Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan Junior High

"Now, everyone, the real reason why we insisted to take custody of Eren is mostly for the true purpose of the 57th expedition; weeding out the traitor." Erwin paused, "Though I suppose it is not needed anymore since we already know who they are."

"...weeding out the traitor?" Ymir rubbed her chin in interest. The Survey Corp had narrowed the pool of suspects down to those in the 104th Trainee Class, and going by their logic, she can deduce that their suspects include the 21 trainees from the 104th Southern Division who joined the Corp on that night. The odds are 2 to 21 of getting it right, so she was curious as to what they were planning.

"Yes, weeding out the traitor," Erwin repeated without moving his eyes away from the group, "Prior to coming here, we'd managed to figure out that the Colossal and Armored Titan is someone who was there during the Trost Invasion. We've already covered the specific reasonings behind that." The unspoken 'do you remember?' was clear as a couple of them nodded enthusiastically. "During the ceremony, there were 21 recruits who stayed behind; interestingly, Annie Leonhart was not one of them. Instead, she chose the Military Police."

"Annie has always been an antisocial one," Connie mumbled wistfully, "She probably doesn't want either of...Bertolt or Reiner's help."

"That could be one of the reasons why. But I believe that her job is to keep tabs on our government, military hierarchy, and soldier numbers should Marley go to war with us. On top of that, she is also looking for the Founder Titan within the King's contacts. Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover joined the Scout Regiment to monitor Eren, an unexpected Titan Shifter that presumably holds the Attack Titan. Since the Armored did not destroy Wall Rose because of Eren's appearance, we can assume that he is interested in Eren."

'I see. So he will be keeping his eyes on me then,' Eren thought coldly, 'Two can play that game, Reiner.'

"And if we push our assumptions that their goal is to kidnap Eren and bring him back to Marley to pass on the power of his Titan to one of their loyal soldiers, then the most opportune time to do so is in combat—or more specifically, in the field where anything can happen," Erwin concluded explaining his thought process.

"You mean…" Jean's eyes immediately widened in surprise, "You guys proceed with the expedition under the assumptions that we will be facing the two of them?!"

"What?!"

"That's—" Petra stopped herself, 'We did not hear anything about this!'

While everyone was startled and pelted the Commander with questions, Armin calmly analyzed the information given to him, "In other words, the Survey Corps is planning a trap for the enemy on the expedition. I thought it was strange how there is more unnecessary equipment for a simple trip but now it makes sense! It was for the traps, right?!" Armin's tone became more enthusiastic by the end, and he blushed upon realizing how rude he was being to the Commander. "I-I mean—"

"No, you are right." Erwin reassured, "Though I do wonder; why did you think that the number of equipment we brought along is atypical for an expedition? This should be your first one, correct?"

Armin rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well, our superior officers told us that the mission objective for this expedition is to map out a course from Karanes District to Shiganshina, which means it's a long journey on a foreign route the Corp has never used before. Despite that, there were more wire and barrels than necessary instead of space for crucial items we cannot get outside the Walls like gas, clothes, equipment, and food. I thought it was odd but didn't pursue it further since it was my first expedition."

"Way to go, Armin!" Sasha cheered.

Eld chuckled sheepishly, "I didn't catch that. Guess I'll have to up my awareness training."

"You weren't supposed to," Levi said, "Erwin even make sure to pack enough so it doesn't seem out of place...though somehow the newbie picked it up anyway."

'That again,' Petra nervously stole a look at her captain, "Why weren't we supposed to find out, Captain? If this expedition is to lure out the enemy who wants to kidnap Eren, we should've been notified beforehand so we can be more prepared."

The alarmed and almost warning look Oluo shot her and her captain's steely gaze almost make Petra wants to take it back, but Levi answered, "...in any case, you should be alerted to foreign enemies on this expedition regardless of prior knowledge. Your mission is to protect Eren, after all."

'Their mission...was to protect me?!' Eren snapped his head to the Special Operation Squad, 'But I thought the reason was to protect the other soldiers from me.'

'I see...if the Commander suspect someone in the military—Reiner and Bertolt—were out for Eren, the best of the best should be there to guard him under the pretense of monitoring Eren.' Mikasa thought, inching a little closer to the group, 'I cannot say I fully trust these people, but at least they know what they should be doing.'

"Yes, but Captain Levi," Eld spoke up for Petra, "we were under the impression that we were supposed to protect Eren from the Military Police and to cut him down if he lost it during transformation—" Eld felt a chilling stare digging into his back from Ackerman, "—, not a possible enemy Titan Shifter. I believe it was necessary if we were let in on the planning, or just given notice of possible enemy shifter interference during this expedition."

Gunther also stood up, "I agree with these two, Captain, but I also understand that there are things we are not privy to even if we are part of your squad. But since we are all in this together, can you tell us why we were kept out of this secret operation now?"

Oluo looked back and forth between his teammates and his leader. Captain Levi had a constipated look on his face, while the other three clearly won't back down from this. Petra, Eld, and Gunther were...understandably frustrated by how they were kept in the dark about everything as if they were not trustworthy enough. If anything happens on the expedition, the squad would be the first line of defense to Eren's safety. To not be told of details directly concerning their mission parameter was upsetting, to say the least. 'Was Petra right? Did the captain not trust us after all?'

The rest of the recruits nervously looked around, clearly uncomfortable with the tension rising between their superior officers after such a monumental discovery.

The Commander shot his strongest soldier a silent question, 'Do you want me to tell them?'

'It's fine, I can handle them,' Levi turned his gaze back to his team passively, 'Better that they lose their trust in me than losing their trust in Erwin.'

"The reason why the Special Operation Squad was kept in the dark is that I had requested Erwin to do so," Levi calmly stated, though he was anything but on the inside, "Anyone who joins the Survey Corp in the last five years was under suspicion of being a traitor."

Seeing the wide-eyed shock and hurtful look of the Squad, Erwin quickly added in, "We obviously know that is not the case now, so that's why I'm divulging our plans to everyone here."

"We are under suspicion of being a traitor?!" Eld repeated incredulously.

"Was." Levi corrected, "Now we know that none of you are the Armored or the Colossal."

"But even so…" Gunther looked down, 'We, the people hand-picked by Captain Levi, were under suspicions of being the enemy shifters who broke down the gate in Shiganshina and Trost. That's—'

'That really stung.' Oluo gripped his hands tightly, 'Was that why the Commander asked the strange question back then? What would have happened if we were to answer it? Would we have proved our innocence, then?'

"What do you see? Who do you think the enemy is?"

Oluo shook his head. The answer is clear as day now.

"That doesn't make sense!" Jean blurted out. "We clearly narrowed down the suspect pool to be someone from the 104th Southern Division. Why would the Special Operation Squad—and other people in the Scout Regiment—be under suspicion? You guys were out for another expedition that day!"

Connie could see the logic in Jean's reasoning, but now that he was hearing someone say it, the reality finally settled in for Connie, 'That's right. We used to be suspects for enemy shifters—and they would be on the mark since it's Reiner and Bertolt.'

'But it's still strange to think that we were under suspicions. No one had known about it. What would happen then? What if I was thought to be one of the enemy shifters?' Sasha wondered.

"No, we didn't," Surprisingly, it was Armin who spoke up, "The checklist for potential enemy shifters is as following: they had to be there during the Trost Invasion, not have an alibi during the entrance ceremony, and are soldiers with the maneuver gear. I didn't think it through—we weren't the only ones who could be the enemy." Armin sent a look at Hange; she didn't correct him on his assumption earlier that only the 104th cadets can be the traitors.

