LOCATION: Wall Rose: 104th Cadet Corps
YEAR: 847
John stood with most of the other recruits in an area away from the barracks. It was time for the aptitude test, which the cadet corps give to test your ability to use the ODM gear.
They were still setting up the devices, so Shadis took this moment to step forward, and explain things. "It's aptitude test time, so listen!" He shouted fiercely, demanding all of the cadets attention.
John stood at full attention. While the Rite of Passage yesterday wasn't that important, at least not to him, this was something he needed to be able to do in the scouts. It was basic training.
"There is no place for you here if you cannot perform." Shadis said sternly. "Do this, and you move on to basic training. Fail, and you'll be shipped to the fields."
"First up, Sasha Braus!"
John looked towards the brunette as her name was called, and she seemed admittedly surprised by the fact that she was called in first.
Nervously, the potato girl stepped forward, and John watched as they hooked her up to the machine.
The machine seemed to work by strapping to the harness they all had to wear, and lifting them up off the ground. The goal was to stay upright and balanced for an acceptable amount of time.
Consecutively, they called person after person. There were six rigs in total, and they made sure every single one of them was in use.
So far, it looked to John like everyone was succeededing. One after another, everyone they hooked up succeeded with minimal or no difficulty. John was rather confident that he'd be able to do it.
"Hey!"
A familiar voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he turned to find the little blonde girl from the other night, Christa, approaching him.
He couldn't help but smile at the familiar face. It was only the second day, and already she was seeking him out.
Then again, she did say that he was his first friend here.
"Hey, Christa!" John greeted with a wave as the girl moved to stand next to him. "How are you doing?"
Christa looked back towards the rigs as she now stood next to her tall friend. "A little nervous, actually…" She admitted. "I don't know if I can do it with so many people watching."
John couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Stage fright?"
"Big time." She admitted.
John smiled. "Well, I don't think your the only one, Christa." He remarked, gazing towards some of his fellow cadets. "Thomas over there looks like he's about to shit his pants, and the tall guy there? Bertholtd? He's sweating bullets."
Christa looked towards the two he pointed out, and admitted that they did seem a little nervous. "I guess." She tilted her head, the nervous look still on her face. "I guess it's just… failing in front of so many people with expectations of me… it's terrifying."
John raised an eyebrow. "Who's got expectations?"
Christa's eyes wandered towards Eren, who was still waiting impatiently to be called on. John couldn't help but to roll his eyes.
"Eren, are you kidding?" He asked with a shake of his head. "Christa, that guy is so fucking prideful and arrogant that Mikasa over there had to force feed him a piece of bread of Shinganshina fell."
Christa's eyes widened. "Really?"
John nodded. "Oh yeah." He looked back at his brother once more. "His expectations are not the reality, they're the fantasy."
"I think I remember him talking like he wanted to kill all the titans." Christa said, tilting her head as she recalled his words from the night before. "He was pretty adamant about it, too."
John shook his head with a chuckle. "Yeah. He's sick of being caged in these walls." He remarked as he glanced down at Christa. "Says we're cattle."
Christa Had a rather sad look on her face at his words. "Is he wrong?"
John had to concede that she did have a bit of a point. With the number of titans outside of the walls, humanity was pretty much kept trapped in this in a massive cage of titans and giant walls.
"Maybe not…" John said with a shake of his head. "But you don't try to force your ideals on somebody like he does."
They were silent for a bit after that, watching the more and more people pass the aptitude test.
When Mikasa was lifted up, Christa couldn't help the look of surprise on her face. "Woah…"
John looked down at her. "What is it?" He asked her.
Christa raised her hand, and pointed at Mikasa. "Her… she's barely moving."
John followed he gaze and glanced a Mikasa, grinning. "Yeah, that's Mikasa for you. She's always been… unique."
"Unique?" Christa asked, brow furred in confusion as she was curious about what he meant.
John smiled. "Yeah. When we were younger, she'd be able to lift me off the ground like I weighed nothing." He explained, glancing towards the girl he saw as a sister. "She's always been… strong, for her age."
Christa's gaze changed to one of admiration as she glanced towards the oriental. "I wish I could be strong…"
John raised an eyebrow. "Why can't you?" He asked, curious as to why she thought as such.
"I… I'm small." Christa answered, looking away. "I can't get strong like Mikasa or you can."
John was silent for a moment, contemplating her words. "Okay… fair. You can't." He acknowledged. "But being strong ain't just about physical ability."
At her look of confusion, he elaborated. "Look at me for example. Physically, I'm strong as an ox. But look over at Eren again for a second." He instructed, pointing towards his brother. "He definitely ain't the strongest in terms of physicality, but I'll be damned if he ain't got the strongest Will of anyone I know."
"But I don't have that mental fortitude." Christa objected with a shake of her head.
