An older version of the babies I hold so dearly~ I do not own them, but I can smush their faces together in an attempt to make it canon (too late ;^; )

Get ready for a world of mixed feelings, folks!

"That's it, drop and give me twenty!"

General Leonhardt was the toughest instructor around. She taught well, presumably meant well, and had the toughest soldiers, but she was ruthlessly strict. If you had been so lucky as to have her as your instructor, you might not even survive. The majority of her students dropped out, but the remainder was strong, hard willed, and ready for anything. There was a lot of controversy over her methods, but no one could deny that they were effective.

"And if you look here, you'll notice..."

General Arlert, however, wasn't so harsh. He mostly taught inside the classroom, but he also had excellent insight on the field, He was an amazing strategist, though not as gifted in the physical department as Leonhardt. He was kind, forgiving, and easily flustered- some called this being a "pushover".

These two, seniors of the Military Police and Scout Regiment respectively, were very gifted leaders. Polar opposites in both ideals and methods, these two were paired up for conjoined training so each could cover the subject the other lacked in. This kind of training was recently introduced, and proved to be very successful, though the instructors themselves didn't quite enjoy the process.

"Annie, can we talk for a moment?" Although the two had known each other for- what, 13 years- Leonhardt wasn't used to the informal address anymore.
"What is it, Arlert?" On the contrary (as usual), Arlert winced at the cold way she addressed him.

"I want to talk about the recruits- specifically your disciplinary measures. Don't you think you're being a little too..." Armin began, but immediately regretted it. He most certainly did have a problem with it, but the icy glare Annie was giving him when he looked up from his feet made him squirm a bit.
"...harsh on them?" He finished, his voice slowly lowering in volume as the adrenaline flowed out of his mind.

Annie snorted, and shifted her weight onto one leg. "Not really. It gets them to listen, unlike your methods."

"B-But you're pushing them beyond their limits! Some of them don't even make it to their graduation!"

"Well, if they couldn't survive training, how could I expect them to live as soldiers? If they don't learn to live, they shouldn't have applied."

Armin was taken aback by that response, along with the deadpan stare that came with it. She was serious about this! He couldn't believe that she could bare treating recruits like that, let alone any human being- she had to be joking!

"Annie, you can't possibly mean that!"

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

...Or had she?

"We-Well, I don't believe y-...you're not that..."

Come to think of it, Armin could never tell how she thought, or what she was thinking. She was always distant, cold, and wasn't too keen on talking about herself, let alone anything. This plan was going downhill fast.

"Not that what?" Annie questioned suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"..." All Armin could do was stare a the ground, shifting his feet and muttering curses. Why, why me? I just can't bear to see cadets in so much pain, but...it does work, and...ugh, why did I have to open my mouth?

Annie let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle, making Armin look up immediately. "Oh, Arlert." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "When will you learn. I'm not some happy-go-lucky girl, like you think I am. Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that."

Ouch.

"Now come on, we have cadets to train." She gave Armin a look full of mock-pity as she started to walk off, leaving Armin to stand there, collecting his thoughts.