Hope of Morning

Romance and Hurt/Comfort

English

Rated M

Levi Ackerman/Sakura Haruno

Warnings: Language, Violence, and Sexual Content

Summary: The first memory she had was one of blood. Experiments and then being thrown down into the underground. She hated it, but within that dark and cold place, she had met him. He had given her wings and she gave him her loyalty.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin nor do I make any money from my writings.

A/N: Thank you SO much for your support everyone and thank you for the views and reviews. It really brightens my day and helps me to push forward to create more content. Please read and enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter Four: "Do you like him?"

It was early one morning, nine months in of Sakura having moved in, where daily rituals that consisted of the pinkette making tea for the short, in both height and temper, man was interrupted for an unusual cause. Sakura had Levi's teacup on the counter, opened container of tea grains next to it, and a pot of water on their stove that was being heated from the fire beneath. She had the little copper spoon in her hand and was about to start dividing the measurements to pour into the teacup, when she was stopped by an enthusiastic voice behind her.

"Sakura-chan."

The ex-kunoichi looked back at the redhaired teenager that was smiling behind her from a few feet away. Her eyes were full of barely contained excitement and her smile was bright. Sakura had to admire her eyes. They were green as well, a trait most uncommon in this world apparently. She wouldn't admit it, but Sakura felt an inkling of affection for the girl now. Since Isabel's appearance was the most similar Sakura had seen to her own, she felt more comfortable around the teenager now that she wasn't so standoffish and had opened up. Looking at the red hair and green eyes made her feel like she wasn't as alone in this world as she first thought. That combined with Isabel's charming love of life and affectionate side, the pinkette couldn't help but think that the redhead was such a cute girl. She had started to feel a bit protective of her as well. She was at that age and despite living with two men, Sakura had no doubt that Isabel was still ignorant about some things in the world.

"Eh?" Sakura made a questioning noise, not hiding her mild surprise. This was the first time anybody had bothered her while she was preparing Levi's tea. The man himself didn't seem bothered by it though, since he hadn't looked up from his book while lounging against the couch. For someone so uptight, he sure could pull off the laziest poses sometimes. It was almost fascinating.

"I was wanting to know if you'd go out into town with me." Isabel said, "I was just thinking that you're getting older now and that we haven't had a chance to do any girl talk."

The pinkette instantly lit up with a bright smile. She hadn't had any girl talk in a long time. She silently missed the long nights with Ino and Tenten, and occasionally Hinata. Nights when they would stay up and gossip about how exhausting work was, which patient had the hots for which nurse, how much money Tsunade had lost at poker the week prior, and of course about their crushes and later on, boyfriends. Sakura also missed the nights when she would finally be able to pay Ino back for her constant jokes and prodding and would explain to her in great detail how that day's gruesome surgery went. "You're a medic too! You should be used to these things by now." "Doesn't mean I want to hear about every gory detail, Sakura!"

"Sounds good." Sakura replied, but then her eyes widened slightly with a sudden recollection that she had training with Levi soon. "Ah." she muttered.

Isabel caught on to her second guessing and frowned, "What is it?"

Sakura looked over to see if Levi would interject while she debated whether she should ask Isabel to go to town later on or if she should just cancel for the day altogether. Isabel knew not to purposefully get in the way of training, especially if Levi was involved, though she didn't keep tabs on when they were going to. The pinkette was half expecting the dark-haired male to be ignoring them, but she was surprised to see him making his way leisurely toward the kitchen.

Wordlessly, Levi walked around Isabel and went up to the counter beside Sakura. Isabel's eyes lit up with realization and a small "Oh." left her lips. Sakura watched in silence as Levi took the spoon from out of her hand in a way that was almost gentle. She continued to look at him in hidden wonder while he began to scoop the tea grains into his teacup. It hadn't even been a minute since Isabel had grabbed her attention. The water wasn't even boiling yet, and it wasn't like Levi to get impatient over something like this. So why?

She could see from his side profile that he wasn't angry or annoyed. There was actually a calmness about him this morning that she didn't quite understand. Isabel was also looking at him curiously. "You can take the day off."

Sakura blinked her eyes in surprise, her lips parted and slack. "Eh?"

She would have thought that making him repeat himself would have irritated him, but he showed no such reaction while he placed the lid back on the tea grain container and placed it aside. He watched the steam rise from the black, worn pot and said, "You've been working hard lately. Go have fun."

