There was a saying that some things are best kept secret. It may be something that is utterly embarrassing and ridiculous or something that is quite painful and best hidden in the dark. To keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself and pretend there isn't one at all.
Several years ago, Sunako Uchiha came to understand that there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out.
Over the years, Konohagakure always kept their darkest secrets from leaking into the populace and she, too, has her fair share of secrets that she kept to herself. Sunako is aware that many people, even the brightest, have secrets of their own which she does not pry unless necessary. However, this particular incident was one she didn't forget and was certainly unexpected. In an entertaining way, of course.
"My apologies, but do you mind repeating yourselves again?" Sunako asked, her brow raised in question while maintaining the smile on her face. Standing before her were three certain Genin, who happens to be team 7. Their eyes lit with curiosity towards the petite girl.
The petite girl was peacefully taking a walk around the village after she came back and reported her mission to the Hokage when she came across her cousin's team without Kakashi. She could only assume that they have finished their missions for today. She greeted them with a cheerful smile on her face when they came up to her with a sudden question.
"Well, you see..."
"We're wondering if you've seen Kakashi-sensei's face before? He's been our sensei for some time now but not once did we see what he looked like behind the mask, dattebayo!" Naruto inquired.
"Ara ara, and what makes you think that I've seen his face before?" Sunako pressed with a question of her own. Her brow raised and she smile with mirth as she crosses her arms when Sasuke answered. "Since you're one of the best healers in the village, you must have access to patient records, and possibly Kakashi's records."
Onyx eyes stared them down. In all honesty, this was pleasantly unexpected. She expected Naruto and Sakura to ask this but she didn't expect Sasuke to go along with them. She's certainly pleased that he's coming out of his shell a bit. But of course, she may have to remind him to call Kakashi 'sensei'.
Still, It is true that she has access to patient records, including Kakashi's, and may have seen his face a couple of times. However, she decided to tease them a bit.
"Well..." Sunako paused, pretending to think back as the three genin went closer to her with expectant eyes. But that came crashing down when the petite, raven-haired girl bluntly lied, "Nope, never seen it."
The three comically fell to the ground before quickly standing up and naruto exclaimed. "Really!? Not even once!?"
"Nope. I have not." She said with a close-eyed smile.
'There goes that idea.' They thought. They hunched their shoulders and sulk a bit. Here they thought that she at least caught a glimpse of their sensei's face since she would help out the hospital at times. They were so sure of that too.
Sunako silently giggled at their reactions. "Now, now, I know you're all curious, and believe me, I also feel the same. Besides even if I did see Kakashi's face and have access to his records, I cannot disclose confidential information about the patient himself. That would defeat the purpose of protecting the patient's privacy and the trust built between patients and medic ninjas. " She said.
The three quiet down, letting her words sink into their minds and coming to terms with her explanation.
"I guess you're right..." Naruto uttered, pouting a bit. Sunako let out a fond look on her face before patting their heads once. "Don't worry, maybe at some other time, you'll know what he looks like behind his mask." She assured them.
"Well then, I better get going now. Make sure to be home for dinner, Sasuke." Sunako added. Sasuke nodded slightly in affirmation as his elder sister figure walk away from them.
Little do they know that their attempt to see behind Kakashi's mask will take a long while.
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A couple of weeks before the 57th expedition, the Scouts sat around the mess hall after a long morning of training and preparing the newly arrived Cadets for their first expedition. Some chattering between themselves and some eating their fill before getting back to training and refining their skills.
Eren sat with his classmates for the day, catching up with Armin and Mikasa as they eat while the special operations squad sat at the table next to them. Unfortunately, Sunako is busy managing the Medical Bay at the moment but she'll be joining them for lunch once it's sorted. All in all, things were relatively peaceful that is until a certain eccentric section commander barged in without warning.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" Hange yelled jovially, as energetic as ever.
Moblit popped his head behind her, waving sheepishly at the stunned members of the Special Operations Squad and the new recruits. Levi held back a sigh as he continued to sip his tea in silence with clear disinterest.
"Section Commander Hange!" Eren called out, shocked and rather frightened at her unexpected appearance. He had learned quickly never to ask her about her experiments after that unfortunate incident where Hange made him stay up all night just listening to her expressing her fascination with Titans.
"Is there something wrong?" Petra asked.
"Something planned for us..." Eld repeated, clearly not liking the sound of that.
"If you're looking for Sunako," Oruo spoke with a bored expression. "I'm telling you, she ain't here. She's busy at the medical bay."
