Girl in the Rain

by Trafalgar Neo

Without another look back at her room or the door, Rain summoned her wings and jumped out the window of her room at the Survey Corps Headquarters and headed over the wall to the outside world infested with Titans. (Request, following manga)

11. Fire

Fire

Levi rolled over onto his back and stared up at he bunk above him. The room was for once quiet. None of the soldiers were snoring and everyone seemed to be in a deep sleep as he hasn't heard anyone move for over two hours. Well, everyone except for him. For whatever reason he just couldn't fall asleep. The room was a pleasantly warm temperature. So that wasn't what was bothering him. The moon was only a quarter full, so only a little of it was pouring into the cracks in the curtain.

Sitting up he looked around to see if maybe something was out of place. He saw nothing in the semi-dark room. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair before throwing off his blanket. He then pulled on his boots and headed for the door. A soldier rolling over in his bed caused him to pause momentarily at the door before stepping out and closing it behind him.

The hall, like his room, was silent and barely lit with the moonlight coming in through the curtains. He continued on down the hall until he got to the door that would bring him to the hall that would lead him to the main door of the headquarters. Once again he found the hallway quiet. Seemed that everyone was in bed this night. So he walked on alone and was soon greeted by a cool night breeze and singing crickets as he stepped out onto the porch of the headquarters. He walked down the steps then paused to look up at the moon. The sky was clear and full of stars. A sight that he would never get tired of seeing now that he and his friends were above ground.

He closed his eyes to breath in the night air. But in doing so, he also smelled smoke. Which was odd considering how hot it's been at night. No one should have built a fire anywhere, unless they were burning trash or something. An uncomfortable feeling washed over him. He decided to have a look around just in case. He headed to his right and to the side of the building until he got to the back of it where the stables came into view. And he saw it. A flame was inside of the open door to the stables. The horses were whinnying in agitation.

He was about to head for it when he heard slightly distant yelling coming from the headquarters building. He looked to see if a window was open and saw someone jump from a window. The shadows covered the person's body but he could tell from the shape that it was Rain. And she was somehow able to slow her fall as she descended upon the ground. He blinked, thinking he was imagining things. "Rain?"

…

Hugging her teddy bear tightly, Rain suddenly woke from a peaceful deep sleep. Her eyes shot directly to the window when the smell of smoke wafted into her room along with the whinnying of distressed horses. She jumped up from her bed and ran to the window. She gasped upon seeing the fire coming from inside of the stables. Bolting away from the window, she flung her door open, crossed the living room in two seconds, and flung her dad's door open. "Dad! The barn's on fire!"

"What?" Erwin sat up, drowsiness clouding his words.

"The barn's on fire!" Rain said again as she turned and ran back to her room.

"Rain!" Erwin flung his blanket off him in desperation to stop her from doing something stupid. "Don't go in that barn!"

"I have to save the horses!" Rain called back. She heard her dad's feet coming after her, but that didn't stop her. She was far to quick for him and grabbed her hat from her desk and jump out the window before he even get out of his room. Snapping her wings open, she slowed her decent to the ground and landed unaware of the man who was already outside and unaware of how she startled him. Her feet touched the soft grass and she bolted for the barn.

"Rain! What are you doing?!" Levi called after her.

"I have to get the horses out of the barn! Flame's in there!" Rain called over her shoulder.

"Don't be stupid!" Levi said. "They're just horses!"

"They're not just horses!" Rain snapped. Reaching the barn she bolted right inside the door but backed up from the raring heat. Right in front of the tack room was three bales of hay, burning furiously. She threw her arm up in a fruitless attempt to block the fire. The fire snapped and crackled as the flames licked at the walls of the barn. The horses whinnied, frightened as they paced back and forth in their stalls, desperate to get out and away.

"Rain! Get out of here!" Levi shouted.

"Not until the horses are out!" Rain grabbed the lock to the first stall and flung it open. The horse bolted. She moved on to the next one. "Get them out! Levi! Please! Get them out of here!"

Though hidden by the roaring flames, she thought she heard him cuss at her. But he did as she asked. He grabbed the closet locked stall to him and freed the horse. One by one they worked their way through the stables, letting the horses run free of the fire. Finally, she got to Flame's stall. The horse was pacing back and forth like the others. She unlocked the door and opened it. But Flame didn't go threw the open door. "Come on, Flame. You have to get out of here." Rain held out her hand. Flame placed her nose into her palm before following her owner out of the stall and outside to safety where she joined the other horses that were gathering near the paddocks. At that time her dad had finally arrived with reinforcements to get the fire out. She looked around, counting the horses as the soldiers grabbed water buckets to try and extinguish the flames. "Did we get them all?"

