Six

Commander Erwin Smith frowned thoughtfully down at the documents that had been delivered to his office earlier that day. The request had taken several days to process and receive, but that had been to no surprise. Nor was it a surprise that the background Annie Leonhart had listed was obviously false by all accounts, with the original documentation no doubt forged sometime between the fall of Wall Maria and her enlistment into the military two years later. He had left the file open on his desk for quite some time, analyzing key details that might prove helpful in connecting the dots between the Titan Shifters that had infiltrated the Walls, before he had finally flipped open an attached file and found himself quite surprised that he had received a secondary file on one Reiner Braun.

Quickly pulling the identical file that had been delivered several days before from his desk, Erwin released a faint, "hm" from the back of his throat. Was it merely a coincidence? It seemed unlikely, given the circumstances, but could it have honestly been that simple had the situation been different? He had suspected that the Armored and Colossal Titan were part of the 104th Training Squad ever since the discovery of the Female Titan's true identity, after all, but there was no way to confirm the possibility due to Cadet Braun's untimely death on the field.

It had been an unfortunate turn of events, but a welcome one once he considered the endless turning points with the discovery of a potential Titan Shifter with the extraordinary ability to eliminate other Titans with a single touch. Higurashi Kagome was worth more than a single soldier. She was worth more than a hundred soldiers. Just her mere existence had lit a fire within those who had seen her single handedly turn four Titans to ash with little more than what could only be perceived as a bright flash of light. That burning flicker of hope would burn like wildfire once they turned the tides of war, retaking Wall Maria with her and Eren Jaeger paving the way for humanity's victory.

One soldier was a sacrifice Erwin was willing to make, but that did not mean he had not taken the necessary steps to find any remaining family members who deserved to know of Cadet Braun's death. They deserved to have his Wings of Freedom returned to them so they could properly mourn the loss, and Erwin had been prepared to personally deliver the message that his death had not been in vain. He had done all he could for the sake of humanity during his service to the Survey Corps, and in the very end his demise may have resulted in humanity's greatest miracle.

But there was no one. Every family member listed on Reiner Braun's file was labeled as deceased, and he had tucked the file away with a faint sigh. It was not uncommon, after all. Many families had been unable to escape during the confusion and panic that had occurred after the initial breach in the Wall that had protected them for the last one hundred years. Children alike had lost their parents in the haste to find protection within Wall Rose, and nobody would have looked twice at the file otherwise knowing that there was little they could do for a deceased soldier that had no family left.

The Commander shifted his gaze between the two enlistment files, before briefly flicking through the four other files attached to Annie Leonhart's. He immediately dismissed one, since the soldier had been labeled as deceased long before the fall of Wall Maria due to an expedition alongside the Survey Corps. Erwin flipped through the other three for another moment, and it quickly came to his attention that they had all listed the same village as their hometown. The village itself was real, no doubt having been overtaken by Titans five years ago, but it would have been easy enough to extract information from displaced civilians on where they had come from without raising too much suspicion.

Only one other cadet in the pile seemed to have enlisted in the 104th Training Corps, however, as the other two had joined the Military Brigade over a decade ago. Bertolt Hoover. Erwin easily pulled his file from the pile, briefly noting that like Reiner Braun, Cadet Hoover had listed all of his family as deceased. Taking a brief glance at Annie Leonhart's, he was not surprised in the slightest to find that the Female Titan had also listed her family as deceased.

His mouth set in a grim line, the blonde Commander shifted his gaze between the three enlistment files now spread out on his desk. It was almost too easy. It certainly was not condemning evidence in the slightest, either. Besides that, it was foolish. The Armored and Colossal Titan could have listed any village possible, so why would they have wrote down the exact same village as the Female Titan to begin with? Perhaps because they had been children at the time? But even then, why? Annie Leonhart had not enlisted until two years after the fall of Wall Maria, so they would have had ample time to devise separate backstories that did not seem so blazingly obvious.

But, perhaps that was the plan all along? Make it so obvious that nobody would consider it? That it seemed unbelievable? Three orphan children from the same village joining the military at the exact same time was not exactly far fetched, after all. It had certainly happened before, so why would it be suspicious to anyone going through the files under other circumstances? Hiding in plain sight might have even benefited them in a way, as well, considering nobody in their right mind would have suggested that a human being could transform into a Titan at will over a year ago. So, who in their right mind would think that three orphaned children from the same village could possibly do such?

Erwin sighed lightly, leaning back in his chair and allowing himself a moment to stare out the window in his office. There was another factor to consider, as well. Kagome had eaten Reiner Braun. Despite her obvious amnesia and reluctance to attempt transforming into her Titan form once more, the Commander was certain of that one fact based on several verbal reports he had been given surrounding her sudden appearance. There was no possible way to confirm or deny whether the soldier had been a Titan Shifter, and it would be foolish to believe that such a threat to humanity had been destroyed simply due to one tiny connection to Annie Leonhart. It could be anyone, after all, despite his suspicion about the 104th Training Corps being a key factor in uncovering the true identity of the Armored and Colossal Titan.

There was no telling how many of them there actually were, either, considering Kagome's sudden appearance. That thought alone left a bitter taste in his mouth, for he knew there were likely more waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Though, as he flickered his eyes back down to Bertolt Hoover's file, he supposed that next time they would have a surprise of their own up their sleeve. If his previous belief that the Armored and Colossal Titans were hiding amongst the 104th Training Corps was correct, they would not have the opportunity to inform their comrades about the discovery of one Higurashi Kagome before it was too late. Whether she was one of theirs or a Titan Shifter gone rogue, her lack of memory and somewhat odd attachment to Levi would work in humanity's favor.

He would make sure of that.

No one would stand in his way of craving a path for humanity's future. He knew quite a few that would try, enemy or not, and would have to consider how much information he would be willing to give with this potential discovery of who the two disguised Titan Shifters might be at the meeting he had been summoned to later on that day.

"Commander Erwin!" The door hitting the wall broke him from his musing, as the soldier burst into the room with a terrified expression drifting across their face. "Sir, bad news! Titans have been spotted to the south! Wall Rose has fallen!"

Note: Sorry, guys, life gets in the way sometimes now that I'm an adult doing adult things. -KibaSin