Chapter 32: Trying to Befriend the Enemy
After returning to the briefing room, Eren, Reiner, Armin, Zeke, the Director, and Miyuki were sitting down and waiting to go over what happened. Colonel Leonhart came in as well and a small red light over the door was on, a showing that certain information must be kept secret from her since she is here.
Which of course, she knew. She knew that as a foreigner, the Japanese wouldn't want her to have access to Japanese only information. America does the same thing, as does every country.
"Do you understand now?" Colonel Leonhart said to Eren.
"That's actually pretty interesting." Eren said honestly.
She spent the past ten minutes telling him how actual stealth works on aircraft. Eren knew the basics of how RADAR worked. Although he was never interested in watching TV, he did occasionally see a movie or show with his family. He saw some movies where a screen would show a beeping thing that shows what's in the air.
However, he's an intelligence agent, not an aviation specialist, so he never worked with it. So, he had no idea how planes or RADAR worked until it was told to him. He had a basic understanding but never really investigated it.
That, and how stalling works. He guessed that planes needed to go a certain speed to fly, but never actually learned the technical terminology.
"How did you get this far and know so little?" She chuckled in a lighthearted tone.
"Our world was what you would consider Napoleonic." Eren said. "Although I was educated, children in elementary school have more education than even our nobility and elites."
"And since college is so specialized, you wouldn't have very much general knowledge." She continued.
It was odd speaking to Annie's earth mother. She was a professional yet friendly woman. She never treated Eren like an idiot inferior like many people do. She acknowledges his lack of a modern education but does not treat him poorly because of it.
Even going through college, Eren was treated like an idiot for not knowing general information. It was always annoying.
"Getting back on track." The Director cleared his throat. "The media is going insane with what's going on."
The projector played the current news broadcast from earlier.
"Players from the Yomiuri Giants and Saitama Seibu Lions are currently in the hospital after the… I don't even know what to call it." The anchor said. "Worldwide reactions are all over the place. People have been turned into monsters against their will and without their knowledge. No one knows if this is due to some disease or secret government experiment, but many governments around the world are implementing policies to investigate these problems and find out the cause."
"Of course, the biggest story is the confirmation of the Government using these Kaiju to fight." The channel changed to poor quality phone cameras from the people getting a video of Reiner's transformation. "The identity of the Government Kaiju is unknown, but it is known that the small team as well as the American jet are under the command of Eren Yeager."
"There are a lot of unknown right now about the situation, but it seems like the Government is fighting back. However, this is leaving all of Tokyo in a state of confusion and fear since at any time, anyone can become these monsters."
The Director changed the projector to a slowed down image of the game footage, right before the transformation.
"I think the media is right to panic, we also have the media going over this particular footage." The Director said. "Miyuki has gone over the image analysis of it."
"Yeah, it's really odd." Miyuki said.
The footage shows a typical game day play. The pitcher getting ready to throw the ball towards the batter-
"Good form." Zeke nodded at the picture.
"Not the time." Eren said.
"Yeah, would rather not be on the end of one of your throws again." Reiner said with a dark humored chuckle.
As the pitch was thrown, a flash was seen and the cameras captured the moment they turned into Titans. It was exactly how they have seen before, minus one odd thing.
"We captured a single frame of it, but it is something odd to us and we were hoping you could shed some light." Miyuki said.
A single frame, barely even a fraction of a second caught, showed the ground covered in a lightning bolt pattern, similar to the burns that they saw. As if every man got struck by a shock that traveled through the ground simultaneously.
"I've never seen that before." Zeke said.
"Neither have I." Eren said.
"It all originated from a single-entry way on the side of the field, where the players and crew come onto the field." Miyuki said. "When we investigated, we found this."
The picture went to a familiar object.
"A piece of hardened Titan material?" Zeke asked.
The picture showed a small crystal, one that could easily fit into the palm of someone's hand. Additional pictures showed the same burned lightning marks originating from the material on the ground.
"We had a hazmat team take the object and put it in quarantine." Miyuki said. "But clearly, someone planted that there."
