The First Smile of a Few

If there was one word Eren could use to describe Cadet Training, it would be routine.

They woke up early and ate breakfast first thing in the morning, followed by lessons in the lecture hall. Classes consisted of theories behind their 3DMG, titan anatomy, tactics, and whatever else was deemed necessary education, followed by lunch. In the afternoon the cadets spent time honing their cutting and maneouvering skills, putting theory into practice. One discipline in particular that raised a lot of questions for Eren was the hand-to-hand combat, wondering why it was being taught in the first place.

It was during one of these combat lessons that Eren got to know the enigma that was Annie Leonhart.

With a shout Reiner Braun charged at him, a wooden knife poised to strike in a stabbing motion. Despite never really realizing why he detested this guy, Eren was able to calm the irrational anger within him and act normally around his fellow cadet. It does help that Eren could vent his unknown frustrations during times like these, so, with more force than was necessary, the boy flipped his opponent and slammed him to the ground.

Reiner's pained expression gave him a sense of satisfaction, "Jeez, how can you toss around a big guy like me?"

Eren grunted and held out a hand, "Sorry, I'm not good at holding back."

"You're pretty familiar with brawling aren't you?"

"Back in the day there was a bunch of bullies that always picked on Armin, as his friend I'm obligated to kick their asses on his behalf."

He could tell Reiner admired that fact as it exemplified a spirit of brotherhood, Damn faker, "Alright, my turn to throw your face in the dirt." The blond took a wide stance.

As Eren prepared to attack he voiced his doubts regarding the training, "What's the point of this anyway? First of all, we're supposed to be learning how to fight titans, not other people. Second, only an idiot would fight someone else unarmed."

"Hey, don't let the instructor hear you," The larger boy looked around nervously, "and you won't always have a weapon you know, what then?"

"You run away. In real life…" Eren's thoughts wandered to that blood-soaked cabin from many years ago, "this hand-to-hand technique won't really work, I would know."

Reiner chose to ignore the last part of that statement, "I get where you're coming from," he sympathized, "but as soldiers, there will come a situation where retreat isn't an option. One day we'll be forced to fight with whatever we have; our bare hands, a cannon, the 3DMG, in order to protect something or someone. Because that's the responsibility of the strong; a soldier's responsibility."

These lies almost made Eren vomit, and although he didn't have proof, he just knew that the drivel was insincere. Before anything else could happen, Reiner's line of sight went over and past his shoulder, causing him to turn around. In doing so he caught sight of Annie skirting around the paddock, wandering aimlessly while avoiding Shadis' view.

"Speaking of responsibility. Follow my lead, Eren." He would rather tell Reiner to shoot himself in the mouth with a gun than be part of this plan, but the voice urged him otherwise, Follow him, play along.

They caught up and blocked the slacker as she snuck around the enclosure, "If the instructor sees you lazing about, he'll headbutt you and make you even shorter than you already are." Reiner goaded her, "How about you remember the first day you were here and take it seriously?"

The murderous glare Annie sent their way was terrifying. A sense of self-preservation made him want walk away but before he could do so, he felt Reiner's grip on his shoulders and was placed right in front of the smaller blonde. He knew the petite girl's close combat prowess – remembering her ferocious and fluid strikes against the tree – but Eren hoped that his natural tenacity would help to some degree.

"Here I go!" Unfortunately it could only take him so far.

Eren felt a blinding pain explode from his shin and he collapsed to his knees, Did she kick my leg off?!

"Can I go now?" Annie's bored voice echoed in his pain addled brain.

"Not yet! The drill is to get the knife and he's still holding it." She sighed and approached his form with determined strides.

"Hey, wait!" Eren's panicked pleas fell on deaf ears, "Wait, Annie, there's a proper way to do th- GUH!" Her right hand twisted his wrist through the jacket and he dropped the wooden knife as a result, while her left hand shot out and palmed his jaw.

The girl had her hands around his throat, trying to choke him as she applied pressure on his windpipe with all her strength.

But it wasn't enough.

