HOME | DD

Description
Chapter three: The act of struggling

I woke up reluctantly, judging by the way it looked outside, it was about 5:30 AM.

Last night was so strange.

To my right, Sasha was still asleep.

I took a quick shower and slipped into what I used to wear back at my Village.

It consisted of: Black pants with harnesses attached to the sides, a tight black shirt that also had a hood, and dark brown hunting boots.

It was what I was used to and most comfortable in.

I rushed over to where I had seen the cold gazed captain and wasn’t shocked when I saw him already standing there.

He was wearing his scout regiment uniform.

Just when I thought he couldn’t look any more serious, I was proven wrong.

“Good morning, Ms. Braus. Are you ready for today’s training?”

“I’ll show you training.”

I mumbled under my breath.

“Do you have something to say Ms. Braus? If I were you, I wouldn’t fight with the person that controls your future as a soldier.”

Dear God, it’s gonna be a long day.

“ I apologize captain. I just hate being up early. Not even the birds are awake yet.”

“That’s the point Ms. Braus, the early bird always gets the worm.”

With that said, we both started walking towards a different part of the barracks. The part that was meant for the commanders.

I could feel myself getting nervous.

Erwin out of all commandants held a big ounce of my respect, and the last thing that I wanted him to hear was that I was already messing up.

The captain and I approached the door of the barracks, and surprisingly like a gentleman he opened the door for me.

“Thank you.”

The door slammed loudly behind us.

I could already see the other experienced Scouts sitting at a long table. I assumed that was their dining hall.

I stood at the doorway motionless.

What was the point of being here?

The captain kept walking towards his comrades, but then turned around when he realized I hadn’t moved an inch.

“Come on Braus, we need to discuss our situation.”

My legs felt like lead as I made my way in his direction.

No one had noticed our presence yet.

Thankfully.

He walked into the dining hall first, and before I could say anything, everyone rose from their chairs.

“Good morning, Captain Levi”

Hold on, he’s Captain Levi??? The one that all the girls back at Wall Maria worship? Wow.

I suddenly felt honored.

“This my comrades, is Ms. Jasmine Braus, she will be my lackey for the short month before our first expedition.”

Everyone’s gaze shifted over to me.

“Well then Levi, you do have a real knack for picking the cutest ones. You perv.”

Said a girl with glasses.

“Unlike you Hanji, I select people because of their skill, not because they look nice in a uniform.”

When Levi turned toward me, I noticed that he had a slight blush running across his pale cheeks.

Woah. Well that’s different.

I assumed the only expressions he was capable of showing were 'pissed off' and 'even more pissed off.'

The other Scouts were looking me over like a piece of meat.

It was something that I was not at all used to.

“Alright Ms. Braus, your first assignment is to clean all these dishes.”

I cocked an eyebrow and yet again felt myself getting angry, but stopped myself.

“Is that all, Captain Levi?”

“It may sound ridiculous, but the first thing you need to learn is to respect authority and self- control.”

“I HAVE SELF…never mind…I’ll do it”

I stacked up everyone’s plates and made my way over to the dining hall kitchen.

Everything here was so nice.

Even the bowls were made of glass instead of our bowls that looked like steel.

I grabbed a rag and some soap and began to clean the dishes. I remembered always doing this back home.

“Jasmine! Jasmine! Can I help you clean the dishes?”

“Of course you can baby girl, let me get you your stool”

Sasha stared up at me with such hope in her eyes.

Such happy days for my family…then…

“JASMINE WE NEED TO SAVE THEM!”

I snapped back to reality when I heard the sound of glass shattering.

I looked to the floor to realize that I dropped one of the bowls I was cleaning.

“Damn…Levi is not going to be happy about this.”

Sure enough within seconds Levi and the girl I learned was Hanji came rushing in.

“What happened???”

They both chimed.

I stood guiltily staring at the broken glass and reached down to pick it up.

