A/N: This isn't my OC. This is a commission from DA-user Shinju-Tsukuda who requested me to write a series with her OC Airi.
"Okay, but I'm just saying this is complete bullshit. Why should I have to do extra chores?" Airi Himura complained, looking down at her broom with a look that she reserved for only the worst things in life. "Does Captain Levi have a stick up his ass, or what?"
"Seriously, Airi? We've only been here for five minutes," Jean told her.
"Who cares about how long we've been here? I got double chores for absolutely no reason!" she defended herself.
"What did you expect? You left a bad first impression on Captain Levi and since you sassed him, he gave you double chores. It's not a hard concept," he said.
"You know what, I didn't ask you, Jean," she retorted, giving him a dark look.
"Yeah you did!" he replied indignantly. Airi rolled her eyes and went back to sweeping.
"Whatever. I have work to do," she said. Her day hadn't started off bad. It was rather normal until the incident. She'd woken up, had breakfast with her friends, and then she and the rest of the new recruits got assigned chores by none other than Humanity's Cleanest Captain.
"Despite my squad trying to make this place habitable, six people can't do much. The barracks and bathrooms are far from being clean. It's your job to clean your barracks first, and then the bathrooms. I have to go work with Hange and Yeager but once I'm done I'll come back and check on your progress." And with that, Captain Levi left after only meeting with them for a few minutes. Really? That seems inefficient, Airi had thought, and that thought had ultimately played a part in her getting the Captain's wrath.
"Guys, don't you think we'd get done faster if we split up chores?" she suggested, looking around at her friends.
"Won't Captain Levi get mad at us for splitting up?" Krista asked worriedly.
"Maybe, but this way is more efficient," Airi shrugged. "This way we have fewer people in each room so we can work faster, and if we work faster we get done faster."
"I think it's a great idea," Reiner spoke up and she felt a small hint of pride at the approval. "Whoever wants to clean bathrooms, feel free to come join me." Some soldiers moved quickly while some moved with hesitation, clearly nervous about disobeying orders. But when things went smoothly everyone forgot about apprehension they might've had. Sure, things were slower than Airi had thought they'd go, but with less people in the room no one was getting in the way of each other. Everything was going well.
Until stupid Captain Levi butted in, Airi thought resentfully, sweeping the floor even harder as she remembered Levi coming back into the dorm room.
"Oi, where's the rest of the new recruits?" he had demanded, walking into the dorm looking irritated and worn-out. Clearly, training with Eren hadn't gone that great.
"They're cleaning the bathrooms, sir," Sasha piped up.
"Why? They're supposed to be in here helping you lot," he inquired. Oh great. I need to step in before he tears her apart, Airi thought. Looking back on it, she just should've stayed quiet. But hey, how could I have known he was going to be a complete ass, she wondered.
"I thought we'd get the job done faster and better if we split up," Airi had stepped forward. He looked at her disdainfully and a twinge of irritation sparked in her body. "Is there a problem?"
"I don't see why you think you're qualified to order your peers around," he said, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"I'm not ordering them around. I suggested that splitting up would be more efficient and everyone went with it," she said.
"Really? Because the way it seems is that they're taking orders from you," Levi pointed out. "I know you're older than them and everything, but that doesn't give you the right to make them disobey orders, Himura."
"I didn't disobey orders, I just thought this was a better way to get the job done!" Her blood was boiling and she held herself back from yelling at him.
"Your way isn't completely efficient. It gets the job done faster in theory, but you're not being thorough enough and you're spreading yourselves out too thin. You all should work on one room together so the cleaning is thorough and no one is having to do multiple jobs," he explained.
"But that would take forever!" she argued.
"It's chores. It's not supposed to be done quickly," Levi said, irritation strung tight in his voice.
"What, so you want us wasting time cleaning when we could be doing something productive like training?"
"I don't like your attitude, Himura. Double chores for a month," he said. He was being unfair, she thought angrily collecting dust in a dustpan. I was just trying to get us done faster so we could train. And he had to go and give me this dumbass punishment.
"Less talk, more work." Levi's harsh voice cut through Airi's recollections as he walked into the room the friends were cleaning.
"We literally just stopped talking," she argued.
"I don't want to hear it. Kirstein, come with me and I'll give you a new task. You're not helping Himura finish her work." Jean shot Airi an apologetic look before following Levi out of the room.
"Oh, COME ON!" Airi yelled back at them.