"From this day forth, each and every one of you here are members of the 104th Trainee Corps!"
Straightening himself up when he heard those words, Mikazuki Augus lowered his brows and refocused his attention on the man who was currently standing before them on a small platform. Roughly as tall as Reiner, his skin was either naturally brown or had been under the sun for too long. His eyes were sunken into his face and his beard was more of a goatee.
"Unfortunately for all of you, I, Keith Shadis, will be your platoon commander for these next four years! I am not about to give you maggots a warm welcome. Currently, in my eyes, all of you are livestock! No… you are all worse than livestock!"
Keith Shadis… Mika thought he recognised that name. Wasn't he a former commander of those Survey Corps? He recalled his name being brought up on several instances by Nac and Mina, though never when he was talking about what they should expect. The man did look vaguely familiar, though Mika didn't care enough to try and see if he remembered him. It didn't really matter anyways. If he did save his ass during a prior meeting when he was still piloting Barbatos, it wouldn't matter as no one even knew about his little secret anyhow.
Beside him, Nac seemed to be resisting the urge to smile, something which made Mika quirk an eyebrow up. He knew his friend was a fan of the Military Brigade, or at least ⅓ of them, and that he would often nerd out when they were speaking of them, so seeing him trying to not geek out was a first.
Then again, being positive looking may draw some attention to him. And from what he was currently hearing…
"You, what is your name?!" demanded Keith, who had moved from his platform after finishing his introductory speech and was now giving his new recruits a 'warm welcome'. Mika couldn't see who he was interrogating at the moment, but Nac, being much taller, could see that the one being interrogated was blonde and rather short, with a somewhat feminine face and large, hazel eyes, the latter detail being something Nac had to look hard to notice thanks to how far he was from Arlert. The only thing Mika saw was the blonde hair, and even then, he could only see the very top of the victim's head.
"Armin Arlert from Shiganshina, sir!" came a voice that sounded as though it were trying its best to be brave, definitely the one whom Keith was yelling at. Nac didn't recognise that name, but he could see that Keith's expression soften just a little, only to instantly harden once more within a second.
"Is that so? What a ridiculous name! Did your father give it to you?!" demanded Keith, obviously trying to scare the wits out of the blonde. However, to his credit, Armin did not lose his (somewhat) calm demeanor as he gulped and replied, albeit shakily.
"N-No sir! My grandfather did!" blurted Armin, making Shadis snort and make a harumph sound.
"Why are you here, Armin Arlert?!" demanded Keith, arms still behind his back as he narrowed his eyes.
"To contribute to Mankind's victory, sir!" shouted Armin at what everyone thought to be the top of his lungs, and a handful of people, even Keith himself, seemed surprised, though the latter's was replaced with a neutral expression as he gave a nod firm.
"How commendable of you, Armin Arlert," complemented Keith flatly before placing a hand atop the blonde's head. "We can use you as Titan Bait. Now, Third line, face backwards!"
While Mika had no reaction to what just happened, he noted how Nac seemed to be doing his best to stifle a chuckle. Averting his eyes ever so slightly so that he could stare at his friend, Augus raised a brow to show his confusion, which Nac responded to with a small, practically unnoticeable shrug. Mika kept his gaze on Nac for a few moments before a pained yell caught both of their attentions.
Mika, being short and all that, was unable to clearly see what caused it. But, as with Armin, Nac could.
"Who gave you permission to sit, Jean Kirstein?" demanded Keith, glaring down at who Nac and Mika assumed to be 'Jean'. "If such a simple injury, one which did not even draw blood, can bring you to your knees, then there is no hope for you to be enlisted into the Military Police Brigade."
Looking in between their would-be comrades, Nac and Mika saw the one whom Keith was addressing. As he had said, a boy, most likely 'Jean', was slouched over on his knees, hands wrapped around his head in pain. Keith paid no mind to his current dilemma, simple moving on to his next target.
As Keith moved on to his next interrogation victim, some freckled boy called Marco Bolt, Mika gave Nac a look which made the taller boy question his blind love in the Military Brigades, or specifically the Survey Corps. Nac kept insisting that they were different, but Mika didn't really care, usually bunching all three major brigades into one bundle to make them easier to remember. The taller boy didn't seem to notice his stare, however, simply keeping his gaze fixed on the head in front of him.
Shadis' 'interrogation' of the 104th Trainee Brigade went on for roughly half an hour, and during that time, Mika found himself endlessly amused by everything Keith had spouted out in spite of being half awake (at best). The man sure could talk, or at the very least, dish out some creative insults. It was a tactic which Mika had heard of, a scare tactic to show the new recruits that they were signing up for more than what they bargained for.
After about forty minutes, Keith himself came walking up in front of Mika and Nac's row. The two of them were standing close to the center of the row, so it took some time for him to get to Augus and Tias, though when he was, he instantly gave the two of them the 'cold glare'. To his credit, Keith's glare was probably much more intense than Annie and Mika's. It even managed to give Mika a minor shiver down his spine, though he kept his neutral expression as Keith walked past him, not even making eye contact with the commander as he passed him. Unfortunately, Nac was not as composed, as his somewhat calm expression broke when Keith gave him the eye.
"You, who are you?!" demanded Keith, stopping in front of Nac, his gaze locking onto Tias, who froze in fear for half a second. Though when that time was up, he gave the Military Brigade's Salute and responded.
"Nac Tias," responded the taller boy firmly, clenching his fist tight as he rested it against his heart. "From the Eastern side of Trost!"
Keith simply narrowed his eyes at that. "Nac Tias, why the Hell are you here?"
"To devote myself to mankind's cause!" replied Nac, straightening himself even more. "And to serve as a Survey Corp if I can…"
Mika rotated his eyes up to give his friend a questioning stare, one which Nac didn't notice for obvious reasons.
