Full summary -

Over a hundred years ago, the world saw the fall of humanity, and the rise of three walls. When one of the walls becomes taken , Eren Jaeger lost almost everything. The life she had known was gone, along with her mother. In a world where women were forbidden from joining the military, she will do almost anything to avenge her mother.

After a series of events that include her being revealed to the military in more ways than one, she joins the Recon Corps under direct supervision of Corporal Levi. Little does she know, there's a lot more to this world, this war, than she ever imagined.

"Why can't you just let me fight?"

The words burst from her lips in the heat of the moment. Overcome by her emotions, she couldn't hold it in much long. In front of all these strangers who discussed her future as though she weren't there, she felt helpless and angry. Her voice had cracked upon the last word, but it went by unnoticed and unheard from all but her two closest friends who watched with despair.

Three years.

For three years, her secret had been well hidden. Well, as hidden as she could possibly manage at the time. When she first joined the military, she hadn't had the materials necessary to hide herself as her body began to change. She had been taken off guard by the changes, and a few of her peers had found out. In a camp where women were forbidden, she was lucky that they hadn't turned her in right away immediately. Despite the danger it posed, she eventually trusted a select few with her secret, even going so far as to befriend and trust them. They had understood her, her struggle, and her desire to fight for humanity.

They had kept her secret.

And now, after three years of hard work, training, and hiding was forced into the open in the most wretched way possible. Not only had she been revealed as a woman to the military whom were firmly against the idea of a lady fighting, but she was some kind of monster, the same kind of monster she had been training to kill for three years, the same kind of monster who took her mother from her. She couldn't even make sense of that if she tried. Everything she had strived for, worked so hard for, would come crashing down upon her. If she wasn't sentenced to death, the life of imprisonment ahead of her didn't look much brighter.

If she didn't do something now, she didn't stand a chance.

"Wrongfully, I went against the law and entered the military as a trainee," She admitted loudly, causing the room to fall silent. She glared at the room, fire burning passionately in her eyes. "But you're all just cowards! You've never seen a titan, let alone fought one! I might be able to fight, but you won't do it because you're scared! You're going to risk all of humanity because you're frightened! We finally have a chance and you lot-" she jerked against the chains, the metal digging into her wrist but not breaking skin. The room held their breath, watching as the girl struggled angrily, "-will risk it all because you're a load of cowards?"

There was a few moments of deafening silence, before a flash of silver drew her attention. A loaded rifle, aimed directly at her chest. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as though challenging the man, daring him to try and kill her, release the monster that would prove her guilty of a wretched crime. A satisfied smirk pulled at her lips and she knew she should stop, she really should. She told herself that, knowing she could be killed, or even release her titan power and go on a rampage.

"Or maybe it's because I'm a woman," She hissed, struggling against the chains once more. Her eyes were slits, never leaving the gun the man continued to point at her. She barely took notice of the soft steps behind her in her anger, the words pouring from her lips. "A woman fighting? Maybe that's the true crime here. Well you know what? You cowards can sit up in the inner walls, acting as though nothing was happening outside of them, but you know what? I actually want to fight, I want to save humanity. And other women do too! We aren't completely helpless, you dirtbags! We-"

She let out a choked noise as a foot collided with her face. There was a flash of something white and red in the edge of her vision, but she paid it no notice. She could only focus on the pain that now coursed through her, and the steam that began to rise from her hunched and shaking figure. The moment she recovered her breath, she looked up. A flash of dark hair, steel eyes, and more pain.

The foot met her face again, sending her body jutting the other direction. The chains groaned in complaint, digging into her skin as she slumped away from them. She groaned in pain, but the man continued to assault her. Kick after kick, jolts of pain ran through her body with the slightest movements, and she couldn't control the pained noises that escaped her throat. Her face was thrust into a growing pool of her own blood, and the foot held her down steadily, effortlessly.

"I personally believe," The man started, his voice hard and familiar. After years of watching the Recon Corps, there was no way she couldn't recognize it. It was Corporal Levi. "That pain is the best punishment."

The room hushed immediately, and all that could be heard was quiet murmurs, unsure whispering, and Eren's heavy, pained breathing.

"Clearly, she can't be taught by words, only action. And now, bent over, she's only that much easier to kick. Easy to teach." The words were followed by another round of kicks, and he only slowed when blood covered the floor between them. A soft, barely visible steam, can begun to rise from her body.

