"Hey, Eren, why did I get beaten so badly? Why are you standing there? Sit down, Eren." Yago stared balefully at Eren, making his scalp prickle. "Why? How could you leave me to die? That was too much!" Faint bruises still marked Yago's face as he shook Eren's arm.
Eren said, "Well, I'm really sorry..."
Yago said, "What good is an apology? I think you should practice with Annie next time, Eren. She hits hard, but her fighting skills really are good."
"Well..." Eren was actually tempted, but Mikasa suddenly leaned over. "Yago, what do you mean by that? Do you think I'm not as good as Annie?" Her mild tone made Yago stiffen. "Of course not! With Mikasa helping him, Eren won't have any trouble with hand-to-hand combat!"
How had he forgotten Mikasa was there? Yago knew Eren was her bottom line. Honestly, he had no idea whether Eren really was that dense. Mikasa's favoritism was so obvious, yet the boy never showed the slightest response. Hadn't he noticed Jean beside them, his eyes red with jealousy?
Yago was almost starting to think Eren wasn't worth Mikasa's devotion. Mikasa said, "Eren, tell me. Do you want Annie to teach you, or me?" No matter how dense Eren was, he knew what to say now. "O-of course I want Mikasa. Annie's too violent."
"Hmph." At the quiet snort, Eren turned to see Annie walking silently past with her dinner.
"Uh, I have a feeling I'm in trouble."
The days that followed were filled with Hand-to-Hand Combat Training. Under Annie's brutal tutelage, Yago's fighting skills improved by leaps and bounds. He learned so quickly that he felt as though he had studied it all before, never hitting a single bottleneck.
"Hey, Yago, why do you think we have to learn hand-to-hand combat? It's no use against Titans." Eren climbed off the ground, looking discouraged. With Mikasa's guidance and the fighting techniques Yago had learned from Annie, Eren had grown considerably stronger, but he was also confused.
Yago said, "Who knows? Maybe people can turn into Titans. A Titan that knows how to fight would definitely be stronger than an ordinary one, right?"
Annie, who was nearby, looked slightly uncomfortable when she heard that.
"I was joking. Why isn't anyone laughing?" Yago asked sheepishly.
Eren said, "It's ironic. Everyone trains so desperately, but it's all to get into the interior. We work ourselves to death learning how to fight Titans, only so we can get away from them."
Yago said, "Whoa, since when could you say something so profound, Eren?"
Another month passed. Their morning theory lessons shifted from history to the laws of the Royal Government, and then to their current subject: Titan behavior.
"Thanks to the contributions of countless soldiers in the Survey Corps, we now have a thorough understanding of most Titan behavior. We divide Titans into ordinary Titans and abnormal Titans." The instructor, who wore glasses, solemnly explained the subject to the cadets seated before him.
"Ordinary Titans range from three to eighteen meters tall. Most move relatively slowly, but never underestimate a Titan because of its size! Even an elite soldier can end up in a three-meter Titan's jaws after a single careless mistake!" the instructor warned the recruits. Over the past century, countless Survey Corps soldiers had paid with their lives to bring back precious information.
"Abnormal Titans are exceptions among Titans. They generally look different from the others, with somewhat malformed bodies. Most stand between ten and fifteen meters tall. They are far faster than ordinary Titans and extremely powerful in combat. Their leaping ability and running speed allow them to outpace ordinary horses. Encountering an abnormal Titan is extremely dangerous. At present, almost no elite soldier can face one alone. There are exceptions, of course!" A look of admiration suddenly entered the instructor's eyes.
"Captain Levi, humanity's strongest soldier, can kill an abnormal Titan in a head-on, one-on-one fight without taking a scratch. He is incredibly powerful!" The instructor seemed to have once served in the Survey Corps himself. Whenever he mentioned Captain Levi, his face lit up with fervor.
Humanity's strongest soldier? That short guy who's only a hundred and sixty centimeters tall? Is he really that good? Yago remembered Levi, whom he had once seen in the Survey Corps. At the time, he had only thought Levi always wore a sour expression. Apparently, appearances really could be deceiving.
"Furthermore, Titans have no interest in any species other than humans, and they have no excretory organs. We still don't understand how they obtain the energy they need to survive. Night is their dormant period. Ordinary Titans fall into a deep sleep at night unless subjected to a powerful stimulus..."
Yago rubbed his chin, pondering. Titans don't eat anything except humans, and they don't move at night. Could they get their energy from sunlight during the day? What was it called in those hazy memories-photosynthesis? I think that was it.
"Titans have only one known weakness, and it is right here!" The instructor pointed to the Titan diagram on the blackboard. "The nape of the neck. This is a Titan's only weak point. Attacking anywhere else is useless. Even if you cut off its limbs, they will quickly grow back. Only by cutting out this piece of flesh at the nape can you truly kill a Titan. Based on this, we humans developed a weapon specifically for fighting Titans: the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. You will be introduced to it soon."
"Any other questions?" The instructor surveyed the recruits below. For once, Yago had been paying close attention, and he immediately raised his hand. "Sir, I'd like to ask, can Titans be intelligent?"
The instructor adjusted his glasses. "An excellent question. We all agree that Titans lack intelligence. Even abnormal Titans are merely somewhat stronger than ordinary ones. At present, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Titans possess intelligence."
Yago asked another question. "Then what about the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan that appeared in Shiganshina District? Do they count as abnormal Titans too?"
The instructor said, "Well, I'm not entirely sure. Historical records have never mentioned Titans of such enormous size. But I believe that, through the efforts of the Survey Corps, humanity will one day uncover every secret and drive out all the Titans!"
Yago said nothing more. In truth, he still had another question on his mind. The Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan might well have been humans who had transformed, and they might possess intelligence, just like him. In the end, though, he left it unspoken. Probably no one would believe something like that. Yet Yago was already almost certain that other people besides him could turn into Titans. He simply didn't know whether they were friends or foes.
As for the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan, Yago was almost certain they were enemies. He lowered his head and looked at his palm. There were still so many people he needed to protect. This Titan power would be his last trump card in keeping his family safe.
Before you continue