AN: So this chapter is a slightly less serious one before the story picks up again in a big, and somewhat unique way. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
If there was one thing Erwin hated about being the commander of the survey corps, except the grievous casualties his regiment suffered on a regular basis, it was the paperwork. Despite being the smallest arm of the military, it required far more paperwork than the other two.
Permission had to be asked from the central government, the garrison and Premier Zachary every time they went on an expedition. Even opening the outer gates required a folder's worth of documentation to be signed and approved in triplicate.
He suppressed a grimace at his cramping hand as he signed off yet another requisition form.
To his frustration, he couldn't even delegate part of this work to his inner circle of veterans; Levi's handwriting was utterly atrocious and barely legible on the best of days, and Hanji was…
Well, she was Hanji; if it weren't for Moblit's constant reminders she'd probably forget to bathe, eat or even sleep, let alone do any paperwork.
The only reliable help he had with this was his old friend, Mike Zacharias.
"So how many greenhorns are we getting today?" The heavyset blond and humanity's second strongest soldier flexed his hand as he spoke, trying to shake away the burning sensation from all the signing he had done.
"40 new recruits signed on, including the entirety of the top 10." Erwin simply replied as if it were no big deal.
Mike stopped writing and looked up from the paper. "40? You got 40 cadets to sign up after they survived Trost? Did you give them your usual speech?"
Erwin raised one of his majestic eyebrows, unaware he had a 'usual' speech. "I just told them the facts about the corp, and I don't think any of them count as greenhorns after what they've been through."
"Well you must have said something to inspire them, we didn't even get that many cadets from a single class even when Maria fell."
Erwin thought for a moment, even with the paths Eren's powers had opened for humanity, far more cadets had joined than his most optimistic expectations.
"I don't think I had anything to do with it. Most of the top 10 seemed set to join the scouts before I even spoke to them; only one of them looked hesitant to join. The cadet's inspiration came from something or someone else, and whatever it was inspired them more than Trost deterred them."
Mike gave a quick hum, "Fair enough, it's fortunate we've got a new headquarters though. Probably wouldn't have had room for everyone in the old one. Still, some of the newbies might have to double up… at least for now."
It was a grim fact of life in the scouts, that being overcapacity was never a long-term problem for them.
Erwin hadn't been exaggerating about those casualty statistics.
"So, do we have any notable cadets joining us, except Yeager of course?" Mike asked a few minutes later.
"Definitely, keep an eye out for Arlert and Ackerman, both friends of Yeager, but they distinguished themselves in Trost both as fighters and leaders. Arlert was the mastermind behind the successful counterattack and Ackerman is already shaping up to be a younger, female Levi. I look forward to seeing them both in action."
"A female Levi, huh? Hopefully, she has a less 'shitty' sense of humour." Mike snorted at his own bad joke.
Erwin just gave him a look, before pointing at another stack of paper. "Leave the toilet jokes to Levi; we've still got a lot more paperwork to do."
Mike groaned at the sight of another pile, before suddenly sitting up straight in his chair and sniffing the air several times.
"The new recruits are nearly here."
Sometimes Erwin wondered how Mike's nose even worked. They were three stories up, in an old dusty castle surrounded by rural countryside, yet he could somehow tell when a group of strangers he had never met before were approaching.
Ultimately, for his own sanity more than anything else, he simply accepts that it just does work, and instead focuses on how best to utilise the tremendous power of Mike's nose for the betterment of Humanity.
And occasional to check if the milk has gone off.
Mikasa felt a strange sensation of home come over her as the old… new… current scout headquarters came into view. They hadn't lived in the HQ that long in their last life, but it had been some of the most intense, emotional and challenging times in her life.
Betrayal, injuries, persecution, revolution, death, destruction, and finally discovering the truth; about themselves and the rest of the world.
It had felt like years at the time but had only been a handful of months from the battle of Trost to retaking Shiganshina.
And through all of that, this old castle had been their home. She would never openly admit it, but she had missed it.
Someone nudged her side, drawing her out of the memories.
"You alright?" Historia asked gently, as the wagon slowly trundled onward.
"Yeah." She tugged at her scarf, slightly self-conscious at being caught reminiscing, "Just thinking."
Historia smiled knowingly and nodded toward the castle. "Impressive, isn't it?" she asked innocently, wary of the others surrounding them.
