Creation began on 02-28-21
Creation ended on 03-02-21
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Hope from the Sky: Faith is a matter of choice
A/N: What if Eren Yeager had questioned Shinji Ikari about his faith in Kaede Sogen? What would Shinji say to him about her?
After Kaede is revealed to have the Attack and Founding Titans
The Survey Corps were upset with Kaede Sogen, and Shinji couldn't deny that. It wasn't everyday that you find out that a girl you're going steady with has the ability to become a Titan and use her spinal fluid to usurp the power of the Titans from other people that possess it…and that she had spiked everyone's beverages on the aircraft carrier with it to make sure that Eren Yeager, the young man that had possessed the power of two Titans, had been exposed to it and, as a result, lost the two Titans to his girlfriend, who would've now possessed seven of the Nine Titans instead of the five she possessed beforehand with this troubling ultimatum his father had set for them. While most of the people would be questioning why Kaede took the Titans from Eren, Shinji just wanted to know whether or not Kaede was still feeling sane after accumulating more Titan power; the fact that the power of the Founding Titan was the strongest out of the Nine Titans, due to being able to create and control every Titan in existence, such a power would seem intoxicating. He feared for her sanity; he knew she was a good person, and whatever her reason for doing what she did, she wasn't wrong for doing it.
"What the Hell was she thinking?!" Eren questioned. "I mean, what was she thinking?! Her having five Titans is unpredictable enough! But seven Titans?! Including the Founding Titan! Has she lost it?!"
"I doubt she's lost anything," Shinji responded as he carried a small group of the Survey Corps on the Eva to where Wall Maria stood. "We find her and ask her why she did it. Hopefully, she'll answer to why."
"Are you sure?" Levi asked him. "If she didn't tell you what she was doing, she's likely got an agenda of her own."
"If she has an agenda, and it's to do something that helps the people on this island, it's not really a bad thing. Desperation makes people do crazy things."
"How can you be so sure of that?" Connie wanted to know.
"How often do people feel like doing something reckless when they feel threatened? How many times does a feeling of impending dread cause someone to act on emotions they don't normally act upon? In times of desperation, whether it's in a war or just some situation they're trying to find a solution to, people will believe in something they don't often find themselves believing in. It's probably the same with Kaede right now. She's just desperate to do something to help. The only way for evil to succeed…is when good people do nothing."
"What do you mean?" Armin asked him. "Good people do nothing and evil succeeds?"
"It's just an old saying. When people do nothing to help, the enemy or whatever the problem is remains unresolved."
"They got another saying where you're from when someone does something they shouldn't?" Eren questioned Shinji, still upset about his Titan powers being stolen by some girl he didn't even know.
"There are a lot of sayings for people that do things they shouldn't," Shinji responded, seeing the wall from a distance.
"She's going to pay for this," Eren declared.
That made Shinji feel the need to say something different to Eren that was not something he would ordinarily say to anyone else.
"Death before dishonor, Eren Yeager," he uttered.
"What the Hell does that mean?" Eren asked.
"Die before you go against something or someone. And right now, for me, it's a warning to not do something you may regret later on. We still need to know what her mental state is before we do anything about her having seven Titan powers to use."
"You seem very protective of a girl you've only been with for a few months."
"Watch it, Eren Yeager."
Everyone else hanging from the Eva had a sense of dread from the tone Shinji had used against Eren when he said what he said to him. If he was protective of her, it was his right to be such if he was concerned for her welfare.
"Say, Shinji," went Mikasa to him, "what do you think of Ms. Sogen right now?"
"Elaborate, please," he requested.
"She's a Titan Shifter, and she's unlike any other Titan we've ever encountered before. Based solely upon Dr. Yeager's notes and the information from Bertolt and the others, people elsewhere in the world see us as devils or less than animals. What is your opinion on such claims? What would be your responses to such beliefs?"
