𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎 the four warriors settled on becoming soldiers in the survey corps. After some years of growing, they enrolled in the army as members of the 104th Training Corps.
Currently, they were standing in some field-like setting, along with a bunch of other recruits, as the Instructor, Keith Shadis, examined them.
Milo kept his hands behind him and his stern blue eyes forward. He was standing in between Bertholdt and Reiner while Annie stood next to Bertholdt.
"Hey. Maggot." Shadis said to a male with blonde hair.
"Sir!" The male saluted.
"What's your name, maggot?!"
"Armin Arlert of Shiganshina District, sir!!"
Milo tensed a bit. Whenever he heard the name Shiganshina, he couldn't stop thinking about what they did that day.
"Is that right?! What a dumb name!! Your parents give it to you?!"
"My grandfather did, sir!" Milo glanced out the corner of his eyes and saw the blonde sweat drop a bit.
"Arlert!! What the hell did you come here for?!"
"To make myself useful in the struggle for humanity's victory, sir!!"
"Well, that's pretty admirable! I think I'm gonna make you titan chow, maggot!! Row 3, turn around!" Shadis grabbed the shorter male's head and twisted it around as the other boy winced in pain.
He said the same thing to a couple of others before he got around to Milo. The black-haired male stared in front of him with emotionless eyes. Shadis stared him down for a solid 5 seconds before simply walking away to another recruit.
"What's your name, maggot?!"
"Jean Kirstein from Trost District, sir!!" He saluted.
"What did you come here for?!"
Jean hesitated but soon broke into a grin. "To get into the military police brigade and live in the interior, sir."
Milo wanted to slap his hand over his forehead, but he didn't. Instead, he closed his eyes and waited to hear what Shadis had to say...or do.
"I see! You want to go to the interior, do you?"
"Yes, sir!"
Shadis immediately headbutted him causing Jean to fall to the ground, clutching his forehead in pain.
"Hey! Who gave you permission to sit down?! You think someone who folds here is gonna be allowed into the MPB?!"
Shadis walked away and went to another boy who had freckles.
"What's your name, maggot?!"
'He sure does like the word maggot...' Milo thought to himself.
"Marco Bott, Jinae Town, Wall Rose South District, sir!!"
"What'd you come here for?!"
"To join the Military Police Brigade and devote myself to the King, sir!!"
"I see...that's just fine. A good goal. Except...I'm positive the King's got no interest in your scrawny body!"
Marco was left speechless as Shadis moved on. "Next!! You, maggot! Who're you?!"
"Ragako Village, Wall Rose South District, sir!!" He saluted like the rest.
Shadis stared at how Connie saluted and grimaced. He angrily lifted Connie by his eyes, glaring at him as he spoke.
"You've got it backward, Connie Springer."
"I-I-" Connie stuttered.
"I know they taught you at the start. The salute indicates your dedication to serve the common good, heart and soul! Is your heart on your right side, Connie?"
A munching sound was heard and Shadis turned to the sound of it. Milo glanced behind him and deadpanned at the view.
There was a brown-haired girl shamelessly eating a potato.
The girl, noticing Shadis staring at her, blinked a few times at him before going back to the potato and eating it.
Shadis dropped Connie to the ground and stared at her with blank eyes.
'Now this will be something.' Milo sighed.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
The girl must have thought he was talking to someone else because she went back to chewing on the potato without a care in the world.
"You scum!!! I'm talking to you!! What the hell's your name?!?!"
She munched on the remaining potato in her mouth and gulped it down.
"Dauper Village, Wall Rose South District!! Sasha Braus, sir!!"
"Sasha Braus...what's in your right hand?"
"A steamed potato, sir! I happened to see them in the kitchen and couldn't help myself!!"
"So you stole it...why...why are you eating the potato now?"
"They lose their taste when they get cold...so I thought it best to eat it right now."
"No...I don't understand. Why'd you eat the potato?"
Sasha looked very confused at the question. "Um...are you asking me why people eat potatoes in general?"
Everyone snapped their heads in Sasha's direction with shocked eyes. Meanwhile, Milo had to bite his lip to control his laughter.
Shadis stared at her with an unreadable expression. Sasha felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze so she thought about what to do.
"Oh!" She gently took the potato and broke it. "You can have half."
'That's not even near as half-' Milo snickered to himself.
She handed him the piece and surprisingly he took it.
"Half...?" He questioned.
Sasha gave him a cheesy smile with potato crumbs decorating her face.
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𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 with Connie, Marco, Armin, and another boy he didn't yet know the name of. They were watching Sasha Braus run laps. "He still got potato girl running," Connie said in disbelief.
