And here's the final chapter! Enjoy!
Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya and Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama!
Graduation
All the cadets stood before the trainers, the drill sergeants, including Shadis and the Heads of the three militaries, Nile Dok of the Military Police, Dot Pyxis of the Wall Garrison and Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps who looked over the fresh mea ….. new rookies, especially those stood at the front. A spokesperson stepped forward to address the sea of cadets.
"Do you have heart?" he shouted at the cadets staring at him. Shadis rolled his eyes! Not this pretentious BS again. The cadets cried, "Yes, sir!" and gave the salute over the heart.
"You have three options to choose from," the spokesperson continued. "The Garrison Regiment who are tasked with re-enforcing the walls, the Survey Corps who fight the titans to take back territory for Humanity and the Military Police, charged with maintaining law and order under the orders of the King! Those cadets eligible for the MPs have been named. Normally, this is the top ten of the class but this time, two share the last spot. These are the top of your class!"
At the front stood eleven cadets in order of place. Lovino and Feliciano Vargas both occupied the tenth spot, then it was Yao, Francis, Ivan, Matthew, Kiku, Gilbert, Arthur, Alfred and, top of the class, Ludwig! They stood proud and tall in their uniforms with their right fists over their hearts, the Best of the Best!
Shadis wondered which branch of the military his top cadets would choose.
Dinner that evening was filled with discussion and decision-making as cadets gave thought to which branch of the military they should join and Shadis stood outside the door to the Mess Hall, listening to the conversations that were buzzing around.
"Well, I'm going into the Survey Corps," Alfred announced but that surprised no one. The New Yorker had been saying that, almost from the moment he joined the military. "Take on the titans instead of hiding behind the walls, like the MPs!"
"Oi!" Arthur retorted. "I'M joining the MPs and it's not to hide! It's no good protecting the territory on the outside if Humanity's tearing itself apart within the walls! Order must be maintained!"
"Yeah, whatever dude!" Alfred scoffed. Kiku cocked his head.
"I find it strange that the MPs take the best cadets," he commented. "Only to put them where they'll be unlikely to use their skills. I will join either the Survey Corps or the Wall Garrison, I have not decided yet!" Alfred threw an arm around Kiku's shoulder and pulled him in, making the Japanese man nervous with the sudden invasion of personal space.
"Dude, you should totally join the Survey Corps!" he exclaimed. "You and me will make a kick-ass team! After all, the Hero needs his sidekick!" Kiku thought about it! Maybe he would. After all, the New Yorker was cute! Lovino snorted.
"Yeah!" he said. "The two of you together will make a bigger snack for the titans! Why do you want to join the branch of the military with the highest death rate?" Alfred flung his arms out, forgetting that Matthew was sat next to him and almost knocking him out of his chair.
"I don't like to be hemmed in, man!" he declared. "I wanna get beyond the walls, to see what's there. I want to be FREE!" Arthur gave a snort of derision.
"Free to die!" he muttered. Nearby, Francis sipped from his cup.
"Oui!" he agreed. "I shall be joining the Military Police myself!" Arthur slammed his own cup down.
"What!" he exclaimed. "No way, Frog! I'm going to be stuck with you after all this! It's not happening!" Francis changed seats to sit beside the grumpy Londoner, inching closer to him as Arthur tried to move his chair away.
"Admit the truth, Angleterre!" he purred, taking the struggling Arthur in his arms when he had nowhere left to go. "You'd miss me if I went elsewhere!"
"Let go of me you, Git!" Arthur demanded, standing up trying to wiggle out of Francis's arms but Francis got up with him and kept hold of him.
"Admit it!" he demanded.
"Not a chance!"
"Admit it, cher!"
"JUST GET OFF ME, YOU PERVERT!"
On the other side of the room, Yao watched what was going on with staunch disapproval as Arthur managed to get his knee into Francis's vital regions and Francis ended up on the floor with his hands cupped between his legs.
