Our lovely masks

by Blood tinted rain

During the day time Mikasa Ackerman is a quiet high school student, during the night time however, she is a skilled assassin with a reputation as black as the night. A drop of fate and she meets a transfer student by the name of Eren Yeager, who holds a few secrets of his own.

10. Chapter 10

Yo, wow, okay, first I want say writers block is a bitch, loosing interest is a mother fucker, and having no time at all because of work is a shit situation. And excuses are lame. Who still keeps up with this story? Probably not many.

So recap on the last chapter, for those who had forgotten. So Eren, Armin, and Mikasa are declared a team by their superior, drama llama ensues. Mikasa is attacked by other assassin and stuff, and yeah. That's about it, right?

Enjoy this chapter, and sorry for any mistakes, I am only human.

---

Eren ran across a dense and lush forest, his chest heaves with tremendous effort as he bolts past tree branches and rain drops. He is injured from the side of his leg, it wasn't anything major, only a slight spurt of pain would gnaw at him from a tumble he had taken earlier. It was raining heavily, thunder resonated from a above, and lightning sparked the sky and lit his path for only a second.

Sweat spills down his face as he pants out loudly but the cold rain did a good job at carrying it all away, as if it was never there to begin with. His chest heaves with each intake of the cool air, the dark set of hostile clouds high above him gave no aid at all. His damp hair clung to his face as he inhaled some water, but he doesn't stop, never stops.

Eren looks back, takes a big gulp of air and tears his eyes from what was behind him, he shuts them and tries to focus his energy on his legs. He hopelessly attempts to trick his mind into subduing the pain from his leg as he leaps over fallen branches and rocks; faster and faster he pushed himself. His heart sped like a motor on the brink of exhaustion.

He clamped his fist tighter as he pushed himself further, trying to escape the grasp of a certain short captain behind him.

"Captain! No, please stop this!" Eren screams out, tilting his head up as the wind zipped past him like a blade. He knew there were eyes above him, following his every move, he tried to search for them but with the blinding rainfall, and the added fact that the eyes above did well at hiding, his vision was limited.

"Not until you show us, Yeager!" roared out Levi as he trails behind Eren like a tenacious wolf after a meal. He has a sword in his hand and everytime he got close enough to the younger male he would swing for his head, merely missing wisps of hair as the boy ducked down and veers in a different direction, but Levi was unshakable.

"I can't!" bellows out Eren as he jumps over a log and lands dryly on his injured leg, he bites out a scream and tumbles down a small hill, rolling and bumping his head on a few rocks as he grunted out each blow. He growls at his stupidity but before he can realize the captain was paces away from him a blade sinks into the ground next to his head.

The young teen gulps as he stares wide-eyed at the glistening blade inches away from his cheek.

"What are you so afraid of, Yeager?" Levi inquiries, placing his boot on top of Eren's belly, causing the boy to spit out a heap of air. It didn't really hurt the boy, the foot was just to keep him in place.

"I'm not scared!" barked out Eren as he grabs his superiors boot and tries to push the short man off of him, he twists and grunts the heaviness from his throat. He feels twigs and rocks sharpen on his back but Eren is relentless as he feebly tries to pry Levi's foot off him. The short man was stronger than he looked, and the brunet had learned that the hard way.

"Then why won't you transform?" Levi takes out his blade in one swift motion and raises it high in the air as he removes his foot from Eren's stomach. Eren's eyes widen once more and he makes a shot to the side, dodging the sure-to-be fatal blow from his superior.

Eren jumps to his feet and begins to run again, dirt and leaves now mixed in with his chestnut hair as he zigzags through the trees. The young brunet wonders what went wrong this morning to lead him to this unfortunate predicament, not too long ago he had been perfectly fine, now he was a heap of nerves and fear.

Earlier that morning everything had started out normal enough, Eren got up, brushed his teeth, ruffled his hair and got his backpack for school. Now, Eren should have been more aware of the implications of a single phone call he was about to receive, but he was absentminded when a private number called him.

He had picked it up, unaware of who it even was. He knew it had to be from the agency though, because the call came from the phone he used solely for work. Eren always kept two phones, he didn't like mixing in work with his daily life, he felt as if putting the two together was wrong. Not to mention the fact that one of his classmates could get a hold of his phone, and that would be troublesome.

"Yeah?" he answered impetuously, suspending the phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he buckled his pants onto his hips.

He earned silence from the other side and Eren was about to speak again when a sharp voice cut him off. "It's 'yes, sir?' to you, Yeager." came the cold, hostile voice of Levi from the other end, the brunet nearly tumbled on his own two feet but he catches himself. Disgracefully, the phone slipped out of his shoulder and onto the floor. He cursed as he adjusted his pants on his waist, he scrambled under the bed where the phone had slid off to.

"My apologies, sir!" Eren said when he regained the damn device.

"Tch, whatever brat. Get ready, there will be no school for you today."

"What? Why?" he had to ask.

On the other end, Levi rubbed his eyes at the rudeness. Was this boy trained by a chimpanzee? he thought. But then he recalled the fact that Hanji had trained the boy, and it all made sense.

"You're training with me and my team today." he responded.

And then the line is cut off, not a goodbye or a pause for an answer was left, that wasn't the way Levi worked. Eren pealed the phone away from his ear, frowning at it as he did so. God, he's such a prick, he thought. He wondered briefly if Mikasa was going to be among the so called 'team' but he didn't venture off on that thought for long. The brunet exits his room nonchalantly, he knocked on Armin's door and waited for the shorter male to open. Some rustling was heard from within and then the door creaks open, Armin had his hair damp from what Eren believed to be an early shower.

"Hey Eren, what brings you here so early? Eager to go to school?" he joked, rubbing the pale brown towel behind his ears.

"Funny," the brunet said without much jest, "actually I came here to tell you I'm not going to school."

This caught the blond's attention and he frowned, stopping his drying as he draped the towel over his shoulders. "Why not?" he inquired.

"Levi is going to train me along with his team, apparently. I can't be late though, I have a feeling that old fart gets ticked off about little things like that." he waved a sloppy goodbye behind his shoulder as he walked away and down the stairs of their apartment building.

"Okay." was all Armin could manage, he wondered why they would call for only Eren and not him, but then it struck him. Oh, he thought, his blood ran cold in that moment. Oh no. Why so soon? his eyes lowered as he closed the door behind him. Why are they going to make him use that side of him now?

Eren drove to the destination Levi had requested, he had sent him a text of the location right after he had ended the call. It took him approximately three hours and forty-five minutes to reach the location, and despite the beauty of it, this place was out in the middle of no where. And I mean out in the middle of no-fucking-where, Eren didn't even know where he was anymore.

First he had to drive out of town for two hours, then it took him another hour to drive into a large woodland area. The entire region was divided into two segments, one was made up of mostly plains and small patches of trees here and there, and that was where their hideout was located at, in a small forestry area. Then, the area right next to the plains was made up of a dense forest with enormous trees, thus naming it "The forest of the giants".

Eren had arrived to a well secluded place, the building almost resembled a castle, but it looked abandoned. Breathing the cool, crisp air, the brunet looked around once or twice to make sure he was in the right place. He turned his gaze towards the sky and noticed the dark ominous clouds covering any patch of bright blue that could seep through. It's going to rain soon, he thought.

Then he looked down again, and at the far end of the castle he spotted a man looking at him. The man looked to be around his mid forties or maybe even fifties, his hair was short and wavy, and it had a faded sandy color to it. But what caught Eren's attention even more was the particular glare the man directed at him, as if he knew Eren was here to stir up nothing but trouble.

What's his problem, Eren thought as one of his eyebrows lifted in confusion, and he decided to glare daggers back at the old fart. The man acted as if Eren had committed an offense to him personally.

"Yeager!" it was Levi who had yelled from within the castle-type building. "Get in here, insolent brat." he didn't wait for a response as he walked into the building. Eren stared at the door, then he looked over to the man who had been glaring at him, only to find out that he was already gone. That was odd, the brunet thought as he took long steps towards the castle door, hands in pockets.

As soon as Eren walked in he felt a strange sensation on the crown of his head, as if someone was inhaling his hair. He looked up and witnessed a very tall, very strong, and very shagy-looking man who was actually smelling the top of his head. The brunet immediately ducked away, and he brought his hands to his hair, as if to keep in in place.

"Who are you?" Eren asked, his tone sounded almost offended to have been smelt without proper consent. If that made any sense.

"Hmmm," the tall man seemed to be pondering something. "Good smell."

Eren's sweat dropped. The man, whom Eren could not get a good view of his eyes because his light-brown hair was obscuring them partly, smiled to himself. He drew closer to the shorter male, inhaling more of his scent and Eren backed away.

"Don't you know what personal space is?" the brunet complained.

The tall man laughed vigorously, it was a deep laugh, one that resonated off the walls. "Son, there's no personal space here. Now, let's go, I'll take you to Levi and Hanji."

Hanji's here, too, huh? Eren thought as he followed the tall gentlemen to wherever the hell his superiors were.

"What's your name?" the teen asked then.

"Mike," was the males short reply.

After that, Eren didn't venture of into anymore questions, he had a feeling this guy wasn't much of a talker. As they walked he wondered where he was heading. What did they want with him anyway? Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know specifically why he was called there, he knew Levi had mentioned something about training but if that was the case then why hadn't they said anything to Armin?

He knew that in some way, shape or form this 'training' was going to be incorporated into this little meeting they were having, but he just couldn't help feel like something was off. And then the image of a certain beautiful raven head entered his mind, which caused him to look down. Eren still couldn't believe that Mikasa was—

That she was...well, just like him. Living a double life, lying to everyone at school, even to themselves. How ironic. And why hadn't Hanji told him about Mikasa's true identity earlier? There had to be a good reason, right? Why had they let them commit foolish blunders on the basis of ignorance; they had kept them in the dark for while. And all for what?

