Silver Lining | ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴄᴋᴇʀᴍᴀɴɴ

Chapter 5

What feels like a second later, I'm in the dirt that I hate so much with Levi's foot planted against my spine. I wheeze a breath and look up. My eyes meet Jean's worried gaze, and I look away. He was in the middle of fighting with Connie when Levi overpowered me and slammed me to the ground. I don't know how it happened, but I know that the only reason why I was on my feet for longer than I should have been is because Levi was waiting to see what I'm capable of.

He removes his foot from my back and reaches his hand down for me. I take it, and he pulls me up. "You're not bad, but you're going to have to get way better," he says. "Lucky for you, you're good at improving fast."

Another thing he knows about me. I brush the dirt off my clothes and try not to let him see how much it bothers me. Jean notices it, though, because I see him grab a towel and hold it by his side.

"You're going to train with me from now on," Levi says.

"What?" I blurt out.

His eyebrows raise at my inappropriate tone. "If I want to make sure that you achieve the results I want, I'm going to have to be responsible for that myself."

I blink stupidly at the man in front of me, then my eyes drift past him to where Jean and Connie are standing, both watching us with their mouths hanging open. Mikasa and Sasha are a little farther away, but they're also looking over to me and Levi.

"Yes, captain," I finally say because he started to look at me again like I'm crazy.

Levi nods his head once, uncrosses his arms, and puts on his jacket. "I'm going to supervise Eren's experiments for a while. When I get back, you better be able to stay on your feet for longer than five seconds."

I nod back at him and keep my eyes down. As soon as Levi turns away, Jean hurries over with the towel. The captain looks at him from the corner of his eye, but he doesn't say anything and walks away. I thank Jean and clean my hands and clothes with the towel.

Captain Levi doesn't come back for what feels like an eternity, but I know that it isn't because the others are still training mercilessly. Mikasa offers for me to go against her for a while. I accept because I know as much as she does that she's the closest I can come to simulating a fight against Levi.

But Mikasa is amazing. She's strong and capable and doesn't pay attention to how many times she's already won against me. She doesn't give in and doesn't let me win. I never realized how much I needed that after being babied by Jean, though I know that he means well.

The sky turns dark as the sun sets slowly but surely, and the smell of food fills the air because Sasha and Connie are on dinner duty today. I almost wonder if I'm released for today, but to my bad luck, Captain Levi comes back and walks right toward me and Mikasa.

"Are you ready?" he asks me.

I look at Mikasa, and she gives me a reassuring nod. "Yes, sir," I reply.

Mikasa steps back and waits for a moment before joining Historia and Sasha. I glance at Jean to make sure that he's not looking, and he isn't because he's busy kicking Connie's ass. The captain is taking off his jacket again, and I have to concentrate very hard on not staring at him. He really is a very handsome man, which makes him so much more dangerous.

I think I let down my guard because of his gorgeous face, or maybe because he seemed calm and nice while he was taking off his jacket. But as soon as it was folded and on the bench, he spins around, drags his outstretched leg across the floor, and knocks me off my feet. I land on my back and gasp as the air is knocked out of me, but I immediately get back up.

"Don't wait for a fight to start," Levi lectures as we circle each other. "Always be on alert."

And when he goes to punch me, I avoid his fist and slip to the other side of him. I see a small smirk on his lips before I aim for his nose. He ducks a little to the side, catches me around my torso, and somehow I'm on the ground again.