Haruto always enjoyed galloping through the forests, which was interesting because when Sakura first met her horse, he seemed to prefer open fields. There was something strangely mystifying about the large trees that sometimes were fifty meters tall, something even animals themselves fascinated over.
Out of all the duties the Squad Levi was involved in, creating a supply line was her favorite because they usually traversed through the forests, where Sakura felt most comfortable in. Commander Erwin preferred to ride in the open field at the start of the expedition for better visibility and greater map-making, but the majority Survey Corps usually traversed through as many forests on the way back to hide themselves, with the scouts remaining outside.
Their mission was to pave the way for the rest of the teams going through the forests. So far they hadn't come across a titan, which was supposed to be a relief, but she knew both Petra and Oluo were waiting for the moment to show off in front of Levi since this was their first mission. Squad Levi had been off the roster for the 38th Expedition to train the new team, and it was time for them to show their chemistry.
Though Sakura wished to have been paired up with Petra, she couldn't deny that her style suited Oluo's the best. She was a support teammate meanwhile Oluo liked killing solo, but Petra created the best openings for him to take. On the other hand, whenever Oluo wanted to give her a titan, he would incapacitate the titan in the best way Petra killed. Sakura, on the other hand, was incompatible with Petra in the sharing area, because Sakura preferred quick kills over safe kills, throwing Petra off.
The three of them were nigh invincible together.
Gunther and Eld were best together since neither took a dominant role and shared the tasks almost equally. That had been one of the problems Sakura had with Eld when they had been paired together, because she threw Eld off too much to his liking and sometimes got in his way. The two men, on the other hand, had even graduated in the same year and worked together for months afterward, solidifying their relationship and chemistry.
That left Levi, the loner of the team. She still hadn't worked with him yet because most of the titans had been handled mostly by Gunther and Eld, with the occasional Petra and Oluo kill. Sakura was a interested as to what brought this abeyance of kills from her Captain, who usually took on titans alone. She wasn't worried about him, but she didn't want to be taken by surprise when the time came to attack.
Maybe thinking about titans was a bad idea, because like a jinx she felt some three kilometers north, in the middle of their destination. If she had been in Erwin's team, they would've avoided them, but since she was in Levi, it was their job to engage with them so that another less fortunate team wouldn't.
"Four titans, three kilometers north. Half a kilometer apart. No aberrants," she shouted over the gallops of their horses.
The black-haired man ahead of her nodded and nudged Makimi to ride faster, and the rest of the team followed his change. This was the biggest group they'd come across the whole expedition and would serve as the test to see just how well they interacted with each other.
If she wasn't aware of their mindlessness, Sakura would say the titans were hidden in the trees. As soon as they located two, Levi went after the biggest one, a fat thirteen-meter, leaving Sakura dumbfounded as to whether let him handle it alone or provide support, which was her weak area. Instead of going after the same titan her captain went for, she sent her hook to the nape of the nine-meter a bit further away and aimed for a quick kill.
In the middle of her trajectory she felt three more titans, all aberrants, coming towards them at full speed and would attack them in less than three minutes. She grit her teeth and hurried to the nape, but before she could slash the titan shook its body violently, throwing her off course.
She let go of the hook and was sent flying, but she quickly recovered midair with the help of her reflexes and sent her hook to a tree trunk so that she could stand vertically on it. "Three more incoming! Aberrants!" she shouted.
Levi landed in the branch on top of hers and replied, "Let those four take care of remaining two. We'll go for those three. Follow me."
Sakura voiced her assent and was about to follow Levi when she saw Petra having trouble with the same titan who had shook her. Unlike her, Petra was no kunoichi who could recover in midair with the same finesse Sakura could. It was one of her weak spots, an area she had never managed to improve, an area that might kill her right now.
She didn't know why Petra had taken on that titan alone without Oluo's help, but now she had landed herself in trouble and it was up to her to get her, since Oluo was nowhere to be seen and wouldn't get to Petra on time. She didn't even hesitate and immediately lent Petra support by distracting the titan and getting all of its attention on her by body-flickering towards it. Unfortunately, she miscalculated the distance between its rather long arms and the tree she sent her 3DMG hook to and it snatched her mid-flight, knocking the air out of her.
Her mission had been accomplished, because the titan stopped moving and focused completely on its pink-haired prey. "Petra! Now!"
The auburn woman righted herself immediately and sped towards the titan, slashing it twice to kill it. The titan's hold slackened and Sakura quickly got out of its grip before it fell on top of her.
She aimed her 3DMG to one of the lower branches and leaned her head on the trunk once she landed, her breathing erratic from the adrenaline rush. Petra settled next to her and whacked her upside the head. "Are you stupid?You could've been killed!"
Sakura laughed breathlessly. So she hadn't seen her body-flicker? That was strange. She hadn't tried to hide her burst, but maybe Petra was focused on her titan and nothing else, considering she thought she was taken it alone. Then again, she should really work on her reflexes and observational skills. "I know, but so could've you. I wasn't going to let Captain–– Oh shit!" She snapped to full attention and sent her 3DMG in the direction the aberrants were, not bothering to explain the situation to anyone.
In her panic to keep Petra alive she had completely forgotten about her captain's orders and had left him to handle three aberrants all by himself. If he died because of her… If humanity lost its strongest soldier because she wasn't fast enough, she wouldn't be able to handle the guilt.
She couldn't sense the titans anymore, but three sources of steam rising from the ground gave her a good idea as to where the Captain would be. He was perched in one of the higher branches, cleaning his sword much to her amusement.