"Meaning, someone turned them into pure Titans." Eren said.
"Are we sure they're pure Titans?" Reiner asked. "They had their human bodies in the nape."
"Despite our best efforts, the player who lost his legs cannot grow them back, meaning he doesn't have healing abilities." The Director said.
"But I don't understand." Armin said. "How are the rules so different now? Everything was so simple and followed a logical pattern. Now nothing is the same as before."
Armin was so confused. While not a scientist like Hanji, Armin was one of the best Titan experts in the world. He knew almost as much as the scientists in Marley and then some. So how is it that all of his information is off?
"Maybe that makes sense." Zeke said as he thought to himself.
"How so?" Colonel Leonhart asked.
Zeke glanced at Eren for a moment, contemplating how much he can reveal about their time in the paths that won't lead to a conversation about the Rumbling. Eren shot him a quick warning glare, so Zeke knew he'd have to be careful with his words.
"As you know, Eren and I looked into the past of the Founder Ymir." Zeke said. "How we saw her gain the power and later passed it onto her daughters after her death."
"True." Armin said.
"However, the way the power was passed, was her human daughters gained the power through eating their mother's spine." Zeke continued.
There was a moment of disgust as they imagined the scenario in their heads. It's one thing to hear it but knowing that Eren and Zeke witnessed it made them sick.
"So, how did her daughters gain the power when they broke the rules?" Zeke asked.
"You're right." Armin said, piecing it together. "To gain the power, they would need to be turned into a Titan first, then consume her spine."
"But they violated that rule." Zeke said. "Or more accurately, it wasn't a rule at the time."
"We're making the assumption that the rules are strict and unmoving." Eren said with a thought.
"The Founder once changed Eldian's genetic material to make them immune to a plague hundreds of years ago." Zeke said. "What else is it capable of doing?"
"If the Founder has full control of the Titans, that means that it can make anything it wants in terms of rules." Armin said.
"The process of Titan inheritance isn't a law of nature, it's because Ymir willed it to be that way. The thirteen year curse of Ymir isn't a law, it's her wish to make it that no shifter can live longer than thirteen years." Zeke said.
"And since she only ever obeyed those with royal blood, that means that the inheritor of the Founder had her permission to make the changes they did." Eren said, remembering how even during the Rumbling, all the powers he used, he used with Ymir's permission.
"Even royal blood may not be a requirement, since it's more due to Ymir choosing to obey those considered royal lineage, since every Eldian is as removed from Ymir as anyone else, commoner or royal." Zeke said.
"Which confirms, there is a Founder in this world." Eren said. "One who has the power of the Titans and can make the rules however he sees fit."
"For all we know, the power of the Titans can be transferred from sharing a sandwich." Zeke said in an almost joking tone.
Eren thought back to the voice in his head, telling him to stop before delivering the killing blow. Something connected with him, no doubt the Founder of this world. However, if it reached out to him, why did it want him to stop if it made the Titans?
"Before I tried to strike that first Titan, I heard a voice in my head, telling me don't." Eren said.
"Can't believe I'm taking voices in someone's head seriously." Colonel Leonhart chuckled to herself.
"Really?" Zeke asked.
"It felt like a connection, similar to when I touched Dina." Eren said.
"But that makes no sense." Reiner said. "If this entity can control the Titans, why wait till now to create them?"
"Good question." Zeke said. "However, I think it may have to do with the two pules of energy sixteen and ten years ago."
"The strange pulses of energy from when the shifters were reborn and when Zeke and I came here." Eren remembered.
"All originated from the house I'm renting." Zeke reminded. "I've torn that place apart to see if I can find anything, but I can't find anything that can explain it."
"Nothing?" Miyuki asked.
"The only thing I can confirm, is that the pulse happened literally the moment they were all born and the moment Eren and I arrived." Zeke said.
Everyone paused for a moment to think and to digest the information. There was a tense feeling in the room since they confirmed that, unlike before, they are literally dealing with a god that can change the rules at any time. It's likely the Founder of this world can even take their powers away if it intended to fight them.
