{Long Chapter Ahead - 4,960 words}
Jean, Sasha and Armin arrived from shopping in the town for their daily need supplies. Jean made the horse and their wagon to park in front of their cabin."...We finally made it." Jean said. Armin and Sasha hopped off from their wagon, as well as Jean.
The three started taking out the supplies they bought in the wagon. they bought from the "I don't care why we're too far from civilization!" Jean said as he picked up a heavy box.
Jean turned to Sasha and hand her the heavy box. "Here, Sasha. This one's for you." The young man said.
Sasha took the hevay box from Jean. And cringed at how heavy it is. "What is this? Unh! It's heavy!" Sasha said.
Jean picked up a small sack of rice and put it over his shoulder, then picked up a bag of whatever then held it between his left arm and waist.
"It's full of potatoes. They're your buddies, right." Jean said.
"What...could you be talking about? I've forgotten all about it." Sasha said.
The brunette-lady is trying hard in pretending to be so confused and innocently clueless about potatoes.
Jean snickered at Sasha.
"Don't worry, I'm sure anyone else in the 104th could remind you."
Sashs frowned and just made her way going inside their cabin, Jean and Armin following behind her. "Still, everything has become so expensive. If we lose these food supplies, we're going to starve to death." Armin said.
The blond-boy got inside the cabin first. "That's right, Sasha. Just try to sneak some food out. Captain Levi will slice you into nice, bite-sized pieces." Jean said, which made the brunette-lady to gulp down because of the mention of their scary captain.
"Ulp...I wouldn't. Probably."
Sasha said, though she whispered the last word she said.
Jean's brows furrowed, he looked at Sasha. "Huh? Did I just hear you say something else?" Jean asked.
The two got inside the cabin and went straight to the kitchen where Armin is. The three started organizing the food supplies they bought. "We don't need to depend on all these groceries. We can just hunt in these mountains!"
Armin and Jean looked at Sasha.
"We can't, Sasha. Even this far out, hunting's still prohibited. If people start talking, what's the point of hiding out here in the first place?"
Sasha looked at Armin and awkwardly smiled. "O-okay, I understand...I won't...probably."
And again, Sasha whispered the word, "probably."
Jean frowned. "I heard that, potato girl!" The young man annoyedly said.
"Guys..."
Jean, Sasha and Armin looked at Eren who arrived. The green-eyed boy looks funny with his bandana and white cloth tied around his neck, he seemed to have used it as a mask.
Eren's also holding a broom. (A/n: Eren's part time job: Maid) "Did you brush all the dirt and dust on you before coming in here?" Eren asked.
Jean raised a brow. "...What? Of course we didn't. Just look at all this stuff we're carrying. It's pretty obvious we couldn't." Jean said.
Eren's eyes widened out of disbelief.
"...Do you still not get it? Do you think captain Levi will be satisfied with soldiers who act like that? This morning, too! If I hadn't made your bed, then--"
"Shut up! Are you my mom or something?!" Jean annoyedly said.
"We're back."
Toe two boys, Armin and Sashs looked at Mikasa and Historia who just arrived from chopping woods.
"Wait! Where's Y/n? Isn't she back yet?" Armin worriedly asked.
"Not yet." Eren said.
"There she is." Historia said.
She pointed outside, making everyone to also ook outside.
They saw the h/c lady on horseback.
Armin was in disbelief.
"Hello! I'm back!" Y/n happily said.
Jean's brows shot-up when he noticed Y/n's eyes are a little puffy.
"Why?! Why are you on horseback?! I thought you left on a carriage?! And why are you wearing your gear?! You're not yet well!" Armin said.
Y/n laughed. "Mama Armin?"
Armin frowned. "You're not a wild animal! In fact, you shouldn't be moving yet!" Armin said, like an angry yet worried mother to Y/n.
Y/n pout her lips and scratched the back of her head. "I'm fine. And I don't want to go soft. Gotta stay in shape, you know?" Y/n said, smiling.
"It's hopeless to scold her, Armin. She wouldn't listen. In fact, I saw her this morning working out." Eren said.
