Levi P.O.V.

Watching the brat with those kids had been really surprising for Levi. It was getting harder and harder to hate her or be suspicious of her. He had never seen her act so... genuine before and it was shocking to watch. Levi had so many questions and they had built up over the day. Going into the pawn shop he had been expecting the brat to sell something but no. He watched with amazement as the brat hugged the shop owner and started chatting like old friends. She looked happily and comfortable in a way he hadn't seen her be on the surface. Then the same thing happened with the bar owner at Brandon bar and Levi had realised these were the places Johnson had followed her to. At first, he thought they were just her places of income but watching her interact with those people. Watching her so happy and comfortable told him she viewed them as her friends or maybe even family. It was then that Levi felt the guilt again. Guilt for watching her like this and guilt for taking her away from these people she actually cared about in the first place. Especially when he saw her dump a rather heavy looking bag of money on the door of the orphanage.

He wondered why she cared. She was supposed to be a murderous assassin with fake emotions. He couldn't see what she would get out of giving money like that with no benefits whatsoever. I mean she had just snapped a guy's neck effortlessly 20 minutes previous. Although in Dilan's defence Levi had been tempted too. Seeing the scared expression on her face when the man started touching her up brought out a weird protective rush in him and he almost broke his cover to intervene before suddenly the scared expression was gone and the ruthless killer was back. She kneed him in the groin, so he fell to his knees, used him to jump onto a garbage bin to gain the required height before jumping back onto him, choking him with her thighs before snapping his neck. The kill was done so easily with so much efficiency that it made a shiver run down Levi's spine. The girl was dangerous, and he had to remember that. although he couldn't deny the satisfaction, he felt watching the lifeless body of the rapist fall to the ground as she walked away. Was that what she was talking about before at the gates of Shiganshina. His bloodlust. The side of him that revelled in the idea of ending scum. The side that he repressed but she accepted it as a part of herself with no regrets.

The girl was a complete double standard. One minute she ends a guy's life with no remorse and the next she's soothing the owner the the orphanage and comforting traumatised children like it was nothing. He had no idea what to do with her or which side to believe. Maybe she was both? Maybe he needed to stop trying to figure it out. Although when she called out to him Levi would admit he had never been more pissed in his life. He had the feeling all day that he knew she knew he was following him. He had lost her for a good 30 minutes before she magically reappears and walks past him on the street. It was too easy and now he knew that feeling was right. She knew all along, silently mocking him. The bitch even had the nerve to brush up against him on the street. Fucking brat. He so wanted to knock the teeth out of her, but she had a point. The children were more important. Of course, he cared that they were taken. Of course, he wanted to spend every second looking until he could find them and put an end to their captors, but life didn't work like that. He had a job to do at the corps and there was too much injustice around here to stop it all. Its why he didn't come back down to the underground unless absolutely necessary. The brat was wrong. He didn't forget about the shit the underground people were going through. He was well aware, but it hurt too much to think about it and he would rather be branded by Dilan as the cold and heartless bastard she thought he was.

"We're here." Dilan's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. They had made it to the market where people were still walking around and venders still selling their merchandise. Levi had told her what he knew about the drawing. The gang they were looking for were a group of mercenaries called the dark horsemen. Their gang insignia; a black stallion tattooed onto their right arm. He had dealt with them back in the day when someone sent them to assassinate him and his gang. Levi had killed a few and scared them off. They didn't challenge him again and he never found out who tried to kill him. He wasn't sure they were going to get very far with this market plan but who knows.

They walked up to the first vender that was selling bread.

"Excuse me, sir. We were wondering if last night you saw any men running through this way. They were dressed in black, had a stallion tattoo on their arms and were probably carrying a number of screaming children." Dilan asked. The vender tensed a bit and gave them both a glance, spending a bit too long eyeing their 3DMG before rubbing his nose and shaking his head.

"No. I aint see nothing." He said in a husky voice. Levi and Dilan shared a look. Bullshit.

"Sir, if you could try to think back. This is important-"

"Listen sweetheart, I said I aint seen nothing. Fuck off or give me something worth my time. Perhaps a kiss on the cheek." He laughed at his own joke and Levi grit his teeth in annoyance, ready to pull this guy's teeth out. Dilan, to Levi's surprise, laughed with him.

"Of course." She smirked, moving around the stool. Levi's eyes widened in disbelief as the brat put a delicate hand on the beefy man's shoulder and started trailing it down his arm as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. The man smiled a perverted smile and Levi saw his hand slide onto her waist. Levi was about to ask her what the fuck she was doing before Dilan flipped the tables completely grabbing the man's arm in a bruising hold, twisting it behind his back at an unnatural angle and shoving his face onto the wooden counter with an impressive amount of strength.

