"Straighten your fucking backs, you scumbags!" The Instructor shouted. "Training for the 104th Cadet Corps begins now! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Drill Sergeant Keith Shadis and you're going to hate me! This training will be a marathon to Hell. If I do my job right, you'll wake up drenched in a cold sweat from the memories of this place, every night, for the rest of your miserable lives! Right now, you're just cattle! But over the next three years, you'll learn how to take down your own Goliath. Remember that moment when you come face to face with him, because this is where you're going to ask yourself: am I a fighter or am I a piece of meat?! Will I be crushed like a crispy croissant by giant incisors, or will I be the one who bites?!"
The teenager with blond hair and emerald green pupils in the fourth row had to give him credit; Shadis knew how to terrify and motivate at the same time. A few discreet glances at his new comrades were enough for him to see the effectiveness of this speech.
"What a fucking drag," he thought annoyed, "but right now I have no choice. I have to go through this if I want my plan to succeed… Damn… three years… luckily I'm not alone."
"Hey, weakling!" Shadis exclaimed, looking directly at a boy with blond hair and blue eyes who could have passed for a girl.
"Sir!" he replied, saluting.
"What's your name, little cockroach?"
"Armin Arlert from Shiganshina, sir!" he shouted.
"A descendant of an underground prostitute, it's rare to see one out nowadays," the teenager remarked.
"Seriously?" Shadis asked, feigning astonishment. "Why would your parents curse you with such a ridiculous name?
"Apparently, Shadis knows too."
"It was my grandfather, sir!"
The instructor leaned forward to invade the boy's personal space.
"Cadet Arlert, what the hell are you doing here?!"
Armin replied in a terrified voice, closing his eyes:
"I came to help humanity defeat the Titans!"
"Good to hear that, boy!" Shadis sneered, not at all pleased. "The titans will feast on your flesh!"
He grabbed Armin by the head and spun him around forcefully.
"Row 3, turn around!"
He moved on to his next victim: a boy who had short blond hair and brown eyes.
"What's your name, little shit?!"
"Sir, my name is Thomas Wagner! I am from the district of Trost!"
"I cannot hear you!"
At the volume the man was speaking at, it was unlikely that even the closest cadets would understand a word that came out of the recruit's mouth.
"I am from Trost, sir!" he repeated, louder. "I want…"
"I don't give a fuck! Next!" Shadis interrupted him, quickly moving on to another cadet, this one being a girl with dark hair and gray eyes. "You!"
The person concerned automatically presented herself with a trembling salute:
"Sir, Mina Carolina from Karanes!"
"Is such a fat, filthy sow like you the best piece Karanes has to offer?!" he roared.
Like Armin, she too closed her eyes in fear.
"Sir, I'm afraid that's the case, sir!"
"Go tell your district they can burn in Hell for sending you here!" The instructor commanded.
"Yes sir!" Mina replied with her hands shaking.
"You!"
"Here, here," the annoyed blond boy mused . "Looks like the old Commander remembers the smart brat..."
"I don't like your fucking look!" the instructor roared in his face. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Amos Nox, from Holst, sir!" he announced, performing a perfect salute and keeping a straight face.
"Tell me kid, do you think you have what it takes to survive here?"
"Yes, sir!"
A hook in the jaw echoed his words, but the young man took it without really flinching.
"Oh my…" the rookie sighed inwardly, suppressing a smile. "You'll pay for that, you useless loser."
"Not bad rookie," Shadis complimented as a trickle of blood ran down Amos's chin. "Let's see how long you'll last after I've broken every bone in your body."
He appraised the blond one last time, before continuing:
"Row 4, Turn around!"
Once the maneuver was done, Shadis sped straight towards a young man with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Who are you?!"
"Jean Kirstein, sir, from the district of Trost," he said, greeting him.
"Why are you here, Cadet?!"
Relaxing a little, he replied:
"To join the Military Police, Sir, and live inside the interior!"
Amos smiled at this surprising honesty, however he hoped that Jean would get rid of this flaw if he wanted to survive Sina.
"That's nice, tell me, you want to live in the Interior..."
"Yes! Jean replied before taking a headbutt to the face.
He collapsed to the ground and clutched his head.
"You're falling like a wreck," Shadis noted contemptuously, "if you can't handle it, forget about the MPs."
The instructor didn't give him another look before turning to his next victim.
"What's wrong with your face, you fucking jester?!" he yelled in the face of a dark-haired young man with freckles. "I give you three seconds! You hear me ?! Three Fucking seconds! To erase that fucking smile off your stupid face, or I'll make your eyes pop out of their sockets and stuff your skull!"
Amos had all the trouble in the world not to burst out laughing, while the recruit in question swallowed.
"Marco Bott, at your service, sir, from Jinae, south side of Wall Rose," he replied in a single breath. "I want to join the military police and give my life in the service of the King."
"Oh you poor soul..." Nox mused. "Might as well give your body to the worms."
Shadis lowered the volume of his voice to a chilling whisper:
"Well, that makes you an idealistic fool…and a madman. You want the truth?"
Marco swallowed uneasily as the instructor leaned in with a death stare.
"You will only be a plaything for the King, he will throw you away as soon as you are broken.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
With the cadet frozen in shock, the instructor moved on to a bald-headed recruit who was one of the shortest people in the corps.
"Hey, chrome head, you're next!"
"Uh, me? recovering quickly, he saluted…on the wrong chest.
"Mo-ron."
"Sir, Connie Springer from Ragako Village, sir."
Enraged, Shadis grabbed the boy by the head and lifted him off the ground, pressing his fingers into his skull.
"It's the other way around, Connie Springer..." he muttered angrily. "Yet it was the first thing you were taught. This salute represents the resolve in your heart to fight against those who are bent on destroying our people. Is your heart on the right?! »
*CRUNCH*
The chewing noise that came out of row 6 and paralyzed the entire universe. The impassive recruits and those who were paralyzed with terror widened their eyes in unison to observe in amazement, the young girl with reddish brown hair who was eating a potato, and this, while she sported the most dilated pupils that Amos had never seen.
"Bloody Hell," he thought as shocked as the others, "what the hell did she take to be in such a state?! How did she even get her hands on drugs inside the boot camp?"
As flabbergasted as the young man was, the instructor dropped his victim to the ground.
"Hey, you there," he called under his breath while struggling to believe what he was seeing. "What the fuck are you doing?"
The girl gave no indication that she heard him, she glanced nervously left and right before taking another bite.
That was the last straw, in a second, Shadis' confusion turned into pure rage:
"YOU ARE OFFICIALLY ON MY SHITLIST! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Mortified, the girl quickly swallowed her bite and saluted, with the potato still in her hand.
"Sasha Braus from Dauper Village, at your service, sir!"
Amos' eyes widened when he saw that the supposed drug addict's eyes had instantly narrowed.
"Sasha Braus, huh?" he repeated, fixing her with a piercing gaze. "What's in your right hand?"
"A steamed potato," she replied. "I saw it in the refectory like it was begging to be eaten, sir."
"She's not on drugs?!" The tall and bewildered blond realized. "But how does she... Her pupils... Why is she eating a fucking potato in the middle of formation?!"
For the first time today, the instructor looked completely lost.
"The theft… I can understand, but here? Why eat it here?"
"She looked delicious and it was cold, so I put her away in my stomach, sir."
"She must have a mental illness," Amos theorized, "or else she's lost her mind due to hunger. The second option is more likely."
"Why? I can not understand. Why would you eat that potato?"
His voice had fallen so low that the other recruits had to strain their ears to hear him.
Sasha was just as lost as the rest of the regiment, but not for the same reasons.
"Are you ... asking me why people eat potatoes? I'm surprised you don't know, sir."
The temperature seemed to drop 50 degrees, the cadets stared at the Dauper native in horror. Even Amos looked at her like she had five heads.
"I take back what I thought, she's retarded."
Was she trying to get herself murdered on the first day? Amazingly, Shadis didn't tear her to shreds and just stood there, silent. Some of them wondered if he was thinking about where to bury the corpse. Others believed that the girl managed to break his spirit with her stupidity.
Uncomfortable by the sudden silence, Sasha tried to put things right. She broke the potato in half, and handed him the smaller half.
"Here sir. Take half."
Amos Nox barely managed to stop his eyes from popping out of their sockets.
Slowly, Shadis took the piece like it was the greatest thing anyone had ever done for him.
"Will you give me half? Really?"
The girl smiled as if she had done a good deed and the vase overflowed instantly.
