Hey I'm back! I'm sorry for not updating this story for so long and I hope it won't be as long until the next time I update it but I'm glad to be writing this story again! I have a lot of things planned for the future of this story and I'm really looking forward to it. In fact, it's one of my most planned out stories I'm coming up with. Also, just so you know, I will end up having a ship in this story so I hope you'll enjoy that. Anyways, onto some of the reviews!
Phenomenal Styles: Yeah, he is definitely going to be having a lot of fun with all his new friends! Especially since, for the first time, all his friends are going to be his own age.
Limit-Breaking: I actually had intended to have Gohan give a small demonstration of his ki for Erwin in chapter 6 but I actually forgot to include it when the time came around for it. Plus, with all the other stuff he was telling Erwin, it worked out better not having the demonstration be in that chapter. As for reading the manga, I haven't read it just yet but I do know about future events that occur in the story because I can't keep stop giving myself spoilers due my own curiosity haha.
Rawrking: I don't know if you ever got my inbox but just in case you didn't and decide to check up on this chapter, I just wanted to let you know that I'm fully aware of Gohan's strength in comparison to the titans and that he was only so weak in the earlier chapters because he was barely even had enough strength to hold himself up. I will never nerf a character for the sake of the story but that doesn't mean I'll have them at full strength when they're badly injured. They would be back to full strength or stronger day by day until they are fully healed.
Krater: Thanks, I appreciate the fact that you love my writing style!
violet: Wait, what ship? If you mean Ilse and Gohan, I'm not shipping them. They're basically going to have a brother and sister relationship with each other haha.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z nor do I own Attack on Titan. Please support the official releases.
Chapter 7: Welcome, Cadet.
As the sun rose, light shown through the single small window in Ilse's room. Normally both occupants of the room would be awake at first light to start off the day but due to varying circumstances, both were still sound asleep.
For Gohan, this was his first time sleeping indoors in the last three years. It was definitely a nice change of pace from sleeping in the forest where titans would start trying to eat him as he slept. Even if they weren't a threat to him now that he was healed but it was still annoying when they wouldn't let you sleep past sunrise.
As for Ilse, with all the stress she had dealt with of losing her allies in battle, almost getting eaten alive, and worrying that she'd never make it home, she was just exhausted.
Their slumber didn't last long though as Mrs. Langnar knocked on the bedroom door waking the two.
"Y...yeah?" Ilse stammered out while rubbing her eyes. Meanwhile, Gohan stretched on the floor before he drowsily sat up.
"Sorry for waking you but it's morning. Also, we have an unexpected visitor. I'll let you see who it is for yourself when you get downstairs." Mrs. Langnar said with a smile before heading downstairs herself.
With that said, the two got up, got properly dressed, and went downstairs. When they got there, they were surprised to see who it was.
"Commander Erwin!?" Ilse asked in surprise before saluting to the man. Seeing this, Gohan attempted to imitate the action as well. However, Erwin just raised his hand to relieve the two.
"Hello. I'm sorry for the intrusion but I wanted to let you both know that I was able to get Gohan into the Training Corps as well as making it so he had the proper amount of food to compensate for his... unusual appetite." Commander Erwin said as he stood in front of the two.
"That's alright. And thank you for everything Commander." Ilse said with a smile.
"Also, I would like a private word with the two of you as well. Mind if we step outside?" Erwin requested before turning and heading out the door and down the steps.
With him leading the way, both Gohan and Ilse followed the Commander outside only to see him waiting for them.
"Gohan, you said that you are going to train Ilse to use this ki that you mentioned yesterday, correct?" Commander Erwin asked as he turned his attention to the young hybrid.
"Yes, Sir. Why do you ask?" wondered Gohan in confusion.
"Well, with everything that I was trying to process yesterday, I had forgotten to request something of you." Erwin said making Gohan and Ilse look at each other in confusion for a brief second before turning their gaze back to Erwin.
"What's that?" Gohan asked with uncertainty in his voice.
"I would like to see you demonstrate at least one of these powers. As well as see how you yourself fight off the titans. I figured since you're going to be training Ilse, this could also be of benefit to her." stated the Commander while giving the two a completely indifferent look.
"Sure. But don't I have to be at the Training Corps soon?" Gohan asked the Commander.
"Yes, but I've talked to them already and I've informed them that you will be joining them around noontime. Besides, they will be having a special training exercise this morning so, this way, you won't be interrupting their exercise." Commander Erwin explained in a completely indifferent tone.
"Ok, so where will we go then?" Ilse questioned as she decided to make herself known to the conversation.
"I was thinking of heading out into the forest on horseback. Once there, Gohan will demonstrate his abilities, and with luck, we will even find a titan so that Gohan can prove that he is as powerful as he claims to be." explained the man as both of the two nodded in agreement.
So, they did just that. It took them a couple of hours to get there, but, they finally made it.
Ilse even seemed to be relaxed due to Gohan being with them. So much so that she didn't even bother to bring her ODM gear with her. This detail certainly didn't go unnoticed by Erwin, however, he opted to still wear his just in case things didn't turn out as planned.
Finally, they stood in a small clearing just beyond the tree line. This is where Commander Erwin had decided it would be best for Gohan to show off his abilities. It was an ideal location after all as it gave Gohan plenty of elbow room but also gave them access to the trees should things go south.
"Now that we're here, is there anything in particular that either of you would like to see me do first?" Gohan asked the two in front of him as he prepared for a demonstration.
"You said that you can fly and make energy blasts, can we see those first?" Ilse asked eagerly. She couldn't help it. Just the idea of being able to fly through the skies or kill titans without having to get up close and personal just made her all excited.
"I would like to see that as well if you don't mind." added Commander Erwin and although he didn't outwardly show it, he too was excited to see if Gohan's claims were true.
'If what he says is true, then he could be the key to victory for humanity. Especially if he can train others but for now, Ilse should be the only one he trains. He did say he's never trained anybody after all. She could be used as a test to see if he can actually teach somebody these skills of his.' Commander Erwin mused to himself.
"Ok." was the only response Gohan gave as he slowly raised into the air. He floated just above their heads so that he could see their reactions.
What he saw didn't surprise him and it kind of brought a smile to his face. Not only Ilse but even the stoic Commander Erwin was looking at him with wide eyes.