“No!!! Stop Braus…I asked you to clean and you succeeded in making this place more filthy. Looks like I’m going to have to teach you how to properly clean too.”

Hanji looked at me with a smile.

“Don’t feel bad sweetie, he’s a grumpy old clean freak who hardly knows how to act towards a lady.”

Levi let out an exasperated sigh before picking up the glass.

“Wait for me at the dining table Braus…I’m going to finish cleaning this up”

I shamefully walked back to the dining hall.

Something about Levi just threw me off, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand it.

I took a seat and stared out the window that revealed part of the training area.

I was shocked that I could actually see the Scouts doing their training with my peers.

Sasha was doing quite well at the running and hand to hand combat skills.

I felt a slight draft to my left, indicating that someone was now standing at my side.

“You know, your sister is quite good at picking up these drills. You should be very proud.”

A small smile made its way across my face.

“Thank you Hanji, I want her to learn the skills to protect herself. I have nothing but confidence in her.”

I looked at Hangs to see that she was now smiling as well.

“BRAUUUUUUUUS!”

I heard Levi belt out from the kitchen.

My shoulders dropped and I let out a tiny sigh before finding my way to him.

Before I could make a sarcastic remark, my thoughts were interrupted.

“Levi…what in the hell are you wearing?”

I let out a slight chuckle.

“It’s cleaning equipment clearly Braus, do you know how filthy this place can get?”

Although he was speaking in a condescending tone again, I could not take him seriously at the moment.

He wore a bright white bandana over his head, a mask over his mouth, and had taken off his Scout Regiment embroidered jacket.

I couldn’t help but to let out another chuckle.

“I’m glad that this amuses you, Braus. Do me a favor, and grow up.”

I felt my cheeks get hot, and a slight blush presented itself. I was suddenly embarrassed.

“We are going outside to the fields Braus. There we will begin our extensive training.”

Levi said while throwing his jacket back on and removing his “cleaning” equipment.

Everything he did seemed to be so graceful.

But the irony was that his eyes never seemed to change. He was so cold and distant.

“Well I’m ready when you are”

Levi scoffed rather intensely.

“You think you’re ready for my training? Don’t flatter yourself. Be expecting to be sorer than you have ever been.”

I got the sudden urge to punch him on the back of the head, but I restrained myself.

I could only imagine the amount of trouble I would be in if I laid hands on the Scouts most precious Captain.

The barracks’ doors creaked open, almost with protest.

The sun shined brightly in my eyes and my arm almost immediately shot up to block it out.

I had already messed up today, and I felt like I was just going to keep disappointing myself and others.

The flashbacks were coming back more than ever. And it was starting to mess with my mind in the worst of ways.

After a long while of walking in silence, we stopped at a large field.

It was relatively empty, but on certain areas there seemed to be markers set up. And equipment I didn’t recognize was scattered towards the sides.

I stared in confusion.

“Alright Ms. Braus, the first thing I want to test is exactly how quick you are on your feet, however, you will also be wearing this.”

He shoved his maneuvering equipment in my hands, I nearly fell over startled.

Would some manners be so hard?

I quickly put on the equipment, and made a salute to my heart.

“On my count you will begin running as fast as you can lackey. There are forty markers, and I expect you to leave no more than 20 seconds between them. Got it?”

I shot him a glare.

Lackey

“On the count of three…..one…two….three!”

I began to sprint as fast as I possibly could manage.

I felt the metal of the maneuvering gear clanking harshly at my sides. It was slightly painful, but I had been through worse.

The field in front of me was no longer just grass and trees, in my mind I pictured Sasha and I running to kill various livestock. Top speed. And with such efficiency that the animals seemed to not stand a chance.

I could feel sweat begin to trickle its way into my eyes, they began to sting at the sensation, but I knew I needed to persist on.

I was not going to break my promises to myself and my family.

The final marker made an appearance in my now hazy eyes. I dashed to it and could feel a smirk placing itself on my face.

