He Told Me to Live

1 | Underground

I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was about 7 years since I had joined the Scouts, and I had always been directly beneath Erwin, my position always depending on his. Now that he was the leader of one of the squads, he had proposed that I become the next one once he is gone.

But, I knew I wouldn't be capable of doing so. When you really break something, you need something more than a few years surrounded by death for it to be fixed.

I still couldn't properly function without being ordered to. A strange overthinking of every scenario where I was about to move on by myself, making both rational and irrational conclusions in my head that were "definitely" going to happen, should I act on my own.

I ended up saying that I'd work under Hange, should the scenario ever occur.

Hange... she's quite interesting, to say the least.

"What do you mean 'you heard it?' Is there something different about your ears that makes you hear so much?" She sometimes examined my ears and eyes in the midst of battle so see if they did anything.

I was trained to be attentive all the time, and I guess it enhanced my hearing and sight in a way. Sometimes, however, I really wish it didn't.

"Are loud sounds considered ear piercing to you?!"

"Hange." Another person I met while being in the Scouts, Miche, walked up to Hange and pulled her back by the collar of her uniform. "You'll make her go crazy with you maniacal antics."

I never really fought back against her curiosity, as she always instructed me to be still.

"Y/N." Erwin walked into the room. "We were given a mission today. Come with me."

I nodded and followed him out of the room.

"Do you want to know where it is...?"

His voice sounded hesitant, the same tone often used when someone is about to ask about Hange's experiments. And despite knowing this, I nodded.

"It's underground."

I could feel the drop of my heart as I heard the name of the dreaded place. I don't understand how anyone could ever live through that their whole lives.

I only lived there for ten years or so, but there are others that live there and die there. Although I wouldn't say that I was lucky to be taken out of there, I would never wish living there upon anyone.

"Y/N?" Erwin put his hand on my shoulder. "If you want, I can just bring Mike and—"

"It's alright." I stood up straight with a deep breath. "You don't need to do that."

He pursed his lips, but nodded. "I'll gather the others and we'll make plans. Then, we'll make our way down."

•••

While I sat in our brief meeting, I saw that the underground truly hadn't changed, the streets still the way I remembered. I could pinpoint the exact spot each event of my life down there happened.

Even where I got my nickname.

"Makes sense?"

I nodded along with everyone else, but I couldn't help but feel reluctant to return to such a place, where everyone was considered rejects. Where the sun didn't touch. Where you had to pay, only to be sent right back beneath the discarded city.

I put on my ODM gear and tested it to make sure it was working. If they're underground, then why do they have ODM gear? Was the Military Police on this case first? If so, then they probably stole it from them.