So, he decided to perform a little show for them and rose even higher before flying in large circles above them before coming back down and landing in front of them with his smile still plastered on his face.
"That was incredible!" Ilse shouted in pure amazement. If Gohan didn't know any better, he would've thought her eyes were glowing with excitement.
"Wow. That was amazing." Commander Erwin said in awe. "So, what do these energy blasts of yours look like?"
"Well, that depends on how much power I put into it. How destructive do you want it to be?" questioned the demi saiyan as he waited for their answer.
"How about as strong as you can make it?" suggested Commander Erwin making Gohan begin to sweat nervously.
"I'm sorry but I can't do that. That'd be too catastrophic." replied the boy before suggesting something else. "How about just as destructive as I can make it without causing too much damage?"
To this, Commander Erwin and Ilse simply nodded making Gohan sigh and rose into the air once again. He wasn't sure if it was a sigh of relief or not though because he still wouldn't like to destroy stuff but he had promised a demonstration.
'Alright, I just need to find somewhere without any life. There!' Gohan thought to himself before aiming his hand at a small hill just to his left.
What Ilse and Erwin saw next left them in shock. First, Gohan's hand started to glow blue. Then, a little ball of what looked to be light flew towards a hill at high speeds. And finally, the ball grew in size, dug a large trench into the hill, and exploded making a massive crater where the hill once was.
"No way..." murmured Ilse in utter shock as Commander Erwin just looked at the incredible display of power with wide eyes.
Satisfied with his results, Gohan descended to the ground and landed in front of the pair while he waited for whatever they asked of him next.
However, not a single word was said as Ilse tried to grasp what she saw and Erwin thought of the implications of such power and how beneficial it could become.
"Guys?" Gohan asked snapping all attention on him once again.
"Sorry Gohan. I was just surprised. You really are strong! I bet you could destroy every single titan out there without even trying. Even the colossal titan and the armored titan." Ilse complimented as she sat down on the hard ground in wonder.
"Colossal and armored titan?" Gohan asked hoping for an explanation. It was then that Erwin spoke up.
"They are the titans that are primarily responsible for the fall of both Shiganshina District and Wall Maria." began Erwin as both Gohan and Ilse listened attentively.
"The colossal titan was reported to be so large that it was even taller than the Walls themselves. It then smashed a hole in the Walls allowing numerous smaller titans to enter the city. Then, just as things couldn't get any worse, they did. Out of nowhere, a titan covered in some kind of body armor seemingly appeared out of nowhere and rammed the gate from Shiganshina to the interior of Wall Maria. Because of this, humanity lost one third of its territory and lost many lives. Or at least, it seemed at the time as we now know there's other residing beyond the Walls as well." Erwin explained to the young boy causing him to look down at the ground in remorse.
"I believe that was the day I arrived in this world. I wanted to help so badly but I was too injured and out of strength because of intense battle to barely even stay conscious. I was able to save one group of people but that was all." Gohan said sadly as tears started to form in his eyes.
"You said you managed to save some people regardless of this, correct? Well, that just shows your true character Gohan. Even though you were barely hanging on after your battle, you still managed to save others against impossible odds. Not only that but you opened up a future for those who you saved. They could even be out there right now fighting off the titans for the sake of others because of you right now. You should be proud." Commander Erwin said while putting a hand on Gohan's left shoulder.
"Commander Erwin is right, Gohan. There's no need to cry. You're a hero but a hero can't save everyone all the time. What matters is that you still do your best to save others no matter the odds. That's what makes a hero." Ilse continued and pulled Gohan in for a comforting hug.
"Thank you. I needed to hear that." replied the demi saiyan as he wiped the tears off his face causing the two with him to give him small smiles in response.
"So, what do you want me to show you next? You mentioned something about wanting to see me face off against a titan?" asked Gohan as he was now ready for whatever they asked of him.
"I did say that but seeing what you did to that hill as well as your ability to fly, that is now unnecessary to do. Besides, we should start heading back so that you can make it to the Training Corps at noon." Commander Erwin responded as he got on his horse and waited for the two to follow suit.
In response, Gohan and Ilse merely nodded as they got on their shared horse and prepared for their trip back home.
When they finally got back to the city, Ilse and Gohan said their goodbyes and thanks to Erwin before heading off to training area of the Training Corps.
After about half an hour of travel, they eventually came across a large barren area that appeared be dug out into the ground a little. On the outside there was a barbwire fence surrounding the area. But on the inside were several small wooden buildings and structures. There were also two dirt paths going from the inside of the hole to the outside so that people could come in and out of the area.
As Gohan and Ilse got closer to the gate of this place, Gohan also noticed several people out in the field practicing to fight.
'I see. So, there is some basic hand-to-hand combat taught here as well. That much should be easy for me but I wonder what else I'll have to do.' Gohan thought to himself before Ilse quietly spoke to him.
"Gohan, don't forget what Commander Erwin said about keeping a low profile for now. That also means you have to keep your tail hidden at all times." Ilse said as they arrived at the gate with as a man stood in front of it. Upon hearing this, Gohan subtly slipped his tail to the inside of his pants.
The man in front of the gate was much taller than most of the people Gohan had seen during his time here. He was also slightly tan, bald with prominent forehead wrinkles, yellow-green eyes, a goatee on his chin, prominent cheek bones, and dark circles surrounding his eyes. This man wore white pants, a gray button up shirt, a belt, brown knee-high boots, and an open olive brown trench coat with badges on both shoulders and on the left side of his chest. His badges were like the other ones Gohan had seen except his badges had two swords crossing each other forming the letter X.
"So, you've finally arrived, huh? It's about time." the man said strictly causing Gohan to gulp in nervousness as he felt that he already got on the man's bad side.
"Sorry about that Sir, Commander Erwin wanted to talk to us before we got here." Ilse apologized and did the same salute that she had given to Erwin. Upon hearing her words, the man shifted his gaze to the young demi saiyan.
"I see... Erwin explained to me that this boy is exceptionally skilled and that he was found beyond the Walls. Normally such a thing would get someone arrested as leaving the Walls and entering titan territory is illegal for citizens to do but it would appear that Erwin pulled some strings to prevent such a thing from happening." replied the man making Gohan widen his eyes.
"However, even with your unusual circumstances, I will not allow a new recruit to not show me the proper respect. The next time you address me, you better give me a proper salute, boy! Otherwise, you will be punished!" yelled the man making Gohan quickly bow and apologize.
