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 everyone that read and reviewed. Please enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter Six: The Direction of Your Heart

That wasn't the last time Sakura saw the strange man. In fact, it had happened again much sooner than one would have expected.

The next day, the wind had begun to pick up in the normally still air. There was a moisture in the atmosphere that had never been there before, and people were concerned with the new weather. They didn't know what it meant. Sakura knew though. A storm was coming. Large enough that it was affecting the underground cities. It was normal for rain to drip through the cracks in the ceiling from the weather above, but it hardly ever affected the moisture surrounding them.

Sakura had spotted him out of the corner of her eye, yet again. She had been on an errand with Levi, true to his word that he wouldn't let her roam around on her own, when she caught sight of a dark brown coat and deep, green eyes. She stopped in the middle of the street and gazed out into the dark alley where he stood next to a wall. He didn't seem surprised that she had caught him this time, his eyes narrowed almost coldly. Just like last time, his presence appeared out of thin air and if she hadn't caught the slightest glimpse of him, she wouldn't have been able to sense him at all. There was a barely concealed rage stirring behind his eyes and she had to wonder if it was directed at her. She couldn't recall doing anything to him though. She couldn't even recall who he was, but something deep inside of her soul called out to him as if she knew him and knew him intimately.

The rage died down, swirling down and being swallowed by a pit of despair and seeing that made her chest ache. She wanted to call out to him, but words climbed up her throat and got stuck there. It burned. The wind caressing her cheek did nothing to soothe the ache.

"Oi, brat."

Sakura whipped her head forward, startled by how loud Levi's voice had sounded. Considering how close he was to her now, it was no surprise. He had noticed that she was no longer following him and had back tracked until he was now standing directly in front of her. Scowling. His expression softened, however, when their eyes met. His brow furrowed and his grey eyes swirled with something that looked like concern. What had he seen on her face? She felt hollow. His lips parted to say something, but when the words didn't come, she turned her head back swiftly to where she had been looking. Only to be met with the sight of an empty alley.

Suddenly, sharply, pain shot through her forehead. Grimacing with her teeth gritted, she lifted her hand and pressed her fingertips into the flesh above her brow. She hissed from the amount of pressure. A flash of white passed through her vision and she got the sinking feeling that her consciousness was being pulled. Where though, she didn't know. There was a ringing in her ears and a sudden shiver enveloped her body, coating her arms with goosebumps.

"Sakura?"

Just as fast as it came, it went. Sakura lowered her hand and blinked down at the ground. Trying to compose herself, she drew in a shaky breath and forced herself to ignore the chill lingering on her arms. Her mind swam with theories about what had just happened. Without any understanding, she glanced back over to the alley and a dark thought ran through her that caused her eyes to widen a fraction.

The pinkette clenched her eyes shut and physically shook that thought out of her head. It was just a coincidence. Still. . .

"Oi."

Sakura looked back up at Levi, her brow furrowed from the lingering stinging sensation of whatever just mentally attacked her. She was silently taken aback by the concern swimming in his eyes and even more surprised that he had been showing it for the past few minutes since she stopped walking. It was rare to see that much emotion from him. Had he caught onto something that she hadn't?

Arching an eyebrow, she frowned at him. "Are you okay?"

His frown matched hers and his brow was furrowed. "You're the one acting strange." His grey eyes turned toward the alley that had caught her attention. This time, his eyebrows furrowed in scrutiny, searching for anything out of place. Just the normal homeless and garbage. "What have you been looking at?"

He looked back down at her with slightly narrowed eyes, and she knew that he was on alert now. She didn't want him to worry about something that was potentially nothing serious at all. She was on the verge of saying 'Nothing', but as she gazed into his hardened eyes longer, she found that she couldn't quite let the lie slip through. Letting out a defeated sigh, she glanced back over to the alley. She had to say something, especially considering recent events. Levi would be beyond pissed at her if she didn't alert him to the strange man and it turned out to have dire consequences for any of them. She wasn't even sure if he was real. Still, she didn't like laying out her 'visions' in the middle of the street.

Jade eyes met grey in a silent plea. "Can we go back home first?"

This seemed to satisfy Levi, as if he had been expecting her to put up a fight. His shoulders relaxed a miniscule when he turned around to continue down the street. To anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to notice, but he was relieved. She followed behind him, never letting more than a meter of distance get between them. Her eyes glanced around her, observing her surroundings and expecting to see a pair of glowing, green eyes out of the corner of her vision.

It never came. The way home was uneventful and filled with silence, aside from the bustling of the other citizens passing them. It didn't take them long to go into the house and Levi closed the door behind them. Sakura walked forward a few feet and stopped at the arm of the couch, looking down at the material. The dark-haired male lowered his hand from the doorknob and turned to look at the back of the girl's head.