One of the men seemed to snap out of his shocked trance, and stepped forward angrily. "Stop it, you fool," He shouted at Levi, unable to mask the fear in his voice. "She could shift, change, and we'll all be dead! Don't go pissing her off!"

Levi lowered his foot, still tensed and ready to strike. He glanced at her for only a moment, their eyes meeting for the shortest second, before he turned to look at the man with amused disapproval. Levi grabbed her by her hair, pulling her up to show off her bloodied face to the man. She, despite being in a bit of a pained trance, still held anger in her eyes. "Were you not just talking about dissecting her. In her titan form, she killed over twenty titans before collapsing thanks to exhaustion. That means she's intelligent. Do you really want to be her enemy?"

Levi's words were greeted with looks of fear, and he dropped the girl in response. She slumped to the ground and shuddered. Levi had to admit he was intrigued that she hadn't passed out after everything. Then again, she was still a monster, was she not? "She might appear to be a woman, but above all else, she is a weapon. She very well could be the key to winning this hopeless war."

Eren finally mustered up enough energy to bring her eyes up to Levi's. He gazed back at her without emotion, his steely eyes hard and baring into her threateningly. She waited for another kick. It never came. Instead, Commander Erwin's voice rang across the room, demanding attention. She didn't listen, didn't hear any of it. What little attention she could hold was completely focused on the Corporal that had beaten her to a pulp. He had beaten her, degraded her to something that wasn't even human, and ultimately saved her from a short fate with the Military Police. She probably owed him her life. By now she had begun piecing things together, understanding why Levi had done the things he did.

"Of course, should it come to it, I could kill her," Levi said, still focused on the beast in front of him. She didn't wince at his words, but understood what he was doing and returned the stare with the same energy.

"In that case, I have made my decision."

"That was just vicious, Levi," one of the men crouched before Eren said with an air of disapproval. He had a soft face, and and even softer voice when he spoke. It was hard to believe that this was Moblit, one of the fiercest fighters in the Recon Corps. From what Eren could recall, the man had an amazingly high number of kills, nearing in on Levi himself. She was surprised that he treated her with such gentleness, after all, even after he was aware of what she was. "Does it hurt much?"

"Just a little bit," She lied immediately, giving him a soft smile to hide it. She didn't want anyone here to think of her as a weakling who couldn't handle a few kicks. She didn't really know that it was more than a few kicks, and that if she were normal, she would still be unconscious right now. But as it was, the wounds were healing slowly on their own, and Moblit was trying to tend to them. Eren watched as he dipped the cotton ball in disinfectant. He, unlike the other men so far, treated her with kindness. It was a warming gesture, really. He gave her a smile before pressing the swab against her cheek. Instantly, she let out a quiet hiss, tensing at the pain and then pulling away. "I'm okay, you can leave it. Honest, it'll heal soon enough."

She was met by curious looks from Levi's team and Moblit, but they didn't poke or prod. Instead, Moblit set the materials aside. Right now, they were focused on making her comfortable after everything that happened. They didn't need her stressed and high strung.

"I do apologize for what happened," Commander Erwin started, stepping forward as soon as Moblit has backed off from Eren. He approached her, and she looked up at him apprehensively. She was positive she could trust these men, but she couldn't help but have doubts. Many men were violently against female fighters, and now that she had gotten into the Recon Corps... "We didn't have very many cards to play, but it was sure to work. Your pain was well worth it."

At least he was blunt, and honest. He didn't try to soften anything for her. And she agreed with what he said. Because of what Levi and the Recon Corps had done, she was given permission to join the Military, something no other woman had ever been allowed to do. So really, she couldn't hate them no matter how hard she tried because it was them who had saved her. "I understand, sir."

Erwin smiled at the girl's attitude. Not many would have taken it so easily, but her straight up acceptance of the facts pleased him. He crouched before the girl, giving him a bright smile. Not only would this be process for research on the titans, but it might just be the opening of many doors of opportunity for women fighters within the walls. "You have my respect, Miss Jaeger, and I look forward to working with you."

She was slightly awed as the Commander held out his hand. She felt hope rush through her. She had never expected that any of the men would actually be pleased to be working with her, but it excited her, renewed her enthusiasm. She didn't just have to be their weapon, she could be part of the team. She would have to prove to them that they hadn't wasted their time, that it would all be worth it!

