Chapter 16: Lines are Drawn

"Ohayo Reiner!" Ruby called out as Reiner stepped inside the studio.

"Oh hi oh Ruby." Reiner attempted, which made his accent funny to her.

Ruby was busy playing on her phone and barely looked over to Reiner. Kana was writing some things down in her notebook to research different aspects of being an idol. Ai was on her laptop, writing emails to prepare the girls for their next big event. Aqua was sitting on the couch, keeping an eye outside for any threats. And Mikasa and Kawachi were on the floor playing with their own phones.

"Glad you made it Reiner." Ai smiled.

"Yea, I actually feel safer now." Kana said.

"We did tell you that you don't have to keep working with us, considering the circumstances." Ai giggled.

"If I don't do this then my career is done anyway, so I'll deal with the threat of giant monsters for now." Kana said, though still felt kind of worried.

"I think you'll be fine Kana." Reiner said. "I never knew Galliard to attack people for no reason."

"Seriously, it amazes me that you know him." Kana said.

"Agreed, the whole situation still feels surreal." Aqua said.

"Well, I hate him!" Mikasa yelled.

"Mika-Chan." Ai tried to chastise her daughter.

"It's true, he attacked me and papa!" She yelled.

"I don't think he necessarily attacked you, more so you were just in the way." Reiner said to Mikasa.

"Either way, he did nearly get my sis killed." Kawachi said angrily.

"I won't argue that." Reiner said. "But don't worry, if he tries anything while I'm here, I'll have a talk with him."

"A talk?" Aqua asked, unsure.

"I don't think Porco would try to fight me." Reiner said.

"What makes you think he won't?" Aqua asked, crossing his arms.

"Porco and I were comrades." Reiner said. "We had our differences, and he never really liked me, but we did fight together and watched each other's backs."

"Let's not worry about that." Ai said as she stood up from her desk. "For now, let's focus on the upcoming concert."

"Yea!" Ruby said in excitement. "When will it be?"

"Well, that's the problem." Ai said. "They want at least one more person to sing in B-Komachi before we can get permission."

There was a silence in the room. Ruby didn't lose her excitement, but Kana sighed and practically deflated from the news.

"We're doomed." She said.

"Now, now, we can find someone." Ai tried to stay positive.

"Unless we find someone as desperate as me, I doubt anyone would risk their careers to work with a former idol and the wife of a criminal." Kana said.

"That is a concern, but I'm sure it will all work out." Ai said with a feeling of hope.

"I do hope so." Ruby said.

Ruby was concerned about her chances of becoming an idol since they still had issues with hiring people. Despite her increased popularity and exposure, she was still controversial, especially with her mother as her manager.

"Bleh.." Ruby said as she drank a bottle she got from the convenient store.

"What is it?" Reiner asked.

"This drink is disgusting." Ruby said as she went to her phone. "I wonder what people will say when I-"

WACK!

Reiner blushed slightly at the cute sound Ruby made when Kana hit her with a folded fan.

"Don't post anything criticizing a product you buy!" Kana said.

"Why." Ruby asked, massaging her head.

"Because if you post something, other people that work on that product will see it, and then you'll never be able to work for them!" Kana said.

Ruby glanced over towards her mother for support, but Ai shook her head.

"Arima-San is right Ruby-Chan." Ai said. "It's one of the reasons President Saitou normally controlled my social media."

"Ruby, let me see your phone." Kana said.

"N-no... it's alright." Ruby stuttered. "I learned my les-no wait!"

Kana took her phone which was still open and glanced through it. She smirked and giggled to herself as she scrolled through Ruby's search history.

"Ara, ara~" Kana said. "Hoshino Ruby cute? Are you ego surfing?"

Ruby blushed and made a face full of uncomfort as Kana looked through her search history.

"Really Ruby?" Aqua asked.

Ruby covered her face in embarrassment. Ai could only cover her mouth and giggle at her daughter's embarrassment. She couldn't help be feel like Ruby was being so cute, though it did remind her a lot of herself at that age.

