Why (not) Me

Shiganshina District - 841

Nine Years Earlier...

"You need to go."

Tessa Frederick was sitting outside the quaint little house which she lived in Shiganshina District. The day had been hot and even as the sun disappeared behind the tall walls the heat was still bouncing off of the stone tiles that lay next to her.

She looked up towards the voice she vaguely heard, but there was no doubt in her mind who the voice belonged to. Grisha Yeager. His long dark hair laid down the side of his face and his glasses were perfectly placed on the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in his professional attire and carried a medicine bag in his right hand. As a doctor, Grisha was highly sought after not only in Shiganshina but also in the surrounding villages that resided throughout Wall Maria. Very rarely did he go into the far interior, but he remained busy very often with the work he found close to Shiganshina. However, Tessa was confused as to why he was dressed in that attire at this time. As far as she knew he had no clients so late in the day, but it was not unusual for him to be called at random for emergencies.

Tessa cleared her throat, "I'm sorry sir, did you say something?"

"We have done our hardest to take care of you throughout the years, but you're of age to join the military now and Carla and I are having trouble raising you alongside Eren and Mikasa."

The statement swirled in her mind. The military? Tessa had barely thought about joining the military, at least not that Eren has needed her help the most now.

Eren Yeager was Grisha's son and when he was young Tessa was just a lost girl whom his father found one day on the outskirts of the walls, without a home and her parents. But Tessa had grown fond of Eren the more that they were together. Sure he was a troublemaker and got into fights more often than he should've, but she loved the kid as if she was his sister and Eren her brother. Not the time Tessa, she thought to herself, someday, but not today. Tessa shook her head, she needed to focus on the conversation ahead.

"You want me to go into the military?"

"You're a smart hardworking girl, I have no doubt you can easily make it into the military police if you put your mind to it."

Did he think that? That she could make it into the military police? The military police were the highest-ranked officers that only the top 10 cadets in the training corps. could get into. Why did he want her to go into the military police?

"Is that what I should do? Go into the military police?"

"You'll be well-fed and away from the threat of the titans in the interior. I cannot tell you what to do, Tessa, but the military police might be the best thing for you, for us."

Ah, okay. She understood what he meant.

"But Eren, he will need help with-"

"We have seen that someone will take care of Eren when Carla and I are not available, I assure you."

"I don't want to leave Eren alone, Mr. Yeager. He has anger issues that he needs help managing and only Mikasa and I know how to do that."

"Well, it is a good thing that Mikasa will be here to watch over Eren while you're gone."

Ouch.

Okay, so Eren would be fine. That eased her anxiety a little. Eren would be fine while she was away, he had to be. Nothing could get inside the walls and she wasn't concerned about anyone possibly killing Eren once he angered them, at least not with Mikasa around him.

"Can I visit?"

"I'm sure you'll be more than busy to do that."

"But if I do- can I visit Eren?"