Chapitre 77: Return to Shiganshina
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Chapter 78 (A Father's Love), Chapter 79 (The Ocean), Chapter 80 (Prisoners of War), Chapter 81 (Checkmate), Chapter 82 (A Night of Love), Chapter 83 (To Eren Yeager), Chapter 84 (Marley), Chapter 85 (Annie's Truth), Chapter 86 (The Enemies Beyond the Sea), Chapter 87 (Yelena), Chapter 88 (Heavy is the Crown), Chapter 89 (A Friend's Guilt), Chapter 90 (Hizuru), Chapter 91 (Grenades, Love, and New Guests), Chapter 92 (New Friends?), Chapter 93 (The Royal Game), Chapter 94 (Princess Mikasa), and Chapter 95 (The Price of Desperation) are already available for Patrons.
Eren Yeager
"What happened to the five nobles after the death of the previous King?" Eren questioned with an intense look, his hands folded together on the table near him.
Another Military meeting with the Commanders of each Military Branch, including the new people hired for the council of the new King and Queen.
People were needed to help better the lives of everyone living inside the walls. Eren knew as much. Thankfully, Commander Nile had helped him choose some people to help with the economy, health, and many other necessary things. Eren was glad to have some help. He had yet to learn how to do his job properly, but he would learn. He needed to learn.
Before becoming King, Eren knew there were Military Meetings and other things he needed to attend, but after becoming one, he realized how many of them were. He always made sure to attend all the meetings that needed his presence. He was the King now and wanted to leave a good impression on everyone, not just hide somewhere and pray for better times like the previous King did. Historia also did her part; due to her Titan Shifter Status and Royal Blood, many showed respect toward her, and no one seemed to care that she wasn't a legitimate child.
"The Five Nobles have lost all their lands and titles, your grace." The Minister of Laws answered, spreading papers to everyone. His name was Adler Addas, and he was the newest Minister of Laws, someone Commander Pyxis had suggested. While Eren was thankful for the help, he wanted to make sure the people chosen would truly help the people inside the walls and not just profit for themselves.
"What will become of all that land and all the coins they had? Did they have any heirs, wives, children, or cousins?" Historia asked in a firm voice, sounding demanding and intimidating. Her seat was right next to Eren's; they occasionally looked at one another.
Kenny Ackerman was the guard who would protect the Queen. He had accepted the job after talking with Historia privately. Eren didn't know what the two had said, but whatever it was, once they walked out, Kenny accepted the job.
"As far as we know, they had children with their servants, but none of them were married. But they had cousins. Some have already tried to take back that piece of land, your grace, saying it belongs to them." The man explained. Some around the table grunted at that.
"Who cares what some morons cry about? That land belonged to the Nobles all because of the Previous King, and he gave them all that land just so they could keep their mouths shut about the truth outside the walls, he even gave them one hundred soldiers each, almost a small army to please them." one man said with a sneer, some agreeing with him, while others weren't so sure. The land those Lords occupied had excellent soil, according to the Minister of Economy.
"Your graces, they have the right to that land. It has belonged to their family for a hundred years now," one pointed out, but Eren was mostly quiet. He knew one thing: someone wouldn't be happy whatever he decided. In this situation, he remembered what Captain Levi had told him before the first day of his being a King.
' "Listen Eren. I don't know much about Royalty and all that boring shit, but with my experience in decisions, you need to learn to make them and live with them. There were many cases when I had to stand back, and watch as a fellow scout was eaten because I knew I would get myself killed if I tried to help. Those decisions are the hardest to make, and you need to live with them. You are now King, so your decisions effect all of us. Is not just the Survey Corps anymore, but every man, woman and child that lives inside these walls." '
Eren wondered what he was supposed to do in this situation, but eventually, he came up with something as he cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention.
