Hi Everyone RonaldWeasleyTheHero Here! Sorry for the long wait guys, trust me it was well worth it, since chapters will probably be coming a little faster now since im backed up, as always i need to give major kudos to my wonderful betareaded smittimjc for her amazing work. thats pretty much it so enjoy the latest Chapter of Commander!

Chapter 7: Choke

A ten year old Armin Arlert frowned as he stared at the girl standing behind Eren who had a wide grin on his faced as he initiated introductions between the two of them.

"Mikasa, this is Armin, my best friend."

Armin gave the dark haired girl a precursory smile and a wave "Hi, I'm Armin!"

Instead of returning the greeting, Mikasa just seemed to sink further into Eren's brown cardigan.
Eren bristled at her retreat, "Come on, Mikasa. Just say it back, he won't bite."

She pinched him, "I know that."

Armin waited patiently through their exchange before she finally she walked up to him. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman, Eren's sister."

His eyes widened as he looked to Eren for confirmation "You have a sister!?"

Eren shrugged "She lives with us now, so yeah, I guess."

'The Jaeger's must have adopted her...I wonder why.'

Armin did not verbalize his questions. If he needed to know, they would eventually tell him.

Eren turned to to his adoptive sister, "Armin is the only cool one around here, so from now on, he's your friend. Got that?"

Mikasa nodded but there seemed to be a deep sadness in the darkness of her eyes. She drew closer and took both Armin's hands in her smaller one and shook it up and down. "Friends..."

Armin laughed softly "Yup, friends."

The hours were lost in play after that and Eren had even urged Armin to show Mikasa the book of the outside world. While he was hesitant at first, Mikasa's own genuine intrigue made it hard for Armin to say no. He spent hours rambling on to the both of them about the different things in the book, both from what he learned by reading it, and some of the thing's his grandpa had explained to him. Even when Eren had fallen asleep she had continued to listen to him with rapt attention.

As his stories gently blanketed her curiosity, the day faded to night and the three of them had to part ways. Eren offered a smile, "See you tomorrow, Armin." He elbowed Mikasa in her side when he noticed her beside him unmoving. "Come on, Mikasa, say goodbye. You're his friend now, so say goodbye to him!"

"Oh right. Goodbye Armin..."

"You can't be rude to people like that Mikasa!"

Mikasa pinched him again "I'm not a child, I know that..."

He rubbed his arm and glared at her, "Whatever, lets go, we'll be late for supper!"
He rushed off towards their home and for a second Mikasa was on his heels. She slowed to a jog though and stopped completely before she turned back to her newest friend, "Armin...you're...nice"

Armin scratched his head, accepting the compliment meekly "Thanks."

Armin Arlert was not having a good day. The constant reminder that he would be heading to the inner wall this afternoon had been grating at his mind for the past few hours. His little trip to the training ground had not done his leg any favors and now he was paying the price with pain. It had been throbbing the entire previous night, barring rest from alleviating him. He was left with only himself and his thoughts which were not exactly sunshine and rainbows. When the morning had come and the nurses had walked in, their predatory gazes left Armin uneasy.

The three women each held sponges in their hands and mischievous smiles on their lips ."Time to clean you up, Armin!"

"Wait!" he protested, a bit of panic taking over him at what they were suggesting "I can do it myself!"

They hadn't listened to a word he said.

He found himself being scrubbed from all directions as the nurses giggled quietly to themselves. He had a feeling they were enjoying this more than they should have been.

"Raise your arms up, Armin."

He did as he was told, his hands going above his head to allow her access to his sides.

He was no stranger to humiliation- it was a constant theme in his life. He had been beaten, insulted, and looked down on all his life. Even his self confidence had been stripped from him from years of constant bullying.

Now he had to sit by and watch as they took what was left of his dignity.

Armin sighed, accepting his fate, as he always did.

A bucket of warm water was unceremoniously dumped over his head.

Armin blushed as the three nurses assigned to take care of him delicately put him back on his bed. Armin was not looking forward to months of this kind of treatment. The pitying glances and soft touches. It was as if he was as brittle as a glass already cracked. Worst of all, Armin knew he would have to deal with this miserable chapter in his life by his lonesome, without Mikasa and Eren around to keep him strong. No, they would be an entire wall away moving on with their lives and dreams.

