Attack on Titan: Escape from certain death: Armin x Kiyomi/ Part 3

The sun was shining brightly, the sky was the perfect blue with a few clouds painting the sky, the weather was really nice, and it was simply the perfect and most beautiful day.

The sun might have been quite bright today….but there was something even brighter. Or more like, someone.

“Kiyomi! Kiyomi! Kiyomi!!” called out a voice.

Kiyomi turned over to where she heard the extremely familiar voice call her name, and to her glee, it was Armin.

Armin happened to have a book in his hands. Armin sometimes bought books in the city, but usually only if it was a book he really wanted to read, a book that none of the libraries had.

“Y-You won’t believe what I found-!!” Armin spoke to her ethuastickly.

“What? What is it? Is it a book you bought that one of the merchants or authors were selling again?” guessed Kiyomi.

“No! You see, I found this just lying around, and…”

Armin went up closer to Kiyomi and in her ears…

“It’s a book about the outside world!”

“Y-You mean...its a different one from your other one?”

“Exactly! It has so much more detail, it’s incredible! I cant wait to read some of it! Say, how about we read it together in my room tonight!”

“That's sounds like fun! I’d love that!”

“It’s a promise!”

When Kiyomi first became a trainee, she really didn’t talk to anyone much. During lunch or break time, she would mostly just read or draw. She seemed more comfortable not talking to anyone.

But really, deep down, she would be hoping that someone would go right up to her, join her at her table and talk.

Kiyomi is very shy, quiet, timid and a bit socially awkward. That is, when it comes to people her age. If anything she feels more comfortable talking to her family or adults.

So that's basically one of her flaws.

But one day during lunch, when she was just about to give up on befriending anyone here, Armin Arlert, a boy about the same age as her, who joined the 104th trainees to aim to become a soldier, approached her.

He asked about the book she was reading, and eventually Armin sat down and started to talk with her more.

The two pretty much got along well since day one.

Eventually during that fateful first day they started talking to each other….

Armin would tell Lexi about the world outside the walls and the book he had that his grandfather had hidden away back in his house in Shingania district.

Kiyomi became very interested and curious about it, Armin happily invited Kiyomi to his room to read it with him, despite it being against the rules to share a room with someone the opposite sex from yourself.

The two could have gotten in extreme dead trouble for it. They could have even been forced to work in the fields and lose the privilege to become a solider.

But they didn’t get caught in the end, and they pulled a blanket over themselves and they laid the book right in front of them on the bed, and started reading the book together. You’d mistake them as children at this point.

“Whoooah!! there's water that covers up the majority of the earth!?!” gasped Kiyomi quite loudly.

“Ssh! Ssh, yes be quiet!” giggled Armin.

“It is called the Ocean! Its so wide and big, it goes on miles and miles without end! It even has so much salt in it, merchants would never run out!” Armin adds on, telling Kiyomi all about the ocean.

“Thats amazing! I thought the entire earth only had grassy land and hills with nothing else! I suppose I was wrong.”

“One day Im going to go see it with Eren.” Armin tells Kiyomi about his dream in seeing the Ocean.

“Me and Eren promised each other that we’d see it together one day.”

“That sounds cool. And um...Armin? Would you mind if….I could maybe….see it with you?”

“Of course! I don’t mind! It’s a promise then! It’ll be you and me, Eren and Mikasa!” smiles Armin.

“Awsome! Then it’s a promise?”

“You can sure count on it!”

_______________________________________

                                                                    

                                        As the flashback ended Kiyomi begun to realize what had just happened. Her life was flashing through her eyes.

There was terrible and unbearable pain shooting rapidly in her legs. She slowly scrolled her eyes down to take a look, and she gasped when she saw how much blood there was.

No….

She and Armin had promised to see the Ocean together. It was a promise. They were going to see all that they read in that book together. They were going to survive this hell.

Kiyomi scrolled her eyes over to the other titan, desperately to see if her beloved was still alive.

He was still alive….he was bleeding out, just like her, but he was still breathing….though he still cried out and screamed in pain.

