THANK YOU FOR 100+ FOLLOWERS!!
(Publishing chapters may be slowed due to me JUST getting into Persona 5 and I am head deep into the story)
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How long had it been since you started to stare mindlessly into the sky? Hell, if you knew.
Your mind was still in a daze. With your back sore from the harsh impact a few hours before, you felt slight discomfort but that won't stop you from anything. Footsteps were approaching the silent atmosphere around you three, Mikasa being wounded.
"Oh, man. What a mess." You hear Hannes's voice above you, looking up at him. "Count your lucky stars we were all the way up here. Rest of 'em got blasted by steam and debris; nothing much they could do."
Looking over, there were Scouts resting on top of their coats, unconscious. There were plenty of burn marks on their faces, along with worn-down spots on their clothing from the steam.
Hannes looked down at Mikasa, noticing her unconscious state she was in. "How badly is Mikasa hurt?" He asked you both, making you look down at Mikasa.
"Well there aren't any wounds to speak of." Armin answered him. "I think it's just a concussion."
The man then looked at you, who was in unstable condition just a few moments before. You still heard the slight ringing in your ears, afraid that you'll probably faint. Again, you did hit your head pretty hard on the wall.
"Feeling alright, Y/n? Not feeling light-headed or anything?" He asked you in concern for your condition.
You nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of a sore back is all."
Hannes hummed in response. "Could be worse." Moving his foot, he turned towards both you and Armin's backs. "Armin, Y/n. I've got food if you're hungry. Have both of you eaten?"
Silently, both of you shook your head.
You felt his hand ruffle your hair. "Be right back." Hannes said, leaving you to get you some food.
Eren had a tendency to leave the three of you behind somewhere, always ending up somewhere far from any of you. He's that kind of person who will keep chasing something and will not stop until he is able to get grasp it in his hands. Nothing can hold him back, really.
Not even you.
Year 845, Shiganshina...
"Eren!!" Your childish voice yelled out throughout the house. In your hands, a red scarf was folded neatly.
Eren had gotten it scratched up, saying that he 'fell down' when in reality you knew he was dealing with some bullies around the neighborhood. The damage wasn't that bad, but you wanted to fix it before it got too out of hand.
Not hearing any response, you whined, running out of the house. Looking around, Eren was nowhere near. "Guess I'll have to wait until he comes back home..."
Walking back in the house, you felt the urge to go after him. As crazy as it sounds, you had an instint on where he possibly was. Perhaps it was a twin's instinct? Trotting out of the house, you went down the steps and ran through the streets to where Eren said he spent his time at. You couldn't find him at the playground, so you headed there next.
"Eren! Where are you?" You called out to him.
Looking over the corner, you saw Eren sitting near the water bank. He was looking up at the walls in awe.
Dashing over to him, you said his name as he turned around to you. "Oh, Y/n. You had my scarf?" He questioned as he took it from you.
You nodded. "Yeah. The hole in there would get too big for wear."
Looking up at where Eren was staring, you sat down next to him. Your feet dangle over the edge as you leaned back. "What were you staring at?" You asked him curiously.
"Over the wall." He pointed up at the top. "To think that there are Titans on the other side of the wall..."
Thoughts went through your head as you looked up at the sky, where the wall was. You wondered if there was just Titans out there. If there was just continues lands of Titans outside the wall.
What exactly is out there? The grassy plains that go on forever with Titans roaming?
6 months before the fall, Shiganshina market...
Your mother asked for some new cloth and fabric at the market, along with some bread and food. Mikasa took care of the food while you got the fabric and clothing.
In your hand were the coins your mother gave you. You counted each of them before giving them to the seller. "Thank you!"
The lady gave you a smile. "Of course, young lady! Have a nice day now."
Turning around, you saw Eren and Armin talking but the face the blonde had wasn't a good sign. When you got a glimpse of Eren's expression, you saw the anger in his eyes grow. Looking over a few meters away, you saw the three bullies who absolutely favorited bullying Armin and teasing Eren.
Making your way over, you put a hand on Eren's shoulder. "Eren, are you okay? What happened, Armin?" You looked at Armin.
"The three bullies... They took the bread I just bought, but it's really not--" Armin stuttered with his words before getting gently pushed over by an angered Eren.
With your eyes following Eren, you saw that he was going over to a small, secluded area where the bullies were. He started to call them out for what they did and you immediately knew where this was going. There would be no way Eren would let them go without teaching them a lesson.
Looking at Armin, you signalled your head to the direction Mikasa was. He nodded and ran to get Mikasa's help.
You made your way over to where Eren was surrounded by the three. You gently tugged on his jacket and tried to drag him away. "Eren we need to head home."
Eren stood there like a rock with his teeth gritted. "No, not until they give back what wasn't theirs!" He moved closer to the one who took and ate the bread. "So give it back!"
"You have dirt in your ears or somethin'?" The boy replied with a teasing grin. "Like I said, I already ate the whole thing. Tasty..."
After putting the things in your hands in you bag, you held Eren's arm, trying to urge him not to attack them. "But that was three days worth of food for them!" Eren argued.
Another spoke behind Eren. "You gotta be kiddin' me. Those table scraps?"
