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CHAPTER SIX
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𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇, 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐁. i still outraged that eren had beat me in last night's training. "how could i let him surpass me? even if it was just one exercise! i'm going to kill him! squish him! he's such a tick. i just want to squish him like a bug! i hate bugs! gross! i have to get back at him for everything he did yesterday!" i tried thinking of a plan to embarrass him or make him feel guilty or even pissed off.
"i'm strong! i'm strong! of course i'm strong! i'm one of the bests! he can't defeat me!" i whispered to myself. i felt a hand touch my shoulder. i pricked up then turned around to see jean "can't you see i'm sulking? go bother someone else," i pushed him away. right after i pushed jean away i felt a hand slap my face harshly. i blinked, covering my cheek. i looked back at jean, astonished "did you just hit me?"
"god damnit f/n, get ahold of yourself! all you can think about is that worthless suicidal maniac! he's just wasting your time! you should stop worrying about your little bet and one little win. yeah, i hate eren too but you don't see me always starting fights with him! gosh!" jean snapped at me. i just stared at him, surprised. i didn't know how to respond. jean let out a sigh then sat me down. he sat down next to me.
"look, i'm sorry for slapping you across the face like that. it's just... ugh... i hate seeing you always thinking about him." pink dust spread across jean's cheeks. "i mean-- shouldn't you be worrying about other things rather than your bet? it won't matter in the end, anyways."
i blinked then returned my smug look, "i'm impressed you had the balls to slap a girl. especially me, your only best friend." i looked up at the blue sky. "you're the one who developed my personality. i don't want to hear you complain about me being competitive towards eren. the bet we made as kids is what started all this. i'm fine with it. i don't need to hear you complain even though you're the one who started it."
jean went silent for a couple seconds. he stared down at his boots, frowning. "what happened to the f/n before our bet?" he suddenly asked. "nothing, she was still the same back then."
"but i thought i was the one who developed your personality?"
"well, you did. you took a major role in it. my mother is actually the one who started the fire. you just poured gasoline onto the flame. you understand what i'm saying or is your ant sized brain having trouble?" i poked his forehead with my index and middle finger. "speaking of bugs--"
i cut jean off by covering his mouth. "shut up! i don't want to talk about bugs!" i furrowed my eyebrows. jean knew my weakness was bugs. i despised them so much and always got grossed out whenever i saw them or whenever someone mentioned them. i groaned "i hate you jean."
"i love you too."
" yeah yeah, i- wait what?"
"i said let's head back to the training field. our break is going to be over soon." jean put a hand on his knee as he stood up. we locked eye contact for a couple seconds. i gave him a blank stare that while we locked eye contact that lasted for a couple seconds then returned my smug look. i springed up from the ground, placing my hands on my hips. "of course you love me, who doesn't?" i went back to giving him my snotty attitude.
jean rolled his eyes, scoffing. god she thinks everything is a joke, doesn't she? if only she could actually take me seriously and actually understand my true feelings for her; instead of teasing me and calling herself "perfect".
i booped jean's nose. "wow you're fun, jean." i said with sarcasm in my voice before walking off, leaving him confused.
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𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘'𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍. there we plenty of cadets actually participating in the exercise while others were slacking off since they thought sparring was stupid. i agreed sparring was stupid since we weren't fighting actual people but it made me stronger just by training in general so i didn't mind.
me and eren didn't speak or stare at each other. i was actually surprised he didn't come up to me to show off that he beat me last night in training to piss me off or just piss me off in general. i was still planning on ways i could embarrass him or make him feel foolish.
my eyes followed annie. i had watched her body cadets that approached her in a fight. i jotted down all her movements in the journal christa gave me while i watched her body the cadets. i decided i would go talk to her. "hey annie!" i called her name out. she turned around, moving hair out of her face. "could you teach me about that trick you did back there?" i asked, pointing at a cadet that was laying on their back after they challenged annie. "in detail or.."
"show it off to me then tell me the details, please and thank you." i set my journal down on the ground and put my hand on my hip. annie sighed then got into a fighting stance. while i watched her fight, i saw her distract her opponent by going for a punch then she grabbed ahold of their arm and neck, sweeping their leg, and sliding them across the ground.
