7 Days Till [Armin x Jean]

2 Days Till the Invasion

I woke up with a slight groan and sat up to stretch more properly. I looked over and saw Jean still asleep on the bed next to mine. He looked so at peace laying there, his face completely at rest. I gently reached my hand out and brushed a little hair out of his face before standing up. Looking over at the desk, I noticed Jean's bag covered the sundial. The easy thing would've been to move it, but I shrugged it off and quickly changed into something other than pajamas. I put the note Hanji left last night on Jean's bag and headed out for the day. I'd meet up with him before the feast tonight, or at least would run into him during the feast tonight. It just depends on how long Hanji plans on keeping me.

As I walked down the hall to their study, I wondered about what Hanji wanted me for. I'd assume they'd want me to change into the Colossal Titan just to ensure I can still, in fact, do it, however, I'd think they would want me to save my energy at the same time. One thing about the Colossal Titan that I despise is how tiring it is to shift. I asked Eren after the first time I shifted if he ever experienced a large drainage in energy, and he shook his head. I've concluded it was because of the massive size of the body and the amount of force it takes to move it were the causes of my energy drain. I brought it up with Hanji once I thought I figured it out, and our training wasn't near as frequent as Eren's was when the powers were still new to him.

With a sigh, I stopped outside Hanji's door and knocked, waiting for a response.

"Come in!" they called from the other side.

I opened the door slightly and peeked my head in. Hanji was standing in front of their desk, a smile brightly on their face. However, behind them, I could see Levi sitting in the chair at the desk. I gulped and walked in, slowly closing the door behind me.

"You called for me?" I asked, trying to make sure my voice was steady. Something about being told I was wanted for something, then seeing both Hanji and Levi in a room together made my heart race, the adrenaline starting to run through my veins. The fight, flight, or faint mindset was at full blast as I thought of a quick way to escape if things got past my comfort zone.

"Yeah, take a seat. Don't mind Levi, he just wanted to be here for this," Hanji said as they took one of the two chairs in front of their desk, waiting to talk again until I sat down in the other. "It's nothing bad, don't worry! I just had a few questions before the mission, and I had a feeling you wouldn't be doing anything before the feast. I would've asked tomorrow, but it'll be a busy day for me and Levi, along with many others, as we try to finish up the final touches. I hope you understand."

"I do... so, what did you want to ask?" I looked between the two of them, relaxing knowing that this was just a preparation for the mission in two days, and not me being under fire for something I don't think I did.

"The first question would be, are you ready? But I'm skipping that until the end. So that leaves me to ask, do you feel confident in your ability to go about your part in the mission? Traveling along for a while, then turning into your titan once you reach land?"

I stared at them then looked down at my hands. The answer they wanted was yes, but the answer in my throat was no. After a moment, I looked back up. "I'm not fully confident in my ability, I fear I won't have enough of a reason to shift, like how Eren had trouble when we found out Annie was the Female Titan. However, I will do my best to offer all I can to this mission, be it as a successful shifter, or as a member of the Scouts. I will not let you, or the fate of those on this island, down at any cost."

"Cut with the heroic bullshit," Levi spat out. I tensed and glanced over at him. "We're not asking for what we want to hear. We're asking for how you really feel."

"Levi's right. You're a smart kid, so obviously you want to use your brain to try and trick us into thinking you're ready. But a large part of this relies on your ability, and that means a lot of it depends on you. It's not too late for us to change the plan if you genuinely feel like you can't do this. So answer every question honestly, please?" Hanji put a hand on my knee and smiled softly.