Princess of Flame:

Chapter 1:

No one ever talks about how threatening silence can be.

They talk about the thunder of adrenaline behind your ears, and the screams of women that shatter through any peace. They all say how the whip of a sword cleaving through the air or the snap of an arrow can make you hear how you'll die, and the terror that it can strike through your heart.

But true silence – no one talks about that.

You sat – in absolute, unbroken silence – in front of the desk in your room, staring at the heavy piece of paper in front of you, tossed carelessly there earlier in the week. The darkness of your room had been chased into captivity underneath your bed, for the dancing light of the candle was putting up an admiral fight against the inevitable dark of the night.

The light was enough that you still see the ink upon the parchment.

Dear Y/N L/N,
This is your reminder that the weekly practice on Friday at midnight will still be in order. The tasks are as follows:
1) Find the subject
2) Figure out what killed the subject
3) Figure out who killed the subject

Otherwise, you may be the one to suffer the consequences.
Sincerely,
Survey Corps, Assassination Academy

You shook your head, reading through the instructions that had by now been worn into your memory. Survey Corps was indeed the academy of assassination; they trained the human children that were left within the world into becoming weapons that the world could yield as it wished.

Though their methods were as cruel as anyone could expect; every week, a single student was chosen out of the hundreds attending to kill a class C teacher. Then the rest of the students would have to find the body, identify the weapon and the murderer.
No one knew what happened to the murderer if they were apprehended - they just disappeared, slipping between the cracks of human memory and into the shadowy realm of nothing. No one dared to ask where they went.

But if no one could identify the murderer, a random student would be selected to befall the murderer's fate. And nobody wanted to just disappear, not after this chance that you had all been given. Nobody was willing to just slip into nothingness, forfeiting the chance to make the world even the slightest bit better.

When the world owes and gives one nothing, the true strength lies in making something of it anyway.

A bell ring shattered the absolute silence of the room, and you jumped from your position on your bed. Shoving the sheet of paper under your pillow and glancing quickly at your window sill, where a candle still flickered, you nodded to yourself. You stood up quickly, not willing to waste any more time than you had and stalked your way to the door. Smoothing over your barely creased uniform and admiring yourself in the mirror that hung on the back of the door was useless at this stage – at this gods-forsaken time, no one cared what you looked like.

The clock just continued ticking its merry and irritating way past the time of the bell – past midnight.

Normally, as with any human, you would willingly slaughter everyone within a mile's radius if you had been awoken at this time. But this was tradition; this is what you prepared yourself for.

So, fighting the urge not to groan, you swallow your complaints that no one would hear anyway and instead decide to softly mutter "at least they're on time." Of course, as a school that was strictly enforced with punctuality and general discipline, it was to be expected. Grabbing your sharpened knives from where they were sitting on the desk beside the bed, you wrap the weapon's belt around your waist so that they hung from your hips, where you could easily grab them if needed. And with that, you unlock and open your door to peer out.
Assassin's Academy was quite a nice establishment, you supposed. It was made up of one main manor building, with two smaller buildings for the Dorms. The girl's Dorm was decorated using the theme of gold and blue, and almost everything abided by the colour system. The girls could decorate their own rooms how they wished. It was rumoured that the boy's Dorm was red and gold, but since the entering of the other gender's Dorm was strictly prohibited, no one knew for certain.

The girl's Dorm was a ten minute walk to the manor house, which was at the very crest of the hill. But with the trees and the fields of long grass, you didn't really mind. Walking in the fresh air was good for you - or so everyone told you.

You sighed at the sight of the other girls rushing through their doors, hair flying everywhere and uniform in a dismal state. They should have learnt by now to expect the bell, shouldn't they? You shake your head, half in mock despair and half to clear it exhaustion. Somehow, you weren't entirely sure that the school's best method of training was to get all of the students up and raring about murder at midnight. Every. Friday. Night.

Rather than despair of the surety of your exhaustion tomorrow morning, you step lightly into the corridor and join the rushing of the girls. The floor that your bedroom was on only had the first year girl's quarters, which was something of a blessing. You hardly thought that having the elder girl's seeing everyone in this state would be too flattering.

