With the cheers come fists in the air and eyes flung wide. We are electrified, awake, soaring to new heights of emotion. Sweat is pouring down my face. My heart is smashing around in my chest, my lungs screaming for air. My leg feels shattered and my arms feel defeated. I slowly stand on my good leg and reach for my flare gun. Mission success. I hold up my flare gun and shoot off a green round. It feels so relieving as the green smoke fills the air. I pushed my body past its limit today but it was all worth it.
While there is a body count, I feel a shiver down my spine. There are very few Titans left with Wall Maria but I can't help feel something is wrong. I look around from a rooftop and can't see anything too out of the ordinary. I take deep breaths and slowly transform into my ears and tail. I sniff the hair and listen for anything that shouldn't be heard.
I can smell someone but I don't recognize. I made it my duty to become familiar with every single person's scent that is apart of the military to avoid things like this. Whoever this person is, shouldn't be here. "Levi! Hange! Mikasa!" The three look up from the ground. "I want a survey of the area. Anything out of the ordinary, report it immediately!"
It only takes minutes before I hear a loud boom and lightning stricks. I jump down and zip toward the noise. The first thing I see is Levi hunched over on a roof, clenching his side. I rush to his side. "Levi, what happened?!"
I lift his hand to see a piece of wood lodged in his side. He winces, turning over to sit up. "I'm the least of our problems."
I look up and see what I truly didn't want to see today. The Beast Titan. His body structure and facial features are like that of a human's, he walks upright like one as well. He stands at 17 meters in height. Dark fur covers the large majority of his body, with the exception of his face, hands, feet, and torso. His arms are elongated, with long fingers and fully-functional thumbs. The proportions of his upper body are similar to those of the Colossus Titan, possessing a massive chest and small head, as well as disproportionately slim arms.
He's standing nearby a home that he doesn't tower over, much like the others. He turns his head to look directly at me. I slowly stand, never losing eye contact. I can hear the soldiers trying to come to the rescue. I quickly fire a red flare round. They all stop wherever they are. The closest people I see is Connie and few others of my Elite Squad. "Stand down, all of you!" I yell.
Connie looks at me with rage. "Commander! I-"
"That was not a request! It was a direct order! I will kill you myself if you don't stand down!"
I see him spit but he does back away. The Beast Titan smirks, making his way toward me. It only takes a couple of steps before he's standing before me. He stinks. He smiles, revealing his large and pointed teeth. "You must be the notorious Saichi Yamazaki."
That confirms you're human, not that I had a doubt about that. However, it just raises more concern about who this person is. if he knows who I am, he has to be active within the walls. I simply smirk, nodding. "You must be the notorious Beast Titan."
"It's almost an honor to be able to make your acquaintance. I see you were successful in sealing Wall Maria."
"Naturally. Are you going to destroy our hard work?"
He tilts his head to the side. "And why would I do that?"
"I believe you know more than I do."
"If I did intend to kill all of you, how would you stop me?"
I run my tongue over my fangs, growling. With Levi injured behind me, and Eren asleep in one of the carriages, I'll be damned if I allow this thing to act out. "If you know who I am, you know I can take you on myself." His expression softens. He must like that idea. I narrow my eyes, nodding. "That's what you want."
He adjusts his standing, alarming some of the other soldiers. They are very ready for him to make one wrong move. My biggest concern is if Eren will wake up to this and lose sight of his limits. "Since you have realized that, what shall we do about that?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Feel like making a deal with the devil? If you allow us to continue to restore citizens' homes within the walls, you and I will face off one day. Just the two of us."
"How do I know you'll keep this promise?"
I pull a knife from my back and sling it into his shoulder. Compared to him, my knife is nothing. He picks it from his fur and looks at it up close. "I'll need to get that back, so take good care of it until the day comes that I slaughter you."
I order everyone to stay still until the Beast Titan climbs Wall Maria and is out of sight. I let out a breath, relieved he's gone without any large casualties then I gasp. "Levi!"
He's looking a little pale from the blood loss. I sit beside him, bringing him into my lap. I throw off my cloak and apply pressure to his wound. I grab his flare gun then launch another green flare then use a black flare and yell, "I need a medical team here immediately! The rest of you need to prepare to depart back to the inner district, no stops!"
Hange and a few others help Levi into one of the carriages. I straddle his lap while I begin working on his wound. Hange leaves me with a few medical supplies so I can have him stable enough before we try moving towards the wall. I unbutton his shirt and see where the wood got into his skin. The stupid idiot took it out while I wasn't looking. I begin cleaning the wound and Levi barely shows any sign of discomfort. I'm just worried he'll pass out. "You know... You're in a pretty weird position at such a serious time..."
I roll my eyes, pressing down some padding while searching for the bandages. "If I feel it get hard, I'll cut it off and leave you here to bleed to death."