Armin was well aware of how talented his friends were, most of them were on their way to graduating at the top ten, and once they joined whatever military branch they wanted they would excel just like they did in the academy. Eren was always able to inspire people to be more than they were; a voice that commanded listeners. He was the very definition of hard work and strong will. Mikasa was undoubtedly the strongest person Armin had ever seen. She was a prodigy in almost everything she did. Armin had been watching them for years, and if anyone could make a difference with the titans, it was them. He wished he could say the same for himself, he wished he had something to contribute instead of just sitting idly by as they became further and further away.

There was a tiny squeak as the door opened. Armin looked up and felt all the mornings distress melt on contact with his knowledge of the familiar presence behind the door.

"Mikasa, Eren."

They were in their trainee uniforms, probably getting ready for morning training and the slight limp that Mikasa walked with did not go unnoticed by him.

Eren planted himself at the foot of the bed.

"Here!" he said suddenly, dropping a brown book onto Armin's lap. Armin recognized it immediately. It was the book of the outside world, the very same one that had inspired his and Eren's dream.

Eren's voice became filled with conviction "We're still going there, Armin. all of us together. I hope you didn't forget that."

He smiled sadly and shook his head. "No I- I haven't forgotten."

The fierce green eyes of his best friend lost some of their seriousness and he gazed at Armin fondly. "You hurry up and fix that leg of yours, Armin, we need you."

Mikasa gave a short nod at Eren's statement.

All Armin could do was divide the attention of his eyes between the two most important people in his life, feeling grateful that they would think something like that. Unfortunately, he still didn't quite believe it.

He felt Eren's weight leave the bed suddenly and as he looked up a fist was in his line of vision. Armin stared past it to Eren's grinning face in confusion.

"You're suppose to bump it, Armin," Mikasa stated blandly, "He saw Reiner and Connie doing it so he wanted to do it too."

"Mikasa, shut up!"

Armin laughed before bumping fists with Eren.

"This isn't goodbye, Armin. we'll definitely see each other again, count on it!"

Armin felt his worries gradually fading. They were still there in the back of his mind but Eren had managed to quell them for now.

"Thanks Eren." He was truly thankful that despite the horrors, the fear, and the death, this world still blessed him with friends like them.

Eren turned and began to walk out of the door with Mikasa in tow.
Armin waved them goodbye but his hand stilled as Mikasa halted in her steps and turned back to him. Only a silent breath of time separated the stillness from Mikasa limping to the bedside, and then her sweet scented warmth enveloped him in a hug much like the scarf around her neck. Armin's eyes widened at the action.

"Mikasa..."

He knew that she often had trouble showing outward affection like this, a consequence of a past traumatic experience that he still knew little about, so he could tell that this was very hard for her. Mikasa said nothing, but for Armin more words were exchanged between them in those few seconds than most conversations they usually had. He blinked back the tears that sprang to the inner corners of his eyes, mottling his vision and wrapped one of his arms around her, imitating her affection.
weight against him suddenly replaced most of the warmth and Armin jerked as Eren jumped on the both of them, turning the embrace into an awkward tangle of limbs.

Mikasa let out a slight smirk "Eren, you ruined it..."

As laughter erupted from his and Eren's mouth, Armin couldn't help but think that he would be alright.

Annie stared down at the brown thick soup in her bowl, swirling around the meal idly with her spoon lost in her own thoughts. Today had been a nightmare. As soon as she stepped into the cafeteria, she had been startled to find herself at the center of trainees asking her for details on the fight that she had with Mikasa. Apparently the news had spread quickly through the academy and was now the most talked about subject. She had been momentarily flustered, not knowing how to respond to so much attention all at once, but she had quickly composed herself.

Annie was not known as a lone wolf for nothing. She brushed them off with a glare that warded off any possible future questions from anyone in the room and now they were just enthusiastically talking amongst themselves about the ordeal- something she was grateful for as it kept the conversations away from her.

She rolled her eyes as her ears caught Connie's loud voice from across the room.

"I'm telling you, Annie won the fight! Did you see Mikasa's leg!?" Connie slammed his fist on the table,
right in Reiner's face as he spoke with passion he rarely entertained.

Annie barely held in a smirk, that was the smartest thing that dumb ass had said the entire time he'd been in the academy.

'Guess you're not entirely stupid, Connie.'

Reiner scoffed, "In case you hadn't noticed, Annie was down when we got there. The fight was all Mikasa's."

The burly teen was right, but it still didn't make her any less angry.

'He of all people should know not to bet against me...'

Jean nodded in full agreement "Annie's good but Mikasa is just better. She wouldn't lose to Annie in a fight!"

