Hiya! Yeah, I'm doing a new story lol. This is the prequel to my oneshot 'Dead End.' If you haven't read it, go ahead and give it a read if you want! Or start here, you won't need it if you don't want to feel spoiled in any way.

I am co-writing this fic with Jokul Frosti, who was also kind enough to beta as well. I wrote this first chapter while they are working on the next. Please don't forget to check out their work as well and show them some love and support!

Eren huffed as he lugged the suitcase into the car, wiping sweat off his brow. He swore he packed less when he had first moved out. But his mother insisted that he take back the pounds of dried fruits and meats she made for him this past winter break.

"No baby of mine will be living off ramen and cheap bread while I'm alive," she had told him. When he did try to argue that he was fine, his father had slowly patted his back and told him to give up. Well, he couldn't complain much. He had a lot of shit to do when he got back to his apartment. With the new semester rolling in, so did art projects for upcoming shows.

Eren was an art major at Sina University. His major focus was on pieces using watercolors and fantastical artwork. While his father had suggested Eren to go into something more high-paying and guaranteed job security, he supported him fully. Eren recreating him and Carla taking their vows on their wedding video showed his father his talent. When he talked about art, his eyes shone with life and pride. Supporting their child when they saw his passion and talent was more important than attempting to live their youth through him.

As he finished adjusting the suitcase until it made space for Mikasa and Armin's stuff, he turned around to hug his parents. His mother was hugging pretty tight. Of course. Her only baby was leaving home. Again.

"Don't forget to call me when you get there. I don't want a text, anyone can be texting with your phone. I want confirmation." Carla demanded. Grisha nodded.

"Remember, Eren. If you don't call home a day after you get there, I'll drive up there myself to make sure you're still alive." Eren rolled his eyes. He had once forgotten to tell his parents he got home for three days after visiting. Grisha found him eating ramen with noodles out of his mouth when he looked to see who came in. Dignity was lost that day, but was hopefully restored by now.

"I'll call." he promised. Grisha took another moment to remember what else he wanted to tell him. Ah, that's it.

"Take care of yourself. Eat your veggies. Get some sleep. And wash off the paint when you finish. We don't want a repeat of you almost eating paint with your dinner." Eren went red. He was only 14 when he did that.

"Dad! That was one time!" His father chuckled.

"All I'm saying is that if it happened once, it can happen again." Though Eren was annoyed, he secretly smiled when his father ruffled his hair one last time before he left.

After an hour-long ride back to Sina, Eren quickly called his mother to let her know he was back before hauling his luggage back into their rented home. Yeah, rented home. With parents taking care of them, they managed to make rent and whatever they needed. Usually though, Mikasa insisted on paying extra on her share. She could, she told them simply. And because she guilted them when they tried to reject her, they let her handle a larger share of the bill. They never asked her how she was able to pay for it, seeing as her parents were simple teachers in their town, but she never batted an eye at anything expensive.

Eren heaved his stuff into his room, groaning when he saw all of his art tools scattered about like he left them. The one thing he disliked about holidays were the reminders of responsibilities when you get back. He yawned, tired from car lag but had to plan out what he needed to do for the upcoming semester.

Krista's family donated a lot to the art department and Krista herself was a major in interior design. Every so often, her family would host an art show with the displays handcrafted by students and picked out by the faculty. She begged Eren to enter after he painted a beautiful piece of her and Sasha eating lunch one day. He ended up promising, but didn't get to drawing it up. He didn't even know what his theme would be.

But no matter. It was two days before the semester would start and they had to meet their friends for drinks at 3DMG, a bar/club that a lot of students frequented to enjoy a night out. Eren didn't drink very much, still being 19 and all, but he liked hanging out with the others and essentially went to make fun of Jean's poor attempts of flirting with Marco and Ymir's failed marriage proposals.

At the bar, Eren was looking around for an inspiration. 3DMG was a lot nicer and way cleaner than the other bars around Sina. Of course that meant the prices were higher, but he'd pay the extra with full satisfaction for a clean place. There was some talk that the owner was a yakuza obsessed with tidiness. Whenever there was a mess, the bartenders would be quick to clean and even made people who were the cause clean up as well. Eren once heard a bartender explain why they were so anal about it.

"You never know when the boss will show." Eren had a strong curiosity towards this boss. Was he really yakuza? What kind of man was a yakuza? Shit, what if someone was under their tab? Would their bodies end up in a river?

