Chapter 8 Night of the Closing Ceremony

Dear Gohan

It's me Ilse! I can't believe you joined the military! This is exciting, only two years and we can work together with each other. Well, you'll be under my command, squad leader and all, but it'll be fun. Maybe I'll save your life and we'll be even hey? But that's if you join the scouts, the Garrison can still be a blast and I bet you'd even be good enough to join the MP's. Not that you should, I think they're pretty self-absorbed if you ask me. And the corruption? Don't even get me started.

Anyway how's boot camp? Did the drill sergeant try and break you yet? I remember when he tried that with me, it was not fun let me tell you. Though you'll probably have it worse than me, if I heard correctly then you have Keith Shadis, he was our old Commander. Scary guy, especially when he lost his hair.

Have you made any friends? It's important to do that, especially for when you leave. Gotta have people you trust when you're in the field. I'm actually making friends with one of the new girls who's just a little bit older than you. I think you'd like her.

Your friend

Ilse

Dear Ilse

Hey, it's great to hear from you. I wasn't sure if you remembered me to be honest. It's nice to know that you did though. I did enlist, I wanted to make an impact, help protect people you know? So I figured the Scouts was a good place to do that, maybe even help retake wall Maria. As long as you haven't already done it. I do look forwards to working with you, it's only two short years away, should be fun!

Boot camp has been…interesting. You were right about Instructor Shadis, he's pretty scary. He tried to 'break' me on the first day by shouting at me, I don't think he liked my headband, but he's moved on now. Because I have a medical condition which means I have to eat much more than anyone else, he says I have to work that much harder to earn my meals. During the 3DM training he had some of the instructors pull on the wires to try and throw me off. Just the other day we were doing push ups and he came and stood on my back, getting me to do them one handed as well. Not fun.

Some of my friends from Shiganshina are here actually. I used to live with Eren and Mikasa, who were friends with Armin, and now we're all in the same squad! Eren's well-meaning but he can be a bit hot-headed at times. He wasn't this bad in Shiganshina, I think he's gotten much worse while I was gone. Mikasa is his adopted sister, she's quite quiet, but she's very good. Even Instructor Shadis was impressed by her. Armin isn't much of a fighter but he's excellent to study with.

There's others too, like Jean and Marco who are both going for the Military Police. Jean can be nice at times, but he and Eren are always fighting unfortunately. There's also Sasha, Connie, Mina, Thomas, Hannah, and a bunch more. I haven't talked to many of them that much, but they seem quite nice too.

I hope everything's going well in the Scouts for you, how does it feel to be back? I'm sure many of them missed you, especially Mike.

Your good friend

Gohan

Dear Gohan

How come you didn't tell me you were alive? Carla told me when I went to see her. I'm so sorry about everything that happened to you. Did you know you're in the newspaper? "Boy Found in Titan Country" was the headline this morning. Though a lot of people seem to think its fake I asked around and apparently that was you. I don't know how you survived kid but I'm glad you did. Since you're in the military, why not join the Garrison hey? I'll be waiting for you if you did.

Carla's been asking about you a lot by the way. She can't stop fretting about you four, so make sure you write to her as well, if only to calm her down. Don't get me wrong though, she misses you a lot as well Gohan. You were only around for a little bit before you enlisted.

Hannes

Dear Hannes

I'm sorry about not telling you. I had to leave pretty quickly to make orphanage arrangements. I only asked Commander Erwin about joining on my way back to the headquarters, and I actually joined pretty soon after that. Sorry to say but I'll most likely be joining the Scouts with the others.

I miss Mrs Jaeger too. Eren's actually writing a letter for her now, but let her know I haven't forgotten about her, and that I'll make sure to keep Eren out of trouble as best I can. But you know what he's like.

Gohan

Year 850

Two years after joining the Cadets

Rain cascaded from the sky, landing heavily on the backs of the trainees.

"Pick up the pace, you lead-heeled laggards."

Shadis calmly rode his horse alongside the jogging teenagers. Each one with their cloak's hood pulled over their heads, and heavy rucksacks strapped to their backs. Shadis eyed Gohan as he passed them, his considerable backpack bouncing noisily.

"Your boots water-logged, Arlert? Let's see some hustle."

