This story was written by 4fireking and Soft-falling-Raindrops. It is not Attack On Titan. It's a fanfiction, lol.
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"I expect each and every one of you to be in top shape at the end of this! No slackers!"
The sun beat down fiercely on the new cadets as Instructor Shadis stalked down the lines of panting cadets, his critical eye watching as they performed their push ups on the dusty earth.
"You there, Cadet Fukui! No slacking!" He barked, and the named boy nodded faintly, picking up the pace as his sweaty blonde hair fell into his eyes. Shadis moved on and Akio slowed slightly,gasping for breath as his arms shook slightly.
"Akio, you okay?"
Looking beside him he could see his friend Kyo watching him worriedly, and Akio nodded again. "Y-yea, I'll be fine. I just need to hold out till this session's over." He wheezed, wincing as he shifted his aching leg.
"Are you sure? You hurt your leg really bad on the training course the other day," Kyo commented, his gray eyes glinting worriedly as he panted slightly.
"I'll be fine." Akio lied through his teeth, gritting them as Shadis shouted, "Faster!" "I could ask him if you could stop, you know, so you wouldn't hurt yourself more-" Kyo began, and Akio shook his head. "Then the others will think of me as weak, and I don't want that."
"Cadets! I expect you to be focused on the training!" They visibly flinched as Shadis appeared behind them, as if he had teleported. "Yes sir!" Akio huffed, glaring at the ground as Shadis moved on. "I swear, it's almost like he's picking on us exclusively!"
"Alright, that's enough for a day. Get to your barracks, the final test is tonight!" Sighing with relief, Akio got to his knees and rested momentarily, closing his eyes as he pushed himself up. "You sure you don't need that checked out?" Rolling his eyes, Akio nodded and started towards the showers, then paused.
"Hey, Kyo, you nervous about tonight?" The raven haired boy paused, and then nodded slightly. "Yea. I think we all are. Corrie's nervous too." Akio shifted his footing slightly, and murmured "Could you help me on the 3DM gear? I still don't have the hang of it, and, I am worried about my leg."
Kyo smiled and nodded, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. "Your scar bothering you again?" Akio asked, and Kyo shook his head. "Not really... more of a memory. Come on, Instructor Shadis said the equipment was open for if people wanted to practice. Let's go."
"Alright, keep still while it's going up. With the tips I showed you, you should be able to keep your balance."
"Okay. Start it up." Akio took a deep breath as he slowly went higher, wobbling a little bit as it shifted. "Just keep calm, it'll be fine!" Kyo reassured him, and Akio blinked once in acknowledgment, worried that he would fall over if he nodded.
A few tense moments passed and he was finally fully into the air, his breath coming in short puffs as he held his balance. "You're doing it!" Kyo whispered, and a grin grew on Akio's face as he let his breath loose, laughing "I did it! Corrie, look!"
A brunette, tall girl that was passing by glanced over, and grinned as she noticed Akio on the 3DM gear. "Good job, Akio! Just in time too. Shadis is gathering the cadets for the final test. You better hurry. Oh, and by the way, I learned a new bird whistle!" Grinning excitedly she showed it off, and Kyo and Akio chuckled.
"Cool, and alright!" Akio called after her, and he waited until he was fully on the ground until he unclipped the hooks attached to his harness. "Thanks Kyo." He smiled, slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders. "No problem. I don't plan on leaving you behind," Kyo grinned, shoving Akio playfully as he ran after Corrie.
XXX
"Cadets! I hope you've all been training hard. This decides whether you get washed out, or not!"
Akio fiddled with his gear nervously, watching as Shadis stood beside the gear. "Your gear will be checked, to make sure it is not rusting or faulty. Alright, Cadet Unmika, you first!"
Watching as a proud looking, smaller boy stepped up to the gear, Akio chewed on his bottom lip nervously as the cadets passed one by one, just barely scraping by or getting past with ease. 'I have to get this. I can't screw up.'
"Cadet Kita!" 'I can't fail. I won't fail. I won't.' In a time that seemed too short, Shadis was in front of him, his steely gaze bearing down on Akio. "Cadet Fukui!"
Swallowing hard, Akio stepped towards the harness, balling his hands into fists as the hooks clipped onto his belt. "Are you ready?" "Yes sir!" Akio called out, straightening and desperately trying to remember the tips Kyo and Corrie had given him. 'Back straight. Slow, even breaths, nothing jerky. Relax.' "Begin!"
The crank was turned, and Akio slowly rose into the air, his breath becoming slightly erratic as his feet left the ground. He could see Kyo mumbling under his breath, his eyes never leaving Akio's. 'I-I've got it! I'm doing it!' A grin grew on his face as he held his balance proudly, his friends and the other cadets cheering as he was lowered to the ground. "Good job. You've passed."
"Hands upon your hearts!"
Akio raised his arms in the salute of the army, his heart thumping loudly in his chest as he yelled "Yes Sir!"
"For you trainees graduating today, three paths now open before you. You can be stationed at the walls and defend the cities as members of the Garrison! You can put your lives on the line to fight the titans in their own territory and members of the Recon Corps! And you can serve the King by controlling the crowds and protecting order as members of the Military Police Brigade!"
Licking his lips nervously, Akio looked at the faces of his friends as they watched the stage. Worry, and indecisiveness crossed their faces, and Akio was sure his face looked the same as he turned his gaze back up to the platform.
"Of course, only the ten people people with top scores we announced earlier are allowed into the Military Police!"
