Year 850
2 Years After Enlistment

It's been five years since the fall of Wall Maria and you joined the cadet corps in order to join your three childhood friends in joining the Survey Corps. Its been a tough and grueling process as the 104th cadet corps trained even in the harshest conditions, and today was no exception. Right now, it was pouring rain and you cadets were running through a forest with tall trees and while running, you had to keep pace and keep ahead of Instructor Shadis rode his horse beside you all.

"You're too slow! Run, you laggards!" Shadis yelled as he was towards the back of the group and turned to see Armin struggling while carrying his fully geared pack on his back. "What's wrong, Arlert?" He slowed down and rode next to Armin. "You're falling behind!" He scolded him as Armin huffed tiredly while trying to keep up with everyone. "Is it too heavy for you? Will you be the one guy to remove his equipment? If this were a real fight, you'd be Titan food by now!" Shadis said as he rode back up to the main group.

"Damn it..." Armin breathed out tiredly.

"Give me that." Armin heard as his pack was suddenly taken off from his and he turned to see Reiner running next to him. "At this rate, we'll all fail out! We're being graded on this exercise." Reiner said to Armin.

"If you do that....you'll lose points, as well..." Armin spoke in huffs of cold wet air as he ran alongside Reiner.

"Just don't let them find out! And don't make me change my mind!" Reiner said as he kept running alongside Armin, while Shadis knew what was going on behind him, without even turning to look back.

"Reiner Braun. A strong soldier, physically and mentally. And trusted by his comrades." Shadis took note of the qualities that came along with Reiner.

"I will not slow everyone down, even if it kills me!" Armin said as he felt his second wind coming in and he ran to grab his pack from Reiner and began to bolt pass those who were in front of him, even if it was physically aching him.

"Armin Arlert. While lacking in physical strength, he's demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for his studies." Shadis made note of the skills Armin possessed, even though he physically lacked where others prospered.

After running through the forest and the rain finally clearing up, you cadets took off your packs and set up at the next training location where the next test was located, ODM combat training. Using a pully system, large titan dummies with flesh colored targets on the nape of the dummy were set in position for you all to try and take out. As the first one was set, three cadets rushed for their target, these were Bertolt, Annie, and Jean. Annie was the first to strike, cutting the required depth through the target as Bertolt followed up, doing the same as her. Jean followed as best as he could, but his cut however didn't cut as deep as Shadis watched those three next.

"Annie Leonhart. Her strike form is flawless, but she works poorly with others and tends to isolate herself." Shadis made note of her strengths as weaknesses as he moved on. "Bertolt Hoover. He has great potential, but lacks initiative. Then, Jean Kirchshtein. A master of 3D Maneuver Gear, but his brash personality causes friction with the team." He wrote down as he continued to follow the cadets with training as Jean looked frustrated.

"I can't strike as hard as those two, so I'll have to find the Titan first!" He said in frustration as he soared through and pass the tall trees and saw an upcoming target that was all alone. "I'll be the one who makes it into the Military Police." He said with a grin on his face as he closed in on it, but a voice shocked him.

"Thanks, Jean!" He heard as he turned to see Connie bouncing off the trees and right towards the Titan dummy. "I was right to follow you!" He boasted as he was about to cut the target, but someone came and slashed the dummy out of no where, shocking him. "Huh!?" He said in confusion.

"Yahoo!" Sasha yelled in excitement as she let herself fall towards the ground with her arms and legs spread out as the wires caught her and bounced her back into the air with a joyful face. "Woohoo!" She laughed with joy.

"Sasha Braus. She has unconventional, good instincts, but they make her unsuited to teamwork. And Connie Springer. He demonstrates superior physical agility, but lacks mental agility." Shadis took note of these two cadets as he noticed two more that he had his eye on and followed the cadets he wanted to observe next.

"Here they come." An officer who was standing on a platform in a tree said as another pulled on a rope and set up the dummies for the cadets who were coming, Mikasa and Eren.

Blowing through like the wind, Mikasa easily sliced the dummies target points with precision and perfection while Eren followed suit. Though he could keep up with her, his cuts were a lot more shallow than Mikasa's.

"Damn. Mikasa's beat me again in strike depth!" Eren cursed in his head as Shadis watched these two closely.

"Mikasa Ackerman. A master of all subjects, and widely considered one of the best in our history. Then, Eren Jaeger. He has no outstanding talents, but he's worked harder than anyone to improve his marks. And he is more motivated to attain his goal than anyone. " He wrote down in his report before hearing the soldiers setting up the dummies yell out.

