Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She let out a soft cough as she pulled the heavy coat tighter around her as she walked down the street, her breath coming out like thin smoke as black clouds covered the sky above her, making the atmosphere darker due to the late hour.

She sat on the bus counting the minutes until she got back home when a sound came from the phone of the person sitting next to her.

Shina Clawer wasn't usually a curious person, most of the time, so she didn't turn her head towards the phone of the person sitting next to her, but even so, she didn't need to look up to replay the conversation in her mind.

Someone like her who was an obsessed otaku at one point in her life could easily recall these dialogues from AOT in her mind while the person sitting next to her was watching one of the episodes, she was memorizing them by heart from watching so much... well, at least the first parts.

The bus reached its destination and she got off to walk home while that anime occupied her mind. It was the first thing she watched and she spent many years as a loyal and amazed fan of it and she followed it on a long journey and with many, many emotions until the last chapter. She smiled as she crossed the street, remembering the depression that plagued her for months after that ending, the tears she shed over manga chapters or anime episodes that broke her heart over her favorite characters. That ending, or rather all of the final events, were so shocking that they still hurt her heart to this day, so when she rewatches it, skips the last parts and scroll quickly if any video of it appears in front of her.

But after all, this is just a show she watched...right? Maybe, but her emotional attachment to it is overwhelming, and she's well aware of that, perhaps because it relates to momentous events in her life or she sees her own suffering conveyed in it with frightening transparency, but the extent of her attachment to this story and its characters goes beyond what one does with their favorite show.

She reached her small apartment and closed the door behind her. It consisted of a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small bedroom...that's all. She didn't need anything more than that since she lived alone. Shina believes she is a peaceful person, but at the same time she knows full well that this apartment has no visitors, no friends, no strong relationship with colleagues at work, no lover, and as for her family, after her mother died she cut off all ties with the rest of those related to her by blood. After she changed her clothes and ate something, she worked on her laptop while surrounded by piles of books. Since her life was more than empty, she needed something to fill this void before she lost her mind. Something to fill the void other than the human relationships that she had lost trust in. Yes, she still watches some anime and other shows from time to time, but that will never be enough to silence the voices in her head.

Her only salvation was to put in the effort, to study, to learn, to stay up late working on something...for now, this seemed to be what was keeping her together, otherwise she would fall into a well of emptiness that she hated. Shina's main major is programming, which she spent her college years studying. But she wasn't satisfied with that, and she began studying electronics and even branched out into other engineering fields. She doesn't aspire to build an amazing CV or anything, but rather considers this study a hobby, a hobby that she puts a brutal effort into... because this is the only way to avoid drowning in an ocean of self-loathing.

Thinking about it like that might paint a deceptive picture of her as a desperate person on the verge of killing herself, but in reality she is wiser than that, and is quite adept at handling negative emotional spirals. Suicidal desires are now the furthest thing from her mind. In fact, it has been years since the last time she felt the urge to commit suicide for no reason. Still, she would die if it meant more benefit to her. Her mentality is not the most stable, but she does not present it in a way that makes her stand out from the crowd around her.

At work, the only environment where she constantly interacts with people, Shina is known as the quiet, introverted colleague who leaves early at parties and does not like staying up late or dating, but without describing her as off-putting. It's as if she's a secondary character in everyone's lives, including hers, a character on the far side of the screen who doesn't attract the eye in any way and doesn't distract anyone for her. Just the kind of character she wants to be.

She didn't realize the time had passed until her fingers started to ache from typing, so she got up and headed to her bed. There is a somewhat funny quality about her, which is how strict she is about her sleeping schedule and that she will not sleep less than six hours no matter what.

She lay in her bed and for some reason she had an urgent desire to watch AOT again, she grabbed her phone and started flipping through the episodes and it wasn't until the episode started that she realized that this was the last one, her eyes widened a little in disapproval of her action ad she usually avoided seeing this ending, but here she was now, lying in her bed watching the end of her beloved hero at the hands of the girl he loved.

She sighed and closed the phone again after watching, tossing and turning in her bed as a heavy lump grew in her chest, something completely expected after watching this tragedy again and also not surprised by the tears that soaked her pillow She sighed again, allowing the tears to fall as she thought about this story, reliving it from the beginning and thinking about how it would have been different if at some point, any point, one of the characters had made a different choice. She always had this feeling whenever she thought about AOT, a feeling that completely overwhelmed her as if she were in a different world, since the first episode she watched she was immersed in this feeling until it became familiar, so she did nothing about it and closed her eyes allowing sleep to surround her.

shifted in her bed in discomfort as the noise around her started to swirl, burying her head in her pillow. Her alarm still hadn't gone off so she wanted to take advantage of every moment she could to rest before getting up for work but the sounds of conversations around her started to get louder.

Conversations? ...

When she remembered that she lived alone, the alarm bell rang in shina's mind and the murmurs around her became a source of terror, so she quickly opened her eyes and sat up in a sudden, quick movement as if she had been electrocuted and all the sleep had flown from her eyes. Her sudden movement silenced everyone and made them turn towards her in silence.

This wasn't her bed, the first thing Shina registered as she looked up was the wooden ceiling and the smell. Nothing about this place felt like home, but it wasn't until she saw herself, who had slept alone in her room last night, surrounded by dozens of girls in some sort of shared room that the horror truly hit her. What scared her even more was their return to their chatter as if the scene was normal, but her breathing quickened with panic as more details came to her. Had she been kidnapped? Was this some kind of girl trafficking or something? She'd heard rumors about a mafia emerging in her country, so maybe- Her thoughts were interrupted and she gasped when she saw the girls wearing their clothes, specifically that brown jacket with the two swords logo on it.

This had to be some kind of prank. She was still asleep, yes... She pinched herself to confirm she was dreaming, but what was confirmed was two girls voices as they passed by. "We've already reached our third year of training? Aren't you excited?" Shina couldn't mistake it, Sasha's lively voice and Mikasa's simple 'yes' in response. She stared at them in shock, trying to comprehend..

She...didn't move to the world of Attack on Titan...right?

Chapter Text

A week... A week has passed since Shina opened her eyes and found herself in this world, or what she thought was a fantasy world. She opened them to be greeted by the sun's rays once again, on the same bed she had failed to get used to, perhaps because she couldn't believe her new reality altogether. Every day, she opened her eyes hoping that this dream would fade and she would find the bed she had bought herself. But with one sunrise after another, all that began her morning was the smell of musty cotton inside a hard pillow.

On her first day here, she wanted to stay still until some miracle happened to bring her back to her world, but the recruiting environment wouldn't allow her to do that. This was made clear by the shout that ordered her to gather with the others, so she stood up and mimicked their movements, almost detached from reality, struggling to accept that the jacket she was wearing was real, the corridor she was walking in was real, the rows she was standing at the end of were real, that the person explaining to them that the first period of the third year would be theoretical study was a real person, that the one complaining at the front wasn't an anime mc but a human named Eren, that the class she was sitting in mindlessly was real, and that the horrific food she was forcing into her stomach was real.

Everything here is completely real, overwhelming her senses and screaming at her to wake up to her new reality.

It took her a whole week to finally give up the hope that she was holding and wake up to this truth that touches every atom of her being, the truth that this is her world now, her real present.

"Just why?" she muttered under her breath, her hands clutching her hair in panic as she squirmed under the covers to avoid attracting attention. "Out of thousands of anime, why did I come here? I'll die before I even get to episode five. No... I'll die from these training sessions." She tried not to cry as she talked to herself. So far, she'd been lucky with the theoretical lessons, but how was she supposed to act when they were training with swords, ODM gear, or even horses? She'd never even dealt with an animal larger than a dog before. Quitting wasn't an easy option, having caught on to that sentence on the first day when they were told that no one would be excluded from training since they'd reached their final year. And even if she ran away, where was she supposed to go? More important than adjusting to the place was how to return to her world, which she had no idea how to achieve. She wondered if she'd automatically return when the anime ends. Or maybe there was another way? She didn't know, it didn't seem like she'd find out anytime soon.

Shina took a deep breath and pulled the covers off her when she felt the movement increasing around her, she started to put on her clothes as she thought about the events of the story, theoretically... she knew what would happen and she had thought of how to take shelter in a safe place, Wall Sina - except for Stohess and a few other places - or even Wall Rose far from here, she knew some safe areas where she wouldn't be harmed until the events of the anime ended so she could wait there until she returned to her world or even spend her days there in peace watching the events from afar...

She can pull herself out of the sea of ​​blood that started and will continue from here...

The thought stuck in her head as she stared at Sasha, who was grumbling and running after Mikasa to cry over something while Historia shared a conversation with them. She could leave all this and run away. She didn't belong to them in the first place. She was just someone who knew everything that was going to happen.

That's it.

She gripped the brown jacket, her fingers tightening the fabric a little too tightly as she wrapped it around her shoulders. She was here now, an indisputable fact. She was here and possessed information that many would die without knowing. Escape still seemed nice, but it wasn't her right. Perhaps her thinking is a bit extreme, but if Shina was a slave to something like everyone else here, then it would be putting in the effort came with responsibility. Knowing what this world would become was a kind of responsibility, something she shouldn't keep to herself.

From her perspective, it's not heroic. Shina doesn't decide to stay here because she's a great heroine who wants to save everyone, but because that's what's supposed to happen. Someone holds information more valuable than the lives of hundreds of people, so the only right thing to do is give that information to those who deserve it. As long as there's a chance some of them won't die, she'd be a murderer if she took it away. It's as simple as that, to her.

Someone has to take responsibility, and whenever a responsibility falls into Sheena's hands, she takes it on without thinking, because she simply cannot bear helplessness. She does not like to hear those who are desperately searching for a way out while their solution is in someone else's hands. So when she is that person, she makes sure to silence those sighs before they begin, because it is her responsibility, her effort that she must exert in her empty life full of aimless efforts.

She tried to calm her nerves as she walked into the hall. This was the last day of exclusive theoretical classes, so she had to think very carefully about what she was going to do from now on. Her mind was so crowded with this worry that she didn't notice when she bumped into someone in front of the hall. "Sorry," came the soft, tense voice after Shina fell to the floor, a silly reminder that she'd been brought into this world with all her miserable physical weakness. Wasn't she supposed to be a third-year? It was only fair that her body had gained more strength when she'd moved here.

"Are you okay, miss?" The worried voice came again after she'd been lost in her reverie, and she lifted her head. "Yes..." She spoke softly before her eyes widened as she found Armin extending his hand to her... Armin? In person?

She choked back a scream as she witnessed her first direct interaction with a character from this story. No, with a colleague... maybe? All she knew was that referring to them as story characters after she'd also become part of their world was rude.

Hesitantly, she took his hand to help her stand and muttered a small thank you as she took in every inch of him. A kind of excitement coursed through her veins as she stared at him, real, before her, but her excitement wasn't interpreted as such, as evidenced by Armin's nervous gaze.

