Hope you enjoy! Your comments literally make my day🥺 This is a little longer since it's the first chapter!
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Attack On Titans~
The feeling of pure fear consumed me, paralyzing me where I stand; and the loud screams echoed around the streets of Wall Maria. People were running. They were hiding. Everyone was terrified. At that moment, I didn't know what to do. I was so scared, so frighten of what was going on. Standing there in shock and disbelief, I feel my whole body rock.
This was the beginning of the life I never wanted.
* * *
2000 years from now, humans are nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years.
"I'm trying!"
"Well try harder, woman." Greg slouches over the kitchen counter, with his tired eyes and mean scowl; and I turned away in absolute disgust.
I fucking hate him, disgusting pig. He treats my mom like shit. I'll never understand why she keeps him around. It's not like he has no place to stay. "Pass me the syrup, sweetie." I swiftly hand her the syrup and looked away. Looking at her now makes me want to scream.
Why can't she just leave him?
"What's with that look on your face, boy? Got something you want to say?" Greg slurs, like always, and the stench coming off of him, urgh, it makes me want to puke—it's sickening. "Huh?"
"I have nothing to say." Coldly looking up at him, I rise out of my seat and glared. "Hope you guys enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to Armins house."
Mom sighs. "Julius-"
*Slams door*
I left the house and didn't look back, because I knew if I did, I would go back in a heart beat. That prick thinks he can boss me around! Well, he's wrong. Rubbing my face in frustration, I start to feel....guilty for leaving my mom all alone with that man. But I just can't help it. I couldn't take his awful words...
Taking my hair scarf off, my long, slight puffy, wild curls, cascades down my back, and I squint up at the sun.
Ugh....people are looking at me again.
I just wished they didn't stare.
ARMINS POV~
"Armin, someone's knocking at the door."
"I'll get it!" Dropping my book, I walk to the front door. When I'd opened it, I was too in shock because it was the last person I'd expected to see. "Uh...." We met at the stables I think. His beautiful light honey eyes, mesmerizing as they are, and bright, glared daggers at me, with such anger it made my skin crawl; talking about skin, his is beautiful; A caramel skin tone, glistened with sweat. And his long curls were drenched. Oh....
"Don't tell me you walk through my trap-"
"Why would you have a trap outside your window!" Juilus stomps on the ground, upset. "I didn't need a shower, you know. That bucket full of water could've drowned me. Urgh....Can I please get a towel or something?" Lifting his long eyelashes up at me I bow my head.
"Yeah. Come on in." Opening the door I gave him enough room to slide pass me. Once inside, I closed the door behind us, and my grandfather, being the curious person he is, walks in. "Oh? I didn't think you'll bring a girl over...." He stares down at Julius in shock and disbelief.
"Girl?" I blinked, and then realized that Julius kinda looks like a girl "Oh! He's a boy. Grandfather, this is Julius."
His mouths opens in a O shape. "Nice to meet you, sorry." Grandfather grabs onto Julius hands and Julius smiles. "Sorry if I'd made you uncomfortable, it really wasn't my intent."
"It's alright." Julius pushes a strand of hair out of his face. "It happens."
Thinking about it now, when I'd first met him, I thought he was a girl, too. I also couldn't believe the person I was staring at was real....
You see, he's a rarity. There's not many black people left, not after the titans incident.
His thin nose and high cheekbones stood out beautifully together.....he looked mixed with something else.
Even though he might be mixed, it's still strange to see someone like him in our presence. It might also be dangerous for him, with people out there selling others on the black market. Blinking, I grabbed the towels. He's probably cold. I should give these to him.
JULIUS POV~
"Why did you have a bucket outside your window?"
"It's to keep people from sneaking in at night."
Armin and I sat in silence. But I ended up starting the conversation first. "You said I could come over anytime I want. And I know we just met, but we'll be good friends," I tell him, and he smiles.
"Thanks. I'll like that." Bringing his book up to his knees, he sighs. Me being the curious person I am looked over to see what he was reading. That's when I saw....
"Wow! Is that real!" *Grabs book out of hand*
"Be careful with it."
I scan through the pages. "Wow. Is this real?" I point my finger over at one of the pictures in the book. "The ocean...." It says it goes on for miles. And storms occur in it...."I want to see the ocean," I breathe out. Armin smiles brightly at this.
He leans in to grab the book and I let him, waiting to see what he'll show me. That's when he turns the pages, revealing this beautiful mountain full of snow and mysteries. "Uncle told me having this is illegal, but I don't care." Lifting the book up closer to my face, I back up and he points, near the bottom. "Someone wrote this book from the past. They've traveled to these places, without worry of titans....they were completely free...."
