Another one. Hehe, the first AOT fic got a good response so far so I'll do a second one! Thanks to those who have read and liked or followed the story.
This will be some sort of continuation to the first one. And though I haven't seen the episode where this scene is shown I'll let my imagination run wild. I have read a few stories where Eren questions Mikasa about what he means to her, and she answers that he is family to her. Now, this is true but we also know that he is more then just family to her as it is shown in the manga and anime. And Eren also sees her as more then a sisterly/motherly figure. This one shot shows the two of them confirming their love for each other way before hell broke loose and Eren let everything go including Mikasa.
Set in Season 3
Episode 21
Attack Titan.
History repeats itself within humanity's actions. The truth is revealed through his father's journals. Everything went down hill once everyone read the part about how Eldia created the Titans, the Subjects of Ymir, and how Grisha had come to inherit the Attack Titan's power. The simple fact was that, he had not stolen the power it was given to him by the leader of the resistance group named "Owl". How his father ended up outside the wall was also revealed.
Captain Levi looked at him, "Interesting thing how humanity is always finding ways to look worse and worse everytime we learn something new about Titans. How despicable."
"Brings me back to the question Commander Erwin asked me all that time ago." Eren says contemplating the question.
It was Armin who spoke, "What did he ask you?"
"Who the enemy really was." Eren responded somberly.
A cold silence came upon the group, this question was like a hammer of judgement brought upon them. Though there could only be one answer, from everything they've experienced that lead up to this moment there was no more room any other guesses.
"As much as I'd like to deny the truth we all have come to know, I can't anymore. The true enemy is the world, isn't it?" Whispered Sasha.
Jean curses, "Damn. The world's really messed up. The reason why they hate Paradis isn't even justified! For the sins of our ancestors, sins we didn't even know about! Eren, you have to agree..."
"Of course I can see it isn't justified! But then again humanity turns it's head one way for a moment then turns it another way the next. Marley has some pretty dark ideologies, who makes children warriors to fight in a war they hardly know about?" Says the 17-year-old Yeager in frustration.
Eren begins to pace around, until he clutches his head his future sight activating. He collapses to the ground taking a deep breath, but his eyes look haunted by what he saw. Mikasa saw the pain within them and knew that the vision he just had was not a good one. She held his hand squeezing it to comfort him.
She spoke softly, "Eren, what did you see?"
"Don't keep it bottled up inside you Eren. It'll eat you up slowly. The future is uncertain, if there is something we can change then tell us." Commander Hange says calmly, she was worried about him.
Eren nods then begins, "It happens four years from now. We fail to negotiate peace with the other nations, and attack Marley. I-I somehow infiltrate their city and send information to you guys. During the attack we hurt innocent people, i-its my fault..."
"Don't go blaming yourself Eren! It hasn't happened yet, and we can stop it from happening. I'm sure we can convince the other nations out there that we mean no harm. There has to be at least one that will help us." Sasha says optimistically.
Connie nods along to Sasha's words, "Yeah. It hasn't happened yet, so we can still change the outcome of the situation. There has to be some way we can sway the other nations to our cause..."
"We'll find a way. Without bloodshed, but if they really insist on bringing war to Paradis then we will have no choice but to fight them. We can't let them kill the innocents on this Island as well." Armin says with a kind of certainly that he has gained over the years.
Levi agrees to his words, "I agree with Arlert. Eren, we have to find a way to contact Marley somehow. We need to have contact with your half brother. We aren't letting you go there alone this time, from the looks of it that doesn't seem like a good option."
"Please don't let me go alone. I don't think that'll be the best idea, from all the visions I've had these past days me going alone would lead to the destruction of Librio. I use my Titan form to destroy the city, I would really like to avoid killing innocent people." Eren says lowly not liking his future actions one bit.
Mikasa brings him into a deeper hug, "Don't worry Eren, we'll plan something out. We want avoid casualties on either end, we don't want to cause a war. We'll help you."
"Yeah. Don't worry so much Yeager." Jean says patting Eren on the back.
Historia sees the group, seeing Eren and Mikasa she smiles a little. But she could feel the heavy mood among the group and knew something happened.
"Is there something I should know?" She asked them looking worriedly at Eren.
Ymir follows behind them, "Something feels wrong around here..."
"Eren had a vision just moments ago." Hange informed the two who shared a glance.