When Eren turned to look at him, the one in front of him spoke again. "Knock it off. You'll make me feel bad." He said in a sarcastic tone before leaning forward. "Whatever, if you want it back so damn much--" The bully started to make vomiting noises while the others laughed.
"Pay him back what the bread was worth!" Eren snapped back at him before headbutting the boy back.
"Eren, stop!" You held both of your arms out to him as he escaped your hold.
Eren grabbed the bully by his clothing and threw him near a stand, breaking a few glasses on the way down. The man running the stand shouted for one of the soldiers in the distance to take care of the situation. Eren was then pulled off by one of them, making the fight unfair.
When he was about to eat a punch, Mikasa came in at just the right moment and kicked him in the face mid-air. The Garrison started to laugh as they watched the fight. Mikasa's hand blocked one of them from approaching as she told Eren to go home.
Another boy threw a punch, but she quickly dodged and threw the other boy at him.
Before Eren could go off again, you and Armin attempted to hold him back. "No! It's okay! She can handle it!" Armin pleaded but you both got pushed away into the wall.
Eren dove into one of the bullies. Seeing that another was planning to go towards Eren, you rushed in front of him and elbowed him onto the floor before trying to pry Eren off of him. The bully Eren was holding to the ground shoved him off into you, making you fall in the floor as Eren went at him again.
An MP ran towards the scene. "That's enough!" He shouted.
"Hey, guys? This is getting kinda serious!" One of the bullies stated while trying to hold back Eren.
Putting your hands under Eren's arms, you pried him back, letting the bully go before Eren tried to escape your hold. "Where d'you think you're--"
Armin stepped in and held him back with his strength. "Eren! I don't care about the stupid bread! Let it go!" He tried to convince him.
"That's enough. We're going home right this instant." Mikasa said firmly before Eren broke out of your grasp.
"Like hell. Go without me!" He said as he chased after the bullies down the street.
Present Time, On the Wall...
You started to remember those times where the four of you lived in harmony, behind the wall. This was the moment you started to think about what would happen in the end. It left you with numerous questions, some including your three other childhood friends.
"Mikasa..!" You hear the boy next to you shuffle. When you turned over at him, Mikasa sat there as she looked over at the injured soldiers a few feet away.
Unexpectedly, Mikasa grabbed Armin's scout cape with a hard grip. "Where is Eren? Where did he go?" The girl asked in a demanding tone in her voice.
As you were about to place a gentle hand on Mikasa's arm, she raced over to look over the wall. You and Armin pleaded for her not to move yet, but she wouldn't listen. The wind blew her hair as she looked down, seeing two Titans below as one sat on the ground. Right where the fight took place.
Mikasa looked back at the two of you, asking again where Eren was, but how could both of you know. "Eren and Ymir were taken." Armin explained to the clueless girl.
"Reiner and Bertholdt." You spoke, clutching your hands into hard fists as hatred took over your mental state. "They abducted them. The armored Titan was..."
There were no words to describe the situation. After all, as Armin stated in front of you, the fight was five hours ago. There were no clues as to where they could've gone, from what you deduced.
"Somebody's gone after them, right?" Mikasa looked back into the distance, her voice starting to get shaky. "Tell me somebody went after them.
RIght after you looked at the mountains ahead, you looked down at your lap. There was a period of silence between the three of you. "I'm sorry." Armin's voice spoke.
"Why not?!" Mikasa shouted at the boy, a dark look lingering in her eyes as her black hues glared into Armin's blue.
For a few seconds, he didn't say anything nor did you. You didn't want to say anything, really. All you really wanted in this world was to have a family member by your side. Eren was your only family you had ever since the Wall fell, but now he's getting taken away by your so-called 'comrades.'
Your two friends conversed, Armin explaining that there aren't enough soldiers and that the horses needed to be haled over the wall. Just looking at them, you could see how much they wanted to get Eren back even though you all didn't have enough power too.
"Damn it. Not this again..." Mikasa quietly muttered to herself as she held her black hair.
"You feel any pain?" Armin asked her in a concerned tone of voice.
She gently shook her head. "No. I hit my head but I think I'm okay now." She replied with a genuinely hurt look on her face. "Don't worry about it. It's just not the first time I've been down this road. Except when Annie took him. I didn't waste a second. Not one. That's how Captain Levi and I were able to get him back."
Watching the girl in front of you slowly crumble, your shoulders were hunched a bit as your eyelids lowered. You looked back at the scarf, which laid on the ground. Without the two of them noticing, you gently brushed off any dust and folded it into your hands.
Holding it out to her side in your hands, she looked over at the scarf and at you. She knew very much how you feel right now, but you hid it under your exterior.
As she grabbed the scarf out of your hands, she proceeded to face back from the two of you. "Armin. Y/n." She called out to you quietly, wrapping the scarf around her like he did. "Why does he always do it? Always leave? Always end up someplace we're not?"
Armin smiled gently. "Yeah, it does seem to happen a lot." He agreed.
You nodded with a small hum. "He always had that tendency from what I remember..."
The three of you started to think about the more... 'simpler' times back in Shiganshina. Even with the neighborhood bullies. Eren would nearly always find himself in a new corner of Shiganshina when he was younger, and he was always away from the house to the point where you had to find him.
Hannes watched the three despondent teenagers as they looked down at the grey 'ground' they sat on. It was a pretty sad sight to him, really.