"Yep, now you got it." Hange said with none of her usual over-the-top reactions, "Us Scouts sensed something was off during the expedition and made it back just as Eren plugged the gate. And even though it was supposed to be a trap, none of us really expected the enemy to make a move during the ceremony—it'd attract too much attention because they have to go through a lot of processes in order to locate who and where Eren is right then. That trap is actually for the people who attended Eren's trial; they were the only ones who know that Eren is with the Special Operation Squad."

"And everyone here has the maneuver gear." Eld breathes out, looking at his own set.

Eren insisted, "But that doesn't explain the Colossal Titan! It was there after you guys left and anyone absent should've been suspected first!"

"It wouldn't be farfetched to assume that there is a traitor amongst us," Erwin quietly explained, "We knew that someone in the military could be the Colossal Titan, not the Survey Corp, but what about the Armored? For all we know the reason why he didn't appear during Trost was that he was on the expedition with the Corps all along. It's better to prepare for the worst possible assumptions."

Armin hesitantly spoke up, "But why were the soldiers who joined more than five years ago not suspected? You couldn't know that they didn't infiltrate in the military before the Colossal kicked down the wall."

"You may not have known this, but we were back from a terrible expedition that day." The Commander recalled, "Almost all of our soldiers came back with heavy injuries, and there were others who died. The handful who were left behind quit out of fear while the ones who stayed steeled themselves. We were on our way to Mitras to report our losses and change in leadership when the Colossal attacked."

'Oh, that time,' Flashes of the heavily injured Survey Corp members from that day weight heavily on Mikasa's mind. 'They all looked like they've been through hell and back—most of them were maimed and no obvious regeneration, so they couldn't have…'

'So that's the day when Instructor Shadis hand over the job to Commander Erwin,' Eren blinked, 'Wait—does that mean he's the screaming guy from before? The one who apologized to Moses' mother?'

"In addition to that, they've passed my test. I can say with complete certainty that all of them are trustworthy people." The implied 'and you guys didn't' hang heavily in the air.

'Well, 'complete certainty' doesn't mean much when he already knows who the traitors are.' Ymir snarked mentally.

"Sir, what is the plan that everyone came up with during the expedition?" Armin inquired. "Given the shortage of equipment, will we turn back anyway if the enemy didn't appear?"

"We won't. If the enemy shows themselves, we will redirect them into the Forest of Giant Trees, where we will trap them with numerous amounts of wires hooks; once they regenerate their wounds the hooks will be stuck there. If not, then we will visit one of the abandoned towns on the original path. Since the 56th expedition is a retreat, we've left most of our supplies there in order to get back as fast as possible. Coupled in with the equipment we've brought along, there won't be any shortage."

"I see." Armin nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait, this plan is insane," Ymir spoke up, "Wire hooks' not gonna do anything to the Armored Titan, the bastard's armor plates are incredibly tough. You may have a chance against the Colossal, but he's so huge he'll probably rip it off with minimal efforts. We don't know which titan Annie held, but considering who's left, it'd be best if she was the one who gets trapped. But you wouldn't have known that, would you?"

"We didn't," Erwin agreed, "But the armor plates on the Armored Titan doesn't span his entire body; he wouldn't have been able to move otherwise. We'll target those areas. We may not get all of him, but even a few seconds of immobilization will be vital for Captain Levi to cut him out. As for the Colossal Titan, it's likely he won't show up. From what I've heard, he is taller than the Wall, and thus likely is slow in movement since the 'control center' is in its nape."

"But you don't know that! The Armored Titan's nape is covered by the plates; there's a chance that our blades won't make it through." Ymir insisted.

"That will be the gamble in this operation." Erwin stated openly, "When necessary, we must be willing to take big risks and be prepared to lose everything. Otherwise, we will never gain anything."

It silenced Ymir, who couldn't find anything else to say.

'That's…' Armin was in awe. 'That's who our Commander is. I understand now.'

"Um, Excuse me," Christa hesitantly piped up, "there is still something I don't understand."

"What is it?"

"About the two Titans the Corp took into custody—"Levi quickly shoved a hand in front of Hange's mouth before she can interrupt the girl, "—we were called upon to inspect our gear. Neither Reiner, Bertolt, or Annie was caught at the inspection. Could it be there is a third-party interference, after all?"

"That's right." Petra snapped out of her thoughts, "None of the recruits used their gear, so how—"

"Ah...about that…" Armin winced internally both at the attention he'd brought upon himself and the prospect that he'd need to tell Jean about this. "I think Annie was the one who killed those two Titans."

Hange momentarily pushes Levi's hands aside and yelled, "Their names were Sonny and Bean—HMPH!"

Erwin raised his eyebrows in interest, "What is your reasoning for that, Arlert?"

"Annie and I were next to each other during the checkup, and I had a clear look at her gear. It wasn't hers. Those were actually—" Armin glanced briefly at Jean out the corner of his eyes and braced himself, "—Marco Bodt's gear. He graduates in the seventh place and died during the invasion."

Jean staggered back and fall onto his butt, "Marco's…"

"A-Armin, is that true?!" Connie stared at the blond in horror at the implied message, 'Annie took Marco's gear. Marco's gear. Why Marco's specifically?'

"I'm sure of it. We used to do maintenance together all the time; I'd recognize its tweaks anywhere." Armin gritted out, "...you mentioned that he died alone, right, Jean? Were there...anything on his person?"

The brunet didn't respond to Armin's question, still in shock. Sasha quickly shake his shoulder, "Hey, Jean, you still there?"

"N-No." Jean whispered, "That's not possible. That's not possible!" He ignored Sasha's hand on him and clutched his head painfully, "That's not possible! There's no way it could be true!" 'There's no way that Annie had abandoned him to his death to take his gear!'

"Jean!"

"What's wrong?!"

No matter what everyone said, Jean kept mumbling to himself and rejecting the notion that it wasn't a mindless Titan who'd killed his best friend, but someone Marco knew. What did the freckled teen felt in the last moments of his life, defenseless against the Titan who bit into him as his comrade refuses to help? There was no way Annie could've retrieve the gear after Marco's dead; it'd be too damaged and missing one side, so she had to have been there. She'd killed Marco—

A sharp slap rang out in the room. Jean touched his cheek where Mikasa's slap made contact. Looking up, the black-haired girl coldly addressed, "Snap out of it, Jean Kirstein. You can fall into a pit of despair right now or pick up your weapon and fight to avenge Marco later."

'Ackerman's so cool,' Gunther sweatdropped, 'but on the other hand she's shit at inspiring speeches.'

"That's right, Jean. We'll give the traitors their deserved death once we get out of here." Eren nodded seriously, "For now, answer Armin's question."

Armin almost regretted bringing this up but was relieved when Jean finally collect himself and whispered, "He died alone, and there was no gear on him. No remnants, either. Someone—Annie—must've collected it before."

"I'm sorry," Armin quietly said.

"But why would Annie do that?" Christa was close to tear, "She couldn't have known that the Corp will capture two titans beforehand...why did she keep it?"

"Regardless of what, keeping an extra gear on hand can be handy in many situations," Hange clarified, "It's hard to get their hands on more equipment without going to the black market. Keeping it will pay back in interests sooner or later."

The recruits fell silent at that, and the people from Levi's squad contemplated about the surprising revelation they were given. Each of them has their own issues they needed to work through, and not many of them can be shared out loud.

