Days with Squad Levi (2)

Mina's POV

Eren is troubled. Should I give him a hint? 

I hummed and offered food to the horses, eventually deciding not to. 

Never had I ever wondered that Eren had to practice his ass off just to perfect his titan-shifting ability. I always thought that he had the natural talent to do so, but like all human beings, except for the Ackermans, he also struggled in the beginning. 

Just what the heck is he doing in that freaking dry well? Torturing himself? Had he forgotten that he needed to have a clear goal in mind for him to transform? Eren, you idiot! 

"Oh? You've already fed the horses? How productive of you, Mina." Gunther tells me upon seeing my figure walking towards them. A table was already laid out on an open area near the castle grounds, and all of the soldiers were taking a break from the experiment.

And that includes the subject being tested. Eren sat on the very end of the seat, his eyes confused and distraught. However, if I go and comfort him, he'll probably just swat me away, just like he always does with Mikasa.

I did my best not to click my tongue in annoyance after recalling him being harsh towards her and jogged my way toward Captain Hange to ask what happened in the experiment. 

She immediately answered, openly showing her disappointment. "We postponed it for a while. Eren can't transform no matter how much he's wounded himself."

"I see." I heaved a long sigh before gazing at Eren's wounded state. Worry was apparent on my face because Moblit instantly teased me for showing such affection. 

I frowned and decided to ignore him completely. 

"Do you have an idea why he can't transform, Mina?" Captain Hange zooms in on my face, curious about what I may say.

It's not like it'll affect anything if I say this information early, so I opened my mouth to speak, readying myself to give out the very answer that she wanted to hear.

Not until a loud explosion gathered everyone's attention.

I quickly turned my head around and was alarmed by the amount of smoke that was gathering at a certain table that I had just passed through. After recalling his wounds earlier, I instantly knew what had happened. So, I wasted no time and immediately dashed towards the site where Eren was. 

Seeing Squad Levi pointing their blades at Eren's transformed state almost brought out the craziness within me. Almost. It's a relief that my mind only went blank after seeing such a scene, prompting me to increase the speed that I was going.

"Mina!" 

Petra tried to stop me from running toward him, but I quickly evaded her touch and proceeded my way to the top of the incomplete titan. 

"Eren!" I hastily climbed up his titan body, both worried and terrified. "Are you all right?!" 

"M-Mina," I immediately relaxed after hearing his voice. However, when I saw his horrified stare that was glancing back and forth between Squad Levi and me, I knew that I had to do something. "What are you doing? Get down!" 

I sighed. "I'll get down once we get you out of here. Are you all right? Ah," It was then that I noticed his arm that was currently stuck on the nape of the titan. "Here, let me help you." 

I proceeded to ignore the look that everyone was giving me and grabbed onto Eren's arm. 

"On the count of three, let's pull together. One… Two… Three!" 

Eren, as confused and troubled as he looked, eventually followed my instructions. After a few seconds of tedious pulling, we then got him out of the titan as I fell on my back while Eren had to tumble first before finally landing on his butt. 

"Are you all right?" I stood up and crouched in front of his face, inspecting every inch of his body. I reached out and grabbed his hand, finding no wounds. "Thank goodness, you look fine." 

"What were you thinking?" My hand froze after hearing his low mumble, compelling me to look up. "You can't just do as you please!" 

I rolled my eyes, annoying him even further. What a hassle. 

"I can say the same to you, Eren." I pulled his arm up and forced him to stand as I continued dusting off his shirt. "You can't just scare everyone like that and stop making me worry. Goddamn it, Mikasa isn't here to help me." 

"Mina! Get away from him!" Petra's voice eventually claimed both of our attention, making me realize that all of the soldiers here were still afraid of Eren going berserk. And it's not like I can stop them from doing so because nobody here knows the truth behind Eren's titan-shifting abilities.

Nobody except me. 

So, I looked at them and used my body to shield Eren from their gazes that were filled with animosity and terror. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Petra. You can put down your weapons-"

"Step away, soldier!" Now it's Gunther's turn to tell me off. "He's a threat!" 

"He's not a threat!" At this early in his life, Eren might as well be considered naive. "And he's as confused as you all are!"

"Carolina!"

I growled, backing away to protect Eren from what they could do. "Eren is not a monster!"

