Disclaimer: I do not own SNK

Ch.1

Mikasa was bored! She had never been so bored in her life. All she could do was sit and clean. The monotony was briefly perforated with meals and training. But even training was hardly and relief. These were the same people she had been training with for years. She knew their moves even better than they did. She threw punches and dodges blows with over-practiced ease. Eren wasn't much help either. He was always with Hange doing experiments. When he came home from them, he would collapse on his bed. Sometimes she could get some conversation out of him, but usually it was just a few mumbles before the snores would start.

So Mikasa turned down the hallways towards the last person she wanted to ask a favor from. However, if she didn't she was sure she would die of boredom. The plain wooden door appeared in front of her. She sighed and gave a quick knock. She only had to wait a moment before a sharp, "What?" told her to enter. Mikasa pulled her scarf further up to cover her chin and mouth before entering. Lance Corporal Levi was sitting behind a plain wooden desk that matched the door. Hiss feet rested on a pile of papers that were on his desk. His piercing grey gaze seemed to hold nothing but bored contempt. Mikasa was well aware that even in the heat of battle, those eyes rarely deviated from that.

"Sir," Mikasa said with a bow, "I am here to request permissions to train with you." Levi's eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly. He lifted his feet off of the papers and back to the floor. He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. He looked Mikasa in the eye for a moment before replying.

"You are asking me to work Ackerman?" he sneered. His tone almost made her flinch, but Mikasa was made of much sterner stuff. He raised himself off of the chair with a groan.

"Very well, I could do with the confidence boost." Levi grumbled.

"Confidence boost, sir?" Mikasa asked.

"When I kick your sorry ass." Levi replied with a small smirk. Mikasa gave a small squeak of surprise and insult.

"Come on, let's test your skills. I've heard a lot about you, but I doubt you will be much of a match against me." Levi said as he walked past, giving a small wave for Mikasa to follow. She fell into step behind him. She hadn't been prepared for him to say yes, let alone start immediately. However, she couldn't deny that her seemingly endless boredom had come to a screeching halt. She followed him down the halls of the old house they were staying in. Mikasa noticed a few cobwebs that still clung desperately to the corners. They need to clean those, Mikasa thought, Oh great, I'm turning into the Captian! She snorted at the thought, making the Corporal look over his shoulder quizzically. Mikasa pushed her scarf up further to hide her embarrassment.

Shortly they reached the make-shift training grounds. It was just a patch of yard that had been trampled down so much that it created a sandy hollow. Jean and Connie were already there. They were locked together on the ground in a dusty, sweaty, and loud wrestling match.

"Are you brats fighting or making love?" Levi scoffed as he approached them. Jean and Connie sprang apart and fumbled to give an awkward salute.

"C-Captain! Connie and I were practicing some new moves." Jean stammered, still blushing at the Corporal's jibe.

"Shut is Keirstein. Ackerman and I are going to show you some real moves." Levi said darkly. "Now step aside." Levi pushed past Jean and Connie. He stopped at the other end of the training grounds. Mikasa followed, but stopped short to face her Corporal. The entire training grounds separated the two.

"All right Ackerman, you want to train, so train!" Levi challenged. His cold grey eyes met Mikasa stormy black ones. Mikasa curled up within herself as she prepared for an attack. When one did not come for several moments, Mikasa sprang forward. At the last second before she hit Levi, she shifted her weight to round on his unguarded right side. What no one seemed to realize was that Levi was never unguarded. In a flash, Levi slipped his foot under Mikasa's to unbalance her. While he did that, he countered her punch with one to her left side, and turned her outstretched arm around. What was left when the dust cleared was Mikasa lying on the ground trying to catch her breath.

Jean and Connie stood by with their jaws collected dust on the ground. Mikasa felt shame and overwhelming fury and determination. No one had bested her like that since she was a little girl. She spun on the ground in a flash and knocked the Corporal's feet out from under him. Levi joined her on the ground, but before Mikasa could feel the joy of her victory, Levi had grabbed her hand. He tucked his feet under himself and flipped Mikasa up and over himself, while he did a small backflip to gain his footing.

For the second time in under a minutes, Mikasa found herself gasping for her breath. As she gazed up at the clear blue sky, Mikasa's view was blocked by a hand. She grabbed it and was pulled to her feet. Levi was standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his muscled chest.

"Not bad for our first session." Levi said, in a slightly impressed tone.

"What! That was it?" Mikasa stammered.

"I think you ought to see Hange about your ribs, one might be broken."

"I-", Mikasa started, but then she felt a sharp pain in her side. She held her to her ribs and hissed through her teeth in pain.

"I thought I would have a real challenge today, but I guess not. Perhaps tomorrow." Levi rolled his eyes. Mikasa shot him the dirtiest look she could muster. Levi rolled his eyes again.

"I'll help you to Hange, come on." He sighed and let her lean on him as they walked back into the house. As they fell under the shadow of the front door, Eren was walking out. When he saw Mikasa leaning on Levi, his eyes clouded with worry.

"Mikasa, Captain, what happened?" Eren asked as he took Mikasa from the Corporal. Mikasa proceeded to tell Eren about training and her ribs. As Eren and Mikasa disappeared at a turn, Levi was left to walk back to his own quarters alone. As he was thinking about all of the paperwork Erwin had left on his desk, a thought rudely interrupted. It had been quite a long time since someone had managed to knock him on his ass. He allowed his lips to twitch into a momentary smile. As he entered his office, he replayed the battle in his mind again. Her form had been perfect. Not as perfect as his of course, but he had never seen anything like it. The way she had shifted her weight to suddenly strike his side was amazing. He barely caught it on time. He was so shocked that he forgot to hold back and did some serious damage to her. He did feel bad about that if he was honest with himself. If they were ambushed now, she would be unable to fight. But that wasn't entirely true, though. She had turned him on his ass faster than a snake. And then he had to finish the fight with that move. He allowed himself a little fun, and to prove that he was still the better fighter. But he still felt a twinge of guilt about hurting her. Ah well, nothing I can do now, he thought. He sat down in his chair with a grunt. He looked at the mountain of papers that were stacked on his desk. Levi glared at it for a second before he propped his feet back on them like he did before Mikasa walked in his office.

