Stay
The day began as usual. Lately, every day was a normal day, and the girl with the brown hair was thankful for it. She was thankful that at the end of the day, her and her teammates got back safe and alive from their missions.
Sasha knew she was not the most skillful soldier, nor the smartest; however, she had ranked number 9 in her graduation, she couldn't be so bad after all. Sasha knew that every single person in the squad was important. They kept each other in balance.
"Shut up, Jean! I'm sure that you were about to piss yourself when you encountered that seven meter titan right before you"-Connie said, making everyone laugh at loud.
The cadets were at the dining hall, taking their tea before bed time. They had just finished diner and were waiting for the food to settle before heading towards their barracks. They were all sitting in a large table. On one side, Christa, Ymir, Eren and Armin were sitting down. Facing them, were Jean, Connie, Mikasa and Sasha.
On that specific day, they had to go beyond the Wall towards the forest with the giant trees. They were in an exploring mission. The Scouting Legion Leader, Hange Zoe, had made a request to capture an abnormal titan with the only purpose of studying their characteristics. It was a risky mission, but she knew they could handle it, and that is why she requested the top ten students to be part of it. Commander Erwin was not so sure they were ready for that kind of mission, and that is why he asked leader Hange to get her assistant, Moblit, to write down all the events he considered relevant during that expedition.
The team's purpose was to protect Hange's team, while they set up the traps to capture the titans.
"You shut up, Connie! I didn't see him coming. Besides, it's easier to observe what other people are doing when you are hiding behind Sasha"-Jean replied while taking a sip of his hot mint tea.
Sasha tried hard not to laugh, but it was true. In many occasions, she had to go and save Connie's ass. He had found himself petrified in several occasions. She had had no other option but to rescue him and keep him safe.
"That is not true. I was not hiding behind her, I was protecting her back"-added Connie while scratching the back of his head with one of his hands.
Everyone started laughing. Sasha thought that seeing those two arguing was always good fun.
"Guys, cut it out"–said Armin smiling. "I don't think no one ever imagined that we would run into plenty of them during this expedition. Thanks to everyone's different skills, we were able to protect Hange's team while they set up the traps. We kept them safe".
"Yeah… in all honesty, everything turned out alright… I mean… considering that Jean nearly left a urine trail on the road for the titans to follow us home…"-joked Ymir, making everyone laugh, but Jean, naturally.
Laughing out loud, Sasha thought about the friends she had. She thought that what some of them lacked on skills, made up on companionship. As long as they stayed together, they would be safe and sound.
"I see you're celebrating, hey?" –Everyone froze and stopped talking. The table went completely silent and their hearts started beating fast.
That voice. Sasha knew that voice. That voice that made everyone stop talking and laughing. Everyone knew exactly where the voice came from, they knew he was standing right at the door's threshold, but no one dared to look his way. They simply looked down, concentrating on their laps or their tea cups.
"Lance Co….corporal Levi…"-Christa said, in a passive way. "We were about to head off to our dorms..."
"Silence, Lenz…" –interrupted Levi. "I can't understand why you seem so cheerful. I've heard that your performance during today's expedition was pathetic" –he finished saying.
Sasha while looking down at her tea cup, thought about the man standing before them, watching them and scanning every single one of their faces with his cold gaze. Captain Levi had had an obscure past which had forged his tough personality, but strong temper. Sasha did not know much about him, but she had heard that he spent his childhood in the dark, in an underground city that was built as escape plan in case a titan crossed the city wall.
Since the city was underground, they did not obtain enough sunlight, hence, Levi's skin was pale as porcelain, but at the same time, it seemed soft and smooth. His hair was straight and black, and his muscles were visible through his clothes, and although he was not very tall, he was able to impose his presence on anyone. Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman was known as the "strongest soldier of mankind", and Sasha could see why.
"Mmmh… If you allow me, Corporal"-Ymir began saying, while looking at him sideways. "The traps were installed correctly, and there were no casualties, so, I wouldn't exactly describe our performance as pathetic". –Ymir finished saying as her teammates looked at her with alarmed expressions on their faces. They couldn't believe Ymir was daring to reply to him in such a manner.