"Y/N – I'm behind you," a voice warned. You didn't need to turn around to know who it was; Isabel was your best friend, and that was a fact that she very proudly told everyone that bothered to listen. You didn't particularly mind; it wasn't as if you minded her company, anyway. When you wanted to talk about stupid topics or wanted a second opinion, Isabel was never far from your side. With her flyaway red hair and wide green eyes, you had to admit that she was very pretty - not that she cared. When she wasn't talking to you, she was out in the fields and climbing trees, coming back to the dorm with torn clothes and a beaming face.

The thick blue carpet cushioned the your footsteps as you ran down the hall together, heading towards the regal winding staircase just after Isabel. A few girls were following you, their hair messy and yawns fighting their way past their throats. Knowing that they'd soon wake up, you paid them no mind as you sped past them on your way to the main building.
The entrance door to the Dorm had long since been opened; there were some very enthusiastic people, some nights, that would do all that they could to guess at the murderer. You lightly leaped over the threshold of warmth and into the coolness of the night.

Inhaling the night air sent a shock through you, as it always did. You enjoyed the crunching of the sand path under your feet as you and Isabel joined a few of the boys walking towards the main house. The boy's Dorm was opposite the girl's, but far enough away that you could only barely see its roof through your window, if you cared to look.

"Alright, Y/N?" One of them called out to you, and you smile at him blankly whilst scanning your eyes over the boys' uniforms, analysing any little detail that you could.

"Why don't you even acknowledge me? Am I invisible?" Isabel squealed indignantly, pulling her red hair into its normal style - two ponytails at the base of her head. As she continued to poke fun at the boy, sniping and poking her tongue out, you utterly ignore her rant. Focusing your attention on the boy; he wasn't the worst boy you had ever met - although Jean Kirstein had a disturbing talent for annoying you. He didn't even have to try, most days.

It was on that thought that you then deigned to reply to his comment. "I'm not too bad, Jean. By the way - what lesson did you have fifth period yesterday?"

Jean stuttered a bit in his mocking retort to Isabel, looking a bit stunned at the random question. You look at him sharply, focusing your E/C eyes on his brown ones. Taking a breath, he answered your question slowly, thoughtfully. "Weaponry – it was weaponry."

Nodding your head so that your H/C hair bounced in its ponytail, you gave him a smile to calm him down before asking another question. "Which weapon did you study?"

"Ropes, I believe. It was, right?" Jean looked to his friend for confirmation, and was obviously soothed by his black haired friend nodding silently. The other boy was called Marco Bott, you knew, as he was also in your year. He was a lot more pleasant than Jean; he was normally reserved with his words, like he truly thought about them before delivering them in a soft, well-spoken manner. You also liked the fact that the two were never seen apart. In the odd way that friendships could balance and complete the other, Marco and Jean displayed it.

Another boy approached your little group then, and you switched your attention towards him.

His hands were firmly in his pockets, and he shivered under his blazer. You didn't know much about him - he was a first year, but he was always the quiet one, the silent one in the corner. He had a girlfriend in your year as well - but you didn't know her name. They were just a couple in the background. But you were too focused on getting out of Assassination Academy and acing the exams to be worried about relationships. Who cared about relationships when you have to risk yourself dying every day within the world that you lived in?

Jean waved at you with a smirk as they reached the main building just before you – literally by half a step - where several students were now loitering. You banished the boys from your mind as you scanned the scene with professional ease.

"Do I even want to know why you were talking to that horse-face?" Isabel asked, but groaned as she realized that you were no longer listening to her. You were in your own world, analysing the scene in front of you and nothing else. Giving up on understanding you, Isabel merely followed you to the main house, ready to think and see and learn.

You saw several groups branch out, trying to complete the first task: to find the subject. Sometimes, students would form teams to complete the midnight lesson, and bond together in their unique skills – skills based in assassination and detective work.

You weren't worried, though. Not when you had a team all of your own.

You didn't have to look to know that Isabel was behind you, gathering your team. It only made sense for Isabel to be with you - she couldn't function with anyone else. You could sense the team there, waiting in a trusting silence for you to make your move. And you would make your move - and soon.

"Y/N?" Isabel said, walking towards you. You glanced at her, just in time to see her trip over thin air and collapse into the dust at your feet. 'Owwww!'

You could barely stop your lips from curving into a midnight smile, so instead you roll your eyes and gave her a patronising look that she grinned at. How she managed to even pass the assassination exams every year with her clumsiness was beyond even your understanding.

"Isabel," you said, trying but now failing to repress a grin, "let's get started, shall we?"