The kunoichi landed quietly next to him and observed the three disintegrating remains with impressed eyes. He had taken three aberrants all by himself and he didn't have a single hair out of place. It was hard for her to take on three titans by herself, let alone three aberrants, but he had done it in less than two minutes. She wasn't surprised, but she was amazed.
"What part of 'Follow me' did you not understand, Ackerman?"
Sakura inwardly flinched at his cold voice and the usage of her last name. In a way it was better than being called cadet, but it did make her flash back to her time in the Training Squad, where they called everyone by their last name to create an emotional barrier.
"Petra needed my help," she replied, her voice confident. Yes, she hadn't followed his orders, but she hadn't ignored them just to spite him; she saved one of her teammates and her precious friend. "The titan that threw me off was going to––"
"What part of 'Follow me' did you not understand, Ackerman?"
The kunoichi stiffened at the more menacing tone, but her eyes narrowed in growing annoyance. So he wasn't going to listen to her legitimate explanation just so that he could act all high and mighty? She respected his fighting skills, yes, but he was a prick and needed to reminded that she wasn't going to tolerate his attitude. "I understood every word, Captain."
He finally turned towards her and stared at her with chilly gray eyes. Even though she was (barely) taller than him, some stupid part of her felt small in being at the receiving end of his glare. "Then why didn't you do that?"
"As I said before––"
"Did your legs break? Did you run out of gas? Did you have to save a teammate? What other excuse do you want to say?"
"I was saving my friend. Not all of us take the deaths of their teammates as admirably as you do… Captain." Almost as soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth some tiny part of her wished to take them back, but it was too late. She had stepped over a line and it felt good to finally let out her frustration.
He grabbed her by the collar of her white shirt and hoisted her in the air, much to her surprise; here she weighed close to sixty kilograms and he was picking her up as if she were a twig! His glare intensified and he growled, "We have a problem, and we're going to solve it right now, Ackerman. I can't kick you off my team and you can't leave my team for the same reason."
"Then we can't solve our problem," she replied calmly, despite the fact that she was slightly choking.
"No, but we can come damn close." He let her go and she landed rather gently, though her harsh breaths betrayed just how much he had affected her body's oxygen supply. "Once you submit to me, we won't have any problems."
"I'm not a dog."
"You're right; a dog is smarter and follows orders."
She growled and resisted the urge to kill him right there. Eren would be so disappointed if she told him that she killed his idol in a fit of rage. "I'm not a mindless person. I can be trusted to make my own decisions. I'm not going to blindly follow orders but I won't make any stupid mistakes."
"So you want recognition that you're a human being?"
"No, I want power to act however I want."
The man's eyes narrowed further in thought. Sakura knew she was asking for a lot, but she wasn't used to taking any less. She was one of the most powerful human beings in the planet, goddammit, and if she wasn't going to receive power then might as well take it.
"I can't let you act independently." His voice had finally calmed down and acquired its usual detached manner, signaling that his anger had mostly passed. "I can, though, make you my second-in-command."
Her eyes widened at his decision. She was sure that he would've immediately discarded her from any position due to her rebelliousness, but here he was offering her a spot of leadership? Well, wasn't that what she wanted to begin with? "So I would be your second-in-command and killing partner?"
He nodded. "In exchange, you will submit to me when we're back inside the walls."
Aha, there was the catch; she had been waiting for that. "And what do you mean by submit?"
"Do whatever I ask you to do whenever I ask you to do it without complaints or disobedience. You want me to treat you like an equal? Fine. But at the same time you have to learn your place."
Though his way of thinking seemed paradoxical to her at first glance, her more rational mind understood more than her prideful side. He knew that she wouldn't give in unless he gave her something in return, but he also needed to establish a position of dominance. What was surprising was that the Captain was willing to think rationally about this and not be hung up on power. Perhaps she had misjudged him, but now was not the time to go back on her words. "Fine, I can agree with that."
"It wasn't a suggestion."
"Well, good thing I liked it or otherwise it would've been a suggestion."
"Don't ruin the peace, Ackerman."
Mikasa aimed an uppercut, but Sakura was faster than her and quickly sidestepped, mindful of the tree branch on the floor. She took advantage of her momentum and rushed at her, landing a chop in the back of he neck, incapacitating her immediately. Mikasa crumpled like a puppet cut from its strings and she groaned quietly, still not used to the power behind Sakura's strikes. "It doesn't matter how much I train, I can never seem to beat you."
Sakura chuckled and sat down on the ground beside her, extending her hands over her body to use her healing chakra. "I have much more experience than you. It's supposed to be that way." Mikasa relaxed immediately, her tired muscles soothed. "But I can see you've trained. Your much more muscular now."
The black-haired girl stared pointedly at the kunoichi's glowing hands, a faint hint of fascination behind her eyes. "It's so amazing how you can do that… Have you remembered anything more?"
Sakura frowned and shook her head. She hadn't gotten her memories nor her jutsu back, and though it didn't bother her as much as it used to when she was with Helsa, she was aware that she was incomplete without them. "No, I haven't. I've tried meditation and all that, but nothing comes to mind."
"What about dreams?"
"I can't remember my dreams. As far as I know, I don't dream."
Mikasa put a hand on top of Sakura's, indicating that she was done, and sat up, facing her. "Everyone dreams," she said quietly. "You just can't remember them. Don't worry, it happens to everyone. I'm sure you'll regain your memories one day…"
"What's with the sad tone?"