"The Five Nobles lost all their titles and lands, which extends to whoever else had any relation with them; the land they have can be used for something else, instead of just using for a castle to please a noble, but I don't want to punish people who just happened to be related to these traitors. Most of their land would be used to make new farms and produce more food. These people will have a little of that land, money will be given to them to make a living, and if they want, they can work in the fields, or any other job they want." Eren decided with a tone that made it clear that his decision was final and that he wouldn't change it.
Some were happy to hear, but others not so much. Eren knew that, but he knew he shouldn't care. He was a king now, and he needed to make decisions, harsh decisions for the future. He knew some considered him too young, and in a way, they were right, but Eren wanted to prove that he could do a good job. He remembered that, on the first day, some were actually surprised that he had decided to attend the meetings. Seeing that he was young, they must have thought that he wouldn't really start doing his job until he got older.
"Excellent Decision, your grace," a few said, but Eren ignored them when he turned his attention to the Commander of the Military Police.
"Commander Nile, yesterday you proposed building a new weapon, something that can help even non-shifters against Titans or any other enemy. Can you tell us more about it?" Eren questioned with interest. He knew Commander Erwin was watching him, but at this moment, his entire attention was on Nile.
"Of course, Marlowe." Nile shouted at the door. A soldier walked inside through the door, holding papers made into long rolls, followed closely by another female Military Police soldier with blonde hair. Both saluted in front of everyone. They quickly flattened the scrolls on the table for everyone to see. The drawing was of a long tube with a pointy end.
"With the help of Hange Zoë, Squad Leader from the Survey Corps, we want to make this new weapon. We call it Thunderspears." Nile explained; Eren looked at it, as did Historia.
"What can this weapon do, Commander Nile, and how does it work?" Historia questioned, sounding intrigued. Eren wondered why Hange wasn't the one here to show the weapon, but he quickly figured she was already working on it at the Headquarters of the Survey Corps.
"This weapon has a handle, as you can see; you hold it from here, near the tip. There's also a trigger there, and you aim the Thunder Spears at the enemy. At the back, it bursts out gas, similar to the one we use for our ODM Gear; due to the speed and the pointy tip, it penetrates even a wall made of bricks and mortar, then you need to pull a wire, which will pull the trigger inside the spear, and cause it to explode. The only downside is that it is dangerous to use it when you are near it, so it's better to use it when you are at least five meters away. Otherwise, the shrapnel and the explosive could harm the soldier who used it." Soldier Marlowe explained, with the girl showing a model they had made; it seemed to be around a meter long and as thick as a human arm.
While this sounded like an excellent weapon, one they needed, he knew it wasn't as simple as just making it. "How much will the production of this cost?" Eren questioned, looking at the Minister of Economy. His name was Frans Seul. The man was around his fifties, with a trim, sharp beard, a patch of grey hair on top of his head, a crooked nose, and yellow eyes. The man seemed older than he was, especially when he used the cane to walk anywhere.
"Well, your graces. We need a mass production of this very soon, if is true that the entire world... is not fond of Eldians, then we need to make these as soon as possible." Commander Nile interrupted before the Minister could utter a single word.
"Commander Nile, I know what kind of situation we are in right now, and I understand that we need better weapons and to advance our technology. But I also see that we need to produce more food for our people, and next time, don't talk out of Turn." Eren said with a commanding voice, looking right at him. Nile looked like he wanted to say something before uttering a halfhearted apology.
"Well, your graces, we need to produce for the Military. Right now, our entire Military has around five thousand soldiers from all the Military Branches combined, and not to mention we need to produce those that will be used as target practice. I say we need around one hundred thousand Golden Sina Coins to produce twenty thousand Thunderspears." Frans explained with a grave voice.
Eren knew there were a lot of coins; all he knew about coins was how much his father used to earn. Ten Golden Sina coins whenever he was at Wall Sina, but the Silver Rose coins were the ones people used the most. Bronze Maria coins had been used less since the fall of the Wall. One hundred Bronze coins equaled one silver coin, and ten silver coins equaled one Golden Sina coin.
