This chapter a priori may seem boring as it has a lot of chatter, but it is important since new non-canon elements for the plot are presented, a plot that will revolve around Faraday.
Argumentally I think that the chapter fulfills the task of exploring more the Faraday moral code and his devotion to protect the weak and his sense of responsibility with his leadership ability, as was shown in the last chapter (elements that I took "discreetly" of the character of Spider-man).
"Holding on too tight, bring the breath of life. So I can leave this world behind."
- Breaking Bejamin.
Chapter 4: Unknown Soldier
Diary of a soldier.
Eren has been in prison the last week. The news about a titan helping humanity spread like wildfire; the public still lacked specific details, but knowledge was enough to cause uncertainty. Most likely, Eren will be put on trial, where they will define whether he lives or dies; These things happen when fear dominates you, and it's not that you blame them, I feel overwhelmed by it myself, but Eren is my friend and a valuable asset; I swore to protect my friends and my word is my action; I've been talking a lot about honor, but I've done little to back it up, it's time to start acting.
For more emotional charge, I have not yet thought about those two occasions where I felt that my body was going beyond the limit; the feeling was as if a lightning strike had hit me. I do not know what it will be, but for now I've asked Mikasa to keep it a secret.
End Diary of a soldier.
Armin, Mikasa and Faraday were being escorted to the court of justice, where they deduced Eren and they would be taken to testify, either for or against Eren.
Faraday knew that the brunette was afraid, could see it in her face and in all her corporal expression; Armin had his face of concentration, sure thinking about a plan of how to help Eren somehow. Faraday, on the other hand, knew that the Legion of Reconnaissance would try to take custody of Eren with caution because Hange's tongue slipped a little when the other day he helped her with the Titans they captured; he had been wondering how they would do it.
The main obstacle is the fear of people; When you know something new and is threatening, you tend to flee and distrust it, like when you go to a friend's house and he shows you his dog. If you are afraid of dogs then you will be suspicious, and the only way you can show some confidence is that your friend will teach you that his dog is harmless and that it moves its tail with happiness. How to prove that Eren is not dangerous?
When they arrived at the court and saw a large metal rod with holes of handcuffs at the base he knew: the legion of recognition would show that Eren is not dangerous by subjecting him, causing him physically or psychologically to attack them and that by not doing so He managed to convince the jury. However, that bet did not convince him too much.
If you show that your dog is not dangerous by showing how you bend it, there is no guarantee that, as the master is not there, the dog will not bite you to release its frustrations. You had to use dialogue to win this, not just cheap politics. He himself was thinking coldly about the possible actions he could take, using Eren's titan powers as the primary support, analyzing everything they knew; He managed to get Hange to tell Commander Erwin to ask Eren how his transformations had been, what he remembered about them and their sensations, especially the first one.
The white-haired abandoned his reflection for a few moments to see his black-haired friend, her nervousness was noticeable; this time it was completely normal for her, today Eren's future would not depend on Eren, you could not just trust him in this case.
Faraday took Mikasa's hand between his, making the girl looks at him surprised by the action.
"Mikasa, I'll make him out of here alive." The white-haired man said it more as a fact than as a promise, squeezing the black-eyed girl's hands hard. Mikasa did not understand how he would do it, but she knew that she could always trust Faraday, after all He caused a miracle just to save her.
Then the doors opened and Eren entered accompanied by two members of the police; They took him to the center and handcuffed him to the mast. Faraday noticed Eren's consternation, he was scared and nervous, he was aware that today he could die at the hands of humanity for which he swore to fight for.
At the top of the courtroom sat an elderly man and somewhat overweight.
"Darius Zackly, the army general, chief of the three branches, he has the highest known military power, only the king is above him." Evaluated the white-haired.
"Good morning, today we are here to judge the situation of Eren Jeager, known as the titan shifter, it will be decided whether the custody of the aforementioned will be given either to the military police or to the legion of recognition. Before starting, Eren, Do you understand your situation? " The general asked the chestnut.
"Yes sir." Eren said almost in a whisper.
"I appreciate that. As you know, your case is exceptional, a week ago, no one knew that someone like you could exist, that's why this is done, to be able to decide your destiny in favor of humanity. Now, please, the military police give your proposal. " Zackly gave the order.
