More than the fuschia tunnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor's
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it's the greening of the trees
that really gets to me…. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I'll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I'll take it all.
Ada Limón, Instructions on Not Giving Up
Erwin had been expecting the knock for so long that he nearly jumped out of his skin when it finally came. He shook his head on his way to the door, a little embarrassed by his own reaction—and maybe a little embarrassed too by the anxious knot in the pit of his stomach, by the way that he had been pacing back and forth, back and forth for nearly an hour.
"Yes?" he said, opening the door.
"Commander Shadis wants to see you, sir," replied the straight-backed courier in the hall.
"I'll be there in a minute," Erwin said, and almost exactly three minutes later, he was sitting across from Shadis at a large oak desk in his office. The surface of the desk, typically so tidy, was strewn with papers. The creases on the commander's forehead were even deeper than usual.
"I expect you know why you're here," Shadis said, resting his chin on his hands as he stared down at a pile of papers.
"I imagine it's because we lost Flagon, sir," Erwin said evenly, trying to maintain a dispassionate expression. He let the silence simmer, waited for Shadis to speak next. Erwin wasn't going to say it before his commander did.
"Yes," Shadis said finally. "We need to restructure."
"Of course," Erwin said after another long pause. "What are you picturing?"
Shadis sighed and pushed back from the desk, leaning with crossed arms back into his chair. "Some of it is easy. Like you. You'll take over Flagon's duties, primarily as head of training."
Head of training?
"Of course," said Erwin. "I'm happy to coordinate the training regimen. Were there any other duties you wanted to discuss for me? I know we're stretched thin…"
"I didn't call you here to talk about your job duties," Shadis replied. "There are some other candidates for promotion that we need to talk about—like Hange."
Despite all his efforts to appear uninvested, Erwin felt a flicker of disappointment in his chest.
"Surprised?" Shadis asked, misinterpreting Erwin's expression. "I thought you were in favor of Hange."
"Pardon me," Erwin said, inclining his head slightly. "I'm still thinking about the expedition."
"It wasn't our finest moment," Shadis agreed. "Unfortunate that Nox was one of the casualties, but that's where Hange comes in. She'll replace him."
"I see," said Erwin. This was a good decision. Hange was smart and reliable, if a bit overexcited at times. She would do well as senior team leader.
"That leaves two squad leader positions open," Shadis continued, shuffling through his stack of papers. "Burk's and Hange's."
"Right," Erwin said, leaning forward. He had already expected to be consulted on this matter. "I assume we are keeping with protocol and assigning a replacement from within the squads?"
"Maybe," Shadis said slowly. Erwin wanted to frown but didn't. "Who would you recommend for Burk's squad, Erwin?"
"Bray," Erwin said without hesitating. "He's smart, disciplined, takes orders but isn't afraid to give them, and he's willing to take risks. His kill count also doesn't hurt his application."
"True," Shadis mused. "He killed a Titan on his first expedition ever, if I remember correctly. Unusual—and a good sign."
Erwin nodded. "That's right."
Shadis flipped through the papers, pulled out a file with Bray's name scribbled at the top, and set it aside. "Done," he said simply, but his expression was still troubled. Erwin watched him closely.
"Commander," he said, "may I ask whether something is bothering you?"
Tapping a finger on the table, Shadis once again leaned back. "Yes," he said. "I'm going to ask Levi to lead Hange's squad."
For all his years of practice at studied composure, Erwin felt his jaw drop.
"Levi?" he repeated. They couldn't possibly be thinking of the same person. "Underground thug Levi? Doesn't take orders Levi? Only joined the Survey Corps to try and kill me—that Levi?"
"Yes," Shadis said, studying Erwin's face. "Killed five Titans on his first expedition Levi. Tore a ten-meter to pieces in less than a minute Levi. That Levi."
"With all due respect, Commander," Erwin said, struggling to hide his disdain, "I don't think I'd recommend—"
"I didn't ask for your recommendation." Shadis folded his hands in front of him. "And I don't think you can raise any misgivings that I don't already share. But I'll hear you out anyway. What's the problem with Levi?"
"Well," Erwin began, "for starters, it hasn't even been three hours since he directly caused two deaths—those recruits…" He searched for their names for a moment. "Furlan, I think—and the girl, Isabel. He took them with him when he broke formation, and then he left them behind to ride alone in a storm."
"That's true," Shadis said. Encouraged by the affirmation, Erwin continued.
