This is a translation turned story of a fan-made manga I found.

Here's a link to the manga for those who want to see it before reading: pixiv…net/member_illust…php?mode=manga&illust_id=44021892. I'll also post it again at the end of the story for people who want to look at it after they know what everyone's saying.

Many thanks to my friend from high school who helped polish up my translations. It's thanks to her that it's as smooth as it is. (^_^)

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan, the fan-made manga, or any affiliates.

An undignified yell rang through the hand-to-hand combat practice grounds as a heavy object thudded to the ground.

"Ow…" a boy with golden chin-length hair panted heavily as he lay on the green grass trying to recover from being thrown. His cadet uniform was probably getting some serious grass stains from this bout.

The pale blonde head of his sparring partner popped into his line of sight from above, locks of hair falling out of her messy bun. "…You okay?" the petite girl asked.

"Ah, yeah, sorry," Armin apologized.

The girl crouched by his head and shrugged. "It's fine, but you really are weak, aren't you."

"Ahaha," he laughed as he scratched his neck in embarrassment.

She rested her chin on her hand. "Why are you even here, anyway?"

Armin simply smiled with a far off look in his eyes. "Have you ever heard of the ocean, Annie?"

"The ocean?"

"Yeah! The ocean!" He stretched out his other arm toward the sky, his eyes dancing in excitement. "It's a large body of water that supposedly covers the majority of the world's surface." As he gazed upward at the limitless blue, he continued, "It's so vast, you can't even see the land on the other side. And the surface of the ocean is a deeper blue than the sky." He grinned. "And it's not just the ocean—the flaming waters, the great ice fields, the sandy snow plains—beyond the walls, there's an even larger world." His gaze shifted to his hand as it reached to grasp the possibilities. "Someday, I'll leave the walls and go see the world outside."

Annie stood. "…I see."

"Kind of a weird reason, huh?"

"Not necessarily," she answered as she thrust out her hand to help him up.

"Thanks, Annie," he smiled as he turned over and took it. When he lifted his head, he paused for a second, as if struck. "Ah."

"What?"

He stared at how her pale face was framed by the perfectly blue sky. "Annie, your eyes are the color of the sky, aren't they?" He grinned. "A really clear and bright blue." He looked into them deeply. "They look cold, but they're just like the sky on a warm, bright day…actually, the sky really reminds me of you, Annie."

She pulled him up, and he lowered his gaze slightly to meet her eyes with a sheepish look on his face. "Thanks."

"…." She eyed him silently for a moment before abruptly averting her face and looking slightly down. "In that case, I bet yours are the color of the sea."

"Huh?"

"Your eyes are a deeper blue than the sky is now, but they're not as dark as it is at night. It's a mysterious blue. I don't know anything about the ocean, but if it exists, I think it would be that color."

"Hmm, maybe?" he cocked his head slightly and laughed a bit. "I don't really know myself, but I'm really happy you'd think that."

His eyes snapped open and he grabbed her other hand in both of his own as an electric current of excitement ran through him. "Oh! Come with us, Annie!"

"Huh?" She looked mildly taken aback.

"To the ocean, Annie, the ocean! Let's go to the ocean together and see what color it is!" His eyes danced merrily as he squeezed her hand. "I can't figure out if it's the same color as my eyes by myself, so you have to be there to tell me if it is!"

She shifted her eyes away and slid back a little; she wasn't quite successful in feigning disinterest. "…I guess I could…."

"Really?" His face was like Christmas. "No backing out, now!"

"If you find it."

"I will. I'll definitely find it, you'll see!"

"You know you have to graduate from here before you can start searching, right?"

"Erk…" he froze for a second before nodding slowly. "I'll do my best…."

::

The ebb and flow of the ocean waves lapped against the shore, creating a soothing, rhythmic melody Armin had only dreamed about in his greatest fantasies. He took in a deep breath of ocean air, relishing the salty tang on his tongue. As he walked along the shore, his boots squished a bit in the damp sand until he came to a stop at the water's edge and looked up to the sky. The ocean breeze flirted playfully with the long strands of the ponytail that draped over his left shoulder.

"Did you know? The blue of the ocean is the color of the sky," he murmured. His gaze shifted to the horizon where the sky met the sea. "Despite how beautifully the blue of the ever-clear sky and the blue of the ocean that reflects it appear to mingle together…" his voice trailed off as his eyes went pensive, staring into the fathomless blues. "No matter how much I've thought this over, I still don't have the answer, why it has to be this way." His voice had a touch of melancholy. "What kind of blue would you have seen?" His thoughts turned to a basement far away where a girl was locked in a crystal prison of her own making. "Hmm? Annie?"

"Just like the blue of the sky and sea, though side-by-side, we will always be separated…."