Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.
Important: Please read Author's note. Involves update scheduling.
"Don't do anything shitty while I'm gone, brat." Was what Levi had warned her. At first, Mikasa found it ridiculous for him to tell her something so obvious. Of course, if there was trouble, she'd like to avoid it if possible. She still had to carry on this act to the end.
And she wasn't the type to draw in trouble, willingly.
So, Mikasa didn't know how the hell she found herself in this situation. Everything was going fine, until she was confronted by the Princess of the Crystal Empire, whose pair of crystal hues shot her a cold, distant look that would've sent a shiver down her spine had her life not resemble a gory horror story since birth.
"Spar me." She said—no, she demanded.
Never in Mikasa's life would she have guessed that this cruel world and her cruel fate would have led her to spar with the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Annie Leonhart.
The original plan that the Prince's advisors had devised for today was to have each and every one of the Princesses to have a private breakfast session with Eren. They wanted the Princesses to get to know him better, and hopefully erase whatever horrid impression they had of him and Paradis in general during yesterday's disastrous ball. So, supposedly, right now the Prince should be sitting down while sharing a conversation with a Princess so he could have a clearer vision in mind of who he wanted as his wife. The future Queen. He should be—but he wasn't.
Instead, he was outside, sparring with someone while the Princesses, daughters from noble and aristocratic families and their guards stood around them and watched.
Mikasa found it surprising that his advisors hadn't yet drag him off the training grounds and force him to have that private breakfast session instead. The only reason she could think of right on top of her head as to why they let it slide was because they didn't want to offend the person he was sparring with. She was a Princess after all, and the one who had suggested this spar in the first place.
Not to mention, she was the one winning too.
"I can't believe that he is losing to Princess Annie Leonhart." Mikasa heard someone whisper to another when Eren had yet again got tossed to the ground. "What did you expect?" The other person—Princess—replied, "The Crystal Empire's Royal Family is known to practice a unique style of martial arts that is passed down in their family and is also taught to their military. They are ranked second for strongest military, with Paradis coming in at first thanks to the strength of those highly skilled elite Azker Royal Guards. Meanwhile as for the Prince…from what I heard, he apparently doesn't even come close to having the same strength as his own regular guards. He is just a reckless man who is obsessed with executing some criminal clan."
Princess Annie Leonhart of the Crystal Empire, huh? I didn't see her during the ball last night. Mikasa thought as she watched the blonde land a successful kick to Eren's waist.
She was surprised that their spar had even managed to last this long. Judging from the spar in front of her, Annie was definitely more talented than Eren when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Arguably, Mikasa was sure that she was still being lenient to Eren; even if her kicks and punches appeared to be ruthless. After all if she wanted, Mikasa was sure she could knock him out unconscious.
Unlike Annie who would observe her opponent more to find an opening, Eren was brash and would charge straight ahead towards her without thinking all too much. Was he not taught how to properly fight? Mikasa considered. Or maybe hand-to-hand combat isn't his forte, maybe it's sword fighting…
"Eren," Annie called out, "You haven't at all improved from the last time. Your moves are still predictable as ever. How do you expect to defeat those monsters you keep on rambling about?"
Eren glared in response as he spoke, "…don't underestimate me, Annie." Just the sight of his hand balling into a fist as he said that told Mikasa that the cycle would repeat—of him falling prey to her. She wasn't sure what sort of man Eren was. But if he was the type of man that'd get easily riled up, he would have absolutely no chance of winning. Perhaps if he could control his emotions (mostly anger) better, then maybe the outcome of this spar could've been different.
She also took notice of how they addressed one another. They didn't call out to each other with the royal titles of 'Princess' or 'Prince'. It made Mikasa wonder what sort of close bond they shared that was enough to spark a look of jealousy on the faces of the women around her. That, or they were just pissed off at Annie for hogging up the Prince.
On a different note, Mikasa found herself growing concerned as each minute ticked by. Because Levi was yet to show his face. It had already been more than an hour since he had told her that he would continue his private investigation around the Royal Library. Just how long does he plan to investigate? Mikasa wondered. She was already lucky that no one questioned the absence of her personal guard.
A few more minutes passed and they were still sparring. And Eren was still losing. He couldn't counter nor retaliate to majority of her attacks. The fact that he couldn't see the openings that she saw amidst their fight pestered her a bit. How could he not see them?
By now, most of the woman grew bored of the spar in front of them. It was just the same thing repeating over and over, with Eren getting his ass kicked. As a result, a few of them left to have their breakfast under the shade. After all, it didn't seem like that private breakfast session with the Prince was happening anytime soon. Majority of them however, chose to stay and watch their spar while cheering Eren on. It was no mystery to Mikasa that the reason they stayed and cheered Eren on wasn't because they genuinely wanted to give him some form of encouragement. Rather, they wanted to appear more favourable in his eyes so he could choose them to be his Queen.
And perhaps, Mikasa would've done the same. She would've cheered him on and shout encouragements so that Eren would find her more likable, so that she would be a step closer to finding that secret lair. Except, it had already been apparent to her that even if she did that a man like Eren still wouldn't pay any mind to her. It would take more than half-hearted compliments to gain his trust and friendship.
"You're just like the rest of them, waiting to... just get me alone so you can... Listen, Princess. I don't care if you're from the East Sea. I don't know what your intentions were for coming here. But if you think I'm going to sob and cry so you can comfort me, so you can get closer to me. You're wrong. I don't care what your country has to offer, I don't want to marry you or anyone."
"…is this way of you trying to tempt me, Princess? Telling me that by forming these 'good relations' with you, I'd be able to obtain a lot of resources?!"
"So you're not here for marriage? Shocking."
Mikasa remembered everything he had said to her that night vividly. And judging from his words, it was clear to her that cheering him on as a stranger in his eyes would mean nothing to him. It would do nothing. It would just waste time.
Thus, Mikasa left. She walked off. It didn't seem like their spar was going to end anytime soon so that he could socialise with the others. And it didn't seem like his advisors were going to stop him either even if he was more or less making a fool out of himself in front of the women.