Suddenly, Shadis grabbed her by the collar and knocked the rest of the potato down. After throwing away his own half, he spoke in the deadliest whisper he could generate.
"Listen to me very carefully, little bitch. The minute I let go of you, you'll start running around the camp and won't stop until you pass out. For the next five days, you'll only have one meal per day, and if you ever eat again during formation, I'll shoot you on the spot! Understood?!"
The girl gasped in terror, yet she had turned pale a few seconds earlier when she learned of the deletion of ten of her meals.
"Y-yes, sir..."
"Then run!" he ordered, releasing her.
And she ran… sobbing, which drew a dazed raise of eyebrows from Nox.
"The food…" he realized in shock. "She's addicted to food...She's got all the symptoms of a craving drug addict...due to hunger? She's not even that skinny... She's... surprisingly fascinating…"
Once Sasha was out of sight, Shadis wiped his hand before continuing:
"The rest of you, I want to see you do eighty push-ups! Right away! Those who fail will be sent to the fields!"
Amos managed without too much difficulty to do what was asked of him, but he feigned exhaustion in order to deceive everyone about his true physical condition, he got up to salute once again. Thus giving him all the height necessary to see the extent of the disaster.
The cadets were all shaking in pain, and collapsed one after the other without having managed to pass the bar of fifty push-ups. However, the blond noticed that another person had just got up, a young oriental girl with black hair and jet-black eyes who was staring at him curiously, ignoring the sweat that ran down her forehead. To say Amos was impressed was an understatement, he was absolutely shocked. This girl seemed far less tired than he really was, and she wasn't as powerfully built as he was. They were quickly followed by another young girl with blond hair and silver-blue eyes, and two impressively built boys.
Unfortunately, it looked like Shadis wasn't done yet:
"Arlet! How many push-ups have you done, you cockroach?!"
"T-twenty-six sir," replied the little boy with shame and terror.
"Are you kidding me you shit?!" roared the furious instructor. "Two chicks have already finished the exercise five minutes ago! What are you jerking off?!"
These words drew an almost exasperated sigh from Amos which did not escape Shadis.
"Well, it looks like Nox is pitying you Arlet!" He sneered. "Nox! Get your ass here and help him! For every push-up he fails to do, the other cadets will have to do two more! Understood ?!
"Yes sir!"
The tall blond came, squatted in front of Armin and whispered to him in a low voice:
"Where does it hurt?"
"The back," the native of Shinganshina whispered ashamed.
"You're not doing your push-ups properly" he informed him while repositioning his arms and hands. "Your armpits should be doing a 45° angle, not 90. Your weight should be on your chest and your triceps, not your shoulder blades. Go ahead and do them quickly to keep your muscles from working too hard."
He then turned to the cadets alongside Arlet and whispered to them:
"Pass the message, but don't let Shadis hear you or he'll give us double."
Although surprised by his gesture, Armin and the other cadets followed his instructions to the letter, the little blond was surprised to chain the push-ups even more quickly and easily than before. Unfortunately, he only managed to do twenty more before shaking in pain again.
"Take back your previous position, your back must have had time to recover."
Arlet obeyed, and managed to do eleven more repetitions before feeling his shoulder blades burn. Then, Nox advised him to redo push-ups with a 45° angle, but Armin only managed to make six more.
"I can't do it anymore." he breathed while completing his sixty-third push-up on the verge of fainting.
"Then put your knees on the ground." The taller blond said while adjusting his position. "That way, you will lift less weight."
Armin widened his eyes.
"But … is it not cheating?"
"Those are push-ups for children, Shadis might make a joke about your height, but he should let it pass."
Arlet didn't seem convinced, yet he complied with Nox's wish, and managed, not without difficulty, to perform his eighty push-ups.
He sat up with a start, and saluted again while thanking his benefactor with a look.
Several cadets saw Armin get up, and sighed in release.
"Well look at that!" Shadis screamed. "Looks like Arlet has managed to spare you from a longer humiliation ! Do you know what it means?! It means that if a shrimp like him succeeds, the cockroaches that fail will get my boot up their ass!"
"Bloody Hell… These three years are going to be much longer than I realized," Amos mused, rolling his eyes.
(-) (-) (-)
The rest of the day was a real ordeal for the cadets, Shadis subjected them to the most intense physical torture most of them had ever been through in their short lives, which sent numbers of recruits to the ground with their lungs on fire. Whenever someone was too slow, the instructor deepened his voice to force them to repeat the exercise. Naturally, one of these exercises ended up being a run of ten laps around the base. And poor Sasha had to dodge the recruits when they caught up to her every time they passed. Amos had to resign himself to advising the other cadets on how to manage their breathing, when he saw half of them panting like mangy dogs.
Once the first day of training was over, he stopped to the bathroom to wash his bloody face, and went to the dining hall. As soon as he located the building, he spotted the familiar faces of Connie, Marco, Mina and Armin standing outside, fanning out after the day's activities. The only person whose name he didn't know was the famous boy who kept glaring at everything around him, and who seemed to find the sunset very captivating.
"Well, look who's here," Connie said with a smile, "it's the 'Advisor' himself."
Amos frowned.
"The Hell is wrong with you?"
"What? You don't like your new nickname?"
The bald teen seemed sincerely convinced that his stupide nickname was funny, Amos sighed in dismay.
"In this case, do you want some advice to help you differentiate your right from your left?" He asked sarcastically.
A few chuckles echoed his words, Connie blushed in shame.
"Thank you for helping me earlier," Armin said, holding out his hand.
"Do not thank me." he replied while shaking it. "We are comrades now, we will have to help each other regularly if we want to survive this training."
The other cadets seemed amazed by these words, except for the brown-haired boy who looked at him suspiciously.
Considering his piece said, Amos stretched and watched as Sasha continued to run.
"So Potato Girl is still running?"
"I thought Shadis was going to kill her," Connie commented.
"I know," Eren added while keeping Amos in his view. "Hell of a first day but it was funny. Telling her to run until she passed out didn't seem to bother her as much as being deprived of lunch for five days." He added with a laugh.
"Oh…Fuck me," Nox thought while feigning a laugh, "there's an arrogant one. If he's ever got any talent, the first thing I will have to do will be deflating his ego."
The others laughed as well, until Jaeger noticed something:
"Hey, what is that?"
The group followed his finger and discovered a cart carrying recruits away from the compound.
"They're dropouts," Mina explained sadly. "They chose to work in the fields."
Marco was confused.
'But... it's only the first day.
"Not everyone can be a soldier," Amos reasoned.
Eren looked at the dropouts with disgust.
"I can't believe anyone would rather pull plants than fight."
"This little prick is starting to break my balls."
Amos did not even bother to turn in his direction to answer him:
"Didn't you listen to what I just said? These people don't have the guts to be in the military. Even if you found a way to force them to go out and face the titans, they would be so frightened that they would paralyze themselves and be eaten without any resistance. In other words, training incompetents would waste a staggering amount of resources to maintain entirely avoidable weak points. Also, the "plant pullers", as you say, have the primary role of feeding the army. They may not be on the front line, but their work is essential. Farmers are as vital to us as grooms, engineers or fighters themselves. Our military system is not entirely combat-based, there are many other parameters to consider to ensure it works effectively."
At these words, the cadets looked at Nox as if a second head had just sprouted from him, Armin in particular, looked very impressed.
Eren frowned, and took a few moments to think about the tall blond's words.
"You ... are probably right." He admitted a little reluctantly. "How do you know all that?"
"I have a brain."
"I did some research before I joined the army."
Jaeger seemed to accept his answer and asked him:
"By the way, how come you're from Holst? I thought all of its inhabitants were dead, not having been informed of the fall of Wall Maria."
The cadets widened their eyes at the cruel lack of tact displayed by their comrade, but Amos inwardly rolled his eyes at the totally indiscreet question he had just been asked, and darkened his expression.
"Perhaps there are more pressing matters regarding this imbecile than his ego."
"What's your name?" He asked
"Eren Jaeger."
"Eren…I wasn't in Holst when Wall Maria fell…my mother was there though."
The native of Shinganshina had the decency to lower his eyes when he understood the awkwardness of his question, Armin flew to his aid.
"Where were you then?"
"At my boarding school in Yarckel," he lied.
At these words, the recruits widened their eyes in surprise.
"Yarckel?!" Connie choked. "How did you get accepted into one of the Interior's schools?"
