Prologue

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The loud beeping of the alarm clock jolts the young ravenette awake from her deep slumber, as a small but faint groan of protest escaped her lips. She still managed to turn off the device which ended her peaceful dreamscape. She sat up against the soft fabric of the mattress below her and rubbed her eyes before stroking her shoulder-length raven black hair as some of her bangs covered her face, eyes drifting over to the clock on her nightstand as the blanket enveloping her small yet firm and physically fit frame draped over it loosely.

A small gasp escaped her mouth. Her dark grey eyes widened before roughly tugging the sheets off of her body and jumped out of the bed in a panic.

"Shit!" She cursed under her breath, running into the bathroom and quickly hopping into the shower to clean off. The lukewarm water made her muscles feel more at ease and her sleepiness faded away.

Running a bit late, the young ravenette fixed up her hair and brushed it down to get the ideal look she always went for, while quickly drying up before washing her face and brushing her teeth. She put on her school uniform; a white buttoned-up undershirt, a red dress jacket to go along with it as the school's logo was imprinted on the back and the top left chest area, a black squirt with matching knee-high socks, and black dress shoes.

She quickly made her way downstairs where her lovely mother already had her breakfast set up on the table, the young yet much older looking woman continued to clean the dishes while her husband, the young ravenette's father, sat on the kitchen table with his coffee in hand and taking a sip as he read the morning newspaper. At that very moment, their young daughter ran in and gave both of them a bright smile grabbing the toast from her plate and taking a big bite out of it, all in one motion.

"Good morning, Mom! Good morning, Dad!" She gleefully said and walked over to the older man sitting at the table across from her, pecking him on the cheek while doing the same to her beloved mother who was almost done with the dishes.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Her father smiled and looked over at his daughter with his own gleeful tone, placing the newspaper down and taking another big sip of his coffee.

"Good morning, darling. Aren't you running a little bit late today?" Her mother chimed in with a loving smile of her own, causing the young ravenette to nod her head with a bright smile still etched on her face. She took her orange juice and gulped it down before running over and placing the dirty dishes into counter, offering to clean them herself but her mother gave her another loving smile and began cleaning it instead.

"Yes! I've got to go! Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! I love you!" She said all at once while in the process of grabbing her belongings and draping her bag over her shoulder, before walking to both her parents to kiss them goodbye and out the door she went, not after she grabbed her keys first.

"Mikasa, dear. Be careful and stay safe." Her mom exclaimed just as the young woman made her way out the door with a loving smile and waving towards them.

"I will! I'll see you soon!" Mikasa replied as she closed the door behind her, leaving the middle-aged mother to giggle at her daughter's antics and watched as her husband came over and placed his coffee mug on the sink. However, he offered to clean it up himself along with his empty plate which once held his morning breakfast.

"My, she's all grown up. I can't believe our baby girl is starting her last year in high school." Mrs. Ackermann spoke up, looking over at her beloved husband with a happy and empathetic expression at the fact their daughter was growing up so fast.

"You don't have to worry so much, my love. I'm sure Mikasa has her future planned out. At least, I hope so. The boy she's with is not really the one I'd hope she shares it with." Mr. Ackermann comforted his wife, though the remark about her current 'boyfriend' didn't go unnoticed by her and gently elbowed him in the stomach lightly.

"She's old enough to make her own decisions, dear. That includes a partner and marriage." She looked over at her husband with a closed-eye smile before leaning over and kissing his cheek after he had just finished cleaning his dirty dishes.

"I know, I know. Sorry, it won't happen again." He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist before leaning over and pressing a firm kiss against her lips. "I have to go, darling. I don't want to be late for work." He pulled back and grabbed his suitcase along with some blueprints as he stepped out of the kitchen.

"Goodbye, my dear. Have a safe and wonderful day at work! I love you!"

"I love you too, honey." With that, he grabbed his keys and adjusted his glasses before stepping out.

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With a loud gasp, the young brunette jolts awake from his nightmare. A small sigh managed to escape his dry lips before sitting up from the comfort of his own bed, almost forgetting about the fact that today was his first day of school. The brown bangs of his hair laying loosely across his face as he looked over to them, taking a few strands in his fingers with another loud sigh.

'I should cut my hair.' He thought, standing up from the bed and stretch his tensed limbs with a groan. He then stepped into the bathroom and took a long warm shower in order to take away the sleepiness that resonated within him despite his initial efforts to try and stay up. He soon felt his muscles relax at the lukewarm water hitting his exposed skin.

After a few minutes, he brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth, taking a pair of scissors and began the due process of cutting his own hair.

"Geez, my hair's seen better days." He spoke to no one in particular, just to himself. He had a tendency to say his thoughts out loud sometimes.

Once the deed was done, and after shaving his face, he managed to look quite decent despite it being his first time. He usually always had someone else cut it but there was no time for that now. His hair now was now slightly above his nape, quite silky and smooth, yet he never really needed that much conditioner on. It was more natural than anything else.