"Now, since we know who exactly are we against, the plan will need further revisions." Erwin pulled everyone out of their thought and addressed the most urgent matter. "But we will have time for that later. For now, we still need to watch the next episode. I understand that this is a lot to take in, but use the information you've just acquired to find anything that can be of use to us."

At the salutes of everyone in the room, Erwin moves back to his seat. Everyone follows suit and he presses play.

The scene began with Jean and Marco in the shoe locker area of the school.

"Marco…" Jean choked out hoarsely. His couch mates tried to ignore his grief-filled voice and to tame their own rage.

"Hey, Marco. You don't mind if I stop by your place after school, do you?" Jean nonchalantly offered as he walked next to his friend, hands behind his head.

"Sure, that's cool—huh?" Marco noticed Connie and Sasha ahead of him and greeted, "Hey guys! How are you doing? It's not every day we see the two of you walk home together."

Even though it was a little uncomfortable hearing Marco speak in the first few episodes since he's already dead, now with the knowledge that he could've been murdered in cold blood stir up a fresh wave of anxiety and guilt in the recruits. His voice was a little off from what they remember, and Marco was surrounded by other things not from their world only further reminds them that he's no longer here.

Sasha gushed in excitement and drooled, "Connie just told me about this great ramen joint he found! The sight of all that noodley goodness makes me wanna drool!"

"Not gonna run for the fridge, Sasha?" Connie challenged without any heat.

"I'll pass. I have a feeling if I eat anything now I'm going to throw up."

Connie drily commented, "You are already drooling."

"What's the holdup?! Come on, let's go!"

"Yeah!"

Marco and Jean were left alone, but not for long. Hannah and Franz passed by the two boys next.

"Oh, Franz~ !"

"Hannah!"

Ymir chuckled, "Good to know something never changes."

Marco walked up to the two, and Jean reluctantly followed, "Oh hey guys, what's up?"

"He's quite the social butterfly, isn't he," Hange noted.

"Not quite," Armin corrected, "He just pays a lot of attention to other people."

"Why do you two gotta be all over each other? It's kinda gross." Jean mumbled in annoyance.

Both Hannah and Franz quickly covered their face and denied furiously, "Whoa whoa whoa! This isn't what it looks like I swear!"

"Way to jinx it for me!" Franz yelped.

"Er..um….let's get out of here, Franz!"

"Right behind you, Hannah!"

Marco sweatdropped as he realized he'd interrupted the two lovebirds, but Jean was getting visibly annoyed. Then, they spotted Eren and Mikasa walking in their general direction.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Eren started, "If you insist on worrying, worry about how long your hair is. It's gonna catch up with you in a bad way during the maneuver gear training."

"Isn't this when I told you to cut your hair?" Eren bluntly said. "But it's already short, though."

"What?!" Petra exclaimed, "You told a girl to cut her hair?!"

"Eren…" Gunther groaned. "Even if she's your sister, that's still…"

Eren protested, "It was going to get in the way of the maneuver gear training!"

"As a general rule...you never tell women to cut their hair, Eren," Eld shuddered, "Especially if you were as flippant as you did in the other world."

Hange inquired, "When did this happen?"

"On the first day of class."

Eren casually flipped Mikasa's ebony hair to prove his point, and Mikasa fingered her hair, "I guess you have a point."

Jean stared blankly at the two like he couldn't fathom what just happened.

"I'll cut it."

"See? Nothing happened." Eren puffed.

"Well yeah," Eld drily muttered, "Try telling anyone other than Ackerman that and see how it goes."

Fast as lightning, Jean took a hold of Eren's shirt and pulled him to eye level while screaming, "Assholes like you makes me wanna puke!"

"This didn't happen afterward." Eren blinked, "Actually—we were walking around the training field by ourselves then."

"On the first day, you said?" Connie scratched his head, "I remember Jean wiping his hand on the back of my shirt while staring at the two of you. Said something about 'my faith in humanity' when I asked what the hell did he wipe on me."

Ymir snorted, "Remember that one episode when he was fascinated with Mikasa's hair?"

"Oh, that makes sense!" Sasha giggled as she gets the implication.

"What the—!" Eren smothered his surprise at Jean's action before he yelled back, "Hey man, I don't know who you think you are but my uniform—"

Eren was rudely interrupted by Mikasa lifting him onto her shoulder effortlessly before leaving the shoe locker with Eren screaming in protest all the way, "Hey, Mikasa! Stop it! I'm being serious! I'm not your little brother or some snot-nosed brat!"

"Did she just flip someone her size over her shoulder like it was nothing?" Petra stopped taking notes—she'd almost forgotten about her self-appointed duty after wallowing in self-pity, "Can you do that too?"

"Yes," Mikasa answered.

"The lack of hesitation in your answer really irks me." Eren complained, "You sure you can do that?"

Marco quickly intervened before Jean can think about catching up to the two, "Patience there, Jean! Try to calm down!"

Jean sighed in defeat and opened the door to his shoe locker, "Ugh...why can't any girls in this school friggin appreciates my charm—Huh?!"

Ymir sniffed contemptuously.

The brunet finally caught sight of a letter sealed with a heart sticker resting on his outdoor shoes. Jean squished his face inside the locker just to be sure that he wasn't hallucinating. "Hn?!"

"What is it?!" Marco moved closer to take a look after Jean took the letter out. The letter inside was light pink with heart decorations on the corners. 'I'm in love with you. I'm always watching you.'

"He hasn't even met them yet and there's no signature indicating who it is. How does he know what they sound like?" Hange wondered in confusion.

Sasha smiled nervously, "It's probably just one of his delusions."

"If you really think about it, that's just creepy." Eren commented, "'I'm always watching you'? Seriously?"

Jean's pupil dilated rapidly before he exclaimed in joy by letting out an animalistic roar to the sky.

The scene cut off to show the next day in class, where a futon-clad Armin is chatting to Sasha.

"Good morning…"

"Oh hey there!" Armin turned around at the voice of his best friend.

"Good morning, Eren—huh?!"

Eren yawned with a terrible bedhead sticking out from all directions while Mikasa is as calm as ever. "The hell happened to you?!" Sasha exclaimed.

"That's nostalgic," Armin wistfully recalled, "You used to wake up late all the time with that ridiculous-looking hairstyle."

Eren protested, "Hey! Mikasa's got a worse bedhead than me!"

"Oh?" Jean tried to grin, "And how would you know that, Mister Yeager?"

Eren rolled his eyes at the obvious tactic.

"Ughhh...I fell asleep after getting out of the bath…" Eren tiredly explained.

"Nice look….for a middle schooler, that is!" A new voice popped in from the doorway.

Jean leaned one arm against the sliding door and another one against his hip, carrying a sports equipment bag across his chest and smirking haughtily with his new abomination of a hair cut. It was parted 9-1 to the right and fling out away from his head and was suspiciously shiny.

"No offense, but that looks stupid." Connie blurted out.

Jean scoffed, "None taken. That's not even me."

"Well, technically he's you from another world."

"You younglings should start putting more effort into your appearance." Jean flipped his hair to the side smugly.

Eren, Armin, and Sasha spit take in surprise at the change in appearance while Mikasa was unfazed, though her scarf was also taken aback.

'Disgusting.' Levi made a face.

Eren pointed at Jean's hair, "Hey, uh...what the heck's going on with your hair today, Jean? And what's with that smell?"

