I'm now eight years old...time goes by extremely fast.
It just feels like it was a couple of days since I was last born. Oh wow. Am I having an early-life crisis? Or is it just me thinking and panicking over the fact that I have less than two years before Bertholdt attacks?
I'm pretty confident of my plans as of late, finding fewer holes and openings in them as time goes by. Of course, I can not account for unpredicted parallels such as a stray titan or the like which is why I have made countless backup plans in a little notebook that I have hidden underneath my bed. Two abnormals followed by a four-meter, in an area with no suitable anchor points? Already prepared. A fellow soldier in the midst of a horde? Already have an idea of what to do. I am prepared for any inconveniences! I have backups for my backups, plans for my plans, I am like motherfucking Lelouch and Light combined into one sole being!... Except less murderous and world-dominating.
But I find myself a little anxious about what's to come. I have made a life in which I actually love. Sure I may only interact with my and Eren's family, along with some of my parent's friends, but that besides the point, I don't want anything bad to happen to them, and the thought that they all meet horrible ends is very much unsettling. For example, while only appearing for one episode in the show -more like two- I didn't really think of Carla as nothing but the motivation behind Eren but now...I see her as my family. She is basically my aunt in all by blood, and it makes me want to do all I can to try and save her. Carla would also be the force that shows me if I can change the future. If I can't save her, then my efforts for change won't even matter.
Good thing though I already more or less know what I need to do when Bertholdt attacks.
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"Wait! Slow down J!" Eren yelled. But no can do buddy boy. Once I get going I can't stop, and won't stop even if you beg me to, after all, it's for your own good...I sounded a lot like a rapist right now...
...Ahem…
But the point still stands, if he wants to train with me then he has to be able to keep up with me. Doesn't matter if I didn't tone it down to a beginner level, I've seen it in many movies back home where masters make their students do hard training and it eventually becomes easier, so it should have a smidge of truth to it.
I sprinted along the cobblestone ground, taking heed of the many passersby that I rushed past, making sure in my head that I became aware of everything in my path. So when a carpenter working on a roof let his hammer fall by mistake, I wasn't struck in the head, instead I yanked that shit out of the air and threw it back for the headshot -it landed near him-.
With no wasted momentum I continued my sprint, turning left and right, making small twirls, and jumping over anything in my path, I was basically the reincarnation of the word parkour. Hell, I was so skilled that the moment that I saw a woman with a short skirt...Well, I just ignored her because it looked like she was having a bad day. But the child that was throwing a tantrum looked ripe for the picking, and that's what I did, picked the little hellspawn up and fucking suplexed him so hard that I sent his carcass into the year 845 -actually just pushed him- yet I didn't stop my rampage. Why? Because I am an unstoppable train and anything in front of me are tiny things ready to be run over!
-Let it be known that exercise causes adrenaline, and often leads to bizarre thinking and overhyping of one's achievements-
"J!" And there he was again going on with his begging, it's not my fault he isn't pushing himself to the limits, that's what I did when I first started training, I became Asta incarnate so why couldn't he do the sa-...Oh...he threw up...guess he was pushing himself. I slowed my sprint to a jog, making my way back to Eren who at the moment was puking out the morning porridge he had for breakfast.
"Are you okay?" Eren didn't say anything for a couple more seconds since he was...well puking...You know he actually looks really pale...and sweaty...not the good kind of sweat either...more like the sweat that you have when you're about to have a heart attack...the sweat that says 'oh shit I fucked up and I'm about to die' that you see in manga...I fucked up, didn't I?
I rubbed him on the back hoping it would comfort him in a way, didn't really work out as good as I hoped since my hand kept on getting stuck on his damp sweater "C'mon let's get you to your dad." It looked like he was about to refuse but a ridiculous amount of bile made its way up his throat. How did I know? Well, I saw the thing make its way up his throat in the form of a horrendously large bump which he soon released onto my shoes.
Talk about a bad day…but I kind of deserved that.
