Zuri: Attack On Titan

Punishment

I stare at Eren, dropping his arm that had just helped me from the ground. I'm a bit taller than him, so I have to slightly look downwards to lock eyes with him. *What the hell just happened?* He says. *I.. I don't know..* I respond. Eren looks away to the Scout Unit, breaking the communication link between us. He turns completely around, away from me, and falls face-first into the earth. His body begins to steam, and the nape of his neck rips a gash, revealing the tiny human Eren within. Mikasa appears out of nowhere, pulling him from the mass. It was just like the first time I morphed.

Then they attack me.

All the scouts, totally out of complete nowhere, suddenly zip up onto me and start slicing into me with their swords. Some of them fly wide out, and I scream as one hits particularly deep in my tendon. My scream is cut off when a scout I don't see slices into my nape.

The last thing I see is the ground slowly coming up to meet me before the world goes black.

I wake up to be staring into Armin's face. He jumps backwards a second after my eyes open, and then he rushes back to the side of the bed I am laying on. "Ar...min..?" I get out. My voice sounds cracked and harsh. I clear my throat, and say his name again. "Armin?" I say. "Zuri, your okay.." He mumbles. He absently reaches down, and wiggles his arms under my back. He tightens up around me, and I realize this is Armin giving me a hug. I slowly sit up, wrapping my arms around him. He sits on the bed, arms still around me, and we simply sit there for a few minutes, embracing each other.

Finally, I slightly pull away, and his arms drop from around me. I look over his face. He looks pale, as if he had been sweating and nervous for quite some time. He is staring downwards towards my torso. I move to cover myself with my arms, and then stop as immense pain burns through me. "A.. Agh!" I let out, my hands balling into fists as the pain surges through me. "Zuri!" Armin says. "Hang on, I'll get the doctor!" With that, he gets off the bed and sprints from the room.

I put my head back on the pillow, curling into a ball. Every movement sends pain roaring through me like a dozen knives slicing me up from the inside out. I moan, unwilling to let anyone but Armin see how much pain I was really in. A few moments later, a man dressed in white enters the room, followed by Armin, Mikasa, and Eren. I moan again, and the doctor holds up a syringe. I look at it through blurry vision before he stabs it into my arm. Almost instantly the pain lets go of me. "What.. Is that stuff..?" I mutter as the doctor removes the needle from my skin.

"A kind of painkiller, Miss Murbin." The man in white says before swiftly leaving the room. Then Armin, Eren, and Mikasa are right next to the bed, watching me. Mikasa is looking at me with a slightly-angry expression, though I can't read what she's thinking. Armin is looking at me with both concern and affection. And Eren....

... Is looking at me like Armin is.

I immediately sit up, and Mikasa slaps me across the face. "Mmph!" I sound, raising my hand to the now-angry red cheek of mine. "How dare you fight and beat Eren Up." Mikasa says, emotionless. It didn't sound like a question, more like a demand for an answer. I look at her, narrowing my eyes. "Oh, I don't know Mikasa, maybe I just felt like murdering my comrade. And, your boyfriend, if the way your looking at me says words." Mikasa lets color flood her cheeks for a moment. "He's family!" She says, removing the space between our faces. *So this is how you get to the unbreakable..* I think to myself. "Oh, sorry, you just make is so believable that you love him sometimes." I say, smiling. Mikasa raises her hand to slap me again, and Armin grabs it. "Please.." Armin says. "The Painkillers must have her delusional or something.."

I rub my eyes. "Yeah, listen to Armin." I say. I look back up, and she's obviously furious but had pulled back. "Now," I say, turning to the boys. "Why do I need painkillers?" Armin and Eren uneasily look at each other. "Um, it would be inappropriate to show you," Armin says, his cheeks turning pink. "But your torso is wounded from your fight with Eren." I tilt my head. "What?" I ask, confused. "From Eren's punch?" They both nod. "But that doesn't make sense." I say. "Eren didn't punch ME. Well, he did, but he punched Titan Me. Not human me."

"Yeah, it also doesn't make sense why it hasn't disappeared yet." Eren says, sitting on the end of the bed. Armin joins him, swinging his legs over the bed to sit in a criss-cross position facing me. "I've never had a wound from a fight with another Titan on my own body." Eren continues. "But I have been injured, and most wounds would have disappeared already if they were on me. Do you think they're putting chemicals in you to keep you from regenerating..?"

I chuckle, and clench my hand over my torso as the pain tinges over my movement. "That wouldn't be humane." I say. "Why would they want to keep me from healing?" Armin shifts his weight uneasily. "To punish you, possibly. For trying to attack Hanji, Eren, and the Scout Unit." "But that wasn't ME!" I say, my torso angry with pain. "I lost control of my Titan Form! Didn't Eren at one point? Why didn't HE get punished like this?"

"Because I sealed the hole in the wall and we were able to take back Trost because of me." He says, anger topping his voice. "Why does that even matter? What, do you WANT them to punish me, Zuri?" I roll my eyes. "Eren, you know thats not what I was getting at." Eren laughs sarcastically. "Yeah Zuri, cause I TOTALLY know you." With that, he gets up and leaves the room. Armin sighs, getting off the bed. He comes over to me and kisses the top of my head. "I'll come back and see you soon." He says. With that, he turns around and follows Eren out the door. I sigh, curling up back around in a tiny ball on my side.

So this is what a severe punishment feels like.