Chapter 5

After the first day of training, Eren was in the mess hall eating soup. Mikasa and Armin were next to him as a group began to crowd their table.

'I guess word got around that we're from Shiganshina. Or maybe they just overheard Armin this morning' Eren really didn't feel like talking to them , but he wouldn't be an asshole.

"Did you see the colossal titan?"

"So what did it look like, I heard it was taller than the wall"

"Yeah I saw it. It was huge, tall enough to peak its head over the wall." Eren replied.

"I heard it stepped over the wall!"

"Me too!"

"No it definitely isn't that big. It probably kicked the wall and afterwards it vanished, like it was never there. Don't you find it weird? " Eren said. The groups conversation was pretty loud and could be heard from everyone in the hall. He took a slight peak at Bertholt to see him look quite nervous. Nobody would suspect him of course. Annie and Reiner who were sitting next to him looked uninterested.

"How about the Armored Titan! I heard it ran right through the wall! What did it look like?"

"It had armour and ran right through the wall like a human. He and the colossal are definitely different the other titans" Eren said. Armin and Mikasa seemed to catch on to what he was saying. 'Could it be?' Armin thought. Eren knew that right now he can't expose them. He could only hope that his words made the others suspect such a possibility.

"What were the titans like? I heard they were all scary. Man eating abominations" Learning hat they were from Shiganshina, they wanted to ask all sorts of questions.

Eren looked up at the other cadets around the table. They all looked anxious waiting for his answer.

"I honestly don't want to see another Titan again. That day was a nightmare and I'll never forget it" Eren said while taking a spoon of soup.

"Cmon guys , maybe we shouldn't ask anymore" Marco said. The others realized what they were doing and were about to leave until Eren began to talk again.

"I came here to learn how to kill titans. I'm not going to run away from them either. I'll eventually have to face my fears and overcome them if I want to take back what they took from me" Eren told them. Some of the other cadets hearing this couldn't help but feel a certain way. Almost all of them have never seen a Titan a day in their lives and hearing the rumors obviously made them scared of them. Like Eren said , they would have to overcome their fears.

"Once I join the Survey Corps, we'll definitely drive them out." Eren said smiling a bit while putting his arm around Armins shoulder and holding Mikasa's hand under the table. She was trying really hard not to blush.

"Hey are you delusional or something? Join the survey corps? Drive out the titans? You have to be kidding me" a voice said. Eren looked over to see Jean walking over to him. 'Of course...'

"What's it to you? I assume you're going to be joining the Military Police?" Eren asked looking directly into Jeans eyes.

Jean smirked and said "of course I am, why would I want to be in the front lines to get eaten. Ide rather say the truth than act like I'm not piss scared like the rest of us."

Eren sighed and then said,

"I honestly don't care about your opinion. I'm not going to force you to join the Survey Corps , you can make your own decisions for yourself , but I suggest you keep what you have to say for yourself." Eren said. He honestly wasn't going to argue with him on something as stupid as this. He wasn't going to insult anyone for choosing the Military Police nor was he going to encourage Jean to do so unless he had a motive for it. He'd let him make his own decision.

Hearing the bell ring , everyone started to leave. Armin had already left but Mikasa stayed with him.

"Hey, I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to doubt you" Jean said while holding his hand out.

"Yeah" Eren said as he tapped his hand back and walked away. Mikasa began to follow him but before she could walk out.

"Um , excuse me" she looked over to see Jean with a blush on his face.

"I , uh... I've never seen you around here before. You have really beautiful black hair" she didn't know why he seemed so nervous or was even talking to her. She needed to get to Eren so she just turned around and thanked him.

Jean seeing her just walk away and nonchalantly respond back felt a bit dispirited. Was he ugly? Seeing her disappear , he ran up outside just to see her walking away with Eren at her side. He was twirling her hair between his fingers while Mikasa had a slight blush to her face.

'That fucking bastard.....'

As Connie walked by him, he slapped his hand on his chest. "Hey! What was that for? What did you wipe on me!" An annoyed Connie asked.

"Don't worry. Just my trust....."

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When Mikasa caught up to Eren she glanced at him and asked. "Are you okay"

Eren just looked at her and tilted his head to the side. "Why would I be?" Mikasa glanced back at him.

"I just thought you were annoyed by that boy back there" she said. Eren took her left hand in his right and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"No, I'm not annoyed, or mad. I wasn't going to force him to join the Survey Corps if he didn't want to. I won't force anyone." Eren said as they continued to walk hand in hand.

"So what did he say to you?" Eren asked. Mikasa turned to look at him. 'Is he jealous?' "He just said my hair looks beautiful" Mikasa replied. She didn't care about what some stranger said about her. She only cared about what Eren has to say.

Eren untangled his hand with hers and took a bit of her hair in between his fingers. "He's right, your hair really is beautiful. It's getting pretty long" Mikasa blushed and asked "Do you think I should cut it?"

"If you really want to then go ahead, you could just tie it up. I personally like your long hair" Eren said as he held her hand again.

"Ok... " Mikasa responded back with a smile she hid with her scarf. She was definitely not going to cut her hair after she heard what he said. She loved it when he complimented her. It made her feel good about herself.

After walking Mikasa back to her cabin, Eren left to his own. Tomorrow morning they'd be doing the maneuver gear testing.

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The cadets were gathered around the field testing out their balance. Mikasa was up there easily balancing herself and staying steady. When Eren took his turn he started to tilt back and form. It looked like he was having a difficult time trying to stay up.

When Mikasa and Armin saw this they knew something was up. They knew first hand how strong Eren was and this should be easy for him.

Even with a tempered gear Eren was able to hold himself up , but of course the others didn't know that. Mikasa and Armin included. As soon as Eren tried to balance himself again, he ended up falling on his head. 'Fucking Keith Shadis...' Eren thought. He knew why this was happening.

"What is the problem Yeager! Straighten yourself up!" Keith shouted at him.

'What a bastard'

"Sir! I think my gear is damaged!" Eren said.

He smiled a bit and looked at Keith. Keith was completely surprised but had to hold himself back from showing it. It would look too suspicious.

The others hearing him say this, looked at him in surprise. 'Damaged !?' They all thought. If it was damaged then how was he able to stay up at the beginning? They thought he couldn't just stomach the fact that he wasn't good enough.

"Stop sprouting bullshit. Just accept the fact that you can't do it as good at the others" someone yelled in the crowd. Of course Eren knew exactly who it was.

"Damaged? And what makes you think that" Keith asked him. 'Does he know' Of course he was nervous inside. It would be embarrassing if the higher ups and others were to learn that he was tempering with a trainees gear.

"Something like this should be easy for me, I know it." He replied. It may seem arrogant but he had to be at the top and excel at everything to get the attention of the survey corps early on. And he also did not like embarrassing himself in front of others.

Keith reluctantly agreed and had his belt switched. He didn't bother checking the other one as he just told an instructor to bring it back to the other supplies.

When Eren switches belts , the results were completely different.