"i know what you're going to do already but i'll let you do your thing. i'm eager to learn about that movement. it could come in handy one day. i'm actually eager to learn all your movements. you're very strong and i look up to you."
annie nodded then ran at me, going for a punch. i didn't dodge since i let her do her own thing so i could just learn. she grabbed ahold of my arm, putting me into a chokehold then wrapped her leg around mine, making me trip then slid across the ground with me in her chokehold. i was astonished. "oh shit! that was fast."
annie got up from me, leading me a hand. i gladly took it, standing up. "i see what you did there now. damn annie, you're combat skills are amazing. you were so swift too. where did you learn that trick from?" i grinned, putting my hands on my hips. "my dad." she responded.
"damn, have your dad teach me your tricks," i laughed. "hey, let's be friends. i'm looking forward to training with you, annie. you seem pretty chill but you're great at combat. i'm impressed!" i held my hand out to shake. annie was hesitant. i hummed, raising an eyebrow. "is something wrong?"
"no it's just--" she took a deep breath in, closing her eyes. a couple seconds later, she exhaled, opening her eyes back up. "sure." she took my hand. we both shook on becoming friends. "i'm looking forward to hanging out with you, annie. anyways i'm going to go find christa or ymir, cya later!"
i stopped for a second, jotting down the trick annie taught me. i had her other ones jotted down in my journal too. my eyes followed her, only to see that she was slacking off. she definitely found this sparring training shit unamusing. i did agree though.
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𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑, 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆. eren put his hand on reiner's stomach, grabbing reiner by his coat then flipped him over his shoulder, causing reiner to land on his back. reiner grunted "oww!" eren held out his hand to help reiner up "sorry, i'm not good at holding back."
reiner took eren's hand. eren pulled him back up onto his feet. reiner handed the wooden dagger to eren "now it's your turn to be the rogue." eren didn't move. "what's the matter?" reiner questioned. eren took the dagger out of reiner's hand "i don't get this training. why would soldiers fight over people? only an idiot would take on a target barehanded."
"that's s irresponsible thinking. we're soldiers. there are times we can't run away, no matter how bad the situation is. no matter what the enemy is, we have to be ready for it, whether it means using cannons or combat techniques. i believe that's the responsibility of a strong soldier." reiner turned his head "anyways, look over there."
eren turned his head to see reiner was looking at annie. "oh, that's annie. she's slacking off without the commandant noticing again." reiner leaned down to eren's ear "all right, eren. that slouch needs a talking-to. let's teach her how a soldier's supposed to act.
annie was walking, looking around at all the cadets. reiner stood in front of annie. she stopped, looking up at him. "not fond of the commandant head-butts? if you don't want to end up any shorter, think back to when you first came here and started to take things seriously." reiner grinned. eren walked over to them "hey, why are you being so rude?" he looked at annie. she looked pissed off. her scary expression sent a chill down eren's spine. oh shit, she's mad. i thought she looked scary enough as it is, but that's nothing compared to when she's pissed off.
reiner came from behind eren, putting his hands on eren's shoulders. "all right! get started, eren!" reiner grinned. eren sweat-dropped "me?!" reiner shoved him forward.
annie got into her fighting position, holding her fists above her head. "you know the drill, right annie?" he questioned, sweat-dropping. "here i come!" eren ran at annie with the dagger in his hands. annie quickly kicked eren hard in the ankle. eren grunted then fell onto his knees. eren stood back up again "w-what the? she kicked my leg?" eren fell back down onto the ground, holding onto his hurt ankle.
annie looked back at reiner "can i go now?"
"no! the drill's not over yet until you take the dagger!"
annie let out a sigh then glanced back at eren. "wait annie! you're supposed to do this a certain way!" annie ignored eren as she stepped closer to him. annie grabbed him by the wrist, shoving his face out of the way then swept his legs, knocking him off his feet, causing him to fly up into the air. he landed hard on his back with his legs above his head. annie took the dagger and started to walk off.
reiner sweat-dropped then annie stopped, throwing the wooden dagger back at reiner "there." she moved hair out of her face "now it's your turn to attack me."
"n-no... i'm not.."
"do it, reiner."
reiner looked back down at eren who gave him a dark look. "i thought you wanted to teach her about a soldier's responsibility?" reiner looked back at annie who gave him her blank stare. "yeah. sometimes a soldier can't back down. this is one of those times!"
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𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑. he had landed in the same way eren did when annie went for the dagger. eren sat up, looking at reiner and sweat-dropped. annie started to walk away. she stopped to move hair out of her face.
"that's an amazing technique. who'd you learn it from?" eren asked.
"my father." annie responded.
