about you taking Mikasa from him.. if they haven't already." Hange reasoned, scratching the back of her neck as she thought frantically, watching her comrade as she laid there limply in pain.
"So what do we do..? Do we wait it out? How are we supposed to help her?" Armin questioned frantically, turning towards her as his eyes widened in a pleading expression. He fought back tears, moving to grasp onto Hange's shirt.
"We can't let her suffer like this.. surely there's more we can do.."
"Armin… I will do what I can. But panicking will only create problems. Now is our time to apply all of the knowledge we read from those books we got from the library… take your time and rationalize through this…" Hange told him firmly but calmly.
Somehow, Miksasa managed to sleep through the night, albeit it was a restless one and at this point the rain had slowed down. It was still cloudy and wet outside, the weather seeming to mimic the tension in the air.
When she woke up, however, she felt even worse than she did the night before. With a low groan, she managed to push herself up into a reclined position against the pillow, leaning her head back against the headboard, taking some deep breaths as she felt her belly. She bit her lip worriedly, it was much more tense today.
"Armin..." She saw that he was nodding off and sat beside her in the bed, clearly having been staying up all night to watch over her.
Mikasa's eyes softened, as she squeezed his hand gently. She exhaled weakly, knowing her best bet was to stay in bed today with how she was feeling. She didn't want to admit it with all the tension lingering in the air, but she knew in her gut her baby was coming soon. It made her a mixture of nervous and restless, as she began a weirdly complicated process of adjusting her pillows, her nesting instincts in full effect. So far she hasn't had any pains, but she knew they would likely resume soon.
Armin laid his head against the bed, allowing his exhaustion to take over him within the very late hours of his restless night. His own mind had been racing frantically through the night, and he found himself spacing out for hours at a time as he attempted to work through the maze that had been his thoughts. Sometime in the night, he had sent Hange off to rest, noticing that she had been much more easily tired out from the day's events than him. He figured that she could take the day shift, while he found some time to tend to his chores or rest.
Armin heard his name, and the sudden break in the silence caused him to jolt up from his sleep, sitting up straight as he quickly wiped the sleep from his eyes, frantically moving to look towards her. He noticed her odd pattern of behavior, watching in silence for a moment as he looked towards her swollen abdomen, realizing just how much lower it had shifted…the sight caused his heart to drop, and his stomach to churn. He furrowed his brows, gently squeezing her hand to gain her attention.
"Mikasa.. are you doing alright? Did something happen..? Hange will be up soon, and she'll be in here to do what she can." Armin was quick to check in on her, carefully helping with her pillows in any way he was able to without messing up her natural pattern of nesting. Mikasa shook her head at his concerns, gently squeezing his hand.
"Nothing happened...I just...don't feel very well. I think...the little one is finally on their way.." She admitted nervously, as she caressed her belly which had gotten quite low. It was obvious the baby had dropped.
"It might not be for a few more days...but I can tell something feels different..." She admitted as she adjusted her pillows again, seeming restless.
Armin listened to her carefully, giving her a gentle nod before pulling himself to his feet. He then carefully sat down on the bed beside her, allowing her to lean her weight against him as he ensured that her pillows remained untouched. Although he tried to keep a strong face, Armin deep down had found himself on the verge of panicking fully, as an overwhelming amount of scenarios fell into his head. He knew that if he expressed this though.. his concerns would cause unnecessary stress for Mikasa. He took a shaky breath, gently rubbing his hand over her abdomen, massaging its tender areas carefully.
"It's alright Mikasa.. me and Hange are ready… you focus on resting and preparing for the little one's arrival… me and Hange have a plan set in place…you just let us know when it's time, as best as you can…" Armin explained softly, brushing her hair back carefully as he forced a smile on his lips.
Outside, Eren had woken from a very light sleep. He had been sitting on the porch, leaning back against the cabin's outer wall, managing to stay dry. His eyes adjusted to the daylight, hearing the sound of birds singing nearby and he felt a strange shift in the air. His shoulders tensed, as he kept a close eye on the forest that was a good distance from the cabin. His eyes darkened, even from this distance he could see the unnatural and out-of-place shine of metal weapons and gun barrels poking out from the thick forest. They were being watched. Eren frowned, getting up and off the porch, walking out a bit into the yard, and watching the tree line closely.
Hange had exited her cabin early that morning, making her way over to check in on Mikasa and Armin. Naturally, she turned her glance to look toward Eren, using her hand to shade her eye from the bright sunlight. She couldn't help but scoff, noticing as he watched the horizon before him carefully, seemingly deep in his thoughts. She approached him, knowing her steps alone would get his attention.
"What's the matter? Finally got the violence out of your system so now you're sulking? You standing out here brooding like a moron isn't going to help birth this baby you know. The least you could do is pretend to be useful and go boil some water or something." Hange remarked towards him, cocking a brow when she realized he didn't shift his sights over to her. Eren glanced at Hange, ignoring her remark and pointing out at the forest.
"We got company." He revealed, his eyes trained on the weapons in the trees.
"Looks like The Jaegerists followed me here. I should have known better than to give Floch my location...damn it..." Eren glared, knowing there were at least a dozen of them hidden in the trees.
