Chapter Two: True Stories
When Eren climbed onto the horse that was prepared for him, the moon overhead was a hauntingly elegant waning crescent. It appeared so far away, remote, and untouchable. Even then, there was something comforting about its pale glow that washed over the courtyard of the old manor that temporarily served as the Survey Corps' HQ. It was like a lantern that lit the path for the secret mission he and his fellow scout members were about to embark on.
A small number of about forty soldiers have agreed to Erwin's Plan now, including the graduates of the 104th Training Corps that Hanji had unintentionally managed to recruit. It did not take Levi long to come from within the manor, dressed in his Gear and green Survey Corps cloak. The men whispered and mounted their horses quietly, careful as to not wake up anyone who might report what they were doing to the Military Police.
Eren noticed that many of his companions were securing extra packages onto their saddles. In the light of the evening stars, the Titan-shifter's emerald eyes caught the shimmer of expensive silk fabric trailing out of the packages.
Seeing Eren's questioning look, one of the men stuffed the rest of the silk into a sack on his saddle. He said with a proud smile, "We're going to give these to the Ninjas when we find them. You see, boy, in the old days, bringing gifts could serve as a peace offering. That way, the Ninjas won't kill us on sight."
"But isn't that stuff really valuable?" Eren asked, gesturing at the silks. "Where did you get it all, anyways?"
The man laughed heartily, "We didn't steal it, if that's what you mean. We found these stashed in a storage closet in the basement. The Commander thought it would do more good as a peace offering to the Ninjas than being fought over by greedy merchants in town. And I have to say, I agree with him."
Eren nodded his understanding, and the man mounted his horse before riding toward the front of the party. The Titan-shifter gently kicked the side of his horse to signal for it to start walking.
No one dared to ride faster than a light trot, as the sound of forty galloping horses would surely wake up the townspeople. Erwin, Hanji, and Levi rode at the head of the company, making sure that no one went over their speed limit, and Eren lingered near the back with Mikasa and Armin.
Upon taking one look at Armin, Eren could tell that he was unconfident of whether his choice of joining this mission was foolish or wise. The little blonde boy hung his head as he rode on Eren's left side. There was an empty look in his clear blue eyes, as if he was not sure what he had gotten himself into when he told his two best friends that he was coming with them.
Mikasa, however, had her focused, dark eyes fixed ahead, unwavering and ready for anything. But no matter how emotionless she made her face appear, Eren knew that she did not approve of him agreeing to help in Erwin's Plan. It was almost a repeat of over five years ago when Eren announced that he was going to enlist as a cadet and join the Survey Corps when he was finished with training; Mikasa had been against it but if she couldn't dissuade him, she enlisted with him. And Armin had been dragged along, filled with uncertainty, but not wanting to be left behind while his friends joined the military.
It was unfair to the poor blue-eyed boy. Every time Eren got himself involved in something, Mikasa would get involved too, and Armin would be left with no choice but to follow as well.
Though a part of Eren's heart was comforted that he would share this adventure with his two closest friends by his side, he still couldn't help but wished that Mikasa hadn't shown up at the basement exactly as Hanji was explaining the Plan to him. That way, Armin would never have known about this, and both he and Mikasa would still be sleeping at HQ, safe, and without the worries that they had now.
Eren had to admit that it was partly his fault that Armin found out about the Plan. It had been Eren who had insisted that he and Mikasa told Armin where they were going so that the blonde wouldn't panic when he woke up the next morning to find them both gone, along with the Commander and Hanji. Eren had not expected him to be so against their going that he'd even wake up Jean to help him stop them.
And now, most of their friends have been dragged into Erwin's secret mission. Hanji seemed to be quite pleased about that, but Eren was more worried about the safety of his fellow graduates from the 104th Training Corps.
Hanji had explained the Plan with great detail and had often emphasized the positive points of it; "just imagine all of the knowledge we can gain from this expedition" and "you must admit that it would be absolutely amazing to see the Ninjas when you've only ever heard fairytales about them" or "you can't miss this chance to bring real hope to humanity".
Frankly, it didn't surprise Eren, nor anyone else, that Hanji was the most eager to follow Erwin. Gazing up over the heads of the people in front of him, Eren could see the hyper woman practically bouncing in her saddle with excitement. It was clear that she was holding back her giggles and laughs of sheer delight and exhilaration for the sake of keeping the secret Plan a secret. If one of the townspeople heard hysterical laughter outside their windows at this time of night, they'd probably call the Military Police.
And so, Erwin and his company of forty travelled in silence to and through the small district of Klorva on the western side of Wall Rose. As expected, the lacking number of Garrison soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the Gate were asleep, snoring loudly, making it very easy to sneak past them.
Once the Survey Corps members left Klorva behind, a great weight seemed to be lifted off of their shoulders. Now, they were in land where the Military Police wouldn't dare to go to arrest them; they were in the land between Walls Maria and Rose – Titan-infested land.
