I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Deliverance: The Sanctuary
When she arrived in Deliverance, it was pouring rain. From what she had learned of this place, it was quiet and calming, everything seemed to be forever untouched by the world outside. This was exactly what Hanji needed, a safe haven.
A/N: Takes place two years before the events of Deliverance. Hanji-central. Sensitive topics will be delved into.
When she arrived in Deliverance, it was pouring rain. From what she had learned of this place, it was quiet and calming, everything seemed to be forever untouched by the world outside. This was exactly what Hanji needed, a safe haven.
She drove her car off of the ferry and into the street once she was cleared to drive. In her squad car were boxes of books and clothes, she wanted to live here but first, before she could get a home, she needed to stay in a rented room. The local radio softly hummed a slow, swaying country song, she found the drawls relaxing as she looked down the street.
The rented space she had taken was apparently part of a bookstore.
Perhaps she could get a job in there as something else for once.
That man, Hannes, recommended her to go here for work if no longer wanted no part in her previous career.
She definitely did not want a single thing to do with it.
It had been quite the journey to drive this far across the country on her own. Despite her broken knee, she had managed to press on, she ignored the doctor for the sake of letting herself recover in the best way she thought she could.
The exhaustion of travel and the need to run away overcame her fears.
Her mother always told her that finding a place in the crazy world where peace is abundant was the best cure for the mind.
She laughed under her breath; her mother never would have expected her to go to the other side of the States. Neither did Hanji herself but she had enough of everything. All she wanted now was time to herself and, given her bum leg, she would probably no longer be able to go back to work. She did not mind leaving and neither did Erwin; he understood her well.
The car pulled into the parking lot, her hands still on the wheel as she used it to lean forward and look up at the establishment. There was a sign atop it saying 'Oceanside Bookstore and Print, Est. 1890'. It seemed old and rustic, just like the barber shop next to it, there was an vacant shop on the other side of it with a 'For rent' sign.
Maybe she could open up a flower shop. Oh, she would love to, botany was always an interesting subject but connecting the meanings to them from the Romantic era, well, she would need some time before she would be sure of herself. She sighed at the pleasant thoughts, she tried her best to keep the past year behind her.
Hanji turned off the engine.
Her eyes followed up to the mirror of her visor. Behind her oval spectacles were eyes that were tired, fatigued even. The bags under her eyes were quite prominent, they were always there and she never minded them but now she saw them as ghastly. She blinked slowly, her hand went to rub the right.
Keep it together.
She finally reached back for her crutches.
With slight difficulty, she managed to pull them out and then she opened her door.
One foot, her good foot, was out first, then her crutches. Slowly, she hauled herself up and began to make her way to the door of the bookstore. Judging by the time, it was open for at least another half hour. She managed to get here but she was vastly late. At least she did not get completely soaked by the Pacific rain.
Her hand took the knob and turned it, she pulled the door open and then went in; the bells rang and she was greeted by a young man at the counter,"Hello there, you must be new around here."
"I am indeed," she said with a smile she returned. She walked further in, the door closed automatically behind her as she went up to the counter. "I'm Hanji Zoe, I called a few weeks back about the room. I take it you're Mr. Arlert?"
"Ah, Ms. Zoe! You're a bit late but it's alright, no one's really booking much nowadays," he warmly told her, he had taken note of her disability and he slightly frowned,"don't worry...but I would worry about your leg there though..."
"Forgot to mention to you, I broke my leg a couple months back and I need to have crutches for a tad bit longer. Can't go up the stairs, do you have a room on the ground floor?"
"Um...not exactly, all the guest rooms are on the second floor. Hold on, let me call my Grandfather. He's the one you spoke to on the phone, my name's Armin."
Armin headed for some back room, when the door opened, she heard some laughter and some sound from a television set. She wondered if there were more people here, she leaned a bit to peer into the room. Inside, she saw two people on a couch, one was reclined while the other had a bowl of popcorn. They both looked up at the young man when he came in.
She decided not to bother them, they must be his friends. From the looks of things, they were young as though they were old enough for college. She wondered if they were on break, after all, it was Spring.
As she pondered over who they were, the man returned, his frown still apparent. "Sorry, Ms. Zoe, again, we do not have a room on the ground floor. And my Grandfather and I do not have room at our own home. I could suggest the motel for you but they kinda have an asbestos issue..."
Hanji's smile slipped away. "Well...I suppose I can go back to the mainland."