"H-Hey! Slow down!" Shadis heard as he turned to see the two dummies suddenly have their targets sliced through cleanly and a trail of gas get left behind.

"That can only be one cadet..." Shadis thought as he pursued the speeding cadet and saw it was you.

"Faster...!" You thought to yourself as you pulled your triggers hard and flew pass Mikasa and Eren who were shocked to see how fast you were going.

Flying at rapid speeds, you noticed a titan dummy hiding behind a tree in the corner of your eye as you released your anchors and spun around before firing them into a branch high above the dummy. You reeled yourself in and planted yourself like a spider upside down on the branch as you readied your blades and pushed off the branch, flying straight down and cutting right through the nape as you used the gas of your ODM gear and spun backwards before firing your wires off into a tree to continue ahead.

"Y/N L/N. Considered among the rest of the cadets as their best, even better than Ackerman, he continues to astonish his comrades. However, though his skills are marvelous and some could say that the speed he moves at closely matches that of Captain Levi, he tends to become arrogant and irrational with his decisions, putting himself in disadvantageous situations." He took note as Shadis watched you all continue through the trees and honing your Titan killing capabilities.

After finishing up and heading back to the camp to put away your equipment, the last thing you all had to go through were some sparring scenario's and training to defend against someone with a knife. As you were the best in class among the 104th, you would instead walk around giving tips and advice to those who were struggling with the training. You were finishing up giving some basic advice to Sasha and Connie who you found were goofing off, and turned around to see quite the spectacle, Eren taking down Reiner who was armed with the training knife. You were impressed and headed over as you heard the two and their conversation.

"Ouch..." Reiner groaned as he laid on the ground.

"Sorry, I'm not good at holding back..." Eren said as he extended his hand out to help Reiner as he lifted him off the ground.

"Nice moves, Eren." You said as you caught their attention.

"Oh, Y/N, you saw that?" He asked as you nodded and glanced over at Reiner.

"Alright, hand Eren the knife. He'll be the bandit against you, Reiner." You said as he nodded and handed over the wooden blade, but was confused when Eren didn't take it.

"What's wrong?" Reiner asked in confusion as Eren hesitantly took it.

"What's the point of this training? Why are soldiers training to fight people like this? Only an idiot would fight an unarmed opponent." Eren said as you chimed your thoughts in.

"I mean, there's people who're definitely that stupid to attack an unarmed person. Robbers and thieves, this is training for those who wanna be in the Garrison or the Military Police. It can't be helped." You said as Reiner chimed in as well.

"Where's your sense of responsibility? We may be called on to fight at a severe disadvantage, and retreat will not be an option. We must be ready to handle any opponent, whether that means using a cannon or martial arts. That is our responsibility as soldiers." Reiner said as he turned his head and noticed something as he grew a somewhat interested look. "Forget all that...Look." He said as you and Eren turned to see Annie walking around and doing nothing.

"Oh, Annie? As usual, she's good at slacking off without getting found out by the instructor." Eren commented on her skill at getting away with things as Reiner grew a smirk on his face.

"Okay, Eren...I think that slacker needs a lesson. Let us show her what a soldier should strive to be." He said as you raised your brow and Eren was just as confused as you as the two of you watched Reiner walk into Annie's path and stop her. "You don't want the instructor to headbutt you again, do you? If you don't want to get any shorter, remember what happened when you came here, and take this seriously." He said to her as Eren walked over.

"Hey, isn't that a little harsh?" Eren tried to diffuse the situation, but when you looked over at Annie, she had this face that could scare a Titan to death if she was put in front of one, that's how pissed she was.

"Holy hell...What'd we just do?" You thought as you stretched the collar of your shirt out and took a deep breath as Reiner planted his hands firmly on Eren's shoulders.

"Let's get going, Eren." Reiner said as he began to push Eren to be the first one to take her on.

"M-Me?" Eren asked in confusion.

Now, you and Reiner were stood to the side as Annie and Eren were facing off against one another. Eren held the wooden knife firmly as Annie took on a stance that you found fairly peculiar and interesting, almost as if she was no stranger to close combat. Eren was a bit skittish, but held his ground and readied himself to go on the attack.

"Annie, you know how to do this, right? Here I go!" Eren yelled as he dashed towards her with the knife.

