Chapter 3: A Dim Light Amid Despair
Argh...my computer restarted again...and I have to rewrite FREAKING EVERYTHING! Anyways, it's finally done and now you guys can find out more about my OCs. Well I said there are three main OCs, but there's a fourth one. Unfortunately, she won't be in the upcoming episodes after the Battle of Trost District arc, because she's minor, but you'll find out why. She will be introduced here along with my second major OC, Janessa. The third main one is gonna be introduced pretty much later. And I also noticed there were not enough favs, follows or reviewers. I really need motivation here, :( Anyways, enjoy reading, and remember to fav, follow or review!
It is the day the trainees and our favorite quartet had joined the 104th Trainee Squad. After a speech, Keith Shadis walks over to every cadet and demand for name, location and why they would join this boot camp. He even criticized their habits and their looks, because he is not pleased at all and he wants proper behavior when joining a boot camp.
He walks over to the next cadet after the other. "Hey, muff-top!" he called out.
Armin salutes as he was called. "Sir!"
"What do they call you, maggot?" Keith asked with a roaring tone.
"Armin Arlert, from Shinganshina, sir!" the young blonde answered.
"Wow, seriously? Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?" Keith criticized.
"It was my grandfather's, sir!" Armin answered with a little tone of fear in his voice.
Saoirse rolled her eyes. It's a nice name to be honest.
Keith leaned closer to his face. "Cadet Arlert, why is a runt like you here?" he said with a threatening tone.
Armin closed his eyes in fear. "To help humanity overcome the titans!" he said.
Keith leaned away from his face. "That is a life of a him! You'd be a great light snack for them," he said. He placed his hand on Armin's head and turned him around. "Row Three, about face, runt!"
He approached to the next one which was tall and had bleach blonde hair. "What do you call yourself?" he asked.
He saluted. "Sir!" he answered. "My name is Thomas Wagner I'm from the Trost District!"
Keith glared at him. "I can't hear you!" he roared.
"I'm from Trost, sir!" Thomas spoke loudly.
Two instructors were walking around, watching the cadets get yelled at. "Look at him go," a bespectacled instructor said. "The man who's a master when it comes to fresh faced recruits."
His friend, who had mustard blonde hair nodded behind him. "That takes me, back," he replied.
Keith was busy yelling at a young girl who had fair skin and black hair donned into pigtails, whose face was really close. "Is a pathetic runt like you here the best cowardness has to offer?!" he shouted into her face.
She closed her eyes in fear. "Sir! I'm afraid that's the case, sir!" she answered loudly.
Keith continued to yell at every cadet as so to get them to prove their determination and that the reason they are joining are meant to be, no matter how timid or shy that person was. Some got insulted, some got hit and some got bruises from getting hit by Keith when no respect or doing something incorrectly was shown. "Row Four, about face!"
The row which consisted of Eren, Saoirse, Mikasa and other cadets faced Keith. The instructor continued to walk, inspecting them and choosing what cadet he would like to yell at. Some shivered, because they didn't' want to be yelled or get hit. Eren, Mikasa and Saoirse kept their demeanor and stoic look. Keith eventually approached five cadets as well.
He approached the first one, which was a she and has fair skin, donning orange-reddish hair that was tied into a ponytail and had messy bangs all over her face with eyes as green as grass. "What do you call yourself?" he asked her.
She saluted. "Sir! The name's Janessa Freud, I hail from the Oruvd District, Wall Sina!" she answered.
Keith leaned closer to her face. "And what choice did you have to join this boot camp?" he said.
"The Military Police are slackers! The Garrisons drink a lot which makes them lazy and drunk but the Survey Corps is a good choice because they are not slackers and they fight for humanity and that's what I'm gonna do to serve humanity!" the redhead said.
Saoirse raised her eyebrows. Janessa seemed interesting. However, Keith shot a dirty look, because he's never seen someone who spoke a picky speech before. Showing his disapproval, he pulled onto Janessa's bangs hard to the point it would seem that they will remove from her hair.
"Pickiness is not tolerated in this boot camp and that's not how you answer your superior, young lady," he said quietly in a threatening voice before switching to his yelling voice. "Say it again with dignity, slut!"
Janessa closed her eyes. "T-To join the Survey Corps to help humanity win our lives!" she answered correctly.
Keith stepped away and let go of her bangs. He approached the next one, which was taller than Janessa and had copper-hair, and his face was compared to a face of a horse.
"What do we have over here?" he demanded.
The boy saluted. "Jean Kirstein sir from the Trost District!" he answered.