"Your graces, that's a lot of coins to spend on weapons. All that coin needs to be spent on the new farms, which require a lot of manpower and tools. What good will the new weapons give us if we all are starving?" The Minister of Health interrupted, looking a bit pale. His name was Anselm Hessii; he was around his thirties, wearing a grey suit and long blonde hair, with an eyepatch in his left eye. His right eye was the color of ice.
"The new weapons are more important, Anselm, unless you weren't around, we lost a lot of military power during the uprising, despite our Titan Shifters, we still lost a lot of people."
"I know that, and I'm grateful for the lives they gave, but you must understand that feeding our people is just as important. You want new weapons. What about The Semi Shifter Program? Isn't that enough Titan Power for the Military?" "Enough." Historia interrupted them. Before they could start shouting at each other, they were Ministers and needed to act like one.
"Minister Anselm has a point. Our people need more food, and I Won't let them starve. Because of the previous kings, only twenty percent of the good lands inside Wall Rose were used for farms, and the rest was given to the nobles to keep their mouths shut." Historia interrupted them before it could escalate and fixed them with a glare; the two men quieted down. "How many coins do we have left in the Treasury?" Historia questioned with a commanding voice.
"Only Two Hundred Thousand Gold Sina coins, fifty thousand Silver Rose Coins, and only thirty thousand Bronze Maria Coins."
"Very well. I want two thousand Thunder Spears to be produced right now. We need to make sure our People are happy, and he's right. Semi-Titan Shifters are our Top Priority." Eren decided. He knew right away that Nile wasn't happy with this decision, but he needed to live with it, while Pyxis seemed pleased by his decision. Erwin seemed neutral; whether he supported his decision or not, Eren couldn't tell.
"That's an excellent decision, Your Grace. We have Titan Shifters, and thanks to Zeke Yeager's support. We have new ones, the Thunderspears, while they are quite a step up from the swords, keeping our people fed is more important." Pyxis agreed, earning an annoyed look from Nile.
Three more hours were spent discussing coins, new factories to be built, weapons, food, and many other things. Historia talked the most during that time. Eren felt a little exhausted by the end, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Soon, the discussion turned into something he wasn't sure he wanted to discuss.
"Your grace, if I understand perfectly, your Founding Titan allows you to control the Pure Titans outside of the Walls, right?" Frans, The Minister of Economy, suddenly brought it up.
A week ago, they started their experiments with the Founding Titan to learn how powerful he was compared to all the other Titans. Eren and Zeke had made contact, and Eren had been able to control the Titans outside of the walls; during that time, Hange was there taking notes about everything she could while Levi watched over Zeke to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid. During their Tests, they discovered that Eren could use the ability for ten minutes after losing contact with Zeke; he could only control the Titans that were ten kilometers away or nearer. Those outside of that Zone could not be controlled, but Zeke had said there must be a way to expand that zone somehow.
They had also tried to see if Eren could make a Titan Shifter not be able to turn into a Titan, but nothing was achieved.
"Yes." Eren answered.
"I have been thinking we could use the Pure Titans for our benefit. They don't need food or water. We can use them to rebuild most of Wall Maria first. That way, we save a lot of coins we would have spent on manpower to fix all the houses, roads, and everything else needed." Frans added, looking pleased with himself that he had thought about it.
"Are you sure that's the best option? Our King needs to be in contact with Zeke Yeager to control the Titans, and for the Titans to work for us, they must be in contact for a very long time, and we are still not sure of Zeke's intentions." Erwin spoke for the first time. Many quickly seemed to agree with him, but Eren had a solution.
"There's another way," Eren spoke loudly; everyone quickly looked back at him. "Dina Fritz was my father's first wife back at Marley when Zeke reported my father. She was turned into a Titan with the rest. There's a chance she is still out there. If we find her, then there's a chance that she is a safer option than Zeke." Eren explained, knowing they still needed his brother for contact with the outside world.
