CHAPTER 8| OPERATION: CAPTURE THE FEMALE TITAN PT.1
❝ YOU SHOULDN'T GET SO ATTACHED TO THOSE DEVILS ❞
❝ THAT'S KIND OF HYPOCRITICAL, DON'T 'YA THINK? ❞
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ELIAS FELT THE COOL BREEZE pass him. Shivers ran down his body—the tension in the room getting the best of him. Levi, Elias, and Eren were currently in the mess hall, waiting for Erwin and the others. Though it seemed the raven's patience was wearing thin, going on about the blond being stuck on the can.
Leaning back in his chair, Elias felt his muscles tense tightly on his left side. Putting enough pressure on his rib, he was able to slightly ease his pain. The redhead having just been released from house arrest, he wished he didn't have to go back to work so soon. Especially considering the fact that Eren continuously went out of his way to be alongside him.
Eren Jaeger had become a leech Elias so desperately tried to get rid of. Not even the titan shifters childhood friends could take him away. In fact, the two only seemed to make things worse—Mikasa Ackerman being the main reason for Eren's sudden clinginess.
Speaking of Ackerman, the redhead shifted his gaze towards the captain, disregarding the brunet's presence. Levi had also injured himself during the expedition—the two teens blamed themselves for his sprained ankle. Eren shouldering more of the blame, his conscious not letting him forget what happened to the squad.
Though Elias tried reassuring the brunet, he knew there wasn't anything he could say to soothe his guilt.
Soon, Erwin had arrived. Along with Mikasa, Armin, and some other cadet the redhead hadn't bothered remembering. The commander had announced that they have identified a possible suspect whom is believed to be the female titan.
From there, the group had discussed the operation that would go down in two days. Eren would act as a decoy, leading the suspect to the underground tunnel where soldiers will be stationed. If things start going south, the stationed soldiers will restrain her as needed.
It seems that Erwin had taken Elias's, as well as Armin's and Mikasa's, suspicious into account when narrowing down on the suspect. Annie Leonhart, member of the 104th class and ranking fourth overall. She is who they presume to be the female titan.
Eren didn't want to believe one of his friends could be a traitor. Sure, Annie was cold at times and hard to get along with, but he knew she was a good person. Right?
Even when they had been dismissed, the shiganshina trio and Elias stayed back. It was quite obvious that Jaeger was still coming to terms with the information at hand. Seeing how tense the atmosphere was, Elias tried to shift their attention to something else.
Wrapping his arm around Armin's shoulder, he roughly ruffled the blond's hair. Earning a surprised yelp from Arlet, Mikasa and Eren stared at the two—Eren being the most surprised seeing how close the two seem.
"You looked so cool, Armim!" The redhead chuckled, letting go of the blond underneath him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were an officer just like me"
Though Armin denied his claims, it was quite apparent he enjoyed Smith's compliments. The tint of red on his cheeks being a clear indicator.
Elias looked over at Mikasa, a cheeky grin present on his face. "You too, Mikasa. You looked badass sticking to your intuition!"The raven had thanked him, the stiffness in her shoulders soon relaxing.
The group of four soon made their way to their rooms, Elias rambling on about whatever came to mind. He felt pleased with himself. Seeing how the stress from earlier had left the trio, he knew he did his job. Catching the small bits of laugher he was able to get out of Eren and Armin—Elias knew they'd be alright.
At least, that's what he thought.
◂ ❚ ⊱ꕥ⊰ ❚ ▸
Why he had to be stuck protecting Eren, Elias couldn't tell you. One minute, he was peacefully sleeping, oblivious to the world around him. Next thing you know, he's dressed in casual civilian clothing, trailing behind the shiganshina trio and Annie.
'I'm so taking a week off when this is all over'Elias chewed on his lower lip, eyes never leaving Annie's figure. Not sure whether or not to be happy seeing as how Annie hadn't changed much since he last saw her.
Everything was going according to plan. It wasn't until the group reached the tunnel entrance did they start seeing problems arise.
Annie—understandably, didn't want to enter the tunnel. Giving some bullshit excuse of her being a fragile girl, which nobody bought. It didn't help that Eren was slowly loosing his cool, jeopardizing the task on hand. The more he yelled, the more hostile Elias grew.
'Are you fucking stupid?! You're blowing your cover, Eren'
As Armin questioned Annie, Elias made sure that his ODM gear was intact. Already getting the feeling that Annie will transform, the redhead was on guard for any sudden movement. The blonde's sudden laughter put him on edge. Smith knew then and there he had to act fast.
As soon as Armin fired, Elias dove towards her small figure along with the other soldiers. As the others gagged her, he made sure to restrain her arms from nearing her mouth. Locking eyes with Mikasa, he signaled for her and the other two to run. Not trusting himself with handling Annie.
Leonhart turned to face him. A quite grim expression adorned her features. Her icy blues meeting with his hollow hazel. Elias felt his chest churning, almost pitying her in the moment. The redhead knew he shouldn't feel remorse towards her, but he couldn't help it.
Annie was a friend of course.
And that friend, though gagged and restrained, spoke her final words to him. Whether her words were of advise or simply her judgement, he couldn't tell. What Elias did know, was that he's be under suspicion because of the language she spoke.
"Hör auf, Soldat zu spielen"
█████████ some side notes
-agh we're coming to an end to the female titan arc/season 1!!!
-also sorry for not updating last Sunday. I wanted to spend time with my family to celebrate Easter
-one more thing, I know I said there would be a double update this Sunday but sadly, I wasn't able to finish chapter 9 on time because of work. I hope you guys understand
-Anyways, attack on Titan as official come to an end. Though the ending left us with a lot of unanswered questions, I'm happy. It was bittersweet and realistic in the fact that there will always be conflict in the world. AOT is truly a story depicting the beauty and how cruel humanity can really be
