Behind the Walls
Chapter 2 – Chance
Disclaimer: I own nothing, including but not limited to Attack on Titan or Okane Ga Nai.
A/N 2.0: Re-posted it today after hearing anything from support, there will be no explicit content on here. See my profile for more info.
Chance (adj.) - not planned or expected; accidental
Levi awoke with a groan. His whole body ached with the events of last night. He opened his eyes to find that the room was dark and he was alone. He carefully sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand. 11:20. Erwin had kept his promise; he was 6 hours late for work. God knows what was happening to his company. Levi rose and stumbled out of Erwin's room.
As he entered the living room, he was surprised to find not Erwin sitting in the room, but Hanji. Hanji was his lifelong friend and his general physician what time called for it. She had come from a family of doctors and had served the Ackerman family for generations. When Levi had just turned five, Hanji's family moved into the Ackerman main estate in order to be available should the need arise for immediate care. So, it was no wonder the two grew close being the only children in a house of status.
Hanji was sitting at the table wearing a lab coat and her dress shirt pants. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail while she allowed her bangs to hang loose. She was reading the morning paper, sipping coffee. She looked up from the paper as Levi entered, "Morning, glad to see you're up!"
Levi glared back at her, "You are certainly chipper considering the situation. Let's just get this over with so I can get to the office."
Hanji got up and hurried over to him and looked him straight in the eye, "Whether you go to the office or not is for me to decide. Do I need to call Erwin to send some guards to make sure you don't leave?"
"Listen, he is not my mother and neither are you. I have a company to run and I can do that when I am under house arrest. So, the sooner this is done, the sooner we can all get back to our lives." Levi stated firmly.
Hanji grabbed his arm and hurried back to Erwin's room. Once inside, she flung Levi flat against the bed. She leaned over him and said, "You seem to forget this is my life. So, I will examine you, and you will sit here or you can find out just how handy I can be…Okay?"
Levi didn't respond, he had known the look he had seen behind her glasses. That was the look that made Hanji's medical practice the best in the city. He just sat and let the doctor do her work.
Hanji pushed the loose shirt off of Levi's frame. She began examining each piece of damaged flesh, poking each in the process. Levi wondered if this was payback or actually essential for his health. Probably both, Hanji never bothered with unnecessary things. After she stopped, she looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Would you be okay if I asked you a couple of questions?"
Levi stared back, "You mean besides the one you just asked? Yeah, just get on with it."
Hanji stood up and took a seat beside him on the bed. She paused and replied, "I know this is a delicate subject, but I need to know if there is anywhere else I need to check…so, my question is, did they touch you in any way that was inappropriate?"
"What kind of question is that?!" Levi exclaimed, "They kicked the crap out of me and stole my belongings when is that…Christ. I'm not some toddler that got kidnapped and the scary man touched me in a weird way! We are adults; just say it as it is."
Levi rose from the bed and walked over to Erwin's dresser. He looked in the mirror back at Hanji who was sitting on the bed still, her face distorted. Levi sighed, "But to answer your question, no. Apparently they just wanted the money, not the whole package. Stop treating me like a china doll and tell me the damage."
Hanji looked up, her face brightening a bit, "Thankfully what you see is what you get. You should be completely healed in a couple of weeks but that means no over exerting yourself. I don't want you to step foot in your office for the next week at least. You are to stay here until then."
"No. I can't stay here," Levi stated plainly.
"And why is that?" Hanji asked.
Levi looked back at her directly and said, "You know I can't stay in Erwin's house for a week. And we both know why."
Hanji hesitated, and then replied, "You can go back to your apartment under one condition. You must promise me you not leave for any reason until the week is up. Also, I will give instructions to Isabel on what to do and you better not fight her on those."
"Fine, let's go."
Levi leaned on the wall as Hanji hit the buzzer for the building. A response came quickly over the intercom, "Ackerman residence, Isabel speaking."