"Yes, sir, I, the commander of the military police, Nile Dawk, will present my proposal. After studying the body of Eren, we have concluded that him must be eliminated, his titanic power is unique in its kind, what could generate a civil war over him existence, therefore, Eren must die for the sake of humanity. " The commander finished speaking.
"There is nothing to decide here! That abomination of nature must die for heresy!" Pastor Nick's irritating voice rumbled the place.
"One of the most important shepherds of the cult of the walls, selfish fanatics who believe that they do good to humanity, but only hide under a false honor to enrich themselves, the worst scoundrel within these walls." The light-blue-eyed was thinking about, seeing how Zackly sent Pastor Nick to shut up.
"Now, let the legion of recognition give their proposal."
"Yes, sir, I, the thirteenth commander of the legion of recognition, Erwin Smith, will present my proposal. We want Eren to be an active member of our branch, so we can use his power to recover the wall of Mary… That's all. " Erwin said before Darius's confused look.
"That is all?" He expressed his disbelief.
"Yes, with his power we could recover the territory, in addition to having Captain Levi, the strongest soldier in humanity, and the future member of the legion: Faraday Furorem, who is here, I am sure that with Eren in front being supported by both of them, the victory, although not easy, will be simpler. "The commander said.
"Oh, I see, so Faraday Furorem, could the soldier please be visible?" Darius asked.
Faraday kept his straightness and gaze straight ahead.
"Here, General Zackly." The white-haired boy caught his attention with his voice and all eyes were on him.
"Furorem, reports say you killed a lot of titans, there are testimonies of soldiers that say were saved by you, stories of how you took command of two suicide missions and also that you ended up alone with 3 of the 5 volcanoes Sighted in Trost and helped you eliminate the other two, let me tell you, boy, that's a big impression for a fresh graduate cadet, even for the top 1. I can see why Erwin thinks you can be a big factor in the future." The general praised before the surprised look of most of those who still did not know the white-haired man, who before the praises remained serene.
"Only towards my duty, sir."
Before Darius could ask him a question, several members of the jury began to argue about whether to permanently seal the walls or not, those of the refusal being those of the cult of the walls. There was a participation of Captain Levi, rebuking the one who said that they had to seal the walls claiming that he only saw for his own benefit. They were stopped by Darius.
"Well, Eren, would you be able to use your powers for humanity?" The general asked, causing Faraday to narrow his eyes.
"It's a trick question, he should know from the reports that Eren still can not control his powers well, besides Eren does not remember anything of his time of lack of control and we could not talk to him about it. Damn it, Eren, do not say anything stu-
"Yes, I can!"
"Shit."
"Oh, however, reportedly when you became titan your first reaction was attack Mikasa Ackerman. Mikasa Ackerman is in the room? "The General asked.
"Yes, it's me." The brunette answered, throwing fumes at Rico.
"Is it true what the reports say?" The old man asked directly.
"Mikasa, lying will make matters worse, there were more witnesses who saw that, do not commit obvious disrespect." whispered the light-blue-eyed man, Mikasa grunted a little before answering,
"Yes, that's the way it was. "
The room was filled with murmurs.
"However, I should add that in two previous situations Eren in his Titan form saved my life; once when I ran out of gas in front of a titan and the other when a cannon threatened my life. I just wish that it was in your mind." The brunette added quickly.
" It was not very subtle, it's obvious that if she was called here they should know about her relationship with Eren, especially the military police, use that to discredit any statement Mikasa gives. The situation is complicated, I have to take risky measures." The white-haired man was trying to assess the situation.
" Sir, we must add that Ackerman's testimony may be softened due to his emotional affiliation with Jeager. Mikasa Ackerman lost her parents 6 years ago and the Jeager family welcomed her into her home. In addition, a deeper investigation revealed that Eren Jeager and Mikasa Ackerman, at the age of 9, murdered the three thieves who tried to kidnap her. Although it was said in self-defense, we must question the definition of humanity in those acts. "
That caused a furore in the room, they began to accuse Mikasa of also being a titan, Faraday took all of himself to not break his Stoic expression.
"No! Maybe I'm a monster, but she has nothing to do with that!" It was Eren's shout, followed by a few more, it was Faraday's signal.
