Note: Don't own anything.

Warning: Female Itachi! Possible spoilers alert! If you're not up to date with everything then some words may give things away. I don't outright say stuff, but there are slight key words that are there. You've been warned ahead of time so that I don't ruin everything.

Thank you for the reviews/favs/follows. I hope you enjoyed it thus far.

Guest reviewer/s: Drop it if your going to be that way. I'm not making you read.

This story will be slow. It will delve into characters, build relationships. Itachi is going to be part of the series, but things will change if I can work with it. I wont have the exact same things, but there will be deaths, there will be possible twists, hopefully. Itachi is only one person. Even with the ability to make a couple Shadow clones, it's not going to save everyone. I'm not letting it follow the Manga/TV word for word. So expect change. (Lots if I get the ideas down and my thoughts out).

pairings: Not the main thing of this story, but I was seriously looking at Levi/Itachi at some point further along. I'll have to build it though, because they are both awkward in their own ways.

Dancing Crow Chapter Two

The paper felt like a heavy weight in her hands as she gazed down at the envelope. Apparently, Armin Arlert found out that he could write letters while in the training camps. Why he chose to write to her baffled Itachi.

Dear Itachi,

I don't know if I'm overstepping my bounds, but I'd like to reach out to you and maybe form a friendship since you were the first to approach us? Eren and Mikasa are doing well. We've had a lot to learn this past year and we are just starting on the maneuver gear. The higher-ups have brought up your name quite a lot here. Eren's even more excited to be learning and training when he learned that you would have graduated extremely early if not for keeping you longer than they did. I'm doing alright. I don't think I'm very good, but the class work is fascinating. I hope one day to see the ocean when we defeat the titan's, but that may just be a dream. If I don't get a letter back from you, I wish you the best of luck and maybe we'll see one another at some point while serving.

Sincerely,

Armin Arlert.

Itachi briefly wondered why he would decide to write to her of all people, but as she picked up a pen and tore out a piece of paper from her small notebook that she was just barely able to afford, she decided writing back and making connections wouldn't hurt. Especially if she had already made up her mind on protecting this group.

Oooo

Itachi glanced up from the book she was reading, obsidian eyes watching the troops interact with one another in the mess hall. They were laughing, joking about things, just everyday interaction that came from being human. She shifted her book to her other hand, using her dominant to spoon another mouthful of stew and soaked bread into her mouth. Itachi missed the food she grew up on, but there was nothing she could do now. Maybe when she was on cooking duty with a couple of her comrades, she'll introduce them to other foods. Dango sounded especially nice right now.

That's if they have the ingredients for it, unfortunately. The wave of longing for dango had her lips twitching down in a slight frown.

The chattering stopped and Itachi's eyes darted up from her book, slipping it just out of reach from a grasping hand. Her Squad leader, Levi, scowled down at her.

"Oi, brat, what is that shit you're reading." He snapped.

An eyebrow raised and she tilted the book, letting the title show. It was on the maneuver gear, talking about the inner workings and best way to upkeep on its maintenance. Of course, Itachi had already read it, twice so far. Her sharingan made sure it was imprinted within her memory. His eyes narrowed before focusing back on her face.

"Your training begins in half an hour, don't be late. We'll see how well you can really use that gear."

She watched him turn, stalking out of the room, drawing eyes from the groups scattered about the dining area. As soon as he disappeared, gazes focused on her and Itachi found herself at the center of attention. Whispers reached her sensitive ears and Itachi grimaced.

She wondered if she had done anything to annoy her Squad leader recently.

Shutting the book after taking note of the page number, she slipped it into the pouch that was located on her right thigh, facing more towards the front to keep it out of the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gears way. The odd looks she got for having a pouch attached to her leg was honestly amusing to the raven-haired girl. Itachi couldn't carry anything bigger on her for it may hinder her movements. Once she got a sealing scroll made up, she'll start stocking it full of necessary supplies. Couldn't hurt to try and seal a handful of cylinder gas tanks.

Of course, Itachi will have a clone try it out first. Couldn't miscalculate anything and cause an explosion because the sealing couldn't handle the contents under pressure.

Finishing her meal, she then stood up, dropping the dish off to be washed and headed towards the training grounds.

Fingers moved over straps, fixing and straightening them as they went. Once everything was in order, Itachi went about in making sure that all her gear was in working condition.

"Are you fucking done yet?"

A single brow rose, not amused with her squad leader's language.

"Yes Captain." Was her immediate response and she blinked as his eyebrow raised.

"Tch." He simply stated before turning sharply on his heel and marching over to a figure Itachi immediately recognized. Hange stood there, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she eyed the Uchiha.

"I can't wait-"

"Shut up shitty glasses." Levi interrupted her and Hange wilted. Itachi stood before the two of them, her eyes flickering amid the both of them and then towards the large wooded area that was meant for training purposes for the scouts.

