Surprisingly, Eren didn't totally despise living in the hospital, or Marley, actually. It was just like back home when he dreamed of seeing the outside world. Of course, there were things that rubbed him the wrong way, and the constant preaching of how everyone on Paradis was devil-spawn, and the racism towards Eldians, saying how there meer existence brought Curses into this world was a bit irritating.
But everything was bearable. The worst part was the waiting. He was planning his first attack against Marley, and there was going to be a festival in about a month and a half. That was when he planned to strike, when the leaders of countries around the world were gathered in one place. He was planning everyday, and the hardest part was his method of attack. His Cursed Technique wasn't enough collateral damage to deal a significant blow to the world he hated, but he had a plan up his sleeve. He just needed to bump the percentage of his survival from one in a million to two in a million.
He was outside in the courtyard, but instead of sitting on his usual bench he was heading toward a more, secluded, area. He followed a wall toward a corner, and when he turned, he saw his older half-brother.
"Hey, Zeke."
"Hello Eren. My, you've really started to resemble our father quite a bit."
"Yeah. Did you find any information on the topics I asked you about?"
"Some, yes. What would you like to start on?"
"How about the way to bump up the chances of survival? What do you have on that?"
Zeke cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, since this has never been attempted before, I've been unable to find anything about it. It seems that there is only a one in a million percent chance of survival for anyone."
Eren sighed. "I can't get revenge if I'm dead. If you can, keep looking. What else?"
"You asked about the Ackerman clan. Well, I've done my research, and came across some information you probably already know; they were an experiment by the King of the Walls, bodyguards with the physical strength of a Special Grade Curse. Their Cursed Techniques are of an astounding level of power, practically in a different league compared to an average Special Grade Sorcerer. Though, they are next to nothing compared to Satoru Gojo."
"Who's that?" Eren asked, his interest piqued. If this man made someone like Captain Levi or Mikasa look like nothing, then that could complicate things.
"Satoru Gojo is a man of incredible power. There are a few people who refer to him as a god on Earth. I actually wanted to bring him up. His Cursed Technique is called Limitless. This allows him to manipulate space to the atomic level." Zeke explained.
"So that means," Eren started.
"If he does not want to be hit, you won't even come close to touching him." Zeke finished.
"If he's an Eldian, I could probably best him." Eren mused.
"It's unfortunate that he isn't. He is a hundred percent Marleyan. Your Cursed Technique won't have any effect."
"Tch. All right, that puts a hitch in our plan. Back to the Ackermans. What else did you find out?"
Zeke sighed. "If you're referring to the 'Ackerman Disease', then you're out of luck. There is simply no such thing. No ingrained behavior to protect a host. Listen Eren, what I think is that there's no true reason, or ingrained behavior, or compelled instinct. She just likes you so much that she'd snap the necks of a thousand Special Grade Curses for you."
Eren was silent for a bit. "I thought you said you had information on the topics I asked about."
"What are you talking about? That was the information I've gathered." Zeke said, giving Eren a glance.
"I could've gotten better information from the toilet, or a dream."
"Now, now. Just because it wasn't what you desired, doesn't change the fact it was still information. We now know that there is no known way to bump up the chances of survival, and that there is no Ackerman disease. You now also know about Satoru Gojo. This conversation was not all for naught, you know."
"Fine. Is there anything else I should know?" Eren asked, slightly annoyed.
"Well, I don't believe that Satoru Gojo will be attending the festival, but he might be in the area. Also, there is another Sorcerer you should watch out for. Aoi Todo."
"And that is?"
"A Jujutsu Sorcerer who is well known because of the fact that he took out five Grade One Curses and one Special Grade, and only used his Cursed Technique, Boogie Woogie, on the Special Grade."
"He sounds like trouble. Is he Eldian?" Eren asked.
"Fortunately, yes. So you should be able to control him or predict his next moves with your Cursed Technique." Zeke said, causing Eren to breathe easier.
"Good, then he should be no problem."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Eren. Well, would you look at the time. I've got to be going now Eren. Have a nice day." Zeke said, leaving.
"You too." Eren called after him.