"We did," Levi said, walking up to her.

"What the heck happened here?" Rain asked, still looking around. She saw a figure moving in the darkness that shrouded the paddock. "Who's that?"

"Who-"

"Hey!" Rain shouted, cutting Levi off. She ran towards the shadow. The shadow jumped over the paddock railing, and ran away from them. She took after whoever it was. "Come back here!"

"Rain!" Levi called as he ran after her.

Rain didn't stop. She knew whoever was running away was the one who set the barn on fire. And rage burned in her chest at how they had almost killed her precious babies. She ran faster, her eyes locked on the shadow running just ahead of her. The shadow ducked down between two buildings, she followed, and keeping just close enough to keep whomever it was in her sight while ignoring the harsh ground on her bare feet. A couple more turns and she suddenly came face to face with the person she had been chasing after. Expect with the moon not being a full one she couldn't see their face, the shadows casted down by the buildings didn't help her vision either. She stood still for a moment, panting to catch her breath before taking a few steps towards the shadow. The person was taller than she was, though not by much, but they did have broad shoulders and appeared to be wearing something over their mouth. "What do you think you we-"

Pain shot across her back. Something hard and at an odd angle had hit her right across her shoulder blades. She fell forwards, hitting the ground hard. The cold iron told her she had gotten a mouth full of dirt in the process. Turning to her side, she could see someone standing over her with what appeared to be a stick swinging back down at her. She started to lift her arm to block it, but stopped when the person suddenly went flying away from her. Their body went flying across the alley. Levi landed in front of her. "Levi."

"Let's get out of here!" a voice shouted.

The person Levi kicked scrambled to his feet and took off after the other one, both disappearing into the shadowed alleyways.

Rain spit the dirt out of her mouth, or most of it. "After them!"

"Let it go," Levi said. "They're gone already."

Rain growled. Spitting out more of the dirt she jumped to her feet and glared at him. "Why didn't you go after them?!"

"Have you already forgotten the tactics your dad has taught you?" Levi said. "It's incredible stupid to run after people like this in the dark. And without weapons or shoes. Why did you go after them?"

"They tried to burn down the barn! And kill the horses!" Rain snapped. "Why wouldn't I go after them?!"

"And look where it got you," Levi said, as calm as ever. "If I hadn't come that second person would have bashed your skull in."

"No they wouldn't have," Rain said. "I was about to knock his feet out from underneath him. But then you showed up."

"And if there were more of them?" Levi asked. "And they ganged up on you?"

"I can handle myself!" Rain said.

"Sure," Levi said. "You did a great job as it was."

"You've seen me fight," Rain said, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"Yes, I have," Levi said. "In the daylight, with weapons, known opponents, and boots on. One of those two we chased could have had a gun. What did you have to block a gun? Nothing. And what if there were ten of them and they did as the second one did? What if they had rocks and literally did try to bash your skull in?"

"That didn't happen," Rain said.

"You really are reckless," Levi said. "Again, I ask, what were you thinking running off like at in the middle of the night? Did it even occur to you that there might have been more than one of them? Didn't Erwin teach you to think before you react?"

"I don't care!" Rain snapped, dropping her hands to her sides in balls up fists. "Sometimes you can't always think! Sometimes you have to just react!"

"Obviously." Levi crossed his arms. "In this situation you should have paused for a moment and think before you acted."

"I didn't ask for your help!" Rain said, marching right passed him.

"But you got it. And I saved you from getting your head bashed in," Levi said. "You could be a little grateful for that."

Rain stopped. A small amount of guilt trickled into her chest. He was right. What she did was really reckless, and stupid. For all she knew there could have been a whole gang of them. She had put herself in unnecessary danger. And while she was a good soldier, she didn't have her swords and she was shoeless and she had let one get behind her and her dad did teach her to think before acting. And it really, really annoyed her at how right Levi was. She sighed in defeat and swallowed her pride. "I'm sorry."

"What was that?" Levi asked.

Rain gritted her teeth. She knew he had heard her. Still, she turned around and faced him. "I said, I'm sorry. You are right. That was reckless and stupid of me to do that. I didn't think. I just got angry at someone trying to hurt the horses."

