3 Chapter 3 - Expect The Unexpected

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Group Chat]

[[Grave Warnings]]

…

I heard the front door open. Mikasa was about to stand up, but I gestured to her to leave it to me.

I got up and walked to the front door to see my mother struggling with way too many bags. I barely stopped myself from sighing. My mother was always a 'go-getter' and didn't try and take help if she thought she could handle something.

She had bright brown eyes and dark hair. She was getting older but was still beautiful (as all mothers are to their children). She was on the shorter side, but she looked like a carbon copy of herself from ten years ago. Still fit and ready to punch a bear to save her children.

I had her get rid of that 'death flag' ponytail that she had, and because of that, she always has her hair down.

"Eren, be a dear and help your mother with these bags." She said it with a smile on her face, but I knew that she wasn't asking for help. It was her way of saying, 'Do this now,' and I wasn't going to argue.

"Alright," I said as I grabbed the majority of the bags and brought them into the house without issue. Working out had been the best decision of my life.

I left them in the kitchen and allowed my mother to get the last of them, as she was already carrying them. I didn't even think of trying to put them away, as my mother loved to sort things her way.

I remember the first time my father and I put the groceries away ourselves. She of course found out that we had 'ruined' (her words) the way she sorted things and that she would need to redo everything.

"Thank you." She said to me and began trying to sort out what she had bought. Our kitchen was very spacious, and I cannot thank the gods in the sky enough that my father was a doctor.

The white tiled floors, two sinks, dishwasher, and large fridge were enough, but we had enough counter space that we didn't know what to do with it all.

"Mother?" I had a questioning tone as I spoke.

"Yes, honey?" She didn't even turn to me and was in that mode that mothers go into when they listen to their children but aren't really fully focused.

"Did you convince Mikasa to ask me out?" She froze as I said that. I knew that Mikasa would never have taken that leap of faith. It was only something a convincing mother could make happen.

She turned to me with a confused look. "And what did you say to her feelings, son?" At this question, I knew there were two answers. Option one was to say I accepted her feelings and have her tease me for it.

Option two was to claim I rejected her and save myself from the embarrassment, even though it may be temporary.

"I didn't accept her feelings." As the smart son I was, I obviously chose option two!

"Is that so?" She smiled before walking up to me. She grabbed my ear before bending it slightly so that she could see the back of it.

"What are you doing?" I slapped her hand away softly as I spoke. All I got was a smile in return.

"Your ears are red. You lied." A bright smile appeared on her face as soon as she finished speaking. "So, when can I expect grandchildren?"

"*Sigh*"

I sighed before going back to the living room. By the time I got back to the couch, I saw Mikasa blushing while trying to hold an emotionless expression. She was beautiful, I give her that, but even with the white skin contrasting with the scarlet generated on her face, I knew she had heard.

She knew Mikasa would hear her, as she said it loud enough for anyone downstairs to hear. I knew my mother was a schemer, but to think she was this good—Carla Yeager truly was something else.

"I don't hear an answer!" I heard my mother's voice come from the kitchen.

A devious smile grew on my face before I instantly put on a poker face. "Mikasa, do you want to answer the question, or should I?" I whispered to her, but I knew she was in no way answering that question.

She held her head down and had her hands up to her face. She pointed at me, which was all the confirmation I needed.

"Alright," I whispered to Mikasa before speaking louder. "Mom!"

"Are you going to answer my question, honey?" I could tell she had a smile on her face as she spoke.

"Yeah, I've figured it out!" I made sure to face away from Mikasa so I wouldn't be screaming so closely into her ear.

"Oh, so do tell me when I'm going to get grandchildren." Her voice was a bit quieter, as she was probably focusing on something, but I heard her nonetheless.

We were basically yelling at each other to be heard, but my grin regrew on my face as the time of flustering came. I cleared my throat before speaking up.

"Yeah, we decided to give you ten grandchildren pretty soon. We don't know when it'll happen, but when it does, just expect more until we reach number ten." I stared at Mikasa while I spoke, only to see her rapidly turn her head to look up at me with wide eyes.

"Oh my, I may be a grandma with grandchildren sooner than I thought!" I couldn't tell what my mother's face looked like, but from the sound of her voice, I could tell that she was enjoying the moment of flustering Mikasa.

Mikasa's blush carried itself almost to her neck, as I could practically see her blue-screening. "T-t-te-ten!" I heard her stuttering whispers. She might be trying to envision what that would be like or how it would be like making them. I don't know which.

I wasn't done yet, though, as I had an ace up my sleeve to play! "Of course, I need ten children to make you the happiest grandmother, but I also need to marry Mikasa first so that you can become the happiest mother-in-law!" I exclaimed it like it was a masterfully put-together plan of incomprehensible proportions.

My mother was silent at that, and Mikasa was struggling to not blush any harder. I had achieved a guaranteed victory! Who knew going from asking your biggest crush out to marriage would take less than five hours? Mikasa certainly didn't!

With my victory achieved, I sat back down on the couch and turned on some Dragon Ball Z. If I was lucky, I could see Gohan go Super Saiyan Two.

I made sure to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Mikasa so I could bask in her flustered state. Right as I was beginning to relax, I heard a whisper.

"Did you mean what you said?" It came from Mikasa, and it had a vulnerable tone to it. A soft smile grew on my face as I looked into her eyes.

"Every last word... you're going to have to work hard for those ten children, though," I whispered the last of what I said to her. I knew she was never used to me being truly romantically affectionate to her, but I knew if I applied any more pressure, she might just faint.

