Once In A While

Chapter 10: The Reveal

Walking through the bustling city of Trost, Jean and Armin were disguised as Eren and Historia. They would purposely get abducted by our enemy, and thus help us understand reach them easier.

Levi stopped in his tracks after a while, turned to us and said;

"Behind us, look out!"

We all dispersed throughout the street, except for Jean and Armin, who were forcefully taken on a cart.

----

Peaking through the window, I was met with a familiar scenery before me; Armin was being harassed by one of the abductors, and though I had experienced seeing dead people in front of me, that was a sight that I couldn't bear seeing for any longer. Mikasa flew back to Levi, letting him know that Armin's disguise would soon be compromised. I made my way to them after a moment.

"You can handle the rest on your own. I'm gonna make my way to Eren, come and meet me once you're done taking out the trash." He said to us as he got up.

"Yes sir!" We both complied.

"There's one more thing you should know, just in case. Tell the rest of them too. We are no longer fighting only titans; so get ready to get your hands dirty if the situation needs it." He then flew away.

I spared Mikasa a glance, then focused on our mission; taking out the kidnappers. We snuck inside the building easily, and when the men came forward, we moved stealthy and quickly, taking them out one by one, with the help of Connie and Sasha.

One of them pulled out a gun, which I was quick to notice. I grabbed his hand and smashed the gun to his face, then threw him far away, keeping the weapon.

"Don't even think about moving." Jean muttered as him and Armin tied up two of them.

"Armin, you okay?" I asked him once we were done.

"Yeah..." He said, barely audible enough for me to hear.

"Alright people, let's get those bastards secured. Then, we're meeting up with the Captain." I announced, dusting off my shirt.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked me, confused.

"Those were his orders. He left a message too." Mikasa answered.

-----

Flying through the city was something I didn't expect to turn out so grim this quick; Sasha heard gunshots, which soon lead us to the Captain. He told us they got Historia and Eren. And that was the moment he told the rest of the squad, that now it was either us or them; we had to kill other people to ensure our own lives weren't taken.

Jean and Armin after a while managed to get into the cart that unconscious Eren and Historia were; I was flying a few meters behind, paying attention to them, and how Jean hesitated to kill his opponent, and thus she managed to recover quickly, now pointing her gun at him.

I knew I had no time to waste. What I was about to do was risky, I didn't even know if I would hit her precisely. It had been quite some time since I did this...

Just as Mikasa landed on the cart as well, I swang forward and aimed my gun at the enemy; pulling the trigger twice, I fired, in hopes of hitting her.

Blood and brain matter scattered through the sky, staining the cart in red, thick liquid substance.

------

We all sat quietly around the bonfire. Some of us ate, but I couldn't bring myself to. Not after what I had done today.

"What's wrong (Y/n)? This filthy place made you lose your appetite?" Levi said to me.

"No. It's not that..." I trailed off, searching for the right words to express my concern.

"Jean. There's something I don't quite understand. When I pulled my gun, mid air, I was sure I was going to be late. She already had her gun drawn out. So why didn't you... Why did you hesitate?" I looked at the fire in front of me.

He didn't respond.

"You do realize this could have been you, right? The one with their brains blown out, it could have been you. It would have been you." I said, anger rising inside of me.

"I'm sorry (Y/n). I should have fired, but I couldn't. So now your hands are stained with human blood. Captain, I thought your methods were wrong; I just didn't want to hurt others. I now realize you weren't wrong, I was. So next time, I'll promise I'll fire."

"I am not telling you what's wrong. I certainly don't know what is. Were you really wrong?" The captain asked Jean, a rhetorical question I assumed. He then turned to me, and said;

"What you did back there was a very risky move; could have gotten yourself killed instead of saving anyone. Not bad of a shot though, for a first timer." He said, taking a sip of his cup, and suddenly all eyes were on me.

"I... I've killed before." I managed to say, looking him straight in the eye.