"what do you mean i cant go!" my voice raised in anger, following behind my commander with a harsh tred.
"i said you cant! you're too undertrained." ezekiel returned just as loud as me, halting his path to revolt around. he met my eyes, furrow depicted in them.
"that's funny, because you're the one who trained me!" my words ricocheted off the stone palace walls, emitting down the hallway.
"i'm your commander, what i say goes." with his last word, he walked off into the darkness and out of my vision. tears stung my eyes from anger, but i quickly wiped them and headed to my quarters. it had been months since my special ops training finalised, and so far i had not gone on a mission. it was as though me and the rest of the ops sat in silence whilst the military fought what needed to be defeated.
my quarters were cold and damp, just like every other room in this building. i slammed the decaying wood door behind me, it echoed as though the whole house could hear.
recently, news of a titan inside the walls had spread, resulting in the special ops team to be called in. of course, ezekiel did not trust me enough to allow me on the rendezvous.
my head fell limp in my hands, i dragged them- course and split due to intensive training- down until they landed in my lap. a black box atop my beside cabinet caught my eye, and i rapidly darted towards it. inside were all the letters historia and ymir sent since my deployment. it pained my heart reading over the words they spoke, i could hear historias excitement between the lines like how she would hiccup when she spoke too quickly about things. despite me always telling her off for it, i missed how ecstatic she would become over little insignificants such as birds.
my thoughts were interrupted by my door opening, causing me to scurry to put the letters back into the box. adrian appeared from behind the frame, his eyes scanning the room.
"can i help?" i interrupted him, his body shook slightly as he met my eyes.
"sorry, i was checking to see if you was okay." his voice barely above a whisper.
"i'm fine." my words were blunt, although i wasn't mad at him precisely, more so ezekiel.
"okay, because i heard a bang come from the girls quarters." he explained himself, which made sense as how disruptive i had been previously.
"sorry, my fault." i apologised, to which he nodded slowly. his eyes began wandering the room again as we fell into a stiff, uncomfortable silence. his body rested unnaturally against the door frame.
"i'm sorry about ezekiel," he finally spoke, breaking the tension ever so slightly.
"it's not your fault. i understand where he's coming from." i lied, he was being an uptight asshole.
"i tried telling him you're ready." he paused, his lips fleetingly stretching into a thin line... "i think you're a better fighter than me." he confessed, raising a hand to scratch the nape of his neck.
"that's not true. but thank you." a genuine smile found its way onto my lips.
"it is. anyways, i came to tell you we should be leaving soon. i wanted to make sure you'll be okay by yourself."
"i'm sure i'll be fine." i nodded my head towards him. he slowly nodded his head in understanding, retreating his body around to shut the door.
time had passed since the unit had left, leaving me isolated in the mansion. dusk had fallen long ago and i aimlessly turned in my sleep as sweat cascaded down my forehead. i awoke, startled from my dream. night terrors had been a regular occurrence since joining the special ops force, or rather since leaving my historia.
ezekiel and the unit had long since left towards trost, where communication had brought them in. supposedly, the colossal titan had reappeared and breached the outer wall district.
instead of returning to slumber, i decided it would be the perfect opportunity for training. the cold floor shocked my feet once they progressed over the bed, causing me to retract. sprinting across the room to get my socks, i rapidly forced them over my feet and departed from the room. the hallways seemed too desolate and mute as i traversed down them.
the darkness that consumed corners made it hard to predict my surroundings, but i soon advanced to the first floor.
as i leapt off the staircase and into the left wing of the house, my body collided with something hard yet coated in cloth.
"fuck!" i heard from ahead of me, causing my heart rate to hasten.
"y/n it's me." a male voice consoled me, who i soon recognised as aidan.
"aidan? what the fuck are you doing here?"
"i told ezekiel i would be better off staying."
"and you didn't tell me!" my voice raised slightly as i brought a hand towards my forehead to rub the spot of impact.
