Sorry for the wait guys! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Levi didn't regret taking responsibility of Eren, truly he didn't. The kid was important and he believed they could use his powers to benefit mankind. That is, if he didn't kill the brat first. Levi's brow twitched in irritation as Eren continued complaining. "We've been doing these same drills all day, Captain. Can't we move on to something else? I already know hand-to-hand combat."
"Tch. Is that what you call that pitiful flailing, brat?" Levi mocked. Eren turned and glowered at the Captain, but his bravery quickly wavered as Levi stepped forward. Eren grew increasingly concerned the closer the Captain got to him. Levi stopped a few paces away. "Let's see it then, brat. Regale me with your martial brilliance."
To Eren's horror, he quickly realized that Levi intended to spar with him. He was still afraid of the shorter man after the beating he'd received in the court house. Levi was often called little, or shorty behind his back, but everyone knew he was the strongest soldier in the military. Eren had no desire at all to fight the older man. But like usual, no one was asking him what he wanted. Eren swallowed thickly and shifted into a fighting stance. Before he could blink, Levi had somehow managed to get through his defenses and put him on his ass.
He hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him. Dazed and coughing, he stared up at the cloudy sky and cursed his luck. Levi had been a hero in his eyes, he still was. But getting his ass kicked by the man daily was starting to tarnish his admiration. Eren coughed as he tried to catch his breath and Levi stepped forward to loom over him. "Get up, brat." He ordered.
Eren sighed quietly as he complied. His eyes widened in surprise as the Captain corrected his stance, and gave him pointers. A small smile worked its way onto his lips as he listened. Captain Levi may be strict and merciless, but it was clear that he did care. "What the hell are you smiling at, brat? Pay attention!" Eren flinched as the Captain berated him and slapped the back of his head. Or maybe, Eren thought, he was just a grouchy man who enjoyed hitting people.
They continued to work on Eren's close combat skills until lunch time. The boy sighed with relief when the Captain released him to go eat. Levi watched him practically run to the mess hall. He'd been keeping himself busy with the kid's training all morning, but now that it was time for a break, he couldn't keep his thoughts from wandering to the patrol group. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about her. He knew it was foolish to let himself become attached to anyone again.
He felt like a damn teenager, pining after that girl like he was. He had tried to ignore her at first, treat her just like any other soldier. That hadn't lasted more than a day, to his frustration. His confliction with his own feelings are what almost made him send her away. In the end though, he hadn't been able to. Selfishly, he wanted her to stay. It had been his plan to simply watch her from afar. He had no business getting involved with her. For one thing, she was barely more than a girl. She was only fifteen and he felt disgusted with himself every time he thought of her in a less than chaste way. Secondly, he was her commanding officer and any personal relationship between them would be extremely frowned upon.
Levi sighed and rubbed his temples. He had failed miserably at his plan to stay away from her too. When he had seen her with Reiner, he had seethed with jealousy. That tall brat had been so close to her, and she was laughing and smiling at him. She was comfortable with him. Levi had immediately headed downstairs to confront them. He had known about Amy being out after dark because of the laps he had assigned her; he had overlooked it, seeing as it was his fault. But Braun had no reason to be out.
He found himself standing outside her door. He heard the bed creak as she shifted and he knocked before he lost his nerve. How ridiculous! He was the number one slayer of titans; the strongest soldier. Nothing scared him, except apparently a fifteen year old girl. He was infuriating himself with his own feelings. It was completely stupid.
The door opened, and she spoke, expecting Reiner. That pissed him off more, but his train of thought was abruptly knocked off course when she pulled the door open. His eyes trailed down her body. He could tell her breasts were unbound; he could see the faint outline of her nipples through the white undershirt. Her pants were untied, with the front barely hanging open. He could see the edge of her blue panties and his mind flashed back to the morning he'd walked into her room and found her in nothing but a pair of black panties and her gray undershirt.
Her voice broke him from his thoughts and he quickly looked back at her face. That pretty blush was spread across her cheeks again. She'd surely noticed him looking at her body. He could see that Braus was asleep, but he didn't want her to wake up and see them, so he had pulled Amy out of the room and shut the door. He had just meant to question her about Braun, but his focus was shot. Every time he looked at her, he just wanted to kiss her. It hadn't taken much for his willpower to break.
Levi cursed under his breath as the memory of kissing her caused his lower belly to clench. The sensation was both wonderful and unpleasant. He couldn't remember ever experiencing it before. He'd felt physically attracted to women before, but this was somehow different. He still wasn't sure how, though.