"Hange will be in charge of hunting you down like the pig you are." Levi suddenly spoke up, catching the girl's attention and she merely blinked, her mouth quirking slightly at the supposed insult. Hidan sounded ten times worse than him. Inwardly, Itachi was grateful she didn't have to deal with him any longer.

Hange's excitement could be felt in the air, gear already set to be used and hands inching towards her controls.

"On top of me hunting you, you'll be searching for Levi here and trying to get three colored cloths from him." Hange interjected, a grin taking over her face and getting an eyeroll from her teammate.

"Run."

Itachi was already moving before Levi even finished the word. Hands skillfully pulling the handles out and already pulling levers. Hange was left staring at the spot the Uchiha had vacated.

"Heeeeyyy!"

Chakra filled legs softened her landing upon a tree branch and Itachi swiftly lurched herself up into the air, twisting and using the gear to pull her to the higher branch she had spotted a second ago. Her skin prickled and her ears picked up the sound of gas hissing within the air. Crouching low, she crept along the higher branch, watching as Hange paused below her and gazed about. A flicker in the corner of her vision had obsidian eyes homing in on the blue, green, and yellow cloths that went fluttering by, attached to Captain Levi's upper arm.

His eyes flickered to her position before noticing an oblivious Hange. She could almost hear the sigh leaving him with an eye roll. Itachi glanced back down at Hange before her gaze flickered back up, watching the cloths get away. Making up her mind, Itachi finally decided on leading the over-zealous women on a hunt she wouldn't be able to resist. Positioning herself just right, she jumped, letting gravity take hold.

The look on Hange's face was worth it as she fell past the woman, quickly grappling onto a branch in her squad leader's direction and leaving the titan lover to get her baring's. Hange came in quick, trying to cut the teen off in a diagonal undercut. Grapple hooks released and a shift of her muscles had Itachi spinning away from Hange's range before hooks snagged another tree branch and took her forward. It was a chase that had them going at it for quite a while before Itachi caught sight of Levi once more. It was difficult to pinpoint people, seeing that chakra didn't exactly exist here. She had to rely solely on her training in sight, hearing, and other small things that would give them away.

Levi though, happened to be behind Hange this time.

Hange made an odd sound as Itachi shifted, grappling hook shooting just under her and attaching to a lower tree trunk. Swinging under the Scientist, the girl went careening towards the ground, using the gas to twist her in the right direction before grappling hooks attached to another tree and tugged her towards her target. Her feet skimmed over grass, chakra at the ready in case something decided to go wrong.

Landing on a branch, Itachi shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and locking eyes on her target, she crouched, chakra giving her the boost and the minimum amount of gas being used, she shot forward.

Oooo

Hange snorted, coming down from the trees and jogging to a stop as she landed. "You should have seen your face!" and burst out laughing even harder as she endured the glare directed at her. Itachi stood off to the side, holding all three cloths.

"Tch…" and Levi stormed off as Itachi merely watched.

"Great job Itachi!" Hange gushed, eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "Levi's face when he noticed you launching yourself at him was hilarious!" she cackled. "I've never seen him so put off before!"

Oooo

Itachi looked down at the cleaning supplies that had been shoved into her arms.

"You're on my squad now shitty brat. Make use of yourself and clean this filthy room." And he turned on his heel. "And it better be clean when I get back, or you'll be redoing the entire room over again."

Itachi sighed heavily once he walked out. Apparently, she hadn't gotten the memo that Levi was a clean freak.

Sharingan flickering to life, she got to work, making sure nothing was missed.

If only she could have told her clan that the sharingan would be used for cleaning rooms at some point down the road. The looks on their faces would have been something worth seeing.

Levi dragged a finger across the dresser, eyebrow raising before looking around the room. He pursed his lips before looking at the brat he found himself stuck with.

"Could still use some work." And left the room just as quickly as he appeared. Itachi sighed once more that day. At least she didn't have to clean it again.

It also meant that he had nothing to complain about, so she at least figured that she did an alright job in cleaning.

Oooo

Itachi stepped out of her room, shutting the door behind her before looking up at the person walking down the hall. Ponytail sloppy and hair sticking out everywhere from where her glasses were pushed up, Hange continued muttering to herself while looking down at a sheet of paper.

"I have a proposition for you, if you're interested." Itachi called out, voice ringing in the silent hallway. Itachi watched as Hange came to a stop in the hallway. Her back remained turned to the dark-haired girl.

"Oh?"

"I'm in need of paper and ink…a large quantity of paper specifically. I propose… if it's alright with Erwin and you, to lend a hand in your experiments on Titans in exchange for these products?"

Paper was extremely expensive for them, and since Hange was the one that wrote down everything for her mad scientist ways, Itachi knew she was one to have paper available at all times.

Itachi didn't expect the exuberant Squad leader to twist around with tears in her eyes, glasses reflecting the light in an ominous way.

"You my friend, have a deal."

Itachi internally mused over her decision to ask Hange for paper and ink. She hadn't made enough money yet from her pay for being in the Survey Corps to purchase the amount of paper she was asking for. One of her entire paychecks went to that notebook that she purchased, which is now being used to write letters with Armin.