She did not bother to take Jean's comments seriously, they were all clearly bias.

'You are so obvious.'

Annie made a mental note to request Jean as her partner for the next sparring session.

"I-I think Annie w-won, she's good at hand to hand." Bertholdt chimed in quietly. He wasn't comfortable inserting himself into the conversation like this but, the need to defend Annie urged him on. "Annie is probably the best out of all of us in a fight, sh-she probably won."

Annie liked his confidence in her abilities but...

'Don't stutter, say it like you mean it, Bertholdt.'

Connie pointed at him "See! Listen to the man."

"Ymir, let's go over there, I wanna talk to them about the fight!" Krista tugged at Ymir's sleeve with one hand, the other pointing at the table filled with the rambunctious young male trainees.

Ymir gave her a blank stare in response "You want to join a conversation between men about two girls beating each other up?"

Krista tilted her head, not really understanding what Ymir was trying to say "Huh?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "I'll pass..."

"Ymir, please!" Krista begged.

"Pass."

Krista huffed and began to march away " Fine! I'll go alone then."

Ymir's eyes twitched as she saw Krista's retreating form, she knew she was being played. She knew that Krista was just pushing her buttons and manipulating her...but still

"Damn it!" Ymir stood up and followed Krista to the table. In just two steps of the taller girls gait, she caught up to the petite blonde who gave her a smile that melted her irritation just a bit. She wrapped her arms around Krista from behind bringing her lips close to the blonds reddening ears "You're lucky you're cute..."

Annie took a look behind her to see Krista sitting at the table along with an irritated looking Ymir. She figured that the small blonde had dragged the other along with her to join the stupid debate.

They had a strange relationship.

She turned back around and began to sip her soup, trying to look as natural as possible. She didn't want them thinking that she was listening to their ridiculous ramblings.

Which she wasn't.

"I think it's really important to know what they were fighting about." Krista said, the table's entire attention was on her, Not that it was an unfamiliar sight- Krista's pretty face usually grabbed the attention of most males in the room. but it was her idea they were attentive to.

"What could they have been fighting about?" Marco asked. He too had been wondering what could have possibly warranted a reason for Mikasa and Annie to go at each other like they had.

"It was love." Krista stated firmly and Ymir's groan echoed her admission.

Annie paused, her spoon hanging inches from her face 'What the hell?'

There was a beat of silence.

"What?" Reiner asked, being the first one to regain their composure from the ludicrous statement.

"Annie asked for Armin's hand in marriage, but Mikasa would only allow Armin to marry someone stronger than her so they would be able to protect him! And Annie not willing to give up on her one true love prepared herself for battle."

The trainee's had their mouth's opened in stunned silence as Krista continued to talk.

Annie finally just set down her spoon and stood up.

'I think I'm done for today...'

She walked past their table and their eyes followed her form as she came near. She was about to walk out of the door when it opened in her face.

Annie felt her irritation rise as this seemed to happen far too often.

Mikasa and Eren walked in the room, the latter passing with a quick greeting of "Sup, Annie."

He then made his way towards the table filled with the rest of the 104th. Mikasa however stood in place and stared her down.

Annie did not notice the entire room shift their focus to the two of them. Mikasa stepped close, a noticeable limp in her step and Annie would be lying if she said she didn't take a small amount of pleasure at the sight of the great Mikasa Ackerman showing weakness.

Mikasa's words came in a whisper so no one else would hear. "Why didn't you go say goodbye to him?"

"To who?" Annie responded. She knew full well who Mikasa was talking about, but she liked being difficult. Especially when it came to her.

"Armin. Aren't you his friend?" Mikasa raised an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.

Annie looked her in the eye "Barely..."

"Barely is enough." Mikasa's mouth twitched a little.

"You've never had friends before have you."

Despite it being a true, Annie still felt offended by her deduction. "Your point?" she growled.

"It's a lot less complicated than you think it is..."

She scowled. She really hoped that Mikasa was going somewhere with this, as she didn't appreciate Mikasa lecturing her about anything.

"Go see him. He's leaving."

"Too late for that."

Mikasa stepped aside and opened the door. "Not if you run..."

"I'm not going to run after him just to say goodbye, I've got better things to do."

Mikasa stared at her for a few seconds "I was wrong. You aren't a convincing liar at all, so go, I don't like talking to you for this long."

Annie walked through the open door "I feel the same way, Ackerman."

