"It's really not like I already had one either," Nanaba chuckled, arms crossed.

"Are you sure he hates you?" Mike repeated Hange's question as he scratched his scruffy mustache.

"Listen, it might seem like he's fond of me, but how could you like someone that hates you?" Levi dramatically hissed.

"So we're basing this off of your opinion?"

"Better safe than sorry," he scrunched up the saran wrap from his sandwich and threw it into the trash can.

"It should be easy, just woo the other two judges." Nanaba replied as she rested her chin onto the folded hands. "...Right?"

"Well, it's easier said than done."

"The guitarist and pianist, eh? Hange, do you have any info on them?" Mike asked.

"Hmm, they're Porco Galliard and Pieck Finger, juniors from Marley Academy." Hange rubbed their chin. "Considering the competition's on the 31st, they'll probably arrive on the 29th."

"Do you think Zeke will manipulate his bandmates?"

"There's a chance," Levi wasn't done antagonizing the blond.

"Speaking of him, watch out, 'cause here he comes." Nanaba warned, to which the others looked behind their backs to find the same bespectacled blond man from Levi's class heading towards them with an amused smile.

"Well hello there, Levi," Zeke greeted when he reached their table. He was a fairly tall man with wavy, platinum blond hair accompanied with the same blond full beard. You could see his broad gray eyes piercing through his Harry Potter-like thin-rimmed glasses. He was fully attired with a khaki shaded coat and himalaya colored pants, with a white shirt underneath them. "Didn't expect to see you here without your two little friends."

"Good afternoon, Zeke," Levi replied, accentuating his name. "Shouldn't you be doing shit for the contest?"

"Ahh, so you've heard! How exhilarating, someone like you having word of my works!" he chirped as he gripped Levi's shoulders, revealing the red armband with a white star sitting behind his wrist. "But, no. I haven't been prepping up the competition,"

"So you've been wasting your time?"

"Of course, not! I've actually been helping out my little brother's band," the blond sniggered before letting go of his grip. "The Cadet Corps!"

"And what about your own?"

"Ah, don't worry. I'm sure Pieck and the Galliard brothers are ready as ever." he smiled. "Say, have you ever thought of forming your own band, Levi?"

"As a matter of fact, no. I don't have time for that bullshit." Levi's response made his bandmates a bit aghast, but they chose to stay silent. They knew he had a plan. "But if I were, you would score my band fairly, wouldn't you?"

Zeke lowered his body and set his lips near Levi's ear. "Of course I will." he whispered in a threatening tone before cackling as he rose up and patted Levi's shoulder. "Hahaha, it would be great if you joined the competition, Levi! Really, consider it! Now if you please, I need to head back and start writing my essay. Nice meeting you too, Levi's friends!"

He walked away from the table, leaving the four friends dumbfounded. "N-nice to meet you too, Zeke!" Hange reluctantly replied.

"He looks nice. But… what did he say to you?" Mike questioned, still glaring at the tall figure fading away.

"We can't let him know that we're joining the contest." Levi said.

"Either way, it all comes down when we're on stage. And he can't really score us when we haven't performed," Nanaba sighed, stretching her arms.

"Ah! I got it!" Hange slapped the table, bouncing Levi's bottle of water. "We wrap around bandages all over our faces!"

"Excuse me, what?" the three gawked at the same time.

"Like I said, cover our faces with bandages! They'll never know it's us!"

"Four Eyes, we won't be able to see a thing." Levi hissed as Mike and Nanaba both nodded.

"Well, you obviously don't need to see anything, I'm sure I can play without sight, and Mike's hair's always covering his eyes anyways!" they pointed at Mike's bangs.

"Are you crazy?!" Levi shot a frustrated glare at the brunet.

"I've always have been,"


Saturday, June 17th

"And a one, two, three, four…!"

Hange strummed their fingers against the strings of their electric guitar right after Mike counted down on his bass drum. Levi waited a couple seconds into the song before pulling the mic right under his lips.

"Baby, I'm preyin' on you tonight."

"Hunt you down, eat you alive."

Before he could sing his next line, a loud cackle rudely interrupted their practice session. As you may have guessed, it came from none other than their brown-haired guitarist, Hange.

"For God's sake, Four Eyes!"

"Ahahaha, sorry, sorry! The lyrics are just…!" their words were cut off short by their own laughter.

"Well, did I not say that Maroon 5's lyrics are the strangest out there?" Nanaba snorted. They were in one of the empty classrooms in the facility. Since not many people were in the building that day, nobody was really bothered by them rehearsing.

"Come on, Hans. We won't be able to perform if you laugh the second Levi sings." Mike, who undoubtedly also wanted to laugh at the lyrics, said.

"I know, I know," Hange fell to their knees and layed on the floor. "We won't be able to beat The Titans and their super hot pianist if I keep laughing…"

"'Super hot pianist'?" the drummer repeated their words, utterly confused.

They didn't say a word and instead took out their phone and showed him a picture of a beautiful black-haired woman. Mike leaned closer to the floor to get a better view. "Wow…"

Nanaba stood up from her chair and walked up behind Mike's drum kit to also take a look at Hange's phone. "Damn…"

"Guys, it's not the time to fantasize about The Titans' super hot pianist!" Levi fretted.

"Look who's talking…"

"Tsk, if Four Eyes' gonna mess up the song, then might as well pick another song." he took the seat near Nanaba's and cracked open his water bottle. "And we haven't even practiced with the bandages yet."

