Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Attack on Titan.

Pairing

: Levi x Kagome

Summary

: The first time she saw the creatures, she fled and let mankind fight their battle. The second time she saw them she stayed to fight to make up for the death that stained her heart.

Macabre Dreams
Chapter Eight: Belief

x . . . . x

Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow and looked over at Eren. He seemed happy to be cleaning the stables but she definitely didn't share his enthusiasm. He chattered at her constantly and it warmed her heart. He told her about the world through his eyes (no matter how small it was) and filled in her gaps. He believed her. Him talking as he did, it proved it. She thought it interesting though... when she asked about before the walls, he couldn't tell her much if anything. It was as though history began with the walls.

Kagome knew otherwise. She lived it. She didn't press though. How could she? He clearly knew nothing about it. She filed the issue for another day and just enjoyed the light breeze in the air. Even though with the breeze came the scent of... horse excrement... she was happy to be outside with no worry of a titan attack. They had them cleaning but Eren would be pulled away from his duties for "observation". He told her it was mostly Hange poking and prodding him and trying to find out what made him different.

Kagome's gaze moved to the imposing castle and wandered over it. She found herself looking toward the room she knew Levi occupied. She was drawn to him, she knew it. He reminded her of an odd combination of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. It was refreshing - remembering her two favorite inuyoukai and seeing their traits. She closed her eyes and remembered the sound of their voices, tried to remember their scents. As she got older, memories dimmed but she could still make them out in her mind. Long silver hair, golden eyes, ears here and a pelt there. Goosebumps pimpled her flesh pulling her from memory lane and she opened her eyes. The sun blinded her for a moment but she saw Levi's build in the shadows of the window before he was gone.

She blinked again but Eren's voice pierced the fog in her mind. Kagome turned and she heard horses and carriages. Eren's voice was coated with excited disbelief. Her gaze turned to the horses and the young crew that was dismounting them.

"Jean? You?" Eren seemed mostly shocked and confused and the other boy simply huffed as a dark haired girl girl and blonde boy ran toward Eren. "Mikasa! Armin!" She watched as everyone greeted one another and Eren started making gestures in her direction. He seemed brighter than he had before and she was relieved. He yelled her name, cupping his hands around his lips, "Kagome! Come here!"

Kagome wiped her hands and walked toward the small crew. She plastered a smile on and her eyes moved over each individual, weighted and assessing. She was surprised to see the girl next to Eren give her an equally weighted stare. She didn't let that deter her as Eren's hand reached out and grasped her elbow to drag her closer and faster to the group.

"Everyone, this is Kagome! She is going to help us in the fight for humanity!" He said it so soundly and so full of faith that Kagome wondered when the last time anyone had faith in her was. She brought a hand to heart, as though to ward away the ache. She thought Eren was going to continue to speak but he didn't and instead looked at her expectantly.

Lips turned up, Kagome did a short bow and introduced herself, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

And that was that. Kagome was introduced to the 104th Training Corps.

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The days passed quickly and quietly and she was approached by Levi one morning. He looked at her pointedly, voice cool in the already crisp morning, "We have a situation."

A brow lifted in his direction, "A situation?" She questioned, her lips turning into a frown. They had an easy life here for lack of a better term. She had been to the outlier walls and killed Titans here and there and would return. She kept the castle clean and did training exercises to learn how to use the ODM gear but that was it. It had been quiet. "What kind of situation?"

Levi's eyes met hers and he crossed his arms across his chest, "The kind that may require your specific type of attention." He gestured with his head for her to follow him. Kagome nodded and he went into a side room. She stepped after him and he shut the door behind her. The room was dark, the shutters of the window closed. The hair on the back her neck pricked and she went to open the window but Levi's firm grip on her wrist stopped her.

It was a strange feeling... being in a dark room with Levi. He stepped closer to her, she could feel the heat of his front against her back. His breath tickled her ear but she felt frozen in place. Levi had not shown her any ill will thus far and she, well she trusted him. His voice was low and she could not stop the shiver that went down her spine if she wanted to, "Have you felt anything off in the last few days?"

Despite him not being able to see it, Kagome made a face of confusion and asked, "Such as?"

He made a noise in the back of his throat, almost if exasperation. His grip tightened on her wrist, though it wasn't painful, it reminded her of how close he was to her. "Have you sensed anything..." he paused, the words heavy, "... with your power? An experiment was destroyed. Would you know if anything was off? Would your power sense it?"

The room was stuffy with the windows shuttered, the sun peering through the slats. Levi had not moved from his spot behind her and a bead of sweat trickled down her neck. His breathing was steady against her back and she found herself more in the moment then thinking of the last few days. His grip was surprisingly cool but everything else was warm. She felt heat crawl up her face and settle in her cheeks.

