104th Cadet Corps
Year 1

"Damn." Eren muttered the single word as he looked out the window of the dining hall at Potato Girl who had been ordered to run without dinner. He felt a nudge on his back then, and he turned to look behind him at Mikasa.

The Japanese girl with the long, black hair held her dinner tray in both hands. Her eyes shifted from Eren's to a little beyond him, and she nodded once to indicate that he should move ahead.

Eren looked back in front of him and saw that he was holding up the line, and he quickly stepped forward to close the gap between himself and Armin. Dinner consisted of lentil soup and bread and a steamed potato.

Armin turned with his tray to look around the large room. He spotted a table with enough seats for the three of them, and he moved over to it. He set his tray down on the wooden tabletop and climbed over the bench to sit down.

Kuro had got his tray, and his vibrant blue eyes scanned the dining hall for somewhere to sit. There already seemed to be groups forming. Not much good for a loner like him who had joined up on his own. He had remembered one voice he'd heard at roll call that morning. It might be worth trying to find him. It had been two years since they'd last seen each other. Hopefully, he would still be remembered.

It didn't take long before he found who he was looking for, along with two other familiar faces. Time may have passed, but he still knew exactly who they were. He walked up to the table and gave the blond boy a small smile. "Master Arlert, I never expected to see you here. It's been a while." He turned to the other two. "Master Jaeger. Miss Ackerman. Good to see you both as well. Glad to know I'm not the only one from Shiganshina here."

Eren looked up, one arm flopped over the edge of the table and his other hand holding his spoon. "You're from Shiganshina?"

"Hey, I remember you," Armin said, his eyes brightening. "The shoe shop, right? I used to go with my grandfather."

"That's right. I'm the cobbler's son. Oscuro. Kuro Oscuro." He was glad that at least Master Arlert had seemed to remember him. "I was wondering if I could sit with you. Everywhere else is getting full."

"No need to ask," Armin said. "We're comrades now. And on that note, please call me Armin."

"Thank you Master Arl- Armin. Thank you, Armin." He swung his long legs over the bench as he sat down. First names. That was going to be a change. He knew them of course... he just hadn't really used them much before. But he wasn't working in a shop anymore. He was going to be a soldier.

"So where were you..." Eren's question was asked dryly, his glowering gaze lowered as he listlessly stirred his soup. "...on that day."

Kuro sighed and looked down. His black hair fell over his face as he stared at the table.

That day. It felt like it had lasted forever, but at the same time, everything had moved so fast. A normal day that had turned to chaos and calamity. Monstrous shadows. Screaming voices. Rubble and dust. It was all still there in his mind's eye.

"I was out running errands with my little brother, Ryu," he said slowly. "Delivering shoes my father had finished as well as garments my mother had either made or repaired." He looked up again. "What about the three of you?"

"We were together actually," Armin answered. "We were just sitting around talking when it happened."

"I see." He looked at them with a sombre expression. "I'm going to assume that there wasn't a happy ending to it all considering you all joined up."

Eren's head stayed down as he looked up at him with his flashing green eyes. "Don't think you could find one person who was there that day who could boast a happy ending," he said hotly.

"That's true. It's not even like our problems were solved inside Wall Rose either." Kuro kept his response cool and reasoned. There was no point getting angry. "If I may ask, who did you lose?"

Eren looked back down. He scooped up a spoonful of soup and shoved it into his mouth. "My mom," he muttered.

"Well, no one in my family that day," Armin said quietly. "But my grandfather died two years ago in the battle to take back the Wall."

Mikasa stayed quiet and just ate her dinner, glancing at Eren every now and then.

"You have my sympathy." Kuro ate a little more before speaking. "I lost both my mother and father in Shiganshina. I lost Ryu a year after due to illness." He carried on eating until he realised something. "What of Dr. Jaeger? Has he been taking care of the three of you?"

Eren's shoulders lifted a little. "He... disappeared that day," he said in a low tone. "I dunno where he is. Or if he's alive." He tore off a piece of bread with his teeth.

"Oh." That day in Shiganshina had been utter chaos. No wonder some people ended up lost and not finding each other. Kuro took some of the bread and dipped it into his soup. The food here was better than he'd had since Wall Maria had fallen. If only this food had been available when his brother was alive. Maybe he would have been strong enough to fight off the illness.

"I'm sorry to hear about your family as well," Armin said kindly. He looked thoughtfully down into his bowl of soup. "It's tough to find anyone these days who hasn't lost someone."

Kuro nodded and then gave a small chuckle. "To be honest, I feel lightly jealous of you three. At least you all had each other. Though really... there is nothing to be jealous of." He shook his head and sat up a little straighter. "Well. The past is the past. We should be looking forward." Kuro looked at them as he dunked more bread into his soup. "Which regiment are you aiming for?"

"Scouts." Eren answered simply, but without hesitation. It was actually rare for someone so young to be so determined, so driven.

Kuro smiled a little at that. The Scouts had always brought division. Some loved them. Others despised them. Kuro had been one who had always looked up to them. The Military Police barely existed in Shiganshina. The Garrison were always drunk or playing cards. But the Scouts... they looked like soldiers. No matter how few came back, the rest always set out again.

He'd watched them. Ever since he was little, he watched the Scouts come and go. Despite the shouts from the crowd, he would stand there in awe of their fluttering green cloaks. His mother had picked him up so he could get a better look. She too had been a supporter of theirs. She was the one who had taught him to respect them and their bravery. They fought for freedom; she'd told him that. They had been painted as legends and heroes. Even now, Kuro still held that view in some way.

"Same here. We might end up being comrades for a little longer if we all make it through training." He was calmer in how he said it. He didn't have the same drive as Eren. Kuro wasn't there to be a hero or a legend. His goal was something else.

"Well... to being comrades then." Armin briefly held up his tin cup as if in a toast.

He copied Armin's actions. "Comrades." He drank a small amount before setting his cup back down. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad here... as long as he made it through. He didn't care about being in the top ten. Let the MP wannabes take those spots. He would be quite happy being the best of the rest.