BluePhoenix34 does not own Shingeki no Kyojin, the property and creation goes to Hajime Isayama. However, BluePhoenix34 does own Gianne Starken and all the characters unfamiliar to the SNK series. Now please, sit back and enjoy!
Chapter Four: Clash of the Cadets
Under the pouring rain in the early morning, cadets ran through a nearby forest while carry heavy loads on their aching backs. From behind, Commander Keith was the only one who was on horseback and screamed at them to keep moving forward. His threats were a motivation to some, but torture to a majority of them. There were mixed feelings about today, the day where everyone gets graded on their three years of training. Their superiors were ready to see how the hard work paid off.
A blonde boy, however, was unwillingly slacking off. Armin's body wasn't in the best shape to run and bear a heavy pack all at the same time. His loud panting caused Commander Keith to slow his horse down and trot by the boy.
"What's wrong Arlert? You're the only one left behind!" He yelled in his direction. Armin didn't look up. He couldn't even produce words with his throat being so tight. "Is it too heavy for you? Would you like to be the only one not carrying a pack?"
Hearing his harsh words made Armin sprint ahead a little, but it still wasn't enough. Commander Keith rode away from the weak boy, leaving Armin feeling despondent.
"Shit! Give me that Armin!" he heard a hiss. Reiner pulled back from where he was and grabbed the pack off Armin. Swinging it over his other shoulder, he carried two at the same time. Armin was shocked. "At this rate you'll fail."
"B-But if you help me, then you'll fail too!" he reminded him apprehensively.
"Make sure we don't get caught… at least before I change my mind!"
Except they were caught. Keith could hear them from behind, but he didn't attempt to stop them.
'Reiner Braun. He's strong as an ox and has the will matched. But more than anything, he's earned the trust of his comrades.'
Armin felt his legs tingle feebly, waking him up a little more. He watched Reiner and compared himself to the big young man. He had to admit, he'll never be that physically strong. It would take a long time to build up that muscle and strength. But wishing for something Armin could never have was pointless. He had to prove to them that he wasn't dead weight. He had to keep trying, even if it killed him.
Forcefully, he reaches for his bag and ripped it away from Reiner. Swinging it around his back, he pushed himself harder with so much effort, he eventually passed Commander Keith. The older man studied the young blonde.
'Armin Arlert. When it comes to physical strength, he doesn't measure up to soldier standards. But I hear that in classroom lectures, he's shown extraordinary imagination.'
"Way to go Armin." A voice spoke up ahead. Armin averted his eyes to the source and met Daedre staring at him with applaud. The dark skin boy gave a humorous smile. "I was wondering when you could catch up."
Armin didn't understand how he could be so positive. His eyes revealed so much exhaustion, but he hid it with a gleeful expression. Armin couldn't help but smile back at the optimistic boy and nod.
'Daedre Moche. An obnoxious, spirit-lifter who's accepted by his other comrades, but lacks self-esteem and intelligences. Sometimes, I wish some of the cadets here could have the same leveled motivation like he does.'
A couple hours later, in the same forest, a gigantic replica of a wooden titan with a sand sack on the back of its neck stood alone in a quiet area. Within a second, three figures flew to it and slashed their swords, each giving the sack a large gash. There were two boys and one girl. The girl managed to get her cut deeper.
'Annie Leonhart. The angle of approach of her slashing attack is impeccable. She carves deeply into the target. Personality wise, she tends to be a loner and has trouble cooperating.'
'Bertolt Hoover. He's mastered every single skill that's been taught. And I believe he has a lot of potential. But he lack's drive and tends to leave the decisions to others.'
'Conrad Gorman. His confidences in both his fighting skill and himself are very high, but his decisions will normally lead to a negative path.'
Conrad glared down at Annie for following him to this destination. If she wasn't here, he would've had more points than her. The blonde didn't even seem to care about his look and moved on. From afar, Jean cursed under his breath at the sight.
"I can't keep up with them," he muttered angrily. Using his 3D maneuver gear, he flew in the opposite direction. "At this rate, I'll have to earn points by finding the "Titans" first! I'll be the one in the Military Police Brigade!"
