Hiya, back with another chapter! Sorry about the later update with the last chapter, the website wouldn't let me upload it for a while. Nonetheless, we're here now! Thanks for reading, make sure to leave a comment telling me what you think!
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The rest of the girls came after they had done with their tasks, and all of you sat in a circle as they all decide that they want to have some fun. Annie joins in with an impassive look, but Isabel and Sasha both look delighted.
"So, Christa - truth or dare?" Sasha jumps right in, causing Christa to blush deeply.
"I don't know... Can I pass?" The girl glanced both ways, trying to find a way out of her situation, but Sasha and Isabel merely exchanged evil grins. You almost shuddered at the eager light in their eyes.
"Only if you accept the forfeit!" Isabel cackles evilly, and Christa groans. "In case you were wondering, the forfeit is to kiss the person on your right!"
"Oh! That's it?" Christa turns and pecks Mina on the forehead, apologizing profusely. Ymir glares at Isabel in the way that you knew it would be lucky if Isabel survived the night. "So, erm... Sasha, truth or dare?" The rest of the surrounding group took in a breath as one, the tension rising higher as the bawdy girl was called on.
"DARE!" Sasha yells, her eyes gleaming. You hoped you were imagining it as you noted how her body started jigging, bouncing with tension.
"Okay... I dare you to go to the kitchen and come back with enough food to feed all of us!"
Sasha was gone before you could blink. You turned to Christa with mild irritation. "You know that she's just going to eat all of it, right?"
"I know that," Christa winks, "but she looked so pitiful that I had to give her an excuse to go and get herself some food."
"You're too nice," Isabel tells her as Sasha skids to a halt, her arms laden with bread. "WAIT - you're back already?"
"The kitchen is just down the corridor," Sasha reminds her with her mouth full. She throws a loaf at you, which you gratefully accept. "So, Annie... Truth or dare?"
"Dare," Annie says. You glance at her, surprised. You had expected her to go with truth - the option that seemed a lot simpler, a lot less effort. Annie, sensing your gaze, glared at you with eyes of ice, and you were reminded about the tattoo on her collarbone, about how there were some truths that even she probably didn't want to face.
"I dare you to challenge Ymir san to a glaring contest!"
"How does one have a glaring contest?" You ask, and Sasha looks confused for a moment before recovering.
"Easy! The first one to smile loses!"
"That is easy," Annie grumbles, "so we'll just do it throughout the game. Is that alright with you, Ymir?" Even as she said it, you doubted that even if it wasn't alright, Annie would not have cared in the slightest.
Even as you thought it, Ymir just shrugged. "Sure... But I'll win."
Annie huffed what might have been the ghost of a laugh, derision written on every one of her features. "I doubt it. Isabel, truth or dare?"
Isabel brightens. "Truth!"
Annie grins evilly, and even Sasha stiffened in preparation of her question. "Out of all the boys in Survey Corps, who would you rather kiss?"
Isabel darkens. "Dare!"
You raise an eyebrow at the obvious excursion as Annie continued, faster than an arrow. "I dare you to tell me, out of all the boys in Survey Corps, who would you rather kiss?"
Isabel's face steadily turns as red as her hair as all of the girls lean in to hear her answer. "...Farlan..."
The girls dissolved into chatter at that. You caught snippets of "Really? He's quite hot; I wouldn't mind kissing him, good choice!" As they fell into ranking the hotness of the boys, only you really noticed that Isabel's answer went much deeper than just confessing that she'd like to kiss him. You pat her hand and smile at her to show her that you understood even if no one else did. But a moment later, you regretted that kindness. "So, Y/N!" Isabel recovers quickly, grinning widely and drawing everyone else's attention back to the game. "Truth or dare?"
"Can I just do the forfeit?" You ask, looking to your right, and seeing Annie. She looks up in surprise, before looking at you impassively in such a way that you weren't sure if she was furious or pleased.
"Nope," Isabel says, making a tutting noise and wagging her finger, "because the forfeit changes every time someone does it!"