"And while he didn't directly cause the deaths of the other fifteen, he might have prevented them if he had just stayed in formation. I don't think I need to remind you that he only broke formation to try and kill me."
"No," said Shadis, "you don't."
"Besides that," Erwin went on, "his profile has too many problems to count. You've seen the file. He doesn't play well with others, he questions orders, he didn't go through standard training, and he only joined the Survey Corps to carry out his little con mission, so he isn't loyal to humanity's cause—I don't think he's loyal to anybody but himself. And on top of all that, he's been out on exactly one expedition."
"During which he killed five Titans," Shadis interrupted. "As I'm sure you remember."
"And during which he lost at least two Scouts, maybe more," Erwin shot back. "As I'm sure you remember."
"Did you see the Titan when he was through with it?" Shadis asked. The image flashed through Erwin's mind: the hulking Titan, stretched across the ground, slashed to bloody pieces by a single pair of blades wielded by the smallest soldier Erwin had ever seen.
"He lost control," Erwin said simply. "The Titan was already dead. Not exactly a mark in his favor—in my opinion, sir," he added.
Shadis pressed his fingers to his temples. "You recruited him," he said. "I didn't want him, remember? None of the rest of us wanted him. Why the change of heart?"
"Nothing's changed," Erwin said quietly. "He's going to be an asset. He's an asset now. But he's not cut out for a leadership position. Not yet."
"We both know that Levi is already the single best soldier in the field we've ever had, and that includes you and me."
"I don't know how you define 'best,' but—" Erwin began.
"Killing Titans, Smith," Shadis interrupted, an edge creeping into his voice. "He's the best at killing Titans, and before this morning, he had never seen one before in his life."
Erwin paused, unwilling to push Shadis too far or too quickly. He studied his commander's face, waiting for Shadis to make the next move. For the second time in the last few minutes, Shadis sighed—this time even more deeply.
"I'll be straight with you, Erwin," he said. "The Survey Corps has funding problems."
"I know," said Erwin. "But we just got more funding approved recently. That's where the budget for today's expedition came from in the first place."
"We had enough for today's expedition, and not much else. If the Royal Government doesn't come around and start seeing the Survey Corps as worth the money they spend on it, then nothing else matters. We have to convince them that the Scouts are worth funding, and we can't do that as long as we're taking debilitating losses every time we leave the walls."
"But sir," Erwin said eagerly, leaning forward, "that's the point of the Long-Range Scouting Formation. If you just let me fully implement it—"
"It doesn't help us," Shadis said, waving a hand dismissively. "Your long-range scouting formation is brilliant, Erwin, I've never denied that, especially after the test run today. But it's no good as long as we're taking these kinds of casualties on every expedition. We don't need to go out farther—we need to prove that we can survive even when we're near the walls. We need the brass to see that we have stronger soldiers—especially stronger soldiers who lead. That's what Levi is."
Erwin almost opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. He closed his lips tightly together and dropped his gaze down to the swirling knots that covered the surface of the commander's desk. Shadis must have guessed at least part of the reason for his section commander's silence because he reached across the desk to grip Erwin's shoulder.
"Cheer up, Smith," he said. "Implement the long-range formation when you're commander."
The Scouts were quieter than usual as they shuffled into the mess hall that night. Erwin scanned the crowd, passing over the sight of tired, sunken eyes surrounded by purple bruises, torn jackets, cuts just beginning to scab over. Exchanging greetings in low tones, they stood in line to receive their rations before retreating to their squad tables and eating in silence.
Erwin turned to Hange's table. There wasn't a single Scout whose name he didn't know, and as he looked at each face in turn, he repeated that soldier's name silently to himself. Julia, Trem, Ari, Quinn, Dover, Hume… When Erwin reached the end of the table, he frowned.
No Levi.
Erwin turned to Shadis, who was standing next to him, arms clasped behind his back. "Where's Levi?"
But before Shadis could reply, a sudden quiet slipped through the room. Every voice fell silent. Erwin turned from Shadis to the door, and there he was, his small figure silhouetted against the light spilling in from the hallway. His face was cast in shadow, leaving no way for Erwin to read his expression.
Levi hesitated in the doorway, then began to walk past the tables. The Scouts stole glances at him, whispered furtively to one another. Erwin could hear snatches of what some of the closest Scouts were saying.
"…the Underground…"
"…heard he got blackmailed…"
"…five Titans…"
"…left those poor kids to die…"
If Levi could hear the whispers, he showed no sign. He received his rations, carried his bowl to an empty table, and sat by himself. He glanced up, and Erwin could see his face clearly for the first time. Defiant—but there was something else too.