Mikasa was momentarily perturbed how quickly Historia had seen through her but pushed it aside realising she was only trying to be friendly.
"Yes. Yes, it is." She replied in a hushed tone, more to herself than to Historia.
Historia flashed her a quick smile, before turning back to chat with Ymir.
When the wagon finally came to a stop in the castle courtyard, Mikasa jumped out, swinging a rucksack filled with what little personal possessions she owned over her shoulder. A few items of casual clothing, toiletries and a small penknife she had 'acquired' during their time as refugees after the fall.
She had thrown it away in their first life after joining the scouts but had decided to keep it close this time. Using a blade to trigger her ability felt more reliable and elegant compared to biting.
She looked up at the ageing fort, seeing some scouts using 3DM gear to clean some of the upper windows. It looked like Captain Midget hadn't been able to contain his fetish for cleaning and had ordered others to start scrubbing.
She wondered what the Government and people would think if they saw precious military resources being used to satisfy that man's desires.
The corner of her mouth twitched upwards at the thought.
'It's good to be home.'
The first familiar face they came across was the survey corp's resident mad scientist and their old commander Hanji Zoe.
She had, quite literally, ran into the new cadets, nearly knocking Marco to the ground. A maniacal smile was plastered on her face, and a large spear was clutched in her hand as titan blood slowly evaporated off her scout jacket.
"Sorry about that. I didn't see you there. I was deep in thought."
Most of the group took a subtle step back, noting how sharp (and bloody) the spear was.
"I'm on a scientific quest, and I am of the very precipice of the most monumental discovery in human history. A discovery that will shatter the very foundations of our understanding of the titans and change the world as we know it!" Hanji cried out with fierce determination.
She hoisted her spear above her head and shouted defiantly into the sky as if challenging some great unseen deity.
"I WILL find the titan's reproductive organs even if it's the last thing I do!"
The pained whimper that came from the back of the group at Hanji exclamation would later be applauded as the most realistic imitation of a kicked puppy any of the 104th had ever heard.
With her declaration finished, Hanji planted the spear into the group and took a closer look at the group, finally noticing their unfamiliar faces.
"Oh, you must be our newest scouts! Well, I should introduce myself, I'm Hanji Zoe, squad leader and chief titan researcher for the survey corp. But please, call me Hanji, everyone else does!"
"Section Commander!" the ever exasperated Moblit shouted out as he runs towards them, finally catching up with his commander/caree. "Please put the spear away; you're going to hurt someone."
"Ah, there you are Moblit! Come say hello to our new comrades."
Out of breath from his rapid pursuit, Moblit just gave a tired nod to the fearful recruits.
"Say," Hanji started again as if she had just remembered something important, "Which one of you young' uns is Armin?"
Before he could even answer, he was shoved forward by a frightened Sasha, clearly as a sacrificial offering to this blood-covered, spear-wielding lunatic.
Hanji quickly seized him and pulled him to her side. "Ah the infamous titan whisperer, I've heard so much about you! Is it true Eren listened to you, even when he lost control of his titan form?" Armin gave an unsure nod in reply.
Hanji squealed in joy, "Oh, I'm so jealous! I wish I could command a titan." She finished with a wistful sigh, showing her genuine disappointment.
"But I can live my desires through you, my new best friend! I have plenty of questions so let's get straight down to business. You've been friends with Eren for a long time, right? Tell me, what's it like being friends with a titan? Does he get sick from the flu, the common cold or food poisoning? Is he allergic to anything? Does he have any unusual dietary requirements or strange cravings for human meat? You were in bootcamp together so you must have seen him in the shower before. Does he have genitals or is he bare like a titan down there? If he does, is it a normal size for a boy his age? I would ask Eren, but Levi is being very selfish and is keeping him all to himself!"
Armin's brilliant mind was reeling at the quick-fire, and somewhat disturbing, questions. He turned his head to Mikasa, giving a silent request for assistance.
Alas, his plea was ignored as Mikasa purposely avoided eye contact and hid a small smile behind her crimson scarf.
"Come on Armin don't be shy; I'm hoping that Erwin assigns you to my squad, and then I can introduce you to my titans; Sawney and Beane. Oh, just think all of the fun we can have together!" Hanji was practically shaking with excitement; her manic smile became even more disturbing at the word fun.
