The taxi drove off as soon as it dropped us at the airport, leaving us standing near the only door that would lead us in the building. The four of us headed inside, checking in and sliding our suitcases behind the counter so they would put in the plane's cargo hold.
We sat in the waiting room only for a few minutes, since we already came here a bit late. When our flight's name appeared on the screen above and an employee announced that we were now boarding, we left out seats, walking towards the gate assigned and to the plane waiting.
The view was so familiar, almost like a replica of what I saw a couple years back.
Walking past the hangars and other airplanes that were parked, looking at the airbus with the words Kyojin Air painted beautifully on its side - it was exactly like 4 years ago. Even the schedule of our flight wasn't that far off.
Only this time, I wasn't frantically dragging my brothers to the plane because we nearly missed the boarding time.
One by one, we walked up the stairs and entered the plane, immediately greeted by a flight attendant that welcomed us and gestured us to find our seats.
Annie and I sat side by side together, Eren and Armin sitting on the seats across the hall from us. Of course, I made sure to book a ticket with the window seat, because window seat supremacy.
When everyone was on board, the plane closed the doors and began to taxi to the runway, pausing for a while as it waited for another plane to take off. After given the clear, it lined up with the runway and waited again until the pilot got the final conformation from the control tower.
The wait lasted for about 5 minutes, and during it, there was announcement telling us to fasten our seatbelts. A cabin crew member walked down the hall, checking to make sure the compartments above the seats were properly closed, before going back to their seat.
I listened as the roar of the engine got louder and the plane started moving forward, quickly picking up speed as it travelled down the runway. The plane tilted up, the ground now flashing past me at an angle as we rose in the air.
The plane leaned to the side, making a turn and allowing me to get a better view of the city of my hometown below. My eyes closed, a hand raising to rest it on the window beside me as I said a silent farewell.
We'll meet again, one day.
And so, the long journey of the 7 hour flight began.
Staring out at the clouds became pretty boring after a while, now that I think about it. Don't get me wrong, it was still cool to be able to see ourselves soaring thousands of feet above the ground, but it gets a bit bland after a while.
The only thing I'd say I was looking forward to seeing was the sunset from up here. But until then, I'm just going to relax throughout the entire thing.
For a while, it was just comfortable silence. That is until a flight attendant walked down the hall, pushing a trolley filled with drinks and small snacks. I expected them to just pass by when it reached us, but a very familiar voice quietly called out to the person.
I blinked open my eyes, leaning forward and glancing to the side to see none other than Eren asking the lady what food she had. I mentally facepalmed - if this isn't exactly what happened four years ago, then I don't know what is.
He ended up buying one of each snack they offered, and by the time the lady continued down the hall, the tray in front of him was full with a pile of food. Even though Eren didn't see this, I definitely saw the guy who was sitting at their window seat give him one of those double glances.
I wasn't close enough to see what exactly what his expression was, but I'm betting shock was definitely one of them. Armin, as expected, was used to Eren's behavior by now, and didn't really pay much attention as the person beside him stuffed his face.
Honestly, seeing him shoving the food into his mouth like he usually does was comforting to me. Because now I know, even after all this time and everything we went through, some things just never change.
Eren caught me looking at him, wiping away the bits and pieces of crumbs from his mouth with a tissue.
"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You want one or something?"
I leaned my head on my hand with a smile. "Yeah, give me one."
Eren pulled down the bottom eyelid of one of his eyes, poking out his tongue. "Go buy it yourself."
A chuckle left me as I saw him continue eating. I already knew there was no way he would share his food. I mean, come on, this is Eren we're talking about.
I leaned back on my chair, resting my eyes once more while trying to get into the most comfortable position. Eventually, I did switch from closing my eyes to staring out the window, letting my mind run freely and imagine the wildest things it could.
Food came a few hours later, when the blue sky was picking up a yellow tint. The food was alright, just a standard airplane meal. Nothing too special and out of the ordinary.
The only interesting that happened was Eren. Of course, he wasn't satisfied with just that one meal. When a flight attendant passed, he immediately halted them and asked them if they had any other food. Of course, he was going to have to pay for the extra food, but since when was money a problem for Eren?
Though I'll admit this, he certainly ate less than he did years back. Not by a lot, but the amount has reduced. I guess that's a step towards a good thing.
The plane continued cruising high above the clouds, so high that we could see the horizon line of the Earth. That meant I had the best, most beautiful view of the sun as it set.
Orange light fell on the clouds, turning its color from cotton white to a orangey-cream like hue. The plane's wings were also basked in bright light, and the only thing I wished was to be able to feel the warmth of the light.
As expected, the sunset from thousands of feet above the ground was extraordinary and breathtaking. Highlight of the entire flight, hands down. I looked up, seeing the sky slowly turn into a shade of dark purple and blue as night rose.
The light faded away as the sun disappeared under the horizon, leaving only traces of faint orange lingering in the sky. Not long after, it became hard to see what was going on outside since it was rapidly getting dark. The only thing visible was the constant blinking of the plane's navigation lights.
