AN: This is my first story, so I would welcome constructive criticism to help improve my writing.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Classroom of the Elite or Attack on Titan!

M

The world is a cruel place.

But it's also very beautiful.

I'll fight every day for my new family.

I can't win unless I fight.

And winning means keeping my family together.

Making sure the world stays beautiful.

Three students walked along the path that lead away from the school building. They were dressed in the classic school uniforms, red blazers, white button downs, ties and slacks for the two guys, and a bowtie and a skirt for the girl, who was also wrapped in a worn, red scarf.

"I'm just saying, Eren, there's no way there isn't a catch to all this!" The blonde, shorter boy spoke up, waving his hands in distress. "It's too good to be true! 100,000 points a month! That's more money than we'd make if we worked 30 hours a week at the local restaurants! And we don't even have to do anything to earn i-"

"Armin, shut it." The blonde boy, Armin, was cut off by Eren, the brunette boy next to him. "This is ANHS, the best school in the country. Of course they'd be rich! Stop worrying." He put his arm around Armin's shoulder, drawing him closer, a little roughly, as they continued walking. "We've finally made it! The school we've wanted to get into for as long as we can remember!"

The blonde boy's panicked look slowly gave way for a small smile, remembering a younger version of himself and the boy next to him spending many days excitedly talking about getting into their current school.

"This school is the ticket to our future! After our three years here, we'll be able to go on to our real dreams! You can easily get an internship with JAXA* with the benefits of graduating from here, and I'll get a free ticket into NDA*!"

The boy was clearly passionate about their dreams, and his smile as he talked about their futures was so infectious Armin couldn't help but let his worries about their first day dissipate.

A cough from the girl to Eren's right ended his little speech, as he quickly corrected his last statement. "Sorry, Mikasa. I mean, WE'll get a free ticket into NDA." The black haired girl, Mikasa, nodded her head, satisfied with his quick fix, and adjusted her scarf, pulling it up over her chin further.

"Are you even allowed to wear that here?" Eren asked her, noticing the piece of clothing that was not part of their standard academy uniform.

She tugged the scarf even further up in response, and shrugged. "Nobody's said anything about it."

Eren huffed. "Well, when we train to be soldiers, and join the JSDF, do you really think they'll let you keep wearing it? Eventually, you'll have to take it off." A pensive look formed on Eren's face as he looked at her, and he swiped his hand through Mikasa's waist length black hair. "Ya know, once we do graduate and train to join the JSDF, you'll have to cut your hair too."

Mikasa blushed a little, turning away from the two boys as she shyly asked asked, "Do you think I would look better with short hair?"

Eren's eyebrows furrowed at the question. "What? That has nothing to do with it. I'm just saying that eventually, you'll have to cut your hair." Mikasa deflated a little at the response, while Armin seemed a little disappointed with his best friends's answer. "But I think you'll look as good as you do now, and more mature too," Eren seemed to throw in as an afterthought. Mikasa couldn't help but let a happy little smile grace her lips with that thought, and she vowed to cut her hair soon.

"Hey, what dorms are we in again?" He asked, as the dormitories where they were to live for the next three years came into view. There were three buildings, assumingly for the three different grade levels. The buildings resembled hotels, and looked to be close to twenty stories tall.

"I was told all the first years are in dormitory 2," Armin answered, while pointing at the building in the middle. "We just have to go to the desk, and they'll give us our room key, and hopefully more information on our rooms and the rules of living here. The last thing we'd want is to be kicked out of here for breaking some obscure rule we didn't know about because we didn't read all the rules of our new living arrangements."

"Chill, Armin, I'm sure this place wouldn't do that. Expulsion is a little extreme for a little rule breaking, don't ya think?" The trio had made it to the dorm, so Mikasa, with a little nod from Eren, went to the desk first to get her key.

"I hope we're at least on the same floor, Eren. It's already bad enough that we all got put into different classes."

Armin's words caused Eren to recall the start of their time here at ANHS. Of course, when they found out they'd all been accepted, they were overjoyed. Sure, it would've been ideal if they could've all been placed in the same class, but in the end, what mattered most was that they were all here at this school together.

Eren wasn't always the best student, often getting into fights and not spending enough time studying. But in the past year, when it came time to apply to this school, he put his nose to the books and studied hard for the entrance exam. He may not have been the greatest student in the past, but when he put his all into something, he'd get it done. So when the day of the entrance exam came, he went in prepared, and came out feeling confident that he did good enough to pass.

