HI ALL! Here's chapter 2. This chapter is written by my co-author Jokul Frosti. Please check out their work and give them credit for this chapter! Also, Levi and Rivaille are used in this story. Levi is used during his personal life and Rivaille is when he is working.
Crack!
That was definitely a broken jaw, completely unhinged without a doubt.
Spelch!
Broken nose; Rivaille decided that was enough for the moment.
"Gross." He grunted as he flicked his hand to get off the blood.
If it weren't for the fact that they messed with his grip on the brass knuckles, he would wear disposable gloves, but the latex made them slip out of place and messed up his strikes; he tried once. He aimed to break a guy's nose, and ended up knocking out his teeth at the root. Rivaille still got his point across, so that was a conciliation, but he still liked to keep to his plans down to the minutest detail.
"Wow Boss. Were you trying to kill him?" Hanji asked coming over to check the guy's pulse.
A broken nose could kill a person after all.
"No, but I should have considering how much he pissed me off. Is he still awake?" he asked, taking off the knuckles and throwing them onto a tray for a thorough cleaning.
"No. I think the pain got to him."
"Good. I need clean up." He took off the bandages around his hands as he made his way out of the torture chamber.
Perhaps an explanation is due.
Rivaille Ackerman is one of many leading men in Japanese organized crime, also known as: the boss of a Yakuza family. One of the most notorious for dodging the police and leaving them in embarrassing situations. A fine example is one ridiculously persistent officer of the law named Nile Dok. That character had been after Rivaille and his gang for four years now. He even ran into a wall once after they tricked him into taking the wrong turn. Rivaille and his inner circle were especially efficient in keeping their territory under control; back before he became the boss, Rivaille made a name for himself and his then small group that garnered both fear and respect. These days if anyone found themselves in a room of metal though, they knew they would end in the hospital next because of the skills in torture Rivaille's gang had; not brutally barbaric, but the damage still induced terror.
Anyway, back to Levi going about his usual life.
He tossed the soiled bandages into a waste bin by the door as he headed up to the main floor with full intent to shower before doing anything else; he had that idiot's blood to wash off. Fast. Who knew what kind of germs were in his body, and he did not want to get sick.
Knowing this about the Yakuza boss, one would think he was a germaphobe. Not the case at all. It wasn't a disorder, he just hated being dirty. If it was a mental thing then he wouldn't be beating the crap out of his enemies, and/or anyone else who deserved it himself. So really, he was just anal about cleanliness, and not just about his person.
The unlucky soul he had to teach a lesson to this time was some low-life who agreed to run a trade for Rivaille, but made a huge mistake by not upholding his end of the deal costing the boss product and money. Rivaille only gave so many chances and had so much patience before things took a bad turn for the other party. He gave the fool a week to deliver, then three days. The beating that was recently dealt was a last warning before he would, most likely, have to dig his own grave followed by a quick execution.
Rivaille reached the bathroom seeing that a fresh suit was waiting for him, likely made ready by Petra, another of his gang. She was a sweet girl, tough as the next man, and doting as well and respecting. She still had some flaws to work on though.
He turned on the tap setting the desired temperature, and proceeded to remove his remaining clothing of just his shoes, socks, and pants; he had taken off his jacket and shirt before he had to "teach a lesson". The suit was expensive and the shirt was white Egyptian cotton, no way was he ruining those with some dumb shit's blood.
He stepped into the shower, grabbed his loofa and covered part of it with his dark amber body wash, and began washing himself. He passed the tool over his right arm that was covered by a black Eastern style dragon with its tail winding from Rivaille's wrist up and around his arm until its head came over his shoulder looking fierce and ready to attack whoever met its glaring golden eyes, gleaming claws stretched over his shoulder and bicep as if ready to slash as Rivaille's enemies. The surrounding waves of water and blood-red cherry blossoms made it look all the more majestic and deadly; he had it done once he became boss back we he was twenty-five. On his back was a set of white and dark blue wings crossed over each other which represented his own crew. Every boss had one for their branch in the overall clan as his uncle Kenny taught him. On the lower left side of his back was a realistic tattoo of a white waterlily and faint, green lily pads with the name of his beloved mother, Kuchel, done in elegant calligraphy under the image.