"That's not a rule!" You tell her, but she cuts you off vigorously.
"Well, I'm making it a rule! The forfeit now is to go and kiss the person that you have a crush on!" You rolled your eyes, trying to persuade everyone watching that you couldn't care less.
But - oh god. "I don't have a crush on anyone though, so what would I do?" It was true... Maybe. A crush was someone you'd like to go on dates with and kiss... You didn't like anyone like that. Sure, Farlan was nice, but you wouldn't want to go on another date and just be used as a listening machine. What you felt for Farlan wasn't what you'd call a crush.
"Alright, Pride... You're always difficult. Just choose truth or dare!" Isabel leant forward and hit you lightly on the knee.
"Fine... Dare!" You couldn't bear to follow up a truth like Isabel's – there was something about your pride and wanting it to survive the night that would not allow you to state 'truth'. Isabel smiled.
"I dare you to kiss the last person that touched you!"
"But I patted your hand!" You hissed as the girls shoved you out of the dorm in the middle of the night.
"That was you touching me... I want you to kiss who last touched you!" Isabel could barely contain her glee as she danced through the corridors with a lithe step, making sure to cushion her footfalls. A small group of girls were following the two of you, giggling as they understood that you were indeed stalking to where the boys were staying.
"Isabel, I hate you," you say as they all follow you around the corridors of the castle. You had planned to just wander around a little bit before returning, but Sasha had stamped on that plan by telling everyone that she wanted to see who actually had the nerve to actually touch you.
You knew who had touched you last. Hell, you knew very well.
But as you reached the door of the boy's dormitory, you realized that there were several things that you did not know.
Like what you were going to do after you had opened the door; the longer that you stared at it, the more dangerous it looked. It didn't matter that it was just a chunk of wood; what mattered what was on the other side. Levi was on the other side... And you were supposed to kiss him.
It wasn't that you didn't want to kiss him - which you didn't, of course - but in front of everyone? That was not how you wanted to be seen. You were Y/N L/N, the detached killer at the side of everything with a sharp and focused mind. Not Y/N, the girl who made doe eyes at her main rival... Because that was all Levi was to you!
Totally.
You were never one for lying to yourself.
As the girls paused to jitter at how you were just staring at the door in stunned silence, you turned and grabbed Isabel's arm. "Isabel! I don't want to do this!"
Isabel looked at you with wide eyes and tapped your hand until you released your death grip. "It's just a dare, Y/N! What's up?"
"I don't want to kiss anyone!" Your whisper was high-pitched, sounding almost frantic – which only caused all of the girls to look at you in curiosity. Sasha sent a quizzical to Annie, who had tagged along just to amuse herself, it would seem. You didn't want to appear weak in front of Annie. Noting your scanning gaze, Sasha smiled at you before poking her tongue out at you.
"Are you wimping out of a dare, Pride?" She teased. Your eyes freeze on her with a ferocity that makes her do a double take and drains the colour from her face. Regardless of the death glare you were giving her, her chin tilted higher, more obstinately. "Well? Are you?"
"No, I can't." You say it as you think it through. Your damned pride again was a problem... If you didn't go through with this, then the girls that you were with would make sure that the news got around the school within an hour. "Just... Stay away from me."
And you heave open the door.
Since it was still late evening, most of the boys were up and talking to each other. Some were shirtless, and you immediately looked coldly on, presenting the cold mask of the assassin that everyone knew the name of. The Y/N that they knew wouldn't blush at a boy's chest, and so you didn't. You just met their eyes with an unimpressed stare and dismissive glance, leaving them confused as you walk into their dormitory.
Reiner and Bertoldt rushed to meet you, nothing but curiosity on their features. "How come you're here, Y/N? I was sure there was a rule about 'no girls allowed in the boy's dorm' and that sort of stuff –"
Bertoldt cut his louder friend off by placing his hand on the crook of his elbow. His eyes scanned you carefully, from head to toes, and quietly asked, "are you looking for someone?"
