The next few weeks passed by in a flash. The training regimen was strict and brutal, and the instructor was unforgiving. Despite these hardships, and unlike the majority of recruits who had initially signed up, Rasmus and Ada persevered. After putting up with the daily torment for days and then weeks, it began to get easier. It wasn't as if Sadies had decided to go easy on them, for the training program only grew even more demanding. Instead, they were finally beginning to see the results of the intensive drilling.

First came ODM aptitude testing, which was followed by physical conditioning to ensure they were strong and agile enough to use the gear. In turn, this was followed by exercises where they would utilize the gear itself in order to further gauge how adept they were with it. Not only were they subjected to a gruelling schedule of physical exercise, but their brains were numbed with seemingly endless amounts of Titan theory, including known information about their biology and speculation as to their origins. Due to the relentless nature of their schedule, any time off duty was considered a divine gift.

One mild morning it seemed that the cadets' prayers had come to fruition, for they had been granted an afternoon off after the instructor was summoned to a cross-branch military conference.

Having finished the morning drills, Ada was on her way to the mess hall for lunch with Rasmus and Marco.

"I still can't get over how you were just floundering in the air," she hooted. "I was trying so hard not to laugh, and then the way Sadies said 'get your shit together, Kirkegaard!' I nearly killed myself laughing!"

Rasmus flushed in embarrassment, but still managed to snickered at Ada's imitation of their instructor. "Hey, my hook missed the tree, okay? I felt myself falling and I panicked."

"At least you managed to recover," Marco chipped in. "That was pretty smart of you to use a burst of fuel to slow your fall."

"Thanks, Marco," Rasmus replied. "See Ada? This what a supportive friend looks like. Marco cheers me on when I succeed and encourages me when I fail. Why can't you do that?"

Ada shrugged. "I don't know, why is the sky blue? Besides, you already have Marco for that. If I started telling you how awesome you are, you'd get way too big-headed. So really, you and your normal-sized noggin should be thanking me."

"Right, my normal-sized noggin and I will keep that in mind," Rasmus said, rolling his eyes.

In between them Marco chuckled softly, drawing their attention. "You two really enjoy teasing each other, don't you?"

"He just makes it so easy. Isn't that right, Rasmus?" she asked, glancing at her friend. He looked ready to respond, but something out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. Following his gaze, she spotted a couple of cadets getting chewed out by Sadies. She recognized them as Thomas Wagner and Mina Carolina.

"Is that Thomas and Mina?" Marco voiced her thoughts.

By that point Sadies had evidently finished, and the titan of a man stalked away in disgust from the bewildered cadets.

"Looks like it," Ada replied, wrinkling her nose. "I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, I've already smelled Sadies' breath one too many times."

Rasmus spoke up. "Hey, why don't you two go on ahead? I can catch up with you later."

Ada stared at her best friend. He couldn't seriously be planning on wasting his time off. "No way Rasmus, this is our afternoon off. You aren't seriously considering ditching me to help these two learn to use ODM gear, are you? We were going to mess around and get a group together to play some games, remember?"

"I'm sorry Ada," Rasmus smiled apologetically. "You know I really want to do that, but I can't just let Thomas and Mina get sent to the fields. Why don't you have enough fun for the both of us?"

"But," Ada protested, but Rasmus was already gone. "It's not fun without you," she finished under her breath. She sighed in resignation as she watched her friend approached Thomas and Mina.

"Jean is always running off too, so I know how you feel," Marco laughed nervously. "At least he has a good reason."

Ada shrugged as they continued walking to the mess hall.

"Are you okay? You seem pretty disappointed that Rasmus left."

Ada gritted her teeth. "Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? I don't care that Rasmus ran off. I can have fun with all of my friends who enjoy their afternoons off like normal people."

Marco glanced at her hesitantly. "Something tells me that's not true." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You know, I've learned that friends don't always do what we want them to, but that's okay. The best we can do is just appreciate them for who they are. At least, that's how I see it. Anyways, I'm here if you ever want to talk, okay?"

Before Ada had a chance to respond, a loud voice reached them. "Mastering ODM gear is so easy. You know, I bet could teach you some advanced techniques that would get you in the top 10, but then you'd owe me one."

Ada couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was as if fate had decided to make her day as miserable as possible.