"Shitty glasses, let go of that brat." The dull drawl of Captain Levi filled the yard, as he slowly strutted towards them, with Eren in tow. Armin had never been so pleased to see the vertically challenged man in his life.
"Erwin wants a report from you about your newest… pets."
Hanji made a face which was half disappointed at being pulled away and half ecstatic at the idea of informing the Commander about what she's discovered.
"Aww, Levi aren't you going to be a gentleman and escort me? I might get lost in this big old castle." Hanji batted her eyelashes and grins at the man, fishing for a reaction.
Levi tilted his head a fraction and gave her a blank look. "Get moving four eyes. He's a busy man."
Hanji let out a dissatisfied huff and took off, dragging Moblit with her. This left the 104th standing before Levi and Eren in a semi-awkward silence.
"Captain, permission to talk to my friends for a few minutes?" Eren asked, breaking the hush.
"Tch, fine. You've got five minutes with the other brats, then report back to the training ground. Your 3DM abilities are atrocious, and I will not have it in my squad." Levi walked off without a second glance, muttering under his breath about the 'shitty' training they received at bootcamp.
"Hey everyone, it's great to see you. I can't believe you all joined the scouts!" Eren smiled, relieved to see some friendly faces finally.
The smile turned slightly strained at the cautious looks he was receiving from a large number of the 104th. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, knowing he couldn't avoid the titan in the room any longer, "So… about the whole titan thing..."
Their second day in the survey corp consisted of a crash course in the long-range scouting formation, being introduced to their specially bred horses and finally 3DM training.
But this wasn't the usual exercise they had done in bootcamp, where they 'hunted' several stationary wooden targets in a forest. This was Scout training.
Now the targets were on wagons and tilts, which meant the 'titan' could unexpectedly move and turn, causing many unprepared recruits to crash directly into them on numerous occasions. And not only that, they had to avoid other scouts flying around trying to smack them with sticks.
While this might sound like a cruel hazing prank, there was a reason behind it. It taught scouts always to pay attention to their surroundings; just because they have an opening on one target doesn't mean something wasn't targeting them.
Getting tunnel vision when fighting the titans is a surefire way to reach an early grave.
It was arduous, demanding and occasionally painful. And Mikasa loved it! She had been so tired of the same basic exercise back in bootcamp that she could have done it in her sleep. She was so relieved to finally be doing something that challenged her that one of the stick-wielding scouts, Nanaba she vaguely recalls, nearly got the drop on her. She dodged it of course, but it was still close.
Once everyone had completed the course to varying degrees of success, they had been dismissed. Mikasa silently followed the others to the mess hall for dinner, half-listening to their complaints of sore muscles and bruised skin. Her healing abilities made such things of memory of the past, but she could remember the discomfort she felt after a long training session.
She picked an empty table and waited for Armin to arrive; Hanji had dragged him away earlier in the day to discuss her favourite thing, titans. The oddball scientist clearly wasn't joking about wanting Armin in her squad.
Mikasa's solitary table was suddenly occupied by someone else sitting down opposite her, taking the seat she had saved for Armin.
"Alright, Scarfy." Mikasa looked up at Ymir's freckled face, noticing the smug grin the rogue shifter was wearing. She could already tell she wasn't going to enjoy this.
"Ymir." She replied blandly, "What do you want?"
"What? Can't a girl sit with her fellow scout without wanting something?"
"Seeing as we've said less than two dozen words to each other over the last two years without Krista being present, I doubt it."
Ymir clicked her tongue, "Fine, I wanted to talk to you about something. I noticed you kept sneaking off, only to find out you've been talking to my sweet Krista. So, in case you're like that moron Braun and trying to steal my girl I decided to keep an eye on you. And do you know what I found? I discovered that we have something in common, don't we scarfy?"
The world seemed to come to a screeching halt for Mikasa. The busy canteen suddenly felt very quiet, and her blood ran cold.
"What?" she said slowly, hoping she had just misheard Ymir.
"Don't play dumb with me. You might hide it well from the others, but I can see it clear as day. Kindred spirits and all that." Ymir leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. Her grin had widened as she spoke.
Mikasa slowly reached for the penknife strapped to her thigh. She had no idea what Ymir's intention was, but if she was really going to do this right here and now, Mikasa would be ready.
