"How on earth is this possible?" Jonah asked breathlessly, lying on the ground once again as I hovered over him. It was late afternoon and since I'm unable to skip training here at Survey Corps I decided to train a little longer with Jonah.

I sat on the grass and took place beside him. "You're not bad yourself."

"But?" He stretched the word out, sounding like a whining five year old.

I let out a faint sigh. "But." I mimicked him. "You're easy to distract, try to keep your eyes on the target at all times, make better use of your surroundings and also, only use your upper body to avoid attacks, if you manage to improve that you might actually beat me."

"That's all?" He laughed heartily. "These are the things they don't teach me during training."

"That's because we are trained to fight titans, not humans, and you own all the necessary skill to annihilate them." I reassured him. "Even though they're not our only enemy." I softly murmured.

He might not be the best fighter when it comes to battling humans but he surely was outstanding when it came to using the 3d maneuverer gear and blades. He didn't made the top ten and during training he almost never won but I know, when the time comes he'll be the last man standing. People underestimated him big time, even him himself.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure." I lay next to him as we both looked up the flawless blue sky. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sunlight that heated up my skin.

"I wondered… and spit it out if I'm asking too personal questions, but do your parents also live above ground?"

I never talked about my parents, nobody asked and if they did, I didn't have all the answers myself. I doubted for a moment before I spoke, "Ever heard of Ilse Hillard and Evan Rosenthal?"

He pushed himself off the ground and sat cross-legged. "The doctors couple?"

"They abandoned me when I was five years old; they went to live above ground within wall Sina to serve the residents there in their profession as doctors. An older woman which also lived in the underground took care of me, she died when I was thirteen and at last I got custody of the house. Long story short."

Jonah seemed to be in deep thought and I just closed my eyes again. "Don't you want to visit them?" He started. "Now that you are a member of the Survey Corps that's shouldn't be too much of a problem. I can help arrange something if you want?"

"Thank you Jonah. But in my eyes they aren't my parents. Sure, as a matter of fact they are… but I don't view them in that way."

"Because they abandoned you?"

"And never tried to get me out of there. They're well known and earn a lot of money, I'm not sure as to why but they've never put in the effort to even contact me."

"I really admire you Jaclyn. You're strong, independent and not afraid to speak up. All the qualities I seem to lack." He said with a smile on his face. How is this boy able to talk about himself like this with that expression? "I can really learn from you." He added at last.

I peeked through one eye. Jonah was sitting up straight and looking at me, not bothering to hide the fact he was staring.

"Thank you, I guess." I closed my eyes as my lips turned into a faint smile. It wasn't like people complimented me often, so it was nice to hear.

I lay back on my back again, the scents of grass and the summer air tingled my nose as I inhaled deep, even breaths. I listened in serenity to the birds humming, the flapping of their wings, flying freely in the air. After being locked up in the underground for so long, without something as simple but essential as sunlight, this felt like a gift from the heavens shining upon me.

"Jaclyn Rosenthal, report at Erwin Smith's office forthwith!"

I jerked up and saw a man standing near the building, dressed in Survey Corps uniform. The bright sun made him squint his eyes nearly shut as he blocked the bright sunlight with his hand. Erwin Smith, wanted to see me?

"Shouldn't you get going?" Jonah interrupted my thought.

I hummed in agreement and got to my feet as I moved around and walked to the man who just called me.

"See you at dinner?"

I waved my hand. "Won't miss it."

I walked down a long corridor with the brunette man in an unpleasant silence. All questions I asked were answered with a single nod or hum.

"Lost your voice?" I asked irritated, watching him walk before me and ignoring me once again.

"Here." He spoke up, motioning at the door when we reached the end of the hall.

I knocked on the broad wooden door that had the cursive letters 'Erwin Smith' carved into it.

"Jaclyn Rosenthal." I reported myself.

I heard the ruffling of papers before Erwin spoke. "You may come in."

I stiffened as the man took both of my shoulder in his grasp. "Client wants you to join Levi, this might be your best opportunity." He whispered.

I spun around after a few seconds lost in thought, "what?" I only saw the very end of his green cape fluttering around the corner before it disappeared. Was he disguised and sent here by the client to transmit a message, or had the client connections within the Survey Corps? Was I being watched the whole time? A sense of unease replaced the pleasant feeling of serenity within seconds as if it was never there.

"Jaclyn."