"And why are you here, cadet?" he asked.
He smirked. "To join the Military Police sir, the best of the best!" he said.
Eren shot a dirty look while Saoirse rolled her eyes. They didn't appreciate people who join the Military Police just for their own sake than willing to fight for humanity. Janessa sighed. This isn't gonna go well.
"That's nice," Keith said calmly. "You wanna live in the interior, do you?"
Jean grinned as if it wasn't a hard question. "Yes!" he answered.
The bald headed instructor raised his head towards Jean and headbutted him. He fell to the ground covering his forehead in fear, not wanting to get hurt while Janessa winced at this. "No one told you to sit, recruit!" he yelled. "If you can't handle this Kirstein then forget about joining the Military Police!"
He walked over to the next one which had black parted hair and freckles decorated all over his face. "What the hell is wrong with your face you smiling idiot?!" he shouted.
The girl next to him cringed. The freckled boy saluted. "Marco Bott, at your service sir from Jinae, south side of Wall Rose!" he answered. "I'm in to join the Military Police and give life and limit service to the king!"
Saoirse raised her eyebrows again. Although she didn't like people who join the Military Police for their own sake, she seemed to approve the reason why he would join.
"Well then, that makes you an idealistic fool, and a noob," Keith said calmly. "You want the truth?"
He leaned closer to his face. "The only use the king has for your life and limbs is titan fonder," he said, before he raised his face away and walked over to the girl next to Marco which had fair skin, caramel colored hair which she has two bangs on the sides of her face and curly hair that ended in ringlets at the shoulders.
The girl shivered. "And you! Why do you look so damn pretty here, idiot?" he asked. "Are you trying to look impressive at a time like this and battling titans?!"
She saluted and closed her eyes. "No sir! This hairstyle is adapted from my mother, sir!" she answered.
"What do they call you, slut?" he asked.
"K-Keira Beringer from Jinae south side of Wall Rose!" she said.
"I can't hear you!" Keith roared.
"Keira Beringer Jinae South Side of Wall Rose!" she said loudly.
Keith leaned closer to her, "You hail from the same place as Bott, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
"And why have you come here, Keira Beringer?" Keith asked.
"To join the Survey Corps to serve humanity!" she answered.
Saoirse smirked. She seems to admire her.
"I have a little advice for your hair," Keith said before pulling one curl from her hair. "I recommend that you straighten your hair so it doesn't get in the way of combat against the titans!"
He let go and left Keira shivering. Marco turned to her and gave her an assuring smile, although he was sure he would get caught. Keith walked over to the next one which was short and he sports a buzz cut.
"Hey cue-ball, your up next," he said, standing in front of him.
The buzz cut boy piped up. "Oh me? Sir!" he said, saluting. "Connie Springer from Ragako Village, sir!"
However, he didn't realize his salute was wrong, because the correct way of the latter was to put his/her right arm over the left side of the chest, which was the heart, but he did it in reverse. Keith grabbed the sides of his head and raised him, while pinching both sides.
"You have it backwards, Connie Springer," he corrected. "That was the first thing you were taught. The salute represents the resolving of your heart to fight those blithering systematic destruction of our people. Is your heart on your right side?!"
Suddenly, a large crunch interrupted the scene. The instructor faced the direction of the sound which came from a girl who sported brown hair tied into a ponytail, with two bangs covering the sides of her face, and she was eating a potato, at a time like this, munching nervously.
Keith let go of Connie and faced her. "Hey you there, what do you think your doing?" he asked in a threatening tone.
He walked over to her, while she was looking around nervously while munching. She bit the potato again.
"Your officially on my shit list!" he yelled. "Just who the hell are you?!"
The girl quickly swallowed and saluted with the potato in her hand. "Sasha Blouse from Dauper Village at your service!" she said. "Reporting for duty, sir!"
"Sasha Blouse, huh?" he asked. "Then what is that your clutching in your right hand?"
"A steamed potato!" she answered. "It sat there in the mess hall begging to be eaten, sir!"
Keith stared at her. "The theft, I understand," he said. "But here, why eat it here of all places?"
"It looks quite delicious, and it was getting cold," she said. "So I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir."
"Why?" Keith continued to ask. "I can't comprehend. Why would you eat that potato?"
Sasha's mouth widened. "Are you...asking me why people eat potatoes?" she took it incorrectly. "I'm surprised you don't know, sir."
Saoirse mentally slapped her palm against her forehead. Eren, Armin, Janessa, Jean, Marco, Keira and Connie looked at her in complete bewilderment.
