Disclaimer: I only own Aria and Klaud.

Nanaba and Aria saluted and waited before their commander left them alone with their squad leader. Aria's nerves were vibrating. Then she exploded.

"Levi?! Heicho? No way. Not him," she said pointing to the raven-haired man flabbergasted, "I'm not going to take orders from this guy. He's-"

"First offense." The Ackerman folded his arms patiently. "You're only going to get three chances cause I'm feeling generous today," he added as an afterthought.

"-sadistic!" She continued as if he didn't say anything. "He's going to...going to abuse his authority, bully the incomers, and people aren't going to want to join the legion anymore! Plus he's also really short! No one's going to take him seriously- I mean, I can't!"

"Maybe on a horse, it's not that noticeable."

Aria looked to Nanaba in bewilderment. For him to chime in on her rambles meant that the blonde wasn't taking it in easily either. Aria watched as Nanaba visibly snapped back.

"Excuse that, sir. I didn't mean it," the blonde said gathering his composure once more.

"Excuse is given." Levi nodded. "Make that the last time though."

"Oh hell no! Nanaba are you rea-"

"Richter," Mike calmly interrupted her, "Do you trust commander Erwin's judgment?"

She sighed and collected herself. "Yes, sir."

"What about my judgment?" He pressed on.

"Of course, sir." She looked down feeling like a kid being chastised. She couldn't help it. The Ackerman was a lot to deal with already as a regular foot soldier, but as a corporal? Aria couldn't help but feel an old familiar sense of unease and distrust for the man bubbling up again. Despite working with the man on and off for a year, there was a lot that they didn't know about him. Sure they've talked on more than one occasion but the real Ackerman was not someone she thought she knew. Maybe Erwin, Mike, or even Hanji saw otherwise, but Aria thought it was too soon to put a man like him in a position like that. She felt bad for even thinking it, but even now she wasn't sure if his loyalties truly belonged with the Corps. And differences aside, she couldn't imagine a man with a temperament like his being a good leader...not that she had much to say on that topic either but that was beside the point.

"Levi as corporal will only benefit the legion. You have seen him on the field, have you not?" He asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then you will know that when the rest of the legion gets a chance a chance to fight alongside him, they will feel motivated and safe. He is worthy of that title and you will respect that, despite whatever differences you two share. As he has accepted his title, rest be assured, he will not get away with abusing that power without any repercussions of his own. I'll personally see to that." Her captain paused, waiting for her to nod in response as to get the message across. "If you want to know why I chose you and Nanaba, for one, you two work the best together. It'll make it easier for Corporal to adjust on the field. It would have been you and your brother if the both of you didn't have rather… strong personalities. Nanaba has a more agreeable record and I trust him to keep you in check, as he usually does."

Aria's face burst into flames. Now she really felt like a kid caught doing something they weren't supposed to twice.

"That's not a bad thing." Mike smiled. "It's an asset on the field and on a team. Not everyone is going to take doing the things we do in the same way. Don't underestimate yourself. There's a reason why you're in my squad. I trust the two of you specifically to work together in making this transition smooth." He headed for the door before turning around to look at his subordinates one more time. "Should I assume differently?" Mike asked with a slight tease to his tone.

Nanaba and Aria saluted one more time before exiting the room, trailing behind their newly anointed corporal.

"It's safe to say that I thoroughly enjoyed that. Red's a good color on you, Richter." Levi smirked.

Aria growled silently in exasperation trying to catch Nanaba's attention by miming disbelievingly at the Ackerman. I told you so, her face read.

"I see what you're doing," The Ackerman commented without as much as a glance back.

"You couldn't have..." Aria held her hands up in defeat as he stopped in his tracks. "Sir," she added hastily. The corporal continued leading them down the hallway. He paused, hands on the door leading into his new office.

"My first job for you two is to assess the soldiers training and bring me back a list of potential men you believe are worthy enough to be designated under my command."

Aria's eyes almost bulged out her sockets, then realized that she shouldn't have expected anything less from that man. They saluted, albeit Aria reluctantly. Satisfied with their behavior, he entered the room to get ready for his official inauguration "ceremony".

"It's like he was born ordering others around. Slipped right out of his mom running his mouth. He's a natural," Aria whispered to her blonde friend, who in turn, cringed.

"I wouldn't test him," he replied in a manner caught between amusement and concern.

"I can hear you two," the agitated corporal called from behind the door.

