Wanting You. | An Armin Arlert FanFiction. | Attack on Titan.

five

Erika gulped the streams of water down her throat, replenishing her thirst. Her arms wiped the spills of water from her lips before she let out a sigh. Her jacket was thrown off, and her hair returned to her shoulder. 

Her legs were stretched out in front of her, her back slouched against the wall. Though her surrounding was a comfort compared to where she was before, her mind was still troubled as pictures of the scene that occurred before replayed in her head again and again. 

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"It's a human." 

Armin's eyes widened. His stray thoughts came together in a fitting line upon hearing those words. As if they were the key to the haunting revelation. He wouldn't believe it before, thinking it was only an absurdity conjured by his overthinking mind. But if someone else could piece it together, it could only mean the truth. 

And it was evident just seconds later. 

Armin and Erika's attention were stolen by yet another roar from the 'Abnormal'. They watched alongside the others as the Titan fell onto its knees, deemed ended by Jean when it fell forward, head-first. 

Despite Jean's wish to return, the others refused, their legs stood frozen in place. Their eyes looked over the roof, watching with curiosity at the steam-emitting Titan. Amidst the haze, Erika saw a glimpse of a silhouette in a hunched position, tiny from the distance, like an insect. 

It sat inside the nape of the Titan, the Titan's flesh gone at that area. When the figure got up, his head was thrown back, revealing his features to the group. Their eyes widened, shocked to see their supposedly dead friend breathing well. Mikasa instinctively got down there, ready to retrieve him. 

"Does this mean, Eren did all this?" Jean questioned, looking away from Eren's unconscious body in Mikasa's arm. 

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'Eren, just what are you?' Erika's mind was stumbling over each thought, trying to process the situation. 

The group was slapped with an instruction to keep things silent. But Mikasa, Armin, and Eren were called by the Garrison Regiment for investigation. As Jean briefly explained whatever he could to their remaining friends who had gotten to safety before them, Erika just sat in silence. 

"That gag order was definitely warranted," Jean said. "The situation is bad enough as it is. If they find out about Eren-"

His words were interrupted by the sound of a blast from the other side of the Wall. Erika's legs immediately hoisted her body upwards, looking over to see smoke clouding the air. While everyone blurted our fearful questions, Erika followed Reiner in going upwards, hoping to see a better view of the situation. 

"What the hell?" Reiner stammered.

"Eren?" Erika questioned, looking at the bones of what looked like a half-formed Titan. 

They couldn't hear what was going on due to the distance. But after some time, they were suddenly called back to line up. One of the soldiers of the Garrison Regiment briefed the cadets on the situation. Multiple cadets let out wails of objection, refusing to participate in the mission in fear of death. 

However, when the Commander took his stand on the Wall before them, everyone returned to their saluting position, a fist over their heart. Despite the usual order of never leaving the battlefield, the Commander graced the cadets with a choice; to help with the mission or to go home, no consequences needed to be dealt with after. 

Erika debated her options but decided to stick with her friends and fight alongside them. Soon after, Eren made his debut next to the Commander, earning shocked looks from their friends apart from those who were aware of his ability. It seemed that Eren was key in sealing the broken wall. 

Divided into squads once more, Erika helped fight the stray Titans that roamed all over Trost. When the battle was finally over, she heard the news of the Scouts returning from their journey. Upon hearing it, she left her friends with no words of goodbye to go to headquarters. 

She waited in the lobby mindlessly, not caring how long it could take. And she waited for quite some time, her feet tapping against the cold floors as she had her arms crossed over her chest. But her rhythm was interrupted as her ears caught hearing of a pair of footsteps from behind. 

Her head snapped towards the entrance, watching the awaited figure approaching her. She pushed herself forward, running towards him before lunging on him, arms wide open for a hug. She embraced his comfort as he embraced hers, pulling her smaller figure against his body. 

"I'm so glad you're safe. I was very worried," Erwin mumbled against the soft strands of her hair. 

"Me too," she said, breathing in his aura. 

She pulled away, hearing a few pairs of footsteps coming in from the entrance. She then saw Eren's familiar figure, eyes closed, lacking consciousness. He was being dragged by two soldiers wearing Military Police uniforms. 

They brought him to the dark hallway across from Erika, a way she knew was leading to the dungeon. Smooth forehead scrunched in a frown, Erika began to worry. 

"Eren?" She called with question. "Where are they- Where are they taking him? Eren!" She yelled, looking from the guards to Erwin. "What's going on? What are they doing?" She shook her head in denial. "Eren! Eren!" She called, ready to go forward but was stopped by Erwin's frame. "What are you-"

"I'll explain it to you, I promise," he assured, letting her restless body relax against him. 

So he brought her to the designated room, soon joined by the Section Commander alongside some trusted squad leaders. And he explained the situation to the young girl. The confusion within her orbs shifted into a look of disbelief. 

"They really think he's a threat to humanity?" She scoffed, clearly baffled. "Look, I know him. He's from Shiganshina. His mother died because of a Titan! Right in front of him, she was eaten!" She explained, looking around the authority figures in the room. "His entire thing is to get revenge on the Titans for what happened. He was going to join the Scouts. He wouldn't harm humanity! I know him!"

"You really think so?" Erwin rose a brow. 

"Yes!" She justified. "Please, you have to save him! You have to stop them, Erwin," she pleaded, holding onto his forearm as her eyes roamed his. 

"I'll see what I can do," he sighed. 

"It'll be worth saving him, I promise."