Nacht Der Jäger
ナイト・オブ・ハンターズ
Night Of Hunters
The sound of horse hooves were heard running in the daylight—the rays of the beamed down on the cadets as they rode through the land. Armin was looking to see the current state of his fellow cadets, the first obvious sign present was fatigue and boredom.
Today's exercise would be different according to Shadis.
"On this sortie, the mission handed down to us, the 104th Cadet Company, was to split each squad into two detachments."
"Retrieve the object that had been planted in a specified location, and return to base with it."
"A simple task covering a distance of roughly 80 km in total. Marco took the helm for our detachment. I was made the scribe, tasked with recording every event."
"The second detachment was led by Thomas, with Mikasa as their scribe."
"Both groups left the training camp at the same time and took separate paths encircling the massive forest. After exchanging information at our destination, we were to return to the training camp via the other group's route."
"The point of the exercise was...to see how alert we could remain in peacetime."
Armin thought back to their instructors words when he first explained it to them.
"This exercise is a simple one!" Shadis stood before the trainees and explained, "You may think this will be a walk in the park, even for maggots like you."
"Well, you're wrong!"
"Whether in battle or in peacetime, a soldier is always a soldier! Always retain your readiness to fight, whatever the situation!" Shadis explained, "Do not surrender to boredom! Do not let tranquility distract you! This exercise is a battle in itself!
"Do not forget that!"
"Sir!"
That's when the exercise began.
After awhile, the horse stopped running and started walking at a leisurely pace. Those in their group still looked either bored or tired, with the exception of Eren, Armin, and Marco.
Come to think of it, Eren had been looking serious since this exercise began. That right there told Armin that something was wrong. His best friend rarely got so serious as he looks right now—that can only mean something is going to happen.
But what?
"Well…" Marco said, "It's better not to gallop all the way, right?"
"Uh, I guess..." Armin said with uncertainty.
Jean snorted, "You'll look like a real idiot if you rush on ahead and your horse gives out."
"That's why we're not rushing into things." Eren states.
"It's important we all do this as a group," Marco said to them, "What should we do, Jean?"
"Like I care" Jean said, sounding bored, "It's not like taking this seriously will get me into the Military Police."
"You don't know that…" Marco said before looking back ahead of him, "Anyway, for now, let's just focus on the exercise."
"Not gonna happen." Jean said in the same bored tone.
"Hey, it's too soon to give up…" Marco protested.
"Jean, go back to camp." Eren said, suddenly.
Jean frowned at him, "Huh?"
"If you're going to complain the whole time then go back to camp." Eren elaborated.
"So we're not even allowed to moan now?" Jean said, annoyed.
"It'd be fine if moaning made time go faster." Connie comments, sounding tired.
"You said it…" Sasha agreed, "The road ahead is a long one."
Krista gave Sasha a sympathetic look, "Hang in there, Sasha."
Sasha responded to that with a tired groan.
Jean, still annoyed by Eren's comment and tired of this whole exercise clicked his tongue, "What a pain in the ass."
Armin sighed at everyone's attitude towards the exercise, but wasn't all that surprised to be honest. Though it would still be in their best interest to take this seriously. Anything could happen and it was best to be reloaded just in case. He instinctively turned to Eren and was surprised.
Eren wasn't sporting his usual blank expression, but a serious one. That alone told him that something was already wrong.
'Eren only gets like this when something doesn't feel right.' Armin observed Eren's serious expression, 'Better be on our guard then.'
Elsewhere, the other group had stopped to take a break. Currently, Mikasa was conversing with Thomas while the others were letting their horses rest.
"But if we go that way, we might not make it there before sundown." He explained.
"Well, how about taking a more easterly route?" Mikasa suggested, holding the map.
"Problem is, that route leaves us out roasting in the sun." Thomas said, taking a swig from his canteen.
Mikasa looks up from the map suddenly, snapping her head towards the forest next to them. A bird flies off the branch of a tree—as if feeling her sudden movement.
Thomas noticed the sudden change, "What's wrong, Mikasa?"
Mikasa didn't respond for a moment, blinking before turning her head away, "Nothing...I'm just being paranoid."
But was she really?
Back with Eren and the others, they were still riding along the path—and were currently being followed by a lizard that appeared out of nowhere.
Jean was the first to spot it, "Tch, we've even got a lizard as a running buddy…"
Marco sees the creature and hums, "You don't see lizards too often."