Erwin's voice cut through my thoughts as I realized he told me to come in what was now most likely a few minutes ago. He stood before me in the threshold. "You can come in." He slightly smiled and motioned for me to take place at the chair in front of his desk.

I waited for him to sit before I spoke up. "Why am I here?" I questioned as my thoughts were rushing back and forth about the man and what he just said.

"I'll waste no time explaining." He leant his elbows onto the table as he intertwined his fingers, taking a deep breath before he started. "We need you for the upcoming expedition outside the walls, I realize it might be soon but I sincerely believe you're capable of joining us."

'Remember, avoid it at all cost.' Kay's demanding words echoed in my mind. I promised them I'd avoid the deadly expeditions by any means necessary. I didn't plan to be one of those 40% who wouldn't make it back in one piece, I hoped to avoid those suicidal, failing missions at all cost.

"Thank you for your acknowledgement sir but I don't think I'm physically skilled enough for that just yet." I lied.

I don't want to talk down on my own capability but if it means staying alive inside these safe walls, it is more than worth it. Even though I had encountered titans before and I think I could manage to make it back alive, I still had no idea how it will be. To be out there, in their territory where they have the advantage.

"If you refuse, then why join Survey Corps?" A voice behind me spoke. I turned around as I realized I wasn't alone in the room with Erwin, my eyes fell on the slender figure that leant back against the wall nonchalant. "You were rated as number one." He then added.

"Number one from all trainees isn't just anything." Erwin pointed out, my gaze focusing back to him.

So, Levi was here too.

All of a sudden the realization struck me. 'This might be your best opportunity.' This was my chance; they were trying to convince me to join them in the expeditions which I could use in my favor. They must really need soldiers, I'm sure it's not common that they ask newly members to join an expedition this early.

"I'll join the expedition if…"

What is the best way to request this?

"If?" Erwin repeated.

Maybe just by being straightforward?

"If I get a spot in Levi's squad." I looked at Erwin, his facial expression never shifting for a moment.

"Levi?" He looked over me to him.

He pushed himself off the wall and sat down at the end of Erwin's desk. "I selected my own team which consists of the best soldiers around, do you think you belong amongst them?"

"Yes." I said undoubtedly.

He watched me through those dark narrow eyes, his gaze steadfast. "A minute ago you said you weren't physically fit enough to join an expedition. So what is the truth, do you think you are competent or not?"

"I do. I just want to stay alive, that's all."

A moment of silence passed before he spoke up again. "Then that's settled." He took his gaze off me and directed it towards Erwin who continued.

"The expedition starts in three weeks, Levi will provide you with all the necessary information and further training to prepare you so you will be all set. Any questions so far?"

"Are there any other newcomers who will participate?"

"No, you're the only one." Erwin stood up and reached out his hand, I got to my feet as I took it. "You have my heartfelt respect Jaclyn." He smiled which I weakly returned.

I might've succeeded in joining Levi but staying alive during the expedition was now was my first priority and obstacle I had to overcome. What a bother.

"Let's go." Levi spoke, already making his way out and I wordlessly followed him out of Erwin's' office.

I walked behind Levi as we strolled along the hallways. I stared at my feet, thinking about the upcoming expedition in which I will participate. No doubt in my mind I'm keeping this from April and Kay, if they find out they'll cause a ruckus for sure. I'll do everything in my power to make it back alive and the I will continue the job.

We walked outside where I saw Jonah still sitting on the same spot but now talking to people. It was the first time I had seen them here but it was also one of the first time haning out in this area with Jonah. All graduates were hanging out at the other building but Jonah and I decided it was more relaxed here.

"Captain." They all stood up and nodded when they saw Levi approaching.

Captain? So this was the squad he handpicked himself.

"This is Jaclyn, she'll be joining us on the upcoming expedition. From now on she's a member of our squad." Levi stated, throwing his hands over each other. They seemed skeptical and I don't know if it is because I joined them so sudden, or because it was Levi's shitty way of introducing people.

I greeted them all; Petra Ral, Eld Jinn, Oluo Bozado and Gunther Schultz, the people who formed squad Levi, the best soldiers around.

"What!" Jonah abruptly burst out. "Jaclyn you're joining the expedition three weeks from now?" Everybody looked at Jonah who sat on the ground.

"Yes." I breathed out while I pinched the bridge of my nose. I know Jonah also wanted to join but even though he has his special privileges, they don't want the son of Dan Baldovin to die on his very first expedition, so they weren't keen on letting him join.

