"Eren!" It was Mikasa who saw him first.

At the sound of his name, Eren looked over from where he was feeding his horse. His emerald eyes widened at the sight of the new recruits, and he set the bucket aside, resisting the urge to just let it fall to the ground in his eagerness.

Mikasa jumped down barely before the wagon had stopped moving, Armin close behind her.

"You're here!" Eren looked at the rest of them as his steps slowed to a stop. "You're all here." He genuinely sounded like he'd missed them all. He had. More than he'd thought possible.

Kuro stepped off the wagon. He'd made it. A bit damaged, but he'd made it. It would take a while to get used to only having vision in one eye. He'd finally been able to take the bandage off which revealed his frosty blue left eye. It had lost all it's vibrancy and now looked cold, expressionless and dead.

"Eren. It's good to see you." He held a hand out to him.

Taking the handshake, Eren nodded. "Glad you made it out alive," he said sincerely. He, of course, would be dead were it not for his newfound titan powers.

"Just." Kuro smiled. "Still a little jealous that you got out of clean-up duty and managed to get to the Scouts before us."

"Heh." Eren looked down as he withdrew his hand to his side. "Yeah... I never exactly saw myself making it into the Scouts this way. But here we are, I guess."

"Four kids from Shiganshina made it into the Scouts. No matter how we did it, it's not a bad achievement." Kuro ran a hand through his messy black hair that was slightly longer than Eren's and reached the base of his neck.

"Yeah. Not bad..." Eren's voice trailed off a bit.

"And on Levi Squad, no less!" Connie spoke up, nodding toward Eren.

Eren tensed a bit. He didn't like being singled out. But hell... he was a titan. There seemed to be no way out of it from here on out. "Yeah..." was all he said.

"Damn, Eren. Save some glory for the rest of us." Kuro placed a hand on his hip. Granted, due to Trost, some of the new recruits already had titan kills to their name but still... Levi Squad. That was every Scout's goal.

"Hey, I'm just as confused as the rest of you," Eren said quietly. "I'd be rotting inside a titan right now if it weren't for this.......... ability."

Kuro looked a little uneasy and scratched the back of his neck. "You wouldn't have stayed inside for long... we... we all saw that during the cleanup... it's not pleasant."

Eren didn't respond much, and Jean visibly cringed. "Ok," Jean said stiffly. "Change of subject."

"I agree," Sasha said shakily. She shut her eyes tightly.

"Well, I guess we should get a move on anyway," Eren said, looking to the side. "The Captain doesn't take too well to just standing around."

"Right." Kuro shouldered his bag with his small collection of belongings. "Anyone know who we are meant to report to? It was a bit of a hurry to get us here."

A Scout showed up then and distributed their new uniforms displaying the Wings of Freedom. Afterwards, they were shown to their barracks... which, incidentally, were spotlessly clean.

As soon as the uniform was in his hands, Kuro knew this was real. He held the cloak tightly and hung his head. "I'm keeping my promise, Ryu..." he mumbled to himself. "I'm one step closer."

He was glad to finally get to the barracks and to be able to put his bag down somewhere. He was also impressed at how clean it was. Much better than the cadet huts. They would probably expect it to be kept to those standards.

"Where is your bed, Eren?" Armin asked.

"Over there," Eren answered, indicating with a gesture.

Armin moved to set his things on the cot to the left of Eren's as the girls move to the other side of a room divider.

Kuro looked over. "I'll take the other side then." It wasn't like he had much choice.

Eren shrugged. "It's clean anyway. Oh, and you'd all better keep this place that way. The Captain doesn't tolerate uncleanliness."

"That's right." A deep voice came from behind Eren, and he nearly jumped. He stepped aside, and Captain Levi stood in the doorway in full uniform, minus the green cloak, a starched white cravat at his throat.

Kuro turned round and quickly stood to attention and saluted. So, this was the famous Captain Levi up close. He was... shorter than he thought he'd be, though he would never voice that. Looks weren't everything. Although, he did seem to be intense. He wasn't sure what to do other than stand and salute.