Levi nodded, accepting her apology. Awkward silence passed between them as they remained standing in the shadows of the buildings, staring at each other, both wondering who was going to speak first now.

"I guess we had better get back to check on the fire and how much damage it caused," Rain said, rubbing her upper arm.

Levi nodded again and headed back the way they came.

More awkward silence passed between them as they walked along the alleyways, weaving their way back to the headquarters. After three minutes of silence, she asked, "So where do you think they went? Who were they anyway?"

"I have no idea," Levi said, looking around at the shadows just incase they were still near or being followed. "The only reason I can think of them burning down the barn and killing the horses is to stop the next expedition."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Rain asked.

"For many reasons," Levi said. "I believe the top one would be to keep someone from getting killed. If I had to guess, the people who tried to set the barn on fire has someone in the Corps that they don't want to get killed by titans. Or maybe it was someone who has lost someone to titans already and wanted to stop more deaths."

"I guess I can understand that," Rain said. "I watched a friend's mom get killed and eaten by a titan when the Colossal broke through the wall. And then another lost his grandfather when they culled the population. But still, they didn't have to put the horses in danger for that."

"So how exactly did you jump from your window and not get hurt?" Levi asked.

Rain paused. Levi walked a few feet ahead of her before turning around to look at her. She swallowed hard, hoping the shadows covered her expression good enough and thanking God above that she remembered her hat before jumping. "Oh…I guess I did jump."

"Don't tell me you just did it without thinking," Levi said.

"Sort of. I guess I was just lucky," Rain said. She forced her body not to twitch. It never crossed her mind that someone would have been walking around out at night. She twisted her finger around the string of her hat, thankful once again that she had remembered it before jumping. "Or maybe adrenaline? I didn't really think. I just jumped since it was the fastest way to get to the barn. I didn't even notice you were there until you yelled at me. What were you doing outside anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep," Levi said. "I thought a walk would help."

"Oh." Rain tugged on the string suddenly realizing she was exactly where her dad didn't want her to be. She was alone with Levi. And not just alone with him, she was alone with him in the middle of the night, walking down a dark alleyway where he could easily kill her. Or could he? She knew he was strong, but she didn't know exactly how strong he really was since she's never fought him before. Her heart skittered not only of uncertainly but also of something else, something unfamiliar when the moon shifted and beamed down on his intense eyes that was still staring at her. She rushed passed him in an attempt to get this unfamiliar feeling to go away. "We should get back."

He followed her, walking right beside her. Unable to stop herself, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. His expression was the same. Empty, somewhat frowning, and sort of distant from the world around him. That dangerous air was still there but it didn't seem as intense as it did before when she first met him. Something about him seemed different to her. She didn't know what or why. Nothing much had changed between them. They did seem to be talking more. Well, not much, but way more than they had before. Was it possible they were becoming friends? She murmured, "Dad will not like that."

"Won't like what?" Levi asked.

Rain jumped. "N-nothing. I was just thinking out loud." She laughed nervously when all he did was stare at her. Her body tensed. "Really. It was nothing. I was just thinking about my dad. He's not really going to be happy with me. You know, with how I just took off like I did."

"Are you going to get in trouble?" Levi asked.

"I don't think so," Rain said despite the fact she knew her dad would be upset a little bit with how she's alone with Levi. "He knows how much I love the horses. By the way, you didn't get burned by the fire, did you?"

"No." Levi turned his eyes away from her.

"That's good." Rain relaxed once his eyes were off of her. But her heart didn't. It still continued to skitter like she had swallowed a whole flock of hummingbirds and decided to take up residence in her chest.

"Rain!" Hange's worried voice rang out in the darkness. "Rain, where are you?! My darling little sweetie pie! Please be all right!"

"Darling little sweetie pie?" Levi glanced at Rain

Rain's cheeks flushed. Thankful for the darkness to hide her cheeks, she still couldn't bring her eyes to his. "She's…kind of intense."

"I've noticed," Levi said.

Rain swallowed nervously when he didn't turn away for several seconds. She picked up her speed, desperate to get away from his stare and to get to Hange. Before long Hange turned a corner. "Hange!"

"Rain!" Hange dashed over and wrapped her arms around Rain's shoulders. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm sorry," Rain squeaked as Hange tightened her hold on her.

"Why did you run off like that?!" Hange cried, way too dramatically. "I thought you were hurt! When your dad came running through the halls yelling about a fire in the barn! I knew you went out there! Then he told me you took off running after someone! What were you doing?!"

