The Monster Within

Chapter 1.6

It was another beautiful day in the Shiganshina district. The sky shone its orange and red hues, the wind blew gently, and the trees swayed gracefully. Sometimes, if the wind was strong enough, the leaves would float in the sky and cascade through the air, never to be seen again.

No one expects to be attacked by dead leaves, even if it was quite the windy evening. As Mikasa attempted to take out each individual leaf that was stuck in her hair, Eren turned to look at her. He saw how her face contorted.He could tell that she was concentrating her hardest. Eren then let out a small laugh at his struggling friend. He said to her jokingly, "Mikasa, I think leaves suit you. Maybe this could be your new style?"

It was safe to say that Mikasa was not impressed. But, she had a plan. Right next to her, there was a pile of leaves sitting on the ground; and she wanted payback. Mikasa took a handful from beside her and said to Eren sarcastically, "Why thank you, Eren! It's apparently the new style in Wall Rose and Sina. Maybe you should try it too!"

She proceeded to throw the leaves at Eren. Now, they were stuck in his hair too! Mikasa was incredibly satisfied with the outcome. Then Eren said to her frantically, "Mikasa! Why would you do this to me!"

"Well, it was your fault for teasing me. You were digging your own grave," the young girl said with a slight smirk.

Eren knew she was right. Everyone knew better than to mess with Mikasa. He then replied, "Alright, fine," he motioned for her to come closer, "Now come over here so I can help you take out those leaves on your head."

Mikasa obliged. She scooted closer and turned so her back was facing toward him. Eren then took out each one carefully, making sure not to pull out her actual hair; that would probably get him into more trouble. Once he finished, he said to her, "Okay, now turn around and face me. I need to get the ones on your scarf, too."

Mikasa replied, "Aww, that's so sweet of you, but I got it. Don't—Hey!"

Before Mikasa could even finish her sentence, he unwrapped the red scarf from around her neck and shook off all the leaves. Then, when all of them were gone, he wrapped it around her gently—just like he did the first time they met in the woods.

At this moment, Mikasa looked like a tomato. She was taken aback by the kindness of her best friend. She had never seen Eren act like this before. Mikasa broke the silence between them by saying, "Y'know, you didn't have to do that for me."

"Well, I wanted to," he chuckled and then continued, "And besides, I really thought you were going to punch me earlier."

"I definitely thought about it for sure." Mikasa said as she laughed lightly.

All of a sudden, there was silence between the two of them. They were just sitting, looking out into the distance, watching the horizon get darker as nightfall approaches. It was definitely beautiful; it was peaceful. In fact, it felt a little too peaceful.

Eren then broke the silence and said, "Oh! I almost forgot. You're welcome by the way."

Mikasa turned to Eren and noticed that he was smirking. She said in a sarcastic tone, "Thank you, Eren," and returned an equally sarcastic smile.

"Eren, Mikasa, look what I fou—, whoa, Mikasa. What happened to your hair?"

"Oh, hi Armin! I didn't even notice you coming. And what do you mean what happened to my hair?" Mikasa asked the blonde haired boy.

"How about I show you." Armin said as he took out a small mirror from his back pocket.

Mikasa took the mirror from him and looked at herself intently. It did not take long for her to notice that her long black hair was scattered in all different directions. It looked like she just got out of bed and refused to brush her hair. Her eyes widened and asked Eren, "How long has my hair been like this?!"