There were no Titans, though, since the majority of the human-eating giants could not operate without sunlight. The land was flat and empty, only the horizon with dark blue, star-filled skies above it and somewhat of a barren landscape below it. The past summer had been a hot one, and the grass was mostly yellowing and crunched under the hooves of the Survey Corps' horses.
Since they were out of the reach of the ears of the Walls, the company relaxed a little and was released of their orders to remain as silent as possible. The horses were now allowed to gallop, which was a great relief, since Erwin's goal was to reach Wall Maria by morning, and the night was nearly half over.
No one spoke, not only for the reason of not being able to hear others with the wind whipping past their ears, but also because talking while riding was a great way to bite your tongue, as a deceased member of Levi's Squad used to do all the time.
Eren did not like thinking about the Female Titan and how she had destroyed Levi's Squad in less than a minute, and bested Eren himself, even after dealing with Eld, Oluo, and Petra. It had been several months since then, and Survey Corps members had learned not to bring it up, especially not in front of the Corporal.
Though Mikasa and others had told Eren over and over again that the deaths of the Special Operations Squad were not his fault, Eren would sometimes find himself pondering what would have happened if he had stayed to fight with Eld, Oluo, and Petra. Would he have been killed like his friends? Or would Annie have been defeated then and there with the combined strength of Eren's Titan form and Levi's Squad? Could Petra's life have been saved? Or Eld and Oluo's?
Now that he knew who the Female Titan was, Eren felt like an idiot for not recognizing her upon first sight. The resemblances between the two were so striking that he had no idea how he didn't notice it before. Not to mention, he should have immediately found her fighting style familiar.
Maybe the thought of Annie being the Female Titan had crossed his mind at some point, but he didn't want to believe it, and so he had pushed it to the back of his mind and ignored it. At present, he knew what a mistake that was. He should have told Erwin or Levi or even Hanji the moment he had the thought. If he had, it might have saved the expedition, and the lives lost would have meant something.
But Eren didn't. He had kept his mouth shut; he left the Special Operations Squad on its own to fight Annie. He had so many chances to save the expedition, yet he didn't take any of them.
Now, he had been given an opportunity to make up for his faults during the 57th expedition beyond the Walls. He was going to make sure that this mission succeeds. He was willing to do anything to ensure that the time and effort that was going to be spent for the next few days, hunting down the Ninjas, are not in vain.
With that thought in mind, Eren kept his eyes on the horizon ahead of him and did not once look back at the black silhouette of Wall Rose against the starlit eastern skies.
The sun rose from behind the members of the unofficial 58th expedition beyond the Walls, casting their long shadows before them. Wall Rose had long disappeared behind them and in the glowing red light of dawn, Eren saw in the distance, Wall Maria.
Though the town he grew up in was far to the south, Eren still got the feeling of being home upon seeing even a portion of the outermost Wall.
As the troop approached the Wall, they passed by a small town that was abandoned long ago when the Colossal Titan first appeared. Now, the only occupants of the once thriving village were scavenging animals, hiding in the shadows of the remains of the houses that once stood there. The road that ran through the settlement could not be identified, for grass and weeds had grown over the path, and thick layers of vines constricted the ruins of buildings.
Because the village had so long been uninhabited, there were no supplies stored there that might be able to help the Survey Corps. Also, there were no human bodies that hadn't already been picked clean by vultures, which Eren was thankful for. Seeing the dead bodies of fellow soldiers who fought bravely was one thing, but seeing the corpses of innocent civilians was a complete other.
The company came to an abrupt stop as Erwin halted his horse. They now stood directly beneath the towering Wall Maria. The Commander turned to address his companions in his steady and clear voice, "Leave the horses down here and give them water. Then, scale the Wall, and we will rest on top of it for the day, until the sun sets again. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" came the shouted reply from the soldiers. They dismounted, their backs sore from the long ride, and quickly left their horses with some water before using 3D Maneuver Gear to climb the monstrous barrier that was Wall Maria, eager to get out of the reach of Titans should they appear suddenly.
The Wall was just as Eren remembered. It wasn't as thick as most people thought it to be, and two lanes of tracks ran near its edge for carts to transport weapons on. Everything was rusty from disuse and worn by weather. The canons were empty and messily arranged on the Wall, while the tracks were covered with a layer of orange tarnish.
Eren had stood upon Wall Rose many times, where he could look out and see the land that was protected by Wall Maria, but he had never stood on Wall Maria itself. His stomach suddenly filled with butterflies of sudden anticipation, Eren walked to the edge of the Wall that faced the west, and, for the first time in his life, saw a wide view of what was beyond the outermost Wall.
