Time stopped for no one and training continued onward. From running in the rainy forests and trekking through snow covered mountains to flying through the tops of trees with ODM gear. Training was brutal and some barely made the cut. However, watching their peers fail, only inspired others to work harder. Although some didn't need to try at all, they were talented, born to kill titans.
Gas released from her gear as Y/N flew forward, toward the wooden titan that stood ahead of her. With the press of her trigger, the hooks of her ODM gear shot forward and stabbed itself into the skin of the titan. Skilled fingers pressed on the second trigger and she released one last pump of gas to speed towards it. With an effortless swing of her swords, she sliced the nape of the titan's neck clean off. A perfect kill.
To the side, she heard Connie's loud voice through the thick of the forest. His shout directed to Jean. Y/N swung herself from the tree to tree, toward the shouts.
"You don't care if I steal your thunder, right?" Connie asked with a shout. He bounced from a few branches and up to the nape of the neck of another fake titan that Jean was making his way towards. Connie didn't even have time to swing his swords down before another cadet stole his thunder.
Y/N let out a chuckle.
Sasha let out a loud screech as she let herself fall, almost landing on the ground, only to pull herself back up into the air. A wide smile was plastered onto her face as she took credit for the kill with her excitement. Jean and Connie watched Sasha with wide eyes before Y/N flew past them and towards more wooden titans getting raised. They watched as she jumped from tree to tree, gaining height before falling straight down on one titan's neck to slice it. She then latched herself to the tree above a second titan and as she made her way up, sliced its neck.
"That's stealing thunder..." Jean sighed as the trio followed after Y/N, who sliced more fake necks than she could keep count of.
It truly is funny how irony works sometimes. How the world will turn on someone for saying or even thinking something. What can make a scenario even funnier is if it's deadly or lethal, or will put someone in mortal danger. Sometimes, it's their overconfidence that'll be someone's downfall.
Using ODM gear is simple, Y/N remembered thinking out loud to the rest of the group back when they were putting on their gear. Just take it slow and keep your eyes open to where you're aiming. Make sure you're hooking onto a stable branch, make sure your hook sticks before trying to move ahead.
Speeding through the tops of trees using ODM gear isn't hard if you know what you're doing. Y/N knew exactly what she was doing, at least, until a hook fell just under where she needed it to stay secure. She swung forward, paying no mind until she felt the sudden jerk of the hook falling out of the branch.
Freefalling in a giant forest surrounded by giant trees is not what Y/N expected to find herself doing during this training session. It really is funny how irony works.
"Y/N!" Sasha's voice sounded from not too far behind. The stress in her voice did little to help Y/N figure out a way to stabilize herself as she fell.
After a few seconds more of flailing, Y/N found herself diving towards the ground. Her eyes narrowed as she took a deep breath and held out her swords. She watched as the distance between her and the ground grew shorter before maneuvering herself to look upwards, towards the tops of the trees. With one last deep breath, she shot her hooks up to the branches overhead and felt herself smile as she saw them both attach to their respective branches. The ground was nearer and she felt it. Y/N felt herself relax before pressing the gas trigger.
"That's what Sasha did," Connie pointed out.
"But more lethal," Jean added as the three appeared by Y/N's side as she flew straight up into the air.
"Are you alright?" Sasha called over to Y/N as she continued to maneuver herself forward with the rest of the group.
Y/N felt herself smile again. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Y/N L/N, average in the classroom, but exceptional with hands-on training. She almost reminds me of...
"Alright, Y/N," Furlan stood over the short girl, already in a fighting stance, which prompted her to follow suit. Her messy short hair was pushed back into a crude updo done by the tall man. "Keep your fists up, protect your face," he instructed.
Y/N looked down at her fists to find them in front of her neck and chest rather than her face. She raised them quickly.
"Good, now-"
"Furlan, Y/N, guess what I just got?"
The two looked over to see Isabel running toward them with a bundle of something in her arms. Y/N glanced at the tall blond, who was too busy watching Isabel, and left to meet her halfway.
Furlan noticed as she moved out of the corner of his eye. He immediately turned to her. "Y/N-" He let out a deep sigh and simply let it happen. With comfortable strides, he followed after the young girl to meet with Isabel.
"What did you get?" Y/N asked, a wide, toothy grin plastered onto her face.
"Look!" Isabel held out her arms to show a small pile of fresh fruits in surprisingly nice condition. Not the brown, bruised ones that they usually got their hands on in the Underground.
Y/N's eyes widened, her mouth opening into an 'O,' which started to water at the sight. At her side, Furlan sighed and pulled Y/N away from Isabel before picking her up to simply hold her against his hip.
