A/N: Hi everyone, welcome back to another anime fan-fiction. This time i will be shipping a potential endgame couple Aruani. However, I would also be spending time on There will be some aspects taken from the manga, so anime-watchers, you have been warned.
Hope you guys have a great read.
If memory served her well, it was three days ago. University orientation for Shingeki No University was running at an all time high and compulsory icebreaker sessions were underway. These events as Annie puts it, were organised by sadistic seniors to force the freshmen to open up against their own will. Despite the few hours since its commencement, Annie was already wishing that she was never born into this cruel world.
That or Annie never had a taste for socialising in the first place.
These activities are a waste of time.
Hitch sighed as she rubbed her temples as she looked over at Annie's unchanging, deadpan expression. Not wanting her to be alone, Hitch made it a point to accompany her on her orientation escapades. This time, they sat at the back corner of the main hall, amidst the noisy and energetic atmosphere.
"You aren't going to get friends at this rate you know..."
...
"I just want to finish my courses and graduate ... And get back to my father."
"It's going to be a few years, but I am sure everything will go fineee... OHHHH...Who is that?"
Hitch's squeal prompted Annie to look towards the oncoming figure.
...
He looked weak, yet courageous.
Blonde hair that was messy, long and out of place.
With all the burly and muscular figures around campus, this person was sure short and scrawny for his age.
Yet his apparent boyish innocence, combined with the warmth and enthusiasm of his facial features...was sweet. It was the first time anyone warmly introduced themselves to her, let alone a male. Usually, her cold exterior would deter her from anyone's advances, let alone that person be a male.
Yet, this person was oblivious to the physical traits she displayed.
"Hey, my name's Armin. Nice to meet you. Supervisor Shadis told me that I am your orientation dance partner!"
...
"Oh...Hi... Well I wasn't aware..."
...
Her eyes wandered aside uncomfortably, bring up her hair and shyly brushing the sides of her trademark bangs.
...
"And you are?"
"Annie."
(Prologue ends)
The sky above hung in suspended animation. Staring close enough, the only movement one could make out were a pair of white feathered birds, flapping their wings ever so slowly, effortlessly navigating their way amongst the clouds.
Everything else was motionless; As though the world was locked in time.
However, that did not seem to bother Eren, who was laid down rather peacefully in the middle of a neatly groomed grass patch. The cooling breeze that fought against the rays of a blazing sun, produced a sort of atmosphere that had left him lethargic. Yet, the sight raised high, amidst the vast openness of the skies was enough provide him some precious energy; Savouring it in peace as the minutes went by.
The sky was limitless, and it was their playground.
"Freedom..."
His tired lips could only mutter these few words.
...
"HOI MIKASA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Fearing that Eren might be ill, Mikasa hastily rushed forward, placing her hand carefully onto his forehead.
"Eren, is something wrong? Are you alright?"
Her lightning-fast reaction caught Eren entirely by surprise, prompting him to shoot up in panic.
"CAN YOU STOP TREATING ME LIKE YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER, I AM 19 AND I AM FINE!"
Eren continued to chastise her like an angsty teenager as he massaged his nose bridge. Still, the eye-bags and dips in mood were as clear as day to everybody else. The sleepless nights and endless grinds have taken a toll on him.
Picking up his haversack, he sheepishly darted his eyes to the side to avoid her unwavering, borderline creepy gaze, towards a nervous Armin, earnestly tapping his watch towards Eren.
That reminds me, lesson was about to start.
...
And that day, Eren received a grim reminder.
That he had to complete a timed assignment for his class, which was starting in 5 minutes.
"CRAP I have to run! Thanks for reminding me Armin! See you guys after class! I am gonna destroy the test!"
...
...
Even though they were enrolled into different courses, the three of them were said to be inseparable childhood friends. They took up the same club activities, hung out and studied together if time allowed it. They even organised their schedules together, so that they shared the same break periods.
Eren's innate drive towards freedom has driven him to become a criminal lawyer; To free the innocent and punish the wicked.
Mikasa, with god-given athletic prowess, was training to be a sports scientist.
Armin's natural curiosity for nature and exploration landed him a spot in a geography major.
...
Mikasa pulled her red scarf to cover her mouth, doing little to hide the disappointment etched across her face; Slightly hurt by Eren's harshness.
