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HER BODY WAS SHAKING AS HANGE RUBBED HER BACK IN A GENTLE MANNER. She was quite traumatised by the events that had happened during their so-called training.

She didn't speak for a few hours after that, still having to recover from the shock. She let the older woman clean her wounds while muttering reassuring words to calm her down.

After the incident, F/n had been restricted from sparring with any other people without a higher-up's supervision. Erwin had told Levi to train the woman to become a soldier of the Survey Corps.

And that was why she was tired, panting heavily after another five laps around the field. Levi stood there, expressionless as ever while she struggled to breathe.

"Five more," he instructed and F/n rose her head and stared at him in disbelief.

"No," she huffed and Levi had to hold himself back from snapping at her.

He clicked his tongue instead, walking towards her and stopping just a few steps away from her, unwillingly letting the dust surround his shoes as he stopped abruptly.

"Stand," he ordered and with a slight fear of how strict his voice sounded, she obliged, quickly standing up on her own.

The captain gazed at her momentarily, eyes narrowing threateningly at her as a warning.

"Put on your gear."

Quickly putting on the ODM gear she had been given, she followed the captain who was in his own gear. This would be the first time she had ever used this gear. The first and only time she had 'flown' with this mechanical object was when she first met Levi.

Which was probably the worst experience for her to remember.

But F/n had practised how to balance herself on a mechanical object as one of the many training Levi had given her.

F/n stopped walking when Levi did and looked at the forest of trees in front of them.

They were tall but not as tall as the ones in the forest she had been living in most of her life. The grass and leaves in this area were a lot lighter in colour when being compared with the ones in the other forest.

It was... pleasant to be somewhere else aside from the tree trunk. She wouldn't be able to handle a minute longer being in there so she was glad that they had helped her through this.

"We're starting from up there," Levi said, looking at the branch of a tree that was thick enough to at least hold four people.

But then it occurred to her.

"How?" she asked with a hint of hesitance in her mousy voice.

Levi clicked his tongue, crossing his arms as he faced her.

"I'll be getting us up there since... you can't," he responded straightforwardly, "Come closer."

She took two steps closer.

"Closer."

Another step.

"Closer."

She stood right next to him, head barely reaching his ears. The man wrapped his arm around her waist, securing her protectively, while his other hand shot the wires out and he swung up the branch.

F/n let out a terrified yelp at that but calmed down when it ended quicker than expected.

Levi looked at her before starting to explain things, making it brief and not too detailed nor too lacking in information.

"Hold the trigger. Don't pull it yet. Think of where you want it to aim and then shoot it. Drop and swing. If you're too stiff, you won't survive."

She broke into a cold sweat when she heard him say that. Even though it might not be real, she would still be cautious of it so she took it into consideration.

The man demonstrated a quick demonstration of how to properly use the ODM gear and the woman soon followed behind him, wires nearly tangling with themselves and she nearly just fell and hit her head.

But, thankfully, she didn't.

She stumbled a little when she landed next to Levi who watched her with little to no emotion. And this one emotion was irritation.

"You're horrible," he commented.

He demonstrated to her again and she copied his movements, struggling even more even for someone who was able to learn quickly. Levi swallowed the saliva in his mouth, closing his eyes as he felt the irritation get to him.

Though, he was still lucky since she managed to get the hang out with a couple more swings from tree to tree. Levi just watched as she played around with a smile on her face.

It was the first time for him to see her smile and it was great, not that he took it as something large anyway.

"F/n," he called and the girl hummed in response, mind drifting away from reality, "Stop now."

She glanced at him before swinging to another tree.

"Why?" she asked and swung once again.

"Because I said so," he rolled his eyes.

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

"Why?"

He ignored her question.

"I am your captain and you should follow my orders," he said instead, more strictly this time.

"But-" F/n tried saying but was quickly interrupted by the man.

"Do you want me to give you more of those punishments you dread?" he furrowed his eyebrows and the female just stared at him in silence, "Five laps."

F/n let out a whining groan, throwing her head back when she landed gracefully on the branch and Levi let out a frustrated sigh. It's as if he was babysitting a kid. She probably was though, mentally, that is.

She hadn't experienced much as a 'kid', having to be in the tree trunk for as long as she could remember. It was sad and depressing but he knew that she needed someone to be strict with her to guide her.

After some struggles in convincing and negotiating, F/n stood in front of him with a small frown, which almost appeared as a pout. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, trying to threaten the captain to let her have fun with the ODM gear a little longer.

Levi held a stoic expression, though his eye twitched twice already and F/n took notice of it.

Just as he was about to speak further, a voice called out for them, interrupting their silent interaction of glaring to stop and pleading to continue.

And in a sing-song voice, Hange shouted, "Levi! F/n! It's time for experiments!"

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