John raised an eyebrow. "I don't know… you're joining the scouts, aren't you?" He asked, smiling down at the girl slightly. "I'd say that counts for something."
Christa didn't say anything for a moment, pondering his words, before she looked up at him with a smile. "Thanks, John."
John chuckled. "No problem. Can't have my friend doubting herself."
Christa simply smiled at his words.
The two once again stood next to each other in silence, awaiting their turns to go on the rigs as they watched cadet after cadet get tested.
And then John was called up to the rig.
"Well, looks like I'm up." John remarked upon hearing his name.
"Good luck!" Christa called after him as he made his way to the rig.
John made his way through the crowd of people, approaching the instructor who'd called his name.
When the instructor spotted John approaching, his eyes widened slightly. "Jesus, your a big guy, ain't you?"
John couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "If only you knew how often I'd been told that." He remarked as he approached the rig. "What do you need me to do?"
"Stand in the middle of the rig." The man instructed. "I'll hook the cables up to your harness. We'll have to lift a little higher since you're so tall."
John nodded as he moved to stand in the center of the rig. The instructor didn't have to crouch all that much since John's waist came up to his chest.
"You know, you probably have a lot more advantages than you think." The instructor remarked as he hooked the harness to one side.
"How do you figure?" John asked, curious as he watched the man move to his other side.
"You muscles." The instructor clarified. "It's easier for you to control your weight since you can probably control your muscle movement pretty well."
John raised an eyebrow. He had extremely precise control over every single muscle in his body, and it was a little surprising how well the man was able to point that out.
"Is that really what it takes to control those things?" John asked as the instructor secured the other latch. "I've read a little about them, but I always that it was free movement, shit like that."
"It is free movement." The instructor stated as he walked over to the crank. "But it's not relaxed, free flight like it looks. Every single muscle is used to operate where you go. That's why you wear a full body harness."
"Ah." John acknowledged as the instructor began turning the crank.
The cables strapped to his waist slowly grew taught as the instructor turned the crank, the cables pulling more and more in sync.
When his feet left the ground, everything below John's waist went stiff.
As long as his lower body was stiff, he would stay upright, leaving the rest of his body to move freely.
John couldn't help but grin a little.
As the instructor continued to lift John, however, a rather unwelcome sound echoed out.
His grin left his face as John's gaze moved up to examine the rig.
The entire rig was shuddering violently, and John was more than a little unnerved as he could feel the cables wiggling on his waist.
"Uh, is it supposed to be doing that?" John asked the instructor, never taking his eyes off the shaking rig.
"No." The instructor said, a slight amount of worry in his voice. "These rigs are built to hold an excess of 500 pounds. The only reason it would be doing that is if you weighed more than that, or the rig was faulty."
John's eyes went wide as a panicked expression took over his face. "What?!"
If the rig collapsed, it wouldn't hurt him, but it would likely reveal that he was tougher than he should be. He needed to keep the attention off of him and the others.
Looking out towards the crowd, he could see Eren, Mikasa, Rex and Christa looking at him in worry, Deacon and Armin being in the process of being tested.
Shadis noticed the rig's shaking, and he was moving in an instant. "Kramer, what the hell's going on?!"
"I have no idea, Camandant." The instructor said, eyeing the shaking rig, his worry growing greater. "He was on it for a few seconds and then the thing started shaking!"
"Cadet Gallagher, how much do you weigh?" Shadis asked, never taking his eyes off the rig.
"I weigh in at damn near 700 pounds!" John answered, his eyes wide with concern as he realized what was about to happen.
Gasp and murmers rang through the crowd as onlookers watched the scene in horror, the violent shaking growing even worse as the sounds of straining metal and snapping wood began to grow more prominent.
Shadis eyes widened at the answer, as he too realized exactly what was about to happen. "Kramer, help me get him out of that thing, now!"
Both Kramer and Shadis were at John's sides, struggling with the straps at his waist as the tall teen eyed the rig in terror.
If they didn't get him out of that thing now, they weren't getting away from the collapse in time.
And with his weight pulling against the violently shaking cables, it would take a miracle for them to get him out of it without letting him down him down.
It was when a loud snap and cracking wood echoed that John made a decision.
His hands flew down to the straps, gripping the cables tightly and tearing them off his person, nearly sending Shadis and Kramer flying to the ground.
John grunted as his feet touched solid ground again, and he looked up just in time to see the rig coming down.
With wide eyes, John reacted quickly, leaping forward and tackling both Kramer and Shadis out of the way, the collapsing rig missing John's foot by an inch as the landed hard on the ground.
Silence rang out through the area, eyes wide as everyone looked at the now destroyed rig.
John grunted as he jumped to his feet, turning around and looking at the pile of rubble the rig had been reduced to.