'Jean Kirstein. He has a deep understanding of the vertical maneuvering equipment and excels at exploiting that skill. He can also take in a situation at a moment's glance, but his personality is like a drawn sword, which tends to create conflict.'
For a while, all Jean saw was endless trees. Little did he know, a certain soul was following him closely behind. No "Titan" was spotted, until now. Jean caught the figure a few yards to his left and quickly went towards it.
"Found one!" he said. "This time, I'll be the one to–" he cut himself off when a sudden presence glided past him. Jean looked closer to see it was Connie!
"Oi! Thanks, Jean!" Connie cried behind him. "I knew following you would work!"
He managed to reach the sack and raised his sword. But before he could attempt to cut through it, an unexpected figure beat him too it. Connie looked at the now slashed up bag in shock.
"Woo-hoo! I did it!" Sasha screamed out victoriously, bounced up and down by her cables.
'Sasha Blouse. She's talented at operating unconventionally, but her mentality is unfit for organized activity.'
'Connie Springer. He's skilled at making right turns but his mind is nowhere near sharp enough.'
From the other side of the forest, three silhouettes raced to an open Titan replica with a sack uncut. There were two girls and one boy and they were all determined to reach the structure first. The girl with dark auburn hair, Sylvia, taunted the brunette boy, Gage, in order to slow him down.
"What's the hurry Gage? Trying to get enough points to beat that Jaeger bastard?" Gage didn't even acknowledge her since he was too focused to make it to the Titan. Sylvia tried harder. "I don't see why he's so special to you. Is it a rivalry thing or friendship? Are you in love with Eren Jaeger? That would explain it."
"W-What!?" this caught Gage off guard. He abruptly stopped for second and then continued on, now he was behind the two girls. Swinging his head to her direction, he gave the olive skin girl a murderous look. "Stop that!"
"Stop what?" she asked innocently.
"Idiots…" mumbled the third girl, Sereak. She was further ahead from the duo, making her the first one slash a cut into the sack. Sylvia and Gage looked utterly disappointed while Sereak gave them both a furious look. "There's no time for talking in battle, you're only thing to do is to react and stay focused!"
'Sereak Poljor. A skillful soldier; in battle she uses instinct and sense to achieve her goals and is quick when slaying a titan. Though, it's hard to read her since she has that crossed expression on all the time.'
'Gage Butler. His skills match up to Eren Jaegers unnaturally, but their rivalry is always motivating him to be the best. However, he can be very gullible which others can use as an advantage against him.'
'Sylvia Shelton. A strong young girl who uses her swords and words as weapons against others. But her sarcastic attitude causes friction with the other cadets.'
"Here they come!" a man nearby yelled. Another man on a tree base tugged at a long rope, causing two cut-out Titans to face in the same direction.
A mile ahead from where they were Mikasa was too in a race with a girl that was trying to get ahead of her. Gianne felt her competitive side take over as she soared beside Mikasa closely. Soon, their shoulders brushed, causing them to nudge at each other violently.
"Stay out of my way." Mikasa said, shouldering Gianne.
"You're the one who followed me first! Those Titans are mine!" the golden eyed girl fought back.
Reaching for the first one, Mikasa beat Gianne by an inch and managed to cut the sack deeply. Furious, Gianne raced to the second Titan and let out her anger by slashing a deeper gash. The sack was practically cut in half, even slicing out some wood as well. The two girls eyed each other with fierce looks, Gianne putting more irritation to it.
Eren finally made it to the scene and cuts a small proportion of the remaining.
'Mikasa Ackerman. Her performance is exemplary in every subject. She is truly a genius of historically unprecedented significance.'
'Gianne Starken. The sister of one of humanity's powerful soldier before his death, Kota Starken, she is in the path of taking over his title. She has mastered the skill of the 3D maneuver gear impressively and fights with unnatural strength.'
'Both cadets are top of the class and well respected by their comrades, examples of real soldiers. However, it would take a miracle to get those two to cooperate with each other.'
'Eren Jaeger. While he lacks outstanding talents, he has improved his grades through outstanding diligence.'
