Jean Gets Lost

Under the blazing sun, the trainees ran through the forest in their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, drenched in sweat.

Yes, they were running. They were forbidden to use their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and weren't even wearing their gas canisters. As the instructor put it, if their gear broke, they would have to outrun the Titans on their own two feet. If they couldn't even run, they could only stay behind and become Titan food.

That made long-distance running in their Omni-Directional Mobility Gear an essential part of training.

The trainees moved together in their respective classes, their gear scraping and rattling as they ran.

Yago ran at the head of the 34th Class. Armin was struggling a little, with Ili and Maddie on either side, ready to help him at any moment.

Elsewhere, in Marco's Class, Jean ran beside Mark, glaring irritably at Eren in Yago's class up ahead.

"Damn it, losing to Eren all the time really pisses me off! No matter what, I'm going to beat his score this time!"

Then Jean noticed that Mikasa's concerned gaze never left Eren, which only made him feel worse. Jealousy could drive a person mad.

Jean thought for a moment. As a resident of Trost District, he had walked through this forest before. If he remembered correctly, there should be a small path here. Taking it to their destination would definitely be faster than following their current route. Besides, the instructor wasn't around. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?

Jean grew excited at the thought. He would take the shortcut, then quietly reappear at the very front of the group. Everyone would be stunned.

He acted immediately. Seizing an opportunity, Jean sneaked to the edge of the group, then darted into the bushes.

"Huh? Jean?" Marco called.

Jean quickly pushed through the bushes and hid behind a large tree, secretly pleased with himself as he began imagining everyone's shocked faces when they saw him.

Five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen...

Beads of sweat appeared on Jean's forehead. "What's taking them so long? Why aren't they here yet?"

Another five minutes passed. Jean swallowed hard. "Did... did I take the wrong path?"

Five more minutes passed. "Damn it! I really did take the wrong path!" A little panicked, Jean searched for the way he had come, but he had been in such a hurry that he hadn't left a single marker.

On the verge of tears, Jean stared at his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, which had no gas canisters. "Damn it!" His frustrated cry echoed through the forest.

After two hours, the trainees finally reached their destination. Everyone was exhausted. Armin lay facedown on the ground, looking half-dead, while Mina, a cute girl with twin ponytails, watched him with concern. Eren also sat on the ground, catching his breath. Naturally, Mikasa was beside him, with eyes only for Eren.

Yago handed Annie a canteen, and she accepted it without hesitation.

Not far from them, Bertholdt and Reiner sat together. Bertholdt watched Annie with conflicted eyes. "Reiner, Annie and Yago are getting closer and closer."

Reiner frowned. "Leave her alone. That's just how she is. Didn't I already say she can do whatever she wants as long as she doesn't expose her identity? But we still don't have any information on the Founding Titan. Next time, have Annie venture deeper into the Royal Capital."

Bertholdt wanted to say something, but his indecisive nature kept him from speaking. He didn't really approve of the way Reiner treated Annie like a tool, yet he felt too awkward to say so, afraid of damaging the relationship between the three of them. In the end, he could only remain silent.

Reiner, meanwhile, looked at Christa as she smiled and tidied Ymir's hair, a barely perceptible trace of tenderness in his eyes.

Yago yawned. Just then, a trainee hurried over. Yago recognized him as a member of Mark's Class. The trainee said anxiously, "Yago, we've got a problem! Mark and Jean are missing!"

The instructor hadn't arrived yet, and no one really knew what to do.

The recruit had come to Yago entirely because his outstanding past performances had led many of them to instinctively see him as a leader. As the saying went, when the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. Likewise, whenever something happened, people tended to turn to whoever usually performed best.

Yago was baffled. They were old enough to know better. How had Mark and Jean managed to get lost while following the whole group? It was unbelievable.

Still, complaints aside, Yago called everyone together. Those with enough stamina would come with him to search, while the others, such as Armin, would stay here and report what had happened when the instructor arrived.

As the sky grew darker, Jean grew increasingly agitated. "Damn it all! Eren's definitely going to laugh at me this time!"

Thud! "Ow!" "Ow!" The sound of a collision was followed by two startled cries.

With his eyes shut, Jean rubbed his aching forehead. When he opened them, the person in front of him was doing the same thing. "Mark?! What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

Marco scratched his head. "Oh, I saw you duck into the bushes and thought you needed to relieve yourself, so I was going to wait for you. But then you disappeared, Jean, so I came looking for you."

Looking at the earnest Mark before him, Jean didn't know what to say. His family and Marco's were neighbors, and the two families had always been close, so Marco and Jean had been playmates since childhood.

"Then, Mark, do you know the way out?" Jean asked.

"...Uh, well..." Mark said.

Jean covered his forehead. Fine, he shouldn't have asked. He had known since they were little that Mark had no sense of direction. There was no point getting his hopes up now.

It was almost completely dark. Jean and Mark sat back-to-back, and Jean couldn't help complaining, "You idiot, Mark! Why did you come looking for me? Now you're stuck here too."

"Jean, we're friends," Mark said.

Those words sent a sudden tremor through Jean's heart. Mark really had been his best friend all his life. Jean had always been stubborn, acting dismissive whenever friendship came up, but deep down, he cared a great deal about his friends.

"Tch, who cares?" Jean muttered, though his tone wasn't convincing in the slightest. After a while, he spoke again. "Mark, do you remember our dream?"

"Joining the Military Police Brigade?" Mark asked.

"That's right!" Jean said firmly. "We're going to join the Military Police Brigade and live the good life!"

"Yeah," Mark said.

"Jean! Mark!" A shout woke Jean as he was dozing off. He looked up and saw Eren holding a torch, loudly calling to the other trainees.

For the first time, Jean thought Eren's voice sounded rather pleasant.

In the end, Jean and Mark endured nearly an hour of Instructor Keith's roaring reprimands. Each also received a Keith's Headbutt, along with the bonus package of cleaning the toilets for a month.

If Jean and Mark hadn't usually earned such excellent marks, Keith would have gladly kicked them both outside the walls to feed the Titans.