Corporal Levi stared through the multitude of soldiers and trainees as they desperately scrambled out of his way, barging past each other as if they were trying to outrun a horde of fucking Titans.

He was not in a bad mood.

Really he wasn't.

He had no fucking clue why everyone around him seemed to think he was.

"Corporal Levi, Sir!" One of the braver brats barked out, clipping his shoes together as he stretched his back out and puffed out his chest in the military salute.

Levi tried not to curl his lip in disgust as he noticed the faint soup stains on the cuffs of his shirt.

Obviously his attempt did not work as the cadet seemed only to grow more and more nervous in the long silence, sweat beading on his tanned brow.

Levi felt the faint whispers of the soldiers around them, now at what they felt was a safe distance as they watched the scene before them with macabre interest.

"Tch... let's get this over with," Levi muttered, waving at the ridiculously tall boy to lead on.

As they walked through the camp Levi observed the new cadets freeze and watch their progress.

Fuck he didn't want to be doing this shitty inspection. He didn't want to be here full stop. He wanted to be back at the headquarters, training his squad or continuing with the project.

The bloody project which was probably why he was out at this training camp right now.

Damn Erwin and his 'concerns'. He wasn't obsessed, thank you ever so fucking much. If anyone should be sent out for fresh air it should be shitty glasses. They hadn't once stopped looking at those bizarre samples they preserved (hell knows when Hanji even had the time to do that.) He swore they even slept with the damn things.

Hanji hadn't left that bloody lab of theirs to do anything but eat for more than a year now. Not even to bathe!

In the end Levi couldn't take it anymore and threw two buckets of soapy water over their head hoping it would reduce the shit stink.

All it got him was trouble in the form of an irritable, big-eyebrowed commander.

So here he was, touring the training grounds and watching snot nosed children jump off of trees.

Levi wasn't in a bad mood. He was in a fucking awful mood.

"Ah Corporal Levi," greeted Instructor Shadis as Levi entered one of the crude buildings to see a hollow looking man nod carefully at him.

Levi's surprise at Shadis's appearance didn't visibly register on his face. He kept his eyes cool and calculating as they swept over the man's ragged frame.

"Shadis," he returned with an unperceivable nod, eyes now turning to his petrified escort who seemed to be sweating buckets now.

"What kid? You wanna go shit? Don't need my permission," he drawled, waving his hand at the dark haired brat who seemed to melt in relief at the unusual dismissal.

"Interesting escort," Levi said as they both watched him try not to run as he left.

Shadis didn't comment on this, instead walking through an open door to what appeared to be his office and taking a seat.

"Tea?" He asked Levi, offering a cup and teapot.

Levi looked at the cup blankly, there was a small brown stain on the inside of the lip.

"No thanks," he returned, taking a seat to meet the man's shadowed eye.

This moment was probably the only reason he had finally given in to do all that bloody inspecting. The moment when he could talk with the man he hadn't been able to meet all those years ago; the man who had seen his Titan first hand.

Shitty glasses saw it too but there was only so many times he could put up with their over the top speals about how muscular and well designed the Titan's body was.

There was a certain advantage to listening to a different perspective, mainly in that Shadis was less likely to make him want to hose him down with icy water.

"I take it you aren't here just to see the new recruits and 'inspire them,'" Shadis commented mildly, shuffling a stack of paper as he subtly eyeballed the man in front of him.

"Inspired and inspected as I walked by," Levi returned, not once taking his eyes away from Shadis.

Shadis sighed, shaking his head as he stood up.

"I believe you may like to hear my commentary on them too. We'll talk as we walk,"

Levi complied with a light shrug following the bald man out of the building and onto the training grounds.

"How many trainee squads do you have here?" Levi asked as the older man fell in step with him. It was best to get all the inspection crap out of the way as soon as possible.

"Three currently."

"Hmm... What's the dropout rate?"

"The usual,"

Levi nodded, understanding the unspoken implication.

"It's a good turnout for Squad 103 with several very promising recruits. You can see most of them over there on the field; they are starting their hand-to-hand combat training today," Shadis told him, waving his hand over towards the training field.

