Friend or Foe... (AoT Reader Insert)

Chapter 30: Traitor

This was it.

Several years of missions overseas, training sessions that went for days on end and filling our heads with knowledge of countless other countries all lead up to this. Today was the day that I, as well as the others who trained with me, would finally inherit the powers of the Titans. Well... all except for one.

To most it would have been obvious as to who would be left behind. There was only ever one person who fell behind during warm ups, and that same person was the one who often scored lowest on tests.

It wasn't as though the training was easy, but to become a Warrior you had to be great. The boy was good in his own way, but unfortunately he never truly surpassed good.

I suppose that was the reason why when I held that boy at a higher degree than my own brother, many of the commanding officers were surprised. It was also the reason why it was that same boy was the next one in line to be the user of the Armoured Titan.

Perhaps it was selfish of me to cherish the life of one over another, but I felt as though I had no other choice.

By the time tomorrow arrived, we would no longer be Cadets. We would be fully fledged Warriors.

Wind blew harshly as I approached a certain girl. I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders but it made little to no difference.

I've never cared much for the weather, but today was especially cold. Dark clouds loomed overhead and threatened to fall from the sky. Considering we were well into spring and well away from the winter months, it was strange to have such a cold day.

"(Y/n)?" I called out loud, though I already knew the response I would get from the girl. Silence.

The (h/c) haired girl looked at me for a moment before patting the spot on the bench beside her. My hands acting a bit faster than my mind, I removed my jacket and draped it over the two of us. I noted that as I did so the girl leaned in towards me.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I wonder out loud, "I mean... there's still a few hours left for you to back out. You don't have to go through with the program. You don't have to become a-"

The look in the girl's eyes was stern for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with the soft look I'd come to love so much. "We both know that isn't possible. Besides, you should know by now that this is all I have left."

I opened my mouth to reply but no words seemed to form. I was just... I don't even know what I felt. Discouraged? Embarrassed? The flush in my cheeks suggested the latter, but I chalked it up to be nothing more than the aftermath of the cool weather rather than the fact that she had taken my hand into her own.

"I know you only said that because you care..." the girl piped up, "but you and I both knew what it meant to succumb to this life. It's why we both entered the program, after all."

There was a certain way that the girl spoke that made me feel... sad. Not the kind of sadness someone feels when someone they love passes away per say, but the sort of sadness where I wished I could do more.

I often wonder what my life might have been like had I not met the (h/c)ette who sat beside me now.

Would life have been easier if I hadn't met her? Would it have made my decision of who to save just a little bit simpler? Then again, I doubted that someone like her would have ever been swayed by the small actions I'd done to save my brother.

At the end of the day, I always returned to the same conclusion.

I knew for certain that I wouldn't trade meeting the (h/c)ette for the world. No matter how selfish it made me, I liked having her in my life. I don't think I could ever really imagine living in a world where I hadn't met her.