"Jesus Christ…" Shadis remarked as he slowly climbed to his feet, his eternal grimace grin for once as he stared at the pile in shock.
"John, you alright?!" Christa asked, running up to him, Rex, Eren and Mikasa following.
The tall boy let out a sigh as he nodded, groaning as relief flooded through him. "Yeah, just a little spooked."
"How come we didn't he was 700 pounds?!" Kramer asked, looking over at Shadis. "They list their weight on the application for godsake!"
Shadis let out a sigh of frustration as he rubbed the back of his head in annoyance. "I'm guessing somebody wasn't paying attention. We rarely have to use the heavy set rigs."
"Are you saying that some mistake nearly got John hurt?!" Rex shouted, absolutely livid. He didn't care who he was talking to, and he didn't care if John would've been fine, this was ridiculous.
Mikasa was practically checking him over like a hawk. She followed Eren around like puppy, but John knew that she would go mama bird on him too if she felt she had too.
He just wasn't as reckless as Eren.
"Unfortunately that's the case." Shadis said in frustration. "Gallagher, take the day off, relax." He instructed, turning to the giant teen. "We'll have the specialized rig in tomorrow. You can take your test properly then, along with the retries."
John nodded, looking at the commandant with appreciation. "Thanks, commandant."
"Oh, and one more thing." Shadis spoke, turning to look at John once again before he walked off. "Thanks for the save."
John nodded. "Not a problem, Commandant."
"Are you sure your right?" Mikasa asked, still checking him over like a child, to John's annoyance.
"I'm fine, Mikasa." John said, brushing her hands away from his chest before she could unbutton his shirt.
Mikasa looked up at him for a moment, before sighing. "I know, I'm just-"
"Mikasa, I'm not going anywhere, alright?" John said with a chuckle. "You know me. I'm fine."
Mikasa nodded, conceding his point. "Alright."
John grinned, before turning to Rex. "You already take your test?"
Red nodded. "Yeah. Deek and Armin are coming down now." He said, turning his gaze towards their approaching friends.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?" Deacon asked as he and Armin both looked at the now destroyed rig in surprise.
"Turns out the rigs can't take anything over 500 pounds." John revealed. "Apparently someone glossed over that fact when they read my application.
Both the eyes of Deacon and Armin widened at the news.
"Are you alright?" Armin asked in concern.
John chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine, Armin."
"So this that girl you were sitting with, last night?" Rex asked, gesturing to Christa, who looked rather uncomfortable now that she was the center of attention.
"Yep. Meet Christa, everyone." John introduced, smiling at the little blonde girl who waved shyly.
"Hi, everyone." She said, more than a little unused to being the center of attention.
"Nice to meet you." Armin said, offering his hand to the girl with a smile. As always, it was either Armin or Deacon that introduced themselves first. "I'm Armin."
The girl smiled and nodded as she shook the boy's hand. "Nice to meet you."
It was Deacon who stepped up next. "I'm Deacon Ross." He introduced.
Christa nodded as she shook his hand. "I do remember you. You were the one that was smiling yesterday and was told to do 20 laps." She recalled, eliciting chuckles from the group.
"Yeah… I'm not really scared of authority figures." He admitted. "Probably cause I didn't have many in my life. Only two people I see as parents."
"I'm Rex Luke." Rex stepped forth next, offering his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
Christa tilted her head a little as she looked at him. "Um… why are you wearing sunglasses?" She asked, confused. "I saw them on you yesterday but the commandant didn't say anything."
Rex chuckled. "Probably cause it was easier to pick on my height." He guess. "I am only 5'3."
"So am I." Christa remarked, smiling. "We can be short together!"
"That's the spirit!" Rex joked. "But as for your question, I have hypersensitive eyes."
Christa's brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"
"Rex here can see in the dark." John clarified, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "Thing is, that particular ability don't turn off, so he has to wear sunglasses during the day so he doesn't go blind."
Not a complete lie. Rex and his parents had discovered a few days after they moved into their new home that Rex could in fact see in the dark. But he could control the ability, they just decided to say that it made for a good cover story.
Christa looked at Rex with sympathy. "That sounds awful."
Rex shrugged. "Eh, it's not too bad." He admitted. "Can't tell you how many times it's come in use when I'd sneak out of my room to go get some late night snacks."
"And I imagine you've already met Mikasa." John said, gesturing to the oriental, who waved.
Christa shook her head. "Not really. She didn't say much when we went to bed last night, the other girls just left her alone."
"I don't really socialize with strangers all that much." Mikasa admitted. "I… don't trust very easily."
Christa didn't miss the sympathetic looks the girl's friends threw in her direction.
So she shrugged. "That's fine. It's not necessarily like we're here to make friends in the first place."
"And I though I doubt you two have officially met, you've probably already heard of or seen Eren." John said, gesturing to the emerald eyed teen.