With a sigh I crouched down, making sure to avoid the puddle of vomit, I lifted Eren up in a piggyback carry. It was a huge risk since he was still a little green around the cheeks but I was hopeful that the motions of me walking would help put him at ease a little. Although, I was a little scared when I felt Eren start to heave a little, but instead of the vomit that I was expecting he instead let out a particularly harsh outtake of air. Oh? Was that a cough?
"Eren...are you sick.?" I questioned him, taking notice of the sudden little movements he was taking...nervous movements...
"What? No!?" He exclaimed, but it was a little too panicked for my tastes. And while I didn't stop walking I did turn my head slightly, so that I could stare at him in the eyes, which were being quite shifty in my honest opinion.
"Eren…"
"Well...not really…" I raised an eyebrow.
"Mom just said that I was a little under the weather! I'm still perfectly fine!" The little cough that came after said otherwise.
"You should've told me you weren't feeling ok." He really should've. If I had known that his immune system wasn't up to date, then I wouldn't have made him work so hard. If he was sore or had a small headache it would've been absolutely ok for him to train, but it is an entirely different story if the immune system is messed up.
"But I am!"
"There's nothing wrong with being sick Eren."
"But I'm not!"
"Yes, you are." Eren was about to speak again but this time a sneeze caught him off guard...gross I have snot in my hair now. Eren rubbed his nose clean, red already piling on his cheeks, whether it be from him sneezing into my hair or sneezing in general, was anyone's guess.
"Fine! But it's not a problem!"
"Maybe not now, but what happens later? What are you going to do when it gets worse?"
"It won't!"
"It will. Want to know why?" It looked like he was about to speak up again but instead, he just nodded, a little frown marred on his face.
"Because you're not special." Heh, the shock on his face was hilarious. Like I just slapped him with a fish. He was probably too stunned to speak his thoughts too, so which is probably why he wasn't raging at me. Eren is just like all the other kids in the world, they are told by their parents how great -or terrible- they are, so deep down each kid has this idea that they are different from the rest...a rarity.
"You're not special. I'm not special. Our parents aren't special. Everyone around us isn't special. The military isn't special." I actually lied about myself, I'm pretty sure reincarnation kind of sets me apart from the rest. Eren snapped out of his funk when I disrespected the military.
"That's not true!" He yelled into my ear, and I had half the mind to drop him right then and there. But I'm a strong-willed adult -actually still a kid- so it's going to take more than that to stop my lecture. So I spoke before Eren had the chance to.
"It is. Why? Because we're all human." Oho seems like I got his attention.
"We all live on the same ground under the same sky, all have our problems, our own lives, family and friends or perhaps none at all, we can walk and see or maybe some can't, we all get happy at times or perhaps sad and mad, we even become irrational too. Everyone experiences these things just like how we all sleep, eat and poop, it's a part of life. Sure some of us may be talented, but I guarantee that there is someone just as talented in something else that can be greater. Most of all we all bleed and die just like how we all breathe and live. You're just as special as everyone else, so you're not special at all. It's weird isn't it?" Hella weird. Just thinking about it you pass by hundreds of thousands of strangers your whole life, ignoring their existence, just focusing on what's on your head at the moment. But the thing is that every single person that you pass has their own limitless stories that are filled with all sorts of memories that were made from happiness, fear, anger, and all other kinds of emotions. It's quite fascinating. Because their memories separate them from every other person, and that in itself makes a person so special. It's only fair that they in return are just as unimportant since in a way they are just like everyone else too.
"And that means that even though our bodies may be different, it still follows human biology...so training so hard until you puke...when you're sick...in the cold, it's going to get you ill." Sure getting sick might not seem so bad, just get some bed rest and medicine and you're cured in a couple of days...But that was back home in the US...The highest form of medicine that Aot has is the equivalent of Morphine and Advil, so being sick can soon lead to death if too severe.
Surprisingly, Eren didn't speak after my grand speech, just furrowed his brows and puffed out his green-tinted cheeks. At first, I thought that he was giving me the silent treatment, but behind those eyes I saw his thoughts swirling around, bouncing off the walls of his head. So for the rest of the piggy-back ride was stewed in silence.