"Do you think Eren will be okay?"
Armin could only stifle a nervous laugh at her childhood friend.
"I think he's going to be fine, he is going to destroy the test right?"
...
Unfortunately for him, the test Eren had prepared for wasn't merely just any test.
These tests have names carved by students of past and present generations.
They are called Titan tests; Surprise quizzes that the professors would throw at you in order to assess the quality of the student's revision. Sometimes, they might throw an aberrant test: Focusing more on new topics that have not even been covered.
Those that survive its onslaught will continue to take on even harsher skirmishes throughout the academic journeys. The ones that don't might have to suffer a dreaded grade drop, affecting their overall scores.
These titan tests carried high weight-ages combined with incomprehensible difficulty, which could potentially end the chances of any students road in the course. It didn't take chances with the weak, but only sought after the skill, power and will of the strong. Yet cruel as it may be, there was a reason that this university has the best results in Japan, constantly producing students with consistency and peak performance.
...
...
...
You could argue that they were in the pits of hell.
The town has been set ablaze and overrun with titans, buildings within the vicinity have been physically ripped apart; Some of which at their foundations with ashes pouring out from all directions; Rising in columns which covered the sky in reddish amber hue. The occasional gnawing and crunching sounds of human bones, accompanied by of cracking of burning debris struck fear into the hearts of all of those that remained.
There weren't many left though.
Everything was grim and hopeless as Eren was bloodied and breathless, seemingly left on the ground to die.
Yet the stomps of an approaching titan brought him to his feet, in that dire moment of hopelessness. He held firm, lifting his head to meet the sadistic gaze of the enemy.
"15 meter class Law Quiz Titan ahead!"
One of the students last cries as he was mercilessly crushed beneath the titan's feet.
...
Eren could only helplessly watch as the titan peeled his corpse off the ground, lifting it into its mouth and crushing it between its molars.
Tightening the grip around his blades and gritting his teeth, eyes widening in pure rage.
"YOU TITANS, I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
Distracted by his screams of anguish, the behemoth loomed forward, gradually trudging towards Eren.
It was as thought the titan was laughing at him. Smiling in a sadistic grin with all its teeth on front row display, yet heavily washed in the blood of his friends.
Eren felt more than ready, his anger giving him all the energy to take the titan down.
Charging forward, he launched his 3DMG directly towards the titan's nape.
...
"EREN LOOK OUT!"
Thomas's warning was too late, a 3m-4m class titan lunged from one of the side alleyway, taking a bite clean off from Eren's side while he was flying forward.
"AAUUUGGHH! SHIT THERE WAS A SURPRISE QUESTION ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW?"
It was an aberrant, but he realised it too late.
The support cables on his grapples shook violently, metallic pieces grinding against one another before the cables whipped and snapped. Eren's limp body was sent flying, crumbling violently onto the ground below, along with his gear and blades which shattered upon impact, its components trailing along the dismantled stone path.
Eren's body was racked with pain, yet somehow finding the strength to get on his feet through willpower alone. His left hand was pressed firmly on his wound; a futile attempt to stem the bleeding.
He could only stare helplessly, as its ginormous arm reached down towards him.
With Eren gone to complete his graded quizzes, Mikasa decided to take some time at the school gym. Armin being left alone, figured that he would study for his upcoming test.
Ohh... I am not ready for a test on environmental impacts and disasters. I will be skewered if the professor conducts one in the upcoming period.
The library was a wonder in its own right, known by many yet appreciated by few. It is quoted by many students past and present, to be the "source of all knowledge". Students here have access to all the media resources. From books to journals, articles to movies, filling up the thick mahogany shelves. that the wealth of resources and its conducive studying environment, accompanied only by the silent whir of the air-conditioning made this place one of Armin's personal favourites on campus. It was therapeutic and soothing for the soul; The perfect location to formulate and strategise.
It was his personal safe haven.
Armin took his seat along a huge, unoccupied study table. Exhaling slowly, he flipped through the pages of his notebook. Sighing, he it open, sweeping newspaper snippets of environmental articles left and right, navigating through its dense content. Plugging in his earphones and lifting a hood over his head to maximise his concentration. All the while fiddling a ballpoint pen with his left hand, which he tapped the paper rather anxiously.
...
...
...