She blinked, as if surprised that Sakura had detected it. Mikasa was very good at hiding her emotions and being detached, but Sakura had known her since she was a kid and thus currently knew her better than anyone in the planet. "What are you talking about? I wasn't–– Fine, you're right, stop giving me that look."
Sakura smirked triumphantly and nodded. "Good girl. Now tell me what is making you sad."
"I… I once asked Mom what would happen if you got your memories back, and she told us that you would leave us and go back with your real family, because that was the right thing to do, the smart choice. And then knowing that you're actively trying to regain your memories… I just don't want you to leave me…"
Sakura bit her lip and resisted the urge to embrace her younger sibling as well as whack her in the back of the head. It was a valid point, because she was sure people were missing her, but at the moment she couldn't really care about these people because she didn't remember ever loving them. "Mikasa, I promise I will never leave you." She understood just how hard it must've been for Mikasa to admit her feelings, so she wouldn't ruin the moment by being obtuse.
Her lip curled and she looked at the side disdainfully. "Don't say that."
"I'll never leave you or Eren or Armin behind."
She glared at Sakura. "You're just filling me with false hope."
"And you're taking my promises for granted. When have I ever broken a promise to you, hmm?"
Mikasa was quiet, no doubt looking back to all the promises Sakura had made to her and Eren and Armin. She visibly deflated and shook her head slowly. "You haven't."
"Exactly, so trust me when I say I'll never leave you. Besides, the chances of me finding my real family are close to none. Nobody inside the walls can use chakra."
"What about outside?"
"I don't think so… We would've seen them by now, since part of a shinobi's job is to gather intel."
"It's those comments that also make me uncomfortable. How can you remember what the shinobi do if you don't remember ever being a shinobi?"
"… I guess the same way as I sometimes remember jutsu. It just comes randomly."
"I don't think it's random, Sakura. Say, what was going on when you remembered your jutsu?"
She thought back to those instances when the hand signs came to her as naturally as breathing did. They were vivid in her memory, because the events themselves were important to her in her life. There was the night of Helsa's death, where she remembered a water jutsu to put down a fire that could've destroyed a forest and had subsequently drained her of her reserves. Then she had remembered that vacuum jutsu during her second year final exams and a couple of months later a legitimate wind jutsu when she didn't want to kill those bandits. And finally, the most recent one was when she had remembered the chakra scalpel because she didn't have her swords with her and she had to take down a titan.
They all had a thing in common, and it was a sense of danger or stress.
"Danger or stress usually does it," she explained slowly. "But it doesn't make sense. I've been in danger countless times on expeditions but I haven't unlocked more jutsu."
"You've mentioned various times that you don't want to reveal your powers because you have no idea what the government or military will do to you. Wouldn't it be dangerous to use jutsu in front of everyone if you believe that is true?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you think about it, there's physical danger but you also have the social danger. From what I can also remember from what you've told us, you were both alone and in danger."
"I wasn't alone with the bandits."
"But they couldn't see you, so your identity was safe."
Sakura hummed, finally piecing what Mikasa was saying together. What she was saying was true, and she had been both alone and in danger when she unlocked more jutsu. She hadn't exactly been in danger with the second year exam, but she had been in danger "of not being first." Same with the thieves, because she could've easily killed them, but she was in danger "of making herself a murderer." However, she had never felt that sensation of getting a jutsu back whenever people around her were threatened, so the danger of "being emotionally hurt by someone's death" didn't apply to the formula.
Still, it seemed her social situations had an impact on how she unlocked her jutsu, but why?
At any rate, the best way to guarantee that she would gain back her jutsu was to be alone and in danger, because social situations had many variables. "That's true. Maybe I could use this information to unlock more jutsu."
Mikasa didn't look amused. "I hope you're not saying that you'll put yourself in danger to get more powerful."
"Of course not." Sakura looked up at the canopy of the trees, finding contentment with being surrounded by them. The Survey Corps had forests, yes, but she associated those forests with work and training, but here with Mikasa she felt at home, as if she was still with the Ackermans. "I wouldn't place myself in danger when I have promises to keep."
The younger girl smiled, a true one filled with contentment, at her words. She knew that they all feared abandonment more than the usual, and the only way to combat that was by staying together. "We should go back. Eren will be upset that we left him with kitchen duty meanwhile we trained."
"Ah, if he's upset, maybe I will have an excuse to beat him up."
"… Don't be too rough, okay?"
Sakura laughed and stood up, extending a hand towards Mikasa for her to help herself up. "We'll see."
She stared at the Captain in confusion, not exactly following his orders. "You want me to what?"
"Oh, deaf now? I said, 'Bring me my tea.'"
"I heard that. I just don't understand why you're asking me to do it. Don't you have someone else who usually does that?"
"That someone is you now."
Sakura clenched her fists and breathed in deeply. "I thought you said I had no duties once I joined your squad."
"And I thought I said that you would submit to me."
The kunoichi bristled and slightly bared her teeth. She thought that "follow orders" meant doing as he asked immediately during practice, but this was just plain degrading. She didn't bust her ass day and night just so that she could make him his tea. "That's not submitting. That's me being a servant."
Levi finally looked up from his work and glared at her in annoyance. At least he hadn't asked her to do his paperwork for her, but knowing her luck he will soon enough. "Ackerman, I'm not in the mood for your shit. I want black tea with lemon. And I would advice you to do it soon, for your own good," he commanded with an air of finality and went back to his work.