"There must have been a big event that happened during their births." Eren said. "Something that caused a connection, similar to when I touched Dina."
"I'll start looking into everything I can about that date and time." Miyuki said.
Once it concluded, Eren left the briefing room along with everyone else. Reiner and Armin walked out together while Eren stayed behind to finish some things. Both shifters had some things they needed to get done today with B-Komachi.
"Take care sweety." Colonel Leonhart smiled to her daughter as she prepared to get onto the van.
"I will mother." Annie said seriously.
There was a very tense feeling that Colonel Leonhart felt on the van. The van was rented out by B-Komachi idol group, and they were getting ready to go to an interview with the media.
Colonel Leonhart insisted that her daughter get to know other kids her age since she was a bit anti-social. Oddly, Eren Yeager seemed tense when she brought up the idea but chalked it up to him being a typical father and maybe worried for his son. It made her chuckle a bit but she did feel that it was odd that the girls were cautious around Annie.
Then again, Japanese culture in general tended to be cautious around foreigners, so she chalked it up to that.
"Remember sweety, please try to make friends with them." Colonel Leonhart said.
"I'll try." Annie said.
The mother smiled and waved as her daughter boarded the van with the rest of the group.
Of course, the entire group's hands were tied due to the situation. There is no reason to upset Colonel Leonhart by denying her request for Annie to make friends and they needed to keep that detail hidden from her until they got evidence to go after Annie.
Even if it gave them the ability to monitor Annie, it didn't help much since Annie could attack at any moment.
Annie went to go sit at the front of the van, right behind the front seat. The B-Komachi girls sat all the way in the back, with Ruby being in the center to try and protect her as much as possible. Ai was driving while Aqua was in the front seat, keeping his eye on Annie through the mirror.
Armin and Reiner sat behind Annie, both to protect Ruby while at the same time being able to react to anything Annie did. Bot had small cuts on their fingers, ready to transform at a moments notice. Even if Armin couldn't fully transform, he could do a partial transformation to form a protective barrier around the girls to keep them safe while Reiner transforms to attack Annie.
"All things considered Annie, it's good to see you again." Reiner said.
Annie glanced at him in a bored expression, then looked away.
"Can't say the same." She said.
Both never really got along at all. Even during their time as Warriors together. As far as Annie was concerned, Reiner was just the unofficial leader of the group and she only listened to him out of military courtesy and not any kind of respect.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to do anything." She said. "Not like I can fight both of you at once."
Even if they ambushed with the Jaws and Cart, fighting two of the strongest Titans was not a guaranteed win for the Marleyan's. Annie remembered how annoyed Galliard was when they learned that Reiner would be taking a more active role.
"I remember you said you were going to keep your distance." Annie said. "What changed?"
"It was one thing to attack Eren." Reiner said. "It's another thing to attack Ruby."
Ruby eeped in the back when Reiner said that.
"You're ridiculous." Annie said. "You and cute blond girls, I swear."
"Is it really so bad to protect innocent people instead of kill them?" Reiner asked.
"You're one to talk." Annie said. "If you remember, you're the one who made us push forward."
"And believe me, I regretted that decision." Reiner said.
There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. The tension was thick, and Ai could barely keep her attention on the road due to her constantly glancing back at the girl who was trying to kill her husband and daughter.
"So, eto… do you have any hobbies Annie-San?" Ruby asked timidly from the back.
Annie had to double back for a moment and look back at Ruby, confused. Everyone was kind of confused by the sudden question.
"Nani?" Ruby asked as everyone looked at her.
"Why are you asking?" Annie asked Ruby.
"Well, just because you're trying to eat me doesn't mean we can't… eto," Ruby was about to say be friends since that's a common thing to say, but in this case, "be respectful to each other?" She tried to say.
Annie just turned back around and ignored Ruby, but she couldn't help but smirk a bit at Ruby's innocent act.
"You can at least answer her you know." Kana said in Ruby's defense. "Only fair I'd say."
"Yeah." Mem-Cho agreed.
"After all, we can at least be polite." Akane tried to say.