Bored, Erwin realized. He almost looked bored.
As Erwin stared at Levi, trying to read his face, Levi happened to glance over. Steel grey eyes met Erwin's blue. Levi's expression didn't change, but he didn't look away either. For several long seconds, Erwin held his gaze, determined not to be the first to break eye contact.
"It's time," Shadis said, and Erwin was forced to look over at his commander. By the time he looked back at Levi, the Scout was completely absorbed in his stew as if nothing had happened at all.
Erwin stepped up onto the small platform at the front of the room. The noise died down, and Erwin began to read out the names of the Scouts they had lost that day. For the Scouts sitting here in the mess hall, who had experienced this tradition countless times before, the recitation needed no preamble or explanation—except, Erwin found himself thinking as he read, for someone like Levi, who had never seen it before.
As Erwin neared the end of the list, he paused—just slightly—before reading the last two names. "Furlan Church. Isabel Magnolia." In his peripheral vision, he watched Levi, who made no movement. He didn't even raise his head.
"May we also give our hearts," Erwin finished, and a chorus of voices repeated after him: "May we also give our hearts." Shadis stepped forward, and Erwin melted into the space behind him.
"Fellow Scouts," Shadis began. "Today we suffered a blow."
The crowd of soldiers barely even mumbled. They were in pain, but they were also so used to "devastating blows" that this particular speech, habitually given on the night of an expedition like this, barely moved them anymore. Erwin couldn't help but steal a glance at the one Scout for whom this kind of loss—especially of two close comrades—was not yet an everyday affair. But Levi's expression remained stoic, unreadable. He might as well have been made of stone.
Shadis continued his speech. Erwin struggled to listen, because it was the same every time: their bravery fuels us, we stand on their shoulders, their sacrifices lead the way to a better future. The crowd of Scouts was restless too. The trouble was that nobody was sure it was true anymore.
"But in spite of our losses," Shadis continued, "we must show the world that the Survey Corps is worthwhile."
Erwin's attention came running back. This part of the speech was new. Is he going to tell them about the budget problems? Frowning, Erwin's gaze dropped to the floor. That wouldn't be a good idea.
"Without the continued support of the Royal Government, we have no hope of success," Shadis said. "For that reason, the Survey Corps leadership is beginning a campaign to strengthen our training program. We must become so strong, so adept in our encounters with the enemy, that these kinds of casualties become a rarity, not a certainty."
Don't say that, Erwin thought, keeping his expression perfectly placid and supportive. Don't tell them their deaths are so likely that now they have to kill themselves training just to have a slightly better chance of surviving one more expedition.
"This training program will be led by Section Commander Erwin Smith."
This, at least, got some applause. Erwin smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgement. Don't publicly associate me with your fool's strategy either.
Shadis made a few more comments about the logistics of the training program, most notably that the first training session would be tomorrow, and all Scouts were required to attend. Erwin made a mental note to write his plans later that night. He guessed he would not be sleeping, but that was nothing new.
A minute or two later, Shadis moved on to announcing the promotions. Hange practically skipped up to receive her new patch. She shook his hand so vigorously that Shadis visibly grimaced, then spun around to Erwin and clasped his hand too—just for good measure. Erwin smiled back at her. Hange's energy was rare in a time and place like this.
"Hange's now-vacated position as squad leader will be filled by Levi," Shadis announced.
The room fell silent.
For the first time that evening, something other than boredom registered on Levi's face, but Erwin couldn't quite tell what it was. Surprise? Or irritation? Levi glanced around him, then up at Shadis, then slowly stood up and walked to his commander. He took the patch, but still slowly, as if unsure of what he was doing. He stared at Shadis's offered hand for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again and curtly shook Shadis's hand. He turned to Erwin, glared at him as if trying to stab him clean through, then turned around and stalked back to his table without saying a word.
Erwin watched him go, surprised at how intensely the sensation of dislike was pulsing in his own chest.
I'll break you, he thought. Whatever it takes. I'll break you.
The Scouts gathered on the field outside the training forest at dawn. Standing on a wooden platform before them, Erwin ignored the headache radiating from behind his eyes, knowing it would disappear once he finally managed to sleep for an hour or two. He was tired but satisfied with his plans for the day.
"Muller, Sims, Wickes," Erwin barked after calling the Scouts to order. "You'll man the training Titans. Hange, you're in charge of running the Titans."
