Remembering You

Chance Encounter

After the successful recapture of the Outer Wall, many new recruits had signed up for the Scouting Legion, allowing them to refill the gaps in membership. Thankfully, the number of titan attacks had decreased and there was no rush to mount a new expedition any time soon. The time also gave them a chance to grieve for the dead and better train and equip the new scouts with necessary skills to use the maneuver gear.

Learning to control one's body at high velocities while being suspended in midair took time and even Eren could not say he had fully mastered it yet. He remembered practicing with members of his former squad, namely Petra, Eld, Gunther, and Oluo, all of whom had died in one of the first expeditions he had partook in. They were all much better than he was, but the fact that they were dead was a constant reminder that titans did not care how skilled one was with the gear. They could squash any human easily; similar to how one would squash a bug.

The titan shifters were even worse since they could think, strategize, and learn. Some, like Annie, Bertholt, and Reiner, had blended in and could betray them at any moment. Being able to harden already made them stronger than normal titans and their human intellect made them formidable foes. He hated them for the thousands of lives that had been lost when the titans broke through the wall. Villages were razed to the ground and Shiganshina was no exception to that. Eren hoped that there were no more shifters hidden in their midst. There was no telling how much more destruction might happen if that were the case.

Five years had passed since then and although the Scouting Legion was smaller than the Garrison or the Military Police, it was once more a force to be reckoned with. As absentminded as Hange seemed, they were also brilliant. With all the resources of the Legion under their command, new tools to combat the titans and methods of increased maneuver gear efficiency were developed. And with Armin coming up with strategies, it was no wonder losses had been kept to a minimum.

After the last expedition, a void was created in the chain of command due to the high number of causalities as well as those who survived but were honorably discharged due to their injuries. To fill up the holes in ranks, many changes were made in the hierarchy of the Scouting Legion. Along with some other members of the 104th Training Corps, Eren found himself being promoted to Squad Leader.

Armin was chosen to be the Scouting Legion's military tactician, replacing Erwin and proving to be the former commander's equal when it came to tactics and strategies. Mikasa became the leader of a special squad, one with her own handpicked members for tougher missions. Eren had been there when his sister had received the news and he thought he had glimpsed a sorrowful soft smile when she accepted, but it was quickly covered up by her acceptance. She ran a tight ship and many in the military hailed her as being the best soldier they had. Jean was also promoted to squad leader at the same time Eren was, and most of their animosity had taken on a friendlier, almost brotherly, air. Sometimes they even trained their groups together, given how expeditions were often multi-squad operations.

It was a novel experience to have new recruits look up to him. But Eren had not realized how unnerving it would be to be given charge and responsibility over so many lives. He had no idea how Mikasa or his former squad leaders were able to handle the burden. He had trained and instructed his team on the skills they would need to survive when battling against the titans. But the first time they had gone on a mission, things had gone sideways and he had lost two of the members in his squad. It was a rather low number in the grand scheme of things or when compared to the casualty rate before the wall was fixed, but Eren had been devastated at the loss of life. There was only so much he could do to ready them for combat, but many recruits were still green and unable to cope with the gut-wrenching fear and they froze when faced with a titan. Over time, though, they learned and those that survived gradually toughened up.