His eyes narrowed in seriousness, he started with a firm tone, "So, what's going on? Something caught your attention yesterday also. What was it?"

"You didn't see him, did you?"

"See who?"

Sakura turned half-way toward him, looking at him with her brow furrowed. "The man in the cloak."

Levi leaned back against the door and folded his arms over his chest. "Was he in the alley?"

The pinkette nodded, "And in the clearing."

"Where we trained?" Sakura nodded again and frowned when he added, "I didn't see anybody."

She turned her head away and looked to the side, her brow furrowed in what felt like annoyance. She was suddenly filled with the need to defend herself. "I'm not lying." She knew he hadn't seen him, otherwise he would have reacted. Seeing somebody there that wasn't sounded like a fake scenario, as if she were doing it for attention. She could see how he would come to that conclusion. Given the last few days. What, with her 'not really confession' and her so called 'rebellious phase'.

"No." Sakura's eyes widened. "I believe you."

The pinkette whipped her head toward the man, her lips parted slightly in disbelief. She looked over his expression, searching for any falsehoods, but he was serious. His expression was hardened, and his body had the smallest amount of tension. He was trying to figure out what was going on and if their safety was in jeopardy. A wave of validation washed over her, followed by relief. Her jaw was slack, and her eyes were wide. It was ridiculous in every way, but she didn't realize it would feel this nice to be taken seriously. Her heart skipped a beat and she choked on her words. "I- you- . . ."

Levi didn't seem to care about her loss for words. He got right back on track to the problem at hand. "Was it one of the men following you the other day?"

Sakura mentally shook herself and blinked out of her thoughts. "No, it's someone else."

"You don't know him?"

The pinkette looked down to the ground in thought. "I've never seen him before yesterday."

"What could you have done to get his attention?"

Sakura furrowed her brow in contemplation. "That's the thing though."

Levi arched a dark eyebrow in curiosity. "What is?"

She met his gaze with a look of confusion on her face. "I don't think he wants to hurt me. I almost feel like I know him."

Levi didn't respond right away, only continued to take her in. He was just as lost in this situation as she was. It was only yesterday that he found out that the two females of their group were being followed and now there was a mystery man that only Sakura could see. It was one thing after another.

Pushing himself from the door and lowering his arms, he said, "For now, don't interact with this man. We don't know what his intentions are." With that, he walked further into the living room toward the kitchen.

Sakura's eyes followed him as he made his way past her, his stride as collected as ever. She turned to watch him pull a pot off the high shelf above the counter. "So, you actually believe me?" she asked, still skeptical. It sounded ridiculous even to her ears.

"Why wouldn't I?" he replied and turned on the sink faucet to begin pouring water in the pot.

"Cause it's crazy. You didn't even see this guy. Who's to say I'm not making this up just for attention?"

Levi kept his back to her while he continued his process, turning off the faucet and placing the pot on the stove. "You're not the type of person that will cause others to worry for something like that."

Sakura was speechless, her eyes wide. Her heart skipped another beat, and she swiftly turned her head away. Her fingers twitched at her sides and heat rose to her cheeks, spreading all the way down the back of her neck. No. . . She couldn't be. . . She brought up her hands to her cheeks and lightly smacked them a few times to try to knock some sense back into herself. She took in a slow, deep breath through her nose and let it out as a long sigh through her mouth. She had to get herself under control. This could not be happening.

Curious eyes were on her. "What are you doing?"

"Breathing exercises." She would hate for the others to appear in the room right then. They would no doubt see how red her face was and knowing Isabel, it would be announced to the entire room. The girl was completely tactless. The fact that she was reacting at all was already embarrassing enough as it was.

The pinkette let out another breath to still herself before she turned to look back at the man who had already went back to his task. He was busy stacking wood underneath the stove to start a fire. She brought her hands down to her chest and tried to ignore the lingering tingling in her fingers. "So, when's the next time we're going out?"

"I have a job in two days."

Sakura arched an eyebrow, frowning. "Is it really alright to bring me on your job?"

"If you purposefully get in the way, you'll be punished."

The pinkette looked away. "Right."

At that moment, Farlan opened the front door and walked into the house with Isabel hot on his heels. "Levi-bro, Sakura-chan, you two are back already?"

Farlan closed the door behind Isabel, the redhead making her way to the couch and flopping down with a smile. Sakura smiled at her briefly before turning her attention to Farlan. He was carrying a brown paper bag in one arm. "The shopkeeper said we made good time, Levi."

Levi turned and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest while waiting for the water to heat up. Farlan went to the kitchen table and placed the bag on the surface. He pulled out two containers of bland tea grinds, smiling as if he found something to be quite amusing. "These were the last two. Apparently, shipment will be delayed for a few days because of the storm up there."