Isabel's green eyes began to sparkle with an animalistic kind of delight, and you couldn't help but also feel excited. But you cursed yourself, crushed that enjoyment. You shouldn't be enjoying it - you were an assassin. Strictly professional, stone-cold, unfeeling.

You were Y/N L/N, and you were the best.

From your place on the front lawn of the manor house, you had to admit that the main house was huge; it was almost like a palace on top of a hill, lording over the lesser buildings such as the stable and the Dorms. Lights were flickering on and off as students went through the different rooms, searching, seeking answers or clues. You could spot Jean on the first floor through the floor to ceiling window, and smirked to yourself as you watched him trip over nothing. That smile grew as you also spotted Marco face-palming himself only a few meters behind Jean.

You gave yourself five seconds to look around and gather all of the information that you could, limiting yourself to only five so that you were at least somewhat presented with a challenge. Focusing, you drowned out the noise of Isabel and your team in the background and took in all that you could.

Growing frustrated after five seconds were up, you realize that you need more information - it didn't help that all of the other students had destroyed any tracks of any kind. You begrudgingly stalk your way towards the massive twin doors that were already ajar from students searching in the main house. You push your way to them, not caring about the people that you had to brush off. However, the feelings were not mutual.

"Watch it!"

The voice came suddenly, without warning. Startled, you turned and saw a girl with brown hair and freckles advancing towards you; she was wearing trousers instead of the skirt that females were meant to wear, and she'd added an army patterned belt. You knew this girl - Ymir. She was akin to Isabel in many ways – in the stubbornness, in the way that she walked. Although, when Isabel glared at you with that amount of hatred, it was normally because you had stolen one of her cookies. With Ymir, you knew that there was only one thing that you could have done to annoy her that much.

Looking around, you spotted the small blond girl a few meters from you, on the ground from where you had probably pushed her. Understanding that Ymir might well kill you there, you hastily pull the tiny girl up.

"I'm so sorry!" Krista gushed, smiling sadly and brushing off her skirt. Krista Lenz – a small girl with huge blue eyes, which were currently looking at you as though she were scared you were about to hit her – or worse, yell at her. "I didn't mean to get in your way, I just wanted to look inside!"

You were almost shocked at her prettiness as those huge eyes were fixed on you with a gleam of life within them. You'd never seen eyes like that before; why were they rendering you speechless?

"What can I do to make it up to you? I'll do-"

"Cute!" You say abruptly, cursing yourself when you realize that you spoke out loud. Krista blinked in confusion, and was even more shocked when you bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry, Krista. I didn't mean to push you."

"N-no, don't apologize! It was my fault!"

"No, it wasn't," interrupted Ymir, finally reaching Krista's side. "Miss L/N had every need to apologize." With that, the girl was glaring at you from where she was hugging Krista from behind. At this point, you had collected your senses enough to glare right back at her. But with Krista's blue eyes pleading with you, you decided to give in - if only because you were wasting time.

"Alright, Miss Lenz. I know what you can do to make it up to me."

"No," growled Ymir, but Krista held up a hand. Falling silent, Ymir fell back into glaring into your E/C eyes with immense and eternal hatred. That easily, the small girl had leashed the wild beast.

"Call me Y/N," you said, winking at her. Krista brightened at an impossible pace, beaming in such a way that you were fairly sure that you could hear the nearby boy's hearts implode.

"Y/N ," she said, drawing it out. The way she sounded your name almost sent shudders down your spine, even as you cursed yourself for wasting even more time. "And you shall call me Krista!"

"Krista," you agreed, and walked off without any farewell. You had had enough with wasting time – although, at least it finally gave everyone else in the school a chance at finding the body.

You reached the doors, but make no move to go in. Instead, you crouched by the handles, your E/C eyes gathering all of the information that you needed. You looked at the lock, the handle; you counted the number of fingerprints on the smooth metal. Then, turning on your heel, you finally face your other team members, who were waiting just a few metres behind you.

Isabel was closest. Her eyes were beaming at you, expectant and eager for your evaluation. Sasha Braus and Connie Springer were behind her, and you only had to flash your eyes at them to know that they were having another ridiculous fighting match, all whilst Sasha was clutching a bag of food in her left hand. Then there were the three that never seemed to be apart. Reiner, Bertoldt and Annie.

