The newly-recruited thugs brought mixtures of shock, confusion, and indignation back at the main headquarters in Wall Maria; the idea of having thugs join in their ranks - not only mere thugs, but criminals from the Underground City, was not received pleasantly by the soldiers.
"Frankly, it's a disgrace!" Squad leader Flagon Turret exclaimed, slamming a fist on the meeting table; Commander Shadis along with his four squad leaders were currently holding a meeting concerning the issue. "You're asking us to accept criminals into our ranks?!"
Commander Shadis, who was sitting at the head of the table, had his arms crossed with a solemn look as he regarded his subordinate. "Your complaint is only natural."
"Their presence could even put our lives in danger!" The blond squad leader continued on with his complaint but remained respectful as he addressed his Commander, voicing out his displeasure at the idea of mingling with notorious thugs and the effects it could have to the Scouts.
"Squad leader Flagon," Erwin, who had been silently observing his colleague's outburst from across the table, finally spoke up, "You're right. These people had no training. They did not earn wings from us. They grew their own, out of necessity."
His look became more determined as he added, "And I believe those wings will play a part in revolutionizing this organization."
•
"Attention!"
The Scout soldiers have formed a platoon formation in the middle of the courtyard of their main barracks, figures erect and hands behind them as they all faced the stage where their Commander stood along with the three new recruits.
Isanna was standing right behind Erwin's towering figure, the blond standing at the front row because of his higher position, and she had to subtly tiptoe in order to cast a look at the trio whom they had caught just a few days ago.
The leftmost was the girl with the red, spiky hair and a mouth as fiery from what Isanna remembered; she had a smug look on her lips - proud, even, with a casual hand on her hip. To the rightmost was the man with the ash blond hair; Isanna figured he had more tact compared to the other two since he tried to look formal with feet slightly apart and hands behind him in the standard military pose. In the middle was Levi, and his face was as stony-hard as ever in a bored expression as he regarded the Scouts with crossed arms.
"I'm here to present three recruits who will be fighting alongside you," Commander Shadis announced in a loud clear voice before he told them to introduce themselves.
There was a thick tension as silence followed, and Isanna caught the way Levi's eyes spared a quick glance to her and Erwin's direction.
"Name's Levi," he said, because he was just so friendly and enthusiastic like that.
His other companions were more spirited than him, apparently, as they introduced themselves.
"Isabel Magnolia," the redhead girl supplied with a grin at the general direction of the platoon formation and a thumb jabbing at her figure in a proud stance, "nice to meet all o' ya!"
Isanna arched a confused brow as she quietly muttered to herself, "Isabel? Isn't that Hanji's horse?"
Hanji, who was just standing in the next column, heard her comment and side eyed the raven. "My horse's name is Isabela."
Oh, Isanna thought, nodding to herself.
The last guy introduced himself as Farlan Church, and Isanna couldn't help but knit her brows together when she saw him do a wrong salute. Well, at least he tried; A+ for effort.
The thick air was still floating above the Scouts, and Isanna could feel the soldiers' dissension directed right towards the new trio. Commander Shadis proceeded to announce that they were going to be assigned to squad leader Flagon.
Isanna knew that aside from having good skills and leadership, Flagon was more of the formal type and tended to lean more to strict rules and principles, so she wasn't at all surprised to see the blond squad leader bewildered at the Commander's decision.
"Y - you're putting them on my squad, sir?"
"Is that a problem?"
Flagon stuttered, "N-not at all! I just thought surely they'd be placed under squad leader Erwin.." His voice faded at the end, giving the said blond a side glance.
The Commander went on to explain that Erwin had already been assigned to support expedition command in maintaining their new formation outside the walls, and that he didn't have time to look after new recruits. After a moment of hesitation, Flagon eventually accepted Shadis' decision.
After the official introductions, the Commander dispersed the soldiers and the platoon broke away, individuals going off to do their personal errands.
•
"Erwin."
The blond looked up just as he took off his jacket and hang it at the back of his chair by the desk of his office. His gaze met Isanna, who was lounging comfortably on the sofa with crossed legs and arms, her head tilted slightly to regard him.
"I'm sure you know damn well those three - especially Levi," Isanna paused, narrowing her eyes at the memory of the said man, "aren't going to sit back like obedient dogs. And not to be insulting, but that guy could really kill you if he wanted to; this is coming from me, who fought him before."
