Meow (AOT Story)

Training Begins

Months had gone by, and the food shortage hadn't gotten any better, if anything it got worse. People were starving and some even started stealing food from others. Tiffany's father and brother had both left the previous day with the rest of the older refugees to reclaim Wall Maria, but everyone knew that it was only going to be a suicide mission. Out of the thousands of people that left, only a few hundred actually returned. And out of those who returned, her brother was one of the few. Sadly, an Abnormal had managed to grab a hold of Allen while he was trying to get away with the rest of the refugees. Now all that was left of the Jones family was Tiffany and Matthew, but there was no guarantee that they would even survive the next couple of years.

"Matthew?" Tiffany whispered as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"What's up, Taffy?"

"I'm going to join the Military next year." She stated as she turned to look at her brother's shocked face.

"You're what? You're joking right?" He asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I don't want to just stand idly by when I can be doing something." Tiffany sighed as she placed her hands on his.

"I don't think it's a good idea. What if someone finds out about us?" He whispers as he looks at the ground.

"I'll make sure that no one finds out. I promise." She hugged her brother tight as she felt his arms make their way around her waist.

+++Time Skip+++

"Fall in! I will now start the Entrance Ceremony of the 104th! You have the misfortune of having me, Keith Shadis, as your instructor! I do not welcome you here warmly! As of right now you are no less than livestock ready for the Titans to devour! Over the next three years, we will be training you to face the Titans! By the time you graduate, will you be food for the Titans!? Or will you be the one to drive out!? You decide!"

The instructor yelled as he stood before the new cadets. Tiffany was standing in the middle of the fourth row next to a very tall boy. It was quite amazing how tall this cadet was, but at the same time, Tiffany couldn't help but to wonder if his height made him slow. She was taken out of her thoughts when she heard Instructor scream at small blonde boy a few rows ahead of her.

"Who the hell are you, Pipsqueak?" The man yelled.

"Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina, Sir!" The boy yelled back as he did his salute.

The Instructor yelled some insults at the boy and then turned the boy around and moved on to the next poor soul. Watching as the man passed by several different cadets, he finally stopped in front of a boy with two-toned hair.

"And who are you?" The man yelled, since he didn't have a softer voice.

"Jean Kirschtein, from Trost, Sir!" After a moment the boy was knocked to the ground, and the Instructor had started yelling again.

"What are you smiling at?" The man screamed at the boy next to him.

"Marco Bodt, from Jinae! I plan to give my life and limb in service to the King!" The boy yelled.

Tiffany watched as the Instructor mumbled something in a close proximity to the boy's face, and then went back to yelling. She was getting bored of his constant screaming and truthfully, she was getting a nasty headache. She heard Keith yell at a boy name Connie Springer about his salute, then at a girl name Sasha Braus about eating. It was quite intriguing to watch the banter between the two, but Tiffany did not want to get yelled at next so she kept her face straight. After some time, the cadets were finally dismissed to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. Some went to their cabins, while others congregated and started talking. While others watched as that Sasha girl ran around the camp.

"Hey!" Someone yelled from behind Tiffany.

She turned slightly to see if they were directed towards her, and much to her surprise it was.

"Hi." She grumbled as she turned to face the group behind her.

"Have we met before?" The big blonde boy asked as he hovered over the girl.

"Reiner, you shouldn't do that." The other boy stuttered out as he stood next to the girl.

"I gave you bread while we were in Trost." Tiffany answered as she remembered his name.

"See, Bertholt. I told you it was her." Reiner laughed as he stood at his full height.

"But you didn't have to ask like that. You sounded kind of rude." Bertholt sighed as he turned to the girl.

"It's fine, Bertholt. Besides, he was like that over a year ago. Why would he change now?" Tiffany laughed as she started to turn away from the two.

"Wait! What's your name?" Reiner asked as he pulled Bertholt forward.

"Tiffany."

After their little exchange, Tiffany took off towards the mess hall. Noticing that everyone was crowding around a table, she tried to listen in the conversation. Although, she could only catch bits and pieces, and she soon realized that she didn't care. They were bombarding this kid with questions about the Titans, and the kid didn't look all that comfortable about it, even though he was acting tough. But, Jean, had to make a snarky comment about the other boy's dream to drive out the Titans, which caused the two to get into a glaring match. Luckily the bell rung, so they were forced to walk away from each other. Making her way outside, she noticed Jean staring off in the distance but shrugged it off.

"H-hey!" Jean's voice called out as she passed by him.

"Yes?" Tiffany wasn't sure what he wanted, but at the same time he looked flustered.

"What's your name? I mean, you're really pretty." He stumbles over his own words.

"Tiffany, but you can call me Taffy. And thank you, I've never really been called pretty before." Tiffany smiled as she started to walk away from the boy.

Luckily, he remained silent as he watched the girl walk away from him. Tiffany finally made it to her room, and she immediately fell on the bottom bunk near the door. She could feel the movement of whoever was above her, but she didn't really care at that moment since she was so tired.

"Who are you?" A voice stated from above me.

"Tiffany, who're you?" Tiffany groaned as she rolled over to see the head that was poking over the side.

"Mikasa." The girl grunted and rolled back over.

The rest of the girls walked in and went to their respective bunks, and soon enough everyone had gone to sleep. The next morning, the bell rang and Tiffany got up and out of bed. She did her normal morning routine and went to the mess hall for breakfast.

"Hey! You're Tiffany, right?" A boy called as he ran up to Tiffany.

"Yeah that's me. Who are you?" She asked, curious to know how he knew her name.

