Chapter 4: Start of the Investigation
Eren sat in his office in the Naicho headquarters. He sat down and opened his laptop to start doing some basic work.
Eren connected to the classified network that the agency used to produce their classified products and conduct work separate from the regular internet in order to avoid hacking threats.
All these years, Eren still barely understood how the internet works. His coworkers have compared him to their grandparents when they started to get used to the internet. It was just so much information that Eren had to memorize that completely took him by surprise. He preferred the later named Eldian Army over this stupid job when it came to writing.
Eren typed a report on the supposed prank. He was a slow typer, using both his index fingers to type what he was trying to say. Everyone made fun of him in good natured teasing with how he typed, saying he truly was an old soul.
"Coffee Senpai?" Miyuki asked, putting a cup of hot coffee on his desk.
"Sure." Eren shrugged.
Eren was never a fan of coffee, mainly because it reminded him of his brother Zeke when he brought some to the hospital, but Eren still drank it occasionally. It wasn't bad, just brought back unpleasant memories.
"What are you doing?" Miyuki asked, looking over his shoulder. "Weather reports?"
"I'm looking to see if there have been any unusual lightning strikes lately." Eren said. "Specifically, any colored yellow or odd times for lightning."
"Why?" Miyuki asked.
"I'm hunting a Kaiju." Eren said seriously.
"Hehe, good one Senpai." Miyuki laughed.
Eren went back to work, looking through weather reports and social media related to lightning strikes in the past few weeks. Japan yielded nothing, so he expanded his search to outside of Japan, trying to see if there are any unusual things happening around the world.
So far, there's nothing that he can find. The occasional ghost story here or there, but they don't share all the signs of a Titan Shifter. Anytime he'd find something about weird lightning, it would end up being a fake video or a science experiment.
Eren did notice something odd though. A report from a South Korean intelligence agency showing a strange yellow burst of light from a satellite looking into North Korea. Unfortunately, the image quality was low and he couldn't see much of it, but it did appear to be a lightning bolt that did accompany a Titan transformation.
"You weren't kidding about weird lights." Miyuki said as he saw the report. "Say here they assume it's a nuclear test of some kind."
"In the middle of an open field?" Eren asked.
"Well, you know North Korea. They have to be subtle about tests." Miyuki shrugged his shoulders.
"The middle of a field isn't subtle." Eren said.
"Is this about the footprints?" Miyuki asked. "It was a prank."
"I know." Eren said, knowing Miyuki wouldn't believe him.
Eren leaned back and tried to think. Assuming there were Titans here, they had to be Shifters. Pure Titans would be impossible since they would mindlessly go to a populated area and kill people. So, if there were Titans, it would have to be Shifters.
"Miyuki, hypothetical question." Eren said.
"What, like another thought experiment?" He asked.
Eren would occasionally give him hypothetical scenarios to test his knowledge or to stay sharp. It was a small little training exercise to test Miyuki's deductive skills.
However, Eren needed his input since Miyuki was much more educated than Eren was. Despite Eren going to a higher level of education compared to his time in the Cadets, Miyuki dwarfed Eren in pure analytical intelligence.
"Sure." Eren said. "Let's make an outlandish scenario. Let's say monsters from another world, that can take the form of a human, came to Earth."
"Ok..." Miyuki said.
"Let's say they needed to test their powers as a large monster without alerting the people of Earth. Why would they choose North Korea?" Eren asked.
Miyuki leaned back in his chair and took a second to think about it. It was an odd question, but some other agents used movies or outlandish scenarios in these games before, so it wasn't crazy.
"Well, anywhere in the world, people would be nearby with phones and cameras ready to take pictures." He said. "You couldn't do it anywhere because of planes as well, which could be easily seen and recorded by passengers. The Middle East would also be out of the question since the US has so many drones watching pretty much everything."
"So, why North Korea?" Eren asked.
"Well, not only does no one have any form of portable camera, but even if they did see it, the government would never report something like that. So, if you were a monster, it would be a good place to transform." He said.
