Like everyday, Lance Corporal Rivaille woke up by the single ray of light that shown down on him through the window in his room. He took a warm shower and got himself into his uniform, preparing for a new day.
First off, the Corporal had a meeting with the higher ups. Along with Commander Erwin, of course. Annoying as ever, the higher ups kept on questioning them on their actions. God knows how many times Rivaille had clicked his tongue in just a minute, let alone hours.
After the damn meeting, as Rivaille put it, he and Erwin, with Hanji, had a discussion about their next action. They came up with quite a lot of tactics and strategies, but none was full proof. The Commander had taken notice on how quiet Rivaille is... ever since his team... yea... He looked stressed out, more than the usual. It was understandable, today's meeting took a longer time than usual. In just another hour, nightfall would arrive.
"Rivaille" Erwin called.
"What?" Rivaille replied rather lazily.
"You're dismissed for today. Get some food and rest." Erwin told the shorter man.
"...very well..."
With that, Rivaille left Erwin's office. He didn't feel like eating, not tonight. Instead, he decided to take a walk. It hurts. He may not show it, but it hurts. His stoic expression might always be there, because it acts as a mask for his weak emotions. The thought of the ones close to you, slowly disappearing.
Rivaille looked up at the sky. It's been a long time since he felt so vulnerable. The sky darkened, not because of nightfall, but because of ferocious black clouds taking over. Pitter-patter. Small droplets of rain slowly becoming heavier in every second there was.
Rivaille was thankful... Because of the rain, no one could see the tears currently spilling from his eyes. The bored gaze was replaced with sadness, his usual aura wasn't detectable. Eyes never left the sky, Rivaille kept on chanting this particular word... Why?
"兵長"
Corporal
Rivaille shook himself awake. He must be losing it, thinking that he had just heard Petra's soft voice. Then it happened. The sky that was painted black suddenly cleared up, showing the beautiful sunset that represented harmony. He heard it again.
"兵長..." said a male voice.
Corporal...
"リヴァィ兵長..." called another male voice.
Corporal Rivaille...
"泣かないで兵長..." a feminine voice said.
Don't cry Corporal...
"そだよ" said a voice with a hint of arrogance.
That's right!
Rivaille's eyes widen. He recognised those voices very well. Erd... Gunter... Petra... Auruo... His team... Flashbacks from when they were all on missions together flew throughout Rivaille's mind.
"ね兵長，頑張って！"
Corporal, good luck
"悪いね。私たちは兵長を一人にさせられた。"
Sorry, we left you alone Corporal.
"みんなはずっと兵長を支えるよ!"
We'll always be supporting you!
"死ぬしないでください。"
Please don't die.
"お大事に兵長。"
Take good care of yourself.
"ありがとうリヴァィ兵長，さよなら。"
Thank you Corporal Rivaille, Farewell.
With that, Rivaille felt all the presence had disappeared. He wiped the remaining tears on his eyes, which had turned from sadness, to shocked and now determination. A small smile formed on his face. He saluted to the sky and murmured.
"Erd, Petra, Auruo and Gunter... Thank you, you are all dismissed. "
The link for the tribute. (Warning: you'll cry. Cause I did, badly. And I was at my tuition x'D)
revelling-with-rivaille. tumblr . com post/ 60207305410/ holydaiki-rivaillevi-heichou
Delete all the space and add a / in between com and post