Were these questions going to help him with inspiration? Probably not.

He turned to drink with the others, who were all chattering about the upcoming semester and how much they wished they were back on vacation. Since most of them were underage, their drinks were mainly fruity, sweet non-A so they could avoid trouble. Good, he wanted to avoid getting drunk before the semester started.

The commotion around them got louder, sounds of loud footsteps disrupting their conversation. Mikasa visibly tensed, but the others were paying attention elsewhere.

A group of well-dressed people wearing mainly black were moving swiftly through the club. They gave no one mind and went directly upstairs to the VIP room. It was always people dressed like that who went upstairs. The VIP room was never used by regular club goers because it was always booked and way too expensive. Most people opted for bottle service and tables instead. Mikasa got up once the VIP members went into their private area.

"I'll be right back," she said before leaving. She went straight to the bathroom. Everyone turned back to each other and Jean tried his hardest to flirt with Marco with minimal success. Eren and Armin were chatting about Armin's rigorous law program. He was going to be a lawyer and would often be asked about the law by his friends for things they think they did wrong. Often Armin would advise them in a serious tone to turn themselves in, but more often than not it wasn't bad. Armin paused during his story about him scaring drunk Reiner, grabbing Eren's arm.

"Is Mikasa going into the VIP room?" he whispered. Eren looked towards the stairs, blinking when he saw her sneak up and to the bouncers of the VIP. After sharing some words, they shook their heads at her and she went back down to meet back with the others. Before Armin and Eren could ask her why she went up there, she answered first.

"I saw a girl from my class go up. I had to ask her about how she did on our exam, but those burly assholes won't let me through." Eren frowned, finding nothing wrong with what she said.

"Damn, that sucks." There was no other reason why she'd be up there, right? Ah, she didn't seem bothered, so he had no reason to be. Besides, he had a project to worry about.

The semester finally began and everything busy went into full swing. Eren along with his peers were told to start their projects and make names for themselves in the galleries coming up. The most competitive one was the Reiss family's art show. With the promise of affluent artists and individuals coming in to look, students were hoping to gain recognition or at the very least sell their art for a good amount of money. Maybe get potential commissions. Either way, Eren wanted to get his hands into some paint, but what he wanted to create from it was still lacking.

The weather seemed pretty gloomy out after classes were done, but Eren loved it when it rained. Rain gave him inspiration. He needed it desperately at the moment considering he still needed a topic for the piece he needed to do for the show coming up in three weeks.

Armin was desperate to stay dry, his umbrella was his shield with his arm wrapped around his book bag to keep it out of range from the rain. Mikasa enjoyed the rain, tucking her umbrella away so she could bathe in the misty shower. Her red scarf was wrapped warmly around her. Eren looked up to make sure she wasn't going insane, freezing when he saw the perfect scene he needed.

"Mikasa, stay just like that!" he ordered, rummaging through his bag for his phone while his umbrella shook at how unstable he was holding it. She paused, shocked at his sudden call to her.

"You're going to draw me?" she asked, smiling a little at the thought. He grinned when he found his phone.

"You mind?" She smiled gently. She liked it when Eren painted using her as a reference. Eren made her feel beautiful when he drew her. It made her feel special.

"No, not at all." Eren waved at her and shoved his umbrella in Armin's direction.

"Armin, hold my umbrella for me! I can't get my phone wet when I need to take a picture." The blonde struggled to grasp the umbrella, balancing his things before getting a proper hold on them.

"S-sure!" Eren had to get the perfect angle, rail straight so Mikasa wouldn't become asymmetrical. He let the rain fall some more so he could capture the specks in the camera. Satisfied with the result, he closed his phone and took his umbrella back. Mikasa quickened her step to match them as they walked home.

"So what's your plan?" she asked, wanting to find out how he would draw her this time. He grinned.

"A secret!" Armin nearly dropped his bag as he groaned.

"Aww, Eren! At least give us a hint." Eren mimed a zipper across his mouth and sped home to start his project.

Red and blue. Those are the colors he wanted to showcase. The rain was the scene. Now to make his new masterpiece. Eren covered his hair with a bandana, using gloves to protect himself from paint. Plastic and newspapers were covering the basement floor as he gazed at the pure white canvas that screamed for color. Armin and Mikasa joined him with work to do on their own. They liked seeing Eren's process because seeing him so concentrated was funny to see. He would look so serious even when painting something innocent, like the watercolor Winnie the Pooh portrait he made.