"A little thing we called cologne," Jean whipped out a teal bottle with a black ball attached and start pumping on both sides of his neck, "For big kids. You wouldn't understand."

"'Cologne'?" Petra wondered, "It's a smell for 'big kids'. So is it like a scenter?"

"Smells like bathroom air freshener if you ask me." Sasha deadpanned.

"Hah? So do you wanna know what makes me so much cooler than the rest of you?"

"Nah, we're good." Eren squinted his eyes in skepticism.

"No no no don't get bent out of shape. I'm glad to share my secret." Jean pulled out the letter from yesterday, "Get your eyes on this baby!"

The three gasped dramatically and Eren snatched the letter away for a closer look to see if it's the real thing while Mikasa was still unfazed. The three exclaimed in unison, "A love letter?!"

Hange turned to the brunet, "Did this happen in your trainee years?"

On the same couch as Jean, Eren tried to smother his snort. Jean rolled his eyes, momentarily distracted from his dark thoughts, "No, it didn't."

"Why is that for you?!" Sasha screeched.

Jean scoffed, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"How do you even know who sent this?" Eren asked, "There's no signature, which means we should consider the possibility that this is someone's idea of a joke."

"Ah, that makes sense—"

Jean quickly snatched the letter back, "Don't be stupid! Whoever it is, she's shy, that's all!" Jean quickly stomped away to his assigned seat.

"He just wanted to brag…."

'Just like someone I know,' Petra rolled her eyes.

Sensing her line of thought, Oluo tried to correct his image, "I do not brag that often!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good morning, Jean." Marco stopped working on his notes and greeted him.

Jean took the bag off his shoulder with one hand and put it next to his seat, "Yeah."

"I'm a fan of what you've done with your hair."

"What a nice kid," Eld softly commented, "Accepting his friends' changes with a smile instead of complaints."

Jean nodded, "He was."

A drawing was seen to the left of Jean, drawn by Sasha.

Jean took another look at his love letter and blushed. He murmured in a slightly higher tone, "I'm always watching you...wait a second."

Christa beamed, "Look at that one! Connie drew Sasha and it looks so cute—though her legs are smaller compared to her arms!"

"I guess it's the same in that world...Reiner sucks at drawing." Ymir noted.

Sasha added, "Bertolt's drawing makes Reiner's eyes too large...his eyes are way sharper and tinier."

"If they are always watching me then the sender of this letter is likely close by," Jean looked around quickly, "Oh man, who could it be?"

"Hi, Connie!" Sasha exclaimed as Connie walked through the doors with a grin.

"Hello! That's weird, I usually get here before you!"

Connie turned to his superior, "Should we note this down? Maybe me getting somewhere before Sasha has some sort of hidden meaning."

"Noted." Hange nodded absently.

'Nah, it can't be Sasha….unless she's putting on an act.' Jean thought, "Come on, Jean! Get your head in the game; Potato Girl doesn't have it in her to write a letter like this—unless of course…" Jean smiled lecherously and daydreamed, "...she...does…"

"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Sasha huffed, "And even if I do I'd never send it to you of all people!"

Jean rolled his eyes, resigning to the fact that this episode is going to be about him and his desperate quest for a girlfriend. His other self hadn't been through the hell he did and still daydreaming about shit, so no surprise there. Jean himself just hopes that he'll get out of this in one piece and the girls in the room didn't try to maim him for what his other self will do.

An image of Sasha clutching on Jean's arm lovingly appeared in his mind.

Sasha mock-gagged as a couple of people chuckled.

Sasha looks up at him with starry eyes, "Hey Jean, we should go on a lunch date."

"Sure, with you I won't be self-conscious about how much I eat."

The scene change to a ramen shop where they both enjoyed a bowl of ramen. However, it quickly became clear how much more Sasha can eat. Jean was on his third by the time Sasha get started with her 34th bowl.

"Hey, at least you are being realistic." Connie grinned from ear to ear.

Gunther, on the other hand, doesn't seem that enthusiastic, "Does she really eat that much? Is that even possible?"

In the end, Jean was so full that his uniform stretched to its limit. He'd finished six bowls of ramen and a cup of water while Sasha drowned in the empty bowls.

"Another, please!"

Jean snapped out of his delusion and clutched his head in horror, "NO! It'd cost a fortune every time we went out!"

"Or you know, just split the bill." Levi bit out sarcastically, "No need to be so dramatic."

"Good morning, Sasha!" A voice called out. Sasha greeted back.

Jean lift his head to see Christa walked in with a cheerful smile followed closely by Ymir, 'Christa? Of course! She's adorable, classy, well-spoken—this is totally her style!'

While Historia was less amused by his blind love for her other personality, Christa outwardly blushed at the praise.

"Yeah, right." Ymir growled, "My other self's not gonna let you get away with this, Kirstein."

Jean shuddered, 'At least she knows that it's not me.'

Looking up to the ceiling, Jean once again smiled like a hopeful pervert and thought, 'Could it be…'

Jean and Sasha were spending time in the ramen shop with Jean looking ready to puke when Christa squish Sasha out of the way by sitting on her, "Excuse me, Sasha!"

"Christa!" Jean exclaimed as Christa took Sasha's seat.

The blonde looks up at Jean with starry eyes, "Jean...I...I…"

Jean snapped back to reality and openly drooled at the sight of Christa talking to Sasha. 'Yes, it's my sweet goddess!'

'Disgusting,' Levi thought in irritation.

Sasha suddenly hugged Christa tightly after she lent her personal handkerchief to the brunette and yelled "Goddess!"

"Christa!" Sasha's face lit up as she remembered something, "That's our first meeting!"

"Well, not quite like this, though," The blonde shyly corrected.

Sensing the superiors' silent question, Sasha clarified, "After Instructor Shadis refused my offer for a share of potato—" Petra and Gunther let out a giggle at the reminder, "—he punishes me by telling me to run around the field until exhaustion. Christa was thoughtful enough to save me some bread and water. I then clutched onto her like that and asked if she's a Goddess."

"Aww, that's nice of you!" Petra smiled, making the petite blonde blush even more.

Eren muttered, "I'm more surprised her spine didn't crack from your monstrous hug."

Mikasa was tempted to ask 'How do you know that?' but refrained.

Ymir pushes her out of the way roughly, "Canned it, Potato Girl! If you wanna hug her then make a prior arrangement! Now get your dirty paws off of my Christa!"

'What about Ymir? She's too much of a tomboy though, right?' Jean thought, 'Then again if she did write this letter…that wouldn't be so bad….'

"Can anyone put down 'possible Kirstein daydreaming excessively' on their notebook please?" Ymir snarked.

Petra decided to humor the former Goddess, "Sure."

Back in Jean's imagination, the brunet was inching closer to Christa with a lewd smile when Ymir pushed him aside. She take a hold of Christa's chin and lifts it up, "My darling Christa, I am sorry. I wish things could be different but…" Ymir quickly lept onto Jean, "...but if anyone will marry Jean it will be me!"

"What?!"

Jean furiously scratched his head in frustration, "ARGGHHHH! I can't handle this! Now every girl in the classroom looks suspicious!"

Jean's screaming woke Daz, who sat behind him, up as he lifted his head in annoyance.

"Who is that?" Levi questioned.

"Ahh….Daz." Armin winced, "He's a part of our class."

"No shit." Levi quipped, "I'm asking if he plays any significant part in your class—or stand out, overall."

Sasha snorted, "Oh, he stands out all right. Just...not in a good way."