I felt the plane slightly descend, similar to the feeling of falling but not quite the same. More like the insides of my guts going up as the plane went down. We kept lowering a bit more, going into the bed of clouds and coming out from below.
My eyes drifted down, seeing the glitters of light from the land far below. The PA system turned on, giving us a heads up that were going to be landing in a couple minutes and to return to our seats. A few minutes after that, the seatbelt sign lit up above me, and another announcement was made to tell us to fasten our seatbelts as the plane was about to land.
Squishing my face to the window, I saw the airport some distance in front of us as the flying bird glided down to the ground, carefully lining up with the brightly lit runway. A small vibration and a whirring noise from outside told me that the landing gear was being lowered as the pilots made the final adjustments before going down.
It was a smooth landing, to say the least, no bumps or slips at all. A clean touchdown to end the long flight.
The seatbelt light hadn't turned off, but I took it off anyway because I am a REBEL, and also because the plane was now just slowly taxing off the runway so I figured it was alright, as long as I didn't jump from my seat.
For the last time in 7 hours, the PA system turned on and a cool voice announced our arrival, thanking us for choosing to fly with Kyojin Airlines. The person instructed us to wait until the plane fully stopped moving before rising from our seats, and to please take our belongings from the compartment above and making sure nothing was left behind.
We took our bags, walked out of the plane, down the stairs and reached the ground. I looked at the platform I was standing on, then staring up at the massive building in front of me. After a year and a few weeks, I was finally back. To the place I had met so many people and experienced all sorts of new things: Paradis Island.
It was dark when we walked inside the building, stopping for a while to fetch our luggage from the plane's cargo. It was already getting pretty late, and honestly I'd like nothing else but to go to sleep as soon as possible.
I walked up to Annie, looking around at our surroundings. "Hey, so what's going to happen after this?"
"Hm?" Annie turned to face me, dragging her suitcase off of the carousel. "I don't know."
"What? What do you mean you don't know?"
The blonde girl pointed to the two guys trying to fish their luggage. "Eren and Armin said they had a plan for when we landed, but they didn't tell me."
"Seriously?"
I waited for Annie to get ready and we walked over to my brothers, who were trying to go through a whole bunch of people to get their moving luggage. Just by coincidence, their suitcases came rolling beside me, and I quickly grabbed them both and dropped it on the floor.
"Thanks," Armin huffed, leaning on his knees as he panted for breath.
Annie looked at the two people gasping for air, an unimpressed look on her face. "You guys are really out of breath just from getting your luggage? Really?"
"There was a lot of people there!" Armin quickly defended himself, gesturing at the group of people standing behind them. "We barely had any space to breathe!"
"Excuses excuses. You're just out of shape."
I ignored the two lovebirds bickering, turning my attention to Eren who was looking at his phone. "Where are we going after this?"
Eren looked up, a smile forming on his face. "It's a surprise. Come on, let's head out of here. Someone's waiting to pick us up."
I frowned. It can't be Levi, right? I specifically said not to tell him that I was coming.
We walked together, heading for the open doors that would lead us to the exit. All the way there, I was a bit on edge because of what Eren said. Who on earth was picking us up? Who else did they tell my arrival to? I couldn't even have a pleasant walk out of here with how much I was thinking.
Eren led us through gates and immediately began looking around the people surrounding. I looked around as well, though I didn't find anyone that was familiar.
A few seconds of confused searching, someone finally called out to us. "Hoii! Eren! Kiddos!"
Kiddos?
We all looked to the source of the voice in the crowd, watching as a person appeared in the midst of humans. My jaw fell as I saw the person's face.
"Mr. Hannes?!" I gasped, almost dropping my bags out of shock.
Mr. Hannes laughed, walking over and opening his arms to give me a hug, but stopped himself midway. "Oh, right. You see me as a perv."
I stood there frigid and wide eyed, staring at the man in front of me. Gosh he still looks the same after all this time.
"W-what are you doing here?"
Eren stepped forward and stood beside Mr. Hannes. "He's here to pick us up!"
"It's kind of the same, right? Just like four years ago." Armin smiled, his eyes shining brightly.
Four years ago....
The memories came rushing back to me. Meeting Mr. Hannes completely by coincidence on the plane and having to deal with all his shenanigans, it was all returning.
"Seriously?" I stifled a chuckle. "This was your surprise? To make a one to one recreation of the day we first came here?"
Eren and Armin glanced at each other. "Yeah."
"What? So now we're going to go sleep at a fancy hotel again?" I joked with a stupid smile on my face.
Mr. Hannes let out a sly smirk, taking his phone out of his pocket and shaking it in the air. "Well... I do still have my buddy at Paradis Royal Hotel...."
I looked at him dead in the eyes. "No way."
He chuckled, raising a brow. "Ohoh, yes yessity yes yes."
I cringed at his choice of words, but ultimately decided to ignore it.
Eren took my hand, Armin grabbing the other as well as Annie's. We all shared a big smile, excited to return to Paradis' most luxurious hotel after four long years.