"Hange!" Rain squeaked, her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen in her lungs due to Hange's hug. "Can't…breath…"

"I'm sorry." Hange loosened her hold. "I really was scared."

"I didn't mean to scare you," Rain said. "After we got the horses out I saw someone and ran after them without thinking. The person apparently had a friend and I got hit on the back."

"You got hit?!" Hange gasped. She then noticed Levi there and glared at him. "You! Did you hit her?!"

"Of course no," Levi said.

"It wasn't him, Hange," Rain said. "It was someone else. Apparently, at least two people set the fire."

"Oh, I see. Well, does anything hurt?" Hange started looking Rain over in the little moonlight they had. "Did you break anything? Did you get any burns?"

"No, we're both fine," Rain said. "The fire was only in front of the tack room when we got there."

"That's good." Hange sighed. "We better get back before your dad gets really worried."

"I'm surprised he didn't come after me himself," Rain said, walking down the alley.

"He wanted to but he took control of getting the fire out," Hange said.

"So the fire's out?" Rain asked.

"They were still working on it when Erwin told me and Mike to come look for you," Hange said. "I'm sure they have it well under control if it's not out yet."

"That's good," Rain said.

"The vets should have been summoned by now, too," Hange said. "The Commander wants the horses checked out for burns and smoke damage."

"I think we got them out in time," Rain said, looking over at Levi. He nodded at her.

"You were there too?" Hange looked at Levi.

"I couldn't sleep and was out for a walk," Levi said. "That's when I noticed the barn was on fire."

"I see," Hange said. "The military police will probably come speak with you in a few days. They'll want to come out and check the damage and see if they can find any clues as to who set the fire. So try to remember everything you can about tonight."

"All right," Rain said, stepping out onto the main rode.

Now half way back to the headquarters they had met up with Mike. He walked over to them when he saw them. "Rain!"

"I'm fine, Mike," Rain said.

Mike nodded. No other words were shared as they continued to make their way back to the headquarters. When they got there the fire had finally been put out and lanterns were now lighting up the area. The only thing left of the fire was ashes of burnt hay with damaged walls and the smell of burnt leather suggested some saddles, if not all of them, had been burnt as well. She easily spotted her dad among the soldiers and ran to him. "Daddy!"

"Rain." Erwin turned to her just in time to catch her in his arms. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Rain said, noting he smelled like smoke. She looked up at him. "Did you get hurt?"

"Just a few minor burns," Erwin said.

"That's good to hear," Rain said. She looked him over, noticing minor burns and dark smudges but most were on his clothes. "I was worried that you might have gotten seriously burnt by putting the fire out."

"All right," Commander Shadis said. "We've done all we can tonight. Let's get back to bed."

"That was insane," a soldier said.

"Yeah, it's a good thing it was spotted so soon. We could have lost all those horses."

"It was Rain who saw it. So, thanks, Rain. There could have been a lot more damage done if you hadn't seen it."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Thanks."

"Uh, sure." Rain shifted, uncomfortable at all the attention. "Is there much damage done to the walls and tack room?"

"Some, but nothing that can't be fixed," Erwin said. With his arm around her shoulders, he guided her back to the headquarters. He paused momentarily to acknowledge Levi. "Go back to bed."

Levi nodded but remained where he was.

"Well, that was exciting," Hange said. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep for the rest of the night."

Rain glanced over her shoulder. Levi was watching them walk away. She couldn't help but smile at him, which surprised them both. She didn't even notice her heart had stopped flittering until it started up again. She whipped her eyes forward, unable to keep looking at the black haired man.

"I want a full report on what happened with you," Erwin said just as they walked into their room.

"All right." Rain sat down on the couch and told him everything as he joined her, even about Levi. "I'm sorry. I know I'm not suppose to be alone with him."

"I suppose it couldn't be helped," Erwin said. "Though I am disappointed that you reacted without thinking."

"I know," Rain said. "I'll try not to let it happen again."

Erwin nodded in acceptance. "Good. Then go to bed. It's late."

"Yes, sir." Rain kissed his cheek before heading back to her bedroom.

…

"What?!" Isabel cried over breakfast the next morning. She slammed her hands down on the table and stood up. "You rescued the horses from a fire then ran after the one who set it?! Why didn't you come get us?!"

"Will you stop yelling?" Farlan asked, embarrassed at annoyed looks her outburst gave them.

