The Birth of Freedom

102nd

AURORA

The day had finally come, today was graduation. We all stood in perfect rows in at ease positions waiting upon the commandant to arrive and announce the top ten cadets of the 102nd training corps. The courtyard had been cleared to allow enough room for the 103rd and the 104th cadets to witness the ceremony and somewhere to the left Eren, Armin and Mikasa were standing, ready to watch Rian and I graduate and chose our branch.

Or predetermined branch in our case.

Things had changed a lot in the last three years. Through stress and degradation, I had been stripped down to my basic core elements and moulded into something new, something stronger. Beaten and starved but educated and trained. Gruelling work out regimes and endless endurance tests. Mock combat simulations and all weather and terrain ODM aptitude courses. All had given me the strength and skill set to, in theory, survive for what came next. the Survey Corps.

True to his word Erwin Smith had ensured Eren, Armin and Mikasa didn't starve after Uncle had been sent to his death beyond the wall in the disgrace that was Operation retake Wall Maria. The government had averted their food crisis and in return another member of my family was taken from me, our blood thinning more and more. I was numb to the pain that I surely should have been feeling, my parents, my home, Grandfather, Carla, Grisha and now Uncle Alert. What was one more name to the list of precious things I had lost.

Rian had taken the news hard but had powered on until Commander Erwin had turned up, reopening the raw wounds. Losing his grip on the pain he had buried, Rian had flipped his shit, shouting and tearing his hair out in rage, he had to be restrained by Shadies and another officer before being placed in isolation for two days to calm down. I had slept outside the holding cells waiting for Rian to be released when I was woken up by Section Commander Miche, the giant of a man who had sniffed us when Commander Erwin had come to make his deal, assuring me that Rian was fine and that he would be released when he had some time to think.

Miche had visited at least once a month after that night, throughout the last three years he came and exclusively helped Rian and I train, sometimes two scouts, Nanaba and Gelgar, would accompany him and we all would train together, after each of these sessions Miche would ask about us about our lives, taking an unprecedent interest.

At first, I had thought Erwin had sent him to be a reminder of the deal we had struck but as time went on, I became less and less sure this was the case. Miche would ask us questions, simple things like what we liked, did we enjoy military life and much to my amusement, did we have a favourite smell. Rian had been completely puzzled by that question and had replied with "Erm... strawberry" Miche had smiled and said "good choice". I understood then what this man was doing, he was trying to make a connection with us and know us on a more personal level.

I had wondered if this meant we would be joining his section of the scouts and had wanted to know the kind of soldiers he would be getting.

The sandy haired giant had also brought updates on Eren, Mikasa and Armin with him and assured us they had not interfered with their lives, just simply ensured they had enough food to eat and no one bothered them. That was, of course, until they had enlisted into the training corps themselves. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that. Eren I knew would enlist despite my pleas not to and as such I had expected Mikasa to follow him, but Armin, that I hadn't seen coming.

I had been on stable duty that day when my dorm mate Nova Petrov had come running in, spooking the horses with her flapping.

"The new recruits have arrived for the 104th corps" she panted hands on her knees "I've been helping them enlisted and three cadets put you and Rian down as next of kin! ... Woah I need to eat before exercising" she puffed out. I had looked around the mare I was brushing puzzled and had laughed at her scattered appearance. She was the only girl I had befriended beyond a casual acquaintance, though it had not been due to any effort on my part. The wild haired brunette had wormed her way into my life through sheer persistence and her big baby blues.