Something was different.

The young devils who joined Mikasa and Eren noticed the change almost immediately, but they couldn't quite pinpoint what.

Something had happened with Eren and Mikasa, certainly, but neither of them made any mention, and, by and large, they acted as they usually did.

So, the teenage devils enjoyed the pleasant evening air, with food, stories, and laughter in that clearing in the park with the bench. It was a time to unwind after the school trip and tell everyone about their time in Kyoto.

Or be interrogated about it, as the case may be.

What else could one expect when they were friends with Rias Gremory?

"I'm so jealous," Rias pouted, kicking her feet petulantly. "I want to go to Kyoto."

"You can teleport there whenever you want," Sona sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Though it would be better if you took the train, otherwise you will need to alert the Yokai of your arrival, and it might become an incident."

"It's not the same," Rias whined. "Going to Kyoto on a school trip is a girl's Romance! A right of passage for all protagonists!"

"Then you must be a side character," Akeno giggled slyly as her King stuck out her tongue at the Queen.

"It was interesting," Yuuto said with a smile as he passed around samples of his newest recipes, which everyone accepted with delight. "While Japanese-style swords are not my usual preferences, they have some rather fascinating examples of various works in one of their museums."

"Right!" Rias nodded eagerly. "I hear they even have a Masamune blade in the magical quarter. Gah! I want to see it!"

"...Good food," Koneko said, adding her input to the conversation between bites of a rather delectable lemon and poppyseed scone.

"The temples were really pretty," Asia joined in with a wide-eyed smile.

"Which ones did you visit?" Rias asked in excitement. "Kinkaku-ji? Tenryu-ji? Tell me you at least took pictures of Tou-Ji!"

"All three," Issei nodded with a smile. Asia fused over him, brushing crumbs from his shirt. "And we had time to visit Arashiyama. We even ran into a Tanuki!"

"Were there any issues," Sona asked with concern. "The Yokai are not fond of devils."

"Ah, um, no. We saw a few, but, um, they didn't try anything."

"What our Rook isn't saying," Akeno said, mischief dancing in her eyes. "Is that almost all of them asked for his autograph. Apparently, Oppai Dragon is being broadcast to other factions now."

"How do you know?" Rias asked, wondering how her Queen had heard of this and she hadn't.

"Rossweiss told me," Akeno said guilessly. "She was chaperoning, and we've been texting. I've been giving her advice on being a devil."

Rias narrowed her eyes at her Queen, well aware of their ongoing bet but unwilling to concede.

Ravel was this close to officially joining Issei's harem.

Rias could feel it.

"The show is way more popular than I expected," Issei said, completely missing the by-play. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think it's making Ddraig sad. He's been sighing a lot lately."

"The Divine Dragons have been a staple of the Supernatural world since before recorded memory," Sona lectured. "They are figures of fear and awe, and every faction of any significant history has dealt with them before. Their Sacred Gear holders are just as, if not more, infamous due to their tendency to do battle wherever and whenever they wish, without regard for what is around them."

"...They destroy cities. Or countries," Koneko deadpaned. "People talk."

"The premise of having a show based on one of them would attract international attention, even discounting its quality," Sona continued. "And, if I give her nothing else, my sister's studio would not give anything less than their best."

"She won't say it, but I think Serafall likes the competition," Mikasa said, a small smile on her face. "She complained that the industry was getting boring, but she's been more fired up than usual. She even told me they are planning a crossover episode."

"...Cool," Koneko nodded.

"Will the mysterious 'senpai' show up in it," Akeno asked with a look at Eren, who shuffled uncomfortably. "Maybe Miracle Girl Levia-tan's secret crush?"

"No."

"A tengu we met asked about him, you know," Yuuto said conversationally as if he didn't notice Eren's discomfort. "I didn't really know what the studio has planned, so I just said he was an important character that would play a larger role later."

"Ravel's been keeping me updated on everything related to the show," Issei chimed in. "The devil forums are full of rumours and theories. Some think he's Oppai Dragon's brother or rival. Others are convinced he's secretly the big bad. He even has fans!"

"That is a bit excessive," Sona frowned. "A character that only appeared once for a few seconds is that popular?"

