A/N: Hello everyone! I promised to have this story out sooner but there was a few things I wanted to change beforehand. I really hope you like it and I will try to update weekly like I did with 'The Raven'.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of its characters.

Chapter One: The Oriental

"Remind me why I'm here again?"

I can only stare at the excited girl before me, who scribbles down notes in her journal rapidly. I can barely make out her messy hand-writing, or see the words beneath the food (or possibly blood) stains. I wouldn't put it past her.

Hanji doesn't even look up at me. "We are investigating the diversity of the human race, my dear Ackerman."

I hold back a cringe. "Never call me that again."

She pauses in her writing. "You know you secretly love it."

I don't respond to her comment, instead scoffing slightly and taking a sip of my coffee while Hanji spoons a piece of her cream pie into her mouth. "You've been dragging me to this café for the past few weeks now and each time we've been sitting at a different table at a different time. Is there a reason to all this?"

"Of course there is!"

"I mean a legitimate reason, not one of your personal ones."

"Any personal reason of mine is a legitimate one," she argues, before pointing her pen at me accusingly. "And in reality, it's not like your losing out on anything. You get to spend time with me, relax and drink coffee, what do you have to complain about?"

"Possibly about the fact that you make me buy you a large cream pie each time we come here," I bite back.

She frowns before looking anxiously behind me. "Keep your voice down. You'll scare away the subject," she hisses, taking another spoon of her pie as she looks over my shoulder before ducking back and scribbling down more notes.

"And who exactly is the poor being you've chosen to stalk?" I enquire, looking back behind me, trying to follow her gaze.

A hand latches around my chin and jerks my head back before I can get a good view. I smack Hanji's hand away in annoyance. "Don't look, act completely normal, she's coming this way!"

"I am normal," I grumble, draining the last bit of my coffee. "You're the abnormal one."

Hanji says no more, not even bothering to hide her notebook as one of the waitresses passes by leisurely on the rollerblades the staff are forced to wear. I can see the crazy girl's face light up and her gaze intensify as the girl comes closer. She inhales deeply, before turning back to her notebook muttering 'smells of jasmine.'

"That's borderline creepy."

"It's all in the name of science," she responds passionately.

I can only roll my eyes before I find them settling on the 'experimental subject.' She's a girl about my height, sporting the standard uniform of the café; a pleated red skirt that hugs her waist and a white shirt is half-opened exposing a black top beneath. Silky strands of black hair trail down to her defined collar bones. Sharp shoulder blades accompanied by muscles unusual in a girl can clearly be seen through the back of her thin shirt.

Her shoulders tense and her head rises ever so slightly as she writes down the customer's order. I narrow my eyes at the sudden change in demeanour but before I can look away, she spins on the toe of her roller blades, her eyes slicing into mine.

Now I understand what Hanji meant by the diversity of the human race. This girl is clearly not like most others, her unique features show as much. Her skin is like white marble, smooth, pale and completely unblemished save for a small scar beneath her right cheek. Her raven hair contrasts greatly with her complexion and her eyes only emphasise her unusual genetic make up.

They're large and grey, framed by thick, dark lashes and curving upwards more predominantly at the ends. Cold is the only word I can use to truly describe them. They're like crystallised storm clouds, hard, sharp and piercing.

I'm surprised that she can hold my gaze so easily, not many people can.

The moment is broken as she pushes off and skates fluidly towards our table. I can't help the slight widening of my eyes as she comes to a stop before us and raises a slender brow at me.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" Her voice is the exact same as her eyes, icy and detached.

My eyes narrow and I hand her my cup. "You can refill that."

She says nothing, merely taking the empty cup and disappearing in a flash before reappearing with a fresh, steaming one and placing it in front of me.

"You forgot the sugar."

Her eyebrow twitches minutely and Hanji begins scribbling down more notes in excitement. She doesn't look away as she reaches into the pocket of her skirt and produces two sugar packets. "Can I get anything for you, Miss?"

Hanji turns towards her with interest and I prepare myself for the worst. "Yes, actually could I possibly have a hair?"

"We don't sell hare here," she replies, not batting an eyelid. "We sell ham sandwiches and chicken-"

"No, no, no," Hanji interrupts, whipping a tweezers out of her coat pocket. I knew I shouldn't have gotten them for her as a birthday present. "A hair from your head."

This seems to catch her by surprise. "I'm not sure I'm allowed to give you hair, it's considered unhygienic."

"And frowned upon by the grand portion of society," I add.

"It will be our little secret," Hanji smirks.

The girl's brows draw together. "No. Can I get you anything else?"

