AN:
Just if I haven't mentioned before the second arc has begun with last week's chapter making this the second chapter of the arc. This arc is going to longer than the last but it's definitely got a mix of slow paced development with some great fights (with a fun surprise thrown in there).
Chapter 7 – Black Ink
"This is so cool!"
Connie rushed over, jumped and flopped onto the four poster bed in the middle of his room against the wall, "Man, I'd be the luckiest guy alive to have a place like this all to myself!"
Sasha grinned as she poked her head in from the hallway, "I know! This place is so big! It's incredible! Just think about the pantry!"
"Of course that's the only thing you'd ever think about potato girl…" Jean muttered beneath his breath but Sasha's ears perked up when she heard Jean's comment and she gave him a look of pure fury and began to protest.
As they were bickering, Levi sidled up to Al and asked, looking around, "You know the last time we were in a place like this we made sure everyone living there could never walk again…"
"And you complain about us being hostile..." Al thought to himself, rolling his eyes in slight annoyance.
"So remind me how did you get all of this to yourself?" Levi went on.
Al just shrugged in reply and grinned, "Just some of the perks of being a noble I guess…"
"Are you kidding?" Dante butted in, shaking his head, "You're the only one who got an entire bloody mansion to yourself. Jay and I just have to make do without one, am I right, Jay...Jay?..."
They all looked around and they all turned to see Jay began to walk off, his hands tucked deep in his pockets, his head lowered and not looking back. Al muttered something beneath his breath and called out, "Jay? Where the hell you think you're going!?"
"I need to go downstairs… I'll see you when I'll see you…" He called out before turning the corner.
"Jay!...Jay! Wait, j-" Dante yelled out after him but gave up as it was clear that he wasn't coming back, "...Fine, be like that...moron…" he muttered beneath his breath. Al shook his head and rubbed his eyes, "...Alright...everyone, meet us at the drawing room we need to show you something…"
"Any luck with Jay?" Al asked hopefully as he turned his head to Dante as they made their way to the drawing room.
Dante shook his head and groaned, "He's like a ghost, one minute he's there, the next. Nothing!"
'Why aren't I goddamn surprised…' Al thought bitterly as he and Dante walked into the drawing room where Levi's squad was.
"What took you so long? Planning on how to get rid of us?" Connie called out
"Where's everyone else?" Al asked avoiding his comment
"What? You disappointed you can't kill all of us as easily?" Sasha asked nervously.
Al laughed, "On the contrary, I wanted to give you this," he said as he tossed three files on the table. Levi stopped them from sliding off the table and looked up, his eyebrows raised. "These are all of the reports on the Golden Spear Company. Yes there are only three of us and as I said before I believe that we need to trust each other...so go and take your time,"
As everyone began to examine the reports, Al turned to Dante and whispered, "Where the hell is Jay!?"
Dante shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. We might as well accept it, Jay just doesn't to cooperate…"
Al cursed under his breath and clenched his jaw in frustration. 'I don't even know what's going to happen the next time I see him…' He thought, annoyance beginning to boil up.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Connie asked, staring down at one of the reports, Sasha and Jean staring over his shoulder. Al's head perked up as he turned to face them, his face written in confusion but still having his calm demeanour, "You think handing over our reports as a sign of goodwill is a joke? Then you must have a strange sense of humour…"
Jean stood up, "Really, you want us to trust you and you give us a report like this?" he asked as he tossed a file to him. , Al caught it and flicked it open, his face dropped as he scanned through it. It was Jay's report, the one with so much black ink. 'Of course...' Al thought to himself, his eyes darting around the report, 'Even the picture had been scribbled over and torn out...'
"...Just what the hell is up with him?..." Sasha asked suspiciously
"And why isn't he here to greet us...is he hiding something or what?" Connie sneered.
Dante sighed and shook his head, "Jay was...adopted by a family called the Talbots...let's just say some of the stuff he did would even make some officials feel a little… squeamish"
All of their faces fell as they heard what he had said. "Well… I guess that does explain why he isn't very...talkative..."