"They're really tasty." Sasha said.
"Huh?" Marco looks at her.
"They are!" Sasha repeats, "We used to eat them all the time back home. They taste a bit like chicken."
Jean grinned, "You know how to cook them?"
"Of course! It's easy."
Satisfied with her answer, Jean leans forward, "All right then!" He made his horse run towards the lizard.
"H-Hey!" Marco protested.
Grinning, Jean looked back, "If they're going to send us on a glorified scavenger hunt, then lizard hunting tops it any day!"
"Hey, Jean, stop!" Krista yelled.
Jean ignored them however as he kept heading in the direction of the lizard and gaining speed on it. Just as he got close enough, he took his sword and swung down, "Gotcha!"
CLANG!
Jean was stunned for the simple fact that Eren stopped him from killing the lizard. The creature in question was calm as it looked at the two blades though, probably because Eren prevented it from being killed before taking off. Both boys move their swords away from each other.
"What are you doing?!" Jean demanded.
Eren's gaze is serious and reveals nothing, "Letting your guard down at any time is dangerous. Stay focused."
Frustrated, Jean yells, "An exercise without an instructor isn't going to score us any brownie points!"
Sensing the upcoming tension, Marco gets off his horse, "Stop this!"
"Jean, stop acting like a child." Connie chides him.
"You're one to talk!" Jean retorts.
Marco approached his friend, "Jean! Just grin and bear it."
"Why should I?"
"If we show up late, we'll end up having to report all of this," Marco pointed out, "Armin, please don't record any of this just yet."
"S-Sure thing." Armin wasn't really paying that much attention as he was still worried about Eren's serious demeanor.
Scoffing, Jean comments, "Just put down that Jean Kirstein was obstructed by Eren Yeager while he was hunting for food."
Eren made no retort or bothered to comment as his gaze was more focused elsewhere. Marco seemed to take notice of this, "What is it, Eren?"
"Marco."
"Y-Yes?"
Emerald eyes turn in his direction, "Do we move on?" He questioned.
"Huh, what kind of stupid question is that?" Jean frowned.
But he got no answer, in fact he was flat out ignored. Eren's gaze was fixed firmly on Marco, waiting for him to answer his question.
"Oh, yes, let's go." Marco answered.
Nodding, Eren went on ahead, with the others following behind him. Jean didn't say a word the rest of the way. Sasha had something to say though.
"We could've fed the whole group with a lizard that size…" She pouted.
No one responded to her.
The sun was setting as the group sat around the fire and ate the rations that were given to them. Marco suggested they take a break before heading towards the location and everyone agreed.
"These rations are so bland." Jean complained.
Sasha was stuffing her face, "We should've caught that lizard."
"Forget about that now. Lizards are dumb." Jean said, "Though if someone hadn't stopped me from killing it in the first place we would be eating it right now."
Everyone around him groaned in annoyance. None of them were interested in seeing Jean trying to pick another pointless fight with Eren. Speaking of which…
"Eren?" Armin called out to his friend.
Lifting his head up a little, he responded, "What?"
"What's wrong?" Armin got right to the point.
Eren was silent.
"What are you talking about, Armin?" Connie looked back and forth at them in confusion.
Armin pressed on, "I know you, Eren. No one else has noticed, but...you're not acting like your usual self. Normally you wouldn't have cared if Jean was going to kill some random lizard, but today…"
Then everyone started to understand. Armin's words ring true as they were used to Eren's calm, stoic demeanor, but today he was all serious.
"Eren, is something wrong?" Marco asked, clearly worried and more attentive.
Silence was their answer as Eren decided to not say anything. It actually worried them how they hadn't noticed his sudden mood change until Armin pointed it out. That worried them. Another thing they noticed was that Eren barely said anything the whole time during this exercise.
While that in itself wasn't all that strange since Eren barely speaks to begin with, but he was being too quiet.
And that was a cause of concern.
Still not answering them, Eren got to his feet, still silent.
"Eren, are you okay?" Krista asked him this time.
He walked away, "I'm going to check something, stay here." There was no further explanation as he walked away from them and deeper into the woods.
Armin was about to call out to him, but something told him that even if he did—Eren would just keep walking away.
"Okay...now I'm really worried." Connie finally says as Eren's figure fully disappeared into the woods.