"No one asked, Jean," Sasha replied. Her, Jean, and Connie walked past Eren, the boy who Jean seemed to be in constant conflict with. Alongside Eren was a small blonde boy who, according to Rasmus, was named Armin, and a black-haired girl with shoulder length hair and an exotic appearance.

"Yeah," Connie added, "And why are you bragging so loud anyways?"

Jean glanced towards Eren, Armin, and the girl, the latter appearing disinterested with his display. Eren, however, seemed unable to resist taking a jab at the pompous recruit.

"Put a muzzle on it, Horseface. All your nickering is giving me a headache."

Ada snickered at the insult. Now that Eren had mentioned it, she could definitely see the resemblance. "Now I know what to say the next time Jean calls me Shit-for-brains," she whispered to herself.

Eren's shot seemed to hit the mark as Jean's face reddened. "Shut up you Suicidal Bastard, you're just jealous of my natural talent."

"You wish." Eren scoffed. "There's nothing to be jealous of, you're just a scared little mama's boy who wants to join the Military Police. I bet you'd wet your pants if you ever saw a real Titan."

"Ha, and I'm sure your mom's thrilled that you're planning to throw your life away by joining the Scout Regiment."

This seemed to strike a nerve, as Eren straightened up and began stomping towards Jean. "Don't you dare talk about her! You don't know anything!"

Jean cracked a smile. "Who's the mama's boy now?"

"Guys, that's enough!" In a flash, Marco leapt forward and placed himself between both instigators.

"Yeah, knock it off you two," Connie added, "I'm not about to get punished by Sadies because you two can't stop taking shots at each other."

Eren shrugged. "Whatever, I don't really care. Come on Armin and Mikasa, let's go somewhere that Horseface hasn't stunk up with his presence." The dark-haired girl, Mikasa, quickly followed Eren, while Armin offered Marco an apologetic glance on Eren's behalf.

Jean, looking decidedly annoyed that his rival had gotten in the final word, turned his attention to Ada. "Hey Shit-for-brains, what are you looking at? And where's that boyfriend of yours, did he finally get sick of you?"

"He is not my boyfriend and for your information, he's off helping others practice their ODM skills rather than bragging about his own abilities like a knob head. Also, he doesn't demand to be repaid in favours for being a decent human being," Ada spat venomously. "But I guess you wouldn't understand what it means to be a decent person, would you Horseface?" She felt satisfaction as she watched him clench his fists in frustration.

"Okay," Marco interrupted, "let's all just take a deep breath and calm down for a second." When Jean and Ada resisted the urge to make another snarky comment, he continued. "What are you guys doing here anyways?"

"Well, we actually came here to ask if you wanted to join us for lunch," Connie said.

"Sure, that sounds great," Marco accepted. "Do you want to join us, Ada?"

Taking one look at Jean's sour face, Ada shook her head. "No, I'm going to have to pass. Maybe next time, guys."

"Yeah sure," Marco nodded, following the others towards the mess hall.

"Oh well, more food for me I guess." Sasha remarked as the group trotted away.

Connie gave her a look. "You know that's not how it works, right?"

"Aww come on, a girl can dream!" she exclaimed, before drifting out of earshot.

"This sucks," Ada grumbled to herself as she glanced down at her feet. "Dammit Rasmus, why can't you just pay attention to me sometimes?"

Her moping was interrupted by the sound of trudging sound of feet on the dirt behind her. Spinning around, she came face-to-face with Nack.

"Hey Ada," he said with a smile, before noticing the look on her face. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," she quickly assured him.

Milieus, whom she hadn't noticed standing behind Nack, stepped forward. "Are you sure?"

She sighed. "Yeah, except Rasmus decided he's going to spend the afternoon off prepping for next week's ODM training."

Milieus looked impressed. "Woah, that's really committed of him. I thought he was actually pretty good with it already though."

Ada shook her head. "It's not for him, he's helping Thomas and Mina prep since they were having trouble with it." She did her best to keep any distain out of her voice, knowing that her audience was quite fond of the pair. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she just disliked how their inability on the ODM gear had interfered with her plans.

"Oh, that's nice he's doing that," Nack commented.

"But you're disappointed because you were planning to spend the afternoon with him," Milieus added, picking up on what Nack was oblivious to. Ada affirmed this with a nod.