"I got lucky." Amos replied and proceeded to recite his made-up backstory; "I met the headmaster when he was visiting my father's tailor shop. While he waited, he saw me playing chess alone in my corner and offered me to play against him. I apparently impressed him enough to obtain a scholarship."
"I've always wanted to learn how to play chess," Armin admitted shyly.
Amos replied with a smile:
"I can teach you if you want, I brought my own chessboard. It's not top quality but it does the job."
The little blond instantly thanked him with a very pleased nod.
"Say?" Mina asked still curious. "What are you doing here if you had a place inside?"
This question was enough to bring all the attention back to Nox who let out a second sigh.
"Basically, I wanted to become a doctor and find a house in Sina for my parents. This project is no longer relevant… I… I want to go home, in Holst, I want to find my mother's body and bury it with all the decency it deserves."
This statement touches the rest of the group, Eren in particular felt a deep respect for the tall blond. He had had the chance to lead a peaceful life in Sina but had chosen to enlist in the army to be able to take back the place where he had grown up, it was a decision that commanded admiration.
An admiration and respect that Nox had sought to engender through his story.
Marco decided to intervene to break the somewhat sad atmosphere.
"I know about some of us, but you never mentioned where you were from, Eren."
"The same as Armin," he replied and put his hand on the small blond's shoulder. "From Shiganshina."
Amos raised an interested eyebrow as the others widened their eyes in horror.
"Shinganshina?" stammered Marco. "That means…"
"You were there that day," Connie finished, more excited than anything else.
"Quiet!" Marco warned, realizing what he was about to say, but Springer didn't listen.
"The Colossal. Did you see it?"
Eren didn't look insulted by his lack of tact, but his voice darkened as the memories bubbled to the surface.
"Yeah. Yeah, I saw it."
Before anyone could stop him, Connie ran inside the dining hall, dragged Eren along the way and shouted:
"Hey guys! Eren was in Shinganshina! He saw the Colossal Titan!"
Like vultures swooping down on a carcass, a crowd of cadets gathered around Eren, asking him again and again if what Connie had said was true, if he was really there when Wall Maria fell. At least they left enough space for Amos to slip away and eat his meal in peace.
Once his tray was filled with an infamous soup and an overcooked bread, he noticed an empty place next to Jean and asked him:
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Go ahead," the latter replied and made room for him.
The glint of interest in his eyes didn't escape him.
"Jean, is that it?"
He confirmed it with a nod and shook his hand.
"And you are Amos Nox, nice to meet. How's your jaw?"
"Nothing bad."
There was a comfortable silence as they ate their filthy meal, before Kirstein spoke again:
"Tell me, I have a favor to ask of you."
"About the Interior?" replied the blonde without looking up from his food. "I noticed you were listening to us. What do you want to know?"
"The MPs, which district would you recommend I join?"
"It depends on what you're capable of." he sighed nonchalantly, "and it depends on what you want. You should know that the best places are often given to those who have the most dangerous jobs. But if your goal is to live happy days, I would recommend Stohess or Yarckell. Not Ehrmich and certainly not Orvund.
Jean recorded this information in his head and felt the need to inquire a bit more.
"Actually, I wanted to join the ranks of the Noble Police."
This time Amos looked up and raised his eyebrows skeptically.
"Poor naive soul." He said with obvious disdain "Do you have a strong stomach and a heart made of stone?"
Kirstein frowned.
"What do you mean ?"
"Are you an evil asshole?" he clarified harshly. "Because that's literally what you have to mark on your file to integrate these bands of madmen."
Jean pales in horror in response.
"If you join their ranks, you will be nothing more than a weapon pointed at the enemies of the noble family you will serve, I advise you to think carefully before considering such a thing."
Kirstein gulped, and did seem to think about those words, until a certain person's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Yeah, I saw it okay?" Eren confirmed with an exasperated look.
"Whoa, seriously? Thomas asked as if he hadn't said it twice already.
"How tall was he exactly?" a guy named Samuel asked.
"His head was sticking over the wall."
A shower of comments suddenly descended.
"Whoa, wait! I heard he completely stepped over the wal!."
"Me too!"
"That was also the rumor in my village.
"If that were true, we'd all be dead, you idiots," an exasperated Amos thought .
"He was tall, yeah, but not that tall," Eren corrected.
"So what did he look like?" Mina dared to ask.
"Like a corpse, no skin, just muscles."
"And the Armored Titan?" asked another cadet. "The one who broke through Wall Maria?"
"Is that what they call it?" Eren wondered. "In the panic, it was just another Titan to me."
Samuel was flabbergasted like everyone else.
"And what were the other Titans like?"
Eren stopped eating and gasped as the memories of that horrible day hit him hard. His spoon fell, and he put his hand over his mouth as if to suppress vomiting.
Marco finally had the decency to put an end to this stupid interrogation.
"Come on. Enough questions, okay? I'm sure he'd rather not relive what he's been through."
"We're sorry," Connie apologized, ashamed that he had put Eren through all this just to satisfy his own curiosity. "We didn't want..."
"It's nothing," Eren assured, he pulled himself together and took a bite of bread. "Those stupid titans are just small fry."
Amos nearly slapped his forehead in exasperation at hearing something that stupid.
"Wow, I don't think anyone in this world has managed to exasperate me so much with so little words."
"If we focus on mastering the omni-dimensional maneuvering gear they give us, then we'll have the opportunity to strike back. I've waited years to be trained as a soldier. I will join the Survey Corps, then I will send the Titans to Hell. I will slaughter them all."
"This guy is a danger to everyone," Nox realized in annoyance, "let's hope he gets eaten quickly or dies during our classes before he drags too many soldiers into his bullshit. Worst case scenario: I'll have to kill him myself."
"Hey? Are you dumb or are you completely nuts?"
The focus was now on Jean who was smiling at Eren's tirade.
"Not that it's my business, but joining the Survey Corps is a death sentence."
His interlocutor looked at him attentively.
"I guess we'll see… well, I'll see. You seem very happy to hide behind the walls."
"There's a difference between fighting for the freedom of humanity and running headlong like a degenerate into the jaws of a titan," Amos said, sipping quietly from his goblet.
Eren abruptly got up from his chair and came to stand in front of Nox and Kirstein's table. They rose in turn, the latter to face him, and the former to prevent a fight from breaking out.
"That's enough," Amos said and stood between the other two boys, "it's only the first day and we have three years to spend together. Let's at least try to be civil."
Jaeger didn't hear it that way.
"The only way to survive is to defeat the Titans!" he exclaimed angrily. "Why can't you see that?!"
No sooner had Eren shouted these words than he widened his eyes in surprise and almost bit his tongue as he met the abominable emerald gaze of his blond interlocutor.
For the tenth of a second, the native of Shinganshina felt like nothing more than a piece of meat that Nox was about to grind between his jaws.
Amos hated being yelled at, and Jaeger's bravado was starting to seriously get on his nerves, if Eren didn't calm down immediately, he was going to receive a very painful beating.
Fortunately for the latter, the dark-haired girl who had been sitting next to him less than a minute ago, immediately sensed the danger he was in. She stood up abruptly, grabbed him by the shoulder to keep him out of Nox's field of vision, stood in front of the tall blond, and glared at him with a murderous look. An icy atmosphere fell on the refectory
"Mikasa!" Eren protested while rubbing his shoulder. "I can handle myself!"
The Oriental ignored him to double down on the menacing glint that shone in her raven eyes, glint that clashed with the predatory aura that emanated from the tall blond's emerald eyes, who crossed his arms in amusement.
Amos looked slightly taken aback by this turn of events, but he welcomed the newcomer's presence with an interested smile.
"Good evening." He greeted courteously. "Your name is…?"
"Mikasa Ackerman," she replied in a chilling voice.
Around them, the cadets exchanged worried faces, and a crowd of murmurs ran through their ranks.
If outwardly Nox maintained a polite smile, inwardly he raised his eyebrows with great interest.
"An Oriental Ackerman? Would you look at that! This explains her performance during training."
Another moment of chilling silence passed, during which no one dared to make the slightest gesture.
Fortunately, the bell signifying the end of the meal rang, thus forcing the altercation to end there.
Amos quietly removed the "predation" from his gaze, and turned his head towards Eren who looked a little uncomfortable.
"If you really want to join the Survey Corps, you're going to have to do something to get your emotions under control. The military discipline of the scouts is the strictest there is, you cannot be a good element if you allow yourself to be so easily carried away by anger.