"How do we know if she is even still alive? For all we know, a scout could have killed her by now." The Minister of Laws questioned.
"I know that, but we have to try. While I don't know what kind of person Dina was, I'm willing to bet that she is more trustworthy than my brother." Eren explained, and everyone else nodded in agreement.
"The Survey Corps is preparing for an expedition to Shiganshina, we still need to seal the Wall first. Once we do that, we can search for her too." Erwin explained, knitting his hands together for his chin to rest on.
"I will come too." Upon hearing that, they looked at him, ready to say that he shouldn't go. Eren understood why. He was a king now, not just another soldier, but he had made a promise to Armin many years ago, and he would keep that promise.
"Your grace, it's too dangerous—" "I appreciate your concern, Frans, but Shiganshima was my home, and I want to be there when Wall Maria is close once again, and they need me to identify Dina in her Titan form." Eren interrupted him before he could continue. While he appreciated their concern, he needed to do this.
"How will you even recognise her?"
"Dina was the same Titan that ate my mother when the Wall was breached. I will recognize her." Eren answered with a voice as cold as winter; everyone fell silent after hearing that, some looking at Eren with respect for choosing not to kill the Titan responsible for his mother's death, instead keeping her alive for the good of the humanity inside the walls.
Historia quickly grabbed his hand under the table, showing her support for him; Eren gave her a faint smile, letting her know that he was alright; his hand closed around hers, feeling her warmth and her love.
"Very well. We leave next week, your grace. Captain Levi will come here to inform you." Commander Erwin said with a ghost of a smile that he did a good job hiding.
"How is the Semi Titan Shifter Program going?" Eren asked, wanting to be done with this Meeting as soon as possible. He was exhausted and wanted to take a walk with Annie, Mikasa, and Sasha. Spend some time together; Ymir was busy training the new Shifters, while Historia was busy building a new orphanage.
"We have already extracted enough blood and have created five more syringes. The new semi-shifters are three Garrison Soldiers and two from the Military Police. One Cart Titan, one Female Titan, two Armoured Titans, and one Jaw Titan." Pyxis explained, looking pleased, before taking a sip from his glass of wine. Eren, of course, knew all of that; he knew what kind of Titans they were and who they were since they were using his Spinal Fluid, but he still asked as if he didn't know.
"Does my brother suspect anything?" Eren asked, looking back at Erwin.
He had been there, and Zeke had been full of questions about why they needed to extract blood from his Titan; when he realized that his words fell on deaf ears, he started asking other questions, questions about their expeditions outside the walls.
"I think he might have suspicions, but this is not something we could have kept hidden for long, especially from him. He fought Mike, so he knows there is a way to have many Shifters of the same type of Titan." Erwin explained many looked displeased by what they were hearing since Semi Titan Shifters were their last card. They needed to keep it a secret until they had enough Shifters on their hands—at least one thousand of them.
"Commander Erwin. I want you to tell my brother about Semi Shifters, but not everything after we seal Shiganshima." Eren commanded, taking many by surprise, but Erwin seemed intrigued.
"But your grace, we must keep it a secret." Commander Nile quickly protested, but Eren's smile made it clear that he had a reason.
"My brother will want some kind of trust back for cooperating with us, so telling him about it. Will make him belive that we trust him more now, and he would be more willing to give us even more information, and he knows he can't spill the beans to anyone, if he does, then we would know right away that it was him, so he will keep his mouth shut about the existence of Semi Shifters."
Erwin smiled for the first time since the Meeting started. His blue eyes sparkled like gems. "Very Well."
Later
"We are getting closer," Connie shouted as they rode through the ground street, going around a tall hill; following Connie were five other riders: Eren, Levi, Hange, Mikasa, and Zeke.
After finishing the Military Meetings, Eren thought he could finally take a break, but he was proven wrong when Hange came to him and told him they were ready to start tests with Connie's mother. Historia had left, working on a few projects of her own, buildings she thought were needed in the territory of Wall Sina.
