I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
A/N: Wow! Twenty chapters!? I can't seem to stop writing, haha. Honestly, I have no idea how long this story will go on.
It started as a spin-off from Musashi's LeviHan doujin "Flap Your Wings" (remove the underscores):
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My intention was that this story would follow the LeviHan relationship but will focus on the larger picture as it builds up. Of course, once again, you see characters going OOC (on purpose of course) due to the circumstances I have thrown them into, haha. For a certain someone who had told me earlier in the month, I wanted to play the trust game on who can trust who, bonds of comrades, past experiences getting in the way of decisions, etc.
It was not meant to directly follow Musashi's story but scenes from the doujin are mentioned here and built up into it.
Regarding the POV, there are chapters that focus solely in third-person; one such as this will go into third-person omniscient. I do weave in and out of perspective, and during the last couple chapters, some scenes are written separately, but in the reality, they are simultaneously happening.
Other than that, thank you guys so much for your support, especially those who review, follow, favorite, and lurk.
ALSO, manga spoilers are abound in this story.
Ymir, Christa, and Sasha rode side by side at the far back of their group. The panting of Weiss was duly noted as they spoke amongst themselves.
"We're free of the Wall and everything we trained for, aren't you going to leave?" Ymir questioned.
Sasha shook her head. "Tobias needs help going to my village, I'll be staying with you guys until we get Mikasa to a safe place to recover...and with Rivaille injured, the cart's more needed to carry them both. Besides...I don't see why I should leave anyway. It...comforts me to be around you guys."
"You're holding up well, much better than earlier," Christa commented pleasantly, trying to lighten up the mood. It was true. Sasha had been quiet for most of the days they had been together; she only spoke when spoken to and she seemed to be focus on other things rather than the people around her. Her mind fixated on whatever task she was doing, Weiss, and food.
Said girl gave a half-smile. "I'm trying."
"Get over whatever it is, it bothers me as much as you try to hide your accent," Ymir abrasively scoffed out of the blue.
Christa was taken aback but Sasha held up her hand, silencing her. "No, it's fine, she can berate me as much as she pleases."
It grew quiet between them.
Elsewhere, towards the front, ahead of Tobias, Jean rode alongside Erwin and Isidor. Fiete kept a distance from them, giving them a needed space so that they may converse without the worry of being listened to; at least, that was what Erwin requested.
Jean was given an extra torch to hold and light their way. He cleared his throat as Erwin solemnly spoke,"...perhaps what Hanji had said is right, the others might be already following her example."
"Does the woman trust you?" Isidor asked. "It looked like she did, she couldn't pull the trigger."
Erwin rubbed his nose against the back of wrist, then sniffled. "Hm. That's comforting at the most, and there's still something to salvage from everyone else. I doubt Rivaille would be willing to listen after what I've done to him, as for the others I would find it understandable if they have grown to be wary of me, like him. From what I can tell, Hanji could be leading them in his stead, a proxy, they'd be more adamant to listen to her."
He glanced over his shoulders to see Mike and Petra conversing; his eyes fell to their hands as they both laced their fingers with one another.
"And them too."
"Proving loyalty will be most difficult," Isidor advised,"perhaps if you were to buy them or have leverage, they would turn to you as their leader once more."
"I'm not like you," he deadpanned. "Trust isn't something bought by coin."
"Well, you have half a dozen people armed and ready to shoot, and you have your back to them. Then again, they're exhausted from today's escapade...I am as well, killing you will be the last thing on their minds."
"Sir," Jean broke in, they both looked at him as though they had forgotten he rode by them. "How far is the Hermiha from here?"
"Two days worth of riding," Isidor drawled,"and if we keep away from the main roads, make it four. Our destination, however, is up to Zoe." Jean raised a brow. "Ah, I meant Hanji, it rests on her. Speaking of rest, we've traveled far enough for tonight, you suppose we make camp soon? Erwin?"
Erwin pointed to a path breaking into their route. "There's a river and thicket five kilometers from where we stand. We'll rest there."
-...-
Horses were tied to trees and given buckets of water to drink. Saddles and Gears rested in the bushes, rifles were kept nearby. A roaring fire was made in the center of it all.
Eren had awoken to the sound of pots clanging and people shuffling about. His head spun, slightly fuzzy of recent events, he tried to bring himself up as his hand reached up and out to feel the rough surface of a crate. Using it as leverage, he brought himself to sit up, his other hand went to rub his head.
