R.I.P. Kobe Bryant, you were my most favorite NBA player ever. R.I.P. to Gianna as well, and to everyone who was on board that helicopter. You will be missed! :'(
Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan, Devil May Cry, or any of its characters...
"That was dirty, you jerks." Jean grumbled, as he took a sip from his canteen. "I found the target first…"
"Huh?" Connie voiced out in confusion as he drank from his own water canteen.
"Dirty?" Sasha remarked, looking at Jean with a smirk on her face. "I didn't take you for a whiner, Jean. Is there a rule against stealing someone else's prey?"
The cadets were just finished with their field training for today, and that was to slay makeshift titans inside the forest, all while practicing their skills with the maneuvering gear too. Jean was sitting on one of the tree logs that were simply placed on the ground, with Connie, Sasha, Marco, and Eren all around him.
"Y-Yeah!" Connie suddenly pointed towards Jean with an accusing look. "It's your fault for letting us get to it!"
Jean only scoffed. "Pfft… I don't understand people who've been hunting their whole lives."
Marco looked around nervously, particularly at his fellow cadets. "Oh well… at least nobody got hurt during the test."
Eren frowned slightly at the freckled teen. He noticed Marco was acting quite differently earlier compared to the others, and so he decided to look into it more.
"Hey, Marco?" Eren called out. "Even when you found the target first, it looked to me like you let other people score the points… you want to get into the Military Police Brigade, right? Don't you want them?"
"Mmm…" Marco rubbed the back of his neck as he pondered over it. "Well… I think competition is necessary in the group to raise our skill levels… but I can't help thinking about actual fighting. I'm the slowest one here… so I thought I should attract the titan's attention and let the others take them down from behind, even though that's pointless in a test that measures our ability to kill a titan… and even though I've wanted to join the Military Police Brigade ever since I was a kid…"
Jean, Connie, and Sasha all looked at him in slight concern, as Eren gave him a pat on the shoulder with his bandaged arm before smiling.
"I see… in other words, you're a natural leader."
"What…?" Marco asked in confusion.
"I think it suits you. That kind of efficient thinking and quick-wittedness… I wouldn't mind being in a squad you were leading." Eren shrugged.
"Hm, well if Eren's gonna join Marco's squad, then count me in too! I think we'd have a chance to survive that way!" Sasha exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.
Marco blushed in embarrassment. "Y...You think…?"
"A squad for a hypothetical raid on Trost District?" Jean said, looking up at them. "I'd jump on the Marco bandwagon. In any case, I'd want to avoid being in a squad with a suicidal blockhead. I'd be dead within 10 seconds if that was the case…"
"Wait just a minute," Eren interrupted with a scowl. "If you want to insult me Jean, at least tell it to my face directly. I don't like it when someone's being indirect about me."
"That so?" Jean said in a disinterested tone.
"Okay, okay, you two…" Marco tried to break them up before something worse could happen.
"Blockhead?" Connie said in confusion, having no idea what Jean meant.
"Oh, just come right out and confess your love already, Jean…" Sasha teased.
"...?!" Marco's blush deepened. "I thought everybody had forgotten about that already!"
However, Jean didn't look like he was affected whatsoever. "You're one to talk, Potato girl… why don't you try doing that instead? Everyone knows you got the hots for you-know-who." he fired back, causing Sasha to become silent and start stuttering as her face turned bright red.
Eren turned to the embarrassed girl with a concerned look, before glaring at his rival afterwards. "Sasha? Are you okay? Hey, did Jean offend you or something?"
"Hey, Jean? I don't remember learning a move called 'suicidal blockhead'..."
"Shut up, Connie."
Eventually, Sasha had walked away from everyone due to her embarrassment getting the better of her, with Eren accompanying her on the way back. The half-demon made a mental note to get back at Jean next time for doing this to Sasha. Connie decided to tag along with them since he had nothing else to do as the remaining cadets in the forest each got out one by one.
"Ahhh… I'm worn out…" Jean yawned, as he stood beside Marco watching their fellow cadets.