"Hm… that is all fine and well, endeavour for it," muttered Keith, his expression softening just a little. Nac, for his part, seemed to calm down a tad, at least until Keith narrowed his eyes. "But, know this… as things are right now, you have a higher chance of dying in an accident in training than you do in becoming a Survey Corp…"
Nac's response was a gulp and a horrified expression which made Augus snort. Thankfully, Keith didn't notice that as he moved on to his next target, a blonde who was not too far from the two of them. And at that point, Nac could finally let loose the breath that was stuck in his throat.
"You, who are you and why are you here?!" he demanded.
"I… I'm M-Mylius Zeramuski, sir!" replied the blonde, saluting shakily as Keith glared at him. Rather unfortunately for 'Mylius', Keith noted his stutter and took advantage of it.
"Why do you have a stutter, Zeramuski?" demanded Keith, inching his face closer to his target's. Mylius seemed uncertain on how he should reply, though even if he could, Keith would have cut him off. "Such nervous behavior is not needed in any of the three Military Brigades!"
"I… I s-see, sir…" muttered Mylius, most likely without thinking, prompting Keith to raise his brows, and for the blonde to gulp and start sweating.
"Mylius Zeramuski, why the Hell are you here?" he demanded, eyes narrowed.
"To… to try and earn enough to help my family…" muttered Mylius, frowning as he tightened his fist which rested on his chest. Keith huffed at that.
"Admirable, but horribly foolish and naive of you," said Keith with a frown. And, with a simple hand motion, turned Mylius around a full 180 degrees, much like what he did for Armin. "We can also use you as Titan Bait. Third Line, facing backwards!"
As Keith moved on and out of sight, Mika turned his head ever so slightly and quirked an eyebrow. Nac turned ever so slightly towards his shorter friend and gave an oddly nervous expression, one which told the pilot that his view on the Military Brigades was changing at least a little. Their eye contact was maintained for roughly thirty seconds before Keith spoke up once more.
"You have it backwards, Connie Springer…" came Keith's voice, making both Nac and Mika turn their heads back to look at where Keith had ended up at. As usual, Mika was unable to see what was going on, but Nac, being much taller, was able to do so. Keith was now interrogating the row behind them, and that he also had a bald boy held up in the air in between his hands, roughly at eye level/half a metre above ground. "It should've been the first thing you learnt before even thinking of joining the Trainee Brigade… that salute is a symbol that openly declares your determination to offer your life to our cause! Is your heart on the right side of your chest?!"
Connie, the poor lad being held up in between Keith's hands, didn't seem as though he could reply at the moment, simply giving a soft squeal as his head was squished. Nac, who saw everything out of the corner of his eye, gave a soft snicker. The boy easily assumed why he was currently being berated thanks to the things which Keith had yelled out.
Rather surprisingly, however, Keith had stopped his reprimandation of Connie Springer rather prematurely, as he had dropped him back onto the ground before zoning in on another person in the crowd. This time, neither Nac nor Mika could see the person whom Shadis had zoned in on, but the silence which followed had put them on edge, and Mika swore that he heard something which sounded like someone taking a bite out of a steamed potato.
"Oi…" muttered Keith, breaking the silence as he turned to glare at the one who caught his attention. The new victim, a girl with reddish brown hair, practically a brunette, and light brown eyes didn't seem to notice. True to what Mika had heard, she was indeed chowing down on a steamed potato held in her right hand during their welcoming committee, and seemed too preoccupied with her 'meal' to really pay attention to her surroundings. "You… what are you doing…?"
When he muttered those words, practically everyone around the brunette, aside from those in front of her, averted their eyes onto her. Ironically, the girl herself didn't know that she was being addressed. Instead, she took another bite of her potato as though nothing was going on. And, rather unfortunately for her, this simple action served only to infuriate Keith much, much more, as the heavily tanned man quite literally dashed up in front of her, his face just barely two inches away from hers, an action which shocked the girl immensely.
"YOU! I AM TALKING TO YOU!" exclaimed Keith, loud enough for the entire 104th Trainee Platoon, front, back, left and right, to hear. Unable to saturate their curiosity, a handful of would-be Trainees, Nac and Mika included, swiveled their heads around to have a look at what was going on. Unfortunately for Mika, he had to look between the torsos (and occasionally the crotches) of his fellow Trainees while Nac was tall enough to peer over most of them.
The girl whom Keith was yelling at quickly sped up her chewing speed thanks to the adrenaline rush she just had. Once she had swallowed the piece in her mouth, the young lady gave her platoon commander a rigid salute, slamming her potato holding hand against her chest. When that was done, she responded, though said response was something which Keith wasn't particularly interested in.
"Sasha Blouse from Dauper Village in Wall Rose's Southern District, sir!" she introduced, still not understanding why Keith had 'greeted' her in such a way, apparently. For his part, Keith straightened himself out to his usual height and gave 'Sasha' a glare which she wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"Sasha Blouse… what is that you have in your right hand?" demanded Keith, his tone sounding calm, though Mika and, to some degree, Nac could hear some real hostility behind them. It was enough to make the latter sweat a little, though the former had no reaction to the underlying hostile tone outside of acknowledging that it existed. On the total opposite end of the spectrum, Sasha seemed oblivious to it.
"A Steamed Potato, sir…" she muttered, looking up at Shadis, her eyes locked with his as she kept her salute.
"And where did you find this potato, Sasha Blouse?" demanded Keith, and the first few hints of doubt and fear began creeping their way onto the brunette's face as she responded.
"From the mess hall, sir," she responded. How she had gotten into the mess hall without anyone knowing was beyond everyone's comprehension, even Keith's, though it wasn't exactly the most pressing issue they had at the moment.
"In other words, you stole it," muttered Keith, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Those around Sasha slowly inched away from her, not wanting to be caught within the danger zone if Keith were to snap. Fortunately for them, all of Keith's attention was currently directed towards Sasha, who remained rigid. "Why did you decide to take the potato out now?"