"How did you get those?" He asked, looking down at Isabel. He was almost disappointed in her, but had a hard time showing it. Especially since every few seconds, he would have to push Y/N's outstretched arm down to avoid grabbing some of the fruit from Isabel.
Isabel let out a nervous chuckle. "About that..."
"There she is!" A man shouted, from not too far off. To the side of the open space the group was in, in front of the house, was a way leading to the main road, which was now blocked off by a group of three angry looking men. Their burly bodies blocked off the whole width of the passage.
It didn't take long for the men to rush at the three. Their eyes widened, fear exposing itself from each of their minds.
"You wouldn't hurt a kid!" Furlan tried, his grip on Y/N growing tighter as her arms wrapped around his neck.
"We know who's kid that is. We hate them." The leading man spat, his bushy eyebrows furrowing downwards. His lips curved downwards as he continued towards them. "Ruined some good business."
Y/N frowned. Were they speaking of her parents? They were good people. They did not deserve to be talked about like that.
"Just give us back our merchandise and we'll leave," the leading man explained, showing the palms of his hands out as a sign of peace.
Isabel turned to glance at Furlan, who was nodding, and Y/N, who shook her head.
"Isabel, just give them ba-"
"People like you don't keep their promises," Y/N spoke up, much to Furlan's dismay. "That's what my mommy and daddy said all the time!" A large, angry frown formed on her lips as she stared down the men in front of the trio.
The three men couldn't help but chuckle as the leader spoke up, "Huh, bright kid."
Isabel, Furlan and Y/N watched with wide eyes as the leader began to approach them, his hand reaching into his pocket before pulling out a knife. With quick thinking, Furlan immediately put Y/N down and pushed her behind him.
"H-hey, all this? For some fruit?" Isabel asked, her grip on the fruit in arms tightening.
"This is the last time you'll get in our way-"
The large man let out a grunt that turned into a wail of pain as he fell to the ground. His hands grasped at a knife that had pierced his leg.
Furlan and Isabel stared at the scene with wide eyes, the men behind their leader were also surprised. Slowly, their gazes turned to Y/N who stood with her arm outstretched.
"Levi gave me that knife. You better give it back."
The sun poured down onto poor cadets of the 104th as they began to practice their hand to hand combat. In the dusty practice field, dozens of cadets stood in pairs practicing their fighting skills. Y/N was paired with Jean due to the height difference, as Shadis had explained.
"Not to brag, but I was pretty good back in my-"
Jean was already on the ground with the wooden knife to his throat. Y/N was sitting on his chest, her feet pinning down his wrists. Her eyes bore down into his own, a horrifying stare meeting his own petrified eyes.
The objective was simple: disarm your opponent or pin them down with the knife.
She had done both.
"Not to brag, but I was pretty good as a kid." Y/N offered a small smirk before getting up off of Jean. She held out her hand to him to help him up, which he took hesitantly. "Let's go again."
Jean nodded, his eyes still glued to Y/N, wide and startled.
He had seen her fight other cadets of the 104th, but assumed that they had just been really bad at self defense- Eren and Armin were her main sparring partners and this time, Eren was sparring with Annie Leonheart. Now here he is, standing in front of the girl who took him down before he could finish his three second speech. Her hair still sat in its perfectly messy braid as if nothing had happened. She was...beautiful.
Jean shook his head of such thoughts as he saw Y/N get into her stance again. He quickly followed suit, the dusty gravel rubbed against the soles of his boots, creating a rough noise as he brought his fists up to hide his face.
Y/N was starting out with the knife this time. It was in her right hand, Jean noted before they began to circle around each other. Stalking each other, watching each other. He gulped, staring into Y/N's steady glare. He watched as she pulled her head from side to side, then around to crack it and he was on the move.
With quick hands, he moved to grab at Y/N's wrist that held the knife. With a quick jump to the side, she managed to get out of the way. But it wasn't difficult to dodge one of Jean's attacks.
Stepping on her left foot, she spun to face Jean again. Her right foot pushed her forward as she brought her hands in front of her again. Jean jumped to the side and Y/N smirked. She stayed behind Jean, making sure his back was to her. At least for a split second, because that was all the time she needed. In that split second, she latched herself to Jean's back, her knees squeezed his hips as she held the knife to his throat, under his chin.
Y/N leaned forward and spoke into his ear, her voice holding a lethal tone, "And you'd be dead." She felt Jean stiffen in her grasp and noticed out of the corner of her eye as Jean's face turned red. His face turned multiple shades brighter when a voice chimed in from behind the two.
"You two are having fun," a snarky voice laughed out. Connie had appeared with Sasha by his side. The two were sparring partners themselves and were now out to terrorize the pair.