Eren gave a slight nod as he was introduced. "Nice to meet you." He said, offering his hand.
Christa nodded, shaking his hand. "You were the one who almost got into a fight with that Jean guy, right?"
Eren nodded. "He said it was stupid to join the scouts." He glowered, not at all happy at what had been said.
John shook his head. "Eren, let the fucker think what he wants, you don't need to be getting in trouble cause you can't ignore some bullshit."
"Especially since you want to join the scouts more than any of us." Deacon remarked with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah." Eren said with a roll of his eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. "I get it, quit making a racket."
John shook his head, but the conversation was interrupted when another name was called to a still standing aptitude rig.
"Christa Lenz!"
Christa's eyes widened as her name was called, and she couldn't help but gulp. "Uh on."
"Ah, you'll do fine." John said, raising an eyebrow as he smiled down at the girl. "If my big ass can do it, you'll have a cakewalk."
"Hell, it's not that hard." Armin remarked, smiling encouragly at the girl. "If I can do it, I don't see why anyone else can't."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Armin." Deacon replied, before smiling at the other blonde. "But he's right, it's simple. Instinct, really."
Christa nodded at their advice, and nervously, she moved towards the instructor that had had called her name.
The group of six watched the little blonde girl as she walked up to the rig, and got strapped in.
Her face screamed nervousness, and it definitely wasn't helped by the fact that she was in front of a crowd of people.
She gasped lightly, a small amount of fear shooting through her face as she was lifted off the ground, but she managed to stay upright.
She seemed surprised at her own success, and she couldn't help but to look at the group of people whom she had been talking to.
Mikasa and Eren both have nods of respect, while Armin gave her an encouraging smile. Deacon and Rex were both giving her thumbs up.
And John stood above all of them, a bright smile in his face as he gave her a thumbs up as well.
'Told you.' She could vaguely read his lips as he mouthed the words, but she was pretty sure that was what he said.
And she couldn't help but smile.
Maybe she could do it after all.
LOCATION: Wall Rose: 104th Cadet Corps
YEAR: 847
"I can't believe I did it!" Christa exclaimed, rather giddy and excited, proud of herself for succeeding the aptitude test.
John couldn't help the smile on his face. "I told you, it's not as hard as you thought."
Christa smiled at the large teen walking with her. "No it wasn't." She admitted
The others had opted to stay until Eren took his test, leaving John to go ahead and make his way towards the barracks.
Considering she hadn't really spent as much time with the others as she had John, she'd opted to accompany him, more than happy to spend time with her new, and so far only, friend.
"So, you're set to take your test tomorrow?" Christa asked, smiling up at the boy.
John nodded. "Yeah. They're setting up the specialized rig today, and it should be ready to use by tomorrow."
Christa nodded. "That's good. I was worried when that thing started shaking." She admitted.
John laughed. "How do you think I felt? I was strapped into the damn thing!"
"How did you get out of it, anyway?" Christa asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"The cables weren't built to take my weight. They were stronger than the rest of the rig, but the metal strap wasn't." John explained, looking down at her. "Took a gamble, and I ripped the straps right off my harness."
That wasn't completely true. While the metal was weakened, it was still more than strong enough to hold his weight. John wouldn't have been able to tear them off if he weren't so strong.
Still, Christa bought it. "We'll, at least it paid off." She said, smiling up at her friend. "You really had me worried."
John chuckled. "Ah, it will take more than that to bring me down." He remarked, glancing down at her. "Worst it would've done us out me out of commission for a few weeks."
Complete lie, but he still told it.
Christa's eyes widened at his words. "You can't be serious!"
John nodded. "Yeah!" He said, smiling down at her. "My body has pretty much learned to heal quicker than normal."
At least, that's the excuse for his healing. Which, so far, had yet to be tested again in the two years since Shinganshina's fall.
Christa looked at him, smiling slightly. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
John chuckled. "I guess so." He looked down at Christa. "So, where are you from, anyway?" He asked, surprising the blond girl. "I think Shadis skipped over you at the ceremony yesterday, and I never got around to asking."
"Oh." Christa said, somewhat surprised that he asked. "I'm from a little farm in Wall Sina."
John's eyes widened. He was not expecting that. "You're from Wall Sina and you're joining the Scouts?" He asked, surprised by her choice.
Christa nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, I want to help people."
John couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "Well, that's better than most of the others fucks I've met from Sina."
"We're not all rich entitled ding dongs." Christa remarked.
John laughed at Christa's choice of words. "Ding dongs? That's one way to say it."
Christa looked away bashfully. "Sorry if that sounds childish, but I don't like cussing all that much."
John shrugged. "That's fine. So long as you don't get onto me for having no filter, I could care less what comes out of your mouth."
Christa nodded. "Okay."