She looked at the potato and ripped it in half. She handed the other piece to Keith. "Here sir, have half," she said.
Keith grabbed it and looked at it in dismay. "Have half, really?" he said.
Sasha stared at him for a moment before grinning stupidly.
The cadets were done with introduction, and it was already sunset by the time they were done. Eren, Armin, Saoirse, Connie, Marco, Keira and the black haired girl named Mina stood on the porch, watching Sasha run laps while looking tired.
"Man, I thought Shadis was gonna kill potato girl," Connie said.
"I know," Eren replied. "What hell on the first day."
"That's a lesson to be taught though," Saoirse said. "Never mess with Shadis."
"I kinda feel bad for her though," Keira said. "She looks so tired; can you die from too much running?"
Saoirse nodded. "Yeah," she said. "In some history books I read that one messenger died from too much running when he was running back to his homeland from the land he was supposed to bring the message too, and that's hella far."
"Yikes," Mina muttered.
"It's funny," Eren continued. "Being told to run to the sunsets didn't seem to bother her nearly as much as losing meal privileges for the next five days."
"I think she said that she's from Dauper," Connie said. "If I remember right, that's a small hunting village up in the mountains."
"I've read that in a book too," Saoirse said. "Families would often go hunting for food. That must explain why she loves eating, hence also explaining why she ate the potato a while ago."
"You read too much, Saoirse," Eren teased. Suddenly he saw something that caught his attention. "Hey, what's that?"
"They're dropouts," Mina explained. There was a carriage up the hill carrying two people. "They prefer to work in the fields."
"But...it's only the first day," Armin said.
"That's the way it is, if you can't handle the pressure, you've got to leave," Eren said.
The others turned to him. Eren had a determined look on his face. "I can't believe anyone would rather pull plants in the fight."
Marco turned to him. "I know about some of us but you and Saoirse never mentioned where you two were from, Eren," he said.
Eren placed his hand on Armin's shoulder and held Saoirse's hand tightly. "The same as Armin," he answered. "From Shinganshina."
Marco, Connie and Keira stared in awe. "Oh...wow..that means...you saw him, you were there that day," Connie said.
Marco faced him. "Quiet!" he said, he didn't want his new friend to recall the troubles of what happened two years ago.
Keira sighed. "Connie, please," she reprimanded.
The buzz cut boy ignored them anyway. "The Colossal One...did you see him?" he asked with curiosity.
"Yeah...," Eren mumbled. "Yeah I did."
As dinner came, Eren was busy telling the story of what happened to a crowd of people who surrounded him, full of curiosity. They never seen a titan, but they would love to hear about one. Saoirse was sitting beside him, who was busy reading her copy of "The Hyacinth Willows". Saoirse decided she would let Eren do the talking because he was the one who had the desire to kill titans, and she was busy reading.
"Yeah okay, I saw the big guy," Eren told them while raising his spoon towards his mouth.
All the people surrounding him gasped. "Woah, seriously?" Thomas asked.
A guy named Samuel leaned over. "Okay, exactly how tall was he?" he asked.
"He stuck his head over the outer wall," Eren explained.
More gasps filled the room. "Woah wait, I heard he stepped over the wall completely!" A guy named Daz told them.
Hannah, a freckled girl with a red head joined in. "So did I!" she said.
"That was a rumor in my village too!" another one said.
Saoirse raised her head up from her book. "Don't believe what your folks say if they weren't there to experience the actual thing," she muttered. "Not everyone lives up to their expectations."
Eren nodded as she went back to reading her book and raised his spoon. "He was big but not that big," he continued.
"So what did it look like?" Mina asked.
"It had a mouth like a corpse, and no skin just muscles," Eren answered.
"And the Armored Titan? The one that broke through Wall Maria?" one asked.
Eren sipped. "Is that what they're calling it?" he said. "And with all the panic it was just a titan to me."
"No way..." Samuel said. "So what were they like?"
Eren suddenly froze, as if a bug had bitten on his nape. He dropped his spoon, covered his mouth and gagged. It was clear that the horrible memories of the death of his mother had came back to his mind completely.
Saoirse raised her head up and noticed Eren's troubled look, covering his mouth. She raised her hand towards her crush. "Eren..?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
All the people froze and stopped bombarding him with questions, realizing his look and they soon figured out that Eren's memories of the titan attack had came back. Marco and Keira, who were standing there, they turned to the audience.
"Come on, that's enough questions alright?" Marco said. "I'm sure he'd rather not relive everything he went through."
