𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲 | 𝗿. 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗻

𝗜. 𝗱𝗲́𝗷𝗮̀ 𝘃𝘂

"Corinne!"

Corinne jumped slightly upon the loud calling of her name and she turned her head quickly, spotting Mina, another cadet like herself, approaching with a worried look. Wondering the look was for, Corinne rose an eyebrow as she turned away from the edge of the wall.

"What's wrong, Mina?"

"Oh, nothing! You just..you looked spaced out. And..you had a really terrifying look on your face." Mina replied, Corinne's face softening at this. She didn't realize her face was expressing what she was thinking, how she was feeling. She didn't think it was obvious. Today was the day five years ago that Shiganshina fell, fallen to the Titans. It felt like yesterday to Corinne.

Having thought about the way the Colossal Titan looked to her just before it kicked a hole in the wall. It was like it taunted her without her realizing it. And that angered her. There was nothing could have done then, and that's what pissed her off. If she was older, if she knew what to do like she does now..things could have been different.

"Sorry..I just have a lot on my mind. With today being the anniversary, my mom being in the city pregnant, and my dad is god knows where outside the walls..I'm just not having a good day." Corinne admitted, Mina nodding in understanding and coming up beside her. "Everything's going to be fine. You're just paranoid because Reiner made the Titan joke earlier, that's all."

"I hope you're right." Corinne mumbled. It's true that she's felt this uneasy since Reiner made the joke about the Titan's weak points. One being the nape and the other..shove it where the sun don't shine. While it may have been funny at the time, just the mention of Titans suddenly changed Corinne's demeanor and now, she's checking her surrounding every five seconds.

"Corinne, Mina!"

"Oh, hey, Eren!" Corinne looked behind herself and smiled when Eren come up to him, inhaling sharply. "Enjoying the breeze?"

"It's a little higher than I thought it would be, but I'm fine with it." Eren stated with a nervous laugh, Corinne pursing her lips together to avoid laughing. "Anyway, are you ready?"

"To fight the Titans? Hell no. But I signed up for this, there's no going back." Eren wasn't surprised by her response. Everyone felt just about the same as she did. They joined for a reason and there was no point in running and hiding if the Titans do invade. There wouldn't be anywhere anyway.

"You know you don't have to join the Scouts, Corinne, if you don't want-"

"No." Corinne blurted out, her hands clutching at her sides. "I made my mom a promise. I promised her I would look after my dad while she was out, and that's what I plan to do. My father is strong and he's a skilled soldier, but things can happen and I'm not letting it happen to my dad."

At that point, Mina had excused herself to help the others, so now Eren and Corinne stood on the wall by themselves. Corinne sighed heavily, crossing her arms and kept her gaze trained to the ground.

"I already lost your mom, Eren. She took great care of me while my parents were away as did you and Mikasa. You guys became my second family in the short time I knew you." Corinne began, tears swelling up in her eyes and her throat began to tighten. "If I don't do this, then who will be next? My mom, my dad? Or you, Mikasa, Armin, the other cadets? I have to do this, I'm meant to."

"So was I. We fought a good deal to get here, Corinne. And now, all of us, humanity itself, will get another fighting chance. We can do this, I know we can."

"Me to-" Corinne began, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up immediately, stopping her mid sentence. Just then, a flash of yellow filled the sky and the excruciating heat beside by Eren and Corinne was felt.

"Eren..?" Corinne mumbled, her silver-grey widening as she froze in place. Eren returned the look, not sure what to do in this moment nor how to feel. He wasn't sure if he was stunned, scared, or both. Corinne found the urge in her to take her gaze to what had caused the lightning. And just as she expected, just like it happened five years ago, the Colossal Titan just on the other side, staring them both down. Corinne began to back away from the Titan, it's dark grey orbs shifting to look at her now.

"Corinne.."

"Eren, jump." Corinne simply stated, looking over to Eren, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Eren, JUMP!"

The second call came just as the Titan released a wave of boiling hot steam, the sudden cloud covering Corinne, Eren, and the other cadets head to toe with it. Everyone was quick enough to jump over the edge and avoid any further exposure to the steam, but Corinne wasn't so lucky. The sleeves of her uniform jacket were burned off and her arms had been burned slightly from her elbows down to the tips of her fingers.

The stream also caused Corinne to fall back, hitting her head hard against the concrete and knocking her unconscious before falling over the edge.

"Corinne!"

--

"Ah!"

"Captain, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Tch..I'm fine. Just..felt a pain in the back of my head."