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The Empire of Titans Chapter 11 (Bonds, Friends, and Love)
🕑 Added 2022-08-26 17:39:34 +0000 UTCEren was sitting with Armin and Mikasa, eating dinner and discussing what Annie had told him. To the Yeager, it made sense what Annie had said; near them was Sasha sitting along with Connie, and to Mikasa's left was Ymir and Krista.
The Ackerman girl was getting to know the two girls better, especially Krista, who was way too kind for her own good; Ymir would every now and then say that her Krista was a literal angel, something Mikasa couldn't really blame her for that.
"Is just the way it is, Eren; what happened months ago proves that the King and his people don't care about us," Armin replied with a grimace on his face, suddenly remembering his grandfather, his hat the only thing he had left of him.
Eren nodded in understanding, "Yes, those pigs care how to fill their bellies, not to actually take back Wall Maria and make a better world for our people," Eren replied with confidence, his tone sending shivers to five girls in particular.
Hearing them talk about what happened to the people sent to take back Wall Maria, Sasha decided to step in. "You lost someone when they sent the survivors of Wall Maria to take back the Wall?" She asked gently, knowing this question wasn't exactly the most appropriate one.
Armin took a deep breath, a downcast look on his face, his eyes looking at the half-eaten bread on his plate; before the blonde could answer. "Don't ask him that kind of question; perhaps he doesn't want to remember that," who he knew was Mina said kindly, looking at him with concern.
Armin blushed slightly when her pretty eyes made contact with his blue ones, causing him to look slightly away, a finger scratching his cheek in embarrassment; the gesture was noticed by Eren and Ymir, who both had devil smirks on their faces, thinking of ways to tease him later, Mikasa, on the other hand, glanced at her friend and Mina, wondering if the girl was good enough for someone like Armin.
"I-I is nothing. I have moved on from that," Armin spoke confidently, finally looking up, facing both Sasha and Mina; the latter smiled cutely at him while Sasha was confused.
"And, M-my grandparents died to take back Wall Maria, they weren't even trained, hell the majority of people send there had only a couple of knives to fight, some didn't even have weapons, only their fists," Armin explained, despite knowing what they did, he didn't talk with hatred or anger, his face and tone stayed neutral during the whole explanation.
Those that heard and didn't know were taken aback; hearing how the people sent there were sent to be slaughtered, some didn't bother with it, knowing they were trying to join the military police. Eren put a confronting hand on Armin's shoulder, and so did Mikasa, much to the Blonde's appreciation.
"No, need for this, this is why we are all training, to take back what we lost, as long as we do that, all the people that we lost, their lives weren't in vain, only by forgetting about them, only then we accept that their deaths were in Vain," Armin added with a confident smile, knowing with the power of the Armour Titan, with Eren on their side, they would take back what they lost; eventually he would reach the Ocean, where his parents and grandparents had wanted to go.
"That's right, Armin, we are going to show that stupid king that we will actually get the job done," Eren added with a confident smile; some gasped at his words, especially those that were thinking of joining the Military Police.
"Why would you say that? He's the king?" Connie asked, confused with a humorless chuckle at the end; he didn't care about the King, whoever he was, but he, just like many others wanted to join the Military Police; you were sent to the interior, far away from the Titans. He knew Eren wished to join the Survey Corps but to hear him call the King stupid.
Eren's face darkened when Connie said that; many felt shivers when Eren's face cold green eyes turned to Connie, who instinctively shrank in his chair, suddenly looking smaller than he already was.
"The king is nothing but a fraud; it took many years for the Survey Corps to even exist in the first place; if we listened to him, we all should die inside these cursed Walls; the situation of the Military Police shows what kind of people serve the King, all they do is scratch each other's butts all day, while the recruits do the job for them," Eren ranted, his tone rising with each word he said. Yet, he didn't show anger, at least his face didn't, but Mikasa and Armin could still read him; they knew since finding out the truth Eren had seen the Royalties with even more contempt than before.
His words were heard by everyone in the big room they shared whenever they were eating; many had mixed feelings; a certain blonde-haired girl looked at Eren with a hint of respect, still remembering what Eren told her during the training today, telling her that only a fool follows their leaders blindly.