"Don't worry Ruby-Chan." Ai said. "It's normal to do that, I did a few times too before you and Aqua-Chan were born."

"I rememb-" Aqua stopped talking.

"What was that Aqua-Chan?" Thankfully, Ai didn't hear him.

"Nothing okaasan." He said.

Aqua almost forgot that he saw Ai's search history once while she was his patient. Ai fell asleep once while she went through her phone, and he couldn't help but glance at it when he helped make her comfortable in her hospital bed.

She was looking up information about herself at the time and he couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind at the time. Mostly searches around theories about why she had to take a break. Looking back on it, Aqua wondered how worried she was about being discovered at the time for her pregnancy.

He had to remember that Ai was sixteen at the time she gave birth. It was a difficult time for her, even if she was excited to become an okaasan.

"I'm sorry..." Ruby said sadly.

"My own mother did the same for me at the time." Reiner chuckled. "She basically controlled my social media, still kind of does despite the time difference."

"Don't worry Ruby-Chan, we'll make sure you learn." Ai said.

"Especially since it's my career on the line too." Kana said. "But you do have a lot of potential."

"On the bright side, we also have a bodyguard this time." Aqua mentioned, motioning towards Reiner.

"Yes, it does help put our minds at ease compared to my situation." Ai giggled.

"But shouldn't Reiner-San get paid?" Ruby asked. "I mean, I know that it is an honor for someone to give their life for an idol, but shouldn't he be paid?"

Everyone stared at Ruby. Ai could only shake her head. Even as a teenager, she still phrased things so weirdly since she was a child. A habit she never really grew out of.

"Glad you see me as a sacrifice." Reiner said in a deadpanned voice.

"Yup!" Ruby said happily. "It's an honor for you!" She held up a peace sign to Reiner, making him blush at how cute she was.

"Ruby-Chan, we are paying him." Ai said.

"Eh?" Ruby asked.

"He's still the B-Komachi personal fitness trainer, which is actually more expensive than a bodyguard." Ai explained. "So, he's being paid every hour he's in this studio."

"Which is starting to add up now that he's here longer." Aqua chuckled.

"I did say I would take a pay cut." Reiner said.

"It's alright, President Saitou would get mad if we didn't fairly compensate you." Ai said.

"Why?" Ruby asked. "You'd think he'd be ok with saving money."

"The way he described it, it would leave the door open for Reiner-San to sue us. Even if Reiner-San wouldn't, President Saitou doesn't want to take the risk." Ai said.

"How do you know so much about this mama?" Ruby asked, feeling like her head was going to explode. There's so much to being an idol.

"Well, I've had to learn the past few weeks." Ai winked and stuck her tongue out. "It was so much easier when President Saitou handled everything."

Knock, Knock

Reiner and everyone looked towards the door as someone knocked. Reiner glanced over to Ai, his expression asking if she was expecting anyone. Ai shook her head no. Ai moved over to Kawachi and Mikasa and kept them behind her. Ruby, Kana, and Aqua went near them too while Reiner moved towards the door.

Reiner slowly opened it, revealing a face he hasn't seen in a long time.

"Porco?" He asked.

"I'd say it's good to see you Reiner, but we know that's a lie." Galliard said. "Mind if Pieck and I come in?"

"I'm really quite alright." Yuki waved off everyone's concerns.

"What about your photoshoot tonight?" Mem-Cho asked.

"It'll be fine." Yuki said. "I'll add a bit of extra make-up, besides, they can remove it in editing."

"I'm so sorry Yuki-San." Akane said.

"Please Akane, don't worry about it." Yuki said.

"Yea, I'm sure it'll be fine." Armin said.

"If only you cut his face, then everything would be fine." Mem-Cho said in a joking tone.

"Just because I can heal instantly does not mean it doesn't hurt." Armin joked.