"Y-yes! Thank you, sir!" She exclaimed, taking his hand earnestly and shaking it. For her excitement, she was given a quiet chuckle from the older man as she released his hand. "I promise you, I won't let you down no matter what!"

"Better not." The sounds of Levi's voice hit her harder than before, and she was struck by all of her memories. Watching him pass by after a mission, seeing the coldness in his eyes. He was her hero, in many ways, one of her inspirations for joining the Military. And he had saved her. She looked up to meet his eyes. He hadn't spoken to or looked at her since they had left the courthouse. Now, he dropped next to her on the couch and looked over at her, his eyes narrowed. His arms were casually thrown across the back of the couch, his hand just inches from her face... "Do you resent me, Jaeger?"

She was a little taken aback as he directly addressed her for the first time. Her eyes glanced at his position, a little uncomfortable with how little she minded his closeness. The man had just beaten her within an inch of her life. She could at least be slightly scared. But she understood why he had done it and knew she had no reason to be scared.

"No, sir," she said, gazing back at him with the same passion and intensity he had seen before as she had yelled at the Military Police. He was amused, enthralled, even, though it did not show on his face. "I understand that it was something you had to do to win. An act."

Because only the strong won in this world, and if Levi hadn't shown his strength, clearly superior to her own, they wouldn't have won. Without him beating her into submission, she would never have been able to pursue her dream, to get revenge for not only her mother's death, but her former squadmates, for anyone who had ever been killed by the titans. For the freedom that she'd never known, but desperately fought for in this world.

"Good," he had drawled in reply, a slight air of satisfaction in his tone. She didn't react to it, but Moblit did. The man shot a glare in Levi's direction, letting out an angry huff.

"You went a little overboard, you know," He complained. From his pocket he pulled out a bundled cloth, slowly unwrapping it to reveal the small while tooth it contained. There was still gum and blood on it, and Eren was completely disgusted by it. It appeared that Levi was too. "He knocked your tooth out, which really wasn't necessary. Would you mind if I-?"

Eren opened her mouth compliantly while Levi muttered something about throwing the filthy took away. Eren had to agree with him on that. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to keep something like that, even if it was for science.

"Throw it away? That's madness, Levi. Hanji would kill for something like this, since it came from a titan shifter. And it's our four year anniversary this weekend, so..." While moblit spoke, he had set the tooth aside and reached to adjust Eren so he could glance inside her mouth. His words came to a stop abruptly, gazing at the perfect rows of teeth. Moblit's hands dropped to his side and Eren's mouth snapped shut.

"What?" She questioned, not like the looked that Moblit gave her as he rewrapped the lost tooth and tucked it away. "What's wrong?"

Everyone else waited attentively for the answer to Moblit's question, but they all had their suspicions of what had caused him to react in such a way. He only confirmed it.

"Your tooth - it's already growing back."

She glanced around at the room, before turning her eyes back to Moblit in curiousity. Why was everyone suddenly on edge because of this new information? It was already established that she carried some Titan genes. Regeneration would bound to follow. "So?"

"So? Eren, teeth don't just grow back, end of story. And yet yours grew back in less than an hour!"

"Oh. I suppose that comes with being a titan shifter," she said with a little shrug and a nervous smile. After attempting to stay on the down low for so many years, it was odd to have so much attention on her. "When we were in Trost, we had been assigned to hold back the titans while the rear guard protected evacuating was our first time really fighting them, and none of us were expecting what we got..." She took a deep breath, the memories of losing her friends rushing back. "I rushed into battle, and almost immediately, lost my leg to a titan. I thought I was going to die on that rooftop." She shrugged. She knew she wouldn't have. There was no way she would have let that happen. Not without reaching her dream first. "Then Armin nearly got eaten. I managed to save him, but I lost my arm and ended up going down the titan's throat. I can't really remember what happened next. It's all hazy." It was true, the rest was honestly a blacked out blur she couldn't make sense of, but she imagined that was when she first used her titan shifting abilities.

"And you regrew an arm and a leg, just like that?" Moblit asked, his face lit up with some sort of morbid curiosity. It wasn't so much that he was interested in them, than his wife. He, as a scientist, appreciated the science, but his passion for it was overshadowed by far by that of his wife's.

Eren nodded. "When I came to, they were just there. I didn't really understand what was going on... I was standing with Armin and Mikasa, ready to be shot down... I didn't know what was going on, but my arm and leg had completely grown back."