"A different song, huh? Well, learning a new song on the drums is quite simple, but on a guitar, not so much. So, Hange, do you know any other songs you could play?" Mike huffed letting go of the drumsticks in his hand.

"Mhm… have you heard about Hall of Fame?"

"...The Scripts?"

"...Yeah."


Sunday, 18th June

"Now we are fueled by unending bloodlust, now that our freedom's stolen from us,"

"Open the gates and ride through the twilight, with our Crimson Bow and Arrow!"

Sasha swept through the keys on her keyboard as Connie belted his crash a couple of times, followed by Armin picking the bass and Mikasa gently strumming her Gibson SG. As the climax faded into the outro, Jean began sliding his fingers along the frets of his Les Paul. With a few notes left to nail, Sasha smashed her keys when Jean quite literally flicked his arm up and down on his guitar.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Zeke cheered as he stood up from his seat, hands clapping.

"Hah, haahh… Was it really that good?" Eren asked, sweat dripping down his forehead. He approached his brother who offered him a bottle of water. "Thanks,"

"Of course it needs a little bit of improvement like, Mikasa, maybe you should strum your guitar a bit harder next time, but for now, it's pretty damn good." the blond patted his younger brother on his shoulder as he sat down next to him. It took him quite a while to notice the dread painted upon the band's faces. Right when he was about to ask, he looked over to his friend sitting beside him, glaring at his brother's friends with dead eyes. "Yelena, could you please stop staring at them like that?"

"Yes, Zeke," Yelena obliged and fixed her eyes onto Zeke's gray eyes.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Eren was quite uncanny of Yelena's stare and attempted to exit the room with a pathetic excuse. So he barged out of the door and to the hallways to be greeted by more rock singing. He was a bit confused, but he brushed it off and headed towards the restroom. And that was when the music began to go louder, which could only mean one thing. He craned his neck to the nearest door and peeked through the small window to find a group of people with bandages loosely wrapped around their heads, practicing. He halted his steps and took a closer look at the inside of the room. Since they were blindfolded, he thought they wouldn't be able to spot him. But to his surprise, there was a blonde woman sitting in the corner of the room, surveying the three's rehearsal. He quickly bailed down the second he saw her narrowing her blue eyes at the door. Right before she could open up the door, he sprinted to the bathroom and covered his mouth.

"It was… just my imagination?" he heard her mutter before closing back the door.

He sighed and tried to catch his breath when he heard a familiar voice booming from the end of the bathroom. "Jaeger, is that you?"

"P-Professor Smith!" Eren exclaimed as he spotted a tall man with neatly combed blond hair towering over him.

"My, my, didn't expect you to be here on weekends."

"Oh, no. I was actually practicing for the Battle of the Bands," he awkwardly explained, pointing at the door. "Zeke's also with me,"

"Ah, I see. Now if you please, I'm heading to the Dean's office," Erwin patted Eren's shoulder, approaching the door. "Send my regards to your brother, will you?"

"Will do!"

Erwin smiled before he left the restroom and headed towards the stairs. And that's when he heard a loud guitar riff accompanied by a heavy and powerful voice singing from one of the classrooms. Curious, he stopped dead on his track and crossed to his left, towards the source of the music.

"Standing in the Hall of Fame, and the world's gonna know your name…!"

"'Cause you burn with the brightest flame, and you'll be on the walls of the Hall of Fame…!"

The blond raised his eyebrows. 'I thought Jaeger was still in the restroom…'

His suspicion grew further when he realized that the vocalist didn't sound like any of the Sophomores he's met, but it was oh-so familiar. He was always a man of manners and never budged into people's business, but he couldn't help himself. So he lowered his body and peered through the small window on the door when his icy blue eyes began to widen. He spotted a young man with curtain-styled raven hair sitting in the corner of the classroom, chugging a bottle of water. That hairstyle, those sharp gray eyes, his height, it had to be him.

"Fancy to see you again, Levi." his calming voice said as he entered the room, taking everyone aback. "Didn't know you enrolled here,"

"Erwin?" Levi narrowed his eyes, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"Erwin?!" Hange jumped out of their seat. "Oh my gosh, you still have your right arm!"

"I'm sorry but, do I know you?"

"Dammit," they stomped their Vans' onto the tiled floor.

"Don't tell me this is one of your 'past life' bullshit again, Four Eyes." Levi clicked his tongue and crossed his legs.

"What?"

"You know what? That's a story for another day," Hange refused to answer Erwin's question. "But, Levi, you know him?"

"Oh, allow me to introduce myself. Erwin Smith, a professor from the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies. Also, the former Captain of Levi's club in highschool." Erwin placed the palm of his hand on his chest. "And you three must be his friends, correct?"

"Err, sort of."

"It really is brilliant that I get to meet you again after all these years, Levi." the blond chuckled and loosened his bolo tie. "I could've sworn that you were the one singing. And I've gotta say, your voice is truly wonderful."

"Tsk, eavesdropping, weren't you?"

"Enough about me, this may seem sudden but, can I get your names?" Erwin asked as he sat beside Levi.

"I'm Hange Zoë,"

"The name's Mike Zacharias,"

"Nanaba Walker."

Erwin's smile disappeared from his lips as his thick eyebrows furrowed tremendously.

"Huh, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, it must have been a coincidence," Erwin said, eyes still gloomy.

"What is?" Hange asked again.

"Well, have you heard of the novel series called Attack on Titan?"