(06) Trainee Corps III

Reiner and Strauss watched on in anticipation as Eren and Annie faced each other off in Martial Arts class. Eren looked at Annie nervously as she took on a combat stance.

'I always thought she was scary normally, but now she's actually pissed! Damn you reiner!'.

Eren took a deep breath, calming himself down. Facing Annie like this reminded him of the spars he used to have with Strauss which he dubbed as 'training'. To Eren they always seemed to be an excuse to beat him up.

Eren could tell easily, in terms of raw strength, Annie was nowhere near close to Strauss, or even Mikasa for that matter, but her technique looked like it was miles beyond them.

He wasn't quite sure why, but in those few moments, he remembered something Strauss always reprimanded him for.

'You idiot! The reason you always lose is cause you charge in head first without a single thought! Listen I'm no great fighter by any means but even I know the key to fighting is keeping your balance. One wrong move and you end up on the floor and before you know it, your head is being either punched in or kicked in! Probably both!'.

Eren suddenly crouched down a bit, shifting his center of gravity so that it would be harder to tip him off balance. A look of pride flashed on Strauss' face. He charged forward with the wooden dagger in hand only to jump away as Annie tried to throw a leg kick at him.

Eren launched towards Annie's side, trying to tackle her down to the floor but immediately stopped and raised his arms in an attempt to block an oncoming punch.

"Huh?". Eren felt confused for a second, not feeling any impact. His world suddenly span though, landing on his back hard as he felt the air get knocked out of him.

"Damn, ever heard of holding back?"

"You're the one who charged at a frail girl like me. I had to protect myself", Annie snapped back. She then turned to Reiner, the mastermind who orchestrated this spar.

Reiner felt himself sweating profusely. Looking to Strauss at his side with a begging look. The latter just shrugged as he pushed Reiner forward towards Annie.

Seconds was all it took for Reiner to end up on the floor right next to Eren.

Annie began to walk away, content with her work until Strauss stepped forward with a small smile. Watching the spars made him want to test his skills against her as well.

"How about you go a round with me now?"

"No". Strauss was a bit dumbfounded at her immediate rejection. "Those two were light work. But your a monster. You have physical strength that no human being should be capable of, and even if I somehow win, it'll hurt like hell. So no. I'll pass". Strauss stood there stupefied listening to her explanation. He looked at Eren and Reiner who seemed to be agreeing with her. This was a first. Looks like he wouldn't be able to test his combat skills any time soon due to being a lot stronger than everyone else. He could only watch on dejectedly as Annie walked away.

"Cadets! Gather at the front!". Hearing the booming voice of their instructor, the cadets all followed his command as a few rows were formed. They all faced the instructor, backs straight and arms behind them.

"Soon, three years will have come to a close! Which means that it's about time for your final assessments which will decide if you're qualified to be soldiers or not. If you don't want these past three years to go down the drain and be a waste, I suggest you prepare well as these assessments start next week!"

The cadets listened with various emotions coursing through their bodies. Some were excited, most were nervous. Some felt happy to hear that their three years of hell was coming to an end, and some were terrified at the idea of not making it as a soldier.

"That is all, dismissed!"

------

Rain poured down heavily with seemingly no end.

Keith Shadis watched on as he observed the running cadets, all carrying gear on their backs. He suddenly slowed down, as he stopped next to a thin blond boy lagging a bit behind the rest of the cadets. "What's wrong Arlet? Bag too heavy for you son? Drop it, you'll serve well as titan food!", Shadis shouted at the boy, aiming to get him to run even harder.

"I'll give you a hand, just focus on keeping upright and running. We're being graded on this". Armin turned to see Reiner taking his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, now carrying two bags.

"Won't they deduct your points for helping me?"

"Not if no one tells them". Little had they known, their antics did not escape Keith's watchful eyes.

'Reiner Braun. He's strong like an ox with an equally strong mentality, and has proven himself both reliable and respectable'.

"I am no one's burden, you hear?". Armin suddenly shouted with a new found vigor as he took back his bag and burst forward into a sprint.

'Armin Arlert. He's lacking in physical ability and talent compared to most of his peers but he excels in academic knowledge'.

-----

Several wooden dummies, meant to act as titans, rose up in the forest. Several burts of steam sounded out as cadets raced to the 'titans' napes. Annie burst forward, getting ahead of Bertolt and Jean behind her as she created a deep slash in the nape of the titan. Bertolt followed suit, hitting it with a bit more strength, resulting in a bigger cut. Last was Jean, however he wasn't quite able to pierce as deeply as his fellow cadets.

'Annie Leonhart. Her strike form is flawless and her attacking capabilities are great. Unfortunately she doesn't mix well with her comrades and chooses to stay alone'.

'Bertolt Hoover. His potential is great, but he lacks drive and initiative'.

'Jean Kirstein, he's a master of the manuever gear. At first it looked like his arrogant personality would cause friction with other cadets, but an event caused the arrogance in him to die down a bit.'

"Since I can't cut as deep as the others, I'll just find them first!". Shadis watched as Jean flew through the air with precision and skill, finding his way to an unmarked titan with ease.

Jean smirked looking at the titan and prepared to strike it before two figures shot past him cutting it before him.

"Yahoo!", Keith narrowed his eyes as he watched the potato girl from the start of the year leave a deep gash in the titan's nape.

'Sasha Braus, her greatest strength is also one of her flaws. She has keen instincts, however they're unconvential, often preventing her from working well in a team'.

The instructor's eyes then turned to a small boy with a shaven head who also left a cut on the nape.

