​⋆ Chase ⋆

" (Y/N), do you know the name of those flowers? " asked Grisha, looking down to see your laying form on the grass, playing with a beautiful flower colored in blue.

" No, papa " you said and your eyes turned away from the flower to set your attention on your father. 

" They are called ``cornflower``. They stand for love and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable. This flower symbolizes hope and the beauty of things too "

" Really?! Like a sea of stars?! " 

Grisha gave you a confused look before shaking his head in amusement. It wasn't the first time you brought that subject up, since the day you were able to say a whole sentence. You twirled the flower between your fingers and  watched the color shone with the sunbeams. 

" (Y/N)...you don't remember anything from your past, right? "

" Am I supposed to? "

" No...It's okay..."


" P-please be silent... " hushed a young female voice. " I'm going to leave you there and try to not make a sound...I...I'm sorry..."



See you later, (Y/N)



Your eyes opened themselves, facing the dark ceiling. You didn't even notice that your breath was raged, nor did you feel the sweat sticking to your body like a bucket of hot water was spilled on you.  Another weird dream, another weird memory. You sat down on your bed and brought your knees under your chin.

It has been a couple of years already those dreams haunted you and you were still clueless of their meaning in the end. You watched the several body of the girls sleeping, Sasha's mouth opens graciously with a little drool on the corner. Mikasa was on her back, her black hair spilling on the pillow. 

" Grisha...where are you? " you mumbled and decided to stand up from the bed, having enough of sleeping. 1 year of training have passed.

Silently, you exited the dorm and made your way outside. You were able to sit on the roof without being spotted by instructors or worst, Shadis. You didn't want to run one million laps. You gazed upward to watch the black sky, clear from any stars and the moon. If it wasn't for the torches, darkness would completely reign over. 

" I burn to make you understand
One wrong word and it all may come crashing down
For the fates are devious by heart
They envy you your dreams, so they'll let you drown " you sang quietly to yourself, checking your surrounding to see if there was anybody. When you were sure that no one was there:

" And there is no why, there is no how,
It's like the sky, just on free flow
But you're here right now, and this is your show, so take a bow, cos the show is on right...

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise "

You froze on the spot when you heard a cough and you turned around to see Eren. He was trying to not laugh. You scowled deeply and huffed indignantly.

" Like you are better! You sing like someone was strangling a pig! " you snarled and Eren chuckled before sitting down next to you.

" It was pretty good, in fact. Where did you learn this song? " he asked and you thought about it for a moment.

" I don't know...It came naturally to me, I guess? "

There was a moment of silence, you both listening to the breeze. Not a single word was spoke, not a movement was made. 

" Continue " said simply Eren and you nodded.

" Once again taboo becomes your law
What you want seems taken by another tide turning
Away from our flower field where we used to lay beneath the sky, 
Riding dreams to some other side

Do they burn, the wishes whispered, 
Like secrets, they yearn, just to be heard
I'm done with questions, I have no answers,
The choice is yours, cos the show is on right...

Here and now...

The bigger the lies
The more they want to believe them
And like a vice
Hold on to what they believe in

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down cos I need you to rise
No-one else can heal my wounds... "

You noticed that Eren fell asleep and was now leaning his head on your shoulder for support. You sighed and a small smile edged on your features, your eyes turning away from your little brother to the sky, and then on the small crystal who was hanging around your neck by a chain. Blue zircon, your father told you it was when you presented him the strange crystallized rock that Eren gave you for your birthday. 

When you asked him where he found it, it would always be the same answer: "Someone gave it to me". You found it quit outrageous for your brother to accept gifts from strangers that you forgot to worry about the crystal and still decided to wear it. 


" Onee-chan? Where are you going? "

" Outside, to my job, Eren"

" With a dark, big cloak? It's the hottest day by far and you will still go out with this?! " asked your brother with a confused expression, eyeing the black cloth surrounding your body.

" It's quit complicated, Eren...I need it " you tried to reason him but he is still suspicious. Sighing, the little boy approached you and took your wrist in his small hand. You felt a weight in your palm and you stared down to see a crystal. " What is it, Eren? "

" I don't really know...a pale-looking woman gave it to me and since the color matches with your favorite flowers, I decided to give it to you! " he smiled and you blinked slowly. " Do you like it, Onee-chan? "


" Yes " you muttered under your breath, blinking in surprise when you saw the sun shining. Eren was nowhere to be seen, instead, an angry-looking bald headed man stared right through you. 

" Cadet Jaeger...Isn't your bed comfortable enough? " he asked dangerously and you rolled your eyes at him, standing up. " Or are you trying to tell us in your ``delicate`` way that you want another? What do you say, motherfucking Princess? " 

" I motherfucking tell you that I'm okay with what I have right now...I wasn't able to sleep, that's all... " you muttered.

