The Survey Corps was not meant to stay within the safety of anything for a prolonged periods of time. Their place was to explore the outside. They trained to be at the frontlines. So one morning, the soldiers came out of their rooms and assembled with their swords and gear prepared.
There was a nervous hum that surrounded the ranks. The mission was to inspect the external structure of the wall and to assess the population of the titans. While the first part of the mission was routine, the second was not. It meant that they would head straight towards titan territory. The feeling of danger was palpable.
Levi spied Mikasa from across the room. Her face had the hardness of someone prepared for battle. He waited until she met his eyes and mouthed a stern reminder: remember your training.
In response, MIkasa gave a small, barely imperceptible nod.
By midday, the Survey Corps suffered heavy losses. It was a battle that was fiercer than they anticipated. Aberrant titans showed up unexpectedly and forced the squads to be on the defensive. Formation was broken and the squads scattered. Despite the chaos, each soldier knew what to do in this situation. There was one order that prevailed at such an onslaught. Regroup, stay with your squad, and retreat.
Levi stood at the branch of a giant tree. On his chin was a tiny dribble of blood. He paused to wipe his face with a clean handkerchief and surveyed his surroundings to see where the rest of his team was. Sasha and Connie were standing to his left, supporting an injured Christa between them. Armin just landed next to him, breathing heavily.
Jean was still in combat, his face bloody from a cut above his eyebrow, but the titan was a small. It was only a matter of time before the titan falls under the sway of his subordinate's blade.
Levi leaned back on his heels and surveyed his surroundings. He was looking for Mikasa. A few minutes ago she was right behind him, having just finished off a seven-meter class titan. But now, he found himself craning his head to find her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a flash of scarlet. It was her scarf. Mikasa flew past him towards an aberrant with unusually large teeth. It was slow and lumbering, but even from where he stood, Levi could see that it was extremely flexible. Its long limbs flailed in all directions and its neck turning at a frightening angle.
Levi yelled at Mikasa, "Ackerman, do not engage! The order is to retreat!"
She ignored him and swung fast towards the titan. Levi was momentarily confused as to why she was intent on chasing a titan that was moving away from them. Almost immediately, Levi saw why. Eren had fallen behind and was on the titan's path.
Mikasa quickly caught up with the titan and launched herself towards it. She landed lightly on its shoulder then ran down its arm, cutting it as she moved. The titan gave a grievous wail of pain. Mikasa then shot her 3D maneuver gear and kicked to propel herself off the titan. Levi felt his jaw tighten at how gracefully she moved.
Her gear made another cracking sound. She circled the titan to confuse it. The titan swung its arms wildly, but Mikasa weaved through the air, always just beyond its reach. As she came close to its neck, she raised her arms to strike.
Levi breathed a sigh of relief as he was sure that the titan's death was inevitable. However, the titan twisted its neck all the way around. It was facing her. The titan snarled ferociously, spittle foaming around its mouth.
Mikasa managed to change directions at the last second, avoiding its jaws. Instead, the titan caught the cable of her maneuver gear. To Levi's horror, it sent Mikasa tumbling down.
Without even thinking, he shot his gear to get to her. As he glided at a speed that even he was surprised at, he heard Armin shout Mikasa's name. His voice was already fading from the distance.
Mikasa tucked her body and rolled on the ground to absorb the impact of her fall. Her hands automatically adjusted the grip of her weapons and she scrambled to her feet. The titan gave another snarl and crouched down low, its face a mere feet away from her. An ugly mouth made a gaping hole, the smell of rotting flesh emanating from it.
As Levi neared the scene, he saw Mikasa pause and stare straight into the titan's eyes. In the next instant, her gear shot through the titan's forehead, using it as an anchor to swing herself to its nape.
Levi landed at the titan's back at the same time Mikasa did. They plunged their swords deep into the monster, surrounding them both with steam.
"I could have handled it, Mikasa," Eren said. "I didn't need your help."
"I know Eren," Mikasa said softly. "I just didn't want you to be in danger."
Eren was furious. He whirled to face her, his mouth twisted to retort an angry reply. Instead, a cry of surprise came out as he was pushed back roughly. Levi came from behind and shoved him out of the way. As the young soldier stumbled from the force, Levi grabbed Mikasa by the collar.
Though he was shorter, he was the stronger one. Levi pushed Mikasa against a nearby wall. The girl needed disciple and Levi knew there was only one way to teach it. He was here to inflict pain.