"your dad came up with that move?"
"what does it matter? there's no point to any of this."
"you mean this training?" eren questioned.
annie turned her heel to the side, looking at most of the cadets training and some just messing around or slacking off. "we aren't graded on our hand-to-hand combat skills. most people brush it off, like them," she looked at two cadets clearly messing around. "because only the top ten cadets are allowed to join the military police and serve in the interior. the only ones who take it seriously are naïve idiots like you... or just ordinary idiots." she looked over at sasha and connie who were messing around.
commander shadis walked towards sasha and connie. he stopped in front of them, looking them dead in eye. connie stopped messing around, looking commander shadis in the eye. commander shadis grabbed connie by the head, holding him from off the ground. "crap! commander shadis!" eren exclaimed.
annie went to stab eren with her wooden dagger. she was acting like she was actually participating in the training. eren stopped her from coming any closer with his wrists. "for some reason, in this world, the better you are at fighting titans, the further you can get from them. how do you think this farce came about?" annie looked eren dead in the eyes.
"i don't know... that's a good question!" eren grabbed annie's wrist, pulling her down. she quickly swept his leg, knocking him off his feet. he landed on his back with a loud thud. annie got on top of him, holding the wooden dagger to his throat. eren held onto her wrist, struggling to make her stop. "maybe because it's human nature?" annie suggested. eren didn't respond.
annie stood up, stepping off of eren. she held the wooden dagger to her chest, gripping it firmly. "anyways, i refuse to be stupid enough to play "soldier" in this inane world." annie said before walking away. reiner put his hands on his hips "looks like you're not much of a warrior after all," he remarked to annie who walked pass him. eren stood back up on his feet. i was so caught up in getting stronger then f/n.. that i never realized it. it's such a clear contradiction. they're honing their titan-killing skills, just to get away from the titans!
i watched annie completely body eren. i was impressed and proud of her. i was looking up to her. i knew i could body eren too but i never made a move since i usually never started physical fights. i decided to mess around with eren. i stood next to him, crossing my arms as i watched annie with my smug look. "she sure is impressive, isn't she? i thought you would of beaten her, considering that you had your little victory last night. it's actually embarrassing that you got bodied in front of everyone by a short shack like her."
"have you come to lower my self esteem? sounds like you're jealous. if i'm weak and pathetic and belong in the fields, then do you care to explain how i beat you yesterday? i can tell you're jealous because i beat you last night."
"do you feel good now that you rubbed your little victory in my face?"
"i saw your reaction to me beating you last night. your face was priceless. how does it feel to lose to your enemy? or lose for the first time?" eren snickered.
"it was one victory. there will still be plenty of opportunities. i will always win throughout those opportunities. keep dreaming, jaeger. you'll still never catch up to my level."
"we'll see about that..." he growled.
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𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖. i sat down at a table with christa and ymir. i chewed on my bread then swallowed it down with water. "training sure was rough today.." christa frowned after she drank her water. "do we need the princess to be carried to her bed?" ymir smirked, resting her hand on her cheek. "well... i am tired," christa smiled sheepishly. i laughed "do you need a bedtime story to put you to bed too?" christa gave us closed-eyed smiles "i wouldn't mind." me and ymir both chuckled.
"it can't be helped. before wall maria fell, only the scouts needed omni-directional moblity, and they're a small regiment." armin was talking out loud to eren and mikasa. they both zoned out from what armin was saying. eren had his eyes on jean who sat next to marco, talking about the military police and odm tips.
"give it a strong blast for a second. relying on inertia will save you gas. easier said than done." jean explained to marco. he rested his elbow on the table and his hand on his cheek "yeah, maybe not everyone can pull it off..." he glanced at eren for a split second. he then glanced back at mikasa and her beauty then f/n with her smug look, admiring them both. "...but there's no harm in knowing about it, if you wanna join the military police."
marco admired jean's quote on quote "wisdom". he smiled "yeah! i'd love to get in!" working near the king... there's no greater honor than that!" he went for a drink of water. "hold on, marco!" jean slapped marco on the back, causing water to splash all over marco's face. jean scooted closer to marco, looking him in the eyes "quit talkin' like a goody-two-shoes and say what you really think! you wanna join the military police 'cause it means a safe, comfy life in the interior!" jean grinned. "n-no! i really do want to--"
marco was cut off by eren butting into their conversation. "it's comfy in the interior? until five years ago, this used to be the interior too." jean and marco looked back at eren who took a drink of water. "what's your point, eren?"
