2 Chapter 2

It was midnight and I was still running. My feet were exhausted. They were numb yet I feel pain. I kept running.

My lungs felt like they were about to shatter into a million pieces. I haven't eaten all day. I think I rather be dead right now.

At one point my feet just refused to hold me up anymore and I fell onto the ground with a big 'thud.' I took deep breaths trying to relief my lungs but it was no use. I just laid there staring at the stars shine bright. I looked at the moon and smiled at it.

Soon, I fell asleep. My mind went dark as I kept gasping for air. Was I going to die?

I was woken up by water splash onto my face. I quickly got up when I heard Captain Levi's voice mumble, "What a waste of precious water," then he yell, "Slacking off again Cadet?! Hurry up and get up!"

I wiped away some of the water off my face. I stared at the Captain and saluted him, "Good morning, Captain Levi. I apologize but I collapsed in the middle of the night. I don't remember much myself." I tried to stay confident and stern. I felt my eyes burning in pain. They really felt dry for some reason.

The Captain let out a 'tch' before saying, "Get up and head to the kitchen. But first of all, get cleaned, you look like a mess, right now. Now hurry!" I nodded and saluted him one more time before leaving.

I walked down the forest and walked over to the dorms. After each step a big yawn escaped my lips. I cleaned myself up and changed into some new clothes. I left my dirty uniform in the bathroom.

I walked over to the kitchen to start cleaning it up. It was 5 in the morning, so, that meant I didn't have a lot of time left. I had half an hour to clean the kitchen and the rest of the time to get the food ready. Everyone would come at around 6 to 6:30.

"Damn it..." I cursed under my breath. I let out a long sigh before rolling up my sleeves and getting a piece of cloth to clean the none existing dust and dirt with.

I started wiping down the tables and the window sills. Then I rinsed all the dishes and wiped down the floors. I decided to make curry for breakfast. I checked the bags to get some potatoes and carrots, but we ran out. I let out another loud sigh before heading out the kitchen to buy some products on my own.

I walked down the streets as fast as I could and arrived at the only shop that was open most of the time.

"Good morning sir." I greeted the bearded man.

"Good morning dear. You're up early. What brings you here?" The kind man politely asked. I looked for the potatoes and carrots. Soon enough I spotted small bags, of both and grabbed them. I brought them to the man and said, "I'm here for these. How much?"

The man looked at me and then at the potatoes and carrots and said, "That'll be 6 silver coins." I placed a bag down and checked inside my pockets to see how much money I had.

I pulled out a few silver coins and saw that I only had 5. I displayed the coins to the man and pleaded, "I'm short on one coin. Can I please pay the next time I come? Please. I promise I will. No, I'll bring it by the end of the day. You know I'm from the Corps and we ran out of products so I decided to buy them myself. I got in trouble with my captain and now I-" I was cut off by the man's loud, heartful laugh.

I looked at him in confusion. He wiped a tears with a finger and said, "It's fine. Just take it. You don't have to bring the coin. It's fine. Go ahead. Have a nice day." He said between laughs.

I let out a little chuckle with rubbing the back of my neck and thanked him. I grabbed the handle of the bags and started heading back to the kitchen. I'm sure I wasted a lot of time here so I started speed walking. I was still tired from all the running from earlier though.

As I was walking up the streets I stopped when I saw a group of men kicking an old man on the streets. I dropped my bags and without a second word I ran over to the men and blew a powerful punch on the man who was kicking the old man. I felt something crack in his cheeks.

The other guys with him looked shocked. "What do you think you're doing?! Are you out of your damn mind?!" I yelled at him, with a fist ready to go.

The guy I punched looked at me and as he was about to blow a punch at me I blocked it with my arms and kicked him in the stomach with my knee really hard. He went flying back and I stood there towering the other men.

The men looked at me in disbelief before I yelled, "I am Cadet Y/n L/n! Next time I see you I won't go easy! Make sure you tremble at the sight of me! Now scam!!!"

The men gave me another disbelieved look before starting to run off. I turned around to look at the old man and crouched down to his level. He was trembling in fear. I held out my hand and said, "It's fine gramps, I won't hurt you, and I'll make sure they don't either."

I stood back up and said, "I have to go now, but I'll come again. See you!" I said waving him a good bye, while walking back to the bags I dropped.

I picked the ones that scattered on the floor and gently placed them back in the bag.

I started running the way back when I realized that I was late. I didn't care if I was exhausted or not, I just kept running. It was a matter of life and death. I could feel my face flush red from the exhaustion.

Soon I arrived at the kitchen and when I walked in I saw Captain Levi sitting on one of the chairs. He looked at my red face and then at the bags I was holding. "Where have you been, Cadet?" He asked in a calm voice.

I looked at him and bowed down apologetically, "I'm sorry. I went out to get some products to make curry. We ran out of carrots and potatoes. I'll... I'll start cooking right away." I said between coughing and gasping for air.

The Captain looked at the bags and then back at me, "Hurry up. You have half an hour." He informed.

I nodded before walking over to the table and placing the bags. I grabbed onto my beating heart to try and stop it from bursting out of my chest. Then I took one last breath and started fixing breakfast.

I started a fire and put a large pot on top of it. I poured some water into the pot and started peeling the potatoes and carrots.

I finished cooking and the rice was ready too. I poured the food in separate plates for everyone to eat. I placed the plates onto the dining tables and sat myself down to rest on one of the seats. I sighed in pain and thought about how this would've tasted.

Captain Levi was watching me cook the whole time. He didn't offer to help me and just watched me make the curry.

"Y/n!!!" I hear from the kitchen. I let out a quick sigh as I quickly got up and rushed there. "Didn't you forget to do something." The Captain said pointing at the dirty dishes. I nodded before pulling up my sleeves again and starting to wash the dishes.

The Captain kept staring at me while I did so.

After washing the last knife I wiped my hands with my shirt and looked at the Captain. His expression didn't change and he just said, "Tell Sasha to wash the dished after everyone. Start cleaning the horse stables." He ordered.

"Captain?" I quickly said, he looked at me as I continued, "Do you mind if I take a 30 minute break please?" The Captain looked displeased and let out an annoyed sigh before saying, "Your 15 minutes start now."

I thanked him and saluted him before leaving. I ran out the kitchen and grabbed the extra plate, I secretly placed on one of the tables. I ran out the dinning hall. I walked down the streets and finally arrived at my destination.

I walked over to the old man who was sitting on the bare ground. I sat down next to him and he looked startled.

"Sorry, about that. I um, brought you this." I said handing over the plate of curry, "I made it with the products I bought today. I decided that it'd be nice to share some with you." The man looked shocked and gave me a thankful smile. He gladly excepted the plate and dug in.

I stayed put next to the old man and watched him happily eat.