Levi Ackerman¹

Ever since you joined the razed corps, you and Levi haven't gotten along. You rose to the rank of captain together. Your relationship has always been confusing, not only to the other soldiers but to yourselves as well. You're always teasing and playing dirty tricks on each other, but the moment someone else shows up, you start defending each other and kicking them out. Then you're fooling around again, but in a more charming way: he'd grab you and carry you on his shoulder somewhere into the woods or grab you by the waist and try to flirt. You could argue for hours about things like, "Why is the sky blue?", "Why wake up if you still have to go to bed?", or "Why live if you're going to die?" And you couldn't even understand your feelings for each other, because they were built on constant jokes, which was definitely not typical for Levi; he only behaved like that with you.

Noon *

• You and Levi watched the new recruits as they had their first training session of the year. Levi, as always, kept an impassive face, watching the soldiers' every movement, occasionally glancing at you. Looking at you again, he chuckled, seeing how focused you were, and came closer, pinching your side.

Levi Ackerman was born in the bleak and impoverished Underground Slums beneath the capital city of Mithres to the Kushel Ackerman family, who were forced into prostitution due to the brutal persecution of their ancient clan by the royal family. The boy grew up in abject poverty and nearly starved to death after his mother's death, but was rescued by his uncle, Kenny Ackerman, a renowned assassin. Kenny took the child under his wing, named him Levi, taught him how to wield bladed weapons, how to survive in the brutal criminal underworld of the underground city, and instilled in him a manic passion for cleanliness, owing to the filth of the surrounding slums. Once Levi had mastered basic fighting skills and was able to fend for himself, Kenny abruptly abandoned him, believing himself unfit to be a father. As an adult, Levi became a dangerous and respected underground bandit, masterfully mastering a stolen spatial maneuvering device. Together with his close friends, Farlan and Isabelle, they terrorized local criminals. Their gang carried out daring raids until they were tracked down and captured by Erwin Smith, then the leader of a Survey Corps unit. Erwin recognized the young man's phenomenal combat abilities and offered him a choice: either imprisonment for his crimes or service for the good of humanity in the Survey Corps. Levi accepted, initially planning to assassinate Smith on behalf of a corrupt official in exchange for surface citizenship for himself and his friends. However, their very first expedition beyond the walls turned disastrous—due to a sudden Titan attack in thick fog, Farlan and Isabelle were tragically killed, torn to pieces by the monsters. This terrible loss awakened the hidden genetic power of the Ackerman clan, transforming Levi into an unrivaled killing machine: in a fit of rage, he single-handedly destroyed an entire group of Titans. Realizing the futility of his revenge and recognizing Erwin's iron will and strategic genius, Levi abandoned his plans for murder and pledged his allegiance to him.