Roast meat on the Back Mountain

"Whoa!" Yago had done his best to keep his balance, but after holding on for a minute, he finally lost it and flipped upside down.

"Yago!" Thomas finally reacted and hurried over to help lower him.

Yago stood up, rubbing his head, and instinctively felt his belt. He had distinctly felt the force around his waist being distributed very unevenly.

"Recruit Yago!"

Instructor Keith's voice rang out behind him. "Yes, sir!" Yago placed his right fist against his left chest in a textbook salute.

"Let me see your belt."

"Huh? Yes, sir!"

Yago removed his belt and handed it to the instructor. Keith examined it as quite a few recruits gathered around to watch.

Just as I thought. If that's the case, this recruit's talent is truly frightening. Instructor Keith stared at Yago, who stood ramrod straight before him.

Then he announced loudly, "The buckle on this belt has been damaged. That's quite unexpected. We thought this part would be secure and sturdy. It seems we have another place to pay attention to during maintenance."

Yago froze. So there really had been something wrong with the belt. The recruits around him chattered nonstop, and Jean said in shock, "So Yago managed to hold on for a minute even with broken equipment? What a monster!" A trace of admiration entered the recruits' gazes as they looked at Yago.

Instructor Keith said, "All right, get back to training. Yago, go to the Equipment Department and get a new set of harness straps. You have a bright future ahead of you, so work hard. Don't become Titan fodder!"

"Yes, sir!" all the recruits answered in unison.

When training resumed, everyone worked a little harder. Having a monster of a fellow recruit put quite a bit of pressure on them, after all.

Eren was still delighted. Mikasa, I can become a soldier now. You won't have to look after me anymore. I did it!

Seeing how happy Eren was, Armin said to Mikasa, "Looks like Eren's really happy he gets to stay."

"No," Mikasa said calmly. "He's happy he doesn't have to be separated from me."

Armin said, "...?"

Yago, who had collected his new equipment, was walking beside them too. He nearly laughed when he heard Mikasa. Even the cool, aloof Mikasa could say something so obviously full of herself.

"Oh? And what exactly are you to Eren, Mikasa? How are you so sure he can't bear to leave you?" Yago teased.

Mikasa froze. How was she supposed to say something like that out loud? At the very least, the boy ought to make the first move. But as she looked at Eren's back, she couldn't help feeling she might be better off speaking up herself.

Leaning against a large tree with her arms folded, Annie quietly watched Yago laughing and chatting. I'll try slipping out tonight to investigate.

Night fell, and Yago left the dormitory, heading straight for the Back Mountain. On the way, however, he ran into someone he knew.

"Annie? Where are you going?" Yago asked in confusion, looking at Annie, who was bundled up tightly.

"I..." Annie was speechless too. What are the odds? I was just about to go out and investigate tonight, and I ran into Yago?

Yago didn't give it much thought. Since they had run into each other, they might as well go together. Without waiting for an answer, he took Annie's small hand and headed straight for the Back Mountain. "Perfect timing. Come on, I'll treat you to some meat," he said as they walked.

With her hand in his, Annie's face instantly turned bright red, though it wasn't very noticeable in the moonlight. Yago hadn't thought that deeply about it. What decent person would have those kinds of thoughts about a twelve-year-old child? He failed to consider that he himself was only a thirteen-year-old boy.

Yago hurried excitedly all the way to the Back Mountain, then headed straight in one direction. Annie had no choice but to follow.

"Hey, hey, hey! Perfect!" Yago excitedly lifted a plump rabbit. Annie asked in surprise, "Where did you catch that?"

Yago smugly rubbed his nose. "That's a secret." He had set a trap based on vague memories in his head, and yesterday he had seen that it really had caught a rabbit. He was in for a treat.

Even the Training Corps couldn't guarantee meat with every meal. At least, in the few days since Yago had joined, he had hardly eaten any meat at all, apart from the occasional tiny piece or two in the potato soup.

Yago deftly cleaned the rabbit, built a fire, and began roasting it. Humming an unfamiliar tune as he worked, he took some seasonings from his pocket that he had shamelessly wheedled out of the mess hall cook and sprinkled them on from time to time.

Annie sat on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees, gazing blankly at Yago as he focused on roasting the meat. She felt a little dazed as memories surfaced. A young-looking boy had held out sweets he had bought with money from who knew where, eagerly offering them to a girl while slyly dropping hints that he wanted to learn her fighting techniques.

The girl taught him only a little each time, not because she was holding anything back, but because she hoped he would keep coming to play with her. She was lonely too. At some point, needle marks and bruises began appearing on the boy's arms, and his face grew pale. Yet in front of the girl, he always acted as though nothing was wrong. The girl didn't know what to say, until one day, the boy didn't come.

Day after day passed, and the boy still didn't come. The girl was lost. She went looking for him, but couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, one day, she heard news of him. "Norman? That kid they experimented on? He's been dead for ages..."

That day, the girl cried for a very, very long time.

"All done! I'm amazing! Haha." Yago laughed smugly, took out a small knife, and sliced off a rabbit leg. He handed it to Annie. "Try my cooking, Annie."

Annie took the rabbit leg and had a bite. It was surprisingly delicious.

Yago ate with delight written all over his face too. It tasted so good.

Annie lowered her head. She didn't know why Yago had appeared on this island or why he had forgotten her, but perhaps fate had smiled on her and given her another chance. This time, the girl couldn't lose the boy again.

The rabbit was large, and the two of them ate less than half, leaving most of it untouched. Yago divided the leftovers into two portions and had Annie take one back to her dormitory to share with her roommates.

Then the two of them leisurely made their way down the mountain.

When Yago returned to the dormitory, the aroma of roast meat drew plenty of attention. Swallowing his saliva, Armin asked him worriedly, "You didn't steal this from the storeroom, did you?"

"What are you talking about? I caught it fair and square on the Back Mountain! Do you want some or not?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Before long, everyone had polished off the half rabbit. There were quite a few of them, but everyone got a taste.

Eren praised him. "Yago, your cooking's even better than the cook's. You're incredible."

"Of course I am. Keep the compliments coming. Don't stop," Yago said.

Annie sat on her bed. Sasha had smelled the meat from far away and was now excitedly praising how delicious it was.

The night outside the window was beautiful and peaceful. Annie quietly thought that perhaps this world would be a tranquil place if there were no Titans, no so-called devils, and no war.