Levi entered the dining hall and was served a bowl of stew. More than two dozen citizens had come out to work at the castle. The food shortage in Wall Rose was still an issue and many had decided that working here was worth the risk in exchange for a place to stay and three meals a day. As if they could sense his foul mood, everyone avoided Levi. Or it could have been the death glare he gave anyone in his path. He moved to a table in the corner and sat alone.
The rest of the hall was noisy as the cadets enjoyed lunch. Eren sat at a table near the center of the room with his childhood friends and a few of the others from 104th trainees squad. They were all smiling and enjoying each others company. Damn brats, Levi thought as he watched them. Needless to say, Levi didn't really enjoy lunch. The stew tasted fine, but his mood was dark. Well, darker than usual.
It wasn't long before he was dragging Eren back out for more training. He took him into the nearest part of the forest and began testing him on his skills with the 3DMG. He had to admit, the kid wasn't half bad. But there was definitely room for improvement. Levi spent the next few hours teaching him what he could. He kept him at it, even when it finally started to rain. Eren hadn't complained once since coming back out. Levi had to admire his tenacity and determination to improve. The kid was truly something.
They headed back about an hour before dinner time. Both of them were soaked from the rain, and mud was caked to their boots. Levi scowled at the mess, but it was unavoidable. They had just reached the front entrance of the castle when one of the lookouts signaled the approach of the patrol team. Eren had only paused a moment, intent on getting in out of the rain, however, he stopped when Levi didn't continue on. The two of them stood and watched as the three riders approached rapidly.
Levi stared at the group. They were missing someone, or maybe they had simply lost one of the horses. He moved forward, not even flinching as the galloping horses were pulled to a stop only a few feet from him. The animals were clearly exhausted, as were their riders.
"What happened?" Levi demanded. He had, of course, noticed Amy's absence. How could he not? But his duty came before his personal feelings. Petra Ral, still panting, spoke up. She had been in command of the patrol group, it was her responsibility to report their findings and what had happened.
"We were about half way through the circuit when we were attacked. There were three titans, two of the smaller three-meter class, and one seven-meter class." She paused to catch her breath, and Levi felt the urge to snap at her. He held the feeling in check. It wasn't Petra's fault, he knew that. "The seven-meter attacked first. It erupted from the tree line before anyone saw it. It went after Cadet Penrose and she became separated from us. The other two emerged from the trees immediately after the first and gave chase to us. We headed into the trees. I had planned to try and take care of the smaller titans, and head back for Amy. But two more showed up. We couldn't do anything against that number except flee." Petra looked down, clearly ashamed for leaving someone behind. But those had been her orders.
"We had to ride off course several times to lose them, which is why it took so long for us to get back. I was hoping Amy would have made it back, but it would seem that was too much to hope for." Petra fell silent then, and sat waiting with the others for new orders. Levi maintained his outward calm appearance, but inside he felt like he was panicking.
"I'll get together a team and head out now to search for her. The three of you did a great job in making it back here and reporting your findings. You've earned a rest. Take your horses to the stables and head inside." Levi turned and moved into the castle without waiting for a response. He knew they would follow his orders. Eren rushed after him and when Levi looked back at him, he could tell the boy wanted to go with him on the rescue mission. That was fine. Levi would consider this hands-on training.
Most of the cadets were already enjoying their dinner by the time they arrived in the dining hall. The great room grew silent when Captain Levi stormed in. He didn't pause to explain the situation. "Mikasa Ackerman, Reiner Braun, Auruo Bossard," he called out in a commanding tone. "Front and center." The three in question didn't hesitate to stand from their seats and come forward.
Levi turned and they all followed him back out into the rain. Petra and the others could be seen in the stables helping the servants prepare fresh horses. There were five saddled horses waiting. Petra knew the number of people Levi usually had in his squad and figured he would take the same amount with him now. The other members of the Special Operations Squad were out guarding the supply caravan.
Levi explained the situation as they walked. "The patrol group returned and reported seeing at least five titans in one area. However, one member of the group failed to return. Amy Penrose was separated from the group and is still missing." Levi was too focused on the task at hand to observe their reaction to the news. However, it didn't slip past Mikasa when Reiner stopped short. He looked surprised at first, but that quickly morphed into concern and then determination. Levi pulled himself onto his horse and turned to the others as they did the same. "Our mission is to find and deal with these titans, and if we can, find Cadet Penrose."
The group nodded their understanding and Levi turned to Petra. She already seemed to know what he was going to ask, and gave him the exact location they had last seen Amy and the titans. Levi and the others quickly rode out into the growing darkness.