The man then decided to get on with his introduction speech that he gave to all new recruits.
"Straighten that spine, maggot!" began the man causing Gohan to yelp in surprise and immediately do as he was told. "As of now you are part of the 104th cadet boot camp! Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Commandant Keith Shadis, and you will grow to hate me! Training is going to be a white-knuckle ride through h**l! If I've done my job, you'll be waking up in a cold sweat from memories of this place every night for the rest of your miserable life!"
"Right now, you're nothing! Livestock. But over the next two soul crushing years, you'll learn to take down your own Goliath! Remember this moment when you come face-to-face with him. 'Cause here's where you ask yourself: Am I a fighter or am I feed? Am I going to be ground up to pulpy human grist between boulder sized incisors? Or am I gonna be the one to bite?" Keith shouted in an attempt to both motivate and prepare the young man in front of him for what was to come.
What he didn't know though was that the titans were practically no problem for Gohan at all. Not when he had enough strength to easily destroy the entire planet without even transforming into a super saiyan.
"Now then, what do they call you!?" Demanded Keith in an attempt to intimidate the boy.
"My name is Son Gohan, Sir! Son is my family name and Gohan is my given!" Gohan shouted back while trying his best to give his instructor a proper salute. However...
"You have it backwards Son Gohan." Keith angrily declared as he picked Gohan up by his head through his long hair. "I know that you were never taught it but you should've picked it up by now. This salute represents the resolve in your heart to fight those bent on the systematic destruction of our people. You remind me a bit of another cadet who made the same mistake except he was scrawnier than you."
With that said, Keith released his grip on Gohan's head causing him to fall back to the ground. However, Gohan caught himself and stood straight back up as though nothing had happened. He then attempted to salute the man again and did it correctly this time.
"Good, it appears that you are a fast learner. Maybe all the food we will have to spend on you won't be wasted. Just know that with all the food we are giving you, you will have to work twice as hard to make up for it. Meet me with the other cadets down there on the field to see if you really have what it takes to be here. But first, cut your hair. It'll just get in your way." Keith told Gohan before heading inside the gate and down to the field where all the other cadets Gohan had seen were.
"Sorry about him Gohan. He just acts all tough to prepare you for what's to come." Ilse apologized before Gohan smiled.
"It's alright. In fact, he kind of reminds me of Mr. Piccolo when he first started training me." Gohan said while smiling.
"Well, at least let me cut your hair before you go, ok?" Ilse offered.
"Ok, thank you, Ilse. I really appreciate it. I've never actually cut it myself before so I was a bit nervous to do it myself." Laughed Gohan as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
"You're welcome, Gohan. I'll cut it however you like." Ilse smiled back.
An hour later, Gohan walked back up to the gates to enter the training but this time, his hair was much shorter than earlier. It was a bit difficult to do so, but Ilse had managed to cut his hair to his liking. His spiky hair stood almost completely upwards save for a single bang that hung down in the middle of his face. (The same hairstyle he had in the Saiyaman saga.)
He was also dressed in a standard Training Corps uniform. This consisted of Gohan's green V-neck shirt that Mr. Langnar gave him, white pants, a belt on top of a black sash, brown knee-high boots, and a brown open jacket with the Training Corps badge on the back, left chest, and the shoulders.
His outfit also had several buckles on it. One of the buckles went across his chest, looped over his shoulders, and connected to buckles on his belt by an additional two straps on each side of his body underneath his jacket. There were also four more belts on his legs with two on each thigh but also connecting to his boots and his belt with the help of more buckles.
As he approached the gates, the men guarding them, let him enter as they had been given orders to do so. So, as Gohan made his way to the field where he was to be tested, he saw numerous other people standing around waiting for him in front of who he could only assume was his instructor from earlier and a few other people.
He also saw a few large structures in front of these people. The structures appeared to be large wooden tripods with some kind of metal mechanism on the top of it. As he got closer though, he could see that a few people were hooking up cables to the tripod.
'That must be how they plan on testing me. I wonder what they'll make me do.' Gohan mused to himself.
A couple minutes later, Gohan finally arrived at the strange tripod and stood in front of Keith Shadis once more. Upon looking him over from head to toe, Keith nodded before speaking.
"I see you've finally changed into some proper clothing and got that haircut. Now then, it's aptitude time for you so listen up! I don't care what Commander Erwin's says about you, there is no place here for you if you cannot perform! If you fail, you will be shipped to the fields!" Keith screamed in Gohan's face as two men hooked a cable from the tripod on large buckles on both sides of Gohan's belt.
'Wait, what's going on!?' Gohan panicked to himself as he was then hoisted a foot into the air by the cables on his waist.
However, since flying was as natural as breathing air for the young half saiyan, he subconsciously stayed completely steady throughout the entire time he was hoisted up and didn't falter a single bit even as he looked around him in obvious confusion in an attempt to figure out what was going on.
'Interesting. It's almost as though he has been doing this his whole life. The kid's a natural.' Keith internally thought without taking his eyes off the boy before him.
"Lower him." Keith commanded as the two men beside Gohan complied. Once Gohan's feet were back on the ground, he looked towards Keith in utter confusion as to what just happened.
"Congrats, Son, you passed. Meet with the other trainees on the field for some combat exercises in half an hour." continued Keith leaving Gohan very confused as to why he was hoisted in the air as he left to go supervise said trainees now.
Soon after that, the group that had watched Gohan to see if he passed also dispersed with most of them heading towards a large field leaving Gohan to come to the conclusion that they were the trainees that were mentioned.
However, since Gohan was generally a little shy by nature, he opted to just follow them to the training field instead of mingling and getting to know people.
Before too long though, Gohan had caught up with the group and he waited at the field for any further instructions. It wasn't a long wait though because within five minutes of being there, Keith came back up to him and handed him a small wooden knife.
"Use this. For this exercise, you must team up in pairs. One of you will be a rogue while the other tries to evade and counter. After a while, switch with your partner so that both of you can gain the proper experience." stated Keith while Gohan studied the knife in his hand.
"Ok, thank you. I really appreciate you letting me join so late." Gohan said with a small bow as Keith just stared at him.
