A Glimpse Into the Past (3)

Mina's POV

Emotions are a fickle thing. Some may consider it a disorder and label such humans to be weird and inconsistent, but in a world filled with nothing but threats, malice, and jealousy, only a few would even understand why such a thing happens.

Like how some would decide to stay and fight, only to leave after a few seconds without any hesitation.

This is exactly the reason why I allowed my inappropriate tendencies to consume me earlier, not caring about the consequences, such as hurting the future queen of Paradis. It was a bold and risky move, one that doesn't have a high percentage of attaining success.

But it did. Because somehow, Ymir decided to stay and see where my plan was going.

Commander Erwin had already ordered a retreat, seeing as to how Eren had been successfully retrieved, so there was a part of me that thought of possible scenarios of what could possibly happen if Bertolt truly did die due to my act of persuading Ymir to stay.

And how the future will change, seeing as how the Jaw Titan did not leave the land of Paradis. 

I asked Ymir - the ancient being - for some memories during our time in Marley, considering how this change would severely impact the future. But instead of giving me the whole picture, she said I'd be mentally affected if I asked for more. After all, giving my sanity back by erasing my memories of the rumbling was the primary reason why Ymir and I did it in the first place.

And so I kept my mouth shut as we rode in silence. There was only so much that I could do to prevent the end that Eren would have to face, and the ancient one did say for me to be bold regarding these things. I can only hope that the branch I created won't critically impact the upcoming flow of events, and I pray that something even worse will not occur because of it.

In the end, the Armored Titan didn't pursue us further. However, based on the information I got from the second world, Armin once shared his thoughts about it. He said that at that moment, right after Ymir left to help the two traitors, He couldn't understand the motivation behind her actions. But by doing so - by helping them - the Scout Regiment was able to escape from their grasp, successfully reclaiming Eren.

But what about this world? Just what prevented them from following us, knowing full well how advantageous it is on their part to simply reclaim Eren by killing us all? With that thought and worry in mind, I asked a couple of soldiers what they had seen right after the Titans attacked both the armored and colossal Titan. Their reply was all the same, "The human traitor that was standing on the Armored Titan's shoulder had his leg bitten by a normal titan but was saved when Reiner began to run in the opposite direction, to where there were fewer titans passing by."

And I gotta admit, their resiliency to commit to their mission is out of this world.

"Who else knows?" Ymir, the titan shifter, suddenly asks, prompting me to whip my head and stare at her eyes. "Other than me, who else have you shown this side of yours?"

I wasn't going to answer her, nor should I even consider forming a reply, but seeing as how sincere she looked and how I basically dragged her away from her predetermined destiny - which may bear a few consequences later on - I opened my mouth and answered. "There are two others. I wasn't planning on telling the Commander, but he noticed it. And the other is currently locked inside a dungeon. Similar to you, I reached out to her. I'll let you two meet later."

Ymir then raised her eyebrows, showing a skeptical face. "Dungeon? You recruited a criminal?"

"Got any problems with that?"

Smirking, Ymir simply rode ahead with no intention to give a reply. I couldn't help but frown, knowing full well that I have to work with her in the near future.

"Better get used to that kind of treatment, young Yeager." Ymir - the ancient one - suddenly whispered, instantly making me frown.

Just why did they need to have an identical name?!

Sensing my distress, Ymir Fritz immediately chuckled as she hovered on the other side of my figure. "Just give the human Ymir a nickname, young Yeager. I refuse to be the one that has to adjust to your circumstances."

"..."

How kind of you to say so, you horrendous being!

But just when I was about to tell her off, in my peripheral vision, I saw it. The horse that I abandoned earlier, which had the medical supplies that Fanya Blake had prepared for me upon my request, was still strapped onto it and is now being ridden by a veteran soldier whose name was something I didn't have the chance to learn of. Upon seeing it and requesting for him to give it to me, I immediately fled and rode past a dozen other soldiers on my way to the cart where the severely wounded soldiers were riding.

In my mind, right before this mission ended, I just had to make sure that a specific someone wouldn't die on our way back to headquarters. That in order to properly acquire a person whom Eren considers as - somewhat - a parental or uncle figure, Hannes must live. 

Surely, there will be times wherein Eren won't listen to Mikasa or Armin, so in hopes of alleviating his emotional distress, I had to make sure that this man would live.

For him to support Eren and to serve as an adult figure in his life.

"Hannes!" I yelled, prompting the other soldiers to look in my direction while I was disembarking my horse in order to kneel beside the wounded man. Upon observation, the treatment that was done on his arm was poorly made, making me furrow my eyebrows in disappointment. The military can at least train a combat medic, especially when things like these are a common occurrence. And yet… I also couldn't blame them, seeing as how quite a number of soldiers would die in every expedition that was done.

"M-mina?" His weak voice instantly made me pale, prompting me to open the satchel as I rummaged for certain materials to treat his wound. "W-what are you-"

"We need to get that wrapped up, Hannes," I whispered, almost smiling upon snatching a clean cloth that was large enough to cover his wound.

It felt right, doing something so familiar due to my experience as a combat medic in the first world. I immediately wrapped his severed arm using a damp cloth, making sure that I first asked for permission to use water from a nearby soldier. Additionally, I reached forward, ignoring his confused look, when I placed two fingers on his neck to feel his pulse.

It's weak. I thought to myself, observing the fact that he looked pale due to blood loss. 

"You should lie down," I whispered, all the while gently repositioning his whole body to elevate the part wherein the Titan ate his arm. But just when I finished covering his whole body with his cape - It was torn and dirty, but we had nothing else - I suddenly felt a pair of eyes boring into my soul as I looked at the soldier nearby, one that got his hand torn.

I heaved a long sigh before doing the same process to him, noticing that the other wounded soldiers were now watching my acts.

Seriously… I groaned, taking note of the fact that I should tell the commander to increase the number of people who have at least the basic knowledge of first aid.

But just when I was about to stand and once more embark on a horse, I unconsciously felt myself tumbling forward, earning a yelp from the soldier who caught me.

"Are you okay?!" It was a military police that caught me, one whose face eventually began to blur as a series of voices suddenly started sounding distant.

But…

Blur? I squinted my eyes at him, closing it for a few seconds before reopening it, before realizing that it was indeed happening and not just a hallucination.

"I'm not doing anything, for your information." Even Ymir's voice started to sound distant as I tried to steady myself, only to fail and fall knees first on the cart. "You've overworked yourself."

Overworked? 

She must be joking. There was no possible way that I was-

"Ah," But then again, getting a nosebleed might have been the last straw as a series of yells suddenly erupted by my side. "Shit."

My vision was still blurry, and there I sat on the cart, quite irritated at the fact that, as of this moment, I may not contribute much in making sure that the wounded soldiers would last until we got back. It's been a while since this happened, so I haven't paid any attention to my own needs during this mission.

"Just take a breather, little one," Ymir says right beside my fallen state, one that earned her a chuckle. It has been a while since she called me by that title. How nostalgic. "You already did plenty."

Plenty?

Scoffing, I was sure that my reaction earned me a scowl from the said woman. As if to reply to her statement, I shook my head and thought that what I didn't wasn't enough. To be honest, it was far from it.

"You're too hard on yourself."

But I should be. After all, the fate of the world and the fate of the younger version of my parents' lives are at stake here. I had to ensure everything was in order and that every change I made would affect the scenario in a way that wouldn't alert the devil's radar. Everything should be accounted for, and there was simply no way that I could slack off.

However, as I tried my best not to lose consciousness, noticing that a couple of soldiers had already made space for me to lie down, I sighed.

There simply was no getting out of this, huh? 

***