A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

Reunion

The first thing that came to Isanna's mind after waking up was the image of being inside Erwin's quarters, sandwiched between the door and his own form, taking her chin with his fingers as their eyes locked in an intense gaze.

Isanna tried telling herself that that had been just a dream - probably some sort of side effect that her mind had begun to elapse into after years of suffering from a one-sided crush with her best friend.

Hanji had been bugging her on and on ever since, asking what the deal was between her and Erwin the night after their infiltration in the Lovof mansion, as well as why she had returned to their shared quarters in a dazed stupor the following day.

She had told the woman to shut up, earning a pout.

Fast forward to a few days, news had reached them that Nicholas Lovof had changed his vote in the council meeting, and funds were once again allowed to be invested to the Survey Corps for future expeditions. Everything had been going according to Erwin's plan, once again proving just how sexy his brilliant brain was.

Earlier that morning, Erwin had taken Isanna and Mike, along with two other members of his squad to enact the next part of their plan: the recruitment of the notorious underground trio.

It was decided that Erwin's group was going to be accompanied by a few Military Police soldiers, something Isanna scoffed at because she knew they were not going to be of much help.

"Just us is enough." Isanna and the rest were currently waiting by the entrance of the 11th Stairway that snaked down to the Underground City, awaiting for the arrival of the supposed squad of the Military Police that were going to 'chaperone' them - as if the Survey Corps needed a chaperone in the first place.

She frowned at no one in particular. "How long are those unicorn bastards going to keep us waiting?"

"Be patient." Mike was the one to calm her down when no one answered her for the first few seconds. "It was a condition the Commander of the Military Police gave if we wanted to capture and recruit underground criminals, since it's supposedly under their jurisdiction."

"Tch. If their pride was hurt, they should've done a better job in apprehending those thugs."

Nobody answered her.

Isanna counted the minutes away as she leaned against a nearby wall of a building, arms crossed. When a carriage pulled by in front of their group, the raven pushed herself off the wall just as the carriage door yanked open and a man emerged from inside.

The girl paused in her tracks, so did Mike when they saw an old friend greet their sights.

Nile caught on to their gazes but said no word to them, before he averted from their eyes and headed to Erwin, who didn't seem as shocked as the other two.

"Sorry for the wait," Nile muttered halfheartedly as the three other Military Police soldiers stepped down from the carriage after him, saluting at Erwin who merely nodded.

"It's fine," the blond replied, rather coldly for someone who hadn't seen his friend in a long time, as he gestured for his squad to salute, "this is squad captain Nile Dok; he's in-charge of overseeing the capture of the criminals."

While Mike and the other two squad members saluted, Isanna crossed her arms with an irritated frown at the man.

"Late by a whole 30 minutes, is the Military Police always this lax?"

Nile's eye twitched at the girl, his dark irises narrowing at her blatant disrespect despite the difference in their military positions. Even though they hadn't seen each other in a while, she was still as infuriating as ever.

"Watch your tongue, Herrmann," he quipped, ignoring the surprised looks from his members behind him, "I'm your superior now."

Isanna didn't bother to hold back a roll of her eyes. "I don't work under you, dipshit. The only superior I'm acknowledging right now is Erwin."

The soldiers who weren't well-acquainted with the two widened their eyes at the girl's vulgar insult, but Mike and Erwin only frowned at the interaction as if they had been expecting such hostility.

"What did you say?" Nile growled, taking a step forward as he looked down at her in a threatening look.

"I said," Isanna stressed with a raised brow, accepting his challenge with a step forward and a tilt of her chin, "I won't take orders from a dipshit."

Before things could get more ugly, Mike lightly pulled the girl by the arm while Erwin patted Nile's shoulder with a hand, separating the two from each other.

"We're here to apprehend the criminals that have been wreaking havoc in the Underground and stealing military supplies," Erwin supplied with a commanding tone directed at Nile and Isanna, a tone that dared anyone to go against him, "set aside your personal differences."

As Erwin turned around to head to the entrance of the 11th Stairway after motioning for the small group of soldiers to follow, Isanna shot one last silent glare at Nile. She accompanied her sharp look with a middle finger, evoking a curse under his breath from the man, but before he could react, Isanna had already turned around her heel and followed Erwin's suit.

As Mike watched the two from behind, he could only pray that their mission would go smoothly.

•

The walk towards the small barracks of the Military Police in the Underground City was short, but for the squad members, it stretched unnecessarily long because of the weighty tension that seemed to hover above four particular soldiers: Erwin, Mike, Nile, and Isanna. Particularly the latter two. They were like a ticking fragile bomb itching to explode, releasing rupturing shrapnels that would pierce and drag the other soldiers.

"Wait here while I go and check the recent news about those criminals," Nile issued as he turned to leave them inside a small lounge in their barracks.

And of course, Isanna had to comment. "It better not take 30 minutes this time."

Nile briefly shot a look over his shoulder. "Sit your ass down and wait."

She scoffed. "Sure, you wouldn't know anything about asses, would you?"

"Quiet, chipmunk."

"Flat-assed bastard."

It took Erwin clearing his throat for Nile to finally stomp out of the room with a curse he didn't bother to mutter. When the raven man finally disappeared into the next room, the blond turned to Isanna with a disapproving frown.

"Isanna, watch your temper and focus."

The girl clicked her tongue and plopped down on the old sofa by the side, crossing her legs and arms. "He pisses me off."

"Still," Erwin emphasized, "behave."

Isanna looked at him in the eye, her face twitching and itching to rebel against his order. She couldn't help it. She couldn't look at Nile and not feel any resentment to him. She knew her dislike towards the man was irrational - it wasn't like he did anything wrong to her. It wasn't like he was at fault for choosing his own path. It wasn't like it was his fault that -

Isanna chewed on her lip as her eyes darted downwards on the chipped floor.

It wasn't his fault that Adrian, Chiara, and Adalaide died that day.

But Isanna couldn't help it. It was the titans that killed them, and while she did manage to unleash her wrath and frustration countless times every expedition they had, she still didn't feel contented; she wanted someone - a human person, a rational being - to be her punching bag, to receive her anger. Perhaps blaming Nile was just something her brain needed to do.

Not even five minutes later, Nile came back and told them the criminals they were looking for had just made their move.

As Erwin and Nile ordered their soldiers to move out of the small barracks, Isanna gave one last glance at Nile.

She could pour her displeasures to him on a later date; as of now, they needed to catch a certain trio of thugs.