Which also implied that whatever transformed knows about this world. So, it couldn't be a shifter from his world that appeared recently.
Then again, it could also be what the report suggested and just another nuclear test. It might be odd, but not unheard of for the hermit kingdom.
"We need to do some questioning." Eren said.
"Huh?" Miyuki asked.
"That ship that had the man overboard situation, I asked for information about it. The Captain is a Yakuza member." Eren said.
"Ok..." Miyuki said in an unsure tone.
"I need to pay a visit to the Inagawa-Kai." Eren said.
"Say again?" Miyuki said. "Didn't you kill a lot of them ten years ago?"
"They're still around, but under new management." Eren said. "I need more information about that missing guy from the ship."
"Ok, but why?" Miyuki asked. "We have other resources we can use."
"Just shut up and listen to me." Eren said.
"Sure boss." Miyuki did a halfhearted salute.
"Let me send this report and the request to investigate to the director." Eren said as he went back to typing.
"Won't it take a bit to be approved?" Miyuki asked.
"No time, I'll just head out after I send it. It'll be approved anyway." Eren said.
"The director won't care?" Miyuki asked.
"He used to, but not after I got results a few times." Eren said.
"If you're sure." Miyuki said.
Tap
Tap
Tap
Tap
"Want me to type?" Miyuki asked.
"No, I got it." Eren said.
"You sure, it'll be faster if I-"
"No, I said I got it." Eren said, refusing to let someone else do his work. He's spent a long time getting used to typing and he was going to finish it.
Tap
Tap
Tap
"I'll wait by the car." Miyuki said, recognizing that this was going to take a while.
"Braun Reiner." Ruby tried out his name.
"Nice to meet you Braun-San." Ai walked up to Reiner and gave him a small bow.
"You as well, uh, Hoshino-San?" He tried.
"You're Japanese is very good." Ai complimented.
"I've been studying for the past year." He said.
"Your accent is strange though, I would expect there to be more of a German accent." She said.
"Well, I guess I was American in a previous life." He joked. "English came easier to me, so I guess I always stuck with a more American accent growing up."
While everyone else made a small chuckle at the laugh, Aqua raised his eyebrow at the joke.
His mother did point out something weird, Reiner had a very American accent. The German in his accent was hard to pinpoint and way too subtle, as if he learned English first. That was odd to Aqua.
And the way he joked about a previous life. Normally, anyone would just take the joke at face value. But Aqua wondered something. He always had his inside jokes with Eren and himself about their supernatural circumstances. What are the odds Reiner was reborn as well?
He's overthinking this. He might try to aske Reiner about that, and if Reiner wasn't reborn, Aqua would just pretend it was a joke.
"Interesting." Ai said. "Well, let me introduce you to the new B-Komachi."
Ai led him to the center of the room and showed off their current crew. Ruby and Kana smiled politely at the newcomer, while Aqua flashed his own subtle smile at the new guy. Kawachi was practically jumping with excitement.
"This is my daughter Ruby, she's right now our most senior member." Ai said.
"Senior by a few days." Aqua said.
"Still senior!" Ruby yelled out.
"Nice to meet you." Reiner said as he held his hand out to shake her hand.
"You as well Braun-San." She said.
"It feels kind of weird to be called by my last name. I don't mind being called Reiner." He said.
"Ok, Reiner-San." Ruby nodded.
"This is our newest member, Arima Kana." Ai introduced.
"Nice to meet you Reiner-San." Kana bowed instead of shaking his hand.
"You as well Kana." Reiner said, though still seemed uncomfortable with the bowing.
"Then our unofficial talent scout, my son, Aqua." Ai pointed towards Aqua.
"Nice to meet you." Aqua said as he shook Reiner's hand.
"Likewise Aqua." Reiner said.
"And lastly, our unofficial first fan, Kawachi, my youngest." Ai introduced the smiling child.
"It's so cool to meet you!" He said in excitement. "I'm a huge fan!"
"Really?" Reiner asked, surprised that someone from Japan was a fan of his.