Soon enough, the young brunette made his way downstairs after assembling and putting on his school uniform; just like the female students—it required of a white buttoned-up undershirt, and a red dress jacket with the school's imprinted on the back and top left chest area. However, the biggest difference with the male student's uniforms is the dressed black pants, instead of a black skirt, for obvious reasons, but the same black dress shoes, of course.

He managed to prepare himself some breakfast before putting some extra on a plate, placing said plate on a tray, and took it over to the room on the opposite side of the kitchen, down the hall on the right. He carefully delivered it without spilling the cup of water along with any of the food as well, knocking on the door with his free hand before opening it and stepping inside.

"Good morning, Mom." He said above a whisper, trying his best to contain his emotions and walked over with the tray in hand. He placed it on the counter next to middle-aged woman and watched as she slowly opened her hazel eyes to meet his turquoise green ones.

"Eren." She managed before letting a loud cough and covered her mouth, turning her head in the other direction as she did so.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. Don't force yourself to speak." Eren spoke softly and placed both of his hands against her own, holding them tightly in order to comfort her. He tried his best to contain himself. But it quickly started to become increasingly difficult as the seconds passed by.

"I-" She was cut off by another loud cough, causing Eren to physically cringe from how awful it felt to watch her go through all of this pain that he wished could just go away.

"I told you not worry about cooking me breakfast, darling." She looked over at him and offered a soft, warm smile. "Aren't you going to be late for your first day?"

Eren couldn't help but smile back when she asked that. In all honesty, he smiled more from the soft smile she gave him, even though it quickly faded as his voice got heavy thanks to the overwhelming emotions his been trying to suppress until now. He swallowed thickly, and then opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I just wanted to-" He got cut off by the sudden knocking at the front door, letting him know his ride was finally here, as his gaze shifted over to the door of the room. He didn't realize his mother's hand was slowly stroking the side of his newly cut hair.

"Thank you, sweetheart. But there's nothing to apologize for. Just go. Enjoy your first day at school. Make new friends. And I'm not talking about just hanging out with Armin the whole time." A small laugh managed to leave the middle-aged woman's lips, before coughing again as a result.

A second set of knocks soon came not long after the first one, prompting Eren to get up from his mother's side reluctantly and exhaled a loud heavy sigh.

"I'll try my best. No promises, though." He leaned to press a soft kiss on her forehead which she happily took, closing her eyes in the process with a warm smile on her face.

"Bye, dear. Have fun." She chirped just before he headed out into the hallway, and looked over at her one last time.

"Goodbye, Mom. Rest well." He replied with a small yet loving smile. He soon shut the door behind him with his hand still firmly holding onto the door handle. However, the third set of knocks finally forced him to let go and head over to the kitchen right by the living room to pick up his bag, draping over his right shoulder.

"I'm coming." Eren announced, loud enough for the individual outside to hear, after picking up his jacket since it was the middle of fall, meaning winter was soon underway and he was never a fan of the cooler weather. He usually doesn't really mind it though.

The front door finally opened, revealing the young brunette to the world. More specifically to the individual waiting for him—who now wore a more relieved expression on their face.

"There you are! I was starting to get worried you overslept. Is everything okay?" The voice came from a young blonde male who stood in front of the doorway with the same traditional school uniform.

Eren stepped out of the house with a blank but soft expression, closing the door behind him and tugging on his bag before taking one extra step into the outside world as he stood right next to the blonde with his attention elsewhere for the time being.

"I was just tending to my Mom. She's not getting any better." His gaze fell to the ground; a melancholic frown starting to form across his distinct features. This whole situation is taking a toll on him, and it showed.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You know I'd do anything to help, right?" The blonde said in a rather sympathetic tone before placing his hand on Eren's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze just as he walked over and also gave him a soft expression, his light blue eyes staring at the brunette solemnly. He knew of his best friend's Mom's condition, and yet, he always felt powerless. There's nothing much both of them could do at the moment, except hope for the best.

Eren nodded in response, looking over at him with a small smile before shifting his gaze back up to the clear blue sky above them. His newly cut hair flowed in the wind in perfect synchronization, the sun reflecting off of his turquoise green orbs.

"I know, Armin. And I thank you for that."

The small statement caused the blonde—now known as Armin—to smile warmly. Seeing his best friend like this did hurt him tremendously, but if an opportunity ever arrived in which he could at least make him feel better, there was no hesitation in doing so.

"Come on, I don't want you to be late on your first day."

Without another word, the two headed off towards Armin's car. Eren gave one last look over to his home. He heard the ignition of the engine roar to life, and because of it, his gaze shifted over to the front. There's no turning back now. And as inevitable as it was, he might as well make the most of it.

'Shiganshina City High. The most technologically advanced and diversified school in the entire state. This should be interesting.'

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To be continued...