Shadis slowed his horse until he was at the back of the pack with Armin, his heavy panting still audible over the crashing of the rain.

"Gear too heavy for you, son? Hell, drop it, leave it in the mud. The Titans will have easier work digesting you without all the excess baggage."

He sped off again just as Gohan completed another lap around the pack, leaving the blonde by himself as he struggled to keep pace.

"Damn it."

"Seriously?" The pack was suddenly lifted from Armin's shoulders and onto Reiner's. "Here, focus on staying upright. We are being graded on this, you know?"

"Thanks, but uh, won't they demerit you for helping?"

"Yeah, if they found out. Just make the cut and we're even, 'right?"

They hadn't gone unnoticed however, Shadis's watchful eyes lingering on them. 'Reiner Braun. The mind and constitution of a grass fed ox. Respected by his comrades.'

Armin's eyes followed Reiner as he sped up again, both of their backpacks banging against his back. "I am no-one's burden, you hear me?" With a burst of adrenaline he barrelled forwards, snatching back his pack and charging towards the front of the group.

'Armin Arlert. Built like a daffodil, but academically brilliant.'

Looming inside the forest, the Titan mock-up rose slowly, its raw-hide neck exposed. A burst of steam could be heard as several Cadet's raced through the trees, eager to score a 'kill'. Moments later, three chunks left its neck as the attackers continued on their way.

'Annie Leonheart. Gifted with a sword, but does not exactly play well with others. Bertolt Hoover. Heaps of latent talent, but too mild-mannered. Jean Kierstien. Second in the class on 3DMG, also an insufferable smart-ass with a hair trigger temper.'

"Think those show-offs can slice and dice? Best hope you see a Titan before I do." He darted through the trees, eyes vigilant for his next victim. 'Military Police, save a place for Jean.' He eyed the next prop hungrily, allowing himself a small chuckle.

"Way to lead the charge!" The voice called from behind him, before Connie soared past him. "You don't care if I steal your thunder, right?" He raised his swords high, ready to swing, before a cut appeared on the neck before him.

"Yahoo, woo!"

'Sasha Blouse. Unusually fine instincts. Rarely shares them with her teammates. Connie Springer. Agile on the switchbacks. Few sandwiches shy of a picnic.'

A short distance away, two instructors waited patiently by their ropes.

"Get ready."

Pulling them taut, the Titan model swung out for the next batch of trainees to take their turn. Mikasa swung through quickly, delivering a deep cut to each the two dummies without hesitation. Eren followed briskly, delivering his own slice to the first target.

'Damn it. Still not deep enough.'

'Mikasa Ackerman. Model cadet, excels in everything. In fact it's no overstatement to call the girl a genius. Eren Jaeger. Lackluster in the classroom, marginally better in the field. But, driven by a sense of purpose that's almost terrifying.'

Three more dummies materialised from the woods, before a blur passed them by and each of their necks were ripped apart. The cadet slowed down as he rounded on the final target that had appeared. He raced directly for it, his white headband fluttering violently in the wind. As he approached its head, he let off a burst of steam and flew above, firing off his two hooks and swinging downwards along its spine. The neck was split in half as he passed it, himself landing gracefully on the floor with nary a bead of sweat.

'Gohan Son. By far the best cadet of the group. A genius in the classroom, and a wonder to behold in the field. Too shy to effectively communicate with his comrades, though.'

Shadis watched as the rest of the 104th trainee squad arrived at Gohan's position. None of them surprised that Gohan had performed so well.

"Training is complete! Time to head back to camp!"

Reiner bellowed out a shout as he charged at Eren, the wooden knife in his hand stretched out in front of him. With practiced movements, Eren slapped his hands on the bigger teen's chest, pivoting around and flipping him painfully onto the ground.

"Argh."

"Sorry, man. I've really gotta learn to hold back." Eren lowered his hand to lift Reiner up.

"Ah, it's alright. Let's see how you do as the rogue." He offered the dummy weapon over to him, but he didn't accept it. "What are you waiting on?"

Eren gripped the handle in his hand and took it. "This training doesn't make sense. We're not exactly picking fights with someone our own size. A guy would have to be stupid to use this. I mean, a knife?"