Aria and Nanaba picked up their pace into the courtyard. They stood alongside Hanji's squad as Levi was being formally introduced to the legion as the new corporal. Aria could practically taste the unrest that arose. As the scouts filtered back into the grounds, talking amongst themselves, she noticed that most looked unsure. The man had already built a reputation here, but it wasn't exactly the best one.

"How should we do this? Announce the plan and take volunteers or assess on the sidelines and pick from the lot we see fit?" Aria wondered if there would be any volunteers, to begin with. They don't seem it, but the scouts do play it safe. Levi doesn't exactly give off an aura of pleasantry and security.

"I think we should observe first and then ask for volunteers," Nanaba stated after a moment of thinking. The cards they were dealt aren't the best so they had to be careful if they wanted to make it work. "If we're lucky, some volunteers will match up with who we choose. We'll decide after, how we want to take it from there," Nanaba finished.

Aria nodded. It seemed solid enough. After a couple hours, they had compiled a list of forty scouts or so. She was expecting less than half to come up but after announcing their plan, not a single hand raised. Judging by the shifty expressions on most in the crowd, they must have been the bunch unhappy with the way events have unfolded and came to voice their disapproval.

"They're not exactly wrong. Can't say I'm completely sold on this either." Aria sighed.

"But you don't like the way this bunch is treating this like a joke?" He glanced at her from the side knowingly.

"Exactly," she confirmed turning to the scouts, "Now why, again, aren't you interested? Working directly under our new corporal is a pretty darn good opportunity if you ask me." She tried to get a reaction out of them, but it turns out, they weren't very receptive.

Immediately, a boy spoke up. "It's just that he's not really like us. We heard that he only joined us by force. How can we trust him to be on our side or even worse, command us?"

A couple soldiers murmured among themselves in agreement. These scouts must be younger than Aria originally thought if they were questioning Levi's capabilities. It was almost impossible to keep track of the scouts since many unfortunately came and went so fast. Still, hearing their worries was like listening to her own doubts about the Ackerman before he was drafted.

"Well...my friend told me he's viciously short-tempered and acts like he's better than all of us. I, personally, have seen him training and he doesn't seem to care for the well-being of others. I cannot imagine putting myself in a situation where my captain does not cooperate with me," recounted another scout.

"He'd probably leave us to die out there like the self-preserving street rat he is. That man knows no consequences for his actions." This time a riled-up woman spoke up bitterly.

Aria had no idea what presence Levi had established already but something tells her he might not have played too nice on the grounds and some cadets felt particularly butt-hurt about it. It didn't involve her so usually, she'd let bygones be bygones. There was no need to concern oneself with any drama, but for some reason, this particular account immensely aggravated her. Sure, he held others accountable for their abilities and skills, or lack thereof, and handle them accordingly but to assume he knows not of his actions is like saying he didn't have a conscience. That struck it home, being that Aria was there to witness just how much the main toiled over his mistakes and regrets concerning Isabel and Farlan.

"And you all consider yourselves "true" scouts because you were admitted the proper way and have the "right" morals and values? I wouldn't even call you a soldier if that's your definition of being one, much less a scout. Let me get this straight, you're all passing up this chance to prove your worth because of some rumors, yes?" Aria asked impatiently.

"We wouldn't have a problem if he didn't prove those rumors to be true. Why didn't they pick someone like Nanaba then? Or you? Commander Erwin seems to trust you two enough to work with that criminal," a taller stout faced male pointed out.

"Did they not teach you the importance of trusting one another? Does that mean you don't trust our commander's decisions then? What about our decision?" Nanaba echoed their captain's words, "We'll come back once you scouts have sorted yourselves out." He abruptly cut off another protest and made way back to the HQ.

"I can't blame them for worrying cause Levi is… well, Levi." Aria headed up the stairs towards their new corporal's office. "There's a change they haven't even seen him in battle either. All these insignificant doubts and rumors- we have to squash them if we're going to make this work."

Nanaba held her back before she could just barge in and knocked, waiting for the OK to enter. The Ackerman was organizing the files into his cabinet and looked up expectantly when they entered. They saluted.

"You two learn quick," he noted. "What do you want?"

Nanaba explained their current situation to the man.

"And what do you want me to do about it? If I recall correctly, I gave you the job. Just get it done and give me a finished list," he ordered in agitation. Here he thought they were supposed to hold his hand through this, not the other way around.

"Okay, frankly speaking, no one wants to work with you, sir." She lay it on him. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush so why should she? He needed to know what the problem was.

He paused. "I figured. And what's your plan then?"

