Titans Rule, Levi Ackerman UNDER EDITING

(13) Frustration.

~Levi~

"Why the hell did you do that?" Levi barked at the doctor, the cravat over his mouth muffling his words.

The doctor removed the mask from his face. The steam from his glasses dissipated as he did. "You might not want to be present for this," the doctor started, "Amelia was right in saying that she had fractured a rib. But it is also dislocated. And with her advanced healing, I need to put it back into place before it heals itself. If she had been awake, it would have been extremely painful."

Levi was stunned into silence. He was getting a sense of Deja Vu from their trip here yesterday. Amelia had only been with the Scouts for two days and she had already been injured twice. Levi couldn't help but feel like a failure. He did not care for Amelia in the slightest. She was a pain in his ass, thought of herself to be funnier than she was and was stuck to him like a limpet to a rock. However, as Levi looked at the strange protrusion in her chest where her rib was out of place, he was met with an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

"Corporal," the doctor snapped at him. "I need to do it now. I don't mind if you stay or leave. Just make your mind up quickly." The doctor replaced the mask over his mouth and rolled up his sleeves.

Blinking slowly, the doctor's words finally sunk in. Promptly, Levi turned on his heel and headed for the door. He heard the doctor pull the curtain shut around the bed Amelia was on. His hand gripped the door handle. As Levi slammed the door behind him, a deafening crack sounded from the other side.

Running a stressed hand through his hair, Levi let out a shuddering breath. He felt his racing heart start to lessen, the adrenaline leaving his bloodstream. It seemed this woman was going to be the cause of Levi developing a severe case of hypertension.

Levi bumped the back of his head against the cool stone of the wall behind him. As he painstakingly waited for the doctor to finish, Levi pondered how exactly he was going to relay this to Erwin later. Erwin had already called him out for hurting Amelia yesterday. So, what was he going to say when he found out that he'd let her get attacked?

Levi buried his face into his hands. He had never been this frustrated with himself- at least not since Isobel and Furlan had died. Recently, his life had been fuck-up after fuck-up. It had only been a few days since his squad had died. The 'paperwork' he had faked being eager to do had actually been him writing condolence letters to their families. Levi still had to officially register their deaths and then help to plan their funerals- a process that had become like second nature to him after all of the losses in his life. It was the reason why he never let anyone in. It was better to have nothing to lose than to lose everything.

Levi straightened himself up as the door beside him swung open. The doctor, who appeared much more dishevelled than before, greeted him with a smile. "I managed to set her rib back into place." Levi let a relieved sigh pass through his lips. "She should be fine after some rest. I can't say for how long she'll remain asleep, but I suspect it will be a while."

"I need to let the Commander know what happened." Levi pushed off the wall and started to careen himself towards Erwin's office.

"Wait, Corporal," the doctor called out to him. "I shall go in your stead. I am worried that Amelia's attacker will return in your absence and attempt to finish the job. In case that happens, you should stay here and guard Amelia. I'll ask Nurse Gott to watch over her whilst I am gone."

Levi stopped in his tracks, turning towards the doctor. "You have a point," Levi grumbled.

The doctor swiftly slipped back into the Infirmary. Levi heard him exchange a couple of words with the Nurse followed by his footsteps approaching him again. With a small nod, the doctor passed by, hurrying to find Erwin.

Meanwhile, Levi debated if he wanted to go back into the Infirmary. But after remembering that Amelia was attacked inside a seemingly safe room, he entered.

The curtain was still pulled around the bed Amelia was sleeping in. Nurse Gott emerged from behind it after hearing Levi come in. Her face was slightly panicked but relaxed as she recognised that it was him.

"I've pulled up a chair beside her if you want to use it," she offered, holding the curtain open for him. Levi gave her an appreciative nod as he pulled the curtain half open. He then plopped himself down on the chair, folding one leg over the other.

Peering at Amelia, Levi was relieved to see there was no longer a strange bulge coming out of her side. Apart from being out cold, she appeared entirely well- thanks to the advanced healing she possessed. Still, Levi couldn't help but feel the guilt from before returning. But instead of letting the feeling consume him, Levi turned his thoughts onto other matters such as remaining alert if anyone were to attack Amelia again.

Not too long after, someone burst through the door. Levi leapt to his feet, assessing the danger. However, when he recognised the figure in front of him, he returned to his seat.

"Erwin," Levi greeted apathetically.

"Levi, what on earth happened? Dirk told me everything, but I had to come and see for her myself," Erwin panted as the doctor or Dirk appeared behind him.

Levi waved a hand over at Erwin, beckoning him over. Erwin scanned Amelia's body before turning back to Dirk. "I thought you said she was badly injured?"

"She has advanced healing powers like that brat Eren, just without the smoke," Levi answered for him.

"So, she will be fine?" Erwin inquired, his eyes fixated on Amelia. Levi found Erwin's 'concern' quite amusing. It wasn't as if he truly cared about her well-being, only that his new source of information was healthy enough to blab her secrets to him.

"Yes, Commander. I should have explained it better, but you rushed out before I had the chance," Dirk stated sheepishly.

"Ah, I see. I apologise," Erwin responded. "But I suppose whilst I'm here, I might as well have Levi tell me what exactly happened."

Erwin turned his attention over to Levi, waiting for him to explain. "She was attacked in the bathroom whilst I was waiting outside." Levi shrugged.

Erwin's brows furrowed. "Did you see who it was?" he inquired.

"No, they were wearing a hood to cover their face. But I could tell it was a woman from their build." Levi tried to describe Amelia's assailant as best he could. But he had only caught a glimpse of them before they had thrown themselves out the window.

"Ah, it appears that my inkling was right. It seems like the identity of the Female Titan will need to be revealed as quickly as possible. Next time, Amelia might not be so lucky to make it out alive," Erwin pondered with a grave expression on his face.

"You mean to say Amelia was attacked by the Female Titan?" Levi flexed his hands into fists. He still had a lot of pent-up anger surrounding the Female Titan after the deaths of his squad. Levi couldn't believe that he had almost had her in his grasp and then let her get away.

"It is likely. After all, Amelia is the only one amongst us who knows her identity," Erwin replied, patting his pocket with Amelia's note inside of it. "I shall move tomorrow's briefing to tonight before I become the next target. If Amelia wakes before it starts and is well enough, I would like for her to be there. Until then, remain at her side and protect her until she wakes up."