The two continues with their conversation, getting to know each other as they spoke, learning new things hear and there about the other.
"Wait, you did what?" Christa asked with a giggle as the two were approaching the barracks.
John nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah. I'm sitting there lifting the cabbage cart, Deek and Armin have the guy wrapped around their little fingers, and Eren's sitting there unhooking the cart from the post." He said, his hands making wild motions in an effort to somewhat display what had happened this particular day.
Christa brought a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles. "All because someone called him a little idiot?"
John nodded, laughing as he recalled the memory. "Oh yeah. So he gets the thing unhooked, right?"
"Yeah."
"I snatch him up by his collar and just back away while we watch the cart, still full of cabbages mind you, roll all the way down the hill." John was laughing hard as he retold the story. "And all we hear is the guy running down the hill, seeing what's happened, and shouting loud and clear 'MY CABBAGES!!!'"
Christa's giggles turned into full blown laughter as she held her stomach, laughing at the mental image conjured in her by John's story. "Oh my god."
John laughed right along with her, recalling the fond memory. "I'll tell you, the mischief we'd get up too was something else." He told her. "We caused a lot of trouble in Shinganshina."
"How much of it was your doing?" Christa asked curiously as she came down from her laughter.
John chuckled. "Not much, believe it or not. Usually, we were all roped into Deacon or Eren's screwups."
Christa nodded along, a soft smile on her face as she listened to John's words. "Sounds fun."
There was a sad undertone to her voice, but John was oblivious to it as he looked at his friend. "I can tell you all kinds of stories."
Christa nodded, smiling as she shook herself out of her melancholy. "I'd like that."
John raised an eyebrow, looking around for a moment, eyeing the door to the boys barracks, before looking back at Christa.
"You know… Shadis said to relax, take the day off… we could hang out till dinner?" He proposed, grinning a little. "I don't know about you, but I'm fine with hanging out till it's time to eat."
Christa's eyes visibly lit up as she looked at John. "Really? I don't want to bother you."
"You kidding?" John laughed. "Talking to you beats sitting on my ass for the next couple of hours."
Christa couldn't help the smile on her face, more than excited to spend time with her friend. "Alright!"
John chuckled. "How about we go hang out at the mess hall for a bit?" He offered. "It'll just be us there for a while, till about dinner time."
Christa nodded, more than eager. "Then let's go!"
As the two began their trek to the mess hall, neither were really aware of how close they would truly become over the next three years.
Rex popped his neck as he walked along the forest edge.
He decided to take some time to himself, since the odds of that happening more than once a week in the next three years were few and far between.
Eren had just been called when he'd made his decision, and though he knew that Eren would almost definitely make the cut, he wasn't interested in sticking around for the arrogant tirade that would follow.
Eren was his friend, but damn could he be irritating.
Sometimes, he wondered what Mikasa saw in him.
It was obvious to most of them that Mikasa loved Eren a lot more than just as a brother, but Eren, in his titan obsessed madness, seemed completely oblivious to it.
And though it was extremely clear that Eren loved Mikasa, sometimes, his jealousy towards Mikasa's gifted physicality could lead to some… words.
Which basically just meant that Eren could be needlessly cruel to Mikasa.
Many of them had chewed him a new ass for it in the past couple of years, and even little Lucy had given him the silent treatment at times.
Not even mentioning Sarah and the frying pan….
Rex was sometimes unsure of why he even dealt with Eren.
But then he would remember.
For all his flaws, Eren was loyal to a fault. He'd start a fight with someone triple his size if they were hurting his friends.
And though they had very different mentalities on the subject, Rex agreed with Eren about the walls. As did Deacon and John.
They were a cage.
And it was only a matter of time before the titans broke through again.
They had to fight back.
When John had declared that he was joining the scouts, it hadn't gone over well.
He didn't even lead into it, or try to soften the blow. They were all having dinner at Mrs. Yeager's, and he had just abruptly declared he was joining the scouts.
For obvious reasons, both Carla and Lucy were completely against it. Even after explaining his reasoning.
John knew what it was like, being trapped. Suppressed, forced to suffer at the hands of someone bigger than you.
Even after the price he'd been forced to pay, he had discovered that he liked helping people.
Seeing families staying together, in the wake of Wall Maria, in addition to the hopeful tones whenever someone spoke of them…
It made him feel like he had actually been useful.
For the longest time, John had insisted that he never really cared about others, only his close ones, and perhaps on some level, that was true. Maybe it still was.
But he definitely cared enough for people that he'd do anything he could to help them.
Something Rex was thankful for.
Even despite knowing who he really was, John had done his best to befriend him. Truly befriend him.
He'd wanted Rex to know what it felt like to have real friends, and he would forever be indebted to the man.
After his declaration, which Carla and Lucy had no choice but to accept in the end, Rex had done some thinking.
And he realized that John was right.