"Saichi..."
I have to use my teeth to tear off the pieces of bandages. "Yes, Levi?"
"Why are you reckless with your life?"
Are you really the one asking me such a thing? "What makes you ask that?"
"You're giving up your life to that ape of a Titan. He can kill you."
"I know that." I get the last piece of tape and throw the roll to the side. "Is anything I do really surprise you anymore?"
I wipe away any more blood on his skin then gather the garbage in one pile. "Saichi?"
"Yes, Levi?"
"Thank you."
I finally look up to meet his eyes. "For?"
"Always being you."
Not knowing when it happened, his lips are suddenly locked with mine, kissing me. As always, his lips feel so gentle and so warm. I slide my hands up his chest and grab hold of his shoulders as the kiss began to grow heavy. His hands move from my face and tighten around my waist. I continue kissing him hungrily, wanting more. The kiss goes on, our lips moving in perfect sync and the kiss becoming more passionate by the second.
Reluctantly, I remove my lips from his, pressing my forehead to his. His breath is slow. "I don't think we should be working on making another Suri," I whisper.
He clicks his tongue. "Shut up, idiot."
For the first time, in a very long time, the new Freedom Scouts has succeeded and we were able to come back through the village with our heads held high. Those that were once throwing things at us and cursing our very existence, cheered us on. I'm proud of every single person involved, being able to make it this far and ready to go even farther. For now, we clear out the Titans in the two districts then a team will be created to begin the repair of the walls. We can also find Eren's basement as we claim our territory.
Later that night, out of celebration, a bunch of soldiers is gathering at an old pub. This is actually something that happens yearly with veterans and retired soldiers. It lasts for three days of nothing but heavy drinking, every night is worse than the last. It's when us soldiers are able to just let loose and relax with heavy alcohol in our systems.
I have to set aside the uniform and dress a bit more casual for this messy occasion. I wear my black vest, a white blouse, black pants, and boots. I took medicine Hange gave me my leg isn't too much of a bother. As I'm buttoning my vest in the mirror, Levi comes into the room wearing similar clothing only he didn't bother with a vest. He doesn't even bother with his cravat. If that first-class fabric were to be ruined, I don't know what he would do.
I throw him a jacket and grab my own. "It's supposed to be cold tonight, heichou."
He rolls his eyes and slips it on. He goes ahead to check for the carriage while I stop by the dining hall. Eren and the rest and gathered at a table just doing what brats like them would be doing without orders. Nothing. Eren rested a little when he came in and I'm not surprised to see he isn't still in bed. "Commander!" Armin greets. "Are you on your way out?"
"Yes, I am. Captain Levi and I will be gone for almost the entire night so I expect your asses in bed by the time we get back."
"Wait, Captain, I don't understand what this entire thing is about," Connie inquires.
"It's simple. Levi and I are going to meet some old comrades. It isn't every day we see these people. It's retired and active veteran soldiers all lumped together. Yes, humanity is in danger, but they will always be the same alcohol-loving idiots they were when Levi and I met them."
"I thought Captain Levi dislikes drinking," Sasha says.
"He does but, even during these times, everyone is forced to drink. This crap lasts for three days."
"What?!" they all exclaim at the same time.
I sigh. "I don't know who came up with it, to be honest. It was happening even before Levi and I joined. It's practically a custom now so there's really no escaping it."
"I guess it makes sense since you and Captain Levi are humanity's strongest soldiers," Jean comes. "It must be nice, to meet veteran soldiers. They've been fighting long before we were."
"Oh, don't over exaggerate. At the end of the night, this is just an excuse for drunkards."
"Saichi!" I hear Levi call. "The carriage is here! Let's get this over with!"
I roll my eyes. This man. I throw my jacket over my shoulders and walk toward the front. I begin to hear running footsteps, very light but urgent. Based on the pattern, it's... "Armin," I say aloud. He stops running when I stop walking and turn around to him. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to ask you...about Annie. Do you think the idea of having her executed is...wrong?"
After so much questioning, Annie had a public execution that I instructed none of us to attend for the sake of the brats. "Wrong?"
"Well, even though she was hiding her ability as a Titan and caused a lot of trouble for people, I can't help but think about the Annie we all graduated with and fought in Trost with. She might have been quiet and isolated but she still cared about her comrades."
Poor kid. I didn't know he was even still thinking about her in such a way. I give his shoulder a soft squeeze. "Sadly, that Annie during training was nothing but her own persona to fool all those around her. Her death will not only stop a monster but also avenge all those soldiers we lost due to her actions. I can understand your pain but Annie was a caged rabid dog, surrounded by nothing but guilt and regret. Think of it as setting her free from the hell she lived in as a Titan shifter every day of her life, something neither of us will be able to understand."