Set after the events of chapter 52 in the Manga, if you have not read up to that chapter please note there will be spoilers! There will also be mentions of events/characters from the spin-off series "A Choice With No Regrets". This is rated T for language (because we all know what Levi is like) and gore (should go without saying, this IS Attack on Titan...). There will eventually be romance between Levi and Rico, but I'm trying to keep everyone as in-character as possible throughout the story.
I wasn't planning on uploading this until I had completed the entire story (in case I decided to change some things), but I'm kind of desperate to get Rico some recognition. She's probably my favourite female character in SnK, while Levi is hands-down my favourite male. Naturally, I like to ship my favourites (even when they have no interaction whatsoever). I would give anything to see them interact in the manga/anime, I mean c'mon: they're both short and badass, putting them together is a recipe for trouble! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story! I can't say for sure when chapter 2 will be out, but I'm working on it!
"So you have no doubts, Erwin Smith?"
Erwin raised his hand to the bandaged stump that once was his right arm and gave it a rub. He longed to scratch it, to rid it of that horrible, itchy, burning sensation. But he knew better. He looked up at Dot Pixis and replied; "None at all."
The Garrison Commander, all clad in his military uniform, gave a thoughtful "hmm...". He reached into his jacket to pull out his beloved stainless steel liquor-filled flask, only to pause when he remembered his alcohol had been taken away by his subordinate Anka. She had argued that the old man needed to take better care of his health. Pity, after everything Pixis had been told by Erwin, he felt as though he really needed a drink...
Word had spread like wildfire throughout the towns, courtesy of anxious soldiers stationed at the top of the walls. It was them who had witnessed the event; a great beam of light rising from the earth, spotted within Wall Maria, the outermost wall which had been taken over by titans. Some had shrugged at the beam, passing it off as nothing more than a lightning strike. But there were others who knew better, others who knew exactly what that flash was; a human-to-titan transformation. It was Hanji, one of Erwin's most trusted subordinates, who bought him the news.
It was an opportunity too good to miss. Erwin and Hanji had agreed that this "new shifter" had to be captured; they could be a valuable source of information. For all they knew, there could be more than one shifter. Perhaps it was the secret base of their enemy? Or perhaps it was nothing at all... There was only one way to find out.
Hunting down a shifter in titan territory was a dangerous operation. It was decided that six members of the Special Operations Squad, led by Lance Corporal Levi, would undertake the difficult task. Meanwhile, Hanji and a few other squad members were to remain behind for critical research on Titan-shifter Eren. The issue was who to choose for the mission.
Mikasa, being an extremely protective adopted sister, had persisted on staying with Eren. Erwin only relented to her request after she had stated that she could control Eren if he "went berserk". Historia, given her value to titan research, also wasn't an option for The Hunt. This left few choices remaining. Of course, Erwin had thought about sending the leaders Mike and Nanaba, but both had been killed in action.
It was at that point that a certain bald-headed, grey-moustached Garrison Commander had come waltzing in with an interesting suggestion.
"Does this mean you accept my offer?" Pixis asked.
Erwin glanced down at the files sitting in his lap. He mulled over the plans in his head one last time. He, Pixis and all of the other great leaders based their decisions on one factor: whether it would benefit humanity or not. Erwin was seeing more pros than cons in Pixis' offer. It was simple really: get a Garrison soldier to fill in as number six in the Special Operations Squad. Pixis had taken very little time to consider who that soldier would be. Garrison had plenty of soldiers – elites even – to spare. But it was only one more highly-skilled, experienced soldier that the team required.
Erwin returned his gaze to Pixis. "I accept."
Pixis smiled. "I'm sure she won't disappoint."
Erwin scanned over the soldier's name on the paper. For the first time the Survey Corps Commander said the name aloud, testing it on his tongue as if it would give him some indicator of the soldier's true worth.
"...Rico Brzenska..."
"Tch."
"Don't 'tch' at me!" Hanji shouted over her paperwork, "These experiments are important."
Levi frowned at her. Seeing the infamous and gloriously short solider with his back leaning against a bench top, arms folded and his trademark monotone expression set in stone was enough to send most people into a stuttering and sweating mess, from fear of course.
But not Hanji. Heck, she was one to fear too, with her overwhelming eccentricity and whatnot... She was sitting down at a nearby table. Papers of diagrams and notes scribbled down in her almost unreadable writing were scattered all over the place. The brown-haired squad leader was darting from paper to paper, reviewing everything for what must have been the fifty billionth time.
"I thought you would have leapt at the first minute to take part in this mission, Four-Eyes, you always use to pester me about helping you capture titans. Do you really want to stay behind and babysit bratty Eren?"