"Free." It feels weird saying that word on my tongue. I've never once felt free. In this world I've always felt trapped, like there was nothing for me. I accepted that a long time ago. "Maybe life is worth living for," I smiled, placing the book to my heart while closing my eyes. "I want to swim in the ocean. Even though I've never swam in my life."
"Same."
Few minutes of silence fell upon us, but quickly left when his grandfather walked in. "Armin, could you go to the market and get some bread. Here's the money..." Dropping two coins in his hand, Armin sticks it in his pockets and grabs the book.
"We'll bring this with us," he smiles. Tucking the book inside his old worn out bag I make my way outside. It didn't take long: we made it to the market place, bought the bread, then took the longer way home because of an incident that happened just now.
I wanted to ask him where his parents were, but I don't think it's the right time. We only just met.
"Armin? Is that you....got some food for us?"
Stopping in my track I see three older boys staring down at Armin. Maybe his friends? I look over at Armin, and to my surprise, he was shaking like a leaf. And this made me angry. "Who are you guys and what do you want?" I stepped forward, both of my hands clenched to my side. Hit the guy on the right, kicked the guy in the middle, then grab Armin and run.
All of the boys attention went over to me, where they all eyed me up and down. "And who are you?" The first one spoke.
Oh...Blondie has an attitude. I smirk. "I'm Armins friend. If you'll excuse us, him and I have some important things to do. We'll rather not waste it in your guy's presence." I scoffed, pushing my way pass the boys when one of them grabbed onto Armin, slamming him against the wall. "Hey!-"
About to lift my fist up and punch one of the mother fuckers, they all suddenly stopped what they were doing to look at something, something behind us. "That's Eren!" One of them yelled. Another one laughing.
"That fool's back. He want to get his ass kicked again?"
"Let's give him what he wants-"
"M-Mikasa's here, too!"
I turn around to see two people running towards us, one of them being a girl with pretty raven hair, with matching dark eyes, and the other, a boy, with bluish green eyes and dark brown hair. "N-No.....Let's get out of here!" And like that they all left running, leaving me standing there confused. What just happened?
"They ran away when they saw me," the boy with green eyes said in awe.
And Armin stands. "No, they ran when they saw Mikasa," Armin corrects, the boys eyes widening.
"Ouch," I giggled. "So you know these guys?" I side eyed the boy glaring at me. What's his problem?!
"Hey, are you okay Armin?" Mikasa gently helps him up from off the ground, the boy with green eyes stepping forward in concern.
"I can stand on my own," Armin tells her.
I picked his bag up from off the floor, plus the bread that had tipped over in the mud. "I'm so sorry Armin. The bread...." what a waste of perfectly good food. Placing it back in the small bag, Armin shrugs it off. "Uh? Don't you want to go back to the market and get more. I'll pay for it-"
"No. It's fine. I'll just tell grandfather what happened."
"Are you sure?" I bring out two coins. "I'll go run down and get some bread." About to turn away and go to the market Mikasa grips my wrist.
"It's alright. We have bread to give him," is all she says, the green eye boy stepping forward. I looked between the both of them, not sure of what to say. But...I look down at the coins in my hand. Maybe it's better letting them help Armin. My mom would probably need this. "Fine," I put my coins in my back pocket.
Then suddenly there was a finger pointed right at my face. The finger belonging to the green eye boy. "Who are you? And why are you still here?" He glares, Armins stepping forward in front of me. This boy's already getting on my nerves. "Come on! Spit it out!-"
"Eren stop! He's a friend of mine!" Armin takes my hand and pulls me away, knowing I'll probably break this little twats nose; however, I willingly let Armin deescalate the situation. I don't want to embarrass him in front of his little girl friend. "Eren, this is Julius, the boy I told you about."
"The one at the stables?" Mikasa questions.
Armin nods. "He goes there all the time, lives right across the bridge. It's pretty far from where we live."
"I see," Eren says, looking away from me. "If he's your friend, then I guess I'll let this pass."
Urgh. This kid acts like he's the boss in this friend group. "So, what are you guys doing?" Armin lifts his hands up to fix his hair, his blue eyes waiting patiently for one of them to speak. "If you don't have anything to do, why don't we go to our spot and talk a little."
And that's what they did. They all ended up going to their favorite spot, even going far as letting me tag along—it's not that I didn't want to come. I just felt like I was intruding in a way.
