The smell of fresh air and water engulfed you as you rode through the thick forest, accompanying your new squad╴Lance-Corporal Levi's Special Operation Squad.

You tried to enjoy the atmosphere, you really did. But the constant talking from a certain snob made the good ride wasted.

"The old base of the Survey Corps. Like an old castle that was renovated to be our base, it definitely looks extravagant."

You glanced at your fellow soldier, Oruo, who had a distant appearance to Levi.

Emphasis on distant.

"But since it's this far away from the walls and the river, it really wasn't something we needed," the words slid off his tongue as if he had gone through them a thousand times before. Shows just how much this man wants to brag.

"It was used back when we were first formed and our spirits were still high. I never imagined we'd be keeping you in that old decoration," Oruo said, glancing at Eren with a snobby face.

"'When our spirits were still high'?" you snorted, causing Ouro and the squad to shift their focus to you. "I think the only thing that's high is your enormous ego."

You heard several snorts coming from Erd, who was trying his hardest to disguise it as a cough. No one could keep a straight face when they saw Oruo's offended face.

He huffed and turned around to look at Eren.

"As I was saying," he coughed, leaning closer to Eren with a sneer. "Don't get ahead of yourself, recruit."

Eren became shocked when he heard those words, wondering what the fuck he had done now. "Excuse me?"

"You may be a titan or whatever, but a pissy brat like you being under Lance-Corporal Levi's watch╴shit╴!"

You pinched your lips in an effort to hide your amused chuckles when you saw Oruo holding his bleeding tongue, caused by his horse slipping on a rock. Probably in an attempt to shut his owner up.

You rode beside Petra, who was desperately trying to hold a straight face.

You wanted to challenge her. When you caught her eye and smiled, she instantly panicked and shook her heads.

Turning to Oruo with a cheshire grin, you asked; "I guess you're not in high spirits, are you, Oruo?"

That was all it took for Petra to crack under your joke. You both laughed, snorted and held your stomachs in pain as Oruo held his fist towards you in an angry matter.

One might think that the Special Operation Squad was full of titan-slaying, non-human monsters, but it came as a huge surprise when it turned out that they were actually quite nice and humorous people.

Erd, Gunther, and Petra had accepted you pretty much instantly, welcoming you with open arms and compliments. Oruo was a bit more hard to make friends with due to his bragging self, but you eventually got used to him. (The guy sure can brag a lot.)

But overall, it was well.

"This is what you get for yapping away on horseback," Petra scolded, but under that strict facade was a still-snickering girl.

"First impressions are crucial," Oruo insisted, pressing a handkerchief against his mouth. "That recruit was scared stiff."

Petra snorted unamusedly and turned away. "I think he was just surprised by how stupid you actually are."

Oruo felt a pang of embarrassment. He was really trying to impress Petra, not gonna lie. He coughed and closed his eyes. "At any rate, everything went as planned."

"Say, that's not how you usually talk, is it?" Petra looked grossed out by Oruo's sudden change of character. "If that's your idea of imitating Lance-Corporal Levi, could you seriously stop it? Then again, it's not like it was serious in any way."

Shit. Was it really that disturbing?

Play it cool.

"Are you trying to get me down, Petra?" he chuckled darkly in an attempt to save his ass. "You haven't gone through proper steps to act like my wife."

Petra scoffed. "If only you had bit off your tongue and died. You're always bragging about your titan kills too."

"Relax," Oruo sighed. "I bragged for you guys while I was at it, including Y/N. She did manage to slay 8 titans."

You snorted from the place where you had sat, a few meters away and behind Ouro. Deciding to tease a little, you stood up and walked over to Petra, who greeted you with a smile.

You slung your arm around her shoulder and leaned into her ear.

"He likes you~."

Suddenly, Petra's cheeks heated up to a dim blush, causing you to snicker. Oruo looked from you to Petra, not catching what you had said.

Petra huffed and turned away from both of you, muttering something along the lines of 'geez, you're insufferable." under her breath.

Petra Ral.

Solo titan kills: 10

Titan kill assist: 48

Oruo snorted with a slight blush that he tried to hide.

Oruo Bossard.