Sakura could almost feel the sizzle coming from her head but even she understood when a fight was over. She stalked outside and fumed towards the kitchens. Why did he have to be such an asshole? Would it really hurt him to show kindness every once in a while, or, even rarer, respect? She was so caught up in her inner rant that she almost missed Oluo.
"Oh, wow, Pinky. What did the Captain do?"
The kunoichi halted and gave Oluo one of her nastiest glares. "What makes you think it was the Captain?"
"You're always like that whenever Captain makes you do something you don't want to do. What is it this time?"
Sakura glowered, but it wasn't aimed at her friend. "He's making me do his tea."
"And what's so bad about that?"
"It's degrading! Only the unranked soldiers do these types of things. He's forcing me to 'submit myself' to him."
Oluo raised an eyebrow, not impressed at her explanation. "You do know that we all submit ourselves to higher ranked soldiers, right?"
"I know," she growled. "It just pisses me off to submit myself to him."
He shook his head, amazed at the sheer thickheadedness and stupidity his friend was showing. She had had no qualms in being respectful towards Squad Leader Hange and Commander Erwin, so what was the problem with doing the same with Captain Levi? "Anyway, do you know how to make tea?"
"No."
"Want me to help you?"
"Yes."
The kitchens were mostly empty except for the odd pair of soldiers that always forgot lunch had been three hours ago and were scavenging for leftovers. Usually there were none ––she knew from experience–– but she still internally wished them good luck.
Oluo went to fill the kettle with water meanwhile Sakura searched for the black tea leaves, and a lemon. He then gathered the necessary amount of wood and placed the kettle on the stovetop after she lit the fire. After that he said they needed to wait around six minutes to put the leaves in and then wait for three minutes so that the water acquires taste.
She took advantage of the solitude and the comfortable companionship to ask what had been gnawing her nosy mind.
"So how is your conquest with Petra going?"
"There is no conquest," he grumbled.
"You don't love her anymore?" she asked coyly. She already knew the answer, but she was positive that Oluo would divulge more information by trying to disprove her than answering her questions.
His eyes narrowed and he still refused to meet her gaze, opting to stare at the rapidly boiling water. "Of course I still love her, stupid. I'm just focused on other things right now."
"Which are?"
"Getting better at killing titans."
"I don't see how that impedes you from pursuing Petra."
Oluo's resolve finally broke down and he looked at her in pure annoyance. "Did you erase our conversation about this last time? I told you, I don't want to fall even more just to see her die."
Something inside of her quivered. "I won't let her die," she said with a resoluteness Oluo probably found weird, because for some reason she made it seem more like a fact than a promise. "So you should do as you wish."
"You can't say that and expect me to believe you."
"Have a little faith in me, will you?"
He added the leaves and closed the kettle again. "You're better than me, I admit it, but if Captain Levi can't keep his teams alive, why can you?"
She grunted softly, caught off guard. She couldn't just come out and say she was a ninja, right? Well, she could, because she trusted Oluo with her life and nobody was around, but should she? What exactly could she gain from divulging such information, and what could she lose? For once, she could lose his respect or gain it, depending on how understanding he was of her predicament in keeping his friends alive and being available to her proteges. He could stay true to their friendship by keeping this a secret or stay true to humanity by informing Commander Erwin just like how Carlo and Moblit had done when they witnessed her sensor ability.
All of those reactions were equally likely, so with a heavy heart she decided to keep her mouth shut and not say anything. She couldn't forsake the relationship she had with her wards just to see her best friends have a relationship that might not even happen. At any rate, they would get their happy ending because she wouldn't let either of them die. So what if they started a relationship later than usual? It would come to fruition anyway. She was just being desperate for them, trying to force something to happen because she knew it would make them both very happy.
But maybe she should just let them run their own course.
"Is the tea ready?" she said after minutes of silence.
"Yeah, yeah," Oluo replied in his usual tone, letting her know that everything was well and forgotten.
Five minutes later Sakura was walking slowly with a very hot teacup, careful to not spill the liquid on her hands. Bless the soul of the people that had done this numerous times in their lives, but bless her even more because apparently she was going do to it everyday. Trust Levi to turn one of the best soldiers in the Survey Corps into his personal tea brewer.
She knocked on the door and waited for his monotone voice to let her in. He didn't even look up from his work when she went in and she wondered just what did the Captain do that five hours of his everyday life went strictly to paperwork. Then again, Sakura wasn't well-acquainted with the inner workings of the military and politics so maybe there was a very good reason why he stayed cooped inside his office for most of the day.
He carefully took the cup from her hands and immediately took a sip. He gave a faint hum of contentment, which made Sakura feel oddly proud that her (and Oluo's) work had pleased him. "Thank you. You're dismissed."
She saluted and left the room with a small smile, admitting to herself that perhaps making tea for her captain wasn't such a horrible experience as she had previously made it out to be.
Not that she would ever tell anyone, of course.
The last time she had met with Sebastian they had agreed to go somewhere else for a change, since they almost always met exclusively in the Leaping Horse, and the scene was becoming a little too boring.
"How about we go to Walden a little north from here next Saturday we meet? I hear if we're lucky we might hear some wolves," he had said with a vague hint of excitement.
She had raised a pink eyebrow, not at all convinced. "And why is that something we should be looking for?"
"Being in the wildlife is fun, and I think we should do something fun."
"For a traveling musician, you sure are keen to getting yourself in danger." He had grinned in self satisfaction, and not even Sakura was able to resist his charm. "At any rate, I need to ask my captain for permission to get Saturday off."
