Chapter Text
That morning, the lives of those four college students were officially hanging by a thread.
"If I hear you damaging the dormitory facilities one more time, I will personally handle your expulsion from this campus," the head of the dormitory said in a flat voice that somehow felt far more terrifying than a shout.
Eren Yeager stood with his jaw clenched, fists tight at his sides.
Next to him, Jean Kirstein wore an expression as if he were restraining himself from talking back—which meant he failed half a second later. "With all due respect, it wasn’t entirely our fault."
The head of the dormitory stared at him without blinking. "The common room chair broke because the five of you were jumping up and down on it. That is the simplest definition of 'entirely our fault.'"
"Four," Connie Springer corrected automatically, then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth as everyone snapped their heads toward him.
Armin Arlert, standing at the very back, rubbed his face gently. He was the only one among them who still had enough sense to look ashamed.
The problem was, shame didn't pay fines. And the fine was not small. Nor was it their only problem.
They had been called to the administration office three times in the past two weeks. First for noise. Second for complaints from neighbors down the corridor. Third for an incident that, according to the official version, was a "suspected sabotage of the public washing machine," and according to Connie's version, was "the machine was already old and chose to give up on life."
"Lastly," the head of the dormitory said, pushing a sheet of paper across the desk, "because you haven't paid your three-month backlog of fines."
Connie stared at the numbers on the paper, his face turning pale. "Three months… that sounds very much like an accusation."
Jean closed his eyes. "We are completely finished."
Eren didn’t answer. He stared at the numbers as if he were considering physically fighting them.
Armin, the most rational among them, let out a long sigh. "We will find a solution, Sir. We just need a little time."
"Time?" the head of the dormitory repeated, practically indifferent. "You’ve been given time since last month."
The room suddenly fell silent.
That was the worst part of all their problems: there were no more arguments left to use. No clever defenses. No creative excuses. There was no Jean smart enough to twist the situation, no Armin diplomatic enough to soften the mood, and even Connie was completely out of ideas.
Eren stared at the door. Jean stared at the ceiling. Connie stared at the wall as if it would provide an answer. Armin stared at the stack of files on the desk with the expression of someone who had just realized that death could indeed arrive in the form of campus administration.
The office door swung open without a knock. The sound of the friction made the four of them turn in unison. The figure who walked in needed no introduction to make the atmosphere instantly freeze.
Levi Ackerman.
Their lecturer. The most feared lecturer in the department. A lecturer who always arrived on time, spoke only when necessary, and had a gaze that made students feel like their entire future had just been called into question. His stature was small, his steps calm, and his aura sharp enough to cut the room in two.
"So it’s true," Levi said, glancing at them, then at the head of the dormitory. "They are on the verge of being expelled."
The head of the dormitory looked like a man who had finally found a reason to pass his problems onto someone else. "If they can still be saved, please be my guest."
Eren frowned. "Saved?"
Levi stared at him flatly. "Don't make a face as if you don't deserve to be expelled."
Jean immediately turned to Eren. "For once, I agree with that killer lecturer."
"Don't call me that," Levi said.
Connie raised a hand timidly, like a kindergarten student who had just learned to ask for permission to speak. "Sir, if we really do get expelled, that means the dorm contract is canceled too, right?"
Levi looked at him. "That is a very stupid question."
"So that's a yes," Connie muttered, then swallowed hard.
Armin cleared his throat softly, trying to steer things back to a saner track. "If you are here to tell us how to fix the situation, we are very willing to listen."
Levi observed them one by one, as if assessing goods that were barely fit for use.
"I don’t have time to babysit you all," he said. "But I have an offer."
The room went quiet.
Eren lifted his chin slightly. "What kind of offer?"
Levi pulled a key from his pocket, placing it on the desk with a small click that felt far louder than it should have.
"A house near campus," he said. "It's still vacant. Fairly large. You can live there for free."
For the first three seconds, no one reacted.
Then Connie opened his mouth first. "Free?"
"Yes."
"Forever?"
Levi looked at him coldly. "As long as you don't burn the house down."
Connie sounded like he had just witnessed a miracle. "I have never felt this motivated to live."
Jean squinted. "Wait. Why is there a vacant house near campus that we can live in for free?"
"Because it’s a family house," Levi replied. "And because I decided so."
"Whose family house?" Armin asked carefully.
Levi didn’t answer right away. His gaze shifted slightly, almost imperceptibly, then snapped back to its usual sharpness.
"The Ackerman family."
Eren knitted his brows. "Ackerman?"
"Yes."
Jean stared at Levi with deepening suspicion. "Why do you want to give your own family house to four people who haven't even graduated yet?"
"Because I'm not looking for decent people," Levi said. "I’m looking for people stubborn enough to survive there."