A fanatical gleam entered her eyes the moment she heard that, looking frighteningly ecstatic. "Good! Good! It's all turning out exactly as planned!" She stated loudly, clenching her fist and shaking it in the air. "It would be far more convenient for me this time!"
"Oi, if you're still trying to get a sample of her blood, then you're out of luck. And don't even think of performing any wacky experiments on Eren right now." Levi reminded her pointedly, sensing the frightened boy shrinking in the corner as Mikasa immediately put her hand in front protectively.
Hange boisterously laughed. "No need to worry, I'm not going to do that this time! But speaking about the little fire ant, I'm sure you're all curious about this one."
"Uh... what would that be, section commander?" Armin nervously asked. There was a certain glint in her glasses that instantly made them anxious.
"Well, we always see Sunako with her hair up, right? But has anyone thought what she looked like with her hair down?"
Hange's question made most of them think deeply, especially the members of the Special Operations Squad who's work with Sunako for a while. They don't recall a memory where Sunako ever had her hair down.
"Now that I think about it, every time we saw her, she always have her hair up with her hairpin but it was mostly because her hair would've been hazardous during training and other duties so we didn't think much of it." Eld said with Gunther agreeing with his statement. The two men were Sunako's best friends since their Cadet days, even then they have never seen Sunako with her hair down. Oruo turn to Petra and asked, "How about you, Petra? You must've seen what Sunako looks like with her hair down considering you share the same room before."
"Well, to be honest, I've never seen Sunako with her hair down either." Petra sheepishly answered. "Sunako is already dressed by the time I woke up, so I didn't see what she looked like with her hair down."
"Right!?" Hange commented.
"I've seen it a couple of times." Eren piped in as the rest turned to look at him with curiosity as the teen continued. "Dad had a hard time keeping suitors away when that happened one time."
"It is true. Didn't it take 3 weeks for it to die down?" Armin asked, recalling that incident very well.
"It did." Mikasa bluntly said.
"So you've seen what she looked like with her hair down?" Connie asked them.
Eren nodded. "Yeah, the three of us did. Sunako mostly prefers having her hair up but she's really beautiful when her hair is down."
"You can say that she's like a goddess of beauty." Armin added.
The more they talk about what Sunako looked like with her hair down, the more curious the others are, wanting to see it with their own eyes.
"It's settled then," Hange said. "For us to see it, we need to take her hairpin off."
"Or we could ask her, Section Commander," Moblit suggested. However, Hange sharply turned to her assistant and stated, "That won't work, Moblit. Do you know how many times I've asked to study her blood? She always says no!"
"That's entirely a different subject. Of course, anyone would f****** say no when you ask them if you could study their blood." Levi pointed out.
"Anyways!" Hange ignored him. Finally letting loose on his exasperated sigh, Levi shook his head and stayed out of whatever shenanigans she was putting herself. "Anyone in on it?" Hange asked.
They were hesitant for a bit. Taking Sunako's hairpin off without her permission is rude plus they don't want to mess with a displeased Sunako. However, what Hange just said made them very curious about what she looked like with her hair down. With that in mind, Reiner then spoke.
"I'm in."
The Special Operations squad turns to look at Eld, rather surprised that he's willing to go along with Hange's plan. Eld sighed but told them his reasons. "As much as I don't want to do this, I must admit that I am curious to see what Sunako looks like with her hair down."
Slowly the rest of the squad are all in on Hange's plan, all except Levi who's silently sipping on his tea.
Hange turned to the Cadets. "Why don't you Cadets join in, after all, this might be a rare opportunity to see Humanity's Butterfly caught off guard." She suggested.
Her suggestion intrigued most of them along with the fact that they could see Humanity's Butterfly with her hair down would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so they agreed to join.
"Whatever your planning, it's troublesome," Levi stated, glaring at the brunette. "Count me out. And stop dragging people into these silly ideas you have."
Just as he said that the door to the mess hall was opened and they turned to see Sunako coming in as they immediately return to their places as the petite woman quickly brew herself a cup of green tea and grab herself a loaf of bread before making her way towards where her squad sat, which she just so happen to sit beside Oruo and greeted them with her ever-present smile.
Upon sitting down, she notice the awkward tension surrounding her as her onyx eyes look at them and her brow raised. "Did I miss something important?"
"Ah, i-it's nothing important! Nothing to worry, Sunako." Petra nervously said.