"Why would I go catch that new titan when Erwin's sending you to go collect it for me?" Hanji said with a smirk.
Levi only scowled.
The scientist nudged at her glasses so they sat more comfortably on her nose. "I've decided the first thing I'm going to do in these experiments is-"
"You've already explained it to me," Levi interrupted.
"But I need to review it and include my-"
"Don't-" Levi straightened up, his eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "Don't..." He repeated, walking over and yanking Hanji by the hair to force her into making eye contact, "Don't."
It was then he noticed the ugly smudge of ink on Hanji's cheek. She must have fallen asleep on her paperwork, idiot. He also took note of the oily texture of her hair within his fingers; his fellow co-leader really had been busy on these plans... Busy enough to be neglecting her hygiene to some extent. Ugh. Levi released her and casually made his way outside the room; he had other business to attend to, like washing his hands with the strongest soap known to the world to rid himself of Hanji's oil (and strands of hair). As he stepped outside the door he overheard Hanji muttering, but all he could make out was "...must be constipated..."
Pixis glanced over his shoulder at the woman behind him. Rico was gazing with wonder at all the lush vegetation and the cloudless sky, tinged orange from the early morning sun. Her body was moving rhythmically with the pace of her horse. When she realised Pixis was watching her she resumed her usual monotone expression, not wanting to look like some excitable little girl on a picnic ride. She was a soldier about to embark on a serious mission; she needed to appear dignified, disciplined, unbreakable. At least that's what she thought. Pixis chuckled and turned away.
It did kind of feel like a picnic ride though, for the time being anyway. Rico, Pixis, Erwin, all mounted on horses, making their way to some secluded destination in the centre of a forest within Wall Rose... Erwin wouldn't stand for anyone else to join the ride to the house, wanting to keep its location as secretive as possible. Rico suspected that he was already uneasy about allowing her to this "secret spot", not wanting to put his soldiers at risk of detection by an enemy unknown to Rico.
She was surprised that Commander Smith had insisted on taking them to the hideout himself. Anyone else in his condition would have stayed in bed to continue recovering. But Erwin wasn't 'anybody else'. There was a good reason why he was the leader of the Survey Corps.
Rico lifted her gaze to Erwin, who was riding just ahead. He was wearing his green scouting legion cloak. The Wings of Freedom on his clothing seemed to rustle like real feathers against the breeze. Even though he wasn't facing her, Rico felt as though there were eyes on the back of the Commander's head, glaring at her, scrutinizing her, threatening all kinds of horrors should she screw up this mission of give away the location of the Special Operations Squad hideout.
Pixis had put his faith in her. She had to succeed.
"We're almost there," Erwin said over his shoulder.
A few minutes later the trio were approaching a reasonably large, single-storied house. It looked as though it was made from wood, giving it the impression of being old. But its many windows were all polished remarkably well and the wooden planks that made up the porch were free of any mud stains. There were no weeds around the building, it was astonishingly well-kept.
Rico realised there was someone standing on the roof – a sentry? It was a young woman, draped in Survey Corps uniform and a worn-out red scarf. She was watching them with an unreadable expression.
Erwin brought the travellers to a halt, they all dismounted their horses. It was then that the soldier on the roof finally jumped down without hassle and approached the trio. Went she stopped in front of them she put one hand behind her back and pressed the other to her heart in a respectful salute to Erwin. The Commander nodded his approval at her. Now that she was up close Rico could recognise her: Mikasa. Rico had fought alongside her in the mission to seal Wall Rose and had offered Mikasa advice during the trial over Eren's fate.
A tall boy with two-toned, scruffy hair suddenly came running from around the side of the house. He hurriedly took a place at Mikasa's side and mimicked her salute. "Commander Erwin sir! Welcome back!" He blurted out.
Mikasa shot a subtle but unmistakably irritated look at the boy.
"Ackerman, Kirstein, take these horses to the stables," Erwin ordered.
"Sir!" They said together.
Erwin handed his reigns over to Mikasa while Jean Kirstein offered to take both Pixis' and Rico's steeds. The Garrison soldiers said their thanks and tailed after Commander Erwin as he led them indoors. Before stepping inside the Commander brushed his feet against the door mat. Pixis did the same. Rico followed, but she was so caught up in taking in the appearance of the house that her efforts to comb her shoes clear of dirt were half-hearted. She left a faint trail in her wake, but neither she nor the Commanders noticed.