"You're awake?" A familiar voice came to him, but before he could register any recognition, he was greeted by arms wrapping around him, embracing him.
"Eren!"
"A-Armin?" He uttered, his eyes opened to see the familiar, blond head. His hands went up to hold him as well. "You're alive..."
He nodded and sniffled. He was crying.
"Mikasa. Where is she?"
Armin withdrew, his hands wiping his face clean, and gently pushed Eren to sit on one of the crates. Hastily, he pulled at three planks on the bottom of the cart, letting them clatter over the edge and onto the grass, to reveal Mikasa sleeping soundlessly in the hidden compartment. Her red scarf covered her neck, accentuating the white dress she wore during her slumber. One could have said she was a mock-up of Sleeping Beauty from the old tales they heard.
Eren reached towards her, but the female voice, who he now addressed as Hanji, told him,"She's got stitches, best avoid her torso."
He took her warning to heart and brushed a few strands of Mikasa's hair, tucking them behind her ear. "How did she-?"
"Long story," Armin muttered, facing away.
"Hey, I-"
"Eren," Hanji warned,"just...just not now, we're not right in our heads and we need time to gather our bearings."
He turned his head to see her sitting on the floor, not to far. In her lap was Rivaille, sleeping quietly, though his right arm was held up by Hanji's head. She made no effort to hide his dismembered arm. Eren backed away in shock, eyes wide. "D-did I do that to him!?"
"It was Erwin, on accident, he says," she bitterly corrected him. "Both of you, get out of the cart. Go eat whatever Tobias made...and if you can, please bring me something as well."
Armin reached out to him, tugging at his sleeve. "C'mon, let's go."
They got out of the cart, though Eren took a moment to stretch his limbs. Armin led him to the fire where everyone gathered around for their evening meals. The redheaded tavern keeper was bent over a pot, stirring it before taking his ladle out to serve Sasha. She went to her small bedding (everyone had blankets for themselves, packed courteously by Petra) and curled by her companion.
Weiss was the first to raise his head at Eren's approach, ears prickling upward towards him. Sasha followed it and saw Eren, then she looked away back to her soup. Armin brought his friend to sit at his own bed where he had a bowl ready. From somewhere, Christa handed him another after greeting Eren,"It's been a while."
Eren tried to offer her a smile as Armin got up to serve the both of them; he got a third bowl from somewhere. "Sure has. This is everyone?"
He looked around. Ymir was sitting by Christa, though she was staring absentmindedly at the fire as if she were contemplating. Elsewhere, Jean was attending to the horses with Erwin by his side. Across the fire was the cart where Hanji's back was turned to them; Armin came up to her and was handing her her meal.
"Petra and Mike are out to patrol the area."
Ymir let out a snorting laugh though she straggled it when Christa lightly slapped her.
"Were there others?" Eren asked tentatively.
Ymir answered,"Bertolt and Reiner were lost when Rivaille went to go fetch you. They could be dead, they could be alive, either way, they weren't planning on coming with us. All that matters is that we came out...they were the price of fetching you out of that Titan, you were not in our plans of escape."
Eren froze.
"You're in debt to him now," she added, then she got up as Armin came back with Eren's soup. She headed over to Hanji, leaving Christa to not add her retort. He was handed his bowl while Armin sat beside him, quietly beginning to sip at his own.
"Erwin was supposed to get me," Eren flatly told her, slowly putting two and two together. He hadn't seen what occurred behind him, only knowing that Erwin was telling Rivaille to slice away at something; he knew little that their run-in would cost a limb. Lost in his thought, he brought the rim of his bowl to his lips and drank away at the broth.
"He did, from what Hanji said."
Elsewhere, by the horses, Jean was braiding at his horse's mane, trying to keep it neat as the hair grew longer than most. As his fingers nimbly ran through the thick tresses, he continued on,"...but somewhere, along the lines, Hanji's outburst unconsciously speaks for all of us. Who are we to trust you after you issue our deaths?"
"Yes, but who are you people to trust Isidor?" He countered, leaning against against the tree with folded arms. One braid was complete, Jean tied it off and began to work on the next one. "Besides myself, Rivaille and Hanji know of him better than all of you. I'll tell you, the man is dangerous, and it's another situation to be in debt to him."
"You saw fit to use him as your own pawn to get us out. Let me guess, you used Hanji as your pull to get to him."
