It had only been a few days since we all joined the military. And let me tell you something, the instructors here did not waste their time getting us all into training. The past few days had consisted of various physical exercises - like sit-ups, push-ups and timed running - and education on Titans and the 3D Maneuver Gear. We barely had any breaks in between exercise and classes, and our free time was mostly spent either eating or sleeping. It was really tough, I had to admit, especially considering I had never done anything remotely like this in either of my two lifetimes. I felt constantly drained for energy, as we didn't get much sleep, and my limbs hadn't stopped painfully aching from the harsh training for the past days. It had come to the point, where I had completely forgotten what it felt like to have functional painless arms and legs.

So with aching limbs and a fatigued mind, I had made it to yet another day at the training grounds.

Today, we were finally to be tested in our ability to use the 3D Maneuver Gear.

This had made me temporarily forget the poor condition of my own body, as it had been something I had looked forward to, ever since I knew I had to join the Military. I generally liked to think of the positives of a situation, and getting to daily use the 3DMG was going to be a blast - it had looked so much fun while others used it.

While I was looking forward to try it out, I also felt slightly nervous. Shadis had told us if we didn't posses as simple a thing as aptitude, and were incapable of finding our balance, we would get thrown out and transferred to reclaimed land.

As if it wasn't enough that I would get thrown out of the military if I didn't pass this test, it was also to be done while everyone else watched.

I did not fancy public humiliation.

Once it was my turn, I swallowed the lump in my throat and started to walk. Since this was just an aptitude evaluation, instead of using 3D Manevuer Gear, we were to be strung up by iron strings connected to our body harness. The other end of the strings were attached to a large wooden structure, that acted as a pretty safe way to help us try to balance while dangling in the air. Wait, scratch that, because it did not look very safe, considering one wrong move would have me fall helplessly towards the ground and possibly faceplant the dirty earth.

As I attached the gear to the loop on the waist of my body harness, I realized that sitting in a classroom and learning how exactly the 3DMG works is a whole different thing than actually having to put said knowledge into action and try to keep myself from earning a concussion.

Pulling in a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart, I gave the instructor and 'okay' to indicate I was ready to face my doom. There was a pull in the strings, and I managed to catch an encouraging look from Armin, before I felt my feet leave the safety of the ground.

The moment my body was airborne, I felt it unsteadily tilt forward.

The past few lessons about how to maneuver using 3DMG flashed through my mind, as I tried to remember every single detail that could help me stay upright. It was something that particularly required great physical strength, especially in the legs.

Realizing I was falling forward fast, I forced myself not to panic and instead tilted my legs slightly backwards. I tightened the muscles in my thighs, and instantaneously felt my abdomen tense as it tried to keep my upper body from flailing around.

It worked.

As I hung there, though in a slightly awkward position, but I stayed upright nonetheless, I realized that there was something else the instructors tested us for besides aptitude. They were testing our mental strength as well, to see if we could keep our head cold and not waver in the midst of a panic. It was a quality just as crucial as physical strength.

"What the hell are you doing, Eren Jaeger!" Shadis shouted. I glanced in the direction of the commotion, and found that Eren was hanging upside down, completely incapable of balancing himself and get back up. People around us were laughing at him, and Shadis kept yelling and telling him to get up, but he couldn't.

Eren had failed the aptitude evaluation.

Noob.

"Follow the basics, and you should be fine." Mikasa instructed, as Eren tried to suck in every information he got like a sponge.

The aptitude evaluation had ended, and everybody and gone off to wash up and get ready for dinner, leaving just the four of us alone on the large field. Eren had asked us for help with the training, as he was currently in the danger zone of getting dropped from the military and sent off for good.

I had decided to wait with dinner, partly because I wanted to help Eren out, but mostly because I had just been to the bathroom and realized someone had forgotten to flush. I would just like to take a moment and thank whoever hadn't flushed, for leaving their revolting excrement here for the world to see. It was a real treat to walk in on. I don't think I would be able to eat for a week, because it had looked like something that might need the attention of a doctor.

"Take it slow and you'll be okay." Armin offered.