"Twice," Akeno said, holding up two fingers. Eren looked at her in horror. "The one in the movie, and in the most recent episode, my character had a flashback of her own. A younger version receives encouragement from a boy on a bench to throw off society's expectations."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"His words give her strength to declare her own desires like Oppai Dragon without shame," Akeno said, wrapping her arms around herself as if in a tight embrace. "She becomes a recurring supporting character who uses whips and leather. 'Mistress Night.'"

"Akeno," Eren asked desperately, knowing that the Queen definitely influenced such a story. "Why? Just... Why?"

"Because it's funny," Akeno giggled.

"It certainly helped the rumours," Rias nodded sagely. "You should never underestimate a fandom, Sona. They will pick apart even the tiniest detail and come up with the wildest theories. That is what happens when you love something so much. You are always thinking about it. Then the creator will pull the rug, and everyone will go, 'Wow! How did we miss this!' That is the beauty of anime!"

"Please don't go on another rant about anime," Sona sighed in despair. "I only have tonight and the morning off. I don't want to spend my limited free time listening to a weeb preach."

Rias, in a demonstration of her maturity and grace, stuck her tongue out at her rival.

"Did they have television in your world, Senpai," Issei asked Eren.

"Not before I died," Eren denied but looked at Mikasa.

"We had something similar," she nodded simply as she munched on a cookie. "They were still new, though."

"If you don't mind, Aunty," Sona said, leaning forward curiously. "I would love to hear about your world. Nothing important," Sona hurried to say at the frown almost overtaking her aunt's face. "Just its society and technology. I imagine its development without the influence of magical races is wildly different than this one's."

"...Maybe later," Mikasa said, with a sideways glace at Eren.

Sona nodded, swallowing her curiosity for the moment.

Rias took that opportunity to ask more about the Kyoto trip, the sights the second years had seen, and how she would have done things differently.

Rias had the layout of the famous Japanese city memorized and her ideal itinerary already planned.

It was the one time she was more organized than Sona.

"I'm sure I can get passes for the Yokai side," Rias said passionately. "Their leader, Yakasa, occasionally lets diplomatic envoys tour the imperial gardens and temples."

"You are not a diplomatic envoy," Sona said after swallowing the last of her muffin. Then, before Rias could reply, she cut her off. "And no, you cannot use your family's influence to make you one. Besides, you hate throwing your brother's name around."

"Kyoto is worth it!" Rias declared without shame. "And the Yokai side still has buildings dating back to before the Jomon period. You cannot say you aren't interested."

Sona paused as if the thought really was tempting. Then she shook her head.

"No, it would be a gross misuse of authority."

"... Boring."

"I am not," Sona protested as almost everyone giggled at Koneko's deadpan.

No.

Not 'almost.'

Everyone.

The laughter died quicker than it arrived as everyone stared at Eren in wide-eyed shock.

"Did you just..." Rias asked, unable to even ask the question.

"What," Eren asked, uncomfortable with the attention.

"He did," Mikasa said with surety, her own smile radiant despite its subtlety.

"Yes!" Koneko clenched her fists in victory. Then she held them out to Akeno. "Pay up."

Still in shock, the Queen absently handed over a bundle of yen thicker than her wrist that appeared from nowhere.

Koneko hopped on Eren's lap, shuffled to get comfortable, and then started counting her winnings. Satisfied it was all there, the Rook stuffed the money in her bag.

She'd be ordering the imported sweets tomorrow, and Rias couldn't nag her for spending her allowance since she had lost as well.

It was a good day to be Koneko.

By the time the younger girl was done, the group had largely gotten over their shock and were back to talking and laughing, even happier than before.

Seeing that everyone, especially Eren, was in such high spirits, Rias decided to try her luck.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"What about you, Eren?" She asked. "Was there anywhere you wanted to visit?"

Eren's birthday was still months away, but Rias had not forgotten about her failure this year. She wanted to do something memorable this time and was gathering information to plan it later. Nothing too large, but something Eren would enjoy.

Especially since it might be the last they have to celebrate.

(It should be noted that Rias' birthday was a national holiday in Gremory territory, so her ideas tended to be a bit... grand.

What she considered 'not too large' was already at the stage of renting out an entire amusement park or reserving whole sections of a city so they wouldn't be disturbed.

Needless to say, if Eren knew what she was thinking, he would have been completely befuddled by her thought process.)

"Not really," Eren said casually.

"Really? Nowhere?"