"....why does everyone think you're crazy if you want to go outside?"
"Because staying within the walls has brought peace for a hundred years," Armin answers easily. My gaze turns away from them to look at the walls. "They're afraid that if many of us venture out, we'll risk letting them in. So the royal government declared any interest in the outside world taboo."
"That's our lives we're risking, so it's our business," Eren declares. This only made Mikasa frown.
"You can't." She looked about ready to say something else, but refrained from it. "Forget it."
Eren frowns, "Come to think of it, why did you tell my parents?"
"Huh?"
Eren slides away from her. "I don't remember ever saying I'd help."
"H-How did it go?" Armin raises his brow in interest. This only made Eren more upset.
"Well....they weren't happy." Slouching, Eren grabs a stick from off the ground right next to me and I smiled. He also smiled.
While Armin wraps his arms around his legs. "I wonder," he begins, "about those who think staying inside the walls will protect us forever. Just because the walls haven't been breached in a hundred years doesn't mean they won't be breached today.."
Armin has a point. Looking up at the sky I pull my hair back in a ponytail. We will always be unsafe, as long as the titans walk the earth.
BOOM!
"What?" I stand up from my spot with wide eyes. What was that?!
"An explosion?" Armin questions. I was too busy contemplating about what could possible be going on, that I didn't even notice them leaving; until the sound of footsteps met my ears. "WAIT UP!" They're leaving me!
Grabbing whatever I had brought with me, I easily caught up with them. The sound of people chattering invaded my ear drums and made me feel anxious. I didn't like how jittery everyone's gotten, including the Garrison Regiment.
If they're scared.....I kept running until the three of them eventually stopped. Then what the hell's happening?
"I think something fell from the sky!" This lady exclaims, her eyes filled with horror. "It hit the wall! Over there!"
There's smoke on the wall. Squinting my eyes I try to find any damage that could've possible occurred, but nothing. The wall looks okay.
Wind blowing through my hair I lean in closer to Mikasa. I didn't like how anyone was talking. It was like we were waiting for something. Bad feelings occurred inside me when the smoke slowly started fading away. Everyone watched the wind drift the steam....and when it did....
Everyone stepped back in fear.
"N-No way...." Eren backs away. All of us stood there in complete and utter fear, afraid....
"T-That's a titans hand..." My voice quivered. "The wall is fifty meters tall, t-that's impossible. How is that possible..." T-This can't be happening!
Lifting its hand to grip the wall better, the titan reveals its face to us: there was no skin, just muscle. Fear dripped in my veins at the sight of it. After a few seconds of just staring at our village, it backs away from the wall and puts its head down. Then after a few more seconds, looked at us one last time before kicking this large hole threw the wall.
Dust immediately surrounds us, the pressure of the air almost knocking me off my feet.
For a second I couldn't see shit—with all the dust that got in my eyes—but when my eyesight came back....there stood a huge hole in our wall.
And the titan that was there....disappeared out of thin air.
"Where did it go?!" How could it have possible escaped?! Squinting my eyes over at the hole, my eyes widens. N-No....
"THEY'RE COMING IN!" Someone screams.
Everyone around me runs and hides. I couldn't take my eyes off the titans....I-I need to warn my mother.
"Julius!-"
"I have to warn my mom! Meet you at the safe zone!" I yelled back. I'm sorry, but I can't leave my mom behind. Thankfully she's on the other side of the bridge. There's no doubt in my mind she'll be safe.
Rushing through the crowd of people I tried my best not to trip over anything. It broke my heart with how many kids were left wandering the streets, crying for their parents—I would help them find their parents, but what if they died? I pray they find whomever raised them.
Taking a sharp left, I make my way for the bridge full of people. Some were getting trampled by other people, some trampled to death whilst others....got right back up and kept moving.
It makes me sick how careless people get in situations like these. But who am I to blame them? If it came down to it....my life is on the line. I'll want to survive, by any means. Getting eaten alive by those things. Who would want to go through that? The hell that'll come down on you when they latch their hands around your screaming body.
Fuck. Someone pushes me to the ground, and to my surprise-
"Greg?" Greg looks down at me, my eyes scanning for someone else. Where's mom?! Squinting down at his hand, I see him clench his fist. "Greg," I frowned, "where's mom?" Please don't tell me you left her behind, you piece of shit.
"The bitch wouldn't leave. Said she needed a few things." Greg looks away. "I'm not dying for that woman. It was nice having sex with her for awhile, doesn't mean I'll lay my life down for her."