Eren could tell that she was exhausted, weak, and frail, while he was considerably larger and physically stronger, "Is that the best you can do, Annie?" His voice came out as a legible rasp.

Her form was atop his, straddling his chest, blonde hair hanging off her face like a halo. Tears pooled in her eyes then proceeded to spill on his lips, tasting the saltiness of it, reminding him of the sea. Tremors overtook her body and Annie Leonhart collapsed on him, the girl's head rested on his cheeks as she sobbed.

All he could do was wrap his arms around her shaking frame as she forced words out, "I… don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to kill you. I'm tired. So very tired."

Eren's left hand stroked her head slowly, gently, "I'm sorry." He whispered soothingly, eyesight blurring as his own tears formed.

His right hand sought hers out and held it tenderly, as a lover would. Something small, metallic, and cold on her finger contrasted greatly with her warmth. He fiddled with it for a few seconds until a sharp claw emerged from the silver ring – then sliced his thumb on it deliberately.

Annie raised her head to look at him, and he thought with great regret that her eyes were so very blue, identical to the scenery he had fought for his entire life.

"Eren?"

And though his vision was muddled and obscured, the sparks of yellow lightning were hazy but recognizable.

"I'm sorry."

His world flipped upside down; the sky and ground had switched places, his legs were above his head instead of below, and physical pain was nonexistent – only a tightness in his chest lingered. Eren fought the urge not to cry from what he had experienced, the emotions and regret felt too real, so he hid everything under a stony visage.

"Here, your turn." Annie threw the wooden dagger at Reiner, her radiant hair back in its signature bun.

"I-I'm good."

"Reiner, weren't you lecturing me about responsibility earlier?"

And with those words like a nail in a coffin, Reiner suffered the same defeat as he did at the hands of Annie Leonhart.

With his emotions somewhat under control, Eren righted himself and spoke to her, "I said it before, but your technique really is amazing. You mentioned your dad taught you, did he come up with those moves?"

"It doesn't matter, none of it means anything."

The boy was puzzled momentarily, She means this training, "This hand-to-hand combat is meaningless?"

She replied with a curt nod, "This doesn't earn you points towards the top ten, look at everyone else," And with a quick scan, Eren noticed that a majority of recruits were only mimicking the moves to appease the observing instructor, "the only people that take this seriously are guys like yourself. Although, you're on another level entirely, you suicidal bastard."

Noticing that Shadis turned and began heading their direction, Annie suddenly lunged towards him, wooden knife in hand. He held her at bay as she continued speaking, "Anyway, what does matter is the 3DMG exercises, it's worth a lot of points if you're wanting to be in the top ten. See, I'm not trying to be a great soldier, I just want to live deeper in the Walls."

The girl began to gain some ground, until he redirected the force and almost wrestled the weapon away, before she swept his legs from under him. As Eren tried to recover her lithe form climbed on him, knife poised to his throat, "Don't you think it's ridiculous that the better you are at killing titans, the more the system allows you to stay further away from them? Why do you think it ended up that way?"

It's human nature. "It's human nature, isn't it?"

Annie relaxed and stood up, towering over him, "You're an idealistic idiot, going against reality. You think you stand a chance against the titans? They've ruled outside these Walls longer than we've been alive."

She's not talking about titans. "You can't win if you don't fight."

"Hmm." Keeping an eye on the instructor's retreating form, Annie threw the wooden knife at him, which he caught with ease, "I'm not stupid enough to derive amusement from playing soldier in this shitty world." And she walked away, leaving behind a contemplative Eren, and a still incapacitated Reiner.

"You can't win if you don't fight." He whispered to himself again, finding that the words eased the pain his chest developed from the event (Vision? Future? Premonition?) he had witnessed.

So fight.

Fight.

XXX

Later that night, Jean Kirschtein and himself got into an argument about the exact same topic. Yes, wanting to be safe is human nature, and yes, Jean was indeed skilled with the 3DMG, but that doesn't mean he should be gloating about the whole thing. Bragging about how he controlled the maneouver gear with ease and the comfortable nature his life would be once he got in the interior rubbed Eren the wrong way.

