Chapter Text
Time seemed to slow down for Mikasa when she entered the titan's mouth. There she was, flying across with her blade in front of her ready to kill the man she swore so many times to protect. Her mouth formed a small smile as it had been a while since the two of them had seen each other but was only met with Eren's tired eyes. Why did it come to this ? Mikasa thought in those finale moments. There was so much she wanted to say to him. What was that dream? Did you show me that? She wondered again. She knew what she had imagined minutes ago wasn't something that she made up and it sure as hell didn't feel like a simple dream. She felt pressure on her blade letting her know that it had reached Eren's skin. Then everything went white.
The year is 847. Commander Shadis and many others in the Cadet Corps got up extra early to prepare everything for tomorrow for when the recruits of the 104. In the nearest town, there is only one refugee camp. The camp consists of one big building surrounded by tents. Orphans and elders slept in the building while families and adults stayed in tents around. That building is currently housing a sleeping Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman. Eren Yeager is also staying there but left ten minutes before his friends woke up.
Mikasa woke up to find herself laying on the ground with her head laying on a potato sack bag and a thin blanket covering her body. The only light source in the room was the sunlight coming from a few small windows that let her know there were dozens of others in the same room as her. What? What just happened? She thought to herself while she sat up. Her mind racing trying to figure out where she was and why she was there.
"Mikasa?" She heard a small voice say only a few feet away from her. Mikasa turned to the voice. It was Armin except it wasn't the Armin she had seen moments ago. His hair was longer and his face was younger almost like back when he was a child. She then felt her hair lightly brush on her shoulder. Reaching out to touch it she realized how long her hair was. It hasn't been this long in years. If I remember correctly, the last time it was this long was right when I joined Cadet Corps and that was when I was twelve.
"Armin?" She replied finally. She could almost see the wheels turning in his brain.
"Please tell you also just woke from the strangest dream," He said. Mikasa felt her stomach flip. Please don't tell me he had the same dream I did. But one look at his face was enough to tell her that he did and that it wasn't a dream.
"Yeah, I did," She replied. The two heard rustling from where a few other kids were sleeping, letting them know that their conversation was waking others up.
"Let's talk about this outside." Mikasa nodded and followed him. Thankfully Armin still seemed to remember the layout of the place even after all those years.
Most of the town was still asleep so only a few others were walking the streets. The cold wind made Mikasa quickly grab at her red scarf to cover more of her face. With Armin still leading the way, the duo made their way to a small field close by. Neither had shoes on. Soft grass tickled their feet. There they felt they were alone enough to talk. Mikasa sat down on the grass while Armin remained standing.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Armin asked her, his gaze was on the wall Rose. Mikasa couldn't help but feel comfort at the sight of it.
"I remember seeing you fight Eren and going into the Founding Titan mouth to kill him. Right before I could kill him, everything went white," She responded deciding not to go into too many details.
"That's about the same for me. Though I remember feeling panicked about you going in. I was so scared you were going to die. Then everything went white and I woke up a few feet away from you," Armin said, facing the girl.
"Armin, are we dead?"
"I'm trying to figure that out as well. If my memory is right we woke up in the last camp we stayed at before joining the cadet corp. But I don't know if this is the afterlife or if we got put in the paths."
"Could Eren have sent us to the paths to stop us from stopping him?" Mikasa asked.
"It's possible but I doubt it. Eren said he wouldn't take away our freedom to go against him. Besides this feels more real than the paths did."
"So we are dead." Mikasa tucked her face into her knees, "Eren killed us." Armin kneeled next to the girl and wrap his arms around her. That was enough to break her. This entire time she had pushed everything down but having Armin, the only consistent person in her life, embrace her brought all of her emotions back. Armin stayed silent as the girl sobbed into his arms. His mind was still racing with everything. How could Eren have killed us? Or maybe the founder killed us but why? She brought him to Zeke so why would she just kill me a few minutes afterward?
"Mikasa," He slightly peeled himself away from her grip, "Did you see anyone else in the Founding Titan, as a little girl?" She stared back at him in confusion.
"No, it was just him. What do you mean by the little girl?"
"The founder, well, the first titan was Ymir Fritz. When I got eaten by that titan I saw her and she brought me into the paths. That's how I got in contact with Zeke. Maybe she did this," He said.