"Ah yeah, true, you have to ask Captain Levi, correct?"
That had been the time Sakura had been waiting for, to finally tell him that she was in the military, but was surprised to see that he had beaten her and already knew. "How do you know?"
"I have my ways. Besides, I'm here on a mission, and you're a part of it."
Then she had felt wary, and rightly so. She didn't want to be anyone's mission, and Sebastian's profile wasn't really helping matters. "It doesn't make me feel safe knowing that."
He had felt the accusation and suspicion behind her voice, because his countenance became utterly serious and strangely honest. "In the beginning, I may have thought of you as just part of my mission, but now I truly want to spend time with you, Sakura."
"Am I still a part of your mission?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"I can't."
The atmosphere in the Leaping Horse was still jovial and very rowdy, but in their little secluded corner, Sakura had felt the coldness descending on their conversation. She hadn't liked it and she was even more suspicious, but at the same time she had to find out. "Why can't you?"
His eyebrows had drawn in and he had looked away from her, and Sakura had been very tempted to just stand up and walk away, but curiosity was firmly rooting her in her place. "It would ruin the mission. Just know that you're not the mission and I honestly want to spend time with you."
"But I'm still a part of the mission."
"Yes."
Though she was even warier of Sebastian, she had to give it to him for coming clean so early in their relationship. He would make a horrible ninja, she thought sardonically. Even though any hope of a normal friendship had been ruined, she still wanted to stick around and find why he had sought her out in the first place, and while he had confessed his interests to her, she would be the better deceiver and manipulate him into telling her just what he is doing.
"I'll only stay because I appreciate your company and we still have to finish translating the song," she had said in a tight voice, making it seem as if she was really against the decision but only had done it for him. This would make the victim even more willing to divulge information in the future. "But don't think for a second that I'll stay around if you treat me like a mission."
His light blue eyes widened and narrowed immediately. "I would never."
And that is how she found herself in the outskirts of Walden supporting a very attractive, unconscious man in the middle of the night. She was tempted to leave him in the forest, not because he was possibly a spy, but because he had gotten them into this situation in the first place.
"'Oh, let's look for wolves,' he said," she mocked in his tenor. "'It'll be fun,' he said. Well, little shit faints when we first hear one. And leaves me hauling his ass around."
Sebastian moaned softly from besides her, as if he could understand her.
"I can't believe I thought you were threatening. You owe me big time once we're back in Walden."
At any rate, they were lost inside the woods. As much as she was embarrassed to admit it, she had gotten distracted by their conversation of ancient myths about Warrior Maria that she hadn't really paid attention to where they were going and where the town was located. She could leave him in the ground and scout ahead, maybe even climb the tallest tree and try to find the direction Walden was, but she had a gnawing feeling that Sebastian wasn't fully unconscious and he would remember this moment tomorrow.
So all she could do was hope she was going in the right direction or sense other human chakra signatures that might guide her back.
A pack of wolves howled, and she could sense they were nearby. Fighting humans was one thing, but fighting animals was another. She had experience fighting people, but she had never punched an animal. In fact, even though she was sure she could kill most of them, she didn't feel comfortable with killing, be it animals or humans. She had avoided hunting in the Training Corps and always made an excuse whenever Erick wanted to hunt for the family. Animals never did anything malicious to humanity so why should she?
She sighed and held Sebastian tighter by his waist, just in case, because she wouldn't let any of them become food that night.
Sakura focused most of her chakra to her hearing and less to her eyesight from then on. She could only enhance one of the senses at the time, because doing otherwise would cause sensory overload and would be bad for her brain. At the moment it robbed her of much needed eyesight, especially because she needed to see, but the wolves were meant to be heard rather than seen.
She could hear them coming, and the stress buildup was almost unbearable, especially because Sebastian's body had completely slackened and now she was fully carrying him. Sakura was almost running now, though the movement was extremely awkward and sluggish compared to what she was normally capable of. If only she fully trusted Sebastian, she would have no qualms with showing her ninja side at the moment and then swearing him to secrecy, by force if necessary, but she didn't even expect him to keep her status hidden even with the threat of death.
Unfamiliar chakra started surrounding her and she sent off more than usual in warning, hoping that animals had some sixth sense that made them aware of chakra.
Her hopes were crushed when she felt them and heard them stalking closer, each second making her heartbeat faster and her skin even sweatier. Sebastian was blissfully unconscious next to her and perhaps even asleep, judging by how peaceful he looked.
She stiffened and stood very still when the first wolf came into view and felt her skin start to sweat more profusely as more wolves started surrounding her. She counted nine and quickly observed that four of them were bigger than the other five, probably older.
They all didn't make a move, waiting for the other party to react. Sakura didn't do anything for fear of putting Sebastian in danger, because she wasn't sure that she could fight nine wolves while simultaneously keeping Sebastian alive. She could gather him in her arms and leave him on a branch, but none of the branches close by looked as if they could support a sixty kilogram man.
The biggest wolf ––the alpha male, no doubt–– stalked closer, but the other wolves remained eerily still. Sakura coiled her muscles and drew Sebastian in, ready to bolt at the first sign of an attack. Could she outrun wolves? How fast were wolves to begin with? Either way, the best way to secure survival was by taking out the alpha male with a good punch and then making a run for it. She would just have to convince Sebastian that whatever he experienced was just a dream.
He sniffed as soon as he got closer and was immediately at the defensive when she shot a small burst of chakra. Even though she knew little of wolves, she understood that what she was experiencing was uncommon. None of the wolves looked eager in attacking her, and the alpha, though still alert, didn't seem aggressive at the moment.