The last three were just standing there, arms crossed and their faces were dull, bored and expectant; they were waiting for you. Normally, you simply did not take as much time as you had tonight. Sighing at Reiner's particularly pointed glance, his eyebrow raised in a silent question, you walk away from the main house.

You begin to meandering your way to where the stables were, about half a mile down the sand road. The six people behind you groaned as they started to follow you into the darkness of the night, away from the light and distant laughter of the students within the manor house.

"Y/N," Isabel started as they started to walk, "have you done any studying for the tests next week?"

You smile at her, but it was a snake's smile; it was the one that they give you when they're about to pounce. "No, not much – it's not like I need to. Do I even dare to ask about your studying?"

The girl snorted and shook her head, slipping back into her lazy demeanour. Isabel was well known as the laziest girl within the entire school; her napping during classes was viewed as a common happening. Indeed, if she was awake during the class, it was immediately seen as an important lesson to the rest of the students. This was seen as hilarious by you, because as soon as she got out of lessons it was like she was permanently having a sugar rush.

"So – we're going to the stables?" Reiner spoke up, occasionally reaching out to save Isabel from falling asleep on her feet and tripping over something. You nodded at him, and he raised the same eyebrow, obviously demanding an explanation. You grimace and began obliging his silent request.

"The school uses sand as a path for a reason. There were no footprints leading around the back way into the manor in the sand, and there hasn't been any wind tonight to sweep tracks away."

"How do you know that, Y/N?" Bertoldt then asked, frowning so that his brown eyes scrunched up in concentration. You sigh, although it was mostly for show. Bertoldt rolled his eyes at your irritation, but listened with intense concentration as you continued with your lecture.

"I left my window open with a candle on the ledge outside. If there was any wind, the candle would have been blown out, or would have flickered enough to gain my attention. It was still alight when I left the dormitory, so that stands as proof that there was no wind. Is that enough information for you boys?" You raised your eyebrows at the two, silently daring them to further question you. Both Reiner and Bertoldt looked down bashfully, but Bertoldt still cocked his head towards you to listen to the rest of your explanation.

"The doors to the manor house are locked and polished every single night at seven o'clock. When I looked the lock over, it hadn't been picked – otherwise the polish would have been tarnished or scratched, which means that there was no thieving of the key either. It had only been unlocked once, and that was done by the teachers at midnight, because I saw them out of my window."

"So the building has not been entered?" Reiner said, piecing it together within his mind.

"No," you said, continuing your way to the stables. "The windows are all sealed shut – they can't be opened. And the back way is barred by an electric gate, which is at least ten feet high."

Annie grimaced, but you were slightly relieved. Out of anyone, Annie was your main rival within the first years at Survey Corps. She nearly beats you in the written exams that the school made you do unofficially every month, and her talent with martial arts was liable to one day be better than yours. She was a girl with blond hair, and she had the talent to make boys look at her without trying. In this case, she was throwing her chest out in the movement of a stretch, drawing the boy's attention even if it was only for a second. "Clever and proud methods, Y/N – like always. But what if the student was already in the school? Then there would be no picking of the lock; they'd just be in the building already."

"Annie, use your brain." You lightly tease the girl, who was not having any of it. You flinched slightly as Annie punched your arm with considerable force. "Register was filled by each and every student in the dormitory at seven o'clock. I saw those registers and checked them myself. Every student was in the dormitory by seven, which is the same time that the door was locked."

Annie looked down, her hair ruffling in its messy bun style. The long fringe dangled in her eyes, which were a hard and icy blue. You could understand why men got lost in them; but for you, she was the girl that kept you on your toes. You couldn't afford to slack off in your training, because this was the girl that would be breathing down your neck if you slipped even an inch.

"So what? We all know Y/N is great at what she does, blah. Why are we going to the stables?" Isabel whined from where she was perched on Reiner's back. He didn't look too thrilled at being used for Isabel's transport, but with the fiery girl there were not many options for objections.

You smiled nastily at Isabel, who merely stuck her tongue out at you. "Call it a gut feeling."

The girl growled from her position on Reiner's back. "And now we're resorting to trusting your stomach. Fantastic news, that is."

"Shut up," you murmured. You didn't tell them of the lights you had seen through your window just a few minutes before midnight; you knew that whoever they were, the student had definitely headed here. The inspection of the lock at the school was just a check - a check to see if you were right.