"Excuse me... my hand..." Armin muttered with a nervous smile, and she quickly withdrew her hand as her face flushed red. "I'm sorry!"

Wow... what a memorable first meeting.

"What's wrong? Why isn't Armin moving?"

Was shocked when she heard Eren's voice... it was so different from watching the anime. A youthful voice, so beautiful and energetic, as if he were holding the words in his hands and forcing them into the clearest part of her mind to listen to him fully.

Her breath caught as she stared directly into his eyes... What was this? He had been unfairly treated in this story, his appearance not accurately conveyed. This became a new belief for Shina as she immersed herself in those emerald eyes... deep and shimmering, like a cavern reflecting the deepest secrets of life, screaming and filling the air with his presence as if he were roaring deep within her soul that he was here. The eyes of a warrior, snatching his place in this world and daring you to look away.

Well... maybe you can look away from him, you should when the confrontation is with Mikasa, whose face became frowning when Shina stared at Eren for too long. Shina immediately looked down, dispelling any kind of challenge with the Ackerman... not afraid of dying by the Titans to throw herself into the arms of a beautiful, jealous murder.

"My name's Armin, by the way. These are Eren and Mikasa." Armin spoke with a smile as they walked inside. She nodded quietly. "My name is Shina clawer." One of the things Shina quickly noticed was that her name hadn't changed. She'd checked some records before arriving at the hall and found that she was supposedly a refugee from Wall Maria and that all records documenting her birth had been destroyed. A very logical arrangement, considering the fact that she wasn't from this world.

Shina sat next to Armin and began scanning the room. Right in front of them sat Bertolt and Reiner. Two rows behind them sat Marco next to Connie and Annie. Jean sat behind Eren next to Daz and Thomas, staring intently at Mikasa. Historia and Yumir sat next to Sasha in the same row as them. She was stunned to see them so close together. The hustle and bustle of the conversations weighed heavily on her heart, telling her that it was the right choice to stay.

Time passed as she listened to the explanation, the information both intriguing and pathetic. She knew the king had taken away their memories, but seeing the consequences so clearly made her barely able to hold back her sighs as she listened to this falsified history. The day ended, and she walked with Armin and his companions toward the dining hall, staring at the sun setting. She smiled faintly as she remembered Jean and Eren's fights, secretly wishing she could see one of them today.

"This is a waste of our time. We could have used this week to practice killing Titans."

Eren slammed his hand on the table, growling angrily. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Even if she stay here, she need to stay away from that suicidal hero so she don't get dragged into a certain death.

"Studying is important too. We need to know what we're fighting, even... well... even though we barely know anything."

Armin spoke, raising his hands in an attempt to calm him down before glaring at Shina.

"And what do you think?"

Shina frowned slightly in confusion. "Why are you asking me?"

Armin smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing... You seemed really engrossed in today's class, so I thought you liked it as much as I do."

She stopped eating and stared at him in surprise... True, although Armin was gentle and peaceful, he had a keen eye and a good reading of the people around him, saving it for when needed. Shina needed to pay attention to that about him. "I don't know, I think I like studying, maybe," she replied softly.

"You're boring," Eren said boredly. She looked at him in surprise and then nodded. "I guess so." Eren stared at her somewhat blankly. Did he expect her to argue with him like Jean? Shina decided that enough of staring at everyone and putting herself through another embarrassment after her strange answer, so she silently resumed eating.

"The Survey Corps is going on another mission tomorrow."

Armin spoke to break the ice, and Eren's face lit up with excitement. "Really? We should go see them!"

His voice rose, drawing a sarcastic laugh from Jean, but Eren ignored it as he was lost in his thoughts. Shina, who was eating silently, paid close attention to the information and wanted to do something with it. She wanted to meet with a trusted member of the Survey Corps.

After all, she wouldn't trust the fate of her information to the hands of trainees with their current impulsiveness. Even Armin, Shina didn't think he would handle anything she told him properly at the moment.

The next day was a day off before the actual training began.

"This is like the day when titans attacked Trost," Shina muttered as she walked down the street. The Survey Corps leaving, Eren and his comrades were chattering. All that was left was for Bertolt to transform and kick the wall.

Shina spent the day wandering around town looking for a large notebook. Once she found it, she sat down by a secluded tree and began writing. It was one thing to tell the Survey Corps her information, but quite another to have her own plans to change the ending of this story.

She has the potential to make a difference, so it's her responsibility to make the change, right?

When sunset came, she stuffed the notebook into her leather bag and ran toward the gate when she heard the bells ring. The Survey Corps had returned. She stood among the crowds, listening to their mocking murmurs as the soldiers dragged their tails of disappointment, as usual. A frown settled over her face as she saw the misery seeping into their features, killing the light they carried in the morning. It was tiring. Leaving the walls, fighting the Titans, walking through a path of corpses... it all seemed almost inhumanly exhausting.

Shina shook off this feeling and focused on her goal, and there he was... holding the reins of his white horse, leading the ranks with a firm face despite the exhaustion that had overcome him, Erwin Smith.

Shina looked around before withdrawing from the crowd of onlookers and following him. The Survey Corps began to disperse after a while, and she continued to walk silently, trying to cover her tracks. She focused intensely on following him, but she didn't notice where they were going until they reached a building... Was this the Corps headquarters? She had no idea. She continued following him until he stopped in the back courtyard, facing the wall.

"How long will you follow me?"

She froze as soon as he spoke, her heart nearly stopping when he turned to stare directly at her with his blue eyes. Terror overwhelmed her, as if she were a troublemaker caught by the terrifying headteacher. That was exactly what it was.

"I...I'm sorry, sir..."

She muttered nervously, cursing her introversion or nervousness that had caused her tone to sound so confused and unclear.

"Why are you following me?"

Erwin spoke again, staring at the crest on her arm. Shina took a deep breath...it's now or never.

"I...I have something very important to tell you, concerning the future of humanity."

Chapter Text

Did the place suddenly quiet down, or had it been quiet from the start? Shina doesn't know; she only knows that the silence between them is heavy and unsettling.

As soon as she said her sentence, she looked down, avoiding his piercing eyes that were scrutinizing her suspiciously. In front of her, Erwin narrowed his eyes as he studied the trainees' crest on her jacket.

"The future of humanity?"

Erwin spoke, unconvinced. Shina nodded slowly and hesitantly raised her head to stare at him. "I... know many secrets about this world, and I don't trust them to anyone but you."

"Who do you mean by "you"?"

Erwin's skeptical voice remained steady. She swallowed a lump in her throat and continued, her voice trembling, "The Survey Corps leaders"

As soon as she finished her sentence, Shina began to look around in panic. Erwin had led her here so no one would hear them, right? She was foolish to use the term "world secrets," which if leaked to the Military Police, they would surely behead her.

Seeing her looking around in panic, as if possessed, made doubt grow on Erwin's face. "What's wrong?"

Shina stared at him for a moment after his question. This was a golden opportunity to prove her point.

"I'm just... making sure no one heard me. You know... the military police would execute me if they heard what I just said..."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You know best, right? People's lives are cheap compared to that kind of talk, just like they executed your father just because you..."

Holding her breath after dropping this bombshell, she simply told him a secret he'd kept to himself for decades. Her limbs trembled, and she resisted the urge to run away. Instead, she stared at him, awaiting his reaction.

To her surprise, his expression didn't change.

Something crossed his eyes for a blink, but she couldn't detect it. What remained was the same unshakeable steadfastness that never left his features.

"This conversation will be a long one... follow me."

Erwin spoke as he turned around, and she followed him, taking a deep breath to wash away some of the tension that had swept through her.

"Are we going to have this conversation alone?"

She muttered nervously after a while as they were about to enter Corps headquarters. He stopped and turned to her.

"Do you want to involve someone else in this conversation?"

Shina flinched when he spoke. She didn't imagin it; his tone was really sharper, despite its usual calmness. So she responded, staring down.

"If you don't mind... Captain Levi and Hange-san."

"I see," he replied briefly after a period of silence, then resumed walking as she followed him without raising her head. Some of the soldiers stared at her curiously, making her embarrassed even more. Had she rushed by coming here? Perhaps she should have considered her choices more carefully.

But on the other hand, Survey Corps recruits die faster than leaves fall, so any wait could kill more.

She stared at Erwin's back in front of her before looking down again. No matter how long she waited, the inevitable end would be a conversation with him. Even if she knew the outcome, she wouldn't handle things any better than them.

Despite the intensity of the situation, a slight smile appeared on her lips. Had she just called Hange 'san'? She couldn't believe she'd used a nickname from the anime and it had rolled off her tongue so comfortably. Perhaps she should call one of her camarades 'kun' or 'chan' too.

"Wait here," Erwin spoke after leading her into his office and closing the door behind him. As soon as he left her alone, she sighed heavily and collapsed on the nearest bench. "That's scary," she muttered, remembering his look... she wouldn't be able to sustain a long conversation with someone like that. Her request for Levi and Hange was for precisely that purpose. Although they would likely make her feel the same tension, at least they didn't appear as terrifyingly stern as the one who stood steady near the armored titan.

She stood up immediately when she heard the door open and stood up straight as the three of them entered. She couldn't help the amazement that filled her eyes at the sight of them gathered together, real people, human beings like her, right in front of her.

"Erwin, did you bring us to babysit a damned child?" Levi spoke coldly, making her stare down again... Putting the insult aside, seeing him directly made her realize that Levi is not only handsome, but he has an aura of coolness around him. His diehard fans would have a heart attack if they were in her shoes.

"This girl said she knows secrets about humanity." Erwin spoke after closing the door and stepping forward. Hange and Levi's gazes quickly turned to her. "Is that it?" Levi spoke coldly, making her flinch, but she nodded without looking at them. "So what, should we extract that information from her? I'm not very experienced in the ways of-"

"I'm not keeping it from you!" Shina screamed in horror as she raised her head. What? Does he want to pull out her nails or something? He's escalating things for no reason.

Levi stared at Erwin, who nodded. The short man returned her gaze, speaking coldly and rudely, "Then come on, say what you have to say." Shina shifted her gaze between the three of them, then spoke nervously, "I... I don't know where to start..."

She admitted frankly, which was met with a laugh from Hange. "Okay, how about you start by introducing yourself?" Hange's tone was slightly relaxed, causing Shina's stiff shoulders to slump slightly. She straightened her stance and placed her fist on her chest in salute. "My name is Shina Clawer, I'm from the 104th training corps."

She spoke formally, but her back hunched slightly again as she watched their expressions shift. Confusion crossed Erwin's face, while Levi's frown deepened. Hange barely held back a laugh, then explained, "Nice to meet you, Shina. By the way... you're doing the salute wrong."

Shina flinched in alarm, removing her hand from her chest and looking down, a deep red covering her face. "I'm... sorry," she muttered, her voice barely coming out of place from embarrassment. Right now, she wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her.