Never had Sakura ever heard those words come from this man's mouth before. Isabel was ecstatic that the pinkette had received permission to skip out on training that day for some girl talk and hopefully some adventure as well. Sakura, though, wasn't taking it as much in stride. Countless thoughts were running through her mind, tripping over and shoving each other out the way. She could swear she heard alarm sirens going off somewhere in her brain and a poor, little brain cell in the corner, yelling, "This is not a drill!" Another poor cell was beside itself in fear, huddling in a different corner and rocking itself back and forth, whimpering as the chaos ensued.

Isabel urged her to come along, but Sakura continued to stare at the man that was only a few inches taller than her, disbelief and distrust written all over her face. "Why?" She couldn't stop herself from blurting out. She wouldn't normally protest a well-deserved break, but this was incredibly suspicious. Something from a lost corner of her mind, under the wails and chaos, was telling her not to press her uncanny, good fortune, but a larger part of her psyche was running on survival mode.

"I just told you." Now Levi was starting to get that annoyed tick back in his voice, but he still stayed calm despite his brow furrowing and his lips tilting down a fraction.

"You never let me off training." she reasoned. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" At that, a dark eyebrow twitched, egging on Sakura's internal theory that something was wrong. Isabel was tugging at her wrist at this point and telling her to Hurry up! Sakura wasn't having it though. "You came back late last night, and you've been off all morning. Now you're saying, 'Go have fun.' Screw that. What are you up to?"

Levi was becoming excessively annoyed with the young female beside him. His closed eyes, furrowed brow, and gritted teeth were evidence of that. "If you'd like to be kicked around, brat, I'd be more than happy to."

He reached his breaking point when she accused loudly in shock, "Did you get laid last night?!" Levi had never kicked someone out of the kitchen and out of the house so fast in his life. He had slammed the door in her stunned face the same way he had done on their first day of meeting each other. He let out an exasperated sigh and relaxed his tense shoulders while making his way back to the kitchen to finish making his cup of tea. That was his thanks for trying to do something nice? Never again.

Isabel had been spared his wrath and with a nervous smile, she excused herself past him and out the door. The little amount of time the door had been opened to allow her outside, Levi had looked over his shoulder and caught a suspicious glare being thrown his way from the edge of the doorway. He scowled at the pinkette in return before the door fully closed behind Isabel.

~SCENE CHANGE~

"What's gotten into him?" Sakura grumbled while frowning at the ground in front of her, though it was actually more of a defiant pout.

Isabel stood at her side, also only a few inches taller, as they walked along the dirt street toward the busier part of the underground city. She was smiling, already having rolled off the earlier tension. "Bro's just looking out for ya, is all. Everyone deserves a break every now and then."

Sakura let out the tension in her shoulders with a sigh, knowing her companion more than had a good point. Overworking the body would only damage it in the end. It wasn't like she was training every day though, so she didn't see the need for this extra day off. In truth, she had been looking forward to the training once she remembered and had silently hoped that Levi would object to the outing. She had been torn between training and girl talk and in a split second, training had won her favor. She wasn't going to tell Isabel that though. She was still looking forward to spending time with the redhead.

Despite her still being more open with Levi, Sakura could enjoy Isabel and Farlan's company. She was liking them more and more as time passed. Smiling over at her companion, she asked, "So what kind of girl talk did you want to have?"

"Ya know?" Isabel began with a sheepish smile, and she rubbed her finger under her nose in a nervous tick. Her head tilted and her eyes averted away from the pinkette. "I actually have no clue what girls are supposed to talk about." She lowered her gaze down to the ground in front of her and played with the hem of her shirt. "You're the first girl I've ever hung out with."

"Ohhh." Sakura muttered and looked back ahead of her. They were starting to reach the middle of the city, which would be crawling with people shortly. There were a few beggars sprawled against the walls of collapsing buildings, their tin cups either empty or just barely. The homeless could almost be seen in the alleyways, barely covered by matted blankets with large enough holes in them that could have fit a head through. Piles of trash sometimes made up their pillows or as a barrier or wall for some privacy. Coughs and sniffling could be heard echoing through the depressing streets.

Sakura frowned and narrowed her eyes at the scenery. The same thing everyday and she never got used to it. She hated this place.

Turning her gaze back forward, she caught in her peripheral that Isabel turned to look at her curiously. "You ever have any girl talks?"