Keira nodded along. "Surely you all don't know what it felt like," she joined in.
"Sorry," Connie said. "We didn't mean to-"
"It's not like that," Eren assured. He grabbed a loaf of bread and bit into it, while Saoirse was watching him. "Those stupid titans. They're really not big of a deal. If we focus on mastering the omni-directional mobility gear they give us, then it's titan payback time."
Jean Kirstein, who was sitting with Janessa, he watched him talk with a bored look and his chin resting on his hand. "I've waited years to be trained as a soldier," Eren continued. "All of sudden the reality is sinking in. I'm joining the Scout Regiment, then I'm sending the titans back to hell. I'm gonna butcher them all."
"Hey, you crazy or something?" Jean suddenly interrupted, with Eren and the audience turning to him.
"Not that it's my business but signing up for a consistence is a death sentence," he continued.
Eren turned to him. "I guess we'll see," he replied. "Or at least I will. You seem content hiding in the interior with the MPs."
Jean remained his look. "Look I'm just speaking honestly here kid, I think it's better than being some loud-mouth braggered tough guy wannabe pretending he isn't scared as the rest of us."
Eren stood up abrubtly. Saoirse and Janessa sighed in unison. "Are you trying to pick a fight?" he said.
"Stop it you guys," Marco tried.
Jean stood up as well. "Alright, sure," he said, walking over to Eren, who was towering over. "Makes no difference to me."
Just when they were about to start fighting, the bell rang. Dinner was over, and it was time to go to their respective dorms. Jean sighed. "Hey, I apologize," he said. "Sorry for calling you names and dismissing your choice of career."
"Put it there kid, what do ya say?" Jean asked, raising his hand.
Eren hesitated. "Right, yeah I'm sorry as well." he said, slapping his hand and walking away. Saoirse grabbed her book and followed him as well. Jean was watching him walk away until Mikasa came into his view. Her long, silky black hair attracted the attention of Jean, as shown when his eyes widened and began to blush profusely.
Janessa noticed his look and groaned, crossing her arms, a look of pure jealousy into her face. But jealous, of what?
Mikasa was halfway to the doorway when Jean called for her. "U-Um, excuse me," Jean said.
Mikasa turned to him. When she did, he stopped and he couldn't stop blushing. "I-Uh...I just wanted to...I-I mean...," he stammered. "I've never seen anyone like you before...I mean-uh...I-I'm sorry. You have really beautiful black hair."
"Thank you," Mikasa mumbled before walking away completely. Jean just stood there, amazed. Snapping out of daydreaming, he ran outside to look for her. Janessa looked down and her jealous face was replaced with sadness. Keira and Marco walked over to her, in which she placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry Janessa," Keira assured. "I'm sure Jean will realize your feelings for him soon enough."
"I-I...," Janessa stuttered, looking up while her face was burning like a kettle.
Marco smiled. "Why don't you go after him?" he said.
"U-Uh, sure!" Janessa said, running towards Jean, who was outside. She stopped into the doorway when she spotted him watching Mikasa walking with Eren and Saoirse.
"Would you lay off? It's not a big deal," Eren said.
"It's just that you get so worked up you don't think things true," Mikasa replied.
"Well, sometimes you don't have to dismiss everyone's choice of career, but Jean totally blew it," Saoirse said. "So is there a point in your sentence, Jean's or both?"
"Neither of it," Mikasa said. "But thanks for the logic."
Eren sighed. "Again with this?" he said. "If you insist on worrying, worry about how long your hair is. It's gonna catch up with you in a bad way when we start on the ODMs."
He flipped on her hair, and Mikasa grabbed one bang and hesitated. "Now that I think about it, yeah," Saoirse said.
"Okay, fine, I'll cut it," Mikasa said. "How short should I go, you think?"
Saoirse shrugged. "Probably not that short," she said. "Maybe just up to where the hair is completely out of the ODM's reach, try chin-length."
"Oh, thanks Saoirse," Mikasa said.
Saoirse nodded. "Hey, it's the least I could do for a friend," she said.
Eren smiled at her. "And you come up with great ideas, just like Armin."
Jean, who watched the whole scene, he was baffled because the long silky hair he saw awhile ago would be gone soon. He didn't notice Connie walking by, humming. Completely stuck in the fantasy of the black hair, he wiped Connie's back.
"What the hell?!" Connie shrieked. "Don't be close along, dammit! What did you wipe on me?!"
He tried to reach for his back, trying to figure out what Jean had rubbed. The horse-faced boy continued to star into blank space, looking delirious.