I guess I could have told Eren the reason he was failing so miserably at the aptitude test was due to his gear being broken. But then I realized that if he was able to balance while something was broken, he would be even better when he finally got to use functional gear. It was like that guy from Naruto who had gotten used to having weights attached to his legs, so when he finally took them off, he got even quicker than before.

"Remember that it requires great physical strength, particularly the legs, coupled with spatial recognition abilities." I said, pretty much just quoting what our instructor had taught us during class.

"I already know that, Tara." Eren mumbled frustrated. "I was in class and learning the same thing as you, remember?"

"Fine, I'm only trying to help." I snapped back, feeling my lip go into an irritated pout. I was still sour about my recent toilet visit. "Go ahead and try then. See if I care when you smash your head against the ground."

Eren scoffed and turned to Mikasa, who offered him a few more words of advice. He then proceeded to tell Armin he was ready, and my dear little brother helped heave Eren off the ground. For a short moment it looked like Eren had actually succeeded, but it only lasted for a brief second, as he suddenly turned upside down and face planted the ground hard.

Eren had been knocked out cold.

Mikasa and Armin ran to Eren's rescue, like the good-natured kids they are.

I stood rooted to my spot and laughed loudly at Eren, mentally noting that that's what he get for ignoring my great recite of advice.

Someone's gotta play the role of the evil friend.

I yawned loudly, stretching my arms above my head, and proceeded to rub my itching ear for a bit. I felt exhausted, today really managed to wear me out. It must be all of the concentration needed, along with the physical capability when doing the aptitude test today that had managed to drain my energy so much. I felt like I could easily collapse on the ground right then and there.

Still, I wanted to say goodnight to Armin, and see how Eren was doing - so I was making my way toward their dormitory. Dinner that evening had been particularly uncomfortable for Eren, as he had made a whole speech about how talentless people shouldn't be in the military the other day, and now faced getting thrown out himself due to the lack of it. The other trainees at the dining hall had laughed and talked about Eren, while Mikasa had tried to talk him into quitting the military, though he obviously weren't planning on it. If I knew Eren right, he was probably extremely frustrated at the moment, and was most likely looking for help on how to pass the aptitude evaluation.

I just wanna point out that I did end up eating, though I didn't particularly enjoy it. I just really hope my appetite won't be permanently scarred for life.

By now, the sun had completed its tour for the day, and had been replaced by the silver light of a gibbous moon, along with countless stars, dotting the ink-black sky. The breeze swaying the trees and rustling the leaves was a lot more chilly than I had expected, meaning I was currently throwing one curse at myself after another, for not bringing a jacket on my quick visit.

I ended up running the remaining distance to the cabin Armin and Eren shared with some of the other boys. While opening the wooden door, I made sure to be careful and quiet, in case some of them had already gone to sleep.

"The trick to staying upright?" I heard Connie say, as I quietly entered the warm tree cabin, tiptoeing my way in, and somehow, going completely unnoticed. "Sorry, but I'm a genius, so I can only say you have to "feel" it."

As I predicted, Eren already seemed to have gone for advice, standing along with Armin in front of Connie and Jean. They all seemed to be deep in conversation, not even noticing my entrance in their bedroom. Jeez, talk about being dense. I could be a thief, here to take their stuff, and they wouldn't even notice.

"Actually, I almost want you to tell me something." Jean laughed in mock, looking down at Eren with a huge smirk. I started slowly making my way over to the group, still unnoticed. "I can't understand the trick to maintaining your sanity after embarrassing yourself completely."

"Don't be such an ass about it." I interfered casually, finally making my way to the foursome. All four boys jumped in surprise at my sudden appearance, and a little yelp even escaped Armin's throat. I couldn't help but snort in laughter, as a large grin tugged at my lips. "Some soldiers you are."

"Tara…!" Eren hissed under his breath, his and Armin's eyes nervously darting around the room as if to make sure that nobody had seen me yet. It was just the five of us though, so I didn't really see the big deal. "You're not supposed to be here. This is the boy's dormitory."

I blew a piece of disobedient hair out of my eyes, raising my eyebrows. "So? It's not like I barged in while somebody was naked."

