𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄 | eren yeager

17 | Delusions of Strength

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Word Count: 2771

Two years after beginning training

Eren charged head-on at the girl, a wooden knife grabbed tightly in his hands as he took deep breaths of the dusty air. He went to shove the blade to the opponent's stomach, but before he even knew it, he was flipped over, landing on the hard ground with a loud grunt of pain.

He felt a heavy weight on his chest as he opened his eyes, two beaming pairs of eyes staring back down at him with a grin.

"I won," (Y/N) stated, waving the knife in her hand. Eren looked at her with widened eyes, taken aback for a second. How did she get the knife? It was in his hand just a second ago...

(Y/N)'s right knee was pressed against his chest, keeping him down as she had somehow managed to get both of his hands behind his back, making him unable to use them. She placed the wooden knife against his throat, and playfully slid it across his skin, whispering: "Now you're dead."

Eren rolled his eyes, wiggling under her grasp, "Alright, alright, I get it... You won. Can you please let go of me now?"

"Not a chance," she said, giving him a devilish grin, but stood up nevertheless and took a step back. "Been a while since the last time you've beaten me in this kind of stuff, huh?"

"Shut up," Eren growled, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "You got to train with Mikasa most of the time, so it's not fair."

"Perks of living in the girls' dorm," (Y/N) sighed, whistling while waiting for the boy to stand up. Eren slowly wiped the dust off his clothes, keeping his eyes on the ground as the thought for a moment, "Still... I don't get this training. It's not like soldiers fight people."

The girl gasped, leaning over him as she whispered to him, "Don't let the Instructor hear you say that."

Eren shook his head dismissively, "In the first place, only a fool would go after an attacker barehanded."

(Y/N) rose her other eyebrow, "Okay, what'd you do in that situation then?"

"Run away, of course! We don't learn anything using a wooden knife," he laughed, "And these combat skills... Even if they worked in real life, it'd just be sheer luck. The truth is, it usually doesn't end well. It's no child's play."

The girl stared at him for a moment, going over his words. "Yeah... I know what you're trying to say. But I still think it's irresponsible. I mean, we're training to be soldiers. That should be clear by now. When the people we're supposed to protect are threatened, we have to enter the fray and shield them. Who the enemy is shouldn't matter. We're practicing for all types of situations, and facing a human threat is one of those."

The two stayed silent for a while, Eren seeming to draw back into his thoughts. (Y/N) sighed, stretching her hands above her head as she turned to face the boy, "You wanna have a break? I'd really use some water right now."

The brunet replied with an almost monotone voice, "Yeah, sure."

(Y/N) gave a friendly pat to his shoulder as she walked past him, moving over to the side of the field. Moving along the fence, she made her way towards the pile of water canteens on the ground. Grabbing her own one, she opened the lid and started drinking.