"Don't worry, just my trust," Jean mumbled.
The girls went to their respective dorms while the boys went to theirs as well. They were all in the large room, chatting, brushing hair, some even read books, like Saoirse. She raised her head up and turned to see Mikasa slowly cutting her hair, and went back to reading. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approach and saw Janessa standing in front of her, smiling.
"Uh-Hi!" Janessa greeted. "Your Saoirse...right?"
"Yeah," the brunette said, grinning.
Janessa grinned stupidly. "I-I'm sorry about Jean...he's really like that, so don't mind if he does that to Eren, okay?" she said.
"Nah it's fine," Saoirse assured. "Your Janessa, right?"
The redhead nodded and raised her hand for her to shake. "Nice to meet ya!" she greeted.
Saoirse shook her hand and continued to chat with her new best friend. "Nice to meet you too," she said. "To be honest, I kinda like watching Jean and Eren fight, because it's kinda funny when you put it that way."
"Yeah, I feel the same way," Janessa chuckled.
"I thought you would be like horse-face," Saoirse said.
Janessa's eyes widened. "Not really, he's been my childhood friend, so I'm not an asshole like he is," she answered. "He's a really nice guy, just acts like a dick sometimes. And I'm surprised you called him horse-face. He does have a face of a horse, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, probably his ancestors are horses," Saoirse joked.
They both laughed at this and high-five each other. "Sooo Janessa...why did you decide to join the Scout Regiment?" Saoirse asked.
"Are you kidding?! I'm totally in for the Scouts!" Janessa cheered. "Well like I said. The Military Police and Garrisons are slackers, but when it comes to fighting titans, slackers are not tolerated!"
"I thought you would go for the Military Police," Saoirse said.
"Duh, I just said they're slackers," Janessa replied. "But I won't be against Jean's choice. My brother is in there as well."
Suddenly, they heard the door open. The girls turned around to see a blonde girl named Krista, and her tall friend Ymir, who was carrying Sasha on her back, AKA Potato Girl. All the girls in the room ran towards them.
"Holy crap, is that potato girl?" Mina asked.
Saoirse leaned over to Janessa's ear. "She must have done her laps," she said.
"Mhm," Janessa mumbled.
Ymir looked at Sasha and then to the girls. "We ended up running into Potato Girl while we were walking back here," she explained. "Krista insisted on doing so."
Janessa gasped, and quickly ran over to Krista, whom she placed her arms on both of her shoulders. "Everybody! She's a goddess! A GODDESS!" she screamed. "Gloria to you, oh great goddess!"
Krista looked at the redhead, and smiled shyly, with the other girls chattering on what Janessa said. Keira walked over as well.
"Her bed's over there, I think I'm beside her," Keira said, pointing over to where she was.
"Thanks," Ymir said, walking over to the bed. As she did, she lowered her chest and slowly put Sasha into the bed. The other girls looked at her, whom all of them are very curious what happened to her after the laps.
"Well, I guess that means that neither of us shouldn't be messing with Shadis," Janessa said.
"Well I'll be damned," Saoirse replied.
Suddenly, the door opened, with the girls turning to see who it was. It was Keith, standing there, glaring at the girls. "Why are you girls still awake?" he asked. "Get some damn sleep already, we have a big day tomrrow you idiots."
"Good night Commander Shadis," all the girls said in unison.
And with that, he closed the door.
The next day came, and it was training time for the cadets. To master the ODM gear, they had to balance their weight first to make sure they are fit to try the gear. Some cadets struggled with balance, but they did so and made it to mastering the gear.
"It's attitude time, so listen up!" Keith roared. "There's no place for you here if you cannot perform! Fail, and you will be shifted to the fields!"
Some people were taking this easy, some were really hard, because they were heavy. The mustard haired instructor and the bespectacled instructor were walking around again to observe the cadets. "Why, look at this one," the bespectacled one pointed at. "That redhead's definitley struggling, but she's taking it well like a boss."
Janessa barely balanced, as she kept on falling back and forth but raised her arms to try to break it. The two instructors walked over to the next one. "How about this one?" the mustard haired instructor asked, pointing at Keira, who was balancing.
The bespectacled instructor shrugged. "That girl with curls is definitely sturggling as well, but this is a test of mobility and altitude, there's no gurantee that one could easily fall to the floor."
They both walked away and turned at Saoirse, who barely showed movement, balancing very well on the gear. "Well this one's a charm," the mustard-haired instuctor pointed at.
