Chapter 24

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β–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒ
╔═.β˜….══════════╗
𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑳𝑬 π‘ͺ𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑻
β•šβ•β•β•β•β•β•β•β•β•β•.β˜†.═╝
β–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒ







You haven't spent time around children often, you don't particularly like nor dislike them. Though there were kids who you dislike for being spoiled, and then there were kids you pity. You wonder if you expressed your thoughts, how you pity these three kids in front of you, would they be angry? There are people who don't like being pitied.



You watched as they ate the soup and bread like those were the first food they ate in days. You were afraid it might be the case.



You looked around, wondering if you should start a conversation or just leave them be. But when you looked back, you found yourself not wanting to leave just yet.



"So," you started, thinking of questions to ask them, something personal or something random. "Your parents, are they..."



You trailed off even before you could finish your question. You were reminded of how the higher-ups dealt with them, making the adults go outside the Walls. It's like blatantly sending them to their deaths without being the ones to kill them.



"Nevermind," you said, giving them a reassuring smile.



"Dead," suddenly the boy with teal green eyes spoke. "They're dead."



"Sorry," you muttered, looking down. "I shouldn't have asked. It was insensitive of me."



"It's alright," the same boy said. "More importantly, earlier, you mentioned the Scout."



"Eren," the girl said in a tone that sounded rushed as if she wanted to stop him from saying anything about the Scout, you lifted your head and looked at her before looking at the boy with teal green eyes whose name you now know as Eren.



"Yeah, I did say that," you nodded. "I used to be a Squad Leader in the Scout Regiment."



"Used to be?" the boy who looked timid asked for the first time. "What happened?"



"I..." you trailed off, thinking about whether to tell them or not, they're still kids after all. But whether they understand the exact reasoning or not, they're bound to learn all about it sooner or later. "I gave birth."



"You gave birth?" the girl asked. "So you leave the Scout when you give birth?"



"I suppose so?" you said. "When you give birth, you become a mother first and a soldier second. It's different for men though. They're still a soldier above anything else, so they can protect their wife and kids."



"Your husband is a member of the Scout too?" the boy, Eren, asked. You'd never seen kids look quite as enthusiastic when talking about the Scout, except for this kid.



"Yeah," you said. "He's quite famous in the Scout. He's called Humanity's Strongest Soldier."



"Strongest," the girl muttered, and she seemed to have a look of admiration already.



"What does he look like?" Eren asked and you looked back at him.



"Hmm," you hummed, looking up for a second. "What does he look like? Well, he almost always scowls. He rarely smiles or laughs. His eyes are sharp and steel gray, his hair styled in a neat undercut. He's not that tall but he's..." you trailed off, feeling your lips stretching in a smile. "...really good-looking."



"He's not that tall, eh?" Eren said and out of all the things you said it was what he remembered. "By the way, how do you become a member of the Scout Regiment?"



"Eren," the girl spoke again and this time she held the boy's arm.



"Mikasa, I was asking a question," he said, shaking off her hold.



You looked between the two before settling your gaze on the boy.



"Why?"



"Because I want to join," he said firmly. "I will kill every titan out there."



You know most of the soldiers, especially those who chose the Scout Regiment, have had their fair share of reasons why they decided to join the Scout. The reasons that solidify their convictions. Although you remembered joining because you wanted to follow your older brother, it wasn't as strong as this boy's reason.



"You want to kill every titan, huh?" you muttered before smiling at him and nodding. "To join, you first need to train. It will take years of grueling training that there were times when you'd wake up and wished you'd rather quit. But at the end of the day, you'd stay, because you'll remember why you even started in the first place. There were exams to test your physical and mental capabilities. By graduation, you'd be ranked based on your score and performance. The first top ten can choose which of the three branches they want to join."



You let out a sigh and looked down.



"Sadly, most of the cadets who finished in the top ten chose to join the Military Police. In the comfort and safety of the Interior, to protect the King. The top ten best cadets chose to stay farthest away from the titans."



After that, before you left you asked them their names. Eren was the boy who spoke in a bold and brazen manner yet his strong conviction seemed to be his driving force. Mikasa was the girl who always stayed by Eren's side, making it seem as though she existed solely for him and would follow him to hell and back. Armin was the timid boy with a hat, he seemed gentle but his eyes held a certain glint of intellect that somewhat reminded you of your brother.



You told them your name and even promised to come back soon before you left. It was already night when you got back to the Interior. You headed inside and found Levi in the living room.



You noticed that he's asleep, was it the first time you ever saw him fast asleep this early in the evening? You often see him working until dawn, he never really sleeps for more than four hours. But now he seems to have fallen into a deep slumber and the baby is comfortably sleeping on his chest.



You tiptoed your way towards them, but once you sat down on the couch, Levi stirred.



"Did I wake you up?" you asked as Levi straightened up, hand on the baby's back. "I'm home."



"Welcome home," he muttered, his voice still groggy from sleep. You lifted your hand and brushed the fringe falling on his forehead before leaning in to take the baby.



You held the baby who is now awake and when he saw you, he smiled. His smiles have become more frequent lately and whenever he smiles you can't help but smile as well.



"Did Lucas miss mama?" you asked, leaning forward as you brushed the tip of your nose on his little noose which made him giggle. "But you had papa all to yourself. Mama's kinda jealous."



"Do you want me all to yourself?" Levi asked, his voice sounded so near that when you took a step back you stopped abruptly after you bumped on his chest.



"Nope, that's not what I meant," you said, turning around. "I'm jealous because you had Lucas all to yourself. I want him all to myself for the rest of the day too."



"You had him for seven months all to yourself."




"And I had you for years all to myself."



Later that night, after putting Lucas to sleep, you told Levi about the events that transpired during the day, especially about that commotion and your meeting with Dot Pixis.



"I met some interesting kids today," you said, tucking the baby more under his warm blanket. "They asked me all about the Scout. They seemed like they wanted to join."



"Did they tell you they wanted to?"



"Yes, at least that one kid did, anyways. But the two seemed like they were ready to follow him wherever he goes, be it in hell."



You told him all about the three. At first Levi seemed to only have been listening to you because you like talking about the kids. But then he started to actually become more interested the longer you talk.



"Oh right," you said, turning to him. "Would it be alright if I bring them over?"



"Bring them over?" Levi asked. "Don't you think Lucas is too small to have playmates?"



You chuckled and shook your head. "But you never know, kids tend to grow up quite fast. Before we know it, Lucas would be running around the house, and outside," you trailed off, looking at the crib in front. "He'd start asking questions. What if one day Lucas, like those kids, tells us he wants to join the Scout Regiment, are we going to let him?"



"No," Levi said, which took you aback as you looked back at him. His answer came so fast and abrupt that for a second you thought you were hearing things.



You thought he'd say yes, but no?



"I wanted to create a world where he can grow up with a smile on his face, not a world where he had to learn how to glide using 3DMG or slice a titan's nape. I told you, I don't want him to experience the things that I did, and that includes joining the Scout."



But what if he has a strong reason that will solidify his conviction to join the Scout. Like that kid, Eren, you thought.







β–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒ

β–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒβ–ƒ


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