"So we are in the paths?" She asked, tears still lightly falling from her face.
"I don't know but maybe, just hear me out, what if she sent us back in time," Armin suggested.
"Armin, I know that for the past few years we have learned of lots of crazy things we didn't think were possible but time travel? That's a little too crazy for me to believe," Mikasa replied. She was done crying, her face now held the cold stance that she so often wore.
"Think about it though. Ymir helped us by sending me to talk to Zeke. Maybe she doesn't like what Eren was doing and sent us back so we can fix it. I know it sounds crazy but just think about it."
"Or maybe she sent us back so Eren could start the rumbling now and we wouldn't be able to stop him," Mikasa suggested, "I didn't see Eren back at camp."
"Well, the walls are still up. Plus Eren would have to find someone with royal blood. So unless he knows how to get to Historia or Zeke I don't think he'll be able to start it. If my memory is correct then today should be the last day we stayed at that orphanage. This means tomorrow we would join the Cadets. Eren spent most of this day running around town. You and I spent it looking for him."
"We then came back once it was dark just to find him therewith multiple cuts and bruises. I guess it makes sense now how they all seemed to heal the next day," Mikasa said. A thought suddenly appeared in Armin's head.
"Mikasa, do you have anything sharp with you?" He asked her.
"No, why?" Instead of answering he instead put his hand up to his mouth and bit down. Just as he had seen Eren do multiple times, biting hard enough to draw blood, "Armin!" Mikasa quickly used her strength to move his arm away from his face, "What the fuck was that?" She yelled. Armin stared at the injury on his hand.
"It's not healing," Armin said after a few seconds, "There's no smoke." Mikasa looked at his hand. During the four years after sealing the wall Maria, both Armin and Eren learned how to control their healing ability, "Mikasa, I don't think I have the colossal titan anymore."
"Well that would make sense, we are twelve now so Bertholdt should have it." She tried not to show it but part of her was relieved by the idea of him not being a titan shifter. It meant that if they really did travel to the past, she wouldn't eventually lose him to the curse. The wind picked up making them both shiver. Armin's stomach began to growl letting them know that he was hungry.
"I wonder if anyone else got sent back," Armin said.
"I don't know but we should get back to the orphanage. They'll be handing out some rations soon and from what I remember they never had enough for everyone," Mikasa said and stood up. She held out a hand to help Armin up and he took it.
"You know if Eren also got sent back then it would be easiest for him to wait till tomorrow to start the rumbling," Armin said while they walked back.
"Yeah, Historia will be there and unless she got sent back as well she won't know what to do. Not to mention many of the others will be there as well," Mikasa replied.
"Your right, the entire alliance minus Levi, Hange, Pieck, Falco, and Gabi will be there. Maybe some of the others got sent back as well."
"If not then we'd be on our own. It be especially bad if Reiner and Annie didn't get sent back," Armin said already thinking ahead.
"Then we will deal with them, but for today we should take it easy and just keep our eyes peeled. We will worry about them tomorrow."
Around the same time, in the city of Trost, Jean's mother was preparing an omelet for her son. She had to hold back a tear that came to her eyes as she knew she wouldn't see him much in the next few years. She didn't know that her son was already up and was now staring into his reflection.
"What the hell?" Jean said to himself. His long hair was gone and his face no longer had any hair on it. Was that all a dream? he thought. the last thing he could remember was seeing bright yellow light as he felt himself change into a titan. It all felt so real. It had to be real. Looking around it donned on him that he was in his old room. His desk still had an old drawing he made still on it. He touched the paper, trying to still figure out if this was all real or not. He then noticed the date on the top, 847. Before he could think of anything a knock came from his door. He turned to see his mom entering his room. Except she looked younger than the last time he saw her.
"Jean boy, I was just coming to get you up. Although I shouldn't be too surprised that you up. Tomorrow is a big day after all," She said with a smile. Jean stared at her. Out there in the battle and when he was accepting his death with Connie, all he wanted to do at that moment was to see his mother one last time, and there she was. Without thinking he threw himself onto his mother and didn't even try to fight off the tears that were forming. Jean's mom was very surprised at this act but had no problem with returning the hug. He hadn't wanted a hug from her in months, "Is everything alright dear?" She asked as she felt her shoulder get wet from his tears.