"Yes, sorry to intrude," you say without so much as a hint of apology in your tone. Bertoldt, glanced quickly at you, and then his eyes went back to the door – where the rest of the girls had stayed, crowding around the narrow space. Annie's eyes somehow found you, even as she loomed at the back, and you coughed lightly. Both boys took a hint, Bertoldt ducking his head, and walked back to where the first year boys were sat around their section of bunks. Due to the lack of room, the first and second years of boys would have to share a dormitory... And so you knew everyone here.
So when Farlan came to meet you with Levi on his heels, you glanced behind you to where the girls were watching every move with sharp eyes. Boys pretended not to see them and skirted around them, not taking their eyes off you either. "Yo," you say to them briefly, ignoring the amused gaze that Levi stripped you down with. Instead of glaring or smirking, you turn on your heel and follow Reiner towards the first year boys and where they were huddled.
Seeing Levi look at you made you lose your nerve. His piercing gaze had shone through you and you had known that there was no way that you'd kiss him in front of everyone... Particularly not with Farlan there. You weren't that cruel to the people that were close to you. Hurting Farlan would mean, inevitably, hurting Isabel too... And you couldn't do that to her. Even despite the fact that this infernal dare was her idea in the first place.
So you waltzed your merry way up to the first year party and deliberately stood on Jean's fingers, where they were splayed on the floor. As the males were all gathered in a rough circle, with some on the floor and some perched on the edges of their bunks, you were lucky that the brown-haired boy was on the floor.
The yell he made in response was very impressive. Any person not already looking at you were most definitely glaring at you now. Jean stood up immediately, clutching his fingers and advanced on you, baring his teeth at you. You didn't move at all, didn't show that you were scared or wary of him. So when he grabbed your arm, you sent a smug glance at Isabel from where she was watching at the door, grabbed Jean's collar and kissed him.
You had meant to kiss him on the cheek or forehead, but the way that he had cocked his head in shock had meant that you had kissed him... Right on his lips. You immediately pushed him away before it went any further, and he fell to the floor in a shocked silence. Marco gaped at you, and Connie started spluttering with what you hoped was laughter and not disgust. Bertoldt and Reiner shot a wary look between them and began sniggering from where they were looking at the spectacle.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Jean yelled, recovering quickly. You didn't miss the shocked look in his eyes, or how his hands were fisted at the base of his shirt.
You rolled your eyes, ever the petulant student. "It was a dare, Jean."
"WHAT WAS THE DARE?"
"The girls told me to kiss a horse. As I couldn't be bothered to visit the stables, I came here instead." The lie came quickly, naturally and flowed so that no one except the girls waiting outside knew it to be untruthful. And after the glare that you sent their way, you knew that they'd keep their mouths shut. After all, most of the people around you were crying with laughter at the look of flushed fury on Jean's face - including Isabel and Sasha.
You stalked your way out of the room and carelessly waved at the boys before shutting the door with a light click. Dragging the girls back to your own dormitory, Sasha complained at you. "So Jean was the last one to touch you?"
"You saw him touch me, Sasha," you told her. She blinked at the barely veiled arrogance in your voice before you deigned to explain. "Don't you remember? He grabbed my arm after I stood on his fingers."
"That wasn't the dare!" Isabel started to object and then fell silent, realizing that you - of course - were right.
"Working around the rules is part of an assassin's job," you winked at her before throwing them inside and shutting the door so that you were left outside. You wanted a bit of a walk to clear your head. So as you strolled outside and sat under a twisting oak tree, you looked up at the night sky and wondered.
It wasn't one thing in particular that you were wondering about. You just allowed your mind to unravel and think about anything that came up.
"What the rutting hell was that, L/N?"
Levi's voice snapped at you, breaking you out of your reverie. You didn't dare open your eyes to see the face that went with the angered voice. "It was a kiss, Ackerman. I understand if you haven't witnessed anything like that before. It's not like you get that much of it yourself."
