Dawn - Jeankasa

2 | Training

I led the group of cadets through the trees, on the lookout for any more Titan dummies. I spotted one last dummy to the left and glanced back at the group behind me. Jean was the closest, followed by Annie, Reiner, and Bertoldt along with Eren. I turned my gaze back to the dummy and shot out the wire of my gear so that it attached to the dummy's neck and moved in for the kill. I flipped into a whirling motion and using my blades made a perfect cut. I then landed on a nearby tree branch, waiting  for the others to catch up and regroup so we could head back to camp. Jean landed a good cut on the dummy and landed on a tree branch nearby. He was breathing heavily, beads of sweat had collected on his forehead.

"You were great Mikasa, it's no wonder you are the top of the class" Jean said as we watched the others finish. I felt a small blush form on my cheeks and stared at the other cadettes finishing.

"Thanks, you did well too," I replied, regaining my composure . I never had been good at taking compliments, despite being constantly praised for my natural aptitude for Omni directional gear and athleticism. I found praise embarrassing and tried to be as modest as possible in my response.

Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt joined us in watching the others finish.

"Take this you bastard!" Eren screamed, frantically slashing at the dummy's neck. A small chuckle escaped Jean, but I silenced him with a glare. Eren joined me on the branch, a disappointed look on his face after realizing none of his sloppy cuts were deep enough for him to get a passing mark. Armin and Christa were the last to finish, the group began to head back as soon as they were done.

The sun was setting as we hiked back to camp. The walk back was silent, mostly because everyone was sore after using omni directional gear all day. Eren jogged over to Armin and I from the back of the line.

"Mikasa, how did you do that crazy spin cut? Can you teach me how to do that?" Eren asked. I glanced nervously over at Armin, trying to think of a way to put him down gently.

"I don't know if it would be best for you to try a cut like that Eren-" I was interrupted by Eren.

"Geez Mikasa, stop acting like you're my mom, I'm not some kid you have to protect!" Eren yelled. His reactions were always so sudden, I couldn't hide the hurt look on my face.

"Eren, I didn't mean it like that," I reached over trying to put my hand on his shoulder. He shook my hand away and stormed on ahead. Armin shot me an apologetic glance and ran after Eren. I was about to follow them when I felt someone grab my wrist, I turned back and to my suprise saw Jean. I tried to pull my wrist free but his grip was firm.

"What are you doing?" I asked Jean, a confused expression on my face.

"Why do you let him treat you like that?" Jean said, a pained expression on his face.

"Because he's the only family I have left," I responded solemnly.

"Yeah but just because he's family it doesn't mean he gets to treat you like shit. You deserve so much better Mikasa"

"Things are complicated and besides you know how Eren is. He doesn't mean it, he just gets frustrated" I replied, sighing.

"You can't keep making excuses for him! Mikasa-" Jean let go of my wrist.

"Jean, are you alright?"

"Look, it's just I've liked you ever since I first met you and I don't think you realize how amazing you are" Jean's face flushed a bright red, he stared down at the ground.

"Jean, I -" I was caught completely off guard by his sudden confession. I debated over how to respond, but couldn't think of anything to say. Jean was really kind and sweet, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for a relationship, and besides what about Eren?

"I-I'm not asking you to be in a relationship or anything official but would you maybe consider going on a date?" Jean stammered.

"I would probably be open to that" I replied. The words had poured out of my mouth before I had had time to think. It was too late to take them back now. And besides, a date wasn't the worst thing in the world, and Jean had asked me nicely. I knew if I backed out, he would be heartbroken.

"We can work out the details some other time" Jean said as we reached camp.

"Yeah" I nodded in agreement, glad to put the subject away.

We both split up, heading to our cabins for free time before dinner. I couldn't help but feel anxious about everything. Not to mention we had breakfast duty tomorrow which would be super awkward now. Why did I always have to make a mess of things?

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AN: Thanks for reading!  Hope this chapter was ok :)