Sunako wasn't entirely convinced as she stare at them with a critical eye, as if trying to pry what her squad was thinking before shrugging it off. She'll let it slide, if they're not gonna tell her, she may as well wait for them or find out herself as she sips her tea. The three of them wordlessly look at Oruo as he nodded in affirmation.
As soon as she put her cups of tea down, she caught a glimpse of Eld staring at her rather intensely as she set her tea down. "Ara ara, if you keep staring at me like that, I would assume you have an interest in me and cheating on Sera." She teased. Though her smiling expression remained the same, there was a mischievous glint in her eyes as she teased her friend who sputtered and tried to defend himself.
"What? No, no, you've gotten all wrong, Sunako. You know I would never do that to Sera."
"Oh? Is that so?" Sunako continued to tease. In the meantime, while the petite woman was distracted by teasing her friend, Oruo, on the other hand, started to make his move as he slowly reach to take her butterfly hairpin off. Eren watched what they were doing along with other curious Cadets and Hange and Moblit, when he suddenly remembered one thing about her hairpin that he immediately stood up from his seat and stopped Oruo.
"Wait, Oruo!"
Eren's outburst stopped Sunako from teasing her friend as she turn to look at the shifter, quite surprised at this as Oruo quickly pull his hand away from the petite woman.
Sunako stared at him in concern and asked him gently. "Eren, is there something wrong?"
"Uh... I..." Eren stuttered, trying to think of an excuse that would be convincing to his sister. Fortunately, Aliz came in and called her. "Sunako, Commander Erwin wants you in his office."
"Really now?"
"Yes ma'am, he said it's urgent and is expecting your report in his office along with Captain Levi."
"That damn Erwin. Can't that wait?" Levi grumbled, looking at Aliz with a deadpan expression.
"I'm afraid not, sir."
"Well, it can't be helped then." Sunako said. Though she would've liked to spend time with her wards and her squad a bit more, her duty compels her to do so. With the 57th expedition coming in a couple of weeks, things around here were pretty hectic in preparation for the expedition. Her responsibility as a head medic is to make sure that all medics and medical supplies are met and accounted for. She wasn't trained by the legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade, for nothing. "Let's go check in his office."
Levi sighed. "Fine."
He stood up from his seat with Sunako followed suit as the two walked out of the mess hall, following Aliz to the commander's office. Once the two are out of sight, Eren was met with Oruo's irritated face as the veteran gripped his collar in vexation.
"You brat! What the hell was that for!?"
"Eren!" Mikasa called, her protective instinct kicking in and tried to go to Eren's side. However, Armin held her back from pulverizing their senior as Hange came up and pat Oruo's shoulder, urging him to let the Titan shifter go.
"Now, now, Oruo, we wouldn't want Sunako to know that you're messing with her younger brother, right?" Hange said, as the male veteran clicked his tongue and released Eren. "Now that's out of the way. Tell me, Eren, what is the reason for you to cry out like that? Hm?" Hange questioned, although she still has her jovial smile, there was a hint of displeasure that didn't escape from Eren's notice since he has been living with Sunako when he was young.
Nonetheless, Eren moved past his uneasiness and answered. "I forgot to mention that Sunako's hairpin contains huge doses of poison that's why... If Oruo wasn't careful, he could've died by poison exposure..."
The mess hall was entirely silent as Eren's words started to sink into their minds. Oruo, on the other hand, went pale when he realized how he was so close to death had Eren not stopped him. He owes the boy for that.
"So if what you said is true, then how come Sunako wasn't affected by it?" Gunther asked.
''She—"
"Sunako was trained in the medical field under Dr. Jaeger's guidance. Because of our Oriental blood, she used that knowledge to protect herself." Mikasa was quick to answer. The three of them promised to not give away the petite woman's secret and that they will surely keep it, even if they had to straight up lie to anyone's face, even their closest friends or their high-ranking officer.
Eld hummed, recalling their time while they were in the Cadet Corps. "That is true. Sunako did mention that she was taught to become a doctor had Wall Maria didn't fall."
"Even so!" Hange slammed her hand down on the table, startling some of them. "We cannot be discouraged, we'll simply find a way over the poison! Surely, not all of her hairpin is coated in poison!"
"But Section Commander, wouldn't Sunako take notice of it?"
"Nonsense! The little fire ant has her mind on her duties as of late. It'll be fine!"
"You also say that at other times when you wanted to study her blood..."
The rest of the special operations squad and the cadets had exasperated looks when it finally sunk in, as though to mentally say 'what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?'
Unbeknownst to them, a certain belligerent captain listened in to their conversation before walking away.