"You should come out onto the grounds with us. Most of the scouts haven't seen you fight, nor do they think you're the real deal. I think you being there would make a difference," she suggested earnestly.

"So they want me to prove my worth? Then they're not the ones I want. Go find others." The Ackerman stated it as if it were as easy as going to the market and picking out bruised fruits.

"We're talking about it being beneficial on the long run too, sir," Nanaba pressed on, "I think if you expect them to show you that unconditional loyalty and respect, you have to show the same. If anything, you should have been the first face they saw before ours; instead, you're holed up here."

At this, Aria proudly smirked and resisted the urge to pat him on the back. She always knew Nanaba was the smarter one for concealing his weapons. He had a knack for attacking at the most opportune moments.

The Ackerman raised an eyebrow. "I don't care what you think is best for me to do. Worry about completing this task yourself before trying to advise your captain. You're dismissed."

She internally deflated. Except the Ackerman wasn't their usual opponent. Aria didn't even bother to salute when she was out the door storming her way back into the courtyard. "This was exactly what I was talking about," she hissed, "And he thinks he's going to get respect from us like that? We're doing this together, yet we're missing a step somewhere." Aria could tell even Nanaba was unnerved.

Finally, Nanaba motioned at the scouts. "Let's try working with them first. It's going to be like pulling teeth, but we need to see who excel and in what. If worse comes to worst, we'll just assign them whether they have a say or not," he jokingly tried to reassure her. Obviously, that was an option that didn't sit well with either of them.

The soldiers watched as the two senior scouts walked into the field fully strapped up. They sparred with a few of them one on one to get a feel for them and each took aside a group of twenty soldiers to let loose into the forest. She felt they were a little too disorganized. Not being in squads made them less used to teamwork and even less flexible in adapting to each other's styles.

Aria took into the trees after them, observing the way they moved and handled the blades. A brown-haired spectacled boy abruptly stopped and discharged a lot of his gas to bound upwards. He was a bit clumsy at turning but handled himself well. He flung himself a little too far up when approaching the cut-out titan and slashed too weakly, but it was nothing they couldn't work on. She wrote his name down. Another scout that caught her eye was a blonde female. She hit hard and went hard but lacked a sense of communication with the other members. Hesitating, Aria wrote her name down as well.

They went through with groups of twenty scouts at a time until Aria felt as if she finished examining the whole legion. She grunted as her feet hit the ground roughly and her thighs protested at the impact. They had just finished the last sections and both her and Nanaba had accumulated a total of twenty-five well-thought-out scouts. Still, it was too many. He didn't have his own squad, so ideally for a corporal, the Ackerman would have ten soldiers personally working under his wing. Nanaba dismissed the cadets for a short break.

Aria headed over to the well to freshen up before the final selection. She thought about asking the Mike squad to come out and show the scouts how to establish better teamwork. Aria sat, folded up against the cold stones with fresh water dripping down her face and neck. She untied her braided pigtails and wiggled her hair free before tilting her head back tiredly to sort out the tension. A shadow covered her face.

Peeking an eye open, she saw who it was and groaned before shutting them again, this time tighter.

"Did you finish the list like I asked?" Levi asked arms folded, leaning against the stable doors.

"Did you come out to play with us like we asked?" She shot back without hesitation. In a sense, he wasn't a corporal yet. Not to her nor the legion. All titles aside, she was really not in the mood to deal with another holier-than-thou lecture.

He frowned and grabbed the wet towel she had placed on top of her eyes. "I thought we made it clear who was in charge now."

"I thought we made it clear that we were going to try and work together on this together. I didn't agree to get treated like a goddamn dog and neither do the scouts that clearly don't want to sign up." She refused to look at the man. He was that much more aggravating today. If she wasn't so worked up, she would have reasoned a link between his unusually over-the-top crankiness with his unease and pressure to adapt to his new position. At the moment, she was just focused on the feelings of regret for having called him sir and saluting him a couple times already. He might have acquired a new position but not the respect. She made sure he got that straight before he could give her another order.

"We are working together. I gave the order and you're carrying it out. That's how it's going to be now and if you have a problem, you can bring it up with Mike or Erwin."

"Do not call their names without their titles," she growled. Her eyes were open now and they were piercing. "You definitely haven't earned that yet." She anticipated his response with claws drawn, ready for the challenge that he would surely present.

He watched her carefully. "Is that what this is about? Nanaba seemed to have accepted it already."

"In case you haven't noticed, he's not so happy with you either," she pointed out.

