Attack On Titan: Hope

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Smiling means letting your guard down in front of another person, even if just a little.

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The summer sun blazed mercilessly over the sprawling training grounds where the 104th Cadet Corps stood in rigid formation, their hands pressed against their chests.

The air was thick with heat and tension as Commander Keith Shadis's thunderous voice reverberated across the field.

"Straighten your spines, pissheads!" Shadis bellowed, his voice cutting through the scorching air like a whip.

The cadets, dressed in their brown leather jackets adorned with the crossed swords of the Cadet Corps, snapped to attention, their eyes glued to the imposing figure before them.

"The 104th Cadet Corps boot camp starts now!" Shadis continued, his tone sharp and unyielding. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Keith Shadis, and I guarantee, you will grow to hate me."

His eyes, cold and piercing, swept over the sea of determined faces. "Training will be a right knuckle-dragging hell. If I've done my job right, you'll wake up every night in a cold sweat, haunted by memories of this place for the rest of your miserable lives!"

The recruits stood still, their expressions hardened by the weight of Shadis's words. His presence alone cast a shadow over them, a figure that embodied both authority and menace.

"Right now, you're nothing!" Shadis barked.

"But over the next three soul-crushing years, you'll learn to take down your own Goliath! Remember this moment when you come face-to-face with them, 'cause here's what you'll ask yourself: Am I a fighter or am I feed? Am I going to be ground up into human grease between boulder-sized incisors, or am I going to be the one to bite?!"

His words landed like hammer blows, striking sparks of determination in the hearts of the cadets. They stood taller, chins lifted, but Shadis wasn't finished.

His gaze fell on Armin Arlert, a slender boy with wide, intelligent eyes, standing firm despite the waves of intimidation rolling off their commander.

"Hey, mop-top!" Shadis barked, making his way toward Armin. "What's your name, maggot?"

"Sir! Armin Arlert from Shiganshina, sir!" Armin responded quickly, his voice steady but his heart pounding.

Shadis sneered, stepping closer until his face was inches from Armin's. "Arlert, huh? Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?"

"It was my grandfather's name, sir!" Armin replied, his voice trembling slightly under Shadis's cold scrutiny.

Shadis's eyes bore into Armin's, sharp and mocking. "Why is a runt like you here, Arlert?"

Armin swallowed, fear flickering in his eyes before he responded, "To help humanity overcome the Titans, sir!"

Shadis laughed, his voice dripping with scorn. "That's the best to hear, Arlert. You'll make a fine light snack for 'em."

As Shadis moved on, his gaze sweeping over the other cadets, he continued his tirade of insults and humiliation.

The goal was clear: break them down, strip away any sense of pride or individuality. Only then, after they were shattered, would he begin to mold them into soldiers.

For the cadets of the 104th, this was the beginning of their transformation—a trial by fire that would forge them into warriors capable of standing against the Titans.

But for now, they were just raw, trembling recruits standing in the scorching heat, at the mercy of Commander Shadis's brutal, unrelenting training.

Keith's piercing gaze swept across the cadets, lingering on each face like a predator sizing up its prey. He was searching for weakness, hesitation, anything that might betray the fear lurking beneath their determined expressions.

He halted before a light, ash-brown-haired cadet whose equine features and trembling voice immediately caught his attention.

"And what do we have here?" Keith boomed, stepping closer.

"Jean Kirstein, sir, from Trost District!" Jean blurted, his voice unsteady.

Keith's eyes narrowed, his voice dripping with disdain. "And why are you here, Kirstein?"

Jean hesitated for a moment, then gave the answer that would seal his fate. "To join the Military Police and live in the Interior, sir!"

The look of disgust on Keith's face was immediate. He stepped forward, his voice rising into a snarl. "The Interior?!" Without warning, Keith slammed his forehead into Jean's, a painful head-butt that sent the cadet stumbling back, grunting in pain.

"No one told you to lie down, cadet," Keith spat. "If you can't handle this, forget the Military Police."

Jean barely managed to steady himself, gritting his teeth as Keith moved on. The commander's brutal evaluations continued, crushing the spirits of every cadet he encountered, each more deflated than the last.

