Tage Des Friedens

デイズ・オブ・ピース

Days Of Peace

A bright light beams through the bedroom of Eren Yeager, the youngest of the Yeager twins. Flinching when the sun's light hits his face, Eren slowly opens his eyes and comes face to face with the sleeping face of the member of the house—Mikasa Ackerman.

Sitting up, he wonders how she got in her before remembering that she asked to sleep in the same bed as him last night. Eren doesn't wake her up, instead taking time to carefully study her face. She looked so no peaceful right now, but she may feel different when waking up.

Frowning, he thinks back to those animals in human skin—the same animals responsible for taking away her family and wanting to sell her off to the highest bidder. Killing them was something he did not regret for they deserved to suffer. Instead of giving them a quick death he could have just broken their legs and left them for the wolves to feed on. But what's done is done.

Mikasa starts moving a little in the bed, alerting Eren that she was waking up. Silver eyes locked onto green ones. The black haired girl didn't say anything for a few minutes, probably trying to find the right words to say at this moment.

"Good morning." Eren decided to be the one to break the silence.

Sitting up slowly, Mikasa touched the red scarf he had given her, "Good morning." She said., hair a complete mess. It was honestly amusing actually.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

She nods shyly.

It didn't look like she was lying to him, which was good. Though after everything she went through it's possible she might suffer from some PTSD but he'll have to ask his dad and hear what he says.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

She shook her head only for her cheeks to turn a shade of pink when her stomach started to grumble a little. Watching her fidget in place made him feel something, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

Scooting towards the edge of the bed, he hops off before holding a hand out to her, "Come on." His tone was gentle again as he waited patiently for her to take his hand.

Mikasa didn't even hesitate to grab onto the hand of her savior and protector. As they left Eren's bedroom she recalled the declaration she made last night.

'Eren, you protected me. That's why from now on...I'll protect you, too!'

The two children arrived at the kitchen where Carla and Eren were already awake to greet them. Mikasa hadn't met Erena yet but it nearly made her shudder by their resemblance—despite being twins. Apparently she was the oldest sibling while Eren was the younger, not that this seemed to bother him.

"Good morning, you two," Carla greeted warmly, "Did you both sleep well?"

Eren nodded.

"Mm." Mikasa replied.

Chuckling, Carla places their plates out in front of them as they take their seats. As they sit down, Eren immediately notices someone missing from the table.

"Mom, where's dad?" He inquired.

"He left early to check on a patient in Wall Rose, he'll be back soon." She assured him.

"Okay." Though he was curious to know what sort of patient his father could be seeing from within Wall Rose, he ultimately decided not to think about it all that much since his father will be coming home.

"How are you feeling Mikasa? Have you settled in okay?" Carla asked.

"Yes, Aunt Carla." Mikasa responded.

At her reply, Carla chuckled, "There's no need for you to be so formal with me, dear. You can call me 'mom' if you want."

"Um…" Poor girl didn't know what to say to that, and it showed on her face.

Seeing this, Carla smiles at her, "It's okay, Mikasa. You don't have to call me that right away, take your time to adjust to your new home and enjoy yourself."

Mikasa looks down at the table, thinking about what Carla said. What she said was right—this is her new life now, a life where her parents aren't here with her anymore. But, she wasn't alone. While her parents may no longer be by her side, there was someone who was. Lifting her gaze up a little, she eyes Eren out of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to notice her looking at him but that was okay.

Unknown to her though, two people saw her gazing at the other Yeager and smiled.

'So that's how it is.' Erena thought with a knowing smile.

'How adorable.' Carla thought, "Eren, why don't you show Mikasa around town? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Eh?" Mikasa said.

Erena leaned forward, "You should introduce her to Armin, too. He'll like her."

Huh, showing Mikasa around town would be good for her. She can talk to the townspeople and get familiar with the place.

"Do you want to?" Eren asked her just to be sure, not wanting to force her into anything.

That didn't seem to be a problem as Mikasa looked happy to be going somewhere with Eren. Elated, she happily agrees to let Eren show her around town.

First they went to see a kind lady who runs her own market, the woman kindly greets them both and gives Eren some free apples. He takes them and bows respectfully to her as thanks. They then went off to other different spots where Mikasa got to see the locals interact with Eren. Most were very friendly, asking how his mother was and wondering if Dr. Yeager wouldn't mind examining one of their relatives.

The people here were kind to her, too. Some commented about her fair skin, hair, and eye color, but other than that everyone here was very friendly. She was really starting to like it here.

"Do you like it here so far?" He asked her, walking down the street.

"Mm, everyone here is so nice." She replied, "I'm not...used to being around people all that much, so I was worried."

Eren looks ahead of him, "I guess not, you've been living away isolated from people. Suddenly coming to live here is probably too much for you."

She shakes her head in the negative, "No, I was nervous at first but it's fine now. Because you're here." Her cheeks turn pink a little at that.