And sure enough, when they got their letters from the school, all of them were accepted. Eren had no doubt that Armin would be accepted, as he was always the smartest. Sometimes he would go on about things that were too smart and made no sense to Eren, but he would try and listen anyway because talking about things like that made Armin happy.

Mikasa was also a good student, so he wasn't worried about her either. She didn't even have to study as hard as he did. She was always near the top of their class, like Armin. Sure, she got into a few fights in school before too, but that was only because she was helping him out of the messes he made.

Eren was a little glad that he and Mikasa were in separate classes. She was a little bit overprotective of him. And by a little, he meant crazy overprotective. She's part of the reason why he's never had any other female friends. Anytime she would notice him talking to other girls, or if a girl was even approaching them, she would scare them off with an icy glare. Everyone at their old schools knew about Mikasa's crazy strength and fighting abilities too, so nobody messed with him while she was around. However, now that she wasn't in his class, he could finally prove that he didn't need her babying him all the time.

With that in mind, Eren gave his freind a small smile. "Eh, I think it could've been worse Armin. At least we're all in the same school! Class D, B, C, does it really matter all that much?"

Armin shrugged. "I guess not. We'll still be seeing each other everyday, living on the same campus, and we can spend time together on weekends. I guess it just would've been nice knowing some classmates in advance."

As they talked, Mikasa had gotten her key card and a little handbook about the rules of living here from the reception desk. She walked back to them, and Armin took her place to get his key next.

"What floor are you on?"

"11. My room is 1104." Mikasa showed him her key card anyway, a small blue card with her name and picture on it. "Eren. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to my room, or text or call me." They had all traded numbers when they got their new phones, so he could reach her when they were in class.

Eren sighed in annoyance, but just silently nodded his head. 'She's just being nice,' he told himself, 'She's not babying you.'

Mikasa then proceeded to take off her backpack, and reached into it to pull out a small brown bear. "Your mom gave me your old teddy bear, because she knew you would think you're too old for it. So here." She extended her arm with the bear in it for him.

This took Eren over the edge. "I'm not a damn child, Mikasa!" He took the bear out of her hands and chucked it into the nearest wastebin. "Stop babying me like I-"

"E-Eren! You can go get your, uh, room key now!" Armin returned with a panicked look on his face, seeing his friend's outbreak. His eyes were darting around behind Eren nervously. "You don't want to hold up the line!"

Eren turned to look around and noticed that more than a few other students had come and were waiting to get their key cards too. A couple were from his class. They were giving the boy wary looks. Eren huffed and proceeded to the desk, where the lady asked for his name and class.

"Jaeger, Eren, Class D" He stated, and with a few clicks of her computer, she seemed to find something. She then reached under the desk, and less than a minute later came up with a little blue card with his name and picture on it.

"Here's a handbook of the rules and regulations of living at this school," she said as she handed him the same white book he'd seen Mikasa come back with.

"Thank you," He quickly grabbed the card and book and made his way back to where his freinds were now standing, off to the side. "Let's go find our rooms."

"What room are you, Eren?" Armin asked. "I'm room 203."

"403. I guess we aren't on the same floor after all." They all stepped into one of the elevators, Eren pressing the floor 2 button. "Still, I think we should all check out each other's rooms first."

As the elevator made it's way up, they failed to notice one of the students who had come in to the dorms after them giving them all a curious glance. Three students, one from his own class, who knew each other before coming to this school? They were quite close, too, and that saddened him a little. If only it were that easy for him to make friends. Unfortunately, it wasn't like he could have come into this school with already made friends. For starters, he's never had any friends. And he definitely wouldn't like for anyone from his previous environment to be at this school.

He sighed to himself. No, it seemed like he'd have to struggle to make a few friends, especially after he butchered his introduction today. He recalled the boy from his class' introduction. Jaeger Eren. Wrestles, and wants to join the military. He didn't seem to get along with anyone in class, so he might be a good friend for a fellow loner like me.' He thought about the outcome of trying to befriend the boy. 'However, his strong opinions and seriousness conflict with my non-confrontational attitude.' His thoughts were interrupted by an intentionally loud scoff behind him.

"Your sad, lonely thoughts are so obvious it's hard to watch." The boy turned around to see a short, black haired girl with an icy expression.