"And who are you?" Keith roared as he stopped in front of a tall, dark-haired girl with empty, grey eyes. Mikasa Ackerman stood as still as a statue, her expression unreadable, her voice calm and robotic as she introduced herself and declared her intent to join the Scouts.

A ripple of whispers spread through the ranks behind her. "Is she serious?" one cadet muttered. "Does she have a death wish?" another whispered.

Keith's voice thundered once again, silencing the murmurs. "Oh, so you're one of those kids in their heroic phases, huh? You think you have what it takes to kill a Titan?" His voice was thick with mockery.

"I do," Mikasa responded, her gaze unwavering, cutting through Keith like a blade.

For a moment, Keith simply stared at her, his expression hard. Then, unexpectedly, a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Well let's see about that," he muttered, his voice low and dangerous as he moved past her, leaving the cadets to wonder what kind of hell awaited them.

Keith's relentless inspection pressed on. He stopped briefly in front of Connie Springer, whom he dubbed "Cue Ball" for his rounded, bald features, delivering a verbal jab before continuing.

Finally, he reached Sasha Braus, already infamous among the cadets for her audacity. During her interview, Sasha had brazenly eaten a boiled potato in front of Keith, and she was now paying the price for it. Her punishment?

A grueling 10-lap run around the training field—one she would complete without complaint, her spirit seemingly unbroken.

But Keith wasn't finished with her yet. He loomed over Sasha, adding a week-long penalty of dry bread and thin soup to her punishment, and that, finally, shattered her composure.

Sasha's defiant facade cracked, revealing the very real horror of being denied her usual meals. Her face fell, and she let out a groan of despair, but Keith's expression remained impassive as he continued his ruthless inspection.

By the end of it, no cadet was left unscathed. Keith Shadis was determined to break them all, reducing them to nothing so he could rebuild them into warriors fit to face the horrors of the battlefield.

Except for one last cadet,"INTRODUCE YOURSELF!" Keith roared, his voice dripping with impatience as he stopped in front of a boy with striking green eyes that glinted like emeralds, even under the oppressive summer sun.

The boy's expression, however, was dull—composed, emotionless. But there was something about him, something sharp lurking beneath that calm facade. He wasn't like the others.

His physique was solid, muscular, and his tall frame stood unwavering, like a stone wall against Keith's fury. Those green eyes bore into Keith with an intensity that matched the commander's own—dangerous, unyielding, and fearless.

The other cadets could feel the tension in the air as the standoff unfolded. Keith's eyes narrowed, his commanding presence failing to rattle the boy before him. The silence dragged for a heartbeat longer before the cadet spoke, his voice even, but carrying a weight that felt almost defiant.

"My name is Eren Yeager...."

Mikasa's eyes, once hollow and devoid of feeling, widened as the words pierced through her thoughts. Her heart skipped a beat, and a flood of memories surged forward, overwhelming the cold emptiness that had consumed her for so long.

Her gaze swept across the vast, endless training field, the harsh sunlight beating down on the rows of cadets. But her focus was on one person.

Her voice trembled as tears began to cascade down her cheeks, one after the other, like an unstoppable torrent as her gaze fell on the very person she had loved her entire life.

"Eren!"

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Hello Eren here! Anyways if you want to become a Patreon or get access to all these chapters earlier just head over to Patreon and search the name 'Eren_Yeager_15'

The following chapters are available for Patreons so make sure you check them out also join the Patreon community and become a member for free.

The following chapters are available for Patreons

Chapter 2 Tiny Fractures

Chapter 3 Call Of Silence

Chapter 4 Someone You Loved

Chapter 5 Silence

Chapter 6 The Fall Of My Heart

Chapter 7 All I Want Is You

Chapter 8 Announcement

Chapter 9 I Was Never There

Chapter 10 Juvenile Mind

Chapter 11 Break Your Heart

P.S Honestly it'd mean alot if you simply just become a member of the community. Thanks. Enjoy! I hope even one of you commits to join the page.

Note. Read My Other Works as well.

I'm Eren Yeager

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