*Timeskip brought to you by Timeskips*
Eren was sitting on his usual bench with a blonde kid he met the other day. The kid's name's Falco, and he was pretty pitiful. Why, you may ask? Well, first off, he's a huge simp. One of his female classmates is apparently a big shot around the town, but he doesn't wasn't her to become a sorcerer, which is why Eren's currently giving him a pep talk.
"Mister Kruger, I think I get what you're saying, but I don't think I can do enough to stop her from graduating. I'm at the bottom and she's at the top." Falco said. Eren just sighed. This kid's such a drag.
"Look, just because you're gonna lose, doesn't mean you don't try to win. Every little bit helps." Eren said. Please leave please leave please leave.
Falco sat there for a minute, processing what Eren said. Then he nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just gotta keep moving forward. Well, Mister Kruger, I have to go, or else I'll be late for school."
Thank God. "You wouldn't want that now, would you? I guess I'll let you go. Think about what I said, though."
"Of course! I'll be trying harder from now on. I'll see you around!" Falco said, turning to leave. Eren watched, and as he looked out through the hospital entrance, he did a double take. Black hair, gray eyes, a flash of red around the neck.
What's she doing here?
*Timeskip brought to you by Eren tailing Mikasa through the city.*
Mikasa POV:
I walked into the building that was Lady Azumabito's residence. I showed my ID to the doorman, and he let me in. I walked up a flight of stairs that led to the living room where everyone was waiting. I opened the door and sat down.
"Is it just me, or have you made it a habit to come to an important meeting late?" asked Levi, glaring at me.
"Sorry." I replied, looking down. Lady Azumabito waved her hand.
"There is no reason to apologize, dear. We were just about to get started. Would any of you like some tea?" she asked, looking around. Connie shook his head no, Jean and Levi said yes, Hange said no, Armin said no. I said yes.
After we all got our tea, Hange cleared their throat. "All right, I hate to be morbid right off the bat, but we must discuss the elephant in the room: Eren Jaeger."
The mood in the room suddenly got a lot darker. Jean and Connie glanced at each other. Levi looked unconcerned, but I saw his eyebrows slightly come together. I felt the throbbing headache come back, and put a hand to my head. Armin looked over at me, concerned.
"He arrived in Marley about a week ago, and since then, he's completely disappeared off our radar. We know he is planning something big, but we aren't sure what. Though, I have a feeling I know when he'll strike." Hange explained.
"When?" asked Jean.
"There is a festival coming up. It's a rally against Paradis, when a man named Willy Tybur will give a speech to the world nations ambassadors, in an effort to join together and destroy Paradis once and for all. Thinking in the mindset of Eren, I don't think it would be too far off a stretch to assume that he will attack then." Hange said gravelly.
"So what's the plan?" Levi asked, taking a sip of his tea.
"Well, we're going to make sure that the Azumabito's are out of the area, and then we'll wait for Eren to attack." Hange said. Levi sighed.
"That's it? What'll we do when he does attack? Are we gonna fight him or help him and then take him back?" the little captain of the Survey Corps asked.
Hange adjusted her glasses. "That depends on the situation. If he looks like he needs help, we'll help, but if not, I feel it would be best to wait for him to run out of energy. He'll be easier to deal with that way."
Armin looked at me. He knew I disliked the idea of anyone hurting Eren, but I kept my complaints to myself.
"Is that it?" Jean asked. Hange shook her head.
"I'm afraid there is one more thing we need to mention. Lady Azumabito, do you mind telling the what you told me?"
Lady Azumabito cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "Of course. Late one night, about a week ago, we discovered that someone had raided our vault where we keep dangerous Cursed Objects. One was stolen. A finger."
Everyone looked up, a sense of dread filling the room.
"No way." Levi said, eyes wide.
"You can't be serious." Jean said, putting a hand over his mouth.
"Eren." I whispered.
Lady Azumabito nodded, a grave look on her face. "That's right. Eren Jaeger is planning on becoming the vessel for the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna."
A/n: Hey! Thanks for the wait. It's been a while since I've updated this story, the last time being in November. I think that this is the longest chapter I've written so far, 1769 words, including the Author Note. The next chapter will be out by the end of this month, and things will really kick off from there! And next month, don't miss the next chapters of 'The Shadow Hero'!