"It… it is best to eat a Steamed Potato before it gets cold…" responded Sasha, sounding nervous (kinda), appalled and even shocked at what Keith had asked. "It felt as though it was getting cold… so I thought now was the best time to have it…"
Keith simply looked stunned at that response as he frowned deeply, eyes narrowed. "No… I still don't understand… why did you eat it…?"
"Platoon Commander… are you asking me why people eat potatoes?" asked Sasha, uncertainty slowly creeping into her voice. Unbeknownst to her, her odd response made practically everyone in the field, or at least everyone that was within hearing distance anyways, turn towards her and stare in wide eyed shocked. Even Mikazuki had to widen his eyes ever so slightly to show his shock. Hell, even Keith himself was dumbfounded, simply staring at Sasha with wide eyes as he thought about a response.
Before he could, however, Sasha did the unexpected and, with a thoughtful expression, ripped off a small chunk, roughly ⅓, off the steamed potato she was currently holding. That simple motion confused everyone, at least until she handed the smaller chunk of potato out to Keith, though she did have a pained expression as she handed it to him.
"...this half is for you, sir," said Sasha as Keith took the potato chunk. The Platoon Commander simply looked at his chunk, dumbfounded.
"Half…?" muttered Keith, looking towards Sasha, who gave a massive, goofy smile.
Roughly five hours later
"She's still at it…"
Huffing in response, Mika shoved his hands into his pockets as he continued to watch Sasha Blouse run around the field with Annie.
When Sasha had given Keith the potato chunk, the Platoon Commander had, after recovering from his shock, ordered her to run around the entire field until she could not run anymore. Mika and Annie found that it was just a nicer way to say: 'run until you die'. He did give an alternative, however; she could skip dinner. Shockingly to everyone, she chose to run until she died over skipping a meal.
When she began running, Keith allowed her to finish the one she currently had. He said it was so that they didn't waste a perfectly good Steamed Potato, though some of the other Trainees, Nac included, had a feeling that he didn't exactly want Sasha to die. Though to be fair, everyone probably expected her to choose to skip dinner and not to run until she was on the brink of death.
While she ran, Keith went on with his interrogation as though nothing happened. It took roughly five hours for the entire thing to end thanks to the sheer amount of victims to interrogate, and when it was done, Keith ordered them to head to the field's Dining Hall to recuperate and to change back into their casual attire. Everyone except for Sasha, anyways. Before they left, however, Keith gave them a warning that he was going easy on them today and that things would be much, much more harsh in the future.
Mika and Nac had met up with Mina, Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt outside the Dining Hall. After a quirk exchange of greetings, the former four moved on to make acquaintances with their fellow Trainees. Mina herself had very little issues with speaking to other Trainees from Karanses thanks to her history in that particularDistrict, even taking the initiative to introduce Nac to some of her older friends. Mika and Annie, on the other hand, were uninterested in that, so they just stood by the edge of a small incline which overlooked the Training fields and stared out at it with little interest.
Neither Mika nor Annie were keen on starting a conversation, simply looking out to the field blankly, out at Sasha as she sprinted along with iron-willed determination. In spite of their typically cold exteriors, both were admittedly immensely impressed and endlessly amused at Sasha's stamina, though it was probably for all the wrong reasons.
"How much longer until she drops dead?" piped up Annie after some time, making Mika turn to her with a bemused expression. The slightly shorter blonde teen had her gaze firmly fixed on Sasha out in the distance as she spoke, so she did not notice the shrug which Mika gave.
"I… don't know," answered Mika truthfully, prompting Annie to snort out loud as he tugged on his sleeveless blue shirt, which was now technically his innerwear for his Trainee Corp outfit. The boy still had his Tekkadan jacket, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't have many opportunities to wear it from here on out.
Of course, as the boy was wearing his sleeveless attire, his Alaya-Vijnana spines were visible to everyone. He got several stares, but the boy ignored practically all of them as he recounted the events of the past year.
'... has it really been that long?' thought the pilot as he sighed a little to himself, frowning as he recalled all that happened in the past 365 days. Arriving in this Hellhole, befriending some of the quirkiest people alongside a mirror image of himself in all but gender, hair colour and height, and becoming the equivilant of a child soldier once more. So much had happened in he past year... and it was almost overwhelming to him, though he was quick to shake it off.
He'd been through worse, he reckoned, and he'd be put through some new things in the coming days. No need to dwell on the happenings of the past year.
And at that, a pair of arms rather abruptly slung themselves around both Annie and Mika's shoulders. Both of them almost instantly knew that it was Reiner who did that, and it was confirmed when both of them turned to look at the offender, who flashed them a massive smile.
"Reiner," greeted Annie half-heartedly while Augus kept himself quiet. Reiner either didn't notice his silence or he didn't care about it, as he chuckled out loud and gave the boy a gentle squeeze on his shoulder that made him grumble.
"Come on, you two!" protested Reiner heartily as he, perhaps unintentionally, tightened his grip around Mika and Annie's necks. Not dangerously tight, though enough to make both of them wince. "It's gotta be boring to be this antisocial, right? I mean, we've got four years here, at least! May as well make some friends, right?"
"Rather bold of you to assume that we're being antisocial, Reiner," spat Annie, narrowing her eyes as she pinched the larger blonde's palm, prompting him to yelp and release Augus and Leonhardt from his grip. As soon as they were released, Annie turned her body towards the blond and fixed a glare on him.
"But it's true, y'know?" protested Reiner, shaking his pinched palm indignantly. "You don't talk to anyone outside of me, Bert, Mina and Nac! Both of you! You need to expand your horizons in terms of friendship!"
"That is up to us to decide, not you," retorted Mika, giving Reiner an irritated glare as Annie nodded in agreement. The blonde flinched under the pilot's gaze, but he held his ground.
"Look, Mika, is this because of your… erm…" muttered Reiner, moving an arm onto his back to indicate what he was referring to. Mika simply closed his eyes and sighed.