1st attempt: FAILED
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Sunako sorted through the papers that Hange scribbled, organizing them and making sure that it wasn't repetitive and out of the subject. Erwin's sudden meeting had ended and now she's helping Hange and Moblit out with their Titan research. Moblit was relieved that the petite woman has the time to help them out, knowing full well her efficiency with work, though he does feel unease at the expense of the eccentric section commander herself.
"It's nice that you drop by despite knowing that it's that time of the month." Moblit started.
Onyx eyes averted her attention from the papers she was holding to Moblit with her ever-present smile on her face. "No worries. Besides Section Commander Hange's research are interesting and quite beneficial once you've gone past her quirky enthusiasm about Titans so I have no qualms about it. Who knows? Perhaps we could become friends with Titans one day, don't you think?"
Though her smile is sweet and angelic, Moblit finds himself questioning the petite woman's sanity. The first made sense to him and he was glad that she had no trouble with it, but then he sweat dropped when she added the last part. He remembered how Sunako was a fresh cadet back then and suddenly being put in the Forward Scouts instead of Relay teams under his tutelage.
He had heard from other team leaders and higher-ups that she was more skilled than the average cadets they often received. The top of her class, the best of the best, and even praised as a genius. He never thought that someone of her caliber, similar to Levi, would join the Scout Regiment. His first impressions of her were quite a surprise.
She was small in stature compared to the other women and seem so fragile as if just one touch, she could break. Plus, Moblit never thought that she would be a beauty. He could've easily mistaken her as one of the ladies of nobility, had he not been informed of her background by his superior. While most of her physical qualities are true, he was however wrong about her being fragile when he witnessed her killing 2 Titans without a second thought.
She was fast. So fast that not even an abnormal Titan was able to catch her head-on. However, he finds her mindset afterward to be similar to Hange despite her calm and cheery disposition.
Speaking of Hange, as Sunako was focused on arranging Hange's research papers, the said eccentric woman came in wearing gloves. Hange put her pointy finger up to her mouth, signaling Moblit to be quiet as she tried to sneak behind the petite woman.
Moblit inwardly sighed at his superior's antics but it can't be helped. As Hange's gloved hands were close to Sunako's Butterfly Hairpiece, the petite woman's voice immediately halted her tracks. "Section Commander Hange, what exactly are you doing?"
"How do you know it's me!?"
Sunako sighed as she turn to face Hange with an ever-present smile on her face before bluntly pointing out. "Your gloves gave it away. They made squeaky sounds whenever you move your fingers. Plus, you've been shuffling behind me so I took notice very quickly."
Hange cursed under her breath. Her shoulders slumped depressingly as she sulk. Moblit just shook his head at this and look at her with sympathy.
"By the way," Sunako added. "Are you perhaps trying to get a sample of my blood again?"
Hange was quick to stand up and object to her claim, waving her hand in protest. Although, was nervous about it. "No no no no no, I wasn't trying to get a sample of your blood! Even if I wanted to..." Hange whispered the last part.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
2nd attempt: FAILED!
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Jean walk through the olden halls of the castle, his light-brown eyes scanning the hallways as if searching for something or another searching for a certain petite, raven-haired woman. The last two attempts from the veterans didn't go as planned with Oruo almost killing himself if it hadn't been for Eren warning him of the poison that Sunako's hairpin has and Hange's gloves and movements being loud enough for Sunako to hear.
It made the teen thought, 'Who in their right mind put poison in their hairpin?'. Apparently, the famed Humanity's Butterfly does it.
Hange theorized that Sunako might find out since she knows them well enough so now it was up to the Cadets except Eren, Mikasa, and Armin to take Sunako's hairpin off.
Speaking of the petite woman, Jean spotted Sunako carrying a few books despite her petite physique as he started following behind her, being as quiet as possible. He needs to get close enough to her hairpin off, then he'll be able to see what she looks like with her hair down.
Don't get him wrong, he respected her as a superior with exceptional skills and knew she was beautiful already with her hair up but truthfully, he was also curious about what she looked like with her hair down. After knowing the last two attempts, he decided to take the hairpin off by the wings.
His hand swiftly went for the wings, grabbing them successfully without notice. 'Got it!' He celebrated in his mind as he then proceed to pull the hairpin by the wings, only to discover that the wings can be pulled out revealing a sharp poisoned needle attach to it.
Appalled, he yelped and dropped the needled wing to the floor. Hearing this, Sunako turns around curiously to find Jean looking down at something with a horrified expression on his face. Following his line of sight, she then saw that the two winged parts of her hairpin are on the floor with the needle exposed containing heavy doses of poison.