And in just an instant, to everyone's surprise, the Eren's mouth had been covered by the white-haired man's hand.
"Eren, you scream a lot, calm down a minute" He said in a serious tone.
Levi looked at Erwin, asking what to The blonde gave him an expression of waiting to see what
Happened
"Furorem, what do you do? " Asked the General.
"Hushing him, sir, my ears are very sensitive. Also, I wanted to say something and they would not let me. If you allow me, General Zackly." The white-haired man asked politely with one hand on his back while with the other he still covered Eren's mouth despite the look that the chestnut was giving him.
"Go ahead ... "The old man conceded something doubtful.
"First of all, Commander Dawk, I am a witness to one of the two moments in which Jeager saved Ackerman's life, after all I was also there without gas; of the second event I am halfa witness because I arrived a few moments later on stage. In fact, at least one of the two events must be taken into consideration." The white-haired boy finished arguing.
"Objection. That may be so, but your case is almost the same as Ackerman's. You were in Eren and Mikasa's troop of recruits, and certain witnesses say that during the battle of Trost you and Ackerman came to have interactions that were close to romanticism, so it would not be unreasonable to think that you protect Jeager because your interests with Ackerman." The police commander objected.
If the eyes would kill Mikasa's eyes they would be missiles.
Faraday maintained a serene look and bodily expression at Nile's accusations, He had been expected to use his relationship with the brunette to discredit him However, he was prepared, he would use a vacuum in his moral code: truths and half lie.
"Sir, maybe I am a trained soldier, but I am still 15 years old. At my age the hormones are disturbed, so it is not uncommon that I look at a beautiful woman like Ackerman, however, you are very wrong to think that the care I have with her are exclusive, she is not the only woman beautiful that exists." The white-haired man said calmly, letting out a small smile.
Deep down he knew he was a dead man, he could feel Mikasa's eyes burning on his back, the
brunette knew deep down that Faraday had been purposely lazy leaving the most obvious implication to the air to downplay his relationship with her, however, she could not help feeling angry.
"Well, I think that the likes of Furorem women are irrelevant, or they are, Commander Nile?" Darius snapped at the commander, who averted his eyes.
"Now that that's clear, I'll talk about Eren and his situation. Sir, I will express everything with a little parable." The white-haired then left Eren to approach slowly but surely towards Zackly, once he was close enough, he pulled a knife, alerting all;. In seconds had several rifles pointed at him.
"Quiet, I just want to talk. Sir, I want us to do a mental exercise. Suppose this knife is the most powerful and effective weapon in the world." Then the white-haired man pulled out a plastic knife.
"And now let's suppose that this is your usual weapon; You has used it for a long time and feels safe with it. Now, I will give you the knife, which is the most powerful weapon. You will obviously receive it, however, you realize that you do not have enough capacity to use the weapon properly. But with this weapon you would be able to face and defeat any enemy if you knowing how to use it." Said the white-haired man as he fiddled with the two objects before Zackly's attentive gaze.
"As life is about opportunities, two logical paths are offered: Safe the weapon while you use other weapons to improve, and then you dust off the most powerful weapon and start practicing with it until you master it; or, well you can get rid of it and keep your reliable plastic knife. What option would you choose? Risk or settle? "He asked the General, looking at him with his sharp eyes, Darius kept his gaze on the cadet without hesitation.
Levi had to admit that the brat was doing well, at least there was still no risk of losing Eren His guilt. The captain looked back at Erwin and noticed that his eyes were almost bright and a very, very small smile looked at their corners.
Armin could see what his friend was doing, he directly convinced the final decision-maker only with dialogue, with respect and without any personal testimony, with a metaphor.
"What is my performance with the plastic knife?" Darius countered, Faraday did something very simple: He shot the knife and with quick movements tried to cut it with the plastic knife, unsuccessfully, then he did the same, but in reverse, ending with dozens of piece of plastic on the floor and the knife intact.
"Well, in that case I risk." Finally gave his answer the general.
"I think it's obvious to what I allude to this, general. We have tried to seek our freedom with the same weapon as always, life gives us the opportunity to choose between a plastic knife and a steel knife. Although we take time to master the power of the knife, everything will be worth it in the end; the effort and hard work will take us outside these walls." The white-haired man finished his speech.
"A genius of hard work. " Dot Pixis thought, stroking his mustache.
