"I'll do anything to get that life back."
WHAT IS THE COST OF ATONEMENT?
When two highschool volleyball players from Miyagi prefecture go missing, nobody knows what truly happened to them.
Somewhere in another world, the Scout Regiment makes one of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
POV: TOBIO KAGEYAMA.
"Welcome to the walls."
With an explosive echo, Commander Smith fired the signal into the air. I lowered my hands which were covering my ears, and the gate in front of us slowly began lifting.
As the gush of air coming from inside the walls rushed towards our faces, the thought of the welcome these people would receive began to make me curious. The Scout Regiment must easily be one of, if not the most respected by the people within the walls, right? They dedicated their hearts and souls, their lives just to fight for the freedom of humanity. Instead of cowering in fear from the Titans, these people decided to go out and fight for their liberation. I've experienced a good amount of cheers in middle school as a 'genius setter,' so I could only imagine the glory of a hero's welcome back to their hometown.
With the gate entirely lifted, our slow march inside the humongous walls began. I rode relatively close to the front alongside Hinata, right behind Commander Smith, Captain Levi, and Captain Miche. Levisquad rode behind us, and the rest of the scouts I weren't familiar with were behind Levisquad. I remembered that majority of the injured scouts and the... remains that they needed to bring back with us were pulled in carts at the back of the group. I really couldn't shake the thought of the people we had witnessed died that day we were brought out with the Scouts.
I half expected to be deafened by cheers the moment we stepped inside, or maybe even confetti flying through the air as a way to welcome us back home alive. Finally making it inside, my expectations were to say the least, shattered.
The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. The world which I laid my eyes on upon entering the walls was distinctly European. I could say it looked like it was out of an old movie, or something from a fairytale. Buildings were lined up together tightly, and close to the entrance a large bell tower stood, the ominous tolling ringing in my ears. The people who I expected to be either cheering, clapping and waving, joyous and welcoming to their heroes who had returned home, we were instead greeted by scowls, whispers of disapproval, and overall disappointment.
I felt my heart sink as I made eye contact with one of the men in the crowd. He looked old, grubby and middle aged, anger creasing his forehead and eyes filled with hatred. He glared at me with despise, and all I could do was hide behind the cloaks given to us before we left.
"Before we leave, it's important that we give you these," Commander Smith told us before we left the castle. When we were first taken in by Scouts, we were given plain jackets without the Scout's symbol on it. Levi had told us we had to earn the emblem, but it was most likely so they could tell us apart from the other Scouts- as if it wasn't easy enough to tell us apart from Japanese and European, or Hinata's bright, ginger-blond hair and Bokuto's distinct hairstyle with frosted tips.
Levisquad each handed us a jacket and cloak, the emblem sewn masterfully on the chest pocket of the leather jacket, and proudly on the back of the dark green cloak. I felt like my heart was pounding out of my throat. Had I finally earned the emblem just like Levi said we would? As we put on the jackets, Hange explained it was because we simply had to look like Scouts to blend in while we made it inside. I felt a bit sad, but liked putting on the jacket nonetheless.
