'The Visitor' - [Jean x Mermaid!Reader] - Part 5

---'The Visitor': Jean x Mermaid!Reader: Part 5---

The empty storage tank tumbles across the deck, sending up a racket loud enough to turn the heads of every party-goer in the vicinity. Seeping beneath the tables, chairs, sandaled feet, and even the barbeque grill… is a massive puddle of seawater. The lively chatter plunges into startled silence. I stand there, locked in a standstill, trying to get an actual grip on the situation while Levi's incensed snarl cuts through my thoughts.

"JAEGER, YOU CLUMSY, USELESS, GOOD-FOR-SHIT BRAT. YOU HAD ONE JOB."

But the moment he rushes over to the epicenter of the chaos, even he is frozen with disbelief once he sees what's happened. I don't blame him. The sight is so surreal, not a single soul can turn their eyes away.

Soaked in seawater, your tail gleams brilliantly beneath the sunlight, right where your legs had been just a moment prior. Now that you've reverted to your true form, you lie sprawled along the pool deck, unable to stand or even squirm away. Exposed on all sides to the crowd of gawkers, you immediately freeze and curl up. The look on your face is one of abject, wide-eyed fear.

"Holy…!" Sasha whispers, staring at your aquatic form with wonder. "Is that… what I think it is?!"

"A tail…!" Armin murmurs, daring to take a step forward. His blue eyes light up with amazement. "She…She's a mermaid!"

"A mermaid?" gasps Connie, jaw dropping. "But… But that's impossible! She was human just seconds ago! This has to be some sort of trick, right…?"

Within seconds, the word 'mermaid' is abuzz on everyone's lips. Partygoers to the left and right swarm around, eager for the shock of a lifetime - a real, live mermaid, here in the apartment complex! On the other hand, I'm standing here panicking for a different reason entirely. Everyone is crowding around, at this rate I won't be able to see you or Eren from where I'm standing!

No time for dithering. I shove my way through the crowd, desperate to navigate my way towards you. Likewise, Marco is also fighting his way through the masses of people.

"Hey, let me through already!" I snarl. "Move., damn it!"

Despite my best efforts, my voice is drowned out by the hyperactive shrill of Hanji Zoe, who is practically plowing her way through with minimal effort, knocking me aside in the process.

"A mermaid?! A real one?!" she breathes excitedly. "Is she alive?! Where is she? Let me see her!"

Oh right… I suddenly remember. Manager Hanji is also something of a scientist. Well, a science hobbyist, to be accurate. Either way, much like Marco and Armin, she too is well-read on the merfolk legend here in Trost. … Except her level of curiousity and interest tends to borderline on outright obsessive. Crazy much? That too is a possibility.

By the time Hanji's close enough to get a look at you, her grin is wide and manic, and there is a frightening gleam in her eye.

"Ohhh my, how lovely! Just look at those fins, and that marvelous tail!" she coos, fingers wriggling with delight. "So the stories were more than just a myth after all!"

With a growl, I finally elbow my way between Connie and Armin and make it into the clearing.

The moment you see me, you let out a high-pitched trill - a sound that vaguely resembles my name, but I quickly realize that your tail isn't the only thing that's reverted. You stare at me, eyes wide with fear and confusion. Not surprising, considering all the strange and noisy humans swarming around, yelling, shoving, making a fuss, and trying to get a good look at you.

You give me a pleading look. I gulp and gather my nerve. Right now, I'm the one you are relying on to keep you safe. Time to see if I can make good on that promise.

I take a deep breath, and assert myself as loudly as possible. "Everyone, back away from the mermaid! Now!"

The sheer volume of my voice is enough to get everybody's attention. I step into the clearing and face the crowd, spreading my arms out to form a barrier between you and them. Out of the corner of my eye, I can spot Marco moving in to do the same on the other side. I smile grimly. If there's anyone here I could count on, it's him.

"Boys, boys! You're in the way!" Hanji protested, flailing her arms in an excitable manner. "I just have to get a good look at that tail! Isn't she a beauty?!"

Your face reddens faintly. Well, at least you found some of the attention flattering. But even so, your shoulders stiffen. Your tail curls up in a familiar, tensed up position. One step more, and Hanji was definitely going to get a close-up view of that deceptively powerful tail - right in the face!

"Guys, you're scaring her," I insist, blocking Hanji's repeated attempts to skirt past me. "For crying out loud, just give her some space, and let her be. Believe me, you do not want to be near her when she's angry."