"Sit back down," Levi said, stirring his oatmeal. "There wasn't time to come get anyone. We just set the horses free and ran after the person Rain saw."

"And that's another thing." Isabel sat down. "Why did you go with her?!"

"I already told you," Levi said. "It just happened. There wasn't much time to think about it."

"So did you see who it was?" Farlan asked.

"No," Levi said. "It was too dark." He glanced over at Rain. She, like always, was sitting with her dad, Hange, and Mike. "She didn't see anything either."

Isabel huffed.

"Soldiers, Levi and Rain," a soldier's voice called out over the ruckus of breakfast. It silenced everyone and they all looked up at the man standing near the door. "Commander Shadis wants to see you two in his office immediately."

"Yes, sir," Rain said, standing up from the table. She looked at her dad.

"Go ahead," Erwin said. "This is only part of the investigation."

"I'll take care of your dishes," Hange said.

"Okay," Rain said. "Thanks, Hange."

Rain stepped around her chair. She met Levi half way down the dinning hall. For a split second, she paused and stared at him, her heart took a hard thump, before she rushed on passed him. When they had gotten to the soldier, he exited the room before them. They quietly followed him, side by side. She glanced over at him. Levi just stared straight ahead. If he saw her do it, he showed no signs at all. Before she knew it, they had arrived at the commander's office.

"Go on in," the soldier said, waving his hand at the door.

"Yes, sir," Rain said. She reached for the doorknob, but was cut off by Levi's hand. She glanced at him. He nodded his head to the now open door, signaling her to go in first. "Uh, thank you." She stepped into the room to find the commander was with two other soldiers, one blonde the other brunette, from the military police according to the horse symbol on their backs. "You wanted to see us, sir?"

"Levi, Rain, these men are from the military police," Commander Shadis said from his desk. "They want to ask you a few questions about what you saw last night."

"We have been told that you two were the first ones who saw the first," the blonde said.

"That's right, sir," Rain said.

"Where exactly were you when you saw the fire?" The brunette pulled a small pocketbook from his pocket.

"Well, I was in my room," Rain said. "I saw the fire from my window."

The brunette wrote that down. "And you?"

"I was out for a walk and came upon it," Levi said.

"And did you two see anyone?" he asked.

"I saw someone, but it was too dark to get any of their features. I know they were a little bit taller than I am," Rain said. "We chased him into the town but they got away."

"They?"

"Apparently, there were two of them," Levi said. "Rain was running after one of them when suddenly they stopped. The second one came up behind her and hit her on the back."

"What did they hit you with?"

"I'm not really sure," Rain said. "I think it might have been a tree branch. And both appeared to be wearing something over their mouths. Perhaps a bandana."

"Seems like there a few small similarities between the incidents," the blonde said.

"What do you mean, sir?" Rain asked.

"Someone has been setting several fires in the area just like last night," the blonde replied.

"There have been more fires set?" Rain asked. "I haven't heard of that before. Are they related to each other?"

"We're not sure at this point," the blonde said. "So far the only connections these fires have are at least two people have been seen at each one. Yet no one has been able to get a close look at them."

"What have they targeted so far?" Levi asked.

"Nothing really," the brunette flipped through his notes. "The previous attacks have been set in alleyways inside of some form of container and only wood and trash appeared to have been set on fire. This was the first time that a fire was set inside of a building and with an object such as hay."

"Does that mean the horses were targeted?" Rain asked.

"That's a possibility," the brunette said.

"What are you going to do about it?" Rain inquired.

"We're continuing our research," he replied.

"That's it?" Rain frowned.

"There's nothing else we can do," the blonde said.

"You can set up around the barn and keep an eye on the horses," Rain said.

"I'm sorry, Miss," the blonde said. "That's not our job."

"What do you mean it's not your job?!" Rain snapped. "You're here to protect the people and keep order!"

"And that's exactly what we-"

"That's not what you're doing!" Rain hissed. "This is the first time they've tired to actually kill someone!"

"They didn't try to kill anyone," the brunette said. "They tried to set fire to the horse stable."

"Exactly!" Rain said. "Those horses might not be human, but they're important to us! You can't just walk off and leave them like this! My horse could have died last night! They all could have!"

"I'm sorry. But we can't-"

"No! I don't want to hear any useless apologies!" Rain said. "I want you to protect our horses!"

"That's not our job!" The brunette narrowed his eyebrows.

