I furrowed my brows as two soldiers were almost glaring down at me because of the request that had just slipped out of my lips. It was shortly after Eren's trial and these two soldiers were standing guard at a room in which Eren was. I told them, that I was one of his friends and that I wanted to see him urgently. So far, they had just exchanged glares before turning to glare at me instead. They were quite tall, mind you. They wore Survey Corps uniforms, obviously, since Eren would be joining them now, apparently.

"I'm sorry, but no one is allowed inside this room, especially not a civilian, young lady," one of the soldiers said, making the other soldier laugh ever so slightly at the way of addressing me.

"Excuse me, I'm no civilian," I muttered, feeling quite pathetic as I remembered my wounded body and civilian clothes. Maybe I had just graduated as a cadet, somehow, but right now I didn't look anything like one.

"We'll have to ask you to leave, the commander and lance corporal don't want to be disturbed while talking to Eren Jaeger, so… Just walk along, kid," the other soldier said as he decided to open his mouth. I swear, I could feel a vein becoming visible on my forehead as I got quite upset. I really did try to control myself, and my anger - but I could become quite aggressive at some times, especially when it was about my friends, my close friends, like Eren. He had saved my life when we were kids, so of course he meant a lot to me.

"Let me in, you useless pieces of titan defecation!" I exclaimed, my eyes full of fury at that time.

"Ah, but Rin, titans don't digest," said the familiar voice behind me as Hanji walked up to me, carrying something that looked like a first aid kit. The woman then turned to the soldiers guarding the room, "The girl is with me, let her in already."

"Y-Yes, Squad leader," said one of the soldiers quickly as they stepped aside.

"Finally," I muttered, the vein on my forehead slowly disappearing again as I opened the door. I was met with a small room, in which there was a couch, a table and a few chairs. On the couch was Eren, seated with his face looking towards the floor and his hands planted in his lap. He seemed quite nervous, which I understood completely… I was still a bit surprised to see that Eren's wounds from Levi's harsh beating had almost healed on his face.

"Eren," I quickly said, eventually getting the attention of all the three people in the room - Eren, Lance Corporal Levi and Commander Erwin Smith. Levi and Erwin were having a conversation, about what I didn't know, but I just walked in anyway, Hanji getting in just after me.

"R-Rin," Eren stuttered slightly as he looked up and our eyes met. He looked relieved to see a familiar face, someone he actually knew, since he had probably been surrounded by strangers for the last day - I could guess it from his clothes, they had been holding him captive, that much was clear.

"How are you feeling, Eren?" I said as I hurried to him, kneeling in front of him so that I could get a clear look at his face. His lips turned into a faint smile at my worried behavior, I knew that I was almost being a overprotective as Mikasa, but I hadn't really spoken to Eren for days, and what had happened had turned everything upside down at this point.

"Rin, do you hate me now?" he asked, the faint smile still on his lips, though he wasn't able to keep the eye contact as he looked away from me if just slightly. I could feel a small tug at my heart at his question. It surprised me, even.

"What do you mean, Eren?" I asked carefully, though I was indeed pretty sure what he meant. I could feel three pair of eyes on us, but none of the people around us wanted to interrupt, which was quite surprising giving the fact that I was actually the one having interrupted the whole meeting, but I was still thankful that I wasn't getting scolded for not saluting the Commander or Lance Corporal as I entered the room.

They probably knew exactly how important my friends were to me.

"I'm… A monster, ain't I?" Eren muttered slightly as his smile faded completely, his eyes suddenly seeming quite distant, "I mean-… I'm a titan, Rin… I'm one of those creatures that eat people, you know?" His voice was shaking just slightly at this point. I thought it was quite strange that he suddenly felt apologetic towards me - he didn't seem to feel like this during his trial, so why now?

"Eren, what are you-…"

"I'm a titan, Rin, just like those which killed your parents, just like those which ate your grandparents," Eren spoke, his eyes still getting more and more distanced as the words left his lips. My icy blue eyes had grown just slightly wide by now.

"What… No, Eren, stop it," I spoke, but it was no use.

"You have every right to hate me, the titans killed so many people you cared about, right? So why should I be any better?" Eren asked and I noticed how his fists were clenching slightly around the fabric of his pants. I bit my bottom lip quickly before I took a deep breath and grabbed his knees as I succeeded in making him look back at me again.