What was the purpose? It just didn't add up. Hanji was keeping something from him, Hanji and that knew captain of his, Levi. They were all keeping secrets.

Yet, before Eren could delve further into his thoughts, some large double doors before him opened up and a room full of face's he did not recognized stared at him. They stared at him as if he were some freak, as if he were the mutant breed from a freak show. Eren almost glared at all of them, he wanted to say something, anything to get their stupid stares off of him.

"You were five minutes late, shitty brat." it was Levi, who sat all the way across the other end of the rectangle, wooden table. He had a white tea cup in his whole hand, he was holding it with all five fingers. Who the shit drank coffee or tea like that?

"It took me a while to find this place. First time coming here." Eren said as if to excuse his tardiness, then he spotted a familiar curly haired male from across the table, the old man who had glared daggers at him when he was outside. He sat near Levi, and it wasn't a surprise to find him still glaring at him with a smug look to his face.

This bastard... Eren thought as he kept his unyielding gaze on the said man.

"That's no excuse to be late. If I tell you to come a certain time you better make sure you get here on time, understood.?" Levi ordered in a sharp tone, one that demanded no excuses.

Eren had nothing else to do but swallow his pride. "Yes, sir." he muttered, almost between clenched teeth.

"I didn't hear you, Yeager."

"Yes, sir!" Eren repeated more firmly.

"Damn straight," Levi said as he took a sip of his tea. Then, he stood and crossed his arms. "Let's get these shitty introductions out of the way, Eren, this is my team, apart from Mikasa who is in a league on her own, I have a squad composed of four. There's Eld, my second in command, Gunther, Oluo, and Petra. Their my Special Operations Squad and we'll be your new training team, so you better fucking learn how to work in one."

The so called 'team' didn't so much as move or smile at him, well except for one, the woman who Levi had said was Petra. She had on a soft smile as her honey eyes stared at him; Eren liked her already, she looked very nice, almost like a mother. As he let his gaze pass the group he noticed that Hanji wasn't there, he wondered where she could be—

Bam! Bam!

The large double doors behind them shook as someone bashed the thick wood, until the doors caved in and in came Hanji with an ecstatic smile, she ran and almost stumbled towards Eren. She hugged the boy who had tried to escape her embrace, the brunet almost lost the air in his lungs as the glasses-wearing scientist spined him only to steady him by the shoulders.

"My precious," she had a trickle of saliva down her mouth again. "Mama's here." she said. Utterly embarrassed by his superiors actions, Eren pushed her way with the last shred of dignity he had; here he was trying to act all tough in front of Levi's squad and Hanji had to slam dunk that image in the trash. Thanks, Hanji.

"Get off me, Hanji!" Eren pleaded but it sounded more like a growl.

"You're so hard to resist though!" Hanji countered and everyone cringed at that one, everyone except Levi who sipped his tea like this was an ordinary thing. But when he pushed his chair behind him, and the wood scrapped on the floor with a loud screech, it made everyone turn towards him, that was when the game was over.

"Enough fuking around, we don't have much time and I plan to get this over with as soon as possible. Eren, we're going to start your training right now."

"What?" he was surprised by his captains blunt words, he reminded him so much of Mikasa. Cold and blunt, or maybe it was Mikasa who should remind him of Levi, she probably got her attitude from him. And that didn't settle right with the brunet.

"What kind of training?" Eren inquired; he was drowning in his own curiosity, just what exactly did they have planned for him? Why was he going to start working with Levi's squad? And why did they have to train him in this remote area?

And then something clicked in his head. No, they couldn't possibly want me to...

"We're going to train that monster of yours." was Levi's next words and they pierce Eren though the chest. His blood ran cold and his hands began to tremble out of anger. He remained absolutely still, he was rigid, eyes wide with shock.

They knew about him?

The hotheaded brunet looked toward Hanji for some type of explanation, any form of reassurance that she could provide for him, but she gave nothing away. Her eyes were obscured by the glare the torches inside the room gave off. She knew about all of this and yet she was okay with it?

"No." Eren rasped out before he knew what he was doing. "No way in hell." he almost shouted as he glared at his superior.

"Watch your mouth, brat." Levi's frown deepened. "You have no choice, Yeager." he said, unfazed by the teenage's menacing glare.

"There's no reason why this needs to be done, theres no way I'd tran—I can't—no!" the young brunet bared his teeth, he shook his head fiercely as he eyed everyone. What the hell were they all thinking? Was he in a room full of idiots? Because that's what they all started to look like, a bunch of fucking idiots.

"Reason? You want a reason? Fine, these are Erwin's orders, that's the only reason you need." the short male declared, but this seemed to infuriate the brunet even more.

"This is bullshit, I'm not following those orders!" Eren turned around to walk away but a giant body before him blocked the doorway, Mike was standing there with a somber expression.

"You can't leave yet." he said.

Eren couldn't believe the trap he had fallen into, he stared in utter shock and rage. Didn't they know that if he did transform he couldn't control that side of him? He had yet to even regain memory of what he did when he was in that state. And the feeling of being in that body made him want to puke his intestines out afterwards. Not to mention the destruction he causes when in that state, the countless people he could kill.

No. There was no way he was doing this.

He image their bodies lying beneath him, he imagined their blood on his hands and without him even realizing what he was doing. Something broke inside of Eren.

"I could kill all of you." he whispered as a threat, it was a threat to them and himself, because even he was scared of what he could become. His stiff shoulders shook and Levi's team looked a bit uneasy, hell, even apprehensive, but their leader only scoffed.

"Kill us? You wouldn't even be able to scratch our asses."

Eren jerked toward his superior, he couldn't form any coherent words in his mouth.

"It's true Eren," it was Hanji now, her voice much softer and reasonable than Levi's. "We've devised a whole plan just for your special training."

Special training? Eren thought incredulously. Bullshit.

"Hanji, wasn't it you who always told me to never transform, and now you want me to do it in front of all these people?" Eren was quick to respond, he began to feel claustrophobic, as if the four walls were caving in on him. Apprehension took hold of him, he couldn't possibly do this.

Erwin couldn't expect him to do this, right?

"I know that's what I've told you, but things have changed, Erwin needs to train you for this. That's why you were transfered over here in the first place, because he chose Levi to be the one to train you."

"And I wasn't ecstatic about it either, brat." Levi pitched in, a sharp frown on his features.

"But what if something happens like the last time, I couldn't—"

"That won't happen here." the female assured.

"How do you know that!" Eren hollered, rage spilling into his voice. Why was she being so fucking irrational?

"Because this is Levi we're talking about, he is the most capable person to handle you, Eren. Another mistake like the last time won't be repeated if he's the one training you. I promise." Hanji said this with the utmost certainty and the brunet remained silent, he was astonished at how much trust she put on the short male. Eren wished he had the same shred of trust for the man but he didn't, and because of this he felt true fear settle at the pit of his stomach.

"But how can you be so sure?" he asked, breaking the heavy silence. "How would you be able to...control me?"

"Ah, now this is where things get interesting." Hanji smiled wickedly, her bleak tone replaced by a lighter one. "Lead the way Mike." she said towards the tall, muscular man by the door. Mike nodded silently and disappeared out of the room, everyone else rose from their chairs and followed the silent giant to where ever he was leading them to.

Eren hesitantly followed the group, though he kept his distance. He fell into sync with Hanji's steps who was right next to him. He eyed her, and then wondered something that made his heart speed up.

"Does she know?" he whispered.

Hanji turned to look at him, perplexed. "Does who know?" and then it clicked. "Oh, no, Mikasa doesn't know about you or why we're here. She's still at school, I think. The only people who are authorized to know about this is the people in this castle. No one else will know and Levi's subordinates won't utter a word to anyone, not even Mikasa. Those four men in that room were hand picked and personally trained by Levi himself, you can rest assure that word won't get out."

Eren's lips formed into a line, he visibly relaxed, though he was still tense as a board. "You really trust Levi, don't' you?"

The brunet woman kept that sly smile on her face. "Let's just say, I've been knowing him for a while."

"Okay, listen up shitty brat because I won't repeat myself." Levi's voice grappled at them once they had reached a certain dim room. Eren could make out the vague figure of supplies, but all of it was covered by a thin sheets of fabric. It was as if they didn't even want a speck of dust to settle on whatever laid beneath the cover, or they didn't want anyone to see whatever it was. Now this peaked Eren's curiosity.

"This is what we'll be using for your training." the ebony-haired male said as he removed the covers and Eren came face-to-face with some strange gear he had never seen before.

"3D maneuver gear." Levi finished with a bored expression.

"I'll be using this?" Eren inquired, staring at the numerous harnesses and straps, there were even grappling hooks and what looked to be small, cylinder gas tanks. He was perplexed as to how it all worked, there were large steel containers with numerous blade inside.

"What did I say about repeating myself? I said we're going to be using this, not you."

"Then what—"

"Listen, Yeager. Don't talk." Levi demanded. "I've been training my team for years with this equipment, and this is the reason why you won't even scratch our ass when you're in that ugly form of yours. Let's go outside and I'll demonstrate how it works. Petra!" Levi's sharp eyes fell on the short-haired woman.

"Yes, sir!" she said, firm in her stance.

"Get the gear, you'll be teaching this little runt a thing or two." and with that Levi walked out of the room.

"Understood." Petra said as she saluted and walked away.

The rest of the group all headed for the back of the giant castle, and Eren could finally see what laid behind the place. It was a vast open area, the trees had obviously been cut down to establish some training grounds.