"Can't, the ferry's closed by this time," Armin countered. "Again-"
There was an uproar of laughter from the backroom, he had forgotten to close it but when he turned his head to look at his two friends, he immediately faced her.
"I have an idea."
"Hm?"
"Eren, Mikasa, come out here!" He called to them.
"Hold on, we're getting to the best part!" Eren said as he waved him away; he stuffed his face with more popcorn. He seemed to be a rambunctious one.
"Eren!"
Mikasa nudged him and he glanced at her, she gave him a look of 'go on', prompting him to get up and place the popcorn down on the coffee table. Mikasa stood with him and they went out into the shop; the show or whatever they were watching was either muted or paused.
"What's up, Armin?" Eren asked, he did not mind being pulled away from entertainment, though it could be that there was a guest and he had to show his best.
Unlike Armin, who was dressed in a white button down and a vest, Eren and Mikasa were casually dressed. While he wore a green hoodie, she had on a sweater and had a red scarf around her neck. What was striking was that Mikasa had an oriental face to her, something she never saw out here unless she was in the city of Stohess back on the mainland.
"Who's this?"
Her good leg was beginning to kill her for standing up for so long, she needed to sit down again soon.
"This is Ms. Hanji Zoe. She's supposed to be the renter for the upstairs but she's got a bad leg here, doubt she can get up the stairs on her own. You guys are looking for renters, right? You got your clinic and it's a ground floor."
Eren's smile ebbed away. "...it's not really up for rent for the general public. If she were a doctor or some kind of physician, I could let her in and rent the place. Right now, we're only looking for medical practitioners..."
"Eren, we need the money," Mikasa said as she lightly tugged on his sleeve.
"I know we do, but it's-"
Hanji held up her hand from her crutch as best she could. "If I can have a word?"
Eren gave her a curt nod.
"I happen to be a doctor. Licensed and all."
"Really?" He said incredulously. "Where's your credentials?"
"In my car...just give me a moment."
They did not make a move to help her, she had to go outside herself. She wondered if she had raised suspicions with her spontaneous remark. She supposed that while there was the small town charm to those kids, it was still a norm for them to not trust an outsider so readily. In truth, she had her medical license before her last job; she helped Erwin on a case when she was treated one of the victims he found.
When he was interrogating the poor woman, Hanji apparently impressed him with her knowledge of toxicology; it was her part of her training after all. But then she grew bored of treating the living, she contacted him and after two years, she was able to get on the force with another license to practice forensics.
Those were the good days.
She was at the top of her game.
Now she was back out in the rain.
She went to the passenger's side and took out one of her bags, a duffle bag, she slung it over her back and then hobbled back to the door. This time, Mikasa was there to open it. She went in and, now slightly wet, she went to the counter; Eren aided her now as he took her duffle bag and placed it on the counter.
"Thanks," she said as she unzipped it.
Inside were her credentials and several other documents. She thought it best that when she traveled, she would at least have them in a safe place; unfortunately, she was a disorganized mess at all times. It took her a while but eventually she got out her certificates; she then took out her national registration that allowed her to practice in any state she pleased.
It was part of the perks of being in the FBI. Federal always trumped state.
"Seems pretty legitimate," Armin said.
"Now are you all assured that I am what I say I am?" She said as Eren took her medical license from one of the documents she had lain out on the counter.
He looked upon it with great scrutiny, so did Mikasa, his eyes looking at every single stamp, signature, and name.
"Says you're approved in the state of New York," he said.
She pointed at another one on the counter. "This one here gives me clearance to practice nationally."
Armin picked it up. "...signed by folks from the Medical Board in Washington, D.C. This certificate hereby allows Doctor Hanji Zoe to practice medicine in the United States and its territories...interesting, never seen these before."
"Neither have we," Eren said, he placed it back onto the pile as Hanji gave a weak smile. "What kind of doctor are you?"
"Doctor of Medicine," Hanji clarified. "From surgeries to a scrape on the knee, I can handle it...but, of course, if it were something specific, I would need to contact the mainland."
"Hm...I'll think about it..."
Mikasa grabbed his sleeve and leaned close to him, murmuring,"We need the money..."
"I said I'll think about it-"
"I have money to cover the down-payment," Hanji blurted out. She reached into her duffle again and pulled out her check book. In a small mug by the cash register, there was a ball-point, she took it and rested the tip onto the first line. "How much do you normally charge for rent?"
She just wanted a place to be safe and rest, she doubted these two young adults would be much threat to her. Judging by the demographics of this area, that Oriental girl, Mikasa, was the odd one out in this town. And her having a brother who fit in...well, Hanji knew it best to stick with the outliers in new places.