"Eren, you're no monster, so just stop it… Yes, I hate titans with the fire of a thousand suns, but so do you!" I almost exclaimed, making Eren gasp just slightly, though I continued, "You kill titans, Eren, you don't eat people, so how does that make you evil? You think you're a titan, but the person sitting right in front of me is no titan! This person who I'm speaking to is human, understood? Your hate for the titans, your will to serve humanity, those things are just two examples of the many that make you human, understood?"

Eren's eyes were looked directly back at mine at this point. His greenish eyes had grown wide in something that seemed like surprise. Had he honestly thought that I would abandon my friend when he needed me the most?

"T-Thank you, Rin," he said, closing his eyes and letting a small sigh leave his lips.

"Now, excuse me, Rin-chan," Hanji hummed with her usual cheery voice as she sat down next to me with the first aid kit, "I'll be taking a small look at your wounds now, Eren, and take a few test samples now I'm at it."

I quickly exchanged glares with Hanji before I smiled slightly at her and stood up again. I wasn't really worried about Eren being in Hanji's hands, even if she liked to experiment with titans, I knew that she wasn't the kind of person to hurt Eren.

"It's good to see you again, Rin," said a deep voice behind me and I immediately turned around to meet the handsome, familiar face of Erwin Smith. He flashed a smile at me and as I got back to my senses I did a fine salute, despite my condition and the faint pain I felt in my arms from my wounds.

"Ah, yes, I heard just today that you joined the military, and even made it to the top ten," Erwin said with his comforting voice, you know, one of those voices that could cure cancer and bring world peace. "Your parents would surely have been very proud of you, Rin." Erwin always knew how to make me feel comfortable, or even happy. He just somehow had the ability to do so, even though I hadn't spoken properly to him for years. Since he became the Commander of the Survey Corps I hadn't seen him much. It felt like it had been too long, and if only I was a child again, so that I could carelessly hug him, like I had no worries in the world. His friendship was the closest I had to something that just reminded me of family, so knowing that I wasn't really allowed to treat him as a friend or family anymore kind of actually hurt me on the inside.

As a child, back when my parents were still alive, I would carelessly just hug him, like he was some kind of older brother to me, and he would always return my hug with his charismatic laugh.

But that was the past.

He was now my Commander, no longer a close friend of my long gone family.

"T-Thank you, sir," I spoke, feeling a bit flustered by his praise. If there was something in this world that I surely wasn't used to, then it was praise. I always had the idea that I was never good enough, that everyone else were better than me, but being ranked within the top ten of the 104th training squad sure helped a bit on my low self esteem.

"You'll be choosing your military division this evening, right?" Erwin spoke and I nodded. I hoped he wouldn't ask which division I would join, I thought it was quite obvious, since my parents used to have high ranks within the Survey Corps. I wanted to walk in my parents' footsteps.

"Tch," Levi, who had been listening to our conversation, clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. He stood with his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He then made his way to the couch where he plopped down next to Eren, startling the boy if just slightly. I understood him completely, Levi had just been beating the crap out of him not too long ago.

"Eren, do you resent me?" Levi then spoke.

Oh, if only he asked me about that, then I would gladly plant a foot in his face, just like he did to Eren, though I was pretty sure I would just end up like Eren - if not worse - if I just tried.

"N-No, sir, I understand that it was a necessity in order to save me," Eren said as his voice was stuttering just slightly.

"That's good then," Levi muttered, leaning back in the couch ever so comfortably.

I swear, I could feel the anger burn inside of me because of his arrogance. Maybe this was just his way of apologizing for beating Eren's cuffed ass during his trial, but it still made me so fucking upset. He had always been like this, though. Even if he had his moments of caring, he didn't show it to anyone. I had experienced his caring only once - that was at my parents' funeral. The time when he would put a bouquet of sunflowers at my parents' grave and cover me, the crying daughter who was soaked from the rain, in his Survey Corps cloak, and then take me home to my grandparents.

… Sunflowers was quite something odd to leave at someone's grave, if it wasn't because it was my mom's favorite flower.

How did he know, though?

"Oi," Levi then spoke up. I felt his eyes on me, "What happened to you? You look like a complete mess." His monotone voice made it sound like he didn't give an honest fuck about my condition. That was pretty much like him, wasn't it? Not to care much about other people, I mean… At least that was my guess.

However, he still cared enough to actually ask, I'd give him that. He wasn't a complete asshole through and through.

At least not all the time…

"… My 3DMG malfunctioned during the examination, causing me to fall," I stated honestly, without really seeming to be affected by his rather rude comment about me looking like a complete mess, probably because it was the truth. The fact that I hadn't showered for two days probably added to it, especially because it was Levi talking.

