Technique

"I just don't see the point." Eren muttered, kicking a pebble and sending it skittering across the floor.

He spent quite a bit of his time sulking, Eld had noticed. Sure, he snapped out of it rather quickly when someone spoke to him, participating whole-heartedly in the conversation. But most of the time, Eren kept to himself, rarely speaking unless someone initiated the conversation. It reminded him a little of Levi, except Levi's silence was born out of mistrust and hostility. If anything, Eren was more shy, and maybe a little daunted at being surrounded by senior soldiers. Not to mention senior soldiers with orders to kill him if the situation took a turn down a titan maw.

"Don't see a point to what?" Eld asked, keeping his attention on the fight before them. "The hand-to-hand combat training? What's wrong with it?"

Petra and Levi were circling each other like two scavenging birds eyeing the same piece of carrion, stepping primly across the stone floor, faces impassive and giving no indication of their next attack. Watching carefully, Eld saw an opening appear briefly in his female comrade's defense, but the rogue didn't take it, most likely biding his time and wearing out her patience. It was better to coax a rise out of Petra rather than rush at her. Her attacks tended to be more effective when she was cornered and desperate.

"It's not worth the time and energy." Eren blurted. "A few kicks and punches don't mean a thing to-"

"You know, Eren, not everything is about offing the titans." Eld pointed out with a smile. "And when you've been doing this as long as we have, you eventually learn you need to have a little fun once in a while. And sometimes, more often than we care to admit, fun entails a good, honest attempt to give Levi a well-deserved butt-kicking. I get it, though. You hate them just as much as the next Scout, but-"

The kid jumped in surprise, a look of horror spreading across his face. "Holy Sina!"

Hearing someone crash to the floor, Eld winced and turned to face the fight again and found Petra lying flat on her back, groaning in pain and maybe frustration. "Damn!" He called, slapping his knee. "Petra lost to Levi? No! How can that be?"

Up went the woman's hand, saluting with a long, middle finger, then she pushed herself onto her elbow and scowled at them. "I don't see you faring any better, Eld. Go on, have at him! Let's see what happens?" Levi planted his boot on her head, forcing her back into the stone floor. "Ow, ow, ow! Levi, that hurts! Ow! Get off! Get off already!"

"Who said I was finished with you?"

"I'm down. I yield. Whatever the hell you want me to say." Petra mumbled past the sole of his boot, sounding more annoyed than in actual pain. She folded her arms and crossed one leg over the other. "Let me up, you freak. Ow! Stop that! This just isn't polite, you know. Ugh, I hate you!"

Eld shook his head and laughed, "Levi, knock it off. She's had enough."

"Have any of you ever been able to defeat him?" Eren asked.

"Who? Levi?" Eld shrugged. "Petra broke his nose once, and, given sufficient motivation, all four of us have been able to bring him down. Not that it's by any means easy, and by the end, it usually requires three of us sitting on him, but it's possible. This one time, Mike and the Commander-"

"Eren!" Levi called, interrupting their conversation. "You're up!"

Eld stifled a laugh as Eren went white as a sheet. "Sir?"

Now seated several meters away, Petra paused in her attempts to rub a boot print out of her cheek, an intrigued look coming into her eyes. "Interesting. Humanity's strongest against humanity's savior. Not that it'll affect the outcome any, but nonetheless."

Eren sent her a glance that might've been a plea for help or a display of sheer terror, but Eld didn't care. He wound a hand back and slapped the new recruit between his shoulders, driving him forward. "Go on, kid. And godspeed."

There was no reply, though Eren did send him one final pleading glance before he stepped toward Levi as a condemned man would approach the hangman's noose. Levi remained in a casual stance, fixing Eren with an indifferent stare, although he did frown as the kid shifted into an unusual fighting position. He seemed to place all his weight in one leg, bending it slightly, and extended the other behind him. Almost as though he were preparing to charge, yet the stance seemed more defensive than combative given he held his fists before his head as if to fend off an attack. Eld tipped his head. He looks like he's inviting an attack rather than rushing at his opponent.

Levi must've reached the same conclusion, for when Eld shouted, "Go!" their captain launched himself forward. Eren grit his teeth and braced himself. What happened afterward was so fast Eld almost missed it. One moment, both soldiers were on their feet, then Levi was down for an instant before he somehow brought Eren with him, then he leapt into a crouch and the new recruit suddenly had Levi's knife in his face.

"Oh, my God!" Petra shouted, bringing her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened in astonishment.

"What just happened?" Eld rose to his feet, trying to process the image in his mind and sense of what he'd seen. Levi had tried punching Eren, but he missed-no, Eren had dodged. He avoided the blow, but managed to grab hold the captain's wrist. The rest had happened on the floor when Eren knocked the older man's feet out from under him with a swift and powerful kick that sent him crashing to the floor. Levi sprang back into a crouch via backward flip, then swung a leg around and tripped Eren, and finally held a knife over the bridge of his nose for good measure. Petra turned to him in disbelief, then focused on the pair in the arena.

Eren was still ghostly pale and breathing hard, but Levi stared down at him in a gaze so intense Eld feared he was going to kill the cadet. "You mind telling me how and where you learned that technique?" He asked in a cold voice.

"I-It's just something I picked up from a friend when we were in training." Eren answered in a shaking voice, holding his hands protectively over his face. "She said her father taught her how to fight, but that's all I know. She wasn't very talkative about it, but she showed me a few moves."

Levi was quiet, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny, then backed off, flipping the knife harmlessly around in his hands. "Would you mind showing me how you did it?"

"What?"

"I thought the question was clear." Levi glared down at him. "I want you to show me how you did it."

Petra sprang to her feet in a single, fluid motion and ran toward them. "Make that both of us."

Eld raised his hand with a grin, "Yeah, same here. And I'll be sure to let Gunther and Oruo in on it, too."

"It's nothing special!" Eren protested, looking embarrassed. "It's literally one hundred ways to seriously cripple a person."

"Then you'd better get started." Petra raised her clenched fists above her head in an attempt to copy the kid's earlier stance. "Like this?"

Eren hesitated, then climbed back to his feet and began carefully, "No, not quite. What you need to do is-"

Eld raised an eyebrow as Levi turned and made his way back to him, concealing his knife once again before taking a seat on the floor. He hid the limp pretty well, he'd give him that. "You didn't give him the speech about the possibility of opponents having hidden weapons. Isn't that why you have your knife with you?"

Levi didn't answer right away, a little more occupied with removing his boot and examining the rapidly swelling bruise. He swore, muttering to himself and gingerly touching the red skin. "Rose, it feels like he broke my ankle, the little shit."

"I thought he almost had you for a moment there." Eld turned away to hide his smile and bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Are you getting old?"

"Shut up. That took me by surprise." He grimaced, baring his teeth in either pain or irritation. "I wasn't expecting him to know something like that."

"You underestimated him."

"A little." Levi tilted his head to the side, and Eld heard a crack in his neck. "And I think I may have a concussion."

"Why do you think that?"

"I'm starting to like the kid."

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I would've loved to see something like this in the series. Or at least Levi fighting human Annie.

Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajimi Isayama.