Saving Me, Saving You: One
It was supposed to be an easy enough job. A teenage college student. Actually, it was such a simple task, that Levi had his suspicions about it.
"What's wrong with her?"
"That will all come up in due time," was all Erwin Smith, the commander of the Guardian Angel Squad, said to him. That infuriated the shorter angel a bit, but he knew that there was a reason behind Erwin's pairings.
Hange Zoe, a squad commander for a few of the guardian angels, thought it was kind of funny that Levi was picked to go on such a task all on his own. Usually, he had a squad himself, but not this time.
"Captain Levi, are you sure you don't want us down there the first day?" Eld, one of his most trusted squad members, asked him as he was readying himself to leave.
"Not at all. You'll have your own assignments soon enough, and I want you to take them seriously. Is that understood?" Levi stopped packing his light bag – just with a few essentials – to face Eld. "I'm leaving you in charge while I'm gone. I trust you'll do your duties as expected and carry them out to a T."
"Yes, Captain."
With that, Captain Levi Ackerman, guardian angel, exited the small room he was allotted – as they all were allotted – and then building in itself, heading toward the golden gates. Once there, he showed them his ID card, indicating who he was, and then the paperwork Erwin had given him permitting him to fly down to Earth.
The gates opened for him within a couple of minutes, and he marched forward without looking back. Something told him that if he did, he might try and change his mind.
The flight down to Earth was uneventful. He'd done it a million times before, and would surely do it a million times more.
One would think that in a throng of college students, it would be difficult to find the one he was looking for. However, she had a distinguishable look. Everyone else seemed to look rather plain – plain haircuts, plain clothes, faces not worth remembering. But as soon as he laid eyes on her he knew she would be different – something about her just told him as much.
She had dark blonde hair that reached passed her waist, and when she looked around as if like a lost puppy, he caught a glimpse of her big, bright blue eyes. She was a smidgen shorter than himself, he could tell, and currently wore a bright pink dress with a single pink rose broach on it with white tennis shoes.
Definitely a look.
With a soft sigh, he approached her, then waved a hand in front of her face. "You look like a deer in headlights."
"Am I in the way? I'm sorry – " She began, readjusting her brown backpack and stepping aside so Levi could pass by, essentially.
Levi put his hands in his pockets, not moving. "No, you just look lost."
This is a campus that Levi and his squad had been to before. They'd had to actually fight demons at one point during Halloween one year. Another time they'd been invited by the Dean – who happened to be an Archangel – and got a tour of the place. There were other instances in which they'd had to end up here, mostly because the Archangels called on them – and they were technically a higher power than the Guardians.
The ranking is as follows – Archangels, Guardians, Nephilim. Nephilim were a neutral brand since they were both human and angel alike. Some grew up and became Guardians, however, while others stayed within their rank. Nephilim was the largest of the rankings, even if it was the lowest.
"Oh, well, I'm trying to find campus treatment center. I have some paperwork I have to – it doesn't matter. I'll find it – "
"It's this way," Levi said, shrugging his shoulder for her to follow him and turning on his heel toward the opposite direction.
"Oh, thank you. You're saving my life here." She sounded like she meant it, too. Just what did he get himself into?
Class must have been in session for most students as the amount of people roaming around was slim. That made it easy for them to walk side-by-side, at least, which Levi at this point preferred. Easier to keep an eye on your charge when they were beside you than behind you.
"Freshman, I take it?"
"That obvious? How embarrassing." She gave a little giggle. "My best friends go to school here too, and seemed to have found their way around. I'm just trying to catch up." A pause, and when Levi looked over at her, he noticed she was visibly frowning. "Guess I'm not doing a very good job."
"You just started, what the hell did you expect? A miracle?" They made it to the building in question and he held he door open for her, though due to his words she seemed a little stunned still. "You're going to find your way around eventually. Quit worrying about it."
With a simple nod, she entered the building, then waited for him to come in behind her. There were two hallways – one leading to a study area, and one the ready "Treatment Center" with a big black arrow facing within.
"Oh! We're here!" She turned to him then, practically beaming. "I think I got it from here."
Levi knew that he couldn't leave her side no matter what at this point. So he quickly devised a plan to keep them together. "Nah, I think I'll stick around until you're done."
