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𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗻𝗲: 𝗘𝗽 𝟯

---𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗻𝗲: 𝗘𝗽 𝟯---

"Hey, mop-top!" Shadis shouted. 

"Yes sir!" Armin responded, holding his fist to his heart. 

"What do they call you maggot?" Shadis asked loudly.

"I'm Armin Arlert from the Shiganshina district, sir!" Armin answered.

"Wow, why would your parents curse you with such a horrible name?" Shadis asked, clearly trying to get under Armin's skin. 

"It was my Grandfather, sir," Armin answered once more, trying his best to stay collected and focused although it was proving to be a hard task.

"Armin, why is a runt like you here?" The bald man quizzed, sizing up the small boy.

"To help humanity overcome the titans!" the boy returned, his voice faltered slightly but he tried his best to cover it. 

"That's wonderful to hear, you'll be a nice snack for them!" Shadis snapped back. 

Shadis then looked amongst the crowd looking for his new victim to pick on. His eyes landed on the blonde boy from Trost. It was like rinse and repeat, picking on the weak, skipping the strong.

"What do they call you maggot?!" He demanded.

"Thomas Wagner from Trost, sir!" Thomas replied. 

Two men, presumably the higher-ups, came to check out the new fresh meat in the cadets. They took long strides, slowly taking a good glimpse of everyone. 

"Look at him go." One of the men noted.

"The guy is a master when it comes to fresh recruits." 

"This takes me back." The other one spoke. "But what's the point of all this intimidation?"

"The right of passage, their prior identities are forcibly discarded, from there we can mould them bit by bit into real soldiers. He is the first step in that process." 

"Hm, but why is passing by some of the recruits?" 

"Those recruits have seen far more than the rest, a simple loud commander isn't going to shake those up. They were there the day of the attack. You can read it on their faces. C'mon, let's go." 

With that, the two soldiers walked away. Meanwhile, Shadis began to test yet another one of the recruits. 

"What do they call you runt?" he asked, once again. By this point he was on a loop, asking the same questions over and over again to shake up the fresh meat.

"I'm Jean Kirstein from Trost sir!" he responded, slight arrogance in his tone. 

"And why are you here cadet?" 

"To join the Military Police and reside in the inner Districts, sir." The cocky boy answered.

Of course, most people were wanting to join the military brigade but not so many were as arrogant and straightforward as Jean. On the other row, Eren sent an unapproving look, turning his nose up in disgust.