Always Worth the Risk || Levi x Reader

Chapter 26

Y/N's Pov

"Before the night is over, Reiss's estate will be crawling with our soldiers. Unfortunately, we can't expect them to wait that long. We have to get there as soon as possible. Before Eren ends up in someone's stomach." 

The grim look on Hanji's face as she finishes is unsettling but warranted. I ease back in my seat, staring off into the night and swallowing hard. 

We're riding for Reiss's estate. Erwin's coup has been successful and the military are currently taking control. In short, we're no longer fugitives. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, only to have a heavier one placed on soon after. 

If we don't hurry up then Eren will be eaten.

I drum my fingers on my thigh. But if to gain a Titan's power you had to eat someone with that power, then when did Eren become a Titan? And who did he eat? It couldn't have been during the Training Corps? Could it? When would he have had the chance? And surely we would have noticed something? 

Before then? Maybe?

And what Hanji told us about the night the Reiss family got massacred. There's definitely something else going on here. Something with the Reiss bloodline that we don't know. Something to do with Titans. 

My gaze drifts over to Levi, he's thinking hard. Grim expression, not unlike Hanji's pasted on. The torchlight flickers off his face, casting his in an eerily beautiful glow. There's still a lingering warm, fuzzy feeling from what he told me earlier. It negates some of the other bad shit we're being put through. Just a little bit.

There's a small bout of silence then Levi speaks up. "You should understand, this is Kenny the Ripper. If he's there, he's our biggest obstacle. In terms of his threat level, you'll be fighting me. Or wait, with those weapons of his, he'll be even stronger."

"Then he's unbeatable," Sasha murmurs. "At least for us."

"Maybe we should wait and meet up with other soldiers," Connie suggests.

"No chance in hell," Mikasa snaps. 

"If wait too long Eren could be eaten," I say. "If that happens then all of this will be for nothing. Besides, Kenny being as good as the Captain isn't as bad as it sounds since we actually have the Captain by our side. And the rest of us aren't so shabby either. Their superior weapons aside, we're not at as big a disadvantage as you might think."

"Yes," Armin agrees. "The odds might not be entirely in Kenny's favour."

"You think so?" Jean asks.

"Yeah," Armin says. "They might be well trained but we have way more combat experience." 

"I have to ask," Hanji says. "How is it that you lived with Kenny but know next to nothing about him, did the two of you never talk?"

I look at Levi. He told me about his connection with Kenny in private before we raided the MP base. He had looked almost nervous telling me, though I don't know why. Like he thought I would judge him for his past. I didn't. But it had been on my mind, Hanji's wondering. 

"Not much," Levi answers. "I only just learned the man's last name. Don't know if you heard but it's Ackerman." He turns to Mikasa. "Might be a relative of yours."

I frown. Now that part he didn't tell me. Does that mean that Levi and Mikasa could potentially be related also. I glance over to Mikasa. What connection does my childhood friend have with Kenny the Ripper? 

"I remember my parents saying that my dad's side, the Ackermans, were persecuted when they lived in the cities. My mom said her ancestors were Eastern. Her family's appearance made it difficult for them to fit in. Both groups were chased deep in the mountains near the edge of the walls. That's how my parents met. But my father never told me why the Ackermans were persecuted. They looked the same as all of you, so no one would think he was of a different race," Mikasa says, looking down at her boots.