"Really? Want me to get to know her so it'll make it harder to kill her or something?" Annie asked. "Don't be ridiculous. I've already killed my closest friends, not much you can do to guilt me."
"I'm not trying to guilt you." Ruby said. "Just trying to get to know someone who wants to kill me."
"Ruby-Chan, please stop saying that." Ai said, hating even the thought of her daughter dying.
"Sorry mama." Ruby said.
There was another pause as the drive continued in silence. Ruby didn't know how she was supposed to react. How do you just sit in the same vehicle with a person who wants you dead and not be awkward?
"Idols are actually kind of cool." Annie said.
The look on everyone's face was priceless, Aqua thought to himself. Granted, he probably looked the same, but those looks in the mirror was photo worthy.
"Really?" Ruby asked.
"I've never been very girly, but I can admit it's cute and interesting. My mother was a fan of Ai when she was stationed here before and would naturally watch it with me." Annie said.
"What do you like about it?" Ruby asked.
"The dancing and outfits." Annie said. "It's so different from what I'm used to. So many colors and styles, it's like every outfit is new and unique. Even if they are girly."
"I think they're cute." Ruby said. "I remember watching my mama get ready and how long it would take to get ready. But she always looked so amazing."
Ai blushed slightly at her daughter's words, feeling a large amount of pride in how Ruby talked about her.
"Especially her hair, I think. It always looked amazing. Papa would sometimes let me practice on his hair when I was little." Ruby said fondly.
"Really, Eren let you style his hair?" Annie asked in surprise.
"Yup!" Ruby said happily. "Sometimes I would style them into girly hairstyles to practice."
Annie struggled not to smile at the thought. It was completely different from the Eren she would remember.
"Never thought that suicidal idiot would act that way." Annie said.
"Though papa never really liked idols. He never found mama to be cute during her performances." Ruby said.
"Why be an idol?" Annie asked.
"Well, because mama did it, and I swore to myself that I would one day be like her." Ruby said.
Annie stopped herself from continuing the conversation. Ruby was a kind and innocent girl, so much different from the world she came from. Whether Marley or Paradis, that kind of innocence just didn't exist. She could already feel the guilt hitting her, especially due to her own history of killing friends.
She did not want to befriend Ruby.
"You know, if I learn this power, I'd be happy to send you back." Ruby said.
"Really?" Annie asked in a bored expression. She predicted Ruby saying something like that.
"Yeah. We don't have to fight." Ruby said.
"Not my choice." Annie said. "Galliard doesn't care. He wants revenge and Pieck wants to ensure the Founder can't be used here and to acquire it for Marley."
"So why do you fight?" Ruby asked. "If I can send you home to your papa, isn't that enough?"
"I suppose it doesn't matter." Annie shrugged. "Whether I join you or fight against you, either way I'll be fighting or killing my friends. Galliard won't take that betrayal well, and I'll be forced to fight them. So, I chose his side and it's too much of a hassle to switch now."
Ruby looked down sadly. She supposed that it made sense in a morbid kind of way. Reiner had those same fears. Whichever side he chose, it would involve killing his friends. It seems Annie had the same dilemma as him, and just like him, she chose her side.
"And unlike Reiner, I'm not trying to get under someone's skirt." Annie jabbed at Reiner.
Ruby blushed and hid her face after Annie said such a vulgar thing. Her innocent idol ears should never hear something so vulgar.
"Guilty." Reiner decided to lighten the mood with a small joke.
How does he just say that!? Ruby thought to herself.
Reiner felt an empty plastic bottle hit him in the back of the head.
"Deny everything she said!" Ruby ordered him.
"Fine, I have no interest in Ruby at all." Reiner said with a chuckle.
"Better!" She yelled.
"Hello B-Komachi, glad to have you all here today." The talk show host said to the girls as they sat in the guest seats.
All the girls smiled and waved, while also tilting their heads and flashing, as Reiner called it, a bunch of random finger poses at the camera. They sat with their legs together, hands in their lap, with their knees tilted to be as feminine and innocent looking as possible.
