Acceptance

Year: 845– Shiganshina District

Acceptance… it's something that I've come to… accept i suppose. From a young age I was not blind to the ruthlessness with which occupied the world.

Bigger bugs are smaller bugs, while getting eaten by animals themselves, and so on until humans ate the animals. Life was fleeting and at any moment you could be on the ground body cooling as you slowly left this life and into the next. If there is a next life…

That's why while I accept that the walls are to keep us safe from a threat I don't truly understand, I don't sit idly.

Reaching down I grab the last stick as I look up at the wall and sun peering over.

"Lets go, Mikasa. We shouldn't keep Carla and Grisha waiting." I say to my sister who was standing beside, but rather than looking at the wall like me she was staring at our "savior". He had slept nearly from the minute we made it to the fields to collect firewood, though it's not much bother to me as Eren can never seem to be quiet for any stretch of time.

Sighing I turn back around away from the wall and give her a bit of push against her back. This seemed to do the trick as she finally began walking towards Eren to walk him. Though it seemed he was having a nightmare.

"Come on Eren, you cry at the house." I said as I dropped a full stick bundle in front of him while adjusting the one on my back.

"Huh?" He asked as he rubbed at his eye, realizing that his eyes were tearing up.

"I wasn't crying, Masashi!" He yelled as he shot up and groaned when he lifted the stack on to his back.

"How do you plan to join the survey corps if you can't even lift those twigs. You and Mikasa should just stay inside the walls."

"Urk! Damn you Masashi, I'll show you." He said as he gripped the ropes tightly and began to pick up his pace and charged out in front of us.

Ugh, I don't know why I try with him. It seems my efforts just further strengthen his resolve to join the survey corp.

He continued his run until we made it past Hannes and his fellow guards where he collapsed on the ground panting in exhaustion. Firewood spilled out and I felt my eye twitch as I looked at him. I walked up and kicked him in the ribs, not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to show my annoyance.

"Ow! What was that for Masashi?" He asked through gritted teeth as he held his side in pain.

"Tsk. You spilt all the damn firewood me and Mikasa collected for you while you napped in the shade." His words seemed to catch in his throat as he looked between me and Mikasa only to be interrupted by the sound of a bell.

This caused his pain filled grimace to turn into a smile as he turned and took off towards the entrance of the gate. Leaving his pack behind in the process as well as me and Mikasa who I could tell wanted to chase after him. She looked to me hesitantly, causing me to sigh.

"Drop your pack and go, I'll catch up with you two." She paused for only a moment before dropping her pack nearly next to Eren's.

"Thanks, Shi!" She said with a quick smile as she dashed off in the direction Eren went. I shook my head at her infatuation with him as I began picking up the sticks Eren had spilt only to see Hannes kneeling down to help.

"You gonna be able to carry all this yourself, kid?" He asks while glancing at me as he placed another stick into the bundle. I shrugged, but eventually nodded. I didn't particularly care for Hannes and his crew as they tended to do their job while drunk, though he was kind enough to our family so I responded.

"Yes, because I have to. It's a brother's job to spoil his siblings after all." Placing the last stick into the bundle I retie the ropes so that both their packs hang off opposite side of mine. I had evened out the number of sticks between theirs as to not have one side be heavier than the other.

"Well that's noble of you, but are you sure you can carry all that?" He asked while scratching his head and observing my load. I respond with just a nod as I begin jogging off in the direction Eren and Mikasa went.

The weight had indeed increased significantly, but if I wanted to be in the survey corp myself then this was just training towards that eventual goal. I had seen the rare few times Hannes and the other MPs had used their ODM gear. I could tell that core strength as well as lower body strength would be key in using them in the future.

With that in mind I had been training ever since we got taken in by the Yeager family. I was blessed to have a natural talent for most physical activities whether it was fighting, throwing things or even just jumping and climbing things. One of the rare few hobbies I have is climbing buildings after all, as it allows me to see parts of the city that I normally wouldn't be able to. And one day I'll climb over that wall and out into the rest of the world.

Author's Note:

First chapter down and just imagine Masashi as looking like Mikasa but with shorter hair. He is slightly taller than Eren with the same hair/eye color as Mikasa.

Don't know how consistent this will be or if this will be the only chapter, but I figured if I was watching AOT back through I might as well write an idea I had. No matter how unoriginal it is/non story changing.

See you in the next chapter if I make one.