To the far left there was even a stable of horses, and even a table for lunch. Eren quirked an eyebrow as they kept walking through the clearing, they head into a forest were the three weren't that tall. Feet shuffled behind them and they all look back to see Petra jogging towards them, she had on all the gear which strapped firmly around her waist, back and slim legs.

Eren was perplexed and somewhat awed.

"Ready, sir." she said as she reached them, the sound of her steel gear moving around her settled down.

"If you will," Levi said, and then Petra lurched towards a tree with the help of the grappling hooks by her belt, in one swift motion she was off the ground and on a near by tree branch. Eren stared in a amazement, never had he seen such a thing. He watched as the honey-haired girl swung from tree to tree using the 3D maneuver gear, she was swift and fast. And then she landed right next to them, a gentle smile on her face.

"This is what we'll be using to train you, it will be specifically me there but I'll have team near in case of emergencies." Levi frowned towards Eren.

Emergencies? the brunet thought, wanting to narrow his eyes but decided against it.

"Don't worry captain, we'll take care of him real' good." it was Oluo who spoke this time, smiling smugly at Eren. "We'll give him a good asskicking if he gets too out of hand."

Levi simply ignored his subordinate. "Then there's this for extra security," he walked towards Petra and unsheathed one of the blades from the girl's waist, he manouvered it towards Eren's adam's apple and the boy audibly gulped.

"If you get out of control I'll cut all your limbs off myself."

Those words rang in Eren's ears, cold sweat began to form at the back of his neck. "My limbs grow back, sir. How will you get me out of the titan?" He remembered that no one but Hanji, Erwin and Armin knew that his physical body was still attached to the titan's body.

"We were greatly educated before your visit here." Eld, the oldest and most responsible looking one in Levi's team spoke.

"Hanji gave us a whole fucking mountain of paperwork about you and your grotesque titan. We've all studied the material she gave us so we knew what to do when your training commenced. Did you think we would come ill prepared? Jesus, Yeager, we're professionals." Levi's glare was unrelentless.

Guess he's right, shit, what the hell was I thinking? Eren rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes danced back toward the gear around Petra's body. He wondered if this would work at all.

"Now, all that's left is to finally see that ugly titan of yours." Levi spoke with an air of annoyance, his natural frown never dispatching from his face. The brunet said nothing, he was still dubious about this whole thing, it seemed great in theory. But only in theory.

He felt something amiss in the air, he looked up and caught sight of the large and dark clouds above him. The sky was gray and ominous, as if the world knew what was about to come.

"I still don't know if it's a good idea." he claimed.

Oluo sighed, deeply vixated. "Just let me give him a good hit on the head captain, I'll get him to cooperate." the old male said, sneering at the young teen who was glaring at him. "That's right I'll—" he bit his tongue as he tried to make his way toward Eren, intending on making the boy 'cooperate', yet achieving the exact opposite. Oluo tried to stop the bleeding with his hands as his team almost rolled their eyes at male.

What a fool, was Eren's line of thought as he deadpanned.

"You have no choice." Levi responded without a shred of mercy, ignoring Oluo yet again.

"No you don't understand, when I...transform it's odd, things happen…"

"Like what?" it was Gunther's turn to speak up; the team was beginning to communicate more.

Eren looked over at the forest with the giant trees. "I get that we came all the way here so I could hide my form in those trees, but when I transform lightning and thunder appear out of the sky, it's like an explosion. The noise is loud."

"You're shitting me?" Oluo said startled, his mouth slightly agape and still bleeding profusely.

"Watch your mouth in front of the captain, Oluo." Petra huffed, crossing her arms over her small chest.

"That's great an all Yeager but you're still not getting out of this one. You see, we came prepared for that." Levi announced as he began to head back to the training grounds, everyone followed, especially the reluctant Eren. "You see that beautiful sky up there, we picked this specific day because it's going to rain over here, and it's going to rain hard. Specifically in The Forest Of The Giants. Not only will those big-ass trees hide your form but they'll take care of that lightning situation."

The brunet stared in bafflement and fear, his hands formed into fist as he looked for any other escape route he could take. There was none; they had thought of everything. He was condemned to this fate the moment he got that call from his superior that morning.

Before Levi entered the castle he halted and turned towards Petra. "Petra, since you're already in your gear get Eren his horse and get ours ready, too. We're going to get our gear and then we'll head out. Understood?"

The girl saluted, nodding her head in agreement. So they head in different directions, Levi, and everyone else into the castle, while Eren and Petra head for the stables. As soon as they were out of earshot, the short-haired girl turned towards the brunet.

"It's nice to finally meet you." she extended her hand sweetly, Eren was caught off guard but he shook it.

"Finally meet me?" he repeated.

"Yes, we've been hearing much about you, and we've been expecting you to come for over five months now." she said as they reached the stables.

Eren did a double take. "You've been knowing about this for how long?"

"Well, we've been knowing about this for over a year, but we've been preparing your training for five months now. It's exciting to finally get to meet you. Though," she eyed Eren curiously, observing his tense behaviour, and he only tensed even more with her prying eyes on him. "Your much younger and smaller than I thought you'd be, shorter, too." she mused, shrugging her shoulders and smiling as she petted a horse and eased it out of the stable by its reins.

"Small?" Eren couldn't help but feel a pang to his pride. "What did you expect I'd look like exactly?" he had to ask.

Petra paused. "I don't know, someone as old as Levi, maybe even older, as big as Mike, and really big and fat...like a pro wrestler." she laughed, Eren laughed nervously, it was all he could do to keep the awkwardness at bay.

This lady...he thought, sweat formed at the side of his face. Then he took on a more pensive look. "So, Petra," he began, unsure as to where he stood. "Have you ever worked with Mikasa?"

The dirty-blond headed woman in front of him peered from her the side of her horse to him, she eyed him with this sort of questionable glance.

"I'm asking because I'm going to be working in a team with her soon, and I just met here not too long ago. She was reserved." he came up with a swift excuse, and it worked because Petra seemed to buy into it.

"I still can't believe they put you in a group with Mikasa. It's odd." she sounded amazed as she went for the second horse. "She hasn't worked with anyone for years." was her vague response but Eren was dying to know more. He realized last night that with this new revelation of Mikasa working under the same agency as him, he really didn't know anything close to factual about her at all. But now he was really starting from the ground up, and he wanted to get the straight-forward facts.

And who better to get it from than a former partner.

"Why hasn't she?" he inquired.

"Mikasa she...well she," but before Petra could finish Oluo came out of the castle as cranky as ever.

"Hey you hooligan, stop flirting with older woman and help her get the damn horses. She's not that great anyway, no curves to show off either." he smiled triumphantly as he witnessed Petra go red-faced out of anger.

"Eat your tongue and die, Oluo!" the woman screeched.

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Eren chipped in.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, save your excuses for the crows cuz after I'm done with you, little brat, that's all that's gonna be left, crow food." he sneered down at Eren, as the boy faced him without a crack in his position.

"You're just trying to intimidate him like captain Levi, but your pathetic, you can never be like him." Petra hissed as she eased another horse from the stable.

"Shut up, Petra!" Oluo hollered at the woman, breaking eye contact with Eren. In that instant, Levi, Hanji, Mike, Gunther and Eld walked out of the castle with their uniforms on, they even had green hoodies over their shoulders. The brunet's gaze remained on them, Eren hated to admit it but they all looked really badass with their gear on, he wished they could train him how to use the equipment as well.

Instead I'm going to be the one they use it on. he thought, and it sent a chill down his spine.

Eren gulped when he saw the numerous blades that were feasted onto their hips; they were going to use those on him if he got out of control. The teen almost wanted to fight again, he wanted to somehow escape this training session and never have to come back to this place again.

He didn't want to give these people a reason to fear him, even though Eren knew they had been trained for this from the get go, they didn't know what exactly he was. The had a vague idea but they've never seen him as the true monster that he was. The brunet knew that not everyone was like Hanji or Erwin, they were extremely open people, with an eye for opportunity wherever they could get their hands on.

But what could he say about Levi and his squad? Or even Mikasa for that matter? Would they be so open as to let a monster walk among them? It scared Eren to thinking about the possibilities, the countless mistakes and errors he could commit. He felt a swelling in his head, and an almost sudden shortness of breath.

"Are the horses ready?" Levi asked as he walked toward his dark steed and let the giant animal smell him.

"Yes, sir!" both Petra and Oluo replied, thought the short-haired woman glared at the male next to her. "You didn't do anything to help." she whispered between clenched teeth, Oluo only grinned at her.

"Then let's head out. Eren!" Levi yelled across to the boy who looked to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Stop sulking like some damn roach and get your ass on a horse."

Roaches don't sulck... Eren thought.

Snapped out of his reverie, the brunet hesitantly mounted a horse and before he knew it they were all heading for the dense forest with giant trees. They rode for a long time, almost an hour it seemed, they had to ride deep within the forest so no one could detect them. It felt like an eternity for Eren, and for a while all he could hear was the strong hooves of the horses pummeling the ground as they ran. All he could distinguish was the sounds of their heaving breathing coming come deep within their strong necks.

The brunet felt the cool wind run through his hair and with each step the horses took towards the forest the more he felt dread spill and fill his insides. Eren looked above at the sky but all he could see now were the numerous thick branches of the trees as they entered the forest. In that instant a drop of water hits his forehead, he blinks for a second and then more rain falls on him and the team until a light drizzle settles around them.

"Perfect timing," Levi said at the front of the formation, he held his hand up in a signal to cease movement. Everyone came to a gradual halt, the horses seem anxious and nervous as the group remained quite, steady for Levi's orders.

"Dismount here, this is the spot." he ordered, already getting off his horse, the rest of the team along with Eren mimicked Levi's actions. "Gunther," the short captain looked at the male with short brown hair.

"Yes, sir." Gunther straightened himself.