Just at that moment, Jay glided in like a ghost, causing the room to become silent. He looked around and he focused on the reports on the table, "Let me guess...black ink?"
"You think?" Connie snorted
"Fine...if it makes you feel better, you can ask me some questions...and I'll see if I can answer them…" Jay sighed, shaking his head and leaning against the doorway.
"Alright" Sasha paused hesitantly, "Name of the orphanage?"
"Classified..."
"Who trained you?"
"Classified..."
"When did you join the GSC?"
"Classified and this is already starting to get ridiculous, goodbye" Jay said aloud as he turned to the door.
"Real family name…" Levi finally spoke, causing Jay to stop in his tracks, "Unless you're that thick and you don't actually know..."
"...You can think whatever you want… But since you all are so obsessed with trust, then trust me on this. It's something I don't plan on sharing..." Jay stated as he slammed the door behind him.
'Oh, thanks a lot Jay, you've been a great help…' Al thought frustratedly and turned to the others, "...Sorry about him...He'll get around eventually, I guess…"
"In a million years maybe…" Jean grumbled under his breath but Dante snorted in reply, "You're probably right you know…"
"Well...thank you for being honest with us at least," Mikasa said looking up at Al
He nodded and walked off, "You can keep the reports, and I know them by heart."
"What happened to him exactly?" Eren asked, gaining everyone's attention, "I mean we know he was adopted but...why?"
"I think you should ask him that yourself. He's in the workshop down in the basement messing with his gear. I guess I can convince him to open up." Al stated.
Connie and Sasha sat up and shook their heads, "Thanks but I'm sitting that one out…" Connie said.
"And be anywhere near that psycho, no way!" Sasha whimpered.
Levi shrugged and got up, giving them all a dull stare, "Suit yourself...Where would the brat be then?"
Jay briskly walked into the basement as he shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair. He pulled at the strap around from the back of his head and pulled off the mask, sharply inhaling as he did so.
'Idiots…' Jay muttered to himself as he tossed the mask on the workbench and sank into his chair. He carefully placed his gear onto the table and pulled out a drawer, stacked with neatly aligned tools. He picked up one, opened his gear and began to get to work. He only had worked for less than a minute when he heard a series of footsteps coming from the staircase. 'What do they want now?' He thought frustratedly as he tried to carry on working but gave up
Eren, Levi, Al and Mikasa stepped down into the basement, looking around.
"Hey! Jay, they want to talk to you." Al called out. Jay sighed as he pushed himself onto his feet and looked up, "What is it?" he asked his voice as low and uninterested as ever. Levi remained unfazed while Eren and Mikasa blinked in surprise as they saw a young man with shaggy long black hair and big, brown intelligent eyes, almost black. He had a triangular chin and high cheekbones. He looked more like an academic than a soldier but clearly, looks are deceiving "...You expecting something else?" Jay remarked before sighing out "So what do you want to know?…"
"Your report...so much black ink, too much black ink in fact" Eren noted.
"You've noticed...and hopefully it stays that way..." Jay said dismissively
"Jay…" Al said sternly, looking at him. Jay look back at him and shook his head.
Jay sighed, "OK, fine... when I was a baby, I was sent to an orphanage since my parents were hunted down by a group of extremists who had a problem with us. They thought this was the only way to protect me. After 8 years, I was adopted into the Talbot family and seven years later, I decided to join the military."
"And what about the whole Mangler thing, hmm?" Mikasa stated calmly, fixing him with a dull stare.
Jay gave Al a questioning glare but Al just shook his head and looked away, "...Fine…" Jay muttered impatiently. "Two years ago, I found out who actually tried to kill my parents. Like I said, it was a huge group of extremist criminals who had some kind of grudge against them... So, I decided to return the favour until I finally get some answers. But just to clarify, I only kill those who deserve it. I don't kill civilians."
"That explains a lot then… From what we can gather, you might have been ranked first but you have a history of violence. Let me guess, you maimed your fellow cadets because what, they annoyed you?" Levi remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you lost it on the walls?"
