𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 | 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘹 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 5: 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴

'𝘔𝘳. 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰! 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴!'

Her words kept repeating in his head. Niccolo couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't stop thinking about how emotional she got over his food, or how she ate messily. He couldn't stop thinking about how those words rolled off her tongue, with her wispy voice. He couldn't stop thinking about how she pleaded for more of his food, or how happy she was when he gave her more. Her smile was so bright. No, it wasn't just her smile, it was her. She shone, amongst the world of darkness Niccolo had knows for many years.

'𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰.' Niccolo thought. He didn't know what had happened, or what he was feeling. It was all happening so fast.

~

Sasha jogged around, focusing on the soles of her feet tapping to the ground, and the deep breathes she took. Sasha, Connie, Jean, Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and some fellow cadets had all suddenly been instructed to start mild training again. They were running laps.

"Oi! Mikasa! Don't run too far, wait for us!" Armin shouted to Mikasa, who was a few metres ahead from the rest of them.

They continued jogging for a good 45 minutes before Hanji quickly took them to a meeting. Sasha really didn't know what was happening, this was all rather sudden. They all took their seats and waited for the captain to speak, and he did. He spoke loud and clear.

"We have a mission. A mission to Marley."

~

Sasha and the rest of the group were instructed not to tell anyone about the mission, even though they weren't given much information on it either. Although, it was clear that Eren took a big part in it, and was planning to fight Reiner. They were separated from the Marleyans for a while, which disappointed her because she couldn't see her friend Niccolo, or eat his amazing food. Sasha really liked Niccolo, and she could tell he liked her, as a friend of course. He wasn't bitter to her friends, but he seemed shyer and less talkative towards them. But he talked to her.

Learning to use the new ODM gear (designed for killing people) was a breeze. It wasn't that different to the old one, and was in fact easier to co-operate with. And after they had mastered using it, they were allowed more freedom again, but they still had to train. And so, Sasha ran down to the kitchen to refill her water bottle, and head out with her friends to head to the shooting range. As she opened the door to the room, someone was in there. He had dirty blond hair and was making something in a pot.

"Oh! Niccolo! Hello."

"O-oh, hello Sasha. I'm sorry, I don't know if I'm allowed in here, I just needed to cook something to clear my mind."

"No! It's fine, you're allowed in here. What are you making?" Sasha walked over to him and peered over his shoulder, so close that Niccolo could feel her breath on his neck.

"Just a simple stew, it's almost ready."

"Ooh! Can I please have some!" Sasha asked. Niccolo nodded, and took a spoon from the side. He got it and held it out to her, but she just opened her mouth. A flash of embarrassment could be seen in Niccolo's eyes for only a second, but he gave a tiny smile, and spooned the stew into her mouth.

"Mmm! That tastes amazing! You're the best chef ever, Niccolo," Sasha claimed. "Another spoon please!"

Niccolo got another spoon-full and brought it close to her lips.