Follows cannon for the most part but will eventually branch off to AU.
I plan to stick to Eren's POV with some Levi thrown in. I may do other character's POV as the story progresses.
Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are 18 - add 3 years to everyone else too.
Levi is 30. Erwin is 35.
Chapter Summary:
Eren doesn't have fun at the trial. Doesn't mean she carries hate in her heart for it.
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"Do you resent me?"
She didn't see the kick coming, but it was certainly felt. A crack to the jaw that forced her head to whip to the side, tooth spat out in the process.
So shocking was the action did her anger die almost instantly. When she attempted to right herself and look up into the eyes of the one whom hurt her she was further floored.
A rather unintelligible "huh?" slipped past her lips.
It was him. Humanity's Stron-
The thought wasn't finished as she hunched over from a sudden kick to the gut. A yelp got caught in her throat as she was immediately hauled up, by the hair and shirt, neck craned uncomfortably and almost lifted off of her knees, in order to be kneed in the face. A couple more kicks along her middle had her doubled over and gasping for breath.
'Why?'
The position allowed him to place a foot behind her head, pushing down hard enough to rapt her forehead against the ground and then keep it there.
Her quick, labored breaths echoed in her own ears.
"This is a personal opinion, but I believe pain to be the best way to train someone," he spoke, voice a smooth but low tenor. His next words, she knew, were directed at her. "What you need is to be trained like a dog. It's easier to kick you while you're kneeling too."
Being able to tell when the next set of kicks were coming didn't make them any less painful.
"Wait, Levi..." the Military Police Commander spoke up.
She barely latched onto the name, 'Levi.'
"What is it?" Levi asked, pausing his process to take in the man's visage. "You look disturbed Commander. Don't tell me the sight of blood running down her pretty face disturbs you?"
Said Commander may have colored if he wasn't already pale from fright. "That's dangerous," he uttered. "What if she gets angry and turns into a Titan?"
Levi's next kick stopped to dig in, pressing her shoulder back against the pole, and presenting her pained face for everyone to see. "What are you saying?" He put his foot down and reached over to snag her by the hair to keep her up.
Though her eyes were a bit unfocused due to her mind reeling, she still stiffened when he brought his face near hers. With every breath she could make out more of his impassive expression.
"Aren't you going to dissect her?" Levi let her go and he stood up straight, eyes sweeping over those of the Military Police. "When she turned into a Titan last time, she killed twenty other Titans before collapsing. If she is an enemy, her intelligence makes her a formidable foe. Still no match for me, of course. But what will you do? Anyone persecuting her should really consider that fact. Do you really think you can kill her?" His eyes focused solely on the Military Police Commander. "Should something go wrong, can you kill her despite your severe lack of experience in slaying any Titans?"
From her position facing the floor, Eren's lips parted. 'So, that's the game.'
Commander Erwin's hand shot into the air. "Sir, I have a proposal." He lowered his arm, speaking loud and clear. "The details of Eren's Titan powers remain uncertain, making it dangerous, for almost all. Thus, I propose to have Captain Levi take responsibility for Eren's control, and embark on an expedition beyond the walls."
"With Eren in tow?" the judge professed.
Erwin nodded. "Yes sir. Based on the expedition's results, I'd like you to judge whether Eren can control her Titan power and whether she is a bane or a boon to humanity."
"Control Eren Jaeger," the judge mused. "Can you do it Levi?"
Levi looked back down at her.
She took the pains to meet his eyes, subconsciously taking note of the storm grey color. Her face was rather expressionless, but Levi was close enough to see the spark of fire in her eyes.
"I'm certain I can kill her," he turned around to face the judge. "The only problem is I doubt I could do any less." Levi gave Erwin a side-long glance, the latter whom nodded imperceptibly.
"Then my decision is made."
The gavel striking down rang throughout the Courtroom.
The question echoed once in her mind before she answered. "Resent you, sir?"
The confusion coloring her tone caused Levi's lips to twitch downwards. "Yes, do you resent me? I doubt I hit you hard enough to make you lose your memory of the trial."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you. I don't understand why you would think I'd resent you," Eren crossed her arms and looked down at her lap. "Maybe I shouldn't say this but... if I thought you were simply trying to hurt me for no reason I probably would have resisted." She paused. "I scored top marks in hand-to-hand combat back at the Academy. I know that's unimportant when it comes to fighting Titans but it helped me realize what was going on in Court. While Captain Levi's aim was to make a show of being able to keep me in line, it was also just that- a show."