"Uh…" Jaeger said, a little surprised by the seriousness of Nox's tone. "Thanks... I guess ..."
Amos caught Mikasa's chilling gaze again, and smiled politely.
"It was nice to meet you," he said honestly.
The Oriental girl gritted her teeth in response and kept her guard up. It was only because Eren and Armin were starting to leave the dorm that she finally calmed down to join them.
"Excuse me!" Jean suddenly called out to her while blushing furiously.
Mikasa turned to give him an indifferent look, something the native of Trost didn't notice given that he had looked down in embarrassment.
"I've never met anyone like you," he said without thinking.
"Clumsy," Amos thought amused while raising an eyebrow.
Kirstein pulled himself together quickly.
"I'm sorry! You have very beautiful black hair."
"Thank you," she answered indifferently before following Eren.
Once she was far enough away, Amos flicked Jean's temple.
"Idiot," he chided in exasperation, "that was the most awkward and embarrassing compliment I've ever heard."
At these words, Kirstein paled in horror, and set off in pursuit of the oriental in the hope of catching up. For his part, Nox shook his head but allowed himself a smile as he thought about his new encounter.
"These three years are already proving more interesting than I anticipated," he thought smugly. "But I'll have to make up for the bad first impression I left."
It was then that he saw the smallest girl of the 104th get out of the dining hall. She moved with a strange gait, which made the tall blond realize that she was hiding something under each of her armpits. Exasperated, he rolled his eyes and followed her.
(-) (-) (-)
"What a weirdo," Eren commented while glancing behind him.
"He's not wrong, you know? Armin intervened calmly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Your temper could cause you a lot of trouble."
Jaeger looked at his best friend with an exasperated look.
"Don't even start, please." he growled annoyed.
"You nearly started a fight on the first day of training," the worried little blond reasoned, "we still have more than a thousand of those days to go through before we become soldiers. You can't go on like this..."
"Okay, I get it!" Eren growled to cut this discussion short and change the subject. "Now back to this guy… he seems to know a lot of stuff."
Although a little disappointed by his friend's diversion, Armin followed him in his train of thought:
"He seems to know what he's doing too, maybe he can help us…"
"Do not talk to him!"
The uncompromising tone of Mikasa's warning startled them both, they turned to the girl with looks filled with incomprehension.
"He's dangerous," she specified without changing her tone, "There is something wrong about him…"
"Don't exaggerate," Eren replied exasperated, "he's just a guy. You don't need to put yourself in such a state every time you meet a new person!"
The oriental was very upset and hurt to hear her adoptive brother sweep away her fears as if her opinion did not matter, she pulled her scarf up over her nose.
"I just want you to be careful..."
Eren groaned in dismay and turned to his best friend.
"Armin, please help me there."
The little blond would have preferred to stay away from this conversation, however, he addressed the young girl with a reassuring voice:
"Well…he looked pretty angry when Eren yelled at him…but everyone would be angry if they got yelled at. And he helped us all a lot during the tests…
"There you see?" Jaeger added. "He's just a guy, no need to worry like that."
He casually ran a hand through the girl's hair without noticing the frustration on her face.
"Besides, you should think about yourself first, your hair looks too long for ODM maneuvers…"
(-) (-) (-)
Sasha had to dig deep into her physical and mental resources to manage to collapse from exhaustion inside the camp. Indeed, horrified at the thought of losing five more meals, the native of Dauper had sworn to follow Shadis' instructions to the letter. She now only had to hope that a gentle soul would find her to put her in the bed that had been assigned to her. In the meantime, she sank into unconsciousness... To emerge instantly as soon as the scent of a bun touched her nostrils. Listening only to her stomach, she bounded like a beast in the direction her nose was pointing her… before being violently grabbed by the ponytail and imprisoned behind immovable arms. Christa Lenz had taken a reflex side step to dodge the hungry cadet who had tried to throw herself at her. But she realized the futility of her maneuver when Amos had intervened to subdue Sasha. The little blonde, however, did not have time to make a comment, when the native of Dauper began to hiss like an animal and used the little strength she had left to struggle while chattering her teeth in the direction of Christa's left bicep. The latter widened her eyes at this inhuman behavior.
"What is she…?
"Stuff the food you brought in her mouth!" Amos cut in, keeping the hungry beast at bay.
"But…"
"Hurry up!" he ordered in a stern voice.
A voice the little blonde knew well enough to stop arguing, so she pulled out the loaf of bread she had hidden under her waistcoat and shoved it between Sasha's jaws during the short time they were separated. The food was shattered so quickly that Christa had to pull her hand away for fear of being bitten.
Once partially sated, Braus' animal breathing gradually slowed, until her pupils returned to normal width, the girl blinked her eyelids several times before frantically running her tongue over her teeth as the two blonds were having an argument.
"I wasn't in any danger," Christa defended herself.
Amos rolled his eyes.
"Please, you are a permanent danger to yourself."
This time it was the small blonde who rolled her eyes.
"Look who's talking..."
"BREAD!" Sasha suddenly screamed and startled the two blondes, which made Amos tighten the grip he had on her. "IT WAS BREAD!"
Christa and Amos exchanged a confused look, before the younger replied hesitantly:
"Uh ... It's all I could keep" She informed her politely before taking out a skin from under her right armpit. "But you have been running almost fourteen hours without hydrating yourself, you have to drink…"
Sasha didn't hear, Sasha didn't listen, Sasha was obsessed with the beauty and kindness of the little angel who came down from heaven to answer her prayer. Not content with feeding her, she also offered to water her.
"Are you a goddess?!" she cried, trying to throw herself on the blonde to worship her.
But Amos held her tight and began to get annoyed.
"That's enough, you junkie," he growled authoritatively, "behave yourself or I'll knock you out!"
This warning rekindled the trauma Shadis had put the Dauper native through. She instantly calmed down and answered like an automaton:
"Yes sir!"
At this point Nox wasn't even trying to figure her out, he just wanted to get it over with. And judging by Christa's amused smile, the expression on the tall blond's face betrayed his weariness. So he released his captive without relaxing his vigilance. The latter advanced towards her benefactress, accepted her gift with veneration, and greedily lowered the contents of the skin.
"Oï. What the hell are you three doing?"
The girl to whom that dull voice belonged immediately aroused Amos' suspicion. She was tall for her age, her freckled face sported a suspicious-looking disinterested expression. Indeed, her presence in a place particularly far from the refectory and the girls' dormitory did not tally with a lack of interest. And judging by the harshness of her gaze, this was not a person Nox could deceive with a warm countenance. So he chose a more direct approach:
"We were looking for your business so you could mind it."
"Amos!" Christa exclaimed, outraged.
But the newcomer only raised an amused eyebrow and smirked, she was about to answer when they were interrupted by a gasp of surprise that forced the tall blond to refocus on the one who was thinking with her stomach.
Sasha had wide eyes, an open mouth and a flushed face. If she had been obsessed with the appearance of the one who had come to feed her, she was subjugated by that of the one who had held her firmly.
Never in her short life had she even imagined a boy as handsome as Amos Nox. This one sported a blond beret cut and emerald green eyes as hypnotizing as they were sparkling. His face looked like it had been sculpted by the most talented of artists, her heart pounding so hard it raced her brain and her lips.
"Ya're so handchome!" she declared with her natural accent.
In response, Amos gave her an enraged scowl and an overpowering slap that split her lower lip and knocked her out on the spot. Sasha was thrown to the ground under the shocked gaze of the other two girls present. The smaller one rushed to the Dauper native's, the larger one set the aggressor on fire with her eyes.
"Remember that," Nox spat at his victim as he grimaced into the void, "handsome doesn't mean nice!"
"Amos!" Christa scolded angrily." She didn't do anything to you!"
The teen did not even bother to look in her direction, he swallowed back the disgust that threatened to make him vomit.
"Hey, asshole!" The tall girl swayed while standing head to head with the tall blond.
"Being a cunt won't make you forget the filth that hangs between your legs!"
A cathedral-like silence fell over the small group. Nox's pupils dilated into predatory pupils as he turned to the one who had had the misfortune to strike in the wrong place.
For one abominable moment, Christa Lenz feared bloodshed.
"Is this the kind of reasoning that makes you think your cunt is compensating for your dickhead?" Amos replied with cold amusement that filled the little blonde with despair.
The freckled girl was as surprised by the expression on his face than she was by the quality of his repartee, not being the type to let things go, she replied:
"Don't be sad because mine is bigger than yours."
"Air does not compensate for brain, you moron."