"Ah! The fuck?! Get off of me, bitch!" He cried out in pain. Levi watched in shock as the brat smiled devilishly.

"You think I don't know how to deal with perverted scum like you." She said, her voice sickly sweet with poison. The man shivered in fear. "Want me to tell you how?" She smiled and leant close to his ear. "I twist the head off of their neck." She whispered, glancing up to Levi with those dangerous orange eyes. He had to will his face to remain unfazed as he contemplated whether the brat was actually a psychopath. The vender pale and swallowed hard.

"P-please don't h-hurt me! I'm r-really sorry!" he stuttered out stupidly and Dilan scoffed.

"Of course, I won't." She cooed, trailing a nail down the side of his face and neck. The man shivered again. "As long as you tell me what you saw here." She smirked, tightening her grip and the man cried out in pain again. Levi wasn't sure whether to stop the torture or not. He wasn't sure what to feel.

"Ow! F-FINE! Fine! They came d-down this w-way and I was packing up! T-they paid me to stay quiet! Said t-they'd kill me!" He cried. Dilan's face fell serious.

"Where did they go?" She demanded sternly and the man flinched.

"They got picked up by a wagon and drove towards the under district. I-I don't know anymore! I swear! Please let me go!" He sobbed, pathetically. Dilan clicked her tongue.

"Snivelling little rat. I should end you right here and put you out of your misery." She said slowly and menacingly.

"N-no! P-please!" He begged and Levi gave her a stern look.

"Dilan. Stop." He ordered. She grazed her fiery eyes up to him and Levi had to supress a reaction at their intensity.

"Fine." She shrugged, shoving the man to the ground and walked away as he cried loudly. Dilan got a few meters before she turned back to glance at Levi. "You coming, sir?" She smirked. Levi hesitated, his whole body on edge around this dangerous woman but pushed forward anyway. He had made a deal with her and he intended on sticking to his side of it.


It didn't take long for them to get to the under district. Dilan had to stop to retrieve herself a cloak since she didn't want anyone to bother them. When Levi had asked where they were going, not understanding her plan she said she knew a place that could help them find the mercenaries and that they might have even hired them in the first place. Dilan didn't say anything more about the topic, so he was forced to follow her.

Dilan stopped walking outside a tall rickety building and Levi stopped next to her. He scrunched up his nose at the obvious sound of sex dripping through every crack in the place.

"This is the place?" He asked. Dilan looked about as happy to be here as he did.

"Yes." She replied before opening the door and heading inside. Levi cursed under his breath as the noises got a lot louder but followed her in anyway and did his best to ignore them.

"Dilan!" The owner greeted and Levi snapped his head around in that direction. He watched as Dilan visibly tensed. The man was tall and sickly, sweaty grey hair and dark brown eyes. Levi forced down a grimace as they walked up to him, wondering how Dilan knew him. "Come to reconsider my offer?" He asked with a smirk. Dilan tensed a bit more.

"For the last time Jack. Never." She replied seriously, Levi could tell by her body language she was extremely on edge. The man laughed.

"Sure, sure. What can I do for you then?" He asked.

"I want some information." She said. Jack grinned.

"Well you know information has a price, Hun." He pointed and Levi wondered whether the man was about to get a face full of his desk like the other guy. Instead Dilan simply nodded and turned to Levi.

"Give him some cash. I have nothing on me." Dilan suggested. Levi glared at her.

"No." He said simply. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"I'll pay you back asshole but to take a detour would be to waste time. Time is important." She urged, her eyes daring her to disagree with him. Levi sighed and got out his wallet, dropping a fair amount of coins on the gross looking man's desk. He smirked and collected them up.

"So, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"No bullshit. We both know full well you are pretty well inversed with child trafficking around these parts." Dilan started. Jack frowned a bit.

"I don't know what we both know, Dil. It seems to me that you're a military woman now. Is this conversation off the books, how can I guarantee my safety here?" He asked and Levi forced down an eyeroll.

"It's off the books Jack. You have my word." She replied. Jack observed her for a moment before nodding. "I want names of the biggest traffickers in the neighbourhood." She explained. Jack chuckled.

"Well I haven't been in the game since you were a kid, as you recall." He snickered and Levi looked at Dilan, but she was avoiding his eyes.