The feeling of helping people… it was nice.
And with their abilities, they could really help humanity against the titans… in a way that no one else could.
Rex had decided, against his own parents wishes, that he was joining John.
Unsurprisingly, Deacon had opted to join them as well, considering he'd had a passing interest in joining.
Though, before he had his powers, his reasoning was completely lost on the others.
Though… considering he had been an orphan… perhaps he'd joined for more… dangerous reasons.
The most shocking of them all had been Armin.
After the shitshow that was the "territory retrieval plan" Armin had decided that he wanted to join the scouts, and help fight the titans. It was probably decided after he found out about his grandfather's close encounter with an abnormal 15 meter.
Had it not been for Deacon, Silas would've been eaten by a titan that had leapt at him.
It was still lost on Rex as to why some of the refugees who'd been able to buy a home still had to participate.
Carla had been excluded since her ankle had never healed right, and his own parents…
Well, the government was still greedy, and they had a lot of sway.
"You know, you could've done a better job at sneaking away if you wanted to be alone."
Rex was shaken from his thoughts by the voice of a girl, whom he didn't recognize.
Snapping toward the perpetrator, he found a cadet, taller than him by about a foot, with freckles covering her face, and a rather uncaring gaze.
"Who said I was trying to sneak away?" Rex asked with a raised eyebrow.
He wasn't trying to sneak away…
He just wasn't telling anyone where he was going.
There was a difference.
But the girl didn't seem to buy it.
"Please, I know what it looks like when someone wants to be alone." She said with a roll of her eyes.
Rex narrowed his eyes. "If you knew I wanted to be alone, then why the hell did you follow me?"
The girl shrugged. "I was curious. Thought you might be wanting to do something interesting." The girl sighed as she continued speaking. "Instead, you were just walking around a forest."
Rex rolled his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint."
He turned around and began moving away from the girl, planning to get back to his alone time, when she spoke again.
"So, what's the Vastata heir doing joining the military?"
Rex froze.
"Excuse me?"
There was no way he heard that right.
"You heard me." The girl said, closing the distance between the two as Rex turned to look at her. "Those sunglasses might hide who you are to most people, but I'm good with faces. You're Rex Vastata."
Rex turned to face the girl fully. "How the hell do you know that?"
Rex was rarely ever out with his parents before the fall. Even rarer after the fact. For this seemingly random girl to know…
The girl shrugged, an uncaring look in her eyes. "Not important. What is important is what might happen if people found out."
Rex narrowed his eyes. "What, is this blackmail?" He asked, already disliking the girl.
Once again, the girl shrugged. It seemed to be the only thing she knew how to do. "Maybe… maybe not. I'm just curious…"
Rex raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you recognized me, saw fit to tail me when you knew I wanted to be alone, and told me exactly what you knew." The girl raised an eyebrow as Rex matched right up to her, not at all intimidated. "So excuse me if I'm more than a little suspicious."
The two stared at each other for a moment, the girl's face blank compared to Rex's own stern features.
Then the girl smirked. "You sure do have a lot of spunk for someone so small."
Rex couldn't help the grin that came onto his own face. "Well, you know what they say. Watch out for the little ones."
The two looked at each other for a moment, before Rex rolled his eyes. "Look, just make your point and then leave me alone."
"You're talking like I have a point to make." The girl spoke, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not here to make a point. I want to know why Rex Vastata decided to join the military, especially considering he seems to have a handicap."
Rex rolled his eyes. "That's it?" He asked in disbelief. "You could've just asked."
The girl shrugged. "I'm not too fond of you rich boys. You think any girl will spread their legs for a bit of cash, and you think everything in life can be bought. You're all a bunch of selfish, greedy assholes."
Rex snorted. "And you think that I want people walking up to me with those offers?"
His response seemed to surprise the girl. "Are you serious?"
"It's a little known fact that my family lived in Wall Maria until the fall two years ago." Rex informed, looking at the girl seriously. "We've experienced the titan threat first hand."
The girl seemed legitimately shocked at the news.
But Rex didn't stop. "You know I'm joining the military, but you didn't think to question which regiment I'm joining."
At that, the girl seemed to recover some, as she shrugged. "What, you're joining the MPs. It's obvious."
Rex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He glared at the girl. "I'm joining the scouts, because eventually, the titans will kill us all."
She seemed surprised at his words. "I'd have assumed you'd join to get away from the titans, not go near them." She remarked, looking at him in confusion.
Rex laughed. "Well, it's clear you don't know me at all." His laugh silenced itself as he was glaring at her once more. "I make it a point to get to know people before I judge them, and already, something tells me that you assume the worst in people."
The girl shrugged. "When you lived the life I have, you find it hard to trust people."
Rex rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, your joining the military police?"
"I look out for myself."