After a few minutes in the taxi, the grand hotel finally came into view. Despite having already seen it, Eren, Armin, and I still gawked at the sight. Annie, even more so. She was almost drooling when we entered the giant doors, gazing at the beautifully decorated interior.
High golden pillars, glistening crystal floors, walls adorned with glittering gemstones - this was the pinnacle of luxury.
When he caught sight of our amazed faces, Mr. Hannes winked his eye, dangling two keys in front of our faces, a card attached with three letters written on it.
VIP.
It was like we were kids at a playground all over again. Our legs were just itching to run to the room and explore every inch of it, taking advantage of everything we can as VIP guests. God, even Annie was excited out of her mind.
The spacious lift took us to the floor of the VIP rooms. Even the buttons in the lift were fancy as fuck. The lift itself rose to the top so smoothly that we barely felt anything had moved at all.
After a few seconds, the door opened and we were met with a wide hall with carpeted floors. We walked out of the lift and began counting the doors, figuring out which one was ours.
After finding it, we unlocked the room and pushed the door open slowly.
The first thing we see was a wide seamless window that had the most beautiful view of Sina that I've ever seen. There was a HD TV on the wall, a big fluffy leopard patterened rug on the floor and some comfy sofas. Right behind the sofas, there was a small wall, and behind that wall was a king sized bed that was just begging to be ruffled up. Further to the side, away from the windows, was a large bathroom that had just about everything you could ever need.
Mr. Hannes poked his head inside the room as well, walking up to the glass windows and staring out at the landscape. "Your rooms are gonna have the best view of the sunrise."
"Hey, are you sure this is a VIP room?" Eren asked after looking at everything. "The room we got didn't look like this before."
"The one I got you before was still VIP, but not as on level with this one. It was only because I had to inform my buddy on such a short notice that he got pissed off," Mr. Hannes explained with a shrug. "The price of these VIP rooms vary. Last time, the ones you got were in the lower half. This time, I got you guys the absolute best."
I gave him a worried glance. "Your buddy - you sure he won't get fired from doing this?"
"Nahh." Mr. Hannes waved it off. "Don't worry (Y/N), everything's chill. Now, I'm going to my room."
He tossed me a key, and I caught it just in time. "That's the key to your room next door. Go and sleep already."
After that, Mr. Hannes walked out of the room and left the four of us standing still. Annie grabbed my hand, dragging me to the door. "Come on, I want to see our room."
I snatched a quick glance at the two people behind me, noticing how Armin seemed like he was about to say something, but didn't get to say it. My eyes narrowed in understanding as I turned back to Annie. He definitely wanted to talk to her.
But Annie is so adamant on going to our room that I can't do anything about it. Maybe I can kick her out and tell Armin to come out as well or something.
Our room was the same as Eren and Armin's, identical to the very dot. Every decoration was the same as well as all the furniture. After we explored every inch of the place, Annie sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels as usual.
I sat on the bed, watching from a further distance. One eye on the TV and Annie, the other at my phone. Eren was frantically texting me to try and get Annie to go outside, but I didn't know how.
My fingers fiddled nervously as I tried to think of a way.
"Annie, are you hungry?" I asked, fingers crossed that she would say yes.
Annie shook her head. "No."
Shit. Well, what other things can we do outside this room?
"D-do you wanna go look around the hotel?"
"No. Why would we even do that?"
"Can you come with me to go get some fresh air?"
"Go by yourself, I'm watching the TV."
"Can you get out?"
"No!" Annie glanced back, letting one of her arms hang from the sofa. "What's up with you? You wanna go on a sex call with Levi or something?"
I choked on air, a fit of coughs rattling my body. "No!! What the fuck?!"
"I don't know. You seem pretty eager to get me out of this room," Annie shrugged, turning her attention back to the television.
I dove on the bed, burying myself under the sheets out of pure embarrassment.
Sorry boys, couldn't get her to budge. No luck this time. You're just going to have to keep your hormones at bay, Armin.
***
Guests with VIP and VVIP rooms gets access to an all-you-can-eat buffet, something that wasn't available to us four years ago because the chefs decided to get drunk on the job or something.
But this time, things were different. The chefs had no party and they were completely sober, meaning they had cooked all the food by the time we woke up.
Everyone only took a respectable amount of food, but Eren... Eren was a different story. If it weren't for an employee that stopped him, I think he would've finished the entire thing. I swear, at one point, the chefs came out of the kitchen and began poking their heads through the door when they saw Eren take his 7th serving.
The guy was like a balloon by the end of it. Mr. Hannes was just grateful that he didn't have to spend any money for our breakfast this time, and rightfully so. He would've lost his entire savings.
After the catastrophic breakfast - and the employees lowkey kicking us out - we headed for the main door with all our luggage.
Now, a new question popped up in my mind. Where are we going to go from here?
It was Annie who finally gave me the explanation I so badly needed. "Mikasa's apartment is pretty big, and she's agreed to let us stay there until we sort our lives out. So, we're heading there next."
I glanced at Eren and Armin. "And you two?"