Their confrontation escalated when Jean grabbed his shirt and reared a fist back. He almost responded in kind until other thoughts entered his mind, Use Annie's move. Twisting the arm clutching him, palming the boy's jaw, then giving a powerful and sweeping kick from behind the legs dropped Jean with ease. It wasn't quite as refined or skillful as the blonde's earlier demonstration, but as Eren looked down on the boy, he realized that it got the job done.

With a pained groan, he sat up, "What the hell was that?!"

"That was a hand-to-hand technique I learned by going through a world of pain, while you were screwing around." Realizing that Annie was probably also focusing on him at the moment, he added the next words to address her as well, "You think taking the easy way out, doing as you please, is reality? And you call yourself a soldier?"

Shadis' arrival interrupted their melee and both boys chose to sit down, while silence reigned in the canteen. Several tense moments lingered, until Mikasa's half-baked answer to the instructor's inquiry of what happened seemingly appeased him. An outraged Sasha began ranting, her embarrassment nearly bringing tears to her eyes, until she was placated by a few loaves of bread from Conny and Mikasa. Normalcy returning to the mess hall, everyone returned to their dinner.

Eren noticed Annie glancing at him from the corner of her eye, as though gauging him. Unsure of what to do he decided to ignore her actions for the time being, focusing instead on his discussion with Jean.

"It's ridiculous that the better your skills at killing titans are, the further you are from them – it's the reason why we're trapped in here like damn cattle."

Jean scoffed, "Ten people, TEN go to the Military Police, and apparently their decision to want to be safe, to want a better life, is the deciding factor as to whether we beat the titans who've oppressed us for as long as humanity can remember? Give me a break."

"I agree with you, but it's not just us ten. It's also the ten in the North, East, and West divisions, the ten before us, and the ten before them, and so on. Think about how much forty or more skilled soldiers can contribute to the Scouts! This system is good in that it rewards people based on merit, but it takes away those very people we need the most in the front."

Silent contemplation followed his reasoning, until a response from Conny revealed that the whole table was actually listening to him, "I see your point, Eren. It makes sense. But there's people doing this for their families too. I just want my ma, pa, Sunny, and Martin to be safe. I'm sure there's other people thinking like me."

"In that case, shouldn't the system change then?"

Armin chimed in, "A majority of people join and excel in the training because of the benefits. I think without it, there would be less recruits to begin with. The Corps can't rely on just the needy or orphans for membership."

Marco nodded, "An incentive is needed when people are going to join and get themselves into a situation where they might end up dying. Most people are weak, Eren, they're not willing to give their lives solely for the sake of freedom, not like you."

Disappointing. "What is?"

"What's what?" Mikasa asked.

"What's disappointing?"

"Umm," The girl stared at him in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"What's disappointing?"

The blond answered tentatively, "The system?"

Eren rubbed his eyes in frustration, confusion in his mind. What's happening? This is just like when I first met Conny and I thought he was laughing. "Nothing, don't mind me."

Concern in her eyes, Mikasa placed a palm on his forehead, "Are you alright?"

Brushing the hand away he stood up, "Just tired, I'm going to sleep."

"Canna have yer food?" Sasha meekly asked, eyeing his barely touched meal.

Waving her off, the boy made his way out of the mess hall with the intention of heading to the boys' barracks. Before leaving, he looked back and caught Annie glancing at him again from the corner of her eye, before she hastily turned her head, realizing that she'd been caught. Eren smirked, thinking that she reminded him of a proud cat; full of curiosity yet too haughty to show outward interest.

Protect her.

XXX

The following afternoon the recruits returned to close combat training, with Jean appearing to be actually putting effort in this time. His eyes were keen, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he anticipated Marco's next attack. Eren Jaeger watched from afar with a small modicum of pride.

"You know he's only taking it seriously so he can kick your ass next time." Annie's voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Yep, but he is taking it seriously now." Ask her what she thought of your technique, "Anyway, what'd you think of my kick? I was just copying you but it worked perfectly!"

