"So you managed to crawl out after a rockslide?" An MP casually asked, seemingly only asking because he has to, as I blatantly lied about the events that occurred when the bandits kidnapped me.
I simply nodded at the question and he didn't bother interrogating me further.
The Military Police are even worst than they were portrayed in Attack On Titan, they are so undisciplined and corrupt that they might as well be contributing to crime inside the Walls rather than say their tyring to stop it. It's not even a secret either they do their dirty dealings in broad daylight for everyone to see, it would be one thing if they were just incompetent but they aren't even trying at this point.
I hid my distaste as the MP lazily closed the case and let me leave the office he was talking to me in.
It really is a wonder that that the Walls haven't descended into the Purge with them as the law enforcers.
When the Warriors leave we've gotta use our time as efficiently as possible that starts with addressing a massive issue that Paradis faces, namely its small population.
The army of Paradis consists of barely 15,000 people, which is positively pitiful compared to Marleys Million in their military plus the rest of the world that, at least from my fathers memories, aren't exactly anything to scoff at either. Calling a lot of them soldiers is also being generous, many are fat, lazy or cowardly, plus they're used to fighting Titans, if they fight at all, so how would they react to having humans as their enemy? Would they falter and lose their lives simply because they don't have the stomach for what needs to be done.
My eyes flared up at the thought. How could anyone surrender when faced with the cruelty of this world? Do they think showing mercy or giving up will make the outside world have mercy on them? Will make their deaths less painful?
I have plans to help increase our population but will it really be enough on its own? I can tell you for a fact that Marley has a lot more than just a few shitty cannons on top of a Wall. The Walls are good for keeping out troops and Titans but when it comes to aerial warfare we can't do much to the enemy.
They have only developed airships so far which are literally giant balloons, we could pop them, but what would we need to do the trick? Ballista would work but those are old style weapons and I doubt they'd be useful for much else. The Commander of the Survey Corps would be the right man to talk to, unlike Hange I know that he isn't a man who hesitates to beat the enemy to keep his morality.
If push came to shove and I ended up in a similiar position to Eren where I had to pick Armin or Erwin then... I'd probably pick Erwin.
Armin is a genius, and my best friend, but Erwin is a Devil, he's a ruthless madman that will do absolutely anything to achieve victory even if it meant sending countless of his close comrades and friends to their inevitable deaths, he may have gone about it for selfish reasons but in the end he died a selfless death, he may have been throwing his mens lives away for years on end but his suicide charge where he lead over one hundred young people to their deaths shows that he can just as easily throw his own life away as he can his comrades. Cunning, insane, ruthless, but if the time calls for it then selfless, the man is the perfect leader.
I'll also admit that me and him are alike, he was willing to build humanities road to freedom with the corpses of himself and his friends, I'm not entirely sure he would even be opposed to the rumbling, their isn't a man in the military that can replace him. I might have the ruthlessness and maybe the charisma but I'm no genius like him, even if I am smart, none of the other officials lack the qualities needed.
In the end though he was loyal to his people and the cause to his death, he was a hero not because he held the moral high ground, not because he looked for diplomacy at every turn, but because he was willing to throw everything away, even his own life, to fan the flames of hope for the Walled people, to show the world that they can't take us down without a fight, he was a hero because he threw away his humanity for the greater good.
There is nobody more alike than me in this world than Erwin Smith.
Christa pushed down the need to voice her irritation as several of her admirers from their class swarmed her and asked about her condition as though she were made of glass.
What bothered her to no end that not a single person in the crowd asked about Erens condition, he was after all the one who was kidnapped, what made her safety more important than his? Because they liked her more? Because she always wore a smile on her face? Because she's a helpless ditsy blonde girl?
"Geez what are you idiots swarming her for?" She mentally thanked the Walls for whatever deity sent her freckled friend to her rescue.
Over nearly a year she's grown extremely close to Ymir, at first she thought she was rather rude however she sees past that, Ymir is a kind person, she knows that, she's just insecure about showing that side of her for some reason. She has no right to go telling Ymir how to act, not when she's doing the exact same thing as the lanky girl, hiding behind a mask, so over the year their friendship would go something like this.