As Mikasa walked off, she began to have a mini internal debate of whether if she should go off and find Levi since he hadn't return from his investigation. Albeit, before she could even come to a decision, a familiar sounding voice that shrieked had scattered her thoughts and draw her attention.
"Hey! S-Stop it!" It was coming from the garden. Curious and concerned, she followed the sound of the shriek, to only hear the barbaric sounds of punches and kicks that followed after.
She hid behind a tall leafy tree before taking a peek at the source of the ruckus, and forced a gasp of shock down her throat upon witnessing the brutality in front of her.
Armin was getting beaten up by another nation's guard.
"Apologise to the Princess!" The guard hissed before shooting another kick to his body. "How dare a commoner like you soil the Princess's dress?! And then not apologise for it?!" He shouted, before his foot stomped on his body furiously, resulting in another series of pained screeches.
"N-No!" He retorted weakly, struggling underneath his foot. "She purposely made me fall! She was snickering and mocking me after I fell. It was only when she noticed her dress got splashed by the mud she pushed me into, she started playing the victim. You saw it too—"
"What bullshit are you spouting huh?!" He cursed, bending down to grab his collar, before forcefully slamming him against a tree (that wasn't the one Mikasa hid behind). If that tree had been a stone wall, or if he had used a little more force, Armin was sure he would've been dead by then from the impact. "Yeah!" The Princess with the stained dress agreed, "Are you Paradis's peasants seriously starting a fight with me?! Do you know my country's power?" She hissed.
"I'm… not in the wrong…how am I in the wrong?" Armin continued. That, Mikasa believed. Even if she didn't know him all too well, he definitely didn't seem like the type to start fights nor cause trouble. She highly doubted he would go out his way to purposely stain a Princess's dress out of spite; not when he had been so afraid to even speak to her during the ball. The fact that this chaos was caused by a stained dress that the wealthy Princess could easily replace baffled Mikasa.
What a cruel and disgusting world.
Regardless, even if that were the case, she didn't understand why he wouldn't just give in and apologise even if he wasn't in the wrong. Wouldn't that be better than getting beaten up? Not to mention, The Prince and the Paradis's guards weren't there to save him. They were too far away to hear him. She was sure that he was aware of that much, so why wouldn't he give up?
"Just get on your knees and apologise, you peasant." The guard growled and ignored his question, before giving him a sort of taunting look. "You can punch me if you don't like it, you piece of weak shit." He mocked.
"Like… I'd ever do that. I'd… never stoop that low." His voice became a little hoarse, struggling to breathe as the guard tightened his grip on his collar, practically strangling him. "You refuse to tell me what I have done wrong… and chose to beat me up instead because you know I'm right—I've done nothing wrong. And you can't say a thing to refute me…"
So that was why. It wasn't just a matter of pride for him. His courage was admirable, really. If she had been in his position, and that guard had been Kenny… it'd have been a different story for her.
"Why you…" The guard scowled, raising his free hand up that clenched itself tightly. Armin closed his eyes in response, and readied himself to receive another punch.
I shouldn't intervene. Mikasa thought.
She was on a mission after all. She knew very well that if she intervened, it would cause trouble for her later on. She knew nothing good would come out from getting involved in this. It wasn't as if Eren was around to watch her save Armin. She wouldn't be able to gain his trust or acknowledgement by saving his friend since he wasn't even around to witness it.
She knew that didn't have much to gain by saving Armin. She had some things to lose, though. For one thing, if she intervened and used some violence during her intervention, people would become more wary of her if word got out about it (which she knew would most likely happen). Most of the people around here already had their guard up high around her, since to them she was just an unknown Princess from some mysterious place that had isolated themselves ever since the previous war.
There was the option of informing someone, but she knew by the time she got help back, Armin would already have his lights knocked out. It would be too late.
I should not intervene. She told herself, trying to force her gaze away from the trembling, frightful blonde who braced for the worst as a fist came hurling right at his face.
...
And yet, she found herself catching the guard's raging fist before it could connect with Armin's face. She didn't flinch nor wince from his fist's forceful impact when her hand intervened his attack, the only expression that showed on her face sub-consciously was a look of pure disgust along with a sharp glare.
Startled, the guard released the blonde's collar from his grasp. And fortunately for Armin, he was caught by Mikasa before he could've had the chance to fall again.
"Are you ok—" Before Mikasa could have the opportunity to finish her question, she was immediately interrupted by the mud-stained Princess. "What are you doing?! He's a commoner!" She spat, as if offended that one of her own kind sided with a peasant.
"And so?" Mikasa responded, and the coldness laced in her words seemed to only offend her further. "H-How dare you be so rude!?" She fumed before shooting her guard a look. "Do something!"
"Of course." He growled, looking equally as pissed as the Princess. Perhaps it was because he refused to believe that a mere Princess from some unknown land managed to counter his powerful fist. It was a matter of his pride. "How dare you disrespect her?!" He snapped, charging towards her without a second thought, aiming his fist at her.
Even though I'm a 'royal', these sort of things still happen huh…? She thought silently as she watched the guard drew closer. Is it because of 'my origins'? From an unknown land… or is it because she and her guard are just ignorant, arrogant scums?
Once he had been close enough, she then swiftly and effortlessly countered him with an unmerciful kick in the groin, which inevitably resulted in a loud yelp and an abrupt halt in the momentum of his flying fist. The Princess's eyes widened in shock. How did she react so fast? How did she attack him so calmly while simultaneously protecting the commoner?
"Y-You—" Mikasa was already walking off with Armin, finding a spot for him to rest so she could aid him. "I…I'm going to tell Prince Eren's advisors about this…! And then I'll… I'll get them to send you back to your shitty land!" Mikasa didn't give her a reply.
Ackermans shouldn't draw unnecessary attention to them. That was what she was taught since young, and here she was, blatantly going against just that more than she should be, more than her role allowed. She wondered how much trouble she was in. She expected a scolding from Levi which was something she wasn't looking forward to. She didn't even want to think what Kenny would do to her if he were to find out how much she messed up the mission.
She wasn't sure what was going to happen when the advisors found out she kicked the balls of another nation's guard, literally.
What am I doing? She thought quietly. Why did I help him?