"poor jean, so misguided. i don't your head would fit in the interior anyway." eren glanced back at jean. chuckles came from reiner and connie who sat behind. i glanced back at them "oh look, other argument. this will be interesting." my grin widened. jean's eye twitched then he looked back at everyone looking at him while giggling. jean looked back at eren "very funny." he said firmly.
"seems a little backwards to me. honing your titan-killing skills to get away from the titans.. doesn't that seem like a weird system to you?"
"you'd rather i was good at getting killed? i'll pass, better to play the system then get killed off."
eren 'tsk'ed, clenching his fists and teeth. he stood up from his table "you son of a bitch!" jean also stood up from his table "shut it! this is the real world, you little bastard!" they both stepped towards each other. eren grabbed jean's shirt. mikasa stood up, getting in between them "gentleman, please." she said, taking eren's hand off of jean.
jean stared at mikasa's hand on eren's wrist. jean felt rage boil up in him. he grabbed eren by the collar, "you think you can judge me?!" he shouted. "let go! you're going to rip my shirt!" eren shouted back. "i don't give a damn about your clothes! i'm jealous!"
"huh?! what are you talking about?!"
jean and eren's shouting chased everyone in the mess hall to turn their attention to them. ohhh, this will be a good fight but an immature one as well. i thought. "they're acting like little kids," i stated, giving them a blank stare but smug look. "nah, they're acting more like little boys." ymir said with her hand on her cheek. "boys will be bugs," i stated proudly then cringed at the thought of bugs "ew bugs!"
"yeah, boys will be bugs. you say ew bugs so i say ew boys." ymir chuckled.
i watched eren. he grabbed jean's wrist that held onto his shirt, moving his other hand to jean's neck, pushing him to the side then swept jean's leg, knocking him off of his feet. jean flipped up into the air then landed with a loud thud on his back. jean hissed. eren turned around, looking down at jean.
jean sat up, holding onto his head. "what the hell was that?!" he shouted. "a little something i picked up this afternoon while you were busy with your thumb up your ass!" everyone stared in shock. i was astonished. "you honestly believe the military police are your ticket to the good life? you're not a soldier. you're a joke."
i was shocked now. that mother fucker... i felt rage spiral up inside me. i couldn't just have eren beat jean and get away with it. i decided i needed to give eren a little pay back. i stood up him my seat. christa looked at me, concerned "f/n? what are you doing?" she asked as i passed her.
i stood behind eren with a dark expression. i grabbed eren's wrist, putting him into a chokehold. he gasped and glanced back at me behind him. i was going to use one of annie's techniques i jotted down in my journal. "huh? wai--" i cut eren off by sweeping both of his legs and kicked him pretty hard in the ankles, making them go loose. i knocked him down from his feet and let go of his neck, flipping him over. he landed on the ground with his legs over his head.
eren groaned, opening his eyes to see me looking him dead in the eye with a serious expression. "funny how you think being safe in the interior is more absurd then signing up for your death. you might as well tell everyone what you want your funeral to look like. i know you won't stand a chance out there. so how bout we cut the bullshit, okay? you'd be better off in the fields like i said before. i'm impressed you've made it this far, for a weak, pathetic, and naïve idiot. you may have beaten me once but that doesn't mean it will happen again. i will kick your ass again if you lay a hand on jean." i stated loud enough for everyone in the mess hall to hear. usually i wouldn't stick up for jean anymore like i used to before our bet but something clicked inside me. i just felt enraged seeing eren body jean even though i hated them both.
everyone in the mess hall stayed silent. they all just stared at me, eren, and jean. suddenly, the door creaked open. everyone turned their attention to see commander shadis peeking out of the doorway with a scarier look then ever. "i heard a loud sound just now... would anyone care to explain?"
me, eren, and jean all sat back down in our original seats. i sighed then returned back to my smug look to make myself look normal and innocent. mikasa raised her hand, "it was sasha. she passed some gas, sir." mikasa told commander shadis. sasha gasped dramatically. reiner and connie held in their laughs while commander shadis covered his nose and mouth "you? again? gosh, learn some self-control." he said before leaving the mess hall. sasha gasped dramatically again.
once commander shadis left the mess hall, everyone who held in their laughs bursted out laughing. christa and ymir looked at me after i sat back down. ymir grinned "good job, f/n." she congratulated me. "it was nothing, really. i learned that technique by watching annie." i fluttered my eyes shut, grinning while motioning my hand out. "i'll have to watch and learn then."
christa grabbed my hand "you shouldn't of done that! did you even think things through? what you did was impressive, but still! you shouldn't just move without thinking! also you could of gotten in trouble!" she lectured me. "i don't need you acting like my mother." i chuckled. she sighed.
