CHAPTER FIVE: All is good

A/N: Hello! Sorry, for the late update, but I had soo many exams and I literally spent all my free time just studying, so really sorry about that! Anyway, this is the last chapter for this story. I wish I could extend it, but I still have a whole heap of exams going on. Maybe, I'll write a sequel next time? What do you guys think? Yes, no? Hope you enjoy this anyway. Don't forget to REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin.

Chapter Five: All is good

Each and every corner of the courtroom was filled with people; whispering and talking amongst themselves, without a single clue of what exactly was going on.

It was somewhat similar to Mikasa's current situation; she was whispering and talking to Captain Levi. And her mind, though she did have a slight clue of what was going on, she had absolutely no idea what to do about it, nor any idea of why.

Why… would Captain Levi tell on me?

Did he really respect the law... that much?

What was his true purpose…?

For crying out loud, he himself used to be a thug!

So… Why?

Mikasa shut her eyes tight and turned away from Levi's face, in an attempt to shut her own mind of the same petty questions that flooded her mind like a sea of uncontrollable waves. She wanted to stop thinking of these questions, for she knew the answer would only bring her to the brink of discontentment. And she didn't want that. But deep down she knew, that she needed it.

She needed answers.

"Levi…?" She questioned, turning back to face him but yet again, her eyes landed on bare ground. A puzzled expression painted itself onto her face, as she gazed ahead and noticed him standing proudly, yet lazily, with his back to her. It seemed like he was going to say something…

"Supreme Commander." He asked, facing the Supreme Commander.

"Yes?"

"I have a proposition, if you'd please." He talked politely, but Mikasa could hear a glimpse of a somewhat languid tone present in his voice.

A proposition…?

The Supreme Commander gave him a small stare, but humbly agreed to it. "Proceed."

Levi turned his body to face the Military Police Chief, which made the Chief straighten up in surprise.

"I am Captain Levi from the Recon Corps, my proposition is as follows; Mikasa Ackerman," He started, grasping a stronger hold of Mikasa's attention as he said her name, "… shall be submitted back into the Recon Corps and declared free of all charges,"

What…?!

The gasps and whispers were once again exchanged throughout the room, in which everyone was merely confused in a state of pure and utter shock. Even to Mikasa herself, she thought of his proposition a tad ludicrous and quite impossible to achieve.

"What are you sayi-" The Chief said.

"Let me finish." Levi demanded, causing everyone to go silent. "Along, with Eren Jaeger who too, shall be submitted back into the Recon Corps and shall be held under my custody."

The silence continued, expressions of disbelief painted on everyone's faces.

"That's preposterous!" The Chief exclaimed.

"That so?" Levi asked, with languid eyes that shone whenever the light reached him.

"O-of course it is!" The Chief stuttered, "Not only do you want to free the charges of a criminal, but you also wish to take back our test subject?! Humanity's only chance of understanding the way of the titans?!"

Everyone kept dead quiet, watching with curious eyes at the conversation that was taking place between the Chief and Captain Levi. It proved interesting.

"Test subject," Levi laughed quietly under his breath, looking down as his hair covered his eyes for a short moment, before he looked back up and turned to face the Chief. "So tell me, just how much knowledge have you gained from your test subject then?"

The Chief's eyes widened in doubt, as he looked down at his hands that were kept neatly by his side. He was utterly speechless.

"A lot I assume, considering Jaeger's dreadful condition. You must have done quite a heap of experiments on him. So, it would be safe to conclude that you've gained quite a lot of knowledge, am I right?" Levi asked, his eyes were much bored now and he crossed his arms over his chest as his back tried to find a comfortable place to rest on. Though to his discomfort, he had failed in doing so.

The Chief remained silent and a scowl was plastered on his face in deep frustration with his hands forming into solid fists.

"Fine! I'll admit, the Military Police have failed in gaining any knowledge from Jaeger whatsoever. We gained absolutely nothing! No progress has been made, okay! It proved almost impossible to even get Jaeger to transform into a titan, let alone run proper experiments on him!" The chief yelled, his fists clashing hard with the metal fence that stood in front of him. "It was difficult, and we failed. I admit it."

The Chief wore a worried expression on his face and Mikasa could feel the frustration that was emitting from him.