Hanji happily said, "Hey it's Hanji! I have Levi here with me and we need to get to his place but he doesn't have his keys. I will explain everything upstairs but we need buzzed in first."
"Oh goodness, Levi not having his keys can't be good. Here, come on up," she replied, her voice heavy with worry.
The latch clicked and up they went.
Isabel opened the door with a look of horror. After opening the door, he was ushered in by both women who took him straight back to his room. After changing into some more comfortable clothes, Levi laid back in bed. He could hear the women talking down the hall, unable to make the exact words. Levi stared up at his ceiling, 'Well this next week is going to suck. I hope the four of them don't burn the place down in my absence. I wish I had my laptop, and then I could at least video conference all the meetings. I'll have Isabel go fetch it for me.'
His thoughts were interrupted by knocking on his door. After a moment, Isabel entered the room. Isabel had been another of his college friend. She had been a freshman when Levi was a senior. She had been walking to class when a group of guys had cornered her and had striped her of her shirt. They were about to remove more when Levi and Erwin had arrived. The two of them made sure the guys never tried that again and from then on Levi and/or Erwin always escorted her to class. Ever since that day, Levi had viewed Isabel as a little sister of sorts.
During her sophomore year, her mother had developed breast cancer. In order to help cover her bills, Isabel dropped out of college to get a job. She had been waitressing when Levi had been holding a business dinner where she worked. After explaining to him what had happened, Levi offered her a job as his maid and in return Levi covered her mother's bills. Her mother was now cancer free and living happily.
Iasbel looked at him and slowly moved to sit on the edge of his bed. She was wearing a black dress, one of many she had, and her favorite boots. Her eyes looked irritated as if she had just cried. She looked at him and said, "I am so sorry. I should have been here when you came home last night. This is my fault."
Levi frowned and replied, "Don't say unnecessary things. You did you're job and left. You should blame yourself for the shit things that happen because shit people exist. I choose to walk home. It was my decision and you know when I make choice, I don't look back."
Isabel reached for his hand and squeezed it for a moment, "Yes well, one these days that motto is going to get you in some real trouble. Hanji says you need to stay in bed for the next week, and knowing you, I don't trust you to follow that rule. As long as you are fine with it, I am going to stay in the guest room. That way if you need anything, I will be here."
"You don't need to do that," Levi muttered.
"I know I don't, but I want to. You've helped me countless times, so it's the least I can do," she said sweetly. She squeezed his hand one more time and rose from the bed and walked out of the room.
'I don't know what I will do with that girl,' Levi thought.
Isabel returned a moment later with a glass of water and asked, "Is there anything you need me to get?"
Levi took a sip and replied, "Yes. I don't care what that glasses freak says, I can't take an entire week off. I will stay home, but I need my laptop to update a few accounts and video conference meetings. And before you say it, I will not overdo it. I just need it to maintain the balance while I'm not there."
"Fine, but if I think you are working too much, you will stop. Got it?" She stated.
"Fine, just go my laptop," Levi returned, "Also, tell Petra that I will be out of the office for a week, and I will explain everything in a video conference later today at 6 pm."
Isabel rolled her eyes and mockingly saluted, "Will do, Corporal!"
Levi was getting annoyed. He hated this sitting in bed shit. He just wanted to get up, get dressed, and go to the office like a civilized human being. But instead he was stuck in bed like some invalid. Lucky for him, it was 5:55 and his meeting would start soon. Hopefully that would make him feel like he got something useful done today.
Just a moment later, his skype begins to ring. He answers the call; he can see his executive board room. He takes a moment to take in the surroundings. He sees nothing broken, damaged, or even scuffed, then takes a look over each of his advisers for any signs.
Petra Ral, head of Human Resources, was first. She looks relatively normal. Her ginger hair is neat; her dress shirt ironed this morning. The only thing different was her look of concern worn upon her face. Petra was the newest of his advisers but she had proven herself more than capable when it came to pulling the team together. Petra had become the glue that held the team together.
