"YATAAAAA!" screamed a voice, making me laugh.

Hanji.

Appearing in the middle area, two Titans struggled in their multiple bindings, metal steel ropes wrapped the two in separate cocoons. Someone reeled up next to me and we watched the surroundings for any loose Titans. The person remained silent and I sighed.

"Levi, I'm fine, really."

I turned to glance at him before I instantly registered he was slightly leaning on his left leg. Startled, I whirled around to fully face him.

"Levi, your leg!"

He waved it off, facing away from me. "It's nothing."

"Nothing, my ass." I grabbed his shoulders and forced him onto his butt so I could assess the damage easily. He grimaced at the sudden movement. I knelt by his ankle and noticed slight swelling.

"You landed wrong, didn't you?"

"Wrongly." He corrected and I gently tapped his ankle, effectively making him shut up.

"But you did, didn't you? I leave you by yourself for 5 minutes and you go and hurt yourself. Unbelievable."

"Unbelievable? I'm the one that's supposed to say that to you!" he argued, snapping his harsh eyes on me.

I gazed back, unaffected. "I'm not sure whether you've just dislocated it or cracked it, so I'll help you back to the Doc once we're ready to move."

"I can make it there myself." He grumbled and I slapped the back of his head to knock some sense into him.

"No more arguments. If you can help me to the Doc, why cant I do the same to you?" I shot back and we waited until the Titans were loaded.

It was late afternoon by the time I got Levi down to the Doc but we still wouldn't head back to the Walls. Hanji had figured that the Titans' activity were dependent on the sun so if we waited until it was evening then dragging the giant Titans back wouldn't be such a problem. Now the Special Ops team, myself and Eren were surrounding Levi and the good doctor.

"Seems like you've managed to sprain it, Captain Levi. Using your 3DMG and riding a horse may make it worse, so you'll be accompanying me on the cart."

"What? Cant you just wrap it and let me be?" he grunted. I slapped the back of his head again.

"Don't be so rude to the Doctor. He's just telling what you should do for a faster recovery. You do want a fast recovery right?"

Levi avoided my gaze, refusing to make eye contact. "Isnt it obvious?"

"I thought so. Now shut up and get onto the cart, we're about to move out. You guys will have to cope without him for a bit." I turned that last sentence the Special Ops.

"Pfft, please. We handle ourselves without Levi most of the time." Brian waved a dismissive hand.

"Someone will ride by your side just in case anything goes awry." Linda informed the Corporal.

"Tch." The Captain turned away from the looks. He hated being babysat.

"That's all right, I can ride with him on the way back. My squad are back-up rather than the frontiers so I wont be on the front. I can ride with him and if something does come up, we can swap. Jaeger is our first priority after all." I offered, ignoring Levi's glare. Linda smiled gratefully back.

"Much appreciated."

So then we set off into the late afternoon as the sun began to dim and dip in the sky. The formation was in place, positions had been rotated and the two Titans were being dragged within the middle on the pack. Due to their size, the formation was stretched even thinner than before but the lack of sunlight also decreased the chances of fast Titans. I rode on Streak, staying close to the medical cart which Levi was on. After all, Humanity's Strongest was also a high priority in terms of protection.

"Must you ride so close?" Levi growled, arms crossed on his chest as he sat. Clearly, he was not ecstatic about his helplessness.

"And leave the Captain to his own defenses? I would never."

Then shouts echoed through the pack from the rear of the formation. I turned and spied the faint red smoke hovering in the air.

Titans.

My head snapped back to the front again, eyeing the two captured Titans. Even with our horses, they were dragging down our speed to one where we couldn't evade even normal Titans. Another glance had me looking at the Special Ops, who were huddled around Eren, their faces grim. Despite the urge to help, they had one mission and one mission only. Protect and keep an eye on Eren Jaeger. The shouts increased in warning and the constant flaring of red smoke guns painted the evening sky a pink hue. Making a snap decision, I whistled loudly and waved Linda over.

"What are you doing?" Levi twisted in his seat, gripping the side of the cart closest to me. again, I ignored him. It was becoming like some sort of habit, really.

"Take my place and watch over the Captain, Linda." I requested as she grew closer.

She gave me a questioning look and I darted my eyes to the rear of the formation silently. She reached out and patted my shoulder in understanding.

"Rina, don't you dare." Levi's deep voice threatened.

I pulled in Streak's reins and we began slowing down. Linda easily slipped into our place and rode beside Levi. My friend's eyes followed me as we slowly grew apart.

"You get back here and stay in the formation, Hazura! That's an order!" he roared over the whipping wind and the clapping of hooves on the ground. Levi's hands gripped the wooden cart side until his knuckles turned white. I gave him a forced smile. The possibility that I would never see that face again remained hovering in the back of my mind. His angry yet slightly terrified face told me he thought the same thing.

"Sorry Captain. I'm not in Special Operations. I'm choosing to not follow your orders."

With that, I turned Streak around and galloped away from him.