Just then, without batting an eyelid, Annie raised her left arm in a protective manner while she sent her back right leg forward and kicked Eren right in the shin. Eren clenched his teeth in pain and fell forward as you flinched and rubbed your shin, almost like you could feel what he just felt.

"What? Did she kick my leg?" Eren was confused and tried to stand, but tumbled back down and held his leg in pain.

"Can I go?" Annie asked nonchalantly as everyone who was nearby was now staring at what was going on.

"No, this drill doesn't end until you grab the dagger." Reiner denied her request as she sighed in annoyance.

"H-Hey, at least let's reset, huh?" You tried as Eren looked completely nervous now when she turned in his direction.

"Wait, Annie! You're supposed to do this a certain way!" He yelled, but Annie paid no mind.

You were jaw dropped by what happened as she swiftly moved to his side and used her left arm to reach around his face swung her left leg from behind him to sweet and toss him over himself. Eren grunted as he landed on his back with his legs over his head as Annie walked away with the dagger and handed it off to Reiner, who was now visibly shaken by what had just happened to Eren.

"Here." Annie said as she tossed him the dagger. "Now it's your turn to attack me." She said while moving some of her hair away from her face.

"No, I..." Reiner could barely speak as all his bravado left him, but Eren suddenly chimed in from the ground.

"Go on, Reiner..." Eren said as Reiner looked at him nervously. "Weren't you going to teach a soldier's responsibilities?" He said as you looked to the side to silently laugh in your hand as karma came back and bit Reiner in the ass as he turned back and accepted his fate bitterly.

"Yeah. Sometimes, a soldier can't retreat. Like now!" Reiner yelled as he tried to surprise attack her, but in a second, wound up in the same position Eren was in as you laughed hysterically on the side.

"That was amazing. Where did you learn that?" Eren said as Annie stopped and fixed her hair to the side.

"My father." She replied plainly.

"Your dad taught you that?" Eren asked in wonder.

"It doesn't matter." She said as Eren was surprised by her blunt response. "There isn't any point in doing this." She said in a demeaning tone.

"You mean this exercise?" Eren asked her as Annie looked out to the cadets.

"Martial art won't improve your score. You should just go through the motions, like them. The only ones to join the Military Police and go deep within the walls are those who rank in the final top ten. The only ones who take this seriously are either people like you, who do whatever they're told, or real idiots." Annie said as you noticed off in the distance, Sasha and Connie were slacking off doing weird poses again as you face palmed yourself and your own advice as the instructor showed up nearby and grabbed Connie by the head.

"Crap, the instructor..." Eren said in worry before Annie suddenly shoved the wooden dagger towards him as he barely stopped it.

"H-Hey, Annie! What're you doing?" You asked in shock of her surprise attack.

"For whatever reason, the better equipped you are to fight Titans, the farther you're assigned from them. Where do you think this farce starts?" She asked as Eren began to fight back.

"I don't know!" Eren yelled as he twisted his and her body to the side and pushed down her hands with the knife, but Annie swept his feet and sent him to the ground before pointing the knife to his throat as he tried desperately to keep it away.

"Isn't it because that is how humans really are?" She asked as you and Eren were shocked by the cold look she had in her eyes before she suddenly stood up off Eren and took the knife. "Anyway, I'm not stupid enough to enjoy playing soldiers in this shitty world." She said before throwing you the dagger and walking off as you, Eren, and Reiner watched her leave.

"You aren't cut out to be a soldier at all." Reiner got one last thing in before she left as you scratched your head at what she just said.

"Agh, how'd things end up like this? You guys keep going, I'm gonna go smack some sense into Sasha and Connie." You said as you walked off, but couldn't help but think about what she said. "Still...She has a point. Why the hell are better fighters sent away from the threat of the Titans? Are they just really that scared of them that they'll train their hearts out to work their way to the higher ranks in the inner walls?" You thought as you finished the day of training in deep thought and unease.

Later That Night, Supper

As everyone finished their training and gathered for supper, Annie was sat alone at a table picking at the food on her tray. As she poked at the chunky bits in her stew though, another tray was placed across from her and she raised her head to see you stood in front of her.

"You don't mind, do you?" You asked kindly as she just raised both her brows as if she didn't care. "I'll, uh, take that as an okay." You said as you sat on the bench and placed your cup down next to your tray as you took your piece of bread and took a bite from it. "You know, I gotta say, you're pretty impressive in close combat." You said as she didn't look at you.

"Thanks." She replied in an uninterested tone.

