Chapter 3

Gunther felt ever muscle in his body tensing. If someone alien to the situation entered the office, they would immediately realize the changes in the Captain, starting with his untidy image, which contrasted with his usual neatness. Hence, the soldier wondered if he should open or just ask who it was from the inside.

"It's me, Petra. May I come on?" the door opened "I was wondering how… what happened?!" she was alarmed as soon as she saw the bruise on the Levi's swollen nose

"We've had a long morning…" the soldier sighed, finally relaxing while Levi said something unintelligible; some kind of greeting for the girl, but his words weren't clear, since he had a half chewed bread inside his mouth. Still, his eyes shone as soon as she saw the girl.

"I see… hi, Lev…. Eh, I mean… Captain" She hurried to change her words.

"He finished his breakfast in record time… now, he has to clean himself" the soldier sighed again "before today, it was unthinkable that his face could be this dirty and remain calm at the same time"

"I'll get some water and a towel. There are many soldiers inside the castle and around the halls. It would be better if he stayed here. I'll be right back."

A couple minutes later, Petra was back with some warm water so the Captain could get clean, and Gunther took the opportunity to take a break. He began to feel tension on his shoulders, because he wasn't used to deal with small children and he had to treat his superior with precaution, since he wasn't just unpredictable. He could be threatening if he wanted to.

When Petra handed the captain a wet towel, he looked at her with a confused expression, as if he didn't know what it was all about and without the slightest intentions of using it. The girl could read his disgusted expression and patiently explained.

"It's for you to clean your face. You can't remain dirty, you'll feel uncomfortable."

"I don't want to." He looked at the window and the girl made a disapproving expression. Apparently, the captain's hygiene habits began after his childhood.

"Come on," she approached him in a friendly way "if you do it, I'll read you a tale later."

"Really?" his face showed illusion and she nodded, smiling "Alright'"

Then, Levi took the towel and cleaned his face the best he could, but he left a couple stains near his nose, because it still hurt because of the horse's kick.

"Let me do it." The girl rinsed the towel and, very carefully, she cleaned the few stains and crumbs on his face, trying to ignore the fact that she was very close to him "you should be more careful when you eat. You could do it slower and…"

"But if I don't eat fast, someone will take away my food."

He seemed to be quite consternated, which made Petra's heart shrink for a moment; Levi's childhood must have been very difficult, to make him act like that, but she made an effort to show him a smile and explain.

"There's nothing to worry about. No one on his right mind would take away your food." She tried not to laugh imagining the funny scene "you are humanity's strongest soldier and Captain of the Scouting Legion."

"Why does everybody call me captain?" he looked at her with great conviction, willing to find out why everyone seemed to treat him with so much respect.

"It's because… you are… Oluo, Gunther, Erd, Eren and I are part of your squad and…" she made a pause, remembering the time she'd been in the squad and everything they had gone through together. Then, she kept talking with nostalgia, but this tie, doing it as if she was really talking with his superior "you are out leader, captain." Levi considered her words for a moment and finally answered.

"Does that mean… I'm you guys' boss?"

"That's right." She kindly smiled, wondering if she wouldn't regret giving him that information later.

"Amazing, I'm the chief of many soldiers and I also have the strength of an adult. I have to tell mom..."

"Ready! You're clean now." She hurried to say, interrupting him before he started to ask about his mother's whereabouts. An information she completely ignored. Then, she put the towel inside the water containter and gave Levi a mirror so he could look at his clean face. After that, she turned around, without noticing the mischievous smile on the captain's face.

A moment later, Erd entered the office. She looked around with precaution, because he didn't know what to expect after hearing what happened earlier that morning, but when he saw that Levi was calm, a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Good morning, Petra. It's my turn to take care of our captain. Thanks for takin Gunther's place." He approached the girl and whispered "I met him on the hallway a moment ago and he seems a little upset, so I moved forward my turn. Besides, he told me about the small horse accident." He looked at his superior, who was looking through the window, looking at the sky as if it was the most interesting thing on earth "we are luck it wasn't anything serious. It looks like he is more problematic than we anticipated."

"I think he only needs someone to be understanding." She became thoughtful for a moment and Erd looked at her with tenderness. Petra had always been very gentle with the people around her and she had the strange ability of empathizing with others, especially with the captain "very well, then… I'll see you in the afternoon. Your turn is from 5 to 9 and I'll back you up, and before that, Oluo will take care of him, along with Eren."

Erd nodded and approached the captain to talk to him, hoping he could entertain him or find him something to do. Anything would do, as long as they stayed away from danger. First, he told him about the expeditions outside the walls and the difficult battles they fought against the titans, while Levi listened with all his attention fascinated with the adventure stories and getting excited with the world beyond the walls.

Around midday, and after they talked for a long while, little Levi began to get bored and he decided to stand of from his seat to leave the office. He did it with such authority and will, that Erd couldn't stop him. Levi was decided to go out to the back yard, so his subordinate had to quickly think about something to hide him. Suddenly, he remembered Petra invented some kind of game, where Levi had to pretend to be Captain when there were people around, and they immediately began to play it.

