They say, people tend to overlook the variety of things that are of an importance in their lives, not realizing the value in which it encompasses. And the moment that they finally grasp the beauty of that worth— it diminishes in a fleeting moment. The refinement that it once wore—receding the edges into a worn out, depleted object in which can never be admired again.

"Not good enough, try again." Mikasa let out in a bleak tone, her onyx hued eyes observing the soldier's hastened movements, as he effortlessly swung the blade in his hand harshly against the wooden block.

"I've been trying all day, Corporal." Levi seethed between gritted teeth, raising his arms again to strike the block with every ounce of his strength. The blaring sun dragged on—the layers of rays heightening, as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He was enduring the pain that was triggering in his wrist—the impact of the frayed blade slamming against the wooden segment. He wasn't going to admit defeat. Especially not in front of his commanding officer.

Mikasa exhaled heavily, her devoid eyes betraying the expression on her face. Her endeavor to look interested proved fruitless, as she continued to monitor his driven, sloppy attempts to cut down the decoy block in half. She noted his hooded eyes were filled with vehemence—though, in the core of his pupils projected a pursue for advancement. He was attempting to further his endurance and reach for an aptitude way beyond his own. Reckless. "We're heading back." She uttered in a flat tone, her arms folded tightly over her chest.

Levi continued to strike his blade, disregarding her orders to retreat back to the base of headquarters. Like hell he was going to comply to her orders and abandon his spent efforts of training. She was looking down on him. And he wasn't going to have any it. He would prove his value as a soldier of the Recon Corps. Even if meant spilling his own blood.

"Disobeying my commands won't make you stronger." She responded in a monotonous tone, her eyes sliding back to his futile attempts to attack. "Your handwork is too rushed. You need to relax your nerves and relinquish any thoughts from your mind by focusing your main objective on penetrating the block," she paused for a brief moment before continuing, "the mobility of your arms won't make a difference. You need to control the movements of your upper body, using your chest and stomach to exert more force, which will counter the impact of the collision."

Levi scowled in return, the tempo of his breathing becoming more jagged. "I don't need you to tell me what I already know."

"Prove it."

Levi flickered his compressed eyelids towards her for a protracted moment—the toes in his boots curling anxiously. She nodded her head, giving him the initiative to continue on with his basic training, as he clenched his hands tightly over the hold of the blade—gradually calculating the possible vital points within the decoy block.

There. He erected his arms in the air, his narrowed eyes fixed on the center of the object—his legs promptly lunging forward at an accelerating speed.

Crack.

Levi grunted in pain, his body inclining over as he gasped for air—his eyes wandering over to the block in disbelief. His blade had shattered to pieces in his last attempt to cut the block. All his efforts proved useless. Especially the fact that he dislocated his arm and twisted his ankle in the process. He cursed inwardly to himself, clutching the side of his wounded arm.

"Well done." Mikasa spoke out in a stagnant tone, slowly closing in the distance between them.

"What are you talking about? I fucking failed my training."

"Not quite." She replied back, gesturing her finger towards the block.

Levi glanced up in curiosity, his eyes widening in bewilderment. Not only did he cut the block in partial fragments, but the precision of his cut was clean. "...I did it." He muttered under his breath, not fully processing the fact that he overcame his last part of training.

"You may have gained my appraisal, but your movements were too reckless ." She exhaled sharply, kneeling her body down towards the murky floor to observe the broken debris. "However, you completed the criteria in which most elite soldiers have trouble doing." An unexpected smile edged on her pink flushed lip— evoking him to draw in a deep breath.

Levi slid his half-lidded eyes away, clenching his jaws tightly in response to the shock of pain reaching to his broad shoulders and strained ankle. He shifted his body faintly, attempting to mask the infliction in his expression.

Corporal Ackerman on the other hand, was a very keen observer.

And it didn't take long for her to notice the situation at hand.

"You need to go to the infirmary." She sighed heavily, leaning her body downwards— gesturing him to wrap his other arm around her neck.

"Tch. I don't need your help." He retorted in response, his eyes descending towards the ground.

"And I don't need your feedback Rivaille." She countered back, her eyes coaxing him to submit to her directives for the time being. "That's an order."

This particular part about Corporal Ackerman infuriated him. The fact that she had this privilege over him— the authority to make him oblige to her orders. If he had the choice in the matter, he would have pegged his way out of the agreement of being her recruit. No one informed him that the rumored, 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier,' was actually a woman who perpetually unveiled her absence of conviction within company of other soldiers. Just what the hell did Commander Erwin sign him up for.

"Understood." Levi spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with objection— though he knew that arguing with her orders would get him no where.

He wrapped his arm around her neck, his body colliding against hers in a haste movement— his face just a breath away from her cheeks. He creased his forehead, stiffening his body in response to the whiff of the lavender-scented aroma, transpiring from the short lengths of her onyx hair. It was an odd feeling. The thought of his commanding officer actually smelling this pleasant from a close range.