"Wow." The unnamed boy spoke. "She's been going at it for five hours straight now."
"Still, the look on her face when he told her to run 'til she was almost dead was nothing compared to her anguished look the moment he said she didn't get anything to eat today."
Milo laughed softly at Marco, unknowingly drawing the attention of Armin, Connie, and the other male by just the sound.
"She's from Dauper, right?" Connie spoke up again. "If memory serves, that's a hunting village with a small population deep in the mountains."
"I didn't know villages like that still existed." Marco pondered.
Milo turned to the boy who he didn't know the name of. He knew he shouldn't be getting close to these people, as Annie kept saying, but he couldn't help it. He didn't know if it was the fire in his eyes or what drew him to the male, but it did.
"Hey, Shadis never stopped by you, so I missed your introduction." He gave him a warm smile. "Mind if you tell me...or us?"
Eren felt his heart pick up its pace and his cheeks dust a pink blush. He didn't know who this boy was, and vice versa, so why did he have this big of an effect on him already?
"E-Eren Yeager. I'm from the same district as Armin, then we moved to a settlement and stayed there 'til we were twelve."
Milo nodded sadly. 'He's from the Shiganshina, huh? I destroyed his home five years ago...'
"What about you?" Eren asked.
"Milo Garrison from...a village deep in the mountains southeast of Wall Maria along with my friends, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie! I'm sure you'll see'em around." 'That's a good cover, right?' "Nice to meet ya!" Milo held out his hand and Eren immediately shook it.
'So soft...' Eren blushed. 'Wait- What the hell am I saying?!'
"Wait, so you're both from the Shiganshina district?" Connie asked. "Were you there...on that day?"
"H-Hey!" Marco called out to Connie, warning him not to go too far.
"Did you see it?" Connie pushed. "The Colossal titan!"
Eren looked away from the group. "Yeah."
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𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 suppertime and Milo sat with Bertholdt, Annie, and Reiner, watching Eren get bothered with the same questions over and over. "I told you...I saw it."
"Really?!"
"How big was it?!"
"It's head cleared the wall..." He answered.
"What?! I heard it stepped over the wall!"
"Me too!!"
"That's what my village said!"
"No, it wasn't that big." Eren denied.
"What did its face look like?!"
"It had a huge mouth, but hardly any skin."
"Ooh, what about that other titan that punched holes in the wall?!"
"My village said it's called the Male Titan!"
"Did you see that?!"
"Yeah, saw it too." Eren boredly proclaimed.
"And the 'armored titan' that broke through Wall Maria?!"
"That's what they call it? It looks like a regular titan to me." Eren shrugged.
"Then...then...what does a regular titan look like?!"
Milo raised an eyebrow at Eren who had gone quiet. It appeared the horror of the Titans still affected him to this day, but who could blame him?
Eren clasped his hand over his mouth. Fear was evident in his eyes and he looked like he was going to throw up.
Upon seeing his fearsome state, everyone else began to grow scared as well.
Milo then stood up from his seat. Annie was tempted to grab his hand but refrained from doing so. Instead, she watched Milo walk over to Eren and place a hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, you guys have asked enough questions now, don't you think?" Eren stared at the hand on his shoulder before staring at Milo's perfect facial features. "There's some things a guy doesn't wanna remember."
"S-Sorry!" Connie stuttered with a frown. "I didn't mean to stir up painful memories!"
Eren briefly smiled at Milo before sternly looking at Connie and the rest. "That's not it at all."
"Hm?"
"The Titans are no big deal. If we can master the vertical maneuvering gear, they'll be no match for us!"
Milo retracted his hand, placing them on his hips as he stared at Eren amusingly. 'He's something else!'
"I'm done picking up stones and pulling weeds! I finally get to train to be a soldier! I was just choked up about it before."
Milo's laugh could be heard as he kneeled to Eren's level and slung his arm around his shoulder. "I like you, Eren!"
Eren's eyes widened, but he played it cool with a grin. "I'm gonna join the survey corps and rid the world of the Titans! And then-"
"What, are you out of your mind?" A voice interrupted.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw a boy with his head in the palm of his hand as he lazily stared at Eren.
"Did you just say you were going to join the survey corps?"
"Yeah! Why...?"
Milo squinted his eyes at the boy, soon realizing who it was. "Hey, aren't you the one who wants to join the military police and take it easy?"
"That's right, pretty boy."
Milo blinked at the nickname but shrugged it off.
"But it's better than that guy who's shaking in his boots but pretends to be brave."