"Still... I'm having a hard time coming to terms with all this." Mem-Cho said. "I mean, you can turn into a giant walking corpse. It's like some weird anime or something."

"Seriously, and the weird things you guys all talked about last night." Yuki said. "I guess that makes sense why the Akuma no Ko was so skilled at the time, but to think you have powers."

"Yea, you're basically reverse isekaied." Akane said.

"Well, to me I was just isekaied." Armin joked.

"What did you do in your old life?" Mem-Cho asked.

"Well, I was a Soldier." Armin said.

"Really?" Yuki asked. "Honestly, it doesn't fit you."

"Yea, I felt much the same when I first joined." He chuckled. "I was always the weakest one, my only asset was my academics."

"That I can believe." Akane said.

"Well, thank you for the compliment." Armin gave a humble smile.

"Did you get to a high rank?" Mem-Cho asked.

"Sort of, I was a Captain and next in line to be a Regimental Commander... though things went bad shortly before I came here." Armin drifted off.

"What happened?" Akane asked.

"We got into basically a civil war and our entire military was usurped." Armin said. "I guess towards the end I didn't have a rank... things just got complicated. Add to that Marley's invasion and things just spiraled out of control."

"That's insane." Yuki said. "I couldn't imagine..."

"Wait..." Mem-Cho looked at Armin. "How old are you?" She narrowed her eyes.

Granted, Armin was technically sixteen, but if he was a high rank did that mean he was an old man before he died? And now he was on a dating show with teenagers. That made her very uncomfo-

Wait-

Mem-Cho realized she was being a hipocrite.

"I died when I was nineteen." Armin said. "So, my age depends on if you want to count my current body's age or my mental age." He chuckled.

"I don't even think there's a law that would actually cover this." Yuki said.

"You were a high-ranking officer at nineteen?" Akane asked. "That means you only served for one year."

"Not exactly..." Armin said.

"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.

"Well, I know this'll be hard for you to understand, but I was twelve when I joined the cadets."

"Eh!?" The girls yelled.

"You were a child soldier!?" Mem-Cho yelled out.

"It's not really weird for us." Armin said. "You have to remember; our culture and technology is less advanced than yours. We were basically in what you would consider the Renaissance or Napoleonic times."

"That's insane." Akane said.

"I can't even imagine." Yuki said.

"I know it's confusing for you girls, but our world is very different." Armin said. "I can't blame Eren for what he did when he first got here."

"What was the Akuma no Ko, Eren, to you?" Akane asked.

"Eren was my best friend since we were little." Armin said.

"Really?" Yuki asked.

"Yea, Eren would actually help protect me from bullies. I actually joined the military partially because of him." Armin explained.

"That's crazy." Mem-Cho said. "Especially since visually you're both so far apart in age."

"Eren wasn't reborn for whatever reason he came here. We were originally the same age." Armin chuckled.

"Was he a good person in your world." Yuki asked.

"Y-yea. He was." Armin stuttered for a moment.

Even if he failed, Armin had no doubt that Eren was going to continue with his plan to save the island. To enact a partial Rumbling in order to destroy the global military alliance and to give the island time to modernize.

Sure, Eren did bad things to achieve that goal, but they all had to do terrible things. The plan to assault Liberio, blow up the port, and the civilians it killed was all Armin's. Armin may have been forced by Eren's hand, but the blame still rests with him.

"Anyway, let's not worry about it." Armin said. "That was a long time ago for me and everything is different now. Despite the possibility of a fight with our old enemies, I'd rather just live in peace."

"While protecting Eren and his family?" Yuki asked.

"Yup." Armin said. "On my off time I'll be there with them, so if you need me, I'll be there."

"Just careful, your monster form was huge." Yuki said.

"It can be, which is why I normally do partial transformations." Armin said.

Mikasa yelled out as Galliard entered the studio with Pieck. She may not have seen his human form, but based off of what she heard, she knew this was the monster that attacked her and her papa.