"YOU PIG!" I screamed, and he jumps. "You fucking asshole!" Lifting my fist I punch him right in the jaw, and to my surprise....he didn't react. He just stared down at me with this hurt look on his face. "W-Why would you leave her....Fuck you. You never deserve my mothers heart. She was way too good for you."
And with that last statement I dashed for my house. I-I can't believe he left you, I angrily thought to myself. That pig. I hope he burns in hell for eternity.
Taking a sharp turn to the right I see my small little house standing in the corner. The front door to our house was wide open, which concerned me—I hope she's okay.
"Mom!" Running through the front door with my hair all in my face, I quickly search for any sign of her. Did she evacuate? Greg said she was here. "MOM! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
CLANK!
"Julius! Honey, quick! Come down here!" Mom reaches out her hand for me, so I take it. "We need to hurry. It's almost finished."
"Mom-" Dragged down into the dark
basement, my mom let's go of my hand. She runs off to her table of herbs. "Mom, we need to get out of here! T-The titans have-EW MOM!"
Placing this red stuff on my face, my mom closes her eyes, both of her hands gripping my face. "Neptunia solvere vincla, Neptunia solvere vincla, Neptunia solvere vincla, Neptunia solvere vincla," she repeats over and over again, my brows furrowing in confusion. What is she saying? "Custodire eum hodie, et dabo tibi animam meam." What is she doing?!
As she's doing this I feel the ground beneath us shake. The shaking made both my mom and I stay still. "They're here," mom gasped. "We need to leave. Now!" Grabbing my hand and dashing out the front door, we both made our way outside.
The stuff mom put on my forehead made my skin itch, so I rubbed it off with my sleeve. I don't know what she put on me, but it smells horrible. "Hurry up Julius, we're almost there!" Mom picks up the bottom of her worn out dress to run faster.
I look behind us to assure no titans would creep up on us. But as I was looking behind me I ran right into something—my mom. "Mom?" Slowly turning around I see my moms quivering form. "Mom?" I whispered, about to call out out her name when a large shadow appeared out of nowhere around us.
THUD!
"A-A titan...." My body felt like it'd been drenched in cold ice. The moment my eyes caught sight of the titan above us, was the moment my whole life flashed before my eyes. The titan stared down at us with a smile permanently plastered on its blooded up face, it's large hands reaching out to grab us.
And I thought that was the end for the both of us.
Until my mom pushed me off the bridge and into the river, where the current took me away. The sound of my moms screams echoed out, but I couldn't see what was happening....
Because at that point...I was too worried about drowning to even shed a tear.
"H-HELP!" I screamed, yelling for someone to get me out of this mess.
The water invaded my nostrils, and the taste of water filled my mouth. I thought that was the end for me—I was going to drown and no one would know.
Then the world around me begins to fade.
* * *
"Is he awake?"
"He's been out for hours now..."
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
"Look! He's waking up!"
"Urgh..." Where am I? Slowly my eyes flutter open. The sound of people chattering got louder, and the atmosphere felt heavier, almost unbearable. As soon my eyes fully adjust to the blinding light outside I see Mikasa staring down at me, with Eren and Armin by her side. "Where....am I?"
"The boat," Armin whispers, "one of the heroes saved you from drowning. Thankfully Eren spotted you....we almost hit you with the boat."
"Really?" Trying to sit up, Eren gentle pushes me back down.
"Don't. You still need rest," he whispers, my eyes looking everywhere else other than him.
"Where's my mom? I-Is my mom-"
"We only saw you." Eren looks away. "But we heard a woman scream your name....she stopped screaming after awhile...I'm sorry."
"Your mom's dead."
"No. You don't know that!" I stand up, tears falling down my face. He's lying to you. This is all some sort of....sick game. "It's n-not true!"
"I watched my mom get eaten by a titan. She couldn't run away because the house collapsed on her, making it impossible for her to run—her legs were crushed and there was nothing I could do." Lifting his teary green eyes at me, I felt my whole world crash down. He has no...reason to lie. "I'm sorry, but she's gone."
No....I don't want believe that. I-I won't.
Clutching my heart with my hand I try to take in deep breaths. The feeling of their eyes on me only made things worse, because, they could tell I was having a meltdown. Armin scoots closer to me, rubbing circles around my back as I stared at nothing. It was like I couldn't see. Everything around me begins darkening.
And then I passed out. I'm so sorry mom.
