HOLY SHIT THIS IS LONG

LIKE, ALMOST 3,000 WORDS (realizes that some people write 10,000+ words per chapter) (Cries)

BUT STILL, ENJOY

Armin knew when someone was trying to replace him.

He had nothing against the new recruit, honestly—it's just seems like the new recruit had something against him. Though still they're both around the same age, he seemed to keep lording his "superior intellect" and "loyalty to humanity" over the rest of squad and about how he was the best in his class academically.

When asked about the physical aspect, he quiets instantly.

At first the blonde was drawn to him because they were so alike—both of their strength lay in their minds, not their bodies. He had tried to converse with him a few times, but things quickly went south the moment the other boy opened his mouth.

If you asked him about himself, he'd practically burst into song about how his "tragic" back story about how he was given away to an orphanage when he was a child and raised with the other children who got along perfectly with each other, only to be separated from them when his parents came back for him. They were wonderful people, and they just couldn't take care of him until his father got a prestigious place in the bureaucracy and was actually able to afford it.

"It was horrible," he'd complain, "but I still love them. Pretty sad, right?"

Armin had heard this story so many times that he couldn't even bring himself to show emotion on his face. "Yeah, that's got to be tough."

To be honest, he couldn't even remember the person's name—though he was sure he could recite his back story word for word from memory…

At first people were okay with the guy until asked about himself. People tend to avoid the topic completely, but he still somehow brings the conversation back to himself like the entire world revolved around him.

And then comes his "loyalty". He keeps on claiming how he's going to kill all of the titans and free humanity, but in reality he hasn't ever laid eyes on one—but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he knew that people can continue to live in harmony with one another once the titans were gone, and that humanity is doing its best to pull together and become free again.

When Armin heard that, he merely laughed.

He couldn't deny that he was book-smart though—their first conversation had been about random facts about life, and that's what drew Armin to him…and inevitably away from him.

No matter how many "discussions" they had, the new recruit was just too naïve to understand how cruel this world really was—he'd experienced it firsthand while the new guy was fresh from Wall Sina, unaware of anything and everything wrong with anything and everything.

A slight nudge interrupted the blonde's train of thought, causing him to jump. "H-huh?"

It turned out it wasn't Mr. Woe-is-Me, but Mr. I-Actually-Do-Have-A-Tragic-Back-Story-That-Deserves-Sympathy. "Figures you'd be spacing out," Eren muttered, "My brain feels like shutting off whenever Francis opens his stupid mouth…"

Francis. So that's his name…

"Hey are you guys listening?" Francis demanded, "I was asking if any of you play chess!"

Suddenly an idea popped into his head.

"I do," Armin said instantly, "It's one of my favorite pastimes."

The challenge shone brightly in the other boy's eyes. "Well then, you want to go?"

Armin smiled in what he hoped was an innocent and not psychopathic way. "I'd love too," he replied, "One match couldn't hurt…"

"Well prepare to be proven wrong!" Francis declared, "Because your pride will be severely wounded after I beat you!"

The blonde then decided to turn his sweet smile to a dark smirk. "Is that so?"

The way Francis flinched was more satisfying than it should have been.

So he didn't anticipate the crowd…

Francis wasn't feeling nervous because of the match—he was confident that he'd win—it was just the crowd in general. He wasn't a fan of being the center of attention of a large group of people, but it wasn't going to throw him off his game.

He knew that the kid he was facing off against was pretty smart, but he couldn't be that bad. They're around the same age so he must have just as little experience as he did when it came to strategy—probably less, because he actually looks a bit younger than him.

His eyes were a bit unnerving, though…

"Ready?" the blonde kid asked, cocking his head to the side.

"To kick your ass?" he replied, "yes."

A snicker went through the crowd, stroking Francis' ego. The crowd wasn't too bad if they were on his side.

"Armin's going to destroy him," someone muttered.

"I hope he at least goes easy on him," said another.

"I doubt it," said a third, "That look in his eyes said that he's already called check mate."

…or not.

"You first," the blonde—Armin apparently—said kindly, waving his hand dismissively.

Francis' eyebrow twitched but did as he said nonetheless.

It's been about ten minutes and Francis was stumped.

The way Armin played completely mystified him. It was as if he'd purposely throw away his own pieces, but still looked as smug as ever. Doesn't he realize that he's losing? He thought as he moved to take his rook, what is he even doing?

"Do you even know how to play chess?" Francis asked as Armin left a knight undefended, "I mean, I'm literally destroying you."

"Are you?" Armin asked, watching as his knight was taken. "If you think that then I should be asking you that."

Francis laughed out loud, cursing himself for how nervous he sounded. "As if!" he replied, moving his king.