" Objection. Do you expect that with a simple metaphor everything will be fixed? I think you forgot to mention that the weapon is a double-edged sword." Nile objected, looking at the white-haired man, who sighed before returning to approach Eren, who had remained silent when deciding to trust Faraday's trial.
"Commander Dawk, all weapon It is a double-edged sword at the beginning. The first time you shoot a rifle, if you do not do it right, you can take out one eye; The first time you shoot a gun, if you do not do it right, you may end up hitting the foot if you do not have the position and strength to withstand the opposite force; The first time you use a sword you risk cutting something yourself. That is why training methods are devised step by step, so that those kinds of things do not happen. If in your first guitar lesson you already want to compose a song without having barely any knowledge, the strings will probably end up broken. Do I make myself understood?" He finished his argument
" Well ... maybe, but from Eren's powers we do not even have an idea of how they work; What's more, a week ago we did not know about them." The commander objected,
"Then we have to investigate. We have the test subject and I'm sure that Sub-Commander Hange Zoe is more than excited to start." That statement was greeted by cheers from the aforementioned.
"Also, you're wrong we do not know anything, sir. I was in the hell of Trost, and therefore I could see all the transformations of Eren, except the first one. Eren, could you tell us what you remember from the first time you transformed?" The white-haired asked before the indecisive gaze of the green-eyed.
" I ... had been swallowed almost by a titan; I was missing an arm and a leg, but I came alive to his stomach. I saw corpses of the soldiers and I could only think of how I wanted to kill all the titans." Eren explained his story.
"In his second and third transformation, Eren bit his hand to transform himself; It is obvious to conclude that physical pain is necessary for the transformation. But since Eren knows as much about his abilities as we do, there must have been something else that caused it, since in three years of training I spent with him I saw him hurt many times. I concluded then that it was a motive. The first time Eren was activated he had no idea of his powers, but all the ingredients were on the table: Physical pain, a well-defined motive and as a plus being in danger of death, which I do not know if it directly affects, but had to help given the later evidence. On subsequent occasions it was more of the same: to bite his hand for physical pain and well-defined motives, to protect his friends from a cannon shot and to cover the wall with the rock." He finished explaining what he had deduced. the white-haired man would have thrown himself on top of him.
"So, what do we conclude with that, Furorem?" Darius asked, with more than obvious interest in his voice.
"That Eren's powers, being unable to control them, act primarily by instinct." Faraday then knelt before Eren and put the knife in front of him.
"According to most of you he is a titan like any other, maybe a little more intelligent, but a titan, after all. Evidence suggests that the primordial instinct of the titans is to eat humans for no apparent reason. So, if I cut it right now, and because he's angry for your comments with respect to his friend and stepsister Mikasa Ackerman, the most normal thing is that he wants to swallow them all."
Those words filled with fear the most of those present. Nile was about to order to shoot, but he was too slow.
Faraday made a clean gash on the forehead, causing Eren to complain of pain.
All were silent. nothing happened.
Faraday got up and everyone could see the blood all over Eren's face, who was complaining, but he was not doing anything else The white-haired man looked at Darius Zackly.
"I must add that, since the first tests are fraught with uncertainty The best man to control and/or defeat Eren in his Titan form is Captain Levi, sir." The cadet added in his black uniform.
"Can you take care of it, Levi?" General asked.
" Yes, I'm sure I can control it. And even kill him if the situation is insurmountable." The captain answered affirmatively. Darius cleared his throat.
"Then, I have already made my decision."
Later.
Faraday left the court sighing, that act had generated a lot of tension in his body; but in the end it was worth it because he managed to save his friend.
"Faraday, that was awesome, when did you think about all that?" Armin asked him, stunned as he was also thinking about how to save Eren and did not come to anything solid.
"I really had some help." The white-haired recognized, because without Hange's blunder and his subsequent help he would not have been able to connect the points.
Mikasa looked uncertainly at the white-haired man. On the one hand, he had kept his word and saved Eren from death only with words, but on the other hand those words about the "exclusivity" of his dealings with her still surrounded her head; It felt strange to think that, as if her stomach were compressing and something was stuck in her throat. She wanted to hug him, but She also wanted to hit him.
So she did both.