-:-:-:-
Gage sparred with Antonio through most of his training. He thought they were both equally strong and tall enough to be perfect opponents. As Antonio attempted to stab Gage with his wooden knife, Gage blocked his blow with his left arm and grabbed his shirt. Hooking his foot around his opponent's leg, Gage pulled forward, causing Antonio to fall to the ground. With a gasp from Antonio, Gage brought his right arm up to his opponent's throat while his left hand held down the arm with the knife. After a few seconds, both boys got back up.
"This always gets me tired. Your turn now, right?" Antonio said, breathless. Though, he was hoping Gage would say their training was over.
"Yeah… give me the knife." Gage said.
Antonio handed over the safe weapon, making Gage take his stance. But before either boy could react, Gage's attention was caught when he heard Gianne's voice cry out. Averting his head from Antonio to the redhead, he watched his friend spar with that Gorman boy.
Gianne was flat on her back, coughing the air from her lungs while her face flushed with fury. Conrad stood over her with a cocky smile. She glared at him intensely.
"Let's do it again!"
"Why? So I can kick your ass more?" Conrad said. The mocking tone in his voice was very noticeable.
"Come on! I'm able to beat you, but you always use that same move on me!"
"Then try to find a way to stop me."
"I am trying!" Gianne got up and dusted the sand off her clothes. Her face was pink with a small bruise on her cheek and forehead. She got back into her defensive stance, fist raised high and standing on the balls of her feet. "Go!"
Conrad came at her with his knife. Before his wooden blade could make contact, Gianne pushed his arms away and attempted to sky uppercut him. However, Conrad was too fast, and he managed to move his body out of the way. Twisting his arms back in front of Gianne, his left hand took a handful of her shirt while he rammed his fist into her stomach. With all his strength, he hauled the small girl and swung over his hand, slamming her back down on the floor. Gianne gasped out with pain.
"Dead." he said
"Argh!" she cried, furious about the defeat.
"Ha, I told you. No one can win against that move. You're lucky I didn't have my spear with me." Conrad bragged.
Antonio also took notice of the scene and turned back to Gage. Nervously, he asked his friend, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Huh?" Gage just noticed the tan boy. "Oh! Y-Yeah why?"
"You just look a little… vexed, that's all." Antonio said.
Gage knew what he meant. While he was watching the two, he felt exceedingly furious that Conrad kept beating Gianne. Normally, it was Gianne who came out victorious, but she wasn't able to find a solution to her opponent's moves. Was it speed or strength? Or both? Gage had those. Over the years, his body and ability have gotten stronger, all due to Antonio, Reiner, and Eren's tips. Maybe he could beat Conrad, they were both the same. When he looked back at the two, Gianne's face was still flushed while Conrad kept mocking her ability. Suddenly, pang of jealously hit Gage's chest, causing him to abandon Antonio and stride over to the pair.
"Gianne!" he cried out.
Gianne heard her name and turned to her friend. When he got closer to them, she looked at him rather worriedly.
"What's wrong Gage? Do you not have a partner?" she asked. Gage kept glaring at Conrad who in return, also glared back at him. "Are you interested in Conrad's fighting too?"
"Yeah." he said, not breaking his staring contest. "Do you mind if I partner up with Conrad? Also, Antonio doesn't have a partner and he's wanted to spar with you for a while."
Antonio snapped back to reality and looked up when he heard his name. "Huh? What about me?"
"Really?" Gianne asked, sounding rather interested.
"Yeah, he would like that."
"Okay sure! Conrad, go easy on Gage okay?" she warned him. Just hearing her say that caused Gage's stomach to twist uncomfortably. Did Gianne not think he was able to take this guy down? For some reason, that got him even angrier. "I'll be back in a while!" And she left, leaving the two boys alone.
Conrad spoke first and offered him the piece of wood, "Do you want the knife first?"
Gage thought about this for a moment. If he took it, he would be able to humiliate him. Gage was pretty quick with it after all, and the opponent is supposed to take the knife away. This would be rather fun. With a sly smile, Gage nodded, "Sure."
They both stood in front of one another in unison with confidence in their eyes. Gage stood in a springing stance.
"Here I go."