They stayed on the already cleared road so that they could ride full out. It would be faster even if they were circling around instead of going in a straight line. Levi knew the terrain very well, enough to navigate it at night and know where he was. He led them to a hidden game trail that veered off the main road and into the trees. It forced them to slow down, but once again it was the faster path. They rode in single file, with Levi leading them. Eren came next, followed by Auruo, then Reiner and Mikasa was covering the rear.
The trail twisted through the trees and lead them deeper into the forest. The further they went, the more tense everyone grew. They knew they were getting close to where the titans had last been seen. The line jerked to a stop when one of them blew their signal whistle. The noise wasn't particularly loud, but it was enough to get everyone's attention. Mikasa came forward, she had been the one to signal them to stop. "I saw something in the trees over there." She reported to Levi, pointing off to their left. Levi nodded and they all moved towards that direction.
It only took a few minutes to find what Mikasa had seen. The clearing they entered was visibly destroyed, even in the darkness. A few trees were uprooted and lay across the ground. There were several large footprints in the soft dirt and there were areas where it looked like the earth had been ripped up. What stood out first was the corpse of a titan hanging over one of the fallen trees. Most of it had already disappeared and the rest was still steaming.
Lying in the center of the clearing, was the broken and bloody body of a gray horse. It was obvious that the mare had been hit on the side. Her ribs were crushed in, her legs were splayed at odd angles and her neck was clearly broken as well. The bridle on the horse bore the insignia of the Survey Corps. Not too far away from the horse, strewn across the muddy ground, was a destroyed set of 3DMG. Everyone was completely silent, unwilling to accept the truth before their eyes. Amy hadn't gotten away.
They didn't get long to get over the shock. Five titans entered the clearing across from them, their mouths open wide as they charged towards the group. The horses all bucked and turned to flee. Levi shifted in his seat, his eyes filled with rage, and activated his maneuver gear. The long spiked tipped cords shot out and Levi soon followed. He whipped through the trees, ignoring the way the smaller branches cut into his skin and snagged his clothes. The rest of the squad noticed the actions of their Captain and followed suit, leaving the horses to take to the trees.
The titans, all seven-meter class, crashed through the trees. It was still so dark out, the only way the Survey team had to track them was by the amount of noise the giants were making. Reiner was just flying overhead as one of the beasts ran by. He intended to follow after it and take it down. But he was stopped by a flash of movement. He strained his eyes and could barely make out Captain Levi as he darted by. It happened so fast, Reiner almost missed it, but the titan crashed heavily to the forest floor. A large chunk was cut out of the back of its neck.
Within minutes, the five titans were taken care of. Their corpses left steaming and slowly dissolving. No one had been killed, or even seriously injured in the attack. They all gathered around Levi afterwards. If anyone noticed the hollow look in his eyes, they didn't say anything. He ordered them to find and gather up the horses. No one asked him what he would be doing in the meantime.
Slowly, Levi made his way back to the clearing. The gray mare still lay in the center, a morbid reminder of his failure. He found himself drawn towards it. This was where she had spent her last moments. He wondered what she had thought about, just before she died. Would he have crossed her mind? Levi shook himself from his musings before kneeling at the horses side. It was then he finally noticed and he swore his heart stopped. The horse's body was lying over a small indentation in the earth, and only at this angle could he see her.
Amy lay curled into a tight ball in the small recess. He was almost afraid to reach out and touch her, afraid she might still be dead. His indecision didn't last. With a trembling hand, he reached out and grasped her arm. He sighed with relief when her eyes shot open and she gave a terrified shriek. He clamped his other hand over her mouth. The last thing they needed was for more titans to show up.
The fear quickly melted from her eyes when she saw him. He helped her crawl out from under the horse and made no effort to stop her when she flung herself into his arms. Amy clung tightly to him and cried softly, her face pressed against his shoulder. Levi wrapped his arms firmly around her and held her tightly. He found himself murmuring into her ear, telling her she was safe now. That he would keep her safe.
So, most of you have probably noticed I've rated this FanFic as Mature. Attack on Titan is a very gorey show, and I believe that in itself merits a fairly high rating, but that is not why I rated this Fic as Mature. Some time in the future Levi and Amy will most likely become intimate and there will be graphic sexual scenes. If that is something you don't wish to see, then I'm sorry but you should not continue reading this. For those of you that will continue reading, I wish to hear your opinion on the matter. There will be an opportunity for them to take the next step in their relationship in the next chapter. Do you guys think it would be too soon? Or would you like to see them further their relationship? Let me know what you guys think about it. I look forward to reading your responses. Thanks!