The sky was spotted with tiny wisps of fluffy white clouds, and the massive shadow of Wall Maria was cast across the flat landscape. In the distance, Eren could catch a glimpse of a mass of dark green treetops that made up the edge of the Great Forest. It was somewhat foggy beyond the forest, so he could not see much more.
Frankly, Eren was slightly disappointed at the view. He had expected to see what Armin had shown him when they were young in the book about the outside world; giant rocks that would take days to climb, massive sheets of frozen water, forests where it was constantly raining, canyons of orange and red rock, and what were called "seas" where salt water never ran out.
He did not see any of these things, but Armin told him that they existed, and he trusted his blonde friend. The view from the top of Wall Maria had put into perspective for Eren of how big the outside world was. Even from the top of a 50-meter structure, he could only see but a small portion of it. But this only made him want to explore beyond the Walls further.
Armin and Mikasa had joined him and were gazing out at the forest far away, concealed by a thin sheet of fog.
"Hey, Armin," Eren said. "Do you think the sea's waiting for us on the other side of that forest?"
"I don't know," Armin wished he had brought his book known as an "atlas" with him, but he knew that if someone saw him reading about the outside world, both he and Eren would be in trouble. "According to the atlas, the planet's surface area is around 510 million square kilometers. It would take a long time to travel the world. We could be really far away from the sea, actually.
Suddenly, a thought struck Eren that made is eyes widen slightly. "If the Ninjas live in the outside world, they must have explored it. Maybe they've seen the sea."
"Eren," Mikasa said gently, "the Ninjas live without protection from the Titans. Wouldn't it be suicide to try and explore the world around them when a Titan can show up at any time? And besides, their way of survival is hiding, and I doubt they'd have time for pleasures such as satisfying their curiosity. When you live out there, with nothing to separate you from your natural predator or even 3D Maneuver Gear, life must be hard."
Someone chuckled softly behind the three cadets, and Eren, Armin, and Mikasa turned to a middle aged man sitting behind them, puffing a pipe, and looking as if he had been listening to their conversation.
"I wouldn't underestimate the Ninjas if I were you, missy," he said to Mikasa. "They can get along just fine without the Gear. At least the one I saw could."
While Eren and Armin's eyes lit up with mild interest, Mikasa only raised an eyebrow at the man calmly, waiting for him to elaborate. "Are you saying you've seen a Ninja?"
The man, satisfied with the cadets' reactions, smiled boldly. "Gather around, kiddos, and I'll tell you all about it." He motioned for Eren and his friends to sit in a circle around him.
Eren shrugged and sat down without a second thought, and so did Armin. But Mikasa was more careful. Though she sat down beside her adoptive brother, she was not ready to believe everything this man told her. She could tell by his cheeky attitude that he was going to exaggerate everything that comes out of his mouth, just to impress the "kiddos".
"It was on my first expedition with the Corps that I saw her," the man began loudly and dramatically. "I just got done saving one of my friends from a 13-meter class when an Abnormal Type came at me from behind. I'll admit, I was caught off guard, and the Titan almost crushed me under its big ugly foot. Suddenly," he paused for suspense. "I saw her. She moved so quickly that she was almost invisible and if you blinked, you would've missed her. She was wearing a black cloak, kind of like ours, with the hood up, and a gray cloth masking the bottom of her face – "
"Wait," Eren interrupted. "If she was wearing a mask and a hooded cloak, how did you know she was a girl?"
The man shrugged indifferently, "I don't. But she was a small thing, so I assumed that she was female. Now, as I was saying – "
"All Ninjas are supposed to be rather small," Mikasa pointed out. "For all you know, it could very well have been a boy."
The man glared at Eren and Mikasa. "Who's telling the story here?" Then, he answered his own question. "That's right; me! Now, if you lot want to hear what happens next, I suggest you be quiet.
"So, I was saying, the Ninja came to me at my time of need. She didn't kill the Titan, just slashed at it a few times with her knives, but gave me a chance to regain my balance and take care of the beast myself. But as soon as finished off the Titan, my Ninja was gone. She just disappeared as quietly and quickly as she came. True story. I think she was a bit shy."
"Or she could have just not wanted to be seen," Armin put in hesitantly. "In old Japanese history, a Ninja's greatest goal is to not be seen and to only do battle when completely necessary. It was probably in her nature to disappear as soon as she was finished with her job."
Appearing not to have liked Armin's comment, the man blinked at him, "And you are?"
"Armin Arlert," Armin replied calmly. "I'm a graduate of the 104th Training Corps."
"Ah," the man placed his hand on his stubbled chin. "So you're part of that group of kids Squad Leader Hanji invited along."
"That's right."
"You'd better be careful, then," responded a new voice. It belonged to a tall, skinny man who looked in his forties. He had dark, unreadable eyes and a small mustache above his upper lip. "Young and inexperienced ones like you shouldn't get involved with the Ninjas. Only people who have seen them with their own eyes have an idea of how dangerous they are."