Well, whatever the reason, she couldn't undo what she just did. And even though she was aware of the consequences of this, she felt no regret.
It had been around ten minutes since the incident, and five minutes since Mikasa found an emergency first aid kit around the garden. She currently sat on a bench with Armin next to her, whose body was tensed throughout the entire process of her cleaning and bandaging his wounds.
"…Relax." Mikasa muttered, causing him to flinch. "I'm not going to hurt you." She sighed as she bandaged the last of his wounds. She looked up to meet his gaze, to which only expressed fright. It didn't take long for his blue orbs to avoid her. It was evident to her that he felt uncomfortable around her, and after what she had done to that guard, she couldn't blame him.
She didn't expect him to thank her, much less talk to her either. She didn't even know how she managed to convince him to let her tend to his wounds and clean some of the mud off of him when all he seemed to want was to stay far away from her. She didn't even know why she was bandaging his wounds. She could've handed him over to someone else to bring him to the infirmary. It wasn't her responsibility. And yet she took it on herself to tend to him immediately once her eyes spotted an emergency first aid kit nearby, as if some motherly instinct had overtaken her. Even if it involved handling blood, she still…
Blood. That guard opened up some new scars for him, resulting in a little bleeding. Thankfully, nothing was too severe and the fresh wounds weren't so deep. There was barely any blood spilling out of him. Only a little.
Albeit in the past, even a little was enough to draw out the bloodthirsty side of Mikasa.
Fortunately, that side hadn't sprung out of her even when her eyes first caught sight of his bleeding. Her bloodlust was unpredictable, and she was quite relieved that it didn't choose to be unpredictable in the worse way when she had been bandaging his wounds. Perhaps the fact that there was mud all over him had covered the scent and sight of blood made the probability of her bloodlust springing out lessen.
"Thank… you." Mikasa's eyes widened as she heard him suddenly speak. "Sorry… It's just… I-I didn't… expect that." He muttered as he fidgeted with his hands nervously, still looking away. "Why… Why did you help me?"
Why did I help him? She questioned herself. I had nothing to gain from it and yet…
"…I just wanted to." Those words left her lips before she could have the time to form a proper reasoning in her head for her actions. "And I…It's…yeah." I have killed and hurt enough innocent people because of my unstable bloodlust, so when I saw you getting hurt… and when I realised I was once again faced with the choice of saving someone as opposed to murdering them… I couldn't help myself.—Of course she couldn't tell him that.
"Oh…" was all he managed, before silence overtook their conversation. She then looked away towards her left arm covered by the long sleeves of her blouse, deciding to then roll it up. She wouldn't have chosen to wear a long-sleeved blouse had she known she would be outside this long, under the scorching sun. And if she had known she would be kicking someone today, she wouldn't have worn a long skirt either.
Despite the fact that he was unwilling to make any form of eye contact with her earlier, Mikasa could feel his failure of a sneaky glance at her every now and then while she rolled up her sleeve, her attention seemingly focused elsewhere.
He had done the same thing when they had first met during the ball. Glancing at her, looking at her. It wasn't in a creepy nor perverted way, but it was more of… as if he was trying to confirm something.
"Is there… something on my face?" she decided to confront him before turning back towards the blonde, catching him in the act as her obsidian orbs caught his glimpse that turned into a… stare. And that perplexed Mikasa even more. His pupils widened as if he just came to some form of epiphany that she wasn't aware of. "I-I… no." He stuttered before finally peeling his gaze away. "It's just…" Whatever he planned to say, he definitely was hesitant about it. And she didn't understand why. Was her presence as a 'Princess' just overwhelming for him? Was that why he acted so nervous and so… strange around her? Or was it something else?
"You just…" He continued, still hesitant and unsure. "You just… I… Are you—"
"Armin." A voice interrupted him, and both their heads turned towards the owner of that voice. "A-Annie…" Armin stuttered.
It's that Princess who was sparring Eren. Mikasa thought, and now that she had a closer look of her, she thought about the possibility that she was the light blonde haired woman who had been talking to Armin earlier in that secluded area she saw from her bedroom's window. She wasn't sure what they were talking about before, or what history they shared, but she could easily feel the tension between them from the way they both eyed one another.
Just who was Annie to Armin? And to Eren?
Annie was the first to avert her gaze away from his, to only look at the bandages wrapped around him. Her eyes narrowed, and Mikasa saw concern in them. "I'm…sorry." Armin apologised.
"We'll talk later, when we're alone." She replied, before eying the raven.
Upon realising that she was an intruder to their conversation, Mikasa stood up straight away, seeing that they needed some sort of privacy. "I'll take my lea—"
"Is it true Princess Azu?!" Another interruption. Mikasa turned to see Eren's advisors with the Princess and the guard she dealt with earlier who stood behind them. Along with them, a crowd from behind slowly gathered and surrounded them—and now even Eren was there, who then rushed over towards Armin worriedly. "Did you attack Princess Anais and her guard?"
So her name had been Anais.
"Of course she did!" Anais frowned. "You can't trust this… this East Sea Person's words!" She scowled.
"She defended him, isn't that right?" Annie retorted before Mikasa could, and honestly it caught her a little off guard that she seemed to be defending her. Armin nodded in response to Annie's question. "Do you not see his wounds? It wouldn't surprise me to know that Claronte nation's guards attacked a commoner, considering you treat your own people like garbage."
"Huh?! What evidence do you even have that I had my guard beat him u—"
"Because Armin doesn't lie!" Eren shouted with anger boiling in his eyes, startling Anais. "I can't believe you fuckin—"
"Prince Eren!" One of his advisor scolded, "Don't curse at a Princess." He warned, but Eren didn't seem to care. Just before another argument could've occurred, Annie had intervened again.
"Calm down, Eren." She sighed. "As frustrated as I am at Princess Anais's disgusting actions, I'm sure none of us want any 'accidents' happening on Paradis grounds, or arguments that could worsen… relations." She said before shooting a cold glare at Anais, and then to Eren's advisors who then shrank back. Her words sounded like a threat, if anything.