While surprised by her comment, Eren smiled a little and took it as a compliment, "I see." He said softly, "I really like having you here."

Now her whole face became red as she tried in vain to make it go away, but to no avail.

"I wonder if Armin is outside today, or if he's with his grandfather?" Eren wondered out loud.

"Armin?" Mikasa inquired, who was that?

"Ah, he's my best friend. He's really smart and knows things most adults don't. You'll like him." Eren assures her.

"Okay."

"You heretic!"

She stops dead in her tracks at the sudden yell. Next to her, Eren sighs before heading in the direction of the yell with Mikasa following after him. When they arrived at the source, Mikasa frowned at what she saw. Standing there, backs facing her were three older boys surrounding a smaller blonde haired boy who was clutching a book tightly in his arms.

"What's the matter? You gonna cry again, heretic?" One of the boys taunted.

"Grab the book! We'll throw it in the river!"

"No, don't—!"

"Shut up!" One the boys yelled, kicking the blonde boy in the face.

It all happened in an instant.

Before she knew it, Eren was no longer by her side. His foot hitting the boy in the back of the head, making the tallest one crouch and hold his head in obvious pain.

"What—!"

"Shit, its Eren—!"

A palm thrust to the stomach shut one of the boys up, kneeling down on his knees and hugging his stomach as he threw up, but Eren wasn't done as he chopped the boy in the back of the head—knocking him out.

Once he was down, Eren went for the last one—who tried to punch the green eyed child only to have his wrist grabbed and flipped on his back, hard. To finish it off, he was then kicked hard in the gut, he let out a choked sound as he gasped for breath before lying motionless on the ground.

The tallest one, possibly the leader grunted as she slowly stood up from his kneeling position on the ground. Standing, he saw his friends were on the ground before his eyes locked on Eren, his facial expression showing clear rage.

"You little—!" He brought up his fist ready to punch the smaller boy, only for Eren to easily duck under the arm breaking it with another palm thrust, "Aaahhh!"

Eren then broke the boy's knee making him get down on one leg before chopping him in the back of the neck as he did the previous boy. It was over.

What makes this sad is the fact that these very same boys were beaten by Eren before, and yet they still hadn't learned their lesson yet—still coming after Armin even after they were threatened by the brown haired boy to leave the smaller boy alone.

"Last time I told, you that if you were to bully Armin again I'd break your bones." Eren states, looking down at the beaten bullies blankly, "I'm not going to give you another warning—next time you mess with him...I'll break you." That wasn't an empty threat as he was very serious.

The leader of the bullies grunted in response, still in pain from the beat down. Eren ignores them before helping Armin up and walking back over to Mikasa, who had the bag of apples in her hand. With how fast Eren was in getting to the bullies it's a wonder they didn't fall on the ground.

The trio ignored the bullies and decided to head over to Eren's house for the time being. So much for showing Mikasa a good time around town.

Carla hears the door open and turns around, "Oh, back already?" She wasn't expecting them to be back so soon, but after seeing the bruises on Armin's face she could see why. Those three boys must've been bothering him again and Eren, like last time, defended his friend by fighting them just like last time.

She crouches in front of Armin and smiles, "Armin, did those mean boys mess with you again?" There wasn't a need to ask him because she already knew it was them, but she wanted to hear it from the boy's mouth.

Armin looked down, nodding sadly as he was still clutching his book.

Carla sighs a little, "Good grief, and here I was hoping their parents would have given them a firm talking to by now." The first time they picked on both her son and Armin she had gone to their parents to complain. Everything should have been over after that, but she was wrong.

"They don't care." Eren said, bluntly.

Carla looks over at him, "You didn't hurt them too badly did you, Eren?"

Eren averted his eyes then looked back at her, "...no."

'Well, that's an obvious lie.' Carla chuckles inwardly. Her son should really get better at lying, his ears are turning pink, "Come here, Armin. I'll take care of those wounds for you."

"Okay…" Armin follows behind her to the kitchen, Eren and Mikasa doing the same.

Mikasa places the apples down on the table before following Eren upstairs. She followed him to his bedroom where he was reading a book she had never seen before. He sees her at the doorway and tells her she can come inside.

"This is one of dad's books," He said, "I like reading his medical books because they're interesting."

Mikasa sits down next to him and looks at what's written in the book. From her point of view everything written down looked complicated and hard to understand.

"Do you understand what it's talking about?" Mikasa asked.

"Ah, this one's talking about sowing up a wound and making sure it doesn't get infected afterwards." She could tell by his tone that he sounded enthralled about what he was reading.

"Can I read it with you?" She asked, sounding a little unsure if he would let her.

"Sure." He placed it on the floor and they both read it together. Mikasa listened to Eren as he explained certain parts she didn't understand very well. They stayed like that for about half an hour before Armin came up and sat with them.