Ymir looked towards Eren, "What was it about?"
"We attack Marley four years from now, infiltrate Librio based on intelligence that Eren sends us. He ruins the city apparently, using his Titan. We kill a lot of innocent people too. We tried to negotiate peace at first but none of the other nations wanted peace with us because they blame us for the sins of our ancestors." Armin explains frowning at the last sentence.
Historia shakes her head, "Curse my family and what they had done to the world. If the fist Fritz King hadn't started this whole Titan thing we wouldn't be having this problem now. But we can't go back and change time, all we can do is try and amend their mistakes. Eldians in the other nations aren't being treated fairly from what I've heard, but Marley treats Eldians extra horribly."
"Marley brainwashed their people to believe that the people on this Island were the devil's of the world, because of what the First Fritz King did. They overshadow the fact that they were the first nation to trample over Eldia, before Paradis fought back. The true Eldians are living here and in other nations." Ymir states clenching her fists.
The irony of humanity's treatment of others, an endless cycle of hatred and deceit through errors in History. After all, History is written by the victor. The wronged and oppressed people don't get a say, and when they speak they are silenced. This was a topic that completely slapped the 104 corps in the face time and time again, but then again, two of them already knew the imperfections of the world at a young age. Mikasa and Eren had their rose tainted glasses stanched away when they were just children.
"They are just animals in human skin." Eren whispers clenching his fists.
Mikasa's eyes widened at this, those were the words he said when he talked back to Grisha after he had saved her from those kidnappers.
Jean look towards Eren questioningly, "What does he mean by that?"
"Those were the words he spoke when he talked back to his dad after he saved me from the kidnappers. He had been trying to justify his actions, reckless as they were. He was right of course, but Mr. Yeager was sacred that he could have died." Mikasa explains hugging Eren closer.
Levi hums, "He wasn't wrong in his justification of course. I don't find it surprising that he would say something like that about those thugs. They were going to sell you somewhere, probably to someone even worse then they were. You never know how horrid people can be until you see it for yourself."
"Insightful as always Captain." Noted Hange with a grim expression on her face so unlike the excitable scientist that it was kind of unsettling.
They all knew that these were hard times, Historia being Queen made it easier for the scouts to operate now. With help of Frigal Reeves and his company she was able to take down the Military Police within the last few days, uncovering a heap of evidence against the corrupt workings from within. Niel, a friend of the late Commander Erwin was the one who pointed them to the room where all the dirty secrets were kept, the man was horrified to find so many files on murderers and tortures, that he personally promised to reform the Military Police under the guidance of Pixis. Historia was scary when she wanted to be, she was not a puppet figure like her father was, she would tear the men apart if she needed to.
Eren laughed, "An enemy to humanity. But our best alley, eh Historia."
"Got that right. I'm sick of people trying to control me, first it was my father, now the council wants to influence my decisions in light of their own. Those power hungry nobles can put their ambitions down the drain as far as I am concerned." Historia says defiantly eyes shining with determination.
Mikasa laughed, "Good to have you on our side Historia."
Commander Hange smiles, "It's nice to finally have someone in charge for once. And it is a person who knows more about what's going on outside then one that's hidden behind these walls."
"I've always wondered what the nobles were up to. It was a disappointment to know that they hadn't done anything to improve the food shortages and such. Makes me want to punch one of them." Jean says darkly.
Connie nods agreeing to his friend's sentiment, "Who knew there were really shady people in the MPs, especially the interior police. Guess this just show we don't know who we can trust. Damn, this makes things utterly complicated."
"Don't worry too much Connie. With the Scouts getting more recruits this coming year we'll be able to move freely. I have a feeling there will be more, this time you guys might lead you own squads." Says Hange smiling at the young veterans.
Levi scoffs a little, "Or helping in their training is a more likely route for you young ones. After all, you've been through it so you'll know how to enhance any skills that they might have. Though maybe another year or so of experience and you'll get your chance to lead squads of your own. But it mostly depends on Hange's assessments of you."
Hange nods and smiles, "From what I've seen the passing months you've all grown as scouts and have vast amounts of potential. But we'll see what happens on the next mission. Though it is a shame we lost Erwin, it was ultimately his choice to not take the scrum."
"What?" Asked Armin in surprise.