"Don't thank me, I didn't do this for you. Now get to work. Since you're getting such special meal privileges and get to leave during the night, I expect ten times the hard work. Now then, get to it." Keith stated before he turned around and walked away leaving Gohan to find a partner on his own.
As Gohan was walking around to find a partner, he eventually saw a tall guy with a dark green shirt underneath his jacket. Gohan also noticed that he had a strongly built body, a defined face, hazel eyes, and short blonde hair that parted in the middle.
He could also see that this man seemed to be sparring with a shorter guy with slightly tan skin, medium length brown hair with bangs that went half way down his forehead, green eyes, and that he had a tan colored shirt underneath his jacket.
As Gohan got closer to the pair to see if either of them would be his partner since with his experience, he could tell they were one of the few people that were actually taking this training seriously. He could see that the brown hair guy was getting the advantage as he had just landed a palm strike on the blonde's chest.
With his opponent temporarily stunned, the brown-haired guy then grabbed his partner's left hand with his own left hand, grabbed him by his left shoulder, flipped him into the air, and slammed him onto the ground on his back thus declaring him the victor in their matchup.
After a painful grunt from the blonde, the guy with brown hair let out a hand for him to grab.
"Sorry man, I really gotta learn to hold back." the brown-haired guy said before helping his partner up.
"It's alright. Let's see how you do as the rogue." the blonde guy said as he held out the knife. However, his partner never grabbed it as he just stared at it in thought.
"What're you waiting on?" asked the blonde as his partner still stared at the knife.
"This training doesn't make sense. We're not exactly picking fights with someone our own size. A guy would have to be stupid to use this. I mean, a knife?" responded the brown-haired guy in thought after finally grabbing the knife.
"What if there's not an option? The fight doesn't give us a say. If it wants to get ugly, it gets ugly. It's our job to be prepared." the blonde guy shot back.
"The enemy comes in many forms. Artillery is not always going to be the answer. Soldiers, the ones worth their salt anyway, are ready for anything. Don't believe me? Look." the blonde continued as he looked over at a short girl nearby minding her own business and not participating at all.
This girl had moderately short blonde hair that had bangs on both sides of her face but were parted in the middle so she could see and the rest of her hair was pulled back into a bun. She also had pale skin, an oval-shaped face, gloomy looking blue eyes.
"He's right, you know?" Gohan said as he spoke from behind the pair as they watched said girl.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were there. Hey, you're that guy from earlier." the blonde man said in recognition once him and his partner turned around to face Gohan.
"Yeah." Gohan said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before recomposing himself.
"Anyways, I'm Gohan. It's nice to meet you." chimed Gohan while giving a hand to shake.
"Hello, Gohan. I'm Reiner. It's nice to meet you as well." responded the blonde guy as he shook Gohan's hand.
"And I'm Eren. It's nice to meet you too." said the brown-haired guy as he shook Gohan's hand as well after Reiner finished his introduction.
'Eren? Why does that name sound familiar?' Gohan wondered as he shook Eren's hand.
"Anyways, about that girl you mentioned earlier, the only thing she's ready for is any chance to slack off. Don't you agree?" Eren concluded as they watched her walk around aimlessly.
"You think so? Maybe somebody ought to give her a talking to? Give her a little hard knocks lesson in preparedness?" suggested Reiner as he pulled both Gohan and Eren in for his crazy scheme.
"I'm not really sure about that. It's her choice after all." Gohan countered before it was dismissed by Reiner entirely as he had already gone off to confront the girl.
"Commandant not beating you down enough? Keep it up, you'll be as flat as dirt you're walking on. I suggest you think back to why you enlisted in the first place." Reiner arrogantly declared in hopes of provoking the girl to fight.
This seemed to do the trick though because when Gohan and Eren walked up to them to ask what Reiner was doing, they immediately saw that she had look on her face that screamed she was ready to kill somebody.
'I've seen that look before.' Gohan thought to himself as he looked into her icy blue eyes of pure rage.
As him and Eren looked at the girl in front of them, Reiner approached Eren and Gohan's backs and placed his hands on their shoulders.
"Ok, now go get her." smiled Reiner as he pushed Eren forward despite his protest.
As the pair approached her, the girl took a defensive stance. Her stance was similar to that of a boxer's. Her right leg was facing slightly behind her while her arms, her arms were bent at a 90-degree angle, and her fist were positioned close to her face.
'Interesting... it seems she has fighting experience.' Gohan thought to himself while studying this mysterious girl's stance.
Eren, however, was a little intimidated by this girl's stance but he decided to try anyways.
"Right. I hope you don't expect me to hold back. Heads up!" shouted Eren as he blindly charged at her hoping to catch her off guard.
Eren's full blown charge was in vain though because in a split second, the girl dodged his knife and kicked him hard in the shin making him trip while wincing in pain.
"Son of a... That was a dirty move." declared Eren while picking himself back off the hard ground, only to fall back down as he grasped his aching shin.
"Are we done here?" the girl questioned quite irritably as she turned to look at Gohan and Reiner.
"Not just yet. You know the drill, take up the dagger." Reiner said as calmly as he possibly could. It was clear to see that he too was intimidated, even if he tried to hide it.
Then, with a sigh, the girl turned back to Eren who had finally just managed to grab his bearings and picked himself off the ground.
"No, wait! This isn't how... Oh no!" Eren blabbered out before the girl rushed him.
But she didn't stop there, she maneuvered herself behind him and used her left arm to press against his neck while holding his wrist and knife with her right hand. She then kicked Eren in the back of the leg as she held him causing him to lose his balance and once again fall backwards onto the ground.
All of it happened in a mere second. Then, without even bothering herself to look at Eren as he landed on the ground, she walked away to toss Reiner the knife.
"There. So, you ready to take me on yourself yet or what?" the girl asked coolly while moving the hair out of her eyes. However, Reiner was still very intimidated.
"Uh... Not exactly." Reiner responded nervously. This, however, did not sit well with Eren who was still on the ground looking Reiner in the eyes.
"Don't you dare. She's got a lesson coming, right? You go get her." Eren said with a face that sought out revenge. All Reiner could do though was stand there until he finally decided to accept his fate.
"Yeah. A soldier can't really afford to back down either. Get ready, here I come..." Reiner began before the girl stopped him midsentence and did the same move she did to Eren on him.
As soon as Reiner was on the ground, the girl once again tried to take her leave not even bothering to ask Gohan if he wanted a turn as she was sure it would just end the same way.