Y/N and Jean let out tired sighs together and Y/N jumped off of his back. The wooden knife hung loosely in her hand. When she looked back at Jean, she saw his flushed cheeks still burning against his pale skin.
"Yeah, Jean's having fun getting his butt kicked," Sasha laughed out, poking fun at the tall, flushed boy.
Connie turned to Sasha. "Really? I thought Y/N was just getting a scope of the area, she can't exactly see from high up-" He let out a gasp as the girl in question grabbed his hand and bent it backwards. Sasha and Jean's face paled as they watched the two with wide eyes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He repeated, yelping in pain. "I'll stop!"
"Promise?"
"I promise!"
Y/N let go of his hand and grabbed the knife she had placed in the belt of her waist before she went to threaten him.
"Didn't she do that to you at some point?" Sasha whispered over to Jean, who simply nodded in response.
Their eyes were still glued to the pair in front of them. Connie was cradling his injured wrist and hand while Y/N was playing with and twirling the fake knife in her hands. They jumped when she looked back up to Jean.
"Want to go again?"
The man before her grunted in pain, holding his leg after the small girl yanked back the knife.
"Y/N!" Both Isabel and Furlan shouted. Their eyes were wide and panicked. Their shouts must have been heard from inside the house, because not even a full minute passed when the door swung open. Levi leaned on the door frame with his eyes crossed.
"What's going on?" His voice remained even as he eyed the situation.
"This brat stabbed my leg!" The man shouted from the ground as he cradled his leg. "Someone help me!" He was sweating and his eyes were tearing up.
"You're all talk," Y/N stared down at the man. There was no emotion on her face. The man, however, stared up at her in fear, as if he had finally realized who influenced who she became and who she was to become.
"You're not a kid... you're a monster. You were raised by a-"
"-beast!" Connie smiled as Y/N pinned down Jean with the knife for a fourth time. The current tally was four to two. "I don't know how you did that so fast, but you're a beast!"
"You're so cool!" Sasha beamed. The two cheered around the two, not paying mind to the frozen scene next to them.
Y/N stared down at Jean holding the wooden to his chest. At first glance, she was as stone cold as she always was. But as Jean stared back, he noticed the far off look in her eyes. She wasn't all present, like she was daydreaming or living in some distant time.
The two had gotten closer over the past three years. When Y/N wasn't with Mikasa, Eren and Armin, she was usually with Jean, Connie and Sasha. While they may have gotten off on the wrong foot when they first met, they certainly had become better friends now.
"Y/N... you beat me..." He spoke quietly, just above a whisper. He kept his eyes on her face as she kept silent. Something had her in a trance, Jean noted, and he knew he had to pull her out of it. "Y/N?" He asked, concern showing through his voice. He was louder than before, but she still didn't seem to come back to reality. She was still straddling his hips, holding the wooden knife pointed to his chest.
He didn't know what to do, so he did what he could. He grabbed her hands tightly in his own before pulling one of the hands backwards to make Y/N loosen her grip on the knife. Her eyes, the ever exposing windows to her soul, snapped awake and she let out a yelp but Jean wasn't done. He slid the knife from her hands and brought his feet closer to his butt. He was able to thrust his hips up and turn, the rest of his body following suit. He placed the edge of the knife at Y/N's neck, his other hand holding one of her wrists.
"Jean-" Y/N gasped out, her wide (e/c) eyes staring up into his own. From Jean's own perspective, he saw someone startled awake from a nightmare.
"Did you finally re-enter reality?" Jean couldn't help but smile when Y/N finally came to.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Sasha called over from her own position, pinning down Connie with her knife.
Y/N's gaze didn't move from Jean. "Yeah, everything's fine," she called back.
"Obviously not." Jean furrowed his eyebrows as he moved to let Y/N go and stand up. "But if we don't want to get demerits, we have to at least pretend like we're training," he muttered, sticking a hand out for Y/N to grab.
Hesitantly, she reached up and grabbed Jean's hand, allowing him to hoist her up.
"Alright, Y/N," Jean shot her a smirk and got into a fighting stance, "want to go again?"
Y/N noticed his choice of wording. He could have said any phrase to prompt a new round to begin, but he specifically chose her words. He chose to quote her. She looked up and smiled softly, letting out a 'hmph.'
"Bring it on."
In the mess hall, many different conversations were going on at once. It was hard to keep track of it all. Armin was talking about how hard it was to be an expert at ODM gear whereas Jean was talking like he knew all there is to know about using it. He was much different now than he was during training, she noted. She had humbled him, that Y/N knew, but everything about him was so much different.