"What if there's not an option? The fight doesn't give us a say, if it wants to get ugly, it gets ugly. It's our job to be prepared. The enemy comes in many forms, artillery isn't always gonna be the answer. Soldiers, the ones worth their salt anyway, are ready for anything. Don't believe me? Look."

Reiner nodded in the direction of Annie, who was simply walking amongst the trainees.

"Yeah, what about her? Only thing she's ready for is any chance to slack off."

"Ya think so? Maybe someone ought 'a give her a talking to? Give her a little, hard knocks lesson in preparedness?"

When she wasn't paying attention, Reiner stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Commander not beating you down enough? Keep it up you'll be as flat as the dirt you're walking on, I suggest you think back to why you enlisted in the first place."

Eren stepped forward nervously. "Uh, what are you doing?"

Annie glared at the blonde, her brow creased in frustration. 'Whoa, she's pissed. Wow, I thought she looked scary before, you couldn't pay me enough to be on her bad side.'

Reiner's burly hands slapped down in his shoulders. "Okay, now go get her."

"What the hell, wait!"

Annie took a defensive stance as she waited. Eren marvelled at it. While not as complex as the ones that Gohan used, he remembered enough from his lessons to know that it was no amateur pose. Her hands were raised by her head, ready to block and counterattack. She had one leg further back, her dominant one most likely, so she'd be ready to trip him up if he rushed her.

'Okay. Remember what Gohan taught you. Use all of your body when you fight, and always keep your balance.'

Wordlessly, he charged her, the knife clenched tightly in his right hand. When he'd closed the gap between them, he lashed out with his leg, aiming straight for hers in front. Catching her, somewhat, by surprise, she slid her foot away as Eren missed. Deciding to try some unpredictability, he struck with his left hand, sending a jab directly towards her face.

Pivoting, Annie dodged the blow with relative ease, before grabbing a hold of his arm and jerking forwards, tripping him up with her leg as she did. Eren tumbled to the ground sorely, clasping his shin in pain.

Though she had been quite surprised by his ability, Annie was still uninterested. "Are we done here?"

"Not yet. You know the drill, take up the dagger."

With a sigh, she circled around to confront him again.

"No wait. This isn't how…oh crap!"

Before he even knew what was happening, Eren found himself face down in the dirt again.

"There." Annie tossed the knife towards Reiner. "So you ready to take me on yourself yet or what?"

"Uh…not exactly."

"Don't you dare." Eren glared at him from the floor. "She's got a lesson coming right? You go get her."

"Yeah. A soldier can't really afford to back down either. Get ready here I co-"

Faster than with Eren, Reiner found himself with his ass in the air and his face in the dirt, as Annie walked away content.

"That's some technique you got. You're almost as good as Gohan."

"Is that right? And I suppose he's the one that taught you how to fight?"

"Yep, in fact. Hey, Gohan!"

Said boy was currently doing one armed push ups at the edge of the training grounds.

"Huh?"

"Come here, I need you for something."

Despite his puzzlement, Gohan got up and joined them.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I just found you an opponent."

Eren grinned at him before indicating to Annie, who was growing increasingly frustrated. Reiner picked the knife up off the ground and threw it to Gohan, who caught it smoothly.

"Uh, well if you're sure."

The blonde girl took her trademark stance and waited.

'Huh. Not bad, but she's too flat footed, she's vulnerable to tipping over.'

His course of action planned, Gohan took his own stance, modelled heavily after Piccolo's demon style. Annie's eyes roamed his form, his technique looked…different. Very different.

"You ready?"

"Just hurry up."

He frowned at her rude tone before darting forwards. He led with a round house kick to her chest, knocking her backwards onto the ground. She laid there for several seconds before raising her head to gawk at him.

"He was too quick for her to even move."

"It's like she was nothing."

"He was like a blur."

Gohan glanced around him, surprised to see that several of his fellow recruits were watching him in amazement. Turning his attention back to his opponent, he watched as Annie slowly lifted herself off the ground, still uncomprehending that she had been beaten so easily.

"Um. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Throw me the knife."

He was taken aback slightly by the anger that laced her voice. Nevertheless, he gently tossed the knife to her, observing her silently as she took her new stance. Stepping into his own defensive form, he waited for her to make her move. She wasn't rushing him. She knew he was skilled, more so than her, so she had to be smart.