You opened your eyes then, wondering at his silence. His eyes assessed you, dark grey looking into E/C. He was leaning against the tree that you were sitting at the base of, and his raven hair danced in the light breeze that accompanied the summer night. "Back to biting remarks, are we?"
"Back to sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong, are we?"
The banter was empty, meaningless. Part of the reason that you had wanted to take the walk was to get out of the Y/N character that everyone knew. Sometimes that mask took over and dominated you for a while. It was just so easy to be her, the Y/N L/N, the greatest assassin who had no trouble putting people down in the dirt and making them stay there. It was so easy to have and control that power that she possessed, that she used to her advantage... Everything in some way was Y/N's advantage.
But every now and again you liked to take that mask off and breathe and become the softer creature that hid behind the mask. Levi had obviously seen behind the mask - you weren't sure how he had, because sometimes you hadn't even realized that you hadn't taken it off. That was why he had no trouble snapping right back at you.
"Why did you kiss him?" Levi's voice came sharper now, more demanding. It grated on your nerves - were you not at liberty to kiss whomever?
"I'd hardly call that a kiss," you said, raising an eyebrow.
"Stop evading the question. Why did you kiss him?"
"Because of the dare?"
"You would really stoop that low to fulfil a dare?!"
The fury in his voice made you stop your sarcastic moves and look at him. His eyes held no twinkle, no light within the endless pools of grey that were threatening to swallow you up, and his hands were twitching in the way that you knew he was itching to form them into fists. "It was my choice," you started to say, but Levi's aura only grew more choking and deadly, and so you stopped talking immediately. You weren't stupid - you knew that any second he'd throw a fist right into your face.
"Choice - you think that it's okay to whore yourself out, to kiss just anybody? For a dare?!" Levi's voice rose into a yell, and he took one step towards you.
"Hang on!" You shouted; he wasn't the only one who could get angry. You flung out a hand, palm towards him – a clear sign to stop, shut up and listen. "It was just a kiss! Don't you dare try and control me and what I do! Don't you dare!"
"Well if you aren't going to control yourself, who the hell is?"
That's when he threw a hand out to grab your collar, probably to try and shake some sense into you. You were already waiting, however - you had known and predicted the move right from the moment that fury had danced its way in to his voice. So you swatted his hand away and punched him right on the jaw.
The force behind it sent him falling down over the tree root so that he landed in the dirt. You drew on the mask again, becoming the assassin, becoming who the world needed you to be. "You want to talk about control? Control yourself," you spat at him, walking towards the door.
You didn't see Levi very much over the next few days, because he would always linger at your back and made it very hard to feel at ease. The punch that you had thrown had caused a bruise to bloom at the base of his jaw, and although you felt no regret for what you did, you had to admit that Levi wore it well. There were no signs of him trying to cover it, nor treat it. He just wore it like a trophy, like another shadow on his past.
But today had been the last day of training with the military police, and your entire school was now in the extensive gardens of the castle. Lanterns were lit everywhere, and guards and students alike mingled around the grass, talking and discussing what you were all here for.
You, Isabel and Annie were together on the outskirts of the little gathering. It had been announced that after the sun had gone down, you were all expected to gather near the pits. The pits were exactly how you had imagined them - they had been dug into the ground, two meters down from the surface, and were at least twenty meters wide in each direction. There were around five of them there, so you weren't exactly sure what they were there for.
"SILENCE!" Pixis yelled across the field, and everyone turned to the makeshift stage that Pixis was perched on - about four crates stacked precariously on top of each other. "Everybody, the activity that will follow has been a tradition for the school and its students every time this trip has come into effect!"
You looked alongside at Isabel, who shrugged her shoulders with a grin. The trip only took place every three years, so no one had yet experienced the so called 'tradition' - not even the third years. Annie just looked bored as you glanced at her, and Sasha wasn't even listening as she snacked on the many potatoes that she had sneaked into her pockets.
"I want all of the groups that end in either 0 or 1 to go to the first pit!"
