Freedom: Levi Fanfiction

Or Stand back up?

3

9 months later

Iris stared hard at Erwin. "You... want to join the scout regiment?" he was shocked. Erwin hadn't seen her for a while now and hearing her words for the first time threw him off. He didn't expect her to be the one to break the news. Nine months ago, Erwin wanted to offer her the chance to join the military but when he saw how happy she looked with the Yeagers, Erwin didn't want to interrupt. 

        "I want to serve under you too..." she continued. 

        "W-well, I'm not in that kind of position for you to serve me." He cleared his throat, flattered but impressed at her straight-forwardness.  

        "Then, I want to be your subordinate! Mr. Yeager had told me about the survey corps. I want to be like you, Sir," she replied with determination, eyes tinted dark brown pierced Erwin.

        "Listen, Iris. Becoming a survey corps is a huge sacrifice, not to mention the amount of determination it takes. You would have to sacrifice a lot of things. I hope you understand that. Aren't you satisfied with your life as is? The Yeagers seem to take care of you well--"

Iris bit her lip and sighed. "Sir... I don't want to feel that again. You saw the state I was in when you first met me. Terrified, powerless and hanging on for my life. I don't want to feel that again, I want to have the upperhand. I want to protect the people who gave me a chance to live. And you can't stop me from doing it." His eyes widened. He was hesitating. This girl, who had watched her parents mauled alive by titans wanted to fight them. The determination in her eyes was unmatched. A smile fell on his face. 

        "All right. I'll sign you up. And please, call me Erwin." He saw Iris's face light up but deep inside, he was saddened for the things she's about to experience. He knows that she'll see for herself what it's like to be a survey corp. The weight of knowing your comrades lives could rest on your shoulders is exhausting enough. But he was interested. Erwin wanted to have a person like Iris in his squad, so he wanted to fulfill her wish

        "The training lasts for 3 years, within those three years you'll learn hand-to-hand combat, the titan's anatomy, how to work with weapons but most importantly... how to use the 3DM gear," he explained. With each confusion on Iris's face, Erwin patiently explains further. 

Erwin wasted no time fulfilling her wish. The next day after their talk, Iris had begun. At first, she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting other than what Erwin had warned her about. The night before, when Iris told the Yeagers about her plan, Carla had a horrified expression. Grisha, however... nobody could read that man's face, even Iris. It looked like he had deep thoughts, and even supported Iris in her decision and she was thankful for that. This sacrifice that Erwin had told her about was an unfamiliar concept yet she was ready to face whatever hurdle was on her way. 

The physical strain she had to endure was nothing like Erwin told her about. It was much worse. For a frail girl like her, it was difficult to climb the ranks, sometimes finishing at the bottom. 

She met a few interesting characters along the way, including Hange Zoe. My, that girl was by far the most intimidating one she's met. With shoulder-length brown hair framing her already intimidating face, paired with a look of seriousness, it was no surprise that the troop would find her a bit scary.  

        "Yo!" Iris almost choked on her porridge. A loud voice came from behind, and that voice was none other than Hange's. Iris looks at her, excited that she has been approached by the one she wanted to make friends with.