The stable loomed into sight from the darkness, and there was a certain chill in the air that told you immediately that somewhere near, there was death. The shiver started as a cool feeling at the small of your back and crept up your spine with icy fingers. You always felt it, no matter where you were – if there was death nearby, you'd feel the same fingers of ice dance down your spine.

"I think," Bertoldt said, breaking the cold silence, "that perhaps you were right, Y/N."

You merely stated, "I know," and proceeded to open the wooden door of the stable. Connie and Sasha were the first ones to go in. They weren't smiling any more, and you allowed all of them to filter in through the doors until you followed.

Connie's voice called out to the group almost immediately. "Task one is complete. We found the subject."

Annie looked disinterested. "Who is it?"

"I don't know his name, he's only been here a week."

You sigh through your nose as you continued to watch out for any other students approaching the stable. Survey Corps worked through a strange series of methods – and this one related to the teachers. Rank A teachers were the heads of subjects and departments; rank B were the regular teachers, for assigned to each subject to teach first years, second years and third years.

Then there were the rank C teachers. Rank Cs were all actually criminals who had all been given the death sentence, and so Survey Corps had hired them on as teachers until one student on midnight, every Friday, chose them as their target. They were easily replaceable; criminals were everywhere.

You look around, and then quietly murmur to your team. "Alright, I'm going to call it."

"W-what? Y/N, we have no clue what killed him!"

"Isabel's right, Y/N. We don't even know who the murderer is yet."

You growl, making both Isabel and Reiner fall silent immediately. Sasha, knowing immediately what you wanted, jumped up and passed you a phone. "If I say that I'm going to call it," you hiss, letting your E/C become hard and full of fury, "then I am going to call it."

The phone was a plain black one, a simplistic flip phone that one student from each team are issued at Friday, six o'clock. It had no access to any network or internet, but there was a single number programmed onto each one of these phones. It was this number that you called now, with the rest of your team waiting with baited breaths.

"Hello, student. I want a name, a weapon and the location of the body."

You take a deep breath, like you always did before telling the person on the other end of the phone the answer. There was an uncomfortable smell at the back of your throat; you were sure of yourself - you knew that. But...

Another boy approached them and you switched your attention towards him.
His hands were firmly in his pockets, and he shivered under his blazer. You didn't know much about him - he was a first year, but he was always the quiet one, the silent one in the corner. He had a girlfriend in your year as well - but you didn't know her name. They were just a couple in the background.

It was him - you knew that he was the murderer, without a doubt. But did you want to ruin his life, as well as his girlfriend's? She'd probably hate you for the rest of her duration at Survey Corps. But no matter how much she hated you, she'd never hate you more than how much you hated yourself.

That was it; one of the secrets that you kept from everyone. Everyone seemed to revel in assassination, seemed to thrive on the energy and on the nerve of doing something forbidden. Everyone seemed to love it, absorb and accept the fact that you were killing without reason or purpose. But not you; you hated it, and that was the secret that you swore never to tell anyone. Everyone only saw Y/N L/N, best assassin of the first years of Survey Corps. They never saw the Y/N that still flinched at the sight of blood, who winced whenever she saw a weapon. They never saw, because you kept yourself distant, cold and calculating. So you let them believe, because sometimes it's better to believe and hope than to never believe at all.

"Well, student? I want a name, a weapon and the location of the body, and I don't like to be kept waiting."

You swallow your thoughts, crushing your useless thoughts. Turning around, you spot Isabel frowning at you from where she sat on the stable floor with her arms crossed. If you didn't tell the phone the name, she might very well be the random student chosen to befall the murderer's fate. And you couldn't do that - not Isabel.

"Franz Kefka, a rope, the stables."

You hear multiple gasps behind you, but you focus on the phone. "That's correct, student. Three out of three. What is your team name?"

You grin at the people behind you, and Isabel immediately relaxes and falls promptly to the floor. Reiner grins back and high fives Bertoldt, all whilst Annie is vacantly glaring at the wall. You don't see Sasha or Connie anywhere near, but you knew that they were probably off trying to fly from the stable roof. They were safe - your team was safe. They would be safe for one more week.

So it was with that knowledge in mind that made you clear your throat and say to the phone, "The Seven Deadly Sins."