Jean dramatically gasped, he then glared at Eren. "You were peeping on her?!" Jean asked, sounding furious.
Eren's eyes widened. "Wha?!"
Y/n sighed and shook her head when the two boys started bickering again.
"...You know...it kind of feels like we're recruits again." Sasha said while smiling, blushing and drooling over the breads she's organizing.
Y/n and Armin nod in agreement
"Yeah, but...protecting Eren snd Historia is a major assignment. I know we lost a lot of seasoned soldiers...but there have to be units more experienced and talented than us available...why were we chosen for squad Levi?" Armin curiously asked.
"Because we really are that great." Sasha said as she quickly and secretly slip one bread inside her sling bag.
Y/n chuckled, she noticed it, yet she chose to stay quiet. But Sasha is not off the hook, because Armin also saw what she did. "Hm? Sasha, what did you just put in your bag?" Armin said.
Sashs side-eyed Armin. "Definetely not a piece of bread." Sasha said.
Y/n started laughing.
Mikasa, Historia, Jean and Armin staryed scolding the brunette-lady because of stealing one bread.
Eren frowned and heavily sigh. "We're got to finish cleaning before the captain and Connie come back." Eren said. But no one listened to him. Eren paused for a moment as he stare at his friends, he then looked down upon remembering his old squad-members. Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Petra along with him and captain Levi.
Y/n suddenly stopped laughing when she saw Levi and Connie came back.
The Levi squad just noticed the captain and went silent after seeing Levi's usual stoic facial expression.
The captain walked towards the dining table and slid his hand under it. His brows twitched after touching dust under the table. Levi raised his hand and stared at his new squad.
"You should have had plenty of time..." Levi said in a serious tone.
Eren gritted his teeth, shut his eyes and held his head out of stressed.
It seems like he's more stressed in trying to reach Levi's high standards in cleaning than transforming into a titan and killing his enemies...lol.
"Pfft." Y/n let out a small laugh, she took out a her handkerchief from her pocket and hand it over to Levi.
Levi accepted the handkerchief and starred wiping his hand.
"Well...never mind that. We'll talk about your lax cleaning job later. Right now, we need to get organized and plan our next move. All of you, get ready for a meeting, while we wait for four-eyes and her squad."
"Yes, sir!" The Levi squad said.
Y/n smiled as she watched her friends continue their cleaning and organizing. "Y/n." The h/c girl looked at Levi when the raven-haired male captain called her. "Come with me. I have something to tell you." Levi said.
Y/n just nod her head and quietly followed the raven-haired male captain to his room which is also his mini office, since their cabin is not that big, Levi's room is a little small. He needs his space alone, of course.
While the girls stays in one room, while the boys stays in another room.
Y/n closed the door, while Levi sat on his office chair. He let out a sigh and leaned on the backrest of his chair. The h/c girl roamed her eyes around. "Heh...your personal space is always spotless, captain shorty." Y/n said.
Levi rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that, you brat. I'm your superior."
Y/n just chuckled at Levi's remark.
"So what is it that you want to tell me?" Y/n asked.
Levi intertwined his hands together and leaned his elbow on his table, his chin now resting on his intertwined hands. "Erwin told me that he'll need you to go to him later for some discussion about the survey corps' next mission. Leave as soon as our meeting is done. After meeting with Erwin, come back here and report to me. I'm sorry, I know you're still not fully healed, but you're the only one person we can fully trust when it comes to comnunication." Levi said.
Y/n leaned on the door.
She crossed her arms over her chest and cooly nod. "I'm fine now, captain. No need to apologize and don't worry. Is that all? No more other orders?"
Levi shook his head. "No more. Just be cautious when you go outside. The government is keepin an eye on us."
--
Hange and her squad arrived, they all gathered in living room and dining area for their meeting. Squad Levi are on the dining area while Squad Hange are in the living room. "Of course...
While much has happened recently, our original goal is still the same. That is to close the hole in wall Maria. As long as we can do that, most of the details don't matter. Whether it's the people next to us turning into a titan."
"Ah!" What Levi said made Sasha to shrieked, she even looked at Jean who's on her right with a suspicious look, as if thinking if Jean's a titan.