Jean was bragging about how he was the best at using his gear, but everyone else obviously had their opinions. Y/N sure did. She took a bite of her bread, not sparing him a second glance. Instead, she was having a staring contest with the wooden table holding her plate. There had to be a reason for why he was acting so differently now. And with the way he was talking, there was about to be some sort of fight breaking out any moment now.
The conversation topic had suddenly changed to job assignments and how he was going to join the Military Police. The one getting the butt of the speech was Marco. Sitting diagonally from Eren, she saw him getting more heated the longer Jean ran his mouth. It didn't take long for the two to stand and nearly begin to brawl. And then they did. Even after Mikasa had tried to stop them.
"Will they ever shut up?" She muttered to Armin, who was sitting across from her. He paid her no mind as he watched the scene unfold.
To her surprise, the two did shut up once Eren had tossed Jean to the floor. With a loud thud and a grunt, Jean was thrown to the wooden planks with Eren staring down at him. Gasps echoed throughout the mess hall as Jean sat up, holding his head.
"Dammit! What the hell was that move?" He grunted out. His eyes were squeezed shut in shock and pain. Probably also embarrassment from being knocked down a peg. He finally looked up at Eren again.
With all the rage in his eyes, Eren responded, "Little something I picked up this afternoon while you were busy with your thumb up your ass."
'Was that an insult to me-?'
"You honestly believe the Military Police are your ticket to the good life?" Eren almost laughed. "You're not a soldier. You're a joke."
Everyone was staring at the two now, watching and waiting for Jean to make another move. Nobody moved, nobody said anything. A pin could drop and the whole of the hall would hear. The air was thick with a suffocating intensity that walking out of the hall seemed like the best option to breathe again.
With a loud creak, the door to the mess hall opened, relieving some of the hot tension with some cool, refreshing air.
Until Y/N turned and saw Shadis in the doorway, a dark shadow casted on his face as he stared down everyone in the mess hall.
"Would someone care to explain the little ruckus I heard just now?" He didn't move. He didn't even blink. He just stared at the hall of teenagers with his eyes piercing each and every one. "I do hope everything's all right."
As silently as they could be, Jean and Eren quickly moved to sit down at a table again, this time, sitting across from each other. Eren sat next to Mikasa while Jean was next to Armin.
Raising her hand, Mikasa gave an answer, "Sasha passed some gas, sir."
A horrified gasp escaped from Sasha as she stared in disbelief at Mikasa. Betrayal was written all over her face. A new wave of embarrassment was about to be released onto her, especially since the trainees just got over 'potato girl.'
Shadis brought his hand up to cover his nose. "Why am I not surprised?"
Another horrified gasp left Sasha's mouth as the majority of the mess hall broke out into stifled laughter, trying to hold their amusement in.
"For the love of god, learn some self control." Shadis slammed the door behind him allowing for a new, fresh air of relief to wash over the hall again.
The remainder of the night was spent with Sasha complaining to Mikasa and Jean and Eren scowling at each other. Y/N took a glance at Armin. He looked so much more relaxed, now that there was no more physical violence occurring. Y/N couldn't help the small smile that grew on her lips.
"You can't stab people like that Y/N, you're just a kid," Furlan stared down at Y/N, her big (e/c) eyes startled and scared. He almost felt bad.
"But I just wanted to help..." Her voice came out quietly, shaking, as if she would begin crying any second now. They both knew that she wouldn't. She's tough, strong enough to not fall in front of people.
"I'm sorry, guys. It's all my fault," Isabel said with a frown. She sat at the table along with Y/N and Furlan, the latter staring them both down.
"You're right."
"It wasn't anyone's fault," another voice chimed in. The three turned to see Levi entering through the door that led outside. "It was going to happen anyways. They knew we were housing Y/N. They didn't much like the L/N's." He crossed his arms as he stared at the three. He walked slowly over to stand between Y/N and the wall behind her.
After a short moment, Y/N's soft voice filled the air. "So I'm putting you guys in danger..." She spoke quietly, but still loud enough for the others to hear.
"No, not at all-" Furlan tried.
"You reacted as you saw fit. I'm proud of you, kid." Levi reached out and patted the girl's head, messing up her already messy hair. He felt her relax under his hand and a small smile formed on his lips. As quickly as it appeared, however, it faded away. "Isabel," his gaze snapped to the girl in question, his voice much more stern than before. "Make sure you clean off the blood on the path."
Isabel flinched as his tone, her wide eyes shut as she whined. "Why me?"
"You're the one who brought them here," Furlan chuckled at her.
And Y/N couldn't help the small smile that grew on her lips.
~~~~~
it's been a hot sec
Shorter chapter, but I've only really been working on it during my english class (and somehow wasn't caught by my professor).
It's really weird seeing the difference in what I'm writing now vs how this story was originally. like, I have a whole other plot now lmfao