"He has started watching your fights a year ago." Ai said.
"Yea, it's amazing how impressive you are. You're undefeated." Kawachi said.
"Well, I've had a lot of training and experience." Reiner shrugged off, crossing his hands and trying to act cool.
Ai giggled a bit. She was glad to see this young man feeling this level of pride in himself. He certainly worked hard for it.
"I heard you're trying to compete professionally in Japan." He said.
"That's the hope." Reiner said.
"Aren't you too young for that?" Ai asked.
"Considering my record, I'm trying to convince the league to allow me to fight professionally." Reiner said. "They are very hesitant since any injury to me can cause a problem, but I have done a few unofficial spars with a few pro fighters and won."
"That's impressive." Ai said.
"I suppose." Ruby said, not convinced.
"You don't think so?" Reiner asked the blonde.
"It's not that I'm discounting what you did, but it's not something I'm interested in." Ruby said. "I'm more invested in dancing and singing personally."
"I guess that's fair, but I could say the same." Reiner said with crossed arms. "I've always been more of a fighter. The media says I'm strong as an ox and as dumb as one." He chuckled.
"Not the best at grades?" Ruby asked.
"Not really." Reiner shrugged. "I guess I had my mind occupied on a few things when I was young. But fighting was always something I was good at, so I naturally turned it into a potential career."
"What could occupy a kids mind?" Ruby asked.
Reiner shrugged and looked away. Ruby didn't notice it, but Ai did. She was a bit confused at the far-off look Reiner gave her. It was the same look her husband had sometimes, that far off look when he thought about something that worried him or the past. Which was weird to see in a teenage boy who, from her research, came from a stable and loving two parent household.
"Just dumb kid stuff." He waived off.
"He Reiner-Sama, can you show me how to fight?" Kawachi asked.
"Kawa-Chan, you know you have to learn from your papa first."
"I know, it's just I won't ever get the chance to learn from him." He said.
"I don't mind a few lessons." Reiner shrugged.
"I don't know." Ai said.
"We can include him in some of the training regimes I'll do for your idols, at least for now." Reiner said, coming to an interesting compromise.
"Please Okaasan?" Kawachi begged.
"Fine." Ai relented. "But no taking time from your sister, understood? This is for her career."
"Yes!" Kawachi yelled out.
"Speaking of training, what exactly are you going to offer us?" Kana asked.
"I have a fight coming up soon." Reiner said. "It's a regional match at the school I transferred to. It'll also be my chance to convince the league to let me attempt an exhibition professional match."
"How does that involve idols?" Ruby asked.
"Well, you girls will act basically as cheer girls." Ai said. "We'll use you to announce Reiner-San and Reiner-San allowed us to put our name of his clothing as advertisement. He'll also mention us in his interview."
"Isn't a high school match a bit too small?" Ruby asked.
"My bid to compete professionally as a teenager has reached international recognition." Reiner said. "The Japanese league is the only one taking it seriously, which is why I moved here. So, It'll actually get a lot of attention."
"Not to mention, he was the only one willing to work with us." Ai said.
"Plus, if anything goes bad, my fanbase won't care really about idols since I am more internationally known." Reiner said, crossing his arms. "For me, it has no risk."
"But for us, it'll be exactly what we need to at least get some recognition." Ai said. "There are Japanese MMA fans who do love idols, so naturally they'll spread the word. Especially since B-Komachi will bring up a lot of talking on social media."
"Makes sense." Ruby said.
"I'll also help train you." Reiner said.
Ai noticed he narrowed his eyes slightly, almost like he was the leader of a group and talked in a calm yet factual manner. If Ai didn't know any better, he seemed like he was a natural leader.
"Do you know how to dance?" Ruby asked.
"Not a bit." Reiner shrugged. "But, fighting and dancing are both demanding sports. So, my training regime will help to condition you."
"It is common for idols to hire experienced trainer." Ai said. "Normally, we would hire a dedicated trainer, but we neither have the money or the reputation to get a dedicated trainer. We're relying entirely on Reiner-San's generosity."