"Amazing! Any chance I could join the expedition too?!" Jonah stood up, his eyes shifting between me and Levi. I wondered why he was so eager to leave the walls, I guess because he always lived above he's reaching further, where for me, this, here outside was enough. Being able to see daylight was a hell of an accomplishment for someone like me.

"No." Levi told him without further explanation.

Oluo stepped forward. "So this rookie is good enough to join us?" He said sarcastically, stepping forward and looking down on me with a stupid grin on his face.

"Is there a problem old man?"

his neutral expression turned into a scowl but then he smirked. "Let's see if she's worthy of joining us."

"Huh?" I put my hands onto my hips. "I need to prove myself? Isn't Levi's approval enough?" I tried my best to not roll my eyes at his suggestion.

"We need to test your strength after all, let's see if you can beat me."

"You want me to fight you old man?" I mocked just to play with him. His grin disappeared as he bawled his fists. I know him for only a few minutes and I know exactly how to get on his nerves. I continued, "In that case, Petra, Eld, old man and Gunther, fight me all at once."

"Don't think too highly-"

"Too slow." My fist hit his soft wrinkly face, his eyes widened with surprise as he fell to the ground. "I'd say the same about you."

"Alright then." Eld spoke as they all lifted their fists, standing in a fighting position. Petra and Gunther stood to my left and Eld to my right. Jonah stood together with Levi who was leaning against the wall in front of me, arms crossed as he quietly observed the scene.

This should be interesting.

Gunther looked to Petra and Eld; they exchanged quick glances before he took a step forward as he was the first to attack. My fist landed on his temple at which he groaned but didn't back away to my surprise. I noticed a swift movement from behind and duck down to the ground, away to the right as I saw Eld was the one operating the attack from behind.

Putting my hands behind my head I jumped right up and was greeted by Petra launching her fist at my face which I just managed to dodge. "Oh, you're fast!" I said as we fought and dodge, none of us able to hit each other. I swung my leg, hitting her in the side, she was slightly taken aback but quickly recovered as she took my leg and pulled me forward with all her force and I was greeted by her fist landing onto my face. My nose cracked under the blow and blood started dripping. I saw Eld running towards us, but Gunther was nowhere to be found, which could only mean one thing. I grabbed Petra's neck and closed the distance between us, smashing my head against hers, that should hush her for now. She fell on her knees as she hunched over in pain, grabbing her head as she softly muttered words I couldn't quite make out. I saw the slightest movement in Eld's eyes, taking a gamble I moved my upper body to the right. "Nice try." I grabbed Gunther's arm that was supposed to hit me from the back and threw him over my shoulder next to Petra. Eld then moved forward and punched me once, twice in the face before I jumped back. I wiped the blood of my upper lip and turned my nose left and right, causing it to crack, Petra sure wasn't holding back on that one.

"Have I proven myself yet?" I asked, slightly panting.

"Ugh, that brat. Beat Eld." Oluo said standing crossed armed next to the others, watching along with Levi who hadn't moved a bit.

I rolled my shoulders, turned my neck and stretched my arms out, causing my entire body to crack and tensed muscles relax a bit. Let's finish this. I motioned for Eld to make his next move. He took a lurching step forward and each blow I successfully dodged. I realized my mistake as I was too focused on his fists and saw his knee a second too late as he knocked the air out of my lungs, right after followed a punch from underneath right into my stomach, I choked on the last bit of air as I fell to my knees.

But I'm not defeated that easily.

I stretched my leg out and swung it over the ground, sweeping him off his feet. He fell hard, head hitting the ground first as his body followed. I stood up as I straightened my back. Eld sat on the ground rubbing his head. "You okay?" I asked, feeling slightly guilty for the way he fell.

"You really got me there." He smiled and I helped him stand up.

Levi pushed himself off the wall and started walking our way.
"Now fight me."

I slightly turned so my body stood parallel to his. "That's not fair you know." I caught his fist in the air. "You watched my moves, I'm in a disadvantage here."

"There's no such thing as a fair fight." With his other fist he mercilessly sent a blow to my stomach. "You should know such a thing."

I lost balance for a second but managed to stand upright. He wasn't joking around as he left no time for me to recover. His moves were fast and highly under his control, he moved effortless and thought quickly as he kept punching and kicking, some I dodged but others I had to block with my arms. I tried to remember his movements, sought a flaw but there was none to be found, he left very little room for me to make a move. As he lashed out once more I pulled his arm away and did the same with his other, leaving him vulnerable as his face and upper body were unprotected.

