Hello everybody! Next chapter. Lol this long ass day is finally going to come to a close. Enjoy!
Ina sits with Armin and the rest of the 104th. She enjoys pleasant conversations with Krista and laughs at Eren and Jean's pointless antics. None of them fail to notice that Ina addresses Armin as big brother. They all share glances and smiles over Ina's head. Armin just shrugs when they look at him. He's definitely not complaining.
After eating her fill, she is invited to sit at Captain Levi's table so she can have her tea.
"Ina, meet commander Erwin." Hange introduces her to a blank faced soldier with blond hair and thick eyebrows. His blue eyes are nothing like Armin's or kristas. They're much colder. Ina nods at the soldier, doing her best to show him respect. Hange said he was a commander. He's in charge.
Maybe he's the one she belongs to.
"Glad to see you're well. If you should need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."
Ina just lowers her head to hide her confusion. This is all too strange. She doesn't understand anything right now.
"Finish your tea." Levi tells her. Ina nods and slowly sips at her tea.
Erwin glances at Hange, who just shrugs and smiles. "Ina here really seems to like the recruits from the 104th class. Isn't that right, Ina?"
The little girl just nods.
"They're a good group. Maybe a little more on the silly side at times, but they've come through time and time again. I hope you can rely on them as well as the rest of us to keep you safe until we can find you a suitable home." Erwin tries again to make eye contact but is unsuccessful.
"I can't stay here?" Ina can only look at Levi.
"Our work is not safe for you to be around, Ina." Hange explains. "You need to be somewhere safe within the walls."
"You're sending me back?" Ina's voice cracks. She doesn't look away from the captain.
"Not until we find a safe place for you." Ina barely registers who says this. It doesn't matter.
They're sending her back to where she came from. After everything that's happened. After allowing herself to trust these people. They're sending her back. She knows the drill by now. No matter where she is sent Ina knows she'll end up on the street in no time. It's where she belongs. The soldiers will find her again. They'll do the same awful things to her again. Ina can't breathe. The world starts spinning before it goes dark. She's falling. Falling into nothing.
Into Darkness.
"I can't go back." Is the last thing she says before she loses consciousness. Levi breaks his second mug that day as he rushes to grab Ina before she hits the ground.
"Ina. Open your eyes." That… That sounds like her Captain. She wants to listen but her eyes just feel so heavy.
"Don't send me back." Ina begs. Her eyes still shut tight.
"Just open your eyes."
"Please don't send me back."
"You're not going anywhere. Now open your eyes."
That is definitely Captain Levi.
"I'll do anything. I'll behave. Just don't send me back." Ina pleads with him. Her eyes won't listen. She wants to obey Levi, but she's just so tired.
"Nothing will be asked of you." He tells her.
"Please… Keep me."
"Ina. Open your eyes." She can hear the slightest hint of worry.
Her eyes flicker open. She's looking up at the ceiling and realizes she's on the floor with her upper body resting on someone's lap.
"Captain?"
"Remember, just Levi." He finally comes into view. She notices concern in his eyes, but can't really read much else. "How do you feel?" He asks her.
"Levi, please. Please don't send me back to them. I can't go back." Ina cries and covers her eyes.
"Ina. Stop crying." Levi sits her up just slightly. "Look at me."
She obeys. Levi feels something new and unfamiliar when she looks up at him with those sad brown eyes. He doesn't like the feeling, and wants it to go away, but has no idea how.
"You're never going back. We had no intentions whatsoever to send you back to fend for yourself."
"But… The Commander said-" "Never mind what he said. That is something to discuss at a later time. Are you alright?"
Ina shakes her head. "I'm scared."
"Don't be."
"I don't want to be hurt anymore." She heaves a deep sigh and tries to catch her breath.
"You will go where I go. I've sworn to protect you from harm. No one can hurt you while you are in the protection of myself and my comrades. Ina, do you trust us?"
She nods.