Ymir will say something that pisses a person off, she'll smirk as said person becomes irritated and as the resident angel she herself will play the peacekeeper. Over time she's grown fond of their dynamic and genuinely hopes that after they've graduated she will decide not to follow her to the Survey Corps.
Ymir walked along and she had to withhold laughter at how she towered over all the boys.
"Can't you losers see she doesn't want to wast her time talking to you? Why don't you fuck off and let her go." Ymir spoke with her usual smirk.
Several protests broke out and hurtful comments were thrown the tan skinned girls way that made veins pop on her skull.
"What do you know ugly?"" Yeah why do you get to decide how she spends her time?"" Now get out of here before we-"
They all stopped at the frightening glare that the eternally smiling blonde sent them.
She'd had enough. She can decide how she spends her time. She most certainly does not want to hang around these morons, especially when nothing bad happened to her.
And Ymir is not ugly.
"Alright I've had enough of you idiots talking about things you don't know Jack shit about-" several gasped, and some not accepting, that the goddess of the one hundred and fourth would ever swear in a million years"- and she is not ugly, if any of you ever come near me again I'll beat you within an inch of your life." Even Ymir looked surprised for a moment but her usual smirk returned a moment later at the petite young woman's actions.
Historia was done with their bullshit. She was no goddess, she doesn't want them here, especially after they insulted Ymir, and they're all simply looking for a pretty girl to crowd around. She didn't even care that her mask slipped off and her usually sickeningly sweet voice dissolved into something less soft and polite and more rude and commanding, they should know when enough is enough.
She quickly walked away, grabbing Ymirs hand, and they hid inside some woods that happened to be located nearby.
Ymir spoke in her usual nonchalant tone." Well that was really something, didn't think you had it in you princess." She commented food naturedly but was inwardly clapping and cheering at the girl finally showing her what was beneath her mask.
Meanwhile Christa was inwardly freaking out, would they no longer like her now that she'd yelled at them? What was she thinking? That's not how a proper lady should act, it'd not how anyone should act.
Inwardly though Historia knew that what she said was a long time coming, she doesn't want followers or obsessive admirers, she just wants friends who would treat her as equals. She hasn't really grown attached to any of the Cadets other than Ymir, with her only knowing everyone to a certain degree, their names, homes, the occasional backstory like with Eren, but nothing more.
Ymir saw the indecision written on her face and decided to change the subject." So did Eren get kidnapped or is that just a bunch of bull?" Ymir asked boredly but a little curious to how it actually played out.
Christa shook her head to clear her thoughts." Well they threatened to kidnap me and Eren offered to go in my place. He was taken and he managed to escape in a rockslide that crushed the bandits."
Ymir whistled, a little impressed by the green eyed boys move." Wow guess he wasn't all talk huh? I think i might have some competition."
Christa blushed in embarrassment at the thought of her and Eren... together.
She shook her head rapidly with a flustered face." It's not like that." Ymir only smiled at that.
"I should hope so, you've gotta marry me one day so don't go falling for someone else."
Christas red face froze at that and slowly receded. Whilst she's grateful and admires Eren a little, and he's actually quite handsome, she already has feelings for the girl in front of her.
She thinks back to the green eyed boy and what he did. When he was taken he didn't look panicked or scared at all, almost like he knew he'd get out of the hostage situation just fine, and then she recalls seeing yellow lightning in the distance with her following the carriages direction using Erens ODM gear.
She has a gut feeling that Erens escape had something to do with that weird lightning strike.
She cast her thoughts aside. She's overthinking things.
But maybe getting closer to Eren and his friends isn't a bad idea.
"Hey Ymir what do you think about Eren?"
Ymir is caught off guard by the question. She doesn't hate him or anything but she wouldn't go as far as to say that she loves him either, she can respect him wanting to put an end to the problem his people are facing, naive as that is, and she can kind of respect him for willingly going back into that hell after he's already had a taste, but he's also fighting a pointless cause against a foe that isn't even the real enemy.
She settled for shrugging half-heartedly." He's got balls I guess, no brains though." She replies sarcastically.