"No."

"What about you, Aunty?" Rias asked, judging that Eren wasn't lying.

"Me neither," Mikasa shook her head. "We didn't have many options. Most buildings and cities in our world were less than fifty or a hundred years old."

"Then what about the favourite place you've visited," Sona suggested, catching on to what Rias was doing.

They were both committed to making sure Eren's birthday was as memorable and enjoyable as possible.

(Sona, at least, had a more reasonable sense of scale when it came to such occasions.

She was much more likely to do something small but meticulously planned down to the last minute. One could argue that expecting people to adhere to such a schedule was even more unrealistic than Rias, but Sona showed how much she cared in the details.

And she had a lot of details planned for Eren.

This was despite the fact that her birthday was also a holiday, one even more famous thanks to Miracle Girl Levia-tan celebrating it every year with a special episode. Naturally, the reach of Underworld's most popular TV show should not be underestimated. Hundreds of millions of devils celebrated her birthday in big and small ways.

Every.

Year.)

Mikasa and Eren looked at each other as if in silent communication.

"The sea," Eren eventually said, and Mikasa nodded.

"Truly," Akeno asked. "We could have gone this summer if we had known."

"Not to swim," Mikasa denied. "The sea is... it's special."

"How come?" Rias asked curiously. "You've seen it before, right?"

Not only had Mikasa been around for decades, but Eren had travelled the world as a mercenary. Both should have seen the sea plenty of times.

"It's not that," Mikasa shook her head with a small smile. "The first time we saw the ocean... It meant something."

The group looked at the pair in silent question.

"'Did you know?'" Eren said, looking to the sky.

His voice was lighter than almost anyone there had ever heard him.

It sounded like he was quoting a book.

Or someone he knew.

"'Most of the world is covered by a water body known as the sea. And the sea is entirely made of salt water. It's large enough to never run out. Beyond the wall... there's a sea. On the other side of the sea... is freedom.'"

It finally struck those young devils.

What had been off while they talked, joked, and laughed.

Eren's expression.

For most of the afternoon, almost imperceptibly, Eren had been smiling.

The most minor, most content of smiles.

"Ah," Rias swallowed her suddenly dry throat and tried to speak again. "If you want, we can go to the sea. It's not far. I can't teleport us using my house's sigil, since you aren't a devil, but I can call a ride."

Then, her eyes lit up with an idea.

"Actually, my family has a private island off the coast with a small home. We can stay the night!"

That seemed to shake the group out of the strange state Eren's words and expression had put them in.

"It isn't a school night," Sona acknowledged with a tilt of her head. "And we do have the finals for the tournament coming up. We have been training hard, and some time to relax will do everyone some good. Very well."

"Awesome!" Issei said, standing with excitement. "I haven't seen the sea in years."

"Ufufu," Akeno giggled at the younger boy's enthusiasm. "We won't be wearing swimsuits, though. It's too late in the year to go swimming."

Issei immediately wilted, and Yuuto consolingly patted his dejected friend on the back.

Mikasa looked at Eren with a raised brow.

Eren looked surprised, but after a moment, his expression settled, and he nodded.

His smile was just a bit smaller, though.

It took little effort to clean up the clearing with the bench and put the blanket, utensils, and food away in the storage container and mini fridge.

Before she could call a ride, Mikasa whispered something in Rias's ear.

The redhead frowned in thought, then nodded at Sona to come over. Leviathan's Pawn repeated the action to her honorary niece.

"It should be possible," Sona said, also frowning in thought. "It's common enough for magicians, but devils usually don't usually need it except for familiars."

"Do it," Mikasa told her. "It is important to him."

Her words took the two Kings by surprise.

Something so banal and mundane was important? If they had known, they would have done it a while ago.

The sea and now this? It made them curious about what else they didn't know about Eren, even after a year and a half by his side.

Eren looked at the exchange curiously, but none of the three women answered his silent question.

Instead, Sona just approached him and held out her hand, pressing it against Eren's chest as she furrowed her brows in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Eren asked.

"One moment," Sona said.

Then she started to glow with blue power as the magical circle of the Sitri house covered her arm. The blue circles flowed like water from Sona's arm, and Eren flinched as they passed into him in a wave.

Nothing seemed to happen, though.