"Calm down kid, I didn't mean for you to get in the crossfire." Galliard said.

Both Galliard and Pieck were dressed in typical high school uniforms, however, Ai noticed that she didn't recognize the style. If anything, the one Pieck was wearing wasn't a real uniform. It looked like a classic anime girl type costume, one that Japan had largely abandoned.

While grade schoolers did wear the sailor fuku style, Pieck's was clearly designed for a young adult woman, meaning it was a costume. Especially since her skirt length was too short to be allowed for a grade schooler. They were probably blending in since Ai knew they snuck into the country, so they didn't go to school or have a job.

The tension was broken for a moment when Reiner reached out and embraced both Galliard and Pieck. In all honesty, everyone was surprised by the action. The tension and fear was momentarily forgotten as Reiner showed clear care to his old comrades.

"It's really good to see you too Reiner." Pieck said as she returned the hug.

"Yea... not really for me." Galliard said.

"The last thing I remember, Falco ate you." Reiner said.

"Yea, I know. I remember slowly dying in his stomach." Galliard said. "He didn't chew very well..." Galliard grimaced at the memory.

"The last thing I remember was those thunder spears about to be launched at me." Pieck said.

"That's around the time I remember too." Reiner said. "When I spoke with Zeke-"

"The traitor is here too!?" Galliard yelled out.

"Yes, he is." Reiner confirmed.

"Where!?" Galliard yelled.

"Porco, remember why we're here." Pieck said.

The tension returned. Ai kneeled down to hold her youngest children. Mikasa whimpered and hugged her mother, terrified since her papa wasn't here. Kawachi tried to put up a brave face but he too was scared. Kana and Ruby embraced each other, not sure what was going to happen. Aqua stood in front of them, ready for anything.

Reiner though, moved slightly to position himself between his old comrades and the family.

"What exactly would that be?" Reiner asked.

Galliard and Pieck raised their eyebrows as they saw the tension, though considering the situation, they assumed they understood.

"We're not here to hurt them Reiner." Pieck said, taking a step forward.

"I never intended to involve the little devil spawn at the time." Galliard said with disgust. "I was trying to get at the founder."

"You mean Eren?" Reiner asked.

"We honestly would rather avoid using his family against him if we could." Pieck said.

"Because you're afraid of his wrath." Reiner said.

"I'm not afraid." Galliard said angrily.

"We're cautious... yes." Pieck said. "Eren Yeager is a threat to us no matter what we do., but if we strike at his family it'll get worse."

"Then why exactly are you here?" Reiner asked.

"To recruit you." Galliard said.

While Ruby felt relief that these people weren't targeting her family, but she was now scared that Reiner would join them. Ruby knew that they were going to try and kill her papa, and she was terrified of Reiner joining them.

Reiner was always so kind and she knew he was a good person. But when confronted with his old friends, she was terrified of him joining them and potentially going after her papa.

"You want me to help you go after Eren?" Reiner asked.

"Yes." Galliard said.

"Why?" Reiner asked.

"Why? You're crazy, aren't you." Galliard said.

"Porco-" Pieck tried to calm him down.

"Was this the same inaction that got my brother killed?" Galliard accused.

Ruby saw Reiner wince from the accusation. She didn't fully understand the context, but it was clear that whatever Galliard accused him of clearly affected him.

"If only my brother didn't try to protect me." He said.

"Porco-" Reiner tried to say.

"I know the truth, the armor was never meant for you, and clearly it's wasted." Galliard said.

"That's in the past Porco." Reiner said.

"Not while Eren lives." Galliard said.

The tension raised again. Ruby was terrified of them, terrified of these literal shape shifters and the vandetta they have against her papa. Ruby knew they were enemies on the opposite side of a war, but she didn't understand why they wanted to continue fighting.

"Why?" Reiner asked.

"Why, are you serious?" Galliard asked.

"Yes, why?" Reiner shot back. "There is no Marley or Eldia here. That conflict was over the moment we arrived here. So why try to continue fighting?"

