Chagara - Chaos in the Darkness (Levi x OC Fanfic / AttackOnTitan)

76. "The rest is none of your business."

Something warm had wrapped itself around his two right fingers. Levi stroked it with his thumb. He blinked. Ayumi was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa. She was asleep. Her head was next to his shoulder and her hand held his two fingers tightly. He had fallen asleep on the sofa. "Morning?" Had he slept that long? When was the last time he had slept for more than three hours? "Fourteen years ago," he thought and slowly sat up. The blanket fell on his legs. Had Ayumi tucked him in? "Why was she sleeping here?"

If everything had been all right, he would have brought Ayumi now in her bed. Or put her on the sofa. But nothing was all right. Had he lost comrades because of her silence? His team? His friends? Would things have been different? Would they have been free sooner? "Shouldn't I have chosen between Erwin and Armin?"

Levi pulled his fingers from Ayumi's grip and stood up. There was a water jug on the table in the small kitchen. He picked up a cup and poured for himself. "This has always been your seat." As soon as he sat, he heard noises from the living room. She was awake. The wood creaked with each of her hasty steps. Every one of Levi's muscles tensed. Where should he start? And why were her eyes full of panic?

Closing her eyes, she leaned against the doorframe. "I thought I was dreaming. That you were here." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Can you just wake me up next time you get up?" Ayumi reached for her apron. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you yesterday. You must be hungry."

But in response, Levi kicked one of the chairs with his foot, causing it to shoot out from under the table. Startled, Ayumi turned to Levi. She had never seen such angry eyes on him before. Not even when he had choked her that time. Without saying a word, she sat down opposite him.

"Since when did you know that humans can turn into Titans?," he asked, barely audible. Whether he spoke so softly because he didn't want to wake the children or because he found it so hard to have this conversation: Levi didn't know it.

"A few years before we were integrated into the Scout Regiment, Peter had a visit from an old friend of his father. A sick old man had come to his farm. He must have been destitute. The friend of Peter's father took pity on him and wanted to take him in until he closed his eyes for good. His health quickly worsened. However, when he was awake, he talked with a clear mind about selected people who could turn into Titans. It were always the same few sentences. But the old friend of Peter's father was eager for Peter to hear it for himself. The old man belonged to the Ackerman clan. They would hunt his clan, he said. Why, he did not explain. Why there are people who can turn into Titans, he didn't answer either. So we had no evidence. Just before I met you, a clergyman came to see us. We were still staying in Shadis' training camp at that time. At the beginning of December, a priest used to come and preach for the trainees. The last one who came, however, lay dead in his bed the next morning. Peacefully asleep. As Paul was packing up his things, a drawing fell out of his religion book. The drawing was not a scrawl and it showed a man turning into a Titan. Peter and Steve had a guess that the abnormal Titans might be humans. Therefore, we should capture an abnormal Titan. For research purposes. Our sponsor Johnson approved this. Shortly after, he was dead. And the day we both saw each other for the first time, we had tried to capture an abnormal Titan. It went wrong."

"Did you know they were among us? Rainer Braun, Berthold Fubar, Annie Leonhart, Ymir, Pieck Finger and ... Zeke Yeager? Did you know that Reiner Braun, Berthold Fubar and Ymir were part of the Scout Regiment for a time?" Levi's voice grew louder as he thought of the painful memories of the last few years. "That I trained with them? That I showed them how we fight? How we defend ourselves? Did you know that?" He slammed his fist on the table so that the water in the jug almost spilled over.

"The night before the Operation recapture of Wall Maria, Mike had shown me the sudden change in the formation. I was aware then that something was wrong. Shortly afterwards Peter explained the situation to us. I heard the names Reiner Braun, Berthold Fubar, Annie Leonhart, Pieck Finger and ... Zeke Yeager for the first time that night."