Born Into This World | Mikasa x Male Reader

Chapter 19: Anti-Personnel Combat (Season 3)

Mikasa: "What are you doing?! You should be in bed!"

As the group spent their afternoon cutting vegetables in the kitchen, Y/N turned to see Eren groggily walking out of his room.

Eren: "I'm alright. I already slept a whole day." (dejected) "Besides, it's my fault the plan got shelved. The least I can do is help."

Mikasa (concerned): "No, you tried, didn't you? Don't beat yourself-"

Y/N gently took her hand, giving her a consoling look. She had a conflicted look on her face for a few moments, but it eventually gave way to one of resignation. Getting her to not stress so much over Eren was still a work in progress.

Y/N moved up next to Eren, handing him some vegetables to slice.

Y/N (reassuring): "Keep your chin up, man. These sorts of things always take time. This is just a setback, nothing more. You'll get another chance soon enough."

Connie (muttering): "All I care about is getting a chance to bring down the Beast Titan."

The mood of the room suddenly turned grim. Everyone had a look of pity on their face, save for  Historia, who was as despondent as ever.

Connie (bitter): "That hairy bastard took everything from me. I want it dead."

His hand shook with anger. Y/N felt a lump in his throat, hearing the pain in his voice. It reminded him of how he'd felt for a while after Trost. Only now, they didn't have someone like Reiner to lean on.

Miche (solemn): "Indeed. The Beast cost us many lives. Too many."

Y/N's heart ached for the elite as well. He hadn't spoken of his squad at all since the incident with the Beast Titan, but Y/N could tell it probably affected him more than he let on.

Connie: "It's about time to switch lookouts." (to Mikasa & Miche) "You ready?"

Mikasa nodded. Before Connie could move to the door though, Y/N gave him a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic look. 

Y/N: "We'll get him. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we'll get justice for what happened."

Connie hesitated a moment before nodding and continuing to move to the door. He didn't seem to want to talk about it, but thankfully it seemed to have the intended effect. He seemed a little calmer as he headed out. Heading out the door, Mikasa turned and gave Y/N a slight smile before following Connie and Miche, leaving Y/N in the kitchen with Eren and Historia.

Historia (dispirited): "Must be nice. You guys all know what you want, even if it'll be difficult to get. But with Ymir gone, I've lost my purpose. I don't even know what I'm fighting for anymore."

Eren: "Saving her is something to fight for."

Historia: "Mm. Maybe."

Y/N leaned back against the table, his sad eyes fixed on the blonde girl. He'd promised Ymir he would take care of her when she was gone, but he didn't know how to do that anymore. He was more than capable of protecting her, but without Ymir she just seemed so... hopeless.

Historia: "At the time, I didn't understand what she was doing. I just wanted her to be safe. But since then, I've been thinking. When she left, she chose her own path. I have no right to change that. She doesn't need me to."

Y/N: "You might be right."

As painful as it was to face, Ymir had thrown her lot in with the enemy. Whatever her reasons, she'd decided to go with Reiner and Bertholdt, rather than helping them. As hard as it was to accept though, Y/N could only imagine how awful it must feel for Historia.