"I'm so sorry mom, for everything. I should have known that it was no hope trying to stop it, I should have just came home to you and dad," Jean said through his sob. Jean's mother was confuse by what he was saying but decided that he must have been talking about joining the Cadet Corps tomorrow.
"Jean boy, you shouldn't feel bad for wanting to join the military. I know you'll make it to the top ten and do great things in the Military Police." With those words, Jean finally pulled himself away from his mother.
"Military Police? I never joined the Military Police."
"Well of course not. But tomorrow you begin your training with the Cadet Corps and then you'll join the Military Police," Jean's mother gave him a soft smile.
"Mom, what year is it?" Jean asked.
"847, why do you ask?" His mom asked.
"I just," Jean's mind was lost, "I think I just had a really long dream." His mom wiped a tear that was forming on his left eye.
"Why don't you tell me about it over breakfast. I made you an omelet," She said.
"You go ahead, mom. I'll be down in a few minutes." Jean's mother nodded and headed back downstairs leaving Jean alone to his thoughts. He walked over to his bedroom window. Relief filled him when he saw wall Rose still standing. Maybe it was all just a really bad dream, he thought.
Jean spent the next few hours with his parents. He savored the taste of the omelet his mom made. Both of his parents were quite surprised by their son's behavior but neither complained as they enjoyed the quality time they were getting with him. Jean tried his best to ignore the bad dream he had and focus on what was happening now but it hanged in the back of his mind. Around noon the family was interrupted by loud banging on their door.
"I'll get it," Jean's mother said and quickly made her way to the door. Jean was slightly confused as in his dream, no one came to the door today. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard an all-too-familiar voice.
"Sorry to bother you, are you Jean Kirstein's mom?" Jean slowly turned his head towards the door. Facing his mother was a short, bald-head boy that he saw in his dream. It was Connie Springer.
"Yes, I am. Are you a friend of his?" His mom asked.
"I am, is he here?" Connie didn't have to wait for a reply because Jean was already making his way to the door. The two stared at each other dumbfoundingly.
"Connie?" Jean asked. Connie's face broke out into a huge grin.
"Hey Jean, been a while," Connie replied.
"Jean, why don't you two go out and get some fresh air," Jean's mom said to him, "Seems like you two got some catching up to do." Jean nodded and step outside. His mom smiled at the boys before closing the door. As soon as it was closed Connie pulled him into a hug.
"Oh thank god, I was so worried that I was the only one who remembered everything," Connie said with a light laugh. After a moment the two broke apart and began to walk down the street.
"Wait, what is the last thing you remember?" Jean asked the shorter boy.
"Us becoming titans, you?"
"Same. Then I woke up in my room."
"I woke up to my little siblings Sunny and Martin bouncing on my bed," Connie replied. Jean's face stiffed as he remembers what happened to them in his dream, "They're all alive and human. My village was just as it was when I was a kid."
"I'm glad to hear that," Jean responded remembering how it felt to see his mom this morning.
"Yeah and it seems like Trost is back to how it use to before the attack in 850," Connie said. Jean looked around and noticed that he was right. After the titans destroyed a good part of the city the city changed drastically. Looking at it now was like looking at an old painting of it.
"If we both remember everything then I guess it wasn't all a dream then," Jean said with a sigh.
"Maybe this is where people go after being turned into titans," Connie suggested.
"I don't know. Eren said that Ymir compared being a pure titan to an endless hell. This doesn't feel like hell," Jean responded.
"Well, whatever it is, my mom said I was joining the Cadet Corps tomorrow. So maybe we can see Sasha and everyone else tomorrow," Connie said with a big smile. Jean thought for a moment, by the end there where hardly anyone left of the 104th still alive. There were so many of them that he couldn't even remember their faces properly: Marco, Thomas, Mina, and so many others that he couldn't remember correctly. Maybe he could see them again, maybe he could get to spend some more time with them as he did with his parents this morning. Hell if Eren their as well then he might just give him a much-deserved punch to the jaw. What he wanted to see most was Sasha, she had only died weeks ago because they made a dumb call of keeping that door open.