"Did you forget what that bastard did to our home!?" Galliard yelled.

"Porco-" Pieck tried to put a hand on his shoulder but he pushed it off as he glared at Reiner.

"He attacked Liberio, him and his comrades killed hundreds of our people! He deserves death!" Galliard yelled.

The family looked on in surprise. They never fully knew that Eren did bad things during the war. Aqua and Ai could guess, guess that there were civilians in the crossfire. But to actually hear it was another case.

Reiner closed his eyes and sighed. He understood Galliards anger, he really did. In fact, he saw it before. The first day he talked with Eren and heard his desire to kill all the Titans.

"Willy Tybur declared war on Paradis right before Eren attacked." Reiner said. "The people of Paradis responded to our initial incursion nine years before that. The day we broke down the walls. I won't say what they did was right, but we have no moral high ground to judge what they did."

"You're kidding, right?" Galliard asked. "What about Udo, or Zophia... did you not care what happened to them?"

"Don't you dare say I didn't care!" Reiner shot back. "I cared for every one of them, but don't you dare bring them up like that."

Ruby could see Reiner get angry at being accused of not caring about those people. She could tell it was a very hard thing for him to think about.

"Reiner, it's not just about revenge." Pieck said.

"What else could it be?" Reiner asked.

"Eren still has the power of the founder." Pieck said. "We don't know what he could be planning."

"Planning!?" Ai yelled out from where she was. "My husband doesn't want to fight, he just wants-"

"Quiet!" Galliard yelled at her.

Ai shrunk back down at his voice, gripping her youngest children harder as he did. She was afraid she may provoke him, especially since that transformation of theirs is violent.

"I have to agree with Mrs. Hoshino." Reiner said. "Eren doesn't want to fight. He only wants peace."

"That's what he says." Galliard said.

"What could he possibly plan?" Reiner asked.

"What if he tries to restart the Eldian Empire, or tries to remake Titans again." Pieck said.

"Are you hearing yourselves?" Reiner asked. "Why would he do that?"

"He was the king of Paradis for a short time." Galliard said. "He usurped the throne and took over the military, he might try to do it here too."

"Why would he do that?" Reiner asked.

"We can't take that risk." Pieck said. "As long as he has the founder, he could reintroduce Titans in this world. So, we need to steal it."

"If he plans to do that, why hasn't he done so by now?" Reiner asked.

"Because it could take time." Pieck said. "It's simply a risk that we can't take."

"If Eren was trying to remake the Titans, you'd think he'd have more than two children." Reiner said.

"What do you mean, he has four." Galliard said.

"Eren's our papa by marriage-" Ruby tried to say.

"Shut up!" Galliard yelled.

Reiner shoved Galliard back when he yelled at Ruby, surprising the young man and making him have to regain his footing. Galliard looked back at Reiner with a look of shock. He glanced over towards Ruby and suddenly got angrier.

"You always did have a thing for blondes." Galliard said.

"That's irrelevant." Reiner said.

"So that's it, you're going to reject us because you fell in love with her?" Galliard asked.

Ruby stepped back and blushed a bit, wanting to deny what he was implying but unable to find her voice again after Galliard yelled at her.

"I'm rejecting you because your reasons don't make sense." Reiner said.

"You'll allow someone who has the power of the Rumbling to keep that power? You don't make sense." Galliard said.

"How can Eren possibly enact a Rumbling here? He doesn't have the wall Titans!" Reiner yelled back.

Ai, Ruby, and Aqua raised their eyebrows at that. A rumbling... what was that?

"We don't know what happened when him and Zeke touched. What if he finds a way to turn the people in this world into Titans?" Pieck tried to argue.

"You two are letting your paranoia and vengeance take over." Reiner accused.

"And you refuse to do what needs to be done." Galliard said.

"What needs to be done?" Reiner got angry. "For what, to fight for a cause that no longer exists, for a nation that's literally worlds away from us. To fight for a reason that has no meaning anymore?"