Something about him does bug her though, she sees something behind those green eyes, something dangerous, an anger and hatred that's biding it's time, waiting to strike back against the enemy. She's seen distain, hatred and rage. She's seen it in the Marleyan bastards that turned her into a Titan and doomed her to live sixty years of livin- no existing in an eternal nightmare, a monster that's only purpose was to hunt people, snuff people and eat people. All until the day they die.
Only you can't really die as a Titan, she'd have killed herself long ago if that were possible.
She vaguely remembers a blonde child with a scared expression on their face being pushed out of the way by a brown haired one. She can only assume that those were the Warriors about to attack Wall Maria.
She can't help but pity those poor children, they were brainwashed by Marley to wipe out Paradis and retrieve the Founding Titan, they were probably told that they'd be heroes, paragons of justice who'd save the Eldians on the continent and free them by killing all the 'bad' Eldians. As tiny as the Walls are she personally prefers it to the poor shithole where she had to wear one of those hideous armbands or else she'd immediately sent to Paradis as a traitor.
Marley can't be stopped, she remembers that last she was there they were aggressively expanding their country's borders and had even destroyed an entire country just to test out their new Titan powers. She hates them but there's no helping it.
Nobody can stand up to the full might of Marleys Warriors.
Reiner ran at me in a ramming style that reminded me of his Titan form and in response I easily evaded and landed a precise kick on the back of the knee.
Fighting has become easier ever since I gained the memories of past Attack Titan users, in particular the wielder from the great Titan war, Jacob Piers, who was a master of several styles of Martial arts which made him an incredibly skilled user of the Attack Titan. Being a Titan Shifter does have its perks, like easily gaining skills that your predecessors possessed.
Every user from the past hundred years seems to have different jobs, my father was a doctor, Kruger was a spy, just to name a few. Hell one of the users was a language expert.
Anyways freely gaining the skills of all the different holders has actually been quite an exciting experience, Armin and Mikasa asked me a while ago and I gave them as honest of an answer as I could. I'm ashamed to admit I requested to test my new skills on Mikasa and she took me put with laughable ease. I guess it doesn't matter how skilled you are when your opponents superhuman, at least I got taken out by a gorgeous one, no shame in losing to a pretty girl.
Reiner stumbled and fell to the ground in pain with the back of his knee bruised and his pride broken.
I revelled in his pain as he got to his feet complained about his knee and went off about being a true soldier. It physically hurt to keep the sheer hatred I felt for such an individual out of my eyes, the face I can do but my eyes are unnaturally expressive. It'd be suspicious if I avoided Reiner entirely and openly glared at him so instead I opted for our relationship to go something along the lines of: we know and acknowledge each other but don't hang out all the time. Annie and Bertolt try and keep their distance, well Annie does Bertolt just let's Reiner guide him everywhere without so much as a word or complaint against his actions, so it's easy not to let them suspect me however Reiner is a loose cannon, his personality has obviously split from the guilt and he found relief in cracking under the weight of his actions by pretending to be a soldier.
I saw red at the thought of him running away and hiding from his sins. Even I'm not fully sure what I'll do, I've spent many nights awake thinking about my actions, calculating every little detail, every Shifter, everyone from the cast of even remote importance, from how to strengthen Paradis and how to weaken Marley. I've gathered my resolve and my opinion is unchanged, if I have to choose this island or this world then I pick this island. Numbers don't matter, it's about who's in the right and who's in the wrong.
People always have debates about the show and some even think Marleys actions are understandable but I beg to differ. Excuse me but how is causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands not wrong? How is fighting to protect your people from a world that wants nothing more than to destroy them wrong? How is wanting revenge and justice for all the innocents that died on this island, babies and children included, wrong?
I'm no optimist I refuse to look for a diplomatic solution to our problem because there isn't one, no matter which path we choose people will die, our people and soldiers will still die, however that's no excuse to stop fighting. 'To save humanity one must strip themselves of their humanity.' I'm a firm believer in that quote, I don't like the idea of taking others lives but if it means taking that extra step to achieving my goals then I have no problems with getting my hands dirty.
Choosing not to kill for the greater good is selfish because then your just pushing the problem onto someone else, letting someone else deal with the problem. The coward king had damned the Eldian race and has chained us all down with his self destructive ideology, he hates the violent acts Eldia has committed but made no attempts to rectify them, he simply gave Marley control over their oppressors and left the world behind at the mercy of an entirely new monster.