Realizing this, she turn to Jean and gently asked him, her voice laced with concern. "Jean? Are you alright? It didn't touch you or anything, right?"
Jean was unable to form coherent words and opted to nod when he realized that he was unsuccessful in pulling her hairpin off but he didn't care. The fact that the wings can be pulled out of the main pin made it incredibly hard to pull it off!
"Hold these books for a moment, would you?" Sunako asked as she hand the teen the stack of papers she was carrying to Levi's office before going down to pick up the needles by the wings and putting them back in her hairpin. She does find it strange that her senbons dropped out of her hairpin. Did it loosen? She'll have to double-check just to make sure.
Sunako then take the books from his hands and thanked him with her ever-present smile on her face. "Thank you, Jean. Please be also careful if you happened to see it on the floor again, alright?"
"S-Sure."
"Great! Do your best before the expedition!" And with that, she left, leaving Jean alone to contemplate his choices in life.
3rd Attempt: FAILED!
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After Sunako brought the books she borrowed back to the library, she then heads her way to her room to finish up the paperwork that was sent her way. She stretched her arms up and yawned slightly. With this time being more hectic than usual, she feels tired somewhat but there is more work she needed to do so she'll have to hold off on taking a break.
Eld and Gunther always voiced their worries that she might overwork herself and she acknowledge that, but her mind was full of many things that she needed to be done. She's already feeling guilty for not being with her wards due to the preparation for the upcoming expedition. She doesn't want to have a repeat as she did with Sasuke.
As she walked through the hallway when both Connie and Sasha immediately appeared with the girl clutching her stomach, seemingly in pain while Connie looked panicked. Seeing this, Sunako immediately rushed over to check what was going on between the two Cadets. Unbeknownst to her, it was all an act, a joint effort for Connie to pull Sunako's hairpin off.
"What happened?"
"I-I don't know! Sasha was fine for a moment, and the next she suddenly hold her stomach in pain."
Sunako knelt down on Sasha's level and pressed her hand on her stomach. "Let me know which part hurts, alright?" Sunako said and Sasha nodded, feigning pain over her stomach ache while Connie stalk behind her. Having been informed by Jean that they can't pull the hairpin off by the wings, they'll have to search for other ways to take it off. Just as he was in the process of doing that, Sunako turns her head to look at him.
"Did she eat something spoiled?" She questioned.
"No, I don't think so."
Sunako hummed in thought as Connie tries to figure out a way to pull her hairpin when someone called, "Sunako!"
Connie is startled by the call as he immediately pulls away before the petite woman turns to see Aliz approaching her.
"Aliz, what is it?"
Aliz went up and whispered in Sunako's ear as the petite woman nodded in response. Both Sasha and Connie looked at each other, not knowing what to do next.
"I see." Sunako then turn her attention to the two, her smile apologetic as she spoke. "I have to apologize, it seems I have some urgent matters to attend to. Be rest assured that I'll have Aliz check over for your stomach pains, alright?"
Sunako then walks away from them, leaving the two teens alone with Aliz as the brunette tap her foot. "So... What were you two trying to do?"
4th Attempt: FAILED!
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"So, you two weren't able to pull it off as well, huh?"
Both Connie and Sasha shook their heads negatively. The others dropped their heads at another failed attempt. Time and time again, they were so close and yet so far in unraveling what she looked like with her hair down and seeing if Eren's words were true. Krista didn't want to come off as rude towards the petite woman while Ymir thought that its a pain in the ass doing it. Still, no matter what they try, it still failed.
Hange yells out in frustration. "There must be another way to pull Sunako's hairpin off! There must be!"
"Section Commander, calm down!" Moblit tried to calm her.
Reiner sat beside Bertholdt, his eyes shadowed. There's no other choice left.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Reiner uttered as he stood up. Hearing this, Bertholdt immediately followed after his friend who was now looking for the petite, raven-haired woman.
"Reiner, what are you gonna do?"
"If we can't go over or under, we'll just have to go through it."
"Don't tell me— Reiner!"
Sunako just came out of the medical bay after finishing some last minute work before heading off to her room to do her paperwork. She raised her body up to stretch out when her ears caught rushed footsteps towards her. Her instinctual reflex kicked in when a hand went towards her head as she step to the side to avoid it.
Another hand came towards and she was quick to move out of the way. She extended her index and middle fingers while her other fingers curled into her palms as she struck her attacker's pressure points from his arm and back. Her brow twitched slightly despite the smile on her face as she looked to see who attacked, only to find it was Reiner on the floor, unable to move.