When she finally moved she led with a charge, quickly closing the distance between them. Stopping just short of his reach, she sent a few quick jabs his way, which he easily blocked. When he seemed sufficiently distracted, she swept at his legs to try and knock him off balance. Instead, he raised his foot and avoided her, launching his own kick at her. She blocked it, but she had overextended herself during her sweep, something Gohan immediately capitalised on by sliding towards her, before flipping her over his shoulder. Annie landed sprawling in the dirt.

"The fuck…"

"Oops. Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

He extended his hand down to her, feeling a bit hurt when she promptly slapped it away, preferring to stand herself up. The crowd around them that had gathered began to disperse slightly, having noticed that the fight was over as Annie began to walk away.

"Hey, that's a pretty good technique you've got. Who taught you?"

She stopped, giving Gohan a momentary glance back as tucked her hair behind her ear.

"My father did."

"Oh cool. So did he create it or-"

"Does it really matter?"

"Huh?"

"It's pointless, just like all this."

"What? Martial arts?"

"Hand to hand combat doesn't really count towards our final grade. The smart ones blow it off. It's a crap shoot anyway, only the top ten recruits get to serve in the interior. The rest of us? Forget it. Point is, only the idiots like you and Eren take this part of boot camp seriously."

"Hey." Eren began to object before Annie cut him off again.

"Idiots, and whatever they are." She nodded over to Connie and Sasha, who looked like they were trying to mimic Gohan's moves. At least they were, until Shadis walked over to them.

"Hello, sir." Greeted Connie awkwardly, before being roughly grabbed by the head.

"First rule of this life, kid? The better you are at dropping the bad guys, the more distance the powers that be put between you. That's what this whole stupid farce is about."

"You're wrong." Gohan's voice was steady as he stared her down. "Martial arts has saved my life many times, and even though I don't like fighting, I'm immensely grateful that I learned."

"Hmph. That's sweet and all, but none of that's gonna help you when Titans are bearing down on you."

Gohan cracked a smile. "Wrong again. Solar flare!" His hands darted to his head, his fingers splayed wide as a blinding flash of light appeared.

Annie clasped her hands tightly around her eyes, a small cry of pain and surprise escaping her lips. For several painful seconds she waited as the pain in her eyes dimmed, before slowly opening them to see Gohan's playful grin.

"What the hell was that?"

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Several cadets made their way out from behind Annie, many still rubbing their eyes.

"Oh, sorry guys. I guess I should have warned you first. That was a solar flare, a Ki technique."

"Ki? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ki. It's the energy in your body."

"I think I would know if I had Ki, Gohan." It was Annie again. Sounding, somewhat, calmer as she focused on him.

"Well, everyone has it. Here, I'll show you."

Shadis watched intrigued from the edge of the compound. When he'd first seen so many cadets not practicing, he'd been ready to charge over and smack some heads around. But then he'd seen Gohan talking to them, like he was teaching something. Despite being only 16, Gohan had clearly shown himself to be a skilled martial artist when he'd beaten Annie. The recruits weren't the only ones paying attention. And watching them all listen to him was a good sign of teamwork, something that many of the worthless maggots needed. So he let him speak, even taking listening in himself on occasion.

"Okay so do you feel that warmth inside of your body? Pull it towards your fingertips and then force it out as you say the words."

"SOLAR FLARE." His mini-class shouted in unison. Although Gohan was watching them perform, he was perfectly safe as they all failed. He was quite surprised at how many were present. He'd somewhat expected Annie, Eren, and Reiner to be there as they were present when he'd first demonstrated, but then others had begun to pay attention. Mikasa, Armin, and several others he didn't recognise had swiftly joined his little 'class', until he was teaching almost 20 fellow cadets.

"Why didn't it work?"

"You probably didn't pull your Ki well enough. Remember, focus on your body, and feel that energy you have inside of it."

A few grumbles went up through the class, many of them trying again just to fail.

"This isn't working, what the hell?"

"Well it's not easy to learn. It takes a lot of practice to master, it helps if you already know martial arts though." The crowd groaned in disappointment, feeling that their time had been wasted. "But-but once you do, then you can be stronger and faster."