"Take the horses back to the edge of the forest, meet us back here as soon as you do. Then, we'll begin your training, Eren." Levi placed his beady eyes on the skeptical brunet across from him. Eren neither nodded nor denied anything, he simply stood his ground.

Gunther nodded in agreement and began to lead all the horses away, all Eren was left to do was count his time before his fate slipped from his fingers. He questioned the training all over again, the morality of it, the design and reason behind it. Why exactly did Erwin need to train his titan side? What was he planning on using him for?

The brunet shook his head as the rain became thicker and stronger, he went over and sat on a large log that was covered in green moss, the rest of the team seemed to occupy themselves with trivial things as they waited for Gunther to return. Levi, Hanji and Mike all stood by each other, discussing God knows what. Petra and Oluo were arguing, quietly of course, like they always did.

It was Eld who came and sat down next to Eren, the boy didn't even look over at the older male in recognition.

"How are you feeling? Nervous?" Eld spoke up, placing his elbows on his knees as he peered over at Eren, but the younger teen didn't spare the ponytail-wearing male a glance.

"You ask that as if I'm about to perform in a kindergarten play." Eren said lowly, and glared at the ground below him. He was observing an ant moving by his foot, probably running to get out of the pummeling rain, and he lifted his foot to let it pass under his shoe.

"Don't take it the wrong way, I was just simply trying to ease your nervousness." the male said in a calm voice.

"Well you're not helping." the brunet said in a cold tone. This guy didn't know anything about him, though, Eren couldn't blame him, he was there simply to fulfill his orders.

"Sorry," Eld apologized earnestly, it made Eren feel guilty; the male was really just trying to help.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you." Eren sighed as he laced his wet fingers together. "I just don't know what to do." the rain beaten down on his back, it was starting to get heavier and heavier.

"Relax, Eren." the male patted the young teen on the shoulder. "We're here to help you, don't you worry about us, we can handle our own."

"It's not you I'm worried about, I know you guys are capable of handling yourselves. It's me I'm worried about." Eren looked over at Eld with some desperation in his green eyes. "I can't control myself when I'm like that. What if I lose control? What if I mess up?"

"Hey, hey, no one is expecting you to be completely in control of your other side, that's why we're going to help you, by training you. We all know that you can't control it yet, we read the reports over and over again, captain's orders. We came here expecting the worst." Eld assured, but this did little to ease Eren's nerves.

"You don't understand," the brunet spoke with uncertainty as his hands shook, whether it was from the anger, the fear or the cold, Eld couldn't tell. "You sound so sure only because you haven't seen me yet…you haven't seen me as a monster." Eren lowered his head, he stared at the ground as he trampled on the ant that was walking around his feet. The rain almost numbed out any other sound that could be heard, the forest took on this dark and ominous look to it.

And then a clap of thunder was heard as lightning ripped through the sky, everyone flinched, everyone except Eren, who still sat with his head hung low. He silently wished the ground would swallow him at the moment so he could disappear, because he knew that once Gunther returned his fate would be sealed.

He looked at his palm as rain drops exploded on his skin. What if I can't control you…he thought, tightening his fists so much they shook out of the force.

"Captain!" the sound of Gunther's voice yelling over the rain rang in everyone's ears, but it was in Eren's ears that it resonated significantly. His heart stopped for a few seconds, and then it sped up as his mind went blank and his hands drew cold.

"The horses are secure, captain!" Gunther hollered as he neared Levi, the ebony-haired male nodded once, and then his fierce gaze settled on the brunet. "Eren!" Levi yelled, he walked over to the boy that had his head hung low, Eren didn't look up, all he could see was Levi's boots covered in mud. "It's time." he spoke.

The green-eyed male looked up, his gaze never wavering as he stared deep into Levi's merciless gaze. "You're making a mistake." he said coldly. "Please don't make me do this."

"You're only saying this because you're scared. Don't be a little shit and get on with it." the shorter male seized Eren by the arm harshly, forcing the boy to stand, and the brunet snapped his arm away.

"It doesn't work that way asshole." Eren barked out in pure rage, and at this point everyone was tense as they stared at the captain and the subordinate.

Levi looked on the verge of exploding with impatiens; never had he worked with such an insolent little piece of shit. Even Mikasa and his team were easy to command, and most would cower at a single glance of his menacing eyes. this kid was so damn different, it was irritating for the captain.

"I can't magically decide when I transform, it's not an on and off button dammit! I have to have a good reason." Eren said, avoiding his superior's menacing glare. Levi seemed incredulous so he looked over at Hanji for some clarification.

"It's true, if your remember the paperwork I gave you, article A-5, paragraph fifty of section three it states that—"

"Yeah yeah yeah, enough of your bullshit article." Levi shook his damp hair. "Yeager, you better come up with a damn good reason to transform then, pull it out your ass if that's what it take, I don't give a damn. I've had enough of this filthy place and the sooner you transform, the sonnder we can all go home and take a good bath. Now, the more time you make me spend here is the less time you have until I take actions into my own hands. And I assure you, you don't want that." the male threatened, his voice left no room for argument. He ruthlessly grabbed Eren by the shirt and shoved him away from the rest of the group, singling him out.

"Levi, don't strain him!" Hanji yelled over the roaring rain.

"Stay out of this." the short male hollered back at her. Once Eren was a few paces away from the group, and everyone's eyes were trained on him, he didn't know what else to do but breathe a raspy breath. Time ticked by and with every adding second Levi's patients grew slim.

"Get on with it, Yeager!"

"I can't, I don't know how!" Eren yelled back.

"That's bullship, Yeager. And you know it." Levi said.

"Okay hold on," Hanji stepped between the two males. "Eren, think of last time, what did you do to transform?" Hanji tried to ease the boy's nerves.

"What did I do?" the boy raked his head for ideas, his damp hair got in his wild green eyes. "I don't know, the usual, I just bit down on my hand...I don't know." he said with strain in his voice.

"Why don't you try that again." she offered.

"What if it doesn't work?" Eren objected, "you know I can't just—"

"We're losing time. Don't make me come over there and drag that beast out myself." Levi hollered, his intense eyes pierced through the brunet; he knew that look, and he knew the captain meant what he said. He was a man of his word, he could tell in the way those eyes looked at him, and that patients was crumbling, fast.

"Fine," Eren growled out in apprehension, he looked down at his hand, stared at the meaty part between his thumb and wrist. He slowly brought his hand up to his mouth, he gave one last wary glance at his superiors as they anticipate his transformation. The brunet opened his mouth, his hand began to shake as rain seeped into his mouth, and then he sank his teeth into his flesh.

As soon as he does this, Levi's whole team prepared for a monster to appear in front of them, they all snap into a fighting stance as their hands hover over their blades, their fingers itched to grab it almost desperately. But instead of a monster, all that they saw was the figure of Eren biting down harshly on his own hand.

The brunet bit down again, this time harder than the last. So hard that blood began to ooze out from the wound, he pulled away and breathed out hard, labored breaths escaped his drenched form. He sunk his teeth in his hand once again, drawing out even more blood, he heaved and heaved, and bit down again as he twisted his teeth on his own skin.

The whole team looked at the boy in horror, a shiver ran down their backs, all except for Levi, of course. They witnessed the way his mouth was staining with more of his scarlet blood but the rain did well in draining it to the soil and mixing it with the mud.

"I—" Eren rasped out loudly as he attempted to numb out the pain from his hand. "I can't d-do it!" he yelled out desperately. "It's not working."

Levi's relentless gaze hardened, he didn't want to take measures into his own hands but it seemed like he would have to. Erwin had given him the specific order to use any means necessary to get Eren's titan form to rise. And he was planning on exercising that order to its fullest capacity.

"Everyone," Levi spoke at his team, loud enough to be heard over the smiting rain. "Get to the trees and spread out, I want eyes in every direction, and I want you thirty paces away from us at all times. That is an order. Understood?" he said without so much as even glancing at them, his haunting eyes were trained on Eren. They all nodded without a word and shot their grappling hooks to the threes above, ascending in high speed.

Soon, everyone was gone from sight, even Hanji, and this frightened the brunet. Eren witnessed his superior unsheathed his sword from his side as a clap of thunder ruptured the dark sky.

"Captain…" Eren began, observing as Levi neared him, "What are you doing?" but instead of an answer, the brunet received a slicing sword aimed to the neck. In a split second the boy ducked the blade as it engraved itself in the three adjacent to him. He tumbled backward as he stared wide eyed at his superior, who loomed over him with a cold gaze.

"Looks like I have to take matter into my own hands, Yeager. Don't take this personal." was his captain's response.

As soon as those words escaped Levi's lips, Eren jolted up and broke out into a run in the opposite direction. He wasn't about to wait and let his captain explain the meaning of his words, he already had a sickly feeling as to what it implied. And consequently that was how it all began. Now, the brunet was running for his life, begging Levi to stop his impending fate.

"Captain please stop this!" Eren chokes out.

"You want a good reason to transform? I'll give you a good fucking reason to transform!" the menacing captain yelled, he reached Eren and kicked the boy right in the side of his torso. The brunet moaned out in pain as he spit out saliva, but he didn't have time to react because Levi was on him again. He swiftly grabbed his hair and punched Eren in the side of his face, busting his lip open. The boy was trying to fight back but Levi was much stronger and faster than him.

"Transform!" Levi demanded as he kicked the poor boy in the face, knocking out some teeth. Eren scrambled to his feet and once Levi let go of him, he began to run again.

Levi shot into the air and landed right in front of the boy, knocking him down with an elbow to the back of his head. "I said transform." he growled out as his boot dug into the back of Eren's head, pushing the boy's face into the mud. Then he lowered himself and seized one of Eren's arms, moving it up to bend behind the green-eyed male in a painful way.