"You've tried to keep it hidden, but if I can see it after watching you for a bit, others will soon notice it as well. Are you scared of them finding out?" Ymir cocked her head to the side with a smirk.
Mikasa's mind raced. Was Ymir going to oust her publicly, or was this some kind of blackmail attempt? Had Historia failed to secure her loyalty, or had she told Ymir the truth without asking them?
'That doesn't matter right now, think, THINK. What are you going to do now?' Mikasa thinks to herself, 'The Jaws titan is agile but not overly powerful. Losing it would be a blow, but we could still win without it.' Her hand clenched around the penknife; a rudimentary assassination plan was starting to form in her head.
And if Historia was a part of this... 'I won't let anyone betray us. Never again.'
"And what is this 'secret' we share, Ymir?" she tried to keep the strained tension out of her voice, to limited success. If Ymir's plan was blackmail, she would play along for now. Then she would strike when Ymir wasn't prepared.
"Oh, I think you know, Scarfy." Ymir's grin was practically predatory at this point, like a wolf about to devour its prey. "We've both have a thing for short blonds."
Mikasa blinks. Then blinks again.
"… what?"
"You and Arlert. You're always watching him out the corner of your eye and roaming off together. The two of you are practically attached at the hip. You like him, don't ya?"
Mikasa should have felt some sort of relief that Ymir wasn't talking about her titan ability, but now she was dealing with something just as secretive and private.
She didn't fully understand her feelings toward Armin and how they've changed since their return, but she did know Ymir was the last person she would talk to about it, after Armin himself of course.
So, she quickly brushes off the comment in the vain hope Ymir might drop it. "You're imagining things. We're just friends; we've known each other since we were kids."
"HA! Just friends." Ymir shook her head, chuckling softly, "Oh scarfy, I can see I've got my work cut out for me helping you. But to be honest, I am surprised no one has walked in on the two of you showing how friendly you really are." She leered.
A hard kick under the table shut Ymir up. Mikasa had almost forgotten how irritating and abrasive the freckled girl could be without Historia around to temper her worse impulses.
"Ouch! There's no need to get violent, I'm just saying it how I see it."
"Leave me alone, Ymir. There is nothing to 'see', and certainly nothing to discuss."
Ymir threw up her hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay. Touchy subject, I guess. I'm only trying to help, after all, I do have experience in the subject on wooing petite blonds."
"Go. Away." Mikasa growls out.
Ymir gives a long sigh and shrugs her shoulders, "Well, I tried. I just wanted to make sure you didn't waste your life longing but never acting. Nothing worse than letting someone slip away because you were too afraid to act."
She ignored the rest of Ymir's speech, silently debating the merits and drawbacks of punching her lights out. Unfortunately, the punch might have to wait as Ymir finally stood up to leave.
Ymir gave a final smirk, "Oh, one last piece of advice. When you finally get around to it, don't go on top. You might end up crushing the poor boy."
With an impressive of athleticism and swiftness, Ymir vaults over a table and dives out of the messroom, just before a spoon (thrown with frightening speed) is impaled into the wooden door frame, with a loud metallic twang.
Across the room Reiner, Connie, Jean and Marco sat at a table with wide eyes and open mouths.
"What the hell was that about?" Jean asked, eyes firmly glued towards the impaled spoon.
"Well, it's Ymir. She was either being completely insufferable or just really wound her up about something." Reiner replied, sounding almost disappointed that the spoon missed.
"She decided to wind Mikasa up?! Damn… and we called Eren the suicidal maniac." Connie shook his head in disbelief.
In all the years to come, the story behind the spoon-shaped hole in the doorway became almost legendary within the survey corp.
A cautionary tale passed down from scout to scout, from the most hardened veteran to the newest recruit, that anything in the hands of a pissed off Ackerman could be a deadly weapon.
Even a spoon.
Eren nervously rubbed his hands together under the table, feeling distinctively out of place surrounded by the members of Squad Levi; Eld Jinn, Oluo Bozado, Gunther Schultz and Petra Ral.
Between the four of them, they had put hundreds of the horrific titans to the sword. And now they all sat around, each nursing a mug of ale and playing cards.
Gunther had poured him out a drink as well, but he hadn't touched it. After the teaspoon incident, it just didn't feel right for someone with his… condition to get drunk. That would be a recipe for disaster.