Finally he turned his body around and started stalking off, but he abruptly stopped and looked at his side, his golden eyes staring at her as if he had a question. Sakura didn't think for a second about moving, but when two wolves brushed past her and joined the alpha in his waiting, her instincts kicked in and she started following them.
It was weird, walking in the middle of a wolf pack, and strangely exhilarating. She always knew she had a good connection with animals, but she had no idea it was this good. Wolves, revered predators in this area, were walking alongside her as if it were a normal occurrence, but she was almost positive that a nice, relaxing stroll with canids wasn't what Walden actively advertised.
She felt the chakra presences of various humans congregated together, indicating a human settlement. She didn't even care if it was Walden or not, because just being back in civilization and surviving the night was a success. Sakura was shocked to find the level of intelligence in wolves to be high enough to understand her predicament, as well as their problem solving skills to lead her back to safety.
The alpha male stopped, howled, and then ran off to the east, his wolf pack following close behind him. Now that their job was done, they could go back to their normal routine.
But not even her wonder could keep her from sensing the presence that suddenly appeared behind her.
"Don't look back," the deep voice said calmly in Japanese. She stiffened and coiled her muscles immediately, ready to drop Sebastian and engage with the mysterious man. "It's good to see you, Sakura."
She shivered at the familiar way he said her name. "Who are you?"
"I'm a friend. I just wanted to drop by to see how you were doing."
"I'm smart enough to know that's a lie."
The man chuckled, a sound paradoxically filled with both pride and contempt. "Oh, in the beginning I had my qualms, but seeing how beautifully everything is going makes me very happy. You are an excellent Vessel."
"What are you talking about?"
"Hmm, you don't need to know that; it might ruin the process. Well, it seems my time is up and I have to leave. Continue building strong relationships, will you? Immerse yourself in this world. And remember, I'm always able to watch you, Sakura."
The man body-flickered away, leaving Sakura breathing harshly and very perturbed. She was glad Sebastian was asleep, because there was no way she would be able to explain this to him, because she wasn't sure herself. Though the man hadn't threatened her, she was very sure they hadn't shared a close bond, otherwise he would've attempted to convince Sakura to go back with him.
And then there was the matter of her role in his plans. He had called her a Vessel, right? A Vessel for what?
She sighed and shifted Sebastian a little bit more so that they could both be more comfortable. This was not the time to be thinking of such things, especially when she needed to get to safety and Sebastian needed a warm bed to rest in.
Sakura didn't like the outlook of the 44th Expedition. The sky was gray, very gray, and the air felt more humid than usual. The storm was coming from the north, which meant that even if they tried to come back they wouldn't be able to avoid it, but at least they would've been close to home. However, they had already spent a whole day riding, so by now it was too late.
The main issue with the weather was that it ruined their strategy for titan detection. The Commander hadn't found a way to make the flares visible with the rain and it usually led to more deaths because of the lack of communication. Apparently, there had been a huge accident in an expedition a couple of years ago because of the rain.
Before the Special Ops squad would've been in some real trouble, since they lost visibility and couldn't communicate with the Survey Corps, but since Sakura could sense titans, her team was just a bit more stressed out than usual. After all, fighting in the rain was much harder than normal fighting, since raindrops usually got in the way and slowed them down. And slippery surfaces caused accidents, but that was more uncommon.
"Still nothing?" Oluo sped up his horse, Felsen, and maintained Haruto's speed. His voice was uncaring, but Sakura knew him well enough to detect the hints of anxiousness in his face.
She understood; she was anxious as well. "No titans. Maybe there's no sun and they can't come out?"
"That's what the stories say, but we know that's not true. Besides, there's still some light, or we wouldn't be able to see."
Sakura nodded grimly and looked forward, eyeing the open field with growing wariness. "True. But still, I haven't felt anything. We should worry about finding the campsite instead. If we don't resupply, we'll be screwed."
"We haven't used gas yet."
"I meant food. I'm really hungry."
"Did someone say food?"
Even if she hadn't recognized the voice, she would've still guessed who it was. "Yes, Gunther, someone did mention food, but not because we're about to eat."
To her right, Gunther grinned sheepishly. He was the one who ate the most out of the group and got hungry the fastest. Considering his height and weight, it was normal that he ate the most, but he enjoyed food with such a passion that if it weren't for the Survey Corps's intense training, poor Gunther would be fat. "It just got me a bit excited. I'm starting to feel a bit weak."
That was true, now that Gunther mentioned it. They had ridden for so long and they still hadn't managed to reach a supply point where they could rest and eat, and it wasn't like they could just stop in the middle of an open field with no buildings to set camp. Besides, it would be almost impossible to coordinate without the Long-Range Scouting Formation working.
Just then, Sakura felt six titans, a bit evenly spaced from each other, and resisted the urge to groan out loud. Fighting titans in the rain was hard, fighting titans in the open field was hard too, but fighting titans in the rain and in the open field was extremely hard. At least there were no aberrants; that would just make things even harder.
She shouted out their locations and the team immediately readied. Levi decided that they would split up in pairs and each pair would kill two titans, which was what Sakura had predicted he would do. Oluo and Petra were given the eastern titans, Gunther and Eld the center ones, and Levi and her went for the western ones. They were each around half a kilometer apart, which meant that they wouldn't easily help each other, but they had spent seven months working together as a team and had gone out together for six expeditions; they could handle this.