Both the Commander and Captain looked at Eren, as if knowing something the others didn't.
The young man told his side, "Commander Erwin approached me the day after the coup was finished, he brought me to a meeting room with the captain and now Commander Hange. He explained that while he wanted to live to see what was in the Basement if he died on that day not to use the Titan serum on him."
"We were all surprised as well." Adds Hange seeing the flabbergasted faces of the young scouts.
Levi chuckles a little, "I reasoned with him that it would be the logical decision that we gave him the serum because we still needed his guidance and crazy plans. Even Eren tried to tell Erwin why he was the ideal candidate. He waved off our complaints and reasons, firmly telling us off for being unreasonable. Then he asked Eren something."
Eren looked resigned, "He asked if I could pick anyone from the squad to give the serum to who would it be."
"He also asked the same of me and Hange. All three of us answered the same name." Levi said.
Everyone was silenced by this revelation. To think that Levi and Hange had also chosen Armin was a shock to them, they had all thought that the two would have chosen another highly experienced scout to give the serum to. Armin just stood there, utterly speechless. Historia and Ymir shared a look, they both suspected that Armin would have been the second choice for the Titan serum and they thought that the choice was the right one.
Hange continued, "Erwin smiled at our answer. Then said that, he would chose Armin as well. He believed that Armin had the tactical strength to work with a squad and that he would have the heart and mind to sacrifice himself in a battle if needs be."
"B-but I can hardly keep my head straight on the field..." Armin says putting his head down.
Levi offered some words of Wisdom, "Armin, even most of the most experienced soldiers can't truly keep their composure on the field of battle. Seeing your comrades killed is not something that can be taken lightly, but in the end you have to think that they wanted you to live and fight for another day. They died to see you all alive and still fighting til the bitter end. Though the pain will never go away you will have to keep going and make sure thier deaths weren't in vein."
Eren nods in agreement, he still felt guilt for the deaths of many people; the former Levi Squad, Haness, his mother, and the soldiers who had died while retrieving him from Reiner and Berthlot, all those innocent people in Stolhest. But he also knew that dwelling on those won't help him get better, so he used their deaths as a motivation to get stronger and better so he could avenge them. He knew the others were also thinking the same thing, he looked towards Armin and smiled.
Mikasa caught his expression and asked, "So it was all planned?"
Hange nods, "Yes. Erwin explicitly told us that though he wanted to see the truth about the Titans exposed to avenge his father's death, he also didn't want to be saved and brought back to this world. He wants the younger generation to lead us into the new age, and I agreed with his sentiment. We've been fighting all our lives, but it's time for you guys to take the reigns and fight with us as well. You are the future of this world, we can only hope that when we finally reach the outside world we will survive."
"It's getting late. How about you all stay here for the evening? There's more then enough rooms in this castle." Historia suggests.
It was Sasha who asked,."Are you sure that's appropriate?"
"Well if anyone gives you any trouble then you can just call me. You're my friends after all and we are still a team. Those stuffy nobles can leave their opinions out the door, I won't let them tell me how to live my life." The blond girl responds.
Jean laughs, "That's the spirit! If you insist, then it'd be rude of us to resist the offer."
They all thanked the new Queen for her generosity and settled in of the evening. They had planned to ride out to HQ in the morning so they could plan their next expedition. As Eren shut his eyes he was transported into another realm. He saw a man with long brown hair, about six feet tall, and haunted green eyes. He was surprised to be looking at himself!
~•~•~•~
"Who are you?" He asked calmly not approaching the person.
The other smiled, "I guess growing up made you more cautious, that's good. I'm Eren Yeager, basically you a few years from now."
"W-where are we?" Asked the younger surprised.
The older looked at him, "We are in the PATHS, a place between time and space. I asked the Founder Ymir to bring you to me."
"Is this about what I am about to do four years from now? The attack on Liberio?" The younger asked again.
His older self nods, "Yes, and more. I'm glad that you've at least acknowledged Mikasa's feelings for you this makes the conversion easier. I'll show what happens after the attack on Liberio and how we hurt our friends."
With that several scenes began to play out. Seeing Sasha's death made the younger Eren tear up, hearing her last words making him break. Before that, it was the formation of a separate military faction that was call The Yeagerists. He was surprised that Floc and Sasha were part of his secret Army, and even Historia was there.