One tended to go through Paper bombs like they were dango.

Hange hastily grabbed the Uchiha by the crook of her arm and Itachi found herself being dragged off towards Erwin's office.

The loud sound of knuckles rapping on Erwin's office door had Itachi internally flinching. Maybe she should have just stolen the paper from somewhere else. Yet she wouldn't be able to explain where she got it all if someone asked. Even if she used the sharingan, it wouldn't be able to keep her out of trouble for long.

"Come in." Erwin called from the other side and Hange barged in, pulling the Uchiha behind her. Erwin raised an eyebrow and Levi, who was by the window, leaning back against the sill with his arms crossed, watched as Hange literally flung herself upon Erwin's desk. Papers and other knick-knacks went flying off the desk in her frenzy and Erwin merely sighed like he was used to her over-exuberant personality.

"Itachi expressed interest in doing experiments with me!"

"Great, more shitty titan lovers. We already have you shitty glasses, we don't need two of you."

Erwin simply gazed between the two. "I'll consider it after this next expedition."

Hange was suddenly looking like she was told she had free reign on titans.

"We leave in three days, so prepare." Erwin stated before turning his attention towards Levi. "I would like you to ensure that Itachi is up to par and to have her run the titan course."

Finally, his icy blue eyes landed on Itachi and she straightened.

"This will be your first expedition Uchiha. I expect you to listen to your Squad Leader and I wish you the best of luck."

Levi made a scoffing sound from his position and pushed off from the window sill. Dusting his arm off with a disgusted look on his face at the sight of a cobweb hanging from it, he than gestured for Itachi to follow him.

"Might as well run you into the fucking ground piglet. You'll probably enjoy rolling in the shitty mud."

Itachi had to refrain from giving him her blank stare. She didn't need to piss him off with it. Her squad leader was seriously something else. She's dealt with so many different personalities that he honestly didn't really surprise her, to a certain extent. He was extremely intelligent though, and she could see the predator instinct settling within his eyes and his stance. Itachi knew that he had dealt with some kind of terrible upbringing to result in that kind of look. One that told her he would fight tooth and nail to keep on surviving.

He watched her with lidded eyes as she passed him through the open doorway, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. How long before she too, was taken on an expedition in titan infested lands?

Oooo

Itachi held the large book that had been handed to her. It was Hange's thoughts on titans and possible experiments that needed to be conducted. There were things that may even give humanity a victory if they were able to complete their creation. It held everything related to titans within these pages. Everything that Hange fawned over.

Moblit stared at the slim girl before him, a slight frown on his face before he smiled warily, thrusting his hand out towards Itachi.

"Hange informed me that you'll probably be joining us on experiments when we have the chance."

"Aa." Itachi replied, giving his hand a shake before pulling back and opening the book to a page, glancing over the scrawled words. Neat, meticulous handwriting met her gaze.

"I hope we are able to work as a team." He broke the silence. Itachi raised her eyes to meet his and she could tell that he was searching this new predicament. He didn't know if he could trust her or not. Experimenting with titan's, they would need to watch each other's backs just in case something happened and the titan went after them.

"Teamwork will further our progress more than working alone."

The tension left Moblit's shoulders.

Oooo

The horse's hooves dug into the muddy ground as Itachi led it towards her small squad. They have yet to get a good batch from the graduating cadets for Levi to choose from. They all went to either the Military Police or Garrison. If any ended up in the Survey Corps, they weren't good enough. Levi had personally tested the last few that had joined and deemed them too pitiful to show any improved advancements. Hopefully they would be able to expand their squad a bit more from the graduating class in a couple months.

Levi and Hange sat upon their own horse, speaking to each other in hushed voices. As she approached, they both sat up a bit straighter and turned their gaze towards her.

"Itachi, you're mostly with shitty glasses today. I'll be riding with you two, but you follow her orders, and if she isn't available, you follow mine, understand brat?"

"Yes sir." She stated, mounting the saddle on the horse and pulling the reigns to lead the horse to Hange's left side.

"Don't take any unnecessary actions today Itachi…a good percentage of Everyone's first expedition tends to unfortunately lead to a brutal end."

"What she means is, follow your fucking orders and don't panic." Levi ground out, dull blue eyes piercing the raven-haired girl.

"Aa."

"Alright everyone! Gather around!" Erwin called, voice ringing loudly throughout the area and causing silence to reign. "We'll be leaving through Trost's gates. I want formations to be followed and flares at the ready. Remember the colors we use! I don't expect all of us to make it back, but know that we are doing this to advance our grounds and to protect humanity! To fight and take back Wall Maria!"

Itachi watched Erwin glance their way before turning his horse around and beginning to lead his troops to Trost.

The ride to Trost wasn't long, but as they finally came to the first entrance, Itachi felt her stomach finally clenching, a nervousness that she hadn't experienced in a long time welling up. She's read about the Titan's from books, articles, seen diagrams, but never pictures. They haven't invented cameras yet, so there were no such things as photographs.