Levi squinted, watching at the cadets taking up fighting stances against each other under the instructor's observation.

They seemed to be doing alright, a small number seemed to be goofing off in the back but we're quickly put in place by the instructor. Many were moving quickly and efficiently. All apart from one, a scruffy haired teenager who had frozen in place and was looking right at them.

It was too far a distance to see his face but Levi could still feel his shocked gaze. The boy's whole frame seemed to radiate surprise.

The cadet's gaze was broken however as his opponent made use of his distraction to brutally drive him into the ground. To top off this spectacle the instructor then started shouting at him.

Levi raised his eyebrows and turned to Shadis who, by the look on his face, probably would have put his head in his hands if he wasn't in the company of 'Humanity's Strongest'.

"They are all capable and well suited to future carers, either in the Garrison or Scouts. I have already gained a good idea of who most of the top ten are,"

Levi hummed faintly before turning away from the display and continuing back into the camp.

Again Shadis fell into step with him, by his side.

"...May I be short with you Levi?"

Levi looked at the man out the corner of his eye. There wasn't any smirk or hidden laughter in his expression.

Levi seemingly let the comment pass.

"By all means,"

"Why are you really here?"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, watching as the number of cadets seemed to dwindle as each step took them closer to the officer barracks.

"...You remember a certain trip out beyond wall Maria, a few days before the fall," Levi spoke eventually in a soft voice.

"...I do..."

"I'd like your view on what you... encountered there, in private if possible,"

Shadis stared vacantly into the distance for a long moment. Slowly he nodded, leading Levi back towards his office.

Eren looked blankly around him, fiddling with the fake dagger in his hands, as everyone around him paired up.

Armin and Mikasa were already working together, taking strange stances as they faced each other.

A pleasant smell reached Eren's nose and he turned to smile as Reiner came up to him with a shy grin.

"Want to be my partner?"

Eren nodded hesitantly, holding the knife loosely in his hands, not taking the stance as Reiner stood before him.

"What's the matter?" Reiner asked concernedly.

"I do not understand why everyone is training like this. This is for humans, not the real enemy," Eren murmured. It would probably be good for him to refresh himself on fighting but he couldn't like or comprehend the idea of the others using their training on humans.

"There are times when humans can be the enemy," Reiner returned with a faint shake of his head and a chiding tone. "We're soldiers, we need to be prepared for any situation. There are times we can't run away, no matter how bad things are. I believe that's the responsibility of a strong soldier... Not that there's many of those around here, for example look there."

"Oh, that is Annie," Eren said as he looked at where Reiner was pointing, wondering where Reiner was going with this.

Sure enough Annie was standing off to the side, watching disinterestedly as the people around her paired off and fought, occasionally throwing the odd glance to where Armin and Mikasa were fighting. "She is uh- skip again."

"That so? That slouch needs a talking-to then. Let's teach her how a soldier's supposed to act," Reiner smirked before leading a hesitant Eren over to her.

"Not fond of the commandant's head-butts? If you don't wanna end up any shorter, think back to when you first came here and start taking things seriously," the blond, mountain of a man talked down to her in a laughing tone.

"Why you being rude?" Eren whispered out of the corner of his mouth, feeling a cool prickle in his stomach as he saw the shadowed look sweeping over Annie's face.

I thought she looked scary enough as it is but that's nothing compared to when she's angry, he thought to himself somewhat nervously.

"All right! Get started Eren!" Reiner clapped Eren on the back, pushing him forwards.

"What, me?!" Eren choked out. No he couldn't fight a human. What if he hurt her?

"You know the drill, right, Annie?" Reiner said before Eren could voice any of his oppositions to this terrible idea.

Time seemed to slow as Eren saw Annie approach. He hesitated in his defence, scared of putting too much force into his hit.

In this spit second of hesitation Annie had moved to his right, slamming her right palm up at his chin, kicking back with her right leg into the small of his knee and smashing him to the ground with an echoing crack.

Eren was down in three seconds flat.

"T-that was amazing!" He exclaimed excitedly, eyes wide and glued to the blond woman above him.