" I don't want to hear your whining, wimp. 100 laps around the training camp. NOW and make it fast! There is a new assignment coming for you and the 104th Training Corps. "

You groaned  and did as he told you to. You were going to kill Eren later. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


" LISTEN TO ME MAGGOTS! You will be split into two groups. You will have to make a round trip to your target location and record your progress with a given time period. The journey to the destination goes on for about 40 km. One of you will be the leader while someone will be designed to be in charge of record-keeping. Both teams will set out at the same time, and proceed towards the huge forest " explained Shadis, eyeing all the recruits. " Your job is to trade information at the target location and return to the starting point, completing a loop. The objective of this exercise is to evaluate everyone's ability to sustain themselves in the absence of a crisis. That's all. Straightforward and simple. KEEP RUNNING JAEGER! "

" OH SHUT UP! "

" It could be thought this training is one that even you cowards could easily pass- THAT'S CONCERN YOU TOO SHIT HEAD JAEGER! "

" OH FUCK YOU TOO! "

" But it's not! In any situation, don't forget your will to fight! Emergency or not, a soldier is always a soldier! Don't succumb to peaceful boredum! YOU HEARD ME JAEGER?! "

" ALL I HEAR FROM YOU IS SHIT, ASSHOLE! "

" Never stop exercising your hands and feet! This training is also a battle! DON'T FORGET THAT! "

" YES SIR! " yelled the recruits.

Now here you were, galloping with your group through a desert. Marco was the leader and Armin was in charge of the record-keeping. Eren was in your group with Sasha, Mina, Krista, Jean and Connie. Mikasa was in the other group, having the same role as Armin while their leader was Thomas. Since you were already used to ride on a horse, you had to slow down every minute so the group could keep on with you. You took this time to redo your crown braid that you always do with your hair. 

" You're fast, (Y/N)! " said Marco with a smile and you nodded, rubbing the back of your head nervously.

" Sorry! " you laughed.

" Is it always like that in the Survey Corps? " asked Krista, galloping next to you. You thought about it for a minute and you shook your head.

" Not really...We only have an expedition each two months or so....Question just like that: we're not allowed to rush? "

" Yes " said Armin while checking his pad. 

" We'd also be stupid if we did " retorted Jean. " We can take our time "

" You don't know your lower limit " replied bitterly Eren. " Jean, if you're going to take it slow, then I'm going ahead "

" W-wait Eren " said Armin when your brother started to take speed. 

" But the formation of the group... " said Marco, holding Eren back. " What do we do, Jean? "

" Like I care! Extra effort here won't get me into the Military Police "

" Jean, bring your lazy ass over there so I can kick it! " you snarled at him, turning your head backward to shot him a dark look with he responded with a slight sneer. 

" That's not true... " frowned Marco.  " In any case, let's get on with the exercise.  "

" It's useless " muttered Jean under his breath. 

You rolled your eyes and you cringed when Eren started to bicker with Jean like an old couple. Why don't they marry now? You turned your head toward the horizon and frowned while thinking that you still have a long road to do. That's when your eyes widened like saucers when you saw by the corner of your eyes a lizard. 

" Geez, that lizard's joining us on the same route, huh... " said Jean. 

" It's rare to see that " muttered Marco. 

" They're delicious, you know " said Sasha. " They really are. My family and I used to eat them. They taste like chicken "

The brunette started to drool slightly and you stared at her, dumbfounded. 

" You can cook? " asked Jean. 

" Of course I can! Piece of cake! "

" All right then! "

Without even having the time to realize what's going on, Jean charged his horse and chased down the lizard.  You let out a strangled gasp and furrowed your brows in frustration before chasing him.

" Hey! What the hell are you doing!? " you yelled.

" If hunting for food is part of the exercise, then what's better than getting that lizard?! " said Jean with a cocky smirk and you growled under your breath.

" Get back here! "

" (Y/N)! I'm going ahead " said Eren, pulling the reins of the horse. Your brother outran you  and was much faster than Jean.

When he was about to slice his swords into the lizard, Eren quickly stopped him with own, letting the reptile go. Jean stared at him angrily:

" What are you doing? " he yelled at Eren which the brown haired boy only scowled in return.

" This isn't a game! "

" We don't even have an Instructor! This training won't get us anywhere! "

While they continued to bicker, you took this time to dismount your horse and approach them dangerously. A dark aura formed around you and the others gulped in fright. With one swift movement, you took both of their ear and slammed their body on the ground. They let out a pained groan.

