Krolva District

The rain was icy and unforgiving as it poured down on Fritz and the rest of the trainee's heads scaling the mountain path for the day's exercise. He was at the rear, trudging his way through the slippery slosh and ankle-deep mud, dirty and sopping wet. Each step forward was a struggle the higher they went. One of his boots got caught. He cursed, and just when he thought things couldn't get any worse as he pried it out, someone came tumbling toward him. They barreled into his shoulder and both of slide further down the path, only stopped in their descent by Annie who was behind him down-a-ways.

Staring up into her face as more dark clouds gathered in the sky behind her, she'd grabbed him by the hood of his raincoat. He thanked her, then strained his neck to see who had taken the first fall. He couldn't tell for certain and going to check on the trainee who collided with him, her face pressed into the mud, was about to offer a helping hand only for it to get slapped away as she sat up, grumbled, wiped her eyes, hefted her pack, and continued up the path without so much as a thank you. He huffed. He'd only caught a quick look, but, it must've been Achi.

His chest tightened. Ever since that incident with the bandits, every time he happened to see her, he was reminded of Sofie. That it could've been Sofie who might have been kidnapped—or worse. Luckily she was safe at home, or so mother said in her letters. The youngest Brandt hadn't yet inherited the bad trait of the other three, though her stubbornness was budding nicely. No news from Ines. Of his mother, she was also still upset about him running away, but, that was a story for another time.

"You okay, Fritz?" Mina put a hand on his back.

"I'm fine," he said, attempting to wipe the mud off his uniform without success. "Dammit."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?! This isn't the time to be taking a break! We're only halfway to the top, what the hell are you stopping for?!" Eren called down, waving at them, farther ahead than anybody else except Reiner and Mikasa who were right on his heels. "We have to get going!"

"Better get moving, I guess," Mina said.

"Yeah."

"Come on! Double the pace!"

"Annie, are you ready? We're going!"

Lowering her hood further to keep the rain away, Annie looked out to the landscape around them. "Let's just get this over with," she said indifferently. "This rain is getting worse."

As they fell back in line, Fritz adjusted his pack.

Earlier in the day, Chief Instructor Shadis strapped a cumbersome pack of equipment onto their backs and ordered them to trek to the top of a small mountain located far from the training camp. More endurance training. Though, he wasn't sure if some of those here were ready for it, thinking again of Achi. And, by extension, little Sofie.

They were now at the top of the mountain. Waiting there was the Chief Instructor and a few of the other instructors. Behind them, out in the distance, stood Wall Rose, and Shadis shouted that they would take a short break before proceeding onward. Once the break was over, they were to descend down the mountain towards Wall Rose. He further explained that the Krolva District was in the direction they were going and that was their true destination for the evening.

Fritz sighed in relief. Finally, a chance to relax.

As the rest of the trainees split into their respective groups and mingled, instead of joining Connie or Mina and with Annie nowhere in sight, he looked around for Achi, spotting her off by herself. The mud that'd caked her face had since been washed away by the rain, and he could now clearly tell why she looked so out of place: her age. When he approached, asking what was wrong, she spat.

"Is something wrong with you?" she fired back in a voice as cold as the rain that peppered their raincoats.

His raised an eyebrow. She and Sofie looked so alike, it was frightening, but, that way of talking, on the other hand… "I was thinking about the look on your face. I'm sorry..." he replied, shrugging. "It's just when I look at you it reminds me of my little sister."

Suddenly shooting her arm forward, Achi grabbed him by the top of his uniform and pulled him down to eye level. "So what if I do?" she growled. She let him go. Roughly. "'I hope she doesn't end up like that when she's older'. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" She looked away from him, at the horizon. "Well, then fuck you." Her voice became distant. "I don't need anyone's damned pity. Especially from someone like you.

"I—"

She spun back around, infuriated. "What?"

"Ah… no, nevermind..."

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

He pursed his lip. "Hey, you don't have to be so rude abo—"

She moved her head to the side to shake the rain off her hood. "What, you gonna cry? Go bother someone else with your bullshit."

And with that said, she stomped off and left him to stand by himself in the rain.

Inside the Krolva District, Fritz sat down where the rain couldn't reach after spending a decent amount of time scouring the vendors for free samples with Sasha. Most had closed up shop due to the weather, but, that hadn't stopped that girl from doing her damnedest to get her hands on whatever morsels were available. Rubbing his aching stomach, he felt sick. The Chief Instructor had given them free roam of the District as long as they didn't damage any property or disturb the local populace, but, with the way Sasha was still tearing through the streets, she might get herself confined to her own special corner again, and him, too.