Sakura raised her head in mild curiosity. "You couldn't find any yesterday?"

Farlan smiled back at her. "No, this stuff is a lot harder to find than you'd think."

"I can imagine." she replied before looking over to meet Levi's eyes. He was just looking at her calmly. His features were unreadable.

"Though I'm impressed you were able to predict this happening, Sakura."

"Huh?" The pinkette looked back at Farlan with a mildly dumbfounded expression.

Farlan smiled sheepishly and arched a blonde eyebrow. "You somehow knew that the shipment would be delayed, right?"

Sakura held up her hands in front of her and smiled nervously with her eyes closed. "Don't be ridiculous. I just wanted to make sure that Levi-sama has enough tea. It's annoying to suddenly run out of something you enjoy, right?"

Farlan kept his eyebrow raised, looking over the pinkette's face curiously. "Yeah, I guess."

Isabel was leaning back comfortably and had her arms folded behind her head, looking over the exchange with boredom. "I told you so."

The pinkette cut her eyes over at the redhead, who only shrugged in response with a grin. Realizing that she was still standing in the same spot and that all eyes were on her, she shrugged and walked to the kitchen. She was grateful when a change of topic was brought up.

"What else did you two do?" Levi asked the duo, his eyes briefly glancing over the pinkette as she went to stand beside him and began to swiftly shoo him away with her hands. Not arguing, he went to the table and sat down in the wooden chair.

"Just a little recon." Farlan replied.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief when normal conversation started up between them and she was able to make Levi's tea in peace. The topic of the men following them wasn't brought up nor was it brought up that she had been seeing someone in the shadows for the past two days. When she finished making the tea, she placed the steaming cup in front of the dark-haired male at the table. He didn't hesitate to grab it, already knowing that the temperature wouldn't burn him. It was truly astounding. The amount of trust that Levi placed in Sakura, even in this simple act.

The pinkette spared him a glance as he brought the cup up to his lips in that strange fashion of his. Farlan was speaking to them, but she didn't pay him much mind. Her mind was more focused on the knowledge that she could have poisoned Levi and he would have still sipped at his tea without a care. At the very least, she could have served it to him too hot.

Sakura looked ahead of her, her gaze settling on nothing in particular. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had the chance to dabble in poisons in a while. When she got visits from Dr. Yeager, if she was lucky, he would leave some of his medical books behind for her to look over. From what she gathered, everything she read matched what she already knew. This land was just lacking in quality ingredients. She wondered if she would be able to find enough materials to even concoct any advanced poisons. There was also the challenge of where she would make them. She couldn't exactly brew them in Levi's room. Maybe the storage room. . .

~SCENE CHANGE~

Sakura walked alongside Farlan and Isabel through the busy streets. Water could be smelled in the air as the storm raged on the land above their heads. Children splashed around in puddles, giggling without a care. It was nice to see some joy in the depressing, underground city. The atmosphere was grey and dense, thick with the musky scent of the city. The three of them were on their way to the market to buy food for the next few days. It had been two days and Levi was out on his job. The pinkette had opted out of going with him in favor of going with Farlan and Isabel to get some fresh air.

She definitely wasn't avoiding Levi. Sakura had acted normal as best as she could, but she couldn't quite get a grip yet. She couldn't even bring herself to sleep in his bed again, sleeping on the couch every night just like she did in the beginning. Granted it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to sleep on the couch sometimes, but these were special circumstances. She hoped nobody would question her about it.

Green eyes narrowed cautiously over at the redhead next to her, who was talking excitedly with the blonde man. Isabel didn't seem to mind that Farlan was placed as their guardian for an unseeable amount of time. Of course not. That meant that she would get to spend more time with her crush.

Sakura turned her head and let out an exhausted sigh. She wished she had it as easy as Isabel. It must have been so liberating to be able to admit to herself that she liked someone, and have that person not be emotionally unavailable. She just didn't have any luck in that department. Though she didn't blame Levi in the slightest. She had zero intention of pursuing anything with him. Whatever bug she picked up the other day to cause her heart to flutter should be squashed immediately.

While Isabel and Farlan continued with their conversation, Sakura slowed down to a halt when her eyes landed on a pair staring right back at her. It was that same man from before. Although, this time, his eyes didn't hold any pain or anger within them. He was simply looking at her with his brow furrowed slightly. Sakura blinked slowly at him, half expecting him to disappear the moment her eyes closed. Instead, he stayed there in the entrance to the alley she spotted him in. He still wore the same clothes he did the previous two times.