"YES!" shrieked a voice from somewhere behind him. Erwin chose not to respond.
"The rest of the squad leaders," he continued, "you'll be participating in a simulated expedition."
He reached up and grabbed the cord dangling above him to pull down a map of the training forest.
"The mission objective of your simulated expedition is to get out of the forest. Assume that you are mid-expedition and that your squads have all been separated from one another. Limit casualties as much as possible. You'll be blindfolded and led to a random spot in the forest, so you won't know where you are or how far away the walls are. Assume the walls are to the north," Erwin said, pointing. "So you want to exit the forest on the north side. For this exercise, you will not have your horses."
"Sir!" the Scouts responded, saluting. As Erwin scanned the crowd, his vision passed over Levi, who was standing with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He didn't salute.
As Hange directed the reserved squad to blindfold and lead the Scouts out into the forest, Erwin ascended the wooden stairs to the viewing platform, which stood at the top of a nearly 150-foot tower overlooking the training forest. The forest was in roughly the shape of a square, three miles per side—so when standing at the top, aided by a pair of binoculars, Erwin could generally see what was happening in the trees below.
He watched as the reserved squads dispersed throughout the forest, leading the blindfolded squads to their positions. Given the size of the forest, the process would have taken about half an hour if not for Levi, who nearly assaulted the first Scout who tried to put a blindfold on him. In the end, it took Hange, Sims, Wickes, and Muller's entire squad almost forty-five minutes to half persuade, half wrestle him into the blindfold, and then another twenty minutes to lead his squad into place.
After everyone was in place, Hange directed the reserved squads to man the training Titans. With a little bit of experimentation and construction by Hange, their design had been recently improved. They were three-dimensional now, with taut canvas stretched across the backs of their heads to simulate the nape, and—Hange's proudest achievement—long, maneuverable wooden arms with a spoon-like scoop on the end. For the purposes of training, if the scoop knocked a Scout over, the Scout was "eaten."
Erwin gazed down at his handiwork, the forest populated exactly the way he had planned it the night before. Moblit's, Sanford's, and Kozel's squads were scattered across the north side of the forest, while Arankowski's, Miche's, and Bray's squads were positioned on the south side.
Levi's squad, on the other hand, were blindfolded in the clearing at the very center of the forest.
Erwin lifted the whistle to his lips and blew. All across the forest, Scouts tore blindfolds off their eyes. Erwin scanned the forest, noting the predictable reactions with satisfaction: the veterans, like Miche and Moblit, immediately mobilized their squads into well-defended formations. The less-experienced squads moved more slowly, and their formations weren't as tight, but at least they weren't hesitating to act.
But Erwin's attention was torn from the outside squads by something in the center of the forest. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what it was—then it hit him. Levi's squad wasn't mobilizing. There was a total lack of movement.
He raised his binoculars to his eyes and trained his vision on the center clearing. Levi was talking to one of his squad members—Dover, Erwin thought, although he wasn't perfectly sure from this distance. The conversation appeared animated: Levi was gesturing broadly at the forest, then at the rest of his squad, then making energetic hand gestures that Erwin could not interpret. If Levi was explaining a plan, his squad didn't appear to understand.
Dover stepped toward Levi—aggressively, Erwin thought—and in half an instant, Levi had a tight grip on Dover's wrist. One of the other Scouts stepped in between Levi and Erwin's binoculars, and by the time his line of sight had cleared a few seconds later, Dover was on the ground.
Levi glared at the rest of his squad. He said something Erwin couldn't hear, and the others began forming a circle. Levi hooked his ODM gear onto a tree and flew up into one of the branches.
One of Levi's Scouts yelled after him, loudly enough for Erwin to hear: "What color?"
"Any color!" Levi shouted back, and he disappeared into the trees, leaving his squad standing in a circle around the clearing.
Meanwhile, Moblit and Kozel's squads had found one another. Good—they would be stronger together. Sanford's squad had turned north—also good—but they had moved too quickly and run into a patch of training Titans manned by Muller's squad. They were caught off guard, and two Scouts were scooped up off the ground. "Eaten," for the purposes of the exercise.
It wasn't a perfect simulation, but was there really any way to perfectly simulate a naked, flesh-eating giant?
At any rate, the training Titans weren't really a great substitute for the real thing, but Hange had managed to engineer a special ability for these particular training Titans: they could turn 360 degrees. Sanford's squad had stumbled into a clearing, and now they were surrounded by the training Titans. Without any trees to grapple onto, they were stuck. Erwin watched another Scout get picked off, then another.
