You're gonna go far Kid

Chapter Four~Decision Together

Within a day all the refugees were moved to a food storehouse in another district. I waited with Armin as the soldiers hand out food. Eren was still asleep, Mikasa stayed with him. I just need to make sure I knew where everyone was.

God, I sound like such a mom.

Ace was right, to survive, to keep them alive I'm gonna half to grow up. Pretty soon Armin runs up to me with armfuls of bread "Wher did you get all this?" I ask in shock, people were hungry so how did he manage to get that much bread?

"My grandfather helped out, come on let's find Eren and Mikasa," he says. I look over to the edge of the crowd "Already found them, let's go." I say the two of us run over as the other two stares at the amount of bread we had.

"Here! Just in time." I say "Glad I caught you, here grandpa scrounged a little extra by telling the powers that he had kids." explains Armin. Each of them takes a loaf and we notice the soldiers looking at us in disgust.

"What's his problem?" ask Eren.

I sigh "You can't blame him. There's probably not enough food to go around." I explain "And that's an entire day's worth. There are just too many refugees. There was already a food shortage going on, plus the people here aren't treated as well as citizens on the outer wall." says Armin, I nod "And to think we were supposed to be the lesser."

Citizens arguing all-around "This is mine!", "Shut up!" as we eat we overhear a couple of soldiers "Why should we hafta' give our food to some lousy outsiders? If the Titans got through the wall, they could've at least eaten some more people, if you ask me!"

I could see Eren begin to get irritated "Eren don't." I start. But of course, he never listens and walks towards the soldier, in anger.

"This is just gonna make the good shortage even worse." says a soldier but not before Eren kicks him in the shin. He punches Eren in the face. Eren holds his ground. "What the hell?! You damn kid!" 

Another soldier kicks Eren down. "You don't know what it's like! You've never seen it! You've never seen what the Titans do to people!" shouts Eren, Mikasa runs to check on him while Armin and I stand in front of them "I apologize! He's just hungry and irritable! That's why he so rudely lashed out at an adult..." I explain

The soldier turns to me "You whore! Keep your kids under control! Man...It's 'cause of us that you guys aren't starving to death. You know! Even you kids ougtha' be thankful to us!"

A whore? Me? "Of course!" says Armin "Damn...I refuse to let them take care of me." says Eren as we take him to sit on the building wall "I'm going back. To Wall Maria! I'm going to destroy every last Titan!" he claims.

I liked the fire, he's always had it! But this is living we're talking about! "Eren...You're not being serious, are you?" ask Armin "I'm serious!" Eren stands up in confidence and anger "I'm not like those guys who do nothing but act tough inside the walls." he looks at the bread. "I don't need this crap!" he tosses it towards Armin. Armin desperately juggles the bread to catch it.

"Eren. You'll starve to death." I explain, Eren faces me "Doesn't it bother you at all?! It's because we take everyone's charity that we can't beat the Titans!"

I mean there was a bunch of truth in that.

"It's impossible! There is no beating them! All we can do is live inside the walls! If we try anything, we'll die! Just like my mom and dad!" shouts Armin.

"So you're just gonna grovel to them then?! That's not shameful to you?!"

"There's... There's nothing we can do for now!"

"You wimp!" Mikasa jabs Eren right in his jaw and he falls to the ground. "If Armin's a wimp, then so are we. Whether it was running from the Titans or fleeing the town, we didn't manage anything on our own. We even had help finding food today. There's no way such powerless people can defeat a single one of those Titans." says Mikasa, I nod "Staying alive is what matters most. Just like your mother said." I say.

Mikasa walks toward Eren and grabs the bread from Armin, and stuffs it into Eren's mouth "You have to eat and stay alive. I won't let you starve to death." Eren eats in shame, with tears building up in his eyes and cries.

"Eren look at me." I start, the three do and I clutch Ace's hat in my hands "We'll get our chance trust I want it, but for now we need to stay alive. For them." I say and put the hat on my head with a heavy breath.

For you I wear this, I will avenge you and your memorie will never die.

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Several days later, the throngs of refugees were tasked with cultivating the wastelands to secure food. However, the food shortage was unavoidable. So, in the following year of 846, the central government sent a multitude of refugees on a mission in the name of retaking Wall Maria. 

Of the 250,000 sent, nearly 20% of the population, not even 200 survived. Although it wasn't much, their sacrifices did improve the food shortage situation for the rest of the population. In that past year, we lost more people.

Armin lost his grandfather.

But here we were, alive! Sitting on steps in the city, listening to Eren rave about Titans again.

"It's all the Titan's fault. If we could just subdue them. Our place in the world could be ours again." says Eren, he looked as if to be in thought before standing "I'm going to apply for the Cadets next year. I'm going to gain the strength to fight the Titans!"

Armin and Mikasa looked at him in shock. The chance to get stronger and to fight, sad to say how could we not do this, we had to "I'm in to." I say. 

Armin looks at me before nodding. "Me too!" he says certain. 

"I will, too," says Misaka. 

"Mikasa...! You don't need to! You said yourself staying alive is what's important," says Eren.

"Yes. That's why I'm doing it; so you won't die," says Misaka.

I smile at the three, we were doing this for them all "All right. The four of us, then."