"Tell me. WHY?", the tall man shouted. He had a long, brown mustache, just about as long as his massive, curling eyebrows. This man was Utsukushi Lehrer of Garrison Regiment, and the boy he bellowed at so furiously was none other than 12-year-old Rukasa Fruchte, a recently made orphan from Vernichtung, a small district along the border of Wall Rose. Standing shoulder to shoulder with him were the countless grim faces of his comrades, all around the same age as him. They were the newly formed 105th Trainees Squad, and in three short years, the names now checked off on a cadet attendance list would instead be checked off by a mourning ally on a casualty list. Those of whom survived would be assigned the duty of identifying the countless, bloody, devoured bodies of their allies. They all knew it, but only those few strong enough to accept it would be there to see these grim events play through.
The boy took a deep breath. "Rukas Fruchte of Vernichtung", he murmured, sweat running down his long, thick charcoal hair. "I am here...", he paused for a second, his heart pounding away in his chest, the Colonel's menacing brown eyes staring deeply into his, "I'm here...I'm here to kill every last titan who struts around my hometown like it's his own!"
Colonel Lehrer stared down at him for a few more seconds, Rukasa preparing for another shouting. To his surprise however, Lehrer simply sighed and muttered undiscernibly under his breath. He stood up, still looking down at the boy, however now with an expression more sad and mourning than angry and menacing. "Yes...Vernichtung. I remember now. That was one of the districts ambushed by titans a few months back."
Rukasa nodded. The Colonel looked around at the troops. "Any other cadets from Vernichtung?" There were not many who rose their hand (as many potential Vernichtung cadets had fallen during the titan infestation), however the most interesting of those who did included the following: Near the back right of the cadets was Hanten Katze. A short mess of brown locks atop his head, the boy stood much shorter than most of the other cadets, however could easily handle himself in a fight with someone-or something many times his own height. Having started training at a tender age, Hanten had already achieved the prestige of black belt in his preferred martial art. No doubt he would be a wonderful addition to the Scouting Legion-that is, if he managed to survive until graduation.
Standing proud next to him was Hanten's friend since infancy, Daisan Topfersheibe. He was taller and larger than Hanten, however not quite as fit. The main difference between the two (other than Daisan's more formal style of dress) was the head full of not quite as golden as when they had first met hair, which now held a sort of light brownish color to it. Though not properly trained like his friend, much less skilled and with a fighting style stemming mostly from instinct, he could handle himself well in a fight. His main strength was his remarkable ability to survive, something that one had to possess if they were to survive the chaos of Vernichtung.
A little bit upwards from them stood our last person of interest, Ms. Kayrakuta Weibleiche. As with most female cadets, she had cut her golden hair short so to avoid getting it caught in equipment during training. A standard issue cadet corps jacket slung around her shoulders, she watched quietly as the colonel slowly looked around at every sad, abysmal face holding their hand up above their head. She recognized some of them, a few of them had even gone to the same school as Daisan, Hanten, Rukasa and she. This was not good...she didn't want to see more friends die than she had to.
The Colonel walked over to Daisan, as he was the closest to him. Though not a particularly brave boy, he somehow managed to muster up the courage to look the Colonel directly in the eye, something most cadets would never have even dreamed about.
"You, cadet", he shouted, "tell me."
Daisan furrowed his brow. "Tell you what, sir?"
Colonel Lehrer crouched down to meet the boy eye to eye. "Tell me. Vernichtung. Has everybody been evacuated yet?"
Daisan shook his head sadly. Inside of his mind, events replayed from that day, the filth ridden streets of Vernichtung flowing with the blood of both humans and titans, a flash of blue and white. "No, sir. The gate was already closed off. The Scouting Legion came as soon as they could, but by the time they were there...", the boy murmured, clenching his fists so to hold back tears, "the titans had already devoured everyone!"
The Vernichtung cadets looked down at their feet. It had been almost three months since it happened, but it still hurt like it had been just yesterday. Kayrakuta remembered standing with Daisan and Rukasa when the Scouting Regiment had first arrived. They had been hiding in Hanten's cellar, and Hanten had just run off to try and find some guns in case they were found by the titans. When they first started hearing the patter of footsteps, the three scurried up against the wall. However, once they heard the comforting sound of chords being ejected from 3D Maneuvering Devices, they scrambled over each other to open up the tiny window and get a look at the soldiers outside.
They watched as the soldiers zipped past them, the blue and white Wings of Freedom displayed proudly on their back. Some of them they recognized as members of the 104th Trainee Squad, Connie Springer, Historia Reiss. Then, after almost seven minutes of watching green cloaks flap in the wind above them, the moment the three had all been waiting for finally arrived. Behind a small squad of young cadets led by a tall squad leader with dark brown hair flew the undoubtedly greatest squad in all of the Scouting Legion: Squad Levi, led by Captain Levi himself, followed closely behind by Squad Leader Hange and war hero Eren Jäger. The children's grim faces suddenly lightened up, seeing the legendary soldiers they had only heard stories about.
It was Jäger who noticed them. He pointed them out to Levi, and all the three could discern from the conversation was that Levi was sending someone out to help them. And so it was, Squad Leader Hange Zoë 3D Maneuvering over to them. She helped them out of the window and sent them off with a tall blonde soldier who helped them out to a small refugee boat. In a short while, Haten came back, blood covering his body and tears covering his face.
He explained how he had left for Rukasa's, remembering his father's collection of firearms in case of a titan attack. However, when Hanten arrived, he was met by a massive green eye, staring in through a crack in the walls. In his mouth, the massive titan held none other than Ikusei and Satsujin Fruchte, Rukasa's parents. They had been like parents to Hanten as well, who spent many days after school talking with Rukasa. He collapsed on his knees, tears running down his face, the massive hand of a titan reaching down at him. He knew he was about to be eaten, he knew this was the end, but for some reason, the boy could not move. Everywhere, everywhere it was just teeth, blood heat. He closed his eyes, awaiting the end, but just then a flash of blue and white and a burst of scarlet blood. When he opened up his eyes, the tall blonde soldier stood before him, covered in the titan's blood. He couldn't have gotten the nape of the neck, but he managed to hit the Achilles tendon, collapsing the titan on the ground.
"Quickly", the soldier shouted, "before the titan heals up!"
That soldier was none other than Captain Konfoto Heldin, leader of a small military squadron made up of recently graduated cadets and low ranking soldiers. Despite his low ranking and general lack of success on missions, to those boys, he was even more than a hero, he was a savior. Leading them up on the boat, they slowly drifted away, the tiatans demolishing their city and the citizens too late to get on the boat left to their own devices, their gate, their only chance at freedom sealed up to stop the titans from getting to other cities.
The Colonel closed his eyes. "I see", he murmured, at a loss for words. Regaining his strength, Lehrer finally stood up, opened his eyes and glared down at the cadets. "Alright! Cadets! These next few years won't be easy, and many of you may even die. But you will die men, fighting for humanity's freedom. You are the 105th Trainees Squad!"
The cadets put their right hands behind their back, pounding their left against their chest. This was a soldier's salute, and from this day forth, they were soldiers.