Erwin lowered his gaze at the stack of papers on his desk as he took his seat. "I'm aware. They'll probably search my office for the documents containing Nicholas Lovof's crimes."
"And?" Isanna lifted a brow, expectant of him. "What're you gonna do about that?"
He met her eyes with his blue ones. "Nothing."
The girl blinked, registering his answer. "Nothing?"
"Yes," Erwin said with a nod, pulling the drawer below his desk open and taking out a scroll, "let them search for these papers - but they won't find it."
Isanna's curiosity peaked at the tone he used, as well as the mischievous glint in his eye, like the eyes of a cunning kid scheming something behind their parent's back. "Why won't they?"
"Because," he paused and lifted the document for her to see, "you'll be the one carrying this for me."
The raven allowed his plan to sink in her mind, her eyes shifting to lock on the scrolled paper that was tied to a red string. The paper containing the list of Nicholas Lovof's illegal dealings; this was undoubtedly what he wanted for Levi to steal, as well as kill Erwin in order to erase all evidences of his dirty works. But unfortunately for him, Erwin was already a step ahead. He always was.
"Are you sure of that?" Isanna stood up and stalked over to the desk, stopping just in front of it. "You're entrusting something as important as that to me?"
Erwin arched a thick brow as he handed her the paper. "You and Mike are the only ones that I would trust this much."
Isanna's hand was just about to take the scrolled parchment when she paused at his words. She stared at him for a while, before eventually taking the object from his hand. "I feel honored," she drawled with a lopsided smirk as she lightly tossed the roll of paper before catching it.
"Also," Erwin added as he reclined in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his wide chest, "keep an eye on those three, just in case they cause unnecessary trouble with the other soldiers."
"You're telling me to make friends with them?" Isanna wasn't too fond of the idea. Even in her 11 years in the Survey Corps, she never made many friends. Erwin, Mike and Hanji were about the only ones.
"Just keep an eye out," the blond replied, "the rest of the soldiers are not so accepting of those three."
Isanna thought about the heavy atmosphere and the look of unrest from the Scout soldiers earlier during the introduction of the trio. Based on her personal assessment, she could already guess that Isabel (Isabela?) was the optimistic, impulsive and loud type, Farlan was probably the voice of reason with his calm demeanor, and Levi was the one you shouldn't piss off, else there would be hell to pay.
She heaved a sigh at the thought of babysitting those three. "Be glad you're my friend and superior."
Erwin gave her a small smile. "I'll leave them in your hands."
•
Babysitting wasn't supposed to be a headache.
Normally, the activity only included infants and toddlers, who - although could be annoying at times - were still bearable enough; all you had to do was to keep them well-fed, clean, and away from harm.
But if you were babysitting a group of three notorious criminals with contrasting personalities, Isanna realized a migraine wasn't the only thing she'll have to suffer. She had to stop both Isabel (whom she would occasionally confuse with Hanji's horse, Isabela) and Levi from snapping the other soldiers' necks whenever they pissed them off. Fortunately for her, Farlan was levelheaded and made her job easier.
For a better picture, let's backtrack a bit and see how Isanna's day had went.
Everything started just the next day after the trio's official introduction to the rest of the Scouts; Isanna had woken up early (she had slept in her room for a change) and visited squad leader Flagon's office, informing him that Erwin had appointed her to help him look after the new recruits.
Flagon was grateful for her help considering how Isanna was already acquainted with the trio (she inwardly grimaced) and together, they headed to the quarters where the new recruits were staying.
As the two walked inside the boys' cabin, Isanna blinked when she saw Isabel, who was supposed to be sleeping at the girls' cabin, snoring away while drooling on one of the upper bunk beds as her torso hung over the wooden rails that were supposed to keep someone from falling over.
How she even managed to reach such a position was beyond Isanna.
"Tsk, I told her her room was in the other wing.." She heard Flagon grumble under his breath as he strolled over and woke the sleeping girl with an order.
As Isabel blinked the sleep away from her eyes, obviously letting Flagon's chastisement fly through one ear and the other, Isanna glanced at the bed next to it to see Farlan blearily opening his eyes from the loud yells of the squad leader.
But Levi was no where in sight.
Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Isanna stepped out of the room and circled the cabin, until she saw the man in question emerge from the shadows of the forest.