The mad wannabe scientist heaves a sigh. "I suppose a sample of your stool will have to do then-"

Whatever the idiot is about to say is cut off as my hand shoots across the table and shoves the girl's face straight down into her pie. A few muffles of protest originate from her as the waitress watches in confusion and embarrassment. I merely give her a dead look.

"Ignore her. She's just had too much coffee."

The raven-haired girl nods slowly. "Right. I'll... leave you a few napkins," she says, placing the white cloths on the table. She moves to skate away however she pauses and shoots a glance towards the now unmoving girl. "Just to let you know, our insurance policy doesn't cover injuries or deaths caused by other customers."

"I'm not worried. She's too stubborn to die."

"Ok," she doesn't seem to care too much either way. "Well, let me know if you need anything else."

"A restraining order would be nice," I mutter offhandedly, shooting the girl across from me a glare.

She hesitates slightly. "Tell me about it." Her voice holds a forced neutral tone but before I can say anything in response, she skates off to the next table.

"I only asked for a few natural samples, I really don't see what the problem is," Hanji mutters as we exit the café.

"Of course you wouldn't," I roll my eyes, watching as she continues to try and get the cream out of her bangs.

"It was definitely a very interesting first interaction though," she continues on as if she hasn't heard me. "I certainly didn't anticipate her to be so blunt and daring."

"Daring?" I repeat, not exactly sure that's the word I would use to describe her.

"Yes. I mean, it was obvious she knew we were observing her-"

"More like stalking her."

"Either way," Hanji shoots me a look that tells me not to interrupt again, "rather than avoiding the unknown threat, she chose to face it and observe us in a more intimidating, dominant way."

"You're reading too much into this," I say, pinching my nose. "This is just another one of your exaggerated fantasies. All she did was serve our table."

Hanji scoffs and jumps in front of me, her brows drawn together and hands on her hips. "You are missing the point, my dear Ackerman! That girl is very special. She is of oriental inheritance, didn't you see her eyes?"

Those cold grey orbs flash in my mind. "How could I miss them?" I respond with a shrug.

"We shall return tomorrow to observe her more!" She declares and I shake my head.

"You can return tomorrow, I've got better things to be doing."

"But Levi!" She whines. "I need you to come with me! You have to buy me pie and you're the only person she has had a proper conversation with so far!"

"I am not buying you anymore pie and maybe if you acted more normally, she would be willing to talk to you."

"No, Levi you have to come," she pleads, grabbing onto my forearms, her grip like iron. "She hasn't had a single friend or family member visit her at work in the last month and she hasn't shown any interest in other customers. You obviously had an effect on her."

"I asked her to refill my coffee and she complied and told me their insurance policy," I give her a dead look. "Massive effect."

"Please, please, please!" She wails. "You want to be a spy or detective or some sort of government agent, right? Consider this to be your first undercover mission!"

"Why is this so important to you?" I ask, shoving her off of me. "Can't you find some other Oriental to stalk?"

"Do you know how hard it is to find an Oriental nowadays?" She yells in exasperation. "Ninety percent of their race was exterminated during the persecution of Sina, Rose and Maria over three hundred years ago. The remaining survivors were forced to go into hiding in the underground district where many died of disease, violence and depression. She could be the last of her race for all we know."

"And?" I raise a brow.

"And we must study her while we have the chance!" She announces loudly. "We must try to comprehend her genetic code and how it influences her levels of intelligence, endurance, ability to socialise with others and much more! Think of the possibilities, Levi!"

"I am," I reply, shaking my head. "One of the more likely ones is you ending up in a Juvenile Prison for dissecting and accidentally killing another human being."

"Yes, but we're trying to aim towards the less-likely ones, such as discovering a gene that can resist certain viruses and diseases or induce upgraded abilities into others. We could become rich and famous through this."

"Or we could end up with a black mark on our names for the rest of our lives."

"Just one more time," she pleads, getting down on her knees and attracting the attention of some of the exiting customers. "Do it for me, for science!"

She grabs onto the belt of my pants, wailing about all this crap and I realise how bad this looks to everyone around us. I can see some people producing their phones to tape it.

"Fine, fine, so long as you never touch me with your filthy hands again," I say, pushing her away.

"Fantastic! Then we must begin preparations immediately," she exclaims, pulling out her journal and beginning to scribble down theories about her newest subject of experimentation.

My brows draw together and I look backwards towards the café. It's getting late and the light pours out from the windows into the car park, illuminating the desolate street slightly. In one of the glass panes, I can see the raven-haired girl stacking cups onto a tray as she adjusts her uniform slightly and heaves a small sigh.

"Attracts even the most unusual of male eyes," I hear Hanji mutter behind me as she continues to write in her book.

That's when I smack her upside the head and continue on towards my car.