"What air are you talking about? You keep sucking it off."
"You have nothing to suck on, you just have an ugly mug."
"That's enough!"
It was Christa who had shouted, the little blonde was still at poor Sasha's side. Lenz wore a furious expression directed towards the only other blonde present, but as he seemed indifferent to it, her fury almost immediately turned into infinite sadness coupled with apparent weariness.
"Stop ... "she whispered in exhaustion "... please ..."
Amos rolled his eyes in exasperation, took one last look at the other two girls to make sure they weren't posing any threat to Christa, and shook his head before taking his leave. The little blonde watched him go, holding back her tears, and put Sasha's arm around her neck to carry her.
"Why are you doing this?" The tall girl asked once Nox was far enough away. "Are you trying to do a good deed? Do you feel guilty because your friend is an asshole?"
Her interlocutor raised her head to ignite her with a sapphire blue gaze that betrayed the mountain of emotions she had accumulated and contained in recent years.
"He followed me to protect me," she replied, swallowing the venom hanging from her lips, "and he will apologize to Sasha, that I swear."
The tall girl raised a wary eyebrow, let out a weary sigh, and crouched down to wrap the Dauper native's other arm around her neck.
"What are you doing?" the petite blonde asked as they stood up simultaneously.
"I'm investing, I'm making connections and I'm satisfying my curiosity. By the way, I'm Ymir."
"Christa," she replied while frowning, "and what do you want?"
"Your pal, why did he get mad so quickly?"
"It's none of your business."
"Most guys would be flattered to get so much attention," the tall girl continued, ignoring her, "but he got upset right away. What's wrong with him? He's gay and he hates women...?"
"Shut up!" Christa scolded angrily. "Leave him alone, will you?"
Ymir stopped walking for a moment to meet the little blonde's gaze.
"You're very protective too," she noted interested, "are you two that close?"
Right after she said these words, a host of memories suddenly surged into the youngest girl's mind. She recalled the times when two young children with golden hair played chess, trained into martial arts and studied together, all without either of them ever stopping smiling in the presence of the other. Two laughs as juveniles as they were distant, echoed in her skull, a tear ran down her cheek and she had to turn her head to hide it.
"He's all I have," she replied without thinking, "and he's not a bad person, he's just…hurt."
There was a moment of silence, before Christa resumed:
"Leave him alone, and don't comment on his appearance, please…"
"I'm not sensitive to pleas," Ymir replied dismissively. It didn't take much for the anger to reappear on the face of the little blonde.
"Okay," she hissed between her teeth, "I'll rephrase that: leave him alone or I'll kick your ass so hard you'll leave this place in a wheelchair."
This time the freckled girl threw her head back and bursted out laughing, Christa frowned as they approached the girls' dorm. Ymir spoke again:
"If deep down you're such a tigress, why are you playing the generous little dove with Potato Girl here?"
"In memory of someone I love," Lenz replied cryptically, lifting Sasha onto her shoulders to carry her to her bed on her own. Ymir watched her walk alone, and lingered a lot on her but until she disappeared into the dormitory.
"What a girl," she commented inwardly before walking down the same path, "I didn't expect her to be so strong."
(-)(-)(-)
"Bed 7: Reiner Braun, Amos Nox, and Bertholdt Hoover," the tall blond read on the plan of the dormitory.
He climbed the ladder with his bag on his back to get to the middle level of the building, and found his two new roommates putting away the few possessions they had in the shelves embedded in the walls.
"Hey," he called out to them, holding out his hand to the other blonde present, "Amos Nox."
'Reiner Braun,' replied the big fellow while shaking his hand, "this is Bertholdt Hoover."
He barely had time to greet the latter with a nod when he felt the pressure exerted on his hand. He raised an amused eyebrow and gladly accepted the challenge.
It took Reiner half a minute to end the confrontation.
"Damn," he said stretching his fingers, "remind me to never mess with you."
"Don't mess with me," Nox replied, putting down his bag, "but if you watch my back, I'll watch yours."
"Dully noted," Braun smiled before noticing his new acquaintance's muscles under his clothes, "you have one hell of a build for your age."
"You too, which means that many of our new comrades will come to us for advice."
If Bertholdt seemed embarrassed to hear that, Reiner nodded wisely.
"We are all brothers at arms now, it is important that we help each other if we want to succeed in the army."
Nox was pleasantly surprised to hear that, he smirked.
"Finally someone I can work with," he thought satisfied, as Braun turned to his friend.
"Right, Bert?"
Said Bert looked as embarrassed as his friend was confident, from Amos' point of view they were an odd pair, but a good pair nonetheless.
"Probably… yes."
"We'll have to work on your self-confidence," Braun said, patting him on the back, "you're very strong, you have no reason to be so shy.
"It's easier than it sounds," Nox added, opening his bag to put his things away, "don't worry, we'll take it step by step."
"There, you see?" Reiner exclaimed to his friend, "It's by helping each other that everyone progresses."
Bertholdt rubbed his shoulder uneasily, but he seemed both surprised and reassured that Amos was so willing to help.
"Thank you," he said shyly, before noticing the items his new roommate was putting away on the shelves.
"Did you bring any books?" Braun wondered, getting up to read the installments of the books.
"Knowledge is a formidable weapon for those who know how to use it," Nox said in a theatrical voice.
Reiner looked at him with amusement.
"Who's that from?"
"Me," replied the 'Holst native' with a mocking smile. "But before thinking about knowledge, one must sharpen his intelligence."
With that, he pulled out his chessboard, and used it to distract his roommates in order to push his bag aside and prevent them from noticing the other items it contained.
"Do you guys know how to play?"
Reiner and Bertholdt exchanged a look before nodding. Out of the corner of his eye, Amos noticed Armin's envious and curious stare as they were already playing their second game, with a gesture, he invited him to join them. Eren did the same, but mostly because he didn't want to be alone. The chess lesson lasted a good two hours, as Reiner and Bertholdt knew how to move the pieces, but were unaware of the rudimentary basics of the various openings. Also, Amos had to take his book on the subject so that they each choose which one would suit them best. Of course, he promoted his favorite game by revealing the fact that Commander Erwin of the Survey Corps and Commander Pixis of the Garrison, were both well-known players. And he put forward the study that said that chess was an excellent entry into the understanding of military strategy. He was very pleased to find that his teachings and information had aroused wonder in Armin's eyes and interest in Reiner's. Bertholdt only seemed to care for the game itself, obviously happy to find a hobby, and Eren was mostly interested in the various debates and discussions Braun and Nox were having regarding the next three years. Jaeger took advantage of the fact that Amos seemed to know a lot about the military system to ask him about the Survey Corps. The tall blond was happy to catch his attention by giving him a reasonable amount of information. Just enough for Eren to come back to talk to him later and to start trusting him a little.
Once it was curfew time, Nox waited patiently for everyone to sleep, before he scattered all the doses he had brought under his part of the mattress to hide them.
"Well…so far, the three most interesting people I've met are Reiner, Armin and Mikasa. It is her who will undoubtedly be the most complicated one to approach, she has an instinct of maternal overprotection worthy of a she-wolf. Getting closer to Armin and Eren will be the best way for me to bond with her. It's not going to be easy, but it's not impossible. I wonder if she has awakened her ancestral strength, if so, I will have to determine what level she has managed to reach. In any case, I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised so far, in the end… maybe I'm wasting less time than I had anticipated."
(Next Morning)
The shared bathroom was clearly not to Amos' liking, not that he expected a bathtub and hot water, but he would have preferred to be able to retain some semblance of privacy in this camp full of unknown. So of course, when he entered it for the first time, he heard all the whispers behind his back about the multitude of scars that covered his body, and his musculature more than developed for his age. But he kept a stoic face and ignored the troubled looks to focus on his hygiene. Luckily for him, Reiner came to his defense, and encouraged all their male comrades to look the other way, a gesture for which Nox was grateful. However, this experience was beneficial on one point: Eren now looked at him with new admiration and fascination. Which was an excellent thing for the continuation of his plans. On the other hand, Armin observed his scars a little too closely for his taste, so much so that he had to throw him a threatening look to discourage him.
"That little head is very clever," he thought while he was rinsing his hair, "if I sharpen his intelligence it might backfire on me, I need to be more careful."
He took his breakfast alone in order to spare himself other scenes like yesterday's, and he joined the training ground where the only person present before him was Shadis.
