Promises, Promises. | A Levi Ackerman Fanfiction. | Attack On Titan.

prologue

"Since he was raised underground, the Captain supported her, too."

'The smell of the city was just as I remembered,' he thought. 

"Our mission is to save the kids from this shithole," he ordered his soldiers, lazy eyes boring onto them all. "They're scared, they're careful. Which means, they won't trust you. No violence. Understood?"

"Understood!" The chorus of affirmation was received from his soldiers. 

"In the formation we planned, move out!" 

The soldiers began moving in a group of three. He himself decided it would be better to move alone. He had no idea what kind of enemies lay waiting in the shadows. Sure, the Underground city was full of evil people, but he was worried about his soldiers having to bump upon the personal enemies he had made when he used to live there. 

His eyes wandered around, his left hand ready at his hip in case he was ambushed. His hoodie was brought up to cover his head, his green cloak warming him from the dirty cold air of the Underground. 

His eyes gazed over his shoulders because he knew there was a high chance he was followed. And not by his soldiers nor his comrades. If he remembered correctly -and it seemed odd that his memories would ever betray him-, this area would be the one where most children in the Underground seek shelter. 

It's further from the center of the city. Thus, further from the wandering men who seek victims to terrorize. And young children easily became victims. 

To survive in the Underground, you had to do anything, regardless of its morality. He understood that better than everyone. He used to live somewhere around here, as well. So he was extremely confused as to the lack of children in the area. 

Given, he hadn't been there since he was first recruited for the Survey Corps. But it seemed that not much has changed at all. Still, he wondered who had taken over the area. He was still walking ahead, eyes peeking into the windows of the broken houses nearby. His fingers slithered lower onto the handle of his weapon, his palm tightening against it. 

'Someone's following me,' he thought. 'They're good at hiding themselves.'

He turned his body slightly, eyes studying the shadowed alley not far behind him. He could feel someone's presence not too long ago. How fast could they have moved in such a short time? 

'They're fast.'

He thought it would be better if he continued ahead while still being aware of his surroundings. Everything was quiet. Too quiet, to be frank. 

Slowly, he began turning his head to the path ahead. But before he could fathom it, he pulled out his blades, the metals crashing as both weapons were pulled into an 'X' formation. 

A sharp shriek was caused by his weapons colliding against the very same ones held by his hooded opponent. His defense was weak, caught off guard at the speed and strength the figure before him held. However, he was faster. 

He managed to create some distance between them by putting a little force to push his opponent away. In the darkness of the city's ceiling, paired with the hoddie kept neat on the figure's head, he couldn't tell the identity of the person. 

The figure was slim and steady, undoubtedly skilled in combat. Their head was kept low to avoid recognition. He noticed that the figure was using the same weapons he did, meaning it must have been stolen. 

For some reason, it reminded him of his old days when he used to live in the city. His opponent ran towards him, blade at the ready for puncture. Being the strongest soldier, he was not easily defeated. Their battle commenced and it went on for some time before he decided to speak up.

Still defending himself against his strong opponent, he said, "Stop! I'm not here for you!" 

"No, you're only here for the children!" His opponent panted, the voice seems a woman's. "What does the government want with the children, anyway?!" She shouted, emotions of anger and revenge displayed through the tone of her words. "Haven't they been through enough?! Just leave us alone!" 

"We're here to save them!"

"Yeah?" She scoffed, still slashing her blades to hurt him despite his powerful defense. "When has the government ever actually saved anyone?!" 

Familiarity and nostalgia reacted in his head. His heartbeat picked up its pace, his heart having a race of no destination nor an end. 

'No way,' he thought, eyes widened in realization. 'Could it really be-'

"Captain!" His thought was cut off by the sound of two of his soldiers. 

His opponent looked at the two boys that came over to help their superior. She was more than ready to take them on. He knew that though his soldiers were strong, they were no match for this woman. Sure, he was stronger but this woman could easily kill the two boys. 

"No! Stay away! She's dangerous!" He shouted in a warning, stopping and forbidding the two boys from interfering. 

"Let us help, Captain!" The tall light-haired boy shouted with worry. 

"No! That's an order!" He instructed, letting out a grunt at the woman's attack. 

'Why can't I fight back?' He thought to himself, knowing he was holding back. 

"If you're holding back on me, I will seriously kill you," she whispered bitterly, her arms trembling to push her blade against his very own. 

'It's true, then,' he thought, his heart warming. 

Deciding to use his full strength, he pushed her forward, causing her to almost fall. Fortunately for her, she regained her balance. 

Once again moving forward in an attempt to put him down, she failed since his speed had gotten faster than before. No more holding back did he do. 

He easily swerved her attack and pinned her down from her back. Using his foot, he pushed her left leg to steal the balance she had, causing her knee to bend before she fell. He held onto her shoulders, slightly lifting her body so the impact of her fall wouldn't cause much damage to her body. 

Her blades escaped her grasp, her lips parted to let out a soft gasp. He roughly brought her wrists together, holding them against her back. Her head looked over her shoulder to the man hovering over her. She tried looking away as he yanked her hoodie down. 

"It's been a while," he breathed sharply. 

"It really has, Captain Levi."