Mikasa Ackerman expected to return to a clan of sleeping teens but was instead greeted by the intimidating gaze of Hange Zoe followed by Eren, who was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he followed close behind her. "Eren," Mikasa said abruptly as the pair was faced head on. Her hand had already been yanked away from Armin's, both out of the fear of being seen and pure embarrassment, and she now stood with her arms crossed. Per usual, her advance was ignored and instead Armin was addressed. "We just have a few questions for him. Perhaps you'll hear about it later," Hange said during passing. The friends both attempted to catch eyes with their beloved Eren, who promptly ignored them and continued on. The disappointment was apparent on Mikasa's face but was clearly attempting to be hidden by anger, for her brows were furrowed and she glared at the officer as she passed by. It was classic Mikasa, the one that Armin had always known and somehow loved.
The atmosphere suddenly switched from awkward tension to pure frantic tension. Just the sight of Eren walking in the other direction was enough to surge Mikasa in a frenzy; she ran ahead and jolted towards the sleeping area, dancing over each of the sleeping bodies on the floor and only stopping to rummage through her clothes drawer and began dressing herself. Armin sped up his walking pace and gasped as he saw Mikasa undressing from the open door to the room, quickly spinning around and covering his eyes. He hissed quietly through closed teeth, "W-what are you doing?" as he shuffled uncomfortably in the doorway. He was suddenly pushed out of the way by an urgent Mikasa as she bounded out the doorway. As he stood stunned and frozen in the doorway, he suddenly came to the realization that he usually was left to watch Mikasa run away after Eren. Perhaps this time he should follow them, he thought.
Suddenly finding herself being pulled back by the straps of her fresh uniform, Mikasa let out a frustrated yelping sound and spun around to jerk herself out of the grip of Armin. The blond looked at her with narrowed eyes and though his hand had dropped from her grasp, he still stood close and wouldn't release his stance. "Why do you need to follow him this time?" Armin huffed. His form of aggression towards him was something that the girl rarely came across and it actually puzzled her, though she would never allow him to see that. Her defensive stance halted and she instead crossed her arms across her chest. "They are always taking him away for something," Mikasa said. Her voice was stern, showing off her natural motherly instincts, and strong. Her dark eyes were penetrating him deeply and he even cringed as she said, "They take him away and he always ends up somehow on the other side of this wall. It just isn't fair. It's unfair to Eren and it's time that someone says something." Despite his first instinct, Armin continued to follow the brunette as she stomped in the direction of Levi Ackerman's office. Hange almost always brought her bright ideas to Levi and Mikasa figured that they would be, once again, finding a reason to use Eren for their own advantage. "It is unfair. I know it is."
Mikasa was shocked to hear Armin agreeing with her on the subject and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Though she didn't turn around to face him, he continued to speak on about the subject with a sense of strength and sureness. "It isn't fair but Eren is needed. And he can take care of himself, Mikasa. Don't you know that?" The confrontation was something that neither of the scouts expected. Armin was shocked the words had left his mouth, despite thinking them for longer than he could ever remember. "He gets himself into trouble. And it just keeps happening because you are always there to save him!" Enraged by the accusation, the girl spun around and faced him with an expression of pure anger on her face. Her cheeks were flushed and the pinkness underneath her eyes only made her angry eyes seem to pop even more out of her head. Armin shared the same shade of pink yet he continued. He was too far in to stop now. "Maybe if you let him deal with his own problems sometimes," he sighed, "he would eventually learn his lesson."
The anger within her slowly seemed to melt away into a dull embarrassment in what she had become, for she even hid the bottom half of her face within the abundant softness of her scarf and clutched onto it tightly with her right hand. Her hand was visibly shaking. "Mikasa." Armin's voice had lost its urgency and had faded into a soft of sadness, partially in himself and in reaction to the blatant expression painted across the brunette's face. It was a strange feeling to pity her, something he rarely did, but somehow now he did. He said in a gentler voice, "Mikasa. Please." Mikasa suddenly yanked her scarf down from her face and exposed her trembling bottom lip before she opened her mouth to speak and said in a harsh voice, "Learning his lesson means he will die!" Her hands were now balled into tight fists as she charged at him, her anger overcoming her and the thought of what she could do with those fists now overwhelming her completely. The last thing she expected was her fists to both be caught by Armin's hands, but sure enough, he had snatched them from her sides and raised them up between them. Her hands slowly collapsed into flat palms against his, which he took advantage to allow his fingers to fall between the gaps of hers. "I won't let it happen," Mikasa whispered through her teeth. She was practically hissing as she said, "I won't let him die."
The two stood in silence has the wind washed over them and the sun slowly began to rise high into the sky, baking their flesh underneath and exposing the dull smell of rot and decay among them. Their hands had began to sweat but even through the claminess and discomfort, neither had let go yet. Armin was the first to break the silence after he had gathered the courage throughout the awkwardness. "Following Eren and Hange today isn't going to change anything. It's not like she's bringing him there to roast him alive. Please, at least have some breakfast before you go to their office." Despite everything within her wanting to protest, Mikasa finally gave in and agreed. Reluctantly.