Following the pathway through Trost, Itachi caught sight of the woman who taught her how to read and write in their language. Surprise flickered across her face before a knowing look appeared. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth and she waved.

"Do you know her, Itachi?" Hange asked, looking between the two. Levi's gaze flickered to the woman before looking away.

"Aa. I worked for her when I came in with the other refugees."

Hange's eyebrows raised, surprise making itself known. "You came from Shiganshina District!?"

Itachi merely inclined her head. Supposedly she came from Shiganshina and she would keep it that way. They didn't need to know that she woke up, alive and not dead, on one of those ships headed towards Trost. They didn't need to know that she's never seen a titan in her life, only on paper. If they asked, she would use the excuse of already being on the ship because she lived close to the inner gates. The only one she could say she saw was the Armored titan bursting through the second set of gates.

They finally came to a stop before the large gates that kept the titans out and Itachi had to take in a deep breath, hands getting clammy and heart starting to pound as adrenaline kicked in. Senses that had been trained for years heightened and chakra pushed at the backs of her eyes, wanting to activate her bloodline. She pushed that need back, not daring to test her luck and tentative trust with her comrades yet.

"Our goal in this expedition is to secure the town outside Trost. Set up a supply base to enable refuel and then expand from there." Levi murmured. "We're then going to try and take down a 9-meter or shorter titan for shitty glasses to have a go at."

Itachi thought she then heard Levi mumbling about titan throw-up, but it was muffled with the sound of hooves shuffling and voices murmuring back and forth to one another.

Hange couldn't help but let the grin take over her face. Excitement washed over her and she visibly perked up, bouncing in the saddle.

The gates creaked and groaned as they suddenly began to open and Itachi stiffened, chakra buzzing underneath her skin, ready to react. As soon as there was enough room for them to pass, Erwin charged, followed by the rest of his troops. Squads broke off, heading further out and creating a formation that Erwin had created to avoid most titans. Itachi on the other hand, stayed close to the middle, with Hange and Levi.

She assumed, because of Levi's abilities, that Erwin didn't want to risk having him on the outer wings, thus the reason for her small squad following not too far behind him.

The town wasn't too far up ahead, usually located close to the gates because of the prime location for goods necessary for survival. The only thing that occupied it now were the titans lurking between the buildings, ready to feast.

As they came to a slow trot, Erwin made a gesture and Levi moved.

"We're going to be eliminating Titan's within the town. Don't get yourself killed brat."

Hange couldn't help the squeal that left her mouth. "Oh, I can't wait to try out new experiments!"

Levi then lurched from his saddle, grappling hooks digging into the closest roof and pulling him to it.

"Come on Itachi! Can't have the horses dying on us yet!" and Itachi watched as Hange took off, a squeal following her the entire way. A small quirk of her lip and Itachi followed right after the crazy scientist. Landing on the same roof as the two others, Itachi soon found her heart pounding as the first cry of terror and pain filled the air, more sounding out with it.

This is what she signed herself up for, and the ninja within her, the trained Uchiha, clan heiress, soldier, and killer within her suddenly snapped to the forefront of her mind. To bring peace to these people and to protect them, these titans needed to be killed.

The S-ranked Shinobi was ready.

A loud scream came from her right and she was already moving. Hange called after her in surprise, probably having expected the Uchiha to freeze like every other new recruit probably did. Grappling hooks dug into the next building and chakra enhanced legs shot her forward, barely any gas being used to conserve it. Landing, she quickly locked onto the 11-meter Titan that was pulling a struggling soldier to its mouth, and with a scowl on her face, she shot a grappling hook towards it. It was a sight that she probably wouldn't forget, even without the sharingan. It was ugly, shorter legs, long torso and gangly looking arms, and a grinning face that split open, revealing a dark abyss that would lead to its gullet.

An unnecessary act on the titan's part, for they simply threw up the bodies after it was full. Itachi felt a scowl crossing her face. What ate something to only throw it up afterwards?

She refused to pause, to let the paralyzing fear get to her. She had faced more than this as Itachi Uchiha. Jinchuuriki were honestly deadlier. S-ranked shinobi were the cherry on top, they could think. So no, titans who couldn't form a coherent plan weren't exactly at the top of her newly created 'frightening to face' list. Swords gripped in a style that was taught to her in a different life, she jerked her body and enhanced her arms with chakra just as she struck its wrist. Blood sprayed and the detached limb fell, releasing the soldier. Steam hit the air as titan blood evaporated away. Spinning in midair, she angled her hips and shot the grappling hooks out. With a short burst of gas, she came in quick. A large limb came up to swat at her, its other one steaming and starting to regrow. Itachi was already attaching grapples to another area and dodging the swat, blades slicing right through the muscle and tendons at the elbow. With the momentum of her swing, she detached her blade and grasped it in one hand and, years of throwing weapons kicked in and she sent chakra shooting through the blade before throwing it and quickly reattaching a new one.

