The Path Back to You | Levi x OC

Chapter 35 - Pursuit

Anastasya

The streets of Trost were full of men, women, and children as they milled about in the mid-morning sunshine. For the majority of people, the atmosphere was one of excitement as they waited for the rations from the King to be dispensed. However for Anya, Levi and their squad, the air was charged with tension, each shadow a potential threat, every citizen a possible enemy as they made their way through the crowds.
"Try not to walk in a cluster," Anya murmured. "It will make us stand out more."
"Eren and Historia," said Levi, talking, in reality, to Jean and Armin, "Just walk normal."
"We'll now begin handing out rations!" a member of the Military Police announced.
He was standing on a wooden platform, the King's banners adorning the makeshift wall behind him and another male MP soldier.
"King Fritz has heard of Trost District's hardship and will donate the royal family reserves!" he continued.
The crowds erupted into enthusiastic babbling, flocking to the platform all at once.
"There's enough for everyone!" the second MP soldier declared. "Line up in an orderly fashion!"
"Thank goodness!" a woman cried.
"Long live King Fritz!" a man shouted.
"What a King!" said Sasha, from where the group had stopped. "He sure is generous!"
"He's got more than he knows what to do with," said Levi, a look of disdain on his face.
Anya tsked at the pure reverence shining in the people's eyes when just days before, they had been cursing the King and his corrupt government.
"Such an obvious ploy," she muttered. "They're all so fickle."
"People are weak. Especially when baited with food," Levi replied.
They continued walking for a few more minutes without event, but then Anya realised, at the same time as Levi, that the street in front of them was suspiciously clear. They came to a halt just as the sound of rapidly-approaching horses and the wheels of a vehicle clattered off the cobblestones.
"Watch out! Behind us!" Levi yelled.
It was too late. Jean and Armin were plucked from the back of the group and thrown into a wagon before they knew what was happening. The others dived out of the way to avoid being run over, and Anya bit back a cry as her ribs shifted with the sudden movement.
"Armi- I mean, Christa and Eren!" Sasha cried out. "They've been snatched away again!"
Anya realised that Levi was studying her, and she met his blue-steel gaze from where they were all crouched.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Mm," she replied, nodding. "Go."
Mikasa straightened up and began pursuing the wagon, making sure to follow it without being seen. The others did the same, though Anya trailed behind them all, a string of pain-fuelled curses tumbling from her lips. It soon became apparent that the kidnappers were taking Jean and Armin to a warehouse in a relatively quiet, unoccupied area of the city. By the time Anya caught up with her squad, Jean and Armin had been taken inside. She landed upon a roof next to Levi and Mikasa, dropping to her knees and throwing out her hands to support herself, trying to catch her breath. Mikasa went to scope out the warehouse with Conny and Sasha, and while she was gone, Levi stalked over before crouching down and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hold on."
She managed to nod at him, drawing a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth. A few moments later, Mikasa returned.
"How's it going inside?" Levi asked, twisting to look at her.
"If we don't hurry, they'll see through Armin's disguise. And... I feel bad for him..." she said, doubt flickering across her face.
"I see."
"How is your leg? Any better?"
Levi placed a hand on his right knee and rubbed it a few times.
"I can move well enough," he said. "It's not bad."
"Captain Anya, are you all right?"
"Still conscious, so that's something," she replied, her breathing gradually returning to normal.
"These kidnappers... They're nothing but amateurs," Levi remarked, standing up. "Why would they be using men like this? You guys can handle the rest on your own. I'm heading for Eren. Anya. What do you want to do?"
She assessed how she felt and realised that the painkillers she'd possibly been a little too overzealous with earlier that morning were starting to kick in. A sense of strength was returning to her body, temporarily eclipsing the pain. She looked at Mikasa and narrowed her eyes, deciding on the best course of action. There was only a maximum of four men inside the warehouse, and Sasha and Conny would be there to help. Once Armin and Jean were freed, there would be five of them, whereas none of them truly knew what Levi would be heading into on his own. She pushed herself to her feet, renewed determination in her heart.
"I'm coming with you," she told Levi. "Mikasa. Once you've finished here, come find us."
"Yes, Captain."
"One more thing," said Levi, drawing his hood over his face. "I'll tell you just in case. We have to be prepared not just to fight Titans now, but humans as well. To kill them, if needed. Tell Armin and the others too."
"Understood," said Mikasa, eyes wide.
As she left the roof, Levi turned to Anya, his expression grim.
"You going to be okay?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Come on."
"Wait."
Levi took her face between his hands and pressed his lips to hers.
"What was that for?" she asked, arching a brow. "Have you gone soft on me?"
"Don't get killed," he simply said.
She saw the love and the worry in his eyes and knew it was reflected in her own. She brushed his cheek with the side of her hand and offered him a small smile.
"Same to you, Ackerman."