Elsewhere in-wall Rose in a refugee camp Annie Leonhart woke up in a state of confusion. What felt like minutes ago she was just about to finally reunite with her father but then hell broke out again and she watches him and everyone else gets turned into pure titans. She could hardly remember turning into one herself as she was quickly swarmed by pure titans trying to eat her. It was hell. Now she was here, in a small wooden room, alone. She pinched the skin on her arm to see if she was dreaming but she didn't wake up. She slowly got up, her body protested as she stretches her arms out. The door opened up and a tall man walked in.
"Oh hey Annie," It was Bertholdt, "I didn't know if you were awake or not. They want us to get out on the field pretty early today," He said to her with a small smile. Annie just stared at him. She had just seen him recently when he saved her in his titan form when Zeke awoke the past titan shifters. But she hasn't seen him alive in years. The last time they were properly together was when she chose to go into the Military Police. Armin was the one to tell her that he died as he broke down about killing him and taking on the Colossal titan, "Is everything okay Annie?" He asked her.
"Umm, yeah I'm fine," She responded, "Just got lost in thought."
"Seems like you and Reiner are having a similar morning then," Bertholdt said. Reiner , she thought. She had seen a glance of him during the last moments, had a titan biting down on his nape. She thought for sure he was a goner.
"Where is he?" Annie asked.
"I just spoke to him, I think he's heading to the fields now," Bertholdt responded.
"Okay, I'll go join him then," Annie said. She began to walk past him.
"Wait." He held his arm out stopping her. She turned to face him, "Are you nervous about tomorrow because if so that's okay. I'm nervous as well."
"What's happening tomorrow?" She asked. He gave her a confused look.
"Tomorrow we join the Cadet Corps."
"Oh," She turned away from him, "I'm not nervous." She left leaving Bertholdt slightly embarrassed. It didn't take long for Annie to spot Reiner. He was holding a plow but seemed to not know what to do with it. He didn't spot her till she was only a few feet away from him. His face lights up as she got closer.
"Annie," He said with slight enthusiasm.
"Hey," She replied. His face dropped, clearly expecting her to say more.
"You know last night I had a crazy dream. You and I had to join forces with some island devils to stop the rumbling. It was pretty intense," Reiner said trying to put his focus back on his work. She could tell he was testing her but trying to make it seem casual but failed miserably. Annie froze when she heard his dream. Her brain had already decided that everything she thought was real was just a really intense dream but now she didn't know.
"Strange," She said after a moment, "I had the same dream," She heard the plow fall to the ground and felt Reiner gaze on her.
"I can't tell if I'm happy or not to hear that," Reiner said.
"So it was real?" She asked, "All of it?"
"I think so, but I have no idea where we are now," Reiner said.
"Bertholdt said tomorrow we join the Cadets," Annie told him.
"So you saw Bertholdt, I thought for sure I was dead when I woke up."
"We might be dead, I wasn't in the exact best spot when everything went white."
"So was I, but I don't remember being eaten."
"If we aren't dead then what is this?"
"I don't know, maybe we got sent back in time." Annie scoffed at that statement.
"You've lost your mind, Reiner," She told him.
"No, I lost my mind a long time ago, but it's the only thing solution that makes sense to me now," Reiner responded to her, "Maybe we got sent back to stop the rumbling from ever happening, to save the 80% that had already died."
"So the founder just decided to switch sides and sent us back here?"
"The founder does have god-like powers. I doubt not even Eren knows her true intentions."
"Speaking of Eren, if I remember correctly, he got his titan powers at age 10 so he should already have them."
"So tomorrow we find him and feed him to a pure titan," Reiner said.
"Then what? If we bring the Founding titan power back to Marley, then this island will be destroyed," Annie said.
"So you don't want everyone here to die?" Reiner asked. Annie stiffened up.
"I don't want anyone to die, I just want to see my father again," She finally said.
"Relax Annie, I don't want to see this island get destroyed as well," Reiner said making Annie relax again.
"So what do we do then?" She asked him.
"Let's focus on giving Eren titan powers to someone else first, then we can figure out what to do from there," Reiner said.
”What about Mikasa, I’d she didn’t get sent back the I doubt she’ll allow us to put a hand on him,” Annie said. Reiner tensed up.