Am I a fool too? She asked herself, remembering her father's lack of concern when she left Marley to go to Paradis and kill thousands of innocents so that Marley could use the Rumbling themselves.
Make our motherland proud, girl, or there will be consequences; her father's tone repeating in her head made her clench her teeth, and her fingers tightened around the edge of the table, causing it to creak.
Is it not like I can do anything? I can't just betray Marley... her thoughts trailing off, a new voice suddenly making her escape her thoughts.
"Come on, Marco, don't listen to Eren; he's just a fool who doesn't understand how the world works," Whether he wanted or not, Jean's voice was heard by everyone around him, including Eren, whose glare turned to Jean who didn't look affected.
"Oh really, Little Jean, you tell us all the time how you will join the Military police, yet you know next to nothing about them," Eren spoke, standing up from his seat and looking at Jean with contempt; Armin tried to make him sit back down but to no avail. Mikasa was curiously paying attention to Eren but still alert in case Jean decided to exchange blows.
Accepting the challenge, Jean turned to look at Eren with a snarky smile. "I might not know much, but at the very least, I'm not trying to end up in the stomach of a Titan," Jean countered, standing up himself, Marco trying to tell him to back down.
"You come to train on how to kill Titans, yet the Military Police will send you off somewhere when you can never use your skills," Eren countered, his hands' fists, and almost everyone was eagerly waiting for them to start punching each other. "You're nothing but a Joke; you're here only to play Soldier, nothing Else,"
"Hey, better play the system, then end up as Titan Food like some that I have heard,"
"You Son of a Bitch," Eren shouted, losing his cool, everyone knew what happened to his mother, yet this arrogant asshole was speaking of it that way, so carelessly. Now trying to punch the horseface, marching towards him, he knew Mikasa tried to stop him, but he barely paid her attention; the Yeager remembered Annie's move when she kicked his ass like nothing today.
Jean moved to punch his face, only for Eren to suddenly dock, moving his arms around his neck, pushing him forward to throw him down, his feet moving behind his legs; he threw Jean down like nothing, Jean grunted in pain, with many gasps around them, especially those that recognize that move, but no one was more surprised than Annie, who didn't show it, only her eyes widened for a second before narrowing them slightly.
Interesting, I showed him the move only once, yet he could almost perfectly use it himself, she thought, impressed; it wasn't every day that she found someone moves so swiftly and smoothly.
Not knowing why she felt a sudden tingle in her stomach when her gaze went to his chest; despite the brown shirt, anyone could see he had a six-pack. She hated to admit that she found Eren quite interesting, and in a way, she couldn't wait to practice again with him.
Jean was baffled at how easily he was defeated by the suicidal bastard; his only response was 'Huh?!", still trying to process how he had lost, escaping his thoughts only when Marco helped him to stand up.
"You okay?" His friend asked, but Jean barely paid him attention seeing Eren talking with Mikasa and the tall girl with freckles.
Now that the tension had gone away, the wooden door cracked open, revealing the terrifying face of Shadis, who made many start shivering in fear, especially how the dark of the night outside made him look even more dangerous. "I heard loud noises; anyone cares to tell me what it was about?" He demanded with a low but threatening tone, making many pale.
At that moment, Ymir decided to play a little game, her arms moving around Eren's neck, making him lean closer to her. "Me and Eren just confessed our undying love for each other, and everyone applauded," she stated with a broad smile; her kissing his cheek only made it look more believable, causing many to gasp, completely baffled, many to pout and receive some dark looks from some female cadets.
Shadis left out a tired sigh, tired of teenagers. "That's very wholesome, but keep it down, and a word of advice, if you do it go to the forest; some want to sleep here," Shadis said with a ghost of a smile before closing the door; many cadets started laughing the moment he closed the door.
Eren blushed furiously, especially hearing his words; Krista both pouted and blushed; Sasha was looking at Ymir and Eren strangely, while Annie had a smirk on her face. Armin was laughing uncomfortably while rubbing the back of his head.