Witnessing what just transpired, Bertholdt quickly went to Reiner's side to check if he was okay or better yet, didn't injure himself in the process lest their cover is blown. "Reiner, are you okay?"
Reiner could only groan in response as he can't move his body while Bertholdt look at him with concern before he stiffened when he heard a sweet tone of voice.
"Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover."
Bertholdt slowly but surely looked up to see Sunako looking at them, smiling sweetly at them, though too sweetly. Even with a smile on her face and a short figure, both Reiner and Bertholdt could feel the menacing aura that made their spine shiver, as though she was towering over them. They couldn't help but feel as though the petite woman's aura is so similar to Him when displeased.
Sunako continued to smile at them with a vein popping out doing so. Although she's displeased, she'll commend Reiner's boldness for going up and challenging her. However, that does not excuse him for initiating a fight, much less a spar without the other's authorization.
"Ara Ara, I must say, you certainly almost caught me by surprise, I'm impressed. However, indulge my curiosity, what is the reason that you would foolishly attack me? You do know that your actions will be considered insubordination for assaulting a superior." Sunako said, making sure she word it out clearly but firmly to them.
The two stayed silent. Bertholdt looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact as Sunako stared at them for a moment. A certain memory flash in her mind, a glimpse of Kawahiko and Himari in place of Reiner and Bertholdt's place as she close her eyes and sighed. Was she that tired that she suddenly remembered her old teammates?
"Nevermind then. Seeing as you two are fresh graduates, I'll let you two off with a warning. But, if this happens again to me or any of the soldiers in the regiment, I will not let it slide. Understood?"
"W-We understand, ma'am"
Sunako's displeasure came to cease, much to Bertholdt's and Reiner's relief. But they also have one more problem to deal with. Both Bertholdt and Sunako stare at Reiner who's still lying face flat on the floor, unable to move since he was paralyzed when Sunako retaliated by attacking his pressure points.
Sunako giggle lightly and knelt down. "Don't worry, I'll help him up. It'll be over shortly." She said.
Somehow, Bertholdt did not like the look in her eyes when she said that.
5th Attempt: FAILED!
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Levi sat in his office, finishing up the last of his paperwork for the night as he put his quill down. He let out a breath after finishing it, taking his cup of black tea by the rim and drinking it. While doing so, his mind went back to that conversation in the mess hall about what that annoying moth looked like with her hair down. It didn't matter to him what she looked like whether she has her hair up in her usual ponytail with her butterfly hairpin or with her hair down, but the fact that Hange, his squad, and those brats had a hard time trying to take it off amused him to some extent.
He witnessed and heard all their attempts, each one ending in failure. He must admit that Sunako's precautionary measures are a bit extreme from normal standards but he isn't surprised one bit. They worked closely together, of course only a keen eye would notice how Sunako's hairpin has a vial-like structure in it. How did he know that? When they first sparred together and had her in a headlock, that's when he noticed the subtle structure in her hairpin.
In any case, it wouldn't change the fact she is an annoying brat who would constantly tease him with witty remarks every chance she gets even if she were to one day have her hair down.
'But was she truly that beautiful if she wore her hair down?' His traitorous mind thought.
Levi has long acknowledged that his second-in-command is a beauty but being beautiful doesn't excuse them from being eaten by Titans, Sunako is smart enough to know that. Speaking of the petite woman, it's unusual that she hasn't come into his office the whole evening with the finished paperwork in hand. His grey eyes stare at the door expectantly, a slight tinge of concern in his narrowed gaze when Sunako has not come into his office like she is usually supposed to.
He sighed as he stood up from his desk and exit his office. He might as well check up on her.
Levi walked through the halls to Sunako's room as he stood by her door. There's still light coming from underneath the door, thinking that she's still awake. He raised his hand and knock on her door.
"Oi Uchiha, open up."
No answer.
Levi continued to knock several times but still no answer from the petite woman. He clicked his tongue, glaring through the door when he thought that the petite woman was purposely ignoring him. He reached the door knob and surprisingly, it was left unlocked. Good, he doesn't have to go through spare keys just to open the damn door.
"Oi, you brat, you have some nerve—"
Levi immediately paused at his statement when he saw the petite, raven-haired woman slumped at her desk, the paperwork neatly stacked and organized while the light from her wick lamp continued to burn still. Levi frowned as he approaches Sunako's slumped figure only to find that she was fast asleep on her desk. There's a peaceful look on her face as she slept, snoring rather softly with her nose twitching occasionally. Normally, she would've already woken up already the first she heard someone coming in.