It was quiet inside. There was a large table in the centre of the room, surrounded by wooden chairs. In the corner there were couches situated around a smaller, round table. There was also a big fireplace, a closet and plates lined up neatly on wooden shelves. It definitely looked like a meeting room.
"Rico."
"Sir?" Rico looked up at Dot Pixis.
"Erwin and I will fetch the squad leaders, you wait here in the mean time," the old man stated.
Rico straightened up, "yes sir!"
The Commanders disappeared into the next room, chattering to each other, leaving Rico alone. She wandered the room aimlessly for a bit, letting her fingers graze over the chairs and tables and trying out the couches in the corner. Eventually she paused at the window and stared outside. It was quite a beautiful sight: the morning sun peeking through the leaves of trees, casting shadows on the forest floor that seemed to dance... But the mission ahead was heavy on Rico's mind. She found herself pondering about what she was in store for.
Her thoughts drowned all other noise, she failed to hear footsteps approaching the room...
Levi stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened at the floor; dirt. There was a faint trail of footprints leading around the room. Levi's grey eyes followed the filth until...
There. Standing over at the window, gazing at the world outside with apparent absentmindedness was a silver-haired woman. Levi immediately took in the large red roses, surrounded with spiralling thorns, pictured on the back and sleeves of the woman's tan-coloured jacket. She was a member of Garrison, no doubt.
"Hey," Levi called, his tone lacking any hint of respect or politeness.
The silver-haired soldier jumped and quickly spun around to face Levi. She raised her hand to her chest in salute and straightened her back, trying to look as tall and dignified as possible. Though, she wasn't very tall at all.
"Rico Brzenska, sir! Here on military business!" She looked a little flustered from the surprise, but her voice was very calm.
Levi quickly took in her features: her eyes were as silver as her hair, her expression (after getting over the initially surprise) was stern and she was reasonably slim, yet somehow sharp. She also had glasses which were strapped around her head, much like Hanji. The thought of that made Levi nearly shudder. One Hanji was more than enough.
"Midget Four-Eyes-," Oh yes, I'll keep that nickname Levi thought, "-Weren't you ever taught to clean your boots before entering a building?"
Rico's jaw dropped, but she immediately closed it again, not wanting to appear off-guard. Her expression hardened. No one insults her glasses... She dropped her arm and glared at the man standing across the room from her. "Dirt doesn't hurt anyone. Fists can though."
She smirked when Levi narrowed his eyes in distaste. "Was that a threat?"
"Maybe."
Levi stared coldly at her for a moment. Then he zipped over to the large, wooden closet at the opposite end of the room. Within moments he was marching back with a broom in one hand and a mop in the other. He stomped right up to Rico with his cold expression unchanging... Once he had reached her he paused to once again absorb her appearance. Now that he was so close he realised something: she was even shorter than he was, just. She was staring back at him with an equally monotone expression.
Levi scoffed at the woman, "clean up your mess."
With that said, he forced the mop into her arms (and face). Rico peeked out from behind the stringy head of the mop, looking disgusted. "Do it yourself, I'm busy waiting for Commander Erwin to return with-"
"You can clean while you wait."
"No!" Rico twirled the mop in her arms and sent it swinging around like a sword. Levi barely had enough time to block the attack with his broom. Rico was stunned by the man's rapid reflexes, but she didn't give up. She went for another strike with the opposite end of the mop, but once again Levi blocked the attack. Rico advanced once more, this time with greater agility, and managed to finally smack Levi across the face with the head of the mop.
The end which is used to clean up filthy floors... Levi realised with horror as he staggered backwards. He sneered at Rico before thwacking her over the head with his broom. Rico recoiled as bristles from the broom went everywhere. The pair exchanged fierce stares before clashing broom-against-mop. Their weapons locked and their eyes met. They glared at one another, neither one willing to back down-
"AHEM!"
Rico and Levi paused and (somewhat sheepishly) turned to the door.
Erwin, Pixis and Hanji, clothed in their military jackets, were standing at the doorway. Pixis looked amused, Hanji confused and Erwin was as unreadable as ever. The Survey Corps Commander stepped forth and frowned down at the two sparring soldiers.
"I see you two have already met."
Rico assumed the hand-to-heart soldier formation. "Apologies Commander, I was waiting patiently for you when this clean-freak appeared..." She turned to Hanji and smiled, "is this the squad leader I'll be working with?"
Pixis and Hanji both stifled their laughs. Erwin ignored them, "No. Hanji is a leader, but she'll be remaining behind for this mission to undertake crucial experiments. The squad leader you'll be working with is Levi," he gestured to Levi with a nod of his head.
Rico and Levi both looked horrified.
"Him?!"
"Her?!"