Of course everyone felt the same way as they weren't used to a serious looking Eren. Armin can tell something was wrong, but Eren wasn't saying what, so right now all he could do was trust his friend's instincts.
'Whatever's out there, or about to happen...I'm sure Eren is prepared for it.' He thought, but part of him was still nervous and had a bad feeling.
The river looked so clear at night, Eren mused as he sat there just watching the ripples move. A full moon was present tonight as well, and he begins to wonder how long has it been since he got to see one.
Closing his eyes, he lets a distant memory wash over him.
"Look, Eren. The moon looks really nice out tonight."
Eren smiles a little from his spot on the roof, sitting next to his father as they both look up at the clear full moon. Such a rare and quiet moment that belonged only to them as his father would often tell him stories—that back then he didn't fully understand.
These were the moments he enjoyed the most…
And yet, it didn't last…
His eyes slowly opened as he heard a distinct sound of footsteps slowly creeping up behind him. The individual was trying and failing to sneak up behind him, but it was pointless as Eren had already sensed them.
'Heavy footsteps, a male. Trying to be silent and approaching me from behind...a bandit.' He theorizes.
And he was proven right when the distinct sound of a musket was cocked from his right. The weapon was practically placed right at the side of his head, but he wasn't worried.
"Don't move," the bandit warned, "Stand up slowly and turn around."
An attempt at trying to be intimidating, huh? Unfortunately this man couldn't pull it off.
Eren stood up anyway, but didn't turn his back on the man and instead opted to face him, "So you've decided to come out of hiding." He sees the man tense for a second before pointing the musket closer to his face.
"Tch, so you knew we were watching you, huh? Too bad you didn't say anything beforehand, brat." He mocked, moving the rifle closer to Eren's face, "Now turn around, unless you want the inside of your head to be splattered all over the ground."
Unconcerned, Eren stares at the weapon, "Rifles are interesting weapons."
"Huh?"
"Take proper care of it like you're supposed to," Eren continued, "And it'll last you for a long time."
"What the hell are you—"
"It's convenient," Eren ignored the man and kept talking, "Having a full moon out helps me see things more clearly at night. From this short distance, I can tell just by looking that you haven't done any proper maintenance in awhile."
"Kuh!"
Emerald eyes bore into the bandits hidden ones, "The moment you fire your weapon...It'll blow up in your face."
"Wha—!"
"I'm honestly surprised, usually criminals take better care of their weapons than the Military Police. Bandits must be the exception." Eren said calmly, insulting the bandit.
The bandit seemed to hear the layered insult and got angry, "That smart ass mouth of yours just—" his words were cut off as Eren used that opportunity to knock the rifle out of the man's hands by knocking it in the air.
Before the bandit could gain his bearings, Eren sent a hard kick to the man's knee, breaking it instantly.
"Ahhh!" The man howled before taking a hard fall down on his side. As he was whimpering in pain, while at the same time holding onto his broken knee, Eren stared down at him impassively. Such a loud and annoying animal. His scream and pathetic whimpers were irritating to say the least.
Without even looking, he grabbed the rifle as it came back down with one hand. Giving it a quick look he decides to tell the man something, "By the way, I lied earlier. There's nothing wrong with your rifle, if anything you've kept it in good condition."
The man whimpered in response and lifted his head up a little to send a glare—only for it to be wiped off his face as he saw Eren snap the weapon in half like it was nothing before tossing it to the ground.
"Now then…" Hearing the calm voice that was devoid of all emotion made the man shudder with fear, "...let's get started."
A new wave of fear overcame the man as Eren's looming figure shadowed over the man's. It was at this moment he believed they made a mistake in targeting this group, but it was too late.
Far too late.
It was the sound of a terrified scream that woke everyone up, quickly moving to get to their feet—only to come face to face with the rest of the bandits. All of them wore sacks over their heads, hiding their faces, but what wasn't hidden were the guns pointed right at them.
"Look what we have here," one of them said, "They've got some of those ODM gears with them, too. Know some folks who would pay handsomely for them."
Armin stood there, trembling as he didn't move a muscle—not like he could with a gun pointed right in his face. These men...it wasn't hard to see they were bandits, but what are they doing all the way out here?
'Did we accidentally stumble into bandit territory and didn't notice until it was too late? No, that's not right. We didn't stumble into them, from the very beginning they were targeting us.' Armin quickly deduced.
