Toy Soldiers
Annie twisted her ring.
The rain made it difficult to fall asleep.
Late last year was when she first realized it, during that time in those mountains, trudging through those harsh conditions in a three man squad from point A to point B. Her two partners were Connie and Mina, and, after observing them during the trek, she summarized two things: Connie was less of an idiot that she thought and Mina cared too much for the safety of her fellow trainees—but, not that Annie was very surprised at that, because it was a trait the other girl never let her forget time and again. Though, what was the use of caring for others' well-being if you couldn't take care of your own first?
She pulled her blanket closer, remembering when they'd encountered another squad circled by wolves. When Mina was bitten going out of her way to protect one of them, Connie using his brain—for once—and raising his hands above his head, whooping like a madman to scare them away. How she, against her better judgement as a warrior, helped Mina down to the lodge to the on-site doctors. Sat with her, listening to her tell a story of when she'd been bitten by a cow as a young girl, her grandparents having owned and operated a farm someplace in Wall Maria before the Fall. However that was relevant to getting chewed by a starving, disease-ridden wolf Annie couldn't guess without prefacing everything Mina did or said as odd straight away. After the doctor cleaned and dressed the wound, telling her not to walk on it yet she did anyway, sitting outside in the cold determined to see the rest of the trainees arrive safely.
Annie's heart thumped. She could feel it in her throat. She heard it loud, and clear. Her body grew hot, as she recalled the moment Fritz came lumbering into sight with Jean leading, weighed down by Sasha who'd gotten sick halfway through. The moment when she first realized that she, too, had been waiting for someone. Waiting, for Fritz.
Staring out the window, when had she started thinking of Fritz so much, so often? Wanting to wait for him...? Why? She swore she could even see his face, that stupid grin he always wore, through the reflection, and clicked her tongue. At this rate, her promise to her father... Her mission was...
I want you to treat this whole world as your enemy. Even if the whole world curses and resents you. Promise me you'll come back.
I accept! Whatever it is, I'll do it! Even if it means treating the whole world as my enemy!
And for all her efforts in pushing him away, couldn't.
And of Eren. While he hadn't displayed that healing ability since—a one time phenomenon of the heat having gotten the better of her senses to be sure—she still felt there was more to him than let on. Hidden. Even if he didn't know it himself. Or, perhaps, he really didn't have anything to do with them or the Coordinate, and she was just hoping he was. To stop thinking about the boy with that stupid grin, the way he... always...
Striking those thoughts from her head, no, he definitely had something to do with it. Otherwise, how would she be able to go back home? Right?
Instead of eliminating him like she originally planned, since he was so intertwined the other trainees and still weary of Mikasa's constant presence, it was getting harder for her to find the opportunity to do so, and thus she opted to watch him even more closer than before. At the very least enough to not let her guard around him. Yes. That was needed to focus on. Nothing else.
Looking down at her ring, she'd been here too long for her own good. It was the only explanation that made sense for these... feelings, of hers.
Sighing to herself, to think she even considered the idea that she was… with him… the notion was absurd, and she went back to the rain outside her window, shifting her thoughts to her latest foray into the discovering the whereabouts of the Coordinate if it turned to not be Eren after all.
Once again, though she learned a great deal of the troop movements, guard changes, route schedules, and anything else of importance to the mission, in the end she was prevent from further forlays into the Inner District for fear that same man would catch her. It didn't help that she was gathering information alone. Bertolt had his hands full keeping an eye on Reiner, whose behavior was getting stranger as the days went by; a gradual transition from a warrior, to a soldier. Not that either of them would've been much help to begin with. Though, Reiner's deteriorating mental state proof that guilt played a heavy factor into his transformation, that his mind couldn't handle the severity of his actions, and, frowning at herself, a part of her wished that she would collapse inward, too.
But, then, she would be abandoning it. She would eventually forget it, and become just another person inside the Walls, oblivious to her mission. Her duty. Her promise. And she couldn't allow that to happen, no matter the cost.
Tallying her score progression thus far, it was likely that she would make it into the top ten along with those two, and that meant more opportunities to further their goals. More secrets to be uncover. Soon, she would claim their prize. By herself if need be.
Annie dove under her partner's arms and simultaneously swiped his feet from under him. He lost his balance and she seized the opportunity as she came up and twisted his arm behind his back, pinning him hard to the ground of the training field. He grunted, smirking as he waved the wooden knife still clutched in his grasp right in front of her face. Damn him.
