12 Payment

<<Karl POV>>

"BIG BRO PLEASE!!!!"

After wailing, punching and kicking, the brat has now resorted to begging. Not that screams of children had an effect on me, but still, I felt a little bad…

Bad for not giving a f*ck!!

If this brat thinks I had a single shred of remorse for what I'm doing, then he can suck it up. I know that he's just a seven-year old child, but he isn't, by any means, an idiot.

"Eren, why don't you use your own pocket money?" I asked squinting my eyes. It was fairly obvious as to what he had done with his birthday gifts and pocket money.

"U-um, I-"

"Let me guess, you already used it all. And now, you want to freeload off of me… right?" I spoke in the coldest tone possible. Credits to Carla.

"But mom always gives you more!"

"Because I save it properly! When was the last time you saved your pocket money? Never! And you have the nerve to ask me?!"

"B-b-but, Karl!!!" He tried to protest, yet the guilt was obvious in his face. Now, I just need to let it sink in and my job was done.

Eren would usually spend all his pocket money in a single week and then start whining to our parents. This was the peak of manipulation that a child could manage to do, and that's not the worst point.

What's worse, is that he does not think ahead and has a complete lack of self restaint, just like in the canon. At this rate, he would only learn humility and cunning after millions of people died.

And, that is, only if he would inherit the titans. Without them, he wouldn't last 10 minutes.

Since, I had no plans of him dying, I need to set his character straight at the earliest. This is exactly what I plan to do for Armin as well.

But, that's going to be a while from now. Even I'm not dumb enough to waste my time, working all the while.

And so, ignoring the disrespectful FSP, I turned to my newest friend.

"Let's go, Armin" I said, approaching the unsuspecting child.

"Wh-where to?" He asked, giving a worried glance to the slumped over Eren. Damn kid, why are you so innocent?!

With an arm on his shoulders, I pointed to the stars, a goofy grin etched on my face. He seemed quite perplexed, but smiled as he came along.

'Now, back to enjoying my chil-ahem, working for my family's survival.' Shiganshina isn't going to explore itself, right?

The brat reluctantly followed us around, keeping his mouth shut. Well, due to the influence of yours truly, he is mature enough to recognize his own mistakes.

Now, he only needs to work towards mending them.

And so, Armin and I had the time of our lives. Walking along the docks, we enjoyed the cool breeze and the soothing melody of the flowing river.

Branching into the streets, fishermen could be seen showing off their haul as merchants rushed to purchase them. Various stalls sporting all sorts of fish and meat were on display.

With horse drawn carriages and archaically dressed people, I toured around the medieval landscapes within the walls. Only if there were ice-cream, I'd be enjoying myself to the max…

Armin also seemed to enjoy the calming tour, pointing out to different stalls as we talked around.

Even during our walk, I didn't ask him about the bullies or any of that sort. It was, quite literally, the second day of our meeting. And, it would be awkward to discuss such sensitive information with someone you just met.

All in all, we mostly talked about our experiences, jokes or other interesting stuff and before we knew it, it was nearing curfew.

"Let's meet again tomorrow." I waved, as Eren stiffly nodded.

"Yeah. Bye Karl! Bye Eren!" Armin waved back, as he left with an ecstatic smile. If this was enough to make him happy, I just felt sorry for the kid.

Now, back to the problem child. Eren was still sulking and sniffing all along the journey. At some point, Armin tried to comfort him, to which he weakly smiled.

'This should be enough.' With a sigh, I ruffled through my pockets, trying to find a certain special item.

"Eren-" I called, holding up an orange Candy Rocks "-here you go." His favorite flavor should be enough to quell this boorish kid.

"Is this another prank?" He asked warily, his twitching lips betraying his true intentions.

'The pains I have to go through…' I sighed again as I shoved the Candy in his arms.

He blankly stared at it for a minute, after which, he began observing it from all sides. Finally, with satisfaction evident on his face, he turned towards me, breaking into a smile.

"Thank you Big Bro!" He grinned as he jumped into a hug, shocking me quite a bit. Wasn't I the reason he was moping in the first place?