Next to her sat Oluo Bozado, head of Marketing. He looks relaxed as always, though he seemed a bit annoyed for some reason. Although he was the Marketing head, Oluo had famously awful mouth. But he was able to sell the business to the public like no other. Levi believed this was due to is lack of brain capacity. He was so stupid that all he has to do is market to him, but Levi couldn't argue with the increase in customers since his promotion.
Directly across from Oluo sat Gunther Schultz, head of Public Relations. Gunther had unmoved from his stoic look, thus showing no signs of concern. Although his department was Public Relations, he job consisted more of dealing with recollection. When the losers who borrowed money couldn't pay it back, it was Gunther's department that handled it.
And finally, sitting across from Petra was his chief adviser and head of Operations, Eld Jinn. Eld sat tall as always waiting for orders like solider. Eld was in charge of making sure lending was operational and that all employees we up to date with procedures and guidelines passed down from the central headquarters. Eld had been the first of his advisers promoted to their current position, and as such, held the most responsibility.
After having surveyed and arrived at no conclusion, Levi was about to speak when Petra asked, "So what exactly happened? Isabel came to the office got your laptop, told me to have everyone meet for this meeting, but I don't understand why."
Levi took a deep breath, "To put it plainly, I was mugged and now everyone believes I need to heal and not work. I find that ridiculous, but if I attempt to leave this house, I believe armed guards will likely be waiting for me outside the building. Thus, the reason I called you for this meeting was to give the situation."
None of the business people responded. After a long pause, Petra replied, "You were mugged?! Are you okay?!"
Levi runs a hand over his face, takes a deep breath, and continues, "If wasn't okay, would I not be in the hospital instead of talking to you all? Anyway, all meetings are to be video conferenced to me so I can stay involved while I'm out of the office. If you need me during normal business hours, call me on my cell phone. As always, if you need me after hours send me an email. Now, are there any questions?"
This time, no reply came. Instead, the others sat and watch their boss. Levi was tempted to ask for daily reports, but he figured they were still processing what he had said thus far. After another moment he said, "I don't think it should need to be said, but while I am away you all need to be sure and step it up a notch. No one outside this room should know the exact reason why I am out. Should they ask, I was called to the central office on an urgent matter. Say no more, no less. I am trust that you all will be able to keep the company afloat, don't make me regret decisions."
In unison they all replied, "Yes sir!"
Levi smiled, ever so slightly, "Excellent. I expect to be conferenced in and I will be back at the office in a week. Have a wonderful night."
And with that Levi logged off and shut his laptop. A brief nap sounded nice and indulging in moderation never hurt. Levi relaxed in a nice sleep.
Although Levi had hoped for a peaceful rest, his dreams were anything but.
He was walking. He had no idea where he was or why he was walking, but all he knew was he needed to keep moving. For all he knew he was walking in circles, even though he had been walking in one direction. Then, he saw something in the distance. The drastic change in color hurt his eyes, but he kept moving toward it. Suddenly, everything changed, the black became gray, and the same gray that colored the sky in a storm. Flashes of lighting came from every direction. The thunder beat the inside of his head making it ache. He raised his eyes again and saw the familiar flash of color from earlier. He focused in and began to run. From that moment nothing else mattered, he needed to reach that place. Just as the storm surrounded him, it dissipated. And then he realized. The color. Those eyes. The eyes of the fucking kid who helped him less than a day ago. Those mystery eyes danced all over his subconscious as if to burn the image into his mind.
Levi woke with a start when he heard a loud knocking on his bedroom door. A voice from the other side said, "Hey are you awake? Mayor Smith called me and said I should come by, is everything okay?"
And there ends chapter 2! I wonder who was talking, who could know...? But in all seriousness, thank you for your support, and please read and review. Since finals are happening, updates might slow down until summer comes into full swing.