Levi was curious about the sudden change in the room. Or had the air felt this heavy from the start? The staleness of the space was being shielded by Kagome's natural scent and he felt the weight of her body pressed against his. Levi didn't have time for women. But he wasn't blind nor was he a eunuch. Now that her face wasn't bruised and she was healed, he saw that there was a beauty about her. Something different and oddly enough, exotic. Her eyes were terribly blue and her skin healthy and warm. She didn't have the same hardness to her that the scout females bodies held, there was just a softness to her frame that was entrancing.

He could easily fall into the spell that was Kagome, but right now wasn't the time so instead he stepped away, shaking off the moment. She turned to face him and he asked her expectantly, "Well?"

Her cheeks lost some of the flush they held and she ran a hand through her raven loose locks. She shook her head and looked down almost ashamed, "I can sense a lot but lately I'm pretty drained. My body is still healing some internal damage and this is the most physical labor I have done in years." She clasped her hands behind her, "Because of the strain and exhaustion... I wouldn't have noticed."

Levi nodded his head as his eyes narrowed, "You're still damaged?" He hadn't seen the report, only heard second hand what atrocities she had suffered. Seen her himself. He didn't need a report to tell him that she had been put through the wringer.

Her eyes met his unflinchingly, "It's okay, it's just my ribs. Unfortunately they have been broken multiple times before so they are a little tender each time they heal." Levi didn't stop himself and he didn't care to try. His hand was reaching out and pulling her to him, another sliding to her rib cage. "Levi! Wha - "

He grunted in annoyance, "If you're just going to sass me, do me a favor and just shut up." Her mouth audibly clicked shut as his long, calloused digits ran along her ribs slowly. He was feeling for the damage and found it when she flinched against him. Without asking, his fingers were at the hem of her shirt and yanking it upward, revealing the smooth expanse of creamy skin. He could see the yellow bruising against her flesh, showing him it was fading stubbornly. Her trust in him was unshaken and he found that odd. Their eyes met and he saw the embarrassment reflecting in her blue orbs and in the flush to her cheeks but she said nothing. Which was good because he wouldn't hurt her if he didn't have to.

"Leave the work to the brats for a few days and rest up. Can't have you hurt and unable to work when we need you." The words were callous and the tone flat, but his eyes showed none of that so she didn't take offense. When he dropped her shirt, he took a step back and out of the room, "Make yourself presentable before leaving."

The door shut behind him soundlessly and Kagome stared at it for several minutes before she tucked her shirt back in. Her skin burned from where his fingers had touched but she ignored it in favor of steeping forward and from the room.

Levi was a curious man with emotions wound tight under a mask of indifference but she couldn't help but find herself intrigued all the same, his harsh beauty guiding her a moth to a flame.

.

It was the will of the Gods, she supposed, as she sat painfully on the ground.

ODM gear was a bitch and Levi was a slave master if she ever saw one.

His voice crackled like a whip against her, "Again."

With a pout, she stood and tried again. Again she failed miserably and landed flat on back.

With a huff she sat up, "When you said rest up, I thought meant sleep in and relax. Not, torture!" Her eyes clashed with Levi's and he shrugged his shoulders non-committedly.

His voice was devoid of emotion as he stood over her, "You have been tortured and know this is nothing like that."

Kagome scoffed as she stood up and attempted again, muttering, "Could've fooled me."

Before she could allow herself to get off the ground, Levi was there, a hand steadying her on her shoulder, his voice a hairsbreadth from her ear, "If you need to be reminded what real torture is... I can oblige."

The words were harsh but his voice was liquid velvet along her ears and she found herself blushing, "No - I'm good." She couldn't turn and meet his gaze and instead focused on a spot on the ground, "This is just difficult."

He grunted and his other hand was tight on her waist, "It's all about balance and focus. Can't have you dying on our first mission because you couldn't move, can I?" He kicked her feet from under her and she made a sound of surprise, prepared to fall on her ass or face, whichever came first but was surprised when she was suspended in the air, Levi holding her steady. "Don't tense so much." He told her firmly, a hand moving down her waist to the outside of her thigh where her muscles were prepared to take the impact from her fall. Heat flushed her face quickly but he was touching her legs soothingly. "You need to relax yourself."

Kagome's mouth had really put her in some bad situations and she honestly couldn't stop herself when she blurted out, "Hard to do with your hands on me." Levi stilled for just a moment registering what she had said before the light bulb went off in his head. He pulled away from her quickly and before she knew it, she was face down, ass up in the air as she fell. She cursed loudly before standing up, "For God's sake, OW! You could have given me some warning."