He knew that they had likely been watching them, and if there was even a slight chance they knew about Armin and Mikasa, they would stop at nothing to attack them, in an effort to avenge Eren's honor. There was a slim chance Eren could talk to them…but somehow he doubted they would listen, even to him.
Inside the cabin, Mikasa had suddenly winced again letting out a low groan of pain and discomfort.
"Nnngh...!" She grunted, grimacing and doubling over slightly to clutch her tense belly as a sharp pain seemed to grip her abdomen, this one seemingly stronger than they were last night. As it persisted, she gripped Armin's hand tightly and panted quickly and urgently, squeezing her eyes shut as she rode out the contraction. When it finally started to ease, she exhaled sharply, leaning her head weakly against Armin's shoulder and recovering.
Armin jolted at her sudden movement, his arms immediately moving to embrace her as he laid his head against hers. Carefully, he forced his eyes shut, attempting to clear the anxiety lingering in his mind as he softly hushed her, reassuring her through her contraction.
"I'm here Mikasa… I'm here… it's okay…" Armin's shaky voice replied softly as he squeezed her hand in response, his head turning towards the front door, as if waiting for Hange to hurry in and help them.
Outside, Hange looked out at the tree line and glared.
"Did your titan eat your brain?! What the fuck were you thinking Eren?! Good fucking god it's a wonder how this baby is going to survive." Hange snapped loudly, immediately moving to rush to her cabin, escaping into its interior for a moment before bursting out with a rifle clasped tightly in her hands.
She cocked its barrel, rushing over to Erens side again before she held the weapon up, peaking her eye through an aged scope, her finger trembling against the trigger. She had seen what the Jaegerists were capable of…and wasn't about to take any chances.
"I hope that you get a bullet in your dick so you stop putting innocent children in your fucking mess. We can't let any of them get close to Mikasa… I'm sure she's progressed more in her labor already.. she's a sitting duck.." Hange thought out loud, using her scope to pan the tree line.. counting numerous of their scopes pointing back at her.
"Save your bullets, Hange. If the baby's as close as you say, she needs you. Armin can only do so much. I'll handle the Jaegerists and keep them away from the cabin. I promise I'll have them dealt with before the baby is even here." Eren insisted firmly, keeping his eyes trained on the trees.
The best course of action was to attempt and talk to them…trusting that they would do whatever he asked and ready to exploit their worshiping of him. But…he also knew if things turned south, there was only one way to dispose of them quickly and easily. And he didn't need any weapons to do it.
Inside, Mikasa let out a small whimper, her body shaking slightly as she gripped Armin's hand tightly. She couldn't help but feel uneasy as if her gut was telling her something was wrong outside.
"They've been out there a while...we should make sure they're okay..." She suggested anxiously, she also felt like she needed to walk around.
Armin looked down towards Mikasa, then towards the door again. That same gut feeling fell over him, causing his stomach to churn as he felt his last meal inch upwards into his throat. He swallowed it down, giving her a nod. Hesitantly, he moved to sit her up, before he carefully helped her to her feet.
Outside, Hange looked at Eren, clearly distrustful of his words…however, he made a fair point. Mikasa and Armin would be needing her if labor had progressed anymore. Nervously, she nodded to Eren, before dropping her gun and racing towards the cabin. By the time she had broken through the door, Armin and Mikasa had made their way out to the living room. Hange blinked for a moment, shutting the door behind her before firmly locking it.
"Hange…what's going on? Why are you so panicked?" Armin asked sternly, narrowing his eyes as he turned his glance towards the window, noticing Eren's silhouette just at the edge of the yard.
"We have company. Keep Mikasa hidden… they're likely here to put an end to all of this." Hange explained vaguely, moving to grab another long arm she had hidden within the cabin's walls.
She pulled open its cartridge, filling it with some leftover bullets she had sitting in her hidden pocket. She then closed it, before cocking back its safety and perching it up against one of the surfaces in the main living room. She then kneeled into its scope, pointing it towards the window.
"Eren said he could handle it… but I'd be armed and prepared in case they somehow break in…"
Mikasa's eyes widened slightly, her gut feeling proving to be true, as much as she was hoping it hadn't been. Before she could even process or respond to what Hange said, she winced again, getting another sharp pain and suddenly she felt something different that made her freeze. An unmistakable wetness between her legs that was heavy enough to hit the wooden floor beneath her, making a subtle splash sound.
"A...Armin...I think my water just broke..." She could only state the obvious in her shock...she knew her baby was close, but she didn't realize it was this close. Armin froze at her words, as he felt panic rising within him.
Outside, Eren watched as the Jaegerists began riding out of the trees on horseback, charging for the cabin with Floch in front. Eren glared, standing protectively in front of the cabin.
'Mikasa...I've failed you in every way possible. But this is the one thing I can do...to protect you and our child..' Eren glared, suddenly biting his hand hard, and in an instant there was a lightning strike as he transformed into the Attack Titan, causing the ground to violently shake as a strong gust of wind blew through the area. Eren's titan roared wildly and glared at the Jaegerists, holding his position in front of the cabin, determined to not let them get near Mikasa or their child.