Solo titan kills. 39

Titan kill assist: 9

Satisfied with your results, you took off to find the two remaining members of Levi's Special Operation Squad.

Soon, you found them in front of the castle which you were supposed to keep Eren in.

You snuck up behind them and cracked a joke, causing both of them to chuckle and turn around.

Erd Gin.

Solo titan kills: 14.

Titan kill assists: 32

Gunther Shultz.

Solo titan kills: 7

Titan kill assists: 40

As you stood, conversing with the two men at your side, you wondered something.

Would your parents be proud of you? To have a child that enrolled in the Military and got accepted into the Survey Corps?

One could only wonder.

Y/N L/N

Solo titan kills: 8

Titan kill assists: 4

While you and Erd was joking around, Gunther suddenly stopped and stared at the castle, as if something had made him stop. He then took one look at the grass and sighed, obviously frustrated with something.

It left you wondering what had made his energy drain so quickly.

"There are weeds everywhere," he admitted, shoulder slouched as if he knew something awful was gonna happen soon. "This place is a mess."

Erd and you stopped mid-joke, your arms held up by Erd. He let go of you with a slight chuckle. "It's been a while after all. The inside is probably covered in dust."

Before you could question what the problem was, short but quick footsteps sounded behind you, and a voice butted into your conversation.

"Now that's a problem we can't overlook."

You, Erd and Gunther turned around, only to be met with the focusing steely eyes of Lance-Corporal Levi.

"We'll get to work immediately."

One thing that you had come to understand about the Corporal was that he needed his surroundings spotless. Absolutely spotless.

Hence the reason you were scrubbing and sweeping at every possible acre of the room you were ordered to clean with Eren.

Your groans of annoyance, whines, and complaints made your partner go bat-shit insane. After half an hour of constant complaints, he couldn't take it anymore.

He poked you with his broom in irritation.

"Don't touch me, Jaeger."

"Stop complaining then, L/N."

"I refuse."

Four Hours Later

You sighed in relief. The midget's wishes have been fulfilled.

Both you and Eren was at each other's throats the whole time, making both of you so much more tired once you were done.

"Stay here, I'll get the Corporal," Eren offered, and you gladly sprawled yourself out on the floor. Eren walked out the door, his footsteps echoing into the room when he used the stairs.

A few minutes later, Eren still hadn't returned.

You sighed and closed your eyes, failing to notice the footsteps that were hurrying towards you. "Why do we have to clean it anyway, it's not it's that filthy."

"In that case, Y/N," the sudden voice made you shoot up in surprise. "Do enlighten me on why dust sticks to my fingers like fucking glue." There stood the Corporal above you, gazing down at you with strict eyes, hand raised as he rubbed his index and thumb together.

Your head dropped in mock-shame. "Good late evening, sunshine," you groaned. You had had enough of this OCD-massacre.

A sharp jab with his foot into your lower back was all it took for you raise your head again. "Cut the crap, Y/N. You wanna call this clean?" he said, sprinkling dust onto your nose from his fingers.

He clicked his tongue and wiped the tip of your nose, causing an unintentional, short giggle to come from you. "Don't make me laugh, my grandma could do better than you and Eren, and she's dead."

Okay, ouch.

"Why does it have to be clean anyway? Not like we're gonna be staying here for long, are we?"

"I don't like filthy," he shrugged, patting your head once, then walked away as if nothing happened.

Your curious eyes followed him as he walked around the room, then stopped to lean on the table with crossed arms.

But why didn't he like filth? Okay, yeah, you get it, it's not like anyone loves dust, but there has to be another reason for his strong distaste for unclean things.

You decided to be a brat and prod a little in his personal life. Was it because he had once snorted dust? Was he allergic, maybe?

You stood up and looked at Levi, who gladly returned the gesture. Levi's surprise overtook his being as you╴ out of the blue╴ slammed your hands down on either side of him, trapping him.

He clicked his tongue, looking over his shoulder to avoid your stare.

You were such a brat right now, causing his heart to speed up its pace. Shit, he could feel his ears becoming warm, too.

You, on the other hand, wouldn't give up. You kept poking his thighs, calves and even his chest to gain his attention. This went on for at least 5 minutes.