"Thought so." Levi said bluntly.

"Bu-But I don't understand!" The Chief said, "That resolves your Jaeger issue, sure. But there is no reason that Ackerman should be freed of charges. She's a criminal. You can't just stick by her side like that."

Mikasa's eyes widened at the words of the Chief's. She hated to admit it, but he was right. The Jaeger issue was resolved, but… Why am I included in Levi's proposition?

Is he really sticking by my side, considering everything that's happened?

I just want Eren to be back where he belongs. I didn't want him to undergo any of this. And I still don't want him to.

But at this point, it really seems like Eren will be reunited with the Recon Corps. And that's all she wanted.

And yet, Levi included her in his proposition?

Why?

A small part in Mikasa couldn't believe it, but an even bigger part of her did.

Maybe… Just maybe…

"Am I not correct to say that the only reason Jaeger is here before us, alive, is not due to Ackerman's heroic help?" Levi continued with the same awfully blunt tone of voice.

The Chief looked stunned at Captain Levi with widened eyes, that matched with the expressions of everyone else in the room. It was plainly obvious to see that the Chief had never considered the possibility, probably due to his hatred and annoyance of Mikasa, he was blinded.

"I-I…" He started, but he faced down before continuing, "I… guess she has done quite a heroic feat."

"And?" Levi asked, pushing him forward to the point where he wanted the Chief to apologize to Mikasa.

"And… I suppose it is quite likely that Jaeger would cease to be alive and therefore…" The Chief's voice was very quiet and hollow; it would've difficult for other people to interpret his words clearly, but it was within proper hearing distance for Mikasa, Levi and Eren.

"Therefore?" Levi continued, smirking a little as he realised the awful state he had put the Chief in, but continuing to push him further.

"Therefore… The Military Police would not have even been able to attempt any experiments on Jaeger whatsoever, though we failed."

The smirk on Levi's face grew wider in slow, steady motions.

"And… To conclude… It may be true, no… It is most likely that Jaeger's existence is still intact due to the help of that little girl, Mikasa Ackerman. So…"

This was it, Levi thought to himself as the smirk on his face was matched with amused eyes.

"So…" The chief finally looked up and faced Mikasa with apologizing eyes, "The Military Police owes you an apology, Ackerman." The Chief made hand gestures directed to the rest of the Military Police standing behind him and in unison, they all bent down and bowed to her whilst saying "We the Military Police, apologize to you, Mikasa Ackerman. And to you, Eren Jaeger for conducting false experiments."

Levi couldn't help but laugh under his breath, at the amusing sound of the Military Police. A small part of him really liked putting the Police in such a foolish state. He found it quite entertaining.

Mikasa stared at the police with widened eyes as she said, "Thank you… Chief." When she made eye contact with the Chief as he stood back up. Mikasa was made purely stunned. She wasn't even sure just how to react exactly.

"Supreme Commander." Levi said, turning his back on Mikasa once more to face the Supreme Commander.

"And how about the money owed to the villagers? From the food Ackerman stole, it seems to be quite a lot." Said the Supreme Commander to Levi. The Captain opened his mouth as to say something, before he got interrupted.

"We'll pay for it." Came a voice; it was the voice of the Military Police chief. "The Military Police will humbly pay for the expenses. We owe her." His voice was strong, despite his quite awful state beforehand.

The Supreme Commander wore a thoughtful expression on his face, with his chin sleeping on his right fist, as he thought long and hard about the final judgement. The entire audience in the courtroom only stared at him with widened eyes, including Mikasa who wished that Levi's proposition was enough to get her and Eren out of this dreadful mess.

"Alright. I have made my decision final. I hereby declare…" started the Supreme Commander, as Mikasa looked on with a deeply worried expression. "Eren Jaeger will be submitted back into the Recon Corps and returned under the custody of Captain Levi, along with Mikasa Ackerman who too will be submitted back into the Recon Corps and freed of all charges."

Mikasa's face wore a bright smile as she turned to Eren.

"Eren!"

Despite Eren's dreadful condition, he managed to smile back at Mikasa with clean tears that ran down the sides of his cheeks.

Mikasa couldn't believe this. Eren was back in the Recon Corps… And so was she.