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Walking down the cobblestone streets, I began to take notice of the large number of children in the area. Some were with their families probably going for a stroll of the town, others were with their friends playing among the streets in what looked like to be hide-and-seek, or maybe freeze tag? Others were helping the stores, whether they were family-owned eluded me. But soon I came to the realization that I was...pretty much friendless.
Besides Eren, there was no one that I could consider a friend. Sure I went to school and was surrounded by a lot of kids my age but my past...endeavors had basically labeled me as an outcast. Well, outcast enough for some kids to try and bully me in the past...didn't work out too well for them...they should think hard about trying to pick a fight with someone who likes to fight. There's this one meme that went like 'People think I fight to save the day...But really I just like to fight' and I take that shit to heart. So after giving them the royal beating my reputation pretty much plummeted in school. But not like I care too much, I like kids -I wanted to be a dad before my death- but by god man I don't want to be friends with them, they can be as cute as they want but that annoying ass immaturity is not something to be desired.
'Just you wait, I'm going to tell the teacher Wahhh!' SHUT THE FUCK UP! Fight me or I'll fight that little bitch too! Or it goes like 'Stacy has a crush on you!' 'No I don't!' I DON'T CARE LEAVE ME THOT...Maybe it's my personality that drives them away…
Ehhh who cares.
Turning the corner I spotted Grisha's Clinic -was actually called Eld's Clinic- and while it wasn't much, being only a one-story building it was basically the most renowned clinic in this part of Shiganshina. Hurrying my way down the street I opened the door to the clinic the ring of a bell meeting my ears and right when I placed my foot inside, I heard the distant sound's of flesh on flesh down the street...not sex...more like what I do to little ki-...fighting I meant fighting...more like a beat down actually.
While it wasn't my business to be involved my bleeding heart couldn't bear to handle the knowledge of people inflicting pain on one another -heh, nah I was just nosy-. But first Eren. Inside the clinic the first thing there was to see was the waiting room, which didn't have much just a counter with magazines piled together and a couple of couches with toys on the floor, basically an average lounge. Grisha wasn't anywhere in sight, so I assumed that he was in one of the back rooms probably checking up with a patient.
I made my way to one of the larger couches and promptly threw Eren into the soft pillows "Hey Eren it's cool to leave you here right? Of course, it is! Who says no to a comfy couch? Bye, I'll see you in a bit!" Not waiting for a response I was already running out the door.
The sound was coming from down the street so that's where I wandered to. The sound grew louder and harsher from inside one of the alleys...and a kid crying out in pain. Well, this might be a problem. At first, I thought that it was grown men beating on another guy for reasons I wouldn't know maybe he would be in debt and owed them money he didn't have? Perhaps he pissed them off in a bar and they took it outside. Those were the thoughts I was thinking when I went to investigate, but now I find out it's a kid who's getting shit on instead of a grown-ass man.
You see people there are many things that annoy me, and few things that piss me off. Abusing a kid is one of them -I go easy on the kids I fight- so you better believe that the moment that I entered the alley I was ready to participate in a Wrestlemania bloodbath. But what I saw wasn't some grownups beating up a child, it was children beating up a child...Acceptable. Well, this didn't concern me and my curiosity was sated for the moment...sike, I may beat up kids but I don't go out of my way to prolong their pain...too much. Besides those three bullies deserve the pain I'm about to unleash, who do they think they are beating up a little girl!? What happened to chivalry and being a gentleman!?... Oh right...feminists...Whatever those three are still in the wrong, and in my honor, I will make sure that they are punished or my name isn't Kratos! -It isn't-.
It isn't that hard to sneak up behind three children when they're focused on something, I enjoyed their jumps of fright when I necked them. After the shock of being slapped wore off they turned their attention to me and...oh they were the kids that I fucking flour bombed three years back. Looks like they don't remember me, because if they did then they would've acted a lot like most of the boys at school whenever I'm in their presence...shitting bricks.
"Hey what's the big idea!" One of the boys yelled, getting real close to my face. Dear lord, I could smell the onion in his breath, and it is not a pleasant smell. Wanting to get away from his mouth I did the only logical thing...I socked him in the jaw.