* * *
7 Years Later~
We were seated in a wagon, as horses pulled through large fields. I was the only person woken up for this ride—other than the soldiers taking us there—too anxious to even fall asleep; however, I did have Armins book, so I wasn't totally bored out of my mind. And yes, I've read this about a hundred times, but still, I love the old thing. The ocean. Caressing the beautiful drawing, I closed my eyes. One day I'll see the ocean mom. Just you wait.
"Julius?"
"Hmm?" I turn to Mikasa.
You're still awake?" Mikasa leans up from her slumber with a tired expression on her face, her smile disappearing when she saw the book in hand. "Julius, put that away before you get caught."
"Pff." Trouble my ass. I laid the book in Armins bag and smiled. "There," she eyes me. "I put the book back." After saying this she nods.
"You have to be more careful," Mikasa spoke, softly, her breezy voice making me slump a little. "We should be there in an hour or two, so just relax, take a nap. I'll be watching over you guys....you won't have to worry about any intruders bothering us."
"I can't sleep. There's too much going on in my brain." It's annoying.
"There's a lot on your mind? Tell me," Mikasa leans in. "Are you having those nightmares again?"
I snorted, "I haven't." At least these pass few days come by with easy rest. I've been having a hard time sleeping. The nightmares I have usually ends up waking me, sometimes I'll scream, and I'm always feeling lost and confused afterward. "I've been doing better. Though, it's just a matter of time until my nightmares come back. You know, to bite me in the ass."
Mikasa smirks. "I understand...Well," she lays back in her spot. "If you're not gonna rest, I'll catch extra." And with those last words she closed her eyes.
I should go to sleep, I thought. Because, if I don't sleep now I'll be exhausted during training. I heard training is brutal for us newbies, and to be quite frank with you, the only thing I'm good at is eating....
Food is life. Life is about food. What more can you ask for?
However, ever scene Wall Maria had been invaded by titans I couldn't eat full meals like I use to. For a year I had to eat stale bread and soup, along side Armin and the others. Some even fought us for our food. We were like animals, stuck in boxes....I'm just happy we made the decision to come here.
I know Eren came here for his hatred of Titans. We all hate titans.
But I didn't come for that.....I came for the simple fact they were going. Wherever they go, I go. Plus, I didn't want to waste my life scrabbling for food behind walls, hoping one day all of this will change. I want to make my own change.
I refuse. I will not waste my life behind these walls.
WHISTLE
"We're here. Everyone wake up!"
"Urgh...." Armin rubs his eyes. "W-We're already here. I thought the ride would be longer," he leans up.
Eren immediately straightens his back. "Same here. I thought it would be further."
"You guys were asleep. To me, it felt like years," I exaggerated. But for real though, this ride has been long. "I can't wait to eat. My stomach hurts."
Mikasa offers me her bread. "Take it. This will keep you satisfied for a bit." I look down at it.
Then looked away. "Sorry...." I gently push it back, "but that bread looks stale. If I eat that, I might puke my whole guts out for weeks. And that's saying a lot," I admitted, to which they all rolled their eyes. Hey. I'm being honest. "Thanks, but you should eat it. I'm sure you're hungry."
She shakes her head. "Not really, no." Bitch. I don't know how she isn't. This girl literally gives all her food to Eren. He's always her number one priority—I think she's emotionally attached to him in some way. Maybe it has to do with something in their past. I mean, she isn't related to him, yet, they both stayed together. This makes me wonder: What happened to her parents? "Look," I look up at the large cabins on top of this really steep hill. The area below it looked like a practice ground—just plain, dry, mass of dirt. "This is where our new life begins. Get ready." After saying this the wagon stops.
"Where's my bag?" Armin rubs his eyes. "I think I left it-"
"Here," he eyes the bag in my hand. "I saw it slipping off you, so I kept it by my side, sorry." I lied. I was reading the book out of boredom.
Armin takes the bags, yawning a small thank you before slowly climbing out of the wagon. I followed suit behind him, my golden eyes shifting to the left and to the right of me—I noticed all the trees around us. We must be far. "This would be a great place for gardening," I voiced out . All of them gave me that stare—basically asking me to shut up. "Hey. It's true," I whispered. We can make really good potatoes here. "Urgh, forget what I said. You guys have no imagination." They're literally so bland.
"Hurry up," a soldier growls. "We have no time for your Lollygagging. Move." Geez. Who pissed in his cereal? Lifting my chin up I take in one deep breath. He's just in a rush, that's all.
"Sorry," I bow slightly. "Lead the way." He's not worth my hurtful words.
"I'm surprise you didn't snap. You're never this compliant."