The freckled boy seemed to be deep in thought, thinking about the conversation earlier about him being a leader. He looked a bit conflicted before finally letting out a sigh as he turned to face his friend.
"Jean, I think you'd make a better leader than me." Marco spoke out.
"Me?" Jean looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "You've gotta be kidding. I'm not brave in the least. What made you think that?"
"Well… don't get mad when you hear this…" Marco smiled nervously. "But Jean…"
"Hey…"
Jean's eyes widened and his mouth hung agape behind the facial mask he wore, as he stared at the body that lay before him.
"Is that… Marco?"
Marco's head was leaning against the wall, with almost half of his upper body missing as he laid in a pool of his own blood. The signs were clear that he had been murdered by a titan.
"Trainee, do you know his name?" A woman wearing a long white dress with the same mask approached Jean, while writing down notes on the pad she was carrying. However, the cadet didn't even seem to notice her.
"I wasn't gonna look… but…" Jean held his head as if he was going through a phase. "I can't believe that happened… to him… M...Marco… what happened?" He turned around looking for help, looking desperate for answers on what happened to his friend. "S...Somebody… anybody… see what happened here?
The woman went towards Jean once more. "What's his name? If you know it, answer me right now."
That was enough for the teen to turn around to face her.
"Trainee, do you understand? Two days have passed since the wall was plugged up with the rock. But we're still collecting bodies. At this rate, there's a risk of contagious disease. We have to prevent a secondary disaster." She leaned in closer towards Jean. "Right now, there's no time to mourn your fallen comrades. Got it?"
Jean looked at her incredulously for a few more moments before turning back to his deceased friend. "104th Training Corps… member of 19th squad… Marco Bott…" he mumbled out.
The woman wrote down everything Jean said on her pad. "Marco… it's a good thing you know his name. Let's continue working."
From another part of the town, Sasha Braus had an overwhelmed look on her face as a pile of dead cadets was before her. Nearly all of the bodies were mutilated and several body parts were all over the place. To top it all off, blood was everywhere and just the sight of what's before her made the girl want to throw up what she ate for breakfast.
"What… What is this…?" she whispered to herself.
"Shit… titan puke…" Another cadet said as he covered his mouth even though he already had a mask. "I guess they don't have intestinal tracts… so once they've had their fill, they upchuck all the bodies like this.
"...Oh god…" Sasha had to turn away and close her eyes since she didn't want to lose her sanity like this.
"Shit… we'll never be able to tell who's who like this!"
In the neighboring street, a blonde girl was continuously muttering to herself as she looked at the bodies of her fellow soldiers almost everywhere.
"I'm sorry…"
She couldn't move from her place, seemingly frozen by the sight of what's around her. Her eyes were wide open in shock too. However, the strange thing was that she had removed her mask, and it seemed as if she had gone insane talking to herself.
"I'm sorry…" Annie mumbled to herself.
"There's no point in apologizing. Let's hurry up and get the funeral over with." Reiner said, who was transporting a nearby body with a stretcher.
Bertholdt, who was also with them transporting a dead soldier, turned his head slightly towards the blonde man as though he got the message.
Reiner frowned. "After all the training we did…"
"Endurance runs…"
"Horse-back riding…"
"Unarmed combat…"
"Lectures on strategy…"
"Technical skills…"
"Vertical maneuvering skills…"
Connie sat on the ground, holding his head with both hands as tears formed in his eyes.
"We worked so hard… we did… so much…"
The remaining cadets who were still alive after the horrifying raid in Trost by the titans could only watch as the bodies of their comrades were burned in various piles. At the end of the day, the number of soldiers who died reached up to 300, with at least half of them being young cadets who had no choice but to fight and die in the line of duty, in order to protect humanity inside the walls.
"Was it all… for nothing…?"
Krista, who was beside Ymir the whole time, slowly approached Connie and attempted to comfort the poor boy by patting his back softly.