"I decided to teach them a lesson because they lost sight of what humanity were up against. They'd rather squabble among themselves than realise what they had gotten themselves into. What had happened on the Walls was nothing different. I protected the rest of the squad and I'm alright with that. Now we protect Yeager here and if I have to, I won't hesitate to do the same thing... "
Eren chuckled humourlessly, "Like I need another person to keep me safe…"
"I beg your pardon…" Jay glared at him, sounding more like a statement than a question.
"Think about it. You're some traumatised individual with some fixation on being a vigilante to hide the fact that he's just some blood-thirsty killer. So, I don't need protection, especially from you…"
Jay bristled in anger, "From what we've all seen... You do, very, very much…"
Eren dropped his smile and stepped forward, "I already have her to be too overprotective of me, I don't need another one, especially that of a mindless, violent thug!"
"It is not your decision to make and it will never will be," Jay stared down at him, "In fact, you need the protection more than ever now but you're too stubborn and ignorant to realise it! That's what get you and everyone else hurt or worse, so swallow your damn pride, get some sense into that thick head of yours... and learn your goddamn place"
Mikasa stepped forward to hold back Eren just as when Al rush forward in front of them.
"OK! OK! How about you guys go upstairs and Dante will show you your rooms, alright?" Al said quickly, trying to diffuse the heat between both of them.
After a long silence both Eren and Jay nodded and stormed out. Levi shook his head, "Tch, now we have two insufferable brats to deal with..." he shook his head and walked out.
Al shook his head and looked at both of them, "Look...I apologize for Jay. He's like a brother to me but he can be a little...uh...severe…"
'A little severe!?' Mikasa thought to herself but decided against it. "It's fine," Mikasa shook her head, "Eren can be a bit like that as well and that's what can get him into trouble...but to be blunt, I don't trust him...Can we really rely on him?"
"If there was less black ink then you'll know he's capable of much more" Al looked around, "Besides no one knows we're here anyway, I made sure of that in advance".
"That's not what I meant" she stated coldly.
"Sounds like you take security quite seriously" Levi commented.
"Power comes at a cost" Al turned back around to face everyone, "Anyway feel free to make yourselves at home and use these facilities as much you want, something tells me it's going to be an interesting week" Al made his way to the door but stopped midway, "Oh and who out of you can actually cook?"
"I heard potato girl here can cook all sorts of things" Jean remarked, "Although she's way better at eating…"
Sasha turned livid and began to snap angrily at Jean, followed by Connie. Al looked at them and then shook his head in exasperation, "Ah well...forget I asked, I'll just check with Dante… Anyway, as said before, make yourselves at home. Dinner should be ready soon so get ready to come down..."
With that, he left the room without a backward glance. Everyone else waited till they were sure he was out of earshot.
"Tell us honestly Captain. Do you really trust them?" Jean asked, keeping his voice fairly low.
"Honestly I haven't decided yet. Erwin doesn't act without a plan and I trust him so therefore I should trust them but…" Levi thought for a moment, "There is Jay to consider. Al seems like a good kid who seems to keep his shit in check, the same goes for Dante as well. Jay is what complicates things. He has no control over his temper and I won't be surprised if that stunt yesterday wasn't his only one".
"So is that a no or a yes, captain?" Connie asked, confused.
"As far as Al and Dante are concerned, yes. Jay on the other hand… I'm still deciding" Levi answered back.
"Why should you trust Jay anyway he's a-" Sasha began but stopped instantly when the sound of footsteps came closer and closer.
"Hey guys you should come back upstairs dinner's ready" Eren announced, walking back up the stairs.
"That was quite fast," Armin muttered, "Al only just left a few minutes ago."
"Well what are all of you waiting for," Levi looked at everyone, "let's go and eat."
AN:
Leaving a review would be really appreciated.
As said earlier, these chapters will be a little more slow paced compared to the first few chapters but will show how the two squads get along and how tension will begin to rise between them.
Remember to follow and share and any advice on how to improve is more than welcome.
Have a great day!