Against The Tide

Chapter Four: Hange's Arrival

"Long time no see, Hange" Eren spoke, looking her dead in the eye, not seeming at all intimidated by her weapon, not even seeming to notice it.

Hange felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach, the grip on her gun tightening to ensure it didn't drop. Her expression remained frozen in surprise, as she struggled to find the words through her jumbled mess of thoughts.

"What the hell... Eren..?" Hange finally stuttered out, narrowing her eye as she studied his nonchalant expression, as well as his ignorance on the weapon aimed towards him.

Slowly, she moved to step closer to him, still holding the pistols barrel aimed right in between his eyes.Eren didn't say anything else at first. He simply looked around the area, scanning his surroundings to ensure they were alone before he continued.

"I admit, I'm surprised...I didn't foresee meeting you here...which creates a complication..." Eren hesitated before continuing.

"I saw how much of a mess the Jaegerists have been causing you guys...sorry about that." his apology sounded irritatingly insincere.

Hange hadn't spent one hour with one of her lost comrades, and she was already furious at his monotone reaction. She dropped her gun to her side loosely, still keeping her grip wrapped around its trigger.

"You aren't sorry, Eren. You do however... have a lot to answer for. Which means you're coming with me." Hange responded, allowing her own tone to grow cold, hoping that this would allow her enough control over her emotions to avoid her acting out rather harshly within false judgment, placing her in a fairly dangerous situation.

She didn't know where Eren had been all of this time, but she had every right to worry about how his strength had been, and how unpredictable he just might be. Under normal circumstances, she would be happy, even overjoyed to see him alive...but knowing how much trouble his followers were causing, and seeing he looked alive and well...Hange came to the most obvious conclusion that his and Mikasa's deaths were nothing more but a fabricated lie...as many theorized.

"Sorry Hange...but I can't go anywhere with you. Not just yet. I've made my decision and I plan to see it through..." Eren glanced up slightly at the night sky before continuing.

"The Marley Festival is approaching...I've heard that the Tybur family will be not only attending..but hosting it" he started to ramble a bit, keeping that nonchalant tone.

Hange took another step closer to Eren, glaring daggers through his nonchalant expression as she stopped a mere few steps in front of him. She listened for a moment, trying to connect all of the dots within the maze she had now found herself in the middle of.

"What the fuck are you talking about? The last thing we need is you to come back from the dead and do whatever it is your planning."

"It may be selfish to ask...but I actually have a request for you...it's about Mikasa," Eren cut her off, ignoring her questions. His tone, which had been mostly nonchalant this entire time, did let a small amount of emotion shine through at the mention of his partner.

Hange paused for a moment, moving to cross her arms as she watched him, looking his stature up and down, still trying to see if this wasn't some hallucination from her lack of good night's rest. It wouldn't surprise her if she had finally gone off the deep end and began losing it, waiting for Levi or someone to spot her talking to an empty alleyway.

"We buried her ODM gear near where we thought you both had died. You can visit her there and talk to her yourself." Hange responded harshly, motioning towards the docks nearby.

"Mikasa's alive, Hange. Neither of us died that day," Eren revealed simply, seeming almost annoyed with her ignorance, talking the second Hange reached the end of a sentence, not giving her much time to think.