As soon as it was closed her feet left the ground and without exhaustion she seemed to simply float away in the speed of her sprint. she was off. Of the few days she had known Armin, she had slowly started to realize that she became drawn to him in a way that she couldn't explain. When he was first injured and she had gone to visit him, she never thought that she would enjoy the conversation as much as she had. His genuine interest in her was something she couldn't fathom, but enjoyed nonetheless.

Most of all, she felt relief when she was near him. the facade she had developed to keep herself safe and distant from people crumbled around him and his intelligence burned through even the fortitude of her deceits. at first the realization had been alarming, but gradually the thought of not having to fake so much had turned into an appealing one.

'You just made friends with one of those people, Annie.' She thought to herself, still running at top speed.

The least she could do was say goodbye.

Armin grunted as he was placed delicately inside the caravan, the nurses taking great care not to aggravate his injury. His belongings were placed near his head while he held the book of the outside world firmly in his hand, feeling all the familiarity of his past under his fingertips as he faced his foreign future. He had selfishly requested for Eren and Mikasa not to come. he wanted their final memory together to be a happy one and their goodbyes inside his medical room had been exactly that. The two of them had protested, of course, but after a few minutes they conceded. To this day Armin couldn't understand why they listened to him without question, but he was grateful for the strength of their trust. After that, He had been visited by several members of the 104th and each of them had weighed his doubts down with encouraging goodbyes. He was touched by their care and it made him feel even more hopeful about his future.

Though she had not been there. The girl with sunshine blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and a cold demeanor that he had started to call a friend. He had been sure that she thought the same. It was this assumption that saw him eagerly awaiting her arrival, but his mood became despondent as he slowly came to the realization that she wouldn't show. He decided not to dwell on the matter too much, she had no obligations towards him whatsoever.

The nurses stepped off the wagon and waved him what was surely his final goodbye. The wagon driver gave a cry over their voices and the horses began a slow trot away from the academy. This was it, he was leaving. He would be saying goodbye to his friends.

Then he saw her. The petite blonde girl that had managed to rearrange his life in a few short days. She was breathing heavily, and her hair was disheveled, cascading down her face in a beautiful display. She looked like she had just ran from the other side of the academy to here.

There was no time for a proper goodbye though, the wagon was already starting to move and the horses picking up speed.

But this was more than enough for Armin.

He sat up and began to flail his arms hoping to catch her attention.

"See you later, Annie!" poisoning his words with the pure glee he felt.
She didn't make any motion to return his goodbye, but nevertheless he was glad she had shown up to see him off.

It meant the world to him.

Armin kept eye contact with her and watched as her figure and the academy directly behind her grew smaller and smaller, the afternoon sun shining brightly on the place he had met so many great people, hopefully one day he would come back and have the potential to be a better soldier than he currently was.

"I'll be back...definitely."

When he was unable to see her face any longer Armin laid back down and closed his eyes, hoping that the trip would go by faster if he slept.

After a few hours of well deserved sleep, he had been forcefully awoken by the pain that had started to ripple through his injured limb. The road had started to get bumpy. Each shake, jerk, and rattle was agony. Armin gritted his teeth. If the trip lasted this way for much longer he would arrive at Sina with his leg in much worse condition that it already was.

'The road to Sina shouldn't be like this.'

The wagon came to a sudden stop and Armin let out a breath of relief as he was finally given reprieve from his pain.

"Sir?" he called to the wagon driver. He moved a tiny bit to open the thick red curtain that separated his compartment from the wagon rider.

"Hello?" Armin peaked his head out and paused.

No one.

Not a single soul was in sight. Even the horses were barely visible due to darkness.

Armin retreated back into the wagon, trying to calm his panic. It would be irrational to think that something would happen out here on the road to Sina. He knew that- his mind knew that, but his body did not seem to acknowledge it.

He clutched his arm in a futile effort to stop the tremors.

'Calm down, calm down.'

"He's in there!"

Armin looked up, who was that? Was it the wagon driver?

"There's only one!?"

Who was that!? That was definitely a second voice, Armin began to breathe heavily.

Multiple footsteps followed the voice and Armin strained his senses to get a grasp on what was going on outside.

'The footsteps! at least four, five- maybe even six different sets.'

"What the hell do you mean he's injured!?"

"What's he look like?"

"He's small, blonde, about 14 I think. The perverts will like him trust me."

"And who the hell is going to buy a broken product you idiot!"

By now he knew for a fact that something was wrong, his sense of danger was on overdrive and he looked around helplessly trying to find some kind of solution to his problem.

'There's nothing I can do. I can't run, I can't even walk.'

