𝐈𝐋𝐒𝐄'𝐒 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋.ʜᴀɴᴊɪ ᴢᴏᴇ̈

『23』Beginning of a New Curiosity

Saturday, May 12, 850 at 12:24

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Lightly dabbing the alcohol-soaked cotton ball to Eren's cheek via forceps, you quietly muttered an apology when you saw him cringe a little at the sting. Eren slightly shifted the mostly white -there were a few splotches of red which served as a good reminder to the beating he had received not too long ago- cloth on his cheek, giving a small shake of his head as if to say that you didn't need to apologize. A gentle hand was placed on your shoulder, and you looked up to see Hanji. Standing up to discard the partially bloodied cotton ball, your boots clicked on the wooden floor as Hanji spoke up, "That was really terrible back there, it hurts, right?"

"A little." the teen admitted, eyes staring out a little as he momentarily relived the trial. You reached the one trashcan in the room -right next to the front door- and plopped the dirty ball of cotton into the bin, stuffing the pair of forceps into your back pocket before quickly scanning your eyes across the room. The man who had beaten Eren up, Levi, leaned against the wall across from his victim, eyes as bored as ever as he watched Hanji ask the boy a question with disinterest, "How does it hurt?" You started walking to the titan-crazed section commander -seeing Erwin doing the same as well-, eyes flickering to Miche who was staring out a nearby window with his back turned to the rest of the room for a brief second before turning your attention back to the shifter. Eren was sitting on a small couch, Hanji and Erwin before him as you came to his left. He kneeled down, soon after speaking to the young brunette, "I'm sorry. But thanks to that, the Survey Corps won custody over you."

Eren nodded his head, removing the cloth from his cheek as he simply chose to hold it in his left hand, "I understand, sir."

The blonde looked directly at the soldier as he voiced his next words, "The pain you endured allowed me to play my cards at the right moment. You have my utmost respect." Then with a slight pause, the man gave a small smile that you deemed out of character for his usually very strict persona, "Eren I look forward to working with you." When the commander held his hand out, the teal eyes of Eren widened, jaw slightly going slack for a brief moment as he soon rushed his unfettered hand to meet Erwin's, "Thank you! I look forward to it too, sir!"

You had been so focused on the conversation at hand that you hadn't noticed Levi walk over to the scene close enough for him to plop himself next to Eren, sprawling his arms against the backrest and crossing his legs as he emotionlessly bore his stormy hues into Eren's, "Hey, Eren..." As soon as the ravenette had sat beside the teen, Eren had jumped back, obviously not being able to help the way his body reacted poorly around the corporal who currently scared him to death, "Yes, sir?"

"Do you resent me?"

"N-No..., I understand why it was necessary.

Levi looked away from him and looked to the general direction where he had been standing before, "That's good."

"But you took it a little far, he lost a tooth." your eyes flashed over to the girl, who was currently unraveling cut material to reveal a slightly bloody tooth, "See?"

The corporal's eyes scrunched up a little as a look of disgust washed over his face, "Don't pick that up, it's creepy."

Walking over to the woman, you peaked your head over her shoulder to take a look, only finally being able to fully see it when Hanji noticed your attempt and turned her body so you could properly see it. At the shorter man's statement Hanji rolled her eyes, "Even this is an important sample."

Levi only retorted back, "Eren, it's better than getting dissected by people like them, right?"

This time you jumped into the conversation, giving him a look that, if translated into words, would probably be read as 'really?', "Hey, we're not like that." Hanji's burgundy hair swished around her face slightly as she agreed, "Yeah, we'd never kill him, he's way too valuable a specimen."