"Why help us?" Ruby asked.
"It's not like I don't benefit." Reiner said. "Your controversy would actually get a lot of people talking about me too, letting me get into the Japanese sphere more. So, I do benefit."
"Then it's settled." Ai said happily. "We can get you all started soon."
"Well, if it is for my career, I trust you mama." ruby said with a smile. "I look forward to working with you Reiner-San."
Ruby went over to Reiner, bent down slightly, and smiled at him. Ai giggled as she saw Reiner open his mouth and blush slightly. Ai knew he had a small crush on her daughter. It wasn't surprising, they were the same age after all and Ruby was very sweet and beautiful.
"About that." Reiner said. "I heard how cafe's are popular in Japan. I'd like it if you showed me." He said.
Did he just...
"Yea, Kana and mama would like to come too." Ruby said.
"I meant just you." He said.
He did!
Ai was completely shocked. Was Reiner asking Ruby, a complete stranger and potential business partner out on a date... in front of her own mother? Ai looked to Kana who had a similar reaction. Even Aqua was surprised.
"Why just me?" Ruby asked.
"If that's alright with you of course, uh... Hoshino-San." He said to Ai, trying to understand Japanese customs.
Wow, he asked Ai permission. Ai was still vetting him, but he did ask Ai permission, so it was at least a green check in her book.
"Yea, you should go!" Kawachi said.
"Why does it matter?" Ruby asked, not understanding what was going on.
Wait, Reiner specifically asked her to go alone to a cafe. Why? Was there something more to just hanging out like friends?
"Wait... are you asking me out on a date?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." Reiner said seriously, though there was still a blush on his face.
Oh my god! Ai thought to herself. Were all westerners this forward? Eren had the exact same lack of embarrassment. At least Ai is counting her blessing that he's not proposing to Ruby like Eren did to her.
"So, you're flirting with me?" Ruby asked.
"I mean, I'm trying to." Reiner said. "I guess I'm still new to the idea of dating." He chuckled.
Ruby was so excited!
A guy was flirting with her. This was something adult men do to adult women. Which means, Ruby is an adult woman now! This was amazing.
It didn't occur to her, but she managed to survive past her previous death. She was no longer twelve. If anything, she was technically twenty six. She is a full-grown woman and a guy is flirting with her and asking her out. This was so exciting.
That means she's beautiful too. After all, she wasn't unusually skinny, she had a full head of hair, and she wasn't stuck in a hospital room and slowly dying. This was such an amazing feeling.
However...
"I'm sorry, I would never be able to date you." Ruby stood up straight and confident, waving off his advances with a small smile.
Ai just saw Reiner bend over, as if he just got stabbed in the stomach. She half expected blood to just poor out of the wound with how badly he got rejected.
"I am going to be an idol, so as far as my personal life goes, I have to remain pure and completely innocent." Ruby said as she put her finger to her chin, weighing the cost and benefit analysis of dating versus her career. "Plus, you're much too big and scary to consider dating since it could intimidate fans."
And Ai saw another stab in his gut, his eyes losing all color and only the white was visible.
"Plus, most Japanese people hate foreigners dating in Japan, especially men, so it would cause more issues since you're not Japanese. After all, that's what happened to my mama's career. So, I don't think I could ever date you." Ruby listed off again.
"Shut up!" Kana wacked Ruby was a large, folded paper she found.
"Itai!" Ruby yelled out, holding her head.
"Don't go insulting people like that!" Kana yelled out. "If you reject a fan like that you can kiss you career goodbye! You'll come off as a brat or stuck up narcissist!"
Ai had her face in her hands as well.
That was just brutal. The way she rejected Reiner wasn't a simple rejection.
However, Ai knew her daughter well. Ruby was always that kind of girl to just say whatever was on her mind, even as a child. She wouldn't understand how she would come across and was a bit socially awkward sometimes.