"And, sorry. I shouldn't have made fun of you…" He said, in an apologetic tone, releasing me from the hug. Well, at least there's some improvement.

"That's not the only thing you did, right?" I grinned back, as I ruffled his hair.

"Hehe!" With an impish smile, he popped the candy into his mouth.

"Well, next time think before you waste your money. There is never a second chance, okay?" I expect him to forget my advice in no less than a week, but it couldn't hurt to try.

"Okay!"

And with that, we made our way home. Another fulfilling day of work, if I do say so myself.

Such a mundane routine continued for the next few days. We met up with Armin, played around and had a blast exploring the massive district.

Although it might seem odd to explore the entirety of Shiganshina, but this was only for the worst case scenario.

Since, the exact date for the Reinass and Berbitch's invasion was unknown, except for the Grisha's basement promise, as in the canon, I felt that a back-up plan was necessary.

So, first and foremost, a mind map of the entire district should be quite useful. And, due to my perseverance over the last month, I was quite close to completing it.

With only one more day left for my Hidden Quest, [Mother Knows Best], I enjoyed the leisurely atmosphere along with Eren and Armin. For tomorrow, I had an important meeting as well.

And so, here we were, playing one of Armin's games in the open fields. The fresh air rushing past our sweaty figures being the only thing I had even remotely close to an A.C.

All in all, we were having fun, as all children do... or so I thought.

As Armin chased behind Eren, making an effort to catch him, Eren abruptly stopped. He had a surprisingly grim look, as Armin caught up to him.

"What happened?" Armin asked as he panted. And, surprisingly enough, Eren quickly rushed at the tired Armin, almost lunging at him.

He caught Armin's long sleeved shirt and unfurled the sleeves, ignoring his protests. As the bluish bruises came to light, Eren quietly stared at them. Yet, the flames of rage and hatred burned in his eyes.

"When did this happen?" Eren asked sternly, only for Armin to bow in shame, avoiding his gaze. I stared like an idiot, until a sharp pang of guilt woke me from my stupor as I berated myself.

I was naïve enough to think I could still wait, but this was too much. Both his arms were hurt, and I'm sure, there would be many more bruises along his body.

'F*cking Damn it!!!' Was the only thought in my mind, as I clenched my fists in anger.

It was a dumb choice, putting off such blatant abuse for so long. Not anymore.

'No. No yet…' I forcefully calmed myself, for I had something to do now. Eren continued to ask Armin all sorts of questions as I joined in the fray.

With our constant prodding, Armin finally tried to speak. His eyes trembled as he opened his mouth, still avoiding our collecting gaze.

"No, I-it was j-". He tried to deny it, but what could he do. The proof was quite obvious visual us.

"Armin." I said as I kneeled before him and looked straight into his eyes. They were pained eyes, filled with remorse and self-loathing that no child his age should have.

"Why were they bullying you?"

He flinched at the question, his reddened eyes fluttered as tears threatened to fall. Eren softly patted his back, as I held his palm, the only place that was not hurt.

"B-because…" he said, taking deep breaths, in barely a whisper "I s-s-spoke… a-about the... w-walls."

And that's all the confirmation I needed. I turned to Eren, who simply nodded, a cold light glinting in his eyes. Maybe I was the same…

"Armin, can I ask for a favor?" I asked again, causing Armin to shiver. Indeed, he was smart enough to guess what kind of 'FAVOR' I would ask for. It had been a long time since I vented my rage…

And thankfully, I had a great outlet. Time to test my body's limits against certain opponents. Oh! I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this!

Someone had to pay for this, and unfortunately, castration was the only currency accepted…

And, hearing a certain beeping in my head, I instinctively smirked. Without a doubt, there would be hell to pay...

******

A.N.

I'll be CHANGING the A.I. name to Isa. The name being bit more gender ambiguous would certainly be better. And no, it is not up for debate.

Sorry for any confusion this may entail, and Thank You for your understanding!! :)

P.S.(I) I have edited the previous chaps, so new readers won't be confused. Again, sorry for the confusion.

P.S.(II) Word count already 1.6 K without A.N. Just in case you had any doubts...