With all his might, he pushed forward and rushed quickly towards Conrad. When he was close, he thrust the training knife towards his face. Somehow, he manages to dodge. Furious, Gage kept trying to hit him multiple times in every direction, but his opponent dodged them skillfully. Why you little piece of…
He uses his free hand as another advantage. Making a fist, he tried ramming it into Conrad's stomach, but the young man jumped back before it even touched him. Now Gage was getting even more furious. His hot anger began getting the best of him as he tried to come up with a strategy. He suddenly thought of something!
With his right hand, he tried jabbing the knife at Conrad's face, but he expectedly missed. Next, he sung a punch to his side, but he moved away just in time. Gage face lit up victoriously when swiftly crouched down and swung his right leg. The sneak attack caused Conrad to fall down on his back and gasp out.
Rather excited about this, Gage quickly crawled over and put the wooden blade closely to Conrad's throat. The young man looked up at him with hatred. Gage liked that look, he had to admit.
"Dead." Gage said.
The two got up and looked each other in the eyes. This boy was very skilled and very confident in his ability, Gage had to admit. Should Gage be training with him more?
"My turn, give me the knife." Conrad said.
The two got back in their stances again, but this time, Conrad was in a more offensive position. Gage brought his fist up to show he was ready. When he nodded, Conrad ran towards him.
When he was close enough, Gage tried to punch him away, but Conrad was too fast. His arm sprung up quicker than Gage suspected, blocking his blow before he could hit his head. In this position, Conrad took hold of Gage's arm and twisted it behind his back. Letting out an agonizing cry, Gage caused a couple cadets to turn and look at the two.
Conrad brought the wooden blade to his throat and was about to say what Gage thought he would, but, Gage had another idea. He swung his head backwards to hit Conrad's forehead while his free elbow was jabbed right into his stomach.
Conrad unwillingly let go as he moaned and tried to endure the pain. Gage took this opportunity to take the knife, but Conrad quickly swiped it away. Gage fury and irritation increased.
Conrad back away and rapidly went back to his stance. Without hesitation, Gage charged forward to attack, his fist raised high. Before attempting to punch his face, Gage felt a knee digging its way into his stomach and a groaning sound escaping his lips. He tried progressing what had just happened, but his shirt was taken by a hand while a fist placed itself in his stomach. Before Gage knew it, his whole world went upside down for a second until he landed on his back. The sky was right in his view and his spine began to ache terribly. He could feel the wooden blade caressing his throat while Conrad muttered to him, "Dead."
Gage lifted his right hand and gave an upper punch to Conrad's face. "Looks like I resurrected."
-:-:-:-
"Uh, no." Antonio said bluntly.
"What? But Gage told me you wanted to fight!" Gianne said.
"Your boyfriend was just jealous because you were sparring with another guy." Antonio said.
"He's not my– Never mind. But I have no other partner!"
"Well, don't come looking for my help. I'm pretty much done with this martial arts crap." Antonio commented dryly. He turned away from her and walked away. "I'll see you later."
"Antonio, you lazy son of a bitch…" Gianne said to herself rather furiously. She looked around, hoping to find some solo cadets but was unsuccessful. This was bad; she was going to get graded today. If she didn't find a partner soon, then her scoring would be low.
She viewed Eren and Annie as they sparred together. Then, she left him on his rear in shame. Taking this opportunity, Gianne quickly walked over to him. Her eyes were locked on his body, but then, a figure came in her view. The person blocked her path with a hard look.
"Starken." Mikasa said.
"Ackerman." Gianne greeted with a dry tone. She was not in the mood to deal with this girl's crap today; she had more important issues to take care of. When she looked up to spot Eren again, he was already taken by Reiner. A wave of annoyance took control of her mind. "I'm just looking for a partner Ackerman, that's all."
"I know. I don't have one."
"What are you suggesting?" Gianne questioned. The girl kept quiet. Gianne suddenly figured it out. "Oh…" she sighed. "Okay, sure, whatever."
-:-:-:-
"Come on Sylvia, I'm not even trying." Sereak taunted her friend. Her arm was wrapped around her throat while the other wielding the training knife tried to touch the olive skin. Sylvia managed to delay the hit with her left hand as she held her wrist back. "I'm starting to get bored."
"Shut up you bitch! Let me go already!"
"First, say I win."
"…Fine! You win goddam it!" Sylvia said.