"We're so glad you're all ok." The host said.
"Yeah, it was a scary moment." Mem-Cho answered.
"It has been a very difficult time, to be sure." The host said. "Especially since what happened with the Yomiuri Giants game."
"We heard." Akane said with a bit of fear in her voice.
"How does it feel that your Otosan is the one leading the fight?" The host asked Ruby.
"Well, papa kept me safe my whole life, so I have no doubt that he'll keep all of us safe!" Ruby said happily.
Ai decided to lean into that aspect of the previous interview, considering how Ruby was gaining popularity due to her love of her Otosan, she decided to keep that narrative going. Not that it was difficult since Ruby did love her papa.
"How did you feel during the attack?" He asked.
"I was so scared." Ruby said as she brought her hands together with a wide eyed look on her face.
Perfect, Ai thought. Be as cute as possible and as vulnerable as possible. An idols primary fan group were men and by being vulnerable it triggers a natural instinct to protect. Only adding to her popularity.
Being an idol was all about manipulating the fans with your persona. The cuter and more feminine, the better.
"Yeah, we were all terrified." Mem-Cho chimed in.
"Especially in the moment." Akane said.
As terrifying as the event was, Ai couldn't complain about the massive number of followers they gained and the massive support B-Komachi was getting. A bunch of cute innocent girls were attacked and are now scared.
Granted, the girls were actually scared, herself included. But might as well use it to her advantage.
"With regards to Eren Yeager, how do you girls feel about him?" The host asked.
"Well, he is pretty scary." Kana said.
Good, Ai thought to herself. It was one thing for Ruby to defend Eren, another thing for the others to defend him. So, it would be better if they-
"I think he's really kind." Akane said.
Ok… never mind… Ai thought to herself.
"Yeah, kind of like a mean old Otosan." Mem-Cho said.
"True." Kana said with a thought.
"Really?" The host asked.
"Well, at first we were really scared." Kana said.
"I thought he was going to kill me if we messed up." Mem-Cho joked.
"But he's actually really nice." Akane continued. "He is really wise and really smart."
Come on girls! Ai screamed in her head. She's developing a narrative here, the girls practiced! They got lucky with Ruby, but Eren is not their Otosan so they could get a lot of hate. He is still not well liked publicly.
"Yup! They were so scared at first." Ruby chuckled innocently. "But I convinced them papa was really nice!"
"What was your opinion on how Eren and a team of government agents fought in the stadium." He asked.
"Papa was really brave, but I was really scared." Ruby said honestly. "I was worried he might get hurt."
Since the videos all came up on social media, the whole family had complete access to watch. Eren was indeed brave, but it was scary to watch. Luckily the camera quality was bad enough that Reiner and Armin weren't identified.
Once the interview concluded, the girls went backstage to speak with Ai and to see how well they performed. Ai had a bit of an annoyed look.
"We do all that practicing and you girls abandon the narrative?" Ai asked.
"Honestly, we didn't want to talk bad about Eren-San." Kana said.
"Yeah, after what he did, I think we can forgive everything he did." Akane said.
"He is still scary though." Mem-Cho said. "Like, he's still super serious all the time."
"I'll tell you this." Aqua began. "It's working."
They checked the B-Komachi social media, and it was actually working.
"Look at them, we must protect them!"
"I agree, Eren is saving people and is the only one doing anything about this."
"Ruby has nice booba."
"Eh!?" Ruby blushed as she read that tweet.
"You'll get used to those comments." Ai giggled.
"Akane is actually starting to grow on me, she works much better as an idol."
"They're all so cute!"
The girls were a bit surprised. Apparently, they were actually gaining some popularity.
"A bunch of cute and scared girls really gets sympathy." Aqua said. "Even defending Eren, social media doesn't really care with how vulnerable they are."
"I guess I just don't know anymore." Ai dramatically put her arms up. "So unfair." Ai comically cried as she leaned back into her own idol persona.
"So far you were wrong about everything okaasan." Aqua chuckled.
"Bleh!" Ai stuck her tongue out at her son and dragged her bottom eyelid down.