"Oh? 3DMG doesn't just malfunction in mid-air," Levi said, raising an eyebrow at my answer.

"Well it still did, I guess there are exceptions," I muttered.

"Rin, if I were you I would ask someone to examine your broken 3DMG… Levi is right, it doesn't just malfunction mid-air," Hanji said while she tended to Eren's wounds, though they were already pretty much gone because of his incredible ability to heal quite fast - it was just like how a titan could regenerate itself.

"I'll think about it, but it's no big deal, really… I'm alright now, I'm getting a new set of 3DMG anyway," I sighed, "I'll take my leave, I should probably get someone to change my bandages as well and get dressed in my uniform… I'll see you later Eren, Commander, Squad Leader… Lance Corporal…" I turned around on my heel and headed for the door, touching one of the bandaged wounds on my arms, flinching just slightly at the numb pain.

It felt weird, somehow.

Yes, it hurt to touch my wounds, but it was also slightly… Numb.

It's difficult to explain, though.

I just walked all the way back to the room I had awoken in, where my stuff and uniform were kept. The walk itself took about ten minutes and it honestly tired me. I eyed the room, seeing that no one was there. My clothes had been put on the bed. My old uniform had been slightly torn by my fall, so I had received a new one, though it was quite a waste considering that I would get a completely different jacket once I joined the Survey Corps - a jacket with the Wings of Freedom on it.

My eyes moved from the bed to the vase on the table next to it. The vase with the sunflower in it. It was still standing proudly in the sunlight coming in from the window. I couldn't help but think that a sunflower was an odd flower to have at such a place?

"My eyes see only you."

That was the meaning behind the flower. It was my favorite flower, just like it used to be my mom's favorite as well. In my opinion, the sunflower was the most beautiful flower. If you happened to walk by sunflowers growing in the wild, you would see how their heads would always turn towards the sun, which I thought was something truly beautiful. My whole life, my heart had wished that someone would look at me the way a sunflower looked at the sun, though my brain wished for me to never let anyone steal my heart. The people I cared about would always get taken away from me as long as I lived in such a cruel world.

My parents.

My grandparents.

God knows how many of my comrades.

The fact that I didn't know how many of my comrades had died while I was unconscious actually left a painful tug at my heart.

A small sigh left my lips as I forced myself to look away from the sunflower and ended up looking at myself through a small mirror which hung on the wall. I felt like taking a shower, considering that I hadn't been able to do so for the last two days, and I honestly felt just slightly disgusting. I wasn't really sure, but something told me that I smelled like blood and wounds too - how attractive.

I grabbed my new clothes and went to take a shower just after asking a nurse if it was alright, of course.

"Do you need any help showering, miss?" the nurse asked with a smile. I just shook my head.

"No, I'm feeling much better now, thank you," I replied before closing the door to the bathroom I had been escorted to. I didn't like people watching me as I showered, that's where I drew the line.

"Oh well," I sighed heavily as I put my new, clean clothes on a shelf and then walked in front of a mirror to take off my clothes first. My chest was completely covered in bandages underneath my clothes as well, though something seemed rather odd as I took another look at myself…

"What the-…" I muttered as I furrowed my brows, stepping a bit closer to the mirror as I started to take off all of my bandages.

I stood there, in silence, as my bloody bandages fell to the floor, little by little. It took a rather long time to get everything off my body. I didn't like the sight of blood, whether it was my own or someone else's, so the look of the dried blood on the bandages, as they were sprawled out on the floor, made me shiver just slightly. It seemed that I had lost a rather large amount of blood.

"I guess that was the last one," I sighed heavily as I removed the last bandage from around my head. I turned my face to look at my reflection in the mirror, cringing ever so slightly at what I saw. My body looked nothing like the one of a soldier. Maybe I was slightly toned by now, but I still looked like a fourteen year old, despite the fact that I was nineteen, turning twenty. The wounds on my body, however, only consisted of dried blood, which I could just brush off, leaving untouched, unharmed skin.

"… I thought… I had only been here for two days," I muttered quietly for myself, feeling more confused, but I then immediately gasped as someone knocked on the door.

"Miss, are you alright in there?"

It was the nurse asking. I had taken a rather long time and still hadn't turned on the shower yet.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I'll hurry up!" I replied as I quickly hurried to get my shower done, washing my hair, face, skin - and getting rid of the smell of blood and wounds.