And all thanks to…

As Mikasa got free of her cuffs, she immediately stood up and ran to give Eren a hug.

"I'm so glad…" She said, in small whispers.

She got her family back.

"Me too, Mikasa." Eren said, his face now dry from the tears. "Come on, let's go back to the Recon Corps."

"Yeah." She said, until her eyes landed on a particular back of a certain someone.

A certain someone who saved not only hers, but Eren's life too.

"Go ahead without me, okay?" She said reassuringly to Eren, patting his right shoulder.

"What? Well, okay." He said, first confused before he humbly agreed, as he continued to walk out of the courtroom.

Mikasa stood alone, as she merely watched the Captain. He was staring out at the sunlight that was being shone through the windows of the courtroom. At this moment, only her and the Captain were left in the room, surrounded by the sunlight in which lightened up the room.

"So, when'd you know?" She asked Levi, making her way towards him slowly.

"Know what?" Levi said, his back still to her.

"That I was giving the food to Eren. It couldn't have been the night when I got arrested, because you only knew of my stealing on that same night. You couldn't have possibly informed the Military Police then."

Levi stared at the sunlight for a while longer, before he finally turned around to face Mikasa whilst resting his back on the bar behind him. "I knew from the start."

Mikasa's eyes widened at his words. All the way back then…?

"B-But how?" she said.

"At the stables, I was lecturing you about not showing up to training. I had a feeling you'd disobey my words regardless. Seems I was right."

"So…?"

"So I followed you. All the way to the point where you ran out of the stone building Eren was kept at, with no sign of the food in your hands."

Mikasa stared widely at Levi, stunned by his words. He was quite amazing; Captain Levi.

"So, why didn't the Police arrest me right away, if you'd have already told them?"

"The night you were arrested, we had a little talk remember. It was then that I had to confirm it and I had the police on standby at the stone building. If you'd have listened to me, then maybe you could've avoided getting arrested."

Mikasa thought about his words; It all made perfect sense.

"I see." Mikasa laughed quietly under her breath, "But then, what about the Military Police's failed experiments?"

"I kept my eye on them too." He said awfully bluntly.

Mikasa was purely amazed at Levi's efforts, after doing all this, and yet he still managed to save both her and Eren's life.

"You didn't even have to go against the law… But in the end, you still got what you wanted." Mikasa said, smiling softly whilst staring down at the floor, unable to make eye contact with Levi.

"You don't have to disobey the law to get what you want," Levi started, making Mikasa stare up at him with astonished eyes, "You just have to outsmart it." He said quite smugly, with a slight smile. "And sometimes, the outcome turns out to be much better."

Mikasa looked deep into his eyes as they stared back at her. For a moment, all they did was stare at each other, with soft smiles that were almost, barely noticeable.

"L-Levi…" Mikasa said, looking down as to not to reveal to Levi the tears that were on the verge of escaping her eyes.

Levi's face was painted with soft, surprised expression, as he held back the urge to reply with back with 'What?' He could notice the light tears that cascaded down her cheeks, landing on her uniform in fresh, clean droplets.

"You saved my life… And Eren's… In a way, I didn't know how… I-" Mikasa paused; She was unsure what to say. All she knew was that… She owed him. A lot.

Unsure of what she was doing, nor saying, she ran up to Levi and wrapped her arms around his chest in a tight embrace, burying her head deep into his chest. Small whimpers escaped her lips, but she was happy.

Eren's back in the Recon Corps, and so am I.

And things are back to normal again; the way they were meant to be.

I guess, this is my way of saying thank you… Levi.

Levi was put in utter surprise by her suddenness, but he responded back in a way any other human would. He hugged her back; wrapping his arms around her and tightening the embrace. He could feel her crying into his chest; the tears sinking through his shirt as he could feel the coldness of them on his chest, nevertheless, he rested his head on hers, as to give her more comfort.

Of course, it's been so traumatic for her, Levi thought. But all is good now.

I will protect you, Mikasa.

Done & done! Okay, so the whole Mikasa x Levi thing didn't go as I imagined exactly, but I guess it's fine. Right? Hope you enjoyed this story! Please, feel free to give any suggestions about a sequel to this story, I may consider it sooo. Yeah, please REVIEW, and thankyou for reading! ~Onedreamerhere