"What kind of secrets do you know? Do they concern the Titans or what's inside the Walls?" As soon as Erwin spoke, a serious atmosphere filled the room. Shina took a deep breath. She needed to stop acting foolish and get serious if she wanted to make a difference.

"I... am not from this world."

She finally spoke. It might be foolish to reveal something like that, it might be an information that wouldn't help them, but with her current personality, which abhorred deception, Shina decided to be clear and transparent with everything she said.

She let her sentence slowly settle in and watched their expressions shift, most clearly in Levi's, as his features darkened. "Are you kidding me, you damned thing?"

He stopped when Erwin put his hand in front of him to silence him, and their leader stared directly at her.

"Go on."

She swallowed slowly and continued, "I'm from another world. About a week ago, I opened my eyes to find myself transported here... I recognized this place because in my world, this place is a story."

"A story? You mean... a story about us?" Hange spoke in confusion. Shina nodded, then continued. "A hundred years ago... giant creatures appeared and began attacking humans... The remnants of humanity decided to fortify themselves behind three walls. But that day, humanity remembered their fear of them when a colossal titan appeared, breached the wall, and kicked it. Humans lived in fear of titans once again."

What kind of grief had crossed their faces as she spoke? Shina didn't know, but the tragedy her words had instilled in their faces frightened her. Nevertheless, she continued, "This is the beginning of this story, about the war of the remnants of humanity against the Titans, and the hero who joins the Survey Corps to wipe them out." She took a deep breath, waiting a moment between each sentence to allow them to take their time processing what she was saying. "And I... I watched this story from beginning to end... and what I thought was just a fantasy world turned out to be real, and now I'm in it, so I know what will happen in this story until the end..."

She fell silent after she finished speaking, shifting between their faces which was covered in a shock that was difficult to understand... Was it wrong to tell them?

"Huh?" Levi finally spoke as he approached her, "So, a damned brat like you is saying that this world... us... is just a story you hear before bed?"

"I don't mean that!"

Shina spoke defensively, "Ever since I moved here, this has become my new reality. I'm no different from you now... I don't even know of any way to return to my world."

"Even if we assume that what you're saying is true and not just your imagination..." Hange spoke, "Why do you think our world is the same as that story? I mean, what guarantees do you have that what will happen here is the same as what you read in your world?"

“I thought about that too, but I’m sure it’s the same thing,” Shina said nervously. She knew this was the same story she knew when she saw Eren accidentally cut himself yesterday while eating with them. She saw the slight smoke that came from treating his wound without him realizing it. “I mean… if it wasn’t the same events, then what I told you would be wrong, right?” She said, looking at Erwin, referring to her conversation about his father a few minutes ago.

"She's not lying."

Erwin spoke, and Levi turned sharply. "Erwin!"

"What she says about being from another world is still questionable, but what I do know is that this girl is telling the truth about one thing: she knows several secrets about our world."

Shina barely breathed a sigh of relief that they believed her when she found herself lifted off the ground.

"Huh?" Before she could comprehend what was happening, she was pushed against the wall, Levi's blade touching her neck.

"Okay, if you have information, say it now."

He spoke threateningly, making her face pale. "Hey... please put this away. I didn't say I would keep anything a secret."

Shina's voice came out shaky and confused. What had driven him to this point?

"Levi!" Hange spoke, advancing to push him away. He turned his head to her. "If there are secrets about this world, we need to know now. I don't want any more of our comrades' blood to be spilled."

"Take it easy..." Hange sighed tiredly as she pulled him away from Shina, who had fallen to the ground. She didn't notice her tears until she saw them falling to the ground.

No one had ever held a weapon to her neck before... She'd only just realized how terrifying the threat of death was, so she couldn't control her body, which trembled violently as she cried.

The three of them watched her silently as she shriveled up into a pathetic mess. She tried to control herself, but her sobs came out louder than she could bear.

"Come on now, it's okay." She felt Hange's hand brush her back as she spoke in a soothing voice. Shina nodded.

"It's okay... I'm fine."

Just how pathetic she sounded now, speaking, her body shaking like a leaf in autumn, and she couldn't get the words out without a sob or two.

"There was no need for this," Erwin muttered, and Levi rolled his eyes silently. He hadn't expected such a reaction. In his entire life, he'd never seen someone so fragile cry so miserably just because he threatened her with a blade without even hurting her.

A few minutes passed in silence, except for her sobs, until Shina finally got herself under control.

"Have you ever been attacked before? Your reaction seems a little strange," Hange spoke with an embarrassed smile after the girl in front of her calmed down, shaking her head. "It's just that I've never been threatened before... Sorry, I always act pathetic like this when I'm scared."

Shina muttered, staring down, memorizing that trembling that wrenched her soul well. She felt the pain in her throat and jaw, which brought back memories of the many times her loud sobs had come out in the same miserable manner. Memories that filled her being with a bitter feeling that made her want to bury her head in the darkness and surrender to some kind of depression.

She took a deep breath and focused on Hange, making sure her eyes didn't fall on Levi again. "As for the information I have... I won't say it all at once." Levi frowned but remained silent, as did his companions. She continued, "It's not because I want to hide it or anything, but look at yourselves... just the fact that I'm from a different world, I feel it's left a deep impression on you... I have an incredible amount of information, things that can't be said in one sitting, and also... there are things I want you to discover on your own, not from me."

"Why?" Erwin asked. She continued, "Because it's not just information, but also what happens afterward. There are some things that, if I said them myself, I feel like they would kill the last hope you hold..." Her voice stopped shaking. She wanted the Survey Corps to continue, to continue dreaming of going beyond the walls, to reach Eren's basement and discover the truth from there. Confronting what's beyond the ocean wouldn't work if the Survey Corps didn't have its free wings on its back, and she feared her information would kill those wings. "For now, I want to tell you about what's inside the walls" She spoke, getting back to her feet. "The central government. It's fake."

“What?” Hange said as the three of them widened their eyes. Shina continued, “The Rod Reiss family, they’re the real royal family… but they’re hiding in the shadows and putting a fake king in their place.” A silent exchange of glances occurred between Levi and Hange as Erwin remained silent, drawn into the void. “They do this to protect themselves, because they have an ability they guard.”

“What is it?” Hange asked hesitantly. Shina continued, “The ability to modify the memories of the people within the walls.”

She let the information sink into the room. A bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead, making her realize the tension surrounding this conversation.

"Ever since humanity has lived within these walls, the King has manipulated their memories to make them forget everything that existed before them. The King and his line have created a situation and will do everything in their power to maintain it. They want humanity to live within these narrow walls without ever leaving them. Even if the Titans attack and destroy one of the walls, that won't deter them from their goal. So, to achieve this, they continue to manipulate everyone's memories. Not only that... anyone who tries to break free from this situation is assassinated by the Military Police."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked at Erwin, who was staring down with an incomprehensible expression, but it sent shivers down her spine. Again, the Armored Titan had every right to fear this man

"You... do you have any idea what you're saying right now? Do you have any proof?" Levi spoke sharply, even though the horror of what he knew still froze his blood. Shina nodded without looking at him. "I'll prove my words one day... that's something everyone living within these walls should know."

"What's the point if their memories will then be erased?" Levi responded coldly, making her flinch slightly. But she mustered her courage and smiled. "There's no way that's happening right now... that ability has been stolen from them."

At this revelation, they looked at her in shock. Erwin finally woke up from his reverie and stared at her in astonishment as they did. She continued, "I'm not telling you this just so you know, but so you can take action based on it... There is no future within these walls if that family continues to rule. Any effort made, any information I share, any sacrifice anyone makes... all of this is meaningless if this government doesn't fall."

"Wait, wait! Do you understand what this mean?" Hange spoke in disbelief, and Shina nodded slowly. “I’ve already painted a picture of it in my mind… I’m going to stage a coup.”

Shina was silent for a moment before continuing, “If you want to continue what you started, I need your help. Otherwise, as I told you, none of what we’re doing makes sense. I mean… even everything I know about your world will be lost if they retain power and regain that ability.”

She noticed Erwin’s gaze fixed on her, and she dared to look him in the eye. “If things go as I know, we’ll have at least a year free from the threat of our memories being altered. I can’t guarantee much more. Maybe even less time, depending on what changes because of me.”

The frown on their faces was gloomy and dark. Shina took a deep breath to conclude this complicated conversation. “I don’t think you want to know much more today, do you?”

“I’m not going to argue with that… I need at least a week to process what I heard,” Hange replied tiredly, running a hand through her hair. As soon as she raised her hand, a small notebook fell from her pocket, catching Shina’s attention.

“This notebook… It belongs to ilse Langnar, right?”

Hange quickly regained her attention and stared at her in confusion. “How do you know?”

“Four-Eyes, you’re asking that when she just told us about the filth that’s been going on in the capital,” Levi said, hitting Hange on the back of the head before picking up the notebook.

“Speaking of which… what do you know about this?” He waved the notebook as he spoke coldly. Shina looked down. “A lot... The Titan thing is very complicated and detailed, and a simple explanation won’t suffice.” Levi didn’t take his eyes off her until he muttered, “So we’ll keep shoving soldiers into the mouths of those monsters until you speak.”

"I wouldn't want anyone to die!" Shina responded defensively, without looking at him. "It's not like this is the only time I'll speak. I still have a lot to tell you."

She raised her head to Hange and continued, "For now, finish examining that notebook like you were going to when you got back today. Commander Erwin will grant your request to capture the Titans anyway."

The three exchanged glances again before Hange spoke, her tone tinged with sarcasm. "You know a lot more than you seem to be."

"One more thing before I forget," Shina spoke again, ignoring the sarcasm. "I want to help you with my own information."

"What, are you going to explain to us how that Reiss bastard poops—"

"That's not what I mean!" She interrupted, her face flushing with embarrassment at his words. "I don't mean information about this world. Information about my world, the experiences I gained in my life before coming here."

"And how can that possibly help us?" Erwin spoke, and she replied with a smile. "A lot, trust me. More than you can imagine."

Siena couldn't hold back her smile as she spoke. Preventing the rumbling and ensuring the island's safety were two things that were almost impossible to combine, but not while she was here... Unlike the Titans and Eren's power, Shina wasn't just a winning card for the Eldians, but with her level of knowledge compared to the level of development of this world, she was a winning card for any party she joined.

"For now, I have an idea for developing a communications system between the Survey Corps. I want to create a network that transmits voice instantly, such that Commander Erwin speaks in Trost, and his voice is transmitted, and Hange-san answers him from outside the walls. The voice leaves his mouth and reaches her in less than a minute."

Shina spoke, her chest surging with pride. She possessed a wealth of knowledge in more than one technical and engineering field. For a moment, she felt as if she were being rewarded for all the effort she had put in for over a decade, which she had thought was pointless.