"It should work and last for a few hours," Sona said, stepping away with a frown at her aunt. "But we don't really have the time for him to get used to it if we want to go to the sea tonight."

"It works like ours?" Mikasa asked, and Sona nodded. "Then he already knows what to do."

"Even new devils take a few weeks or months to get used to it," Rias pointed out, worried for Eren. "It's even more difficult for humans. Their brains aren't used to thinking in the way they need to move safely."

Mikasa just shook her head at the younger devils with a small smile.

Then, without warning and in a voice that commanded attention and obedience, Mikasa barked a few clipped sentences.

"Incoming! East side! Twenty meters! Treetops! You have the nape!"

While the young devils jumped in surprise at the sudden orders that didn't make any sense, Eren had acted on instinct.

His body had whirled to face the east, one hand tightening on his cane and pressing a trigger that didn't exist while the other balanced himself.

A few of the more observant noticed how his hips were perfectly pointed toward the top of a tree trunk, but that was all they had time to notice.

Suddenly, Eren was off, flying through the sky with a cry of surprise.

Mikasa was flying right behind him, her wings extended and a slight smile on her lips.

"Wha," Issei asked dumbly.

He wasn't the only one surprised.

"It will be quicker if we fly," Rias said with a shrug, taking off after Eren and Mikasa, still slightly worried Eren would fall or hit something.

The rest extended their own wings, taking flight as well. At least Sona had the foresight to cast the usual disguising magic so people would see a bunch of teenagers flying through the air.

"How did he do that?" Yuuto asked curiously, pulling up beside the Sitri King. "It took me weeks to learn to fly that quickly."

"What spell did you use," Akeno asked curiously.

"Nothing fancy," Sona said. "Standard flight spell used to give landlocked familiars the ability to follow their partner in the air. It mirrors devil's flight magic, but it requires training to use."

"... Mysterious," Koneko summarized.

They didn't get an answer to their question as they chased Eren's shadow across the sky.

Eren had no problem staying in the air, though he initially flew in starts and stops as if he were being pulled by ropes rather than carried on wings.

Eventually, though, he gained the trick of it.

Eren stopped in the air, hovering and looking at his hands in wonder.

He looked above and around him, searching for something holding him aloft. He looked under his feet for a platform that wasn't there.

The only one with him was Mikasa, smiling slightly at him. The others were flying toward him as well.

It hit him.

He was flying.

Maybe not with his own power, but with his own will, Eren was flying.

He could contain himself no longer.

Eren took off toward the sky.

No longer carried, he rose by his own will.

Up.

Up.

Up.

Eren breached the clouds.

There, in the light of the dying autumn sun, with white clouds beneath him, the blue sea in the distance, and his arms wide as if they were his own wings, a sound rang out through the air.

There was no mistaking it this time.

The voice was deep, weathered by time and tragedy, but there was something pure and boyish in the laugh that resounded through the air.

Flying right behind him, Mikasa smiled.

Behind her, a group of young devils chased Eren through the clouds with their own laughter. Seeing Eren like this, the usually so dour and taciturn man... They couldn't help but laugh.

They flew to the ocean, free and happy.

The great blue sea stretched out infinitely below them as Rias led the group toward a private island the Gremory owned.

Even flying, it took the better part of an hour to reach the white beaches.

Nobody complained.

Not when they could see the smile on the boy's face.

The way he rose and fell through the clouds, travelling at speeds most reincarnated devils did not achieve for years, made it seem like Eren Yeager was born to fly.

Even when they arrived at the 'small home,' a mansion in its own right, Eren continued to spend hours flying over the waves, trailing his fingers through the surf until the spell wore off.

Sona offered to cast again, but Eren shook his head and remained with them on the beach.

They remained by the ocean for hours, Rias calling the rest of her Peerage to teleport to the island and Sona doing the same for hers.

The new arrivals brought more food with them, and a bonfire was lit as they sat on the beach.

The impromptu party by the sea lasted well into the night, devils being naturally nocturnal creatures. Most didn't have anywhere to go the next day.

Eren?

Well, he was the only human there.

It didn't stop him from staying with them till the late hours of the night.

His smile might not have been as wide, his laughter not as loud.

But it was there.

Eren laughed.

Eren smiled.

Looking back, everyone would be able to tell something had been different about him.

Not just his smile but his words and actions.

For that one night, Eren lived the life of a boy his age should.