"Hey, hey, hold it!" Sasha pipes up demandingly. "Who died and made you the resident expert in merfolk, Jean?"

"…Well, she did stay over at his apartment last night," Connie murmurs, looking faintly impressed. "…Third base with a mermaid. Who'da thunk it."

The brunette flushes bright red. "W-what?! … Are you saying …Jean went there?! With a mermaid?!"

Armin's brows quirk in puzzlement. "…'Third base?' Is that supposed to mean something?"

"We are not discussing that right now!" I snap impatiently. Something jolts my memory. I hastily scan the area. "Where the hell is Eren?!"

Somewhere along the way, I had lost track of him. Hard to believe that he'd just run off and disappear without making a huge ruckus about a freakin' mermaid at our apartment complex. Unless he was planning to double back with a vengeance.

Little do I know…

"Um… Jean?" Marco's voice grabs my attention. His tone is strangely apprehensive. Fearful, even. "You might want to look this way…"

I turn around.

Sure enough, Eren has reappeared. And he has armed himself with a sharp, sturdy heavy-looking weed cutter. His expression is one of cold, murderous intent. Nobody says a word.

…Except for Mikasa, who speaks up in the most deadpan of tones. "Eren, put that thing down before you whack your own eye out."

Eren ignores her, evergreen eyes trained only on the mermaid frozen in terror on the pool deck. He holds the trimmer blade up with a white-knuckled grip, trembling from the shoulders down.

"Jaeger."

I speak up at last. My voice is eerily calm. Which is an irony, considering the fact that this situation is guaranteed to go fucking postal in five seconds flat.

Eren stares at you with a blazing expression, but he doesn't move, nor does he back away either.

"Jaeger." I repeat myself, none too gently this time. "Stand. Down."

Still he remains, weed-whacker poised to strike, filled with hate and righteous anger. His furious eyes flicker to mine.

"You…" he utters in a low, venomous growl. "You were hiding it all along. I fucking knew it! You lying motherfucker-"

"E-Eren, cut it out!" Armin squeaks, inching forward. Though like many, he is very much reluctant to wander within swinging range of such a lethal-looking gardening implement. That thing looks like it could seriously mess up someone's face with one good hit!

"Now, now, Eren," Hanji coaxes. "Let's not be too hasty here! Wouldn't it be better to keep her alive so we can get a good look at her, and learn more about the merfolk? …" She tilts her head and ponders. "Though I suppose if a dissection is the only option…"

I can feel the blood draining from my face.

"You wouldn't! Don't even think about it!" Marco warns heatedly, speaking up with such force that Hanji abruptly drops the idea. …For the time being, anyhow.

Eren suddenly jabs the weed-whacker towards Marco, not to attack, but to threaten. Seeing that hellishly sharp blade inch that close to Marco's face, however, I am a hair-trigger away from tackling Jaeger and pummeling him face-first into the deck.

"And you were in on this too, Marco?!" he snarls, as Marco backs away very cautiously. "Let me guess… this monster has been messing with your head, hasn't it?"

He glares at me while I stand there dumbfounded. "Am I right, Jean? That's what mermaids do, after all! If it can charm sailors into drowning themselves, then manipulating a dumbass like you should be no trouble at all!"

I bristle furiously at his words.

"That's not what fucking happened!" I yell back. "I hid her of my own accord, because I knew you'd go apeshit if you found out about her! Turns out I was right on the fucking money, wasn't I?"

"Eren…" Mikasa speaks softly this time, face tense. "That's enough. You're acting like a child throwing a tantrum-"

"STAY OUT OF THIS, MIKASA," Eren hisses through clenched teeth, his angered expression suddenly monstrous. Everyone takes a full step back. Armin whimpers.

Surprisingly, no one else seems to speak up. Not for your defense, anyhow. Bizarre, considering Eren's letting his bad temper and judgment get the better of him. But then I see the looks on all of their faces.

They're staring at you with awe, wonder…and fear. Not all of them shared the same excitement as did Hanji, Marco, Armin and me. Now that it could reasonably said that the merfolk were real, what of the legends associated with them? The disasters they unleashed on the helpless seaside communities? The tsunamis that wiped out entire towns? The songs that lured sailors to their deaths? The swimmers and divers who were dragged beneath the waves, never to be seen again?

…No doubt they were all wondering - was keeping you alive really the best idea?