"We can't change what happened, Connie." she spoke, with tears forming in her eyes as well. "I'm sad too that our friends had to die while we were just doing our duty as soldiers… but all we can do now is to ensure none of this happens ever again…"
Jean looked at Connie for a few moments, as he deeply understood what his fellow soldier meant. After all, it was him who had the desire to join the Military Police Brigade in the first place, and yet he was still alive until now… he felt as though it should be him who died… not… not…
"We all regret it." He thought, kneeling down and touching the soil. "If we'd known we were going to be dropped into hell like this, we wouldn't have chosen soldiers. Right now, when we're exhausted and can't go on… that's the only thing in our heads." He then looked at his open palm with soil. "Hey… Marco… I don't even know… which bones are yours."
Jean took a glance at Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt, Sasha, Krista, and Ymir. "If I hadn't become a soldier and met you guys… I wouldn't have to worry about who's next."
"Tell me… what's so good about giving up? Is it better to escape from the reality that you're seeing, Jean? Up to the point where you're throwing all your hope?"
"I don't need you to tell me that, asshole." Jean frowned before letting out a sigh, remembering Eren's words during the night of their graduation ceremony. "I know I have to fight… but I'm not gonna be an idiot like you… not everyone…" His frown broke into a sad expression. "...can decimate titans easily like you."
"Don't get mad when you hear this… but Jean…"
Jean's eyes widened as he recalled a memory of him and Marco talking after one of their training exercises.
"...you're not a strong person… so you can really understand how weak people feel."
"...what the hell?" Obviously, Jean felt confused. Was Marco trying to mess with him or something.
"But you're also good at recognizing what's going on at any given moment." Marco continued, gesturing to his brain to show his point. "You know exactly what needs to be done. I mean… most humans are weak, including me… but if I got an order who saw things like I do…"
Jean widened his eyes as Marco spoke, as he didn't expect any of this to come from his friend's mouth. It didn't feel like Marco was comforting him for losing to Eren again, but rather… it felt genuine.
"...no matter how tough it was, I'd do my damnedest to carry it out."
Jean looked up towards the piles of bodies that burned before them, as an image of his friend Marco appeared in his mind.
"What… should I… do now?"
He clutched his fist tightly to the point that the soil beneath his fingers were crushed, before standing up and walking towards his fellow cadets.
"Hey… you guys…"
All of them, even Connie who looked up with teary eyes, turned towards Jean as he spoke.
"Have you decided which branch of the military… you're gonna apply to?" He raised his fist and gritted his teeth, with determination clearly seen in his features. "I've decided… I… I'm…"
None of them were prepared for what he had to say next, because it was the last thing they would expect to hear from someone who talked about joining the Police Brigade for three years.
"I'm gonna join the Survey Corps."
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
"Eren, can't you tone it down even a little? You could attract the attention of the people in town." Armin sighed, resting his forehead on his hand as he sat on a nearby rock.
"Stop worrying, Armin. You'll end up attracting the people even more." Eren turned to his friend and answered him with a smirk as he blew the smoke off of the newest addition to his arsenal, the Blue Rose. Armin just rolled his eyes and turned away to ignore his white-haired friend.
The following day after Eren went back to Trost to visit his mother, he was surprised to see Armin and Mikasa showing up in his home early in the morning. It turned out that the two cadets only remained in the interior for formality, and that they were supposed to return to Wall Rose since they have yet to choose a specific military branch to join. However, the two decided to pay a visit to Eren's mother first, so they were equally surprised at seeing their friend a few hours earlier.
"But, Eren…" Mikasa said, watching the half-demon from a distance. "D-Don't you think you might be getting carried away with this…? I thought you only wanted to see how that gun works?"
"Come on, Mikasa." He shrugged his shoulders before continuing to shoot the trees before him, loving the sound of every bullet round that he fired. "If you were in my place, you'd see how fun this is."
Mikasa pouted in slight irritation despite the blush that formed on her face. She may get easily embarrassed around Eren easily, but she was still a girl and there were times where she could be just that. But then, a sudden thought came to mind as she gazed at the revolver in Eren's hand. "Wait… where… where did you even get that? I...I don't think I've seen it before."