As if all his burdens had been lifted.

As if he was at peace.

As if he didn't want the night to end.

But everything ends.

And Eren was only human.

As the bright moon danced on the waves, Eren told them he'd see them all later as he made his way to one of the guest rooms of the Gremory Mansion.

Nobody commented when Mikasa followed him in without a word.

It was everything they needed.

Everything they both needed.

For one night, they were truly happy together.

It wasn't perfect. Nothing ever was.

But it was theirs.

It was all they had for a moment, and for the moment, their love was all they needed.

When morning came, and Mikasa woke alone in bed, she did not grieve for what was to come.

For a few moments, as she lay amidst the memory of their shared warmth, Mikasa allowed herself to smile.

To be happy for the memories she had made on the bench and off of it.

For a few moments, Mikasa Ackerman remembered the beauty of the world.

Then she steeled herself to face its cruelty.

Getting up, Mikasa did not dress in the casual clothes she usually wore.

Instead, she pulled her combat clothes from her storage tool.

Leaving her room, she didn't say anything to the young devils eating breakfast, even when they called out to her.

Mikasa marched straight to the teleportation circle to return to the Occult Research Club under their confused gaze. This was a Gremory building, not Sitri, so their wards would stop her teleportation tool if she left from anywhere else.

It was fine, though.

Mikasa knew where to go.

Eren wouldn't have gone to the austere house they had shared over the last few months.

Mikasa had been watching.

This time, Mikasa had not lied to herself.

Eren had changed.

But he was still Eren Yeager.

And she had promised him.

Mikasa could do it all again.

Mikasa would do it all again.

If it meant meeting the boy who wrapped this scarf around her neck, she would do it a thousand times.

One world or a hundred worlds.

Two thousand or twenty thousand years.

Mikasa would chase Eren

Until they could have that long, happy life together.

It was just a tragedy that this did not seem to be the world where that would happen.

In a mirror of that day, only a few months ago, Mikasa flew toward the bench.

This time, she didn't rush. She even took her time.

Mikasa braced herself for what she would find.

She steeled her will to fight once more.

She'd pick up that knife as many times as it took.

No longer in a daze, in that dreamlike state that had seemed so common over the last few months, Mikasa approached the bench.

Somehow, despite being prepared for anything, even an empty bench, Mikasa was still surprised.

"Nyaa? You're early," Black Cat Kuroka said with a smile as she hopped off the bench she had been lying on,

Her seven tails swayed behind her as she sashayed her way up to Mikasa.

Mikasa didn't say anything at the sight of the infamous criminal.

She just pulled two swords from her storage and got ready for a fight.

"Nyahahaha," Kuroka laughed mischievously and held her hands in the air. "I'm not here to fight. I am here to surrender. Turn myself in. Repent my wandering ways. Become a good kitty."

"Why should I believe you," Mikasa asked, her voice flat and dead as she stared at the cane held aloft in the Stray Devil's hands, the two wings carved into the handle.

"Nyaa? Didn't that scary maid say she'd promise me my life if I surrendered?"

"I am not Grayfia."

"What if I said... Pretty please?"

Faster than she had ever moved before, Mikasa pressed the blade of her sword against Kuroka's neck.

Kuroka grinned wickedly, completely unfazed.

Mikasa wouldn't kill her.

They both knew it.

They both knew what this was about.

They both knew who this was about.

"What if, as the vice leader of the Chaos Brigade, I promised to tell you everything about its leader, Eren Yeager?"

If only nobody had followed Mikasa and heard those words, perhaps things would have gone differently.

Perhaps Mikasa could have shielded those young devils from the horrors of the world.

Perhaps they could have gone on living a happy, innocent life and not tinged with betrayal.

Then again, the world would become just as Eren willed it to be.

Mikasa closed her eyes in resignation at the voices of surprise, shock, outrage, and indignation coming from the young devils who had followed her.

Mikasa heard Sona's voice among them.

She hadn't changed either, it seemed.

She still wasn't strong enough to keep those she loved safe.

Even when she had known something like this was coming.

Despite being surprised by Kuroka's presence and Eren's cane in the nekoshou's hand, Mikasa was unsurprised by her declaration.

After all, more than anyone else in this world or another, Mikasa Ackerman knew Eren Yeager.

The boy who left the bench.