Levi's eyes narrowed. "It's not about making you or the scouts happy. If they know what's best for them, working and training hard is what's going to keep them from getting themselves and others killed out there. Under my command or not, those soldiers need to do what it takes to fend for themselves, not do what makes them happy."

"So now you want what's best for the scouts? Make up your mind. Do you want them to work with you or for you? Don't underestimate the legion, Levi. What is there to fight for if we can't even fight for each other?" Aria was tired of arguing with the man. She knew he was watching from his office the whole time and not once did he take his eyes off the cadets. He clearly felt the unsaid responsibility of involving himself more with the scouts but didn't know how to approach it. That was why she and Nanaba were grabbed and she knew asking for help was the last thing the Ackerman wanted. His words often did not give out his true intentions and them, having been in his company more than other scouts, have learned to decipher that...somewhat. It still can't be ignored that the man was one prickly son of a bitch, but he was an honest one and they needed to know he was there with them. She couldn't read much from his face but she felt his sincerity. Deep inside, she felt bad for saying the things she said and knew an apology was due somewhere in the near future.

"I'm not here to baby anybody," he said with an air of finality. "If you all are capable of what you're claiming to be, then why am I needed here? What is missing from Erwin's grand plans if you already have them laid out?" The Ackerman took on a more grave tone.

That was beside the point and he knew it. They both did but now more personal issues were being placed on the table. It was more than his promotion and his lack of involvement in gathering his own men. It was a problem that Aria and pretty much everyone else in the legion had with the man. Trust. He is unpredictable, possibly even volatile, and an all-around unpleasant man to be with, yet his skills are unchallengeable and that made it ten times worse. There was a thin line between distaste and jealousy. The Ackerman was not a man of many words, which already limited his potential for garnering trust the usual way. Though, he wasn't their usual soldier.

Aria was one of the few in the beginning that got to work with the said man early in his days when his loyalties were very much the opposite. She wanted to bunch him with other scum and just be done with the whole ordeal, but at the same time, she recognized how people can rise above their circumstances, which he has done with utmost strength and grace. In the heat of the moment, her stupid pride wouldn't allow her to feel guilty for being a hypocrite.

So, she did the second to worst thing she could've done to be the better person. She lashed back. "Actually, that's a really good question, why did you decide to stay? That's something I, as well as the rest of us, would like to know as well. So far, you seem like you could handle yourself so why stick around after-" She was smart enough to stop at that.

"I don't have to explain myself to others, much less, to someone like you." The Ackerman glowered down at her, nostrils flaring. She tried not to flinch as he bent to stare deadpan straight into her eyes. "Consider this your last warning, Richter," he spat and left.

Aria headed back to their final cadets fuming and decided to send them into the forest one more time. There weren't that many left and the forest covered a lot of ground. New titans were already set up and the scouts that weren't helping stood around to watch who it was going to come down to. Nanaba explained the rules. In a race against the veterans, two versus twenty-five, they needed to see which side can hack down the most titans. Now that all twenty-five were considered a team, Nanaba and Aria didn't need to hold back. The scouts had a ten-second head start. Nanaba started to countdown. At four, muttering broke out among the spectators. At two, Levi had stepped up beside them. Then they were in the air.

Aria twisted as a scout shouted in alarm and almost crashed into her. She zipped forward and nicked the titan before him. To her left, Nanaba perched on the thick bark of a tree observing the scouts flying by everywhere. Levi had already sped way ahead of them to terrorize Sina knew who. Aria jumped down and tried to tackle a scout to switch things up a bit. The girl quickly took notice and swerved up to avoid her attack, though her moment of distraction allowed Nanaba to steal the titan from right below her. Speeding from tree to tree, she took down whatever titans she saw. The sun was setting, casting shadows at every movement. It was getting harder to keep track of her teammates and the scouts.

She glanced at the Ackerman as he approached and started to move beside her. Suddenly he swung a blade out, which she managed to duck, missing it by an inch. A leg followed, which Aria caught with her two blades and pushed against. He grabbed her by the cape and flung her at a tree. She'd admit, she probably deserved that. Aria attached herself underneath it and steadied herself only to swing at the man with her leg, catching him on the side. He twisted abruptly and tried to drive his elbow into her temple as she luckily stopped the brunt of it with her forearms. Aria grunted in pain as her head knocked roughly against the tree due to the brute force of his jab. Okay, maybe she didn't deserve that. Their blades clashed loudly. She barely held off his barrage with shaking arms before he withdrew and nodded.

"I have to see if you're worthy enough to be on my team as well," he shrugged. "Not too bad, Red, although Nanaba did better."

