So, Chapter 3. I didn't think I'd get along this far, considering how short I write chapters. Oh well, more at the end of this.
Don't own the anime/manga, blah. Is this mandatory?
Titans. Titans. TITANS…
'Day 1 of our time here. I suppose we'll be run through the wringer during the first few weeks, in order to weed out the unfit.' This was Eren's thought process as he awoke, not comprehending where he was at the moment. His eyes were still closed to the surroundings, but he could hear the voices of many early risers. Distinctly female voices. His eyes shot wide at that.
'Why am I in the female cabin, of all places?' His thoughts were now full of panic, as if Instructor Keith caught him here, he'd surely be sent to hell and back, at least twice. 'Shit, shit, shit! What am I going to do?!'
"Eren," He flinched at hearing his name called, but calmed when he considered who it was. "Christa… You surprised me." He turned in his bunk to find said girl laying there. Why was he in the place of her bunk buddy, and where was said buddy, he wondered.
Reading his nervousness as stemming from potential punishment, Christa reached up to give him a comforting pat on the chest. "No need to worry about discipline, Eren. Word is that Instructor Keith is completely swamped with recruit forms for the batch after us, so training for the day is delayed. Meaning no cabin inspection." Sitting up, the girl smiled as she could manage, considering she hadn't been awake too long herself.
Eren's demeanor immediately relaxed, and a breath he didn't know was being held, released heavily. "Luck favors me on this day. Truly, I am blessed." Chuckling lightly to himself, he raised himself off of the bed swiftly, stretching until an amazing crunch could be heard near the center of his back. The beds weren't high-grade, but certainly better than sleeping on hay-and-cobblestone ones. "So, what are we to do for the morning? Laze about?" He certainly doubted Keith would leave them completely unattended.
Christa managed to stand as well, after rubbing a bit more sleep out of her eyes. "Mm, I suppose we're meant to speak amongst each other, form bonds and get to know our future brothers-and-sisters in arms."
"Sounds good. I've been meaning to speak with a particular bunch of people. You just happen to be one of them." Eren offered the girl across from him a hand, gripping hers firmly when she returned the gesture, and shaking. "I look forward to serving alongside you, Christa. You're certainly more lively than most, so that's a thing to be happy about."
Blushing at the hand contact slightly, Christa still managed to stare the man before her in the eyes. "Thank you for your kind words, Eren. I'm glad my worth as moral support seems to be so high."
Nodding his head firmly, as well as a gentle smile, Eren pulled the girl into a hug with his grip, however brief it was. "I'll be going. I'll talk to you more this evening."
"O-of course, Eren!"
Titans. Titans. TITANS!
"Oi, Yeager-boy!" A strong, hard voice could be heard yelling after said man. The voice belonged to Reiner Braun, as only someone as big as he seemed to be confident enough to yell after him in such a way.
Turning, Eren found himself facing a broad, clothed chest. His gaze rose up, meeting the eyes of Reiner. His face was certainly less intimidating than yesterday, as it sported a small, friendly grin. His eyes seemed light up with mischief as well. "Ah, Reiner. Good morning." His greeting was returned curtly, followed by…
"So, rumor has it that you went to the female cabin and didn't return. Why would that be, hm?" He waggled his eyebrows, emphasizing what was probably the main thought of most in the male cabin.
Eren quirked his lips into a small smirk. He certainly liked this guy already. "Why, whatever do you mean? Could it be that the entirety of the male cabin is jealous that I slept within female territory? Really, I find that… easy to believe, actually." He brought his hand up to Reiner's shoulder, turning him to walk with him as he did. "Of course, all I did was, in fact, sleep. Nothing more."
"That's surely harder to believe than our jealousy, considering how much attention to draw from just about every female recruit. And it hasn't been but a day!" Reiner put on a fake pout, as he liked to think his broad, muscled physique was much more desirable than Eren's own lean, runner's build. Apparently, it was not.
"Believe what you will, Reiner. Honestly, I could care less for most of the attention I get, though there are a few who… draw my own attention to them. No names, though." Having said his last piece to another of the group he wished to speak with, he sprinted off, not waiting to hear Reiner's questions.
"Grr… I WILL FIND OUT, YEAGER-BOY! MARK MY WORDS!"