The only other name tattoo he would get in his life was the name of his child or children; no other. That was a warning from both his mother and uncle.
Anyway, once he had completed his shower, Rivaille dried off, dressed, combed his hair, and went back to his office where his crew and the stupid delinquent, now patched up by Hanji until he could get to a hospital, were waiting for him.
He leaned on the front edge of his desk crossing his arms over his chest and one ankle crossed over the other while glaring at the idiot he had roughed up.
"Let's try this again. You have until tonight to get me all my money, or you'll wish I had killed you already. Understand?"
Fearful now more than ever of what the Yakuza boss could do to him if he didn't deliver, the man nodded as firmly as he could, seeing as he couldn't talk with his broken jaw, without aggravating his injuries.
"But Big Bro, shouldn't he go to the hospital first?" Isabel asked.
"If Shitty Glasses did her job right, he shouldn't need to right now. And she never fucks up because she knows I won't hesitate to ream her ass. So no, he can wait until he brings me my money tonight. Of course," Rivaille pushed off his desk putting his hands in his pocket and walked over to guy, "he wouldn't be in this state if he hadn't thought it was a good idea to try fucking with me in the first place."
He kicked the guy in the stomach making him double over.
"I told him from the start not to fuck with me."
Eld nodded going to help the guy up.
Once up on his feet, Eld gave him a slip of paper with an address on it, "When you have the money, bring it here. And remember: this is your last chance."
The guy was escorted out and Rivaille went back around his desk to see what other headaches he had to deal with; all routine, but no less annoying.
"Was the last kick really necessary?" Petra asked, uneasy and squeamish from his treatment. Rivaille sighed harshly.
"Petra, you know as well as everyone that I need to get my point across, or they'll all think they can walk all over me."
"Sad, but true." Farlan said "He gives fair warning before he turns to forceful tactics, and then it's only death if they don't get the message then."
Rivaille pointed at Farlan in acknowledgement of his policy and Petra scowled.
"But you had already broken his jaw and nose!"
"And I told you the first time you nagged me that you need to bandage your bleeding heart when it comes to our line of work. You agreed to come on board taking all the good and bad that would come with it and that was part of the bad. Do you want out?" He looked up at the blond with a hard gaze.
Petra swelled up with anger at the scolding, but quickly deflated because he was right, "No, I don't want out. I'll do better to control myself as I still can't help myself."
Rivaille nodded, "Now go relax until I get sorted. Work day is never really done after all."
"Right boss."
Levi was left in his office alone to sort out documents and decide what to tackle next. So much to do, so little time, and so many fucking idiots; was it any wonder Kenny wanted to retire early?
He noticed that he had gotten a notice for one of the Reiss family's many art shows; he often used such gatherings to talk to that fat cats he had under his thumb for one reason or another, make sure they were behaving. But would he go to this one after previously attending another social function not too long ago?
Most likely not; he didn't have to make appearances all the time.
One of the many qualities he had as a Yakuza boss was making the workings of his clan discrete about their work. That's what made him stand out from the rest of organized crime all over the world, where others were arrested and went through the Legal Circus, Rivaille, nor had any of his clan have ever been cuffed since he took over.
It's hilarious to think about really.
When the sun finally set, the streets came alive with the night owls; the neon lights blared, and the streets were flooded with club-goers bound to dance or sing karaoke.
Rivaille and his gang were out for business. Well, that was half the reason. After he got his money, Rivaille wanted to relax the rest of the night; anything else he needed to do could wait until tomorrow. He was the boss, he could work whenever he wanted.
So, they went to one of the night clubs he owned called 3DMG. It was frequented by college kids often, but as long as they minded their own business, spent their money and didn't cause any trouble, Rivaille didn't mind.
