Eren slowly unwrapped the red scarf from around his neck.
It was soaked in blood.
He had been closest to the arterial spray, so he wore the stains like war paint. With a grim face, he laid the scarf on the floor and turned to face me.
I hadn't removed the long dagger from the trafficker's chest. Pulling it out now would only cause a fountain of blood. Better to leave it where it was.
"Let's go."
I nudged Eren toward the girl huddled nearby.
Eren crouched beside her and used his knife to cut the ropes binding her wrists.
"You're Mikasa, right? I'm Eren, son of Dr. Yeager. That's Sandra. You've probably seen my father before—he came to your house for a medical visit and then…"
My breath caught. I looked down at the two bodies still leaking blood onto the floor. My shoes were already soaked with it. I needed to make sure.
I stepped forward, scanning both corpses to confirm they were truly dead.
Then I noticed Mikasa staring at me. There was something in her eyes—something she wanted to say.
"There were three of them."
My heart froze.
Behind Eren, a figure rose.
Another man. Another trafficker.
"Wha—!"
Eren had just picked up his knife when the man lunged and struck him with the back of his fist.
Eren flew into the wall and crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
The man turned to me. His eyes locked onto the corpses. Then onto me, standing between them.
He roared and charged, grabbing me by the throat and lifting me off the ground.
"Ghhh—!"
The air was ripped from my lungs.
I clawed at his arms, punched at his chest, but nothing worked. He was too strong.
"Was it you? Huh?! Did you kill them?!"
"I'm gonna gut you alive, you little rat!"
His grip tightened. My vision swam.
Eren was out cold.
Mikasa, still alert, was frozen with fear.
My eyes darted to the knife lying beside her. The one Eren had dropped.
"Mikasa… pick it up… If you don't do something… you'll die… Fight…! If you win… you live…!"
I remembered those words. Eren had said them to me once. I had believed them then. I believed them now.
My face was red from the lack of oxygen. My strength was slipping.
"You've got no idea… what you're messing with…" the trafficker growled, his voice trembling with rage. I dug my fingernails into his forearm, breaking skin.
"You don't fight… you don't win…"
I was fading. My gaze locked with Mikasa's.
She was trembling. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
She had never killed anyone before. She didn't have the heart for it.
"I… I can't do this…"
Her voice cracked as she watched me die.
"Mikasa…"
Something inside her snapped.
Memories flashed—bloody scenes from the animal kingdom, predators devouring prey. She had seen it all. Pretended not to. Pretended it didn't exist.
But she knew now.
This world is cruel.
Through blurry eyes, I saw her stop shaking. Her grip on the knife tightened.
She stepped forward. The wooden floor cracked under her foot.
Her hand gripped the hilt so hard it cracked the handle.
Then she moved.
Like a beast unchained, she lunged forward and plunged the blade deep into the trafficker's back.
Straight into his heart.
His hands released me.
I collapsed to the floor.
"Guhh… haah… haah…"
I gasped, each breath sharp with the taste of blood and iron.
My body went limp. My vision dimmed.
And then… darkness.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
When I woke again, there was a fire burning in front of me. Its warmth brought feeling back to my limbs.
"Eren… I told you and Sandra to wait for me at the bottom of the mountain! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Grisha had returned. He was kneeling beside Eren, gripping his son tightly.
"We took care of a bunch of monsters who were pretending to be human!" Eren shouted.
"Eren!"
"Even if you had gone for help, they would've gotten away!"
"That's not the point! Do you know how lucky you and Sandra are to be alive?! You risked your life—hers too!" Grisha's voice cracked with frustration.
"Look at Sandra! You put her in danger!"
"But we… we just wanted to save her sooner…"
My voice, raspy and weak, interrupted them.
Grisha turned instantly, rushing to my side.
"Are you alright, Sandra?"
He placed a hand gently on my shoulder.
"Dr. Yeager… we just… we just wanted to get her back."
I looked at him with everything I had left.
Grisha paused, stunned by my sincerity. He sighed deeply and turned toward the girl sitting quietly beside the fire.
"Mikasa… do you remember me? I saw you a few times when you were younger…"
She didn't respond immediately. She stared into the flames with eyes that seemed hollow.
"Dr. Yeager… where should I go back to now…?"
She had lost everything in a day. Her home. Her family.
"It's so cold… I don't have a home anymore."
I looked down at my neck.
At the red scarf Carla had given me.
Gently, I took it off and walked to Mikasa.
Just as Carla had once done for me, I wrapped the scarf around Mikasa's neck.
"Here… it'll keep you warm."
Mikasa stared at me, stunned. Her fingers reached up, slowly brushing against the fabric.
"It's… warm…"
Eren stepped forward, standing beside me. We looked at Grisha together.
Grisha understood immediately.
He smiled softly.
"Mikasa… would you like to come live with us? You've been through so much… you deserve a place to rest."
She glanced at him, then at Eren, then at me.
I gave Eren a small pat on the shoulder. He looked at me, gave a nod.
I reached out and gently took Mikasa's hand.
Eren rested his arms behind his head and started walking ahead.
"Hey," I said softly.
"Let's go home."
"Yeah… come with us."
We said it at the same time.
We turned and smiled at each other.
"Together, okay?" Eren added, glancing back.
And Mikasa…
She smiled for the first time.
Tears streamed down her face as she whispered—
"Yeah… I want to go home."
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