"He's a coward," Ymir pulled no punches, "Constantly terrified, easy to lose control of himself, and pessimistic. Lost a few marbles after Trost." The freckled girl paused to consider something, "Not like he had any in the first place."

"Ymir!" Christa chided.

The back door slide open and Petra peeked in, "Hey, Jean, I need you after school today."

Petra's smile fell.

At the same time, Rico also poked in from the front door and reprimanded, "Hey, Jean, you and I need to talk."

Christa and Ymir were pulling and tugging Jean to their side while the boy appears dazed by the attention he's receiving.

Christa pulled, "Let go! Jean belongs to me!"

"He's mine!"

Petra suddenly marched forward to pull Jean away from them both and ran away, "I don't think so! So sorry, ladies! I am your upperclassman so suck it!"

"Though I know that will never happen, just to clarify," Petra grounded out, "I'll never do anything like that, you hear me Oluo?"

Said man, who sported a smug grin which really pisses her off, "Yeah, sure."

"Whoa!" Jean grinned before he was snatched away by Rico, who was flying off in the opposite direction using the maneuver gear.

"Huh? Rico—I never thought—"

"Jean…" Rico looked back at him with a blush, "Look, I know I'm always really hard on you but the truth is...that I…"

Suddenly all the girls were pulling at Jean; Ymir got his head, Petra his right arm, Rico his left arm, Sasha his right leg, and Christa his left leg.

"Now we just need another person to pull his third leg," Ymir muttered viciously.

Jean flew back from the force of his nosebleed.

The Jean in the classroom now also has two lines of blood running down his face and slammed his fists on the table, "Dammit there's too many to choose from! What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

"Why did he start bleeding out of nowhere?" Hange wondered.

To his right was a picture of Mikasa drawn by Eren, and a picture of Eren drawn by Mikasa. Both differ in quality.

"Mikasa's drawing looks so detailed…" Armin almost regretted asking the question,"...but why is he naked?"

The number one recruit answered without batting an eyelash, "I have never drawn a portrait of Eren before."

Eren wisely decided to stay quiet.

"Huh, that's a surprisingly decent painting Eren'd done," Connie commented.

"I'd ask what's wrong but I don't want to know." Rico deadpanned.

Ymir shields a tearing up Christa away from the indecent sight, "I'm scared."

Eren walked up to Jean's desk with Mikasa and Armin trailing behind him like a choo-choo train, "Get a hold of yourself, man. You are getting carried away by your own stupid fancy world."

"How did Eren know I'm—I mean, the other me—is daydreaming?"

"Your breathing's off and you look terrible." Armin commented, "Possible symptoms of an overactive imagination."

Jean nodded, "I see. That makes sense."

"You mean his hair or his face?" Sasha questioned.

"He's always terrible, I say." Ymir rolled her eyes.

"Hold on...am I barking up the wrong tree?" Jean look up and see Mikasa standing in front of him, but her gaze was firmly on Eren, 'What if it's Mikasa? No, remember what they say about something that's too good to be true? But if it were true…'

"It's not." Mikasa shot that idea down fast as lightning.

Jean stared off into space with a creepy smile and Eren jerked aback, "Eww!"

Armin also takes a couple of steps away from the brunet.

"E-Excuse me…" Annie walked up to the group with a blush while Daz stared at her in horror, "So you and I need to have a little...heart-to-heart."

'C-Could it be Annie?'

"Oh fuck no!" Jean nearly fell off his couch, "I'd rather die!" 'Especially now knowing what she did to Marco—'

"Calm your horses," Eren tried to cover his snort at the pun with a scoff, "She's obviously not there for you."

Mikasa's expression darkened, "Yeah, about what?"

Annie followed her footsteps and glared, "That would be between me and Jean."

"Wait, what?!"

Erwin's eyes glinted, "Well, this is an interesting development."

"Everyone, pay rapt attention from now on, there could be something important about to happen," Levi ordered.

"I'll relay the message to him after he snaps out of whatever this is."

Eren looked on cluelessly while Armin gaped in fear. Jean looked back and forth between the two girls.

Annie narrowed her eyes, "Appreciated, but if it's all the same I'd rather tell him myself."

"Hm?" Connie rubbed his eyes, "Did we see this somewhere before?"

"Trust me, it isn't that big of a deal."

Daz stared at the back of Annie's head in muted horror. Annie continued, "Not really the point, so no thank you."

Armin nervously laughed, "We did. Remember that training session?"

"Seems kind of crowded in here. Makes moving around a bit hard. We don't want to make a mess, do we?"

"Huh, funny thing about that. Suddenly, it looks like there is a lot more room. What are the chances?"

"My body remembers that all too well," Eren shuddered, "Reiner's heavy as fuck."

Everyone in the room immediately gets the hell out of dodge with the exception of Oblivious To The End Eren and Delusional Horseface Jean. Armin back off to the front door's trash can while Daz buried his head in the back door's one. Connie, Sasha, Ymir, and Christa hid behind the podium, while Thomas, Nack, and Samuel are behind their respective desks. Marco jumped onto the lockers in the back while Bertolt hid behind Still In His Seat Reiner.

"This could be an inference to Reiner Braun's personality," Levi noted, "He's not willing to back down from a fight. Bertolt Hoover is a different story, it seems."

Armin narrated, "During a weapon training afternoon, Mikasa and Annie got into a standoff for unknown reasons. We recruits watch from the sideline and didn't interfere. In the end, they were interrupted and didn't fight it out."

"I see, and what was the reason for that fight, Mikasa?" Hange inquired.

Mikasa fixed her scarf, "...the way she was treating Eren is annoying."

"It was training," Eren shot back in annoyance, "Doesn't matter if she pounded me into the dirt; it's actually better for me in the long run."

"I can also do that. There's no need for you to specifically go for Annie."

"T-That's not the point!" Eren hated how casually she just admitted that she can make mincemeat out of him if she wishes without sparing a thought, 'Just you wait—I'll definitely get stronger and you won't have to look after me anymore!'

"Here we go...dream match!" Sasha whispered in anticipation.

"Why do girls have to be so terrifying?!" Connie duck under the podium.

"Here we go! Titan vs. Titan!" Kuro cheered.

The recruits collectively yelled, "WHAT?!"

"That's impossible!" Ymir immediately shot the idea down before anyone even entertain the thought of it being true, "There are only nine Titan Shifters in total, and six of them belong to Marley. We only have my Jaws Titan, Eren's Attack, and the Founder from the royal family. It's literally impossible for Mikasa to be a Titan Shifter!"

Mikasa was in shock. What did Kuro mean by 'Titan vs. Titan'? She had no memories of eating a person, "I agree with Ymir. It's impossible for me to be a Titan Shifter. We did that test earlier, didn't we? My wound is still here." The girl unwound her bandage and show everyone—indeed, the cut is still there.

"That's not gonna tell us anything," Levi reminded, "Ymir was able to keep that wound from regenerating, remember?"

"I did, but it requires a great amount of concentration for such a small wound," Ymir unwraps her own bandage, "I had to give in almost immediately afterward. Besides, it was only a coincidence that I got Marcel's memories on how to stop regenerating—"

Ymir suddenly halted. Erwin slid his gaze over to the freckled girl, "What's wrong, Ymir? Did you see something in this 'Marcel''s memories?"

"That's right! Marcel's memories!" Ymir suddenly stood up from the couch, "When I got Marcel's memories, one of the Marleyan instructors was telling the Titan warriors how to stop regeneration! There were five of them including Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Marcel, and some other girl!"