"We're going to drop off our stuff at our places and then head over to Mikasa's," Eren told me. "You and Annie go first. You still need to unpack and all."
"Right..."
"I'll call you guys a cab." Mr. Hannes walked past me, patting my shoulder. I watched as the dirty blonde haired man wave a hand at an idle taxi, motioning the car to come here.
Brief flashbacks of the information Eren and Armin had given me prior to this day came back to my mind, filling it to its entirety.
The reason why I can even walk around like this is because of him. He convinced... no, begged the school to not release any information and keep the truth a secret. It was all thanks to him.
When he returned, I took a few steps up to him, my hand gripping the straps of the backpack I was carrying harder. "Mr. Hannes..?"
"Hm? Yeah?" He perked a brow up.
"I-.. I heard about your struggle to keep my true identity a secret..."
Recognition flashed in the older man's eyes. "Oh, you mean that."
My eyes fell to the ground, contemplating on bowing or shaking his hand or whatever. "I don't know how to thank you... for everything you did."
"Well... I do."
"Huh?"
The man ruffled my hair. "Live. That's how you can thank me. Lilian left you three in my care, and it's my responsibility to make sure you're all alright until you become adults. Now that you are, I want you to live a life you've always wanted to live. And, be careful about that secret of yours."
He dropped his hand back to his side, and I looked at him with teary eyes. "But, they said you were willing to go as far as give up your life--"
"Don't sweat about that," Mr. Hannes cut off abruptly, his eyes flickering to the brunette who was checking his phone. "I have my own reason for going that far."
I followed his gaze, looking at Eren who was busy scrolling his phone, before putting it back in his pocket and yawning widely. Mr. Hannes gazed at me with a strange look, one that was extremely guarded. Was there... something between them? Something that Eren wasn't aware of?
"....You have your own secrets too, don't you?" I murmured, staring at his expressionless face. He narrowed his eyes, looking to the side.
"Yes. But because of what happened back then, I assure you, (Y/N)-" He paused leaning forward and whispering the next words into my ear. "I won't hesitate to do anything to protect you all."
The taxi honked its horn at us, rolling down the windows of the car. Annie looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to finish my talk with Mr. Hannes. The man nodded at Annie, nudging me to go over to her. "Be safe. If you ever need anything, just call."
I slid in the backseat, still looking at Mr. Hannes as he waved goodbye. There was more. There was more that I still don't know about that man.
The strange man that happened to be on the same flight as mine. The man that was actually Ms. Falida's ex-husband. The man that is now my guardian. Despite being a sleezy, booze-loving man who's brain is a bit tilted on the crazy side, he still has his own story, his own secrets, and even his own regrets.
It's not just me that has a grim past. Everyone else has gone through their own hell and pain as well. It's kind of sad, now that I think about it. That so many people I'm friends with have such dark stories that led up to where they are now. I could only wish to all those people, even myself, that the days after those horrible ones get better.
The taxi ride was long. Of course it would, since Mikasa's house is somewhere in Wall Rose. I'm not sure, I wasn't exactly told the location of it, but that's my guess. I was wondering why we didn't take the train to go over to Wall Rose, but then I remembered how expensive it was.
There weren't that many vehicles on the road, meaning that there wasn't going to be a lot of traffic. That just leaves the long journey from Wall Sina to Rose. The driver leaned back on his seat, resting one of his hands on his thigh as he held the steering wheel with the other. I leaned back as well, trying to get comfortable in my seat as we began our long road trip.
I was lost of time, I didn't bother checking it either. All I know is the sun was high in the sky by the time we reached an apartment complex.
"Here we are," the driver announcement, stretching his arms tiredly.
Annie handed him the money, a good amount if I do say so myself. We hopped out of the car, walked up to the gate and tried to open it. Closed.
Figures. The only way to open it is to enter a passcode or to get someone from the inside to open it.
Beside the gate, there was a wall that had a whole bunch of buttons with numbers on it. Beside those buttons, there was a speaker or microphone of some sort.
I watched as Annie pressed the button with the number 46 on it, before moving over to the speaker to wait. Sure enough, there was a static sound followed by a gentle voice saying, "Hello?"
"It's me and (Y/N), open the gate," Annie replied.
"Oh."
There was a brief moment of silence, before the gate let out a buzz and clicked open. We pushed the door open before it closed itself again, and walked down a path that was decorated with bushes and plants on either side.
Annie glanced at her phone. "Mikasa is at... building A, room 46."
"Okay..." I trailed after the blonde girl. "Which building is building A?"
"Who knows. I don't even know where we are now."
"Let's just follow the path."
We walked down the path, enjoying the peaceful scenery of the place. We took a turn around a tall bush and saw something some distance in front of us. Three big buildings, one straight in front of us, one on the left and one on the right. Each building had what seemed to be five floors, judging from how many windows there were.
"Alright..." Annie muttered out. "Now which one is A?"
"The one on the left?" I pointed to the left building, middle, and then the one on the right. "A, B, C?"