Ai doubted Ruby intended to brutally reject Reiner as she did. Ruby was simply comparing the risks to her career, as if she was considering a new contract or deal. It wasn't malicious or self serving, just a girl who had her priorities when it came to her career.
And sadly, everything Ruby said was true. If she ever did date Reiner and it was found out, it could have the same effect on her career as Kamiki or Eren had on hers. The fact is that an idol was supposed to be pure. Ruby was making the better choice for her career in rejecting him.
She just needed to find a better way of saying it.
"Hehehe." The girls heard Reiner laughing softly.
Ai turned to him and noticed a small and subtle smile on his face. Ai knew from how he smiled, that Reiner understood Ruby did not mean to reject him so badly. Maybe at first, he thought it was a brutal rejection, but she knew that Reiner was able to understand that not only was Ruby a bit awkward, but that she was prioritizing her career.
"I guess it did come off as a little harsh." Ruby said sadly, poking her fingers together.
"Don't worry about it." Reiner waved off. "I guess I know next to nothing about idols, so if you say it's better for your career, I'll believe you."
"Well, it was nice to be asked. But idols really can't date." Ruby said.
"Maybe I can change your mind sometime." He said with a smile, which actually made Ruby blush for just a moment.
"Well, I doubt that." Ruby waved off. "Unless you want to wait until I'm thirty and after I retire from being a famous idol."
"I barely understand anything about idols, and I don't fully see the appeal." Reiner said.
"Really, maybe I can show you." She said.
"And that's enough there." Ai said, already knowing what happens when you show a cute guy what idols are like. "I still haven't even weighed in here."
"Mama, you don't need to worry." Ruby smiled. "I don't need to compromise my career with dates."
That's kind of the issue. Ai didn't want Ruby to pass up on the potential to be in a happy relationship just because of her career. Even idols deserved to date and be happy, even if it was a risk to their careers.
Ai guessed she understood though. Ruby lived her young childhood living in secrecy and saw the struggle Ai went through as a single mother and trying to date. She was nearly killed, she was kidnapped, and she saw how that controversy with Kamiki and Eren nearly broke her mother. Ai knew Ruby had issues coming to terms with all that, even with therapy.
"With you, I am going to weigh in." Ai said motherly.
"Besides, I'm an adult mama." Ruby said.
"Ruby, you're fifteen." Ai said.
"Sixteen next week." Ruby winked.
"Oh, me too." Reiner said. "When's your birthday?"
"Monday." Ruby said.
"Wow, we have the same birthday." Reiner chuckled.
"Let's just work on our plans for the big event." Ai said, wanting to change the subject.
Aqua was on the couch from the crazy event, having the same up and down emotions his okaasan had.
However, he did have a dark thought. How old was Reiner really? If he was reborn, was he an older man? He knew Ruby died when she was young, so technically, she was basically a teenager now. He'd have to watch out for that.
He'd get Reiner alone and ask him if he was reborn like him. If he isn't, Aqua would just make a joke out of it.
"Hey Kagy-Chan." Miyuki said on his phone, video calling his wife. "How are you?"
"I'm good Miyuki-Chan." She smiled at her husband warmly.
Eren was driving to the Yakuza base with Miyuki, intent on finding out about the missing passenger from that cargo ship. Eren kept tabs on the new Yakuza leadership since Yoshida died, so he knew a lot about the new boss and knew where to find him.
The new boss was a lot more compliant with government officials, though they knew that foreign spies were in contact. That was more of a Public Security mission though and didn't involve Naicho as much.
Plus, the director liked to keep Eren away from those jobs since Eren did technically work for them ten years ago.
"Well, I got the results back. I'm pregnant." Kaguya said happily.
Miyuki looked wide eyed, his face losing color when he heard that. He was almost in complete shock at the revelation that his wife is pregnant.
"She's pregnant?" Eren asked.
"Y-yea." Miyuki said. "Can you believe it?"
Eren lifted his hand and started counting. He lifted up his fingers one by one.
One.
Two.
The twins.
The girl.