I refuse to act anything like him, unlike him I won't leave the dirty work to someone else, unlike him I'll but my people above all else, unlike him I will fix Eldias problems.
"Hey Eren look-" Reiner pointed towards Annie. Oh I think I remember this."- Annie's been slacking off, why don't you teach her-"
Oh no you don't.
"Hey Annie-" I captured her apathetic gaze."- Reiner just called you a lazy, flat chested buzz kill. I just figured I'd let you know." I'd revel in seeing the short girl flip him over.
Annie seemed to glare at Reiner upon hearing my words and I backed away to leave him to the fighting machine that is Annie Leonhart.
Ten seconds later Reiner landed flat on his face with his ass hanging over his head. He sent me a glare as I enjoyed my feeling of satisfaction at seeing the Armoured Titan be hurt in any way. It was petty but they needed to be hurt in some way, be it directly by me or otherwise, for my feelings of hatred to keep subdued.
"Hey Mikasa, spar with me." I'm definitely gonna be sparked out but I need some challenge that doesn't involve Armins blonde crush, lest I act out and strain our friendship, and being beaten up by the girl who's clearly in love with you isn't too bad.
Hmm I might be a masochist.
Mikasa kept her eternally stoic face as Eren asked her to spar. He's gotten a lot better since he's been receiving memories from past Attack Titan holders however like always her body seems to know exactly what to do in any situation she's involved in.
She evaded his fist pointed for her cheek with ease and counters with a swift series of jabs to his chest.
He winces slightly but doesn't halt and proceeds to aim a fist for her chest in response.
She dodged and gets close right by his chest before grabbing his other arm and, faster than anyone could clearly see, subdued him by pinning him into the ground.
"Still as strong as ever." He commented genuinely as she let him go and he rose to his feet.
He's changed a lot over the past three and a half years, he has gotten much better at taking her concerns into consideration for a start, Mikasa has always felt a strong need to shield Eren from the fate of this cruel world, she always puts herself between him and any new people they meet-ErenErenErenErenErenSafeSafeSafeSafe- before Maria fell he would always blow up at her for being over protective, maybe she can be a bit... overbearing at times but she only does it to help him, to make sure she doesn't lose the only family she has left.
However after the Walls fell Eren matured a lot, perhaps it was because she is the only family he has left, trauma possibly, maybe because he felt a massive responsibility for what his father gave him in The Power Of The Titans, Mikasa isn't a selfless girl, she just wants to be with Eren- ProtectProtectProtectProtectProtectProtect- be it as just his friend, sister or something else she will be there for him.
"Mikasa can you explain to me again how exactly you can absolutely beat me into the ground with absolute ease despite not being taught by anyone."
Mikasa shrugged nonchalantly. She never really questioned why her body is the way it is, she's never really been the superstitious type, she is simply strong it's a part of who she is.
"I just let my body guide me and moved really fast." She has been told a few times that a regular person isn't meant to simply be a genius born fighter by following their bodies instincts but she supposes she isn't a very normal person.
She doesn't quite look exactly like her mother, with her oriental features being less distinct, but she is still Eastern, most don't question it and even then it's nothing malicious so she doesn't really think of herself as any different appearance wise to anyone else. Apparently, according to Eren, there are entire countries with people who look like her living there, she is a little glad that her mothers side hasn't died out but it's not like she has any real ties to the outside world other than a mark on her wrist.
She will stick by Erens side until he dies, he says that he has plans to help strengthen the island as well as weaken Marley. If all else fails and the island is doomed then Mikasa will take Eren and run off Paradis with him in tow. She really doesn't like that he plans on making enemies with the world but he's always been stubborn so she knows that trying to change his mind is pointless.
"Mikasa why do you want to stay with me so badly?" The question is so out of the blue that it takes her off guard.
"Huh?" She can only answer as her brain malfunctioned slightly.
He looked her right in the eye as he took one of her hands in his." Why do you want to stay by my side so badly? Is it because I saved you or is it something else?"
Mikasa blushes brightly at the words, internally glad that they are in the woods with nobody around to see her flustered as she collects her wits.