Jean looked at Sasha and raised a brow, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Hmm?
"A hair-covered titan tossing boulder at us, or a handful of titans popping up inside the walls." Levi added.
He then looked at Armin.
"Hey, Armin." The blond-boy looked at the raven-haired male captain. "You said if things went well, we could plug up the wall fast. Explain that again."
Armin nod his head. "Yes, sir...my idea was to have Eren transform into a titan, then use his abilities to seal the wall. The walls...seem to be made out of hardened titan bodies. So if he can create enough matter on the spot to plug the hole...then...if that's even possible, of course...there'd be no need for wagons to carry large amounts of materials, like the original plan. We could also choose a cloudy night, when the titans would be less active, to head to the wall. If it's just on horses, we should be able to travel the road from Trost district to Shiganshina district in one night. Under these ideal conditions...the mission to recapture wall Maria would take...less than 24 hours."
Everyone remained quiet as they process everything the blond-boy said. "But now that I'm talking about it again, it does sound like a pie in the sky dream." Armin said.
"Nah..." Y/n spoke, everyone looked at the h/c girl, she's just standing while the others are sitting. The h/c girl is not wearing her combat uniform anymore, just a simple black shirt and skinny denim jeans. Also, a black jacket that she borrewed from Eren.
"Whether that dream...can be made real depends on Eren." Y/n said.
Now everyone's looking at Eren.
Eren gulped and nod his head.
He felt pressured, even though Y/n didn't really mean to make him feel pressured. "Yes...I understand that."
Levi then looked at Hange.
The brunette have been quiey since she arrived, she somehow looks so grim and guilty, even Y/n noticed the brunette's gloominess.
"Hear that, Hange? He's for it. And you're the one who chooses where our experiment will take place."
Hange just stared down and nod her head. "Yes...of course. It's my duty. As long as I'm alive." Hange said.
"Huh?" Y/n and Levi said in unison.
"The Garrison is fully mobilized, and patrolling the wall. That requires an amount of labor and manpower. Patrols in the walled cities have become so infrequent, they can't even maintain order. This situation will only compound the chaos in the end. We have to recapture wall Maria... I'm even more convinced than before. I want everyone to feel safe again soon...I want this to be a world where people can live without fighting each other." Hange looked at squad Levi.
"That's why...I want to test out Eren's powers as soon as possible. This time, we'll experiment without fear to find out more about his hardening ability, and everything else. The idea...that he may have manipulated the titans...is an amazing possibility. If Eren can really do that. It could very well turn our situation completely around!"
Hange then looked down.
"That's why...we can't sit around and waste time! We have to hurry...and take action! But...I still want Eren to lay low for the time being."
Hange said, shocking everyone.
"What?" Eren asked.
"But...why?" Armin asked.
"I mean...the situation seems to be even more complicated than we thought." Hange said.
Levi and Y/n raised a brow.
The h/c lady looked at Moblit for an explanation, the brown-haired male just shook his head, as if telling Y/n to just wait. While Levi stared at Hange.
"Huh...from the moment you came here, it looked like...you've been on edge, lie you're holding a shit. You've still got that look on your face." Levi said. Y/n hevwuly sighed because of another poop joke from midget Levi.
"So why do you need to keep it inside. Tell me, Hange." Levi said.
"Minister Nick is dead."
Y/n, Levi, and the Levi squad members were surprised. "Huh?" Y/n and Levi said in unison once again.
"Wha..." Armin said.
"Minister Nick was found dead this morning...inside the Trost district barracks. I don't know the cause of death...but I know he was murdered."
Hange continued on explaining what had happened about minister Nick, and with all the information she told the Levi squad, they were all just in disbelief. "Nick was tortured by the interior first squad of the military police...then killed. I had thought that the church would try to get their hands on Nick once they learned he was helping the survey corps. That's why I hid his identity and put him in the barracks, but...I never imagined they'd use soldiers to kill him." Hange gritted her teeth. "I was naive...it's my fault that Nick was killed." They said.
Levi sipped on his tea, while the others remained quiet. Y/n turned to face the window and stared outside.