"besides, it felt like i had too. i don't know why but when me and jean were kids, he used to be bullied. it was pathetic though. he was pathetic. i don't even know why but i always defended him. well jean was my first friend so, i guess it makes sense that you'd want to keep your loved ones close to you, right? before you say any remarks, i don't like jean in that way. i hate him. yet we're still friends. i haven't defended him since we made our bet so it felt weird. i could say he was pathetic during him and eren's fight. well he was. i just couldn't let jean look that pathetic and have eren get away with it. y'know?"
christa sighed, nodding "yeah, i do understand." she smiled.
"sounds to me like you have a soft spot for jean. you sure it's not crushing?" ymir smirked.
"positive. there's no way i'd date a loser like him. sure he's a little attractive but no way. why would i date my childhood friend? besides, there is no one better then me so why would i want to date someone if i'm the superior one?" i chuckled.
"you're narcissistic. might as well date yourself." ymir remarked.
"not a bad idea, actually," i joked.
"oh you..." christa giggled.
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𝐈 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋. i grabbed him by the wrist, catching his attention. he turned around to me, raising an eyebrow. i slapped him hard across the face. he blinked, holding onto his cheek "wh--what was that for?!" he shouted at me. i crossed my arms, giving him a stern look "for being an idiot."
"what do you mean i'm an idiot?! that suicidal maniac is the one to started it! all i was doing was talking to marco about the military police, gosh!"
"that's not the reason why i clapped you an idiot. it's because you made a fool out of yourself. you're so immature. both of you are. if you really want to get into the military police then you should start acting like me, smug and relaxed. most of the military police aren't hot-headed like you. yeah i can loose my temper sometimes, but it's rare. i am pretty chill. i do love to tick people off though."
"yeah, you don't need to tell me about the last part, i already know," jean scoffed, "there's no way i'll act like you. you're snotty, narcissistic, selfish, all and all a bitch in other words."
i punched him hard in the arm this time. he hissed, rubbing the pain off his arm. "are you still going to call me a bitch after i made you look less foolish today? never mind, you already look and act injudicious. by the way, you better thank me for saving your ass again."
"yeah yeah, thanks or whatever." he rolled his eyes. i pinched his ear "i want to hear a real thanks."
"ok ok fine! thank you for "saving my ass again"."
i returned my smug look, putting my hands behind my back "you're welcome." i stepped off the patio of the mess hall. "why did you even join in the fight? i thought you weren't going to defend me anymore after we made our bet." he chuckled.
"because... well i don't know, actually. i couldn't just have eren beat your ass then let him get away with it. you are my best friend, so i guess that would make sense. i don't know? " i shrugged, "to be honest, it felt great when i beat his ass after he beat yours."
"oh well, i guess that makes sense." jean frowned slightly. i yawned into my palm "yeah, well i'm pretty tired so... see you tomorrow." i waved him goodbye. he sighed "goodnight."
i paused for a moment then turned on my heel. jean raised an eyebrow, confused. i stepped back up onto the patio with my hands behind my back. i stood in front of jean then pecked him on the cheek. he gasped, his eyes widening. i saw his face become flustered. i grinned "goodnight, jean." i said before leaving him a blushing mess.
once f/n was out of sight, jean began freaking out. holy shit! she just pecked me on the cheek! does she like me? is that why she beat eren up for me today? does she actually like me and didn't want to tell me so that's why she told me she didn't know why she saved my ass? either way, i can't believe she pecked me on the cheek! holy fuck! jean was mentally screaming while running around in circles, a blushing mess.
connie noticed jean running around in circles. he put his hands on his hips, giving jean a concerned and stern look. "what'cha doing, jean?" he questioned with a teasey remark. jean stopped in his tracks, looking back at connie "it's none of your business."
while i walked towards the dorms, i felt like an idiot. i can't believe i gave jean a peck on the cheek. he probably thinks i like him now, which i don't. but i could toy with his emotions to get what i want. would that be too mean though? i mean he is still my friend. either way, i don't really care right now. i'm sleepy so i'm heading straight to bed now.
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