"Aiyah!" he said. "People from the Western Districts are so immature, aru!" Sat next to him, Ivan cocked his head and smiled.
"They're in love!" he replied. "But Arthur does not want to admit it! I think I heard Kiku call him a tsundere! He hides what he really feels!"
"He hides it well, aru!" Yao commented, watching Francis still groaning on the floor. Ivan shifted his seat closer to Yao's.
"I do not want to talk about them," he said. "Which military will you be joining? I'm thinking of joining the Wall Garrison or the Survey Corps."
"Not the Military Police, aru?"
"I think not," Ivan replied. "I learn to fight titans, da? It makes sense that I go where I can use that learning! Military Police never meet titans! All the learning wasted!" Yao hummed.
"I can agree with that," he commented. "I think I will join the Wall Garrison! I wish to use my skill but I don't think it wise to rush into death! I will let it come to me and make it work to claim my life!" Ivan put his hand over Yao's.
"It will not!" he said. "I will not allow it to!"
"Feli will join the MPs with me, Potato Bastard!" Lovino stated, pulling Feli toward him. "My fratello's going to the safest place where I can look after him!" Ludwig crossed his arms.
"If that's what Feliciano wants, I agree," he replied. "But it's Feli's decision, not yours! He chooses where he goes!" Feliciano wrapped his hands around Ludwig's arm.
"Would you come with me, Luddy?" he plead.
"I'm joining the Survey Corps!" he replied. "I trained to fight titans, not to hide in the interior! I'm going fight for Humanity and to take back the territory we lost when Wall Maria fell!" Lovino snorted.
"Well you should be titan chow in no time!" he mocked. "But my little fratello's not going to be a snack for any fifteen meter! Screw that, Potato Bastard, he's definitely coming with me!"
"He's old enough to make his own decisions!" Ludwig insisted. "He could join the MPs, the Survey Corps or the Wall Garrison but it's his choice! Let him make it!" Feli flung his arms around Ludwig's waist.
"I want to stay with you, Luddy!" he wailed. Ludwig patted him on his back.
"If that's what you want!" he replied.
"FINE!" Lovino stormed. "If you get eaten by a titan, don't come crying to me!" And Lovino stomped away before anyone could reflect on the idiocy of that statement. Feli turned to Ludwig.
"Will I get eaten, Luddy?" he asked, fearfully. Ludwig gave a grin.
"You can't!" he replied. "If you do, who will defend your pasta?"
Gilbert slipped into the seat next to Matthew and purred into his ear, "And what will you be choosing, Birdie?" 'Birdie' blushed.
"Well," he replied, shyly. "I'm considering the Wall Garrison!"
"Why the Wall Garrison?" he asked. Matthew looked up into Gilbert's red eyes.
"Well, I did consider the Survey Corps," he admitted. "But our remaining territory needs defending too. I know I've got a shot at the MPs but I've heard things about them! That the officers are lazy and dump all their work on the newbies and that a lot of them are corrupt and deal in the Black Market! I don't think I want to work with people like that!" Gil wrapped his arm around Matthew's shoulders and pulled him into him.
"You're almost as awesome as me, Birdie!" Gilbert declared. "I might choose the Wall Garrison too! We'll awesomely defend Humanity together!" And he kissed Matthew on the forehead.
"Get a room, you bastards!" Lovino shouted as he stormed past and out the door, making Matthew blush again and Gilbert go, "Kesesese!"
Shadis moved away from the door before Lovino came stomping out, not seeing Shadis as he marched toward the barracks. Clearly, the Tomato Idiot had not taken Pasta Boy's decision well, Shadis noted, but Shadis agreed with Muscles that it was Pasta Boy's decision.
Shadis could not help but think that a lot of the decisions were being made with the heart. Pasta Boy wanted to stay with Muscles, The Hero wanted Manga Boy to come with him, Creepy Bastard was bound to follow Panda Boy, Eyebrows and Francy Pants would stay together, if only to continued their weird fight/flirt relationship and Egomaniac would follow Maple Breath on to the Walls. The only one not making decisions on where they go based on where their lovers were was Tomato Idiot (probably because he did not have one as far as Shadis knew).