Things went well inside the barracks, and they didn't meet many people on the way from the office to the back door. Nevertheless, there were many soldiers training in the backyard and Erd became really worried and tried to think of an excuse to take him to another place.

"Captain, perhaps you'd prefer to go somewhere…"

"I want to go to the backyard." His voice was harsh and his steps steady. When they looked at him, the recruits and soldiers saluted him with formality and he answered nodding with authority.

After seeing him, Erd was quite amazed. He expected it to be a suicide mission, but it didn't turn out like that. Levi was taking care of things quite well and before they reached the ground floor, Erd even took it with some humor. Levi was blatantly deceiving every soldier on his way.

"Yes, keep it up, Captain."

"I'm doing great, right?" suddenly, Levi looked at him with a triumphant smile, completely changing his attitude.

"Yes, but don't smile." Erd answered with worry, feeling a couple drops of sweat on his nape "you must remain serious when you meet the soldiers.

"I know, I'm not an idiot." He answered with indignation and his subordinated expression showed how confused he was.

When they reached the backyard, Levi leaned back in one of the walls, just like he used to do it quite often when he was on his right mind, so nobody noticed anything out of place. The captain paid close attention to the soldier's training and followed them with his eyes every time they made maneuvers with their 3DMG.

A few minutes later, although he kept looking at the soldiers exercising, he glanced at the sky every once in a while. He had always been in the underground city and he'd never seen it, so he found it fascinating. Besides, feeling the sunlight on his face, gave him a pleasuring sensation.

Almost two hours passed, and while the other soldiers thought he was performing some kind of examination, in reality Levi was very entertained with Erd, commenting about the soldiers' abilities: one was too slow, other was too clumsy, and another one seemed to be doing things upside down. For a moment, Erd thought everything would end up bad when another soldier tripped and Levi almost couldn't hide the laughter.

Before he started to laugh, Mike approached them. The second on command thought it couldn't be good. Without a doubt, the squad leader would realize what was happening.

Levi…" he said with deep voice and the captain was surprised when he saw him, but in a matter for seconds he looked at him in a defiant way, without caring for the height difference "I thought you were on a special training with your squad."

"Who…?" Levi began to talk, but Erd interrupted him in an attempt to make things right.

"Mike... yes, eh… we postponed the training because…" he made a pause. He had to find a convincing excuse, but Mike's inquisitive glare didn't make things easy. Lucky for him, before something else happened, a female voice was heard in the distance.

"Levi, there you are! I've been looking for you." Hanji approached them in a hurry "come with me, we need to check that nose. I want to make sure it's not broken." She casually said, taking Levi by the arm and dragging him towards the infirmary.

As for Mike, he looked at them with suspicion. Something in the captain's behavior was off, but his nose couldn't smell any changes, so he only looked at Erd, who was calmer. He was willing to get information and when the soldier realized it, he began to explain.

"The captain had a little accident this morning and we had to postpone the training, just in case he had a concussion." And then, he began to walk away to avoid more questions "I should go now, the rest of the squad is waiting for me. We… have a meeting."

Mike only followed with his eyes, still wondering about Levi's strange behavior. He seemed more relaxed than usual, but Mike decided to wait for Erwin to ask him about it.

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Hanji was scolding Levi for his carelessness. He looked at her with a serious expression and unexpressive gaze, waiting for her to stop talking, sitting in a chair. Apparently, the squad leader's efforts to be persuasive weren't working and it was evident on the captain's attitude.

"Do you understand? Don't get near any other soldier that isn't part of your squad, they could…"

"You know? With those glasses, it looks like you hace four eyes." He said with a raspy voice.

"Perhaps…" she closely observed him "your memory is coming back, after all…" she thought for a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He stood up from the chair and walked towards the door. "Where's Erd? We were playing soldiers."

"This is not a game!" Hanji was exalted and got closer to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and using a firm voice, showing signs of being really concerned "Lev, you have to listen to me. Focus and try to remember."

"Don't touch me!" he pushed her and even though he didn't do it with all his strength, it was enough for her to hit one of the closets.

As soon as he heard the noise, Erd hurried to enter the infirmary. He was sure everything was out of control, and he only hoped there was nobody hurt. Leaving him alone with Hanji had been a mistake and he shouldn't have let him out of his sight.

"What's going on here?" he found Hanji rubbing her arm and annoyed expression.

"Oh, come on. It's not a big deal. I just want you to be back to your normal self."

"Don't come near me!" Levi answered.

"Captain, it's alright. I'm here…" the soldier looked at Hanji "'I'm so sorry. I think it was a very bad idea to take him to the backyard and…"

Surprising everyone, the door opened and they feared for their secret. It was a moment when everything seemed to be in slow motion, until a young boy with lively green eyes peeked in shily.

"Is everything alright? I was nearby and I heard something hitting one of the closets. I supposed it was somehow related to the captain."