"Horikita." He greeted the girl who had been by his side for most of the day, coincidence or no. "Is it really that obvious?"

The girl, Horikita, gave him a small look of disgust. "Considering your expression hasn't changed since the moment we first interacted, Ayanokouji, I don't think so. But I've come to realize how desperate for companions you are."

Ayanokouji stared back at the girl, unfazed by her jab. "Unlike you, I don't want to spend the next 3 years alone."

Horikita crossed her arms over her perfectly sized bust. "I don't see anything wrong with spending my valuable time to myself instead of interacting with others."

Ayanokouji nodded. She had said about as much at the convenience store where they had also run into each other. He could also tell by the way she left without introducing herself to the class she was the type who preferred solitude. However, he was not that type, and he was struggling to make any friends. Sudou, the only other person from his class he talked to today, seemed like his best option at this point, although the rough troublemaker was too volatile for his liking. Unfortunately, it seemed like his only options for friends right now were Sudou, and maybe Jaeger.

Horikita had begun walking towards the elevator, and he realized that he had again forgotten that conversations are two way. He sighed to himself and went to the desk to get his own key card.

401. He couldn't help but notice that he was right next door to Jaeger, who's card he had seen earlier. 'Maybe this will make it easier to befriend the guy.'

E

In my seat by the window, I couldn't help but wonder if Mikasa and Armin's classmates were as annoying as mine. We were here at a prestigious school, one that would hopefully lead to our greatest dreams, and those too buffoons Ike and Yamauchi were talking loudly and obnoxiously about our upcoming swimming class.

I could never stand perverts like them. They disgusted me. From what I could hear, these two were rotten guys, who were on their way to becoming filthy animals. People like them are the reason Mikasa is my adopted sister now...

I couldn't think like that. These guys were going to be my classmates for the next three years. If I thought of them like those other animals, I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from killing them.

However, I knew deep down they were just teenagers like me who didn't know self control. If it came down to it, I'd just rough 'em up and force them to be respectable people, or else. I don't think I could stand another three years with them if they stayed like this.

"-ger," Huh? "Jaeger!" Ike was calling out to me. from a seat over.

"What?" I replied, probably a little too harshly, considering their excited expressions changed to worried glances.

"Oh! We, uh, just wanted to know if you'd want to join our wager about the girls' chest sizes! heh he..." He answered nervously, as if he was worried I was gonna beat him up, which I was thinking about. But I settled for a warning for now.

"If you two seriously think I'm gonna join you in your pervertedness I'm gonna knock some damn sense into your heads!" I cracked my knuckles, and they started trembling. "In fact, I'm just gonna report you if I see anything suspicious. I hate people like you the most."

At this point, it seemed like they didn't know what to do, so they shared a quick glance and scurried off to the other back corner of the classroom. Good, I don't want those rats anywhere near me. However, I could tell that them, along with about half the other boys in the class were still discussing their repulsive wager.

"Goddamn pigs..." I muttered to myself.

I didn't understand how people like them could be in this school. When I joined the wrestling club here, the upperclassmen were all respectful, especially considering it was the wrestling club. Back in middle school, the wrestling guys were good, fun guys, but I wouldn't exactly call them respectful. However, the upperclassmen here were all decent, normal guys.

Looking around the class, it was filled with oddballs. There was Koenji, who was completely obnoxious. He was a big blonde guy, who seemed to be a womanizer type too, but not a blatant pervert like the other idiot guys in the class. He seemed to be self obsessed too, even now he was checking himself out in his pocket mirror.

There were a few loners in the class who stood out to me, like the two who sat behind me, and only seemed to talk to each other. I didn't know the girl's name, since she was one of the students who didn't stay and introduce herself the first day, but she didn't look very approachable. The guy, who did introduce himself, seemed to have no public speaking skills. I did remember his name though, Ayanokouji. He seemed to be the awkward type with no social skills.

Apart from them, there was Sudou, the big hothead who was the first to leave without participating in the introductions. Now, I know I can be hotheaded at times, but I feel like most of the time I'm a calm, serious guy. I even stayed and introduced myself to the class. I only got real angry when people would act all arrogant and rude to me, like Sudou did to Hirata, when people would bully Armin, or when perverts opened their filthy mouths. But for the most part, I'm just a regular guy.