Armin did not notice the tears that began to run down his cheeks as four men appeared at the back entrance of the wagon, their menacing stares erasing all hope for him.

Neither did he notice the beefy arms that sprung from behind the curtain to wrap themselves around his thin neck.

He gasped, his eyes wide in panic and his consciousness fading rapidly. He flailed and squirmed to no avail.

In that instant he cursed his weakness, his lack of strength, his broken leg, the hairy arms that constricted his neck, and the bullies that had warped his confidence into nothing so many years ago in one breath.

He cursed the world for what it was and what it had done to his friends.

'No more.' He thought.

The world began to darken.

'No...more.'

Annie Leondhart winced as the cup in her hand shattered, the jagged pieces slicing into her skin.

Bertholdt, who was standing beside her, also cleaning dishes for the night, looked at her with worry, "Are you alright, Annie?"

She didn't respond. something louder than Bertholdt was screaming at the back of her mind.

"Annie?" He asked again.

She stared at her bleeding finger before turning around "I'm going to get some bandages for this, can you finish up here?"

She didn't wait for a response as she walked out the door.

'No more...'

Annie whirled around to stare back at Bertholdt who blinked at her in confusion.

"You say something?"

He shook his head "No..."

Annie decided to skip the trip to the infirmary and head straight into her quarters for a good night's sleep.

Between everything that happened today, she swore she was going crazy.

Im going to tell you guys something, i admire any author in the world that is able to write Armin's character and accurately show off his intellect...Im going to try, thats all i can really say lol now on to other things. u guys reviewed alot so...

oznerolnotnac: The best lol!? thank you! i totally agree there really isnt enough, but remember the Attack on titan fandom really just got off its feet, the community will grow! and yes thats why i love them im a sucker for opposites lol. Annieway(omg XD) ur english was fine!

LullabyLockdown: Thats my goal Lullaby! to make sure that a wide range of people can enjoy it, just like the real show =)

sekqa711: Thank you, im glad to know i did them justice, i didn't want the fight to be exaggerated but i didnt want it to be underwhelming either, i think i honestly did good =). and i a thousand percent agree we need more Aruani.

Yuyui: LOl Annie dont take no shet!

RosalieVD: OMg lol ur profile pic killed me! thank you for the review and favorite!

TotoYoshio: Thanks, that's a big compliment =)

dacymarie: the annie cafeteria scene just came to my head after watching a Shaman king episode...i have no idea why. anyways thanks you!

wanxerz: Me too man me too, I am all over that tag, all day every day! thanks for the review =)

istaylazy: lol short and sweet, and yes it was crazy XD!

PuppyLove92: yes i wanted to have a clear winner between the two but not make it seem like one is overwhelmingly stronger than the other, and most of all i wanted to show where each of their strenghts lay. glad ur hooked now lol! more stuff happens so stay tuned!

Mizuki00: WHoa Pshychology to study Snk? that sounds intense, good luck and let me know how it goes =). as for Annie Armin interactions, be patient with them lol =)

tbiris: that good huh lol!? im glad your going to keep reading, more to come!

jojobear321: Thank you, i wanted the fight to be realistic, i didnt chi blasts or dashes of uber speed lol, im glad i did good, and im glad you enjoyed every single chapter so far. =)

potato: stay away from Sasha lol! yes i think it was one of my best chapters yet, hell probably one of the best things ive read or created with my own two hands period.

Goldflame: Saw ur tumblr, loved ur pictures and the gif of the man clapping the police guy made me laugh so hard! and yes their relationship took a slightly better as some of the tension between them was alleviated as they literally beat the shet out of each other lol! Even Armin can be stupid when it comes to the people he cares about =)

MostardaProductions: Thanks, Yes armin is very brave and loyal, people tend to forget that! glad ur satisfied with the fight, the part where she copied Annie was to show that Mikasa was not just some wild beast when it came to fighting, that she also fought with her head, she just also happens to have godlike strenght!

CosmicSynopsis: HA lol twelve years, i hope i never take THAT long, though i did take awhile to get this update out, sorry lol.

Brook Uchiha Daughter of Zeus: Thanks for the compliment, i like that word, epic, has a nice ring to it =)

Squalo King: Me too, i love Aruani, and i will keep going!

chromate: Yes action with character thought was essential as it brings the reader deeper instead of me just describing punches and kicks. Reiner's last comment was to take some of the pressure off from an already tightly wounded chapter, that, and Eren's little adventure and absent-mindedness lol =)