"Okay, you had your fun, now let me go," Eren shouted, desperately trying to free himself from her gasp, but Ymir was stronger than him; instead of letting him go, she brought him closer to her, making him blush even more, especially when he felt her soft breasts against his back, he was a teenager, it was only natural to feel flustered, and...Curse you Ymir, he thought, sending Mikasa a pleading look, hoping she would at least help him, but instead she smiled innocently, knowing he was in no danger, but she made a mental note to talk with Ymir later about the stunt she just pulled.
"Ymir, let him go," Krista said to her friend with a pout drawing the attention of the tall girl who used her other arm to bring her close to her, Eren still struggling to free himself.
"Ahhh, are you jealous, Krista, don't worry, my heart has a free place for you as well," Ymir said teasingly, causing the small blonde girl to blush a little.
Eren eventually stopped struggling before letting out a tired sigh. "What did I do to deserve this?" He asked himself without a hint of seriousness.
Later - Boys Quarters
After dinner, everyone eventually went to sleep; Eren noticed Mikasa telling Ymir to walk with her for a bit; he was curious but didn't ask what it was all about; Some of the boys congratulated him for defeating Jean, especially Reiner, who encouraged him to fight Annie next.
"So, Armin, how is it going between you and Mina?" Eren chose that moment to bring it up; the others were soundly sleeping, especially Connie, whose snoring was causing many to fully cover themselves, hoping they would hear him less.
Armin blushed slightly, but thankfully Eren didn't notice due to the dim light around them, the only source of light inside was a torch attached to the wall close to the door, and there was only one.
"I-I- No idea what you're talking about?" He asked, rubbing his hair while avoiding his eyes. After eating dinner, Armin walked outside, talking with Mina about mundane topics; eventually, they said good night, but not before Armin said that he enjoyed the talk; surprisingly, Mina said, 'Me too,' causing Armin to blush.
Now the poor blonde boy was mercilessly getting teased by his friend. "Come on, tell me, she's quite pretty, wouldn't blame you if you liked her; how about next time you sit next to her instead," he said with a growing smirk.
"What? I can't just sit next to her, out of nowhere," Armin countered, trying to keep his voice, still not looking at Eren.
"Why not? You do the same with Mikasa and me?"
"You're my best friends!" Armin countered.
"And she is your future girlfriend; you have more reasons to sit with her than us," Eren countered, smiling; his words almost made Armin dumbfounded.
"Sometimes your logic is outstanding, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing,"
"Hey," Eren complained without seriousness before both of them closed their eyes to sleep.
One Week Later
It was 5 am, but that didn't stop Keith Shadis from barging inside the boy's quarters and waking everyone up.
"Wake up, Maggots; if I don't see all of you running outside within the next five minutes, You Will Spend The Entire Night cleaning Bathrooms," he threatened; the threat seemed to work, and before long, everyone was running around in the courtyard.
Whoever ran ten rows first, second, and third would get more points than everyone else. Armin was struggling to keep up; usually, it wouldn't be a big problem since he had trained before arriving here, but Shadis was forcing everyone to carry 20 kg bags on their backs.
Breathing heavily, he forced himself to keep on going. Hearing a horse behind him, the blonde didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"What is wrong, Cadet Armin? Is this too Much For You? Are You Giving Up? Do You Need To Rest?" Shadis shouted at the top of his lungs; Armin breathed heavily but didn't try to slow down; if he did, he would lose.
Taking a deep breath with his nose, he started speeding up his running pace, eventually being on the same ground as Reiner, who suggested giving the bag to him, but Armin declined his offer; helping someone was against the rules, and he needed to do this on his own.
Not now, not ever; Eren will need my help, he thought with determination before running faster; the muddy ground below his feet was blown away when he started running faster than Reiner, much to the surprise of everyone around; even Shadis was taken aback by this.
Armin Alert might be mediocre when it comes to physical strength, but his mind is what is truly terrifying, he thought with a neutral look on his face.
Armin kept running until he finished his tenth row, the moment he reached the line, he allowed himself to relax only for everything to go dark, falling on his knees; he almost fell flat on his face if it wasn't for Eren catching him.