"What am I to you?" He joins her with his cheeks tingling red that makes her grateful knowing she isn't the only one embarrassed about the situation.
She doesn't know how to respond to that. She can't lie to herself and say that she doesn't love Eren, because that's a lie, and she has had feelings for him since the day they met on that terrible day. However he already has a mountain of responsibility on his shoulders, she can't selfishly add onto that with her own personal feelings. Her feeling shouldn't matter, all that matters is keeping him safe.
But before she starts the blush on his cheeks grow as he begins to talk." Mikasa I've loved you since the day we met, I can't claim to understand what your thinking but I know that you love me back, what I plan on doing is dangerous, I just want to put it all out for you to see." He said feeling incredibly embarrassed at the situation but knowing he needs to let her know how he feels before they lose their chance.
He refuses to end up like the other Eren, as much as Mikasa loves him he knows that she's better at showing how she feels rather than telling him how she feels. It's better to rip the bandaid off and tell each other how they feel so that their first kiss isn't in his final moments.
Mikasa's words catch in her throat, she is overwhelmed and has no idea what to say - LoveLoveLoveLoveLove- she should disagree, she loves him with all her heart, she'd lift heaven and earth if it would keep him safe, he is the light of her life which is exactly why she has to say she loves him like family, because he's safest that wa-
"I love you." The words slip out of her mouth before she can hold them back.
Erens blush recedes, though not completely, and he smiles at her in a way that makes her heart beat faster and her face cool down as her eyes are captured in those emerald green jewels. He's always had very distinctive eyes. She personally loves them, they show how intense and passionate he really is.
He moved and captured her lips in a way that to like him is ensuring that his fate will diverge from the original. In the show Eren had always loved Mikasa however he was so absorbed in his own anger and hatred that he never even fully realized his own feelings. It was only by the time he was nearly dead that he realized how he felt, and by then it was far, far too late. He wants to sever this world's fate, to do whatever's necessary to keep her safe.
Meanwhile Mikasa was on cloud nine, her mind went blank as their lips locked, she had no idea what she was doing, why she was reciprocal, why she was enjoying it so much. Her lips touched with his as they enjoyed the taste of each others saliva with their tongues brushed against each other occasionally as the world around them seemed to stop until they broke moments later.
Mikasa had no idea what to say as she tries to talk only for her voice to be caught in her throat. She felt incredibly light all of a sudden as a feeling she couldn't identify washed over her.
They've known each other for five years now, that day she lost a lot. Her parents, her innocence, her home. She has no regrets for taking those mens lives, she did have a savior that day but he wasn't like in those books she used to read about a tall, noble, and shining figure. Her savior was a boy her age that was covered in the blood of her kidnappers, that he'd just killed, but she felt so much hope when he rescued her, she felt hope that she could fight the cruelty of this world because if this boy was able to so was she, that she didn't have to be a victim her whole life.
The boy she loves never stopped making her feel hope even if he didn't know it.
She wrapped her hands around his neck and took him in for a kiss once more with her face burning scarlet at her own actions.
The other fourteen year old had no complaints to give as he place his hands on her hips and pulled her in even closer to the point where their teeth were touching together.
Their second kiss was far more heated than the last and she took her time to savour the feeling of their tongues battling it out for dominance over one another with her having no issue with being subdued and submitting as his tongue entered the confines of her mouth and ran wild with Eren taking his time to thoroughly claim every single inch of her mouth before minutes later they finally broke off breathing heavily.
Now more used to the feelings of intimacy Eren spoke trying his best not to stutter." Mikasa you mean everything to me, would you do me the honour of being my girlfrie-"
She hugged him with her eyes closed doing her best not to cry from the joy she felt in that moment. Being something more to Eren than simply his friend is what she's always wanted since she met him, it takes an immense amount of self control for her not to yell out in glee, though she wasn't far off.
"Of course I do, Eren."
Eren thought of saying something in response but in the end just hugged her back and they stood in each others embrace for an uncertain amount of time.
The scene was incredibly wholesome and only after they realized that they need to return to the training ground before others take notice did they finally leave.
That day though a bond was formed, one so powerful that it changed fate, one that only strengthened their resolve to see their goals through to the end.
Erens to protect Mikasa, and Mikasas to protect Eren.
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