C. 3: Captain
"So, what do you think?" Erwin asked Levi as soon as the trio's footsteps disappeared from the corridor.
Levi grunted in response, choosing to be completely absorbed instead in preparing himself another cup of tea. Erwin's tea stock is almost as good as his.
"Have you met Regan before?" Erwin asked inquiringly.
His teacup paused in midair at the question. "I don't think I have."
"You reaction says otherwise," Erwin observed, almost amused.
Levi raised an eyebrow at him in irritation on his insistence. "She's only familiar. She's not someone you'd easily forget. "
"That's true." Erwin nodded. "Whatever history you might have with Regan, I hope it will not interfere with the work I want the both of you to do." Erwin continued. "As a rule, the Survey Corps do not intervene when it comes to the government. But if this news will compromise our position or the Military's—that might change soon. Like I said earlier, we'll do our own investigation. Once we've found something conclusive, that will depend if we act on it or not."
"You want me to go with her when she goes for the Capital," Levi stated simply.
"Yes. Look into trade routes within the Underground City. Where the supplies are going, who's directing the operation? Regan knows the aristocratic families and anything about the surface. I want you to cover the rest." Erwin said decisively.
"Fine." Levi grunted, disliking the idea of going back to the underground.
Erwin leaned back on his chair studying his subordinate. "How's your squad?"
"Pathetic. Those retards don't know how to properly scrub floors and they call themselves soldiers." Levi clicked his tongue setting the cup on the table.
Erwin had to grin at that. In the two years that Levi has become part of the Corps, he'd easily established himself even earning the title as Humanity's Greatest Soldier and one of the few people that he can trust. But unfortunately, he was never the charismatic person Erwin sometimes wish he would be for the other soldiers.
"Is that all that you need from me? If I'd known being a captain can be such a pain in the ass, I should also have punched you in the face." Levi spat.
Erwin chuckled. "Yes, you're dismissed. You did receive the memo, right? Regan and her team will stay alongside yours. One of her subordinates will be joining your squad. I'll leave it to the both of you to decide." He said eyebrows quirking as if it amused him that both of them might know each other.
Levi did his best to keep his face neutral. "Fuck off."
"Turn in that report today." He said with a wave of his hand.
Levi stood and did not bother to salute him. It was past lunch, he might as well drop by the mess hall to have a proper meal.
Surprisingly, there was still much commotion in the hall when he arrived. His squad was huddled together in the corner, talking animatedly to themselves.
Levi grabbed a tray of food prepared for him. He trudged to his squad carrying the tray in one hand and plopping it unceremoniously beside Petra Ral who almost jumped in surprise. The table immediately had stopped their banter as soon as they caught their moody Captain approaching.
"He-hey, Captain." The petite blonde greeted nervously.
He sat down beside Petra, who was ready to shrink in her seat if the need arises.
"Why'd you stop? Go on." He waved his fork at them and proceeded to spear random vegetable chunks, shoving them to his mouth without grace.
Eld Jinn, his second-in-command, answered- filling him in with their conversation. "We were just talking about the new soldiers who came from the Capital- the new medical team."
Eld pointed to a group laughing carelessly and filing out of the hall. Levi turned his head glancing at the new soldiers.
"Heh. Who cares about those green shits? Look at them go! Acting like the sheltered kids they are. I bet they'd piss their pants when they see titans." Oluo Bozado, puffing his chest out and squinting his eyes at them.
Petra seemed to have gotten over her initial shyness around the Captain and answered Oluo vehemently. "Oh please! As if you didn't piss your pants on our first mission and almost got killed if the Captain did not save your stupid ass."
The guy turned red immediately. "Speak for yourself blondie!"
Petra reached out and retaliated by slapping him at the back of the head.
"Hey! The fuck was that for?" Oluo growled.
"Everyone starts from somewhere. They were handpicked and trained by their own Captain. Just like both of you." Gunther interrupted.
"You mean the woman who set the whole Legion quite just by walking in the hall," Eld said with a slight smile.
"She is very beautiful." Petra nodded in awe, remembering how she had walked down so elegantly with Section Commander Hange earlier. "They said her solo kill count before she left for Mitras was at 56."
The four of them glanced at their Captain whose known kill count was at 58- just barely two titans ahead- looking for any reaction from him.
But Levi was unperturbed, however, just silently focusing on his own food.
"Have you met her Captain?" Petra quietly inquired.
Levi put his fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Yes. Erwin called me to his office earlier just for that. And if the rest of you are done gossiping among yourselves, you should also remember that some of them are assigned to our barracks with Regan. You'll have a new teammate coming from them. I don't want any fucking conflicts." Levi said sternly.
"Yes, Captain." They answered unanimously ending the conversation.
He stood from his seat, carrying his plate and dumping them in the dish out area.
Levi took his sweet time walking towards the barracks acutely aware of the person he will encounter there.
One thing was for sure, he would never forget her.
Not when he became notorious. Not when he met Farlan and Isabel. Not when Erwin caught him and gave him the choice to serve humanity.
There was a girl he met, there was the sky in her eyes.
Levi was never the sentimental type. So what the fuck if he met her again now?
Maybe because he had never expected it. Not in a million years.
He had come up the stairs of the wing where his room is located.
It was as if there was some kind of twisted joke the universe was playing.
Redhead was coming out of her room clutching a bunch of folders in one hand and locking her room with the other one.
Levi slowed down on his tracks as she caught his presence and her whole demeanor visibly tensed. It took Levi all his self-control to not react in the same way.
"Oh, hello. Levi." She smiled slightly at him.
"Is the room clean enough?" He asked as casually as possible walking towards her and stopping in front of his door.
"Yeah. It is." She responded evidently relaxing, her smile widening.
"Good." He nodded satisfied, turning around to unlock his own room.
He'd give anything now to be locked in his own room and finish that report now. He doesn't have time for this.
"Hey… uhm." Redhead began and he turned to her.
"Here's the file for Tyrell Twain." She handed him a single file.
He flipped it open, scanning it quickly.
"I know that you've handpicked your own squad to be the best of the best. Tyrell might be new but he's the best I've seen in years. Top grades in combat training and medical response. He's versatile and can get along with anyone." She paused waiting for his response.
"Hm. We'll see." He said lifting his eyes to her. "Does he know how to clean properly?"
The Redhead coughed out a chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah. Of course, he does. I'd beat him myself if he didn't know how."
"Fine." He assented. "If he gets that much of a recommendation from his own command, then he must be trained well enough for the real things."
She smiled at him, a full bright grin he'd only seen she gave to Hange and Erwin. The most genuine one he'd received from her all day—devoid of any kind of history between them.
"Great. I'll send him over to you after I round them all up." She replied. "By the way, even though he might be part of your squad now, being a medic he will have some additional tasks. It's detailed there already."
He nodded once and pushed open the door. "Understood."
"I'll be going then." She bid before turning on her heel.
Levi watched her disappear from the short corridor down the stairs—strangely caught.