The Captain - Levi Ackerman

Chapter 5

Dedicated Chapter Song: Colors - Halsey

You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope

      Eren and Anna walked into the mess hall, where all eyes were on them nearly instantly. So many unrecognizable faces. The only thing that made Anna feel somewhat at peace was seeing Cullen nod reassuringly to her. "So," a man with a slightly darker skin tone and a short crop of brown hair that was kept to a point on the back of his head, spoke up. "You're that new girl blondie here keeps blabbing on about. Ana, was it?"

      "Anna." Levi corrected from the corner of the table, his arm hanging on an empty chair and his feet kicked up on the table. He seemed to be drinking something out a porcelain teacup. Best assumptions were that it was obviously tea. Though the peculiar way in which he held the cup by the top of it rather than the handle, intrigued Anna.

      She pointed over at him and shrugged. "What he said." she agreed. He cleared his throat and moved his arm off the chair. "Sit," Levi ordered and nodded to the chair beside him. Cullen let out a low growl as she padded her way over and sat beside him. "Continue," Levi turned his gaze to the blonde haired girl he'd earlier referred to as Petra.

"Anywho!" she smiled. "I think having Anna here with us will definitely be a benefit. By the way, Corporal, nice acting back there beating the shit outta Cullen! If it weren't for the dramatics we might never have convinced the Military Police and the Wall Religion to let us have these two!"

"You mean... " Anna grew angrier by the second thinking about it. "THAT WAS ALL JUST A SETUP?!" she slammed her fists against the table. Levi once again placed his arm on the chair. "Be thankful that it was, child. If the Military Police had gotten to you first, and be glad they didn't," Levi leaned just a bit closer to her, making her nervous and uncomfortable. "You wouldn't be here right now." he sipped from his teacup.

"Thanks," Anna smacked his arm off the chair. "But Cullen and I could have held our own. The only reason you guys have us is that somehow we were unable to hear any of you approach. I'm guessing that's gotta do with these strange harnesses."

"You've never used 3D maneuver gear before?" Hanji asked. "Where have you lived? Under a rock?" she laughed. Anna stared down at the plate of food in front of her, her stomach suddenly wretching as she thought about all the casualties back in the Underlands. She shrugged. "Something like that."

"So, you're not gonna tell us anything about you?" that Jaegar boy asked, though he was polite about it. "How are we supposed to trust the two of you?" Anna poked at the vegetables on her plate and spoke in a monotone voice. "I guess you don't. I don't plan on telling any of you anything about my life." she tossed a green bean into her mouth. "That is unless I trust you wholeheartedly. There's only one person who's ever earned that trust."

"That person would be me." Cullen grinned. Anna nudged her fork. "Actually it was Ruby," she stated, leaving Cullen in a confused state of mind. "I told that girl everything. Even the dirty details of what we did and where we went. I don't know whatever happened to her. She probably was offed just like the others who weren't good enough. Just goes to show why you can't be close to anyone. One second you're having a jolly ol' time and the next you're cleaning their blood off the streets and sending their corpses away in bags. It's a hell of a way to live."

Cullen sighed. "Yeah, but it's a good way not to die, though. As long as we're still kickin' it, the world's not over yet." throughout the night the rest of the Special Operations Squad or as Anna nicknamed it, the S.O.S. continued to bug and pester Anna and Cullen for information about their lives.

But they wouldn't budge. No matter how much poking and prodding the squad tried, Anna nor Cullen revealed any details about Boss or about their lives back in the Underlands.

Anna learned all of the names of the members of the Levi Squad. There was obviously the prude Levi Ackerman, the thankfully kind Eren Jaeger, the most likely mentally insane Zoe Hanji, the pointy-headed Gunther Schultz, the second-in-command Eld Gin, the only other girl in the squad besides crazy goggles Petra Rall, and "I'm too old for this shit" Orou Bozad. Then there was Anna and Cullen to add to the mix. Anna wasn't interested in pursuing friendships with any of the other members, much less did she even want to make eye contact with any of them. Cullen was more the social butterfly than her, so she let him do all the talking.

She knew Levi was watching her the whole time, which made her nervous, but she had to place herself in his shoes to understand that she'd probably watch someone as suspicious and quiet as herself, too. By nightfall the Squad had left the mess hall, leaving just Levi, Cullen and Anna. Cullen eventually left to try and hang out with the rest of the squad,  which Anna called a "traitorous act". As she stood up to leave, Levi addressed her. "Cadet Urrie," he called. She stopped in her tracks. "Sir?" she asked. "I couldn't help but notice that you stated you will never tell anyone about your life as a VM, yet you wanted so desperately out of that life. That peaked my interest."

Anna remained stiff and tall. Well, as tall as she could be being shorter than the shortest man on the squad. "Will all due respect, Lance Corporal Levi, I only share personal details with those I trust. I've only ever had two friends in this world and one of them is more than likely dead. I'm not counting on losing the other. It would break me. I swore to not get attached to someone and yet I broke my promise twice. I'm trying not to break it a third time and lose another person I might care for or about. So, forgive me, commander, if I choose to keep details about myself quiet. It's just for my own safety." and with that, she strode out of the mess hall and back to her nice and tidy room.

Levi scoffed after she'd left. "Tch, damn brat. If it's trust she wants, then this is going to be more annoying than I expected. Still," he thought aloud. "I need to get close to her in order for her to open up to me and tell me everything she knows about the VM. If the rumors are true, she might know the secret to stopping the Titans once and for all."