His older self took note of this surprise, "Yes Sasha was part of our secret faction, but that was only after she was told of how she would die and our promise to her that we wouldn't hurt her family and Nicolo in the rumbling. Historia joined because she was sick being controlled by the military factions of the government. She told me that the military were planning to feet me to her after they used the Titan serum to turn her into a pure Titan, she had a huge fit about it."
"So we were betrayed by the military then?" He asked glaring at the scene of that very meeting.
The older nods with a grim face, "But that was only after the attack on Liberio. They lost trust in us after we killed several innocent lives, they were right to lose trust in us. We let the future visions cloud our judgement too much, stopped sharing everything we knew because we thought there was no other way."
Then the dreaded scene came the part in the restaurant in Marley, the alteration with Armin - the younger gasp in shock that he and Armin fought - his heart broke as he saw his conversation with an older Mikasa. Young Eren noticed the slight blush she had on her face as he asked the dreaded question, of course both knew she had lied about her feelings but the younger one knew that she did it out of embarrassment and anxiety.
"You told her we hated her!" The younger Eren exclaimed not liking this.
His older self looked down in shame, "Yes I did. And I feel absolutely horrible about it! But I had to hurt her because that was the only way that she'd be able to kill me when the rumbling happened. I didn't want to do it but seeing all the plans we made crumble, the negotiations for peace become nothing but a dream left to rot I wanted to protect Paradis from the onslaught of coming wars from the other nations."
Young Eren looked at his older self with sympathy, "So you became the monster people feared you would become. How much of the future did you keep to yourself?"
"So much to the point even our friends betrayed us and teamed up with Marley to stop us. We killed our own comrades, they killed some of ours as well. There was so much bloodshed that it drove me to the brink of insanity. When I initiated the rumbling I didn't control the other shifters, I gave them free reign to stop me. I really didn't want to, but their trust in me deteriorated after Liberio. The other scouts even plotted with the military to feed me to Historia so she could gain the Founding Titan, including Armen and Mikasa. That was after I told Mikasa all those horrid stuff about her."
Young Eren nods gravely telling off his older self, "That was a shit move, but I guess I kind of understand why you did it. But right now, I don't think I'd be able to do that to her. I mean I can't lie and say I don't love her more then a sister! When the fact is I love her so much that I'd never be the same if she was gone."
"Then I advice that you to tell her that and you can access the PATHS at anytime, you already got the Founder's power when you touched Historia don't wait for Zeke. That Monkey is a troublesome little beast, and you need to stop him before he can enact his plans." Advices the future Eren emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Young Eren asked, "I am thinking of ways to tell Mikasa how I feel. And the beast Titan's name is Zeke?"
"Yes. And there's more you need to know about but I'll let father's memories do the talking." Said the longer haired man.
Eren nods and smiles, "Alright. I got the coordinate back when I touched Diana, Dad's first wife. I saw the time when Zeke betrayed the Resistance of Marley. I saw how they turned Eldians into pure titans and through them over the wall to roam the dessert."
"Did you tell the others these?" Asked the future Eren curiously.
He nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah. They felt really peeved with what the Marlians did to the people. We all felt horrible finding out that we were killing humans. I told them about Dad and his mission for the Founding Titan."
"That's good. Watch out for the Military they might try to feed you to Historia down the line. They still fear you." Says the future Eren gravely.
Another nod, "Yes. But Historia wouldn't let that happen, she's been keeping the MPs in check thanks to the help of Frigal and his company we weeded out the corrupt officers and replaced them with new ones. The interior police was disbanded since that's where the most corrupt ones came from."
"Mm, so a lot of things have changed. That's good, maybe now we can do a better job at protecting the people." Says the older Eren his eyes shining brightly.
The younger shrugs, "Can I tell the others about this?"
"Maybe I'll summon you all here some other time. But yeah you can tell them about this dream, they'll benefit from knowing more about the future." Says the future Eren.
~•~•~•~
Both smiled at each other, the vision ended with Eren waking up to sunlight streaming into his room. His head pops up as his door opens slightly, he saw Mikasa come in and smiled. He decided that he'd talk to her about their growing bond, then tell her and the others about the dream he just had. He thanked his future self for the advice, he didn't want to lose the one person that mattered to him the most.
"Good Morning Mikasa." He greeted her getting up from his bed.