"Ha-ha! I still have it!" Fritz exclaimed, rolling over and dragging her around in the dirt as he tried to break free of her hold.
She held firm. "Too slow," she remarked, placing her free arm over his chest and locking it with the other as they struggled, continuing to kick up dirt and dust. But, she underestimated him, gasping in surprise from a sudden, sharp jab to her side—he'd angled the wooden knife and rolled over again, poking her square in the ribs. She pushed him off and stood up. It was sure to leave a bruise.
Fritz sat up, panting as he once again waved the knife at her. "You didn't… get the knife!" Fritz said. "Shadis said that you have to disarm me or it doesn't count!"
She only narrowed her eyes. He was grinning. The bastard.
This morning's exercise was one of the first of a multitude more for this final year of theirs, and, honestly, she would rather skip them altogether—she didn't need a single one, after all—except this idiot had approached her and irritated her as usual, wasting no time in getting underneath her skin. Waving that knife in her face repeatedly, asking her a myriad of dumb questions, the jokes about her nose even though she thought he was going to quit doing that a long time ago, and that damned, stupid grin he always had on his idiotic face…!
Coaxing her to the point where she was about ready to bash his head in, invading her "thinking spot" as he called it—that is, her frequented perch by the fence next to the tree and the now removed pile of logs—she was shaking from how much it sent her over the edge. And it didn't help one bit that he'd been humming the whole time after being told to shut up. She only agreed because, well, when he kept on doing it, that was the last straw. So, this whole time, she'd just been releasing her pent up frustrations on him instead of actually listening to what he was trying to explain to her about how to properly go about the exercise. In turn, she was only growing more frustrated. Now, she glared at his triumphant face, still waving that damned knife.
"Quit. Doing. That," she threatened.
"Like I said earlier, disarm me and I'll—"
She lunged for it.
He pulled away at the last second. "Too slow!" he mocked, echoing her words. Waving the knife again, he pointed it toward her chest and lowered his stance. "I'm going to come at you again! You ready?"
She didn't bother indulging his ego, and, as he let out a yell, kicked out with her leg to catch him around the ankle, but, he powered through it and, proceeding to duck away from a following mid-kick, managed to spin on his heel and swing the knife at the side of her head. And, dodging it, Annie shot out her elbow, going for his stomach. He blocked it, then pushed back and used his weight against her; staggered her. Fixing her hair, she knew what he was up to. Going for a low sweep, she had to get him down fast.
He didn't have time to avoid the attack, though, not wanting to go down alone, grabbed the back of her hood and took her with him, slamming his forehead into hers as they collided.
Grunting, they grappled with each other, tumbling about as she tried to pry the knife from his fingers, earning a knee to the gut in the process. She brought a fist down on his side in response. Then, he just decided to roll right on top of her.
Holding her up by her uniform, he gasped. "You have to… get the knife…!" he repeated, nose to nose.
And after a few more tense seconds of struggling, she was fed up.
"Fine!" Abruptly letting go of his arm, she used the momentum to kick him off.
He flew backward, wincing as he slide across the ground.
"Have it your way!" She was on top of him now, arms locked around his neck and their cheeks practically touching. "I'll get the knife then!"
That was when it happened. Their lips brushed against one another. In no time, she got off him, bouncing back as she wiped her mouth, tasting blood and spit.
"You…"
He sprang up, hands up. "That wasn't on purpose! I didn't mean to—ow! What the hell?!" he yelped in pain and surprise, holding his shin as his eyes watered. "That really hurt," he mumbled through clenched teeth, the knife between them as he fell.
"Get up."
He stumbled to find his footing, but tried his best to ignore it and put up his fists. Moving slowly because of his shin, he was unable to leap out of the way as she went for another kick. She hit him in the same leg higher up and, brought to one knee, he bit down harder on the knife. Then she uppercut him in the stomach immediately thereafter, snatched the knife away, and pushed him over.
"Now… you'll… stop waving it…" she panted. She was more winded that she would've liked to admit.
Despite the pain, he smiled brightly. "Y-yeah..." Then he quickly looked away.
Looking away herself, she didn't want him to see that she was blushing, too,a and tossed the knife back to him. "Waste of my time…" she grumbled under her breath, turning to leave.
"... Hey! Wait! Where are you going?! Annie!"
Eager to get away, heart pounding and cheeks burning, she had to make herself scarce before anyone notic—she stopped.
... What was he—? And with…?
Reiner was approaching with Eren close behind. She spotted the wooden knife in his hand and sighed. Of all the times... It was just one nuisance after another, wasn't it?
