Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan, Devil May Cry, or any of its characters...
After the disbandment ceremony, the cadets were all having fun in a tavern, where they celebrated their graduation. While many were disappointed they weren't able to make it to the top ten scorers, they were still happy nonetheless for making it through three years worth of military training. Many clinks of glasses could be heard around the place. "I did it! I can finally join the Military Police!" Connie cheered with a toothy grin.
"Yay! Now we won't have to worry about food!" Sasha cheered along with him, imagining the endless possibilities of what she could eat in the interior.
"Why am I below Eren?" Jean tch'ed as he drank his beer, not liking how the results went down in the end.
"That's because he's just the best in everything we did," Marco sweat-dropped. Even though he deeply wanted to be in the top ten in order to be able to join the Military Police, he wasn't one to complain about the grades he got. "At least you're in the top ten scorers, Jean… you'll be able to join the Military Police like what you always wanted."
Meanwhile, in one particular table, Eren was surrounded by many of his fellow cadets. All of them had similar questions and if he had to be honest, he was starting to get annoyed because a) he can't eat properly with so many people asking him questions and b) they were all asking the same questions.
"You're not joining the Military Police, Eren? Are you serious, Eren?!" Thomas asked him.
"You're the top scorer!"
"Joining the Military Police is what I came here for."
"Your skills would be perfect for the Military Police Brigade!"
"I didn't train to live in the interior. I trained in order to go out there and fight the titans." He answered them all while having his usual smirk, trying not to show that he was getting annoyed.
"You can't beat them!" Thomas yelled with a fearful look, which gained everyone's attention. "You, of all people, should know. They've eaten tens of thousands of people. When we lost 20% of the population after the answer was already clear. Humanity… can't win against the titans." He explained, bringing a depressed state to the room.
"So?" Eren spoke, getting their attention again. "Are we just going to give up because we think we can't win?"
"Well, I…"
"Tch, why don't you lighten up, Eren?!" Jean yelled, which got everyone's attention to himself. "Since we're in the top ten, we can finally escape this shitty, uncomfortable, suffocating front-like town! A comfortable life is waiting for us in the interior! You'd all like to go to the interior too, right?" Yep, he was clearly drunk since he wasn't acting like an asshole towards Eren.
"I'm applying to the Military Police Brigade." Bertholdt said with a smile.
"Me too…" Annie said, turning her head towards Jean. "But I don't want anyone to think I'm like you."
Jean grinned at his rival. "Hahahahahahaha! You see, Eren? Why don't you just take advantage of this opportunity and live a good life in the interior. After all, what happened five years ago must have been traumatizing for you."
"You say that the interior is comfortable… yet five years ago, this town was also a part of the interior…" Eren said, looking emotionless for a moment before his everlasting smirk once again appeared on his face. "You don't have to go to the interior, Jean. I mean, isn't the interior of your brain already soft enough for you?"
Reiner immediately had his drink spat out through his nostrils which got on Armin, because of what Eren just said. As he apologized to Armin, Mikasa grabbed Eren's sleeve, making him look at her before she shook her head in an attempt to stop Eren from creating a fight.
"I'm not gonna fight him," he mouthed out, before gently removing Mikasa's hand just as Jean turned to him.
"Are you saying I'm an idiot, Eren?" Jean said, obvious ticked by the remark that the white-haired teen made. Eren didn't say anything, and Jean continued to speak. "Well, I'm not. I'm just looking at reality… more than anyone."
"Yeah, right…" Eren rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah? Take a note at what Thomas said, then." Jean pointed to the blonde guy who spoke earlier. "Four years ago, twenty percent of the population was sent out to try and reclaim our land from the titans. Most of them ended up going straight into a titan's mouth, swallowed whole. For every titan that was defeated, an average of 30 humans died. However, the number of titans who dominate this planet is at least twice more than the population of the entire human race even before we were first attacked."
Eren remained looking like he was bored, but he still listened to every word Jean said.
"Like what he said, I think it's crystal clear. Humanity doesn't stand a chance against them." Jean said in a somewhat depressed tone, which added to the already sad atmosphere that the tavern had.
…
…
…
Jean sighed as he looked around, seeing most of the cadets suddenly entered a state of depression. "Look at this place, it's like a funeral is happening in here, thanks to you…"
Just then, Eren suddenly spoke up. "So you're basically saying, 'I don't think we can win, so I'm giving up.', right?" he said, shaking his head.