Levi has to admit he is astounded with her progress. She's traumatized. There's no reason she should trust anyone here as far as she can thrown them. But here she is, trusting these strangers. Letting them take care of her. At her age, Levi never even considered trusting another human being until Farlan. Then there was Isabel. And then Hange. It took Levi years to let go of that irrational fear that at any moment, someone would try to hurt him. And those years were hard. He was miserable and alone. Isolating himself from the world around him because that was the only surefire way to keep himself safe. This little girl has got more courage in her little finger than Levi has ever had in his entire body. Her willingness to trust, her ability to hope for better despite how terrified she is, it's amazing. This kid is amazing. He's never admired anyone more.
"Then you have nothing to fear." He finally speaks.
Levi sits Ina up slowly, so as not to make her dizzy.
"How do you feel?"
Ina doesn't reply. After everything that's happened today she doesn't even know how she feels at this point. She just keeps her head down.
"Hange wants to start your therapy for your back injury tonight. I'm taking you back to the infirmary."
"Where's big brother?" Ina hasn't really looked around. She doesn't really want to see other soldiers right now.
"Brother? Arlert? He's been dismissed with the others." In other words he's gone.
"He can meet us in the infirmary." The captain stands and effortlessly takes Ina in his arms. She wraps her arms tightly around his neck and rests her head on his shoulder. He smells nice. Like soap and fresh laundry. Ina finds it comforting.
Levi gets a wide array of looks as he walks down the hall with the girl in his arms. They range from confusion to straight up shock to happy smiles. He decides he'll deal with them later. Right now, Ina must be taken care of.
"Are you sure she'll be alright with this, Squad Leader?" Armin asks after Hange runs through the treatment for the night.
"Not at all, Armin. We'll have to just wait and see, won't we?" Hange smiles.
Levi walks in with the little girl seconds later. Armin tries his best not to stare at the bizarre spectacle. It's just so strange seeing Levi with a child.
"Good, you're already here." Levi comments when he notices Armin.
"Great, let's get started so Ina can get her rest." Hange claps her hands. "Ina, can you stand?"
"Where's big brother?"
"Look for yourself." Levi whispers, seeing as they are very close.
"Hey, Ina. I'm going to be helping out tonight if you're okay with that." Armin sounds nervous. Even Ina can tell.
"Yes." The small girl answers without hesitation.
"Armin and Hange will look after you tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast." Levi sets Ina down on her bed. "Good night."
"Thank you, ca- um, Levi. Good night." Ina trips over her words and her hands fly to her cheeks out of embarrassment.
The captain just nods in acknowledgment before turning on his heel and leaving. Nobody saw the hint of a smile on his lips as he left. Levi will keep that part a secret.
"Ina," Hange stands in front of her. "We won't do much tonight. Just something to relax you before you go to sleep, okay?"
"What are we doing?" Ina asks as she hangs her legs off the side of the bed. Wow she's still pretty sore. Maybe this will be helpful after all.
"First I'm going to put a heating pad on your back, then I'm going to show Armin how to release tension in the soft tissue."
"What?" Ina didn't understand a word of that.
"It'll feel kinda like a mass- oh- uh, you'll see. I'll explain it as we go." Hange hopes Ina didn't catch that slip up. Armin nudged her before she could continue, which might have saved the day. He doesn't think Ina is keen on the idea of massages.
"Lie on your tummy, Ina." Hange instructs. She places a towel on the girls back and then the heating pad. The warmth spreads slowly as heat seeps onto her back. It feels wonderful. Even when the warmth gets even hotter, Ina finds that she is okay with it. She likes the feeling of heat surrounding her. Both armin and hange talk to Ina and keep her company while she does the heat. It makes her feel better knowing they are close.
"Are you okay with me touching your back, Ina?" Armin asks.
"Yes." Big brother can touch her. He'll never hurt her. She knows that without a doubt now. She hears Hange instructing Armin on what to do next. Ina just lies there and waits.
"Alright we need your help Ina, tell us how this feels. It might be uncomfortable. Start here, Armin."
She feels his fingers, small and uncertain, on her back. Well it's not uncomfortable yet, Ina supposes. That thought shatters when she feels his fingers pressing into the muscles of her lower back. Ina jumps involuntarily. That hurt.
"I'm sorry, Ina." She can tell by the sound of his voice that Armin doesn't really like this. She doesn't either. If it's supposed to help, why does it hurt?
"Ina, he's going to press down again. Let us know if the pain goes away after a few seconds." Hange tells her.
"Okay." She wants to be brave for them.
