Eruri | Beyond the Walls

Chapter 1

~Year 848~

Levi slipped into the back of the classroom, hoping to go unnoticed. He locked eyes with Shadis but the man didn't pause his drab lecture. Some members of the 104th trainee corps were listening intently, while others seemed ready to doze off at any second. Faint morning light filtered across the rows of desks as the commander spoke.

"If you ever get stranded outside of the walls, you are to fire a flare from the gate," he said, holding up a typical, Survey Corps grade flare gun. "There, the Garrison will determine if it is safe to open the door and let you back in."

None of the cadets seemed to think it was very likely that they'd get stranded outside the walls. Perhaps they had a point. Once separated from the rest of the scouts, you may as well get a head start digging your own grave. Levi was sure most of them had no intention of joining the Survey Corps anyways. Still, Erwin had asked him to watch the cadets today and scout for any promising recruits, so he would listen even if most of the cadets weren't.

"Has anyone actually survived being stranded outside before?" A girl in the front asked- Mikasa Ackerman, Levi remembered.

"Yes, but not many do. If you get stranded you are pronounced dead until proven otherwise since the fatality rate is so high." He waved his hand dismissively, before adding with obvious haste, "Now, if there are no more questions, I'll move on."

Levi fought the urge to roll his eyes. Shadis was blatantly uncomfortable with the topic and made a poor effort to hide it. He leaned forward, wondering if any of the cadets would pick up on his hesitation. Reading people is a good skill to have, even if you're going to be fighting titans and not humans.

The blonde in the front row, Armin Arlert, began to raise his hand, but the brunette next to him spoke first without permission. "What's the record for how long someone has been outside the walls?"

Shadis sighed, and finally gestured to Levi. The cadets all turned to follow his gaze, a murmur undulating through the room as they saw Levi sitting in the back row. Apparently, none of them had noticed him enter.

"Care to answer Jaeger's question?" Shadis asked dryly.

"You seem to be doing a great job on your own," Levi replied, his tone equally icy. "I wouldn't want to disturb your class."

Shadis bristled; Levi knew he hated this topic, but he pushed his anger down and turned back to the class. Levi was almost disappointed that he was unable to provoke him.

"As I'm sure you all know, this is Captain Levi. He has come to watch your training today- please pay him no mind. As for your question Jaeger, most of the time, people are only outside the walls for an hour or two. Any more than that and their chance of survival is basically zero."

Disappointment flicked through Eren's green eyes- a couple of hours wasn't very interesting, but it made sense. "However," Shadis said, and Eren looked back up at him quickly, "there is one exception. Captain Levi holds the record of being stranded for five days."

The class erupted into astonished chatter, their eyes on Levi as they talked in awe and admiration to each other. Levi scowled.

When they had settled down, Shadis spoke again. "It wasn't just him, though. He was stranded with Erwin Smith, the current Commander of the Survey Corps. Although at the time, I think Levi was a cadet and Erwin was captain. I believe I have their report on file in my office. If you spare me a moment, I can fetch it for you."

Levi scoffed. "Why the fuck do you have Survey Corps documents in your office?"

"It's a duplicate," Shadis said nonchalantly, like he was talking about having a copy of the morning paper. "I like to look at it from time to time and wonder what actually happened out there."