"Yeah but what if they decided to be sneaky and mix it up?" Annie argued. "What if it's C, A, B?"
I shot a her a disbelieving look. "Then that means the people who own this place are idiots."
"How about we decide with eenie meenie meine moe?"
"Huh?" Another voice joined in, and only then did I notice the sound of light footsteps approaching.
We looked to the source of the sound, seeing a pretty raven haired woman walk down the path towards us.
Mikasa's eyes met mine, and immediately, hers lit up brightly. She ran in my direction and quickly wrapped her arms around me tightly.
"(Y/N)! You made it back safely!"
"I did." A smile growing on my face as I hugged her back. "How've you been Mikasa?"
The raven pulled back, a beautiful smile on her face. "I've been great."
I returned her warm smile, admiring how gorgeous she has become. But then, my eyes landed on something just below her right eye. It wasn't too big but it wasn't small either, and was definitely noticeable by anyone.
A scar.
Mikasa noticed my staring, bringing a hand to graze the remains of the injury. Her face was still bright, no signs of regret or any emotion related.
"That scar..."
She lowered her hand, slightly tugging her red scarf up. "Yes, it was from that day. But it's fine, I don't mind it anyway."
"You're still using that janky scarf?" Annie commented, looking unimpressed.
Mikasa held the fabric even tighter in her hands. "Of course. This is Eren's gift, I will always wear it."
Annie simply rolled her eyes at the answer. Mikasa led us to her apartment, located at the very top floor of the building on the left. Even after training endlessly, climbing up the flight of stairs was still tiring no matter what. Doesn't that just suck.
The raven unlocked the door and walked in, with Annie and I following her suit. The apartment was nice, not too big but not too small either. Cozy was a great way to describe it.
She led us down the hall and stopped by two rooms, both medium sized bedrooms.
"You can choose which rooms you want," Mikasa said as she took off her thin blazer, folding it in her arms.
Annie went in the one on the left, so I went inside the one on the right. There was a wardrobe, a desk and a bed - pretty basic stuff for a room. It had everything I needed anyway.
I placed my luggage down in the room, opening it and began to organize everything. Like I said, I didn't have a lot of stuff to begin with, so putting all these away was easy.
Actually, speaking of things, where is all my stuff? Oh well, I'll find it later.
Tidying all my belongings didn't take more than 15 minutes in total. When I was done, I walked out and entered Mikasa's room, which was right next to mine.
She was sitting on her bed, her hair tucked behind her ear as she red a book that was resting on her lap. I knocked the door, hoping to alert her of my presence.
Mikasa glanced up. "Yes? Oh (Y/N). You can sit here if you'd like." She patted to the empty space next to her.
I sat down on her beside her gratefully, nodding to the book she was holding. "What are you reading?"
She kept a hand on the page she was reading, closing the book and showing me the cover. "Just a light novel I found."
"Oh? How's the story going so far?"
Mikasa's face darkened as she flipped through the pages, landing on one and pointing to one of the paragraphs. "Not so good. There are many things I don't understand. Like this, for example. This person was never mentioned once in the story, and yet they suddenly appear and help the main character through one of the biggest conflicts. Later on, they never make an appearance again. No background, no reason, they just came and went right as needed."
"O-oh..." I looked at the girl ranting, tensing up in my seat. "Well, maybe because it's a light novel, they didn't have enough space to explain...?"
"No." Mikasa slammed the book shut, standing up and putting it on the small shelf in her room. "A small explanation is needed, even if it's just a paragraph."
She walked out of the room in a hurry. "Excuse me, I need to have a glass of water."
Right as she stormed off, Annie came in the room, almost crashing with the raven much to her displeasure.
"What's got her so pissed off?"
I shrugged. "Bad book."
Annie scoffed at my answer, laying down on Mikasa's bed comfortably, messing up the neat sheets and folded blankets.
"Oi, Annie...." I warned her, watching as she made the entire bed a mess.
A few moments later, Mikasa came back after calming herself down. What a pity. As soon as she saw Annie sprawled on her bed, that terrifying glare returned immediately.
Without saying another word, she walked up to the blonde girl and kicked her off the bed. "No pests allowed in my room."
Annie tumbled off the bed and fell on the floor, scrunching up her body in pain at the place Mikasa had kicked her. "Fuck... you've certainly healed up, haven't you?"
She stood up straight, eyes narrowed. "Of course I have. Why would I not be?"
"Maybe because you died twice on the operating table?"
I held in a gasp of shock when I heard Annie grumble out those words, staring at the raven haired girl, who's eyebrows were furrowed with one slightly raised.
"Died... twice?" I asked hesitantly.
"Her heart stopped beating twice during surgery," Annie explained, glaring at Mikasa as she sat back up on the bed.
I turned to the person standing. "Is that true...?"
She sighed, looking away and tugging up her scarf. "Yes.."
Now that I think about it, other than the fact that I fell off a cliff, the person who injured the worst out of that fight was Mikasa. She fought with Levi to protect me, before going up against Kenny and Levi when they were about to kill me. Out of everyone there, I remember specifically that she was wounded the most.