"Ow!" Ina cries in pain, but she remains still.
"Let's count backwards from 10, Ina." Armin's voice is shaking. He knows this is all to help her. She might be uncomfortable, but Hange wouldn't steer him wrong. She wouldn't let Armin do this if she weren't confident in his abilities.
"10…. 9… 8… 7…."
The pain starts to subside.
"It's going bye bye." Ina breathes.
"Good." Hange remarks. "That's what's supposed to happen. It might hurt at first but it should go away after a few seconds."
"Okay. Okay." Ina closes her eyes and tries to keep her breathing even. "Okay."
"Alright, here we go again." They continue until they cover the majority of Ina's back. She doesn't find it comfortable in the least, because it involves them touching all her sore spots.
Afterward Hange and Armin go through a set of stretches. By the end of her first night of physical therapy, Ina feels light as a feather. The soreness has lessened, and the tight feeling is gone. Ina might get used to this therapy thing.
"Ina, I know some of that was a little tough to handle, but you did so well." Hange says after Armin helps an exhausted Ina back into bed.
"I did?" She thought they were annoyed by all of her whining.
"Yes." Hange lowers her voice just slightly. Something she wouldn't even care to do before a little girl became her latest focus. "My hope is that doing this before bedtime a few nights a week will really help you to get better."
"I feel good." Ina nods as she nestles further into her pillow.
"That's great." Hange smiles. "I'm glad you're feeling well. Now it's time to rest."
"Can big brother stay?" Ina grabs Armin's hand.
"Since you're in the infirmary, yes, Armin can stay with you. You alright with that, Armin?"
Ina looks up at him with big brown eyes.
"Sure." Armin smiles at her. "Just going to get changed."
"Thank you." Those big eyes of hers are filled with gratitude. "Thank you, big brother."
Armin just kisses her hand. "I'll be back." He leaves to get ready for bed and returns after a few minutes. Hange bids them goodnight and leaves.
With big brother in the bed next to her, Ina is able to fall asleep.
She wrings out the last shirt and stands on her stool to hang it up with the rest of the clean laundry. Finally, her last chore is finished.
Maybe she can go to bed before they return.
Ina washes her hands and face, hoping to feel at least a little clean before resting for the night.
She hears the locks on the door. They're back early.
Ina runs to her corner in the living space and curls up on her side. Maybe if she pretends to be asleep, they won't bother her.
"We're back!" She just calls him One. They all get numbers since they never use names around her. His voice always makes her shiver.
"Where is this little bitch I'm- oh looks like she set dinner out. Hey! Kid, where are you?" This one is Two. He's the meanest out of all of them. He says such awful things to her. He makes her hate everything about herself.
"Looks like she decided to turn in early." The third and final soldier in this awful place, Three.
"Who said she could- what! Bring her here!" One isn't happy.
Ina tries her hardest to hold back a scream when Three grabs her arm and pulls her up. It hurts her shoulder but she stays quiet. She's shoved to the ground in front of One.
"So, you think you can just sleep on the job? You think that shits okay?!" One yells at her. Every word caused her to flinch. Ina shakes her head.
"Who said you were done for the day?! Huh?! Answer me!"
"No one." Ina mumbles.
"Who do you belong to?" His voice drops to a dangerous level that Ina knows too well.
"You…"
He waits.
"M-my master."
He kicks her in the stomach, throwing her backwards. Ina starts to cry as she curls up on her side. She already feels sick. "I think you'll be spending the night with me. It's time you learned your place you fucking disease."
Ina shakes her head as fear runs cold through her bloodstream. She can't spend another night in that room. She can't.
"No! Please!" Ina gets on her knees in front of him, her head near his boots. "Please…. Master. Please don't. I'll be good, I promise."
"We'll be turning in early. Goodnight fellas." He takes Ina by the arm and drags her kicking and screaming to his bedroom.
Ina can hear Two and Three laughing behind her
She wakes in the middle of the night. Her clothes and sheets are drenched with sweat and her eyes puffy from crying. All she can hear is her heart in her ears as it races in her chest. It's dark. Ina isn't sure where she is.
Is she back in his room?
It looks like he's gone for now. She should hide while she still can. Hide before he comes back.