***

Levi

Levi had an awful feeling that things were going to get bad, and fast. He'd had Hange's squad follow the wagon with the real Eren and Historia inside, and he joined Nifa on a roof to watch as Keiji tried to get it through the crowds to Commander Pyxis. He glanced around, hoping that Anya would catch up soon after having insisted that he go on ahead.
"Captain?" asked Nifa.
"Well?" he asked.
"The road is crowded, but nothing unusual. It's not much farther to Commander Pyxis'. Where's Captain Anya?"
"She's on her way."
"How's the body double mission?"
"A success," he said, still pondering the fact that whoever wanted to capture Eren and Historia had resorted to using amateurs.
The Military Police were far too arrogant for that sort of thing. No, this method of working was more like...like that of someone he'd once known, many years ago.
"You don't look that happy," Nifa remarked, blinking in confusion from beneath her hood.
"No," he said, narrowing his eyes.
Assuming the wagon was being followed, and the group was trailing their target...
"Captain," said Nifa, jolting him from his thoughts. "The wagon's almost moving again."
He scanned the rooftops for Anya once more. He knew that by now, she too would have begun to suspect another party's involvement.
"Nifa," he said, returning his attention to the wagon. "Have you heard of Kenny the Ripper?"
"The mass murderer in the capital? The one that slit the throats of more than one hundred Military Police?" she asked. "That's just an urban legend from years ago, right?"
"He is real, and the stories are true," he said, flashbacks of his terrible past playing across his mind's eye.
"Huh?"
"I lived with him for a while when I was a kid."
"What? Why would you even say that?" she asked, chuckling nervously. "This isn't the time to be making jokes."
Levi knew that Kenny wouldn't give a damn about using amateurs. As he considered how he might have planned a kidnap operation, he realised that they'd walked straight into a trap. He spun to look at Nifa just as her head got blown off by a shotgun, her brains splattering across the roof tiles as she collapsed in a heap.
"NIFA!" he yelled, his eyes wide with shock and horror.
Levi caught a glimpse of who'd shot her as they clambered up the slope of the roof towards him. He ducked behind the chimney he'd been leaning against, heart thundering in his chest. Without a doubt, it was him. The man who had shaped who he was today.
"Yo, Levi!"
He shut his eyes and prayed that Anya would see the danger and stay away.
"You grown any yet?"
Levi tensed as he heard metal bite into brick. Seconds later, the man was in the air above him, guns out and aiming straight at him.
"Oh! It don't look like you changed at all!" he exclaimed.
Levi braced himself. He jumped up and hurled one of his blades, roaring the man's name in fury.
"KENNY!"
He cast off his cloak just as Kenny shot at him, hoping it would cover his escape, just for a second or two. One side of it was completely shredded before it even hit the ground. Levi took one last, desperate look at Nifa's corpse, pushing back the guilt that he knew would swamp him later, and made a run for it. He had to get to Anya. They were surrounded, and he wasn't sure how well she could fight in her current state. He slid down the roof and used his ODM gear to navigate through the city at lightning speed. He leapt from roofs, sprinted along the sides of walls and flipped and span his way along the streets, all while Kenny pursued him without mercy, shooting again and again and again. From the corner of his eye, he saw a black-cloaked figure zip past along the adjacent street at a speed to rival his own.
Anya.
He realised that she was going after the wagon and he increased his speed to catch up with her.
"Friends of yours?" she yelled, having already guessed at who was behind the ambush.
They watched, horrified, as a woman in Kenny's squad shot a grappling hook at the fabric covering the wagon, tearing it away to expose a terrified Eren and Historia and then producing a dart gun. Before they could react, she had rendered Eren and Historia unconscious. Levi saw Anya grit her teeth. She was going to try and reach them both. However, before she could move, the woman from Kenny's squad shot Keiji through the head and commandeered the vehicle.
"NO!" Anya cried.
Levi and Anya increased their efforts to follow the wagon, which was just about to round a corner. He went on ahead, only to come face-to-face with three of the gang.
"ANYA! GET BACK!" he warned, deploying his ODM behind him so as to get away from them.
Anya did the same, but not before producing an onyx-coloured pistol and shooting one of the attackers through the throat with astounding accuracy. It bought them enough time to put some distance between them and their pursuers, but then Kenny caught sight of Levi again. If he could, Kenny would have Anya, and he couldn't, wouldn't let that happen.
"SPLIT!" he shouted.
"Levi!" she cried in protest.
"GO!"
She shot him a desperate, wide-eyed glance and then she spun upwards and away, soaring into the sky like a bird. He pleaded with whatever god might be listening that she made it back to him.