She smiled softly, "Good Morning Eren."
That smile, it made his heart race a million times faster. The smile that she always bestowed him in moments like these. Gosh, he really has fallen for her. And he had to tell her before he lost his nerve, he stood up and walked towards her closing the distance before taking her hand in his.
"Can I ask you something?" He asks caressing the soft skin of her hand.
She nods, "Of course."
He sallowed nervously, "W-what am I to you Mik?"
She reared back surprised by this question, but she supposed it was a question that he'd thought of asking her for awhile now. She was conflicted, but ultimately she didn't want to lie to him. She knew he was just asking for confirmation of his hunch of her feelings for him. And at this point she really wanted to be with him.
She took his face into her hands and met his eyes, "You are my dear, my beloved. Eren, I.I-"
She was cut off with his lips on hers, she felt the upturn of his lips. She gave into to the sensation, no longer able to deny her emotions; falling deeply in love with her best friend, her hero. His arms went around her waist, while she placed hers around his neck running her fingers through his ruffled hair. They pulled away foreheads still leaning onto the other, smiles playing on their lips their breaths mingling.
Eren spoke a hand playing with the ends of her lengthening hair, "I love you too Mik. I've loved you since we were children, it may have began as platonic love but after we left Shiganshina I realized that I loved you beyond that. You're my other half."
"Eren.." She says softly giving him a chaste kiss.
They fully separated and Eren went to the bathroom to get changed. He emerged ready for the day, he saw her and noticed that the scarf had been undone. He shook his head and chuckled to himself, he knew what she wanted him to do. He went her and wrapped the scarf around her straightened the creases and secured the muffler. He smiled and lifted her hand to her lips and kisses her knuckles.
"Ready to go?" He asked walking them to the door.
She nods smiling, "Yes."
They exited the room and Eren locked it before they walked off to the dining area. This time it was Jean doing the cooking while Connie went out to gather the firewood along with Ymir. Armin was dusting the shelves, while Sasha was out hunting in the forest. Historia was outside tending to the horses. The higher ups were sat around the table discussing nothing in particular.
"Finally!" Armin suddenly exclaimed as he ran up to hug his best friends happy to see them finally come together.
Eren chuckled patting their blond friend's back, "Thanks Armin, you could have waited longer though."
"Supposed it was inevitable that he was the one to out us about this. He's known us since we were kids, he'd notice the change between us quicker then most." Mikasa points out smiling.
Armin just shrugs grinning, "I've been waiting six years for this to happen! Let me bask in happiness for you both getting together."
Jean's face broke into a scowl at this, he had seen their intertwined hands. Connie could only chuckle knowing the other boy will take the hard hit after this, but they did tell him many times over that the pair were inseparable. The girls went over to congratulate the couple who accepted it with grace and flushed faces. Hange smiled widely, happy to see the two teens find happiness with each other, Levi let out a rare smile albite it didn't really reach his eyes as he thought of his own lost love. The short Captain was determined to preserve this relationship, he didn't want his two best fighters to loose each other in this cruel world just like he had lost her...
He felt a hand on his shoulder and look towards Hange who smiled sadly, "You're thinking about her again."
"That could have been us years ago but I was afraid to take the chance. Now, I've lost her." He says in a low and morose voice.
Both adults watched the interaction between the teens, happy that there was finally a spark of joy coming in. Then suddenly the scene changed, they were no longer in the dining area, they were in the PATHS. Eren suspected that his future self wanted to air out the truth pf the future, but he didn't think it'd be this soon.
~•~•~•~
"Hello everyone." Spoke future Eren revealing his face.
Armin and Mikasa gasp instantly recognizing the almost twenty year old Yeager. They saw his grunt body, eyes hollow and almost lifeless, their best friend looked broken. They looked at the present version who nodded as if to confirm what they thought.
It was Mikasa who spoke first, "E-Erin?"
The rest of the group gasp at her proclamation and looked towards the Trio.
"What happened to you?" Armin asked worriedly, his best friend didn't look like the person he knew today.
Future Eren smiled sadly, "The future happened. You're all here today to see some events that are yet to happen. What young Eren is doing right now is changing the events the happened in my future."
"Eren.. Where are we?" Asked Levi who's face showed worry.
