By Any Means Necessary

By Any Means Necessary

The air was cool and crisp, it bit at the cheeks of everyone caught in it. Unfortunately for the Survey Corps, this was the conditions they had been forced to train in. In the freezing cold, the new recruits trained physically, first with the 3D manoeuvre gear, then with the horses, then more physical activity.
Levi watched as the recruits did their various tasks.

He took a mental note of all the recruits strengths and weaknesses, some were better at manoeuvre gear, some needed more training with the horses, but nearly all of them were fairly skilled with their blades. Note, fairly skilled, still a lot of work to be done.
Levi sighed with annoyance as it was Erwin who assignment him this duty in the first place. He hated acting like a babysitter, it felt like a chore, like a baggage almost. Plus, he really hated working with a team, let alone work with a  bunch of new recruits.

After finishing evaluating nearly all of the recruits, he came onto Eren. The titan boy. It had only been a few months since the attack with Annie's titan, who was still encased in her crystal tomb, and surprisingly, Eren had recovered very fast indeed, Whether it was his titan power that helped or his sheer determination, it was hard to tell what had enabled him to recover that quickly.

That was an element the boy had plenty of, determination. Even after everything he's been through, losing his mother, being torn from his home, finding out his titan power and being treated like a monster for it and having huge amounts of responsibility acting almost like a burden and to still have that amount of courage and determination was remarkable. It was one of the few things Levi was actually impressed by.

“They are improving don't you think?” spoke out the voice of Erwin from behind him.
“Still not good enough” Levi replied, not looking at his leader.
“Better than before” Erwin replied “They'll be good Titan hunters at the end of it”
“If you say so”
A small silence set in between the two of them, before Erwin spoke up once more.
“How's the boy doing?” Levi didn't reply immediately, when he did, his answer was simply
“Recovered”
“Remarkable to have recovered that fast, we probably should keep Hanji away from for a while” Erwin replied
“She's probably want to have him as her next experiment, not that he already is” Levi remarked with sarcasm tinged in his voice.
“But isn't he yours as well?” Erwin questioned, Levi's eyes almost widened at that statement.
“I'm his mentor, he's my student, not my experiment” He almost hissed.
“But he is a weapon, a weapon to allow us to defeat the titans and reclaim earth, he's the only reason the survey corps haven't been terminated. He's a weapon, our weapon” Erwin said
Levi didn't reply, he just stared at the recruits in training.
“And he'll most likely end up dead for that cause” Erwin added.
“So he's what? A pig for slaughter?!” Levi hissed once more.
“Don't tell my you are actually starting to care for the boy!?” Erwin retaliated, his voice full of sarcasm  yet slight shock.

Once again, Levi did not reply. It was true that Eren's power would be vital in claiming back the earth and eradicating it from the titans, however, he wasn't a weapon. No person could be classified as a weapon, a weapon was a tool of defence, like a blade or a gun, but not a person.
Maybe Levi did care for the boy, as a mentor would. He was still a child after all, a child with the whole world on his shoulders, something Levi did feel sympathy for. Perhaps in that aspect, he did care for the boy. Not that he's ever show it.
“The boy is a weapon we must use, whether you like it or not” Erwin spoke out “Frankly I thought you'd be the last person to care as long as the Titans were eradicated”
Erwin then turned and started to walk back inside the base, before he disappeared completely he turned slightly and said
“I'm sorry, but Eren will most likely die, but it is necessary in the midst of war for sacrifices to be made”
Erwin then left Levi alone once more to watch over the recruits, so much hope in their eyes, so much determination. Unfortunately, Erwin was right, Eren would probably die, and it may feel wrong and inhumane, but in the middle of the war...

It is by any means necessary.