"I'll break it on the count of three," the male threatened, and Yeager's eyes stared at him incredulously, yet filled with fear. "Oh, you don't think I'll do it?"

"...f-fuck...you…" Eren rasps out.

"Wrong answer." in one swift move Levi bends the bone back and the reassuring pop guarantees him that the boy's shoulder had been dislocated. But the sound of the bone dislocated from its correct slot wasn't the only sign that implied it was dislocated, Eren's piercing scream echoes through the forest. Another clap of thunder rumbles the ground and resonates through the sickly air.

And yet it was still only Eren in his human form and Levi there; no titan, no transformation. Nothing.

"You still won't transform, huh?" Levi said with that bone-chilling voice of his. "Fine, you left me no choice then." he extends his blade high in the air, Eren's eyes open wide like a wild animal about to meet its fate by a hunter's final strike.

"I heard they grow back," the captain said, only fueling Eren's horror. "your limbs, I mean."

And it was in that instant that true terror seized Eren, and for a split second he thought he was on the brink of death. This forces him to act on pure adrenaline and growl out, he twists his body, breaking his arm in the attempt to fight back, and then a single, bright-yellow lighting bolt shoots from the sky and to the ground where Eren was. The loud explosion of thunder made all of Levi's team jerk at it's power, and the whole ground shook as a loud, and deep monstrous scream erupts from the forest floor.

Levi shoots back towards the nearest tree he could get to as Eren's titan form grew in size, the hot steam emitting from the titan's body stung his skin and forced him to back away even further. Petra was transfixed on the branch of the tree, her eyes were wide in horror as she witnessed the beast grow before her and even past her, it's terrifying green eyes shining vividly. Oluo, Gunther, and Eld had similar reactions to the sudden transformation of the young boy.

After the giant titan had finally reached it's full height, it remained still as a corpse, steam escaped his mouth as it hunched over a bit. Hanji, Mike, Levi and his squad became as still as the trees as they observed the titan for any sudden movements it might do. Then, the monster looks directly over at Petra, the girls breath hitches in her throat and she is almost paralyzed with fear.

The titan lets out another ear-piercing scream, one that causes everyone to flinch. The titan shoots out for Petra in electrifying speed, the ground beneath it erupting with the sheer force. The short-haired woman shoots in a different direction as the titan smashes against the tree she was in, breaking the thick bark in two with little to no effort. It had its green eyes on it's prey, and his prey was Petra.

"Captain!" she screeched as the titan bellowed out again, attempting to make a grab at her and nearly seizing her. "Captain!" Petra screams out louder and more frantic than before. This wasn't supposed to happen, why was it only targeting her? And the power the monster had, she had clearly overestimated it.

"Shit," Levi grits his teeth, zipping towards the enormous hand that was about to take hold of his subordinate. He cuts the wrist and the hand falls in a heap of steam onto the ground, the titan screeches out, as it began to regenerate quickly.

"Instant regeneration," Hanji says in pure astonishment, "how sublime." she shoots closer to Eren.

Even though Eren's titan hand was still in the process of regenerating it made a grab at Levi with the other, but the black-haired captain was too fast for the sloppy titan. The monster's shimmering green eyes observe the cables shooting from Levi's belt however, and it cocks it's head to the side as he observed the rest of the group, remaining suspiciously still yet again.

"What are you doing?" Hanji whispered to herself as she observes Eren, wondering what the titan was planning on doing. She sees that it's watching the cable wires on Levi's harness and then it clicked in her head immediately. "He's learning," she whisperes in astonishment, eyes going wide.

"Petra, are you okay?" Eld asks the girl as he lands on a branch next to her, her breathing was labored but she couldn't take her eyes off of the titan that was once an innocent boy, or so she had thought.

"What the hell is it doing now?" Levi inquiries to himself, taking his eyes off the beast for only a second to look over at his team and make sure they were a safe distance away from Eren. And then the titan does something that cause everyone's blood to run cold. It breaks out into a run in the opposite direction, completely ignoring them and heading straight on the path that led to the edge of the forest. The titan's keen sense of smell could detect the horses they had left on the front of the forest, and that was where it was heading with splitting speed.

"Everyone stop him!" Levi bellows out as he shoots for Eren's neck, but Hanji stops him.

"No! Don't! He's learning!" she screams out desperately.

"That's a bad thing, shitty glasses!" Levi hollers back as his head snaps back to his team who had began to intercept the titan, and the mother fucker was swatting at them like flies.

The cold rain was hitting Levi's body, but he couldn't even register the stinging droplets. All he could concentrate on was the titan in front of him, and making sure his team didn't suffer any casualties. That was his main priority, but Hanji didn't share the same view point.

"No...it's a marvelous thing...it's learning so fast...don't you know how great this is!" the glasses-wearing scientist's psychotic smile groew as she stares at Eren's titan form. "It's so marvelous! You can't stop the experiment so quickly! We still have so much to learn." she rasps out.

"Spare me your stupid scientific hard-on, Hanji. That thing is heading for the edge of the forest and into the clearing, if we don't stop it now it will be difficult to stop it at all once its out. We lose our 3D maneuver gear capabilities in an open field, remember? Get that through your thick skull, now get the hell out of my way!" Levi zips past Hanji to head straight for Eren.

"Captain, we can't hold him back anymore!" Petra hollers, momentarily taking her eyes off the titan to flicker over at her captain, and in a split second Levi sees Eren's titan hand reach out for her again. It seems like the monster was keeping a close eye on them to see if they got distracted.

"Petra! Move out of the way!" Levi commands as he propels himself forward with striking speed. I'm not going to make it! he thought, baring his teeth. Oluo, who was closer in distance to Petra than Levi, used his momentum to push the short-haired assassin out of the way, consequently getting himself captured by the titan in her stead.

Oluo lets out a bone-crushing scream of anguish as he feels his insides being pushed out by the force in Eren's hand, blood begins to trickle out of his mouth as more pressure constricts him, and then the titan hurls his body to the floor like a tossed doll. But Gunther breaks Oluo's fall as he swoops down and catches the male, hurling both of them to the muddy forest floor.

"Oluo, Gunther!" Petra screeches as she tightens her grip on her blades. Eyes filled with malice, she looks over at Eld and they both nod at one another, Eld makes a sign with his hands and they gather in their battle formation. In a blink of an eye they target Eren's keen weak points, slicing tendons and muscles, yet this does little to stop the raging titan in front of them. It's regeneration abilities were impeccable.

"It's not working! It's going to reach the end of the forest if we don't stop it now!" Eld hollers. "We need Levi and Mik—" but he's cut off by his steel cables being grabbed harshly, the male is jerked back as the titan pulls him toward his mouth through the cold air and stinging rain.

"Eld!" Petra yells over the rain, she maneuvers herself back but she wasn't fast enough. It looked like Eld was about to be eaten by the titan but two flying blades to the beat's shimmering eyes causes the titan to let go of the male. He lurches back and bellows out, it's eye steaming as it regenerates with speed.

Levi takes out two more blades from his side as he steadies himself, he glances over at Mike, who had been silently watching the whole ordeal. Mike's orders were to stand by until things got really grave, and it was on Levi's cue that he would act out. The ebony-haired male nodded once, his frown deepening as he glances over at the titan who was already running again. It was set on ignoring them, it appeared that his goal was to reach the end of the forest at all costs. And it was getting closer and closer with each step.

"Damn bastard." Levi whispered as he and Mike zip towards Eren with brutal speed. Once they engaged the titan it was a quick end to the short-lived fiasco. Mike went straight for the legs, making a deeper gash than Petra or Eld could ever do. This causes the titan to tumble on it's knees, but it soon regained its senses and begins to crawl forward. It's eyes were still steaming and yet he had his interest fixed on the clearing that was just up ahead, and it bellowed out again as it caught wind of the frantic horses.

"No you don't!" Levi says as he heads straight for the nape of the neck, it was risky business but he was going to have to cut Eren out manually.

Hanji, anticipating what Levi was about to do, screams at him to stop, but the plea fell to deaf ears as the captain made a clean cut on Eren's neck. The titan screeched out in pain or anger, or both, no one really knew for sure. It's hollors null as it grew still, and soon steam enveloped the whole area. A sickly odder diffused into the humid air as the last scream from the titan was heard.

Hanji and Mike wait for Levi to shoot out, but because of the steam they couldn't see a thing. Then suddenly, something zips past them in a blur, and it was until Levi, carrying an unconscious Eren over his shoulder, stopped on a near by branch could they perceive that they were still alive. But it looked like one of the brunette's arms was missing, the cut was clean so it must have been Levi who had cut it to get the boy out. Eren was filled from head to toe with steaming blood, and some of his own blood, even Levi's green cloak was stained.

"Truly revolting," Levi whispered with clenched teeth as he looks away from the mess of fluid and blood that was Eren.

"Nooooo!" Hanji began to wail, letting herself down on the ground right by the titan's massive steaming body. "No, it's disintegrating! My baby is disintegrating!" she places her hands over her head in a sign of distress.

"I'm going to kill her." Levi wheezed out as he readjusts the slim figure of Eren on his shoulder. "Ugh, this is fucking filthy as shit." he grunts as Mike lands next to him.

"Look," the silent male says in a low tone, looking over at Eren's titan body, it's steaming hand was extended out towards the clearly, it's fingertips nearly reaching the rim of the forest.

"It almost got out." Levi says in a low, threatening voice. Mike said nothing as he stares down at the vague figure of Hanji, who was still crying by the dissipating titan body.

"Here, take this." the shorter male hands Eren over to Mike. The taller male observes Levi for an answer. "I'm going to get my team. We're going to need a wagon for the injured, I'll be waiting your return." he says and didn't wait for a response from Mike as he shoots toward his team.