Annie seemed faintly taken aback by his quick recovery and the sheer enthusiasm in his tone as he scrambled up to face her again.

"Can- Can I go now?" Annie said, her frown overtaking her face again as she looked away from Eren's impressed gaze.

"No! The drill's not over until you take the dagger!" Reiner stated, looking amused by the turn of events.

Annie sighed and faced Eren, shooting forwards to grab the dagger only for her hand to close around air as Eren quickly jumped back.

Annie's frown deepened as Eren smiled at her, waiting for her to approach again. Which she did, spinning low to the ground with her leg arching through where Eren stood- where Eren had stood.

Eren had jumped back again, staring avidly at Annie's quick movements.

Annie's expression was swiftly set in dark, deep irritation as she attacked in earnest, slamming her elbows into thin air and jumping high to kick his chin only to land hard in the dirt. She attacked a variety of different ways but Eren just kept on jumping, spinning and dodging out of the way.

To anyone but Eren it seemed that he wasn't confident in his own attacks as he didn't once raise his arms for anything but his movement and defence.

Annie, on noticing this, drew back, waiting for his next move so she could take advantage of the openings in his poor attack.

Then suddenly that strangely happy smile on his face froze and faded, his head snapping to the right, looking at something far away with wide, shocked eyes.

Eren stood still, staring at the space in which the two men stood in the distance, breathing deeply as that fragment scent blew in from the camp.

He had recognised it instantly and, for a moment, his whole body seemed to be consumed by his excitement and joy.

His human was here. His human, Levi as they called him, was here!

Then the moment passed.

He. Is. Here... Shit.

Instantly the Titan in human form began to panic, mind flashing back to the cool expression on the man's face as he chased after him, as he hunted him down.

Has he found me? Does he know? Hecouldn'tknowcouldhe?

His panicked thoughts were abruptly cut off as his death grip on the wooden dagger was broken and his body was sent spinning in the air, slamming him back with such force that he could swear he felt a click in his spine.

"Yeager! Pick your ass of the ground! Stop getting distracted!" Shouted the instructor as Eren briefly lay on the cracked earth, mind spinning as it tried to catch up with what the hell just happened to its body.

Then Eren scrambled up, face red with embarrassment as he looked at the stoically triumphant Annie and the confused but amused Reiner, then briefly back at his Human and Shadis.

They were leaving...

Huh? Th-then they don't know?

Levi couldn't have realised that there was a Titan before him. If he had there was no way he wouldn't attack him.

"You can be really fast when you want to, huh?" Commented Reiner as Annie turned and left, looking back at Eren once before shaking her head irritably and continuing to stalk back to where she had been before, frowning anew when she saw Armin and Mikasa were still fighting each other.

Eren didn't notice any of this, head still full of his human, staring after the two retreating figures in the far distance.

"Is that... Corporal Levi?" Reiner asked in curious disbelief, coming up to stand beside him. Eren nodded his head faintly.

"Did you say Corporal Levi?" Asked Connie, distracted from his games with Sasha as he jogged up to squint at the two distant figures.

"Humanities Strongest? Really? What's he doing here?" Sasha pondered in an admiring tone.

"Humans strong-est?" Eren asked curiously, turning to stare at Sasha for a moment before looking back to see the figures disappear around the corner of a building.

Eren felt his mouth turn down faintly before facing the cadets properly to listen to them.

"You haven't heard of Humanity's Strongest?! How?! But he's amazing! They say he's as mighty as an entire brigade!" Exclaimed Connie, throwing his hands up and down in the air in his excitement.

"He is really the strongest human?" Eren asked, a faint smile blooming on his face.

"Yeah! He has loads and loads of solo kills! Like a thousand or something!"

"I doubt he has quite that many," Reiner cut in gently but Connie wasn't listening.

"Also he leads this wicked team he handpicked himself who are all these amazing badass soldiers!" Connie continued, eyes glazed with hero worship.

Eren was grinning toothily.

Shorty is that strong and well known?

It certainly seemed so.Shorty was all anyone could talk about for the rest of that day.

"Did you know Corporal Levi once cut someone out of the belly of a Titan?"

"I heard he was trained by Commander Erwin himself!"