It was a daunting name. Sasha had been the one to come up with it one night when you, Isabel and Annie decided to sleep over in Sasha's room, and you were surprised to say that it fitted you well. You, Y/N, were pride. "And you have every right to be," Sasha had said through a mouthful of chips, "being the best and all." Isabel had demanded to know what place she had, and you remember laughing until your stomach hurt because of the blank look on her face. "S-sloth?" Sasha had stammered, leaning back from the girl until she fell off her chair. It didn't help the situation that Isabel had been snuggled in her bed, up to her ears in blankets and pillows.

"But then, what are you and Connie?"

"Isn't it obvious, Isabel?" You had wheezed as you wiped the tears from your face. "They're greed and gluttony, although I'm not sure who is who."

"And Annie is lust, because all of the boys like her," Sasha went on, despite the fact that Annie was giving her the death glare from behind her. "Bertoldt is always complaining how Reiner's better at science than he is - he can be envy."

"But that leaves Reiner with wrath," you had said, and were confused when Isabel, Sasha and Annie all looked at you with the exact same fearful look. Sasha and Isabel, you could understand – but if Annie gave you that look as well, you had enough sense to have a feeling of apprehension. "What? Reiner isn't particularly angry, is he?"

Annie shivered, and Isabel and Sasha both looked terrified.

"Y/N chan... You haven't seen him in martial arts class."

You had cocked your head – you were in the top set, naturally, and from what you knew, Reiner was in the second. "So what? Reiner can't be that angry..." You trail off after seeing Sasha widen her eyes as she chews on a bag of chips.

"He's a monster in that class. One time, a second year called him cocky, and he didn't like that one bit!"

"I remember that! I woke up after I was done napping at the back of the hall, and he was kicking that second year's face into the ground!"

You were surprised, because as you were first years, you almost never got to compete against the second or third years. Reiner must have been very angry to beat a second year; their training was so much harder than the torture the first years were already subjected to.

"He's definitely going to help the world after school."

You had sighed.

It was well known what students had to do once you were trained at Survey Corps. No one could forget the world from which you were taken, no matter how old you were at the time.
Titans were the main threat of the world now. There were no more wars, although there were definitely two sides: titans and everyone else. They were ruthless human beings, with no real aim or reason to kill. They killed and maimed wherever they were, and recently more and more people were joining them. Humanity was being killed off, because the titans had another warped and disgusting part to their daily life; they were cannibals.

So Survey Corps trained assassins, children who were young and easily disguised, to be able to bring monsters such as the titans down in a single move. You had to admit that Reiner would do well in this after he was trained properly.

The children that the Survey Corps trained could then choose which future they wanted, after the extensive training. They could either choose to help the city, the one remaining city that held the remains of humanity; the other option was to aid and guard the king. The final one was the most heavily persuaded by the school – and it wasn't hard to understand why. The Survey Corps had a scouting legion that tried to make advances against the titans, tried to take back territory and clear areas.

It was no surprise that their numbers were not exactly high.

The phone died after the person on the other end hung up, and the long beep after it brought your senses back to the present. Your team was muttering about random things, but all of that stopped when Sasha and Connie ran back in. They didn't hesitate to come straight to you, Connie leading and Sasha tripping over Isabel (who was still lying on the floor). "Second years are approaching," Connie frantically whispered. "You'd better hurry your work up and call the teacher, otherwise they're gonna get here and beat us out."

You smile and pat his bald head. "I'm way ahead of you, Connie. Three out of three."

Connie immediately grins and waltzes up to Sasha. "Y/N got it in the first ten minutes! You owe me five deserts, Sasha!"

Sasha was about to reply, fury on every line of her face, before you hit Connie on the head. "Owwch! Y/N, what was that for?"

"Betting on me."

You all fall silent again once you hear the stable door swing open again, and all seven of you tense at the single sound that the newcomers made.

"Tch."

"Awww, shortie, the ickle first years beat us to it!"

"Hanji, they are hardly ickle compared to Levi. I doubt they even identified the weapon yet."

"Hah! Hear that, shortie? Erwin agrees with me that you're short!"

"Erwin also agrees to be seen with you. It doesn't exactly prove his sanity, shitty glasses."

"WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO ME?"

"Why are you so annoying in general?"

Whilst you listened to the idle banter of the second years, you were sick of waiting for the second years to actually speak to you and your team. If they had the gall to insult you all but never actually address you all, you were going to have a problem. So you stepped forward, even though none of your team made any movement whatsoever. "Can we help you, by any chance?"

"How could brats like you help us at all?"

