Burdens(Erehisu)

Chapter 23

Sasha suddenly locked her left arm upright, hand-formed into a fist, kneeled against the dirt, and peaked upwards onto the hill. She then leisurely moved her bow from her right shoulder into her firm hands, gently rested an arrow on the bow, locked it in place, and waited. Seeing Sasha's warning and alert state, the others that followed behind her did the same.

There was complete silence for the first few seconds within the forest. Everyone quietly watched Sasha from the back, waiting for instructions. Then, without looking back, Sasha stretched her right arm backward and waved her hand to signal them to move close behind her. Immediately, everyone began moving towards Sasha as quietly and quickly as they could. Some crawled, some crouched and moved one foot at a time, and some just stood up and walked.

Right behind Sasha, Historia quietly called out. "What is it?" However, Sasha stayed silent and stared upfront, not moving a fiber of her muscles. Historia looked around, then upwards, and noticed they were all clustered under giant branches packed with pink flowers, obscuring them from view above the hill. Peaking over Sasha's shoulder, looking between the gaps of the flowers, Historia saw men armed with rifles aimlessly wandered around. Knowing only the Yeagersists carried rifles and handguns, Historia motioned them to be ready.

The blonde then moved out of the cover and hid behind a tree. She then peeked over to her left shoulder and upwards, studied what was in front of her, then held up her hand to indicate that there were at least five men uphill. Nodding, the Yeagerists then moved out of their safety position and slowly crawled upfill, hiding behind the bushes and trees along their path.

Moving slowly uphill, they silently took down all five men one by one without making a sound. Then, the rest of the group sprinted up the hill with Historia leading the charge, not caring for what they might encounter.

Looking from side to side, Historia examined her surroundings while charging into the open blindly. "Historia!" Called out a familiar voice. The person sounded relieved for some reason. But before Historia could spin her head around to see who it was, her body crashed into that person. Expecting to face plant onto the concrete floor, she shut her eyes, stuck out her arms in front, and plunged forward.

Feeling like being hit by a truck on the chest, it sucked away all the oxygen from his lungs. Lying on the concrete floor, Eren desperately gasped for air as he held onto Historia. Holding her tightly in his arms.

"Eren!"

Seeing him struggling for a bit, Historia then rested both of her palms against the concrete floor between Eren's sides and arms, pushed herself onto her toes, and gave Eren the time to take in several breaths that he needed. Once Eren was done, Historia leaned forward, grabbed Eren by the collar with both of her hands, and pulled Eren to sit upright.

Historia looked at Eren, then slapped him hard across the cheek with no hesitation or fear. And Eren Yelped. Taking a moment to recover, confused by Historia's slapping, and surprised by her sheer display of strength, Eren called out. "What was that for?!"

Ignoring his question, Historia asked, "Where were you?!"

Knowing what Historia meant, Eren looked away in resentment and said, "Sorry, I wasn't able to stay by your side." Historia stared at him, then sighed and repeated the same question, but gently this time. "Where were you?"

"We were misled. Then, once the situation got out of our control, we stayed low and decided to track down the traitor. Found out he had ulterior motives, and I decided to continue pursuing him."

"And what might that be?"

Eren glanced at everyone behind Historia, who were all watching him intently. Then, staring into her eyes, he muttered. "The prince is traveling out tomorrow. I have to be there to stop him.

===

Standing to the side of the square window, Floch watched as the sun sank under the ocean line. Then, shifting his gaze to the forest, he saw Eren and Historia emerge from the bushes, followed close behind by everyone else. Quickly pacing himself down the wooden steps, Floch called out. "Let them in."

Encroaching the isolated, old beach house, Eren knew that the rest of the Yeagerists were stationed up in the trees that surrounded this place. They were obscured from view. As the small sand beach came into view, Connie caught the eye of a steel ship floating on the water. Amazed. Connie asked, "Just how far have you planned this through?"

Without looking back, Eren replied coldly. "More than you'll ever know."

Looking at Historia, Floch lowered his head and said, "Your majesty, I apologize for not being there to rescue you on time." Historia studied the tousled hair, then glancing at Eren, she replied with apathy. "No need. You did your best."

"We need to get moving," Eren said.

===

Exhausted and hungry, the remaining scouts simply drowned in their own soup, meat, and potatoes as they sat around the table. Even though there weren't any conversations around the table as they ate, Jean was aware of Eren and Historia constantly gazing at each other. Sometimes Eren would gaze at Historia, and other times Historia would gaze back at Eren. As Jean watched the scene play out, he realized that they were having some kind of secret communication through gazing. But they didn't want to talk it out loud. Frustrated and envious of their peculiar bond, Jean let out a loud sigh, which caused everyone around the table to look at him in confusion.

"What?" Sasha called out.

"Hmm?" Jean looked at Sasha. Then, he sifted his gaze to no one in particular, closed his eyes, and said, "Just finish your food and get a room!"

Historia stood up from her seat, picked up her bowl of soup, and walked over to Eren at the other end of the table. "Can you finish this for me?" Eren took the wooden bowl, looked at it, and said, "You're done?" As Historia was about to disappear behind the wooden wall up the stairs, she leaned backward, tilted her head towards the brunet, and looked at Eren. Gazing into his green eyes, she said, "Yeah."

Eren stared at where Historia was seconds ago, contemplating, then carefully poured her bowl of soup into his bowl and drank it. As he did so, Eren noticed everyone was watching him. Irritated by the attention, Eren frowned and looked away. "Stop looking."

===

"Leave it, Eren. I'll wash it."

Eren put both his and Historia's bowls and plates on the countertop. "Thanks, Mikasa." The Ackerman simply nodded in acknowledgment as she continued to rinse the utensils in her hands. Turning around to see Jean leaning against the wooden frame, Eren walked up to him and patted on Jean's shoulder. "Help her."

Walking into the dimly lit room, the brunet was met with a cold, gentle breeze. Seeing Historia sitting alone on the bed, legs crossed, wearing only a thin fabric white shirt. Eren asked, "Aren't you cold."

When Eren attempted to shut the sliding door to cut the breeze, Historia said, "Don't." The brunet looked back at Historia in confusion. To which, Historia held up her arms for a hug and said, "But, I am cold. So, warm me up." Caught up to what Historia was attempting, Eren gave in by trying to embrace her hug. However, before Historia allowed Eren to embrace her, she grabbed Eren by the back of his neck with both of her hands, leaned back into her bed to pull him along with her, and gave an aggressive but passionate kiss. Initially startled by Historia's sudden aggressiveness, Eren allowed her to dominate him for a while before he returned the same passion and aggression.

And for the rest of the night, they kissed away.

===