Lance Corporal - SNK fanfiction - LevixOC (volume 1)

Lance Corporal: Delicate Questions (chapter 3)

LANCE CORPORAL - Delicate Questions (pt. 3)by galateabellator, Oct 20, 2013, 2:11:44 PMLiterature / Fan Fiction / Romance

PART 3 - DELICATE QUESTIONS - Levi x OC

The Commander was talking about further development of plan when I've decided to ask the delicate question. I've raised my hand again.

"We could give a chance to inmates who wanted to prove that they are no longer enemies to us." The silence was so sudden, it could have become a new sound.

"You mean... Berthold Hoover and Rainer Braun?" Springer asked in disbelief.

"Don't forget the Leonhardt girl," I've added stubbornly. Annie could really use a little redemption, if she eveer breaks out of that crystal.

"That's not an option," Mikasa said suddenly, with cold and steady voice. "They are our enemies and they will be tried for their betrayal."

"Everything would be easier if we had Armored and Colossal Titans on our side. I do hate those bastards with all my heart for what they did, you all know that. They don't deserve forgiveness. However, they do have a set of skills, which could be useful in our mission. I might be able to kill a lot of titans but... I don't have the complete control over this power yet, so... it could be a problem," Eren Jaeger surprisingly backed me up. Turning into a shifter was still shocking to the boy.

"And Annie... she could lure smaller titans to her side and fight them with her skills! She's as tall as Eren or Reiner in their titan forms. She could be very helpful... " Sasha Braus started to talk, but one harsh look from Erwin made her silent in an instant.

"Their loyalty is questionable," he simply responded. "We've gone through a lot of trouble because of the three of them, and we have lost a lot of people in the process. I will not risk it all only to be betrayed again. I won't take that chance, and that's final. Therefore, we will stick to the plan which was formed tonight."

That was enough to end the debate. I shrugged and shut up, but I did not feel comfortable. That wasn't a smart thing to suggest, but I was hoping that authorities could somehow forgive to these prisoners, because they were not entirely bad people. They all had their reasons to act as they did. There was this theory that they were even forced into horrid acts by the Beast Titan, who had the same power as Eren, so they didn't really have a choice. Reiner, Berthold and Annie... no matter how big their sins were and are... they still deserve to prove that they no longer present a threat to a human kind, once released from the influence of that... aberrant. Or whatever the Beast was.

"Corporal Schwarz?" a soldier offered me a glass of wine, and I took it. Some soldiers placed the large amounts of food on the table (along with barrels of wine, the plates and glasses, large containers with soups, roasts and other delicacies).

"Em ... well... Corporal Schwarz?" Armin Arlert spoke to me, and I've set my glass on the table.

"Cadet Arlert," I said.

"I wanted to thank you for suggesting Annie, Berthold and Rainer. Though in jail and although they are traitors... they were our friends, and it means a lot to me that you have, at least, tried to stand up for them. I also believe they could help us."

Mikasa snorted. Eren just said: "Thank you, Corporal Schwarz."

"Hey, can I have your loaf of bread?" Sasha Braus cried, with a crazed expression on her face, from which I've jumped.

"Eee - er, yeah. Feel free," I said.

"Hey, Sasha, a little respect over here... Corporal Schwarz is someone who should be treated as Lance Corporal Levi himself. Don't just jump after her food like that!" Connie Springer said.

"What's the big deal?" Sasha was confused. "I treat him like this too." I just had to laugh in that moment. She was funny.

"I'm glad to have you with us tomorrow, Corporal Schwarz... it's reassuring, after witnessing your abilities. But, moreover... we have heard additional stories," Jean joined the conversation.

"Thank you. Please, call me Ezra already... all of you. It's fine."

"Is it really true that you killed... more than seventy titans alone?" Armin asked.

Ha, here's someone who's heard about the famous, little old me.

"I didn't count. There were around fifty... probably," I've said.

"Interested in Corporal Schwarz? Here it goes. Twenty-six, in Recon Corps since she was seventeen, which means, she has been here for nine years (we don't count those three preparatory years as a trainee, though). The official reports state that, during this time, she has killed eighty - six titans all by herself, and about a hundred and thirty - six titans in groups, with her Western Unit members. Her squad counts over three hundred dead titans for all all the time spent in the Legion... and that's basically all you need to know about Corporal Schwarz," said Hanji, leaning across the table. She winked at me. Wow, eighty six? Who would have thought they've kept records on this?

"Do not forget that she is the second Corporal in strength. And all these are facts, supported by the files we have in the database," Romulo added, always the polite one.

"The third in strength, actually. Mike was the second. I am still not skillful as he ever was, and I doubt that I will be in a near future. So, stop speaking so highly of me in front of the cadets, or they will truly have high expectations of me tomorrow," I've pointed out. Not that those two comments weren't right, but people have a tendency to overestimate me.

"No need to be modest, Ezra. It doesn't suit you," the one I would least expected has spoken to me.

That annoying midget. His voice was somehow firm, but soft at the same time. I couldn't tell whether he was trying to mock me or to flatter me.

"I am not modest," I've stated. God forbid. "I just think that eighty – six is pretty standard figure if we take into account that I have spent about... eight years in the Scouting Legion."

And don't talk to me.

"Standard?" he repeated coldly.

"It's still about a hundred and fifty killings behind you... isn't it?" I've asked.

"Jealous much?" he sounded phlegmatic. He took a sip of black tea, his favorite kind.

