Skeleton Flowers [Shingeki no Kyojin]

✾ Chapter 3 ✾

Where the past two years had gone since her enlistment, Izanami had no idea – all she knew that she was learning and working hard, so much so that even without meaning to, her position within the 104th Cadet Corps was rising rapidly in all the departments. Izanami had no clue where this desire to work hard came for, or maybe she was simply trying to fill the hole in her chest that she had had since her birth.

It was stupid for her to have wishful thinking when it had never led her to any positive outcome. Every time that she had moved into a new life, it would come knocking and tear everything down. Izanami felt like she was cursed to never know the truth behind her existence, to never know stability in any sense of the word in any aspect of her life.

Yet Izanami felt that human flaw of hers, seeking some sort of life and comfort amongst her fellow trainees, even when she knew that they would all be separated very soon, as soon as all of their assessments were completed and they were graded on their graduation from the Cadet Corps – then they would all depart to their own destinies away from her.

Rain showered down upon them like needles on their limbs as the 104th Cadet Corps underwent their fitness assessment in the thicket of the forest, weighted backpacks pushing them down as they shouldered them through the grieving circumstances.

But nothing was more spine-chilling than the presence of their Commander Keith Sadies, who followed them upon the horse's back, keeping a strict and omnipresent attention on each of them.

At the front of the entire pack Izanami had been keeping a steady pace, accompanied only by Mikasa and followed closely by their tall fellows, Reiner and Bertholdt. The situation was dire, where she was not slipping on foot, Izanami found her consciousness starting to slip instead.

Every single aspect of this situation reminded Izanami of her past – it was the gloom of a moonless night, in the depth of a foreign forest where a girl ran barefoot and bleeding, her darker than night hair matted as her evening grey eyes looked over her shoulder in a panic, feeling the grasp of those hands that had snatched her away from home, of men who had dragged her away from life.

Just then, a big and heavy hand came to set itself on her shoulder and Izanami almost tripped over her own thoughts until she whipped her head around to find that it was Reiner. He was right behind her, and appeared to be rather concerned about her for some reason. Izanami was confused.

"Are you doing alright, there?" Reiner asked out of concern as the two of them returned their eyes back forward as they continued onward. "You looked like you were spacing out,"

"Yes, I am doing fine," Izanami replied, giving him a small smile. "I was just lost in my thoughts..."

Although he appeared not to be entirely convinced by what Izanami had said, the frown of concern on Reiner's face turned into a gentle smile, allowing her to clear her conscious a little bit that she was not worrying others. Izanami let her hair curtain her face, hiding her emotions from others.

"You're too slow!" shouted Commander Sadies. "Run, you laggards! What's wrong, Arlert? You're falling behind! Is it too heavy for you? Will you be the one guy to remove his equipment? If this were a real fight, you'd be Titan food by now!"

It was those words that truly pulled Izanami out of her thoughts and she slowed her paced down, glancing toward Armin as she came next to him right at the end of the group. Armin looked very thoroughly exhausted, having never had the aptitude for physical labour.

"You can do it, Armin," Izanami urged him quietly. "Come on, let the two of us move forward together. We can really pull it if we are together, you know?"

Armin had nodded in reply, feeling a bit better but it was very clear that he was still struggling. Izanami did not leave his side, knowing that Armin would pull through once he had gotten his breathing fixed. And she had herself always related to him more than she did others.