Pairings: RivaMika main, side Farshabel, EreMin and EruHan

Content Notice: language, mentions of violence, character death, eventual smut

The envelope didn t catch Levi s attention at first. It looked like it was a bill or something and it wasn t until after he took a look at the sender (a well-known lawyer firm) that he realized it wasn t the usual, run-of-the-mill post. He tore it open, his gaze quickly looking over the contents.

...deceased Kenny Ackerman...

...recipient is invited...

...reading of the will...

There was a date and time and Levi reached for his phone, speed-dialing Erwin s number.

"Yes, Levi?"

"Kenny s dead," he said. "I just got a notice from a lawyer. He apparently left a will."

"How sure are we it's not a trap?" Erwin asked. Levi looked at the thick paper with an indented lettering, the stamp and signature beneath the notice, the discreetly displayed phone number in the header.

"Quite sure. I'll call the lawyer but it looks real."

There was a pause at the other end of the call and Levi knew what Erwin was going to ask so he preempted him.

"I'm fine," he said. "I wished the bastard dead enough times that this is like a fucking dream come true."

"You know the standard procedure."

"I know, I'll call Hange after this to schedule an appointment."

It was a good thing that he had come back from a long-term assignment recently. The rules said he couldn't go out again for six weeks, which should give him enough time to deal with whatever surprise Kenny's will would throw at him. And Levi was sure there would be something. If anyone could find a way to mess with him even from beyond the grave, it was his uncle.

That one curveball had been nasty enough. Kenny was, had been, one of the best hitmen in the world. A lot of his work had been done on the quiet for the government but after his benefactor had passed away, he had become more of a free-lance operator. Levi's own work in Foreign Operations and Surveillance Central Agency had brought him directly into conflict with Kenny three times. It had been on that third time that Kenny had casually revealed their familial connection and Levi had done his best to ignore the knowledge for the past five months.

Levi was glad that Kenny was dead. That was a fact. The mandatory appointment with a grief counsellor for any member of the active roster of agents who had had a death in the family was a waste of his time. But rules were rules and while Erwin gladly overlooked his bending of those in the field, it was better to play it safe when at home.

"When is the reading of the will?" Erwin broke his train of thought.

"Three days from now, 2 PM."

"Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure."

Levi hang up and stared at the paper in his hand. He was glad that Kenny was dead. He was. He just wished it didn't feel like the man had abandoned him all over again.

Levi walked into the lawyer's office five minutes before the scheduled meeting time. The secretary ushered him into a large room where two other people were already waiting. An older man in an expensive suit sitting behind a large mahogany desk was obviously the lawyer. It was the woman sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk that caught Levi's attention.

There was something familiar about her. She looked to be about his age, maybe a little older. She was dressed in a dark business suit, with her blond hair combed back from her sharp angled face. She gave Levi a nod of recognition and when she faced him fully, he finally remembered where he had seen her before.

It would be hard to forget someone who had nearly decapitated him with a fucking machette after he had managed to dodge all of her bullets during the chase in a cave system near Stohess.

He managed to check his first instinct which was to draw his gun and shoot her before she had a chance to pull something herself. His hand twitched towards his holster still but as she deliberately moved her hands to the armrests of her chair, he turned the movement into a tugging motion at the edge of his coat.

"Welcome, Mr. Levi, have a seat," the lawyer spoke up, completely obvious to the increased tension in the room.

"Thank you," Levi said and moved towards one of the free chairs, keeping one between himself and the woman. He suspected that her presence had something to do with his uncle. She had been, after all, the man's right hand for nearly five years. While Kenny hadn't been exactly a crime lord, he had built himself a loyal following of highly skilled operatives who took care of some of the jobs he had received. Kenny had still done the most dangerous and lucrative jobs himself, of course, but this woman had more often than not accompanied him.

"This is Ms. Bianca Vickers," the lawyer introduced them. "She is the executor of Mr. Ackerman's will and assures me she can answer any questions regarding the irregularities in the document."

"What irregularities?" Levi addressed his question to the lawyer but it was the woman - Bianca - who answered.

"There is a particular request in the will that had been included only recently at Kenny's insistence."

"It's all perfectly legal, of course," the lawyer hastened to reassure Levi. "So maybe we could start."