Anais gulped and looked away. Her cold gaze was enough to terrify her and she knew that her worth—her country's worth amounted to nothing next to the Crystal Empire. It seemed like she now only realised the boundaries she crossed. Even Eren's advisors didn't dare retort. They didn't seem like they wanted to get on Annie's—or rather the Crystal Empire's—bad side.
"Moving on," She continued as she turned to Mikasa, and from cold, she sounded more sincere as she spoke, "I'd like to thank you for saving him from those people. It's not every day you see someone from royalty stand up against another nation's guard for a commoner."
Mikasa nodded. "Yeah…It's nothing." She assured.
"Well, now that that's out of the way…" She sighed, "Spar me." She said—no, she demanded.
Wait, what? Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. That was… out of the blue.
"An…— Princess Annie—"
"I'm interested, and curious." Annie said, cutting Armin off. "I'm curious to see if my martial arts would work on someone like you. It's been a while since I last met a Princess who could spar or at least, put up a fight."
"…I didn't really fight with her guard. I just caught him off guard." Mikasa justified, "And I… saw you sparring earlier. My ability is no match for yours. I don't wish to get hurt unnecessarily, nor am I looking for a fight. You can ask the Paradis's guards for a spar. They are definitely more skilled than me." The last thing she needed was to give more reason for people to be wary of her.
Annie scoffed, her eyes tracing towards her exposed, muscly arm. "Your arm tells me otherwise." Before Mikasa could question, her hand reached out and lifted up the arm that had its sleeves rolled up. "Aside from your arm muscles that tell me you could be as skilled as or even more skilled than Paradis regular guards..." Annie commented, moving closer to the raven, her eyes squinting as she continued, "I can see a few fading scars on your skin. Scars that tell me you've trained—" Mikasa snatched back her arm before she could've let her finish. She looked away, feeling an overwhelming amount of discomfort washing over her nerves. She did not anticipate for someone to even notice her scars, much less blatantly point them out in front of a crowd.
Mikasa was generally a quick healer, but the last few vigorous training sessions she had with Kenny before they left for this mission had exhausted her enough to slow down her body's usual healing speed. She felt a little sick, just remembering how much he pushed her during then.
"Sorry. I seemed to have crossed a line." Annie sighed, taking a step back to give her some space. "I don't know much about what's Hizuru doing ever since the war. But your arm at least tells me that they must have put you through some form of tough training, and maybe have a fighting style passed down in your royal bloodline—like me. And maybe even have this fighting style taught to your own military. Am I right?"
"Yes… you're right." Mikasa said, because she couldn't think of any other lie and reason for her fading scars on the spot. "But I don't want to fight you. You can spar with one of Prince Eren's guards." She repeated. She wasn't looking for a fight that could result in more open wounds and… more blood exposed to her eye.
"I've beaten the regular guards before. The royal elite guards are elsewhere on duty." Annie remarked, "Besides…since you admitted to Hizuru having its own fighting technique passed down in its royal family and military, I want to test my technique with yours. I'm curious and I want a challenge. It's important to know how strong other nations are, Princess Mikasa Azu. So other nations can improve to that strength, in case of a war, you know." Just what was she hinting at?
"Besides, everyone's curious too." She said as she gestured to the crowd that encircled them, looking at them, Mikasa specifically, with unduly inquisitive eyes. And Mikasa hated the fact that some of them nodded in agreement to Annie's statement. "Right now, you're the only one who can represent Hizuru's strength and whatever fighting technique your ancestors passed down to you."
Mikasa's eyes narrowed. She could see what Annie was doing. If she refused, everyone's suspicion on her and Hizuru would increase since they would think Hizuru was hiding something due to her unwillingness to display some of Hizuru's fighting techniques or whatever of that sort.
She was cornering her into accepting her request for a spar.
"Hizuru isn't planning on waging a war." Mikasa reassured, but she knew that much wasn't enough to extinguish the curiosity of the others that surrounded them about her newly blossomed lie of Hizuru's passed down fighting techniques. "And I'm not even in a proper attire to spar."
She glanced towards Eren's advisors, to see them awfully interested in the spar Annie suggested to her. Of course they'd want to know more about Hizuru, and their military and soldier's strengths—their supposed fighting techniques. It was expected. They probably wanted to see if their position as the strongest nation (military-wise) would be threatened.
After all, if she could beat Annie (who claimed to have beaten most of Paradis's regular guards before and whose nation was only second to Paradis in regards to military/fighting strength), naturally they'd think Hizuru's military were as strong as or stronger than her.
Except, Annie wasn't challenging Hizuru's strength—but an Ackerman. An Ackerman who had an incredibly, hideously unpredictable bloodlust. "You can change." Annie said, giving a shrug, "Unless, I could ask your guard instead. He is part of your military, isn't he?"
But Levi wasn't there. For all Mikasa knew, he was probably still sneaking around—or worse, in some place he shouldn't be. She knew that if she told her that he wasn't here, but in the library, not only would Eren's advisors and the others be suspicious of a guard pretty much abandoning his post but also if they were to search the library and find that Levi was not there because he wandered off elsewhere, they'd see her as a liar. The Prince—the person who she was supposed to get close to—would see her as a liar, and have even more reason to distrust her. For all she knew, they'd ship her back to her homeland Hizuru or throw her behind bars if she raised anymore suspicion that could warrant her as a spy.
Mikasa didn't even want to think about the other consequences.
Annie had her cornered, alright.
"Speaking of your guard," She continued, "Wher—"
"Fine." Mikasa resigned, cutting her off. "I'll… spar with you." The moment those words left her lips, she could already feel the regret and reluctance accumulating within her. For one thing, there was her bloodlust to be extremely worried about.
Granted, the last time Kenny taunted her with the sight of blood, her bloodlust hadn't awaken to the horrid sight, nor did it break out when she showed a little violence to that guard earlier or when she tended to Armin's wounds. So, sparring with her should be okay, right?
Mikasa couldn't say for sure. After all, her bloodlust was the most unstable and unpredictable among the remaining Ackermans.
And upon entering her lair, did Levi's eyes widened at the shit he saw. Not literal shit, but it was enough to disgust him to the point where he felt bile rising up to his throat. He felt some irritation bubbling as well.
"What the fuck." He cursed.