"So Eren," Petra started, trying to bring him into the conversation. "You must be happy that so many of your cadet corp joined up, I saw you talking to one of them earlier; the Asian girl. Is she your friend?"
"Or girlfriend?" Olou smirked into his mug.
Eren felt his cheeks heat up at that suggestion. "That's Mikasa. She's my adopted sister."
"Wouldn't stop the weirdos in the capital." Olou said with a shrug before Petra smacked him round the back of the head, shutting him up.
"Shut it perv. Mikasa… I've heard that name before. Isn't she the one who killed dozens of titans at Trost?"
Eren couldn't remember much of the actual battle. He could recall Armin killing that abnormal titan, the pain of getting his leg bitten off, and finally being dropped into a titan's mouth. The next thing he remembered was the garrison threatening to blow Armin, Mikasa and himself up with a cannon.
"Err, I think so. I don't remember a lot, but at the trial they said she killed up to 40."
Olou's smirk shrivelled up and died, as Eld and Gunther started to laugh. "Damn Olou, a newbie nearly topped your kill count in a single day. Better watch out, or the Captain might replace you with her."
"Tch, brat just got lucky. She'll probably wet herself first time beyond the wall like Petra did." Olou had the annoying tendency to imitate Captain Levi, which became even more pronounced when he was self-conscious or embarrassed.
"HEY!" Petra punched him in the arm, looking mortified.
There was another round of laughter from Eld and Gunther.
They may be the best of the best, but without the Captain present, they acted like a bunch of fresh-faced cadets back in bootcamp.
It reminded him of his own friends and how he wasn't permitted to spend time with them without expressed permission.
His mood worsened, turning from nervousness to loneliness. As much as he wanted to, Eren doubts he would ever be truly part of this team. They might be his teammates, but they were also his wardens and potential executioners should he mess up.
He missed his friends; Armin, Mikasa, Reiner, Sasha, Connie and the others. Apart from those brief few minutes the day before he hadn't interacted with them; he wasn't allowed to train or even eat with anyone except the Special Operation Squad.
'Fuck' he thinks depressingly, 'I'm even starting to miss arguing with horseface!'
Eren hopes he can prove his loyalty to humanity soon, and then maybe life can go back to normal… Well, as normal as military life could be for a 14-year-old boy who could turn into a 15m titan.
A cloaked spectre flew gracefully through the inky black night. The light from the crescent moon could not breach through the dark clouds above.
Like most crimes, this one would be committed in the dark.
The hooded figure landed with a softness their size shouldn't permit. His tall, slender form crouched down on the walkway, as brown eyes gazed into the containment area eying up the two pinned Titan with disdain.
He knew the scouts couldn't be allowed to carry out more experiments on them. They had already discovered that titans are not active at night, hence the unguarded nature of the pen. The lack of knowledge regarding the titans was their greatest advantage, and they couldn't afford to lose it. Their mission already hanged on a thread; Marcel and Annie were gone. They were the last warriors left and had to complete their task before they could finally go home.
A bead of sweat rolled down his long face as he drew out a blade out of its holster. The scouts had pinned the titans down with their napes exposed, for their own peace of mind.
Now that choice would be to their detriment.
With a quick burst of gas, he flew toward the titans and brought the blades down, slicing through the titan's flesh with ease. The titans made no sound as they were struck down; only the hissing of steam as their bodies started to breakdown could be heard in the silent night.
He didn't even look back at his achievement, knowing he had to get away killing ground as soon as possible. He had been lucky in avoiding any night guards and knew all hell would break loose when the remains were discovered.
Bertholdt's relief was almost palpable as he stashed the borrowed 3DM gear back in the storage room. All he had to do now was sneak back to his room, and he would be fine. No one would ever know it was him who killed those titans and if they did an inventory on the gear, it would only lead them on a wild goose chase.
Using his military training; both from home and here, he quietly snuck back to his room, and finally closed the door with a resounding click. He rested his head against the cool wood feeling the tension and stress slowly dissipate off him.
He collapsed onto his bed, letting out a long sigh of relief. He fell asleep thinking he had succeeded and was now one step closer to home.
He never noticed the person watching him from one of the castle windows, their face obscured by shadows. But nothing could have hidden those dark grey eyes which blazed with fury.