He knew who a few of them were, he had talked to them on a few occasions. Ryou Oshiro, a lanky, brown eyed, almost white haired boy with a strong hate for titans, Takahiro Yoshida, a smaller, green eyed and red haired boy with a creepy fascination with bugs, and Daiki Ueno. Strong, tall, blue eyes and blonde hair, he was like the perfect soldier in all his classes, and the top of the graduating students. His only fault was that he thought he was right about everything, and he didn't pay attention to what others thought.
"Alright, time to head to your barracks! Sleep on your choices, and tomorrow night you choose where you go!"
The crowd of cadets saluted again and slowly broke apart, friends finding each other as they headed towards the barracks. "Corrie, Kyo, what do you guys choose?" Akio asked nervously, and Corrie shook her head. "I don't know, I guess I'll choose when it comes." "The Recon Corps."
Akio and Corrie looked at Kyo in shock, and he flushed slightly. "I want to see the outside, to get a taste of what's out there! I want to see it at least once before I die. What about you Akio?" Rubbing at his arm, Akio muttered "The Garrison. I wanted to stay around town, and see a little less action. I don't know if I'm ready for this."
Nodding grimly, they stood in silence for a little bit until they heard Kyo's name called. "Hey, Arata! You're on the patrol tonight. Better get a move on." Kyo waved in acknowledgement, and put a hand on Corrie's and Akio's shoulders. "Good luck, guys -"
'"Guys! The patrol last night was overrun by a group of Titans!"
Fear clawed at Akio's heart as he jumped out of bed, not bothering to pull a shirt on as he stumbled out the door. "What was that?! The patrol's gone?"
The bearer of the bad news nodded frantically. "There weren't any survivors, the titans broke through in the night and killed all of them! Commander Erwin's squad came as backup too late, but luckily the titan shifter, Eren Jeager was able to block the hole." He kept on rambling to the other cadets but Akio froze, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.
Kyo, was gone? Just like that. A death in the night, barely noticed. Akio slumped against the wooden wall of the barrack, clutching his head in his hands as everything else drowned out. Now what was he going to do? "Akio."
A voice rang through his thoughts and he looked up, into Corrie's sorrowful face. "I'm so sorry."'
Akio shook his head as the memories trickled into his head, groaning quietly as he grasped at his hair. It had been four weeks since Kyo died, and still the memory haunted him. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. Absentmindedly he traced a small area over his left arm, right where Kyo had his scar. Kyo had never told him where he got it from...
"Alright, all of you up now! The Titans have broken through, and they're calling us in! Get your gear on, and move!"
Jumping out of his cot, Akio ignored the worried whispers coming from around him, and started hastily getting his harness on, rushing up to get his gear. "-Broken through, I thought they had the Recon Corps guarding that hole!" "We're dead, we're so dead..."
Scowling, he pushed through a group of people getting their gear on and stood at attention with a few others, waiting for the signal to move out and go after the Titans. 'They need to pay for what they did to Kyo.' "Alright, everyone to the Recon Corps! You'll be working under Commander Erwin, helping him defend the walls! We'll need every man out there, do not lag behind! Now go!"
"Sir yes Sir!" They shouted, one by one taking off and zipping towards the steam rising in the distance. "Keep formation!"
As they grew closer they could hear people screaming and shouting, and the blood staining the tiles grew more and more common. "Five meter, incoming!" Someone to Akio's left shouted, and there was momentarily confusion as the Garrison broke formation, scattering like birds away from a dog.
'No, no, they're panicking! If we get separated... we can't get separated!'
"Keep formation, cowards!" Akio yelled, rotating his body so he was facing the Titan and shot his gear at the building near it. "Are we soldiers, or sniveling brats?!" Raising his blades, he twisted his arms and brought them down onto the Titan's nape, grunting as he dug his blades in deep. The Titan collapsed to the ground and started steaming, sending a column of white smoke into the air as it dissipated. "To the wall! We still have to help the Recon Core, even if there's Titans involved! Keep going forward!"
The words coming out of his mouth shocked him, as he dropped down to a nearby rooftop, his arms shaking with adrenaline. 'W-what am I saying? Is this really me talking?' "GO!" At his yell, they slowly started coming back, gaining confidence as they saw Akio heading towards the battle. 'I'm actually leading them, and they're listening?'
Akio grinned confidently, raising one of his swords in victory as he yelled. The others followed his suit, and he held his head high as he led them to the battle. 'Alright. Get them to Commander Erwin. That's all I have to d-'
A giant figure suddenly halted in front of him, it's body steaming as it turned to face them. Baring his teeth, Akio ran up it's arm towards it's nape and was about to slice into it when he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. 'What? No... I-it can't be.' Right where Kyo had one, there was a large, white scar running up the Titan's arm. 'No. It's not, it's just an abnormal. It's not him! Move! Kill it!'
His body wouldn't respond though, and the Titan swatted him off its arm, yanking at the lines that were embedded into his flesh. 'Move, move you idiot!' Akio hit the ground with a grunt, his ears ringing as his head hit something hard. The ringing faded till it was dull, and Akio couldn't hear anything but garbled noises as he watched the Titan.
It reached out with its massive hand and yanked at Akio roughly, and Akio could swear he heard a ripping noise as his arm burst into pain. He cried out as the Titan moved him around, yanking at him again, causing Akio to scream in pain as his vision grew disoriented. No, I won't die like this! His mind cried out desperately, and Akio could feel his head growing fuzzy, his vision now blackening as he struggled to stay awake.
'I refuse to!'