There were varying expressions plastered on the men's faces, ranging from Erwin's calculating gaze, Moblit's curious ogle, and Levi's neutral scowl. She grew flustered under their looks. It really shouldn't have been that surprising, right? She let out a quiet sigh, sinking back into the couch and accidentally brushing against Levi's hand. At the contact, she jolted up.

Levi glanced at her, before shaking it off. He brought his hands back in, folding them across his chest. "Very well," He snapped, his eyes raking over the injury he had inflicted on Eren's face. Now that he looked closer, he could see the skin knitting back together before his eyes. It was slow, but it was healing as the steam rose from his skin. He brought attention from the girl to him, and changed the topic with ease. "We'll be leaving in the morning, get some rest."

With that, Levi stood from the couch and left without another word. All but Moblit, who was apparently given first watch, filed out of the room after him. As soon as everyone had gone, Moblit turned to her with a bright smile. It was reassuring, even if he didn't trust her.

"My wife will be visiting tomorrow; she'll be excited to meet you," Moblit said with a chuckle. Moblit's wife? Eren couldn't understand why she would be interested in her, of all people. Eren thought back to the tooth, and realized she must be a scientist of some sort. Just because women were forbidden from joining the military didn't mean they couldn't pursue their own interests on the side of watching the house and taking care of the children. It was, however, frowned upon for those interests to be military and/or titan related. "Anyway, like Levi said, you need to get some rest. I'll show you your room."

Upon receiving custody of her, the government had set down quite a few rules for the Recon Corps. Most of the rules weren't too far off, and rather reasonable so she really couldn't complain. The next morning, they were off to their new headquarters. She was escorted by Levi's team, the others planning to follow soon with equipment and supplies. The headquarters itself wasn't exactly what she had expected, just a small and recently renovated castle snuggled deep inside the forest.

Auruo smugly informed her that is was an old headquarters for the scouting legion, but it had been made useful again thanks to its distance from any city within the walls. She knew why. If she went berserk, they needed a decent amount of time and space to kill her. If it was located near a city, there was no saying how much she could destroy before they stopped her. It was only confirmed with the words that followed his explanation.

"It's actually the perfect place to keep you locked up, now that you think about it." Despite that she had expected it, understood that was exactly why she was here, the affirmation took her by surprise. She looked around, looking from Auruo to Erd, to Gunther, toLevi. No one took interest in their conversation, nor looked directly at her. She tensed when Auruo moved his horse closer, leaning in to glare at her. She shivered under the look he gave her. "Don't go getting cocky, you rookie. Titan, or whatever you are, I don't see what they see in you. You put one foot out of line-"

Auruo was cut off as a jolt from his horse caused him to gasp in pain. Eren jumped again, taken aback by both his words and his sudden gasp. Blood began to drip from Auruo's mouth, and Eren realized that he had bitten his tongue. She stifled a giggle, knowing it would be completely inappropriate to laugh at her superior for such a thing. Instead, she ducked her head as he hurriedly covered his mouth.

As it turned out, she didn't have to worry about laughing at him. Apparently, it was a common happening within Levi's team. Upon hearing his lisp as they reached their location, they had quickly picked up on what had happened and burst into laughter. They climbed from their horses, still holding back their laughter as he looked completely indignant.

"Jabbering so much while on horseback, when are you ever going to learn, Auruo?" Peter teased with a laugh. Eren decided that he had liked Peter upon meeting him. He was a soft spoken but firm boy with blonde hair and gentle eyes. He was only a few years out of training, much closer to Eren in age, only a few years her senior. She figured he must have some extraordinary talent to have made it to Levi's team so quickly.

"You know how important first impressions are, Peter," Auruo defended, making Eren roll her eyes. As if Eren would have anything but respect for anyone who had made it onto Levi's team. The lot of them were elite soldiers, hand picked by Levi, with far more experience that she could ever hope for. None of them had any need to make an impression on her. "I had her quaking, so ha!"

Eren glanced over from where she was undoing the bridle of her horse. She wasn't shaking so much in fear as in laughter, but she would never dare tell him that straight up. She hid another snort of laughter at Peter's response, glad that the boy could say what she wouldn't admit. "She was probably shaking in silent laughter at your idiocy."