I don't dare take my eyes off of Jaeger, but I have to look at you. Just a quick glance, out of the corner of my eye.

I can see you curled up in a tight, helpless ball against the deck, using your tail as a shield and burying your head in your arms. To everyone else, it's a sign of terror and defensiveness, but I know that it's more than that. Anguished tears are streaming down your face. You're trying to block out the wave of negative emotions swirling up like a thunderstorm. At the epicenter of it all is Jaeger, fueled only by rage and bloodthirst.

"Have you all forgotten what the merfolk have done to our homes? Our families?!" he shouts, brandishing the weed-whacker like a sword. "Zhiganshina is gone because of them! There's nothing left, it's just a pile of rubble buried beneath fifty feet of seawater! What if they were the cause of the big wave last night? What if Trost is the next town to be wiped off the map?!"

Sasha and Connie look at each other, fear brimming in their eyes. No doubt they are thinking of their own hometowns, Dauper and Ragako, smaller settlements located just along the coastline. Everyone else shuffles uncomfortably. Their expressions slowly turn dark.

"You can't say for sure that [First] had anything to do with that!" I protest frantically. "Ever since I found her, she hasn't hurt anyone, or caused trouble!"

"…as of yet, anyhow," interrupts a cool, clipped voice. I turn my head.

That voice belongs to Levi. One would expect him of all people to rush in and put the maverick Jaeger back under control. But he merely stands there with an unfathomable, brooding look on his face.

"If the merfolk are truly the ones behind this chaos," he remarks quietly, crossing his arms. "Then it would be no easy feat to overlook the damage they've caused. You may think otherwise, Kirschtein, but she could be more dangerous than any of us realize."

Eren's face brightens, just as mine blanches with disbelief.

"See? The Lance Corporal's on my side!" he said, with grim triumph. "We should just kill it and toss the body back into the ocean!"

Levi shakes his head and growls, "I didn't say that, you brat-"

"But that would be such a waste!" Hanji interrupts. "At the very least, couldn't we keep her here and study her for a while?"

"Not alive, that's for damn sure!" hisses Eren, raising the trimmer with the intent to strike.

"STOP!"

I charge forward, nearly slipping on the soaked floor deck and launching myself at Eren's solar plexus. He exhales as I tackle him to the ground. I can feel my skin scraping against the floorboards, but that's not nearly enough to stop me. With a furious snarl, I grab the haft of the trimmer and begin wrestling it out of his grasp. He's on his back, I'm on top, but his strength is almost monstrous! From the way he is glaring viciously, I know this won't be an easy fight.

"Jean!" I can hear Marco calling out my name in alarm.

"Guys, stop it!" Sasha yelps. "Somebody get that thing away from them, now!"

But before anyone can intervene, Eren gets his second wind and throws me off with a burst of strength I don't see coming. I smack against the deck back first, nearly blacking out from the impact.

Shit… everything hurts. I can't move.

A familiar trill, high-pitched and frantic, brings me back from the edge of unconsciousness. I open my eyes. The stars in my vision clear. Looking up, I see your face, eyes wide with terror. Your hands are on my shoulders, shaking me awake.

"[First]…" I murmur in amazement, still too stunned to move.  To think that your face might very well be the last thing I'll see…

…I wonder, when was the last time I thought that way? Five years ago, perhaps? As a kid, lost at sea…?

My eyes suddenly widen as a shadow falls over us both. Eren's. He's completely out of control, with his weapon raised into the air, blade aimed to fall and strike flesh. His green eyes are ablaze. I can't even tell who he's trying to target now, you or me.

There's nothing I can do…

Your body stiffens, and your eyes burn with a sudden resolve. All of a sudden, you lunge forward, right into the path of Eren's swing. The shock of it is enough to spur me back into action. Too little, too late.

"[First]!" I yell, too horrified to watch, yet too horrified not to.

The blade falls. At the same time, you reach out with your hands, grabbing Eren by the forearm. He jerks back and misaims, startled by your sudden movements. But you aren't done. Instead, you open your mouth wide, revealing sharp, pearl-white teeth framed by incisors.

CHOMP.

"Argh! What the FUCK-!!"

You clamp your jaw around the wrist of Eren's forearm, digging in with your teeth. HARD. And causing him sufficiently to let go of the weed-whacker. Judging by how fast the blood is draining from his face, your bites are not your run-of-the-mill puppy nips.  He staggers back, and struggles to pry your face off with his other arm.