He saw him arrive but made no comment, surprisingly. He just watched the instructors who were busy setting up the machines that were going to be used to test the cadets' skills in ODM.
Once everyone was present, Shadis roared:
"It's time for the aptitude test, so listen up! There's no place for you here if you can't pull off something that simple! Fail, and you'll be sent to the fields!
Judging by half of the cadets' faces, it was clear that they were extremely nervous, only a handful seemed confident and another disinterested.
Amos lined up alongside Reiner and Bertholdt to observe the performances of their comrades. Which would also allow him to determine which of them might be worthy of his interest.
"It's not glorious so far," he remarked while observing a cadet who had accomplished the feat of jamming his leg in one of his cables while attempting an acrobatic trick.
"You're right," Reiner sighed, "we already lost a lot of our people yesterday, I have the impression that there will only be a few of us left after all."
"Don't be so negative, they'll just follow a more suitable career path for them, focus on the ones who succeed, they'll be the ones who will cover your back."
Reiner thought for a few seconds, before nodding his resignation.
"You're not wrong," he sighed a little disappointed.
"Nox!" Shadis barked.
"Here we go again", "yes sir?"
"Bring your ass over here!"
"Would it kill you to stop screaming?" "I'm coming, sir!"
The test was surprisingly easy, and Amos was even tempted to mock his instructor. But it could have undone the image he was trying to build with the other cadets.
"Good," Shadis growled, a little disappointed but not surprised, "it seems you're not entirely useless. Get back in line!"
"Yes sir ! Thank you sir !"
As Bertholdt was named next to take the test and Shadis went off to yell at someone else, Reiner gave Amos a good pat on the back as he came back to his side.
"Impressive skill," he complimented.
"Thank you." 'I have no merit, I've been learning to use this thing since I could walk.' "Now let's see how the others are doing."
Jean was a little wobbly but managed to stay upright. Sasha swayed nonchalantly as if bored with the exercise, Connie seemed to have no real difficulty.
And then there was Mikasa, her stance and technique were absolutely perfect, so much so that she seemed to find the whole procedure terribly boring.
"Looks like her genetic attribute is awake," Nox noted with a smile, "perfect."
"Found a girlfriend yet?" Reiner teased after noticing his new friend's interest.
"Hilarious," Amos commented soberly before sharing a bit of his thoughts, "She does interest me, but not for the reasons you have in mind."
Suddenly, a howl of surprise drew attention to the last harness. Poor Eren was hanging upside down, his eyes widen in horror. To make matters worse, his peers laughed at him as if they were ordinary school children.
Shadis, as usual, wasn't helping matters.
"What's the fuck is your problem, Jaeger?! Straighten yourself up!"
"That's strange," the tall blond noted, he squinted, "even if he was pitifully incompetent in omni-dimensionality, he shouldn't have ended up upside down. His equipment is probably damaged… This gives me an excellent opportunity."
He waited a second for Bertholdt to return to join them, before speaking:
"Well, that's backlash," he commented aloud to his comrade, "all his bravado is going to cost him dearly."
"Somehow that will teach him to be humbler," Reiner agreed, "but I'm a little disappointed. I expected a lot more from him considering he was there two years ago."
At these words, Hoover swallowed quietly and tried to make himself very small, Amos ignored him to answer:
"Maybe that's the problem," he theorized, "maybe his emotions are keeping him from balancing properly."
Reiner scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"We have to help him," he decided suddenly, to Bertholdt's surprise.
"Calm down," Amos almost laughed, "let's see how the others are doing first. Then we will advise."
Braun nodded again, before returning to the tests. For his part, Hoover watched Nox discreetly with growing concern.
(-) (-) (-)
Combat training wasn't really the part Amos was looking forward to the most, in fact he didn't even want to participate in it. Unfortunately Shadis left him no choice.
The recruits had quickly separated into pairs, and Amos had been forced to knock Bertholdt down five times in a row as the other cadets looked at him with dumbfounded expressions. However, he was not the only one to stand out during the exercise. Mikasa, Christa Lenz and Annie Leonhart wowed the regiment with their fighting prowess.
When the day was done, Amos retired to his bed beside Reiner and Bertholdt. The trio proceeded to discuss their comrades' performances today. Well, Braun and Nox were, Hoover was more a spectator than a participant.
Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing an Eren who seemed to be on the edge of an abyss, Armin was chasing him trying to calm him down.
"Please," he begged and threw himself in front of the other three surprised cadets, "you must tell me how you did it!" he begged. "You did the exercise perfectly! What's your secret?!"
"Wow, wow, wow!" Amos exclaimed, irritated at Jaeger's panicked tone. "Calm down! Take a deep breath!"
Nox was almost shocked to see the Shinganshina native comply with his instructions without flinching, this sudden turnaround in behavior in the space of twenty-four hours left him perplexed.
"Damn…he's one of the most emotive persons I've met. Yesterday he put himself on a pedestal for having seen the titans and for having the guts to go and face them. Now he has fallen from so high, that he is ready to bow to anyone to grab the slope before touching the bottom. Good."
"I'm sorry," Reiner replied, "but there's no real secret to master the posture. You just need to have a good balance."
Eren looked like he was about to collapse upon hearing this, but surprisingly, it was Bertholdt who gave him hope:
"We talked about your case earlier," he blurted out to everyone's surprise.
The multiple pairs of eyes turned in his direction and Jaeger's imploring gaze were enough to make Hoover retreat behind his shyness.
"Come on," Reiner encouraged him and put a hand on his shoulder, "tell him."
"Well… uh…" muttered the tall boy, uncomfortable with so much attention on him. "We deduced that there… uh… there were only two possibilities. Either you have no balance… or… you have a psychological problem."
"Exactly," Amos confirmed and turned back to the Shinganshina native who looked dubious.
Eren frowned.
"What do you mean by that?"
"We mean that you feel certain emotions so violently that you can't keep your head cool enough to succeed."
"It could be the problem," Armin agreed to Jaeger's surprise.
The latter wasn't sure he was understanding what his comrades were referring to, but he seemed to be satisfied with the fact that they may have found the source of his failure.
"Okay, how do I do that?"
"Calm down," Reiner urged, "we haven't checked to see if that's the problem yet."
With that, he and Amos stood up and examined an uneasy Eren.
"Stand up," Nox ordered authoritatively, "stand straight on one leg and raise your arms crosswise."
Jaeger raised his eyebrows in incomprehension, but complied with the tall blond's demands without question. Once in position, his gaze flicked between the pensive expressions of the two taller boys.
"What now?" he asked before Amos gently nudged his shoulder to capsize him.
He flapped his arms to regain balance, and glared at Nox with his eyes gleaming with anger.
"What the fuck?! Do you think that's funny?!"
The tall blond's predatory gaze instantly silenced him, Armin shivered when he saw it.
"You seem to have a good sense of balance," Reiner noted. "You can stop now."
Eren frowned in surprise, and put his left foot back on the ground.
"So," Amos went on and clasped his hands while reducing the violence of his gaze, "the problem is apparently psychological. To remedy this, you need to question yourself."
With these words, Nox began to observe him with a severity that made the young man uneasy.
"What are you afraid of?"
Eren almost jumped when he heard this question, he had the unpleasant feeling that the blond was dissecting him.
"I'm afraid ... to fail!" he exclaimed. I'm afraid to spend my whole life recluse like cattle! I'm afraid something like this will happen again and I'll still be weak when it does!"
Amos took a moment to observe him again, he still refused to reveal to the young man that his equipment was damaged, he had to keep this ace up his sleeve until the most opportune moment.
"You..." Bertholdt said, surprised by his statement. "Well ... you two aren't afraid of titans? After everything you've seen?"
Eren and Armin exchanged a look before the smaller one answered:
"I ran away before I saw what the titans were capable of," he admitted and lowered his head. "Unlike Eren… But I… I knew I couldn't just sit there after the government forced all those innocent people to take part in the operation to retake Wall Maria, I have to do something about it."
Amos was particularly interested in this statement, he knew that no children had participated in this massacre, and feared that delinquency and criminality would increase exponentially with all these orphans.
"Fortunately the army budget has increased," he mused, "because of that, a lot of kids like Armin tried to join the military rather than go down the wrong path. It would have pissed me off to find a kid as young as him in a brothel."
"And you two?" the little blond asked Reiner and Bertholdt. "Where do you come from?"
The two tall boobies exchanged a look, before Hoover answered:
"From a small village in the mountains, southeast of Wall Maria.