He walked away, wondering what the future held for the new graduates!
Life in the MPs ….
It was soon a common sight to see Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy arguing as they patrolled the streets and, one time, Arthur even pushed Francis in the river. People would have believed that they were mortal enemies if it was not for that one time they were caught in an alleyway, making out and were put on report for public indecency while on duty. It was now an open secret that the two were a couple, no matter how much bickering they did in public.
Lovino soon sniffed out the corruption and turned it to his advantage, quickly becoming the head of the corrupt officers and organising their less than legal activities into more profitable ventures. He, however, stopped harassment of the ordinary civilians but merchants who cheated the populace soon became his favourite victims which made Lovino popular with the people, not so much the cheating merchants but who were they going to complain to? The Military Police?
The Interior Mafia was born and what Nile Dok did not know would not hurt him!
Life on the Wall ….
Duties on the wall consisted of maintaining the cannons, keeping watch for titans, seemingly arguing with Wall Cultists and occasionally fighting the odd titan attack. Ivan remembered repelling his first attack by titans, staring down at one as it gazed up at him, grinning manically. Ivan just smiled back, his dark aura, spreading around him like a disturbing cloud, causing the titan to falter. The moment Ivan began to say 'kolkolkol!', what passed for intelligence in the titan's brain said, 'Screw this!' and ran screaming for the forests.
This worked on the Wall Cultists as well!
Yao had manned the cannons and had been blasting off titan heads while Matthew and Gilbert flew in on their ODM gear to finish them off.
"Awesome work, Birdie!" Gil praised when they were back on the wall and he pulled Matthew in for a kiss. Matthew blushed! Again! Gilbert loved making his Birdie blush.
"Save it for later, aru!" Yao called out as he reloaded the cannon. Ivan jumped from the wall and fired his left hook to tether himself to it as he swung toward another titan's neck.
"VODKAAA!"
He lashed out with his pairing blades and another wedge of flesh flew away, leaving the titan copse to fall and disintegrate. He use his gas-jet to propelled back to the top of the wall and Yao fired his cannon again.
Dot Pyxis watched the battle and the four newbies working together and considered himself lucky he got them. He was sure Erwin Smith would have like them in the Survey Corps!
Life in the Survey Corps...
"What do you think you're doing, Jones, you idiot?" the short, raven-haired, silver-eyed man yelled at Alfred who seemed to be painting his ODM gear red, white and blue in the barracks courtyard.
"These are my district flag colours, dude!" Alfred replied. "So when people see me, they know the Hero's here!" Levi resisted the urge to face-palm and instead, went for his patented death glare. This Jones kid had a real hero fixation that bordered on obsession. As if Levi did not have one shitty brat to deal with already!
"They're also the colours of the London District flag, dimwit!" he pointed out. "And the Paris District, the Amsterdam District, the Oslo District and the Reykjavik District. How is anyone going to know who you are, dumb-ass?"
"Oh yeah!" Alfred realised and began stripping the paint off his ODM gear. Levi walked away with a irritated sigh. Jones's ODM skills were better than most but he was such a brat! Levi spotted the other three new recruits, standing nearby. He had expected Vargas with the springy auburn curl and amber eyes to get eaten on his first time beyond the wall when he began whimpering at the sight of titans when the blonde man, Beilschmidt, with the resemblance to Erwin, shouted, "FELI! DEFEND YOUR PASTA!"
Vargas went from totally pathetic to Not bad! right before Levi's eyes as he gave a blood-curling battle-scream and tore into the titans, cutting them down left and right with speeds the rivalled Levi's. All because of a type of food! Well, if it worked, Levi was not going to complain about it. Maybe he should put Vargas with Yeager! With Yeager's abilities and hatred of titans and Vargas's reaction when his dinner was threatened, they would defeat the titans in no time!