Hanji gave an expecting stare.
Eren's mouth was agape, he glanced at Mikasa, who gestured with her head to goad him into it. Whatever their money problems were, it must be bad enough to let in a stranger. Her credentials were enough on paper, she needed to put the work in to prove how useful she was. It should not be that hard, she did work in a hospital for several years.
"...the town does need a doctor," Armin pointed out. "Some old folks can't get to the mainland, worse if we have a storm that's worse than this and someone gets sick or hurt. Can't believe that you have power of all people to decide this, Eren."
"He does have a point," Mikasa agreed.
Eren eventually gave way and he offered his hand to Hanji. "There's legal paperwork that needs to be done, but that's easy."
She tore her hand away from the checkbook and shook his vigorously. "Thank you, Eren."
His grip was strong, it was as though he were testing her words; would she live up to them? Yes, of course.
Why?
She finally found a place of peace, just as her mother had taught her.
-...-
The funny thing about peace is that it can be disturbed even when the chaos is not physically present.
Hanji had woken up. sweat rolled down her skin as she sat in her nest of blankets. Her panting and hitching breaths were just a byproduct of the troubling thoughts that plagued her sleep. She had it happen several times on the road on the way here but the urgency to drive across the country overpowered her weakened mind.
But now, having finally gotten some well-earned rest, her mind slipped out of its guarded stance and had become vulnerable.
Physical exhaustion always came before mental exhaustion for her. The brain was a powerful thing, even when the body seems ready to collapse, the powerful organ would always work. Sleep? Eating? She forgets about those as her brain told her she was impeccable to human needs for the sake of solving the next case. These days, however, exhaustion was everywhere for her- there was no discerning where the fatigue came from anymore.
She rubbed her eyes and reached over to the bedside table to take her glasses. She rotated the nob to turn the light on; the room she was in was very different from her condo in New York. It was very scarcely decorated, boxes were shucked in the corner and there was an old, oak desk that was several decades old at the foot of her bed- it had the drawers on the top, sides, and that small bookshelf. Tucked in was a beaten office chair.
Her crutches were leaned against the desk. She did not want to get up yet at the same time she did not want to stay in one place.
She remembered Moblit, she failed to notice his kindness until now. Whenever she passed out in a lab, he was always there to put a blanket over her and help her complete the rest of the work.
Now she was on the other side of the country without him- she had to tuck herself to bed.
He was almost motherly towards her, he filled in the spot that was taken from her when she was younger.
Her hands gripped the sheets as she thought of the good days.
Reminiscing would get her nowhere.
Sure she could do it consciously but her mind endlessly did so in her sleep.
She could still hear the thunder of metal screeching in her ears, she shook her head until the sounds ebbed away.
It was her first night in Deliverance, she had woken up like a child who had moved into a new house. That alliteration was not so far off, she decided to get out of bed. If she did not understand something, she would always push herself to learn it.
A glance at the small clock on the desk told her it was three hours after midnight.
Mikasa and Eren had helped her move her stuff and helped her through the paperwork but then had left her alone when she needed to rest. Hanji had managed to dress herself into pajamas, though with slight difficulty over the knee brace. She subsequently passed out after having her medication for the pain- she had taken the full dosage for the night instead of the quarter ones she took on her journey.
Eventually, she leaned over to get her crutches and then stood up.
She slowly made her way across the wooden floor to get to the door, she swung it open as gently as she could but found the hinges to be a bit rusty. The two kids living here were down the hall and around the corner.
It was odd that they had no parents and, particularly Eren, had rights to an entire clinic. She had not had the time to ask the history of this place or what had happened to the last doctor. Perhaps there was some financial issue, she could figure it out if she could get her hands on the record room somewhere.
She had doubts that a small town would modernize itself. Physical copies should still be around.
But sneaking around and trying to figure out the history was no option, the best she could do was familiarize herself with the environment through gradual exploration.
Clouds covered the skies outside as she passed by the windows, the rain continued to pour outside.
It was like in the Northwest, endless rain, she found it comforting but when lightning flashed, her mind backpedaled and all she could see was crushed metal; the thunder came not so long after and she could hear the sound of screeching tires and feel the impact of metal against metal through the roar of the sky.
She froze for a few seconds, then felt her breath hitch in her throat.
Hanji felt her legs give way and before she felt the floor, there was only darkness.
She had forgone that fact that thunder was prevalent here, it was her bane.