Nack frowned for a moment before raising a finger. "Why not help out too? Then you can still spend the afternoon with him."

"I'd just frustrate him. After all, I sort of have a habit for getting us sidetracked," she explained, offering her most innocent smile.

"Well, why don't we grab something to eat?" Milieus suggested. "My grandma always says that you think clearer on a full stomach."

Ada sighed. "Fine, let's go get something to eat."

"Dammit! We're so getting the boot!" Thomas cursed, kicking a stone across the ground in frustration.

Mina, who was usually full of energy and optimism, looked like someone who had just learned that their beloved childhood pet had died. "I guess we aren't meant to be soldiers," she said with a small smile. "At least we gave it our all, right?"

Thomas groaned. "This sucks! My mom's going to be so disappointed."

"Really?" Mina questioned. "I don't think my mom will disappointed. She'll just be happy to see me and proud that I tried my best."

"Hmm," Thomas murmured absentmindedly, wondering how best to break the news to his mother. He preferred to get the unpleasant encounter out of the way, but at the same time he didn't want his first words to her in months be 'Hey mom, I'm a failure.' It was then that he heard a voice call out, causing him to lift his head up and glance at its owner.

"Hey," Rasmus jogged up to them. "It looks like Sadies is going pretty tough on you two."

"Yeah," Mina agreed, "He told us if we don't improve our performance with the ODM gear by next week, then we'll be sent home."

"He actually called us pigs, and said he was going to send us back to our pigsties," Thomas sighed. "It's just so frustrating!"

"Maybe it's a good thing."

Thomas sent Mina an incredulous look. "We're getting kicked out of the Cadet Corps. How can that be a good thing?"

"Well, if we're not cut out to be soldiers, isn't it better to find out now rather than when we're face-to-face with a Titan?" Mina asked.

"Hold on, you both sound like you've already accepted getting cut from the Cadet Corps," Rasmus interjected. "Don't you at least want to do everything you can to stay?"

Thomas frowned. "You make it sound like we haven't been trying. Honestly, I swear I did everything I could! I worked on my physical strength, stayed after training for extra practice, you name it. It just never clicked for me."

"Well, you haven't quite tried everything."

"What do you mean?" Mina asked Rasmus, a flash of curiosity in her eyes.

"How about we have an intensive ODM training session this afternoon, just the three of us?" Rasmus suggested. "We can spend the entire afternoon if we have to. They probably won't let us borrow the gear itself, but we can run through tips, tricks, and techniques. I may not be the best at using it, but Sadies seems to think I have at least some potential."

"But this is our afternoon off," Mina protested.

"Yeah," Thomas agreed. "What if we spend the entire afternoon practicing our ODM skills but it doesn't change anything?"

Rasmus shrugged in indifference. "The way I see it, you either have one less afternoon off in exchange for staying in the Cadet Corps, or you still get kicked out and then have plenty of afternoons off. It seems like a win-win situation to me."

Thomas glanced at the pig-tailed cadet beside him. Rasmus' argument did make sense, and it looked like Mina thought so too.

"All right," he relented, "you have a deal. We'll train this afternoon and—"

"—Wait!" Mina interrupted, focusing on Rasmus. "What do you get out of this?"

"What do I get? That's simple," Rasmus said with a slight grin. "I get to make sure that you two end up sticking around."

"I already told you, the instructor was very clear. No one is allowed near the ODM gear while he's gone, and frankly I can understand why. With the way your peers screw around during drilling, it's a miracle that half of the supplies haven't had to be replaced by now." The munitions officer stood in front of the equipment storeroom with her arms crossed, her cocoa brown hair tied into a neat ponytail. "Now I suggest you run along and make the most of your afternoon off, I know from experience that they don't come around often. Not sure why you'd want to waste one of them on training anyways."

Thomas looked over at Mina and Rasmus, and then turned back to the officer. "Please, can't you find some way to help us? Mina and I are going to be kicked out of the Cadet Corps if we don't improve our ability on the ODM gear."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You've just given me another reason not to trust you with the gear."

"I volunteered to help them," Rasmus pleaded. "I promise we'll be very careful sir, I just want them to get a feel for the basics."

