1ST POV

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We were In front of the canteen. I was hugging Armin from behind, resting my chin on his head. Our attire had shifted to casual wear, and nearby, Eren, Connie, Mina, and Marco all observed Sasha sprinting across the training ground.

"Hey, that potato girl's still going strong," Connie whistled, genuinely impressed.

"Five hours straight," Eren added, clearly amazed. "Didn't even flinch when he told her to keep running until she dropped. But the moment he mentioned no more food, she looked utterly devastated."

"Dauper's a small village of Hunters up in the mountains, right?" Connie asked suddenly.

"Yep," I chimed in, startling both him and Marco, along with Mina. Eren and Armin, the only ones used to my spontaneous interjections in conversations, remained unfazed. "I've heard they use various hunting techniques. Might be worth asking her to teach us a few, just in case we face survival drills in the future,"

"A-Ah...! You're T-Tobe, right..?" Marco stumbled over his words, glancing at both me and Armin, his cheeks flushed with uncertainty. "Uh..."

"Don't mind her, she's always like this," Armin calmly remarked, used to my antics.

"O-Oh... Uh—"

"What's that?" Eren suddenly interrupted, spotting a carriage in the distance as it moved away.

"Oh, dropouts. They've asked for a transfer to the reclaimed lands," Mina responded.

"Already? It's just the first day..." Armin expressed surprise.

"That's just the way it goes," Eren stated matter-of-factly. "The ones lacking strength have no option but to depart." They glanced at him, while I furrowed my brow at his words. "They'd rather spend time picking rocks and pulling weeds..." He met my disapproving gaze before swiftly offering an apology.

"Speaking of which, we haven't heard about where you're from actually." Freckles Jesus inquired.

"I'm from Shiganshina, same as Armin here," Eren replied, smiling and placing his hand on the blond's shoulder. The three of them froze in shock.

"Oh, I see..." Marco began, but Connie cut in with a blunt inquiry:

"Were you there on that day, too?"

Startled by Connie's directness, Marco protested, "Hey?!"

"Did you witness it? The Colossal Titan!" Connie pressed, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

I held onto Armin a bit tighter as he trembled, speaking up before Eren could answer.

"You're Connie Springer, right?" He blinked at me, taken aback. I continued, "It's not really polite to ask such questions so directly. It's still a sensitive subject, so please reconsider before letting your curiosity take over, okay?" I offered a reassuring smile.

He appeared startled before comprehension dawned, and he promptly offered apologies to both boys.

"It's okay, Colith," Eren reassured me with a pat on the back, a faint smile gracing his lips. "He was just curious," he explained, prompting me to pout and relent.

"But if Colith is from Trost, how did you guys end up meeting?" Mina inquired bashfully, unused to my presence.

"Oh, I literally bumped into her that day while I was searching for Armin," Eren explained, patting his friend's shoulder. "After the incident, we encountered her again at the refugee camps while she was looking for her friends."

"She welcomed us without a second thought, and ever since then, we've been living in Trost with her," Armin concluded, a fondness reflecting in his deep blue eyes.

The three regarded me with admiration as I rubbed my neck bashfully. "I-it's not that big of a deal..."

"Don't downplay it! No one else would've done that for us!" Eren proclaimed.

Feeling my face flush at the sudden praise, I buried it into Armin's neck. 'Didn't realize black people could blush. Animes do some crazy things.'

'Cute!' echoed in their thoughts simultaneously.

Wanting to shift the focus, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "FOOD! LET'S GRAB SOME FOOD!" then marched towards the canteen, Armin still in my arms. They chuckled before following suit.

Resting my head on the table, I sat beside Mikasa, observing people bombarding Eren with inquiries about the Colossal Titan. 'Seriously, guys, any sense of tact here? Can't you see how traumatic that might be? Tsk tsk.'

"Kids these days..." I muttered.

Mikasa tenderly stroked my hair, lulling me toward drowsiness. 'Ah, this feels like bliss.' I nearly drifted off until someone brought up the regular Titans.

'Really, dude?'

Eren's spoon clattered into his soup, and he covered his mouth, looking queasy. I sighed.

"I warned him not to let them ask such questions," I grumbled. Mikasa simply shook her head in response. I was about to intervene and put a stop to the nonsense, but Marco, that kind soul, beat me to it.

"Alright, that's enough questions, guys. I'm sure there are memories he'd rather not revisit."

"Thanks, buddy!" I gave him a thumbs-up, prompting surprised glances from the group. "Heh, pay me no mind." I waved them off.

I did receive my fair share of questions, but Mikasa's icy glares swiftly shooed them away, leaving us in peace.

"S-sorry for being so-" Connie began, but Eren cut in abruptly:

"That's not the point!" he snapped, taking a bite of his bread. "Titans aren't really that big of a deal."

"Oh boy," I muttered, burying my face in my hands, sighing. I tuned out because 'Seriously, Eren, babe, love you and all, but drop the tough-guy act. Because seriously, you're not prepared for what's coming-' he carried on about joining the Survey Corps, exterminating all the titans, blah blah blah, when Horse Face suddenly interrupted.

"Hey, hey, are you out of your mind?" Eren gazed at him, bewildered. "Did I just hear you saying you want to join the Survey Corps?"