"LET GO, YOU SLIMY, FISH-BREATHED LITTLE-"

Out of the corner of my eye, Mikasa steps forward, determined to intervene this time and protect Eren from harm. Ah, shit! If she gets hold of the weed-whacker…

…But as it turns out, she doesn't even have time to even consider that.

POW.

With righteous fury, you launch your tail at Eren, whaling him with a force strong enough to send him flying - headfirst into the pool. The air fills with panicked yelping as the consequent splash drenches the spectators. As I finally rise to my feet, I look over just in time to see the green-eyed boy sink further beneath the surface. …Is he unconscious?

"Eren!"

Without a second thought, Mikasa throws off her jacket and dives right in after him. Everyone's eyes are on the pool. …Except for mine.

That's when I realize… Now's our chance!

"Marco! NOW!"

The sound of my voice snaps him out of his daze. As I quickly crouch down to scoop you up in my arms, he rushes over to help me.

"Let's get her out of here," I mutter. Marco meets my eye, and nods.

Hanji is the first to catch on.

"Hey, they're getting away with the mermaid!" she yelps, pushing her way through the crowd, but to no avail. "Someone stop them!"

You immediately loop your arms around our shoulders, clinging on for dear life as we haul you out of there.

"Where do we go?" Panicked, Marco looks to me for direction.

Hell if I know. But the parking lot seems like a good place to start.

"This way," I urge, nodding towards the gate. Clumsily, we barrel our way through the party area with our rescued mermaid in tow, knocking over several plastic chairs and tables in the process. The people standing in our path scramble well out of our way as we make our escape.

Within seconds, the three of us are in the parking lot. Thinking fast, I look over my shoulder. Did something happen to Eren? Nobody else seems to be following us. That said, I’m not about to stand around waiting after Jaeger’s little stunt.

"…Um, Jean?" Marco pipes up hesitantly. "…That car over there. Look."

I look, and my jaw drops. Window open. Keys on the seat. One Subaru Forester, four wheel drive, free for the taking. Somebody clearly got careless.

I bit my lip, mind racing. This is probably illegal, isn’t it? That and the fact that Marco is still on his learner’s…

…Eh. Sod the details.

"We can apologize later and hope they don’t sic the cops on us," I reason as Marco takes the driver’s side. I open the door to the backseat and unceremoniously stuff you inside, apologizing profusely all the while. The fact that there’s just barely enough room for your tail sure isn’t helping matters.

As soon as your fins are clear, I shut the door and throw myself in the passenger’s seat. Marco finally gets the engine running and places his hands on the steering wheel.

"…Ooh. Manual drive," he remarks.

I stare at him hopefully. "You can drive a manual, can’t you?"

"… Kind of."

I turn pale. "Kind of?"

He smiles weakly. "I've never crashed one before, if that's what you're asking."

… Right. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, and we sure as hell don’t have time to see if anyone’s left their car keys in an automatic.

I grin back at him. "Well, try not to get us killed? No pressure, or anything. ‘Scuse me-"

As the car lurches and stalls with Marco’s efforts to get it moving, I squeeze into the backseat. You scramble to the side, making room for me. I blink in surprise. Somewhere along the way, your tail has changed back into a pair of legs! Which pretty much confirms my theory that human blood is the trigger for the transformation. Of course, somewhere along the way, you’d lost your bikini shorts, but thank goodness for that sundress, huh?

"Alrighty," I grunt, straining for the belt latch on your side. "Gotta buckle you up. I mean, I trust Marco and all, but best not take any chances, yeah?"

You grin at me, singing brightly. "Buckle up~! Buckle up~!"

There’s still a bit of blood on your teeth. I smile nervously as I secure the seatbelt around your waist.

"You sure showed Jaeger just now! Stuck it to him, right in the face! I’m proud of you." In a more guilty tone, I mumble, "Sorry I put you in danger. You must’ve been scared shitless. …That was real stupid of me."

In response, you scrunch your face and ruffle my hair fiercely. I smile lopsidedly. At least we’re both in agreement there.

Marco finally gets the car moving as I clamber back into the front seat. Incidentally, he bumps the car parked in front just as I get one leg over the emergency break. The car rocks and I fly forward, smacking my forehead in the windshield.

Marco looks over at me, alarmed, as I crumple up in pain beneath the papers compartment. "Jean, are you alright?!"