Oh, and they had to clean up their messes. That's very important.
They went into the club, and the bartender, Moblit, nodded in greeting to them as they headed for the VIP lounge on the second level. Rivaille instructed two of his guys to wait downstairs and only to allow up their 'expected guest,' no one else.
It took Moblit only five minutes to make and send up their drinks; a piña colada for Petra, strawberry margarita for Hanji, mojito for Farlen, blue hurricane for Eld, screwdriver for Isabel, and scotch on the rocks for Auruo and Rivaille.
"Isabel, easy on the drinks tonight. Last time was a nightmare." Farlan said.
"Then tell Moblit not to make the drinks so good!" she pouted.
"Shut up with the damn whining." Rivaille said sipping his drink.
Isabel stuck her tongue out then turned to her own drink.
"Cheh, you're so childish. How is it you got to be on this crew?" Auruo said snidely.
"I've been with Le-Big Bro since high school. I have seniority over you, old man." She smirked over the rim of her glass.
"Old man?! Why you little-!" Auruo bit his tongue making blood spray all over the table.
The others started laughing at his pain, even Rivaille.
Every time Auruo bit through his tongue, Rivaille called it karma as the man liked to fashion himself as a clone from the undercut hairstyle with the part over the right eye, to the shoes he wore. It was creepy.
Besides, Isabel was right; she did have seniority over him, as did Hanji, Farlen, and his absent friend, Erwin, who was a now cop and currently working as Rivaille's mole in the police force. Since high school they had been a gang. The seeds of Rivaille's success started with just five teenage punks; he met Farlan and Isabel first in Junior High, they were in the foster system and often bullied for it. Some heartless bitches had cut Isabel's hair just because they felt insecure, so Rivaille cut theirs with a pocket knife he always carried on his person. Hanji just wouldn't leave him alone, going on and on about how his cold exterior and lack of fascinated her; Erwin wouldn't leave him alone either, but his reasons were different. He sensed a greater future if he stuck around, so he did. But having them around gave him a sense of freedom; they could really be themselves around each other, the people they wouldn't let anyone else see entirely, so they got the tattoos of the wings on their backs calling themselves the Wings of Freedom.
When Kenny ran everything, it was them he trusted to expand the clan's territory in the city. They boosted each other's strengths and protected each other's weaknesses. Kenny taught Rivaille to be stronger and smarter, and Rivaille took those lessons to heart. With his circle, he got to where he is now: feared, yet respected.
"Boss, he's here." Eld said. Rivaille looked up and smirked at seeing the guy he had beaten earlier in the day.
"So, you do have a brain." The guy scowled pulling out a paper bag from inside his coat.
Petra took the bag and opened it seeing the money inside. She pulled it out and counted, "All here."
"Good. Now get out of my sight. If you try asking for a favor again, be smart about it or you won't get any warnings. Got it, shithead?" Rivaille warned.
The guy nodded frantically and left.
"Well now that that's done, let's celebrate!" Hanji went to the balcony "Hey Moblit! Another round up here!"
"Shut your fucking mouth Shitty Glasses." Levi growled.
"You love me anyway~!" she giggled like the madwoman she was.
"Do I? Oh god, I need my head examined."
More laughter followed.
Hey, he could joke too.
Some time passed since that night; things were boring in a routine sense.
Well except for Nile Dok coming after them again, but that ended badly. For him that is. And a wall.
One evening Levi had gone to see his uncle and mother for dinner. It had been a while since he'd last seen them. Phone calls every night could only do so much.
Kuchel Ackerman was a beautiful woman. She had long, black hair that fell to mid-back, bangs that framed her face, and gray eyes a shade lighter than Rivaille's but softer in shape. Her very appearance screamed, "I'm Rivaille Ackerman's mother!" minus the resting bitch face.
Kenny Ackerman was her older brother; he too had black hair to his neck, slicked back, with graying around the sideburn areas, dark gray eyes, and thin beard that connected to his hairline running along his jaw. Back before his retirement he had the traditional gangster image; vest over his shirt, long overcoat, and a fedora. Not much of a change these days except that his appearance was more casual since he was on a permanent vacation.