He fell to the floor without the grace of a cat, and immediately I heard the wails coming from him. What a pussy, I didn't even use .00002 percent of my power -I am over 9000-. Man, I hate the type of people that think that just because they can 'throw a punch' are acting all high and mighty, but let me tell you people ninety-percent of thugs can't fight for shit. Especially some little kids with ego issues -how ironic-.
Alright time to beat up the other two. Grabbing both of their heads by the hair I dragged them behind me as I walked around in a circle, of course, they tried to break free so in response, I just tightened my hold until my knuckles started to turn a bright white. It wasn't long until they became blubbering messes of tears and snot -much like before- but to teach a child a lesson you need to engrave it into their minds and I had the perfect way of doing it. With a quick flourish of strength unbefitting an eight-year-old, I forced the two to move in front of me and smashed their heads together in a devastating headbutt. I heard the coconut sound resonate, so I let them drop to the floor, as they cradled their heads.
I slapped my hands clean, satisfaction oozing off me in waves, now that the three bullies were taken care of time to comfort the scared child that I've been ignoring, and I knew the perfect way how...Instantly taking the pose in which you have your back facing the victim, I turned my head just a little so I could take a glimpse at the girl.
"Hey, are you al-" I had to stop myself mid-sentence. Why? Well, the girl who I thought was a girl wasn't a girl all along -It's a trap!- instead it was...well...it's Armin...my bad bro. Really thought you would be a girl who falls in love with me after saving her from her abusers, becomes my childhood friend who survives the fall and everything else after that, and proclaims her love towards me after I had a near-death experience, which I accept and we live happily ever after. -I am not a pedo...I just had hopes-.
Thankfully it seems that he more or less decided to ignore my little cut-off "O-Oh! Y-Yes I'm f-fine. Are they?" Hmmm, your stutter says otherwise my good friend. Getting close to Armin, I trail my eyes over his body -not sexually- taking notice of the multiple bruises he has covering his arms, and I can already spot the ones beginning to form. He would also probably have some hidden under his clothes, thankfully it didn't look like he was bleeding anywhere.
"They'll be fine...Let's get you to a clinic, there's one down the street."
"Mr. Jaeger's? Wait there's no need for that! I'm fine!" I was already picking him up the arms, taking care to not touch his bruising. So he knew of Grisha then? So it probably wasn't the first time that this had happened.
"Nope. Don't be stubborn." I ignored his constant waves of complaints, already making my way out of the alley. Never really took notice of how similar he and Eren were...they were both so stubbornly annoying.
"Stop complaining before I touch your bruising!" Armin flinched but did proceed to quiet down. Hmmm, I did always know that Armin was a small kind of guy -manlet- but I never really give much thought to how small this guy could be as a kid, I think that he's only around forty pounds give or take. It wasn't much of a struggle to walk -drag- him to the clinic, even if he did occasionally stumble. Opening the door, the bell met my ears once again and inside the waiting area, Eren wasn't anywhere in sight. He must've been in one of the backrooms with his father then. I led Armin to the softest couch and helped him sit down.
"Stay here. I'm going to get the doctor." I ordered, and to my relief, it looked like Armin got the memo. I'm glad I wouldn't need to get the handcuffs behind the counter...sometimes Grisha has some rowdy patients.
I walked towards the door that separated the lounge and hallway, opening and closing it I started to check the rooms which weren't a lot -only six- and to my surprise, they were all empty, nothing but empty beds and chairs with the candle lights unlit. I began to think that the two of them weren't here, but the sound of puke hitting water met my ears.
Ahh...Of course, the bathroom.
On the far side of the hallway, there was a hidden corner to the left in which the bathroom laid, and inside it, there was the father-son duo. Eren was preoccupied getting acquainted with the toilet so I instead made myself known to the Grisha.
"Mr. Jaeger."
Grisha turned his head in surprise, his glasses dropping down his nose just a smidge as he held up a sole candle "Oh? J? When did you get here?"
"Around a minute or two ago, did you not hear me? The bell even ringed."
