Two evenings later, Kuro arrived at the infirmary to find Levi propped up against a pillow with a cup of tea. He was still very pale, but some color was just beginning to return to his face, and his eyes weren't nearly as shadowed.

"Good evening, Captain. How are you feeling today?" Kuro saluted before closing the door behind him.

"Well enough," Levi answered. His voice sounded very, very tired. He looked down, then tipped the small, white porcelain cup inward to finish the tea. His eyes did still look a little sunken, but his appearance was understandable due to the massive amount of blood loss he'd endured. He looked over and placed the cup on the small wooden table by the bed, his movements rigid.

"It's certainly good to see you properly awake, sir." Kuro picked up the notes and began reading through them. Everything was looking better than yesterday, which was a relief. "Am I okay to take your vitals, sir?"

Levi's head dropped back against the pillow, his whole body visibly void of energy. "Do what you need to do." His eyes closed slowly.

Kuro worked efficiently, checking what he needed to and neatly writing it down. Satisfied that everything still looked okay, he returned the notes to the bedside table. "Is there anything you need, sir?"

Levi inhaled softly as his eyes opened again. "No..." He wasn't quite sitting up all the way, but he lifted his head a bit as Kuro sat down. "You saved my life," he murmured, and then he nodded once. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Captain, but I can't take all the credit." In truth, all he had done was made sure that the Captain reached Dr. Lewis alive and then assisted the other two with the surgery.

"Maybe so... but I'm talking about in the field," Levi laid his head back against the pillow again, his depleted blue eyes making direct contact with Kuro's. "You handled yourself extremely well. I made it back because of you." His eyes closed again as his head turned. His voice was very low as he continued. "You may not realize how fine the line is between life and death... but I came very close to the other side of that line, I could almost taste it... I could see the people who are waiting for me there, Kuro. I heard their voices... But it was your voice that snapped me back to reality. That is what I mean when I say you saved my life."

Kuro wasn't sure how to respond. Blinking down at the floor, he thought back to how desperate he'd felt in that moment when he could see the Captain slipping away... but he hadn't known just how close it'd been. He'd felt so helpless, so ill-equipped for such a trauma, that pleading Levi to cling to life was all he could do.

Do what you can... nothing more, nothing less.

At last, those words were beginning to take on their full meaning in his mind. Looking back up at Levi again, his fingers curled a little and then loosened again as he swallowed. "Captain, I... I must admit, that I was worried out there... I was afraid we would lose you. I... I'm relieved that you're still here, Sir."

Levi's expression was troubled, despite his sincere gratitude. "That horde of titans couldn't have charged at a worse time," he said quietly. "There weren't enough trees around for us all to employ the ODM gear..." He turned his head to look at Kuro again, one hand resting against his middle. He knew that day had been hard on them all, but to a leader or to a medic, the loss of lives was so much more of a burden. Levi understood that more than most. "You did all you could have done," he said with conviction.

"Still doesn't feel like enough at times, Sir. Yes, I did all I could, but I wish I could have done more." Kuro sat back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face. He knew there was no hope for some of those who died, but he also knew he lacked the time and resources to help others. Sighing, he stood up. "Would you like another cup of tea, Captain?" There was no use in dwelling on it all. No amount of thinking would change what had already happened.

Levi understood there was nothing he could say that would make the young soldier feel better about the awful reality behind the choices he had to make, so he simply nodded. "Sure. I've got nothing else to do." It wasn't a complaint. More like a dry little joke. "Make yourself one too, if you want."

"Thank you, Captain." Kuro collected Levi's cup, and cleaned it while the kettle boiled. At least it kept his mind occupied for now.

Levi was quiet. His head was laid back and only slightly turned toward the wall with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping, though. His emotions were so mixed... seeing Farlan and Isabel and his mother almost as clearly as if they'd been standing right in front of him made him miss them so much now... he always missed them- not a day went by that he didn't- but right now, it almost felt as though he had lost them all over again.

However, it was also right at the front of his mind what his death would have meant to humanity... and to the people who loved him. Most especially Hange and the child who would have grown up never knowing their father.

It was painful missing those who were no longer with him. But Levi was glad to be alive... that he'd chosen to live.

**********

A few more days passed, and Captain Levi no longer needed constant supervision, so Kuro finally had a break. It felt like the first time he could take a breather since the expedition. The weather was warm enough that sitting outside seemed like it would be pleasant enough. He picked up his sketchbook and pencil and headed outside to a grassy area, finding a shady spot under a tree to sit down. He watched as others walked around on the field in front of him before opening his sketchbook and just started sketching whoever he saw- soldiers relaxed with calm expressions just doing nothing in particular. He'd tried to keep his sketchbook peaceful. There were a couple of drawings that were dark or slightly scary, but most were normal. Names and dates were written next to the pictures, almost like his own version of a diary. He tucked his knees up and leant the book against them, his pencil gliding across the page.

A little while passed before Armin and Eren came along. "Hey, Kuro," Armin greeted casually, the two of them just out for some fresh air.

Kuro looked up from his book and smiled. "Hey, you guys. How are you doing?" He's been so focused on sketching Jean, Sasha and Connie messing around, that he hadn't actually noticed them walking over.

"Not bad." Armin caught a glimpse of Kuro's notebook page. "Hey, you're pretty good!" he remarked with enthusiasm, gesturing.