When Levi got to the house, he was greeted by Kuchel in the house's front hall; she was wearing an ankle length powder-blue sundress with an empire waist.
"Hello mon cher. How have you been?" she asked hugging her son.
"I've been well Maman. What about you? And Kenny?" Levi kissed her cheek.
"I'm just fine, and you uncle is… Well, himself. Just rowdier. He's anxious to tell you about how things are with your grandparents in the 'mother land' as he calls it."
Kuchel and Kenny originally came from France; Kenny's branch of the family business operated in Paris' underground, which was hilariously convenient because of France's high stats in people going on strike. This included the police on occasion, though not all officers or else things would just go to hell entirely.
The Ackerman family had business connections to a Yakuza family though, and the bosses were great friends, so good that there was a hope that they would be tied by marriage one day. So, when the Yakuza heir asked for Kuchel, Kenny had learned the Yakuza traditions at their request in case anything happened to the man he could take over, but only if Kuchel was already pregnant.
As it was, Kuchel married for the sake of strengthening the connections between their families, and became pregnant with Rivaille in little time; she and Kenny left their home in France to live in the Yakuza stronghold leading a mix of the lives they grew up in mixed with new traditions and gang workings. Her husband wasn't unkind. He did promise that they would at least learn to get along, maybe love each other down the road. Sadly during her pregnancy, Kenny and her husband had gone to settle a territory dispute; it was supposed to be a simple sit-down with peaceful negotiations, but all too quickly it went south. It turned into a massive gunfight. Kuchel lost her husband and Levi lost his father before his birth.
"He sure is traveling a lot, isn't he?" Levi said. It sounded dull, but the fondness was reflected in his eyes.
"What did I tell you when I let you take over runt?"
Speak of the devil and he will appear. Kenny was coming down stairs from his study when he heard his nephew's comment about his current travel kick.
"You wanted out while you still had all your teeth and function in both legs. I remember." Levi smirked. "But considering it's you, I expected you would sitting around on your ass all day acting like you were too lazy to do anything accept grow a beer belly."
Kuchel tented her hands over her mouth to muffle the laughter that wanted to burst out of her. Normally she would scold him for such disrespect, but his snarky quips were just too funny to discourage. Not even Kenny could be mad at Rivaille about them. For long anyway.
"Why you little-!"
"Don't call me runt then," Levi interrupted smoothly. Kuchel patted his shoulder.
"Oh, enough you two. This is a family visit, so behave. Dinner's ready." Kuchel said leading her son to the family dining room by linking her arm with his. Kenny followed behind them grumbling under his breath about killjoy kid sisters and smart aleck nephews.
The family dining room was one of the simplest rooms in the house; the walls were wallpapered with a floral silhouette pattern, with the floor tile done to look like soft gray marble, and the table was black acrylic big enough to seat six people, one person at each end and two people on each side. The room looked out over the back garden through a set of French doors bordered with cream silk drapes that were pulled to the side for now, and over the table hung a stainless-steel chandelier with three faux candle glass lights.
Levi went to one side of the table pulling out a chair for his mother before taking the seat next to her. Once he sat down then Kenny took the seat at the end next to her. Dinner was already set for them as Kuchel had readied everything before Rivaille arrived.
She made baked chicken with scalloped potatoes, sweet rolls, and plum wine. For desert, they were having homemade eclairs.
"It smells amazing, Maman." Levi gave Kuchel a warm smile.
He had always loved his mother's cooking, everything about her really; all his life growing up it was his mother who reminded him that as he grew to be a Yakuza boss, he should also remember to be human. She reminded him to balance the cruelty he would display to his enemies with compassion to the innocent who may cross his path, to remember that his true friends, the ones he knows he can trust beyond the shadow of a doubt, and can return that trust in kind, are the ones he would want to keep with him as family.
"Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and your family in your heart" was what she always told him, and he took it to heart.
It was a given that he had his mother, uncle, and other family related to him by blood, and some years ago he made his family larger when he took Isabel and Farlen under his wing, when he grudgingly accepted Erwin's company, and when Hanji just wouldn't leave him alone. Slowly he was extending that trust to Petra, Auruo, and the others, but that wouldn't be solid quite yet; maybe in a few years, but for now they worked well with him, and he saw no reason to cast them out yet.
One thing was for sure though, he vowed not to get attached to whoever he would marry; heartless as it sounded, he would only marry to have a child, or children, who would continue his family. He saw no point in getting attached, seeing as what happened to his father. He was proud of the man for being selfless enough to give his life for Kenny, but Levi didn't see a point in becoming attached if there was a high chance that one of them would only get hurt once way or another. One would consider it a mercy, but Kuchel often told him that he couldn't fight falling in love.
"You say that all the time, Levi," she said, but still smiled nonetheless.
"Because it's true." Kenny said bluntly, taking another bite of chicken. Flattered, she smiled wider.
"Kenny, honestly."
Levi only chuckled, basking in the normalcy of the atmosphere. He loved moments like this when he could shut out the world of organized crime he lived in and be with his family, as he used to before he knew the truth about what his uncle did for a living, back when he was a child. Just laughter and peace.
"By the way Levi, I heard from your uncle Fitz. He told me that Mikasa was a model for an art piece that will be featured in the Reiss family's art show." Kuchel said. He raised a brow.
"Really? Is it that good?" he asked.
"From what I heard, her friend who painted it has quite a gift that isn't as appreciated as it should be."
Kenny snorted in disbelief, "Do you know how many artists in the world are under appreciated according to their peers? I doubt the kid has any real skill."
Levi hummed in thought, "Well, I can see for myself. If it is any good, I'll buy it."
"I bet you'll be wasting your time, I tell ya."
"Let me see if that's the case. If it is, you can gloat. If not, you have to clean my entire house."
"Deal."
When the night of the art show arrived, Levi decided to keep a low profile while at the same time making a statement; he was bringing Hanji, Isabel, Petra, Farlen, Auruo, Eld, Nanaba, and Mike. They were to arrive at the show separately so as not to be inconspicuous, and then as they looked around they would group up as if they were pleasantly surprised to see each other. After all, it wasn't business.
Levi went in with Isabel and Farlen accompanying him; he saw Hanji with Eld and Nanaba by the refreshment table, Auruo was with Petra looking at one of the sculptures, and Mike was wandering about doing quick studies of the works.
"Oh Levi! I didn't know you were coming!" Hanji said loudly as she walked over to him. At least she was sticking to her part.
"Hello Hanji, I didn't expect to see you tonight either. But since you're here, could you tell me what the draw is?" he played along as they started to look around for the painting of his cousin.
"Well, apparently, all these pieces are done by students. Some of them do look worthy of museums, but there are other featured pieces that could be better; makes me wonder why the Reiss's allowed them in."
Levi hummed in musing as he looked around seeing what Hanji meant; yes, some did look museum quality, but at the same time there were those pieces that looked to plain or generic. It came off as pathetic to him.
Mike came over and shook hands with Rivaille in greeting, "I saw a painting you might be interested in, it's displayed in a center aisle towards the back."
He found the painting, and it must have been well done if he was telling his boss to see. Mike had a knack for sensing things out, telling if they were good or bad.
"Please, lead the way."
The gang worked their way through the crowds of patron observing the other pieces, Levi being in the middle of them while they gently urged the people out of his path if they didn't notice him. Levi didn't want to touch random people if he could help it, after all who knew where they had been and what sort of filth had collected on them? Remember, he's anal about cleanliness.
They soon reached the painting and no one could deny the quality of it was exquisite. It looked to be painted as if the artist were caring for a child; the attention to the slightest detail, the way the different tones of color flowed together to make the image, how the red and blue were the more prominent colors but at the same time drawing the focus to the entirety of the painting rather than just to the rain and the scarf. And the image of Mikasa looked more like it was a photograph with texture; it was beautiful.