"surprise." even under the dim lighting i could see the grin that plastered his face. despite the scenario, i laughed slightly at the boy.
"i was just going out to train. i couldn't really sleep."
"do you need a training partner?" he questioned with a sheepish smile.
"sure, i guess i could use one." i shrugged, and began towards the entrance of the building. training outside in the cold would be beneficial, training in extreme circumstances like the cold prepared you for the worst.
luckily, all the training equipment had been left outside by ezekiel from his last session, meaning we could start straight away. upon reaching for a wooden dagger from the box, i rotated my body and pressed it firmly against aidans neck.
"woah." he exasperated, eyes wide at the dagger against his skin.
"always be alert." i grinned, yet removed the dagger that could do no harm from his skin. i removed another dagger, chucking it to him to which he caught in a single hand.
"we can do one on one combat to start. first to five surrenders wins." i suggested, already placing myself in a fighting stance.
"what do they win." a grin formed on his face, visible under the pale moonlight.
"the chance to gloat." i reply, preparing myself for combat. i cracked my neck and knuckles, subsequently placing one foot before the other.
aidan wasted no time in darting towards me, yet in his linear path his movement was predictable. as he drew closer, i grasped his arm in my hand and rotated it, hearing a deafening click in the joint.
"ah, fuck!" he yelped in pain, grasping at the joint to ease the pressure.
"don't charge in a straight line." i told him, i guess he needed this more than me.
"fine, that was a practice run." he defended himself, holding his hands up and returning further back into the grass.
"go again." i ordered, which in return he shook his arms and put himself into position. this time, his body lingered left as he circled around me. i did the same, keeping my body facing towards his to catch the moment he plunged. he ran forward, but twisted his body left before i could catch him. next thing i discovered was a poking in my lower back. i recognised it as the edge of the wooden blade, gritting my teeth in defeat.
"fine, you win." i threw my hands up, causing a smug look to define his face. he removed the dagger, turning around to get a better position. before he got too far, a grab his arm and kicked the back of his shin, causing him to fall to the ground. i held his arm that contained the dagger against his back as i straddled it.
"never lose focus on your target." i whispered into his ear despite his face being pushed into the mud.
"okay! you're killing me here." he pleaded to let him go, which i did and backed off him. the moment he stood up, his body contorted and he advanced towards me. i caught him before he could disarm me, i took the forearm that lunged forward and tossed it to the side, the dagger slipping out of his hand. his startle allowed me time to press the dagger against his neck.
"nice." he praised me, 3-1 to me.
"you're going to have to up your game if you want to win." i shrugged, giving him a second to recollect his dagger.
"hey, i cant find the dagger anywhere, it's too dark." i laughed at him as he scouted out the grass in the bleakness. beginning the help him, i too struggled to find where he had tossed the blade. that was, until, i felt it against my neck.
"never let your opponent manipulate you." he smiled down at me, as i raised myself from a crouched position. he took the dagger from my neck with a hysterical simper.
"you asshole." i managed to speak through a laugh i tried to cover.
the close proximity of us allowed me to feel his hot breath on my face. perfect opportunity. taking my free hand, i tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and stared expectantly into his doe eyes. i watched as his pupils travelled across my face and lingering into my lips. i leant forward into him, acting as though i would kiss him. before he could gain composure, i pressed the blade into his stomach.
"never let your opponent manipulate you." i mimicked him, smiling up at him sweetly as his face contorted.
i walked away, smug knowing i had won.
commander and my two comrades returned the following day, following an incident with a titan in the walls. the female titan. despite their best efforts at minimal internal damage, the city was a battlefield for the attack titan and the aforementioned in which the girl was captured.
annie?
although the name seemed familiar, i erased the collusion from my mindset as though i had just heard the name before. she was contained underground where she couldn't transform again, supposedly surrounded in her slumber by an indestructible crystal