"That's some technique you've got. Who taught you to fight like that?" Eren questioned while sitting on the ground. Gohan, however, walked over to him and offered a hand up to which Eren accepted and was pulled to his feet.
"My father did." answered the girl taking a moment to stop and listen to the boy.
"You pioneer it or...?" began Eren before the girl cut him off.
"Does it really matter?" she began in a condescending tone. "It's pointless, just like all of this."
"Wait, you mean the training in general?" asked Eren not fully understanding what the blonde was getting at.
"Hand-to-hand combat doesn't really count towards our final grade. The smart ones blow it off." the girl began as she looked out at the rest of the trainees only to find a few of them putting minimum effort into their tasks so it looked like they were trying but really weren't at all.
"It's pointless anyways. Only the top ten cadets get to serve in the interior. The rest of us, forget it. The point is, only the idiots like you take this part of boot camp seriously. Idiots and whatever they are." continued the girl as she turned her attention to a boy and a girl practicing karate moves on each other only to be interrupted by Keith stepping in.
The girl appeared to have golden eyes, a tan shirt underneath her jacket, and brown hair. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail that extended to the bottom of her neck. She also had bangs on both sides of her face but the majority of them parted to the left of her face.
The boy was a little bit shorter than the girl he was practicing with. He wore a yellow shirt underneath his jacket, had a slim body build making him appear to be scrawny, gray eyes, and shaved brown hair.
The blonde immediately sprung on Eren then attempting to jab him with his knife only for him to hold it back. Albeit while struggling to do so.
Gohan was initially going to stop her from doing this with his superior speed and reflexes, however, he noticed that her ki had no intentions of hurting him. So, he decided to wait and see what happened.
"First rule of this life, kid, the better you are at dropping the bad guys, the more distance there is between you. That's what this whole stupid farce is about." the girl said dangerously as she got closer to overpowering Eren.
"Sure, whatever you say!" Eren screamed as he pushed forward and grabbed the girl's arm that held the knife. Unfortunately, though, this left him open for a counterattack that the girl capitalized on by sweeping her right leg underneath his to cause him to fall again.
As soon as he landed on his back, she pulled the knife and attempted to hit his throat with it, only for Eren to grab her arms before it could hit him.
"Face it. You don't fight the nature of things and win." continued the blonde before she got off of Eren to leave him in thought. "Look around you, Eren. All they really expect us to do is play the game. Don't be a pawn."
"I think that you're wrong. By the way, my name's Gohan." Gohan said as the girl attempted to leave again. Then, with a sigh, she once again decided to give the group her attention.
"Annie. So, how am I wrong?" the girl now known as Annie questioned as she impatiently crossed her arms.
"Well, first off, the training isn't exactly pointless. It gives you experience for what to do if you're ever facing off another human. Especially if that person is attempting to harm you or others." Gohan began as Annie listened.
"I'm pretty sure you realize that too since you were taught how to fight in the first place. I don't exactly know why your father trained you but the point is, you know that this kind of training has it's uses even if it doesn't get you into the interior like you said." Gohan continued before Annie spoke up.
"What makes you so sure?" Annie questioned while Eren and Reiner listened intently to the conversation.
"Well, because I've been trained too. I know just how useful it can be. You never know when you will need to defend yourself or others so it's best to always have the skills needed to do so. I should know. I've seen good people die due to me being too weak or too inexperienced to help them. That's why I never want to slack off in my training again." Gohan declared with conviction making Eren and Reiner smile while Annie merely took in his words.
"I suppose you are right. However, it still doesn't change the fact that humans are weak and afraid." Annie countered.
"Not necessarily. I've known several people who have stepped up and fought for others and themselves against even the toughest of odds. True, they don't always win, but even the smallest bit of effort can change the outcome in a life or death situation." Gohan responded to which Annie simply nodded in acknowledgment while Eren and Reiner look at each other in thought.
"That's true. I guess you do have a point. So, since you claim to have been trained to fight, I'm curious if you have the skill to beat me. Let's find out." Annie challenged as she took her stance once again.
"Are you sure about that? I don't want to hurt you." Gohan said hesitantly.
"Yes." was all that Annie said. So, with a sigh, Gohan took a stance similar to that of Annie's except his arms were bent at the waist.
'Alright, I'm seriously going to have to hold back on her or else I will not only hurt her but I might also blow my cover.' Gohan thought while waiting for Annie to make her move.
Just then, Annie rushed him in an attempt to flip him on his back just as she had done previously to Eren and Reiner. However, Gohan was expecting this and Grabbed her arm just as it was about to reach his face.
The two stood there unmoving for a second while holding each other's arms in a stalemate before Annie decided to leg swipe Gohan just like she did with Eren. But, the hybrid saw this coming as well and as such, he released his grip on Annie and jumped over her leg.
"I've already seen those moves. You're going to have to try something else if you want to beat me." Gohan stated as he resumed his fighting stance.
"Very well." Annie said before rushing him again. Just as she got close to him, she threw a punch that Gohan merely ducked to dodge it. Gohan then countered by giving her a small jab to her gut while her fist flew over his head.
"Gah!" gasped Annie before raising her knee and hitting Gohan in the face in retaliation. Unfortunately, for Annie though, it seemed to do no damage to her opponent as the only response she got was him jerking his head back.
It was then that Gohan did a leg swipe just like Annie's to knock her off balance. When the kick was about to make contact though, she jumped.
"It's pointless to try kicks against me. They are my specialty after all." Annie claimed as both fighters stood up ready for the next move.
"You know, you shouldn't tell your opponents your fighting style. That could give them a massive advantage." Gohan advised only for Annie to watch him silently.
"I see you're no joke then. You seem to have a lot of knowledge about martial arts." Annie replied while throwing a kick at Gohan's side.
"Well, my dad was a master martial artist and he did help to train me so it's only natural." Gohan said while blocking her kick with his forearm. Gohan then threw a punch at Annie's face only for her to weave out of the way.
"I see. It appears we have some similarities then." Annie pointed out while throwing a punch of her own at Gohan's stomach only for him to grab it.
"Yeah, we do. How long have you been trained?" Gohan asked while jumping into the air to deliver an axe kick to Annie's head but she rolled out of the way.
"Since I was a little kid." She answered while dodging another punch but this time to her stomach.
