Welcome to Hell: PART I

Uma's POV

The mission is over, I thought, unwilling to open my eyes. Out of my entire squad, I alone had survived and it was not without help either. I wanted to sleep for days, to fall into oblivion and wake up only when the events of yesterday were just a faint memory. I wanted all that death, that fear, and wretchedness to be like a faded scar on my body- lost and forgotten among the many others. But that was impossible. Everything was as painful and raw as a fresh sword wound and I would be given no time to heal. Though the mission was over, we had to return to training the next day.

Just as I began drifting back to sleep, the door to my room burst open, rousing both my bunkmate and I. In stormed our new Squad Leader, Cohen, who had just been assigned to us last night. He seemed to be in a particularly foul mood and not at all concerned with our privacy. The sun was not up yet and I wondered what in the hell he could possibly want.

I watched through half-lidded eyes as he grabbed my green Survey Corpse cloak off the back of the wooden desk chair and tossed it onto my lap. I made a sour face in reaction to his rudeness but he didn't seem to notice or care. "Put this on and report to Captain Levi's camp immediately," he ordered. "You've been promoted."

Hearing this, my eyes grew so large I thought they would pop out of my head. "I've been…?"

"You have 15 minutes to clear out of your old barracks," he said, cutting through my babbling. "At seven hundred hours I expect to hear you've reported to your new squad."

I nodded oddly not knowing what else to do. Then I found my words. "Yes, Sir… Thank you, Sir."

"Don't thank anyone yet," he muttered before turning and leaving.

My new roommate, Ansel, leaned down from the top bunk, her face drawn into an expression of awe. "You've been promoted to Captain Levi's squad? Who… who are you?" She asked, suddenly star struck. "You must be an amazing soldier!"

I stared at the cloak in my lap in disbelief, kneading the heavy fabric between my fingers. "Far from it, actually," I murmur softly.

Honestly, I wasn't about to complain, but I was confused as to why exactly I was being promoted. What had I done in front of Levi for him to think I deserved it? And that look in Cohen's eyes before he left… it was almost like he was saying 'welcome to hell, Uma Belova'. This was actually happening, it wasn't a dream, but I wished I knew what exactly was going on. Without anyone to question, I rose from my bed and began to get dressed.

TITANTITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN

I felt like an ass walking through the base and asking person after person where I could find Captain Levi's Squad but I was pretty much at a loss as to where it was. Apparently, they were pretty secluded. Finally, I ran into and elderly officer who was able to point me in the right direction. It was located at the edge of the base beyond the training woods.

The walk through the empty training grounds was somewhat relaxing. Soon they would be swarming with soldiers going about their daily routines but for now, it was almost tranquil. It wasn't often I was able to be completely alone. One had to give up so many simple pleasures to be a soldier… the pleasure of one's own company was one of them. When I reached the edge of the woods, the sun was halfway up. It wouldn't be long before I heard the wakeup call.

The woods here always reminded me of home- strong and sheltered and green. Grazing my fingers along the wet bark, I took time to enjoy this rare moment of simplicity. When I finally arrived at the Special Operations Squad Headquarters, I took a moment to scope it out before going in. Sadly, my moment of peace was over. I had a feeling I wouldn't get another one for quite some time.

The white, two-story structure was set up in a U shape with a large courtyard. The remains of a large gate connecting the open ends of the U was bent inwards and rusted into the patchy ground. It looked like a repurposed convent. Perhaps that's what it was. Though the wooden flogging post near the side of the courtyard told a somewhat different story. An old jail maybe? Regardless, it was out of the way in a secluded area and I had a strange feeling there was a purpose for this… what that was I would have to find out.

Readjusting the heavy pack I was carrying on my back, I strode through the rusted gates and across the courtyard. Entering through the main doors, I looked around expecting to find someone waiting for me, but there was nobody in sight. Were they all still asleep? Did no one know I was coming? This had the potential to be a very embarrassing situation. Regardless, I couldn't just leave, so I headed down the entry hall looking for signs on the doors, or just something to point me in the right direction. I supposed it was best if I looked for Captain Levi seeing as I was to report to him immediately upon my arrival.

I was deathly silent walking down the tiled floor of hall, using my hunter's feet as to not alert anyone of my presence. I really didn't want to bump into any strangers and have to explain myself to them. I was never really a people person and the fact that I already felt so out of place wouldn't help the situation.

Looking at around at all the closed doors, I began to get nervous. Where the hell was I going? Though I really didn't want to, perhaps knocking on one of the doors was unavoidable. Then, to my relief, I saw an open one at the end of the hall. Continuing down the way, I decided to check it out.

I walked into the doorway to find Captain Levi standing in the middle of his bedroom half dressed, his belt undone and his shirt hanging wide open. His serious grey eyes snapped up to meet mine and I immediately avert my gaze, my heart nearly stopping from shock. Oh my god, what had I done?

"Forgive me, Captain," I immediately apologized, my embarrassment apparent. "I didn't know these were private quarters."

"Tch, I didn't take you to be a blushing schoolgirl," he said, not seeming to give a damn. "Why are you here so early?"

Realizing I hadn't caused some mortifying incident, I stepped back into the doorway. He was already buttoning up his shirt. "Captain Cohen told me to report to you immediately." I answered.

"Idiot," he muttered, referring to Cohen, as he tightened his belt. Honestly I couldn't have agreed more but I decidedly kept my mouth shut. "Well, I suppose we should get started," he sighed, reaching for his cravat and tying it around his neck. "Have you eaten?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet."

"Then go eat. The mess hall is around the corner through the double doors." He said, pointing behind me.

I nodded, holding back for a moment. I had so many questions and no answers. The first being, why was I promoted? It seemed odd to just plop down in a strange place and start eating. Levi slipped on his jacket and, ever meticulous about his appearance, picked a piece of lint off of the shoulder. Noticing I was still there, he looked up at me once more.

"You want to watch me piss too, Belova?" He asked crudely.

Banishing that disturbing image from my head I stepped forwards once more. "Sir, if I may… why did you promote me to your squad?"

There was a momentary flash in his grey eyes that gripped hold of me. "Because I wanted to," he answered. "Besides, you owe my your life, remember?"

I nodded, feeling no further need to question him. "Yes, Sir."

AN: Hello everyone! Sorry for the shorter chapter, there's much more to come and sooner too, I just wanted to get this out as fast as I could. I'm working a bit slower because I have 2 other active stories that I'm working on, one for Black Butler and the other for Death Note which I will now shamelessly plug lol. I'm really excited about them, so if you like my writing and are looking to mix it up a bit, I encourage you to check these two stories out. For Death Note, the title is 23 Days of L and for Black Butler the title is Family Blood. Thank you so much and please remember to review!

Up next: Uma meets the gang and gets settled in. Will she make friends or enemies?… it's a bit obvious isn't it?