The blonde moved a pawn. "Check."

The boy's blood ran cold as his eyes furiously scanned the board. "H-how!?" he demanded, "Y-you're bluffing!"

Armin didn't comment.

He stared at the board for a while longer until he saw his escape.

"Ha!" he declared, slamming his queen onto the board. "Checkmate!"

The entire room gasped, but the blonde still remained unfazed.

"I beat you!" Francis declared, "You lost! Ha!"

"Did Armin really lose?" someone asked.

"That's not right," someone else replied.

Francis ignored them. He'd won! Everyone was talking about how that kid was a tactical genius, but Francis beat him—!

Suddenly there was a light thud as the blonde knocked over Francis' king with a pawn.

"…checkmate."

The room became silent.

"…are you deaf?" Francis demanded, "I already fucking called checkmate you idiot!"

"That you did," Armin replied, "but you wouldn't have been able to attack my king until your next move, correct?"

The boy felt a vein pop in his forehead. "That doesn't matter!" he shouted back, "I cornered your king!"

"But you couldn't attack it before I took yours out," the blonde replied calmly, "You were so focused on my king that you left yours wide open, and I took advantage of that. You lost before you can deliver the final blow."

The whispers started up again as Francis stared at the board. "…you used you king as bait!?"

A grin spread across Armin's face, sending shivers down Francis' spine. "Yes," he replied, "I did."

"But…but that's not fair!" Francis declared, "I called checkmate before—!"

"Just because you claimed you won doesn't mean that you did win," Armin pointed out, "If you want victory, then you take it."

An irrational fear began to clench at Francis' gut. Most of the people had left by now, probably bored with their conversation though a few still remained.

"…who the hell are you?"

Armin laid back in his chair and sighed. "Someone who's had to fight to keep what's mine almost constantly. It's a hard-learned lesson, so it's best if you got it drilled into your head by a simple chess game rather than a life-or-death situation involving the ones your closest to."

Two of the people that remained nodded in unison (now that Francis thought about it, those three were constantly in unison) and left, the rest of the crowd following behind until they were the only two people in the room. Francis really did not want to be left alone with this kid, but he had to prove him wrong, at all costs.

"H-how's that fair?" Francis demanded, "If you say it's yours then it's yours. People should get the idea and back the hell off—besides, what kind of kid like you would know about life-or-death situations?"

The blonde actually laughed out loud, which spooked Francis to no end.

"First off, I'm sixteen," Armin said, "Second, I'm a veteran and therefore your senior and should be treated as such, and third…"

Something dark flickered in the blonde's eyes that made him suddenly seem a lot older, making Francis' stomach drop.

"…life-or-death situations don't care how young, old, innocent or seasoned you are—they just happen. It doesn't matter if you're an eight-year old or sixty-five-year old. Life happens, and so does death."

Francis was starting to feel very uncomfortable. "…what do you mean by that?"

Armin's unsettlingly blue eyes scrutinized Francis' every movement. "Are you aware of the Fall of Wall Maria in 840?"

The boy scoffed. "Of course I am!" Francis replied, "I remember a bunch of key goods like silk and sugar was in short supply—it still is!"

The blonde's eyes narrowed with what Francis could only guess was contempt. "Well so was food in general, as well as blankets, dwellings, clothing…pretty much everything one needed to survive."

"Okay," Francis said, "Now you're exaggerating. There's no way—"

Armin suddenly leaned forward and slammed his hands on the table, making Francis fall back into his chair. "You think I'm exaggerating?" he demanded suddenly, "Well then you wouldn't believe that they sent a good two-thirds of the Wall Maria refugees to die so that they can have fewer mouths to feed."

"T-that's ridiculous," Francis replied shakily, "I-it was to retake—"

"You seriously thought that old, starved men with nothing but farming implements can face titans when the Survey Corps itself can barely handle them?" Armin asked, eyes cold and filled with barely restrained anger. "They were sent to die so you can have more silk and sugar while the few who survived—as well as those who were too young to fight—were sent to the fields were we were overworked, underfed, and forced to live in unsanitary landfills while you have your silk and sugar. The only way one could keep their belongings is to fight to keep them, or else someone will take it from you. And if there was something you needed, then you take it—even if it means killing them in the process."

Francis stood and backed away from the blonde. "You…you're a Maria refugee?"

Armin laughed again. "Not just any Maria refugee—my hometown was Shinganshina."

Suddenly, everything made sense.

"I had everything taken from me," Armin said, the anger having died down at what Francis guessed was the light bulb e saw light up in the boy's eyes. "All I had were my two friends—and I had actually lost one of those friends, but fate decided to give me a break and he came back. I've gained a lot more since then, and I'll protect them with my life—and others."