Sakura thought about what she should say. No matter what she decided on, it would be a half-truth/half-lie. She didn't have those sorts of talks in this world. There weren't any chances and there weren't any people. "No." she settled on somberly. She didn't want anything to get out that could be related to her previous life.

Isabel's spirits seemed to brighten just a tad at the confession. "We're the same then." she smiled, "Hey, we can start together."

The pinkette was touched that her companion didn't ask why she never had any girl talk before. Then again, the redhead most likely already knew why. Since they were the 'same'. No friends.

"What do you think girls talk about?" Isabel asked as she folded her arms behind her head. Both of them maneuvered through the streets and watched as people started to come out of their homes on the higher floors of tall buildings and down below to open up their shops. The foot traffic was starting to pick up.

Sakura hummed and pretended to be in deep thought about the question. "What do normal girls our age talk about?"

"Insects?" Isabel offered.

The pinkette smiled at that. Those were one of those times when Sakura thought that Isabel was genuinely cute, when she would find some strange insect and awe at it sitting in her palms. She would show Farlan excitedly, only for him to grimace and turn away from her. Of course, Levi would say "Get that thing away before I kill it."

"I don't think many people find bugs as fascinating as you do."

"Aww." the redhead pouted, "Why not? They're actually kinda cute with their beady eyes and furry legs."

"Please don't hold onto anything furry." Sakura frowned at her in concern.

"Why not?" Isabel repeated, mildly offended. "They just want to be friends."

"They're probably poisonous."

"Oh shit! For real?" Isabel questioned in stunned horror.

Sakura closed her eyes and laughed. As Isabel let out a whine at being laughed at, a cold shiver ran up Sakura's spine. Her eyes instantly opened with a narrowed concentration. She didn't look over her shoulder to tip off whoever it was, but she could sense them. They were being followed. If she were on her own, then she wouldn't have worried so much about it, but she wasn't alone.

How many?

She didn't want Isabel to worry or to cause a scene unnecessarily. It would be more trouble than what it was worth to bring attention to themselves. It's not like the people around them would help anyway. It would be easier to just give their pursuers the slip.

"So, uh. . . I have a confession."

Sakura looked over at the slightly blushing redhead in surprise, but not taking her attention off the people following them. She focused on how many feet there were, the strength of their steps, how wide their strides were. Isabel had her gaze off to the side, her mouth pursed in what was still an embarrassed pout. "What is it?"

"I kinda. . ." Isabel began shyly, "Have a crush on Farlan."

The ex-kunoichi almost stumbled over her feet, not having expected that from the red-haired tomboy. Insects, yes. Crushes, no. With one pink brow furrowed, she stuttered, "Th-that so?"

Isabel looked at her with what was almost desperation. "Don't tell him, though. We got a good thing going and I don't want him to be weirded out."

Sakura frowned over at her. "Don't you guys sleep in the same bed? Isn't that weird for you?"

"Not at all." Isabel beamed, "It ain't like we do anything."

"True." Sakura looked back ahead of her while they followed a slight curve in the street, people starting to go about their day and walking passed them in a hustle every which way. There were three pairs of people. Heavy, long strides that were keeping their distance for the time being. They thudded against the ground. Boots. They were being followed by three men. Heavy set. She couldn't pick up on any harsh breathing from keeping up with the females' slightly fast pace. So they were most likely fit. They weren't speaking, just following. So it was safe to determine that their actions were pre-discussed and planned out. Now they were watching and waiting for their chance. Either for the crowd to clear out enough to quickly grab them without issue or for them to turn into an alley and they could carry out their plans there.

"It's the same with you and Bro, though, isn't it?"

"Huh?" The question didn't come off so much as a surprise, but it was still out of nowhere. At least in Sakura's mind. She had looked back at the redhead and was met with a quizzical brow arched.

"You sleep with Bro all the time. Don't you like him?"

Sakura struggled to see through Isabel's thought process. Her mind was working on overtime again trying to connect the dots. "I sleep on the couch too, sometimes." Her? Like Levi?

"Yeah," Isabel said, and she sounded like she was about to make a valid point, "but you also sneak into his bed and sleep with him." The pinkette blinked with her lips parted. "I've also seen you cuddling with him on the couch."

Her? Like Levi? It was absurd.

"So?"

"So?" Isabel repeated back to her as if it was the most ridiculous statement she had ever heard. "You don't cuddle with anybody else like that!"

Sakura felt a teasing grin slide across her lips, and she narrowed her eyes in a mild taunt. "Do you want me to cuddle with Farlan?"