"And where have you been, soldier?" The girl asked with crossed arms, her eyes scanning his figure for any signs of suspicious movements.
Levi flicked his sharp gaze to meet hers, hands shoved in his pockets as he closed the distance between them and wordlessly passed by Isanna.
What a prick, she thought with an eye twitch and annoyed smirk. This one was definitely going to be a tough egg.
Soon enough, Flagon had left Isanna to 'tend' to the new recruits as the girl led them to the mess hall. Almost immediately, the chatters of conversation faded into hushed gasps as the soldiers saw her enter the hall with the three ex-thugs in tow.
In a few minutes, the four of them were now dining on the picnic table.
"For your morning training, the three of you will be separated into different training regimes," Isanna explained after finishing her heavy breakfast, "Isabel, head to the stables for your horse-back riding, Farlan, you'll be practicing hand-to-hand combat, and Levi," she paused and eyed the man, "... you'll be flexing your maneuvering gear skills with squad leader Flagon."
Isabel didn't look too pleased at their separation as she leaned forward across the table. "Why can't we all train the same thing at the same time?"
"I'm not the one in-charge, okay?" Isanna refrained a sigh. "I was just assigned to be your tour guide and temporary babysitter. So please, don't make this any harder for me."
"Babysitter?" Farlan frowned. "Why assign us a babysitter?"
"To see if we make any weird movements, apparently," Levi smoothly cut in before Isanna could answer, his grey eyes narrowed threateningly at the raven.
Isabel fumed. "But we're not babies!"
"Technically," Isanna's tone was straining from the stress, "you guys are greenhorns in the Scouts. Until you get used to life in this place - and that includes making friends with the rest -" she jabbed a thumb to the general direction of the other soldiers who were eating their breakfast from the other tables - "I'll be the one looking after you."
Farlan followed her finger and lightly wrinkled his forehead as he mused, "They don't seem to want to be friends with us, though."
"I'm sure you already know why," Isanna casually remarked, earning a silent glare from the trio.
Unbothered, she rolled her eyes and stood up, the legs of her chair scraping the floor as she picked her tray up. "Wait here while I return these."
Isanna drank a glass of water in the kitchen hall that was situated behind the mess hall, before she headed back out just in time to see one of the soldiers crashing into a table, the others making a ruckus in the background.
Farlan was holding Levi back, while Isabel was cursing like there was no tomorrow.
Fuck me, it's too early for this shit.
Muttering a string of curses under her breath, Isanna stalked over before another soldier charged at Levi. The idiot probably had a death wish - but then again, they haven't seen what the undercut guy could do.
"You thug - !"
Isanna pulled the soldier by the back of his collar, nearly choking him in the process as she flung him backwards, the poor soldier landing on his butt with an 'oof'.
"V - vice captain Isanna!"
The girl crossed her arms and watched with dull eyes as the soldiers quickly straightened themselves and saluted at her attentively.
"Where the hell are all your manners?" She scowled. "They're new recruits, and I expect you all to treat them like your comrades."
She took note of the way they all gulped while avoided her harsh stare.
"I could care less about their background," Isanna continued, "They could be criminals, a stripper, or even a fucking priest - I don't fucking care. All of you are still going to be the same disgusting piece of shit inside titan stomach. There is no such thing as discrimination inside the Survey Corps - not on my watch. Are we all clear here?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Clean up the mess you made."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Isanna looked over her shoulder and glared at the trio. "You three, come with me. Now." She heard Levi clicking his tongue under his breath but nevertheless followed her out of the mess hall, with Farlan and Isabel right behind them.
As they stepped out of the building, she directed them to the grassy yard where the Scouts conducted most of their training, the sounds of their boots crushing the grass below them the only accompanying noise for a while.
"I'm not even going to ask what happened back there, because frankly, I'm tired." And it's not even lunch time yet, Isanna mentally cursed. "However, I don't want to see the same shit happen ever again."
She paused and turned around her heel. "Do you hear me?"
While Farlan nodded respectfully and Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance, Isabel stepped forward with an excited glint in her green eyes. "They called you vice captain? Are you some kind of a big shot?"
Isanna dismissively waved her hand. "Just a ranking officer. Now go along and report to your superiors, and don't let me catch you slacking off."