The sword dug in deep, rendering the titan blind in one eye and sending it toppling backwards from the force of the chakra within it. As it stumbled to catch its flimsy balance, the Uchiha was already slicing through its nape.

Hange stood on a rooftop not too far away, her mouth hanging open in pure astonishment. As Itachi sheathed her blades, she moved to Hange's roof.

"I seriously need to study you."

Itachi leaned back as Hange suddenly started to drool. "That was amazing! Can you catch a titan for me? It'll prob-"

Hange was cut off as Itachi tackled her, scooping the taller woman up across both shoulders and shot off the roof just as a titan landed face first where they had been.

"Oh."

A flash of silver and green and the titan that was struggling to get its face out of the house was down, Levi suddenly appearing in the chaos.

"What the fuck are you doing shitty glasses?! Get fucking moving, we need to secure the area, not fucking swoon after these disgusting piles of shit!"

"Levi! I think Itachi-" and Hange was once again interrupted as a large hand suddenly wrapped around her frame. It was a small class titan, closer to the ground and out of sight between the buildings. So, it was no surprise that Levi and Itachi both didn't see it coming. With no chakra network in this world, Itachi couldn't rely on chakra to pinpoint her enemy. The amount of chaos going on also made it hard to hear everything and pinpoint the location with accuracy. The pained cry that left Hange as the hand squeezed a bit too hard, had Itachi shoving chakra in a pattern that Shisui taught her a long, long time ago, and she disappeared in a shunshin.

Blades cut clean through large fingers that held the scientist and she followed the limb over the edge of the building, free falling towards the titan. Sharingan blazed and her eyes connected with the titan's glassy ones.

Laughter, smiles, tears, goodbyes, fear, falling, searing pain, mindless abyss, hunger, hunger, HUNGER.

Itachi jerked, heart hammering as she swiftly ended the titan. Her vision blurred for a second and she withdrew her chakra from her eyes, unable to get rid of the odd feelings that had clouded her mind, visions of people, friends, family, in a fuzzy background that spoke of a town far more advanced than what she's seen here. Being dragged up a wall with others and injected with a syringe of some kind of liquid, of falling and a demon ripping skin, growing, growing.

"Get it together you fucking imbecile!" and a pain radiated from Itachi's shoulder, Levi having landed a hit on her in her information overload.

Itachi quickly pulled herself together, heading up to the roof to make sure that Hange was okay before continuing with their mission.

At the back of her mind though, that information was causing chaos to reign.

What exactly was that?

And something shifted, telling her exactly what she saw.

"Memories…" she whispered into the wind. Obsidian eyes suddenly locking onto all the titans that were in sight.

Where exactly did Titans come from?

She knew that having no history books on Titan's and their arrival was a red flag.

Itachi knew that no written history papers on the formation of the walls was a smack to the face with how obvious it was.

What the hell was going on here?

Oooo

Securing the village was harder than Itachi had thought it would be. There had been over fifteen casualties in the process and now they were getting the carts set up, filling cylinder gas tanks and handing them back to the troops. Levi stood next to her as she took apart one of her 3DMG gear. It had jammed when a titan had snagged hold of her wire and had wrenched her to the side. As a response to her wire being pulled at, Itachi had loosened the wire and let it fully unravel in an attempt to not be thrown like a ragdoll. The slack had saved her from being flung into a building. If she had hit it, there would have been some explaining to do because her body was denser with chakra coursing through it, unlike these people. Hange had come in then, slashing the nape of the titan before helping Itachi with her gear.

With nimble hands, she quickly worked out the problem and had the wire zipping back into its coil. Lips pressed into a thin line as she put it all back together and attached it to her left hip once again. Having read that book and constantly taking it apart and reassembling it so many times in class had helped. Hange suddenly appeared, looking at Itachi and her still fiddling with the gear at her hip. If it didn't work out, Itachi would have to abandon the gear and use her chakra in worst case scenario.

"Erwin wants to see the three of us."

Levi let a frown settle over his face as he then turned on his heel, heading towards Erwin's position. Itachi fell into step behind Levi, Hange quickly catching up to her.

"I think we'll be luring a titan into a trap, at least in trying to catch it." She mused, eyes getting all dreamy once again. Itachi glanced at her out of the corner of her eye before a small smile tilted the corners of her mouth up.

Hange gawked, her eyes widening at the smile Itachi gave her. Itachi knew she didn't express a lot of emotion, but years of having to keep them suppressed didn't help her at all. With trying to keep everything bottled up and not let the stress get to her, she had receded emotionally from almost everyone.

As they reached Erwin, he gave them a quick glance before addressing the squad leader before him. Itachi took in the tall man; she believed he was Mike Zacharias. She had overheard many people murmuring that he was close to Levi in skills. He was a lot taller than Itachi, with blond bangs parted in the middle and a rough looking mustache and beard.

As the two finally concluded, Erwin turned to address the three of them, Mike standing off to the side.

"We will proceed with the capturing of a titan." He started off, giving Levi a hard look. "We will have a team set up at the edges of town with the trap at the ready. Levi, you, Mike, and Itachi will lure a titan towards the mark and we will attempt to take it down alive."