Auruo sputtered indignantly in response, insulted. Eren pulled herself away from their conversation, looking at the other members of the team. Very soon, she would be learning to control her titan form. If she failed, these men - Erd, Auruo, Peter, Gunther, and most of all, Levi, would be the ones to kill her.

"You don't have nearly enough kills to be getting snotty with me, brat!" Auruo growled at peter, who simply laughed it off and bounced away from him. Eren sighed and finished putting her horse's saddle and bridle away. Everyone else had finished already, and they still had a whole day ahead of them.

Although she knew it was a bad time to drop into the conversation she had just happened to overhear, she also knew they were in a rush and hurried over to join the team. Peter gave her a welcoming smile which she returned uneasily. She was uncomfortable in their presence. These people, picked by none other than Corporal Levi himself, were here to kill her should anything go wrong. They weren't here to be her friends. She had to remember that.

The squad of now six people sat around a table in the earlier hours of the night, mingling quietly after supper, hot drinks cupped in their hands. They had spent the majority of the day cleaning, which was surprisingly high on the others' priority list. Eren had also learned that Corporal Levi was a neurotic clean freak, and if something was not cleaned to his standards, they would have to clean it again. She had, of course, learned this the hard way, as he forced her to clean at least five rooms many times over.

"We'll probably be ordered to stand by for a few more days, but I heard we're supposed to be going on a large scale, extramural expedition in about thirty days. And we'll be taking new graduates with us." Erd was saying, looking a bit uneasy at the last bit. "And that's only if we get any new recruits..."

Eren sat up upon hearing the conversation. She had stayed mostly out of their business until now, not wanting to bother them, but her curiosity was spiked at the mention of new recruits. She was almost positive that at least Mikasa and Armin would be joining them. The thought soothed her, and she realized how much she missed her brothers.

"Is that true Erd?" Gunther looked unsure as well. Now, much more tuned in, she observed them silently. She could understand his hesitation, and felt the dread herself. There was no what that thirty days would be an appropriate time to train. She couldn't possibly control her titan form by then, if she managed at all."Isn't it awfully soon? Even considering that they handled the last Titan attack well..."

"I heard those kids' pants required multiple washings to remove the shitstains." Auruo remarked, grinning at his own words. Peter mirrored the worried looks of Erd and Gunther.

"I'm not involved with making the plans. It's Erwin. He's likely considering far more variables that might occur to us." Levi answered in his usual monotone voice, not giving away his true thoughts. It made Eren really wonder what really went on in his head. He seemed hard headed, stubborn, and emotionless, and after everything he had seen, she couldn't blame him.

"It's true that we're in an unprecedented situation." Erd said, agreeing with Levi. "On one hand, we lost the Maria reconquest route we established through huge sacrifices, but on the other hand, we got an unexpected ray of hope." He finished by looking at Eren, with something akin to wasn't sure how to react to his look, so she simply straightened her back and returned it. She wasn't attempting to be threatening, but she wouldn't allow herself to seem weak either. Still, as more eyes turned to her, she grew uncomfortable.

Eren shifted, edgy about being the center of attention. Spending so long trying not to draw attention to herself so she could successfully hide her gender had conditioned her to stay out of sight, making her nervous with the looks she was being given.

"I still have trouble believing it. You can "turn into a titan", but what's that mean, Eren?" Erd asked, his voice taking on morbid curiosity. She took a deep breath and tried to explain, knowing that all of them were giving her their undivided attention.

"My memories from that time are very hazy. It was like a dream. None it felt real." She paused, thinking of her next words. The fact that she herself was unsure frightened her."It can be triggered by hurting myself, like if I bite-" She stopped talking, shocked at her knowledge that she was sure she never learned. How could she have known this? The sound of the Corporal's voice broke through her mental musing. His was a voice she was not allowed to shut out.

"You all know all of this too. We couldn't get any more out of anyone than what's written in the reports." And then, almost like an afterthought, added, "She won't stay put though." Levi took a sip from his cup. "Her meddling could even kill you, Eren." He looked at her directly, giving Eren a sense of foreboding.

"She? Who?" As if answering her question for her, the door suddenly jerked, as if something had run into it. Eren was sure that if the large lock was not there barring the door that said door would no longer be there.

Peter got up and opened the door, revealing a woman with reddish-brown hair. Following her was Moblit, who was holding a small girl, about the age of two years old, with short, curly, light brown hair. Moblit himself just looked as if he knew this would happen, shooting Eren with an apologetic look.

