I see what people can't (rivamika)

Hesitation

"Bring it on then" Levi says in an uncharacteristically cocky tone. Mikasa gets in position with her hands in front of her face looking fiercely into his eyes. His lips slightly tug upwards at the corners giving him a subtle smirk as he waves his hand for her to attack. She takes the bait and immediately goes for a quick jab which he quickly blocks and redirects towards her with a punch of his own which lands on her shoulder. She stumbles backwards with a small grunt and looks up to see him waiting for her to attack again. This only makes her more mad and she attacks again.

She fakes a jab before sinking low with a kick to his shin which barely misses but throws him off balance. She sees an opening and decides to keep pushing until she finds an opportunity to strike hard. She goes for a hook to his jaw which he manages to grab and hold onto as he pulls her closer to him which catches her by surprise. He then proceeds to bear hug her as he locks her arms making her unable to use them. During this she manages to land a few knees to his stomach which caught him by surprise but he held on as he lifted her off the ground and threw her down on her back. She winces in pain as she slowly gets up.

She finally realises that going in recklessly would only get her more hurt as he is too fast and too strong for simple tactics. She slowly takes control of her breathing but Levi decides to attack instead. He throws to jabs at her which she blocks as fast as she could but then he uses his right leg to strike at her waist. He grabs her arm not letting her fall as he swiftly moves behind her and locks her arm behind her back. She struggles to break the lock but he ever so slightly applies more pressure trying to get her to surrender but Mikasa is too stubborn to let that happen.

She uses her leg to strike backwards at his knee which lands and he finally lets go of her arm. She then quickly spins around while extending her leg as she lands a kick to his chin. He falls down on his back but immediately does a small roll and jolts himself right back on his feet. He touched his jaw giving her a subtle hint of success as he smirks at her. "Nice hit" was all he said before he sprung towards her with an incredible amount of speed. Mikasa didn't even get a chance to see it coming as he kicks her leg out to the side making her drop to her knees before getting slammed down on the mat against her back with Levi right on top of her holding her wrists with one arm while extending his other one back ready to land a punch right to her face. She closes her eyes waiting for the impact that never arrived as he stopped himself and just leaned closer to her ear and whispered "Next time I won't go so easy on you."

He lets go of her wrists and gets up on his feet. Mikasa opens her eyes to see Levi looking down on her while extending his arm for her to grab for support. She gets angry and slaps his hand away before swiftly spinning her leg and trips Levi. He falls on his back now Mikasa on top as she goes to strike but he catches it. She looks angry and she says "And next time you better not hesitate midget, or are you afraid to hit a girl?" She smirks as she says that but to her surprise he does the same.

While she's confused he takes the opportunity to grab her arm and pull her close as he quickly rolls her off him and he gets back on top. "As you wish" he says before landing a powerful blow to her ribs which takes all the air out of her lungs. She instinctively puts her arm where the blow landed which he used to lock her down as he asks if she surrenders. She denies and he applies more pressure to her arm which makes her let out out a small gasp of pain.

At this Levi gets a sudden headache and memories of his past life surged through his head. He looks at her clearly pained face and he starts to loosen his grip before getting off her completely and leaving her there to catch her breath. This was very bizarre for Levi as he has never shown weakness to anyone while training, but her. "Get yourself rested, we're done for the day. You should go see dr Blouse while you're at it. I'm suspecting a broken rib and a couple of bruises you might want to take care of" he says to her as he looks back to see her staring daggers at him.

She slowly but surely gets up and starts to walk towards him but he has already left the ring. She curses at herself for letting her emotions get the best of her. This has never happened to her before as she was always able to win her fights with ease but him, he got her so mad to the point she became reckless. "But why?" She thought to herself. "What about him makes me so angry? Why him of all people? He is just a cocky little midget, so how can he get me to feel so... so...

"It seems he's sending another one to the hospital. You must feel blessed to still be standing on two legs. Most of his victims need medical attention for weeks" says Erwin from the lonely bench at the back of the room. "Excuse me but who are you?" Mikasa says as she looks at the tall blonde. "Oh I never introduced myself to you properly now did I? My name is Erwin Smith. Chief of the survey department unit. A pleasure to meet you" he says as he gets off the bench and starts walking towards the ring.

"Mikasa Ackerman, I'm Mr Ackerman's new apprentice" she says while getting down from the ring slowly. "So I've heard. Don't pay attention I him. He's just too prideful to admit you did well" he tells her and gives her a small pat on the back. "May I ask, what exactly did you mean when you said I should feel blessed?" she asks confused. "Oh, well you see Levi has a tendency to be to harsh when it comes to training. He usually only instructs but if he sees someone with tons of potential he will personally test them to see if they are worth it only to send each one to the hospital and make them quit right after" Erwin informs her. "If you want to quit that is understandable" he pauses "however I would suggest giving him a chance to grow on you. It's been a while since I've seen him smile like that" he finishes his sentence and smiles at Mikasa before leaving her alone to think in the training area.