The group murmured amongst themselves, still unsure about how interested they were in pursuing the 'Ki' training. They only really had Gohan's word, and no results, to go on. Their decision making was promptly cut short by Shadis shouting at them.

"Cadets! Fall in!"

Later that night, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were sat in the cafeteria talking while Gohan devoured his, now seven, meals. During their discussion, Eren, however, had zoned out and began listening in on Jean, who was boasting loudly at the table next to them.

"-that's how you conserve fuel. Let your momentum do your work for you."

"Still, that's pretty advanced."

"Duh, it's called having a sixth sense for the finer points of your gear." He glanced longingly towards Mikasa. "You gotta do the strut if you wanna make the cut. The MP only recruit the best."

"Ah. That'd be amazing, working within a stone's throw of the king? No greater honour than that."

"Shut up, Marco." Jean roughly slapped him on the back of the head, spilling his drink all over him. "We're not children, you can drop the misty eyed BS. Honour doesn't have any damn part of it, you just want a nice, cushy job in the interior, playing glorified sentry."

"That's not true! That's not me at all!"

"Listen to you guys." Interrupting Eren, grabbing their attention. "Interior. Five years ago this was part of it."

"You got a point to make, friend? I'm right here."

"Poor Jean, so misguided, and besides…I don't think your head will fit in the interior anyway."

Snickers and muffled chuckles echoed throughout the room.

"Very funny."

"Seems a little backwards to me. Fine tuning your Titan killing skills so the brass will station you somewhere you'll never see one."

"You'd rather I was good at getting killed? Thank you, but I'll pass, better to play the system than get gnawed on."

Eren stood up furiously. "You son of a bitch."

"Bring it on, you little bastard."

Both of them marched towards one another, stopping just of each other.

"Eren, please stop it!"

"Gentlemen, please." Mikasa stepped in between them, placing a calming hand on Eren's. While Eren was soothed, Jean exploded, aggressively grabbing Eren by the shirt.

"You think you can judge me!?"

"You rip my shirt, you're dead!"

"I don't give a damn about your shirt, you pissed me off!"

"What are you, crazy!?" Eren was tempted to start swinging, but then he began to stop and think. 'Oh wait. I get it. He has something to prove.' He thought back to his attitude when he believed Gohan had sacrificed himself for him. 'Sounds familiar. Sorry to do this, it's only to end this before things get out of hand.'

As Eren made to flip Jean, another set of hands slid between them, and forcefully separated them.

"What are you two doing? Why are you fighting like this!?"

It was Gohan. He'd left his meal unfinished and was now stood between them defiantly.

"Grrr. He started it!"

"It doesn't matter, you two need to stop fighting! We're not the enemies! It doesn't matter why we joined, or where we go after, we're all in this together."

"That's easy for you to say, what with your little martial arts. You love to fight, that's why you're going to the Survey Corps. Well sorry, but not all of us wanna die, thank you."

"I'm not asking you to die. If you don't want to join the scouts then that's fine. It's not for everyone, and I don't blame you for wanting to live. And Eren, you need to stop antagonising him just because he doesn't agree with you."

Both Eren and Jean remained growling at each other, but neither of them spoke. However when the door opened, even their growling stopped as Shadis's form appeared in the doorway.

"Would somebody care to explain the little ruckus I heard just now? I do hope everything's all right."

A heavy silence sat in the cafeteria, only broken by the sounds of Eren, Jean, and Gohan taking their seats. The moment dragged on painfully before Mikasa finally raised her hand.

"Sasha passed some gas, Commandant."

A pained, feminine gasp could be heard amongst the recruits chuckling.

"Why am I not surprised. For the love of god, learn some self-control."

As Shadis left, the atmosphere changed back to that of relaxation, with the exception of Eren and Jean, who were still glaring at one another.

Over the following several days, the recruits continued their training in hand-to-hand combat. Though Gohan was quite disappointed when few were interested in learning Ki, believing it was too much work for too little reward. Despite that, he still had several cadets who were interested in learning, mainly Mikasa and Annie, as they had the best success during practice. Eren was also present for the first few follow on lessons, though he lost his patience and quit when he still couldn't perform the Solar Flare. To be fair, neither Mikasa nor Annie could perform the technique, however both could feel the Ki within their bodies. Mikasa thanks to her natural aptitude, and Annie from her prior training in martial arts.