”Then we will deal with him.” Reiner tried to hide it but the truth is he never wants to face Mikasa again.
"Sounds like a plan," Annie replied.
The Special Operation Squad or more known as Levi Squad were now stationed at the Scouts Headquarters in-wall Rose. Oruo, Petra, Eld, and Gunther were already up and Levi was still asleep. They had just come back from a failed expedition that had left Captain Levi in a bad mood. So his squad decided to surprise him by getting their chores done early. They were almost done cleaning when Levi woke up, in fact, they would have been done if it wasn't for the fact that Hange had come in earlier to show off their new findings and made a mess.
When Levi woke up he first heard the noise of his squad getting into a small argument nearby and then he noticed he was in a small room. He then saw that he had all of his fingers again and after checking, found out his eye was working again. Thanks to the window in his room he was also able to see that the scars on his face were gone as well. He stared at his reflection for a minute. Am I dead? He thought to myself. The fighting downstairs continued and pulled Levi away from the mirror. He opened the door and froze. Now he couldn't see anyone but he could clearly hear Petra yelling.
"I swear if you get any blood on the floor from your stupid tongue bite I will kill you myself!" I have to be dead Levi thought.
"Don't blame me Petra, blame Eld! He was the one that tripped me and caused me to bite my tongue!" Levi heard Oruo yell.
"Hey I didn't do anything, you trip on your feet," Eld responded. A door slammed open.
"Hello, Levi squad!" Levi felt a tear form in his eyes by the sound of Hange's voice, "So sorry to bother you all again but we need Levi for a meeting with the commander Erwin."
"Captain Levi must have been worn out because he slept in late today," Petra replied, "He should be up in his room."
"Ow Levi," Hange said, "Moblit, hold this while I go drag the good captain out of his bed."
"Section commander, is that really a good idea?" Moblit asked.
"Don't worry Levi loves me it will be fine," Hange responded. It only took seconds for Hange to make it up the stair. Levi stared at them. They were no longer wearing an eye patch. The old enthusiasm that used to have been back. Hange didn’t notice the staring, instead, they quickly grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the stairs. Normally Levi would have never allowed this to happen but he was in too much shock now to care.
“Section commander, you are going to pull his arm off!” Moblit yelled at Hange but they didn’t let him go. Petra let out a little laugh at the sight of a wide-eyed Levi. Gunther gave her a nudge on the arm shutting her up.
”Did you sleep well, Captain?” Eld asked. Levi turned to him and the rest of his old crew. He looked at each of their faces, the sight of their corpses flashed in his mind. Everyone waited for him to respond.
“Yeah, I did,” Levi said with a dazed voice.
“We are almost done with our chores Captain,” Petra said, “We will be ready to train by the time you get back.”
”Okay,” was all Levi managed to say.
”Well we better get going, commander Erwin is already waiting for us!” With that Levi was, once again, dragged by Hange out the door with a frantic Moblit trying to keep up.
“He seemed different this morning,” Oruo commented.
”Yeah he didn’t call us brats at all,” Petra added.
”I’m sure he’s just tired, he’ll be back to his old self when he gets back and has a cup of tea,” Eld said.
Across the sea, in the town of Libero, Pieck was having a very strange day. First, she woke up to Zeke letting her know that she had early morning training with her crew that day. Of course, Zeke looked way younger so Pieck just stared at him deciding whether to punch him for betraying Marley or hug him since she had just seen him sacrifice himself to stop the rumbling. Then she went to training and saw crossed paths with Porco who pushed her away when she jumped on him. Magath caught them and the two were giving a lecture about showing public affection in a military base. She then went to training and saw her team that was killed when the scouts attack Liberio. Seeing them nearly made her burst into tears.
After hours of training, she was allowed to go see her father in the internment zone. Her mind still swarmed with the dream she had. After crossing the gate she smiled looking around at her home. She was almost back when she spotted four kids wearing warrior cadets uniforms: Gabi, Falco, Udo, and Zofia. Her heart ached to see all four of them. In her dream, she was told about how Udo and Zofia had died during the attack on Liberio. She was also told how Zeke turned Falco into a titan and Porco allowed himself to get eaten to turn him back human. Hell, she even remembers flying on his titan's back. Then, Gabi, she remembered seeing her moments before they all got turned. She looked so confused about why they were leaving without her. Pieck did her best to keep a smile on her face as she greeted the kids.
