Chapter 06

Only a few meters away from the Ackerman house, two people were wandering toward it. They were an adult man wearing glasses on his face, carrying a visibly full suitcase, and a green-eyed child who was approximately 9 years old.

"When we get to Mr. Ackerman's house, try to get along with your two children, do you understand Eren?" - Grisha Yeager.

"But Dad, that Zirken guy is so annoying! He was making fun of my face the last time we saw each other!!!" - Eren.

"That was three years ago, try not to hold unnecessary grudges. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'll be nicer to you. " - Grisha.

"Right..." - Eren.

As they approached the house, Grisha Yeager noticed a strange smell of iron in the air. However, he quickly identified what it was and began to rush his steps to the rescue of his patients.

"Eren, stay behind me and move carefully." - Grisha.

"Roger that." - Eren had also already noticed that something was wrong.

When they reached the entrance, they came face to face with the bodies of the two dead goons and Mr.Ackerman sitting in a chair with both his eyes closed while still holding a knife in his hand.

Grisha Yeager immediately rushed towards her long-time patient to rescue him as quickly as possible, while the boy Eren stood still in the doorway with wide eyes while keeping a rather shocked face.

"He's dead..." - Grisha at the same time checked his heartbeat.

The next instant, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway leading to the other rooms. When he turned his face to see who was coming, he was faced with Zirken holding a huge knife, while Mikasa and his mother came right behind.

"Dr. Yeager..." - Zirken.

Realizing who the new guests were, the white haired boy lowered his knife looked around, he ignored the two dead bandits and locked his gaze on the blond haired man sitting in the chair.

"Father/Want!" - Zirken, Mikasa and Mom.

The three immediately ran to their father/husband. Upon reaching him, it didn't take long for them to realize what had happened and soon a wave of emotions that mixed sadness and anger took over their hearts.

Mikasa and her mother started to cry a lot, while some tears fell from Zirken Ackerman's eyes. However, the tips of his lips were bleeding from the force he was putting into biting them, and his palms were also bleeding from the fact that his own nails were piercing his skin.

'CRAP!!! If I hadn't been so self-confident...' - Zirken.

"My condolences..." - Grisha as she retreated towards the entrance door and stopped beside her son.

"I will go and call the military. Eren, wait here until I return." - Grisha.

"All right..." - Eren.

After that, Grisha Yeager left to call the military and after a few hours they returned. Eren was sitting outside, while the other three were inside the house, still digesting the whole thing.

For Zirken, this was an event that he had been expecting, but for the other two these sudden terrifying events came out of nowhere and caught them completely off guard.

The white-haired child had also already told his parents and sister about the possibility of such an attack, but they were still naïve and doubted the boy. Because of this, they only allowed him to set a few traps as a precaution and nothing more.

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At this point, everyone was outside the house telling the military what had happened and the course of events.

'Those two kids did that?! How scary...' - Military soldier.

After giving their statements, the soldiers entered the house again to collect the bodies. It was in the meantime that the mother and children trio stopped to reflect their future actions.

"Where do we go now?" - Mikasa.

"I don't know dear, but we can't stay here anymore..." - Mom.

Zirken remained silent, lost in thought, but still listening to the conversation around him. However, upon hearing this short exchange, Grisha Yeager approached the trio and offered them a path to follow.

"Do you guys want to stay in ours until you can get back on your feet?" - Grisha.

"Could we?!" - Mother.

The Asian girl did not show it, but she was seriously worried about how she was going to support her children. Previously this was her husband's job, so she was at a loss as she didn't know which direction she would take. So she did not hesitate to accept the doctor's offer.

"I will need to talk to my wife first, but I am pretty sure she would agree to help you through this difficult time." - Grisha.

"Thank you so much Dr. Yeager!!! I promise we will pay that debt in the future!" - Mom as she bowed her head.

"No need to bow your head, I am sure you would do the same should Eren and Carla go through a situation like this." - Grisha.

After this little chat, the Ackerman family and the Yeager set off towards the Shiganshina district. However, Zirken still remained strangely lost in his deep thoughts.

'I should have tried harder!!! It was my fault that he had to get up to fight and save me!!!' - Zirken.

The boy was still grieving deeply over the loss of his father and blaming himself for being negligent in dealing with a situation that he himself already knew was coming.

'*Sigh* What should I do now? Dr. Yeager may not have said anything, but I am sure how difficult it would be to support three more mouths, if that were not the case, the Yeagers would not live in the Shiganshina district. I'm also pretty sure that Mama knows about it, so I'm afraid she'll decide to disappear somewhere else when she's sure of our survival...' - Zirken.

'I didn't want to resort to that, but I can only see that way...' - Zirken.