Which is why being in this class feels strange. There's a lot more eccentric students and a lot less normal guys and girls then I'd normally have in my classes. However, with the school I'm at, it's probably to be expected. This isn't a normal high school. It's the best of the best.

My thoughts were interrupted when our teacher, Chabashira-sensei walked in. This was also where I felt like this place was strange. Normally, when a teacher walks in to begin class, all the students will sit up straight, put their phones away, and start paying attention or taking notes.

Looking around, I could see a few empty chairs, along with a few kids, like Sudou, sleeping. There were others blatantly having side conversations, while a lot of the girls remained on their phones.

Ever since the first couple days here, when the teachers didn't say anything about behavior like that, the students started to take that as an ok to do whatever they wanted. Being a future soldier, I chose to stay disciplined and do my best to pay attention to the lessons. It helped that I really had nothing better to do anyway, since I didn't really talk to anybody except Armin and Mikasa, and they would no doubt be paying attention to their lessons like the good students they are.

So as I sat up straight and listened to Chabashira-sensei start her lesson on Japanese history, I wondered why the most prestigious high school in the country let this childish, unprofessional behavior go unpunished.

...

When time for swimming class rolled around, I got changed into my school swimsuit in the locker room with the other guys. Changing like this was normal for me, being in the wrestling club, but it seemed like everyone didn't feel that way.

"Sudou, you're pretty bold. Aren't you nervous changing around other people?" Ayanokouji spoke up.

"When you do sports, you can't get flustered from things like this. If you are nervous and stand out, you're just more of a target for teasing."

That was a pretty accurate statement from the tall guy. I had to reevaluate Sudou. Maybe he just had a bad day on the first day. He was here having a normal conversation, and he seemed to be a serious athlete like me.

"Alright, I'm going on ahead." Sudou left the locker room after changing, and I followed shortly after, having finished changing too. As I walked into the pool area, I couldn't help but marvel at yet another display of wealth from the school. The fifty-meter pool was filled with clear, clean water, and looked like perfect conditions for swimming.

I walked to the side of the pool area, so I could avoid those boys from before. Armin and Mikasa would chew my ear off if I got into any fights, and I knew I would want to fight those guys if I was near them. So I waited for the instructor as the other guys came out from the locker room.

The girls followed shortly thereafter, and there was noticeably less girls than boys. There was probably 16-17 boys, but only 10 girls. It looked like the rest of them were up in the stands in their uniforms. They probably heard the loud conversations of the perverts earlier, and didn't want to wear swimsuits in front of them.

Good. Those perverts should be punished for the way they were talking, but at least this way those girls are away from their perverted stares. I even noticed Ike fall to his knees in disappointment after seeing the girls in the stands. Disgusting.

The instructor came in and had us gather in front of him. He was a middle-aged man, and looked like what I would picture if I heard the words gym teacher. He told us to go warm up in the pool by swimming a few laps.

Jumping in, I noticed the pool was the perfect temperature, not too hot or too cold. I swam a few laps at a comfortable pace, and got out when I was done. I couldn't help but listen to the conversations of the guys around me though.

Ike and Yamauchi were obnoxiously bragging about how good they were. I was skeptical about how good they really were, just based off of their builds, when the instructor said that we were all going to race.

He split us boys up into three groups of 5 or 6, and split the girls into two groups of 5. The girls were to go first.

"I'll give out a special reward to the first place winner - 5000 points! However, whoever comes in last has to take supplementary lessons!" The instructor gave us an incentive to try harder for this race, and although I didn't really care for swimming, I thought I had a chance of winning. I was pretty athletic from wrestling and practicing martial arts with Mikasa for our eventual military training. While I was nowhere near her level, I thought I was in good enough shape compared to most of these guys. They only guys who worried me were Sudou, Koenji, and Ayanokouji, based off their builds.

I'd have to wait and see though, since the girls were to go first. The boys from before were being obvious about their lecherous activities though, and I had to really control myself. Especially when Ike shouted, "Everyone! Remember the great fap material you see here today!"

All the other boys all cheered, and I was strongly considering going over to them and punching the perverted grins off their faces. There was only one thing in this world I hated more than perverts, and it was corrupt, perverted government officials. So I guess I did hate perverts the most. After what Mikasa, and then my mom went through, I swore I would do my best to take all of those animals in charge of our country out. And honing my skills in the military, while earning a higher position in the rankings to get closer to them all was the only way someone like me could do that.