Even at her age, she still looked young enough to get away with the idol act.
"At least you two were doing well." Reiner said.
"Yeah, glad to see the fans are reacting well." Armin said.
"It is a bit odd, doing all this after knowing what's going on." Akane said.
"Yeah, but what can you do?" Reiner shrugged. "Keeps things under wraps and prevents the media from suspecting something going on with you and the government. So best not to complain."
"Yeah, like how my Kaiju isn't cute." Ruby whined.
"Why would it be cute?" Annie asked from the back.
"It's ugly!" Ruby yelled back at her. "I wouldn't mind it if I could maybe be cute or something, like a fifteen meter idol… but I look hideous!"
"That, of all things, is your concern?" Annie asked in bewilderment.
"Different world Annie." Armin shrugged with a laugh.
Annie ignored them and went back to texting on her phone. The girls noticed she was texting a lot and based on how they saw her act with her okaasan, they assumed she wouldn't be much of a texter.
"Who are you texting?" Akane asked.
"Galliard and Pieck." Annie said simply.
"Eh?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, we figured." Armin said.
"Really?" Akane asked in surprise.
"Shouldn't we try to… stop her?" Ai asked timidly.
"They won't." Annie said. "They're tapping my phone to gain information, so they actually want me to text them."
"Pretty much." Armin shrugged. "Remember, this is as much about watching her movements while she watches ours."
"Don't let her know!" Mem-Cho yelled out.
"I already know." Annie said while she kept texting. "You girls are civilians, not experienced Soldiers or Warriors like us. We already know what the other side is doing and planning."
"But if we tap into her phone, we can figure everything out, right?" Ruby asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately, she's using an encrypted app." Armin said. "Not to mention, I'm assuming your conversations are coded in a way that sounds like a normal conversation."
"No idea what you're talking about Armin." Annie said sarcastically.
"We learned that back in our training." Reiner said.
"Can't you read it?" Kana asked.
"Without a cypher I wouldn't be able to tell." Reiner shrugged.
There was another round of silence. No one aside from the shifters knew how to feel. Right in front of Ruby was the woman who is actively texting her allies on how they're going to kill Ruby, and all they are going to do is continue to stay calm and friendly.
"So… what are you talking about with them?" Ruby asked awkwardly.
"Establishing a timeline so we can prepare for an attack to steal your power." Annie said as if she was buying tickets to a concert.
"I see…" Ruby said awkwardly. "Do you guys ever talk about something fun? Like just joke around?"
"Ruby, just leave her." Kana said.
"Galliard tried some spicy ramen yesterday." Annie said seriously. "Pieck had to rush to get him some milk since our pallets aren't really too diverse."
"Yeah, papa was like that a lot at first when mama married him." Ruby giggled. "He was so used to vegetable stew that he had trouble eating foods with too many spices."
"Apparently, Pieck decided to try on some lingerie for fun, but complained how plain and bland it was compared to France." Annie continued. "She really started to fall in love with the country, even though she wants to go home."
Ruby blushed at the thought of non-innocent underwear, since an idol is supposed to be plain and innocent, but it was a funny thought. Ruby remembered that Pieck was pretty when they met. Even if Pieck was threatening them at the time, she seemed like an interesting person.
"That sounds funny." Ruby giggled.
Aqua watched the whole exchange with a glare. The whole time he has been keeping an extra eye on Annie, the woman who threatened Sarina. While not as observant as the actual warriors in the group, he made sure to keep an eye on Ruby.
Aqua felt an anger growing in his chest at the thought of any harm coming to his sibling. It was the same anger he felt when he maneuvered against Hikaru years ago. Maybe more so.
While Ai was a surrogate for his feelings for Sarina, Ruby was now confirmed to be Sarina. The feelings were more intense, and a feeling of paternal anger and protectiveness washed over him.
"Well, how about we get some ice cream together?" Ruby said excitedly.
"Seriously, with Annie?" Reiner asked.