It was the younger who answered, "This called the PATHS, a place between space and time. It is through the power of the Founding Titan that I can access this place. My future self contacted me last night to tell me about some things that will happen in the future, some of these events were terrible."
"Eren. Are you planning to show the rest of us these events?" Armin asked after a thought, he really wanted to know what happened to his best friend for the older Eren to look so haunted and broken.
Future Eren let out a smile, "Yes I am."
And so it began from the attack in Librio, the formation of the Yeagerists, the alteration in Nicolo's restaurant, and the rest. Until the moment the rumbling began. Seeing Sasha's death surprised everyone, Hange then pointed that if they hadn't restrained Eren he would've saved her. Sasha slapped Jean's shoulder for putting all blame of her death on Eren, claiming that they all knew the consequences and that he wasn't the one who had shot her. Seeing Eren confront Mikasa on her feelings and her response made Armin groan in frustration.
It was Ymir who spoke, "Mikasa did you really just..."
Seeing Eren's response was heartbreaking, the present Mikasa sniffed hearing Eren say he hated her. Present Eren balled his fist, he really didn't like seeing himself hurting the girl he loved, he walked to his future self and gave him a good right hook. This surprised the crowd, except Armin who just chuckled. The rest of the group look towards the young blond.
The blonde boy shook his head, "What can I say? The future Eren saying that to Mikasa of all people is really foul, I would never have thought Eren would hurt her that way. I'm really glad our Eren finally opened his eyes and confessed. That event can be avoided."
"I was really pissed off when I saw that last night. You were an idiot for saying that to her! MIKASA of all people." The younger Eren vented to himself.
Mikasa couldn't help but smile, she walked to both Erens, helping the older one up and taking the present one into her arms willing him to relax in her embrace.
"I deserved that..." The older Eren mumbles not even going to deny his faults.
Jean scoffed, "You think."
The future events followed, up to the rumbling. Historia could only stare at herself, her conversation with future Eren was somewhat painful, but even she in her denial understood the gravity of the world's sins, those faults that were just repeated over and over because of humanity's inability to change. All of the people in Paradis were blamed for the sins brought by their ancestors years ago, they were called devils because of what the first King Fritz had done to the world.
"Curse the First King for doing this to us!" Historia exclaimed angrily.
Future Eren chuckled, "Eren told me you weeded out the corrupt MPs and disbanded the interior police with the help Reeves Company. That'll make it easier to work with Military, the Garrison should be trained to handle Titans as well."
"That's not a bad idea. We'll to approach the Garrison Commander for that though. It is true that they should learn the basics so they'll know how to deal with the Titans if they ever get near the walls." Says Commander Hange.
It was Ymir who thought of something, "Do you have something else to tell us?"
"About the Nine Titan shifters. Ymir it's great that you chose to go with them, because if you had went back to Marley they would fed you to their next candidate for the Jaw Titan. You need to get Reiner back, now I know he betrayed you guys but he was so conflicted with what to do he suffered from split personality, give him a second chance. You need to get the Beast Titan from Zeke as well." He says to the confusion of the other.
Sasha asked, "Why?"
Future Erin explained, "Founder Ymir gifted Titan powers to the nine noble families of Eldia. The reason why Marley waged war on the Eldiens was because they wanted the nine powers to themselves, to use of their own gains. The thing that the true power of each of the nine Titans could only be accessed by the blood of the nine noble Eldian families. The reason why Titan Shifters were revered in Eldia was because they could cultivate the lands of the Kingdom, help build houses and such and of course help in battle. Seven of nine powers were stolen by Marley with only two still being passed down to two of original noble Families. Reiner has the armored which really belonged to the Bruns, while Laura Tybur has the War Hammer."
"How do you know this? I mean there were no books about this around here or anywhere." Inquires Connie curiously.
Future Eren continued, "I asked the Founder and was able to find some books in Marley. There's a hidden library under there city center, the Yeagerists were able to break in and aquire all of the hidden history. Reiner knows where it is, that's what causes his split personality. Him and Berthlot found the forbidden library and read the true history of Eldia, they were both conflicted after that. Annie knew about it way before they came here, which is why she felt guilty about there actions against us. But she had no choice but to continue what she was doing because if she didn't she was afraid she would never see her father again."
Everyone went silent at the end of that explanation. All of them had deduced the the three warriors were just children who were forced to believe in a history that was fabricated and had grown up into a world they hardly knew of. They were just like them.