I came to a screeching halt and picked up the final marker myself, flailing it in the air triumphantly.

I had forgotten how fast hunting made me.

I could see Levi from across the field, making some kind of gesture with his hands. It was hard to tell if it was a positive or negative one because he was so far away.

Levi’s now even smaller figure made its way towards where I was standing.

His ebony hair was slightly billowing in the wind, and the way he walked was even stern.

His greyish blue gaze seemed to dance all over me.

I almost felt naked.

His silhouette finally met up with mine.

“That was rather impressive, Braus. But all that proves to me is that you could be quick to run away from a titan if you needed to. How are your combat skills?”

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, it was one of disappointment. He had a point. Even when I left the village all I seemed to be good at was running.

“Well it’s-“

My words were stopped forcibly when his bare fist slammed quickly into my abdomen. I fell to the floor shocked.

“Now’s your time to show that you can fend for yourself Braus, and that you’re actually worth my investment.”

The breath in my lungs was now shallow, but I was blazing hot with anger.

I stood up and placed myself in a fighting stance.

My fingers were pressed so hard into my palms that I could almost feel my nails stabbing into my flesh.

Levi’s fists rose up as well.

I threw a punch towards his chest, but missed and was sent to the floor again with a kick to the leg.

“Is that the best you can do, Captain?”

I heard myself mutter out.

I swung my leg quickly and it made impact with his.

Levi fell to the ground beside me and a smile made its way to his pale face.

“Well then lackey, looks like you might not be a waste.”

He sprung up quickly on his feet. He seemed completely unaffected.

“Although I do wish that you hadn’t made me land on this filthy floor. Who knows the germs that could possibly dwell here?”

His body shivered for a second, before returning to its normal stern stature.

A small chuckle escaped me before he offered me his hand.

I grabbed it and with a simple tug of his arm, I almost went flying back up.

Well for being so small he sure is strong.

“So how did I do today, Captain?”

I asked almost reluctantly.

His cold eyes shifted over to mine.

“You can ask me that when we’re actually done here.”

“WE STILL HAVE…never mind, fine.”

Looks like my attitude wasn’t going to shape up anytime soon.

“How are you with your equipment, Braus?”

I pulled out the blades from their holsters quickly, and readied myself.

“I was waiting for you to ask that.”

With a flick of a trigger, my grapples strapped onto two trees ahead of me.

I flew into the sky with ease, the tug of the wires was definitely comforting.

It was nice to feel weightless.

I continued to whirl around the small patch of forestry that was standing in the barracks.

It was nice to take in the sights; I decided to try some new techniques that I wanted to test for myself.

My right foot found a branch and I detached my blades; I grabbed the bow and arrow that were mounted to my back, and without hesitance, I readied my arrow and let it go soaring.

It hit a tree a couple yards away.

Yes. It worked.

If worse came to worst, I could take out a Titan's eye.

Even if they regenerated, it could still buy time.

I gripped tighter onto my now naked sheaths and I quickly shoved them into the compartments at my sides that held more blades.

I now felt the unrelenting heaviness of the blades swinging in my arms.

It was slightly difficult considering that the maneuvering equipment was specifically tailored to the persons’ body, skill, and overall tolerance.

Levi must’ve been pretty efficient at using his equipment.

I latched myself onto two more trees, and with a quick motion, sliced with my blades.

The tree’s bark split open, revealing the contents beneath.

With one final swing, I made myself back onto the ground.

Panting, I sat against one of the trees.

My head hung low until I heard footsteps come to a halt in front of me.

I looked up to see the same cold gaze staring back at me.

“Impressive Braus. You may return to your barracks now. I will be doing these same routines with you over the next month, but with time they will get more physically difficult. All I ask is that you be as patient with me as I have been with you.”

The words seemed to roll off his tongue with no emotion whatsoever.

Tiredly, I nodded.

My head fell again, and before long I could no longer hear his footsteps in the distance.