You blink in my general direction and tug experimentally on the seatbelt restraining you, looking as though everything suddenly made perfect sense. So that’s what it’s for!

"Yeah," I mutter, rubbing my poor, sore head. "…Might want to back up first before going forward-"

"WHAT ARE YOU SHITHEADS DOING WITH MY CAR?!"

The pain clears in an instant, replaced by ice-cold dread. Marco’s face turns ghost-white as he looks out the window. Grunting and growling, I struggle to position myself upright on the car floor, pulling myself up by my fingers and peering through the glass.

Sure enough, standing at the parking lot entrance is the Lance Corporal. And he is livid with rage.

… Well, shit.

Incidentally, this is the moment where Marco suddenly gets a flash of inspiration. The car moves again – backwards this time.

Ghost-white knuckles grip the clutch, trembling slightly. Marco mutters nervously under his breath, perspiring from the sheer concentration of it all. "Backing up… backing up…"

The car makes it out of the column without a further scratch, and turns into the lane.

"Great!" I cheer, as the Lance Corporal tears across the warpath towards us. "NOW GO FORWARD!"

Marco doesn’t need to be told twice. The car lurches again, stalls for a half-second, then speeds forth on squealing tires. I can literally see smoke trailing from our wheels.

This time I’ve got my seatbelt on. You yelp and squeak in the backseat as the car rolls along none-too-smoothly. As Marco makes a tight turn into the street, clipping a hydrant along the way, he picks up speed.

"GET BACK HERE!"

Though Levi makes a valiant effort to mow us down on foot, he is easily outpaced as Marco eases up to a (reasonably) steady thirty miles per hour. The Lance Corporal’s form shrinks into the distance, though I can almost hear him hurling a laundry list of profanities at our backs.

Eyes front, I sink in my seat, clutching my heaving chest. The Subaru wobbles lightly as Marco does his best to keep to one lane.

"Of all the cars we HAD to borrow," I gasp, sweat dripping from my brow. "…It just HAD to be the Lance Corporal’s. No one told me he had it replaced that quickly!"

Marco laughs apprehensively. "W-well, we can forget about going to juvenile, then! He'll never let us make it to the police station alive!" He gulps as the engine stalls ever so slightly. "…Think they'll still let me get my license?"

"… How about we just focus on one thing at a time right now?" I reason, keeping one eye on the side mirrors. "Like making sure we don't hit anything, for instance?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" he replies brightly. "In any case… mind telling me where we're going now? Because at this rate, we'll hit the outskirts if we keep on going in this direction. ...Of course, if you were planning on having us live as fugitives, then I suppose it's as good a direction as any."

"Two morons and the little mermaid, on the run," I remark incredulously, shaking my head. "Maybe we should hook up a motorboat to the back of the car, fill it up with water, and have her ride in it. And then we'd be all set for a permanent vacation in Sina!"

I look over my shoulder, checking up on you in the backseat. To my amusement, you've got your nose pressed flat against the window, peering with wide-eyed fascination at the fast-moving scenery.

"We're going so fast~!" you trilled, straining against your seatbelt.

Man, it's like looking after a five-year-old! Still, I crack a smile.

"Seriously though, we'll have to find someplace else to keep her. Don't ask me where, because I haven't gotten that part figured out yet."

Marco shrugs lightly. "I thought the motorboat idea had merit."

Yeah. Me too. Except then we'd be in cahoots over stealing a boat.

Marco's voice grows quiet.  "I still can't believe it.  Eren really did try to kill her."

I wrinkle my nose in disgust.  Needless to say, my most recent encounter with freakin' Jaegerzilla had left nothing short of a bad taste in my mouth.

"That part is completely believable," I scoff angrily.  "But did you see the others?  The looks on their faces? If I didn't know better, I would have thought Hanji really would have tried to cut her open and-"

"Jean!" Marco hisses, glancing meaningfully over his shoulder.

I shut my mouth, and immediately turn around to check up on you, wearing a guilty expression on my face.

…As it turns out, you're still engrossed with the novelty of riding a car, and don't pay us any attention whatsoever.

Still, I drop the volume of my voice a little.  

"…See, I thought this might happen.  That's why I wanted to keep her a secret," I said.  "I knew they'd be freaked out.  Not you, Marco. I knew you'd be ecstatic, so I told you about her.  ...But everyone else? None of them are ready to see her."

Marco stared pensively at the road ahead.  "…And now they all know."