"Ah well no, admittedly that bell is far too soft to hear it from this distance. Are you here to check on Eren?"
"Well yeah, but I can more or less tell how he's feeling at the moment." A particularly loud squelch resinated from the boy in question who despite all odds raised a thumbs up...Respect.
Grisha chuckled "I see. Then is there something else?"
"There's this kid, who's hurt waiting in the lobby. A couple of bullies were beating him up before I beat them up." I smiled despite Grisha's grimace. Mostly every adult in this town knows about my...actions against my peers, to the point some of them have got used to it. Sure some aren't happy with it -Mother included- but most have learned that as long as they don't piss me off I am pretty much the picture perfect child -HAH-.
"...I see. Well I should go check on him. Can you take care of Eren in the meantime?" I nodded, heading to Eren's side, where I proceeded to rub his back allowing him to relax slightly before I started whispering sweet nothings into his ears...he didn't appreciate my whispers if the punch aimed for my head meant something. With a chuckle Grisha took his leave, I watched as his form turned the corner, I began speaking to Eren.
"Any reason why you're vomiting so much?" I didn't get a response for a while, as Eren still had some stuff he needed to get rid of via regurgitating.
"...I don't think so..." His voice was weaker now than what it was thirty minutes ago.
"Hmmm...Maybe it's because you're sicker than you thought?" I teased. Eren didn't say anything for a good minute, but I saw his ears glow red just a little.
"...Maybe…"
"You know you won't be training with me until you get better." He started gripping the toilet seat hard enough for his knuckle to go white, but eventually he let his grip falter letting his arms fall to the side.
"...Ok…"
I rubbed his head "Good lad."
"...How many guys did you beat…"
"Three."
"...Was it hard…"
"Nope."
"...So cool…"
"Maybe." I shrugged, it wasn't hard but that's because they were kids, fighting kids is one of the easiest things in the world...most kids at least. Need to remember all those people Levi shit on...Eren and Mikasa too...and Gabi, can't forget about Gabi.
It looked like Eren ran out of things to throw up, but that didn't mean he was feeling any better. Gently, I hooked Eren's arm around my neck, taking care not to make any sudden movements I slowly began to lead him out of the bathroom and into the hallway. He didn't offer any resistance, allowing me to take him to where I please, which in this case was going to be his house.
"Let's get you home to your mom, yeah?" All I got was a small slow nod, but that was good enough for me. We traveled through the hall, but what grabbed my attention was that one of the backrooms was now in use, meaning that the door was closed but the candle light shone through under its crevices. Grisha was probably checking up on Armin now, and while I knew that Armin was in safe hands I kind of wished for both Eren and him to meet up sooner rather than later.
"Hey Eren, let's take a little detour." He gave me a moan of acknowledgement. Guess he doesn't want to talk...understandable. Adjusting my steps just a little, I made my way over to the back room door, and opened it. Inside, Armin was sitting on a bed shirtless -stranger danger!- with bandages(?) covering his body, with Grisha sitting in a chair in the middle of applying another bandage to Armin's left shin.
"J?" Grisha questioned as he stopped wrapping Armin's leg, in response I waved my free hand.
"Just wanted to make sure he's alright. Is he?" Grisha resumed his work
"Despite the minor bruising, he is alright the most severe thing he has is an intramuscular bruise-" It appears that he caught on to my confusion at the word 'intramuscular', "-a bruise in his muscle, which is on his right arm. It leads to heavy swelling and will be a constant for a couple of weeks, but it should be gone in a month." At that moment he finished wrapping Armin's leg.
"So I wish for you not to aggravate it...alright Armin?" Huh, he looked really timid, and...ashamed?
"Y-Yes, M-Mr. Grisha, M-Mr. J-Jaeger, yes s-sir." I felt Eren move his head slightly, he was listening in on the conversation too.
Armin turned his attention to me "Thank you, for...uh...saving me." I shrugged, and immediately regretted it when Eren groaned in discomfort.
"I'm J Monke, this is Eren Jaeger and you're Armin…?" Of course I knew his last name but wouldn't it be weird if someone who you met for the first time knew your last name even when you never told them? It would…
He smiled shyly "Armin Arlert."
