Just for Yeager

The Encounter, Pt.3

And just like that, I found myself pinned against one of the more cunning, clever, competitive militants of the regime. There was no way of deescalating this quarrel, as I've already stirred her pot hot, and she had positioned herself to spar with me. But I wasn't going to be her prey this evening; I can very well take care of my own. So I surrendered from yielding, tossing off my jacket before stripping off my suspenders. The last thing I wanted to do was give her an edge to grappling me to the ground with ease. She showcased a malicious mien, and I countered with the same expression. I couldn't deny at this point, that this could have been a blessing in disguise; I get to privately exact my revenge on Eren's killer before sending her to conviction.

Without another moment to waste, she sprung at me like a cheetah ready to pounce on her meal. I step- dodged, leaving her hovering her balance on one foot, as the other closed into my legs for a sweep. My body went crashing onto the ring, and she'd soon follow by mounting over me, fists flying into my crossed arms over my face. She was quick, almost inhumanly so. I didn't expect to be subdued so suddenly. But soon my anger lashed out in realizing who I was up against, in realizing what this woman was capable of. I broke my barrier, then jerked my head to the side, her punch missing me and burrowing into the ring. I used the opportunity to skull bash her head into mine, and followed with a straight punch into her nose.

The impact sent her partway off my legs, enough for me to slip from underneath her, and dive my foot into her chest. She dropped back-first into the ring, but this was only temporary. Mikasa sprung into motion with haste, as if unfazed by her bloody nose and bruised forehead. I still heard sirens from colliding heads, and most obviously dizzy from the blow as I wobbled to stand still. She finally closed in and tackled me down. Again, I found myself in her control, this time in a headlock between her relentless arms.

As I struggled to break free, I found myself in an even further dire situation, only writhing into a tighter clutch as she tried to choke me out. With the air thinning around me, I needed to make my own gateway out of her grip, reaching my lower elbow from the floor for a boost. My top elbow rammed against her jaw, briefly crippling her so I may follow through with my hips over her back. I quickly hooked my leg around hers, slipped my head out, and pressed her down with my own weight onto the ring. In the same motion, I twisted her arms against her back, pinning her away from me.

It didn't take long before her desperate attempts at freeing herself kicked in, and I would counter each one. They left her out of breath, flushed, and furious. Part of me wanted to give her a choice to surrender, part of me wanted to beat her into a pulp.

"I truly wonder what's stopping me from ending your life right here, right now," I whispered under my breath.

"You think I'm stupid? You think I'm completely clueless? How you walk around like he's your puppet, like you're some short super kick ass mentor? Like you're doing us all a favor by trying to mold him into a fighting machine?! You might have fooled everyone, but I know you liked Eren, even loved him! Always pulling him aside in hiding, so your affair can keep secret. The way you coddle him with those playful eyes when you think no one's looking. The way you draw him in with that lustful smile that always has him shy red!"

"Mikasa..."

"Was he everything you wanted, Levi? Did he satisfy you? Give you that spark in your dead-end marriage? Did he rekindle your flame? You used him as an escape from your miserable life, and now look where he is! Dead! Six feet under while you hunt down some twisted fantasy that I killed him!"

I had enough, ramming her head into the ring as her miserable tresses screened her pathetic face. She didn't know what she was talking about, and further, was trying to mislead me off course. I knew for a fact that she killed him. Out of jealousy, out of rage. And the fact that she knew our secret and did nothing only fueled my certainty.

She suddenly cackled, an insidious laugh that had my hairs elevating off my neck. Her laughter soon went explosive, and she started to convulse. It left me anxious, nervous, and moreover, guilt ridden.

Why, guilt ridden?

Like a snapped spark zip-lining through my thoughts, my head unexpectedly sunk heavy, eyes blurred, breath hollow. I snatched my chest, quickly crawling off of her, and tried to get up on my feet. To no avail. It felt like I was slowly dying from the inside, and my body tried to resist with all its strength pumping through my fired veins. I dropped to my knees, my head circled with sweat and anguish, and before I looked up to her erect posture, I realized she may have whispered something before I fell into this stupor state.

The room started to spin along with these dreary dark thoughts of a night I couldn't recall. The longer I kept my eyes shut, the more those memories faded into my subconscious mind. 'Mikasa, Eren... she, she was to blame! What did she do to me?'

Blood... poison... how should I make sense of any of this...

Soon, the world around me went black, and my consciousness slipped through.