"You three really don't know when to quit, do you?" the soldier huffed. "Well, you three don't particularly look like troublemakers. And I suppose we need all the soldiers we can get now, especially after Wall Maria fell." She gritted her teeth, no doubt imagining Sadies' rage at finding out that she had entrusted a bunch of recruits with the expensive ODM gear. "Ah, to hell with it. You can borrow a rig. But, if it comes back with so much as a dent, I'm reporting you three for theft and getting ejected from the Cadet Corps will be the least of your worries. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the three cadets chimed, feeling both thrilled and shocked that their incessant grovelling had actually worked.

Armed with a full set of anti-Titan technology, the trio headed for the nearby forest used for ODM training. As soon as they entered a clearing, Mina planted her feet in a wide stance, placed her hands on her hips, and turned to Rasmus.

"Well, instructor, what do we do first?"

Rasmus managed an uncomfortable laugh. "What do you two find difficult about the ODM gear?"

"All of it," said a deadpan Thomas. Rasmus looked at him as if expecting a joke, but he was completely serious.

"I have the general idea of how to use it, but I'm still not sure how to start," Mina clarified.

Rasmus scrunched his mouth to one side, and stared off into the distance. "Okay, how about we break it into steps? Both of you did pretty well on the aptitude test, so balance shouldn't be a problem. Let's start by practicing with the hooks and hand gears, and once you're comfortable with that we can add gas into the mix. Does that sound okay?"

"You're the boss," Thomas said, gesturing at Rasmus. "Whatever you say, goes."

"Okay Mina, now do it just like we practiced, except put it all together!" Rasmus called up from the forest floor, his voice reaching the thick branch that Mina stood upon. She gave him a thumbs up, but still seemed unsure of herself. "I believe in you!" he added as an afterthought. She gave a small smile, before donning a fierce look of determination.

Step one: fire the anchors.

Mina pulled the triggers on her gear, sending the metal anchors whistling through the air until they buried themselves in an adjacent tree.

Step two: reel in the anchors.

Mina stepped off the branch and began swinging through the air on a trajectory towards the tree her anchors had sunk into.

Step three: utilize gas canisters for added mobility.

With a burst of steam, Mina changed direction mid-air and began to soar towards another tree with a circle carved into it.

Step four: cut the weak spot.

Mina drew two blades and cut through the circle, the iron bamboo swords carving a deep gash into the beech wood. Firing her anchors into a smaller tree, Mina descended through the air before releasing the hook while on the upturn, landing gracefully in front of Rasmus and Thomas.

"I did it!" she squealed, waving her sword-bearing hands in the air.

Rasmus applauded her performance from a safe distance, while Thomas quickly grabbed her hands and lowered the swords. "Be careful swinging those around. Besides, it's my turn now."

After ensuring that the swords were safely holstered, Thomas helped Mina remove the gear before strapping it onto himself.

"It's not actually that hard!" Mina encouraged him, still giddy from her triumphant maneuver. "You just have to take everything we already did and put it together."

"Yeah, I saw how you did it. Don't worry, I've got this." Once the equipment was securely attached, Thomas shot his hooks into the tree Mina had started on and began rappelling up just as she had. This way, there was an extra precaution against them accidentally marring the equipment, something they all wanted to avoid.

Once he reached the same branch Mina had launched off, he steadied himself and lined up the trajectory in his head. His target, a slightly shorter tree with a circle carved into its bark, lay just ahead and to his right. Identifying a nearby thick and gnarled tree that he could use to anchor, he fired his hooks into it and began his descent.

As he swung and began to reel in his hooks, one of the lines caught on a branch of the gnarled tree. Thrown off balance, he tried to recover, but both lines began wrapping around the tree.

"Thomas! Release your anchors!" Rasmus shouted to him.

He fumbled with controls but it was too late, as both lines looped around the tree. Drawn into a tight circle around the old beech tree, Thomas was left at the mercy of his equipment. He continued accelerating as he spun around the tree until he collided into it with a thud. Thankfully, the lines slowly unravelled and spun him back around, before unceremoniously dumping him onto the ground.

"Thomas!" Mina called out as she ran.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rasmus asked as he and Mina reached Thomas' side.

Thomas scratched his head before looking down at the equipment. "Yeah, I'm fine. We do have a problem though." He turned the equipment towards the pair, revealing a large scrape along the otherwise polished metal container that held the swords.

Mina's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock, and Rasmus was fairly certain he was sporting a similar expression.