Isabel's light forest eyes widened in shock, "Of course not!" She seemed to realize the gravity of her outburst a moment later, because her face burst into a color that could rival her hair. She looked forward with her face lowered in embarrassment and she ignored the chuckles that came from her side. She wrung her fingers in her shirt nervously. "But it wouldn't hurt if – you know. . ." she began shyly, and Sakura stopped her quiet laughter to look at her seriously. "We could always cuddle."

The pinkette felt a burst of warm butterflies in her chest and nothing could have stopped the gentle smile from forming on her lips. "I'd like that."

Isabel returned her smile with a slight blush, but then her eyes narrowed with a sudden seriousness. "So do you like him?"

Sakura let out a groan and a roll of her eyes before scowling childishly in front of her. "I don't have a crush on Levi-sama." She was internally keeping tabs on the men thirty feet behind them. She was also paying attention to where they were going and managing to steer Isabel to stay near the larger parts of the crowd and back toward their house without her noticing. Her skin was starting to prickle with worry. Soon, the crowds would be thinning out and they'd be left out in the open. Easy targets.

"But you do like him, at least?" Isabel urged her.

The pinkette gave it an inkling of thought before she answered, "I guess he's tolerable."

Isabel gave a hearty laugh, her eyes closed in amusement. "You're such a liar."

Sakura jutted her bottom lip out in annoyance and made a grunting noise in return. They turned around a corner and almost instantly spotted a familiar head of blonde hair. Isabel was the first to break out into a smile and waved her hand in the air. "Farlan!"

Said blonde was walking away from a stand of produce that looked like they had been left out for far too long. Other stands littered the area here and there, no doubt preying on the drunken souls that came out of the bar at unholy hours of the night and morning from further down the street.

Farlan stopped upon hearing his name and turned toward them with a smile as the last remnants of people were making their way to their destinations. It was incredibly good timing, unbeknownst to him and the redhead. "Isabel. Sakura. What are you two doing here?"

The two females made their way to him, Isabel's stride bouncier than Sakura's. "We were just having a little break. What about you?"

"I was on some business this morning. I just finished not a moment ago." He regarded them each with a smile still on his face as they stood in front of each other. Sakura was a few feet further back from Isabel, giving both the girl space and giving herself more room to look around. "Are you two headed back now? I'll go with you."

"Ah." Isabel exclaimed softly before she turned to look back at her company. "Is it alright with you?"

Sakura nodded with a smile, "We can head back now. We still haven't eaten anything after all."

"I'll make everyone something when we get back." the blonde offered and as Isabel gave suggestions on what they should eat and pick up before they get home, Sakura glanced over to the side. Her eyes narrowed a tiny fraction when she spotted three, large men that had to be at least two heads taller than her, across the street. They continued along in the same direction as they had been, bypassing them by a few yards. They were all wearing black cloaks that reached their shins with hoods that were pulled over their heads. Their hands were covered by the long sleeves of the cloaks and boots that ranged from black to dark brown covered their feet and shins.

She couldn't make out their faces while their heads were turned downward. That was until one of them looked back over his shoulder toward them with a cold, dark glare. She had to stop her eyes from widening when she instantly recognized him as one of the men she had stolen that hog from a while back. They had followed her back to the house back then and had the door slammed back in their faces by Levi. She didn't regret it though, even if they were still clearly sore about the whole ordeal. They had eaten well that night and the day after.

Sakura didn't hesitate in her decision to immediately inform Levi of this new information once they returned home and for the second time in less than a minute, she mentally thanked Farlan for being in such a convenient spot at the right time. She was scared to think of what would have happened had they been caught up to. . . For now though, she was relieved when they seemed to give up for the time being and continued on down the street. She had tuned out of Farlan and Isabel's conversation until she heard quite clearly –

"Don't you think that Sakura-chan has a crush on Bro, too?"

The pinkette immediately whirled her head toward the redhead with a scowl, "Oi!"

Isabel turned her frown toward her with her brow furrowed, "You're obviously in denial."

"I'm not in denial." Sakura quipped.

Farlan looked between the two with slight confusion. "How did this come about?"

Isabel glanced around nervously and muttered, "Uhh. . ."

Sakura let out a huff before putting her hands on her hips and pouted stubbornly up at Farlan. "Apparently Isabel thinks that because I cuddle with Levi-sama and no one else, that means that I have special feelings for him."