Right before his eyes, was one of the messiest, dirtiest and filthiest room he ever saw in his twenty-four years of living. And given the fact he practically lived in a shit-hole in those twenty-four years—that was saying a lot.
It was a relatively small lair. There was a table in front with several yellow-paged books spread all over—messed up all over on it. It made him wonder what the point was of having a bookshelf next to the table, but even that bookshelf was ridiculously untidy with even more outrageously dusty books.
Along with these books were also a bunch of crinkled papers scattered everywhere from the table to the ground. There were other shockingly less crumpled papers too, with a variety of sketches ranging from weapons to flowers to the most illegible handwriting pinned against the worn-down walls. There were cupboards too. Cupboards with cobwebs on every single corner. He didn't even want to know what was inside.
Not to mention, the smell of this place. It reeked.
"Sorry, it's not usually this messy. But I had been too busy with some projects to clean." She chuckled, having taken notice of the look of pure disgust written all over the male's face. She grabbed the books off of Levi's hands and placed them on her desk, worsening the mess.
Levi recalled that Kenny mentioned something along the lines that the lair could only be directly accessed by the royalty of Paradis. Perhaps his information was wrong, and that trusted advisors like her had direct access too. But Kenny was barely wrong about intel. Aside from that, there was something in his gut that told him that this wasn't the place Kenny was referring to. And he had to confirm this gut feeling of his, somehow.
Though, he wondered what the hell that particular customer wanted so much from the lair. Hell, in the first place it was beyond his comprehension why Kenny even accepted this customer's request…unless, he was the customer. It was a thought that briefly crossed his mind, never dwelling too long. It just didn't make sense for the man who always warned them to avoid royal affairs and had avoided royal affairs himself to suddenly grow so interested in them. Then again, nothing ever made sense with that old man. He kept too many secrets, and it was a pain in the ass to even try and figure him out.
"Do… all advisors have their personal lairs?" Levi queried carefully, taking a step closer to one of the papers pinned against the walls. It had an odd-looking flower sketched onto it, with the capitalized word 'POISONOUS' written next to it. Though, if anything, the most poisonous thing that Levi had encountered so far was this shitty lair. The stench of this place seemed so toxic, he could've sworn it was trying to choke him.
"Hm? No." She replied as she opened a book, flipping it around, trying to find a specific page. "I didn't start out as an advisor, actually. I started out as Paradis's scientist. I mean, there are some scientists out there that aren't solely working here, and have their own lair somewhere but eh… well, I just conduct some private experiments for the advisors and royal stuff. And then I soon became Prince Eren's private doctor since I studied medicine too. All this work… I swear I am underpaid!" She exclaimed dramatically before heaving an overdramatic sigh. What a chatty woman. Levi noted.
"I was only appointed as an advisor because I'm probably the only adult Eren listens to." She gave a half-hearted laugh towards the end, taking one of the several crinkled papers laying on her desk, scribbling something new.
"…So, you're a…'Scientist'?" Levi said as he arched a brow. He took another glance of this place, and then another. This putrid place was anything but a scientist's lair, that's for sure.
"I know it's hard to believe, since you can hardly call this a lair." She said as if she read his mind. "But yeah. I conduct experiments here every now and then, all of the materials I need are in those cupboards. The awful stench you're smelling was the remains of my previous experiment." She added on. Levi didn't even want to know what that experiment was. "A bigger place would be nice, and I did have one… but I might have accidentally set my old lair on fire."
Why wasn't Levi surprised?
Well, at least he could confirm that this was probably not the lair that customer was referring to. Unless it was the one that Hanji was referring to; the one that burnt into utter flames. Most likely, that lair that that customer wanted contained important information of some sort. Dirt on the royal family? Blackmail? Levi didn't know. Aside from research papers and science books, there didn't seem to be anything worth noting. He would have to ask Kenny to give a better emphasis on what lair he wanted them to find when he had the chance.
"Armin was so angry when he found out, because he was doing his own personal research about plants. His anger was nothing compared to the other advisors though…" Hanji shook her head at that memory.
"Armin…?"
"Oh, my apprentice. He started out as a gardener here but I soon found out that he has a rather bright and intelligent mind so I—"
"Okay." Levi stopped her. He didn't need someone's long backstory. He needed information about the actual lair. And if he wasn't going to find it in this shitty, rotting 'lair' then he would definitely love to leave no—
"You look like you want to kill something." Hanji said jokingly. "You still have that disgusted look on your face. Does this place appal you so much? It isn't that messy."
'It isn't that messy.' Levi didn't wish to know or witness her own definition of messy. The idea that a room could be messier than this horrified him.
"There could be a dead rat here and I wouldn't be surprised." He deadpanned and was then caught off guard when she chuckled in response. "True, true. What a clean-freak Hizuru has for a guard." She teased.
Levi flinched. Clean-freak. She wasn't the first one to call him that. "Tch. I am not a clean-freak. You're just a filth-freak." He retorted, eying at the rubbish with repulsion.
Hanji only tossed up her hands in the air defensively. "Okay, okay. You got me there. But I swear, it really isn't usually this messy in here! You're overreacting." She huffed, and Levi shot her a look that was something mixed between doubt and a glare. "I'm not lying!" She remarked upon noticing the doubt in his eyes that only intensified after her remark, so did his glare.
"Gee, stop with that murderous look. Don't kill a poor woman like me over this mess." She joked before continuing, "Jokes aside, you seem like a nice guy. I really hope Paradis and Hizuru can establish good relations." She smiled, and while Levi didn't think too much about her grim jokes, he found himself bewildered at her presumed impression on him. This woman was…odd.
Nice. That was something Levi didn't expect to leave her lips. He didn't expect an advisor to talk so informally either. But then again, they were behind closed doors, and judging from what she told him earlier, it didn't seem like she even wanted to be an advisor. If anything, the role of an eccentric scientist suited her more. "I just called you a shitty filth-freak and you're calling me nice?" He responded flatly, knitting his brows together.
She shrugged. "I mean… fair enough, ya know? I called you a clean-freak." She pointed out. "Besides, even after all your repulsive and murderous looks, I'm still alive, aren't I?" She laughed a little. "Plus, I'm sure the last thing Hizuru wants to do is to be on bad terms with Paradis and other nations that are on our good terms."