Each day after was Eren locked up in the basement, creating the perfect piece to submit to the Reiss family gallery. Krista checked up on him to see how he was progressing, taking a break from her creation of a study with bamboo accents. After squealing and talking, she would quickly leave him alone and assure him he was doing well. Their other friends knew better than to mess with Eren when he was painting. Jean tended to avoid him altogether because he once tried teasing him and got pelted with a can. No hanging around Eren during painting time. Jean still had green paint in his hair.

As the deadline approached, he was finally done. Eren made the finishing touches to the piece, smiling brightly as his vision came to life. Red Scarf in Blue Rain, was what he called it. He used water to mix in red to create the different shades of color in Mikasa's scarf, the red ranging from vibrant vermillion to bold burgundy as the scarf twisted around Mikasa's neck and shoulders. The water droplets were shining aqua that was dulled slightly to bring out the red of the scarf. Whatever colors overlapped were mixed until they were flecks of purple. He painted her hair solid raven black, lips soft peach and her cheeks slightly rosy to give her color and breathe life into her portrait. Her cloudy eyes mimicked the gray sky.

Mikasa moved from her laptop to look at his work, smiling when she saw the finished piece.

"It looks beautiful," she complimented, feeling as if she were looking at a cool reflection of herself. He smiled as he signed the corner.

"I'm really glad you like it! I'm going to go submit it to my professor once it dries. Ah," he remembered the cherry blossom piece he had to make for the nature art exhibit, "I have more work to finish. I'll let this dry here."

He picked up the easel carefully and set it in a far corner away from his paint. He picked up some pink paint to mix for his other piece. She followed him, smiling wider as she kept staring at the portrait.

"Eren, is it okay if I invite my family to come see? I love it a lot. I would like for them to see it too." He beamed.

"Of course! It's open to the public, after all. The exposure would help me a lot." She smiled softly. To her family and her close companions from home, she could barely contain her excitement about Eren's piece while he made progress on it. A family friend came up with the idea of the lot of them coming to see it when it was done, but she was going to settle for seeing it through a picture on her phone had it not been for Eren's successful submission into the art show. Her cousin decided to indulge in the idea and took time off to go with them, but Mikasa was a little worried because of his…presence. He promised not to bring trouble, so she had nothing to worry about. Yet.

Eren presented the piece to his class the next day, everyone asking him for pointers and praising him for his work. Others looked on with jealousy, but used that frustration towards making their own pieces shine.

After class a few days later, the professor quickly called for Eren to stay so he could talk about the submission.

"It's brilliant. So much so that it's been approved to be a part of the upcoming art show the Reiss family is holding. Unless of course, you would rather keep this under wraps?" Eren blinked. It got approved already?! He was in?! This was his first art show!

"No, I want to be a part of it! It's an honor!" he gasped, his excitement making the man smile broadly.

"Ha, that's my boy! Keep up the great work, Eren. I hope to see more of your pieces in the galleries." With a huge smile on his face, Eren bowed his head and ran out to tell his friends the news.

Of course, that meant drinks at 3DMG. They all got some pretty drinks that they raised into the air.

"To Eren and Krista getting a spot!" They cheered and clinked glasses, Eren receiving pats on the backs and promises to be lifted in the air by Reiner and Bertolt. He giggled.

"Thanks, you guys! Buuuut," he slanted a look Krista's way, "I wonder if anyone from the Reiss family had anything to do with it."

She blushed violently when all eyes were on her suspiciously. She couldn't even get preferential treatment for herself, let alone another person. Her piece took days to perfect. "I-I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"

They ignored her.

"You hear that, Eren? You're not actually that good. They just felt sorry for you." Reiner sniffed and wiped a fake tear away. Playing along, Eren began to sob into Annie's shoulder, who smiled a little at his actions.

"I knew it!" Krista screeched in frustration and sulked on her seat while Ymir hissed at them for making her upset. They received another round of drinks faster than before. Connie whistled.

"Wow, we're getting the drinks pretty quick tonight." Armin brightened and raised his hand.

"That's thanks to me!" At everyone's stares, he smiled. "I got a job here as a bartender!"