"Huh?" She appeared genuinely confused by his words.
"Do you know where to go from here?" he inquired, looking her dead in the eyes as he asked.
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, blue eyes cast to the ground. "I was going to figure it out…"
"That's what I thought. You can't keep getting lost around here or you'll be late for all your classes."
"What about you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm fine. I'm a freshman, too, I just so happen to know my way around here is all." He waved her away then. "Go. We got other stuff to do today."
"R-right," she said, heading down the corridor and into the single door at the end.
Levi took this chance to find a spare lounge chair near the study hall part of the building and took out the small bit of paperwork that was given to him about his charge.
Name: Rosemary Aer. Age: 18. Occupation: babysitter and waitress.
Some important information: Rosemary Aer was adopted by two very rich parents and lived with them up until the age of six. There was a tragic boating accident, where only she was the sole survivor. Her childhood up until then was relatively happy – barbeques on the weekends, fishing outings, vacations to exotic places, and of course the obligatory trips to Disney World. After the accident, she was sent to live with her uncle, Charles Aer.
Though he is doting to Rosemary, he is not very present. That is due to his own line of "work". He sells pharmaceutical drugs on the street for a "fair" price.
Rosemary does not live in the best part of town. In fact, her own apartment had its window shot at twice before – whether that had anything to do with her uncle's business or the type of neighbors she has, no one knows. And no one called the police to find out.
Rosemary does drive – and it's a beat up old Volkswagen Beetle. It's the second car she's owned in her lifetime. It is her pride and joy.
She has some very suspicious friends that one should keep an eye out on, especially the boy, Jacob Hawthorne. She also has a trans girl best friend named Annabelle Gonzalez, who goes by Bunni, who seems to have her own secrets.
That is all the information that can be explained at this time.
Levi found that last line a crock of bullshit, but once again, there was a reason for everything. So these two best friends of Rosemary's, he had to watch out for them, huh? He would definitely figure out their secret as soon as he possibly could.
Since some time had gone by, he had decided to make his way back to the clinic. And looking as lost as ever was Rosemary.
"Did you do what you needed to?" he asked as he approached her.
When she faced him, her confused expression brightened and she almost looked relieved. "Yes. All is well. Now I have to get to Calculus."
"What a coincidence: so do I."
"Do we have the same professor?" Rosemary almost sounded excited at the prospect of sharing a class with Levi; he didn't know why. They just met, after all. She pulled out her schedule and handed it to him.
He looked over her schedule, as if he didn't know they shared the same exact one. "Huh – you're taking preliminary classes, aren't you?"
"Yeah, it's part of my major to take pretty much a lot of my high school classes all over again – especially the science ones."
"I think it's part of everyone's major – we even picked the same electives. Piano 101 and Painting 101." He glanced at her. "Into the arts, huh?"
"I'm actually terrible, but those seemed like good ones to pick." She shrugged, her face he noticed turning slightly pink. "Does that mean you're an artist, too?"
"Something like that." He handed back her schedule, then waved her toward the front door so they could head to their first class.
Actually, Levi already knew how to play piano. And he didn't do too bad with a paintbrush either. Of course, he was taking those classes because Rosemary was, and he was curious just how quickly she would pick up on the arts.
"Oh – hey, there's my friends!" Rosemary exclaimed as they made their way down the stone steps leading away from the building they were just in. "Bunni! Jake! I want you to meet – " She faced him then, chagrin all over. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name this whole time."
"It's Levi. Levi Ackerman." But Levi's eyes weren't on Rosemary anymore – they were on her two friends.
A brown haired man with glasses, had to be about five feet eight inches, wearing a red shirt and black pants. Her other friend, Bunni, was just as tall as Jake, in a pleated black dress that hung to her knees. They approached the other two, and as they got closer, Levi could feel it.
It was a dark energy, one he was rather familiar with.
"This is Levi," Rosemary told them, but they didn't seem to smile or say anything in response. They must have sensed him, too. "Levi, this is Bunni and Jake."
He didn't hold out his hand to shake – he didn't want to touch them.
For he knew what was wrong with Rosemary's friends: Jake was a demon, and Bunni was a witch.