AN: Chapter IX is here! I am home from Boracay so I should be able to update at the same pace I used to but with time, I guess. You're talking to a 15 year old who got roaring drunk for two days and pigged out on crepes when Petra died in the latest episode. I put a little Eren x Mikasa here because…I wanted to. Anyhow, thanks to those who reviewed and will review to this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this.

CHAPTER IX:

CAMP OUT

"Do you realize what you've done? Not only have you compromised the mission but you have also exposed yourself to Ymir! She could tell Bertholdt and Reiner about you!" Commander Irvin scolded her. Cassandra flinched at the tone of his voice.

"Yes, sir, I am aware of that. But I refuse to stand idly by and watch someone I die when I could've saved them." She answered.

"Knight, you don't get it; the people who joined the Legion are willing to risk what they've got for success. Some push away the guilt and pain of watching someone die before their eyes. I suggest you do the same."

Cassandra breathed deeply before answering.

"Yes, sir."

"Go on." Irvin ordered her. With a salute, she left the tent (1). Everyone was around their own campfires with their friends or squad members, comforting one another through the deaths and horror that they've witnessed. They decided to camp out in a clearing in the forest. When she found Petra with her own campfire, Cassandra immediately walked up to her and sat beside her.

"Hey." She greeted. Petra looked at her immediately.

"How did it go?" Petra asked worriedly. Cassandra looked a bit out of it so it worried Petra that maybe the ice was advancing yet again.

"It-it was fine. He told me the same things that Captain Shorty did. But he also said that I exposed myself to Ymir by using the watch." Cassandra replied as she stared at the fire in a daze.

"How's your arm?" She asked. Now that she mentioned it, Cassandra realized that she wasn't showing symptoms of advancement. She can feel that the ice was still in her elbow.

"It's good." She answered. Just then, they heard someone arguing.

"I do not need you to baby me, Mikasa! Stop treating me like I'm your little brother!" Eren yelled.

"Here they go again." Petra muttered as the two kept arguing. She was fond of Eren the same way a mother would be fond of their son, but the boy was just too confusing sometimes. Everyone knows that he likes the attention that Mikasa is giving him but he refuses to admit it. Armin told them that before Mikasa showed her fighter side, he practically hogged Mikasa to himself (2).

"They're like a married couple. I mean, I get that they grew up as siblings but they don't act like it." Cassandra said as they watched Eren walk away from Mikasa.

"Believe it or not, they like each other more than just siblings." She said.

"Oh, trust me, I can believe that. I've seen the look in Mikasa's eyes when she talks about him." Cassandra answered. They saw Armin moving to comfort Mikasa. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"No…could it be? Competition, huh (3)? I'll go talk to Eren." She volunteered. After that, she stood up and ran towards the direction Eren went.

"Hey! Eren, wait up!" She yelled after him. Eren turned around immediately.

"Cassandra, what are you doing here?" He asked her.

"I saw you and Mikasa arguing.

"That wouldn't happen if she would stop babying me." Eren growled.

"I'd say you're pretty lucky to have a woman like that caring for you." Cassandra told him. "Just how do you feel about Mikasa, Eren?"

Cassandra knew that if worse comes to worse she'd have to resort to her Tease tactic in Matchmaking. It worked on her cousins when they were too afraid to ask the girls they liked out. It worked on Rex. It worked on Duncan. She's willing to bet it would work on Andrew. Believe it or not, Cassandra is willing to stoop that low if that'll get Eren to open his eyes to the glaringly obvious.

"Well, she's family. I should be protecting her. Not the other way around. I saved her life once. Why can't I do it again?" He asked as he sat down on a boulder. Cassandra sat down beside him and patted his back. She knew the story of how Mikasa and Eren met thanks to Armin.

"That's one way to feel about her. But do you love her? Not as family but as someone you can spend the rest of your life with?"

She could see Eren blush but he shook his head.

"No. No, I don't!" He yelled defensively. Well, time for the big gun. Cassandra stood up and she knew she would have to stoop this low. Crossing her arms behind her head, Cassandra spoke up with her eyes closed.

"Well, if that's how you feel. Just try to remember Mikasa's a beautiful girl who's single. A lot of guys would kill just to get in her pants. Like Armin. Or that Jean Kirschtein. From what I hear, he has the hots for her."

"WHAT? Like hell he's going even 2 feet near her! I'd rather let Armin have her than Jean." Eren said through gritted teeth. Cassandra cracked an eye open with a smirk.

"Try to remember this, Eren, we never know how valuable someone is to us until we lose them. But since you don't like her that way, maybe I'll just go and set her up with Armin. Or better yet, Jean." She threatened. When she opened her eyes once more, she saw Eren running as fast as he could back to camp. He fell right into her trap.

"Smooth as baby's bottom." She muttered before walking back to camp. When she arrived back in their spot, only Petra was there.

"What did you do? Eren just ran off with Mikasa." She said. Cassandra gave her a sly smile.

"I know. I scared him with the possibility of Kirschtein asking Mikasa out."

At that moment, Armin sat down all red in the face.

"The hell happened to you?" She asked him.

"I just saw Eren and Mikasa. Making out." Armin answered as he lowered his head. She could swear that his nose is about to bleed. But she'd enjoy her victory first.