The three pairs separated when Sakura felt the titans closing. Even with the downpour, it was easy to see where the titans were located, since they were quite tall and sometimes made moaning noises. Levi looked back to Sakura, who was riding a bit behind, gave her a hard look, and she nodded, understanding what he wanted to do.
It was a risky maneuver, but they had practiced it so much that it had lost the thrill of danger. Sakura sped up her horse so that they would pass right in front of the titan. Of course, the titan would try to reach down and grab her, but by then Levi was already behind the crouched titan and it was a simple kill; he even had enough time to get back on Makimi.
She kept riding on the direction of the last titan and also felt one of Eld and Gunther's assigned titans getting closer to them, but she paid it no mind, knowing that they could handle it. Sakura took advantage of the sound created by the rain and rode behind the last seven-meter class, slashed its Achilles' heels, got out of the way it was going to fall, then slashed its neck once she reached it once she realized Levi was nowhere to be seen.
Sakura frowned; that was weird. He usually didn't leave her alone with any of their plans because he knew how dangerous they were. She tried looking for his chakra signature and pinpointed it a bit later, with the Eld and Gunther. Why was he there?
The kunoichi stared at the disintegrating titans and decided to leave the place and join the rest. She reached them fast enough, and was surprised to see Gunther trapped in a dead titan's hand, trying to get out. Eld was helping him get out, and Levi was cleaning his swords like he usually did when he got blood on them.
She dismounted Haruto right next to Levi. "What happened?" she asked him.
"I thought I heard a yell, so I sped here and saw Gunther trapped meanwhile Eld was getting the other titan. You can guess the rest."
"So you left me alone to handle the last one? I could've died." Even if the question sounded accusing, her tone of voice was nonchalant. She knew she wasn't going to die, so there was no reason to make a big drama out of it. The question was, did he trust her to not die or did he simply not care?
The Captain looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "There's no logical reason why that titan could've eaten you. Unless you're suicidal, there's absolutely no way you couldn't have handled it. We've fought long enough to know that."
She grinned, satisfied by his answer. "Of course! I'm the only one who can beat you so bad at sparring sessions."
"That was only one time and––"
"Captain, with due respect," Eld cut in, supporting a heaving Gunther around his shoulders, "the whole team knows it's been more than one time."
Her smile widened further at the wink the blond sent her, and she suddenly felt much more comfortable about the expedition, even with the horrible weather.
She was having a nice dream, she was sure of it, until someone shook her awake. Sakura groggily woke up, her mind and body still tired from the 44th Expedition, but Petra was really insistent on something. She groaned, "Petra?"
"There's something I have to tell you."
Sakura's green eyes focused on Petra, her blushing face the first thing that she noticed. What was wrong with her? She immediately sat up and put her hand on her forehead. "Hm, you're hot. Are you sick?"
Petra walked back to her bed and sat on it, peculiarly avoiding her gaze by staring at the floor. "You have to know something."
She raised a pink eyebrow. "Couldn't it wait until later?"
The younger woman ruefully shook her head, but still avoided her stare. "No, I've been wanting to tell you for a while but it's until now that I get the courage. I might not do it later."
"Okay, I get it. What is it?"
She murmured something unintelligible that not even Sakura's sensitive ears could make out.
"Come again?"
"I… I think I'm in love with Captain Levi."
Sakura blinked and processed the words once, twice, thrice. Petra in love with… the Captain? What? "Huh?"
Petra raised her head and her gaze wavered for a couple of seconds before it hardened. "I'm in love with Captain Levi," she said with much more determination.
Shit. "Where did this come from?" She had to keep her cool and not push her away. Levi wasn't a man Petra should've fallen for, and yet she did. Not only that, but she didn't want her warnings to Oluo about Petra finding another guy to become real, especially not Levi out of all people.
"He's… Well, I understand he's not very friendly, yes, and that he can be quite mean at times, but you remember last expedition, when he saved Gunther from that titan?"
She couldn't forget. The Captain had ditched her to the rescue, but she couldn't very well complain knowing that he had saved her teammate after all. "Yeah, what about that?"
"It made me realize that he cares more about us than he lets on. And caring in his line of work is dangerous, because any of us could always die. Yet he still tries to make us the best at our craft and improve our survival rate…"
"He's cold, but not heartless. Of course he doesn't want us to die," she said in what she hoped was a neutral tone. She had to kill Petra's love as soon as possible, or Oluo would find out and have a broken heart. Besides, Petra was being blind; Oluo and her were meant for each other on so many levels it was painful to watch.
"I know, but he's just an admirable man and I can't help but to love him."
"It sounds to me as if you have a crush," she replied truthfully. Yes, downplay her feelings and maybe she will realize her silliness. "Besides, I don't recommend getting anything serious for the Captain, Petra. You know how taboo relationships with teammates are." She wasn't going to have a repeat of what happened to Liesel and Jung, because Jung could've lived if he hadn't been so in love with Liesel.
Petra bit her lip and looked down. "I don't think it's a crush, but I agree with you on the relationship part. I wasn't… No, that would be a lie. It would be a lie for me to say that it wouldn't make me happy to know he felt the same way about me."
Oh boy.
Sakura went from her bed to Petra's and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. As much as she wanted her and Oluo to be together, she almost wanted to support her friend in her feelings. Who was she to decide who Petra was meant to be with? If she was happy with Levi, then she was happy with Levi, no ifs, ands, or buts. It was her job as her best friend to try and make that relationship come to fruition by either advising her or making it happen. "Okay, this is what we're gonna do. You keep the way you are and I'll try to find out more if he has an interest in you, alright?"