A few other soldiers saluted too, while others simply straightened. No one was quite sure how to react to being in the presence of Humanity's Strongest.

Levi's steely blue eyes scanned the newest members of the Scouting Legion, his parted, jet-black hair falling over them a little.

"I'm Captain Levi," he said clearly and with authority, though it was spoken with a calm reservation as well. "During your stay here, you'll be reporting to me. If I'm not to be found, then to a member of my team. You'll meet them shortly." He began walking forward, his eyes on something ahead. "As Jaeger said... you'll keep this place clean, or you'll be shoveling horse shit faster than you can take one of your own." As he passed, his scent lingered a bit, that of soap and mint leaves and slightly of leather and steel. He reached the window on the wall opposite the doorway and stopped. He pulled a cloth from his pocket and rubbed at a smudge on the glass. Then he turned around to face the soldiers again. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" called out Kuro along with the other soldiers, maintaining his salute. The Captain really was intense... but what else was to be expected? He was the best of the best. Kuro also realised that he was meticulous. He was going to have to work extra hard to meet the Captain's standards. Kuro was determined to make sure that at least his area was spotless... not that he was untidy to begin with but... even more so than usual. The same would probably go for uniform and gear as well.

The Captain passed by again. "I'll see you all downstairs," he said plainly.

And then he was gone.

A silence hung in the air but was soon broken by a loud exhale from Sasha. "He's even more intimidating up close!" she remarked rather dramatically.

"Yeah..." Connie agreed. "And he's personally responsible for you, Eren? Damn."

Eren looked away. Why did this power have to fall to him? He was nobody special...

Kuro let out a sigh and relaxed once the Captain had left. "Is it just me... or does anyone else feel like he's been put in charge of us purely for the reason that he's intimidating? I think I'm more scared of him than I am the titans."

"Yeah, seriously!" Sasha squeaked.

Mikasa turned to begin unpacking her things, her stance having been stiffly respectful but her expression plain and cold.

Kuro also began to unpack, making sure that everything was folded neatly if needed and put away so that everything was tidy. He'd work hard to keep it that way.

Once his few possessions were stored away, he picked up his comb and quickly ran it through his hair before sorting out his uniform. He had to look presentable.

"Erennnn!!" A sing-songy voice rang through the air like a burst of sunshine... warm and definitely bright.

"Nhh! Uh-- over here, Section Commander!"

A woman of about 30 appeared in the doorway, her brown hair swept up into a messy ponytail. She wore a pair of square-rimmed googles, and she wore her uniform with a collared yellow shirt. "There you are! I wanted to go over a few things with you concerning the upcoming expedition! This evening after dinner perhaps?" She tipped her head, the knuckles of both fists resting on her hips.

"Oh. Of course, Section Commander." Eren nodded.

As Eren said 'Section Commander', Kuro turned around and saluted again. It was only right since he's done the same with the Captain... although, he got the feeling that maybe he wouldn't have been in too much trouble if he hadn't. Anyway, it was always good to get in to the habit of saluting senior officers. Made life easier if anyone appeared who would get mad if he forgot.

"Splendid!" Hange looked around the big room then. "Oh, look at me! I'm being so rude!" She lifted on hand in a sweeping wave. "I'm Section Commander Hange!" she introduced. "And I'd like to personally welcome all of you to the Scouts!" Her voice had such enthusiasm, such LIFE to it. Her smile was almost mischievous, simultaneously childish and reckless, and her brown eyes sparked like flint against steel.

Section Commander Hange was very different from the Captain... completely the opposite in fact. Again, it wasn't what Kuro had been expecting but... nothing was anymore. The Scouts seemed to be a very mixed group of individuals. but they were the ones who kept fighting the titans and coming back alive, so they must be doing something right.

Hange smacked Eren's upper arm. "Don't be rude! Introduce your comrades to me!"

"Oh! R-right. Ah... this is Mikasa Ackerman."

Mikasa straightened and saluted gracefully with a nod. "Section Commander."

"Ah, yes," Hange nodded with a grin. "I've heard your name. Top of your class. Well done."

Mikasa gave a curt nod. "Thank you, ma'am."