"Grab the gear, it may be wasted on the Titan, but it'll be more worth it on the black market." The same man pointing a rifle in Armin's face ordered.
The cadets could do nothing but let their gear be taken, they didn't make any sudden moves and stood completely still. These men wouldn't hesitate to shoot them should they make any sudden moves, so standing still was the right move.
Footsteps were soon heard as the cadets soon became even more nervous when they saw another bandit walking out and revealing themselves. The other thieves didn't seem to be worried as they saw their comrade coming closer out in the open, but Armin noticed something strange.
'The way he's walking, there's something wrong.' Armin kept his eyes firmly on the man as he continued to walk in an unsteady manner.
"Hey, did you handle that other kid near the lakeside?" One of the thieves questioned.
Armin paled as he realized that Eren had gone to take a walk and hadn't come back. Looking at the faces of his fellow cadets, he saw they had the same horrified expression.
No, did he do something to Eren?
His eyes are back on the silent man still walking awkwardly towards them, it was so strange—almost like the man wasn't really walking on his own...two...feet…
Then he understood.
"Oi," The same thief that asked him something earlier walked towards him, "Stop walking all weird like that, and—"
STAB
Everything went silent at the sound of flesh being pierced by a blade. All eyes were trained on the blade that stabbed the thief through the chest. As for the other thief that was walking strangely, he leaned to the right before dropping to the ground.
Realization struck Armin as he now sees the man was already dead. And the reason he was moving so awkwardly was because of Eren…
'He moved the body in a way that would make it seem like the thief was still alive. And when one of his comrades let his guard down and got close enough—Eren used that opportunity to stab him through the chest.' Armin figured out, but as he thought about that, his eyes looked down at the corpse.
'The thief was already dead, but that means...Eren must've…' His blood went cold at the thought.
'Eren…'
Emerald eyes regard the stabbed bandit neutrally. There was no feeling of any sort of emotion—anger, satisfaction, or anything else. Even as the man spit out some blood from behind his mask, he felt nothing. And that was fine. The act of taking the life of another living thing is not something to be enjoyed.
This was taught to him.
"When taking the life of another—do not feel satisfied—for killing is not something one should take pride in."
Those were the words his Great-Grandfather told him. And he has followed them.
Lifting the man up with one arm easily he tossed him aside, uncaring as his unmoving body hit the ground. His blade was stained with the bandits blood, dripping and staining the green grass beneath his feet.
Killing is something one should not take pride in—
—but something one must accept.
Tossing one of their comrades from the bloody blade seemed to snap the rest out of it as they raised their guns up at him.
"H-He killed him!"
"You little brat—!"
WHIZZ
SLASH!
The two men were silenced, their postures frozen in place as Eren stood behind them, blade resting at his side. The sick sound of flesh coming apart, mixed with the image of the two bandits bodies separating and falling to the ground was enough to make anyone's stomach churn.
"Heek!"
"N-No way…!"
Jean felt a bead of sweat fall down the side of his face, eyes wide as he couldn't comprehend what the hell he was seeing. Was this really Eren? Right now the person before them felt different from the Eren Yeager they've come to know.
"Armin...what the hell...am I seeing…?" Jean forced out.
Armin gave no response.
What could he even say when not even he knew Eren was capable of something like this? No—maybe deep down he'd known all along, and didn't want to accept that he was right.
"S-Shoot him! Shoot the little shit!"
Acting quickly, Eren threw his blade to the right—where the one who shouted at the others to shoot him was standing. It went right through the head, but Eren wasn't done. Moving fast, he yanked the blade out before moving to slice the neck of another bandit.
"Damn!" One of the bandits fumbled with his gun, but that proved to be a mistake as Eren used that opportunity to knock the weapon out of his hand before stabbing the man in the chest.
"Shit!" The one next to them fired his gun off—eyes widening when Eren used the dead bandit as a shield so it wouldn't hit him. Yanking the blade out, he kicked the corpse in the bandits direction—the body slamming into him and knocking him down, while also making him drop his gun.
"D-Dammit!" He didn't get the chance to move his comrades body off him because Eren stabbed his blade down through the man's head, killing him instantly.
Connie felt like he was about to throw up. Seeing Eren kill these bandits so easily made him feel some type of way. Sure these guys had their guns trained on them, but they wouldn't kill them...would they?