"Nice to meet you, Armin. Umm, Mr. Jaeger is he fine to move?"
"Yes, but not too much. Why?"
"Just going to take him home after I drop Eren off."
"You don't need to do that!" Armin shouted, but flinched as he felt the pain from his bruising.
"True. But I want to and I have the feeling you won't be able to stop me...Could you?"
"...No."
"Right, so no problem. C'mon, I want to take him home before he vomits again." Motioning to Eren, who groaned once more. Armin hesitantly nodded his head, carefully putting on his shirt with Grisha's help. Jumping down from the bed, I took mind of his little grimaces of pain whenever he moved. Then the three of us began to walk out of the clinic, well more like the two of us since I was kind of dragging Eren along. Grisha followed behind us and was kind enough to open the door, the bell ringing again.
"I'll see you later Mr. Jaeger!" I called from over my shoulder.
"Yes, I suppose you will." Grisha stood at the door, a smile on his face, as he watched us walk down the street before going back inside of his clinic.
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"Why are you taking me home?" Armin asked out of the blue
"Ehhh, feel like it. Besides I'm worried that you'll get into trouble again if I leave you by yourself."
"Oh...well...um...thank you."
"No problem." I say, making sure not to shrug this time. Eren was still being dragged around, so I didn't wish to make any more unnecessary movements than what I've already caused.
We kept on walking, and the silence was starting to get to me, all that met my ears were the steps of us walking on cobblestone. I can handle silence but not fucking awkward silence I need an icebreaker "...So why were you getting jumped?" I am not that anti-social! What the fuck! Who fucking asks that!
"Jumped?" Oh thank god, he's too focused on the word to take notice of my social inabilities.
"You know...ganked…" A normal person would've said never mind, in efforts to fix their social mistake, I did not. Even then, he still looked like he didn't understand what was coming out of my mouth. I let out a sigh, maybe I should try to make more friends.
"Why were three guys beating you up?" I stated as plainly as possible.
Armin started to find the ground the most interesting thing ever made -look a rock, kick it- "Oh...well that's...well…"
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine…" You say that but you don't say anything after, it is obviously not fine.
"...Why don't you fight back…" Eren mumbled from behind my shoulder.
"Eren?" I questioned before memories of the anime began to flood into my head. How I remember something from eight years ago I have no clue, but this is exactly what Eren says in the flashback when he first meets Armin.
"...If you don't fight back you're always going to fail, are you happy with that…" Oh wow, he sounds dead...dead...is this future Eren talking right now!? Is future Eren speaking through young Eren!? I'm not prepared for this man! The answers for my earlier worries may or may not be right behind me! Wait no, if future Eren is speaking right now...what can I do? Nothing. Right, no need to overreact about things out of my control.
Armin sent Eren a sharp look -ooh scary- "I don't fail! I don't fail because I don't run away…"
"You're right, in a way I suppose. I can respect that." I say, fighting until you can't is respectable honestly, but it's just as foolish since that mindset was the one that almost killed him in the future. But when things go my way, we won't have to come to that outcome.
"...Your name is Armin, right?" Eren spoke, raising his head off my shoulders just high enough to stare Armin in the eyes.
Heh, Eren greet your second best friend with some more enthusiasm.
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So chapter 3 is done. Honestly, I found this to be the most difficult chapter to write because I had no idea how to start it. It took me two or three tries of starting the first paragraph before I finally found the one I liked best.
This chapter was made from the fumes of the second chapter and it wasn't until I started to write the Armin scene did inspiration finally start to hit me. I think you can notice in my writing when I started to enjoy it.
Next chapter we are introducing Mikasa, I didn't know if I wanted to include her in this chapter, but seeing as how I left you guys waiting for close to a week I thought you all would think I was discontinuing the story, like a forever hiatus just like my previous two stories. Don't worry peeps, unlike the other two I'm having fun with this fanfic.
Didn't include a ton of jokes in this chapter, the main reason being that I had no idea how to incorporate them. The next chapter might be a different thing though.
Remember to criticize in the reviews