"Aw, yis! It worked! Whoo!" She yelled out.

"What did you do, Cassandra?" Armin asked her.

"I told him that Kirschtein might ask her out." Cassandra slyly replied. He had a horrified look on his face.

"Those two have been going at it for 18 years just for Mikasa's attention. Of course, Eren and Armin was always her top priority so it's easy to see who won." Petra told her. Cassandra only giggled in response. After that, they had dinner and almost everyone turned in except for the lookouts. Cassandra, unfortunately, was put on lookout duty by none other than Levi.

'Tch…stupid asshole. He's lucky I'm used to staying up late.' She thought as she sat on a branch. Apparently, the branches of the trees are so large that you can sit down on them. She pulled out her wallet and looked at a picture of her and her cousins before she left. Just then, she heard someone jump on her branch. Cassandra looked up to see that it was only Petra.

"I thought you might want some company for a while." She said. Cassandra gave her a small smile in response.

"I guess a little company won't hurt."

Petra smiled and moved closer to her. Until now, they don't get why they were so attached to one another.

"What's that?" She asked curiously. Cassandra looked at her before realizing what she was asking.

"Oh, in my time this is called a photograph or a picture (4). Whatever works for you. Anyways, they're used as mementos of the good times. See, those are my adoptive cousins Rex, Duncan, Andrew, Andrea and Janine." She explained. In the picture, the boys were wearing suits, while the girls wore dresses. That was a rare thing for Cassandra since she didn't like dresses. Rex, Duncan and Cassandra were standing beside the chairs where the four children sat. Supposedly, it meant that the three of them are to protect the kids from any danger.

"They're good looking. You're very lucky to have found a family like that." Petra said. There's been something that has been nagging Petra's mind for the past 3 years ever since they found Cassandra. Mustering her courage, she spoke up.

"Cassandra, I think you're our daughter."

Cassandra almost fell off the branch in surprise.

"What? No, I'm not." Cassandra said. Truth be told, she wasn't blind. She knew how much she resembled Petra and Levi but she refused to believe that she is their daughter. And she refused to get her hopes up that she found her real parents. Because whether she liked it or not, whether she admitted it or not; she was scared of meeting them.

"We lost our daughter to the anomaly, you came from an anomaly. You resemble Levi and I. It couldn't have been a coincidence." Petra desperately insisted. Cassandra sighed as she took a lock of Petra's hair and cut it with a pocket knife.

"When I find an anomaly, I'll go back to my time and I'll find Celeste. But I'm not her. I refuse to believe I'm her without any proof. I refuse to get my hopes up that I have found my real parents, only to get my heart broken later if I was wrong." She said. "Get some sleep. I'll stay on lookout for the squad."

Petra left the tree immediately. She walked back to the tent she shared with Levi (5). When she entered the tent, Levi was starting to fall asleep. She took her gear off and lay beside him. The moment she did, she started crying. Levi felt like a bucket of ice cold water was just dumped on him upon hearing her sobs.

"Why are you crying?" He asked as he turned to face her. Levi absolutely despised it when Petra cried unless she was crying out of happiness.

"It's Cassandra. I told her that I think she's Celeste. She herself refuses to believe it." Petra answered in between sobs. He immediately wiped her tears away and embraced her.

"Petra, if she doesn't want to believe it, let her. I don't believe she's Celeste too. It's not because I want Celeste gone but I want to believe that she's in a better place." He admitted. It was uncharacteristic of him to do so but he felt that she needed to know how he feels towards Celeste's disappearance. As much as Levi loved Celeste, he pitied the girl for being born into a world like this. When he accepted the fact that she could possibly be dead, he just kept on telling himself that she was in a better place. But even if he doesn't admit it, deep inside Levi also wanted his daughter back in his arms. And now that Knight is here, all the defences he made those past 15 years was slowly crumbling down.

"I just want Celeste back." He heard Petra say. His arms tightened around his wife as she cried on his shoulder.

"I know. I want her back too." He finally admitted. His defences crumbled down completely and in a rare moment, Captain Levi, Humanity's strongest soldier, cried with his wife. When they lost Celeste, Levi shed no tears because he felt that he had to be strong as always. But at that moment, he cried for himself; for being a failure as a father. For being unable to watch his daughter grow up and give her the love and care that he promised her that he would provide. He cried for his wife; for being unable to make her the happiest woman alive but most of all…

.

.

.

He cried for daughter; for being born into such a cruel world and could've been possibly dragged back into it (6).

AN: And this is Chapter IX! I hope you guys enjoyed this. Before I sign off, here is what the numbers mean.

1 – I'm not entirely sure how Expeditions go in the night when they didn't need to retreat but I think they camp out in the woods.

2 – Plainly my type of thinking. I always thought that before Eren found out that Mikasa could fight, he kept her to himself most of the time.

3 – Don't mind that; that's just Cassandra misunderstanding Armin's actions.

4 – I don't know if they have pictures by that time so I just had Cassandra explain it to Petra.

5 – Let's just say in here, since they're married, Levi and Petra can share one tent.

6 – I know that Levi is completely OOC here but again, I think that's how he would react when his defences crumble down and he lost a loved one. Just to be clear this doesn't mean that Levi regrets that Celeste was born.

Thanks for reading! Thanks to those who reviewed and will review to this chapter!