I was afraid. Afraid that I'd be discharged from the Cadet Corps just like that… If that happened, all my hopes, all the effort I'd poured in so far — would vanish.
All I ever wanted was to become strong enough to return to Shiganshina, to go back and carve a proper gravestone for Carla… And in front of it, to finally, formally, call her one word I never got to say…
"Mother…"
That word slipped from my lips unconsciously as I lay in fevered sleep. Annie looked down at me, watching my pain-stricken face twist as if I were some wounded mantis, struggling to survive. Her eyes, usually so cold and indifferent, watched me like I was something distant and pitiful.
But the moment she heard me whisper "mother," a flicker of emotion flashed in her gaze.
Lowering her eyes, she gently lifted me up again.
"…Sorry," she murmured under her breath — not to herself, but to me. Because she was going to take me to the infirmary now.
With my weak body cradled in her arms, Annie stepped out from the alleyway.
She barely made it a few steps before she froze.
The oppressive, beastlike presence ahead of her — was none other than Mikasa, flanked by Eren and Armin.
Mikasa had been searching frantically for me. When Reiner mentioned Annie often vanished toward the northwest sector, and that the girls' restroom was also in that area, Mikasa immediately suspected Annie might be confronting me.
But what she found was far more unexpected — Annie carrying my unconscious body.
"Sandra?!" Armin gasped, rushing forward to inspect me.
Eren, alarmed, came running as well, eyes jumping between me and Annie.
Annie met Mikasa's glare head-on, lifting a brow at the open hostility radiating off her. Then, without a word, she passed me into Eren's arms, gave me one last glance, and vanished with her gear, disappearing into the sky.
"Whoa! She's burning up!" Armin exclaimed as he pressed a hand to my forehead.
"Her whole body is hot," Eren confirmed, gripping me anxiously.
Without a word, Mikasa stepped forward, took me from Eren's grasp, and held me close as she dashed toward the infirmary.
"Mikasa…?" Eren called out, startled by her abruptness.
Armin patted Eren's shoulder, nodded, and the two hurried after her.
At the infirmary, the doctor wasted no time examining me.
That night, my fever showed no signs of breaking. The doctor couldn't determine the cause, and so I was kept under supervision overnight.
Outside, Mikasa, Eren, and Armin waited through the night without sleep.
"I… I can't lose another family member…" Mikasa's voice trembled as she sat outside the room. Eren beside her looked just as pale.
Armin, curled up on the floor, was wracked with anxiety. The fear that I might disappear was eating him alive.
The doctor, overwhelmed and frustrated, did everything he could to lower my temperature — fearing brain damage if it kept climbing. Even Eren and Armin barged into the room at one point to help, hauling buckets of cold water and soaking towels to help bring the fever down.
All three of them stayed by my side, taking turns wiping the sweat from my brow, trying over and over to wake me up. But I remained unmoving, like a sleeping beauty trapped under some unbreakable spell.
By morning, the fever finally broke. The doctor, exhausted, retreated to get some rest, having stabilized my condition — though I still hadn't woken up.
Mikasa sat at my bedside, eyes dark with worry. "Come on… wake up already…"
That afternoon, even Instructor Keith paid a visit.
"Mikasa. Has Sandra woken yet?" Eren and Armin returned to check in, catching sight of Mikasa's increasingly haunted expression.
She didn't reply. Just kept her eyes on me. Ever since yesterday, she'd been full of regret — regret that she hadn't noticed something was wrong sooner. She slept right next to me every night, and still failed to realize how bad things had gotten.
To everyone outside, it looked like I was trapped in a life-or-death coma.
But for me, it just felt like… a long, heavy sleep.
"Huh?" My eyes blinked open slowly.
What entered my vision wasn't my usual barracks ceiling — it was the infirmary roof. And right in front of me were Eren, Armin, and Mikasa, all staring like they'd seen a ghost.
"Haaah… what are you guys doing here?" I yawned with a big stretch. The longer I slept, the more tired I felt.
"…Why aren't any of you talking?"
It was clear. My childhood friends were about to give me one hell of a lecture.
Despite all that, I didn't resign from the Corps due to this illness. Though that didn't stop my friends from nagging me to death about it for days afterward.
—————————————————————
Ever since that fever, I noticed… something had changed.
My body moved more naturally. During combat training, I could predict my opponent's next move — even when they hadn't telegraphed it yet.
During Vertical Maneuvering Equipment drills, we trained using wooden Titan dummies. The goal was to strike the back of the neck — the only weak point of a Titan.
But I could do more than just hit the target.
Once, during a mock ambush drill, I sensed a second dummy Titan hidden just out of sight — a trap laid by the instructors to test our situational awareness. I took down the first dummy in two seconds flat, leapt from its shoulders, and landed silently behind the second one, striking its weak point in three more seconds.
It was 850 now. Two years since we joined the Cadet Corps. Rain or shine, we trained every single day.
By now, we were all adept with our maneuver gear. The next phase focused on stamina, teamwork, and strategic thinking — traits essential for a soldier.
Mikasa had been overly concerned about my health ever since that day, but my rapid progress eventually calmed her down… a little.
I didn't tell anyone about what had changed. Not even them.
Strangely, instead of feeling weaker after being sick, I felt stronger. My speed, strength, and stamina were all enhanced. And I began experiencing this odd… predictive sense — as if I could read an opponent's next two moves.
Now it was afternoon combat training.
The instructors were evaluating our performance and giving scores — these would determine our ranking. Those who placed in the top ten would be eligible to join the Military Police and live in the safety of Wall Sheena.
"Huff… huff…" I was acting as the 'criminal' today — my objective was to dodge the trainee's attacks and land a decisive counter.
And right in front of me, standing ready with fists raised, was none other than the girl often hailed as the goddess of the Corps — Krista Lenz.
She'd marched straight up to me earlier and requested that I be her sparring partner today.
"Well then! Come at me with everything you've got!" Krista said with a determined smile, taking her stance.
I held a wooden training dagger in my hand, bracing myself for the match.
Looking at Krista… she was even shorter than I was.
I sighed.
Hopefully… I wouldn't end up hurting her.
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