The brunette hugged the light-blue-eyed suddenly, who was surprised because he thought the girl was going to kill him; He decided to let himself go and he returned the gesture.
"Thanks for saving him." The black-eyed girl thanked him.
"I told you I would do it." He responded by smiling back.
And then he felt a fist burying in his stomach.
The white-haired man took a few steps back holding the place of the blow while trying to catch his breath and looked at Mikasa who had a raised fist and a look of fury.
"That's for exclusive deals." The brunette simply clarified before the eyes of some soldiers and Commander Erwin, Levi, Mike and Hange who had just arrived to talk with the white-haired.
Mikasa then started to walk away without saying anything else before Faraday's confused look.
"Mikasa, wait." The white-haired tried to call her, but she just kept walking. The light-blue-eyed boy only sighed and looked at Armin, asking him with his eyes to help him; the blonde just smiled nervously and he follows the girl..
"Hahaha! It seems that the great Faraday could not escape the female wrath." Hange teased.
"Sub-Commander, please ..." The white-haired man complained. Even Erwin had a funny look.
"Faraday, if you have already finished saying goodbye to your girlfriend, I would like you to join us." The commander told him, causing the white-haired man to look away.
"She is not my girlfriend ..." Half whispered the light-blue-eyed man.
"Oh, It seems like she had you dancing in her hand." Captain Levi commented with his bored expression.
Faraday accompanied them to a private room, where upon entering he found Eren.
"Hey, Faraday!" He greeted the chestnut to his savior. The white-haired man returned the greeting with a small smile.
"We would like to thank you, Faraday, you did our work less heavy and you managed to put all the cards in our favor." Commander Erwin commented.
"Tsk, the original plan seemed better to me, faster." Expressed Levi.
"Hey, Levi, you just wanted to hit poor Eren." The fan of the titans complained. That information made the chestnut tremble.
"I appreciate your words, sir, but I doubt you brought me here just for that." He stared at the commander.
"In that you're right, we wanted to deal with some issues with you, first, Hange and Levi have directly recommended you to join the legion, so you could join right now, but I'm going to ask you to be a member no-oficial for now." The blond explained.
"What's the reason, sir?" The light-blue-eyed man asked.
"We believe that the military police will try to commit an attack against Eren ahead of time." This time the one who spoke was Hange, who had entered into serious mode.
"That would not be weird, but given that he will be under the direct protection of Captain Levi and his team, I do not see what I could do ..." The white-haired man cut his words because an idea had come to his mind. Then the realization arrived.
"Mikasa ..." whispered the light-blue-eyed man. Erwin smiled. Eren did not understand what his stepsister was mentioned.
"Yes, in the first place, we think in Mikasa as the main objective of blackmail, after your act today I have no doubt about it. It is also possible that they also want to eliminate you, since, although your act of indifference towards your relationship With the girl officially convention, unofficially it is obvious that this was an act, the military police already see you as a danger after a simple cadet humiliated them in front of the Army General, so now they are more likely to use Ackerman to get to you and Eren." The commander explained his deductions.
"Sir, but that does not make sense, Mikasa is very strong, they could not do anything to her." Eren jumped in defense of the girl; It may be that her overprotective attacks bother him, but she remains a sister to him.
"I agree with Eren, commander, Mikasa is at my level or even above in terms of physical abilities, and she also made herself known to the top brass for his performance in Trost. It was necessary the best soldiers and take her off guard to have an opportunity, and if they fail they would be greatly compromised." The white-haired one fought back. Erwin looked into Faraday's eyes, as if searching for something.
"Hange, why do not you spend quality time with Eren? I'm sure you want to ask him a lot of things, remember that tomorrow we left for the old castle." The commander asked his subordinate, who simply nodded and went back to her way "I love the titans" and took Eren almost on his back. The brunette gave one last look to his white-haired friend before going out the door.
Faraday watched Eren cautiously leave.
"Ok, either they want to kill me or they're going to reveal to me something that could kill me from misusing the information." The cadet thought, although he never lowered his composure. In front of him was the commander of the legion; the strongest man in humanity; and the second best soldier in the legion.
"Faraday, what I am about to share with you is something highly confidential that we can not yet directly test, if I am going to share it with you it is because I trust your responsibility towards the good of humanity. I have your word that you will use this information to the good of our race?" The blond asked seriously.