It took them a while to absorb these words, then Hanji spoke hesitantly, "Is something like this even possible?"

"It's the simplest thing I can do." The words came out of Shina's mouth faster than her mind, and she was unusually confident, though she later looked down in embarrassment at her bold statement.

"But this will be a top-secret project... if the military police find out anything about this, we'll all have our heads cut," Shina spoke calmly, explaining the obvious. "For now, I'll carry it out in secret. After the king's overthrow, I can expand this communication system to include everyone, if you want it, of course... because I'll need manpower while I do it."

"If something like this is implemented, it will be more effective than smoke signals. We can reduce deaths on our missions." Erwin spoke, and Shina shook her head. "Smoke signals are a brilliant idea. I won't replace them, but we'll use both methods together."

The blond nodded seriously. "I see... we'll help you with this, Hange. You'll be in charge of this project with her."

"Ok" Hange replied with an excited smile, which Shina exchanged with an embarrassed smile.

Shuna was about to speak again when she heard the sound of the bells... "These are the evening bells. I have to be back before curfew."

She muttered, and Hange approached her. "Right... you're a trainee, that reminds me... how old are you now?"

"That's complicated..." Shina muttered, embarrassed.

"When I was still in my world, I was twenty-seven years old. When I opened my eyes in this place, I found myself fifteen again."

"Did you hear that, Erwin? This girl is full of wonders." Hange spoke loudly before turning her head toward Shina again. "But you look younger than this."

"That's just because of the different environment." Shina spoke nervously, only to be met with a confused look from Hange.

Shina still remember when she first saw her appearance here. She avoided looking at her reflection because she didn't like what she saw. She didn't like how she looked at this age because of the memories it brought up inside her. Shina knew she didn't look any younger than her age, she wasn't one to have that privilege, but despite that, she looked younger than anyone her age in this world. No doubt it was due to the harsh nature of life here, in addition to the fact that they were almost in the past. This period was similar to the beginning of the twentieth century or even the nineteenth century, and whenever Shina looked at a picture of a person from this time, she saw how they contrasted with her own era.

"I'm leaving now. You can think carefully about what I've said, but I want this to be a token of trust between us."

She spoke before taking a piece of paper out of her leather bag and handing it to Erwin, who stared at it curiously.

"It's a decoding of the language I write in, so you can understand what I'm recording," Shina explained before taking the notebook out of her leather bag. "Just in case something happens to me, or I die, or I can't tell you more, I've written down everything I know about your world here."

She put the notebook back in her bag and continued, "It will be in my luggage. I will trust you not to open this notebook while I'm still here, and you will trust me to tell you everything... Is this a deal?"

She spoke hesitantly, raising her eyes to meet Erwin's, who nodded. She looked relieved, then stared down at her shoes. “So… goodbye for now.”

She said nervously before heading for the door. A silence fell after her departure, lasting for minutes until Hange broke it by throwing her body onto a leather bench. “I have a headache.”

She exhaled deeply, then stared at the notebook in Levi’s hand. “And we still have to deal with this discovery as well.”

“Erwin… why did you agree to help her with what she’s about to do? Will you trust her?” Levi spoke, and his commander nodded. “There’s a lot of truth in what she’s saying. We’ll keep an eye on her for now. Whatever lies she’s hiding in her words, we must take them if we’re to move forward.”

"We should have locked her up somewhere so she wouldn't blurt it out." Levi rolled his eyes, causing Hange to laugh. "Didn't you see her face as she begged us not to speak up so she wouldn't be executed?" She spoke before standing up straight, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "We have a lot of information to take care of... This hasn't happened since I joined the Survey Corps."

"Yes... There's a lot to do," Erwin spoke calmly. "That's enough for today. Go get some rest, and let's focus on the notebook we found outside the wall. After that, we'll meet to discuss the rest."

Before Levi and Hange had a chance to respond, they heard a soft knock on the door, followed by Shina's entrance.

"Is there a problem?" Hange spoke first. Shina looked down, smiling awkwardly, and spoke in a low voice. "Actually... I don't know how to get back to the barracks."

Hange laughed loudly as Levi exhaled and Erwin rubbed his eyes. They expected her to shock them with another piece of information upon her return, but not this.

"Also... I want to ask you a favor," Shina spoke again. Hange stopped laughing and looked at her. "What do you want, dear?"

Shina didn't look up and continued in a low voice, "If you don't mind... I mean... I don't want to burden you, but do you have a few extra notebooks?"

"Notebooks?" Levi repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "Yes... I think better when I write, and there are some things that will require a lot of writing from me."

Shina didn't feel she had explained it properly, and she also hadn't imagined asking something like that, but she had no money and could barely get hold of the notebook she had written in.

"Levi, get her some notebooks and then take her to her destination."

She looked up in shock at Erwin's statement, which caused Levi to sigh in annoyance before leaving the place.

Shina walked silently behind him, looking down as usual. She stood next to a small building, watching the flies gather around the oil lamp before hearing him call out in his usual rude tone, "Is this enough?"

"Yes... thank you!"

She spoke nervously, carrying the blank notebooks to stuff into her bag.

"Haven't you ever seen a sword before?" After minutes of silent walking, Levi asked, to which she replied, flustered, "No, sir."

"Sir?"

Levi raised an eyebrow at the title, her embarrassment increasing as she hoped to reach her destination just in silence

"You looked like a hen about to be slaughtered when I raised it at you, like I was a butcher coming to kill you."

"This..." Shina muttered softly... Could he possibly feel guilty for scaring her? Knowing him, it made sense.

 She stared at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment, then looked back at the ground and mustered the courage to speak. “But I understand you somewhat. Of course, I didn’t like it when you used violence against me when I showed no hostility that warranted it, but I understand the kind of anger someone might feel when they spend their day watching their comrades die at the hands of titans only to find me comfortably saying that I know everything they die to know.”

"Who knows..." Levi spoke, staring up at the overcast sky. "Don't count on the help you need from us. I can't take those swords away from your sight if I want to raise them to fight."

"Huh?" Shina said in confusion, looking up at him to see that he hadn't taken his eyes off the vast sky... Why would he say something like that? Who would take a sword away from the sight of a person just because they are scared?

"Don't worry, I'd love to see you fight with those swords I fear."

Shina smiled as she spoke, her cheeks flushing again, this time with gratitude rather than embarrassment.

After Hange left, Erwin closed the door to his office and headed for his chair. Once settled, he threw his head back as a long sigh escaped his chest. He stared expressionlessly at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity before pulling a book from his desk drawer: the history book his father had taught him. He ran his hand over the cover as he replayed today's conversation. What he'd sought to prove all these years, what his father had died because of... all of it she'd simply stated as if it were self-evident information.

Erwin frowned, suppressing the emotions surging inside him and looked out the window at the night sky.

"Shina Clawer... let's see what you have up your sleeve for us."

Chapter Text

She shifted in her bed before opening her eyes and lifting her body from the hard mattress. stared out the window to find the early morning light with the sun not yet rising. Some of the other girls were already awake while others were still deep asleep.

Yawned as she got out of bed, wondering inwardly what time it was. It seemed strange that since she'd come here, she'd never known the exact time, but only by the jingle of the large bells. Perhaps if Shina could come up with some money, she should put buying a watch on her list of priorities.

headed over to a battered wooden dresser, which had a small drawer bearing her name for her belongings, which she was surprised to find. When first awoke in this world, she was wearing a white linen shirt and brown pants, not the winter pajamas she'd worn in her old world. Here, in her luggage drawer, she found her only possessions: a comb, two shirts, a skirt, and pants other than the ones she'd been wearing, as well as her military jacket and trousers. She placed her leather bag in the small closet and buried the notebook under her clothes, placing it between two layers of blank paper to hide it. Then arranged the other notebooks neatly in the small space before grabbing a shirt and heading out.

Shina headed to the shared bathroom, heading to the empty shower area, and stripped off her clothes then sighed wearily as she rubbed water through her hair, fully aware that she was still in shock at her existence in this world, but to the point of not showering for over a week? She poured water over her body, disgusted by the greasy feel of her hair.

Bath culture isn't common here -luckily, it's not hot right now, but she hopes to survive the summer days of sweating from her colleagues, especially in the overcrowded barracks- So, she didn't find much soap, but was grateful to have found any at all. Shina considered making some soap for herself; it was simple enough, but the problem was that she'd have to wait weeks for the soap to dry so she could use it.

She finished her shower, changed her clothes, and headed outside to wash the clothes she'd worn the day before. With the effort she will put into training here, shina needed to make this a daily morning routine before everyone woke up.

After returning to her dorm, she hung up her clothes to dry before sitting back on her bed to comb her hair. When she was fifteen in her world, she tied it back, but she didn't want to look like her then-age self, so grabbed the scissors she'd brought and began cutting her hair to the same style she'd had before moving here. didn't need a mirror though, as she'd been cutting her hair this way for over seven years, so her hands memorized the steps.

She finished and began to clean the bed of any remaining hair after feeling her locks hit her face in the familiar way: long strands in the front around her bangs, cascading around her face and ending just past her chin, while her hair gradually lengthened in the back, not reaching further than her ears on either side, and at the back, falling to the nape of her neck.

There was a little time left before breakfast, and she used it to sit and review her thoughts... Aside from what she knew about this world, what level of knowledge could she offer them? She had studied physics in addition to her undergraduate major in software engineering. She had also studied several other branches of engineering, including communications, electronics, electrical engineering, and mechanics, and had a background in chemistry. Shina couldn't hold back a sigh as she thought about it. This knowledge was the result of twelve years of immersion in a study that some described as "brutal."

As she escaped her feelings in this effort, who would have imagined that she was merely preparing for the day she would move here? Or even that she had moved into this world in the first place?

Now that her feelings toward this idea have calmed down and the initial shock has faded, Shina Clawer can admit that a part of her has accepted her presence here from the very first moment. A part of herself she didn't want to acknowledge—the part that, when she first watched Attack on Titan, felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia she couldn't explain. The part that made her cry the first time she watched it, falsely convincing herself it was for no reason.

She's always been unnaturally attached to this story. When she tried to share her thoughts about it with some fans online, she found no one, not even the most diehard fans, who shared this overwhelming sense of nostalgia, as if there was something familiar about the world of this tragic story.

As she stepped outside the shared dorm, she struggled with her tangled emotions, but in the end, she settled on a timid acknowledgment that she had a place in this world, that she was meant to be in this world from the beginning.

arrived at the dining hall and took a seat in the corner, as usual. Her transition to a new world didn't mean she'd abandon her secondary-character personality, which she was only good at. She began eating her horrible, salt-free food in silence, without attracting anyone's attention. From time to time, she glanced at the people she knew. She laughed lightly when she saw Connie choke on his food and spit it out onto Jean's shirt, with whom he had started a fight.

