Sacrifice For You (Hange Zoe x Female Reader)

12: Guilty | FLASHBACK

POV HANGE ZOE

The first word that came to my mind was instinct.

An instinct that I couldn't explain. An action I couldn't justify with science, facts, or any sort of logic. Terror was coursing through my veins with an icy sensation, and I felt myself freeze up. I just... Did I just?

The boy, Will, I barely knew. But he was special to [Y/N], anyone could tell that. Sometimes it had made me jealous, although Moblit was constantly reassuring me that they were friends and nothing more. The two were practically inseparable from the second they joined the Survey Corps- and their ability to read each other so easily had proved them different from the rest. It made them important.

He screamed out her name. Yet my hands dug into his back without hesitation, sending him flying into the one girl I had kept my eye on since she was first inducted into Levi's squad. She had also shown promise in her training, which was what immediately made her interesting to me. But something else had made her valuable. Something I couldn't place a finger on.

I guess I failed to realize just how valuable it had made her to me.

My glasses tightened against my skin just a little when my eyes widened, the initial shock residing and panic taking its place when I realized what I had just done. [Y/N] fell as intended, and the Female Titan's hand caught the blonde boy in her place- killing him instantly.

I couldn't get myself to look down at her- gauge her reaction as to what just happened. But I could feel her burning stare on me. On the both of us. My shoulders suddenly felt heavy, and I couldn't move them at all. I thought I was about to stumble off of the branch myself at how dizzy the world became.

In all of my years as a soldier, as someone who was meant to be a savior of humanity, I felt like I'd never seen so much blood come out of one person. It was like a fountain mixed with skin and bone, crimson covering the area and some of it splattering back onto me.

A golden spark lit up the area, and I immediately jolted back into action. Before the Female Titan could engage me, something else had distracted her, and I turned in awe. By the Walls...

Eren's titan generated out of thin air, immediately throwing the blonde one into the ground with a rumble. But I pushed my own interests to the side, immediately making my way down through the trees.

"[Y/N]," I whispered, begging myself to focus as I spotted her motionless body on the ground. Please don't be dead. Please, [Y/N], stay with me. I zipped down beside her, stumbling in my hurry to her side. I pressed my ear to the girl's chest, recognizing a quiet heartbeat. She must've caught her fall somewhat on the way down, otherwise...

I shook away the possibility, tears spilling down my cheeks. Eren had dragged the Female Titan across the ground, digging into the earth with their massive, fascinating bodies. "Come here, angel," with ease I scooped the girl into my arms, carrying her bridal style as I ran in the opposite direction from the fight.

Trying my best not to jostle her too much, I held her closer to my chest as I made my way back. What have I done? Why? All for her?

And then it all settled in at once. I had just killed a man. One of our best soldiers. [Y/N] had seen it as well.

I think I'm going to be sick.

A loud crash caused me to look back again, and my jaw dropped when I saw a whole tree broken in half with Eren towering over the Female Titan. Oooh, gotta go. Gotta go gotta go gotta go. I adjusted my grip and anchored into a tree, propelling myself forward a lot more carefully than normal.