Connie looked at his three friends with sparkling eyes. "That sounds like us."
"It wasn't a compliment," Levi said.
Armin nodded slowly. "What's the catch?"
Now, that was the right question.
Levi shifted his gaze to Armin, as if acknowledging the only student in the room who still possessed a survival instinct.
"The condition is simple," Levi said. "You live there. You take care of the house. You help one person go back to living like a normal human being."
Eren narrowed his eyes. "One person?"
"Her name is Mikasa Ackerman."
The name dropped between them with a strange, heavy weight.
Jean immediately looked at Levi with a sharper gaze. "What does that house have to do with Mikasa?"
Levi's expression didn’t change. "She lives there. She is my distant cousin, the same age as you all."
"Then why do we have to help her?" Eren asked, flatly but clearly suspicious.
Because for the first time, Levi looked like he was holding back something more complicated than mere impatience.
"She hasn't left the house since graduating high school," he said. "She doesn't want to go to college. She doesn't want to work. She doesn't want to meet people. She doesn't want to live."
No one spoke.
The head of the dormitory looked like he had checked out a long time ago and now just wanted to quickly retire from this conversation.
Jean was the first to break the silence. "And you think four guys who almost got kicked out of the dorms can fix that?"
Levi looked at him. "You weren’t chosen because you're smart."
Connie held his breath, pretending not to be offended.
"You were chosen because you're loud," Levi continued. "Because you're annoying. Because that house needs sound. It needs movement. It needs people stupid enough not to back down when she tries to kick you out."
Eren shifted his weight to one leg. "Is she that terrifying?"
"If she doesn't like someone, she will make them feel like a ghost," Levi said. "And if she gets genuinely angry, you'd better run."
Jean fell silent for a moment. "That sounds like a threat, not a social mission."
"It is."
Connie raised his hand again. "What if we succeed?"
Levi glanced at him. "You get to keep staying in that house. For free. No dorm backlogs. No other expenses, except for your own personal needs."
Connie was on the verge of tears. "I love you, Sir."
"Don't."
"What if we fail?" Armin asked.
Levi leaned forward slightly, placing his hands on the desk. His voice remained flat, but there was something sharper underneath it.
"If you fail, you pay full rent and pay for the damage to the dormitory building. I can also assist the head of the dormitory in expelling you all from campus."
Silence fell again.
This wasn't an offer. It was an ultimatum wrapped up nicely.
Eren stared at the key on the desk, then up at Levi. "Why us?"
Levi looked up slightly. "Because you have problems that match hers."
Jean rubbed his face, then let out a short, completely humorless laugh. "That is the most Mr. Ackerman answer I have ever heard."
"Thank you."
Armin stared at the key for a long time. He had been quiet the longest among them, as if weighing all the pros and cons. A free house near campus. No need to pay for the dorms. No need to sleep on friends' couches or move rooms every month. And on the flip side, they had to live with someone whom even Levi described as ghost-like.
"I agree," Armin said finally.
Connie immediately turned around. "Seriously?"
"If we stay in the dorms, we get expelled. If we move there, we have a place to live." Armin looked at his other two friends. "At least that's better than being homeless and stupid at the same time."
Jean sighed, then threw his hands up in the air with an expression of defeat. "I hate that I want to do this too."
Eren didn't speak. He looked at Levi once more, then at the key, then at the image of a house he hadn't even seen yet. "If I agree," he said, "is our stay really completely free?"
Levi looked at him with a gaze that made Eren almost regret asking.
"Yeager," Levi said, "if you ask about costs one more time, I will consider expelling you personally."
Eren snorted, but the corner of his lips tugged upward slightly. "Alright."
Connie leaned forward. "So, when do we leave?"
Levi reached out and picked the key back up. "Today."
Jean closed his eyes. "I knew our lives were bad, but I didn't expect them to be this bad."
Levi turned toward the door, then paused for a moment without turning around.
"Don't make me regret this," he said. "That house has been quiet for long enough."
Then he walked out, leaving the four students to stare at one another in a silence that had just transformed into destiny.
Connie was the first to break it. "Guys," he said softly, still in shock, "we just got a free house."
Jean stared at the closed door. "Or we just signed a contract with the devil."
Armin sighed, but this time there was a glimmer of hope on his face. "Even if that's the case, at least the devil owns property."
Eren snatched the key from the desk, flipped it once around his finger, and slipped it into his pocket.
Outside the room, the campus was as busy as ever. Students passed by. Birds perched on the fences. The morning breeze moved gently. But for them, something had just begun.
And for some reason, Eren had a gut feeling that the Ackerman house wasn't just a place to live. It was the beginning of a much bigger problem. Or perhaps, for the very first time, the beginning of something worth fighting for.