"Oh my god, it's amazing!" Hanji squealed pouncing in place with over-exuberance.
Isabel was already reading the tag card put next to it, "Whoever this Eren Jaeger guy is, he's too good to be an art student."
"Excuse me!"
At the sound of a new voice, Levi's men reached into their coats for their guns.
Levi rolled his eyes at this knowing no one here would be stupid enough to try and attack him; it was a public setting with too many witnesses, and he wasn't exactly alone. Yes, he had hired them because they were cautious and alert, but they needed to learn to relax a bit more in certain situations.
"Stand down." He ordered and made his way over to the new arrival with his usual scowl in place.
When he saw the man though his breath caught in his throat. Fuck, he was gorgeous. He had brown hair that looked soft to the touch, beautiful skin with a light tan tone to it, a fit body, but his most beautiful feature was his eyes; they were a breathtaking shade of Caribbean green.
Of course, Levi had an image to uphold, so he kept his air of indifference and addressed the kid, "Anything I can help you with brat?"
The brunet pouted a bit, likely not noticing that he was, before regaining himself and responding, "I'm the artist."
The gang relaxed completely then went back to looking at the painting leaving Levi with who he now knew to be Eren Jaeger.
He looked back at the painting of his cousin and asked, "How much is it going for?"
Eren looked surprised at the question and floundered a bit to form an answer, "What? I-I haven't thought about it…" then something seemed to spark in him "But it's not for sale."
Levi scowled at that; he wanted to buy the piece, the kid likely needed the money for his schooling and he wasn't interested in selling? How'd he expect to make it professionally?
"I'll pay you ten grand for it." He dared the kid to say no. His beautiful eyes blinked innocently.
"T-ten thousand?"
Levi thought he had Eren on the hook, until he shook his head firmly.
"N-no, I'm not selling it. It's going to her father."
Oh, so that was the case. Well, he knew just what to do so that they would both get what they wanted, seeing as Fitz was his uncle after all.
"Fitz Ackerman?"
Eren looked surprised but nodded, "Yeah."
"Fine. I'll buy it for ten thousand.
The brunet bristled, "Did you not hear me asshole? It's not for sale!"
Hanji had burst out laughing but Rivaille only smirked finding the kid amusing to rile up; he would let the insult slide as Eren clearly didn't know who he was.
"Calm down brat. I'll give it to him. You both get what you want. He gets his painting, and you get what you deserve." Rivaille assured feeling confident in his negotiation tactic.
Eren looked at him skeptically, "What about you? Do you get what you want?"
"That depends on you." Was all Levi would say.
The brunet looked to be thinking his offer over carefully looking between Rivaille and the painting before he came to a decision.
"…Okay. Sold."
Satisfied, Levi reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out an envelope thick with money; he brought it in case the piece was, indeed, worth it. Which it was. He pulled out ten thousand exactly and handed it to Eren with a smirk.
"Pleasure doing business with you. I'll see you around brat."
With that, the gang turned to leave, their business complete.
"Wait!" Eren suddenly called after him "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
Levi looked at him over his shoulder giving his body one more appraising look, "If we see each other again then maybe. Goodbye, Eren."
And they left.
For the rest of the night Levi thought of the beautiful artist, and how he was going to work Kenny like a slave as his uncle cleaned his house top to bottom.
Chapter 2 done! Again, this chapter was written by Jokul Frosti. Please send them love for this chapter as well! I have a kik and the handle is winternightlullaby if any of you would like to ask me questions about my stories if parts seem confusing and such. I will be working on the next chapter. Please credit Jokul Frosti for their work on chapter 2! Next chapter preview:
"Eren, want to earn some extra cash at 3DMG?"
...
"Isn't that the brat who painted Mikasa?"
...
"Come here. I want to get to know you and those pretty eyes of yours."