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Were you even listening to me?"
"Tell me… what's so good about giving up? Is it better to escape from that reality that you're seeing, Jean? Up to the point where you're throwing away all your hope?" Eren asked.
The other cadets were starting to look back towards Eren as the top of their class began to explain his side.
Eren put his hands inside both of his jacket pockets and spoke in a serious tone, different to how he normally spoke. "In the first place, it's given that we would lose to the titans in material terms. Four years ago, one of the causes that we lost was ignorance. Humanity lived inside these walls in peace, thinking that they are finally safe from the titans. Then the Colossal Titan appeared one day and crushed any hopes of that happening. A hundred years of living in ignorance caused humans to forget the horror that the titans bring. That, and because the government in the interior had no idea what to do with the thousands of refugees coming from Wall Maria… you can call it one of the reasons why I don't want to enter the Military Police. I refuse to work and serve under people who can't even protect their own kin and thinking that sending them to their deaths is the solution." He finished through gritted teeth.
By now, everyone in the tavern had their eyes on Eren as they listened to him closely, while also seeing the fierce look of determination in his emerald orbs.
"We lost then, but the information we gained will surely lead to our hope for the future. And yet you're going to give up on developing strategies to fight them? You're giving up on improving yourself to defeat more of them? Do you want to be titan food so badly? Give me a break, you horseface."
Eren then looked at Armin for a moment, before he clenched his fist. "I have a dream… one that I've shared with my friend ever since we were kids." Armin widened his eyes immediately, knowing that it was him whom Eren was talking about. "It's to leave the cramped-up lands in these walls and not just that…" He then thought about what Dante revealed to him five years ago before finishing his statement.
"My dream is to explore… the outside world."
Silence had erupted afterwards. If it was a depressing atmosphere inside the tavern earlier, then it changed just by listening to Eren's words. Most of the cadets were looking at their top scorer in astonishment, while some pondered deeply upon what he said. It continued to be like that until Jean broke the silence by getting into Eren's face.
"Ha! What the hell are you talking about?! You must be the one with the soft noggin!" He said in an arrogant tone, before smirking at the white-haired teen.
"Oh? And how so?" Eren fired back with a smirk of his own.
Jean pointed to everyone around, who were still silent after hearing Eren's little speech. "Look at them! Not a single one of them agrees with you!"
"Yeah, and I don't give a shit." Jean turned to him with a frown. "I'm not trying to be a leader of a cult who's doing his best to have others follow his footsteps, because I'm doing this on my own. I'm doing this because it's what I want." He continued with a serious look and tone.
Jean playfully sighed. "You know, you're really starting to reach out too much… you sure you're not drunk or something?"
Eren snickered, before looking at his bandaged arm. "Heh… if you only knew…" he mumbled to himself.
Jean seemed to have heard Eren say something, but he couldn't point out what it was exactly. "What?"
Eren looked up at Jean again, his smirk returning. "Listen to me when I say this. Like what I always say, the Survey Corps will succeed in taking back what we lost… but I never said the exact reason why. Do you know why, Jean?" Eren then pointed to himself with his bandaged arm. "Because the Survey Corps will have me with them. You can call it bragging or arrogance, but I don't care. Don't forget, I'm the top scorer out of everyone here and instead of continuing to live in arrogance like you, I will contribute and use everything that I've learned to help humanity. I can bet you that in just over a year, the Survey Corps will finally make progress, if we haven't reclaimed the land by then. And it will all happen… because I'm going to join them." he finished with a determined grin before he felt someone tugging on his shirt. Turning around, Eren saw Mikasa with a pleading look on her face, and he immediately knew what it meant.
He turned back to Jean and raised his eyebrows. "Remember what I said tonight, Jean… just remember it." He said, before turning around and walking away, eventually leaving the tavern with Mikasa following behind.
"Somehow, I wonder where Eren got that cocky attitude of his…" Armin sighed as he stood up, before following his two friends outside. If he had to be honest, he didn't like how things worked out, but things just happen. "I just hope it won't come back to bite him when the time comes."
Even Krista, who had her eyes on Eren ever since they went here, stood up and slowly headed to the door with Ymir following closely behind her.