There was a chill in the air, caressing the bare skin of her legs and feet. She wore a simple dress that reached her knees and like always, no shoes. Her hair was recently cut again by Levi, stopping just below her chin. The skirt of the dress ruffled slightly, her bangs flowing to the side with the small gust of wind blowing through the area. She noticed that despite the air movement, he remained still, as if unaffected by the environment.

Again, Sakura felt pulled toward something and this time, the direction was very clear. Something was tugging at her chest to go forward.

"Sakura."

The pinkette heard her name, but she didn't move to acknowledge it. She stared at the mystery man with her lips parted. Who was he? Why did it feel like she was looking at a piece of herself? She was surprised when he turned and began to walk down the alley. Without even thinking, she felt her body move of its own accord. She ran to the other side of the street and into the dark alley.

"Sakura!" Farlan called after her. When his call did nothing to stop her, he took off in a run after her, Isabel following him.

Sakura's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the alley quickly and she glanced around as she turned a corner. She jumped over a pile of dingy clothing and trash, ran around a group of sickly men, and passed by a stained mattress. Farlan continued to call after her, but she followed the fleeting glimpses of a dark cloak turning around corners.

What possessed her to follow him, she didn't know. She was clearly disobeying at this point, but she couldn't bring herself to care about the punishment Levi would inflict on her later. After about five minutes of running with quite a bit of distance between her and her companions, the pinkette came to a stop. She could still hear them calling out to her before the blood drained from her ears.

"Sakura!" "Sakura-chan!"

Jade eyes widened and her jaw dropped in horror as she stood in the opening to another section of the alley. It was a short dead-end and maybe she could have noticed any details about it, if it weren't covered in blood. That wasn't the horrific part, though. Sakura had seen blood countless times. The part that had her struck with terror and disgust were the two mutilated bodies sprawled on the ground. Unmentionable body parts were thrown in every direction and without even needing to get closer to inspect, she could see the teeth marks surrounding the chunks taken out of the skin. Patches of blonde and brown hair were resting on the ground in the pools of blood, pieces of scalp still attached.

Her stomach lurched and her blood ran cold. She could just barely hear it, her body tensing as she quickly looked behind her with startled eyes. It was too late. The blow came to the back of her neck and her eyes glazed over. The last thing she heard was Farlan yelling her name in the distance. She didn't see who attacked her. It was only shadows, swallowed completely by the darkness of her consciousness. She didn't even feel herself hitting the ground.

She really fucked up now. . .

~SCENE CHANGE~

Footsteps echoed off the ground as two people ran up the steps to their house. The door was swiftly swung open, alerting the man that had just previously gotten home. "Levi!" Farlan exclaimed, sweat running from his brow and his face flushed with heavy pants.

Levi was at the bookshelf, a book in his hand unopened. He was about to sit down to read and hope to unwind from the stressful job he had just finished. He watched as Farlan and Isabel walked into the house, looking as if they were about to collapse. His brow instantly furrowed, and his ever-prominent frown deepened. "Where's Sakura?"

Isabel gasped for breath, her hands on her knees and she leaned forward. The panic was clear in her eyes, though she didn't quite know the extent of the situation as much as the blonde next to her. "Sakura-chan vanished!"

Levi's eyes widened, the worst possible scenario filling his head. "What?"

Farlan quickly caught his breath and rushed to explain, "She just stopped following us and headed off into an alley by herself. We followed her, but lost track of her."

Levi didn't wait around to hear anything else and Farlan didn't waste any time either. The two of them went to the storage room while Isabel followed them. Opening the door to the hallway, they went to the storage room down the hall. Farlan stopped when he sensed Isabel's presence behind him. Levi ignored them and made a beeline into the room to retrieve his 3D gear.

"You stay here, Isabel."

"Ehh?!" Isabel frowned up at the blonde, "I want to help search for Sakura-chan too!"

Farlan smiled weakly at her while turning to make his way down to the storage room. "We need someone to stay here in case she comes back."

Isabel huffed but relented. "Fine."

It was only a matter of minutes before Levi was zooming through the streets overhead and looking for a familiar head of pink hair. His jaw was clenched, and his fingers were tight over the handles of the 3D gear. He looked over houses, brothels, bars, and countless other buildings. He looked in alleys and between the cracks in walls. Farlan had gone to the other side of the city without being told. They covered as much ground as they could as quickly as they could. Even as hours passed with no pinkette in sight.

Levi didn't feel the adrenaline die down in his veins, the panic he felt only growing the longer he searched with no results. The first place he had searched was obviously the spot where they had lost her. He had found nothing. Now though, with anxiety, he went back to that same place and with a heavy heart, he stumbled upon the sight of blood and mutilated bodies.

~END OF CHAPTER SIX~

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please look forward to the next one and please review what you think.