"You're smart," Erwin approvingly told him. They brought their gazes to Isidor as he sat on a stool, crouched over and reading some book while keeping a bottle nearby; his hand reached for it to drink. Fiete laid at his side, man tipped his bottle to high and ended up falling backwards onto the grass, seemingly passed out with the book landing not too far from his outstretched hand.
Erwin continued,"He has a disturbing obsession with the woman. We could have killed him back at the bookstore but what good will a body do for us at the Gate? At least he's alive. Once Rivaille comes to, things will get interesting yet I dread for it."
Jean looked over at Hanji, he saw Ymir speaking to her but couldn't catch their words, he brought his eyes back to the braid. "The book Isidor's reading, it's Hanji's journal. He forced it off of me back there. I read a couple pages, figured that he was here for Hanji. All in all, you promised for him to see her once he gets us out."
Erwin let out a low hum in response, indicating that he was right once more. It grew quiet for a bit, then Jean picked up the conversation once more.
"I had a close friend once who wanted to join the Military Police to be in service with the King. Unfortunately, he didn't live through Trost...if he did, and he were to join up with that branch, I bet he would have reconsidered at the sight of people like Isidor," Jean said solemnly. "Then again, he wanted to enforce justice, how could you when the government you serve is unjust?"
"You wanted to join the MP?"
"That was my goal at first," he replied,"but after today, I'm sort of glad I hadn't. I'd be hunting after my friends here under a false conviction."
Another braid was finished. He stopped in his work, resting a shoulder against his horse and leaning against it to rest. He faced Erwin completely.
"You know, I've never seen a Marquis in person."
"Hardly anyone does," Erwin admitted,"despite holding title, not all of them are necessarily related to the King. There are a few that come as replacements or twisted the system in their favor. Isidor is related to the King himself, through and through, but he was the fourth child of the last Marquis of Hermiha. It's not an old story, what he's done has been done before, it's just the means and how he did it is what makes him different than the others.
"Fourth son of the six Marquis, Malthe von Hermiha, Isidor was the last in line to be heir to the title. He took to operating in the Underground Mall after he was shipped away to the Karanese to do the bidding of his family. At one point, he met Rivaille and worked with him on numerous occasions; Rivaille himself was in the Karanese for business, so leaving his assets alone to others in the Inner Districts made his own subordinates slack. Eventually, Isidor saw the opportunity and promised official positions to numerous men, it gave him a foothold in the criminal world and landed him complete control of the human trafficking. Unfortunately, you couldn't place a hand on him due to his protection of the father. With all this power and revenue Isidor was gaining, he murdered his own father and brothers, then rose to take his place."
Jean was left speechless. Upon seeing his face, Erwin gave a shrug.
"Again, it's not an uncommon story," he told him,"it's just that now he still holds great power in the criminal underworld...no one is willing to arrest him because he was the one who gave them power. I'm familiar with Fritz Gervas, he's an example of one of those men. When you were planning for the MP, you never realized how fucked up their own system was, huh?"
Defeated by this, Jean shook his head.
"Most of the high ranking officers hail from Isidor's pocket. Fortunately, he's been harmless this passed decade and never sought to overthrow the government. But be careful when I say he's dangerous," he warned him fairly. "He can play off as being too stupid and aloof but think about it, he's a man who slain his own family for his title. Power hungry bastard is what I can say about him, a deviant."
"What about Hanji? What does he personally have to do with her?"
"That's another story, I'm only well-versed between him and Rivaille; I was the one who reeled Rivaille into the Recon Corps. If you want to know, go ask Hanji yourself. I only know so much as to use her to convince Isidor to come all the way up to the Karanese."
Jean gave an uneasy nod.
"Come to think of it...I'd step in myself and warn the others about Isidor, but I'm sure that Hanji can do it herself; none would listen to a man who issued their deaths. Like you mentioned earlier, she'll be Rivaille's proxy for the moment and, hopefully, will avert them all from falling to their knees for him. They're more adamant to listen to her. For now, I'm afraid I'm at her mercy."
Habitually, he ran his hand over his mouth as though he were wiping his words away. He saw the work of braids done so far, he stepped away from the tree. His fingers rolled through one, neat lock, scrutinizing Jean's handiwork.
From a distance, Ymir leaned against the edge of the cart.
Hanji tilted her head back to drink from the bowl Armin had given her. When she had her fill, she placed the bowl on a barrel and then examined Rivaille's arm. "...I overheard Bertolt and Reiner speaking with Annie."
"When was this?" She asked, voice moist from the broth.
"Three days ago when you told them to get the barrels from the cellar."