Levi sent Itachi a sharp look. "You ready?" and gave a pointed look towards the gear that had malfunctioned earlier.

An incline of her head was all he needed before Levi faced Erwin. "When do we set out?"

"Now." Erwin informed him before leaving them to get troops set up according to their plan. Itachi suddenly flinched, her frame ducking and swinging around Levi, placing him in between her and Mike, who had suddenly appeared and taken a large inhale of her scent. She hadn't expected Mike invading her space and mentally scolded herself for reacting like that. Levi glowered at Mike before stalking towards the horses, muttering about something.

Hange broke out into a hysterical fit at the girl's reaction. Mike simply nodded his head before turning and heading for his horse.

"Don't worry about him, he always does that. Can smell a titan from miles away before we can even see it." Hange stated through laughter. "I'll also be with Erwin, leading the troops in the capturing of this titan."

Itachi merely blinked, her obsidian eyes watching Mike's back with a raised eyebrow. She then bid Hange a farewell and caught up to the two men.

Swinging up onto her horse, Itachi then followed the two, her heart starting to race once again as they left the protective frames that surrounded them. Hooves beat into the grassy field and Itachi's low ponytail threatened to come loose from its hold. The air felt wonderful against her skin and Itachi suddenly missed running through trees, chakra propelling her body to its limits.

She was brought out of her thoughts as a tall titan came stumbling their way. It was too tall for what they were looking for and Mike was suddenly in the air, latching onto its limbs and swinging up behind it, carving a deep gouge into its nape. He landed on the ground and swiftly pulled up alongside them on his horse not long after.

It felt like forever before they deemed a titan small enough for what they needed to do. Levi then gestured for them to move, all three circling it to gain its attention. The small titan lunged for Itachi, swatting at the girl who ducked low on the horses back and swiftly urged the mare to swerve out of its range. With the titan locked onto the Uchiha, the two others began to lead the way back towards town, Itachi gritting her teeth as she put the enemy at her back. The entire way back to town felt like she was fleeing with death at her heels.

As soon as they breeched to frames of houses, a loud horn could be heard and explosions followed, nets flying out and sharp spears digging into the titan's body, connected to wires. It struggled, but was unable to move from its position.

Hange was all of a sudden right next to the titan once they were able to pin it down, her high-pitched squealing buzzing in Itachi's ears.

Oooo

"What do you think of them Itachi?" Hange questioned, her eyes flickering towards the Uchiha as she stood her ground not too far away. Moblit was flitting in-between the two of them, looking worried as Hange dragged Itachi closer to the titan. Obsidian eyes gazed down at the creature, her mind lingering on the memory of the previous titan she had encountered.

"Hange…" She started, licking her lips as she paused, suddenly worried that Hange might not like what she had to say. The curiosity in her eyes though, pushed her. "Don't you think it's odd that they appeared so suddenly? That human kind was almost wiped out because of them? Don't you wonder how advanced we used to be? Maybe, somehow, human kind created an experiment that brought about its end?" and she cut herself off at that part. "I got carried away in my musings, I'm terribly sorry Hange."

Orochimaru had experimented and created things that disgusted her. For all she knew, he could have eventually created a titan like figure down the road.

The scientist on the other hand, stood silently, staring at the titan with a frown tugging at her lips before gesturing for Moblit to bring a notebook.

Itachi stood next to Hange, listening to the scratching of a pen on paper as she continued to stare into the titans hollow eyes, her sharingan itching to see if she would get the same reaction.

Oooo

The corpse of the titan Hange had experimented on was steaming, breaking down and leaving nothing behind. The woman seemed to be lost at the death of her test subject, but they needed to get moving. They had spent too long in the town and the titans started to converge on their position.

Levi's face scrunched up in disgust as he cleaned his sword with a cloth. They needed to move now.

"Fucking disgusting shit bags."

Itachi merely glanced at Levi as she landed beside him, having taken out the titan that had been approaching in the opposite direction. Her horse pulled up next to her, hooves digging into the cobblestone and Itachi reached forward, grasping the reigns with her hand. Mounting the saddle, she proceeded once Hange and Levi were ready. The distance between the town and the gates was open land, no trees nor buildings to help them. They needed to move fast.

Everything was going alright until black flares came up on Itachi's right. Her eyes following the black smoke, Levi cursing and urging them to move faster.

They didn't need abnormal titans right now.

Another black flare and Hange was worriedly looking towards the large figures approaching. Itachi could see regular titans following right behind them and she counted the additional flares going up, giving them a total of seven regulars.

"Shit, we don't fucking need this right now!" Levi snarled, flicking his reigns harshly, he sped up towards Erwin. Itachi watched them quickly converse before Squads started to peel off and head towards the flares that were fading.

Levi fell back into lead position and glanced at the teen he found himself in charge of. Dull blue eyes took in her own large obsidian eyes framed by long lashes, long hair pulled into a low ponytail, to the curve of her delicate neck, connected to a fragile frame that was so easily breakable.