The redhead looked at her shorter companion in silent gratitude at not having been exposed. Even though she had brought the blonde in on their previous conversation, not considering how it would make Sakura feel, the pinkette still hadn't told the real reason why they had been talking about it in the first place. Which had been Isabel's secret crush on Farlan. Isabel mentally thanked her.

"Do you like Levi?" Farlan questioned, getting straight to the point.

"Not like that!" Sakura defended herself with another huff.

"Well, there you go." he replied, smiling at Isabel.

Isabel grunted in response, not believing it, but she decided to drop the subject in favor of it escalating. "Fine, whatever you say." She jogged off a few yards away from them and turned back with a smile, "Let's get going. I'm ready to eat."

The pinkette sighed and folded her arms over her stomach while Farlan smiled at the redhead. Together, they started to follow after the active teenager as she looked over different stalls. While she was looking over some potatoes, Sakura and Farlan stood a bit away to let her do her own thing, but still keeping an eye on her.

"So where did that question come from?" he asked, glancing over to his right at the pinkette for a reaction.

Sakura kept her face blank and her voice smooth. "I told you."

"About the cuddles?" he questioned, looking back at the redhead since he hadn't caught any reaction that would have told him anything. "That couldn't have been all there was to it."

"We were just having some girl talk, is all. What else is there to talk about other than boys?"

"I didn't peg you two the type to talk about crushes."

"We're not." she replied, watching Isabel almost outright harassing the seller for not having any bigger potatoes. "It was rather boring."

"So do you like him?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes over at the tall man in annoyance, vaguely thinking that she should smack his 'knowing' smirk off his face. "Why are you asking me that again?"

"Just curious." he responded, and she didn't like the teasing lilt in his voice.

"Uh huh, and what makes you and Isabel so keen on thinking otherwise?"

"No reason." He kept watching the redhead and ignored Sakura's frown. She had turned her attention back to Isabel as well and after a moment, he added slyly, "Levi likes you."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, and she was too distracted by the absurd thought to notice the warm fluttering that erupted in her chest and spread down to her stomach. Or she just chose to ignore it. It took a second to compose herself, but the blonde male had glanced over at her right after he had let out that ridiculous statement and much to her dismay, she knew he had caught her reaction. She schooled her features to show disinterest, but she couldn't stop the furrowing twitch of her eyebrow. "We weren't talking about that sort of 'like'. Levi-sama considers me a child."

"I never said he has feelings for you."

Sakura wanted to punch herself, but instead she covered her eyes with her palms, lowered her head, and groaned. How had she not seen that coming? She had set herself up for that one. "It was implied."

"And you're in denial, just like Isabel said."

"I'm not in denial." she groaned and raised her head back up while lowering her arms.

"Right."

Thankfully, Isabel was on her way back to them with four, large potatoes in her arms, grinning. They continued to look around the venders for more supplies to cook with when they got back, and Sakura was grateful that the topic didn't resurface. Although, as Farlan and Isabel chatted with each other, Sakura stayed a few feet behind them, her eyes toward the ground and watching their feet walk along in front of her.

She carried two loaves of bread that would have to be used that day before they went bad. There was never much differentiation or variety between the produce in the underground. Then again, she couldn't remember eating much else her entire time in this world, even on the surface. Meat was a rarity and so were the more elegant and flavorful spices that were used to cook so many delicious dishes back in her old world.

She thought of the tea that she made every morning for Levi, how bland it must taste without any sugar, honey, or any sort of flavoring. He always drank it though. She wondered if he genuinely loved the flavor or if he had some sort of emotional attachment to tea.

Sakura simultaneously remembered the previous conversation topic she had with the others and realized that she had been thinking about the other main occupant of that topic. She mentally shook her head to rid herself of that thought. She knew it was ridiculous to not only entertain that notion, but also to be so bothered by it.

~SCENE CHANGE~

Okay. Sakura was bothered by it. Greatly. The ex-kunoichi could pride herself on her intelligence, but this was just mind-boggling. Even after three days, she kept replaying the question in her head. She would stare up at the ceiling of the living room as she tried to sleep on the couch in the middle of the night. She had opted out of sleeping in Levi's room and kicking his back at all hours of the night and instead chose to lay wide awake on the old couch and torture her exhausted brain.

Did she like Levi?