Eren had ignored his exhaustion and had followed Hange; taking a break could wait.
As they made a sharp left, their hearts raced as they approached the remains of the Ragako village. The dilapidated houses stood as a haunting reminder of the devastation that had swept through this place. Despite the passage of time, not much had changed since their last visit.
After just one month, the verdant blades of grass had begun to reclaim their territory, pushing through the cracks in the roads and slowly engulfing the remains of shattered homes. The once sturdy and protective roofs had caved in under the weight of neglect, their jagged edges now resting haphazardly on the ground. And in the desolate and forsaken corners of the village, delicate spider webs glistened in the faint sunlight, a quiet reminder of the life that once thrived in this place. The birds chirped nearby; they didn't seem concerned by the presence of the Titan lying upside down. Small animals ran away as the riders approached the village.
The Titan's eyes quickly locked on Connie as he dismounted his horse; for a brief moment, her eyes showed happiness and relief but quickly turned back to a look of hunger. The others followed Connie.
"Mother, you will be back to normal soon." Connie spoke softly, but he was hurt, too, as he approached her. He wanted to get closer, but he knew better than to try his luck. She might be his mother, but right now, she was a Titan who would eat him without a single hesitation. He knew he could wait a little while longer.
"Tell me, Monkey. What do you feel when you see this? What you did to these people." Levi demanded with a cold glare, looking up at Zeke, who was looking at the houses and what was left of them; upon hearing his words, the taller man almost scoffed, his eyes flickering at the short Captain.
"I'm not sure why you bother asking that question, Levi. Whether I'm sorry or not will not bring them back," Zeke answered dismissively with a blank look. Mikasa glared at him from behind, her hands grasping the handles of her swords. She didn't like him. She always made sure that whenever Eren was in his presence, she would be nearby.
He might be Eren's half-brother, but he's nothing like him, not even like Doctor Yeager, She thought, remembering the kind man who invited her to his Home. Zeke wasn't even half the man that his father had been,
"I ask because I want to know something, and I can see in your eyes that these people meant nothing to you," Levi said, sounding disgusted by him. Zeke looked away from him; he didn't know why, but the short man was able to make him very nervous.
"Well, let's try it. When you are ready, Eren," Hange announced loudly, knowing there was no point in them waiting. Connie reluctantly walked away as Zeke and Eren made contact with their hands; everyone quickly felt a burst of electricity in their bodies.
Eren pulled his hand away before looking at the Titan. For a minute, nothing happened between the two. Suddenly, she stopped growling and fell silent as a grave. He walked right next to her, reaching out and touching her face.
"Eren!" Mikasa called out, concerned, as Eren was silent. Suddenly, the Titan let out a screech as if she was in pain. The birds quickly flew away in fear. The screech made Zeke wince, his ears hurting.
"Mother!!" Connie shouted in panic. He was about to run towards her, but Hange quickly grabbed his shoulder, not allowing him to get closer as the screech got louder. Eren breathed heavily; he looked almost in pain. He looked right at the Titan's eyes as if focusing hard on something. Eventually, after ten more minutes of screeching, a burst of steam engulfed the Titan.
Eren staggered back, almost stumbling down; Mikasa was quickly behind him, keeping him on his feet. They both watched as a figure started forming from the nape, as if someone was being formed under the skin of the nape, slowly growing in size.
"This is Amazing!!" Hange was heard shouting in excitement as if she was having an orgasm; Levi rolled his eyes, and sometimes he wondered if there was something wrong with him for wanting her company.
The skin got thinner and thinner, and the figure beneath took the form of a human until a hand burst out of the skin, quickly followed by the rest of the body; a loud gasp was heard as a naked woman emerged from the nape.
"Hange, cover her," Eren commanded as he walked back. The Squad Captain, who seemed to have been enjoying the process far too much, finally escaped her stupor. She quickly used her Survey Corps cloak and wrapped it around the woman who looked lost, as if she didn't know where she was. She looked at Hange with a look of fear and confusion.