"Same here. It was hard work but I feel like it paid off in the end." said Gohan while dodging a punch to his face.
"For the longest time, I felt that it was unnecessary but eventually, I did find it to be useful as well." declared the blonde while attempting to leg swipe Gohan again only for him to jump above it.
"Well, I feel like this has gone on long enough. It's time for me to get serious." Gohan stated before rushing at Annie in the blink of an eye.
Annie, who was not expecting this sudden increase in speed widened her eyes before being clotheslined and fell onto the ground on her back in pain.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to put that much power into it." said Gohan while standing above her with his hand out.
"It's fine. At least you've actually got some skill unlike the rest of these idiots." Annie said while taking his hand. Gohan then lifted her up.
"Well, thanks for the spar. It was fun." thanked the demi saiyan before he looked around him to see that several of the other cadets had gathered around them to watch their fight.
Some of them had looks of amazement on their faces, some were surprised, and others just seemed to be afraid of the two martial artists.
"Ignore them. They just aren't used to this kind of skill level." Annie said as she walked away.
"That was amazing! I've never seen anything like that!" Eren shouted as him and Reiner approached Gohan while the crowd began to disperse after Keith yelled at them to get back to training.
"Thanks, but it was nothing really." Gohan awkwardly laughed while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Yeah, right. She treated us like we were nothing but ragdolls but you not only gave her a good fight but you actually beat her." Reiner chimed in.
"Thanks guys but it's not that special when you've been doing it ever since you were four years old." Gohan said awkwardly causing the two the open their mouths with wide eyes.
"Isn't that a bit young?" Reiner asked while Eren merely nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, but there were special circumstances that required me to start training at that age. I don't really want to go into it right now though. Anyways, let's get back to our training." Gohan suggested while grabbing his knife and preparing for any attacks.
Later that night, Gohan joined all the other trainees in the mess hall for a candle lit dinner since there was no electricity in this world. He hadn't grabbed his food yet but it was obvious that he was hungry due to the loud stomach groans he was having. Some trainees even found it a bit unnerving.
After finally grabbing eight plates that were full to the brim with food, Gohan sat down in an empty seat at a wooden table to begin eating. However, as soon as he sat down, he noticed that several people were looking at him with looks of confusion and envy including the brown-haired girl with a pony tail that he saw earlier while training.
"What's wrong?" Gohan asked no one in particular only for the brown-haired girl and the boy with a shaved head to scoot next to him.
"That's a lot of food you've got there. How did you get away with all of that?" the boy asked.
"This? I just went up and grabbed my ration of food that they had ready for me?" Gohan replied with uncertainty.
"They just gave you that much!?" the brunette shouted in shock while getting in Gohan's face with some drool dripping from her mouth.
"Yes!? What's wrong with that?" Gohan questioned while trying to scoot away from the girl a little. Unfortunately for Gohan though, there was no room to scoot away because the boy was on the opposite side of him.
"Knock it off Sasha, you're scaring him!" the boy scolded the now named girl. Her only response though was a shiver as she continued to blissfully drool as she looked at Gohan's food.
"Uh, is she ok?" Gohan asked with some concern only for the boy to sigh.
"Yeah, it's just that she's a glutton food so I think all of your food broke her. By the way, the name's Connie. Connie Springer." introduced the boy while offering his hand to Gohan.
"My name is Son Gohan but my given name is Gohan." Gohan said while returning the gesture. He then turned his attention back to the girl beside him as she practically had a small waterfall of drool now.
"Going back to your question though, yeah, they really did give me this much food. However, I have Commander Erwin to thank for that. I can probably share a little bit with you guys if you really want me too but I don't know if I'm allowed to or not since this was a special request." Gohan explained while getting the attention of the two beside him but for different reasons.
"You've met Commander Erwin!?" Connie gasped.
"You'll share with me!?" Sasha beamed at the same time Connie asked his question.
"Yeah, I've met him. He's pretty serious though but he's still nice. And sure." Gohan replied while handing Sasha a bowl of potato soup causing Connie to snicker.
"Figures its potato soup that you gave her. Sasha got in trouble on our first day as recruits for stealing and eating a baked potato right in front of Keith and on your first day, she's once again eating potatoes." Connie said while still snickering which elicited a raised eyebrow from Gohan and a glare from Sasha.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about that!?" Sasha yelled making Gohan begin to feel uncomfortable.
"You know, my dad actually thought marriage was food when my mom asked him to marry her as kids." Gohan laughed awkwardly in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
"Whoa, seriously? I think his dad actually has you beat Sasha." Connie laughed before beginning to eat his meal.
"Yeah, my dad and I both have enormous appetites due to our high metabolisms." Gohan laughed back.
Meanwhile, Sasha began to fantasize about how getting married because of food would be a dream come true while happily she ate her potato soup.
As the trio continued to enjoy their meals, they started to hear the voices of other people who were beginning to argue.
"Listen to you guys. Interior? Five years ago, this was part of it." Gohan heard a voice say loudly only to recognize it as Eren's.
"What're they talking about?" Gohan whispered to Connie only to get a shrug in response.
"You got a point to make, friend? I'm right here." another person asked in an irritated tone.
The owner of this second voice was a guy that light brown spiky hair that was shaved into an undercut style, with the shaved parts appearing to be dark brown in color. He had small brown eyes, a long face, and a scowl. Also, he wore a white button up shirt, tan pants, black shoes, and a brown vest.
"Poor Jean, so misguided, and besides... I don't think your head will fit in the interior anyway." Eren mocked while the now named Jean's right eye twitched with obvious irritation. This, in response, caused numerous other trainees to snicker at the remark.
Gohan, however, didn't join in on the snickering as he just stayed silent to see how the situation played itself out.
"Very Funny." was all that Jean could say due to his embarrassment and anger.
"Seems a little backwards to me. Fine-tuning your titan killing skills so the brass will station you somewhere where you'll never see one." Eren stated in disgust for Jean's preference to join the Military Police to live a life of ease instead of joining the Survey Corps.
"You'd rather I was good at getting killed? Thank you, but I'll pass. It's better to play the system than get gnawed on." Jean countered only to enrage Eren.
"You son of a B***h!" Eren yelled as he angrily stood up from the table to face Jean.
"Bring it on you little Ba****d!" Jean yelled back as he too stood up from his table.