"Eren! Hurry, come on in" Erd felt relieved and made him a gesture so he would approach "listen, you are the youngest of the squad and you might have an idea to keep the captain entertained and safe" he looked at the teenager with expectation

"Me? Well… I could…" he actually didn't have the slightest idea of how to treat a child, much less if it was captain Levi, who wasn't really pleased with his presence, but soon he noticed the bruise on his nose "What happened to his nose?"

"Oh, that…" the blond soldier looked at the captain, who also looked at him with skepticism "a horse kicked him. It was an accident."

"What?" Eren seemed impressed "couldn't we take him outside the barracks? Perhaps we could set camp somewhere else not so far from here, so we wouldn't worry about…"

"And if you did, could you guarantee he won't get lost in the woods?" Hanji spoke seriously and Eren shrugged "you must keep him in the castle. I trust you could do it or… we well have to use the cells in the basement."

"Let's hope we don't have to get to that point." Erd was worried.

A few moments later, and after the captain's insistence, they went back to the byre, but this time they taught him how to approach the horses, skipping certain information about one of the horses being his. They didn't even want to think about what could happen if he decided to mount one of the horses. A while later, Oluo brought some food and replaced Erd, but Eren remained with them. He would be the support in case something wet out of control. While they were there, they took the opportunity to clean and groom the animals, since it was part of their daily routine.

During that time, Levi was very entertained with the task. Apparently, he enjoyed the company of the horses and he got along specially well with one of them. He had been grooming it for a while. In the distance, Eren and Oluo whispered.

"Who would have thought that, even with that strange amnesia, he still has a great bond with his horse." Oluo smiled when she saw him interact with the black equine.

"You're right. After all, they've been together for yeard, right? Perhaps his subconscious remembers something, or there is some kind of instinct in there." The other soldier remained thoughtful, pondering the possibility, while they the captain was entertained with the horse. When the wind of the afternoon began to blow and the temperature started to go down, they decided to go back to the captain's office and look for some other activity for him.

Once they were there, they met Petra, who was expecting them by the door. She seemed to be thoughtful, but she smiled when she saw them approaching. Eren seemed tired, unlike Oluo, who was more relaxed. As for Levi, he was in a good mood and as soon as his eyes saw the girl, he smiled and ran toward her.

"Petra!" suddenly he swooped towards her and she almost lost her balance.

"Captain" don't…" the girl didn't know what to do. Her instinct told her to hug him back, but her comrades were right in front of her and their astonished expressions said everything their words couldn't "please, captain… it's not right that…"

"What isn't right?" he kept embracing her, but turned to look at her, a little confused. Their faces were very close.

"Well… eh…" she felt the blush growing deeper "this and…"

"We better get inside the office." Oluo hurried to say while he opened the door "someone could be here any moment." Once they were inside, Oluo looked at Petra with suspicion "I though Erd would be next in the guard.

"Oh, yeah… and I was supposed to be the backup." She managed to say after a moment, once her nerves and blush calmed down, although Levi was still strangely close to her, making her feel anxious "I ran into him a while ago and there were some changed. Someone has to stay with him during the night and it looks like he is the best choice, so he'll be here later."

"Ohh really? How convenient…" the soldier complained, noticing the captain seemed to have some predilection for the girl, as he was looking at her with admiration and sweetness.

"What do you mean by that?" the girl became very annoyed and glared at his comrade.

"Nothing, it's just that I thought you might want to spend time with me, but you just can't accept it. Besides…" Oluo's arrogant voice pissed her off. Despite her being used to his insistence, she was way to altered because of the situation to endure his attitude.

"If you're only going to say stupid things, just leave. I'll take care of the captain." The girl turned around and walked towards the window in the office, but an instant later, with a very serious voice she added "I'm tired of your childish comments and now it's not the time for them."

It was rare for Petra to get mad like that. The members of the squad had only saw her like that a few times, and they all agreed that it would be better if they didn't piss her off, especially because, even though she didn't hit things or slammed the doors, it was like seeing someone completely different. Her attitude became distant and, as much as they wanted to deny it, she knew her comrades very well and knew their weak spots very well. Her cold attitude left Oluo speechless, and Eren as well. He only looked at the scene from afar, trying to make up an excuse to leave the office as soon as possible.

Before they boy could say something, or Oluo could apologize, the captain's voice was heard. He used the same tone that more than once had made the legion soldiers tremble in fear.

"You better get out of here, before I kick your sorry ass." They were all shocked after hearing is words, thinking for a second that the captain might have recovered hi memory, but something in his attitude was different. Not only he seemed to be saying it for real, but his muscles were tense, in a way that he seemed to be waiting for the right moment to attack him.

Author's notes.

So, this is the third part of this fanfic. I hope you like it and that you are enjoying it as much as I do. I think child Levi is very entertaining.

Otaku South: sorry for the waiting, but here it is!

Akari Hikari: Thanks for following the story!

Daniadania5894: thank you for your kind words! I'll keep writing the story ;)