"Well," I turn to Eren. "We're joining the Training Corps. Disobeying higher ups won't get me anywhere." Pulling my hair out of my bun I let it fall down to my side, my long curls drifting in the wind, softly. I looked up at the soldiers to see them watching me. "?" I frowned. "Can I help you guys?"
Both of them immediately go red. "I-Uh...no," the first one splutters. He turns away from me. "We're here. This will be your cabin," he points behind him, me eyeing the large cabin. "There's more people who've yet to arrive. They'll most likely be roomed with you bunch." He clutches his nose. "Good bye."
And with that both of the soldiers walk away.
"What was that all about?" Eren questions, Mikasa walking pass him to check the cabin. I had shrugged, because I honestly didn't know.
Those soldiers were just acting weird. Looking at the cabin I place my bag on the top bunk, eyeing the the bed for any bugs. No bugs, I breathe out in relief. I've always had a fear for bugs. Now.....the others beds.
"Here Julius goes with the checking," Eren groans. I simply ignore him. "Come on, there's bugs everywhere around the world. Don't you think this is a little excessive?"
"Excessive? More like great reasoning." Lifting up the mattress I smiled. "See. No bugs. I can sleep in peace," I huff out. It didn't take long before I was in the bed, face down on the pillow. "My head hurts. Probably my fault for staying up all night."
Mikasa snorts. "I told you, sleeping would benefit you in the long run. Suffer the consequences, Julius." Lifting her feet up on the bed I pout.
So blunt, I thought. Taking a peek at Armin I see him opening this random book, the book a dirty blue color. I wonder what he's reading.
I was going to ask him about the book when the door opens, revealing this really pretty brown hair girl. She seems really nice, but she looked extremely nervous. Her brown eyes darts around the room until it lands on a particular person. "Sorry," she looks over at Mikasa. "You're in the wrong cabin. The girls stay on the left..."
"Okay." Mikasa hops off her bed. "Sorry. I'll be there in a sec."
"Yeah. Sorry," the girl bows. Closing the door behind her we all look at Mikasa.
"Well," I stand. "I'll miss you." Reaching out my arms to hug her she grumbles, "I'm moving to a different cabin, not leaving you forever." Pulling away from me she walks out the cabin with her bag, the rest of us watching in silence.
She was my fav roomie, I pout. "I'm going to really miss her."
"Julius, you're going to see her again," Eren scoffs, to which I pout even more. He sees this and shakes his head, basically telling me to, "deal with it, because it happened. There's no changing it."
"You'll still be able to see her," he adds, my heart breaking. Yeah, but I'll have to see your face more. Groaning I lean up off my bed. "Uh? Where do you think you're going?-"
"Outside," I yawned, hand wrapping around the doorknob. Once the door opened I flipped Eren off—proudly—and made my way outside. The last thing I heard from him was, "real immature," which I knew I wasn't.
I'm still a kid. Who said seventeen made me an adult? Old people wish they were me.
Leaning against the door of the cabin I looked out into the distance. When will we face the titans again? Closing my eyes I frowned. Is this the path I really wanna take? I'm only doing this since Armin and them are like family to me. And yeah, I should've came here because I wanted to protect my people, but that's not why I'm here.
I want to protect them.
Well, there's no doubt in my mind that Mikasa can take care of herself. She's one hell of a fighter.
I'm more worried for Eren and Armin. Armin's too sweet, more on the knowledgable side of things rather than fighting. Eren's stubborn as hell, never listens to anyone, always throws himself in danger; though, I admire that.
He's so motivated to kill the titans and change the world....while I'm....just waiting for my time to pass—Not like I won't put up a fight, cause I sure will, but if the time comes, it comes. Death comes for everyone, eventually. If I happen to die it won't matter....
Hmm...I scrunched my nose. What's that smell? Opening my eyes I notice someone's mouth in front of my face. The smell of their breath reeked, rotten almost. When I looked up to see whom it might be I see this mean looking face, on this older man. He had no hair at all, a permanent scowl, and a nicely made uniform. The wrinkles on his forehead moved with his eyes, his orbs observing my every movement. He looks scary.
"What's your name, trainee." The man glares, and I quickly straighten up.
"Julius Alita, sir." Bowing slightly I hear him snort at me. This must be our instructor, Keith Shadis. After a few seconds of just bowing he bangs on the door rather roughly behind me, glaring.
"Meeting at the circle by five! Any later and you'll be punished accordingly." With that he turns his heel, walks away, and heads for the main cabin. Well, I wipe the sweat off my forehead. That's one scary guy. Backing myself against the wall again I take in this much needed breath. "What are you doing out here?" A voice whispers.