Hearing this, Nox frowned. He was about to ask which village he was talking about, but Armin and Eren cut him off by gasping loudly.
"But ... began the little blond, but then ... does that mean ...?"
Bertholdt nodded grimly.
"Yes… unlike the big towns along the river, we weren't warned of the fall of Wall Maria. The titans were upon us before we even realized what was happening. It didn't happen until the early morning…all the cattle were freaking out…and then we heard these intense footsteps getting louder and louder…and we realized…well…I opened my window and ...I don't remember anything...
Reiner rose to come and sit next to his friend.
"Calm down," he reassured, "it's over now, no need to panic."
"Sorry," Bertholdt whispered and put a hand to his forehead, "I…"
He cleared his throat and continued in a calmer voice:
"All of us here, we are different from the others, we have all seen the horrors of the Titans."
"I'm sorry to contradict you," Amos interrupted him flatly, "but I've never seen a titan in my life."
"That's not true, but it's better if they don't know."
"Perhaps," Reiner replied, 'but from my point of view, you have more than enough scares under your sleeves to be like the others."
Nox raises his emerald eyes with an annoyed glow and noticed the sympathetic gazes of his four comrades.
"No questions," he said and raised an intransigent finger, "the less you know, the better off you'll be."
"Noted," Reiner replied respectfully.
There was an awkward moment of silence before he spoke again:
"Let's go out and get some fresh air, with the way our discussion is going, we better not let our comrades think we're just special because we're survivors… Even if we are."
(-)(-)(-)
The coolness of the night was a small pleasure that Amos welcomed, the five cadets had slipped away just before curfew and had fed in the forest, guided by the torches carried by the two talleslt blonds.
"Someone is following us," Nox noticed, glancing back very briefly, "It's probably Mikasa."
"Most people are here for safety, you know?" Bertholdt blurted without warning. "They do what society expects of them. And to be honest, I'm not that different. I joined the army to integrate the Military Police, to take refuge behind Wall Sina. If that doesn't work out, I'll give up the idea of becoming a soldier. I don't have the guts to do anything else."
" The Garrison in Sina is recruiting a lot more since Maria fell, you know?" Amos said sympathetically.
Hoover seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, before nodding.
"Thanks…but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a coward."
The fatality with which he spoke seized the other three cadets in the guts.
"There's no shame in wanting to take care of your life, Bertholdt," Armin wanted to reassure.
"Mill-advised is anyone who thinks they can judge you," Amos added.
The tall boy gave them a grateful smile, before he looked back in front of him.
"As for me," Reiner blurted, "I'm going to reconquer our village in order to return home. It's the only thing that matters to me, whatever it costs me, I'll get there."
A silence fell, before Hoover spoke again:
"And you Amos? Which army corps do you want to join?"
"The Survey Corps," he replied to Eren's pleasant surprise.
At these words, Reiner stoped to give him a questioning look.
"Why?" he asked sincerely curious. "You had a bright future in Sina. You could have spent happy days sheltered from the titans. Why did you drop everything out to become a scout?"
Nox took a moment for himself and realized that all eyes were on his person, those of Armin and Eren were particularly curious.
"For several reasons," he finally replied, losing his emerald gaze in the darkness, "the first is very simple: I want to go home, to Holst, find my mother's body and bury it, with all the dignity she deserves."
The firm tone which he had used to pronounce this resolution touched the hearts of the cadets, Eren was particularly admiring. He wished he could do the same.
"There are other reasons," Amos added, "and most do not concern you. But my main reason... is this: Nobles, merchants, politicians, even criminals are obsessed with their legacy. However, they are more interested by money, power and material possessions that they bequeath to their children while ignoring entirely the World in which they will grow up. These fools fail to realize that these things will have absolutely no value if the apocalypse comes knocking on our doors twice more. A few years ago our World was much bigger than what we have today, but now it is nothing more than a piece of land on which we are obliged to huddle and sacrifice useless mouths. As a result, everyone is doomed to go crazy sooner or later from being locked up."
Eren gasped at Nox's speech, he totally found himself in every argument he provided. Slowly but surely, he felt his inner fire burning again.
Amos continued:
"This shitty world we live in, it's not the kind of world I want to leave to my children, I want to offer them a safer place, where they will grow up without having to hide like rats to stay alive. I don't care if I have to live the most abominable existence ever, as long as they have this chance, I would be satisfied with my life."
Reiner marveled at the resolve and sincerity that had escaped the young man's words, and for a moment he found himself wanting the same thing. But he shook his head to come back to reality, he was doing the same thing, that was why he was there.
"You're really not like the others, Nox," he commented while smiling.
"That doesn't mean I'm a good person, Braun. Only monsters change the world."
"'About you, Eren?" he asked aloud. "Why do you want to join the scouts?"
Jaeger's eyes burned with a fiery determination that didn't escape Amos' sharp look.
'I've simply decided that I must exterminate them all," he declared firmly, "I won't stop until they have all perished, down to the last one."
If Reiner and Bertholdt were shocked by these words, Amos kept his disappointment hidden behind a falsely impressed face.
"So that's why he's so emotional… he's bloodthirsty. This will greatly complicate my task."
Unlike him, Braun was genuinely impressed.
"You saw what these monsters were capable of, and you still want to go after them?"
"Yeah, Eren added before lowering his eyes in shame." but now, it's a question whether or not I'm actually cut out to be a soldier."
"If you're giving up for so little, you should give up right now," Amos said unceremoniously.
At these words, Jaeger raised his head, he was vexed.
"The Hell do you mean by that?"
"Failure is a step forward, not an impassable chasm. By failing yesterday you found a reason to question yourself, and you learned a good lesson in humility."
The native of Shinganshina blushed while thinking of his bravado the day before, he looked down and growled in sigh.
The group of boys emerged on the top of a ridge, from where they could see the reflection of the moonlight on the surface of a lake. The light illuminated Eren's face, the beauty of the landscape gave him hope.
"Now," Amos said and turned to the two Shinganshina natives, "we have work to do. We'll start by training your balance, then we'll adjust your belt, by tomorrow you'll be ready."
The light from the torch the tall blonde was using accentuated the sparkle in his emerald eyes, mesmerizing the two friends with the confidence that emanated from them.
"I know you've got what it takes," Reiner smiled, crossing his arms, "and everyone here will help you prove it.
Eren couldn't believe his ears, he met the eyes of each of his companions to see the trust they had in him. Jaeger clenched his fists and teeth, held back his tears, and let his inner fire speak for him:
"Guys ..." he tried to control his emotions. "I'll get there! I swear to you !"
"Good," Amos concluded, smiling with satisfaction, "back to work now."
(-)(-)(-)
Eren's training lasted for almost two hours, two hours during which the native of Shinganshina was subjected to a series of exercises of all kinds to improve his balance, and to multiple lessons to ensure the proper functioning of his equipment by himself. However, to Amos' surprise, the damaged part did not come to light during the inspections conducted by Reiner and Bertholdt. Which left only two possibilities: either he had made a mistake, and Jaeger's problem was indeed psychological, or the malfunction was unverifiable by performing basic inspections... Which hinted to the possibility of a sabotage.
The five cadets finished their nocturnal expedition a little after midnight and returned to their dormitory on tiptoe to avoid being pinched by the supervisors.
As they walked vigilantly through the shadows of the buildings, Nox resumed his thoughts:
"I'd have to take his belt off to see if it's really damaged," he thought, "if it's indeed sabotage, I don't see who could have broken into the workshop without being caught by Shadis to pull off such a stunt… Except maybe…"
He turned his head in the direction of the forest, and just had time to see a silhouette slipping behind a tree. He raised an amused eyebrow and suppressed the hint of a smile.
To his comrades' surprise, he informed them that he had a little errand to run before going to bed and promised that it wouldn't be long. They wanted to protest, but he disappeared into the shadows before they had time to.
Amos walked calmly to the tree the figure had been hiding behind, crossed his arms and called out:
"Would you be so kind as to grant me a little place in that darkness of yours, Mikasa?"
The oriental slightly widened her raven eyes, and came out of her hiding place.
"How did you know it was me?"
The tall blond didn't answer right away, he infiltrated the darkness and leaned his shoulder against the trunk.
"I noticed someone was following us, and given the beautiful display of motherly overprotection you showed at dinner yesterday, I suspected it was you."
The Ackerman frowned suspiciously.
"What do you want?"
"Did you sabotage Eren's belt?"
She widened her eyes in surprise.
"Someone sabotaged Eren's belt?"