"So, uh...we're gonna be graduating soon. What are your plans after training?" You asked as you tried to make small talk.

"Nothing that'd interest you." She gave a straight answer once again.

"Ah, I-I see." You said as an awkward silence feel between the two of you.

There was an awkward atmosphere that you could feel between you and Annie as you sat there staring at your food. You poked and tapped your food with your spoon as she finished up her food and rested her head on her hand that was propped up by her elbow on the table. You were mentally face palming at yourself for making such an awkward space for both you and Annie, but while you cringing at your own failure of small talk, Annie surprisingly spoke up.

"Why did you join the military?" She asked as you were surprised when you heard her. "I remember what you said the first day of training. Were you serious back then?" She asked as you held a seldom look on your face.

"Yeah. Back then, I was just some dumb nosed brat who was hopped up on anger and revenge. But after being surrounded by everyone here, I guess you could say its given me something to be happy about again after such a long time. I feel like I've gained so much in my life after spending so much time with everyone." You said as Annie turned her eyes to look at you.

"So what's your plan now? You going to join the Military police or the Garrison?" She asked as you shook your head.

"No, I'm still joining the Survey Corps." You said as she was surprised and her eyes-opened a bit wider. "I know it might be crazy to you. With all my talent, why am I not using it to climb the ranks and get in deeper within the walls? I kind of think I'm a fool as well." You laughed as you looked over to your hand which had the rings your mother gave you. "But I have to...I need to find the rest of my family and bring them home, that's what I promised to my mother. And also...I need to know why..." You said as you closed your hand into a fist. "Why did the Titans invade us...Why are they here...Why must they destroy and devour us...?" You said in a frustrated voice as Annie looked away nervously and furrowed her brow.

Suddenly however, in the middle of your conversation, there was a ruckus that broke out as you and Annie looked over to the back of the canteen and saw Eren and Jean at in each other's faces.

"You piece of shit!" You heard Eren yell as he jumped from his seat towards Jean.

"Shut up! This is reality." Jean yelled back as Eren grabbed him by the shirt.

"Stop." Mikasa said as she stood up from her seat and took Eren's hand away.

There was a moment of silence as Mikasa stared intensely at Eren while holding down his hand. As Eren turned away from her, trying to avoid that staring feeling she was giving off, Jean grabbed him by the shirt enraged and yelled out.

"Screw you!" Jean yelled in jealousy.

"Let go! My clothes will rip!" Eren yelled in fury.

"Who cares about your clothes!? I'm envious!" Jean spat in his rage.

"What are you talking about?" Eren asked in confusion before feeling the pressure of the situation he was in.

As he looked behind Jean to the eyes of all the other cadets, including you and Annie, he knew that there was something he resonated with.

"That's right, he...He is who I used to be." Eren thought as he stared at Jean's face and remembered the argument he had with Hannes the day his mother died. "A ranting idiot with no control. But I'm different now." Eren clenched his teeth before using his left hand to grab Jean's wrist. "I'll use what I've learned to handle the situation." He thought while moving his right hand towards Jean's neck, and as for what you saw, surprised both you and Annie.

In a swift motion, you watched as Eren brought his right leg forward and use to to sweep Jean's feet from under him while he used his hands to thrown him towards the ground as Jean fell with a loud thud. Everyone was in awe of how easily Eren took Jean down, as he turned towards the downed cadet to look down on him.

"Ouch..." Jean held the back of his head as he sat up. "What the hell was that?" Jean asked in frustration.

"The martial arts I went through a world of hurt to learn while you were screwing around." Eren said as you jaw-dropped by the smoothness of his moves, and Annie was stunned as well by the spectacle. "You think taking the easy way out, doing as you please, is reality? And you can call yourself a soldier?" He asked as the whole room was silent from the violent pressure that filled the canteen.

As everyone was silent, waiting to see what Jean would do, the front door of the canteen slowly creaked open as everyone turned and grew even more scared when they saw Shadis peeking halfway in from outside.

"I heard quite a commotion. Would someone like to explain?" Shadis asked in a scary tone while walking in as Jean and Eren both quickly sat down and everyone remained silent for a moment while you drank water nervously before Mikasa shot her hand up.

"That sound was Sasha's fart." Mikasa said out of the blue.

"Pfft...!" You spat your water out to the side from the hilarity of her statement.

"Huh!?" Sasha gasped in shock and confusion as the whole room was quivering, trying not to laugh out loud.

