Longing to Be Known | Levi Ackerman x OC

3

-Kaisa-

The cadets made their ways onto the wall and eventually formed a line across from us facing the dangerous territory beyond the wall as the squad leaders stood across from them. A soft smile appears on my face as I think back to the day I stood in their shoes 3 years ago at the age of 20. The period of my training was shorter thanks to the combat skills I learned while living on the streets throughout my life, so I was able to join the Survey Corps sooner than the rest of my original class. Although, that was to be expected—I was older than the average candidate.

I was luckily paired with Humanity's Strongest: Levi Ackerman.

He found my dedication "cute", which at that moment made me seethe with rage, but it only fueled my determination to become better than him. I look over at the man who is leaning back on a cannon who seemed to be assessing the new cadets, judging them as he went down the line. Even with his cold attitude, I had great respect for my now equal counterpart. He created the beast I am today by spending countless hours and evenings training me to push new horizons far beyond what I thought I was capable of.

I turn my head from him and look down towards my scuffed boots, reminiscing in my memory.

"Not deep enough" Levi commented as he examined the cut on the fake titan.

"I don't get it, I've killed more titans than some people on the Survey Corps already and I know how much strength to put in my blades. Why do you keep saying it's not deep enough?" I sigh in frustration. I already had been through a day of training and working in the dark was not one of my favourite hobbies to do.

"Listen here brat, I'm trying to tell you as it is. Don't let the kills get to your head, that's how you die." He scoffed. "You wanna live? Treat every single slash like it's the last one you'll ever make because more likely than not, it will be."

His facial features are laced with annoyance and his words cut through my pride as I stand in a pool of my own sweat. He tosses me a small white cloth from his chest pocket and faces the trees behind him.

"Clean yourself off, you look like you've died. I'll meet you at the fighting grounds." He launches his ODM hook into the trees and swings off into the distance leaving me in the middle of the forest. I scoff to myself and wipe the droplets off my face and my hands, only to realise how dirty the white cloth was once I was done. A groan leaves my lips as I come to the consensus that he was most definitely not joking about my horrifying appearance. My eyes squint as to make sense of dark forest, the moon being the only light shining down on the branches. I release the trigger on my ODM and my body shoots forward. The wind pushes against me and I can't help but let out a giggle as the coolness of the night refreshes my overheating self. The end comes too soon as I land on the fighting ground to see Levi standing there with a hand in his hair.

"Tch, took you long enough." He grumbled.

I scoff and throw his cloth back at him before rolling my eyes and crossing my arms in front of me, leaning back on my right leg.

"What the hell?" He says. I look back at him to see the cloth sitting on his face for a quick second before he yanks it off. My hand quickly covers my mouth in attempt to hide the laugh desperately wanting to escape and my shoulders cave in from their broad stance as my other arm wraps itself around my waist to prevent me from bucking over. I close my eyes and the image of the cloth hanging on Levi's face returns which is more than enough to release the laugh I kept within me.

Only two giggles leave me before my arm is yanked and I'm found in the air. My eyes shoot open and my free arm reaches out to prevent my fall until I'm flipped and the air within me is expelled from my lungs as I land on my back. My free hand shoots out to my upper chest as to keep the remaining air within me to breathe and I let out a huge gasp.

"Don't ever disrespect me like that ever again, you idiot." He coldly spits. He throws my captive arm towards my torso and I roll over coughing, breathing in the dust of the ground.

Levi looks over me and turns around to leave when he suddenly stops.

"Training is over. You are dismissed."

I shake my head as I reach down to wipe the scoff mark off my shoe to no avail from that very day. By the time I look up, all of the new cadets are standing in front of us, awaiting their instructions for this new expedition. Erwin steps out from our line up and clears his throat which captures all the attention from the new cadets.

"In front of you are our squad leaders. Squad leaders are the Survey Corps' best soldier's humanity has in this fight against the enemy—titans. Four of you will be assigned to each squad leader and you will be responsible for keeping up with their orders and speed throughout this expedition. Failure to do so will result in your death, so I suggest that you give them the best of your abilities and avoid letting their instructions fall on deaf ears. After you've been assigned, you'll have two hours to acquaint yourself with your teammates and your leader before heading out beyond the walls. Is that clear?" Erwin stated.

The cadets swing their right fist to the left side of their chest as the other arm finds place behind their backs, completing the soldier's salute.

"Yes, sir!"

In response to our new soldiers, we clench our fist over our own hearts giving as we salute back at them before Erwin calls out.

"Give your hearts!"

--

hi hey hello!

i'm on a roll with all of these updates. most of my chapters have over a thousand words so hopefully you guys aren't too worried about the suspense...yet ;)

much love and take care,

~cendiain <3