Chapter 16

"You've been doing extremely well in these past months and has been exceeding during the trainings quite easily. I've gotten word that you've wanted to join the Survey Corps after graduation, so how would you like to graduate early?" Keith said while looking straight at Eren's eyes.

Since Eren himself read his mind before he even asked, he was already planning on what to say.

This was extremely good for him since this meant he had a way of getting into contact with Erwin early, but on the other hand, he thought it was too early.

There was still about 2 years and a half left until graduation and he could use that time to train himself more. If he went to the survey corps so early, then they'd obviously not give him any privacy and he'd certainly be exposed for his abilities.

You could say that won't be a problem because he plans to expose himself anyways, but he thought it was too soon. He knew he wasn't strong enough yet to face Levi, but he had confidence in himself that it wouldn't be too long.

Before he could start thinking about it some more, Keith began talking again.

"Don't be mistaken. This doesn't mean that you'll instantly be outside of the walls for expeditions. You'll just be finishing your training with the soldiers in the Survey Corps. We believe you don't have anything else to learn here with your strength and skills."

Eren once again began to think about it. If that's the case then of course it would be good for him. He himself also agrees that the training here didn't really do anything for him. His personal training is what made him improve the most as of lately, but if he were to get training from the guys from the Survey Corps, then he could improve even faster. It honestly wasn't a bad idea, but once again, his privacy would be limited.

You have to remember, even though he plans to expose his Titan abilities to the Survey Corps, he wasn't going to share any information on his Titan energy. It was like his trump card.

If they ever question his abnormal strength while in his human form? He'd just mention Levi. Maybe he was just being too paranoid, but he didn't want to take any chances.

There was one thing he could do though. Since he needed more time to train for himself, he could spend another year or so on pushing himself harder and breaking his limits, then the rest of the time he could spend training even more with the Survey Corps.

The only thing that bothered him was that he'd have to be away from Mikasa for awhile. Maybe he could get her to join with him? He could ask Keith, but that time would come later. He had to tell Keith his plans and hopefully he would agree.

"Sorry sir, but I think I'll still need at least a year and a half more here with the trainees before I go and join the survey corps. I just don't believe myself ready." Eren said. Of course he himself knew he was more than

ready, but he only used it as a cover up.

When Keith heard Eren, he himself didn't agree with the boy, but it wasn't a bad idea. If he thought he wasn't ready then he could spend some more time here.

"Alright then. I'll talk to the commander about your decision. Now go back, we're done here." Keith said.

So Eren was now walking back to look for Mikasa and Armin. He wanted to inform the two of them that he'd probably not be with them for a while. Well that was not for another year, and he'd possibly get Mikasa to come with him. Even if that was a possibility, he still wanted to tell them as the three have basically been together for most of their lives.

Unexpectedly, another person he was going to tell was Annie. They have been talking even more and with the amount of time Annie has spent with Eren and Mikasa, she'd of course start to warm up to them. This development made Eren try and see if he could get Annie on his side. The problem though was her father, but considering what Eren read about him in the manga, he came up with some plans for that.

You might question wether Annie's friendship with him was genuine and she wasn't just faking it, but he knew it was from reading her thoughts.

It was a nice friendship, but what Eren didn't know was that it would develop into something more...

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"Eren what do you want us here for?" Armin asked looking at Eren in front of him with Mikasa by his side.

Right now, the three of them were in the middle of the forest sitting down. Armin was going to go back to the cabin while Eren walked Mikasa back to hers, but Eren ended up bringing him along. He just told him to follow and here they are now. Mikasa wasn't told, but she trusted Eren so she didn't ask.

"I just wanted to inform you guys about somethings that might be happening soon" Eren said while looking at the two. Seeing their confused faces, he began to explain

"Earlier today, when I was called to Keith's office, he talked to me about graduating early and join the Survey Corps." Seeing their shocked faces, he decided to elaborate more before they start firing questions at him.

"Before you say anything, I wouldn't be fighting any titans or doing expeditions. Apparently I would have received harder training over there before I even become an official member because they thought that I couldn't learn anything new here."

"Survey Corps? Does that mean you plan on exposing yourself to them Eren?" Armin questioned him with a worried expression on his face.

Mikasa too was worried, but she also realized he'd be gone for a long time and wouldn't be able to spend time with him anymore. Then again, this was what Eren needed to start his plans, so she wouldn't appose to him leaving. But his next words shocked both Armin and Mikasa.

"No, I disagreed" Eren said. But he was interrupted before he could finish his explanation. He could already tell what Mikasa was thinking earlier without the use of his mind reading abilities.

"What! But why Eren? I thought you wanted to join them? Didn't you plan for this?" Mikasa asked while shocked.

"Let me finish Mika. I disagreed because I didn't want to leave so soon. So I asked if I could stay here for at least a year and a half more, then join the survey corps for training. And I only plan to expose myself when I know none of the soldiers there could take me on. As I am right now, I know I still don't have that amount of strength and when I'm here I can train myself all I want without anyone spying on me." Eren said to them.

They began to understand his decision. Mikasa was happy knowing he wouldn't be leaving for so long, but knowing that Eren would most likely be exposing himself soon, she had the urge to start training again.

The three didn't talk for too long. Armin walked back to the cabin walking Eren walked Mikasa to hers. Along the way, Eren began thinking on how he was going to push himself harder for the remaining time he would be here.