"I'm not to be messed with. You know this Jack. Fucking spill or we'll take back the money." She threatened and Jack sighed.

"Fine. You're no fun. Here's a few of the names but I'm pretty sure they'll be useless to you." He shrugged, writing down some names on a scrap of paper and sliding it over the desk.

"And why's that?" She asked.

"Because most of them have gone out of business lately. There's a new big shot in the field. I heard he's been using trained men to capture a series of kids and selling them out to different prostitution rings across the whole underground. Some even make it to the capital." He said quietly. Dilan and Levi shared a look. This must be the bastard we're looking for.

"The name, Jack." Dilan encouraged. Jack sighed.

"My pockets feeling a bit empty." He said, looking between the two. Levi bit back a growl. "Unless you want to give me something more personal, Dil?" He asked with a smirk and Dilan took a step back subconsciously. She looked to Levi and he sighed, dropping more of his wages on the table.

"This better be worth it." He warned the man. Jack grinned and swiped the coins of the counter.

"Oh yeah. The new kid on the block is Kenny freaking Ackermann." He said and both Levi and Dilan's eyes widened in realisation. "The bastards using his best assassins to snatch all the kids up before any of us poor souls even have the chance. Would have put me out of business if I didn't have such lovely ladies. As I said Dil, the offers always open." He grinned. Dilan grimaced.

"Never." She repeated and walked out of the bar, physically fuming. Levi spared the man a disgusted look and excited the building in time to see Dilan start beating up a garbage can. "That mother fucker! Shitty piece of shit I want to ring his neck so fucking hard. Fucking bastard!" She gritted out as she continued to kick the now very dented piece of metal.

"Oi, stop it. We have shit to do." Levi called. Dilan ignored him and continued to harass the object. Levi looked around and saw that they were alerting some attention from passers-by. "For gods sake." He mumbled, walking over to her and pulling her away from the bin. She growled and pushed away from him, fury in her eyes.

"Don't. Touch. Me." She snarled. Levi clenched his jaw. That was the third time she'd told him that.

"What is with you? What's your problem!?" He yelled, completely frustrated.

"Nothing you would understand!" She yelled back.

"Try me!" he countered, and Dilan opened her mouth when a sadness passed through her eyes and she snapped it shut promptly. Levi was almost a little concerned.

"Let's... just go." She sighed and pulled her hood up as she turned away. Levi watched her with confliction. What was he missing? What was that man talking about in there?

A moment passed and he sighed, deciding she wasn't about to tell him anyway and followed her further into the darkness.


A while later and they were standing outside of the house that was apparently the place Kenny operated from. Levi gulped. He was not ready to face the man.

"Aren't you coming?" Dilan asked, raising an eyebrow. Levi bit the inside of his mouth, dreading the idea of facing the man who raised him and abandoned him. The man who was the actual devil. The man who was had stooped so low, he had taken to kidnapping children. Levi didn't think he had it in him. It just showed how low Kenny had fallen during his absence.

"Nah, I'll wait here." He replied, crossing his arms.

"Why?" Dilan retorted.

"None of your business." He spat back. Dilan looked confused.

"Do you even want to find these children?!" She gritted out, clearly frustrated. Levi glared at her. Of course, he fucking did. He wasn't a monster.

"Are you sure you want to?! 3 months ago, you might have made yourself a hefty little price kidnapping the brats yourself!" He snapped, stooping low but he really didn't want to go in. He didn't miss the look of hurt on the brat's face and he had to push away the guilt.

"I never-" she started, her voice shaking with anger before cutting herself off. "You know what? You can think what you like. I'm going in there. Do whatever the fuck you want, Levi." She replied, her tone slightly deflated as she walked inside and left him alone.

"Shit." Levi sighed. That was a little harsh, even for him. He knew she had no problem killing scum, but he knew she would never hurt a child in a million years. Levi looked over to the door and clenched his jaw. He wasn't ready to face Kenny, but he didn't want the brat to be alone in there. He would hide in the shadows and watch their interaction, ready to jump in if she needed back-up. Levi opened the door, taking a breath before going inside.


A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapters pretty short but I wanted to separate this part of the story into three. Expect the next chapter to be a super longer one :)

I think even though they are still fighting like cat and dog their relationship is starting to progress from mutual hate. Even enemies can be friendly when United with a common goal right? Levi's having a mental dilemma on trusting Dilan and vice versa. They are both so independent that it's hard to work as a team but we do see moments in this chapter that they agree to follow the others lead, albeit reluctantly. It's slow but it's progress!

Hope you're liking it so far! Stay safe! X