"Who are the other nobles?" Asked Mikasa curiously.
Older Eren smiled, "Well since Owl gave father the Attack Titan, the leader of the reformists returned that Titan power to it's original family. Owl must have known about the story of the nine noble Titan Shifters. The Beast Titan originally belongs to Sasha's family, Zeke has learned to harness it's abilities but not fully. The Cart Titan belongs to the Neuman Family, I know there is one of them left and will enlist in the survey corps. The Collosal Titan powers belonged to the Alerts, so it is good that Armin has it. Annie should still possess the Female Titan since her family was entrusted by its powers. The Founding Titan does indeed belong to the Royal Family, so it makes sense for Historia to Possess it's powers since she the rightful heir but the power can also be transfer the holder of the Attack Titan due to coordinate. The Attack Titan has the ability to see the future, and has a direct link to the coordinate."
"How do we stop the curse?" Asked Armin.
Future Eren grinned, "The curse of Ymir only applies to the shifters who had stolen the power that was supposed to be held by the nine noble families of Eldia. So since you and I fit the conditions the thirteen year curse doesn't apply to us, same with Ymir, Reiner, Laura, and Annie. Zeke and Piek have the curse since their blood does not match with the Titan power they possess."
Everyone's eyes widened at this, Eren and Armin looked at each other and smiled eyes bright with happiness. They get love out their lives still, and with people they cared about the most.
It was Levi who provided an insight to this revelation, "So what you're saying is Marley has been subjecting its people to a curse that cuts their lifespans because the Titan power they possess doesn't fully connect with their blood. Their subjecting children to die before adulthood!"
Future Eren replies, "When I found out about that I was enraged, that's one of the reasons why I decided to go ahead with the rumbling. Though I had the power to control the Titan shifters as well, I ultimately chose to let them stop me."
"You really didn't want to end the world but were given no other choice but do so because of what humanity had done. And you also wanted to protect the Eldiens from an all out war that would be lead by Marley. You wanted us to survive." Says Sasha looking at her friend with sympathetic eyes.
The younger Eren began thinking of his future self had shared this with the others would he have chosen a different choice. They were here in this daimention to learn about the future and find ways to change it. The boy really didn't want to end the world, but if Paradis and the Eldiens were endangered by a looming war because they were seen as devil's of the Earth, how were they going to stop the other nations from destroying their home? Just then he thought about the Founder Ymir, her subjugation by King Fritz which they had learned through one of his father's journals.
"What are you thinking Eren?" Mikasa asked looking at her boy friend.
The younger Eren answered, "I was thinking about how the Founder Ymir was treated by the first King, how she was made into a slave even though she loved him."
"That's a dark part of our past. But there is always hope, Ymir longs to be freed from her chains to experience the world again and only you guys can do that. My time has come, I truly hope this chance will not be wasted." Future Eren says disappearing into the PATHS.
~•~•~•~
They are transported back to HQ and think about what the future Eren had just told or shown them. All those events that ended with the rumbling, the end of the world. Eren truly felt like he could do better this time and avoid the rumbling, the only problem was how to make the other nations see that Paradis wanted to be at peace with them.
"Looks like we are back." Says Connie.
Historia shook her head as if to clear her mind, "That was interesting... Eren your future self looked like a husk of your present self "
"I have a feeling the version kept much of the future to himself, and let the power of the Attack Titan go to his head." Eren tells them contemplating what his future self had done.
It was Levi who provided an insightful observation, "So much betrayal must've been going on in your life that you had no choice but to do the rumbling. By the looks of it you confided in Historia about it, and formed your own army to fight against the government. Can't blame you though, I mean we conspired with the military to feed him to Historia!"
"You all lost trust in me after the attack on Liberio. Then after what I did to Armin and Mikasa, I understand why you would loose trust in me. Thankfully we can change those events and find a better outcome. Maybe we could reach out to Hizuru." Eren says after a shot of silence.
After a thought Levi nodded, "Maybe you are right Eren. "
"I still can't get over the fact that Armin and Eren fought, or that Eren said all those things to Mikasa." Says Sasha looking at the trio.