"You again?" Shadis said in disgust while putting his hand up to try and stop himself from breathing in the non-fart filled air as Sasha was even more hurt that he easily believed it. "Learn to control yourself." Was all he had said before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Everyone in the canteen suddenly burst out in laughter as Annie stared at everyone strangely while you were laughing hysterically along with everyone.

After that incident, the night came and left as you all continued this cycle of training to reach your current goals of graduation. It was long and painful, but finally, the end was nearing as two hundred and eighteen of you cadets were finally formed into fine looking soldiers. With your training complete, there was only one more night left, the night of the graduation ceremony. You were all brought away from the camp and brought back over to the town that you had all departed from. You were gathered at the military base as officers and other instructors stood in front of you while you were all lined up.

"Dedicate your hearts!" An officer yelled as you all yelled in cadence and held your salutes. "Today, you trainee graduates will be given three choices. You can join the Garrison, protecting towns and reinforcing the walls. Or the Survey Corps, who risk their lives beyond the walls, in Titan territory. Or the Military Police, who serve the King, lead the people, and protect internal order. Of course, only the top ten students, whose names were just announced can join the Military Police." The officer said as he stared down at the top ten cadet graduates of the 104th cadet corps.

Lined up in order, you stood at the very top spot as the number one cadet in the 104th cadet corps. Going down the order, the spot next to you for number two was filled by Mikasa, which you weren't surprised about either. After her was Reiner at number three, Bertolt at number four, and Annie in fifth place. Going to the rest of the top ten, you had Eren who was ranked Sixth. Following him was Jean at seventh, Marco in the eighth spot, Connie as nine, and Sasha as the tenth strongest cadet. You stood there with pride as you held your salute tightly and felt accomplished at what you had achieved.

"I've made it this far. I won't stop here either..." You thought as you clenched your fist that was over your heart a bit tighter. "...Sarah...father...I'm coming." You thought as you felt your resolve was the strongest it could ever have been. "It's our turn to go on the attack!" You thought as a fire burned bright in your eyes and you were finally ready to venture out the walls.

After the ceremony had finished, you were all allowed to change into civilian clothing and have one final celebration together with good food and drinks. You were with Sasha and Connie as the three of you cheered you non-alcoholic beverages together in happiness.

"I did it! I'm joining the Military Police!" Connie yelled in joy.

"We won't go hungry anymore!" Sasha cheered as she also planned to join the plice.

"I'm really impressed. You two in the top ten, there were a lot of doubters, but I knew you'd be great. I'm happy for you two." You supported them both as they gave you a cheesy smile, but Connie grew a somewhat worried look.

"But, are you sure about your choice, Y/N? You were the strongest out of all of us. You don't wanna join the Military Police?" He asked as you shook your head and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure. Thanks, Connie." You said as he held your shoulder as well.

"Take care out there. Try and visit whenever your within the walls." He said as Sasha nodded in agreement and the three of you took a swig of your drinks. "Ahhh. That's nice. Alright, I'll see you two later." You said as you waved bye to them and walked around before seeing a group gather around Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. "What's going on?" You thought while taking another swig from your drink and walked over to them.

"You seriously aren't joining the Military Police, Eren?" You heard Thomas ask in shock.

"You did all that work to make the top ten." Another cadet mentioned Eren's hard work.

"I'd already decided when I began. I wasn't training to live in the interior. I was training to fight Titans." Eren said as you were about to chime in, but Thomas beat you to it.

"You'll never beat them!" He yelled out suddenly as those who heard fell silent and turned to see what was going on as Thomas nervously looked around knowing he made a scene, but continued. "You do know how many tens of thousands have been eaten? We lost over twenty percent of our population, so we know for sure. Humans cannont defeat Titans." Thomas said as a dark feeling of despair filled the room and everyone was silent.

"So?" Eren broke the silence as everyone looked towards him. "If you think we can't win, you'll just give up?" He asked Thomas.

"Well..." Was all he could mutter lowly as Eren continued.

"It's true that humanity has only suffered defeat until now. But we didn't know anything about the Titans then. Fighting them head on is pointless. We did lose, but the information we gained gives us hope for next time! Will we abandon the tactics that cost tens of thousands of lives to develop, and let the Titans eat us without a fight? Hell, no! I am going to exterminate all of the Titans, and escape these cramped walls! That is my dream...Humanity isn't finished yet!" Eren declared as you noticed the tears that were slowly creeping out from behind his eyes, showing how much this meant to him as he took one last look at everyone before bolting from the venue and heading outside.