"Tch."

Itachi blinked, her eyebrows furrowing. She had seen her squad leader look at her, but she was unsure of what that look meant exactly.

"We'll be helping troops retreat. Do not engage unless necessary." And he led them towards the chaos that was unfolding in the distance.

Drawing in close, Levi led the three of them to a smaller group of titans, focusing on taking out the smaller threats before trying to deal with the abnormal ones. Levi shifted and then disappeared, gas launching him at the closest titan. Hange was following close behind, laughter tagging alongside her. Itachi crouched on the saddle, taking in the two titans that were squashing horses underfoot. One grasped onto a line and with a harsh yank, the cadet hit the ground at an odd angle and Itachi felt her stomach clench. His neck had been snapped, head twisted all the way around. With Levi handling one titan, Itachi sent chakra shooting through her legs and she launched herself up into the air, grapples latching onto the titan Hange was targeting. Maneuvering around a cadet, Itachi gripped her blades and came in fast, severing a hand that was reaching for a terrified woman, who hovered over her unconscious teammate. Spinning, she released the grapples hold before releasing them again, claws digging into titan flesh. A large gash in its upper shoulder caused the arm to fall, useless for a couple seconds. Hange came from the other side, digging blades in and carving the nape out. Levi then appeared, his titan down and a glower on his face.

"Oi! Get your fucking asses back to the wall!" he snapped at the remaining soldiers that were still alive.

No one argued, many of the teams missing members, who lay scattered in pieces on the ground. Teammates quickly called their horses that were available and they shared, quickly retreating, knowing that they didn't stand a chance right now.

The three of them then continued, helping another group out and slowly dwindling the titans to just the two abnormal ones that were targeting them.

Itachi found herself facing the second abnormal without Hange or Levi with her. She could see troop members being snagged from the air and being brought to a hungry mouth, which feasted upon the human flesh. She then lurched into the air, grapples digging into the titan's leg as she left her horse. Levi and Hange were struggling with the first abnormal titan that had come stumbling their way. A sudden burst of gas propelled her forward and she shifted her weight to come in at an angle. Her swords slid into position, one held along the length of her forearm as she tucked it to her chest and the other down near her hip, ready to strike. The sound of hissing reached her ears at the last second and Itachi aborted her current course, head snapping towards the rookie that came streamlining into her path. Shifting quickly, Itachi tilted her hips to a certain degree, heading for a lower position to get her bearings. The abnormal lunged at that second, teeth chomping loudly and a pained scream reached her ears, blood raining down, splattering upon Itachi's green cloak and freckling her face. Disgust washed through her at the warm feeling it left behind. She may be a killer, but she will never get use to the feel of blood on her skin. Itachi barely had enough time to process the death of the rookie above her before a large, solid object took the breath right out of her. She hadn't even seen the beast swinging at her.

Chakra circulated throughout her body, darting to her limbs at an extremely fast pace, supporting and strengthening it she went flying. The Titan had swiped at her like a pestering housefly and sent her body careening. Her figure hit the ground quite a distance away and Itachi rolled, dust flying up from the impact as she went. It felt like forever before her body rolled to a stop.

"Itachi!"

The voice vaguely registered in her mind, Hange's panicked scream reaching her limp figure. Almost begging for the girl to just get up and fight.

Her vision went dark.

"Maybe next time." Her mind whispered, bringing up a memory of Itachi poking Sasuke's forehead with a smile on his face. Sasuke's frowning face suddenly appeared and her heart gave a painful twinge. Her memory shifted to her parent's, whispering how much they loved him and that they were extremely proud.

"Forgive me Sasuke... There won't be another time."

Itachi jolted awake, eyes blazing with the sharingan. In the distance, she could see her squad fighting, Levi and Hange working together to bring down the Titan that had hit her. Their titan already decomposing upon the ground not too far from them. Itachi knew that if she didn't have chakra, she would be dead right now. That impact would have killed her. Her body shifted, pain flaring from her ribcage. It was definitely bruised, maybe even cracked in some places.

Blood seeped from a jagged cut at the edge of her eyebrow, but she didn't bother with it, struggling more to keep from using her more advanced bloodline. Itachi couldn't risk it. Not with the consequences resulting in going blind. She's dealt with being almost fully blind before, she's not going to do that to herself anytime soon.

She rolled to her hands and knees, pain flaring. Blood dripped from her mouth and she spit a glob out. Her lip was split, from what she could tell and she was quite a bit scuffed up too. Stumbling to her feet, she braced herself, regaining her balance, having a bit of difficulty.

One step turned into another and Itachi soon burst into a run, jaw set in a stubborn way at the sight of that god damned creature that had struck her out of the air. Gas propelled her and hooks shot from her gear. Chakra guided them, digging into the titan's shoulder with a vengeance and she pushed herself. Itachi came in quick, eyes blazing red and pattern spinning widely in place. The titan shifted, trying to swing at her again, but she worked with her hooks, spinning and sweeping up, slicing a long, jagged cut through the tendon in the titan's arm. An odd groan escaped the beast, but she kept going. Another burst of gas and she dropped, latching on at the waist and swinging low around the ankles. With a twist, she came in fast, digging blades deep into the titans achilles tendon before ripping deep into the other one.

