The Squad Behind Us [Attack On Titan]

Kido Rubin- Part Two

A/N

I'm channeling my Stanley Parable Narrator voice for this chapter.

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Charlie Hogs was assigned his job of handing back families the possessions of their deceased loved ones. He tried not to look too disappointed when he was given the news, but it was hard. No one liked this job, only a man devoid of emotions would enjoy it. The worst part was their faces when they got the one or two boxes of things. The box usually felt so heavy while he was holding it, but suddenly became much lighter in Charlie's hands when passing it on.

A simple "Yes, sir!" was what Charlie responded with to his commander of two years. He saluted until his commander was gone and out of sight. As soon as he could no longer be seen, he let out a long sigh as he went to get the boxes that the Scouting Regiment had dropped off. He was given a list of names and addresses where he was to drop off the things.

Kido Rubin was the first name on top of the list. It just so happened to be the closest to his current location as well. There was one box with Kido's name on it, and he picked it up gently so that he would not damage any of the box's contents. He walked out of the loading garage, got on his horse, and began to ride towards Trost District.

Charlie wasn't a particularly handsome fellow, with his long brown hair, and dark eyes, but he did have an air of kindness about him. For some reason, folks just trusted him upon meeting him, making him perfect for these types of jobs. His trusting and kind face was nice to see when being handed a box full of sentimental value.

Charlie held tightly, yet gently, onto the box full of possessions as he trotted down the road, expertly avoiding children and small animals. He came across a densely populated area and houses with no lawns that were extremely close together. Could this be it? Charlie wondered. There was no harm in checking to make sure, so he hopped off his horse so that he could make his way much easier.

At the end of the cobblestone road, stood a crooked house that was, to say the least, strangely decorated. There were plenty of miniature windmills and small unicorn statues all along the house's windowsills and its small porch. A human head also sat atop one of the unicorn's back. There was a candle within it that gave it an eerie glow. The head, along with all the other strange creatures there were, creeped Charlie out. He was almost afraid to open the door. Being the kind person he was though, he shifted the box of possessions, and knocked on the door three times.

Charlie prepared himself for the sad look that was undoubtedly going to make an appearance. He looked down quickly into the box and saw a few articles of clothing along with a small wooden box, nothing special. He heard footsteps coming towards the door and Charlie took a deep breath as an old lady opened the door.

The lady was rather short, with gray hair tied up in a bun and smile wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. She was not smiling now however, but bore a sad and somewhat depressed expression. Charlie forgot to make an appropriate expression for the occasion and was smiling. Realizing what he was doing and where he was, the smile faded from his face.

He positioned the box in front of him and started to try and hand the box to the lady as he said solemnly, "Miss, I was told this belonged to a Kido Rubin and that this was his home address, does that name sound familiar?"

The lady looked down as Kido's name was mentioned. Charlie took that as a sign of recognition. She almost whispered, "Yes, it does sound familiar. He was my grandson. He died very recently in the military."

The word military was said with such scorn that one could only assume she hadn't approved of Kido's decision to become a soldier. Charlie continued, "All of his possessions have been taken from his room and they belong to his closest family--you."

She looked at the things with sadness in her eyes. "Give them here," her voice cracked. She took hold of the somewhat heavy box and laid it down as gently as possible next to the door, just inside the house. "The poor boy," she sounded on the verge of tears. "He had so much life left to live. Why didn't he join the Garrison in protecting the wall? Why did he join the military at all?! I told him it was a bad idea! I told him, I told him, I told him!"

Charlie was now a bit worried, but he dare not show it. This woman seemed to have past experiences with the military that contributed to her hate of it now.

The woman seemed to sense Charlie's worry, so she began to drop the upset expression she'd taken to. After a short pause she ask, "I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with Erwin. He's the one who forced him out there in the first place. Or perhaps that girl he was always hanging around with. I knew she was trouble."

The woman had begun speaking of things that Charlie thought were not meant for him, making him feel as if he were eavesdropping on a personal conversation of which he has no business.

"Do you know?" she quietly asked, her voice broken and cracked.

"Know what, Miss?"

"Do you know if my son died for anything, or was his death just in vain?"

Charlie was taken aback from the question. How was he to know? "I'm afraid I'm not eligible to answer that question."

She looked down. "I see. Thank you for delivering his things. Good day," she said, her voice dripping with sadness as she began to close the door.

"Good day Miss, " Charlie said as he backed away from the threshold.

"Wait!" Charlie turned around towards the opening of the street where there was what looked like a young kid running. He had a leather book in his hands as he jogged over to him and the lady that hadn't shut her door all the way. "Wait!" He shouted again.

"Wait for whom?" Charlie shouted back. The person finally reached them, not looking out of breath in the slightest. Upon closer inspection, it was in fact an older man that seemed to have a height deficiency who bore the Wings of Freedom on his back. A soldier of the Scouting Regiment.

The man turned towards Charlie. "I'm Captain Levi belonging to the Scouting Regiment," he said with authority. "It seems that Kido's journal was never put into his possession box. I assume that you're who this belongs to now," he said acknowledging the lady standing in her doorway.

The lady nodded. "Kido was my grandson."

"Then here," he handed her a leather bound book with a red string hanging from within the confines of the pages. "This was Kido's journal up until the very end." As she took it and opened it up, tears began to well up in her eyes.

"This is his handwriting," she sobbed. She looked up at Captain Levi and sobbed, "Thank you so much for returning this to me. I can't say how grateful I am."

"Don't mention it," he said coolly. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I heard you earlier." She looked at him in bewilderment. "I may not have known Kido personally, and I hope you don't mind, but I read his journal and from it I can tell that he was an honest and brave man. He died protecting me and my squad. If he hadn't protected us then, I don't what would've happened to me." She looked up at him with a sad smile on her face as Levi saluted to her. "His death wasn't in vain. He died protecting humanity."

"Thank you so much, son. I wish you a good life full of prosperity."

Still saluting he said, "You're welcome. Good bye."

She stepped back into the her house entirely and shut the door slowly. Charlie looked down at Levi and saw that there was a slight smile tugging on his lips.