---

"Eren wasn't feeling well today either." Armin says as he addressed himself to his teacher.

"Is that so? Well, I expect a doctor's note when the boy returns, and make sure you take his homework to his house." the teacher said without a hint of humor in his voice, the blond boy nods his head as he walks toward his seat. He caught Mikasa's blank gaze on him and he almost stops in his tracks, but he did his best to look unfazed by her stare.

Yet, the raven head said nothing as he made it to his seat, her eyes flicker to the front again and remained there for the remainder of the class. Armin sighs, this was the third day of Eren's absence since the morning he had said he was going with Levi and his team, from that time he hadn't even heard anything from his best friend or his superiors. He was beginning to worry.

The fair-haired male did his best to concentrate but his mind was failing him, on occasions his eyes would dance over to Mikasa, only find her hollow gaze on the front. Her taut body and stoic mask was on the whole time; he hadn't spoken to her since that day they were declared a team.

What a team they were.

Armin wondered if she was angry, confused or maybe both. At least, that was how he felt. Well, not so much the anger but more of the confusion, though he could understand it all now. Mikasa did well in hiding her true identity, to the blind eye of course, but to those who were in the same business, they could tell a bit more. And even though Armin was incredibly perceptive of things and was even the same agency as her, it was still hard for him to suspect Mikasa of any criminal act, she did well in lying this whole time.

I guess she wasn't called one of the best assassins in the agency for nothing. She had fooled him.

He could only imagine what Eren felt now that he knew the truth, after all, if he was right Eren had expressed some form of attachment towards her. Even if his male partner didn't want to admit it or show it, he knew this revelation had hit his best friend harder than it should have.

When the bell rang, Armin was somewhat surprised that Mikasa got up without asking him anything about Eren's absence. Did she not care at all anymore? Or maybe she did care she was just hiding it? It was kind of hard to tell when the said girl didn't let out any emotion seep through her mask.

Well, in a sense he was glad she hadn't barraged him with question, because even if she did ask him, he wouldn't be able to tell her. Even as a team they still had to hold secrets amongst themselves, and it looks like she was already aware of that. She probably already knew Armin wouldn't tell her anything.

This made the blond boy look down with a troubled gaze. The ebony-haired girl didn't even waste her time talking to him, it wasn't as if they could talk freely about their work. And it made sense that she didn't want anyone thinking they had some type of connection, especially now since they were working together.

She was a smart one, Armin had to give her that.

Yet, there was one thing the boy was determined to find out by the end of today, and that was finding out where his best friend was. He was sure Hanji could fill him in on some details.

---

Levi strides down a long hallway with a deep, dark frown on his face, his eyes were fierce as he bursts through the door of a single room at the end of the corridor. The two occupants in the room turn at the sudden entrance, but it felt more like he had barged in. Without saluting anyone, the short male's piercing eyes bore holes into the pacific blue hues that belonged to Erwin Smith.

"What the hell is the meaning of this, Erwin?" Levi began with his signature harsh tone. "You want to continue with the training as if nothing had happened? Like there wasn't any casualties to my team? Three of my men are down because of that brat and you want to continue? How the hell are we going to do that with no trained men there to handle the beast?" the ebony-haired male glared at his superior, his icy stare even intimidated Hanji at times.

But Erwin remained as unperturbed as always, his calm demeanor shined off his eyes as he held his arms behind his back. The tall commander contemplated his second in command and the words he had just said.

"The experiments will continue." Erwin settles with those words, to which he saw true anger flicker through Levi's eyes.

"Erwin, you know how I detest useless casualties, and a whole shit load of useless casualties happened back in that forest. You're telling me you want that repeated, again?" Levi enquired.

"The same thing won't be repeated, I expect the outcome to improve the next time around." the tall male said with an utmost certainty in his hostile eyes.

"My men aren't puppets." Levi growled out, his fist clenching at his sides.

"I'm perfectly aware of that Levi." the fair-haired male said, not a crack was seen on his visage. "That is why I know you will fully capacitate them the next time you take Eren to train."

"I don't think you understand, Erwin." the short male said the name with a hint of spite. "You got the full report of Eren's transformation, he nearly escaped the forest and he could have escaped further into a village if we hadn't stopped him in time."

"I entrusted you this mission, and I'm still entrusting you with this task. I know you will see to the matter, and you won't let this happen again. This isn't only a learning process for Eren, it is also a learning process for your team as well." Erwin finished with a clean and smooth declaration, he turns his back to look outside the window.

Hanji gulps, she dared her eyes to venture over to Levi and the male looked absolutely fuming from head to toe.

"From what I've read," Erwin continues, his tranquil gaze still outside, " the experiment when rather well, at least in Hanji's point of view."

Levi glares over at Hanji, all the scientist could do was cower at his searing gaze. She mouths an apology to which the ebony-haired male ignored. Yet, her partners fowl mood did little to stop Hanji's excitement over the outcome of Eren's training.

The honorable commander continued. "Eren did something that he had never done in his short, titan life. He learned, and if I'm correct that was how he one-upped your team for a brief second out in the forest. Am I wrong?" he turned his scrutinizing gaze over at the two standing officers. Levi had his hands crossed in front of his chest indifferently while Hanji had on a bright smile.

"Yes! Exactly, it was nothing like I've ever seen before. It was remarkable! The way his eyes stared at the gear we were using, they way he learned how to use it to it's advantage in a matter of minutes! No doubt there's intelligence in that beast! We could possibly use that intelligence to aid in our cause." Hanji said, her breath hitching with excitement. Levi wanted to roll his eyes in distaste.

Erwin nods once in approval, then he faces the window again. "Where there is intelligence, there is an understanding, and where there's understanding, there is a mutual sense of cooperation to be achieved or gained. With enough training we can get Eren's titan form to work with us." the commander said, his voice thick with resolve in the future he foresaw in his mind.

"The only problem with that is that Eren isn't like some fucking horse, he's worse than that, he's a rampaging beast with eyes set to kill whatever get's in his way." Levi countered.

"That is why we are investing so much on his training. It is imperative that we train him more until he is capable to control that monster. Your orders are to keep the experiments going in the location you are in, I expect nothing less from a full report and an increase in outcome. Understood?" Erwin turns to face his subordinates, his two most trusted men.

Haji nodded and saluted her commander with pride, it took Levi a while to do the same, except less vigorously.

"You are both dismissed, oh and Hanji, see to it that Eren's school is handled, and if you want to let Armin know of the experiments you can. I leave it in your hands."

The tall female nodded and exits the room with Levi, the shorter male said nothing as they walk down the long pathway. She could tell the shorter man was still upset over the damage done to his team, even though it had been three days straight and Eren had not yet awaken, the short assassin was fuming at the thought.

"You'll get cerebral damage if you keep glaring at the air like that." she said, hoping to lighten his mood..

"I don't want to hear any shit out of you." Levi growls out as he kept his glare to the front.

"I don't understand why you're so bent over about this—" her sentence was cut short by Levi shoving her back harshly as he grabs two fists full of her shirt in his tight grip, her back collides against the wall behind her. Hanji's eyes snap open, only to stare into the male's livid eyes full of wrath that glared at her with semi-contained anger.

"Three of my men suffered multiple broken bones and severe injuries, all of which could probably cripple them for the rest of their lives. Four of my best men nearly died that day and within seconds; it was all without a good cause, it was all to train that hotheaded, insubordinate pet of yours. And you're still wondering why the fuck I'm so bent over about it? My men have families, people they have depending on them! Tell me Hanji, how would you feel if I went over and broke every bone in Armin's body? Or in Eren's body? Would you let me do it all over again? Would you brush it off as 'nothing'?"

Hanji's chest tightened in fear, her eyes remained wide as they stared into the bottomless pit of anger that were Levi's orbs. Cold sweat glided down her temple as she felt her back muscles constrict with apprehension, her lips are slightly ajar from the presence of the man in front of her.

She understood the anger he was going through, she really did, but he had to understand why they...no, why Erwin was doing this in the first place. Had he forgotten? Levi should be the one out over everyone to fully understand Erwin's cause, after all, Erwin had pulled him out of that undignified world Levi use to be a part of.

"Have you forgotten the reason why were doing this?" Hanji said in a low tone, her playful demeanor was gone, fully replaced by the grave woman that laid deep within her. "You've forgotten Erwin's goal, haven't you?"

Levi stepped away as he rolled his eyes at her. "Don't give me that shit."

"Shit? Is that what you think of it?" Hanji said with slight hint of anger in her tone. "You consider putting an end to those savage, evil men in the syndicate, shit? Those men who use innocent boys and girls, much like Eren, to turn them into their own personal experiments? To destroy innocent lives and ruin children only to create beasts. The same organization that allows their own people to live in poverty, starve and quarrel amongst themselves for life, just for those pointless experiments? The same organization Erwin is trying to fighting?"

"Shut it, Hanji, I'm warning you," Levi threatened as he looked over at her.

"No, I'm warning you! You should know how it is over there, after all you came out of that disgusting lifestyle. Erwin was the one who pulled you out of that godforsaken life and this is how you want to repay him? Not only that, but test subjects like Eren are still being performed over there. More innocent children are dying because of the serum they haven't even began to understand. And their killing the families of the children they ubduct. That government is rotten, crimes are going unpunished, people are being murdered for no reason, families are being torn apart. So you look at me in the eye and tell me that Erwin's goal is shit again, go ahead and tell me."

Levi remained silent..

"I want you to say it to my face, Levi." the scientist says, her hands trembling with anger. She imagined the many orphan children like Eren and Armin who lost everything to a couple of greed men. And even Mikasa had fallen to the same fate as them.