"Yeah, and you call me a greedy, selfish asshole." Rex retorted with a snort. "And yet, it's this rich, pompous asshole who's joining the scouts in order to help people, and yet you are planning on joining the military police, and fuck anyone else."
"What has anyone else done for me?" The girl questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Rex shook his head. "You know what, fuck it." He turned away from her. "Look, tell people if you want, but I don't know what you'd get out of it. Just leave me the hell alone."
"I'm not gonna tell anyone." The girl responded, surprising Rex, who turned to look at her. "I have no reason to. Like I said, I was just curious."
"And like I said, you could've just asked." Rex retorted simply, before turning on his heel and continuing his walk, hoping for some peace and quiet.
When Deacon, Mikasa, and Armin walked into the mess hall, John didn't assume anything had gone wrong.
Then Eren walked in with a bloody bandage around his head.
John's eyes widened as he saw his friends condition. His eyes looked haunted, and the bandage around his head looked to be pretty damp.
"Oh shit." John muttered as he watched his brother go sit down next to Mikasa, sitting across from Deacon and Armin.
"What is it?" Christa asked, turning to see what had caught John's gaze, only to gasp when she saw Eren. "Oh my god, is he alright?"
"I don't know." John responded, standing to his feet. "I'm gonna go find out what happened. I'll be back in a sec."
Christa nodded as John made his way over to his friends, intent on finding out what had happened when he and Christa left.
"Hey, guys." John spoke, catching the groups attention as he approached them.
"Hey, John." Armin greeted.
"What's up, man?" Deacon asked as Mikasa gave a wave of a greeting.
John nodded towards Eren. "That's what I was hoping to know." He responded, glancing to his usually hot headed brother, who still hadn't acknowledged his presence, his haunted facial expression concerning John.
"Eren failed his aptitude test." Deacon admitted bluntly. "He has a chance to retake it tomorrow."
John's eyes widened at what he'd been told. "Seriously?" He asked, surprised as he turned to Eren. "What happened?"
"I don't know!" Eren shouted, as if he'd been paying full attention. His tone had a surprising amount of anguish in it. Understandable, though, since the Scouts had been his dream for a long time. "I stay upright for a few seconds, and then I can't stay up anymore!"
"We took him out to practice some," Armin revealed as he glanced at John. "But… I didn't have him up high enough and he slammed his head into the ground."
"Jesus Christ are you alright, Eren?" John asked, concern in his voice as he looked at his brother. "Knocking your head that hard couldn't have been pleasant."
"It's a small wound." Eren explained, looking up at his brother. "My hair will probably hid it once I take these bandages off."
"Hey, Daz, isn't that the guy who was talking about killing all the titans?" A voice from another table suddenly caught their attention.
They turned and spotted another couple of cadets eyeing Eren, amused grins in their faces.
"Yeah, apparently he couldn't even stay upright during the aptitude test." The grey haired teen, Daz, remarked to the taller guy with a buzz cut, Franz.
"A lot of talk for someone looking at the fields." Franz remarked with a chuckle.
Eren looked away, shame and loathing welling up in him as he listened to their words. Mikasa tried to comfort him as Armin gave him a sympathetic smile. Deacon looked at his friend with sympathy as well, whereas John turned to glare at the two who made fun of his brother.
"You two want to speak up and repeat that?" He asked aggressively as he glared at the two.
When they spotted the angry look the 6'11 guy was giving them, they both lost their smiles as looks of fear replaced them.
"Oh, no man. We didn't mean anything by it." Franz said nervously, shaking his hands in an attempt to placate the air irate giant.
"Really?" John asked, an unnerving smile making its way onto his face as he approached the two. "And what did you mean?" He asked as he leaned down closer to the two, the table creaking as he rested his hands on it.
Both of them looked ready to flee right there, and many of the gazes in the mess hall were now on the angry giant.
"We we're just saying," Franz spoke, since Daz seemed to scared to say the wrong thing. "He was acting pretty arrogant about it."
John narrowed his eyes. "That's no reason to kick a guy while he's down." He said standing to his full height. "Make a remark about it, sure, that's fine, god knows he deserved it." John's gaze glanced at his brother at his words, who was completely oblivious to the conversation as he listened to something Mikasa was saying. "But you don't crush his hopes just because it feels good."
Both boys at least had the decency to look guilty as John glared down at them.
Having said his piece, John turned back to his friends, approaching them and leaving the two teens to their thoughts.
"Hey, my advice?" John spoke as he approached them. "Ask around." He said, looking at Eren with a smile. "There's bound to be someone who can give you some helpful tips."
"What about you?" Eren asked, hopeful. "You were able to stay upright until your rig collapsed."
John nodded. "Well, yeah…. But I think we all know why my advice probably wouldn't work."
It went unsaid that he was referring to his strength.