"Even then, that's still eight titan shifters," Jean argued.

Eld contemplated, "Or we are reading too much into this. 'Titan' does not necessarily means that you are a Titan Shifter. In all likelihood, I think Kuro may be trying to tell us that Ackerman will inherit a Titan power in the future."

The room suspended in silence as they tried to process that fact.

'Will Mikasa inherit my Titan?' Eren wondered, trying to steer away from the thought of a Titan Mikasa chewing him through, 'What kind of circumstances will lead to that, though?'

"She will probably end up eating me," Ymir tried to smile nonchalantly, "I guess the government will find out about me in the future—probably around the time of Mikasa and Annie's possible future match by the looks of things—and feed me to Mikasa."

Hange interjected, "No, I don't think that's the case. No offense, but Mikasa's skills are too valuable to be lost. We wouldn't have picked someone who is rumored to be worth a hundred soldiers as the next Titan Shifter."

Erwin hummed, "Or that isn't the case at all. All of us can be turned into titans. It'd make some sense that Kuro is calling that match Titan vs. Titan."

"The Commander's right!" Connie quickly latched onto that line of reasoning rather than keep entertaining the thought of Mikasa devouring either of his friends, "It could totally be that!"

"Yeah!" Sasha agreed, "I mean—how would we even turn Mikasa into a Titan in the first place?"

Ymir sarcastically thought, 'Well, I'm sure she could just eat my corpse and gain the power of the Jaws that way.'

"Anyhow, we should write that down for now," Hange winked at Petra, "just in case it becomes relevant in the future."

Petra's eyes widen in surprise before smiling softly and get to work, "Yes, Squad Leader Hange!"

'Oh, wow, exactly how many girls wanted a piece of this? Am I a homewrecker now?' Jean was stuck in his delusion.

"Um...what's happening?" Eren wondered.

"Enough chatting." Mikasa cuts in, "This conversation is getting on my nerve."

Annie narrowed her lone visible eye, "Mine too."

"Ladies, be civil!" Jean quickly stand up and separated the two, "No fighting over me! There's enough Jean for every—GAH!'

"If I was there I'd want to punch the other you in the face," Mikasa mumbled in irritation.

"Punch?" Ymir scoffed jokingly, "I'd roast him whole!"

Sasha joined in, "I'd make him give up his lunch every single day for a year!"

"That's nothing," Petra laughed, "I'd have the other him run errands for me until he ranks up!"

Mikasa almost immediately punches Jean in the jaw and Annie quickly jumped up to kick the brunet flying with blood gushing out of his nose.

Oluo complimented, "Decent teamwork."

Annie landed and accidentally drop a letter with the same heart sticker on it in front of Jean, 'Huh? T-This is the same kind of envelope my love letter came in!'

"Seriously?!" Eren yelped, "It was Annie?!"

"Nah, no way! That's not possible!" Sasha furiously denied, "Jean's not her type at all! There's no way Annie of all people would fall for Jean!"

Eld chuckled, "Well, let's say for an instance she does—" "NO WAY!" "—then that makes it easier. All Kirstein has to do is use his 'charm' to help with her capture."

"That's not a bad idea," Erwin nodded, "It can save more lives than straight-up trapping her Titan."

'Do I really have to?' Jean gritted his teeth, 'I don't even know if I can keep my calm around that bitch when we get back.'

The blonde held her skirt down with a blush and stomped her left foot into Jean's face mercilessly before picking up the letter and ran away.

The scene cuts to the middle of class where Shadis is reading from a textbook to everyone. Sasha was eating an onigiri as usual and Connie was sleeping with his head thrown back, as usual.

"—If there are seven titans in the supply room, and you've just brought down five of them. How many titans are left?! Yeager!"

'Okay, I'd really like to know what's going on…' Jean sneak a look at Annie who was furiously taking notes and when she caught his gaze, Annie looked away.

'Could it really be?!'

"None, sir! I've driven them all out!"

"For your information, Eren," Connie gave the brunet a shit-eating grin, "The answer's two."

Eren rolled his eyes, "I know that."

"Coincidentally—or not," Armin corrected himself, "When we were taking control of the supply room during Trost, there were seven Titans in there. We temporarily blinded them with the lift and Military Police's rifles before seven people strike from the ceiling—we all ran out of gas then—two of them missed, but in the end, we killed all the Titans."

"Huh? When did that happen?" Eren wondered.

Connie and Sasha tuned out the following conversation. Even though they were grateful that Armin didn't give away names, it wasn't easy for the two to be reminded of their own failures. 'That's right, Annie saved me back then. Why did she do that?'

"Impressive." Erwin nodded, "Taking down seven titans without the help of the maneuver gear is no small feat—who came up with this plan?"

"Armin did, sir!" Eren proudly gestured to his best friend who blushes. "He's really smart!"

"I see."

"As if! Go stand in the hallway!"

After school, most of the students are leaving for home. The group consists of Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, Connie, Marco, and a sullen Jean also make their way to the shoe locker.

'Could Annie really be the one who wrote me the letter?'

"If I may say something," Marco spoke up, "Will you promise not to get mad?"

"Huh?" Jean twisted his head back to look at his friend.

"You—Look, you're just not that popular with the girls. I think you need to be more realistic."

Ymir snorted, "Wow, he really doesn't pull any punches."

Jean exploded in anger, "Shut your face!"

Sasha snickered, "Wow, rude much, Jean-Boy?"

"Your mother would be so appalled if she witnesses this, Jean-Boy." Connie egged on.

"Oh, come on! That was ages ago—just forget about it already!"

"What is she doing?" Eren mumbled as the group came to a stop.

Annie opened Jean's shoe locker to place something in there and closed it. She sighed in relief before realizing that the group saw her actions. "Annie?!"

The blonde quickly ran away before any of them could catch up.

"T-That's totally your shoe locker…" Marco noted while Jean blushed.

"She has the crush?! Wouldn't have put money on that." Armin commented.

"Now that I think about it…" Jean whispered.

"Ahh…" Annie sighed and fidgeted, "My favorite thing to eat for lunch…"

Another image of Annie pointing her finger at him cutely while declaring, "Bring it on!"

On the other side was Mikasa during the ball game, also vying for Jean's attention.

"Back off, he's mine! You can't have him!"

"That's totally not what happened." Gunther deadpanned.

Jean chuckles to himself with a blush while Sasha laughed at his delusions, "Okay. Clearly, you didn't remember how it all went down."

"Ah! The letter!" Jean snap out of it and ran to his shoe locker. He quickly unwraps the letter and the group crowded behind him to take a look at the content. 'Please come to Attack Park after school.'

Jean gasped dramatically with unshed tear and ran out of the building with his indoor shoes still on, "THIS IS IT! MY DAY HAS COME!"

He clutches his hand and swings it around, "Starting now, I'm a somebody! Whoohoo!"

"Why is he so desperate for a girlfriend?" Eren mumbled, "Having someone like that will just hold you down. I mean—it's a different story if she's strong, but relationships will just distract you from doing your job, especially if you are in the same faction."

Mikasa defended, "Having a girlfriend can be great. She can cook for you, have your back, be your support emotionally or physically, and take care of you."

Eren blinked, "So...someone like you?"

Mikasa looked away with a blush while everyone else stopped what they are doing and eavesdropped on the two's conversation, "...yes."

"That doesn't make sense!" Eren argued, "Jean already has a mom, why would he needs another one?"