"No, I couldn't care less," replied Mika, which was probably the entire truth honestly. As things were right now, the Alaya Vijnana spines were nothing much more than a minor inconvenience, rather ironic as they used to be his most valuable assets in his previous life. Now, however, they were simply there to attract attention and to remind him of his past life, nothing more. "Besides, you can't force us to do this."
"Well, Mina did kinda force you to go with Annie to come visit us all those months ago, right?" said Reiner for the lack of a better reason. Mika, on the other hand, gave Braun a harsh glare which told him that this conversation was currently headed down a path which would not end well. And, while Reiner, and a lot of other people who lived in these Walls for that matter, had been fortunate enough to not be on the receiving end of Mika's irritation, or anger if things got too heated, the blonde had a feeling that he didn't want to experience it firsthand as he raised both his hands in defeat. "But hey, it was probably a personal request, so who am I to judge?"
Mika responded with a snort and walked past Reiner, into the Dining Hall, telling the large blonde that he was in the clear (for now), prompting him to give a relieved sigh. Reiner then turned to Annie and was met with a glare that dared him to say what he was about currently thinking. Tensing up, Reiner refrained from doing so, satisfying Annie as she followed Augus into the Dining Hall, meeting up with Mina and Nac on the way.
Inside the Dining Hall
The Dining Hall in the field was, shockingly, large enough to fit every one of the 104th Southern Trainees, which was impressive as it was able to hold close to a thousand teenagers/young adults, albeit with some cramping. Whether this was some form of witchcraft or just impressive workmanship was something no one really thought about. Every table in the place was large enough to fit at least four Trainees, perhaps eight with some major cramping.
When everyone had filed in for 'dinner', the Trainees had split up into several smaller groups, mainly group of friends anyways, mainly lads from the same district. Rather unsurprisingly, Mika, Nac, Annie and Mina all sat on a single table, each with some sort of 'soup' in front of them.
During their dinner, Mina, Nac, Annie and Mika had chatted between themselves regarding their current situations, or at least the former two did. Annie and Mika, as usual, listened much more than they spoke. Their conversation was mostly dominated by Mina and Nac saying that they were happy that they were soldiers now or them talking about their excitement regarding the upcoming Maneuver Gear training, though Annie did mention CQC Training in the future which piqued Mika's interest.
Of course, there were several other conversation topics, such as Mina speaking up about several of her old Karanses friends being in the same brigade as them, namely Mylius and a pair of lovers named Franz and Hanna. It was probably the first time Augus heard those names, though Nac and Annie seemed to at least recognise them.
The four had spoken for a few minutes before they noted how a small crowd had formed around a table. Nac managed to figure out the names of those who were currently being assaulted with questions, Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, according to him. Keeping their ears open, the four also heard that they were from Shiganshina and were being asked about the Titans.
Mina and Nac themselves would have joined in to ask about Shiganshina, but they already had two 'guides' to Shiganshina. Annie was a good source of info for both, and Mika, while he wasn't from this place, lived a somewhat similar life to those who lived within Shiganshina, so he could always pretend rather effectively.
While Mina and Nac chatted away about their plans to perhaps become Survey Corps, Mika simply wondered what this new chapter in his life would be like. It would be more difficult than the past year, that much was obvious, but he also wondered if it would be a recap of the incidents at CGS. The Trainee Corps, thus far, seemed rather similar to CGS. Perhaps they were a little more lenient, though it seemed to be the only difference.
Roughly the same… it was enough to make the former pilot think about Tekkadan. It brought back the sinking feeling of homesickness which he had not felt in some time, prompting him to think about his older comrades and spacing out a little. However, thanks to his prolonged absence from the military group, and all the new things which seemed to distract him from remembering his old friends, Mika didn't have any real drive to grieve.
Rather unexpectedly, it was a small nudge from Annie that got Augus to look up to see that a black haired boy was currently face to face with a boy with ash grey hair. They seemed ready to start a fight, much to both Mika and Annie's amusement and Nac and Mina's dismay.
"A fight on day one?" muttered Annie with uncharacteristic interest, sounding as though she really wanted this to happen. Mika had a feeling that she did. It was more or less in her nature by now to want conflict to spice things up. That would be reinforced when a small shadow of a smirk appeared on Annie's face.
Rather unfortunately for Annie's interest, however, the conflict did not escalate much, as the ash grey haired boy let up and stopped escalating the conversation, prompting a defeated sigh to escape her lips. Mika himself then began to rub her back reassuringly, a rather strange gesture from him.
"We still have four years," he said in a neutrally reassuring tone. "A fight's bound to happen."
And Annie only snorted as she took a sip of her soup.
About three hours later
"You're still here, hm?"
Turning his head around to see Keith Shadis standing behind him, Mika felt himself tense up mildly as his platoon commander walked up beside him. Unlike his previous, stern, commanding self, however, Shadis seemed rather calm at the moment, looking passive as he stared at Augus questioningly.
Mika couldn't exactly blame him for approaching him, however. Almost everyone, including his three pals, had left the field area in the past three hours, with only a handful of Trainees lingering around, chatting idly or thinking about their current dilemma. Mika was among the few who stayed behind to do the latter, though his thoughts were different from what most would expect.
In response to Keith's question, Mika gave a nod, and Keith snorted. "Needed to clear your mind in an area far from the rowdier recruits, hm?"
"...ah," answered Mika, not exactly lying as he did need to clear his mind a little. The similarities between CGS and what he's seen of the Trainee Corps really gave him a sinking feeling of homesickness, though he had no real time to put any real thought into it until now. Keith, rather thankfully, seemed to understand, or at least thought he did, what Mika was going through, as he gave a small nod.
"Get back to your side of the barracks within the hour, Cadet," he ordered, turning to face the much shorter boy, who in turn tilted his head up to stare at the commander, noting that he had a stern expression befitting of his position once more. "Tomorrow will not be as easy as today."