"It is too!" Rain started to march forward only to get a strong arm across her stomach. She grabbed onto the arm, barely noticing it belonged to Levi. "Let go!"

"Rain, that's enough!" Commander Shadis boomed. "Your father would not approve of the way you're acting right now!"

Rain flinched. She forced her body to relax, her hands slid off Levi's arms. She glared at the floor, clenching her hands so hard her nails perched her skin.

"Is there anything else you need?" Levi asked.

"No," the blonde said. "If you think of anything else that might be useful, be sure to let us know."

Levi nodded.

"Commander Shadis, we'll be in touch," the blonde said before leaving the room.

"Of course." Commander Shadis nodded. Once the door clicked into place, he turned his attention to the remaining soldiers in the room with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, sir," Rain said.

"It's fine," Commander Shadis said. "I know you're very fond of the horses. It's understandable that you're this upset. And since the situation is pretty extreme, I'll keep this between us."

"You're not going to tell my dad?" Rain looked at the man.

"As I just said," Commander Shadis said, "the situation is pretty extreme. There's no need to tell Erwin about your little explosion."

"Thank you, sir," Rain said. "And I'm sorry I lost control of my emotions."

"Think nothing of it now," Commander Shadis said. "If you do think of something else concerning the fire, do let me know."

"Yes, sir," Rain said, tucking her hand to her chest in a salute.

"Sir," Levi said, copying Rain's salute.

The two young soldiers turned and left the room. Rain all but stomped down the hall. "Eren's right. Those military police are useless."

"They don't work with the horses as closely as you do," Levi said, walking a few steps behind her.

"That's no excuse!" Rain said. "Those horses are important to the Corp! We need them for…" She paused, coming to a halt. She could feel Levi's presence stopping right beside her. Her mind buzzed with what she wanted to say. We need them for our freedom. But would the expeditions ever lead to that? Or would it only lead to more deaths and no way to escape the walls? Guilty pound her head. She had freedom at her fingertips. Or more precisely, her wing tips. She could fly over the walls and never come back. But where would she go? She knew no one outside of the walls. So she thought. For all she knew her family could be out there looking for her. "I can't let them try and burn down the barn and kill the horses."

"I doubt they'll try again," Levi said. "They'd have to be really stupid to do that."

"Maybe they are stupid." Rain looked at him, her eyebrows kneaded. "Who says they won't try again?"

"Who says they will?" Levi shot back. "The Corp will most likely put some soldiers around the barn to keep an eye on it."

"Or maybe not," Rain said. "There's no real connection between these fires other than two people setting them. The Corp doesn't really have a reason to suspect they'll come back since the military police don't think they will."

"Then just ask Erwin to convince the Commander to put some soldiers outside of the barn for a few days," Levi said. "That'll scare off anyone attempting to do that again."

"Maybe," Rain murmured. She dropped her eyes to the floor, thinking about Levi's suggestion. It was possible that she could get him to do that. But it would only be a temporary solution. The culprits could easily just wait until the Corp got tried of horse sitting then come back and try it again. The culprits needed to be caught. And maybe she could do just that. "It might work."

"What might work?" Levi asked.

"Having a soldier or two keep guard," Rain said, though it wasn't completely the truth.

"What are you planning?" Levi asked.

"Never mind that," Rain said, she started walking again. "The horses are my concern." She broke out into a run before Levi could speak again, not that she expected him to. "Dad might be able to convince the soldiers to set up guard around the barn, but that won't work for long. We need them to come back and try it again soon if we're to catch them. The expedition is only about two months away now. "

Before Rain knew it, she was dashing up the stairs, three at a time. At the top her boot caught on the step and she fell to her hands. "Ouch. Well, that was very graceful."

"You all right, Rain?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Rain said, looking up at Mike.

"What's the rush?" Mike asked. "And we're you suppose to be speaking with the Commander?"

"We're done," Rain said. "And the moronic military police aren't going to do anything to keep the horses safe."

"They probably don't have time to keep an eye on them all the time," Mike said.

"Or they're just lazy." Rain dusted off her hands. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

"I was talking with Erwin," Mike said. "I'm heading outside for now."

"Okay," Rain said as she watched Mike heading down the stairs.

Mike flashed her a smile. "Whatever you're going to do, don't get into too much trouble."

"I never get into trouble!" Rain protested.

"Sure you don't." Mike winked before his head disappeared down the stairs.