"Oh, I'm Marco. Sorry, Jean told me your name and I wanted to know if you'd like to sit with us." Marco spoke as he walked beside Tiffany.

"Sure, I'd love to." She smiled as they entered the mess hall.

The two were the only people to make it to the mess hall, and found a table before the rest of the cadets arrived. Tiffany had grabbed her breakfast on the way in, while Marco grabbed the table. After she sat down, Marco had gotten up to get his food. Jean had entered the mess hall about that time and he got food with Marco. The two walked back to the table, and Jean didn't notice Tiffany sitting there until Marco said something.

"So Tiffany, how do you think training is gonna go today?" Marco asked as he took a bite out of his bread.

"I think it'll be fine. Although, I'm a bit nervous about the 3DMG test today." She mumbled as she looked up from her plate.

"It shouldn't be that bad." Jean coaxed as he grinned at the girl.

"Easy for you to say." Marco mumbled as he finished his bread.

The three finished their breakfast, and headed towards the training ground right before the bells rang. The rest of the cadets had gathered around the 3DM contraption and stared in anticipation as the instructor made his way to the front.

"Alright cadets! Today you will take the Aptitude Test! If you fail, then you will be kicked out and will have to work in the fields. But if you pass, then you will spend the rest of your miserable three years here!"  The man shouted loudly. 

The murmurs of the cadets echoed across the grounds as everyone suddenly became nervous about the test. No one wanted to fail, but Tiffany found it unfair that they weren't given time to even get accustomed to the gear before the test. Tiffany watched as her fellow cadets passed or failed, but her nervousness was getting worse with each round of cadets. Jean and Marco had already taken their turns, and they both passed.

"Hey Tiffany! Did you see that?" Jean smirked as he ran up to her.

"Yeah! We both passed!" Marco smiled as he threw a fist into the air.

"I did see. I'm so happy for you guys." Tiffany smiled and looked back at Keith waiting for her name to be called.

"Has he called your name yet?" Marco asked as he place his hand on Tiffany's shoulder.

He frowned when she started shaking her head, and rubbed her back to try and calm her nerves. Even the two boys were starting to get nervous when neither of them heard the instructor call out her name. After a while, two of the three contraptions were empty and the instructor made his way back to the front.

"So we have concluded the test, those of you who have failed can try again tomorrow, or leave by sundown. The rest of you may head to dinner. Any questions?" Tiffany was scared to raise her hand but at the same time she knew she needed to.

Feeling several pairs airs of eyes on her back, she finally raised her hand. But it seemed that Shadis didn't see her since he dismissed the cadets and turned back. Jean finally taking notice to Shadis's inability to see the shorter girl, called out for the instructor.

"If you had a question, why didn't you say so earlier, cadet?" Shadis growled as he made his way over to Jean.

"You didn't take notice of Tiffany's hand since she's so short. She never got her turn." Jean stated as he glanced over at Tiffany.

"I skipped you? Well that's unfortunate." Shadis shouted as he turned on his heel and started to walk away.

"Please Sir! I'd like to have my turn and take the test, Sir!" Tiffany yelled as she saluted after Marco elbowed her lightly.

"Do you now? Well fine get yourself hooked up." The instructor ordered as he walked up to the platform.

Tiffany made eye contact with both Jean and Marco before she was hoisted up into the air. Closing her eyes, she immediately focused on her balance. Her eyes shot open as she felt her tail start to slip out of her pants, but she balanced herself nonetheless. Shadis let her back down, and Tiffany sighed in relief when she noticed that her tail was not visible.

"You did well Cadet Jones! Keep up the hard work!" Shadis stated without yelling for the first time.

Saluting, Tiffany felt arms grab her from around the waist, which immediately caused her squeak in surprise.

"Congrats Tiffany! You made it!" Marco yelled as he put the girl back on the ground.

"See? I told you it wasn't that bad." Jean laughed.

"Shut up." Tiffany mumbled as she grabbed their wrists, and started pulling them to the mess hall.

The three sat at their table and talked about the how they thought training was going to go. Although Tiffany became distracted when she noticed the boy across the room with a bandaged head. Nudging Marco slightly she pointed in the boys direction, while making a confused face.

"He failed the Aptitude Test." Marco sighed as he took another bite of his bread.

"Eren was all talk, he can't even balance himself right." Jean snickered as he finished his soup.

"But balancing isn't that hard. Could it be something else?" Tiffany asked as she looked back at the two boys.

"Highly doubt it. From what I heard, Eren has no talent just determination." Jean mumbled as he took a short glance at the boy.

Nodding slightly, Tiffany stood up and walked out as the bell rang. She walked slowly to her cabin, mostly because she wanted to stay out and think for a little bit. But she didn't want to get caught walking around. Walking up the stairs to her cabin, she hears three pairs of feet make their way towards her.

"Tiffany! We need your help!" Armin called as he stopped in front of the girl.

"With what?" She asked as she looked between the cadets from Shiganshina.

"Do you have any tips on keeping your balance?" Eren asked as he gave the biggest puppy eyes he could make.

"Uh, I guess just find your center and try to distribute your weight evenly. I'm not all that great at explaining it, so I hope that helps." Tiffany stated as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Okay, so find your center. Anything else?" Eren asked.

"The only thing I can think of is to check your gear." Tiffany mumbled as she took a step towards the door.

"Thank you, Tiffany!" Eren smiled as he and Armin made their way back to their cabin.

Mikasa and Tiffany walked inside quietly, and both got ready for bed. The next two years were going to be hard, and Tiffany hoped that she was prepared for everything that was going to come her way.