"Morning cadets!" She gives them a wave. Zofia and Udo instantly wave back. Gabi and Falco stared at her. Not thinking anything of it, Pieck began to walk again but was quickly stopped by the sound of the young, brown hair, cadet yelling.
"Wait!" Everyone turned to look at the girl but Gabi didn’t seem to care. She quickly ran up and grabbed Pieck arm. Despite being only 5 she was still very strong and managed to drag Pieck to an empty alleyway. Falco followed close behind, “Do you remember a flying titan!” Gabi yelled a little to loud.
“Gabi, everyone can hear you,” Falco told her.
“But we need to know Falco, it just couldn’t of been a dream if we both remember it,” Gabi said in a quieter voice. It then registered what they where saying to Pieck. What she thought was a dream did actually happen. All the deaths, the destruction, the rumbling, it all happened. She wanted to cry and the kids notice it.
”You remember, don’t you?” Falco asked.
”I thought for sure it was just a dream,” Pieck said.
”We both thought that at first,” Gabi said, “Then Falco started crying when she saw Colt. After I questioned him I realized he had the same dream as I did.”
”Does anyone else remember?” Pieck asked. Both shock their heads no. Pieck let out a sigh, “I’ll try to get in contact with Reiner and the others, maybe they remember.”
”But what do we do? We know that Zeke has his own plan now and we know what’s gonna happen. So what do we do?” Falco asked. Pieck hit her cheek.
”Pretend everything is normal for now. We don’t know exactly what happened to us and where we are. Better to play it safe for now,” Pieck replied. The two kids nod at her. Pieck pulled the two of them into a hug before they separated.
Zofia and Udo watched the three in confusion. Even though they where warrior cadets, Pieck was a warrior so why was she hugging two five-year olds. When Falco and Gabi returned to them they acted like nothing had happened.
”What was that about?” Zofia asked the two.
”I asked her if she knew anything about my cousin on that island of Devils,” Gabi replied, “Hey, my mom is making pie today. We should go see if she’ll let us have some.” Gabi didn’t give them a chance to say anything before she turned and began walking. Falco, of course, followed her instantly. Udo and Zofia look at each other before shrugging and following their friends.
Eren Yeager was having a bad day. Tomorrow him and his two best friends would be joining the Cadet Corps and he wanted to get a treat for the three of them to enjoy that night. So he left early in the morning and grabbed his secret stash of coins that he had collected from the streets over the last two years. There was a food stand that was known for selling really tasty pies. He had enough to buy one but the problem was that they often get sold out before the sun was fully up so Eren had to leave early to get one. He had been successful and walked back to the orphanage with a spark in his step. But that happiness didn’t last long.
There where plenty of people who hated the refugee’s from wall Maria. They believed that they should have all the food that was given to the refugees and that the refugees be used as distractions for Titans by the Scout legion. Eren managed to run into a group of young boys with that mind-set. They knew he was a refugee by the state of his clothes and how thin Eren was. But what pissed them off most was the warm pie he was carefully carrying in his hands.
“Hey kid!” Eren turned to the group of boys. They seemed only a few years older than him but they where definitely stronger than him. But that’s never stopped Eren before, “Where did you get that?” The boy points at the pie.
”In the market,” Eren replied. He felt his anger flare up but was trying to keep his cool. He really didn’t want to lose this pie.
”You from Wall Maria?”
”Yes.” One of the boys laughed, another boy came up and attempted to take the pie out of Eren hands.
”What the hell do you think you're doing?” Eren yelled at him after dodging the boy.
“You refugees have already taken so much food from us. Might as well give us that pie as an apology.”
”I payed for this pie, it’s mine!”
”Payed? Please, you probably stole it!”
“”Just give us the pie.” Another boy approach Eren.
Meanwhile back at the refugee camp, everyone was now awake. Mikasa and Armin tried their best to keep their minds off of things by doing small activities around the camp. The camp supplied the refugees with some basic supplies that could be used by anyone. Armin decided he wanted to keep his long hair. While he did like it short, he did miss having longer hair. Mikasa, however, had made her main goal to find a pair of scissors as quickly as possible once they got back.