Their fight ended when mealtime ended and they were called to training. At that point, Shina took a deep breath and walked hesitantly to the back of the line. Could she avoid using her ODM gear? It didn't seem possible, but she wanted to cling to hope.

Their ODM gear was placed outside the dorm, next to the training area. Shina thought this was a measure to prevent recruits from selling it or sneaking it around secretly as she watched the instructor open the lockers to retrieve them. As Shina contemplated how to handle these weapons, her eyes lit up when it was announced that today's training would be one-on-one combat. For the first time since arriving here, Shina walked into a room with excitement. She headed to the open dirt with a slight smile and then looked at the couples who had started fighting, most of them either not seriously or in funny, silly ways -Connie and Sasha, yes-

She looked around for her partner, who would undoubtedly be an unknown secondary character like herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Eren had already clashed with Marco, so she was far from the spotlight of the main characters. As she turned around, she took a step back, bumping into a solid chest. "Excuse m-" she muttered, turning around to face a tall figure with calm gray eyes that silenced her.

"You're Shina, right? We're supposed to be training together."

His voice was quiet, hesitant, out of proportion to the Titan power coursing through his veins. Shina stared at him in silence, her eyes wide for a moment, causing Bertolt to frown anxiously. "Excuse me... Shall we begin?"

"Yes! Sorry," Shina spoke, finally recovering from her shock and backing away from him. She was supposed to be engaging in a fight with Bertolt? The person who had managed to Keep up against Mikasa in his human form? She only felt herself smiling nervously, causing confusion to overtake her partner's features.

Bertolt picked up the wooden rifle and handed it to Shina. "You may begin," he said hesitantly, confused by her strange expression. Shina shook her head several times, then nodded silently before tightening her grip on the wooden block. The purpose of this training was to collect points to raise their ranking in the Training Corps, but she wasn't going to join the Military Police anyway, so she wouldn't care if she failed.

Not that that was her problem right now.

"Listen... I'm going to attack you now, okay?" Shina spoke nervously. Bertolt nodded, still confused by her pointless sentence, which only increased her embarrassment. She began to struggle with the rifle. This would be her first time using violence against anyone, and she wanted more time to prepare, but that would only put her in a more embarrassing position.

She took a deep breath and began running towards him, raising the rifle. Should she hit him with it like a piece of wood, or point the muzzle at him as if she was about to fire? Shina didn't know what she was supposed to do after running but she didn't get to that point anyway when Bertolt stopped her as soon as she was within reach.

The momentum of her forcibly halted run caused her to lunge forward as she screamed in alarm. Bertolt immediately swatted his hands away from her, but she was unable to balance herself and fell to the ground. Bertolt blinked in confusion as he stared at the girl in front of him, wondering how someone as inexperienced as her could be his training partner, and how she had received years of training with such stumbling movements.

"Are you okay?" he asked, extending his hand to her. She nodded before taking his hand and standing up. She noticed his hand was rough from training with swords and a ODM gear before letting go. "Sorry..." she muttered in embarrassment as she looked down. "This training will be useless for you since you're stuck with me..."

"It's okay," Bertolt said with a slight, nervous smile, making her smile slightly at his politeness before handing him the wooden rifle. "Your turn." Bertolt nodded, then backed away before the attack. She closed her eyes and folded her arms in front of her face defensively as he approached. He wouldn't mean to hurt her, right? He's the colossal titan who kicked Wall Maria but he's also the peaceful Bertolt who wouldn't hurt her just to mess around, right?

"You lost."

She snapped out of her reverie at his words and opened her eyes to see the muzzle of a gun right in front of her face.

"You're supposed to try to resist me." Bertolt's confusion toward Shina grew with every action she took. She stared at him with an embarrassed, goofy smile. "I... I don't know how I'm supposed to do this."

He seemed unable to understand, but just nodded quietly. "I see..."

He muttered softly as he looked away. Shina followed his gaze to find it focused on Annie, who was sneaking away from training. Did Bertolt want to follow her?

Shina's heart sank at the thought. Despite her initial desire for a training partner who was someone unknown like her, Bertolt turned out to be the perfect partner. He was calm and not too talkative, and he didn't comment on her strange behavior or scold her, which was exactly what she needed with her embarrassing behavior.

 It wasn't until she noticed Bertolt's confused gaze that she realized her thoughts had translated into action. She realized that her fingertips had grasped his shirt sleeve, and she immediately pulled her hand away, her cheeks burning red. "Sorry... Do you want to try again or should we end this training?" she muttered in a low voice. Bertolt sighed, adjusting the wooden rifle in his hand. "Let's try again." Shina smiled as she nodded. There was a certain serenity about this young man that made her nervousness less intense, and her embarrassment less distressing.

"I'll attack now," Shina said before running towards him. A faint smile appeared on Bertolt's lips, as his partner repeated this word every time she picked up the rifle. This time, hours after they had started, Shina's movements were more coordinated. But once again, as soon as she reached Bertolt's hand, he stopped her. The only difference was that her running momentum no longer caused her to fall to the ground, but that didn't prevent her from stumbling. This time, her forehead collided with his chest before she stepped away, smiling at him in embarrassment. "I think I'm getting better."

"Are you two still training?" A voice came from behind her, sending a chill running through her extremities as if her soul had been ripped from her body. "It'll be break time soon, Bertolt." Reiner continued as he approached. Bertolt looked at him. "Really? I didn't feel the time pass."

"Looks like you were enjoying yourself." The blond laughed lightly before glancing at her. He was staring at her. She was supposed to look at him. Talk to him. Not draw attention to herself.

"Shina?" Bertolt spoke, staring at her pale face. "Is there a problem?"

"No..." Her response came out hoarse and slightly shaky before she gathered her composure and raised her head. "I'm just tired from training."

She faked a smile as she regained her usual embarrassed tone, making sure Reiner didn't fall into her line of sight. Not yet. She didn't want to be overwhelmed by those dark, suffocating feelings right now.

"Hey, Reiner."

Before Reiner could walk away with Bertolt, he was stopped by Armin's voice, who turned toward him. "About that move you used. How did you manage to balance on one foot?"

 He spoke while writing something down in his notebook and behind him was Eren who seemed interested in the matter and of course Mikasa was with him. The blond replied with a confident smile, "The secret is all in the distribution of those muscle masses. You must understand your body well... Speaking of which, you need to develop some muscles, Armin. I did not like your performance against me today." He spoke while hitting Armin on his back, so the latter complained before turning to Shina.

"Shina... is that a new haircut?" Armin asked, causing all eyes to turn to her. Her shoulders rose nervously. "Yes... is it bad?" She spoke with an embarrassed smile, and Armin shook his head. "On the contrary, it suits you better." Shina smiled genuinely at the unexpected comment, which was the most perfect compliment she could hear about her hair.

"We'll be going now. See you all after break." Reiner spoke before leaving with Bertolt, who waved goodbye to Shina with a gentle smile, causing her to smile back genuinely and wave back. She then turned to Armin. "Armin, I was wondering if the library here had information on the ODM gear."

"Huh?" Armin looked at her confusedly. She continued, "I'm interested in learning some details about it, so could you point me to some books?"

"Of course..." he said before heading to the study halls with her, leaving Eren and Mikasa. "You'll find everything you need in this section," Armin pointed out after they arrived at the library. Shina gave him a small nod of thanks before pulling out one book after another, examining them quickly. Seeing her concentration, Armin left her alone.

Shina sat on the floor surrounded by books after finding what she was looking for: information about the gas used in the gears... the energy source Marley longed for, along with any other natural resources the island abounded in.

Shina began reading intently about its various physical properties. Any plan she will make would require an energy source, and she could generate electricity from this gas. Building generators wouldn't be that difficult. While its properties seemed a little different from the natural gas she knew, that wouldn't be an obstacle in its use. In fact, its different properties could turn it into a more powerful energy source.

"Oh my God, I forgot the training!" Shina suddenly flinched and closed the book she'd been engrossed in before rushing outside. When she reached the yard, she saw Bertolt looking around. Was he looking for Annie again? She began scanning the area with her eyes, but found no sign of her.

"Shina" She heard him call her name in his calm voice, and her steps faltered slightly as she approached him at a slower pace. "Were you waiting for me?"

 She asked suspiciously, so he nodded at her, making her eyes widen and a shade of red spread across her cheeks before she smiled, "Let's resume our training then."

The peaceful atmosphere surrounding him kept her tension at a minimum. Her movements were smoother and more free during training, unaccompanied by her usual hesitation. She felt like a dancer in the dark, hidden from the eyes of the onlookers. This feeling was reinforced by the way he looked at her. His calm and collected expression suggested that he saw her as nothing more than a peaceful person, unafraid of any criticism.

Shortly before sunset, their training ended, and Bertolt took the wooden rifle and put it back in its place.

"Thank you for tolerating my weakness today," Shina spoke quietly. Bertolt smiled at her before speaking hesitantly, as usual. "You're welcome..."

Shina watched him walk away before heading to the dining hall and standing on the balcony at the end of the wooden stairs, contemplating the sunset. The background sound was the random conversations of her camarades. This moment seemed so peaceful... far away from the fate that awaited them in the next year.

Shina didn't want to think about these tragic events now and sighed before entering the hall. She carried her food tray and began looking for a place to sit before someone bumped into her, causing her food to spill.

She closed one eye in pain as drops of hot soup landed on her hand. She then looked frowning at the perpetrator, who was none other than Eren, who continued on his way without noticing what he had done.

"You bastard!"

Shina flinched at the angry shout to see Jean rise from his seat directly in front of her, his head covered in soup... Was he the one who the food spilled on him?

When he stepped forward, she stepped back anxiously, fearing he might start a fight with her. But he sidestepped her and reached Eren, grabbing his shoulder. The latter turned sharply.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Eren seemed already filled with anger and waiting for an opportunity to vent it. This didn't deter Jean, who laughed angrily. "Look who's talking! You say that after you drowned me in soup!"

"Huh? I didn't do that!" Eren protested rudely, pushing Jean's hand away from his shoulder. Jean retaliated even more violently. "Yes, you did. You bumped into her and she dropped her food on me." He shouted angrily, pointing his thumb at Shina, The girl flinched.

Eren stared at her, and she froze. She'd thought his eyes were beautiful before, but not when they looked at the person in front of him with anger. They looked like burning coals that burned anyone who stood in their way. His stare didn't last more than a second before he looked back at Jean. "I didn't notice." He removed the hand from his shoulder again, and Jean stared at him silently for a second... Shina knew where this was going.

"Are you kidding of me?" Jean roared with the same anger as he threw a punch at Eren that he couldn't dodge, which was the signal for the real fight to begin. These things are fun to watch as a spectator, not when you're a part of it, so Shina began to quietly retreat towards the door while the recruits watched the fight with amusement. Before she reached the door, Shina gasped in horror when she found it already open and Shadis staring at them sternly. Seconds later, an eerie silence fell over the place.

