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Trick to being smart is knowing when to play dumb.
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"Excuse me, have we met somewhere before?"
Mikasa's eyes widened as if the ground beneath her feet had disappeared. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she broke the hug, stepping back in disbelief.
Her gaze was fixed on Eren, but the boy standing before her now was not the one she had spent a lifetime cherishing. He looked dull, detached, and his confusion sent a cold chill through her.
Armin stood frozen beside her, his mind seemingly refusing to process Eren's words.
Eren's attention shifted to the blonde girl. "Christa, are these guys your friends or something?"
Christa, equally puzzled, shook her head, her expression mirroring the bewilderment of the moment.
"Eren..." Mikasa's voice cracked as she muttered his name, stumbling forward placing her hands on his chest. Armin, struggling to hold on to any sense of hope, forced a strained smile. "Eren, c'mon, stop joking around... It's us, Armin and Mikasa. Don't you remember us?"
Eren's brow furrowed, eyes narrowing in confusion. "Who?"
Those words were like a blade cutting through the air. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea who you two are."
Armin's breath hitched as he reached out, grabbing Eren's shoulder, his grip tightening as if trying to physically shake his friend back to reality.
"Eren, stop playing around, man. It's us. This isn't some kind of a joke?" His voice was laced with desperation as he shook Eren, but the response was unchanged.
"We've known each other since we were kids. We played together, fought together... Eren, don't you remember? The day we were separated, when the Titans invaded Shiganshina—" Armin's voice wavered, but before he could finish, Eren stepped back, firmly pushing Armin's hand away.
"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about..." Eren's words were sharp, final, and they cut deep. "I don't belong to Shiganshina. I'm from the capital. You've got the wrong guy."
He freed himself from Armin's grip, his eyes momentarily locking with Mikasa's tear-filled gaze. For a moment, the world around them felt darker, as if the night itself echoed the shattering heartbreak Mikasa was experiencing.
"Do… Do you really not remember who we are? Who I am, Eren?" Mikasa's voice broke, her heart splintering into countless pieces as she tried to find any flicker of recognition in his eyes. But there was none.
"Like I said," Eren responded coldly, his voice devoid of emotion. "You've got the wrong guy."
With that, he turned away, leaving behind the girl who had vowed to never leave his side and the boy who had once been his closest friend. The silence that followed was deafening, filled with the weight of lost memories and shattered bonds.
Mikasa's eyes, now filled with rage and confusion, snapped towards Christa, giving her a piercing, deathly glare. "What did… what did you do to him!" she shouted, her voice breaking with anguish, yet laced with fury. Her words echoed in the now tense atmosphere, sending chills down Christa's spine.
Christa, bewildered and scared, took a step back, holding her hands up defensively. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about..." Her voice was soft, trembling under the weight of Mikasa's accusation, but it was clear she was just as lost as they were.
But Mikasa couldn't hear her. Her mind was consumed by a whirlpool of thoughts—of loss, betrayal, and the unbearable possibility that the Eren she knew was slipping away.
The confusion was blinding, the pain twisting her heart tighter with every second. The girl who had always been her anchor seemed to be fading before her very eyes.
Before Mikasa's hurling palm could land on Christa's face, Eren's vice grip caught it in mid air by the wrist. "Listen I won't repeat myself.... You've got the wrong person.... Stay away from me..." Eren's voice cut through the tension, his tone sharp, unfamiliar yet low and calm.
His emerald eyes, once warm, now blazed with anger as he stepped between Mikasa and Christa. His hand reached out protectively, grabbing Christa's wrist. "Don't come anywhere near us again. Consider this a final warning."
Mikasa stood frozen in shock as Eren turned his back on them, leading Christa away without a second glance. His words—cold and harsh—hung in the air like a bitter wind.
Armin stood there, his body frozen in place, eyes wide in disbelief as the reality of the situation began to settle in. His heart weighed heavy in his chest, each beat a dull ache that reverberated through him. The distance between them and Eren grew, not just physically but emotionally, a vast chasm of uncertainty and pain.
"What... what just happened..." he muttered, though he wasn't sure if he was asking Mikasa or himself. His words felt hollow, as though he couldn't grasp the enormity of what had just transpired.
Mikasa, unable to contain the torrent of emotions swelling inside her, burst into tears. Her hand covered her mouth, stifling the sobs as they broke through.
Without warning, she turned on her heel and ran, her footsteps quick and desperate, heading straight for the dorms. She slammed the door shut behind her, locking herself away from the world. Throwing herself onto the bed, she buried her face in the pillow, her sobs shaking her entire body.
The strong, resilient Mikasa was gone, replaced by someone broken, lost, and overwhelmed by a grief too great to bear.
Armin, standing alone in the fading twilight, clenched his fists at his sides. He was shaken, but unlike Mikasa, his thoughts began to sharpen in the chaos. He understood what Mikasa couldn't yet process. The look in Eren's eyes, the detachment in his voice—it all made sense now.
"Eren... he's lost all his memories," Armin whispered to himself, the truth settling like a bitter pill in his throat.