Armin shakes his head, "That whole conversation between Eren and Mikasa was filled with tension. But I was expecting Mikasa to own up to her feelings, I think that's what Eren would have wanted to hear in a time like that. He wanted to know if there was something that he could hold on to in that life, someone who could make him reconsider doing the rumbling. But because Mikasa answered that she only thought of him as family he felt like he could finally let go of the last thread that had him holding on to his humanity."
"I might have thought of her answer as a rejection. I really didn't think I could ever do that to her." Eren says pulling said girl into his arms from behind.
Mikasa turned in his embrace to return the gesture, "That wasn't entirely your fault. I wondered about it myself if I should answer you honestly or say the same thing I did in that vision we saw when you confronted me about my feelings earlier. I was tired of hiding what I really felt, it was getting ridiculous because I knew you already had a guess about my feelings for you. Plus, I couldn't bare with the thought of lying to you."
"I'm kind of surprised that I blamed you for Sasha's death so easily. It wasn't your fault, you could've easily saved her if you weren't shackled. I guess at that point we all really got fucked up in the outside world." Jean says head bowed down as he recalled seeing himself put the blame on Eren.
Sasha says, "I am not surprised that I accepted being a secret member of your faction, after all you've done for Paradis. You kept your promise to me in the end, my family and Nicolo were safe."
After a thorough discussion of the feature events they saw it was off to training, the boys were doing target practice while the girls were doing combat training. Hange had developed bullet that could penetrate through a Titan's skin, this was with the help of Eren's crystalizing ability, they found that iron bullets when they are fortified by the crystalization can piece through the giant creature's flesh easily as a normal bullet does on human skin. This would make it easier for the scouts to face the beasts from a fair distance to avoid getting caught by one.
Lunch was a subdued affair, Eren and Mikasa sat beside each other, the girl leaning into him while his arm was over her shoulder. They conversed with their friends, the superiors were in another talking about their insights about the day's training. Levi gave the squad the afternoon off, which was a surprise to everyone.
"Don't get used to it, brats." He mutters as he walks out of the room.
Eren chuckles to himself, it seemed like the stout scout Captain has a soft side after all. But the younger boy also noticed an air of melancholy around the older Ackerman, he had noticed Levi thinking to himself. The young Yeager smiled as he thought that the Capitan was thinking about a certain red head ex-squad member. Petra had been like an older sister figure to Eren, and it was quiet obvious that she loved Levi. He sighed it really was a shame that she never got to tell the short Captain her feelings.
Her felt Mikasa's arms go around his waist from behind, "What's with that sigh?"
"Just thinking Mik." He responds smiling.
She squeezed his waist, "What about?"
"What if my future self had admitted how he felt to his Mikasa?" He answered turning so he could hug her.
She looks into his eyes, "Mm. She would have taken that leap and answered his question honestly. But we shouldn't think about that, we're together now aren't we."
"Yes we are. And I don't regret taking that leap Mik. I'm the happiest I can be right now." He says placing his forehead oh hers.
She brushes their noses together and giggles, "I don't regret taking the leap either. I love you Eren."
"I love you too Mikasa." He says smiling as he leans in for a kiss.
Sweet and slow. They pulled away but kept the embrace, Mikasa was playing with his hair. Their friends were looking with smiles on their faces, well... Jean was scowling. Armin smiled at his best friends, the future could wait they were here and now was the time to focus on.
"They're adorable, aren't they?" Says Christa with a sweet smile.
Sasha sighed, "Gives hope for the future right."
"It sure does." Says Ymir with a smile.
Whatever the futures hold for them is unknown but one thing was certain, they would face it together no matter what.
And done. Sheesh, this was a long one. I didn't expect it to reach this length. What do you think of this continuation to "Youthful Love"? I played the future Eren card, so they know what's about to happen and are planning on ways to avoid the outcomes. As for the whole thing about the nine Titan shifters, the idea was inspired by another story I read titled "Isolation Second Chance" by raychiu.
I thought a little twist on the thirteen year Titan Curse would be fun to make. So, what if the basis of the curse was that it was stolen from the nine noble Eldian families that were gifted the powers by the Founding Titan Ymir. So Berthlot still had roughly seven years years to live if Armin had not eaten him and gotten the Founding Titan powers from him. In any case, assuming that eating the shifter of said Titan power isn't the only to gain the power then there is another way to become a Titan.
Mm, should add a third and final story to this one? Let me know through the comments or DM me.
Signing off,
WL_17