I nervously shifted my weight from my toes to my heels and back. In the back of my head I already had the answer, but I was unsure if I should say it. Levi was right, though. There was no turning back. With me knowing everyone already I could easily go to the police and tell them their names and even point out their hideout, but since I was engaged in one of their acts, I could get arrested, too.
Levi was still eyeing me, awaiting for me to say something. 'I-I first want to know what's in it for m-me,' I stuttered, thinking this was a safe thing to say. He rolled his eyes and let go of my sleeve, making that usual 'tch'-sound again. With his hand he gestured Hanji to speak.
She abruptly fixated her attention on putting her words together. 'Well...' she dosed off a bit, getting a slight smirk on her face, 'since we think it's dangerous to just leave this place every night, we have our own rooms here. We're one room short, though, if you're going to join us. I guess we can arrange something for that... We also have our breakfasts together, that's what the cafetaria upstairs is for, and ofcourse, because they can keep a good secret, too. But Levi, I'm not sure if we should really tell him what kind of things we actually do-'
'That doesn't matter, four eyes. He already knows probably.' Levi put his hands in his pockets, walking away from the group, to a chair right at the side of the room. I watched his every movement, astounded by the careless act he has all the time.
'Can I- ehh, go outside for a moment? Perhaps, take a walk around?' I asked, moving a hand to the back of my neck. Levi's eyes shifted to look at mine. 'As long as you come back and give us your answer.'
I walked outside of the building, onto the streets, with my mind fixated on what the best decision would be. It all went by quickly. I wasn't quite able to grasp upon the situation, but I knew that this decision would change my whole future. It was weird to think of actually, since it all went unprofessionally, against my expectations of what the Corps would be like.
I had always thought of it as a harsh and fearless mafiagang, who'd just go around killing people without a single strain of pity. The only one matching up to that expectation, would be Levi. It was probably the reason he was the leader of the gang, but otherwise I would've seen Hanji as the leader, with her serious but also cheery attitude. It was quite noticeable she'd be a great leader, she was aware of everything and even questioned Levi's actions from time to time.
The rest of the group wasn't really talking to me yet, so I couldn't really tell what they'd be like, but I'd say they would have Levi's and Hanji's attitude mixed together. Not for every single one of them, though, but mostly for the seemingly younger ones. As for Eld, Petra, Oluo and Gunther I'd think something different, but I couldn't quite describe it to myself clearly. I knew they would be very loyal to their leader, ofcourse, there was no other way to look at it.
I suddenly found myself wandering around that one street I detested so much; the one where my mum got shot and killed instantly. To my surprise, I there stumbled upon a running Armin who was obviously heading towards me. 'Eren!' he was yelling, jumping up and down as his feet moved him forward at a quick pace, 'I can't believe you're here!'
He stopped his tracks right in front of me, wheezed for a little bit and then put his chin up in the air and looked at me. 'Eren, where have you been?'
This question made me feel a rush inside, considering that Armin had set me up with the Corps in the first place. 'Where do you think I've been?' I bluntly asked, aquiring a stable position.
'Ehh, I don't know? You've been away for so long! How come?'
'It's because of you, the one who set me up with that weird man you met in an alleyway. You know, for a job?'
'Have you been working all this time? Why haven't you come home then? Mikasa is worried sick, and I was, too!'
'Well, he took me on a business trip outside of England. It took some preparation, but eventually we went there and just got back earlier today.'
'Oh my, so early! Did you earn anything yet? How much does he pay you?'
'I-I don't know?' I looked back at how I never really asked Levi about how much I'd get paid for the job I did for him. It was stupid of me to forget.
'Well, you probably haven't received your cheque yet, which doesn't matter since the month isn't quite over yet. But yeah, about Mikasa... She wants to have a word with you, I think she'll be very angry after being away for so long without telling her.'
I sighed and lifted my shoulders. Nodding my head at Armin, I walked past him and made way to home. There, I found Mikasa staring outside of the front window, shocked at the sight of me. She instantly was found outside, having her arms around my neck and squeezing me in her embrace. She let go when she saw Armin not far behind me, who was walking much slower than me and didn't even bother catching up.
Mikasa frowned at me, changing the atmosphere immediately. I could feel the stormclouds coming. 'Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you say you were leaving? You didn't even pack anything when you left the last time! I had to bury mum together with dad! Where did you get those clothes? How did you even afford them?'
The questions kept coming as her rage was building up. Obviously she wasn't quite fond of my sudden disappearance.
Armin just stood by me, impressed by the amount of questions Mikasa could ask me. I didn't even have a chance to answer them, since she kept on talking.
At the end of it, Mikasa turned into her usual self again, with her calm eyes and laid-back personality. But deep down I knew she wasn't so laid-back now as she appeared to be.
'Mikasa, I'm sorry for leaving without telling you. The thing is, I instantly got accepted for a job and was kept at their business for some time. Then I went on a business trip, and just got back today. The only reason I'm outside now, is because I'm unsure if I want to join them and work with them. It's just to clear up my mind, otherwise Armin wouldn't have spotted me, since I then wouldn't have gone outside.'
Mikasa frowned again, trying to oppress the temptation to slap me in the face. 'I've been alone all this time, Eren. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer. I tried again, but it said your phone was out of service,' she spat, 'dad hasn't even come home all this time. What is with this family and business trips? Hell, what is it with you and dad and business trips? Do you think it's fun for me to be left alone? I was worried sick about you, thinking you were abducted or something, maybe even dead.'
'Shouldn't you be glad I'm standing here then? I mean, to even see that I'm alright and nothing happened?'
'Well, yes, but I still won't forgive you for going off just like that. I've been having a hard time accepting mum's death and really needed you in that time, but you weren't there.'
'Do you think it wasn't hard for me to see that mum wasn't going to come back? It was hard for the both of us-'
'Yeah, but I had no one! I tell you, no one!'
'You could've told Armin-'
'No, I couldn't because Armin was too occupied with making up excuses to not pass by and say hello! He didn't even want to talk over the phone when he'd say the reason that was holding him from coming over was the rain pouring outside. God damnit, Eren, do you think you can just talk yourself out of this?'
'No, but-'
'Do you?!'
I clenched my fists, trying to contain myself from getting outraged. 'You know what, Mikasa? If you can't be glad I'm back now, I just won't be coming back at all!'
With that, I pushed her aside, almost got grabbed by my wrist, but angrily pulled away my arm and stumped into the house. I ran upstairs, quickly stuffed my clothes in some bags and some personal items. Then I grabbed all of the bags together and made way downstairs again, avoided Mikasa and Armin, and ran away, back to the cafetaria with the Corps' hideout.
Soon enough I arrived there, completely exhausted, and called out for Levi, who came running. Just as I wanted to collapse, he caught me. 'I've made up my mind,' I wheezed, 'I'm joining.'