"My opinion would be…that I don't believe in such claims. People from places like this…Marley…that call Eldians and Subjects of Ymir devils or demons or whatever they choose to designate you as, can say what they want, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the same to everyone. Whoever thinks Kaede's a monster, I choose to see her as a person instead. Whoever chooses to deem each of you as devils, I can't believe in that claim. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions. We can't all agree on the same thing, whatever it may be."
"Does that include one's faith in another?" Eren asked him.
"Since you mean Kaede, yes," he answered back. "If you don't have faith in her, that's your choice. We're each of us entitled to our own beliefs, and everyone has their own opinions about something or someone. My belief is that Kaede has a reason for her actions and will explain when we find her. She can't be a bad person, even if she does something like this."
"Why is that? Why can't you feel like she deceived you or something of the sort? She didn't even tell you."
"There are a lotta things we don't tell each other. We haven't even been out of a date yet. She has a right to keep secrets as long as we're not hurting anyone."
"Her keeping this secret hurt me."
"All you have is a bite on your hand. You'll recover from it."
"What happens if she turns into a monster?"
"I can't believe that she'll turn into a monster. I've seen monsters, and the Titans that these people from Marley call devils or what have you…but I don't see the Dark Titan as any of these like how I saw the Colossal Titan when I first saw it. What some see as a giant demon, I could prefer to see as a…sentinel or juggernaut, someone or something that watches over and protects the people that seek sanctuary against other people or something without a conscience or remorse. Kaede can be viewed as that."
"Are you not even the least suspicious of her?" Eren needed to know.
"It's hard to be suspicious of people when you know just about everything that can be understood about them. Kaede's not someone that keeps secrets for the sake of keeping secrets or because she has an agenda, even after being asked by Historia to be an adviser for her."
Eren found Shinji to be very…odd as a person. It probably stemmed from growing up wherever he had lived that didn't possess any walls or giant maneaters that looked like people with deformities such as skinny limbs or enlarged heads. Or it was due to his previous lack of relationships after he was just left alone by his father shortly after the death of his mother; being here just gave him new relationships to develop after he was approached for his Eva's assistance against the Titans. But his relationship with the gray-haired girl that had been the Titan that saved his mother's life from being eaten by a Titan with a creepy smile was just…something he didn't understand from any angle he looked at it.
"You…and Ms. Sogen…are weird," he confessed to Shinji.
"That's your opinion," Shinji responded, deciding not to take offense to him. He reminds me of Asuka a little, almost angry all the time for even the most minor of offenses done, even if they aren't directed towards him. I understand that there's another nation out there that has a grudge against Eldians for past crimes committed against their ancestors, but we don't have to be what they expect of us to be. If they send an army to attack, we defend ourselves, not retaliate and go after them unless we absolutely have to. And from what the Eldians that were from Marley told us, it's hardly a war if Marley took over the majority of the world. It's just a feud based on old scars that had long since healed…and with one side trying to tear them open again.
Meanwhile, Armin and Mikasa were just wondering how Eren was going to cope with no longer having his Titan powers now that Kaede had them. While Mikasa was relieved because it meant that Eren wouldn't have to suffer due to the negatives of possessing the power for a long time, Armin was thinking that there was less danger involved because now their number of Titan Shifters had been reduced to just one, and the one in question was one they had to worry about due to not knowing what she was capable of now.
"There she is," went Hange, seeing the girl sitting by the wall. "She'd better have a valid excuse for her actions."
I'm sure she does, thought Shinji as he stopped the Eva several feet from the wall, and the Survey Corps repelled down to the ground to meet with Kaede.
To be continued…
A/N: And now we know what Shinji thinks about the situation with Kaede before it was resolved. He still had faith in his girlfriend and Eren found him to be odd because of his inability to see her as a possible liability. And he was right about their budding relationship; they hadn't been together for too long, hadn't been on a date, and the girl was entitled to her own secrets that he wasn't aware of. Hopefully, the next chapter will be updated in due time, like a few days from now. It'll depend on motivation and distractions.