"Fine then. Go outside the walls and get yourself killed! I'm joining the Military Police…" Jean thought to himself, watching them all leave.
As soon as Mikasa stepped outside, she saw Eren stretching his limbs while breathing heavily. With a worried tone and expression, she began to speak. "Are… Are you okay, Eren?" she asked.
Eren glanced back to see it was Mikasa. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed some fresh air for a bit." he said, while continuing to exercise his limbs.
"Did… Jean go too far?" she asked. Yeah, she was still worried because she had never seen Eren act so serious like he was earlier. He was either easygoing and calm, while only being serious on occasion.
"Nah, not really." He said, sitting down as he finished stretching out his arms and legs. "I've handled worse… I just figured it would be enough to shut his mouth." He then looked to the side to see Mikasa pointing to the space on his right, silently asking if she could sit beside him. "Haha, you can sit wherever you want, it's free." He chuckled, and the girl made herself comfortable beside him afterwards. That was when Eren remembered something important as he turned to look at Mikasa. "Say, have you decided already what branch are you gonna join?" he asked curiously.
"I'm…" she said, looking down on the ground for a moment before turning her gaze towards Eren. "...I'm joining the Survey Corps like you."
Eren widened his eyes slightly. He didn't expect that from her, of all people. "For real?" he said in surprise. "You're in the top ten, you can join the Military Police if you want to. I'm not going to complain about it, if that's what you're thinking."
That was when Mikasa had a smile forming on her face. "I can… but I remember making a promise to your mother, about always looking out for each other." she told him.
"Oh right, I totally forgot about that." Eren said in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head before pointing to Mikasa. "But make sure to stick with me, alright? I can't look out for ya if you're not close." He ruffled her hair slightly, causing the girl to blush before nodding slowly. "By the way, remind me to go and visit mom before we pick our respective branches… it's been so long since we last saw her."
Mikasa smiled shyly and looked up at the night sky. "Y-Yes, I would… like to see her again too…" She then looked back at Eren and saw him looking up as well. That was when she noticed his hand pressed on the ground as she found herself staring at it for a few moments. Having nobody left in her life after her parents died, Mikasa had no reason left to live during that day.
Until that moment when Eren gave her his scarf.
Because of him, she had something worth fighting for. Because of Eren, she found another reason to live.
All because of him.
Mikasa glanced at her own hand; despite having no experience in things like this, she could easily put it over Eren's and entwine their fingers. She found herself doing so, albeit in a slow manner that showed how embarrassed she was for doing this.
"Eren, you didn't have to act like that inside." A voice said from behind them, and Mikasa immediately froze in place as her face burned up. Meanwhile, Eren turned around to see Armin walking towards them. "Anyway, the party's breaking up, you two… we should head back to the dorm."
"Oh hey, Armin…" Eren said, just as his blonde friend came to sit down on the space to his left. That was when Armin noticed how red Mikasa was, with her hair covering most of her face to hide herself.
"Uh, Mikasa are you alright? Your face is heating up really bad." Armin asked, causing Eren to turn towards the girl as well.
"Oi, is something wrong? I know you look like that pretty much most of the time but now I'm worried. Do you have a fever or something?" Eren asked, only for Mikasa to shake her head furiously in response. He shrugged, thinking he was just thinking too much of it before turning back towards Armin. "So… have you decided what branch you're applying to, Armin?"
Armin was quiet for a few seconds, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I'm going to join the Survey Corps!" His answer alarmed both Eren and Mikasa [who snapped out of her embarrassment] as they looked at their blonde friend in shock.
"Wait, what?! Are you serious? I mean, you're…" Eren tried to say, and Armin only nodded in agreement, as he knew what his friend was about to blurt out.
"Yeah, I know…" Armin muttered, glancing to the side. "I'm weaker than the average person… and it was a miracle that I passed the simulated combat graduation test, let alone get into the top ten…"
"But didn't the instructor tell you to be a technician since you're academic grades are higher? You'd be perfect for the Garrison, or you could join the Military Police if you want. But making an inefficient choice that disregards your abilities isn't what I would call courageous."
Armin looked at his friends for a moment, before a serious expression showed on his face, looking ahead. "If I died, it wouldn't matter! I don't want to be a burden to anyone!" he said, holding almost the same look of determination that Eren has all the time.