Wait, Eren!" Armin yelled as he and Mikasa gave chase.

"Don't worry about it, Thomas." You placed your hand on his shoulder as he turned to you. "He wasn't trying to be mean. He's just passionate." You said while handing over your drink and walking off after them as they watched the four of you all leave, but you stopped and turned back to everyone. "You're all free to think what you want and join whatever branch you want. Just don't try to discourage someone for their choices." You said before walking out and closing the door behind you.

As you walked out, you saw your three childhood friends sat on the steps outside and sighed as you walked over and joined them, sitting next to Armin.

"Haaa...Well, that left a bitter sweet taste in my mouth, but whatever..." You said as you enjoyed the fresh cold air outside.

"Eren, when you were talking about your dream..." Armin started as Eren knew what he wanted to ask.

"Yeah, I got that from you. To live outside the walls, not inside." Eren said as Armin faced forward, seeming to gather himself before he spoke out.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps." Armin said as you and Eren were both stunned by this.

"H-Hey, Armin...What are you saying?" You asked in shock.

"Are you serious, Armin? You got the best written test score, so you should use that!" Eren tried to reason with Armin to join another branch.

"I won't hold you back, even if it kills me." Armin responded as Mikasa spoke up.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps, too." She said as Eren was surprised at this.

"Hey, you were ranked number two! Join the Military Police!" Eren told her.

"If you join the Military Police, then I'll do that. If you join the Garrison, I'll join, too. You'll send yourself to an early grave without me." Mikasa said in a blunt tone to him as he turned away and scratched his head.

"No one asked you to do this..." Eren said as she spoke up again.

"I don't want to lose any more family." She said as Eren was taken aback from her as he remained silent and looked towards the night sky and saw a shooting star fly by.

"Looks like we're all stuck with each other, then." You said as the three of them turned to you while you smiled at the night sky. "Not that I'd want anyone else to be stuck with." You said as you suddenly stood up and stretched your body. "Ahhhh~! Now I'm hungry. Let's go eat." You said as they all nodded and stood as you all went to head back inside for food.

"U-Um, Y/N..." You heard behind you as you stopped and turned around to face Mikasa while Armin and Eren went back inside.

"What?" You asked her as you noticed a different expression on her face, and it was one of nervousness.

"I-I'm not to sure how to say this. I've been thinking about this for a long time and I wanted to do it before graduation, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it..." She started as you raised your brow while walking closer to her as she shuffled around in place.

"What is it, Mikasa?" You asked as she took a breath before meeting you eye to eye.

"Y/N...I...I..." She struggled before finally being able to get her words out. "I love you..." She said as you were surprised by this while the cold wind blew by.

Silence befell between the two of you as the two of you both had blushes spread across your faces. You were definitely flustered beyond belief and averted eye contact first as she waited for your reply. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt that her heart would just jump out of her chest. After a few more moments of silence however, you finally spoke.

"M-Mikasa...I'm beyond flattered that you see me that way...but..." At that moment she heard you say that word, her heart nearly stopped as you continued. "...I-I can't convey the same feelings to you...I'm sorry..." You apologized as she seemed to calm down and lowered her head.

"I see..." Was all she muttered, but as she was lamenting her own feelings, she felt you suddenly wrap your arms around her as she was surprised. "Huh?" She gasped.

"Don't feel despaired or depressed though. I love you, Mikasa. I really do." You said before pulling away so she could look you in the eye. "But the love I have for you is like a brother would for a sister. You're my family and I don't want to ruin the relationship that we have. You're one of the most important people in my life. I cherish you deeply. I just...I only love you as my family...I don't have any plans on tying down with someone right now..." You said as she couldn't believe the things she was hearing, but just out of nowhere, your lips suddenly collided with hers as she was stunned completely.

"Huh?!" She thought in shock as you held that position a few seconds longer before pulling away.

"I'm not the man that you're looking for, but I know that you'll find him one day. Even if it takes a life time, you'll find the one you're meant to be with. I know it." You said as she was speechless from what just happened. "Let's go." You said as you held out your hand to her and she stared at it for a moment before letting out one of her rare smiles and taking it.

"Thank you, Y/N. I understand your feelings, and I'll take your advice. Thank you." She said once again as you wrapped your arm around her in a friendly manner and the two of you went back inside.