Honda was a complete mystery to Levi, he never spoke much and could read the mood while others (Jones) were completely oblivious to it. He was good at making things and had found ways to improve the performance of the ODM gear, now if he could find a way to speed up production of the new improvements to meet demand! Honda got on well with Mikasa Ackerman which suited Levi because it distracted Mikasa from throwing glares at him for beating up her precious Eren in the courtroom.
In Beilschmidt, Levi had found a soul mate! Someone who's cleaning standards were on par with his own. He remembered the first time he stepped into the Survey Corps barracks after the new recruits arrived.
"Who cleaned up in here?" he demanded as he examined the scrubbed floors, clean windows, made beds and tidy cupboards. A tall rookie, who resembled Erwin Smith without the eyebrows, stood up.
"I did, Captain!" he said, saluting. Everyone but the rookies held their breath because they knew what Levi was like when it came to cleanliness and thought the newbie was about to get a blistering put-down. Levi gave the room another look.
"Not bad!" he commented, and the squad gave a gasp of surprise. "Name and District!"
"Ludwig Beilschmidt, Captain!" the rookie replied. "Berlin District!"
"Well, keep this up, Beilschmidt," Levi advised. "And you might turn out not to be a waste of space and oxygen! Right! back to what you were all doing and that includes those perverted R-18 books of yours, Honda! I know you read them!" And Levi left the barracks.
Beilschmidt had turned out to be an asset in the field, particularly when it came to handling Vargas, He knew that something was going on there and between Jones and Honda but as long as it did not interfere with them doing their jobs, Levi did not care!
He saw Erwin walking across the courtyard at him, coming to check out the new recruits for himself. Erwin looked around the courtyard at all the soldiers doing various things as he approached Levi.
"Are those the new recruits?" he asked, nodding his head toward the foursome behind Levi. "What do you think of them?"
"Not bad!" Levi replied. "Jones is another shitty brat, like Yeager but I think they'll all work out!" Levi was forced to rethink that as Jones walked past in his ODM gear, stripped of its red, white and blue but instead Jones had painted the New York District's national bird. Two bald eagles with out-stretched wings now adorned his blade holders. This time Levi did face-palm.
Two shitty brats in the same squad were going to be the death of him!
A few weeks later after waving his little charges goodbye, Shadis was ready for the new batch of glory-minded hopefuls to break and this lot looked worse than the last group. Especially that strawberry-blonde with the weird pink and blue swirly eyes and a resemblance to Kirkland. Shadis had the feeling that, perhaps, he should keep this one out of the kitchen as well!
Yes, Shadis, I would! DX When deciding the order of the top of the class, I had already decided on Ludwig for the top and the Vargas brothers for tenth place, for everyone else I used a random number selector to decide their spots. I put Ludwig in the Survey Corps because I thought he and Levi would bond over their neat-freakiness XP and, of course, where Ludwig goes, Feliciano must follow and I wanted to put Kiku with Alfred who is definitely Survey Corps material! ;) I naturally put Matthew and Gilbert together and I put them on the wall because Canada does not readily involve itself in conflicts so the Survey Corps was out but Canada's not big with corruption from what I've heard so the MPs was not appropriate so the wall it was. Yao explained his reason for choosing the Wall Garrison and Ivan wanted to be with Yao. I put Arthur in the MPs because he likes to be in control and Francis will be looking for an easy life and more time to wind up Arthur! As for Romano! The Mafia had to be involved somehow! XP
To swanduck – Thanks for your input, I found it very useful :) Alfred was always going to join the Survey Corps and I wanted Kiku with him (Yay! Ameripan!) Ludwig and Levi! Two neat-freaks together and, of course, Gerita! ;) Romano, the Don of the MPs! XD Arthur and Francis, definitely MPs and Yao, Ivan, Matthew and Gilbert choose the Wall for various reasons! And make all the Petra jokes you want! ;)
And that's that! I might do an Attack on Titan fanfic at some point, I just need an idea! Suggestions welcome.
Till next time,
Hasta la Pasta!