At a nod from both parties, the lawyer unfolded the paper in front of him and started reading. There was a lot of legal lingo to get through before he came to the main part.

"With the exception of the property (a house and surrounding grounds) in Yalkell, all assets shall be sold off and the proceeds divided between the following-"

There was a certain percentage of the money going to who Levi suspected were Kenny's closest coworkers but the majority of the money would go to Levi as would the unsold house. It had been quite straightforward so far which meant that the shit would hit the fan soon.

"As for the matter of my journal, the book in question shall be passed to my nephew under one condition." The lawyer cleared his throat awkwardly and Levi knew this was to be the irregularity mentioned earlier. He had a suspicion that the journal was the black book that Kenny had kept years ago during their brief time of living together. Maybe out of some kind of a narcissism or maybe as both a defense and intimidation tactic against the powerful enemies he had made, Kenny had meticulously noted down all of his kills - dates, times, methods used, names of the victims if he had known them and of the people who had hired him if there had been such. If he had kept it updated all these years, it would be a veritable motherlode of answers for a lot of cold cases, not just in FOSCA, but in the ISMRT as well. Which meant that whatever ridiculous condition Kenny had attached to the inheritance of the journal, Levi would have to fulfill it. The information that book could provide was simply too valuable.

"He is to find and marry Mikasa Ackerman. The executor of this will shall evaluate the marriage and the journal will be handed over at their discretion."

Levi met the lawyer's eyes. The man coughed and looked down.

"As I said, Ms. Vickers, as the executor of the will and a close acquaintance of the deceased can probably explain it better."

"Is that even legal? That kind of condition, aren't there some kind of laws against shit like that?"

"Actually, it's one of those things which simply fell out of use and no one bothered to bring the laws up to date," Bianca spoke up. "Challenging that condition on a legal basis would certainly take longer than if you were to follow it."

Levi wanted to argue, he really did. But Kenny had neatly trapped him. Levi could care less for the money but that journal, the information it might possess, it was the only thing of Kenny's that would have him obeying that ridiculous request.

"Is there some sort of time limit on this?"

"No. I'm not an unreasonable person, Levi," Bianca said. "Kenny had his reasons for doing this and you're actually lucky I talked him out of making the birth of your firstborn child be the fulfilling condition."

"Why did he do this?" Levi was actually pretty sure it had been just to screw him over one last time but he wondered if she would admit to it.

"The family. The Ackermans used to be fairly prominent several decades ago but they died out. Kenny thought for a long time that the two of you were the last but he came across a branch family recently. Mikasa is the last descendant of that part of the family just as you are of yours. Kenny decided it would be a good idea to reunite the family, so to speak."

Levi gave into the temptation of rubbing the bridge of his nose. Kenny had never given a crap about family. If he had, he wouldn't have left back then. But a bullshit reason like that won people over. He could tell that Bianca had believed it.

"I need to think this over," he said. And he should probably get another lawyer to take a look at the will, too. Erwin would need to be informed as well.

"Of course, if you would just sign these, the standard statement and disclosure forms."

The lawyer pushed some papers over and Levi scanned them quickly. They were standard forms as the lawyer had said and he signed his name on the bottom. He could see Bianca looking over at him.

"What?" he asked.

"It wasn't included in the will but I think Kenny would have wanted you to start using the Ackerman name."

"I got by without it for thirty years, I think I can manage longer."

"Fair enough," she said and smirked at his badly masked surprise. "I told you I was a reasonable person. We're about done here, aren't we?" she addressed the lawyer and he nodded.

"Yes, I'll just prepare the copies of the will for each of you."

The rest of the time passed quickly and soon enough, they could leave the office. Levi wanted to hurry out but he realized he should probably make an effort to get some more information.

"I could go for a coffee," Bianca said as she buttoned up her coat. "I could answer some of your questions, too. Unless you still hold a grudge over Stohess."

There was that saying about not looking the gift horse in the mouth.

"What's a murder attempt between people like us?"

"He used to talk about you a lot," Bianca said once they were seated in a small café and their orders brought in. "He was quite proud of you, you know."

"So proud he tried to kill me?" Levi asked sarcastically.

"Kenny had a strange way of showing affection."

