Remembering You

The Forgotten

"This is fucking sick..."

Levi muttered under his breath, catching sight of the festivities that had rolled around once again. The fucking celebration of humanity reclaiming Wall Maria. It was farcical how the masses made song and dance of the sacrifices of the Scouting Legion. The former Captain doubted those pigs could even understand how much blood, sweat, and tears had gone into defeating the fucking titans. He was disgusted at the entire thing.

A good number of shops had discounts for members of the Legion, thanking them for their hard work and sacrifice, but not him. Levi didn't give a flying fuck; those who had survived wouldn't have such materialistic tendencies. Instead, they'd be grieving and then getting better if they were serious about eliminating the titans. His was one of the few shops that did not pander like a dog to the military. Sure, if it was someone he knew and respected all those years ago, he might consider giving them a discount, but only because he knew how much harder they had fought for mankind. None of the new members in the Scouting Legion deserved it. They might fight titans, but they hadn't shed blood and tears the way the rest of them had. They hadn't watch their entire squad fall one at a time, and have to be the one to pick up the pieces. They hadn't had to endure the jeers and mockery, being taunted as a waste of money and time.

Fuck, all these assholes should be pandering to him after how frequently he had saved their asses from the titans. But of course, thanks to what the Coordinate had done, none of them remembered him. It was probably better this way. Levi had always hated the title of Humanity's Strongest. Not only did most people think he was some six-foot giant like Erwin or Mike, they were blissfully ignorant of the cost of being at the top. He had seen more members of the Legion fall in battle than most others. Watched more people die and been unable to save them. If someone came up to thank him for his sacrifice, he'd probably punch them in a face. They didn't fucking get it. None of them understood what it was like watching those around them fall in battle.

Levi didn't know any of the new recruits, but it was sickening to watch people suck up to those recruits who had nothing to do with the victory and the recruits accept the goodwill as a matter of due course. He wouldn't be surprised if some of them had joined simply for the fame and being able to say they were part of the Legion. He would have rid them of that if he had trained them, but he wasn't anyone's captain anymore. In addition, he doubted Hange had any choice with how many good men and women they had lost fighting the Beast titan. There had already been talk of scrapping the Scouting Legion altogether back then given how small it had become, so fresh blood was needed to survive.

Only a handful of them had survived the Beast titan. The Scouting Legion had been decimated in that battle. Hell it could not even be considered a battle, it was a slaughter. A bloodbath, massacre, whatever the fuck people wanted to name such carnage. A good number of soldiers had been wounded and still alive, but because they were not able to get the necessary medical assistance, had died from loss of blood or limbs. Levi still had nightmares about that night.

Now five years later, the masses celebrated as though nothing was wrong. As if hundreds of lives hadn't gone into ensuring their freedom. It sickened him. Any of those who fought at Shinganshina that day would feel the same way he did. It wasn't meant as a fucking celebration. It was a fucking day to grieve over the lives lost, but they had twisted it into something it wasn't.

And this festival was the fucking icing on the fucked up cake.

The idiots in power thought they could dress up the success of regaining Wall Maria without apologizing for the fuck ups they had made. How they always treated those in the Scouting Legion as disposable and a waste of resources, yet begged them to save them from the titans. Levi would never forgive them or Kenny for killing three of their own when trying to rescue Eren. They were in cahoots with the same bastards, which was the reason things were the way they were and why Eren had to use the Coordinate in the first place. Instead of titan shifters being the real monsters, it was humanity. The powerful only cared to consolidate their wealth and power, while the masses suffered. There was no justice if the branch of the military charged with protecting humanity from titans, the Scouting Legion, was being hunted by the very same people they were protecting.