Armin patted you on the shoulder as he moved towards the nearest pit - he was in group 31. It worked out similar to the first... The groups that ended in 2 or 3 went to the second; 4 and 5 went to the third; 6 or 7 went to the fourth and then 8 or 9 went to the last pit at the edge of the field. You grinned at Isabel, who had whispered to you that she was in group 44 and so went to the same pit as you.
"Now get into your partners. This activity will require you to fight another pair within the pit... And the pair that loses has to go back to the school early and continue their studying."
Your blood started to hum... A fight... A proper fight! You could get a good work out in... People gave you a scared glance before they shuffle around, trying to find their partners. You knew that they were all hoping and wishing that they didn't have to fight you.
Jean grabbed your elbow, trying to stay with you as the school began to move in the dark - he had seemingly forgotten about this kiss ages ago, because he hadn't mentioned it once. "Going back to school wouldn't be too bad, I suppose... It means that we wouldn't have to clean another floor on this wretched castle!"
Pixis grinned wider with a more sadistic gleam in his eyes, as though he had somehow heard Jean's declaration. "Yes! They will continue their studying... With Shadis leading it!"
Jean gaped at the headmaster as silence swept across the field. Shadis at the head of training? No. A death sentence would be easier and quicker. "Screw this, I'm going to win..." Jean muttered before rushing to find Franz, his hand slipping from your elbow. Christa looked terrified as Hanji jigged around, unable to stand still with her excitement.
"Don't worry," Levi whispered into your ear, "Hanji can fight anyone even when she's asleep. Miss Lenz will be alright." Even though your heart jumped, you refused to show any physical signs of him surprising you. Levi picked up on your purposeful silence within seconds. "Ignoring me?"
You felt your anger flare. "Depends. Are you going to insult me?"
"Always."
"Then I'm alright," you tell him. It wouldn't be Levi if he didn't insult you, if you couldn't tease each other and push each other to the limits. Only you could decide what broke you – and it wouldn't be this. "So what are you doing here?"
"Y/N," he sighed. "We're partners."
Oh.
Levi was going to fight with you. You two would fight others together. What had Erwin been thinking? No one could be a match for the two of your together! You wanted a decent fight, but with Levi at your side it would be over with quickly, cleanly and without you even busting a sweat.
"I can take care of everything if you want –" Levi offered with a crooked smile.
"You do that, and I'll punch your lights out," you tell him, smirking back. He knew how you hungered for the fight - he was just teasing. Playing.
The guards had gathered around, eagerly watching - for them, this was entertainment. Your guard, you noticed, was watching your pit. He would see you fight... He would see how easily you could have put him in his place if you had let yourself. That fact alone made you eager to get into the deep pit, to flex your muscles and stretch your fist. Another guard, one with a higher status, unrolled a scroll of names.
"Y/N L/N and Levi Ackerman, enter the pit."
You daintily lowered yourself in, displaying every ounce of assassin's grace that you were supposed to. What luck! Your fight was first! You eyed the guard above you, rocking back on his heels idly. The man looked at you down his nose, and you could feel the rebellion in your blood as you recognised the dismissiveness in his eyes. It was how you often looked at others. But never, never had anyone looked at you that way.
You were going to wipe that look right off of his face.
You didn't like the height of the pit's walls now that you were enclosed by them, but the pit itself was as wide as a pool – plenty of space, a small voice at the back of your mind whispered, the voice that sometimes spoke to you in battle or fights. "Remember, the aim is unconsciousness, or until the other pair yield because they cannot fight – there is no serious maiming or killing to be done here," the guard said – clearly, carefully.
"Got it," Levi told him, and tugged you to the side.
The guard went back to his scroll and read out another name, a name that you hated, a name that gave you a rush of delight. But then he read out the partner's name, and your blood stilled. You looked at Levi, who looked at you with cold grey eyes. You didn't know what to do.
"Petra Ral..."
"And Isabel Magnolia."