"Uh… so it wasn't you…" the tall blond observered, clearly disappointed. "Too bad, that made sense..."
Without warning, the young woman grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the tree.
"Tell me everything you know, now."
A furious predatory gleam seized the emerald gaze of Amos, the latter closed his hands on the arms of the half-blood and pressed several points in her joints and muscles.
Mikasa suddenly felt ants invade her muscles, Nox took advantage of her temporary weakness to push her away.
"Don't fucking touch me," he growled in an angry tone before he adjusted the collar of his shirt, "do you hear me?"
"What did you do to me?" replied the oriental with the same tone.
She was feeling the ants invading her fingers.
"I crushed the nerves in your deltoids," Amos replied, "it doesn't hurt very much, but you're going to have a hard time repeating your feat of strength for a moment."
"Had she been normal, her arms would have been useless by now."
Mikasa blasted him with a murderous glare and got into a fighting stance, which made him roll his eyes.
"You know we can settle this by talking?" he remarked wearily. "There is no need to resort to violence."
The oriental seemed furious, she weighed her options for a few seconds, looked at her hands in frustration… And finally let herself be convinced.
"Speak," she blurted without opening her jaws.
"Oh, I'll be happy to teach you some manners. You arrogant cow."
"Even if Eren had no balance, he should never have ended up upside down," Amos explained. "Which led me to believe that his equipment was faulty. But as we found nothing while inspecting it, I thought that the problem could be deeper, and if that was the case, it could only be sabotage."
Mikasa frowned again.
"And why did you think it was me?"
"Because I've noticed your desire to protect him, I suspect you have no desire to see him become a soldier, am I right?"
The young woman lowered her eyes slightly, she understood why he'd think that, and indeed, she was the ideal suspect.
"I don't want to see him become a soldier," she confirmed, pulling her scarf up over her face, "but I didn't sabotage his equipment.
"I know," Amos sighed and crossed his arms again. "Has he always been so emotional? Even before Maria?"
Mikasa eyed him suspiciously.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"To help him."
"I don't trust you."
Nox scoffed.
"Good, that means you're not an idiot, who the hell would give their trust away so quickly?"
The oriental hated the haughty and authoritative tone with which he spoke, she had the feeling that he addressed her as if she were a child.
Once again, she took a moment to weigh her options, and finally gave in to his request… for Eren's sake:
"He's more or less always been like that," she finally answered with a nostalgic look. "He always rushed headlong into fights with the other kids whenever he or Armin was bullied. He goes after anyone who disrespects him or gets in his way."
She lifted her scarf over her nose before concluding:
"I wish he were more careful."
Amos scratched his chin thoughtfully, before shrugging.
"In that case, he will pass tomorrow's exercise without any problem," he said, visibly satisfied by this discussion. "On that, good night."
But as he turned on his heels, the Oriental put a overpowered hand on his shoulder.
"If you ever hurt him, I will…
Without warning, Amos whirled around and threw her grip away with a violent backhand. Mikasa almost widened her eyes when she saw his furious face.
"I told you not to fucking touch me," he hissed with an icy voice, "do you understand me?" Never touch me again!"
If she was still angry and suspicious, the half-blood only had to observe the genuine anger in the young man's eyes to understand that she had crossed a line. She slowly retracted her hand as Nox snorted and started to walk back to his dormitory.
"Amos?" she finally called before he was too far away. "I'm sorry."
The tall blond paused, rolled his eyes in annoyance, and turned around one last time.
"Girls…" he growled inwardly.
"Okay," he conceded despite his anger, "just…don't do that again."
"I won't."
"Thank you ... nice haircut by the way."
Surprised by this compliment, the oriental girl pulled her scarf up over her nose, and watched Nox leave without looking back.
"He's weird," she mused as she headed back to her dormitory.
(-) (-) (-)
When the second aptitude test took place, Amos stood by Reiner and Bertholdt. His gaze met Mikasa's briefly, but they looked away at the same time.
"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?" Shadis asked, staring at him.
"Yes sir!" he asserted. " I will do it! I may not have raw ability, but no one has more guts than me!"
"Go for it!" the instructor ordered the cadets who lifted him.
"To hell with logic! I know it's completely baseless but my guts are all I have! It's my weapon!"
Not without difficulty, he managed to stay perfectly balanced for the first time, and if the other cadets seemed impressed, Amos was almost disappointed.
"So it was just a simple issue of self-confidence, too bad... I could have sworn that..."
He didn't have time to finish thinking that Eren found himself upside down, his eyes bulging in terror.
" What the…? Did…did that little prick manage to balance on faulty hardware?!" he thought bewildered, "how the hell did he manage...? Ah...I see...He held on by willpower alone. "
He let out a slightly resigned smile.
"I was going to help him so that Armin and Mikasa would also stay, given their respective talents. But Eren earned his place by himself, I must admit that I underestimated him."
"Sir?!" he suddenly shouted as Eren started to stammer in terror. "I think Cadet Jaeger's belt is broken!"
All eyes turned to Nox, before returning to the concerned who had looked down at his pelvis to confirm his words. But the shrill voice of Shadis interrupted him in his tracks:
"If you're so sure of yourself, why don't you come and exchange your equipment with him?! And if he ever crashes again, you'll be the one to pull plants!"
Amos stiffened at this, but he nodded nonetheless.
"Eren, if you mess up again I'll torture you for weeks and make sure your body is never found." he thought, stepping forward and undoing his belt.
They proceeded with the exchange without a word, and Nox waited on the side for Eren to pass the exercise, which he did easily.
"Looks like you were right," Shadis growled with a visceral hatred that was totally inappropriate in the young man's eyes. "Do you want Cadet Jaeger to throw himself at your feet to lick your boots?"
"That won't be necessary, sir," he replied, satisfied by the grateful look of the suspended young man.
"So ..." the latter stuttered, "the test ...?"
"The fitting of your belt was broken," explained the instructor, showing the tool, "therefore it was difficult for you to balance. I didn't know this part could break, it will have to be added to the maintenance list. Your test is successful cadet, put your heart into it."
Eren was so happy to hear those words that he almost wiped away a tear, he looked incredibly grateful at Amos. But the blond was focused on the belt.
"That's what I thought, this reeks of sabotage. I wonder why he did that..."
"Nox!" Shadis yelled. "Since this belt interests you so much, you will have it replaced and take a new one on the way!"
"Yes, sir," he replied, taking away the defective item.
He nodded to Eren, met Mikasa's grateful gaze, and walked towards the armory, examining the damaged fittings.
"He could have tried a little harder to cover up his attempt though, there are screwdriver marks on the metal..."
"That was very nice of you," whispered a voice he knew well.
Looking up from the belt, Nox gave a small smile.
"You shouldn't talk to me in public," he replied in the same tone, not looking at the little angel from heaven walking beside him, "and I didn't do that out of the goodness of my heart."
"I'm not so sure," Christa Lenz said, smiling back.
Amos wanted to retort, but the only thing that escaped his lips was a sigh of exasperation that caused the girl to chuckle.
"I want you to apologize to Sasha."
This request made the tall blond's eyes roll.
"Amos," she insisted firmly, "I am very serious. What you did was disproportionate, go apologize and give her part of your meal as compensation."
To this Nox frowned in confusion.
"Why do you care so much about a food-addicted idiot who thinks with her stomach?"
"I don't care about her, no one ever wanted to see you act this way. Especially for such an insignificant reason. She just found you beautiful..."
"Hiss…"
"No Amos," she replied firmly. "That's not how we were raised. Go apologize to her."
Nox paused to take a deep breath and clenched his fists and teeth. 'Hiss' had hit the nail on the head and hit hard, the face of a woman with long black hair and oriental features forced itself into his mind. He exhaled loudly, shaking his head to ease the headache that was beginning to afflict him, and finally nodded.
"Okay," he sighed, "I'll apologize…and give her part of my meal."
The smile that appeared on Christa's face was undoubtedly the first real smile she had displayed in a long time.
Once they had passed through the doors of the armory, she took advantage of their isolation to throw herself into his arms and hug him with all her might.
Amos was surprised by this gesture, but he gladly returned the hug.
"I'm glad you're here," she whispered, holding back tears. "I love you big brother."
"I love you too, little sister."
Christa felt a slight twinge in her heart hearing him say those words, because while they were sincere, they weren't as warm as they once were. Truth be told, they hadn't been warm in over three years. She tightened her embrace thinking of the old days, she would give anything to get her big brother back.