"It'll be fun!" Ruby said. "There's one on the Marine base, so we'll be safe. What do you say Annie?" Ruby turned to the shifter, who put her phone away.
"Sure…" Annie said in an annoyed voice.
"Come on mama, you need to buy." Ruby said.
"You do realize I'm paying you now, right?" Ai joked.
"Yeah, but I can't collect it until I'm eighteen, so you need to pay." She giggled.
"Fine, ice cream it is." Ai said, hoping to lighten the mood again.
Once again, Annie walked first since Armin and Reiner placed themselves behind her but in front of the idol group to ensure they stayed safe. Regardless of how relaxed Annie seemed, they knew that they needed to keep their guard up.
"Predictably, they know nothing about where those pure Titans came from." Miyuki told Eren, Zeke, and the Director as they watched the hacked messages from Annie's phone come through.
G: Of course none of us did that, how could we possibly make more Titans like that?
P: It is an odd situation. I can't understand how they appeared the way they did in the video.
A: To be fair, we've never seen a slow motion of Zeke's scream, is it possible it was him?
G: Possible, that traitor would try to pin the blame on us.
"Ouch." Zeke said.
P: What about Ruby? Do you think something went wrong in a test of her powers or she accidentally did something?
A: They won't let me near her during her training, so I can't say. However, it is a likely possibility.
G: Just keep it up, I'll send-
"And then they encrypted it again." Miyuki said. "I managed to decrypt some of it, but now they're talking about eggs in French."
"You know French?" Eren asked.
"Eto… Oui?" Miyuki said.
In reality, Miyuki asked his wife to help translate for him. All throughout college, everyone thought he was multilingual since he went to a university personally sponsored by the Shinomiya Conglomerate. A lie he has been paying for since he was too worried to study it incase it was ever discovered.
"They most likely dropped the encryption since they know we're tapping into their communications, as well as not using their coded communications." Eren said.
"Makes sense." Zeke said. "Most likely, they want us to confirm it's not them in case there is a third player involved."
"From their perspective though, it makes sense that they are assuming we're responsible." Eren thought. "Keep watching Miyuki, and if anything changes let me know."
"Right… you know just because I took a course in code breaking doesn't mean I'm a genius." Miyuki said annoyed.
"Want to come fight monsters with me?" Eren asked.
"Wow, look at all the work I need to get done." Miyuki said.
Eren smirked a bit. Miyuki always was an interesting character. It always amazed Eren how he could be friends with Miyuki. They were complete and total opposites, but the man was as kind and compassionate as they came.
Even his comrades from the Scouts didn't have the same level of kindness and compassion. It was unique for Eren.
"Thank you Miyuki, I really appreciate it." Eren said, knowing that Miyuki was helping to protect his family.
"Sure?" Miyuki said, unsure of why Eren was thanking him.
"I'm going to head home for a bit." Eren told the Director.
"Mind if I come?" Zeke asked. "I'd like to see Mikasa and Kawachi for a bit."
"Sure." Eren said, relaxing a bit around his older brother. "Just remember, no ice cream. Ai has been giving me an earful every day."
"You mean no ice cream for Mikasa, she's the only one you can't say no to." Zeke laughed.
"What do you mean?" Eren asked, confused. "I'm just as strict with her as I am with Kawachi."
"Right…" Zeke chuckled.
On the way back though, Eren knew he was going to need to accelerate his own plans. While Naicho wanted evidence before going after the Marleyan's, Eren had no such reservations.
Eren took out his phone and went to one of his contacts to text. He went down to the contact "Sergei" and began typing a message.
And another one done.
Here's a bit more exploration of Annie's character. Similar to Reiner, whichever side she chooses involves killing her friends. It's a really screwed up situation to be in when you think about it. Even if she befriends Ruby, it doesn't change the situation. Ruby is just another friend she's going to need to kill.
And if she protects Ruby, she'll have to kill Galliard and Pieck. It's a screwed up situation.
Hope the character development and relationships are continuing to be interesting. This is a lot more focused on the bigger picture in terms of fighting and government actions, so it's a tough balance lol.
As always, hope you all enjoy.