By all probable statistics, it wasn't impossible. The man was definitely handsome and strong. . . Sakura racked her brain for any other positive traits that the short man might possess, but nothing else came to mind. What could possibly attract her to him? What made Isabel and Farlan so adamant that she held special feelings toward him? Were they losing their minds? Were they just messing with her?

She turned over onto her side and glanced over at the twin doors across from her. The one on the left led to Levi's room, while the one on the right, closer to the bathroom, led to a hallway. The hallway led to storage rooms and the room that Farlan and Isabel shared. She kept her eyes from landing on Levi's door and continued to glance around the room. To the right of the front door was a small storage room in the corner that had no door, so it was kept closed by a curtain that was hung on a rack near the top. To the left of her toward the kitchen and against the wall was a tall bookshelf that held multiple books amongst the shelves. Books she had already read through multiple times already.

They originally had another table and armchair in the living room, but for the first seven months she had been there, there had only been this one couch and table in front of it. Farlan had mentioned that they had been placed in a storage room by Levi shortly before she got there but she didn't know the reason for it. Now they were back in the living room in their original places. The smaller, circular table had been placed back to her left, next to the bookshelf with a wooden chair pushed in underneath it. The armchair was to her right, in front of a corner of the table.

She looked over toward the kitchen and into a cabinet space under the counter. Though it could have been called that, it didn't have a door, and she could see wooden crates that contained dinner bowls and cups while a large jug sat beside them. Wooden crates of the same, general size were placed on top of the bookshelf and another shelf beside it that seemed to be wedged between the wall and the counter space. Two shelves were on the other side of the kitchen attached high on the wall above the counter. Various pots were also lined neatly on their surfaces. A metal chandelier was hung from the ceiling, the candles having been blown out hours prior. The chain holding it up was connected to a latch with two metal prongs facing opposite each other on the wall next to the smaller table. It was next to a window that was kept closed most of the time by what looked like a sort of door that Sakura would think belonged more in a barn. The window itself was directly between the couch she was on and the bookshelf.

Despite the horrible conditions of the underground and its inhabitants, the house they lived in was exceptionally spacious and well kept. She wasn't sure what exactly that said about Levi. She wasn't sure if that meant he was hard-working and had actually earned the money to afford this house or if he was just getting his hands dirty to afford it. Oh, who was she kidding? She knew for a fact that it was both.

Having assessed her surroundings for long enough and still managing to think about the dark-haired male, she stopped fighting herself and looked at his door. Would he still be awake? Would seeing him finally answer her question? She still had to tell him about her and Isabel being followed.

Deciding that she should stop running away and finally face the issue, she threw her blanket off her and rolled off the couch. Making her way toward his room, she trained her ear forward to try and hear if he was making any noise. She couldn't pick up on anything, but that didn't mean he was sleeping. When she reached his room, she raised her hand up to the door handle and was going to open it, but suddenly grew nervous. She lowered her hand and gripped the front of the brown dress she slept in. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest and her fingers twitched. She shuffled her feet uncertainly on the spot and she let out a breath to calm her nerves.

Damn Farlan and Isabel for putting this in her head! She wouldn't have had to think about it or feel nervous if they hadn't asked her that stupid question.

"Do you like him?"

No! She didn't. Sakura shook her head and sucked in a breath to summon her courage. Her bravery only lasted for a moment and caused her to tentatively knock on the door instead of opening it like she normally would.

Not even a second later, she was regretting her decision and debated on just going back to the couch, but then she heard a firm, "Come in."

She could still go back to the couch and pretend nothing happened. It was a ghost that knocked! That's all it was. It wasn't her. It definitely wasn't her wanting to confirm if she had feelings for him or not. She stood in front of the door frozen. Why was she having a difficult time with this? She had known right away before when she was younger that she had a crush on Sasuke.

Sasuke had been cute, cool, and a prodigy. He had been from a prestigious family and all the girls wanted him. Just being in the same room as him had set Sakura's heart aflutter. Levi had similar personality traits to Sasuke, but they were vastly different overall. Levi wasn't cool, he wasn't cute, and he wasn't a prodigy. There weren't any girls or women fawning over him. He also didn't come from a prestigious family, Sakura knew at least that much. Or at least, she didn't think he did. Then again, she didn't know anything about his family. . . Back to the topic at hand, everything that had attracted Sakura to Sasuke at first, Levi didn't possess. While Sasuke was quiet and aloof, Levi was talkative, even if he did have a nasty mouth.