And with that, the three people stepped into the light provided by a candle that you had lit inside. The first one you noticed was the woman, only because she nearly pounced on you and blocked your view of the other two. She had brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a shower for a few days and glasses that masked crazy eyes. She began circling you, and you noticed your team members growling and watching her with intense glares. You met each of their gazes, and shook your head in the smallest movement that you could manage. With that, they stepped back to let you handle it - but their eyes gleamed in the light and you knew that they would jump right in if the woman started anything. The woman in question was currently grabbing a notebook and pen out of her satchel, and she randomly grabbed your hand and shook it, ignoring the low warning growl that both Reiner and Annie gave out.

"Hello there! I am Hanji Zoe, and I am a second year! We come in peace, apart from the short one, he probably wants to kill you, but don't take it personally, he wants to kill everyone who breathes or gets a speck of dust within a mile radius of himself."

"Shitty glasses –"

"Enough, Levi." One of the men stepped forward, and the first thing that you noticed about him (apart from his eyebrows) was his self-assurance. He moved with a grace that only the rich could have, but you could see the sheer power that his muscles possessed. He was a man who looked like he could easily be on the battlefield or behind walls doing the chess-like planning. His ice blue eyes shone with barely repressed intelligence and you drew yourself up as he swept his eyes up and down your body, assessing you like you were assessing him. "Erwin Smith," he said, holding his hand out. Whilst you blanched for a single second, knowing that you'd heard his name somewhere, you easily shook that off. You reached out and shook it, his hand easily dwarfing yours. For the first time in many months, you felt almost - wary? Wary that you had found someone that could beat you. That could hurt you.

"Y/N L/N," you replied, not letting that fear show. You could have sworn that Erwin's eyes sparked with amusement, but then you heard Hanji scribbling something down in her notebook. Before you could turn and rip it out of her hands, another man stepped forwards.

You did not like this one. You could understand why Hanji called him shortie - she easily dwarfed him. But that wasn't what was worrying you with this one. It was his eyes, his face, his body, his demeanor. No, you did not like this one.

First of all, his eyes were grey - no hint of blue or brown, but pure grey. And if that didn't raise alarm bells, there were no feeling in them at all; you couldn't read him, or his emotions. From what his eyes told you, he didn't have anything to do with emotions, and that was impossible. And his face (whilst nice to look at) was an added factor. His mouth looked like smiling was not an option - ever. his body was muscular, but with a slender and more natural grace than Reiner and Erwin possessed. His speed would be his main weapon.

No, you didn't like him at all.

"Aniki!"

Isabel's voice rang patronisingly throughout the stable, and you turned to look at her. Her eyes were staring at Levi, and you were struggling to think what their connection could be - how would she know this disturbing man to the extent that she called him 'Aniki'?

"Isabel," he sighed, and for a moment you were scared that he was going to be nice, something you had immediately thought an impossible act. "Move your ass out of the way."

Maybe not.

"Shortie, don't be so mean to Isabel."

"Shut up, shitty glasses."

He made to move past you, but you held yourself firm. "There isn't any point in us moving."

"Yes there is, brat. We have a phone call to make."

"There's no point," you sang, loving the fact that you could in fact make this man feel something - pure and utter annoyance.

"There's no point in your existence, but here you are."

"There is a point. My existence is to be the greatest assassin that ever lived, and take back our world from the titans."

"Tch. It's a useless dream, especially if you can't even identify who murdered the scum teacher behind you."

Just then, through some stroke of luck, the bell rang in the distance. Everyone knew that when this second bell rang, someone had correctly identified the murderer and they were now to return to their Dorms for register. And the murderer would be taken, never to be seen again.

Levi started, and Erwin and Hanji both stared at him with wide eyes. "Levi - did you-" Erwin didn't have a chance to finish before Levi shook his head.

"You've been watching me the entire time, Eyebrows. Of course I didn't."

"But then, who –"

This time, it was Erwin who didn't finish before you barged yourself past both him and Levi.

Your team followed silently after you, and you made sure that all of you were safe and outside before you turned and yelled back at them. "Keep up, second years. There's no point in your existence if I'm the ickle first year who can beat you at this game. Might as well give up now."

Isabel and Sasha immediately start giggling, and Annie even cracked a smile before Reiner and Bertoldt hoisted you onto their shoulders as your team started walking up the path to where the Dorms were. But that didn't stop you from hearing the final thing that the second years had to say to you.

"Tch, brat."