"Eren Yeager, Jean Kirstein, Shina Clawer, you will be cleaning the stables today as punishment."

He said nothing more before closing the door behind him and leaving.

Shina stared blankly at the door as her ears picked up the sounds of Jean and Eren arguing again.

"Just... what did I do wrong to be punished along with them?" she muttered in despair before sighing wearily. Do Hange and Erwin imagine her doing research right now? Shina hoped otherwise, because they wouldn't imagine that instead of starting her plan, she'd be spending the night with a group of lunatics.

Chapter Text

"Look where you've led us, you bastard!" Jean shouted, throwing another punch at Eren, who dodged it and punched him in the stomach. "You're the one who started this commotion."

"Uh...excuse me, when do we start cleaning?" Shina asked nervously, smiling awkwardly as she stood slightly away from them. They both turned to her at the same time. "It's all that bastard's fault!"

They shouted the same sentence, and she flinched in alarm. Shina sighed in despair and stepped back, looking for something to eat before she began the so-called cleaning. Behind her, Eren protested when Mikasa lifted him onto her shoulder to pull him away from Jean. Eren's argument shifted to be with her. It was clear that his anger before colliding with Shina was due to a fight with her.

 "Thank you..." Shina muttered softly to Marco, who shared his food with her. There were no extra portions for her to take, so he smiled at her gently. "Good luck cleaning up." She nodded with a smile before getting up and staring at Jean, who sat in front of her, his anger still intact. "Shall we go now?" She spoke calmly, causing him to get up in a grumble. Shuna then looked at Eren.

"Eren, do you want me to clean it up for you?" Mikasa asked as Eren got up. He turned to her angrily. "I don't need your help with anything." Shina frowned and looked down, avoiding this embarrassing yet pathetic situation. She didn't know what was more embarrassing: Mikasa's pampering of Eren or his childish reaction to it.

The three walked into the dark courtyard, their only companion being the sound of crickets.

"Is your head okay?" Shina asked, trailing behind Jean, who turned to her. "Huh?" he said boredly, and she replied nervously, "I mean... that soup was hot. Did anything hurt?"

The darkness of the night concealed the redness of her cheeks from embarrassment. Jean ran his hand through his sticky hair before directing a sharp glance at Eren's back, who was in front of him. "I'm fine."

They arrived at the stables, the faint whinnying of the horses mocking them. Jean and Eren began cleaning in silence, trying to avoid another fight, which would cause Shadis to force them eat the horses' dung instead of cleaning them.

"Where's Shina?" Eren spoke quietly, searching with his eyes. A response came from behind him, "I'm here." Shina spoke quietly as she approached, holding a bucket in her hand. The two of them stared at her curiously. She approached Jean and spoke embarrassedly as she looked at the bucket in her hand. "I think it would be annoying to move around with food on your hair."

She muttered before extending the bucket to him. Jean took it with a broad smile, "Thanks." He seemed to have regained his energy from the fight with this simple act from her, and she smiled at him calmly before Eren spoke in a sarcastic voice, "Are you going to make me clean this place all by myself?"

Shina flinched and ran towards the shovel to silently begin cleaning.

"That bastard didn't apologize for bumping into you," Jean said with a sarcastic smile, and Eren frowned as he turned to face him.

"It's okay, he didn't notice," Shina quickly said before another fight broke out, but it seemed to be too late, as Eren had already replied, "I said I didn't mean to."

"That's not an apology, you idiot," Jean said, without letting go of the work at hand. Shina just stared down nervously, hoping the night would pass peacefully.

"She didn't ask you to defend her," Eren said, rolling his eyes in boredom.

'Wow... is the fight about me now?' She found herself smiling sarcastically as she imagined herself in the place of the heroines of those romantic stories and saying in a soft voice, 'Don't fight over me' as the flowers fluttered around her.

"So what?" Jan responded angrily, bringing her back to reality. Unfortunately, this was horse dung, not flying flowers.

"See, she's smiling. Your defense must be pathetic," Eren said with a triumphant grin, as if he'd won the battle. Shina flinched like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and looked at him in disbelief. Really? Her ridiculous daydreams were being used against her? What a despicable move from the supposed hero of this story. Jean looked at her and saw that her said smile had disappeared, replaced by a deep shock. He said in annoyance, "What smile, you bastard? And again, that's no excuse for not apologizing."

"Actually..." Shina spoke nervously, and they both stared at her. If Eren was going to use her against Jean, she felt a sense of responsibility to defend him. "Even though my plate was the one that fell on Jean, he didn't say a bad word to me. He didn't even look at me angrily."

She raised her head to stare at Eren, her eyebrows furrowing. "You're the one who's at fault, Eren. I don't know what made you fly so angry in the dining hall, but it doesn't justify pushing me like that. And you shouldn't interpret my smile as an insult to Jean because, honestly... he's nice to girls and knows how to handle them... unlike you."

She dropped her bombshell and stopped, continuing to clean the stable. Perhaps he would discover his ability to transform into a Titan and crush her between his fingers. This seemed like a fitting response to her words, but she wasn't going to take them back anyway...

A moment of silence fell before Jean's laughter rose as he pointed his finger at Eren. "You hear her, you bastard?"

Eren's face grew gloomy at Jean's gloating, and he tried to defend himself. "Who said you treat the girls better than me?"

"At least I don't yell at Mikasa every five minutes," Jean quickly responded, as if a sense of triumph fueled his insulting responses to his rival.

Shina calmly continued cleaning in the middle of their screams. For some reason, after daring to rebuke Eren, she felt lighter, as if she wouldn't be afraid even if they exchanged a few punches now. Luckily, that didn't happen. The two of them calmed down after seeing Shadis pass by the stable, and they began to complete their task more effectively and in silence.

Early the next morning, Shina was sitting on her bed, her hair dripping over her shoulders. Yesterday's shirt hung to dry next to her, and the soap she'd made after her shower lay next to her on the bed to dry.

She sat quietly, writing something in her notebook and beside her an open book she'd taken from the library the day before. She bit her nails or rubbed her head every now and then as she paused over what she was recording before quickly resuming her hand. It was amazing that not only was she learning the written language here, but she hadn't forgotten her native tongue from her world.

As the girls began to wake up, a timid movement began in the dormitory. She stood up and ran outside. She walked briskly around the city before the sun had risen, looking around and asking the few passersby at this hour where the Survey Corps headquarters was. She'd need a cart if she wanted to get there, and she didn't have the money for something like that. She sighed in annoyance and returned, trailing her tails of disappointment, to the training grounds once again. Whatever the world, materialism remained a real problem capable of paralyzing one's every move.

Rubbing her neck in frustration as she advanced, she raised her head, only to freeze in fear when she found her teammates strapping their ODM gear to their waists. There was no escaping the confrontation that had seemingly scared her for days, so Shina had no choice but to advance.

"Where is today's training?" she asked, carrying her gear. Armin answered as he strapped on his own, "In the forest, training to kill Titans."

"So fast?" she muttered before looking around, contemplating what they were doing and trying to imitate their strapping. She had read a lot of theoretical information about gear yesterday, but the actual experience was something entirely different and much more frightening.

At the start signal, Shina began to run, her teammates rising through the trees as they advanced. She continued running until she reached a quiet area shaded by dense trees. “This looks like a good place…” she muttered before releasing the trigger towards a tree branch above her and slowly pulling it. She held her breath as her feet lifted slightly off the ground and she began to wobble. According to the story, they practiced balance before using the gear, so she would be going this route from scratch. Her hand rested on the tree trunk next to her and slowly let go, hanging between the two wires of the gear. Her hands wobbled in the air as she tried to remember the laws of physics and applied mathematics to figure out how to balance herself.

"That's... good, I guess," she muttered nervously after finally stabilizing herself. This move required a great mental effort, making her wonder if she could ever fly and spin around the Titans as quickly as they did when facing the female Titan, which seemed impossible at the moment.

"Shina Clawer!" Shadis's firm voice made her flinch as she hung in the air before she quickly pulled her hooks from the branch and tried to stand up straight. "Yes, sir!"

"Are you messing around now?" The trainer spoke in his intimidating voice, making Shina barely able to make out a word. "No, sir, I'm just... making sure I don't get into an accident while fighting."

"And the Titans will wait for you to hang from the branches like that? At this rate, you'll become an appetizer for the Titans!" He chided her in his booming voice. She looked down in embarrassment, feeling the eyes of some of her teammates turn to the scene, further drowning her in this humiliating feeling. "Sorry, sir."

"Get a grip!" He ordered before he left, so she sighed in despair. She wouldn't be able to take things slowly while there was such a strict person hovering over their heads like a crow... During her years of study, Shina never understood why her classmates complained about the strictness of some teachers. As excellent as she was, she didn't feel anything. If one of her classmates saw her now, they would definitely gloat over her after this suffering had become her daily life.

Shina stared up at the towering trees as a bead of sweat ran down her face. If she aimed her hooks incorrectly, she could die or her bones could shatter from this height, but she had no chance of retreat.

She released her triggers and began to rise as slowly as possible, thinking that she could just ask Hange to keep her with them in the Survey Corps. She wouldn't waste her time on these things and could focus more on her plans. But even so, the rewards of staying here were worth the risk. Getting closer to Eren and the rest of the Titan shifters seemed worth it.

She stood on a slightly lower branch and aimed her hooks at another one, all without drawing her swords like the others did, never imagining she'd ever have the courage to soar through the air while holding sharp blades in her hands. The feeling of the air hitting her face like a bird was truly lovely. It was lovely, but she couldn't enjoy it because of the fear she was trying to push away. Now she was keeping up with her classmates somewhat and could see several giant figures in the distance, but she was still flying slowly. She pulled her trigger again and her foot lifted off the last branch she had landed on, only for the hook to slide off the branch it had been heading towards.

She watched with wide eyes as the hook dropped down followed by the wire. Everything seemed to be slowing down as she felt her body's weight combine with gravity, accelerating. She closed her eyes in panic, ready to fall, before feeling strong arms wrap around her and then everything stopped.

"What's wrong? Why didn't you pull the trigger again? Are you suicidal or something?"

The voice of her rescuer sounded a bit sarcastic, making her stomach churn with anxiety that her imminent fall hadn't. She slowly opened her eyes to meet Reiner's gaze, who held her with a frown spreading across his face. "That's not how soldiers behave."

For a moment, Shina forgot about the ODM gear and her fear of it. All that surrounded her awareness of this moment was his serious, somewhat sympathetic gaze and his voice, ringing in her ears as if there was no other sound in the world. What features did her expression reflect of what was ravaging her now? She didn't know, she didn't even know what kind of feelings exactly were responsible for the black whirl that was now devouring her heart as if she was about to vomit out her soul infected with millions of poisonous thorns, and before she knew it, tears had found their way to her cheeks.