"Eren, please stop it!" pleaded a boy that Eren had been sitting with as he too stood up.
This boy had blue eyes, pale skin, and blonde hair in a bob cut style. He was wearing a white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a gray vest, brown boots that extended up to the middle of his shins, and tan pants.
"Gentlemen, please." responded a girl from Eren's table as she too got up, walked up to the feuding pair, and separated them.
This girl had pale skin, gray eyes, a stoic face, and black hair that was cut down to her chin. Also, her hair was parted to the sides of her face except for a single bang that hung down in the middle of her face just between her eyes. As for her attire, she wore a white cardigan, a red open jacket, a gray knee-length dress, black shoes, and a red scarf around her neck.
After the girl separated Eren and Jean, there was a few seconds of silence as Eren and the girl made eye contact while holding his hand only for Eren to look away in shame. As Jean watched this though, his anger only continued to grow until he finally snapped.
"You think you can judge me!?" Jean shouted as he grabbed Eren by the shirt with his left hand.
"Huh!? If you rip my shirt, you're dead!" Eren threatened as he too became enraged.
"I don't give a d**n about your shirt! You p***ed me off! I'm so jealous!" Jean shouted back at Eren only adding fuel to the fire.
"Huh? What are you talking about!? Are you crazy!?" yelled Eren in confusion before realization hit him like a brick.
'Oh, wait. I get it... he has something to prove and is letting his emotions completely take over. Sounds familiar...' Eren thought to himself as he saw multiple other trainees including Reiner, Annie, and Gohan watching him to see how he'd handle this conflict.
'Sorry to do this.' mused Eren before quickly grabbing Jean's wrist with his left hand and placed his hand up against Jean's neck. Then, before Jean and almost anybody else could see, he used his leg to kick the back of Jean's leg causing him to lose his balance and fall onto his back and hit his head off the floor.
This of course caught the immediate attention of both Gohan and Annie as they then realized that Eren had a natural talent for hand-to-hand combat. In fact, it almost reminded Gohan of his dad.
"D**n it. What the H**l was that move!?" demanded Jean as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head in pain.
"A little something I picked up this afternoon while you were busy slacking off. You honestly believe the Military Police are your ticket to the good life? You're not a soldier, you're a joke." Eren declared as Jean watched Eren in frustration from the floor.
'I'm going to have to have a little talk with Eren sometime about better controlling his temper but I might be able to help train him if I'm able to help Ilse get stronger and use ki.' Gohan mused to himself before the door to the mess hall opened up half way.
Then, from the shadows of the night, Keith stood there in the half open doorway with a menacing look plaster on his face.
"Would someone care to explain the little ruckus I heard just now? I do hope everything's alright..." Keith said ominously only to be answered with silence while everyone that got up made their way back to their seats.
"Sasha passed some gas Commandant" answered the black-haired girl as she raised her hand while sitting to Eren's right.
This in turn caused Sasha to react in shock as she was wrongfully accused of farting while Keith entered the room.
"Why am I not surprised?" Keith condescendingly asked causing even more shock for the poor girl.
"Learn some self-control." Keith continued as he took his leave while the majority of the cadets struggled to hold in their laughter.
"Huh? I don't smell anything?" questioned Gohan while smelling the air around him for any traces of a fart only to find none.
"Give it up, man." was all that Connie could say as he began eating again while Sasha ran up to the black-haired girl while asking why she would say something like that only to get the girl's bread shoved into her mouth to get her to be quiet.
Meanwhile, Eren and Jean just continued to angrily glare at each other as they and everybody else ate their respective meals in silence.
After dinner though, it was time for everybody to head to their cabins to get some sleep for the next day of training.
Everybody except for Gohan, that is. As soon as he left the mess hall, he started heading towards the gates since Erwin fixed it so that he'd be able to leave during the night after training to do some training of his own as well as train Ilse.
However, shortly after leaving the mess hall, Gohan noticed that he had a follower.
"I know you're there." Gohan said while halting his hike to the gates.
"How did you know I was there?" Eren said as he walked up to Gohan from behind.
"I have my ways. Is there something you needed Eren?" questioned the demi saiyan.
"Where are you going? We're not allowed to leave the training grounds unless it's for a training mission." Eren asked while also informing Gohan of a rule he had not known previously.
"Wait, really? But I was told by Commander Erwin and the Commandant that I was allowed to leave any time I wanted to so long as it was night?" Gohan asked as he was now confused by this new piece of information.
"What? Why would they let you do that!? Not only that but I saw how you got so much more food than anybody else earlier. Why are you getting such a special treatment from the rest of us!?" Eren demanded as he once again was letting his anger and frustration get the better of him.
"Well, the food is because I have an extremely high metabolism and as for getting to leave at night, well, I guess it's because I'm doing some special new training with someone and Commander Erwin wants to see the results of the training." Gohan nervously tried to explained in an attempt to calm Eren down while also dodging some of the more complex reasonings.
"I see. I guess that makes sense. I take it that's how you learned how to fight as good as Annie?" asked Eren now that he calmed down after Gohan's explanation. However, he was still a little jealous.
"Actually, I'm the one doing the teaching. It's a special kind of training that I learned from my father and a mentor of mine." replied the saiyan hybrid now that Eren had calmed himself.
"Really? You must have some serious moves if Commander Erwin specifically chose you to do some special training." Eren said in an attempt to complement Gohan's fighting skills that he saw earlier.
"You could say that. You know, Eren, I was actually thinking of something earlier when I saw your little fight with Jean." Gohan said catching the boy's attention.
"What's that?" Eren mused now that Gohan had piqued his curiosity.
"Well, I was wondering, if I'm successfully able to train this one person, would you like me to train you some as well? Gohan asked.
"Wait, seriously?" You'd teach me how to fight like that? Sure, I guess but I doubt it'd help me much with my end goal." Eren replied in a thankful tone.
"What's your end goal?" questioned Gohan as he rose an eyebrow in curiosity.
"I want to kill all the titans." Eren spat while looking away from Gohan in disgust at the mere mention of titans.
"I see... Well, believe it or not, part of my training will actually help you kill titans if that's what you want to do. However, I don't want to kill them myself. I'd rather protect people without killing anything." Gohan explained to Eren as he widened his eyes.