"And what were they saying?"
"They were planning on having Annie kidnap Eren when they saw the chance. It's funny though," Ymir mused, Hanji tiredly glanced at her but lacked the means to glare,"that Rivaille brought them one step closer with their plans but then suddenly forced them to take two steps back. It makes you wonder if they are planning something else, should they have not been captured."
Hanji's brows furrowed, the cryptic taunts coming from the raven haired woman were disturbing her beyond belief. "Do they have the means?"
"I'm just letting you know that those two are Titan-shifters as well. Who knows? They could be specifically the Armored and Colossal Titans that all of you dread, Bertolt mentioned something about Reiner being able to smash through the Wall."
"If that's the case...they would have smashed through the Karanese's Outer Gate to escape with themselves," she dreadfully said, realization hitting her harder than the fastest horse in the Recon Corps,"or perhaps the Inner Gate if they are so intent on taking Eren. Ymir, why didn't you tell me this before!?"
She shrugged. "I thought we weren't going to bring Eren with us. And I would have told Rivaille, I guess letting you know makes you our leader. You'll have to call the shots-"
Hanji delicately removed Rivaille from her lap to settle him on the floor. She propped up his arm and ensured he would stay in place. Swiftly, she rounded over the edge of the cart to land with a solid thud by Ymir. Her eyes spoke of frustration of being denied such information. Bitterly, she spat,"Just because I'm no longer a part of the military, it doesn't mean I have no empathy for mankind. We could have restrained those two, Rivaille could have..." She shook her head. "...you know what? Thanks you, Ymir, you inadvertently fucked humanity over!"
Ymir didn't flinch nor did she move, she kept a hard, cold look that said that her choice could be justified.
Hanji decided to hit her where it would hurt, though not physically. "The Garrison could only do so much and the MP can barely do jack-shit. When Wall Rose falls, we lose territory. Without the Recon Corps to carry the offensive and those two, no, three Titan-shifters will be smashing through Wall Sina in search of Eren. You'll have nowhere to run after that! You fucked yourself and Christa! What happened to keeping her safe? Did you think that through?!"
By then, her voice was heard throughout the camp. Heads turned to her.
"You hadn't!" Hanji snapped cynically.
Hanji reached into the cart and reached for her own rifle.
"If anything went sideways, you know what would happen!"
She shoved Ymir away and stormed to the fire where Armin, Eren, and Christa were sitting. Her steps, purposeful and daunting, forced Eren and Armin to separate from Christa as she tried to get up. As she advanced towards her with both hands readying the flintlock, Ymir's voice boomed,"Don't touch her!" as she sprinted after her. "Don't fucking touch her! Please, she has nothing to-"
"Oh, she's everything to you!" Hanji shouted over Ymir's protest, it was too late for the woman to catch her. In a blink, Hanji had brought the barrel of the rifle to Christa's head; Ymir froze mid-step, her hand outstretched for Hanji. Christa, with her back turned, grew quiet and rigid, scared of what was behind her; she knew better than to turn and look.
Ymir reached over to Tobias when she saw that he was nearby, before he could give her room, she swiped a knife from his belt, then placed the edge of the blade to the palm of her hand. She gave a nod. "Yeah, she's everything, and I won't let you take her from me!"
Unlike earlier, when a shaking rifle was pointed at Erwin, Hanji now held it with confidence. She had lost reason to trust Ymir and, therefore, could bring herself to commit such a horrid act. The three of them were there in the cellar, they heard Rivaille's threat and knew all to well to his expectations; unfortunately, Ymir had done just as he had warned her not to.
With Rivaille rendered unable to speak, judgement was left to Hanji; she was already compromised from the start of it all, each of her decisions were taken on instinct with luck and trust helping her. At the sight of Rivaille's mangled arm, she had begun to operate on impulse, a sure sign of losing her composure altogether.
Erwin and Jean jogged closer to the unfolding scene. Everyone had eyes trained to the knife pressing against Ymir's palm, this gesture alone revealed who she was as self-harm was the sign of a Titan-shifter. At the instant, they decided to pick up on Hanji's cue, each of them grabbing their rifles (save for Erwin, Jean, and Eren) to aim them all towards Christa.
"...and you were saying you're at her mercy?" Jean whispered to Erwin as they watched behind Sasha as she cocked her weapon; he was referring to Hanji. "Look at her, she's losing her shit."
"We all are," Erwin murmured, eyes drifting to each of them,"but look at them, they're following her lead."