'Connie Springer. He has great physical agility, but unfortunately lacks the mental agility to back it up'.

Two wooden titan dummies, moved forwards as Mikasa approached them, with a burst of gas, she shot forwards slicing the nape of the titan in front. She didn't stop there however, as she used her momentum to shoot towards the second titan, even faster, leaving a cut on it's nape identical to the one from before.

'Mikasa Ackerman. A master of all subjects and a model cadet all around. She's widely considered one of the best in our history'.

Following just behind Mikasa, Eren hooked way past the second titan, making Shadis narrow his eyes. He suddenly used an immense burst of gas, as he flew forwards at wild speeds. He cut the nape of the first titan, but without stopping he accelerated faster, slashing through the entire neck of the titan.

'Eren Jaeger. Physically he's an all rounder, good at all aspects but doesn't particularly excel in any one. His ability to think during combat is commendable, but his hot headedness also gets in the way of that. His greatest strength however is his overwhelming determination'.

Keith turned to see a young man navigating his way through the forest at high speeds, yet in full control. Three titans appeared before him, lined up one behind the other, but he didn't seem to worry. His hook suddenly shot into the first nape and he accelerated even further, something that Keith didn't know was possible. He blurred through the air at a speed where it was hard for Keith's eyes to keep up with him. He ripped through the titan's neck like it was made out of butter, but not without the sacrifice of shattering his blades. Quickly taking a fresh set of blades, he retracted his hook, but used an absurd amount of gas to shoot through the air and straight into the second titan, dismembering it's nape completely. Keith was surprised yet again at the display of skill Strauss showed with the manuever gear. Using the gas to rip through the air was usually something only seen among veteran soldiers. Keith shook off his surprise as he watched Strauss face the last titan. Landing his hooks, he once again shot forward at surprising speeds, however unlike the ferocious swings he took last time, he simply swung his sword lightly, creating a huge gash on the nape of the titan.

'Strauss Ackerman. While he's just a bit above average when it comes to his studies, the only way to describe his physical capabilities is as a freak of nature. His strength is beyond what humans should be capable of, dare I say, it's like he has the strength of a titan. Even more amazingly though, with all that strength, he has a relatively smaller build than one would expect, allowing for insane feats of agility and speed. He fights with a ferocity even greater than Jaeger's. Unlike Jaeger though, he lets the rage fuel him but doens't allow it to cloud his judgement. The only thing holding him back is humanity itself. It's inventions with the Omni Directional Manuever Gear, simply aren't at a level where it can keep up with Ackerman's raw physical prowess'.

Keith watched as Strauss moved through the air, as a feeling he hadn't felt since his first time outside of the walls filled him. It was like a jolt, a rush of excitement he didn't know he was still capable of having, coursed through every fiber of Shadis' body.

'This could be it. He might be the key to humanity's victory'.

-----

"We'd like to congragulate the 219 of you who were able to make it this far and graduate!", One of the instructors spoke, looking forward at the cadets who saluted him.

"Out of the 219 students who passed, the names that I am about announce are those who made it into the top ten. Those whose names I call out, step forward!". The cadets all listened in nervously, hoping for their names to be called.

"10th place, Sasha Braus! 9th place, Connie Springer! 8th place, Marco Bott! 7th Place, Jean Kirstein! 6th place, Annie Leonhart! 5th place, Bertolt Hoover! 4th place, Eren Jeager! 3rd Place, Reiner Braun! 2nd place, Mikasa Ackerman! 1st place, Strauss Ackerman!"

Mixed feelings arose in the cadets, most felt disappointment at the missed chance of getting into the top ten, however they couldn't complain too much. Happy to have at least passed.

"Today, you cadets will be given three choices. You can join the Garrison, protecting towns and reinforcing the walls. Or the Survey Corps, who risk their lives beyond the protection of our walls, deep in Titan territory. Finally, for those ten names that I just mentioned, you also have the option to join the Military Police, who serve the king and protect order within the walls". The cadets looked forward with excitement, most of them already knowing which force they would join.

"That'll be all! Dismissed!".

------

Eren, Armin and Mikasa, sat on a stairway which lead to the dining halls, where most cadets were currently celebrating. Strauss stood to the side leaning against the guard rails of the stairway. They all simply stared at the clear night sky, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Tomorrow's the day huh. We'll all be joining the Survey Corps tomorrow". Armin broke the silence between the group, gaining everyone's attention and a nod of agreement from Mikasa.

"You guys should join the Military Police or Garrison you shouldn't join the scouts just because I-"

"Eren, seriously get over yourself. We're not joining because of you. Don't forget that we were all there that day when the wall broke. Just like you, we also wanna wipe the titans off the face of the earth". Strauss interrupted Eren's monologue with a sigh. It seemed to him that no matter what events may occur Eren would forever underestimate his friends.

"No, I- uh... Ah whatever". The peaceful silence returned once more as they continued stargazing.

A hint of worry sprouted deep in Mikasa's heart as she observed her brother and Eren. Ever since that day, something about them changed. They was the same people, but slightly different too. They became harder to read, but there was one thing she was sure of. There was a great rage burning inside of them both, and it worried her. With their combined anger unchecked, they would burn this entire world to the ground and everyone along with it.

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A/N: Well thats the cadet arc, almost, done. They've completed their training but they haven't joined the Survey Corps yet! One final trial awaits them. Also, I've already established that this will be a multiverse story, and I've got a few verses in mind, but I'm curious if there's any verses that you guys as the readers would like to see Strauss go to.