"Please refrain yourself from smelling your superiors." Mikasa glanced sideways at him, the tone of her voice never ceasing to maintain its flatness.

"Tch." He narrowed his half-lidded eyes, trying to distance the perimeter of their faces.

She was a woman of no emotion, he decided. Figuring her out would be too taxing for his being.

Yet, prior to that revelation— her mere existence was imposing on his life by a thin thread without forewarning.

Months passed by in a fleeting moment. Unsuccessful expeditions piling up from each return beyond the walls. There were more countless death— infinite amount of remorse filled letters sent out to disheartened families, and heavy burdens to carry on their overtaxed shoulders. However, one particular problem stood out the most from the midst of conflicts that he encountered. And it involved Corporal Ackerman. He didn't know when it came about, or how it became an issue to him but, somehow she managed to trigger a part of him that he couldn't come to terms with. It was a trivial matter to him— slowly intervening with his objective of being stronger than she was. He detested it. He hated the woman, yet he found himself appearing in her presence during the daytime in her office, even when they weren't scheduled to train with each other.

"I've been wondering for a while now," Corporal Ackerman spoke out in a dull tone, interrupting him from his deep train of thought, "why don't you have a last name?" She asked, her stormy grey eyes probing deeply in inquisition to his personal background. She sat leisurely behind her over-spacious desk, her vague orbs resting on his form.

Levi sighed heavily, not interested in the slightest of explaining his burdened past to her— though her discerning eyes was making it difficult for him to resist. This was the problem that he mentioned before. The way she made him comply to her mercy. It was sickening for him to be this disciplined by the likes of this apathetic woman. "I was an abandoned child." He answered back, his eyes hinting with obscurity in the depths.

She stayed silent, her gaze never leaving his.

"I don't have parents—or I guess you can say, I did have parents." He narrowed his eyes, trailing over the expression on her face."That's why I came to the Survey Corps to make a name for myself."

Mikasa arched an eyebrow, her face strayed from any emotions. "I see." She replied back in a simple tone, disregarding the tense atmosphere around him.

Levi scoffed at her dreary reaction. "Though, I suppose a callous woman like you wouldn't understand the feeling of solitude." He urged on, hoping to strike some sort of emotion in her.

Her thin lips pursed together tightly. "Perhaps." She shrugged her shoulders, disappointing his expectation of witnessing a diverse change of expression.

"You're too dull heichou." He exhaled sluggishly, folding his arms over his chest. "Don't you ever care for anything else besides duty and regulation?"

The abrupt expression on her face rendered him speechless.

"There's a limit to circumstances that I can care about," her eyes gleamed with an unveiled mixture of muddled emotions, "asking me if I can display any source of sympathy for trivial things is mistaken."

Levi stiffened his body, unable to respond back to her unexpected statement. Luckily, a light knocking on the door saved him from the tension that was surging within their proximity.

"Come in." She responded back to the knock, her eyes shifting towards the door.

The sturdy entrance to her office gradually opened, revealing a man in his late twenties dressed in a well refined uniform— a large smirk implanted on his face. "Mikasa!" The older man hollered, his eyes landing on the female captain.

Somehow, Levi could interpret the situation between the two adults and gripped his fists tightly together in response. The fact that he addressed her by her first name caused the blood under his veins to boil in annoyance.

"Jean." She replied back in a soft-spoken tone, the edges of her lips slowly curving upwards.

Levi stirred in his seat, directing his attention towards the transparent window— attempting to mask his out of character behavior.

"Are you busy?" Jean hovered his eyes towards the younger soldier, acknowledging his presence within the office.

Mikasa flickered her eyes towards Levi for a protracted moment before sliding her charcoal hued orbs back at Jean. "No, we're finished here already. You can return back Rivaille."

The edges of his lips formed a line, the strands of his raven hair descended forward. He felt a tight clenching in his chest— his breathing becoming rough and shallow as he smirked inwardly to himself. He was pathetic. Allowing himself to have these eerie feelings towards this unfamiliar man and his captain was rotten to his core. He couldn't understand what the situation between them was and it frustrated the hell out of him.

"Yes, ma'am." Levi replied in a firm tone, dodging his hooded eyes away from hers, before she noticed his out of character behavior.

Levi reached for the doorway, his narrowed eyes glancing over his shoulder— taking another glimpse of his captain and the unfamiliar guest in her office, before slamming the door shut behind him. He needed some air. Or at least, something to keep his mind off of this provoking feeling inside his body. He needed a distraction to release this twisted emotion from tempering with his mind.

And that's exactly what he got.

The edges of his lips curved up gradually, as he locked his gazes with the honey-blonde soldier making her way towards him. "Petra."

(To Be Continued...)

Oh boy, this whole 'Corporal Mikasa and cadet Levi' is making me come up with crazy ideas xD

Since I was asked to write a teenage/hormonal prompt about these two, I tried to write Levi being jealous without making him too OOC. I hope I somehow managed with that. I didn't want to change their personalities even though their roles changed, so I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you guys. Anyways, I'll be writing part 2 soon :D Hoped you enjoy!