A Thousand and One Lifetimes

10. Fight

When Mikasa and Levi step out of the office and into the gym, there are more people than before. Armin and Historia are sitting off to the side, while a tall, broad-shouldered guy with blond hair and a scowl stands nearby, eyeing her. Levi claps his hands, a short, sharp sound that draws everyone's attention.

"This is Mikasa," he says simply, nodding in her direction. "She'll be joining our classes from now on. Get acquainted on your own time." Then he turns to Mikasa. "Today, you're observing. Go sit."

He gestures to the bench where Armin and Historia sit, and Mikasa heads over, feeling eyes on her. She takes a deep breath as she settles in next to them. Armin scoots over.

"Hey stranger," he says with a smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Good, actually," Mikasa replies, managing a small smile of her own. "Better." She glances away briefly before looking back at him. "Thank you... for that night."

Armin waves it off modestly. "It was nothing, really. Historia was the real reason we found you. She knew about the tunnels."

Mikasa glances at the girl who beams. "Oh, no need to thank me. I did what I had to do."

Mikasa smiles. "Thank you anyway."

Levi's voice cuts through. "Warm-ups first. Pair up!"

Mikasa watches as the four other students fall into pairs, and her eyes land on Eren. He and the blonde girl have already moved to the center of the gym. They begin with basic drills: push-ups, squats, and lunges. Then Levi moves them into footwork exercises, quick steps forward, backward, and sideways. Mikasa watches it all with rapt attention, taking mental notes. She has never done anything like this before, and her muscles seem to ache at the thought of all that physical exertion.

"Wait." She turns to Armin. "Aren't you part of this class?"

Armin shakes his head, a grin tugging at his lips. "Nah, Historia and I are usually here to watch. It's fun to see everyone struggle."

Historia chuckles beside him.

As the warm-up transitions into partner drills, Mikasa sees Eren move to stand in front of the blonde girl and the two begin sparring, each landing punches and kicks with fluid grace. There is a certain beauty in the girl's movements, like a dance. Mikasa can't look away.

Armin leans closer. "That's Annie," he says, voice slightly hushed. "She's so...pretty."

Mikasa blinks, glancing between him and Annie as the sparring begins. She catches a small smile, realizing Armin's got a bit of a crush. "You like her?" she teases gently.

He chuckles and shrugs. Then he points out a few others. "See the girl with the short brown hair? That's Ymir, Historia's best friend. And the big guy over there is Reiner. Pretty much everyone here knows he signed up just because he knows Historia's usually here with Ymir. He's hoping to impress her."

At that, Historia rolls her eyes and mutters, "Please."

Mikasa's attention drifts back to Eren, who's focused entirely on his match with Annie. His movements are powerful as he strikes and blocks. Annie ducks, swivels, and lands a solid punch, her fist meeting his jaw with a sickening crack. But Eren barely flinches, his green eyes narrowed in concentration. He lunges forward, his movements sharp and relentless.

"Eren is the best student in the class," Armin says, leaning forward. "It's weird. A couple of years ago, he couldn't even win an arm wrestling match against his dad and, now? He can knock a full-grown man unconscious."

Mikasa continues to watch. Sweat glistens along Eren's skin, tracing down the lean lines of his arms and chest, and the way he fights... it's unlike anything she's ever seen. In this moment, Eren's expression is controlled—focused. It's different from the look he wore that night. Then, Eren had the cold eyes of a killer. And that killer had been the one who saved her.