CHAPTER 12 - Disrupting the Norm

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     The following day at breakfast, only Mila struggled to read the energy of the table and didn't stop talking. When he saw Reinae's grim expression, Teodor figured it was better to remain quiet. Jasper and Aiden, knowing their best friend, learned long ago when it was time to leave her alone.

     "So, what squads did you end up on?" Mila asked, chewing on her bread.

     "Miche's," Jasper answered, secretly happy he didn't suffer Rei or Aiden's fate.

     "Hanje's," Aiden muttered, grimacing with annoyance.

     "Oh, lucky you," Mila chirped. "I think she's fantastic. What about you, Rei?"

     Reinae remained quiet. She hadn't said anything since she left Erwin's office the day before. Mila looked at Jasper, who shook his head.

     "Oh, shit," she gasped. "Did they put you on Captain Levi's?! Do you think he asked for you on purpose to torture you?"

     There was genuine terror in Mila's eyes. Reinae massaged her eyebrows and swiftly stood up.

     "You really talk an awful lot," she muttered with annoyance and left towards the training grounds.

     Mila watched her leave, then turned back to her plate.

     "She's moody," she chirped and continued eating.

     "She's moody," she chirped and continued eating

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     "Oi."

     Rei sighed at the sound of Levi's voice.

     "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, catching up to her on her way to the training grounds.

     "To train," she answered. "Isn't that what a good little cadet does?"

     "Not today," he said, ignoring her sarcasm. "You're doing ODM training with my—your squad."

     Rei scoffed at hearing him squeezing that sentence out through a clenched jaw.

     "You don't have to pretend you're okay with it, shorty," she said, changing her direction towards ODM training grounds. "I sure won't."

     She was glad Levi didn't cooperate with her teasing. She honestly didn't have the will for it.

     As they quietly walked to where Levi's squad was, Levi couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head, considering how quiet she was. Even he was surprised at the information about her relationship with Erwin. Not that he cared. He just didn't think the consistently stoic and composed commander had such a past.

     "You're unusually quiet today," he remarked before he could bite his tongue.

     "Just cherishing the moments when you're not spewing vitriol," she instantly threw back.

     There she is, Levi thought to himself.

     "Captain!"

     They both turned to see a small, attractive woman run towards them. She had long, chestnut-brown hair tied in a neat bun.

     "What is it, Petra?" Levi asked with his usual lazy voice.

     "Em, Oluo bit his tongue again during practice," she said nervously, her kind eyes questioningly glancing at Rei.

     "Tch, idiot," Levi groaned and sped up his step toward where the rest of his squad was.

     A tall man with broad shoulders and thick, blonde hair was leaning over a man with wild, unruly hair that stuck out in various directions and had blood dripping from his mouth. A man with short, brown hair and a strong jawline was palming his face and shaking his head, standing next to his companions. They all turned as they heard approaching footsteps and saluted their captain by putting a fist to the chest.

     "Tapthian!" the bleeding one said, trying to explain what had happened.

     "Don't talk," Levi sighed. "Get yourself cleaned up."

     The woman quickly gave her comrade a tissue and helped him clean up the blood around his mouth.

     "Don't think you'll get out of training because of this nonsense again," Levi said to Oluo. "We have a busy day today."

     Levi glanced at Rei, frowning.

     "Introduce yourselves to your squad," he ordered her.

     The members looked at Rei with wide eyes. They obviously weren't notified about the new addition to their team before that moment. Rei struggled not to roll her eyes before she spoke.

     "Reinae Agnar," she simply stated.

     The squad only stared at her for a while, but then the woman stepped forward.

     "Petra Ral," she introduced herself and smiled.

     "Gunther Schultz," the brown-haired one said, giving her a stern nod.

     "Osuo Bothado," lisped the curly-haired one with a swollen tongue. "I'm noth uthually—"

     "Shut up, Oluo," the blonde one said and turned to Rei. "He's Oluo Bozado. And he's trying to say he's not usually that pathetic."

     A small smile tugged on Rei's lips as the blonde one stepped forward and gave her his hand to shake.

     "And I'm Eld Jin," he introduced himself, offering her a smile.

     Rei shook his hand and tilted her head to the side, looking into his pretty blue eyes.

     "You're handsome," she said with a smirk, making Eld freeze in his movements, unsure how to react.

     "Don't hit on your teammates, brat," Levi spat.

     "Why not?" Rei asked innocently, biting her lip. "We'll spend a lot of time together, won't we? Might as well have fun."

     Eld cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. But it didn't pass Rei's attention how his cheeks slightly colored.

     "It's not allowed to mess with other members of the Corps," Levi almost threatened.

     "Is that why you're so grumpy all the time, Levi?" Rei asked, turning towards him with a challenging expression. "Do us all a service and get laid."

     Petra gasped at her attitude. Levi's eyes darkened as he struggled to remain patient.

     "She hath a pointh—OW!"

     Eld slapped Oluo on the back of his head while he and Gunther struggled to remain serious. Levi glared at each of them, then ordered them to get to training. Before Rei walked after them, he grabbed her by the upper arm.

     "You're walking on a thin line, brat," he growled.

     She leaned slightly towards his face and whispered.

     "Good."

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