"Well I must say, this one mentioned she was a Hillman," the bespectacled one said. "If I remember correctly, Shadis had briefly mentioned that he was good friends with Ben Hillman. Figured out that she must have advanced learning and that she is the daughter of a Scout."
They walked away to observe more cadets. "Why are we here again? We are supposed to do our duties today instead of watching," the mustard haired instructor asked suddenly.
"We're just drilling the fundamentals here, they can still determine a cadet's mandatory by watching," his friend replied, and something caught his attention, and his eyes widened. "Like her."
Mikasa, who's hair was chin length, she was balancing very well, barely showing any movements of struggling, whilst having a demeanor and chilling look on her face. The other cadets were surprised by her stiff balancing.
"Completely stiff, she inherently knows what to do and how to make it happen, that's what altitude is all about." he finished, walking away and observing Sasha, who was balancing well, Connie on the other hand, struggling but managed to maintain his balance, and Jean was struggling as well but managed to do just fine. Almost everyone seemed to fit in well with the balancing.
"I say we have several people as cadets this year," he continued on.
His mustard-haired friend pointed to what he was seeing. "And what about this guy?" he asked.
The bespectacled instructor turned to where his friend is pointing and is surprised by what he saw. "That's precisely why we're on these tests," he said calmly. "He proves that drive and dedication do not always translate in capability."
Eren was hanging from the wires, completely upside down and screwing his chance of mastering the ODM gear. Keith knelt down and he looked very angry with the way he is balancing.
"Why is your mission malfunctioning, Yeager?!" Keith yelled. "Straighten yourself up!"
Lots of cadets were snickering and giggling at the sight, whilst Eren looked completely devastated by the fact that he failed balancing in order to master the ODM gear. Saoirse was already finished, and she heard lots of people cheering for her. The instructor lowered the wires and she was already down. She saw Eren, and she immediately looked panic.
Oh no...Eren! He's not doing well with the wires! I've got to help him!
Training was already done, and it was sunset already. Apparently, Eren failed to master his balance, so the quartet headed outside and try to teach Eren how to balance without failure. They all already mastered it except for Eren, so given the choice they train without him or he would lose his dream of mastering the gear for killing titans.
"Just remember the basics and you' should be fine," Mikasa instructed.
Armin was in charge of the wires while Mikasa and Saoirse were there to assure him. "Try not to look down Eren," Saoirse added.
"I won't," Eren replied.
"No need to try any fancy maneuvers, just focus on your balance," Mikasa continued. "Then distribute your weight evenly between the belts on your waist and your leg."
Saoirse nodded. "And try to relax your body, straightening it would avoid falling." she said.
"Thanks girls," Eren said.
"Loosen up your stance a little bit," Armin added. "If I could do it I know that you can."
Eren turned his head towards his friend. "Okay, a loose stance would balance," he said. "Let's give it a shot Armin."
The blonde boy nodded hesitantly. Armin grabbed on the lever and began to rotate it, raising the wires connected to Eren's belt. As the wires began to rise, Eren began too. Saoirse watched hesitantly and hoping that he would master it now so he would tomorrow. As soon as his feet rose above the floor, Eren looked down, and fell right away yelling, hitting his head against the rocky ground.
"Eren!" Saoirse shrieked.
Dinner came, and the quartet decided to eat after a long day at training. Some cadets glanced at Eren and decided to mock him of his abilities if he truly wanted to butcher all titans.
"Hey Daz," one guy said to his friend while looking at him. "He was talking big about butchering all the titans but he got real plaid after all the training, didn't he?"
Eren had pure horror on his face hearing that, and had a bandage wrapped around his head.
"I guess it's the fields for him tomorrow," Daz replied. "Can't keep wasting food on the issues."
Saoirse turned to them and shot them a death glare, in which the two boys grew scared and went back to eating their food. Saoirse was really nice and friendly, but she is scary when she's angry sometimes.
"Don't listen to them Eren," Saoirse murmured, with Armin nodding in agreement.
"Eren," Mikasa said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, which made him yelp in fright.
"Worrying won't solve the thing," Armin assured. "There's still time to get some practicing than worrying."
"All that matters is you have to concentrate on your balance, that's what we're worried about," Saoirse said.
"How pathetic," Eren said. "How am I supposed to kill them when I can't even stand up straight?"
"It might be time to let that dream die," Mikasa muttered.
All three faced her, which she remained her demeanor expression as she ate her food.
"Mikasa...what are you saying?" Saoirse asked.
"What's best for Eren," Mikasa replied.
"What do you mean?" Eren said.