Eren braced the wheel with his knee to free up his other hand.
The other girl.
Now this one.
"I can't believe this." He said. "I can't wait to meet him or her."
"Yea." Kaguya nodded.
"Well, I'm getting ready for work. So, I need to let you go." Miyuki smiled and waved at the phone.
"I love you." Kaguya winked.
"You too." Miyuki said.
Miyuki hung up the phone as Eren began pulling up to the base. Eren turned the car off and double checked his pistol in his black suit jacket.
"Do you think there'll be at least one year she isn't pregnant?" Eren asked.
"Well, I always wanted a big family." Miyuki laughed.
"Right." Eren said.
Both men got out of the cars and walked over to the door, which had a few Yakuza members guarding it. They immediately saw Eren and Miyuki, who they recognized as law enforcement or members of the Government.
"Hey, nothing here concerns you without a warrant." One Yakuza member said threateningly.
"I'm here to see your Oyabun." Eren said.
"What makes you think that-" The guard felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned to his partner, who had a look on his face that said shut up and let me talk.
"Please forgive him, he's new." The guys said.
"I want to see your boss." Eren said threateningly.
"Of course." He nodded, motioning for the rest to get out of the way.
As they walked, the gang members even held the door open for Eren. Miyuki knew Eren was still both feared and respected in the underground. Naicho typically only dealt with foreign threats to Japan, so they never had to investigate the Yakuza. Eren hasn't been seen by the Yakuza since he blew up that ship to save Ai.
They walked through the building to a nice room, which had a new boss that replaced Yoshida after Eren killed him. The new boss was a heavy man, clearly drunk on his new power gained but smart enough to play nice with the Government.
Miyuki also remembered from previous reports that he was also in league with foreign spies. however, it didn't have much impact, so the Government largely left it alone since spies only were interested passively for collection and not a direct threat.
"Can I help you Akuma no Ko?" He asked.
"I need information on a ship that I know was used to smuggle people." Eren said to the Oyabun.
"I know you're with the Government now, so I don't think it'll be smart to say anything. Especially since you now need a warrant to ask me anything." He said.
Eren sighed in annoyance.
"I really don't care about your operations." Eren said. "I want information on one specific person you smuggled in."
"And why is that?" He asked.
"Because there could be a potential illegal in Japan." Miyuki cut in.
"There's thousands of illegals, what makes one man special?" He asked.
"Because it's our job." Miyuki said. "We can come back with a warrant."
"I don't have time for that." Eren said, getting annoyed. "All I want is information on him. I don't intend to use it against you."
"We know you're a law-abiding citizen now, and we won't answer your questions without due process." The Yakuza boss said. "I know you won't try anything, so please leave because we refuse to cooperate."
Miyuki knew this was pointless. Without a warrant, Eren couldn't do anything. The Yakuza knew they couldn't attack him since Eren would just kill them all in self defense, but Eren can't threaten them because he's a Government Agent now. Since Naicho only worked against foreign threats, it's illegal for them to arrest Japanese citizens.
It was an impasse.
"Listen." Eren said. "This person, I have reason to believe is a threat to my family."
Suddenly, the air in the room got very, very cold.
"Now, I don't care about any of you. You are small time; I barely even register you as a threat. Which is why I'm here talking to you." Eren said in a threatening tone. "Now, you know what I'm capable of. And you know what I'm willing to do to protect my family. So, give me what I want or I'm going to have to beg Shinomiya to sweep murder under the rug again."
It was a direct threat. They all knew Eren was capable of this threat, and they knew he would follow through. Especially if there was any perceived threat against his family.
The fear was so palpable, they constantly monitored where his family lived, went to school and even frequented, all to ensure no Yakuza operations happened within a ten-mile radius of those spots. God forbid they accidently kill his family member in an operation gone bad.
"Fine." The Oyabun said. "What do you want to know?"
"Did you smuggle anyone out, a westerner, from North Korea?" Eren asked.
The Oyabun thought for a moment but nodded his head.