"I'm joining the Survey Corps too!" A voice said from behind the three and they turned around to see Krista walking up to them with Ymir behind her.
"You gotta kidding be kidding me…" Eren looked at her in disbelief, since he did not expect something like that from a girl like Krista, of all people. "You're in the top 10, why not join the Military Police or something!" Eren didn't want to show it, but he was worried. Krista wasn't nowhere near Armin, and she could be fairly considered as weaker than him. He didn't want her to die an early death.
Krista smiled at him. "I still owe you for what happened that night. I haven't forgotten what you did for me, and it helped me a lot!" Eren immediately noticed that Mikasa and Armin were sending him confused glances. He only gulped, since he had never told him about the time where he brought food for Sasha and unknowingly met Krista along the way.
"You don't owe me anything," he shook his head. "Follow what your heart tells you to do, but anyway thanks for being honest, I guess… I didn't expect that coming from you, Krista."
"But what if…" she said shyly, before twiddling her fingers in nervousness. "My heart is telling me… to… to follow you?"
That got Eren to widen his eyes and quickly look away in embarrassment. "I never asked for you to follow me, though…" he mumbled, his cheeks gaining a hint of red in the process. Armin sighed and patted his shoulders afterwards, as Ymir stepped forward and grabbed Krista's shoulder.
"Hmm, well wherever Krista goes I'll go there too, even if it's in the Military Police. Someone's gotta make sure she doesn't get into too much danger from following you around Yeager, since you are joining the Survey Corps to fight titans." Ymir said with a grin as Krista blushed crimson before looking away.
Mikasa stared at both of them for a few moments before looking down on the ground. Did Krista have the same feelings that she had for Eren? If she did, then, was there even a chance for her? Krista was cute and kind to everyone around her, while she has trouble being around new people. The difference between them was significant.
The night finally ended when they returned to the dorms earlier than everybody else. The five cadets fell asleep rather easily and Eren in particular, couldn't wait to prove what he said to Jean and help the scouts in their conquest.
The next day, Eren was walking through the streets of Trost with two other cadets named FRANZ KEFKA and HANNAH DIAMANT. They had their attention on the various stores and people roaming around, as they headed to the wall.
"You know… most of us call this a front-line town, but…" Eren began, taking note of the people happily chatting around them. "We're getting more people here. That was unexpected."
"Well, nothing has happened for five years now. People can't live in fear forever." Hannah shrugged before smiling at the boys walking with her, but Eren frowned at that.
"Not to mention, we've made the walls a lot stronger these past five years." Franz agreed, before pondering over something. "Maybe… that Colossus Titan has given up on us…"
"What the hell are you talking about, you two?!" Eren yelled as he went in front of them with a hard glare. "Marriage has turned you soft!"
With that, the two quickly looked away with blushes on their faces as they shook their heads in denial.
"Wh-Who said we were married…?!" Hannah exclaimed, the nervousness clear in her voice.
"To even think we'd make a good couple…" Franz murmured under his breath, before covering his face with his left arm. "You're getting way too ahead of yourself, Eren!"
Eren stared blankly at the two of them for a few moments before he had a deadpan expression on his face. "...you two…"
Later that day, Eren and the squad he was assigned to were atop the walls cleaning the cannons. Everything was going normally until the white-haired teen heard something that nearly made him fall over in surprise. "Huh?! You're joining the Survey Corps?! Where did this come from?! You're number eight, right? I thought you wanted to join the Military Police!"
"Naturally, the Military Police Brigade's a wiser choice… but still…" Connie replied, while busy cleaning one of the cannons.
"Your speech last night had an effect on him." Thomas said, walking up to them as Connie widened his eyes at hearing his words.
"What?!" Eren was shocked.
"W-Wrong! I…It was… that's right, it was Jean!" Connie said, clearly embarrassed. "I just don't want to be in the same branch as that bastard!"
"That doesn't explain why you'd suddenly want to join the Survey Corps…" Thomas put his hands on his hips and shook his head.
"S-Shut the hell up! I decided for myself!" Connie barked.
"Don't be so embarrassed! Sometimes even when you know what you should do, you still hesitate to follow through…" Thomas explained, before Eren finally let a smile form on his face, somehow happy that someone listened to him despite the fact that he looked like a borderline idiot last night. "Besides, you're not the only one…" the blonde man continued, before a brown-haired girl walked up to them.