"We have a duty to protect this world from the founder, even if we are no longer ordered to by Marley." Pieck said.

"The only reason I ever continued to fight was because of Falco, Gabi, Udo, and Zophia. Without them, I don't give a damn." Reiner said.

"You'd turn your back on everything we fought for?" Galliard asked.

"I've had a second chance here. A chance to live a life with dignity and purpose, instead of being treated like dirt and being forced into a war I want no part of." Reiner said. "The war is over. Paradis probably will be wiped out anyway with Eren in this world. So there's no reason to fight. I just want to live a humble life."

"While at the same time pursuing the daughter of the devil of paradis." Galliard accused.

Ruby felt herself blush again at the accusation, but Reiner didn't seem shy about it at all.

"If Ruby ever does decide to marry me, I'll take it from there." Reiner said, making Ruby want to hide again. "But she is not my sole reason for saying no. I want to experience a better life than the one I lived before. Free from the guilt of everything I did while I was in the walls."

"So you'll stand against us?" Galliard asked.

"I know Eren can handle you by himself, so I'll let you do what you want." Reiner said. "But if you threaten any one of the people behind me, I will stand against you two. I won't let another friend die because of my affiliations with Marley."

There was another standoff as Pieck and Galliard looked at Reiner. Galliard always had a level of hatred for Reiner, even if on some level he did consider Reiner to be his comrade. But he always believed that Reiner was too weak to put his powers to any good use, which is why the armor should have gone to him.

Pieck was sad. While she didn't have the same drive for vengeance that Galliard did, she did want to protect this world from Eren's evil. It was simply too risky to let the founder be in his control. She hoped Reiner would at least see that.

"We're not crazy enough to take Eren without help." Galliard said. "That being said, if we find ourselves in a position to need to use his family, we will."

"Try it." Reiner threatened. "We both know the Jaws would struggle against the Armor."

"When have you ever actually done anything useful with the Armor. You lose every fight you're in." Galliard shot back.

"Porco, enough." Pieck said. "We can't do anything right now."

Galliard scowled at Reiner as he stepped back. Reiner was worried that things would potentially escalate to a Titan fight but luckily, they had no intentions of fighting yet. Pieck looked sad at Reiner and Galliard looked mad.

Despite being comrades for so long, Reiner knew his relationship with Galliard was strained at best. Especially after he returned from paradis alone without Marcel. Galliard always harbored a hatred for Reiner for not only being the one to survive but also being made the Vice War Chief.

"You've changed Porco." Reiner said.

"And you haven't changed at all." He said angrily.

Both of them stared each other down, knowing that they may at one point have to come to terms with fighting each other. Reiner didn't want to, but he knew he had no choice. He wasn't going to give up this new life of his, especially since he was finally free from Marley's control.

Reiner may not have hated his home country necessarily, but he was in no hurry to return to it or to fight for it now that he had a promise of a good life.

"Let's go Porco." Pieck said, grabbing Galliards arm and pulling him away.

"I hope when the time comes Reiner, you make the right decision." Galliard said before leaving with Pieck.

The tension in the room finally relaxed now that the two Titan Shifters left. Ai gave her youngest children one last hug before relaxing and letting them go. Ruby and Kana stepped back from each other, while Aqua breathed a sigh of relief.

Reiner looked at where his old comrades left, a sense of regret and longing filled his chest. Regret that this was how it would be, and longing at the hope to be with them if they could ever let go of their hate and paranoia. He wanted nothing more than to live a new life with his old friends.

"I'll need to call Eren." Ai said, getting her phone.

"Good idea." Reiner said. "We can let him know that Pieck is here too... well, call her the Cart Titan since he might not remember her by name." Reiner clarified.

Ai went to the corner to get some privacy so she could call her husband and let him know. She knew he was going to get upset but there was nothing that could be done about that. Eren would be upset regardless.