John's control of his muscle structure was completely unparalleled. He could control even the tiniest muscle.
"Yeah, you have a point." Eren admitted rather despondently.
John smiled. "Hey, if anyone has the will to see this through, it's you." He encouraged. "Just ask around, get some tips."
Eren smiled at John's encouragement. Regardless of how much they irritated each other, they always had each other's backs. "Thanks, Big John."
John chuckled. "Not a problem." He said with a small smile. "Now, I don't plan to ditch anybody, so if you need me, I'll be sitting with Christa." He said, jerking his thumb in the blond girl's direction, while she was patiently eating her food.
The group nodded, and with few other words, John moved to sit back with Christa.
When Christa noticed John coming back to his seat, she looked up at him. "Hey, did you find out what happened?"
"Yeah." John said as he took his seat. "Apparently he failed his aptitude test. The others were trying to help him practice, and he slammed his head to the ground."
"Will he be okay?" Christa asked, concern lacing her features.
John nodded. "Yeah, he'll be fine." He glanced in his brother's direction. "He said that it wasn't that bad. Apparently his hair will hide the wound once the bandages come off."
Christa nodded. "That's good. He seemed really eager to join the scouts."
John laughed. "That's an understatement."
"What about those two boys?" Christa asked curiously. "You looked ready to drag them across the table."
"They wanted to say that Eren was going to the fields knowing he could hear them." John said with annoyance in his tone. "Way to kick a guy while he's down."
"That's mean." Christa said with a furrowed brow. "I don't get why people feel the need to do that."
"Satisfaction?" John guessed with a shrug. "Or maybe just some cruel pleasure? Either way, it's a shitty thing to do."
"I agree." Christa said with a nod.
The two ate in silence for a moment, before Christa looked up at John.
"How long have you known them?" Christa asked curiously. "All of them, I mean."
John swallowed a piece of food he was chewing before looking at Christa. "Depends on who you're talking about." John admitted. "I've known Armin since I was a kid, Me and Eren met Mikasa when we were nine, and I met Rex and Deek and few months after I met Mikasa."
"What about Eren?" Christa asked, noticing he'd been left out.
"Me and Eren grew up together." John revealed, to her surprise. "Our parents knew each other, and we've known each other for as long as we can remember." John admitted, smiling fondly as memories welled up.
"That sounds nice." Christa said, a slightly sad look crossing her face once more as she said it, a smile on her face.
John nodded. "Yeah… anyway, how about you?"
Christa was a little surprised by his words. "What?"
John smiled. "We've talked a lot about me, but all I really know about you is that you grew up in Wall Sina."
Christa's eyes widened when the implication of what he meant hit her. "Oh, well, I-"
Whatever Christa was going to say was interrupted as the bell rang out, signaling the end of dinner.
Both looked surprised at the interruption, before John chuckled. "Huh. Saved by the bell." He joked.
Christa laughed, happy to have the attention off of her. "Yeah…"
John stood up with his tray, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Christa nodded, watching him go. "Yeah. See you tomorrow, John!" She waved, watching as he threw away his tray and left the mess hall.
She lingered in the hall for a few moments, admittedly a little nervous about John's question.
She did not want to dig up that wound.
John looked at the rig he would take his test on, a little impressed.
Unlike the basic rigs, the heavyweight one had metal legs instead of wood, and it stood about two feet taller, the legs about 5 inches thicker.
The cables on the rig were also much thicker than the ones of the the old rig, to account for the extra weight.
Unlike the basic rigs, these ones could hold an excess of 1000 pounds.
Though, if anyone weighed that much, chances are they wouldn't be fit to join the military. Hell, the only reason John weighed anything over 500 was because of dense biology. His muscles were much more dense than a normal person's.
"So, how will the ODM work when they're issued?" John asked as he stood up, watching the other instructors finish maintenance.
"Assuming you pass," Keith spoke, glancing at the the giant next to him. "You'll get a specialized set of gear. It'll be thicker and heavier, and it'll require three cans of gas instead of two."
"Jesus." John said with a whistle. "On the bright side, I have some spare gas." He chuckled.
"Alright, come on." The instructor ordered. "Let's get this over with.
Nodding, John moved to the center of the specialized rig, raising his arms so that the instructor for today, a short haired blonde man, could hook the cables to his harness.
As it was basically a repeat of the same process as the day before, John found himself hovering in the air in no time.
Like the first time, the balance came to him easily, the incomparable muscle control he held keeping him in the air.
Unlike the first time, this new rig held strong as promised, easily supporting John's weight without struggle. John balanced himself with ease, and he waited for the instructor's decision.
Unsurprisingly, Shadis passed him.
"Congratulations, Gallagher. You get to go out and kill titans. Just don't let it go to your head."
John nodded as he was lowered back to the ground, a wide grin on his face.
Finally, the real training could begin.