"You're talking about me?!" Eren gritted his teeth.
"Ah, sorry." Jean apologized. "Honesty is a bad habit of mine. I don't mean to rile you up."
As Eren and Jean apologized to each other and called it a truce, Milo decided to walk back to his table to put away his plate. However, he felt a lingering gaze on him and turned around.
A girl with long black hair and beautiful black eyes stared at him for a while before turning around and following Eren.
Milo shrugged it off and went back to the group of warriors who glared at him(minus Bertholdt).
"Whoa, what's with faces?" Milo jokingly asked, taking his plate.
"You know why," Annie said, standing up as well.
"You can't be getting close to these devils," Reiner whispered while glaring at them.
"But I'm not?"
"Are you seeing the way Eren looks at you? It's like love at first sight!"
Milo chuckled, placing a hand on Reiner's cheek. "Are you perhaps jealous~?" Reiner's face answered for him, his cheeks dusting a dark red. "Knew it~"
"You guys are utterly hopeless," Annie muttered, walking away.
"Oh, come on, Annie. Loosen up a bit! You too, Bert!"
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 day was training with the vertical maneuvering gear. Milo was up next for an empty slot and Reiner gave him a small pat on the back with a small smile, to which Milo nodded.
At the corner of his eye, he saw Bertholdt giving him a thumbs up which boosted his confidence even more.
He quickly got hooked up to equipment and got lifted in the air. 'Wow...this is easier than expected!'
Milo turned over to others who were balancing on the gear. Connie, Jean, and even Potato Girl were doing it!
However, he found himself frowning when he saw Eren fail to do it.
"What are you doing Eren Yeager?!" Shadis yelled. "Right yourself!!"
Eren was more than embarrassed. To make matters worse, Milo saw him fail. Double embarrassment, if you ask him.
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𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 end of the day, when everyone was gone and doing their things. Milo had snuck off from Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. Why?
Well, he just so happened to see Eren, along with Armin and the other girl who stayed with them, at the same gear he failed to do.
'Practicing I guess. It wouldn't hurt to help out a bit, right?'
He jogged over to the three, waving his hand with a smile. "Hey! Need help?"
"Milo!" Eren exclaimed with a small blush.
"So that's your name." The girl asked, eyeing him up and down.
"Hm, yep. That's me. And who're you?"
"Mikasa Ackerman." The girl calmly replied.
"Noted! And hello Armin." Milo chuckled when he noticed the male fidgeting with his fingers.
"A-Ah, hi!" Armin was mentally cursed for stuttering. 'He remembered my name!'
"So, you're working on this, huh Eren?"
"Yeah...I just don't see how things ended up the way they did. I won't give up, though."
Milo crossed his arms with a bright smile. "I very much like that attitude. Let me give you some tips. Don't try to get fancy, just stick to the basics. Stiffen the muscles of your upper body, and let your lower body hand loose. Keep your balance and slowly shift your weight to the belts on your waist and legs."
"You can do it if you just relax." Armin butted it. "Even I managed it, and I have no coordination at all."
"I have a feeling I'll get it this time...Lift me up, Mikasa!"
"Here you go."
Mikasa slowly turned the handle until Eren was fully up off the ground. But as soon as he was, he immediately fell. Only this time, he hit the ground with his face...hard.
"Ereh!"
"Eren, are you okay?!" Milo was the first to be at his side, followed by Mikasa.
"I-I'm fine..."
No, he wasn't. He felt like shit. He now embarrassed himself twice in front of Milo and was not okay.
"Do you need me to get anything?" Milo questioned.
"No...I'm good. Mikasa...Armin, could you help me up?"
They nodded and lifted him. Mikasa on his left and Armin on his right.
"Is there anything I can do?" Milo further asked.
"No," Eren said weakly. 'I can't bear facing him any longer in this state.' "Mikasa, Armin, can you take me to the cafeteria?"
"Mhm."
And with that, they walked out of the area, with a hurt Eren. Milo was left speechless but quickly snapped out of it. He just hoped Eren would be okay.
It was late at night when Milo finally arrived back at the boy's dorm and Reiner was not too happy about that.
"Uh...hey Reiner...Bert. I'm feeling real tired, so I'ma call it a day and-"
"You were with Eren Yeager again?"
Milo groaned. "Guilty. But why does it matter?"
"It doesn't. Just be careful not to get attached. Remember our mission." Reiner whispered the last part.
"I know," Milo said, climbing to his bunk and dozing off.
NEXT CHAPTER: 104TH TRAINING CORPS II.
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