Attack on Titan / Interactive Story

79

You awake to the smell of cleaning supplies. Captain Levi was running about, cleaning the dust from the corners of the entry way. All the newbie soldiers lay sprawled along the scratchy floor.

Calum Buhari is not too far away from you, his head propped on top of a bag of clothes. He's passed out and snoring. Valencia is closer to him than she is to you but she's still near the corner of the room. Nameless boy is somewhere in the cluster of the bodies.

Captain Levi notices you waking up and begins to yell at the others. The bodies slowly prop up from the floor.

Pretty much at the same time, the doors open and soldiers begin to pour in.

"Levi? What is going on?"

A man... a woman (you weren't completely sure, yourself) with brown hair and big googly glasses, the front of the herd, spoke to Captain Levi very casually.

Captain Levi pulled his cleaning cloth down from over his mouth so he could speak clearly. "They're new. The rooms aren't cleaned."

"We cleaned them last week."

Everyone looked back to Captain Levi. The whole situation was humiliating. All the soldiers looked down upon the newbies who had no clue what to do. Captain Levi grumbled and took off his gloves.

"Oi," he said to the others, "show the new soldiers to the rooms."

~

A bed, a small window and a cupboard for clothes. It was much prettier than the first place you slept.

"If you ever need anything," Jean Kirschtein nervously shuffled, "I'm down the hall."

"You can't miss him," a boy joined in from outside the door, "you can spot out his horse-face from a mile away."

Jean turned, pissed as ever. "Shut the hell up, Jaeger!"

You chuckled awkwardly and thanked Jean before he left the room. You both had introduced yourselves a moment before. Jean had acted nervous around you, which was odd, since you could easily tell that he was strong-minded and stubborn around others. It was quite obvious he was into you. For now, at least.

Jean didn't close the door as he left and you didn't feel the need to close it, so you left it open as you tossed your clothes bag onto the bed. You unzipped the fabric and pulled out a few shirts and other garments, placing them into the small drawer that stood awkwardly in the corner of the room.

Someone knocked on the open door to get your attention. You turn to see the same googly-eyed person from before.

"Hello," they said, "I'm Captain Hanji Zoë."

You quickly jumped to your heels and did a salute. "Y/N L/N."

Captain Hanji smiled. "Soldier L/N, could you do me a little favor?"

You nodded furiously.

"Can you tell Captain Erwin that we're back from our...trip? I'd do it myself, but I have to record our findings." Captain Hanji laughed, a feminine laugh, then adjusted her glasses. "You were the only soldier out-and-about. Everyone else has their doors closed."

"Yes...ma'am." Your response almost sounded like a question. Captain Hanji smiled and popped out of the doorway and down the hall.

You went out into the hall and closed the door behind you. Which way was Captain Erwin's room?

"Uh, excuse me." You call out to the boy whom Jean referred as Jaeger. He stopped in the hall and turned to look at you. "Do you know where Captain Erwin's room is?"

He scrunched his eyebrows over his emerald-green eyes. He was perplexed by your question but he didn't ask about it. Soldiers had tended to get into the habit of staying out of others' business. "Down the hall, that way, take a right."

You thanked him and headed for the room. You could feel the boy's eyes piercing into your back. Knocking on the door before entering, you adjust the sleeves of your shirt and wipe down your pants.

"Come in."

You shut the door quietly and saluted, your fist against your heart.

"At ease, soldier."

You brought your arms down back to your sides, your shoulders pulled back. The room was large, a desk in the middle and curtains strewn over the window behind it. Captain Erwin sat at his desk tentatively, Captain Levi sitting on a table near him. The room was airy despite being large and closed in. Captain Levi sat on top of a table, his legs crossed, a cup of tea in his hands. His fingers held onto the cup rather than the handle.

There was absolutely no reason to be in the room - Captain Levi had already seen Hanji, so he must have told Captain Erwin.

"Captain Hanji wanted me to let you know that she's back."

Everyone wanted to be referred as 'Captain', yet no one had shown off true leadership skills. You wondered how many seconds of your time would be saved if you just referred to people with their names.

"Did she say where she has gone?"

"Um," your eyes rolled over to Levi's. He stared at you like he was examining a bug that he had smashed against a table. "She said she needed to 'record her findings'."

Captain Erwin looked like he was in deep thought. He rolled his jaw around and looked over to Levi, who was much too busy staring you down under his hooded eyelids.

"What is your name, kid?" Levi spoke up, closing his eyes to take a sip of tea, only to open his eyes to stare again.

"Y/N L/N, sir."

Levi didn't reply. Something told you that he wasn't impressed.

Captain Erwin spoke up, telling Levi to go back to his tea with his eyes. "You're dismissed, L/N."

Continue (Chapter 91)