Eren continued with the introductions, and Hange just seemed to be loving it. He reached Kuro and gave his name to Hange.

On second thought, he was glad he had saluted. Maybe she wasn't all joy and sunshine after all... well... you couldn't be if you ended up as Section Commander of the Scouts.

When they reached him, Kuro stood up straight still maintaining his salute. "Section Commander." It was at this point that he wished he'd had the time to use his hair to cover up his left eye. The scar and its frosty look might not have made the best first impression.

Hange nodded in greeting. "Kuro," she repeated. She gestured to his eye, then put her hand on her hip and tipped her head. "A souvenir from Trost, I imagine?"

"Yes, Section Commander. A titan destroyed a roof in front of me and I was caught by the debris." Short and simple. Just like how it happened. He was still getting used to being blind on one side, but he knew that he could still carry on like before... just as he had in Trost.

"Hm." Hange nodded. "Well, never be ashamed of your scars, soldier. Each one tells a part of your story." She smiled at him, just a simple rounding of her mouth with a flash in her vivacious brown eyes. Then she moved on.

Kuro couldn't help but to feel respect for her. It was something that he needed to hear. He'd been feeling a little hopeless after the incident.

Just as Hange was finishing up meeting everyone, a brassy bell sounded.

"That'd be the dinner bell!" Hange announced. "Follow me, and I'll show you to the dining room!" She beckoned, and the young soldiers followed her to a room with oil lamp wall sconces and a long, wood table already set with dishes and a meal consisting of salad and bread and vegetable stew.

Levi sat at the head of the table, and he was speaking with five other people. His slender eyes looked up as Hange entered with the newest Scouts.

"There you are, Shitty Glasses" he snipped. "When I couldn't find you earlier, I assumed you'd willingly crawled up a titan's ass."

"If it'd futher our cause, then sign me up!" Hange retorted brightly as she moved to take a seat at the table beside a tall man with blond hair and a thin mustache.

"Tch." The Captain curled his upper lip. "You're disgusting."

Kuro was taken aback by how they spoke to each other. It really wasn't what he'd had in his mind. Then again, they couldn't be professional the whole time. They had to relax as well.

Once everyone was seated, the Captain spoke up. "This is Levi Squad. Eld. Gunther. Oluo. Petra." Each one nodded as their name was mentioned, and Petra even smiled and waved. "And this is Mike," Levi went on. "...and you've already met Hange, I see. Like I said... if I'm not around, you are to report to any one of them." He reached for the bread basket. "Now eat up. We start training at sun up."

Kuro made sure to remember their names and faces before turning to the food in front of him. He was going to make sure that he worked extra hard during training. He had some things that he would either have to relearn or adapt to fit his now limited vision.

Levi talked easily, yet quietly with his squad. They all seemed like a close-knit team.

Hange turned to the new Scouts. "I'm afraid all of this has been very unconventional, given the circumstances, so your welcome into the Survey Corps has been rather rushed. Nonetheless, you're all one of us now. If you have any questions at all, please ask away!"

Of course, it had been rushed. It wasn't often that the newest members arrived already battle-scarred with titan kills and assists under their belts. Kuro himself had a kill and an assist to his name. Not as many as the likes of Mikasa, Eren, and some of the others, but still better than nothing. One of the kills had been the titan that had led to his blind eye... though that was pure luck.

Hange then turned her attention to Eren and began peppering him with questions.

The Captain looked over after a bit. One arm was draped over the table's edge, and the other hand held his fork, which had some lettuce and a cherry tomato on the end of it. "Shit, Four Eyes," he remarked. "Let them eat. Eren's hardly touched his food with your incessant questioning." He stuck the fork in his mouth, then let it hang with his wrist flopped down at chin level.

"Er-- right! Sorry, Eren." Hange gave him a sheepish smile.

Kuro felt a little sorry for the Section Commander. The Captain seemed to always be annoyed with her. But then again, that might just be what he was like. He might speak to them all like that when they got training tomorrow. He probably would. However, this was the life he'd chosen. He'd just have to live with it.