"Torture? So the MPS tortured minister Nick to find out how much he told us?" Y/n asked.
Levi nod his head. "Probably...they'd want to know if the connection between Reiss family and the church had gotten out...and they'd want to know where Eren and Historia are."
Moblit looked at Levi.
"Of course, we have shared this information with commander Erwin, Pyxis and the entire survey corps. So now the tables have turned on the interior MPS. We're watching them. So they shouldn't be able to do anything too extreme. Still, if they change their methods, there are plenty of ways they could find us...we don't know who is a friend and who is an enemy right now. Even coming here, we into split two groups and assigned shadows to look for anyone tailing us. Though I don't believe this location is compromised yet."
Levi looked at Hange. "And so...that's why you want to hold off on experiment on Eren, right?"
Hange nod her head. "Yes...from the time Eren's titan powers were revealed...someone from the interior has been trying desperately to get their hands on him." Hange said.
Y/n stiffened on her place. The young h/c lady suddenly remembered the scary man she had an encounter with at a PUB in Mitras two months ago.
"Yer Eren Yeager's girlfriend, right?"
"How can ya date a monster? Don't you get scared that he might eat ya as a titan? Yer life would be wasted."
"I just hope ya won't be a nuisance to me."
"But...since the recent turmoil, the level of pressure has clearly changed. They're trampling through territory they used to see as off-limits, they may have already split the military into two factions. Everything inside the walls has become unstable, too. If you think about this, it becomes clear that "outside enemies" like Reiner and Bertolt had allies on the inside the whole time. In other words, what we need to be worried about...is being finally stabbed in the back while out attention is diverted outside the walls." Hange said.
Levi raised a brow. "So? You're saying we should just sit here and have tea parties instead?" Levi asked in a very obvious sarcastic tone and manner.
"There's still a lot we can do inside... like knitting. Please just for now." Hange said.
Y/n shook her head. "No."
Everyone looked at Y/n again.
The h/c girl turned to face them, but she only looked at Hange.
""Just for now"? No, it's the...opposite. Hanji-san, do you think these people are going to give up that easily? They'll find us here eventually. If we do nothing but run, then all we can do is get caught." Y/n said.
Levi nod in agreement, while Hange and the others just stayed quiet and stared at the young h/c lady.
"Hanji-san, you're normally clear-headed. But right now, you feel responsible for minister Nick being killed, and that's made you timid. How many of minister Nick's fingernails were torn off?" Y/n asked.
"Huh?" Hange said.
Y/n let out a heavy sigh.
"You saw him, didn't you? How many?" Y/n asked.
"I don't know...I only saw him for a moment, but...all the ones I could see were torn off." Hange said.
Y/n's brows shot-up. "Ah..."
Y/n then raised her handd a little and adorably wiggled her fingers. "If you're going to talk, you talk after one. If you're not going to talk, it doesn't matter how many of your nails they rip off. While I do think that minister was an idiot...it looks like he held onto his faith." Y/n said.
Levi nod in agreement. "If there's a strong chance that Nick didn't talk... it's possible that our "someone" in the interior hasn't noticed that the survey corps is watching the Reiss family. Anyway...the way I ses it, there's two paths we can go." Levi said.
The raven-haired male captain made two of his fingers raised.
"We go outside before we're stabbed in the back...or we exterminate our would-be-killers first." Levi said.
The captain looked at Hange.
"Which one do you choose, Hange?...Go before we're stabbed?" Levi asked.
Hange gritted her teeth as she remembered how minister Nick looked like after getting kille.
Hange glared at nowhere, then she looked at the Levi squad with a determined look."Both. We'll do both at the same time." The brunette said.
"Huh. I guess that's exactly what Erwin would say..." Levi said.
(A/n: Does Levi have some kind of Erwin brainrot? Lmao...)
--
After the meeting of the Levi squad and forth division squad,
Hange, Molit, Keiji, Nifa and Abel left at the same time to go back to the survey corps headquarters.