While Farlan and Isabel obediently went to follow her orders, Isanna heard Levi click his tongue. Yet again.
"What are you?" Isanna raised a brow at him. "A fucking clock?"
Levi snapped a glare at her direction before he stomped away, the poor weeds of grass crushed under his boots and bending at his hard steps.
::
"Did he receive formal training?" Hanji asked in amazement as she and Isanna watched Levi burst inside the forest with his 3DM gear, a trail of gas forming a line behind him.
Isanna shook her head, eyes glued at his figure that was getting shrouded by the shrubbery of the forest trees. "He didn't. That's what makes him amazing, as much as I hate to admit."
Isabel and Farlan were definitely exceptional, but even an amateur could tell Levi was on a whole other level - heck, he could even already surpass veteran Scout soldiers. Even though Isanna already saw his skills firsthand back at the Underground City, it was impressive to see him easily glide through the air like he had sprouted a pair of wings; he really made the maneuvering gear his bitch.
"He's definitely skilled." Isanna glanced at her side to see one of Flagon's members staring intently at the direction Levi had disappeared to. "But I'm sure he's no match for you, vice captain Isanna!"
The girl saw the soldier turn to give her a look that seemed to say: "Right? There's no way he could be stronger than you!"
Isanna looked back at the forest, her thoughts going back to her brief fight with Levi, the way he deflected Mike's blade, the way he never faltered as they exchanged hits in a hand-to-hand combat.
Levi had managed to fend off both Mike and her, on his own, without breaking a sweat.
"In terms of titan-battle experience, Mike and I are indeed superior," she mused with a contemplative gaze, "but give it a few expeditions, and that guy is going to surpass the both of us."
Both the soldier and Hanji, who was listening to their conversation at the side, widened their eyes in surprised at the girl's statement.
"B - but," the soldier stuttered, "that can't be! You and team leader Mike? You're like, our best soldiers!"
Isanna was unfazed as she crossed her arms, finally turning to the soldier. "Someone better is ought to come some day; I recognize potential and strength far better than you do, cadet, so don't make me repeat myself."
The soldier flinched. "I - I'm sorry, vice captain.."
Hanji stepped up beside her with a little grin. "For you to acknowledge him like that.. is he really that strong?"
Isanna nodded. "That guy.. he's a grumpy prick, but he's definitely what the Scouts need."
The girl closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. It seemed they had finally found the living representation of the Wings of Freedom. She was glad they recruited him.
When Levi and squad leader Flagon landed back on the yard after their training, the blond stalked over towards Isanna and suddenly asked for the unexpected.
"Excuse me?" The raven girl arched a brow, doubting her ears. "A spar? With Levi?"
Flagon glanced at Levi, who was currently somehow preoccupied in checking his blades. "Yes.. I saw what he could do with the 3DM gear and Erwin was right; he is certainly exceptional." He returned his attention on her. "That's why I want to test him out with you, our strongest soldier."
Isanna mulled over his request and weighed her options. A spar with Levi was certainly.. exciting. They never managed to finish their battle back in the Underground City, and in all honesty, the girl was itching to fight him again - this time, with no interruptions.
"I accept."
::
The scratching of the tip of a pen scraping parchment paper buzzed the otherwise silent office, the afternoon rays pouring through the open windows and casting shadows over the objects and furniture it kissed.
Erwin was busy with perusing through stacks of paperworks when the buzzing of excited chatters reached his ears. He paused, tilting his head over his shoulder to look over the window and see a crowd of soldiers huddling around the courtyard of their training grounds.
Curiosity won over him and he stood up, strolling towards the window and leaning against the frame to observe the cause of the fuss; and he was mildly surprised to see two familiar figures facing each other and separated with a good distance.
Isanna and Levi.
He immediately pieced two and two and caught on to what was happening down below the yard. He wasn't going to lie - this was going to be an interesting battle.
Erwin crossed his arms as he watched the two lunge at each other at the same time, like they had rehearsed for this fight. Encouraged yells from the soldiers urged on as they watched their strongest soldier battle it out with the newcomer.
A twitch of the faintest, amused smirk etched on his lips as the blond observed the two exchange hit after hit. Isanna thrusted a fist to his face, which Levi ducked and barely avoided it, before he crouched and swung a leg across the trimmed grass. But the girl was quick and leaped upwards, grabbing the top of Levi's head as leverage as she did so; for a moment, the scene looked like they were both in a slow-mo.