"Ah," was his response as Keith turned on his heel and walked off, hands still behind his back. Watching as Keith walk off, Mika eventually went back to his usual thoughts whenever he was alone and undisturbed, thinking about Tekkadan as he stared out at the slowly darkening sky.
It was unavoidable, to be sure. Whenever he was alone and the place he was in was relatively silent, all of Mika's thoughts would inevitably drift towards Tekkadan. It wasn't annoying, just a little… jarring to say the least.
His thoughts regarding Tekkadan were almost always the same. 'Are they still active?', 'how is Orga?', or 'are they thriving?', these were among the most common questions which he asked himself. However, the more recent question was: 'could I have prevented this from happening if I had killed that thing faster…?'
It was a fair point, if he were honest. While that Graze Ein thing was powerful, Mika himself was more experienced at using the Alaya Vijnana unit. Experience always outweighed fancy tech… at least he thought it did, so he had the upper hand. So why wasn't he able to dispatch it faster… why… if he did, all of this could have been avoided…
'No…' came a new thought as he sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. 'Now isn't a time to dwell on these thoughts. Not when I have other things to deal with.'
With that in mind, and after giving a soft sigh, Augus got himself ready to leave the field, noting how the sun had already set over the horizon, and how he was pretty much the only person left in the area, only to hear a loud yell near the back of the mess hall. Out of curiosity, he moved to check it out, wondering if this had anything to do with those 'ghost stories' Mina would tell during the time of year everyone called 'Halloween' as he poked his head out of the corner of the mess hall to see what had yelled.
Rather disappointingly, the ruckus was not made by a ghost, but instead by Sasha Blouse, whom Mika was led to assume had been let off the hook for running by Keith, and some other, short, blonde girl. The 'Potato Girl', as the entire cafeteria had come to know Sasha as, had bread crumbs lining the edges of her lips and appeared to be passed out, her head resting on the blonde's lap. The blonde girl, on the other hand, appeared worried for her wellbeing.
"S-Sasha!" she muttered, gently shaking the body of the brunette in an attempt to wake her up to no avail. Her facial features then hardened when she realized that Blouse was not getting up anytime soon as she turned her head from side to side. And, rather impressively, she had spotted Mika almost instantly in spite of him being rather concealed in the darkness, prompting her to widen her large blue eyes as she addressed him. "H-Hey, you! Could you lend a hand…?"
Rather unwittingly, Mika stepped out of the corner he had peeked out of and came into full view of the blonde. She considered him for a while before squishing her lips together and slinging Sasha's arm around her neck and standing herself up, though she was rather obviously struggling to life her up on her own. "Could you help me lift her back to the barracks? I don't think I can do it on my own…"
As she spoke, Mika had moved up in front of the little blonde and grabbed Sasha off the ground with the greatest of ease, much to the shock of the blonde, who stopped talking by then. Without much issue, Augus slung Sasha over his shoulder as though she were a ragdoll, an action which made the blonde widen her light blue eyes. It was rather justified, however, as Sasha, despite being roughly the same height as him, appeared to be much more than what Mika could handle, but the initial shock faded away and was replaced with a smile.
"Thank you… Mr…" she began, only to start trailing off when she realized she didn't know his name. The pilot noticed this and decided to give it to her.
"Mikazuki Augus," introduced the pilot, adjusting his grip on the unconscious Sasha on his shoulder as he spoke. "Don't bother with the Mr."
"Ah, thank you for this, Mikazuki Augus," thanked the blonde as she gave a rigid bow. Mika huffed ever so slightly, unused to the formal respect this girl was showing him, as he turned on his heel to get the Potato Girl back to the barracks, though the short blonde stopped him before he could leave. "Wait, I must ask, are you doing this out of the goodness of your heart… or do you have an ulterior motive?"
Mika knew about what she was talking about, but he didn't feel any need to answer. He simply gave her a somewhat neutral stare, not too harsh, but it was apparently enough to make the blonde step back in supposed fear, before leaving the fields. Whilst he walked off, the boy missed the sight of the blonde quivering ever so slightly as she watched the boy leave, wondering if it was a good idea to let him have Sasha.
"Was it really worth it, Christa?" came a new voice once Mr Mikazuki was out of sight. The voice was a female one for sure, making the blonde, Christa, tense up, though only for a moment before she turned around to see a tall, tanned and freckled young woman, wearing standard casual attire. She had a discerning look on her face as she addressed her. "You risked a lot to help that buffoon, you know?"
"Well, she was running all day long…" protested Christa as she craned her neck up to look the taller woman in the eye. "It was the least I could do to keep her from dying from hunger…"
"Was it a good deed, though, one which was done out of the goodness of your heart… or do you have an ulterior motive?" asked the taller lady, echoing what Christa had asked Mikazuki before he left with Sasha in a somewhat mocking tone. Christa's cheeks lit up when she was asked that.
"It was, Ymir!" replied Christa. "I have no ulterior motives for Sasha Blouse! I was simply doing what I thought was just!"
"And do you reckon that boy, Mikazuki Whatever, was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, or he had some ulterior motives of his own?" questioned the taller lady, Ymir, making sure to emphasis the two words. Christa went silent before she issued her answer.
"I… do not know…" admitted Christa, still feeling a little antsy about that boy as she broke eye contact with her tall friend, prompting Ymir to give a mocking snort. However, she did add; "But… I do not believe that he will bring any harm upon Sasha. He seemed menacing… but I believe he means well…"
"Always seeing the best in others," grumbled Ymir, rolling her eyes as she slapped an arm around Christa's shoulders and began tugging her off towards the barracks. "Now come on, let's get moving! Don't wanna be caught around here after hours, now do we?"
Christa simply remained silent as they walked, not thinking much on the random conversation starters Ymir had attempted. She simply thought about one thing, something which sent a shiver up her spine as she wondered if she made a mistake by allowing Mikazuki to take Sasha.
Knocking on the girl's barracks, Mikazuki found that no one had come to answer it. Perhaps due to there being a lot of noise inside, Augus thought, so he knocked again, this time knocking perhaps a little too hard as the doors shook a tad on that one.
