Angel With A Shotgun [Levi Ackerman x OC] / Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin

Code XXIII: The Care Nor The Need

Xora was torn between tearing away and relenting, but in the end she chose the latter. It was her turn to be shocked; it was not Levi who had grasped her hand.

It was someone she didn't expect in the least: Armin Arlert.

"Armin?!" Xora exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"I—I'm sorry!" Armin cried, releasing her whilst flailing his arms, panicked. "I—I didn't mean to listen in, Captain Levi insisted we surprise you and I was w—waiting outside of the door because he told me he was going to send you outside but it ended up being so much more serious and I—I—I didn't know what to do!"

"Calm down," Xora sighed, a strange sensation of relief filling her chest at the sight of an old friend. "If you're expecting me to be angry, I am not. It does not matter to me whether or not you overheard our conversation."

"Oh... then, I—"

"Just come here, you strange one." She grasped onto both of his hands gratefully and gave them a tight squeeze, pressing her lips into a thin line with a brisk nod. "It is great to see you again."

"A—and you, XX," Armin stuttered.

"Why are you here? Didn't you have operations to work on back in North America?"

The blonde agent chuckled nervously and turned a crimson color. "Well, yes, but you see, Commander Erwin sent in the plans for an operation he'd concocted with Hange this morning. And to carry it out, they needed more manpower, especially of work in my field, so... I ended up being assigned to the mission as well."

"That's fantastic," Xora said with a nod. "I assume you needed to retrieve me to rendesvous for a debrief?"

"Exactly."

"Then let's get going, shall we?"

"There you are!" a voice chimed, breathy and panting. Xora peered over Armin's shoulder to see Eren dashing over to where they stood. When he approached, he took a few moments to catch his breath before saying, "We're to meet in the data room. Hange and the others are waiting for us."

"Others?" Xora repeated, her eyebrows furrowing. "Armin, did more people come with you?"

"I never said it was just me," Armin chuckled, turning to greet Eren with a warm embrace. "Many, many people have joined us on this mission, XX."

A wrinkle formed between Xora's brows. "Why is that? Erwin would never do such a thing without a great reason."

A sly smile came upon Armin's thin, pale lips. "It's because we're going to try and catch the killer with our own hands."

---

[The Data Room]

Xora stood in the Data Room with many more people than she imagined would've been let on the mission, and it did feel rather awkward, for she still only wore what she did while exercising—drenched in dried sweat and all.

Xora's cold, calculating eyes darted around to gaze at several anxious faces. She skimmed through the database in her mind that she'd collected by reading the documents under their names.

Levi's entire Special Operations Squad was present; this meant the operation was going to be a large-scaled one—one that required absolute perfection. Projects like these didn't allow a single mistake, for even the slightest one could mean casualties. After all, the squad was made entirely of Alpha-ranked IE agents. They went by the names of Petra, Gunther, Eld and Oluo, all of whom looked to be at least a few years older than Xora.

The only Alpha that was not involved in Levi's squad was Mikasa Ackerman—someone in close relation with Eren, who was of outstanding physical talents. Talents that rivaled Levi's, or even Xora herself. From taking a look at her file, she had a rather unpleasant past experience involved with human trafficking, then afterward with Eren and his mother's death. Perhaps that was why he was so knowledgable about the Titan organization; his past was deeply interwoven with them.