"It will!?" Eren asked in excitement while choosing to ignore the later part of what Gohan said in favor of the former.
"Uh, yeah? I mean, if you train hard enough it would." Gohan said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head in response to the boy's enthusiasm.
"Alright then! You can consider it done!" Eren declared which caused Gohan to smile.
"Anyways, I better get going Eren, they're waiting on me for our first training session. I'll see you later, ok?" Gohan said as he turned to continue his hike to the gates while still looking at Eren.
"Yeah. Besides, I better get some sleep for tomorrow. Goodnight." Eren replied as he turned and started his walk back to the cabins to get some sleep.
"Goodnight Eren." replied the demi saiyan as he began his journey to meet up with and train Ilse.
After a while of walking, Gohan eventually met up with Ilse near the gates heading out to Wall Maria and into titan territory.
"Hey, Gohan! You ready for our first night of training?" Ilse inquired as the boy approached her while waving.
"Yeah, I am! But just know that it might be a little difficult for you. Especially at the beginning." warned the demi saiyan only to get a silent nod of eager anticipation from Ilse.
"Ok, when you're ready, grab onto me. I'm going to fly us over the Walls and to tonight's training spot. Just make sure to hold on tight and I'll try to go as slowly as I can." Gohan said to Ilse. Upon doing so, Ilse got behind Gohan and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to secure herself onto him but not hard enough to restrain his movements or choke him.
Once Gohan felt that she had a firm grip on him, he reached back and picked her legs up with his arms as an extra precaution. Then, he slowly began to rise into the air.
For Gohan, this sensation was pretty normal but to Ilse, it felt almost blissful. She did nothing but look up at the top of the Walls to avoid looking at the ground. It even felt surreal.
As they continued their ascent into the air, Ilse couldn't help but just embrace the gentle breeze from their movement. If she were to be honest with herself, it even felt like when she soared through the air on her ODM gear but much less windy.
However, she also felt slightly uneasy because at least with her ODM gear, she knew that she could always catch herself if she began to fall. Choosing to push that thought aside, she just reminded herself that Gohan was there and that he'd easily be able to catch her if she were to fall and continued to enjoy the sensation.
Once they got over the Walls, Gohan began to fly towards a large forest nearby for their training and after a while, he began their decent to the ground.
"So, why did you decide to have us go here for our training? I would've thought you'd take us out somewhere more open so that we'd have room to cut loose?" Ilse questioned as the pair landed in the middle of a small clearing in the forest.
"Well, that would be ideal but for now, I need to start you off with some basic physical and mental training. Normally I would've just started you off by training you a little physically and then we'd get into ki training but we need to do something first." replied Gohan albeit a little hesitantly.
Noticing his hesitation, Ilse decided to push further on the subject.
"What would that be?" Ilse asked while suddenly beginning worry slightly due to his hesitation.
"You're not going to like it but it's going to have to be done sooner or later and I figured it'd be better to get it out of the way sooner so it doesn't become a problem when the time counts." Gohan said with a sigh although he didn't really want to do this.
Just then, Ilse began to hear some thudding around her and she immediately had an idea of what was coming.
"I know that they stop moving a little while after the sun goes down so we'll have to do this as our warmup routines while they're still able to move. That is, until you're ready to move on from it." Gohan said as Ilse got closer to Gohan for protection from the incoming titan.
"What will our warmup be exactly?" gulped the girl as she hid behind Gohan while a 12-meter titan walked into the clearing from Gohan's front.
"I'm going to make sure you don't make the same mistake I did when I had my first real fight. Ilse, I'm going to help you get over your fear of titans. Otherwise, it won't matter how strong you get, you'll still be hesitant to approach one if you ever lose your gear and that could get somebody hurt or worse." the demi saiyan declared with determination as his mind wandered back to his battle against the pure blooded saiyan named Nappa.
"Wh... What?" Ilse paled at the idea with wide eyes and sweaty hands.
"I'm going to make you unafraid of titans by having you be in contact with them until you can keep a leveled head around them." Gohan repeated as the titan drew closer and closer.
The titan then swung at Gohan and Ilse in an attempt to grab them only for Gohan to reach out with his left arm and stop its assault with his bare hand. With the titan unable to push it's hand any further, it then tried pulled its arm back and tried to smash them from above but Gohan countered it too.
Meanwhile, Ilse watched what was going on while huddled on the ground behind Gohan and away from the large hands that were being blocked left and right. It was obvious that the titan was beginning to grow impatient too as each of its attacks were failing.
Then, due to its irritation, the titan lunged at Gohan and Ilse with its teeth in an attempt to swallow them whole. However, Gohan was ready. He merely pulled his right arm back, made a fist, and thrusted his arm forward.
There was no contact, just wind. Strong wind at that. The sheer force of Gohan's punch created a powerful gale force wind that blew the titan back to the edge of the clearing until it smashed into one of the many large trees.
For Ilse, the show of strength was a mixture of inspiring, amazing, and horrifying. It was insane to think that so much strength could be held in such a relatively small body and it was inspiring to think that with his training, she could have that same level of strength if she worked hard enough.
"You see? If you don't fear them, you can think clearly and make the proper judgements to protect not only yourself but others from them and any other situation. So, each night that we train, we are going to come here and do this over and over until you can stand right beside me while I protect you but without feeling afraid. Ok?" Gohan explained as Ilse stood back up.
"I understand." replied the girl as she took a stand behind Gohan with new determination even though in the back of her mind she was still scared.
"Ok, good." Gohan smiled back at her as the titan made its way back to them.
And that's that for this chapter! This was by far my longest chapter yet with a little over 10,000 words! Anyways Again, I just want to apologize again for the long wait. With writing more than one story, work, friends, siblings, and managing "me time" it sometimes gets hard to get enough inspiration to write. But, hopefully I will start uploading a little more often now that I'm getting better and have a better idea of what to write. Also, I apologize for censoring the bad words. I may be 22 at the time of this chapter but I have honestly never said a bad word in my life, not even through text, and I certainly don't plan to now. And just so you know, I do mainly use the English dub for my stories but I do mix it in with the Japanese version here and there. Also, let me know if you can guess who I'm going to ship Gohan with! Keep in mind that there will be a bit of a third-party crush but only one will end up with Gohan in the end so let me know who you think this little "love triangle" will include and who you think Gohan will end up with in the end! Well, until next time!
