the shifted // a haikyuu x aot crossover

a choice.

POV: HANGE ZOE.

As I swung my swords against the Twentieth Titan today, the sun setting across the horizon, the main thing on my mind was how the two boys, Shoyo and Tobio, had handled the sight of Titans and the death of many soldiers. I can only pray Levi at least let them close their eyes.

If I'm being honest, I think Erwin's decision to take them with us on the mission just for the sole purpose of traumatizing them, was a little too harsh. True, he might have done some bad things to other human beings in the past, but some things are worse than death. Although I'm pretty sure it was an effective way to get the boys to agree with our requests for staying with us and giving information.

Nevertheless, no boys their age should ever have to witness something like that. Nobody should. But because survival is a bitch, it's been the only thing humanity has been fighting for years.

Since both me and my squad members were collectively tiring out, and the area that we were in was starting to flood with more and more Titans, I ordered what was left of my soldiers to board their horses and head back to the established meeting point of the mission. The whole point of this mission was to try and regain a section of the walls for farming use, but our gas was running low and not enough Titans took down. We had gotten to the point of suffering too many losses and needed to retreat. I instructed a red flare to be shot to inform Erwin of our return. That is- if he were still alive.

Swinging through trees and quickly boarding the horses, we rode towards our rendezvous point where Levi and the two boys were most likely stationed at. I knew Levi not being able to fight alongside his squad members must be absolute torture, so I made it a point to return as soon as we possibly could. And hopefully, by then, the boys would have made their choice to help us.

By the time my squad arrived, I could tell by their slumped figures that they had made their decision. Riding closer to the stationed cart, I tapped Levi on the shoulder and leaned down to ask the question we had all been wanting the answer to. "So, are they going to..."

To my surprise, Shoyo raised his head and looked me dead in the eyes. It was like the look he gave me the first time he asked me where he was, and a look that pierced you straight in the eyes and into your soul. I felt like prey again. As his wide hazel orbs remained unmoving in the wind, his strawberry ginger hair flowing with the breeze, he spoke in a way that I found quite unnerving.

"Those are the things that are keeping me from going home?" He asked, almost rhetorically. I didn't respond, because we both knew the answer to that question already. Yes. They were keeping him from going home. They were keeping humanity kept in a cage, away from seeing the world as our own.

He looked down, grasping tightly to the edges of his cloak. "We'll help," He muttered. Without realizing it, a pang of guilt hit me in the chest. The mere fact we had to ask the help of two young boys to get anywhere near finding the truth behind the Titans was messed up. But we're all messed up at this point. And now I felt like we would have to welcome Tobio and Shoyo to that group.

"...Moblit, how many?"

"Two, Commander."

Two on my squad.

"Who were they, Moblit?"

Moblit took a deep breath, before choking out the names of the two fallen soldiers of our team. "Turner and Jolie, Commander."

I'm exhausted.

[×]

With the squad gathered at the rendezvous point, we tended to the wounded and counted our dead. Then after, we rode back for the base in uncomfortable silence. The only sounds were the galloping of the horses, the metal of weapons and leather clanging once another, and the rocking of the carts.