Out of the recruits, 218 cadets graduated, some with honours.

Gohan stood awkwardly in line. It was their graduation day, and all the recruits were lined up as if on display. Gohan and nine others were lined up in front of the main group. He felt very exposed, and it didn't help that despite the multitude of people present, male and female, tall and short, Gohan still stuck out like a sore thumb with his brown furry tail and white bandana. He was quite surprised that no-one had told him to get rid of it, especially since he was the only one who had 'modified' their uniform.

One of the instructors stepped onto the stage and cleared his throat.

"Do you have heart?"

In unison, all the recruits saluted proudly. "Sir!"

"As of this moment you have three options open to you. Choose wisely. The Garrison regiment, whose job is to reinforce the walls. The Scout regiment, who rides out into Titan territory to take back what was once ours. And the Military Police regiment, maintaining law and order under orders from his royal majesty. Those cadets eligible for the MP's have already been named. The rest of you, take a look, these are the top of your class."

First: Gohan Son.

Second: Mikasa Ackerman

Third: Reiner Braun

Fourth: Bertolt Hoover

Fifth: Annie Leonheart

Sixth: Eren Jaeger

Seventh: Jean Kierstien

Eighth: Marco Bolt

Ninth: Connie Springer

Tenth: Sasha Blouse

"Congratulations on graduating. You may now enter the main hall, where a banquet is waiting for you. Dismissed."

Gohan's stomach grumbled loudly at the sound of a feast, making many in the crowd chuckle before they left.

Two mugs clinked together as everyone cheered loudly.

"Alright, MP's here I come." Connie announced.

"Three square meals a day for life!" Sasha, in her typical fashion, was only concerned about the possibility of more food.

Jean, meanwhile, was sat by his table alone. "How in god's name did I get ranked under Eren?"

The person in question was at the other end of the hall, enjoying a drink with Armin, Mikasa, and a few other fellow recruits. Gohan was present as well, but he abstained from drinking with them.

"You're really gonna turn your back on the MP for the scouts?" Asked Thomas, still dumbstruck by Eren's decision.

"Why in the world would you do that? You're in the top ten."

"The scouts have always been my goal. I don't want the easy life, not with all the work I've put in. I trained to fight Titans."

"Are you insane!?" Thomas asked so loudly that the hall went quiet, the other cadets all curious as to what all the commotion was about. He looked around embarrassed before continuing on. "How many people have died? We're talking a fifth of the population. If that doesn't paint a picture for you, I don't know what will. This is our life now, we can't beat them."

The hall remained quiet as Thomas's words sank in.

"I don't believe that."

All eyes turned towards Gohan, who was still wearing his trademark uniform and headband.

"I'm not giving up. To me, it's not about what has happened, but what will happen. If we refuse to change, if we just lie down and accept it, then what happens if the wall breaks again? It happened once. I was there, I saw what they can do."

His fists clenched in rage as he thought back to all those who had perished. Those caught in Shiganshina, and those killed as the Titans entered wall Maria. Or the thousands of people who died trying to take it back.

"I saw…so many people die. And I won't ever let that happen again. I'm not joining the scouts because of revenge, or because I like to fight. I'm joining because I want to protect the innocent. To protect those who cannot protect themselves. As long as I live, I'll never let anyone be as afraid as I was that day."

He remembered the face of that smiling beast. He could still feel the pain as it crushed him in its grip.

"I want a world of peace. I want to see wall Maria reclaimed, and for the people to hope again. But that'll never happen if we give up."

No one said a word, and the silence laid undisturbed for several heavy seconds. All of the recruits were in deep thought at Gohan's speech, contemplating his words carefully. Gohan himself, however, was deep in thought about something else.

'Dad. I hope I can make you proud. I'll defend these people, just like I know you would. Mom. I'm sorry I could never grow up to be the scholar you wanted me to be, but I have to do this.'

The peace of the cadets' banquet was interrupted by the sounds of the doors opening. Though he couldn't see why, Gohan could hear many recruits gasping and giving salutes.

"I'm looking for a Cadet named Gohan Son, I heard that he is here?"

The crowd parted, giving a clear line of sight between Gohan, and Commander Dot Pixis and his escorts. Gohan instantly snapped off his best salute, standing to attention and bringing himself to his full height of 5'9".