"But we promised not to damage the equipment! What's the instructor going to do to us now?" Mina lowered her head. "And I thought he looked mad when we failed the maneuvering course. I can't even imagine how he'll look when he sees this."

Thomas got up to his feet and quickly gave the equipment a onceover. "The good thing is that nothing else was damaged. We just need an explanation for the scratch. Maybe it was like that when we got it? What do you think, Rasmus?" He looked over at Rasmus.

Rasmus chewed on his lip. That wasn't likely to work, since the officer had surely inspected the equipment in case of such a scenario. "Maybe we just explain what honestly happened, and point out how much progress you two have made."

"I have a better idea," a voice blurted, echoing throughout the forest.

"Ada?"

"Hey Rasmus! Thomas, Mina. You guys actually looked pretty good, except for that last part." As she hurried across the clearing to meet them, she continued. "So, you need to dupe the munitions officer into accepting your broken equipment so Sadies doesn't tear you to shreds, right?"

Mina nodded. "Yeah. You were saying you had an idea?"

"You don't happen to know how to buff it clean, do you?" Thomas asked.

Ada grinned. "Nope. But we don't have to fix it, just hide the damage so you can blame it on whoever uses it next."

Rasmus panted as he jogged along the path in the early morning light. He glanced to his left and glimpsed Ada, whose messy hair and sweaty face contrasted the cheerful look on her face.

"Why are you smiling? Don't tell me you're starting to enjoy running laps on an empty stomach."

Ada giggled. "It's not a hobby I would choose, but at least I have you to keep me company this time."

Rasmus rolled his eyes. "I bet this was your plan all along, to get us both caught so we would have to run laps together."

"It really wasn't," Ada protested with a laugh, "though I'm not too bummed with how it turned out. I guess you could call it a happy accident. And anyways, it's not like you had to claim responsibility for breaking the gear, not after I already did."

"Well, I was the one who borrowed the gear in the first place, so I felt it was only fair. I did decide to go along with your crazy plan, so that's also on me," Rasmus replied. "Seriously, distracting the officer and then switching out the gear while she wasn't looking?"

Ada held a hand to her chest in feigned offence. "Hey, it wasn't that crazy. It would've worked if I hadn't dropped a cannister."

Rasmus shook his head and resisted the urge to facepalm, recalling the loud clang and Ada's sheepish expression. The munitions officer had looked as if she were about to pop a blood vessel, and had revoked their evening meal privileges. Upon his return, Sadies had looked even more intimidating than usual. Despite this however, he only ordered that they run laps from sunrise until morning training, and informed them that their meal privileges would be reinstated in time for dinner.

Having expected a much worse punishment, Rasmus had been pleasantly surprised, and secretly wondered if Sadies' leniency was at all influenced by the fact that they had broken the rules to help their comrades. He didn't dare voice his suspicions however, as it would likely just lead to a more severe punishment.

"Well, I suppose things could have gone a lot worse," Rasmus pondered aloud. "It looks like Thomas and Mina will be staying, and at least we get to serve our punishment together."

Ada grinned. "That's the spirit! Say, if you're enjoying breaking the rules, want to help me pull a prank on Jean?"

"Definitely not."

"Aww man! Isn't there even a part of you that wants to get one over on Horseface?"

Rasmus chuckled. "Probably, but I don't listen to that part of me."

The pair continued to banter as they jogged off into the distance.

"Come on, Buster! Why do you always have to be the fun police?"

"Why do you call me that? When have I ever busted anything in my life?"

"Don't know, you just seem like a Buster to me."

"What does that even mean?"

AN: Hi all, I hope you enjoyed this little adventure into the world of the trainees. I plan to have a few more chapters on Rasmus and Ada's time in the Cadet Corps before we jump into the Battle of Trost arc, so that I can highlight their relationships with their fellow cadets and set the scene for when the real action starts.

On a less exciting note (for you readers anyway), I'm going back to university this week! As such I'll be busier than I have been, and won't have as much time to work on this story as I would like. As such, I've made the decision to put this story on hiatus for the near future (because education is important or whatever). I definitely plan to continue this story and will work on it in my spare time, but the earliest you can expect an update will probably be in the New Year.

As always I wish you happiness and health, and I hope to see you back here in 2022!