Complicated ▹Levi Ackerman

CHAPTER ONE

ONE | THE YEAGER BOY

The military base was nothing great to look at. It was bare with exercise equipment made of very elementary items such as ropes and rocks. Kiara assumed it was appropriate considering the terrain the cadets would be dealing with when fighting the titans.

Kiara shuddered. The thought of the titans frightened her. She had only been there at the base for a day, yet the introductory class was enough to scare her with the horrors of the titans. The images of the giants were terrifying and seemingly unreal. To the other cadets, it was a normal image. But to the shielded Kiara Blackbeak who hadn't known they existed until a month ago, it was horrifying.

Why am I here, again? Kiara thought to herself as Commander Shadis yelled at her in her face. He screamed so much her ears were ringing. Even droplets of spit were flinging out and hitting her face, making her cringe.

"Why is a runt like you here?!" Shadis shouted at her.

She gritted her teeth, holding back the mean words she wanted to say to that man. "To save humanity, sir!" She responded confidently.

Breathe, Kiara. Have restraint, Kiara. Whatever you do, don't punch his bald man in the face. She reminded herself silently.

The rest of the introductions went about this way with the other cadets. The commander was simply trying to break them. Yet, Kiara didn't dare budge. She knew what she was there for, to help those that couldn't help themselves. And if that took a few verbal and physical beatings, she was willing to take them. It was simply in her core to become the hero, and when the opportunity arose--she grasped it by the throat.

Kiara's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Shadis' voice grow unnaturally calm. "What are you doing?" The man growled at one of the cadets far to the left of Kiara. Kiara wasn't sure to be more intimidating by the man's yelling or whispering voice.

Her eyes darted over to the woman he had questioned. She was munching on a hot, steamed potato right in front of the commander. Kiara used every ounce of energy in her to refrain from bursting out laughing. "Eating a steam potato, sir!" She replied.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?!" Shadis screamed at her.

Unphased, the girl took another bite of her potato. "Sasha Braus, sir! Reporting for duty!"

* * *

Shadis made the poor girl run laps until she collapsed. Many cadets dropped out within the first day, leaving only about seventy-five percent in the 104th cadet group. Some of the cadets at the camp had already known each other from their hometowns, and most of the cadets were highly social and made friends quite easily within the first day.

Kiara, on the other hand, sat all by herself at the end of the long and tiring day. She was eating her plain food on the wooden table in silence. Her eyes were watching her comrades chat with each other when a dark-haired boy approached her. "What is your name?" He asked, his voice commanding and his icy blue eyes glimmer with passion.

"What is yours?"

"I asked first."

"And I asked second," Kiara shrugged, obviously frustrating the boy with her answer.

"Yeager, Eren," he gave in.

"Kiara," she stuck out a hand for the boy to shake.

Eren's eyes trailed the girl's figure. When he seemed satisfied with her presence, he took a seat beside her. "I don't recall giving you permission to sit there--" Kiara began, not wanting the boy to feel welcomed to sit beside her.

"I don't recall asking you," Eren snapped back at her, "you think I want to sit with the others? They just don't get it."

"What don't they get?"

"That we're slaves to the walls."

"Wow, what a philosopher," Kiara snickered.

The boy was obviously offended by her sarcastic comment. He squinted his eyes at her. She watched as his eyes traced her figure. "Where are you from?" He asked, sharply.

Kiara gulped, growing nervous. If he knew she was from the inner city she'd likely be ridiculed for her extravagant lifestyle. "Shiganshina," she sputtered out.

Eren's corner of his lip curled upward into a smirk. "Liar." He whispered to her.

"Am not!" She rebutted.

"I am from Shiganshina—you look to be my age and not once did I ever see you there." He folded his arms across his chest.

Kiara wanted to physically punch herself. Just her luck. She wasn't exactly the most skilled at lying. "...fine...you've caught me."

"So if you've lied about where you are from, is your name even Kiara?" Eren inquired.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Kiara...?" Eren awaited the last name, trying to uncover the details of this mystery girl.

"Yeager," Kiara waited to watch Eren's jaw drop before she burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Imagine? Well, you never know it could be my name in a few years..."

Eren's cheeks grew hot. "I'm just teasing you, Yeager," she patted his shoulder.

Flustered, Eren shook off her touch. "Have you seen the potato girl? She was forced to run for five hours until she dropped." 

"No. I'm surprised she hasn't dropped out yet," Kiara responded.

"A lot of other cadets did today. That's just how it is," Eren shrugged. 

"Why did you sit over here, anyway?" Kiara questioned the young boy.

"It was either sit over here or starting a fight with one of our comrades on the first day of training." 

"Who?"

"Jean."

"Cares." Kiara snickered, making Eren glow red from how irritated he had become. 

"You sure know how to get under someone's skin, huh?" Eren gritted his teeth.

"I sure do," Kiara grinned.

* * *

The next morning, training had begun. The first task was the balancing contraption--a device used to measure how well a cadet would be able to perform with the Omni-directional mobility gear. All of the students seemed to struggle slightly with the balancing contraption. The only student that seemed to balance herself with much ease was Mikasa Ackerman. Kiara had been watching Eren all day since he was the only comrade of hers that had the decency to introduce himself to her. She noticed that he had a second half, a person that lived in his shadow-- and that was Mikasa. She was beautiful, quiet, and composed. And her posture control was exceptional. 

Eren on the other hand was struggling severely. He couldn't keep his feet below his head the entire time. He was clearly embarrassed. But he seemed determined to do it--he was so passionate to be the best in his class. 

Kiara kept to herself during the class. She wasn't doing the best or the worst. She was simply mediocre at the task. She passed all right--but, she was no notable figure to the commanders in charge.