And so we sat. The boy with a massive smile, and the girl too flustered and now shy to speak.

….

I was currently running in a black tracksuit in the middle of the night. After a long mini-date, if you could even call it that, all we did was relax and enjoy each other's time.

Isn't that what most dates are, though? Doesn't matter. Using the weights in my room along with constant exercise, I was able to make my entire body feel like jelly that had been punched by a fist.

I felt like I had a little more in the tank and decided to go for a run. The worst mistake of my life. Now that I'm here, I've got to grind it out.

To distract from my pain, I tried to think about the new game that came out. I had actually pre-ordered it and forgot it was coming out today due to my inevitable death arriving in the form of a custom-made group chat.

The game was a fully-fledged full-body VR. I made sure it didn't have anything to do with any 'SAO' bullshit.

Basically, upon putting the headset on, you would be given a choice of 'Underpowered, Balanced, or Overpowered' and depending on which you chose, you would create a character and their power.

You can make the power or choose from a selection of pre-built ones. You would have three character slots, with the second activating at level 30 and the last one activating at level 60.

If you delete a character but only have one slot unlocked, then say goodbye to any progress or levels you've obtained. Once you choose a power, you're stuck with it until level 30 or until you delete the character.

There are currently three modes of play: 5v5 deathmatch, 5v5 kingdom defense, and a battle royale with twenty people. There was also a ranked version of all of these.

I desperately need weapon training as well as more hand-to-hand combat training. I wasn't going to go in and think that I could fight special-grade curses with my level of combat experience.

"Hah. Hah. Hah." I fell to my knees as I could barely catch my breath. I am so going to feel this in the morning, and without the Boosted Gear, I can't double my recovery.

I wasn't far from my house, so when I finally caught my breath, I'd go home, take a shower, and play the absolute shit out of that game while my body recovered.

…

[Welcome to C.S.P.C.]

[Create Character]

[Credits]

[Quit]

Those were the options. I was greeted when I finally put on the headset. There was nothing else to do but press Create Character. (I was actually in a black void.)

[Slot 1: Empty]

[Slot 2: Locked (Lvl 30)]

[Slot 3: Locked (Lvl 60)]

[Extra Slot 1: (35,000 Points)]

[Extra Slot 2: ($15)]

I pressed the first slot and was immediately given a character customization screen. I could customize looks, abilities, ability names, and clothes.

I would be fresh out of luck if I couldn't auto-generate what I wanted based on my thoughts. For my looks, I decided to make myself 6'5, darken my already brown hair until it was black, and make myself a bit bulkier.

I was already muscular, but with this, I knew exactly the build I wanted. For the clothes, A tight-fitting short-sleeve shirt and sports tan baggy training pants with a black belt weaved through the waist. I couldn't forget the black martial arts slippers.

For the final touch, I added a sharp scar over the right side of my mouth.

Next up were the powers. Luckily, I could name them whatever I wanted.

[Heavenly Restriction]: The holder of this ability is unable to do anything related to magic and has zero magical capabilities or capacity. In exchange, the physical stats of this person shall be boosted far beyond those of a superhuman.

This includes the instincts and senses of the person as well. (This negates the ability to be sensed by magical means. The person with this ability can choose to be bound by trapping abilities or not be trapped by them.) (Very good at defending against body possession.)]

[Gluttonous Curse of Storage]: A small worm-like purple curse that wraps itself around the body of its wielder. It has the ability to store items by eating them and can spit them back up at any time. (It can shrink in size by eating itself.)

Weapons held: Unawoken Welsh Dragon Gauntlet, Inverted Spear of Heaven, Playful Cloud, Chain of a Thousand Miles, M9 Automatic Pistol, Pistol Bullets x500, M249 Light Machine Gun, 1,500 Light Machine Gun Bullets, Eight Times Scope Attachment, Silencer, Four Times Scope Attachment, And Hollow Sight.]

[Unawoken Welsh Dragon Gauntlet]: It takes the form of a red, armored bracer with yellow accents and a green jewel on top of the palm area, but the fingers aren't covered.

Currently, it holds the unawakened Y Ddraig Goch, the legendary Red Dragon Emperor of Domination. Due to being unawoken, the gauntlet does nothing but look cool and act as a small amount of armor.]

[Inverted Spear of Heaven]: A dagger with a jitter-shaped blade. It has a «q» shaped circular hand guard that points out on the side of the longer blade. Additionally, the weapon has a black handle with a circular link at the end that allows it to be connected to metal chains.

This weapon can cancel out all defensive magical abilities such as barriers, force fields, magical shields, and defensive bonuses.]

[Playful Cloud]: A three-section staff is connected by three rings between the joints of the weapon. Each staff is decorated with a flame-like pattern near the ends by the metal that connects to the chains.

This weapon hits harder based on the physical capabilities of the person wielding it.]

[Chain of a Thousand Miles]: The chain looks like a perfectly normal chain. However, it has the ability to keep extending endlessly as long as its user doesn't allow one of the ends of the chain to be seen.]

I had to nerf some things, and I couldn't even have the Soul Split Katana as it was deemed too powerful for the 'balanced' game mode. I needed to nerf the Inverted Spear of Heaven as well.

With all that done, all I needed was a name for this character slot, which would be my username.

"That should be good," I said aloud with a smile growing on my face.

[The_One_Who_Left_It_All_Behind]

I couldn't add spaces, so this is the best I could get. And with that done, I pressed play.