Ackermans are known to be the strongest soldiers of humanity. They attract the admiration and envy of many. But at what cost? Its one thing to be bonded to an Ackerman, but it's a whole different story when that Ackerman is making your life a living...
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A/N: Trigger warning! Contains character death. I'm sorry. T.T
"Your belt is too loose. You have to tie it tight enough so you won't slip out, but not too much or you'll bruise." You instructed Isabel as she readjusted her ODM gear belts. You hear Seth, a cadet from your group, instructing the other two boys. "Furlan, you have it on backwards." Seth said with a laugh as the guy called Furlan reddened from embarrassment.
Isabel laughed at the expense of her friend as you checked her gear. "You're so lame, Furlan." She teased, the latter glaring at her as he took off and readjusted everything. Not surprisingly, Levi did everything with the ease of a veteran. He was just waiting at the corner, waiting for the rest to finish putting on their gears.
It wouldn't bother you so much if he could keep his eyes to himself but that bastard has been staring at you the whole time. You've been itching to just confront him and ask what his deal is. But you reminded yourself that you are on a mission from the Commander himself so you bite your tongue and ignore him instead.
"Good job, Isabel. You did well." You praised her as she smiled proudly. You turned to the other two just in time for Seth to nod approvingly at Furlan who just finished putting on his gear properly. You and Seth stared at each other. "What do we do next?" You hear Furlan ask as he stretched his arms above him. You smiled at Seth. "Yes, what do we do next, Seth?" You said, passing him the question because you have no idea how to proceed.
Seth's eyes widened, betrayed by you as he racked his brain on what to do next. "I- I don't know. Dinner?" Seth replied, giving up with a shrug of his shoulders. You slapped a palm over your face. "We just had lunch, Seth." You said with a weak smile as Isabel and Furlan laughed. "We already gave them a tour, we already explained the tasks around the base, and we even showed them how to properly wear the gear. What else can we do?" Seth replied hysterically. Dramatic as always.
"Can't we go over the wall?" You hear a clear voice say. Raising an eyebrow as you listened to Levi talk for the first time. "We can't. Commander's orders." You replied with a smile. Your eyes twitched as Levi casually walked towards you with a smirk on his lips. "You're such an obedient soldier to your Commander, princess." He said, stopping in front of you as you met his intense gaze without flinching. "Following his every order, aren't you?"
He knows something is up. You thought as you smiled at him. As expected of someone who runs a group of thugs. "I'm sorry I can't say the same for you, king of thugs." You replied sarcastically as Isabel and Furlan laughed out loud. Seth clapping his hands with an amused expression on his face. Furlan threw an arm over Levi's shoulder as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "She's feisty. I like her." He said giving you a genuine smile.
You grinned back at him. "Thank you. I like you too." You replied, not noticing how Levi's smirk fell into a glare. Turning away from them, you froze when you saw Commander Erwin and Captain Miche approach. You all saluted them as they stopped in front of you. "You thought them how to wear the gear properly? Good job." Erwin said, looking at you and Seth.
Levi quietly scoffed behind you, clenching your fist to stop yourself from turning around and just smacking him across that pale pretty face of his. "It was no problem at all, Sir!" Seth replied. "Ackerman, Church, and Magnolia. You'll be assigned to my squad instead of Flagon's" Miche said with a smirk. "He'll feed you to the titans if he had the chance."
"T-titans?" You hear Isabel shakily mutter in confusion. Erwin smiled kindly at the visibly terrified girl. "There will be an exterior scouting mission in a couple of days. Prepare yourselves well." He explained before turning around and leaving with Captain Miche.
You whipped your head to glare at Levi. "If you dare disrespect the Section Commander one more time, I'm-" Your threat was cut off by Seth pulling you backwards by your collar, dragging you away from the frowning Levi. "Let me go, Seth!" You complained, pinching his hand that was grasping your collar. "I enjoy watching fights that don't involve me." Seth said, rubbing the hand you just pinched. "But instead of trusting you, they'll be suspicious if you keep defending the Commander like that. You know they are targeting him right?" He asked as the two of you went inside the building.
You sighed, frustrated. "I know." You replied. "His cocky attitude just pisses me off." You hear Seth laugh beside you as you frowned at your friend. "He's not cocky, Y/N." He replied with a knowing grin. "He's defensive. You were like that as well when you first came here. Doubting everyone. Distrusting anyone." He explained as you glared at him. "See? Like that!"
You sighed. "Well, if he's like me then he's much more troublesome than I anticipated." You muttered under your breath. It took me months to trust any of you. And I'm only given days to get them to trust me? This task is doomed from the start. You kept to yourself as you and Seth parted ways.
On the day of the 23rd Exterior Scouting Mission, you were exempted from joining and was given a different task instead. Section Commander Erwin asked you and Seth to deliver a very important document to the Premier who was inside Wall Sina at the moment. The both of you left at the crack of dawn, several hours before the scouting legion left for the mission.
After successfully delivering the document, the two of you sped up on your horses to catch up with the group. Unfortunately, as soon as you exited the walls, the rain started to pour heavily. Clouding your field of vision. It wasn't until after a couple of hours of travel did you reach the tail of the group. At least, what was left of it.
You jumped off of your horse as Seth did the same, approaching what seems to be Commander Erwin looking down on a crying Levi. You gasped recognizing the identities of the corpses lying nearby. "... don't regret your decisions or you can't make them for yourself anymore." You hear Erwin say to the exhausted Levi over the downpour of rain. "I hope you won't regret the decisions you made yourself."
You and Seth reached them as you gave a salute. "The documents have been delivered safely, Commander." You reported with a firm voice. Levi's head snapped up to stare at you in disbelief. The expression of betrayal painted on his face. "The Premier said he'll meet with you after the scouting mission." You continued, avoiding Levi's furious glare.
"Understood. Thank you." Erwin replied as he turned his back on Levi. He paused momentarily, before tilting his head towards the cadet who lost his friends. "I hope you'd stay with the Scouts despite what happened." He murmured before leaving, you and Seth followed him.
You winced. Remembering the anguish on Levi's face when he found out you delivered the documents that cost him his friends' lives. I guess he trusted me after all. You thought to yourself sullenly. He shouldn't have.
A/N: For those who haven't watched the A Choice with No Regrets OVA and are confused with this chapter, here's a background. (Spoiler Alert)
Levi, Furlan, and Isabel were given a task to retrieve/steal an important document from Erwin as well as to kill him. Levi left the two to do the task himself. And you know the rest. T.T