Reiner nodded, mouth falling open. "Ooooh, I heard this place owned by yakuza. You're planning on working your way up the ladder, eh Armin?" he teased, smirking at his fellow blonde. Armin pinked up.

"Wha-what?! N-never!" Jean nodded wisely.

"Yeah, Reiner. Everyone knows that when you work for the yakuza, you have to get a tattoo." Mikasa silently touched her left side, but paid attention to them so they wouldn't look at her strangely while she was lost in thought. Reiner snapped his fingers.

"Alright. Check him!" The guys tackled Armin to check for any ink, but of course they were joking. The only ink on Armin was smeared from his pen because he was a studious nerd.

Eren's hair was brushed back, body clad in a neat suit that was picked out by his mother. His parents were proudly observing his painting with Mikasa's, the pairs taking pictures for some time as they chattered about. Eren smiled as he made his way to them with Mikasa, who decided not to wear her scarf or else people would have an easier time recognizing her. Her father beamed at them.

"Eren, you've made Mikasa look fantastic." Eren smiled, nudging Mikasa with his elbow.

"Thanks, Uncle Fitz, but Mikasa made it easy." Fitz stared dreamily at the painting while Minori ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately.

"Her mother and I were thinking about trying to bid on this, but we honestly didn't save up because we had a few bills to pay. Now that I see how beautiful it is, I can only imagine how many people want it too." Mikasa glowered. They had money, though not strictly their own. Her parents rarely touched it since it was the family's even though they had access to it. They mainly stayed away to be not burden anyone else.

Eren stiffened. He'd rather have Mikasa's portrait with her family rather than some stranger.

"Uncle, you don't have to bid on it. I'll give it to you." At once, Fitz and Minori shook their heads.

"No, Eren. You worked hard. You deserve to have what it's worth." Eren sulked.

"But-" Fitz cut him off with his laughter, clapping Mikasa on the shoulder.

"Now that I think about it, I don't think I need it. I have the real thing." She smiled softly at him, then shook her head at Eren. Her father could be stubborn.

The art show was full of excellent paintings, sculptures and spots of interior design. Eren's fellow classmates that did make it in were happily congratulating each other and sharing stories of how much they lost sleep over them before joining the party. His friends all made it to give Eren and Krista love for their hard work, then went to pig out at the tables while Eren roamed about. Krista's bamboo furniture study had her family proud and introducing their daughter to designers for future projects, Krista shining and winking at Eren when she saw him.

That reminds him, he should check on his piece again. It had tons of people around it before, so Eren moved on to check other pieces his classmates did. Now there were a group of well-dressed people looking at it. A few men and some women, one of them practically bouncing to the point that her glasses almost jumped off her face. One of the men had Eren's breath caught in his throat. He was hot, first impression. He was short, just half a head shorter than Eren. His skin was pale and clashed with the midnight black button up he was wearing. His hair was also raven black. His eyes were piercing steel grey. Around his wrist was a silver and diamond watch.

Maybe he wanted to buy his piece? If he did, Eren would probably kneel down to this man and let him do what he wants. But no, it was going to go to Uncle Fitz and Aunt Minori. He worked up the courage and approached.

"Excuse me!" he greeted, quickly startled when the other men squared up and hand their hands inside their jackets.

"Stand down." The order came from the handsome stranger, his voice commanding that sent shivers down Eren's spine to follow. They quickly apologized to Eren and stood to the side while the man walked up to him, a scowl on his face. But it slowly faded when his grey eyes slowly roamed over him.

"Anything I can help you with, brat?" he asked. His voice was still harsh, but was much softer than the tone he had with the others. Eren seemed to deflate at first, he wasn't a brat, but his professor had given them an entire lecture on being confident about their work when presenting. He stood tall.

"I'm the artist." At his words, everyone relaxed and went to look at the painting again.

"How much is it going for?" asked the stranger, eyeing the piece. Eren did a double take. An auction was expected, but he didn't know how to handle it. He didn't even know the worth and he was the creator. They had appraisers for this very reason.

"What? I-I haven't thought about that..." Remembering Fitz, Eren stayed firm. "But it's not for sale."

The stranger twitched, his men crossing their arms over their chests. "You wanna repeat that, brat?"

Something tells him he pissed them off, but he didn't care at the moment. "It's not for sale. I'm giving it to someone."

This wasn't going well with the stranger. "I'll pay you ten grand for it."