"Wow, slowly there, you did good there, Armin," Eren praised, helping his friend to stand up; Armin left out a weak laughter before closing his eyes, feeling all his limbs go limp.
Later
Armin slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if his legs were on fire; the headache wasn't helping much, only now he felt something on his forehead; reaching up, he touched it only to see that it was a towel.
"Don't move much; you are tired; you should rest," Armin turned to his right only to see Mina sitting in a chair near his bed; her hands were holding a glass of water.
Looking around, expecting to see his friends, only to realize that they were the only ones in the room.
"Eren and Mikasa are training in hand-to-hand combat. The instructor said this time is optional, so after Eren and I send you here to sleep, I decided to stay here until you wake up," Mina explained, closing her eyes cutely at the end.
Wait! Cute? Calm down, Armin, you barely know each other, he thought; hearing where his friends were, he relaxed slightly, allowing himself to rest, his shoulder no longer tense, yet all his muscles were feeling sore.
Armin looked up; the window was open, allowing the wind to fly inside, his hair around his forehead; he blew a gust of air from his mouth, moving away the hair from his forehead.
"I heard you like to explore the outside world?" Mina suddenly asked; Armin turned his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"The outside world," she repeated, her fingers playing with her hair bun. "While carrying you here, Eren said that you always wanted to see the outside world," she explained, her eyes looking back at him.
Eren, you have a big mouth... Armin thought with slight annoyance before nodding his head; no point in denying that his dream was to explore the outside world, well reach the ocean.
"I would like to, once I dreamed of a hill so tall that makes even the walls look small in comparison," she said a bit too quickly, but Armin understood nonetheless.
"Hill? How tall was it?" Armin asked curiously.
"Way too tall," she said, raising her hand as if to show how tall it was. "So tall that reached the clouds, the top covered all in snow," she explained with dreamy eyes.
Armin found himself smiling; the following two hours were spent talking and getting to know her better.
Eren Yeager
After carrying Armin with Mina, the Yeager quickly made his way back to the others. Reaching the courtyard, he saw Ymir trying to show Krista how to fight; Mikasa was with Sasha, well Sasha was lying on the ground rubbing her back in pain. Jean was with Marco and Connie talking and not actually training.
His eyes quickly found Annie; she was alone yet again; making his way over to her, it didn't take long for her eyes to find his.
"Do you like to stay alone, or did you already beat up everyone who tried to challenge you?" Eren asked jokingly, but her cold eyes told him she wasn't in the best mood. Is she ever in a good mood? Eren asked himself, not once remembering her smiling.
"They don't really matter," Annie quickly said, ignoring his not-so-serious question before taking her stance, ready to fight. "Now, show me what you have learned," she challenged him, her eyes almost piercing his soul like a sword.
If looks could kill, the gods themselves would burn to ash from her gaze, Eren thought; before taking a similar stance, Annie could see a few small mistakes, but nothing a good beating couldn't fix.
They stood still, none of them making a move; seeing that she wouldn't move, Eren rushed her; the blonde girl grimaced before trying to kick his leg just like last time, only for Eren to dodge it.
He attacked fiercely and swiftly with a face-level punch that Annie dodged by stepping to the side and performing a tummy-level spinning kick that Eren avoided just in time by taking a step back, but it didn't end there. Annie lashed out again with a vertical kick that nearly hit Eren in the jaw if it weren't for his recoiling again, but he didn't count on Annie bringing her foot back brutally on an ax kick and hitting him with his heel. Eren reached for cover just in time with his forearm, but the blow caused him to wince.
He shook his arm with the intention of easing the pain a bit, and attacked again with a series of jabs at head level that Annie dodged by twisting her body from side to side. Eren tried to perform a knee to the abdomen, but Annie blocked it with her hands.
Feeling increasingly frustrated by his failed or blocked attacks, Eren once again lashed out with a series of kicks and punches, both of which were evaded or blocked by Annie, causing his frustration to escalate further.