"It's like a hunt…" Sasha spoke up, the other cadets turned to her, "He's treating them like they're prey—like they're not even human."
"More like…"
Another one of the bandits tried to shoot Eren, but it was all in vain as he was too fast and already in front of the criminal, slashing upwards—eyes composed and non-caring of the blood splattering the side of his face.
"Animals."
That's not what was unsettling them though—no, what unsettled them the most was the way Eren stood there as he wiped the blood off the side of his face. As he turned his head in their direction, they saw his eyes were no longer an emerald color, but a glowing gold.
Just staring into them was enough to make them shiver.
There were only two bandits left, and to say they were terrified was an understatement. This was supposed to be another easy job—just stalk a bunch of cadet brats and take their gear, then sell them off on the black market. But that plan was scrapped as one of the brats turned out to be a freaking killer!
Now what?!
The answer was obvious! They had to get as far away from here as possible, but...their eyes landed on the short blonde haired, blue eyed girl—no way in hell were they going back empty handed. If they couldn't take the gear—
In a split second, one of them moved and grabbed a surprised Krista—yanking her by the arm and holding a knife to her throat.
—then they'll just take the girl!
"Don't move! Make a single move and we'll cut her throat!" He threatened.
Jean glared at him, 'Dammit! We got distracted and now they've got Krista!' Looks like the last two had gotten desperate and decided to take Krista as a hostage, 'This is bad, we can't make any sudden moves!' His eyes trail over towards Eren and noticed he wasn't moving at all—recognizing the danger Krista was in.
The last two surviving bandits backed away slowly, most likely to a carriage or something, "None of you move, if you do then your little friend here is as good as dead. Stay where you are and we'll let her go, she doesn't have to die."
All cadets kept their eyes trained on the bandits, standing still and having no choice but to comply with their demand. Eren wasn't making a move, either—doing so was too risky as there was a knife being held at Krista's throat. Krista's eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty as she was being forced into the carriage.
They watched as the two men got on the carriage and rode off into the dark night. When they could no longer hear the wheels of the carriage, that told them the close was clear.
"Dammit!" Jean cursed, punching a nearby tree.
"Now what?" Connie questioned, "Come on, we can't just leave her with them! We've gotta do something!"
"Yeah, like what?" Jean countered, still angry.
Connie flinched at his tone, but otherwise had nothing to say.
Marco decided to step in, "They said Krista would be left unharmed, so that means she should be okay for now."
"R-Really?" Sasha wanted to believe that, "Then—"
"You're wrong."
All eyes fell on Eren as he walked towards them, blade still in hand, but wiped of blood. Some of them still felt some type of way about him killing the bandits, but decided to hold it off for now.
"What do you mean, Eren?" Marco questioned.
Eren stands before them, "What that bandit said was a lie. They won't just leave Krista behind and ride off like nothing ever happened. Don't forget, their bandits who steal things from others and sell their stolen items for a living. If they can't sell off their main target..."
Armin's eyes widened at the implication, "Then they'll sell off the next best thing...Krista!"
The rest of them looked horrified by that.
"That's right." Eren confirmed.
Marco was shaken, "No way…"
Mina looked down, "What are we going to do?"
A pain filled groan was heard suddenly, making some of them flinch at the sound. Turning towards the source, they saw that one of the bandits was still alive, but barely.
"No way, one of them is still alive?" Connie couldn't believe it, honestly. Eren had cut these bastards down like they were nothing, and yet one of them was still breathing.
Eren walks over by the bandit, stopping just a few inches from the man before bringing his foot down—stomping it on the man's chest.
This sudden action shocked everyone.
"Wha—What the hell are you doing, Eren?!" Jean exclaimed, clearly shocked by the sudden action.
His demand for an explanation were ignored as Eren's gaze was firmly on the criminal beneath his feet, "You can hear me, right?"
A painful wheeze was his response.
"This is the first time we've been out here in this forest, but the same can't be said for you bandits," Eren guessed, "Unlike us who know nothing about anything out here, its a personal playground for the rest of you—in other words—knowing it like the back of your hand means you've got a hideout around here."
"Gh…"
"I can find out where it is myself, but...I'm not interested in wasting any time. Which direction is the carriage headed?" Eren demanded, coldly.