"I think you should give up this attempt to be a soldier, there's a lot more to fighting in combat than just throwing your life away in vain." Mikasa said.
Saoirse and Eren gave her looks as if she said that the whole world never mattered to her.
"What are you saying...?!" Eren said. "After everything we saw that day and after what happened to my mom?! Your crazy if you think I'm just gonna walk away."
"You can't just throw your hopes and dreams away just because you couldn't do it!" Saoirse defended, even though Mikasa's her best friend.
"I get it, but it doesn't matter how determined you are," Mikasa continued.
"W-Wait, what do you mean?" Eren demanded.
Mikasa faced him. "Because whether or not your fit to be a soldier, isn't up to you." she said clearly.
Eren's eyes widened at this. At that moment, the bell rang and now it is time to go to sleep tomorrow for more training, with the exception of Eren, who would be working in the fields. Mikasa continued to rant calmly about how she wouldn't let Eren do his dream, without noticing the people are leaving already and her friends and brother already left.
Saoirse tapped on his shoulder. "Meet me later after midnight, change into your uniform," she said.
Eren faced her. "What?" he asked.
"Just do it," Saoirse said whilst hugging her books tightly and walking away to the girls' dorm. Eren looked confused, but he would do it anyway.
It was already 1:00am, and everyone was already sleeping, including Shadis. Eren walked out of the dorm with his uniform on and went outside to find Saoirse. He looked and looked, until a tap on the shoulder happened.
"Let's go outside where the balancing is," Saoirse whispered, pointing to the direction. Eren nodded hesitantly.
The two walked to the area where it was already dark, the night owls and night sounds were heard. It was very windy, and Saoirse felt a little guilty for letting her crush stay up late, but she had to help him or else he won't fulfill his dream.
"Uh, why are we here again?" Eren asked.
Saoirse grabbed his hand and let him towards the balancing machine. "I am going to help you balance, whether you like it or not," she said. "I'm willing to help."
"Wha? Saoirse, you realize you are breaking curfew just for me? Why?" Eren said.
"Because I care about you," Saoirse said.
Eren's eyes widened at these words. "Look, you may think I'm overprotective like your sister but I'm not gonna let you walk away and throwing your dreams and hopes in the trash."
"You-You mean all these?" Eren asked.
Saoirse gripped on his hand tightly. "Of course," she said with a bright smile. "Look on the bright side Eren."
Eren didn't reply. "Okay...there is no bright side after all, but try to stay positive." Saoirse assured.
Eren hesitated before placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad to have you Saoirse," he said.
"I'm glad too," Saoirse replied.
Eren scratched his neck. "So, where should we start?" he asked.
Saoirse walked over to the balancing machine and grabbed the wires. "Right now and here," she said, gesturing Eren to come over.
Eren walked over and let Saoirse adjust the wires into his belt. As soon as she was done, she stood in front of Eren so she could assure and advice him.
"Okay, remember what we said earlier, straighten up, adjust your waist and leg evenly and loosen your stance, got it?" Saoirse asked.
"Got it," Eren said.
"And also, try not to aim for the perfect balance, just hang in there," Saoirse assured.
"You sure?" Eren asked.
"Trust me," Saoirse said. "Now let's get this over with."
Saoirse walked behind the machine and rotated the lever for Eren to try to master his balance.
The next day came, and it was final training for balancing before assigned to work in the fields. Eren was already adjusted to the machine, sweating profusely, but not afraid while facing Keith Shadis.
"Eren Yeager, are you ready?" Keith asked.
Eren was sure this was his question. "Yes sir!" Eren said.
Eren faced down and tried to assure himself in his mind. Armin, Mikasa and Saoirse watched nervously. Eren looked at Saoirse, who nodded reassuringly. He has to remember what Saoirse taught him last night, because he loves her and thanks her for teaching him.
Keith looked one last time. "Proceed."
The cadet rotated the lever, raising the wires and raising Eren. Before he realized it, his feet was off the ground already. He tried not to look down, and relax and stay calm. This is it. He has to master it once and for all. Mikasa, Saoirse, Armin and the rest of Eren's friends watched nervously. Eren lowered his arms and began to balance well. So far so good. Saoirse smiled, because Eren took of her word to not aim for the perfect balance, but just try to hang in.
The cadets started to cheer for Eren, finally seeing him master the balancing. He was gonna do it. He's gonna use the ODM to kill titans and finally fulfill his life goal since that day. Eren fell backwards, but managed to maintain his balance as well. He grinned, happy that he finally mastered it. But suddenly, he felt a trim in his belt, causing him to fall from the back, earning collective gasps from the cadets.