Reiner's eyebrows rose in confusion, and his voice softened. "Hey, I'm scolding you for your own good."

At that, Shina woke up from her black dungeon and quickly wiped away her tears. "It's okay."

She spoke in a voice that was strange to her ears, as if it were surrounded by layers of ice, making it tremble even more. Her throat began to ache. If she didn't control herself quickly, she might burst into loud sobs and turn into a pathetic mess.

She took a deep breath, followed by another, trying to calm her nerves before a panic attack gripped her, hoping Reiner's voice wouldn't trigger another breakdown.

"You don't look well. I'll tell the coach."

Reiner spoke, adjusting his hold on her. She shook her head. "I want to continue."

The last thing Shina wanted right now was to be left alone with her dark thoughts. Nothing would provide her with more mental sanctuary than a tense war with her gear which was about to kill her.

 "Okay... can you stand?" Reiner asked again. She nodded before freezing in realization. Reiner had been carrying her all this time? Her face turned tomato-like at the discovery, and she quickly let go of his arms in a hasty, stumbling motion, falling from the branch he was standing on. "Careful!" he spoke, catching her from the imminent fall again. She spoke nervously, her voice barely audible. "Sorry... Thank you..."

"This time, pay more attention to your surroundings," Reiner said after she stood on the branch next to him, before he pulled his trigger and took off.

Shina sighed as she watched him disappear into the distance, exhaustion overwhelming her from her mental meltdown, as if she'd run for miles.

"I need to wash my face..." she groaned before trying again with her gear.

"I scored twenty points today!" Connie boasted, waving his hands proudly at Sasha, who spoke with bread in her mouth. "Twenty-three."

"Only ten points..." Eren muttered in frustration, resting his face in his hand.

"It's okay, Eren, you're usually on top" Armin comforted him, but the other simply hung his head on the table in boredom.

 As they discussed today's training session over dinner, Shina ate silently while wearing her leather bag. The negative feelings that surrounded her today hadn't disappeared, but they had cleared enough to not cloud her mind, which was now preoccupied with something else. "Shina's the only one who didn't score any points." Connie said sarcastically, glaring at her, causing everyone at the table to turn their attention to her. Perhaps she hadn't regained her clear mind enough, because out of all the tables, her absentminded mind had chosen the one Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, Reiner, and Bertolt were sitting at.

Although embarrassment overcame her again, her reaction was muted than usual. She didn't answer Connie, nor did she even look up from her plate.

"Is there a problem?" Bertolt spoke clamly. She sighed loudly and then raised her head. Since she'd been here, she'd been exposed to hundreds of embarrassing situations every day, so why not embarrass herself this time?

"Does anyone want to lend me some money?"

She asked the embarrassing question, then looked back at her plate. They all fell silent. It wasn't as if they were rich; most of the people here were broke like her.

"I have some money,"

Armin said, searching his shirt pocket. Eren looked at him curiously. "Where did you get it?"

 "I helped them with some reports at the library," Armin replied before handing the money to Shina, who smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Armin. I'll return it to you tomorrow. Now, excuse me..." She spoke as she got up from the table, regaining some of her enthusiasm. They watched her leave in confusion before Sasha spoke. "Hey, Shina-"

"You can have my dinner, Sasha," Shina replied without turning around and quickly ran out of the dining hall, and even the entire training camp.

She finally managed to take a cart and the horse stopped after reaching near Survey Corps headquarters. Shina dismounted and was about to ask a passerby about the place, but she spotted him in a cleaning supplies store.

"Levi-san!" Shina said as she approached the short man standing in the store, examining the brooms and selecting the best ones before turning to her.

"Do you know this girl, Captain?" Petra, who was accompanying him and Oluo, asked. The short man frowned before handing her the broom. "You two go ahead before me."

Levi spoke before heading over to Shina, while Petra dragged Oluo behind her as he was filled with curiosity about the girl.

"What's the matter? We haven't finished discussing you ye-"

Shina interrupted him, holding out her notebook. "What is this?" Levi spoke as he held it. She replied with a nervous smile, "If you don't mind, I'd like you to research these matters and give me detailed reports on them. It's best to do it quickly." She spoke as Levi skimmed through the notebook. She mentioned several minerals and raw materials, as well as asking for information on the most prominent nobles and feudal lords in Wall Sina and Rose, and even the minerals used by the clergy.

"Quick? It could take months to find all of this," he spoke coldly. A frown crept across her face for a second before she smiled nervously. "I didn't mean that only the three of you were to work hard into this. I mean, if the Military Police found out about this research activity in the Corps, you could be in danger, but there are undoubtedly many people you can rely on to help with it."

She spoke quickly, almost incomprehensible words, and Levi sighed. "Okay, I'll tell Hange."

"And one more thing..." she spoke as he turned to leave, and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "What?"

She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking awkwardly. "I need some money."

Levi turned to her fully, raising his eyebrow coldly. She flinched nervously. "Don't get me wrong, well... I mean... I have to come here to contact you, and... I think I'm going to need the money a lot at this point."

Levi sighed again before pulling out his wallet and tossing it to her carelessly.

"I didn't mean all of your money!" Shina spoke in panic as she picked it up, and he waved carelessly as he left. "Stop complaining."

She watched in disbelief as he walked away before sighing tiredly, carefully placing the wallet in her bag and heading back to the barracks.

.

.

.

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Chapter Text

The next morning, Shina was sitting on her small bed, counting the money Levi had given her while her hair dried. She smiled as she carefully hid the money and thought of ways to spend it wisely. However, having a financial cushion was still an important step in achieving her goals with confidence, and she only hoped not to appear greedy in front of the Survey Corps.

"Thanks for the money, Armin," she said, handing it back to him. She sat down at the breakfast table, and the young man took it with a smile before Connie spoke to him. "What are you going to do with this money, Armin?"

"I haven't decided yet," the blond replied, nervously putting his coins back in his pocket after Sasha began listing the foods she could buy with that small amount.

"What are you talking about?" Jean wondered as he joined them. After Connie repeated his question, Jean smiled proudly, "What kind of question is that? If it was me i would buy flowers, of course." Everyone at the table looked at him in confusion, except for Shina, who was eating silently. He continued, "Isn't that normal for any gentleman? To bring flowers to a beautiful woman?" He looked at Mikasa during the last two words, but she was completely ignoring him. He swallowed his wounded pride before turning to Shina, "Isn't that right, Shina?"

"Ten out of ten," she replied without looking up from the dry loaf of bread, trying to stifle her laughter, especially as she felt Eren's glare flare up as he joined the conversation. "What's this stupidity, Jean? The best way to spend the money is to buy new weapons to protect the girl with." He turned sharply to shina as well. "Isn't that right, Shina?"

"Maybe..." she replied as she ate, and Jean looked at Eren with a triumphant, smug smile.

The rest of them watched the two in confusion until Armin asked, "What's wrong with them?"

"What's up with the girls?" Connie continued dumbly, while Shina remained silent. Ever since what she'd said the day before yesterday about Jean being good with girls, unlike Eren, a fierce war had erupted between the two, with both of them competing over who treated the girls better. Perhaps Shina should have remained silent instead of assuming the role of judge, which they had both forced upon her.

The day began with a theoretical lecture. Shina headed to the hall, her mind preoccupied with the information she'd requested from the Survey Corps. Her curiosity about it grew with time. She didn't notice herself until she tapped her pen on the table while deep in thought, so she stopped immediately. "Sorry, was I bothering you?" She spoke nervously and embarrassedly, turning to Bertolt sitting next to her. He shook his head, causing her to sigh in relief and focus on the words before her.

The teacher hadn't said anything she didn't know. It was a history lesson, not a lecture on ODM gear, unfortunately. So after a few minutes, her focus shifted to her classmates, observing how they were behaving. None of them seemed truly focused except for Marco and Armin. The rest were either yawning, actually asleep, or just fooling around.

Is that Floch sitting over there?

Shina blinked in confusion and stared at him. Was he part of the Training Corps here? She seemed surprised by the information, but quickly looked away when he turned around, noticing her staring at him. Embarrassed... She hoped he hadn't noticed her and lowered her head on the table, hiding behind Bertolt, who was sitting next to her, so that Floch wouldn't stare at her again, even by chance.

Despite this, she imagined that if this hall had turned into a political debate or something similar, Floch would be the opposition leader and Eren and his comrades would be his opponents. She could imagine the scene turning into one of those moments where a political debate turns into a shoe fight.

She stifled a laugh as she left the hall and headed toward the training ground, imagining the scene vividly in her mind. She wanted to change the ending of this story to this comical scene, which would certainly be much better than the rumbling.

The day's training began, consisting of a continuous run toward several flags placed at the top of a hill. Whoever grabbed the flags first earned points that boosted their rankings, so the fight between the trainees intensified.

Shina found herself in the back of the pack, struggling to catch her breath. Did that mention she wasn't an athletic person? She struggled to keep her legs up, her muscles screaming with pain from the effort she had put in without a warm-up. She fell back a distance from the rest of the class, even Armin was able to hold on for longer than her.

She nearly cried with relief after nearly half an hour of hellish running when she reached the top of the hill and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

From the sight before her, it became clear that there were only five flags, and the ones holding them were the Marley Warriors, along with Mikasa and Sasha.

"Now run back to the starting point."

Their captain spoke sternly, and her tears of relief turned to tears of despair as her body refused to even obey her and get up. Her fear of being reprimanded in front of everyone was a good motivator for her tired legs to continue for another round, which began with a pathetically exhausting run.

She fell back onto the dirt floor, struggling to catch her breath. If she was asked to move a single finger after this, she wouldn't do it, nor would she care about any embarrassment. In fact, she didn't even know how she was going to continue her day with her muscles screaming for relief.

"Are you okay?"

 A long shadow covered the sun above her, so she lazily opened her eyes to nod to Bertolt, who handed her a waterskin.

"Thank you," she muttered hoarsely, struggling to sit up before drinking. She wiped the water from her mouth, closing her eyes again wearily. She handed him the water bottle and stared at him in confusion when she found him looking at her comfortably, not a drop of sweat on his face. "How come you're not tired from all this training?" she said in disbelief.

Bertolt frowned slightly. "Well... training today is light, I didn't see anyone complain about it." He spoke hesitantly, causing her to look around and see the others chattering as if they'd just been on a picnic. "I won't last long here," she muttered in despair.

A few more days of hellish training passed, barely surviving—handling the horses was a nightmare on its own—but somehow she managed to survive, and she intended to continue. She watched Annie sneak out of training several times and over time she realized that it didn't require as much skill as she thought and she could do it too at some point.

Unconsciously, she was getting close to the main characters and had a place at their tables at mealtimes. She felt it would be rude if she just left them and went back to sit quietly in the shadows.

"Sasha, where are you taking us?" Shina spoke nervously as she looked around the large kitchen. The potato girl smiled slyly and greedily. "No one's in the kitchen right now. Let's see what we can gather."