A small tint of pink seemed to cover Jean and Connie's cheeks, while Armin simply sighed in defeat, and Eren shook his head in disbelief. I couldn't help but laugh at the different reactions I received, as I walked over to stand in-between Armin and Eren. It was almost heartwarming how well Armin and Eren knew me by now, to the point where they had grown accustomed to my weirdness and simply shrugged it off.

"So," I began, slinging my elbow up to rest on Armin's shoulder. "How's your search for advice going, Eren?"

"Not good," The brunette mumbled under his breath, quickly turning back to Connie and Jean with an almost desperate look in his eyes. "You guys, I'm begging you here, you know!" That bad, huh?

"But you know," Connie began, turning his head to smirk in Eren's direction, "yesterday, didn't you say that those without strength have no place here?" Ouch. Eren flinched, obviously remembering said event. "Oh, wait." Connie went on, as my eyes curiously flickered between the two boys.

Admittedly, I thought it would be healthy for Eren to encounter a little resistance every now and then. I liked the fact that he was determined and strong-minded, but lately it had gotten a little out of hand, meaning he had a tendency to say things that sounded a little, well, cocky. Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with it, his determination is what I admired most about him. But there lied a long road as soldiers ahead of us, and Eren wouldn't be able to come out in top on his first day, so a little reality check wouldn't exactly hurt.

"Or was it 'talentless' people that have no place here? Which was it?"

"The truth is out so you can stop playing the victim, Eren." I said, earning an incredulous look from the brunette. "Hey, you're the one who dug the whole - now go bury yourself in it."

The expression on Eren's face was a fine mix between disbelief of what I had just said, and betrayal that mostly indicated he couldn't believe I was taking Connie's side.

"You - you're unbelievable!"

"Oh don't be dramatic, you now I like stabbing people in the back when the opportunity arises. That being said however," I turned toward Connie and flicked him on the forehead with my non-occupied finger.

"Ow! What the hell?" Connie hissed, rubbing the spot on his forehead that my finger connected with, all the while giving me a glare of confusion. "What gives?"

"You seem to forget that I corrected Eren afterwards, and held a whole speech about people's own choices. Everybody has a choice, and if Eren wants to stay as a Trainee the next three years, then he will." I let my arm fall from Armin's shoulder, turning to Eren, a confident smile on my face. "Besides, I know Eren will figure it out and make it tomorrow."

"How can you be so sure?" Eren asked uncertain, visibly relived that I wasn't all about throwing him under the bus yet.

Because I watched the show and can therefore predict the future.

I obviously couldn't say that. Instead, I gently tapped the side of my head with my finger, right on the temple, while grinning smugly at Eren. "Sixth sense, remember?"

It wasn't exactly the first time I had taken advantage of my knowledge of the show, and used the excuse of having a 'Sixth Sense' as reasoning. The first time I introduced it, was right after Mikasa had joined us, and I tried to convince Eren she could easily kick those three bullie's asses, who always seemed to have it out for Armin. We had argued about it the whole day, Eren convinced Mikasa couldn't possibly be stronger than him, and though I wanted to prove him wrong by having them spar for fun, Mikasa refused to do so. The following day she did however singlehandedly take down three teenage bullies, proving my point to Eren.

Later, I had used my 'Sixth Sense' to convince the three that Corporal Levi was without a doubt the strongest soldier, though they didn't believe me (let alone knew who he was or cared about it). It was only about a year later, Levi gained his infamous title as Humanity's Strongest Soldier and became a pretty known guy, even amongst civilians.

I had continuously thrown the extra sense around for fun, mostly when I wanted to either win an argument or convince the three of something, and couldn't be bothered to properly explain my reasons. And while they did find it amusing from time to time and often played along, I'm pretty sure none of them actually believed I possessed a sixth sense that could predict certain things. They were a bunch of skeptics, even if they didn't verbally say there was no such thing.

Well, except Armin. That kid would believe just about anything that comes out of my mouth. The benefits of being an older sister, I guess. Though mostly satisfied with this, sometimes it did worry me a little just how gullible and believable he was when it came to anything I claimed or said. I sometimes feared it could be used against him somehow.

