And so a few months came and went. Very slowly, Hange's attitude began to change toward her pregnancy. Soon, she was seen wearing plain, brown pants with her boots, her khaki uniform slacks unable to button anymore. Her yellow shirt was now untucked, and she no longer wore ODM gear. As she was strong and very much in-shape, the only indication of the life she carried was the perfect little round bump at her middle. The shock of it all gradually wore off, and for awhile, she simply accepted the whole thing as reality.

But then, there was something about the tiny, fluttery movements she eventually began to feel that made a smile form on her face and a warmth grow in her heart. She started to talk to the little flutter when it made its presence known, just little quips and comments, and it was both endearing and amusing to witness. Even to her, a scientist, it was just so amazing, ordinary as it was. But this wasn't just a specimen she was caring for and protecting. This was her own child... hers and Levi's.

As for the Captain, he wasn't one for the warm fuzzies. He became increasingly guarding of Hange, but not in a panicked, worried sort of way. It was with more of a vigilant sternness that he set his foot down on things, like how much time she spent out in the heat or how close she got to her captive titans. Levi had even drawn a long black line on the stone ground, ordering that she wasn't to cross it... and any soldier who let her cross it would have consequences. And at times, when she was outdoors for long periods of time, he would march over to her and wordlessly shove a water canteen into her hands, giving her a chiding and protective glower.

He went about his days as usual, and there was really no discernible change in his demeanor. For his part, he still felt a numb about it all... He had lost his mother, never having known his father, and a guilt of sorts swirled around in his consciousness that he could very well leave an orphaned child behind one day.

It was Kuro's words to Hange that settled his troubled thoughts for the most part, reminding him that children were a promise of a future... the very future they were all fighting for. It gave Levi a peace and a resolve to remember this, but even still... now more than ever, he desperately wanted this wretched war to end.

And as the days continued to pass, Kuro juggled his time between training with the other Scouts and studying under Dr. Lewis. His mindset had changed over the course of his medical apprenticeship, as had his overall demeanour. He seemed to walk taller with more purpose in his steps and more resolve in his countenance, eager to get to his next study session.

Then, one ordinary day, the little bell above the clinic door jingled, and a small child holding something wrapped in a towel scurried in. He seemed very distressed. "I need the doctor!" he blubbered tearfully to Kuro, who was rolling bandages behind the counter.

Kuro called out for Dr. Lewis as he hurried around the counter and knelt down in front of the boy. "Can you tell me what's happened?" he asked calmly, putting into practice what he'd been taught.

"It's hurt," the boy sniffled, looking down to what was clutched against his chest.

Pulling back gently on a corner of the towel, Kuro saw that the boy held a baby bunny, badly bloodied and convulsing.

Dr. Lewis came out of the surgery and around the counter. "Now, now, what have we here?" He donned his glasses and bent with his hands on his knees to observe their patient. "Ohh.... tsk tsk..."

"A cat had it..." The child looked at Dr. Lewis and then at Kuro with watery, blue eyes. "Can you save it?"

A bunny... of all things, this wasn't what Kuro had been expecting at all. Poor thing... One might say the little creature was lucky it hadn't been eaten, but the state it was in now couldn't be called fortunate. He looked up at Dr. Lewis before speaking to the boy again with softness in his voice. "We'll see what we can do."

Dr. Lewis took the injured bunny with great care, towel and all. "Now you just wait here, son," he told the boy, "and we'll do what we can for the little fella." Standing upright again, he turned to head into the surgery with Kuro in tow.

Upon stepping into the surgery, Kuro hastily rolled up his sleeves and hurried over to the sink. "What equipment do you need me to get, doctor?" Sure, he'd only studied human biology, but there must be some similarities on a smaller scale. If this was a human, what would they need? What would they do? Kuro tried to run over all the options he knew about, but Dr. Lewis would know about procedures that he didn't.

"A syringe, please." The doctor gently laid the poor critter down on the table. It was jolting uncontrollably, its throat torn open with bloody tissue and muscle fibers exposed.

Kuro quickly made his way to where they kept the equipment and pulled out a syringe. "What else?"

"That will be all," the old man said calmly as he accepted the hypodermic needle. He then stuck it into the rubbery top of a small glass jar containing a substance Kuro knew would stop the animal's heart.

His eyes widened as his eyes fell on the jar. "Doctor... are you... you're not even going to try? I thought you said we would do what we could..." That little boy was waiting for them outside, and they wouldn't even try to save it? Even after it had survived being attacked by a cat?

"We are, Kuro." Dr. Lewis removed the needle from the bottle. "In this case, putting this creature out if its pain is doing what we can."

"But, Doctor, surely there must be something we could try before we give up..." Kuro couldn't see how bringing the bunny in here only to not treat it was any different from turning the boy away. Why go to such lengths if they were never going to at least try in the first place? I didn't make any sense to him.

Dr. Lewis inserted the needle into the baby rabbit's neck, and almost instantly, it was still, its tiny paws stiffly protruding into the air. "Kuro, if this were a human being on my table, I'd be doing more for the sake of morality, but my prognosis would be the same." The doctor's grey-blue eyes met Kuro's. "Part of the job is knowing the limits of medicine... knowing when there is something that can be done... and when there isn't. You'll need to understand this if you're to be a field medic. I'm afraid the time will come when you'll need to make the choice to abandon one life for the sake of another."