My scowl deepens.  Yeap.   Everyone knows that there's a mermaid living in the apartment complex, thanks to a royal fuck-up on my part.  In the end, you were the one who ended up protecting me from Jaeger, instead of the other way around.  And even then, there's still this gigantic mess left for me to clean up.

I bang my head against the paper compartment.  Levi is going to kill me.

After a full minute spent wallowing in self-pity, self-loathing, and dithering over what the hell do to now, I let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"…I think we'd better talk to Ymir and get an explanation out of her for real this time. No matter how you look at it, the ocean seems like the best and safest place for her to be. If we can't put her back there, then I want to know the reason why."

Marco nods tensely in agreement. "Right. Ymir and Christa's place then. … How do I get there, again?"

"Oh." I sit upright as Marco approaches a junction. "Next light. …Wait, no. There. That light. Yeah. That one. THAT ONE. Okay, now make a left turn."

"I can turn on green, right?"

"Yeah, if it’s safe. … I said if it's safe, Marco. …. MARCO WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THAT'S A CAR."

Marco slams the breaks just in time to let the driver zip past safely… greeting us with furious beeps, some choice expletives, and a middle finger along the way. Marco turns bright red behind the steering wheel, and apologizes profusely at no one in particular. Meanwhile, I'm still busy watching the short fifteen years of my life flash before my eyes.

Meanwhile, you poke your head over the back of our seats, looking at us with intent, wide eyes.

"Are we okay?" you asked, looking genuinely worried.

"Yeah…" I gasp. "…Yeah, we're good. Marco, we're still on green. You can finish the turn now."

This time, Marco makes doubly sure that there are no cars barreling in from the opposite direction, before inching his way into the side road, meek as a mouse.

I make a mental note to treat him to ice cream when all this is said and done.

The road takes us downhill, closer to sea level. Here, the asphalt is still slippery and soaked with seawater, turning everything into a hydroplaning nightmare. Thank goodness for four-wheel drive!

"Jean! Look! Jean!" you call out excitedly. "Over there! The ocean~!"

Sure enough, there it is. A massive expanse of azure blue and emerald green, churning with life and mystery from the sandy shoreline all the way to the horizon. I have to admit - for a backwater town, Trost has a pretty decent vantage point of the ocean.

From here, we drive closer to the cove where I landed as a kid, after nearly drowning in a massive flood. Much like the one we just had. Except that was five years ago. Now, that place still gives me chills.

With a bit of navigational help from yours truly, Marco takes us to a row of weather-worn rental homes. The place is clearly abandoned, having been hit worst by the flood. The residents have left, likely to stay in temporary shelters while the water damage is dealt with. All things considering, here is probably the most ideal place to hide you for the moment.

…After all, Ymir is here, and we all know by now that she has very good reason for living in such a secluded place.

The car rolls up along the driveway, towards the lot sitting farthest inside.

"There. I think that's the one," I tell Marco. He pulls over onto the opposite curb, fumbles a bit with the parking, and finally turns off the engine. As he slowly peels his hands away from the steering wheel, I can see that his fingers are trembling.

"L-Let's not do that again… at least for a while, yet!" he says with nervous laughter, extracting the key from the ignition.

"Agreed," I tell him, still feeling my heart jump uncomfortably. "…Alright.  Everyone still alive? Let's go see Ymir and find out if we can't get this mess sorted-"

I hear the creak of a wooden door. It's coming from the house.

Suddenly, you let out a noise resembling a squeak. One filled with fear and trepidation. You begin clawing at your seatbelt, desperate to get it off.

"Hey, hey… calm down, Goldfish," I murmur, climbing into the backseat from the front. "What's wrong now?"

You respond by promptly ducking beneath the window, curling up flat against the seat. It's as though you're trying to make yourself as small as possible, keeping out of sight. I stare at you, bewildered.

Marco suddenly speaks up in an apprehensive voice.

"…Jean? …Who are those people?"

I take a gander.

Emerging from Ymir and Christa's front door are a trio of teenagers. Normal-looking in all appearances, but I don't recognize them from any neighborhood in Trost. The tallest is a black-haired, lanky youth with a nervous expression. The second is a burly, muscled tank of a boy. The third is the smallest, a blond girl with piercing blue eyes. Together, with looks of caution and purpose on their faces, they move as a single and silent unit, perfect in their coordination.

The alarm bells in my head start to ring when I realize… that you aren't the least bit thrilled to see them.