The abnormal titan shifted on flimsy balance, unable to keep walking with its tendons being detached. Its legs gave way and with a loud thundering sound, it landed on its hands and knees. Shouts were heard and Itachi vaguely realized that she was the only one attacking the titan right now.

The titan tried grabbing her from midair, but Itachi was already detaching herself and slicing through the incoming appendage. Steaming blood hit the air and the hand went flying, chakra reinforcing the attack. Itachi's eyes blazed a brilliant red as she then shot a grapple into its neck, blades moving into position. Swinging into a high arch, Itachi let her sight rest on the exposed nape of the titan before her grapples dug into it, reeling her in. Gravity and wires working together, she shifted so that her momentum brought her into a deadly spin and she struck, a large chunk on flesh falling towards the ground. The titan shuddered and fell forward, faceplanting into the ground and began to steam as its decomposition process started.

Her feet touched the ground and Itachi stumbled, legs trembling in exertion. She needed to train harder, longer, run with chakra. She wasn't used to this yet, apparently. Shutting her sharingan off, she straightened herself out as much as she could from the twinging in her ribs and tried to brush the stray strands of hair out of her face, only to find Hange literally picking her small frame up and hugging her.

"I thought you died!"

"Hn…you're hurting my ribs Hange, please release me." She managed to get out, breath light and airy from not being able to take in enough air with Hange hugging her.

"Ah! Sorry!" she gushed, releasing the girl and as she found her footing, Hange couldn't help but pull her face towards hers, eyes searching. "Levi and I swore your eyes turned a brilliant shade of red…"

"Must have been the lighting." Itachi merely gave as her response, getting an odd look from Hange before they were on the move once more, heading for the walls.

Oooo

Dear Itachi,

Eren is excited to learn that you've taken an interest in our training. Mikasa gives her thanks for the suggestions for her gear when maneuvering. Eren was a bit moody that you've decided to explain to him the importance of teamwork and understanding that it's not all about revenge. Also, thank you for the compliment. I am underestimating the ability of being able to think ahead of my peers. It just seems discouraging, when everyone advances physically but I'm behind in that aspect.

Sincerely,

Armin, Eren, and Mikasa

A tray slammed down on the table Itachi sat at before the empty bench was pushed slightly back and a figure sat across from her.

"What the fuck are you smiling about? A lover writing to you and get your panties in a twist?"

Itachi glanced up at Levi before setting the paper down.

"It's a group of kids from Shiganshina District that joined the cadets in training. We've been talking for a couple months through letters."

She watched as Levi held a tea cup by its rim, avoiding the handle with utmost care. Blinking at the sight, she then diverted her gaze, picking at her food on her plate.

"How are your ribs?"

Itachi mulled the question over, glancing out the window she sat next to. "Alright, still sore but easily capable of handling movement now."

There was a pause, like Levi was struggling with trying to make a connection with her. She could tell that he was one to distance himself. She had done that, especially when given the order to kill her clan's men.

"You were…lucky that you didn't get your ass fucking eaten."

Itachi's lips thinned. She knew exactly how lucky she was. If it came down to it, she would have used the second form of her sharingan.

"Finish your food, don't waste it like those shits over there." Levi stated, indicating towards the whispering soldiers not too far away from their table.

"Ah…" she mumbled, dunking her bread into the broth, soaking it thoroughly before taking a bite.

"We'll be training you a bit more, mostly just you and I. Shitty glasses will be taking you on as an apprentice or something like that. She told me you wanted fucking large quantities of paper and ink in exchange for helping her? Who the fuck needs that amount of paper anyways?"

It was right then and there, that Itachi decided that it would be Levi that would know first as to what exactly she could do. In due time of course.

"I've been writing a lot of letters recently and my pay isn't enough to keep buying notebooks."

They both knew that it was a half assed answer.

"Right." Was his only response before getting up, eyes lingering on the letter that she had read.

"Would you suggest those shitty ass kids you're talking to for the Survey Corps?" he finally asked, Itachi knowing that he was struggling not to just walk away. She looked down at the letter, eyes lingering before flitting up towards her squad leader.

Obsidian eyes lingered on his face, taking in his sharp angles and the dark circles under his eyes.

"I would recommend them for the Survey Corps if they so wished it." And Itachi knew that it wasn't something she truly wanted if she wished to protect them, but it wasn't her choice in the end. All she could do is guide them.

Levi gave no indication that he agreed or disagreed, but he left it at that, leaving the Uchiha to finish her meal.

Itachi simply watched him go before pulling another paper out of her notebook. She wondered what Armin would think if she mentioned her theory that titans may have once been human. It best be left for in person, not through letters that can be intercepted.