No..no...Saoirse panicked in her mind. No...not yet..!
Keith walked over, where Eren was trying to get himself back up. "No! Not yet!" Eren pleaded. "Once more! I can do it!"
Eren struggled to get himself back up. Keith noticed something. "Lower it," Keith demanded.
Thomas lowered the wires, and Eren knelt to the ground, completely disappointed of what had happened. He was just about to master it when he suddenly fell, like he was reaching for heaven when he plummeted back to the earth.
"I-I'm finished..." Eren cried, tears spilling out of his eyes.
Eren...Saoirse raised her hand to call him, but Mikasa placed her hand on hers, stopping her. Saoirse looked sadly at Eren. He failed. He was gonna work in the fields.
This...this is all my fault...Saoirse cried mentally.
Keith looked at Thomas. "Wagner, please exchange belts with Mr. Yeager," he said.
"Y-Yes sir!" Thomas answered.
The crowd gasped, because the reason Eren fell was because the belt's buckles were broken. Thomas lent his and Eren tried once more. This time, he didn't fall, because he took his friends' advice, especially Saoirse's. He did it. He finally mastered his balance.
"Your equipment was defective," Keith explained, showing the belt. "If given a piece of functional gear you might have not been worthless after all."
Saoirse beamed upon hearing this. "What we didn't notice is that it was a broken clasp," he showed it to Eren. "But after visit to the supply team we figured it cracked up like a skull."
The crowd gasped. "He..he still did it!" one said.
"Even when wearing that busted gear!" another one cried out.
"So you mean I-I didn't wash out?" Eren asked whilst trying to maintain his balance.
Keith hesitated. "You made the cut. Now keep training cadet."
Eren's eyes widened. He raised his arms up in victory and grinned at his friends. "YES! CONGRATS EREN! YES! WOOHOOO!" Saoirse screamed for him. The other cadets faced her, in which she covered her face in embarrassment, face beet red. Eren grinned as well. He was happy his crush's teachings successfully made him pass the test.
"It seems like things worked out for him," a muscled boy named Reiner said.
"Look his eyes are saying 'check me out,'" Armin said.
"They're not," Mikasa said.
Reiner, his tall friend Bertolt, Armin and Saoirse looked at Mikasa. "His eyes are saying that he doesn't have to leave," Mikasa said. "Not anymore."
Keith smiled. His friend would be proud of his son.
Soon, the cadets were finally allowed to master the ODM gear. They glided all over the forest, somersaulting and showing off their athletic abilities while gliding. Saoirse mastered it really well, same with Mikasa, but Eren was handling it like a boss. Keith was riding on his horse while watching the cadets glide happily, finally to use this efficacious method to kill titans.
After, Saoirse and Eren were walking into the fields, wanting to have some privacy together.
"Saoirse?" Eren called out.
"Hm?" Saoirse replied, looking at him while clasping on her book.
Eren stopped, and Saoirse stopped too. He rubbed the back of his neck, and his cheeks went red. He faced her. "T-Thanks for helping me out on balancing," Eren said.
Saoirse smiled and her cheeks went rosy red as well. "I'm glad you mastered it Eren," she said.
She began to walk, but Eren quickly grabbed her arm. "Wait, Saoirse!" Eren called out.
She turned around to look at him. "Yes?"
"...this is for helping me out."Eren said.
He suddenly pulled Saoirse into his chest, hugging her. She was blushing madly, her face could explode any minute know. She noticed Eren was blushing madly as well. Saoirse dug her head deeper into Eren's chest, smelling his sweet scent.
It's so warm...I can't wait to confess to Eren about how I love him...I love him more than anyone else in the world...
While the two were busy hugging romantically, Mikasa and Armin were watching the entire scene, with the two not aware they are being watched.
"Do you think they like each other?" Armin asked.
Mikasa smirked. "Yes. Yes they do."
YES IM FINALLY DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER IT TOOK ME HOURS TO COMPLETE IT. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it, and I would appreciate it if you gave a fav, follow or review! Dammit, I need more of those. I ENJOY WRITING EREN X SAOIRSE SO MUCH BECAUSE I SHIP IT SO MUCH (Sorry Eremika fans) Well there will be more OC x Canon ships coming in the future. And I recommend you play the ending theme song "Beautiful Cruel World" after you read this chapter. But when it's episodes 14-25, play the "Great Escape" song, the new end credits song for AOT. Bye for now! Awinx out!
