Going to See Kali

Early the next morning...

The dawn sunlight passed through the window, casting colorful halos across the room like mysterious bubbles. Golden light spilled onto Bai Yu's cheeks, making him frown slightly.

Before long, he slowly opened his eyes, his lively black gaze seeming to draw something in.

Bai Yu sat up and rubbed his head. He felt no discomfort; he simply felt this was part of the routine after waking up from a night of drinking.

A familiar, faint fragrance of alcohol still lingered around him, leaving Bai Yu in quite a good mood as he woke.

He also saw Ming asleep with his head resting beside the bed, showing no sign of waking yet.

Seeing his clothes neatly folded on the cabinet beside him, he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't hold his liquor as well as Ming and had never beaten him at drinking.

Of course, drinking wasn't about seeing who could drink more.

He got out of bed and gently lifted Ming from his chair. Yes, he was light-even lighter than Xiate. It was hard to imagine that this body had slain dozens of Titans with its blades.

That clearly seemed to defy common sense, though it might have been due to Ming's control over his body. He felt very soft in Bai Yu's arms.

But just as Bai Yu was about to carry Ming onto the bed, he saw his silvery-white lashes flutter. Then his eyes slowly opened, their wine-red depths hazy and sleepy.

Still half asleep, Ming rubbed his eyes with both hands and sat up.

"Bai Yu, you're awake?"

He gave a small yawn as he spoke to Bai Yu beside him.

Bai Yu answered him.

"Yeah, I just woke up."

Since Ming had slept with his head resting beside the bed, his hair hadn't turned into the usual wild mess.

"Are we going to training today?"

"Yeah. I'll take a bath first. Do you want one too, Ming?"

"Mm."

After getting drunk last night, Bai Yu hadn't felt like moving, and his awareness of his surroundings had grown hazy. He hadn't even bathed. Unlike Ming, the smell on him after drinking could hardly be called pleasant.

With Ming beside him earlier, that fragrance of alcohol had kept Bai Yu from noticing much. But once he left the room, he could smell himself, and it made him rather uncomfortable.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Xiate leaning against the doorway of the water-heating room with her arms crossed. Her expression looked calm, but a closer look revealed a hint of displeasure.

"You really do love pushing yourself, dear brother. Poor Ming had to look after you."

"Well, it's only once in a while. Don't worry about it."

Xiate couldn't help pursing her lips.

"The water's hot already. Hurry up and bathe. You went to sleep in Ming's bed without even washing last night, didn't you? You're lucky it was Ming. If it had been your little sister, the one you keep neglecting, I might have thrown you out."

The resentment in her voice seemed to grow stronger, leaving Bai Yu with nothing to do but smile sheepishly.

Once Bai Yu went to bathe, the resentment on Xiate's face vanished without a trace as she leaned against the wall, her lips curling into a smile.

She had simply been acting spoiled with Bai Yu. Happiness shone in her eyes as she stretched and headed toward the hall.

Wonderful. Another lovely day.

That afternoon, at one of the Training Corps' bases...

Bai Yu sat on a rock a short distance away, with Ming and Xiate beside him. There were no cadets in sight on the open ground, only Keith standing there alone.

Clearly, they were all in the woods, training with their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.

Bai Yu waved to Keith from afar in greeting.

"I wonder how Kali's training has been going lately."

"She has a good aptitude for it. Her physical gifts might be a little lacking, though."

Xiate spoke calmly as she watched the forest, and Ming gave a slight nod beside her.

They were telling the truth. That was why, despite Kali's skill with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear now being almost on par with Mikasa's across the entire Training Corps, her overall results still weren't particularly high.

During hand-to-hand combat training, Bai Yu had trained her more often and more harshly than anyone else, and she had studied harder than any other cadet in the 104th Cadet Corps. Yet she had only managed fifth place in the end.

Moreover, there wasn't actually much difference between fifth and tenth place. They all won and lost against one another.

But Kali had what it took to join the Support Squad. So did Mikasa, but Eren didn't. And given Mikasa and Eren's determination, Bai Yu reckoned she wouldn't want to join his Support Squad anyway.

So Bai Yu had basically never considered it.

"Who do you think will get here first?"

"Mikasa Ackerman."

"Kali Lang."

Xiate and Ming gave different answers. Ming chose Kali, while Xiate felt it would be Mikasa.

"I think it'll be Kali this time too."

"Really? Then I'll pick Kali too."

Xiate spoke without much concern, but Bai Yu suddenly grew mischievous beside her.

"Oh, my foolish little sister, you really are cun... ah... I was wrong..."

Before he could finish, she clenched her fist and interrupted his performance.

"Have you suddenly entered some strange phase, dear brother?"

While they were talking, two figures shot out of the woods together. Gas propelled them swiftly forward, and they cushioned their descents in unison, landing before Keith.

They placed their left hands behind their backs and their clenched right fists over their hearts.

"Kali Lang!"

"Mikasa Ackerman!"

Both announced their names at the same time to indicate that they had completed the training. Several more figures flew out afterward, but Bai Yu and his companions paid them little attention.

"Which of those two got here first?"

"Mm, Kali. She reached Instructor Shadis just a little before Mikasa."

"Well, it was about the same."

Suddenly, Xiate looked toward Yishi among the cadets of the 104th Cadet Corps and spoke.

"Yishi should be a little above average in their class by now, right?"

"Yes, Yishi's ability puts her at around twentieth place."

Ming nodded slightly. There were roughly forty or fifty cadets in the current 104th Cadet Corps.

But Bai Yu said nothing. He merely watched Yishi quietly in the distance. As though she had noticed his gaze, Yishi turned and looked toward him.

Their eyes met across the distance, both holding something... complicated.