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A loud horn sounded throughout the camp, waking you from your already restless sleep. The bright morning sunlight burned your sensitive eyes and the wide array of smells made you ill. “I really have to stop partying with those guys, they're going to be the death of me.” As you forced your way out of bed, you heard the horn sound again. “Crap, I'm going to be late again.” Hoping that your absence wouldn't have been noticed, you rushed out of your bunk, and outside to the training field. You hadn't even had a chance to take your place in line before one of the instructors angrily called your name. With a gulp you answered. “Sir?”

“Come here.” The instructor crooked his finger, signaling you over to him. His face already had you terrified, but having no choice, you reluctantly obeyed his orders. Not a single word escaped your mouth before he laid into you. Either he was having a bad day, or you were a much worse soldier than you realized. Everything from the style of your hair, to the way you laced your shoes was under attack, and you had no choice but to stay silent and take it.

After a full fifteen minutes of beratement, a familiar face entered the scene. “Has there been some sort of problem?”

Snorting as if his simple question was a huge problem, the instructor turned to face Levi. “I'll say there's a problem here. Every day this scum shows up late and hungover. There's no place for people like her here, she should have been kicked out a long time ago.”

Levi glared at you with flat, but piercing eyes. “Is that so?” You knew he had to be more than a little upset about this whole situation. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd warned you about your unreliable behavior. It wasn't the first time you'd promised him you'd chance either. So really, he had every right to be upset with you.“I'd like to speak with her.”

“What, why? You know what, never mind. Talk to her all you want. I don't feel like wasting my breath on her anyway. She isn't worth it.” After smirking at you in a way that made you feel more insignificant than a speck of dust, the instructor walked off and left you alone with Levi.

“Thanks for that.” You sighed. “That guy's a real jerk.”

“I didn't come here to rescue you from punishment.” Levi spoke slowly, choosing each and every word he said carefully. “You deserve punishment. If you were in this state during an attack, what do you think would happen? You'd be the first to die, or worse. Your insolence could cause the death of another human being.” You knew what he was saying was true, but it was still a little hard to hear. “Do you not agree with what I'm saying?”

“I didn't say I disagreed. Heck, I didn't say anything at all actually.” You tried to avoid answering directly, but Levi's stare kept you from doing so. “Okay, you're right, I completely agree with you. Are you happy now?”

Levi slowly shook his head in a tired, uninterested fashion. “No. It's not enough to know you have a problem, you need to fix it.”

You were getting tired of this treatment, and fast. It was bad enough having an instructor talk down to you, but having Levi treat you like you were some sort of problem made you want to wring his neck. Annoyed and just ready for him to leave you alone, you words turned sharp. “Great let's fix it, how do you propose I do that exactly? Are you going to wave a magic wand and make me some amazing fairy book soldier?”

“I'm trying to help you, I would appreciate it if you kept your attitude under control.” With an expressionless face and emotionless words, Levi still somehow managed to terrify you. “If you don't want my help, just say so. I'd rather not waste time on someone who doesn't want to get better.”

Something suddenly piqued your interest. “I do want help, but I have to ask you something. Why exactly are you willing to help me? You're kind of a one guy team, it doesn't make any sense.” You grinned. “Unless of course, you liked me or something ridiculous like that.” You leaned a bit closer to him and wiggled your eyebrows.

Levi completely ignored your latter remark, focusing only on the first. “Simple. You're a weakness in this group, and if weaknesses go unchecked, they will inevitably lead to a downfall.” He didn't even try to sugar coat it, not that you really expected him to.

Annoyed that he'd ignored your second question, you moved away from him and crossed your arms. “Fine, that's understandable. What do I need to do?” Instead of answering you, Levi walked straight passed you, into the barracks and found your bunk. “Is there anything I can help you find? It's pretty weird having you look through my stuff like that.” Though there was nothing in your possession that you didn't want him to see, you couldn't help but blush.

“No.” When Levi stopped searching through your things, he held up nothing more than a few bottles of alcohol. “This, is your problem.”

Seeing this immediately made you defensive. You knew your drinking was causing problems, but you weren't just going to stop. Not even Levi's stare was going to change your mind about that. “Whoa, you can't take those. There are titans out there, how else am I supposed to deal with the stress?”

He didn't answer. Instead he walked right past you, still holding the bottles tightly in his hands. Once outside, he smashed each and every one of them against the side of the building. “You'll deal with your stress like a real soldier, not like one of those pigs.”

“Well I guess I've got no choice now. But seriously, did you have to dump it all? You could have saved me a little, for celebrations and stuff.” The displeased look on his face made you wish you'd just kept your mouth shut. But then again, he always looked that way, maybe he wasn't upset with you at all. Still, even if he wasn't mad, the risk wasn't worth it. “Okay then, now that you've gotten rid of my 'problem', what exactly would my next move be?”

Your question caused Levi's face dropped even more. “Join the line. You're still a soldier, you still have duties. Unless you want to run laps with Sasha of course.”

The thought of running with a hangover made you feel even more sick than you already were. “Can't I just, recover today and we'll start my rehab or whatever tomorrow? One day really shouldn't make the difference. Besides, if I try to do the drills, I might wind up getting caught in my harness, again.” The memory of that day wasn't a pleasant one. “When I got caught last time, you wouldn't help me. So no, I don't think I will join the line.”

“Hmm.” There was a strange sadistic quality to Levi's voice, making you rethink your words. “Well, if you won't join the line, there is one other option. You could always train with me, one on one.”

Your skin crawled at the idea. You knew Levi had an odd, almost perverted sense of humor. There was no telling what he would do if the two of you trained together. “Something tells me that is a very, very bad idea. Actually, you know what, I think I will join the line. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to feel a whole lot better already.”

“Really? How fortunate.” Having been able to sway you so easily caused Levi's lip to twitch upwards ever so slightly. “I was worried that I might have to convince you.”

“Oh no, no convincing necessary at all, you made your point quite clear already. Well, I'll see you later, I better get going.” With a nervous laugh you slowly backed away from him and made your way to the other soldiers. Of all the people in this camp, why is he the one always stalking me?” You shivered. “Man that guy gives me the creeps.”