Opening my eyes I see Eren lean against the wall beside me, eyes trained on his new boots. "You know, you should probably put your uniform on. They're under our beds," Eren informs. That's when I noticed the light brown leather jacket on him, and the newly made pants. He smirks, "I know, it's nice, isn't."
"It would look nicer on me," I raised my brows, and he scoffs. "I'm just being honest." Slowly walking pass him I teasingly drag my hand through his hair, because I know how much he hates when I do that. "Urgh, stop you weirdo," Eren growls.
Ignoring him I walk into our cabin.
I immediately searched under my bed to see if my uniform was there, which, unsurprisingly, it was. It came perfectly folded, the boots also flat on top of it. "Hmm...." I graze the boots softly. "Dust?" Maybe these boots have been used.
Quickly putting the outfit on I noticed the boots fit nicely, hugging all the way up to my knees in a very comforting manner. The whole time I just marbleized over my new shoes, which I know some people would frown upon, but I haven't had anything remotely comfortable in a long time. "Welp," I stand up, twirling my hair back up in a bun, leaving a few baby strands hanging. "Wonder what the others are up to."
Opening the door I immediately make my way down to the field where I see everyone in line. Well shit, my eyes widens. Let me hurry down there and get in line. Hurriedly speed walking down the hill I quickly got in line, a few people looking in my direction. A lot of them were flabbergasted at my appearance, since I was either late or that I was mixed with black. Either one, they chose to stare. "I'm so fucked," I whispered, since everyone was staring in my direction. "Please. Everyone," I closed my eyes. "Stop looking in my direction. Y'all making things suspicious."
"MY NAMES SASHA SIR!" A girl yells from afar, but I couldn't hear anything else, but I did see her try to give this man a steamed potato. When did she get that? Eyeing the brown hair girl she smiles, but the instructor ended up yelling at her ass to run all day, until the sun comes down. This made me feel bad for the poor girl....that's a lot of running. "Julius Alita! Why are you over there?" Blinking up at the bold man he glared daggers at me, Mr. Shadis walking back and forth in a intimidating manner. "Don't think you have any special treatments here, Alita. Just cause you're a little different than the rest," he glares.
"I don't, sir. We all bleed the same blood." Yes, I shivered, my chin held up high while my legs quiver underneath the souls of my feet. Try and make it through this. "Sorry sir. I'll go to my direct line." With that I turn on my feet and make my way over to Mikasa and Eren, the both of them just itching to yell at my stupidity. It's not my fault, I was just checking out the boots. "Sorry," I whispered, bowing my head. "Sorry..."
The both of them looked over at me, but they didn't say anything, of course, too afraid they'll get picked on by him too. When I glanced over I saw Armin standing in a line away from us, his arms shaking and his eyes wide. Guess he got a yelling too I presume? I looked away. Maybe I'll bribe this man with some apples and he'll leave me alone, I jokingly thought, rocking on my feet.
Just as I scan the area, that's when I saw this man that took my breath away. His eyes, almost impossibly silver, looked down at the ground, his white hair falling a little in front of his eyes. He didn't look albino...so I was even more intrigued as to why his hair was like that. He also happens to be extremely handsome, and when I mean handsome, I mean like greek gods that I've read in books, type of handsome. Just by the way he stands I could tell he works out, definitely with those broad shoulders. I didn't know why, but I really wanted to be his friend because he looked so cool.
But he also looked extremely intimidating.
The instructor didn't even bother talking to him, he just walked pass. That made me shiver. Who is he? Eyes averting from him I glance over at the running girl. Poor thing. She's still running all those miles. Slowly taking my eyes off her Mr. Shadis looks over all of us, my fist still to my heart as he walked by. I couldn't help the unease I felt when he did this, cause he is, for sure, an intimidating old man.
After a few minutes of him intimidating everyone we eventually got to go back to our cabins. We all changed out of our uniforms into some regular t-shirts, then I met Eren and Armin, three other people who happen to be our roommates on the porch, too. "...I can't believe they're already quitting, it's only been the first day," Eren grumbles, his eyes narrowed. "Who would rather pick plants for the rest of their life? I'll rather fight." With that he turns away from them and I sighed, making my way down the steps.
"Where are you going?" Connie asked. I turn towards him and he froze. "Uh-"
"I'm going for a walk, don't worry," I waved, "see you guys at dinner." That said I did exactly that.