"Damn straight," he affirmed, holding his ground. "And you're aiming for the Military Police Brigade to take the easy way out, huh?" he added, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm just being honest. I reckon that's better than putting on a tough facade when you're actually scared shitless."

Eren abruptly stood up. "You got something to say?" Someone tried to intervene but was brushed off as they were ignored.

"Oh? I didn't mean to..." He rose to his feet as they approached each other. But just then, the bell rang, signaling curfew. They glanced up, and Jean sighed. "My bad. I didn't mean to judge your way of thinking." Extending his hand for a truce, he added with a smirk, "Let's just drop it."

Eren sized him up for a moment, glanced at me, and eventually relented. "Yeah, my bad. I overreacted," he acknowledged, tapping Jean's hand before heading out.

As Mikasa began to rise, I extended a hand towards her. "Mikasaaaa..." I melodramatically trailed off. She sighed but couldn't resist helping me stand. "You're such a dependable kid. Love you~" She cracked a faint smile before following Eren outside.

'Ooh, the Coup de foudre is about to happen!!' I cackled silently in my mind. Almost on cue, Jean intercepted Mikasa, blushing like a complete mess.

"Hey there!" he greeted Mikasa who turned to him with a neutral expression. He stumbled a bit. "Um, I haven't seen you around before, so..." He trailed off before hastily adding, "S-sorry... Your black hair is really beautiful..."

She simply replied with a quiet "Thanks," and continued on her way out.

Shaking my head, I chuckled at the hapless guy. Exiting, I patted his shoulder, startling him. "Good luck, dude. You'll need it," I said, laughing harder, before joining the duo a little further ahead.

Unbeknownst to me, Jean blushed even deeper and followed us outside. He witnessed the moment when Eren suggested Mikasa cut her hair, and I playfully jumped on his back, declaring, "If you want to get stronger, piggyback me, Jaeger!" He had no choice but to comply with a groan.

As Connie passed by Jean, the latter wiped his hand on the boy's back, eliciting a disgusted shriek from him.

That night, he might have lost a bit of his faith in people. Or something.

I wandered outside with my [Notice me not] activated, scanning the training field when I heard a thud, followed by heavy panting.

'Ah, right, Sasha. Almost missed you.' I promptly conjured a ham sandwich. I might not eat pork, but they sure can, so why not. With that, I headed towards where she lay, deactivating the spell in the process.

She sniffled, swiftly opened her eyes, then lunged at me for the food like a rabid beast. 'Whoa, easy there, kid!' I was quick to retract my fingers lest they were snatched with the sandwich.

I heard a squeak behind me, prompting me to me to turn around to find an apprehensive Historia clutching some bread and a water pouch. It seems like Sasha had successfully disturbed her.

"Seems like we had the same thought," I commented, prompting her to gaze at me with wide eyes. "You're luck I was around, or else you might have ended up injured." Observing Sasha behaving like a wild creature, I witnessed a flicker of recognition dawn on her.

"SANDWICH!" she exclaimed.

"Indeed, it is a sandwich," I affirmed. Sasha's eyes widened at the sight of me before she noticed the small blonde standing behind me. "Oh, her? Looks like we had the same idea," I remarked, patting Histo— um, Krista's head who jumped at the gesture.

Man, these kids seriously need more affection—

"I brought you some bread... But...you should drink some water first..." Suddenly, sparkles seemed to appear out of thin air.

"Ah! My eyes!" I exclaimed.

A hand rested on my shoulder, and I turned to see its owner.

"God? Are you two... Goddesses?!"

'Ha, good guess...' I quickly averted my gaze.

A bored voice suddenly interrupted Sasha. "Hey, what's going on here?"

We all turned toward the newcomer, Ymir. Sasha immediately dove into her food like her life depended on it, nearly choking in the process.

"Goodness, girl, slow down or you'll reunite with your ancestors!" I whistled, recoilin slightly. Krista directed her attention to Ymir and answered.

"Well... She's been running all day and didn't get to eat...so I thought helping her would be appropriate," Krista explained hesitantly.

Ymir hummed, appearing unimpressed. "Seems like you're just trying to do a good deed," she stated flatly, startling Krista. Then, she turned to me, narrowing her eyes. "What about you?"

I tilted my head, about to respond, when Sasha finished her sandwich, her eyes rolling back before she toppled forward like a log. Thankfully, I caught her just in time.

"Whoa there! Almost hurt yourself, potato girl!" I scooped her up into my arms, then glanced at the pair. "Excuse me, you were saying?"

They stared back at me, Krista with gratitude, Ymir with a scowl.

"What?" I asked innocently. Ymir sighed and snatched Sasha from my grasp. "Ara..?" I blinked.

Observing this, Krista tentatively inquired, "Are you trying to do a good deed as well?"

"It seems like she's probably doing that to rack up some favors, right?" I remarked casually.

Ymir narrowed her eyes at me. "How did you...?"

"I don't know," I shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't imagine you helping someone without an agenda. Just a hunch." With a casual lean back and a glance upwards, I continued, "Anyway! I'll be on my way! Good night!" And off I went!

Ymir clicked her tongue and then glanced at Krista, her expression softening slightly. "Come on, let's go," she said, and then she started walking towards the dorms, with Krista following closely behind her.

EDITED