What followed were a few seconds of silence before the door slowly creaked open, revealing the face of a freckled girl with long ginger hair. The girl seemed surprised that it was a fellow Trainee, not a platoon commander, who had knocked on the door with that much force, and perhaps even more so when she saw Sasha Blouse slung over his shoulder.
"Can… I help you?" asked the girl rather awkwardly as she opened the door to the barracks a little wider, allowing Augus to see inside a little more. Granted, he didn't really need or want to look into an entire barrack full of girls who were dressed in casual wear, though he did catch a glimpse of Mina and Annie. The former saw him as well and gave a wave, one which Mika responded with by giving a small nod, while the latter stared at him in amusement, though immediately after that, he removed Sasha from his shoulder and passed her to the ginger.
"She passed out," said Mika, short and simple as the ginger wrapped her arms around Sasha' sweaty waist, giving a somewhat disgusted "Eck" as she did, and nodded.
"So, you got her back, eh? That's sweet of you," siad the girl with a friendly smile. Mika, on the other hand, snorted in bemusement as he took a step backwards.
"Someone asked me to, so I helped them bring her back," he replied.
"But you helped out of the goodness of your heart, hm?" retorted the ginger, still holding Sasha by the waist and getting sweat all over her arms in the process. The Potato Girl seemed oblivious, however, simply snoring through the entire conversation. Mika, on the other hand, shrugged as he moved on to the boys barracks, prompting the ginger to give a gentle chuckle before she dragged Sasha over to her bed while another girl helped her shut the door.
"So, Mika helped Potato Girl, huh?" muttered Annie as she laid back down on her bed. Beside her, Mina gave a soft chuckle as she nodded, combing her fingers through her thick black hair. "That's something I didn't think would happen."
"Ah, you'll never know," replied Mina, wincing as she accidentally pulled a string of hair off her scalp. Discarding it, she laid down beside her blonde friend and watched as Hanna Diament set Sasha down on her bed. The Potato Girl was so sweaty that her bed had ended up getting a little soaked, so much so that the one who shared the bed with her opted to sleep on the floor that night. "Mika's got a good heart. I'm sure he's willing to show that from time to time."
And Annie replied to that with a snort as Ymir and Christa entered the barracks. The former appeared as casual as she usually was, though the latter did seem a little on edge, at least until she noticed Sasha.
"See… I told you he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart!" whisper-shouted Christa to Ymir, who rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
Over by the other side
"Where've you been Mika?!" were the first four words which greeted the pilot as soon as he stepped foot into the boy's side of the barracks. They were proclaimed by Reiner, who had immediately rushed up to greet him when he heard the door creaked open. Slapping his back rather chummily, Reiner led Augus towards the bunker bed they shared with Nac and Bertholdt. Said bed was a little crowded, with Nac speaking to at least three new faces who were all gathered there.
"Mika!" proclaimed Nac when he saw his friend, hopping off the bed to check on his pal. "Where were you? You said you'd stay behind to get some fresh air and that you'd be back within the hour! It's been three!"
His response from Augus was a snort as he shrugged. "I needed more fresh air, I guess."
Reiner himself gave an amused laugh at the response Mika had given while Nac snickered a tad. The three who had gathered on their bed joined in on the laughter, though they had left before long when a platoon commander told them to get some shut eye.
And Augus had no problems sleeping on that day.
The next day
"Today, we will test your aptitude! Those who cannot do even this are not suited to be used, even as Garrison troops! Not even as Titan Bait! Failures will all be sent back to the Reclaimed Lands!"
As he said that, Platoon Commander Keith Shadis began to file out the Trainees who stood before him. Mikazuki remembered being woken up early today, something which he pinned on Nac's eagerness to be diligent. Rather ironically, the two had woken up roughly 2 hours earlier than necessary.
After said two hours were up, a separate platoon commander had ordered them to gather at the fields within the hour. Rather thankfully, Mika was wide awake by then, and as a result, both he and Nac were among the first batch of Trainees who arrived at the field, so mission accomplished for Nac, he supposed.
As soon as Keith Shadis had arrived, he almost immediately got to work on filling in the Trainees on what they were gonna be doing. He would be testing their aptitude for being upright while suspended in the air with twin metal 'strings' which, according to Nac, were taken straight from several maneuver gears which were damaged beyond repair.
Among the two hundred or so Southern Trainees who were present, about half of all Trainees were able to pass the test without too much issue. The other 50% or so were unable to pass thanks to poor aptitude and balance.
A handful of Trainees were able to perform the task perfectly, while most others were required to repeat the task several times before they got through. Among the former half were Mikazuki and Annie. For Augus, the task was rather easy as the feeling of being suspended in the air felt very similar to the feeling of piloting Barbatos when in space. It may have been a year since he had piloted the Gundam, but he had not forgotten the feeling of being connected to his Mobile Suit, not yet at least.
As for Annie, he just assumed that she was naturally gifted. And to anyone who didn't know that Mika was a pilot, IE practically everyone, Mika himself was also assumed to be naturally gifted as well.
The other 'naturally' gifted Trainees were Mikasa Ackerman, a black haired girl with grey/blue eyes, Sasha Blouse (something which surprised even Mika), Connie Springer and Jean Kirstein. The latter three did wobble a tad, however, but kept themselves upright. The 'less gifted' ones, ones that kept themselves upright after one or two tries, included Marco Bolt, Ymir Fritz, Christa Lenz and both Mina and Nac. Mika himself recognised the Christa girl as the one who helped Sasha yesterday.
After he had passed the Aptitude test, Mika was sent to the side of the field alongside a handful of others who wore proud smirks on their faces. Mika and Annie appeared to be the only ones who remained neutral amongst the sea of ecstatic faces.
