Honey and Sky | Jean Kirstein x OC

11 | Gunshot

The finger reacted on its own, before the brain could send any signal. It was pure instinct. The eye saw what was about to happen, the heart knew it could not bear such pain and the finger pulled the trigger. It took the brain much longer to react. Hours even. It wasn't until that evening that the brain was really aware of what had happened.

Lena had killed a person.

* * *

Several days earlier...

Eren had begun training with his titan, under Hange's supervision, to achieve the hardening they were going to use to close the hole in Shiganshina. They were using an area near the cabin, which was deep in a mountain covered with trees, far from any civilization. Even so, the steam released from his titan was enough that the other members of squad Levi had to comb the area continuously to make sure there were no unwanted witnesses.

The experiments didn't yield the expected results, as he was unable to harden himself, but they did lead to certain discoveries. To begin with, in his first transformation Eren was fully aware of what was happening and was in control of his titan. He carried out all orders given to him, no matter who they came from, and was even able to perform manual tasks such as building a house with poles and rope.

They also discovered that he couldn't speak, as the anatomy of his mouth didn't allow him to do so, but he could write, which he demonstrated by using a stick on the ground. The last discovery was that from his second transformation onwards, his abilities diminished, as did his control over his titan. By the third transformation, his lower body was so thin that he couldn't stand upright, and Eren's ass and legs were dangling outside the titan. At this point Hange decided to end the experiment.

That afternoon they received an urgent message: Erwin was planning a coup d'etat, the Survey Corps was in a compromised position, and the government officially wanted to get their hands on Eren and Historia. They gathered their belongings and left the cabin immediately. When they were far enough away, at the top of a hill, they witnessed a group of people stalking the cabin with torches.

"What would have become of us if we had stayed?," Connie asked in fear. That image haunted everyone's mind. Lena felt shivers.

Captain Levi informed them of the plan they would carry out: they would put "Eren and Historia" on a platter to be captured, and then catch the captors. Of course, it wouldn't be Eren and Historia, but....

"Again? I don't look anything like this freak," Jean said with annoyance, accepting the wig offered by the Captain. "And this itches like hell."

"Of course you don't, horse face," Eren replied with the same level of displeasure.

Jean made a sudden movement towards Eren with his arm raised, but Connie restrained him.

"At least you don't have to wear a skirt," Armin commented quietly, adjusting a blonde wig.

Lena was a bundle of nerves as she adjusted her traveling cloak and the rifle on her shoulder. It was Squad Levi's first mission, the first official mission she was actively taking part in as part of a small group of soldiers. Would she be up to the task? Her insecurities soon surfaced. They were going to use two comrades as bait. Jean, no less, was going to put his life on the line without really knowing what they were up against. Did the Captain have blind faith in them? Or was there simply no other option and he had to settle for this group of inexperienced soldiers? At least there was Mikasa, she could do something about it if things got ugly.

Sasha gave her shoulder a squeeze, surely she could see in Lena's face the thoughts she wasn't going to express out loud. The two friends took a deep breath and set off along with the others in the morning sun.