Sakura found herself delving deeper into the enigma that she considered to be Levi. He had a massive amount of bad personality traits. His obsession with being overly clean, his foul mouth, his temper, his bossiness, his violent behavior, his lack of concern for her privacy. His height. Though that wasn't a fault in his personality, it could be considered undesirable by a lot of women. Then Sakura started thinking of the reasons why someone would like Levi. Instantly what popped up in the foremost of her mind was his kindness. It was barely visible on most days, but Levi was actually one of the most kindhearted people she knew. If she squinted hard enough at him, she could just barely see how gentle he came off as when he would sit on the couch next to her while reading and let her lay her head on his shoulder for a nap.

He was violent, but only when he needed to be and most of the time, it was only brought out when one of them was in trouble. His foul language wasn't all that bad and to be honest, Sakura often found his crude speech to be amusing. He was strong and agile. Watching him free run across the city and move around in the maneuvering gear was like a work of art coming to life and performing. There was a certain beauty in the way he moved. It had mesmerized her since the first day she had seen him. Now that she thought about it, she didn't particularly care for using the 3D gear herself. So maybe. . . Just maybe. . .

Her eyes widened and her lips parted while her stomach lurched and at that moment, the door in front of her opened. Levi stood in front of her and though she expected him to be annoyed at being bothered this time of night, he just stood there and looked at her calmly. "Sakura? What is it?"

Sakura stumbled for words as both her hands tangled themselves in her dress in front of her stomach, which was suddenly rolling and fluttering all over the place. Her lips parted and closed as she looked up at him and silently panicked. She wanted to hug him and push him away at the same time. She was confused about how she was feeling and if she did have feelings for him, how had she not noticed it before?

"D-do I like you?" she blurted out without meaning to, instantly feeling like an idiot.

Levi arched a dark eyebrow at her, clearly not having expected that, but not thinking much of it. "How the hell should I know?"

A short sigh left her lips, and she looked down at her bare feet in defeat. "I thought so too."

He regarded her almost carefully. "Why are you asking such a stupid question?"

Sakura didn't hesitate in telling him the truth. "Isabel asked me if I did a few days ago when we went out together." She lowered her arms by her sides and slumped her shoulders. Frowning, she added, "And now I don't know how I feel."

Levi clicked his tongue while looking to the side in the direction of the hallway, "Foolish girl." He looked back at her with an even expression. There was a hint of pity, though Sakura didn't see it as she kept her gaze on her curling toes. "Forget about those feelings. They don't matter."

She widened her eyes in surprise, and she frowned up at him with her brow furrowed. "That's like saying that you don't matter."

"What I'm saying is that there isn't any point in entertaining it." he replied, whatever pity that had been there was gone, and his normal expression had returned.

Sakura continued to frown at him however, feeling her heart ache. "You don't need to tell me that." Levi's eyes widened slightly and his lips parted to show his surprise. He had been expecting to dissuade a child from their pointless crush, but looking at the pain and understanding swimming in her green eyes, it seemed he had been mistaken. She continued with a frown, "I still don't understand my feelings for you, but I can't deny that you hold a different place in it from Isabel or Farlan."

His features evened out and he listened calmly as she added, "I don't know if it's because you saved me, because you took me in, or because I'm more comfortable with you. Why that's the case, I also don't know." Her eyes seemed to gain some strength in them at this point, though her frown and furrowed brows remained. "I do understand though, that if I were to develop a genuine desire to be with you, it would only burden you."

She frowned back down at her feet again and continued to harass her shirt with her fingers, creasing the material. "I tried ignoring them, but it didn't work."

Levi leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms over his chest. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with the girl. She was barely into her teens. She was still so young, and he was a grown man. Obviously, she didn't understand the situation at all. "So, what are you going to do?" His question was almost cold and that wasn't lost on her.

"I'm not going to run away from my feelings anymore." She furrowed her brow more and her frown deepened as she made her decision. A choice made not of determination, but out of fear and shame. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Not again. "But after I do figure it out, whether its platonic or not, you're not going to find out."

Levi was genuinely surprised by this, although he was relieved. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't know what's going to happen." She finally lowered her hands at her sides in defeat and this time, Levi could see it in every aspect of her being. She looked tired. "No matter how I feel about you," she said softly, "If I tell you 'I love you', you'll leave me."

~END OF CHAPTER FOUR~

Thank you for reading this far! You guys are amazing! Have a great day and look forward to the next chapter!