The Commander's Daughter

Chapter Eleven: The Church of The Wall (Attack on Trost Part One)

( Emi's POV)
      "Thank you again for coming with me." Ryu smiled softly as I nodded. I had some free time this morning, and Ryu had asked if I wanted to go on patrol with him.
    "Oh, no problem! You helped me get out of a lot of frustrations during our training." I laughed as I rubbed the back of my head. I pulled my hand back down to my side as we walked through the town of Trost. Many villagers were outside, working on repairs from the recent attack. My mind was racing with thoughts of Levi. What was his problem anyway? I sighed deeply as Ryu raised one of his slender silver eyebrows.
     "Are you okay Emi? It seems like there's something on your mind." He stated as I tensed up. I knew that I couldn't tell anyone what had happened between Levi and I. I couldn't risk his career like that.
   "Yeah! I-I'm okay!" A fake smile plastered across my face as he shrugged.
     "We need to focus on rebuilding our Sacred wall! We can no longer rely on our Scout Regimen! They allow the same beasts that have been destroying our population for years, work among them!" A scrawny old man dressed in colorful robes yelled as he stood on the side of the street. He held a thick black book in his hand.
    "That man shouldn't be speaking on things he knows nothing about." I biased as Ryu placed his hand on my shoulder. His bright navy eyes slowly began calming me down.
      "Hey, enough about idiots from the Church of the Walls. Can I show you something?" He asked, trying to distract me from the old man across the street. I nodded as he grabbed my hand and activated his ODM gear, shooting us up onto the rooftop. The sky was painted a beautiful mixture of different shades of red and orange.
     "Woah.." I muttered as I admired the breathtaking view.
    "Almost as beautiful as you, Emi." Ryu whispered in my ear as I blushed deeply.
    "W-What did you say Ryu?" I stammered as I quickly turned to face him and took a step back.
       "Emi, I've recently realized that life is short. And I don't want to ever die without confessing my feelings. I've liked you since I first met you." Ryu admitted as my eyes widened a bit.
     "Ryu..I.." I mumbled, surprised by his confession. Why did his words, mean nothing to me? My heart didn't race when he spoke. My skin didn't crawl with excitement like it did when Levi touched me. "Ryu." I took a deep breath, relaxing a bit as my gaze met his. "I'm sorry, I don't share the same feelings." I admitted as his expression slowly changed from calming, to threatening.
     "That's a shame..I was hoping this would be easy." He stated as I instantly tensed up. Suddenly a loud explosion shook the city of Trost.