Eren tipped his head to see as well, and his eyebrows went up. "Woah. Where'd you learn to draw like that?"

"Thanks," Kuro replied with a smile, tucking the pencil behind his ear. "My parents taught me the basics as I was growing up. They thought that at least being able to sketch something was as important as reading or writing. Made sense considering the work they did."

Both boys looked on with interest as Kuro flipped through the pages. "That's really amazing," Armin commended. "You have a real talent."

Kuro quickly flicked back some of the pages he'd turned over before turning the book around and showing it to Eren. The sketch showed Eren's looming titan form. It was rough, like he had tried to get it down as quickly as possible . "I drew it from memory, so it's not perfect, but I thought you'd want to see what you look like. It's not like we have titan-sized mirrors," he said with a chuckle.

Eren's green eyes widened, and his lips parted. Slowly, he took the sketchbook in his hand. "I... I've never seen my titan before..." he said quietly, studying the sketch closely. "I mean... I've seen it decaying... But it's always been face-down." He looked awhile longer before handing it back to Kuro. "Heh. I've always been curious. Thanks." He smiled.

"No problem. Glad I finally got to show you." Kuro took the book back with a smile, continuing to flip through the pages.

"Hm." Armin's eyes softened thoughtfully. "It's nice that you're capturing life outside the War... I'm not sure I'd want some of the things we've seen immortalized on paper..."

Kuro turned to a sketch of Vice Captain Moblit walking hurriedly with his arms full of papers. The caption read, Vice Captain Moblit- Stressed as usual.

Eren bounced one eyebrow and chuckled. Being the subject of many of Hange's experiments, he knew firsthand how accurate that was.

Kuro turned one more page to his most recently completed drawing, which was of Levi and Hange in the infirmary. Hange was explaining something with an excited expression while the Captain sat propped up in bed against a stack of pillows. Kuro had managed to capture Levi's very small and very slight smile that showed more in his eyes than with his mouth. The caption read Captain Levi and Section Commander Hange- Little Ackerman Coming Soon.

"Hm. It's hard to picture Section Commander Hange carrying around a baby..." Armin mused.

"It's hard to picture Captain Levi carrying around a baby..." Eren scoffed.

Armin tipped his head as he looked at the drawing. "It kind of makes you wonder what kind of people we'd all be if it weren't for the titans."

"I know what I would have been," Kuro put in without hesitation. "I would have been the apprentice to one of my parents. Most likely my mother. My future was all laid out for me." He looked over at the other two. "Any idea what you would have done?"

Armin thought for a moment as his fingertips toyed with a blade of grass he'd plucked up.

Eren, his arms loosely around his bent-up knees, gazed off toward the Walls. "I've wanted to be a Scout since I can remember," he said quietly. "I don't know who I'd be if it weren't for the titans..." The thought was unsettling. It made him feel robbed. Like his whole life wasn't even his.

"I think I could have been some kind of scholar or teacher," Armin decided quietly. "Maybe studying things and recording my findings."

"Unfortunately, things are the way they are," Kuro sighed. "But... we're in the position where we can help stop this being the reality for others. We don't wear the Wings of Freedom for nothing." He leant back against the tree, his expression soft and pensive.

"I think about that all the time..." Eren pondered aloud. "What we're doing isn't for us as much as it's for the generations after us..."

A warm breeze picked up, gently fluttering Kuro's notebook pages and playing with the young soldiers' clothing and hair.

Kuro nodded. "If we can make that happen, then I'll be happy. I lost everything to the titans. If I can help stop that happening to someone else, then I will." He looked back at his notebook and turned to the first page. There lay a sketch of his mother, father, and Ryu. It wasn't nearly as good as his most recent ones... the amateur drawing by his younger self trying desperately to remember what they looked like whilst alive. He smiled softly at it and allowed his fingers to trace the page. "I will fight for the future. The past is the past, and it can't be changed, but at least we can still help shape the future."

"Even if we're aren't around in that future..." Eren added quietly.

"Any of us could die at any time," Armin stated. "But all we can do is do the best we can in the time we're alotted... however short that may be."

A determination settled over Kuro's expression. "I'm gonna make sure that we live as long as we can. If you guys get injured, then I'll do my best to save you. I've made it through one expedition as Medic... hopefully I can do it again."

Eren gave a firm little nod with a smile. "Guess we all play a part. I'm a weapon... Armin's a strategist... you're a Medic... we're all doing our part. Captain Levi once told me that all we can do is believe that we won't regret the choices we make."

"He told me something like that as well." Kuro smiled. "I sure as hell don't regret becoming a Scout. It can get bad at times, but the only way I'd work in the fields over this is if I still had Ryu. On my own, this was the only option."

Eren nodded in agreement.

"I never saw myself as a Scout..." Armin said quietly. "I'm not naturally strong... but I know I've done what I can."

"Even the strongest can fail without a plan," Kuro pointed out. "Without you, we'd all be dead... many times over. I still haven't forgotten your plan back in Trost. That was a work of genius!"

Armin smiled back. "It's funny... because in the moment, it doesn't FEEL heroic. You're just scrambling to find a solution to the problem."

"You're right..." The gentle breeze rustled Kuro's hair as he played with the pencil in his hand, spinning it in his fingers. "Heroes are just people... in the right place at the right time... choosing to do the right thing."