Hearing Mikasa's words, Armin turned back towards Eren and took a closer look at his pistol. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. And come to think of it, it's not the same as the guns that Eren had a few days ago… I remember you having two of them, and that isn't anything like those two."
Eren then stopped shooting so he could turn towards his friends. "That's because this isn't. I won't tell you who it is for your own safety, but someone gave this to me as a gift so I could deal with demons when the time comes. I haven't used it on demons yet, but it might happen sooner than you think. The guns that you're talking about must be these two." He holstered his newly-acquired pistol before summoning Ebony and Ivory, twirling them around in his hands.
"Yeah, those. I'm still wondering how you can make them show up nowhere…" Armin took a closer look at Eren's black and white handguns before he noticed something weird. "And where do you get the bullet rounds for them? I don't see you having spare bullets anywhere yet you've been carrying those guns all the time."
"Well to answer your first question, these babies along with my swords are bounded to me thanks to my right arm. That means I can call for them to come to me anytime I want. Second, my guns are custom-made so that they don't require real bullets to work. They convert the demonic energy in my body into bullets that are very effective against demons." Eren explained while doing a few poses with the pistols.
"That's… That's amazing, Eren…" Armin breathed out in astonishment. Even Mikasa was amazed with what Eren explained. Who knew that demons had the power to do that? It made them realize that there was so much more they have yet to discover. "Can… Can I see it?" Armin asked, a bit nervous since it was Eren's property, after all.
"Sure, come on." Eren nodded and gestured for his friend to come closer. Armin wasted no time and ran over towards where Eren was, before taking one of his pistols and examining it carefully.
As soon as it was on his hand, Armin immediately noticed the "For Tony Redgrave" engraving on its side, and it made him confused. That wasn't Eren's name, nor did he know of anyone like that. This was his friend's gun, right?
"Eren, who's Tony Redgrave? Why isn't your name here instead?"
"Let's just say he's someone special, and you'll figure it out when the time is right. There are other people who also deserve to know the full story other than you two."
Understanding his words, Mikasa and Armin nodded. The blonde-haired boy went back to examining the gun, looking at its other features aside from the engraving. "This feels a lot more comfortable than those rifles that the Military Police Brigade use… and you can carry these, uhh… what do you call these guns again?"
"Their names are Ebony and Ivory," Eren explained as he handed Mikasa the other one, who did the same thing as Armin. "They're custom-made M1911 pistols, or in general, handguns. Let's see… oh yeah, Ebony is designed for rapid-fire shooting while Ivory is for long distances and comfort. Together, they can store enough of my demonic energy for more powerful shots."
"Wow… the one who designed these guns must be a genius. " Armin said in amazement once again, and Eren chuckled at that. He knew it was true in every aspect.
"Yes… to make weapons such as this… can we even be sure that the person who made these isn't a demon like you, Eren?" Mikasa smiled.
The white-haired teen shook his head in amusement. It was rare to see Mikasa like this, but every time it happened, he made sure to treasure it. "She's not a demon. She's just… really smart for an average human." He answered. "Although I wish I could've met her just once…" he continued in his thoughts.
"Whoever she is, she's a remarkable smith." Armin continued, testing out the pistol without shooting anything. He smiled at Eren afterwards, without knowing that his finger had rested on the trigger. "This thing must be more —"
*BANG!*
Unknowingly pulling the trigger, he fired a round that was fortunately aimed towards the ground. Armin yelped and quickly jumped in his place out of shock, even throwing away Ebony as if the gun could kill him.
Mikasa was caught off guard with what just happened, before checking to see if Armin sustained any wounds despite not being harmed whatsoever. However, Eren remained passive, having only a frown of confusion on his face as he stared at his friend. The shot left a mark on the ground, which also cut through some of the grass, and it could only mean one thing.
"I-I didn't mean to, Eren! I swear, it was an accident! I didn't notice I was pulling the trigger!" Armin quickly turned to Eren asking for forgiveness, while raising his hands up in defeat.
But instead of being angry like what the blonde teen expected, Eren simply picked up Ebony from the ground and actually handing it back towards Armin! "Hey, can you try shooting with this again?" he asked, genuinely confused more than Armin himself.