"Levi sure did a number on you, didn't he!" Hange laughed as she applied a sweet smelling ointment to Mikasa's exposed side. Mikasa winced at Hange's touch.

"Are my ribs broken? The Captain said they might be." Mikasa asked, concern clear in her voice.

"Oh please! Levi exaggerates. He'll have to hit you a lot harder than that! No, just some heavy bruising. This ointment will numb your side to ease the pain." Mikasa gave a sigh of relief as the pain slowly faded away. The numbness was uncomfortable in a different way though. Her balance was off, and it was unnerving not to feel anything on her left side.

"Well that about does it! You're free to go!" Hange said happily as she dusted off her hands. Mikasa walked back to her room with Eren as an escort. I don't want you to train with him again Mikasa." Eren said while he clenched his fists.

"I can do what I like Eren." Mikasa said with a glare at Eren.

"Mikasa, you got seriously hurt!"

"And I learned from my mistake. Next time he won't get a chance to land a blow."

"Next time! Mikasa there can't be a next time. What if you had broken your ribs and then we were attacked by the MP. Where would we be?" Eren stopped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. Mikasa slipped out from under his arms.

"I need to get stronger if I am to protect you from the Titan-shifters. I'm going to keep training with Corporal Levi, Eren." Mikasa walked past him and into her room. She gingerly undressed herself and put on a nightgown that the Scouts had given her. It was a little big, but it was soft and warm. She laid down on her bed and thought about the training session. She underestimated the Captain's speed and it had cost her, but she now knew how to dodge his attacks. Strike light and then retreat quickly, that is what she would do in the morning. She had attacked like a wolf, when she needed to attack like a snake. Mikasa sighed and rolled under the covers. Hange had told her to rest for the rest of the day, yet sleep evaded her. She kept thinking replaying the battle over again.

A knock at her door disrupted her thoughts. Figuring it was Eren come to lecture her again, she crossly said, "What?"

"It seems your manners are worse that Jeagar's." Came the cool tone of Levi. He walked into Mikasa's room.

"I'm sorry sir, I thought you were someone else." Mikasa leapt out of bed a little awkwardly and gave a bow.

"Whatever, get back into bed. I wouldn't hear the end of it if Hange thought I interrupted your rest. I wanted to come and make sure that I didn't beat you up too bad." Levi stated, shutting the door behind him. He sat down in an old chair that sat at the foot of Mikasa's bed. He crossed one leg over the other in his usual fashion.

"I'm fine, sir." Mikasa began, a little annoyed. "Only some bruises. Hange said I'll be fine in the morning, then we can resume our training."

"Fine then, but we won't be battling in the morning."

"But sir I-" Mikasa started, but was stopped by a look from the Corporal.

"We will be racing instead."

Mikasa nodded. She was slightly relieved since she was still in some pain, but she would never show that to the Corporal.

"Now, I suggest you spend the rest of the night in your bed so that you can perform your best tomorrow. I want to be challenged more than I was today. If I were an MP, you would've been tied to a chair and spilling all of our secrets by now." With that short speech, Levi fell silent. He meant to leave after that, but he found himself reluctant to leave her side. He got up from his chair and moved closer to Mikasa's bedside. He was annoyed at her for almost beating him today. He bent over her menacingly. A shiver crept down Mikasa's spine as those piercing grey eyes seemed to pick her apart. The moment was shattered by Eren entering the room.

"Oh! Captain, my apologies." Eren stammered. Levi gave Eren a dark look before replying cooly.

"I was just leaving Jeagar. I'm sure you want some time alone with your girlfriend"

"Eren is my brother sir." Mikasa corrected coolly. Levi was unsure why he was pleased to hear that.

"Y-yeah, Mikasa is just my sister!" Eren continued to stammer.

"Whatever, just be ready for training in the morning." Levi said, shaking off his momentary confusion. With that, he stalked out of the room.

"Are you seriously training in the morning?" Eren moved to sit at the foot of her bed.

"Yes, but it will be a race instead of a fight. So no contact."

"But you're hurt!"

"Eren, I am fine." Mikasa shot him a dark look.

"I guess I'm starting to sound like you." Eren joked, deciding to give up. Mikasa poked him in the back with her feet playfully. Eren shot her a smile, and she couldn't help but remember their times living in the Shinganshiga District. Those were good times, but they had grown up so much since then. They had met so many people, had seen so many die, and seen so many survive. A pair of sharp grey eyes entered her mind at that thought.

"Mikasa? You ok?" Eren's voice interrupted. Mikasa shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Yeah, just tired." She said

"I can leave so you can sleep." Eren said, standing up.

"No!" Mikasa said, reaching out a hand to stop him.

"Will you wait here until I fall asleep?" Eren raised his eyes at this; this used to be an old routine of theirs. Eren nodded and sat down again. He held onto Mikasa's hand as she drifted off to sleep. Eren watched her begin to breathe steadily. He couldn't help chuckle at how powerful his foster sister had become since he found her cowering in that vile mountain lodge. He touched his lips lightly to her forehead and left her to sleep and dream.