Neither Annie nor Mika bothered to strike up a conversation during this time, with the two of them simply standing idly while their fellow soldiers spoke up a storm. If anything, the constant chatter seemed to irritate Annie to a certain degree, though she didn't voice that out. Mika, on the other hand, didn't care.. About five minutes after they had passed the 'test', Mina and Nac had joined them in the aptly named 'victory corner'.
"You two did pretty amazingly there!" complemented Nac when he and Carolina had joined up with Mika and Annie, gently punching Augus' shoulder as he smirked. Mika simply nodded at that, even if he did feel at least a little proud. Annie herself also responded with a nod, followed by a snort.
"And what about you, hm?" she asked, sounding rather sarcastic. Nac's face turned mildly red in response as he pursed his lips together, and Annie had to suppress a smirk before she turned towards Mina, who stiffened rather noticeably at that. "And you, Mina?"
"Eh… I needed three tries…" muttered Mina rather shyly as she tapped her fingers together. "Nac needed five…"
"Mina, you said you'd keep it a secret!" whisper-shouted Nac, his face completely red with embarrassment at this point. Mina's response to that was a sheepish chuckle as she scratched her cheek. Annie, despite herself, could not resist a soft chuckle while Mika allowed himself to give a small smile. Through all this friendly banter, however, the four of them missed the rather impressive and embarrassing scene of a certain Trainee who had attempted to pass this Aptitude test.
Roughly two or so hours later, in the mess hall near the fields
Absentmindedly biting into his bread, Mika watched and listened as Nac spoke with Annie about the next day. He spoke of how they didn't have anything to do tomorrow and essentially had a 'free day' tomorrow. Despite this, Nac planned on going to the fields to see if his fellow Trainees would be able to pass this aptitude test, and Mina was planning on doing the same.
Having passed the tests already as well, both Annie and Mika did plan on sleeping the next day off, but Nac and Mina insisted they be there to offer support to their fellow Trainees. Annie reluctantly agreed to it when Nac said that he'd give her half of his bread tomorrow while Mika only did so because he knew that he'd never hear the end of it if he had declined.
While his two friends chatted away, with Mina beside Annie, chomping away on a stale piece of bread, Mika noted that a familiar black haired boy seemed rather… shell shocked to say the least. For whatever reason, he had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and his eyes were so wide that they looked ready to pop out of his head and roll off to parts unknown at any given second.
"What's with him?" questioned Mika, eyes glued on Eren as the other three on his table turned to either face or eyeball him. In response, Annie gave a soft snort while Nac offered a rather sympathetic expression.
"You didn't hear?" replied Mina, speaking up for Nac as Augus turned to face her. "Yesterday he said that he'd slaughter all Titans, but he wasn't able to keep himself upright during the Aptitude Test."
"Rather poetic," muttered Annie, sarcasm apparent as she smirked. "He who says he can jump through a canyon cannot even leap over a small crevasse."
Only Nac seemed to get what Annie was saying while Mika and Mina were left rather confused, though thankfully the taller boy spoke up before their confusion got the best of them.
"He's got at least one more day to prove that he's good enough to be a potential soldier," said Nac, sounding rather sad for Jaeger. "If he doesn't manage it, then he'll be sent back to the Reclaimed Lands. While it would probably for his own good… he did show a lot of spirit and determination yesterday… it'd be a shame for it to go to waste."
Mika and Annie didn't exactly care if that boy succeeded or not, but Mina, having heard Eren pledging to annihilate all Titans the day before, gave a small nod. Though by the time Mina and Nac had told Augus about what Eren had pledged the day before, dinner was essentially over, and they all stood to head back to the Trainee Barracks.
Boys barracks
"Please, Nac… you managed it… you have to at least have some tips for me!"
Wincing a tad at the rather direct question and how Eren was holding him by the shoulders, Nac could only look to Mika for assistance in driving the boy away, but Mika was enjoying watching him be interrogated by Jaeger and Armin too much to do so. Grimacing at Mika as soon as he realized this, Nac scratched the back of his neck and replied.
"Look, erm… Eren…" said Nac apologetic and awkwardly. He attempted a smile, though it came about rather half hearted looking. "I don't really know much about how I can really explain this… erm… firstly… just… stay calm?"
Listening intently to Nac, Eren seemed to take everything to heart, such as staying calm, breathing slow, and, as Nac had said it: "If you feel like you're leaning back, shift your balance forward, and vice versa if you're leaning forward."
"Roger! Thanks a lot, Nac!" proclaimed Eren rather childishly with a smirk as he fistpumped, repeating everything which Nac just told him. And within seconds, he and Armin left to ask some other person about Maneuver Gear tips. When they were gone, Tias turned to give Mika a rather harsh glare, prompting him to give a snort.
"You know, you could've given me a hand back there, Mika," complained Nac, lowering his brows in annoyance. Mika replied with a shrug as he laid down on the bed, ignoring most of Nac's complaints. "You were enjoying that, weren't you?"
Mika gave yet another rather shrug, prompting Nac to grumble as he laid back down beside his friend.
The next day
True to their word, Nac and Mina had dragged Mika and Annie to the fields to provide moral support to their fellow Trainees. Despite this, the latter two didn't really care about providing any support, instead standing far from the crowd (who seemed to be focusing on Eren for some reason) and staying secluded in a small corner.
Silence was dominant between the two for the most part, discluding the occasional exchange between them, primarily Annie expressing her irritation at being here, though before long, a gentle tap of Mikazuki's shoulder prompted the boy in question to turn and spot a familiar brunette standing behind him, looking somewhat nervous as she lowered her arm.
"Ah, scuse' me?" muttered Sasha, sounding somewhat sheepish as she spoke. Her expression reflected her nervous self, and Mika raised an eyebrow at the Potato Girl as she tapped her fingers against one another. Unbeknownst to Mika, however, not too far from them were Christa and Ymir, who were watching over Sasha, Annie and himself. Ymir seemed to be pretending to not care about the whole exchange while Christa looked encouragingly at her friend.