"Mikasa was going to be just like Eren," Hanji said, knowing she was stepping into forbidden territory. This seemed to catch the short captain's immediate attention, his eyes go slightly wide and his face trains on the glasses-wearing woman if front of them. "You got to them before they could take her and turn her into a failed experiment. Unfortunately, you didn't get there soon enough to save her parents from being murdered in front of her."

"That's enough," Levi said with low tone that indicated he had had enough. The ebony-haired male had never told his most outstanding pupil the true part of her story, or the reason the men had been there in her home in the first place. He had never dwelled on the subject, and she had never asked. Maybe she was scared to ask.

"I will see you tomorrow." despite Levi's anger, he managed a polite nod towards his psychotic partner, who remained quiet as she observed his retreating form. She felt bad for having to twist the salted wound Levi had, but she saw no other way in snapping him out of whatever state he had gotten himself into.

She knew better than anyone that the short male detested casualties that could have been avoided, but in reality, these setbacks could have never been avoided. It was a crippling step they had to take in order to gain some ground with Eren's titan form. Now that they knew the monsters movements and rhythm a bit better, it mean a higher outcome in the next training session, and the closer they came to reaching their goal.

---

"You missed a spot right there." Levi said as he gazed at Mikasa from where he sat. He was seated on a chair inside the kitchen while he watched Mikasa scrub his floor with a rag.

It had been approximately five hours since he had the meeting with Erwin and Hanji. Rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand and holding a cup of hot coffee in the other, Levi sighed deeply. He was stressed out to say the very least, he usually didn't show his emotions to anyone, but in the presence of Mikasa it was a different story, she was one of the few people he allowed to see him bring down his guard. Their strange relationship had developed to that degree, and Levi didn't know when it had happened, but it had happened, and he really wasn't complaining about it.

Mikasa resisted the urge to glare up at her superior but she withheld the tendency to do so. She had to remind herself why he was making her do this in the first place.

"You thought I would forget about your punishment for the little killing spree you went on." he said with a cold look.

"It wasn't like that." Mikasa stood her ground, looking up at her superior she was about to speak again but he hushed her with a hand in the air, indicating that he didn't want to hear her excuses. As a punishment for acting out without strict orders, he made her clean his whole apartment. His personal quarter wasn't that big but the rigorous cleaning he made her undergo was a suitable punishment for anyone. After all, the short captain's cleaning standards were held incredibly high, and if one spec of dust or dirt was found, the whole apartment had to be cleaned from scratch.

And yet the punishment was more lenient than the way he use to discipline her, back when she was still a cub and he had his hostile criminal tendencies. But that was in the past, Levi would never resort to the way he use to punish her, when he used pain and mental abuse as a punishment, back when his heart was still cold as ice.

"Now get up," Levi demanded, and Mikasa rose like an obedient pup, he stared at her hollow eyes intently. "Come here and sit, eat." he ordered her and without so much as a protest, the girl did as she was told. She was use to eating absentmindedly, she almost ate out of habit more so than a necessity, she just wanted to get the task out of the way.

She could never taste the food, she ate without even really taking into consideration the flavors she tasted on her tongue. It was all the same for her, her meal was just another part of her routine, that was the way she viewed it. Nothing more, nothing less.

"You're awfully quiet," the male noted with a bored expression, though, it bothered him how distant Mikasa was being. The ebony-haired girl's eyes flicker over to him for a second, then they dance back to her plate as she takes another dull bite.

"Maybe you're being awfully chatty." she responds, causing Levi to close his eyes in aggravation.

"I can be whatever the hell I want."

"So can I."

"Not if I order you to." Levi retorted.

"You're right, I'm your puppet, after all."

"Dammit, Mikasa!" Levi stood up and banged his hands on the table, causing the plates and dishes to clatter. The teenage girl remained still, unresponsive to the sound of the Levi's angered breathing. Yet silently, she wondered what was wrong with him. He seldom lost his composure like this, he must be really stressed out about something.

She raised her dull eyes at him. "You always told me to embrace the truth."

The ebony-haired male kept his steady gaze on her, remembering the exact moment he had told her that. She had been ten and he had been training her apart from everyone else, she had a broken arm due to the rigorous training he was putting her under. And while she laid panting like some exhausted animal, he had reminded her how reality hurt, a lot.

"Embrace the truth. Don't run from your nightmares, make them run away from you."

He had spat those words to a ten year old kid, and never in his life had he felt more guilty than now. All the troubles he made Mikasa undergo, all the disappointments and punishments. The objective was to turn her into a lifeless killing machine. That was her purpose. He was suppose to turn her into a cardboard copy of himself: A merciless fighter. A keen killer.

But somewhere along the lines a bond between them had grown, and the result of that affection led him to cease his mistreatment. He couldn't even harm her now even if he was ordered to.

Levi walks away from the table, he grabs his jacket that was on the sofa. "I expect this place to be spotless when I get back tomorrow. Don't do anything rash again, oh and remember we have the ball in a week." and with that he slammed the door with force, leaving Mikasa in there alone.

Levi did hold affection for Mikasa, but that didn't mean he was going to go soft on her. After all, he was still Levi, and being unconditionally rude was part of who he was.

The raven head stares at the door her superior had just exited out of, her grey eyes clouded by a poignant drowsy feeling. Brown hair and emerald eyes played in the back of her mind, silently she wondered where he was. And then she dropped the trail of thought all together, he probably wanted nothing to do with her.

Mikasa had a wavering suspicion that, wherever Levi was heading Eren would be there as well. She contemplated the thought of following her superior, but opted with not interfering. It wasn't her place.

Deciding to numb out her thoughts, Mikasa grabbed the rag she had left on the floor and went back to cleaning her captain's quarters. She really didn't feel like having to clean it again if he found a speck of dust.

---

Eren awoke with the slow opening of his heavy eyelids, he couldn't distinguish anything in the dark room he was in. He felt a hammering headache arise at the base of his skull and he closed his eyes in agony. He inhaled sharply as he grabs his head between his two hands.

"Eren, you're awake." someone said beside him, a voice he couldn't quite recognize just yet. He blinked his green orbs multiple times before he could distinguish the outline of someone next to his bed. It was Armin.

The brunette sat up with a jolt, his blankets pooling down his abdomen, as he gazes at his blond friend. As soon as he went up he immediately regretted it, his stomach churned and his bones and muscles ached like they never had before. Armin, accustomed to those symptoms, grabbed a nearby trash bin and handed it to Eren, who spilled out his biles as soon as he could and without much grace.

"W-why are you here…?" he rasped out when he was finished emptying his stomach, though, he kept the bin in his shaky hands just in case.

"Hanji brought me here after school today." Armin replies, his eyes searching all over Eren's face with concern.

"Why did she—" and then he wanted to throw up again, he pulls the bin near his face as he gags.

Armin looks guiltily at Eren, he felt like he was the one putting strain on his best friend current state.

"I should go, and you need more rest, your obviously not okay after…" he stopped right there, shutting his mouth as the brunet looked over at him with keen eyes.

"So I did transform." he said, almost breathlessly, he couldn't remember anything.

"Eren, you should rest more." Armin attempts to push the brunet back down on the bed, but the boy moved his hands away.

"How long have I been out?" he inquired, sweat trickling down the side of his terror-stricken face. Armin looked away in shame, he didn't want to be the one to tell Eren all the details.

"Armin, tell me." Eren ordered in a more stern voice, the brunet reaches out and seizes one of his best friend's wrist.

"Four days," the fair-haired boy responds, looking away from Eren. Eren remains still, his chest was heaving with every painful breath he took, his whole body hurt and the swelling in his head wouldn't go away. But he had deeper concerns going on, like the outcome of the training. What damage had he done? Did it go well? Had it done terribly bad? Did he hurt anyone?

At that last thought his heart almost stopped completely and his blood ran cold. The fact that he couldn't remember a god damn thing didn't help much either, and that's what bothered him the most. Deciding that enough was enough, the brunet got up, much to Armin's dismay.

"Don't strain yourself, Eren." the blond said as he helped Eren off the bed, despite his pleas to not do so.

"I don't care about myself, I need to know…" his voice was desperate as he walked out of the room and into a dim hallway. "I need to know what happened." he said, looking around, wondering where the hell he was exactly.

"No you don't, just stay in bed!" Armin pleads one last time, and Eren could tell that his best friend was keeping something from him. It was in that instant that Eren's heart dropped from his chest, and he knew that something was horribly wrong.

"Let me go," Eren mouthed absent mindedly as he tumbled out of Armin's grasp.

"You can barely walk, please just go back to bed."

"No!"

"What the hell is going on down here!" a sharp voice echoed through the dark hallway, Eren halted in his tracks to look at his captain walking towards them, a fierce look on his face.

"Get back in your cell, Yeager." Levi commanded in an icy tone.

Cell? Eren though, perplexed. "Back in the cell?" he repeated.

"That's right, cell. We put you in a cell fifty meters underground." Levi announced, his stare becoming flat. "Precautions we took in case you transformed somehow." he finished.

Eren's eyes look over at his superior with distress, and then he looked at his surroundings. It was true, they had put him in a cell, though the door was left open. "What happened, captain? Please tell me what happened when I transformed." he begged as he walked towards Levi.

"Tch, so you don't remember? Well, now isn't the time for those types of explanations. Get dressed in proper attire first; we fetched you new clothes, the other filthy ones you had are completely trashed now. So change, the clothes should be sitting on the side of the bed. After you get ready meet us in the conference room we met in last time. Get ready in twenty, I don't want you a minute late, Yeager." and with that being said, Levi steps out of their sight and back up the staircase.

Eren remained motionless, there was a ringing in his ear until he felt Armin grab his shoulder and lead him back into his cell. The blond waited outside of the cell as Eren changed, his head hung low as he thought of what their superiors might tell his best friend. He was worried about Eren's mental state, he hoped they wouldn't say anything that would set his best friend off.