Mikasa's face fell. Armin let out a long sigh. Jean facepalmed.

"He doesn't even think of her as girlfriend material," Eld whispered, "Mother-zoned."

"Poor girl." Gunther winced.

"He...seems to be taking it well."

"Yeah…" Armin muttered hesitantly, "Guess this makes him kinda a big deal."

Annie sneaks up behind the group, "Guys…"

"Annie?! Shouldn't you be in the park?" Eren exclaimed.

Annie looked off to the side with a blush, "Actually, I was going to try to pick your brains this morning, but I need some advice about—well, about these stupid letters."

"Oh thank God," Jean let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"So she didn't have a crush on him after all?" Armin wondered, "Then why the letters?"

"Hm?"

At the park, Jean flipped his hair around while waiting for Annie to show up.

"Been here long?"

Jean was startled, "Oh..uh...hey Annie. I mean...I sort of figured it had to be you."

Annie approached him while still keeping a respectable distance away, "...cool…"

"Uh...no offense, but you do a pretty good job of hiding your romantic side. This seems out of character." Jean scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well, everybody's got their little secrets, right?" The blonde looked off to the side.

Having enough of the boring talk, Jean put his foot down, "All right; what do you say we cut to the chase? I'm a catch." Jean declared confidently and put a hand to his hips while smirking contemptuously, "But if you are so into me what the hell? I can see the two of us going out hahaha!"

"If anyone ever says that to me I'm gutting him," Petra smiled innocently contrasting the threatening words spilling out of her mouth.

Oluo shuddered.

"Pompous jerk," Ymir made an annoyed face.

Annie's face darkened in warning, but Jean keep going with a big nose, "Yeah, sure that would work for me! I suppose you're the lucky one—"

Lost in his spiel, the brunet didn't notice Annie marching forward menacingly, "—I mean well I could have my pick but since you were the brave one who'd stepped up first—GAH!"

Annie suddenly throws herself around Jean, 'Al-Already?! B-But I'm not ready for this!'

But instead of the hug he had been expecting, the boy was flipped painfully on his back with his legs to his face. The letter fell from Annie's skirt as she whipped around in contempt, "Jerk. I was trying to be nice, but oh no. You had to go and be you."

Connie sighed, "I feel her."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean—?"

"Eren and the gang told me to wait," On cue, Eren's group peaked out from the nearby tree, "said I should come here and see how you'd reacted before I broke the news."

Finally noticing the hidden group, Jean swore to himself, "Those bastards."

"Hey!"

Annie ignored him and continued, "I'm not your secret admirer. My friend is."

"Her 'friend'?" Mikasa echoed disdainfully, "Annie doesn't do 'friends'."

Hange hummed softy, "She could be referring to one of her Marley comrades."

"But I saw you?" Jean mumbled in confusion.

"Hang tight. I'll call her out for you." Annie turned around as the group decided to join them since Jean'd caught them red-handed anyway.

Annie took a deep breath and let out an ear-piercing scream so powerful it even blasted the nearby swing around.

"What is she doing?!"

Erwin nodded to Hange, "This confirms it. Annie Leonhart is a Titan Shifter."

"Yes, there's no doubt," Hange glued her eyes at the screen, 'that scream…'

"W-What was that all about?" Eren took a step back, and everyone had a confused look on their face with the exception of Mikasa, who is as expressionless as ever and Sasha crouching on four feet, hissing with a pair of cat ear and a spiked tail like an animal.

Thunderous footsteps thumped harshly against the ground as something—a Titan, most likely—approached them. The group except Mikasa screamed in terror at the titan running into the park girlishly with the biggest eyes.

"TITAN INCOMING!"

"That's—!" Eren exclaimed, "It's the titan that killed Mina!"

Armin nodded, "It's also the Titan in the supply room; one of the two we missed."

"Mina Carolina." Mikasa clarified.

"Thank you."

Sasha gulped, 'And I thought I'd never had to see that nightmarish face again.'

"Could Annie's Titan Ability be calling upon Titans?" Ymir wondered, "I'm not sure what Eren's Titan is but my Titan is very agile with sharp Jaws that can break through almost anything."

"That's great, Ymir!" Hange wrote down enthusiastically, "Finally some information on our opponent."

The large Titan hid behind the old-fashioned jungle gym much to the amazement of the group.

"Someone mind telling me what's going on, please?" Jean whispered, still on the ground.

Annie approached the Titan carelessly, "This is who the letters are from. All I did was write them for her and slip them in your locker between classes."

Jean look as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on his head, "WHATTTTT?!"

Eren burst out laughing, "So Jean's mysterious crush was a Titan all along?!"

"Tough luck," Connie chortled out, "Mikasa already did her in a long time ago!"

Despite herself, Mikasa felt the corner of her lips tugged up, "It was only a little over one month."

"Hold on a second!" Eren walked up to Annie, "Why are you friends with a Titan in the first place?!"

Kuro snorted, "Cuz she's one of them, duh."

"That's strange," Erwin paused the episode.

Armin put this thumb and index finger on his chin, "I agree."

"Mind telling us ignorant masses what's going on?" Levi raised his eyebrow in annoyance.

"Kuro said that these episodes are pre-recorded." Erwin explained, "So she must've planned for us to find out about Annie Leonhart's identity during this episode. If so, why did Kuro spoke up at the end of the last episode? She could've kept quiet and use text on the screen like always."

Armin theorized, "Maybe it was to force Shiro, our governor, to step out?"

"That could be the case, but then why would she do that?" The Commander wondered, "What is the point of introducing us to our own governor. It can't be just protection for Ymir; there are other methods for that. What is the purpose of introducing Shiro to us?"

"Anyhow, I like Kuro more than Shiro," Connie declared, "Kuro had been nothing but helpful to us by showing us these episodes. Shiro on the other hand was just plain rude!"

"Connie!" Christa warned, "What if she can hear you?! Shiro could be a nice person for all we know!"

In truth, Historia is wary of both governors. She knew from experience that no one is nice for no reason; Kuro must've wanted something from them. And there was Shiro's warning about her, too. On top of that, Shiro clearly states that she's on no one's side, and wouldn't bat an eye if they were to perish.

"It could be a fluke," Hange suggested, "Either way, we won't know. Let's just keep watching."

"We are in the same cram school," Annie replied tonelessly.

"That's some cram school!" The group shouted in unison.

"So you understand the Titan language?!" Armin questioned hurriedly.

"That's what I'm studying in cram school."

"That's some cram school!"

Annie continued, "Anyway, she's cute, but she's too shy to make the first move. So, go out with her."

"She's shy…" Jean repeated and take a closer look at the Kawaii Titan, "...and cute?"

The Titan blushed.

Jean screamed, "Hell no!"

"Damn straight." Jean shivered.

"Come on, Jean. Don't be like that." Armin tried to persuade him to no avail.

"You're a jerk," Annie scowled, "The two of you already have a history; at least as she sees it. You gave her your lunch the other day."

Marco blubbered in panic, "Ah! I think I know what she's talking about! Remember we were running for our lives?"

Jean and Marco were walking to school together like always.

"We have an English quiz this afternoon."

Jean complained, "Seriously?!" but was cut short when the Kawaii Titan run toward them both. "Oh no! A titan!"

The two tried to flee for their lives but Marco tripped and fell. Jean couldn't leave his best friend behind and stayed with him.

"What are you doing?! Go!"