Instead of answering Eren, the man hacked up some blood from his mouth before sneering up at the emerald eyed boy, "S-Screw you…"
Unamused, Eren decided to try another method in getting the information out of the man. Bending down, he grabbed the man's arm, lifting it before snapping it with a brutal kick.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!"
Mina gasped at the display, having not expected it at all.
"Eren, what are you doing?!" Marco cried out in horror.
Connie was shaking a little, "He broke it...he actually broke the guy's arm like it was a twig."
Sasha was dumbfounded.
Armin's eyes widened, 'Is Eren...trying to interrogate the bandit by means of physical torture?' Who taught Eren such a thing?
Eren didn't stop there, however as the next thing he did was stomp really hard on the kneecaps next, breaking it. Ignoring another howl of pain, he stabs the shoulder next—looking down neutrally as though he were dealing with a random wounded animal and uncaring of its pitiful state.
Everyone either flinched or looked away at the brutal display, but Jean decided to try and put an end to it, "Oi, Eren, that's enough! There's no need to—" a blade pressed against his throat cut him off. Next thing he knew, he was forced to stare into those glowing eyes that revealed nothing.
"Don't interfere." Eren said, coldly.
Jean didn't move a muscle. The look on Eren's face was serious, but it was the glowing eyes that put him on edge.
"O-Okay...I'll talk...just...no more…" The man wheezed out, breathing labored—chest slowly moving up and down.
Hearing the man finally deciding to talk, Eren removes his blade away from Jean's neck, gaze fixed on the wounded man, "Finally decide to talk?"
Slowly, the man moved his mouth, "Th—There's a cabin we use that's not too far from here…" he coughed, "F-Follow the carriage tracks...they'll lead you there."
"Thanks for your cooperation." Eren thanked, walking away to get his gear. He got the information he needed, so there was no need to waste any more time on a wounded animal.
Marco understood what Eren was about to do, "Wait, Eren! Are you planning on confronting them alone?"
"Yes." He answered, strapping his gear around his waist.
"You can't just go by yourself," Marco protested, "We can—"
"None of you can bring yourselves to kill them," Eren said, cutting him off, "Stay here for now."
Armin stopped him from leaving though, "No, that's wrong, Eren."
Looking in Armin's direction, Eren gestured for him to continue. Armin does so, "You heard what he said, right? Follow the carriage tracks and we'll be taken to the hideout. We now know where they've taken Krista, but we can't just go in blindly—also, they still have weapons on them."
That's true.
"So what do you suggest?" Eren asked, curiously.
The blonde gives them all a serious expression, "Here's my plan."
"Dammit! Those damn brats ain't normal, especially that one kid!" One of the men cursed as they rode in the direction of the hideout. Krista was sitting in the back of the carriage, not like she had any other choice in the matter since they tied her hands with rope. The two men sat in front and were too busy being angry about their failed heist to really pay attention to her.
"No point in getting all upset about it," his partner said, "We may not have gotten the ODM Gear, but at least we got something else that's just as good." He smirked, referring to Krista—who was still quiet.
Just as they were closing in on the hideout, two blurs fell from the trees—they were Jean and Eren. Both boys set loose the horses on the carriage, making the cart crash, but luckily Eren was able to get Krista out of harm's way.
Landing gently on the ground, he cuts the rope from her wrists. He was about to ask if she was okay, but he was taken off guard by a sudden hug. Eren recovered and returned the hug, looks all they did was tie up her hands and nothing else. They got here just in time—Armin's plan worked.
"First, we'll disable their method of transportation. Once we do that, they'll have no way of making a quick getaway."
"I knew you'd come." Krista said.
"Ah." Eren replied.
Giggling, Krista moved her face away from his chest and looked over at Jean, "You, too, Jean. Thank you."
Jean let his cheeks turn pink before looking away, "Y-Yeah, sure, no problem."
Unfortunately it was too soon to celebrate for the two men got back up, guns in hand and aimed them right at the three.
"Put the ODM gears down! Your weapons, too!"
"Do it, now!"
Jean just gave the two men a look before making a move, "Now, Sasha!" He called out.
Momentarily confused by Jean's action, they failed to see two arrows heading right for them. Both arrows hit their targets, which were their hands to make them drop their weapons. Out in plain sight was Sasha, bow in hand.
"Next, we'll disarm them. Sasha will take the bow and arrows off from one of the thieves and use them to make sure they won't be able to use their guns to threaten us."