"But…" Francis understood where he came from, however he was still confused. "W-what the hell gives you the right to give people's lives away?"

"Nothing," the blonde replied, shocking Francis. "I don't give lives away—that would imply that I kill for the hell of it. No, I take lives because they tried to take something from me. That's what life is—you take what you need and defend it at all costs, even if that cost is your life—or, if necessary, the lives of others."

Francis stared at the chess board again. "Humanity is…very flawed, isn't it?"

"It's not just human nature," Armin replied, "It's just how this world works—the strong prey on the weak. Animals hunt other animals, humans hunt animals and weak humans, titans hunt humans."

"That's…not fair," Francis muttered, "I mean, we're the sentient beings, right? We should the top of the food chain."

Armin smiled, though it wasn't terrifying—just sad. "That's what the Survey Corps is about," he said, "we're trying to reclaim the world the titans took, to restore our dominance. The problem is, some people are content to live in this cage for all eternity, so that makes our job a lot harder."

It was then that Francis understood completely.

"This world is very flawed," he muttered, "the only reason we're fighting against the titans is because of pride, isn't it? Because we believe that we deserve to be free—but what if we aren't meant to be free?"

"You mean like you didn't mean for me to use my king as bait to take yours?" Armin asked, "It doesn't matter if it was meant for us or not—if we want it, then we have to fight to take it. You can't change anything if you aren't willing to sacrifice anything for it, now can you?"

Francis nodded, completely awed. "…no wonder you beat me in chess. Greed doesn't get us anywhere, does it?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Francis knew he was right. He was focused on keeping all of his pieces while taking all of Armin's, which in turn left the most important piece completely undefended. Armin seemed content with the bare essentials, only taking what's necessary.

Which, in this case, was what Francis left to be taken in his need to take the other, nonessential pieces.

"No it does not," the blonde replied, sitting down again. "But as my grandfather said, Spirit, Wisdom and Strength is what is what will get you where you need to be."

"Spirit, wisdom and strength, huh?" Francis mused, "What if you're lacking in one or more of those?"

Armin looked towards the doorway where the crowd had left. "Then that's what love and loyalty is for," he answered, "You find it in something—or someone—else. In actuality, you probably are lacking in one or more of those qualities, because if you think you have it all then you have nothing at all."

Francis couldn't agree more.

"…you want a rematch?" Armin asked suddenly, smiling kindly. "I bet you that I can call checkmate in only ten moves."

"But calling it won't mean you won," Francis pointed out, "because I might put you in checkmate before you can actually take out my king."

The blonde laughed lightheartedly, "So you are learning," he said, setting the board back up. "Fine—I won't let you call check, even once."

Francis' eyebrows furrowed at the challenge. "Okay you're smart, but that's a bit much, don't you think?"

"If you're scared, then—"

Francis frantically helped him set up the board, making the blonde laugh again.

"Alright," Armin said, "You first."

Francis grinned as he did just that."

Francis felt himself grin as he moved to take the blonde's knight. One more move and he'll be in check, he thought gleefully, looks like you're not all-knowing after all—

"Checkmate," Armin said simply, knocking over Francis' king.

"What the—shit…" Francis groaned, "Aren't you supposed to say checkmate before you take the king?"

"Are you supposed to announce you're going to take someone's belongings before you rob them?"

Francis narrowed his eyes. "Are you supposed to make every chess game a life lesson?"

"No, but it just happens."

Despite feeling annoyed, Francis couldn't help but laugh.

"Is it just me, or is that guy a lot less annoying?" someone Armin didn't recognize asked at their table.

"You mean Francis?" he asked, "Yeah, he's an okay guy now."

Eren laughed out loud while Mikasa smirked behind her scarf.

"Mind if I sit here?" said boy asked, tray of food in hand.

"Of course," Armin replied, patting the empty seat next to him.

"Thanks," Francis said, sitting beside him and starting on his food.

Armin suddenly got an idea. "Hey, you want to have another chess match?"

"Are you going to turn it into another life lesson or are you just going to kick my ass for fun?" was the reply.

Armin tapped his chin, pretending to think. "Hmm…I'm not sure yet."

Francis rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Whatever—either way, I'm game."

So I was planning on killing this OC too, but whatever :/

Also, I'll take requests because idk wtf I'm doing anymore XD so Read and Review! :D

JUST...

EDIT: Okay I just canNOT ignore this Review:

Loki: Hiya Odin!

I see that you are writing through humans again...XD!

I figured you'd notice because of the unusually long word count XD Happy Birthday, btw :)