"Don't be stupid!" Jean barked back before remembering something and search through his bag quickly, "Oh wait! Take this, you freak!"

Jean threw his lunch box at the titan's mouth, and the omurice landed on its tongue. Seeing that his distraction was successful, the brunet pulled Marco up and flee, "Now, run!"

The Kawaii Titan chewed thoughtfully before blushing.

"...well, that was something."

Sasha smirked, "There's a saying in my village: the way to a person's heart is through their stomach. Guess it's true."

"Before anyone asks, no it did not happen." Jean sighed.

"She said she couldn't stop thinking about the omurice—and that you are adorable." Annie tacked on as an afterthought.

"Eyy good for you, man," Eren smirked.

Connie egged on, "Come on! Just go out with her."

"You'd make a cute couple!" Sasha sing-song.

Jean ignored their jests and stared at the Titan, 'This can't be for real. Why did my first ever love letter have to come from...a titan!? This isn't happening...THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!"

The brunet's brain finally gave out and he started speaking mechanically, "Wait, wait. That's not a Titan."

Kuro snorted, "I suppose Denial isn't just a river in Egypt."

"'Egypt'?" Petra echoed. "'Da-nai-al'?"

"That doesn't sound right?" Gunther tilted his head. "Ymir, do those terms ring a bell?"

Ymir shook her head, "Not really. I've never heard of those places before."

"Huh? What are you trying to say there, Jean?" Armin looks like he didn't want to ask that particular question, but was inclined to do so anyway.

Eren theorized, "Maybe the shock was enough to make him lose his balls?"

Jean ignored the commotion and started walking like a robot towards the Kawaii Titan, "She's clearly a regular human being."

He climbed onto the jungle gym and spread his arm out, "If she was a titan then she'd be taller than me!"

Eren commented, "Please note down 'possible Jean denies a horrific truth and lost his mind.'"

"Dude, she's a dozen of you easy!"

The Kawaii Titan pushed Jean off the bars, but he wasn't done, "And we can totally hold each other's hands!"

On cue, the titan let go of itself and fall flat onto Jean. He welcomes it with open arms, "Come on, Honey!"

By now even Mikasa was a little disgusted at the pathetic display. The titan lifts itself up revealing a smushed Jean on the floor.

The group pitied the teen, who now has a sour look on his face.

Eren yelped, "Jean! Get a hold of yourself!"

"You can't let this be how you die!" Armin added in as Jean was lifted up by two fingers.

Marco yelled as his best friend was taken away, "You've gotta face reality for once in your life, please!"

"Okay, I'm calling it. Something's gonna happen to Jean and makes him lose track of reality in the future." Ymir declared.

"What a comforting thought." Jean sarcastically muttered.

That seems to snap Jean out of his stupor, "Wait, I've been living in a fantasy world this whole time, haven't I?"

The titan lifted him up eye-to-eye, 'Deep down, I knew what this was. Look at her. I can't take that. I'd never work!'

"She's taller than I am!" Ignoring the waterfalls of tear streaming from the titan's face Jean thrash around violently before it dropped him from shock.

"Jean!" The group shouted in warning, but before Jean can turn around the titan's hand slammed him into the ground. She ran away crying miserably after being rejected by her crush.

Petra winced, "I'm sorry to say this, but at least you got out of dating a titan alive."

"She said she's not giving up," Annie translated in disinterest.

"Wow, what a persistent fangirl," Jean growled.

Eren stared at Jean, who now has a broken tooth and frankly is a giant bruise, "Hey...are you alright?"

"Wow...not gonna lie—I'm starting to feel sorry for him," Sasha stepped up and pulled out a daikon, "You know what? I'm gonna give him a little break and let him feel popular."

She kneeled down with a daikon in one hand and a curry bread in the other and mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "Hi! I'm Daikon, you know—I'm in season. You can nibble on me while I'm at my peak!" Sasha then drop her voice down several octaves, "You—why would you do that? Curry buns are much tastier if I say so myself. Eat up, we were made for each other."

Jean mumbled, "Possible 'Sasha playing dumb for my sake in the future'."

Armin sweatdropped, "Not sure making a daikon and a curry bread fight over him is the answer…"

Jean stared at both the daikon and the curry bread with a stupefied expression before his lips stretch into a crazed smile.

A daikon head wearing a bright yellow sundress ran up to him, "Grate me! Grate me! I'm yours!"

"Eat me! Eat me! You know you want to!" The curry bun with lipstick and a blue dress yelled.

They both squish at his arms, "Oh, Jean!"

Connie shakes his head pitifully though it's obvious he's enjoying himself, "You poor, poor bastard."

"Settle down, ladies! No need to fight over me!" Jean held the daikon and curry bread and laughed, "I have the perfect solution—you can both be my girlfriend!"

'Disgusting,' Levi unconsciously wipe his hand on his handkerchief.

"And I do believe my work here is complete!" Sasha smiled, feeling proud of herself for bringing a comrade back to normal.

"Let's just go home," Eren sighed in defeat.

"Alright." Connie nodded and the group left the park.

Annie takes a look at her phone and turned away, "Cram school's just about to start."

Marco stayed behind, but Connie insisted, "Come on, Marco. Let's go!"

"You guys go ahead. I'll wait for Jean to come back down to earth!"

"...what a loyal fellow, that Marco."

"That was an...interesting episode," Eld noted in bemusement.

Petra nodded, "I agree. We now have speculations that Annie Leonhart's Titan power involves calling Titans to her and Mikasa is a possible Titan Shifter candidate."

"Everyone," Erwin called upon their attention, "We will take a fifteen minutes break now. Please use this time to sort through your emotions, and we will discuss future strategies afterward."

"Yes, sir!" They saluted, and the group of recruits dispersed.

It didn't take me a year to write the chapter this time XD

Seriously though, this chapter was hell to write. I just couldn't stop procrastinating and doing other things instead of writing. Yet somehow I manage to finish anyway. If the quality's not as good as the other chapters, then whoopsie.

But first things first, negative comments.

To Echo-27: If you think that the hosts are supposed to be 'helpful peacekeepers towards characters', either you're wrong or just go find another fic. Your message was never deleted in the first place, it's still there and if you had the mind to at least recheck it, then you wouldn't have wasted 8 spams comments on this fic. If I had deleted your comment in the first place, it's impossible to restore it. To simplify it, get a life.

To that one Guest who complains about the hosts' rudeness: First things first, you are probably the same person as the one stated above since you also call them hosts; they are not hosts, they are governors. Calling them host implies that they are responsible for the Scouts' well-being as long as they are in their domain. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. Kuro and Shiro could care less if the Scouts drop dead then and there; it'll just be another mess to clean up. If you don't like how the characters are being true to their personality, find another fic. Seriously.

Sorry about doing this in my already long A/N, but it's not like I can directly reply to Guest accounts. Thank you so much for all the messages of encouragement, or just telling me that you are still reading my boring fanfic XD it seriously gives me the motivation to continue even though things are hectic right now. Remember Hange and Armin's conversation in episode 4 when Hange announce that he wins free info from the Survey Corp? Yeah, she didn't directly say that he's right or wrong for a reason. A reference that I regret not being able to put into this fic is Annie's letter. Her first letter was written in basic hiragana, so she probably wrote it with her Titan friend present, and the second one is in complex kanji, which she wrote during class. The Scouts can't recognize it because while they speak Japanese, their writing system is completely different.

How was the chapter? Please leave a review—as long as you are not spamming about the story not going your way, it'll make my day!