"Waah," Hanji mused. "She's a smart one too."
The Commander made a hum of agreement and Eren looked up to find him watching her, intrigued. "What made you catch on?" he asked.
She glanced to Captain Levi on reflex and looked away just as quickly. His stare was much more intense than Commander Erwin's.
"Well, if Captain Levi really wanted to beat me and not just make a show of it, he could have."
One of Levi's brows ticked up. "You're saying I didn't?"
"No, it's not that. I mean- it's just-" Eren paused to stop her stammering, coloring quite a bit. "You always aimed for the least possible damage. You may have struck a lot but it was always the same areas: my nose, jaw, and stomach; the most common areas for injuries for anyone who trains in hand-to-hand combat. I mean, you could have done lasting damage, like broken my nose or my jaw if you were so inclined." She swallowed, hoping to all-hell she didn't seem like she was babbling nonsense. "But instead you only ever struck me hard enough to make sure I'd bleed, making it look worse than what I truly felt. Therefore, you proved you weren't afraid of me and that you could take me down if necessary."
"Very impressive," Erwin complimented. "I honestly didn't expect you to catch on, not so soon."
"Well... I was really confused and worried at first," Eren admitted. "But I listened to every word Captain Levi was saying and noticed how he kept doing the same things... then I started thinking of the people's reactions and it just... made sense."
"So, you're saying I should go ahead and beat you honestly the next time?"
Levi's teasing tone sailed right over her head.
"What?! No! I mean, unless you need to- I-" Eren sucked in a deep breath and gazed directly at Captain Levi, unaware of the emotions showcased clearly in her eyes. "All I mean to say is that I understand why it was necessary for you to do what you did. I have no doubt your actions saved my life." She gave him a sincere smile. "I trust you."
Levi's eyes widened, looking stunned, as he stared at Eren. In doing so he inordinately took in the features of her face, what would have been a plain face but for the full lips that could stretch into smile that lit up a room and, of course, for her eyes. Extraordinarily bright, round orbs of so many varying shades of blue and green he doubted there was a name to match the shade.
Levi became all too aware of how close his fingers were to her neck. How a single flick forward could have him caressing the exposed skin where her hair was parted.
Erwin's sudden clearing of throat snapped him out of his reverie. A shared glance with the Commander had him mentally cursing. There was a slight curl to Erwin's lip that indicated he was keeping himself from laughing. It should have clashed with the knowing look in those blue eyes but it only served to compliment the bastard.
Levi turned back to Eren only to find her looking at him expectantly and chewing at her bottom lip.
Right, she was waiting for an answer. He was far too old to get so distracted by something such as a reddened lip... from biting.
"That's good, that you understand."
Eren brightened, letting go of some of her nerves.
"But you took it a little too far," Hanji cut in, addressing Levi. She crouched in front of Eren and unfolded the napkin she was holding. "You lost a tooth. Look."
"Don't pick that up," Levi said, dislike evident in his tone. "It's creepy."
Hanji pouted. "Even this is an important sample."
Levi sighed. "Say Eren, it's still better what happened than getting dissected by people like her right?" he asked, unconsciously angling his body towards her.
Eren was watching their exchange, amused by the play but a little confused by the subject matter.
"I'm not like them," Hanji protested. "I wouldn't kill her."
"What does it matter that I lost a tooth?"
She started as everyone turned to her quite sharply (except for Mike-the-Smeller, as she'd dubbed him, but she figured he was a guard of some sort with the way he hadn't looked away from the window).
"Hah?" Hanji tilted her head and leaned forward. "Eren... let me see inside your mouth."
She shot the Major a confused glance but obliged.
"The tooth..." Hanji's tone had even Mike turning around and the rest leaning forward. "It's already grown back."
"Well... yeah."
She wouldn't have guessed those two words would turn up such alarmed expressions.
"Eren, what do you mean by that?" Commander Erwin's tone was gentle yet demanding an explanation.
"Well if I could grow back an arm and a leg, I could regrow a tooth right?" she answered with a nervous smile, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.
It didn't work.
It became worse.
"You grew back an arm and a leg?" Levi questioned in disbelief.
"Yes?"