"It sucked. Not even close."

Her assessment surprised Eren, "Really? What's wrong with it?"

But what surprised him even more was the small smile Annie Leonhart made and then directed his way, the image of her face causing a tightness in his chest, "If you like it that much, I wouldn't mind teaching it to you."

Instinctively, the pain she inflicted yesterday made him say, "No thanks! It really hurts."

However, those weren't the words that he heard.

The sentence that escaped his mouth was, "Let's go then."

Eren could tell that the smile Annie had on her face threatened to get even bigger, so she put her guard up (literally and figuratively) and told him to get ready, "Don't think I'll be going easy on you, Jaeger."

The blonde's method of teaching was painful, to say the least. She demonstrated the technique by using him as the target, then expecting him to emulate the move by using her as the target. If Eren did it correctly, she would hum in approval, nod, and motion for him to repeat it. If it was incorrect, Annie would strike him, quick as lightning, leaving him in a crumpled heap.

She was kind enough to fix his form after several attempts at least, "Twist your hips more, don't bend your knees, then let loose." After several more kicks, the girl deemed his skill passable and they disengaged.

The two of them stared at each other awkwardly for several seconds, both unsure of what to do next, having completed the exercise. Eren couldn't help but stare at her flushed face and noted that her eyes didn't have the same disinterest they usually held. Suddenly becoming self-conscious about his panting from trying to catch his breath, the boy almost walked away due to the sheer shame of his slovenly appearance.

Stop, learn more, it's important. "Annie, teach me more."

The girl looked off to the side before addressing him, "This gets even harder you know."

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you."

Taken aback, she faced him with a frown, speechless and mouth agape. Eventually Annie started giggling, quietly at first, until it became too much and the girl moved to cover her face. Eren was confused but figured her amusement was a good sign.

"That's a yes, right?"

It took a few moments, but she took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly, regaining her composure, "You'll regret it, Jaeger. Unfortunately for you, it's too late to back out now."

Smiling wide, he accepted the challenge with open arms, "I don't plan to."

Annie took confident strides towards him, "The techniques I was taught has a lot of grappling and locking moves." They were very close, Eren could practically feel the heat radiating off her. "First move is a basic take-down that works well for me because I'm short."

The girl suddenly dropped to one knee and felt her hands wrap around his thighs. Without warning, the world turned sideways and all the air rushed out of his lungs as his back slammed painfully on the ground. Seeing stars, the boy tried to stand up but couldn't; Annie had mounted him.

She placed a knee on his throat, being careful not to exert any pressure, "Think you can do it, or should I demonstrate a few more times?"

"A warning would've been nice."

The blonde scoffed and stood up, "Your enemies won't warn you." She offered a hand to help him up, which Eren took gratefully, pleasantly surprised.

"There's a lot I have to learn, we probably won't have enough time if we just practice during these classes."

"And?"

"Wanna practice during the evenings?"

"You're that eager about it?"

"I guess I just like it that much."

"Hmm," The blonde brushed a bang behind her ear, "on the days when I feel like it, sure."

And though Annie didn't show it, he could sense her cheerfulness hiding under a facade of indifference – based on that alone Eren decided that this was the correct course of action. His body (and Mikasa) definitely disagreed however, with his numerous bruises, scratches, and swelling. But it didn't dissuade him; a little pain was nothing compared to how cruel the world could be.

Besides, all his injuries were miraculously gone by the next morning anyway.

Without giving it a second thought, the boy eagerly headed for breakfast, wanting to glean more combat knowledge from Annie.

Author's Notes:

Keep an eye out for the next chapter in the next 2-3 weeks; with a new job contract, my time to write will be hampered. If some dialogue seemed familiar, several lines were taken from my other story, A Series of Voyeuristic Events. It's not possible to plagiarize yourself, is it?

To ILikeFoxes828: thanks again for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and that you agree with the reasoning for Eren being failed in the previous chapter.

Thanks again to Lucadina for proof-reading, didn't realize I used the word "ox" to describe Reiner *way* too much.