"T-ten thousand?" Eren could use that money for rent, food and supplies. Not to mention no one had fetched a price like that before. But he quickly shook the idea out if his head. "N-no, I'm not selling it. It's going to her father."

The name must have sparked an interest in the stranger because his eyes widened just a tad.

"Fitz Ackerman?" Eren nodded, surprised this man knew Mikasa and her father. Maybe they were family friends? Mikasa never mentioned this guy to him.

"Yeah." The stranger shrugged, seemingly giving up.

"Fine. I'll buy it for ten thousand." Eren bristled.

"Did you not hear me, asshole? It's not for sale!" He ignored how the bespectacled woman laughed and the men puffing their chests out threateningly. The stranger smirked.

"Calm down, brat. I'll give it to him. You both get what you want. He gets his painting and you get what you deserve." This sounded like a golden idea, but Eren couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"What about you? Do you get what you want?" The man's eyes glinted in the light, but they returned back to normal.

"That depends on you." Eren felt unsure, but he was certain on sealing the deal to give the painting to Mikasa.

"...okay. Sold." The man nodded and reached into his jacket for a brown envelope. Eren could see that it was thick, staying thick even as he pulled out ten thousand in hundreds. He was sure his eyes were the size of dinner plates. The stranger smirked and handed the stack to Eren. His sleeve moved up just a bit on its own accord. Eren could see on his wrist was the end of a dragon tail and a blood red cherry blossom. Was that a…?

"Pleasure doing business with you. I'll see you around, brat." He turned to leave, his group following suit. Finding his voice, Eren called him back.

"Wait! Aren't you at least going to tell me your name?" The stranger spared him a glance, turning into a last stare up and down his body.

"If we see each other again, then maybe. Goodbye, Eren." How did he...? They were gone already, but Eren turned back to his painting. Beside it was a card about its details. 'Red Scarf in Blue Rain by Eren Jaeger, 19, Art Major.'

Fuck, this card gave him away! Ah, whatever. But...his chest warmed. He was looking forward to seeing this guy again.

After the show and the auctions, people celebrated the paintings they got while students thanked their buyers. Eren simply plucked his off the wall and had it wrapped up nicely before giving it to his uncle.

"Minori, look! We got the painting!" cheered Fitz, holding his now beloved painting in his hands. Minori giggled softly, eyes showing just a hint of sadness.

"Oh, it's so beautiful. Please, Eren. You should have just sold it." Eren grinned and held up the money.

"I did, Auntie. For ten thousand." His family gasped as did Mikasa's.

"Really?!" she cried, checking to see if the money was real. It was. Carla giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Oh, Eren, we're so proud of you!" Armin's eyes narrowed.

"They bought it and let you keep it?" Eren nodded, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Sorta. I said I was going to give it to Mikasa's dad instead of selling it. He knew who Uncle was." Fitz peeled away from the painting and looked at him quizzically.

"Did he? Did he tell you his name?" he asked. Eren shook his head.

"No. He just gave me the money and left." Fitz hummed quietly.

"What did he look like?" he asked. Eren had the perfect image in his head.

"Um, short? Black hair, grey eyes. Had a nice suit on." His eyes widened, finally recognizing the details.

"Ah, I know who it is. He's very nice once you get to know him. Good boy." Eren brightened. Maybe he'd have a name!

"What's his name?" Instead of answering, Fitz shook his head with a grin.

"And that's why you have to get to know him."

At home, Eren couldn't get Mikasa to tell him either. She knew who it was. In his room, he kept the money somewhere safe until he could take it to the bank. But the man's face and tattoo were engrained in his mind.

He sat at his sketch desk and began to sketch what he could from memory of the tattoo. A dragon tail and a cherry blossom. It wasn't common for men to have tattoos like that. Why did he have…?

His pencil fell from his hand when he finally realized why he recognized that tattoo. He'd have to see the whole thing, but he was sure. He jumped onto his computer and searched for news around the city about the latest murder during a gang fight. The perpetrators were shirtless when their mugshots were taken. Their backs were heavily tattooed in Japanese-style tattoos of demons and cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms were identical to the one he saw on the stranger. Only a different color.

Now he knew why he was with a group of people that reacted the way they did when Eren was showing attitude. And why he had so much money on hand. This man was a yakuza boss.

There's the first chapter! Again, I'm co-writing with Jokul Frosti who will work on chapter 2. Please do not forget to check out their work as well!