"Who are you?" Her voice came out raspy, but Connie quickly ran towards her with tears in his eyes.
"Mother!!" He sobbed with tears streaming down his face as he hugged her tightly; she looked down at him with confusion but quickly recognized who he was.
"C-Connie, it's you!!" Mikasa was happy to see the two like that, as was Eren; he knew it wasn't enough; his family was gone, but at the very least, his mother was still alive. Levi's face remained passive, but one could tell he was pleased.
"What happened?" Connie's mother asked, suddenly feeling weak; her legs suddenly turned wobbly.
"Miss Springer. My name is Hange Zoe, I'm a Squad Leader of the Survey Corps. I want you to come with me, after you take a good rest. We will explain everything." The woman looked around, and it seemed she noticed now that she was in her village, but the houses were all destroyed.
"W-what happened?"
Eren looked away as Connie talked with his mother, perhaps to convince her to go with them for now.
"Eren, are you alright?" Mikasa asked from behind him, her hand reaching out, grasping his hand; their finger intervened.
"I'm fine. I'm happy to have you, Mikasa." The girl who could slaughter Titans without batting an eye. Her face turned red, and she had to use her red scarf to hide her blush.
One Week Later
"I still can't quite believe it!" Sasha said incredulously as she looked around them. When she had first learned that she would be part of the expedition to Wall Maria, she was sure that she would have to fight, but they didn't really need to do anything.
Since they left Wall Rose, the nearby Titans never attacked them. They would just stay still like giant dolls and stare at the distance.
"Yeah, it must be Eren. I'm still not sure how it works, but I don't really care, the results is all I need." Connie commented beside him, speaking his name with respect.
What seemed like half of the Survey Corps were riding towards Wall Maria: one hundred soldiers, including the Wagons, with supplies, food, gas for the ODM Gear, and other necessary things.
Mike, Ymir, and Annie were riding on the far right, far left, and at the back of the small army.
They were the ones who would turn into Titans if they needed to fight, but Commander Erwin highly doubted they would have to fight anyone.
Eren was in the center of the army, with Zeke near him and The Mike Squad, Levi Squad, and Mikasa in case Zeke tried anything funny. Floch and many members of the Yeagerist had also come to protect Eren. When the expedition was about to start, many members of the Survey Corps addressed Eren with 'Your Grace.' But not his friends from the Training Corps; they still called him Eren, or, in Jean's case, 'Suicidal Bastard.'
"This is the first time I have been to Wall Maria," As they rode through the vast expanse of open fields, Jean's gaze seemed to drift off into the distance. The warm sun beat down on them, casting a golden glow over the lush greenery and the abandoned towns that had been left behind for nearly half a decade.
As they rode through the desolate landscape, remnants of a once-thriving community surrounded them. The dilapidated houses stood as a reminder of the destruction that had occurred. It had been so long since the tragedy that even the bones of the deceased had long since disintegrated. Yet, the scattered clothing remained. Caught in the branches of trees and tangled in the remains of fences and houses, the garments fluttered in the wind like ghostly flags.
"Same here, the first time I even went out my home was when I decided to become a soldier." Sasha added, with Connie riding beside her, who smiled teasingly.
"I remember you offered like one-fourth of the potato to Instructor Shadis, and you had the guts to call it 'Half' right to his face, I bet that's why he got so angry with you that day." Connie added with an evil smile; Sasha turned bright red from embarrassment.
"I thought it was half." Sasha swore defensively, causing Connie to laugh out loud.
The two were happy to see him smile once again since his mother had been brought back. Connie's face had changed. Instead of looking like a corpse with bags under his eyes, he looked almost as happy as he did when they were back in the Training Corps days, but not everyone was happy.
"Yeah, things were much simpler back then. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the way you and Eren used to bicker with each other." Armin added as he rode closer to them, soon followed by Mina. The two were holding each other's hands.