"Yes." He said. "A westerner. I have no idea what he was doing there, but he wanted to get passage here."
"What did he look like?" Eren asked.
"I don't know, I only know what was reported to me." The Oyabun said. "He only said he snuck in and needed to get out before being discovered."
"How did he sneak in?" Eren asked.
"I don't know." The Oyabun said. "If he snuck in conventionally, it had to be through China since the DMZ is far too guarded by the Americans and South Koreans. Or he took a tour and snuck in through there. I don't know why a westerner would be stuck there."
"Did he mention any plans?" Eren asked.
"No." The Oyabun shook his head. "We don't typically ask questions with the right money."
"How did he pay you?" Eren asked.
"American bills." He said. "American currency is the most powerful in the world, it works nearly everywhere."
"Yet, from what I gathered; he fell overboard." Eren said.
"Fell? More like jumped." The Oyabun said. "I don't know why. They were still far out at sea. He probably drowned unless he was an Olympic swimmer."
Eren closed his eyes and thought for a second. Titan flesh is lighter and less dense than regular human flesh. In most cases, it was positively buoyant, meaning it was impossible to sink as a Titan. It's why the Rumbling could go across the sea so easily.
"Was there any strange weather patterns?" Eren asked.
"Strange?" He asked.
"Yes, bolts of lightning or explosions?" Eren asked.
"How is that relevant?" Oyabun asked.
"Because an answer will prevent me from killing you." Eren said threateningly.
"Well, it was storming. There was lightning everywhere when he jumped." He said.
"Was there anything unique about the color?" Eren asked.
"No, not really." The Oyabun said.
"What was the colors?" Eren asked.
"Well, yellowish, orange maybe?"
the Oyabun looked confused at all the odd questioning Eren was doing. What was with these questions, it was so odd.
Eren crossed his arms to think. Titan lightning which signaled a transformation was typically yellow. However, Eren mostly saw natural lightning was blue and even purple. However, if it was a storm, there was no way that there could be so many Titans. There were only a handful of Shifters since the Warhammer was dead.
"Miyuki, what causes yellow lightning?" Eren asked. "Why was it yellow that day?"
"Well, yellow dust from China is causing the lightning in the Sea of Japan to be yellow as of late." Miyuki said. "I don't underst-"
"That's all for now." Eren said, turning to leave.
"Wait." The Oyabun said.
"What?" Eren asked.
"Why the odd string of questions?" He asked.
Eren turned to him slightly, barely regarding him. He gave the Oyabun a side eyed look, only enough to glance at him.
"You better pray that I am being paranoid. You better pray." Eren said cryptically.
Eren and Miyuki walked out of the building and back to their car. Eren got into the driver seat and started it, driving away from the curb and back to work.
Once again, it could be a coincidence. A man fell overboard in a storm that naturally produced a yellowish and orange lightning. No reason to believe there's a Shifter present. Eren is probably being paranoid.
However, what if a Shifter used the storm as a cover? Weather reports were very accurate in this world, so they could time the trip to transform away from the ship and make the swim easily as a Titan. It would be easy to avoid being detected.
"What was with the odd questions?" Miyuki asked. "Is your family really in danger?"
"It was a lie so they would take me seriously." Eren lied, knowing that no one would believe his real reason for the odd questions.
"Whatever you say Senpai." Miyuki said. "Still, it's a surprise they folded so easily. Do you think the guy made it to shore or did he drown?"
"Probably drowned." Eren hoped. "But we'll still need to investigate."
"Yea, a Westerner sneaking in North Korea. That's odd." He said.
"Yea, it is." Eren said.
Ok, I went back and forth on the ages in the last chapter. Final decision.
To stay in line more with the anime, Ruby/Aqua are fifteen turning sixteen. I didn't fully have their ages understood so that's what I'm sticking with lol. Call it a minor retcon but screw it. One year isn't going to really make a difference lol.
I do want to say more, but it would all pretty much be spoilers so I'm keeping my mouth shut lol.
As always, hope you guys enjoy.