Mikasa seemed to notice how I was deep in my thought, and put two and two together, realizing I was probably thinking about her. "I'm okay now, (Y/N). I'm fully healed, like you."
"But you went through hell just to help me that day..."
She sat down beside me. "I had to. I wasn't just protecting you that day, I was protecting Levi from himself as well. I'm glad you're alright."
I looked at her desperately, whispering, "You almost died."
"So did you." Mikasa pointed her finger at me. "But we both made it didn't we? We still get to live another day."
The raven girl brought me into a hug that wasn't harsh or too tight, but one that felt so soft. However, there was one thing I was still confused about.
I pulled back, head tilted in confusion as I asked, "Why was I the only one that was moved to Dr. Joy for my treatment? Why didn't you go as well?"
Mikasa and Annie shared a glance with each other. "Because you remained in your werewolf form the whole time. Levi and I turned back into our human forms, so it wasn't a problem. We couldn't risk it so, when you were stable enough, you were transferred to the doctor's personal health station."
Annie leaned her head on her hand. "To help take care of you and teach you how to get used to the new you, a werewolf had to come along. Levi, even though he was only healed halfway at the time, insisted that he was the one to accompany you."
"After some discussion, we decided it would be best that the werewolf wasn't an Ackerman, since the two bloodlines don't typically get along too well," Mikasa continued, looking over to Annie afterwards. "Out of nowhere, Annie here stepped up and offered to go with you."
I brought my attention to the blonde girl as well. "Why..?"
"Because no one else wanted to go. Plus, I like to think of it as payback for being a spy that was planning to kill you," Annie added after a quick thought.
Mikasa looked taken aback. "What?"
"None of your business Jaeger-lover."
The raven ignored Annie and turned back to me, looking at me with gentle eyes. "How has life as a werewolf been?"
"Not that far different, I suppose." Living as a werewolf hasn't been that much of a difference than when I was, or at least, thought was a human. The only thing now is that I finally know what was happening around me. What that voice in my head is, what those taunting whispers are, and the reason for a lot of things that had happened.
Instead of being clueless, I actually know the answers to my questions now. They weren't always good, and most of them was pretty dark, but at least I have an answer. Knowing the horrible things that might happen is better than not knowing anything at all, at least, in my point of view.
Suddenly, there was a series of banging on the front door that startled the three of us. It wasn't even a nice knock, just pure punching the door at this point. From what I perceived after coming here, this apartment complex seemed to be a pretty safe place from any random threats since it was private and needed a passcode to come in.
Unless one of the people living in this complex is wack and wants to give murder a try out of curiosity. Though, I'm not sure if barging into a room with three werewolves is a good idea.
Mikasa rose from her seat, her long skirt swaying softly as she walked over to the door and looked through the peeping hole. After a couple seconds, she lets out a sigh and opens the door.
"MIKASAAAA!!!!" A tall brown haired woman screeched out, stomping loudly inside the quiet place. "I HEARD (Y/N) IS GOING TO COME AND LIVE HER--"
Oop. She saw me.
The woman with glasses halted her moves and words abruptly, locking eyes with me as we started at each other with an intensity that almost made me explode. I raised my hand and gave a mini wave, a curt smile on my face as I said in a small voice, "Hey..."
And oh my sweet mother of fucking god and all shit that's holy, Hanji went ballistic. She screamed. She motherfucking screamed all our ears off. I swear anyone in a ten mile radius could probably hear her scream - it was that loud.
The brunette tackled me into a hug so fast that I didn't realize I was even in a hug until I couldn't breath.
"OH (Y/N) I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE BACK OHMYGODICAN'TBELIEVEIT."
I stood there, trying my best to get some air into my lungs while hearing her talk about how she missed me and how she's glad I'm okay in an almost undecipherable way that I thought it was some bad rap music.
Despite my struggle to breathe, I wrapped an arm around her and patted her back a few times. "Good.. to.. be.. back," I wheezed out, my voice barely coming out.
Hearing my pitiful voice, Hanji stopped squeezing me and took a step back, placing her hands on my cheeks and pushing it together until my lips were similar to a fish's.
"Look at you! You're so healthy and fresh and.. alive--..."
Tears welled up in the brunette's eyes, her mouth quivering as she looked at me. "You're... alive..."
I took her hands off my face. "Yeah, I'm.. alive."
Hanji sniffed, wiping away some tears that had already fell. "When they found you that night, you were so fragile... and broken... and your hand..."
She took my hand and held it to her face, leaning on it sadly.
"Your hand was so.. so... cold."
Mikasa's eyes saddened as she heard those words, her gaze falling to the floor. At first, I didn't understand why it affected them so much. But then, I remembered.
I remember touching holding his hand, so shocked at how cold it was. I remember his pale face and frozen lips, the way his body was broken and torn apart. I remember his head lolling back limply, the light from his eyes that had brought hope to so many people gone, to never come back again.
Hanji was holding back her sobs while holding my hand desperately. I rested my head on the taller woman's shoulder, wrapping my other one around her in hopes of comforting her.