Sereak let her go and watch the girl regain her natural color back. Her grey eyes glared in her direction when her pink cheeks disappeared. "And yet, people say you're easy."
"Don't believe what others say, unless you know it yourself. Like birds, they all sing songs but–"
"How about you shut up before I plant your face in the dirt?" Sylvia threatened.
Sereak narrowed her eyes, "Fair enough…"
The two took a short break. The sun was burning Sereak's skin, causing sweat to escape from her pores. Her shirt was also sticking to her wet back which she found very irritating. The water was cool, but it didn't seem to satisfy her. Though, water was water so why should she be complaining?
"Go Gage, kick his cute ass!"
Sereak turned her attention to Daedre as he and Connie were watching a fight. She saw Gage and the Gorman boy sparring with each other, but the fight didn't look friendly at all. Actually, it looked rather serious in her opinion. Gage was always able to restrain his temper, but when he couldn't, he was like Gianne, very competitive and hungry for a fight. She could recall the time he sparred with Eren and how the two ended up tying. He was close to defeating him, but Eren had to even the victory so he didn't lose. That fight still pissed Gage off and he kept trying everything he could in order to be better than Eren. Sereak found his obsession rather odd.
"Look at those two!" Sylvia said, interrupting Sereak's thoughts.
"Who?"
"Gianne and Mikasa, they're sparring for the first time." Sylvia pointed in the other direction.
Astonished, Sereak found her best friend trying to stab Mikasa with the training knife. Though, the girl kept dodging rather quickly which angered Gianne even more. With a yell, the redhead drove the knife forward in attempts to stab her stomach, but Mikasa jumped out of the way. Sereak could tell she was actually getting pretty tired. Her low heavy breathing and exhausted eyes were easily to tell.
"Who do you think is going to win?" Sylvia asked.
"Mikasa for sure." Sereak admitted. Her honesty shocked the girl.
"I thought you had faith in your friend."
"I do, but I'm also a realist. Gianne is a very good student when it comes to these kinds of trainings. She's almost at the top of the class. But Mikasa is more skilled than she is." Sereak said.
"So is Gianne." Sylvia said.
"Gianne has learned some techniques from her brother, but she isn't graceful and quick. She's strong, but not fast. If there was a maneuver gear race, Gianne would definitely win."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Because she's mastered it rather quickly and knows how to use it the right way. And she also stated that she doesn't like traveling on foot so she's practiced it a lot."
"Of course she did…" Sylvia muttered.
The fight lasted for a while and both girls were beginning to lose their patients. Gianne couldn't take it anymore, and neither could Mikasa. Gianne decided to end this quickly as she tried to hit her opponents face with her fist. That is, until she noticed how Mikasa had the same plan. Both girls froze in their positions before either of them could touch one another. Glaring, they dropped their hands and backed away, Gianne dropping her knife to the ground.
"Starken."
"Ackerman."
"Oh god, they tied." Sylvia said.
They both gave small nods and walked away, ending their lesson. Sereak was impressed with her friend and her behavior. Gianne didn't burst or snap like how she would normally do, she actually took this draw very maturely. Over the years, Gianne had somehow changed her attitude with her enemies slowly. She knew an inappropriate fight would easily get her kicked out, but Sereak didn't expect her to take it so seriously. At that moment, Sereak grew to respect her friend a little bit more.
-:-:-:-
A few days later, everyone was sore and quite exhausted from all the martial arts training. Some, however, weren't even complaining due to their lack of effort. Gianne and her friends sat at a table that was close by Eren's. Looking around, she noticed how the amount of cadets slowly decreased years after year. A part of her felt guilty, but she was also very proud on how far she's come.
Gianne sat next to Gage, who had a black eye after his fight with Conrad. Though, that mark of humiliation didn't seem to lower his self-esteem. Throughout the years, Gage slowly began to harden, physically and mentally. He kept challenging himself more with other cadets stronger than him. Gianne was proud of her friend, but at the same time, a little upset about it.
"How's your back feeling?" Daedre asked Gage.
"Oh! It's fine." Gage said, chuckling a little. "It's just a little sore."
"Aren't we all sore from this?" Sylvia spoke up, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "I mean, come on, this isn't exactly Heaven."