To say he was worried was an understatement.

Once the green-eyed teen was finished dressing, they headed toward the conference room. Armin allowed Eren guide the way since the brunet knew his way around the castle more than he did. Yet, with each step he took he silently dreaded reaching their superiors. After all, Armin knew all about Eren's 'training' session and what had happened, and he knew his best friend wasn't going to react well to the news.

Soon, they reach the conference room door, the brunet was about to open it when Armin grabbed his upper arm and held him back. As soon as the brunet looked back he saw the pleading eyes of his blond friend bore holes into him.

"Please, whatever they tell you in there...please don't hate yourself." Armin says.

The words were left to cling to the air around them, Eren kept staring at his friend with a heavy look.

"You know...don't you? You already know what happened on that day." the brunet inquired, eyeing his blond partner, who had decided to stay silent. Without another word Eren grabbed the door knob and twisted it, allowing himself inside the dim conference room. Four torches on either side of the walls did a poor job at lighting up the place, but that was least of Yeager's worries. The green-eyed teen noticed the large rectangular table that had been there before, the only difference was that there were three people seated there instead of six, with the exception of Mike who prefered standing up.

As soon as the brunet entered, the other chestnut-haired participant in the room stood up, Hanji walks towards Eren, placing her hands on his right arm. Eren wondered why she was touching that particular arm, why she seemed to be examining it and moving it around its axis.

"It's perfectly healed," she whispered as she moved his arm in a circular motion.

Perfectly healed? What does she mean by that? Eren wondered, but he had an inkling feeling as to what she meant.

The brunet boy pushed her prying hands off of him. "Tell me what happened!" Eren demanded.

"Still can't remember?" came the irritated voice of Levi from the other end of the table. Eren glances over at his captain and then notices a conflicted-looking Petra sitting next to him.

"I don't remember a thing…" Eren admitted lowly, feeling rather pathetic and disgraceful.

"Figures," Levi breathed, the scowl on his face deepening.

"Please, tell me what happened, sir."

"Well, let's cut to the chace. You and that rampaging titan of yours put down three of my men." Levi said without so much as a warning, Armin's eyes grew wide at his superior's insensibility; how dare he speak so bluntly on the matter that was so delicate. What bothered the blue-eyed teen the most was that captain Levi's words seemed like he was throwing the blame on his best friend? But it wasn't his fault, he had no control over that titan when Eren was in there.

"With all due respect, sir, if I may speak—" Armin said, a bit loudly and hurriedly but he was cut off.

"You do not have permission to speak, Arlert." Levi snapped his eyes over at the blond. Armin quickly shut his mouth, he look over at Eren's tense back, and although he could not see his face, he could picture that tanned face of his molded with distress and anguish.

Eren's breathing became irregular, his eyes widen at his captain's words, it felt like a stake had been driven driven into his chest. He fell to his knees and he stared at his hands in complete terror.

Had he...oh god...had he k-killed…?

"I killed them…" the brunet began lowly.

"You probably would have if Mike and I weren't there, but no, you didn't kill anyone, Yeager. They're all very much alive, you did, however, manage to put them in bed for the next few weeks." Levi informed and this seemed to lift a heavy weight of the brunet's shoulders, but it was a short lived relief. "I'd call our little training session a complete failure but others seem to think differently. What the hell do I know, right?" the short male glanced over at Hanji, who was practically breathing down Eren's neck.

"You did absolutely fascinating, Eren. Your titan form was sublime." she said as she helped Eren back to his feet.

"Sublime?" the brunet gave her an outraged glare. Leave it to Hanji to find the most displeasing things interesting.

"Yes, you did something remarkable in that monster form of yours. As we engaged you, you had the ability to learn and take into consideration your surroundings and use them to your advantage. This is a great break through, this means with enough training we'll be able to have you respond to stimuli, maybe even teach you things. This will be later on in the road, of course. But by god we're so close." she was practically drooling on the spot.

"Wait, we're going to do this again?" Eren inquired, unnerved by the news.

The brunet was not thrilled at all, all he could do was slightly lean away as Hanji rambled on about what was to come. Then he noticed how quiet Petra was being, and how she seemed to avoid any visual contact with him. There it was, there was the response he was dreading. She had seen him as the monster he was, seen what he was capable of and now she couldn't even look at him.

That was the fear he dreaded seeing in Mikasa's eyes, in everyone's eyes. And now since he was going to be working with Mikasa in the same team it made his secret that much harder to keep.

Would their superiors eventually tell her? Would he have to tell her? He just didn't know.

If she were to ever witness him in that crazed state, and reject him much like Petra was doing now, he wouldn't know what to do if it was her. He realized now just how stupid he had been, thinking he could get close to her as a classmate, as a friend, as anything more than a friend. Eren was aware of the doomed card fate had played him with. He was regretting every decision he had made that involved that raven head. His fist clench at his sides and his chest felt tight.

He had to protect her from what he was. He couldn't get close to her anymore, not when she was so close to finding out his horrible secret.

Levi rose from his chair, snapping Eren back to reality and catching everyone's attention as the captain's boots clacked on the floor. "We will resume training in a month, I'm going to allow my men to heal, and we'll devise an amplear strategy to deal with you. We came ill prepared that day, I must admit. But I won't let the same mistake happen again, Yeager. Mark my words, I'll cut off all your limbs before that happens again." the male's fierce eyes bore into Eren's doe-like ones, and for a split second the brunet felt fear spill in the pit of his stomach. The short captain walked out of the room and out of sight, and everything was left deathly silent.

Eren gulped down the nervousness and apprehension like a heavy rock down his throat.

"I'll be taking my leave as well." Petra announces, bowing and walking towards the door without making direct eye contact with anyone, especially the brunet boy.

"Petra," Eren spoke as she neared him, causing the short-haired female to halt in her tracks. "Please, take me to them."

She didn't look over at Eren as she heard his request, she contemplated whether she should approve or deny it. He wanted to go see Eld, Gunther, and Oluo, but was it the right thing to do? Was it even her choice? What would captain Levi say?

Though, she had to admit that Eren sounded earnest enough, and he didn't look to be lying when he had said he hadn't remembered a thing. Then, it was all true, he really had no control over his actions when he was a titan, and he had no memory of it all. But she did, she could remember it all so vividly. It made goosebumps rise at the back of her neck even now.

Petra gulped and looked at him from the corner of her eye, she remembered the way he had broken down when he had thought he had killed his comrades. He must be really worried about them, and he must feel very guilty about his actions, even though they weren't his fault.

Petra remembered how they had forced him to transform, even though the teen had refused it will all his strength.

"Okay," was her soft reply, and it surprises Eren but he soon follows her as she steps out of the room, Armin was right behind them. They walk over the opposite side of the castle, down a bright lit pathway that looked to have been cleaned extremely well. The three of them remain quiet as could be, Petra, because she couldn't bring herself to say much, Eren because he felt Petra hated him, and Armin because he didn't know how to break the heavy atmosphere without making it more stifling.

Then, Petra halts in front of a wooden door and she makes a shushing sign with her hand, understanding, both males nod at her.

She opens it and enters, but Eren remains rooted to the spot, all of a sudden he couldn't will himself to enter. He was scared of seeing them, seeing his mistakes spat back into his face.

"Hey, Petra." Eren hears the strong, yet calming voice of Eld say from within the room. He sounded alright enough, so the brunet moved over to the door and froze when he saw Eld in crutches. The male looks up at eren as soon as he entered the room and his brown eyes meet Eren's. A slight smile appears before the male, and Eren is left perplexed.

"Eren, how are you doing? I heard you sustained some injuries,too. A broken arm and I think captain Levi had to slice up some flesh to get you out of that titan form." Eld inquires, his facial expression gentle, like some kind of understanding father who didn't look at the wrongdoings of his son, but instead focused on his well being.

Before Eren could even realize it, tears stood out in his eyes, he felt a tight knot in his throat as he contemplated the taller man.

"Don't tell me you're going to cry!" Oluo spat suddenly, "what a cry baby." he scoffed as he sat up on the bed that was to the left, he winced once he felt the pain sting from a few of his broken ribs.

"Let the boy cry, it's a good way to vent off emotions." Guther laid on a bed on the other side of the room, his leg was in a cast and the middle part of his chest was bandaged.

The brunet made a feathery sound within his throat as more tears slipped down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, you guys!" Eren said as he placed a trembling hand over his eyes to shield the tears, his throat stung like a bee had crawled in there and stung him. "I'm sorry!" he kept repeating over and over again. He couldn't believe they weren't scared or even mad at him, instead, they acted like nothing had happened.

What the hell was wrong with them? And yet, Eren couldn't help feel relieved that they were mad. He needed that, he needed their understanding, that human acceptance. He didn't know he needed it until now.

All the bottled up feelings he had accumulated over the years suddenly burst inside of him and he couldn't help crying. He felt like some child, he felt humiliated, but that didn't solder the bit of happiness he felt as well.

The rest of the team smiled over at Eren, even Armin had a frail smile tugging at his lips. Levi's team wasn't so bad, they were more human than assassins, he thought.

---

Hanji and Mike had stayed in the conference room, neither of them had spoken a word. The light from the torches bounced off of the brunette's glasses, she had an unreadable expression on her face and a small smile playing on her lips.

"The ball is next week, I wonder what Erwin has in store for Ackerman." she said.

---

There, finally! Man...I always don't really know what to say in an author's note. Gomen. I have a whole trainwreck planned for next chapter! Yay trainwreck!

I think it takes me so long to upload a chapter because i'm always left unsatisfied on how it comes out, so i keep rewriting it and rewriting it.

Till next time, BTR.