I….I have to get us out of here! W-we...we must make it out together alive! I can’t let him die….I won’t let him. I’ll kill those two Titans no matter what….I have to.

Kiyomi thought to herself desperately and she noticed she still had her two swords in her hands.

She tightened her grip on the sword’s handle and before wasting another second….

She stabbed and slashed her swords blade at the titan, creating wounds on the evil creature.

She screamed and cried in fear and desperation, hoping to get free.

The Titan dropped her legs, and before she fell on the floor, she grabbed around it’s neck, got on top as if she was going for a piggy-neck ride and she slashed the back of the nape.

The titan collapse.

Now, time to save Armin….

Kiyomi glances over to Armin’s direction to see the Titan still torturing him.

She starts to crawl over, but whimpers from the pain in her legs.

“Ki-Ki-Kiyomi….” whispers Armin.

“P-p-pl-please….g-go back...run. L-leave me….s-save yourself. I-i’ll only b-b-be a burden….on you.”

Kiyomi completely ignores Armin’s plea, and she hurries over to the Titan while crawling. The Titan notice’s Kiyomi’s efforts in getting closer, grabs her in it’s extra free hand and Kiyomi immediately starts slashing at the Titan’s face, in an attempt to kill it.

But everyone knows the only way to kill a Titan is from the back of the nape. Too bad they ran out of gas to their maneuvering equipment, left it behind, and are too injured to really get to the nape with ease.

The Titan becomes frustrated with the girl damaging it’s face, and tosses her quite roughly onto the floor, and she coughs.

“K-Kiyomi-!”

The Titan ignores Kiyomi and focuses its attention back on Armin.

“Y-You won’t hurt him….n-no...I-I-I won’t l-let you….” Kiyomi then grabs onto the back of the Titan and slowly climbs to the top.

Luckily, the Titan was too distracted staring at Armin with hungry eyes.

Once she had it to the neck, she sliced off the nape, and the Titan collapsed, and it’s grasp on Armin loosened.

“Armin!” Kiyomi cried and took Armin out of the clutches of the Titan and the two crawled over to an empty space.

“Armin….a-are you ok?” whimpered Kiyomi.

“I-I'm...I'm hoping I will be. B-but I'm really not sure…” Armin scrolls his eyes over to Kiyomi’s and he see’s tears swelling and sliding down her eyelids as she begins to cry hard.

If only she wasn’t so low on gas and still was able to use her maneuvering equipment….she could have easily taken down the two titans and Armin wouldn’t have been hurt.

“K-Kiyomi...p-please don’t cry.” Armin reached out a finger and tried wiping her tears away.

“I-I-I’m sorry Armin….” she began to apologise repeatedly.

“Kiyomi, it’s ok! None of this is your fault, don’t blame yourself. It’s mine for leading us in here and slamming the door shut. This isn’t your fault.” Armin tried reassuring her.

“O-ok…” she said.

She wanted to reassure him as well, and tell him how none of this was his fault either, but her strength was leaving her to the point, she barely felt she could think enough to talk.

Once she finally calmed down….

“Um...Armin?”

“Yeah?”

“Are….are we….going to die?”

…..

Armin sighs.

“Well….it is a high possibility….” Armin answers truthfully.

….

“Then...can I...um, maybe tell you something?”

“What is it?”

“U-Um….just to warn you, it might be extremely stupid or dumb, and you might not feel the same on this or anything but, um…”

“Go ahead. Please tell me.”

“ok…..u-um….I...I sorta….um, have a crus---I-I mean….I sorta um….L-Love you.”

With that Kiyomi placed a short but gentle kiss on Armin’s lips.

Too soon after, she moved away.

Armin’s eyes were widen in great surprise and his face was totally red….which only made Kiyomi squeal in her mind and heart, finding it really cute.

“Y-You really feel that way?”

“Y-Yeah…” she admits truthfully.

“I-I love you too.” with that, Armin crawled closer and began to kiss her lips romantically, returning her feelings.

After that, the two lied down together before falling unconscious.

They would have died….only if the pile of rubble that blocked the entrance stayed that way for any longer...