"Of course not, but it's definitely making me a little more muscular than before." Daedre said. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to show off his bicep. It wasn't as big as Gage's, but it was pretty noticeable. "I should get a tattoo. Wouldn't that make me look tougher?"
"It'll make you look less girly." Sereak said out loud.
"Sereak has two tattoos on her back!" Gianne cried out. "Before we came here, she got them from a tattoo parlor."
"Of what?" Sylvia asked her.
"A wolf and a bear."
"I'm not surprised…" she muttered to herself. Sereak heard her and gave her a look.
From afar, the group heard Jean talking to his friend Marco and another boy Gianne didn't know. He was unseemly loud for some reason as he bragged to the boys. "At times like that you should rev it up, just for a second. That way you use the inertia and don't consume as much fuel. Of course, that kind of move can't be pulled off by just anyone…"
"Wow, you make it sound so simple." one boy said in amazement.
"Sure, it's not something anyone can master." Jean said as he looked towards Eren's table.
Is he trying to impress Eren, Gianne was wondering. She watched Sereak look utterly disgusted while both Daedre and Sylvia sighed with annoyance.
"Someone should put a sock in that showoff's mouth." Sylvia said.
"I fully agree…" Sereak said.
Jean began to increase his voice volume to the point where even Antonio, who sat with Annie four tables away from Jean's, looked back with his left eye twitching. Gianne also saw Conrad and Reiner glancing up at Jean.
"But it's still worth remembering if you're trying to get in to the Military Police."
"What's so great about the Military Police anyway? They're not the real heroes." Gianne muttered to Gage angrily. For a second, she thought of Wet and Smoke. They were both unworthy to be soldiers, and yet, Wet saved her life while Smoke did the same for Gage and Sereak. Would the Military Police do that for the public if their interior was invaded by Titans? Or would they just run and hide?
"Of course not, but you shouldn't start a fight about it." Gage said warningly. "Besides, you don't want to abuse animals, right?"
Gianne gave him a puzzled look until she finally understood. Within a second, she gave a warm giggle. "I guess you're right, I don't like beating up horses. And Sereak would kill me if I did."
Sereak quickly looked up when she heard her name, "What?"
"Nothing." Gage said smiling.
Suddenly, Eren spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to him.
"So, interior life is simple and comfortable?" he asked Jean. "Five years ago, this place was also part of the interior."
"What's your point Eren?" Jean turned to him.
"Jean, you're such a simpleton, you'd be comfortable wherever you go." Eren said. This caused a lot of snickers to erupt the silence. Even Sereak smiled at the insult.
"Dammit…" Jean turns back to Eren angrily. Eren was quite happy he took his bait.
"Don't you think it's crazy? Learning how to kill Titans just so you can run away from them in the end?"
"You bring that up now? This sham should be kept going for my sake if nothing else!" Jean glared at Eren.
How dare he say that, his words made Gianne snap back to her defensive self. Without a second thought, she stood up and walked right up to him. Before Jean knew it her knuckles made contact with his jaw, causing his head to spin to the side.
"You son of a bitch!" she screamed at him. She felt Eren standing beside her, also glaring down at Jean.
Marco and the other boy looked rather shocked by what had happened. Others began muttering amongst themselves, sounding unsurprised by this sudden conflict.
"There she goes again…"
"And Eren's gonna be a part of it too."
"Of course he is. Those three combined is just a disaster waiting to happen."
Jean rotated his head back to them both; a bright red mark was now swelling on his bottom cheek. He looked at the duo with a murderous glare. He then stood up and roughly grabbed Gianne's shirt with both his hands. Surprised, Gianne felt her shirt lift up, exposing those large scars on her stomach and back.
"You little bitch! Why can't you just fucking mind your own business!" he screamed in her face.
"Hey, let go!" Gianne screamed back. She could feel his hot breath on her skin.
"No! I should teach you a lesson for butting into other people's conversations!"
"Gianne!" she heard Gage call to her.
"Jean, leave her alone!" Sereak cried to him. Her fangs started to expose themselves to the world as her looked of fury got even darker.
"Hey Jean, let her go!" Eren ordered, trying to rip the two apart.