Speaking of, Sasha came blundering toward him, a wide grin plastered on her face. Gathered in her arms was a bunch of food and she was already chopping down when she plopped down next to him. She offered some, but, he shook his head. Thinking about Achi and her words as Sasha chewed, how old was she? Younger than most of the other trainees here, for sure. Younger than even Ines when she'd first signed up. Though, the look on her face dispelled any indication that she still held the innocence of a child like Sofie beneath those big, bright eyes. Her eyes were haunted and dark, painted from a past from a torment and horror, the same look he'd seen Ines with the day their father died.

He smiled forlornly, caressing the same spot were his mother had slapped his cheek years ago. At the time, he'd wanted nothing more than to hit her back. To hit Lex because he pulled him away, promising that he would go after her. That he wouldn't let Ines face the Titans alone. How childish. Sasha tugged on his arm. She'd noticed. He thanked her, but, again, declined. That was when he saw Annie. But… where was she going?

Wandering around the now deserted streets of the District, leaving Sasha to eat her food in peace, Mina mentioned her behavior was getting more and more sporadic, hearing Annie talking to herself when she thought nobody was around, saying something about "treating the whole world as her enemy" and "a promise". How she was always twisting that ring on her finger without realizing, or how her hands shook despite denying it. About her late night walks. So, here he was, trying to track her down. But, she was nowhere to be found.

Knowing her, he figured she would be prefer to be someplace where the solitude was absolute. Where she could sit and stare out at nothing in particular uninterrupted. He looked to the Wall then, having previously thought that she couldn't have gotten her way up there, but... Could she really have gone up there? Yet, glancing around, aiming as high as he dared, he pulled down on his triggers and shot forward, feeling the cold air of the night blowing through his hair as he let the wires carry him just short of halfway to the top. Planting his boots firm on the Wall, he aimed again—this time for the very top. Hearing someone above, he waited until they passed and shot forward again, retracting his hooks as soon as he flew over the wall. He rolled to break his fall. Taking a moment to gaze out at the vast space in front of him, far out to the lands now ruled by the Titans within Wall Maria, he wondered again where Annie must have been from. It must have been somewhere near Shiganshina, it was the only explanation that made sense to him. Though, clearing his mind of the thought, now wasn't the time to be worrying over such things, and he glanced to his left, then his right in the dark, barely able to see anything as it was so late now. Taking another guess, he put his foot toward the left and started along the Wall. Careful not to trip over barricades and ramps, easing past cannon emplacements, and waiting for the occasional guard to make his round, he hoped to find her soon.

And after a time he heard someone shout behind him and he spun, bracing himself for a guard to tackle him, only to bonk heads with Sasha instead.

"Sasha…? Did you find him?"

"Y… yeah… Ow."

"Ah. There you are!" Mina said in a huff as she rushed to meet them, black braids swaying. She paused to catch her breath, then helped Sasha to her feet and gave her a pat on the shoulder, making sure she was okay. ""Great, Sasha!" She looked back to him. "And we're glad you're safe!"

"Wha… Why?" What were they doing here?!

Sasha spoke up, wincing. She was holding her forehead. "You were acting kind of… strange earlier."

"We heard from Shadis that you and Annie were missing. We've been looking all over for you!" Mina said. "It's thanks to Sasha here that we did!"

"I couldn't find Annie," Sasha continued. "I'm sorry…" She fell back on her behind, and her stomach grumbled. "Ah, what I could do for a snack right about now…"

So that was it. He grinned. "It's alright." Seating himself on the Wall's edge, Fritz lowered his head. So, not only had he lost Annie, but, now the two of them had been declared missing and worried everyone. Just his luck.

"Hey," Mina said, sitting down beside him. "Cheer up. They'll find her." She gently touched his hand, and grasped it. "And, if not, she'll turn up eventually."

"Y-yeah, Mina's right! You can't give up now!" Sasha added, going to the other side of him and playfully punching his arm.

Mina got up, the hand on his shoulder now. "We should head back, don't you think?"

He nodded. They were right. It was Annie. There was nothing to worry about.

... Right?

The day after, after spending time filing a report and being reprimanded for missing curfew, Fritz sat with Connie in the warehouse-converted-to-makeshift-messhall for the trainees' extended stay in Krolva, only half listening to his shaved headed friend talk about how he got some curious stares from the local girls. Of one in particular, with a sizable chest.

There was still no word of Annie.

Connie threw a spoon at him. "Hey, you listenin'?"

"Huh? Sorry, go on…"

"So, this girl, she just came up, asking me all sorts of questions, like that! And I—"

"They were probably wondering why you were such a midget!" Ymir called over from her table, interrupting the story.