"Eren," Erwin held her gaze carefully. "I'm going to need you to explain this to me. Start from everything that led up to such events to everything right after."
She licked her lips, hesitating.
"I've realized this means your friends left some important factors out of their reports."
"They're family," Eren interjected.
Erwin smiled. "I'll make sure nothing happens to your family, but I will need to talk to them about this as well. Understood?"
She nodded, thankful.
"Good."
The Commander said nothing more, merely sat back and waited for her to start.
"It has to do with the first time I transformed, of course," Eren began, slowly. "Things went bad quick. For most of the others, it was their first time ever even seeing a Titan. People were yelling and panicking everywhere, but I still heard Armin's shout."
She leaned forward a bit, hands sliding to grip her knees. "I was in such a rush to get to him, I didn't see the Titan that was hiding. It bit my leg off, just below the knee, as I was flying in between buildings. My momentum was thrown off and I crashed across the rooftops. I was out."
Eren took a swift breath in through her nose. "Honestly, the next I remember I was waking up to watch a Titan with Armin in its grasp. I was moving forward as I watched it drop Armin into its mouth." Her grip on her knees tightened and she bit down hard on a corner of her lip. "I got angry," the emotion could be heard in her tone as she enunciated each word. "I. Got. So. Angry."
She didn't realize she was shaking until she was startled out of it. Looking up, she found Commander Erwin looking at her with an unreadable emotion, a hand of hers held between both of his own.
"Take a breath and pause if you must. We have some time," he informed her.
She nodded, grateful, but a feverish energy quickly stole over. "I killed it," she whispered, almost awed. "Not right away, but I did..."
Her eyes shone as she looked to them all.
Levi unconsciously stiffened.
"I used my swords to keep its mouth open and grabbed Armin just as he was sliding down its throat. I threw him out, but in doing so knocked my swords down," she lost some of her energy and looked down. "I couldn't keep it's mouth open long enough for me to get out. It bit my arm off when it clamped its teeth down. I remember thinking... this is how I'll die." Her eyes unfocused. "I could hear Armin screaming even as I slid down its throat... all the way down to its stomach."
She paused, startled by sudden movement.
Captain Levi had kicked at Hanji, the latter whom closed her mouth petulantly.
Eren was grateful he kept the Major from asking what was sure to be some insensitive questions. Especially considering the way both her hands clenched into fists as another jolt of anger rose. Erwin didn't let go of the one he held though.
"There were... other body parts, dead people. I got angry... again... I know I must have transformed, but I don't remember it." She focused on a few breaths and let out a long sigh. Her eyes glanced up, slowly tugging her hand out of the Commander's grasp, and came to lay them both on her knees again. "I don't remember anything about being a Titan that first time. When I woke up, Armin and Mikasa were hovering over me, and my body was completely intact as if nothing had happened."
A thrum of silence hung in the air.
Erwin was the one to break it.
"Thank you Eren," he spoke sincerely, catching her eyes. "For telling us this. You truly are something else to stay so strong after such a horrifying experience."
Eren couldn't help her blush but still managed a, "Yes sir." She looked around to gauge the other Officer's reactions as well.
Major Hanji looked excited.
Squad Leader Mike (the Smeller) gave her a firm nod of approval.
Captain Levi was looking down at his lap, expression solemn (for him). He was the only one who didn't give her any sort of reaction.
That alone shouldn't have gotten her down, but it did.
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Short, I know!
As my first foray into the SNK fandom I wanted to see if I could spark any interest in this. Though, knowing myself, I'll continue even if I don't gain a single reader.
I'm unfamiliar with how the japanese military works, but in the US- someone of Levi's age, years of service, conduct as a leader, and charge of a Special Ops Squad is more than likely to be an Officer (Lieutenant, Captain, Major, etc). Technically, one could argue this could be true of a Corporal except for the fact that, outside of his squad, the people he personally interacts with (Erwin, Hanji, Mike) are all Officers themselves and higher-ups tend to stick with higher ups in order to keep the Chain of Command established.
Also, as a Captain, Levi would be like Erwin's right hand man which could explain his presence at Eren's trial. No matter how strong a soldier you are, unless you're pertinent to the case you'd have no reason to be there (not that Erwin couldn't have pulled strings to have him there since Levi was important to gaining custody of Eren).
Basically, I bring this up because I'm still confused of Captain Levi vs. Corporal Levi.