"Good evening, lady and gentlemen of the Levi Unit!" She raised her hand in greeting as she talked. She was rather energetic and was rather relaxed as far as formalities went."Have you made yourselves at home in the castle?"

"You're early." Levi said, not bothering to turn and look at the woman standing behind her. There seemed to be a hint of annoyance in his voice, though it continued not to show on his face. Eren imagined that this was a regular occurrence.

"How could I stay put now!?" The women then rushed, very excitedly, over to where Eren sat at the table. "Hello there Eren. My name is Hanji." Hanji? Moblit's wife? Then the child in his arms must be their daughter.

"H-hello Miss Hanji." Eren answered politely. Even if Hanji wasn't part of the Scouting Legion, she was still above Eren. Everyone was at this point.

"My husband runs the science department in the Scouting Legion, but I occasionally come up to help out with experiments. I heard that they had captured two titans during Trost so I came at Moblit's request. And then he told me about you and just had to meet you." Her voice was full of barely held back excitement. She sort of frightened Eren. "I'd like for you to help me out with tomorrow's experiments. I came to ask for permission for that." She looked at her expectantly. But, she was curious. What could she do? She decided to ask.

"An experiment? What am I supposed to do-"

"What else but that totally awesome thing you do." Her face became flushed with whatever thoughts she was thinking, her hands twitching as if they itched to grab her and drag her off to do unmentionable experiments to her. Eren shied away from her, nervous at the eccentric woman in front of her.

"Um, I can't give you permission myself. I don't have authority over myself, you see." Eren happened to glance over at her new squadmates, not really surprised at their exasperated faces. She secretly hoped that she could just clean or do whatever the Corporal had decided she should do, but if she was to work with Hanji, she would.

"Levi, what are Eren's plans for tomorrow?" Hanji's attitude towards Levi surprised Eren, she had only heard Commander Erwin talk to him like that.

"Cleaning the garden." There was something akin to... resignation? in his voice, as if no matter what he said Hanji would take Eren anyway.

"Okay then, it's decided!" The woman leaned in close to Eren, grabbing her hand tightly. "I'll be counting on you tomorrow, Eren!"

"Yes ma'am. But what exactly are these experiments on the titans?" Eren had to admit, she was curious, if a bit afraid. She started when Hanji made a noise of..of whatever she made, Eren couldn't decide. She repeated her question, not knowing what she was getting into.

"Stop that. Don't ask her." Auruo's voice whispered almost frantically at her, voice tinged with...was that desperation?

"Ah, I knew it. You just had this expression like you wanted to know." She had a pleased smile on her face. Like the prospect of sharing the info was the best thing ever. She heard shifting from the chairs at the table.

Eren looked over, seeing her squadmates get up before filing out of the room. She didn't understand why though. Hanji was a bit scary, yes, but surely whatever she was going to explain wouldn't be that bad. Right?

"Hanji, I'm going to put Sophia to bed. I'll see you when you're done." Moblit's voice flitted across the room, Eren looked over to see the small child asleep against Moblit's shoulder, before he turned and left the room, the door shutting with a small 'thunk'. Hanji let go of Eren's hand, sitting down in the chair previously occupied by Gunther.

"Were you that interested? Then I've got no choice." Hanji smiled in anticipation of sharing her knowledge with Eren. "I guess I've gotta tell you what I know about those pretties they caught earlier."

"We started by repeating the experiments we'd done each of the five times prior we had titans to play with. First, we tried to establish communication. Sadly, communication proved impossible this time as well. But for me, interacting with the titans was so enlightening that it made me forget my everyday fatigue. Thus I named the seven meter class Bean, and the four meter class Sonny.

"Next we tried denying them sunlight. The titans are clearly less active during the night. These experiments tried to prove that they gained some sort of power from the sunlight. There was a huge variation between the individual titans. Sonny's activity dropped an hour after we denied them sunlight. In contrast...Bean stayed lively for three hours.

"They don't need water or food. They have vocal organs, yet they don't need to breathe. All they need to stay alive is sunlight." Hanji concluded. "To be honest, I'm curious what would happen if we denied them sunlight completely, but they're such valuable experimental subjects that I can't risk them dying. We killed the previous captures by accident." She looked down, sadness prevalent on her face. Did she actually care for the titans?