"I don't think your 'sixth sense' can determine how things will turn out tomorrow, Tara." Eren said, eyeing me skeptically.

"Oh it will, no questions asked. And when it happens, you will be bowing and kissing my feet, Jaeger." I shot Eren a confident smirk. The boy simply rolled his eyes at me, obviously thinking I was being ridiculous.

Just you wait. You bowing to me and kissing my feet will happen one way or another.

"Sixth sense?" Jean repeated, a mix of skepticism and confusion in his voice. I simply gave him a grin.

"Tara has always had great instincts. She is often able to predict things that no one even manages to foresee." Armin sounded almost proud as he explained this. I told you, that kid had been completely brainwashed by me.

I couldn't help but giggle, quickly slinging my arms around Armin's neck in a hug, and rubbing my cheek against his head. It always did make my heart flutter when Armin said or did something that indicated he was proud of me - I felt like I had kind of succeeded, at the very least, at being a good older sibling.

"Eh~ I always knew I could count on you to believe me, Armin."

"So you mean intuition." Jean corrected Armin with a roll of his eyes.

"Nope," I answered him, popping the 'p'. "It's a sixth sense, alright. But no worries, you'll believe me eventually."

"I doubt that." Jean mumbled under his breath, making my grin widen even more.

"I'll take that as a challenge."

Jean simply rolled his eyes again, obviously not believing me. But he was in for a large surprise. Once I accepted a challenge or play a game, I would stop at nothing to win. If I had to, I would even cheat.

Jean Kierstein, the war is on.

"So, I'm guessing you two are a thing." Connie suddenly commented, pointing his finger to Armin and me. I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

A silence followed.

"Wha…?" Armin mumbled baffled after a few seconds in silence. His blue puzzled eyes quickly went from Connie to me, lingering on my just as surprised and puzzled face. I was in too much shock to have even retracted my arms from his shoulders, though I had moved my head as far away from Armin's as possible, a repulsed jab in my stomach.

A few more seconds in silence.

And then, the bubbling in my throat became too much, and I broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. It was half from Connie's ridiculous question, and half from the current disturbed - almost disgusted - look on Armin's face.

"A-A… 'A thing'?!" I repeated, stammering and falling over the words as I tried not to choke on my own laughter. Slinging my arms over my abdomen, I bent forward, trying to get rid of the small cramps in my stomach that had started to appear. I could actually feel small tears appearing at the corners of my eyes.

"W-what?! What is it?!" Connie shouted confused, almost a bit irritated, as he obviously couldn't see what I found so funny. Jean looked more annoyed with the whole thing rather than confused. "What's so funny?!"

"They're brother and sister." Eren finally explained, also looking particularly grossed out by the thought. Both Connie and Jean's eyes widened at the realization, which quickly turned into new confused stares our way.

"But your last names are different." Connie stated matter of fact, puzzlement written all over his face.

"That, and you don't look alike, at all." Jean interjected.

"That's because I was adopted." I answered them, still chuckling a bit. That seemed to satisfy the two however, and they quickly seemed to leave the topic.

"At any rate," I yawned and ruffled Armin's hair. "I'll head back and get some sleep, I'm dead tired." I turned to Eren, patting his shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sure you'll figure something out Eren. I suggest you go get some advice from Reiner and Bertolt, they seemed to know what they were doing today."

Eren nodded grateful to my suggestion, and with that said, I left the boy's bedroom with a small wave. Armin yelled a 'goodnight' after me, as I entered the cold night and frantically had to sprint back to my own cabin, hoping I wouldn't pass out from exhaustion on the way.

The rise of the sun the next day came too soon for my liking. Once again, I found myself being dragged out of bed way too early. I swear, I hated having to get up so early in the morning. It was like torture, and it corresponded to denying Sasha any food.

The first thing that happened on the training grounds, was Eren being pulled out to try and do the aptitude evaluation again. It pretty much went the same way I remembered from the anime. At first Eren had managed to stay upright, but had ultimately fallen over and, well, failed. Shadis had demanded Eren switch belts with another trainee, and now that he had gotten one that wasn't broken, he not only managed to pass the test, but also regained the respect of all the trainees.