"Sir!"

"If you could come with me, please."

The commander turned on his heels, and began to walk out of the hall, the two soldiers with him following closely. Gohan gave a quick glance to his friends, who were just as concerned as he was, before electing to follow them.

They walked briefly, but briskly, away from the building. Entering instead one of the main Garrison offices. The trip was spent in silence, neither the commander, Gohan, nor his escorts speaking a word, leaving Gohan with nothing but his thoughts.

'Am I in trouble? I thought I did well… Maybe it's just a routine thing, won't take a minute. Or maybe, they found out I lied about being from wall Sina? Maybe I'm under arrest!?'

One of the soldiers noticed his slight panicking and gave him a small tap on the arm to grab his attention. She succeeded, and Gohan looked at her, slowly recognising her as Anka, the woman who'd shown him around Trost and given him clothes. Well, it seemed she had successfully joined Commander Pixis' escort detail, he'd have to congratulate her later.

For now though, they seemed to have arrived, as Gohan watched the commander open a door and letting himself in. Looking inside, Gohan was impressed to see that it was a lavishly decorated room, with a neat mahogany desk on one side, and a roaring fire on the other.

"Take a seat please Gohan."

Pixis gestured casually to one of the chairs sat opposite his desk, before he sat down in his own, much bigger, chair. As he sat down, the aged commander reached into his jacket and pulled out a silver flask.

"Do you drink, Gohan?"

"Uh, no, sir."

"Oh? I remember when I first graduated, I was amongst the first for the celebratory toast." He took a mighty swig before depositing the flask away again. "Perhaps where this all started 'ey?"

Gohan chuckled nervously, feeling the tension in the room ease away. Pixis gave him a warm smile before he continued.

"So Gohan. Top of your class, well done. You must be very proud of yourself."

"Uh, well I just…did my best, sir."

"Indeed. Perfect score for every one of your examinations, and in the field you have broken every record there is, even those held by Captain Levi."

"Oh…uh, thank you again, sir."

"No need to thank me, son, you did this all by yourself. So, I hear you plan to join the scouts?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with the Garrison, it's just that, well…"

"You wish to kill Titans?"

"Well…not really sir."

"Oh?"

"I don't really like fighting. I only want to protect people."

"Hmmm. You are a very wise young man, Gohan, and the scouts would be lucky to have you, perhaps they would even give you a spot on Captain Levi's Special Operations Squad. But that is not why I brought you here."

Gohan raised a confused eyebrow. What exactly was he here for?

"Are you familiar with the Garrison's own elite troops?"

"Not really, sir."

"Well, one of the most important teams under my command is the Counter Colossal Titan Vangaurd. Should the Colossal, or even the Armoured Titan, show up, it is their job to eliminate it. I would very much like it if you were a part of that team."

"Sir?" Pixis didn't respond, instead giving him a few moments to consider it. "I'm flattered, sir, but-"

"You said it yourself, son, you wish only to protect people. Our first line of defence is our most important, can you think of any better way to protect people than to be on the front lines during an attack? The scouts…are indeed amongst the best, but their skills are too often wasted, promising lives being cut short. But they are soldiers, people who chose their destiny, and chose to fight. The civilians of the wall? The ones who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? They didn't ask for that, and they need the soldiers of the Garrison to protect them, they need the best."

Gohan was visibly deep in thought, but Pixis couldn't tell which way he was being swayed.

"Tomorrow, you and your friends will complete their final day of being a Cadet. Take that day to be with the Vanguard, to learn what life would be like. If you are still unconvinced, then you may join the Scouts as you please."

Gohan sat waiting for what felt like hours, unable to decide where to go. He'd always been planning on the Scouts, to take the fight to the Titans and help be rid of them once and for all. But Pixis was right. It wasn't the Scouts job to protect people, it was the Garrison's, which was what he wanted to do right? Protect people? But what would that really accomplish though? He guessed they would be rid of the Colossal and Armoured Titan, the only two who could break down the wall. Before that, there had been 100 years without incident. He supposed it was worth the trial day at least, right?

"So Gohan, are you interested?"

"Yes, sir, I'd like to be with the Vanguard for the day."