Those thoughts were the only thing holding me back from taking these stupid boys out. They weren't my real targets, and taking them out now would only get me kicked out of this school and a lot further from my goal. So I took deep breaths, like all those anger management classes my parents forced me into taught me, and forced myself to relax.

"Alright! Group One, you're up!"

It seems like while I was lost in thought, the girls had finished their races. It looked like Onadera, who was in the swimming club, won first place. No surprise there.

I lined up alonside a few other boys, including Sudou and Ayanokouji, two guys I was worried about facing. However, I just focused on myself and waited for the whistle. When it blew, I shot off and used my athleticism gained from wrestling and personal training to try my best. I ignored everything and swam until my hand reached the wall.

Like I was taking off headphones, the world came back to me and I looked around to see who had finished already. Sudou was on the wall, along with a couple other guys. The question was, what were our final times? Did I win?

It seems like my efforts weren't all for naught, since I got 27 seconds. Even though I don't swim much, it seemed like a good time. However, Sudou had me beat by 2 seconds. My time was good enough to get me into the finals though.

I went back to the bleachers and waited for the other races to be finished. It seemed like I was mistaken about Ayanokouji being a threat, since he did a lot worse than I thought. I was right about Sudou, and I couldn't help but wonder about how Koenji would do.

Hirata won the second race, which wasn't surprising. He was also an athlete like me and Sudou. However, he was the pretty boy type, and was being cheered on by half the girls in our class. It annoyed the perverted boys, and I definitely didn't take any satisfaction in that.

Koenji, the narcissist that he was, thought the cheers were for him as he lined up for the third race. He was also the only guy wearing a speedo, I assumed to further show off his physique. He was more built than Sudou, and he proved it wasn't for show when he finished his race in 23 seconds.

I was impressed. There was no way I would beat him in this final race, but I might as well give it my all. I'm not one to back down from a challenge, no matter how daunting it is. You can say all you want about me, but I'll never be a damn coward.

So I stepped back to the pool edge for the final race. The instructor whistled, and again I tried my best to ignore everything and push myself as hard as I could. Now that I swam once I found it easier to find a rhythm and swim, and suddenly I my hand was hitting the wall.

My breathing was a little unsteady as I got started to climb out of the pool, aware that Koenji and Sudou were already out too.

"Wow! 22 seconds! I've never seen a better time!" The instructor was smiling in amazement. "Our winner is Koenji! Good job to the other boys, they all swam valiantly too!"

Oh well. Who needs 5,000 points anyway? We got 100,000 a month and I couldn't think of any way I would blow through that.

It made me wonder, though. Did Mikasa get an extra 5,000 points for this? It wasn't even a question to me if she would win her class' swimming competition, but maybe her class was as unpredictable as mine. Who knows?

M

The days were going by without much problem, but there was one annoying thing about going to class. Other than Eren not being here with me, of course.

That thing was Ryuuen Kakeru and his lackeys. He was like the bullies back in middle school, but this guy unfortunately had a brain. It's a good thing Armin is in such a nice class instead of this one, cause he would hate being with these types.

The year started out normally enough. I didn't feel like interacting with many of these kids, and I kept to myself. Nobody bothered me either. It was the kind of life I could deal with for three years, especially since i could see Eren and Armin everyday after class and at lunch.

One day after our classes ended, I was getting ready to head outside and meet up with Eren and Armin like we did every other day after class.

"Hey! Everybody. Let's all stay for a minute, okay? I got something to say." Ryuuen, if I remembered right, stood and made his way to the front. I didn't really care for what he had to say, and Eren and Armin might worry if I don't meet them at the expected time. So I ignored him and got up to go to the door.

"Ishizaki, Albert." Two kids got up from their seats to stand in front of the door, essentially blocking me from leaving. They were big kids, especially Albert, who was a huge African American student who I had come to learn didn't speak Japanese.

However, I didn't want to keep Eren and Armin waiting, especially not for something as dumb as this, so I pushed Albert and Ishizaki apart and away from the door, and left.

"Oh? How interesting. I think I'll see if I can tame you later." I could hear Ryuuen's last remark to me as I walked out. Tame me? Who does this guy think he is?

* JAXA is the Japanese Aeronautics Exploration Agency

* NDA is the National Defense Academy of Japan, it's the university for future JSDF leaders

*JSDF is the Japanese military, the Japan Self-Defense Forces

AN: Please leave reviews!