"Don't you ever, ever disobey a direct order from me again," he said, darkly.
Mikasa raised her eyes in defiance. "It was coming after Eren."
"Did I ask why?" he said, his voice deadly even. "I don't care what your reasons were. For your defiance, I order you will be on stable duty for a month and kitchen duty for two."
Her face remained expressionless. But Levi wasn't done. He was aware that the rest of the squad gathered around them in concern for their friend. He decided to use it to his advantage.
Levi spoke loudly. "The squad will reconfigure for the next mission. Braus and Lenz, you two will stay in the front with me. Kirschtein will guard the squad from the left. Springer, you will be at the right."
He paused, bracing himself for Mikasa's true punishment. "Eren and Armin, you both will be at the rear of the squad. I expect you two to provide cover for the squad from any titans that may show up."
Levi registered the widening of Mikasa's eyes.
"You will sit out the next mission, Ackerman."
Without thinking, Mikasa swung her hands at her superior officer. Levi caught it without effort, twisting her arm behind her. With a deft move of his leg, he brought her down to her knees.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin put a hand on Eren. Jean flinched. He twisted her arm harder. "You will respect me. You will respect the chain of command. You will learn this, Ackerman, and you will learn this now."
Levi was wrapping his hands with bandages when Mikasa came up to him that night. He frowned when he saw that she was not dressed for training.
"You had no right to do that," she seethed, wasting no time.
Levi continued to wind the wraps around his hands. "On the contrary, Ackerman," he said without looking at her. "As your superior officer, I had every right to do that. You, on the other hand, had no right to disobey me or to raise your hand against me."
"Armin and Eren. I need to protect them."
Levi took his time finishing wrapping his hands. When he was done, he straightened up and eyed her critically. Mikasa was obviously in distress. She looked like she was ready to strike him again.
"Do you, Ackerman?" he said. "If you weren't around, will Jaeger forget his training? The same kind of training you received, by the way. More so, will he lose his ability to turn into a titan?"
Mikasa's response was nothing but sullen silence.
"And what about Arlert? Or do you think he will lose the ability to come up with brilliant strategies for survival, as he has done countless of times before?"
Levi flexed his fingers to loosen the wraps to a more comfortable tightness. "Or perhaps," he said, "you think that your precious Armin and Eren would immediately drop dead just because you weren't there."
Mikasa went very, very still. He saw from the way she unclenched her firsts that she was weighing his words. "No, I don't," she finally replied, her voice taut.
"Now tell me, why are you so eager to always rush headfirst into battle? You're not afraid of them, are you, Ackerman?" Levi asked.
"Them?"
"The titans. The big monstrous creatures that eat people and if given the chance, would eat you. In fact, one of them almost ate you this morning."
Mikasa sighed a short answer: "No, I guess I'm not."
"I saw you stare at the damned thing this morning before finishing it off," Levi said. "Are you really that arrogant?"
Mikasa sagged slightly. Was that really what the Captain thought? Did others think of her that way? Perhaps, that was why Eren always got so angry whenever she tried to protect him.
"No, it's not arrogance," Mikasa finally said. "I just don't see titans as the most frightening thing in the world"
"Oh?" Levi asked, genuinely interested in where this was going.
"Captain, what is your worst memory?" Mikasa asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Mine is when my parents died. I hate the titans for what they've done and what they can do. But they're not the most monstrous beings I've seen. The titans are terrible, but humans are far worse."
Levi was quiet for a long time after that.
"You can trust me," he finally said.
"What?" Mikasa said, startled by what he said.
"You heard me, Ackerman." Levi said, approaching her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can trust me. Trust me. And trust that your friends won't die on you. Not all humans will let you down."
Mikasa's breath caught at the sincerity of his words. She's never seen such gentleness from the Captain and she was startled at how effortless he was at it. Little did she know, he was capable of even greater acts of kindness.
Mikasa turned towards him and took a step back. With her back held straight and rigid, she bowed low. It was a gesture that her mother taught her as the ultimate sign of respect. Though Levi could not possibly have known this, he could sense that the act held special significance for her.
When they saw each other the next night, they did not mention what had happened before. In fact, it would be years before they would talk about that incident again. They met and simply trained. However, there was a change in the ways they moved around each other. When they spoke, they used kinder words.
It was as if they had crossed a bridge to meet each other midway, to see each other better.