I walked all the way around the camp, even passed Sasha, who didn't even notice I was there. She was so tired....She couldn't even see me from how exhausted she was. It made me feel bad for her. Really, I wanted to give her water or something, but knowing the instructor....he would most definitely punish me for helping. So, putting my kindness away, I ignored her and headed straight for the cabin. There's no one out but me, I thought, turning the corner. This place isn't really thing interesting. Just a whole bunch of cabins.....
* * *
"You're quite beautiful," this short haired man says, and to be honest, I didn't expect such kindness from him. Not many people like him come up to me with such boldness. "I know you're a guy, but how bout you hit the heys with me tonight?" He drawls in his country accent. His hands goes to touch my thigh and I slapped it away. "Hu-"
"Listen, you seem like a really nice guy, but you're like twice my age." Why is this guard hitting on me? I quickly stand. That's why he asked me here? Disgusting. "Sorry, but please never try that again with me. I don't give my body away."
"Sorry," he frowns, tilting his hat. "I thought—one of the guys told me you were a prostitute." "Excuse me?" I? Who? "Who said that?" I put both of my hands to my hip and he shrugs.
"One of the soldiers said you looked like one, so I guess-"
"So they're spreading rumors about me? Who are these guys?" Crossing my arms I raised my brow. "I want a little chat with them." "Well," the man tilts his hat. "They're just down there. The red headed feller and that black haired, tan man."
Oh. Clenching my fist I didn't even both to say goodbye. I simply couldn't place the anger I felt inside, because the audacity these men have to spread false allegations on my name is unfathomable. "Bye!" The country man behind me yells and sips his drink, my finger tapping on the first guys shoulder.
The older men looked down at me obviously drunk, the redhead one frowning. "What's up?-" kicking him in the sheens he falls to his knees and I round-hound kick him in the face, the other guy backing away in shock.
Looking down at the man I place my boot against his throat and pushed my hair back, now extremely pissed off. "Listen here, old guy. Keep my name out of your fucking mouth before I break it, got that?" Putting pressure against his neck the man violently nods his head. This made me smile in satisfaction. "Keep the rumors up and I'll beat the living shit out of you."
Taking my boot of this guys neck I turn to the other guy, and without hesitation gave him the middle finger. "Keep my name out of my mouth, too. Ugly fucker." After those words came out of my mouth the guy went red in anger, but he didn't say a single thing; however, I didn't need him to. I've already won here. "Bye." Turning around to leave them I see a group of people just watching me at the main cabin. Shit, I smiled, "is the food ready?" Mine as well ignore them.
"Yeah!" Connie replies. "Okay!" I yelled back. Time to eat, I smiled. I've been starving all day! As I made my way to the cabin Connie grabs onto the sleeve of my shirt, his golden eyes smiling in a-way. "That was so fucking cool. Why'd ya do that?"
I shrugged. "Because they spread false rumors about me. Why? Did I do something wrong?"
"Hell no." He sticks his thumbs up. "I thought it was pretty cool."
I smirked, "it was. Now I can take beating up old men on my list." This made Connie and I both laugh.
Eventually, the two of us grabbed our bowl of vegetable soup and sat down. We talked about titans most of the time, I even told him about the Titan I've encountered in person. But talking about this brought unwanted attention, so I decided, switching up the conversation is the best option for me—I really hate attention.
Anyways, at one point everyone went quiet besides me. I didn't even realize until Connie looked away from me with raised brows. Huh? What's everyone-Oh?! Blinking up at the white hair boy I frown. Everyone kept staring at him though, until he'd done something that made everyone shake in their boots.
His glare.
It made every single person look away from him, even me. The look in his eyes could be seen as massacre. It should be illegal to hold so much hate in one stare. "What's up with that guy?" Connie shivers. His back tenses up. "I'm hoping we never encounter each other on the practice field."
I scoffed, "tell me about its." Because, in all honesty, that man could literally just stare at me and I'd given up then and there on the spot. "What's his story?" Glancing away from Connie I take a sneak peek at white hair guy.
"No one knows." Connie pauses. "But he's in the cabin I'm staying." Sulking at this he takes a bite out of his bread, saying, "if I get murdered, it's his fault," with his mouth full. This made me slap him up against the head. "What?-" "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's rude," I disciplined. He immediately bows his head and whispers a small, "yes," to which I smiled and said, "thank you."
"But seriously," Connie shutters. "I hope the instructor lets me change cabins."
Good luck with that.
WOO! This chapter was so long. But I hoped you enjoyed this! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SKSKSKS!
Hey🧍🏽 I guess I can say hi to you!