Arming then explained the reason those bullies were bothering him again, and it was because he was once reading a book about the world beyond the walls. Mikasa learned that because he wanted to venture out and explore the outside world that he was called a "heretic" by the other kids and was picked on for it.

"It exists, I know it does!" Armin insisted, "A land of ice, sand, fire, and the ocean that's so salty that merchants would have to spend their entire lives trying to get all of it out! That's the world I want to see!"

"Wow…" Mikasa admitted that it does sound very interesting.

Eren looked thoughtful, "The ocean...I want to see it."

"Right?! Let's go see it together, Eren!" Armin eagerly said.

"Ah." Eren smiled.

Mikasa played with her scarf for a bit before speaking up, "Me too...I want to see the outside world, too!" Her eyes were determined as she made her declaration.

"Then we'll all go—" Eren looks out his window, the bright light of the sun beaming through and lighting up the spot where they were sitting, "To see the world outside the walls."

Armin nods, "It's a promise!"

"Mm." Eren looks at Mikasa, who also made the promise.

"In that small room, where the rays of the sun beamed through—the three of us made a promise to see the outside world no matter what."

"The peaceful times we spent in Shiganshina continued on. Eren, Mikasa, and myself spent our days the way we saw fit. Reading up on all sorts of things and making plans with each other. Eren's teacher decided to teach some basic skills in hand to hand combat with my grandfather's permission. My skills were...mediocre at best, but at least I know the basic way of defending myself, so I had no complaints."

"Next year—on both Eren and Erena's birthday, they left the walls to visit relatives in Wall Sina. Mikasa and I saw them off with smiles on all our faces. On every birthday, they would leave the walls to visit their extended family and spend three days with them before coming back home to Wall Maria. Every time they came back, it was with happy smiles, and telling stories about their cousin and other cousin—who Eren and Eren refer to as "Big sister."

"It was supposed to be just any of those other times, but—"

Mikasa and Armin stood at the gate entrance with smiles on their faces that soon vanished when they saw the non smiling faces of the twins. Their facial expressions were either blank (Eren), or emotionless (Erena).

Seeing this made a shiver run down their spines.

"—something had happened. Eren, Erena, Carla-san, and their teacher had all come back, but one person—"

"Grisha Yeager."

"I'm sorry, Mikasa, but Eren said he wants to be alone right now." Carla said, smiling sadly at the girl, standing in front of Eren's closed bedroom door.

Mikasa looked down at that, looking ready to cry, but Carla bends down and hugs her, "Give him some time, okay," she squeezes the girl a little, "He's...still coming to terms with what happened. The same goes for Erena as well."

At that explanation, Mikasa had no choice but to leave Eren alone and go back to the guest room. This was something she wasn't used to now, for she would always sleep in the same bed as Eren. But now, not having him here in the same bed as her...felt so lonely.

That night...she cried herself to sleep.

A few days had passed and both Eren and Erena were still being distant. They trained with their teacher a lot more than usual and would often go outside the walls for some outdoor training that they couldn't tell them about.

This saddened them as they wanted to support and be there for them, but with them acting so distant how could they?

Finally though, Eren and Erena stopped being so distant, but something was different about them. Erena was always smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes at all. On some days they were empty and hollow, and on others she was smiling as though she meant it. Eren was also different, normally he would show some sort of expression on his face, but after what happened to his father his expression changed. He was now unnervingly stoic and calm, often sporting a blank expression that didn't reveal anything.

His smiles were becoming rare now…or so Armin believed.

Whenever he was around Mikasa his blank expression cracked as he was able to relax around her and let his guard down. Mikasa was happy because they got to sleep in the same bed again, Eren often rubbing the back of her head in soothing motions to help calm her and sleep better.

As for Erena, well Armin found that telling her about the many different uses of flowers and other interesting facts broke her fake smile in exchange for a real one.

Things weren't perfect, but it became the new normal.

But then—

"A new breed of Titan that helps humans?" Mikasa questioned.

Today was another one of those normal days and while normally Armin would be talking about another interesting fact he learned from one of his books, but not today. Today he was talking about a strange new breed of Titan that appeared out of nowhere and kills its own kind while ignoring humans.

"I overheard some soldiers from the Survey Corps mentioning it when they came back," Armin started to explain, "They said it was about 15-meters tall with marble colored skin!"

"Amazing…" Mikasa said in awe.

"Can you believe it? For the first time there's a Titan that doesn't want to eat humans, isn't it amazing, Eren?" Armin turned to his friend with a happy expression.

Eren didn't answer right away, for a moment he just sat there in the grass looking at the walls that block the sun from being seen. Finally, he turns to Armin with a small smile, "Ah." Was what he said.

"I thought those days would never end. The three of us being together like this in peace—so peaceful that I believed it would last for a long time—"

"—but—"

"—I was wrong."

"For nothing lasts forever."

Der Tag, An Dem Alles Begann (The Day Everything Began)