"14:17, soldier Ymir constantly turns around towards soldier Renz, distracting herself, nearly causing their horses to bump into each other in the act". –Levi read from a little red notebook that he had been holding in his hand from the moment he entered the dining hall.
Ymir simply clenched her fists and frowned.
"What…the hell… is that?"-said Eren nervously, loud enough for Armin to hear him.
"14:32, soldier Jaeger left the formation. At one point he confused the shadow of a giant tree with that of a titan, he also used a lot of gas from his vertical maneuvering equipment to get away fast. Realizing that it was only a tree, he had to run after his horse through the field". -read Levi with an indifferent look.
Eren simply took a sip of his tea and squinted.
Everyone at the table looked at each other's faces, their eyes wide open and fearful that Corporal Levi would read something about them next.
"14:46….-Levi started, but stopped himself from reading out loud, and read the rest in silence, then, looked up to see the soldiers faces.
Everyone at the table stopped breathing, waiting for him to continue reading. They were all so silent that they could nearly hear each other's heartbeats.
"…Kirschtein shat himself in the battlefield…".-Levi finished saying with a disgusted look on his face.
"WHAT?"-shouted Jean quickly, rising from his seat and placing botch hands on the table. "No, Corporal, I needed to pee and I did…. I did not have time to stop!" –Jean finished nervously.
Connie and Sasha could not contain their laughter, and although they covered their mouths with both hands, they ended up laughing out loud to the point where tears began to emerge from their eyes because of how funny the whole situation was.
"You two shut up!" –Jean shouted. His face was boiling red. He didn't know if it was because of anger or shame.
"Very funny, eh?" Captain Levi added, keeping his eyes cold and expressionless. "Blouse and Springer, of all, you were the most pathetic. According to this, Springer lost his horse and had to share with Braus, who left the battlefield to prostrate themselves on the top of a tree and keep her companion alive, letting others take their chances while they rested lazily. "
"That's not true ... Captain!" Sasha shouted angry and frowning, and then she quickly covered her mouth with both hands as she realized what she had just said. She was well aware she could not address to her superiors that way, but it bothered her a lot to being blamed for something she had not done. She was only trying to be there for her friend.
What Corporal Levi did not know, was that Connie's three-dimensional gear was broken. He hadn't checked it properly that morning before the expedition. His blades were stuck and he could not get them out, so she had no option but to take him to the top of a tree, and attack from there with her arrows, aiming for the titans' eyes, in order to blind them for three minutes so her teammates could attack them more freely.
"Blouse, are you saying that the notebook of Hange's personal assistant, Moblit, has incorrect information?" Said Corporal Levi without looking up from Moblit's scrapbook.
"I….didn't…" –said Sasha nervously.
"First thing tomorrow, report to the leader Hange in her office. I want to see how you explain your theory about why all the information collected on this expedition is incorrect". Corporal Levi finished saying as he turned to leave the place.
"I didn't say that" –Sasha said, tears welling in her eyes.
Levi could not hear her, as he walked away, no longer paying attention to what was happening in the dining room.
"Poor Sasha ... it looks like Corporal Levi was just in a bad mood... it's not fair," Armin said to Eren in an almost inaudible voice
They all remained silent, some looking at Sasha sideways, while others, like Mikasa and Jean, began to get up to leave. Sasha, stayed there, staring straight ahead with a lost look and a feeling of heaviness in her stomach. She just wanted to explain what had really happened. Why did Corporal Levi have to be so cruel? Was he just angry and wanted to take it all out on someone? Why her? She never meant for that to happen, she just wanted to explain the part that mentioned her.
"Come on Sasha, tomorrow will be another day. Maybe tomorrow the corporal won't even remember any of this. Let's sleep it off". -Christa said to Sasha, pulling her arm to make her get up.
"That man is an idiot ... maybe he has that great ego to compensate for his small…height," said Ymir bitterly, making Christa elbow her right in her ribs.
The three girls went on their way heading their dorms. As Christa had said, tomorrow would be another day, and Sasha hoped that Corporal Levi would forget all that matter of confronting her with leader Hange and Moblit. If she was forced to do so, she did not know what she would say in her defense. Whatever happened, Sasha was sure of one thing only… she hated Lance Corporal Levi from that moment on.