" W-wha- "

" Both of you shut the hell up " you growled. " I don't care that you find this training useless, Jean, but it's still training! You will do as we say and won't complain about it or else I'm going to do something you may not like! And as for you, Eren, get a hold of yourself! I don't ask you to like him but to endure him! "

" But (Y/N)- " 

" You both are acting like brats! We have no time for this! " you cut them, your eyes almost turning black for how angry you were. Usually, you wouldn't pay attention when they fight, but now it isn't a good moment for them to hair pulling each other. 

" Plus, if we delay, it will have to be reported! " said Marco. " Please don't record this yet, Armin "

" G-Got it " said Armin. 

" Write down: ``Jean Kirschtein tries to find food during the exercise, but gets interrupted by Eren Jaeger and violently assaulted by his older sister`` " said Jean and you crushed him under your boot.

" While on it, write down ``(Y/N) Jaeger beat up Jean Kirschtein for being a lazy ass and jerk through all the day `` " you muttered darkly. 

" WHY DID YOU SAY? " growled Eren, eyeing the boy who was squeezed under your foot, his ear still pinched by your delicate fingers. 

" IT'S DELICIOUS! " yelled Sasha out of the blue and she clasped her hands over her mouth. You glared at her in disbelief and silence filled the air. After a moment:

" Let's go " sighed Marco.

You let Jean go and went back on your horse, giving the two boys a warning that you will watch them for the rest of the trip. Night finally came and you all made a camp, attaching the horses to the trees. Tonight, training supplies on the menu. Now you remember why you always hate this mission.  Your mind was wandering elsewhere, your eyes lost in the crackling fire of the camp, its red and orange colors dancing and forming shadows of your body. 

" So this is what squad supplies taste like... " muttered Jean with disgust. 

" It would've been better if we'd caught the lizard... "

You groaned slightly, knowing where it was going. It was a matter of time before the two idiots start again. And like you thought:

" Enough. I've heard enough about lizards... " said Jean and Eren scoffed behind him.

" Weren't you hunting one just now? " Jean stopped eating and sighed.

" Well, we are supposed to hunt titans, right? "

" And what do you mean by that? " greeted Eren with his teeth. " Why did you even join the training corps? "

" To live something better than a humble life, at the very least "

" What did you say?! "

Now the two were standing, facing each other like you never saw before. Now, it was starting to get dangerous at this point. You could clearly sense the tension between them and it wasn't good. You were about to stop them when a shiver passed through you. Gulping, your eyes turned to the side and your heart started to beat widely against your ribs cage.  You slowly stood up and walked away from the group, forgetting that Jean and Eren was about to fight each other, not hearing their conversation. 

You froze on the spot and stared in front of you. Silence filled up the air and you thought you saw something moving behind the trees. You narrowed your eyes and was about to investigate the problem when a hand tapped your shoulder. You glanced back to see Krista, who had a worried expression on her face. 

" You're okay, (Y/N)? " she asked and you nodded after a moment.

" Don't you feel there is something strange?...It's like...No, never mind "

" The others were about to go to sleep...Don't you want to join them? "

" No, I will stay up. I can't sleep anyway... " you muttered and sat down near the lake, where a horse was drinking calmly. 

" Do you mind...if I join you? "  she asked, her shyness taking a hold of her when she was around you. You smiled and patted the ground next to you, motioning her to sit down. " Thank you... "

For the rest of the night, you both talked about your previous life, memories and so on. Small things in a small conversation that didn't last long because you heard a branch cracking behind you. Alerted, you stood up and  narrowed your eyes dangerously at the source of the noise. The feeling you had before came back, but at full force. There was someone, you were definitely sure now.

" Krista, stay behind me " you ordered.

" What's going on, (Y/N)? "

" There is- "

Something hit your head and you fell on your knees. Krista screamed loudly and you looked up to see a man wearing a sack on his head. You greeted your teeth, your body went limp and the dark took a hold of your body.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 I heard the scream of Krista and I opened my eyes to see a rifle pointing at me. I gasped in shock and took a sitting position. The others were in the same state as me.

" Don't move " the masked man said. " Gather their Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. Hurry "

" What will you do with them? " I asked.

" There are certain people that will pay handsomely for these. You can't beat the Titans anyway, so what's wrong with taking useless equipment? "

I stared at him angrily. How dare they? Without thinking, I grabbed the rifle and struggled to pull it away from the thief. I turned to the others with a look of pure distress:

" Everyone, now! " I screamed. 

" Eren! " yelled Armin, but was stopped by another rifle who was pointing at him dangerously. Jean took this chance to escape but was stopped by a shot who only scratched him to the cheek.

The man slammed his rifle to my face and I fell down. I groaned in pain and closed my eyes.