"He's human!" Thousands of memories suddenly began to pour out of my head, showing me how monstrous Eren Yeager truly is. However, even if he killed thousands of humans, and even if everyone thinks of him as such, I will always believe that somewhere inside his heart lies that gentle being that I've come to know in my original world. "Eren won't hurt us. It's an accident! He's wounded and bleeding, so of course, he'll transform anytime!"

I never expected his treatment in the Survey Corps to be like this. I always thought that he was fine; he was eating properly and sleeping in a proper bed, but apparently, I was wrong. His time here may be meaningful to him, as it is to mine, but there are certain times when I just… wanted to kidnap this lad and drag him away from all this madness. 

"Stop it, Mina." His healed hand eventually brought me back to a certain level of calmness as I felt his warmth radiating on my shoulder. I looked back at his figure, annoyed that he had just accepted such treatment. 

Why?

Just… Why does he allow this stuff to happen?

And there's nothing I can do but accept it as I eventually left his side, disappointed and irritated. 

That night, after much deliberation from our squad, Captain Hange announced why Eren suddenly transformed earlier that morning. Much to her dismay, I didn't want to go into the kitchen with her. Who knows what kind of expression I'll make, which may come off as rude to the people in that room? 

Yeah, I'm better off sitting in this cold courtyard where no one can come and bother me. 

"Oi," Everyone except for him. I'm not sure if I wanted to laugh or to feel annoyed by the very fact that I somehow expected him to come. It's… weird for me to assume, but I can't help it. We did become close at some point… to the point of becoming friends, I guess? 

Upon acknowledging his presence in this place, I immediately stood to perform a salute, which he graciously ignored, as he sat on the crate nearby. "Hange said you're the one who told her about the prerequisite in Eren's titan-shifting ability."

Straight to the point, huh… I grinned and couldn't help but compare him to a certain commander. "I didn't expect him to forget about it. What happened earlier is partially my fault. I apologize." 

"The fuck are you apologizing for?" 

"Huh?" I whipped my head around and faced his condescending look. "What do you mean?"

He sighs quite irritably, if I may add. "You're the only one who prioritized his safety earlier. Why?" 

I shrugged my shoulders before returning to my original posture. "I'm not the only one, captain. You also protected him." 

"That was different. I was trying to alleviate the situation." 

And he was right. Instead of helping Eren, he prioritized keeping his teammates in check to prevent them from doing anything rash. However, even if I am biased, there's nothing wrong with them reacting that way. In their eyes, Eren Yeager is a double-edged sword. 

It took me a while to answer, and I'm thankful that Captain Levi hasn't forced it out of me. In return, I had to give him a satisfying and honest reply. "I… had a father. He was kind, brave, gentle, and patient. However, more than those characteristics, he always looked tired and weak. He's someone who looked so fed up with this world." 

"And in contrast with him is Eren. He's full of vigor and guts, and his patriotism is out of this world. Yet, even if they're completely different when it comes to their characteristics… Eren looks exactly like him - a younger version, that is."

I sighed as memories of our time at training started to flood my vision. "So, when he first spoke to me, I was happy, even more so when he began to see me as his friend. He's someone who wants vengeance due to what happened when he was young, so he's not the type of person who would hurt the people who are trying to help him." That's why… "The reason why I helped him earlier is mainly that I trust him as a comrade. And even if he goes berserk, he won't be able to hurt me." 

"You don't know that." Captain Levi intervened, one that made me chuckle.

So, as coolheaded as I can be, I replied, "He won't. I won't let him. I trust my skills when it comes to defending myself."

"How confident." 

I hummed. "I did rank second in our batch."

"You're… you're a really weird person." He did say that in the past, but repeating those words somehow gave me a different kind of vibe to it. So, I once again turned around to see his gaze locking onto my own. "Yet, at the same time, you see things that are far beyond what I see. You remind me of someone." 

I grinned. "That someone specifically being-"

"Shut it, or I'll fucking kick you." 

The stare he gave me while saying those words almost made me laugh. Almost. So, I held it in by producing a small smile instead. "Yes, sir." 

"And go see Petra before you rest, brat. Stop acting like fucking children and talk it out." 

Now, that made me chuckle as I bid him good night when he finally left me alone in the courtyard. These peaceful and amusing nights before the expedition are what kept the nightmares at bay. It made me realize how wonderful these people truly are – especially after seeing their bitten hands – and that they deserve to live as much as I wanted my parents to be freed. 

I had to save them, no matter the cost. 

Who knew that doing so would demolish the only sanity left within my heart?

*****