"Hm?" grumbled Mika, staring at Sasha, staring her straight in the eye as he spoke. The pilot had a feeling that he knew what she was about to say, but he decided to humor her for a bit.
"I just, y'know, wanted to thank ya," said Sasha, smiling as she closed her eyes and held her hands behind her back, kicking some dirt with her left foot as she did. "Fer, y'know, helpin' me yesterday!"
"Ah," said Mika flatly as he nodded, turning back to face the crowd as Annie raised an eyebrow at Sasha's sudden accent change, though she lowered them when she remembered that Blouse was from Dauper Village. Mika himself didn't really notice or care, and besides, after a clear of her throat, her voice went back to normal.
"So, erm… nice weather we're having, hm?" asked Sasha sheepishly as she stood beside Augus, sandwiching him between Annie and herself. Augus didn't really mind, though he could tell that Sasha wasn't exactly too comfortable with their current situation.
"Your definition of 'nice weather' is skewed," grumbled Annie coldly as she shot Sasha a glare which froze her a tad, though she chuckled awkwardly, making Leonhardt narrow her eyes at her. "Spill it, Potato Girl, what do you want?"
"Eh?! What do you mean?!" exclaimed Sasha, eyes wide as she flung her arms around wildly. Mika found the gesture amusing, even if he did have to step back to avoid getting smacked in the cheek by Sasha, while Annie snorted.
"You're here for a reason," replied Annie, her brows lowering in annoyance, and Sasha chuckled softly, clearly getting a little nervous as she scratched the back of her head. "Spill."
"Ah… what do I do to repay you, Mikazuki Augus?" asked Sasha awkwardly and sheepishly. Mika raised a brow to show his confusion, so Sasha rephrased herself. "Y'know, you helped me back then, I mean, Ymir probably would've helped me… I think," she paused for a second when she heard the woman in question snort defiantly. "But since you helped me, I guess it means I owe you a favor?"
"A favor," muttered Mika, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Annie, despite her usual uncaring nature, couldn't help but wonder what he was gonna reply. She had a few 'inappropriate' thoughts running through her mind, but she decided to wait for a proper response. And frankly speaking, the response didn't really surprise her, as she knew Augus pretty well by now. "Half of your Lunch Potato."
"W-WHAT?!" exclaimed Sasha, stepping back in immense shock, eyes wide and all four limbs shaking. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"
"Don't make me ask for the entire potato," warned Augus, and at that point, Sasha, after looking over at Ymir and Christa for help only to realize that they wouldn't be offering any, the former seeming to enjoy this too much to even act bored anymore whilst the latter appeared somewhat stunned, fell to her knees and whined immensely.
"F-Fine…" she muttered, defeated as Augus snorted. Despite his usually solemn self, Annie could tell that he was doing his best to keep a smirk from appearing on his face. Suddenly, however, Sasha shot her head up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, before speaking. "B-But… can I have a larger half…?!"
"...sure," muttered Augus. Sasha gave a victorious whoop as she headed off, leaving Mika and Annie rather confused. Though before long, the blue eyed boy gave a snort, one which caught Annie's attention.
"I never thought you'd be one for jokes," pointed out Annie as she and Mika watched as Sasha approached Christa and Ymir, looking shaken up but not yet stirred. Mika responded to her comment with a shrug.
"It's important to loosen up every so often," responded Mika, giving Annie a stare that told her that she should perhaps try it someday. In response, Annie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever you say, Mika," she quipt, though she did notice that something else seemed off about Augus.
For the past year or so since she had really gotten to know him, Annie found herself noticing the various habits and expressions Mika would make. His eyes were often dull and disinterested in everything around them, his shoulders tended to slack forward, and he had a generally menacing or unpleasant aura around him at all times.
Now, however, his eyes seemed to have a small yet noticeable glint to then, his shoulders were more squared than Annie had recalled seeing them in recent memory, and that menacing/unpleasent aura was now nowhere to be seen. If anything, it made Annie think that Mika being in the Trainee Corps was like a soldier returning back to his family. Almost as though Mika belonged here…
"Something on your mind, Annie?" came Mikazuki's voice out of seemingly nowhere as the two of them heard Eren yell out in victory. Blinking at his sudden voice, Leonhardt stared up ever so slightly at him and snorted.
"Not really. It's just that… I have a feeling that these next few years aren't gonna be dull…"
And in regards to that, Mikazuki could agree with her fully.
I'm back.
Badabing, badaboom.
Before I say anything, I will say that the previous chapter has been edited at least a little. A few additional details and a few corrections were added, so yeah.
So we're at the end of the year, the third of December (for me). Its 2am in the morning as I wrap this chapter up. This probably isn't too good for my health, but hey. If I were really worried about my health, I wouldn't have written anything.
In regards to this chapter, it's essentially glorified filler. I did my absolute best to insert Mika into the Trainee Corps. Hopefully it works. If it doesn't, then feck, you can shoot me.
And as we move on with every chapter, we get closer and closer to the Trost arc. Expect it to come up in, at most, 3 more chapters. The next chapter will be meticulous Training shenanigans and us visiting Tekkadan for at least half the chapter. It's gonna be a joy to write, I say, convincing absolutely no one.
Now, onto the replies. Actual replies. I'm just happy I finally have some uwu
Guest: well I'll take the blame for shoving that latter half into C9. And yes, Barby is still in the barn. Currently, Mika has no real use for it. That, and increasing friendships with the three is stopping him from visiting. Poor ol' suit.
Jollyreader23: ah shucks, thanks. The plan is mainly to focus on the characters though. The Gundam Vs Titans stuff is kinda the side stuff at this point, and the character interactions are the main course.
Well that's all. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys next time, Umu.
Sitting quietly near their table, Mikazuki silently bit into his smaller steamed potato without much of a care in the world. Confused, Nac inquired about where he got it, only to get a small smirk from Annie, a practically unnoticeable one at that.
"He's got his ways…"