Titans. Titans. TITANS…
He'd only woken up an hour ago, and already his day turning out to be very eventful. 'I wonder who'll show up next.' He figured the next time he met with Reiner, he'd see Bertholdt as well. The two seemed to not stray too far from each other. Childhood friends, maybe. Speaking of that,
"Eren, who's bunk did you sleep in!" Ah, there was Mikasa's 'calm-fury' voice. There was a hint of worry in there, but he didn't let it faze him. "Same as I answered to Braun, not naming anyone. I know what you'd do to the poor soul if I did." Really, sometimes it was just annoying how protective Mikasa could be.
"B-but, Eren.. I-" "I don't need you to look out for me all the time, Mikasa. Really, it's my business whose bed I'm in, and with whom. Not yours." Seeing her flinch at this, his weakness for women in general kicked in, and he quickly pulled her into a hug. "That doesn't mean I don't care about you any less. Don't even think that, okay?" Feeling her simply nod against his chest, he glanced around, glad that no one seemed to be paying them any mind. Except that spineless guy, Jean. He seemed to be staring with blatant depression displaying on his face. "Of course, I think it's kind of cute how much you care about me." He added as an afterthought, hugging her just a bit tighter.
Across the dirt road, leaning against the railing of the mess-hall's porch, Jean felt himself dying inside at the sight of that beautiful girl being hugged so tenderly by the Yeager-brat. Turning, Jean found himself facing the back of one Connie Springer. Contemplating suicide for a moment, he reached out, wiping his sweaty palm on the guy's shirt.
"What the hell?! Did you wipe something on my shirt?!" Connie yelled in anger as he tried to reach whatever was on his back. It felt wet, and slimy. Ew.
"Yes," Jean spoke, voice dull and dead. "My faith in humanity, Connie."
Titans. Titans. TITANS!
"Yeager. Come with me." Yep, it seemed like he'd be able to speak with just about everyone that he wanted to today. That was Annie Leonhardt. Shrugging, Eren complied, following after her as she walked into the trees surrounding the trainee camp.
He quickly found himself beside the girl, able to gain an up-close look at her. It seemed to him that she simply didn't enjoy socializing at all. She purposefully distanced herself from everyone after the 'Rite of Passage', even Reiner and Bertholdt, who seemed to want to talk to her. Why she chose him, of all people, was a mystery.
Snapping out of his thoughts, his vision shifted from the girl beside him to the destination before them: a small clearing, devoid of trees with sparse amounts of trampled grass, probably an area used for hand-to-hand training.
"What is it that drives you, Yeager?" The question was sudden, considering they hadn't spoken at all the entire way here. Raising a brow, Eren focused one of his stronger, piercing looks on the girl, finding her to be unflinching, and therefore worthy of a simple explanation.
"To protect humanity from itself." This garnered the largest facial change he'd seen in her; a slight widening of the eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" He figured it could be interpreted in a few ways, but his was clear, at least to him. Sighing, he sat himself cross-legged on the ground, motioning Annie to do the same before him. When she had, he launched into a tale of how, in his view, the guards of Shiganshina, representing humanity, hadn't been prepared in the slightest for That Day. How the citizens of Shiganshina themselves were unprepared for That Day, complacent in their ways of living within the walls, within holding pins, as livestock. Livestock, raised to simply be harvested by the Titans. How, because of this, he'd lost his mother, despite a guard being present to defeat the Titan responsible. How, as a result of all of this, he'd allowed his anger, his sorrow, his passion, along with his want to join the Scouting Legion, to all culminate into one drive, aimed at multiple goals: awakening humanity from its peace, rallying them behind him, and finally defeating the Titans, with the combined efforts of humanity as a whole, not as parts.
"…" By the end of this, Annie's lips had pursed together in a thoughtful pout, more emotion than her simple brow-raising from earlier. Finally, after a few minutes of pondering, Annie's eyes found Eren's, and a small, almost unnoticeable smile graced her face. "I respect you, Eren."
Eren, himself, could only smile back.
Titans. Titans. TITANS…
And from this, I suppose you'll realize why, exactly, I have Annie, Christa, and Mikasa listed as characters.
If not, oh well.
Other than that, please do leave a review, even if it's simply to encourage/discourage me. A good example of what's driving me would be reviews by Zyzz. There's your freebie. Other shout-outs will cost a bit.
Oh, and to clear things up from Ch.1, I was just going by the wiki description for Mikasa. Sorry if you guys think her eyes are colored differently.
Anyways, seeya.