The Next Morning

After the graduation ceremony was finished, you cadets were handed tasks to do while Trost District. You were tasked with Eren and a few others to clean the wall cannons and do some maintenance. Before that however, you had some time to kill and right now, marching through the District's main street, was the main force of the Survey Corps, leaving for another expedition. You and Eren, along with the other two and a few more cadets were there to watch as the Scouts all rode their horses towards the gate. As you all watched, someone shouted out when a famous soldier came to view.

"Look! It's Captain Levi!" Someone yelled as you turned to see Captain Levi himself riding along with a few other officers.

"They say he's as strong as an entire brigade." Another civilian said in excitement.

"This is totally different than five years ago...There are so many people who have high hopes for the Survey Corps!" Eren said in enlightenment of how people were viewing the Survey Corps.

"Everyone's cheered up. There haven't been any problems for five years." You heard as you turned to see fellow cadets Hannah and Franz.

"And they've improved the fixed cannons. Maybe the big Titans won't come again." Franz suggested optimistically.

"Right!" Hannah agreed.

"You can't seriously believe that, you stupid lovebirds!" Eren yelled at them as they grew embarrassed.

"You think we're a happy couple?" She waved her arm around in a flustered state.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Eren!" Franz waved his hand around frantically as you chuckled at them, Eren seemed frustrated, and Armin awkwardly laughed.

"Hey, you guys!" You heard as you four turned around to see Hannes coming towards you.

"Hannes!" Eren called out in surprise as Hannes had a kind look on his face.

"I heard you graduated yesterday. Hard to believe you're the little kids I remember." Hannes said as he seemed impressed and a bit proud.

"What about you? You've gone from a drunk captain of the combat engineers." Eren teased him back as Hannes flicked his forhead.

"Listen to you..." Hannes said while flicking him before sighing and growing a serious look. "I'm still sorry I wasn't able to save your mother..." He said as Eren was surprised by his sudden apology, but shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault, Hannes." Eren replied as Hannes was shocked by his resonse. "We aren't ignorant anymore. I'll never let anything that sad happen again. We will defeat the Titans." Eren said with determination as Hannes was in awe of how he changed.

"Let's go, Eren. We still got stuck with cannon duty." You said as the two of you began to leave. "Take care, Hannes." You said while waving bye as Hannes watched Eren leave.

"I don't know whether to be happy that you've grown up or not. Don't die." Hannes thought as he hoped for Eren to live a long life.

After taking that morning break, you and Eren were stationed on top of the gate and cleaned the fixed cannons with Thomas, Mina, Connie, Marco, and Samuel. While cleaning the cannons, you were all equipped with your ODM gear and blades for standard procedure as you held a clipboard and checked off the maintenance checks you were doing. While writing on your board however, Eren suddenly shouted out of nowhere.

"Huh!? You're joining the Survey Corps?!" You heard as you raised your brow and turned to see Eren talking to Connie while cleaning the cannon barrel. "Connie, you were so eager to join the Military Police!" He yelled at Connie.

"I was, but..." Connie's voice fell short due to embarrassment as Mina chimed in.

"Your speech yesterday affected him." She said as Eren was confused.

"Shut up! It was my own decision!" Connie yelled in a flustered tone as you chuckled and shook your head while continuing to write on your clipboard.

"No need to feel embarrassed." Thomas said as he came closer and stood near Samuel as you were all grouped much closer together. "It isn't just you." He said as he had this sort of nervous blush on his face, signaling that he was joining as well.

"Thomas...You can't..." Eren was only able to say in disbelief, but another voice was brought in from no where.

"Um, everyone..." You heard as you turned to your right and grew an irritated face when you saw Sasha barely show up for duty.

"H-Hey! Where the hell were you!? You know, Connie had to do your share of cannon cleaning! Wanna explain yourself!?" You asked in irritation, but noticed this strange look on her face.

"I brought meat from the officers' storehouse." Sasha said in a strange, almost pleased tone as she revealed from her jacket, a large tied up roast that has yet to be cooked as you all were absolutely horrified and shocked as you grabbed her by the head with one hand.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US ALL KILLED!? WE'RE GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION NOW THANKS TO YOU!!!" You said in rage.

"Sasha, do you want to end up in jail!?" Eren asked her.

"You really are an idiot!" Samuel said in fear of what would happen if they get caught.

"Idiots are scary..." Connie said as you let her go from the freakish look she was giving as drool seeped from her lower lip.

"Let's all split it...We can slice it and make sandwiches! Ueheheheheheh~" She trembled like she was high on ecstasy as you were in awe of how far she'd go for meat.