"Yeah…" Levi muttered as he walked over to her, unavoidably stepping on the pieces of paper that pretty much made up of the flooring. And he finally had enough. "That aside, it wouldn't hurt to clean this shit now. There could seriously be a dead rat in here." He grumbled as he began to pick up the pieces of paper on the ground.
"H-Hey! You don't have to clean up for me!" Hanji said, feeling rather bad for the man who was practically cleaning a fraction of her mess. She quickly walked over to him, planning to stop him. "I don't enjoy… messes." That was one way to put it.
And just before Hanji could stop him from picking up any more of her trash, something had caught his eye. His eyes widened. It was a sketch of two awfully familiar figures, wearing awfully familiar masks. There was also another more feminine figure, albeit barely sketched. "What's… this?"
"Ah!" She exclaimed, snatching the paper away from him, "I've been looking for this! I thought I threw it out!" She said in a rather celebratory way, before sighing in relief. "Oh, that's right. You're from Hizuru, I suppose you don't know them. It's sketches of the Ackermans. In short, they're wanted criminals that the Prince detests to the very core. Recently, the Commander of the Royal Guards wanted me to sketch them based on some witnesses' remarks of them, so the new recruits could recognize them a little more and hopefully take them down during their respective duties. And that," She pointed to what Levi assumed was Kenny. "He is known as The Ripper Ackerman. Named after the urban legend of The Ripper. People say he is the most vicious and merciless one. He has killed the most. He's recognizable from that cowboy hat he is wearing. But of course, doesn't mean it is any easier in catching him. A lot of people wear hats these days."
"This is the Female Ackerman, also known as the Mystery one." Hanji continued, "Never seen on the surface before. But she does exist, according to rumours from the underground that made it up to the surface. She's recognizable from her feminine body. Not much is known about her. Although, it's said that she's always accompanied by this other one." She commented, before pointing to the next sketched-out figure that was supposed to be Levi.
"The Short Ackerman. As you can tell from his name, his distinguishable trait is his height, which was what got his name. He ventures on the surface, but not as often as The Ripper." Levi forced himself not to react to that nickname he was bestowed by the surface-folk. The Short Ackerman. He couldn't believe that even on the surface, he was unable to escape the reality and tragedy of what was his height. But from the sketch, he swore she drew him much shorter than he actually was.
'Shortass' His sister's words began to echo. He could already imagine her shitty expression if she were to find out about this.
"They're all skilled merciless killers that murder and disrupt the innocent lives of Paradis. They are the people that the Prince hopes to eradicate for the sake of peace and freedom." She summarized and before Levi could reply, she asked, "Do you hate them?"
A funny question to ask an Ackerman. Not that she would know, right?
"If what you said is true, who wouldn't hate them? So yes, I do." Levi gave her an answer that was expected of a guard from a foreign land. Even if he were to give her an answer as an Ackerman himself, it would've been the same. Yes, I do hate myself. It's not like I fucking want to murder p—
"Ahh… your answer is the same as the rest. Unamusing but it's not unexpected." She groaned, her head bending backwards. "… unlike many, I don't hate the Ackermans." What? While Levi was immersed in shock, Hanji continued. "Ahh, I remember telling Prince Eren this and he was utterly furious. I don't blame him, but sometimes I wish that kid would listen to the whole t—"
"…Why?" He found himself asking her before he could stop himself. "They are murderers, aren't they?" He didn't understand this absurd woman at all. Who wouldn't hate them? Who wouldn't hate him?
They were monsters. He was a monster. He killed so many people and yet—
Hanji looked back up towards him and adjusted her glasses. With a friendly smile, she nonchalantly explained to him, "Well, I can't fully hate them. Intrigued is a better word. A lot of their history doesn't make sense. There are admittedly a lot of holes and gaps in the stories I was told about them, and their feud with the royal family." She sighed, "The other advisors—who are much older, said that the Ackermans were a clan formed to disrupt Paradis's harmony and to overthrow the King. But that doesn't make sense. If it were, the Ackermans would've killed off Eren already, and unveil their masks, and then seize power through force."
'The Ackermans were a clan formed to overthrow the King'—that was the first time he heard of such news. Whether it was true or not only Kenny could answer. And if that was true, just how much was he hiding? Was that part of the reason why he assigned this mission to them?
"Don't get me wrong, though!" She waved her hand defensively, "Just in case you think I am mad, I haven't made any dealings with them. It is not my desire to slaughter any lives for revenge and whatnot. And by all means, I am not justifying their murders." She assured, "It's just…when you look at the documents that aren't exposed to public about Paradis's history and the history of the Ackermans and so on, you realise a lot of holes in history. Not even the commoners who lived during the time when they were more active in their murders remember what started the feud. It's like… it appeared out of nowhere."
Whatever Hanji was telling Levi about his own clan's past made him wonder just how much Kenny knew, experienced and did. He hadn't even seen the whole clan before; by the time Kenny took him away from his mother, and took him under his wing, they were all dead.
"Perhaps like Eren, maybe the Ackermans are seeking revenge for something that the past King tried to hide. Oh, but that's just a theory, I'm just curious about the Ackerman's motives. I mean, if they wanted money they could just steal from the rich rather than resort to murder... it doesn't make sense. Unless they're complete psychos…" She considered, "But then if they are why would they bother make illegal dealings rather than just start a massacre or something similarly chaotic to wreak havoc?"
"I can't fully hate what I don't know." She finally concluded.
Levi found himself at a loss of words. What the hell was he supposed to say after all that? 'Maybe the Ackermans are seeking revenge for something that the past King tried to hide.'—those words brought back the thought of Kenny being the customer who wanted the exact location of the lair.
Before he could find himself thinking about that shitty man any further, he realised something. Granted, this four-eyed woman was a generally annoyingly chatty person when it came to these sorts of things that piqued her curiosity. But…
"Why are you telling me this?" He finally said.
But why was she telling him all these things?
He was a just stranger to her after all. It wasn't as if she figured out…
Hanji blinked her eyes before tilting her head sideways a little. "Well… I mean—"
"HANJI!" Armin yelled as he barged right into her lair unannounced before she could've given him an answer.