"Or you die." Captain Levi said.
"Sir, saying and doing is the same for me." The cadet said simply.
"Okay, you see, we have had the theory that there is a hidden division in the military police; it is an open secret that the police are corrupt, their high officials live on selfishness and it is one of the main reasons why most The cadets are pointing there. A year ago, I sent a talented soldier to join the military police to be covered, unfortunately his will was not so strong, because after a few letters we did not receive more. We learned that he was in a good position within the branch, he let his tongue out in order to obtain wealth, we know that because immediately afterwards several entrepreneurs withdrew funds that they had in the legion of recognition." The commander explained the situation, leaving the white-haired man surprised.
He spent a few minutes in silence thinking about what to say.
"I suppose they did not assign me the same mission, since I helped you publicly to obtain custody of Eren, if I joined the military police, the top officials would have all their eyes on me, all I can think is that you want to take advantage of the possible attack on Mikasa to at least confirm the existence of that division, but that would mean leaving her completely vulnerable." The white-haired creature deduced, with some discomfort in that last thought.
"Wow, you're a surprise box, are you some kind of genius or something?" Asked the little man.
"No, sir, I just learned to keep my head cool at the moment of thinking, really my partner, Armin Arlet, is smarter than me, but he has some confidence problems." The white-haired complimented his friend.
"Going back to the subject, you are going in the right direction, we want You to stay close to Ackerman, but from the shadows, we already take care to postpone the election ceremony for a week and we will also move cables to make her as vulnerable as possible." The commander explained his mission.
Faraday stared at the ground thoughtfully. He could not bear the thought of using Mikasa as bait, he felt he was betraying her confidence; Besides, after everything that happened, she must be vulnerable.
Erwin noticed the indecision in Faraday's sight, being able to determine why.
"Faraday, I know you do not like the idea of your girlfriend being in danger, but think of it as a plan to protect her, Eren and you." The blonde softened his tone.
"Sir, she's not my girlfriend, but I admit it's very important to me ... And even without that in mind, I would be using her as a bait, I understand the importance of sacrifices, but I'd rather die twice before losing a soldier."
Those white-haired words reminded Erwin of a conversation he had with Hange a few days ago.
A couple of days before.
"That Faraday boy really has leader material, he managed to cheer up an army of demoralized soldiers, look at the transcript of his words, even sound like you, maybe you've found your successor." The redhead mentioned playfully. Erwin read the reports.
"Not exactly, Hange." The blonde said, earning a confused look from the woman in glasses.
"I still would not dare to affirm it with fervor, but this boy not only knows the meaning of sacrifice, but also of self-sacrifice, something that I have not been able to understand."
Present.
"Are you going to do it yes or no? If you follow our plan there is a possibility that she will survive, but if not, then they will use it as blackmail for Eren and You to surrender; believe me, they will do anything to her for obligate you to collaborate, there are no limits to human cruelty." It was the rude words of Captain Levi.
Faraday knew he was right.
"Life gives me opportunities ... two options, possible same result ... I will." The white-haired man declared with a sigh at the end.
"Well, now I want to tell you something about the next expedition ..." The blond with bushy eyebrows began.
Diary of a soldier.
Several days have passed since I was assigned this mission. I have stayed close to Mikasa from the shadows, without giving away my position; My times as a thief have served me well to keep me hidden. Commander Erwin justified my absence by saying that I had been assigned to work with Hange when Mikasa and Armin asked him before he went to join his men at the old Legion barracks. That made me feel bad, I wanted to be with my friends now; Krista, Sasha, Armin, Reiner, and especially with Mikasa; Seeing her from a distance was not the same as being by her side.
I have to be strong to be able to save her. I admit that my mind is not in the best conditions; I still have nightmares about Thomas, Mina and all the people I practically sentenced to death in Trost. I must be stronger and do whatever is necessary to protect the weak and those I love.
So far the only warning signal was the murder of the two titans that Hange and I were investigating, their deaths devastated the sub-commander. Being busy with Mikasa I could not focus on that case, so I spoke with Armin to be on the lookout for any detail.
Daily end of a soldier.