A sudden gust of cold wind blew over Armin as the hood was swiftly removed from his head, interrupting his thought processes which annoyed him greatly. With all the stress and frustration he was facing with this new topic, Armin's temperament got the better of him; In a rather uncharacteristic motion, he ripped off his earphones and standing up to meet the offender.
...
"Yo Armin, is this seat taken?"
Yet somehow, upon hearing a familiar voice, all the frustration he was experiencing disappeared in a heartbeat. Replaced with a pounding curiosity at this fateful turn of events.
...
"Hi Annie, what are you doing here?"
...
"Same as to why everyone's comes here, to study."
It was an odd moment, Armin's eyes scanned the library, there were multiple empty tables around the vicinity, yet Annie chose to locate herself here.
Why was she here though?
Never mind, calm down, she just wanted some company.
...
Curiosity of her eventually got the better of him. From the corner of Armin's eye, he could not resist noticing how Annie organised herself. Tying her hair golden hair neatly in her usual tuft with her classic bang draping over her right eye. While her presence remained unsettling as per usual; her expression nonchalant throughout.
On the other hand, Annie knew how Armin was surprised at her appearance; How was weird it was for the "Lone Wolf" of the school to just study with him. Annie found his reaction charming; A byproduct of his boyish innocence. The feelings welling up within was undoubtedly pleasant, yet foreign to her.
"Armin, is everything alright?"
Thankfully, it took a while before Armin got his composure back.
Annie promptly managed to recover her poker face.
...
Just be thankful for her company, and that I do not have to bear the burden of my work alone.
"Yeah, everything is fine!"
Annie casually shrugged at his reply as she took her seat. digging through the contents of her bag, she placed a book on the table and slid it towards him.
"Oh this is my book! I had totally forgot about it! Did you read it?"
Annie shyly looked away once more, her fingers anxiously brushing the sides of her hair.
She was not used to Armin's contagious excitement.
...
"Yeah,I finished reading it... it was pretty interesting."
...
Awkward silence.
Yet somehow, Armin did not seem to be affected by it at all.
"Wow Annie, I didn't expect you to enjoy the read and all. Truth to be told, I didn't expect to see that book again."
...
...
...
"You know, you may be quiet and cold, but you are a really nice person Annie..."
Armin's soft comment caught Annie by surprised, her face turning bright red as she looked away.
"I...Thank you..."
Armin chuckled at her reaction, slipping the book into his bag.
"People would usually just reject my recommendations because they were bland, or not aligned with their interests. You stuck with it all the way through Annie and I am glad...Oh! If there are any books you like, let me know too!"
Annie still remembered the day.
The both of them met during orientation, along many of the other 104th Freshmen batch. Despite the buzzing atmosphere around the intense orientation games and rampant conversations amongst freshmen, Annie would rather isolate herself from activity rather than actively participate in them.
Her childhood buddies: Reiner and Bertolt, had constantly made an effort to convince her to play, yet only to be met head on with a forensics file at full force.
Reiner ever the tough-nut, smiled childishly as he took the blow.
"Heh, what does Annie have against..."
He ended up somersaulting in the air before landing on his chest, his legs dangling precariously above him.
"Reiner! Are you okay?"
As Bertolt attempted to help Reiner back on his feet, his eyes met Annie's deathly gaze; Her once beautiful ocean blue eyes now tethering with the rage of a thousand storms.
"If you pester me again, I will crush you."
*GULP*
...
...
...
(A/N: You can play the main epic chorus of "Rittai Kidou" Here)
"Supervisor Erwin, it is time..."
Erwin stood up, straightening his tie as he approached the microphone.
...
"EVERYONE, GATHER BACK TO YOUR SEATS! THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 104TH FRESHMEN ORIENTATION MAIN GAMES ARE NOW UNDERWAY!"
The cheers from the bleachers were deafening as the thunderous roar of brass surged through the air. Students from all batches launching their arms in the air earnestly awaiting the action that was about to begin.
"TEAMS TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"
...
It was an all out waterbomb war happening in the soccer field. Makeshift cover such as crates and barrels were littered around the arena, with a red line at the center to divide the two opposing forces. The rules of the game were simple, eliminate the enemy team by tagging them with water balloons.
Both teams have clawed tooth and nail to reach the finals.