Sasha breathed a sigh of relief as the next phase of the plan worked like charm. Armin's surprisingly good at stuff like this, she'll admit.
"And lastly—
Connie and Mina came flying out of nowhere before roundhouse kicking both men in the face, knocking them out cold.
—we'll finish it by knocking both men out so they can no longer pose a threat."
The area around them was silent as Armin and Marco were the last to appear, landing on the ground and surveying the results of Armin's plan. It worked. And the best part of the whole plan was that no one on their side got hurt.
"It worked...holy shit, Armin's plan actually worked." Connie couldn't believe it, but you can't argue with results.
Sasha stood next to Connie, "Amazing how he just came up with it on the spot, too. No wonder he's the smartest out of all of us."
Mina breathed a sigh of relief, "It's finally over…"
"And no one from our side was hurt." Marco was most relieved about that.
"That's right, are you okay, Krista?" Armin asked her.
Krista's response to that was a smile before leaning on Eren a little bit, "Yeah...I'm okay."
They smiled.
"Hey, there you guys are! Are you all alright?" Thomas rode up to them on his horse along with the other group.
Armin waved back, "Yeah, we're okay!"
"In the end, two of the thieves were arrested by the Military Police. The only casualties were on the side of the thieves. When questioned who killed them, Marco's group kept silent about Eren being the one person who killed the rest of the thieves and claimed it was too dark to see. As for the thief Eren tortured, he would survive from his wounds should he receive proper medical treatment. But, the man will never be able to speak about what happened."
"The incident was officially over."
"Although the exercise was suspended, we still had to submit our records of the incident, in all honesty and without pretense."
Armin stood before Commander Shadis while in the man's office, "May I ask a question?"
"What is it?"
Hesitating slightly, Armin pressed forward, "Should we have turned back when something felt off, or should we have tried fighting back had some of them not been killed?"
Shadis didn't even bother to look up, "There's no need to answer that. But...whether you're a soldier or a regular civilian, we all decide how to respond in the face of distress. Go back, or go after the criminal…" finally, the man lifts his head to stare into Armin's blue eyes, "Which one is most important in your opinion, Arlert?"
"T-That's…" Armin couldn't bring himself to answer, 'I couldn't answer it. Perhaps...meeting those thieves during the process...was imposed upon us as part of the exercise.'
Meanwhile, outside stood Eren as he was up in the tower, staring at the sky. Footsteps approached him though as Marco came to stand next to him, cup in hand and giving it to Eren.
"I shouldn't have accepted the group leader position." Marco said.
Taking the offered cup, Eren decides to comment, "No one is a natural born leader from the start, it's something that takes time. There are those who can become leaders, while there are others who trust and follow them." He said, taking a sip.
Marco seemed to take this to heart, "I think so, too. I'm not suited to be a leader. Jean's more suited for the job." And he wasn't lying when he said that. His friend really would make a great leader.
"Ah."
Blinking a couple times, Marco snaps his head in Eren's direction. Was that...was Eren acknowledging Jean as someone with leadership qualities?! This is good! Maybe he'll tell Jean about this conversation a little later. See how he reacts.
"By the way, Eren. There's something else I wanted to ask you." Marco said nervously.
Eren already knew that he wanted to ask, "How can I bring myself to kill those thieves?" It doesn't come as a surprise to him that the others wanted to ask him the same thing, but were too nervous. So it fell on Marco to do the deed.
"Mm." Marco was curious, but at the same time he wanted to respect Eren's privacy as it probably had something to do with his past.
Eren finishes his drink before speaking, "When taking the life of another—do not feel anything—for killing is not something one should take pride in."
"Eh?" Marco was confused as he wasn't expecting that.
"These were the words spoken to me as a kid," Eren explained, "Don't forget, this is a cruel world we live in, and there are cruel humans who live in it. In order to survive—you need to be able to do whatever it takes to survive. That's what I was taught."
Marco was silent.
Handing the empty cup to him, Eren walks away, "I don't like killing, but in order to survive...I'll do what needs to be done."
It was times like this one that Marco forgets that Eren is someone who will willingly do whatever it takes to protect those around him—even at the cost of his own humanity.
Looking back out into the horizon, Marco had a thought, 'I wonder what kind of soldier you'll become—no—what soldiers all of us will become.'
One can only wonder.
Kleiner Weißer Freund (Little White Friend)