Rivetra weekend 2019

Apology

Slap!

A black-haired boy, not older than 15, fell on the floor due to force of a slap he received. He propped on his right arm and with left reached for his burning cheek, a little blood tickling from his mouth and down his chin.

"What were you thinking?!"

The boy turned towards the short man who hit him, anger and concealed pain burning in his eyes. His golden eyes stared at the man, face unreadable.

"Have you not heard me?" the man said in a low voice, shadows dancing his face, rimming his steel-blue eyes. Someone would tremble in fear, but not the boy.

"You already-"

"Yes, I know. It's the worst thing. You had the guts to escape and now you are back dressed like what?!" the man pointed at boy's Survey Corps uniform, his cape was hung on the chair. "You were the best in 120th Trainee Corps. You justified yourself by convincing us you're going to join the Military Police, but you went to Survey Corps! I prayed I was wrong, but looks like you really planned this from the beggining," he growled.

The boy silently got on his feet, straight and tall, without regret in his eyes.

"I did," he answered.

"Do you exacly know what you did?" the man approached him. As the boy remained silent, the man continued his speech. "You threw your life away. You-"

"But you and mom-"

"Don't speak when I speak!" the man yelled. "Were all those stories of horrors and enormity under the service of SC not enough? All those people dying before your own eyes in the most horrible ways possible. Bitten in half, blood everywhere, limbs and heads lying on the ground. Weren't those enough for you?!"

"Father, please listen to me. I-"

"You what? What?!"

The boy stared at his father's face for a minute, struggling between bursting in his inner anger with his father not wanting to listen and give him a chance and to stay calm and explain himself. The other one won. He inherited his mother's temper and calmness after all.

"I've joined the Survey Corps because I want to fight for freedom. Military Police is corrupted and I hate their ways and attitude towards others. Garrison fights with Titans too, but only if they approach the Wall. The only thing I want is to fight against them. I can't live in fear and behind those walls like a caged bird-"

"Is that Eren's ideology that inspired you?"

"Not just it. Peace lasted for 13 years when you killed all Titans within the Walls and they returned! That day when they came to our village in Maria, when they massacred people, wanted to kill us, almost everyone were helpless! I was scared out of my mind," he said and placed his strong hand to his chest and frowned in serious manner. "When we got to the safety of Wall Rose I knew I wanted to fight. To kill them, to give Humanity my strength to-"

"Your strength?" the man said rather sneering which shocked the boy. He never saw his father like that. "Your strength. What do you think you can do? You are nothing more than a weak brat who think can change the world just by his foolish, childish dreams. Face the reality," he said in his normal tone, "you can't do shit."

The boy was taken back by those cruel words. When he returned his consciousness, his face changed. Inside, he was boiling. He tightened his fists and teeth and he inhaled sharply. His eyes resembled his father's now.

"Then what was that all about? All those skills you taught us? All those moves and knowledge you and mother taught us? As if you didn't anticipate one of us will want to follow the steps of a soldier?"