"Annie…"
A man fell to his knees and embraced Dina's small form.
"What I did was wrong."
"I'm not going to ask you to forgive me after all that's happened…" continued the sobbing man.
"But there's one thing… Just one thing I want to ask of you."
The man who caused her so much pain and suffering. The man who did all of this for his little selfish reasons was suddenly sorry.
"I don't care if you make the entire world your enemy..."
"Even if every other creature alive comes to hate you…"
"Your father will always be on your side."
Dina was feeling emotions she has never felt before. She was sorry for the man. She really wanted to forgive him, but she couldn't make a sound.
"So please… Promise me that you'll come back!" The man cried out with tears in his eyes.
Dina felt warm streaks of water run down her face.
This feeling made her open her eyes.
It was all a dream. She was crying in her sleep.
'Annie' Dina thought 'so that was your name.'
Dina quickly brushed the tears off her face and got up.
'At least I know her name' She thought while she was getting ready for the first day of training.
Dina felt sorry for Annie. The girl was just a victim of circumstances. Victim of the world which turned her against her own people. Her father didn't seem to be a bad person. Just like Dina, Annie's father wanted to carve his child's destiny himself. Dina just wished that Zeke would forgive her like Annie forgave her father.
The name was a lot but not nearly enough. Dina needed some information about the invaders that were still on the loose. There seemed to be no rules about which memories she would see. Random thoughts and Annie's farewell to her father didn't give Dina any leads.
The opening ceremony for the 104th cadet corps took place in a large field.
"ARLERT!" yelled the instructor Keith Shadis "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU COME HERE FOR?!"
If the boy in question was intimidated, he didn't show it.
"TO MAKE MYSELF USEFUL IN THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMANITY'S VICTORY SIR!"
Dina could appreciate the boy's devotion to the cause, and the instructor seemed satiated with his answer.
"WELL, THAT'S MIGHTY ADORABLE! I THINK I'M GONNA MAKE YOU TITAN CHOW, MAGGOT!"
All the yelling seemed to be a military rite of passage. Dina felt that this was a necessity. If the soldiers broke down once yelled at, they wouldn't put up any kind of fight against titans.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME, MAGGOT?!"
"JEAN KIRSTEIN FROM TROST DISTRICT, SIR!"
"WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR?!"
The boy named Jean made a smug face.
"To get into the military police brigade and live in the interior sir!"
The old instructor deadpanned at the boy.
"I see. You want to go to the interior, do you?"
"Yes, sir!"
Instructor Shadis headbutted Jean Kirstein who fell to the ground in pain.
"HEY! WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO SIT DOWN?!" Yelled Shadis.
"YOU THINK SOMEONE WHO FOLDS HERE IS GONNA BE ALLOWED INTO THE MILITARY POLICE?!"
Shadis left the hurting Jean and went to search for his next prey.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME, MAGGOT!"
"MARCO BOTT, JINAE TOWN, WALL ROSE SOUTH DISTRICT, SIR!" Said the boy with conviction.
"AND WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR?!
"TO JOIN THE MILITARY POLICE BRIGADE AND DEVOTE MYSELF TO THE KING, SIR!"
Dina felt pity for Marco. He seemed genuine in his goal. It was a cruel irony that the king he wanted to serve wasn't even the real one.
"I see… That's just fine..." Replied Shadis with a fearsome look "a good goal. Except…"
"I'm positive the king's got no interest in your scrawny body!"
"NEXT!" Said Shadis walking over to a short boy next to Marco.
"YOU MAGGOT! WHO ARE YOU?!"
"RAGAKO VILLAGE, WALL ROSE SOUTH DISTRICT! CONNIE SPRINGER, SIR!" Said the boy while blundering a salute.
Dina watched as the instructor discipled the boy. It seemed like a weird collection of people were joining the corps. Suddenly she noticed something even weirder. A young girl was eating a potato. It was so peculiar that Dina wanted to laugh on the spot. The instructor seemed to notice it as well since he dropped Connie on the ground.
Shadis wasn't pleased even after she offered him half of the potato. He made her run rounds until she passed out. Sasha Blouse, as the girl was named, didn't seem too bad with that. She only looked anguished once he told her she wouldn't get dinner.
Dina was sitting at a table in the canteen along with Mikasa, Armin and Eren who was currently telling his tale of the fall of Shiganshina. Apparently, some cadets found about him being on the spot when the attack happened and were curious about the titans. Dina had to say that throughout the years Eren had become quite an eloquent speaker.
"The titans are no big deal" said Eren with confidence "if we can master the vertical maneuvering gear, they'll be no match for us!"
Dina really wished it were that easy. The threat wasn't only on the outside, but on the inside as well. She knew that Eren has always been a brave fighter who saw no limits. She just hoped he would live long enough to see the freedom he always wanted.
A small rivalry sparked between Eren and Jean. Jean seemed like a good person, even though his idea of military service was selfish. Dina hoped the boy would straighten out in the future. When the bell rang, and everyone went to their living quarters, Dina noticed that the potato girl wasn't there.
'She must still be running.'
It was an opportunity to start her search for the girl she heard about in the church. Dina decided to head out and help Sasha, getting to know her in the process.
When Dina finally found her, Sasha was laying on the ground breathing heavily.
"Um, hey?" Dina said but the girl seemed incomprehensive.
Suddenly the potato girl jolted upright and jumped forward with her mouth open. Dina looked at what she was jumping at and saw a small girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was holding a bottle of water, and some bread, though it no longer seemed to be the case since Sasha snatched the bread out with her teeth. As the girl was eating the bread, Dina walked over to the newcomer.
"Oh, hello…" The new girl said looking up at Dina.
"Hey, my name is Dina, I never caught yours though" Dina said to the girl.
"I'm Krista Lenz, nice to meet you" the girl said with a smile.
"Oh, thank you!" Wailed the potato girl with tears, as she took a big swig from the bottle.
Dina wondered.
"You really went out of your way to help Sasha" she finally said to the fellow blonde.
"It's just that… I want to be thought of as helpful." Replied the girl looking down.
This reply seemed disingenuous to Dina. She only just met Krista, but the girl already seemed unnatural. Could she be the girl Dina was looking for?
Sasha passed out with a happy face after her little meal. Dina crouched down and grabbed the girl.
"Anyway… Let's get potato girl to bed" she said as she lifted Sasha over her shoulders.
As they were walking towards the quarters, Krista broke the silence.
"Um, why are you helping Sasha?"
"Well, it's a good way to get to know others" Dina replied, "I need some people I can trust if I am to carry on with my goals."
"And what are those goals?" asked Krista.
Dina thought for a moment.
"Before the attack, I lost everything" she vaguely replied, "I need to make things right."
"Did you have a family?" Pried Krista.
"Yeah." Said Dina as they finally reached the doors to the quarters.
"Something like that."
