The lieutenant stood on the floor of a forest, great trees towering above her and she was almost certain it was the same forest she saved Eren from, but alas, it didn't matter. Eren had been gone for years, currently, she only had one focus in mind.
"Training exercise." She informed her squad. The group itself consisted of four women, each of them owing a debt to the ghoul and viewing this as their best way to pay it. Thus, when Kaya heard of them completing their training, she instantly took the opportunity to look further into the women who placed top of their classes. It didn't take much digging to find out that they'd all met previously in the underground, and the ghoul was even more intrigued when she discovered that they were some of the people she'd managed to save from human trafficking.
"If any of you manage to lay a hit on me with your swords, then you'll be on my team for the next training session." Kaya explained, causing each of the women to look at each other in desperation. The ghoul had a reputation for being brutal with their lessons and wasn't afraid to be violent if needed. However, her actions and teaching methods soon led her squad to overpower most others.
"But what if you get hurt?" Sally asked in worry, either that or she was greatly miscalculating the lieutenants abilities. The girl herself was the kindest person in the squad, which the ghoul was grateful for, since she too grew up in the underground.
"As if that's actually gonna happen. We've got a better chance seeing pigs fly." A more pessimistic girl, Taylor countered. She was probably the strongest squad member, she excelled in hand-to-hand combat and was good with weaponry.
"Maybe if none of us win, we'd have a better chance of beating her in the next exercise?" Tessa suggested, obviously having the most brains out of the four, making her Kaya's 'go to' person for advice.
While the other girls stood strategising, the fourth member waited in confusion, she'd never been academically advanced and hadn't even been given the right education to read and write, but she was the fastest learner amongst the rest. Every skill Kaya had taught, Jade had picked up within a few weeks. "You guys do realise that she left about five minutes ago?" Jade asked them, tilting her head as if to ask what's next. As capable as Jade was, her inability to make her own decisions was a major setback.
"What?" Taylor practically yelled. "You knew this whole time and didn't tell us?" She muttered and shot her hooks into the forest, already beginning to try and win.
The ghoul sat on a branch, dangling her feet from the height and listening sharply for her squad to make a move. When she'd first met them, they were helpless, but now, they were so much more. She trusted them to not only protect themselves, but also humanity, let alone herself. However, she still couldn't tell them her deepest secret, she was a ghoul. If ever a day were to come where they needed to know, she wouldn't hesitate to speak the truth, but until then, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Suddenly, the lieutenants ears perked when she heard the familiar sound of ODM gear approaching her, her suspicions as to who it was were soon put to an end when she heard Taylor muttering her frustrations to herself again. It had always been a bad habit of the brunette girl, along with the fact her blue eyes always glued themselves onto the floor whenever doing so.
"What took you so long?" Kaya sat still, shouting towards the brunette.
"Well, I had to give you a fighting chance, didn't I?" Taylor yelled back.
"Sure you did." The ghoul said loud enough for her to hear, causing Taylor to release her gas and speed towards her leader. Kaya only had to jump to avoid the simplistic attack, which only angered Taylor more.
The brunette let out a battle cry before spinning around and getting her blades ready to slice Kaya, it was barbaric, but it was still the lieutenants orders. Taylor didn't hold back on her next move, but before she could land a hit, Kaya drew her own swords and deflected her hard work.
"Maybe you shouldn't have been so generous with that fighting chance?" Kaya smirked and used her minimum gas technique to fly to another tree. On the other hand, Taylor did not share the same concerns for her supplies, eagerly, she once again spun around the tree and tried to catch Kaya off guard by attacking from behind. However, the ghoul stepped from the tree and used her strength to grip onto the branch. As Taylor flew over her, the ghoul swung on the branch and used her momentum to kick her while she still dangled from the tree.
"Asshole!" Taylor yelled as she fell towards the ground, managing to send Kaya the middle finger before saving herself from the impact. This time, Taylor had a plan, so she attached her hooks nearby and prepared to take off, unfortunately, she hadn't thought far ahead. "What!? You seriously ran out right now?!" She yelled at her own gear.
"I keep telling you to conserve your gas, looks like you should start listening to me." Kaya waved from above, but her victory was soon put aside when she heard the other three girls drawing closer. Their attack was different, it had formation, and teamwork. Swinging centre was Jade, on both sides of her stood Tessa and Sally who were either backup or a distraction, she knew exactly how Tessa's mind worked, it was a smart plan, but still had its flaws.
"There she is." Sally informed her team, sounding as enthusiastic as ever.
"Hey Tay, what you doing on the ground?" Jade snickered.
