The Devil ⥋ Eren Jaeger

VII - PTSD

TW: mentions of PTSD

Yi couldn't sleep. Her mind kept replaying the conversation she had with Eren. She was the last Empress of Qin? It sounded stupid but something told her that Eren wasn't lying. But Liu must have been a common last name in Qin right? If she really was the Empress then that meant she only had ten years left to live.

The first time she killed was when she was seventeen. It was also the second time that someone had tried to kidnap her. It happened when she was walking home from school. She lived in government housing because she was too old to live in an orphanage. She carried a knife with her at all times but really, what could a knife and a small girl who barely knew how to use it, do to a man much larger than her? A lot actually.

She blacked out just like she did when she killed Mr. Hansen. When she woke up two men were lying on the ground with their throats cut open. When she looked down at her hand she saw that it was covered in blood. She clutched the knife tightly and did her best to hide the evidence. She spent months after the incident throwing up and having nightmares about the men. She was in a constant state of fear wondering if the men's accomplices would go after her or if the police would catch her. But surprisingly, she got away with murder. And she just did it again.

===

Yi was afraid to face Eren. She didn't know what he would say to her now that he just casually dropped information on her family that she didn't even know about. But she faced him anyway. Things were quite awkward between the two and so she tried to avoid him. But being his nurse she had no choice but to see him every day.

She took him out to the garden for his normal stroll. Things were awkward as they walked in silence.

"Eren, where are you from?"

Eren looked up at the sky wistfully, "I'm not from Marley..."

But it couldn't be. Marley was the country with the largest Eldian population in the world next to Paradis Island. She figured that he must have made a mistake, "You mean Liberio? You're not from Liberio?"

Eren snapped out of his trance and nodded his head. She knew he was suspicious. How did he know so much about her and be so mysterious. It made her even more curious about him.

He wasn't from Liberio yet was brought to the city. It wasn't strange, Marleyans from all across the country came to receive treatment or were stationed there. But then came his body. How could one who lost a limb and his eye still be so muscular? Whenever she took off his clothes to help him change or to replace his bandages it seemed like he worked out regularly. And the fact that he knew another girl of the Azumabito clan. The Azumabitos resided in Hizuru and they rarely travelled, so how did he know her? She also noticed that his leg started to heal much faster than a normal person's. So what was he still in the hospital for?

Yi decided that she would ask Dr. Holt about everything he knew about Eren Kruger.

===

"He's being treated for PTSD. He spent too long digging trenches and now he's being treated here until he gets better." Dr. Holt answered.

Yi reviewed everything she knew about Eren. He didn't show any signs of PTSD at all. "But Dr. Holt, Eren Kruger doesn't exhibit any symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder."

Holt let out a bellow laugh, "Are you kidding me Ying? Everyday, all day and all night he screams at the slightest sounds. No one has ever been able to get him to talk, well except for you of course. Only when he's around you does he act normal but with everyone else, he's a typical Eldian. You know, I think that he has a little crush on you."

Yi slightly blushed. No one ever "had a crush on her". Everyone just found her features exotic and thought that meant that she was easy and willing to open her legs for anyone. But how could he allow himself to like her if she was Marleyan and he was Eldian?

"These Eldians, they think they could have any woman they want." Holt continued. "Are you free later tonight? Maybe we could have dinner together?" he suggested.

"No thanks, I don't eat."

Why would Eren act normal around her? PTSD wasn't something that could be turned on and off. And they walked outside all the time. Loud people passed by them and they've heard triggering sounds plenty of times. How was he able to be so unaffected by the noises if he really was traumatized?

She needed to know, so she headed straight to Eren's room. Yi found him sitting in a common area staring blankly at the wall. He didn't seem to notice her so she snapped her fingers near his ear. He jolted up. It was a normal reaction someone would give when being snapped out of a trance.

"Eren. I need to speak to you." she said. He nodded and the two headed to a more private area. "Who are you? I know that you're not from Liberio and you most likely aren't from Marley. So, who are you?"

Eren sighed, he figured that she would be dead in a few months. If not, then she could be useful to his cause as the Empress of Qin.

"I am Eren. Eren Jaeger." Yi gasped slightly, the name sounded so familiar. She then remembered Mr. Jaeger, Zeke's grandfather who stopped by the hospital every few months for a check up. "I wasn't born here. I was born in Eldia, on Paradis Island. I lived peacefully, protected by the wall until one day, the warrior candidate Bertholdt broke it causing many titans to flood the city."

Yi stepped back, could he really be a Devil of Paradis Island? "I watched as my mother was eaten by a titan. And I swore on that day, that I will avenge her. That I would kill every last titan there is. And that meant that I have to kill all of my enemies from across the sea."

First off, thank you to everyone who showed me support in the last chapter. I appreciate every single one of you! As I've said in the last one there will most likely not be an update next week so I can find some inspiration!

Lmk what you thought of this chapter!