Armin now watched as Mikasa began to cut her hair in-front of a tiny mirror. She decided to go for the length she had at 19. When she was done she examined herself in the mirror. She had definitely improved at cutting her hair since the first time she did back after Eren told her to cut it. Looking at her face she couldn’t help but notice the lack of a scar in her cheek. She has had it for the last four years and hardly notice it anymore. But now with it gone she felt the smooth skin for a moment. How am I gonna face him? She had tried her best not to think about Eren. She let out a soft sigh and ran her hand through her hair, the feeling of the short stubs on her neck brought back a piece of familiarity to her. Armin helped her clean up the discarded hair on the floor.
By now it had been a few hours since they returned to the camp. Neither of them had spoken of Eren but both were getting more anxious the more time that went by without him returning. They spent the time playing with some of the younger orphans but ended up splitting up after the kids got tired. Armin was helping bring in some boxes of supplies given to the camp by the government while Mikasa was helping a mother with a gift outside. Armin had just finished bringing in two boxes when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to find Eren, he looked like he just came from a fight. His mouth was bleeding, there where bruises forming on his arms and one on his left eye.
“Eren?” Armin asked in almost whisper.
“You gotta help me Armin. I can’t let Mikasa see me like this, she’ll freak out!” Armin just stared at him. So far to Armin, it seemed that Eren hadn’t been sent back like he feared. Still though, looking at the face of his old friend, it made him think of everything that Eren had put him through in the last few weeks. Mainly what he said to him and Mikasa at the table, “Armin are you listening?” Eren shock Armin shoulders breaking him from his thoughts, “You know how she is, she’ll make a huge deal out of it and try to get me to not join the Cadets tomorrow!” Armin couldn’t find any words to say, “Do you feel sick or something?” Eren asked. He was getting aggravated at how Armin was acting.
”Just had a bad dream last night,” Armin replied.
”Must of been real bad by the way you are acting,” Eren said. “Oh you have no idea” Armin thought.
“We should get you some ice," Armin said and began to walk towards the room that the medical supplies was kept.
Mikasa pulled the needle through, finishing another row of a scarf she was helping a woman sew. Despite not practicing her sewing skills for years, she had managed to pick it back up quickly thanks to the young woman guidance. It was a small scarf that the mother will give to her daughter on her upcoming birthday. Mikasa didn’t remember doing things like this last time. She was always so focused on making sure Eren and Armin where okay and had enough food to eat that she never took some leisure time like she is now. Why didn’t I do this stuff before? She asked herself. Because your forced to take care of him, her mind replied. She began to sew another row.
”Do you know what I hate most in the world? Anyone who isn’t free. They’re no better than livestock,” Eren said.
“Stop it, Eren!” Armin yelled at him.
”Just looking at her made me so angry. Now I finally understand why. I couldn’t stand to look at a slave who followed orders without question.” Mikasa didn’t say anything. Her mind was still wrapping around everything she had just been told about her bloodline, “Ever since I was a kid. Mikasa.” She looked back up at him. She searched his eyes for something, anything to show that what he was saying wasn’t true, “I’ve always hated you.”
“Oh dear,” The woman voice brought Mikasa back to reality. She felt something in her hand. She looked down to see that she had finished her row and had began to sew into her skin. The woman was instantly at her side, she took what she could out of her hands and began to look at the wound, “You must of pushed it in deep,” She said, referring to the drops of blood that was coming out of her hand, “Thankfully we should just need to pull the thread out. Then you can go get a bandage from inside,” The woman told her.
”I’m sorry,” Mikasa said feeling embarrassed.
”Hunny I have three kids, I’ve dealt with my fair share of injuries. Besides I would be lying if I said I hadn’t almost done this myself.” The woman gave her a motherly smile. Mikasa gave her a small smile back. The woman pulled out the thread with gentleness and compliment her on staying still after it was out. She then sent Mikasa off. By now the day had gotten warmer and her scarf felt unbearable around her neck. She remembered how last time she wore her scarf religiously when she was 12. She’d only start not wearing more often after they reclaimed wall Maria. So without thinking, Mikasa unwrapped the scarf and tucked it under her arm. Thankfully she still remembered where they kept the smaller bandages. She grabbed one and sat down with her back on the cold wall. She unwrapped the bandage from its weak packaging when she heard a familiar voice.