Eren side-kicked at the level of Annie's thigh, who raised her knee to protect herself. Without giving up the rhythm of the attack, he tried to kick again, but Annie turned her back to him and kicked Eren hard with the sole of her foot in the abdomen like a mule, the blow caused Eren to take a step back due to the intense pain, but Annie didn't end there. She hit Eren again with a roundhouse kick at the level of the side of the abdomen, then at the level of the shoulder and finally at the level of the head, all with the same leg, causing Eren to fall to the floor due to the last blow that slightly stunned him.
"Damn..." Eren growled from the floor.
"Do you know what is the most important thing in a fight, Eren?" Asked Annie.
"Search an opening in your opponent and attacking it mercilessly?" He asked, as he rose from the floor.
"You're right, but that's not the only one," Annie laughed. "And you are not mistaken. But there is something much more important."
"And which one is it?"
Annie waved her fingers for Eren to come closer, prompting him to attack again.
"Maybe if you land a hit, I'll tell you."
Frowning in irritation, Eren growled and struck again with a series of jabs to the face, which Annie dodged by stepping aside again and again or deflecting blows with her hands. Eren reached out and grabbed Annie by the nape with both hands and hit her with his right knee and then her left knee at the level of the abdomen, but Annie stopped them with her arms and then pushed Eren in the chest, causing him to recoil.
Annie did not waste that moment when she struck again with a roundhouse kick to the abdomen. Eren dodged the blow by twisting his body back, but what he did not count on was that Annie turned 360 degrees and returned to kick at head level with the same leg. Even though Eren managed to take cover just in time, the force behind the kick shattered his defense and caused him to stagger backward and nearly fall to the ground.
Gritting his teeth in annoyance and frustration, Eren attacked, but Annie turned slightly and kicked Eren in the abdomen with the sole of her foot, causing him to hunch over and gasp in pain. Annie flexed her still raised leg and gave Eren a sidekick straight to the face, knocking him to the ground.
All the recruits winced as they saw the blow that knocked Eren to the ground. The kick was so strong that it caused his nose to start bleeding, as did his mouth.
"Damn, that had to hurt," Ymir commented, wincing at the last blow. "Annie is not messing around,"
Mikasa didn't say anything, but it was obvious that she was worried about Eren. She wanted to intervene, but a single glance from Eren was enough to stop her. This is what Eren meant by fighting his own battles. To trust him. She couldn't always be there for him, and the best way to know that Eren will be safe is to know that he can stand up for himself. And for that, he needed these trainings.
Swallowing the bitter feeling in her throat, Mikasa backed away.
Annie studied Eren for a few seconds as he made an effort to try to get up and orient himself due to the last blow he received.
"The most important thing in a fight, Eren, knows how to stay calm," Annie said, earning Eren's attention. "Keep a cool head at all times. Even if your opponent makes fun of you like I did. Even if anger and frustration flood your body, you must keep a cool mind. Because if you don't, if you let anger dictate your actions, your movements will become erratic and predictable. What just happened in a clear example."
Annie walked over and held out a hand to the disoriented Eren.
"If you can keep a cool mind, no matter what the situation, you will be an outstanding soldier. After all, you already have the physical qualities to be."
Eren was surprised by her words but smiled and accepted Annie's hand.
"I won't lose next time," Eren said confidently. Fully standing up, Eren smiled at Annie; surprisingly, the cold girl smiled back, and he thought her smile was quite pretty.
"You're not that bad, Annie, and you should smile more often; your face looks prettier," Eren said out of nowhere, making Annie's eyes widen slightly before turning around to avoid his eyes.
No, Don't compliment me. That's the last thing I deserve, she thought, feeling sadness and anger simultaneously, what she tried to bury inside, trying to break out. Sometimes, I really wish I was one of them... Can I... ever become one of them? She questioned herself as she walked away from Eren but not before saying.
"Keep training like that, Eren; you're not that bad yourself," causing Eren to smile in triumph but unable to stop his eyes from looking at her swaying hips.
God fucking dammit...
Comments
Jacob Durbin
Who isn't?
GorYase
"desperately trying to free himself from her gasp, but Ymir was stronger than him" ~ I guess few years of body training didnt make him that much stronger than Ymir, which is kinda suprising considering that he has better body and titan
Randy Burns
Hmm, that's the second reference to Annie's butt. Is it safe to assume that you're also a fan of it?