Then, they continued on for another series of blurry attacks. They seemed to be on par for a while, with neither side showing weaknesses. During their spar, Erwin managed to catch on to their strong points: Levi with his skills and talents that he had polished in the Underground, he showed a few unfamiliar moves that weren't taught in the military - he moved like a hitman, Erwin noted. As for Isanna, her specialty had always been her agility and sharp senses, and that was evident in their spar. Those hardened years of military training helped her greatly in shaping her into the fine soldier she was today - the Scout Regiments' War Goddess, their strongest soldier.
But, Erwin thought, Levi is stronger.
As if to prove his point, Levi managed to sweep Isanna off her feet (not romantically), locking an arm over her neck as he forcefully shoved her into the ground.
Erwin's brows pulled down into a worried frown as he watched Isanna try to struggle; her will to not back down in a fight was admirable, but Levi harshly gripped both of her wrists and pinned them on the ground, as well as locking her legs with his own and completely immobilizing her.
Gasps of shock rippled from the crowd of onlooking soldiers, clearly baffled how their pride and joy, their War Goddess, had been brought down by the new recruit.
Erwin had to admit, this was the first time he saw Isanna pinned down - because it was always the other way around.
But it only proved even further that having Levi join the Scouts was a good decision, and with this spar, he knew the other soldiers wouldn't be so hostile to the new recruits anymore.
They had proved their worth.
•
Isanna entered Erwin's office stifling a groan, rolling her shoulders. That shorty really didn't hold back, she thought. She figured he held some grudge against her because of how she had pushed him into a dirty puddle back then - he certainly got his revenge good.
"Rough day?"
The raven glanced and saw Erwin behind his desk and - yep, you guessed it: doing those goddamn paperworks. This was why she never wanted to be promoted; the thought of spending her day sitting her ass down was boring as hell.
"You could say that," she grumbled in reply, flopping her figure on the couch. Releasing an exhausted sigh, she craned her neck over the armrest, her head hanging over upside down as she stared at Erwin. "It's already dinner. Did you eat?"
Erwin hummed, not tearing his eyes from the papers. "I'm not hungry."
"Keep that up and you'll collapse," Isanna said with a frown, "I'll get you something to eat from the mess hall."
"No." Erwin stopped her before she could lift herself back up from the couch. "It's fine."
"I already have my plate full with a bunch of rookies, Squad leader. Do you want me to stress over you too?"
Erwin lightly smiled at her exasperated tone. "I appreciate your concern, Isanna."
"As you should," she quipped back, before she groaned. Shifting from her position, she sat up and reclined against the couch, the back of her head resting atop the back of the soft furniture as she closed her eyes. "I don't get paid enough for this shit."
The blond observed the weary figure of the girl as she laid an arm over her eyes before she let out a sigh, remembering how she had been thrown on the courtyard by Levi earlier that afternoon.
Erwin stood up and walked over behind the girl, forgetting about the papers atop his desk that were screaming for his signature and approval.
Isanna muscles were aching in tension after a long day of overseeing the training of the other soldiers, as well as the shove her back suffered after being thrown by Levi to the ground. All she wanted was to take a hot bath and allow the ghosts of sleep to take over her; just when her thoughts became drowsy at the exhaustion and sleep was just an inch away, a sudden touch on her shoulders caused the raven to flinch lightly and pull back her arm from her face, her eyes fluttering open and meeting a pair of blue hues that were peering at her from above.
She was about to ask what he was doing when she felt his fingers knead around the skin of her shoulders, slowly massaging the tension away.
Oh.
Isanna allowed her body to melt away under his touch, his fingers kneading the right places on her shoulders as the girl heaved a sigh of contentment.
"Do you like it?"
God fucking damnit help my soul and mind here he goes again with that deep husky voice and -
"Yeah," Isanna admitted, "works wonders."
Erwin hummed and paused his fingers, the tips subtly caressing her shoulders before he leaned down and softly pecked her forehead.
"Good work today."
Without giving Isanna a chance to reply, the blond pulled back and walked away, and soon the girl heard the sound of the door to his room opening and shutting close, leaving her with only the company of the silence and the warmth spreading from the spot where he had kissed her.
At this point, she was convinced Erwin wanted to drive her insane.