On the other end, Arankowski's squad had already made it nearly to the edge of the forest—but on the south side. Erwin shook his head in disappointment. This was practically a mission failure. On a real expedition, they would never make it back to the walls if they had to cross an extra four miles of open field.
A flash of movement near the center of the forest drew Erwin's gaze back. Levi, flying alone through the trees, had encountered a small patch of three Titans. Without hesitating, he pushed off the nearest branch and flew past the first training Titan, slashing the taut canvas that simulated the neck. One down. Instead of slamming into the tree opposite the training Titan, he used his momentum to whip around the trunk before cutting through the nape of the second Titan. He perched on top of his second kill for a moment, eyeing the gap between himself and the third.
He jumped, using his ODM gear to drag himself right past the training Titan's ear, narrowly missing the scoop of his arm, and planting his blades decisively into the neck of his third kill in less than a minute.
Erwin's jaw dropped.
He couldn't help it.
But his gaze was drawn away by the sight of a red flare flashing up above the trees—it looked like Sanford had finally sent up his flare, and Moblit and Kozel's squads began moving in the direction of Sanford's squad. Simultaneously, there was another quick movement near the center of the forest. A lone Scout was grappling through the trees, blasting his way at breakneck speed toward the approximate position of Sanford's squad. Clearly, Levi had also seen the flare.
Meanwhile, Levi's squad was still crowded in the central clearing. They had formed a perimeter, each one of them facing outward with drawn blades. The only one moving was Dover—Erwin was sure now that it was Dover, circling around the perimeter, shouting something that Erwin was too far away to hear.
Up on the north side, Levi had arrived at the location of Sanford's squad just moments before Moblit's and Kozel's squads did. He came tearing in from the thickly crowded trees, barreling directly into the neck of one of the Titans. He swung around, spinning from Titan to Titan, always using his gear's momentum to propel him into another rotation. The Scouts manning the Titans were too slow for him; he spun beneath wooden Titan arms, whipped around Titan shoulders, and slashed through canvas nape after nape, flying from one Titan to the next before anyone had a chance to react.
Shadis was right about one thing, Erwin realized reluctantly, staring at the aftermath of Levi's handiwork. He's the best at killing Titans.
At this point, Arankowski's squad had already exited the forest from the south side. Miche and Bray's squads had been busy, making their way, carefully but steadily, up toward the north side of the forest. Out of two encounters between them, the squads had taken down two Titans each. Not bad, Erwin thought, but he wasn't surprised. Miche was a veteran, and Bray had been proving his worth now for months. At this point, both squads were nearing the north side.
After Levi had dispatched all the training Titans surrounding Sanford's squad, Moblit, Kozel, and Sanford began leading their squads up north. They, too, weren't far from the edge of the forest. But Levi didn't go with them. He ran back down toward the south—literally ran, as far as Erwin could tell. It was difficult to make out his tiny form between the thick branches.
At this point, almost all the squads were beginning to exit the forest on the north side, with the exception of Arankowski's. Within minutes of one another, they came streaming out through the trees. Faintly, Erwin could hear some of them celebrating, cheering as the tree line broke. Everyone was leaving the forest—except for Levi's squad, who were still back in the central clearing.
Except that they weren't.
When Erwin looked back to check on them, the entire squad was gone. Scanning the trees, Erwin searched for them. Had Levi caught up to them?
No, Levi was still circling the forest, barely visible from this distance. He had encountered more Titans, stopping to dispatch each one neatly before moving on. He was moving in deliberate circles, radiating outward from the center of the forest.
He's panning for Titans,Erwin realized. He's hunting.
After a few more moments of searching through the trees, Erwin finally caught sight of Levi's squad. They were moving north in a badly organized, messily constructed formation. Even from this distance, it was obvious that nobody was in charge. About a quarter of a mile north of them, a patch of three training Titans was nestled in the trees, manned by Sims' squad. Levi's squad wouldn't see them until it was too late.
Apparently satisfied that there were no more training Titans, Levi had just arrived back at the clearing. He stopped short when he saw that the clearing was empty, shouted a curse that Erwin couldn't quite make out, and went tearing up north through the trees. His squad must have left some kind of visible trail behind because Levi shot off in their exact direction.