Levi finally had enough.

In no less than 3 seconds, he had grabbed your thighs and hoisted your into his arms, turned around, and slammed your ass down onto the table where he was previously leaning.

You yelped when he was the one who now slammed his hands behind you, leaning his face closer to yours as his warm breath tickled your lips. You were completely trapped within his arms.

"You want the truth?" he asked, leaning so close that your noses touched. You sat frozen, small even, quietly nodding.

Levi's big, warm hand grabbed onto yours, as he led you to grasp his cravat in your hand. You studied it, both confused but intrigued.

"Do you know who this belonged to?" he breathed into your ear, causing you to shudder.

"I don't."

"It's a part of the dress my mother wore before she died." Levi still held your hand that was grasping the cravat gently. You felt bad for bringing up such terrible memories of his.

Levi then dove his head down and looked up at you, following your gaze as you straightened up in surprise.

"There's something about you, Y/N," he said, eyes half-lidded as he looked into your eyes. A grin formed on your lips as you tried to lift the atmosphere. "Is it my dirtiness?"

A quiet snicker left Levi.

You felt his arm snake around your waist and torso as he buried his head into your neck, causing you to jump from his hair tickling you.

"Look, if you really want to know, I'll tell you about my past," he sighed in content. "It's all a matter of if you're gonna listen."

You leaned your cheek on his head as you hummed in affirmation. "Tell me everything."

"I was a famous thug in the underground city."

Your heart skipped a beat as Levi uttered those words. That's where you must have encountered him for the first time! You always felt like there was some sort of familiarity about Levi, and you knew it wasn't because of the day Shadis introduced him. You figured it out when you fought him for the first time.

But when?

Levi took a deep breath and began telling you his story, from start to finish. He didn't leave a single thing out for you to discover later. No, you were gonna get the full story, and Levi wanted you to hear everything from him.

And that's when it started.

A young Levi in his late teens was soaring through the sky, using the famous 3DMG that the military regiments was using nowadays. At each of his side flew his most trusted friends╴Farlan Church and Isabel Magnolia.

The red-headed girl shot her wire above, crashing into a big crate of various food items, causing it to spill everywhere. People from Levi's group scrambled around to snatch the food, running away from the crime of scene once they acquired a piece of rarity.

Salesmen and customers screamed at them and called for the authorities.

Not long after, a group of people chased after them in the air, causing Isabel to snicker in amusement.

"Hey, hold it!" they yelled.

"Heh. The Military Police again? Haven't learned their lesson, have they?" she smirked, then turned to Levi in front of her. "Hey, Levi-bro! What I just said was a cool line, right?!" she beamed. Man, she was cool, and she had to thank Levi for that.

She always did her best to act cool in front of her beloved brother.

Levi rolled his eyes with a hidden smirk. "Are you an idiot?"

The underground city. It's located under the safest land, that is being protected by three outside walls. An abandoned underground. Leftover from sealed immigration plan. In this land cast aside from the light, it's not rare for those who are born and raised there to rot away without seeing the surface once.

You smiled as Levi told you about his friends. They sounded so goofy yet mature, especially Isabel.

For Levi, especially, memories flooded back to him as he remembered his first time meeting his cheery red-headed friend, Isabel. Ever since the first time she had called him 'Levi-bro', he had personally taken on the role as a big brother for her, swearing to protect her from anything.

He remembered the time she groaned in pure annoyance when she had to do her cleaning chores. The excitement that she showed when Levi had given her a 3DMG for her birthday, and she was officially a member of their scavenge-hunting.

Her smile when she released the bird she had rescued up into the world it belonged to, so it would no longer be trapped within the underground. So pure and bathed with happiness.

Levi sighed into your hair and closed his eyes, tightening his grip around you. "I never did show much emotion, but I was happy at that time. One day after scavenging, we went home, only to see someone stand outside of our house. It was an old man with a job request, and the deposit that he set before our acceptance was a place in a first-rate hospital for one of our friends named Jan, who had a pretty bad leg."

"What was the reward?"

"Everything we could dream of," he exhaled for a long time. "A large sum of money and citizenship on the surface. Our job was simple. Kill the 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith."

