Don't even know. Just an idea. I realize that this used to be all weird and messed up, thank you for pointing that out. I hope I managed to fix it.

Sincerely,

Shado on'nanoko.

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Levi wasn't the first to notice.

If he was honest with himself, he would have to say that he was probably the last to know.

The Survey Corps headquarters in Maria was haunted.

Or at least . . . that's what almost every soldier in the corps believes. Everyone, that is, accept for Levi. Levi was never one for superstition. He was a realist and preferred to have some hard proof of something before believing in anything.

That was one of the reasons why Erwin ticked him off so much. The guy almost always had very little proof to back up a belief or a decision but the little shit was right every time.

That fucker.

So when some of his things started to go missing and whenever asked, each and every person blamed it on a ghost, Levi was understandably a fuck load of skeptical. He stormed around for days trying to spot the culprit, but nothing came from it. No one went near his things, fearing the wrath of humanities strongest if they even breathed on it wrong, and no one seemed to have grown a suspicious interest in making tea or soap over night.

Levi was understandably pissed off.

Some little fucking imp had stolen his tea leaves and soap ingredients and since he hasn't found out who it is yet, he's barred from brutally beating any suspects of the theft.

Sometimes he hated the army and all their rules.

As time went on and more of his things disappeared without a trace, he started listening. One night, he sat down with his squad and let them recount the tale of the fucking devil incarnate who seemed to steal his crap for shits and giggles.

The candle at the center of the table gave off a soft glow, barely illuminating the faces of his squad as they leaned in, creating an almost amusing look of teens telling ghost stories around a campfire. But then again...that's basically what they were. They were young, a fair amount younger than Levi, and sometimes he forgot that.

Levi leaned back in his chair, letting the light slip from his face and welcoming the shadows as they hid him. At times like these, he felt like he didn't really belong, like he didn't deserve people such as these following him, looking up to him.

At times like these, he felt alone.

"They say," Petra began, being nudged and prodded into the speaker position. "That when the wall fell, a boy was forgotten, left to find his own way out. He ran and hid, unknowingly distancing himself from civilization, from safety.

"He found this place, deserted but still in working order. He lived in fear of the titans, thinking that every day might be his last. He mourned those he lost and vowed that one day, one day he would kill them all, the titans.

"He tried to lived each day as it came, slowly growing weaker from the lack of food. He soon became skin and bones, unable to do much other than moan in agony as his body rebelled against him. They say he died not long after that, his body hidden somewhere in the castle. His spirit comes out at night, sometimes you can hear his pain filled groans, his vow being repeated over and over again. Sometimes he just plays little tricks on you, letting you catch a glimpse but never really seeing, turning on lights and closing doors, rearranging things to confuse and,"

She looked straight at me as she said the next part.

"Stealing things from people who intrigue him."

Petra leaned back a bit, a frown weighing down her face.

"He's just a little boy, lonely and sad, going through such terrible things on his own." She looked back up at me, eyes filled with more care than my whole being could give. "He probably just wants someone to pay attention, someone to talk to."

The rest of his squad mumbled in agreement before drifting off into silence, waiting to see what their captain would say.

Petra cringed as he huffed out a sharp, disbelieving breath.

"This is shit." He droned. "A complete and utter waste of time. Get to the barracks, don't let me catch you lingering." He stood up brushed any dust or dirt that could have accumulated on his uniform as he sat and strides out of the hall purposefully.

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Levi prowled the halls, doing his last patrol before turning in. He checked the mess hall, the grounds, the kitchen, the dungeon and the barracks. Everything seemed to be in order. Candles were snuffed, doors were closed, the rooms were clean and all that was left to do was check the communal bathroom.

The glow of the lantern in his hand lead Levi through the halls and down stairs. His shoes clacked on the hard stone of the castle, echoing down the corridor and back. It was always like this at night, silent, peaceful. Levi could almost believe that there were no titans, that they wouldn't be riding out soon only to return with half their original numbers, or worse. But the quiet doesn't last.

It never does.

Levi turned the corner, gliding over to the bathroom door and quietly swinging it open. At first, everything seemed just fine. There were no candles left burning, no water left splayed across the floor, everything was clean and perfect.

Then something moved in the corner of his eye.

He whipped around, already in a defensive stance as he searched for whoever was in the room with him. The room was empty. No one lurking in the shadows. Levi gave his head a small shake.

He was probably just tired.

That's what a few days of no sleep will do to you.

He was about to turn around and retreat to his quarters but his eye caught something. There was light coming from under the shower room door.

Levi was thoroughly done with this night.

Not only is he hallucinating, but he had just found out that his whole squad...no...the whole fucking Corps believe in a child's ghost story and act like little girls whenever something happens.

Mouth set in a stern line, Levi stalks over to the door and threw it open, planning of destroying the offending candle and to chew out whatever recruit had thought it was such a good idea to leave a lit candle anywhere.

Almost immediately, that thought flew out of his head.

As the door opened, Levi found himself suddenly blinded by not one, not two, but what seemed to be fifty fucking candles sitting innocently, tables and even on the fucking shower heads. The candles formed a path from the door down the one step separating the dry floor from the wet and in to the center of the room, between the two walls of open showers where a small decorative table stood.

That wasn't the end though.

No, after Levi recovered from the sudden brightness, the showers turned on.

Suddenly the room was misting with sparkling droplets as they scattered off the ground. Levi would ha e said it looked fairly beautiful if he wasn't so distracted by what the mini table held.

On the flat surface of the rich brown table, placed and held like the crown of the king, was one of Levi's missing items.

His favorite tea cup.

It sat there, proudly glistening with the water of the showers, puffing out little clouds of steam as the heated liquid exhaled.

What the ever loving fuck