Chapter 6: Ghosts

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Thank you all so much for the reviews! I promise the action is coming! But for those who follow the anime/manga, you might have an idea what this chapter is about ;) -though there's obviously a twist

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Also, to whoever thinks this story is super "boring", I'm sorry but this is a romance/adventure based largely off of the events in AOT. They don't go battle after a battle.
Also, if you don't like Levi's characterization, I'm sorry. But Levi does care deeply for his comrades and is always disturbed when soldiers die. I'd suggest watching his OVA episodes to get a better glimpse into his character outside of his cold exterior.

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I definitely feel like Kagomes ability to travel through the well makes her capable of easily putting her in many different crossovers. And her adaptability makes her believable. Which is probably why she's the easiest to pair with others!

Levi is deff harder. Obviously I think he pairs best with Kagome!

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Here we go!

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"So, you're Kagome Higurashi, huh?" As Kagome rode on her horse with the Levi squad, the only other female member called out to her, a melodic kindness evident in every syllable. She had light, gingery hair that reached right above her shoulder and soft hazel eyes, "My name is Petra Ral. I've heard a lot about your performance in Trost. It sounds like we could really use you here."

Kagome was a little shocked that any of them had spoken to her at all. She recalled how, that morning, she had gotten her horse and waited at the Scout's Headquarters until Levi had arrived with her own hooded cloak with the wings of freedom insignia patched on the back. Of course, he had given her all of two seconds to put it on before scoffing at her slowness, then had led her to where the rest of the team was and they all went on their way. Eren seemed happy to see her, but had stayed relatively quiet as if he expected another beating from Levi if he didn't. She could see the boy looking back at the captain from his horse every now and then, though the older man just kept his serious and dulled expression as he looked into the distance.

Still, Kagome was grateful that at least one person around wasn't either super condescending or afraid to talk. "It's nice to meet you. Yeah, I can't believe I actually got put on such an elite team so quickly." She responded, replicating the ginger woman's own joyous beam, "I just hope I can live up to this team's reputation."

"Yeah, well. It was all beginners luck." Kagome turned to see a man riding on the other side of her, having the appearance of an older man with light brown hair and beady eyes that creased in the corner, "You better leave the real work to us, elites. Wouldn't want to see a little runt like you get gobbled up, eh?" He smirked confidently as he spoke.

Taking note of his cocky demeanor, Kagome was unable to resist as she batted her lashed and lifted her voice to a higher pitch, "Well, I am but a mere damsel. What would I do without a man like you to save me from all the big, mean Titans?" She dramatically put her hand over her heart before rolling her eyes and smirking. She could hear Petra snicker beside her, as well, and she looked over as the two both shared in the amusement.

"Huh? Are you messing around with me, girl? Don't you know who I am?" He growled back defensively, "I'm Oluo Bozado, with one of the highest Titan kills around. You should watch your tongue-" He was abruptly cut off when his horse hit a rock and he bit his own tongue so harshly that blood began to pour from his mouth.

"Well, isn't that ironic." Petra snickered, "Don't worry about him, Kagome. Oh, is it okay if I just call you Kagome?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me if you don't mind that I call you Petra." Kagome answered as they kept going, Oluo now pouting from his injury.

"Of course. Oh, I think we're almost there!" Petra pointed into the distance, and the dark-haired woman followed her stare until she saw a magnificent castle made with off-white stone and blue roofing. Her eyes seemed to grow into perfect circles as she gawked in disbelief that that was where she would be staying. She knew this was an elite squad, but she couldn't imagine that they would be treated almost like royalty.

"I know what you're thinking. Why would we be staying at this beautiful castle?" The ginger giggled, "Well, it was actually an old Scout Headquarters. At first, the scouts remodeled it to use, but because of the location, it was pretty useless to them. It's been abandoned ever since!"