Your eyes widened, but you remained silent. You were sure Levi could feel your heartbeat quicken.

"The man us what we had to do. He warned us that they would be the ones to come to us, and they surely did. We got chased down by them at the market. Erwin, who was so impressed by our skills with the 3DMG, proposed the idea of us joining the Survey Corps╴and we accepted. Merely 1 month later, we were ready to go on an expedition, and that was when we planned to take him out. End him for good. But it didn't go as planned..."

Rain poured from the sky, soaking every victim that was unlucky enough to encounter it. No one could see a single thing amongst the countless drops that fell. Farlan, Isabel and Levi rode in the instructed formation, and they had to be careful not to break it.

This was open land, a dangerous territory. One wrong move and everyone ends up dead.

"Farlan! Isabel!" Levi yelled, gaining their attention. "Stay together!"

A paint of lightning struck down, a few miles away from the trio. Mere seconds after, the booming roar of thunder echoed throughout the air. The squad that rode in the rain tried to fire a flare signal, only for it to inevitably fail. The smoke's color was barely detectable to the human eye.

"This fog..." Isabel whispered lowly. She had a feeling that something would go wrong.

It was like the further in the squad rode, the more they dissipated. In the end, only the trio remained.

"Hey! What the fuck are we gonna do?! We totally lost sight of everyone!" Isabel shouted loudly, desperate for an answer.

Farlan looked ahead of him. "All we can do is keep moving. I'm sure we're not too far off behind the rest of the squad. We just have to keep going forward blindly, and hope that this fog clears up quick."

Isabel and Farlan kept bickering towards each other, the stress of being lost finally getting to them. At last, they decided to end it and go towards the center, where Commander Erwin was bound to be.

Levi had two choices. Would he go alone and possibly never find his way back, or would they all go, risking their own safety?

He had to choose.

Which is the right choice?

There's no time to hesitate.

A few seconds of silence later, Levi came to a conclusion. "I'm going alone."

Farlan and Isabel stopped their bickering, looking at Levi as he had grown another head. He caught them off guard.

Levi clicked his tongue. "You two catch up to Flagon. I'll kill Erwin. Besides..." Levi smirked slightly. "The one who is gonna kill him is me. I won't let a damn titan get to him first."

"But╴!" Farlan started, only to be cut off by Isabel

"Big bro! I'm gonna go with you too!"

"Isabel, think about it. Just think about it. Me alone, or Flagon and Sayram? Which is more likely to become titan food?"

Isabel pinched her lips together. She knew the answer was perfectly clear.

"With the four of you together, chances of survival are much higher," Levi said. He would rather sacrifice himself for those two than let them become titan food with him.

"Levi!" Farlan yelled, obviously frustrated with his best friend. "Use your head! The fog will clear up if we just wait it out a while!"

Said man internally rolled his eyes. "And? You think the titans are gonna sit back and relax until it does?"

"It doesn't matter, just listen to me! We have no idea where the titans might come from in a situation like this! It's too dangerous to be out there on your own!" Farlan retorted.

Levi was boiling at this point. "I don't need you to tell me all this shit! I can do it alone! Just trust me!"

Farlan looked taken aback as Isabel looked away in shock and disappointment.

"Is that an order, Levi?" Farlan questioned, eyes wide as he rode beside Levi.

"An order...? What are you saying? I just╴you guys are╴I want to..." Levi stumbled over his own words, which was so unlike him. Why couldn't Farlan understand that he just wanted to be able to protect them?

Suddenly, Farlan erupted into fits of giggles, as did Isabel. "Hehe... alright, I'll trust you. Just don't get yourself killed!"

"Ya better come back to us, big bro! No matter what!" Isabel grinned, riding beside Farlan as Levi nodded and disappeared into the fog, mentally preparing himself to kill the Commander.

Visibility is pretty much zero. I've got no choice but to keep going and rely on my intuition. As long as the formation is still intact, I can use the fourth column as a guide and advance towards the front left, and run straight into the center unit.

The memories that followed soon made Levi's eyes sting. Oh, how he regretted his choice from back then. If only he had done it