"It's okay. I'm here now, and I'm fine."
The brunette rested her head on mine. "I'm so happy and grateful you're still here, (Y/N)," she murmured, wrapping an arm around me. "I don't think I can take it anymore if I lost you as well..."
As much as I hoped she was just exaggerating it, I knew deep down Hanji would be far from okay if that ever happened. Being the person that she is, she easily gets attached to anything, including her friends. She really, truly cares about all of us, even though she shows it a manner that might tick some people off. Losing Erwin must've been the roughest thing for her, so if she lost any other friends that she cared about so much... I dont know what would happen.
Behind all of us, there was a polite knock on the door. I was curious to see who it was, but Hanji was still hugging me and covering my view of the door.
I wanted her to let go so I can see who it was, but then, I heard the person's voice. That sweet and soft voice, belonging to only one person that I know. Someone who I spent the most of my time with, someone who was always dragging me along with her crazy plans whenever she had the chance, someone I cherished dearly.
The first student I met in Wings Senior High, my roommate and my best friend,
"Petra?"
I moved away from Hanji, stepping to the side to look at the girl standing by the door. Petra was as beautiful as ever, prettier even, with her strawberry-blonde hair outgrown and falling to about her chest.
She looked at me with wide brown eyes that were shocked beyond belief. The suitcase she was holding fell from her hands as her body froze completely.
I smiled at her, taking the first move forward. "Hey, Petra...."
She finally moved, frantically waving her arms in front of her as she scrambled back. "No no no no no no, wait! Get away from me!"
"Huh?" I paused my tracks, looking at her she fanned her eyes.
"I just got my make up done, I can't cry yet--"
"Fuck your make up!" I laughed, running over and jumping into a hug. Petra let out a short, shrill shriek as I wrapped my arms around her slender body and lifted her into the air, twirling around once before I set her back on her feet.
"When did you get so strong?!" She exclaimed, a hand over her chest as he took deep breaths.
I chuckled, placing my hands on her slightlt trembling shoulders. "I've been training."
If I'm being honest, I was a bit confused as to why Petra was a lot less... excited about seeing me. And because of my natural habit of thinking the worst of everything, I began to think that she doesn't like me or doesn't see me as her friend anymore. Maybe because of that day. I don't blame her if she does at all. She's a regular human, she shouldn't involve herself with all these dangerous matters that could pose a threat to her life.
But, all those thoughts left my mind the moment tears start falling down from her face.
"Hey," I began, saying the same things I've said to everyone else. "It's fine. I'm--"
"No! It's not fine!" Petra cut me off, choking back a harsh sob. "I don't even know what to say right now!"
"Say what..?"
The strawberry-blonde haired girl grabbed my hands from her shoulders, clutching them tightly until it shook. "I don't know how to thank you or to repay you, (Y/N). That day, on the cliff, you saved my life!"
Ah... that.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be alive right now!"
"Well--"
She cut me off, shaking her head. "Everyone told me what happened once I regained consciousness. They all told me... how much y-you were struggling when you healed my wound.... how you almost died! You were in such a critical condition, up to a point where your body decided it was better to enter a coma! For a whole year!!"
Petra was slowly falling to the floor, and I went down with her, sitting together on the ground. She was still shaking and crying in my arms, holding on to me as if I was about to vanish into the thin air.
I looked down, noticing that she was wearing a thin scarf around her neck. Even though my heart was aching in pain from how emotional Petra was right now, I couldn't help but wonder why she was wearing something like that in this hot weather.
"Everyday.. I get out of bed... and I'm reminded that you still haven't woken up. I wake up and I don't see you next to me... or nagging me to hurry up because we're going to be late. Everyday I'm destroyed by the thought that your body suddenly gave up on you and that you... you... die--"."
I tore the scarf from her neck, my eyes widening as I saw a large scar travelling from underneath her clothes and all around her neck.
My feeling was right.
Petra was shocked by my sudden actions, but didn't try to hide it. She rubbed the broken skin cells, closing her eyes as more tears flowed down her cheeks.
"You wear the scarf to hide it?" I asked, letting go of the cloth.
She nodded, sniffling.
"The scar bothers you?" I brought a hand to the necklace underneath my clothing, fiddling with it.
She shook her head. "If I don't cover it, people always ask me questions. And I'm always confused on what to answer."
"So it does," I confirmed, silently taking a deep breath and removing my hand from my necklace.
Ziahra, lend me your utmost strength and help me hide away the pain.
Unfortunately, I can only help so much. I can only remind you to stay calm.
It's fine. That's enough.
Before Petra could realize what was going on, I placed a hand on her scars and let all my energy flow through me as the process immediately begun.
Petra's eyes flashed in recognition as soon as the healing began, and instantly tried to move my hand away. "Stop! Stop (Y/N), you're going to hurt yourself!!
Mikasa and Hanji looked panicked by Petra's sudden yelling. I can only assume they're both remembered by the time when I healed Petra in the mountains.