Eren wanted to argue that he was not inexperienced, but changed his mind after thinking about it. Yes, he had fought Titans before and gone on one expedition into the land between Walls Maria and Rose, but he had never gone completely out in the open – outside of Wall Maria – while some of the older members of the Recon Corps had probably been out there plenty of times.
"What are you talking about, Newton?" the first man said to the second one, causing Eren to pay attention to the conversation again. "Never in my life had a Ninja tried to harm me."
"You should consider yourself lucky, then, Quinn," replied the man named Newton. "If it weren't for my 3D Maneuver Gear, she would have caught me. You don't know real speed until you've had a Ninja chasing you. "
Quinn sat back, looking a bit irritated, thinking that Newton was trying to best his story with one of his own. "Alright, then enlighten us, won't you?" he said with mock courtesy.
"Even with Gear, I barely outran her," Newton said, ignoring Quinn's disrespect, his eyes dark with the memory of something frightening. "It was on my third expedition. I don't know what I did to anger her, but she came out of nowhere, and at first all I saw were little silver objects raining down on me. A couple of them hit me, and I realized they were weapons – star-shaped throwing weapons. I ran and used my Gear to get as far away as I could but for the first several seconds, I could see a small black shape out of the corner of my eye, running and leaping through the tree branches, following me. I panicked because, at the time, I did not even stop to think of what it was that had attacked me. I just knew that it was dangerous.
"I kept fleeing and after a minute or so, she must have gotten tired and started falling behind. When I lost her and got back to my squad, I still didn't know what to make of her," he finished. "It was only yesterday, after Commander Erwin told me his Plan, that I realized what I encountered all those years ago."
Quinn scoffed, unimpressed, "Tell me, Newton, if you ran away from a Ninja back when you were on your third expedition, why you would want to go look for them again. Hmm?"
Newton observed the other man with focused and concentrated eyes. "I want to find the Ninja who attacked me and ask her why she did it. One of her stars actually left a scar right here." He rubbed his left shoulder. "It has never really healed."
Both men were quiet for a moment before Quinn let out a sigh and got to his feet, dusting himself off. "Well, you all can believe whatever you want to believe, but there's really nothing to worry about. The Ninjas may have been living in the forest for over a century, but they've still got humane feelings, and they won't attack us for no reason, I'm sure of it. We're all humans after all, aren't we?
"It was nice talking with you kids," he said to Eren, Armin, and Mikasa before sauntering off toward a group of older men.
Then he was gone and Newton, without another word, also went off to see to matters of his own, leaving Eren and his friends alone.
"I don't believe a word from either of them," Mikasa spoke in monotone. "We shouldn't draw any conclusions about the Ninjas before we actually meet them. The stories these men have told us can be exaggerated to the point of only being half true. I think it is idiotic to have expectation of the Ninjas; not only might we be let down with our high hopes, but we might also offend them if we're not careful."
"How is that offending?" Eren asked.
Mikasa's eyes were glued to the foggy forest far away as she spoke. "Remember, Eren, Commander Erwin thinks that the Ninjas are descendants of people who were denied entry into the Walls when they were first built. It will not make it easy to convince them to help people who left their ancestors out to die. If they find out that we were expecting something out of them before we even meet them, we'll look like desperate, ignorant fools who think that they can get anything they want as long as they ask. Would you feel comfortable giving someone a slice of bread when they made it clear that they were expecting an entire loaf?"
Neither Eren nor Armin answered, but they understood Mikasa's train of thought. For the first time since he agreed to help Erwin with the Plan, Eren thought about what would happen if the Ninjas refused to assist them. The Survey Corps would have no choice but to return home in shame for going against the decision of the king and the military council and failing at what they had set out to do.
Eren shuddered at the prospect of completely losing the support of the people and the government. But then, if they succeeded in forming an alliance with the Aquila Ninja Clan, the king and council will have no choice but to forgive them for their disobedience. And on top of that, the Survey Corps will have the support of the people again for finally making an expedition mean something.
So much is at risk, but so much can be gained if Commander Erwin's Plan works. Eren looked at the tall, blonde haired commander who stood further down the Wall, his calm cerulean eyes fixed at the distant forest with a fierce determination. Eren felt a sudden wave of respect for him, for having the courage to risk everything in order to bring genuine hope back to the people.
Now, all that mattered was whether or not he wins this bet.
A/N: This chapter was supposed to be shorter, but I guess I got carried away with all of Eren's thoughts. I hope I did alright with keeping him in character, what do you think? Drop a review to fuel my imagination and typing fingers!
Next time: Like I said before, I'll have to leave the introduction of my OCs to next chapter, since this one turned out much longer than I had intended. How will the Ninjas react to the Survey Corps and vice versa? What adventures await in the dark, foggy Great Forest? Stay tuned! :)