"Not jealous, you little prick. I am realistic," I've said angrily. Realistic... or I was trying to be. Levi kept on being cool in front of the cadets, like my swearing didn't bother him. Eren gave us an amazed look. (What, nobody from the entire squad dared to insult Levi? Hah, he was a dangerous shrimp after all).

"Were you two in the same unit before?" Eren asked enthusiastically. About time someone figured that out.

"We were," Levi said, looking at Eren now, "but I do not see how that matters, brat."

Yeah, shorty, neither do I.

"I am just... I'm glad to have soldiers of your caliber by my side, sir. It makes me feel confident about our mission."

"Hmm." Levi took another sip. I turned to Eren and raised my glass. He raised his.

"Cheers, boy. Tomorrow is a big day, and you have a huge responsibility," I said, bringing my glass of wine closer to his glass with juice. He smiled.

"To Jeager!" I toasted, making it the shortest in history of toasts. Some loud, enthusiastic shouts joined me. Soldiers raised their glasses and cups, or pints of beer, or other drinks, and we all drank for his health, and the success of the mission.

"To titans!" cried Hanji. Someone tried to shut her up, but she just giggled out loud. She was, after all, a scientist who is consistent to her big experiments.

"To life and liberty! To wings of freedom!" it was Erwin's turn. We all drank up, again, and finally started to eat. Everyone suddenly gathered around our table, so I found myself uncomfortably pinned between Levi and Armin. Levi didn't speak at all, but Armin wouldn't stop talking, which wasn't tiring at all because he spoke beautifully and it was really interesting.

Well, I was updated with many things. I even learned the story about Eren and Mikasa's past. That explained why she was so attached to him and why they are always together. But again, it could be something more. A girl's heart is always for a shade more romantic than a boy's. I knew from my own example. Boys are always slow when it comes to love.

I took another sip of wine, which was melting all over my tongue... and soon traveled down to my belly. My cup was emptied in a second. I wanted to add some more, when someone's arm brushed against mine as we both reached for the same bottle. I caught Levi's eyes from a side, he was looking at me with his neutral face. Suddenly, I felt a heat stroke and I put the glass down on a table, ignoring surprising increase of breathing. Calm down, Ezra. It's just the wine. It has nothing to do with this midget.

"Corporal Schwarz, what is your way of fighting? Is there any special technique that you use?" Jean asked me, and I guess that I can say that only those words saved me from any further thoughts.

"After so many titans killed, you must have a special way of dealing with them."

Oh, I do.

"I wouldn't call it a special technique or anything... it's more a derivative mode of fighting from lance Corporal Levi's manner of work, since he was the one who taught me," I acknowledged reluctantly. This left them utterly shocked.

"Really, Lance Corporal, sir? You taught Miss Ezra?" Sasha Braus asked fatuously, and took his bowl with salad and started to eat with her own fork. She ignored his sharp eyes, as he neglected to answer her question... or any further discussion. Gustav invited him to talk about some matter on the side, so they removed themselves from our presence. The cadets felt somehow relieved, judging by their behavior, which was more relaxed. They started to chat more with me and begged me to tell them something about my training time with Levi. It seems that he was particularly interesting man to them.

"Corporal had very effective methods of bullying when I came to the squad. As the one most incompetent, I immediately caught his attention and he started to mistreat me in order to improve me. I was so embarrassed when I failed my 3D maneuver gear test in front of him that I had to learn how to use it properly... and then even had to ask for a special exam in front of a commission just to prove that I have learned how to use it. I've barely passed."

They seemed to find these words hard to believe.

"Special pain in the ass was also the fact that we had to deal with double blades. I've barely even held a kitchen knife before, yet alone a titan-killing blade. Not to mention two of them. Who would have thought that I would become an ambidextrous fighter? After my sessions and training with Corporal (who was only a squad leader back then) I've had such an inferiority complex that it took me a really long time to overcome it and achieve even average results. Of course, all that time I had a very strong urge to kill him." Several cadets laughed, thinking that was a quip.

Me and knives, on the other hand... that was something I couldn't talk about.

"That part hasn't changed much, if I may add," even Erwin laughed. He obviously listened to my little speech. "Come on Ezra, it wasn't that bad. He made a fierce one out of you, so you shouldn't complain... at least, out of a courtesy".

"I'm not complaining, Erwin, I'm merely telling how the things were back then. Levi knows that he used to be a jerk to me. It's not gossiping, and it's nothing new to him," I turned to my former coach, who was standing next to my head. He looked me as if I was a cockroach, but then sat down next to me. Again. I guess he considered that spot to be his personal territory... and it seemed it was invaded by the despicable me. Well, screw him - he can keep his spot, and Erwin, and his squad and everything. I was careful not to let our hands touch when he invaded my own personal space.

"I know that you fell on your lazy ass at least ten times while you were learning how to use the wire... and at least five times on the head. Without any grace, if I may add. I am surprised you aren't retarded by now," Levi had to be an asshole. "Plus, the exercises with your left arm were so painful to deal with, that I thought that you would probably learn how to use your feet sooner, comparing to that left hand."

"Well, I've learned... both hands and both feet, Lance Corporal. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in your rank now," I said, and some cadets were now openly staring at me. I was bold to address him that way. I know that I owe him a lot, but I owe much, much more to myself. Those were my efforts and my commitment, after all. I will not allow him to take that away from me.