Of course, the Levi squad stayed on their cabin since they can't go back to their HQ or even roamed around in any places. Eren, Mikasa, Historia and Connir are now all in the kitchen and preparing their dinner, Levi's in his officr with Armin and Y/n discussing their possible next moves if ever something happens. Jean and Sasha are both outside to keep on lookout.
The sun's about to set soon.
"To be honest...I feel like I don't understand half of what's going on." Connie said.
Eren looked at the boy, the two of them are both peeling some potatoes. While Krista and Mikasa cooks their dinner. "...What? Really?" Eren said.
"Basically, we're going to run experiments as quietly as we can. Meanwhile, we'll crush anyone who's in our way." Connie said.
Eren then stared at nowhere. "If you want more details..well...let's get Armin or Y/n to explain later. But
Y/n's leaving so let's just ask Armin."
Connie nod. "Yeah." The boy suddenly looked mad while he peels a potato. "Personally...I just wanna kill that beast titan." Connie said, his tone laced with anger and annoyance.
Eren stared at the bald-boy.
"Ymir said that it was that ape that turned my whole village into titans, right?" Connie asked.
Eren nod. "...Yeah."
"And what about Ymir? She made fun of me when she exactly knew what was going on. I never imagined she could be so cruel..." Connie said.
Mikasa is also now interested in the two's conversation.
"No."
Connie, Mikasa and Eren looked at Historia when the blond-lady spoke.
"When Ymir did that, it was because she thought it would hurt you if you learned the truth about your village... she was doing her best to distract you." Historia said, sue didn't bother to look at Connie, Eren nor Mikasa. She just focused her eyes on the pot of boiling stew she's slowly stirring.
"Huh? She wouldn't do something like that...right?" Connie asked.
"I know her." Historia said.
Connie didn't say anything anymore and just stared at the potatoes he's peeling while Mikasa stared at Eren who's worriedly staring at Historia.
She's been like this ever since we returned. Back then, the fourth night we spent here...I guess that was the only time she really talked to us. And ever since Historia told us about her upbringing... Eren thought.
"Hey! I'm leaving now!"
The four were distracted when Y/n came. Armin also came. "Why don't you have dinner first before leaving Y/n?" Mikasa asked, like a good mom.
Y/n smiled and shook her head.
"It's fine. I'm not hungry, anyway, and I reallt need to leave now. So just see ya'll tomorrow!" Y/n said.
Armin hand Y/n a piece of bread and steamed potato, while Mikasa gave
Y/n a jug of water. "Thanks!" Y/n said as she put it all on her black sling bag.
"I'll borrow your jacket, Eren! I'll give it back to you when I want to!" Y/n said as she walks out of their cabin.
Eren chuckled. "Sure!" Eren said.
--
Y/n went to the stables, she pet her horse for a while and even gave it some grass and made it drink water.
"You're leaving already?"
Y/n looked back and saw Jean, wearing a coat and a shotgun is hanging on his back. "Yes. Why? Do you want to come with me? Or do you want me to buy you something when I come back? Y/n asked with a smirk.
Jean rolled his eyes.
He walked towards Y/n. The h/c lady was surprised when Jean suddenly turned her around. "What are you--"
Y/n shut her mouth when Jean put a necklace around her neck, she looked at it and saw that it's her silver four-leaf clover pendant necklace. "Oh..."
Y/n smiled and turned to face Jean, but to her surprise, her face is already so close to him. Both of them stiffened on their places, and eyes wide-open.
Y/n gulped as she felt Jean's hot breath on her face, and the young man's the same. Both of them felt their heart beating fast and loud.
Jean's eyes traveled down to the h/c lady's lips, his cheeks went red upon remembering his stolen first kiss.
Y/n followed Jean's stare, and she was more than astonished upon realizing that the young man is stating at her lips. OH WALLS. OH WALLS. IN THE NAME OF WALL MARIA, WALL ROSE, WALL SINA...SACRED WALLS...TELL ME WE'RE NOT GOING TO KISS?!?
"You're..." Y/n stiffened on her place as she stare at Jean who spoke. "Going now, right?" Jean asked. He faked a cough and moved away from the h/c lady, looking away with blushing face.
Y/n stared at Jean, dumbfounded.