Wait… did Armin hear him right? "W-What?"
"Try using this again, and aim for that tree this time. I just want to check something." Eren pointed to the tree that was in the distance before them.
"W-What are you trying to do?"
"Take the gun and pull another round, I need to check something." For some reason, Eren became more serious than he was just a second ago.
"Eren, what are you trying to—"
"Just take the damn gun and shoot that tree!" The white-haired teen heightened his voice this time, and it scared Armin enough to do as he was told. Taking Ebony from Eren's hand, the blonde-haired boy aimed for the tree in front of them and shot several times, each one leaving a small imprint on the bark.
After a few seconds, Armin finally calmed down and lowered the gun, but not before sending a nervous glance towards Eren. Seeing his friend in obvious distress, the half-demon quickly acted and took Ebony from him and flashed an apologetic look.
"Sorry about that, Armin…" Eren said as he patted the blonde on the back. He tried to be a sincere as possible, but the look on his face said that he was hiding something. "I needed to check if you can still shoot a gun even though we're now soldiers," he lied as he turned his head to the girl that was with them. "Speaking of which… Mikasa, can you test out something for me?"
"Eh…?" Mikasa voiced out in confusion before walking closer towards Eren. "W...What is it that you want me to do…?"
Eren, or known by his birth name Nero, grew serious all of a sudden as he summoned Yamato into his right arm. His friends' eyes widened naturally with what he did, but only Armin reacted in a different way as he got a closer look at the katana that Eren held.
"T-That sword!" Armin cried. "I remember that! You used it when you were fighting those armored creatures back in Trost, and…" he trailed off, remembering what his friend was capable of doing with it.
"And what, Armin…?" Mikasa asked, a bit shaken that Eren literally made a sword appear out of nowhere. However, she knew that this was something she would have to be used to seeing.
"I… I can't explain it, but… it looked like… Eren was slashing through air itself." Armin explained it as best as he could, getting Mikasa to widen her eyes while the white-haired demon chuckled since his friend was a bit close with the description he gave.
"Good thing you remember, Armin. Now let me explain." Eren then began to tell more details about the sword he was holding. "This sword was originally one of the Dark Knight Sparda's weapons. Its name is Yamato, and it is said that Sparda used this sword, or katana rather, to separate the human world from the demons."
To say that Armin and Mikasa were both shocked was an understatement. Upon hearing that the katana that Eren was holding was once a weapon used by Sparda, whom they only knew from an old legend, they couldn't help but be shocked and amazed. They were shocked because that weapon was just in front of them and amazed that it was actually real despite being only known as an old story. Sure, Ere himself, the demons, and those guns he had were enough proof of it but this actually solidified it.
However, a sudden realization struck Armin's mind. "Hang on…" he muttered, before he looked at Eren with a confused expression. "You said that Sparda used that sword to separate our world from the demons. If that was true, then… then why did demons appear in Trost a few days ago?"
"That's because nothing lasts forever." Eren sighed before continuing, unknowingly repeating the words that his uncle had spoken towards him. "After Sparda sealed Mundus and the demons like in the legend, he lost the majority of his power and through the years, demons began to appear again. They have a new purpose now, and that is to hunt down every single one who bears the blood of Spards in their veins… that's why they came to Trost… they wanted to get to me. However, it doesn't mean that you two or any other human is safe from them. Got it?"
Mikasa slowly nodded, remembering how the demons had no problem turning their attention to her during the operation to retake Trost District. Armin thought about it for a few moments, but eventually nodded in understanding as well.
"What are you going to do about it, Eren? Considering what happened in Trost, the demons will be back, won't they?" he asked, also knowing that his friend was the only one capable of dealing with this problem.
"I'll deal with it as it comes along," Eren shrugged as he pointed to the insignia he bore on his uniform. "For now, I just want to stay focused on my new duties as a member of the Survey Corps." His eyes widened slightly upon realizing something as he shook his head furiously. "Alright, we've gone out of topic for long enough. Mikasa, I need you for this."