"No, no, no, you don't have to do that, Sakura. I… I don't want to find out."
"Why not?"
"Because I rather live in this uncertainty with hope than find out the cruel truth."
Oh boy, indeed. Petra really was in love.
"Oh," she offered lamely.
Petra grinned brilliantly, the perfect picture of a blushing schoolgirl. "We'll have fun with this, don't worry! But keep this a secret between girls, alright? I'll tell Amina right now before I become a coward again."
That one was easy; she would never tell Oluo in a million years.
With that the woman stood up and left the room, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. Well, it was Sunday, so they had the day off, and this day was designated to be spent with Haruto and Makimi, the gentle horse that had wormed her way to Sakura's heart. Besides, visiting them would take her mind off from this predicament.
She changed from her nightgown to her uniform, foregoing the 3DMG belts because they weren't necessary. After that it was easy to follow the routine: get a bucket full of apples, creep her way to the stable, gather grooming supplies, and scrunch her nose at the smell of horse shit.
Haruto was always happy to see her, since he always made a ruckus. This time he woke up poor Makimi from her little nap, but since she knew the apples were coming then she didn't mind. "Oh, who's been a good girl?"
She felt a familiar chakra signature entering the stable and she clammed up before anyone heard her speak Japanese. Sunday mornings were usually empty because nobody had assigned duties for the stall until the afternoon since everyone woke up relatively late. She turned around once she felt the presence sufficiently close and was surprised to see the short captain staring at Makimi and the bucket of apples.
Well, it was about time she was going to be busted, but why now?
"Makimi likes them," she blurted out before he could say anything.
"Makimi?"
Of course her real name wasn't Makimi, stupid, she thought mockingly. "Uh, that's what I named her."
"You're telling me that after all this time, you still don't know her name?"
"No…"
Levi shook his head but offered no comment. Instead he got an apple from the bucket on the floor and gave it to Makimi. "Her name's Isabel. She used to be completely quiet and tame until a few months ago, when she started complaining whenever I visited her until I brought her an apple. Now I know it was you who spoiled her."
"It's not my fault she's so adorable. That and she's the only one that can handle being so close to Haruto."
"You mean Samson?"
"After all this time, you–– Oh." She was preparing a rant on how he was being a hypocrite for not knowing her horse's name, but she knew he was just teasing her because there was a humorous glint in his eyes she seldom saw. Wait, he was being cordial with her? What was this sorcery? "Ha, ha, very funny." His sense of humor was still shit.
Haruto started whining and moving his head up and down, which was normal, but the action seemed to be aimed at Levi, which was weird. Her horse only did that when he wanted to play with someone he personally knew, meaning that Levi had played with him before, but that was impossible, right?
"Your horse is impossible unless I give him apples," he explained. "Besides Isabel always refuses me unless I give some to him, so it works out in the end."
Sakura smiled coyly at Haruto, even though he probably didn't understand the action. "Oh, Haruto, you dog," she whispered to him. "I thought you liked Lea? And the Captain's horse? You go big boy!"
Lea was Gunther's horse, one stationed in another stable, but they were known to play quite frequently whenever they were relaxing in an expedition. But of course he would go for Mak–– Isabel, the Captain's precious horse.
"What are you saying?"
"Just expressing my happiness that Haruto has a loyal friend."
"One that refuses apples until I give some to him?"
"The very definition of loyalty in horse language."
Levi shook his head at her stupidity, but she could see the beginnings of a small smile. "Go make me my tea and leave it in my office."
"Yessir."
She left the stable but decided to look back before she left and was astonished to see the tender look he had reserved for only Isabel, one she thought he was incapable of producing. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for him to look at Petra that way, and maybe it wasn't a bad thing that Petra wished it.
Gaaasp is that plot you see? Actual relationship development between two pigheaded titan-killers? Drama between other main characters? Addressing the amnesia issue? Why yes, your eyes don't deceive you, and I hope everyone is happy because I sure am. I know you're all itching for Sakura to reveal her powers and kick major ass in the Survey Corps, but it all has it's time. Don't worry, it'll be very soon, because next chapter...
Is officially back to the SnK plot. Meaning things will pick up really fast after that.
There will be similarities and differences. Isayama is telling Eren and humanity's story, meanwhile I am exclusively dedicating my time to Sakura's story. Also, things are going to naturally delve into AU considering the nature of Sakura's powers, especially when she finally reveals them and... well, shit happens.
Also, some of you have asked if Sakura remembers her dreams. The answer is no. There is an explanation for this (as well as almost everything that is happening right now), and will be revealed much later on. For now, simply enjoy the Naruto-verse, because things start to get weird over there from now on.
My immense thanks to AmeRaSora, hotredsakura1315, Lady Light, YuukiChanLove, Basia Orci, Love Remedy, FairiesDescent, Sincerely Athena, catxangel, Atsirk Enoh, cj1of4, miss-weena, pierce through the heart, Sky65, CloudMonkey, tsukinoyume11, The Benevolent Scriber, mun3litKnight, Guest, Dyz, Ikillatfirstsight, beast of the 7 suns megidoh, xbLoOmZx, exaigon, cherryblossom1423, Geniusly-Unique, brokenmaelstrom, Guest, Mayflowerz 411, Steph, dor dor dor, and Dante's disciple for being so wonderful and leaving refreshing reviews! Also, thank you to those who added this story to their alerts and favorites! You guys are wonderful!
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