Walls Surrounding his Heart {|Eruri|}

21

"And?" Levi spoke in monotone, clearly unamused.

"I was running some experiments on Yeager when I decided to test something out of curiosity." Hanji recalled while Levi slipped into his boots. "Remember that butterfly I discovered?"

"So turns out if I extract the plasm out of Eren's blood, and I mix it with a crushed up swallowtail..." Hanji spoke dramatically. "Drum-roll please!"

"Get to the point." Levi scoffed, tugging on his collar.

"We can turn someone into a Titan shifter!"

"You're serious?" Levi gasped, his eyes widening. "Erwin knows this?"

"Just finished telling the commander." Hanji huffed, clearly proud of her discovery. "You've got to inject it in your own nape. It's painful alright, but you'll be immortal!"

"Immortal?" Levi repeated, raising a brow.

"Well, you won't age." Hanji corrected, chuckling somewhat. "There's a couple of drawbacks, though."

"Such as?" Levi inquired.

"Well, if said person that took it was in fatal condition at the time of injection, they will die after they stop taking the serum." Hanji informed, tapping the glass implicitly.

"If they were healthy, they would resume the aging process 1 month after their last dosage..." Hanji explained. "And they will also revert back into a normal human being. No trace they were ever a shifter to begin with will be left."

"Oh, I forgot to mention." Hanji blushed. "You see, to maintain your Titan shifting abilities, you've got to constantly inject yourself. Once every month to be exact."

"I see." Levi nodded, processing the information.

"It is possible to permanently become like Yeager, however..." Hanji explained. "You'd have to take 13 injections all at once; 6 in either arm and one on the nape..."

"...Then it would take at least 7 people to conduct that procedure." Levi concluded.

"Correct!" Hanji smiled. "Well, I've only got 3 injections right now, and that's because it takes 3 gallons of Eren's blood to make each."

"Tsk." Levi frowned. "So there's a limited supply."

"Yep!" Hanji agreed, placing a hand on her hip. "Erwin said he's thinking about giving it to someone."

"Huh? We have no need to do such a thing." Levi mumbled, furrowing his brows. "It's only a prototype, after all... We don't know the long-term side effects..."

"Well, at least his means we can go back now." Hanji smiled. "This discovery, and no deaths on the expedition? The fat-cats will be pleased."

"No deaths so far." Levi corrected. "The return trip is just as, if not more dangerous than the initial departure. It's because everyone let's their guards down... like idiots..."

"Come on now, don't be so pessimistic!" Hanji whined.

"Go take a shit before we leave." Levi ordered. "I can't have Mike complaining about the smell on the way back."

"As a matter of fact, I will go defecate now." Hanji smiled assuringly, now standing. "Don't go getting yourself left behind now, Levi!"

And on that note, Hanji walked past the entrance of Levi's tent, curtains falling behind her. Levi washed his face with some water and soap upon her departure, ridding his complexion of any grime accumulated during sleep. The captain took extra care in dabbing himself dry with a towel, casting it atop a bag once he was clean.