"Thank you for protecting us there." Aqua said. "I can imagine it must have been hard."

"I suppose." Reiner said sadly. "I guess they can't let it go, not that I blame them personally."

"Do you think they'll really target us?" Aqua asked.

"They never have before, but we were prepared for a war with Eldia, so I would imagine they are capable of involving your family if they feel it's their best course of action." Reiner said honestly. "Plus, it's been sixteen years since we last saw each other, who knows how much has changed."

"True." Aqua nodded. "Even still, thanks again."

"Yea." Ruby said as she walked up to Reiner, a small smile on her face. "Thank you for protecting us, it means a lot." She put her hands behind her back, bent forward slightly, tilted her head, and smiled at Reiner.

Reiner said nothing, instead he looked away and blushed. Ai noticed it after she hung up with Eren, noticed how much Ruby had an effect on him. Ai also noticed that Ruby didn't even realize the effect she had on Reiner or how cute her pose was. Though Ai did have a plan to calm everyone down after the tension they all had.

"And thank you for pushing back when he yelled at Ruby-Chan, it's nice to know you love her so much." Ai said in a teasing voice.

"Mama!" Ruby yelled.

"Or having plans to marry apparently." Kana crossed her arms with a neutral expression, though she did find Ruby's embarrassment funny.

"No!" Ruby yelled. "I will never, ever get married! Not as an idol. Even though Reiner-San was romantic it doesn't mean anything." Ruby said in a muffled voice.

Muffled because her face was currently buried in her hands in order to try and hide her blush. It was just so embarrassing to have a boy defend her like that... though she did admit is was kind of nice.

"He was romantic?" Ai giggled.

"I mean trying to be romantic!" Ruby tried to recover. "But he failed." She grasped at straws.

"Well, I can't argue with Ruby." Reiner said with a subtle smile. "After all, she's too busy trying to be an idol, so I may have to wait a little while."

"Exactly!" Ruby agreed without thinking. "He's going to have to wait!"

"So..." Ai began. "That means you will one day date him?"

Ruby was about to retort before she realized what she just said. She felt like her emotions were all over the place and everyone is picking on her.

"Mama!" Ruby yelled.

Reiner smiled at the interaction. He felt hurt that he was being forced to choose between Eren's family and his old comrades. However, he knew that Eren's family was innocent. His own feelings for Ruby were irrelevant in the equation. They were innocent people that didn't deserve to be drawn into a war that's literally worlds away from them.

Reiner wouldn't fight to protect Eren, no. Eren can handle himself, especially with Armin. But Reiner will fight to protect Ruby and her family. That he can do.

Because above all else, Reiner wants to put the past behind him. He doesn't want to fight anymore. He gave up years ago. Even when he fought Eren for the final time he was finished. Tired of all the fighting, the killing, the betrayals, everything.

Especially when every time he feels like he has a moment to think, he thinks back to Marco and how that-

"Reiner-San." Ruby pushed him.

"What?" Reiner asked.

"You were spacing out, I said we need to head home soon." She said.

"Right, yea." Reiner said. "I'll escort you guys' home until Eren gets back." He said.

"Thank you, Reiner-San." Ai said.

"Don't worry about it." Reiner said.

Though Ai couldn't help but worry. He had that same far off look in his eye that her husband did. She shouldn't be surprised; they were both child soldiers after all. She was glad that Reiner protected them, but she was also sad that he was now in a position to either betray his friends or put them in danger. It was not a position she liked for a boy to be in.

Even though he technically wasn't a boy... this reborn stuff is confusing.

Hope you guys enjoyed this one, and I hope that Pieck and Galliard come off as similar to their cannon selves.

Obviously, some time has passed so naturally they would be a bit different. Especially in a new world and with Eren running around. I also hope their reasoning for hunting Eren makes sense as well. Unlike Reiner who moved on, they didn't.

Please let me know what you all thought of the chapter.

Hope you guys enjoyed.