"Pardon me, but…" Sasha approached them with a dazed smile on her face, before pulling out a small pack of meat from her jacket. "I borrowed some meat from the senior officers' private stock."
That alone alarmed the three men as they looked at Sasha in shock, until Eren realized what this meant.
"Sasha… you want to get thrown in solitary…?" Thomas said.
"You know, you really are dumb." Connie sneered.
"Sasha, that's great!" Eren's voice caught Connie and Thomas' attention as they stared at their top student in surprise. Eren then walked towards Sasha and placed his hands on top of her shoulders before he smiled widely. "Do you know what this means? We can try cooking up those recipes I told you about!"
"Hehe, yeah…" Sasha chuckled, with some of her drool dripping down her face.
"Woah, what? Seriously Eren, of all people, it's you who would support the potato girl?" Thomas asked incredulously, unable to believe that the top one of their class had a side like this to him.
"Why not, it would be a massive change after eating that damn paste and plain bread for three years." Eren shrugged as he turned to them.
"After me and Eren cook, let's split it up afterwards… we can share the tasty meat and have it to ourselves…" the girl said excitedly, as she couldn't wait to be able to try meat for the first time.
"Seriously, put it back. And don't encourage her, Eren. You have to set an example since you're the top of the class." Connie told them before turning to the white-haired teen.
"That's right. Since we have less land where livestock can be bred, meat is considered incredibly valuable." Mina said, walking up to the group.
"It's alright," Sasha said as she opened a crate where she hid the meat inside. Everyone looked at her as she did so. "If we reclaim the land, we can raise more cows and sheep again."
"She's right," Eren agreed, flashing them a small grin. "Honestly, it's one of the reasons why I'm joining the Survey Corps. I don't want to get back to eating that god-awful paste during our training days, and I've grown tired of the same old dry bread. I want more than that, and the only way for it to happen, is if we take back our land from the titans!" Eren said in a determined voice, causing everyone else to be silent for a few moments, surprised by his little speech about food. Sure it was a bit of a foolish reason of his, but nonetheless Eren made his intentions clear.
"I see your point." Thomas spoke up with a little smile, realizing what Eren and Sasha stood for as Mina, Samuel and Connie looked at him. "It'll be like a celebration in anticipation of reclaiming Wall Maria."
Eren smiled at Thomas while the others looked at him in surprise at how quickly he had changed his mind. Sasha finished hiding the meat and stood up beside Eren, leaning her head on his shoulder. She cast a quick glance at Eren to see what was his reaction, but he didn't seem to mind it, so she simply stayed in that position while smiling contently. Just then, it was Samuel who spoke next.
"...I'll…" he closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I'll eat that meat, too!" he exclaimed.
"I-I'll have it too! So save some for me…!" Mina spoke up as well, not wanting to be left out.
"What are you standing there speechless for, Connie? You'll get some meat too, but do you want to get busted for slacking off?" Samuel told the short boy, who broke out of his temporary trance in order to get back to cleaning, since he didn't want to be reprimanded for being tardy.
"It's not even lunchtime yet!" Mina laughed, before going back to cleaning.
Eren smiled at all of his fellow cadets working, even Sasha who was leaning against him because of who-knows-what, before looking over Trost as a whole. He looked down at his right arm and clenched his fist. "It's been five years since that day. Even after losing twenty percent of our population, the people in these walls are finally regaining dignity. This won't be the same as it was back then." He thought, before flashing his usual smirk as he slammed his fist into his chest. "Our counterattack… begins now!"
It was silent for a few seconds before all of a sudden, a huge flash of lightning appeared behind him. Eren froze along with Sasha, as their fellow cadets around them widened their eyes in shock at what suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Regaining a serious look a few moments later, Eren then turned around and came face-to-face with the Colossal Titan.
OH BOY, HERE WE GO! The Colossal Titan is finally back after five years and now the Battle for Trost arc has officially begun! Next chapter, our heroes will attempt to fight back, but will they be successful? Can Eren make a change with his hidden power? Will he transform into a titan like in canon? Shit, the possibilities are endless, so stay tuned!
P.S. It wouldn't hurt to leave a review right? It really helps seeing your feedback in every chapter, which motivates me to keep on writing… so… please?
Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*
-Lance