He then remembered how she was exhibiting signs of exhaustion and fatigue to which he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. If she's so tired, she could've taken a rest but then he would sound hypocritical.
His ears caught Sunako started murmuring incoherently in her sleep at first before it became clearer for him to understand what she was dreaming. Her face unusually scrunched up into a frown, a contrast to her usual ever-smiling face as she opened her mouth and spoke. "What the hell are you doing? That's not how you handle a patient, idiot!..."
Levi's brows raised up and his mouth twitch a bit, crossing his arms, albeit amusingly as she lets out a few cuss words here and there in her sleep assuming that she was scolding someone, such a contrast to her usual choice of words.
"That's it, I'm taking over this operation... Scalpel." She murmured, unconsciously holding her hand out for the 'Scalpel' that she requested. Levi was taken aback a bit by this, averting his gaze from Sunako's face to her hand that was waiting for her to hold on to something, even more so when she spoke louder. "Hurry up and give me the damn scalpel! The patient will die at this rate!..."
With no other choice, Levi decides to place his finger as Sunako's small hand wraps around his finger before bringing it towards her. "Good." She muttered.
Levi lets out a breath through his nose. 'This demanding brat.' He thought. He racked through his hair with his other free hand, scolding himself for handing her his finger instead of an item, and yet he was unwilling to pull away and disturb her slumber. Seeing all the neat stack of paper, he'll perhaps have to carry her to her bed, her sleeping position right now wasn't doing her any good anyway.
He waited until Sunako's hand loosened her grip on his finger as he carefully pulls it away before gently moving her head off the desk. He pulls the chair back slightly for Levi to squat down, placing one arm around her back and the other around the bend in her knees before lifting her up, holding her body close to his as he carried her to her bed. He then proceeded to take her troublesome hairpin off.
He carefully goes through some options that are safe to pull off, figuring out the structure of her hairpin. Pulling the hairpin blindly would result in him getting poisoned, pulling it by the wings is a no go either. After some thought, his hand went for the middle below the vial-like structure of a butterfly's body and above the needle-like end as he cautiously pulled it off with ease.
In doing so, Sunako's ponytail went undone for Levi to see. Her straight medium-length hair fell past her shoulders slightly with a little curl at the end of her hair.
Grey eyes widened a bit when he witnessed Sunako's true beauty before him, completely taken aback. To think she could be even more stunning in his eyes. Levi recalled what Eren said and couldn't help but feel his blood boil, his face darkened after knowing how some men didn't leave her alone afterward. He quickly shook his head, appalled at his train of thoughts and this sense of possessiveness.
He shouldn't be thinking like this towards his Second-in-Command.
He then proceeded to tuck her in, making sure that she's comfortable before putting her hairpin by her bedside table as he exhaled deeply. His hand moved on his own and landed gingerly on top of her head. Right then, Sunako moved on her side, snuggling up comfortably to his hand, and sighed in contentment. Levi couldn't take his eyes off her as she sighed in front of his face.
Without thinking much, he reached out and touched a strand of her raven hair that had fallen over her eyes. He swept it back, clearing her face. His fingers trailed from that strand of hair to the rest of her silk hair. He took back his hands as his eyes trailed to her lips.
His heart quickened and a wave of puzzlement washed over him when he withdrew his hand. Quickly he straightened himself out, grabbing the stack of papers that Sunako had finished before walking out of her room. His mind and heart conflicted, but one thing's for sure is that Sunako truly is beautiful with or without her hairpin.
6th Attempt: SUCCESS!———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The next morning, Sunako walked through the halls in a rather good mood. When she woke up this morning, she was perplexed to find herself in her bed even though she doesn't remember going to bed. Last she recalled is when she finished the paperwork for the night before leaning into her desk and closing her eyes for a moment to rest before bringing it to Levi, little did she know that she had gone to sleep. When she saw the neat stack of papers gone, she had a slight suspicion as to who it was but she won't bring it up for now.
"Sunako?"
Her steps halted as she turned to look behind her to see Hange, Her Squad, and the Cadets. She tilted her head slightly rather curious as to why they wanted to see her in a large group in this fine morning. "Ara Ara, I didn't expect such a large group to be seeing me early in the morning. I'm guessing you all wanted to ask me something?" She said with her ever-present smile on her face.
"Ah, you see, Suna, we're just wondering if you could let us see what you look like with your hair down and maybe I could take samples of your blood too?!"