Admittedly, though it was safe to say I was proud of Eren, I had been slightly distracted through the whole practice. It wasn't that I didn't find it very intriguing, it was just that someone else repeatedly kept stealing my attention.

Ever since this morning, Reiner had been shooting me funny looks.

It was like he hadn't noticed me up until now, but ever since we made eye contact earlier this morning, he had looked genuinely confused at my presence. I felt like an exotic pet in a zoo with the awestruck look he had first given me. But as time had passed by, and I had tried to mind my own business, his look had turned to that of disbelief and bewilderment. By now it looked like his head was spiraling with thoughts, as if he was trying to figure something out.

And it had gotten really distracting, though I continued to try and ignore it.

As the training proceeded, and a certain jab at my bladder was becoming too painful, I successfully managed to sneak off to use the bathroom. I was mentally cursing myself for deciding to sleep five more minutes this morning, rather than go to the bathroom before practice. Ultimately, I think it might have something to do with the fact that I was still traumatized from my repulsive experience the day before.

Once I had done my business, and could happily note that there had been no disgusting and unwanted surprises, I quickly made it back to the training grounds.

Well, I tried to.

Something, no, someone stopped me halfway through from doing so.

Reiner had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me by the arm, halting me from going anywhere. Confusion flickering across my face, I looked up at him, mentally noting that we had not "officially" met yet - meaning while I knew who he was, the two of us had never actually been introduced to one another.

"Um, hi?" I said quizzically, hoping this dude had planned a topic of conversation beforehand, as it otherwise would get awkward real quick.

For a moment it looked like Reiner struggled to figure out what to say. Then:

"What the hell?! What do you mean 'hi'?" By now he looked kind of pissed. I briefly wondered if we had indeed met earlier and I just couldn't remember, but came to the conclusion that I had not had a single conversation with this guy before. Maybe that was the reason for his sudden angry fit - I hadn't said hello to him?

When I simply continued to stare up at Reiner in confusion, he went on with his random tantrum.

"Where were you?"

"Uh, I went to the bathroom." Could a girl here not keep just a little of her privacy?

"Don't play this game with me, you know what I mean." Reiner growled irritated. I really don't, is what I wanted to say, but decided not to. It seemed like I was making him more and more angry as time went on, but I could not for the life of me figure out why. Part of me was starting to wonder if Reiner suffered from mental problems.

The goon went on.

"You just completely disappeared on us! We thought you had bailed and run off for good."

This guy had got to relax, I was only gone for, like, five minutes - tops. I was a pretty quick when doing my business.

"Look, I'm flattered you're so worried that I'll quit the military, but sadly I'm stuck here so long as Armin, Eren and Mikasa decides to stay - we're kind of a package deal."

With every word that left my mouth, Reiner's face started to crumble, his anger slowly disappearing. By now he looked more perplexed than mad.

"You're being serious, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not as serious about this whole thing as Eren, but I'll do my best."

A short silence followed, as Reiner and I simply continued to stare at each other. Reiner looked like he had just been given the most ridiculously hard riddle to solve, and I continued to wait for him to say something, hopefully to reveal this was just some kind of lame prank. However, without another word, Reiner let go of my arm and turned his back to me, making his way toward the training grounds.

I stood rooted to my spot, and thought the whole thing through. Part of me was a little stunned at what had just happened, the other part was running over every word he had said minutes ago. There was only one rational explanation to all of this.

Reiner was a total nut job.

A/N: I am alive, I am back and I am writing.

It's been forever since I updated this story, and for that I am sincerely sorry. It wasn't supposed to take this long, but life just kind of happened, and I guess there just wasn't much time for story updates. My writing skills are probably lacking a bit, since it's been a while, so hopefully you guys can bear with me until I get back on track.

For anyone wondering - Tara has only watched the first season of Attack on Titan. Why? Because when I started writing this story, the second season hadn't come out yet. She hasn't read the manga either, because she is just a lazy ass.