The disturbing thing was that she was probably right.

"How did he die?"

Bianca looked away.

"Our last target, we weren't the only ones after him. Our competition went for the big display. Blew up the whole building. Kenny was further in. He got out but he was burned badly. He had also inhaled some smoke. He flatlined on the way to the hospital."

"I see," Levi murmured. He wasn't sure how to react. He felt nothing, not even his previous anger at the man. Shaking his head, he steered the conversation back on track. "That journal, is it worth the hassle?"

Bianca took a measured sip of her coffee, deliberating for a moment.

"It contains information on every single job Kenny had ever done. I helped him rewrite it two years back. It has everything. FOSCA would benefit greatly. ISMRT could be more disturbed, considering how many of those jobs were for them but they have always been a rotten bunch."

"And marrying this Mikasa is the fastest way of getting it?"

"If you challenge the legality of the will, you'll get tied up in a legal struggle for at least two years. If you marry her, you could have the journal within a year." She smiled a bit. "You should listen to me when I say I'm a reasonable person. While Mikasa is a lovely young woman and I'm quite sure you would make a good pair, I have no intention of keeping either of you miserable. Find her, convince her to marry you, tell her the truth if needed, then stay together for a year pretending to be happy and I'll give you what you want. I'll have to insist on you two holding up appearances, though."

"You met her then."

"Not directly. We had to make sure she was eligible. It would be pointless to establish that condition if she was already in a relationship with someone else."

Levi noticed her frequent use of the plural pronouns. She was fully in agreement with Kenny's plan for him. But unless Erwin or Hange came up with something, this would really be the easiest option for getting that journal.

Bianca pulled out a small card and wrote down something.

"You can contact me on this number when you set up the date for the wedding. I'll need to verify that you're sticking to the letter of the will if not the spirit of it." Levi took it from her and she stood up. "I'll expect your call within next month. Use the agency's sources if you have to."

And just like that, she left. Levi stared at the card for a moment and then he pocketed it. He had known that Kenny would find a way to screw him over even from beyond the grave.

Erwin was in his office when Levi arrived to report on the matter of the will. He showed him the documentation as he related what he had learned from Bianca. Erwin hmmed and nodded but it was clear his focus was on the copy of the will.

"I'll do what's necessary," Levi said. "I want to use the agency's database to track this Mikasa down."

"Of course," Erwin replied, still distracted.

"What's the matter?"

"The name. Mikasa Ackerman. It sounds familiar."

"Could she have been connected to one of the old cases?"

"Maybe," Erwin conceded. "I'm sure it will come to me eventually. You're going to go through with this, then."

It wasn't a question so Levi just shrugged.

"You're also angry about this."

"Wouldn't you be?"

"Is this about Kenny's interference in your life or maybe about Noemi?"

Levi straightened up at that, glaring at Erwin. He had done his best not to think about her and Erwin just had to bring her up.

"This has nothing to do with Noemi."

"Nothing to do with Noemi-" Erwin paused and then he chuckled. "Of course this has everything to do with her. Of course."

"Erwin, as is often the case with you, you're not making a lot of sense."

Erwin shook his head and leaned forward, pushing the will back to Levi.

"Go home, call Farlan, get drunk and curse Kenny's name and then come back here tomorrow. We're going to track down Mikasa and get her on our side and in about a year, we're going to crack open a lot of cold cases. Does that make sense?"

"A little bit."

"On the risk of getting the death glare again, you might think about talking this out with Noemi."

"Shut up, Erwin."

Levi gathered his things and walked out. Erwin was one of the few people who could get away with things like that but there was a line and it had been passed. Things with Noemi were complicated. They weren't together but they were getting to the point where they could be. Now, with the impending marriage, all of that progress had been shot to hell.

Levi pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He paused at Farlan's name, then scrolled down to Noemi's. He should tell her himself, she was his friend if nothing else - he had wanted her to be something else - but he decided to give himself another day. He had had enough emotional upheaval for one day.

He selected Farlan's name and made the call. Erwin, for all his jerkiness, had given some good advice.

A/N: I'm aiming for a Tuesday/Friday update schedule. This won't be a long fic, up to ten chapters, with lots of emotional development and maybe even some action.