"Well, this is Taylor we're talking about... She probably got too angry." Tessa stated. "Change formation." She then changed the subject and started their endeavour.
In an instant, all three girls put their hoods up and crossed paths to make their identities unknown, now, Kaya couldn't tell which one was strongest and couldn't determine the techniques each would use. Even if they were all trained the same way, they all displayed individual characteristics which made them even greater foes.
After listening to Taylor's protests and demands that she should be given more fuel, the first soldier attacked. Fortunately for Kaya, her unique sense of smell could determine who it was, Tessa. The girl had picked an amazing plan, and perhaps if she knew better, she could've made one that would have been more difficult for the ghoul. Tessa didn't waste another moment before trying to get the best of Kaya, but unlike her fight against Taylor, she had a new tactic.
"Catch me if you can, Tessa." She said before jumping off the branch and gliding through the air at a speed that was unknown to the girls she'd taught.
"She knows!" Tessa shouted to the others as she tried to catch up with the lieutenant, though her attempts were futile. "Jade! Try and catch up." She then ordered.
Jade complied and followed Kaya as fast as she could, of course, she didn't share the same speed, but she wasn't too far behind the ghoul. After her identity was revealed, she didn't bother trying to put her hood back on and cover her distinguishable red hair. Gracefully, it flowed behind her until she came to a halt. Due to her current distraction, she didn't notice Kaya take a swift spin around a tree and flow past her in an opposite direction to which she'd been travelling.
She'd found two of her opponents, now all she needed to do was locate Sally. The blonde girl had a pixie cut and was best at stealth, if it was anyone she needed to be afraid of, it was her.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Sally appeared from the leaves above. At first she was hesitant, but after a quick decision, she dived towards Kaya with her blades ready. The ghoul grew quite shocked and defended herself by meeting Sally's blades with her own. They were both too busy pushing each others blades to care about the descent they were making towards the ground. The ghoul was trapped under Sally, who was also still fighting to not end up in Kaya's position, all while she tried to remain calm.
"You've gotten better at those sneak attacks." Kaya complimented before wrapping her legs around Sally and quickly spinning around so that they were in alternate places. "Surrender?" The ghoul asked.
However, Sally was still reluctant. It got to the point where Kaya grew a little concerned as to how close they were to the ground. But she couldn't save Sally until she surrendered, that was the rule.
"Fine, I surrender, I surrender!" The girl shouted when she saw Kaya wasn't going to give her another option. The ghoul jumped from Sally and let her save herself before making impact with the ground.
Now, she only had two more foe. Tessa and Jade. Tessa was surely rendezvousing with Jade, giving her a brief idea and a whole new plan of attack. Of course, the ghoul wasn't aiming to kill, or even injure them too severely, so she had to take minimal defensive moves and make sure not to hurt her squad.
The best way to do that, was to provoke close combat. So she waited until the others decided to come out of hiding and make their move. It didn't take long for the two to emerge from above and try to attack using the high ground. Jade was first to make contact, but once again, Kaya deflected the blow and pushed the red haired girl to the ground. She didn't hesitate before jumping back onto her feet and dropping her blades to the side. At first, the ghoul was confused, but then she remembered Tessa.
Swiftly, she dived to the side and managed to dodge the dirty-blonde girl. Her glasses were strapped to her face to ensure she didn't need to waste any time fixing her vision.
"Reckless move Jade." Kaya scolded before running towards the now unprotected girl. Rapidly, she used her ODM gear to swing around Jade and when she was in close proximity, she lightly tapped her on the head with the blunt end of her sword. "And you're dead." She exclaimed.
Only Tessa remained. "Do I win?" The girl asked.
"You only win if you hit me with your swords. But well done for surviving the longest, even if you sacrificed your own comrades for your plan." Kaya answered. In a competition like this, she was smart for eliminating her rivals, but as said, it was a low blow.
Tessa held both her arms in the air in submission, but the ghoul knew better than to believe her feigned retreat. So Kaya walked towards the girl, her swords by her side and she didn't display any signs of betrayal. Until suddenly, Tessa brought her blades above her head, ready to bring them down on Kaya. The ghoul didn't allow it, she simply ducked under Tessa's arms and placed her back against the girls front. Next, she grabbed the strategist's arm and threw her over her head. Tessa was eliminated.
AUTHOR'S NOTE ••• I actually enjoyed writing this. We've got a new squad full of strong allies and lieutenant Kaya in action. For some chapters, I'll be doing flashbacks, idea came from Razor-blade ,who I'm really grateful for bc I was struggling.
Also, which new character is your fav so far? Tessa? Taylor? Jade? Or Sally?