Kuro stared at the creature, feeling his chest grow tight as the image seemed to distort... Marco. Levi Squad. All those who died in Trost and on the expeditions. Even his own father had been ruthlessly torn apart and tossed aside, and others still, barely able to scream in their dying moments. This was the never-ending hopelessness and despair that came every time humanity came face-to-face with the titans... when the line between seeing tomorrow and fading into mere memory was finer than their blades' edge.

Suddenly the room felt very cold. The resolve he'd felt for weeks now was shaken like a building that'd been smashed by a titan's fist. His shoulders seemed to have dropped as if he was already carrying the weight of the many lives relying on him. No matter how much they screamed and cried and begged, Kuro knew there would be those he'd have to leave behind. Not every injury could be healed... Instead of bandages, he'd be wrapping them in their burial shroud.

Kuro's eyes shone under the surgery lights, and he took a shaky breath. "I... I understand, doctor," he whispered through the lump in his throat.

The day slid into evening, and the orange and purple sunset gave way to the murky blue of a starless night. The image of the tiny, mangled rabbit remained in Kuro's mind, shedding a new and disturbing light on his decision to become a medic. To save lives was what he'd signed up for... not to leave them in bloody convulsions in the grass. A sick feeling swirled around in the pit of his stomach, and it remained as he made his way to Hange's office for his study hours.

Tonight, though, he found the room empty, and he almost felt relieved. Rather than going to the books like he usually did, he sat down at Moblit's desk. Plunking his elbows down onto the polished wood, he buried his face in his hands.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there like that. At length, the door opened, and footsteps entered before it shut again. There was no usual peppy greeting, though, and Kuro looked up to see Captain Levi standing there, watching him.

Kuro stumbled out of his chair and saluted. "C-Captain." He stood to attention, back straight and shoulders rigid, though his expression was blank, hiding the heaviness he was feeling.

Levi nodded curtly in response to the salute, then asked Kuro if he knew where a certain book was located. "Hange won't be in tonight," he explained. Truth be told, it had been quite the ordeal convincing her to stay in, but she would push herself to a breaking point if Levi let her. It was only after he'd agreed to bring some of her research materials back to the apartment that she had complied.

"I understand, sir," Kuro nodded as he went to find the book. He wasn't an expert at how Hange organised things yet, but he knew roughly where it would be.

It didn't take long before he spotted it- the huge tome that sat on the top shelf. Of course that was the one she wanted. Kuro reached up and pulled it down. The cover had a thin layer of dust all over it.

"Here you go, Captain," he said, handing the book over. "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

Levi took the thick volume with both hands, then pulled one away to look at it. He rubbed his fingers together, and dust fell from them. "Tch... No, that's all, thank you." He looked up at Kuro with his eyes only. He hadn't missed the young soldier's body language when he'd entered the room. "Something on your mind?" he asked plainly.

So... he had noticed. There wasn't much use in trying to hide it anymore. Kuro's shoulders dropped, and his eyes drifted to the floor. "Captain... have you- have you ever had to make a decision that you knew would mean some people would survive but at the expense of the lives of others?" As soon as he said it, Kuro realised that it was a stupid question. This was Captain Levi he was talking to. Of course he'd made such choices... and he would never get so worked up over a rabbit.

Levi looked back at him, silent for only a few seconds... enough for Kuro to see- or at least think he saw- the flicker of pain in his otherwise expressionless eyes. "More times than I'm proud of," his quiet voice admitted honestly.

"Well..." Kuro slowly went on. "...something happened at the surgery today. It... probably seems very trivial and shouldn't be so heavily on my mind but... it reminded me that I can't treat everyone. I'll have to choose who to leave... who to let die." He swallowed, still feeling foolish about what had brought all this on. "Does it... does it get any easier, Captain? Deciding who should be left to their fate?"

Levi didn't answer right away... but when he did, his voice was steady and strong. "Easier? No." The Captain's eyes didn't leave Kuro's. "It's never easy when a choice dictating life and death lies before you... when there's nothing you can do to save lives. But what you can do is learn to live with those choices, and you do that by making the choice that will leave you with the least regrets. It's a shitty position to be in... no doubt about it. But you do what you can. No more, no less."

"I understand, Captain." Kuro didn't know what else he'd expected... maybe he'd hoped that, in time, it would become easy to decide. That he would eventually be able to choose between lives without a care.

But then... what would he be? A monster? Like the titans?

Levi could see that the boy was still troubled- and understandably so. He stepped forward, his eyes steadfast, his voice radiating the strength he had built from the ashes of unthinkable pain, and he placed a firm hand on Kuro's shoulder.

"Kuro. Listen to me. The reality you're coming to terms with right now is horrific, and it will only intensify once you're on the blood-soaked battlefield. But the only thing you can do- the ONLY thing-" Levi's fingers gripped Kuro's shoulder. "-is to trust your instincts and take responsibility only for the things you can control. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Learn from it. Don't make it again. But some things will be out of your hands." His grasp loosened, and he sighed, letting his arm return to his side. "It's shitty... like I said. But it's the price of freedom. And we all have to pay it in our own way."

Kuro flinched when Captain Levi placed a hand on his shoulder, and immediately, his eyes locked with the Captain's. He hung on every word, never once looking away. He realised then that Levi understood his pain... better than most. He knew what this world was like and the suffering it caused. Kuro wasn't alone when it came to this weight on his shoulders... there were others- many others- who carried it too.

"I trust you, Captain..." Kuro murmured with a single nod. "I'll do my best."

Levi returned the nod. "It's all we ask."

And then he was gone.