"This is a robbery, right?" Armin spoke nervously as Annie walked silently with them. How the three of them ended up under Sasha's command was unclear, but she wanted to take advantage of the break and pulled them along.

"There's nothing but flour!" Sasha screamed like a wounded animal after searching the kitchen. Annie spoke coldly as she examined the knives. "What did you expect? Meat? There's nothing but what they feed us."

"Besides, the commanders' kitchen is somewhere else," Armin continued, before flinching in horror and trying to stop Sasha, who was banging her head against the wall in frustration.

 "There's sugar in here too," Shina said, taking the old paper bag out of the cupboard. "Have they ever given us sweets? The supply doesn't seem to be used up," she wondered, flipping the bag over in her hand before Sasha approached and swallowed a few sugar cubes in frustration.

"They never have," Armin replied, and Shina smiled. "I wonder why they still keep it here. Do they want us to make our own sweets or something?"

"Do you know how to make sweets?" Shina flinched when Sasha jumped in front of her with the excited question. "A little... but I'm not a professional," she replied nervously. Sasha's eyes lit up before she grabbed her shoulders and began shaking them violently. "Then make us some, Shina! Please! I haven't had anything sweet in decades. I don't want to die before I eat something delicious."

"Okay, okay," Shina said, flustered, stopping her before she could get dizzy. Annie commented, "There aren't enough ingredients to make a cake or a pie here, not even fruit."

"Maybe I could think of a solution for that, but we won't do it, right? I mean... they might find out and we'll be punished."

"We'll watch the entrances for you," Armin said with a smile that made her eyebrows rise... Seriously? The sane one among them would engage in such a thing. She looked at Annie, hoping her retreat would dissuade Sasha and Armin, but all she found was... a slightly excited look? Shina felt as if the world was ending. Annie, who was evading training, wanted to participate in this kitchen crime? Shina couldn't deny that the blonde's slight excitement over the hoped-for desserts made her hesitate. Finally, she sighed in resignation. "Watch the place for me."

After gathering all the ingredients available to her in the kitchen, Shina stood in front of them, confused. Some flour, sugar, oil, and a few lemons. There was no salt, yeast, eggs, or even milk, which made things even more difficult.

She rubbed her chin as she thought... The ingredients were more in line with Eastern cuisine, but the problem remained: the lack of yeast, so even if she made Eastern sweets, they wouldn't be fluffy on the inside.

"Maybe I could do something..."

She muttered as she got to work. She made a dough from the available ingredients and fried it while preparing a thick syrup of sugar and lemon. There was nothing to balance the flavor, so she was careful not to overpower the acidity of the lemon or the taste of the sugar, trying to create a balanced mixture.

"Can you smell it?"

Sasha spoke, drooling as they watched the area outside. Armin laughed.

"Is the break over?"

Shina spoke as she left the kitchen, and the three of them rushed over to her.

"Not yet. What did you make?" Sasha asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. Shina smiled nervously. “I tried making something, but I didn’t taste it, so I don’t know if it tasted good…”

“What are you doing here?” Connie called, approaching them. Behind them were Eren, Mikasa, Jean, Marco, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, and Historia.

“I saw you sneaking into the kitchen. Did you find some meat there?” Ymir asked slyly. Eren interrupted. “It smells sweet.”

Their eyes turned to Shina, particulary the plate in her hand, as Sasha took a hostile, offensive stance.

"It's okay, Sasha. I made a lot," Shina said with an embarrassed smile before turning to the others. "We were searching the kitchen and found some sugar, so I tried to make something." She seemed to notice something, and she flinched in alarm. "Oh my god... the people in charge are going to notice the ingredients missing from the kitchen, and I'm definitely going to be punished!"

"I'm sure they'll forgive you if they taste this," Sasha said, grabbing a piece to eat before jumping up, smiling happily at the taste.

Shina looked at her, sighed tiredly, and tasted one. It wasn't as fluffy as her usual sweets, but she managed to balance the flavor, with a pronounced lemon note, making the dessert palatable. She smiled proudly at her small success before handing it to everyone.

"Here, Annie," she said, giving it to her first, then watching her eyes widen slightly upon tasting. Annie looks cute eating something she likes. Shina thought about this before offering it to Armin and Sasha, and then to the rest of the group.

"It's really delicious."

"You're a great cook, Shina."

She blushed at the praise from everyone tasting and looked down. The taste wasn't that good due to the lack of ingredients, but their reactions were normal, having not eaten anything decent in at least four years.

"What do you think?" She looked hesitantly at Bertolt, who nodded at her with a smile. "It's very good, thank you. I've never tasted anything like this before."

Shina smiled at him, wanting to know the opinion of someone who lived outside the walls and whose tongue was familiar with a variety of foods, and his opinion was reassuring.

Break ended and they resumed training. Just before its end, Shina managed to sneak out. "I hope I don't get punished..." She muttered nervously as she left the square and headed out onto the street. Before she could board a cart, she noticed Hange standing in the road before her eyes opened. "Shina!" she called excitedly as she ran towards her and grabbed her hands. "Levi's squad captured Titans today! Alive! Alive Titans! I can't wait to begin my experiments on them."

"Hange-san, we're on the street." Shina spoke nervously as she noticed the stares of passersby. Hange suppressed her excitement after some effort then pulled out a large stack of papers. "These are the items you requested."

"Everything? Impossible! This fast?" Shina spoke in shock as she held the papers. Hange smiled confidently at her. "Don't underestimate the Survey Corps!"

Shina smiled at her. "Yes..." she muttered before taking a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Since you've captured some titans, could you please perform this experiment on them?"

"Of course. Any experiments on my cute babies" Hange spoke, her excitement escalating again. Shina smiled embarrassedly. "I heard we'll be having a day off soon. I'll have finished my plans by then, so we can start our project."

Hange nodded before Shina waved her goodbyes and returned to the training camp with a smile. She'd get no more than six hours of sleep tonight, since she had this information to absorb.

While she was putting the papers away in her small locker, it was time for dinner, so she headed to the dining hall. As soon as she entered, silence fell over the place... a deep silence that made her look around in panic to see if Shadis had entered causing such calm to spread. But everyone quickly pounced on her.

"Shina! I heard you made some sweets today."

"Were they delicious?"

"Do you have some?"

"I want to taste them."

"Me too."

"Hey, you're scaring her," Jan protested, standing in front of her. This didn't stop the trainees from shouting, asking about the sweets. After a few minutes of silence, trying to process the situation, Shina answered in panick, "I... no... there's no more... sorry."

She spoke nervously and embarrassedly, standing directly behind Jean to block their view of her, triggering their frustrated sighs and grumbles.

"You can make more, right?"

She flinched when the voice came from behind her. She turned to see Floch standing next to Mina and Daz, asking her.

While Floch waited for her answer, her mind was stuck in the unenviable situation. Everyone's focus on her was burning her, so she tried to break free by focusing on something else, like Floch's hair.

"Sasha said you only used flour and sugar."

Floch spoke, but his words didn't reach her, and her focus fell on his hair. It looked strange.

"So you can make more, right?"

 How did he manage to style it that way in the first place?

"We could try to provide more materials."

And why does he continue with this hairstyle? It's inconceivable that anyone would praise it... No one would be expected to praise a hairstyle that's just like a bird's nest.

"What about the birds? I thought we were talking about sweets."

Floch raised an eyebrow, and Shina flinched, screaming as her face turned red. "What? No... nothing."

She spoke with a nervous squeal that drew even more attention. But Floch's expression, waiting for an answer, made her realize that her thoughts hadn't completely leaked out and hadn't ruined the whole thing.

"I... it's not that easy. I'll have to sneak into the kitchen and use the materials. We're running low on food supplies, so I don't think that's a good idea."

"Listen, guys, I have a plan."

Her shoulders stiffened nervously when Reiner silenced everyone and began speaking. She'd begun to get used to the idea of his presence in the past few days, but it was still a little difficult for her.

"We'll all do side quests during our breaks to save some money, then on the day off, we'll pool that money and buy the materials needed for Shina to make those sweets for us."

"The day off?" She spoke nervously, turning to everyone. “It can’t be possible. I will be too busy at that time.” She couldn’t imagine Levi’s reaction if he knew that instead of discussing the royal family or the communication system she was going to create, she had spent her time making sweets, but she felt a crowd rushing towards her.

“Please, Shina!”

“I didn’t eat any of those sweets, but Sasha made me want to taste them.”

“You can postpone your plans, right? Just this once.”

She frowned then smiled nervously as she stepped back. Since when did everyone know her name and approach her so easily? Maybe mingling with the main characters was a bad idea.

"I..." She hesitated, but those pleading with big eyes were making her situation more difficult. Even Annie and Mikasa seemed a little anticipating her answer, so in the end, she sighed in resignation.

"Okay, I'll make you those sweets, but I have a few conditions..."

She spoke, then waited for their excited shouts to subside after her agreement before continuing.

"One: I won't be sneaking around again. We'll have to get permission from the captain. Two: You have to have all the ingredients ready before the break. Three: I'll start right after breakfast, so I have to have everything ready because I'm busy and won't be spending much time in the kitchen."

"Okay!" The collective response came out loud and she smiled with relief. Making cakes or any of the sweets they were used to was difficult due to the dilapidated and primitive kitchen of the barracks and the difficulty of obtaining raw materials in the food crisis they had been experiencing since the fall of Wall Maria, so what she was preparing was the most appropriate choice.

Everyone's excitement over the upcoming desserts filled the girls' dorm with small talks. Shina couldn't read her research, so she went to bed early and made up for it in the morning. She plucked up the courage to sneak out of training and hide in the dorm to read the information Hange had given her. Within days, she had finished drafting some projects.

"This is for the generator, this is for lead-acid batteries..." she muttered, examining her notebooks as she sat in a quiet spot behind the dining hall. The sun set, and conversations about dinner began to filter through as she sat where she had been for hours after sneaking out again.

She stuffed the notebooks into her leather bag and was about to stand up, but froze in panic.

"Annie... are you sneaking into the capital again?"

 "Yes, tomorrow."

Their voices came out quiet, thick with a suffocating layer of desperate seriousness. Their voices made her blood run cold, and her hands began to tremble. These weren't soldiers now, but three Marley warriors discussing their mission. If they found her, they would eliminate her.

She covered her mouth with a hand to keep no sound from coming out as she trembled like a withered leaf in autumn. They were at the wall next to her, just past the corner, leaning against it just as she did, hidden from view. How had she not noticed this? That by sneaking here, she was dragging her feet to the perfect spot and perfect timing to kill her without anyone noticing.

She leaned against the wall, motionless, tears gathering in her eyes. If she tried to sneak away, the sound of the grass beneath her feet would give her away. If she stayed here—

Her eyes widened in utter terror as she heard someone's footsteps approaching her.