Kagome met his gaze steadily and unflinchingly, his cool grey hues weighing her.

Then he shrugged, "Just didn't want to distract you."

Her cheeks flared crimson again, "Distract me? Don't make me laugh!"

And then she was ripping off the training gear, anger and embarrassment hot on her tail.

"Where are you going?" he called out after her, finding her stomping off childish yet amusing all the same.

She didn't spare him backward glance as she called out scathingly, "To shower!"

.

Lips curled angrily, Kagome had found it difficult to relax after her shower.

So when she was done, she grabbed her knife and went outside. There was an abundance of wood around the castle and she easily found piles of it stacked high to make whatever they needed. She found several long pieces before she walked to the edge of the training grounds and took a seat against a shady tree.

Arrows wouldn't make themselves and here she had to make them because no one really sold them unless they were hunters.

She had picked up some skills over her time of roaming the earth and arrow making had been one of them.

Kagome enjoyed working with her hands as she got older, enjoyed being able to create what she needed to survive. She hadn't had the pleasure of making her own arrows in a long time but her hands remembered the dance as she carefully whittled down the wood. She fell into the mundane but important task, enjoying the feel of the wood changing under hands.

Hours passed until the sun started fade above the horizon.

Footsteps caught her ears and there was Levi.

She scowled at his intrusion into her solitude, still irritated from earlier.

"So this is where you have been. You know, you should be staying within my sight."

Kagome scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I may be under your care right now, but don't forget I'm your elder."

He stopped in front of her, kicking away the shavings of wood with a boot before he crouched, "You may be my supposed elder, but I have a job to fulfill and ensuring you're not a threat is it's primary purpose."

Their eyes met and this time, Kagome felt weary, her voice quiet and defeated, "Do you honestly think I would hurt anyone?"

As the sun disappeared and the darkness of the night enveloped them, he shook his head, "No, but I don't make the calls, I just follow them as they are given to me."

A smile glimmered along her lips, causing an uncomfortable weight to bloom in his chest, "A perfect solider."

Levi shook his head, "So they say." There was something assessing in his gaze and he took several moments before asking, "Are you really what you say you are?" The question had burned him since he had heard what she had to say in the courtroom. He had seen first hand what she could do to titans but how? Was there truly a power inside her? Something that could be harnessed and change the world?

A perfect soldier he was, but he was not without his curiosity.

Kagome was taken aback by the question, unprepared for him to ask her anything but after a moment she nodded curtly, "I have no reason to lie." A spark of something entered her eyes and she said everything in a rush "You mentioned beheading but honestly, I don't think it would work but other life threatening wounds heal instantaneously. Anything non threatening heals slower but still faster than most - look, watch!"

And before he could stop her, the knife in her hands was suddenly in her heart. He moved forward to grab it as her face paled and she cried out in pain, blood dribbling down the corner of her lips. His eyes were wide with surprise and he watch her yank it from her chest. Blood blossomed on the front of the shirt and her trembling fingers were there, undoing her top, bearing the spot where she had stabbed herself. The wound was bleeding rapidly and he brought a hand up to stop the bleeding but she slapped his fingers away as she gasped in pain. "Just wait." she croaked out slowly.

Unable to do much more than watch in shocked fascination, he waited.

Several seconds later, the blood stopped abruptly and he observed her skin knitting back together with a hint of silver trailing he skin over the wound.

She coughed up a little more blood and went to wipe her mouth. She smiled and handed him the knife with her blood stained on it, "Do you believe me now?"

He reached out his hand and took the knife from her, holding it loosely in his grip. He looked at her harshly, his voice steel, "Don't do that again."

His heart had raced when she stabbed herself, logic winning over her words, truly believing she was going to die.

Kagome nodded her head as she grimaced, "Believe me, I won't... I still feel pain and let me tell you, that hurts."

He stood abruptly, "You're a pain."

She smiled up at him again, "So you have said - but you didn't answer me."

Begrudgingly, faith in what he had always known slightly shaken, he nodded, "I do."

This time, when she spoke it was quiet but earnest, "I'll save this world, Levi, I will - I promise."

And for the first time in a long time, there was a smidgen of hope on the horizon.

Nodding his head, Levi believed her.

Because if he believed her now, that meant her story was real, and if her story was real then she really had the power to potentially change things for humanity.

And if she had the potential to turn the tide of battle, she just went from annoying charge to VIP.

Now, with a new perspective on the immortal, he would protect her with his life. Not that she would probably need it, a fact that he would begrudgingly admit only to himself.

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'Gome Yuki:: So this has been done for awhile. My bad guys. I forgot about it but I hope you like it!