"Section Commander, we talk about this multiple times already!"
"It's possible that she'll allow this time!"
Sunako looked at them with dotted eyes, connecting the dots in her mind as she recalled what happened yesterday when it finally clicked. 'Ah. so that's what's all about.' She thought. Thinking back on it, she couldn't help but genuinely laugh as they all looked at her when they hear her laughter before it died down.
"You know, you could've just ask me about it rather than go through the trouble. Whose idea was it for all of you to resort in such a way?"
They all looked at Hange who sheepishly laughed before turning their attention to the petite, raven-haired woman who cleared her throat. "In any case, while I may not allow my blood to be sampled, I'll at least show you without my hairpin." Sunako added.
Their face lightened up when the petite woman agreed to show them. They stare intently as Sunako reaches for her hairpin and takes it off. It's as if time had slowed when her hair was let down as they gawk at the sight before them with a slight blush on their cheeks.
"Well? What do you think?" Sunako smiled. A cheerful and bright aura surrounds her when she did so. They could hear the bells ringing as though their eyes have been blessed by not just an angel, but by a goddess.
'She looks so ethereal with her hair down!' They all thought.
Petra went up to her and held her hand, much to Sunako's confusion as Petra bombarded her with questions. "Sunako, I've been meaning to ask, what's your secret? How did you maintain this level of beauty? What's your skincare? What shampoo did you use? Please, I want to know!"
The petite, raven-haired woman was taken aback by Petra's question and soon, most of the females also came up and asked her questions as well while the others, on the other hand, were left awestruck still, looking as if they're on cloud 9. However, for Eld and Gunther, all they could think of was, 'Sunako must be protected at all costs from malicious men!'
"Told you so." Eren commented. Until Jean suddenly grabbed his collar and yelled, "You bastard! How come you have such a beautiful sister!"
"What? Hey! You're going to rip it!"
"Eren!"
In the midst of all the chaos, Levi observed from afar with a deadpan expression on his face before he take his leave. Mike was passing nearby as Levi walked past him. With a raised brow, he turn to look at the chaos that ensued before gazing back at Levi's form as a small amused smirk went up when he saw a slight tinge of red on the ears of Humanity's Strongest.
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"All right..." Kakashi raised his hand up to his mask as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stare at him intently, not wanting to miss even one bit of detail after how numerous attempts they made.
'Is it like cod roe?' Sakura thought.
'Buckteeth?' Sasuke thought.
'Or a tiny mouth?' Naruto thought lastly.
Kakashi slipped his fingers beneath his mask, observing his students' expressions. "Behind this mask..." He drawled before casually pulling it down. "There happens to be another mask!" He said rather enthusiastically about it as it was revealed to be another mask underneath his mask much to his students' dismay.
"WHAT?!" They all yelled in shock as they comically fell to the ground while Kakashi laughed with his hand behind his head. After all the hard work, this is what they got!?
A few distances away from them, Sunako observed them before shaking her head in amusement at what just transpired to her cousin's team. "You just had to pull that trick, didn't you, Kakashi?" Sunako said as the silver-haired man appeared beside her with his hands in his pockets.
"Well, you gotta admit, it is pretty amusing. But it turned out to be a good mission after all... Their teamwork's gotten much better than it was during the bell test as you can see."
"Hn." Sunako hummed, her smile ever-present. She's pleased to see that Sasuke opened up to his teammates even if it's only a little, she couldn't be any more proud of him. Sunako glanced at Kakashi before giggling to which the silver-haired man look at her with a raised brow. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. It's hilarious how you seem to be keener on hiding your face with a mask when in actuality, aside from the scar, you only have a beauty mark to hide." Sunako pointed out.
Kakashi laughed a bit at what she meant. "Let's just say it's more on 'personal' reasons as to why I chose to wear a mask."
"Or perhaps it's for you to hide your nosebleed while reading those perverted books of yours." Sunako bluntly teased him as Kakashi let out a breath.
"Sunako, don't mention that to anyone."
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Hello everyone! So at long last, I have finally updated the Filler chapter for this book! So as for why I've been taking so long, my first year of college started this year so I've been busy with my subjects for the 1st semester. The majority aren't too bad so far, except for one particular subject that's very time-consuming but I managed thankfully. I hope you guys had a kick out of this filler chapter as we're going to tackle the 1st part of Season 3!
For those who are curious about what Sunako looks like with her hair down, here's a drawing that I made.
So bye and stay awesome!😊 Peace out!✌️