"I accidentally hit their napes when we tried cutting their heads off. I feel bad about what I did to them. I don't want that to happen again...I'm sorry." She had such a look of forlorn on her face. It was out of place on the female scientists face.

"Miss Hanji..."

"And then," She suddenly shot up grabbing Eren's shoulders and subsequently scaring the brown-haired girl, "I moved onto the next stage, testing their sense of pain by actually touching them!" Settling back into her seat she continued, a look of pain in her eyes. "We had to confirm whether they had any weaknesses besides the nape of the neck. It was really tough work. Compared to Bean, Sonny was a lot quieter." Hanji paused, almost as an afterthought she added, "Sonny isn't very good at expressing himself. He keeps trying to bite my head off."

"Um, Miss Hanji..." Eren said, continuing when the woman made a noise of inquiry, "How can you stay so carefree in front of the titans? They're our natural enemies, who drove us to the brink of extinction." A flash of memory, a woman crushed under a house, getting smaller as they got further, opening jaws, she turned away, not wanting to see the spattering blood of what used to be her mother. Shaking out the images from her head, she looked towards Hanji. "I'm sure you've had to face their threat a number of times before yourself too."

"That's right. I've had a number of friends I know go out and never come back. I worry about my own husband on a day to day basis... I used to hate them, wanting nothing more than to cut them into millions of pieces. But then one day, I had overheard a member of the Scouting Legion say that they had kicked the head of a three meter titan that had been cut off. It was light. Unnaturally so. Their bodies are light." She paused and looked at Eren before continuing.

"Normally such huge bodies shouldn't be able to stand or walk on such huge legs. It's the same for every titan. Their cut off body parts were much larger than they should have been for their size. Moblit told me that when you turned into a titan, the body appeared out of thin air. I considered the things we see are things that are not actually there." She filled Eren's cup, not pausing in saying her thoughts, "I want to try looking at them from a different point of view than everyone else. It might prove to be futile..." Hanji trailed off before looking up, her voice stronger than before, "But still, I'll do it." She said it with such conviction that Eren didn't doubt it.

Eren was surprised. It seemed to be happening frequently. Since she'd entered the Scouting Legion, all she'd gotten were surprises. Not just Miss Hanji. Everyone was weird. It was like a haven for freaks. She would fit right in, after all, who was more weird than a human who could turn into a titan? But...they were also a group who demanded change. That was what the Scouting Legion was. A way to change. Eren thought for a moment before a specific question struck her.

"Miss Hanji, how are you allowed to experiment with titans in the Scouting Legion? I thought the King and all higher ups forbade females from military or titan-related occupations." She couldn't help but be curious.

"Oh! Moblit is a Major is the Scouting Legion, so occasionally they allow me come to the base and participate in the experiments. Think of it as a loophole in the rules." Hanji gave a conspiratorial smile. Wait a second...

"A major?! That's a higher ranking than Corporal Levi!" She could hardly believe it. That shy, quiet man, higher than Corporal Levi? In their time as trainees, she had obviously had to study the three corps, but she had never really focused on anyone besides Levi and his team.

Hanji nodded, a small, girly smile on her lips. "Mhmm. We've been married for four years, come this Friday. He promised we could attempt one of your transformations that day," Hanji said, a glint that made Eren uneasy gleaming in her eyes. "If that's okay with you, of course, and if we get permission from Levi, that is. It's very valuable information, you see. The others would be so intrigued. If only they could meet you..."

Hanji fell completely silent for the first time since Eren had met her, seeming to be rather brooding now.

"The others?" Eren heard herself echo, completely lost. Hanji snapped out of it immediately.

"The others," she repeated with a nod, her grin returning full force, "I think you'd like them, though some I'm not sure you'll get along with entirely." She acted as if she were going to continue, but the sound of a door opening silenced her before she could start.

Levi approached the table, giving Hanji a warning look before looking at Eren. His look obviously said it was time for her to return to her basement prison until the next morning when someone would come to wake her. "Hanji, Moblit is waiting for you."

"Anyway, it's time for bed. Levi had informed me that if you are ill or without rest, there is no use trying to force a transformation. As for me, I'm going to go check on my daughter and husband. Sleep well, you'll need it for tomorrow. Good night!"

With that, Hanji jumped from her seat, cast her one last blinding grin, and was out the door in a flash.

And with that concludes the first chapter of Ashita no Hogosha! We hope you enjoyed! -sweats nervously-