He knew she hated being compared to her teammates, but she also knew she had no one to blame but herself. There was always improvements to be made and she was particularly hard on herself about them. It was hard not to when your team was comprised of such capable members. She supposed it was best to surround yourself with people that make you want to achieve more though. And she was grateful he didn't mention her brother because that would have got her blood rushing.

"Of course he did! God, I hate it when you guys do that. Stop creeping up on people!" she hissed in frustration trying to calm her thundering heart. The man was a goddamn monster to fight. He merely raised an eyebrow and took off. She knew she just passed up the perfect chance to apologize, but she didn't realize she wasn't done being petty yet. Aria mentally groaned. She could take on titans but for some reason, she couldn't pucker up the courage to lower herself to the Ackerman.

In the end, the senior soldiers still grabbed the win, but the scouts were now more excited after training with their new still looked nervous and hesitant but all in all, definitely more hopeful. They had finally narrowed the list down to the last ten scouts and did not run into any more troubles enlisting them. Even Levi himself seemed content.

As everyone was heading back in, Aria took a deep breath and pulled the Ackerman aside privately. He watched her expectantly as they just stood there. Aside from the small grumbles to herself, Aria focused on the suddenly fascinating piles of feces littering the barn floor. A random thought of the stable-duty scouts slacking crossed her mind. She didn't actually think of what she wanted to say before approaching him so they were left standing in silence. The tension was so thick and smothering that she could've cut through it with a knife.

"Do you have something to say or did you bring me here to revel in the smell of horse shit right before dinner?"

Aria cleared her throat and glanced at the man, ready to throw all caution in the wind, but gaped at what she saw. That pompous little shit was smirking, leaning against a stable post with all the air of a carefree man. At that moment she knew he understood what she wanted to say and where she was coming from, but he wanted her to toil over the action of it. She was sure the animosity was cleared in between them but only when she followed through with her intentions and showed that she meant what was to come out of her mouth the next second.

"I'm sorry." She added, "For before, I mean. It's not my place to question other motives especially if mine were not as clear, to begin with either."

He didn't budge or show any signs of acceptance. Aria sighed. "And I'm sorry for being a big ol' hypocrite and doubting you again. Kind of."

The Ackerman's smirk widened, prompting her to continue. Despite trying to be as sincere as she could, she felt humiliated and he was the last person she wanted to be on the receiving end of that.

"Hey, just because you've been with us for a year doesn't mean you're entitled to that trust. There's so much we still don't know," she paused and added in realization, "...which is also fine. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm sorry, okay?" She continued in an attempt to gather the rest of her resolve, "I was out of place for bringing them up and I'm petty shit for getting mad even after that." She could feel her face getting hotter. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Ah, there it is again." He righted himself up and turned to leave. "Apology accepted, Red."

Of course, that was it. It wasn't like she was expecting him to own up to his unprofessional behavior either. Never in a million years could Aria imagine the man apologizing. She would just have to take what she can get.

"You look like shit," Klaud commented later on at dinner service in between chews. It earned him a disgusted look from Lynne.

"Thanks. I feel like it." Aria stretched and cracked her back. "That's what happens when you work with someone like him all day." She pointed to the Ackerman.

"Twenty laps." That little shit didn't even look up from his meal. She threw him a face of disbelief. He must have forgotten he was only promoted that morning. That and she and Nanaba worked their asses off all day to get him good scouts despite being treated like servants instead of subordinates. He really was testing it.

"Better fix that face before I make it fifty, Red."

"Yes, sir, Sorry sir, heicho, sir." She casually saluted, still holding her fork.

"Fifty it is."

"Fuck," Aria muttered. It was nice to know some things didn't change.

OHGODSORRYIT'SBEENAWHILEIHAVENOEXCUSE.

I definitely haven't given up. I hope you guys enjoy it and continue to stick with me!

Special thanks to :

FanManga28 - thanks! you've been reading since the beginning so I'm slightly more apologetic to you. It's always great hearing from you!

vanessamarie7 - aye! that actually means a lot. thanks :) I definitely kept it in mind literally 24/7 while writing and editing. Sometimes I'm reading a book and I start analyzing the way they write their dialogue...

xxXsilverXxx- yes! I've always been making up plot bunnies and this kind of set-up has been my goal to write about for a long time. I've always been interested in the Mike squad and hope I'm doing somewhat satisfactory in creating new and believable side-stories. I'm definitely thinking of writing throughout the main plots with eren and the rest of the gang ;)

Stay tuned!