"No! It's different now!" I said, the tone of my voice becoming serious. "Healing doesn't hurt me like it did back then!"
Petra grabbed my hand with hers, trying to push it away, but I wouldn't budge. I grit my teeth, letting more energy flow through in attempt to heal the faded wound quicker.
"(Y/N), stop.. please," Petra cried out, the strength in her hands diminishing.
Her plead - it swayed my intentions so much that I almost stopped. Maybe because of the heat of the situation as well as the heat from the burning itself, I was slowly losing my focus.
You're nearly there, (Y/N). Just a little longer. Ziahra reminded me gently, stopping me from being dragged by the current.
Thanks.
With my concentration back to its full limit, I swiftly finished getting rid of the scar on Petra's skin, making sure that I didn't reveal the pain from doing it in anyway as I finally brought my hand away from her neck.
I purposely rested my hands on my legs, waiting for the burning feeling to subside while doing my absolute best to keep my face relaxed.
"See?" I nodded to her clean skin. "I told you, everything's alright."
Petra grabbed my shoulders, gripping it tightly. "Don't ever do that again!!" She growled angrily, shaking me back and forth. "I know it hurts you!"
"It doesn't." I smiled, still waiting for the pain to fully go away.
"Don't lie to me (Y/N)," Petra snarled through clenched teeth.
I shook my head, the pain finally gone. "It doesn't, Petra. It only hurts because I healed you when I had no energy left. As long as I've rested well, I have no trouble at all. And for small minor wounds, like getting rid of a scar, I feel nothing."
She was conflicted, I could tell from her face. Petra was torn between believing my words or believing what she remembered a year ago.
"I told you, I've been training," I reassured her, taking her hands off of my shoulder and holding them in mine. "I'm fine."
The brown eyed girl broke into tears again, leaning forward and resting her head on my shoulder blade. "Still, don't do it to me. I can't--..."
Petra leaned her weight on me as I hugged her again. "I'm sorry for healing you... without your consent. I just wanted you to know that it's okay for me to do it now, it doesn't hurt me anymore."
My eyes travelled down to the scarf that was lying on the floor, the next words coming to my head from the sight of it.
"What hurts me more is you having to limit your clothing to certain things just to hide that scar," I said softly, keeping my eyes fixed on the piece of cloth. "I know you like to dress up in all sorts of styles. I know how hard it must've been for you."
I hit a soft spot with those words. Petra crumbled in my embrace, crying harder than she was before.
That's right. Petra has always been a fashion lover, always willing to try out new styles. But because she has to hide her scar, I know she must've had a tough time with her choice of clothing. She must have given it up to keep people from asking about how she got the gruesome wound.
When I looked up, I was surprised to see Eren and Armin standing by the door, watching the whole thing unfold. I didn't even notice them coming.
I gently pushed Petra away, playfully puching, or more like nudging, her shoulder with my fist, before looking around at all the grim faces around me.
My hand reached out to Petra's, grabbing it and bringing her with me as I stood up, raising an eyebrow at how dark everyone's expressions were.
"Come on," I scolded, rolling my eyes. "I'm finally back after so long and this is the kind of greeting I'm getting?"
"Snot and tears," I paused, glancing at Petra and watching her quickly wipe it away. "And faces like half dead undead? Where's the cheers, the happy moments, the party, and the damn food?"
Mikasa caught up to me, smiling for a moment before faking an annoyed frown. "You're already staying at my apartment, get your own food."
"Ooh! Food!" Hanji exclaimed, throwing her shoes off and running into the kitchen.
"Hanji!" Mikasa raced after her, pulling her away from the fridge that was already getting messed up.
Eren followed the raven haired girl, a wide smile on his face and eyes sparkling brightly at all the things Hanji had tossed out of the fridge. "Hey, Mika! What food do you have...."
"Eren! Not you as well!"
Annie rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed huff of air, dragging her feet to the sofa and sitting herself down on it. She grabbed the TV remote and began doing what she always does with every single fucking television there is.
Armin followed her movements, and I flashed him a smirk, whistling a random tune as I shoved him towards the blonde girl relaxing on the sofa.
His face was burning bright red as he approached Annie, talking with her a bit before taking a seat next to her, their shoulders brushing.
I turned to Petra, who was watching everything with glistening eyes from leftover tears. She met my eyes, giggling a bit at what was happening around them. I chuckled as well, the amusement finally kicking in after such an emotional moment.
Hanji messing up the entire kitchen, Eren stuffing his face with whatever food there was in the fridge, and Mikasa stressing out, wondering if she should beat the shit out of the two of them or not.
Annie was flipping through the channels as per usual, with Armin by her side, as they made small talk with a blush present on both their faces the entire time.
Standing in between all of them, were Petra and I. Just like in our high school days, we were always in the midst of some random bullshit drama that was going on. Only this time, I can say with absolute certainty that I was enjoying every last bit.
How can I not?
This group of mismatched nutjobs were the people I was with now. Those who I believe will be by my side throughout my life from this point onwards. A group of people I will care and hold dear to me forever:
My friends.