It was night and Faraday was on a tree, without the maneuvering equipment, having to rely on his natural physical abilities; obviously he was not unarmed, he had at least 5 knives hidden strategically in his clothing and two of his custom swords in a holster. He decided not to bring his maneuvering equipment for the simple reason that it did not benefit his stealth and Mikasa has very acute instincts, also if someone were to attack her he would not come with maneuvering equipment if he did not want to be seen. To help his stealth and the fact that this was an unofficial mission, Faraday was not wearing his military uniform; opting for a black shirt and a long trench coat of the same color with a hood to hide his hair; pants and combat boots of the same color; as a plus, his arms were covered by light armor from the wrists to before the elbows, the same type of armor on his calves.
Mikasa was sitting on a lonely bench, obviously solemn; Eren was far away and Faraday was busy. She really needed to spend time with them two after what had happened. Eren was his family and Faraday was ... her friend? Her best friend? She only knew that with the white-haired boyl she felt comfortable, safe and loved, sensations that she had not felt for a long time because of a person, not even Eren. She could not even be with her other classmates because apparently they were assigned tasks while she was left to rest because of her performance in Trost.
Faraday felt a tingle on the back of his neck. Mikasa was alone, there were no soldiers or cadets in a radius of 700 meters, all thanks to Mike who had been left with the excuse of supervising the cadets to carry out the plan. It had taken 4 days to reach this point, leaving Mikasa alone so suddenly could cause suspicion in the alleged attacker, so the separation had been gradual taking advantage of when the brunette was lonely or sad to walk at night, information given by Faraday because he came to accompany her several times.
Then the white-haired boy noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye. And he saw it.
A figure on a roof to 5 houses from Mikasa's location; It was crouching and preparing something in its hands.
Faraday set off; he moved among the trees like a monkey and with the sigil of a wolf stalking its prey; He came to the alleys that separated House 4 and House 5, which was where that silhouette was. The white-haired boy waited, and after a few minutes he saw how the silhouette jumped from one roof to another. Without wasting time the white-haired climbed in a matter of seconds to the roof of house 4, revealing his position since the figure became rigid, however, the white-haired did not stop running.
Without any exchange of words they both rushed towards each other. Faraday threw coordinated kicks that were fluently avoided by the attacker; there was an exchange of fists that ended with Faraday holding its right arm while with his free foot dragged the support foot of the attacker, trying to knock it down. He almost succeeded, but the attacker regained its equilibrium by somersaulting backward. Then the attacker pulled out a combat knife.
Faraday took one of his knives quickly, blocking the knife that was visible on him. Both fighters exchanged blows accompanied by the extra risk of being cut or stabbed. The white-haired threw his knife directly to distract it, getting it, then kicked, the hand that had the knife and without losing momentum with his other leg turned to give it a direct kick in the chest that sent the attacker flying.
Faraday looked away, Mikasa had risen and was moving away from them. Faraday decided to end this quickly and drew his two swords.
The light-blue-eyed rushed towards the attacker, who in an attempt to block the katas of the white-haired took out two more knives, blocking for a few moments the swords before these cut their knives. Faraday managed to superficially cut the attacker's chest, since he did not want to kill it for obvious reasons, Faraday go to the tendons of its arms and legs to make it invalid. However, Faraday did not expect the attacker to stop his sword with its left forearm naked. The white-haired then quickly noted the physical characteristics of the attacker.
Long brown hair, slim figure, possibly woman; the lower half of her face is covered by a facial mask and her eyes are barely visible in the darkness; She wore a seemingly leather garment that felt well distributed so as not to cause discomfort; her hands had combat gloves and her forearms were bare; in this case, the left one that stopped his sword almost looked like ... metal?
Faraday did not have more time to analyze the attacker when she swept it, causing it to fall and stealing one of his swords which quickly pointed towards the white-haired. However, he reacted in time by blocking it with his other sword and kicking the attacker from the ground sending her away. Faraday quickly took his other sword and stood up on guard, only to see the attacker withdraw.
The white-haired did not waste time in pursuing her, jumping between roofs and alleys with great skill. However, he was beginning to reach the limits of safe radio and if he was discovered he would have many problems. Soon he had to let the attacker escape. The white-haired then did not waste time in returning to look for Mikasa.
A few minutes later, he managed to locate her by returning to the female pavilion, supposed to sleep. The white-haired man sighed heavily as he removed his hood.