Having to catch her breath, Kagome took in a puff of air, "Wow. That's really cool. I bet it's even more amazing inside... Though, I might get lost in there." She marveled a bit more before peeking over at Eren who rode a little ahead of her, "What about you, Eren? Think we might need a buddy system?"

Startled, the brown haired boy turned around, flashing his green eyes at her before sneaking a glance at Captain Levi as if to check if he was okay to speak. When the captain said nothing, he looked back at the women, "Uh, yeah. I bet it's like a maze in there." He grinned slightly.

"Let's just promise that we'll stop ourselves before we get into any real mischief." She winked and laughed. She could hear his quiet chuckle ahead, and the group rode onward. She was happy that people around her could still be happy. Her mind would completely shut down if she wasn't allowed to still smile with her friends. Even if it meant being a bit of jokester herself. But she couldn't help it. The sun was beaming down, and at any given moment, they could all die. She could lose everyone around her again.

And she didn't want to stand over their bodies having spent her last days with them being a source of worry or dread. She couldn't.

Levi rode in the back, eyeing the whole conversation and watching as Eld Gin and Gunther Schultz, the other two members of his squad, looked back and forth between themselves and Kagome with amusement. She was already becoming a focal point.

And he had a feeling his quiet days with his mild team would be over. Somehow, her playful talking and laughter would float around until she was in his ear once more. And he had absolutely no idea how to feel about that.

Though, he couldn't say it sounded like the worst thing in the world.

After making it to the castle, Eld and Gunther introduced themselves officially to Kagome and Eren. Much to Oluo's dismay, the interaction was very pleasant and respectful. Kagome even showcased her admiration for them as soldiers of the Levi squad, making the other man slightly jealous that he didn't receive the same adoration. Then, everyone tended to their horses before entering the old scouts headquarters.

"This place is filthy." Levi barked as he ran his fingers on the stairway's handrail, dust piling up on the tips, "Get cleaning everyone. I don't want to see a speck of dirt in this whole place." He furrowed his brows as his rubbed his thumb against his index finger, particles of grime and rubbish falling to the ground. He scrunched up his face in disgust before turning around and making his way to a large box his horse had pulled in a wagon, opening it to reveal a host of cleaning supplies.

Including a little white handkerchief he tied around his face to cover his nose and mouth, and another he tied around his head to cover some of his hair. Kagome stifled a laugh as she saw him walk back in, surprised that he could be sporting such a silly look while still maintaining that stoic expression. He briefly eyed her, noticing the small smirk on his face but just rolled his eyes. At least she wasn't opening her mouth about it. Not that he cared for what she thought.

Still, he could have gone without the entertained face she was making. "Oi, Kagome. Grab a mop and a bucket. You're cleaning the entire third floor." He spoke sternly, "And if you do a shitty job, I'll have you do the whole damn thing over again."

The entire second floor? She scrunched her mouth together in dissatisfaction, Well, I guess it could be worse. He is my captain now. I better just do what he says or else he'll probably have me run laps with no dinner...

She complied, picking up her supplied and heading upstairs, sighing when she saw the large size of the third floor. Below, she could hear Levi ordering Petra and Oluo to take the second floor together, and Eld and Gin to do the ground floor. Eren was to take the top floor alone and Levi was to take the basement. She wondered if he was giving her and Eren solo work to 'break in the new guys' like some kind of hazing. But it wasn't like she would actually ask. Knowing Levi, he'd probably just insult her and give her more work.

"Well, here goes nothing." She sighed to herself, "It's a good thing my mom made sure that I valued cleanliness. Still, I'd prefer not having to do it all myself. Or at least have a vacuum" But she got going anyways. It wasn't like she wasn't disciplined, even if she wasn't as completely obedient as her peers. Still, once she focused her mind on something, she would make sure to give it her all.

And she vowed to herself that the whole floor would be sparking by the time she was done with it.

