Sacrifice For You (Hange Zoe x Female Reader)

4: Vengeance (2)

A light breeze ran across my arms, causing the hairs to stick up slightly. The sky seems so bright. At the sound of a groan, I looked to my left, my brows knitting together in confusion as I spotted short blonde hair next to me. I was laying on my back in a bright green field, the only sound being the rustling of the grass in the wind, and the heat of the sun was beating down on my skin.

"Will?" I spoke softly, my voice coming out as hoarse and scratchy. In response to my words, the man rolled over, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Hey, [Y/N]," he peered at me through the long strands of grass, "how are you?" he questioned, the look in his eyes softening with pity. I hated when he looked at me like that, but at this moment a rush of comfort invaded my senses.

"Am I dead?" I scratched at my cheek, pressing my fingers into the skin on my face. I don't feel dead. He chuckled softly, shaking his head with a small yet slightly pained-looking smile. "No, but I am," his smile dropped off into a sigh, and he turned away from me, his gaze aiming back toward the sky.

I felt my expression go blank, and I looked down at the grass between us. "Will..." I began, a desperate apology accumulating on the tip of my tongue. I didn't know what was happening, or why I was seeing him. "It was supposed to be you that day," he whispered, the sound of chirping birds contrasting his empty tone, "it was never supposed to be me. I was supposed to go on - I was supposed to return home to my mother, and let her know I'd lived up to my father's name." I felt my face go slack at the sudden dig.

"...But I'm trying to avenge you, I'm trying to give your name meaning," my voice broke, and I could feel the tears pooling into my eyes. My words had come out broken and laced with desperation, begging him to believe me in a way I couldn't go on without.

Slowly, he turned his head back toward me - his face was plagued with... nothing. His usual amiable demeanor had disappeared, and he stared at me with blankness as he spoke, "you didn't charge the Female Titan for me, [Y/N]," he blinked.

"You charged her for yourself."

The smell of smoke infiltrated my nose, causing me to cough harshly. The soft grass I had been laying on was replaced with a hard surface, and I looked up at the face towering above me. "[Y/N]! Can you hear me? Are you alive?" Armin's panicked questions caused my eyes to widen, and a pounding headache was ravaging my skull. "What happened..." I trailed off, and a relieved sigh sounded from his mouth.

Despite my question, I zoned out the second he started to explain - piecing what had just happened together in my mind. I must've been dreaming, but how did I end up here? I trailed off for a moment before the series of events started playing out in my mind like a storybook.

Hange.

Without hesitation, I pushed myself upward and grabbed Armin by the collar, my gaze darting all around his face as my heartbeat picked up, "where's Hange?!" I yelled in a frantic tone, surely looking near feral. They had saved me from Annie.

Armin met my desperation with a slightly scared expression, "calm down [Y/N]! They're fine!" he begged, pushing my hands away from his uniform collar. "You remember what happened up until then, right?" he prompted, and I nodded. "So I'm assuming your memory cuts off when you both hit the ground..." he wondered aloud, and I felt my stomach twist.

"What?" I snapped, and he took a deep breath. "I was in the squad neighboring Hange's," he began, "the whole time they seemed antsy - like a child nervous to give a presentation at school. When you and the other squad charged Annie's titan, Hange had broken off and tackled you to the ground," he shot me a nervous look, "because of how fast they had intercepted you, they fumbled with their ODM gear and you both took a little bit of a harsh dive into the concrete. No one had gotten to warn you all in time that Annie knew you all were pursuing her."