"I don't," Rain said despite the heat burning in her cheeks. She shook it off. It didn't matter. She headed on down the hall to their room. Finding her dad on the couch with files and papers scattered around him, she sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around his. "Daddy, can we talk?"

"I'm not setting a twenty four hours watch on the horses," Erwin said, not taking his eyes off his papers.

Rain groaned. "How did you know?"

"Because I know you." Erwin smiled.

"You're so mean," Rain said, pouting.

"There's no need for it anyway," Erwin said. "The military police don't believe this is really an attack on the Recon Corps."

"They're morons," Rain hissed.

"Watch your tone," Erwin warned. "They have a lot to deal with."

"I'm sorry," Rain said. She released his arm and slumped down on the couch. "But it's true. Eren sees them drunk all the time. It won't kill them to put up a guard around the horses. They're important to our mission."

"I know they are," Erwin said. "But the military police aren't as attached to the horses like you are."

"I guess it really is up to me then," Rain murmured.

"Rain," Erwin said, lowering his papers to his lap. He looked at her. "I do not want you up every single night keeping an eye on the horses."

Rain scrunched up her nose. He really did know her well. "Stop reading my mind."

"I'm your parent," Erwin said. "I'm supposed to do that." He gave her a stern look. "I mean it, Rain. You're already busy with your training. You don't need to be staying up night after night. Let the military police do their job. If this was really a direct attack on the Corp them they'll learn about it and punish those involved. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Rain said.

"Do I dare ask about the interview with the military police went?" Erwin asked.

"It was fine," Rain said. "Though I did yell at them."

"I'm not surprised," Erwin said. "Why don't you go spend some time with the horses? You're not scheduled to train until later today."

"Fine." Rain pushed herself off the couch and headed back out into the hall. With a click of the door, she walked back to the stairs and mumbled, "I guess this really is up to me. But how? Dad's right. I can't stay up all night and then train all day. He won't let me on the ODM gear if I'm not getting enough sleep."

"If you keep talking to yourself like that people are going to start thinking your weird and crazy," Adam's voice said.

Rain mentally sighed and looked up at him. He was alone for the moment. "Grow up, Adam. I'm tired of listening to your childish jabs." She tried walking passed him but he slammed a hand onto the wall, blocking her path. "What do you want?"

"I'm just worried about the horses and wondered if you've got that daddy of yours to take care of them," Adam said.

"Why would I do that?" Rain asked, ducking under his arm.

"We all know those animals are the only friends you have," Adam said, following her. "Look, I don't care about you at all."

"Yet, here we are," Rain said, flatly. "Picking on me like always."

"I'm not picking on you," Adam said. "Like I said before, I'm worried about the horses. The expedition is in a few weeks. We need them to go out beyond the walls."

"In that big of a hurry to get eaten?" Rain said. She reached for the door and opened it only to have Adam slammed it back into place. He leaned his weight into the door, preventing her from escaping, and leaned in close to her.

"Look, just take care of them," Adam said, his eyes cold and harsh. "I don't care what happens to you, but if anything happens to those horses that prevents us from going out, I'm holding you personally responsible."

White hot anger blocked Rain's eyesight from him. She was thankful for it as well. If she could see him in this moment, she wouldn't be able to hold herself back. She would hit him until he was unconscious on the ground. Then she would be in huge trouble. Recon Corps soldiers weren't suppose to fight amongst each other like that. She gritted her teeth. "Move."

"Don't tell me what to do, you spoiled brat," Adam said. "I mean it, Rain."

Anger moved her hand. She reached up for Adam's shirt, readying her other hand to punch him. The fabric of his uniform brushed her fingertips before it was ripped away from her.

"If you let them-Oof!"

Rain looked up to find Adam pinned to the wall. She blinked, thinking that she did in fact hit him but then noticed Levi was actually holding Adam still. "Levi?"

"It's not Rain's job to keep the horses safe," Levi said, not looking at Rain at all. "If you're so worried about the horses, or even just yours, you do something about it."

"Don't tell me you're standing up for her," Adam said, shocked at Levi for his actions.

"I'm keeping you both out of trouble," Levi said, letting Adam go. "You know there's no fighting allowed amongst the troop."

Adam scoffed and walked off, fixing his shirt. "Fine."

Rain stared at Levi. She opened her mouth after a few seconds but was cut off by him.

"You're too reckless," Levi said.

Rain growled and stomped out of the building. "I didn't ask for your help."

"Well, you clearly needed it," Levi said, following her.

