Night

'That should do it!' I thought, throwing the empty oil can to the side. With a lighted lamp, I started a fire that soon engulfed the entire shack, keeping my promise to the very end.

I didn't originally plan to burn this place down, but I did have an epiphany out of the blue! It kinda seemed like the better choice in the long run.

'Good thing I knew where Valir kept the oil.' I smiled weakly, reminiscent of the times when I didn't have to let out my edgy self…

Basking in the warmth of the fire, fueled by the corpses of my foes, I wondered if I would have made a good poet, for my monologues have become far too random.

Now, as for the blood on my clothes, I used a Blood Pill to suck it all up, throwing it in a random location afterwards. With that, I slowly walked away from the blazing fire, back to the Ackerman household.

I had already moved the three of them to the edge of the farm, setting them against the fences, for I don't think the first thing they'd want to see when they woke up was the corpse of a family member…

Arriving at my destination, I sat down beside Mikasa, who seemed asleep as she leaned on the fence. Then, I removed the black cloak around my face, taking a deep breath of the cold air of the night.

"You awake?" I said as I looked at the beautiful night sky, earning a soft hum in reply. Turning to my side, I could see Mikasa with a downcast expression, staring blankly at the ground.

"They're fine. But, Uncle..." I stopped with a sorrowful gaze, at which she slowly nodded. Soon enough, she bent her knees, wrapping her arms around them, curling up as if to cry unnoticed.

Yet, she didn't shed a single tear nor did she sniffle even once… Seems like she's completely closed off her emotions…

Silently, I patted her back, to which she flinched a little, but didn't object. As a soft thumping sound echoed through the night, I spared her the verbal comfort, for neither of us was in the mood to talk right now…

'I've come quite far…' I thought, closing my eyes for a bit. It's been seven years since I arrived and I did tweak quite a bit of things, in turn, changing the fate of others, for the better or the worse…

But still, I didn't know what I should do from now onwards. In another two years, Wall Maria is going to break and the canon would begin.

'Should I go to the survey corps, or should I do infiltrate the government…' I drifted away in my thoughts thinking of which path would be the most ideal.

Time passed swiftly as I suddenly realized I was going to be late. Checking if Mikasa had fallen asleep, I hastily stood up, only to feel a tug at my waist.

Looking back, I sighed as she gave me her desperate puppy dog eyes. Only this time, I stayed by my own will. I couldn't just leave after she flashed such a look, right?

"I'm not going anywhere." I said sitting back down, a bit closer this time. Looks like this was going to be a long night…

Also, even after sitting down, she didn't let me go. So, I did the only thing my extensive experience with Anime suggested. I hugged her.

It wasn't the first time I did this, but this situation was definitely a first. I mean, her dad just died, immediately after which she got kidnapped…

Am I taking advantage of her? Maybe. But I was quite literally her 'Knight in Shining Armor' so I had that liberty. Also, she did hug me back, so if that's not consent, I don't know what is.

Disclaimer: Any pedos with weird thoughts will be neutered with extreme prejudice.

After a while of continued patting and hugging, I decided that it was time to leave. She had almost fallen asleep, so it should be fine.

"Mikasa, I need you to do me a favor." I said softly, earning a weak nod from her.

"Don't tell anyone that it was me who saved you. Can you promise me that?" With another nod, I continued my comforting session until she fell asleep.

Once again, I stood up, steeling myself to walk away, before I planted any more flags. Yet, the black shawl in my hands seemed to say other wise. Switching gazes with Mikasa and the shawl, I tried to address the deep conflict that was taking place in my mind.

'If I give her this shawl, then I'll be setting up the biggest red/black flag that this world has to offer. If I don't, I can't be sure that she will have the necessary copium to keep moving forward.' I thought, until another side effect popped up in my mind.

'Or maybe Eren might do it, taking on a flag he can never run from…' Which would undoubtedly ruin the entire f*cking reason I changed the damn plot in the first place! No thank you!

"Ahh!! F*ck it!!!" I whispered, mindful of those that were still asleep, as I carefully wrapped the shawl around her neck. She seemed quite comfortable while I continued cursing under my breath.

I knew that this was undoubtedly the greatest death flag that could be planted in the entire series, yet I did it. Better me than my stupid brother, right…?

'Well, I do have some 'System Plot Armor' though... Isn't that right, Isa?' I thought, only to be betrayed by the cruel being known to all as 'Reality'…

[Host's current Mortality Rate is 96.92%.]

Ignoring those cursed statistics I trotted towards my secondary goal, a certain corpse with a certain pill in it. Just then, I looked back as my instincts tickled, before realizing that I'd be leaving an almost defenseless family out in the open, near a source of fresh blood…

Quickly taking the [Blood Pill] that I left in Valir's body, I barricaded the area where they were sleeping in, with any furniture or wood that I found and lit a few torches, just in case. With that, I made my way to my last stop.

Ethel's motherf*cking house!

'Oh, I'm going to try all sorts of new techniques on this bitch!' I smirked with a maniacal grin.

***

A/N: So, I read 139 and felt tired and depressed immediately afterwards. You know, the void that forms in your chest when you finish an emotional series... So, yeah it's a 1K chap...

P.S. Didn't feel such deep pain since Your Lie in April...