Jean had heard from Ymir that Armin and Mina were officially dating. Ymir knew that because Mina had come to her for advice, out of all the people she could have gone to, she chose Ymir. The tall, freckles girl had been more than happy to tell her about all the ways to please a man without a hint of shame.
"Yeah..." Connie's words trailed off, looking at the distance.
"We all were friends back then, back when Reiner and...Bertholdt were one of us," Mina added with a hint of melancholy in her voice before looking back at Annie with concern. Since the ceremony, she has been even quieter than usual, only talking when someone asks her something.
"Reiner and Berholdt were never one of us. They were never friends," Floch added with a sneer. Jean gave him a glare. He didn't need to say that; everyone knew that, so why bother saying that?
"Floch, just shut up." Jean growled, getting a little tired from him.
"Jean, you know I'm right. It's not my fault that it's a hard pill to swallow for them, but it's the truth. The sooner they understand that, the better." The uplifting atmosphere wavered, but soon enough, Jean started bringing up the one time Connie had forgotten why he had gone to the bathroom. This earned laughs from many of them, even those who just happened to hear them.
Eren and Mikasa soon joined in the conversation. "I would have definitely beaten your ass if Instructor Shadis hadn't come to your rescue." Eren gloated with a smirk, but unlike before, everyone knew they were messing around with each other.
"Oh yeah, I remember Mikasa once carried you away like a sack of potatoes," Jean quickly pointed out. They laughed together, and while Eren looked a little annoyed, he still chuckled along with his friends.
"Jean, I remember how you looked when your mother came and gave all of us apples," Marco pointed out. Many chuckled, except for Jean, who turned red from embarrassment.
"You know once I stole an entire piece of meat right under Shadis's nose-" The other Scouts watched in shock at them, hearing them talk so casually and not at all frightened; it encouraged the others to let their guard down. Soon, many others started talking and making jokes with one another. Their laughter brightened up the day.
Levi and his Squad watched them; they didn't know why, but it felt good to have people laugh like that. Even Levi smiled just enough, hearing them laugh instead of crying and sobbing like they usually did in every expedition.
"Those brats. I swear they are annoying," Oluo complained, but this one time, he made no movement to stop them.
"I think is amazing to hear them laugh like that." Petra commented with a faint blush on her cheeks.
Soon enough, they saw the outline of Wall Maria appearing in the Horizon, and within ten more minutes, they were almost there.
They stopped so their horses could rest. Since this part of the territory didn't have any Titans, Eren decided to take a walk, followed by Armin and Mikasa.
They knew where they were going: walking up a knoll. Just at the top, it still stood there. It looked taller, but the trio recognized the Tree.
"Do you remember how we used to race towards it, who would reach the tree first?" Eren asked with melancholy; as they reached the Tree, the three stopped at the foot of the Tree.
"Yes. We were exploring this field for the first time, and you, out of nowhere suddenly shouted at us that whoever reached the Tree was the winner before taking off running." Mikasa remembered, looking at the same place she remembered waking up Eren the day it happened, the day everything changed.
"How could I forget? I was always the last," Armin added, wiping away tears from his eyes. As Eren sat down in the front, his back against the tree trunk, Mikasa sat to his left and Armin to his right.
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Mikasa was letting me win everytime we had a race," Eren added with a teasing smile. She giggled cutely. Suddenly, everything felt like the old times; for the three of them, at that moment, it felt like they were children once again.
Eren closed his eyes. Mikasa rested her head on his shoulder, and he felt her hand on top of his. Armin rested his head against the trunk of the Tree. The wind was blowing on their faces, and Mikasa's red scarf danced with the wind.
It felt like Home.
Note: To me this was my favorite chapter to write, especially the end with the expedition to Shiganshina. Eren and his friends, after a long time, are acting like kids who are good friends, laughing and being happy. The end part, where Eren, Mikasa, and Armin sit beside one another at the Tree, is perhaps my personal favorite moment of this Entire Story.
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