”Mikasa?” Her entire body tensed up at Eren voice. She refused to look up, choosing to instead look at the shoes in front of her. Her breathing hitched when the brown shoes stepped closer to her, “What happened to your hand?” I’ve always hated you, the older Eren voice pierced her brain.
“Sewing accident,” She replied in a soft voice. She still didn’t look up. Eren slid down and sat next to her. His arm was next to hers and she hated that she enjoyed the warm coming from it.
“Did you cut your hair?”
”Thought it would be a good idea so it wouldn’t get caught in ODM gear,” Mikasa rubbed a few strands of black hair between her fingers.
“You okay?” Eren asked. He had never seen Mikasa like this before and he couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t wearing her scarf. He had only ever seen her without it a few times and most of those was because it fell off while she saved Armin and him from a fight that Eren started. Everything seemed off about her now. Her scarf was on her lap and she hadn’t made a fuss about his black eye yet. Hell, she hasn’t even looked at him yet.
“It’s just a cut. It heal in a day or two,” Mikasa said. She tried to distract herself by wrapping her finger but she could feel Eren staring at her.
“I don’t mean your cut, I mean you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, maybe a little tired but that’s all.” Mikasa had finished wrapping her finger. She tried to leave room, desperately wanting to get away from him. She had only managed to get up and move a step before Eren grab her wrist.
“Both you and Armin seem off today. Did something happen this morning?” Eren asked. Mikasa still wasn’t looking at him but he didn’t notice as his eyes where on the red scarf that was now on the floor. She never leaves her scarf behind. Mikasa finally seemed to remember her strength and yanked her arm from his grip startling Eren.
“Rough morning,” She said. Eren made a motion to grab the scarf but by the time he got up she was already gone. Eren stood in confusion for a moment, glancing at the scarf in his hands and the door Mikasa went through.
Armin was walking back to Eren when he saw Mikasa running by. By the look of her face he could tell what just went down.
“Hey Mikasa!” He call out. She quickly turned to him. Her already pale skin had gotten paler. She didn’t say anything as she approached him, “Did you see him?” He asked in a quiet voice.
”Yes,” She replied. Armin then saw someone else in the corner of his eye. It was Eren heading over to them.
“He’s coming,” Armin whispered to her. Mikasa took a step behind Armin, putting him between her and Eren. Though, Eren didn’t seem to notice though and spoke first to Mikasa.
”You left your scarf,” He held it out for her and she took it with haste but didn’t make any attempt to put it back on.
“Your eye is looking better,” Armin commented trying to distract Eren.
“Really? Ice must have really helped,” Eren said, his energetic voice returning. Mikasa noted the light smoke still coming from his body. How did I not notice that before?
”Yeah it did, heck I think you’ll be completely healed by tomorrow,” Armin faked a happy voice. It fooled Eren who was happy to see Armin acting normal. Though Mikasa strange behavior still concerned him.
“That’s good because tomorrow we finally get to learn how to kill titans. Then, when we graduate I’ll kill them all,” Eren said, a familiar drive in his voice that once worried his two friends.
“I have to go back to sewing,” Mikasa said and walked away before either Armin or Eren could stop her. The scarf still clutched in her hand.
”Is she mad at me?” Eren asked when Mikasa was out of sight.
”No,” Armin had to come up with something on the spot, “I think she’s just trying to prepare herself for tomorrow.”
”Why would she be worried about boot camp? She stronger than the both of us combined.”
”Still doesn’t mean the girl can’t get nervous. You know her, she doesn’t do good around a big group of new people.” That has to be it, Eren thought.
“Well tomorrow the three of us will just have to stay close together. That will help her adjust,” Eren said with a smile. Armin was thankful that he had bought his lie but he couldn’t help but think he might have made Mikasa situation worse.
”Hey you two!” The Boys turn to the voice of a grown man holding an axe, “We are low of firewood, make yourself useful and help me get some.”
”Yessir,” The two boys replied in unison.