It all played out exactly the way Erwin knew it would. Sims' squad pulled their ropes and the Titans emerged from the trees before Levi's squad had a chance to react. Their poorly constructed formation broke rank instantly, and the scoop-like arms swept across the ground, knocking over Scout after Scout. All of them—eaten.
Maybe thirty seconds later, Levi arrived. He slashed the canvas nape of the first Titan, then leapt across the shoulders of the second and third, dispatching each one in turn. Then he climbed back down to the ground.
Dover advanced on Levi quickly, screaming profanities so loudly that Erwin could hear them clearly this time. He threw the first punch. Levi dodged, retaliated with a right hook, and suddenly, half his squad had joined the fray. Sims' squad came running out of the trees, grabbing hold of arms and legs, dragging Scouts out of the mess of bodies. Erwin fumbled for his whistle, blew it again and again.
"Everyone stop," he shouted at the top of his lungs between whistle blows, hoping they could hear him. "Stop! The training simulation is over!"
"Well," said a bright voice behind Erwin, who turned to see Hange, stepping off the staircase onto the platform. "That was interesting!"
"Hange," Erwin said with forced calm. "Tell everyone thank you for their work—tell them I'll debrief them tomorrow."
"Sure," said Hange. "Is that all?"
"No. Send Levi to my office. Now."
Arms crossed, Levi stood in front of Erwin's desk. He had the beginnings of a black eye, and a nasty scratch across his face was oozing blood.
"You," Erwin began, "did not do well."
Levi didn't respond. His grey eyes were trained on the floor.
"I have some questions," Erwin continued. "For example. Why did you immediately leave your entire squad behind?"
"Didn't need them," Levi muttered.
"Didn't need them for what?" Erwin took a deep breath, trying to curb his own frustration. "What was your mission objective?"
"Kill Titans."
"No!" Erwin exploded, then closed his eyes. He counted to three, and when he opened them again, he was once again in perfect control. "Your objective was to get your squad out of the forest. Do you remember that?"
It was like talking to a child.
"You don't get out of the forest unless you kill the Titans," Levi said.
"Levi, I just…" Erwin sat back and stared at his newest squad leader. "Can you explain to me what you thought you were doing?"
"Don't think it's that hard to figure out," Levi said, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his tone. "If there aren't any Titans, it's easy to get out of the forest. I went to kill the Titans. I came back for them," he added, just a little bitterly, "and if they had just done what I told them to do, everyone would have been fine. When they ran into the Titans—they didn't even fire a flare like I told them to." He said this last part as if only realizing it for the first time.
"Levi," Erwin said, trying to exhibit more patience than he felt, "help me understand your logic. You didn't need to kill all the Titans to get out of the forest. Every other squad made it out, and all of them left some Titans alive."
"How many were there?" Levi interrupted.
Erwin stared back at him, debating whether or not to answer. "Twenty," he finally said.
"How many did everyone else get?"
"Six."
Levi nodded in satisfaction. "Good," he said simply.
"What?"
"I got fourteen," said Levi. "I got them all."
"That's the whole point," said Erwin, feeling his forbearance slipping away from him. "You didn't need to get them all. You just needed to get your squad out of the forest, like everyone else did. Clearly, you have no issue with killing Titans—you could have brought them out with you. Why didn't you?"
Levi glared back at him, tight-lipped and taciturn. He looked like he wished he had just murdered Erwin back when he had the chance—like he might still be considering it.
Erwin sighed, opened a desk drawer, and pulled out a pen and a pile of papers. "You'll be cleaning out the stables for the next two weeks," he said. "All of them—by yourself."
That last instruction was probably unnecessary. The odds were that nobody would help, even if Erwin ordered them to.
"Fine," Levi said. "Should I leave the patch with you?"
Erwin looked up, surprised. "The patch?"
"My position as squad leader," Levi said. "Do you want the patch back now?"
Erwin paused. He shook his head. "No," he said. "Your squad stays."
Was that a flash of disappointment across Levi's face?
"We'll discuss your position more in the future," Erwin continued. "You are dismissed for now."
Without another word, Levi left the office, closing the door just a little too hard behind him. Erwin shuffled through his stack of papers, pulled out his training report, and began to write—but as the minutes wore on, he found himself distracted by memories of the day's simulation. It wasn't just the image of Levi's lone form flying through the forest, a mountain of Titan bodies in his wake, or the memory of his abandoned squad, stumbling through the forest without a leader. It was the question that Levi had refused to answer. For the second time in two days, Levi had left his comrades behind—and for the second time in two days, it had led to disaster.
Why?
What did the little bastard want?