" You better think twice before you move. Don't make a sound " threatened the thief "

The thieves started to embark our equipment, putting them in numerous carriages. My eyes widened like saucers when I saw one of them holding Krista over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, more when I saw Onee-chan under the arm of another. She was unconscious, her forehead bleeding badly.  

" (Y/N)! " yelled Marco. 

" YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?! " I hollowed like a mad man.

" Don't worry about your girlfriend...she is in good hands " 

The others chuckled evilly and I growled under my breath. If they dare touch her in any way. The chief turned to us, still pointing his rifle in threatening manner:

" We won't take your lives. We'll release you at some point. But if you dare to come after us, we'll kill you. Understand? "

The carriages departed and disappeared in the death of the night, leaving us in silence. The others were looking at their feet in shame. 

" Everyone... " I muttered, my hands forming a fist. " If we attacked as a team, then we could do something! "

" That's your opinion " said Jean. " I don't agree. Actually, because of your crazy behavior, everyone was at danger! "

" The exercise is over " said Marco.

" It is " muttered Armin.

" Are we abandoning Krista? " I growled. " And they took my older sister with them! "

" That's not it. But with just us, we can't do anything! That's why, we should ask the Instructor... "

" What if we don't make it? " I turned to him, my eyes dark. " I won't accept this as it is! I'm going to save them for sure! I DON'T CARE IF I GO ALONE! " 

" Eren... " said Armin, extending a hand to me but I walked away and Jean shout something to me. He grabbed my arm and made me turn so I could face him.

" All our horses were released! How are you going to find them?! "

" It's none of your business! "

" It is! I'm going with you! " My eyes widened at the sentence and Jean stared down, a small blush on his face. " Don't think you're the only one who care about her... I'm not going down in this undignified manner... "

I stared at the others and they nodded.

" You guys...Then, it's settle... "

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Your POV
 

Your head hurt like hell. You opened your eyes, only to close them a minute after. It was too painful, and you were disoriented. Where were you? What happened to Krista? At this thought, you turned your head to see the blond girl who was tied. When she noticed you were awake:

" (Y/N)! " she whispered to you. " Are you okay? "

" Better....somewhat " you groaned and you tried to get up but something stopped you from doing so. Your hands and legs were tied too. " Krista, where are the others?! "

" I-I don't know... "

That's when you started to hear gun shots and you smiled mentally. They were here. They didn't abandon the both of you after all. The chief stared back and greeted his teeth in anger, accelerating the pace. Krista took this chance to take down the blond man with the rifle. At that, the man let out a gasp and struggled to get Krista off of him.

" That bitch! I said quit it! "

He slammed her down and she gasped in pain. He pointed the rifle to her and then at you.   

" Don't kill them! They are our bounty! " yelled the chief and the blond man smiled evilly.

" So that's how it is. Thanks to your friends, we've lost our score! You'll have to take responsibility! "

A hook came forward and slapped the gun away. You stared outside to see Eren and Jean, who were coming at your rescue. The thief took another gun and started to shoot them but they were able to avoid the hits. They took their swords and sliced the ropes who were holding the horse to the carriage. Finally, it fell on the side and you took this time to protect Krista with your body so she wouldn't hurt herself. The carriage made a stop and you lost once more your conscience, but only for a minute. 

When you reopened your eyes, you saw outside the carriage the thieves holding Krista, a saber under her neck. You looked down to see that the ropes cut themselves at the fall and now, you were able to move freely again. 

" Stay back! " yelled the chief. " Do as I say, and hand over the 3D maneuver gear! "

You silently approached them, without a sound. Armin noticed you and a secret smile graced his figure. Like the blink of an eye, you did a roundhouse kick and slammed the head of the chief. He let out a gasp of pain and coughed blood, released Krista. At that moment, Mikasa and Annie jumped down from a nearby tree and took down the two men.

" Don't kill him! " yelled Krista and Mikasa froze before she could slice his neck.

" I see " mumbled Mikasa. 


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the end, the gang of thieves were arrested by the Military Police. Without taking any casualties, the incident was over. Although the exercise was suspended,  you still had to submit the records of the incident, in all honesty and without pretense. You sat down in the training field, the back of your head throbbing from the hit you received last night.

" (Y/N) " said a voice and you turned to see Eren.

" Eren " you said, surprised to see him here. " How are you? "

" Good, and you? "

" Better than last night... " you sighed and he sat down next to you. " Mikasa wouldn't stop trying to patch me because I was bleeding " you scoffed. 

" Two years before we graduate...You still go in the Survey Corps? "

" Yeah...Thank you for returning for me... "

" I wouldn't dream of leaving you, (Y/N)... "

He leaned his head on your shoulder and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. He nearly lost you that day, and he will do everything in his willpower to keep you safe.