"What the fuck was that?"
Diary of a soldier.
The morning after my confrontation with that stranger I went to Mike to inform him of the situation. We both had the same question: Why only one person?
I could see her great skill in close combat and with a knife; She was also stealthy enough so that Mikasa would not detect it, but even so I could do it, maybe it had to do with my beneficial position or it was luck. What bothered me the most was her arm; prostheses were just a simple idea, science was not advanced enough for something like that and less a metal prosthesis. But I was clear that it was not a prosthesis, since I shared blows with her and to the point where he had to block my sword was that he came to notice the hardness of her arm. Somehow I do not understand how she managed to change her skin to metal naturally.
Mike told me that we would leave today at dusk to the old headquarters of the legion, where Eren was; he gave me time to say goodbye to my companions since Mike proclaimed me an official member of the legion. We doubted that they would attack Mikasa now that they were compromised.
End Diary of a soldier.
"You go?" It was Krista's question.
Faraday was in a room with his closest companions of the 104; he had gathered them to inform them that he would be leaving in a short time and wanted to say goodbye to everyone in case one of them chose to go to the military police or to the garrison troops.
"But the choice of branches is in two days." Connie said confused, making Ymir growl.
"What is not obvious? Sure they gave him a direct pass to the legion, he has been doing work for them for days and since he has become so famous lately I would not be surprised if the commander himself offered to join." The chestnut explained correctly.
"But why was not Mikasa offered the same thing? Both are the top 1 of our generation." Sasha questioned.
"The two may be close in terms of physical abilities, but in the initiative Faraday wins by far, remember that he took the leadership of our troop in Trost and also spread the news that a cadet diplomatically defeated the military police in the military tribunal, who do you think it was?" It was Annie who came out in defense of her fight partner.
"Wow, how nice you are. Did you get sick?" The white-haired asked playfully, making the blonde look away.
"Anyway, your assumptions are correct, I was offered a position in the Legion, I do not know if it was a specific squad, I'm leaving now because Sub-Commander Zoe has tasks for me, so I wanted to say goodbye to you, since I know that some will go to the military police and we will not see each other in a while." The light-blue-eyed one informed, looking at Annie for a moment.
One by one he was shaking hands with each of his companions, except Krista who embraced him with tenderness and Sasha who almost knocked him down. Then he reached Mikasa, who had her eyes on the ground and had not said anything in a long time.
Faraday gently took her chin to lift her face, thus making the brunette look at him.
"Hey, we'll see each other in a few days, I know we have not spent time together these days, but it's something that got out of hand." The white-haired man tried to excuse himself smiling sadly.
"Do not worry, I understand you were busy." The brunette said solemnly. Faraday looked at her for a few seconds, losing himself in his black eyes.
"I promise I'll see that Eren does not do anything reckless." He burlesque told her, stealing a small smile from the girl. Faraday then thought for a few seconds.
"When you join me in the barracks, I would like to talk to you about a couple of important things ..." The white-haired man declared seriously, making Mikasa look at him curiously.
Faraday could not help but stare once again at her eyes; She was very important to him and he could not bear not being honest with her, so once she arrived at the barracks, he would tell her about the operation that took place in the last days.
Then, the white-haired boy bowed a little, because he is 10 centimeters taller than the brunette, and with great delicacy kissed her forehead while his right hand settled carefully between her jet-black hair.
That action blushed the girl a lot, the biggest blush in her life.
"Well, it's time to leave ..." When the light-blue-eyed separated from the girl he could appreciate the faces of his companions, sincerely he had forgotten for a few moments that they were there. Most of the boys gave him clever smiles with thumbs up, except for Jean who seemed to want to jump off a bridge; while the girls, with the exception of Annie and Ymir, saw the scene with a dreamy face and hands together.
"Eh ... Well, ahem, goodbye, guys." He said goodbye one last time before turning around and leaving. Actually, he just wanted to hide his blush.
Mikasa stared at the white-haired man's back, which finally disappeared behind the door. The brunette then noticed the sly look that Krista and Sasha were giving her; She knew what was coming and sighed; Annie and Ymir also because they knew they would be forced to participate.
Diary of a soldier.
Mikasa Ackerman, what did you do to me?
End diary of a soldier.