Kagome Higurashi got to work, scrubbing on her hands and knees, running around with her mop, and dusting like she never dusted before. Each room she came across ended up in a condition fit for royalty. Hell would freeze over before Levi insulted her cleaning skills. Even as she began getting tired, a few hours already passing her by, she mustered up any energy she could and continued on like her life depended on it, wiping the sweat off her forehead and scrubbing the whole place clean.

It wasn't until she reached a rather peculiar room that she stopped to take a breather. No one was around, and she had already put in enough work to be worthy of a few free minutes to herself, at least that's how she justified it. The room was filled with old looking paintings of a family wearing luxurious clothing, a renaissance feel to them. She made the assumption that the paintings were of the wealthy family who once lived here before the scouts.

Wow. I should be careful cleaning this room... She noted, not wanting to accidently ruin any of the artwork. She continued on with wiping down the place, starting with the walls. It wasn't until she came upon a framed, long painting of one man, the one she assumed to be the father as he was in every family portrait, that she noticed something different. There seemed to be some deeper perforations in the wall, thin enough to not be noticed by many, but still rather curious. It outlined where the frame was, making it hard to spot, as well.

"It looks like... a secret door!" She realized, carefully placing her fingers on the frame, and pulling at it a bit. It budged slightly, so Kagome tugged even harder until there was a noticeable space, confirming her suspicion. She continued to open it until there was enough room for her to slip in, careful not to close it in case she couldn't reopen it from the inside.

"I hope the captain doesn't expect me to clean this, too..." She mumbled jokingly as she stepped into what appeared to be a short and dark hallway, the only light coming from the slightly opened portrait door. But she could see an entryway only a few feet ahead, so she took a breath and walked in, pushing against the next door she came across. It opened fairly easily.

"What's this?" The secret room was rounded, with one window that was covered by a thick, red curtain, dimming the light that came in. Curious, she went and moved the scarlet hanging, bright light now pouring in like a waterfall of sunshine, and turned see what could possibly be hidden in such a mysterious and well-concealed little area.

What she saw shook her to her core, and she was drawn to a couple relics pressed up against one section of the wall.

"Oi, did I order you to explore, brat?" Levi's voice echoed through the small chamber, and she peeked out of the corner of her eyes and saw him staring at her in discontent. But she didn't answer, her mouth was too dry to form any words. Instead, she merely reached out her hand, fingers grazing an all too familiar object.

"Did you not hear me? Or are you too stupid to come up with a good answer?" He pressed on, but she only shook her head.

"What is this place...?" Her voice was trembling, raggedy breaths exiting her mouth as she tried to maintain her composure. Upon hearing her clear disturbance, Levi cocked a brow.

This brat sounds like she just saw a damn ghost... He thought to himself, being able to ascertain that something was up with her, and the contents of this room had shaken her core in some sort of way that pulled at his own curiosity.

"The nobles who lived her a long time ago collected artifacts that had made their way from lands all over. When the scouts remodeled the place, the previous commander kept this room a secret from most people to preserve it. He didn't want the Military Police getting their filthy hands on this history." He answered calmly, walking closer to her and eyeing her expression, her lips slightly parted as she continued to caress what was in front of her as if she was reminiscing about it. He couldn't quite figure out why she had seemed so emotional over something he was so sure she never would have seen before.

"Don't tell me you're that much of a history buff, brat." He bit, her gaze still unmoving, even as he closed the distance, standing directly to her side, "What's so special about a damn boomerang, anyways?"

I'm sorry, but it just felt like the perfect place to end it.
I'm sure most of you can figure out what Kagome is looking at right now.

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Also, if you noticed, I mentioned there was a couple of relics there that she was drawn to. Which means, outside of the one she's touching now, there's at least one more!

So for this chapter, let me know what you're guesses are for the other relic(s)! I'll give you a hint: it's not something obvious

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Thanks everyone so much for your continued support! And if you don't like this fic, sorry but I have my own vision for it that I'm going to create. I hope you all like it!