Ina doesn't hear herself crying. She's still unaware that Armin is in the bed only 6 feet away. She's oblivious to his watchful gaze, seeing as he was startled awake by her fearful cries. He watches Ina from his bed as she moves slowly to stand on the floor. Even in the darkness he can see her trembling as she gets on her knees and crawls under the bed. She curls up on her side and continues to cry. Armin can hear her groaning in pain, only stopping to take a labored breath. He slowly rises from his bed and is sure to stay silent when he stands. He lights a candle before getting down on his hands and knees.
"Ina." He whispers. She flinches at the sound of his voice.
"It's just me."
She only curls up more, her eyes shut tight.
"Ina, big brother is here. You're safe." Armin notices her relax only slightly.
"Open your eyes. Let big brother see your face."
He's hoping once Ina sees him that she'll realize where she is. He hopes she can leave the place of her nightmares behind.
Ina places her hands over her eyes before opening them. She peeks through her fingers and the first thing she sees is a candle. The light is comforting even if only a little bit. Master preferred total darkness in his room.
"Please… Help me." She can't help the trembling of her voice as she begs Armin for protection.
"He's going to come back." Her eyes grow wide with fear. "Don't let him hurt me!" She curls up again and covers her head. "Please!" She cries.
"Ina, you're in a safe place. You're with me and Hange and captain Levi. We won't let anyone hurt you."
Nothing is getting through to her. He'll be back any second. She must stay hidden.
"I can't do it anymore. It hurts too much. Please, don't let him take me away again." Ina mumbles. "I'll be good from now on, I promise. I'll be a good girl."
"Ina, please." Armin can't take this. "Open your eyes. Look at me."
Ina sneaks another peek at him. A tiny glance.
"Ina, do you remember the ocean? Remember how the water sounds? Like tiny little waterfalls splashing against the shore. Think about the salty smell in the air. Think about the warm, soft sand. I'll take you there one day, Ina. I promise one day we'll go see the ocean together."
"Big brother?" She finally moves her hand from her face. Its as though she's seeing him for the first time.
"I'm here, Ina."
"Stay with me."
"Let's come out from under the bed. I'll be right here with you."
Ina shakes her head. "Can we stay here?" She feels safer under the bed. Less people can see her here. "Safe." Is all she says to him.
"Safe."
"Sure." Armin doesn't hesitate.
"Please don't leave me." Ina whimpers. "I'll behave, just please don't go away."
"I'm not leaving you, Ina. I'll be here."
Armin moves the candle aside and gets down lower to make his way under the bed. Ina attaches herself to him as soon as he is close. She curls up in his arms and he feels how badly she trembles.
"It's okay now, Ina." He wraps his arms around her and holds her close. "You're safe. You're okay."
"I'm okay." He barely hears her even with them being in such close proximity.
"Thank you."
"Close your eyes. Sleep." Armin whispers and rubs soothing circles on her back. He feels her relax as the minutes pass. It doesn't take long for the small child to fall asleep. He considered moving her back to her bed, but didn't want to disturb her restful sleep. Not after what just happened.
He falls asleep, still cradling the small child in his arms.
Ina wakes the next morning feeling like she is surrounded by warmth. She is resting against big brother's chest and feels his arms wrapped around her. Protecting her. She rests in his comforting embrace until he wakes. He smiles at her as she looks up at him. "Good morning, big brother." She mumbles.
"Did you sleep well?" Armin's voice still sounds tired.
Ina nods. "Thank you… For staying with me."
She cuddles up closer than she already is, seeking out more warmth.
"I'm glad I could help. You ready to start the day?"
Ina nods despite the fact that she wishes to remain in his arms just a bit longer. She's never felt this warm, or comfortable before. It's such an amazing feeling.
"Let's get going."
Armin moves from under the bed, then reaches out to help Ina. He dusts himself and Ina off and then stretches out his stiff muscles. Sleeping on the floor was about as comfortable as he expected, but he'll be alright. This was for her.
To the Guest reviewer: Thank you so much for your review! To answer your question, yes Isabel and Farlan do exist in this story. I actually mention them somewhere in this fic. They're not exactly relevant to the plot, but I could never remove them from Levi's life! That's blasphemy! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, I hope you stick around for the rest.