"I can handle myself," Rain said, skirting around the building.

"Of course you were," Levi said, still following her. "I'm starting to think you get a thrill out of getting into trouble or having close calls. I'm not sure which one it is."

"Just shut up." She whipped around to face him. "Why are you following me?!"

"I'm not following you," Levi said. "We're just going in the same direction."

"And where would that be?" Rain crossed her arms over her chest.

"The stables." Levi pointed behind her. "I was just going to check on the horses. To make sure none of them were injured from the smoke."

"Oh." Rain dropped her arms to her sides, feeling a bit silly she jumped to the conclusion he was following her on purpose. It was only natural for a person to go check on the horses after what happened last night.

"It's not always about you," Levi said, walking passed her.

"I know that!" Rain followed him. "I just figured you would have already gone out to see them."

"Liar." Levi smirked at her from over his shoulder.

Rain's feet about stopped on their own when her heart slammed against her chest from his smirk. She awkwardly flittered her eyes all over the place, unsure of where to look and desperately trying not to look at him.

"Rain!" Ross's familiar voice brought relief to her. She glanced up to see the man smiling at her. "I'm glad you came by. How are you doing? I heard you ran after the person who set the barn on fire. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, not really," Rain said.

"One hit her on the back with a branch," Levi said.

"Levi!" Rain snapped.

"It's the truth," Levi said, so calmly.

"Jerk," Rain grumbled.

"Are you okay?" Ross asked, eyeing her body for injuries.

"Yes," Rain said, shooting Levi an annoy glare, to which he expertly ignored. It only annoyed her more to be ignored like that, though she wasn't sure why. "There were just two of them instead of one. I missed that somehow. And the second one just hit me." She shot another annoyed look at Levi. "Lucky for me, Levi was right there and stopped the attack before anything else could happen."

"That is lucky," Ross said. He smiled at Levi. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her. She can be a bit reckless at times."

"I was just there and did want anyone else would have," Levi said.

Rain felt stung by his words. They weren't true. Anyone would not just do what he did. Not for her. She said, "Anyway, I just came to check on the horses."

"We came to check on the horses," Levi corrected.

"Just shut up," Rain said.

Ross laughed. "Looks like you two are on the verge of becoming friends."

"Don't be stupid," Rain said. "We're not becoming friends."

"Sure you are," Ross said, crossing his arms. "After going through what you two did last night, it's impossible for you not to have formed a little bond at least."

Rain gave an exasperated sigh. "Never mind us. What about the horses? Things were a bit frantic last night. Has anything regarding their health come up since then?"

"Only one of the yearlings got a minor burn," Ross said. "One of the stall bars was really hot from the fire. But no worries, I've put some salve on it. He'll be fine in a few days. The only real damage has been done to the tack room. More saddles have been ordered and should be here in time for the expedition."

"What about the walls?" Rain probed.

Ross turned and headed into the barn. "They can be easily fixed. Reconstruction will start in a few days."

Rain stepped into the barn. Instead of smelling the familiar smell of horses, dirt, and hay, she was greeted with the smell of burnt wood, leather, and hay. It turned her stomach and made her wonder when she'd get the familiar smells of the barn back. The tack room and walls were completely burnt. A couple holes now peaked through the thin walls and right into the small room. Her gut twisted into a knot. With a calming deep breath she reminded herself that the threat was over. She and Levi had gotten the horses out in time. None of them were seriously hurt and the damage was easily fixed. Upon hearing Flame's familiar whiney, she walked over to the stall and entered. Pressing her forehead between Flame's large brown eyes, she said, "I'm so glad. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

"So what does my favorite girl have planned to make sure this doesn't happen again?" Ross asked.

Rain looked back at him. The older man was leaning against the frame of the stall while Levi was standing close by. "I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. Dad won't let me stay up at night watching over them."

"He's a good man. And he knows you well. You shouldn't stay up and jeopardize your health, especially this close to the expedition," Ross said. "But I'm sure you'll figure out something."

"I will." Rain nodded.

"Big Bro!" Isabel called out. "There you are!"

"We were wondering where you went," Farlan's voice then said.

Levi pushed away from the wall and disappeared from Rain's sight. She hated to see him walk away like that. She then scolded herself for thinking like that. Levi was not her friend. He only came here to check on the horses like she was. She didn't have time for friends right now anyway. She had to think of how to keep her horses safe and not put her health at risk or get her dad upset at her.