"Oh! Hey Armin!" She greeted with a smile, not seeming to care all too much about the interruption. "Say, Armin, can you tell my new pal here that this place isn't normally this messy?" She sighed, shaking her head as she gestured to Levi. Pal? Levi frowned, since when was this 'pal' thing established? "He won't believe me—"
"Not… now!" He shouted, a couple of pants following after. "Princess Azu… and Princess Leonhart are… currently engaged in a fight. And… I don't think it's going to end well."
Levi's eyes widened. What?
Once Mikasa changed into something more suiting, it didn't take too long for their spar to start.
"A-Are you sure it's good idea, Eren? To let them fight…?" Armin whispered to the brunette anxiously.
"I mean, it's not like they're going to fight to the death." Eren remarked, his eyes fixated on their spar—specifically, on Mikasa. He was impressed by her skill, and surprised that she hadn't fallen prey to Annie. And if he had to be a little honest, he was quite envious too. "It's the first time in a while since someone managed to match Annie's pace."
"…Hanji won't be happy about this if she found out. She specifically told you that during this selection she didn't want to see any Princess getting into fights and getting injured on Paradis's grounds. The whole Princess Anais and her guard incident was bad enough already…" Armin frowned. "And you know very well that the only reason why the other advisors allowed this to continue is because they are worried if their strength is threatened. They want to see if Princess Mikasa—if Hizuru can rival our Royal Guard's strength in combat considering if she does defeat Annie then—"
"Armin, calm down." Eren had cut him off, reluctantly peeling his eyes away from their spar to face the blonde, only to be confused as to why he looked so worried. "Out of all people, you should have the most faith in Annie's strength… besides, it's a friendly spar. If things do go out of hand, I will step in."
"I know. But…" Armin bit his lip.
"But?"
"But—"
Armin's words were cut off by a loud thud sound which was caused by Annie, who successfully had Mikasa pinned down after their rather long spar. At the sight of what seemed like her victory, the ocean eyed male was about to sigh in relief, until he heard Annie's accusation, "You're holding back."
Just like that, Armin's worry was back while Eren and the others that surrounded them looked confused. How was she holding back? From the perspective of those watching, Mikasa was definitely not holding back. She had dodged Annie's famously ruthless kicks while at the same time retaliating at any chance she got. There was no way she was holding back.
She was not holding back—that was what Mikasa wanted them to believe. She wanted to fool them into thinking just that.
And yet, she was found out by her opponent.
What Annie said was true. She was holding back. She didn't mind losing. She didn't dare go all out, because a part of her was afraid that if she did, and if by some bad luck should blood spill, she wasn't sure if she could contain her bloodlust.
Blood and high-stress situations. Those were the main triggers for Mikasa—and any Ackerman in general. Except, unlike the other Ackermans who could still manage to control the demons within them when they are met with such triggers, Mikasa couldn't. It was a gamble. It was always a gamble. Sometimes she could, sometimes she couldn't.
And the fact that Mikasa felt her heart physically palpitating faster than it should really wasn't helping her.
"…I'm not." She muttered, looking away from the blonde who held her down. Breathe… breathe. She chanted to herself internally.
"Yes you are. I'm not an idiot." Annie retorted, "I'm not even holding you down that tightly, you could overturn me if you tried. And yet, you're not even struggling." She pointed out before leaning closer to the raven's ear as she whispered, "So let loose a little bit. I want to see what monstrous strength Hizuru is capable of."
Monstrous. That word echoed in Mikasa's head for a bit.
Monster. "She… She's a monster!" She remembered someone from the past screaming that while a younger version of herself had been savouring the sight of blood pouring out from someone's head that had just been split o—
Kill her. A voice chime in her head.
The next thing Mikasa knew, she shoved Annie off roughly. She didn't even give her the time to get up as she forcefully grabbed both her wrists with only one of her hands, pushing them hard onto the ground.
Now, Annie was the one pinned with Mikasa sitting and putting all her weight on her stomach. Annie only smirked. "Finally you—" She started choking before she could've finished her sentence, for Mikasa had used her free hand to suffocate her.
K…Killer intent, huh? Annie thought when she met the raven's eyes—whose obsidian orbs changed drastically. Her eyes slowly filled itself with the look of killer intent. I wonder if my other techniques would work on a monster like her. Who would've thought another Princess… would've been this skilled.
But Mikasa wasn't a Princess. She was an Ackerman—and unfortunately for Annie, she hadn't figured out that much. And even if she did, it would probably be too late as Mikasa found herself slowly losing herself.
Kill her before—!
No! Control, Mikasa… Control…
Another spar was occurring in Mikasa's mind now. She found herself wanting to just yield and run away to cool off before it worsened, but she also found herself wanting to see her die in the most gruesome way. She wanted to gouge her pair of crystal-like eyes to—
No!
Deep breathes… Take… deep breathes…
Of course it had to be when everyone was watching her, scrutinizing her that her bloodlust decided that it wanted to properly introduce itself.
Take a deep brea—
Her nose suddenly caught the scent of something unsettling. Blood.
She flinched in the instant she recognized that smell, and in that same instant Annie took advantage of her brief falter. The blonde managed to lift one of her legs up—which were fortunately not secured by Mikasa—to hit her unprotected back.
As a result, she winced and her hands instinctively loosened its grip on both her wrists and neck for a second—and that was all she needed. Annie's hands unhesitatingly broke free of her earlier grip. However, before Annie could've gotten the chance to retaliate, Mikasa had gotten back up and backed far, far away, covering her nose with her hand.
That was close. Mikasa thought, and was actually happy that she managed to break free. But the moment she felt a ravenous feeling stirring in her stomach, she knew it was too soon to be relieved.
"Ah… my hand's bleeding." Annie murmured as she stood up, her eyes grimacing at the blood dripping down from the back of her palm before at the ground where Mikasa had her wrists pinned to see a sharp rock there. That must've scraped my skin when she pushed me down. I was careless.
"Annie!" Eren called out with his brows furrowed, walking towards her. "Enough already, you're hurt." Just as he promised Armin, he wouldn't want this 'friendly spar' to get out of hand.
