A little death [Levi Ackerman x OFC]

Chapter 10: Abnormal

Kaia sat on the edge of the training grounds, the cool breeze brushing against her as she stretched out her sore muscles. The past two weeks with Levi's squad had been intense, but she liked it. There was something grounding about the constant movement, the routine that left little room for overthinking. The harsh training sessions tested her limits, but she liked that too. What she hadn't expected, though, was how quickly she'd start to feel close to the others.

Petra, with her bright smile and steady warmth, had become a comforting presence. She was the heart of the squad, always making sure everyone was taken care of. Kaia learned that Petra had come from a family of merchants and had joined the Survey Corps against their wishes. It had been a point of tension for years, but Petra's loyalty to the cause and to Levi had never wavered. Kaia admired her strength and the way she could keep the group together with just a few words or a shared laugh.

Eld, ever calm and focused, had shared stories of his time before joining Levi's squad. He spoke little of his family, but when he did, it was with a quiet fondness. He had a younger sister who lived in the interior, safe behind the walls, and Kaia noticed how he would write to her whenever he had a spare moment. She liked that about him—the way he carried himself with such steadiness, always in control, but never too distant to offer a kind word.

Then there was Oruo. He had been a bit much at first, with his exaggerated stories and his constant attempts to imitate Levi, but over time, Kaia saw a different side of him. Behind the bravado was someone who wanted to prove himself, who wanted to live up to the expectations placed on him. He once admitted, during a rare quiet moment, that he struggled with always trying to be seen as strong. Kaia understood that more than she let on.

The connection that had formed between them was something she hadn't realized she needed. It felt strange at first—letting people this close—but somehow, it had started to feel less like a risk and more like a relief. After years of keeping people at arm's length, she found herself laughing with the squad during their downtime, sharing stories and moments that felt surprisingly easy.

Kaia spent hours in the so-called laboratory with Hange as well, surrounded by notes, dissected titan limbs, and odd contraptions Hange was constantly tinkering with. Her fascination with the titans was borderline obsessive, but Kaia couldn't help but be drawn into it too. She had quickly become someone whom Kaia admired, though the energy and intensity of their conversations were sometimes overwhelming.

Recently, they had been investigating something small but crucial: why titans' bodies seemed to generate so much heat after death. It was a mystery that had bothered Hange for years, and now Kaia was helping piece together theories. One of their recent debates was about whether the heat was a result of accelerated decomposition or if the titan's energy source was somehow linked to the sunlight they absorbed, even post-mortem.

"Why do they vanish so quickly, though? No other living organism decays at such a rapid rate," Hange had said during one of their late-night discussions, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's as if something unnatural is happening in their bodies, something we haven't seen in any other species."

Kaia had suggested that it might be tied to how titans aren't technically alive in the same way humans are. "What if it's not decay, but more like... rapid disintegration? Maybe their bodies can't sustain themselves outside of active movement or the energy they draw from the sun."

Hange had paused at that, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Disintegration... that's a theory worth testing," she muttered, already reaching for her notebook to scribble something down. Kaia had stayed quiet after that, realizing she had just added fuel to Hange's already burning curiosity.

Despite the sometimes overwhelming pace of their conversations, Kaia found herself drawn to the challenge. In a way, it grounded her just as much as the physical demands of training—reminding her that there was more to this world than blood and battle, that knowledge, too, was a weapon.