"Fuck you, asshole!" Jean spat at him.
This got Eren even more furious as he tried to help his friend out. He looked to Mikasa and Armin for support, but Armin was too traumatized while Mikasa didn't even seem to care. Eren looked back at Jean's hot red face as he kept glaring daggers at Gianne. Suddenly, a realization came to him. He now understood.
Finally breaking Jean's fist off Gianne's shirt and pushing her away, Eren grabbed his wrist while his free hand shoves Jean's face away. Lifting his foot, Eren kicks Jean's legs and pushed his chest down, causing him to fall on his back. The entire room was filled with gasps.
"That hurt!" Jean cried, rubbing his head with his hand. "What the hell was that?!"
"That was a move I learnt while you were slacking off." Eren looks down on him with a serious expression. "If you think reality is just living a comfortable life and following your own whims, can you seriously dare call yourself a soldier?"
Gianne switched her shock off and backed Eren up. "Hmph. Way to snap him out of his thought… I'm pretty sure that helped him." She looked back at Eren as the two silently smiled to each other.
"Tsk… you lil' shit…" Jean glared at them both.
Unexpectedly, the door slowly began to creak open. As it did, half of Keith's face was revealed with a grim expression. The scene was so terrifying a girl squeaked with fear and looked away.
"I thought I heard some kind of loud noise in here. Someone care to tell me what's going on?" he asked in a low voice.
Gianne quickly went back to her table and sat with Sereak. Jean and Eren went back to their own seats. All three of them were sweating anxiously. Gianne looked to Sereak for any help, but the dark haired girl kept her head down, as did Daedre, Gage, and Sylvia. Mikasa raised her hand slightly high.
"It was Sasha. She ripped a big fart." she said.
"Eh?" Sasha exclaimed.
"You again?" Keith asked harshly as he covered his nose. A few people restrained their laughter and tried to keep straight faces on. Gianne looked back at Mikasa, but the girl didn't even make contact with her stare.
"Ah!" Sasha stumbled, looking completely dumbfounded.
"That's what happens when you make a bad impression on the first day…" Sylvia muttered to herself.
"Learn some self-control!" Keith snapped at her. He turned away and closed the door, silencing the whole room again.
Soon, everyone exploded with laughter. Sasha vigorously went up to Mikasa, demanding why she would put the blame on her. Mikasa managed to silence her by shoving her loaf of bread in her mouth. Eren and Jean kept glaring at each other while Gianne sighed with relief. She turned to Sereak who kept playing with her food. She didn't meet her friends gaze for a whole minute. Something was wrong.
"What's the matter with you Sereak?" she asked. The girl turned her daggering look towards her, looking much meaner than she has been all day.
"I sometimes think you should learn some self-control." she said. Quickly as possible, Sereak got up from her seat and walked away from the table. She dumped the rest of her food with the other waste and exited the mess hall. Gianne stood there, looking completely lost.
She turned to Gage, "What did I do now?"
"Don't worry about it…" he said. "But she is right."
"Right about what?"
"How you can't seem to control yourself."
"So?" she spat venomously.
"I'm just saying…" he sighed. "Never mind."
*Author's Note: I'm sorry for making this chapter shorter than the others but I have my reason. I'm pretty sick right now and didn't want to even look at my computer all week. You all should be thankful that I even updated today! I'm kidding, but all joking aside, I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me. Please review and support and tell your friends about me (Okay, you don't have to do that last one). Hope you enjoyed and have a nice day!
Also quick announcement, a member of this story, FlyBoy56 (a.k.a Gage Butler) as created his own story that will have his character, Gianne Starken (my character), and Antonio Rodrigues (crankiestnebula) in it. Its call AoT: Revolutionary Response and it's just starting out, but in my opinion, I expect create things to come out of it. So please, go to his profile, go read his first chapter, and support!
-Gianne Starken: BluePhoenix34
-Gage Bulter: FlyBoy56
-Sereak Poljor: Jauntues Tigerwolf
-Daedre Moche: Pixpi
-Sylvia Shelton: RoseTyler10
-Antonio Rodrigues: crankiestnebula
-Conrad Gorman: Shrapnel893
-Phoenix
