Friend or Foe... (AoT Reader Insert)

Chapter 31: A Failed Warrior

"I can't believe it..." I uttered, my eyes glued to the unfamiliar Titan which screamed triumphantly. "Eren... that suicidal maniac has the ability of a Titan Shifter! How ironic, right Annie?"

Annie stared curiously into the distance. I could only assume she was as shocked as I was to realise that Eren possessed the ability to transform into a Titan. It was as I had said before; the irony of Eren being a shifter had caught all of us off guard. I could only imagine how shocking it must have been for those who didn't even know that humans... well, devils could turn into Titans.

I continued, "I mean, who would've guessed that the one person who hated Titans the most was actually a hidden Titan Shifter?" I forced a dry laugh before pulling my knees up to my chest, "but I guess the same could be said about us..."

My hand trailed up to the left side of my face. An action I hadn't done before but felt so familiar. There was a slight sting in my left eye; a consequence of using my ability while in human form. Or perhaps I only told myself that to numb the pain of losing someone I loved. Someone I knew I shouldn't have cared for yet did so anyway.

I suppose that something like this was bound to happen. No matter how much I wanted to place the blame on someone else, I knew that it only fell onto me.

"Sorry I ran away like that," I apologized, "I just... I needed some space."

"I want to see him again, (Y/n)." Annie suddenly confessed.

"Who? Marco?" I inquired.

Annie shook her head in reply. Her gaze was directed towards Eren's Titan, but I doubted she meant him, either. Aside from those two, there was really only one thing south of here.

"Oh..." I sighed, "I know who you mean."

Despite the fact I had lived obliviously on the Island for several years, I think I've always noticed how Annie rarely ever spoke with passion. There were really only two exceptions.

The first was when Annie spoke about hand to hand combat. Annie was a strong fighter, but to say she was naturally talented would be a huge dishonor to the years of training she'd gone through to perfect her form.

While I'd initially thought the second exception had to do with talking about her father, I quickly realised that wasn't the case. Perhaps it was due to her father's training that she looked so fondly upon her hand to hand combat, but I doubt she would be as fond of it if it hadn't been her father who trained her. Sure, their relationship wasn't perfect, but I doubted there was such a thing as a perfect relationship.

"I broke his leg, you know? My dad, I mean." Annie suddenly looked up at me. It would've taken a fool to miss the conflict in her eyes. "I thought he'd be mad, furious even, but he wasn't. When he found out that I had permanently broken his leg, he was proud of me. Even now I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it. He's my dad, after all."

Annie, a girl who was usually so stoic and calm, looked so oddly lonely. Perhaps not oddly considering most thought of her as a lone wolf, but humans were social creatures. It only made sense that we would get lonely.

"You're lucky." I began, "despite the fact I was born into a home with two parents and a sister, they were all taken away from me before I could even appreciate what I had. My mother and sister were gone by the time I was seven and I never knew my father that well. I mean, considering he was the War Chief of his generation, it only made sense that he was often out of the house, but I can't help but be jealous of the relationship you have with your father."