Hearing her name, the raven-haired girl then turned her full attention towards Eren, as the white-haired teen unsheathed Yamato slightly before presenting it to her. Mikasa widened her eyes slightly. Why was he giving it to her?
"I want to test something that I've been thinking about for some time now. Take the sword and try using it as you would an ODM blade." He told her, holding out the katana with one hand.
Mikasa nodded, understanding what Eren wanted her to do. In all honesty, she had never used a sword like this, even during their training days, but it wouldn't hurt to try. She took a deep breath, takiny Yamato from his hand before moving to a safe distance away from them as she gripped the handle tightly.
While Armin looked a bit worried that his friend might end up hurting herself since this was an entirely different sword, Eren actuallly had a serious expression on his face. His eyes darted towards Mikasa's hand that held the katana's handle tightly.
With one last look to her friends, especially towards Eren, Mikasa unsheathed Yamato and delivered a few slashes before her before stopping all of a sudden, wondering if she was doing it right as she turned to the two teens who were watching her.
Armin only nodded while Eren gave her a thumbs-up, before she looked at the sword on her hand. A small smile then made its way to her face afterwards. Becoming more comfortable, the girl performed several more slashes in front of her, before turning around and focusing on a different direction with her attacks.
As they watched Mikasa learning to use Yamato slowly, Armin crossed his arms as a smile spread across his face. "Well, look at this… Mikasa… truly is a fast learner, isn't she? If she wasn't such a shy person, she might have beaten Reiner for the second place in our top ten. But… you might want to make her stop before she goes too far, Eren…"
Unfortunately, as Armin spoke, Eren only paid attention to how Mikasa wielded his katana without any drawbacks or anything. He remembered clearly from Dante himself that only those with demonic blood in them have the ability to wield devil arms like the Yamato; the sword's natural energy was also capable of harming those who try to wield it without having demonic blood in them.
So… how can Mikasa use it without getting hurt by the sword itself?
Eren narrowed his eyes. "Something is definitely wrong here… first, Armin can shoot my guns which literally needs demonic energy to work. And now, this." He watched as Mikasa finally ended her little demonstration, sliding the sword back into its sheath. His eyes quickly darted to the tree that was the nearest to the girl, where he took notice of the faint slashes across its trunk, causing his eyes to widen.
"Mikasa can use Yamato, and its demonic energy is not even reacting to her… in fact, she can already utilize what the sword can do, even if its considerably weak as of now…" He turned his attention back to the girl who was walking back towards them with a smile on her face.
"How… How did I do…?" she asked nervously, yet a twinge of confidence could be felt from her as well, as she handed the Yamato to its owner.
Shaking off his seriousness, he took back the katana and flashed a smile of his own. "You did better than I expected. That was good for your first time using this." He told her with Armin nodding in agreement, before the blonde-haired boy spoke up as well.
"Mikasa, that was…"
As Armin spoke to Mikasa about what she just did, Eren's thoughts drifted off once again as he looked at the devil arm in his hand before it disappeared. "I've known Armin ever since we were little kids, and I've known Mikasa for years now… even when Dante showed me who I really am… I've never noticed anything off about them. I don't even sense any demonic energy from either of them. So how…" He looked at his two friends in confusion.
"...how can they use devil arms despite being humans…?"
And that ends this chapter! I know I said that we're supposed to start the Female Titan arc in this chapter, but it looks like that will happen in the next chapter instead. I'm sorry for that, but did you get what happened in the end of this chapter? Looks like there's another mystery for Nero to solve! How exactly can Armin and Mikasa use devil arms? Aren't they human? Or… something more? Come on, every Attack on Titan fan knows what is the name used to refer to the people inside the walls.
Anyone who can guess it right gets a cookie! Now go straight to the reviews and give your answer! Bonus points to the person who manages to give an explanation, lol.
Anyways, in other news, Jean has made his decision to join the Survey Corps after Marco's sudden passing. I never understood why he was killed in canon, but I think it was just for the plot. What's gonna happen next? Find out next time on Titan May Cry!
Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*
-Lance