"Go put it back!" Connie yelled as Mina agreed but she continued to giggle like an insane person.

"Connie's right. After all the land we lost, meat is really valuable!" Mina stated how rare the piece of meat was as Sasha seemed to calm down.

"It's fine." Sasha said as she walked over to a box that you all brought along for any small food or drink break and opened it to put the meat inside. "Once we retake the land, we can raise cows and sheep again." She said in an optimistic tone as she closed the box and suddenly, Samuel spoke up.

"I'll have some of the meat, too!" He yelled as you were surprised by his rebelliousness.

"M-Me, too! Get it ready!" Connie also said as you whacked him with the clipboard.

"Is that what you want, huh? Your last meal is gonna be stolen meat before they decided to HANG US!?" You said in a scary tone while glooming over him and Samuel.

"I also will, of course!" Mina said as you were shocked of her rebellion.

"You guys..." Eren was in disbelief of how optimistic his fellow cadets were as you sighed and threw down your board.

"The hell with it. Since they'll hang us for treason, might as well stick with you idiots 'til the end." You said while going towards Sasha as your comrades all cheered in your cooperation. "But first, let's get this shift over with. Back to it, soldiers!" You yelled as everyone eagerly rushed to finish their work.

"Why are you standing there, Eren? We need to get back to work, or they'll find out." Samuel said while cleaning a cannon barrel.

"It isn't lunchtime yet." Mina said while heading back to wipe down another cannon as Eren smiled with joy at how everyone was in good spirits and on board with the goal of reclaiming what was lost once.

"But, since I'm the valedictorian, I think I'm allowed one little piece." You tried to sneakily get a piece of the meat, but the lid of the chest suddenly closed on your hands. "OWWWWWWWWW!!" You yelled as you looked to see it was Sasha who did.

"Don't touch my meat..." She said in a threatening tone.

"WATCH YOUR WORDING!!!" You yelled as the two of you broke out into an idiot's argument as Eren looked out to the district with pride.

"It's been five years since then...Humanity is finally regaining its dignity. We can win!" Eren thought enthusiastically as the wind began to pick up around you all. "Our counterattack has only begun!" He thought with pride, however....

At that moment, you were all frozen from the sudden appearance of the Colossal Titan. Everyone stared up at it with dropped jaws as you and Sasha were frozen in place from tugging at each others jacket. You all seemed to have made eye contact with the beast for a few moments, before you finally snapped back to reality.

"WHAT THE FU--!" You were cut off when a powerful gust of hot wind blew you and everyone off the top of the wall.

Down below at the gate, there was an explosion as rocks flew everywhere and destroyed the lower gate defenses in an instant. You and your allies all yelled as you were blown off the wall, but reacting in an instant, you reached for your ODM controls and fired your anchors.

"SHIT THAT'S HOT!" You yelled as you landed hard on your feet against the wall and groaned as you looked around and saw your allies caught themselves as well. "Is everyone okay!?" You yelled in worry.

"Samuel!" Connie yelled as you looked to see Samuel was free falling to the ground.

"Shit!" You yelled as you bounced off the wall and flew down to catch him.

Just before you could however, you saw Sasha running down the wall as she shot one of her anchors into his leg before stopping herself as she caught him using her wires.

"Samuel, don't move!" Sasha yelled out as you came to a stop.

"That was close..." Eren said before gasping at the sight that was below.

"The wall has been breached?" Thomas said in disbelief as you turned to see the gate was obliterated at the bottom.

"Not again...The Titans will come inside the walls again!" Connie said in terror as Eren remembered that day once more, when the Titans first breached the walls.

"Annihilate all of you..." Eren muttered under his breath before gritting his teeth. "Fixed Cannon Maintenance Team 4, prepare for combat!" He yelled as he drew his blades and zipped his way pass everyone and up towards the top. "Our target is the Colossal Titan before us! This is our chance! Don't let it get away!" He yelled as he flew into the smoke that lingered above.

"Eren! Stop! Wait!" You yelled while drawing your blades and flying up after him in worry as the others didn't know what to do.

Eren breached through smoke and spun around in the air before sliding across the top of the wall to a stop. As he slowly raised his glare up he came face to face with the Colossal Titan as you landed next to him, blades drawn and with a ice cold glare at the skinless Titan.

"Hey, there...It's been five years." Eren said as you and him came face to face once more with the monster that you met five years ago.