"He's got more solo kills under his belt than anyone else!"

Shorty was famous!

Rightfully so! He thought happily, remembering that glorious life changing day he first saw him, fighting against that gluttonous monstrosity with no hesitation and no fear.

He smiled softly to himself from one of the roof tops, watching as shorty walked away relieved that he didn't recognise him, his footsteps hard and angry against the ground,

Eren frowned faintly; it looked like the short man wasn't happy about something.

Maybe he didn't get whatever he came here for...

Humanity's strongest really didn't look happy at all when he stopped and twisted on his heal, looking about himself suspiciously.

Quickly Eren ducked back behind the slope of the roof and listened intently until, after many minutes, he heard the faint squeak of earth as shorty continued out of the camp.

I may be a Titan but I really did do something good by helping him, he thought , ducking back and dropping down the side of the building before anyone could spot him and tell him off again.

I hope I get to see him again one day.

Well that was a fucking waste of time, Levi growled to himself as he stomped out of the main building.

That man had little more to offer than Hanji. And that 'little' was mainly made up of far off stares and rough accounts of the reactions of his men.

Shadis had no idea why his Titan decided to help them.

Well at least he didn't spend the whole time talking with a river of drool gushing from his mouth like shitty glasses, he told himself. That would have been disturbing.

There was one piece of new information however that Levi had been vaguely interested in.

"We were distracted at first by difficulties in the terrain and by a strange report from one of the diversion task forces." Shadis spoke quietly, staring down at the drink of misty tea in between his hands. The tea was cold, not that Shadis noticed.

"Strange report?" Levi asked with a raised brow. Hanji never mentioned this.

Probably didn't register as important enough to remember after the deviant, Levi thought to himself sarcastically.

"Yes. An unidentified soldier saved the lives of all but one of the soldiers in that task force. He took down five Titans in the space of approximately two minutes using nonstandard gear to execute his solo kills."

Levi stared unblinkingly at the man for a long, drawn out moment.

"Five solo kills in two minutes with ...nonstandard gear," Levi repeated in a monotone.

"He wielded a spear instead of Titan killing blades," Shadis elaborated with a sigh, finally realising his tea was stone cold and putting it back on the table.

"I take it you didn't find out who he was," murmured Levi thoughtfully.

"No, most likely he was killed in the breach. We know he wasn't killed in the forest. One of the soldiers, Moses Blake, came to me after the day of the breach and gave me a description of a very peculiar 'corporal' he encountered that day."

Levi leaned back with a vaguely interested expression and nodded for the man to continue, which he did.

It was a very interesting story: a short, mute soldier who 'moved like a diving sparrow' and wielded a spear to achieve over eight solo kills during the fall (thirteen in total including those at the forest) who then managed to direct a large group of soldiers to draw Titan attention away from the evacuees.

Levi would have been demanding a lot more information on this soldier if it wasn't for the fact that the last time he was seen he was in the company of two soldiers who were later found to be dead.

It didn't seem likely that the soldier was still alive. Therefore Levi had no idea why he was still listening to this.

"He was also described to be wearing a bright red scarf an-"

"Did this Moses have anything more to add to the reports we got on the Titan?" Levi interrupted the man, ignoring the dark look this earned him.

Shadis was obviously used to reacting a certain way to rude behaviour of others in his camp. It almost made Levi smile to see him visibly restrain his irritation.

"No," Shadis said in a clipped tone.

Levi sighed to himself as he came back into the present. The drill sergeant had been absolutely no help after that.

Complete and utter waste of my time! He scowled as he started walking away.

Then he stopped, ears prickling as they detected a faint scraping noise from above.

A familiar shivering chill traced down his spine. His foot froze mid step, perfectly balanced off of the ground, as his eyes sharply turned to look around him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his foot and twisted around, face impassive but eyes narrowed and flinty.

Silence pooled around him, or it would have done if he hadn't been in an encampment of cadets, all suddenly making banging and clattering noises as loud as they fucking could.

Levi's eyes roamed for a minute longer before he snorted and shook his head, turning to leave this useless shithole, back to the base to do some real work and hopefully find some real answers.