"Shut up!" Connie yelled back. "At least I have people who're interested in me!"

"Hah?" Ymir's laughter caught in her throat. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You heard me!"

"You wanna die, Connie?!"

Whatever Connie was going to retort was drowned out by the sound of Eren and Jean across the room. They were arguing again. Everyone, even these two, stopped what they were doing to watch. Eren slammed his fist onto his table and knocked over his plate.

"You piece of shit!" he shouted.

"Shut up! This is reality!" Jean shouted back, grabbing Eren by the shirt.

"You still think taking the easy way out, doing as you please, is reality? And you call yourself a soldier?!"

Armin told both of them to stop, aiming to break up the fight before it got any worse, but it took Mikasa smacking them both upside the head to truly end it—though not before Eren got a last few choice words in.

The warehouse doors creaked open.

"What is it this time?!" Chief Instructor Shadis hollered as everyone scrambled for their seats. "I can't even leave your maggots alone, even in a place like this, for a second, can I?!"

Mikasa raised her hand. "It was Sasha. She farted. Again."

Fritz heard Sasha gasp in surprise, her mouth agape as she sat dumbfounded from hearing such a lie. And for the second time.

"Again? Blouse! Just… take it easy on the beans… next time…" Then, he left.

Sasha ran over to Mikasa in protest. Whatever she babbled to the other girl, Mikasa just shoved bread in her face to keep her quiet. Which, just looked… wrong, though he didn't bother lingering on the scene and looked over at Ymir's table as she and Connie resumed their insulting match, getting in each other's faces while Krista looked on and Achi ignored it.

Krista Lenz, the other victim of the attempted kidnapping incident… He hadn't really spoken to her at all despite her hanging around Ymir so often. Two years in and he knew next to nothing about the "Goddess", as she was called by the other boys. For some reason, he was content to leave it at that. She met his eyes and waved. Blushing regardless, he quickly tried to hid it lest Connie give him trouble and create another scene. Or, worse, if it was Ymir instead.

He stood up, seeing himself out.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Mina get up too, but, before she could follow he hurried down the street.

Thoughts back on Annie as he kept walking to… somewhere… Fritz eventually stopped and sat down. Nobody seemed to care that Annie was still missing, he could scarcely believe it. Or, on second thought, no, maybe he could.

She wasn't the kind of person who mingled well with others.

The only ones besides he and Mina that she interacted with often were Reiner and Bertolt, and even then they weren't conversations but a word here and there. Though, right now, while she might be fine with being by herself, deep down, he knew she must really be—

"Are you going to sit there all night?"

He jumped, startled. He knew that voice! His face lit up. "Annie! Where have you been all this time?!"

"Does it matter?" she replied quietly, standing behind him.

Catching her twisting that ring around her finger just like Mina said, he continued. "Of course it matters…"

She ignored his concern. "I want to know something," she said. She was silent for a moment, then stared him straight in the eye. Like she were trying to pierce into him, vying for answers that she herself couldn't find alone. She stepped closer. "I wanted to know where you stand."

"Right here?" He waved a hand at his feet.

She groaned. "No, idiot, I..." She sighed, crossing her arms. She looked to the side. "What I mean is..."

Seeing her hesitation, her... fear... He made a new vow on the spot: to understand her. Even if that meant taking his first step into hell. Even if that meant learning the real Annie. He wanted to know, even if she didn't want him to. He wouldn't abandon his friends, those people he held dear, no matter what.

"I want to k—"

"I accept! Whatever it is, I'll do it! I want to know more about you, Annie, and if that means treating the whole world as my enemy, so be it!"

Her eyes widened slightly. "W-What? What're you—!"

What was truly going on in that head of hers? What secrets was she hiding? Where was the true Annie, underneath it all?

"Treating the whole world… as your..." she stammered, turning red as he came face to face with her, practically brushing up against her. "Too close." She clenched a fist.

"S-sorry!" He fell back, even redder. "I didn't mean to get that close!"

She pulled back herself, relaxing her fist, slowly. Flipping her bang back to the side, she scowled. "That close?"

"Ah!" He put his hands over his mouth. "Forget I said that!" He clamped it.

Annie crossed her arms. "Uh-huh…" She flipped her hair again. "Well, come on, it's freezing out. We'll get sick if we stay out here much longer." Without waiting for him, she started walking.

Fritz stared dumbly at the small bun behind her head that dipped out in three directions with more questions coming to occupy his thoughts.

What had she meant by "wanting to know something"?

What, if anything, was the significance of her ring?

He smiled.

Well, running after her, for now, the answers to those questions could wait. He trusted her, after all.