judas | armin arlert

chapter 9 | let's go home

"Yeah, at meals she'd always go to whoever called her. Most of the time it was me 'cause she'd always share her meals," Sasha recalls the moments spent with her, "Annie though, she always seemed to prefer eating by herself. I dunno. Ah! I think I've got something that struck me as weird at the time. I uh– heard she liked sweets!" Her hand raised as if she had something important to relay.

"I've got nothing. Except maybe that–" Mikasa starts but is interrupted by Eren.

"Guys. What are we doing? These are our comrades we're talking about. Yeah, sure. Bertholdt never has a lot to say. But Reiner's like everyone's big brother, y'know? And Juliet– You know her for goodness sake–" His gaze shifts to his blonde friend next to him, "You really think they're capable of lying to us?"

"Eren does have a point. Think about it. Reiner and Juliet fought the Female Titan with everything they had. Reiner almost got himself squeezed to a bloody pulp in the process. If it wasn't for her he would've..." A sudden thought pops into Armin's head, making him gasp.

"What's the matter?" Eren asks.

"He was burst free of her grip at the last minute. Afterward, though, Annie changed her course. In fact, she ran straight toward where you were. I–I mentioned that you might be rear of the center rank, but there's no way she could've heard me. She wasn't in earshot at the time," Armin lets his thoughts be presented out loud.

"You've gotta be kidding," Eren adds.

"Do you recall if he seemed unusually interested in Eren's location?" Hange asks.

Armin recalls the exact moment Reiner asked for his location, "I only brought his position up in the first place because Reiner asked me where I thought Eren might be. Something else. Once he was broken free, the Female Titan stood there staring at her palm, possibly transfixed by something he'd carved onto it with his blades. Maybe Reiner..."

"What I don't understand is," Hange looks over to Armin, "You told us that Juliet was a childhood friend of yours, Armin."

"Yeah. We became friends when we were relatively young, I uh–" Armin scratches the back of his neck, "I guess I don't know all that much about her. She's pretty sheltered about her past. She was previously from the Shiganshina District, She and her dad, but one day they left without a trace behind them."

"Huh. Interesting," Hange looks back down at their paper, "Leon Diekman, correct?"

"Yes. That's correct."

"The only trace of him we have is that his body was found in the same region. He was a life lost that day," Hange reads, "And even so, she knew about our skepticism with the Female Titan, yet no other Titan was present. Guess this one's a bit trickier. "

"But–" Armin starts up again, "She's not that kind of person. I mean– she'd jump into danger if one of us were in trouble!" His voice quivers as he tries to nervously prove her innocence.

"Let's not make it personal, Armin," Mikasa says, shutting him up. Armin couldn't bear to meet anyone's gaze as embarrassment flooded his cheeks, a rosy hue spreading across his features like wildfire. His blonde bangs work as a shield to cover his face.

As tension thickened, silence fell upon the room like a heavy shroud, stifling even the faintest whisper and leaving hearts pounding in anxious anticipation. Eren breaks the tension, "What is wrong with you people? They've been with us from the beginning! You don't just–"

"Enough!" Hange shuts Eren up, "All of you. Listen up. If we cross paths with the three in question, don't give them any indication of what we've discussed. And under no circumstances are you to broach the topic of Annie Leonhart in their company. Before we can ascertain whether they were co-conspirators, we must find, lure, and contain them underground. That's the plan. Are we clear?"