"Y-yeah...I'm going now." Y/n said.
Oh...we didn't kiss... Y/n thought.
The h/c lady frowned and just turned her back on Jean. "I'm leaving. Bye." Y/n said as she hopped on her horse.
Jean looked at Y/n, the two of them stared at each other for a while.
Then they both looked away at the same time after feeling awkward.
"Bye. See you tomorrow." Jean said.
Y/n just nod, the young h/c lady thrn made her horse gallop fast foward.
Jean just watched Y/n leave.
He feels relieved that Y/n didn't look back at him anymore, since he felt so embarrassed for being so close to her.
--
- Trost District - Survey Corps HQ -
A heavy sigh came out from Erwin's mouth after reading the final report of the soldiers he sent to keep an eye on the Reiss's properties.
All their reports are the same, but being the smartass he is, Erwin knows that something is really hidden.
*knock* *knock*
Erwin looked atbthe door upon hearing three consecutive knocks.
"Name and business?" Erwin asked.
He started keeping the reports inside his drawer and fixed his messy table.
"You don't know me."
A smioe crept onto Erwin's lips upon hearing Y/n's voice. The h/c lady didn't even wait for a response and just barged in, making Erwin to chuckle.
"Yo, commander!" Y/n said.
She even saluted at the blond-man.
Erwin laughed and shook his head. "You're late." Erwin said.
Y/n frowned, she walked towards the mini round table on the side and sat on the chair in front of it. "I had to be very careful coming here, I made lots of long cuts just to avoid any MPS in the town, since the short cuts are full of inspections. Those ugly unicorns are such a pain in the ass." Y/n said.
Erwin stood up from his chair, he walked towards his book shelf and picked out one book, the blond opened the book and started looking for the page he's looking for.
"How are you?" Erwin asked.
Y/n leaned her head on the table, there's a chess on the table so she started playing by herself again.
"I'm fine now. How about you? Your right arm..." Y/n said.
Erwin looked at Y/n.
"I'm fine, too. But I hate only having one arm. I can't move around easily like how I used to." Erwin said.
Y/n let out a heavy sigh, she bumped a black pawn onto a white rook. "So... what's the survey corps' next mission? We can't seal the hole in wall Maria yet. Especially now that the government is keepin an eye on us, and they want Eren and Historia... what now, commander?" Y/n asked.
Erwin walked towards Y/n, still holding the book he took from his bookshelf. His index finger stuin in the page so that he won't lose it.
Y/n's brows furrowed when Erwin slid the book in the table just right in front of her. She saw that it's actually a novel. Y/n's eyes widened a bit when she saw some highlighted words on the certain page Erwin showed her.
Spy, police, government, secrets, truth, wall, monster, royal family, theories, crimes, innocent people, corrupt, law, killings, dirty, gamble, justice, better place, worth victory,
Y/n and Erwin stared at each other.
The two smiled at each other.
Y/n took out a pen and paper from her bag. She then started writing on the paper. "You mean...I will spy on the military police, you think the government has secrets, they know the truth about the walls and titans, even the royal family could be involve. Our theories might be true. The MPs have crimes, lots of innocent people became their victims, the government is corrupt and manipulates the law, they also do killings. We should get our hands dirty, depend on another gamble to give justice to the innocent people and make this a world a better place. It would be worth is. Especially if we're the ones in victory at the end."
"That's absolutely right." Erwin said, while nodding his head. He took the book and closed it, Erwin also took the paper from Y/n. The blond walked towards his table and burned the paper on the candle on his table.
While Y/n just chuckled and shook her head as she continued playing chess.
The h/c girl smirked after getting her black queen chess piece to checkmate the white team by getting close to the white king chess piece.
"Hey uncle, do you want to overthrow the government?"
Y/n asked.
Erwin raised a brow.
The blond-commander looked at his niece, who also looked at him.
A small smirk was then plastered on Erwin's lips upon seeing the young h/c lady defeated the white team by bringing down it's king, just by using the queen of the black team.
"Sure, why not?" Erwin said.
____________________________________
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:)
A/n: Y'all, it's my dream to overthrow the government with Erwin.