It's now or never.

I lifted my leg, kneeing him in the stomach. I felt his abs tense under the force. He hunched over and grabbed my leg pulling it upwards. "What are you-" I took his collar in my hands and took him down with me, my back hit the ground as he fell too but stopped himself from falling onto me as he landed on his knees and palms.

All of a sudden I was looking into those dark orbs that were observing me. This was the first time I was looking into his eyes, really looking into his eyes, this time without one of us looking away. Silence closed in on us, the soothing sound of grass dancing in the wind around us.

"What is it, Captain?" I grinned.

"Why did you join Survey Corps?"

I tried my hardest to restrain the sigh that threatened to leave my lips. "Because..." I came here to kill you… "To fight for humanity." I obviously lied, not even trying to conceal that fact.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Is that so? I'm afraid I have no other answer for you."

"Well then." He talked softer. "More importantly, why did you specifically wanted to join my squad?"

With a grin on my face I whispered quietly enough for only him to hear. "To take away your oh so famous title, Captain humanity's strongest." Surprisingly I succeeded in keeping the sarcastic tone out of my voice and I think I actually sounded believable this time.

"Oh?" He breathed out. "Already more convincing." He lowered his head further, closing even more distance between us. "Now tell me, how you are planning to do that."

"You sure ask a lot of questions."

I put my right arm against the left side of his neck, threw my leg over his body and turned the positions around, now I was hovering over him. His eyes widened for only less than a second before regaining their usual distance.

"Not bad." The edge of his lip turned upwards.

Before I realized his movement he threw me off of him, I rolled a few times before coming to a halt. Immediately I pushed myself off the ground but was greeted by a sharp shiny object. Levi grabbed my neck and slammed it back onto the soil, tightly keeping hold onto it while he pressed the knife against my skin.

"It will take more than that to beat me." He whispered to my ear. I felt his breath fanning against my neck causing goose bumps on my skin. My hands itched to draw my own knife but decided against it, knowing it won't be a smart move.

"I'm sure you live up to your title."

Pulling his knife away, he spun it around in the air before catching it and putting it safely away somewhere at his back. He stood up and reached his hand out for me and hesitantly I took it as he pulled me effortlessly up. "Training is done for today." When I stood upright in front of him he somewhat smiled. "Good job."

He walked back to the building; his squad following him back inside. "Fuck." I thought out loud. I leaned against a tree, letting my body slide to ground as I sat against it. I pulled my knees up and buried my hands in my hair.

Levi was stronger than I had thought. His squad was tougher than I thought, especially Petra and Eld. Even though I did defeat them, I didn't even come that close to overpowering Levi.

"Amazing!" A loud voice close to me said cheerily. "Jaclyn that was amazing!"

"Jonah, what the fuck?" I said slightly startled by his sudden appearance.

"Tell me, you saw everything right? Where did it go wrong?"

"Nothing really, your movements were on point and you never slacked off."

"But I didn't win this one." I looked up to him.

"There's a reason he's called humanity's strongest soldier. You really thought you could just win the very first fight against him?"

Even though I knew he was right, he slightly annoyed me with his reasonably commentary. "Shut up."

"Weren't you the one that asked me to give you feedback?"

"Shut up." I said as I buried my head even deeper. "Just leave me alone for a moment." I looked up to meet his gaze and slapped his hand away that was reaching for my neck.

"It's turning purple." He pointed out but I didn't reply.

He then broke the silence again. "Why would you care about such a meaningless thing? You don't care about positions and power but you do want to take his title?" I saw him looking up to me in the corner of my eye but I didn't return his gaze. "That doesn't make sense. You don't make sense right now."

"I'm not a fucking manual you can read and understand. How did you know that that's what I said?" I asked on a more curious note.

"I can read lips."

"Oh." Was all I managed to say. I felt like Jonah could see right through me. Was it that obvious or does Jonah just know me too good. Must've been the second thing because Jonah interpreted this based on my thoughts I let loose once he gets me talking.
"I believe you can."

Puzzled, I looked at him.

"If that's really your goal, even though I don't know your motives for it, I believe you can attain it." He stood up and started walking away. "I'll leave you alone now." He waved at me. "Almost dinner time!" He yelled when he was about to enter the building.

I stood up and turned away from the building, walking into the forest.

Now that I am alone I can sneak away unnoticed.

Or at least, that's what I had thought.