Team Freedom Fighters consisting of the iconic trio of Eren, Mikasa and Armin, following that with team captain Jean and the invigorated, reckless and unpredictable duo: Sasha and Connie.
Team Wall Busters with a heavily contested team setup: Reiner and Bertolt as the muscle and main players on offense. Ymir and Christa were on backend replenishment duty and holding it together at the core, was Marco.
The energy in the air was unsurmountable, tensions were running higher than ever.
"HAAHHHHJIIIMEEEEEH!"
...
"ALRIGHT, WE ARE GONNA WIN THIS MATCH! I WILL GIVE IT ALL I GOT."
Eren clenched his fists around a water balloon and rushed forward in earnest, twisting his arm and sending the it flying towards Reiner. Unfortunately, the projectile's trajectory was way off from its intended target. Reiner and Bertolt dodging it rather effortlessly. Unfortunately, it struck a rather unaware Christa hiding behind the both of them.
"Aaahh."
Christa let out a soft cry as water drenched her from head to toe.
"YOU BASTARD! ARGH HOW DARE YOU HURT CHRISTA!"
"...Wait it's alright!"
It was too late. Despite Christa's protests, Ymir and Reiner fired back with maximum force swinging their ammunition back at Eren with extreme prejudice. However, Mikasa was ready with the counter-play: Swinging a round of her own to take out both Reiner and Ymir approaching balloons. Reiner fell back towards Bertolt as the firefight intensified, taking cover being the crates as they were constantly suppressed by Connie and Sasha's poorly aimed barrage.
...
Team Wall-Busters were unable to advance forward due to Mikasa being too active in her engagements. She dodged and weaved around the corners, clinically taking out their teammates with deadly manoeuvring, speed and precision.
Jean watched in awe and exclaimed in earnest:
"Everyone! Follow Mikasa's lead!"
...
"I can't take this, I am surrounded by Idiots!"
Reiner and Bertolt were sandwiched, unable to move out of their hiding spots. With only a small supply of ammunition left available, they curled the front of their shirts into makeshift carriers. Intending to perform a hit and run-by as a last ditch attempt to take out the remaining players.
They were simply out of options.
...
"Are we going to do this Reiner? Right here and NOW?"
"YEAH, LET'S END THIS!"
The audience gasped in anticipation at the clutch.
...
...
...
Meanwhile, Annie sat behind the bleachers, a much needed distance away from the bustling commotion; The noise and energy close enough to send her head reeling. Finally left with peace and quiet, Annie flipped the pages of her book and immersed herself in its contents.
...
"Ehhhh, I never seen that book around before? Annie where did you get that from?"
Hitch raised her eyebrows, smiling with a glimmer of curiosity as she studied the cover.
Apparently, Annie was reading a geography book.
"When did forensics students like us ever like to associate ourselves with boring rocks and ponds?"
...
Annie sighed as she shifted her bangs to the side.
"My friend just recommended this book to me, that's all..."
Annie's expression was ever-unchanging, much to Hitch's dismay. Flipping her book aside to face Hitch's look of dismay.
Wait a minute...
Hitch's eyes widened at her nonchalant response.
One does not simply make just friends with Annie, let alone that person be a GUY. To even think Armin had progressed this far with her. If she has his book, they must have been meeting on multiple occasions...
Her eyes narrowed, a lips curled into a grin as realisation crept up to her.
"Heh heh, I don't think that person is just a friend. If my senses are right, he's your boyyyfriendddd..."
Hitch's singing was rewarded with a pale red hue surfacing across Annie's cheeks. It was priceless, seeing as to how Annie scrambled to hide her fluster underneath her stoic appearance.
"No, he is just my friend. That is all and nothing more..."
...
"Hi Annie!"
Her blue orbs widened as she turned to face that familiar voice. Hastily, she turned around to meet the gaze of a rather short innocent blonde boy, with long blonde hair that extended down to his chin, water droplets trickling down his bangs. His dri-fit shirt and sports shorts were drenched with water, mud and sweat.
Yet, Annie's orbs were helplessly encapsulated by those of Armin's excited ones.
It was a strange, yet captivating.
Thoughts and emotions shrouded the moment like an thick mist, edging them closer together in ways she could not translate with words.
...
In a world that only knows darkness, how do you hold yourself?
To become your very own light of hope?
I would like to know you more.
Sincerely,
Annie Leonhart.
...