"It's only a scratch. Not a lot of blood is bleeding, we can continue. I want to see if my other techniques can work on such a… monster." She said, and it was true. Not a lot of blood was bleeding out. Though, Mikasa—Mikasa's bloodlust— begged to differ. "Besides, your advisors want to see Princess Mikasa's—Hizuru's—combat style and strength don't they?" Annie queried as she glanced over to his advisors who nodded.
Eren bit his lip. As much as he was curious about who would win, and as much as he found himself intrigued in the way Mikasa fought, he didn't want either one of them to receive any severe injury. If she isn't going to listen to me, then maybe she would listen to Armin… Eren thought.
"Oi Armin, tell your—Armin?"
He wasn't there.
Since when did he leave? Eren wondered. He had been too engrossed with their spar to have noticed him slip away. Where did he go?
"Let's continue." Annie remarked, but Mikasa didn't respond. She couldn't even hear Annie, or anyone for that matter.
She was looking down on the ground. She was forcing her eyes to remain fixated on the ground.
"Don't look at the blood. Don't look at the blood." She repeated quietly to herself as she tried to push away the urge to make more blood spill. I don't know if I can…
"Princess Mikasa?" Eren was the first to notice her discomfort. "Look, Annie. She didn't exactly want to fight in the first place. Let's just call it a tie before anyone—Oi!" Annie pushed herself past Eren as she cautiously approached her opponent. "She might just be feigning weakness for all you know. Never underestimate an opponent. She hasn't even surrendered." She mumbled to Eren as she took another step closer, "If you don't make the first move, I will."
The scent of blood drew closer, and no matter how tightly Mikasa pinched her nose, she could smell it.
"Annie." Eren said, more firmly now as he began to walk over to her. "Just continue it another da—"
"Prince Eren!" One of his advisors hissed as he went over to block Eren's path. "Let them continue. Princess Annie is right, it is just a scratch. Besides…" His voice went low, so only he could hear. "We need to confirm if this Hizuru Princess is stronger than Princess Annie who is almost as skilled as our Royal Guards, because if that's the case, there is a possibility that her country's military is stronger than ours. And we can't let that happen—"
"What? You think that's important now?" Eren couldn't believe that they had the audacity to even say that. "What kind of bullshit is that?! I don't care about that! Even if it's a scratch Annie is still injured—Hanji didn't want that. And Princess Mikasa doesn't even look well!"
"Prince Eren!" He shouted. "As a Prince you should understand that it is vital for…"
Even as all the shouting continued, Mikasa could still hear nothing. Everything was silent. Her ears only waited for the sound of blood to drip.
Just don't look and it'll go away. Mikasa thought to herself as her hands clenched onto her shirt. She no longer took deep breathes, in fear of inhaling the scent of the blood. Instead, she tried to hold her breath, however it just made the creeping urge to kill worsen. There was no escape.
She desperately did want to surrender. But when her lips parted, no words came out as her mind clouded with sinful thoughts. It was taking control of her.
Just don't look. She could no longer hold herself back, or rather the heinous side of her couldn't. Don't look. Her head slowly tilted up. That ravenous feeling inside of her grew, craving for the sight of… Look away! Her eyes began to slowly look up—
— And when she finally looked up, everything became pitch black as she felt something or rather, someone covering her eyes.
Levi. It was Levi, whose hands swiftly covered her eyes. "Calm down." He chided.
Meanwhile, Hanji who followed behind, immediately stood between them. "I don't know if this was meant as a friendly fight, but no matter how minor the injury, I'd like it to end here." She smiled towards Annie, before her eyes turned towards the few advisors who looked displeased at their entrance. That friendly smile soon faded as her face darkened once she looked towards the other advisors. "And as an advisor, it is our responsibility to also ensure that friendly spars do not evolve into something dangerous even if you did want to see the full potential and strength of Hizuru."
"Advisor Hanji." One of them hissed. "How do you even know if the spar was going to get dangerous? Princess Leonhart barely got injured—"
"From what I heard from my apprentice on the way here, Princess Azu didn't seem willing at all to participate in this fight. She was pressured into doing so. And none of you thought to interfere? Is that how we treat our guests?" Hanji frowned, before turning to Annie, "And Princess Leonhart, I seek your cooperation that you do not pressure anyone else into a spar."
"…My apologies." She muttered. Hanji couldn't tell if she meant it genuinely or not. It wasn't as if she could find out anyway, she was already walking off with Armin following after and then Eren.
Hanji sighed, shaking her head. "She's just the same as before…"She mumbled to herself, as she turned towards the direction where Mikasa was supposed to be with Levi. "And you—"
But they weren't there anymore, and no one knew where they went.
Author's notes:
I'm sorry for my inactivity. I hope this chapter isn't too long haha. I also hope this chapter isn't shit, I lost some of my motivation with writing in general due to personal stuff in real life (nothing too serious don't worry) so I hope it doesn't show here. I'm slowly getting my passion back for it, but it will take a while. I'll still try my best to give at least monthly updates for all current ongoing fanfics (But please don't expect too much, this year isn't going so great haha).
More importantly, I felt like I wrote Kenny too harshly. So I might change some things in previous chapters SOON, but nothing too drastic don't worry!
Thank you for reading this, feedback would be appreciated so I can get better at this. Although, I know I got to work on the length of my fanfics per chapter, I think it's too long… is it just me or?
Anyways fun fact, I re-wrote this a shit ton of times due to my dissatisfaction (Not kidding, I have more than 4-5 drafts and I have a separate file for deleted scenes that's close to 10000 words ;,))
So let me tell you what I wanted to originally write, but decided to scrap it because… reasons, lol:
Originally, it was going to be an Erwin vs Levi instead of a Mikasa vs Annie.
Mikasa and Eren were supposed to have a private breakfast session together, and get in an argument due to… stuff.
I didn't want to end the fanfic here, there was supposed to be more but it's already so long urgh… anyone got any advice how to shorten writing but still make it nice? T_T
Once again, thank you! Please Leave A Review!
PS: Should I keep chapters shorter? Or is this length okay with you?
